Pope Francis champions workers’ right to unionize (AP) Pope Francis is championing the right of all workers to unionize, as economic activity is poised to increase when the pandemic threat eases. The pontiff stressed the needs of the most vulnerable workers, including migrants, in a video message Thursday to participants at a conference organized by the International Labor Organization, a United Nations agency based in Geneva…
Bishops have heated debate ahead of Communion vote (AP) In impassioned debate Thursday, U.S. Catholic bishops clashed over how to address concerns about Catholic politicians, including President Joe Biden, who continue to receive Communion despite supporting abortion rights. Some bishops said a strong rebuke of Biden is needed because of his recent actions protecting and expanding abortion access. Others warned that such action would portray the bishops as a partisan force during a time of bitter political divisions across the country…
Polish priest executed by Nazis to be beatified (CNA) A Polish Catholic priest guillotined by the Nazis will be beatified in November. Fr. Jan Macha will be declared blessed at a Mass on Nov. 20 in the Cathedral of Christ the King, Katowice, southern Poland. The Mass will be celebrated by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Macha, known as Hanik, was ordained a priest months before Nazi Germans invaded Poland in 1939. He offered aid to families who lost members in the fighting and was a member of an underground group codenamed “Konwalia” (Lily of the Valley)…
The Catholic sculptor reminding the world that evil exists (RNS) A Catholic sculptor wants to keep the church relevant with his art, but as mounting secularism and the COVID-19 pandemic challenge the institution, the artist claims the devil is in the details. “Today we want to pretend that evil doesn’t exist,” said Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz, but Christianity, and Catholicism in particular, “has not only accepted the idea that evil is within our society but has represented it and given it artistic form…”
Commentary: Lessons for Father’s Day and a lifetime (CNS) The church teaches that parents are the primary educators of the faith. I have to be honest: That made me uncomfortable. Yes, my parents took me to Mass and taught me prayers at a young age, but my Catholic school lay teachers, as well as priests and sisters, took over the meat and potatoes of Catholicism at school. I don’t think my parents were alone in thinking there was always someone more qualified to teach us about the faith than them. All my life, my father didn’t participate sacramentally in the life of the church…
