Catholic News
- Pope Francis, at general audience, reflects on virtue of hope (CWN)
At his May 8 general audience, held in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis reflected on the theological virtue of hope, in the latest talk in a series of Wednesday general audiences devoted to the virtues and vices. - Catholic church in occupied Ukraine is rededicated as Russian Orthodox church (Our Sunday Visitor)
A Ukranian Greek Catholic church in Oleksandrivka, a village in a Ukrainian region occupied by Russian forces (map), has been rededicated as a Russian Orthodox church. Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, denounced the rededication of the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Skadovsk district, Kherson region, as a sacrilege. “I was reminded of the words of the prophet Elijah, who cried out to the Lord, saying, ‘Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life,’” the prelate said. - Cardinal says goal of upcoming Vatican human fraternity meeting is a 'renewed charter of humanity' (Vatican News)
At a May 7 Vatican press conference, panelists discussed the Fratelli Tutti Foundation’s second World Meeting on Human Fraternity, which will take place on May 10 and 11. Pope Francis, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, 30 Nobel Peace Prize laureates, economist Jeffrey Sachs, and Fiat CEO Olivier François are among the participants in the meeting, entitled #BeHuman. The event will conclude with a concert in St. Peter’s Square featuring country music singer Garth Brooks and other performing artists. “We must bring intelligence back to discussing the human person in a world that is dissolving and marked by financial capitalism, by a technology that has become an end rather than a means, and by greed,” said Cardinal Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, OFM Conv, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica and president of the Fratelli Tutti Foundation. L’Osservatore Romano reported that Cardinal Gambetti said that “the objective is to be able to offer the whole world a renewed ‘Charter’ of humanity, of the human, as also recalled by the title of the meeting: a charter that proposes an overcoming, an integration of that of human rights, often ignored, and that knows how to include all the reasons that ‘define us as human beings, starting from feelings.’” The first World Meeting on Human Fraternity, held in June 2023, saw the signing of the Declaration on Human Fraternity and concluded with a sparsely attended five-hour event in St. Peter’s Square. - In protecting forests, remember the well-being of local people, Vatican diplomat says at UN (Holy See Mission)
Addressing the UN Forum on Forests, a leading Vatican diplomat called for an integral ecology that takes into account the well-being of local populations as well as the conservation of natural resources. “Caring for the environment cannot be separated from our concern for human well-being,” said Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. “Forests are not only repositories of biodiversity and natural resources, but also engines of sustainable development, providing livelihoods, clean water and climate regulation for millions of people around the world.” “The socioeconomic realities of local populations should be adequately taken into account,” he continued. “Balancing conservation goals with the needs of local communities, promoting inclusive governance structures, supporting sustainable livelihood alternatives, and implementing landscape-scale conservation approaches are key steps in this direction.” - South Korean dioceses seek to counter low birth rate (Fides)
Dioceses in South Korea, the nation with the world’s lowest fertility rate (0.72), have undertaken various initiatives to encourage births. These initiatives include Masses for life, financial benefits for families that have children, and subsidies for education. - 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. - Vatican newspaper decries Tunisia's expulsion of migrants (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
The Vatican newspaper decried Tunisian President Kais Saied’s decision to expel hundreds of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa (map). In “Il deserto dell’umanità” (“The Desert of Humanity”)—the most prominent front-page article in its May 7 edition—L’Osservatore Romano editorialized, “Abandoned in the desert, without water or food: this is the dramatic fate of hundreds of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa whom the Tunis authorities have forcibly deported to Jendouba, on the border with Algeria. Their ‘fault’? Being irregular migrants. As if irregularity were synonymous with the nullity of the person.” “Of their dignity, of their dreams in Tunis, only rubble remains, or rather, waste,” the unsigned article concluded. “Like those that garbage collectors removed from makeshift camps. A blow of the broom to the garbage, a blow of the broom to humanity.” - Fight anti-Semitism and defend Palestinian rights, convert priest urges (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
In “Anti-Semitism and Palestine,” a lengthy essay in the Vatican newspaper, Father David Neuhaus, SJ traced the history of anti-Semitism and argued that anti-Semitism has been a “catastrophe for Palestinians.” The priest, a convert from Judaism and former vicar for Hebrew-speaking Catholics in the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, argued that anti-Semitism helped contribute to the Zionist movement: he said that many Europeans were happy to be see their Jewish neighbors go to a far-away homeland. Much as the Shoah (Holocaust) defined the Jewish sense of identity, the Nakba, or forced displacement of Palestinians from their homes, was a defining moment in Palestinian identity, he continued. “While the victory of the Allies and the destruction of the Nazi government put an end to the Shoah, the Nakba has not yet ended and the life of the Palestinians continues in its shadow: exile, occupation and discrimination.” Lamenting both “radical anti-Arab Zionist extremism and extremist Arab anti-Semitism,” Father Neuhaus wrote that “those who fight against anti-Semitism, those who defend Palestinian rights, and those who promote the vision of a society in Israel/Palestine based on justice, peace, freedom and equality should be allies in building a better world, and not enemies of each other.” - Times columnist considers 'why conservative and liberal Catholics can't escape one another' (New York Times)
Writing in The New York Times, columnist Ross Douthat argues one of the lessons of the current pontificate is that “the liberal tendency in Catholicism can be resilient even if it isn’t a major source of dynamism and growth.” Douthat cites those who observe that there has been “no big return of lapsed or disaffected Catholics, no revitalization of Catholic institutions, no wave of Francis-inspired vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Instead, under his liberalizing leadership, the Church’s decline in the developed world has arguably accelerated — making it easy for conservative forms of Catholic faith to regard themselves once again as the only bulwark against secularization, and thus the only Catholic future.” However, strong cultural temptations to compromise Catholic teaching will ensure the continued existence of what Douthat describes as liberal Catholicism. “The basic reality is that as long as the ambient culture is broadly liberal, any Catholics trying to live in the world as well as in the Church will find themselves cross-pressured, and there will be enduring incentives to find a middle ground between traditional teachings and contemporary mores,” he writes. Thus, Douthat believes that “the entanglements between American Catholicism and American culture writ large all but guarantee that conservative and liberal forms of Catholic faith will persist together — undoubtedly in tension and conflict, but ideally in charity as well.” - 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. - 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. - '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!” - 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. - 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.” - 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. - 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. - 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. - More...