Catholic News
- Pope Francis hospitalized for bronchitis treatment, Vatican says (Vatican News)
The Vatican press office announced on the morning of February 14 that the Pope is being “admitted to the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic [hospital] for necessary diagnostic tests and to continue hospital treatment for his ongoing bronchitis.” The Pope was unable to read his prepared remarks at his general audience on February 12, turning the text over to an aide to be read aloud. The Pope held private audiences Friday morning, February 14, but reportedly had difficulty breathing, and the Vatican announced after his scheduled appointments that he would be admitted to the hospital. All his appointments for the next three days have been cancelled. - Cardinal Gregory regrets his response to the Covid pandemic (Catholic Standard)
In a farewell interview with his archdiocesan newspaper, Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington said that he regretted his approach to the Covid pandemic. “My approach was not what I would do with hindsight,” he said. “We were afraid to be together. And so I would say, my approach now would be to say as, Pope Saint John Paul II often said, ‘Be not afraid.’ But fear really was a dominant emotion for many people.” He added: Christ did not found a Church on media. He founded a Church for men and women to be together, and in the midst of that gathering, where two or three have come together, (Jesus said) “I’m in their midst.” - Archbishop Cordileone restates key principles on immigration (San Francisco archdiocese)
In a letter to the faithful issued on February 10, San Francisco’s Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone has summarized the key principles of Catholic social teaching regarding immigration. Drawing on the pastoral letter Strangers No Longer, issued jointly in 2003 by the the bishops of the US and Mexico, the archbishop lists five key points: Persons have the right to find opportunities in their homeland. Persons have the right to migrate to support themselves and their families. Sovereign nations have the right to control their borders. Refugees and asylum seekers should be afforded protection. The human dignity and human rights of undocumented migrants should be respected. - Russia sees room for 'humanitarian cooperation' with Vatican on Ukraine (Pravda)
A spokesman for Russia’s foreign ministry has reported “concrete results of Russian-Vatican cooperation on humanitarian aspects” of the war in Ukraine, and indicated an interest in continuing dialogue. However, Artem Studennikov said that while the Vatican takes “an equidistant and balanced line” regarding the conflict, Moscow will not accept any proposal that furthers “the task of the West to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.” - Catholic woman named to 7-member committee drafting Syria's new constitution (Fides)
Syria’s interim president, the militant Islamist Ahmed al-Sharaa, has named Hind Kabawat, a Catholic woman, to the seven-member committee that will draft a new constitution for the nation. Kabawat, the only Christian on the committee, is director of interfaith peacebuilding at George Mason University’s Center for World Religions, Diplomacy, and Conflict Resolution. - Federal judge prevents Pittsburgh from designating closed church as historic structure (Religion Clause)
A federal judge has prevented the City of Pittsburgh from designating a closed church as an historic structure. The designation would have prevented the diocese from making any changes to the exterior of the building. In his 2017 decree closing the church, Bishop David Zubik had directed that the stained-glass windows be removed and “retained ... for use by other ecclesiastical entities.” Judge W. Scott Hardy, a Trump appointee, ruled that “there is no compelling government interest in the City’s exercise of control over the Church Building.” - Salvation is 'not an escape hatch but a rescue plan,' Bishop Tyson says in social ministry keynote (USCCB)
In his keynote address at the recent Catholic Social Ministry Gathering, Bishop Joseph Tyson of Yakima, Washington, discussed “Pope Francis’ Vision for Ecology: Dialogue and the Common Good.” A Yakima native—he was baptized in his cathedral—Bishop Tyson said that the majority of Catholics in the diocese are Spanish-speaking migrants. He shared a few harrowing stories of their suffering, called for a greater care of creation, and also spoke about the harm done to farmers by burdensome EPA regulations. “Salvation is not an escape plan,” he said. “It is God’s rescue plan. And it not only applies to us in our sin, our addiction, and our twisted pride, God intends to save all of creation, a creation often damaged and marred by human actions that individually and collectively can only be labeled and sinful.” - Sent to South America: Did German bishops hide abusers? (Deutsche Welle)
Deutsche Welle has produced a 25-minute documentary on German priests who were accused of sexual abuse in Germany and then worked as missionaries in South America. (Please be advised of the graphic nature of some of the content.) - Vatican newspaper sees 'glimmer of hope for peace' in Ukraine following Trump phone calls (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
In the most prominent front-page article in its February 13 edition, the Vatican newspaper stated that a “glimmer of hope” for peace has arisen following President Donald Trump’s phone calls with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders. “The hope is now that words will quickly be followed by actions,” staff journalist Roberto Paglialonga wrote in an op-ed. “Peace can no longer wait, after three years of war.” “Trump has undoubtedly stirred things up,” he added. Statements by EU leaders that the EU ought to be included in multilateral peace talks “seem fragile ... in the face of an ally that moves with the one-to-one logic typical of business.” - Burkina Faso: 2 catechists brutally killed in a road attack (Aid to the Church in Need)
