Catholic News
- Pope Francis solemnly proclaims 2025 jubilee year, issues bull 'Hope Does Not Disappoint' (CWN)
Pope Francis solemnly proclaimed the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025 at a ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica on the evening of May 9, the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (video, booklet). - Pope urges generosity to counter declining birth rates (Vatican News)
Speaking at an Italian conference on the declining birth rate, Pope Francis rebuked the proponents of the now-discredited “population explosion” theory, who “talked about human beings as if they were problems.” The Pope first said there is “an urgent need for effective policies” to combat the birth dearth, saying that governments should help younger generations. Next he suggested “a culture of generosity and intergenerational solidarity.” “Have children, lots of them,” said the Pope—who in the past has cautioned parents against having too many children. - Charity coordinator examines 'remarkable increase' of Protestantism in Honduras (Aid to the Church in Need)
In an interview, the project coordinator for Central America of Aid to the Church in Need discussed the challenges facing the Church in Honduras (map) and examined why self-identified Protestants now outnumber self-identified Catholics there. In a 2020 survey, only 34% of Hondurans described themselves as Catholic. “The few priests there are already have a very heavy workload,” said Veronica Katz. “Honduras has the highest percentage of Protestants of any country in Latin America. There has been a remarkable increase in the number of evangelical churches.” “Many of these Protestant sects are funded by groups in the United States, and their pastors go to places that are underserved by Catholic priests,” she continued. “Catholics are drawn to those sects basically out of habit, rather than conviction. The Church is making a big effort to educate its faithful, so they can better resist this invasion of other denominations and sects.” - USCCB releases updated list of catechetical resources deemed in conformity with Catechism (USCCB)
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on the Catechism has released an updated list of catechetical resources that have been deemed in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. A new methodology “permits the evaluation and use of digital materials,” the subcommittee stated on May 9, with its current conformity review process remaining in effect. - Pope 'very likely' to visit Luxembourg later this year? (RTL)
Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg says that it is “very, very likely” that Pope Francis will visit Luxembourg in September. Although the Vatican has not announced such a plan, the Pope has said that he is “certain” to travel to neighboring Belgium, where the Catholic University of Leuven is celebrating its 600th anniversary. Cardinal Hollerich, a Jesuit with close ties to the Pontiff, specifically mentioned September as a likely time for the papal visit. Pope Francis is already scheduled for an 11-day trip to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore earlier that month. - Pope mourns victims of attack on displaced persons in DR Congo (Vatican News)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s Secretary of State, has sent a telegram of condolence in the Pope’s name to Bishop Willy Ngumbi Ngengele, M Afr of Goma, DR Congo, following bomb attacks on two camps for displaced persons. The Pope, said Cardinal Parolin, is close to those “affected by this act of blind hatred which has not spared many children,“ and “supports the injured and the grieving families with his prayers, and prays for the repose of all those who lost their lives.“ The Pope also condemned “any act of violence to resolve conflicts, violence of which the poorest and most deprived are always the first victims.” - New York State files suit against pro-life pregnancy centers to end abortion-pill reversals (New York State Attorney General)
New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed suit against Heartbeat International and 11 pro-life pregnancy centers to end the practice of abortion-pill reversals, which she described as “unproven” and “potentially unsafe.” Heartbeat International, in turn, filed suit against the attorney general, alleging “egregious violations of fundamental rights, including freedom of speech, free exercise of religion, equal protection under the law, and civil rights violations.” In March, the US bishops’ Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities explained that “chemical abortion uses two drugs. First, mifepristone (also called by the brand name, Mifeprex, or RU-486) is taken to damage a woman’s uterine lining, cutting off nutrition and oxygen to her pre-born child, causing starvation and suffocation. Then, one to two days later, misoprostol is taken to push the baby’s remains from the womb.” “Fortunately, if a woman changes her mind before taking the second drug, the child may be saved about two-thirds of the time through an abortion pill reversal process involving the hormone progesterone,” the USCCB office added. - Washington attorney general charges archdiocese with impending abuse probe (Crux)
The attorney general of the State of Washington has charged that the Seattle archdiocese has “refused to comply” with an investigation into abuse complaints. The attorney general, Bob Ferguson—who is seeking election as governor—is looking into the possibility that the archdiocese has used funds designated for charities to pay abuse settlements. The Seattle archdiocese said that Ferguson’s press conference “was a surprise to us, since we welcome the investigation and have been working closely with the attorney general’s team for months now.” - Avoid 'rubricism' in liturgy, Pope cautions (Vatican News)
At a May 10 audience with students and faculty from the Athenaeum University of Saint Pacian of Barcelona, Pope Francis spoke of the liturgy as a privileged encounter with God. “Man is for the liturgy because he is for God; but a liturgy, without this union of man with God is an aberration,” the Pope said. An example of such an aberration he said, would be “a liturgy enslaved to rubricism, which is not conducive to union with God.” - Pope lists priorities for theological study (Vatican News)
At a May 10 audience with members of the International Network of Societies for Catholic Theology (a group known by the unfortunate acronym INSECT), Pope Francis suggested three guidelines for theology today: a creative fidelity to tradition, a cross-disciplinary approach, and a collegial style. - Papal aid for flood-stricken Brazilians (Vatican News)
Pope Francis has sent €100,000 ($107,800) in aid to the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops to assist victims of massive flooding in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (map). Over 160,000 people have been displaced by the flooding, and 230 have been killed or are missing. - Ghanian bishop calls on political candidates to emphasize environmental protection (Fides)
