Catholic News
- Pope, in Monaco homily, emphasizes communion, evangelization, defense of human person (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV presided at the celebration of Midday Prayer in Monaco’s Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate today (video) and preached on St. John’s teaching that “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). - Pope Leo arrives in Monaco, calls on Catholic state to deepen commitment to Church's social doctrine (CWN)
Following a two-hour helicopter flight from Vatican City, during which papal telegrams were sent to the Italian and French presidents, Pope Leo XIV arrived this morning in Monaco, where he was welcomed by Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene at the Monaco Heliport (video). - Papal preacher devotes final Lenten sermon to freedom, sister death (CWN)
Father Roberto Pasolini, the Preacher of the Papal Household, devoted his fourth and final weekly Lenten sermon to “the freedom of God’s children: perfect joy and death as a sister” (full text, video). - Ghana's bishops lend support to nation's president in LGBTQ honorary-degree controversy (CWN)
The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference lent its support to the nation’s president, John Mahama, after a university in Pennsylvania withdrew a planned honorary degree. - Pope mourns death of Vietnamese cardinal (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV sent a telegram of condolence to Archbishop Joseph Nguyên Nãng of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, following the death of one of his predecessors, Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Mân. “Joining you in commending his noble soul to the infinite mercies of God our heavenly Father, I recall with immense gratitude the late cardinal’s many years of dedicated priestly and episcopal ministry to the local Churches of My Tho and Ho Chi Minh City, as well as his contributions to the wider Church in Vietnam and to the Apostolic See,” Pope Leo wrote. The Pope added that Cardinal Pham Minh Mân’s ministry “was marked by a profound commitment to pastoral care and social responsibility, the steadfast promotion of dialogue and ecclesial unity, and the witness of a life lived in evangelical simplicity and humility.” - Cardinal Vesco: To Algerians, 'the Church is no longer Europe' (Fides)
Asked to comment on the Iran war, Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, O.P., of Algiers said, “I’ll answer starting from the reality I live in, that of Algeria.” “Today, in the minds of the authorities and Algerians, the Church is no longer Europe, nor France, nor a remnant of colonization,” Cardinal Vesco continued. “The Church and Christians are no longer associated with the Western bloc as they once were, and in this sense, I do not believe Christians in Algeria should suffer the consequences of a war between Iran and Israel.” He added: In thirty years, the Church in Algeria has become more African—in the sense that Algeria is a country on the African continent—but also more Catholic, in the sense of a reality marked by a multiplicity of nationalities. Regarding the wars in the Middle East, there is no difference in sensibility between Christian and non-Christian Algerians. If I broaden my perspective to the Middle East, it is clear that Christians are victims alongside everyone else. - Cardinal Coccopalmerio: Synodality is found in shared governance, not simply collaboration (Vatican News (Italian))
Discussing his new book on synodality, the retired president of the Pontifical Council (now Dicastery) for Legislative Texts said that synodality consists not simply in collaboration between the clergy and the laity, but in shared governance. Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio told Vatican News that just as it is unthinkable for a priest to leave his congregation and celebrate Mass alone in a crypt chapel, it should also be unthinkable for a parish priest to govern apart from the laity. Synodality, he said, “consists in gathering, engaging in dialogue, discerning, and deciding upon the good of the Church—for instance, the good of a specific parish. These four activities, carried out jointly by pastors and the faithful, find their institutional home within structures of synodality—for example, in the case of a parish, within the parish pastoral council.” - Times highlights Dominican sisters' podcast (New York Times)
In an article published today (“Don’t Call Them Nuns. They’re Podcasters.”), The New York Times highlighted Dominican Sisters Open Mic, a podcast produced by the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in Michigan. “In each episode, a host, typically Sister Miriam, 44, interviews a guest, usually another sister, about her life, covering subjects like her education—several of the women have Ph.D.s—or her conversion journey,” the Times reported. “While the topics themselves might sound weighty, the conversations are often quite wide-ranging, like a dialogue between two, well, sisters.” - Vatican newspaper examines straits' importance (CWN)
L’Osservatore Romano devoted seven articles in its March 27 edition to the importance of straits. - Pope calls for 'dialogue in truth and love' upon Dame Mullally's installation as Archbishop of Canterbuy (CWN)
Dame Sarah Mullally was installed as Archbishop of Canterbury on March 25. As Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Mullally is primate of the Church of England and first among equals in the Anglican Communion. - Vandals set fire to Louisiana chapel (KNOE-TV)
Vandals stole items from, and set fire to, St. John Chapel in Columbia, Louisiana. “Initial assessments indicate that portions of the church were desecrated in the incident,” the Diocese of Alexandria said in a statement. “Local authorities have confirmed that suspects have been identified and arrested in connection with the crime.” 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 at CatholicVote.org lists additional attacks. - Pope calls for free and informed culture of organ donation, warns against commodification of the body (Dicastery for Communication)
Addressing participants in a meeting organized by the Italian National Transplant Center, Pope Leo XIV recalled that “seventy years ago the first Italian donation took place, when Blessed Don Carlo Gnocchi asked for his corneas to be removed after his death and transplanted into two very young patients cared for by his charity, enabling them to see again.” “Just a few weeks after Don Gnocchi’s gesture, Pope Pius XII offered some initial moral guidance on these issues, recognizing the legitimacy of removal for therapeutic purposes, respecting the dignity of the human body and the rights of the people involved,” Pope Leo continued, as he recalled the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and statements by St. John Paul II and Pope Francis. Before thanking the medical professionals for their work, Pope Leo cautioned that “vigilance is always necessary to avoid any form of commodification of the human body and ensure that transplants are governed by fair and transparent criteria.” The Pontiff added: I encourage institutions and the voluntary sector to continue their work of providing information and raising awareness, so that a culture of donation may grow that is ever more informed, free and shared, capable of recognizing in this gesture a sign of solidarity, fraternity and hope. - Head of Bosnia's government meets with Pontiff, discusses rights of Croats (@KristoBorjana)
