Catholic News
- Pope marks World Day for Consecrated Life, calls on religious to be prophets (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica this evening (booklet, video) and called upon consecrated men and women “to be prophets—messengers who announce the presence of the Lord and prepare the way for him.” - Portugal's president describes Pope Leo as 'intelligent,' 'rational' following meeting (CWN)
Portugal’s president described Pope Leo XIV as “superiorly intelligent” and “very rational” following a 25-minute audience on February 2. - Archbishop Gallagher concludes journey to Slovakia, hails Church-state relations (CWN)
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, concluded a three-day visit to Slovakia commemorating the 25th anniversary of the basic agreement, or concordat, between the Holy See and the central European nation. - Pope appoints 54-year-old as archbishop of Prague (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV has named Bishop Stanislav Přibyl, CSsR, of Litoměřice, Czech Republic, as the new archbishop of Prague, less than two years after his ordination as a bishop. - Cardinal Petrocchi named president of Vatican bank's Commission of Cardinals (Institute for the Works of Religion)
The Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), colloquially known as the Vatican bank, announced yesterday that Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi, 76, has become president of the Commission of Cardinals that oversees it. Cardinal Petrocchi succeeds Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, OP, who has led the commission for 12 years while concurrently serving until last year as archbishop of Vienna. Cardinal Schönborn paid tribute to the late Pope Francis “for his valuable, constant and enlightened support during the long and demanding process of reform of the IOR.” Cardinal Schönborn also thanked Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, the IOR’s president, who “has led and overseen a far-reaching transformation of the Institute, which has gained wide recognition and esteem within the international financial community.” - 'He felt my pain': Irish abuse victim meets with Pope Leo (Vatican News)
David Ryan, a victim of sexual abuse at an Irish school operated by the Spiritan (Holy Ghost) Fathers, met yesterday with Pope Leo XIV. “He was so sorry to hear of my pain, for my family’s pain and for the other survivors that haven’t come forward yet,” said Ryan. “I know it was genuine.” Ryan also spoke of the Pope’s “sincerity, his empathy. He felt my pain, but he hadn’t experienced my pain, but he knows what pain I had gone through, and my family.” - US bishops applaud expanded 'Mexico City policy,' back 'robust funding' for foreign assistance (USCCB)
Three bishops who chair committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) applauded the State Department’s expansion of the “Mexico City policy.” The policy “historically limited certain federal funds from going to foreign non-governmental organizations that perform or promote abortion abroad,” the USCCB noted in a statement. “We support robust funding for authentic lifesaving and life-affirming foreign assistance and applaud new policies that prevent taxpayer dollars from going to organizations that engage in ideological colonization and promote abortion or gender ideology overseas,” said the chairmen of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth; the Committee on Pro-Life Activities; and the Committee on International Justice and Peace. “We also call for the implementation of any related policies to be carried out in a manner that recognizes the inherent dignity of every human person and does not harm those who are racially or ethnically marginalized,” they added. - Catholic school ransacked, tabernacle desecrated in California (Long Beach Post)
Vandals attacked Holy Innocents School in Long Beach, California, desecrating the tabernacle and destroying statues and other objects. “Statues of the Virgin Mary were smashed—hands and at least one head chopped off,” the Long Beach Post reported. “Prayer books were dumped from bookshelves and strewn across the floor. The tabernacle had been ripped from its chapel, its doors pried partially open.” - Church attacked in Nigeria (Vanguard)
Bandits burned down a police station and part of a Methodist church in Agwara, a Nigerian city of 60,000. in Nigeria’s Niger State. “The violence then spread to the surrounding areas,” the Vatican newspaper reported. “According to police sources, at least five people were kidnapped, but it is feared that the number may be much higher.” - Cardinal Zenari, nuncio in Syria since 2008, retires (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV yesterday accepted the resignation of Cardinal Mario Zenari from the office of apostolic nuncio in Syria, four weeks after the prelate turned 80. - SSPX to ordain new bishops (CWN)
The superior general of the Society of Saint Pius X announced today that the Society’s bishops will consecrate new bishops on July 1. - Pope Leo: Images of saints remind us of universal call to holiness (Dicastery for Communication)
