Catholic News
- 'Truth in charity' is an academic community's vocation, Pope writes in message to Bolivian university (CWN)
In a message marking the sixtieth anniversary of the San Pablo Bolivian Catholic University, Pope Leo XIV reflected on the university’s motto, Veritas in Caritate (Truth in Charity). - Pope, in audience on Vatican II, reflects on the Blessed Virgin Mary, model of the Church (CWN)
Continuing his series of Wednesday general audiences on the Second Vatican Council and its documents, Pope Leo XIV devoted his May 13 general audience (video) to the Blessed Virgin Mary. - Pope pays tribute to late Cardinal Tscherrig, prays for repose of his soul (Vatican Press Office)
In a telegram of condolence to the relatives of the late Cardinal Emil Paul Tscherrig, Pope Leo XIV wrote that the veteran Vatican diplomat “acted generously, bearing witness to love of the Church and the Successor of Peter.” “I raise fervent prayers for the repose of the soul of this minister of the Gospel, that the Lord may welcome him in the light that never goes out, and, entrusting him to the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary, I impart the apostolic blessing to those who mourn his sudden passing,” Pope Leo concluded. - Cardinal Vesco writes preface to new book, Gays and Catholics (Outreach)
Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, O.P., of Algiers, Algeria, has written the preface to a forthcoming book, Homos et Cathos: L’Église à l’épreuve du réel (Gays and Catholics: The Church Put to the Test of Reality). “I like the definition given by James Alison in his contribution: homosexual orientation is a regularly occurring non-pathological minority variant in the human condition,” said Cardinal Vesco. “This definition places homosexuality within the order of creation and not within that of disorder or pathology.” “How painful it is to recognize that, faced with a human reality so complex and potentially so painful, we in the Church struggle so much to find the right words and to reconcile the solidity of Christian anthropology with the truth of existential experiences that must be accompanied and respected for what they are,” Cardinal Vesco continued. Turning to Fiducia Supplicans, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s declaration on the pastoral meaning of blessings, Cardinal Vesco concluded: Through this text, the Church authorizes its ministers to impart this blessing, not merely in their own name but in the name of the Church, and that changes everything. How good it is that homosexual people, whatever their state of life, should hear this blessing just as you and I do. Outreach, founded by Father James Martin, S.J., posted Cardinal Vesco’s preface on May 13. - English diocese opens beatification cause of young Opus Dei member (Diocese of Salford)
The Diocese of Salford opened the beatification cause of Pedro Ballester, a lay member of Opus Dei who died in 2018 at the age of 21. “Shortly after beginning university, Pedro was diagnosed with advanced pelvic cancer,” the diocese said in a May 13 statement. “He accepted his illness with remarkable faith, offering his suffering for the Pope, the Church and all souls, and bearing his condition with deep serenity and trust in God.” - India's bishops condemn killing of Baptist leaders (India Today)
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India condemned the killing of Baptist leaders in Kangpokpi district in the state of Manipur (map). Leaders of the Thadou Baptist Association were ambushed as they traveled between two villages. “We are heartbroken by this painful incident in which innocent lives were lost and several others were injured,” the bishops said in their May 13 statement. “May the God of peace comfort the grieving, heal the wounded, forgive the wrong, and bless Manipur with lasting harmony and peace.” - Muslims exceed Christians in Vienna's public schools (Zenit)
The number of Muslim students in public schools in Vienna, Austria, exceeds the number of Christians. 42% of the approximately 114,000 students are Muslims. 17% are Catholic, 14% are Eastern Orthodox, and 23% have no religious affiliation. “The newer Muslim communities often come from more explicitly religious environments and tend to practice a form of Islam described by critics as more rigid, more centered on literal Quranic interpretation, and less culturally assimilated into European society,” the Zenit news agency reported. - Honors awarded to 13 ambassadors to the Holy See (Vatican News)
As is customary, 13 ambassadors to the Holy See who have completed two years of service were awarded the title of Knight or Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Pius IX. Archbishop Paolo Rudelli, the new Substitute for General Affairs at the Secretariat of State, presented the awards on May 12. - Vatican launches daily programming on giant digital screens (Vatican News)
The Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication announced that daily video programming will be broadcast on giant screens in Rome and Milan beginning on May 17. “In the coming months, the project is expected to expand progressively to additional screens in other Italian cities, further extending the reach of Vatican content beyond traditional media platforms,” according to Vatican News, the dicastery’s news agency. - Cardinal Fernández, DDF prefect, warns SSPX of excommunication (CWN)
Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, warned the Society of St. Pius X of excommunication if the Society proceeds with its plan to consecrate new bishops on July 1 without the Pope’s approval. - Cardinal Emil Paul Tscherrig, veteran Vatican diplomat, dies at 79 (SWI swissinfo)
Cardinal Emil Paul Tscherrig, a Swiss-born Vatican diplomat who served as an apostolic nuncio from 1996 until his retirement in 2024, died on May 12 at the age of 79. As noted in his Vatican biography, the future Cardinal Tscherrig was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Sion, Switzerland, in 1974. He served as apostolic nuncio to Burundi (1996-2000), several Caribbean nations (2000-2004), South Korea and Mongolia (2004-2008), several Scandinavian nations (2008-2012), Argentina (2012-2017), and Italy and San Marino (2017-2024). Pope Francis created him a cardinal in 2023. With Cardinal Tscherrig’s death, there are now 242 members of the College of Cardinals, 118 of whom are eligible to take part in a papal election. - Shio III elected Georgian Orthodox Patriarch (CWN)
