references to whether bishops and priests ought to deny Communion to public figures at odds with Catholic teaching on abortion and other moral issues. Instead, the document aims to initiate a new emphasis on catechiz- ing Catholics about the meaning and importance of the Eucharist, in re- sponse to what many bishops see as a worrisome decline in belief in the sacrament as the real presence of the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The document is really theologi- cally rich and spiritually enriching," Bishop McManus said. In an interview with CNA prior to the vote, Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver explained that the docu- ment seeks "to present a clear under- standing of the Church's teachings to bring heightened awareness among the faithful of how the Eucharist can transform our lives and bring us closer to our creator and the life he wants for us." In addition to approving the docu- ment, titled "The Mystery of the Eu- charist in the Life of the Church," the bishops approved a strategic plan for a three-year Eucharist revival cam- paign. The vote was 201 to 17 in favor of the revival campaign, with five ab- stentions. The initiative is to include the development of new teaching materials, training for diocesan and parish leaders, the launch of a dedi- cated revival website, and the deploy- ment of a special team of 50 priests who will travel the country to preach about the Eucharist. The campaign will culminate with a National Eucharistic Con- gress in June 2024 in Indianapolis, Bishop-designate Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, announced Wednesday. Cozzens, who is head- ing the revival effort as chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Evan- gelization and Catechesis, said the congress would be the first of its kind in the United States in nearly 50 years. Previously, Cozzens said, such national eucharistic events were held once a decade. The two sections of the 30-page Eucharist document are "The Gift," which centers on the Eucharist as a gift from Christ through his in- carnation, death, and resurrection, and "Our Response," which focuses on gratitude for the gift of the Eucha- rist, the role the laity play in regards to reception of the Eucharist, and the importance of the Eucharist in con- version. The Lord accompanies us in many ways, but none as profound as when we encounter him in the Eucharist," the document states. When we receive Holy Commu- nion, Christ is giving himself to us. He comes to us all in humility, as he came to us in the Incarnation, so that we may receive him and be one with him," says the text. While the document does not pro- vide any criteria for denying the sac- rament to someone not in commu- nion with Church teaching, the text does explain the differences between venial and mortal sins, and says that a Catholic in a state of mortal sin should not receive the Eucharist until they have gone to confession and re- ceived absolution. While all our failures to do what is right damage our communion with God and each other, they fall into dif- ferent categories, reflecting different degrees of severity," the document states. There are some sins, however, that do rupture the communion we share with God and the Church," the docu- ment states. As the Church has consistently taught, a person who receives holy Communion while in a state of mor- tal sin not only does not receive the grace of the sacrament, he or she commits the sin of sacrilege by fail- ing to show the reverence due to the body and blood of Christ," the docu- ment explains. The document states that "the re- ception of Holy Communion entails one's communion with the Church in this visible dimension," and restates the text of the 2006 document from the bishops concerning Catholics in public life.
Archdiocese to pay $1M settlement in fraud case
NEW ORLEANS, La. (CNA) - The Archdiocese of New Orleans will pay more than $1 million in a settlement related to allegations of fraud in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Department of Justice announced Nov. 15. According to the DOJ, the settlement "resolves al- legations" that the Archdiocese of New Orleans "know- ingly signed certifications for FEMA funding that contained false or fraudulent damage descriptions and repair estimates that were prepared by AECOM, an architecture and engineering firm based in Los An- geles," from a period lasting from 2007 through 2013. A former project specialist for AECOM first brought the allegations in a 2016 federal lawsuit, which alleged that the Archdiocese of New Orleans, as well as two historically black New Orleans universities, improperly applied for and received millions of dollars in federal funds in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The Archdio- cese of New Orleans declined to comment on Monday after the settlement figure was released, but has in the past denied any wrongdoing.
Madison Diocese: Not 'discouraging vaccinations'
MADISON, Wis. (CNS) - The decision for parishes and other diocesan entities within the Diocese of Madison not to host onsite COVID-19 vaccination clinics for children "is not about condemning or discouraging vaccination," the diocese said in a Nov. 12 statement. The statement followed criticism in the secular media and social media posts by Jesuit Father James Martin and others who characterized the diocese's decision as being "anti-life." "When there are more than enough facilities to offer vaccinations throughout the diocese, choosing not to host vaccination clinics does not equate to being 'anti-life,'" the diocese said. Madison Bishop Donald J. Hying "has given guidance on the moral dimensions of the vaccine, and he has even en- couraged its reception, alongside his brother bishops in the state of Wisconsin," the diocese said. "He has never discouraged reception of the vaccine. However, this is not a decision that involves either an absolute moral imperative or an intrinsic moral evil," it said. This decision "should be made by individuals and par- ents with a well-formed conscience as to what is appro- priate for their own circumstances, weighing carefully the medical and moral facts and the potential risks versus the hoped-for benefits," the diocese said.
