Catholic News
- Imitate St. Peter's sincerity and docility, Pope tells pilgrims (CWN)
Reflecting on the Sunday Gospel reading (Matthew 16:21-27), in which St. Peter rebuked Jesus, Pope Leo XIV said that “it is not always easy to understand and accept God’s ways, especially when they are very far from our own.” - Sow the seeds of Christ's infinite charity, Pope preaches at Mass, procession (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV celebrated evening Mass on August 29 at the Church of Our Lady of the Lake in Castel Gandolfo and boarded a boat to take part in a Marian procession on Lake Albano (video). - Pope laments Haiti massacre, calls for prayer, aid for Nepal (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV deplored the brutal massacre of kidnapping victims in Haiti and appealed for prayer and aid for Nepal, where floods have killed over 900 people. - Pope calls for prayer for peace, creation (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV renewed his call for prayer for peace and also called for prayer and action on behalf of creation as the Season of Creation approaches. - Iraqi PM wants Christians to return (The Catholic Weekly (Australia))
Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi of Iraq said that the “return of Christians who were forced to leave the country due to the difficult circumstances Iraq endured is a national and government priority.” “Iraq’s true strength lies in its national, religious, and cultural diversity, and in the unity, integration, and social cohesion of its people,” the prime minister said during a recent meeting with the new Chaldean Catholic Patriarch, Paul III Nona. “Christians are an active component, an essential part of Iraqi society, and a key partner in building the state and shaping Iraq’s history and future.” - Bishops of Sudan, South Sudan offer blueprint for peace (Catholic World Report)
The bishops of Sudan and South Sudan published a three-year strategic plan to promote peace and reconciliation in their nations. “We remain committed to walking together in the search for truth, justice, reconciliation, and lasting peace,” said Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala of Tombura-Yambio, South Sudan. “Our shared mission calls us to be builders of bridges where others erect walls, to foster dialogue where there is division, and to proclaim hope where despair threatens to prevail.” - Cardinal Radcliffe reflects on synodality, pain of Catholics attached to traditional Latin Mass (AdVaticanum)
Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., reflected on synodality, the traditional Latin Mass, and the increase in adult baptisms and Dominican vocations in England. “Many people fear that synodality will lead to the rejection of the Church’s tradition,” he said in an interview. “But that is not at all its purpose.” “It is not about conforming to modernity, but about becoming truly countercultural, opposed to a contemporary culture which sees human beings as consumers,” he continued. “Synodality invites us to see each other as made in the image and likeness of God, each given a share in the Spirit and a word to share.” Addressing a question about the extraordinary form of the Mass, Cardinal Radcliffe said: I do deeply sympathize with people whose love of the Tridentine Mass has led them into tension with the hierarchy. Some of them are my friends and I hate to see them pained. But it is good always to remember that the Eucharist is the sacrament of our unity in Christ. So I believe that the sacrament can never become a sign of disunity with the Body of Christ. However painful it might be, if the Church declares that a rite is not to be used, however much one might love it, it cannot be good to let its celebration be a source of division. - Amid ICE activity, Connecticut bishop tells immigrants the Church stands with them (Diocese of Bridgeport)
Bishop Frank Caggiano of Bridgeport, Connecticut, warned against indifference amid ICE enforcement activity and told immigrants that “the Church stands with you.” “I have heard of husbands and fathers taken from their cars on the way to work, of spouses unable to find where a loved one has been brought, and of neighbors who no longer feel at ease walking to the store, dropping off a child at school, or simply going about the ordinary business of the day,” Bishop Caggiano said in an August 30 statement. “Whatever one believes about the just enforcement of our nation’s laws, no person of faith can look upon this kind of suffering with indifference.” “To our immigrant brothers and sisters throughout Fairfield County, whether or not you are Catholic, whether or not you have ever set foot in one of our parishes, please know that the Church stands with you,” he added. “I am asking every parish of the diocese to include a prayer for immigrant families and for all those affected by these events at every Mass in the days ahead.” - Prayer and social justice are inseparable, Pope tells Society of St. Vincent de Paul (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV said that St. Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) “demonstrated that prayer and social justice are not merely complementary but are in fact inseparable.” - Pope grants Eastern Catholic synods the authority to remove Patriarchs, Major Archbishops (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV today amended the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (1990) to grant Eastern Catholic synods the authority to remove Patriarchs and Major Archbishops when communion between the church’s head and synod has been “seriously and irreparably damaged.” - Italy launches Way of St. Francis pilgrimage trail network (AFAR Media)
