Catholic News
- Papal encouragement for Global Christian Forum (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Francis has written a message of encouragement to participants in the fourth global gathering of the Global Christian Forum, an ecumenical organization founded a quarter century ago. “Throughout its history, the Global Christian Forum has contributed significantly to the promotion of this bond by providing a space in which members, especially those from different historical expressions of the Christian faith, grow in mutual respect and fraternity by encountering one another in Christ,” Pope Francis wrote to pariticipants in the gathering in Accra, Ghana. “May this gathering, on the forum’s silver anniversary, deepen your faith and revitalize your fraternal love as you pray together, exchange your personal stories and address the challenges facing the global Christian community,” the Pope added. - Cardinal Dolan meets with Israeli, Palestinian leaders, speaks of local reactions to Pope (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, visiting the Holy Land in his role as president of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Both leaders “expressed their appreciation for the role that Christian communities play in their civil societies,” Cardinal Dolan said in an interview with the Vatican newspaper. Cardinal Dolan said that the efforts of Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, to promote peace are widely respected in the area. “I was able to appreciate the hearing that the powerful voice of Pope Francis receives,” Cardinal Dolan added. “In both parties [Israeli and Palestinian], some find reasons to criticize him, but there is unanimous appreciation for his strong words in favor of dialogue and peace.” - 7 major Italian sees no longer led by a cardinal (Il Messaggero)
Seven major Italian sees—Florence, Genoa, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Turin, and Venice—are now no longer led by a cardinal, Vatican reporter Franca Giansoldati notes in an analysis for Il Messaggero. Pope Francis appointed archbishops of six of these sees: Archbishop Corrado Lorefice (Palermo) in 2015, Archbishop Mario Delpini (Milan) in 2017, Archbishops Domenico Battaglia (Naples) and Marco Tasca (Genoa) in 2020, Archbishop Roberto Repole (Turin) in 2022, and Archbishop-elect Gherardo Gambelli (Florence) in 2024. Patriarch Francesco Moraglia has led the Patriarchate of Venice since 2012. Pope Francis has named bishops of less prominent Italian dioceses as cardinals, including Archbishop Edoardo Menichelli (Ancona-Osimo), Archbishop Francesco Montenegro (Agrigento), Archbishop Giuseppe Petrocchi (L’Aquila), Archbishop Augusto Paolo Lojudice (Siena-Colle di Val d’Elsa-Montalcino), and Bishop Oscar Cantoni (Como). As has been customary, the Pontiff named the (now former) vicar general of Rome (Angelo De Donatis) and Archbishop Matteo Zuppi of Bologna as cardinals. - Vatican cardinal reflects on vocational discernment (CNS)
Reflecting on vocational discernment, Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik, prefect of the Dicastery for Clergy, said that the “call to happiness” is the first vocation of all people. “The first road signs to follow are precisely our desires, what we sense in our hearts may be good for us and, through us, for the world around us,” he said. However, “our desires do not always correspond to the truth of who we are,” and sometimes “are dictated by a selfish search for our own well-being.” Emphasizing the importance of prayer for discernment, Cardinal You said that “a vocation is recognized when we bring our deep desires into dialogue with the work that God’s grace does within us.” “There is a need for a new mentality and new formation paths because often a priest is educated to be a solitary leader, a ‘one man in charge,’ and this is not good for him,” he added. “We are small and full of limitations, but we are disciples of the Master. Moved by him we can do many things. Not individually, but together, synodally.” - British court upholds school's ban on student prayer (Religion Clause)
A British court has ruled that one of Britian’s highest performing schools has the right to prevent Muslim students from saying ritual prayers during lunch. “The Claimant at the very least impliedly accepted, when she enrolled at the School, that she would be subject to restrictions on her ability to manifest her religion,” the court ruled. “She knew that the School is secular and her own evidence is that her mother wished her to go there because it was known to be strict.” Known for its high academic and behavioral standards, the Michaela Community School is akin to a public charter school in the United States. Its headmistress, Katharine Birbalsingh, delivered a keynote address at at the leading classical education conference in the United States last year. - Parish priest who served as missionary named archbishop of Florence (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Giuseppe Betori, 77, as archbishop of Florence, Italy, and has named Father Gherardo Gambelli, 54, a parish priest there, as his successor. The see of Florence is among the most prominent in Europe, with each archbishop over the past 130 years being named a cardinal. Until the appointment of Father Gambelli, every archbishop since 1888 was already a cardinal or bishop at the time of his appointment. Father Gambelli served as a missionary in the north-central African nation of Chad (map) from 2011 to 2022. In 2018, he