Catholic News

• Embody the essence of Christianity and the 'style of the early Church,' Pope tells Rome's military police (Dicastery for Communication)
  Pope Leo XIV encouraged members of Rome’s Carabinieri (military police) to “rediscover the essence of the Christian message and the style of the early Church, in order to embody them in our very different, and much more complex world.” “I think of the dawn of Christianity in this city, when the Good News of Jesus began to circulate in various circles, including the army: a new way of living and thinking, a God who is love, mercy, forgiveness; a fraternity among all men and women that transcends every social and ethnic difference,” Pope Leo said during the audience, which took place on February 13 in Consistory Hall of the Apostolic Palace The Pope added: Dear friends, you are military personnel and you know well what hierarchy, command and obedience mean. We also use these words in the Church, transformed by the newness of the Gospel. And, similarly, the Gospel, throughout the centuries, has permeated the structures, criteria, and ways of acting and thinking of the civilizations where it penetrated; it did so not with a violent revolution, but with a peaceful transformation, from within, through consciences, the conversion of hearts. In this way the Gospel has brought the meaning of God and of humanity everywhere: absolute respect for life and for the human person, along with the worship of God, and Him alone.
• Pontifical academy devotes annual assembly to universal health care; speakers differ on abortion 'rights' (CWN)
  The Pontifical Academy for Life is devoting its 2026 assembly to the theme of “Healthcare for all: Sustainability and Equity.”
• 4 leading European prelates call on continent to 'rediscover its soul' (Chiesa Cattolica Italiana)
  The presidents of the episcopal conferences of France, Germany, Italy, and Poland called upon Europe to “rediscover its soul in order to be able to offer the whole world its indispensable contribution to the ‘common good.’’” “The founding fathers of [post-World War II] Europe, Robert Schuman, Konrad Adenauer and Alcide De Gasperi, inspired by their Christian faith, were not naïve dreamers, but the architects of a magnificent, albeit fragile, building,” the prelates said. “Europe cannot be reduced to an economic and financial market, on pain of betraying the initial vision of its founding fathers.” The prelates added: The world needs Europe. This is the urgency that Christians must make their own in order to be able to commit themselves decisively, wherever they are, to its future with the same lively awareness as the founding fathers ... In the name of their faith, Christians are called to share with all the inhabitants of the European continent their hope for universal brotherhood.
• USCCB invites parishes to 250 hours of adoration, 250 works of mercy for nation's anniversary (USCCB)
  The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) invited parishes and individuals to contribute to a collective 250 hours of Eucharistic adoration and 250 works of mercy for the nation’s 250th anniversary. “Parishes can participate in 250 hours of adoration together by offering a Holy Hour on a weekly or monthly basis leading up to the July 4 anniversary,” the bishops’ conference explained. “While 250 hours seems like a lot, each person present constitutes an hour prayed.”
• Cuba's bishops postpone visit to the Vatican (Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de Cuba)
  The Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba announced the postponement of the bishops’ long-planned ad limina visit to Rome, scheduled for February 16-20. The bishops cited the “worsening of the socio-economic situation of the country, which has generated instability and uncertainty in large sectors of the population.” The bishops also “reiterated their communion with the Pope and their spiritual closeness to all the people of God, renewing their commitment to prayer and service.”
• Vatican offers 'dialogue' with SSPX, warns against ordinations [News Analysis] (CWN)
  At a February 12 meeting with Father Davide Pagliarani, the superior general of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), Cardinal Victor Fernandez proposed a “theological dialogue” with the traditionalist group—but insisted that the SSPX must abandon its plan to proceed with the ordination of new bishops without a papal mandate.
• Pope Leo abolishes Pontifical Committee for World Children's Day (Vatican News)
  In a February 13 chirograph, Pope Leo XIV abolished the Pontifical Committee for World Children’s Day, established by Pope Francis in November 2024, with Father Enzo Fortunato, OFM Conv, as chairman. Pope Leo transferred the committee’s functions to the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life.
• Irish bishops' conference reports 16% rise in couples preparing for marriage (Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference)
  The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference reported a 16% rise in couples attending marriage-preparation programs, compared to the previous year. In 2025, the Accord marriage-preparation program, “in the Republic of Ireland, outside of the Dublin area, provided 239 programs for 3,612 couples, and increase of 16%, or 505 couples, over 2024,” according to the bishops’ conference.
• Croatian sister named deputy director of Holy See Press Office (Vatican Press Office)
  Pope Leo XIV appointed Sister Nina Benedikta Krapić, MVZ, as deputy director of the Holy See Press Office. She will succeed Cristiane Murray, the Brazilian journalist whom Pope Francis appointed to the position in 2019. Born in Croatia in 1989, Sister Krapić earned her law degree in 2015 and led the communications office of the Archdiocese of Rijeka. In 2023, she professed her vows as a Sister of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul and began to work in the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication. Sister Krapić will assume her new position on March 1. The director of the Holy See Press Office is Matteo Bruni; the office is part of the Dicastery for Communication. Reacting to the appointment, the dicastery’s prefect, Paolo Ruffini, praised Murray’s “dedication and professionalism” and Sister Krapić’s “great professional and human qualities.”
