Catholic News

• German plans for binding Synod violate Church law, Vatican says (CNA)
  Plans by the German Catholic bishops to hold a Synod that would establish new policies are “not ecclesiologically valid,” the Vatican has warned. Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, has written to Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the president of the German bishops’ conference, emphasizing that the German bishops’ meeting must not attempt changes in Church teaching or discipline. Cardinal Ouellet enclosed a legal analysis by Archbishop Filippo Iannone, the head of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, explaining that a national bishops’ conference cannot decide issues that involve the universal Church.
• Pope explains gift of St. Peter's relics to Orthodox Patriarch (Vatican Press Office)
  In a letter to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, Pope Francis explains that he sent the bones of St. Peter to the Orthodox leader because “I sensed it would be highly significant were some fragments of the relics of the Apostle Peter to be place beside the relics of the Apostle Andrew.” He said that the unprecedented gift was “a confirmation of the journey that our churches have made in drawing closer to one another.”
• Priests in Tasmania to face up to 21 years in jail if they fail to report abuse revealed in Confession (The Australian)
  “People in religious ministry (will now be) mandatory reporters of child sexual abuse, even when they have obtained that knowledge in the confessional,” said Elise Archer, attorney general of the Australian island state (map).
• Pope to visit Thailand, Japan in November (Vatican Press Office)
  Pope Francis will visit Thailand from November 20-23 and Japan from November 23-26, the Vatican press office announced on September 13. In Japan, he will visit Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki.
• Pope endorses event to create a global educational village (@Pontifex)
  “It takes a whole village to educate a child. We have to create such a village before we can educate,” Pope Francis wrote in his message for the launch of the educational alliance. The Pope emphasized “the courage to place the human person at the center,” “the courage to capitalize on our best energies,” and “the courage to train individuals who are ready to offer themselves in service.”
• Be faithful to your roots and tradition, Pope tells Discalced Augustinians (Vatican News)
  Approved by the Vatican in 1610, the Order of Discalced Augustinians (Italian-language website) began as a reform movement within the Order of St. Augustine.
• China's religion policy aims to increase state control (AsiaNews)
  Father Bernardo Cervellera of the AsiaNews service surveys China’s policies on religion, and finds them marked by zero tolerance for ‘underground’ communities, increased control of recognized religious groups, and a demand for support of government policies.
• Diocese of Rochester files for bankruptcy (Democrat & Chronicle)
  “I begin by renewing my sincere apology to all those who have suffered sexual abuse by those clerics or Church personnel who violated their position of trust,” Bishop Salvatore Matano said. “We believe this is the only way we can provide just compensation for all who suffered the egregious sin of sexual abuse, while ensuring the continued commitment of the Diocese to the mission of Christ.”
• Wyoming diocese says it's substantiated 3 more allegations against former bishop (Casper Star-Tribune)
  The Diocese of Cheyenne announced in 2018 that Bishop Joseph Hart was guilty of the sexual abuse of minors. Bishop Hart, now 87, was a priest of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph (1956-1976), auxiliary bishop of Cheyenne (1976-78), and bishop of Cheyenne (1978-2001). He resigned five years before the typical retirement age of 75 and has denied committing sexual abuse.
• Papua New Guinea bishop arrested for 'defamation' of police (AsiaNews)
  Bishop Rolando Crisostomo Santos of Alotau-Sideia denounced the burning of 19 homes by police.
• Synod's special secretaries discusses 'why the Amazon merits a synod' (CNS)
  “Amazonia: new paths for the Church and for an integral ecology” is the theme of the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region, which will take place October 6-27.
• Details published of Bishop Bransfield's spectacular spending (Washington Post)
  The Washington Post carries an astonishing account of the exorbitant and self-indulgent spending of Bishop Michael Bransfield, the former leader of the Diocese of Wheeling, West Virginia. The details include tens of thousands of dollars spent on chartered executive jets, luxury hotels, and other long vacations—all using diocesan funds.
• No charges against doctor in Dutch involuntary-euthanasia case (Life News)
  A Dutch court has absolved a doctor of guilt for administering a lethal injection to a woman who actively resisted. The woman, who suffered from dementia, had earlier said that she wanted to be euthanized, but fought against the doctor and had to be held down by relatives.
• Defend the Christian presence in Nineveh, Cardinal Sako urges (AsiaNews)
  Born in 1948, Cardinal Louis Raphaël I Sako has led the Chaldean Catholic Church since 2013. The church is among the Eastern Catholic churches in full communion with the Holy See.
• West Virginia diocese fights false-advertising complaint (Herald Star )
  Lawyers for the Diocese of Wheeling/Charleston are fighting a lawsuit filed by the attorney general of West Virginia, who charges that the diocese violated laws against false advertising, by failing to inform parishioners of abuse charges against priests and church employees. The diocesan lawyers note that no other business has been required to announce allegations against employees.
• US Senate passes legislation to hold China accountable for rights abuses in Xinjiang (Radio Free Asia)
  The Chinese government has detained over a million Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang (map).
• Iraqi Christian library, vandalized by Islamic State, reopens and rebuilds (Independent Catholic News)
  A Christian library in Qaraqosh, Iraq, which was nearly destroyed when the Islamic State overran the region, has reopened for use. But most of the books in its collection were damaged or destroyed during the months of occupation.
• Vatican UN nuncio laments 'cycle of violence' surrounding 9/11 attacks (CNS)
  Archbishop Bernardito Auza, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, spoke at an event hosted by the Maryknoll Sisters at the UN.
• Serbia's president meets with Pope (Reuters)
  The European nation of 7.1 million (map) is 85% Orthodox, 5% Catholic, and 3% Muslim.
• Vatican signs legal accord with Angola (Vatican News)
  The Vatican has signed an accord with the government of Angola, establishing the legal status of the Catholic Church in the African nation.
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