Catholic News

• Pope advanced cause of married priests, Argentine archbishop claims (LifeSite News)
  An Argentine prelate has argued that Pope Francis advanced the campaign for married priests in Querida Amazonia, even though the topic was not mentioned in the papal document. Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez explained that the Pope wants the faithful in the Amazon region to set their own standards. While the archbishop’s interpretation clashes with most readings of the apostolic exhortation, it is significant because Archbishop Fernandez is a close ally of Pope Francis, and because his essay appeared in the official Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano.
• Vatican sees intense interest in opening of Pius XII archive (AP)
  “The Church has no reason to fear history,” Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonca, archivist of the Vatican Apostolic Archive, said during a February 20 press conference.
• Decrying right-wing extremism, Cardinal Marx condemns Hanau shootings (DBK (German))
  Eleven people died, and five were injured, in a shooting spree targeting hookah bars in a German city of 96,000. Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich, the president of the German Bishops’ Conference, said that “aggressive nationalism and racism cannot be justified from a Christian perspective.”
• In weekday Mass homily, Pope offers 3 steps to knowing Jesus (Vatican News)
  At a Mass celebrated in the chapel of Domus Sanctae Marthae on February 20, Pope Francis preached on Mark 8:27-33, the Gospel reading of the day.
• Portuguese lawmakers approve assisted suicide (AP)
  Portuguese legislators have approved a bill that would allow physician-assisted suicide. With the vote, Portugal will join Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and some US states in providing for legal euthanasia. The bill stipulates that assisted suicide will be legally available only to Portuguese citizens.
• In Madhya Pradesh, 8 Christians acquitted of charges of kidnapping children, forced conversions (AsiaNews)
  The central Indian state (map) is 91% Hindu, 7% Muslim, and 0.3% Christian.
• US 'troubled' by report Iranians want to raze tomb of Mordecai and Esther (Times of Israel)
  The Old Testament Book of Esther recounts the actions of Mordecai and Esther in Persia following the 6th-century B.C. exile of the Jews to Babylon.
• Organize credible elections, West Africa's bishops urge governments (Vatican News)
  The region’s bishops are also concerned “that, with the connivance of some African governments, some of Africa’s arable lands have been given to multinationals for commercial agriculture, logging, and mining operations,” according to the report.
• German defense minister calls for women deacons (National Catholic Reporter)
  “And I am for the abolition of celibacy,” added Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who also leads the Christian Democratic Union, the nation’s largest political party. “It would help to make more people enthusiastic to serve the Church.”
• Anglican primate calls for release of Boko Haram kidnapping victim (Archbishop of Canterbury)
  Leah Sharibu, 16, was among the 110 Christian girls kidnapped by Boko Haram from her school in Dapchi, Nigeria, in 2018. She is the last of the girls still in captivity, and her mother traveled to Great Britain to plead for assistance in obtaining Leah’s release.
• Ivory Coast bishops meet with president, discuss national reconciliation (Fides)
  Côte d’Ivoire, a West African nation of 26.9 million (map), is 44% Muslim, 18% Catholic, and 16% Protestant, with 22% adhering to ethnic religions. President Alassane Ouattara, 78, assumed office in 2010; he has jailed opposition leaders and announced he will seek an unconstitutional third term.
• Coronavirus prompts Korean archbishop to cancel Ash Wednesday services (UCANews)
  Archbishop Thaddeus Cho Hwan-Kii of Daegu, Korea, has announced that Ash Wednesday services will be cancelled because of the threat of the coronavirus. The archbishop directed that for three weeks, there are to be no public gatherings—including Masses—at churches in his jurisdiction.
• Bishops encourage government talks with separatists in Cameroon (Fides)
  A group of 16 Catholic bishops has written to Cameroon’s President Paul Biya, urging him to join in peace talks designed to resolve violence in the African country. The bishops recommend that the proposed talks, to be held under Swiss mediation, include “Anglophone armed-separatist groups and non-violent civil society leaders.”
• Florida diocese declares 'Safe Haven Sunday' to focus on harms of pornography (CNS)
  Bishop Gregory Parkes of St. Petersburg has set aside February 23 to address “the pervasive problem of pornography and its devastating effects on marriages and families.”
• Bill requiring care for infants who survive abortions fails in Colorado House (Washington Times)
  The Born Alive Child Physician Relationship bill would have required “the physician to exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as a reasonably diligent and conscientious physician would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age.”
• Catholic Boy Scout councils not affected by bankruptcy case, chairman says (CNS)
  The Boy Scouts of America have filed for bankruptcy because of abuse lawsuits.
• Higher cancer rates found among promiscuous (LifeSite News)
  A new scientific study has found that women who have more than 10 sexual partners in their lifetime have a 91% greater risk of contracting cancer than women with only one partner. Men with 10 or more partners had a 64% greater risk.
• Wuhan coronavirus hospital was originally Franciscan (Order of Friars Minor)
  “One of the first designated hospitals to treat the coronavirus epidemic” was named for a slain Franciscan friar when it was established in 1926, according to the Franciscan order. “By 1949, there were 150 beds, two clinics, 20 Franciscan Sisters of Christian Doctrine, and 7 nurses. In 1952, when all missionaries were expelled, the hospital was confiscated and was renamed … The Franciscan missionary presence also awaits the opportunity to continue where it left off.”
• Prelates criticize Jesuit priest's views on homosexuality (Bishop of Tyler)
  Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler (Texas) joined Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver in praising a First Things article critical of Father James Martin’s views on homosexuality. “’At odds with Catholic teaching’ means contrary to the Deposit of Faith,” Bishop Strickland said.
• Australian archbishop in Rome to discuss legal challenge to confessional seal (Catholic Leader)
  Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane is in Rome this week for talks with Vatican officials, as the Australian hierarchy plans a response to a new law that requires priests in Victoria to report evidence of child-abuse, even if it is heard in a sacramental confession. The archbishop said that he would also speak with Vatican officials about the status of Cardinal George Pell, whose appeal of a sex-abuse conviction will be heard by Australia’s top court in March.
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