Saint Joseph Catholic Church

The bishops’ conference of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has sent four delegates to COP30, the UN climate change conference in Brazil. One of them—Jeanne-Marie Abanda, executive secretary of the Episcopal Commission for Natural Resources—decried the phenomenon of “conflict minerals,” or “blood minerals.”

“We are suffering an unjust war, a war we call the mineral war,” Abanda told Vatican News. “Our minerals have become blood minerals, because neighboring countries are being armed to attack us and then seize our minerals. Every phone we hold in our hands contains the blood of Congolese people, because it is Congolese coltan that is used to make phones.”

Abanda added, “The Congolese people need peace. The Congolese can sell their minerals through normal channels. They don’t have to kill us to take our minerals.”

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The Roman Martyrology commemorates St. Laurence O'Toole (1128-1180) today, but in Ireland it is an Optional Memorial (although a feast in Dublin). Laurence (also referred to as "Lawrence") was the Archbishop of Dublin during the takeover of Ireland by the Normans and King Henry II. His efforts in the peace process and his frustration with King Henry probably caused his early death. St. Laurence is highly honored at Eu in Normandy, France, where he died.

The Vatican has effectively removed an archbishop in the Dominican Republic from authority, while allowing him to retain his title.

Archbishop Francisco Ozoria of Santo Domingo has been removed from control of “for the administration of diocesan assets, for economic and financial matters and for the management of the clergy and church personnel,” with those powers handed over to a coadjutor, Archbishop Tomas Morel Diplan, who was appointed to that post in October.

Archbishop Ozoria says that he was “never admonished or warned” before being removed from control over the archdiocese. He had requested the help of a coadjutor as, at the age of 74, he neared retirement. He acknowledges that he was accused of mismanagement.

Speaking on November 14 at the Pontifical Lateran University, at the opening of its 253rd academic year, Pope Leo XIV called attention to the institution’s special role: “its particular orientation is the teaching of the Pope.”

“By its nature and mission,” the Pontiff said, the university “constitutes a privileged center where the teaching of the universal Church is elaborated, received, developed and contextualized. From this point of view, it is an institution to which even the Roman Curia can refer for its daily work.”

The Pope challenged the students and faculty of the Lateran University to meet “an urgent need to reflect on faith in order to be able to articulate it in relation to current cultural scenarios and challenges, but also to counter the risk of cultural emptiness which, in our era, is becoming increasingly pervasive.”

The apostolic nunio in Great Britain has told bishops that there Pope Leo XIV will grant diocesan bishops’ requests to extend permission for the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass.

Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendia told the English bishops that the Pontiff does not plan to revoke Traditionis Custodes, the document by which Pope Francis limited the use of the traditional liturgy. However, the nuncio said, bishops could ask for and receive a two-year exemption from the ban.

The Dicastery for Divine Worship, which was given the authority to regulate the traditional liturgy, had been reluctant to approve exemptions. Since Pope Leo came to office, at least two American dioceses have received exemptions.

Archbishop Gabriele Caccia reaffirmed the support of the Holy See for a two-state solution in a November 13 address to a UN session on the work of the Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

While praising the agency’s efforts to ease the plight of Palestinian refugees, the archbishop said that Israel and Palestine must eventually “live side by side in peace and security, within internationally recognized borders.”

The National Catholic Register provides an update on the 39 American dioceses and archdioceses that have filed for bankruptcy protection in the wake of the sex-abuse scandal, and the legal questions involved.

To date American dioceses have paid out over $5 billion in settlements to abuse victims. Of that sum, 16% has gone to the plaintiffs’ lawyers. The legal fees of dioceses are also astronomical. Eighteen dioceses still remain in bankruptcy proceedings.

Pope Leo XIV met on November 13 with Bishop Roland Alvarez of Matagalpa, Nicaragua, who was exiled from his country by the Ortega regime in 2024.

The Vatican did not offer details on the conversation.

The National Catholic Register provides an update on the 39 American dioceses and archdioceses that have filed for bankruptcy protection in the wake of the sex-abuse scandal, and the legal questions involved.

To date American dioceses have paid out over $5 billion in settlements to abuse victims. Of that sum, 16% has gone to the plaintiffs’ lawyers. The legal fees of dioceses are also astronomical. Eighteen dioceses still remain in bankruptcy proceedings.