Catholic News
- Pope, at general audience, reflects on the life of grace (CWN)
At his April 24 general audience, held in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis reflected on the life of grace according to the Spirit, in the latest talk in a series of Wednesday general audiences devoted to the virtues and vices. - Spanish government, bishops at odds over compensation of abuse victims (Reuters)
Félix Bolaños, the Minister for the Presidency, Justice and Parliamentary Relations in Spain’s Socialist government, has announced the establishment of a government fund to compensate the 440,000 people the government estimates have been abused by priests or laymen in Catholic institutions. Bolaños stated that he expected the Church in Spain to finance most of the fund; the bishops’ conference countered that “it could not accept a plan that excluded victims of sexual abuse in other organizations,” Reuters reported. Extrapolating from a survey of 8,000 people, a parliamentary commission announced in October that an estimated 230,000 Spaniards (0.6% of the population) had been abused by priests and that an additional estimated 210,000 (0.5%) had been abused by laity in Catholic institutions. In December, an audit commissioned by the Spanish bishops, and conducted by a law firm, found that a far smaller number—at least 2,056 minors, most of them male—were abused by Spanish clergy. - Sri Lanka cardinal initiates beatification process for Catholic victims of Easter bombings (Fides)
Five years after the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings killed 269 people, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo has initiated the beatification process for the 171 victims who were killed while attending Mass at targeted churches. (The suicide bombers also attacked hotels.) The commemoration of the fifth anniversary of the attacks—including a moment of silence and a procession from one targeted church to the other—“was a moment of great spiritual intensity for the Catholic community of Sri Lanka,” said Father Jude Chrysantha Fernando, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Colombo. “The memory of these heroes of the faith is alive and a source of inspiration for many.” - Fides corrects story on leading African cardinal, apologizes (Fides)
Fides, the news agency of the Pontifical Mission Societies, has apologized to Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa, DR Congo, for inaccurately reporting that the prelate accused the nation’s government of distributing weapons to armed groups. “Inaccuracies (now corrected) had crept in during the transition from the original version of the interview (in Italian) to translations into other languages, leaving room for misinterpretations,” Fides reported. “We therefore apologize to the Cardinal himself and to all those who may have been perplexed or embittered by the content and catchphrases used in the reactions to the article.” The Capuchin Franciscan cardinal is the sole African member of the Pope’s nine-member advisory Council of Cardinals. - 'Teach Us to Pray,' Vatican resource for Year of Prayer, now available in English (Dicastery for Evangelization)
“Teach Us to Pray,” a resource for the Year of Prayer published in Italian in February by the Dicastery for Evangelization, is now available in English and other languages. Pope Francis declared 2024 to be a Year of Prayer in preparation for the 2025 Jubilee Year. Since the 15th century, it has been customary for the Church to celebrate a jubilee every 25 years. - Bishops back Native American Child Protection Act (USCCB)
The chairmen of the US bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development and Subcommittee of Native American Affairs have lent their support to the Native American Child Protection Act (House, Senate versions), sponsored by Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM). “Here, we lift up the particular needs, and resilience, of Indigenous families,” Archbishop Borys Gudziak and Bishop Chad Zielinski wrote in a letter to members of Congress. “This bill reauthorizes grant programs directed at prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect, as well as family violence, among Indigenous communities.” “We particularly commend the provisions extending the reach of the grants to urban areas and encouraging the use of culturally appropriate services,” they added. - Catholic Charities found partly liable for 2017 death of 4-year-old (WKYC-TV)
A jury has found Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Cleveland to be partially liable for the 2017 death of a four-year-old boy at the hands of his abusive mother. A Catholic Charities caseworker was sentenced to three years in prison after she falsely stated, at least 11 times, that she had made required monthly visits to the home. Catholic Charities will pay least $960,000 in damages to the boy’s estate. - Toronto Catholic school board trustees vote against flying pro-life flag (CTV News Toronto)
The Toronto Catholic District School Board has voted against allowing schools to fly a pro-life flag ahead of the Canadian march for life. In 2021, the board voted in favor of allowing schools to fly a gay pride flag. In Ontario, Catholic school board members are not appointed by bishops, but are elected during municipal elections. - Ohio judge bars enforcement of Saving Adolescents from Experimentation Act (Religion Clause)
An Ohio judge has temporarily prevented the state’s Saving Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act from taking effect. Ohio lawmakers, overriding the governor’s veto, enacted the law in January. The law protects minors from cross-sex hormones and gender reassignment surgery; it also prevents boys in K-12 schools and men in colleges from competing in girls’ and women’s sports. Ohio’s attorney general, Dave Yost, has appealed Judge Michael Holbrook’s decision. - Cardinal Grech: Fiducia has 'nothing to do' with October Synod meeting (Our Sunday Visitor)
Cardinal Mario Grech, the secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, has revealed that he had no prior notice about the release of Fiducia Supplicans. Cardinal Grech told that he heard about the declaration from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, authorizing blessings for same-sex couples, “like everybody else, when it was published.” However, he said that he saw no particular reason why he should have been consulted on the document, emphasizing that any Vatican dicastery can release statements in its own sphere. Questioned about the impact of the controversial document on the deliberations of the Synod of Bishops, the cardinal said the statement has “nothing to do with” the Synod. - Vatican hopes to extend secret deal with China (LifeSite News)
The Vatican hopes to renew the secret deal with China concerning the selection of Catholic bishops, Cardinal Pietro Parolin has confirmed. In an email exchange with LifeSite News regarding the agreement, the Vatican Secretary of State wrote that “we hope to renew it.” The agreement, which has already been renewed twice, will come up for a third renewal later this year. Although Vatican officials have justified the agreement as a means of ensuring proper leadership for the Church in China, roughly one-third of China’s dioceses do not currently have a bishop. - 'Vote for climate, vote for our future,' front-page Vatican newspaper image urges (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
