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News from Saint John and Beyond

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    News from Saint John and Beyond
Word on Fire
Catholic News Service
Rome Reports
Whispers in the Loggia
- 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...
- Amid COVID and Ted, The Bench "ZOOMs" Forward
  
  And now, for something completely different – a hundred forty years since the collegial governance of American Catholicism began with a November meeting of its archbishops, a full century since the...

Catholic News Service
- Maryknoll Sisters celebrate 100 years of ministry in China
  
  WASHINGTON (CNS) — It was 100 years ago — on Sept. 12, 1921 — when...
- Lebanon’s Catholic schools face ‘crisis with empty pockets,’ look for help
  
  BEIRUT (CNS) — At the start of a new academic year, uncertainty clouds the future...
- South Sudan church leaders frustrated by lack of progress in nuns’ murders
  
  JUBA, South Sudan (CNS) — One month after two Catholic sisters were executed on a...
- Diocese of Wichita, Kansas, set to welcome home remains of Father Kapaun
  
  WICHITA, Kan. (CNS) — The flag-draped casket was empty during a memorial Mass in Wichita...
- UPDATE: Pope: Bishops must handle Communion debate as shepherds, not with censures
  
  ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM SLOVAKIA (CNS) — The debate about denying Communion to politicians...
- Religious leaders offer prayers before start of U.N. General Assembly
  
  NEW YORK (CNS) — In the face of widespread evidence of humanity’s dark side, speakers...
- Report outlines complaints of border agents’ treatment of asylum-seekers
  
  WASHINGTON (CNS) — A joint report by the Kino Border Initiative and Network, the Catholic...
National Catholic Register
- Live Action Says Google’s Removal of Pro-Life Ads ‘Unprecedented’
  
  Francesca Polio/CNA Lila Rose, founder of Live Action, addresses the 2021 Live Action Life Awards Dinner at Dana Point, California; Aug. 21, 2021 Banning the ads, Lila Rose of Live Action...
- Viability — And Maybe ‘Roe v. Wade’ — Goes on Trial
  
  Kevin Dietsch The U.S. Supreme Court is seen on September 02, 2021 in Washington, DC. In the context of the national controversy triggered by Texas’ new pro-life heartbeat bill, legal...
- Will the Swiss Guard Allow Women Soldiers in the Future?
  
  Daniel Ibáñez/CNA The Swiss Guard swearing in ceremony at the Vatican on May 6, 2019. To enter the Swiss Guard, a candidate must be a single Catholic male of Swiss nationality between the...
- Catholic Diocese Rejoices as Priest is Freed Barely 24 Hours After Kidnapping
  
  Kafanchan Diocese Fr. Benson Bulus Luka was kidnapped from his parish residence in Nigeria’s Kafanchan diocese on Sept. 13, 2021. Father Uchechukwu, chancellor of the diocese within the...
- Catholic Colleges Manage Study-Abroad Programs Amid COVID
  
  Franciscan University of Steubenville and the University of Dallas have reinstated their study-aboard programs, following COVID guidelines in the countries the faculty and students are visiting...
- Paterson Bishop: Vaccination Exemption for Clergy ‘Will be Minimal’
  
  Bishop Kevin Sweeney of Paterson. Bishop Sweeney recalled that Pope Francis has called receiving vaccination “an act of love,” and that most of the diocese’s clerics and their staff have...
- Justice Department Asks Judge to Block Texas Abortion Law During Legal Challenge
  
  Justice Department US Attorney General Merrick Garland Texas’ law, which is designed to be enforced through private lawsuits, prohibits abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected...
News from the Vatican
- Tourism should foster culture of encounter, safeguard planet, Vatican says
  
  ROME — Tourism needs to protect both people and the planet as well as promote a more inclusive economy, the Vatican said. People need to support “an inclusive approach to tourism and resist the...
- Pope says pro-choice politicians ‘outside community’ of Church, but urges pastoral response
  
  Pope Francis on Wednesday said that Communion is for those who are “in the community” and politicians who support abortion are “outside of the community.”
- New Swiss Guard barracks will allow room for families, maybe female guards
  
  A complete rebuild and expansion of the living quarters for the Swiss Guard will not only improve life for guards and their families, it will also allow for the future possibility of recruiting women.
- Pope names U.S. professor to Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences
  
  Pope Francis has named Dominican Father Albino Barrera, an economist and theologian, as a member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
- Contemplative life responds to thirst for eternal, pope tells Carmelites
  
  Consecrated life is not doomed to die out, Pope Francis told a group of Discalced Carmelites.
- Pope Francis says Benedict rightly warned against not respecting life
  
  Pope Francis praised his predecessor's courage in denouncing the danger of people no longer respecting or understanding the sacredness of human life.
- Vatican cardinal tries to heal rift with Jews after Pope’s rhetoric on Torah
  
  The Vatican’s top man on dialogue with Jews has attempted to smooth over a rift that happened last month when several prominent Rabbis complained about a speech given by Pope Francis in which he said...