became rector of the cathedral in N’Djaména, the nation’s capital; the following year, he was named vicar general of the Archdiocese of N’Djaména. - USCCB leadership meets with Pontiff (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Francis received the leadership of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in an April 18 audience. Present at the meeting were Archbishop Timothy Broglio, USCCB president; Archbishop William Lori, vice president; Father Michael Fuller, general secretary; and Father Paul Hartmann, associate general secretary. “This is the third time I have participated with the USCCB Conference leadership for a private, hour-long audience with the Holy Father,” Father Hartmann tweeted. “It is always powerful to be in the Apostolic Palace and be able to share the good things happening in the Church in the United States.” - DC Knights call for Rupnik art removal (Pillar)
A Knights of Columbus council in Washington, DC, has called for the removal of Father Marko Rupnik’s mosaics from the St. John Paul II National Shrine. The shrine, located in Washington, is a major pastoral initiative of the Knights of Columbus. - 'Climate change is splitting the world in two,' Vatican newspaper warns (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
With the headline “Deserts of Water, Rivers of Earth,” L’Osservatore Romano devoted the most prominent front-page coverage in its April 18 edition to climate change. Warning that “between floods and droughts, climate change is splitting the world in two and weighing on economic development,” the newspaper reported on flooding in Dubai, Pakistan, and Kazakhstan, and drought in Colombia, Mexico, and Spain. Citing a study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the unsigned Vatican newspaper article stated that “because of the climate crisis, the world economy is destined to lose $38 trillion a year until 2050, with an average reduction in citizens’ income of 19%. The populations of Southern Asia and Africa will be most affected.” - Pope Francis intends to visit Argentina this year, governor says after audience (@gustavovaldesok)
Pope Francis intends to visit his native Argentina this year, an Argentine governor said following an April 17 audience with the Pontiff. “He expressed to me his intention to visit Argentina this year, which would be a gesture in pursuit of unity and concord among Argentinians in difficult times for the country,” tweeted Governor Gustavo Valdés of Corrientes (map). Valdés began his series of tweets by saying that he had conveyed “the warm embrace of the people of Corrientes expressed in their unwavering faith in the Holy Patroness, Our Lady of Itatí.” Valdés said that he and the Pontiff discussed the current “political, economic, and social” situation of Argentina, as well as the “challenges faced by a society in permanent transformation.” He added, “We addressed two topics of great interest to him: education and ecology.” - Torture is inhuman, Pope says (Rome Reports)
At the conclusion of his April 17 general audience, Pope Francis deplored torture as he called for the release of prisoners of war and appealed for peace. “And speaking of prisoners, those who are tortured come to mind,” he said to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square. “The torture of prisoners is a horrible thing, it is not human. We think of so many kinds of torture that wound the dignity of the person, and of so many tortured people.” - Pope Francis pays tribute to St. Pius X (Vatican News (Italian))
Pope Francis has written the preface to Omaggio a Pio X: Ritratti coevi [Tribute to Pius X: Contemporary Portraits], a new book by Father Lucio Bonora, an official of the Secretariat of State. Pope Francis praised his predecessor, who reigned from 1903 to 1914, as a “meek and strong Pope. A humble and clear Pope. A Pope who made the whole Church understand that without the Eucharist, and without assimilation of revealed truth, personal faith weakens and dies.” “Pope Pius X: a Pope who desired to stand with the little ones, the poor, the needy, earthquake victims, the disadvantaged, and those suffering from natural disasters,” Pope Francis continued. In a likely reference to the Society of St. Pius X, founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, Pope Francis added, “Pius X is not confined to past eras of history or monopolized by particular groups, but belongs to the Church of today, to the people of the Church, that is, to the people, to the baptized of all ages, who want to be faithful to the Gospel and to their proper Pastors and feel the saints as true models of life and their sincere companions on the journey behind Jesus and the Gospel, drawing on the examples and choices of their lives.” Pope Francis concluded, “Long live St. Pius X, and may he live deeply in the heart of the Church of today!” - Pope urges renewal for Discalced Carmelites (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Francis encouraged Discalced Carmelites to “discover new language, new ways and means to give greater impetus to the contemplative life that the Lord has called you to embrace.” The Pope was speaking on April 18 to an audience of delegates of the Discalced Carmelites, who have gathered in Rome to work on the revision of their constitutions. He remarked that they face a particular challenge “because your lives embody the tension between separation from the world and immersion in it.” - Quebec's bishops see mounting crisis of hunger (Vatican News)
