Catholic News
- Holy See is 'completely committed' to Ukraine's territorial integrity, Vatican foreign minister says (Vatican News)
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States, visited Ukraine and blessed the Ukrainian people on behalf of Pope Francis. “I can assure you that [the Pope’s] pronouncements about atrocities, about the suffering that he has been aware of in the country, are most sincere,” Archbishop Gallagher said. “He’s trying to be as forceful as he can to defend the Ukrainian people, to point out the fact that they have their freedom, that the integrity of this country has been transgressed.” “In our contacts with others, we have always said the Holy See remains completely committed to the territorial integrity of Ukraine,” he added. “That is our bottom line.” - Holy See continues to work for peaceful solutions to conflicts, Pope tells new ambassadors (Vatican Press Office)
On May 19, Pope Francis received new ambassadors to the Holy See from Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Burundi, and Qatar. “The Holy See continues to work through numerous channels to bring about peaceful solutions to situations of conflict and to alleviate the suffering caused by other social problems,” the Pope said. “You know all too well that war is always a defeat for humanity and runs contrary to the important service that you provide in trying to build a culture of encounter through dialogue and encouraging mutual understanding among peoples while also upholding the noble principles of international law.” The Pope also referred to “numerous other conflicts going on in the world that are receiving little or no attention, especially from the media. We are one human family and the degree of indignation expressed, humanitarian support offered and sense of fraternity felt for those who are suffering must not be based on geography or self-interest.” - At conference involving Church leaders and police, Pope condemns human trafficking (Crux)
The Santa Marta Group, which fosters cooperation between bishops and law enforcement in combating human trafficking, organized a three-day conference in Rome entitled “Catalysts to ending modern slavery: from intention to action.” According to tweets from the May 17-19 conference, Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster (England) said that “a priority is to break the financial model” that funds human trafficking. Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Myanmar spoke about organ trafficking and called it the “new organized crime.” “I thank you for your commitment in seeking to eradicate this criminal activity that violates the dignity and rights of men, women and children and leaves long-lasting effects upon individual victims and the broader society,” Pope Francis said in his address to participants in the conference. “The Church remains grateful for every expression of fraternal charity and care shown to all who have been enslaved and exploited, for in this way, God’s loving mercy becomes visible and the fabric of society is strengthened and renewed,” - To bear fruit, be true to your roots, Pope tells Romanian seminarians (Vatican Press Office)
On May 19, Pope Francis delivered an address to the seminarians of the Pio Romanian College in Rome on the 85th anniversary of its foundation. Recalling persecuted Romanian “pastors who were materially poor, but rich in the Gospel,” Pope Francis told the seminarians, “Be like this, joyful apostles of the faith you have inherited, willing to keep nothing for yourselves and ready to reconcile with all, to forgive and to weave unity, overcoming all animosity and victimhood. Then your seed will also be evangelical and bear fruit.” - Papal encouragement for Pontifical Gregorian University's psychology institute (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Francis has written a message, dated May 14 and released May 19, to participants in a conference (“Adam, where are you?” The anthropological question today) marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Institute of Psychology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Jesuit institution founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola as the Roman College. The question “Adam, where are you?” “invites us to a serious examination of conscience and conversion,” Pope Francis wrote in his message. “The world today is going through a profound anthropological crisis, a crisis of meaning to which the Church has the duty to respond appropriately and effectively.” “Before our eyes, the terrible tragedy of war is once again unfolding, which is the worst consequence of human destructiveness, both individual and systemic, that is not taken seriously enough and is not duly treated and eliminated at the root,” he continued. “Thus, in the face of the imperative to learn to say no to evil, to lift up those whose dignity is wounded or offended, and the urgent need to train people capable in turn of forging trainers with a solid anthropological background, the Church continues to expect from your Institute a quality service based on the knowledge of psychology with the contributions of theology and philosophy.” - Becciu: Pope ordered firing of auditor (AP)
Cardinal Angelo Becciu testified at a Vatican trial on May 18 that Pope Francis ordered the ouster of Libero Milone, the Vatican’s auditor general, in 2017, “because Milone had hired an outside investigative firm to spy on Vatican hierarchs like himself,” in the words of the AP report. Milone was the Holy See’s auditor-general from 2015 until his 2017 resignation. Milone and Becciu clashed during Milone’s tenure. Cardinal Becciu oversaw the internal affairs of the Roman Curia as Substitute (Sostituto) of the Secretariat of State from 2011 to 2018. Pope Francis created him a cardinal in the 2018 consistory and named him Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. In 2020, Becciu resigned from the “rights connected to the cardinalate.” - Nicaragua bishops vow to fight 'social structures of sin' as government crackdown grows (Crux)
Daniel Ortega, a leader of the Marxist Sandinistas who overthrew the authoritarian regime of Gen. Anastasio Somoza Debayle, ruled Nicaragua from the 1979 Sandinista takeover until his loss in the 1990 presidential election. He returned to power in 2007. “The Church will continue announcing the Gospel, denouncing the social structures of sin, accompanying the people, especially the poor and the weak,” the Archdiocese of Managua said after police surrounded a parish. “The mission of the Church will always provoke contradictions in this world, where along with the light there is also the darkness of evil.” - Rethink development models and inspire community service, Pope tells university rectors (Vatican News)
“A task of great responsibility is entrusted to universities in this particular historical moment,” the Pope said in an address to university rectors from Italy’s Lazio region (map). “The years of the pandemic, the spread into Europe of the ‘piecemeal third world war,’ the global environmental question, and growing inequality challenge us in an unprecedented and accelerated way,” he continued. “This scenario is before the young generations, risking the creation of a climate of discouragement and bewilderment, loss of confidence ... But the young do not accept this, and they are holding us to our responsibilities.” - Seek unity amid persecution, Vatican cardinal tells Middle Eastern Christians (Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity)
