Daily News

Morning must-reads

December 10

Head of Latin Church in Syria is cautiously optimistic

Was assured Christians will remain part of Syrian society

DC archdiocese addresses multi-million dollar deficit

Finance woes ballooned after McCarrick scandal in 2018

Nigerian diocese graduates first female catechists

Alongside 36 men; training center was founded in 1964

U.S. bishops ask Biden to spare fed. death row prisoners

Say he could commute their sentences and spare 40 lives

Pope raps Mafia at audience with Sicilian theologians

Says Sicily's beauty is menaced by mob 'corruption'

Dead Sea Scrolls on exhibit at Reagan Fndn. in Calif.

Bits so fragile they're allowed in light only 3 mo./5 yrs

December 9

Pope creates 21 new cardinals, including Leo of Toronto

Urges them to follow Jesus & resist 'seduction of power'

Vatican organizing LGBT pilgrimage for Holy Year

Plan includes Mass in main church of Jesuit order, Il Gesù

Notre-Dame de Paris officially reopens at ceremony

Consecration of new main altar took place on Sunday

Religious sisters face gov't pressure to leave Nicaragua

Activist: Whether foreign or nationals, they have no choice

Bishops & priests join free online mental-health conf.

Divine Fulfillment Conference to be held Dec. 27–29

Swiss chapel offers Q & A with AI avatar of Jesus

Topics broached by users include the afterlife, suffering

December 6

Appeals court allows Idaho ‘abortion trafficking’ law

Law applies also to giving abortion-inducing drug to minor

Sen. Hawley to feds: Retain files on pro-life convictions

After reports of workers illegally destroying records

Historic Christian village in south Lebanon destroyed

Hezbollah hides in Christian areas, aiming for extinction

Will next U.S. nuncio be the current nuncio to Russia?

With peace as priority, d’Aniello’s experience is a plus

Beatification of Archbishop Sheen seen as inevitable

Despite roadblocks, due to 'growing devotion' to him

U.S. Bible sales rose 22% in 2024, compared to 2023

During same time, print book sales overall rose just 1%

December 5

Supreme Court challenges 'trans' discrimination claims

In case on Tenn. ban of trans drugs/surgeries for minors

Pope on preaching: 'Never go over 10 minutes, ever!'

Suggests content of 'one idea, one invitation to action'

Republicans build case for defunding abortion giant

PP might be vulnerable re: its selling of baby body parts

Bible curriculum in Tex. public schools faces scrutiny

But education about religion is not unconstitutional

South Korean bishops urge president to apologize

For rashly imposing, then lifting, martial law this week

Will the Vatican ban TLM at end of Chartres pilgrimage?

French bishops' newspaper covers 'conformity' question

December 4

Britain is no longer a Christian country, says bishop

Assisted suicide vote means passing a point of no return

Cause of persecuted Christians is ignored worldwide

Due to unfolding economic & social upheavals, per ACN

Catholic lawyers warn Australian Catholic University

May lose religious designation if it fails to defend faith

El Salvador bishops urge president to keep mining ban

Fear victimization of the people, pollution from toxins

Leader of Ahmadiyya Muslims to again meet with Pope

Says, 'I think the pope is a close friend of the Muslim world'

Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square will recreate lagoon

Project of small northern Italian island town on the Adriatic

December 3

Tensions high as Israel & Hezbollah test ceasefire

Bishop urges disarming Hezbollah to bring peace

Syria: Aleppo Christians face new jihadist advances

Franciscan-run Terra Santa College is hit by a strike

Priest says Ukrainians are ‘tired and without hope'

'Nothing consoles them anymore. They have given up'

Controversial Texas Carmel is suppressed by Vatican

Nuns still there, as property was transferred to an org

Msgr. Philip Reilly, pro-life hero, dies at age 90

Founder of Helpers of God’s Precious Infants vigils

U.S. churches to ring bells for Notre-Dame de Paris

Its doors reopen Dec. 7; altar to be consecrated Dec. 8

December 2

British Parliament votes in favor of assisted suicide

Initial vote gives indication of wide support for bill

Pope proposes joint Catholic-Orthodox celebration

Of 1,700th anniversary of First Council of Nicaea

Post-consistory, 79% of cardinals will be Francis picks

Number of voting-age cardinals will briefly hit 140

Spanish bishops reject ‘intergenerational healing’

Concept has been popularized by charismatic groups

Pope lauds work of ESNE, Hispanic Catholic TV network

Based in California, it collaborates with Vatican media

U.S. Benedictine sisters expand to English abbey

Colwich was co-founded by St. Thomas More's family

November 27

Vatican may add ‘spiritual abuse’ to crimes in its law

DDF & Dicastery for Legislative Texts draft proposals

Haiti's bishops issue a 'cry of alarm' for peace

Say since Nov. 11 'the violence has taken a serious turn'

