Pope Francis

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Video, with English commentary, at the link

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-11/pope-nurture-tomorrow-s-hope-by-healing-today-s-pain.html
Pope at Mass: nurture tomorrow’s hope by healing today’s pain
14 November 2021, 11:16

Pope Francis celebrates Mass in Saint Peter's Basilica on the Fifth World Day of the Poor. He reminds us that God’s salvation is not only a future promise, but at work now in our wounded world. As Christians, we must "nurture tomorrow’s hope by healing today’s pain".
By Vatican News staff writer

In his homily for Sunday's World Day of the Poor Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis observed that the Gospel tells us of the bewildering signs before the Son of Man will come that help us intepret history where today's pain coexists with tomorrow's hope - from today's painful contradictions to the salvation that awaits us in encountering the Lord who comes to free us from all evil.
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249589/pope-francis-on-world-day-of-the-poor-be-tireless-builders-of-hope-amid-suffering
Pope Francis on World Day of the Poor: Be ‘tireless builders of hope’ amid suffering
By Courtney Mares
Vatican City, Nov 14, 2021 / 05:35 am

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2021.index.html
Homilies 2021
Mass for the World Day of the Poor (14 November 2021)

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Video, with English commentary, at the link

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-11/pope-angelus-catechesis-sunday.html
Pope: Those who do good are investing in eternity
14 November 2021, 12:10

Pope Francis reflects on the transient nature of material goods and physical appearances and invites the faithful to base their lives on the Word of God.
By Linda Bordoni

Taking his cue from the Gospel passage of the day, Pope Francis explained that Jesus tells us that everything passes but His words, and he invited the faithful to build Heaven on earth, “because good is never lost, it lasts forever.”

Speaking during the Sunday Angelus in St. Peter’s Square, the Pope recalled the Gospel of Mark in which Jesus says “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven.”

However, he continued, the Lord was not a doomsayer, His intention is to make us understand that sooner or later everything in this world passes except for God's love and the Gospel's saving message.
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249590/pope-francis-at-the-angelus-this-world-will-pass-away-and-only-love-will-remain
Pope Francis: ‘This world will pass away and only love will remain’
By Courtney Mares
Vatican City, Nov 14, 2021 / 07:00 am

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/angelus/2021.index.html
Angelus - Regina Cæli 2021
Angelus, 14 November 2021

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The U.S. Catholic bishops' fall meeting in Baltimore--Nov. 15-18, 2021

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249583/bishops-fall-assembly-baltimore
Ready for the big bishops' meeting? Here are 8 things you need to know
By Christine Rousselle
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 13, 2021 / 00:00 am

When the U.S. Catholic bishops gather in Baltimore Nov. 15-18 for their annual fall meeting, it will be their first in-person assembly since November 2019.

Much of the focus will be on a controversial document on Eucharistic coherence, and the final document’s possible ramifications for pro-abortion Catholic politicians, most notably President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. More on that in a moment.

First, here are 8 things to be aware of heading into what promises to be one of the more closely scrutinized bishops’ assemblies in some time:

1. An unorthodox beginning. To start, the first day of the assembly on Monday is entirely closed to the media as an “executive session” — something that is typically reserved for the last day. The expectation is for a frank exchange on the Eucharistic coherence document, which is expected to pass in the end, but perhaps not before some spirited exchanges.
 
8. Tuning in. The parts of the assembly that are open to the media — Nov. 16 and 17 — will be livestreamed on the USCCB website, which will publish a full schedule of meetings and speeches.
____________

The USCCB website:  https://www.usccb.org/

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-11/pope-francis-discoure-franciscan-order-general-chapter.html

Pope calls Secular Franciscans to closeness, compassion, tenderness
15 November 2021, 09:32

Pope Francis addresses the Secular Franciscan Order in Rome for their General Chapter, expressing his hope that they might fight for justice, work for an integral ecology, collaborate in missionary projects, and become artisans of peace and witnesses of the Beatitudes.
By Vatican News staff writer

Addressing the General Chapter of the Secular Franciscan Order in Rome, Pope Francis chose to "recall some elements proper to your vocation and mission".

