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Browsing News Entries

Browsing News Entries

Cardinal Arborelius, spiritual son of St. John Paul II, discusses rise of conversions in Sweden (OSV News)

In a wide-ranging interview, Cardinal Anders Arborelius, O.C.D., of Stockholm discussed the rise in conversions in Sweden and his own spiritual journey, which included conversion from Lutheranism at 20.

“People are getting tired of a secular, materialistic world,” said Cardinal Arborelius, who has purchased more than 20 Protestant churches for use as Catholic churches in his diocese. People, he said, have “become more aware of the threats” of modernity and are “more open to God.”

The prelate, who was in Poland to receive an honorary degree on May 18, also discussed the influence that Pope St. John Paul II had upon his life.

“St. John Paul has meant a lot to me,” he said. “He made me a bishop. He gave me that (bishop’s) cross. He came to Sweden,” and “somehow I am the son of his.”

USCCB, other Catholic organizations call for increased federal funding for housing (USCCB)

The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, joined by the presidents of Catholic Charities USA and the National Council of the United States Society of St. Vincent de Paul, called for “robust funding” for eight federal housing programs and “increased support” for five others.

“Our nation is faced with an affordable housing crisis that sees no sign of improvement,” Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville, joined by the two presidents, wrote in a May 21 letter to leading members of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations. “This crisis is further punctuated by the alarming rise in homelessness.”

The federal housing programs, they continued, “help people build better lives, and any cuts to funding or substantive programmatic changes that undermine the effectiveness of affordable housing programs should be opposed. Further, considering current economic conditions, flat funding for housing and community development programs is effectively a cut to these vital services.”

Irish prime minister, Pontiff discuss need for peace (CWN)

Micheál Martin, the taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland, discussed peace in a May 22 audience with Pope Leo XIV.

Pope Leo encourages Bulgaria to create bridges for peace (Bulgarian News Agency)

Pope Leo XIV received Mihaela Dotsova, the chairwoman of Bulgaria’s National Assembly, on May 22 and encouraged the nation to create bridges for peace.

“We had an extremely cordial and very honest meeting, which lasted longer than usual,” Dotsova said following the audience. “Pope Leo XIV shared that he expects Bulgaria, as a country located at a crossroad, to be one of the creators of bridges for peace, and he sent his blessing to the entire Bulgarian people.”

The lawmaker invited the Pope to visit the nation, and the Pontiff, in turn, “promised to do everything possible to continue the tradition” of papal visits to Bulgaria, the state-run Bulgarian News Agency reported.

Located in Southeast Europe, Bulgaria, a nation of 6.7 million (map), is 84% Christian (80% Orthodox) and 13% Muslim. Pope Francis made an apostolic journey there in 2019.

Gargoyles, Buttresses and the Art of Building Heavenward

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Acerra, Italian city in polluted 'land of the fires,' prepares to welcome Pope Leo (CWN)

Pope Leo XIV today is making of pastoral visit to Acerra, a southern Italian city of 60,000 known for its Mafia-linked toxic waste pollution.

Vatican newspaper warns of deepening humanitarian crisis for Rohingya refugees (CWN)

The Vatican newspaper warned that international aid is running out for the over one million Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar for neighboring Bangladesh (map).

National Eucharistic Pilgrimage set to begin in St. Augustine (National Eucharistic Pilgrimage)

The 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, whose theme is “One Nation Under God,” begins tomorrow, May 24, in St. Augustine, Florida, at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche.

The pilgrimage will wind its way up the Eastern states to New England, and then back to the south, before concluding in Philadelphia on July 5.

Cardinal Czerny pays tribute to martyred Czech priests (Vatican News)

Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., the prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, paid tribute to two Czech martyrs at a conference organized by the Czech embassy to the Holy See.

Cardinal Czerny, whose family left Czechoslovakia for Canada when he was two, spoke about Fathers Jan Bula and Václav Drbola, who will be beatified on June 6. Their lives, he said, are “proof that no violence can stifle the life of God in those who entrust themselves to Him.”

The conference, entitled Blessed Martyrs of Communism, took place on May 20.

Christ the Shepherd, Christ the Lamb

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