Catholic News

• Pope Francis: Canaanite woman shows importance of faith, trust
  Reflecting on the Gospel of the day (Mt. 15:21-28), Pope Francis said in his August 20 Angelus address that the Canaanite woman’s “insistence on invoking Christ’s intervention is a stimulus for us not to be discouraged, not to despair when we are oppressed by life’s harsh trials.”
• Vatican Secretary of State, Russian patriarch to discuss Ukraine
  A staff member of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Synodal Department for External Church Relations said that Ukraine is on the agenda of Cardinal Pietro Parolin’s upcoming meeting with Patriarch Kirill.
• Pope laments ‘inhuman violence’ of recent terrorist attacks
  At the conclusion of his August 20 Angelus address, Pope Francis spoke about recent terrorist attacks.
• Don’t watch life from a balcony, Pope tells Communion and Liberation gathering
  In a message signed by the Vatican Secretary of State, Pope Francis encouraged participants in Communion and Liberation’s annual summer gathering in Rimini, Italy, not to “watch reality from the balcony, nor to sit comfortably on the couch to watch the world pass by on TV.”
• Bishop demands end to Mapuche violence against churches
  A Chilean bishop called upon radical activists of the indigenous Mapuche people to stop burning down churches, according to a Fides report.
• Vatican Observatory bloggers cover eclipse
  Bloggers associated with the Vatican Observatory Foundation are covering the solar eclipse taking place in the United States.
• USCCB: prelate decries Barcelona terrorist attack
  The chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace lamented the August 17 terrorist attack in Barcelona.
• Cardinal Urosa: Venezuelan bishops reject foreign military intervention, whether from US or Cuba 
  The Catholic bishops of Venezuela “reject any foreign military interference” despite the country’s critical situation, said Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino of Caracas.
• Pope ‘greatly disturbed’ by Barcelona attack, prays for victims 
  Pope Francis has sent a statement of sympathy and a promise of prayers to the victims of terrorist attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, Spain.
• Cardinal Parolin, Patriarch Kirill won’t discuss papal visit 
  When he visits Moscow later this month, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, will not be making plans for a papal visit to Russia, according to a spokesman for the Russian Catholic bishops’ conference.
• Prominent English theologian says canon law should allow for correction of Pontiff
  A noted English theologian has proposed amending the Code of Canon Law to include “a procedure for calling to order a Pope who teaches error.”
• Over 1 million people have fled South Sudan for Uganda 
  More than 1 million refugees from South Sudan have flooded into Uganda, as the situation in the war-torn African country becomes intolerable.
• Canadian bishops: ‘We cannot accept the unethical way Canadian mining companies have been operating in Latin America ‘ 
  The Catholic bishops of Canada have issued a letter condemning “the unethical way Canadian mining companies have been operating in Latin America or other regions of the world.”
• Cardinal Medina: no Communion, funeral for pro-abortion politicians without public repentance 
  A Chilean cardinal has warned politicians that if they support the legalization of abortion, they must not receive the Eucharist until they make a public act of repentance.
• Australian prelate urges faithful to vote against same-sex marriage 
  An Australian archbishop has urged Catholics to register to vote, in advance of a unusual postal referendum on legal recognition of same-sex marriage.
• Filipino bishop decries terrorists’ plan to use hostages as suicide bombers
  A Catholic bishop in the Philippines has denounced the reported plan of an Islamic terrorist group to force hostages into the role of suicide bombers.
• Catholic marriages in Scotland plunge to 1941 level 
  A prominent Scottish priest has called for “systematic and intensified preaching and catechesis on marriage,” noting that the number of Catholic marriages in Scotland has dropped to its lowest level in more than 70 years.
• Chinese officials close down Buddhist monk’s crisis-pregnancy center
  Chinese officials have closed down a home run by a Buddhist monk to provide for abandoned babies and women in crisis pregnancies.
• To help flood victims, Caritas Vietnam avoids government involvement
  Catholic relief workers in Vietnam are avoiding involvement with the government in order to deliver supplies to flood victims in the remote Yen Bai province.
• Papal sympathy for victims of accident on Madeira
  Pope Francis has sent a message of condolence to the victims of an accident on the Portuguese island of Madeira.
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