Catholic News
- Justice Department: Biden administration 'demonstrated anti-Christian bias throughout the federal government' (CWN)
The U.S. Department of Justice released a new report, “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias within the Federal Government,” that found that “the Biden Administration’s prosecutions, policies, and practices demonstrated anti-Christian bias throughout the federal government.” - Pope thanks Cologne archdiocese for its worldwide charitable assistance (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV received officials of the Archdiocese of Cologne’s Office for the Universal Church and Dialogue and thanked them for the office’s fifty-year legacy of charitable assistance to Christians around the world, including oxygen machines for the Pope’s former Peruvian diocese during the COVID pandemic. - Pope, in video, prays that we may learn to thank God for food and share it with joy (CWN)
In a video associated with his May 2026 prayer intention, Pope Leo XIV prayed that we may learn to share our food with those in need. - South Korean Catholics hit 6 million, confront aging, declining vocations (UCANews)
The number of Catholics in South Korea soared from one million in 1975 to over six million in 2025, according to statistics recently published by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea. 28.9% of them are 65 or older. The Sunday Mass attendance rate fell from 25% in 2015 to 15% in 2025. The bishops’ conference also reported declining numbers of seminarians and religious vocations. “The recovery of lapsed and inactive believers is an urgent task,” the bishops’ conference stated in its report. “How to invite back into the community those who have been unable to continue their sacramental life… is a pastoral question that can no longer be ignored.” The nation of 51.5 million (map) is 32% Christian, 25% Buddhist, 15% ethnic religionist, 14% new religionist, and 11% Confucian. - Ukrainian Catholic leader reflects on Chernobyl disaster, warns world is at 'dangerous precipice' (CWN)
The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church warned in a recent address that the world is “at a dangerous precipice where human pride and irresponsibility can lead to new disasters” reminiscent of the Chernobyl disaster. - Australian bishops' commission highlights youth unemployment; praises apprenticeships, trades (Australian Catholic Bishops Conference)
In a message for the memorial of St. Joseph the Worker, the chairman of the Australian bishops’ Commission for Social Justice, Mission and Service highlighted the plight of unemployed youth. “We are living through a period of rapid transformation,” wrote Bishop Tim Harris of Townsville. “In this changing environment, it is vital that we recognize and promote diverse pathways into work. Apprenticeships, trades, and technical vocations are essential to our society and deserve greater recognition and support.” “St, Joseph himself was a tradesman,” Bishop Harris added. “St. Joseph was also a mentor. He accompanied Jesus with patience, wisdom, and quiet strength, showing us the importance of guidance and formation. Today, young people need mentors in families, workplaces, parishes, and communities—people who will walk alongside them, offering encouragement and direction.” - Vatican newspaper highlights suffering of Ethiopians who are fleeing for Yemen (CWN)
In the most prominent front-page article in its April 30 edition, L’Osservatore Romano drew attention to the plight of Ethiopians who are fleeing their strife-torn nation for Yemen via Djibouti (map). - Bishop Barron weighs in on recovering the university's soul (First Things)
Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, discussed the crisis of the university in “Recovering the University’s Soul,” a lecture published by First Things. “The university must recover the capacity to address students in a language of hope,” Bishop Barron said. “The point of such language is not to evade the reality of suffering or injustice, but to refuse the pedagogy of despair.” “A truly humane education affirms that truth is not a mere construct, that beauty is not reducible to private sentiment or self-expression, and that goodness is not simply a function of power or consensus,” he added. “It assures students that their desire to understand is both real and just, and that to take this desire seriously is not naivete but the beginning of wisdom.” - May papal prayer intention: that everyone may have food (Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network)
The Pope’s May 2026 prayer intention, disseminated by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, is “let us pray that everyone, from large producers to small consumers, be committed to avoid wasting food, and to ensure that everyone has access to quality food.” - Cardinal Farrell: Infant baptisms fell 31%, Catholic weddings fell 48% over 30-year period (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
