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Browsing News Entries

Browsing News Entries

500,000 children at risk of death in Somalia, L'Osservatore Romano warns (CWN)

Half a million children are at risk of death from malnutrition in Somalia, L’Osservatore Romano reported in the most prominent front-page article in its April 28 edition.

Vatican newspaper sounds alarm about jihadist advances in the Sahel (CWN)

The Vatican newspaper warned of an “explosive crisis” in Mali and other nations of Africa’s Sahel region because of jihadist attacks.

A Flickering Lamp, a Living Presence

commentary

Apr. 29 Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, Memorial

Today is the Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380). She was born Catherine Benincasa in Siena at a date that remains uncertain, was favored with visions from the age of seven. Becoming a tertiary of the Dominican Order, she acquired great influence by her life of prayer and extraordinary mortifications as well as by the spread of her spiritual writings. Her continual appeals for civil peace and reform of the Church make her one of the leading figures of the fourteenth century. Worn out by her mortifications and negotiations she died in Rome on April 29, 1380.

New Vatican document: 'Integral Ecology in the Life of the Family' (Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development)

The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life released a 79-page document, “Integral Ecology in the Life of the Family.”

The document—dated October 24, 2025, and released on April 27—has two parts: “Foundations” and “Seven Themes.” The themes are “Listening to the Cry of the Earth,” “Listen to the Cry of the Poor and the Vulnerable,” “Adopt and Promote Ecological Economics,” “Adopt Ecological Lifestyles,” “Integral Ecology and Education,” “Ecological Spirituality in the Family,” and “Families Participating in Community Life.”

The document was signed by the dicastery’s prefects, Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., and Cardinal Kevin Farrell.

Pope calls on Vatican diplomats to be servants of peace, truth, and justice (Dicastery for Communication)

In his first visit to the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, which trains Vatican diplomats, Pope Leo XIV outlined “some characteristics of the Pontifical Diplomatic Priest who, by participating in the ministry of the Successor of Peter, embraces and cultivates a special vocation in the service of peace, truth and justice.”

“He must be, first of all, a messenger of the Paschal proclamation ‘Peace be with you!’ (Jn 20:19),” Pope Leo said. “Even when the hopes for dialogue and reconciliation seem to vanish and peace ‘as the world gives it; is trampled upon and put to the test, you are called to continue to bring the word of the Risen Christ to all.”

“The Papal Diplomat, moreover—operating in the most diverse cultural contexts and within international organizations—is specifically assigned to bear witness to the Truth that is Christ, bringing His message to the forum of nations, and becoming a sign of His love for that portion of humanity entrusted to his mission as a shepherd, even before that of a diplomat,” the Pontiff continued.

Pope Leo added:

Finally, you are preparing to undertake a unique ministry, which is not limited to safeguarding the good of the Catholic community, but extends to the entire human family living in a particular nation or participating in the work of various international organizations.

This requires you to be promoters of all forms of justice that help to recognize, rebuild and protect the image of God imprinted in every person. In the defence of human rights—among which the rights to religious freedom and to life are prominent—I therefore urge you to continue to show the way, not towards confrontation and demands, but towards the protection of human dignity, the development of peoples and communities, and the promotion of international cooperation.

Vatican official comments on SSPX, Order of Malta; declines comment on Charlotte priests' dubia (Ad Vaticanum)

In an interview on the occasion of his 75th birthday, Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa de Chinchetru, secretary of the Dicastery (formerly Pontifical Council) for Legislative Texts since 2007, was asked about the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) and the Vatican’s relations with the Order of Malta, as well as the liturgical dubia submitted by 31 priests of the Diocese of Charlotte.

“I believe it was a grave mistake to have presented this matter as an imposition on the Holy See, announcing directly, as if it were a fait accompli, that they intended to carry out episcopal ordinations,” Bishop Arrieta said of the SSPX’s announcement that it will ordain new bishops.

“This is the attitude of those who, from the outset, consider themselves outside the Church, a stance that contradicts their own awareness that they do not possess ecclesiastical jurisdiction,” he continued. “In fact, when they had to impose disciplinary sanctions for certain conduct by some of their priests, they turned to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which granted them the authority to do so.”

Commenting on the Holy See’s dealings with the Order of Malta during Pope Francis’s pontificate, Bishop Arrieta suggested that “greater consideration should have been given to the instrument of a concordat: a concordat between the Holy See and the Order, similar to those signed with many countries, would have provided a formal framework consistent with how it is actually perceived in the international arena, and within that framework, the various spiritual and charitable issues raised by this important entity could have been resolved with realism and practicality.”

Commenting on the Charlotte priests’ series of dubia about liturgical directives enacted or considered by their bishop, Bishop Arrieta said:

For several years now, our dicastery has been publishing on its website the various opinions and consultations we are asked to provide, omitting, of course, any personal references, whenever we believe they may be of general use to the Church. For us, it is also a way to engage with the legal world and with new situations arising in various parts of the world, seeking to stimulate studies and in depth analysis of specific aspects of canon law. Regarding individual cases, however, as is logical, we are bound to maintain absolute confidentiality, also out of respect for the individuals involved.

Dog owners who shared the Eucharist with their pets are not excommunicated, Swiss bishop rules (Pillar)

Following an investigation, Bishop Joseph Bonnemain of Chur, Switzerland, ruled that three dog owners who shared the Blessed Sacrament with their pets did not incur an automatic excommunication because they did not act with sacrilegious intent. Canon 1382 provides that “one who throws away the consecrated species or, for a sacrilegious purpose, takes them away or keeps them, incurs a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See.”

The incident during place last October 4, the memorial of St. Francis of Assisi, at Good Shepherd Parish in Zurich. The diocese stated:

Due to a poor weather forecast, the blessing [of the animals] was moved indoors and combined with a Eucharistic celebration. During this Eucharistic celebration, three people shared portions of their hosts with their dogs.

The findings clearly showed that the three individuals did not act with sacrilegious intent. Consequently, these individuals cannot be accused of sacrilege, as they lacked this sacrilegious intent. Therefore, they did not incur the excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See as a penalty for their actions.

Pontiff grants ecclesiastical communion to new Chaldean Patriarch (CWN)

In a letter dated April 24 and released today, Pope Leo XIV granted ecclesiastical communion to Paul III Nona, who was elected Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church on April 12.