Catholic News
- Pope ordains 10 priests, offers 3 secrets of priestly life (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV ordained ten deacons to the priesthood during a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica this morning (booklet, video) and offered three secrets of priestly life in his homily. - On Good Shepherd Sunday, Pope Leo asks: 'Whom do we want to guide us in life?' (CWN)
Describing the different intentions that the Good Shepherd and thieves have towards Christ’s sheep, Pope Leo XIV encouraged the faithful to ask themselves, “Whom do we want to guide us in life?” - Pope names successor to 59-year-old Central African cardinal—reportedly after investigation by Cardinal Sarah (Vatican Press Office)
In a highly unusual move, Pope Leo XIV appointed a coadjutor archbishop for a 59-year-old African cardinal. Father Joseph Samedi, S.J., the Jesuit superior in the Central African Republic, will become the new archbishop of Bangui, the nation’s capital, upon the resignation of Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga, C.S.Sp. Corbeau News Centrafrique, a local news site, reported that the apostolic nuncio requested Cardinal Nzapalainga’s resignation following an investigation conducted by Cardinal Robert Sarah in February at Pope Leo’s behest. - Pope recalls 40th anniversary of Chernobyl disaster (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV today recalled the fortieth anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, the worst nuclear accident in history. - US bishops' conference president condemns shooting at White House Correspondents' dinner (USCCB)
Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued a statement following last night’s White House Correspondents’ dinner shooting. “We are grateful the lives of the President, those who protect him, and everyone in attendance last night were spared from serious harm,” said Archbishop Coakley. “Let us all pray for our elected leaders and public officials that they may receive God’s blessings.” “Because human life is a precious gift, there is no room for violence of any kind in our society,” Archbishop Coakley added. - 'Truth is the goal and personal relationship the path to achieving it,' Pope tells Italian religion teachers (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV received thousands of Italian religion teachers in Paul VI Audience Hall on April 25 and told them that “truth is the goal and personal relationship the path to achieving it.” “In the study of the inexhaustible pages of the Bible,” said Pope Leo, “we come to know Christ, the Son of God made man, the revelation of the Father’s face and the perfect model of humanity. In this way, you make accessible to the younger generations, with full respect for everyone’s freedom, what might otherwise remain incomprehensible and vague.” The Pope added: Man cannot live without truth and authentic meaning, and the young, although they may at times seem apathetic or insensitive, behind a façade of apparent indifference they often actually conceal the restlessness and suffering of those who “feel too much” and too intensely, without being able to put a name to what they are experiencing. Teaching, therefore, means forming people to listen to their hearts, and thereby to inner freedom and the capacity for critical thinking, according to dynamics in which faith and reason do not ignore one another, nor indeed oppose one another, but are travelling companions in the humble and sincere search for truth. For this reason, education requires the patience to sow without expecting immediate results, respecting the pace at which a person grows. And above all—as Newman teaches—it requires love. - Vatican newspaper warns of global food crisis (CWN)
The Vatican newspaper devoted prominent front-page coverage in its April 25 edition to the 2026 Global Report on Food Crises, released the previous day by the Global Network Against Food Crises. - Cardinal Koch: The witness of martyrs is essential to the Church's life (Vatican News)
In a message to an ecumenical commemoration of the anniversary of the Armenian genocide, Cardinal Kurt Koch said that the witness of martyrs is essential to the life of the Church. The prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity said that the Armenian martyrs are members of a “common martyrology” that transcends ecclesial divisions. Cardinal Koch also recalled the persecuted Christians of today. The commemoration took place on April 23 at the Basilica of St. Bartholomew on the Island. - Italian soldiers replace crucifix destroyed by Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon (The Catholic Leader)
Italian soldiers replaced a crucifix defaced by an Israeli soldier in Debel, a largely Catholic village in southern Lebanon. Archbishop Paolo Borgia, the apostolic nuncio to Lebanon, was present in Debel for the new crucifix’s installation. “The images of the statue’s delivery to the community and its placement, in the same spot where the statue was destroyed a few days earlier by an IDF soldier, fill my heart and convey a powerful message of hope, dialogue, and peace,” said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. - Pope is committed to European unity, European Parliament ex-president says following audience (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV is committed to European unity, a former president of the European Parliament said following an audience with the Pontiff. - Church in Vietnam faces challenges from AI, mass media, bishop says after papal audience (Vatican News)
