Catholic News
- Pope Francis, at general audience, reflects on virtue of charity (CWN)
At his May 15 general audience, held in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis reflected on the theological virtue of charity, in the latest talk in a series of Wednesday general audiences devoted to the virtues and vices. - Report: Burkina Faso's military executed Christians in 2 villages (Fides)
On May 6, members of Burkina Faso’s military, along with paramilitary volunteers, took part in the execution of 21 people in Moualoungou and 130 people in Tambi Bounima, according to Fides, the news agency of the Pontifical Mission Societies. “Pregnant women, men, children and passers-by, were executed without cause by the military convoy that set off,” Fides reported. “They are poor, farmers, almost all of them Christians.” “The farmers, held hostage by the demand for a per-person ‘tax,’ conversion to jihadist armed groups or the exodus, without anything, are hiding in the bush or seeking refuge and safety across the border,” the report continued. Burkina Faso, a West African nation of 22.5 million (map), is 57% Muslim, 23% Christian (15% Catholic), and 19% ethnic religionist. A jihadist insurgency began there in 2015, and the military assumed power in a 2022 coup. - Leading Polish prelate accused of negligence in addressing abuse (Notes from Poland)
The editor-in-chief of Więź, a Polish Catholic journal cofounded in 1958 by a future prime minister, has published an article accusing Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda of Gdańsk of negligence in addressing abuse. The prelate became president of the episcopal conference in March. “Wojda is accused of failing to properly respond to reports made in 2021 by two women who said they had been sexually abused as teenagers by a priest working in the Gdańsk archdiocese,” Notes from Poland reported. In one case, Wodja reportedly stated that the incident did not involve sexual abuse because “it was just groping.” An archdiocesan spokesman said that the journalist has only a “fragmentary knowledge about the case” and “distorts the image of the entire canonical process and harms all its participants, including the injured parties. It should be emphasized that the canonical process is still ongoing,” - Elderly priests meet with Pope at Roman parish (Vatican News)
On May 14, Pope Francis held a private discussion with 70 Roman priests at the Basilica of St. Joseph on the Triumphal Way (San Giuseppe al Trionfale). All of the priests were ordained at least 40 years ago. Last September, the Pontiff began a round of visits with priests in various parts of the diocese. The May 14 meeting was the second of three meetings scheduled for this month; on May 29, he will meet with priests ordained in 2014 and 2024. (Remarkably, Pope Francis did not take part in the 2024 priestly ordinations.) - Burundi's bishops lament extrajudicial abductions, killings (Aid to the Church in Need)
In a recent statement, the bishops of Burundi denounced extrajudicial abductions and killings. “The realization that there are people in our country who are cruelly murdered or abducted and disappear for political reasons or other macabre interests makes one shudder,” the bishops said. “If a person is arrested by the competent authorities, justice must be administered in accordance with the law; the person must be held in a place that is known and accessible to family members.” In 2022, Human Rights Watch stated that “Burundi’s national intelligence services, police, and ruling party youth members have killed, arbitrarily detained, tortured and harassed people suspected of belonging to opposition parties.” The nation’s president, Évariste Ndayishimiye, has been in office since 2020. The African Great Lakes nation of 13.2 million (map) is 94% Christian (65% Catholic), 3% ethnic religionist, and 2% Muslim. - Vatican announces ways to obtain special 2025 Jubilee Indulgence (Vatican Press Office)
The Apostolic Penitentiary has published a decree listing the conditions for obtaining a special plenary indulgence during the 2025 jubilee year. The Jubilee Indulgence may be obtained, under the conditions described in the decree, by pilgrimages to jubilee sites in Rome, the Holy Land, or elsewhere (such as cathedrals); by pious visits to sacred places in Rome or elsewhere (such cathedrals, minor basilicas, and Marian shrines); and by works of mercy and penance. As is the case with obtaining any plenary indulgence, the decree discusses the concomitant conditions for obtaining the Jubilee Indulgence: “all the faithful, who are truly repentant and free from any affection for sin, who are moved by a spirit of charity and who, during the Holy Year, purified through the Sacrament of Penance and refreshed by Holy Communion, pray for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff, will be able to obtain from the treasury of the Church a plenary indulgence, with remission and forgiveness of all their sins, which can be applied in suffrage to the souls in Purgatory.” Typically, a plenary indulgence may be obtained only once a day. During the jubilee year, however, “the faithful who have carried out an act of charity on behalf of the souls in Purgatory, if they receive Holy Communion a second time that day, can obtain the plenary indulgence twice on the same day, applicable only to the deceased (this must take place within a Eucharistic celebration).” - Vatican, Chinese prelates, scholars to mark 100th anniversary of Council of Shanghai (Fides)
