Stories for October 2023

Ordered from most to least recent.

Released Tuesday, Oct. 31

 Rome’s chief rabbi: pray for peace, but resist evil
 US bishops’ spokesman decries ‘false narrative’ about border security
 African bishops made voices heard at Synod, Cameroon prelate says
 Sexual abuse survivors question why Pope took so long to waive statute of limitations in Rupnik case
 Bishop urges Catholics to stick to church funerals amid rise of ‘direct cremations’
 Cardinals Cupich, McElroy say ‘impossible to go back’ to synods without lay voters
 Cardinal Eijk reflects on secularization of Netherlands
 Leaders find hope, challenges in new Hispanic-ministry plan
 New Orleans archdiocese to close or merge 13 parishes
 Assault at San Francisco parish leads to police pursuit, reported pipe bomb
 Vatican will hear appeals from 2 closed Catholic parishes in St. Louis Archdiocese
 From draft to final text: 10 ways the Synod report changed
 Spanish bishops apologize for abuse, question estimated number of victims
 In world’s largest Catholic country, relatively little interest in synod process
 Feds agree to repair Native American sacred site
 USCCB action alert: ‘Tell the EEOC: Christians have a right to free speech too!’

Released Monday, Oct. 30

 Another priest kidnapped in Nigeria
 Dutch bishop: Synod downplays salvation, Church history
 German bishops’ leader sees ‘huge step’ in Synod statement on sexuality
 Cardinal Müller complains Synod ‘abusing the Holy Spirit’
 Pope encourages Italian women working against Mafia
 Vatican ‘foreign minister’ speaks with Iranian counterpart about Holy Land
 Pope: May Mary inspire the leaders of nations to seek paths of peace
 Renewed papal prayer for victims of hurricane in Mexico
 Pontiff calls for Israel-Hamas ceasefire, hostage release
 Reflect the love of God by loving others, Pope tells pilgrims
 Synod, October 29: Pope Francis concludes Synod session with call to adoration, service
 Synod, October 28: participants approve synthesis report; some advocates for change in Catholic teaching express disappointment

Released Saturday, Oct. 28

 Synod, October 27: over 1,200 amendments proposed to draft synthesis report

Released Friday, Oct. 27

 Nicaragua closes down 25 non-profits
 Wanda Poltawska, friend and ally of John Paul II, dead at 101
 Papal prayers for Mexican hurricane victims
 Vatican seeks mediation, release of hostages in Gaza
 Draft Synod document calls for more debate on controversial issues
 Pope allows new investigation in Rupnik case
 Catholic share of Ireland’s population falls to 69%
 USCCB marks 25th anniversary of International Religious Freedom Act
 Maine bishop laments Lewiston shootings
 Slovenian government officials angered by Father Rupnik’s incardination in diocese
 Jerusalem Patriarch predicts Gaza Christians will emigrate
 Synod, October 26: participants discuss synthesis report, which will be merely ‘transitory’

Released Thursday, Oct. 26

 Pope signs excuse slip for young Synod delegate to miss college classes
 Pope speaks with Turkey’s Erdogan about war in Holy Land
 Papal abuse commission reaching out to Rupnik victims
 Pope sees ‘theological problem’ with female deacons
 Cardinal Zuppi: Hamas is Palestinians’ worst enemy
 Vatican approves beatification cause for Indian victims of anti-Christian mob
 Pope names new leading prelate for Slovak Greek Catholic Church
 USCCB president discusses his synod experience, says Christ invites people to conversion
 Argentine nun’s sainthood cause advances
 Lead bishop for environment makes plea to UK prime minister ahead of COP28
 Judge blocks Colorado’s ban on abortion pill reversal treatments
 Ukrainian Catholic leader: Synodality should lead to holiness, not ‘a different place’
 Pope Francis encourages Rainbow Catholic network in efforts to decriminalize homosexuality
 Georgia Supreme Court upholds state’s 6-week abortion ban
 Caritas mourns colleague’s death in Israeli airstrike on Gaza church

