Catholic News
- Cardinals discuss continuance of Pope Francis's initiatives (CWN)
On May 3, members of the College of Cardinals met in their ninth general congregation since Pope Francis’s death. 177 of the 252 members of the College of Cardinals—including 127 of the 133 cardinal electors—were in attendance, the Vatican newspaper reported. - Cardinal Gugerotti, at Mass for late Pontiff, preaches on creation, Eastern Catholic churches (Vatican Press Office (Italian))
Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches from 2023 until the Pontiff’s death, celebrated the seventh of the novendiali Masses for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis. The Mass, celebrated in Latin (apart from the readings and prayers of the faithful), took place in St. Peter’s Basilica on the evening of May 2 (booklet, video). “All around us we do nothing but perceive the cry of creation and in it that of those who are destined for glory, and that is the purpose for which creation was desired: the human person,” the 69-year-old prelate preached. “The earth cries out, but above all a humanity overwhelmed by hatred cries out, in turn the fruit of a profound devaluation of the value of life which, as we have heard, for us Christians is participation in the family of God.” Cardinal Gugerotti then paid tribute to the Eastern Catholic churches, which “enrich the catholicity of the Church with the variety of their experiences, their cultures, but above all their very rich spirituality.” - Cardinal Fernández recalls Pope Francis's work ethic, teaching on work (Vatican Press Office (Italian))
Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2023 until the Pontiff’s death, celebrated the sixth of the novendiali Masses for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis. The Mass took place in St. Peter’s Basilica on the evening of May 1 (booklet, video). During the Mass, celebrated almost entirely in Italian, the 62-year-old Argentine prelate recalled Pope Francis’s teaching on work, in which “work expresses and nourishes the dignity of the human being, allows him to develop his abilities, helps him to grow relationships, allows him to feel like a collaborator with God to take care of and improve this world, makes him feel useful to society and in solidarity with his loved ones.” Cardinal Fernández criticized a false concept of “meritocracy” that looks down on hardworking persons who are poor. He also recalled the late Pontiff’s work ethic: In Buenos Aires, in the summer, if you didn’t find a priest you certainly found him. When he was in Argentina he never went out to dinner, to the theater, for a walk or to see a movie, he never took a day off completely ... His daily work was his response to God’s love, it was the expression of his concern for the good of others. And for these reasons, work itself was his joy, his nourishment, his rest. - Israeli president signs book of condolences to mourn Pope Francis's death (Jewish News Syndicate)
President Isaac Herzog visited the apostolic nunciature in Old Jaffa on May 2 to sign the book of condolences for the death of Pope Francis. He wrote: May his prayers for justice and peace be realized promptly in the immediate release of Israel’s hostages, who are being cruelly held in a glaring crime against humanity, ethics and God, Himself; in the eradication of hatred and extremism; and in a world of growing compassion, in the spirit of the Hebrew prophets and the shared spiritual legacy of humanity. Earlier, following the Pontiff’s death, President Herzog paid tribute to Pope Francis as a man of “deep faith and boundless compassion.” In contrast, the reaction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the foreign ministry was more muted. - Jesus 'slaps me upside the head when I make a mistake,' Pope said in 2021 interview (Vatican News)
The Vatican has released the unedited text and video of a 2021 interview in which Noel Díaz, from the California-based El Sembrador Nueva Evangelización network, asked Pope Francis about Scripture passages on St. Peter the Apostle. “When Jesus anoints him bishop, priest, He anoints him because he is a shepherd,” Pope Francis said. “He doesn’t anoint him to promote him, in order for him to be the head of an office. He doesn’t anoint him to organize the country politically. No. He anoints him to be a pastor.” The Pope also said: To the Popes, too, if we ever stray from his plan of salvation, Jesus says, “That’s not my way, that’s Satan’s way.” Why? Because we are sinners and we can go astray. History shows us some popes who preferred a different path, but never, never made a mistake in the faith. That’s true: Never, even if they led a worldly life. But when [Peter] errs in the faith, He says: “No, that is of Satan! The path is the Cross.” That is, my confidence is in the word of Jesus who gives me firmness when He chooses me and who slaps me upside the head when I make a mistake. - Vatican newspaper decries world's difference to hunger in Gaza (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
A front-page article in the Vatican newspaper’s May 3 edition decried “the hunger of Gaza and the indifference of the world.” “Two months have now passed since March 2, when the Israeli armed forces closed all entrances to humanitarian aid in Gaza,” reporter Roberto Cetera wrote. “Two months without food, drinking water, medicines, and any other basic necessities.” He added, “It is not permissible to use food and water as a weapon of war. It is not possible to use food deprivation to push a people to deportation.” After reporting on the recent drone attack on a Gaza humanitarian aid ship in international waters, Cetera concluded: We are faced with a determined and conscious intention. 2.4 million Gazans are hungry and in desperation. Desperate in the absence of any reaction of disapproval and protest from that world which hypocritically calls itself civilized. - Catholic tourist slain by Islamist terrorists in India; bishop hails him as martyr (Fides)