On May 21, the Pontifical Urbaniana University will host a conference on the 100th anniversary of the First Council of the Catholic Church in China, a plenary council of the nation’s hierarchy that took place in 1924 in Shanghai. Pope Francis will send a video message to the conference. Speakers include Cardinal Pietro Parolin (the Holy See’s Secretary of State), Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle (pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization), and Bishop Joseph Shen Bin of Shanghai, who was installed without Vatican approval. Italian and Chinese scholars will also address the conference. - Survey finds broad public support for abortion persists 2 years after Dobbs (Pew Research Center)
A Pew Research Center survey of over 8,700 American adults has found that 63% of Americans believe that abortion should be “legal in all or most cases”—up from 59% in 2021—while 36% believe it should be “illegal in all or most cases.” 25% believe abortion should be legal in all cases, and 38% in most cases; in contrast, 8% believe abortion should be illegal in all cases, and 28% in most cases. Support for the statement that abortion should be “legal in all or most cases” was particularly high among African-Americans (73%), Asian-Americans (76%), those of ages 18-29 (76%), those with postgraduate education (70%), black Protestants (71%), and the religiously unaffiliated (86%). “White evangelical Protestants are about three times as likely to say abortion should be illegal (73%) as they are to say it should be legal (25%),” according to the survey. “By contrast, majorities of White nonevangelical Protestants (64%), Black Protestants (71%) and Catholics (59%) say abortion should be legal.” 54% of those surveyed agree with the statement that “medication abortion should be legal,” while 20% disagree, and 25% are not sure. - Pope decries attitude that elderly are a burden (Vatican Press Office)
Conflict between generations is based on “a fallacy and the poisoned fruit of a culture of conflict,” Pope Francis said in his statement for the Fourth World Day of Grandparents. The Pope lamented the fact that many elderly people are lonely, neglected by their relatives, and even seen as a burden on society. He remarked that “this accusation that the elderly ‘rob the young of their future’ is nowadays present everywhere.” To counteract that attitude the Pope offered the example of Ruth, who chose to remain with her mother-in-law Naomi, rather than return to her own people. “Ruth is not afraid to challenge customs and inbred patterns of thought,” he said. The Day of Grandparents will be observed on July 28. The Pope’s statement was released by the Vatican on May 14. - US bishops to discern future of controversial anti-poverty program at spring meeting (USCCB)
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has announced the tentative agenda of its spring meeting, which will take place this year in Louisville from June 12-14. Prior to the public portion of the meeting, the bishops will “be reflecting on positioning the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) for the future,” according to the announcement, which added that the bishops “have begun the process of discerning the next 50 years” of the program. The bishops will also vote on a national pastoral framework for youth and young adult ministries, a pastoral plan for Native American and Indigenous ministry, and liturgical texts in the Liturgy of the Hours. - Pope asks Vatican's paleographers, librarians to be open to dialogue, exchange (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Francis received the teachers and students of the Vatican School of Paleography, Diplomatics and Archivistics and the Vatican School of Library Science as the former school marked its 140th anniversary, and the latter school its 90th anniversary. Paleography is the study of ancient writing and inscriptions; diplomatics is the study of the interpretation of ancient documents; archivistics is archival science. “The first capacity that is required is that of great openness to exchange and dialogue, and a readiness to welcome, especially the marginalized and the materially, culturally and spiritually poor,” the Pope said during the May 13 audience. “May your studies truly measure up to the fragility and richness of people today!” The Pope also discussed “decisive cultural and epochal challenges,” including “the risk of the dulling and devaluation of knowledge” and “the need to include and never exclude anyone from the sources of knowledge and, at the same time, to defend everyone from what is toxic, unhealthy and violent that can lurk in the world of social media and technological knowledge.” - Australian archbishop blasts 'organized campaign' against Christian morality (ABC Australia)
Archbishop Julian Porteous of Hobart, Australia has sparked intense controversy with a statement decrying a campaign to overturn Christian moral principles. “Over the last 30-40 years we have witnessed an organized campaign to overturn the traditional Christian understanding of sex and sexuality in western society,” the archbishop wrote in a letter to Catholic-school parents. Archbishop Porteous warned against “the imposition of certain ideological positions on social and moral questions by means of legislation.” He said that Catholics “cannot stand by as we experience are freedoms being taken from us.” The archbishop said that a radical campaign reached its peak in 2017 with the legal redefinition of marriage. He also pointed to the drives for unrestricted abortion, legal euthanasia, and “transgender” rights. The archbishop’s strong message predictably drew angry responses from supporters of the political campaigns that he criticized. A member of the Australian parliament, Kristie Johnson, whose received the archbishop’s letter because her daughter attends a Catholic school, characterized the prelate’s message as “nothing short of hateful speech.” - Ecuador's president meets with Pontiff, one month after embassy storming (Ecuador Times)