Times Square billboard to promote Bible podcast
WASHINGTON (CNS) - A billboard will go up in New York's Times Square during Christmas and New Year's to promote and celebrate the evermore popular podcast "The Bible in a Year," but more is in store for the program that topped the charts shortly after its debut in January. The creators of the daily podcast that leads listeners through the Bible's narrative have an- nounced several new initiatives designed to highlight the show's success and attract even more listeners. An all-new Spanish-language version of the podcast with original commentary and a new, native-Spanish speak- ing host, will be launched Jan. 1. "The Bible in a Year Retreat" virtual event for listeners will take place Feb. 18-20. It will have a limited capacity for participants but is "designed to help Catholics cultivate a lifelong relationship with the word of God - one that extends far beyond the podcast." The planned billboard will be unveiled Dec. 19 in Times Square and will stay up through Jan. 9. "Through distraction and distress, our culture has lost a hopeful, historical biblical worldview - but by the grace of God this podcast has helped thou- sands rediscover it," said Father Mike Schmitz, a priest of the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota, and popular Catholic speaker and author, who hosts the podcast.
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Bishops' fall meeting
WASHINGTON (CNS) - Religion usually stays out of the workplace, but now with expanding COVID-19 vaccine requirements, em- ployees' personal faith is front and center as many say they have religious rea- sons not to get vaccinated. To get a religious exemp- tion, employees have to provide reasons for their claim and sometimes proof of it through a form signed by a church leader. Employ- ers then have to determine whether these beliefs are sincere and if an accommo- dation for the unvaccinated employee would place an undue hardship on others by posing a direct threat to their health and safety. Determining sincer- ity can be complicated because it is so personal. There is no checklist of re- ligions that have come out
Teaching media literacy seen as a positive; schools slow to add it
BY MARK PATTISON
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON (CNS) - Media literacy has shown itself to have positive ef- fects. But schools across the United States have been slow to add it to their cur- riculum. How are we as a nation? We're very poor," said Hel- en Lee Bouygues, founder and president of the Re- boot Foundation, which stresses media literacy as one needed component to develop critical thinking and "actually systemati- cally teach media literacy in schools." Bouygues added, "It's a real public health crisis, right? We are not helping ourselves or our younger generation to be better consumers of information. That's the real issue." Illinois became the first state to require media lit- eracy education for its high school students - and that was just this past summer. The law says the educa- tional unit should include the purpose of media messages and how they are made; how media influ- ences behavior and which points of view are includ- ed; and the importance of digesting multiple media sources. Just because young people can navigate social media doesn't mean they can detect inaccuracies and utter nonsense. A 2017 re- port from Common Sense Media reported that 31% of kids who shared a news story online later discov- ered it was inaccurate.
CNS PHOTO EDUARDO MUNOZ, REUTERS
Catholic couple donates Christmas tree
NEW YORK CITY - Workers watch as the Christmas tree to be displayed in Rockefeller Center arrived from Maryland Nov. 13. Julie and Devon Price, parishioners at Immaculate Conception Church in Elkton, Maryland, donated the 79-foot-tall Norway spruce.
Employers, courts examine religious exemptions
as completely against the vaccine because no major religion has done so. Members of differ- ent faiths have differing views though and some have raised questions particularly about vac- cine mandates. The Biden administration, as part of its "Path Out of the Pan- demic" plan, has ordered federal workers, workers at facilities that participate in Medicare or Medicaid and employers with 100 em- ployees or more to require vaccination in the upcom- ing months. These mandates are be- ing challenged in multiple lawsuits.
CNS PHOTO BOB ROLLER
Bishop Joseph G. Hanefeldt of Grand Island, Nebraska, joins in a rosary with the National Men's March to End Abortion organizers Nov. 15, outside the hotel in Baltimore where the fall general assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was being held.
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EUCHARIST: Bishops approve teaching statement on Eucharist
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