Daily News

Morning must-reads

March 26

USCCB urges Holy Week prayers for peace in Gaza

85% of its population is displaced, 1.5% reported dead

German bishops to proceed with Synodal Committee

They say after meeting with high-ranking Vatican officials

Cdl. Pizzaballa rises as respected leader, ‘papabile’

Pope calls Latin patriarch of Jerusalem 'a crucial figure'

Vatican prefect: Nixing celibacy won't spur vocations

Says only path is living the Word of God concretely

Cdl. Grech sets out vision for ‘rainbow’ synodal Church

Says unity or communion isn't 'uniformity of thought'

Norway bishops warn on proposal to expand abortion

Bill abandons our 'Christian and humanistic heritage'

March 22

German bishops discuss Synodal Way with Vatican

In Rome; with likely focus on their ‘synodal council’ plan

Belgian bishop laicized 14 years after admitting abuse

Case threatened to overshadow papal visit in Sept.

Migrant ministries battling TX claim rel. liberty issue

Others say such liberty cannot endorse lawlessness

Catholic school enrollment remained stable this year

And 19% of U.S. Catholic students are Hispanic/Latino

Archbp. of Izmir: Turkey is the 'forgotten Holy Land'

Church must survive; 'we owe this to Christ, to history'

Demographic winter is coming even to South Asia

Study shows global fertility rate falling to 1.83 in 2050

March 21

Cdl. Ambongo: Fiducia seen as ‘cultural colonization'

Practices called normal in the West 'imposed' on Africa

5 U.S. parish priests to go to world meeting of priests

In Rome next month; four Latin-rite, one Eastern Catholic

Vatican Media uses Rupnik art in liturgical calendar

Post displays callousness toward his two dozen victims

Loretto Trust posts letter to Saint Mary’s College, Ind.

Employees who don't know what a woman is should go

Biden pushes for taxpayer-funded abortion in 2025

Would nix Hyde Amendment, open huge funding stream

Guttmacher Inst. reports 1,026,690 abortions in 2023

Highest number in 11 yrs; big increases in IL, NM, VA, NC

March 20

USCCB: Pray daily about SCOTUS abortion-pill decision

That it restores limitations that the FDA has overridden

AP report on Vatican trial: Pope 'changed law' during it

Follows claim of defense; ignores feature of monarchy

SCOTUS declines to hear Catholic couple’s lawsuit

In dispute with gov't over custody of their 'trans' son

Aparecida shrine will go forward with Rupnik mural

Brazil site will unveil 2nd of four planned murals in May

Cuba: Power outages, food shortages spark unrest

Monthly food allotment for families is now inadequate

Montessori religious community begins in North Dakota

They currently serve at Catholic school near Bismarck

March 19

San Antonio archbp. bans apostolate: ‘false teachings’

Priest's group said God called Pope 'usurper' & 'enemy'

Mich. priest who stole from priests gets prison term

He retains priestly faculties but can't engage in ministry

Two pontif. institutes merge with Pontifical Gregorian

Vatican concealed documents on merger plan for 5 years

Vatican Observatory airs new Big Bang theory tool

Two priests introduce promising mathematical method

512 people are now living at Gaza’s Catholic parish

Report that 'food is scarce, difficult to find anywhere'

'Christian nationalist' is newest political bogeyman

Portrays Christianity as hostile or foreign force in U.S.

March 18

In his book, Pope defends gay blessings, civil unions

Maintains that 'doctrine of the Church is not questioned'

Hong Kong diocese: Law won’t affect seal of confession

National Security bill will prosecute 'failure to disclose'

Vatican issues annual message to world’s Muslims

Cites Pope Francis: 'No war is holy; only peace is holy'

Spain: Rural priests stretched thin among tiny villages

In many, parish life equals occasional Mass celebration

U.S. police professional named to papal commission

She formerly led USCCB's child-protection office

GMU prof: Marriage promotes ‘white supremacy’

But data shows marriage benefits kids of all backgrounds

March 15

Pope, in autobiography 'Life,' says no plans to resign

He has 'many projects to bring to fruition, God willing'

