News from Good Shepherd and Beyond

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    News from Good Shepherd and Beyond
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- For Brooklyn, “Columbus” Day Comes Early – In NY Homecoming, Pope Taps Brennan to Succeed “The Czar”
  
  In the first Stateside move of the Vatican’s new working year, the most significant opening on the current US docket is off the table… and as Mets fans can always use good news, for once they’re in...
- Amid US Bench's Communion Clash, The "Holy Office" Flashes A Red Light
  
  As some US bishops advocate levying de facto sanctions on President Biden and other Catholic politicians for their support of legal abortion, the Holy See's distinct, but veiled skepticism over a...
- "A Child Can Teach Us How To Love" – Despite COVID and Curfews, Christus Natus Est
  
  Before anything else, especially amid all the sorrows, fears, loss and disorientation of a brutal year across the globe, Buon Natale a tutti – to one and all, a Blessed Christmas... may all its light,
- "The Poor Are The Center of The Gospel" – At Vatican "Festivus," The Church's Choice: "The Docility of the Shepherds, or the Defensiveness of Herod"
  
  Fifteen years (less a day) since Benedict XVI revolutionized the Roman Pontiff's Christmas "greeting" to the leaders of his Curia – transforming the holiday pleasantry into a Pope's ultimate...
- Whether you’ve been waiting three decades or just three weeks for this, the “mountaintop” is at hand. From 4pm Rome (10am US ET), the livefeed of a Public Consistory like no other – from the Altar of...
- Fearing "Attack" On "Fundamental Values," The Bishops Warn Biden's White House
  
  As the US bishops face a moment unseen in most of their lifetimes – the nation's election of a Catholic to the Presidency – the issue of Joe Biden's faith emerged by surprise at today's public close...
- On Day Two, The "Viruses" Take Center Stage
  
  Set to begin at 1pm Eastern, this final day of a virtual – and heavily curtailed – USCCB Plenary will be underpinned by what've arguably been the two key threads of American life in 2020: the bench's...

National Catholic Register
- Pope Francis’ Next Chapter Will Look Very Different
  
  Daniel Ibanez Pope Francis greets pilgrims in St. Peter's Square after long hospital stay on March 23, 2025. ANALYSIS: The Holy Father is accustomed to a busy...
- Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi On the Rebound Despite ‘Deep Wound’ From Founder
  
  Courtesy photo A group of members of Regnum Christi. According to a 2019 report by Regnum Christi, at least 175 minors between the ages of 11 and 16 were...
- New ‘Game Changer’ Health Care Bill Would Make Health Sharing Payments Tax Deductible
  
  Vlad United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C. The practice allows members to pool their money and pay for each other’s health care costs, similar to...
- Mom Says Feds Yanked Security Status After Complaints About ‘Polysexual’ Posters at School
  
  Screenshot Screenshot of 'polysexual' flags poster at Upper Elementary School in North Hanover Township, New Jersey. Poster image is a plaintiff’s exhibit attached to...
- Hagar, Heartache, Abraham and the Child Problem
  
  Pieter Jozef Verhaghen, “Abraham Drives Off Hagar and Ishmael,” 1781, Royal Fine Arts Museum, Antwerp, Belgium OLD TESTAMENT & ART: A Flemish Baroque painting...
- Why Your Alms Are Worth More Than Gold
  
  Pierre Auguste Cote, “Mireille Giving Alms at Saint-Trophime,” 1882, Musée Fabre, Montpellier, France ‘One’s almsgiving is like a signet ring with the Lord,...
- Pope Francis Makes First Public Appearance in Weeks
  
  Daniel Ibáñez/CNA Pope Francis waves from a balcony at Gemelli Hospital in Rome on Sunday, March 23, 2025, following weeks of hospitalization for bilateral pneumonia....
News from the Vatican
- Embassy condemns papal critique of ‘Israeli bombings’ in Gaza
  
  The Israeli Embassy to the Holy See has hit back against Pope Francis's condemnation Sunday of the resumption of “heavy Israeli bombings” in Gaza, saying renewed military action is because Hamas is...
- Veteran Vatican watcher looks back on 50 years of papal communication
  
  A living legend of the Vatican’s press corps, Mexican journalist Valentina Alazraki, has said Pope Francis is a keen communicator, but his personal style is not always appreciated by members of the...
- Pope Francis appears at hospital window, then diverts traffic to visit Roman basilica
  
  On Sunday Pope Francis made his first public appearance in five weeks, coming to the balcony of Rome’s Gemelli Hospital to wave and give a blessing to believers who had gathered below.
- Pope to exit hospital Sunday after two close calls during five-week stay
  
  Pope Francis’s medical team has announced that after five weeks of hospitalization and two brushes with death, he will be discharged Sunday, but must continue to rest and undergo his various...
- Pope continues to improve, no date yet for hospital discharge
  
  As Pope Francis marks five weeks in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, doctors have said he continues to improve but have not yet given an expected discharge date, while top aides have said a ‘new phase’ of...
- Vatican doctrine czar says judges being appointed for Rupnik case
  
  Nearly two years after lifting a statute of limitations to allow a canonical procedure to begin against Slovene Father Marko Rupnik, the Vatican’s doctrine chief says the case is progressing and...
- Pope Francis says ‘confused messages’ in the world are hurting young people, urges vocations
  
  Pope Francis noted many young people “feel dismayed as they look to the future,” and says “a call to leave ourselves behind [in a vocation] and embark on a journey of love and service.”