Catholic News
- Pope reflects on last words of Jesus (Vatican News)
At his regular public audience on Wednesday, September 3, Pope Leo XIV offered a meditation on Christ’s last words on the Cross, as reported in the Gospel of St. John: “I thirst” and “It is finished.” The expression of thirst, the Pope said, shows Jesus as “a supplicant for love.” He thirsts for souls, and “humbly asks for what He, alone, cannot give to Himself.” “Jesus saves us by showing us that asking is not unworthy, but liberating,” the Pope continued: It is the way out of the hiddenness of sin, so as to re-enter the space of communion. Ever since the beginning, sin has begotten shame. But forgiveness—real forgiveness—is born when we can face up to our need and no longer fear rejection. - Vatican spokesman denounces proposal to relocate Gaza's population (Vatican News)
The editorial director of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication condemned a proposal to relocate Gaza’s population, describing it as “a kind of new order in which, however, there seems to be no place for the Palestinian people.” After condemning the “inhuman act of terrorism” perpetrated by Hamas, Andrea Tornielli described Israel’s reaction as “disproportionate,” “going well beyond any ethically acceptable limit.” Tornielli denounced “’voluntary evacuations,’ that is, forced displacement; total destruction; endless deaths; hospitals struck; daily killings of those standing in line for a crust of bread; [and] the blocking of any clear political horizon that would give the Palestinian people dignity and a home in their own land.” - USCCB committee calls for permanent reauthorization of Religious Worker Visa Program (USCCB)
In a five-page letter to members of the Congress, the chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on Migration called for a permanent, rather than annual, reauthorization of the Religious Worker Visa Program. “This important program allows those who work in a religious vocation or occupation, but who are not considered members of the clergy or ordained persons within their religious tradition, to serve permanently in the United States,” Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso wrote in his recent letter. “Congress should permanently reauthorize this program to avoid the uncertainty and disruption that its looming expiration unnecessarily creates.” Bishop Seitz also wrote that “the wellbeing of immigrants, refugees, unaccompanied noncitizen children, victims of trafficking, and other populations, as well as our immigration system in general, is of great concern to the Catholic Church.” He weighed in on six other immigration-related issues, including humanitarian protections, unaccompanied children, and enforcement and detention. - Pope encourages Augustinian confrères to listen, be humble, and seek unity (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV celebrated the opening Mass (video) of the 188th general chapter of the Order of Saint Augustine and offered three “suggestions” to his confrères in the religious life: “listening, humility, and unity.” - Federal court strikes down Minnesota's faith-statement ban for dual-enrollment courses (Religion Clause)
A federal district court ruled that a Minnesota law that touches on religious colleges and high school dual enrollment courses is unconstitutional. Under the Minnesota’s Post Secondary Education Option statute, the state reimburses public and private colleges when high school students take college courses, except when colleges ask students to make a statement of faith. Judge Nancy Brasel, appointed to the bench by President Trump, ruled that “the Faith Statement Ban is unconstitutional on its face under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution because it burdens religious exercise, is not neutral and generally applicable, and is not narrowly tailored ... Necessarily, this means that the Faith Statement Ban is also unconstitutional under the Freedom of Conscience Clause of Article One, Section Sixteen of the Minnesota Constitution.” - Course for 192 new bishops begins in Rome (Fides)
The Fides news agency has published the agenda of the Roman Curia’s 2025 course for bishops ordained during the past year. The course begins on September 3 and concludes on September 11. Of the 192 new bishops, 78 are missionary bishops under the purview of the Dicastery for Evangelization, while the other 114 participants are under the purview of the Dicastery for Bishops. Each dicastery has organized its own series of events, with some sessions held in common. - Bolivian court sentences two Jesuit provincials for cover-ups (ARA)
Two Jesuit priests—former provincials who served in Bolivia—have been sentenced to one-year prison sentences for covering up sexual about sexual abuse. Prosecutors said that further charges might be brought against other Jesuit superiors for their role in hiding widespread abuse of boys in boarding schools and rural missions. - Judge accepts Syracuse diocese's $176M bankruptcy plan (Diocese of Syracuse)
Bishop Douglas Lucia of Syracuse, New York, announced that a judge has approved a $176-million bankruptcy plan, five years after the upstate New York diocese filed for bankruptcy. “As we emerge from Chapter 11, we emerge to better live our Catholic Christian faith and heed to the call to leave sin behind and to heed the Universal Call to Holiness that is the heart of the Christian life,” the bishop wrote in a letter to the people of his diocese. The Dioceses of Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, and Rockville Centre also filed for bankruptcy after the State of New York lifted the statute of limitations for sexual abuse lawsuits. - Historic Franciscan church vandalized in Italy (OIDAC Europe)
Excrement was smeared on the walls of the church of Sant’Antonio al Seggio in Aversa, Italy, sparking outrage in the local community. The vandalism came less than two months after the announcement of the discovery of historic paintings at the associated seven-century-old Franciscan convent. - Wisconsin diocesan worship director arrested in sting operation (Our Sunday Visitor)
