Editorial Assistant

Vote ‘No’ on same-sex marriage but show respect, Australian bishops say
- Global Church
- August 18, 2017
Australian bishops have called citizens in the country to vote ‘No’ at the postal plebiscite on same-sex marriage in November, which would open the door to changing the current law that recognizes marriage as between a man and a woman. The archbishop of Adelaide also invited Catholics to participate in the debate “in the spirit of grace, calm reverence and respect.”
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Nazism and extreme nationalism ‘must be opposed in word and deed,’ says papal advisor
- Church in the US
- August 16, 2017
“Our country is once again in a moment when the civic and biblical heritage is being attacked and tested,” papal advisor Cardinal Sean O’Malley said in a statement following the violence in Charlottesville. “We need to reassert and reaffirm the belief that one nation is meant to include all: the multiple races, cultures, ethnicities and religions which make up our country.”
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Pope “deeply saddened” by flooding devastation in Sierra Leone
- Global Church
- August 16, 2017
“His Holiness Pope Francis assures those who have lost loved ones of his closeness at this difficult time. He prays for all who have died, and upon their grieving families and friends he invokes the divine blessings of strength and consolation,” reads a letter from Pope Francis to the Archbishop in Sierra Leone, where floods and mudslides caused hundreds of deaths.
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Assumption, Pope Francis: Mary is a symbol of how God works with the ‘little ones’, the poor

August 15, 2017

The joy that Mary brings while carrying Jesus is expressed in the Magnificat, Pope Francis told faithful gathered in St. Peter’s square on the feast of the Assumption, which “praises the loyal and merciful God, who carries out his design of salvation with the little ones and the poor, with those who have faith in Him, who trust his Word, like Mary.”

As Italy empties for summer break, Pope Francis opts for ‘staycation’

Vatican

August 15, 2017

While being a big fan of the post-lunch siesta, Pope Francis has never adopted the Italian tradition of ‘Ferragosto’ when people abandon the hot cities and escape to the nearby beaches. The workaholic pope decided instead to spend the summer at his home in the Vatican for what in American argot is called a ‘staycation.’