1. Pope links plight of Ukrainians today to Stalin’s ‘genocide’, By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press, November 23, 2022, 5:33 AM Pope Francis on Wednesday linked the suffering of Ukrainians now to the 1930s “genocide artificially caused by Stalin,” when the Soviet leader was blamed for creating a man-made famine in the country believed to have killed more than 3 million people. Francis’ linking of the plight of Ukrainian civilians today to those killed by starvation 90 years ago, and his willingness to call it a “genocide” and squarely blame Josef Stalin, marked a sharp escalation in papal rhetoric against Russia. As of this year, only 17 countries have officially recognized the famine, known as the Holodomor, according to the Holodomor Museum in Kyiv. … https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pope-links-plight-of-ukrainians-today-to-stalins-genocide/2022/11/23/4262251c-6b1a-11ed-8619-0b92f0565592_story.html__________________________________________________________ 2. Will France enshrine a ‘right’ to abortion in its constitution?, By Solène Tadié, Catholic News Agency, November 23, 2022, 2:29 AM Political tensions in France and reactions to the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the United States are the context for a push towards adding a “right to abortion” to the European country’s constitution. The Law Commission of the French National Assembly voted in favor of two different texts, including the right to abortion in the constitution, at one-week intervals, Nov. 9 and 16.  These bills, first introduced by the ruling party Renaissance and then by far-left party La France Insoumise (LFI), came as a reaction to the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court last June 24 to invalidate the federal right to abortion established by its previous Roe v. Wade decision.  The move also comes against a backdrop of heightened political tensions at the National Assembly since the presidential party lost its majority at the legislative elections in June 2022. … [T]he supporters of this bill intend to rely on popular support to increase pressure on the Senate, as a recent poll estimated that 81% of French people favored the constitutionalization of abortion. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252891/will-france-enshrine-a-right-to-abortion-in-its-constitution__________________________________________________________ 3. Justice Delayed, The news that the FBI is going to investigate attacks on crisis pregnancy centers and Catholic churches is a welcome, if overdue, development., By Michael Warsaw, National Catholic Register, November 23, 2022, Opinion At last, more than six months after the leak of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision sparked an ongoing wave of violent attacks against crisis pregnancy centers and Catholic churches, the FBI has finally moved forward publicly with its investigation into one of these deplorable acts of violence. This is welcome news, so far as it goes. But the problem is, it doesn’t go nearly far enough. Under the control of the abortion extremism of the current administration, it remains indisputable that the Department of Justice has prioritized the prosecution of pro-life protesters who demonstrate at abortion facilities, far ahead of acting to stem the wave of coordinated violence that pro-abortion activists have unleashed against pro-life pregnancy centers. … This consistently one-sided application of the law gives reason to wonder if the long-delayed ramping up of the FBI’s investigation of the CompassCare attack was triggered by the upcoming handover of control of the U.S. House of Representatives to the Republican Party. This shift means that Garland and Wray can expect to be summoned before the House on a regular basis to defend their application of the law, should there be a continuation of the blatant pro-abortion-rights bias that the DOJ has openly displayed throughout Joe Biden’s presidency. Whatever has been the cause for the federal failure to prioritize investigation and prosecution of the criminals responsible for the despicable wave of violence against our nation’s pregnancy centers and Catholic churches, a new approach is long overdue. Going forward, each and every attack merits the DOJ’s and FBI’s full attention. So, as faithful Catholics, we should redouble our prayers for a more even-handed application of our nation’s laws. And we should reinforce this spiritual action by contacting our federal elected leaders directly, to insist on this same point of fundamental legal fairness. God bless you! Michael Warsaw is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the EWTN Global Catholic Network, and the Publisher of the National Catholic Register. https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/justice-delayed__________________________________________________________ 4. Pope ousts leadership of Caritas Internationalis charity, By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press, November 22, 2022, 10:29 AM Pope Francis on Tuesday ousted the management of the Vatican’s international charitable organization Caritas Internationalis and appointed temporary leadership after an external review found management and morale problems at its head office. A Vatican statement said the review found no evidence of financial mismanagement or sexual impropriety. But it said other issues did emerge, with “real deficiencies” found in management, “seriously prejudicing team spirit and staff morale.” Ousted was the secretary general of Caritas Internationalis, Aloysius John, who was elected in a contested vote in 2019, as well as the leadership and governance team. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pope-ousts-leadership-of-caritas-internationalis-charity/2022/11/22/1af3a0d0-6a68-11ed-8619-0b92f0565592_story.html__________________________________________________________ 5. Labor rules for German Catholic-run institutions to be eased, By Associated Press, November 22, 2022, 9:05 AM The Catholic Church in Germany is reforming its labor rules for employees of church-run institutions to allow them to work regardless of “their sexual identity and their way of life.” The German Bishops’ Conference said that an assembly of diocesan representatives on Tuesday approved changes to the rules that govern the employment of some 800,000 people who work for the church or the Caritas charitable organization, which among other things runs many hospitals. Until now, openly being in a same-sex partnership or getting remarried after a divorce could cause employees problems or cost them their job. The bishops’ conference said the new rules center on the character of the institution rather than the employee, and a central message is that “the core area of the private lifestyle is not subject to any legal assessments.