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Pope Francis on Sunday offered prayers for the victims of a deadly tornado that struck parts of Mississippi and Alabama Friday night. Cutting a swath of ruin across the impoverished Mississippi Delta, the tornado killed at least 26 people and left twisted piles of debris where homes, businesses, and neighborhoods once stood. The death toll is expected to rise, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) warned. Speaking after his weekly Angelus reflection in Saint Peter’s Square March 26, the pope included victims of the storm among those suffering around the world from war and natural disasters. “Let us continue to pray for the tormented Ukrainian people. And let us stay close also to the earthquake victims of Turkey and Syria,” he said. “Let us also pray for the population of the state of Mississippi, struck by a devastating tornado.” The loss of 25 people so far in Mississippi makes the March 24 twister the deadliest tornado in the state in at least 50 years, Mississippi’s Clarion Ledger reported. One man died in Alabama.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253942/pope-francis-mississippi-bishop-offer-prayers-for-victims-of-deadly-tornado
Pope Francis on Saturday decreed an updated version of Vos estis lux mundi, his landmark legislation to counter sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. The decree promulgated March 25 extends the Church’s norms for handling of abuse to cover lay leaders of international associations of the faithful recognized by the Vatican. The document reaffirms an obligation to report cases of “vulnerable adult” victims of abuse, including violence against religious women by clerics and cases of harassment of adult seminarians or novices by a superior. It also includes protections for people who witness acts of abuse, in addition to those who submit reports of alleged abuse, stipulating that no “obligation of silence” may be imposed on those who report, witness, or are victims of abuse. Pope Francis first promulgated Vos estis lux mundi in May 2019 on an experimental basis for a period of three years.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253939/pope-francis-decrees-permanent-vos-estis-lux-mundi-legislation-to-counter-abuse
Today, the Church celebrates Saint Rupert, whose missionary labors built up the Church in two of its historic strongholds, Austria and Bavaria. During his lifetime, the “Apostle of Bavaria and Austria” was an energetic founder of churches and monasteries, and a remarkably successful evangelist of the regions – which include the homeland of the Bavarian native Pope Benedict XVI.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-rupert-420