Catholic News
- 'So many forms of poverty oppress our world,' Pope preaches on World Day of the Poor (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica yesterday, the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time and 9th World Day of the Poor. “So many forms of poverty oppress our world! First and foremost are material forms of poverty, but there are also many moral and spiritual situations of poverty, which often affect young people in a particular way,” he preached. “The tragedy that cuts across them all is loneliness. It challenges us to look at poverty in an integral way, because while it is certainly necessary at times to respond to urgent needs, we also must develop a culture of attention, precisely in order to break down the walls of loneliness.” “In this Jubilee of the Poor, let us be inspired by the witness of the saints who served Christ in the most needy and followed him on the path of humility and self-denial,” the Pope added, citing St. Benedict Joseph Labre. (Yesterday was the final day of the three-day Jubilee of the Poor.) Following the Mass and his Sunday Angelus address, the Pope shared lunch with 1,300 impoverished people in Paul VI Audience Hall. - Pope highlights plight of persecuted Christians, civilians in DR Congo, Ukraine (Dicastery for Communication)
Reflecting on the day’s Gospel reading of the day (Lk. 21:5-19) during his November 16 Sunday Angelus address, Pope Leo XIV spoke about the persecution of Christians. “Christians today are still suffering from discrimination and persecution in various parts of the world,” he said to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square. “In particular, I think of Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mozambique, Sudan and other countries from which we often hear news of attacks on communities and places of worship.” Pope Leo also lamented attacks on civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Ukraine, expressed his closeness to Ukrainians, and called for prayers for a “just and lasting peace” there. - Pontiff expresses appreciation for cinema (Dicastery for Communication)
In an encounter with the world of cinema ahead of the 130th anniversary of the first film, Pope Leo XIV expressed appreciation of the art form. “Good cinema and those who create and star in it have the power to recover the authenticity of imagery in order to safeguard and promote human dignity,” Pope Leo told attendees on November 15. “Do not be afraid to confront the world’s wounds. Violence, poverty, exile, loneliness, addiction and forgotten wars are issues that need to be acknowledged and narrated.” Prior to the encounter, the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education released the titles of the Pope’s four favorite movies: It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), The Sound of Music (1965), Ordinary People (1980), and Life Is Beautiful (1997). - Vatican diplomat urges support for UN Palestinian relief agency, deplores Israeli attacks (Holy See Mission)
Addressing a UN committee meeting on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), a leading Vatican diplomat said that support for the agency “is very important because it sustains the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who otherwise would have no other source of help.” “The Holy See deplores the attacks on UNRWA facilities, including offices, schools and hospitals,” Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, said on November 13. “Such facilities, together with places of worship must remain inviolable spaces that provide protection and care for civilians.” Several nations suspended funding of the agency following accusations of links between some employees and the October 2023 attack on Israel. Archbishop Caccia said: The Holy See considers it vital that the work of UNRWA remains firmly rooted in the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. These principles must also guide the recruitment, administration and activities of local staff. - 'Hero of the confessional' beatified in Bari (Vatican News (Italian))
Father Carmelo De Palma (1876-1961), a diocesan priest known as the “hero of the confessional,” was beatified in Bari, Italy, on November 15. “In the many and varied duties of his priestly life, he always aimed to sanctify himself and others, practicing a constant asceticism of conformity to Christ, who for him was truly the way, the truth, and the life,” wrote Father Romano Gambalunga, the postulator of his cause. Blessed Carmelo De Palma “was a diocesan priest who died in 1961 after a life generously spent in the ministry of Confession and spiritual accompaniment,” Pope Leo said the day after his beatification. “May his witness inspire priests to give themselves unreservedly to the service of God’s holy people.” - France recalls victims of Islamist terrorist attacks; Notre-Dame's bells toll (BBC)
French officials recalled the 10th anniversary of Islamist terrorist attacks in Paris that left over 100 dead. Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris said that the bells of Notre-Dame Cathedral and other churches rang for five minutes to invite Parisians to unite in prayer. - Make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Catholic leaders urge (Christian Media Center (Jerusalem))
