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Pope Francis made history Friday morning when he became the first pope to travel to Mongolia, the world’s most sparsely populated sovereign country. The papal plane touched down in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar on September 1. As Pope Francis descended the stairs of the plane at “Chinggis Khaan” International Airport, he was welcomed by the Asian country’s foreign minister and a young woman who offered the pope a cup of traditional Mongolian dried curds. Pope Francis told journalists aboard the chartered ITA Airways plane that to visit Mongolia is to encounter “a small people, but a big culture.” Roughly the size of Alaska, Mongolia has five people per square mile. About 30% of its population is nomadic or semi-nomadic.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255252/pope-francis-becomes-first-pope-in-history-to-set-foot-in-mongolia
Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of September is for people living on the margins. “A homeless person who dies on the street will never appear among the top stories of search engines or newscasts,” the pope said in a video released August 29. The Holy Father asked: “How could we have reached this level of indifference?” He goes on to ask how we as a society have allowed the “throwaway culture” to “dominate our lives, our cities, our way of life?” The pope urged the faithful to “stop making invisible those who are on the margins of society, whether it’s due to poverty, addictions, mental illness, or disability” and instead “focus on accepting them, on welcoming all people who need it.” He concluded with a prayer: “Let us pray for those people on the margins of society in subhuman living conditions, that they may not be neglected by institutions and never be cast out.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255239/this-is-pope-francis-prayer-intention-for-september-2023
A group known as BishopAccountability.org, which tracks sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, condemned a Massachusetts district judge’s Wednesday decision to dismiss criminal charges against former cardinal Theodore McCarrick. The criminal charges involving the sexual assault and abuse of a minor were dismissed Wednesday after a judge ruled McCarrick, 93, was not mentally competent to stand trial.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255240/bishop-accountability-group-dismissal-of-charges-against-former-cardinal-mccarrick-hugely-disappointing
A large fire devastated Saint Joseph Catholic Church, a historic parish in Salem, Oregon, early Thursday morning, leading pastor Father Jeff Meeuwsen to conclude that the sanctuary “is pretty much a loss.” Saint Joseph’s is one of the oldest parish communities in Oregon. It serves about 3,500 faithful and is a part of the Archdiocese of Portland, located about an hourlong drive from downtown Portland. Despite the extensive damage, no one was hurt, according to a Thursday morning parish statement. In a social media statement, the Archdiocese of Portland said that Archbishop Alexander Sample was on the ground with the parish community on Thursday assessing the situation.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255248/fire-devastates-historic-oregon-catholic-church-sanctuary-is-lost
Today, the Church celebrates Saint Beatrice da Silva Meneses. She answered a summons from God to found a religious order, the Congregation of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and with the help of the Queen of Portugal, she founded a house outside of Toledo where she lived and served as superior until her death on September 1, 1490.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-beatrice-da-silva-meneses-581