Catholic News

• We are not condemned to exclusion and inequality, Pope tells popular movements (Vatican Press Office)
  The Pope’s address to the 4th World Meeting of Popular Movements is significant for several reasons: his impassioned pleas, issued “in the name of God”—including pleas to pharmaceutical companies to release Covid vaccine patents, to financial groups to cancel debts to poor nations, and to extractive industries to stop polluting his statement that the principles he mentions are rooted in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (2001) his criticism of “indifference, meritocracy and individualism” on the one hand, and “any authoritarian mindset, any forced collectivism or any state-centric mindset” on the other: “the common good cannot be used as an excuse to quash private initiative, local identity or community projects” his reference to “the protests over the death of George Floyd”: “it is clear that this type of reaction against social, racial or macho injustice can be manipulated or exploited by political machinations or whatever, but the main thing is that, in that protest against this death, there was the Collective Samaritan who is no fool! This movement did not pass by on the other side of the road when it saw the injury to human dignity caused by an abuse of power” his call for serious consideration of “a basic income (the UBI) or salary so that everyone in the world may have access to the most basic necessities of life. It is right to fight for a humane distribution of these resources, and it is up to governments to establish tax and redistribution schemes so that the wealth of one part of society is shared fairly, but without imposing an unbearable burden, especially upon the middle class” his call for serious consideration of a shorter workday: “working fewer hours so that more people can have access to the labor market is something we need to explore with some urgency”
• Diocesan phase of synod on synodality begins (Exaudi)
  The theme of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops is For a synodal church: communion, participation, and mission. The synod began in Rome on October 9 and in local dioceses on October 17. The diocesan phase concludes in April 2022, and the entire synod concludes in Rome in October 2023.
• The world needs women's leadership and skills, Cardinal Parolin tells G20 women's forum (Vatican News)
  The Vatican’s Secretary of State delivered a video message on behalf of Pope Francis to the Women’s Forum G20 Italy. The forum’s theme is “A she-covery for all: uniting power with purpose for a new inclusive leadership.”
• Priest who sought to give last rites to British lawmaker says he respects police decision (National Catholic Register)
  David Amess, a pro-life Catholic member of Parliament, was killed on October 15. Police prevented a priest from administering last rites.
• Leading Holy See diplomat calls for cap on nuclear weapons, laments other threats (Holy See Mission)
  Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, decried nerve agents, “novel biological agents,” and dirty bombs. He also said that “the growing threat of the use of armed drones and lethal autonomous weapons systems underscores the urgency to address the ethical necessity to preserve human responsibility.”
• Pope shares survivor's letter pleading for clergy to face truth of abuse (CNS)
  “Please, do not sweep things under the carpet, because then they start to stink, putrefy, and the rug itself will rot away,” an abuse survivor said to seminarians in an Italian letter sent to Pope Francis. “Let us realize that if we hide these facts, when we keep our mouths shut, we hide the filth and we thus become a collaborator.”
• English bishop rues police block on last rites for slain lawmaker (CNA)
  Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury has challenged the decision by police to block a priest who attempted to administer the last rites to Sir Davis Amess after the noted lawmaker was fatally stabbed by an assailant on October 15. “Every Catholic Christian hopes to receive the Sacraments and be accompanied by the prayer of the Church in the final crisis of our lives,” the bishop said. He remarked that hospitals recognize the urgency of allowing priests to administer the sacraments, but “this is not always comprehended in emergency situations.”
• Indian archbishop rejects 'dangerous' government bid to study church workers (Fides)
  Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore is resisting a government plan to survey the staff of church institutions, saying that the plan is “pointless, unnecessary, and dangerous.” The proposed survey, ordered by the government of the Karnataka state, is seen by the Christian minority as part of a larger drive by Hindu activists to restrict religious conversions. Charges that missionaries are engaged in “forced conversions” have led to violent attacks on Christian targets.
• ''The Church I so loved has lost its way': prominent Anglican bishop explains conversion to Catholicism (Daily Mail)
  Michael Nazir-Ali, the retired Anglican Bishop of Rochester, discusses his conversion; he has been received into the Catholic Church and hopes to be ordained a Catholic priest.
