Saint Joseph Catholic Church

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Bishop Tomáš Galis of Žilina, Slovakia, inaugurated a jubilee year in honor of Father Vendelin Javorka, S.J. (1882-1966) as his beatification process begins

In 1925, the Jesuit superior general summoned Father Javorka to Rome to prepare for missionary work in Russia. Father Javorka became the first rector of the Russicum College and subsequently ministered to Russian émigrés in China and Greek Catholics in Romania, where he was captured by the Red Army.

Following ten years in the Gulag for the crime of being a “Vatican spy,” Father Javorka spent the rest of his life under police surveillance in his native land.

A Louisiana deacon who was excommunicated in 2024 for becoming an Anglican is awaiting a ruling on his appeal to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Deacon Scott Peyton of Lafayette, Louisiana, left the Church after his son was sexually abused by a priest of the same diocese; the priest pled guilty to the abuse and is now in prison. The deacon incurred the excommunication for the canonical crime of schism.

In February, the deacon’s canon lawyer wrote to the dicastery for an update on the status of the appeal, as over a year has passed since the appeal was filed.

The Franciscan friars who care for the shrines in the Holy Land are continuing to prepare for Easter despite wartime restrictions on public participation in worship in some areas.

On March 18, friars of the Custody of the Holy Land celebrated Mass at the Shrine of the Flagellation; the following day, Father Francesco Ielpo, OFM, the custos (superior), celebrated the Mass of the Solemnity of St. Joseph in Nazareth. On March 20, friars made a pilgrimage to Bethany.

The leaders of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon outlined four “major pastoral horizons” for 2026-2030 in the final message of the body’s sixth general assembly.

The four priorities are:

• “to proclaim the Gospel with an Amazonian face, promoting processes of inculturated formation and advancing in the adaptation of the liturgy in dialogue with the worldviews of the peoples”
• “to grow as a synodal Church, promoting the conversion of community practices, the recognition of the role of women, the protagonism of young people and the integral care of pastoral agents”
• “to live integral ecology, strengthening awareness and action in defense of the Common Home, especially on issues such as access to water and the formation of territorial leadership”
• “to encourage communion and sustainability, consolidating ecclesial ties, strengthening communication as a transversal axis and promoting formation processes and sustainable structures for the mission”

Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, celebrated Mass at the Benedictine monastery in Subiaco on March 21, the anniversary of St. Benedict’s death in 547.

Today, “people think that life is fulfilled by acting alone, by making decisions autonomously,” Cardinal Semeraro preached. St. Benedict, in contrast, “shows another path: that of listening [to the Father], of welcoming, and of respect for the other.”

“It is there that something new is born; it is there that spiritual generation takes place,” the prelate continued. “It is only through obedience to God, in fact, that one generates spiritually.”

The president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan called for an investigation into the death of Marqas Masih, 22, a Christian laborer whose death was ruled a suicide but whose body bore the marks of torture.

Bishop Samson Shukardin of Hyderabad joined the executive secretary of the National Commission for Justice and Peace in calling on authorities to “conduct a full investigation into the incident, bring the facts to light, and ensure that justice is delivered to this vulnerable community.”

In an interview published in the theological journal Communio, Cardinal Gerhard Müller defended the Second Vatican Council and strongly criticized the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) and its arguments for ordaining new bishops without the Pope’s approval.

Cardinal Müller, who served as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2012 to 2017, charged that the leaders of the SSPX wish to “convert the Church into their own conventicle.”

“Everyone brings schism upon themselves through the free decision not to recognize the Pope’s authority, either in theory or in practice,” he said. “Canonical disobedience is not made any better by asserting that one is not opposing the Pope, even if one claims one must consecrate bishops for the sake of the salvation of souls.”

Cardinal Müller added:

Jesus Christ promised the continuation of the Church until the end of history only to the universal Church, which he built upon the rock of Peter, to whom he also handed over the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and, together with the other Apostles, the power to bind and loose.

What God wants to say to the SSPX, in view of the advanced age of their two remaining bishops, is to turn away from the wrong path of distancing themselves from the Church and self-isolation amongst like-minded people, and to entrust themselves with confidence to the guidance of the Successor of Peter, to whom the Lord of the Church has personally entrusted the care of his flock.

Cardinal Müller also criticized bishops, priests, and theologians who “give the people stones of agnostic ideologies instead of giving the bread of the Word of God and the grace of the sacraments,” and who “dabble around in sociology and psychology and remain silent about Jesus as the only Savior of the world.”

Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to Georgian Orthodox Patriarch Ilia II, who died on March 17 at the age of 93.

“Throughout his long life, Patriarch Ilia II was a devoted witness to faith in the Risen Christ,” Pope Leo wrote in a message to His Eminence Shio (Mujiri), the Georgian Orthodox Church’s temporary leader. “His ministry accompanied the Georgian people through difficult times and profound epochal change, lovingly preserving tradition and opening hearts and communities to hope.”

“I would also recall his deep passion for music, which is a stimulus to the search for the beauty of God and can unite peoples, bringing Churches closer together beyond cultural and theological differences,” Pope Leo added in his message, dated March 18 and released by the Vatican on March 23.

Pope Leo XIV received Brother Matthew, the prior of the Taizé Community, on March 21.

“Both expressed their deep concern for peace, a topic dear to the pope’s heart, as well as for all the innocent victims of armed conflict across the world,” according to a Taizé statement. “They also shared a common desire to go further along the road to reconciliation among Christians, while reflecting on ways to transmit the faith to the younger generations.”

The Taizé Community, an ecumenical French monastic community, was founded by Brother Roger Schütz in 1940. Its annual year-end gatherings attract tens of thousands of young adults.