This week we’ve reported on a Philadelphia-born priest who has negotiated a truce among several gang leaders in Haiti; a profile of a pro-life group’s work serving moms at the U.S.-Mexico border; Catholic activists calling on Congress to fully fund migrant services for the “common good”; an appeals court ruling a Catholic group can install Stations of the Cross ‘prayer trail’ in southeastern Michigan; and more, including several Spanish translations. We’ve also had media reviews, columns and a faith-formation story on three shrines in the U.S. with major collections of saints’ relics.
You can find more of our stories by following us on Facebook, X (aka Twitter) and Instagram, and I’m always happy to hear your story ideas messaged to us on those platforms. Have a great weekend.
Maria Wiering
Senior Writer
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‘We’re keeping all in God’s mercy,’ says bishop as despair mounts amid flooding in Libya
As authorities in Libya announced a three day mourning following a deadly flood disaster, a Catholic bishop in the North African country expressed the church’s closeness to the people, many of whom are injured, missing or trapped by the storm waters.
Swiss bishops pledge action after damning abuse report
Switzerland’s Catholic bishops have vowed firm action against sexual abuse in the church, after a pilot study identified over 1,000 victims and 500 perpetrators, as six bishops faced accusations of covering up clergy crimes.
Federal judge confirms 2021 decision finding DACA unlawful
A federal judge declared unlawful a revised version of a program that offers deportation relief to immigrants who were brought to the country as children.
Catholic Relief Services assists with Morocco earthquake recovery
Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. Catholic Church’s international relief and development agency, is assisting recovery efforts following a devastating 6.8 magnitude earthquake late Sept. 8 that killed more than 2,900 people and injured thousands in Morocco, the group said.
Supreme Court is asked to weigh in on future of abortion pill
The Justice Department and the manufacturer of an abortion drug asked the U.S. Supreme Court Sept. 8 to overturn a lower-court ruling that would limit access to the drug, setting the stage for the high court to weigh in on the future of the drug’s availability.
Seminarian is burned to death in Nigeria in endless cycle of violence against Christians
In an endless cycle of violence against Christians in Nigeria, seminarian Na’Aman Danlami Stephen of the Diocese of Kafanchan was burned to death Sept. 7 when a terrorist group called Fulani herdsmen attacked the rectory at St. Raphael Church in Fadan Kamantan.
Retired New Orleans priest indicted by grand jury, arrested for sexual abuse
According to New Orleans Police Department reports, 91-year-old retired Msgr. Lawrence Hecker raped and kidnapped a victim, who was not named, between Jan. 1, 1975 and Dec. 31, 1976.
Abortions rise in most U.S. states where the procedure remains legal, data shows
Legal abortions most likely increased in the United States in the first six months of 2023 compared with 2020, according to a New York Times analysis of data from the Guttmacher Institute, which opposes abortion restrictions.
UK teenager wants to fight for her life, but court denies her wish
The 19-year-old student has been in an intensive care unit in an English National Health Service hospital, which also cannot be named, since last year after she suffered respiratory arrest while infected with COVID-19.
Bishop Flores: Synod aims to make church more effective in advancing Christ’s Gospel
October’s general assembly in Rome for the Catholic Church’s Synod of Bishops on synodality aims to address human reality — not abstractions — in order to more effectively share Jesus Christ and his Gospel with others, said Bishop Daniel E. Flores, a U.S. member of the global assembly’s preparatory commission.
