Catholic News
- Vatican document praises (monogamous) marriage [News Analysis] (CWN)
Una Caro, the document released on November 25 by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), was advertised as a Vatican statement on polygamy. But actually the DDF document is a paean to marriage, with only infrequent references to polygamy. - Pope affirms indissolubility of marriage bond, urges search for truth in annulment cases (Dicastery for Communication)
In an address to participants in a course organized by the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, Pope Leo XIV emphasized that the truth must be sought in annulment cases. In 2015, Pope Francis sought to make the “process more accessible and expeditious, but never at the expense of truth,” Pope Leo said. “Human judgment on the nullity of marriage cannot however be manipulated by false mercy. Any activity contrary to the service of the process of truth must certainly be deemed unjust.” Pope Leo repeated words from earlier in his pontificate that “marriage is not an ideal but the measure of true love between a man and a woman: a love that is total, faithful and fruitful.” The Pope also described the “indissoluble marital bond” as “the foundation of the family, which is the domestic Church.” - Pope Leo, in apostolic letter, emphasizes importance of Nicene Creed (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV yesterday issued In Unitate Fidei, an apostolic letter on the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. Pope Leo recalled the Council’s historical context, emphasized the Nicene Creed’s profession of the divinity of Christ, and reflected on its ecumenical implications today. He also spoke about the relation between the Incarnation of the Son of God and His presence in the poor today. The Pope also discussed the continuation of the Council of Nicaea’s work at the ecumenical councils of Constantinople (381) and Chalcedon (451). He rejected the charge that the word used in the Creed to describe the divinity of Christ—homooúsios, or consubstantial—represents a hellenization of the Christian faith. - Cardinal Parolin condemns Russian attacks on Ukrainian electric system (Vatican News)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, condemned Russian attacks on Ukraine’s electric system. “There is no justification for forcing thousands of civilians to live in darkness and cold,” Cardinal Parolin said at a memorial Mass for victims of the Holodomor. “We are deeply affected by the news of attacks on electrical systems in civilian structures, which have made life even more difficult for many people.” “Every action that deprives the civilian population of the possibility of living in dignity is an offense against humanity and an outrage against God, who is light, life, and mercy,” he added. “We cannot remain indifferent to those who suffer from hunger, uncertainty, war, winter cold, imprisonment, and exile.” - 'Love sends us forth,' Pope tells Caritas leaders (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV offered encouragement to Caritas Internationalis, the Church’s confederation of relief and development agencies, during a brief address to the members of its representative council. “From its foundation, Caritas Internationalis has embodied the Church’s proclamation that ‘Christ’s preference is for the poor, the least, the abandoned and discarded,’” said Pope Leo, citing a 2023 message of Pope Francis. “Indeed, this vision can be seen in the Eucharist itself, where the Lord ‘having loved his own who were in the world, loved them to the end’” (Jn. 13:1). “The love we receive from Christ is never a private treasure but always a mission entrusted to our hands,” Pope Leo continued. “Love sends us forth; love makes us servants; love opens our eyes to the wounds of others.” - 6 beatification causes advance, including 2 priests martyred by Nazis (CWN)
In an audience with the prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Pope Leo XIV approved the promulgation of six decrees. - Bishop recalls martyrs of Cambodian genocide (Fides)
The apostolic vicar of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, recalled the Catholic martyrs and other victims of the Cambodian genocide, which began five decades ago under Communist leader Pol Pot. “Fifty years ago, Bishop Salas, Father Salem, and Father Chomraeun were right here, just a few meters from us, where our beautiful rice paddies had been transformed into vast forced labor camps,” said Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusle, MEP. “There were no more schools, only scattered families; fear and death reigned.” The prelate added: Like the first Christians in Rome, like the hidden Christians in Japan, our bishop and his fellow priests sometimes secretly celebrated God’s Day [Sunday], read a few lines from the Bible, knowing that this was forbidden and could mean instant death if they were discovered ... From the blood of our martyrs and the faith of Christians, the Church was able to rise again, and today she is here to praise God and proclaim her hope. This peace has a very sweet taste, dear brothers and sisters. - 9 cardinals, 36 bishops took part in UN Climate Change Conference (Vatican News)
The apostolic nuncio to Brazil said in an interview that nine cardinals and 36 bishops took part in COP30, the recent UN Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil. Interviewed by Vatican News on the conference’s final day, Archbishop Giambattista Diquattro, the deputy head of the Holy See’s delegation, warned of “controversial language and concepts” in the conference’s Gender Action Plan. “We can think, for example, of the inclusion in the text of sexual and reproductive rights, which include abortion—something the Holy See cannot in any way accept.” - Vatican diplomat deplores violence against women (Vatican News (Italian))
Msgr. Juan Antonio Cruz Serrano, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the Organization of American States, denounced “multiple forms of degradation and violence” against women, “including in digital spaces.” “The Holy See reiterates that any type of violence perpetrated against women is contrary to the sublimity of human nature and constitutes a grave violation of their dignity and an unacceptable attack on human rights,” Msgr. Serrano said in an address to the organization’s permanent council. The diplomat added that the Holy See emphasizes “the indispensable role of the family in building relationships based on respect for the dignity of every human being, on brotherhood, and on the recognition of the unique and irreplaceable value of every person, man and woman, as a creation of the Creator.” - Crime networks are plundering the Amazon, Brazilian bishops' official warns (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
