Catholic News
- Pope marks anniversary of Amoris Laetitia, convokes meeting of world's episcopal conference presidents (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV issued a message marking the tenth anniversary of Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), Pope Francis’s post-synodal apostolic exhortation on love in the family. “On 19 March 2016, Pope Francis offered the universal Church a luminous message of hope regarding conjugal love and family life, which was the fruit of three years of synodal discernment enriched by the Jubilee Year of Mercy,” Pope Leo wrote. “On this tenth anniversary, we give thanks to the Lord for the stimulus that has encouraged reflection and pastoral conversion in the Church, and ask God for the courage to persevere on this path, always welcoming the Gospel anew in the joy of being able to proclaim it to all.” The Pontiff concluded by convoking a meeting of the world’s episcopal conference presidents: In light of the changes that continue to impact families, I have decided to convene the presidents of the Episcopal Conferences from around the world in October 2026, in an effort to proceed, in mutual listening, to a synodal discernment on the steps to be taken in order to proclaim the Gospel to families today, in light of Amoris Laetitia and taking into account what is currently being done in the local Churches. - Cardinal Gugerotti says civilization faces catastrophe, laments plight of Middle East Christians (Vatican News)
The prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches said that “I have the impression that most of the world does not realize the catastrophe that is striking our civilization.” “Those who promote war today are destroying everything that has been built since the Second World War,” said Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti. “I am not speaking only of ideals, but also of people and things—even historical monuments of immense value.” Cardinal Gugerotti made his remarks in an interview devoted to the annual worldwide Good Friday collection for the Church in the Holy Land. Lamenting the plight of Christians in the Middle East, the prelate said: Christian communities, which have always had the sense of being merely tolerated, now fear that they may no longer be tolerated at all. As a result, they want to flee. - Our people are dying, Nigerian bishops tell the Pope (EWTN News)
In a series of recent ad limina visits, Nigerian bishops spoke with Pope Leo about the conditions Christians face in Africa’s most populous nation. “We discussed with him the violence, the insurgencies, and the difficulties we face as apostles on the ground,” said Archbishop Matthew Ndagoso, who leads Nigeria’s episcopal conference. The issue of violence against Christians “came up very strongly with the Pope, and he told us that he will use whatever possibilities he has to highlight our situation and see what he can do for us,” added Archbishop Adewale Martins of Lagos. - Taybeh: West Bank Christian town under renewed settler incursion (Vatican News)
Vatican News, the news agency of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, reported that “radical Jewish settlers have increased violent attacks on Palestinian civilians and villages in the West Bank.” The settlers, according to the report, took control of a cement factory and quarry in Taybeh, the site of repeated attacks in 2025. Father Bashar Fawadleh, pastor of the Latin-rite parish there, appealed for international assistance: “we ask the world to come and see, to stop these actions, and to allow us to live in safety and peace.” - US bishops' religious liberty chairman decries anti-Semitism (USCCB)
The chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on Religious Liberty decried anti-Semitism. “Catholics are called to reject antisemitism and the lies and conspiracies that fuel it, and to stand clearly against hatred and violence directed toward our Jewish brothers and sisters,” Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon, said on March 18. “To defend religious freedom with integrity, we must also reject antisemitism.” Archbishop Sample expanded upon his comments in a video, “Archbishop Sample on Holy Week, Good Friday, and Rejecting Antisemitism.” - Church of the Holy Sepulchre remains closed (CNEWA)
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the site of Christ’s Resurrection, remains closed, three weeks after the outbreak of the Iran war. “All holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Western Wall, the Temple Mount and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, will remain closed… for security reasons in light of the current tensions in the region,” said the head of Israel’s Civil Administration. Israeli officials closed the church on February 28, the first day of the war; on March 12, Iranian missile fragments fell near the church. Church officials expect that only clergy and religious will be permitted to celebrate Easter there. - Texas senator sparks controversy over social media post critical of Catholic integralism (Catholic Herald)
