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Pope Francis landed in the Kingdom of Bahrain on Thursday, becoming the first pope to visit the Muslim island nation located in the Persian Gulf. On the flight from Rome November 3, the pope told journalists aboard the papal plane it is “an interesting trip [that will] make us think about sharing good news.” Francis, who usually walks around the plane to greet media members, said he was in a lot of pain, and asked journalists to approach him where he was seated instead. Pope Francis is visiting Bahrain November 3-6. Located to the east of Saudi Arabia and west of Qatar, the country has a total population of 1.5 million. There are around 161,000 Catholics in Bahrain, many of whom are migrants from Asia, particularly the Philippines and India, according to 2020 Vatican statistics. There are two Catholic churches and 20 Catholic priests.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252716/pope-francis-becomes-first-pope-to-visit-bahrain
Synagogues in New Jersey should stay alert in light of a possible threat, the FBI said Thursday. “The FBI has received credible information of a broad threat to synagogues in NJ,” the Newark office of the FBI said on Twitter Thursday afternoon. “We ask at this time that you take all security precautions to protect your community and facility.” “Stay alert. In case of emergency call police,” the agency added. “We are taking a proactive measure with this warning while investigative processes are carried out.” In a report released earlier this year, the Anti-Defamation League said there were at least 2,717 known anti-Semitic incidents across the US in 2021, a 34% rise over the previous year. In May 2021, leading US bishops decried a rise in anti-Semitic incidents.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252729/fbi-new-jersey-synagogues-face-credible-broad-threat
In recent days, residents of at least four U.S. states have received newspapers in the mail bearing variations of the name “Catholic Tribune” and featuring mostly pro-Republican articles along with quotes from U.S. bishops, among other Catholic-oriented content. Bishops in Arizona, Iowa, and Michigan have come out with statements in recent days denying any connection to the publications. The bishops have stressed that the papers are not affiliated with the Church and have reiterated that Catholics should vote based on their own well-formed consciences, and not necessarily for or against any particular person or political party.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252727/bishops-disavow-link-politically-oriented-catholic-tribune-newspapers
Today, the Church celebrates Saint Charles Borromeo, a cardinal and a prominent teacher and reformer of the Catholic faith. He gave of his considerable wealth generously to charity, and later gave of his own wealth and health to help plague victims at a time when many other authorities fled.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-charles-borromeo-645