Catholic News

• Ministry is a gift to be contemplated, Pope preaches at weekday Mass (Vatican News)
  At a Mass celebrated in the chapel of Domus Sanctae Marthae on September 19, Pope Francis preached on 1 Timothy 4:12-16, the first reading of the day.
• Eritrean bishops protest government seizure of Catholic schools (CNS)
  The East African nation of 6 million (map) has been a repressive one-party state since it gained independence in 1993.
• Citing abortion concerns, Canadian bishops review their relief and development agency's partnerships (CNS)
  “Development and Peace is being criticized by a handful of Canadian bishops who suspect the organization might be supporting partners that do not conform with the Church’s moral values, especially regarding women’s sexuality and abortion,” according to the report.
• Maine bishop speaks out against physician-assisted suicide, taxpayer funding of abortions (Diocese of Portland)
  “Physician-assisted suicide, which failed in a statewide vote in 2000, desensitizes our young people and society at large to the inherent value of human life at a time when suicide rates are the highest that they have been since World War II,” said Bishop Robert Deeley. “Suicide should never be presented as an option, but only recognized for what it truly is, a tragedy.”
• Blood of St. Januarius liquefies on feast day (CNA)
  See our liturgical calendar for information about the saint and the liquefying of his blood on his feast day.
• South Korea announces new measures to counter population decline (AsiaNews)
  Births in the nation of 51 million fell from 1 million in 1970 to under 327,000 in 2018.
• Never forget the horrors of martial law, Philippine bishops urge (UCANews)
  “At least 70,000 people [were] arrested, 34,000 tortured, and 3,240 others killed” after President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in 1972, according tot he report.
• Divorce is unconstitutional, say bishops in Philippines (Fides)
  The Catholic bishops of the Philippines have staked out a clear position against a bid to legalize divorce. “Divorce is, first of all, unconstitutional,” said Father Jerome Seciliano, executive secretary of the bishops’ conference. “It is anti-family, anti-marriage, and anti-children.”
• Biotech executive affirms harvesting brains from intact unborn babies (Live Action)
  The chief executive of StemExpress—a firm that bought fetal body parts from Planned Parenthood—has testified in court that her company harvested brains from “intact” unborn babies. Sandra Merritt testified at a hearing in the case of David Daleiden and his Center for Medical Progress, who are charged with invasion of privacy for their role in exposing the sale of fetal tissues.
• Holy Land: Catholic spokesman weighs in on Israeli election deadlock (AsiaNews)
  In the recent Israeli election, neither of the two major political parties was able to win a majority of seats in the legislature.
• Leading Nigerian prelate urges government to protect citizens from attacks (Daily Post (Lagos))
  “We are just interested in living our lives peacefully without any fear of being kidnapped for ransom or being driven from our homeland,” said Archbishop Augustine Akubeze, president of the bishop’s conference.
• Chinese agents tailed Cardinal Zen at Fatima (South China Morning Post)
  Cardinal Joseph Zen reports that he was carefully monitored by Chinese government agents while on a pilgrimage to Fatima in August. The cardinal and a Hong Kong politician, Martin Lee Chu-ming, were informed by Portuguese police of the Chinese government’s interest, as soon as they arrived at an airport in Lisbon.
• Cardinal-designate discusses fruits of 'human fraternity' document (Zenit)
  Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar signed the Document on Human Fraternity in Abu Dhabi in February.
• Villanova theologian foresees robot priests (Daily Mail)
  Sister Ilia Delio, who holds a endowed chair in theology at Villanova University, has suggested that robots could fulfill some priestly functions. She suggests that robot-priests could be preferable to humans because they would not be capable of sexual abuse and because they would break the ‘patriarchal’ mold of the male priesthood.
• Priest accused of 'forced conversion' in Jharkhand released on bail (AsiaNews)
  The eastern Indian state (map) is 68% Hindu, 15% Muslim, and 4% Christian, with 13% adhering to indigenous Sarnaism and other religions.
• Cardinal Marx meets Pontiff with German bishops, Vatican at odds (Vatican Press Office)
  Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the president of the German bishops’ conference, met with Pope Francis in a private audience on September 19. Although the Vatican press office did not indicate the topic of their discussion, it was likely to focus on the impasse between the Holy See and the German bishops, who are resolved to vote on potential doctrinal changes in a “binding synodal assembly.”
• Lay group organizes to fill Detroit's inner-city churches (Wall Street Journal)
  A lay Catholic group, organizing through Facebook, has drawn large congregations into churches that are ordinarily empty in Detroit. The “Detroit Mass Mob” chooses one old church each week. “Our grandparents built these churches,” explains an organizer. “They’re beautiful and people like to see them full.”
• New Luxembourg cardinal spent more than 2 decades in Japan (CNS)
  Born in Luxembourg, Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich, 61, entered the Jesuit order in 1981 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1990. Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Archbishop of Luxembourg in 2011.
• Pope Francis: Saints Matthew, Stanislaus Kostka inspire us to convert, follow vocation (Vatican Press Office)
  Pope Francis recalled the example of the two saints in greetings to pilgrims following his September 18 general audience. The Pontiff referred to St. Stanislaus Kostka (1550-1568) as a “young man from Vienna [who] arrived in Rome on foot to become a Jesuit. He demonstrated that it is necessary to sacrifice so much to follow the voice of one’s vocation. He is also an example for those young people who, fearing the reaction of their families, friends or others, are afraid to choose the vocational path to the priesthood or religious life. Dear young people, do not be afraid to follow the voice of Christ!”
• Pope donates funds from auctioned Lamborghini to rebuild Haitian seminary, school (Haiti Libre)
  A catastrophic earthquake devastated the Caribbean nation of 10.8 million (map) in 2010.
• More...