The April 22 edition of L’Osservatore Romano featured five articles devoted to Earth Day, most prominently a front-page article with Pope Francis’s Earth Day tweet. The front-page article included an image of a child sitting in a field and holding the planet Earth. Next to the child are the words, “Vote for CLIMATE, Vote for OUR FUTURE.” - Pope to speak at UN in September? (La Croix)
Citing unnamed Vatican sources, the French Catholic newspaper La Croix has reported that Pope Francis has accepted an invitation to address the UN General Assembly in September of this year. If accurate, the report would suggest an unusually rigorous travel schedule for the 87-year-old Pontiff. Pope Francis is already scheduled to make a lengthy trip to Asia in early September, with stops expected in Indonesia, Singapore, Papua New Guina, East Timor, and possibly Vietnam. - Papal nuncio to US warns of 'auto-referential' Church (CNS)
Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio in the United States, told Catholic News Service that he believes there is a “tendency to withdraw, to be more auto-referential,” in the Church in the US and elsewhere. While the Church in the United States has “always been very faithful to the Holy Father,” Cardinal Pierre said that “the difficulty in America, like in every country in a world which is globalized but becomes more and more individualistic, (is) to receive the message of the Pope, especially to work together.” “The Pope feels that if we don’t work together, we are not a church,” he added. - Be like fathers to children on the margins, Pope tells Brothers of Christian Instruction (Vatican Press Office (Italian))
Pope Francis received participants in the 48th general chapter of the Brothers of Christian Instruction on April 22 and encouraged them to be like fathers to children on the margins of society. “Dear brothers, you work in regions of the world where poverty, youth unemployment and social crises of all kinds are rampant,” Pope Francis said. “I therefore exhort you to be fathers for those to whom you are sent, fathers who reflect the loving and compassionate face of God.” The Pontiff also lamented the effects of war on children, advised the brothers to collaborate with local bishops and avoid gossip, and encouraged them to be inspired by the prayers and example of the Virgin Mary as they prepared to reconsecrate their institute to her Immaculate Heart. Founded in 1819 by Ven. Jean-Marie de La Mennais and Father Gabriel Deshayes, the Brothers of Christian Instruction are distinct from the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (founded by St. Jean-Baptiste de la Salle) and the Congregation of Christian Brothers (founded by Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice). - Vatican foreign minister concludes visit to Vietnam (Crux)
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, recently concluded a six-day visit to Vietnam, during which he met with Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính. The prelate and the prime minister expressed hope for a papal visit. Archbishop Gallagher’s visit followed the historic 2023 agreement that allowed for the first resident papal representative in Vietnam since 1975. With the headline “A hope for even more fruitful bilateral relations,” the Vatican newspaper offered detailed coverage of the prelate’s April 9-14 visit, including his address to 250 major seminarians in Huế. As he spoke to the seminarians, Archbishop Gallagher recalled the words and example of the nineteenth-century martyr St. Paul Le-Bao-Tinh. The prelate encouraged the seminarians to read Pastores Dabo Vobis, Pope St. John Paul II’s 1992 apostolic exhortation on priestly formation. - Connecticut archbishop on transgenderism: 'Biology is biology' (Connecticut Public Radio)
Asked to comment on the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s new document, Dignitas Infinita, Coadjutor Archbishop Christopher Coyne of Hartford, Connecticut, said that “biology is biology. You’re either XX or XY. That’s a scientific fact. You can’t un-prove that fact.” “You don’t have to pass a test to belong,” he continued. “We walk with each other. We accompany each other. We don’t leave each other; we try to grow together.” “It doesn’t cost me anything to accept you as you want to present yourself to me,” he added. “I’m not going to get off on my high mighty horse, and all of a sudden say, ‘Well, I won’t accept that.’ I accept you as a person.” “People who have gender dysphoria can choose to live that out in different ways,” the prelate said. “You could have a biological man who presents himself as a woman, but he’s still biologically a man.” - President Biden issues Passover statement (White House)
President Joe Biden issued a statement for Passover, which he described as a “holiday [that] reminds us of a profound and powerful truth: that even in the face of persecution, if we hold on to faith, we shall endure and overcome.” Decrying “Hamas’ unspeakable evil on October 7th,” the president also lamented anti-Semitism. “The ancient story of persecution against Jews in the Haggadah also reminds us that we must speak out against the alarming surge of Antisemitism—in our schools, communities, and online,” he wrote. “Silence is complicity. Even in recent days, we’ve seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews. This blatant Antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous – and it has absolutely no place on college campuses, or anywhere in our country.” - Irish archbishop paints grim picture of drop in vocations (Irish Times)
Archbishop Dermot Farrell of Dublin offered a grim account of the decline in priestly vocations as he addressed a group of lay people completing a course on catechesis. “We feel perplexed, even that the Lord has abandoned us,” the archbishop said. “We feel that we have lost our way.” Archbishop Farrell acknowledged that because of a sharp decline in priestly vocations, many parishes in Ireland would rely more heavily on lay leaders. - 'The caress and the smile': 6,000 grandparents, grandchildren to gather with Pope Francis (Vatican News)
At a press conference on April 22, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia discussed “The Caress and the Smile,” an April 27 event at which 6,000 grandparents, other elderly persons, and grandchildren are expected to gather with Pope Francis. The president of the Pontifical Academy for Life highlighted the warm relations between grandparents and grandchildren and expressed hope that the event will “encourage a real wind of spring capable of changing the direction of the demographic emergency,” in the words of the Vatican newspaper. Births in Italy have fallen to a record low, and there are now more Italians over 80 than under 10. - More...