Call to holiness

He began by noting that "your vocation stems from the universal call to holiness". This holiness, he continued, "involves the conversion of the heart, attracted, conquered, and transformed by the One who is the only Holy One". He explained that it is this that makes the Franciscans "true 'penitents'".  St Francis, in his Letter to all the faithful, presents "doing penance" as a path of conversion, a path of Christian life, a commitment to do the will and works of the heavenly Father.

This is what Pope Francis urged those present to "achieve throughout their mission". The Pope said they must not confuse "doing penance" with "works of penance". "These - fasting, almsgiving, mortification - are consequences of the decision to open one's heart to God", explained the Pope.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-11/pope-francis-croatia-zoran-milanovic-vatican.html

Pope receives Croatian President Zoran Milanović
15 November 2021, 12:58

Croatian president Zoran Milanović meets with Pope Francis in the Vatican on Monday.
By Vatican News staff writer

Pope Francis on Monday morning received in audience at the Vatican Apostolic Palace the president of the Republic of Croatia, Zoran Milanović.

The Croatian president subsequently met with Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Secretary for Relations with States.

During the cordial discussions, the parties expressed their appreciation for the good existing bilateral relations, and the intention to further develop collaboration.

They also discussed several international and regional issues, including the situation of the Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249594/croatian-president-raises-plight-of-bosnian-catholics-during-vatican-visit
Croatian president raises plight of Bosnian Catholics during Vatican visit
By CNA Staff
Vatican City, Nov 15, 2021 / 08:20 am

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-11/pope-visit-florence-2022-meeting-bishops-mayors-mediterranean.html

Pope to visit Florence to meet Bishops and Mayors of the Mediterranean
15 November 2021, 12:07

Pope Francis will travel to Florence, in central Italy, on 27 February 2022, to greet the mayors, the highest-ranking officials of Mediterranean cities, and to meet with families of refugees and migrants.
By Linda Bordoni & Salvatore Cernuzio

Pope Francis is scheduled to travel north to Florence next February for a meeting dedicated to issues and dynamics that are particularly relevant and of impact for cities, towns, and communities bordering the Mediterranean Sea.

He returns to the Tuscan capital after a visit there six years ago when he participated in the V National Convention of the Italian Bishops' Conference. On that occasion, he delivered a discourse in which he outlined a forward-looking programme for the entire Italian Church.

Confirming the visit on 27 February next, Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, President of the Italian Bishops' Conference, expressed “deep gratitude” to the Pope for “for this gesture of attention towards the initiative that involves the ecclesial and civil communities of the Mediterranean.”

As he did when he went to Bari in February 2020 for the meeting of reflection and spirituality, “Mediterranean: Frontier of Peace,” the Pope “not only blesses the initiative, but also puts his seal on it, assuring his participation on the final day,” Cardinal Bassetti said.
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249592/pope-francis-to-speak-at-meeting-of-bishops-and-mayors-in-florence-in-2022
Pope Francis to speak at meeting of bishops and mayors in Florence
By Hannah Brockhaus
Vatican City, Nov 15, 2021 / 05:00 am

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249591/former-grand-master-of-the-order-of-malta-dies-at-71

Former Grand Master of the Order of Malta dies at 71
By CNA Staff
Valletta, Malta, Nov 15, 2021 / 04:00 am

Fra’ Matthew Festing, the former Grand Master of the Order of Malta, died on Friday at the age of 71.

Festing served as the 79th Grand Master of the lay religious order, founded in Jerusalem in the 11th century, from 2008 to his resignation in 2017.

The order’s Grand Magistry said that Festing felt ill after attending a solemn profession of religious vows at St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta, Malta, on Nov. 4. He was admitted to hospital and died on Nov. 12.
 
His lifetime appointment ended abruptly in 2017, when Pope Francis asked him to resign following an internal dispute within the order centered on the dismissal of Albrecht von Boeselager, the Knights’ Grand Chancellor, in December 2016.
 

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Update:  Cardinal Becciu

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249595/cardinal-becciu-says-he-favored-home-diocese-but-denies-scandal
Cardinal Becciu says he ‘favored’ home diocese but denies scandal
By Hannah Brockhaus
Rome Newsroom, Nov 15, 2021 / 09:15 am

Speaking at an event for a diocesan charity to which he is alleged to have illicitly given Vatican funds, Cardinal Angelo Becciu said on Sunday that he had “favored” his diocese but questioned why it was considered “scandalous.”

