Catholic News
- Pope encourages Catholic Charities USA to love the poor with Christ's love (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV received members of the board of directors of Catholic Charities USA today, thanked them for their work amid the challenges the agency faces, and encouraged them to love the poor with Christ’s love. - Vatican newspaper decries Israeli attack on Catholic school building in Lebanon (CWN)
The Vatican newspaper decried the Israeli army’s attack on a Catholic school building in Yaroun, Lebanon. - Faith frees our hearts from anxiety and illusion, Pope tells pilgrims (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV told pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square today that faith “frees our hearts from the anxiety of possessing and acquiring, and from the illusion that we must pursue a position of prestige to have worth” (video). - Pope encourages Rosary during May, recalls World Press Freedom Day (CWN)
At the conclusion of his Regina Caeli address today, Pope Leo XIV encouraged the praying of the Rosary during the Marian month of May and recalled World Press Freedom Day. - Vatican publishes writings of future Pope Leo, when he was Augustinian prior general (CWN)
The Vatican publishing house has published Liberi Sotto la Grazia (Free under Grace), a compilation of writings of the future Pope Leo from 2001-2013, when he was prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine. - Moscow archbishop resigns at 65 (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Archbishop Paolo Pezzi, F.S.C.B., as head of the Archdiocese of the Mother of God at Moscow. Archbishop Pezzi, 65, had led the archdiocese since 2007. - Pope Leo ordains 4 auxiliary bishops, tells them to seek out the rejected (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV ordained four priests as auxiliary bishops of Rome at a Mass celebrated in the Lateran Basilica last evening (booklet, video). - Former federal prosecutor: 'I'd like to prosecute any nun who still wears the head habit' (National Catholic Register)
The Senate Judiciary Committee released text messages of federal prosecutors who expressed a desire to prosecute nuns as they investigated the January 6, 2021, United States Capitol attack. A photograph “shows three women wearing traditional habits standing on the National Mall near the stage for the rally and does not show them trying to breach restricted areas or enter the U.S. Capitol,” the National Catholic Register reported. “The women appear to be associated with a convent that is not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church.” “I was appalled, but sadly not surprised, to discover evidence of Biden DOJ [Department of Justice] prosecutors threatening to use the power of the federal justice system to target people of faith,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), chairman of the Judiciary Committee. - 2 immigrants named US bishops; 1 was Bishop Strickland's vicar general (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV appointed Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala of Washington, DC, as the new bishop of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia. - Employees at Padre Pio's hospital begin hunger strike (Foggia Today (Italian))
Unions representing employees at the Home for the Relief of Suffering, a hospital founded by St. Pio of Pietrelcina in 1956, announced the beginning of a hunger strike on May 2. Foggia Today reported that the unions have four non-negotiable demands: “guarantee of quality care for all patients who see the hospital as a national point of reference; protection of the rights and future of hundreds of workers and their families, defense of the original mission of Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza; [and] enhancement of the historical and social heritage of the territory.” “We are not willing to watch a heritage of faith, solidarity and professionalism crumble,” the union representatives said in a joint statement. The Foggia Today article did not report on the hospital management’s reaction. - Appeals court temporarily halts mail-order delivery of abortion pill (CWN)
In a 3-0 decision, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily halted one of the most common forms of abortion in the United States: the delivery by mail of the abortion pill mifepristone. - Pope Leo thanks US-based Papal Foundation for worldwide charitable assistance (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV received members, trustees, and stewards of the Papal Foundation this morning and thanked them for assisting the Pope’s ministry by funding humanitarian aid, scholarships, and development projects around the world. - Bishop Campbell, author of 'DEI means God,' retires (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Bishop Roy Campbell from the office of auxiliary bishop of Washington, DC. The prelate, now 78, was ordained to the priesthood at 59 and consecrated a bishop at 69. - Supreme Court, in unanimous decision, grants procedural victory to NJ faith-based pregnancy centers (CWN)
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a network of faith-based pregnancy centers has the legal standing to challenge the New Jersey attorney general’s subpoena of donor records of pro-life pregnancy centers. - Lambeth Palace denies that Anglican primate described Catholic teaching on women's ordination as injustice (Catholic Herald)
Lambeth Palace, the residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, denied that Dame Sarah Mullally, the new archbishop, described Catholic teaching on women’s ordination on injustice. “The Archbishop of Canterbury categorically did not say—or suggest—that the ban on women’s ordination in the Catholic Church is ‘an injustice,’” Lambeth Palace said in a statement. The statement “further explains that an interview given by Sarah Mullally to PA Media while in Rome was manipulated by a YouTube channel, APT, in a way that substantially and materially altered its meaning,” The Catholic Herald reported. “This was then picked up by a number of media outlets.” - Vatican prosecutors defy appeals-court order [News Analysis] (CWN)
Vatican prosecutors have refused to comply with an order from a Vatican appeals court, in the latest stunning development in the long-running “trial of the century.” - Vatican diplomat warns against AI in nuclear weapons systems (Holy See Mission)
A Vatican diplomat expressed concern about the incorporation of AI into nuclear weapons systems. Addressing a UN discussion of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1968), Msgr. Robert D. Murphy, Chargé d’Affaires of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, said: Integrating advanced systems, including artificial intelligence, into nuclear decision-making processes introduces new layers of complexity, reducing the time available for deliberation and increasing the risk of miscalculation. At the same time, the opacity of such systems may obscure the basis on which critical assessments are made, thereby undermining the conditions necessary for clear and accountable human judgement. Decisions of such gravity must be firmly rooted in human responsibility; otherwise, instability and ethical concerns will worsen. Bearing this in mind, progress in disarmament must not be delayed and requires a renewed commitment to concrete, mutually reinforcing steps. - Archdiocese of New York proposes $800M settlement for abuse claims (OSV News)
The Archdiocese of New York proposed an $800-million settlement with some 1,300 plaintiffs who allege that they were sexually abused by clergy when they were minors. “Although much work remains to be done before a settlement can be finalized and consummated, I am cautiously optimistic about the path we are on,” Archbishop Ronald Hicks said in a May 1 statement. - Pope emphasizes service, belonging, and mission in address to Italian bishops' conference employees (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV emphasized service, belonging, and mission in a midday address today to employees of the Italian Episcopal Conference and their families. - Religious sister attacked in Jerusalem; suspect arrested (AP)
Israeli police arrested a man who pushed over and attacked a French religious sister in Jerusalem. The sister is a researcher at the French School of Biblical and Archaeological Research. “This is not an isolated incident, but part of a troubling pattern of growing hostility toward the Christian community and its symbols,” the Faculty of Humanities at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said in a statement. - More...