Two catechists in Burkina Faso were brutally killed in a road attack as they returned to their homes from a catechist training session. Burkina Faso, a West African nation of 23.0 million (map), is 56% Muslim, 26% Christian (16% Catholic), and 17% ethnic religionist. A jihadist insurgency began there in 2015. - Pope denounces Trump immigration plans [News/Analysis] (CWN)
Wading directly into a heated American political debate, Pope Francis has explicitly condemned President Trump’s plan for mass deportation of illegal immigrants. - Slovak prime minister meets with Pontiff (Vatican News)
Pope Francis met on February 14 with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico. The Vatican reported that their conversation had touched on family and educational policy in Slovakia, and on international affairs, especially including the wars in Ukraine in Gaza. The meeting took place Friday morning before Pope Francis was taken to Gemelli hospital for treatment of acute brochitis. - Cardinal Parolin: Wealthy nations are obliged to aid developing nations (CNS)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Pope’s Secretary of State, told participants in a conference organized by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences that the “overarching objective” of taxes and government spending “should be to cultivate a public finance framework that is not only effective but also serves as a catalyst for solidarity and development.” “It is not sufficient to be vigilant in the fight against corruption,” he said. “There is also a moral obligation to assist those most in need and to provide education and health care. Furthermore, wealthy nations are obligated to provide aid to developing nations.” - Cardinal Cupich welcomes papal letter on immigration, issue of 'preeminent urgency' (Vatican News)
In an interview with Vatican Media, Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago welcomed the Pope’s letter to the US bishops on migration (CWN analysis). “The Holy Father has clearly identified for the US bishops and Church the protection and advocacy for the dignity of migrants as the preeminent urgency at this moment,” Cardinal Cupich said. “I am grateful for his encouragement of bishops who have criticized mass indiscriminate deportations and the criminalization of immigrants, as well as his challenge for all the bishops to walk together and defend the human dignity of the migrants in our country,” Cardinal Cupich’s choice of words (“preeminent urgency”) recalls the language of Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, the US bishops’ quadrennial election statement. That document, approved by the bishops at their fall 2023 meeting, states that “the threat of abortion remains our preeminent priority because it directly attacks our most vulnerable and voiceless brothers and sisters and destroys more than a million lives per year in our country alone” (p. viii). - Church groups file suit against Trump immigration-raid policy (AP)
More than 25 religious groups, representing Christian and Jewish communities, have filed suit to block a Trump administration policy change that would allow immigration agents to conduct raids on churches without special authorization. The suit argues that the prospect of immigration raids would discourage people from attending worship services. “We cannot worship freely if some of us are living in fear,” explained Episcopalian Bishop Sean Rowe, whose group is a party to the suit. The plaintiffs represent Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Reform Jewish, Methodist, Unitarian, Mennonite, and African Methodist Episcopal communities, among others. - US bishops' migration chairman: Vance 'clearly doesn't know me' (Crux)
Bishop Mark Seitz, who chairs the US bishops’ committee on migration, has objected to the “tremendous mischaracterization” of the American bishops’ refugee programs by Vice President J.D. Vance. “I would love to sit down sometime with the vice president,” Bishop Seitz told a conference at Georgetown University on February 12, adding that Vance “clearly doesn’t know me.” Bishop Seitz protested the rhetoric of the Trump administration, which he said “calls all immigrants criminals... and that allows many to hear that at least and say, ‘If the person is brown, you know, they’re bad.’” - Missionary describes brutality, chaos in Goma (Aid to the Church in Need)
Father Marcelo Oliveira, a Portuguese Comboni missionary, described the brutality and chaos in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, following the storming of the city by rebels of the March 23 Movement, or M23. The priest said that damage to the airport makes it impossible for humanitarian aid to reach Goma, the capital of North Kivu province (map). - Caritas president decries suspension of AID funding (Crux)
Cardinal Isao Kikuchi, the president of Caritas International, has lodged an objection to the Trump administration decision to suspend funding for the US Agency for International Development (AID). “I just wish that the U.S. government would give more consideration to the degree of negative effect caused by the decision,” the cardinal said. He underlined the impact of the decision, since AID accounts for roughly 40% of all overseas aid worldwide. - Church leaders meet with rebel chieftain in Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters)
Leaders of the Catholic Church and other Christian groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) met on February 12 with Corneille Nangaa, the leader of the rebel M23 forces. The meeting took place in Goma, the city on the country’s eastern border that has fallen under the control of M23 forces. Earlier, a delegation of Christian leaders had met with the DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, hoping to spark negotiations that might bring an end to the country’s bloody conflict. - 59-year-old Argentine bishop resigns; turnover continues (CWN)
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Carlos María Domínguez, OAR, as bishop of San Rafael, Argentina. He is 59 years old. - More...