Catholic News
- Vatican document on Marian apparitions due May 17 (CNA)
The Vatican has announced that a new document on discernment of Marian apparitions and other supernatural events will be released at a press conference on May 17. In April, Cardinal Victor Fernandez, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, text revealed that his office was “finalizing a new text with clear guidelines and norms for discernment of apparitions and other phenomena.” The Vatican announced the May 17 press conference following a May 4 meeting between Cardinal Fernandez and Pope Francis, at which the Pontiff presumably approved the document. - Ukraine is being crucified, Catholic leader says in Easter message (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church)
Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said in his Easter greeting that “Ukraine is undergoing its crucifixion on the cross together with Christ.” “The Savior Himself suffers in the body of the Ukrainian people,” he continued. “This gives meaning to our suffering and serves as a source of our resilience and vitality to win.” “Indeed, today Christ even dies in the bodies of our soldiers on the battlefield,” the Major Archbishop added. “He is the one being tortured in Russian captivity, mocked, and once again spat upon by all those who deny the dignity of man in the modern world.” The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, following the Julian calendar, commemorated Easter this year on May 5. “We know that about 8,000 Ukrainian servicemen and 1,600 civilians are currently in Russian captivity, in hellish conditions,” the Major Archbishop said in a pre-Easter appeal for a prisoner exchange. “Let’s do everything possible so that, step by step, the exchange of ‘all for all’ will become an Easter reality.” - US commission targets Iran for religious-freedom violations (Vatican News)
In its annual report for 2024, the bipartisan US Commission on Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommends special sanctions against Iran, where a new campaign punishes women who do not wear the Islamic hijab. The USCIRF report for 2024 again includes Iran on the list of “Countries of Particular Concern”—the countries where religious-freedom violations are most severe. Also on that list are China, Cuba, Eritrea, Myanmar, North Korea, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. This year the USCIRF recommends adding five more countries to that list: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Nigeria, and Vietnam. The report also includes a “special watch list” of countries where severe violations of religious freedom are tolerated: Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Krygyzstan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. Finally the report includes “entities of particular concern”—non-governmental powers that engage in severe violations of religious freedom. These groups include Islamic terrorist organizations in Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and regions of Africa. - Pope to take part in Corpus Christi Mass, procession (Vatican Press Office)
The Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff has announced that Pope Francis will take part in Mass, a Eucharistic procession, and Benediction on the feast of Corpus Christi. The Pontiff was absent from Corpus Christi Mass in 2022 (because of knee pain) and 2023 (because of hernia surgery). The procession will begin at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, where the Mass will take place, and conclude at the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major. As has become customary in this pontificate, the Pope will observe Corpus Christi on June 2—the Sunday to which it is transferred in many nations—rather than on the Thursday on which it falls on the General Roman Calendar. From 2013 to 2017, Pope Francis, following St. John Paul II’s custom, celebrated Corpus Christi Mass at the Lateran Basilica. In the intervening years, he commemorated Corpus Christi elsewhere. - USCCB issues National Statutes for the Christian Initiation of Adults (USCCB)
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has published new National Statutes for the Christian Initiation of Adults, replacing statutes approved in 1986. The new statutes, which go into effect in December 2024, were approved by the US bishops in November and confirmed by the Dicastery for Bishops in January. The statutes, which discuss the reception of non-Christian adults into the Church, provide norms for a period of evangelization and precatechumenate, a period of the catechumenate, a period of purification and enlightenment, and a period of mystagogy. - Catholic students praying Rosary attacked in Indonesia (UCANews)
Twelve Catholic students at Pamulang University were attacked by local Muslims as they prayed the Rosary while walking from house to house—a practice that is customary there in May and October. Two female students were injured, as was a Muslim who came to their defense. Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Indonesia in September. The Southeast Asian nation of 279 million (map), the world’s fourth most populous, has more Muslims than any other country. The nation is 80% Muslim, 12% Christian, and 2% ethnic religionist. - 'No to war, yes to dialogue': renewed papal plea (Vatican Press Office)