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Custos of the Holy Land encouraged Christians from around the world to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. “I know what the first objection is: ‘It’s dangerous, there’s war,’” said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, the Latin Patriarch. “Well, the war is over. We are not yet in peace, but the war is over, and pilgrimage is absolutely safe.” - Cardinal Parolin, at Pompei, recalls 'interior haste' of Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Bartolo Longo (Vatican News (Italian))
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, was Pope Leo’s legate to the Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei as it marked the 150th anniversary of its beginnings: the arrival of the Marian image venerated there. Paying tribute to the shrine as a place “of hope, prayer, and mercy,” Cardinal Parolin contrasted the Blessed Virgin Mary’s haste at the Visitation—an “interior haste, born of the heart and a profound urge to recount the great works of God”—with the “superficial haste of those who allow themselves to be overwhelmed by activism.” The shrine, Cardinal Parolin added, was born of St. Bartolo Longo’s own interior haste. After experiencing “a profound interior crisis,” the saint found in the Virgin Mary “the sure path to God, the peace that the world could not offer him,” and felt the urgency of proclaiming that “the Lord is near, loves every man, and nothing is lost.” - USCCB publishes new edition of Ethical and Religious Directives for health care (USCCB)
The United States Conference of Catholics has published the seventh edition of its Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services. The publication follows a vote by the US bishops, at their November meeting, to bar gender-altering treatment at Catholic hospitals. - Vatican cardinal asks: Was Newman a mystic? (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
In a recent address to a Vatican conference on mysticism, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, explored the question of whether St. John Henry Newman was a mystic. “There has always been debate as to whether or not he was a ‘mystic,’” Cardinal Semeraro said. If mysticism is “an intimate feeling of God’s presence, he was certainly a mystic; if, instead, it refers to the presence of extraordinary graces, there is no evidence to support this.” The prelate added, “Mystical graces do not constitute an indispensable condition for holiness; however, the theme of successive divine callings to holiness allows us to place the Christian life in the movement of continuous growth under the influence of divine grace.” - Pope challenges Pontifical Lateran University to address cultural emptiness (Vatican Press Office)
Speaking on November 14 at the Pontifical Lateran University, at the opening of its 253rd academic year, Pope Leo XIV called attention to the institution’s special role: “its particular orientation is the teaching of the Pope.” “By its nature and mission,” the Pontiff said, the university “constitutes a privileged center where the teaching of the universal Church is elaborated, received, developed and contextualized. From this point of view, it is an institution to which even the Roman Curia can refer for its daily work.” The Pope challenged the students and faculty of the Lateran University to meet “an urgent need to reflect on faith in order to be able to articulate it in relation to current cultural scenarios and challenges, but also to counter the risk of cultural emptiness which, in our era, is becoming increasingly pervasive.” - Minority of Americans consider faith important, poll says (Washington Times)
A new Gallup poll finds that only 49% of Americans say that religion is important in their lives—showing a dramatic decline of 17% in the past decade. Underlining the remarkable depth of the decline, the Gallup organization—which has asked the same question of respondents in 160 countries since 2007—reports that fewer than 10% of those countries have seen a 15% decline in any decade. - Pope will allow bishops to extend permission for traditional liturgy (CNS)
The apostolic nuncio in Great Britain has told bishops that there Pope Leo XIV will grant diocesan bishops’ requests to extend permission for the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass. Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendia told the English bishops that the Pontiff does not plan to revoke Traditionis Custodes, the document by which Pope Francis limited the use of the traditional liturgy. However, the nuncio said, bishops could ask for and receive a two-year exemption from the ban. The Dicastery for Divine Worship, which was given the authority to regulate the traditional liturgy, had been reluctant to approve exemptions. Since Pope Leo came to office, at least two American dioceses have received exemptions. - US bishops express opposition to 'indiscriminate mass deportation' (USCCB)
In a 216-5 vote at their fall meeting in Baltimore, the US bishops approved a rare special pastoral message on immigration. The bishops stated, “To our immigrant brothers and sisters, we stand with you in your suffering, since, when one member suffers, all suffer (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:26). You are not alone!” “We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people,” the bishops added. “We pray for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement. We pray that the Lord may guide the leaders of our nation, and we are grateful for past and present opportunities to dialogue with public and elected officials.” - Pope Leo: Mystical phenomena are not indispensable for holiness (Dicastery for Communication (Italian))
