About 10 days before he was expected in Rome, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted that the Vatican “endangers its moral authority” by considering an extension of its 2018 agreement with China on the nomination of bishops.
National News
Supreme Court to Begin New Term as It Ended Last One: by Teleconference
The Supreme Court, which begins its new term Oct. 5, will be hearing oral arguments by teleconference, just as it did at the end of the last term, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg is Remembered as ‘Jurist of Historic Stature’
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Sept. 18 at age 87, has been described in countless tributes as a cultural icon and a giant despite her small size.
Four Puerto Rican Dioceses to Receive $82 Million in Special FEMA Funding
With the help of Catholic Extension and two other organizations, four Catholic dioceses in Puerto Rico were selected to receive to $82 million in “hazard mitigation funding” from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Court Sides With Trump on Right to End TPS
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit sided Sept. 14 with President Donald Trump’s plan to end a particular immigration protection status that would have allowed people from six countries that have suffered disasters to remain in the United States.
Black Coalition Assail Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood has voiced solidarity to the Black Lives Matter movement, prompting pro-life leaders from African American communities to challenge the abortion provider with this question: “Will you confront the iniquity that your abortion practices perpetrate against Black lives? Will you fight the racism that targets Black lives in the womb?”
Laura’s Wreckage Too Close and Too Familiar for Houston Catholics
When Hurricane Laura’s path was projected between Houston and New Orleans, the millions in the region shuddered. Memories of Katrina, Rita, Ike and Harvey were all too familiar and too recent. Meris Bridger had seen hurricane damage before, but never to her own family’s home.
‘Together Strong: Life Unites’ Is Theme of March for Life Set for Jan. 29
The Sept. 10 announcement of the theme for the March for Life — “Together Strong: Life Unites” — made it clear the annual national event, in some form, will proceed next Jan. 29.
At Mass for Racial Justice, Healing, Catholics Asked to See Christ in Others
Marking the Sept. 9 feast day of St. Peter Claver with a Mass at a historically Black Catholic church in southern Maryland, Washington Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory urged Catholics to recognize reflections of Christ in others, just as that saint saw Christ in the enslaved Africans he served.
Bring Civility, Faith to Discussions on 2020 Election Issues, Say Panelists
Catholics’ hunger for a moral vocabulary in the final two months of the presidential race is unlikely to be successfully addressed by either nominee.