Catholic News
- Pope Leo implores: 'Cease fire!' (CWN)
At the conclusion of his midday Angelus today, Pope Leo XIV call for a ceasefire in the Iran war and in the war in Lebanon. - Pope Leo takes possession of apartment in Apostolic Palace (Vatican News)
Pope Leo XIV, who has lived at the Palace of the Holy Office since his election, took possession of the papal apartment at the Apostolic Palace on March 14, following a renovation. Pope Francis chose not to stay in the papal apartment, instead residing in Domus Sanctae Marthae, the Vatican guest house, during his 12-year pontificate. - Jesus came to heal our blindness so that we can see with His eyes, Pope tells pilgrims (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV reflected on Christ’s healing of the man blind from birth (John 9:1-41) as he addressed pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for today’s midday Angelus address (video). - Justice in the Church is 'a constant search for truth in charity,' Pope tells Vatican City State jurists (Dicastery for Communication)
At the inauguration of the judicial year of the Tribunal of the Vatican City State, Pope Leo XIV reflected on the relation between justice and charity. Citing St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, Pope Leo told the jurists on March 14 that “only when relationships are ordered according to truth does that communion which is the highest fruit of love become possible.” “Justice, when it is exercised with balance and fidelity to the truth, becomes one of the most stable factors of unity within the community,” he continued. “Justice in the Church is not merely a technical application of the law, but a ministry in the service of the People of God. It requires not only legal expertise, but also wisdom, balance and a constant search for truth in charity.” - Pope Leo: Economic activity is called to serve the good of persons (Vatican News)
In a message for the 100th anniversary of the French Movement of Christian Entrepreneurs and Leaders, Pope Leo XIV said that “the vocation of the Christian leader should be understood as a service to the common good and the integral development of the person.” “Economic activity cannot be limited to the mere management of resources or the simple pursuit of profit,” he continued. “Businesses and the economy, when faithful to their truest vocation, cannot be seen merely as instruments of production or accumulation, but involve communities of people called to grow together.” The Pontiff also spoke of the continued relevance of Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 social encyclical Rerum Novarum: it “calls on entrepreneurs to respect the dignity of every worker and to protect the most vulnerable.” - Justice should be rehabilitative, Cardinal Parolin preaches to Vatican City judges (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
At the Mass that preceded the inauguration of the judicial year of the Tribunal of the Vatican City State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin preached that as God’s justice aims at correcting the sinner, human justice should aim at the rehabilitation of the offender. “God’s justice becomes care, love, salvation, and forgiveness for the repentant sinner—a grace from which, conversely, the one who arrogantly deems himself in no need of any correction remains excluded,” Cardinal Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, preached at the Mass, celebrated in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace on March 14. “Human justice” is “called to draw inspiration from divine justice, embracing and giving concrete form to the objectives that the latter pursues.” - Vatican diplomat highlights surrogacy's exploitative nature (Vatican News)
At a UN event held on March 12, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia joined diplomats from Italy, Paraguay, and Turkey in highlighting the exploitative nature of surrogacy. Archbishop Caccia, until recently Permanent Observer of the Holy See at the United Nations and now the apostolic nuncio to the United States, said that “stories of the rich and famous commissioning surrogates are common, whereas stories of wealthy women serving as surrogates are rare.” Quoting Pope Leo, he added, “By transforming gestation into a negotiable service, [surrogacy] violates the dignity both of the child, who is reduced to a ‘product,’ and of the mother, exploiting her body and the generative process, and distorting the original relational calling of the family.” - Bishop Seitz: Mass detention, deportations are 'grave moral evil' (HopeBorder.org)
Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, said in a March 15 pastoral message that “the current national campaign of mass detention and deportations is a grave moral evil, one which must be opposed, with prayer, peaceful action and acts of solidarity with those affected.” “I am blessed with many friendships with our local law enforcement and immigration enforcement agents,” he said. “Their work to keep our community safe is vital. But the death of those in immigration detention is unacceptable. An unjust immigration system that leads to deadly outcomes is destructive of our shared humanity. No one has to obey an immoral order.” - Vatican spokesman questions ever-higher levels of military spending, calls for disarmament (Vatican News (Italian))
Andrea Tornielli, the editorial director of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, questioned the strategic efficacy of a rise of military spending in Europe and elsewhere and said that disarmament is the more prudent alternative. In an article published March 14, Tornielli wrote, “The massive sums allocated to armaments raise a fundamental question: does the current approach to addressing existing threats truly contribute to reducing them, or does it risk fueling them further? A continuous increase in military spending may create the impression of enhanced security, yet it rarely addresses the root causes of the tensions that lie at the heart of conflicts.” Tornielli added: Disarmament—whether cultural, political, or spiritual—emerges as an alternative that must be taken seriously, for it opens up a different perspective: one of an equilibrium based on trust, cooperation, and prevention. Strengthening supranational bodies, reinforcing democratic oversight mechanisms within individual nations, restoring space for critical dialogue, and moving beyond an emergency-driven mindset: these would be the initial steps toward building a more stable future—one in which defense does not preclude disarmament but rather regards it as an integral component of a broader, more farsighted strategy. Disarmament—understood not merely as a reduction in weaponry but as a cultural, diplomatic, and institutional choice—represents the true strategic alternative. - Pontiff meets second group of Nigerian bishops in Rome (Vanguard)
