News from Saint John and Beyond

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- For Brooklyn, “Columbus” Day Comes Early – In NY Homecoming, Pope Taps Brennan to Succeed “The Czar”
  
  In the first Stateside move of the Vatican’s new working year, the most significant opening on the current US docket is off the table… and as Mets fans can always use good news, for once they’re in...
- Amid US Bench's Communion Clash, The "Holy Office" Flashes A Red Light
  
  As some US bishops advocate levying de facto sanctions on President Biden and other Catholic politicians for their support of legal abortion, the Holy See's distinct, but veiled skepticism over a...
- "A Child Can Teach Us How To Love" – Despite COVID and Curfews, Christus Natus Est
  
  Before anything else, especially amid all the sorrows, fears, loss and disorientation of a brutal year across the globe, Buon Natale a tutti – to one and all, a Blessed Christmas... may all its light,
- "The Poor Are The Center of The Gospel" – At Vatican "Festivus," The Church's Choice: "The Docility of the Shepherds, or the Defensiveness of Herod"
  
  Fifteen years (less a day) since Benedict XVI revolutionized the Roman Pontiff's Christmas "greeting" to the leaders of his Curia – transforming the holiday pleasantry into a Pope's ultimate...
- Whether you’ve been waiting three decades or just three weeks for this, the “mountaintop” is at hand. From 4pm Rome (10am US ET), the livefeed of a Public Consistory like no other – from the Altar of...
- Fearing "Attack" On "Fundamental Values," The Bishops Warn Biden's White House
  
  As the US bishops face a moment unseen in most of their lifetimes – the nation's election of a Catholic to the Presidency – the issue of Joe Biden's faith emerged by surprise at today's public close...
- On Day Two, The "Viruses" Take Center Stage
  
  Set to begin at 1pm Eastern, this final day of a virtual – and heavily curtailed – USCCB Plenary will be underpinned by what've arguably been the two key threads of American life in 2020: the bench's...

National Catholic Register
- What Near-Death Survivors Can Teach Us About Heaven and Hell, When Mary Appeared in Egypt in 1968, and More Great Links!
  
  Joe ‘Death Valley’ The Best In Catholic Blogging
- The Happiest Day of Pope St. John Paul II’s Life
  
  Paolo Cocco Pope John Paul II laughs during a gathering in St. Peter’s Square with tens of thousands of young people from Rome and the Lazio region, ahead of the 18th...
- Meet the Pilgrims From the Jubilee of People With Disabilities
  
  Pilgrims visit Rome for the Jubilee of People With Disabilities on Monday, April 28, 2025. Thousands of people from more than 90 countries gathered in Rome...
- Cardinal Ribat: Personal Holiness ‘Very Important’ in the Next Pope
  
  Cardinal John Ribat, when he was made a cardinal in 2016 The cardinal from Papua New Guinea says the Church needs a holy and unifying pope to guide the Church...
- ‘A Truly Universal Church’: Americans Share Unexpected Moments From Pope Francis’ Funeral
  
  Hundreds of thousands of mourners attend the funeral of Pope Francis on April 26, 2025. Families, seminarians and state Catholic conference executive joined...
- Pope Francis to Young People: Prepare Yourselves for Marriage, Don’t Get Divorced
  
  Vatican Media Pope Francis blesses a newly married couple during his general audience on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. ...
- Adopt a Cardinal: How Catholics Can Pray for the Electors of the Next Pope
  
  Daniel Ibañez/CNA Cardinals participate in Day 4 of the Novendiales Masses for Pope Francis on April 29, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Each...
News from the Vatican
- Cardinals discuss abuse while prelate sanctioned for it joins meetings
  
  As cardinals meet in Rome ahead of a conclave to elect the next pope, a Peruvian cardinal accused of sexual abuse and whose ministry was restricted by Pope Francis has joined public events with his...
- Cardinals visit Pope Francis’s tomb as they ready to elect his successor
  
  After attending Pope Francis’s funeral Saturday and as they begin pre-conclave meetings to discuss the state of the world and the Church ahead of electing his successor, the world’s cardinals...
- Top papal candidate says Francis’s legacy must continue
  
  Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin Sunday said the overwhelming love of Pope Francis must not be a flash of momentary emotion, but his legacy be welcomed and lived in the Church and the world.
- Francis, ‘the people’s pope,’ entombed in his favorite Roman basilica
  
  In the final stage of his earthly journey, Pope Francis Saturday was entombed in the papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major as a sign of his deep devotion to Mary and his desire to be accessible to the...
- Funeral remembers Francis’s legacy of mercy, joy in preaching the Gospel
  
  During his funeral Mass Saturday, Pope Francis was remembered for his extraordinary legacy of service to those on life’s margins and lauded for his constant emphasis on God’s mercy and the importance...
- Even in death, Pope Francis’s push for dialogue, multilateralism continue
  
  One of Pope Francis’s most consistent geopolitical priorities throughout his 12-year reign was peacemaking, most notably through his constant push for building bridges, keeping channels of dialogue...
- Pope Francis to receive final send-off from the poor of Rome
  
  As the world bids a final farewell to Pope Francis during his funeral Saturday, among those present will be the poor, homeless, migrants and refugees he personally assisted and knew throughout his...