Catholic News
- Israel denies Cardinal Pizzaballa access to Church of the Holy Sepulchre, then backtracks (CWN)
Israeli police prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, O.F.M., from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass. Following international condemnation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he would permit Cardinal Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, to enter the church. - 13-year decline in worldwide priestly vocations accelerates (CWN)
The 13-year decline in the number of major seminarians worldwide accelerated during 2024, the last full year of Pope Francis’s pontificate, according to statistics published in the new editions of the Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae (2024 edition) and Annuario Pontificio (2026 edition). - Catholic population remains stable at 17.8% of world population; baptisms decline, number of priests rises (CWN)
17.8% of the world’s people are Catholic, a figure that remained steady in 2024, according to statistics published in the new editions of the Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae (2024 edition) and Annuario Pontificio (2026 edition). - 'This is our God: Jesus, King of Peace,' Pope Leo preaches at Palm Sunday Mass (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV celebrated Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square this morning (booklet, video) and emphasized in his homily that Jesus is the King of Peace. - Pope Leo: Do not forget the Christians of the Middle East (CWN)
At the end of his Palm Sunday Mass, celebrated today in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo delivered a brief Angelus address in which he drew attention to the plight of Christians in the Middle East (video, 1:51:22). - Bishops 'alarmed' by EU's approval of new deportation policies (COMECE)
The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) lamented the European Parliament’s decision to develop a migration framework that will increase deportations. COMECE stated that it is “particularly alarmed by the potential consequences of the adopted position for the dignity and fundamental rights of vulnerable persons. Measures that facilitate returns, expand detention, or externalize responsibilities to third countries raise serious questions about the effective safeguarding of human rights and respect for the dignity of every human person.” - USCCB urges faithful to oppose Trump administration's proposed regulations for federal funding recipients (CWN)
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued an action alert calling on the faithful to oppose the Trump administration’s proposed new regulations for recipients of federal funding. - Archbishop Caccia condemns racism, warns against AI stereotypes (Holy See Mission)
Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the new apostolic nuncio to the United States, reiterated the Holy See’s “full and firm condemnation of racism and racial discrimination in all their forms.” Addressing a UN meeting, Archbishop Caccia said that “at first glance, racism appears to persist in manifesting itself as discrimination founded on erroneous assumptions of racial superiority. However, at a more profound level, this pervasive scourge is operating through more subtle and complex mechanisms that often evade immediate recognition.” Citing Pope Leo, Archbishop Caccia warned that AI systems can reflect the biases of those who construct them. Archbishop Caccia’s mandate as Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations officially ceased on March 7. However, no replacement has been named, and he has continued to represent the Holy See at the UN. - French bishops announce program for abuse victims (Église catholique en France)
The French bishops overwhelmingly approved the formation of Renaître (To be reborn), a program to accompany abuse victims. Renaître will come into existence on September 1, following the expiration of the mandate of the Independent National Authority for Recognition and Reparation. The bishops’ conference explained that “personalized support is set up by people specifically trained by the national authority ... The support will make it possible to find restorative approaches with the person recognized as a victim.” Under Renaître, the local bishop will send a “letter of acknowledgment of the violence suffered” upon the canonical or civil conviction of the accused. In other cases, such as when the accused priest is deceased, the bishop will acknowledge the suffering that has been experienced. - Imitate the faith, charity of St. Devota and St. Carlo Acutis, Pope tells Monaco's young people (CWN)
Pope Leo encouraged Monaco’s young people to look to St. Devota and St. Carlo Acutis as examples of faith and charity. - Pope, in Monaco homily, emphasizes communion, evangelization, defense of human person (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV presided at the celebration of Midday Prayer in Monaco’s Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate today (video) and preached on St. John’s teaching that “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). - In the world's prolonged Lent, the Lord prepares his Easter, Pope preaches as Monaco visit ends (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV celebrated an outdoor Mass this afternoon in Monaco’s Stade Louis II (video) and preached that “in the world’s prolonged Lent, when evil rages and idolatry makes hearts indifferent, the Lord prepares his Easter.” - Cardinal Coccopalmerio: Synodality entails shared governance, not simply collaboration (Vatican News (Italian))