According to the local newspaper La Nuova Sardegna, during a Nov. 14 conference unveiling a new charitable initiative, the cardinal told Caritas members he was “proud, appreciative, happy to have helped you. Where is the scandal?”

Becciu, who was charged this summer with embezzlement and abuse of office by the Vatican, has always denied any wrongdoing. He denied reports last year that he directed Vatican and Italian bishops’ conference money to his brother’s corporation, which works with the local branch of Caritas.
 
Around the same time as the news report about Spes Cooperative was published in September 2020, Pope Francis asked Becciu to give up the rights extended to members of the College of Cardinals, and to resign as prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints.

In June, Italian financial police carried out searches at the offices of Spes Cooperative, Caritas, and the Diocese of Ozieri on behalf of Vatican prosecutors.

Becciu was indicted the next month on charges of embezzlement and abuse of office. He is one of 10 defendants in the Vatican’s largest financial trial in recent history. The trial, which centers around the Secretariat of State’s purchase of an investment property in London, started at the end of July. The next hearing is expected to be on Nov. 17.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-11/pope-francis-project-centro-astalli-jesuits-faces-toward-future.html

Pope to Astalli Center: Refugees offer path to living in solidarity
16 November 2021, 12:06

Pope Francis opens a photography exhibition organized by the Jesuit-run Astalli Center for refugees, and urges everyone to rediscover unity in our rich diversity.
By Devin Watkins

The Rome-based Astalli Center is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a photographic exhibition recalling the thousands of migrants and refugees who have passed through the seat of the Italian Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS).

The exhibit’s title—“Volti al Futuro” or “Faces toward the Future”—plays on the Italian noun for faces (volti) which as a verb can also mean “directed toward” or “facing”. It is hosted at the Church of St. Andrew on the Quirinal Hill and will be open to the public until 28 November.

Pope Francis opened the exhibition on Tuesday with a message reflecting on the millions of people who have been forced from their homes over the past 40 years
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-11/pope-francis-hiv-aids-letter-religious-lay-michael-oloughlin.html

Pope thanks religious, lay people who help HIV/AIDS patients
16 November 2021, 15:27

Pope Francis writes a letter to Michael O’Loughlin, journalist and host of a podcast on the work of some representatives of the Church during the peak of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s. The Holy Father praises the “mercy” shown by these people, including many who put their professions and reputations at risk.
By Salvatore Cernuzio

Pope Francis has expressed gratitude to the many priests, nuns, and laypeople who have helped HIV and AIDS patients, even at the cost of their lives, in the 1980s and 1990s when the epidemic of the then-unknown virus had an almost 100% mortality rate.

The Pope acknowledged the service of these individuals in a letter to Michael O'Loughlin, journalist, correspondent for the U.S. magazine “America” and author of a recently released publication titled "Hidden Mercy: AIDS, Catholics and the Untold Stories of Compassion in the Face of Fear."

In the brief letter, the Holy Father writes: “Thank you for illuminating the lives and witnessing of the many priests, women religious and laypeople who have chosen to accompany, support and help their brothers and sisters suffering from HIV and AIDS at great risk to their profession and reputation."

"Instead of indifference, alienation and even condemnation," the Pope continues, "these people have allowed themselves to be moved by the Father's mercy and have allowed it to become the work of their own lives; a mercy that is discreet, silent and hidden, but still capable of sustaining and restoring life and history to each of us.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249603/vatican-archbishop-traditional-latin-mass-experiment-not-successful-in-reconciling-sspx

Vatican archbishop: Traditional Latin Mass ‘experiment’ not successful in reconciling SSPX
By Hannah Brockhaus
Vatican City, Nov 16, 2021 / 08:00 am

The Vatican’s liturgy chief said this week that Pope Francis issued Traditionis custodes as the effort to reconcile the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) “has not entirely been successful” and it is necessary to “go back” to what Vatican II required of the Church.

In an interview with a television channel serving Italian-speaking Switzerland, aired Nov. 14, Archbishop Arthur Roche said that “the normal form of the celebration of the Roman Rite is found in those documents that have been published since the Second Vatican Council.”