Criminal networks are plundering the Amazon River basin, a Brazilian bishops’ conference official told the Vatican newspaper. “Illegal activities include unauthorized mining and the illegal occupation of land that, after being deforested by arson, is converted to intensive corn and soy cultivation for export,” said Luis Ventura Fernández, executive secretary of the conference’s Indigenous Missionary Council. “Hunting and fishing are practiced without any control.” The official said that “the resources allocated to the police to combat environmental crimes are scarce, and investigations very often fail to lead to convictions, creating a climate of impunity that favors criminal organizations. The political and institutional will to intervene decisively is also very often lacking.” - Ambassador Habsburg bids adieu to Vatican (@EduardHabsburg)
Pope Leo XIV received Eduard Habsburg-Lothringen, the ambassador of Hungary to the Holy See, in a farewell audience, as his diplomatic service there comes to an end. Unlike most ambassadors to the Holy See, Ambassador Habsburg has a significant social media presence (115,000 followers on X). An American publisher, Sophia Institute Press, has published two of his books. - East Timor's president meets with Pontiff (Radio Veritas Asia)
Pope Leo XIV received President José Ramos-Horta of Timor-Leste (East Timor) in a recent audience. Ramos-Horta was a recipient of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize. Following the audience, Ramos-Horta met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of His Holiness, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations. The parties, according to a Vatican statement, discussed Church-state relations and the domestic and regional situation. Timor-Leste (map), a Southeast Asian nation of 1.5 million, is 88% Christian (84% Catholic), 7% ethnic religionist, and 4% Muslim. - Gunmen attack Catholic school in Nigeria, kidnap over 300 children (BBC)
More than 300 children were abducted from a Catholic school in Nigeria on Friday, November 21. Fifty of the children later escaped, but authorities were mounting a rescue operation to free 265 children who remained in the kidnappers’ custody, along with 12 teachers. Responding to the attack—which followed soon after the seizure of another 38 people from a church in the state of Kwara—Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu announced that he would recruit 30,000 new police officers to combat the wave of kidnapping. - Pope, in homily for feast of Christ the King, pays tribute to choirs (Dicastery for Communication)
Citing St. Augustine’s reflections on singing, Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to the work of choirs as he celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Square for the feast of Christ the King, which coincided this year with the Jubilee of Choirs. “Singing reminds us that we are a Church on a journey, an authentic synodal reality capable of sharing with everyone the vocation to praise and joy on this pilgrimage of love and hope,” Pope Leo preached. “Above all, dedicate yourselves to facilitating the participation of the people of God, without giving in to the temptation of ostentation, which prevents the entire liturgical assembly from actively participating in the singing.” - Israeli settlers again attack Palestinian Christian town (The Times of Israel)
Israeli settlers attacked the predominantly Christian village of Taybeh in the West Bank on the night of November 19. The settlers were “filmed slashing the tires of vehicles and hurling stones through shop windows,” The Times of Israel reported. In July, Church leaders protested an earlier attack, describing it as a “direct and intentional threat to our local community first and foremost, but also to the historic and religious heritage of our ancestors and holy sites.” - Gunmen attack church in Nigeria; kill 3, kidnap 38 (The Punch (Nigeria))
Gunmen attacked Christ Apostolic Church, a Protestant church in Eruku in Nigeria’s Kwara State, killing three and kidnapping 38. All 38 subsequently regained their freedom. - Pontiff alters canon law to legalize female head of Vatican city-state (AP)
Pope Leo XIV issued a motu proprio on November 21, altering canon law to allow the appointment of a woman religious, Sister Raffaella Petrini, as secretary-general of the Governorate of the Vatican city-state. Pope Francis had appointed Sister Petrini to the post in February, but had not amended the provision of canon law that required the head of the Vatican city-state to be a member of the College of Cardinals. At the time, the Vatican press office said that Pope Francis had in effect changed canon law—as he had the authority to do—by making the appointment. By amending the law, Pope Leo indirectly acknowledged questions about the legality of the appointment, and corrected the problem. He wrote: This form of shared responsibility makes it appropriate to consolidate certain solutions that have been developed so far in response to governance needs that are proving increasingly complex and pressing. - Vatican document on polygamy due Tuesday (Vatican Press Office)
The Vatican has announced that the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) will release a document on polygamy on Tuesday, November 25. The document, entitled Una Caro: In Praise of Monogamy, is described as a “doctrinal Note on the value of marriage as an exclusive union and mutual belonging.” Cardinal Victor Fernandez, the prefect of the DDF, will chair a press conference introducing the document. - Cameroon bishop threatens to close churches after priest's kidnapping (Fides)
Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda, Cameroon, has warned that he will order churches closed and pastoral activities stopped in a troubled region if a priest who was kidnapped on November 15 is not released. The archbishop said that if Father John Berinyuy Tatah is not freed by November 26, “I request all the priests, religious personnel from all Catholic institutions in Ndop deanery will be closed. Priests will be evacuated for their safety, and the Blessed Sacrament will be removed from the churches.” The archbishop said that if the priest is not released, he will ask all the priests and lay people of the archdiocese to join with him and “march to the place where he is being held, and will either bring him back home or remain there until he is released.” - Monaco's Prince Albert vetos legalization of abortion (Catholic Herald)
Prince Albert II of Monaco has refused to sign into law a bill that would have legalized abortion in the European principality. The legislation, passed by Monaco’s national council in March, would have allowed for elective abortion for the first time. Prince Albert said: “I believe the current system expresses who we are, considering the role of the Catholic religion in our country, while ensuring safe and humane support.” - More...