Michigan Catholic Bishops Say Governor Whitmer Video Mocks Eucharist LANSING, Michigan (OSV News) – Michigan’s Catholic bishops have expressed “profound disappointment and offense” after the state’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer appeared to mock the Eucharist in a social media video posted by feminist author and podcaster Liz Plank. The Michigan Catholic Conference issued a statement on Friday, October 11, two days after Plank posted a video to her Instagram account, feministabulous, showing Whitmer laying a Dorito brand snack chip on the tongue of a kneeling Plank. The social media platform TikTok features numerous videos of users feeding friends (although the trend is less evident on the Instagram platform) – but in their statement, the Michigan Catholic bishops said the Plank-Whitmer clip was out of bounds even for that genre. “The skit goes further than the viral online trend that inspired it, specifically imitating the posture and gestures of Catholics receiving the Holy Eucharist, in which we believe that Jesus Christ is truly present,” said Paul A. Long, Michigan Catholic Conference president and CEO. “It is not just distasteful or ‘strange’; it is an all-too-familiar example of an elected official mocking religious persons and their practices.” Miami Archbishop: Massacre Shows Violence in Haiti ‘Has Yet to Touch Bottom’ MIAMI (OSV News) – A recent massacre in Haiti that killed at least 115 people shows “the deteriorating situation in Haiti has yet to touch bottom,” Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami told OSV News. Members of the Gran Grif de Savien gang stormed the town of Pont-Sondé during the early hours of Thursday, October 3, killing at least 115 and displacing more than 6,000. The attack ranks as the worst in Haiti’s recent history, which has been plagued by multiple, sustained crises such as political instability, natural disasters, foreign intervention, and international debt. Archbishop Wenski, who is fluent in Haitian Creole, and whose archdiocese is home to an extensive and historic Haitian expatriate community, slammed both domestic and international efforts to restore order in Haiti, which has experienced high volatility in government leadership for several years. Amid the power struggle, “the Haitian people … are suffering from gang violence including rape and kidnapping” and are “increasingly at risk for famine,” said Archbishop Wenski. Describing Haiti as “a house on fire,” the archbishop also denounced ongoing moves by the governments of the United States and the Dominican Republic to deport Haitians fleeing their homeland’s violence “in violation of international treaties” protecting refugees. Vatican Officials Say New Cardinals Will Be Created December 7 VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis will create his 21 new cardinals on Saturday, December 7, not on Sunday, December 8, as he originally announced, according to the official in charge of papal liturgical ceremonies. Releasing a calendar of the pope’s liturgies in November and early December, Archbishop Diego Ravelli, master of papal liturgical ceremonies, said Pope Francis will create the new cardinals at a consistory in St. Peter’s Basilica the afternoon of December 7. The next morning, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the pope and all members of the College of Cardinals will concelebrate Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. Vatican officials did not explain the change. Pope, Zelenskyy Discuss Repatriation of Ukrainian Captives VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met for the third time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, focusing their discussion on the repatriation of Ukrainian nationals held in Russian captivity. “The issue of bringing our people home from captivity was the main focus of my meeting with Pope Francis,” Zelenskyy posted on X after meeting on Thursday, October 11, at the Vatican. “We are counting on the Holy See’s assistance in helping to bring back Ukrainians who have been taken captive by Russia.” In Rome as part of a 36-hour tour of Europe, which included stops in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, Zelenskyy visited the Vatican the morning after meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. His meeting with the pope in the library of the Apostolic Palace lasted 35 minutes and was followed by discussions with officials from the Vatican Secretariat of State. According to a statement issued by Vatican officials after the meetings, the talks covered “the state of the war and the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, as well as the ways in which it could be brought to an end, leading to just and stable peace in the country.” March for Life Unveils 2025 Theme: ‘Every Life: Why We March’ WASHINGTON, D.C. (OSV News) – The March for Life Education and Defense Fund on Thursday, October 10, unveiled the theme for its upcoming event: “Every Life: Why We March.” The 52nd annual March for Life is scheduled for January 24, just days after the winner of the 2024 presidential election will be inaugurated, and comes amid what the group’s president Jeanne Mancini described as a time of “confusion and erroneous messaging” about abortion. The theme, Mancini told reporters at a media briefing, was selected because the group believes that “we really, deeply want to do everything possible to encourage that we’re on the right side of history, that we’re in this for the long game, and that we need to lean in.” Mancini added the January 24 event will feature Bethany Hamilton, a professional surfer, author, and motivational speaker, as the keynote speaker. Hamilton is the first female athlete to participate at the event in that capacity, organizers said. New York Archdiocese Sells Office for Reported $100 million NEW YORK (OSV News) – The Archdiocese of New York has sold its longtime office headquarters, in a move first announced by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan in January. Bloomberg reported the sale on Thursday, October 10, stating that the Terence Cardinal Cooke Building site at 1011 First Avenue in Manhattan had been acquired by Vanbarton Group, a boutique real estate investment firm, for more than $100 million. The site, which currently houses archdiocesan offices as well as Catholic Charities of New York, the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, and St. John the Evangelist Church – will be redeveloped as residential rental units. The archdiocese confirmed the sale to OSV News in an October 11 email, with Director of Communications Joseph Zwilling stating that many of the archdiocese’s offices “will be moving to smaller space at 488 Madison Avenue,” which is located next to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, “in late spring/early summer of 2025.” Zwilling said the “proceeds of this sale will be used to ease the financial burden caused by the sexual abuse crisis.” Lebanese Charity Workers Describe ‘Catastrophic’ Crisis BEIRUT (OSV News) – As Lebanon plunged into the worst humanitarian crisis in decades, Catholics and other Christians continue their humanitarian outreach to help struggling Lebanese, Syrian refugees, and migrant workers displaced by severe Israeli bombardments across the country, ongoing since late September. Catholic aid agencies and the United Nations warn that Lebanon is experiencing a major displacement crisis as some 1.2 million people have fled their homes due to fighting between Israel and the country’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militia. The pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need, Ireland branch, confirmed on Thursday, October 10, that an October 9 Israeli air strike on two church halls housing refugees in Derdghaya killed at least eight people, leaving the parish office and church destroyed. The exchange of fire from both sides of the border has also displaced 60,000 Israelis. Large numbers of the displaced are sleeping on the streets of the capital, Beirut, fearful of being trapped in collapsing buildings from the bombings, while others have no place else to go because shelters are packed to capacity. “The situation is really catastrophic,” said Andrea Avveduto, communications chief for Pro Terra Sancta, which supports the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land aiding Christian communities in the Middle East. Filipino Catholic devotees of Mary participate in the annual procession of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, La Naval de Manila Oct. 13, 2024. (OSV News photo/Eloisa Lopez, Reuters) The post News Briefs: October 20, 2024 appeared first on Today's Catholic.