January 8, 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 - Pope Francis called surrogacy “deplorable” and called for a global ban on the exploitative practice of “so-called surrogate motherhood” in a speech to all of the world’s ambassadors to the Vatican on Monday. “The path to peace calls for respect for life, for every human life, starting with the life of the unborn child in the mother’s womb, which cannot be suppressed or turned into an object of trafficking,” Pope Francis said January 8. “In this regard, I deem deplorable the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood, which represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs. A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract.” Pope Francis’ strong condemnation of surrogacy came during his annual foreign policy speech to all of the ambassadors accredited to the Holy See. The pope’s annual speech to diplomats has been called his “state of the world” address because it is one of a handful of times that the pope addresses global crises and specific conflicts happening around the world all at once. For more from Pope Francis’ wide-ranging 45 minute speech, visit catholic news agency dot com. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256468/pope-francis-calls-surrogacy-deplorable-calls-for-global-ban-in-speech-to-ambassadors Pope Francis said Sunday that if you do not know the date of your baptism, you need to look it up so that you can celebrate the anniversary of becoming a child of God and heir to the kingdom of heaven. The pope spoke on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which commemorates Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River by Saint John the Baptist. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes baptism as the “basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit ... and the door which gives access to the other sacraments.” He also encouraged Catholics to thank God for their parents who brought them to the baptismal font and gave them the gift of the sacrament. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256466/pope-francis-if-you-don-t-know-the-date-of-your-baptism-look-it-up Today, the Church celebrates Saint Apollinaris, one of the first great martyrs of the Church. He was made Bishop of Ravenna by Saint Peter. The miracles he conducted in Ravenna soon attracted official attention, for they and his preaching won many converts to the faith. However, at the same time, his words and works brought upon the fury of the pagan people who beat Apollinaris cruelly on several occasions. When Emperor Vespasian issued a decree of banishment against the Christians, Apollinaris was kept hidden for some time, but as he was leaving, passing through the gates of the city, he was attacked and savagely beaten. He lived for seven days, foretelling that the persecutions would increase, but that the Church would ultimately triumph. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-apollinaris-110