Pope John Paul II’s Ecclesia Dei and Benedict XVI’s Summorum Pontificum “were established in order to encourage the Lefebvrists, above all, to return to unity with the Church,” Roche continued, referring to the SSPX by the name of its founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

“It’s clear that Traditionis custodes is saying: OK, this experiment has not entirely been successful. And so, let us go back to what the [Second Vatican] Council required of the Church,” the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments said.

Issued with immediate effect on July 16, Pope Francis’ motu proprio Traditionis custodes (“Guardians of the tradition”) underlined that it is each bishop’s “exclusive competence” to authorize the use of the Traditional Latin Mass in his diocese.
 

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The U.S. Catholic bishops' fall meeting in Baltimore--Nov. 15-18, 2021

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2021/11/eucharist-focus-of-archbishops-remarks-to-u-s-bishops-nuncio-pushes-synodality/
Eucharist focus of Archbishop’s remarks to U.S. bishops; nuncio pushes synodality
By John Lavenburg , Inés San Martín
Nov 16, 2021

BALTIMORE – Opening the fall plenary meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the pope’s representative to the country focused on the importance of synodality, while the president of the body, Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles focused his remarks on Eucharistic revival.

Archbishop Christophe Pierre, papal nuncio to the United States that bishops are called to listen to one another and not seek division, and to not treat the sacraments “as something to be offered to the privileged few.”

He was speaking Tuesday morning, during the first public session of the Nov. 15-18 fall assembly.

Though Gomez thanked the nuncio and asked him to extend to Pope Francis the U.S. bishops support and interest on the Synod of Bishops on synodality – a two-year process launched by the pontiff last October – he avoided the word “synodality” during his speech.

Gomez focused instead on USCCB initiatives, especially a document on the Eucharist set to be discussed this week, and a multi-year plan on Eucharistic revival, which he described as “absolutely vital” to carrying out the church’s mission with the COVID-19 pandemic and social unrest that has happened over the past two years.

Bishops responded with strong applause to both speeches. However, Gomez got a standing ovation, while Pierre didn’t.
 
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2021/11/u-s-bishops-discussions-on-eucharist-document-to-have-different-tone-from-summer/
U.S. bishops discussions on Eucharist document to have ‘different tone’ from summer
By John Lavenburg
Nov 16, 2021

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249612/interim-usccb-secretary-general-elected-to-full-5-year-term
Interim USCCB Secretary General elected to full 5-year term
By Christine Rousselle
Baltimore, Md., Nov 16, 2021 / 15:53 pm

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249611/usccb-election-results
USCCB chairmen elections: Who came out on top?
By Christine Rousselle
Baltimore, Md., Nov 16, 2021 / 15:28 pm

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Video, with English commentary, at the link

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-11/pope-francis-begins-catechesis-on-st-joseph.html
Pope Francis: St Joseph, an example and a witness for our times
17 November 2021, 08:42

Following his catechesis on St Paul’s Letter to the Galatians at the Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis begins a new series of reflections on St Joseph as an example and a witness for our times.
By Christopher Wells

Pope Francis began a new cycle of catecheses on St Joseph at his weekly Audience on Wednesday, explaining that “today, as never before, in this time marked by a global crisis,” St Joseph can offer us “support, consolation, and guidance.” As the year of St Joseph draws to a close, the Pope said he hoped his reflections might “further help us to allow ourselves to be enlightened by his example and by his witness.”
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-11/pope-prays-for-victims-of-abuse-and-those-hurt-by-job-crisis.html
Pope prays for victims of abuse and those hurt by job crisis
17 November 2021, 12:01

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249617/pope-francis-st-joseph-teaches-us-to-notice-the-people-the-world-ignores
Pope Francis: St. Joseph teaches us to notice the people the world ignores
By Hannah Brockhaus
Vatican City, Nov 17, 2021 / 04:30 am

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2021.index.html
Audiences 2021
General Audience of 17 November 2021: Catechesis on Saint Joseph - 1. Saint Joseph and the environment in which he lived

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-11/pope-francis-jpic-bishops-conferences-covid-development.html

Pope: Justice and peace must overcome political, economic contradictions
17 November 2021, 09:15

Pope Francis urges participants in an online meeting of Justice and Peace Commissions of various national Bishops’ Conferences to help society correct the contradictions in the economic and political systems revealed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
By Devin Watkins

The Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development is hosting a two-day online conference for Justice and Peace Commissions of national Catholic Bishops’ Conferences.

