September 15, 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 - A 108-foot-tall sculpture of Christ the Fisher located in La Concordia in the Mexican state of Chiapas was completely burned down after being struck by lightning September 10. Hours after the incident, the Secretariat for Civil Protection and the local municipal police went to the scene to assess the damage. “Due to the impact of lightning and combustible material, fire spread in its structure; it collapsed and burned,” Civil Protection reported on Facebook. After lamenting the accident, the parish expressed its desire that other “works and projects” be carried out for “the common good” and the “comprehensive growth” of the town. The authorities indicated that the decision to replace the statue had not yet been made. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255375/lightning-strike-destroys-monumental-statue-of-christ-in-mexico Scandinavia’s top Church leader says he hopes the role of women in the Church’s mission is a focal point at the upcoming synodal assembly on synodality — and, therefore, that the conversation isn’t bogged down on the settled question of whether the Church can ordain women. The Church’s inability to sacramentally ordain women was confirmed in 1994 by Pope John Paul II. Pope Francis has also repeatedly affirmed this truth. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255369/ordination-of-women-should-not-be-focal-point-of-synod-says-scandinavian-cardinal A foundation that is raising money for the descendants of people who were enslaved by Jesuits announced $27 million in new contributions, more than doubling the total fund, which has now reached $42 million. The new money came from two large donations: a $10 million contribution from Georgetown University and an estimated $17 million from the Jesuits. The Jesuit funding includes the estimated value of a former plantation that is o