Addressing participants in a conference organized by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Pope Leo XIV said that extraordinary mystical phenomena are not “indispensable conditions for recognizing holiness,” which consists in conformity to the will of God. Such phenomena, the Pope said yesterday, are not “individual privileges,” but are “ordered to the edification of the whole Church, the Mystical Body of Christ.” The “Magisterium, theology and spiritual authors,” he said, “have also provided criteria for distinguishing authentic spiritual phenomena, which can occur in an atmosphere of prayer and sincere search for God, from manifestations that can be deceptive.” “What is most important and most must be emphasized in the examination of candidates for sainthood is their full and constant conformity to the will of God, revealed in the Scriptures and in the living apostolic Tradition,” Pope Leo added. “It is therefore important to have balance: just as Causes of Canonization should not be promoted only in the presence of exceptional phenomena, care must be taken not to penalize them if the same phenomena characterize the life of the Servants of God.” - Pope warns against 'premature, unlimited, and unsupervised digital access' for the young (Dicastery for Communication)
Addressing participants in a meeting organized by the Foundation for the Study and Research on Childhood and Adolescence, Pope Leo XIV warned against granting “premature, unlimited, and unsupervised digital access” to young people. “Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to manipulation through AI algorithms that can influence their decisions and preferences,” Pope Leo said during the audience, which took place yesterday in Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace. “It is essential that parents and educators be aware of these dynamics, and that tools be developed to monitor and guide young people’s interactions with technology.” “It is indeed important to draft and enforce ethical guidelines, but that is not enough,” the Pope added, as he called for “ daily, ongoing educational efforts ... Only by taking an educational, ethical and responsible approach can we ensure that artificial intelligence serves as an ally, and not a threat, in the growth and development of children and adolescents.” - Papal message: Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum is relevant today (Dicastery for Communication (Spanish))
In a message to participants in the 31st Argentine Industrial Conference, Pope Leo XIV paid recalled the 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, in which Pope Leo XIII “denounced the unjust conditions of many workers” and emphasized “the right to a just wage, to form associations, and to live with dignity.” “These teachings, born in a time of profound industrial transformations, continue to have surprising relevance in the globalized world we inhabit, where the dignity of the worker often continues to be violated,” Pope Leo XIV continued. The Pope upheld the example of Ven. Enrique Shaw (1921-1962), an Argentine businessman who “demonstrated that Social Doctrine is not an abstract theory or an unrealizable utopia, but a path that is possible and transforms the lives of people and institutions by placing Christ at the center of all human activity.” - Survey of American diocesan bankruptcy proceedings (National Catholic Register)
The National Catholic Register provides an update on the 39 American dioceses and archdioceses that have filed for bankruptcy protection in the wake of the sex-abuse scandal, and the legal questions involved. To date American dioceses have paid out over $5 billion in settlements to abuse victims. Of that sum, 16% has gone to the plaintiffs’ lawyers. The legal fees of dioceses are also astronomical. Eighteen dioceses still remain in bankruptcy proceedings. - Vatican diplomat reaffirms support for 2-state solution in Holy Land (Vatican News)
Archbishop Gabriele Caccia reaffirmed the support of the Holy See for a two-state solution in a November 13 address to a UN session on the work of the Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). While praising the agency’s efforts to ease the plight of Palestinian refugees, the archbishop said that Israel and Palestine must eventually “live side by side in peace and security, within internationally recognized borders.” - Cardinal Parolin: Blessed John Paul I was a 'great Pope' who left 'indelible mark' on Church history (Vatican News (Italian))
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, paid tribute to Blessed John Paul I as he dedicated a rehabilitation center named after the Pontiff. Pope John Paul I, who reigned for a month in 1978, “taught that we love God by loving our neighbor: the two loves are inseparable twins,” said Cardinal Parolin, who serves as president of the John Paul I Vatican Foundation. “His was a simple charity, manifested in everyday life; it was made up of small gestures. And it was also a smiling charity. The poor, he said, are the treasure of the Church.” Cardinal Parolin invited the employees of the rehabilitation center, located in Rome’s Romanina neighborhood, “to draw inspiration continually from the figure of this great Pope, who left an indelible mark on the history of the Church despite his brief pontificate.” - More...