Supreme Court hears challenges to Texas abortion ban (CNA) The U.S. Supreme Court spent nearly three hours Monday hearing arguments in a pair of cases challenging Texas’ new abortion ban. Now the justices must decide what action, if any, to take in response to a state law crafted expressly to ward off the court’s intervention…
Court rejects vaccine religious exemption in Maine (CNS) The Supreme Court is allowing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers in Maine to remain in effect, rejecting an emergency appeal from a group of the state’s health care workers seeking a religious exemption. Although the one-sentence order issued Oct. 29 did not give an explanation, justices expressed their views in separate writings…
Statue decapitated inside Catholic church (Valley News Live) The statue of St. Anthony outside of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Fargo had its head knocked off. The church says it happened sometime between Saturday, October 30, and Monday, November 1, at the church on the corner of 10th Street and 8th Avenue South…
Man threatening priest, parishioners with firearm arrested (CNA) A 28-year-old man was arrested on Monday evening after bringing a gun to the former parish of a recently-arrested priest in Providence and threatening the priest and parishioners. The man, whose identity has not been released, went to an apartment located near St. Mary’s Church in Providence after threatening a priest and parishioners with a firearm. He was arrested “without incident” at 8:00 p.m. on Nov. 1. Police said they have not yet recovered the gun and are continuing to investigate the incident…
Baltimore group pushes to expedite sainthood for Black Catholic heroes (The Washington Post) The process of recognizing saints in Catholicism is so arduous that it can take generations, even centuries, to complete, but even the usually slow-moving Catholic church can accelerate matters when it wants to. In the cases of Mother Teresa of Kolkata and Pope John Paul II, for example, church officials waived a five-year waiting period after their deaths to get the process started. Now, a group of Baltimore Catholics says it’s time to expedite the cases of six other heroes of the faith…
Pope: Holiness always comes with joy (CNS) Christian joy is neither a passing emotion nor an optimistic worldview but a sign of holiness that bears witness to God’s love even in the direst circumstances, Pope Francis said on the feast of All Saints. “The saints, even amid many tribulations, have experienced this joy and have borne witness to it. Without joy, faith becomes a rigorous and oppressive exercise, and risks falling ill with sadness,” the pope said…
