Saint Joseph Catholic Church

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Unknown perpetrators desecrated a church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ituri Province on the night of February 15-16.

The church attack took place in Bulé; the area has seen recent fighting between the nation’s army and a rebel group, the Convention for the Popular Revolution.

Pope Leo XIV encouraged Brazil’s faithful to support the episcopal conference’s annual Lenten campaign, which is devoted this year to assisting those without adequate housing.

“In this time of intense prayer, we are also invited to practice with renewed commitment the virtue of charity towards the poorest and most in need, with whom Christ himself identifies,” Pope Leo wrote in his message, dated February 11 and released on Ash Wednesday. “Sharing the gifts generously granted to us by the Lord cannot be restricted to a period of the year, a campaign or a few specific actions, but must be a constant attitude that commits us to encountering Christ present in those who have nowhere to live.”

The Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, announced it has reached a $180-million abuse settlement with more than 300 plaintiffs.

“For the survivors of South Jersey, this day is long overdue and represents a milestone in their journey toward restored justice and the healing and recognition they have long sought and deserve,” said Bishop Joseph Williams.

The settlement came six years after the diocese declared bankruptcy.

The chairmen of two committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a four-page reflection, “An Invitation to Ecological Conversion for U.S. Catholics.”

“Our world is hurtling toward unsustainable climate conditions that will affect the flourishing of people all over the planet,” Archbishop Shelton Fabre, chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, and Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace, warned on February 17.

“This Lent is an opportunity for discernment and action,” the prelates added. “May we quiet our hearts and enter the solitude of the desert, that we might hear the voice of God and listen to the cries of his children around the world whose livelihoods are impacted by our own actions and lifestyles.”

Father Francesco Ielpo, OFM, the custos (Franciscan provincial) of the Holy Land, highlighted the importance of the international Good Friday collection for the Church there.

“Many Christian families, who lived thanks to pilgrimages, now struggle to support themselves,” Father Ielpo wrote on February 18. “Young people find it increasingly difficult to imagine a future here, in their own land ... On Good Friday, as we contemplate the Crucified Christ, we ask you not to forget the Holy Land.”

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna, the president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, issued a message to local Muslims for Ramadan.

“May this be our concrete way of doing penance in Ramadan and Lent: concrete gestures of mercy, small, possible for all,” Cardinal Zuppi wrote in his February 17 message. “There the world begins to change and we can make it what God wants: the world of the human family, of all brothers and sisters in the name of the Merciful and Clement God.”

The ashes are scarcely washed clean from our foreheads. In this second Lenten Mass we get down to work on our spiritual program. The first four Masses in Lent are a unit. They describe the area of concentration and the dimensions of our Lenten program. Today's Mass teaches that it is the soul's life we are concerned with. The Collect or Opening Prayer at Mass is the usual one said when beginning a major work.

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In a February 18 audience with members of the Pro Petri Sede association, Pope Leo XIV emphasized the importance of the Roman Pontiff’s sovereign freedom.

Recalling the Belgian association’s support for the papacy since its 19th-century founding, Pope Leo said that “the Bishop of Rome has received from Christ the task of gathering the faithful people into unity and proclaiming the Gospel of Salvation throughout the earth; and the charism of his Successors implies the sovereign freedom to do so.”

“Yet the proclamation of the Kingdom is hindered in many places throughout the world, and in many ways,” Pope Leo continued. “How important it is, therefore, in the troubled times in which we live, that ‘Peter’ retain his complete freedom to speak the truth, denounce injustice, defend the rights of the weakest, promote peace, and above all proclaim Jesus Christ, who died and rose again, the only possible hope for a reconciled humanity.”