October 6, 2022

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 - On the first-ever papal visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Pope Francis will close a forum on dialogue, meet with the grand imam of al-Azhar, and pray at a new Catholic cathedral. The Vatican released the full itinerary for the pope’s November 3-6 trip to the Muslim island nation in the Persian Gulf. The theme of the visit is “Peace on earth to people of goodwill,” inspired by Luke 2:14. The logo is a stylized image of two hands open toward God: one in the colors of the Vatican flag and one with the flag of Bahrain. An olive branch represents peace, while the text “Pope Francis” is in the color blue to represent the visit’s entrustment to the Virgin Mary. Bahrain, located to the east of Saudi Arabia and west of Qatar, has a population of 1.7 million. The population is nearly 70% Muslim, with the majority belonging to the Shiite branch of Islam, the country’s state religion. Christians, at approximately 210,000 people, make up 14% of the overall population, followed by Hindus at 10%. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252483/pope-francis-to-meet-muslim-leaders-small-christian-community-in-bahrain Police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, arrested a man Wednesday after he allegedly attacked a desk attendant with a sword and started a fire at Holy Family Cathedral. Police said a man attacked an employee of the building with a sword, lit incendiary devices, and attempted to set the building ablaze. There were children at the location, all of which were unharmed. The man was apprehended a short time later. The rector of the cathedral, Father Gary Kastl, identified the desk attendant as Ron Notzon. Kastl said Notzon confronted the suspect and received lacerations on his hands. Kastl said the church will offer a Mass for Notzon’s healing at 9am Thursday and will have priests, deacons, and counselors available after