Released Wednesday, Oct. 25

 God’s holy people are infallible, Pope tells Synod
 Synod, October 25: Assembly approves message: listen to everyone
 Buffalo diocese offers $100 million to settle abuse claims
 Hungary’s Catholic population dropping
 Cardinal Fernandez appointed to canonical dicastery
 Help people stay home, Pope says in message to Migration Festival
 Pope renews plea for peace, release of hostages in Gaza
 Pope cites Sts. Cyril and Methodius as models of inculturation
 One Nigerian monk killed by kidnappers; two others freed
 Orthodox priests expelled from Russian-occupied Ukraine
 Spanish archdiocese schedules beatification for 20 martyrs
 Head of LGBT ministry receives encouraging note from Pope
 Rupnik transferred to Slovenian diocese

Released Tuesday, Oct. 24

 Polish bishop resigns after sex scandal in diocese
 US abortion numbers slightly up since Dobbs decision?
 Cardinal Schönborn says Pope could change Catechism on homosexuality
 Jerusalem Patriarch condemns violence, urges two-state solution
 Oklahoma AG sues in effort to block Catholic charter school
 USCCB, Pentecostal representatives discuss vocation
 California diocese warns against impostor priests
 Renewed papal call for prayer, fasting on October 27
 Pope laments war in Holy Land: ‘Brothers, stop!’
 Synod, October 23-24: Father Radcliffe compares year between Synod sessions to pregnancy; Cardinal Schönborn speaks

Released Monday, Oct. 23

 No arms in outer space, pleads Vatican representative at UN
 Australian archbishop: don’t blame all Synod proposals on Holy Spirit
 Synod spiritual adviser sees time of ‘germination’ before 2024 meeting
 Biden, Pope discuss Middle East in phone call
 Catholicism faces decline in Latin America, CELAM report shows
 African bishops plead for peace in Democratic Republic of Congo
 Pope denounces Western efforts to export democracy
 German bishop at Synod: no clinging to tradition
 Synod, October 21-22: German bishop says apostolic Tradition needs to be set aside
 Israeli airstrike hits historic Orthodox parish in Gaza
 ‘We must not be slaves to any earthly power,’ Pope tells pilgrims
 Bosnian leader meets with Pontiff
 Pope leads moment of prayer for migrants and refugees
 Synod, October 20: participants discuss authority and authoritarianism

Released Sunday, Oct. 22

 Background: World Mission Sunday

Released Friday, Oct. 20

 Former auditor: Vatican officials saw auditing as espionage
 Three monks kidnapped in Nigeria
 Pope to preside at closing Mass for Synod assembly
 Fraudulent statue scheme in Philippines attributed to artificial intelligence
 Bad investments are not crimes, lawyers argue in Vatican trial
 World Catholic population slightly up in 2021
 Franciscan University offers safe haven for Jewish students experiencing anti-Semitism
 Pope to celebrate memorial Mass for Pope Benedict Nov. 3
 Hospital attack evokes ‘disbelief, horror,’ says Catholic aid organization spokesman
 World Jewish Congress leader asks Pope Francis to work for release of Israeli hostages
 Report: laywoman’s speech at Synod opposing women’s ordination draws big ovation
 Statistician: North Dakota is most religious state; Alaska, least religious
 Synod, October 19: Cardinal Czerny says ‘identification’ between Holy Orders and Church offices is being ‘overcome’

Released Thursday, Oct. 19

 Vatican trials cause awkward situations for Pope, Secretariat of State
 Mexican diocese building shrine to Cristero martyrs
 Irish president meets with Pontiff
 Nigerian nuns released by kidnappers
 After elections, bishops of Ecuador call for ‘building together the common good’
 Following agreement with Vatican, Nicaragua releases 12 priests, sends them to Rome
 Pope splits Argentine diocese into two
 USCCB announces Catholic Campaign for Human Development’s 2021-22 grant recipients
 Agenda announced for US bishops’ meeting in November
 In defeat for LGBTQ advocates, India’s Supreme Court refuses to redefine marriage
 Synod, October 18: Cardinal Hollerich calls for ‘small but sensitive changes’ in Church governance

