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Pope says he felt 'caged' during lockdown
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis said that the coronavirus lockdown made him feel imprisoned but ultimately led him to find different ways to carry out his ministry. In an interview with Italy's Canale 5 broadcast Jan. 10, the pope was asked how his daily routine changed once COVID-19 restrictions prevented public events at the Vatican.
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Pope's doctor dies of COVID-19 complications
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis' personal doctor died Jan. 9 of complications caused by COVID-19. Fabrizio Soccorsi, 78, had been admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital Dec. 26 because of cancer, according to the Italian Catholic agency SIR, Jan. 9.
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UPDATE: Some Canadian provinces close churches to contain pandemic
Canadian churches faced new restrictions as public health officials tried to contain a post-holiday surge of COVID-19. Churches and all places of worship are once again closing in the province of Quebec in an effort to stop the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision is part of a new series of containment measures announced by Premier Francois Legault Jan. 6.
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Australians call on authorities to solve mystery of funds from Vatican
SYDNEY (CNS) -- People inside and outside the church are calling on authorities to get to the bottom of mystery funds transferred from the Vatican to Australia. As Australia's bishops are considering requesting information from the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, a source close to the Vatican told The Catholic Weekly, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Sydney, that it was "completely implausible" that $2.3 billion Australian dollars (US$1.8 billion) in Vatican funds transferred to Australia from Rome between 2014 and 2020 were legitimate.
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COVID-19 claims lives of over 200 priests in Italy since start of pandemic
ROME (CNS) -- Of the more than 76,000 people known to have died of COVID-19 in Italy the past 11 months, more than 200 were priests, according to the Catholic newspaper, Avvenire. Already four priests have died since the start of 2021, the newspaper said Jan. 6, adding that the cumulative toll amounts to about one death every one and a half days since the pandemic began.
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Births of babies with Down syndrome in Europe fall sharply amid increased prenatal testing
CNA Staff, Jan 5, 2021 CNA.- The number of babies with Down syndrome who were born in Europe fell by half between 2011 and 2015— confirming the fears of pro-life campaigners in the UK, who have long argued that increased prenatal testing for Down syndrome has led many women to abort their children.
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Scotland's bishops protest against closure of churches amid new lockdown
CNA Staff, Jan 5, 2021 CNA.- The Scottish Catholic bishops have protested the closing of churches as part of Scotland’s newest coronavirus lockdown. Scotland’s government announced the latest closure Jan. 4. The month-long lockdown will close churches to public Mass from Jan. 8 to Feb. 1. Funerals and marriages can take place with a limited number of attendees.
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Like the Magi, look to the heavens for hope, pope says on Epiphany
In times of doubt and suffering, Christians must not focus on their problems, but instead lift up their eyes to God, who leads them toward the hopeful promise of great things to come, Pope Francis said on the feast of the Epiphany.
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Lebanese man's decades of research helps great-uncle's sainthood cause
BEIRUT (CNS) -- Fares Melki's first introduction to his great-uncle was when he asked his grandfather about the picture framed above his grandfather's bed. That was around 60 years ago, when Melki was 10.
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In British lockdown, English churches open, Scottish churches closed
MANCHESTER, England (CNS) -- An English cardinal spoke of his relief that churches in England will not close during a third national lockdown. Churches in Scotland, however, must close as part of measures introduced Jan. 5 to contain the spread of a highly infectious new variant of COVID-19, leading the bishops there to denounce the measure as "arbitrary and unfair."
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Pope marks opening of Holy Door at Santiago de Compostela
Pilgrims who embark on the long journey of the Camino to Santiago de Compostela remind others of the spiritual journey all Christians make through life toward heaven, Pope Francis said. In a letter marking the opening of the Holy Door at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, the pope said that just like countless pilgrims who embark on the famed Camino toward the tomb of St. James the Great each year, Christians are "a pilgrim people" who do not travel toward "a utopic ideal but rather a concrete goal."
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Pope will not baptize infants on feast day this year
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The choral cries of newborn babies will not fill the Sistine Chapel in 2021 because the COVID-19 pandemic has forced Pope Francis to cancel his annual celebration of infant baptisms on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.
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'Salud!': A better 2021 requires more than a toast
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Whether or not they raised a glass of bubbly as the new year made its debut, many people around the world were convinced that 2021 had to be better than 2020 was. Pope Francis, leading the recitation of the Angelus Jan. 3, had a simple-sounding idea for how to make that happen.
