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Welcome to Friday. Pope Francis welcomes President Joe Biden on Inauguration Day, while the U.S. bishop's conference offers prayers and outlines disagreements on policy. Catholics in Belarus are shocked and concerned about the abrupt resignation of a veteran archbishop who had been exiled. And reactions to the news that all lay persons can officially serve as lectors and altar servers ranges from shock to joy.
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** Dueling statements from US bishops, pope on Inauguration Day ([link removed])
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The Vatican is more than 4,000 miles away from the White House, but on Jan. 20 it was much closer to the nation's second Catholic president than the leadership of the U.S. hierarchy.

As millions of viewers tuned into the inauguration, Joe Biden's Catholicism was on full display with a morning Mass; quotes from the pope, St. Augustine and Scripture during the ceremony; and a photo of Biden with Pope Francis in his newly outfitted Oval Office.

By the end of the day, however, that faith was under serious scrutiny by some stateside leaders of his own church.

As is the Vatican's custom, Francis sent a telegram to Biden congratulating him and urging him to pursue policies "marked by authentic justice and freedom." The statement, which encouraged Biden to work toward the common good, came two months after the pope personally called to congratulate him on his election win and after Francis sent Biden a signed copy of his new book.

By contrast, the president of the U.S. bishops' conference, Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez, issued a 1,200-word statement offering his prayers for Biden but also outlining areas of policy disagreements, particularly on the issue of abortion, writing, "Our new President has pledged to pursue certain policies that would advance moral evils."

You can read more the story here ([link removed]) .

More background:
* President Joe Biden's inaugural address was a better articulation of Catholic ideas about governance than any recent document from the U.S. bishops' conference, writes NCR political columnist Michael Sean Winters ([link removed]) .

* You can catch up on all of NCR's coverage of the inauguration here ([link removed]) .

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** Eastern European Catholics dismayed by resignation of outspoken Belarus archbishop ([link removed])
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When Pope Francis accepted the resignation of a veteran archbishop from conflict-torn Belarus at the start of January, just 10 days after his return from regime-imposed exile, the move provoked surprise and anger among Catholics.

Two weeks on, there are fears across the region over what Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz's sudden departure portends — and over what kind of deal was struck on the quiet by the Vatican diplomats who arranged it.

"People are shocked and concerned — this was hardly the time for such a major change, and everyone assumed his time in office would be extended," said Kaciaryna Laurynenka, a Catholic theologian and historian.

"[The archbishop] clearly expected to resume his duties, so he'll be disappointed and gutted," said Laurynenka. "People are naturally wondering about the bargaining games being played out as a condition for his removal."

You can read more of the story here ([link removed]) .

More background:
* On Jan. 3, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz ([link removed]) of Minsk, Belarus, who had been blocked from entering his homeland for four months.

* When two priests were arrested in Belarus in December amid protests against President Alexander Lukashenko, there were fears of a full-scale campaign ([link removed]) against the minority Catholic Church.

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** Building a Common Future ([link removed])
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This week, we continue our series, Building a Common Future ([link removed]) , in which we asked Catholic politicians, activists and scholars to offer advice to President-elect Joe Biden.

"Building our common future: It's what the United States, indeed, the entire world needs right now," we wrote in an editorial ([link removed]) introducing the series.

Today's commentary ([link removed]) comes from Kathy Mears, interim president and CEO of the National Catholic Educational Association, and focuses on the importance of Catholic education. "We need President Biden to talk about his faith and the role Catholic schools played in developing his faith," she writes. "We need him to acknowledge that Catholic schools contribute to our nation's greatness and the United States is a better place because there are Catholic schools working to educate students to search for goodness, truth and beauty in their studies and world."

You can read Monday's commentary from José Luis Vilson on a fair and equitable education system here ([link removed]) . Tuesday's commentary from U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic can be read here ([link removed]) . Wednesday's commentary from NCR political columnist Michael Sean Winters on how Joe Biden needs to fulfill his responsibility as head of state can be found here ([link removed]) . Thursday's commentary Yunuen Trujillo on sensible policies toward LGBTQ persons can be read here ([link removed]) .

Read the rest of Mears' commentary here ([link removed]) .
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** More headlines
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* In the wake of Pope Francis' announcement that officially opened altar serving, lectoring and eucharistic ministries to all "lay persons," rather than just men, Catholic organizations and individuals expressed a mix of emotions ([link removed]) , including joy, disappointment and a bit of wry humor — or just plain surprise.

* In her time at Loras College, Alyssa Corkey says in a commentary for EarthBeat that she learned that our country is in dire need of systemic change ([link removed]) . "There's a growing awareness, reflected in the outcome of the recent national elections, that our country needs to act swiftly to address the COVID-19 pandemic, economic justice, systemic racism and the climate crisis."

* Read letters to the editor ([link removed]) responding to NCR's editorial asking Catholics to confess their complicity in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

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** Final thoughts
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If you missed our livestream session with NCR executive editor Heidi Schlumpf, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), NCR political columnist Michael Sean Winters, and Social Service Sr. Simone Campbell, you can watch the video here ([link removed]) . Keep an eye out for our announcement of next week's guests.

Also, please consider joining as an NCR Forward member ([link removed]) . Members get all sorts of perks, such as invitations to member-only events and special email newsletters.

Until Monday,

Stephanie Yeagle
NCR Managing Editor
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Twitter: @ncrSLY ([link removed])

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