Chicago parish to withhold $100,000 in monthly assessments until Pfleger probe ends (Chicago Sun-Times) In a bid to put pressure on the Archdiocese of Chicago, leaders at St. Sabina Church in Auburn-Gresham announced Sunday the parish plans to stop paying roughly $100,000 in monthly assessments until church officials close the ongoing investigation into sexual abuse claims lodged against Father Michael Pfleger. During a service Sunday morning, Tonia Carr, chair of St. Sabina’s parish council, framed the decision as the church community’s “next strategic move to keep the pressure on the archdiocese to expedite the alleged abuse investigation…”

Benedict: ‘There are not two popes’ (Vatican News) In an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI recalls that his renunciation of the papacy was a “difficult choice” but made “in full conscience,” believing that he did well…

What about that new pathway to sainthood? (CNS) Pope Francis has yet to sign decrees in sainthood causes that follow the new path he approved in 2017, that of giving one’s life in a heroic act of loving service to others…

Romney, Biden child plans offer pro-family boost (National Catholic Register) President Joe Biden and Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, have advanced competing child tax credit proposals that could be a real game-changer for working and middle-class families. According to experts, both plans could help lift millions of children out of poverty, encourage marriage and family formation, and save children from abortion.  “Programs like Romney’s and Biden’s could be helpful in stabilizing the financial foundation of working and middle class family life,” Brad Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project and professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, told the Register…

Nuns seek sainthood for Indonesian bishop (UCANews) Archbishop Emeritus Gabriel Wilhelmus Manek’s  unwavering faith has encouraged sisters from Daughters of the Rosary Queen congregation to make sure Catholics in Indonesia and elsewhere remember him. Sister Maria Gratiana, who heads the congregation, revealed in January that the nuns had decided to start the process to seek sainthood for the late archbishop. “About two years ago, we sent a member of our congregation to study documents on the beatification and canonization process at the Vatican for one year. The first step is to get approval from a local bishop where a candidate lived for the last 10 years,” she said…

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