Catholic News
- Pope welcomes lay movements, different charisms (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV met on June 6 with leaders of lay movements, who were gathered in Rome for a conference organized by the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life. The Pope said that the Church welcomes lay organizations, which present opportunities for Christians to work together. “The desire to work together for a common purpose reflects an essential reality: no one is Christian alone!” he said. The Pope went on to note the wide variety of charisms that guide the movements, showing the diversity of the Church. He urged them, however, to act as “leaven of unity.” - Pope, in phone call, urges Putin to make peace (Vatican News)
Pope Leo XIV spoke by telephone with Vladimir Putin on June 4, urging the Russian leader to “make a gesture that would favor peace” in Ukraine, the Vatican has disclosed. The Pope discussed the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine with Putin, emphasizing the need to allow aid to afflicted communities. He stressed “the importance of dialogue to create positive contacts between the parties and seek solutions to the conflict.” The Pontiff and Putin also talked about the mission of Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, who was appointed by Pope Francis to facilitate the exchange of war prisoners. - Speak about God and communicate Christian hope, Vatican cardinals tell leaders of lay movements (CWN)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, and Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, addressed the leaders of the of 115 recognized lay associations and movements, who have gathered in Rome for their annual meeting with officials of the dicastery. - Cardinal Parolin tells Pope that Secretariat of State's 246 employees are mosaic of faith and love (CWN)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, delivered a greeting to Pope Leo XIV during the June 5 papal audience with superiors and officials of the Secretariat of State. - USCCB welcomes Supreme Court decision on Catholic Charities (CWN)
The chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on Religious Liberty.welcomed the US Supreme Court’s 9-0 decision in Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission (CWN coverage). - Neocatechumenal Way founder, leaders meet with Pontiff (Neocatechumenal Way)
Pope Leo XIV received Kiko Argüello, founder of the Neocatechumenal Way, in a June 5 audience, along with other leaders of the lay movement. The movement stated that the Pontiff offered Argüello and the other leaders his encouragement: Pope Leo XIV also marveled at the large number of families who, grateful to the Lord for the new life offered to them, have made themselves available to help the Church’s mission in the poorest and most difficult areas of the world. He was also struck by the presence of the Way in 138 countries and the number of Redemptoris Mater seminaries currently open in more than 100 dioceses on five continents, as well as the many seminarians preparing to become diocesan missionary priests. - Ukrainian Catholic leader, French ambassador discuss worsening humanitarian crisis (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church)
Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, recently received Gaël Veyssière, France’s ambassador to Ukraine, at the latter’s request. The ambassador praised the Eastern Catholic church for its “role in conveying the truth about Ukraine to the international community, particularly to the Apostolic See, and in supporting the efforts of Pope Leo XIV to end the war,” according to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC). For his part, the Major Archbishop “emphasized that the humanitarian crises are worsening and spoke about the UGCC’s initiatives to address the urgent needs of the population. He also thanked the French side for its fruitful cooperation and continued support.” - Cardinal, Orthodox metropolitan address international conference on Council of Nicaea (CWN)
The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.is sponsoring a four-day ecumenical conference, organized by the International Orthodox Theological Association and the Angelicum’s Institute for Ecumenical Studies, on the 1700th anniversary the First Council of Nicaea, the first of the 21 ecumenical councils recognized by the Catholic Church. - Washington archdiocese plans heavy budget cuts (Pillar)
Facing “crippling economic challenges,” the Archdiocese of Washington, DC, will cut back sharply on spending, merging departments and eliminating 30 staff positions at the archdiocesan pastoral center. Cardinal Robert McElroy said with regret that “a number of dedicated, hard-working employees will lose their jobs.” But he saw no alternative, he said, when faced with a $10-million annual budget deficit. - Vatican prosecutor investigating publicist Chaouqui? (Silere Non Possum (English))