• Baltimore archbishop, in pastoral letter, calls for 'renewed political culture' (Archdiocese of Baltimore)
  Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, the first diocese established in the United States (1789), has issued a pastoral letter, “In Charity & Truth: Toward a Renewed Political Culture,” for the nation’s 250th anniversary. The 29-page letter has 22 sections, including “Charity, Unity, and Patriotism – The Witness of Blessed Michael McGivney” and “The Spiritual Crisis Beneath the Political Crisis.” “May the next 250 years of our nation be marked by greater justice, deeper solidarity, renewed trust, and a profound respect for the dignity of every human person,” he concluded. “May the Church—in the Premier See of Baltimore and throughout the United States—be a leaven of unity and a witness of hope in a world thirsting for both. May God bless you and may God bless the United States of America.”
• Ukrainian Catholic leader thanks Pontiff for support (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church)
  Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, met with Pope Leo XIV on February 12 and thanked him for his support for Ukraine, according to a statement from the Eastern Catholic church. The Major Archbishop also thanked him for the Vatican’s diplomatic efforts, updated him on developments in the life of his church, and handed him lists of prisoners of war and missing persons. The February 12 meeting was the second private meeting between the Pope Leo and the Major Archbishop, and the first since May.
• Vatican newspaper highlights plight of victims of Kenya's environmental redevelopment projects (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
  L’Osservatore Romano devoted prominent front-page coverage in its February 13 edition to the plight of the victims of environmental redevelopment projects in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. Father Ettore Marangi, who ministers in a Nairobi slum, spoke with the Vatican newspaper about the government’s destruction of makeshift shacks of at least 40,000 slum inhabitants. Ilaria De Bonis reported: 136 euros: that’s how much a house in Nairobi’s illegal settlements is worth. Or rather, this is the compensation—when it exists, which is almost never—offered by the Nairobi government to citizens who lose their homes, demolished following recent environmental redevelopment projects. Receiving a sum of money after losing one’s home is, however, a rare exception. More often than not, one ends up on the streets.
• Vatican to mark 400th anniversary of dedication of St. Peter's Basilica (Vatican Press Office)
  The Vatican will commemorate the 400th anniversary of the dedication of St. Peter’s Basilica (November 18, 1626) with special initiatives, the Holy See Press Office has announced. At a February 16 press conference, the basilica’s archpriest, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, OFM Conv, will present “several activities of a spiritual and cultural nature,” as well as “new services which will be made available to pilgrims and visitors,” according to the announcement.
• 2 months after release by abductors, Cameroon priest named a bishop (ACI Africa)
  Pope Leo XIV appointed Father John Berinyuy Tata, rector of the Catholic University of Cameroon, as auxiliary bishop of Bamenda. Father Tatah was abducted on November 18 as he and other priests attempted to negotiate the release of a priest who had been kidnapped. Father Tatah was released on December 2. The gunmen who abducted the priests said they were separatist fighters in the nation’s Anglophone conflict.
• SSPX reacts to meeting with DDF prefect, renews request to meet with Pope Leo (CWN)
  The Society of St. Pius X issued a statement following the February 12 meeting of its superior general, Father Davide Pagliarani, with Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF statement, English translation, CWN analysis).
• Pope Leo issues his 1st Lenten message, 'Listening and Fasting' (CWN)
  Pope Leo XIV has issued his first Lenten message, entitled “Listening and Fasting: Lent as a Time of Conversion.”
• Hope is 'crucified' in Myanmar, Cardinal Bo says (Vatican News)
  Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, SDB, of Yangon, Myanmar, said that hope is “crucified” but not dead in the Southeast Asian nation, five years after a coup d’état led to civil war. Cardinal Bo told Vatican media that the Southeast Asian nation is “going through a ‘polycrisis’: an economic crisis, with rising prices; a crisis due to the loss of job opportunities; a social crisis, with more than 3.5 million displaced persons and young people fleeing abroad; a crisis of basic health care; and a crisis of education, with a generation that has lost five years of schooling.”
• Following papal audience, Archbishop Sample weighs in on ICE actions (CNS)
  Following a papal audience, Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon, said that Pope Leo has been “a great source of encouragement and support for the United States bishops” in their position on immigration and that “our Holy Father feels very strongly about this.” “I had the opportunity to speak with him, and I can say in the conversation, you could see that this was a matter of great concern for him,” said Archbishop Sample. Archbishop Sample, who chairs the US bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty, also discussed the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in his archdiocese. Agents “began showing up outside of churches and places of worship,” causing “a great deal of doubt and fear and anxiety among our people—people afraid to go to Mass,” the prelate told Catholic News Service, adding, “There has to be a more just, more humane, just a better way to go about this.”
• Pope Leo to celebrate Mass, meet with children during 1st visit to Roman parish (Diocesi di Roma (Italian))
  Pope Leo XIV will visit the parish of Santa Maria Regina Pacis in Ostia Lido on February 13, the first of a series of five weekly visits to parishes in the Diocese of Rome. The diocese announced that Pope Leo “will arrive at 4:00 PM and will immediately meet the catechism children and young people, a total of about 400 children, who will welcome him in the field behind the church. It will then be the turn of the elderly, the sick, the poor and Caritas volunteers (400 people in all), who will be waiting for him in the gym. Then at 5:00 PM, Pope Leo will preside over Holy Mass.” The parish is entrusted to the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (Pallottines).
• Founder of ESNE, Catholic media network, meets with Pope (Vatican News (Spanish))
  Pope Leo XIV received Noel Díaz of ESNE (El Sembrador—Nueva Evangelización, or The Sower—New Evangelization) on February 12. “Among other topics, Leo XIV and Noel Díaz discussed migration in the United States and around the world, and the need to increasingly promote knowledge of the Word of God among the faithful,” according to Vatican News, the news agency of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication. ESNE, a Catholic media network, is based in California and broadcasts in the United States, Latin America, and Spain.
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