• Vatican sets new rules for postulators of sainthood causes (CNA)
  The Vatican has issued new rules for the postulators who promote the causes of candidates for beatification and/or canonization. The new rules are designed to guard against conflicts of interest, limiting the postulator’s access to funds collected to advance a cause. The new rules are part of a reform of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. A review of Vatican finances in 2015 found a near-total lack of control on the finances involved in promoting causes. In 2016, Pope Francis approved interim rules to address the problem.
• Pope remembers victims of attacks in Norway, Afghanistan, and UK (Vatican News)
  “Last week, various attacks took place in Norway, Afghanistan, England, that caused numerous deaths and wounded many,” Pope Francis said on October 17. “I express my nearness to the families of the victims. I beg you to please abandon the path of violence that is always a losing cause and is a defeat for everyone. Let us recall that violence begets violence.”The Pope was referring to Kongsberg attack, the Kunduz mosque bombing, and the killing of David Amess, whom police prevented from receiving last rites.
• Vice-president Harris shared investigation evidence with abortion lobby, whistleblower charges (Fox News)
  Attorneys for David Daleiden—whose undercover videos exposed Planned Parenthood involvement in the sale of fetal tissue—charge that Vice President Kamala Harris illegally shared evidence with the National Abortion Federation (NAF) while she was serving as attorney general of California. Harris had pursued criminal charges against Daleiden, and authorized a raid on his apartment. Daleiden’s attorneys, citing court documents, contend that the materials taken from his apartment were immediately shared with the NAF, supporting NAF in its lawsuit against the pro-life activist.
• US bishops to vote on document on the Eucharist at November meeting (USCCB)
  The US bishops will meet in Baltimore on November 15-18 and vote on whether to approve “The Meaning of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church,” a proposed document that occasioned lively debate at the bishops’ virtual meeting in June.The bishops will also discuss the national Eucharistic revival and Eucharistic Congress, as well as updated “Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines,” and a proposal to add Mother Teresa’s feast day to the US liturgical calendar.
• Wave of violence against Hindus in Bangladesh (AP)
  The South Asian nation of 163 million (map) is 89% Muslim and 9% Hindu, with Christians constituting a tiny minority. The violence against Hindus, and vandalism of Hindu temples, followed “a viral social media image perceived as insulting to the country’s Muslim majority,” according to the report.
• Arson suspected in fire at Scotland's national shrine (CNA)
  A fire that damaged the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes on October 17 was “deliberately set,” a spokesman for the shrine says.
• Patients come first, Pope reminds biomedical researchers (Vatican Press Office)
  “The patient comes before the illness,” Pope Francis reminded members of the Biomedical University Foundation during an October 18 audience. The Pontiff thanked the group for “promoting the human development of research,” with a focus on care for the person, as a time when others “pursue the profitable paths of profit.”
• Bail for Indian Christian women in conversion case (UCANews)
  The northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (map) is 80% Hindu and 19% Muslim; only 0.2% of its population is Christian. The women “are too traumatized to speak of their ordeal after being attacked by a mob,” according to the report.
• Bible software, Qu'ran removed from Apple store in China (CNA)
  A Bible software company has removed its app from the Apple store products available in China, and Apple itself has removed a Qu’ran app, to comply with Chinese restrictions.
• 127 martyrs beatified in Córdoba (YouTube (Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba))
  Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, was the principal celebrant of the Mass of beatification on October 16.“The priest, Juan Elías Medina, and 126 companion martyrs – priests, religious, seminarians and lay people – were killed in hatred of the faith during the violent religious persecution of the 1930s in Spain,” Pope Francis said the following day. “May their fidelity grant us all strength, especially persecuted Christians in various parts of the world, the strength to witness to the Gospel courageously.”
• Superiors-general, US Vatican embassy hold symposium on human trafficking (UISG)
  The International Union of Superiors General (the canonically approved organization of superiors-general of institutes of women religious) and the US and Irish embassies to the Holy See organized the October 14 symposium, “Empowering a New Generation to Fight Human Slavery.”vUS Chargé d’Affaires Patrick Connell offered the opening remarks, and Sister Gabriella Bottani of Talitha Kum discussed the efforts of her network of women religious to combat human trafficking.
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