The year, the Christmas tradition of the Peace Light of Bethlehem continues, despite COVID-19 restrictions and border and church closures.
International News
Pope Creates 13 New Cardinals, Including Washington Archbishop
One by one 11 senior churchmen, including two U.S. citizens — Cardinals Wilton D. Gregory of Washington and Silvano M. Tomasi, a former Vatican diplomat — knelt before Pope Francis to receive their red hats, a cardinal’s ring and a scroll formally declaring their new status and assigning them a “titular” church in Rome.
Mexican Church, Civic Leaders: No Pilgrims at Basilica for Guadalupe Feast
Mexican church and civic officials have canceled public feast celebrations for Mexico’s patroness at her shrine in Mexico City due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The celebration normally attracts 10 million pilgrims to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the world’s most-visited Marian shrine.
Firestorm on Twitter in Spain After Trending Topic Calls for Burning Priests
Despite restrictions on hate speech on social media in Spain, a trending hashtag calling for Catholic priests to be burned alive was not removed for violating rules against posting calls for violence.
New Date for Local WYD Suits Needs of Dioceses, Vatican Official Says
Pope Francis’ decision to move the local celebrations of World Youth Day from Palm Sunday to the feast of Christ the King addresses the pastoral needs of local churches, said Father Joao Chagas, head of the youth section of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life.
China Dismissed Pope Francis’ Remarks About ‘Persecuted’ Uighur Muslim Minority
The Chinese foreign ministry dismissed Pope Francis’ criticism of China’s treatment of Muslim Uighurs as groundless. In a new book to be released next month, “Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future,” the pontiff said that he often thinks of “persecuted peoples: the Rohingya, the poor Uighurs, the Yazidi.”
New Book Sketches Pope’s Dream for a Post-COVID World
In that brief intermezzo over the summer between what turned out to be the first and second great surges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pope Francis held a series of appropriately socially distanced, “virtual” conversations with his premier English-language explicator about what he believes needs to be done for the world to be better than it was before the crisis.
For Pakistani-Americans, Constant Worry Over Family Back Home
James Cyprian lives in Brooklyn, but his mind is often thousands of miles away in his native Pakistan — worrying about his two adult children’s safety. “They are always on my mind,” said Cyprian, secretary-general of the Brooklyn-based Pakistani Christian Association of USA.
Analysis: Two Secular Lawsuits Raise Deeply Ecclesiastical Conundra
Within the last few days, two completely separate lawsuits have been filed in two different countries that somehow involve the Vatican.
Pope Francis Meets With NBA Players’ Union Delegation at the Vatican
A delegation representing the National Basketball Players Association, a union representing professional athletes from the NBA, met with Pope Francis and spoke with him about their work in promoting social justice.