Catholic News
- Cardinal Müller, former CDF prefect, blasts Synod report on doctrinal issues (CWN)
Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the prefect of the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2012 to 2017, blasted the newly published Synod report on doctrinal issues, which included two testimonies written by men in same-sex civil marriages. - Courage apostolate condemns 'calumny and detraction' in Synod report (Courage)
An apostolate that ministers to persons with same-sex attractions in a manner consistent with the teaching of the Church condemned the “calumny and detraction” included in the newly published Synod report on doctrinal issues. The General Secretariat of the Synod included testimonies of two men, one from Portugal and the other from the United States, who have contracted same-sex civil marriages. The American criticized the Courage apostolate in his testimony. Courage International responded: Courage considers this report to be both calumny and detraction against the organization and its members. Calumny, because the report mischaracterizes Courage’s work. Courage is not nor ever has been involved in “reparative therapy,” as alleged. The working group could have clarified this point by simply contacting Courage leadership. Rather than do so, however, the report presents one person’s experience and opinion as part of an official ecclesiastical document ... Courage has suffered calumny and detraction before, but usually from secular outlets. It is a great sadness and an additional wound to our members to have this false and unjust depiction in a Vatican document. If synod officials would like to learn more about Courage International, Inc. and its apostolate over 45 years, our chaplains and members would be happy to meet with them. The Synod published its report three months after Pope Leo received a Courage International delegation. Following the audience, the apostolate’s executive director said that Pope Leo is “very supportive” of Courage. - Muslims and Christians should condemn persecution, Pope tells Senegal's Muslim leaders (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV received a delegation of Senegalese Muslim leaders this morning, thanked them for their efforts to foster interreligious dialogue with local Catholics, and told them that Christians and Muslims have a shared responsibility to condemn discrimination and persecution. “As Christians and Muslims, we all believe that every human being is fashioned by the hands of God, and thus endowed with a dignity that no law or human power has the right to take away,” Pope Leo said. “It is on this foundation of brotherhood, rooted in the origins of humanity and in faith, that we jointly assume our shared responsibility: to condemn all forms of discrimination and persecution based on race, religion or origin; to reject any exploitation of God’s name for military, economic or political ends; to raise our voices in support of every minority that suffers,” the Pope added. Located in West Africa, Senegal, a nation of 19.3 million (map), is 92% Muslim, 5% Christian, and 3% ethnic religionist. - Pope Leo encourages John Paul II Foundation for the Sahel in its 'revitalized mission' (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV met this morning with the board members of the John Paul II Foundation for the Sahel. The audience took place three months after the Pontiff approved revised statutes for the foundation, founded in 1984 to provide assistance to Africa’s Sahel region. “After more than forty years of experience, the Foundation has reached a turning point characterized also by external challenges linked to multidimensional economic crises at the international level,” Pope Leo said in his French-language address. “It is in this context that the revitalization of its mission, in conformity with the regulations in force of the Holy See, has become indispensable.” Pope Leo added: In a world facing complex challenges such as geopolitical tensions, inequality, wars, problems related to insecurities, terrorism, political and economic instability, climate crises, the consequences of which include migratory flows, the relevance of this Foundation’s mission appears clearer than ever! Through its main purpose, it contributes to God’s work, to the protection of the “common home,” and highlights your social responsibility. Rescuing the victims of a natural calamity or vulnerable people is indeed a question of justice before being a question of charity. - Pope challenges Augustiner Bräu brewers to care for creation, act as just stewards (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV received pilgrims today from Munich’s Augustiner Bräu and challenged them to care for creation as just stewards. The beer brewers were joined by representatives of the Edith-Haberland-Wagner Foundation, which supports the brewery. Augustiner Bräu, Munich’s oldest independent brewery, was founded by Augustinian friars in 1328 but passed into other hands after the friary’s dissolution under Napoleon in 1802. After recalling the brewery’s Augustinian heritage, Pope Leo recalled Pope Francis’s statement that “everything is, as it were, a caress of God.” Pope Leo commented: This insight calls us to the great responsibility not only to care for creation but to ensure that its resources are always used wisely and with an eye to justice, which is a prerequisite for peace. As you return home, I therefore encourage you to continue playing your part in promoting a just and effective approach to caring for creation, both professionally and personally, for the sake of the common good. - Pope encourages Italian soccer players to be good role models (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV today encouraged the members of the Inter Milan soccer team to be good role models to the young. - Vatican News highlights destruction of Lebanese Christian churches, villages (Vatican News)
Vatican News, the news agency of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, published a short video that shines a spotlight on the destruction of Christian villages, churches, and other Church property in southern Lebanon. The video, entitled “Christians under attack in southern Lebanon,” was produced in conjunction with the French Catholic charity L’Œuvre d’Orient. - New Mexico diocese files suit to prevent confiscation of land for border wall (Bloomberg)
The Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico, filed a lawsuit to prevent the Trump administration from confiscating some of its land for border wall construction. “The Diocesan property that the Government seeks to condemn is located at the base of Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, New Mexico,” attorneys representing the diocese said in their lawsuit. “Atop the mountain sits a 29-foot-tall limestone statue of Jesus Christ that serves as a shrine to thousands of faithful in the El Paso and Southern New Mexico area.” “The mountaintop shrine is the site of annual pilgrimages,” the attorneys continued. “On the feast day of Christ the King each fall, as many as 40,000 faithful climb Mount Cristo Rey” for a Mass. “Some of the faithful make the five-mile journey barefooted, while fewer make the ascent on their knees.” - Vatican diplomat condemns attacks on nuclear facilities (Holy See Mission)