At the conclusion of his May 5 Regina Caeli address, Pope Francis renewed his appeal for peace in the world’s war-torn areas. “And please, continue to pray for tormented Ukraine – it suffers a great deal! – and also for Palestine and Israel, that they may be peace, that dialogue may be strengthened and bear good fruit,” the Pope said. “No to war, yes to dialogue!” - Vatican message to Buddhists emphasizes peace through reconciliation, resilience (Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue)
The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue has issued its annual message to Buddhists for the festival of Vesak. The theme of the message is “Christians and Buddhists: Working together for Peace through Reconciliation and Resilience.” “The noble teachings of our respective traditions, and the exemplary lives lived by those whom we revere, bear witness to the abundant benefits of reconciliation and resilience,” wrote the prefect and secretary of the dicastery. “Reconciliation and resilience unite to form a potent synergy that heals past wounds, forges strong bonds, and makes it possible to meet life’s challenges with fortitude and optimism.” - Bolivian Jesuits deny they are a 'criminal organization' (Crux)
A month after two former provincials were temporarily placed under house arrest, the Society of Jesus in Bolivia has denied that it is a “criminal organization” that has systematically covered up sexual abuse. Father Bernardo Mercado, SJ, the Bolivian Jesuit provincial, suspended several of his predecessors last year amid revelations of a cover-up of the sexual abuse of an estimated 85 minors by Father Alfonso Pedrajas, SJ (1943-2009), an openly gay Jesuit priest. The Society of Jesus in Bolivia also revealed last year that a Jesuit prelate, Archbishop Alejandro Mestre Descals, SJ (1912-1988), was accused of raping a young adolescent boy. - President Biden issues statement for Orthodox Easter (White House)
“The Resurrection of Jesus Christ reminds us of God’s abundant love for us and the power of light over darkness,” President Joe Biden said in a statement for Orthodox Christian Easter, celebrated this year on May 5. “We join Orthodox Christians in giving thanks for these and other blessings and rededicate ourselves to caring for those most in need,” the president continued. “In this sacred season, we hold people who are suffering from war and persecution especially close to our hearts. We will continue to pray and work for peace and justice for all people.” - Climate change photo exhibition on display in St. Peter's Square (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
“Changes,” an exhibition on climate change, will be on display from May 7 to 27 in one of the colonnades of St. Peter’s Square. Organized by the Dicastery for Communication in conjunction with the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Centro di Alta Formazione Laudato Si’, the exhibition features 24 photographs and the words of St. Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Sun. The exhibition is part of a broader initiative, Emotions to Generate Change. - New bishop named for troubled Knoxville diocese (USCCB)
Pope Francis has appointed Father James Mark Beckman, the pastor of a parish in the Diocese of Nashville, as the new bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee. Bishop Richard Stika, appointed bishop of Knoxville in 2009, resigned in 2023 following an apostolic visitation. He admitted in a court filing that he falsely accused a rape victim of being the aggressor in the incident. In 2021, 11 priests of the diocese petitioned the apostolic nuncio for “merciful relief” from Bishop Stika’s governance. - San Francisco archdiocese holds prayer service for Jimmy Lai (National Catholic Register)
The Archdiocese of San Francisco has scheduled a holy hour on May 8 to pray for Jimmy Lai, the Catholic convert and democracy activist now behind bars in Hong Kong. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone will lead the prayers. Wall Street Journal columnist Bill McGurn—who is Lai’s godfather—will speak on the heroic witness that Lai has provided while in prison. - American Catholics differ on abortion, euthanasia, death penalty (National Catholic Register)
A new study has found that fewer than 1% of American Catholics agree with each of the Church’s teaching on three controversial political issues: abortion, euthanasia, and the death penalty. Using data from the Global Social Survey, researcher Ryan Burge found that just 17.7% of American Catholics believe that abortion should be illegal in all circumstances, while 70% support euthanasia in some cases, and 61% favor the death penalty. Only 0.9% support what Burge characterizes as the official Catholic position on all three issues. The analysis is subject to questioning, since the survey data give answers to questions about political options, rather than the moral principles behind them. - Why was an old papal title restored? (Catholic World Report)
When Pope Benedict XVI dropped the traditional papal title, “Patriarch of the West,” most Catholics were puzzled. Now Pope Francis has restored the title, and the puzzlement remains. In Catholic World Report, Ines Angeli Murzaku analyzes the reasons behind the changes, and concludes that, oddly enough, both Pontiffs were motivated by the same purpose: to improve ecumenical relations. - Vatican, French embassy to host international conference on sport and spirituality (Vatican News)
