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The Supreme Court on Thursday, decided unanimously in favor of Catholic Social Services, in its lawsuit against the city of Philadelphia. The court ruled that the city violated the group’s free exercise of religion. In 2018, the city stopped partnering with the agency in its foster-care program, since Catholic Social Services would not certify same-sex couples as foster parents, on religious grounds.
U.S. bishops held extensive debate on Thursday, before voting on whether to draft a teaching document on the Eucharist, at their annual spring meeting held virtually this week. The text of a proposed Eucharistic document has not yet been drafted, but a proposed outline explained the Church’s Eucharistic teaching on a number of points, including the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, the importance of Sunday as a holy day, and the need for Catholics to live out the Church’s teaching in their lives after receiving Communion.
In a nearly unanimous vote, U.S. bishops have advanced the sainthood causes of two Americans. Father Joseph Verbis Lafleur was a World War II military chaplain, and Marinus Leonard LaRue, a merchant mariner who became a Benedictine monk.
Teachers in Ireland say they’re worried that bullies in schools are targeting practicing Catholics. The teachers shared their concerns at a parliamentary meeting this week. The teachers suggested bullying is driven by issues of identity, including faith and ethnicity. A 2016 census found that 78.3% of Ireland’s population identified as Catholic, the lowest level recorded.
Today, the Church celebrates Saint Osanna Andreasi. The saint was a Dominican tertiary. She spent her adult life serving the poor and sick. She was also a mystic and visionary, and bore the red marks of the stigmata.