Catholic News

• Cardinal Urosa: Venezuelan bishops reject foreign military intervention, whether from US or Cuba 
  The Catholic bishops of Venezuela “reject any foreign military interference” despite the country’s critical situation, said Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino of Caracas.
• Pope ‘greatly disturbed’ by Barcelona attack, prays for victims 
  Pope Francis has sent a statement of sympathy and a promise of prayers to the victims of terrorist attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, Spain.
• Cardinal Parolin, Patriarch Kirill won’t discuss papal visit 
  When he visits Moscow later this month, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, will not be making plans for a papal visit to Russia, according to a spokesman for the Russian Catholic bishops’ conference.
• Prominent English theologian says canon law should allow for correction of Pontiff
  A noted English theologian has proposed amending the Code of Canon Law to include “a procedure for calling to order a Pope who teaches error.”
• Over 1 million people have fled South Sudan for Uganda 
  More than 1 million refugees from South Sudan have flooded into Uganda, as the situation in the war-torn African country becomes intolerable.
• Canadian bishops: ‘We cannot accept the unethical way Canadian mining companies have been operating in Latin America ‘ 
  The Catholic bishops of Canada have issued a letter condemning “the unethical way Canadian mining companies have been operating in Latin America or other regions of the world.”
• Cardinal Medina: no Communion, funeral for pro-abortion politicians without public repentance 
  A Chilean cardinal has warned politicians that if they support the legalization of abortion, they must not receive the Eucharist until they make a public act of repentance.
• Australian prelate urges faithful to vote against same-sex marriage 
  An Australian archbishop has urged Catholics to register to vote, in advance of a unusual postal referendum on legal recognition of same-sex marriage.
• Filipino bishop decries terrorists’ plan to use hostages as suicide bombers
  A Catholic bishop in the Philippines has denounced the reported plan of an Islamic terrorist group to force hostages into the role of suicide bombers.
• Catholic marriages in Scotland plunge to 1941 level 
  A prominent Scottish priest has called for “systematic and intensified preaching and catechesis on marriage,” noting that the number of Catholic marriages in Scotland has dropped to its lowest level in more than 70 years.
• Chinese officials close down Buddhist monk’s crisis-pregnancy center
  Chinese officials have closed down a home run by a Buddhist monk to provide for abandoned babies and women in crisis pregnancies.
• To help flood victims, Caritas Vietnam avoids government involvement
  Catholic relief workers in Vietnam are avoiding involvement with the government in order to deliver supplies to flood victims in the remote Yen Bai province.
• Papal sympathy for victims of accident on Madeira
  Pope Francis has sent a message of condolence to the victims of an accident on the Portuguese island of Madeira.
• Salesian missionary in Ethiopia has baptized over 7,500 
  A Salesian missionary priest has baptized more than 7,500 people in the Ethiopian village where he works.
• New Jersey mayor removes Guadalupe shrine from state-owned land 
  Mayor Hector Lora of Passaic, New Jersey, has ordered the removal of a shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe that was on public property.
• US State Dept. publishes International Religious Freedom Report; Tillerson highlights ISIS genocide
  The US State Department cited the Islamic State as for genocide in its annual report on religious freedom around the world.
• Melbourne archbishop says he’s prepared to go to jail rather than divulge confessions 
  Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne, Australia said that he would go to jail rather than obey a law requiring him to divulge the contents of a sacramental confession.
• Teacher in landmark Philadelphia abuse case released 10 years early
  A former teacher at a Catholic school in Philadelphia has been released from prison after a court overturned his conviction on charges of molesting a student.
• Syriac Catholic patriarch laments US invasion of Iraq, Western aid to ‘moderate’ Syrian rebels 
  Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan of Antioch said that Western support for “moderate” Syrian rebel factions has caused the devastation of the country.
• Trump administration poised to end contraceptive mandate
  The Trump administration will soon unveil new regulations that will exempt religious institutions from the “Obamacare” requirement that health-insurance programs must include contraceptive coverage, the Wall Street Journal reports.
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