Catholic News
- Cardinal Fernández criticizes 2006 CDF notification on Father Jon Sobrino's works (CWN)
Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, criticized the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s Notification on the Works of Fr. Jon Sobrino, S.J.. - Pontiff receives 8 new ambassadors, exhorts them to seek the common good (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV today received new ambassadors to the Holy See from eight nations and encouraged them to seek the common good. - Strive for communion as you govern, Pope tells leaders of lay movements (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV today called upon the lay leaders of international associations of the faithful, ecclesial movements, and new communities to work to foster communion as they govern. - Be faithful to Augustinian values and America's founding principles, Pope tells Villanova graduates (Villanova University)
Pope Leo XIV, an alumnus of Villanova University, sent a message to the Augustinian university’s class of 2026. “You will have the challenge and the opportunity to make a big difference, if you carry with you those Augustinian values of Veritas, Unitas, Caritas” (Truth, Unity, Charity), Pope Leo wrote. The Pope added: This being the 250th anniversary of the United States of America, I would invite you to recall in a special way the guiding principles of the foundations of our nation: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all [people] are created equal; that they are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, and among those are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” May the graduates of 2026 always be faithful to the guiding light that has been so important for these 250 years. - Holy See 'gravely concerned' about attacks on civilians in armed conflicts (Holy See Mission)
Addressing a UN Security Council discussion, a Vatican diplomat said that the Holy See “is gravely concerned by the growing disregard for international humanitarian law and by the normalization of conduct that places civilians increasingly at risk.” “Attacks on places of worship and religious communities are gravely concerning,” Msgr. Robert Murphy, chargé d’affaires of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, said on May 21. Msgr. Murphy also emphasized the “urgent need to protect medical personnel and facilities” and said that “the growing role of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, in warfare is a matter for concern. The use of technology must always be grounded in ethical responsibility, since no machine can replace the moral judgment required when human lives are at stake.” - Vatican cardinal warns against AI 'deepfakes' (National Catholic Register)
The prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education warned against AI “deepfakes” as he spoke at a Vatican conference on artificial intelligence. “When a deepfake lends a personʼs face to words they have never spoken ... it is the very grammar of the human encounter that is altered,” said Cardinal Jose Tolentino de Mendonça. “Technology that exploits our need for relationship,” he added, “can not only have painful consequences on the destiny of individuals, but it can also damage the social, cultural, and political fabric of societies.” - Leading EU bishops criticize populism following papal audience (Vatican News)
Following a papal audience on May 21, the president and vice president of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) criticized populism. Bishop Mariano Crociata of Latina-Terracina-Sezze-Priverno (Italy), COMECE’s president, said that the EU “is weakened by the lack of unity, also as a result of populism.” Bishop Czeslaw Kozon of Copenhagen (Denmark), COMECE’s vice president, said that “the issue of immigration has existed for several decades and is well known, but what appears relatively new is the way populism uses it, transforming it into an alleged threat to many societies.” - Cuba's suffering has never been greater, leading prelate says (CWN)
The president of the Cuban Bishops’ Conference said that “Cuba is suffering” and that “this is the saddest and most difficult time that I am aware of in the history of my people.” - Lincoln, Rapid City top list of America's most vocation-rich dioceses (Catholic World Report)
The Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska (1 seminarian per 2,007 Catholics) and the Diocese of Rapid City, South Dakota (1 seminarian per 2,332 Catholics) top the list of U.S. dioceses with the highest ratio of diocesan seminarians to Catholics, according to an analysis of data published in the most recent (2025) edition of The Official Catholic Directory. The Dioceses of Salina, Kansas; Wichita, Kansas; Steubenville, Ohio; Duluth, Minnesota; Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida; Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia; Helena, Montana; and Nashville, Tennessee, round out the top ten. Two dioceses—Altoona-Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and Fairbanks, Alaska—reported no diocesan seminarians. Other dioceses that struggle to attract priestly vocations, according to the data in the Directory, include Brownsville, Texas (1 seminarian per 239,896 Catholics); Norwich, Connecticut (1 seminarian per 228,520 Catholics); and Rockville Centre, New York (1 seminarian per 193,629 Catholics). - Nigerian archbishop encourages faithful to forgive attackers (ACI Africa)