Released Wednesday, Oct. 18

 King of Lesotho meets with Pontiff
 Synod organizers decline to name members of committee drafting final report
 Religious leaders ‘disappear’ in Russian-occupied Ukraine
 Rocket strike hits Christian hospital in Gaza
 Pope, at general audience, pays tribute to St. Charles de Foucauld
 Synod, October 17: Vatican spokesman mentions ‘reinstatement of female diaconate’
 UK Catholic teacher who refused to teach gender ideology could be banned from classroom for life
 Franciscan University of Steubenville bucks Ohio’s declining enrollment trends
 Percentage of Catholics has declined in most states since 2008
 Wichita bishop issues pastoral letter on liturgical music
 Pope Francis meets with US LGBT group previously denounced by Vatican
 Gold-plated cross stolen from Arizona parish
 Ethiopian bishops lament continued violence
 Pope Francis calls Catholic faithful of parish in Gaza

Released Tuesday, Oct. 17

 Spanish foundation cancels event featuring Archbishop Gänswein
 Pope, in interview, says Church must change
 Pope to join UN climate conference in Dubai in November?
 Benedictine priest removed from ministry over hush-money charge
 Colombian archbishop: Synod cannot endorse same-sex blessings
 Leading Argentine presidential candidate is critic of Pope Francis
 Christians in Gaza choosing to stay
 US bishops encourage faithful to join in day of prayer and fasting for peace in Holy Land
 Retired Australian bishop under investigation for abuse retains control of 9 diocesan charities
 ‘Veiled threat’ against Los Angeles Catholic schools leads to closings
 Bahrain’s king visits Vatican, meets with Pope
 University of Notre Dame’s president to step down at end of academic year
 Synod, October 16: women’s ordination to diaconate, LGBTQ ‘woundedness’ gain greater prominence
 Peruvian president meets with Pontiff
 Franciscan friars pray, fast in Nazareth

Released Monday, Oct. 16

 Israeli foreign minister asks Pope to condemn Hamas
 Jerusalem Patriarch offers to replace hostages
 World Council of Churches questions ban on Ukrainian Orthodox
 World hunger caused by injustices, Pope says in World Food Day message
 Chinese bishops leave Synod early
 Former Irish president decries Catholic ‘sexist humbug’
 Australian voters reject bid to broaden indigenous rights; bishop foresees more efforts
 US bishops’ support cited in passage of law now aimed to accommodate abortions
 Synod, October 14-15: presiding sister says Synod is ‘setting the stage for future changes’
 ‘Have big dreams: God has them too,’ Pope tells young leaders
 Papal message for 200th anniversary of Pope Pius VII’s death
 ‘Without prayer there is no mission’: Pope emphasizes Eucharistic adoration in encouraging Scalabrinian migrant ministry
 Pope issues apostolic exhortation for 150th anniversary of St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s birth
 Papal appeal for protection of Armenian churches in Nagorno-Karabakh
 Papal call for prayer, fasting for peace on October 17
 Pope Francis calls for humanitarian corridors to help those under siege in Gaza
 Do not be deaf to God’s invitations, Pope tells pilgrims

Released Saturday, Oct. 14

 Synod, October 13: Cardinal Hollerich asks participants to set aside their own thinking, listen to others

Released Friday, Oct. 13

 Cardinal Müller criticizes DDF response to Czech dubia
 Russia closes churches in occupied Ukraine
 Vatican News highlights visit by Whoopi Goldberg
 Vatican ready to mediate in Holy Land
 Synod organizers will not identify members of small discussion groups
 Jerusalem Patriarch announces day of prayer, fasting for peace
 Papal prayer for Brazilians on feast of Our Lady of Aparecida
 New bishop discusses challenges, opportunities for Church in Finland
 Percentage of Asian Americans who are Christian falls to 34%
 Catholic Relief Services scrambles to recover after devastating Afghan earthquakes
 Confidential Synod documents posted to unsecured server
 USCCB’s Respect Life novena begins
 Synod, October 12: participants pray for peace

