Catholic leaders urge humane treatment of Haitian migrants (CNS) The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ migration committee and the head of Catholic Charities USA issued a joint statement Sept. 22 urging humane treatment of Haitians and other migrants as their numbers grow in southern Texas at the U.S.-Mexico border. Thousands of Haitians have made their way across the Rio Grande from Mexico and illegally entered the United States at the Del Rio Sector of the border, roughly 145 miles west of San Antonio…

Pelosi defends abortion support (CNA) When asked about Archbishop Cordileone’s comments at her Thursday press briefing in the U.S. Capitol, Pelosi responded that “it’s none of our business how other people choose the size and timing of their families.” “The archbishop of the city of that area, of San Francisco, and I had a disagreement about who should decide this [family size and timing]. I believe that God has given us a free will to honor our responsibilities,” she said in response to the question from Erik Rosales, Capitol Hill correspondent for EWTN News Nightly…

Elderly nuns in Manila die of COVID; outbreak hits seminary (CNA) The Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary in Manila announced the death of eight elderly nuns who had been diagnosed with COVID-19. The nuns were between 80 and 90 years old, and were among the 62 sisters earlier reported to have been infected with COVID-19 at a convent in Quezon City in the Philippine capital. Meanwhile, a COVID-19 outbreak also hit a seminary of the Society of the Divine Word in Manila this week. At least 25 of the 59 residents of the Christ the King Mission Seminary were reported to have contracted the disease, including nine priests and 16 employees…

Cardinal Pell says he “never really approved” of Benedict’s decision to resign (NCR)Australian Cardinal George Pell said Sept. 23 he “never really approved” of Pope Benedict XVI’s shocking decision in 2013 to resign the papacy. Pell, who was the prefect of the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy from 2014 to 2019 and a member of Pope Francis’ advisory Council of Cardinals from 2013 to 2018, said that among the recent popes — John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis — he was closest to Benedict. Pell described John Paul II as “one of the greatest popes in history, of course,” and praised Benedict’s “prodigious intellect,” adding that “I knew him better than all of the other two popes…”

Florida deacon dies of COVID (Fox13News) The pandemic has claimed the life of a respected deacon and fixture in the Tampa Bay and Orlando communities. Larry Migliorato’s ministry spanned through Polk and Osceola Counties, where he cared for the sick, hungry, homebound and homeless.  He provided spiritual support to the terminally ill as a hospice chaplain in Polk County, and for the past five years, he served as a deacon at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Celebration…