Catholic News
- Fraternity means rejecting isolation of self-interest, Pope says (Vatican Press Office)
In a September 12 message to the World Meeting on Human Fraternity, Pope Leo XIV emphasized the rejection of violence, saying that “Cain’s violence cannot be tolerated as ‘normal.’” The Pope said that the challenge of fraternity can be stated in the form of the question: “Brother, sister, where are you?” He continued: Where are you in the “business” of wars that shatter the lives of young people forced to take up arms; target defenseless civilians, children, women and elderly people; devastate cities, the countryside and entire ecosystems, leaving only rubble and pain in their wake? Brother, sister, where are you among the migrants who are despised, imprisoned and rejected, among those who seek salvation and hope but find walls and indifference? Where are you, brother, sister, when the poor are blamed for their poverty, forgotten and discarded, in a world that values profit more than people? Brother, sister, where are you in a hyper-connected life where loneliness corrodes social bonds and makes us strangers even to ourselves? “The answer cannot be silence,” the Holy Father said. He went on to say: “Recognizing that the other person is a brother or sister means freeing ourselves from the pretense of believing that we are isolated individuals or from the logic of forming relationships only out of self-interest.” - Vatican explains deal with China on new diocese (Vatican Press Office)
The Vatican press office has provided a partial explanation of the announcement, issued earlier this week, the Pope Leo XIV has created a new diocese in Zhangjiakou, China. The Chinese Patriotic Association had created a “Diocese of Zhangjiakou” in 1980, without the approval of the Holy See. By formally establishing the diocese, which covers the territory of the city of Zhangjiakou, the Vatican allowed for the installation of a bishop, Bishop Joseph Wang Zhengui, whose authority is now recognized by both the Chinese regime and the Holy See. An auxiliary, Bishop Joseph Ma Yan’en, is also recognized by both. In what apparently a reciprocal gesture, the Chinese government has finally recognized the episcopal authority of Bishop Augustine Cui Tai, who for years had been subject to harassment because of his affiliation with the “underground” Catholic Church. However Bishop Cui Tai is now retired, having reached the age of 75, and the Xuanhua diocese that he led has been folded into the new Zhangjiakou diocese. In the earlier announcement of the changes, the Vatican had stressed that the moves were made within “the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China.” - Cardinal Fernandez tells new bishops: synodality often misunderstood (Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith (Italian))
Cardinal Victor Fernandez, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), acknowledged questions about the concept of “synodality” in a September 12 talk to newly appointed bishops. While assuring the bishops that “Pope Leo expressed a strong desire to continue on the path of synodality,” the Argentine cardinal recognized that “many priests are expressing doubts, questions, disinterest, and rejection” of the concept. He attributed this resistance to misunderstandings about the nature of synodality. Synodality, Cardinal Fernandez explained, is not “a sort of quick-fix mechanism to modify the Church’s moral and sacramental doctrine.” Nor is it an invitation for debate and democratic voting on the Church’s doctrines. He warned that in some cases, the improper understanding of synodality is deliberately being exploited by people seeking to alter Church teaching. Turning to the proper understanding of the concept, the cardinal said: A “synodal” journey means, first of all, that all members of the Church are involved in evangelization, so as to form a participatory communion. It’s not just about holding fraternal meetings, but that everyone participates and contributes so that a diocese can be fruitful in its mission. - Pope encourages Carmelites to be rooted in silent prayer, mutual care (Order of Carmelites)
In a letter dated August 5 and published on September 10, Pope Leo XIV encouraged the friars of the Carmelite order to be “rooted in silent prayer and mutual care.” Addressing the order’s general chapter, which is taking place in Indonesia, Pope Leo wrote that “your shared life of prayer forms the foundation of your service to the Church and the world. This connection must remain a lived reality, shaping every facet of your ministry.” “By rooting yourselves in silent prayer and mutual care, you cultivate a stillness that enables you to discern the signs of the times, particularly through the perspective of the poor, and to respond with a quiet constancy of love,” the Pope added. The Vatican newspaper reported that the order now has approximately 2,000 members and that the general chapter—the 215th in its history—is the first to be held outside Italy. - Leading African, Asian, Latin American cardinals call for 'economic degrowth' to avert climate catastrophe (SECAM)
In a September 10 letter to leading UN officials, the presidents of CELAM (the Latin American Episcopal Conference), the FABC (Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences), and SECAM (the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar) emphasized that “the climate crisis is an urgent reality” that ”leaves no room for delay, compromise, or half-measures.” “It is not just a technical problem: it is an existential issue of justice, dignity and care for our common home,” said Cardinals Jaime Spengler, OFM (Brazil), Filipe Neri António Sebastião do Rosário Ferrão (India), and Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, OFM Cap (DR Congo). “The science is clear: we must limit global warming to 1.5°C to avoid catastrophic effects.” “We reject false solutions such as ‘green’ capitalism, technocracy, the commodification of nature and extractivism, which perpetuate exploitation and injustice,” added the prelates, who issued a 34-page call for climate justice in July. In their letter to UN officials, the cardinals said that they “demand” equity, justice, and protection; justice, they wrote, entails “economic degrowth” and the phasing out of fossil fuels. - 'DEI means God,' US bishop writes in critique of Trump administration (USCCB)
