Biden doubles down on abortion law pledge (CNA) Former vice president Joe Biden, the Democratic Party’s nominee for president, repeated his pledge to codify a right to abortion into federal law should the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision be overturned by the Supreme Court. Speaking at an outdoor town hall event airing on NBC Monday, Biden was asked what he would do to protect “reproductive health rights” should Judge Amy Coney Barrett be confirmed to the Supreme Court…
Houses of worship show resiliency amid pandemic challenges (AP) Clerics nationwide say they and their congregations responded to the pandemic and resulting lockdowns with creativity, resiliency and invigorated community spirit…
Cardinal Farrell to lead commission on contracts (CNS) Continuing his efforts to ensure financial transparency and accountability, Pope Francis named Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life to lead a commission that determines which economic activities remain confidential. The Pope also named Archbishop Filippo Iannone, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, as secretary of the newly formed “Commission for Reserved Matters,” the Vatican announced Oct. 5…
The heroic priest who chose to stay in Syria during war and died of COVID-19 (The New York Times) As fighting in the civil war in Syria tore through neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo, the Roman Catholic authorities offered the Rev. Edoardo Tamer, a Franciscan friar who had lived in a monastery there for many years, a chance to get out for his own safety. He declined. “He said, ‘I will live here and I will die here if that is what happens,’” said the Rev. Firas Lutfi, the Franciscan regional minister for Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. “He decided to stay in Aleppo during this very critical situation.” Father Tamer survived the war but fell sick with Covid-19 this summer. He died of the disease in Aleppo on Aug. 12 at 83…
