News Briefs

Pope Francis is the fourth most powerful person in the world, according to Forbes, which ranks him immediately after the presidents of Russia, the United States and China. • Commissioned by the Irish Association of Catholic Priests, a critical review of the Irish government’s investigation of sexual abuse has been in turn challenged by Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, who defended the government’s findings on Oct. 29. • The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop’s collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development is slated for Nov. 23-24, the weekend before Thanksgiving. • U.S.-born Mother Celestine Bottego, founder of the Xaverian Missionary Sisters of Mary, was declared venerable by Pope Francis on Oct. 31.• Five Catholics protesting U.S. drone warfare policies said they were stunned, but relieved to be found not guilty of disorderly conduct on Oct. 28 for their roles in an Ash Wednesday demonstration at an air base in northern New York State.• Auxiliary Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin of Shanghai, under house arrest since July 2012 after he resigned from the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association during his episcopal ordination, was allowed to attend the memorial service of a former colleague on Oct 24.