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has published “DEI Means God,” a reflection by Auxiliary Bishop Roy Campbell of Washington. The prelate wrote, “The current government administration that we have is working to separate us from one another, not just migrants, but many, especially people of color, who have been denied for far too long, equal opportunities in education, social recognition, and economic growth, truly denying the DIGNITY OF EVERY HUMAN BEING!” “This administration wants to erase Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from the American conscience,” Bishop Campbell continued. “However, just think about the letters, DEI. DEI, Dei means God in Latin.” After stating that “God is Diversity,” “God is Equity,” and “God is Inclusion,” the prelate wrote that “DEI to me means that God is always working among us and through us for the eternal life of each of us.’ - Vatican newspaper warns that Russian, Israeli incursions are bringing world to the abyss (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
In the most prominent article in its September 11 edition, the second-ranking official at L’Osservatore Romano warned that Russia’s incursion into Poland’s airspace “is so significant” that it recalls “the outbreak of the First World War.” In his article, “Il crinale verso il baratro” [The precipice of the abyss], Gaetano Vallini quoted Italian President Sergio Mattarella’s statement that “we are moving on a precipice where, even unintentionally, we can slip into an abyss of uncontrolled violence.” Vallini also quoted Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who said that “this situation brings us all closer to open conflict, closer than at any time since the Second World War.” “But it is not just this conflict that is alarming,” added Vallini. “From Gaza, the fronts of the war are dangerously extending. Israel continues to strike far away in other countries, violating international law, as denounced by many foreign ministries, which, however, have limited their scope to an embarrassed condemnation.” - US-Mexico border bishops call for humanitarian corridors for refugees (Vatican News)
At the conclusion of a meeting in Piedra Negras, Mexico, 38 bishops who lead US and Mexican dioceses in border states called for “safe and legal humanitarian corridors for the most vulnerable migrants and refugees.” Criticizing the Trump administration’s immigration policies, Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio said that “we, as bishops, have been very proactive, but in the face of these policies, we are experiencing a closing of doors and a defensive stance so strong that it requires us to find new strategies.” - Nigerian jihadists attack Benin village, 'constantly threaten' Catholics, bishop says (Fides)
Nigerian jihadists spread terror in a village in neighboring Benin, where they “attacked the police station, looted houses, stole motorcycles and cars,” and abducted six people,” said Bishop Martin Adjou Moumouni of N’Dali. “Nigerian jihadists have long been spreading terror in our diocese, especially in rural areas,” said the bishop. “They constantly threaten to prevent the proclamation of the Gospel.” The prelate added, “We were forced to suspend pastoral activities in the villages, and even in the city, I asked the priests of my diocese to hold services only during daylight hours.” Benin, a West African nation of 14.7 million (map), is 45% Christian (25% Catholic), 30% Muslim, and 25% ethnic religionist. - Posthumous book by Pope Francis pays tribute to St. Francis of Assisi; Pope Leo writes letter (Vatican News)
A 2024 conversation between Pope Francis and Cardinal Marcello Semeraro will soon be published as a book, Il mio san Francesco [My St. Francis]. “When I think of the prayer of St Francis, I think of his tears, his cries,” Pope Francis said, in an excerpt released by Vatican News. “His relationship with Jesus was not an idea or theory, but a bond of passion and love.” Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, wrote the book’s preface, and Pope Leo XIV wrote a letter to Cardinal Semeraro, one-paragraph letter, dated May 22 and published on September 11. The book “almost allows me to hear Pope Francis’s voice again,” Pope Leo wrote. “May God bless you, all who worked on this edition, and those who, reading it, will find food for thought and prayer.” - Pope meets new leader of commission on abuse (Vatican News)
Pope Leo XIV met on September 12 with Archbishop Thibault Verny of Chambery, the new president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Archbishop Verny—who was named in July to succeed Cardinal Sean O’Malley as head of the abuse commission—presented the Pontiff with the group’s 2nd annual report on policies and procedures to prevent abuse. This was the archbishop’s first official meeting with the Pontiff in his capacity as president of the commission. - Spanish bishop threatens resignation in dispute over control of shrine (Pillar)
Bishop Angel Pérez Pueyo of Barbastro, Spain, has threatened to resign if the Vatican does not support his claim to control of the administration of the shrine of Our Lady of Torreciudad. The shrine has been administered by Opus Dei, whose leaders have declined to relinquish control to the bishop unless instructed to do so by the Vatican. - France in 2024: more deaths than births (PRI Insider)
