Catholic News
- Synod issues reports on polygamy, listening to the cry of the poor; LGBTQ+ community included (CWN)
The General Secretariat of the Synod, led by Cardinal Mario Grech, released the fourth and fifth of 15 final reports of the study groups established by Pope Francis during the synod on synodality. - Pontifical academy reaffirms moral permissibility of organ transplants from animals (CWN)
At a March 24 press conference (video), the president of the Pontifical Academy for Life announced the publication of a document on organ transplants from animals. - Report finds 747 incidents of anti-Christian violence in India in 2025 (Catholic Connect)
The Evangelical Fellowship of India issued its latest annual report on anti-Christian violence in India. Catholic Connect, a website of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India, noted that “the findings point to continuing patterns of challenges faced by Christian communities in several parts of the country. These include interruptions of prayer meetings and church services, threats directed at pastors and believers, legal complaints linked to allegations of religious conversion, and instances of social coercion and physical violence.” - Vatican newspaper warns Tigray war could reignite, decries indifference to refugee deaths (CWN)
The Vatican newspaper warned that the Tigray war could reignite and decried the world’s indifference to the displaced persons who were among its victims. - Solesmes abbot proposes single Roman Missal to bridge liturgical divide (National Catholic Register)
Abbot Geoffroy Kemlin, O.S.B., of Solesmes has proposed to Pope Leo XIV that both the ordinary form and the extraordinary form of the Roman rite be available in a single Roman Missal with a single calendar. Under the proposal, “priests could reintroduce elements from the older missal, such as the prayers at the foot of the altar or the traditional Offertory, while celebrations according to the older structure could benefit from developments of the reform, including the vernacular, the expanded lectionary and the newer Eucharistic prayers,” the National Catholic Register reported. Solesmes Abbey is renowned for its Latin liturgy and Gregorian chant in the ordinary form; some monasteries that are members of the Solesmes Congregation celebrate the liturgy in the extraordinary form. - Luxembourg's Cardinal Hollerich says women's ordination essential to Church's future (EWTN News)
Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, S.J., of Luxembourg said that he “cannot imagine in the long run how a Church can survive if half of the people of God suffers because they have no access to ordained ministry.” The prelate, who served as relator-general at the synod on synodality, made his remarks at a symposium in Germany on synodality and Praedicate Evangelium, the 2022 apostolic constitution on the Roman Curia. - US Eastern Catholic bishops issue 'cry for peace and justice' (Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix)
At the conclusion of a recent meeting, the Eastern Catholic bishops of the United States issued a “cry for peace and justice” on behalf of beleaguered Eastern Catholics in their native lands. “We are anguished by the passion they are enduring on account of war, persecution, assault against human dignity, and violation of personal and religious liberty,” the bishops said. Referring to “those victimized by escalating hostilities and autocratic rule, from India to the Middle East, from Ukraine to the Caucasus,” the bishops added: What we are witnessing in our home communities could easily bring us to despair: churches bombed; clergy and faithful killed; innocent millions forced from their homes. Houses and apartments, hospitals, schools, and roads are destroyed, entire cities wiped out, children abducted. Hundreds of thousands slain, countless maimed, millions traumatized. Torment, rape, and massacre. The menace of genocide. And yet, together with them, we do not lose hope! Instead, we find inspiration in those who are overcoming great hardships. - US bishops, evangelicals launch dialogue on immigration (USCCB)
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Association of Evangelicals launched a dialogue on immigration on March 24. Bishop Brendan Cahill of Victoria, Texas, the chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Migration, said that he saw the dialogue as “a means of growing in Christian unity with our evangelical brothers and sisters, while also furthering our shared goal of bringing the message of the Gospel to bear on one of the most pressing issues of our time.” “Whatever theological differences exist between us, Catholics and evangelicals across our country are navigating many of the same complex realities—political and social—and the issue of immigration is an important example. Together, we place our hope in Jesus Christ, and we seek to live out his teaching in relation to this challenging topic,” Bishop Cahill added. - Archbishop Caccia calls for equal access to justice for women (Holy See Mission)
Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the new apostolic nuncio to the United States, called for equal access to justice for women. Addressing a UN commission, Archbishop Caccia said that “poverty and its consequences pose significant barriers to accessing justice.” “Poor women and girls often lack the resources to secure legal representation, and many legal aid organizations are inadequately resourced and overwhelmed,” he explained. “Moreover, those in rural areas are further impeded by a lack of transport and reliable communication networks.” Archbishop Caccia’s mandate as Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations officially ceased on March 7. However, no replacement has been named, and he has continued to represent the Holy See at the UN. - In US, millennials and Gen Z have higher Mass attendance rates than baby boomers, Gen X (Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate )
Catholics in the United States born between 1981 and 1996 (millennials) and 1997 and 2006 (Gen Z) have higher Mass attendance rates than the previous generations of baby boomers (born 1946-1964) and Generation X (born 1965-1980), according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA). According to CARA, 41% of millennials and 39% of members of Gen Z attend Mass at least monthly, compared to 35% of baby boomers and 30% of members of Generation X. 48% of the members of the Silent Generation (born between 1928-1945) attend Mass at least monthly, bringing the overall monthly Mass attendance rate among adult Catholics in the United States to 36%. Gen Z, however, has a lower Catholic retention rate than other generations. Among persons who were raised Catholic, 62% of baby boomers, 66% of members of Generation X, 57% of millennials, and 52% of members of Gen Z have remained Catholic, according to survey data. - Palm Sunday procession cancelled, Chrism Mass postponed in Jerusalem (Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem)
