Catholic News
- Pope, in video, prays that leaders 'abandon projects of death' (The Pope Video)
The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network released a video on March 5 associated with the March papal prayer intention (for disarmament and peace). “Disarm our hearts of hatred, resentment, and indifference, so we may become instruments of reconciliation,” Pope Leo prayed in the video. “Help us understand that true security does not come from control fueled by fear, but from trust, justice, and solidarity among peoples.” “Lord, enlighten the leaders of the nations, so they may have the courage to abandon projects of death, halt the arms race, and place the lives of the most vulnerable at the center,” the Pope continued. “May the nuclear threat never again dictate the future of humanity.” - Lebanon's bishops appeal for peace (Vatican News)
The Assembly of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon expressed “deep concern over the current situation and over the risk that the region may slide into wider confrontations with grave consequences for its peoples.” “The continuation of this spiral of violence threatens the dignity of the human person, which is a gift from God, and undermines the foundations of justice and stability,” the bishops added. The bishop’ March 5 appeal followed Israeli strikes on Lebanon in retaliation for strikes on Israel by Hezbollah forces there. - Cardinal Cupich: Legitimacy of US attacks on Iran is 'very questionable' (Vatican News)
Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago said in an interview that the legitimacy of US attacks on Iran is “very questionable.” “I think that it is very questionable on why we would do that if there is no immediate threat that’s there that has to be nullified,” Cardinal Cupich told Vatican News in response to the question, “is it legitimate to launch military attacks against a sovereign country and under what conditions?” “As far as I understand and seeing that there was no immediate threat that was part of what was happening in this country,” he continued. “We have been told that the nuclear capabilities of Iran, the Iranian government have been neutralized by a bombing that took place months ago. And so, the sovereignty of a nation is very important.” - Bishops criticize EU's decision to fund abortion travel (COMECE)
The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the EU criticized the European Commission’s decision to permit anti-poverty funding to be used for international travel for abortion. “Direct abortion—that is, abortion willed either as an end or as a means—is gravely contrary to the moral law,” the bishops said in their March 4 statement. “Scientific research increasingly confirms that from fertilization a new human being comes into existence, endowed with inherent dignity and deserving of the fundamental protection owed to every human life.” “COMECE reiterates that what Europe truly needs—if it is to remain faithful to its foundational values of human dignity, solidarity, and equality—is concrete and sustained support for women in vulnerable situations,” the bishops continued. “Women must be genuinely helped to welcome motherhood and should never feel compelled to abort due to social or economic pressure.” - Pope, Singapore's president discuss AI, interfaith understanding (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV received President Tharman Shanmugaratnam of Singapore on March 5 and discussed the “importance of interfaith understanding, especially in a more turbulent global environment,” according to Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. - Pope Leo meets with authors of book on Latin Mass in US (OSV News)
Pope Leo XIV met on March 5 with Stephen Bullivant and Stephen Cranney, authors of the forthcoming book Trads: Latin Mass Catholics in the United States. Bullivant and Cranney are also coauthors of a 2024 article, “Data and the Traditional Latin Mass.” - Man pleads guilty to bringing explosives to DC cathedral (AP)
A New Jersey man pleaded guilty yesterday to bringing homemade explosive devices to St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington, DC, last October before the annual Red Mass. Under the terms of the plea, prosecutors will recommend that Louis Geri be sentenced to five to seven years in prison. Geri, described by the Associated Press as exhibiting “significant animosity toward the Roman Catholic Church, Jewish people, the Supreme Court and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” will be sentenced in July. - Nigerian diocese says electric spark was cause of fire that destroyed cathedral (CISA News Africa)
An electric spark was the cause of the fire that destroyed the cathedral in Wukari, the Nigerian diocese said in a statement. “With the exception of the Blessed Sacrament, [a] few altar chairs, some musical instruments, [a] few liturgical vestments and vessels that were rescued, all the other things were completely consumed by the inferno, leaving only the walls standing,” said Father Simon Akuraga, chancellor of the diocese. - 'The Pope's voice carries great weight,' Austrian president says following papal audience (CWN)
Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen met with Pope Leo XIV and said that the Pope’s voice carries “great weight.” - The Church has human and divine dimensions, Pope says in audience on Vatican II (CWN)
Continuing his series of Wednesday general audiences on the Second Vatican Council and its documents, Pope Leo XIV devoted his March 4 audience to the Church as a visible and spiritual reality. - Cardinal Parolin condemns killing of civilians, decries preventive war (Vatican News)
Commenting on the Iran war, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, condemned the killing of civilians, decried the concept of preventive war, and called for respect for international law and multilateral diplomacy. “The Holy See forcefully reiterates its condemnation of every form of involvement of civilians and civilian structures—such as homes, schools, hospitals, and places of worship—in military operations, and asks that the principle of the inviolability of human dignity and the sacredness of life always be protected,” Cardinal Parolin said in an interview with Vatican News. “If states were to be recognized as having a right to ‘preventive war,’ according to their own criteria and without a supranational legal framework, the whole world would risk being set ablaze,” he added. “This erosion of international law is truly worrying: justice has given way to force; the force of law has been replaced by the law of force, with the conviction that peace can arise only after the enemy has been annihilated.” - Pontiff congratulates world's oldest priest on his 110th birthday (CNA Deutsch)
In a birthday message, Pope Leo XIV expressed gratitude to Father Bruno Kant, the world’s oldest priest, for his “long, faithful, and devoted priestly service.” A priest of the Diocese of Fulda in Germany, Father Kant recently turned 110. - Religious sisters call for prayer, fasting, action for peace (International Union of Superiors General)
The International Union of Superiors General, which represents 1,900 women’s religious institutes, issued a call for “prayer, fasting, and action for an unarmed and disarming peace.” “As consecrated women religious, present in the most fragile contexts of society and close to those who suffer, we cannot remain silent in the face of a spiral of destruction that undermines human dignity and jeopardizes the future of new generations,” said Sister Roxanne Schares, SSND, the body’s executive secretary. - Bishop of Arab states calls for ceasefire, asks all Christians to pray for peace (Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia)
The apostolic vicar of Northern Arabia—who ministers to the faithful in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia—called for a ceasefire in the Iran war and asked all Christians to pray for peace. In a statement dated March 4 and released today, Bishop Aldo Berardi, OSST, urged “all Christians to pray unceasingly and not grow weary in prayer. As Christians, we proclaim that Christ is our Peace, the principle of reconciliation, and the source of communion.” - International Theological Commission ponders meaning of man in 'posthuman' age (CWN)
The International Theological Commission, the papally-appointed advisory body of theologians under the purview of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, has published “Quo vadis, humanitas? Reflecting on Christian anthropology in light of certain future scenarios for humanity.” - Bishops condemn massacre of civilians in South Sudan (ACI Africa)
The bishops of Sudan and South Sudan issued a statement deploring the massacre of over 170 civilians in South Sudan. “We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, these heinous and senseless killings,” the bishops said. “There can be no justification whatsoever for the murder of innocent civilians. Such acts are an offence against God, the Author of Life, and a grave sin against humanity.” In its reporting on the massacre, BBC attributed the violence to “a group of unidentified men.” - Hindu mob vandalizes, desecrates Catholic church in Odisha (Catholic Connect)
A Hindu mob vandalized and desecrated a Catholic church in Dengaswargi, a village in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, according to Catholic Connect, a website of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India. Odisha (Orissa) (map) was the site of a 2008 anti-Christian pogrom in which an estimated 100 Christians were murdered, and 50,000 fled their homes. - Pope 'cannot comment' on Jimmy Lai's imprisonment (EWTN News)
In a brief exchange with reporters on the evening of March 3, Pope Leo XIV said he “cannot comment” on Jimmy Lai. The Catholic democracy advocate who was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison in Hong Kong. - Fire destroys Nigerian cathedral (The Sun)
Fire destroyed the cathedral of the Diocese of Wukari in Nigeria, a Lagos-based newspaper reported. The cause of the fire is unknown. - Church in Singapore reports largest number of converts in a decade (Licas.news)
1,250 converts are expected to be received into the Church in Singapore this Easter—the highest number since 2016. The Southeast Asian nation of 6.1 million (map) is 22% Christian, 15% Muslim, 15% Buddhist, and 5% Hindu, with 36% adhering to Chinese folk religion. - More...