Alessandro Diddi, the Vatican’s chief prosecutor, is reportedly investigating charges of witness-tampering and influence-peddling against Francesca Chaouqui, a flamboyant figure in recent Vatican scandals. Chaouqui was convicted in 2013 of leaking confidential Vatican documents, and declared persona non grata at the Vatican. But the public-relations expert continued to involve herself with Vatican affairs. Earlier this year it emerged that she had exchanged dozens of text messages with Msgr. Alberto Perlasca, a key figure in the Vatican’s “trial of the century.” Those messages strongly suggested that she had inside information about the prosecutor’s plans, and that she tried to frame Msgr. Perlasca’s testimony to fit her own purposes—at one point reminding him that “you owe me a favor.” - Vatican 'foreign minister' visits Cuba (Vatican News)
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, has visited Cuba to mark the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations. At a Mass in Havana’s cathedral, the prelate “highlighted peace, justice and truth as foundational principles of both the Church’s missionary work and Vatican diplomacy,” Vatican News, the news agency of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, reported. He also “highlighted the long-standing closeness of the Holy See to the Cuban people through the work of apostolic nuncios and the visits of Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis.” - Italian president meets with Pope (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV met on June 6 with Italian President Sergio Mattarella. Their conversation touched on church-state relations and on international affairs, “with particular attention to the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East,” the Vatican reported - Vatican newspaper recalls World Environment Day, warns of 'catastrophic' plastic pollution (CWN)
With the headline “Soffocati dalla plastica“ [Suffocated by plastic], the Vatican newspaper devoted prominent front-page coverage in its June 5 daily Italian edition to the theme of the 2025 World Environment Day, also commemorated on June 5. - Biblical scholar Brueggemann dead at 92 (Religion News)
Walter Brueggeman, an American Protestant Biblical scholar and author of over 50 books, died at his Michigan home on June 5, at the age of 92. - Supreme Court backs Catholic Charities bid for tax exemption (NBCNews)
In a unanimous decision released on June 5, the US Supreme Court ruled that Catholic Charities in Wisconsin should be exempt from unemployment taxes. The state of Wisconsin had argued that the work of Catholic Charities was indistinguishable from that of secular charities, and therefore did not qualify for a religious exemption. - Pope meets with abuse commission (CNA)
Pope Leo XVI met on June 5 with the members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. The commission members briefed the Pontiff on their works, including their drive to set universal guidelines for safeguarding the vulnerable, to support local churches that lack the resources for appropriate programs, and their annual report for 2024, appraising the efforts of dioceses around the world. - Pope Leo calls for defense of intrinsic dignity of every human person (CWN)
Addressing French-speaking pilgrims at his June 4 general audience, Pope Leo XIV said that “our world struggles to find value in human life, even in its last hour.” - Pope meets with officers of Secretariat of State (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV held a private audience on June 5 with officials of the Vatican Secretariat of State, telling them that he appreciates the help of that office in coordinating the work of the Holy See. The Pope said that the Secretariat of State has the challenge of “being incarnate in time and having a universal outlook.” He observed that the staff itself “reflects the face of the Church,” with many lay workers and many women, lay and religious. - Texas Supreme Court rules in favor of attorney general in effort to close Catholic migrant agency (Religion Clause)
The Texas Supreme Court ruled that the state’s attorney general may begin proceedings to close down Annunciation House, an El Paso Catholic agency that ministers to migrants and refugees. The attorney general maintains that the agency has unlawfully harbored illegal immigrants. Annunciation House invoked the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act in its defense before the state high court. - Global fertility crisis is 'worse than you think,' Ivy League economist warns (Penn Arts and Sciences)
Jesús Fernández-Villaverde, professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania, warned in a presentation at a recent research symposium that “the global fertility crisis is worse than you think.” “2023 was likely the first year in human history when our fertility rate fell below the replacement rate,” he said. “The world population will start falling c. 2055”—a phenomenon “never seen before, even compared to wars and pandemics.” “The consequences for the world are momentous,” he added. “We are entering a whole new world: fertility and births are falling much faster than anyone anticipated.” - More...