Catholic News

• 'To cry out, to walk, to give thanks': Pope Francis canonizes John Henry Newman, 4 other blesseds (Vatican Press Office)
  The five canonized during a Mass in St. Peter’s Square (video) are St. John Henry Newman (English cardinal, 1801-1890, works); St. Giuseppina Vannini (Italian, 1859-1911), virgin, foundress of the Daughters of Saint Camillus; St. Mariam Thresia Chiramel (Indian, Syro-Malabar, 1876-1926), virgin, foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family; St. Irmã Dulce Pontes (Brazilian Franciscan sister, 1914-1992), virgin; and St. Marguerite Bays (Swiss, Secular Franciscan Order, 1815-1879), virgin.
• Vatican police chief resigns as financial investigation continues (CWN)
  Domenico Giani, the head of the Vatican Gendarmerie, has resigned, in the wake of a stunning October 1 raid on the offices of the Vatican Secretariat of State and the Financial Information Authority.
• Synod fathers discuss women deacons, ordination of married men to priesthood (Vatican News)
  “It was also suggested that the Synod could lay the foundation for this new step forward in faith in the Holy Spirit which must be stronger than the fear of making a mistake,” the Vatican said in its synopsis of synod discussions on October 12.
• Prince Charles pays tribute to St. John Henry Newman (L'Osservatore Romano)
  The English cardinal “bridges the divisions between traditions,” the Prince of Wales wrote in an article that appeared in the Vatican newspaper on the eve of Newman’s canonization.
• Syrian prelate denounces US, Europe for betraying Kurds, helping Islamists (AsiaNews)
  The Roman Catholic vicar of Aleppo, Syria, has lashed out at the US for betraying the Kurds and giving new opportunities to Islamic radicals who have united with Turkey in a military offensive in northern Syria. Europe, too, has allowed the carnage, charged Bishop Georges Khazen. He reported that “not only Kurds, but also Armenian Christians, Assyrians, Chaldeans” are among the victims of the renews fighting.
• Synod press briefing: bishops speak of challenge of understanding Church discipline (Vatican News)
  Bishop Adriano Ciocca Vasino (Brazil) said that the traditional seminary is not sufficient; Bishop Rafael Cob Garcia (Ecuador) added that in the Amazon basin, there is a “difficulty understanding disciplinary norms of the Catholic Church, including celibacy.”
• Listen to the cry of Hong Kong's citizens, Cardinal Tong urges government (AsiaNews)
  Cardinal John Tong Hon, 80, was Hong Kong’s bishop from 2009 to 2017, and is currently apostolic administrator following the death of his successor.
• Pope appeals for dialogue for Syria following Turkish invasion (Zenit)
  “My thought goes once again to the Middle East, in particular, to the beloved and martyred Syria, from which tragic news arrives again on the fate of the populations of the northeast of the country, constrained to abandon their homes because of the military actions: among these populations, there are also many Christian families,” Pope Francis said following his October 13 Sunday Angelus address. “To all the actors involved and also to the international community, please, I renew the appeal to be sincerely committed, with honesty and transparency, to the path of dialogue to seek effective solutions.”
• Mexico City's cardinal sees integral ecology as Church's response to the cry of the poor (Vatican News)
  Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, Mexico City’s archbishop since 2018, spoke at the synod press briefing on October 11. Other participants in the press briefing discussed ecological sins, slavery, women’s participation in the synod, and the desire for the Word of God.
• 60 million girls missing because of selective abortions in India (AsiaNews)
  “In our country, 50,000 babies are aborted every month for one reason: they are girls instead of boys,” said Tehmina Arora, Director of ADF (Alliance Defending Freedom) India.
• Advocates urge Trump not to desert Christians, Yazidis, Kurds in Syria (CNS)
  President Trump’s recent decision to move US troops from northeastern Syria “undercuts our own trust that this administration is truly committed to international religious freedom and the survival of religious minorities in the Middle East,” dozens of religious freedom advocacy organizations said in a letter.
• Fostering an abiding sacramental presence in Amazon is key synod theme, San Diego bishop says (National Catholic Register)
  Pope Francis appointed Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego as a participant in the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region.
• Pope calls for peace in Ecuador (Zenit)
  Following attacks on government buildings, the nation’s president ordered the army onto the streets of Quito, the nation’s capital.
• Syro-Malabar prelate warns of declining birth rate, lack of marriage prospects for Christian men (New Indian Express)
  The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church (CNEWA profile), an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See, is based in the southwestern Indian state of Kerala (map). The word “lakh” in the article means 100,000.
• Bolivian bishops call for transparent elections (Fides)
  The Catholic bishops of Bolivia have called for transparency in the country’s elections, scheduled for October 20, emphasizing the role of international observers to guarantee a truly democratic result “in a climate of distrust.”
• Pontifical academy hosts symposium on dignity and the future of work (Pontfical Academy of Social Sciences)
  “Dignity and the Future of Work in the age of the 4th Industrial Revolution” is the theme of the two-day symposium organized by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
• Greek Orthodox recognize new Ukrainian Orthodox body (Orthodox World)
  The Greek Orthodox Church has given its recognition to the newly independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) was recognized in January by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. But the Russian Orthodox Church has adamantly opposed recognition of the new body, supporting the continued authority of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church—Moscow Patriarchate.
• Vatican: journalist misquoted Pope on Christ's divinity (CNA)
  The Vatican has flatly contradicted a report by Italian journalist Eugenio Scalfari that Pope Francis said Jesus was not divine. “The Holy Father never said what Scalfari wrote,” Vatican spokesman Paolo Ruffini told reporters on October 10. Earlier the Vatican press office had said that Scalfari’s report “cannot be considered a faithful account.” As for what the Pope truly thinks on the issue, Ruffini said: “That will be found rather throughout the Church’s magisterium and Pope Francis’ own, on Jesus: true God and true man.”
• Turkish planes bomb Syria, causing panic among Christians, others (CNS)
  “The Turkish invasion is expected to be very harsh, not only on the traditional Christian community, but also on the Kurds who have converted in recent years to Christianity and were allowed to openly practice their faith,” said Syriac Christian political leader Bassam Ishak.
• Italian journalist: Pope does not believe Jesus is God (CWN)
  Italian journalist Eugenio Scalfari has caused a new uproar by writing that Pope Francis does not believe that Jesus is God.
• More...