Catholic News
- Cardinal McElroy: US entry into war with Iran 'not morally legitimate' (Catholic Standard)
Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington said in an interview with his archdiocesan newspaper that “at this present moment, the US decision to go to war against Iran fails to meet the just war threshold for a morally legitimate war in at least three requirements.” “The criterion of just cause is not met because our country was not responding to an existing or imminent and objectively verifiable attack by Iran,” Cardinal McElroy said on March 9. In addition, “the criterion of right intention is not met in our country’s decision to attack Iran.” He explained: One of the most worrying elements of these first days of the war in Iran is that our goals and intentions are absolutely unclear, ranging from the destruction of Iran’s conventional and nuclear weapons potential to the overthrow of its regime to the establishment of a democratic government to unconditional surrender. You cannot satisfy the just war tradition’s criterion of right intention if you do not have a clear intention. “Finally, our current war effort does not meet Catholic just war teaching because it is far from clear that the benefits of this war will outweigh the harm which will be done,” he said. - Tehran cardinal evacuates to Rome (Pillar)
Cardinal Dominique Mathieu, OFM Conv, the Belgian missionary cardinal archbishop of Tehran, left Iran with Italian embassy staff and arrived in Rome on March 8. “I arrived in Rome yesterday, not without regret and sorrow for our brothers and sisters in Iran, as part of the complete evacuation of the Italian embassy, [where] the archdiocese [is located],” Cardinal Mathieu told a Belgian news agency on March 9. “Until I return there, pray for the conversion of hearts to inner peace.” - Priest killed by Israeli tank fire in southern Lebanon (OSV News)
A Maronite priest was killed in an Israeli attack on a Christian village in southern Lebanon. Father Pierre al-Rahi, along with other priests, defied an Israeli order to leave Qlayaa and chose instead to remain with his parishioners. - Bishop says churches remain open in UAE, Oman (National Catholic Reporter)
The apostolic vicar of Southern Arabia said in an interview that “our churches remain open and the celebration of the Eucharist continues regularly” in the United Arab Emirates and Oman. Bishop Paolo Martinelli, OFM Cap, told the National Catholic Reporter that “there have been several attacks, especially targeting the main cities such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai. However, we must acknowledge that the Emirati defense system has responded effectively, intercepting almost all of them.” “For this reason, although people are understandably shaken by what is happening in the region, they also feel reassured by the protection provided by the local authorities,” he added. “In general, the life of our communities continues in a regular way, even though some pastoral activities have been adapted to the current circumstances.” - San Diego Chaldean bishop pleads not guilty to embezzlement (KGTV-TV)
The bishop of the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Saint Peter the Apostle of San Diego pleaded not guilty on March 9 to charges of embezzlement and money laundering. Bishop Emmanuel Shaleta was arrested on March 5 at San Diego International Airport while attempting to leave the country. - Pope, in message to university's peace encounter, offers three principles (Vatican Press Office)
In a message to International Encounter for Peace and Reconciliation at Loyola University Chicago, Pope Leo XIV offered three “principles to keep in mind as you move forward with this noble initiative”: “First, true peace is not simply the absence of conflict, but rather is God’s gift.” “Second, if we wish to promote concord on a global level, it is necessary to seek the engagement and commitment of the international community for the sake of the common good, which transcends borders, faith traditions and cultures.” “Third, true harmony is rooted in the reconciliation that God has brought to us through his only Son, Jesus Christ, by his death and resurrection.” The international encounter was organized in collaboration with the Pontifical Commission for Latin America as part of the Building Bridges Initiative, launched by Pope Francis in 2022. Pope Leo’s message, dated March 2, was released on March 7. - Pope, replying to letter, laments violence against women (Piazza San Pietro)
Pope Leo XIV decried violence against women, in a reply to a letter whose author implored him, “Pope Leo, help us to stop violence against women.” Women “are a sign of contradiction in this confused, uncertain and violent society, because they point us towards values of faith, freedom, equality, generativity, hope, solidarity and justice,” the Pope wrote in his reply. “Violence, any violence, is the line that divides civilization from barbarism.” “We must never underestimate an act of violence, and we must not be afraid to denounce violence, including the climate of justification that mitigates or denies responsibility,” he continued. “Walking together in mutual respect for our humanity is not a dream, but the only possible reality for building a world of light for all.” The exchange was published in Piazza San Pietro, a magazine published under the Vatican basilica’s auspices. Pope Leo has continued his predecessor’s custom of answering one letter in each issue. - Bosnia and Herzegovina's leaders meet with Pontiff (Vatican Press Office)
The three members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina met with Pope Leo XIV on March 9. The nation’s leaders then met with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations. According to a Vatican statement, the parties discussed the “need for inclusive and constructive dialogue in order to ensure the stability of the country and the juridical and social equality of all its constituent peoples,” as well as “peace and security in the Western Balkans and the repercussions of the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.” Bosnia and Herzegovina, a Balkan nation of 3.7 million (map), is 50% Christian (40% Orthodox, 10% Catholic) and 46% Muslim. Pope Francis made an apostolic journey to Sarajevo, the nation’s capital, in 2015. - Luxembourg includes 'freedom to abort' in its constitution (EWTN News)
In a 48-6 vote, Luxembourg’s legislature enshrined the “freedom to abort” in the nation’s constitution. Abortion has been legal there since 1978. Located in Western Europe, the nation of 690,000 (map) is 72% Christian (70% Catholic) and 4% Muslim. - Former UN Undersecretary General named to pontifical academy (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV appointed Vera Songwe, a former United Nations Undesecretary General and executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, as a member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. Established by Pope St. John Paul II in 1994, the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences has the “aim of promoting the study and progress of the social sciences, primarily economics, sociology, law and political science,” according to its statutes. “The Academy, through an appropriate dialogue, thus offers the Church the elements which she can use in the development of her social doctrine, and reflects on the application of that doctrine in contemporary society.” Members, according to the statutes, are chosen “on the basis of their competencies in the social sciences and of their moral integrity”; they need not be Catholic. - Naples cardinal denounces weapons manufacturers (Il Mattino)
