Angelus News | October 25, 2019 | Vol. 4 No. 36

NATION
ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC
Beto’s church tax idea raises eyebrows
A 2020 Democratic presidential candidate is taking
heat from his own party after suggesting that religious
institutions that oppose same-sex marriage should lose
their tax-exempt status.
“There can be no reward, no benefit, no tax break for
anyone or any institution, any organization in America,
that denies the full human rights and the full civil
rights of every single one of us,” said former Rep. Beto
O’Rourke of Texas during an Oct. 10 CNN town hall on
“LGBTQ issues.”
Two of O’Rourke’s primary race rivals, Massachusetts
Sen. Elizabeth Warren and South Bend, Indiana Mayor
Pete Buttigieg, have criticized O’Rourke’s comments.
“If we want to talk about anti-discrimination law for a
school or an organization, absolutely, they should not
be able to discriminate,” Buttigieg told CNN Oct. 13.
“But going after the tax exemption of churches, Islamic
centers, or other religious facilities in this country, I
Florida shrine gets a promotion
As far as shrines go, the oldest Marian one in the U.S. just
got the ultimate recognition.
Established in 1609, the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche
in Florida has been elevated to a national shrine by the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, St. Augustine
Bishop Felipe Estévez announced Oct. 11.
Translated literally “Our Lady of the Milk,” the shrine
hosts a statue of the Blessed Mother nursing the infant
Jesus. It is a popular pilgrimage site, particularly for
pregnant mothers and those hoping to become pregnant.
Many faithful have attested to miracles worked as a result
of Mary’s intercession after prayers at the shrine.
The shrine sits on the site of Nombre de Dios Mission in
St. Augustine, widely known as the earliest Catholic settlement
in what is now the U.S.
The statue of Our Lady of La Leche in St. Augustine, Florida.
From left: Democratic presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg, Bernie
Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Beto O’Rourke at a debate in July.
think that’s just going to deepen the divisions that we’re
already experiencing.”
Vatican exonerates Texas bishop
The Vatican declared an abuse allegation made against an
auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
“manifestly unfounded” Oct. 10.
Bishop George A. Sheltz has returned to public ministry
following an investigation by the Vatican’s Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith into an allegation of historical
sexual abuse made against him in June by an unnamed
woman upset about her pastor being reassigned.
Back in June, Sheltz’s archdiocese called the allegation
“completely false” and condemned it for “casting a shadow
on what we know is a lifetime of superb and selfless priestly
ministry.”
US becoming less religious,
Latinos less Catholic
A new study suggests religiosity in the U.S. is in sharp
decline.
So-called “nones” — those who don’t identify with any
religion — now make up more than a quarter of the population,
compared with 17% a decade ago, according to a
Pew Research Center survey released Oct. 17.
It also reports that the percentage of Hispanics who identify
as Catholic has dropped 10% in the last decade from
57% in 2009 to only 47% in 2019.
The decrease in Catholic Hispanics follows a nationwide
trend: In 2009, nearly 1 in 4 Americans identified as
Catholic, while only 1 in 5 identify as Catholic today.
JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES
October 25, 2019 • ANGELUS • 5