Stories for week of November 17, 2024

Ordered from most to least recent.

Released Friday, Nov. 22

 Vatican union concerned about Pope’s plan for pension fund
 Georgetown’s president resigns after 23 years
 Ghana’s bishops to reject donations from illegal mining magnates
 Key Trump allies seek to slash federal funding for Planned Parenthood
 Cardinal Müller: ‘synodality’ at odds with Catholic teaching
 Cardinal Parolin: stop Ukraine war that ‘could spiral out of control’
 President-elect Trump can end religious discrimination, law professors argue
 Australia’s High Court rules diocese is not liable for abuse committed by priest
 Look at the world with ‘Christified eyes,’ Pope tells missionary congress
 UN official, Pontiff discuss climate action, world conflicts
 German cabinet member meets with Pope, praises Church for fostering social cohesion
 USCCB attorneys ask HHS to rescind proposed sexual orientation, gender identity regulation
 Call on others to broaden horizons, ‘overflow with inner vitality,’ Pope tells Vatican culture, education dicastery
 Church in Guinea-Bissau holds day of prayer, fasting amid oppression, hunger

Released Thursday, Nov. 21

 Citing serious imbalance, Pope names Cardinal Farrell to head Vatican pension fund
 Biden confers Medal of Freedom on former Planned Parenthood leader
 Indonesian priest’s dramatic gesture highlights trash-management problem
 Study Church history, Pope urges faithful
 Papal encouragement for Italian Catholic publishing house
 Pope Francis expresses closeness to Iran’s Catholics, says Church is not against the Iranian government
 Details announced for 2024 World Youth Day in Rome
 Amid protests, Vatican announces Christmas tree ceremony in St. Peter’s Square
 Ukraine‘s first lady meets with Pope, visits patients at Vatican children’s hospital
 Extend US bishops’ zero-tolerance policy to universal Church, survivor advocates urge
 Wyoming court strikes down state’s pro-life laws
 CCHD, US bishops’ anti-poverty program, lost $11.4M in 2023

Released Wednesday, Nov. 20

 At weekly audience, Pope speaks on charisms
 Canonizations set for Bl. Carlo Acutis, Pier Giorgio Frassati
 Pope announces plan for World Meeting on Children’s Rights
 Pope urges prayers to escape nuclear threat
 Pope Francis changes rules for papal funeral, wants plain casket
 France hit hardest in attacks on Catholic churches
 Jimmy Lai testifies at Hong Kong national-security trial
 Armenian leader discusses peace with Pontiff
 Abuse is a ‘betrayal of life,’ Pope tweets
 Iranian convert sentenced to 10 years for evangelizing
 Ukrainian Catholic leader marks 1,000 days of death, hope
 ‘Red Wednesday’ puts persecution of Christians in spotlight
 Vatican ‘foreign minister’ offers overview of diplomatic activity in Africa
 Priest executed by Nazis is beatified in Germany
 USCCB awards $8.8M to 329 projects in Central, Eastern Europe
 Pope sends letter of closeness to Ukraine, marking 1,000 days of war

Released Tuesday, Nov. 19

 Kenya archdiocese rejects donations from president
 Harris campaign showed ‘aversion’ to Catholic voters, organizer charges
 Haitian bishop: international help needed to restore order
 Vatican approves special norms for Mayan liturgy
 Brooklyn pastor’s duties trimmed for financial misconduct
 World needs more international cooperation, Cardinal Parolin tells G20
 Renewed papal appeal for prayer for peace
 2 martyred Albanian priests beatified
 End the scourge of hunger, Pope urges G20 leaders
 Make prison visits a priority, Pope tells Spanish seminarians
 Pope offers criteria for libraries
 Papal encouragement to Italian youth to encounter Jesus
 Details announced for Jubilee of the Sick and Health Care Workers
 Dioceses should commemorate local saints, blesseds each year, Pope writes
 Lebanon’s Christians fear effects of Israeli attacks

Released Monday, Nov. 18

 Pope gathers leaders of Roman Curia for Monday meeting
 Cardinal Parolin joins G20 summit
 Ukraine ceasefire could begin in hours, if Russia agreed: Cardinal Parolin
 Ghana’s bishops back legislation banning homosexual advocacy
 Pope sees ‘characteristics of genocide’ in Gaza
 Priest in Belarus faces treason trial; reasons unclear
 Pope asks pilgrims: Are we attached to worldly things, or to the Lord’s words?
 2 Jewish students attacked at Chicago’s DePaul University
 Papal direction, encouragement for ‘prophetic’ stage of Italian synod
 Papal appeal to Rome’s priests, religious to shelter those in a ‘precarious housing situation’
 Anguish and hope: papal homily for World Day of the Poor
 Recap of US bishops’ fall meeting
 USCCB president, other prelates ‘stand in firm solidarity’ with immigrants
 Vatican diplomat urges support for UN relief organization for Palestinian refugees
 Fire set in German parish
 In Mali, jihadists intensify persecution, impose jizyah tax on Christians

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Thu26 December
Christmas

Feast of St. Stephen, First Martyr

Image for Feast of St. Stephen, First Martyr

Today is the Second day in the Octave of Christmas. The Church celebrates the Feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Stoned outside Jerusalem, he died praying for his executioners. He was one of the seven deacons who helped the apostles; he was "filled with faith and with the Holy Spirit,"…

Learn more about this feast

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