“Today, violent storms are surrounding the boat of the Christians of the Middle East, and indeed they are affecting all humanity: the terrible consequences of the continuing conflict in Syria, the suffering caused by violence and discrimination, the emigration of many Christians from the area, the emergence of new divisions among Christians, without forgetting the evils that affect the whole world, such as climate change, the pandemic, and war in so many places, including Europe,” Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said in a message, dated April 28 and published May 19, to participants in the 12th General Assembly of the Middle East Council of Churches. “We know that the Risen Lord will lead us towards the unity for which he prayed at the eve of his Passion,” Cardinal Koch added. “Like the Magi, like the disciples of Emmaus, let us walk together towards the blessed day when we will be able to eat and drink together His Body and Blood.” - USCCB welcomes Biden administration's renewed engagement with Cuba (USCCB)
“The US bishops, including the Cuban-American bishops, in conjunction with the Holy See and the bishops of Cuba, continue to stress the vital importance of bilateral engagement and mutually beneficial trade relations between the United States and Cuba as the key to transformative change on the island,” Bishop David Malloy of Rockford (IL), chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, said after the Biden administration reversed some of the Trump administration’s policies toward Cuba. - Egypt hands down death sentence for priest's murder (Arab News)
Father Arsanios Wadid, a Coptic Orthodox priest, was stabbed to death last month in Alexandria, Egypt. - US Vatican ambassador: World is looking to Pope Francis to help end Ukraine war (National Catholic Reporter)
“I know that the rest of the world, when they hope for one person to solve this problem, they look at the Pope,” Joe Donnelly, the new US Ambassador to the Holy See, said in an interview. “The United States will do anything humanly possible to partner with the Vatican or anyone else to see a peaceful conclusion to Ukraine.” Donnelly also criticized Cardinal Joseph Zen’s arrest as “outrageous” and “said the US had registered its concerns over it to the Holy See,” according to the report. - At massacre site, Salvadoran cardinal condemns vengeance, exalts peace (CNS)
Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez, the auxiliary bishop of San Salvador in the Central American nation of El Salvador (map), honored the victims of the Sumpul River massacre (1980), which took place less than two months after the martyrdom of St. Óscar Romero. - Editors of 10 Jesuit magazines meet with Pope (Vatican News)
“There was no speech, but a simple and informal dialogue, with questions and answers focused on the war in Ukraine and the difficult situation the world is experiencing at this time, as well as on the life of the Church, the current synodal journey, and the mission of Jesuit magazines,” according to the Vatican’s news service. “A report of the interview will be published soon by La Civiltà Cattolica and by the magazines of the other countries.” - Italy's Catholic Church at crossroads over sexual abuse investigation (Reuters)
Next week, Italy’s bishops will discuss the establishment of a commission to investigate the historic sexual abuse of minors in Italian Catholic institutions. Reuters reported that “bishops are divided over whether an eventual full-scale investigation should be internal, using existing resources such as diocesan anti-abuse committees, or by an outside group, potentially comprising academics, lawyers and abuse experts.” - French archbishop takes on role of parish priest (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
Facing a severe priest shortage, Archbishop Hervé Giraud of Sens, 65, has appointed himself a parish priest for a year while continuing to lead his French archdiocese (map). There are 24 churches in Archbishop Giraud’s rural parish; he is assisted by a priest from the African nation of Togo and by a deacon. - Pope authorizes non-clerics to be major superiors in certain cases (Vatican News)
With the Pope’s approval, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated and Societies of Apostolic Life has issued an Italian-language document outlining potential dispensations from Canon 588 §2. The dispensations would permit a religious brother who belongs to a male religious institute of priests and brothers to become a superior in certain circumstances. - Argentine governor meets with Pope (La Nación (Argentina))
Jorge Capatanich, the governor of Argentina’s Chaco Province (map), met with Pope Francis on May 19. Capatanich is Argentina’s former Minister of Economy, Social Development, Labor and Health, and was Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers under former President (and current Vice President) Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. “We have in Pope Francis a spiritual leader with a light that inspires the world,” Capatanich said following his “deep and heartfelt” meeting with the “dear and beloved Pontiff.” - 'Politics is encounter, reflection, action,' Pope tells Chemin Neuf's political fraternity (Vatican News)
“Encounter, reflection, action: this is a political program in the Christian sense,” Pope Francis said in an address to members of the Political Fraternity of the Chemin Neuf charismatic community. “From joining in prayer to the Father from whom all things proceed, from imitating Jesus Christ, and from listening attentively to the Holy Spirit, your concern for the common good gains a powerful interior incentive,” the Pope continued. “For in this way, politics can be practiced as ‘the highest form of charity,’ as it was defined by Pope Pius XI.” - Moscow Patriarch rips Ecumenical Patriarch, calls on belligerents in war to avoid killing civilians (Moscow Patriarchate)
Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, strongly criticized Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople for his 2019 recognition of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which is independent of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate). “Our flock is in both Russia and Ukraine, and we are ardently praying for the restoration of peace, so that the Lord may overthrow the designs of the evil external power feeding hatred,” Patriarch Kirill said on May 17. “The political goal of creating all these autocephalies, all these schisms is to weaken the influence of the ... one Orthodox Church of Rus’, Ukraine and Belarus, with the use of ideological clichés to enkindle enmity and to create new myths that would alienate one people from another.” Patriarch Kirill added, “The exception of prohibited methods of military actions, protection of the civil population, observance of the international humanitarian law, respect for captives and the injured—this is what I as Patriarch of All Russia call upon the parties of the conflict and ask them to do all that is possible to avoid victims among civilians.” - More...