August 10, 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 - Pope Francis on Thursday named Bishop Rui Manuel Sousa Valério as patriarch of Lisbon, just days after the conclusion of World Youth Day in the capital city of Portugal. The pope on August 10 also accepted the resignation of Cardinal-Patriarch Manuel Clemente, who has led the patriarchate since May 2013. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255058/pope-francis-names-new-patriarch-of-lisbon-following-world-youth-day Bishop Martin Igwemezie Uzoukwu of Minna, Nigeria, called for prayers for the release of a priest and a seminarian who were kidnapped by armed men on August 3 in the north-central part of the country. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255051/church-prays-for-release-of-kidnapped-priest-and-seminarian-in-nigeria The Ecuadorian bishops’ conference on Wednesday condemned the murder of Fernando Villavicencio, 59, a candidate for president in Ecuador. In a statement, the Ecuadorian bishops expressed their “deep solidarity” with Villavicencio’s family and said: “We also condemn all forms of violence unleashed at different levels of society.” Villavicencio, who was a presidential candidate of the Movimiento Construye coalition, was shot and killed by an unidentified man while participating in a political rally on Wednesday night. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255059/ecuador-bishops-condemn-assassination-of-presidential-candidate-fernando-villavicencio Ohio voters on Tuesday night rejected a proposed initiative that would have made it more difficult to adopt constitutional amendments via citizen-led ballot initiatives, which will make it easier for a proposed abortion referendum to succeed in November. A yes vote was a vote in favor of raising the threshold required for adopting a constitutional amendment through a citizen-led ballot initiative. The proposal would have r