Catholic News
- Mob attacks Christian village in Bangladesh (EWTN News)
A mob attacked a Christian village in Birganj, Bangladesh, on April 19. At least six people were injured in the attack, and a Hindu temple in the area was also destroyed. “Nearly 200 Muslims were reportedly involved in the attack and used local homemade weapons such as axes, iron rods, and bamboo sticks in an attempt to steal land from Indigenous Christians and Hindus,” EWTN News reported. Located in South Asia, Bangladesh (map) is the world’s eighth most populous nation. The nation of 170 million is 89% Muslim and 9% Hindu. - 'A life given to God is a happy life,' Pope tells young people in Equatorial Guinea (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV addressed young people gathered in a stadium in Bata, the largest city in Equatorial Guinea (map), and told them that “a life given to God is a happy life” (video 1, video 2). - Cardinal Marx instructs priests to facilitate blessings of same-sex couples (Catholic World Report)
Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising, Germany, has implemented a document providing for the blessing of same-sex couples, as well as couples that have remarried outside the Church. “Priests who do not want to carry out such blessing celebrations for homosexual marriages or remarried divorced people must refer the couples to the dean or other staff,” according to the report in Catholic World Report. The document that Cardinal Marx is implementing was adopted by the German Synodal Way in March 2023. Fiducia Supplicans, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s December 2023 declaration on the pastoral meaning of blessings, stated: Within the horizon outlined here appears the possibility of blessings for couples in irregular situations and for couples of the same sex, the form of which should not be fixed ritually by ecclesial authorities to avoid producing confusion with the blessing proper to the Sacrament of Marriage ... One should neither provide for nor promote a ritual for the blessings of couples in an irregular situation. At the same time, one should not prevent or prohibit the Church’s closeness to people in every situation in which they might seek God’s help through a simple blessing. - Sri Lanka cardinal says the 'deep state' is obstructing investigation into Easter bombings (Fides)
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo, Sri Lanka, marked the seventh anniversary of the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, which killed 269 people and injured over 500. “For seven years, we have worked tirelessly for interreligious peace and continue to pursue transparency and truth,” Cardinal Ranjith said. “There were indications that behind the attacks were not only religious fanatics, but also politicians who wanted to sow chaos and ethnic and religious unrest through violence.” “The current Sri Lankan government, which took office in 2024, has a more positive stance” toward “searching for the truth,” he added. “However, some officials of the so-called ‘deep state’ are trying to obstruct the smooth conduct of the investigation.” - Holy See renews call for international action against human trafficking (Vatican News (Italian))
At a conference organized by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, a delegation from the Holy See called for coordinated international action against human trafficking. “The principle of non-punishment should be upheld to ensure that victims are not unjustly punished or prosecuted for acts they may have committed as a direct consequence of being trafficked,” the delegation stated. “Migration and security policies must be reoriented through a protection-centered lens,” the delegation added. “Experience demonstrates that when trafficking cases are addressed primarily through the lens of migration control, victims are less likely to be identified and more likely to be detained or deported.” - Irish bishop blasts distorted narrative against Catholic schools (Irish Times)
An Irish bishop charged that “various groups, supported by funding from ideological philanthropical entities, many from outside the State, continue to lobby politicians and media with a rather narrow, nuanced and distorted narrative” against Catholic schools. Bishop Tom Deenihan of Meath, chairman of the Irish bishops’ Council on Education, decried “negative, ideologically driven and adversarial depiction of Catholic schools” as “grim places of indoctrination that children are forced to attend by Church and State.” “Yes, there were atrocities,” he said. “We share that shame. But Catholic orders and congregations were providing education long before free education in Ireland.” - Vatican diplomat calls for culturally sensitive healthcare for indigenous peoples (Holy See Mission)
Addressing a UN forum on the health of indigenous peoples, a Vatican diplomat called for “culturally sensitive healthcare.” “The promotion of health is not merely a technical or material question; it is a profound moral imperative rooted in the inviolable dignity of every human person, created in the image and likeness of God,” said Msgr. Robert Murphy, Chargé d’Affaires of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations. “Indigenous peoples have the right, without discrimination, to improved economic and social conditions, including health and sanitation.” Msgr. Murphy added: In situations of armed conflict, indigenous peoples are often among the most vulnerable and disproportionately affected. Regrettably, such violence can result in the destruction of health infrastructure, displaces families, exposes communities to trauma, infectious diseases, and malnutrition, and severs the vital link between people and the land that nourishes both body and spirit. International humanitarian law must be strictly observed; deliberate attacks on civilian populations, including indigenous communities, and the obstruction of humanitarian aid are never justifiable. - Diocese of Rome shares vocation stories of men whom Pope will ordain to the priesthood (Diocesi di Roma (Italian))
The Diocese of Rome shared the vocation stories of the eight deacons whom the Pope will ordain to the priesthood on Good Shepherd Sunday. One is a classical pianist who performed internationally; another, a worker in a liquor factory who sensed a call to the priesthood while attending a World Youth Day; another, a native of Cameroon who converted from Protestantism to Catholicism. - Brazilian bishops, pontifical commission sign memorandum on addressing abuse (Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors)
The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil and the Conference of Religious of Brazil on safeguarding minors from abuse. The memorandum “strengthens cooperation to promote prevention, accountability, and survivor-centered support,” the pontifical commission said in a social media post. The pontifical commission has not published a text of the agreement on its website. - More than 1.12 million abortions in US in 2025; actual figures likely higher (OSV News)
