Catholic News
- '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.” - Holy Land bishops, nuncio huddle to discuss looming Jerusalem property tax (Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem)
Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana, apostolic nuncio to Israel and apostolic delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine, attended a meeting of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land devoted to the Arnona, the Jerusalem municipal property tax. Churches have traditionally not paid the tax, but government officials are keen to enforce it. “All the churches will go bankrupt if we have to pay according to the law,” the CEO of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem warned earlier this year. At the bishops’ meeting, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, “underlined the critical moment now facing Catholic institutions,” the Latin Patriarchate said in a statement. “His Beatitude emphasized that the status quo regarding the Arnona tax has come to an end, and that change is inevitable.” - Ukrainian Catholic leader welcomes efforts of 'coalition of the willing' (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church)
In his latest weekly video address, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church noted the recent efforts of the “coalition of the willing,” a group of nations allied with Ukraine. Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk “expressed heartfelt gratitude to all who are committed to ending the war, striving to halt the aggressor, and providing Ukrainians the opportunity to live peacefully and freely in their own homeland,” the Eastern Catholic church said in a statement. The Major Archbishop also described Ukrainian soldiers as “true peacemakers. They defend our land, paying for it with their own blood.” - Cardinal Parolin rues 'earthquakes' of depopulation, lack of vocations (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, traveled to Rieti, Italy, to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the dedication of its cathedral by Pope Honorius III. Recalling the 2016 earthquake that causes extensive damage in the region, Cardinal Parolin spoke in his September 9 homily of “other types of ‘earthquakes’ that still shake this territory”: the “continued depopulation of its centers,” the “exodus of young people,” the “lack of vocations,” and the “struggle to rebuild relationships in a rather fragmented territory.” Cardinal Parolin called on the faithful to reawaken their baptismal faith, to shun indifference, and to pray for vocations. He also encouraged young people to look to the examples of Saints Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis and become “healthy bearers of joy, witnesses of hope, of peace.” - Cardinal launches Earth Partner exhibit for Borgo Laudato Si' (Vatican News)
Cardinal Fabio Baggio, undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, took part in a September 9 Vatican press conference inaugurating the Earth Partner Exhibition at Borgo Laudato Sì, the new ecological area at the papal residence of Castel Gandolfo. The Earth Partner Prize honors climate-focused art. The three-week exhibition features prize winners and finalists. “When we speak of salvation, we speak of integral salvation,” said Cardinal Baggio. “I want to recall Genesis, chapters 1 and 2, which calls us to have two awarenesses: the awareness that everything we enjoy is not our property, and the awareness that it is our responsibility to take care of it.” - 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.” - Holy Land prelate reiterates call for 2-state solution (Fides)
Auxiliary Bishop Iyad Twal of Jerusalem described the two-state solution as “the only solution, if there is a desire to live in peace and justice.” “The alternative would be to build a state like in South Africa, that is, apartheid,” he told the Fides news agency. “But the land is very small. Either we live together, or there is no real solution.” Bishop Twal condemned the Israeli airstrike on Hamas leaders attending peace negotiations in Qatar as “bad news” and “a violation of international law. The entire world must understand that there is no justice for all in the Middle East and that we cannot continue living like this.” - Iraqi archbishop: A decade after the Islamic State, we lift high the cross (Aid to the Church in Need)
A decade after the Islamic State ruled much of northern Iraq, Catholics and other Christians in Erbil are celebrating a five-day festival of the cross, ahead of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. “A decade ago, Daesh [the Islamic State] sought to erase Christianity from this land,” said Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Bashar Warda. “Today, the very same communities will raise the Cross high in public squares, in churches, and in joyful processions. What once was meant to be silenced has become a proclamation: faith has survived, and hope is stronger than death.” - L'Osservatore Romano analysis: media, politicians overemphasize divisions in American society (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