The Catholic bishops of Quebec are urging their people to address a dramatic increase in the number of people suffering from a shortage of food, and to “ensure that everyone has enough to eat.” The bishops report that 10% of the population of Quebec sought help from food banks in 2023. That number represented a 30% increase over the previous year and a shocking 70% jump from 2019. The bishops observed, too, that many of those looking for assistance with food were also facing soaring prices for housing and other necessities. - Indian cardinal calls voting a 'sacred duty,' urges faithful to put it before pilgrimage (AsiaNews)
Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão, the president of the Latin-rite Conference of Catholic Bishops of India, urged the faithful of his diocese to vote in the national election. Voting takes place in different Indian states and territories on different days; the faithful in his Archdiocese of Goa and Daman will vote on May 7. Cardinal Ferrão asked the faithful, if necessary, to postpone pilgrimages to the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health “for the sake of the greater good and the sacred duty of exercising one’s franchise on the election day.” In a time of increasingly mainstream Hindu nationalism, the prelate called for votes for candidates committed to the Indian constitution’s nonsectarianism: candidates “with secular credentials, who are truly committed to work for the good of all the people and to uphold the values enshrined in our Constitution.” - Vatican diplomat calls for immediate action, aid to address Ethiopia's humanitarian crisis (Vatican News)
A leading Vatican diplomat called for immediate international action to address the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia, which is suffering from the effects of civil conflict as well as its worst drought in decades. “These catastrophic events have led to increased malnutrition rates, affecting in particular one million children and numerous women,” Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer to the United Nations Office and Specialized Agencies in Geneva, said at a UN event on April 16. “The Holy See supports the appeals of the Ethiopian Episcopal Conference for immediate action and humanitarian aid.” “Let us act quickly and provide unwavering support to ensure that we make every effort to bring security, stability, and peace through our collective response to the humanitarian needs of Ethiopia,” he added. - Program announced for international meeting of parish priests at Vatican (Synod of Bishops)
The Vatican has published the agenda of the upcoming international meeting “Parish Priests for the Synod,” which was announced in February amid criticism that parish priests were insufficiently included on the Synod on synodality. The meeting’s coordinator is Bishop Luis Marín de San Martín, OSA, one of the two undersecretaries of the Synod of Bishops; the overarching theme is “How to be a synodal local Church in mission?” The talks and discussion on April 29 are devoted to “the face of the synodal Church”; on April 30, to “all disciples, all missionaries”; and on May 1, to “weaving ties, building communities.” On May 2, the gathering will conclude with a conversation with Pope Francis, followed by Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, celebrated by Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops. Five parish priests from the United States are among the over 200 from around the world who will take part in the gathering. - Congo nears chaos, cardinal warns (Fides)
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa has warned that the situation in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo “is deteriorating day by day,” as rebel troops gain ground and “the Congolese army is in complete chaos.” The cardinal reports that the government has provided weapons to militia groups in the region, hoping they would join in the fight against the rebels. “All of these groups are now well armed, and the population is paying the price, the risk of general insecurity.” He said that the armed groups have robbed and murdered, and used their new strength to trade in the minerals from the region’s rich mines. - Kentucky bishop sees confusion in papal teaching (Crux)
Bishop William Medley of Owensboro, Kentucky, has reported that diocesan “listening sessions,” held in preparation for the October meeting of the Synod of Bishops, have revealed frustration among the laity because of ambiguity in Vatican statements. Bishop Medley said that the expressions of frustration were “generally related to Fiducia Supplicans and the confusion and consternation it caused among the faithful regarding what was perceived to be an approval for the blessing of same-sex unions.” - Support indigenous efforts to 'take care of their roots,' nuncio tells UN forum (Holy See Mission)
Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, addressed a UN forum on indigenous youth and called on states to “continue to engage in dialogue with indigenous peoples, including indigenous youth, to support their efforts to ‘take care of their roots.’” “Indigenous youth are also at the forefront in advocating for the protection of ancestral lands, natural resources, and ecosystems, which constitute a key component of indigenous peoples’ identity,” the senior Vatican diplomat said. “Identity and dialogue are not mutually exclusive; in fact, respect for each [other’s] identity is essential if there is to be genuine dialogue.” - More...