Running 17-18 November, the event focuses on the challenges and possibilities facing humanity in the post-pandemic world.

Pope Francis kicked off the conference with a message to encourage participants in their mission to foster human development in their home countries.
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249616/pope-francis-justice-and-peace-commissions-offer-an-indispensable-service
Pope Francis: Justice and peace commissions offer an ‘indispensable service’
By CNA Staff
Vatican City, Nov 17, 2021 / 04:00 am

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/pont-messages/2021.index.html
Messages Pontifical Messages 2021
Message of the Holy Father to participants in the World Meeting of Justice and Peace Commissions of Episcopal Conferences [Video Conference, 17 – 18 November 2021] (15 November 2021)

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Update:  Vatican finance trial

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249608/vatican-finance-trial-what-s-happened-so-far-and-where-is-it-heading

Vatican finance trial: What’s happened so far and where is it heading?
By Andrea Gagliarducci
Vatican City, Nov 17, 2021 / 01:00 am

A Vatican judge’s partial turnaround at a hearing earlier this month is a significant plot twist in the finance trial that kicked off this summer.

The prosecution has 10 defendants, with many different charges against them, most linked to the management of funds in the Vatican Secretariat of State, particularly to the purchase of a luxury property in London.

At the trial’s third hearing on Oct. 6, the president of the Vatican Tribunal, judge Giuseppe Pignatone, ruled in favor of requests by the defense to have prosecutors re-do the investigation into some of the charges and defendants.

This was Pignatone’s way of trying to resolve some situations in the trial that risked rendering it invalid. For example, the defense lawyers had pointed out that not all of the indictments had been filed — a necessary prerequisite for lawyers to prepare the defense. And in particular, they pointed out that audiovisual recordings of the interrogation of Msgr. Alberto Perlasca had not been shared with them.
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249624/vatican-finance-trial-pope-francis-role-in-london-deal-questioned-by-defense
Vatican finance trial: Pope Francis’ role in London deal questioned by defense
By Hannah Brockhaus
Vatican City, Nov 17, 2021 / 10:40 am

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The U.S. Catholic bishops' fall meeting in Baltimore--Nov. 15-18, 2021

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2021-11/usccb-fall-general-assembly-nuncio-pierre-synodality-discernment.html
Nuncio to US bishops: Synodality, discernment lead to action in concrete situations
17 November 2021, 13:02

Addressing US bishops on Tuesday during their General Assembly in Baltimore, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, spoke about the importance of synodality in facing the challenges confronting the nation and the Church, in openness to the Holy Spirit.
By Robin Gomes

Synodality does not involve changing “traditional truths of Christian doctrine”; rather, it is concerned with “how teaching can be lived and applied in the changing contexts of our times” through apostolic discernment. The Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, made the point on Tuesday to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which is currently holding its General Assembly in Baltimore, Maryland, November 15-18. He spoke to them about synodality and the need for apostolic discernment.
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249619/orthodox-archbishop-elpidophoros-us-bishops
Orthodox archbishop makes historic address to USCCB assembly
By Christine Rousselle
Baltimore, Md., Nov 17, 2021 / 07:40 am

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249622/breaking-bishops-vote-to-accept-eucharistic-coherence-statement
U.S. Bishops vote to accept Eucharist document
By Christine Rousselle
Baltimore, Md., Nov 17, 2021 / 10:00 am

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249625/us-bishops-overwhelming-endorse-eucharistic-statement-revival-campaign
How did the bishops vote on the Eucharist document? Here's the latest
By Shannon Mullen
Baltimore, Md., Nov 17, 2021 / 10:55 am

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249626/mother-teresa-to-be-honored-in-the-catholic-us-liturgical-calendar
USCCB votes to inscribe Mother Teresa in the U.S. Liturgical Calendar
By Shannon Mullen, Francesca Pollio
Baltimore, Md., Nov 17, 2021 / 13:41 pm

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249627/blessed-carlo-acutis-named-a-patron-of-eucharistic-revival-campaign
Blessed Carlo Acutis named a patron of Eucharistic Revival campaign
By Christine Rousselle
Baltimore, Md., Nov 17, 2021 / 15:00 pm

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249631/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-national-eucharistic-congress
Everything you need to know about the National Eucharistic Congress
By Shannon Mullen, Katie Yoder
Baltimore, Md., Nov 17, 2021 / 16:20 pm

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Update:  Cardinal Burke

https://guadalupeshrine.org/cardinal-burkes-december-schedule/
Cardinal Burke’s upcoming Masses at the Shrine

This December, His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, will be offering his first public liturgies since he began rehabilitation from the COVID-19 virus four months ago. You are invited to attend these services at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and welcome back His Eminence.