Pope Francis received President Daniel Noboa of Ecuador on May 13. The visit came a month after Noboa gained notoriety—and international condemnation—for ordering the storming of the Mexican embassy to arrest the nation’s former vice president, who was a fugitive there. The Ecuador Times reported that Noboa discussed his decisions with respect to “security, employment, and competitiveness.” The Pontiff reportedly told Noboa, “Courage,” with Noboa responding, “We will continue fighting.” Noboa then met with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations. Noting good bilateral relations, the parties discussed “the current socio-political situation, with particular reference to youth employment, and to issues regarding public security and migration,” according to a Vatican statement. The South American nation of 17.5 million (map) is 95% Christian (84% Catholic). Pope Francis made an apostolic journey there in 2015. - Papal tweet evokes Fatima's call to conversion, penance (@Pontifex)
On May 13, the memorial of Our Lady of Fatima, Pope Francis tweeted, “May Our Lady of Fatima guide our path of conversion and penance so that we may encounter Christ, the sun of justice.” The Pope added, “Let us pray together that the gentle light of the Lord may free us from all evil and dispel the darkness of this world tormented by wars.” - 'Make yourself a gift for God, in order to be a gift of God,' Pope tells Montevergine's monks (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Francis received members of the Abbey of Montevergine, Italy, as the Benedictine community there marked the 900th anniversary of the founding of the abbey and Marian shrine. The Pontiff encouraged the monks to “make yourself a gift for God, in order to be a gift of God.” Making oneself a gift for God, he said, “is the meaning of the monastic vocation, which puts at the root of every action the work of God, and therefore prayer, which Saint Benedict recommends putting before all else.” Being a “gift of God,” the Pope explained, means “giving oneself generously to those who ascend to the Shrine, so that, by approaching the Sacraments of the Eucharist and of Reconciliation, they may feel, in attention and prayer, welcomed and brought under the mantle of the Mother of God.” - Buffalo diocese curbs media contacts (WGRZ)
The Diocese of Buffalo, New York, has set a new policy requiring priests and diocesan employees to consult with diocesan officials before speaking to reporters. The new policy states that diocesan communications officials “will either address the request directly or collaborate with the employee to supply response to the inquiry.” Joe Martone, the director of communications for the diocese, insists: “What we are really trying to do is not to stifle communication of the diocese we’re trying to coordinate it.” - 'We have nothing left except the church,' young Gaza Catholic writes (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
In a letter reprinted in the May 13 edition of the Vatican newspaper, a Gaza Catholic wrote that “the war destroyed everything, our homes, our loved ones and our belongings.” “Just a few days ago my grandparents’ house was destroyed and devastated by a single rocket,” said Suhail Abo Dawood, who was 18 last October. “We have nothing left except the church and, due to the poor wartime conditions, a number of Christians from our parish have left Gaza.” He added, “Are the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church [in Gaza] becoming empty? I hope not. I don’t want Gaza to be left without Christians. We are the true witnesses of the love and mercy of Jesus in all parts of Gaza, the city through which the Holy Family fled to Egypt to protect the little Baby Jesus, the eternal king.” - Address nation's maternal health crisis, bishops urge Congress (USCCB)
The chairmen of three committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have encouraged members of Congress to enact legislation that addresses “the maternal health crisis in our country.” “Despite research indicating that many maternal deaths are preventable, women face a high maternal mortality rate in our country, with Black and Indigenous women particularly at risk,” said the chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth; and Committee on Pro-Life Activities. The bishops asked that maternal health legislation reflect four principles: “respect life and dignity,” “honoring conscience rights,” “truly affordable,” and “comprehensive and high quality.” - Wall Street Journal examines 'how 20 years of same-sex marriage changed America' (Wall Street Journal)
In a tendentious article, The Wall Street Journal has examined the rise of same-sex marriage in the United States, two decades after a Massachusetts court decision forced the state to redefine civil marriage so as to permit homosexual couples to marry. The article notes the rising support for same-sex marriage in the United States, from 27% in 1996, to 55% in 2014, to 71% today. - Brooklyn auxiliary bishop cleared of negligence charges (Pillar)
The Diocese of Brooklyn, New York, has announced that Bishop Raymond Chappetto has been cleared of charges of negligence in handling abuse complaints. A Vatican investigation under the terms of Vos Estis found that charges against Bishop Chappetto were unfounded. The investigation was led by Archbishop Leonard Blair, who recently retired as head of the Hartford, Connecticut archdiocese. Bishop Chappetto, who had been an auxiliary in Brooklyn since 2012, retired in 2022 upon reaching the age of 75. - More...