Wis. Catholic school leaders fired over protocol failures

Superintendent, principal; after 'safe environment' probe

500 rioters attack Catholic school in Bangladesh

After unrelated death of a student at nearby hospital

Iraqi cardinal calls for unity of four Eastern Churches

Says, 'Unity is the only way to face the current challenges'

U.S.: More young men than women identify as religious

Are drawn to traditional liturgy, spirituality & discipline

November 26

Pope: Final Synod document applies to all dioceses

Bishops' 5-year visits to include implementation updates

Two priests lament worsening situation in Nigeria

Second jihadist group is active besides Boko Haram

Revision of papal funeral rites aims for simplicity

'Streamlined' volume is 'precise in its ritual instructions'

South Sudanese diocese has been devastated by war

Bishop has a hut, several of 9 parishes are churchless

St. Hedwig's Cathedral in Berlin is newly wreckovated

Prof: Edifice is 'visible sign of the dead German church'

Scholars blast Nottingham U. for Chaucer warning

'Canterbury Tales' flagged for 'expressions of Christian faith'

November 25

Cdl. Parolin: Ukraine war could spiral out of control

After Ukraine fired U.S./U.K.-supplied missiles into Russia

Hong Kong: 100 pols from 24 countries defend J. Lai

While Vatican, Church leaders continue policy of silence

Key Trump allies seek to slash fed. funding for PP

Include abortion giant in $300M plan to cut-off lefty orgs

St. Thomas Aquinas's skull to visit DC on internat'l tour

On Nov. 29-30, part of 700th anniv. of his canonization

Controversy at Georgetown Law over pregnant student

Who requested accommodation but got hard treatment

Iranian population is likely to halve by end of century

Despite gov't effort to encourage births, support families

November 22

Shanghai bishop adapts faith to CCP ideals, faithful say

By ‘sinicization' he clearly does not mean Chinese customs

Aussie top court: Diocese not vicariously liable for abuse

As offending priest 'was not employed by' the diocese

Pope names Cdl. Farrell as Vatican pension-fund czar

It faces 'serious prospective imbalance' & needs reform

USCCB asks HHS to rescind gender-identity regulation

Its ambiguity could mean 'affirming' care requirement

New archbishop appointed in La Plata, Argentina

After unexpected resignation of previous one last May

Indonesia: Jesuit lies on rubbish pile to spotlight it

Historic St. Ignatius College suffers by gov't ineptitude

November 21

U.S. bishops’ CCHD program lost $11.4M in 2023

Ex-director McCloud is now fellow at lefty nun org Network

Jimmy Lai takes stand in Hong Kong democracy trial

Cardinal Zen is present at trial, sits with Lai’s family

Biden gives ex-PP CEO Cecile Richards Medal of Freedom

Says pro-abort extremist has 'carved an inspiring legacy'

Belgium: Abbey in Leuven is temporarily dissolved

For 'transgressive behavior'; only 4 monks are living there

Pope Francis revises the ritual for a papal funeral

And allows choice of burial outside Vatican basilica

Citizens in N. Italian town protest Xmas tree cutting

Are guarding 95-foot spruce selected for St. Peter's Sq.

November 20

Pope announces canonizations for Acutis, Frassati

At two 2025 Jubilee celebrations dedicated to youth

Report reveals threat to France’s Catholic patrimony

1,476 churches damaged, 396 desecrated since 2000

‘Red Wednesday’ spotlights persecution of Christians

Buildings around the world will be illumined in red today

Brooklyn pastor removed for major finance violations

Including $2M loan of parish funds to local Dem politico

USCCB: $8.8M to projects in Central, Eastern Europe

For ministries/aid in and around Ukraine & elsewhere

English shrine hosts Eucharistic miracles exhibition

As first devised by Bl. Carlo Acutis, now at Ramsgate

November 19

Mexico: ‘Indigenous liturgical adaptations’ approved

In one diocese; Vatican asks more details before spread

Arizona parish fire is being investigated as arson

Bureau of ATF has suggested churches enhance security

Ghana bishops back bill banning homosexual advocacy

Aim to preserve moral fabric, protect marriage & family

Nigerian religious sister wins $1.2 million Opus Prize

For humanitarian work helping women escape hardship

Mali: Jihadist group intensifies religious persecution

Imposes jizyah tax on Christians for freedom of worship

For Republicans, 'pro-life is out; pro-family is in'?

Push for expanded family policy to win back the culture