Catholic News

• Pope calls idea of declaring Mary co-redemptrix 'foolishness' (Crux)
  Pope Francis made the comment during his Spanish-language homily at a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (video, booklet).
• CDF official: No link between celibacy or homosexuality and pedophilia (Revista Palabra (Spanish))
  While denying a link between homosexuality and pedophilia, Father Jordi Bertomeu Farnos, an official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said that “a certain homosexual subculture typical of some clerical groups and present in certain seminaries or novitiates, with the consequent tolerance of active homosexual behaviors, may lead to pederasty.” The priest also criticized the notion that clerical celibacy was a medieval innovation; instead, he said, scholars have shown that it dates from the time of the Gospels.
• Chaldean patriarch calls for muted Christmas celebrations in Iraq (AP)
  “It’s not normal to celebrate our joy and happiness while others are dying,” said Cardinal Louis Raphaël I Sako, referring to the killing of hundreds of demonstrators.
• Prelate foresees 'hard times' for Church in Lebanon (Aid to the Church in Need)
  “We are living like in an earthquake,” said Melkite Greek Catholic Archbishop George Bacouni of Beirut, the capital of the Middle Eastern nation of 6.1 million (map). “We’re facing enormous economic problems, including a failing banking system … There’s a risk of losing the young generation: they don’t want to stay in Lebanon.”
• Pope marks 50th anniversary of priestly ordination (Vatican News)
  Born in 1936, the future Pope Francis entered the Society of Jesus in 1958 and was ordained to the priesthood on December 13, 1969. Archbishop José Gómez of Los Angeles, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, called for prayers for the Pope.
• Priest, ex-spokesman for 9 Indian dioceses, arrested, accused of fraud (CNS)
  Father Anand Muttungal, 47, has been charged with “cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust,” according to the report.
• Independent abortion clinics bemoan their shrinking numbers (National Right to Life News)
  The number of independent abortion clinics in the US—that is, those not affiliated with Planned Parenthood, hospitals, or physician’s offices—has fallen over 32% since 2012.
• 'Avoid ecumenical Christmas celebrations during the Advent season,' Indonesian archbishop advises (UCANews)
  “A number of Catholics attend many ecumenical Christmas celebrations held by clans from early December,” said Archbishop Kornelius Sipayung of Medan. “This has seen the number of Catholics attending Christmas Masses decrease significantly because people become tired of going to many Christmas celebrations.”
• Man charged with burning down New Jersey parish (NorthJersey.com)
  The parish, Most Blessed Sacrament Church, is located in Franklin Lakes, a town of 11,000.
• No eulogies at funeral Masses, Cardinal Cupich affirms (National Catholic Reporter)
  “Eulogies, stories, and favorite songs are most appropriately shared during this time of visitation at the Evening Vigil,” the Archdiocese of Chicago’s revised guidelines state. During the funeral Mass, “the pastor of the parish may allow a reflection by one individual. This is to take place between the Post-Communion prayer and the end of Mass. The personal reflections should be limited to 3 minutes and are to be presented in writing to the pastoral minister assisting the family in advance of the service.”
• Illinois court dismisses Catholic school principal's retaliatory discharge claim (Religion Clause)
  Mary Rehfield sued the Diocese of Joliet in 2017. She alleged she was fired “because she had reported threatening conduct from a parent to the police” and that diocesan officials were “making her a scapegoat for a situation they found embarrassing and problematic.”
• USCCB awards $1.6M to projects in Central, Eastern Europe (USCCB)
  A subcommittee of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops has granted funds to 100 projects in 22 formerly Communist nations. The grants are funded by a collection that is taken up in many dioceses on Ash Wednesday.
• Austrian bishop joins Archbishop Viganò in denouncing pro-LGBT concert at Vienna cathedral (LifeSite News)
  Bishop Andreas Laun, OSFS, 77, is the retired auxiliary bishop of Salzburg.
• Cardinal Tagle: Listening, interpersonal relationships are crucial for evangelization (Fides)
  Speaking in Manila, the new prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples discussed the importance of “listening to God and listening to each other with patience, interest and attention. This is a necessary first step in evangelization.” Young people and women, he added, should have a great involvement in evangelization: the former “know the digital world better than us and can give us wonderful advice,” while the latter “have a natural predisposition to interpersonal communication: let us also learn from them.”
• German Catholics complete final preparations for 'synodal way' (CNS)
  “Our bishops’ conference verified the issues—authority, participation, the separation of powers, sexual morality, the priestly form of life, women in Church services and orders—and wishes to face these issues, especially because a vast number of believers await this,” said Matthias Kopp, the bishops’ spokesman.
• World peace requires 'ecological conversion,' Pope says in annual message (CWN)
  Peace is “a great and precious value, the object of our hope and the aspiration of the entire human family,” Pope Francis writes in his message for the World Day of Peace.
• Pope thanks Congregation for clear guidance in recognition of saints (Vatican Press Office)
  “The witness of the blesseds and saints enlightens us, attracts us, and also challenges us,” Pope Francis said during a December 12 audience with the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The Pontiff said that the work of the Congregation, which is marking its 50th anniversary this year, “makes it possible to clear the field of any ambiguity or doubt” in the recognition of saints.
• 2 men enter Belgian basilica, make death threats against worshippers (Brussels Times)
  Consecrated in 1935, the National Basilica of the Sacred Heart (photograph) is located in Koekelberg, a suburb of Brussels.
• Pope recalls suffering of Ukrainian Catholics under Soviet rule (Vatican Press Office)
  The Byzantine-rite Eparchy of Mukachevo “is the mother of many martyrs, who with their own blood confirmed their fidelity to Christ, to the Catholic Church, and to the Bishop of Rome,” Pope Francis said in a December 11 audience marking the 30th anniversary of the emergence of the eparchy from hiding. “In particular, let us remember the Blessed Martyr Bishop Teodor Romzha, who in the darkest moments of your history was able to guide God’s people with evangelical wisdom and courage.”
• Vatican declares 27 new martyrs (Vatican Press Office)
  In a series of decrees issued on December 12, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints proclaimed 17 new martyrs from the Spanish civil war. The Congregation also approved a miracle through the intercession of Maria Luigia of the Blessed Sacrament, a 19th-century Italian religious; and acknowledged the heroic virtue of six other candidates for beatification from Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Brazil.
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