Cardinal Domenico Battaglia of Naples, Italy, penned a scathing denunciation of the “merchants of death” who manufacture and sell weapons. “To you who do business with the blood of men, to you who count profits while mothers count their children, to you who call ‘strategy’ what the Gospel calls scandal, I address words that are born not from diplomacy, but from the wound,” he wrote in his open letter, published on March 9. The prelate spoke of a land that “trembles under the steps of the poor, under the cries of children, under the silence of the innocent, under the ferocious noise of the weapons you have built, sold, blessed by your cynicism.” - Schedule released for papal visit to Monaco (Vatican Press Office)
The Holy See Press Office released the schedule for Pope Leo’s apostolic journey to Monaco, the first of six nations outside Italy that he will visit this spring. The visit to Monaco will take place on Saturday, March 28, the day before Palm Sunday. The Pontiff will spend just under nine hours there. “The Catholic, Apostolic and Roman religion is the religion of the State,” Monaco’s Constitution declares (Article 9), with religious freedom granted to all (Article 23). Located in Western Europe, the principality of 32,000 (map) is 86% Christian (83% Catholic) and 1% Jewish. - Pope, at Sunday Angelus, prays that 'thunderous sound of bombs may cease' (CWN)
At the conclusion of his Sunday Angelus address, delivered today to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV appealed for prayers for peace (video, 12:56). - Pope pays tribute to vocations of military chaplain, Christian soldier (Dicastery for Communication)
Commemorating the 100th anniversary of Italy’s military ordinariate, Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to the vocations of the military chaplain and the Christian soldier in fostering a civilization of love. “The action of the Military Chaplain is often carried out in silence, in places of peace and in those of conflict, in military bases and in operational contexts, in chapels and in field tents,” Pope Leo said March 7, in an audience in Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace. “It is there that the care of the Lord’s flock is manifested through the witness of life, the proclamation of the Gospel, the celebration of the Eucharist and in the Sacraments, patient listening and spiritual accompaniment.” Turning to the mission of the Christian soldier, the Pope added: Defending the weak, protecting peaceful coexistence, intervening in disasters, operating in international missions to preserve peace and restore order. All this cannot be reduced to a mere profession: it is a vocation, a response to a call that challenges the conscience. The soldier’s identity is forged by generosity, a spirit of service, high aspirations and deep feelings. But these values require a foundation, a gift of Grace capable of fostering charity to the point of total self-sacrifice. It is therefore necessary to inspire the codes, norms and missions of military life with the lifeblood of the Gospel so that, in the service of security and peace, the common good of peoples is always the first priority. - Pope Leo: Encounter Christ as the Samaritan woman did (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass at the Church of Saint Maria della Presentazione in Rome (video) and encouraged the faithful to review their relationship with God this Lent in light of Christ’s encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:5-42). - Pray to Jesus and invite others to the parish, Pope tells groups at Roman parish (CWN)
During a visit to the Church of Saint Maria della Presentazione in Rome, Pope Leo spoke with youth, with the sick and elderly, and with parish council members. - Pope meets with all leaders of Roman Curia (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV presided over a meeting of the heads of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia in the Apostolic Palace on March 9. The Vatican did not release a list of the topics on the agenda. The Pontiff chaired a similar meeting on November 10. Between 2013 and 2024, Pope Francis met regularly with the members of the nine-member advisory Council of Cardinals that he established shortly after becoming Pope. In contrast, Pope Leo has planned regular meetings with the entire College of Cardinals. - Cardinal Sako: Iraq's Christians are 'very worried' about the Iran war (Vatican News)
Stating that “we have lived through this before”—a reference to 2003 US invasion of Iraq—the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church said that Iraq’s Christians are “very worried” about the Iran war. “No one knows where this war will lead,” Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako said in an interview with Vatican News. “We are afraid because we are neighbors with Iran, and many Iraqis are Shiite. There is a double concern.” “We Christians are very worried, because if they start attacking the Nineveh Plains, where there are 50,000 Christians, these people will leave their homes—and this time, they will not return,” he said. - Cardinal Cupich says Trump administration's 'gamifying' of Iran war is 'sickening' (Archdiocese of Chicago)
In a March 7 statement entitled “A Call to Conscience,” Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago denounced the Trump administration for “gamifying” the Iran war. He wrote: As more than 1,000 Iranian men, women and children lay dead after days of bombardment from U.S. and Israeli missiles, the official White House X account on Thursday evening posted a video of scenes from popular action movies spliced with actual strike footage from their war on Iran. The clip was captioned: “JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY.” A real war with real death and real suffering being treated like it’s a video game—it’s sickening. Hundreds of people are dead, mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, including scores of children who made the fatal mistake of going to school that day. Six U.S. soldiers have been killed. They are also dishonored by that social media post. Hundreds of thousands displaced, and many millions more are terrified across the Middle East ... Journalists now use the term “gamifying” the war to describe this dynamic ... Our government is treating the suffering of the Iranian people as a backdrop for our own entertainment, as if it’s just another piece of content to be swiped through while we’re waiting in line at the grocery store. But, in the end, we lose our humanity when we are thrilled by the destructive power of our military. - Lithuanian PM meets with Pontiff, thanks him for support for Ukraine's freedom (CWN)
Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė of Lithuania met with Pope Leo XIV and thanked him for his support for Ukraine. - More...