Catholic News
- Pope fields questions from Roman priests, urges them to avoid AI in preparing homilies (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV fielded questions from four priests of the Diocese of Rome during his February 19 meeting with them in Paul VI Audience Hall. In addressing one of the questions, he urged priests to avoid AI in preparing homilies. - Pope encourages youth of Los Angeles to open their hearts to God's love in the Blessed Sacrament (Vatican Press Office)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, sent a message in the Holy Father’s name to Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles on the occasion of the archdiocesan Religious Education Congress. Cardinal Parolin wrote: His Holiness would likewise encourage the young people present to open their hearts to the love of God. Love not only led Jesus to give himself for us on the Cross, but also to remain with us in the Blessed Sacrament. In this regard, he prays that their experience at the Conference will help them to discover Jesus’ Eucharistic presence as an unfailing source of comfort and strength in all of life’s circumstances. Addressing catechists, Cardinal Parolin also said that “by deepening your relationship with Jesus, who is the Truth (cf. Jn 14:6), and continuing to be faithful and joyful disciples in your daily lives, your authenticity as educators and catechetical leaders will enable you to transmit the Gospel in such a way that it leads to a true encounter with the Lord and contributes to building up a lasting and life-giving culture.” - Vatican message to Muslims: Do not yield to despair or violence, but seek peace (CWN)
In its annual message for the month of Ramadan, the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue called on Muslims not to “yield to despair or to violence,” but instead strive to restore “peace to our broken world.” - Synod establishes commission to propose revisions to Eastern canon law (CWN)
The General Secretariat of the Synod announced the establishment of an Eastern Canonical Commission to propose revisions to the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches in light of the synod on synodality. - Tanzania's Cardinal Pengo dies at 81 (CWN)
Cardinal Polycarp Pengo, one of Africa’s leading prelates during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, died on February 19 at the age of 81. - Franciscan friar describes widespread suffering in Gaza, departure of Christians from Bethlehem (CWN)
A Franciscan friar who oversees 18 schools in the Holy Land described continued widespread suffering in Gaza, four months after the signing of the Gaza peace plan. - SSPX rejects Vatican offer, will proceed with episcopal ordinations (CWN)
The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) has announced that it plans to go ahead with the ordination of new bishops on July 1, despite a Vatican warning that the move will lead to schism. - 4 economists, in Vatican newspaper, reflect on Pope Leo's Dilexi Te (CWN)
The Vatican newspaper marked the World Day of Social Justice by publishing four economists’ reflections on Dilexi Te, Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic exhortation on love for the poor. - Cardinal Ruini speaks bluntly in 95th birthday interview [News Analysis] (CWN)
As a rule Catholic bishops—and especially cardinals—choose their words very carefully. Reading an interview with a prelate, therefore, is often an exercise in discernment, in interpreting the hints and reading the message between the lines. - American bombing of Castel Gandolfo recalled (Vatican News)
Laudato Si’ Village, dedicated last September at Castel Gandolfo, recalled the anniversary of the American bombing of the Holy See’s property in 1944, during World War II. The hundreds of refugees who were killed “were people looking only for a safe place,” said Father Manuel Dorantes, administrative director of the Laudato Si’ Higher Education Center. “They were seeking protection.” Pope Venerable Pius XII, who reigned from 1939 to 1958, “opened doors,” Father Dorantes added. “He made space available. He saved lives.” - Priest brutally murdered in DR Congo (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
A priest was brutally murdered on February 16 in Botemola, a village in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Mai-Ndombe Province, the Vatican newspaper reported. The body of Father Jules Bontone Nkaa Yulu, “killed shortly after mediating a conflict in a nearby village, was found headless on a road regularly used by locals,” according to the report. “The province of Maï-Ndombe has been plagued by insecurity for over three years due to the activities of the Mobondo militia, in the conflict between the Yaka and Teke communities.” - New Stations of the Cross on display in St. Peter's Basilica (St. Peter's Basilica)
New paintings of the Stations of the Cross were inaugurated in St. Peter’s Basilica last evening as the basilica celebrates its 400th anniversary year. The paintings, the work of Swiss artist Manuel Andreas Dürr, will be on display during the remainder of Lent. According to the basilica, Dürr was one of a thousand artists from 80 nations who submitted entries to the artistic competition for the painting of the Stations. - Vatican announces 6 papal trips in Italy between May and August, including Lampedusa on July 4 (CWN)
