Catholic News
- Cardinals hear reports on Vatican's financial situation, discuss polarization, synodality (CWN)
On April 30, members of the College of Cardinals met in their seventh general congregation since Pope Francis’s death. 181 of the 252 members of the College of Cardinals—including 124 of the 133 cardinal electors—were in attendance, the Vatican newspaper reported. - Cardinals confirm: more than 120 electors will take part in conclave (CWN)
In a statement issued on April 30, the Congregation of Cardinals discussed two procedural matters. - US study finds no clear benefits, serious risk to gender-altering treatment for children (HHS)
A new study from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finds no evidence of medical benefits, and significant health risks, in gender-altering treatment of children. “The evidence for benefit of pediatric medical transition is very uncertain, while the evidence of harms is less uncertain,” concludes “Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria,” a major study of available medical evidence. The evidence cited by proponents of “gender-affirming” treatment, the HHS finds, is “based entirely on subjective self-reports and behavioral observations, without any objective physical, imaging, or laboratory markers.” The treatments themselves “risk of significant harms including infertility/sterility, sexual dysfunction, impaired bone density accrual, adverse cognitive impacts, cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders, psychiatric disorders, surgical complications, and regret.” Examining the claim that “transgender” children may commit suicide if they are denied “gender-affirming” treatment, the HHS study concludes that there is no evidence the treatment reduces the incidence of suicide—“which remains, fortunately, very low.” Regarding claims that patients have a right to surgery they desire, HHS observes: “The principle of autonomy in medicine establishes a moral and legal right of competent patients to refuse any medical intervention. However, there is no corollary right to receive interventions that are not beneficial.” - China names two new bishops--without papal approval (AsiaNews)
Chinese authorities have announced the “election” of two new Catholic bishops, without waiting for papal approval. Under the terms of the secret Vatican accord with Beijing on the naming of bishops, as commonly understood, the government-backed Patriotic Catholic Association proposes candidates, to be approved by the Roman Pontiff. But in violation of that understanding, the Patriotic Association announced the election of Father Li Janlin as Bishop of Xinxiang, and Father Wu Jianlin as auxiliary bishop in Shanghai. In each case, AsiaNews reports, the newly elected bishop was the only candidate presented to the voters, who included religious lay people. The Chinese authorities’ disregard for the agreement with Rome could have an impact on the papal election, since Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State, who has been a strong public defender of the accord, is regarded as a leading candidate to succeed Pope Francis. - At Mass for late Pontiff, Cardinal Gambetti asks: Are we a Church of goats or sheep? (Vatican Press Office)
Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, OFM Conv, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, celebrated the fourth of the novendiali Masses for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis (booklet, video). In his homily, Cardinal Gambetti contrasted sheep, “who do not rebel, are faithful, meek, care for the lambs and the weakest of the flock,” with goats, “who want independence, challenge the shepherds and the other animals with their horns, leap over the other goats as a sign of dominance, faced with danger think of themselves and not of the rest of the flock.” The goats, he said, “are destined for eternal fire. It is natural to wonder: at a personal and institutional level, which of the two styles do we embody?” After recalling a Holocaust survivor’s tribute to the humanity of Pope Francis, Cardinal Gambetti commented: “Christian humanity” makes the Church a home to everyone. How relevant are the words spoken by Francis in his discussion with the Jesuits in Lisbon in 2023: “Everyone, everyone, everyone is called to live in the Church: never forget it!” - Do not be afraid of 'necessary changes' in the Church, Cardinal Reina preaches (Vatican Press Office)
Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar general of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome, celebrated the third of the novendiali Masses for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis (booklet, video). “In these days, Rome is a people that mourns its Bishop, a people together with other peoples who have waited in line, finding a place within the city in order to weep and pray, like sheep without a shepherd,” he preached in St. Peter’s Basilica on the evening of April 28. The 54-year-old cardinal—whose rise in the hierarchy in recent years has been meteoric—added: And this cannot be the time for maneuvers, tactics, caution—not a time to follow the instinct to turn back, or worse, to retaliate or seek alliances of power. What is needed is a radical willingness to enter into God’s dream, entrusted to our poor hands ... Faced with the proclamation of this newness, we cannot give in to that mental and spiritual indolence that binds us to the forms of experience of God and ecclesial practices known in the past, and which we would wish to be repeated ad infinitum, subjugated by the fear of the losses attached to necessary changes ... To seek a shepherd today means above all to seek a guide who knows how to manage the fear of losses faced with the needs of the Gospel ... To seek a shepherd who confirms that we must walk together, forming ministries and charisms; we are a People of God constituted to proclaim the Gospel. - Ukrainian man recalls 80 letters, 25 meetings with Pope Francis (Vatican News (Italian))
Denys Koliada, a 30-year-old Ukrainian man, discussed his 25 meetings with the late Pontiff, as well as the approximately 80 letters they exchanged. “I heard some statements from the Pope on the war,” he recalled. “They hurt me.” Koliada said: I wrote him an honest, even harsh letter that ended like this: “Ukraine has Peter’s question for you: Simon son of John, do you love me?” I didn’t expect an answer. I didn’t hope for one. But the next day the Pope answered me. Simply, without diplomacy: “Come. I want you to tell me in person. I need to hear it from you.” During their initial meeting, “the Pope welcomed us and dedicated an hour and a half to us,” said Koliada. “But the most significant thing was not the time, it was the way he listened. Without defending himself. Without justifying himself.” Koliada added: He said a simple phrase, but very important to me: “Ukrainians have not only the right, but also the duty to defend themselves. Because those who do not defend themselves, are close to suicide.” On another occasion, the Pope told Koliada, “You can say that I am a sinner. And you will be right. But you have no right to say that I do not love Ukraine.” - At UN tribute, diplomats recall Pope Francis's advocacy for peace, the poor, and the unborn (CWN)
The United Nations paid tribute to the late Pope Francis at a ceremony on April 29 (video). - Vatican holds Jubilee event for persons with disabilities (Our Sunday Visitor)
The two-day Jubilee of People with Disabilities began on April 28 as part of the 2025 jubilee year. Archbishop Rino Fisichella, who served as one of the two pro-prefects of the Dicastery for Evangelization until the Pontiff’s death, celebrated Mass for participants in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. “I think it was a gift to be at this Mass,” said a father of children with Down syndrome. “People with disabilities don’t always experience that. Sometimes they experience the Church as their home. But as often as not, they experience marginalization in the Church or isolation in the Church, not necessarily by malice, but just a failure to appreciate the kinds of accommodations that they need.” - Focus on Christ and be open to the Holy Spirit, abbot tells cardinals (CWN)
Abbot Donato Ogliari, OSB—one of two prelates selected to preach meditations to the College of Cardinals before the election of the new Pope—preached his meditation during the cardinals’ sixth general congregation on April 29. - Vatican newspaper draws attention to plight of Guaraní (CWN)
In a front-page article in its April 30 edition, L’Osservatore Romano drew attention to the plight of Guaraní people, whose way of life in Paso Yobai, Paraguay, is threatened by ecological damage from gold mining. - 'Believe you can face the adventure of a lifelong love,' Pope Francis wrote in youth catechism preface (Vatican News (Italian))
In a previously unpublished preface to the youth catechism YOUCAT: Love forever, Pope Francis compared love to a tango and encouraged youth to “believe that you can face the adventure of a lifelong love.” The Pope asked rhetorically, “How many marriages today fail after three, five, seven years? Wouldn’t it be better, then, to avoid pain, to only touch each other as in a passing dance, to enjoy each other, to play together, and then leave each other?” He responded, “Don’t believe it! Believe in love, believe in God, and believe that you can face the adventure of a lifelong love.” - Two cardinal-electors will miss conclave due to illness (CNA)
The Vatican has announced that two cardinal-electors—Cardinals Antonio Canizares and John Njue—will be unable to attend next week’s papal conclave because of health problems. Cardinal Canizares, the retired Archbishop of Valencia, Spain, is 79 years old and in frail condition. Cardinal Njue, who retired from his post as Archbishop of Nairobi, Kenya, is also in poor health. But his absence from the conclave includes an interesting story. Because the actual date of his birth was not recorded, for years the Vatican listed him as being born on December 31, 1944: a birthdate that would have made him ineligible for this year’s conclave. Only recently the Vatican updated that birthday, listing it as January 1, 1946, and making him eligible—an adjustment that now appears to have made no practical difference. - May 2025 papal prayer intention: for working conditions (Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network)