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) sparked controversy for recommending a social media article subtitled “How a Network of Political Catholic Integralists, Russian Ideologues, and Media Provocateurs Are Systematically Dismantling the Evangelical Foundation of the American Right.” “READ every word of this,” said Senator Cruz. “It’s the best & most comprehensive explanation of what we’re fighting.” “The online assault on sola scriptura has been running for years through Catholic Answers, YouTube debates, conversion testimonies, and TikTok content, targeting young evangelical men specifically,” the article also stated—prompting a response from Catholic Answers, the apologetics organization founded in 1979 by Karl Keating. After endorsing the post critical of Catholic integralism, Sen. Cruz endorsed a post by Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon, decrying anti-Semitism. “Catholics & Protestants & Jews should all be resolutely standing together in defense of our shared values,” said Sen. Cruz. “Those seeking to divide us do not have America’s interests in their hearts.” Archbishop Sample, who chairs the US bishops’ Committee on Religious Liberty, responded: I urge my fellow Christians to approach these matters not through the lens of personal ideology or political preference, but according to the moral principles handed on by Holy Mother Church and her magisterium. All Christians must reject unjust discrimination on the basis of religion or ethnicity. But that principle must not be misused to silence legitimate criticism of governments. - Termite company to pay $25.8M to Alabama archdiocese (Alabama Media Group)
The American Arbitration Association awarded $25.8 million to the Archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama, after ruling that the termite company Terminix “engaged in fraudulent concealment and intentional misconduct in its termite services provided to Catholic institutions.” Termite damage led to the partial closing of the archdiocese’s cathedral in April 2025. - Cesar Chavez Mass canceled in Los Angeles archdiocese following abuse allegations (EWTN News)
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles cancelled its annual Mass celebrating Cesar Chavez’s legacy following the publication of a New York Times investigation into allegations that he sexually abused girls. “The Chavez family informed the archdiocese that they had decided not to move forward with having a Mass this year,” an archdiocesan spokeswoman said. - New regulations for Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network (Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network)
The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network published new general regulations to guide “the identity, mission, and organization of this pontifical work globally.” “The new document establishes clear criteria regarding the nature and functioning of the Network at an international level and marks a new step in its development as a work entrusted directly by the Holy See to the Society of Jesus,” the Network said in a March 19 statement. “In this sense, it reaffirms its place within the mission of the Jesuits and its priority status in apostolic ministries.” The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network was founded in 1844 by young Jesuits; it was formerly known as the Apostleship of Prayer. - Leading African, Latin American, Asian bishops issue manifesto on transition from fossil fuels (CELAM)
The presidents of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM), and the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) issued a “Manifesto of the Churches of the Global South for our Common Home,” subtitled “Towards peace with creation: an urgent call for a just transition beyond fossil fuels.” Following a preamble (“The cry of the earth and the cry of the poor”), the manifesto has four sections: The treaty: A necessary complement to the Paris Agreement Principles for a just transition without false solutions Financial justice: Debt and reparations Call to governments and world leaders “Time is short, but hope mobilizes us,” the prelates concluded. “A world free of fossil fuels, just and at peace, is possible and necessary.” The manifesto was also signed by the vice presidents of the Council of Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE) and the Federation of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO). - Milwaukee parish vandalized (Marquette Tribune)
The Church of the Gesu, a Jesuit parish that serves the Marquette University community, was vandalized on March 18. “Most of the damaged items were from the 1960s and 1970s, aside from a statue of St. Anne which is over a century old,” according to a local media report. The church’s pastor, Father Michael Simone, S.J., said that the perpetrator was experiencing a mental health crisis. “He needs our prayers,” he said. “He needs our help.” The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has documented over 400 acts of vandalism, arson, and other destruction at parishes and other Catholic sites in the United States since 2020. A tracker from CatholicVote.org lists additional attacks. - Pope Leo: 'The Christian is called to be an instrument of peace' (CWN)
At the conclusion of his March 18 general audience, Pope Leo called upon Christians to be instruments of peace, “so that true peace may prevail among all peoples.” - Israeli ambassador to the Vatican describes Iran war as the 'most just war conceivable' (Crux)