The media and politicians overemphasize divisions in American society, according to an analysis published in the September 10 edition of the Vatican newspaper. In her article, “Nel cuore dell’America divisa” [In the heart of divided America], Amber Lapp of the Institute for Family Studies asked, “In a nation that perceives itself as increasingly divided, is there an exhausted majority, a majority of citizens who aren’t all that different from one another, as politicians and the media often portray them, leading them to believe they are?” “Certainly, in a nation as large as the United States, regional and cultural differences exist, but not all of these differences are as significant as they currently appear,” she said. “My concern is that they are exacerbated and entrenched by what we read and observe, and by how we see our leaders act.” “At the root of polarization is this fundamental human need for belonging, for love,” she added. - US bishops announce Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation (USCCB)
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops announced that its Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism has become a permanent Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation. “As we call for a genuine conversion of heart that will compel change at both individual and institutional levels, I invite all Catholics to join us as we carry forward this work to recognize and uphold the inherent dignity of every person made in the image and likeness of God,” said Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the bishops’ conference. - Federal court: Vermont Christian school must be allowed to compete in interscholastic sports (Religion Clause)
The US 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the religious-freedom rights of Mid Vermont Christian School were likely violated when the state’s principals barred it from taking part in interscholastic extracurricular activities. The court also ruled that the school must again be allowed to compete in interscholastic sports. In 2023, the school’s girls’ basketball team chose to forfeit a game rather than play against a girls’ team that included a biological male. The Vermont Principals’ Association retaliated by expelling the school from its membership. “The school believes that forcing girls to compete against biological males would affirm that those males are females, in violation of its religious beliefs,” wrote Judge Geoffrey Crawford. The judge, who was appointed by President Obama, cited the principals’ “hostility toward the school’s religious beliefs.” - Pope creates new Chinese diocese (CNA)
Pope XIV has created a new diocese in China, the Diocese of Zhangjiakou, to be led by Bishop Joseph Wang Zhengui, who was consecrated on September 10. The new diocese covers the territory of the city of Zhangjiakou. But its creation—which involved the suppression of two smaller dioceses near Beijing—demonstrates the complexity of relations between the Vatican and China under the secret pact governing the appointment of bishops. The Chinese Patriotic Association had created a “Diocese of Zhangjiakou” in 1980, without the approval of the Holy See. And in formally creating the new jurisdiction, the Pope suppressed two dioceses: Xuanhua and Xiwanzi. The head of the Xuanhua diocese, Bishop Augustine Cui Tai, had been affiliated with the “underground” Church and repeatedly detained by Chinese government officials. At the age of 75, he is now presumably retired—although the Vatican announcement did not mention his status. (The Xiwanzi see was without a bishop at the time of its suppression.) The Vatican’s September 10 announcement of the new diocese and its bishop explains that this is “the completion of a process of ecclesiastical territorial modification initiated two months ago by Pope Leo XIV.” It does not address the question of whether Chinese officials were involved in that process. - Israeli military orders all Gaza City residents to evacuate; Pope contacts parish (BBC)
The Israeli military has ordered all residents of Gaza City to evacuate. The city is home to a Catholic church (Holy Family) and an Orthodox church (St. Porphyrius), and it is unclear how the priests will respond. Father Gabriel Romanelli, the pastor of Holy Family Parish, tweeted, “Today the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, has been able to communicate with us. He asked how we were and how the situation was. Sending us his Blessing and praying for us and for Peace.” - Heed Christ's last cry from the Cross, Pope tells audience (Vatican Press Office)