Released Thursday, Oct. 12

 Israeli envoy welcomes Pope’s support
 Caritas Jerusalem suspends work, prepares emergency plan
 Ohio governor opposed amendment to ensure abortion access
 Fire damages papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo
 Cardinal Zen critiques Vatican response to dubia
 Court blocks plan for Mass outside Wichita abortion clinic
 Synod, October 11: some participants call for ‘greater discernment’ of Catholic teaching on sexual morality
 Holy See condemns violence in Democratic Republic of Congo
 A synod ‘does not have doctrinal authority,’ Mexican dubia cardinal says
 Patriarch Pizzaballa fears long war in Gaza, calls for ceasefire
 Catholic Medical Association denounces trans procedures
 Despite prejudices, many Catholics helped rescue Jews in Nazi-occupied Italy
 Theologians and scientists praise, critique Pope Francis’ climate exhortation
 US bishops to elect new secretary, committee chairmen at fall meeting

Released Wednesday, Oct. 11

 New York pregnancy-help center files suit against vandals
 COP28 leader thanks Pope for climate-change advocacy
 Vatican prosecution focus: crime or conspiracy theory?
 Pope affirms Israeli right to self-defense, expresses concern about Gaza blockade
 Ukrainian Catholic leaders say they stand with Israel, condemn ‘scale and pitiless nature of the assault’ from Hamas
 12-year-olds charged in vandalism at Massachusetts church
 Pope Francis calls Gaza priest as Israel announces blockade
 Pope, at general audience, pays tribute to St. Josephine Bakhita
 Synod, October 10: participants discuss 2nd topic, elect members of key commission
 At conference in Rome, Cardinal Parolin defends Pius XII’s wartime record

Released Tuesday, Oct. 10

 Lilly Endowment grants aimed to improve Catholic preaching
 Christian presence in Gaza endangered by war
 French President Macron wants abortion right in constitution
 Sri Lanka’s bishops seek release of intelligence reports on Easter bombings
 Covid cases at Synod meeting, but sessions continue
 Pope appoints religious sister as #2 official of consecrated life dicastery
 Cardinal Parolin decries ‘terrible, despicable attack’ against Israel
 New Zealand bishops urge politicians to focus on real issues, not trivia
 Abuse survivors weigh in on the Synod
 Indigenous Catholics should ‘have a seat at the table’ in the Church, say two bishops
 Oklahoma board OKs proposed Catholic charter school contract
 Synod, October 9: participants turn to new topic; Orthodox prelate draws sharp contrast between Eastern synodality, current Synod

Released Monday, Oct. 9

 Ukraine parliament weighs measure to outlaw Russia-linked Orthodox Church
 Israeli embassy cautions Pope against moral equivalence
 Laudate Deum encourages technocratic approach, scholar warns
 Vatican budget faces serious structural deficit, official warns
 Indonesia adopts Christian name for Jesus to avoid controversy
 Belgian bishop says euthanasia not always wrong
 Lebanese Patriarch: Holy Spirit is protagonist in Church’s mission and Synod
 Iowa diocese’s guidelines praised as a ‘milestone’ by LGBTQ advocates
 Pope encourages pilgrims to be grateful to God
 Papal tribute to Our Lady of Montserrat
 Papal message calls for inclusive, caring economy
 USCCB releases prayers for mental health novena
 Synod, October 7-8: working groups submit first reports; leading African cardinal emphasizes listening, discernment
 Pope, other Church leaders plead for peace in Holy Land

Released Saturday, Oct. 7

 Synod, October 6: discussion of 1st topic nears close; Vatican spokesman says participants may speak with media

