Catholic News

• Pope to diplomats: Church serves peace, justice, and truth (CNS)
  Speaking on May 16 to the ambassadors accredited to the Vatican, Pope Leo XVI said that the diplomatic work of the Holy See is designed to promote peace, justice, and truth. “The church can never be exempted from speaking the truth about humanity and the world, resorting whenever necessary to blunt language that may initially create misunderstanding,” the Pope said. He explained that the Church’s diplomacy is “inspired by a pastoral outreach that leads it not to seek privileges but to strengthen its evangelical mission at the service of humanity.” In his first encounter with the diplomatic corps, the Pope emphasized the quest for peace, the importance of religious liberty, and “the challenges of our time, such as migration, the ethical use of artificial intelligence and the protection of our beloved planet Earth.” The Pontiff said that civil governments have the responsibility to promote the common good, and added: “This can be achieved above all by investing in the family, founded upon the stable union between a man and a woman.”
• Ukrainian Catholic leader invites Pope Leo to visit Ukraine (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church)
  In a May 15 audience, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church thanked Pope Leo for his call for peace in Ukraine and invited Pope Leo to visit the nation. “The Ukrainian people have already recognized you as the Pope of Peace,” said Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk. He explained: Last Sunday, we heard your words that the pain of the Ukrainian people is in your heart. Your call for true, just, and lasting peace is especially pertinent at this time, and your concern for the captive and deported children reflects your special paternal attention to the first victims of the war in Ukraine. “When Pope St. John Paul II came to us, Ukrainians believed that communism would never return to our land,” the Major Archbishop continued. “Today, we believe that the Pope’s visit will help stop the war in Ukraine. The time and opportunity will surely be in God’s hands, but I consider it my duty to convey to you the invitation of millions of Ukrainians who are waiting for you.”
• Senate Democrats block approval of Trump ambassador to Holy See (CNA)
  Democrats in the US Senate have blocked a vote to confirm Brian Burch as the new US ambassador to the Holy See. Burch, the founder of CatholicVote, is one of many Trump appointments currently being blocked. A two-thirds majority vote in the Senate will be required to move forward his nomination.
• Jubilee of Eastern Churches concludes with gratitude for Pope Leo's encouragement (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
  The Jubilee of the Eastern Churches, part of the 2025 jubilee year, concluded on May 14 with a Divine Liturgy in the Byzantine Rite in St. Peter’s Basilica. Patriarch Youssef Absi, the head of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, was the principal celebrant. Referring to Pope Leo XIV’s address to Eastern Catholics, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said: We felt embraced by the Holy Father, consoled in our present sufferings and anguish, appreciated in our ancient Christian traditions and encouraged in our evangelizing mission that we carry out in the contemporary world. Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, said that “the Church is one because it is varied” and “not one because it is uniform. And it is in this variety and in respect of the rights of this variety that we want to do what the Holy Father has entrusted to us as a Dicastery, to support, defend, protect the Eastern Churches both in their territories and where they have been brought by the violence of wars, oppression and persecution.”
• Georgia law banning abortion cited in case of 'brain-dead' mother (AP)
  Doctors at a Georgia hospital are reportedly insisting that a pregnant women be kept on life support, despite her family’s wishes, until the baby can be safely delivered. Adriana Smith was declared “brain dead” in February, but family members say that the Emory University Hospital staff has informed them they cannot end life support without violating Georgia’s law, which prohibits abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected. The hospital has declined public comment on the case, citing medical confidentiality. Legal experts say that state law would not prohibit ending life support. In other cases, a “brain-dead” patient is kept on life support to ensure that vital organs are suitable for transplants.
• Trump picks Archbishop Cordileone for religious-liberty panel (San Francisco Chronicle)
  President Donald Trump announced on May 15 that he would name Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco to an advisory board for his new Religious Liberty Commission. Trump created the Religious Liberty Commission earlier this month, choosing Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick as its chairman. Other members include Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Bishop Robert Barron, Ryan Anderson, Eric Metaxas, and Rabbi Meir Soloveichik.