“On the cross, Jesus does not die in silence,” Pope Leo XIV reminded those in attendance at this regular weekly public audience. He cited the Gospel of St. Mark (15:37): “Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed his last.” That cry, the Pope said, expressed “everything: pain, abandonment, faith, offering.” To cry, he said, is not a sign of weakness but “a profound act of humanity.” The Pontiff went on to say: To cry out therefore becomes a spiritual gesture. It is not only the first act of our birth, when we come into the world crying: it is also a way of staying alive. One cries when one suffers, but also when one loves, one calls, one invokes. To cry out is saying who we are, that we do not want to fade away in silence, that we still have something to offer. - Vatican cardinal tells Bangladesh to uphold rule of law, equality (UCANews)
Cardinal George Koovakad, the prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, called for respect for the rule of law and equal treatment for all citizens during a visit to Bangladesh, which experienced the July Revolution last year. The South Asian nation of 170 million (map)--the world’s 8th most populous—is 89% Muslim and 9% Hindu. Pope Francis made an apostolic journey there in 2017. - 'There can be no true peace without climate justice,' Catholic organizations emphasize (CIDSE)
Caritas Internationalis (the Church’s federation of relief and development agencies), CIDSE (Coopération Internationale pour le Développement et la Solidarité) and Pax Christi International issued a joint statement, “Pilgrims of Hope for a Just and Peaceful World,” ahead of COP 30, the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference. “We unite our voices,” the organizations said, “to affirm a simple yet urgent truth: there can be no true peace without climate justice, and no climate justice without peace. The interwoven crises of ecological collapse, a fragmenting global order and unrelenting extreme poverty are not parallel problems—they are entangled threads of a shared global threat.” - Pope renews prayers for peace (Vatican News)
At his weekly public audience on September 10, Pope Leo XIV urged the faithful to pray for “the children of Ukraine, Gaza, and other regions of the world afflicted by war.” Earlier, the Pontiff had issued a more urgent plea for peace, having heard of an Israeli air strike against Hamas leaders in Qatar (see separate CWN headline story). Noting that the date was the National Day of Polish Victims of War, the Pope acknowledged Polish pilgrims in the audience. He also included a special word to Arabic pilgrims, in light of the continuing bloodshed in the Middle East: “I invite you to transform your cry in moments of trial and tribulation into a trusting prayer, because God always listens to his children and responds at the moment he deems best for us.” - School's transgender bathroom policy did not violate religious-freedom rights, federal court rules (Religion Clause)
The US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an Ohio school district’s former bathroom policy for transgender students did not violate the religious-freedom rights of Christian and Muslim students. Heeding guidance from the Biden administration, the Bethel Local School District in 2022 issued a policy permitting students to use the bathrooms of the opposite biological sex. “Following the adoption of this policy, some students,” including Muslim and Christian students, “felt uncomfortable using the communal restrooms,” Judge R. Guy Cole, Jr., a Clinton appointee, noted in his decision (p. 2). Nonetheless, the judge ruled that the policy did not violate the constitutional rights of the students who were made uncomfortable by the presence of members of the opposite sex in their bathrooms. The school’s policy is no longer in effect, as the State of Ohio subsequently enacted legislation barring such policies. - Care for creation, bishop urges following landslide in Sudan (Fides)
After a landslide destroyed the village of Tarasin, Sudan, a bishop in neighboring South Sudan called for the care of creation. “The landslide was not simply a natural disaster,” said Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala of Tombura-Yambio; rather, its causes are found in “environmental destruction, the chaos of war, and the world’s indifference to the humanitarian crisis in Sudan.” “Now, more than ever, we must encourage all people of faith to unite across religious and regional boundaries to respond to climate-related disasters, promote peace, and care for creation as custodians of God’s earth,” the prelate said. A September 2 papal telegram expressed the Pontiff’s prayers and condolences. - USCCB, CRS publish Catholic vision for humanitarian, development assistance (USCCB)
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Office of International Justice and Peace and Catholic Relief Services have published a two-page document, “Catholic Vision for U.S. Humanitarian and Development Assistance.” “The Church’s social teaching rests on the threefold cornerstone of human dignity, solidarity and subsidiarity,” the document states. The USCCB and CRS offered three recommendations for putting the principles into practice: “promote human dignity with a holistic approach to aid, development, and peace,” “center solidarity by rooting US assistance in authentic partnerships,” and “advance subsidiarity by empowering local leaders for sustainable change.” - More...