Released Friday, Oct. 6

 Vatican publishes new book of Pope’s essays
 Secretariat of State not consulted on new papal document
 Irish police make arrests, enforcing abortion clinic buffer zones
 Professors criticize New York Times claim that Holy See burned astronomers
 Irish bishops urge lawmakers not to legalize assisted suicide
 Italian archbishop: Proclaiming Jesus is ‘the greatest urgency’
 Congressman calls on Pope Francis to be ‘fearless on China’
 Ecological activists at Vatican event respond to Laudate Deum
 Americans’ preference for larger families highest since 1971
 Colorado Supreme Court to hear cake baker’s latest religious freedom case
 Bishops’ ministry joins campaign in Brazil against privatization of prisons
 Synod, October 5: ‘Expert-facilitators’ guide discussion; final report will form agenda of 2024 Synod session

Released Thursday, Oct. 5

 Manipulation of Synods has become a pattern, Pentin argues
 India’s Cardinal Telesphore Toppo dead at 83
 Vandalism at Maine church causes ‘hundreds of thousands of dollars’ in damage
 Bishop Fernandes welcomes Laudate Deum, links ecological and pro-life concerns
 Mother Teresa’s postulator says new film’s creators made ‘grave errors’
 Synod, October 4: Pope emphasizes role of Holy Spirit; Cardinal Hollerich calls for ‘new insights’
 Synod of Bishops publishes retreat texts
 19% of Italians attend Mass weekly
 Catholic educators escape death in Cameroon school attack
 US bishops to study new exhortation on the environment

Released Wednesday, Oct. 4

 Cardinal Zen fears ‘plan of manipulation’ at Synod
 Vietnamese court sentences Christian for ‘undermining unity’
 New papal document puts climate change before faith [news analysis]
 Bishop Barron: Feelings are not an argument for changing Church’s teaching, discipline
 Diocese of Phoenix to open seminary
 Boston archdiocese opposes canceling civil statute of limitations for abuse claims
 Pro-life display vandalized at St. Louis parish
 Dictatorship in Nicaragua arrests 3 priests
 PA bishop comments on Pope’s remarks on blessing same-sex unions
 Nigeria: 8 killed on independence day in latest round of Plateau attacks
 Bankruptcy court pauses sexual abuse suits against Baltimore Catholic parishes, schools
 Bishop Strickland issues letter on marriage, abortion; in tweet, decries ‘blasphemies emanating from Rome’
 Pope at Synod’s opening Mass: Let us walk with the Holy Spirit
 USCCB weighs in on new conscience-protection regulations
 Cardinal Burke says his concerns about Synod are sign of faith

Released Tuesday, Oct. 3

 Former US ambassador regrets conflict between Israel, Armenia
 Climate activists to introduce new papal document at Vatican press conference
 Cardinal Fernandez raps cardinals for persisting in dubia
 Pope praises ‘silent work’ of the Little Sisters of Jesus
 11 people dead after church roof collapses in Mexico
 Papal telegram to Iraqi Christian community after tragic wedding fire
 Vatican responds to Czech cardinal’s dubia on divorced and remarried Catholics
 Vatican publishes Pope’s response to cardinals’ dubia
 Judge blocks 2 provisions in North Carolina’s new abortion law
 US bishops’ migration chairman welcomes President Biden’s commitment to refugee resettlement

Released Monday, Oct. 2

 Suspects arrested in death of Nigerian seminarian
 Papal nuncio in US dismisses papal critics
 Papal encouragement for Pontifical Society of the Holy Childhood
 Baltimore archdiocese enters bankruptcy
 Cardinals send new ‘dubia’ to Pope, plead for clarity
 Abuse survivors demand that Pope Francis remove ‘totally inappropriate’ Cardinal Fernández from office
 Apostolic exhortation on St. Thérèse of Lisieux to be published on October 15
 Pontiff: Pray the Rosary for peace in Ukraine, evangelization, Synod
 Papal appeal for humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh
 Priest slain by Nazis beatified in Italy
 ‘Sinners yes, corrupt no’: papal reflection on parable of the two sons
 Pope, at ecumenical prayer vigil, reflects on importance of silence
 October papal prayer intention: for the Synod

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