Catholic News

• Mary 'walked and sang,' Pope Francis preaches on feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Vatican News)
  “Mary teaches us that, regarding the art of mission and hope, lots of words and programs are not necessary,” Pope Francis preached at a Mass on December 12 in St. Peter’s Basilica (video, booklet). “Her method is very simple: she walked and she sang.”
• Gunman attacks Christmas market in Strasbourg (ABC News)
  Shouting “Allahu akbar” (Allah is great), the gunman killed three and injured 12 during a terrorist attack on the Christmas market in front of Strasbourg Cathedral (photograph). Strasbourg is a city of 275,000 in eastern France and headquarters of the European Parliament, which Pope Francis visited in 2014.
• Pope prays for gift of children for childless families, respect for life in the womb (Vatican Press Office)
  Following his general audience on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pope Francis said, “St. John Paul II commended to her maternal protection the life and innocence of children, especially those who run the risk of not being born. By her intercession, in this time of Advent, let us implore the gift of children for families without children, respect for the conceived life and the openness of hearts to Gospel values.”
• Pope will visit Bulgaria, Macedonia in 2019 (Vatican Press Office)
  Pope Francis will travel to Bulgaria in May 2019, the Vatican has announced. The papal trip will include visits to Sofia and Rakovski in Bulgaria, and to Skopje—the birthplace of Mother Teresa of Calcutta—in Macedonia.
• Respect the human rights of migrants, Vatican Secretary of State says at UN migration conference (Holy See Mission)
  164 nations approved the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration at a UN conference in Marrakech, Morocco. This was Cardinal Pietro Parolin’s third address at the conference; click here and here for the first two.
• Work for peace, Pope exhorts new ambassadors (Vatican Press Office)
  As he welcomed new ambassadors to the Holy See on December 13, Pope Francis encouraged them to recognize “the futility of armed conflict and the need to resolve conflicts through patient dialogue and negotiation.” The Pope recalled the 100th anniversary of the end of World War II, “a tragedy of immense proportions,” and the 70th anniversary of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Pope accepted the diplomatic credentials of new ambassadors to the Holy See from the Bahamas, Cape Verde, Estonia, Gambia, Grenada, Iceland, Malta, Qatar, Switzerland, and Turkmenistan.
• Judge sides with 6 religious colleges, groups in HHS contraceptive mandate decision (The Hill)
  The six organizations are Association of Christian Schools International, Samaritan Ministries International, Taylor University, Indiana Wesleyan University, Asbury Theological Seminary and Alliance Defending Freedom.
• Papal message to FAO stresses concern for environment, poverty (Vatican Press Office)
  “The earth must be treated with tenderness,” Pope Francis said in a message sent to a study day on water organized by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. The papal message concentrated on care for the environment and for the poor. To cure poverty and want, the Pontiff said, “it would be enough to eliminate injustices and inequities and put in place far-sighted and far-reaching policies.”
• Panama archbishop: World Youth Day will be a 'great celebration of faith' (Vatican News)
  The 2019 World Youth Day will take place in Panama from January 22 to 27.
• Bishops of 3 Southeast Asian nations declare 'extraordinary mission year' (Fides)
  A worldwide extraordinary missionary month (October 2019) will mark the 100th anniversary of Pope Benedict XV’s apostolic letter Maxime Illud. The bishops of Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei have extended the missionary theme to the whole year. Malaysia and Brunei are only 9% Christian, and Singapore is 7% Christian.
• ROCOR bishops: Constantinople's recognition of Ukrainian Orthodox Church is 'threat to the Church of Christ' (Moscow Patriarchate)
  Founded in 1920 and based in New York, the Russian Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) was granted full communion by the Moscow Patriarchate in 2007.
• English bishops 'stand in solidarity with' EU citizens living in UK (Catholic Church in England and Wales)
  With Brexit, the UK government “will soon launch a settlement scheme, offering EU citizens living here a legal route to remain,” said Bishop Paul McAleenan. “While this is an important step we understand that, especially for people who have contributed to our society over many years, it may feel unjust and divisive that they are now required to apply for permission to stay.” Bishop McAleenan said that the majority of EU citizens living in the UK are Catholic.
• Sicilian city honors its patroness, St. Lucy (Siracusa News (Italian))
  Archbishop Emil Paul Tscherrig, apostolic nuncio to Italy, presided at Mass at the cathedral in Syracuse, Sicily (video).
• East African bishops appeal for prayer for South Sudan (Fides)
  The South Sudanese Civil War began in 2013. South Sudan’s government and a leading rebel group signed a peace agreement in summer 2018; some rebel groups did not sign the agreement.
• Ecumenical Patriarch calls for 'ascetic spirit of frugality and moderation' in face of poverty (Ecumenical Patriarchate)
  In an address in South Korea, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew said, “It is a fact that greed, luxury, opulence and avarice are, indeed, incompatible with the teaching of Christ. How can a wealthy Christian justify his wealth when there are so many poor around him?” Born in 1940, Bartholomew became Ecumenical Patriarch in 1991; he holds a primacy of honor among the Orthodox churches.
• Pastor in India arrested for showing film about Jesus (AsiaNews)
  The arrest took place in Bakhtiyarpur, a city of 50,000 in the state of Bihar (map).
• Tuition tax credit unconstitutional because it benefits religious schools, Montana Supreme Court declares (The Missoulian)
  The law, enacted in 2015, allowed for a tax credit of up to $150 for donations to student scholarship organizations.
• Holy Land tourism up 14% in 2018 (AsiaNews)
  Sobhy Makhoul, who is quoted in the article, is director of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land’s Christian Media Center.
• In Paris, appeal launched for Christians in the Middle East (La Croix)
  “This is the first time that Christian and Muslim religious have come together to unambiguously condemn the terrorist actions of organizations such as ISIS as contrary to Islam and as crimes against humanity,” said Patrick Karam, president of the Coordination of Christians of the Orient in Danger (CHREDO).
• Vatican mission publication: Humanae Vitae is strong defense of African values (Omnis Terra)
  St. Paul VI issued Humanae Vitae, his encyclical letter on the regulation of birth, in 1968. Omnis Terra is published by the Pontifical Mission Societies.
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