September 8, 2023

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts. www.catholicnewsagency.com - Research in the archive of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome has uncovered a list of the names of thousands of Jewish people who found shelter from Nazi persecution in Catholic religious congregations in Rome from 1943-1944. While some of the information was first published in 1961, the full documentation, particularly the lists of people hidden in the Catholic institutions, had been considered lost, a September 7 press release explained. The Nazis occupied Rome from September 10, 1943, until June 4, 1944, when the city was liberated by the Allied forces. During that nine-month period, approximately 10,000-15,000 Jews faced persecution, and almost 2,000 Jews, including children and adolescents, were deported and murdered. The newly rediscovered documentation references more than 4,300 people hidden by 100 women’s religious congregations and 55 men’s religious congregations during the persecution. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255301/documents-identify-thousands-of-jews-hidden-by-catholic-religious-during-nazi-occupation-of-rome In a September 6 hearing, Representative Chris Smith accused the government of Azerbaijan of committing genocide against Armenian Christians in disputed territory in the country. During the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission meeting, Smith criticized the Azerbaijani government for continuing its blockade of the Lachin corridor, which is the only road that connects Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255308/lawmaker-accuses-azerbaijan-of-genocide-seeks-answers-on-biden-admin-s-plan A delegation of 90 Vietnamese Catholics and seven bishops traveled to Mongolia last weekend for the chance to see Pope Francis and deliver a special message. Unlike Mongolia, which has one of the smallest Catholic populations in the world, Vietn