by Faith Central & Steve Welsh
“At least seven Coptic Christians were killed and 12 more injured in Egypt when a bus traveling to a desert monastery south of Cairo was ambushed by Islamic militants who opened fire, Egyptian authorities said on Friday. The bus was traveling to the St. Samuel the Confessor monastery November 2, when a number of attackers approached the vehicle from nearby dirt roads and opened fire. …”
[scroll down for video]
“Pope Francis accepted the resignation of … Cardinal Donald Wuerl on Friday … asking [him] to continue … on an interim basis until a permanent successor is appointed. Wuerl, 77, originally submitted his resignation … when he turned 75 …. The pope … received a Sept. 21 request from Wuerl that his resignation be accepted. … Francis defended the cardinal from … widespread criticism he has faced …. since late June, when revelations about alleged sexual misconduct on the part of his predecessor, Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, raised questions about what Wuerl knew about McCarrick, and how he responded ….“[In addition], the Aug. 14 … grand jury report detailing decades of abuse allegations in six Pennsylvania dioceses put under close scrutiny Wuerl’s record as Bishop of Pittsburgh … from 1988 to 2006. … rais[ing] concerns that Wuerl had allowed priests accused of abuse to remain in ministry ….”
The Catholic News Agency (CNA) reports on a new congressional report raising the alarm over a dire, and worsening, human rights situation in mainland China under the domination of the Communist Party of China (CCP):
“A new congressional report slams China’s Communist Party [CCP] for increasing its repressive control over many aspects of Chinese society, and … numerous extreme and unprecedented human rights violations that may constitute crimes against humanity. The report … ‘highlights the dire human rights situation inside China and the continued downward trajectory by virtually
every measure, since Xi Jinping’ came to power, first as the Communist Party’s general secretary and now as its president. … the report was … by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China … created in 2000 to monitor human rights and rule of law developments in China. … “
“With the Feast of St. Francis upon us we do well to thank God for many things. It is a tradition in many parishes to bless animals on this feast. It is also a good time to ponder what our pets and animals can ‘teach’ us. …”
“Simple Steps … Homily Helps … Intercessions … Respect Life Images … Bulletin Inserts … Poster … Reflection Flyer … Bulletin Cover and Wrapper … Word of Life: October 2018 (Respect Life Month) … Bulletin and Pulpit Announcements …”
“The plight of our brothers and sisters who work hard but struggle to make ends meet calls us all to reflect in a special way this Labor Day. Today, we read in St. Luke’s Gospel how Jesus, upon returning home to Nazareth, read from the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue declaring, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has Anointed Me to bring glad tidings to the poor.”1 Sadly, in our times too many people are excluded, marginalized, and politically and economically disenfranchised. The struggle of working people, of the poor, as Pope Francis reminds us, is not first a “social or political question. No! It is the Gospel, pure and simple.”2 There has been some notable progress in our economy in recent years, but it is also apparent that it is not where it should be for many, and we can all play a productive role in making sure it is a system that upholds the dignity of all people. …”
“… [It was] reported July 19 … [that a Virginia man] alleg[es in a police report that] … [now-Cardinal Theodore] McCarrick began sexually abusing him in 1969, when the priest was 39[, a friend of the family,] and the man, “James,” … was 11 …. [A month earlier,] the Archdiocese of New York announced … an investigation into a different allegation that McCarrick had sexually abused a teenager [finding] the claim ‘credible and substantiated.’ The Vatican … prohibited McCarrick, 88, from public ministry. … [M]edia reports have detailed additional allegations … that McCarrick sexually abused, assaulted, or coerced seminarians and young priests … as a bishop. The Diocese of Metuchen and Archdiocese of Newark disclosed … reports that McCarrick engaged in sexual misconduct with adults, and reached legal and financial settlements in two cases. The cardinal is prohibited from contact with minors in the Archdiocese of Washington …”
“… we have grave concerns about the confirmation process which is being grossly distorted by efforts to subject judicial nominees to a litmus test of support for Roe [v. Wade], as though nominees who oppose the purposeful taking of innocent human life are somehow unfit for judicial office in the United States. By any measure, support for Roe is an impoverished standard for assessing judicial ability. For forty-five years, Roe has sparked more informed criticism and public resistance than any other court decision of the late 20th century …. * * * There is no doubt that the Catholic Church stands out for its commitment to the right to life from conception until natural death. … [with] profound consequences not only for abortion, but for many other areas of life, including the death penalty, the application of scientific research to human subjects, the right to adequate health care, and the role of the state in promoting the common good. Our civil society will be all the poorer if Senators, as a matter of practice, reject well-qualified judicial nominees whose consciences have been formed in this ethic. …”
“… ‘By any measure,’ the Cardinal says, ‘support for Roe is an impoverished standard for assessing judicial ability. …”