Catholic News

• Breaking: Mystery vandals cut top from Vatican obelisk (CWN)
  The tip of the obelisk in St. Peter’s Square has been reported missing, leaving Vatican officials unable to explain its disappearance.
• Vatican update on papal health (Vatican News)
  In an April 1 update on the health of Pope Francis, the Vatican press office has disclosed that the Pontiff’s recovery is continuing, but still has not determined whether the Pope will be able to participate in public liturgical events of Holy Week. The Pope’s blood work is normal, and an X-ray has shown “an improvement in his lungs,” reported Matteo Bruni, the director of the Vatican press office. Doctors treating the Pope have been able to decrease the use of supplemental oxygen, providing high-flow oxygen “mainly at night and as necessary.” Pope Francis is working at his desk each day, but has not resumed meetings, except with “health personnel, as well as his closest collaborators.” He continues physical therapy, and has shown improvement in “motor skills, breathing, and the use of his voice.”
• Supreme Court grills Wisconsin attorney on Catholic Charities case (New York Times)
  In March 31 oral arguments in the case of Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin, US Supreme Court justices seemed likely to rule against a state determination that Catholic Charities does not qualify as a religious organization. Wisconsin courts had affirmed the judgment of the state’s Labor and Industry Review Commission that Catholic Charities did not qualify for a religious exemption from unemployment taxes because the bureau did not “attempt to imbue program participants with the Catholic faith.” Several Supreme Court justices questioned the logic of that ruling. Justice Elena Kagan observed that some religions require proselytism, while others do not. “Why are we treating some religions better than others on that element of religious doctrine,” she asked. Justice Amy Coney Barrett—who often differs with Justice Kagan—agreed: “Judaism does not have that as part of its religion. So does that mean that Judaism is completely disqualified from getting the exemption when they’re running these sorts of organizations?”
• Trump administration withholding some Planned Parenthood funding (Politico)
  The Trump administration is withholding funding from Planned Parenthood offices, which are suspected of violating new federal policies “including prohibitions on promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion.” Nine state affiliates of Planned Parenthood have been notified of the temporary block on fund from the Title X family-planning program.
• 'Everything comes from the Spirit,' Pope tells Italian bishops' synodal assembly (CWN)
  Pope Francis has sent a message to the second synodal assembly of Italy’s dioceses, which is taking place at the Vatican, in Paul VI Audience Hall, from March 31 to April 3.
• Catholic woman named Syria's labor minister (AsiaNews)
  A Catholic woman, Hind Kabawat, has been named Syria’s Minister of Labor and Social Affairs. She is the only woman in the cabinet led by Syria’s president, the militant Islamist Ahmed al-Sharaa. Kabawat has worked as director of interfaith peacebuilding at George Mason University’s Center for World Religions, Diplomacy, and Conflict Resolution. In February, she was the only Christian appointed to the seven-member committee drafting the nation’s new constitution.
• Evangelical organizations join USCCB in lamenting potential impact of deportations (USCCB)
  The US bishops’ Department of Migration and Refugee Services—joined by the National Association of Evangelicals, World Relief, and the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary—have published “One Part of the Body: The Potential Impact of Deportations on American Christian Families.” “Roughly one in 12 Christians in the United States are vulnerable to deportation or live with a family member who could be deported,” the report states. “Our prayer with this report is that American Christians will recognize that these proposed deportations—to whatever extent they ultimately become a reality—are not just a policy issue, but a dynamic that will impact us, disciples of Jesus who are knit together in unity under Christ.”
• Cameroon bishops issue pastoral letter on October elections (Fides)
  The Catholic bishops of Cameroon have issued a pastoral letter about the presidential elections scheduled for this October, suggesting a “code of electoral conduct.” Previous elections have been marred by “violence during campaigns; candidates who were not welcome in some constituencies; falsified electoral rolls; vote buying and selling,” the bishops note. They urge “the need for reform of the electoral system and campaign financing.” The bishops also list the traits that would distinguish a good presidential candidate, including “integrity, humility, modesty, and moral leadership qualities.”
• Pope appoints 85-year-old to govern 2 Eastern-rite jurisdictions (CWN)
  In a rare move, Pope Francis has appointed an 85-year-old retired bishop as apostolic administrator of two Eastern-rite jurisdictions.
• 'John Paul II effect' seen in Latin America's fertility rise (Crux)
  A Notre Dame researcher suggests that a rise in fertility in Latin America may be traced to the 13 visits to the region by Pope John Paul II. Economist Lakshmi Iyer points to a significant rise in birth rates in Latin America—resulting in an estimated quarter-million children, and says, “These results indicate that people are really listening to what the Pope has to say.”
