Thanksgiving is celebrated in the U.S. on the latest possible date this month, but it feels like it should be this weekend — which the OSV Editorial Board had something to say about in their editorial.
With Advent coming right after the actual holiday next week, it’ll be nice to have a few days off at home to plan out our approach to the season of preparation. If you haven’t made plans yet for Advent, perhaps it’s something to discuss while cooking for, eating, or cleaning up after the Thursday feast.
Below are a couple headlines from this week that’ll also make for interesting conversation over this weekend. You can find even more on our website osvnews.com, and on social media @OSVNews.
Megan Marley
Digital Editor
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News that canonization dates have been set for Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, who have become popular patrons for teens and young adults, is being met with joy and gratitude by a number of Catholics in the U.S. Pope Francis announced Nov. 20 that he will elevate both Acutis and Frassati, both currently titled “blessed,” to sainthood in 2025, when the universal Catholic Church will mark a jubilee year.
CNS ROME: Pope says he’ll canonize Acutis, Frassati, host meeting on child’s rights
Following the Vatican’s clarification in September on the Immaculate Conception solemnity, several U.S. bishops have dispensed the faithful from the obligation to attend Mass this year on that day, while fellow bishops in other dioceses have upheld the requirement. The solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, which commemorates Mary’s preservation from original sin from the moment she was conceived, is observed annually Dec. 8 as a holy day of obligation. However, this year the feast coincides with the Second Sunday of Advent, which in the ranking of liturgical celebrations takes precedence. As a result, the observance of the solemnity has been transferred to Dec. 9.
QUESTION CORNER: Is December 9th a holy day of obligation this year?
A Brooklyn, New York, priest has been relieved of his duties as pastor after an investigation revealed he had transferred close to $2 million in parish funds to bank accounts affiliated with the embattled New York City mayor’s former chief of staff.
In the wake of recent high-profile cases of financial mismanagement at parishes, experts told OSV News that transparency, accountability and greater involvement of finance councils in parish business operations can head off losses in money — and in pastoral trust.
Starting more than 60 years ago, the U.S. Postal Service began annually issuing Christmas stamps featuring various classic artistic portrayals of Mary with the Christ Child. This year, the USPS selected as the image for this stamp a painting that has been in the collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields in Indianapolis since 1938.
MARCH FOR LIFE: Catholic groups merge events for giant pro-life youth rally before March for Life
RELIC TOUR: St. Thomas Aquinas’ skull traveling to Washington, seven Eastern states
SPECIAL COLLECTION: Annual US collection assists more than 20,000 elderly women and men religious
WATCHDOG: Survivor advocates call for universal ‘zero tolerance’ of clerical abuse
YOUTH MINISTRY: NCYC is part concert, liturgy, classroom, silly fun, but God is at center of it all
Amid controversy over religious-themed tattoos sported by defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, a U.S. office of a Vatican lay institution for the church in the Holy Land has expressed concern regarding the use of its historic insignia beyond strictly religious purposes.
WHITE HOUSE: Biden awards Cecile Richards the Presidential Medal of Freedom
U.S. BORDER: Migrants hope, pray to enter US ahead of presidential inauguration
DEATH PENALTY: Report examines ‘persistent racial disparities’ in federal death penalty use
Pope Francis, who will celebrate his 88th birthday in December, has approved simplified liturgical rites for the death of a pontiff. His body will rest in a zinc-lined wooden casket, according to the new rites. Recent popes had been buried inside a cypress wood coffin surrounded by another coffin made of lead, which was then covered by a third wooden coffin.
1,000 DAY MARK: Pope prays for dialogue, reconciliation, peace in Ukraine
CHINA: Chinese cardinal calls for ‘sinicization’ of church in China
FINANCES: Pope appoints US cardinal to manage Vatican’s troubled pension fund
JUBILEE: Pope asks parishes, religious orders to help alleviate housing crisis
PAPAL HOUSEHOLD: Pope picks Chicago priest to oversee ecology center at papal villa
PAPAL LETTER: Priests need better formation in church history to share Gospel, pope says
Archbishop Philip Subira Anyolo of Nairobi cited the bishops’ firm stance on financial donation to churches by politicians, over ethical concerns and the “need to safeguard the church from being used for political purposes.” The archbishop added that the church strongly discourages the use of church events such as fundraisers and gatherings as “platforms for political self-promotion.”
CHARITY: He is feeding 2.4 million schoolchildren every day with Our Lady as his ‘boss’
INDIA: Bishop from India’s Manipur state urges Catholics to help amid ‘terrible’ violence
POLAND: Victims of abuse call meeting with Polish bishops ‘historic’
Award-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese is debuting his latest work on Fox Nation: A new docudrama exploring the lives of the saints. The eight-episode series reaches across time and space to follow heroic men and women who dedicated their lives to God no matter the cost.
MOVIE REVIEW: “Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin.” (Angel)
MOVIE REVIEW: “Wicked” (Universal)
COLUMN: Beyond my usual list of things to be grateful for, I am particularly thankful that none of our family members will be segregating themselves by ideologies, or indulging their pique over recent elections, by absenting themselves from the table until all the other people recant their votes. It’s something I’ve wondered about these past weeks: How does the family manage to discuss politics each election cycle, express their very different viewpoints, yet remain together?