Israel’s ambassador to the Holy See described the Iran war as the “most just war conceivable.” “It’s the most just war conceivable, because when you say that every loss of human life is a tragedy, that includes the nearly, if not over, 40,000 Iranian lives [that] were massacred by their own regime,” Ambassador Yaron Sideman said in an interview with Elise Ann Allen of Crux. “If the Iranian regime can do that to its own people, and if you see how casually they’re firing missiles indiscriminately at civilian populations all over the place, all over Middle East, Israel, Europe,” Ambassador Sideman added. “You realize how dangerous this regime is and that at the minimum, it has to be deprived of its ability to cause malice to other countries and individuals.” - Pope Leo says that universal health coverage is a 'moral imperative' (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV said that “health cannot be a luxury for the few” and that “universal health coverage is not merely a technical goal to be achieved; it is primarily a moral imperative for societies that wish to call themselves just.” The Pontiff made his remarks in a March 18 address to participants in a conference organized by the Council of the European Bishops’ Conferences, the Italian Episcopal Conference, and the World Health Organization. Pope Leo also called for concern the suffering of others, as taught by Christ in the parable of the Good Samaritan, and said that “urgent attention must also be given to people’s mental health, particularly that of young people, because invisible psychological wounds are no less severe than those that are visible.” - Cardinal Parolin to President Trump, Israel: End the war as soon as possible (Vatican News)
Asked by a reporter what he would say if he were in a face-to-face meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, Cardinal Pietro Parolin said that he would tell him “to put an end to it [the Iran war] as soon as possible, because the real danger is that an escalation is just around the corner. I would say: leave Lebanon alone.” In the exchange with the reporter, which took place at a book presentation, the Secretary of State of His Holiness said that the same message should be “addressed to the Israelis,” to “resolve any problems that may exist—or that they believe exist—through the peaceful paths of diplomacy and dialogue.” - Spanish king to become basilica proto-canon (Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major)
Continuing a tradition that dates back to 1603, King Felipe VI of Spain will become proto-canon of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major. The ceremony will take place tomorrow, following a papal audience. - Cardinal Czerny calls Church in Amazon to pastoral, synodal, and ecological conversion (CEAMA)
The Church in the Amazon region is called to pastoral conversion, synodal conversion, and ecological conversion, Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., emphasized at the opening of the Sixth General Assembly of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA). In his March 17 homily, delivered at the headquarters of the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM) in Bogotá, the prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development also “invited the participants to ask the Lord for three gifts: contemplation to recognize God’s presence in creation, discernment to make decisions guided by the Holy Spirit, and missionary courage to defend life, the peoples, and our Common Home,” according to CEAMA. Pope Leo XIV also addressed the CEAMA assembly via a video message and called upon participants to proclaim the Gospel and safeguard life. - Georgian Orthodox Patriarch Ilia II dies at 93 (CNEWA)
Patriarch Ilia II, who led the Georgian Orthodox Church (CNEWA profile) from 1977 until his death, died on March 17 at the age of 93. “He is a man of God; this man moved me,” Pope Francis said in 2016, after meeting the Patriarch during his apostolic journey to Georgia. “The times that I met him, I came away deeply moved, and with the feeling of having found a man of God. Truly, a man of God.” - Vatican City appeals court finds partial mistrial in 'trial of the century' (Vatican News)
The Court of Appeal of Vatican City State declared a partial mistrial in the December 2023 conviction of Cardinal Angelo Becciu and eight other defendants for financial crimes. “The Court has directed the renewal of specific phases of the trial, including the re-examination of certain witnesses and evidentiary elements, and has identified procedural shortcomings that require remedy at the appellate level,” Vatican News reported. The Court upheld Pope Francis’s authority to issue rescripts that affected the case, but ruled that ‘lack of timely publication of one Rescript may have affected the validity of specific investigative measures adopted on its basis.” The Court also ruled that “Vatican prosecutors made procedural errors that nullified the original indictment against Cardinal Angelo Becciu and the others and required a new trial,” according to Vatican News, the news agency of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication. “At the same time, the Court clarified that the partial mistrial does not invalidate the entirety of the first-instance proceedings. Both the trial and the judgment retain their juridical effects.” The Associated Press described the appellate ruling as “a stunning blow to both Pope Francis’ legacy and Vatican prosecutors who had put a cardinal and several other people on trial over alleged financial crimes.” “In ruling that Francis was effectively exercising legislative power under the heading of an administrative act, the judges made what appears to be an unprecedented ruling, effectively bringing the procedural legitimacy of papal legal acts under the court’s power of judicial review,” The Pillar reported. - More...