Stating that “vengeance is for God,” a Nigerian archbishop encouraged the faithful to forgive the perpetrators of recent attacks. “I know they are hurting and traumatized, but as children of God and people of faith, I want to encourage the victims of this violence, both those of Palm Sunday and the recent killings in Gassa, to embrace forgiveness rather than seeking vengeance; vengeance is for God,” Archbishop Matthew Ishaya Audu of Jos said in an interview on May 20. “God, in his own time, will liberate us from all these killings in our country,” he added. - USCCB publishes slides related to pastoral response to pornography (CWN)
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops published two sets of slides (1, 2) related to its pastoral response to pornography. - In England, police end criminal investigation of street preacher (CWN)
Police ended their criminal investigation into Dia Moodley, a Protestant pastor arrested in Bristol, England, in November on suspicion of inciting religious hatred. - Pope Leo recalls St. John Paul's encyclical on Holy Spirit, greets sports ethics movement (CWN)
At the conclusion of his May 20 general audience, Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to Dominum et Vivificantem (Lord and Giver of Life), Pope St. John Paul II’s encyclical letter on the Holy Spirit. - Synod releases 18-page document on 2027-2028 Synod events (General Secretariat of the Synod)
The General Secretariat of the Synod released an 18-page document on the 2027-2028 Synod events that were approved by Pope Francis early last year. As part of the implementation phase of the 2021-2024 synod on synodality, there will be diocesan assemblies in the first half of 2027, assemblies of episcopal conferences in the latter half of 2027, continental assemblies in the first four months of 2028, and an ecclesial assembly at the Vatican in October 2028. The respective themes of these four stages are recollecting, interpreting, orienting, and celebrating. The overarching question throughout the process is “In light of the journey undertaken after the conclusion of the 2021-2024 Synod, and with a view to offering its fruits as a gift to the other Churches and to the Holy Father: what concrete form of a missionary synodal Church and what new paths of synodality are emerging in your community?” - Attackers fire on German parish during Mass; 1 injured (CWN)
Unknown attackers fired on a German parish on May 17 while Sunday Mass was in session, the German Catholic news agency KNA reported. - Pope Leo's private secretary discusses Pontiff's life of prayer (ACI Prensa )
In an interview released by the Order of Saint Augustine, Pope Leo XIV’s private secretary discussed the Pontiff’s life of prayer. “From the very start of the day, he has his fixed times for prayer, including holy Mass and the recitation of the Liturgy of the Hours; we also pray the Rosary,” said Father Edgard Rimaycuna, who described Pope Leo as “a man who seeks to build bridges, seeks dialogue, and always avoids confrontation.” Throughout the day, the Pontiff “seeks contact with God through silence and through prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in the chapel,” the Peruvian priest added. - Pontiff visits Vatican Observatory (Vatican News)
Pope Leo XIV visited the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo on May 19. “After a brief moment of prayer in the chapel of the facility, the Pope met and greeted the religious, scientific, and lay staff,” Vatican News, the news agency of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, reported. Last June, Pope Leo addressed participants in the Observatory’s Summer School of Astrophysics. - Lay movement leaders gather at Vatican for conference on governance (Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life)
The leaders of international associations of the faithful, ecclesial movements, and new communities are gathering in Rome today and tomorrow for an annual meeting organized by the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. The theme of the conference is “Serving, Accompanying, Guiding: Foundations and Practices of Government in Associations.” The conference includes an address by Pope Leo XIV, remarks by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, and Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. - Vatican newspaper laments 'veil of silence' over Gaza (CWN)
The Vatican newspaper lamented what it characterized as the “veil of silence” over Gaza. - Italian bishops release revised investment guidelines (CWN)
The Italian Episcopal Conference released revised investment guidelines on May 19. - More...