November 1, 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 - Today is a Holy Day of Obligation. Make sure to go to Mass today to celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints. Pope Francis’ prayer intention of the month of November is for himself — the pope. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255877/this-is-pope-francis-prayer-intention-for-the-month-of-november The US bishops recently renewed their call for peace in the Holy Land as the Israel-Hamas war moves toward its second month and the casualties of the conflict continue to grow. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255874/us-bishops-renew-call-for-peace-in-the-holy-land The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Clergy has agreed to review the mergers of two Archdiocese of Saint Louis parishes, which Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski had decreed in May as part of a major pastoral planning initiative affecting parishes and priests in the archdiocese. Rozanski received correspondence this week informing him that the dicastery has accepted petitions for recourse against decrees related to two parishes: Saint Elizabeth, Mother of John the Baptist Parish in Saint Louis, and Saints Philip and James Parish in River aux Vases, Missouri. Saint Elizabeth and Saints Philip and James were just two of several parishes with parishioners who sought recourse from the Vatican against Rozanski’s decrees, beginning this summer. There is no specific timeline for the Vatican’s review of the decrees, but a decision could take several months, the archdiocese said. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255876/vatican-agrees-to-review-the-closures-of-two-st-louis-parishes-amid-archdiocesan-restructuring A judge in Kansas this week blocked several state-level pro-life laws there, claiming the measures are prohibited by the state’s constitution. District Judge K Christopher Jayaram said in his Monday ruling that portions of the “Woma