Catholic News
- Bishop Varden preaches to Pope, Curia on 'entering Lent,' 'Bernard the idealist' (CWN)
Bishop Erik Varden, OCSO, of Trondheim, Norway, is publishing his Lenten retreat conferences to the Pope and the Roman Curia: - 'Stop the aggressor,' Ukrainian Catholic leader pleads on 4th anniversary of invasion (Vatican News)
Discussing the situation in Ukraine four years after the 2022 Russian invasion, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church said that “it is shameful that, in four years, the international community has failed to stop the aggressor’s deadly hand.” “We must do everything possible to stop the aggressor,” Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk said in an interview with Vatican News. “Then another time will come: that of healing the trauma and rebuilding what the war has destroyed. But that will be another story. Orate pro nobis. Pray for us.” - Vatican cardinal: expand legal pathways to combat illegal immigration (National Catholic Reporter)
In an interview with the National Catholic Reporter, the undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development called for the expansion of “regular corridors of migration.” “These legal flows of migration have always existed historically, and at certain historical moments, for reasons of fear, they are no longer considered feasible,” said Cardinal Fabio Baggio, CS, who stated that “this absolutely does not mean that the Church has favored illegal immigration.” Cardinal Baggio added: Today the person as subject has been lost, the migrant, and people speak only of “illegals,” and everyone knows what we are referring to. As if the only people who violate a law are migrants who enter illegally into a country. But someone who runs a red light, is he an illegal driver? Why is only this category [migration] labeled with illegality, when there are many other forms that are far more serious? We find ourselves faced with a language that is itself an instrument, let’s say, for perpetuating fear or exacerbating fear. - Christians may be buried in public cemeteries, India's high court affirms (Fides)
The Supreme Court of India affirmed that Christians and members of other religious minority groups may be buried in public cemeteries in the Hindu-majority nation. The decision follows the exhumation of the bodies of Christians from public cemeteries in some villages in Chhattisgarh (map), a state that is 93% Hindu, 2% Muslim, and 2% Christian. - Christians must fight against evil, Mexican Primate says following drug lord's killing (El Heraldo de México)
Following the killing of drug lord Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the Primate of Mexico said that “the fight against evil is a permanent duty for all disciples of Jesus, the Teacher of Peace.” Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes of Mexico City added, “We are aware of the difficult times we face as a society; therefore, I offer this message to encourage us and to call on everyone to be collaborators for the common good, promoting the justice and social peace we need.” - Irish archbishop to lead 2 dioceses as consolidations continue (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV appointed Archbishop Francis Duffy of Tuam, Ireland, as the new bishop of Killala, thus uniting the two dioceses in persona episcopi (in the person of the bishop). Following the 2024 retirement of Bishop John Fleming of Killala, Archbishop Duffy had served as the diocese’s apostolic administrator. In February 2025, Pope Francis united two other Irish dioceses, Achonry and Elphin, in persona episcopi. - Thousands venerate remains of St. Francis, exposed for first time (Vatican News)
Thousands of pilgrims have traveled to Assisi to venerate St. Francis’s skeletal remains, which have been exposed for public veneration for the first time. The exposition of the relics began on February 22 and will conclude on March 22. Pope Leo has proclaimed a Year of Saint Francis in commemoration of the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death. - Cardinal Parolin pays tribute to slain Italian diplomat (Vatican News (Italian))
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, traveled to Limbiate, a town 370 miles from Rome, to mark the fifth anniversary of the slaying of Ambassador Luca Attanasio. Speaking at the cemetery in Limbiate, Cardinal Parolin said on February 22 that the ambassador showed a “dedication capable of going beyond duty, challenging the limits of what was necessary.” Attanasio was murdered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he had served as Italy’s ambassador since 2017. - Record number of converts in Sydney archdiocese (Catholic Weekly)
Mirroring trends in some areas of Europe and the United States, the Archdiocese of Sydney, Australia, is preparing to welcome a record number of converts—nearly 460—into the Church at Easter. “Your presence is a profound sign and a wonderful vitality of our local Church, and proof that the Holy Spirit is alive and active in our city,” Archbishop Anthony Fisher, OP, said on February 22. “For the last six years in a row, year by year, more and more of you have been saying ‘accept’ at the Rite of Election here in Sydney.” He added, “Newcomers to the Church know they not only have to learn the Christian faith, they must sometimes go against the grain. It’s costly, but its reward is eternal life.” - Washington auxiliary bishop emphasizes that God is DEI (Catholic Standard)
Auxiliary Bishop Roy Campbell emphasized at a February 21 Mass that “God is DEI,” according to a report in the archdiocesan newspaper. “DEI means God is diversity, He is equity, and He is inclusion,” Bishop Campbell preached at a Mass at St. Joseph Church in Largo, Maryland. In September, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) published “DEI means God,” a reflection by Bishop Campbell that was critical of the Trump administration. The USCCB subsequently removed the reflection from its website. - Cardinal Ruini speaks bluntly in 95th birthday interview [News Analysis] (CWN)
As a rule Catholic bishops—and especially cardinals—choose their words very carefully. Reading an interview with a prelate, therefore, is often an exercise in discernment, in interpreting the hints and reading the message between the lines. - SSPX rejects Vatican offer, will proceed with episcopal ordinations (CWN)
The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) has announced that it plans to go ahead with the ordination of new bishops on July 1, despite a Vatican warning that the move will lead to schism. - 'We recognize our sins so that we can be converted,' Pope preaches at Ash Wednesday Mass (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV celebrated the Mass of Ash Wednesday at the Basilica of Saint Sabina late this afternoon, following the customary penitential procession that began at the Church of Saint Anselm (booklet, video). - More...