Catholic News
- Like Venice, people are beautiful, fragile, Pope says during journey to city (CNS)
Pope Francis made a brief apostolic journey to Venice on April 28, during which he met with prisoners, artists, and young people before preaching a homily at Mass and delivering his Sunday Regina Caeli address. “We can bring the fruits of the Gospel into the reality we inhabit: fruits of justice and peace, fruits of solidarity and mutual care; carefully-made choices to preserve our environmental and human heritage,” he preached during Mass. “We need our Christian communities, neighborhoods and cities to become welcoming, inclusive and hospitable places,” During his Regina Caeli address, he prayed for peace in Haiti and said he was thinking of “beleaguered Ukraine, Palestine and Israel, of the Rohingya and the many populations who suffer because of war and violence.” - Director of US bishops' troubled CCHD program resigns (Pillar)
Ralph McCloud, the director of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), has resigned, amid reports that the program has severe financial troubles. The CCHD—the official anti-poverty program of the US bishops’ conference—has been plagued for years by persistent revelations that the programs has made grants to organizations that oppose Catholic moral teachings. Despite repeated assurances from the US bishops’ conference that the program does not support anti-Catholic organizations, each year’s list of grants provokes new controversies. The Pillar reports that the CCHD has more recently encountered a budgetary crisis because, according to one unnamed source, “it’s been giving out more in grants than it takes in.” - Cardinal Parolin rips EU vote on abortion (Crux)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin expressed profound concern about the European Union vote to embrace a “right” to abortion, during an interview with the Italian daily Avvenire. “When life is attacked in such a radical way, you truly have to ask what kind of future we want to build,” said the Vatican Secretary of State. On a more positive note, Cardinal Parolin reported “great movement” in negotiations to secure the release of prisoners in the Ukraine war. He said that the negotiating mission of Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, who has put top priority on the release of children, is likely to continue. - Africa is united on Fiducia Supplicans, cardinal says (ACI Africa)
“The Church in Africa is united in communion” regarding the Vatican declaration Fiducia Supplicans, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo said at a press conference last week. “This is the reason why we shall no longer talk about Fiducia Supplicans,” the cardinal said. “It has been buried.” Cardinal Ambongo—who is the president of the president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) and a member of the College of Cardinals—gave his endorsement to a recent talk in which another leading African prelate, Cardinal Robert Sarah, had urged Church leaders in Africa to maintain the unity of the faith, applauding African bishops for their “firm opposition to Fiducia Supplicans.” - Canonization soon for Pier Giorgio Frassati? (National Catholic Register)
The prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints says that the canonization of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati is “on the horizon.” Cardinal Marcello Semararo told an Italian Catholic Action audience that the canonization of the Italian layman, who died in 1925 at the age of only 24, is “in sight for the coming Jubilee Year 2015.” - Biden administration forbids disclosure of out-of-state abortions to law enforcement (Religion Clause)
Amending health privacy regulations, the Biden administration has prohibited disclosure of information about out-of-state abortions to law enforcement officials and others who are conducting a “criminal, civil, or administrative investigation” into acts that are illegal in their own state. - Love makes us better, richer, and wiser, Pope tells grandparents and grandchildren (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Francis addressed some 6,000 grandparents and grandchildren at “The Caress and the Smile”, an April 27 event in Paul VI Audience Hall for grandparents and grandchildren. During his address, Pope Francis emphasized that love makes us better, richer, and wiser, as he recalled memories of one of his grandfathers, an Italian veteran who taught him that war is bad. “Please, go to see your grandparents, do not marginalize them: it is for your own good,” the Pope advised. “The marginalization of the elderly corrupts all the seasons of life, not just that of old age.” - Welcome, prayer, surrender: Pope addresses Burgos seminarians (Vatican Press Office)
For the second Saturday in a row, Pope Francis received a group of Spanish seminarians. On April 20, the Pontiff received seminarians from Seville and did not attend priestly ordinations for his own Diocese of Rome. On April 27, he received seminarians from Burgos. After quoting a passage from a Spanish epic poem, Pope Francis recalled that “I was there in the seventies; I met the archbishop at the time who was related to an uncle of mine, a politician. This is why I remember Burgos.” The Pope advised the seminarians that a good “criterion for discernment” is “Jesus wants me to be in this emptied land to fill it with God, or rather, so that I can make Him present among my brothers and sisters, in order to build communities, to build the Church, the people.” “First of all, this purpose is fulfilled if there is a heterogeneous group that recognizes welcome and mutual enrichment,” he continued. “Then, by showing absolute willingness to the Lord, ‘praying to Him’ to send us ... And after, the attitude of surrender and trust, so that the only emptiness is made in our heart in order to welcome God and our brethren—this would be the third thing—freeing us from false human securities.” - Papal preface for book on synodality (Vatican News)
Pope Francis has contributed a preface to a new book by two Jesuit authors on synodality. In his preface the Pope said that the purpose of synodality is “not to convene a parliament or even to carry out an opinion poll. We want to walk together as sisters and brothers, listening to the Holy Spirit.” The book, entitled The Conversation in the Spirit, is by Fathers Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves and Oscar Martin Lopez. - New York court: insurer not required to pay abuse claims for archdiocese (Our Sunday Visitor)
