November 7, 2024 // National
News Briefs: November 7, 2024
New Boston Archbishop Installed
BOSTON (OSV News) – “Jesus is still Lord” and “the Eucharist is still real” no matter what challenges and sufferings lay ahead, said Archbishop Richard G. Henning of Boston in his homily during his installation Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Thursday, October 31. The 60-year-old archbishop, who succeeds the retired Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, is the 10th bishop and sixth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Boston, home to 1.8 million Catholics. During the Mass, Archbishop Henning reflected on the words of the Nicene Creed and the nature of God. The transformative, selfless love of God, fully revealed in Jesus, places specific demands on Catholics, among them “worship … solidarity, compassion, healing, and hope,” said Archbishop Henning. He admitted that the Archdiocese of Boston – an epicenter of the clerical sexual abuse crisis in the U.S. – is still “in a very real sense a wounded Church, because of the failure to act with compassion and healing.” He added: “Believe this … whatever comes, Jesus is still Lord … the Gospel is still true. Whatever may come, whatever suffering, whatever moments of darkness, the Eucharist is still real.”
Thousands Join Atlanta Procession in Response to ‘Black Mass’
NORCROSS, Georgia (OSV News) – Traffic came to a standstill along Beaver Ruin Road in the northeast metro area of Atlanta on Friday, October 25, as Catholics followed the Blessed Sacrament on foot as a sign of devotion. The “Pilgrims of Hope” procession linked St. Patrick Church and Holy Vietnamese Martyrs Church in Norcross and Our Lady of Americas Mission in Lilburn in a prayerful march as thousands of people took part in the walk, prompted by a so-called “black mass” planned by the Satanic Temple of Atlanta for the same day. Concerned about the event and its possible sacrilege of a consecrated host, officials with the Archdiocese of Atlanta called for a special day of prayer, reparation, and public support for belief in the Eucharist. On the afternoon of the walk, Atlanta Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer updated the Catholic community, saying lawyers working for the archdiocese were told by the Satanic Temple that organizers of the “black mass” intended it as entertainment and possessed no consecrated host. The group “defended their right to express their beliefs by mocking ours,” said the archbishop. “While there will always be people who mock and blaspheme Our Lord in the public square, we know, too, that He will be defended by all of us who love Him.”
Milwaukee Archbishop Retires; Pope Names Chicago Auxiliary as His Successor
WASHINGTON, D.C. (OSV News) – Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki, 75, and has named Auxiliary Bishop Jeffrey S. Grob of Chicago as his successor. Archbishop Listecki, who has reached the age at which canon law requires bishops to turn in their resignation to the pope, has headed the Milwaukee archdiocese since 2010. A Wisconsin native, Archbishop Grob has been a Chicago auxiliary since 2020. The resignation and appointment were publicized in Washington, D.C., on Monday, November 4, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. Archbishop Grob, 63, will be installed as archbishop of Milwaukee on January 14 by Cardinal Pierre. “I’m deeply grateful to be appointed archbishop of Milwaukee,” Bishop Grob said at a news conference. “I will do everything in my power to serve with a faith-filled heart.”
Sainthood Cause Begins for Irish Actress Turned Nun
DUBLIN (OSV News) – The sainthood cause of an Irish nun killed in an earthquake in Ecuador in 2016 is to open early next year, it has been revealed. Derry-born Sister Clare Crockett was a promising actress with little interest in religion when she went on a Holy Week retreat in Spain in 2000 that changed her life. The then 18-year-old self-confessed “wild child” felt a profound call to religious life, and entered the convent of the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother. Following her death in the 2016 Ecuador earthquake, stories soon began to spread of her holiness of life and devoted pastoral service. She has been credited with bringing many young people back to the practice of their Catholic faith. Father Gerard Mongan, parish priest of her native parish of St. Columba’s in Derry’s working-class Bogside neighborhood, confirmed to OSV News that the cause for Sister Clare will open in Madrid on January 12. From this point, she will be declared a servant of God and the intensive scrutiny of her life and ministry will continue with both a postulator and vice postulator appointed to present the case to the Vatican.
On All Souls, Pope Prays at Graves of Children, Miscarried Infants
ROME (CNS) – Pope Francis prayed at the graves of children and of miscarried babies on the feast of All Souls before celebrating Mass with several hundred mourners. On Saturday, November 2, the pope traveled to Rome’s Laurentino cemetery, which has a special section for children who have died and, nearby, a section called the “Garden of the Angels” where parents who have experienced a miscarriage can opt to have their children buried rather than having a hospital dispose of the remains. Pope Francis left a bouquet of white roses at the entrance to the garden where stuffed animals, toys, pinwheels, and pots of white chrysanthemums in the shape of a heart stand in contrast to the candles and flowers on other graves.
Pope Names Another New Cardinal for December Consistory
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis has decided to include Archbishop Domenico Battaglia of Naples among the prelates he will make cardinals on Saturday, December 7, officials with the Vatican Press Office announced on Monday, November 4. “Pope Francis announces that he has included among the names of the new cardinals who will be created during the next consistory … His Excellency Domenico Battaglia, archbishop of Naples,” Matteo Bruni, director of the press office, said in a statement. Pope Francis usually announces the names of the men he has chosen publicly after the Sunday recitation of the Angelus, as he did when he announced on Sunday, October 6, that he would create 21 new cardinals in December.
Cincinnati Archdiocese Ends Partnership with Girl Scouts
CINCINNATI (OSV News) – Officials with the Archdiocese of Cincinnati have announced the archdiocese will discontinue its partnership with the Girl Scouts of the USA due to the organization’s “impoverished worldview regarding gender and sexuality,” which conflicts with Catholic teaching. In a message posted on the archdiocese’s website, Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr said the decision had been taken in consultation with the archdiocesan presbyteral council and deans, and with key archdiocesan leaders. The archbishop has instructed archdiocesan pastors to phase out their parishes’ partnerships with the Girl Scouts of the USA and Girl Scouts of Western Ohio during a 14-month period beginning in November and ending in December of 2025. By the end of 2025, “every Girl Scout troop operating on any Catholic campus” within the Archdiocese of Cincinnati must “convert to an American Heritage Girls troop,” find another location at which to meet, or “disband” altogether, said the archdiocesan message. The decision caps a steady divergence between the Girl Scouts and the Catholic Church throughout the past decade regarding human sexuality, with the scouting organization offering LGBTQ+ activities and resources that conflict with Catholic teaching on human sexuality.
The best news. Delivered to your inbox.
Subscribe to our mailing list today.