Addressing a UN conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1968), a Vatican diplomat condemned attacks on nuclear facilities. Msgr. Robert D. Murphy, Chargé d’Affaires of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, said on May 5 that the “Holy See recalls the longstanding consensus within the international community that armed attacks on nuclear facilities must never take place, as they could result in radioactive releases with serious consequences for the affected State and beyond.” Without mentioning by name the recent Ukrainian attack on a Russian-occupied nuclear plant, or last year’s U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Msgr. Murphy said: Recent events have drawn attention to the seriousness of such risks, including the potential for radioactive releases with far-reaching humanitarian and environmental consequences. Against this backdrop, the Holy See draws attention to both the immediate and long-term impacts of nuclear activities, including uranium mining and radioactive waste. - Illinois diocese announces shrine to Venerable Augustus Tolton (Catholic Times (Springfield))
The Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, announced plans to establish a shrine to Venerable Augustus Tolton (1854-1897). Father Tolton was born into slavery in Missouri, ordained to the priesthood in Rome, and ministered in Illinois. He was declared venerable in 2019. - Leading Canadian bishop thanks Pope for 'steady witness' (Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops)
Writing on behalf of Canada’s Catholics, the president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops congratulated Pope Leo XIV for the first year of his pontificate. “From your first greeting of ‘Peace be with you all,’ you have invited the Church and the world to receive anew the peace of the Risen Christ and to walk together in hope,” Bishop Pierre Goudreault of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, Quebec, wrote in his May 8 letter. “In this first year of your Petrine Ministry, we have been grateful for your steady witness to unity and communion, as well as your service as Bishop of Rome.” - India's bishops, other Christian leaders form ecumenical federation (Catholic Bishops' Conference of India)
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), joined by bishops and leaders of other churches and ecclesial communities, announced the formation of the National Federation of Churches in India (NFCI). “The decision to establish the NFCI emerged from the growing concern among Christian Churches in India over the critical challenges currently faced by the Christian community, including violent attacks on pastors and faithful, stringent anti-conversion laws in several States, and attempts to take over Church properties,” the CBCI said in a May 8 statement. “Recognizing the urgent need for a united and collective response, Church leaders and representatives resolved to create a national ecumenical platform that would represent the Churches in India with one united voice,” the CBCI statement continued. “The NFCI aims to function as a national ecumenical body of Churches, serving as an umbrella organization and apex body for Christians in India.” Located in South Asia, the 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. - Kentucky judge strikes down definition of human being in state abortion law (Religion Clause)
A Kentucky judge ruled the definition of “human being” in a state law intended to protect most unborn children from abortion is void because of vagueness. The law was challenged by a woman who feared she might be prosecuted if she participated in IVF and consented to the destruction of human embryos. The state’s attorney general issued an advisory opinion stating that IVF did not run afoul of the law; the judge stated that the advisory opinion does not have the force of law. - Archbishop Sample explains upcoming consecration of US to the Sacred Heart (USCCB)
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops posted a video by Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon, explaining the upcoming consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart. The Consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus will take place on June 12, the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, and will be preceded by a June 3-11 novena. - Singer Patti Smith inaugurates Holy See pavilion at Venice art show (Vatican News)
American singer and songwriter Patti Smith inaugurated one of the Holy See’s two pavilions at the Venice Biennale on May 8. The Biennale, a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place every two years, will conclude on November 22. The Holy See’s exhibit, entitled “The ear is the eye of the soul,” is inspired by the works of St. Hildegard of Bingen; the curators are Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers. - Pope challenges citizens of Naples to build an alternative culture to violence (CWN)
As he concluded his one-day pastoral visit to Pompeii and Naples, Pope Leo XIV addressed the citizens of Naples late this afternoon in the Piazza del Plebiscito. - World Jewish Congress's former general counsel comes to Pope Leo's defense (The Catholic Register)
In an op-ed, the former general counsel of the World Jewish Congress came to Pope Leo XIV’s defense against attacks by President Donald Trump and Rabbi Eliezer Simcha Weiss. “The ad hominem attacks on Pope Leo were not just unseemly and inordinately offensive,” Menachem Rosensaft said of President Trump’s attacks. “They backfired spectacularly from a political perspective.” Rosencraft added that “it is critically important for all of us to remember that Pope Leo is a friend to the Jewish community and to humankind as a whole. While there certainly can be disagreements among friends, we must not allow such differences of opinion, in his words, ‘to divert us’ from that friendship or from our respect and admiration for the man who has become in large measure the world’s conscience.” - Pope Leo issued over 400 appeals for peace during 1st year of pontificate (Vatican News)
Pope Leo XIV made over 400 appeals for peace during the first year of his pontificate, according to Vatican News, the news agency of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, which published an overview of the appeals. The Pontiff began his ministry by recalling Christ’s Easter greeting of peace. In his address upon his election on May 8, 2025, Pope Leo said: Peace be with you all! Dear brothers and sisters, these are the first words spoken by the risen Christ, the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for God’s flock. I would like this greeting of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world. Peace be with you! It is the peace of the risen Christ. A peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering. A peace that comes from God, the God who loves us all, unconditionally. - Pope Leo: The Rosary is the 'hidden engine that makes everything else possible' in Pompeii (CWN)
Following a 50-minute helicopter flight, Pope Leo XIV arrived this morning at the Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii, the first stop in a twelve-hour pastoral visit to Pompeii and Naples. - Addressing priests in Naples, Pope emphasizes prayer, fraternity (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV visited Naples Cathedral this afternoon and encouraged priests to care for their spiritual life and be brothers to one another (video). - More...