Italy’s Ministry of Tourism unveiled the Cammino di Francesco (Way of Francis), a 960-mile network of pilgrimage trails that connect places associated with the life of the beloved saint. In January, Pope Leo XIV proclaimed a Year of Saint Francis to mark the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death. - India's leading bishops met with Pope Leo (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV received the president, vice president, and secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) in an August 28 audience. The CBCI has not published a news report on the audience, which comes amid the persecution of Catholics in some parts of the world’s most populous nation. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), whose members include Latin and Eastern-rite bishops, is distinct from the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), whose members include Latin-rite bishops only. - Pope applauds institute's attention to AI, warns against entrusting decisions about life to machines (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV praised the International Institute of Administrative Sciences for its reflections on artificial intelligence and warned that “one of the serious problems facing us today is the fact that decisions concerning human life are being entrusted to machines.” - DOJ issues report on 2023 FBI memo targeting 'radical traditionalist Catholic ideology' (U.S. Department of Justice)
The Justice Department’s Weaponization Working Group issued 231-page report on the 2023 memo from the bureau’s Richmond office that warned against “radical traditionalist Catholic ideology.” “This Department of Justice will not tolerate a weaponized bureaucracy that chills First Amendment activity,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche. “The individuals who developed the Richmond Domain Perspective are no longer with the Department, and our Working Group’s efforts to investigate weaponization under the previous Administration will continue.” FBI Director Kash Patel added, “Even while those who developed the unacceptable Richmond Catholic memo under the previous administration have been held accountable, releasing information to the public about what occurred under the prior regime is an important part of the process.” - Chairman, CEO of Europe's leading electric utility meet with Pontiff (Tribuna de Burgos)
Pope Leo XIV received the chairman and CEO of Iberdola, Europe’s leading electric utility, in an August 28 audience. The business leaders, according to a Spanish media report, “informed the Pontiff of Iberdrola’s trajectory and international expansion, as well as the processes of electrification of economies and the company’s commitment to sustainability and the environment.” - Pope mourns passing of Norway's King Harald (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV mourned the passing of King Harald V, Norway’s head of state from 1991 until his passing on August 28. In a telegram to the new king, Haakon VIII, Pope Leo sent condolences to the royal family and the nation, prayed for the repose of the soul of the late monarch, and invoked God’s blessings on the Norwegian people and all who mourn King Harald’s death. - In Paraguay, an ordinary becomes an auxiliary bishop (Vatican Press Office)
In a rare but not unprecedented decision, Pope Leo XIV transferred Bishop Gabriel Narciso Escobar Ayala, S.D.B., who has led the apostolic vicariate of Chaco Paraguayo since 2013, to the Archdiocese of Asunción, where he will serve as an auxiliary bishop. As vicar apostolic, Bishop Escobar served as ordinary of an ecclesiastical circumscription with 16,200 Catholics, 10 parishes, 10 diocesan and religious priests, and six seminarians. The 55-year-old prelate will now serve as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Asunción which, despite having more than 1.9 million Catholics, has lacked an auxiliary bishop since 2003. - Pontiff, leading Argentine prelates discuss upcoming papal visit (Conferencia Episcopal Argentina)
The president and secretary-general of the Argentine Episcopal Conference met with Pope Leo XIV on August 27. “The meeting took place in a cordial and affable atmosphere and provided an opportunity to discuss various aspects of the life of the Church in Argentina, as well as to converse about preparations for the Holy Father’s visit to the country,” the bishops’ conference said in a statement. “During the audience, the Pope expressed his enthusiasm for the trip and demonstrated that he was well-informed about the various options currently under consideration for its organization,” the statement continued. “In this context, particular emphasis was placed on the desire for the visit to have an eminently pastoral character and to have an impact that extends beyond the days of the trip itself, bearing fruit for the life of the Church and also for Argentine society.” The Pontiff is scheduled to visit Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru in November; visits to Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Luján are planned in Argentina. - Leading French prelates meet with Pontiff (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV received the president and two vice presidents of the Bishops’ Conference of France in an August 28 audience. The bishops’ conference has not published a news report on the audience, which took place four weeks before the Pontiff’s scheduled apostolic visit to France. - Vatican announces public papal Masses for September, October (Vatican Press Office)
Archbishop Diego Ravelli, Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, announced the public Masses over which Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to preside in September and October. In addition to the Masses celebrated during the Pontiff’s apostolic journey to France (September 25-28), Pope Leo will celebrate Masses at the Basilica Shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel in Genazzano, Italy (September 7) and in St. Peter’s Basilica (October 8 and 14). At the Mass on October 8, the Pope will inaugurate the academic year at Rome’s pontifical universities; at the Mass on October 14, he will conclude the meeting of the world’s episcopal conference presidents for the tenth anniversary of Amoris Laetitia. - More...