1. Israel Protests Pope Francis’ Statement on Gaza, By Francis X. Rocca, The Wall Street Journal, October 16, 2023
Israel protested after Pope Francis called for respect for “humanitarian law, especially in Gaza,” as Israel prepares to invade the enclave.
“It is inconceivable that an announcement essentially expressing concern for the residents of Gaza is issued at the same time Israel is burying 1,300 murdered citizens,” Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Eli Cohen said in a statement on Sunday evening.
Earlier in the day, the pope had called for humanitarian corridors for Gaza and for the release of civilian hostages held by Hamas. Cohen spoke with his Vatican counterpart, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, on Sunday evening, the Israeli foreign ministry said, and called on the Vatican to unequivocally condemn the attacks. On Monday, the pope’s representative in the Holy Land, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, said that he was willing to offer himself in exchange for Israeli children being held hostage.
https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/israel-hamas-war-gaza-palestinians/card/israel-protests-pope-francis-statement-on-gaza-4ScL9OynYAeCQKREKyNA
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2. Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem offers to be exchanged for hostages held by Hamas, By Courtney Mares, Catholic News Agency, October 16, 2023, 6:47 AM
The Latin Catholic patriarch of Jerusalem has offered to be exchanged for the children being held hostage in the Gaza Strip by Hamas.
Speaking to journalists via video conference on Oct.16, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa was asked if he would be willing to offer himself in exchange to free the children hostages who were taken in Hamas’ attack on Israel last week. The cardinal responded that he is willing to do anything to “bring those children home.”
“Am I ready for an exchange? Anything, if that can lead to freedom and bring those children home, no problem. There is an absolute availability on my part,” the cardinal said.
Israel Defense Forces announced Monday that 199 Israeli hostages, including children, are being held by Hamas and that the military is trying to understand where they are being held in Gaza. Hamas terrorists had threatened last week to kill one hostage every time that Israel’s military bombs civilian targets in Gaza.
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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255694/jerusalem-cardinal-pizzaballa-offers-to-be-exchanged-for-gaza-hostages
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3. Justice Dept. focuses on violence by protesters at abortion clinics, Federal prosecutors have brought more cases against antiabortion protesters amid reports of rising threats, By David Nakamura, The Washington Post, October 15, 2023, 7:00 AM
In August 2020, a group of antiabortion protesters sat in front of the doors to an abortion clinic in Sterling Heights, Mich., singing Christian hymns and refusing police orders to move.
They were arrested for trespassing, a misdemeanor.
Then, in February, the Justice Department announced a federal indictment in the case that could send some of the protesters to prison for up to 11 years.
They were charged under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, a 1994 law that Attorney General Merrick Garland has called a key tool in the Biden administration’s efforts to protect reproductive rights in the face of tightening legal restrictions for women seeking abortions.
Some conservative groups, Republican lawmakers and defense attorneys have rebuked Garland, accusing the department of going too far in aggressively pursuing members of antiabortion groups who have not necessarily been dangerous. They say authorities are ignoring similar threats and vandalism at Catholic churches and reproductive health centers that counsel women against abortion.
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Since President Biden took office in 2021, the Justice Department has brought 2o criminal prosecutions and one civil case under the FACE Act against a total of 46 defendants, according to federal officials, with all but one of the cases involving charges for disruptions at abortion clinics. That one exception is a criminal case against four abortion rights activists accused of spray-painting threatening messages last year at three Florida reproductive health centers that counsel patients against abortion.
Decrying what they view as an imbalance, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Tex.) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced legislation in September to repeal the law. Roy accused the Justice Department of having “brazenly weaponized the FACE Act against normal, everyday Americans across the political spectrum, simply because they are pro-life.”
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/10/15/abortion-rights-clinics-violence/
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4. Pope Francis Calls for Humanitarian Corridors for Gaza, By Francis X. Rocca, The Wall Street Journal, October 15, 2023
Pope Francis appealed for humanitarian corridors in Gaza as Israel prepares to invade the enclave. Speaking after his noon prayer at the Vatican on Sunday, the pope asked that “children, the sick, the elderly, women and all civilians not be victims of the conflict.”
The pope also repeated his call for the release of hostages held by Hamas. “Brothers and sisters, many have already died,” Francis said. “Please, let no more innocent blood be shed, neither in the Holy Land, nor in Ukraine or anywhere else. Enough! Wars are always a defeat, always.”
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https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/israel-hamas-war-gaza-conflict/card/pope-francis-calls-for-humanitarian-corridors-for-gaza-tOqsIofC3Ti8gn4bTzd5
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5. Pope Francis highlights ‘little greatness’ of St. Thérèse of Lisieux in apostolic letter, By Hannah Brockhaus, Catholic News Agency, October 15, 2023, 5:55 AM
Pope Francis has commended the “little greatness” of St. Thérèse of Lisieux in a new message focusing on the 19th-century Carmelite’s relevance for the Church today.
St. Thérèse’s “genius consists in leading us to what is central, essential and indispensable,” the pope wrote in an apostolic letter published Oct. 15.
The young saint, whose life and writings focused on love and following a “little way” of holiness, “shows that, while it is true that all the Church’s teachings and rules have their importance, their value, their clarity, some are more urgent and more foundational for the Christian life,” he said.
“From heaven to earth, the timely witness of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face endures in all the grandeur of her little way,” Francis wrote.
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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255691/pope-francis-highlights-little-greatness-of-st-therese-of-lisieux-in-apostolic-letter
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6. Catholic ministry aims to ‘walk alongside’ those experiencing miscarriage, child loss, By Francesca Pollio Fenton, Catholic News Agency, October 15, 2023, 9:46 AM
About 10% to 20% of pregnancies end in miscarriage, with 80% of miscarriages happening in the first trimester before 12 weeks of gestation. A ministry in the Archdiocese of Denver aims to accompany parents and families who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, prenatal diagnosis, or infant loss.
Behold Your Child, which originally launched in the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa, is in its beginning stages in the Denver Archdiocese. Deacon David Simonton and his wife Gail began the ministry at St. Thomas More Catholic Parish in Centennial, Colorado.
Soon after David was ordained in June 2019, he was assigned to the apostolate of family life ministry at St. Thomas More. Later that summer, he and his wife attended the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers National Conference in Denver. It was there where they heard about Behold Your Child for the first time.
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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255674/catholic-ministry-aims-to-walk-alongside-those-experiencing-miscarriage-child-loss
__________________________________________________________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. |