The number of abortions in the United States rose slightly from 1,124,000 in 2024 to 1,126,000 in 2025, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The institute—named after Alan Guttmacher (1898-1974), a president of Planned Parenthood and vice president of the American Eugenics Society—reported that abortions have increased 21% in the United States since 2020. “States with total bans [on abortion] saw a spike in telehealth-provided abortions, with the figure totaling 91,000, up from the previous 74,000,” OSV News reported. The figures do not include abortions “involving drugs sourced from community networks or acquired from outside of the U.S.” - Pope tells prisoners: 'No one is excluded from God's love!' (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV visited a prison in Bata, the largest city in Equatorial Guinea, this evening and told the prisoners that “today, I am here to tell you something simple: no one is excluded from God’s love!” (video) - Pope emphasizes the Eucharist and evangelization at Mass in Equatorial Guinea (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass this morning at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea (video), - Italian president hails Pope Francis as moral leader of immense wisdom (Vatican News (Italian))
“One year has passed since the passing of the beloved Pope Francis, and the Italian people cherish the memory of his figure and his teachings with affection and gratitude,” Italian President Sergio Mattarella wrote in a tribute published on the front page of the Vatican newspaper. “Francis possessed an acute ability to identify problems, breaking points, and the risks of division; he held the gift of looking far ahead—a hallmark of the Pontifical Magisterium—beyond the limited horizon of the immediate and contingent,” President Mattarella continued, as he hailed the late Pontiff as “a spiritual and moral leader of immense and admirable wisdom.” The Italian president concluded, “One year after his passing, we renew our gratitude for the teachings of Francis, which stand as a beacon of hope for all people of peace.” - In Christian civilization, the sick are loved, Pope says at psychiatric hospital (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV visited a psychiatric hospital in Equatorial Guinea (video) and said that loving care for the sick is a hallmark of Christian civilization. - Pope Leo writes message for 1st anniversary of death of Pope Francis (Dicastery for Communication (Italian))
In a message to Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, for the first anniversary of Pope Francis’s death, Pope Leo XIV said that his predecessor “remained a disciple of the Lord, faithful to his Baptism and consecration in the episcopal ministry, until the end. He was also a missionary, proclaiming the Gospel of mercy ‘to all, to all, to all,’ as he said several times.” “In harmony with his predecessors, he took up the legacy of the Second Vatican Council and spurred the Church to be open to mission,” Pope Leo continued. “We still hear his exhortations, expressed in eloquent words, to make the good news more understandable: mercy, peace, brotherhood, the smell of the sheep, the field hospital and many others. Each of these expressions brings us back to the Gospel he lived with a new language that proclaims the same Gospel as always.” Pope Leo also highlighted his predecessor’s Marian devotion. “Pope Francis nurtured a deep devotion to Mary throughout his life,” he said, citing his visits to the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major and Marian shrines around the world. “May the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, help us to be tireless apostles of her divine Son and prophets of his merciful love in every circumstance.” - Late Colombian cardinal accused of abuse (El País (Spanish))
A 57-year-old man has accused Colombian Cardinal Pedro Cardinal Rubiano Sáenz (1932-2024) of abuse. The man, who alleged that the abuse began in 1983 and continued for several years, said that he has spoken with the current archbishop of Bogota and the secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors about his allegations. - 17 bishops have attended dialogues organized by New Ways Ministry (National Catholic Reporter)
Francis DeBernardo, the executive director of New Ways Ministry, wrote that 17 bishops have attended dialogues organized by the group since 2023. The organization “has been sponsoring a series of two-day meetings, in which bishops interact with theologians, scientific professionals, other scholars, pastoral ministers and, most importantly, LGBTQ+ people themselves,” said DeBernardo. “At the conclusion of one meeting, one bishop was in tears when he expressed how little he had known about the realities of transgender people, and regretted how he may have unintentionally added to their pain.” New Ways Ministry was the subject of a notification by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1999) and a statement by the US bishops (2011) because of its dissent from Catholic teaching on homosexuality. Pope Francis, however, praised Sister Jeannine Gramick, co-founder of New Ways Ministry, in a handwritten letter. He later met with Sister Gramick and other leaders of the group for 50 minutes. - Only 3 Christian villages in southern Lebanon remain inhabited (Vatican News (Italian))
Only three Christian villages in southern Lebanon—Rmeish, Debel, and Ain Ebel—have not been abandoned or destroyed by the Israeli army. Vatican News, the news agency of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, reported: Among the 55 villages in southern Lebanon where the Israeli army is currently using excavators and bulldozers to demolish the last remaining public buildings, schools, and private homes—structures that had somehow survived the fierce bombardments of recent weeks—and which military commanders just yesterday declared off-limits to the residents who had fled to save their lives, there remain three villages that are still almost intact and inhabited. Father Tony Elias, a Maronite priest who ministers in Rmeish, told Vatican News that “there is no way in or out. All the roads are blocked. We are struggling immensely to get water, baby formula, and diesel fuel delivered.” - Typical new US priest: 33-year-old cradle Catholic devoted to Rosary, Eucharistic adoration (CWN)
The typical member of the priestly ordination class of 2026 is a 33-year-old cradle Catholic, according to a newly released survey of 334 of the 428 men slated to be ordained to the priesthood in the United States this year. The survey was conducted for the Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate and posted on the USCCB’s website. - Pope Leo departs from Cameroon, says his remarks there did not refer to President Trump (CWN)
Following a farewell ceremony at Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport (video), Pope Leo departed from Cameroon for Angola this afternoon. - More...