U.S.

Ohio voters approve measure to codify abortion in state constitution

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio voters Nov. 7 approved Issue 1, a measure that will codify abortion access in the state’s constitution through fetal viability, typically understood to be 24 weeks gestation, according to an NBC News projection of the results. The loss marks another electoral defeat for abortion-related ballot measures in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. The measure, advanced by the Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights and Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom, will legalize abortion up to the point of fetal viability — the gestational maturity at which a baby may be capable of living outside the uterus — and beyond, if a physician decided an abortion was necessary for the sake of the mother’s life or health. Although Ohio lawmakers enacted a six-week abortion ban that is not being enforced amid a legal challenge, the passage of Issue 1 will likely block its implementation. (OSV News)

Diocesan phase of Florida martyrs’ cause closes

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — For several years, lay Catholics and clergy have researched, chronicled and verified a piece of Florida’s Catholic history from more than three centuries ago in hopes it will become part of Catholic history for the universal Church. Now, eight years after this process officially began, a Mass recently marked the affirming, signing and sealing of documentation on the Martyrs of La Florida Mission — Antonio Inija and 57 companions — to be delivered to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in Rome. The group of nearly 60 who were martyred in the name of God from 1549 to 1712 included Catholics who were Indigenous, many of the Apalachee tribe, in what is present-day Florida and missionaries who came to the region from other lands. Sometime in November, Msgr. Michael Reed, chancellor of the Pensacola-Tallahassee Diocese, will escort the documents to Rome to deliver to the dicastery. (OSV News)

Police investigate vandalism at Stockton, Calif., cathedral as possible hate crime

STOCKTON, Calif. — The Stockton Police Department was investigating whether a hate crime was behind an act of vandalism that left white paint streaked across the front doors of the 81-year-old Cathedral of the Annunciation in Stockton. White paint also was seen on a walkway, a landscaping area and a flatbed trailer parked near the church. Police believe the paint was left there around 5:45 a.m. Nov. 5. A post on the cathedral parish’s Facebook page thanked the pastor, Father John Foster, for his quick action before the 7 a.m. Sunday Mass to get the police out to record the incident. Stockton Bishop Myron J. Cotta said he was “deeply saddened” by the vandalism but expressed gratitude for the parish staff and parishioners “for their swift assistance in managing the situation.” He also thanked the police for their “prompt response.” (OSV News)

WORLD

Caritas establishes ‘humanitarian bridge’ for hurricane-stricken Acapulco

ACAPULCO, Mexico — The morning after Hurricane Otis stormed through Acapulco as a Category 5 monster, Father Leonardo Morales surveyed the damage and saw total destruction. “It looked like a war zone,” Father Morales, archdiocesan Caritas director, said in WhatsApp messages. “It hit everyone.” People in Acapulco have been left to pick up the pieces after Hurricane Otis battered the already down-on-its-luck tourist destination. The storm made landfall Oct. 25 as the strongest hurricane to hit Mexico’s Pacific Coast with winds reaching 165 miles per hour. Caritas chapters across Mexico have established collection centers and sent donations to Acapulco, which was left incommunicado after the storm and so badly battered that electricity still hasn’t been fully restored. CoreLogic, which models catastrophic risks, estimated the insurable damage in Acapulco at between $10 billion and $15 billion, while some 63% of buildings on the city’s tourist strip were damaged, according to a satellite analysis by Copernicus Emergency Management System. Many of Acapulco’s residents lived in poor neighborhoods of self-built dwellings, which were obliterated in the storm, according to clergy familiar with the city. Businesses have been unable to open amid water and electricity shortages, and many stores were looted after the storm. As of Nov. 6, the death toll stood at 47 with 56 missing, according to the Mexican government. (OSV News)

Vatican confirms papal trip to Dubai for climate conference

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis will travel to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates Dec. 1-3 to participate in the U.N. Climate Change Conference, the Vatican press office confirmed. In an interview broadcast in Italy Nov. 1, the pope had said he intended to go, but the Vatican did not confirm the trip until Nov. 3. “Accepting the invitation of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, His Holiness Pope Francis will make the previously announced trip to Dubai from 1 to 3 December 2023, on the occasion of the upcoming Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,” commonly called COP28, said Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office. The conference is designed to assess progress or failures in reaching the goals adopted by 196 nations and parties, including the Holy See, with the Paris climate agreement in 2015. (CNS)