The May papal prayer intention, disseminated by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (formerly known as the Apostleship of Prayer), is “let us pray that through work, each person might find fulfilment, families might be sustained in dignity, and that society might be humanized.” Papal prayer intentions are customarily announced a year in advance and are retained by the new Pontiff following his predecessor’s death. - Reject the 'immoral possession of nuclear weapons,' Vatican diplomat urges (Holy See Mission)
In a statement for a UN committee meeting on nuclear non-proliferation, a leading Vatican diplomat said that “my Delegation notes with deep concern that many States have turned to extensive rearmament,” including “the expansion and modernization of nuclear arsenals.” “This troubling development, together with the increasingly strident rhetoric associated with it, are regrettably contributing to a deteriorating climate of mistrust and threat, and dangerously jeopardizing international peace and security,” said Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. “There is a clear need to go beyond nuclear deterrence, to move past this illusory logic and to embrace the path of comprehensive disarmament, while definitively rejecting not only the use, but also the immoral possession of nuclear weapons,” he added in his statement, delivered on April 29. - Vatican publishes list of heads of state, other members of delegation at papal funeral (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
Over 160 nations and international organizations sent delegations to Pope Francis’s funeral. The Vatican newspaper published a list of the members of the delegations in its April 29 edition. The list includes heads of state, reigning sovereigns, heads of government, ambassadors, and other officials. - Cardinals issue plea for prayerful support of the faithful (Vatican Press Office)
At their general congregation on April 30, the College of Cardinals issued a request to all the faithful for prayers as they prepare for the papal conclave. The cardinals’ message read, in full: The College of Cardinals gathered in Rome, engaged in the General Congregations in preparation for the Conclave, wishes to invite the People of God to live this ecclesial moment as an event of grace and spiritual discernment, listening to the will of God. For this reason, the Cardinals, conscious of the responsibility to which they are called, feel the need to be supported by the prayers of all the faithful. This is the true force that in the Church promotes the unity of all the members of the one Body of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 12:12). Faced with the enormity of the task ahead and the urgency of the present time, it is first of all necessary to make ourselves humble instruments of the infinite wisdom and providence of our Heavenly Father, in docility to the action of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, he is the protagonist of the life of the People of God, the One to whom we must listen, accepting what he is saying to the Church (cf. Rev 3:6). - Late Pope 'respectfully approached the conscience of all,' papal preacher writes (Avvenire (Italian))
Father Roberto Pasolini, OFM Cap—appointed preacher to the papal household last year—reflected on the legacy of Pope Francis in an article for the Italian bishops’ newspaper. Pope Francis “placed the Gospel at the center of all his reflections and placed the face—and the mystery—of each person before any other theological or moral evaluation,” Father Pasolini wrote. “By respectfully approaching the conscience of all, Pope Francis has not tried to impose new certainties. He contented himself with reopening the fundamental question: if God were truly the Father of all, what would be left for us to do?” - Mexican archdiocese launches buyback program for guns, ammunition (Border Report)
The Archdiocese of Tijuana has issued an offer to buy guns and ammunition from the public, with no questions asked, in a bid to combat violence at the border. Archbishop Francisco Moreno Barrón said that the plan was conceived in cooperation with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaun, who visited Tijuana last November. Parishoners are being encouraged to surrender their firearms, with payment offered according to the market value of the weapons. - Cardinals discuss social issues, individualism, relativism (CWN)
On April 29, members of the College of Cardinals met in their sixth general congregation since Pope Francis’s death. 183 of the 252 members of the College of Cardinals—including 124 of the cardinal electors—were in attendance, the Vatican newspaper reported. - More...