An appeals court has ruled that an insurance company is not required to pay sex-abuse claims against the New York archdiocese: a ruling that could push the archdiocese toward bankruptcy. A lower court had ordered the Chubb insurance firms to pay settlements on more than 1,500 abuse claims. But the appeals court found that because “senior officials had known for decades that members of the clergy had and were committing sexual abuse,” and the archdiocese had failed to take appropriate action, the conditions of the insurance policies were not met. - 'Taking care of the elderly is taking on a legacy,' Pope tells foundation (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Francis addressed members of the Fundación Memorial Papa Francisco (Pope Francis Memorial Foundation) on April 26. “Thank you for what you do,” the Pope said. “Taking care of the elderly is taking on a legacy. And handing down this legacy. Therefore, at the other end are the children. Coming here, I appreciated the joy with which he drank from his bottle. A promise. A legacy and a promise. And we are the bridge.” - Iraq outlaws homosexual acts, (BBC)
Iraq’s parliament has passed legislation that makes homosexual acts punishable by prison terms of up to 15 years. The measure also allows prosecution—and up to a 3-year sentence, for men who “intentionally” behave like women. A supporter of the legislation said that it would be “a significant step in combating sexual deviancy given the infiltration of unique cases contradicting Islamic and societal values.” - Fund the Affordable Connectivity Program, bishops, other Catholic leaders urge Congress (USCCB)
The chairman of two committees of the United States of Catholic Bishops, joined by the leaders of Catholic Charities USA and the Catholic Health Association, urged congressional leaders to “move swiftly to secure continued funding” for the Affordable Connectivity Program. The program “will end in the coming weeks without additional financial support, resulting in a rise in internet bills for one out of every six homes in the US; an eventuality that will making connectivity unaffordable for many,” the signatories warned in their April 26 letter. - Bishop to lead British ordinariate of former Anglicans (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Msgr. Keith Newton, 72, as Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, the ecclesial structure in Great Britain that ministers to former Anglicans who have entered the Catholic Church. The Pope named Father David Waller, a former Anglican who is now the vicar general of the Ordinariate, as his successor. Father Waller will be ordained a bishop. Msgr. Newton, a former Anglican bishop, was ordained to the Catholic priesthood but was not eligible for ordination to the episcopate because he is married. He welcomed the appointment of his successor. - Papal tribute to the game of checkers (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Francis received members of the Italian Draughts Federation on April 26 as the organization commemorated its 100th anniversary. “The game of draughts has two beautiful characteristics: it stimulates the mind and is accessible to all,” the Pope said. “Indeed, it requires intelligence, skill and attention, but not great means or facilities. It is one of those games that, wherever you may be, you can easily create a moment of encounter and enjoyment: all you need is a chessboard and checkers, two players, and it is a nice way of being together.” “It is also a game that makes us exercise our logical capacity, and there is a need for this, because the abuse of the new media dulls it instead!” he continued. “In a world characterized by individualism, which at times risks becoming isolation, your game brings a breath of clean air, fresh air.” - Impeached Brazilian ex-president meets with Pontiff (@dilmabr)
Pope Francis received former Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, who was impeached and removed from office in 2016, in an April 27 audience. Rousseff tweeted that she and the Pontiff discussed “humanity’s greatest challenges: the fight against inequality and hunger, the energy transition and the actions needed to tackle climate change.” “It is always a joy to be with Pope Francis, a friend of Brazil and a man profoundly committed to the destinies of humanity,” she added. - Vatican diplomat calls for debt restructuring and forgiveness for poor nations (Holy See Mission)
Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, said that a “significant shift in the approach to debt is necessary to promote integral human development, social inclusion, and equity.” FfD4, an upcoming forum on global finance, is “an opportune moment to implement new forms of solidarity in the actions to reverse growing economic imbalances,” Archbishop Caccia said at an April 24 UN meeting. “Through debt forgiveness and debt restructuring, developing countries are released from unsustainable debt, enabling them to make critical investments in healthcare, education, job creation, and social protection.” - 'The gift of peace begins in our hearts,' Pope tells Hungarian pilgrims (Vatican News)
Pope Francis received pilgrims from Hungary in Paul VI Audience Hall on April 25, a year after his apostolic journey there. In his address, the Pope recalled the different events of his three-day visit there. He concluded by thanking the pilgrims for their “fidelity to Christ, manifested in the testimony of faith and in lived ecumenism, in relationships with your neighbors, in welcoming charity even for those who are different, in respect for every human life and in responsible care for the environment.” The Pontiff also received Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok in a private audience. - Pope asks lay Catholics to prepare for synod's 'prophetic' stage (CNS)
Pope Francis described the concluding October 2024 session of the synod on synodality as the synod’s “prophetic” stage and its “most challenging and important” stage. “Now it is a matter of translating the work of the previous stages into choices that will give impetus and new life to the mission of the Church in our time,” he said. “The most important thing of this synod is synodality, the subjects and topics are there to advance this expression of the Church that is synodality.” “For this, there is a need for people forged in the Spirit, for ‘pilgrims of hope’ ... men and women capable of charting and walking new and challenging paths,” the Pope added. The Pontiff made his remarks about the synod at the conclusion of an address to members of Italian Catholic Action. During the address, he proposed a “culture of embrace” to the members of the lay apostolate. - University urged to revoke degree earned by notorious priest (KUOW-FM)
A chemistry professor in California has urged the University of Washington to revoke a Ph.D. degree earned in 1978 by Patrick O’Donnell, a onetime Spokane priest (now laicized) who has been accused of abusing over 65 boys. The chemistry professor, Dan O’Leary, said he almost became one of O’Donnell’s victims as an altar boy and that O’Donnell’s dissertation, “Evoking Trustworthy Behavior of Children and Adults in A Prisoner’s Dilemma Game,” might have involved “sexually abusive behavior under the pretext of conducting doctoral research.” The University of Washington said that O’Donnell’s actions were “heinous and reprehensible,” but that the university was “unable to obtain evidence that in the course of his graduate work, Mr. O’Donnell met the standard for degree revocation.” - More...