Eucharistic devotion, legislators and legislation, saintly people, human woundedness in the church and in society — and efforts to address it — are a couple themes I noticed this week in our coverage. Read a selection of this week’s stories below, and on our website osvnews.com. You can also find more stories on our social media, @OSVNews.
Megan Marley
Digital Editor
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Ohio bishops demand respect for migrants’ ‘infinite dignity’ amid viral false claims, threats
Ohio’s bishops are urging Catholics and all people of good will to “turn to God and ask for eyes to see the infinite dignity of every person” amid false claims surrounding Haitian immigrants in that state’s town of Springfield, which have prompted bomb threats and hoaxes.
The Catholic practice of charity
FAITH FORMATION: Our charity is often a mere drop in the bucket when one considers the overwhelming needs in our world. But we should guard against discouragement, for God can, in his mysterious ways, multiply our gifts many fold.
Christian leaders express ‘serious anxiety’ over Indian atrocities
About 40 Christian leaders who gathered in mid-September expressed “serious anxiety” over “the increasing atrocities on Christians and other minorities,” and they demanded protection for minority rights and security for minority communities.
Mexican priest considered protector of the unborn beatified
Father Moisés Lira Serafin has been beatified in a ceremony at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in his native Mexico, where he is beloved as a protector of life from conception and is credited with the miracle of saving an unborn child’s life.
ESPAÑOL: “Moisés Lira Serafín, sacerdote mexicano considerado protector de los no nacidos, ya es beato“
Historic Franciscan monastery under water as southwestern Poland suffers disastrous floods
Poland’s government is preparing a decree of a state of natural disaster as the southwestern part of the country was severely flooded by torrential rains caused by Storm Boris. Throughout the weekend of Sept. 14-15, the storm continued to wreak havoc across Central and Eastern Europe.
Wall Street Journal poll ranks Benedictine College among top 10 most highly recommended colleges
A recent survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal, ranked Benedictine College, a small Catholic liberal arts college, as the sixth most highly recommended college by its students and recent alumni. Benedictine, located in Atchison, Kansas, has grown rapidly in the past 20 years, doubling its enrollment to over 2,500 students and developing infrastructure on its campus.
Bill to establish a right to IVF fails in Senate
A bill that aimed to establish a right to in vitro fertilization failed on a procedural vote in the U.S. Senate Sept. 17. The measure failed 51-44, needing 60 votes to proceed.
WASHINGTON, D.C.: “Washington Roundup: Deadline to avert shutdown; voting and one’s conscience; democracy summit“
Texas nuns in clash with Fort Worth bishop publicly affiliate with SSPX
A Texas bishop is urging Catholics in his diocese not to participate in sacraments with, or financially support, a community of Discalced Carmelite nuns who recently announced a formal association with the Society of St. Pius X.
Swedish cardinal ‘stupefied,’ annoyed by papabile speculation
Back in 2017, Pope Francis made a surprise announcement that he would elevate five bishops to the cardinalate, including the bishop of Stockholm, a first for Sweden and Scandinavia. And since his elevation, Swedish Cardinal Anders Arborelius, a Carmelite, has often been lauded for his level-headedness and is liked by both conservatives and progressives in his country.
Stigmata: The miraculous gift St. Francis wanted to hide
Throughout 2024, Franciscans around the world commemorate the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi receiving the stigmata on Sept. 17, 1224, the appearance of the bodily wounds of Christ’s crucifixion. While there have been several notable figures in the church who experienced the stigmata, St. Francis’ experience was the first recorded occurrence of the phenomenon.
As International Eucharistic Congress ends, Catholics can ‘shine their light’ amid world’s problems, says Bishop Cozzens
“The divisions in society are so deep that only God can overcome them. The Eucharist, as has been said beautifully in this International Congress, invites us to live a kind of fraternity,” he said, adding that “we are sons and daughters of our God the creator, so every human being in that sense is a brother and sister.”
IEC 2028: “Congress in Ecuador closes with cry for Earth; Australians overjoyed Sydney to host 2028 gathering“
NATIONAL EUCHARISTIC REVIVAL: “CEO says National Eucharistic Congress, pilgrimage show Catholics ‘are ready to make history’“
Cardinal’s former diocese denies the claim of clerical sexual abuse cover-up
Three women have alleged a Peruvian diocese failed to punish a pair of priests, who they accuse of sexually abusing them as minors. The Diocese of Chiclayo denied the accusations of a coverup, saying in a Sept. 10 statement the victims were personally attended to by the then-bishop, Cardinal Robert Prevost — now prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops — in April 2022.
Second synod assembly to open with penitential liturgy
CNS ROME: The liturgy will include time to listen to the testimonies of three people: one who suffered from the sin of abuse, one from the sin of war and a third from the sin of indifference to the plight of migrants, according to a Vatican statement announcing the liturgy.
