Catholic News
- Attackers fire on German parish during Mass; 1 injured (CWN)
Unknown attackers fired on a German parish on May 17 while Sunday Mass was in session, the German Catholic news agency KNA reported. - Let us allow ourselves to be shaped by the liturgy, Pope says at audience on Vatican II (CWN)
Continuing his series of Wednesday general audiences on the Second Vatican Council and its documents, Pope Leo XIV reflected today on Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. - Pope offers extended public greeting to Aram I, Armenian Apostolic Church leader (CWN)
At the beginning of his general audience today in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV offered an extended public greeting to Aram I, head of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia. - Pope Leo recalls St. John Paul's encyclical on Holy Spirit, greets sports ethics movement (CWN)
At the conclusion of his May 20 general audience, Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to Dominum et Vivificantem (Lord and Giver of Life), Pope St. John Paul II’s encyclical letter on the Holy Spirit. - Synod releases 18-page document on 2027-2028 Synod events (General Secretariat of the Synod)
The General Secretariat of the Synod released an 18-page document on the 2027-2028 Synod events that were approved by Pope Francis early last year. As part of the implementation phase of the 2021-2024 synod on synodality, there will be diocesan assemblies in the first half of 2027, assemblies of episcopal conferences in the latter half of 2027, continental assemblies in the first four months of 2028, and an ecclesial assembly at the Vatican in October 2028. The respective themes of these four stages are recollecting, interpreting, orienting, and celebrating. The overarching question throughout the process is “In light of the journey undertaken after the conclusion of the 2021-2024 Synod, and with a view to offering its fruits as a gift to the other Churches and to the Holy Father: what concrete form of a missionary synodal Church and what new paths of synodality are emerging in your community?” - Lay movement leaders gather at Vatican for conference on governance (Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life)
The leaders of international associations of the faithful, ecclesial movements, and new communities are gathering in Rome today and tomorrow for an annual meeting organized by the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. The theme of the conference is “Serving, Accompanying, Guiding: Foundations and Practices of Government in Associations.” The conference includes an address by Pope Leo XIV, remarks by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, and Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. - Pope Leo's private secretary discusses Pontiff's life of prayer (ACI Prensa )
In an interview released by the Order of Saint Augustine, Pope Leo XIV’s private secretary discussed the Pontiff’s life of prayer. “From the very start of the day, he has his fixed times for prayer, including holy Mass and the recitation of the Liturgy of the Hours; we also pray the Rosary,” said Father Edgard Rimaycuna, who described Pope Leo as “a man who seeks to build bridges, seeks dialogue, and always avoids confrontation.” Throughout the day, the Pontiff “seeks contact with God through silence and through prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in the chapel,” the Peruvian priest added. - Pontiff visits Vatican Observatory (Vatican News)
Pope Leo XIV visited the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo on May 19. “After a brief moment of prayer in the chapel of the facility, the Pope met and greeted the religious, scientific, and lay staff,” Vatican News, the news agency of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, reported. Last June, Pope Leo addressed participants in the Observatory’s Summer School of Astrophysics. - Oceania's leading bishops discuss synodality, modern-day slavery (Australian Catholic Bishops Conference)
The executive committee of the Federation of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO) met on Guam on May 18-20. The prelates discussed online ministry, migration, and how to make the FCBCO more synodal and collegial. They also discussed modern-day slavery, particularly the “slavery risks faced by temporary migrant workers in rural and regional New South Wales,” according to the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. - Vatican newspaper laments 'veil of silence' over Gaza (CWN)
The Vatican newspaper lamented what it characterized as the “veil of silence” over Gaza. - Italian bishops release revised investment guidelines (CWN)
The Italian Episcopal Conference released revised investment guidelines on May 19. - 'We feel abandoned,' priest says of Congolese Catholics under M23 rule (CWN)
A year after the capture of Bukavu--a city of 1.1 million in the Democratic Republic of the Congo—by the Rwanda-backed M23 movement, the archdiocesan vicar general described the plight of the Church there. - HHS restructures civil rights office to focus on religious liberty, conscience protection (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a reorganization of its Office of Civil Rights, with a greater focus on religious freedom and conscience protection. “This reorganization restores the HHS Civil Rights Division and the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division and strengthens the Office for Civil Rights’ ability to defend religious liberty, enforce conscience protections, and combat unlawful discrimination,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., said on May 18. - USCCB expresses solidarity with Church in Mali following terrorist attacks (USCCB)