However, if you are unable to welcome his Eminence in person, the Pontifical Mass will be streamed live by Catholic Answers. (Details on the live-stream will be coming soon.)
Please continue to keep in your prayers Cardinal Burke and all of us at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

December 11 (Saturday)
11:00 a.m. Pontifical High Mass, (E.F.) Cardinal Burke
(12:15 p.m. Mass is canceled)
 

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Update:  Vatican finance trial

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2021-11/london-trial-vatican-fourth-prosecution.html
London building trial: Defense claims 'mutilated' evidence, prosecution says 'everything correct'
18 November 2021, 13:29

In the fourth hearing of the proceedings on the alleged illegal activities carried out with funds from the Secretariat of State, the proceedings were suspended due to procedural issues. The defense attorneys requested nullity due to redaction of the material submitted. Enrico Crasso’s lawyers said that the Pope was interviewed as a witness but the promoter of Justice denied it. The next hearing is set for 1 December.
By Salvatore Cernuzio

The trial in the Vatican regarding alleged illicit dealings with the funds of the Holy See has not yet come to a head and will probably still take some time. After the partial restitution of documents to the Office of the Promoter of Justice, there are only six remaining defendants out of the initial ten: Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, the former director and president of AIF, Tommaso Di Ruzza and René Brüllhart, the financiers Enrico Crasso, Gianluigi Torzi, and the manager Cecilia Marogna (the positions of the four companies have also been eliminated)

"It will take time to start, if we ever manage to start," said the president of the Vatican Tribunal, Giuseppe Pignatone, opening the fourth session in the multipurpose room of the Vatican Museums. The hearing - which lasted 2 hours and 40 minutes, with a one-hour break in between - was entirely dedicated to the issue of cuts and omissions by the Promoters of Justice on the documents submitted on 3 November.
 

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The U.S. Catholic bishops' fall meeting in Baltimore--Nov. 15-18, 2021

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249642/forget-rcia-meet-ocia-us-bishops-approve-big-name-change
Forget RCIA, meet OCIA: U.S. bishops approve big name change
By CNA Staff
Denver Newsroom, Nov 18, 2021 / 16:32 pm

The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, or RCIA, as it has been more commonly referred to, will have its name changed to Order of Christian Initiation for Adults, or OCIA, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops decided this week.

The name change applies both to the process by which one enters the Church and the book that contains the ritual text and prayers for those steps.

Following the trend of updating all liturgical texts to reflect greater fidelity to the original Latin, the U.S. bishops, meeting in Baltimore for their annual fall assembly, approved on Nov. 17 a revised English edition of the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. The English version passed 215-0 with two abstentions.

The action still needs the approval of the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments before it takes effect.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249646/is-pope-francis-pragmatic-approach-creating-a-crisis-for-canon-law

Is Pope Francis’ pragmatic approach creating a crisis for canon law?
By Andrea Gagliarducci
Vatican City, Nov 19, 2021 / 03:00 am

In the eight years since his election, Pope Francis has been an active lawmaker. Beyond his well-publicized reforms, there have been many other significant but hidden legislative changes.

When making these alterations, Pope Francis has mostly acted alone. The Vatican departments that normally oversee and harmonize new legislation with existing laws have been marginalized.

This is the snapshot of the Vatican presented in a recently released book with a thesis that is, in fact, broader: that it is not only certain procedures that are at stake, but the whole edifice of canon law.

The book’s title is “La recente attività normativa ecclesiale: finis terrae per lo ius canonicum?” (“The recent normative activity of the Church: The end of the world for the canon law?”) The author is Geraldina Boni, a canon law professor at the University of Bologna who has served as a consultant of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts since 2011.