• For 3rd time in recent months, Chicago priest named archbishop (CWN)
  For the third time in recent months, Pope Francis has appointed a Chicago priest as a metropolitan archbishop.
• April papal prayer intention: proper use of new technologies (Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network)
  The Pope’s April 2025 prayer intention, disseminated by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (formerly known as the Apostleship of Prayer), is “let us pray that the use of the new technologies will not replace human relationships, will respect the dignity of the person, and will help us face the crises of our times.”
• 'Spirit of Teilhard de Chardin' hovers over Lateran Basilica meeting, Vatican newspaper reports (CWN)
  “The spirit of Teilhard de Chardin, the multifaceted Jesuit, the 70th anniversary of whose death is being commemorated in these days, hovered over the meeting that took place this morning in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, from the beginning to the end,” L’Osservatore Romano reported in its March 29 edition.
• Trappistine monastery designated jubilee pilgrimage site (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
  In an uncommon move, Bishop Orazio Piazza of Viterbo, Italy, recently designated a monastery of 70 cloistered Trappistine nuns as a diocesan jubilee pilgrimage site. Pilgrims often speak of the “big and true questions that people carry in their hearts, many situations, even painful ones, that they experience and that they entrust to us so that we can bring them into our prayers,” said Sister Giovanna Maria, OCSO, a nun there. The participation of pilgrims in the sacred liturgy, she continued, “rekindles a nostalgia for God, for silence, for prayer and gives birth to hope in hearts: the hope that what we experience has a meaning, that there is a good plan for us, that our sins can be forgiven, that God can be met, listened to, known.”
• Vatican prefect, newspaper pay tribute to Teilhard de Chardin; skirt views on race, eugenics (CWN)
  With one headline describing him as “a Moses of the 20th century,” L’Osservatore Romano devoted two pages of its March 27 edition to Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955), the French Jesuit philosopher and paleontologist whose views on race and eugenics have come under increased scrutiny over the past decade.
• Papal Angelus address: 'Let us live this Lent as a time of healing' (Vatican Press Office)
  In his Angelus address for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Pope Francis reflected on the Gospel reading of the day, the Parable of the Prodigal Son. “Jesus reveals the heart of God: He is always merciful towards all; he heals our wounds so that we can love each other as brothers,” the Pope said in his brief written reflection on the Gospel reading of the day. “Dearest friends, let us live this Lent as a time of healing, all the more as it is the Jubilee.” As he continues his recovery at his residence, the Pope is not delivering his Sunday Angelus address to the crowds in St. Peter’s Square; instead, the Vatican is releasing the text of the address.
• Supreme Court hears arguments in key Catholic Charities test case (CWN)
  On Monday, March 31, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin, a case that tests the government’s authority to determine what activities qualify as religious.
• In wide-ranging talk, Cardinal Parolin discusses peace, nuclear weapons, immigration (Vatican News)
  In a wide-ranging talk given at a conference in Rome, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Pope’s Secretary of State, appealed for peace in Ukraine and Gaza, said that the possession of nuclear weapons is immoral, and said that “disarming words is essential to prevent them from turning into war.” “In today’s tense global climate, we should speak less, remain silent when possible, and use words wisely—to foster dialogue and unity rather than division,” he explained. Cardinal Parolin also lamented the departure of Christians from the Middle East, rued the lack of “political will” to adapt 20th-century multilateral institutions to present realities, and said that “many in Europe fear an invasion [of migrants], but this is a misconception that needs to be dismantled. We must adopt a more positive approach toward our brothers and sisters who are fleeing extreme poverty or conflict.”
• Myanmar cardinal urges humanitarian ceasefire after earthquake (Vatican News)
  Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon has called for a ceasfire in the country’s civil war, to allow for relief operations after an earthquake that killed thousands of people. “I have appealed to all concerned for urgent humanitarian support and unimpeded access to the affected people. I have made an earnest appeal for the ceasefire by all the groups in hostility,” the cardinal said.
• 'Proclaim the Gospel with confidence,' Pope tells Czech faithful (Vatican Press Office)
  In a message to the bishops, priests, religious, and laity taking part in the Czech national pilgrimage for the 2025 jubilee year, Pope Francis recalled the example of saints who “bore the light of the Gospel with courage and patience, even in places where it seemed impossible.” “Their example teaches us that the Christian mission is not based on visible results, but on faithfulness to God,” the Pope wrote in his message, dated March 26 and released three days later. “We too are called to proclaim the Gospel with confidence, without fearing difficulties and obstacles.”
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