Brooklyn’s Kieran Harrington to head Pontifical Mission Societies (The Tablet) Msgr. Kieran Harrington of the Diocese of Brooklyn has been named the new national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples made the appointment. Msgr. Harrington will succeed Father Andrew Small, OMI, who is completing his second five-year term…
Diocese of Charleston sues state (WCSC) The bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Charleston along with 20 independent colleges and universities in South Carolina are filing a federal civil rights lawsuit against a portion of the state constitution. The filers believe that it’s wrong that public money cannot go to private schools in South Carolina. They say that the part of the state constitution that forbids it is a relic of racism and anti-Catholic feeling in South Carolina. “We are here to stand up for children and families across South Carolina and to face head on the anti-Catholic and the racist history in our state’s constitution,” Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Charleston Robert Guglielmone said…
Students pressing colleges on blessing same-sex unions (NCR) Catholic college students across the United States have expressed disappointment in the Vatican’s March 15 decree banning priests from blessing same-sex unions. At least eight college newspapers have featured op-eds in recent weeks criticizing the decree, with many demanding their institutions rebuke the Vatican. In interviews with NCR, three LGBT Catholic university students echoed those sentiments. One initially worried the new statement from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith might lead to judgment inside her family. Another worried about whether they might be able to marry one day…
Schmalz statue to be part of COVID memorial at hospital (CNS) In an announcement that marked the first anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mercy Health — Youngstown and the Mercy Health Foundation — Mahoning Valley said a permanent memorial is planned to honor victims of the pandemic and those who cared for them. A central element of the memorial will be a bronze sculpture by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz, titled “When I Was Sick,” featuring a patient representing Jesus and lying prone, said Jonathan Fauvie, public relations and communication manager for Mercy Health…
Pope approved early ordination for seminarian with cancer (Vatican News) A Nigerian religious, Livinius Esomchi Nnamani, who suffers from Leukemia, has been ordained to the Catholic priesthood with the approval of Pope Francis. The 31-year-old had written to the Holy Father requesting to move forward his ordination, and was granted his wish on 1 April. Bishop Daniele Libanori, an Auxiliary bishop of Rome, ordained Livinius a priest at the Presidio Sanitario Medica Group Casilino Hospital in Rome…
