In the wake of a suicide bombing at the Kabul airport last Thursday that left at least 60 Afghanis and 13 U.S. soldiers dead, the Italian Catholic church has rallied in support of Afghanistan – including the Primate of Italy, Pope Francis, who on Sunday urged leaders to dialogue and ordinary people to prayer and fasting.

The Italian bishops also had some choice words for Western policy in Afghanistan, clearly including the United States though not mentioning it by name, calling that policy “short-sighed … and unable to guarantee the necessary security of the Afghan population.”

https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2021/08/pope-urges-dialogue-fasting-for-afghanistan-italys-bishops-question-us-policy/
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2. Pope replaces Australian bishop in alleged misconduct probe, By Associated Press, August 28, 2021, 8:32 PM

Pope Francis on Saturday replaced an Australian bishop who stepped down amid a Vatican investigation into what Australian media have described as allegations of sexual misconduct.

The Vatican said Francis accepted Bishop Christopher Alan Saunders’ resignation as head of the Broome diocese in Western Australia state. Francis appointed another prelate, Bishop Michael Henry Morrissey of the Geraldton diocese, to temporarily administer the sprawling Catholic diocese in Broome.

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The Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported earlier this year that police and prosecutors decided against filing criminal charges.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pope-replaces-australian-bishop-in-alleged-misconduct-probe/2021/08/28/0591afe4-07f3-11ec-b3c4-c462b1edcfc8_story.html
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3. Catholic Medical Association joins lawsuit over HHS ‘transgender mandate’, By Catholic News Service, August 28, 2021

The Philadelphia-based Catholic Medical Association Aug. 26 joined in a lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s mandate that doctors and hospitals perform gender-transition procedures on any patient despite any moral or medical objections of the doctor or health care facility.

“Biological identity must remain the basis for treating patients,” said Dr. Michael Parker, president of the association, a national, physician-led community of more than 2,300 health care professionals in 114 local guilds.

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2021/08/catholic-medical-association-joins-lawsuit-over-hhs-transgender-mandate/
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4. Cardinal Burke tweets that his condition is improving, By Shannon Mullen, Catholic News Agency, August 28, 2021, 11:38 PM

Raymond Cardinal Burke issued a personal statement via Twitter Saturday night, thanking his doctors, all those who have offered prayers on his behalf, and especially God “who has brought me to this point of healing and recovery.”

Coming a week after the last public update on his health, Cardinal Burke’s tweet provided another positive sign that his condition has improved since being placed on ventilator Aug. 14 due to complications from COVID-19. He said he now faces an “intensive rehabilitation.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248809/cardinal-burke-tweets-that-his-condition-is-improving
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5. Archbishop Naumann encourages Catholics to get vaccinated, accommodate consciences, By Matt Hadro, Catholic News Agency, August 28, 2021, 12:01 PM

More U.S. bishops this week issued statements on COVID-19 vaccine mandates and conscientious objection.

As employers and public places have begun mandating that workers and customers have received a COVID-19 vaccine, bishops around the country have begun issuing statements for Catholics regarding mandates and conscience exemptions.

This week, Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas – who is also chair of the U.S. bishops’ pro-life committee – encouraged Catholics to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, in a statement issued in his capacity as archbishop of Kansas City.

“The Church upholds the permissibility of receiving the vaccines, because vaccination is by itself not evil. In fact, it is normally a virtuous act, attempting to protect the health of others as well as your own health,” he stated in an Aug. 26 press release.

…

However, he added that those receiving such a vaccine are “obligated” to advocate for ethical vaccines with no connection to the controversial cell lines. Furthermore, Naumann affirmed the conscience rights of Catholics who refuse a COVID vaccine because of its connection to abortion.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248803/catholic-archbishop-of-kansas-city-encourages-catholics-to-get-covid-19-vaccines-accommodate-consciences-of-those-opposed
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6. Vatican suppresses Italy-based Regina Pacis Community after apostolic visit, By Hannah Brockhaus, Catholic News Agency, August 27, 2021, 4:36 AM

The Vatican has reportedly suppressed the Regina Pacis Community, a society of apostolic life based in Verona, Italy, citing “institutional shortcomings” and a lack of “charismatic-institutional maturity.”

According to the news agency L’Arena di Verona, the Vatican’s consecrated life office issued a decree suppressing the community on July 24. The bishop of Verona, Giuseppe Zenti, sent a letter informing the diocese of the decision on Aug. 17.

The Regina Pacis Community was founded in 1986 by married couple Alessandro Nottegar and Luisa Scipionato Nottegar as a Catholic community devoted to prayer, evangelization, and service to the poor.

Alessandro Nottegar, a doctor who died from a heart attack just a month after the community’s founding at the age of 42, was declared “venerable” by Pope Francis in 2017 — one of the steps on the path to beatification and canonisation.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248792/vatican-suppresses-italy-based-regina-pacis-community-after-apostolic-visit
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