Reacting to immigration enforcement actions in Charlotte, North Carolina, the local bishop called for prayer and fasting.

“While I have no words to practically address the fear and uncertainty that many are feeling with the increased presence of federal immigration officials in the Charlotte metro area, I want to call upon all Catholics and people of goodwill to give witness to the message of Jesus,” said Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv.

Bishop Martin offered four suggestions: “reach out to those living daily with this uncertainty and assure them of our love and care for them”; pray and fast on November 21; “do not vilify federal agents who have been sent to our community”; and advocate for immigration reform.

“To those of you who are afraid to come to church, you are not obligated to attend Mass when you are inhibited from doing so by circumstances beyond your control, as the Church has always taught,” he added.

The Ukrainian Catholic hierarchy in the United States has issued a pastoral epistle for the pre-Christmas period of fasting (St. Philip’s Fast).

“Living through the fourth winter of a barbaric aggression, Ukrainians, members of our Church, bear witness to the profound woundedness of humanity, indeed, they’re experiencing it firsthand,” the prelates wrote. “We bear hidden grief and carry profound wounds. Into the midst of these wounds, Christ is born, and He brings with Him the promise that even in our anguish, hope can take root and healing can begin anew.”

The bishops added:

We are encouraged to fast not only from food but, importantly in our day, from the chatter of social media, those ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ that steal our inner peace, the pull of consumerism, and the endless distractions that fragment our attention ... We are called to return to the practices that attune our hearts to God’s closeness: personal prayer, attention to the Word of God, participation in the liturgical life of the Church, and silent contemplation.

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Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for the Jubilee of Collaborators of Nunciatures.

Cardinal Parolin preached that perseverance in prayer “allows us to look beyond all boundaries, both material and spiritual; it allows us to overcome obstacles of adaptation, coexistence, loneliness, misunderstanding, and disappointment, because it brings into play the power and mercy of God, for whom nothing is impossible.”

Cardinal Parolin also spoke of the importance of “humility, performing gratuitous and hidden acts of kindness, helping those experiencing difficult times at home or in the office, and not hurting others with harsh words or bad examples.”

Bishops from Germany and Poland gathered in Wrocław, Poland, to mark the 60th anniversary of the exchange of letters of reconciliation between the episcopates.

Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda, president of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, said that “the Church of both nations dared to speak the language of the Gospel, not of politics. It dared to affirm that reconciliation is possible because God is greater than our fears, and the Holy Spirit crosses borders and walls.”

Bishop Georg Bätzing, president of the German Bishops’ Conference, said that “the Church in Poland and the Church in Germany are equally needed. When we speak with one voice, we can bring an ethical dimension to public debate, grounded in the Gospel. The effectiveness of our efforts depends on our cooperation and the unity of our witness.”

Major Archbishop Claudiu-Lucian Pop, the new head of the Eastern-rite Romanian Catholic Church (CNEWA profile), was enthroned at his cathedral in Blaj on November 15, less than two weeks after Pope Leo confirmed his election.

Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, attended the ceremony and said, “You are Eastern, you are a Church, and a suffering Church, in full communion with the Pope of Rome. You are our pride, our hope, our affection.”

Speaking in Spanish, Pope Leo XIV called upon participants in a seminar on the ethics of health management to “defend actively the unequivocal dignity of every human being, in all stages and facets of their existence.”

Pope Leo warned against “a perverse manipulation that will classify [persons] according to the treatments they need and their cost, the nature of their illnesses, transforming them into objects, data, statistics.” Instead, he called for a twofold vision: first, consideration of the common good, rather than immediate profit; second, “the human relationship,” “the recognition [of] the real person, in his or her fragility and dignity.”

The Roman Martyrology commemorates St. Bernward of Hildesheim (960-1022), a Benedictine bishop, architect, painter, sculptor, and metalsmith. He was the Bishop of Hildesheim, Germany from 993 till 1020. Bernward encouraged the arts; commissioned religious paintings and sculpture, refurbished existing buildings, built new ones, and made altar vessels of gold and silver by hand, and dabbled in architecture and ornamental ironwork. His rule was marked with peace, and around 1020 he retired to a Benedictine monastery to spend his remaining days in prayer. --CatholicSaints.info

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