A Vietnamese bishop told Vatican News that Vietnamese Catholics “are appreciated for our strong faith, but also we face all the challenges like everyone else, in particular now with AI and with mass media.” Auxiliary Bishop Dominic Nguyễn Tuan Anh of Xuân Lộc made his remarks after an April 24 papal audience with Vietnam’s bishops, who were in Rome for their ad limina visit. “The Vietnamese Church is a family, and in our culture, family is very strong,” the prelate said. “The Church has also been blessed by God’s grace and by the blood of our martyrs ... So we need to unite; we need to unify, and with God’s grace, we can face this challenge in the way of faith, in the way of hope.” Located in Southeast Asia, Vietnam is a Communist nation of 106.7 million (map) that is 48% Buddhist and 10% Christian, with 12% adhering to ethnic religions. - Pope offers advice to Christians engaged in politics (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV received leading members of the European People’s Party today and offered advice to Christians engaged in politics: first and foremost, “rediscovering and embracing the Christian heritage from which you come, while still maintaining the necessary distinction between prophetic religious witness—reserved to the ecclesial community—and Christian witness expressed through concrete political choices.” - Vatican releases schedule for 4 of Pontiff's upcoming visits to Italian cities (CWN)
The Vatican on April 25 released the schedules for four of Pope Leo’s six upcoming pastoral visits to Italian cities: - Cardinal Leo urges Canadian PM to reject expansion of assisted suicide (The Catholic Register)
Cardinal Frank Leo of Toronto called upon Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and members of Parliament to reject the expansion of assisted suicide to the mentally ill. “Our Catholic faith opposes the taking of any life and it is with great disappointment and anguish that we have seen our country expand [assisted suicide] at a rapid and alarming rate,” Cardinal Leo wrote, as he called for “instead prioriz[ing] investments in palliative care, mental health support and resources for those who are increasingly marginalized and isolated, especially seniors and Canadians living with disabilities.” - Pope Leo: 'The Church teaches that the death penalty is inadmissible' (CWN)
Citing Pope Francis’s 2018 revision of a paragraph of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV said that “the Church teaches that ‘the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.’“ - Leading African prelate calls for greater recognition of African Church's importance (CWN)
The president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) said he was “proud and happy” after Pope Leo’s apostolic journey to four African nations and called for a greater worldwide recognition of the importance of the Church in Africa. - The Pope has called us to personal responsibility, leading Equatorial Guinea prelate says (Vatican News)
Reflecting on Pope Leo’s recent apostolic journey to Equatorial Guinea, the president of the nation’s episcopal conference said that he was most struck by the Pope’s call to personal responsibility. “The Holy Father has called both the Church and Christians engaged in social life to work for the coming of the Kingdom,” Bishop Juan Domingo-Beka Esono Ayang, C.M.F., of Mongomo said in an interview with the Vatican News podcast Nota Ecclesial. “The future is not something to be awaited passively; it calls for the commitment of each and every one of us.” - Latin Patriarchate condemns Israeli settlers' encroachments on Church land in the West Bank (Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem)
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem condemned Israeli settlers’ encroachments on its land in the area of Tayasir, a West Bank village. After a meeting with Israeli officials, the Latin Patriarchate, led by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, O.F.M., announced it had filed a complaint about “the attacks against local residents and Patriarchate lands in several locations. Following this complaint, the authorities began the necessary actions, including pursuing those responsible and seizing heavy machinery used for land destruction and damage at the site.” “Protecting Church endowment properties is a red line,” the Patriarchate said. “It will continue to take all legal and administrative steps needed to protect their sanctity, preserve their Church identity, defend their lawful rights, and continue supporting the local people.” - USCCB files Supreme Court brief in Ohio religious-freedom case (USCCB)
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), joined by the General Council of the Assemblies of God and the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventists, filed a brief in support of Daniel Grand in the case of Grand v. City of University Heights, Ohio. “Religious freedom is not a privilege to be rationed by administrative gatekeepers,” the USCCB noted in its brief, filed on April 10 and published yesterday on the USCCB’s website. “It is a constitutional right that federal courts are obliged to protect as soon as the government threatens to burden it.” The brief explained: Daniel Grand is a Jewish man who opened his home for prayer. The City of University Heights responded by ordering him to stop in cease-and-desist letter. That cease-and-desist letter was not an invitation to negotiate; it was a credible threat of enforcement against constitutionally and statutorily protected religious exercise. Two attorneys for the law firm First and Fourteenth prepared the brief. - Vatican announces conference on marriage formation (Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life)
The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life announced that it is hosting a study day on April 28 devoted to “The Sacrament of Marriage, Faith and the Munus Docendi” (Office of Teaching). “This initiative stems from the realization that the relationship between marriage, faith and the Church’s mission is now a pastoral and educational issue of particular importance,” the dicastery said. “In a time marked by profound cultural changes, the event aims to provide an opportunity to reflect on how to accompany young people, engaged couples, and married couples, and, at the same time, on how to train ministers and pastoral workers capable of supporting this journey with greater awareness and competence.” Speakers include Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the dicastery’s prefect; Father Andrea Bozzolo, S.D.B., rector of the Pontifical Salesian University; and Father Fabio Rosini, a professor at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. - More...