Father Andrew Showers, the director of the Office of Worship in the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, was arrested after he allegedly sought to have relations with a police officer who was posing online as a 14-year-old girl. The 37-year-old priest was not specifically targeted in the sting operation, but allegedly responded to a Reddit post. Bishop Donald Hying said in a statement that Father Showers faced a police investigation in 2021 for “questions asked to a middle-school child during the Sacrament of Confession.” - Idaho Courage chaplain arrested for sexual battery (Diocese of Boise)
Bishop Peter Christensen of Boise, Idaho, announced the arrest of Father Robert Mendez, a priest who ministers in Nampa, on charges of sexual battery of a minor. The alleged incident took place on August 14. The arrest took place less than two years after the bishop established a diocesan chapter of the Courage apostolate and named Father Mendez its chaplain. The apostolate seeks to minister, in a manner faithful to Church teaching, to persons who experience same-sex attractions. - Pontiff mourns Sudanese landslide victims (Vatican Press Office)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, sent a telegram of condolence in the Holy Father’s name to the bishop of El-Obeid, Sudan, after a landslide destroyed the village of Tarasin. In his September 2 telegram, Cardinal Parolin wrote that Pope Leo was “praying especially for the eternal rest of the dead, for those who mourn their loss, and for the rescue of the many persons still missing.” - Assist, welcome, and promote the poor, Pope tells Milan charity workers (Dicastery for Communication (Italian))
Pope Leo XIV received members of the Opera San Francesco, a Milan-based charity founded by Venerable Antonio Pietro Cortinovis, a Capuchin Franciscan friar. After recalling St. Francis of Assisi’s devotion to the poor, Pope Leo reflected on three “complementary and fundamental aspects of charity: assisting, welcoming and promoting.” “Assisting means making oneself present to the needs of others,” the Pope said. Welcoming consists in “making room for the other in one’s heart, in one’s life, giving time, listening, support, prayer,” while “promoting” entails a genuine care for the other’s good, “without expecting compensation and without imposing conditions.” - Caring for creation is a moral, spiritual responsibility, leading Philippine prelate says (CBCP News)
In a message for the Season of Creation, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines emphasized that the care of creation is a moral and spiritual responsibility. “We cannot ignore the grave threats facing our world today climate change, environmental destruction, and the reckless exploitation of resources,” said Cardinal Pablo Vigilio David. “These burdens fall most heavily on the poor and vulnerable. To care for creation, therefore, is not only an ecological duty but a moral and spiritual responsibility, a path of justice, peace, and love.” - Montreal archbishop opposes ban on public prayer (La Presse)
Archbishop Christian Lépine of Montreal has taken a stand against a proposal by Quebec’s government to outlaw public prayer. In an op-ed piece of La Presse the archbishop argued that such a policy “would amount to reducing the freedom of society as a whole.” He noted that the freedom to “manifest one’s faith” is guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the human-rights charters of Canada and of Quebec. “These texts affirm that religious freedom is not confined to places of worship,” he observed. While the government initiative is a response to Islamic prayers in public places, the archbishop pointed out that the proposed legislation would also bar processions that have become “longtime Catholic traditions.” Archbishop Lépine also questioned how quiet prayer in a public place could be distinguished from silent meditation. - Pope Leo: Let us not ruin creation, God's gift (@Pontifex)
“Together with all Christians, today we celebrate the 10th World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, opening the Season of Creation, which lasts until October 4, the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi,” Pope Leo XIV tweeted on September 1 (background). Referring to the saint’s famed canticle, the Pope added, “In the spirit of the Canticle of Brother Sun, let us praise God and renew our commitment not to ruin His gift but to care for our common home.” - Prominent African cardinal helps lead global ecumenical Season of Creation prayer service (Season of Creation)
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, OFM Cap, the president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, joined Protestant clergy from South Korea and Colombia in leading the global opening prayer service for the Season of Creation. The Season of Creation, an ecumenical initiative, begins on September 1—the World Day of Prayer for Creation in the Orthodox churches (since 1989) and the Catholic Church (since 2015)—and concludes on October 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and Pope Francis lent their support to observance of the season, as has Pope Leo. - Priest brutally murdered in Sierra Leone (Tribune Chrétienne)
Father Augustine Dauda Amadu, a priest who ministered in Sierra Leone, was brutally murdered by armed robbers in his residence on the night of August 29-30. The priest ministered in Kenema, a city of 155,000 in the West African nation. - Canadian study finds mental-health complaints rise after abortions (CNA)
A new study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research has found that women who procure abortions are twice as likely to be hospitalized for mental-health problems as women who give birth. The study of 1.2 million Quebec women concluded that “rates of mental-health-related hospitalization were higher following induced abortions than other pregnancies.” - Vatican newspaper republishes 'prophetic' text by Teilhard (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
The Vatican newspaper has republished a brief 1950 article by Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955), the French Jesuit philosopher and paleontologist whose support for eugenics continued even after the Holocaust. Father Teilhard’s text, “Macchine combinatorie e super-cervelli” [Combining Machines and Super-Brains], appeared on page 10 of the newspaper’s September 1 edition. It was introduced by a longer article by Father Antonio Spadaro, SJ, undersecretary of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, who lauded what he saw as the text’s prophetic nature. - More...