January 5, 2024

Catholic News

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 - Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, more than 20,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. Yesterday the Associated Press reported that in central Gaza Strip, eight people were killed in a strike on a building in Nuseirat refugee camp, and on Tuesday, at least five people, including a baby, were killed and several injured in an airstrike on the Red Crescent headquarters in the city of Khan Yunis. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they have launched an investigation. Gaza-based journalist Akram Al Satarri spoke with “EWTN News Nightly” from Khan Yunis about the state of the Gaza Strip as bombs went off in the background. In terms of the conflict escalating, Al Satarri believes it is “inevitable.” The killing of a senior Hamas leader in Beirut by a suspected Israeli air strike, followed by more than 85 people killed in Tehran at a ceremony marking the four-year anniversary of General Qasem Soleimani’s assassination, are the latest indications of a widening conflict. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256442/gaza-journalist-says-escalation-of-war-is-inevitable A federal judge heard testimony this week in a trial that will decide whether the state of Colorado can exclude Catholic schools from participating in its universal preschool program. The Archdiocese of Denver, along with two Catholic preschools, is taking legal action against the state, contending that the program is unconstitutional as it discriminates against Catholic schools by preventing them from participating. The suit, which began on Tuesday, was filed in the US District Court for the District of Colorado in August 2023. Colorado’s universal preschool program, created in 2022, offers eligible families at least 15 hours per week of free preschool for every participating child, according to the program website. The lawsuit maintains that the program rules are unconstitutional and objects to the exclusion of Catholic schools but not the preschool programs of other private schools. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256440/colorado-catholic-preschools-argue-in-court-that-state-program-discriminates-against-them Today, the Church celebrates Saint John Nepomucene Neumann. Neumann was born on March 28, 1811, in Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic, and was ordained a priest in the United States and sent to Buffalo. Father John established himself in a small log parish house. He hardly ever lit a fire and often lived on only bread and water. He joined the Redemptorist order and continued his missionary work until he was appointed bishop of Philadelphia in 1852. As bishop, Neumann built 50 churches and began the constuction of a cathedral. He opened almost 100 schools, and the number of parochial school students grew from 500 to 9,000. He died suddenly on January 5, 1860 and became the first American bishop to be beatified. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-john-nepomucene-neumann-106