St. Daniel Church

Pope Francis has appointed Auxiliary Bishop Philip Moger of Southwark, England, as the new bishop of Plymouth.

The February episcopal ordination of Canon Christopher Whitehead, his predecessor as bishop-elect, was cancelled when the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales announced that a “canonical process was underway.” Canon Whitehead was later cleared of the charges and resumed his ministry as a parish priest in the Diocese of Clifton.

The see of Plymouth has been vacant since April 2022, when Bishop Mark O’Toole was appointed archbishop of one Welsh archdiocese (Cardiff) and, concurrently, head of a second Welsh diocese (Menevia).

Some 215 abbots, priors, and other superiors of Benedictine monasteries have gathered at the Pontifical Athenaeum of Sant’Anselmo in Rome to elect the 11th abbot primate of the Order of St. Benedict.

Pope Leo XIII created the office of Abbot Primate in 1893 to help bring unity to the various Benedictine congregations. The Abbot Primate, however, has little authority compared to the superiors-general of most religious institutes.

Since 2016, Abbot Gregory Polan of Conception Abbey (Missouri) has served as Abbot Primate. The abbey is responsible for the Abbey Psalms and Canticles, which will be incorporated into the Mass and Liturgy of the Hours and will offer a more accurate translation than the Grail Psalter, used in the Liturgy of the Hours since the 1970s.

Previous Abbot Primates include the future Cardinal Benno Gut, who became prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship; the future Archbishop Rembert Weakland, who become infamous for his $450,000 settlement with an erstwhile male lover and his negligence in addressing sexual abuse; and Abbot Notker Wolf, known for his books and his playing of the electric guitar.

Pope Francis has united the Archdiocese of Cardiff and the Diocese of Menevia in Wales, creating the new Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia.

At the time of the merger, the Archdiocese of Cardiff had 59 parishes, 66 priests, and one seminarian, and the Diocese of Menevia had 53 parishes, 44 priests, and two seminarians. Archbishop Mark O’Toole has led both dioceses concurrently since 2022.

The Archdiocese of Cardiff once had 157 priests (1957) and 102 parishes (1980). The Diocese of Menevia, which lost territory to the Diocese of Wexham in 1987, once had 59 parishes and 62 priests (1990).

The French bishops’ conference has opened its archives on Abbé Pierre (1912-2007) to historians and journalists, following serious new charges of sexual abuse.

Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort of Reims, the president of the episcopal conference, said that French cardinals “took note of the behavior” of the priest and sent him to Switzerland in the 1950s for a “psychiatric stay.”

Ordained to the priesthood in 1938, Abbé Pierre took part in the French resistance against the Nazis during World War II and was a member of the French parliament from 1945 to 1951. Known for his ministry to the poor and homeless, he became a beloved figure in France. He was also a critic of Catholic teaching on sexual morality.

On September 14, the Congregation of Clerics Regular (Theatines) marks the 500th anniversary of its founding by St. Cajetan and three others, including the future Pope Paul IV.

The order, founded with an emphasis on clerical asceticism, apostolic work, and poverty, grew to 1,400 members by 1700 and has produced 250 bishops.

The order entered a period of significant decline with the anticlerical revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries. According to the Vatican newspaper, 133 Theatine priests (as of 2014) minister in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United States.

The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has approved a Missa pro Anno Sancto (Mass for the Holy Year) for use during the 2025 jubilee.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has made the Mass texts available online in Latin, English, and Spanish.

The Vatican approved the texts in May; the USCCB published them online in September.

SINGAPORE (CNS) -- Pope Francis praised Singapore and its citizens for their hard work and ingenuity, but he urged them to be mindful of the poor and of the migrant workers who do much of the hard labor.

"I hope that special attention will be paid to the poor and the elderly -- whose labors have laid the foundations for the Singapore we see today -- as well as to protecting the dignity of migrant workers," the pope told government and civic leaders Sept. 12. "These workers contribute a great deal to society and should be guaranteed a fair wage." 

More than 40% of Singapore's workforce is made up of foreign workers, many of whom are migrant workers with a two-year work permit, which does not allow them to bring their families with them or to switch employers once they arrive in Singapore. The government also does not mandate a minimum wage for work-permit holders. They primarily work in construction, manufacturing, domestic service and in the shipyards.

Pope Francis had arrived in Singapore -- often named as the world's fourth wealthiest nation -- from Timor-Leste, one of the world's poorest countries.

Meeting the government and civic leaders in a theater at the National University of Singapore, he described the country as "a commercial crossroads of primary importance and a place where different peoples meet." About 75% of the citizens have Chinese ancestry, but there also are large numbers of people of Malay or Indian descent. 

Singapore "has not only prospered economically but has also striven to build a society in which social justice and the common good are held in high regard," he said, pointing specifically to efforts to help citizens "through public housing policies, high quality education and an efficient healthcare system."

"I hope that these efforts will continue until all Singaporeans are able to benefit from them fully," the pope said. While the city-state is a modern seat of international finance, it does suffer from wealth inequality with about 25% of the population being considered poor.

Focusing "solely on pragmatism or placing merit above all things," he said, runs the risk of excluding people on the margins of society from benefiting from progress.

Pope Francis also asked Singapore to use its technology, resources and regional influence to promote "better care of our common home."

"Your search for innovative solutions to address environmental challenges can encourage other countries to do the same," he said. "Singapore is a shining example of what humanity can achieve by working together in harmony, with a sense of responsibility and a spirit of inclusiveness and fraternity."

In a country with Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Taoists, Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians, Jews, Sikhs and Baha'is, Pope Francis praised Singapore's embrace of religious freedom and he asked the government "to continue to work in favor of the unity and fraternity of humanity and the common good of all peoples and all nations, in a way that does not exclude others or is restricted to your national interests." 

Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam told Pope Francis, "We are a multiracial, multireligious and multicultural society. There was a time in our history when these realities gave rise to inter-communal tensions," but through the efforts of the government and religious leaders, the people have come to value their diversity.

He also thanked the pope for being a "strong and principled advocate for human fraternity and environmental sustainability."

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is investigating allegations of child molestation and child exploitation by Father Martin Nyberg, 28, less than five months after his priestly ordination.

Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago said that the abuse allegedly took place during a public penance service, that Father Nyberg “strenuously denies” the allegations, and that the priest has stepped aside from ministry.

For the first time, the faithful of the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, the Syriac Orthodox Church, and the Assyrian Church of the East have joined together in Iraqi Kurdistan in public processions prior to the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

“Churches used to celebrate this commemoration separately every year,” said Archbishop Bashar Warda, the Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Erbil. “But this year is wonderfully different.”

The Assyrian Church of the East ceased to be in full communion with the Holy See following the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus (431). The Syriac Orthodox Church is an Oriental Orthodox church that ceased to be in full communion with the Holy See following the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon (451).

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Heinz-Günter Bongartz, 69, from the office of auxiliary bishop of Hildesheim, Germany.

After a 2017 report found that he mishandled abuse cases, the prelate apologized and offered to resign. A subsequent report, published in 2021, offered additional evidence that Bishop Bongartz, a former diocesan personnel director and vicar general, mishandled abuse cases.