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Pope Francis met with 13 survivors of clerical sex abuse on his first day in Portugal and urged the Church to listen to “the anguished cry of the victims.” The emotional private meeting at Lisbon’s apostolic nunciature, or Vatican embassy, on Wednesday night was a moment of “intense listening” by the pope and lasted more than an hour, according to the Vatican. Representatives from Catholic institutions working for the protection of minors in Portugal accompanied the victims. In a speech to Portuguese clergy immediately before the pope’s encounter with the abuse survivors, Francis acknowledged the “anger with which some people view the Church” due to “the scandals that have marred her face.” Pope Francis called for “a humble, ongoing purification, starting with the anguished cry of the victims, who must always be accepted and listened to.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254988/pope-francis-meets-with-clerical-abuse-survivors-urges-church-to-hear-victims-anguished-cry
Church attendance has dropped off since the pandemic for Generation X more sharply than for other age groups, according to a new survey. The survey of 2,000 adults conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University found that the percentage of people ages 39 to 57 who attended a worship service during the week, either in person or online, fell to 28% in 2023, down from 41% in 2020, the Wall Street Journal reported this week. Gen Xers saw the largest percentage drop among the age groups surveyed. The percentage of Gen Xers who worship weekly is now as low as among millennials, at 28%, the survey posits. In fact, the oft-maligned millennial generation experienced during the pandemic the least amount of change in their perspectives about the Christian faith and their participation in biblical practice, the researchers assert. Among baby boomers, the results of this survey suggest a slight upward trend in church attendance in the past three years, the only age group for which this was true. Participation among the elderly fell only slightly.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254992/generation-xers-church-attendance-drops-to-millennial-levels-survey-suggests
The shooter who killed nearly a dozen in an antisemitic 2018 massacre was sentenced to death Wednesday by a federal jury. He is the first person to be condemned to death under the Biden administration, which placed the federal death penalty under moratorium in 2021. The October 2018 shooting saw Robert Bowers, 50, enter Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue during morning Shabbat prayer services. He killed 11 and injured several, including police officers. Bowers’ attorneys argued that he suffers from mental illness, a suggestion that prosecutors disputed. As a candidate for president, Joe Biden, a Catholic, called for the elimination of the death penalty.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254986/tree-of-life-synagogue-shooter-handed-federal-death-penalty
Today, the Church celebrates Saint John Vianney, patron of priests. As a parish priest in 19th century France, he prayed and worked for the conversion of his parishioners. Although he saw himself as unworthy of his mission as pastor, he allowed himself to be consumed by the love of God as he served the people. His reputation as a confessor grew rapidly, and pilgrims traveled from all over France to come to him in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Firmly committed to the conversion of the people, he would spend up to 16 hours a day in the confessional.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-john-mary-vianney-322