Pope Leo XIV received 35 Nigerian bishops on March 14, a week after receiving a group of 37 Nigerian bishops. The prelates were in Rome for their ad limina visits. Nigeria, a nation of 243 million (map), is the most populous nation in Africa and sixth most populous in the world; it is 47% Muslim, 46% Christian (11% Catholic), and 7% ethnic religionist. - Nuncio brings food to villages in southern Lebanon; 3 Christians killed in drone attack (CWN)
Archbishop Paolo Borgia, the apostolic nuncio to Lebanon, brought food to Christian villages in southern Lebanon that have been affected by the current war between Israel and Hezbollah. - Pope praises Catholic cooperatives, other associations inspired by Rerum Novarum (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to the Catholic cooperatives, banks, mutual aid societies, and other associations formed in Italy in the wake of Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 social encyclical Rerum Novarum. Pope Leo XIV, in a March 13 audience, expressed his “gratitude to the Fondazione Cattolica and the Società Cattolica di Assicurazione (Catholic Insurance Society) for their constant commitment to fostering an active Catholic presence in Italian society.” The Pope said that the Catholic Insurance Society was founded in 1896 with “broad popular participation” and “subsequently developed alongside the country, helping communities to overcome the traumas of the two world wars.” “Twenty years ago, in a very different context but building on those same foundations, the Fondazione Cattolica was established, recognizing the fundamental role of the third sector in supporting communities, individuals and families living in conditions of greater vulnerability and social marginalization,” the Pope added. - Pope Leo emphasizes importance of Confession (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV emphasized the importance of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and mourned the infrequency with which many Christians approach it. “The fact that the Sacrament can be received repeatedly is not always matched by a willingness on the part of the baptized to make use of it: it is as though the infinite treasure of the Church’s mercy remained ‘unused,’ due to a widespread distraction among Christians who, not infrequently, remain in a state of sin for a long time, rather than approaching the confessional with simplicity of faith and heart to receive the gift of the Risen Lord,” the Pope said on March 13 to participants in an annual course on the internal forum offered by the Apostolic Penitentiary. Pope Leo also spoke of the sacrament as a “workshop of unity,” explaining: It restores unity with God through the forgiveness of sins and the infusion of sanctifying grace. This fosters the inner unity of the individual and unity with the Church; consequently, it also promotes peace and unity within the human family. One might well ask: do those Christians who bear grave responsibility in armed conflicts have the humility and courage to make a serious examination of conscience and to go to confession? “This dynamism of unity with God, with the Church and within ourselves is a prerequisite for peace among people and nations: only a reconciled person is capable of living in an unarmed and disarming way,” the Pope added. “Those who lay down the weapons of pride and allow themselves to be continually renewed by God’s forgiveness become agents of reconciliation in everyday life. In him or her are fulfilled the words attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi: ‘Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.’” - The Iran war has disrupted the education of 52 million children, Vatican newspaper warns (CWN)
The Vatican newspaper warned that the Iran war has disrupted the education of 52 million children. - Pope, on International Day of Mathematics, encourages AI research with moral dimension (Dicastery for Communication)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, sent a message in Pope Leo XIV’s name to participants in a webinar for the International Day of Mathematics. “His Holiness encourages the participants to consider how mathematicians can be hopeful signs to the wider world,” Cardinal Parolin wrote in his March 13 message. “In this regard, an especially fruitful area of research is the use of algorithms, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence.” “Such a task requires not just intellectual effort and ingenuity but an integral growth of the whole person, in order to encompass the moral dimension of these emerging technologies,” Cardinal Parolin added, as he recalled the Pontiff’s “own time as a teacher of mathematics and physics.” - Amid Iran war, Masses suspended in Qatar, continue in Bahrain, Kuwait (Fides)
Amid the Iran war, Masses have been suspended in Qatar, and all pastoral activities except for Masses have been suspended in Bahrain and Kuwait. “There is also concern about Holy Week,” Bishop Aldo Berardi, O.SS.T., the vicar apostolic of Northern Arabia, told Agenzia Fides, the news agency of the Pontifical Mission Societies. “We have not yet received any instructions [from civil authorities] as to whether celebrations can be held or whether access will have to be restricted.” - Papal preacher devotes second Lenten sermon to brotherhood (CWN)
Father Roberto Pasolini, the Preacher of the Papal Household, devoted his second weekly Lenten sermon to “Fraternity: The grace and responsibility of fraternal communion” (full text). - Polish priests leave Belarus in 'very painful' forced departure (Forum 18)
Two Polish priests who have ministered in Belarus for over a decade have left the country after the government refused to permit their continued ministry in the nation. Bishop Antoni Dziemianko of Pinsk described the “forced departure” of Fathers Paweł Kruczek and Adam Straczyński as “very painful.” Belarus, an Eastern European nation of 9.5 million (map), is 82% Christian (63% Orthodox, 17% Catholic). An autocratic president, Alexander Lukashenko, has led the nation since 1994. - Pope thanks FADICA Catholic philanthropy network (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo expressed his gratitude to members of the FADICA Catholic philanthropy network as the organization celebrated its 50th anniversary. “Jesus taught us that in discerning how to help our neighbor, we must imitate the example of the Good Samaritan, who selflessly gave of his time and resources to someone whom he had never previously met,” Pope Leo wrote in his message, dated February 27 and released by the Vatican on March 13. “In this regard, your contributions to supporting programs that promote social justice, strengthen Catholic education, defend human dignity and care for the most vulnerable are truly a manifestation of divine charity,” the Pope added. “It is my hope that your work will likewise inspire others to a renewed encounter with Christ through service to the least of his brothers and sisters, and to an ever more conscious participation in the Church’s mission.” - Focolare Movement reelects leader (CWN)
The Focolare Movement‘s general assembly reelected Margaret Karram, its leader since 2021, to a second five-year term as president. - More...