Discussing his new book on synodality, the retired president of the Pontifical Council (now Dicastery) for Legislative Texts said that synodality consists not simply in collaboration between the clergy and the laity, but in shared governance. Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio told Vatican News that just as it is unthinkable for a priest to leave his congregation and celebrate Mass alone in a crypt chapel, it should also be unthinkable for a parish priest to govern apart from the laity. Synodality, he said, “consists in gathering, engaging in dialogue, discerning, and deciding upon the good of the Church—for instance, the good of a specific parish. These four activities, carried out jointly by pastors and the faithful, find their institutional home within structures of synodality—for example, in the case of a parish, within the parish pastoral council.” - Bishop Wilmer to lead Germany's largest diocese (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Heinrich Wilmer, S.C.J., as bishop of Münster, Germany’s most populous diocese. A proponent of changes to Catholic teaching on sexual morality, Bishop Wilmer was once rumored to be under serious consideration for appointment as prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. He was elected chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference last month. The appointment of the Münster bishop is governed by the Prussian Concordat (1929). The Pillar explained: Under the concordat, members of the cathedral chapter compile a list of candidates that is submitted to the Vatican via the nuncio. After the Vatican sends back a list of three names, the cathedral chapter’s 16 voting members choose the next Bishop of Münster. - Pope Leo arrives in Monaco, calls on Catholic state to deepen commitment to Church's social doctrine (CWN)
Following a two-hour helicopter flight from Vatican City, during which papal telegrams were sent to the Italian and French presidents, Pope Leo XIV arrived this morning in Monaco, where he was welcomed by Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene at the Monaco Heliport (video). - Pope calls for 'dialogue in truth and love' upon Dame Mullally's installation as Archbishop of Canterbuy (CWN)
Dame Sarah Mullally was installed as Archbishop of Canterbury on March 25. As Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Mullally is primate of the Church of England and first among equals in the Anglican Communion. - Times highlights Dominican sisters' podcast (New York Times)
In an article published today (“Don’t Call Them Nuns. They’re Podcasters.”), The New York Times highlighted Dominican Sisters Open Mic, a podcast produced by the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in Michigan. “In each episode, a host, typically Sister Miriam, 44, interviews a guest, usually another sister, about her life, covering subjects like her education—several of the women have Ph.D.s—or her conversion journey,” the Times reported. “While the topics themselves might sound weighty, the conversations are often quite wide-ranging, like a dialogue between two, well, sisters.” - Ghana's bishops lend support to nation's president in LGBTQ honorary-degree controversy (CWN)
The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference lent its support to the nation’s president, John Mahama, after a university in Pennsylvania withdrew a planned honorary degree. - Head of Bosnia's government meets with Pontiff, discusses rights of Croats (@KristoBorjana)
Pope Leo XIV received Borjana Krišto, the head of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s government, on March 26, two weeks after the Pontiff received the nation’s three-member collective head of state. Krišto said that in a social media post that she was honored to meet with the Pope “ahead of Holy Week and Easter. We discussed equality, institutional stability, and the rights of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Grateful for the Holy See’s support and extended an invitation to visit.” Krišto subsequently met with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations. According to a Vatican statement, the parties discussed “the situation of the Catholic community” and “certain outstanding matters in Church–State relations,” as well as the enlargement of the EU. Krišto also discussed a meeting with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness. The Vatican statement made no mention of Krišto’s meeting Cardinal Parolin. 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. - Vandals set fire to Louisiana chapel (KNOE-TV)
Vandals stole items from, and set fire to, St. John Chapel in Columbia, Louisiana. “Initial assessments indicate that portions of the church were desecrated in the incident,” the Diocese of Alexandria said in a statement. “Local authorities have confirmed that suspects have been identified and arrested in connection with the crime.” The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has documented over 400 acts of vandalism, arson, and other destruction at parishes and other Catholic sites in the United States since 2020. A tracker at CatholicVote.org lists additional attacks. - More...