The Prefecture of the Papal Household announced on February 19 that Pope Leo XIV will make six pastoral visits within Italy between May and August. - Pakistani prelate: Lent and Ramadan call Christians, Muslims to interfaith harmony (Fides)
The coinciding of the beginnings of Lent and Ramadan this year “offers a unique opportunity to further strengthen interreligious harmony,” a Pakistani archbishop wrote in his Ramadan greetings to the Muslim community. “Churches and mosques should be centers of compassion, peace, and love,” said Archbishop Joseph Arshad of Rawalpindi-Islamabad. The shared practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, he added, are “a powerful testament to the fact that faith is not a source of division but rather a means of mercy, solidarity, and unity.” Islam is the official religion of the South Asian nation of 257 million (map), the fifth most populous in the world. 95% of Pakistan’s people are Muslim, 2% are Christian, and 1% are Hindu. - Be faithful to your charism and exercise authority as service, Pope tells Legionaries of Christ (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV received participants in the Legionaries of Christ‘s general chapter today and encouraged them to be faithful to their charism. - Ecumenical Patriarch's Lenten message emphasizes asceticism (Ecumenical Patriarchate)
In his catechetical homily for the opening of Holy and Great Lent, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople reflected on asceticism. “Asceticism is not a matter of self-willed choices and subjective particularities, but of submission to the rule and the ‘catholic experience’ of the Church,” said the Ecumenical Patriarch, who holds a primacy of honor among the Orthodox churches. “Repentance, prayer, humility, forgiveness, fasting, and philanthropic deeds are interconnected and interwoven.” - Rekindle the fire within you, Pope tells Rome's priests (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV met with priests of the Diocese of Rome on February 19 and encouraged them to rekindle the fire of the Spirit within them. - Bishops from US, Latin America, Canada call for policies that safeguard migrants (USCCB)
Bishops representing bishops’ conferences in the US, Canada, and Latin America met to pray and reaffirm their unity. “Among the issues we have considered are our concern for the poor and vulnerable, the dignity and rights of indigenous peoples, the painful scourge of human trafficking and narco-culture, the growing polarization that wounds public discourse and weakens social cohesion, and, in particular, the extreme vulnerability of migrants who live, travel through, and seek a future in our countries,” the bishops said in a joint statement at the conclusion of their February 15-17 gathering. “We invite civil authorities to promote policies that safeguard the lives, rights, and dignity of migrants,” the bishops continued. “We recognize the responsibility of States to regulate migration and ensure the common good; however, we reiterate that all legislation must place at its center the inalienable dignity of the human person and the respect that person deserves.” - 'God does not need papers,' Cardinal Cupich preaches on Ash Wednesday (Archdiocese of Chicago)
Preaching that “God does not need papers,” Cardinal Blase Cupich spoke about immigration in his Ash Wednesday homily. “You may be undocumented in the eyes of the state, but you were hand-crafted by the Creator of the universe,” Cardinal Cupich said. “Your worth does not come from a visa or a permit; it comes from the breath of God inside you.” He added: Today many of you live in fear of being marked and tracked, careful about names, identities, and lists. But today, you step forward freely to receive this mark, the sign of the cross. This mark is more permanent than any government identity or record. It is a seal that says you belong to Jesus Christ. It is a reminder that you are citizens of a homeland that has no borders. It is a declaration that no matter what laws change, no matter what politicians say, and no matter what uncertainties you face, you are children of God. - Jihadist fighters torch 7 villages in Nigeria (AFP)
Jihadist fighters set fire to seven Nigerian villages on February 18, killing dozens, Agence France-Presse reported. “The current situation of kidnappings and violence is worsening, and those responsible are acting with impunity due to the government’s slow response,” Bishop Anselm Pendo Lawani of Ilorin said in an interview with Vatican News. Bishop Lawani said that “there are several militant Islamic extremist groups, such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), which have acquired a significant presence in the predominantly Muslim north of the country.” In central Nigeria, “there are radicalized and armed members of the Fulani ethnic group who are causing chaos.” - More...