July 16, 2021

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 - Today Pope Francis issued a document restricting Masses celebrated in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite. Among many provisions, the document requires that groups celebrating the Extraordinary Form of the Mass do not deny the validity of Vatican II and the Magisterium. It also imposes new requirements for newly ordained priests wishing to celebrate the Extraordinary Form, and instructs bishops to verify that already-established parishes that celebrate the Extraordinary Form “are effective for their spiritual growth and to determine whether or not to retain them.” It further instructs bishops to “take care not to authorize the establishment of new groups” that celebrate the Extraordinary Form. The Pope wrote the document in response to a 2020 survey of bishops, and explained that he was saddened by what he sees as a rejection of the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council. catholicnewsagency.com/news/248392/breaking-pope-francis-issues-restrictions-on-extraordinary-form-masses-in-new-motu-proprio The top bishop of Ireland on Thursday criticized a plan from the government of the United Kingdom to end all future investigations and prosecutions related to the 20th-century religion-fueled conflicts known as the Troubles. The proposition, brought by Northern Ireland Secretary of State Brandon Lewis, would impose a statute of limitations that would effectively ban legal proceedings on all Troubles-related incidents. Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh wrote in a July 15 letter that in light of the UK government’s plan, “it is disturbing that victims and survivors, those who have paid the highest price for the fragile peace we all enjoy today, once more feel marginalised and neglected.” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248389/n-irish-bishop-criticizes-uk-plan-to-end-inquests-prosecuti