Pope Leo XIV received Borjana Krišto, the head of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s government, on March 26, two weeks after the Pontiff received the nation’s three-member collective head of state. Krišto said that in a social media post that she was honored to meet with the Pope “ahead of Holy Week and Easter. We discussed equality, institutional stability, and the rights of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Grateful for the Holy See’s support and extended an invitation to visit.” Krišto subsequently met with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations. According to a Vatican statement, the parties discussed “the situation of the Catholic community” and “certain outstanding matters in Church–State relations,” as well as the enlargement of the EU. Krišto also discussed a meeting with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness. The Vatican statement made no mention of Krišto’s meeting Cardinal Parolin. Bosnia and Herzegovina, a Balkan nation of 3.7 million (map), is 50% Christian (40% Orthodox, 10% Catholic) and 46% Muslim. Pope Francis made an apostolic journey to Sarajevo, the nation’s capital, in 2015. - Persian Gulf bishop says Iran responded 'legitimately' to attacks by Israel, US (AsiaNews)
The bishop who leads the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia said that the decision of Israel and the United States to begin the Iran war was “based on revenge” and that Iran responded “violently,” albeit “legitimately.” Bishop Aldo Berardi, O.SS.T., whose territory covers Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, told AsiaNews that Israel and the United States “said they wanted to reach a deal, then they bombed and killed (Iran’s) political and religious leader (Ali Khamenei). People understand that (Iran) is now trying to defend itself.” Bishop Berardi said that residents of the Persian Gulf states “are wondering why, despite the money spent on protection, bases, and weapons, we have been attacked so hard” by Iran. “At first, it was thought that (the war) could be over in a week,” the prelate continued; he said that Iran responded “violently,” albeit “legitimately.” - Portugal's bishops, religious institutes conclude abuse compensation process (CWN)
Portugal’s bishops and religious institutes announced the conclusion of their abuse compensation process. - Scotland's bishops consider diocesan mergers (Bishops' Conference of Scotland )
The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland announced that it is considering diocesan mergers at the Holy See’s request. “Following a request from the Holy See, the Bishops of Scotland have been invited to reflect on how the structures of the Church in our country can best serve her mission in the years ahead, specifically whether the present situation of eight dioceses is suitable,” the bishops said in a statement. “Two possible pathways are being proposed for careful discernment: developing deeper cooperation and the sharing of resources across dioceses within our present structures, or the merging of some dioceses,” the bishops continued. “In order to best inform ourselves and the Holy See, each bishop will engage with his diocese over the coming months for the first part of this process.” - Vatican Bank names new president (National Catholic Register)
The Institute for the Works of Religion, colloquially known as the Vatican Bank, announced that François Pauly will succeed Jean-Baptiste Douville de Franssu as president of its Board of Superintendence. Pauly has been chairman of Compagnie Financière La Luxembourgeoise, a private investment company, since 1995, and has served on numerous corporate boards, according to his LinkedIn profile. Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi, president of the IOR’s Commission of Cardinals, praised de Franssu for his 12 years of work as the bank’s president. - Report examines Catholic radio in the US (Pew Research Center)
“About a quarter” of AM and FM radio stations in the United States are religious radio stations, and 8% of them are Catholic, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center. “17% of all religious radio stations in the Midwest are Catholic stations, as are 12% of religious stations in the Northeast and 9% of those in the West,” according to the report. “By contrast, just 5% of all religious stations in the South are Catholic stations.” The report found that Catholic stations placed much greater emphasis on talk-radio shows and much less emphasis on music than Protestant stations do. The authors added: There is quite a bit of overlap in the books of the Bible that are mentioned on Catholic and non-Catholic radio. The Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John, and the Hebrew scriptures of Psalms, Genesis, Exodus and Isaiah are among the 10 most-mentioned books of the Bible on both types of stations. But at the time this study was conducted, listeners were far more likely to hear references to the Book of Revelation on non-Catholic radio than on Catholic radio. - Cardinal McElroy, St. Louis archbishop weigh in on surge of conversions (New York Times)
Reporting on the surge in conversions to the Catholic faith in dioceses across the nation, The New York Times interviewed two bishops and several converts. Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski of St. Louis said that “in our age of uncertainty, and in our age of great anxiety, is a thirst and hunger for God and stability that faith brings to people’s lives.” “I think technology has isolated us from one other. I think that Covid just really magnified that isolation,” he added. “We are realizing many of the ills of our society, particularly anxiety and depression, come about from that isolation.” Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington also offered comments: Bishops are buzzing about the surge, and confounded by what is behind it. “Of course we think the Holy Spirit is,” Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington said. “But we are kind of stymied.” ... “‘What is your number? What is your number?’” Cardinal McElroy recounted a huddle of bishops asking one another between sessions at a recent conference. - USCCB spokeswoman says 'human dignity and national security are not in conflict' (The Atlantic)
Commenting for an article subtitled “Trump’s second term has transformed the priorities of the American Catholic hierarchy,” the spokeswoman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops pushed back against the assertion that the bishops are treating immigration enforcement as “morally suspect by default.” “The bishops have emphasized repeatedly that human dignity and national security are not in conflict,” said Chieko Noguchi, the USCCB’s executive director of public affairs. “Both are possible if people of good will work together.” - More...