17 January 2021

• March for Life 2021 announces: ‘We are asking all participants to stay home and join virtually’...
  The 2021 March for Life will take place virtually, organizers announced Friday. The March for Life Education and Defense Fund, the organization behind the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., said the decision was made due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the risk of unrest in the nation’s capital. This year’s march, now virtual, will take place Jan. 29.
• A former Muslim discovers the goodness of bacon...
  The lights were out. I was nestled in one of the many sleeping bags scattered on the floor of the prayer hall. Some of the men from our mosque in Raleigh were hosting a sleepover for us Muslim boys. It was a Friday during Ramadan so in a few hours they’d be waking us up for breakfast (which, of course, wouldn’t have any bacon), followed by Fajr (dawn) prayers.
• 5 things I regret that went uncorrected in 2020...
  It is hard to know how to handle a rant. As a general rule, I am convinced that it is better to use bad news as a motive to deepen our commitment to Christ, grow spiritually, and engage more fully in Catholic mission. That’s true even if mission depends increasingly on prayer as our public opportunities for success become more and more constricted.
• New slate of ‘clear-headed, highly competent’ women on Council for Economy will help clean up Vatican finances, says Cardinal Pell ...
  Cardinal George Pell welcomed Thursday Pope Francis’ inclusion of lay women on the Vatican’s economy council, saying he hopes “clear headed” women will help “sentimental males” do the right thing concerning Church finances. In August 2020, Pope Francis named 13 new members, including six cardinals, six lay women, and one lay man, to the Council for the Economy, which oversees Vatican finances and the work of the Secretariat for the Economy.
• My people need Christ’s Body and Blood...
  They canceled Easter. Is Christmas next?” Matthew Hennessey asked this question in the Wall Street Journal on December 8. Lockdown regulations did indeed cancel Christmas gatherings and festivities for many. We bishops have been hearing variations on Hennessey's cry from our people as we approach another pandemic-dominated Lent, barely a month away.