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Vatican set to launch COVID-19 vaccinations for workers, residents
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican will begin offering COVID-19 vaccinations in mid-January, giving priority to its health care workers, security personnel, employees who deal with the public and older residents, employees and retirees.
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Planned Parenthood's international arm boasts financing efforts to legalize abortion in Argentina
Buenos Aires, Argentina, Dec 31, 2020 CNA.- In a post published on Wednesday, December 30, just hours after abortion was legalized by the Argentinian Senate, one of the international branches of Planned Parenthood, the International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region (IPPFWHR), boasted about having financed a large operation in the South American country to push to legalize abortion.
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God gives everyone the task of being peacemakers, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As the Catholic Church celebrated World Peace Day Jan. 1, Pope Francis offered prayers for the people of war-torn Yemen, especially the nation's children left without education and often without food by years of civil war.
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Despite hardships, pope says there is much for which to be thankful
The notable absence of Pope Francis at the final liturgical celebration of 2020 in St. Peter's Basilica capped off a difficult year for the Vatican and for the world. Yet Pope Francis, in remarks read by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, urged people to find meaning in the pandemic.
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Pope to skip Dec. 31, Jan. 1 liturgies due to sciatica, Vatican says
Pope Francis will not preside over the traditional end-of-the-year prayer service nor the New Year's Mass in St. Peter's Basilica due to "painful sciatica," the Vatican said. In a statement published Dec. 31, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said that instead, Cardinal Giovanni Batista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, will preside over the evening prayer and the singing of the "Te Deum" to thank God for the year that is ending.
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Argentina legalizes abortion during first 14 weeks of pregnancy
MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Argentina has legalized abortion during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, despite strong Catholic opposition and polls showing deep divisions on the issue. The Senate approved the bill 38-29 Dec. 30 after a 12-hour debate as supporters with green handkerchiefs and opponents with blue handkerchiefs awaited the decision in the streets during the small hours of the morning. President Alberto Fernández presented legislation in November -- it was quickly approved in the lower house -- and has promised to sign it into law.
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Head of German bishops, self-described conservative, calls for change
BERLIN (CNS) -- In a wide-ranging interview, the head of the German bishops' conference called for far-reaching changes to the Catholic Church and criticized the Vatican's treatment of the church in his country.
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Pope names Ossory bishop to head Dublin, Ireland's largest diocese
DUBLIN (CNS) -- Pope Francis has chosen Bishop Dermot Farrell of Ossory as Archbishop Diarmuid Martin's successor in Dublin. The appointment is one of the most significant in the Irish church, involving oversight of the largest and most secular Irish diocese with up to 1 million Catholics.
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New law brings needed transparency to finances, Vatican official says
A new law that removes financial assets from the control of the Vatican Secretariat of State is a step forward on the path of financial reform, said Bishop Nunzio Galantino, president of Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See.
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Middle East Catholic patriarchs urge Christmas hope amid despair
BEIRUT (CNS) -- Amid suffering and despair, further darkened by the coronavirus pandemic, Catholic patriarchs of the Middle East urged their faithful at Christmastime to hold on to hope. And in Iraq, Christmas was celebrated as a national holiday for the first time; the Iraqi parliament established the holiday in mid-December on the heels of the announcement of Pope Francis' visit, scheduled for March.
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With tears of joy, exiled archbishop returns to Belarus for Christmas
MINSK, Belarus (CNS) -- After almost four months in exile, Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk returned to his people and his cathedral in time to celebrate Christmas. Just after crossing the border from Poland into Belarus Dec. 24, he said he stopped the car, got out, knelt, "thanked God for returning and kissed the ground."
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Come to the water: Mosaicists bring renewal to Rome's first baptistery
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Even though the baptisms the pope celebrates most years in the Sistine Chapel are better known, the most important place to be baptized in Rome for the past nearly 1,600 years has been the baptistery of St. John Lateran.
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Pope removes management of finances, property from Secretariat of State
Pope Francis approved a new set of laws that formally transfer the management of all bank accounts and financial investments belonging to the Vatican Secretariat of State. Issued "motu proprio," on the pope's own accord, and published Dec. 28, the pope's decree orders the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See, also known as APSA, to manage the accounts. APSA handles the Vatican's investment portfolio and real estate holdings.
