Catholic News
- Be like fathers to children on the margins, Pope tells Brothers of Christian Instruction (Vatican Press Office (Italian))
Pope Francis received participants in the 48th general chapter of the Brothers of Christian Instruction on April 22 and encouraged them to be like fathers to children on the margins of society. “Dear brothers, you work in regions of the world where poverty, youth unemployment and social crises of all kinds are rampant,” Pope Francis said. “I therefore exhort you to be fathers for those to whom you are sent, fathers who reflect the loving and compassionate face of God.” The Pontiff also lamented the effects of war on children, advised the brothers to collaborate with local bishops and avoid gossip, and encouraged them to be inspired by the prayers and example of the Virgin Mary as they prepared to reconsecrate their institute to her Immaculate Heart. Founded in 1819 by Ven. Jean-Marie de La Mennais and Father Gabriel Deshayes, the Brothers of Christian Instruction are distinct from the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (founded by St. Jean-Baptiste de la Salle) and the Congregation of Christian Brothers (founded by Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice). - Papal nuncio to US warns of 'auto-referential' Church (CNS)
Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio in the United States, told Catholic News Service that he believes there is a “tendency to withdraw, to be more auto-referential,” in the Church in the US and elsewhere. While the Church in the United States “always been very faithful to the Holy Father,” Cardinal Pierre said that “the difficulty in America, like in every country in a world which is globalized but becomes more and more individualistic, (is) to receive the message of the Pope, especially to work together.” “The Pope feels that if we don’t work together, we are not a church,” he added. - 'The caress and the smile': 6,000 grandparents, grandchildren to gather with Pope Francis (Vatican News)
At a press conference on April 22, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia discussed “The Caress and the Smile,” an April 27 event at which 6,000 grandparents, other elderly persons, and grandchildren are expected to gather with Pope Francis. The president of the Pontifical Academy for Life highlighted the warm relations between grandparents and grandchildren and expressed hope that the event will “encourage a real wind of spring capable of changing the direction of the demographic emergency,” in the words of the Vatican newspaper. Births in Italy have fallen to a record low, and there are now more Italians over 80 than under 10. - USCCB committee chairman asks US government to be like Simon of Cyrene in South Sudan (USCCB)
Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, has asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken to assist South Sudan’s Christian leaders in fostering peace there, four years after the official end of the South Sudanese Civil War. “The heads of the member churches of the SSCC [South Sudan Council of Churches] call on their international partners to help the people of South Sudan mediate these dialogue sessions,” Bishop Zaidan wrote on April 19. “The SSCC leaders have no illusions about how difficult this challenge will be, and they will need skilled and experienced expertise to engage in a meaningful and lasting way.” “Similar to ‘Simon of Cyrene’ who helped Jesus carry his cross, I know the people of South Sudan can count on the United States Government to help the SSCC carry this cross,” Bishop Zaidan added. - 'Vote for climate, vote for our future,' front-page Vatican newspaper image urges (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
The April 22 edition of L’Osservatore Romano featured five articles devoted to Earth Day, most prominently a front-page article with Pope Francis’s Earth Day tweet. The front-page article included an image of a child sitting in a field and holding the planet Earth. Next to the child are the words, “Vote for CLIMATE, Vote for OUR FUTURE.” - Vatican foreign minister concludes visit to Vietnam (Crux)
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, recently concluded a six-day visit to Vietnam, during which he met with Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính. The prelate and the prime minister expressed hope for a papal visit. Archbishop Gallagher’s visit followed the historic 2023 agreement that allowed for the first resident papal representative in Vietnam since 1975. With the headline “A hope for even more fruitful bilateral relations,” the Vatican newspaper offered detailed coverage of the prelate’s April 9-14 visit, including his address to 250 major seminarians in Huế. As he spoke to the seminarians, Archbishop Gallagher recalled the words and example of the nineteenth-century martyr St. Paul Le-Bao-Tinh. The prelate encouraged the seminarians to read Pastores Dabo Vobis, Pope St. John Paul II’s 1992 apostolic exhortation on priestly formation. - A year after resignation, Bishop Stika sends 'threatening and intimidating' messages to priests (Knoxville News Sentinel)
Ten months after his resignation, former Bishop Richard Stika of Knoxville, Tennessee, has sent text messages to priests that one described as “threatening and intimidating.” Bishop Stika has “contact[ed] whistleblowers directly with threats of a lawsuit, including one who is a key witness in the sexual assault lawsuit,” the Knoxville News Sentinel reported. - Connecticut archbishop on transgenderism: 'Biology is biology' (Connecticut Public Radio)