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/labor-rules-for-german-catholic-run-institutions-to-be-eased/2022/11/22/bfcec0a2-6a6e-11ed-8619-0b92f0565592_story.html__________________________________________________________ 6. Lawyers seek secrecy around release of Md. report on Catholic church sexual abuse, Attorneys representing people named in the report asked a judge to keep all proceedings under seal. The church said it will support the report’s release., By Erin Cox and Michelle Boorstein, The Washington Post, November 22, 2022, 6:42 PM Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh’s 456-page report on child sexual abuse within the Archdiocese of Baltimore faces a legal effort to seal the court proceedings over whether to release it. But the legal wrangling does not come from the archdiocese, which said in a statement late Tuesday that it will not oppose releasing the details of the four-year investigation, described by Frosh in court filings last week as documenting 600 victims of clergy sexual abuse over 80 years. … The report relied on confidential grand jury testimony and accused 158 priests of abuse, 43 of whom had not be previously identified in public, according to a motion filed last week to publicly release the detailed findings. Because of the use of grand jury testimony, the attorney general must get court permission to unseal the report. … The filing also indicated that the report accuses officials who oversaw the priests of not doing enough to protect victims. Lawyers representing anonymous clients filed paperwork Monday to keep those proceedings around the release of the report — and potentially the entire report — secret. … https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2022/11/22/baltimore-archdiocese-sexual-abuse-report-proceedings/__________________________________________________________ 7. With Archbishop Broglio, US Bishops Choose Unity, With the election of the former diplomat and current shepherd of the Archdiocese for the Military Services to serve as conference president, the bishops have a leader who is well poised to continue to build unity among the U.S. episcopacy and with the Holy See., By National Catholic Register, November 22, 2022, Editorial When Archbishop José Gomez was asked last week to reflect on his most important accomplishment as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Los Angeles prelate chose to speak about fostering greater unity among the U.S. episcopacy. It might have seemed like a surprising thing to highlight. Archbishop Gomez’s presidency, after all, included public moments of infighting among the bishops, from Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich’s public criticism of the conference over its statement marking President Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration to particularly heated exchanges during the USCCB’s June 2021 General Assembly over the question of barring pro-abortion politicians from Communion. But permitting long-festering divisions in the conference to come to light allowed the bishops, under Archbishop Gomez’s leadership, to address them. Measures like holding closed-door sessions at the conference’s general assembly, crafting a Eucharistic coherence document that received near-unanimous approval, and even, as we saw last week in Baltimore, holding fraternal dialogues around circular tables have all fostered a greater sense of brotherhood among the U.S. bishops.  Now, in electing Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services as their next USCCB president, the bishops have chosen a successor to Archbishop Gomez who is distinctly suited to build upon these renewed foundations of episcopal unity. … American society is rife with division, and it has taken its toll on ecclesial life. With Archbishop Broglio at the helm of the USCCB, we should expectantly hope for a continued deepening of unity in the U.S. Church in the years ahead. https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/with-archbishop-broglio-us-bishops-choose-unity__________________________________________________________ 8. Pope Francis meets Jewish leaders as they launch initiative to strengthen Catholic-Jewish bonds, By Hannah Brockhaus, Catholic News Agency, November 22, 2022, 9:30 AM Pope Francis met with international Jewish leaders on Tuesday as they launched an initiative to strengthen Catholic-Jewish bonds. “This visit testifies to and strengthens the bonds of friendship uniting us,” the pope told members of the World Jewish Congress at the Vatican Nov. 22. Francis spoke with the executive committee of the international federation of Jewish communities and organizations during its twice annual meeting, which took place in Rome and the Vatican Nov. 21–22. … https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252882/pope-francis-meets-jewish-leaders-as-they-launch-initiative-to-strengthen-catholic-jewish-bonds__________________________________________________________ 9. Philly archbishop to head Catholic Relief Services board of directors, By Kevin J. Jones, Catholic News Agency, November 22, 2022, 4:30 PM Philadelphia’s Archbishop Nelson Pérez will serve as the next chairman of the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) board of directors, heading up the U.S. bishops’ international relief agency that serves 193 million people in 116 countries. “For more than 75 years, CRS has been a beacon of hope for poor and vulnerable families around the world,” Pérez said in a statement Tuesday. “Its humanitarian aid initiatives are often the difference between life and death for those facing poverty, famine, war, and epidemics.” The three-year appointment is one of the first official acts of Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for Military Services, USA, who was elected president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) at its fall assembly last week. … https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252889/philly-archbishop-to-head-catholic-relief-services-board-of-directors__________________________________________________________

TCA Media Monitoring provides a snapshot from national newspapers and major Catholic press outlets of coverage regarding significant Catholic Church news and current issues with which the Catholic Church is traditionally or prominently engaged. The opinions and views expressed in the articles do not necessarily reflect the views of The Catholic Association.
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