Lamenting illegal mining, plastic waste, and the contamination of drinking water with mercury and arsenic, a bishop has called on Ghana’s political candidates to make environmental protection a priority. “Campaigns have started,” said Bishop Joseph Kwaku Afrifah-Agyekum of Koforidua. “If I have the opportunity, I will quiz them on what their sustainable environmental policies are.” Ghana’s general election will be held on December 7. The West African nation of 33.9 million (map) is 74% Christian (16% Catholic), 18% Muslim, and 8% ethnic religionist. - Bishop Paprocki charges Biden with sacrilege (CatholicVote)
BIshop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois has released a video statement in which he charges President Joe Biden with sacrilege, pointing to Biden’s making the Sign of the Cross during a pro-abortion rally. That gesture made “a mockery of our Catholic faith,” the bishop said. He added: “Sacrilege is a grave sin.” - Pope urges parish priests to become missionaries of synodality (Vatican Press Office)
The Vatican has published Pope Francis’s mandate to the parish priests who were present at the recent international meeting on synodality. “I ask you today to become missionaries of synodality with your brother parish priests, once you return home: inspiring reflection on the renewal of the ministry of the parish priest in a synodal and missionary light, promoting moments of conversation in the Spirit among parish priests, in person or online, making the most of the opportunity of meetings that are already organized, or organizing one for the purpose,” the Pontiff wrote. “And then, I ask you to inform the Secretariat of the Synod of the fruits of these meetings, following the directions that will be given to you,” he continued. Pope Francis entrusted the mandate to the priests on May 2, the day on which he wrote a separate letter to the world’s parish priests. - Texas attorney general files injunction against Catholic agency for migrants (CNA)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed an injunction to halt what he calls “systematic criminal conduct” by a Catholic agency involved with migrants. Paxton argues that Annunciation House in El Paso has been facilitated illegal border crossings and has shielded illegal immigrants from law-enforcement detection. Earlier this year he had sought unsuccessfully to revoke the agency’s non-profit status. Annunciation House has decried the attorney general’s campaign as “illegal, immoral, and anti-faith.” Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso said that Catholic institutions bring relief to migrants as a necessary response to “federal neglect to provide a safe, orderly and humane response to migration at our southern border.” - Cardinal Zuppi, leading EU bishop pen letter to 'dearest European Union' (COMECE)
Bishop Mariano Crociata, the president of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the EU, and Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, have written a five-page letter, distinctive in genre and style, to “dearest European Union.” Using the word “dearest” eight times, the prelate expressed their deep affection for the personified EU. They also expressed concern for its well-being. “Dearest European Union, you are a living body, so perhaps the time has come for new institutional reforms in order to allow you taking up today’s challenges,” they wrote. “You cannot just be a bureaucracy ... You need a soul!” “We find in you so much care for the dignity of the person, which the Gospel of Christ has sown in our hearts and in your culture,” they added. “Therefore, we suffer while seeing that you are afraid of life, do not know how to defend it and welcome it from its beginning to its end, and do not always encourage the growth of population.” The prelates released their letter on May 8 for Europe Day. - Papal encouragement for Massachusetts college (Vatican News)
Pope Francis met on May 10 with the trustees of Merrimack College, an institution that was established to provide academic training for soldiers returning from World War II. Those young men needed “more than academic training alone,” the Pope remarked. He added that today’s students also face special challenges: “not letting themselves be overwhelmed, but rather responding in such a way that every crisis, even when it involves suffering, can be transformed into an opportunity for growth.” - Peruvian bishops decry euthanasia (Conferencia Episcopal Peruana)
The bishops of Peru renewed their condemnation of euthanasia following the first instance of euthanasia in the nation’s history. A 47-year-old woman who suffered from polymyositis sought and obtained authorization from the nation’s Supreme Court to be killed. “No authority can legitimize or allow” euthanasia, the bishops said in their statement. “The human being, created in the image and likeness of God, possesses an intrinsic dignity that no one can deny or detract from ... There is no situation ... that justifies the killing of a human being.” - City of Rome bracing for Jubilee Year pilgrims (AP)
On May 9, as Pope Francis officially reads the papal bull proclaiming 2025 as a Jubilee Year, the City of Rome is struggling to complete dozens of public-works projects to prepare for the arrival of an expected 30 million pilgrims. The city expects to spend €4 billion ($4.3 billion) in repairs and new construction before the Jubilee Year. But because of delays caused by political turmoil, only 2 of a proposed 231 projects have been completed, while more than 100 have not yet begun. Both public officials and Church leaders profess confidence that the city will be ready for the Jubilee, however. Archbishop Renato Fisichella, the pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, says: “Rome will become an even more beautiful city, because it will be ever more at the service of its people, pilgrims and tourists who will come.” - Blood is 'flowing everywhere' in Ethiopia, prelate says (Fides)
The secretary general of the Episcopal Conference of Ethiopia lamented the intensification of civil conflict in the East African nation. “We were once considered a people of faith and humility, but today this is being challenged by the daily and ongoing conflicts and wars that continue to result in a state of general insecurity and extreme poverty,” said Bishop Teshome Fikre Woldetensae. “Blood is flowing everywhere.” ”By remaining neutral, free from ethnic sectarianism and political influence, religious leaders can play an important role as mediators and in building a culture of peace and reconciliation,” he added. The nation of 116 million (map)—the 12th most populous in the world—is 60% Christian (41% Orthodox, 16% Protestant), 34% Muslim, and 5% ethnic religionist. - More...