U.S.

Nebraska priest dies after attack during apparent rectory break-in

FORT CALHOUN, Neb. — A Nebraska priest has died after being attacked in the rectory of his parish in the early morning of the Second Sunday of Advent. Father Stephen Gutgsell was found “suffering from injuries sustained during an assault” Dec. 10 at the rectory of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, where he served as pastoral administrator. Following a 911 call, deputies arrived within six minutes and took the suspect into custody while the injured priest was transported to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where he later died from his injuries. Robinson told local media he does not believe the death is related to the deceased priest’s 2007 conviction for embezzling more than $125,000 from a former parish, for which he received five years’ probation and was returned to ministry following a successful residential rehabilitation program. (OSV News)

Sacramento Diocese to file for bankruptcy amid abuse lawsuits

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Diocese of Sacramento has announced it will file for bankruptcy by March in an effort to resolve more than 250 sexual abuse lawsuits filed under a three-year California lookback window. Bishop Jaime Soto announced the news Dec. 9, saying in a letter to diocesan faithful that he had made the decision following “careful consideration and consultation,” adding that “without such a reorganization process, it is likely that not all the abuse victim-survivors would receive a fair consideration of their claim.” The majority of the claims dated from abuse alleged to have occurred in the 1980s, said Bishop Soto. He stressed that only the diocese would file the bankruptcy, as its parishes and schools are separately incorporated. He urged the faithful to “pray for the healing of victim-survivors.” (OSV News)

Pope appoints new Boston auxiliary bishop from Brazil

BOSTON — A Boston priest has been appointed as that archdiocese’s newest auxiliary bishop, a native of Brazil with a heart for discipleship, evangelization and ministering to immigrant communities. The Vatican press office announced Dec. 9 that Pope Francis named Father Cristiano G. Borro Barbosa, a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston, as the archdiocese’s new auxiliary bishop. Ordained a priest in 2007, the 47-year-old native of Adamantina, Brazil, currently serves as the archdiocese’s secretary for evangelization and discipleship, as well as episcopal vicar for the central region of the archdiocese. (OSV News)

WORLD

Russia bans Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Catholic ministries in occupied region of Ukraine

KYIV — Russian occupation authorities have banned the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and other Catholic ministries in occupied areas of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, according to the Church’s main communications office in Kyiv. The UGCC announced on its website Dec. 7 that it had obtained a copy of an order signed by Yevgeny Balitsky, the Kremlin-installed head of the area’s military-civil administration, declaring that the UGCC had been banned and its property was to be transferred to his administration. Also banned by the order were the Knights of Columbus and Caritas, the official humanitarian arm of the universal Catholic Church, for being “associated with the intelligence services of the United States and the Vatican.” The UGCC said in its statement the document, written in Russian and dated Dec. 26, 2022, had only now come to its attention. (OSV News)

Vatican panel celebrates declaration of human rights anniversary at UN’s agency in Geneva

GENEVA, Switzerland — As the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is celebrating its 75th birthday, the Vatican’s Permanent Representative in Geneva, Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, organized a symposium that aimed to focus on both human rights and care for creation. The Dec. 8 symposium, co-sponsored by the Sovereign Order of Malta, Caritas in Veritate Foundation, and the International Catholic Migration Commission, formed part of week-long commemorations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed Dec. 10, 1948, widely seen as a foundational text for modern human and civil rights. In his introduction, Archbishop Balestrero said the 30-article landmark document, adopted by the U.N.’s General Assembly, had recognized the “intrinsic dignity of the human person” in the wake of World War II. However, he added that the global situation 75 years later looked “undeniably dire” and said the Vatican also believed human beings were “relational in nature,” and existed “not as isolated rights-bearers, but in a web of connections and relationships.” (OSV News)

Pope gives Syro-Malabar Catholics Christmas deadline to end dispute

VATICAN CITY — Telling Syro-Malabar Catholics in India’s Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly that he does not want to see anyone excommunicated, Pope Francis pleaded with the priests and faithful to end their dispute over the way the Eucharist is celebrated. Also Dec. 7, the Vatican released a letter from Pope Francis to Cardinal George Alencherry accepting his resignation as head of the archdiocese and as major archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. After years of debate about tradition, Latinization and modernization of the liturgy, in 1999 the synod of bishops of the Syro-Malabar church issued uniform rubrics for the celebration of the Eucharist, called the Holy Qurbana by members of the Eastern-rite Church. They were trying to end a situation in which some priests faced the altar during the entire liturgy, while others faced the congregation throughout the liturgy. The bishops’ decision was to have the priest face the altar during the eucharistic prayer but face the congregation during the Liturgy of the Word and again after Communion. (CNS)