Catholic News
- Cardinal McElroy rips Trump immigration crackdown (Washington Post)
Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, DC, denounced the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration at a Mass celebrated for National Migration Week on September 28. “We are witnessing a comprehensive governmental assault designed to produce fear and terror among millions of men and women,” the cardinal said. Cardinal McElroy conceded that every nation has the right to secure its own borders. “But that’s not what is happening,” he insisted. He said that the Trump administration “seeks to make life unbearable for undocumented immigrants.” - Use God's gifts responsibly, Pope tells audience (Vatican News)
At his Angelus audience on Sunday, September 28, Pope Leo XIV reminded the faithful that “we are not the masters of our own lives or the goods we enjoy.” In a meditation on the day’s Gospel, which recounted the story of the unjust steward, the Pope emphasized that everything we have—including our very lives—comes to us as a gift from God, and these gifts are entrusted “to our care, our freedom, and our responsibility.” - Chicago archdiocese cancels board meetings amid furor over Durbin award (National Catholic Register)
A meeting of the Catholic Conference of Illinois (CCI) was abruptly cancelled of September 24, just one day before it was scheduled to take place, after CCI board members expressed opposition to the plan to present a Lifetime Achievement award to Senator Richard Durbin. Another meeting, of the Catholic bishops of Illinois, which had been scheduled for the same date, was also cancelled at the same time. The Archdiocese of Chicago, whose Cardinal Blase Cupich has steadily defended the award for Durbin, said that the last-minute cancellations were due to “unforeseen quorum/attendance issues” and not related to the controversy over the award. - Bishop Zanchetta released on parole (Pillar)
An Argentine court released Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta on parole, three years after his conviction on charges of sexually abusing seminarians. The prelate spent most of his prison sentence on house arrest in a monastery. After local priests accused Bishop Zanchetta of financial mismanagement, abuse of power, and the sexual abuse of seminarians, Bishop Zanchetta resigned as bishop of Orán in August 2017. In December of that year, Pope Francis appointed Zanchetta the assessor of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), which manages the Holy See’s real estate and movable assets. (For more information, see the Catholic World News series, “The Zanchetta Affair.”) - Archbishop Naumann chides Cardinal Cupich for Durbin award (National Catholic Register)
Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, the retired Archbishop of Kansas City, Kansas, criticized Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago for approving a Lifetime Achievement award to Senator Richard Durbin, saying that honoring a lawmaker who has consistently supported unrestricted legal abortion is a “source of scandal.” Archbishop Naumann added that by violating the policy established by the US bishops’ conference, barring institutional awards to public figures who flout Church teaching on the sanctity of life, Cardinal Cupich is behaving in a way that “is not synodal and serves to fracture unity.” Archbishop Naumann joins seven other American prelates in supporting the criticism of the Durbin award that was first advanced by Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois. The other bishops who have protested the award are Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco; Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska; Bishop James Wall of Gallup, New Mexico; Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, Wisconsin; Bishop Carl Kemme of Wichita, Kansas, Bishop James Johnston of St. Joseph-Kansas City, Missouri, and Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth, Texas. - The Catechism protects us from individualism and discord, Pope tells catechists (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Square on September 28 and told the 20,000 catechists in attendance that the Catechism of the Catholic Church is “the ‘travel guidebook’ that protects us from individualism and discord, because it attests to the faith of the entire Catholic Church.” - Pope devotes jubilee audience to St. Ambrose and intuition (CWN)
In a jubilee audience entitled “to hope is to intuit,” Pope Leo XIV reflected on the life of St. Ambrose of Milan (340-397). - Peruvian abuse victim: lawyer manipulated victims to accuse Pope (National Catholic Reporter)
A Peruvian woman, whose sex-abuse complaint led to accusations of a cover-up by Pope Leo XIV, has said that the canon lawyer representing her exploited the case for his own purposes. Ana Maria Quispe Diaz is one of three sisters who reported abuse in the Chiclayo diocese, and questioned whether then-Bishop Prevost had handled the complaints promptly. She has now told the National Catholic Reporter that an aggressive canon lawyer, Ricardo Coronado-Arrascue, sought international attention by claiming that the future Pontiff had engaged in a cover-up. Quispe believes that Coronado-Arrascue, a defrocked priest with a checkered record of his own, used her case to advance his own agenda. . “He didn’t really want to help us; we concluded that,” she told National Catholic Reporter. “He ended up helping us, yes, but not because he wanted to help us.” - Hong Kong's Cardinal Chow questioned for praising religious freedom in China (National Catholic Register)
Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan of Hong Kong has come under scrutiny for saying that Chinese government policies are designed to preserve religious freedom in Hong Kong. The cardinal’s public statement, as reportedly delivered to an audience in Australia, contrasts sharply with the public witness of his predecessor, Cardinal Joseph Zen, who has consistently charged that China aims to curb religious freedom. The timing of Cardinal Chow’s statement—coming during the trial of the Catholic lay leader Jimmy Lai—has also drawn criticism. - Ruthenian bishop, a martyr of Communism, beatified in Ukrainie (Zhyve.tv)
Bishop Petro Oros (1917-1953), a Ruthenian bishop, was beatified in Bilki, Ukraine, on September 27. “When the Greek Catholic Church was outlawed, he remained faithful to the Successor of Peter and courageously continued to carry out his ministry clandestinely, aware of the risks,” Pope Leo said to pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square. “Let us invoke the intercession of this new Blessed, so that he may obtain for the dear Ukrainian people [the grace] to persevere with fortitude in faith and hope, despite the tragedy of war.” - Papal encouragement for Focolare movement (Focolare Movement)