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Pope announces yearlong reflection on family, 'Amoris Laetitia'
As the fifth anniversary of his apostolic exhortation "Amoris Laetitia" approaches, Pope Francis announced that the Catholic Church will dedicate more than a year to focusing on the family and conjugal love.
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Pope on Christmas: Share hope, promote peace, give vaccine to all
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- On a Christmas like no other, Pope Francis prayed for people who could not be with their families because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but he urged everyone to recognize and help those who are suffering even more.
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First known nativity scene figurines can now be seen in St. Mary Major Basilica
Rome Newsroom, Dec 23, 2020 CNA.- The first known nativity scene figurines are on display this Christmas in one of Rome’s oldest basilicas. The underground Chapel of the Nativity in the Basilica of St. Mary Major -- known to Italians as Santa Maria Maggiore -- once contained at least six marble nativity statues sculpted by Arnolfo di Cambio in the late 13th century.
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In EWTN interview, Cardinal Pell discusses acquittal, Vatican finances
CNA Staff, Dec 21, 2020 CNA.- Cardinal George Pell, who was acquitted this year after becoming the highest-ranking Catholic cleric ever to be convicted of sexual abuse, spoke this weekabout his time in prison, his hopes for the future, and his thoughts on Vatican financial reform efforts.
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Christmas 'hijacked' by consumerist mentality, pope says
While Christmas has become a universal holiday, even for many nonbelievers, its celebration always should focus on the reality that God sent his son into the world to save humanity, Pope Francis said.
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Church's pandemic help, disaster response lauded by Vietnamese leaders
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (CNS) -- High-ranking Vietnamese government officials have praised the country's Catholics for their contributions in addressing the coronavirus pandemic and returned confiscated church buildings as Christmas gifts during visits with church leaders.
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Italy's lockdown forces changes to pope's Christmas events
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- With Italy returning to a COVID-19 lockdown over the Christmas holidays, the Vatican has announced that most of Pope Francis' usual appointments will be livestreamed with few or no members of the public present.
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Canadian bishops seek to stop expansion of legally assisted suicide
OTTAWA, Ontario (CNS) -- Canada's Catholic bishops said it is "not too late to reconsider" and stop the expansion of legally assisted suicide in Canada. They called on all Catholics and Canadians opposed to expanding the country's medical assistance in dying system to speak out against the proposed legislation after the federal government was given until Feb. 26 to bring federal law in line with a 2019 Quebec court decision.
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Pope advances sainthood cause of Italian judge killed by Mafia
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of one woman and seven men, including an Italian judge who was murdered by the infamous Sicilian Mafia. During a meeting Dec. 21 with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes, the pope signed a decree recognizing the martyrdom of Rosario Livatino, who was murdered by four members of the Mafia organization, commonly known as Cosa Nostra, in 1990.
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Two Vatican cardinals test positive for COVID-19; one hospitalized
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Two top Vatican officials -- Cardinal Konrad Krajewski and Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello -- have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, Italian media reported, and a Vatican source confirmed.
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Despite pandemic's impact on coffers, pope says Vatican jobs won't be cut
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Vatican finances have taken a hard hit from the coronavirus pandemic and its lockdowns, Pope Francis said, but he promised Vatican employees none of them would lose their jobs.
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Faith behind bars: Cardinal's book shares spiritual insights from prison
ROME (CNS) -- The first evening Australian Cardinal George Pell was incarcerated, he began writing a record of his thoughts and experiences in the form of a diary. "I am now at the quiet heart of the storm, while family, friends, and wider church have to cope with the tornado," wrote the cardinal, who had been convicted -- against his adamant denials and refutations of the allegations -- on five counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the 1990s.
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Be witnesses of God's presence, pope tells theology students
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In a world that seems less tolerant of religion, theology students have a mission to be witnesses of God's love and goodness, Pope Francis said. "It will be your task to enter into dialogue with a world where there seems to be less and less room for religion," the pope told a group of Catholic and Protestant theology students from Germany, during an audience Dec. 18 at the Vatican.
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Italy: Catholic Church distributes $1.2 billion from annual tax fund
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Accounting for its share of Italian income tax distributions, the Italian bishops' conference said it distributed about $1.2 billion in 2019. In a statement published Dec. 18, Bishop Stefano Russo, secretary general of the conference, said the money provided by the "Otto per mille" ("Eight per thousand") tax was used to pay priests' salaries, maintain churches and parish ministries and support charitable projects.
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