Catholic News
- 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.” - New Mexico basilica pastor suspended, accused of stealing diocesan records (KFOX-TV)
Bishop Peter Baldacchino of Las Cruces, New Mexico, suspended Father Christopher Williams, the pastor of the Basilica of San Albino, amid allegations that he stole diocesan financial records and gave them to a lay organization, Voice of the Laity. Voice of the Laity contended that Father Williams “is being unfairly punished for courageously defending orthodox Catholic teaching and for supporting diocesan priests, seminarians, and parishioners who expressed concerns about the Diocese’s direction. It is our understanding that he and another brave priest raised their concerns with the Vatican through a documented dossier.” - 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. - Secretary of State Rubio reflects on the Catholic roots of America (National Catholic Register)
In a virtual address, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told participants in a recent conference that “the Catholic faith has always been part of the American story.” “The first Christian service on our soil was a Catholic Mass,” said Secretary of State Rubio. “The oldest permanent settlement in the United States is the town of St. Augustine planted by Spanish Catholics on the coastal sands of my home state of Florida. Catholic saints were martyred on American soil well over a century before the revolution began.” Secretary Rubio addressed the conference at the Catholic University of America on April 9; the National Catholic Register published the transcript yesterday. - 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. - 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. - 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. - More...