Presiding at the inauguration of a Marian mosaic and a statue of St. Rose of Lima in the Vatican Gardens (video), Pope Leo XIV said that “the two figures represented, our heavenly Mother and the first Latin American saint, Rose of Lima, bring us to the theme of holiness.” “These beautiful images we are contemplating today recall the greatness of the vocation to which God calls us, namely, the universal vocation to holiness,” Pope Leo continued. “I encourage you, with God’s grace, to be witnesses and examples of that holiness in today’s world. For that is God’s will: our own sanctification.” The event took place on the afternoon of January 31, with the Peruvian bishops, the ambassador of Peru to the Holy See, and the president of the Governorate of Vatican City State in attendance. - Reflecting on peace, Pope Leo says 'greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion' (CWN)
Addressing young people involved in a political innovation hackathon associated with the Focolare Movement, Pope Leo XIV reflected on peace as “a gift, a covenant and a promise” and said that “there can be no peace while humanity wages war against itself.” - Background: World Day for Consecrated Life (CWN)
February 2, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, is also the 30th World Day for Consecrated Life, a commemoration instituted by Pope St. John Paul II in 1997. - Shun polarization, Pope tells Italian newspaper (Il Foglio)
In a letter marking the 30th anniversary of Il Foglio, Pope Leo XIV encouraged the Italian newspaper’s director to promote the free exchange of ideas, shun polarization, and offer “the most objective narration of the facts possible.” “The possibility of spreading different opinions, and of offering different interpretations of the facts, is the concrete foundation of that free exchange of ideas without which there is no freedom of thought,” Pope Leo wrote in his letter to Claudio Cerasa. “It is necessary to promote dialogue and not surrender to an extremist and deceptive polarization that reduces reality to its parody, cultural and religious roots almost to labels to be exhibited, thought to a calculation,” In the letter, dated January 23 and published on January 30, the Pope added that a free press “requires a great sense of responsibility, for example in the distinction between the most objective narration of the facts possible and the exposition of opinions on them, always dutifully open to discussion.” - Pope entrusts families of Swiss fire victims to Our Lady of Sorrows (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV sent a message to an ecumenical prayer vigil for the victims of the Crans-Montana bar fire in Switzerland, which took place on January 1 and left 40 dead and 116 injured. “In these hours, when your souls are afflicted not only by suffering, but also by incomprehension and the feeling of abandonment, I can only entrust you to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, who holds you close to her heart and invites you to look with her to the Cross, one which her beloved Jesus also suffered and gave his life,” Pope Leo said in his message, dated January 28 and released on February 1. “On the Cross, the Son of God—God in person—wished to share in what you are experiencing today,” the Pope added. “He will also share with you his glorious and blessed resurrection. For Jesus is truly risen!” The Pontiff previously mourned the loss of life in the fire and met with families of the victims. - Cuban bishops warn of risk of chaos and violence, call for greater political freedom (CWN)
Warning of the risk of chaos and violence, the bishops of Cuba called for “structural, social, economic, and political changes” in the Caribbean nation, including “respect for the dignity and exercise of freedom of every human being.” - Vatican newspaper laments 'terrible situation' in Myanmar, 5 years after coup (CWN)
The Vatican newspaper lamented conditions in Myanmar, five years after a coup d’état brought to an end a decade of democratic rule in the Southeast Asian nation. - Pope expresses gratitude to his attendants (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV expressed gratitude to his ushers and other attendants in a February 1 audience. “Whether prince or pilgrim, patriarch or postulant, the solicitude of the Successor of Peter remains the same towards all and loving towards each one,” Pope Leo said during the February 1 audience, which took place in Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace. “The sober beauty that characterizes papal protocol is reflected in in your every gesture.” “Thinking of the history of those who have gone before you, bear witness to their values with a consistent life, knowing well that the service of honor certainly requires a particular code of ethics, but even more so a solid faith, and therefore a spiritual style marked by devotion to the Church and the Pope,” the Pontiff said. “May your daily actions, posture and gaze always be a shining reflection of this.” - 15 US bishops urge Senate to reject ICE funding (EWTN News)
Fifteen US bishops, led by the archbishops of Santa Fe and Seattle, expressed their “deep opposition” to an appropriations bill to fund US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “We cannot support legislation that expands or sustains enforcement practices without adequately addressing their consequences for families and communities,” the bishops and other signatories said. A budget “that prioritizes detention and removal—while lacking strong safeguards for family unity, due process, and accountability—risks entrenching harm rather than promoting justice or public safety.” - More...