Catholic News
- Pope Leo: The Church embraces 'rigorous, honest science' (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV told members of the Vatican Observatory Foundation today that “the Church’s embrace of rigorous, honest science remains not merely valuable, but essential.” - Christians and Muslims are called to show compassion and empathy, Pope says (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV said today that for Christians and Muslims, “human compassion and empathy are not something additional or optional, but are a call from God to reflect his goodness in our daily lives.” - Sudan's PM meets with Pontiff, sees 'deepening relationship' with Holy See (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV received Prime Minister Kamil Idris of Sudan, a nation that has suffered civil war since 2023. - Theme of Vatican's annual message to Buddhists: 'an unarmed and disarming peace' (Vatican Press Office)
The Holy See Press Office released the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue’s latest annual message to Buddhists for the festival of Vesak. The message, entitled “Buddhists and Christians for an ‘Unarmed and Disarming’ Peace,” was dated May 1 and released on May 11. “To foster an unarmed and disarming peace also means nurturing its deepest sources: prayer, contemplation, and inner transformation,” the dicastery’s prefect and secretary wrote. “It is a peace lived daily—in gestures of kindness, in patience, in the refusal of hatred and vengeance, and in the courage to hope.” - Vatican bank posts best returns in a decade (Pillar)
The Institute for Works of Religion, colloquially known as the Vatican bank, posted its strongest financial results in a decade. “For the financial year 2025, the bank posted net income of 51 million euros [$59.9 million]—a 55 percent increase from the previous year’s 32 million euro [$37.6 million] profit, and the strongest result since 2015,” The Pillar reported. - Philippine bishops urge swift Senate impeachment trial of VP Duterte (CWN)
The president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines today urged the nation’s Senate to proceed swiftly with an impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte. - Vatican dicastery announces Catholic Response for Emergencies (Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development)
The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development announced today the formation of the Catholic Response for Emergencies (CR4E), an alliance “to address in a coordinated way the humanitarian crises that mark our time.” The alliance is organized by Caritas Internationalis, the Church’s confederation of relief and development agencies, and the International Catholic Migration Commission. Representatives of eight Catholic organizations serve on CR4E’s steering committee. - Piarist fathers demand Cuban regime return their cloister and school (EWTN News)
Cuban Piarist fathers demanded that the nation’s Communist regime return a cloister and school confiscated in 1961. “Nationalized in 1961, state ownership brought only neglect and now, destruction,” the Piarists said in a statement on the buildings’ current condition. - Priest leaves West Bank after Israel refuses to renew residency permit (IMEMC News)
Israel declined to the renew the residency permit of Father Louis Salman, a Jordanian priest of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem who ministered at a West Bank parish. The decision sparked outrage among Palestinian Christians, the International Middle East Media Center reported. Father Salman celebrated his last Mass in Beit Sahour on May 10. - Vienna's new archbishop discusses ecumenism, interreligious dialogue with Pope (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV held his first private audience with Archbishop Josef Grünwidl of Vienna, seven months after his appointment to the see and less than four months after his installation. - Medjugorje bishop meets with Pope Leo (CWN)
Pope Leo received Bishop Petar Palić of Mostar-Duvno, the diocese in Bosnia and Herzegovina in which Medjugorje is located. - Courage apostolate's leader expands criticism of Synod report (National Catholic Register)
The leader of an apostolate that ministers to persons with same-sex attractions in a manner consistent with the teaching of the Church expanded upon his earlier criticism of the Synod report on doctrinal issues. Father Brian Gannon, Courage International’s executive director, told the National Catholic Register that the Synod report’s “misrepresentation of Courage actually wounds members of Courage and projects an erroneous image of Courage that thus causes injury to the pastoral outreach of Holy Mother Church.” The report “needs to be dispatched and a new statement adopted to more clearly and lovingly embrace the Church’s teaching on human sexuality and the call for all to holy chastity,” Father Gannon continued. “We do respectfully ask the hierarchy to assertively label it [the report] as it is: a non-authoritative summary of an incomplete inquiry into this very sensitive and challenging issue for so many families,” he added. - Philippine abuse survivor becomes victims' attorney (New York Times)
The New York Times today published a profile of Michal Gatchalian, a 45-year-old Filipino who was sexually abused by a priest when he was 17. “Despite the reforms made by the Vatican, the Church here still employs the same methods in handling abuse cases,” said Gatchalian, now a victims’ attorney. “They’re more focused on protecting the priest rather than the complaining victim.” Gatchalian remains a practicing Catholic and said he has forgiven his abuser, who has been laicized. - USCCB publishes brief NFP resource (USCCB)
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops published “Natural Family Planning: Designed by God Guided by Love Open to Life.” The author of the two-page text is Msgr. Robert Cannon of the Diocese of Venice, Florida. - Supreme Court again extends mail delivery of abortion pill (CBS News)
The Supreme Court on May 11 extended mail delivery of the abortion pill mifepristone until May 14. On May 4, the Court granted a one-week stay on a federal appeals court decision that temporarily halted the delivery by mail of mifepristone. - Haiti's PM meets with Pontiff; Cardinal Parolin offers Mass for peace (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV received Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé of Haiti, a Caribbean nation that has suffered years of armed strife. - Secretary of State Rubio describes 'very good' meeting with Pope Leo (U.S. Department of State)
At a press conference on May 8, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed his audience the previous day with Pope Leo XIV. “We had a very good meeting,” said Secretary of State Rubio. “We talked about those areas that we’re working together on in different parts of the world” and “updated them on the situation with Iran, expressed our point of view about why this was important, and the danger that Iran poses to the world, which is largely recognized.” “The Church has always interacted on behalf of a mission for peace and a respect for all of humanity,” Secretary Rubio added. After answering a question about humanitarian aid to Cuba, Rubio again spoke about a “very productive and fruitful and important relationship with the Church, because it plays an important role in the world as well.” - US ordinariate bishop named administrator of Australian ordinariate (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Steven Lopes of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter (U.S. and Canada) as apostolic administrator of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross (Australia). Bishop Lopes will thus govern, at least temporarily, two of the Church’s three personal ordinariates of former Anglicans. The other ordinariate is located in England. Bishop Lopes succeeds Archbishop Anthony Randazzo, now prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, as apostolic administrator of the Australian ordinariate. - India's bishops appeal for constitutional integrity, inclusive governance (CBCI)
In a statement following elections in several Indian states, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India said that the “true measure of a vibrant democracy lies not just in the successful conduct of elections, but in the steadfast commitment of elected leaders to serve the most vulnerable.” “We urge the new governments to work hand-in-hand with all institutions to build a more just, inclusive, and equitable India,” the bishops’ conference added, as it called upon “newly elected governments and leaders, irrespective of political affiliations, to remain firmly committed to the Constitution of India and the democratic values it upholds.” The South Asian nation of 1.42 billion (map), the world’s most populous nation, is 73% Hindu, 14% Muslim, 5% Christian, 3% ethnic religionist, and 2% Sikh. - Nuncio describes religious revival in Ukraine's war zones (National Catholic Register)
Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, the apostolic nuncio to Ukraine, spoke with a Lithuanian Catholic magazine about a religious revival in war zones. “When you face eternity, forgiveness is the only thing you really need,” said Archbishop Kulbokas. “In Kherson, there are no unbelievers left,” and attendance at the Catholic parish has quintupled. - More...