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 Vatican has sovereign immunity, and cannot be sued in local courts for the actions of clerical abusers. That’s according to a ruling this week by the European Court of Human Rights. This was the first time the international court has considered a case related to the Holy See’s immunity.
Denver’s Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception was spray-painted with anti-Catholic slogans on Sunday. Eyewitnesses reportedly saw a woman spray-painting the church around 7:45 am, in broad daylight. Parishioners and other volunteers helped remove most of the graffiti on Sunday. Two other Catholic parishes in Denver were the targets of vandalism and theft this summer. Parishes in nearby Boulder and Louisville were similarly targeted.
The image of Our Lady of La Leche, in Florida, was canonically crowned on Sunday. A canonical coronation honors an image’s universal importance for the Catholic Church. The image of Our Lady of La Leche features the Blessed Virgin Mary nursing the infant Jesus. The image has roots in Bethlehem, but it was brought to modern day Florida in 1577 by Spanish settlers. It is only the fourth image in the United States to be canonically crowned.
Today, the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar. This was the first Marian apparition in history. Our Lady appeared to the apostle Saint James, in Spain. Unlike every other recorded Marian apparition, this apparition took place during the earthly life of the Mother of God. Tradition holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary promised Saint James that she would appear to him to encourage him in his difficult mission to the pagans in modern-day Spain.