The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace expressed “fraternal solidarity and deep condolences following the coordinated terror attacks that took place in several regions of Mali on April 25th and 26th, and the continued loss of innocent life in Central Mali this month.” “Be assured of our spiritual closeness with the bishops and faithful of your country as well as our prayers for the many communities mourning the death of military personnel and civilians, and caring for those wounded by these acts of violence,” Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, the Maronite bishop of Los Angeles, wrote in a May 19 letter to Bishop Hassa Florent Koné of San, the president of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Episcopal Conference of Mali. The West African nation of 22.6 million (map) is 87.5% Muslim and 3.5% Christian, with 9% adhering to ethnic religions. The Mali War began in 2012; it pits Mali’s government against various Islamist groups. - 'You are loved by Jesus,' Pope Leo tells anxious 18-year-old (Vatican Press Office)
The new issue of Piazza San Pietro, the magazine of St. Peter’s Basilica, includes a letter from Pietro, an 18-year-old from Reggio Calabria, Italy, and Pope Leo’s response. Pietro discussed his anxiety upon leaving high school, as well as his dream to start “a family united in the love of Christ.” “I would like to say to you, first and foremost, a word that comes before all others: you are loved by Jesus,” Pope Leo responded. “Not in an abstract way, but personally, just as you are today, with your questions and your dreams, your fears and your desires. This love precedes you and will always accompany you; it does not depend on the choices you make or the paths you take.” “Daily prayer, even if simple and few in words, listening to the Word of God, the celebration of the Sacraments and dialogue with wise people will help you to recognize which bonds to cherish and nurture, and which, without judgement, to prune,” the Pope continued. “Your dream of a family based on Christ’s love is a precious gift for the Church too; cherish it with confidence. The Lord does not disappoint the desires that He Himself has kindled in the heart.” Pope Leo concluded, “I assure you of my prayers. I ask for you the grace of inner peace, of trust and of a clear vision of your life. I entrust you to Mary, who as a young woman learnt to trust despite harboring in her heart questions greater than herself.” - Cardinal Parolin calls on European Parliament to promote peace, protect human dignity (Vatican News)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, called upon the European Parliament to renew its commitment to peace and to protect human dignity at every stage of life. Referring to the Christian values that helped shape the continent’s history, Cardinal Parolin said that “among these is first and foremost the affirmation of human dignity, which is inviolable and must always be protected at every stage of life.” The prelate made his remarks at the European Parliament’s headquarters in Strasbourg, France, as he received the European Order of Merit award. - Homeless woman arrested in beheading of statue of Christ at Long Island parish (Greater Long Island Media Group)
A 42-year-old homeless woman was arrested for beheading an outdoor statue of Christ at a parish in East Islip, New York. A police detective “stressed that the vandalism did not turn out to be a hate crime, but more of a random act committed by a woman who will now receive mental health services,” Greater Long Island Media Group reported. - Synodality produces harmony, Cardinal Grech tells German Catholics (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
The Vatican newspaper published the full text of an address delivered by Cardinal Mario Grech, the secretary general of the Synod, to German Catholics gathered together for Katholikentag, a gathering held every two years. Cardinal Grech acknowledged that his audience was awaiting from him a comment on the decisions made by Germany’s Synodal Way. After comparing synodality to an orchestra, Cardinal Grech said that “what constitutes the distinctive nature of a synod, therefore, is not its infallibility, but rather the actual presence of Christ and His Spirit, a presence that emerges within the symphony, within the harmony among the participants.” He added: I am here for this very reason: to undertake with you the synodal exercise of tuning our instruments. The symphony, harmony and communion as a collective work, comes into being precisely through this continuous choice to play together, to be all tuned to the same note. Then, each instrument will interpret its own score, contributing richness and beauty to the single symphonic work. This means having no fear of differences; rather than allowing them to become sources of conflict and opposition, we make them grounds for discernment, for mutual listening, and for a shared desire to follow the Risen One and to recognize the signs of the times. - US bishops to discuss abuse policies at June meeting (USCCB)
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops announced the agenda of its June 10-12 meeting in Orlando, Florida. Among other items—including the consecration of the nation to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus—the bishops will discuss proposed revisions to their Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, the conference’s document addressing the sexual abuse of minors. The proposed revisions, according to the USCCB, seek to balance “care of and sensitivity to victim-survivors” with “an awareness of due-process, the rights of the accused,” while taking into account Vatican documents of recent years. - Trump administration agrees to permit sacraments at Illinois ICE facility (CWN)
A community-organizing coalition announced that it had reached an agreement with the Trump administration to permit daily pastoral care at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Broadview, Illinois. - More...