Catholic News

• 'Wisdom,' 'covenant,' 'outgoing': Pope encourages work of Focolare's university (Zenit)
  Located in Loppiano, Italy, the Sophia University Institute began to offer courses in 2008. The Focolare Movement was founded during World War II by the Servant of God Chiara Lubich (1920-2008).
• Pope encourages impoverished pilgrims at Lourdes to become Christians, live out the sacraments (Vatican News)
  “You, who are at the foot of the cross, perhaps alone, isolated, abandoned, homeless, expelled from your family or from your country, victims of alcohol, prostitution, be aware that God loves you,” the Pope said in his video message to the participants in the Fratello Gathering 2019. “God listens to your prayer in particular.”
• Archbishop Scicluna: be prepared for new revelations (Crux)
  Speaking at a conference held at the University of Notre Dame, Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta warned that Catholics should be prepared for more shocking revelations about clerical misconduct. The archbishop works with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in handling sex-abuse cases.
• Kenya's bishops rip international population summit (CNS)
  “We view this agenda as an intent to corrupt our youth and enslave them to foreign ideologies, for example, same-sex union and active homosexual activities,” the president of the bishops’ conference said of the Nairobi Summit, in which the Holy See will not participate.
• Mozambique's bishops defend prelate against accusations of racism, inciting violence (Vatican News)
  Bishop Luiz Fernando Lisboa, 63, entered the Passionist order in 1977 and was named a bishop in 2013.
• Vatican, Orthodox church representatives continue discussion of primacy, synodality (Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity)
  On November 15, the Coordinating Committee of the
• Buffalo's Christ the King Seminary: sexual misconduct dates back decades (National Catholic Register)
  This article is the second part of a report; the first part is available here.
• Fire at former French cathedral; mayor suspects Satanists (La Depeche (French))
  Eauze is a town of 4,000 in southwestern France; the former Diocese of Eauze is now part of the Diocese of Auch.
• Pope sends video message to Thailand in advance of visit there (Vatican Press Office)
  Pope Francis has sent a video message to the people of Thailand, where he will visit next week. In the message the Pontiff hails the “rich spiritual and cultural traditions” of the Asia land, and particularly the Buddhists “who bear eloquent witness to the values of tolerance and harmony.”
• Joint Islamic-Catholic colloquium ends with joint statement (Vatican Press Office)
  A joint Islamic-Catholic group has concluded a colloquium in Rome, issuing a joint statement that emphasizes the need for Muslims and Christians to serve the cause of human rights, the needs of the poor, and the preservation of the environment. The meeting, co-hosted by the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue and the Iranian Centre for Inter-religious and Intercultural Dialogue, concluded with an agreement to meet again in 2121.
• Disagreements escalate over Notre Dame rebuilding project (CNA)
  Architects and administrators are at odds over plans for the reconstruction of the basilica of Notre Dame in Paris, with a particular dispute emerging over the design of a new spire. Lawmakers have said that the building should be rebuilt in its old style. A lead architect adds a caution that the vault of the building, which remained intact during a devastating fire, may have been structurally weakened.
• Belgium's bishops oppose proposals to liberalize abortion laws (Crux)
  Several Belgian political parties “want to permanently remove abortion from the criminal code, remove the requirement for a mandatory consultation in advance, and raise the limit to when an abortion can take place from 12 weeks of gestation to 18 or even 20 weeks,” according to the report.
• US bishops approve new edition of Program of Priestly Formation (CNS)
  “One change is how a seminarian’s progress to ordination is tracked,” the report notes. “What had been a seminary college or ‘pre-theology’ followed by graduate studies — known as the theologate — is being replaced by new terms: the ‘propaedeutic stage’ with preparatory and introductory teaching lasting one to two years, and a ‘discipleship stage,’ which is to last at least two years.”
• Vatican holds meeting on laity's identity and mission (Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life)
  “The Lay Faithful, Identity and Mission in the World” is the topic of the first plenary assembly of the members of the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life.
• 'There is more than enough food for everyone': Vatican diplomat sees 'worrying tendencies' in anti-hunger efforts (Holy See Mission)
  “Various forms of aid and development initiatives, including nutrition-specific projects, are obstructed by political decisions and policies, skewed ideologies and impenetrable customs barriers,” said Archbishop Bernardito Auza.
• Spanish Jesuit succeeds Cardinal Pell as Prefect of Secretariat for the Economy (Vatican Press Office)
  Pope Francis has appointed Father Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves, general counsellor of the Society of Jesus, as Prefect of Secretariat for the Economy. The post, formerly occupied by Cardinal George Pell, has been vacant since June 2017, when the Australian cardinal took a leave of absence. Cardinal Pell’s five-year term concluded in February.
• Australian High Court allows Cardinal Pell to appeal sex abuse conviction (CWN)
  Australia’s highest court has given Cardinal George Pell’s leave to appeal his conviction on sex-abuse charges.
• Malawi's bishops call for peace as violent political unrest continues (Fides)
  The southeastern African nation of 19.8 million (map) is 27% Protestant, 18% Catholic, and 12% Muslim.
• Vatican newspaper: Pachamama is not a god, but mother earth (L'Osservatore Romano)
  Pachamama is not a divinity or idol that is worshiped, but is mother earth, honored as the “creation and manifestation of the love of God,” writes retired Mexican Bishop Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel. He recalls that years ago, while in Bolivia for a meeting, he asked a member of the indigenous Aymara people whether his people consider Pachamama and Inti to be gods. The man replied, “Those who have not received evangelization consider them gods; for those of us who have been evangelized, they are not gods, but God’s best gifts.” Bishop Arizmendi commented, “Wonderful response! … They are manifestations of God’s love, not gods.” (For background on the deities, see the Encyclopedia Britannica articles on Inti and Pachamama.)
• Papal nuncio to US bishops: follow lead of Pope Francis (CNA)
  Archbishop Christoph Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States, prodded the American bishops to show greater loyalty to Pope Francis, in a November 11 address to the US bishops’ conference. The nuncio encouraged the bishops to reflect on “to what extent we have received the magisterium of the Pope.” He claimed, for example, that “families continue to demand of dioceses and parishes the accompaniment envisioned by Amoris Laetitia.”
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