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Pope Francis: St. Andrew Kim Taegon teaches us ‘we must not give up’

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St. Andrew Kim Taegon and the other Korean martyrs teach us to have courage when sharing the Gospel, even in the face of difficult situations, Pope Francis said on May 24. At his weekly public audience, the pope spoke about the first Korean-born Catholic priest, who was tortured and beheaded near Seoul, South Korea, in…
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Nicaragua dictatorship announces ‘voluntary dissolution’ of university forming seminarians

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The Nicaraguan Ministry of the Interior (Migob) announced in official media the “voluntary dissolution” of the Immaculate Conception Catholic University of the Archdiocese of Managua (UCICAM), which functioned as a formation center for seminarians from the Nicaraguan capital. According to ministerial agreement 77-2023-OSFL, published May 18 in La Gaceta, the regime’s official newspaper, the minister…
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Blaze set at iconic Mexican church; Eucharist stolen from another

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The Diocese of Irapuato in the Mexican state of Guanajuato expressed its “profound consternation” over a fire deliberately set at Santiaguito (St. James) Church and called it a “sacrilege.” In a statement published May 15, Father Efrén Silva Plascencia, spokesman for the diocese, said that the fire “was set on the exterior by a male…
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Judge orders psychiatric treatment for man who forcibly entered Vatican 

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A Vatican magistrate has sentenced the unidentified man who forcibly entered Vatican City on Thursday night to mandatory psychiatric treatment, according to the Holy See press office.  The man was taken into Vatican custody on the night of May 18 after driving a car at high speed through a gate at the Vatican, bypassing the…
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Caritas Internationalis elects Alistair Dutton as its new secretary general

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Six months after Pope Francis dismissed its top administrators, Caritas Internationalis’ new leadership team elected Alistair Dutton, who also serves on the board of Stop Climate Chaos and Jesuit Refugee Services, as its new secretary general Monday night. Dutton is the chief executive of Caritas Scotland, which works to build “a green and just world”…
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France’s Catholic clergy to carry ID cards proving they are in good standing

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Catholic clergy in France will soon carry a standardized identification card linked to a national database that shows whether they are currently in good standing and can celebrate Mass and hear confessions. “It aims to prevent impostors [false priests or deacons] from continuing to act to the detriment of the faithful and the sacraments,” the…
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Spanish bishops: Abortion as a right makes the unborn child ‘a true undocumented person’

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The Spanish Bishops’ Conference (CEE) criticized the May 9 ruling by the country’s constitutional court (TC) that upheld abortion as a right, thus, it said, making the human person developing in the womb “a true undocumented person.” The executive commission of the CEE said in a statement that it deplores that the TC affirmed “that…
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What it’s like for the Church in Venezuela, a country in social and economic crisis

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Luis Vildoso, project manager for the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) in Venezuela, shared the current situation in the country and in the Catholic Church — and how the Church is maintaining itself in the midst of the social and economic crisis. The aid worker, who recently visited 11 jurisdictions in…
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Pope Francis adds Coptic Orthodox martyrs to liturgical book of saints

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Pope Francis said May 11 that the Coptic Orthodox martyrs killed by ISIS in 2015 will be added to the Catholic Church’s official list of saints. He also received a relic of the martyrs’ blood as a gift.“I am glad to announce today that, with the consent of Your Holiness, these 21 martyrs will be…
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Canada replaces crosses in new Royal Crown with maple leaves and snowflakes

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King Charles III has approved the Canadian government’s new heraldic Royal Crown design that swaps out its crowning cross for a snowflake and replaces other crosses with maple leaves. The Canadian Royal Crown redesign was recommended by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and is based on the bejeweled St. Edward’s Crown used at King Charles’…
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