Pope Leo XIV received Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán, the president and co-president of the Focolare movement, on September 26. Pope Leo “was interested to hear about our work for peace, for ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, for the dialogue with cultures and, especially, for communion between ecclesial movements,” said Karram. “He encouraged us to continue spreading the charism throughout the world.” The Focolare movement (Work of Mary) was founded in 1943 by the Servant of God Chiara Lubich. - TLM celebrated in St. Peter's basilica (Rorate Caeli)
A Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form was celebrated in St. Peter’s basilica for the feast of St. Michael the Archangel. The celebration marked the first time that the Traditional Latin Mass had been permitted in the Vatican basilica since July 2021. - Holy Land's Christian leaders decry tax threat to Armenian church property (Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem)
The patriarchs and heads of churches in Jerusalem decried legal proceedings against the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem over the Arnona: the Jerusalem municipal property tax. Churches have traditionally not paid the tax, but government officials are keen to enforce it. Describing the tax as “exorbitant,” the Christian leaders said that they stood “united behind the Armenian Patriarchate in their call for the authorities to engage in good faith negotiations.” The Christian leaders also called upon the Israeli government to “suspend the current legal proceedings ... Only by such a course, we believe, can the rights of the Armenian Patriarchate be duly safeguarded, together with those of all other Christian communities in the Holy Land.” - Setback for prosecution in Vatican 'trial of the century' appeal (CWN)
In a severe setback for prosecutors, a Vatican appeals court has agreed to hear the appeals of defendants who were convicted in the Vatican’s “trial of the century,” but declined to take up appeals lodged by the prosecution. - Date set for proclamation of St. John Henry Newman as doctor of the Church (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV announced that St. John Henry Newman will be proclaimed a doctor of the Church on November 1. “I am pleased to announce that on November 1, during the Jubilee of the World of Education, I will confer the title of Doctor of the Church on Saint John Henry Newman, who contributed decisively to the renewal of theology and to the understanding of the development of Christian doctrine,” Pope Leo said on September 28. The Holy See Press Office announced on July 31 that Newman would be proclaimed a doctor of the Church, but did not announce the day of the proclamation. - Vatican newspaper highlights Russian incursion into Alaskan air defense zone (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
With the headline “Tensione pericolosamente alta” [Dangerously high tensions], L’Osservatore Romano devoted the most prominent article in its September 26 edition to the incursion of Russian military aircraft into the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone. The newspaper also reported on a drone incursion that led to the closing of a Danish airport. Staff journalist Guglielmo Gallone noted that the incidents followed similar Russian incursions into Polish and Estonian airspace, as well as cyberattacks on four major European airports. “Lowering tensions to avoid the risk of a disastrous escalation is not just a wish,” wrote Gallone. “It is the awareness that a conflict between NATO and Russia, now increasingly plausible, would be unnecessary and unsustainable.” - Papal prayer for victims of Typhoon Ragasa (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV offered prayers for the victims of Typhoon Ragasa, which left dozens dead and caused at least $100 million in damage. “In recent days, a very powerful typhoon has struck several Asian territories, in particular the Philippines, the island of Taiwan, the city of Hong Kong, the Guangdong region and Vietnam,” Pope Leo said during his Angelus address on September 28. “I assure the affected populations, especially the poorest, of my closeness and of my prayers for the victims, the missing, the many displaced families, the countless people who have suffered hardship, as well as the rescue workers and civil authorities.” “I invite everyone to put their trust in God and to show solidarity with others,” the Pope added. “May the Lord give strength and courage to overcome every adversity.” - Archbishop Iannone named prefect of Dicastery for Bishops (Vatican Press Office)
In his highest-ranking curial appointment to date, Pope Leo XIV today named Archbishop Filippo Iannone, O Carm, 67, as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops—the dicastery led by the future Pontiff from 2023 until the death of Pope Francis. Archbishop Iannone professed his solemn vows as a Carmelite in 1980 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1982. Pope St. John Paul II named him auxiliary bishop of Naples, Itay, in 2001; Pope Benedict XVI named him bishop of Sora-Aquino-Pontecorvo (2009) and vicegerent of the Diocese of Rome (2012). Since 2018, Archbishop Iannone has led the Dicastery (formerly Pontifical Council) for Legislative Texts. Pope Leo also confirmed Archbishop Ilson de Jesus Montanari as secretary, and Msgr. Ivan Kovač as undersecretary, of the Dicastery for Bishops; they will serve in their positions for another five years. Archbishop Montanari was appointed to his position in 2013; Msgr. Kovač, in 2023. - Romanian Cardinal Mureşan dies at 94; led Eastern Catholic church for decades (CWN)
Cardinal Lucian Mureşan, the most prominent prelate in the Eastern-rite Romanian Catholic Church from 1994 until his death, passed away on September 25 at the age of 94. - Auto magnate meets with Pontiff, gives him Ferrari steering wheel (Rome Reports)
Pope Leo XIV received John Elkann, the chairman of Stellantis and Ferrari, on September 26, according to a Vatican announcement. Stellantis has over a dozen brands, including Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Fiat, Jeep, and Maserati. Elkann gave Pope Leo a mini car and a steering wheel used by race driver Charles Leclerc. - More...