At a press conference on May 6, the prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education and the French ambassador to the Holy See discussed Putting Life into Play, an upcoming international conference on sport and spirituality. “If we look at the history of sport in parallel with the history of the Church, there have been many moments in which sport has been an inspiration and a metaphor for the life of Christians, or Christianity itself has enriched sport with its humanistic vision,” said Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the dicastery. - Leave behind Tridentine model of priesthood, embrace synodality, Cardinal Hollerich bids parish priests (Synod of Bishops (Italian))
On the last day of Parish Priests for the Synod—an international meeting of parish priests at the Vatican—Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, SJ, encouraged participants “to become ambassadors of synodality, to be full participants in a synodal Church, to become with all the people of God, missionary disciples of Jesus.” “Many times their training and their reality have been oriented towards a Tridentine model of the priesthood,” Cardinal Hollerich, the relator-general of the synod on synodality, said of parish priests, in an address to Pope Francis in the presence of participants. “And now they see that the identity they had for centuries is crumbling, and sometimes this identity is lost ... and there is the danger of wanting to build a new identity based on the experience of the past.” “The identity of priests and parish priests (even bishops) is given to us by the Holy Spirit when we walk with the people,” he continued. “Then the sacraments are no longer the expression of a ritualism in search of identity, but become a true rite where God communicates himself to his people.” Cardinal Hollerich’s reference to the “Tridentine model of the priesthood” appears to be a reference to the Council of Trent’s teaching on the priesthood, and not simply a reference to the traditional Latin Mass. The archbishop of Luxembourg, now 65, gained notoriety in 2022 when he said that Catholic teaching on homosexuality is “false.” In 2023, Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Hollerich to his nine-member advisory Council of Cardinals. - Pope sends Easter greetings to Eastern churches (Vatican News)
During his Sunday audience on May 6, Pope Francis sent his greetings to the Eastern Christians who were celebrating Easter that day. The Orthodox churches—and some of the Eastern Catholic churches in communion with Rome—celebrate Easter according to the Julian calendar. Christian leaders of both East and West have explored the possibility of arriving at a common date for the Easter celebration. The issue will be moot in 2025, when the Julian and Gregorian calendars put Easter Sunday on the same date. - Papal Regina Caeli reflection on friendship with Jesus (Vatican Press Office)
In his Regina Caeli address for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Pope Francis reflected on Christ’s words to his apostles, “I do not call you servants any longer, but friends” (John 15:15). Jesus “tells us that for Him we are precisely this, friends: dear people beyond all merit and expectation, to whom He extends His hand and offers His love, His Grace, His Word; with whom – with us, friends – He shares what is dearest to Him, all that He has heard from the Father,” the Pope said to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square (video). The Pope continued, “And so let us ask ourselves: what face does the Lord have for me? The face of a friend or of a stranger? Do I feel loved by Him as a dear person? And what is the face of Jesus that I show to others, especially to those who err and need forgiveness?” “May Mary help us to grow in friendship with Her Son and to spread it around us,” Pope Francis concluded. - Vatican diplomat, at UN, links population growth to prosperity, warns against population control (Holy See Mission)
At a UN meeting on world population, a leading Vatican diplomat noted that “current global population dynamics are at a crossroads.” “Aging populations, low fertility rates, international migration, growing youth populations, and huge disparities in birth rates between countries have fundamentally altered population patterns compared to 30 years ago,” said Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. “Population growth is often erroneously cited as a major cause of the increasing number of people experiencing food insecurity, leading to the conclusion that fertility rate reduction strategies could be the answer,” he continued. “Recent decades have shown that this is not the case. Rather, population growth has gone hand in hand with significant increases in food production, demonstrating that it is fully compatible with shared prosperity and the achievement of integral human development for all.” Archbishop Caccia made his remarks at a UN meeting marking the 30th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo. At the Cairo conference, the Holy See worked with many Muslim nations to head off attempts to declare an international right to abortion. - More...