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
-
The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on Tuesday evening granted a stay of execution for Johnny Johnson, a Saint Louis-area man who had been scheduled to die August 1. Catholics in Saint Louis and across Missouri had advocated for a stay of Johnson’s execution, citing the Church’s teaching on the admissibility of the death penalty as well as arguments from Johnson’s attorneys that he is not mentally fit to understand his punishment. The Missouri Catholic Conference, which represents the state’s Catholic bishops, in a July 24 letter formally requested clemency on Johnson’s behalf, asking Republican Governor Mike Parson to commute his sentence to life imprisonment without parole. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, reflecting an update promulgated by Pope Francis in 2018, describes the death penalty as “inadmissible” and an “attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254906/missouri-death-row-inmate-granted-stay-of-execution-following-catholic-advocacy
The FBI handed over to Congress on Tuesday internal documents relating to the bureau’s now-withdrawn leaked memo that recommended investigating devotees of the Traditional Latin Mass. The leaked memo, dated January 23, which originated from the bureau’s Richmond office, claims that racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists will likely become more interested in “radical-traditionalist Catholic ideology” within the next 12 to 24 months “in the run-up to the next general election cycle.” The new documents were only made available to the House Judiciary Committee. The FBI has requested that the committee not disseminate the documents without consulting it first. The document release comes after Ohio Republican Representative Jim Jordan, the chairman of the committee, threatened to hold FBI director Christopher Wray in contempt over the bureau’s delay in responding to two subpoenas investigating alleged First Amendment violations from the bureau.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254909/fbi-gives-documents-to-congress-relating-to-memo-targeting-catholics
Today, the Church celebrates Saint Panteleon, the patron saint of bachelors and physicians. As lifelong layperson, he was the physician for emperor Maximinianus. At one point in his life he had abandoned his faith, but he eventually returned to the Church, and gave his fortune to the poor, providing them medical treatment without charge. Some of his cures were accomplished by prayer. Other physicians eventually denounced him to the anti-Christian authorities. At his trial, he offered a contest between himself and the pagan priests. He challenged the pagan priests to heal a paralyzed man with their prayers, but they were unable. Saint Panteleon cured the man by simply mentioning the name of Jesus. As a result, many of those who witnessed the miracle converted to Christianity. However, the authorities remained resolute in trying to get him to denounce his faith with bribes, threats and torture, but they did not succeed. He was then nailed to a tree and beheaded, circa 305.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-panteleon-548