Even with the Labor Day holiday, these few days have been busy for us at OSV News — making it a struggle to pick just a few top headlines for this week in review.
Some broad themes from this week include:
Courts:
- We had the Supreme Court reaching a decision on a federal cut in family planning funds in Oklahoma over abortion and a federal appeals court upholding Title IX exemptions for religious schools. There also is a FACE Act lawsuit now filed against a former Franciscan friar who barricaded himself inside a Philadelphia abortion clinic.
U.S. Elections:
- We reported on voter polls in states with abortion referendums on the November ballot and an Equal Rights Amendment in New York state that opponents warn could undercut parental rights and increase access to abortion on demand. And with Democrats and Republicans both promoting child tax credit plans as a family-friendly party plank, we explored the question “Could they help more couples embrace life?“
Leadership Changes:
- We noted that the recently crowned Māori queen is Catholic; the Bishop of Norwich, Conn. is retired; and that Mexico’s outgoing president oddly compared himself to St. Francis of Assisi in a video on social media. We also broke news on the new national director for the Pontifical Mission Societies USA, who recently spent 65 days on the road with the Blessed Sacrament during a national Eucharistic pilgrimage and wants to “bring God to the ends of the earth” through the Eucharist.
Averaging close to 20 articles a day, I can’t include it all here. Read a few more stories below, and find even more on our website osvnews.com and our social media.
Megan Marley
Digital Editor
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Pope sets off on longest trip of his pontificate
CNS ROME: plane carrying the pope, top Vatican officials and about 75 journalists took off from Rome’s Fiumicino airport Sept. 2 on what was scheduled to be a 13-hour flight to Jakarta, Indonesia, the first stop on the pope’s four-nation apostolic visit.
INDONESIA: Suspects who threatened the pope arrested in Indonesia, local police say
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Pope receives warm nighttime welcome to Papua New Guinea
Russian strike kills Ukrainian Catholic University student and her family
ON THE GROUND: A Ukrainian Catholic University student and all but one member of her immediate family were among those killed in a Sept. 4 strike by Russia on the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. Although Russia’s defense ministry alleged it had aimed at military facilities, Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovy said the attack had hit more than 50 civilian buildings, including homes, schools and medical facilities.
Bringing life’s tangles to Our Lady Undoer of Knots
FAITH FORMATION: Our lives have knots that can seem impossible to untie: marriage troubles, money problems, unemployment, illness, loneliness, fears and worries of all kinds. When we find ourselves facing challenges and seem to have no solutions, there is a devotion we can turn to that unties the knots for us.
Bell tower at historic church in northern France collapses in arson fire
A man was taken into police custody after a major fire broke out at Church of the Immaculate Conception in the northern French town of Saint-Omer in the morning hours of Sept. 2, causing its bell tower to collapse. The church has a historical connection to the earliest days of U.S. Catholicism.
Experiences as immigrant worker have shaped Washington auxiliary bishop’s ministry
LABOR DAY: Work has been part of the fabric of Bishop Menjivar’s life since his childhood working on his family’s farm in El Salvador. “Work lifts our spirits up, because we know that we are contributing to society, making society better, making our life better,” he said. “We are co-creators with God.”
USCCB: Bishops decry workers’ low pay, erratic shifts, weak protections: ‘It does not have to be this way’
MEDIA NOTEBOOK: A look at Labor Unions on Film
Tragic death of NHL star, brother leaves family, friends, fans with unspeakable grief
As family, friends, teammates, coaches, media, acquaintances and even strangers struggled mightily to make sense of the devastating tragedy Aug. 29 that took the lives of National Hockey League star Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and his brother, Matthew, 29, no expression adequately conveyed the sense of loss that tore apart the fabric of a popular, much-loved family with deep Catholic roots.
The beginning of the school year: Making all things new
COLUMN: If Christmas is heralded as the “most wonderful time of the year,” these first days of a new school year might be called the most “bracing” — the weather begins to cool, the leaves turn, the school buses lumber by, and it all brings with it feelings of such hope and possibility, tempered with just a little fear: What new challenges are before us, and how we will meet them?
National Eucharistic Congress Inc. launches Society of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus to support its efforts
The organization that coordinates efforts related to the National Eucharistic Revival announced Sept. 3 the launch of the Society of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus to boost revival efforts.
German bishops call for responsible governing after ‘extreme right’ party wins local elections
The German bishops warned of the impact of the elections on the social climate, and emphasized that an “ethnic-nationalist program such as that represented by the AfD is not compatible with the Christian faith.”
Exhibit highlights impact Reagan, St. John Paul II had on world through their shared moral vision
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute opened a new exhibit Aug. 31 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley on “The Pope and The President,” which shares “the story of President Reagan and St. John Paul II’s collaboration, friendship and legacies and feature many items throughout their relationship,” according to the institute.
MOVIE REVIEW: “Reagan” (Showbiz Direct)
