Catholic News

• Themes of Amazon synod's working document: 'the voice of Amazonia,' integral ecology, prophetic Church (Vatican Press Office)
  At a June 17 press conference (video), officials of the Synod of Bishops discussed the instrumentum laboris (working document) of the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region, which will take place October 6-27. One official spoke of “a pastoral conversion of the Church, called to take care of the common home as part of its evangelizing mission, to teach its faithful after learning from the native peoples.” The Synod fathers will discuss married priests for areas of the Amazon region.
• Pope praises inclusivity, 'healthy disorder' of Jesuit educational federation (Fe y Alegría (Facebook))
  On June 17, Pope Francis received members of the Bogota-based educational federation Fe y Alegría [Faith and Joy]. In a series of Facebook posts that were posted that day in Spanish, English, and French, the federation made public the Pope’s words of encouragement.
• 'Underground' Chinese bishop: better persecution than join Patriotic Association (AsiaNews)
  A Chinese bishop has said that he would prefer persecution to membership in the government-backed Patriotic Association. Bishop Vincent Guo Xijin agreed to step down from his post as Bishop of Mindong, at the Vatican’s request, to make way for the government-backed Bishop Vincent Zhan Silu. But he refused to accept membership in, or pledge loyalty to, the Patriotic Association.
• Victoria's bishops declare they will not cooperate with euthanasia (Catholic Weekly (Sydney))
  “All of us have a role to play in caring for those suffering as well as becoming conscientious objectors by refusing to participate,” the bishops of the southeastern Australian state (map) said as a euthanasia law took effect.
• Vatican denies former Pope Benedict suffered stroke (Catholic Herald)
  The Vatican has denied rumors that Pope-emeritus Benedict recently suffered a minor stroke. Archbishop Georg Gänswein described the rumors as “fake news.” The former Pope, who is 92, has in the past suffered strokes, which were not reported when they occurred.
• Worshippers don hard hats for first Notre-Dame Mass since devastating fire (France 24)
  During the Mass, Archbishop Michel Aupetit “ emphasized that the church is no mere cultural heritage of France, but is meant for the worship of God.”
• Quebec government passes Canada's strictest secularism bill (CNS)
  The Act Respecting the Laicity of the State, criticized by Christian, Jewish, and Muslim organizations, forbids the wearing of religious symbols by new government employees, including teachers and policemen. “We believe that it’s better to fight prejudices and fear for the other in a rational way, by educating people about the diversity of religious, spiritual and cultural experiences and traditions, rather than by prohibitions,” the province’s bishops said before the vote.
• Say things 'with proximity,' expressing tenderness, Pope advises Spanish Internet apostolate (AsiaNews)
  Pope Francis sent a video message to iMisión as it hosted a conference in Madrid.
• Bishop to remain with Hong Kong protesters 'no matter how long they stay' (CNS)
  “No matter how long they stay, I will continue to stay with them,” said Auxiliary Bishop Joseph, OFM. “The shepherd should not just be with the sheep but also guide them.”
• High court avoids new case over same-sex wedding cake (AP)
  The Supreme Court handed the owners of a now-closed Oregon bakery “a small victory by throwing out a state court ruling against them” and directed “ the Associated Press reported. The Court also directed a lower court “to consider last term’s Supreme Court ruling in favor of a baker from Colorado who would not make a cake for a same-sex wedding.”
• Mexican bishops reaffirm commitment to building peace following catechist's murder (Fides)
  Margeli Lang Antonio, a catechist, was shot to death in a parish in the Diocese of Tapachula, which is located in the southern state of Chiapas (map).
• Congo bishops warn of spread of Islamic State (Fides)
  Bishops in the eastern part of the large nation (map) called on the government to “regain the management of the sovereign mission of the State: that of ensuring unity, territorial integrity, security of persons and property and promotion of the well-being of the population.”
• Pakistani Christians welcome government's curricular reform of Islamic schools (Fides)
  “Credit must be given to the government of Imran Khan,” who was elected prime minister in 2018, said Father James Channan, OP, director of the Peace Center in Lahore. “There are numerous Quranic schools in Pakistan, and some of these are used to sow hatred or to promote personal agendas of small extremist groups.”
• In Niger, protesters set fire to Christian church (Vatican News)
  The West African nation of 19.9 million (map) is 99% Muslim.
• Maronite bishops warn that the Middle East is losing its Christians (AsiaNews)
  Except for Lebanon, the Middle East is losing its Christians, Maronite bishops emphasized at the conclusion of their June meeting. The Maronite Catholic Church (CNEWA profile) is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See.
• Suspicious fire in church outside Paris (L'Echo Republicain (French))
  A Catholic parish church in Rambouillet, southwest of Paris, was damaged by fire on June 15. Police arrested a suspect who is suspecting of setting two other fires in the neighborhood the same night. Catholic churches in France have been hit by a rash of fires, many of suspicious origin.
• 2 Christian men accused of 'forced conversions' in Haryana are released (AsiaNews)
  The northern Indian state of Haryana (map) is 87% Hindu, 7% Muslim, and 5% Sikh; only 0.2% of its people are Christian.
• Oslo bishop laments exploitation of au pairs (SIR)
  Because many au pairs in Norway are Filipino Catholics, “it is my responsibility to give them the pastoral care and support they need,” Bishop Bernt Ivar Eidsvig said.
• Synod of Bishops to discuss married priests for areas of Amazon region (The Tablet)
  “Amazonia: new pathways for the Church and for an integral ecology” is the theme of the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region, which will take place October 6-27. The instrumentum laboris (working document)—released in Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish on June 17—stated that “for the more remote areas of the region, the possibility of priestly ordination of elders, preferably indigenous, respected and accepted by their community, should be studied,” according to the report. The document was presented at a Vatican press conference.
• Review board chairman rues US bishops' failure to prod Holy See on McCarrick, calls for rejection of 'metropolitan option' (USCCB)
  Addressing the June 2019 USCCB general assembly, Francesco Cesareo, chairman of the National Review Board, urged the bishops to adopt truly independent audits of diocesan anti-abuse efforts, to hold bishops to the same accountability standards as other clerics, and to have lay review boards, rather than metropolitan archbishops, investigate abuse allegations against bishops. He lamented the bishops’ failure to pass a resolution at their November meeting that would have called on the Holy See to release its documentation on Theodore McCarrick.
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