1. German synodal way members back permanent ‘synodal council’, The new body will ‘take fundamental decisions of supra-diocesan significance’, By Luke Coppen, The Pillar, September 12, 2022, 6:00 AM
A turbulent three-day meeting of the German “synodal way” ended on Saturday with the adoption of a controversial proposal to create a permanent body composed of lay people and bishops to oversee the local Church.
The synodal way is a multi-year gathering of bishops and lay people to discuss four main topics: power, the priesthood, women in the Church, and sexuality in the wake of a devastating abuse crisis and amid a mass exodus of German Catholics.
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The vote followed a Vatican declaration in July that the synodal way has no power “to compel the bishops and the faithful to adopt new ways of governance and new approaches to doctrine and morals.”
https://www.pillarcatholic.com/german-synodal-way-members-back-permanent-synodal-council/
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2. Pope seeks prayers for his ‘peace pilgrimage’ in Kazakhstan, By Associated Press, September 11, 2022, 7:49 AM
Pope Francis on Sunday asked for prayers to accompany him this week on what he calls his “pilgrimage of peace” in Kazakhstan for a meeting of religious leaders.
In remarks to the public in St. Peter’s Square, Francis noted that on Tuesday he begins a three-day visit to that central Asian country to participate in a gathering of heads of world and traditional religions.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pope-seeks-prayers-for-his-peace-pilgrimage-in-kazakhstan/2022/09/11/c03e0352-31c7-11ed-a0d6-415299bfebd5_story.html
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3. CatholicVote to hold St. Michael novena in defense of churches, pregnancy centers, By Katie Yoder, Catholic News Agency, September 10, 2022, 3:30 AM
CatholicVote is inviting Christians nationwide to pray a novena asking for St. Michael’s intercession amid the growing number of attacks targeting churches and pro-life pregnancy centers in the United States.
“As Catholics, before we go to the polls, we go to the cross,” Brian Burch, the president of the Catholic advocacy organization, explained in a video about the nine-day prayer.
The novena will begin on Sept. 20 and conclude on Sept. 29, the feast of the archangels.
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CatholicVote, like CNA, has been tracking the dozens of attacks targeting pro-life organizations and churches surrounding the Supreme Court’s June decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which leaves abortion up to the states.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252258/catholicvote-to-hold-saint-michael-novena-in-defense-of-churches-pregnancy-centers
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4. High court blocks recognition of LGBTQ campus at Yeshiva U, By Associated Press, September 9, 2022, 5:52 PM
The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a court order that would have forced Yeshiva University to recognize an LGBTQ group as an official campus club.
The court acted Friday in a brief order signed by Justice Sonia Sotomayor that indicated the court would have more to say on the topic at some point.
The university, an Orthodox Jewish institution in New York, argued that granting recognition to the group, the YU Pride Alliance, “would violate its sincere religious beliefs.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/high-court-blocks-recognition-of-lgbtq-campus-at-yeshiva-u/2022/09/09/baf87c02-3086-11ed-bcc6-0874b26ae296_story.html
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5. Planned Parenthood maps strategy to protect abortion rights, By Sophie Austin and Adam Beam, Associated Press, September 9, 2022, 6:06 PM
Planned Parenthood leaders from 24 states gathered in California’s capital Friday to begin work on a nationwide strategy to protect and strengthen access to abortion, a counteroffensive aimed at pushing back against restrictions that have emerged in more than half of the country after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Their goal is to emulate the success liberals have had in California, where state lawmakers passed some of the most robust abortion protections in the country this year, culminating in a statewide election this fall that would make abortion a constitutional right in the nation’s most populous state.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, speaking to a group of 25 leaders in a hotel conference room in Sacramento, with another 30 watching online, said abortion advocates could channel what he called the “ruthless energy” of anti-abortion advocates — “but not as a way to hurt people.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/abortion-leaders-gather-in-california-to-talk-strategy/2022/09/09/a9d54854-3083-11ed-bcc6-0874b26ae296_story.html
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6. German ‘synodal way’ adopts resolution on women in ministries, The text , challenges ‘the exclusion of women from the sacramental ministry’, By Luke Coppen, The Pillar, September 9, 2022, 12:51 PM
Participants in Germany’s “synodal way” approved a text on Friday on the role of women in the Catholic Church that challenges “the exclusion of women from the sacramental ministry.”
Members voted toward the end of the second day of a plenary meeting in Frankfurt on a 31-page document entitled “Women in ministries and offices in the Church,” which was facing its second reading.
The text does not call directly for the ordination of women as deacons and priests. But it asserts that “for generations, many women have known that they were called by God to be deaconesses or priestesses.” It proposes that “in future, it should no longer be gender that decides on the allocation of ministries, but the vocation, abilities, and skills that serve the proclamation of the Gospel in our time.”
https://www.pillarcatholic.com/german-synodal-way-adopts-resolution-on-women-in-ministries/
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7. After sex document at German Synodal Way is blocked, organizers vow to ‘take it to’ Rome, By AC Wimmer, Catholic News Agency, September 9, 2022, 9:02 AM
After bishops blocked a vote demanding changes to the Church’s teaching on sexuality at the German Synodal Way, organizers on Friday voiced their displeasure with the outcome and vowed to “take it to” Rome.
One of two presidents of the Synodal Way, Bishop Georg Bätzing, expressed “personal disappointment” that a blocking minority of bishops prevented the document pushing for changes to the Church’s teaching on homosexuality, bisexuality, gender identity, and masturbation from being officially adopted.
While nearly 83% of the synodal assembly in Frankfurt voted in favor of adopting the text, titled “Living in Successful Relationships,” only about 61% of the bishops did.
The document on sexuality, therefore, fell just short of a two-thirds majority, as 21 bishops rejected the text and three abstained, while 33 bishops voted for the document’s adoption, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252247/after-sex-document-at-german-synodal-way-is-blocked-organizers-vow-to-take-it-to-rome
__________________________________________________________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. |
