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The Israeli Embassy to the US said on Wednesday that over 1,200 were killed and more than 3,000 injured as a result of a recent Hamas attack on Israel. Besides the killed and injured, the BBC reported that as many as 150 Israeli hostages were taken by Hamas, according to the Israeli government. The scale of the casualties and victims, which includes women, children, and the elderly, makes this one of the largest terrorist attacks since 9/11. The US has promised to send military equipment and supplies to support Israel. According to the IDF, the first shipment of US equipment landed in Israel’s Nevatim Air Force Base in southern Israel on Wednesday. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel to express American solidarity and support and to further assess the situation.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255656/update-over-1000-killed-including-22-americans-in-saturday-terrorist-attacks-on-israel
The Latin Catholic patriarch of Jerusalem has called for a day of prayer and fasting on Tuesday, October 17, for peace and reconciliation in the Holy Land.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255660/catholic-patriarch-calls-day-of-prayer-and-fasting-for-peace-in-the-holy-land
Caritas Jerusalem, which serves the needs of people in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Jerusalem, reported that some of its staff are among those displaced.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255658/caritas-jerusalem-suspends-activities-in-gaza-and-israel-but-announces-emergency-plan
A New York pro-life pregnancy center that was seriously damaged in an arson attack in June 2022 and was subsequently vandalized again with pro-abortion graffiti in March, has filed a federal lawsuit against two “known pro-abortion activists.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255650/firebombed-pro-life-pregnancy-center-files-face-act-lawsuit
Participants in the Synod on Synodality have asked “for greater discernment on the teaching of the Church on the subject of sexuality,” a Vatican spokesman said at a press briefing Wednesday.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255655/synod-members-ask-for-greater-discernment-of-church-teaching-on-sexuality
Today the Church honors Our Lady of the Pillar, the first recorded Marian apparition. Mary appeared to Saint James the Apostle, the brother of Saint John the Evangelist, on the bank of the river Ebro in Saragossa, Spain. Unlike every other recorded apparition, this one took place during the earthly life of the Mother of God. In the year 40 A.D., while praying one night on the river bank, the Virgin appeared with the Child Jesus standing on a pillar and asked Saint James and his eight disciples to build a church on the site, promising that “it will stand from that moment until the end of time in order that God may work miracles and wonders through my intercession for all those who place themselves under my patronage.” Nuestra Señora del Pilar is the patron of Spain and all Hispanic peoples.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/nuestra-senora-del-pilar-our-lady-of-the-pillar-622
The Church also celebrates Saint Wilfrid of York. Wilfrid worked to enforce Roman liturgical practice in seventh-century England, founded Benedictine monasteries, and rebuilt the minster of York, all while living a simple and holy life himself.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-wilfrid-of-york-17