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
-
Officials of the Roman Curia, may no longer accept personal gifts with a monetary value over forty euros, or $50. The new rule is part of a sweeping new anti-corruption law. Pope Francis created the rule today, in the form of a motu proprio. The new rule appears to be an effort to quash the Vatican’s envelope culture, in which large monetary donations are made to bishops and cardinals working in the Roman Curia.That culture has been blamed for contributing to corruption in the Church, most notably in cases like that of ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick.
Seven priests in the Archdiocese of Ranchi in eastern India are currently hospitalized with covid-19. A neighboring diocese reportedly lost five priests to covid-19 in ten days. India’s official coronavirus death toll passed 200,000 this week, after more than 3,000 people died of covid-19 in 24 hours. The World Health Organization has said higher rates of transmission could be due to a new covid-19 variant discovered in India. Many believe the actual infection and death rates are likely higher than official statistics suggest.
A proposed bill in Texas would extend the waiting period on no-fault divorce. The bill has the support of the Texas Catholic Conference. If it becomes law, married couples seeking a no-fault divorce would need to wait six months if they have minor children, or disabled adult children. No-fault divorces do not include cases in which domestic violence is involved.