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Catholic bishops in South Dakota have given their support for religious exemption from any vaccine mandate. Many employers or other authorities in the state are instating COVID-19 vaccine mandates. South Dakota’s bishops said Catholics whose well-formed consciences tell them not to receive a vaccine, should be free to seek a religious exemption from any vaccine mandate. The bishops called the decision to accept or reject a vaccine “intimate and personal.”
The archbishop of Chicago has condemned rising levels of gun violence in the city. Last weekend one police officer was shot and killed, and another was injured. Cardinal Blase Cupich has called for common-sense gun reform laws, including universal background checks. He urged Catholics to avoid becoming numb to the recurring news of gun violence and mass shootings.
A federal district court has dismissed a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. The lawsuit was filed by a former Catholic school guidance counselor who was fired for entering a same-sex marriage contract. The court ruled the counselor qualified as a minister of religion, so the archdiocese and school were exempt from federal workplace discrimination prohibitions.
Pope Francis met briefly this week with the actor who plays Jesus in the popular internet series, The Chosen. The Catholic actor is in Rome this week to visit pilgrimage sites related to the Gospels. He met Pope Francis during the pope’s general audience. The actor addressed the pope in Spanish, and asked Francis to pray for him as he continues to portray Jesus in the series.
Today, the Church remembers Blessed Pope Innocent the Eleventh. His pontificate was marked by the long struggle with the then-king of France over papal authority in France.