Knights of Columbus Exceeds $100 Million in Support for Vocations NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (OSV News) – As Catholics in the United States wrapped up National Vocation Awareness Week from November 3-9, officials with one of the world’s largest Catholic fraternal organizations announced it has provided more than $100 million to date to those seeking religious life. In a November 8 media release, officials with the Knights of Columbus said that the group’s local councils – which globally total more than 16,800 – have helped to donate more than $100 million directly to seminarians, postulants, and novices. That support is channeled through the Knights’ Refund Support Vocations Program (RSVP), which was launched in 1981 as vocations in North America began to decline. Through RSVP, every $500 a local council provides to a seminarian or religious life aspirant is incentivized by a refund of $100 from the Knights’ Supreme Council, up to $400 for $2,000 donated. Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly noted that the Knights’ own founder, Blessed Michael McGivney, “almost had to leave seminary after his father’s death because of the financial strain facing his family.” Kelly noted that “RSVP and our other vocation scholarships are really our way of paying that forward, and supporting the next generation of priests and religious.” Pope Encourages U.S. Catholic Donors to Act Synodally, with Love VATICAN CITY (CNS) – “Love always transforms, changes things,” Pope Francis told a group of Catholic philanthropists from the United States. Meeting on Monday, November 11, with members of FADICA, a network of foundations and donors supporting Catholic activities and initiatives, the pope spoke to them about what it means for the Catholic Church to be a “synodal community.” That vision of the Church, he said, is “grounded in our shared baptismal dignity and co-responsibility for the Church’s mission as we face a time of epochal change and its consequences for the future of our human family.” Members were making their annual pilgrimage to Rome, which was to include a symposium, meetings with Vatican officials, and a retreat. Pope Francis thanked the foundations and donors for the support they give Vatican offices “that seek to discern the signs of the times and to help the universal Church to respond with wisdom, charity, and foresightedness to the needs and challenges of the present moment.” The pope also thanked them for “your quiet encouragement of so many initiatives that enrich the life and apostolate of the Church in the United States.” DePaul President ‘Appalled’ by Attack on Jewish Students CHICAGO (OSV News) – Two Jewish students were attacked on the campus of Catholic-run DePaul University in Chicago on Wednesday, November 6, and the school’s president said he was “appalled” by the incident. The attack was part of a wave of anti-Jewish hostility in the Chicago area in recent weeks. DePaul’s president, Robert Manuel, said in a letter dated the same day to faculty and staff, “We are outraged that this occurred on our campus. It is completely unacceptable and a violation of DePaul’s values to uphold and care for the dignity of every individual.” Manuel said in the letter the students were “visibly showing support for Israel,” which has been embroiled in a war with the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip since October of 2023, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 men, women, and children, and taking nearly 300 hostages. He said the DePaul students were punched multiple times and “sustained physical injuries but declined medical treatment.” Officials with the Chicago Police Department, which labeled the attack a hate crime, say they are searching for the two suspects who they believe committed the crime. Vatican, Microsoft Unveil AI-Generated ‘Twin’ of St. Peter’s Basilica VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Aimed at reaching out to people unable to go to Rome for the Holy Year and helping the millions who are expected to visit St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican officials teamed up with Microsoft and other specialized experts to create a “digital twin” of the church for an immersive and more meaningful experience. St. Peter’s Basilica will be launching a new website to feature the virtual views, streaming services of religious celebrations, and podcasts of prayerful meditations as well as an app beginning on Sunday, December 1, that will help visitors with suggested itineraries, audio guides, and real-time updates about the lines to the Holy Door and other sites. Also, in January, young students around the world will be able to explore the basilica on Microsoft’s game-based learning platform, Minecraft Education. The multiple projects use AI technology to help people weave together the historical, artistic, and spiritual meanings connected with the world’s largest church, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of the basilica, told reporters at a Vatican news conference on Monday, November 11. The “digital ecosystem,” he said, will accompany visitors and help them have a more spiritual experience. Catholic Leaders: Keep Poor, Vulnerable at Center of COP 29 WASHINGTON, D.C. (OSV News) – The poor and vulnerable must be front and center when it comes to climate change policies, said two leading bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States and the head of the U.S. Church’s international relief agency, in a statement issued ahead of the United Nations’ annual gathering on climate concerns. COP 29 was scheduled to take place November 11-22 in Baku, Azerbaijan, discussing climate finance, emissions reduction, and community resilience. Policies developed to tackle those tasks must account for those who will be most affected, said Metropolitan Archbishop Borys A. Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; Bishop A. Elias Zaidan of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, chair of the USCCB’s Committee on International Justice and Peace; and Sean Callahan, president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services, in a joint statement released on Friday, November 8. “The impact of climate change policies on the poor and vulnerable must be placed foremost in the minds and hearts of the leaders and influencers gathering at next week’s conference,” the three said. COP 29’s work towards a new finance goal – formally known as the “new collective quantified goal on climate finance,” or NCQG – must be shaped by “the needs of poor people and countries,” they said, emphasizing, “Because of the blessings God has bestowed, the United States bears a special responsibility to shape these discussions to serve the entire human family.” Abuse Settlements for U.S. Church Exceeds $5 Billion WASHINGTON, D.C. (OSV News) – The Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ $880 million abuse claims settlement, announced in October, brings the total payouts of U.S. Catholic dioceses for abuse claims since 2004 to more than $5 billion – and possibly more than $6 billion – OSV News has found. An aggregated total from two decades of reports issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops shows the nation’s dioceses and eparchies paid some $4.384 billion to settle claims between 2004 and 2023. Data for fiscal year 2024 is still pending; however, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ $880 million settlement, combined with a $323 million settlement announced in September by officials with the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, and a mid-November announcement that the Diocese of Oakland, California, has settled lawsuits for $160 million, mean those three U.S. dioceses will be spending more than $1.3 billion in the span of two months. The overall national total of diocesan settlement payouts for the past two decades could exceed $6.24 billion, if the USCCB data does not already include a 2007 Archdiocese of Los Angeles payout. Data from the USCCB’s reports does not include any settlements that dioceses reached with victims prior to 2004. Pallbearers walk with the casket of Los Angeles Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela during his funeral Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles Nov. 6, 2024. (OSV News photo/Robert Gauthier, pool via Los Angeles Times) The post News Briefs: November 17, 2024 appeared first on Today's Catholic.