Islamist terrorists killed 26 people and injured 20 more in an attack on tourists in Pahalgam, in the Indian region of Jammu and Kashmir. The attackers’ primary target was Hindu tourists, and any tourists who could recite the tenets of Islam were spared. One of the slain was Sushil Nathaniel, 57, who has shot in the head after he told the terrorists he was Catholic. His bishop—Bishop Thomas Kuttimackal of Indore—described him as a martyr and praised his “courage in not hiding his faith even under threat of arms.” - Vatican spokesman: Pope Francis was a prophet whose message on war went unheeded (Vatican News)
Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication, described Pope Francis as a prophet whose “message against the mad arms race, which takes away resources to be used for the good of peoples and invests them in instruments of death and destruction,” went unheeded. “The 12 years of his pontificate are full of interventions from which emerges a clear rejection of war and the arms race,” Tornielli continued, adding: In a world that seems resigned to the logic of everyone against everyone, and that sees the capital used to fill arsenals already full of weapons capable of destroying all of humanity repeatedly rise, the Successor of Peter continued to invoke peace, negotiation ... Pope Francis’ teaching on atomic rearmament is also strong and more relevant than ever. - Vatican publishes list of delegations from other religions at papal funeral (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
The Vatican newspaper has published a list of members of delegations from Judaism and other non-Christian religions at the recent papal funeral. Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni, chief rabbi of Rome, was at the top of the list of Jewish representatives; Prince Aga Khan V was at the top of the list of Muslim representatives. - Vatican spokesman denies health scare for Cardinal Parolin (Vatican News)
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni has denied a widespread report that the Wednesday meeting of the College of Cardinals was interrupted when Cardinal Pietro Parolin suffered a medical emergency. According to the report, Cardinal Parolin fainted—supposedly because of a loss of blood pressure—and medical personnel were called in to revive him. “It is not true,” Bruni said flatly. Asked whether health-care personnel had been summoned, he replied: “No; absolutely not.” The quick spread of the report, and the strong denial from the Vatican press office, highlight the fact that as the cardinals speak in secrecy, all news reports must be questioned. - UK court orders Vatican to pay legal fees for 'trial of the century' defendant (Pillar)
The High Court of England and Wales has ordered the Vatican to pay millions of dollars in legal fees to Raffaele Mincione, a financier who was convicted by a Vatican tribunal in the “trial of the century” last year. Mincione, who has appealed the Vatican verdict, brought a separate suit in a London court, seeking a finding that he had acted in good faith in his dealings with the Vatican involving a London real-estate property. The UK court, in a February verdict, found Mincione innocent of fraud, although the ruling also said that he “made no effort to protect [the Vatican] from fraudulent bad actors.” The court has now ordered the Vatican Secretariat of State to pay half of the legal costs of the suit, beginning with a $2 million payment. The ruling will inevitably revive questions about how the Secretariat of State handled the investment, and how the Vatican judiciary handled the case against Mincione and other defendants. - Cardinals discuss evangelization at Friday session (Vatican News)
At their 8th general congregation on May 2, the College of Cardinals discussed a variety of issues, including evangelization and the challenges of pastoral work in secularized societies. The Vatican press office reports that 180 cardinals attended the Friday session, including 120 cardinal-electors. Another 13 electors are expected to arrive before the conclave opens on May 7. The general congregations are closed-door sessions, and the Vatican press office provides only a broad description of the topics raised by the cardinals who speak. (The speakers are not identified in statements for the media.) Since the cardinals are bound to respect the confidentiality of the discussions, any detailed reports are based on leaks, and cannot be considered reliable. - Vatican workers install chimney for 'white smoke' announcement (Vatican News)
Vatican workers have installed a chimney in the roof of the Sistine Chapel. That chimney will be the focal point of the world’s attention next week, as observers wait for the white smoke that will signal the successful election of a new Roman Pontiff. The chimney, which is installed for papal conclaves, carries smoke from the small furnace that is used to burn the ballots after each round of voting in the conclave. Chemicals added to the paper ballots ensure that the smoke will be black if the vote is inconclusive, white when a Pope has been chosen. - Annual Swiss Guard swearing-in ceremony postponed (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