Asked to comment on the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s new document, Dignitas Infinita, Coadjutor Archbishop Christopher Coyne of Hartford, Connecticut, said that “biology is biology. You’re either XX or XY. That’s a scientific fact. You can’t un-prove that fact.” “You don’t have to pass a test to belong,” he continued. “We walk with each other. We accompany each other. We don’t leave each other; we try to grow together.” “It doesn’t cost me anything to accept you as you want to present yourself to me,” he added. “I’m not going to get off on my high mighty horse, and all of a sudden say, ‘Well, I won’t accept that.’ I accept you as a person.” “People who have gender dysphoria can choose to live that out in different ways,” the prelate said. “You could have a biological man who presents himself as a woman, but he’s still biologically a man.” - President Biden issues Passover statement (White House)
President Joe Biden issued a statement for Passover, which he described as a “holiday [that] reminds us of a profound and powerful truth: that even in the face of persecution, if we hold on to faith, we shall endure and overcome.” Decrying “Hamas’ unspeakable evil on October 7th,” the president also lamented anti-Semitism. “The ancient story of persecution against Jews in the Haggadah also reminds us that we must speak out against the alarming surge of Antisemitism—in our schools, communities, and online,” he wrote. “Silence is complicity. Even in recent days, we’ve seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews. This blatant Antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous – and it has absolutely no place on college campuses, or anywhere in our country.” - Christ, the Good Shepherd, loves you and gave His life for you, Pope tells pilgrims (Vatican Press Office)
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, “tells us that we are always infinitely worthy in His eyes,” Pope Francis emphasized during his Regina Caeli address on April 21, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, as he reflected on the day’s Gospel reading (John 10:11-18). The Pope told pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square, “Brothers, sisters, let us ask ourselves: am I able to find the time, every day, to embrace this assurance that gives value to my life? Am I able to find the time for a moment of prayer, of adoration, of praise, to be in the presence of Christ and to let myself be caressed by Him?” “Brother, sister, the Good Shepherd tells us that if you do this, you will rediscover the secret of life: you will remember that He gave His life for you, for me, for all of us,” he continued. “And that for Him, we are all important, each and every one of us.” “May Our Lady help us to find in Jesus what is essential for life,” the Pope concluded. - Pope welcomes Earth Day celebration (Vatican News)
Pope Francis called public attention to the celebration of Earth Day on April 22, with a Twitter statement: Our generation has bequeathed many riches, but we have failed to protect the planet and we are not safeguarding peace. We are called to become artisans and caretakers of our common home, the Earth which is “falling into ruin.” In a report on the Pontiff’s statement, Vatican News called special attention to a UN drive to eliminate single-use plastics, and particularly to the UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution. - Texas Carmelites resist 'unacceptable' Vatican directive (Arlington Carmel)
The Carmelite nuns of the Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Texas have rejected a Vatican directive putting their community under the jurisdiction of a national Carmelite Association, saying that it is “in effect a hostile takeover that we cannot in conscience accept.” The members of the embattled Carmelite community—which has been locked in a dispute with Bishop Michael Olsen of Fort Worth—announced that they would not welcome a visitation by the Carmelite Association of Christ the King. They said that they were “surprised and disappointed” that the Vatican decision was announced without any consultation. The Carmelite community professed its willingness to submit to proper ecclesiastical authority. “An abusive father, however, must be resisted,” they said. - Probe finds no 'malicious intent' in FBI memo on Catholics (CNA)
An investigation by the Justice Department has concluded that no “malicious intent” was evident in a leaked FBI memo suggesting that traditionalist Catholics might be prone to political violence. The internal investigation found that the memo—which was formally retracted after it became public—“failed to adhere to FBI standards.” But the report said that the authors of the memo were not motivated by hostility to the Catholic faith, nor was their report an indication of any “underlying policy direction” against Catholics. - Respect the truth, shun ideology, Pontiff bids historians (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Francis received members of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences on April 20, in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of its founding under Venerable Pius XII. “It is good that you collaborate with others, expanding your scientific and human relations, and avoiding forms of mental and institutional isolation,” Pope Francis told the historians. “I encourage you to maintain this enriching approach, based on constant and attentive listening, free from any ideology—ideologies kill—and respecting the truth.” Contrasting the “civilization of encounter” with “the temptations of self-absorbed individualism and the ideological affirmation of one’s own point of view [that] fuel the incivility of confrontation,” the Pope told the members of the committee that “it is good that you, 70 years after your establishment, bear witness to being able to resist such temptations, living with passion, through study, the regenerative experience of service to unity.” - European bishops' conference backs EU expansion (COMECE)
