Catholic News

• US State Dept. publishes International Religious Freedom Report; Tillerson highlights ISIS genocide
  The US State Department cited the Islamic State as for genocide in its annual report on religious freedom around the world.
• Melbourne archbishop says he’s prepared to go to jail rather than divulge confessions 
  Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne, Australia said that he would go to jail rather than obey a law requiring him to divulge the contents of a sacramental confession.
• Teacher in landmark Philadelphia abuse case released 10 years early
  A former teacher at a Catholic school in Philadelphia has been released from prison after a court overturned his conviction on charges of molesting a student.
• Syriac Catholic patriarch laments US invasion of Iraq, Western aid to ‘moderate’ Syrian rebels 
  Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan of Antioch said that Western support for “moderate” Syrian rebel factions has caused the devastation of the country.
• Trump administration poised to end contraceptive mandate
  The Trump administration will soon unveil new regulations that will exempt religious institutions from the “Obamacare” requirement that health-insurance programs must include contraceptive coverage, the Wall Street Journal reports.
• Cardinal Sarah urges faithful to resist ‘revolutionaries’ who attack faith and family
  At a memorial Mass honoring the martyrs of the Vendée region in France, Cardinal Robert Sarah challenged Catholics to oppose “the modern persecutors of the Church,” and warned that today’s attack on the faith is centered on a bid to undermine the family.
• Church must clarify papal teaching, Cardinal Burke says
  Cardinal Raymond Burke insisted that a clarification of Church teaching on divorce, remarriage, and the Eucharist is “now necessary,” in an interview with the weekly The Wanderer.
• In foreword for book by abuse victim, Pope Francis repeats pledge to take action
  Pope Francis has written a foreword to a new book by a Swiss man who was a victim of clerical abuse.
• Indian state of Jharkand passes anti-conversion bill 
  Jharkhand was become the 7th state in India to enact legislation to limit religious conversions, despite heavy opposition from religious-freedom advocates.
• Investigator in fetal-parts scandal wins legal battle against university employees 
  The man responsible for a series of investigative reports on the involvement of Planned Parenthood with the sale of fetal body parts has won a court victory over researchers who had sought to prevent public disclosure of their involvement.
• Over 200 Christians detained in Eritrea since May 
  The death of a Christian woman in a prison camp in Eritrea has called attention to the arrests of scores of Christians.
• Protests follow prison death of Pakistani Christian 
  Christians in Pakistan have staged public demonstrations to demand an investigation into the death of a Christian man who died in police custody.
• Catholic Church in Russia recalls victims of Communism 
  The secretary-general of the Russian Catholic bishops’ conference has asked Christians in the West to help keep alive the memory of Russian Christians who died under Communist persecution.
• India: Catholics rally against ‘one village, one denomination law’ 
  Catholics in a small village in India’s state of Manipur have rallied to protest local officials’ decision that a Catholic who once lived in the village cannot be buried there.
• Vatican donates to shelters for immigrants on Texas border
  The Vatican has donated $175,000 to two centers serving immigrants and refugees in the Rio Grande valley in Texas.
• Church in El Salvador establishes Office of Lay Martyrs to honor civil-war victims
  The Catholic Church in El Salvador has established an Office of Lay Martyrs, to honor those who were killed during the country’s civil war.
• For assumption, Pope speaks on power of Mary’s humility
  In his Angelus audience on August 15, the feast of the Assumption, Pope Francis spoke on the humility of the Virgin Mary, remarking that “humility is like an emptiness that leaves room for God.”
• Australian bishops: seal of Confession must be protected
  The Australian Catholic bishops have indicated that they will not accept an infringement on the confessional seal.
• Bishops ‘very slow to change’ in confronting abuse, says lay leader of Catholic commission
  The head of the Australian bishops’ commission on sexual abuse has said that she fears the Church has been only “partially cleansed and unreconstructed” despite months of intense public scrutiny.
• Nigerian cardinal: Amoris Laetitia affirmed traditional Church teaching on receiving Holy Communion
  A Nigerian cardinal has said that Amoris Laetitia upheld the Church’s traditional teaching that Catholics who are divorced and remarried cannot receive the Eucharist.
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