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The Texas Senate passed a heartbeat bill this week. The bill would ban abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, which can happen as early as six weeks into pregnancy. The bill is headed to Governor Greg Abbott, who is expected to sign it into law.

A Catholic university in India has opened several care centers in Kolkata, to treat COVID-19 patients. The facilities will have beds, oxygen, nebulizers, and trained medical staff. Cases of COVID-19 have surged in recent weeks in Kolkata, which is one of India’s most densely populated cities.

Which is more valuable? Children? Or money? That was the question posed by Pope Francis today, in his message for a conference about Italy’s low birth rate. The pope warned that if families are not the center of the present, there will be no future. Italy has one of the lowest birth rates in Europe.

A seminarian for a diocese in New Jersey was killed this week in a hit-and-run accident in Manhattan. The 29-year-old was crossing a street in Manhattan’s East Side, around 10 pm on Tuesday, when he was hit by a suspected drunk driver. He was a first-year theology student at Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University.

Today is the feast day of Saint Matthias. He was chosen to replace Judas as one of the twelve Apostles. Scripture states Saint Matthias was with Jesus since his baptism, and was a witness to his Resurrection.

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

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U-S bishops are praying for peace in the Holy Land. Conflict between Israel and Hamas has killed more than 80 people, and has sparked mob violence between Arabs and Jews throughout Israel.

Today marks forty years since the attempted assassination of Saint John Paul the Second in Saint Peter’s Square. The Polish pope was struck by four bullets, while greeting a crowd of about 10,000 people. John Paul the Second credited Our Lady of Fatima with saving his life. He publicly forgave the man who shot him.

A new film starring Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson will feature the story of a Montana priest who died in 2014 at the age of 50, because of an autoimmune disease. The priest pursued careers in boxing, acting, teaching, and museum management, before discerning the priesthood. The film is currently in production, and has no release date yet.

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. On this day, in 1917, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared, for the first time, to three shepherd children in Fatima. The Fatima Shrine in Portugal hosted a Mass of celebration today. At the Mass, a cardinal preached that the world needs a spiritual restart, and economic reconstruction.

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

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Louisiana will now recognize the anniversary of legalized abortion in the United States as a day of mourning. Citizens will be encouraged to lower their flags to half-staff, on the anniversary of Roe v Wade, which takes place on January 22nd.

President Joe Biden will not deliver the commencement address at the University of Notre Dame this year. The decision is a break with tradition. During the last three administrations, U.S. presidents or vice presidents have addressed the university’s commencement in their first year in office. Notre Dame did invite Biden to give the address, but he reportedly had scheduling issues.

Pope Francis spoke about prayer, during his general audience in Rome today. The pope said persistent prayer can lead to miracles, because prayer goes directly to God’s tender heart. Today was the pope’s first general audience with members of the public in six months.

An icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary survived a fire at a church in Belarus this week. The icon is venerated by Catholics in a village north of the capital. The pastor was able to remove the icon and the Blessed Sacrament, before the fire destroyed the roof of the church.

Today is the feast day of Saint Pancras of Rome. Saint Pancras was a fourth-century convert and martyr. He is the patron saint of young people looking for work.

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

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Pope Francis has now formally instituted the new lay ministry of “catechist.” This new ministry is for lay people who have a particular call to serve the Catholic Church as a teacher of the faith. In an apostolic letter released May 11, the pope said that instituted catechists will be dedicated to the transmission of the faith through proclamation and instruction. He also emphasized the importance of lay teachers of the faith throughout the history of the Church.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247611/pope-francis-institutes-new-ministry-of-catechist

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247613/what-is-the-new-ministry-of-catechist-a-cna-explainer

The Vatican has corrected a problem on its website that had caused at least two different English editions of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to appear on the site simultaneously. One of the versions accidentally displayed was an older edition. The fix to the website comes after cyber security experts urged the Vatican to strengthen its defenses against hackers.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247612/vatican-fixes-website-glitch-showing-two-versions-of-catechism

Today the Church honors St. Ignatius of Laconi, a Capuchin Friar who spent forty years begging for his community, and was known for his piety and love for the poor.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-ignatius-of-laconi-457

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

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The Vatican has created a working group to study how to separate criminal groups, such as the mafia, from the Catholic Church. The eight-member group will study the excommunication of the mafia, offering support to bishops around the world. The group was created in honor of newly-beatified Rosario Livatino, a Catholic judge killed by the mafia in Sicily in 1990.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247592/vatican-creates-group-to-study-separating-mafia-from-the-catholic-church

A German Catholic group has called on the country’s bishops to stop blessing celebrations for same-sex partnerships. The group is inviting “all Catholics and people of goodwill” to say a decade of the rosary on May 10, to express their bond with the Virgin Mary and the whole Church. The Vatican, in a decree approved by Pope Francis, had said in mid-March that it is not possible for the Church tot bless same-sex unions. The decree sparked protests among some Catholics in the German-speaking world, and some German priests are planning to hold blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples on May 10.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247595/german-catholic-group-calls-on-bishops-to-unite-with-rome

Today the Church honors St. Damien of Molokai, a Belgian priest who sacrificed his life and health to become a spiritual father to victims of leprosy, quarantined on a Hawaiian island.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-damien-of-molokai-456

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

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Pope Francis spoke at an online Vatican health conference on Saturday, offering his perspective on what it means to be human. The pope talked about the human soul, and human beings’ openness to God. The conference also included speeches from Jane Goodall, Anthony Fauci, Chelsea Clinton, and Deepak Chopra.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247588/pope-francis-jane-goodall-speak-on-what-it-means-to-be-human-at-vatican-health-conference

The pope on Sunday asked people to pray for the victims of a terrorist attack in Afghanistan. At least 50 people were killed and more than 100 injured in a bombing on Saturday outside of a school in Kabul. Many of the victims were young girls who attended the school. Pope Francis called the attack inhumane, and asked people to pray for each of the victims and their families, asking that God bring peace to the country.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247590/pope-francis-to-love-like-christ-means-saying-no-to-love-of-money-vanity-power

Blessed Rosario Livatino, a Catholic judge brutally killed by the mafia in 1990, was beatified on Sunday in the Cathedral of Agrigento, Sicily. Livatino worked as a prosecutor in Sicily dealing with the criminal activity of the mafia throughout the 1980s. Pope Francis said Sunday, “He always placed his work under the protection of God; for this he became a witness of the Gospel until his heroic death.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247589/rosario-livatino-beatified-in-sicily-honored-as-martyr-of-justice-and-faith

Today the church celebrates St. Pachomius, a fourth century monk who likely was the first to create a Christian monastery where monks lived in community, rather than alone as hermits.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-pachomius-454