The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) has issued a statement supporting the expansion of the European Union (EU), while urging further efforts to build a “true European spirit.” At the conclusion of a plenary meeting in Poland, the COMECE leadership said that “Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the geopolitical developments in EU’s neighborhood have generated a new momentum for future accessions to the Union.” The commission welcomed the prospect of new countries entering the EU as a “strong message of hope.” However the COMECE statement cautioned that new member-states should adhere to the principles on which the EU was founded—and expressed concern that existing member-states have not reached accord on those principles. The statement read: Despite a solid political and economic integration of the EU member states, it is questionable to what extent a genuine dialogue of national realities, cultures, historical experiences and identities has taken place across European societies. - Priests ordained for Diocese of Rome; Pope absent from ordination Mass (Vatican News)
Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary, ordained 11 men to the priesthood in St. Peter’s Basilica on April 20. Pope Francis was not present at the ordination Mass. The Pontiff was not ill on the day of the ordinations, but had a full schedule that included seven audiences. Cardinal De Donatis was, until recently, the vicar general of the Diocese of Rome. “I extend my heartfelt greetings to the new priests of the Diocese of Rome, who were ordained yesterday afternoon in St. Peter’s Basilica,” Pope Francis said on April 21, following his Regina Caeli address. “Let us pray for them!” - Vatican breaks silence on Italian abortion controversy (Crux)
Both the Vatican and the Italian bishops’ conference have avoided public comment on a proposal by the Italian government of Prime Minister Georgia Meloni to allow pro-life groups to obtain public funding for counseling women who seek abortion. But Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State, broke the silence on April 20 with a guarded comment to reporters. While declining comment on the “technical details” of the government’s proposal, Cardinal Parolin said that the Church would favor “all those instruments which can help to affirm the fight to life, above all for women who find themselves in difficulty.” That mild comment was interpreted by Italian media outlets as a sign of Vatican support for the government’s proposal. The Vatican has generally kept at arm’s length from the Meloni government, while the Italian bishops have shown some discomfort with the approach taken by the country’s most influential pro-life groups. - Communion, witness, mercy: papal tribute to Pius VII (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Francis received pilgrims from four Italian dioceses on April 20 and paid tribute to the Servant of God Pope Pius VII (1742-1823), who reigned from 1800 to 1823. “I would like to emphasize, thinking of his life, three key values to which he bore witness, essential also for our personal and community journeys: communion—but not Communion, the sacrament, communion in the Church—witness, and mercy,” the Pope said. “Dear brothers and sisters, there are many values recalled to us by the memory of the Servant of God Pius VII: love for truth, unity, dialogue, attention to the least, forgiveness, the tenacious search for peace, and that evangelical astuteness that the Lord recommends to us,” he continued. Meekness, Pope Francis then explained, “does not mean we are stupid, no, no, that is not meekness, no. Meekness, but cunning as the Lord recommends. Simple as the dove but cunning as the snake.” Pius VII was imprisoned and exiled by Napoleon’s forces in 1809 and triumphantly returned to Rome in 1814. He also restored the Society of Jesus in 1814, four decades after the institute’s suppression in 1773. - Integrate prayer, study, fraternity, and mission, Pope tells Seville seminarians (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Francis received seminarians from the Archdiocese of Seville, Spain, on April 20, the day on which he was not present at the ordination of seminarians of his own Diocese of Rome. The “journey of configuration to Jesus the Good Shepherd must be done by taking care of four aspects: spiritual life, study, community life and apostolic activity,” the Pope told the Spanish seminarians. “Everything in the priest—prayer, study, fraternity, mission—must go together,” he continued. “Dear seminarians, make good use of this intense time of formation, with your heart in God, with open hands and a big smile to spread the joy of the Gospel to all those you meet.” - Pakistani bishop laments lack of justice following attacks on 26 churches (Aid to the Church in Need)
Seven months after the burning of 26 churches and attacks on over 100 Christian homes in Jaranwala, Pakistan, the local bishop lamented authorities’ unwillingness to bring the perpetrators to justice. “More than 300 people were arrested [following the attack], but it is unlikely that they will face justice,” said Bishop Joseph Indrias Rehmat of Faisalabad. “Slowly, they have started releasing them. Nobody has been charged.” Islam is the official religion of Pakistan, a South Asian nation of 248 million (map) that is the fifth most populous in the world. 97% of Pakistan’s people are Muslim, 2% are Christian, and 1% are Hindu. - More...