Experts to study 10 Synodality themes till June 2025

Pope lists theological issues requiring in-depth work

USCCB requires Good Friday note on antisemitism

Before all Passion narratives in worship aids & missals

Wis. high court: No tax exemption for Catholic charity

Its activities are not 'primarily' religious under state law

Indiana higher-ed law mandates intellectual diversity

Bans mandatory DEI statements, promotes free speech

N. Hawthorne’s daughter moves toward beatification

Rose founded congregation of Dominican sisters; d. 1926

March 14

South Africa: Priest shot dead in Holy Trinity Cathedral

In sacristy, as parishioners were arriving for Mass

Three Coptic Orthodox monks killed in South Africa

At monastery; a fourth alleged he was hit but fled

More lives ended by IVF than by abortion each year

In 2021 about 1.5-1.8M embryos were made, not born

As of now, 129 cardinals eligible to vote in conclave

94 were created by Pope Francis, 27 by BXVI, 8 by JPII

Judge: Christian org need not cover trans procedures

Lawyer: Unlawful mandate nixed rights of people of faith

Indiana priest sues Lafayette diocese for defamation

Odd, weak case surrounds 'grooming,' not sexual contact

March 13

Vatican Sec'y of State: Russia should cease fire first

Cdl. Parolin: 'Negotiating is not weakness but strength'

Judge blocks Tex. AG’s move to shut Catholic shelter

Paxton says it facilitates illegal entry, human smuggling

UK Nat'l Health Service ends puberty blockers for kids

'Not enough evidence of safety, clinical effectiveness'

State AGs threaten suit over Maine abortion/trans bill

Bill would 'impose' extreme views on 'rest of the country'

Pope’s defense of cover-up bishop garners scrutiny

As abuse scandal coverage gathers steam in Italy

Calif. reports on abortion-pill use at state universities

First six months of new law saw 427 chemical abortions

March 12

USCCB chair: IVF results in loss of life at massive scale

Millions of embryos have been killed or perm. frozen

With FS, the Pope blew up his own legacy with Copts

Efforts undone by his personal pastoral inclinations

Archbishop: Haiti is near complete security breakdown

'Gangs even come into churches to kidnap people there'

S. Sudan bishop: Our people ‘on brink of destitution'

COVID lockdowns led their fragile economy toward collapse

Asia, Oceania comprise 37% of world's arms importers

As India, Pakistan, Japan, Australia, S. Korea eye China

Argentina president: Abortion is aggravated homicide

Calls pro-aborts 'murderers with green neckerchiefs'

March 11

Coptic Orthodox halt theological dialogue with Rome

After Fiducia Supplicans; call blessing sin 'unacceptable'

Pope: Ukraine needs to have 'courage of the white flag'

Vatican clarifies he meant to negotiate, not to surrender

Cdl. Fernández: Human dignity document forthcoming

It contains 'strong criticism' of immoral societal trends

Vatican makes appeal for Aid to Holy Land collection

$7.19M collected in 2023 was down from $9.04M in '22

NY priest's status unclear after $270K parish theft

Appears to have faced no canonical sanctions for it

Irish voters keep motherhood, family in constitution

PM admits 'two wallops' to progressive political ideas

March 8

Pope: Aquinas is needed to answer today’s challenges

Event celebrates legacy of famed Italian Dominican friar

Procession with skull marks Aquinas' 750th d. anniv.

In Italy; a second skull in Toulouse is claimed to be his

Rome court clears way for S. Bannon's political institute

Politically-driven case was due to his closeness to Trump

Euthanasia deaths in Belgium reach record high

3,423 killed by lethal injection in 2023; 1,807 in 2013

Ronald Reagan rued legalizing abortion in Calif. in 1967

Judie Brown: He 'publicly repented' amid pro-life group

Vietnam: Orchestra for orphans launches at MC home

Mother Teresa's sisters facilitate effort in Ho Chi Minh City

March 7

Respiratory & mobility problems take toll on Pope

He's unable to climb into popemobile after 3/6 audience

Haiti: Gangs try to seize airport after 2 prison breaks

Religious, priests, other innocents have been kidnapped

Canadian Anglican theologian: FS is the ‘fall of Rome’

H. Boersma: It 'signals the Church’s implosion in the West'

Orthodox and Catholic prelates in Russia skewer FS

Scripture 'cannot justify this new practice in any way'

Pope puts retired judge on Canadian cardinal case

To investigate abuse charge, part of class action lawsuit

Dean: Elite-level students are intellectually restricted

'The telling of truth isn’t prioritized,' isn't seen as 'safe'

March 6

Pontif. academy opposes French abortion amendment

States, "There cannot be a ‘right’ to take a human life"

16 AGs warn YouTube on misleading abortion videos

'Blatant misinformation campaign' puts women at risk

Leaked files reveal international trans org's ideology

WPATH guides 'care' standards but is not a medical org

Belgian bishops face hard questions at abuse inquiry

Antwerp bishop defends efforts, expresses frustration

French canonist questions mandatory concelebration

Canon 902 affirms priest's right to celebrate private Mass

PP breaks law to sell aborted baby parts to UCSD

'Proprietary material' sent for 'valuable consideration'