The bishops of the Orthodox Church of Georgia (CNEWA profile) elected Shio III as the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia on May 11. - Vatican diplomat calls for renewed commitment to Global Compact for Migration (Holy See Mission)
Addressing a UN discussion of migration, a Vatican diplomat praised the Global Compact for Migration (2018) and called for “renewed collective ownership and joint implementation.” “Migrants are, first and foremost, human beings whose God-given dignity, as well as fundamental human rights and freedoms must remain at the core of international cooperation and migration governance,” said Msgr. Robert Murphy, Chargé d’Affaires of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations. - Vatican diplomat sees need for more resilient food systems as urgent priority (Vatican News)
Addressing a conference in Tajikistan, a Vatican diplomat said that “building resilience into the world’s agrifood systems is among the most urgent priorities of our time,” according to a summary of his remarks by Vatican News. “The combination of merciless wars, economic recessions, extreme climate events, political instability, and market volatility has given rise to a lethal combination for the world’s food systems,” said Msgr. Fernando Chica Arellano, Permanent Observer to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. “The agricultural sector,” he added, “should be supported by wise economic and political decisions, enabling young people to devote themselves enthusiastically to agriculture and not to abandon the countryside in discouragement in order to migrate to the cities.” - Archbishop Gallagher marks 50 years of diplomatic relations between Holy See, Cabo Verde (Vatican News)
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, traveled to Cabo Verde (Cape Verde) to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations with the Holy See. Speaking at a conference on May 11, Archbishop Gallagher highlighted the importance of the “defense of life, the family, religious freedom, human rights, democracy, multilateralism, and international law,” Vatican News reported. The prelate also discussed the Holy See’s diplomatic history. Located in the Atlantic off the coast of Africa, the island nation of 620,000 (map) is 95% Christian (77% Catholic) and 3% Muslim. - USCCB, other Catholic organizations decry proposed federal housing policy change (USCCB)
The general counsel of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, joined by representatives of four other Catholic organizations, decried a policy change proposed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Under the proposal, families with mixed immigration status would be “effectively prohibited from participating in federally funded housing programs,” the Catholic signatories said. “The Catholic Church teaches that access to safe, decent, and affordable housing is a fundamental human right,” the signatories stated. “Denying subsidies to eligible individuals because of their membership in a mixed-status family is morally wrong, concerning from a fiscal perspective, and is in conflict with the underlying law.” Representatives of Catholic Charities USA, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the Catholic Health Association of the United States, and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network joined William Quinn, the general counsel, in signing the public comment, dated April 21 and posted on the USCCB’s website in May. - Israeli soldiers sentenced after desecration of Virgin Mary statue in Lebanon (OSV News)
An Israeli soldier was sentenced to 21 days in military detention for placing a cigarette in the mouth of a Marian statue in Debel, Lebanon. A second soldier who photographed the act was sentenced to 14 days. Israel’s military “respects freedom of religion and worship, as well as holy sites and religious symbols of all religions and communities,” said Lt. Col. Ariella Mazor, spokeswoman for the Israeli Defense Forces. - Leading Indian cardinal reflects on synodality, says Church must listen without fear (Catholic Connect)
Reflecting on synodality, the president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India, called for a “spiritual culture” of listening. Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão, archbishop of Goa and Daman and Patriarch of the East Indies, said in an interview that listening “means allowing space for dissent. We must grow to accept dissenting voices without judgment.” “We must learn to speak with charity, listen without fear and disagree without division,” he continued. “Then listening will not be just a meeting technique; it will become a spiritual culture.” Catholic Connect, a website of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India, published the transcript of the interview. - Prelate calls for world day of prayer for Haiti (Vatican News (Italian))
The vice president of Haiti’s episcopal conference called for a world day of prayer for the Caribbean nation. “Our people have been suffering for years without anyone seeming to care,” Bishop Pierre-André Dumas of Anse-à-Veau-Miragoâne told the Vatican newspaper. “Therefore, the world must be helped to rediscover a sense of concrete solidarity toward Haiti through prayer; it would be truly wonderful to see individuals, parishes, institutions, families, and religious communities unite in a global day of prayer.” “My country is just one hour away from the United States, the world’s leading power,” Bishop Dumas continued. “And yet, that nation squanders vast sums of money waging wars, while right next door, we suffer. Haiti asks not merely for superficial pity, but for concrete solidarity.” - Oregon counselor fined nearly $90,000 for not affirming client's same-sex relationship (EWTN News)
The Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists fined a Catholic counselor $89,636 after he declined to bless a client’s same-sex relationship. Alliance Defending Freedom filed a lawsuit on behalf of the counselor, Frank Canepa. “Counseling is speech, which is protected by the First Amendment,” Canepa’s attorney said. “Oregon law says counselors can’t impose their values on their clients. Canepa did not do that. He answered the client’s question when she demanded to know his personal view.” - More...