Catholic News

• 'Christ's Transfiguration shows us the Christian perspective of suffering,' Pope tells pilgrims (Zenit)
  In his March 17 Sunday Angelus address (video), Pope Francis reflected on Luke 9:28-36, the Gospel of the day.
• Pope praises cooperatives as alternative to statism, profit-centered capitalism (Vatican Press Office)
  Pope Francis addressed members of the Confederation of Italian Cooperatives on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of its founding (video). Recalling that cooperatives were inspired by Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Rerum Novarum, Pope Francis said that “we must never forget that this vision of cooperation, based on relationships and not on profit, runs counter to the mentality of the world.”
• Pope reactivates plans for South Sudan trip (Reuters)
  On March 16, Pope Francis received Salva Kiir Mayardit, the nation’s president since its 2011 independence. Two years later, the South Sudanese Civil War began.
• Syrian patriarch praises Russia's role in nation's civil war (Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch)
  Born in 1965, Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II has led the Damascus-based Syriac Orthodox Church since 2014. Russia has offered military support of President Bashar al-Assad’s government since 2015.
• Vatican diplomat criticizes stigmatization of motherhood in some nations (Holy See Mission)
  Archbishop Bernardito Auza, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, addressed a meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. He said that “while many countries fear that the decline in fertility will lead to economic and cultural tipping points, their public services and protection programs regularly fail to extend to mothers and families the kind of social justice and the economic and employment assistance that would enable them to satisfy their noble desire to enjoy the beauty of motherhood.”
• Anti-Catholic climate worsens in France (The Tablet)
  “15 vandalism attacks had been registered nationwide during the month [of February], along with 15 robberies, 10 acts of profanation, and one torching incident,” according to the report.
• Vatican diplomat accused of corruption and romantic relationship while at UN (CNA)
  Archbishop Francis Chullikatt was apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations from 2010 to 2014. After two years without an appointment, Pope Francis named him apostolic nuncio to Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan in 2016.
• Catholic hospitals criticized for lack of transparency about Catholic identity (Journal of the American Medical Assn.)
  The study found that “among US Catholic hospitals, 21% did not explicitly disclose their Catholic identity on their website, and only 28% specified how religious affiliation might influence patient care.”
• Federal appeals court rules that tax exemption for clergy housing is constitutional (Religion Clause)
  The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Appeals overturned a lower court ruling.
• Brexit dominates Irish primate's message for St. Patrick's Day (Crux)
  Click here for the full text of Archbishop Eamon Martin’s St. Patrick’s Day message to the people of Ireland at home and abroad.
• Theme of papal preacher's 1st Lenten sermon: 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God' (Cantalamessa.org)
  Capuchin Franciscan Father Raniero Cantalamessa, the preacher of the papal household since 1980, began a series of five Friday Lenten sermons in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel in the Apostolic Palace. The theme of the series is a phrase of St. Augustine: “In te ipsum redi” (return into yourself).
• Pope appeals for prayer, peace following New Zealand attacks (Vatican News)
  Two days after his initial condemnation of the Christchurch mosque shootings, Pope Francis appealed for prayer at the conclusion of his March 17 Angelus address.
• USCCB committee endorses American Dream and Promise Act (USCCB)
  The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration endorsed the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019 (H.R.6), sponsored by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA). The legislation would “provide permanent legal protection and a pathway to citizenship for qualifying Dreamers and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) holders,” the USCCB stated in a news release.
• Holy Land's bishops discuss protection of minors (Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem)
  At a meeting in Nazareth, the members of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land also discussed Church-state relations and the upcoming extraordinary missionary month (October 2019).
• US prelate condemns mosque attacks, calls for prayer (USCCB)
  “This slaughter of innocent Muslim brothers and sisters praying peacefully is being described as a terrorist attack carried out by a self-identified fascist and his accomplices,” Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said of the Christchurch mosque shootings.
• German bishops announce 'binding synodal process' on celibacy, sexual morality (CNA)
  Participants in the process will also examine “the necessary reduction of [clerical] power,” Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich said.
• 382 priests have abused 625 minors since 1990, according to report released by Poland's bishops (AP)
  “In both confirmed and unconfirmed cases, there were 345 victims under age 15 and 280 victims between 15 to 18,” according to the report. “More than 58% of the victims were male.” (Click here for additional statistics.)
• Papal condemnation of New Zealand mosque shootings (Vatican Press Office)
  Pope Francis condemned a lone gunman’s bloody assault on a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, and offered his condolences to “all New Zealanders, and in particular the Muslim community.”
• Up to 3 million Turkic Muslims imprisoned in Chinese government crackdown (UCANews)
  The report describes the region of Xinjiang (map) as “open air prison” in which “passports are confiscated” and “checkpoints stop pedestrians every 50 to 100 meters.”
• As Lenten Retreat ends, Pope thanks preacher (Vatican Press Office)
  Pope Francis thanked Abbot Bernardo Francesco Maria Gianni, OSB, the preacher for the Lenten Retreat, as he and the leaders of the Roman Curia finished their annual week-long spiritual exercises. The Pope said that the meditations had caused him to think about the Vatican II document Gaudium et Spes, and “the courage of the Council Fathers when they signed that document.”
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