France recorded more deaths than births in 2024, passing a key point in demographic decline. ““France has long paid subsidies to families willing to have children,” remarks Steven Mosher, the president of the Population Research Institute. “But these monthly payments have done little to raise the birth rate in France or, for that matter, in any of the two dozen or so European countries which have tried them. - Eastern Catholic prelates gather in Vienna, pray for Ukraine; Cardinal Schönborn lauds Eastern liturgy (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
Fifty prelates who minister to Europe’s Eastern Catholics gathered in Vienna, where they attended a Divine Liturgy celebrated by Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, archbishop emeritus of Vienna, preached the homily, and Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, was in attendance. The prelates prayed for Ukraine, and Cardinal Schönborn expressed solidarity with the Ukrainian people, including refugees in Austria. “It is not often that one witnesses such a magnificent liturgy in St. Stephen’s Cathedral,” Cardinal Schönborn added. “For Roman Catholics, the splendor of colors may be somewhat unusual, but according to the Eastern Catholic understanding, the magnificence is intended to evoke the splendor of heaven.” “In the liturgy, we are connected to heaven, especially in times of war and difficulty,” he continued. “The liturgy is not an escape into a dream world but offers a consolation that only heaven can give.” - Papal message: Seek God, the 'measure without measure' (Dicastery for Communication)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, sent a message in the Holy Father’s name to participants in the 12th Latin American Congress on Science and Religion, which is taking place at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome. Quoting St. Augustine, Pope Leo asked participants to “seek ways that allow man to ‘rise above all things that can be measured to see the measure without measure; to surpass all beings that can be counted to contemplate the number that has no number; to exalt himself above all things that can be weighed in order to observe the weight that has no weight.’” The message, dated September 3, was released on September 11. - Pontifical academy hosts conference on ecology and peace (Pontifical Academy of Theology)
The Pontifical Academy of Theology is hosting a two-day conference, “Creato, Natura, Ambiente, per un Mondo di Pace” [Creation, Nature, Environment for a World of Peace]. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, one of the two pro-prefects of the Dicastery for Evangelization, are among the speakers at the conference, which concludes with Mass celebrated in a chapel of St. Peter’s Basilica by Bishop Antonio Staglianò, the academy’s president. - 'Bombs on negotiations': Vatican newspaper condemns Israeli attack in Qatar (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
In a front-page article entitled “Bombe sul negoziato” [Bombs on the negotiations], L’Osservatore Romano condemned the Israeli airstrike on Hamas leaders attending peace negotiations in Qatar. The attack violated “every principle of international law,” wrote staff journalist Roberto Paglialonga. “After Israel’s raids on hospitals, tents of displaced persons, and people lined up for food in the [Gaza] Strip; after airstrikes on other countries and territories in the region—in the last few hours alone, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, and Qatar were simultaneously hit, not to mention the war unleashed with Iran last June—the bombs also rained down on negotiators.” Israel “wants to send a message to the Washington administration, when a draft truce proposal formulated by the White House itself was being discussed in Doha,” Qatar’s capital, Paglialonga continued. “Donald Trump’s United States risks going from a key player in the region to a supporting actor in Benjamin Netanyahu’s decisions.” - Cardinal Parolin: 'we are against all types of violence' (CNA)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, issued a blanket statement against political violence on the day after the assassination of Charlie Kirk. “The Vatican stand is that we are against all types of violence,” the cardinal told reporters. “We think that we have to be very, very tolerant, very respectful of everybody, even though we don’t share the same view.” He did not directly address the shooting of the American political commentator. Cardinal Parolin went on to say that an absence of tolerance “will produce a really big problem inside the international community and the national community.” Pope Leo has not made a public statement on the shooting of Kirk. - Pope calls for prayer following Israeli attack in Qatar (CNS)
Following an Israeli airstrike on Hamas political leaders in Qatar (map), Pope Leo XIV called for prayer for peace. “In these moments, there is very serious news of an Israeli attack against some Hamas leaders, but in Qatar,” the Pope told reporters on September 9. “The whole situation is very serious ... We need to pray a lot.” - Cardinal Hollerich: Church needs broader view of sexual morality (CNA)
Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg said that he “would not define morality — especially sexual morality — as narrowly as the Church does today,” in an interview with an Austrian weekly. The Jesuit cardinal—who was named by Pope Francis as relator general of the Synod on Synodality—said that “the image of a tent needs to be expanded so that everyone can find space within it.” - More...