Good evening!
St. Elizabeth of Hungary was a truly compassionate woman throughout her life, and we ask her prayers this week over stories where compassion has been lacking or is greatly needed, both in consideration of the Indi Gregory story and the floods affecting lives in Eastern Africa. Patience and compassion are also worth pursuing as we look at all of the discussion generated by the U.S. bishops during their plenary assembly, where a start-up initiative on mental health issues was advanced, and serious attention was paid to the challenges facing migrant and indigenous people, as well as how to address divisions within the citizenry and within the church itself. These are heavy questions that defy fast solutions, so yes to patience, yes to compassion, and yes to the celebration of holy men and women which the bishops brought forward, expressing hearty support for another sainthood cause and the hopes for the naming of a new doctor of the church.
You can find more of our stories by following us on Facebook, X (aka Twitter) and Instagram, and I’m always happy to hear your story ideas messaged to us on those platforms. Have a great weekend, and pray for peace.
Elizabeth Scalia
Culture Editor
‘Truly compassionate society protects its most vulnerable,’ U.K. bishops say after baby’s death
The father of the girl said earlier that he was not religious, but he had chosen to have his child baptized Sept. 23 after feeling the “pull of hell” in their court battle to extend her life. Indi died at 1:45 a.m. U.K. time Nov. 13.
Bishop Strickland removal is ‘administrative, not penal,’ says canon law expert
Now, Bishop Strickland is “functionally a retired bishop” who remains incardinated in his diocese, said Father John Beal, professor of canon law at The Catholic University of America.
US bishops’ meeting shows united front on mission but no clear synod action plan
Over Nov. 14-15, the bishops voted with overwhelming majorities on a range of issues, but their annual fall meeting concluded without a common game plan for how bishops could get consultative feedback from their local churches on the synod’s report from the first global session before it reconvenes in October 2024.
USCCB president on his relationships with Pope Francis and Cardinal Pierre, the synod’s influence and Bishop Strickland’s status
Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio is just beginning his second year of his three-year term as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He sat down with OSV News during a break at the fall general assembly of bishops in Baltimore Nov. 15 to answer questions about his relationship with Pope Francis and Apostolic Nuncio Cardinal Christophe Pierre; Pope Francis’ comments on the American church; how to help those hurt facing war and violence around the world; the current status of Bishop Joseph E. Strickland, and more.
Day, weekend passes now option for National Eucharistic Congress attendees
Attendees of the National Eucharistic Congress July 17-21 in Indianapolis now have the option of purchasing single-day and weekend passes in order to make attendance more affordable and flexible, the bishop overseeing the congress announced Nov. 15.
U.S. bishops support request for pope to name St. John Henry Newman doctor of the church
“The Committee on Doctrine considered this matter back in 2019 and concluded that the writings of St. John Henry Newman are truly eminent and of great relevance for the church today, especially in the areas of the development of doctrine, the moral foundations of education, the primacy of conscience, the role of the laity and the search for the truth, amongst many others, “said Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, chair of the doctrine committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
‘A son of our shores, a saint for our times’: U.S. bishops vote to support cause for Paulists founder’s canonization
Father Isaac Hecker (1819-1888) was a Catholic convert, a religious community founder and a pioneering Catholic publisher. He also may one day be recognized as a Catholic saint. The U.S. bishops voted Nov. 14 to support his cause for canonization, which was initiated by the Paulists Fathers, the order Father Hecker founded, and launched in 2008 by the Archdiocese of New York.
Bishops OK supplements to ‘Faithful Citizenship,’ affirm abortion ‘preeminent’ among issues
“The purpose of these items is to address current, recent policy issues and to incorporate the teachings of Pope Francis since the last update,” Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, explained to bishops in a presentation he gave the day before as chair of the task force charged with drafting the supplemental materials.
As floods strike eastern Africa, church leaders hope for concrete COP28 climate actions
The flooding — linked to the El Niño phenomenon caused by warming of the ocean surface — has killed dozens of people and displaced thousands in eastern Africa. The impact is being felt more in semi-arid and arid regions. Months ago, these zones were the scenes of a severe drought, which the United Nations described as the worst in 40 years.
Polish archbishop urges pope to resist German church demands
The president of the Polish bishops’ conference has criticized demands for liberal change by the church in neighboring Germany, urging the pope not to allow them to dominate the Rome Synod on Synodality.
Sagrada Família basilica in Barcelona inaugurates the towers of the Evangelists
Antonio Gaudí, a legendary Catalan architect, started working on the now-iconic basilica 140 years ago. The rector, Msgr. Josep María Turull, told the Spanish Catholic weekly Alfa y Omega that, if Gaudí were alive, he would be “very happy,” without caring about the extra century of work, because, as he used to say, the “master is in no hurry.”