In a talk delivered at a Vatican conference on marriage formation, Cardinal Kevin Farrell spoke of steep declines in the number of infant baptisms and weddings worldwide over a 30-year period. “The transmission of faith within families is weaker now than in the past,” said Cardinal Farrell, the prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. “According to the Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae 2021, between 1991 and 2021, the number of baptisms administered worldwide to children under the age of seven declined by 31.1%, and Catholic marriages by 48%.” “Faced with these figures, we must not lose heart; rather, we must remain fully aware of them so as to transform this situation into an opportunity for ecclesial renewal,” he added. - Pillar editor analyzes why Pope Leo won't meet with SSPX superior general (Pillar)
Ed. Condon, cofounder and editor of The Pillar, analyzes why Pope Leo has not responded to the SSPX superior general’s request for a papal audience. The Society of St. Pius X announced in February that it plans to go ahead with the ordination of new bishops without papal approval on July 1, despite a Vatican warning that the move will lead to schism. “Leo’s continued refusal to arrange a meeting is perhaps better seen as an act of pastoral concern for [Father Davide] Pagliarani’s best interests, rather than high-handedness,” writes Condon. “Leo likely hopes—or at least prays—that between now and July, the SSPX leaders might reconsider their planned actions, and appreciate the consequences. Meeting with them would seem most likely only to cut that time short.” - Pope laments Colombia violence, recalls Poland's clergy martyrs of World War II (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV called for peace in Colombia amid escalating pre-election violence in the South American nation. - EU leader, Pope discuss Middle East, Africa (Vatican Press Office)
The Holy See Press Office announced that Pope Leo XIV spoke by telephone on April 29 with António Costa, president of the European Council. According to the statement, the parties discussed the Middle East, “with particular attention given to the West Bank in the State of Palestine and the situation of Christians in southern Lebanon,” and the Pope’s recent apostolic journey to Africa, “emphasizing the importance of interreligious dialogue, the promotion of peace and support for the continent’s most disadvantaged communities.” - Pope Leo upholds St. Catherine of Siena as example for young people and the sick (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV upheld St. Catherine of Siena as a model for young people and the sick to emulate. - Colombian bishops decry election violence (Conferencia Episcopal de Colombia)
The officers of the Episcopal Conference of Colombia issued a statement decrying pre-election violence there. “Any armed action that attacks the civilian population constitutes a grave offense against God and a rupture of the moral and social order,” said Archbishop Francisco Javier Múnera Correa, Archbishop Gabriel Ángel Villa Vahos, and Bishop Germán Medina Acosta. “Human life is sacred and must be protected under all circumstances.” The prelates added, “In the name of God, we exhort those who promote and carry out violent actions to exercise restraint, to immediately cease every act that threatens life, to comply with the principles of international humanitarian law, and to treat the population with humanity.” - Minerva Dialogues build bridges between Vatican, Silicon Valley (The Atlantic)
The Minerva Dialogues, an annual meeting organized by the Dicastery for Culture and Education, have built bridges between the Church and Silicon Valley over the past decade, The Atlantic reported. “Last year, the influential futurist Jaron Lanier attended a Vatican conference on AI even though he disagrees with the Church on plenty of other issues,” according to the report. Lanier “left the discussion thinking that the Catholic understanding of the human person is ‘vastly, vastly, vastly more sane and reasonable’ than that of his Silicon Valley peers.” - Belarus frees priest, prominent journalist in a 10-person prisoner swap (AP)
Father Grzegorz Gawel, a Polish Carmelite friar imprisoned in Belarus, was among ten persons released in a ten-person prisoner exchange. Father Gawel was detained in 2025 on espionage charges, according to Reform.news, which covers events in Belarus. The Eastern European nation of 9.5 million (map) is 82% Christian (63% Orthodox, 17% Catholic). An autocratic president, Alexander Lukashenko, has led the nation since 1994. - Chernobyl cleanup crew members, grieving parents meet with Pontiff (CWN)
At his April 29 general audience, Pope Leo XIV met with over 45 members of the nuclear cleanup crew who worked in the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster. - Tulsa deacon charged with bank fraud (NewsOn6.com )
A deacon of the Diocese of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was charged with bank fraud. Deacon John Sommer, who has been placed on leave, was business manager at the Parish of Christ the King in Tulsa. He stands accused of transferring $1.46 million out of church accounts over a seven-month period last year. - Westminster archbishop: Pope, Anglican primate well aware of differences (CWN)
Archbishop Richard Moth of Westminster, who was present in Rome for the meeting between Pope Leo and Archbishop Sarah Mullally of Canterbury, said that the Pontiff and the Anglican primate are well aware of their differences but recognize the importance of conversing with each other. - More...