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News from Saint John and Beyond

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    News from Saint John and Beyond
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Catholic News Service
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- For Brooklyn, “Columbus” Day Comes Early – In NY Homecoming, Pope Taps Brennan to Succeed “The Czar”
  
  In the first Stateside move of the Vatican’s new working year, the most significant opening on the current US docket is off the table… and as Mets fans can always use good news, for once they’re in...
- Amid US Bench's Communion Clash, The "Holy Office" Flashes A Red Light
  
  As some US bishops advocate levying de facto sanctions on President Biden and other Catholic politicians for their support of legal abortion, the Holy See's distinct, but veiled skepticism over a...
- "A Child Can Teach Us How To Love" – Despite COVID and Curfews, Christus Natus Est
  
  Before anything else, especially amid all the sorrows, fears, loss and disorientation of a brutal year across the globe, Buon Natale a tutti – to one and all, a Blessed Christmas... may all its light,
- "The Poor Are The Center of The Gospel" – At Vatican "Festivus," The Church's Choice: "The Docility of the Shepherds, or the Defensiveness of Herod"
  
  Fifteen years (less a day) since Benedict XVI revolutionized the Roman Pontiff's Christmas "greeting" to the leaders of his Curia – transforming the holiday pleasantry into a Pope's ultimate...
- Whether you’ve been waiting three decades or just three weeks for this, the “mountaintop” is at hand. From 4pm Rome (10am US ET), the livefeed of a Public Consistory like no other – from the Altar of...
- Fearing "Attack" On "Fundamental Values," The Bishops Warn Biden's White House
  
  As the US bishops face a moment unseen in most of their lifetimes – the nation's election of a Catholic to the Presidency – the issue of Joe Biden's faith emerged by surprise at today's public close...
- On Day Two, The "Viruses" Take Center Stage
  
  Set to begin at 1pm Eastern, this final day of a virtual – and heavily curtailed – USCCB Plenary will be underpinned by what've arguably been the two key threads of American life in 2020: the bench's...

Catholic News Service
- Being the Ricardos
  
  NEW YORK (CNS) — The set of “I Love Lucy” was a toxic workplace. At...
- COMMENTARY: My Advent pilgrimage to the gravesite of Sister Thea Bowman
  
  On Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021, the third day of Advent and the last day of...
- Court unsure of Maine tuition program that excludes religious schools
  
  WASHINGTON (CNS) — A majority of the Supreme Court justices viewed a Maine school choice...
- Texas bishops urge Biden to end impasse over health care funding for poor
  
  The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops has asked President Joe Biden and Health and Human...
- Look at the faces of migrants; help them, pope says
  
  VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The best way to overcome indifference to the suffering of migrants...
- In early morning darkness, pope pays tribute to Immaculate Conception
  
  ROME (CNS) — An hour before sunrise, Pope Francis set a basket of white roses...
- Nightmare Alley
  
  NEW YORK (CNS) — The title “Nightmare Alley” (Searchlight) at least gives moviegoers fair warning...
National Catholic Register
- Did You Know the Immaculate Conception Is Patroness of the United States?
  
  null Detail of Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, ‘The Immaculate Conception,’ c. 1678 Mary, under her title of the Immaculate Conception, has been patroness of the United States since the mid-19th...
- Pope Francis Makes Early-Morning Visit to Immaculate Conception Statue in Rome
  
  Daniel Ibáñez An Italian firefighter places a wreath of flowers on the statue of the Immaculate Conception in Rome’s Piazza di Spagna on Dec. 8. The Pope made the private visit shortly...
- Pope Francis: Sagrada Familia’s New Star Shines for Barcelona’s Poor, Ill, Elderly, and Young People
  
  Screenshot The 12-pointed star of the Sagrada Família Basilica’s Tower of the Virgin Mary is lit up for the first time. “May this star that shines from today enlighten you so that, as you...
- Switzerland’s Catholic Church Approves Independent Abuse Study
  
  Eberhard Grossgasteiger. The flag of Switzerland. By approving an independent study, Swiss Catholic leaders are following the Church in France, which commissioned a landmark report...
- Man Attacks DC Basilica’s Our Lady of Fatima Statue by Cutting Off Hands, Hammering Face
  
  Courtesy of Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Security personnel reported damage to the Our Lady of Fatima statue located outside the Basilica of the National Shrine of...
- Syro-Malabar Catholic Church Leaders Want a Uniform Liturgy. Why Are They Facing Resistance?
  
  Mazur A St. Thomas Christian cross at the installation of Mar Joseph Srampickal at Preston North End stadium, England, on Oct. 9, 2016. The Syro-Malabar Church is today one of four major...
- O Mary, Conceived Without Sin, Pray for Us Who Have Recourse to Thee
  
  Diego Velázquez, “Immaculate Conception,” 1618 ‘The Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and...
News from the Vatican
- Look at the faces of migrants; help them, pope says
  
  The best way to overcome indifference to the suffering of migrants and refugees is to look in their faces, Pope Francis said.
- In early morning darkness, pope pays tribute to Immaculate Conception
  
  An hour before sunrise, Pope Francis set a basket of white roses at the base of a statue of the Immaculate Conception in the center of Rome, praying Mary would help all who suffer.
- Vatican prepares for Christmas with variety of nativity scenes on display
  
  Clay, wood, silver, old wrist watches, chocolate, buttons, wool: all materials are welcomed in the fourth annual Vatican expo of 126 Nativities under the Bernini Colonnade, with sets from all over...
- Family first: Pope says migration policy changes when newcomers seen as kin
  
  With passion in Cyprus and reason in Greece, Pope Francis continued to articulate and adjust his teaching on migration.
- Pope approves updates to norms for dealing with ‘grave crimes’
  
  Pope Francis has given formal approval to a series of updates and modifications that have been made over the years to the norms regarding clerical sexual abuse and other crimes reserved to the...
- Pope on resignation of French archbishop: What did he do that was so bad?
  
  Pope Francis challenged allegations against Archbishop Michel #Aupetit, saying, “what did Aupetit do that was so bad in order to give his resignation?” #PopeFrancis
- Being a child of God must not be taken for granted, papal preacher says
  
  Baptism is a gift from God that is waiting to be opened to be fully and joyfully experienced by each Christian, said the preacher of the papal household.