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem announced the cancellation of the Palm Sunday procession and the postponement of the Chrism Mass in Jerusalem during Holy Week. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, O.F.M., said that amid the Iran war, he is in “constant dialogue with the competent authorities” and that churches remain open. “The traditional Palm Sunday procession, which goes up to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, to Jerusalem is canceled,” he announced. “It will be replaced by a moment of prayer for the city of Jerusalem, at a location to be determined.” “The Chrism Mass is postponed to a date to be determined, as soon as the situation allows, possibly within the Easter season,” he added. “The Dicastery for Divine Worship has already granted the necessary approval.” - Pope Leo: Let children convert us, and protect their childhood from AI (Avvenire (Italian))
In a letter for the 30th anniversary of the children’s section of Avvenire, the Italian bishops’ newspaper, Pope Leo XIV reflected on Christ’s words, “Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” “To be like children is not to go back, but to guard a key to see the essential of everything, to find surprising answers to even the most difficult questions,” Pope Leo wrote. “Perhaps only by looking at the bewildered eyes of children in the face of the barbarity of war can we be converted.” “We must not let children come to believe that AI chatbots can be their best friends or the oracle of all knowledge, thereby dulling their intellect and their ability to form relationships, and stifling their creativity and their thinking,” the Pope added. “We must protect their childhood and guide their growth so that they are protagonists of a renewed world.” - Pope thanks ITA Airways, decries aerial bombardments (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV thanked directors and staff of the ITA Airways, the Italian national airline, for the carrier’s service to the popes on their international apostolic journeys. “My predecessors and the collaborators who accompanied them on their international journeys found in the personnel of Alitalia and ITA not only qualified and experienced professionals, but also people capable of creating a serene, I would say almost family-like, atmosphere, where respect goes hand in hand with devotion,” Pope Leo said on March 23. “Meeting you gives me the chance to express my personal appreciation and gratitude, and that of the Holy See, for this precious service.” The Pope added: Aircraft should always be vehicles of peace, never of war! No one should fear that threats of death and destruction will come from the sky. After the tragic experiences of the twentieth century, aerial bombardment should have been banished forever! Instead, as we know, it still exists, and technological development, which is positive in itself, is being put at the service of war. This is not progress, it is regression! - Pope meets with Yad Vashem chairman, renews condemnation of anti-Semitism (Yad Vashem)
Pope Leo XIV renewed his condemnation of anti-Semitism during a March 23 meeting with the chairman of Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center. “The meeting was warm and highly constructive. His Holiness underscored the importance he places on preserving the memory of the Holocaust and reaffirmed his commitment to advancing our shared goals,” said Dani Dayan, Yad Vashem’s chairman. “We also addressed the alarming rise in anti-Semitism worldwide and the urgent need for coordinated, decisive action to confront it.” - Cardinal Pham Minh Mân, who formed Vietnamese priests in postwar period, dies at 92 (CWN)
Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Mân, who formed priests in Communist Vietnam after the Vietnam War, died on March 22 at the age of 92. - 6 beatification causes advance; Father Flanagan of Boys Town declared venerable (CWN)
During a March 23 meeting with the prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Pope Leo XIV approved decrees that advanced six beatification causes. - Pressure grows on Spanish confraternity to admit women (Irish Times)
In a 267-114 vote, members of the Confraternity (Brotherhood) of the Purest Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ voted to retain male-only membership. Since the fifteenth century, the confraternity has organized Holy Week processions in Sagunto, a Spanish city of 73,000. Stating that “Holy Week must be egalitarian,” Ana Redondo García, Spain’s minister of equality, vowed to take action against the confraternity. In 2024, the Spanish Constitutional Court ruled that a confraternity with male-only membership in another Spanish town violated women’s constitutional rights, including the right to free association. That ruling is under appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. - Thousands of Australian Catholics take part in pro-life procession (The Catholic Weekly)
Archbishop Anthony Fisher, O.P., led thousands of Catholics in procession through the streets of Sydney, Australia, on the Day of the Unborn Child. The procession, begun in 2001, takes place annually on the Sunday closest to the Solemnity of the Annunciation and winds through the central business district (abbreviated as CBD in the article). “The Lord weeps with us, and we with him, for all those innocents lost each year, each month, and each day in our world, each day in our city,” Archbishop Fisher preached during Mass at the cathedral. Father Daniele Russo, the archdiocesan vocation director, said during the closing address: To build a culture that is pro-life, it is not enough to renounce the evil of abortion, nor is it enough to pronounce the blessedness of life in the world. Our efforts to rebuild a culture of life must rediscover the blessedness of woman. Does our culture believe the greatness of woman is found in Our Lady being a handmaid of the Lord, a virgin spouse, a mother of a child made in God’s image? Or have we instead built the dignity of woman on the sands of feminism and sexual revolution? - 370,000 pilgrims venerated St. Francis of Assisi's relics during unprecedented exposition (Vatican News)
Over 370,000 pilgrims made their way to Assisi for the unprecedented exposition of St. Francis’s remains for veneration. For the first time since the saint’s death in 1226, the saint’s remains were on public display from February 22 to March 22, during the current Year of Saint Francis. Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna, president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, celebrated the closing Mass on March 22. - Veronica's veil displayed in St. Peter's Basilica (Rome Reports)
As is customary, Veronica’s veil was displayed in St. Peter’s Basilica for the veneration of the faithful for a few moments on the Fifth Sunday of Lent. Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, O.F.M. Conv., the basilica’s archpriest, presided at the rite. - More...