Catholic News

• Pope, US bishops discuss polarization, migration, homosexuality (CNS)
  Pope Francis received the bishops of California, Nevada, and Hawaii on January 27. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco said the Pope “made important distinctions between the (sexual) orientation and the question of marriage … And he spoke about the danger of the gender ideology and how it denies difference.” Bishop Larry Silva of Honolulu asked the Pope to clarify his distinction between evangelization and proselytism; “I have to say I am still a little confused about his distinction,” the bishop said. “I don’t know if he answered it directly.”
• Cardinal Sarah calls for end to 'sterile controversy' over celibacy book (National Catholic Register)
  “What breaks my heart and hurts me deeply is the brutality, irreverence, lack of consideration and indecency with which Benedict XVI was treated,” said the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
• 4 members of Christian aid group go missing in Baghdad, probably abducted (AsiaNews)
  Founded in 2013, the organization, SOS Chrétiens d’Orient, is present in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt.
• Indian archbishop laments acquittal of 3,700 involved in 2008 anti-Christian massacres (AsiaNews)
  An estimated 100 Christians were murdered, and 50,000 fled their homes, during a 2008 anti-Christian pogrom in the eastern Indian state of Odisha (Orissa) (map).
• Bishop offers Mass for former Auschwitz prisoners; Poland's president attends (Polish Bishops' Conference)
  The Mass took place on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
• Religious freedom violations 'manifold and unabated' in Pakistan, new report warns (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)
  In Pakistan, “violations include sectarian and targeted violence, blasphemy accusations, forced conversion and marriage, hate speech and biased education,” according to the report. Islam is the official religion of the South Asian nation of 211 million (map); 96% of Pakistan’s people are Muslim, 2% are Christian, and 1% are Hindu.
• Human trafficking becoming normal in Papua New Guinea, bishops warn (Fides)
  Christianity is the official religion of the western Pacific nation of 7.1 million (map). The nation is 64% Protestant and 31% Catholic, with 3% adhering to ethnic religions.
• Trump signs bill to protect religious institutions from terror attacks (Washington Times)
  President Donald Trump has signed into law a new measure that provides $75 million funding, through the Department of Homeland Security, for protection of religious institutions from terrorist attacks.
• Minnesota archdiocese settles case, accepts prosecutor's oversight (WCCO)
  The Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis has settled a civil action brought by Ramsey Country prosecutor John Choi, accepting a settlement in which the archdiocese admits guilt in failing to curb sexual abuse, and recognizes the prosecutor’s oversight of new child-safety programs.
• Irish priest nixes Sinn Fein meeting in parish, citing abortion stand (CNA)
  A Catholic pastor in Coalisland, in County Tyrone, has refused to allow a meeting of the Sinn Fein political party in the parish hall. Father Eugene O’Neill explained that the meeting in a Catholic facility would have been inappropriate insofar because of Sinn Fein’s stand in support of legal abortion.
• Humanae Vitae was prophetic, Paris archbishop says in new book (Archdiocese of Paris (French))
  Archbishop Michel Aupetit was installed as Archbishop of Paris in 2018. Pope St. Paul VI issued Humanae Vitae, his encyclical letter on the regulation of birth, in 1968.
• Indonesian president invites Pope Francis to visit nation (UCANews)
  The Southeast Asian nation (map), the world’s fourth most populous (265 million), has more Muslims than any other country. The nation is 80% Muslim and 12% Christian.
• Philippine bishops issue pastoral message on natural disasters (CBCP News)
  “There is nothing about God’s anger or punishment or vengeance in all this,” Archbishop Romulo Valles, president of the bishops’ conference, said in reaction to the Taal Volcano eruption. “This is just how our world is.”
• Abortion clinics closing at an unprecedented rate (Human Defense Initiative)
  “In 2018, 40 independent clinics closed or no longer qualified as abortion facilities,” according to the report. “Currently, there are six states with only one remaining surgical abortion center … Ohio has gone from 45 in 1992 to just 10 in 2018; and Missouri from 12 to two.”
• Leading Nigerian prelate calls for greater respect, acceptance between nation's Christians, Muslims (Vatican News)
  Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja (the nation’s capital) made his remarks at an event organized by the KAICIID International Dialogue Centre, an organization founded by Austria, Saudi Arabia, and Spain, with the Holy See having observer status.
• 'Let us make room inside ourselves for the Word of God,' Pope preaches during new commemoration (Vatican Press Office)
  In 2019, Pope Francis issued Aperuit illis, an apostolic letter instituting the annual Sunday of the Word of God, which takes place on the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. On January 26, Pope Francis celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica (video, booklet).
• US bishops' conference releases children's book on overcoming racism (USCCB)
  The book, Everyone Belongs, is published by Loyola Press.
• Event at UN focuses on Church's efforts to save lives during the Holocaust (Vatican News)
  The event, “ Remembering the Holocaust: The Documented Efforts of the Catholic Church to Save Lives,” was organized by the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See and the Pave the Way Foundation.
• Unity, salvation, hospitality: Pope concludes Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Vatican Press Office)
  On January 25, the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle, Pope Francis celebrated Vespers in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls (video, booklet). “They showed us unusual kindness“ (cf. Acts 28:2) was the theme of the 2020 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
• Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration to discontinue perpetual prayer (LaCrosse Tribune)
  The Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, have announced that they will discontinue perpetual adoration. Sister Eileen McKenzie, the group’s superior, says that the decision reflects “a growing understanding of a modern way to live in adoration through prayer lives and actions, no matter where we are.” The congregation will retain its name.
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