The Pontifical Swiss Guard has announced that its swearing-in ceremony, which takes place annually on May 6, has been postponed until the fall. The ceremony takes place on May 6 in memory of the guards’ heroism during the Sack of Rome on May 6, 1527. The Vatican newspaper recalled that “189 Swiss Guards defended [Pope] Clement VII: they managed to bring him to safety in Castel Sant’Angelo, but only 42 survived the massacre.” - Over 10,000 in Rome for Jubilee of Workers (Iubilaeum.va (Italian))
Over 10,000 pilgrims from 90 nations are in Rome for the Jubilee of Workers, which is taking place from May 1-4 as part of the 2025 jubilee year. The Jubilee of Workers overlaps with the Jubilee of Entrepreneurs, scheduled for May 4-5. - At Mass for late Pontiff, Cardinal Sandri reflects on Pope Francis as a servant (Vatican Press Office (Italian))
Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, vice dean of the College of Cardinals, celebrated the fifth of the novendiali Masses for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica on the evening of April 30 (booklet, video). Apart from the papal funeral Mass, it was the first of the novendiali Masses to be celebrated primarily in Latin; only the first reading, the Gospel, and the prayers of the faithful were in Italian. “In the most solemn celebrations we wear the tunicle under the chasuble, a reminder of our duty to always remain deacons, that is, servants,” said Cardinal Sandri, 81, as he reflected on the papal title of Servant of the Servants of God. “Pope Francis lived it, choosing different places of suffering and solitude to perform the washing of the feet during the Holy Mass of the Lord’s Supper, but also kneeling and kissing the feet of the leaders of South Sudan, imploring the gift of peace, with that same style considered scandalous by many, but strongly evangelical.” Cardinal Sandri concluded: Lord, we entrust to you your servant, Pope Francis, so that you may fill him now with joy in your presence, and we ask you for the grace to fulfill his vision for a Church that proclaims the mystery of Christ, Crucified and Risen! Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, intercede with your prayer for the one who so desired to fix your loving gaze, and now rests in the Basilica dedicated to you. So be it. - Ukrainian Catholic leader pays tribute to late Pope, welcomes Trump-Zelensky meeting (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church)
Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said that “His Holiness Pope Francis will go down in history as the Pope who prayed for Ukraine, who, as Christ’s vicar on earth and successor to the Apostle Peter, did everything in his power to stop this war.” “He consistently emphasized that whenever humanity starts a war, it always loses, because after every war, the world ends up worse than it was before,” the Major Archbishop continued. “We entrust Pope Francis to God’s infinite mercy.” The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church characterized the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in St. Peter’s Basilica as “a moving encounter at the tomb of the Apostle Peter.” Major Archbishop Shevchuk said, “We pray that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Risen Christ, will inspire the minds and hearts of contemporary people and leaders of nations with the spirit of peace.” - Pope Francis denied absolution only once, Argentine journalist writes (CWN)
Silvina Premat, the reporter assigned by the Argentine newspaper La Nación to cover the future Pope Francis from 2005 to 2013, paid tribute to the late Pontiff in a Vatican newspaper article. - Tanzanian bishops' spokesman hospitalized after assault (BBC)
Father Charles Kitima, the secretary-general of the Tanzanian bishops’ conference, has been hospitalized after he was attacked on April 30. Police report that Father Kitima was struck on the head with a blunt object, and left bleeding. He was reported to be in stable condition in a local hospital. Police have arrested a suspect in connection with the assault. Father Kitima has been an outspoken critic of the government, and the bishops’ conference has backed the demand of opposition leaders for election reforms in advance of a contentious October ballot. - Bishop Marini, former master of pontifical liturgical celebrations, recalls Pope Francis (DonGuido,it (Italian))
At a recent Mass for the repose of Pope Francis’s soul, Bishop Guido Marini recalled several themes and characteristics associated with Pope Francis and highlighted six: mercy, the joy of the Gospel, the Church that goes forth, synodality, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and peace. Now bishop of Tortona, Italy, Bishop Marini served as master of pontifical liturgical celebrations from 2007 to 2021, under Popes Benedict XVI and Francis. (His predecessor from 1987 to 2007, Archbishop Piero Marini, shared the same last name.) Interspersing anecdotes about Pope Francis into his recollections, Bishop Guido Marini added: We have loved, so much, this Pope. Now, we prepare to love, so much, the Pope that the Lord will give us, because men, with their names, pass, even pontiffs, but the papacy remains. This extraordinary gift of the Lord to his Church. We love the Pope, because he is the Pope, whatever his name. So, let us pray for the Pope who will come, let us pray for the path that awaits the Church in the near future. - More...