• Vatican diplomat renews call for ethics, governance mechanisms for AI (Holy See Mission)
  A leading Vatican diplomat warned that “without appropriate checks and balances, exclusive reliance on AI,” despite its “potential of being an extraordinary tool for humanity,” could “also have a negative impact on social relations and exacerbate inequalities.” Echoing another statement, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, said at a recent UN forum that “the prospect of systematically using AI as a standard for solving problems may result in discouraging solidarity, mutual help and debate, thus isolating people and weakening the social fabric.” “Creating a new society in which basic services are necessarily or even exclusively AI-driven may inadvertently favor those with financial means who already benefit from advanced and personalized AI tools, while others still struggle to access technologal services,” he continued, adding: The benefits of AI should be available to all, not just the privileged few. However, it is essential that the international community, in its efforts to develop AI governance mechanisms ... [and] establish common ethical guardrails to ensure that the use of AI is truly inclusive and does not undermine the social dimension of human nature.
• Budget bill could be opportunity to defund Planned Parenthood (CNA)
  A budget reconciliation bill now pending in Congress could be “a historic opportunity” to end federal funding for Planned Parenthood. The reconciliation bill approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee would end funding for Planned Parenthood. The reconciliation bill could be approved by a simple majority in the Senate, avoiding the need for a two-thirds majority to settle the debate.
• USCCB publishes overview of Trump administration's actions on immigration (USCCB)
  The Office of Policy and Advocacy of the US bishops’ Department of Migration and Refugee Services has published “Migration-Related Actions During the First 100 Days of the Second Trump Administration.” “On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump began his second term as president of the United States,” the six-page resource begins. “Since then, there have been drastic changes made to the US immigration landscape as the Administration has prioritized border security, interior enforcement and deportations, restricting access to humanitarian pathways, and creating barriers to legal immigration.”
• Iraqi Patriarch says controversial interview was a fraud (Pillar)
  Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako has become embroiled in controversy over an interview which, he says, never took place. The Iraqi prelate was quoted as saying that during the voting in the papal conclave, one cardinal accidentally cast two ballots. That report drew criticism, because it was an apparent violation of the secrecy of the conclave. However Cardinal Sako denies making the comment—and in fact denies having given the interview. He says that militia groups, which have challenged his authority to speak for Iraqi Christians, were spreading misinformation.
• Pope Leo makes 1st episcopal appointment (Vatican Press Office)
  Pope Leo XIV made his first episcopal appointment on May 15: he appointed Father Miguel Ángel Contreras Llajaruna, SM, as auxiliary bishop of Callao, Peru. While bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, the future Pontiff also served as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Callao from 2020-21. Father Conteras, 45, has served as a pastor and held other offices in the Callao diocese; he is also the local superior of the Marist fathers.
• Russian Orthodox Patriarch receives Cuban president, recalls meetings with Castro brothers, Pope Francis (Russian Orthodox Church)
  In a recent meeting with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, recalled his meetings with former Cuban leaders Fidel and Raúl Castro, as well as his historic meeting in Havana with Pope Francis in 2016. “Our Orthodox church in Havana is of great importance, and not only spiritual,” Patriarch Kirill told the Cuban Communist leader. “It is evidence that Orthodoxy and Christianity as a whole can be present as a religious belief in various political contexts, and we welcome the way our parish in your country develops.” “Cuba played an important role in the development of relations between the Orthodox world and the Catholic world, between our Church and the Catholic Church,” the Patriarch added. “I am wholeheartedly grateful to both the Cuban leadership and the Cuban people for the arrangements for this important meeting and the atmosphere in which it was held.”
• Vatican highlights opening of new churches in China (Vatican News)
  Vatican News has drawn attention to the opening of two new Catholic churches in China, in Hubei and Shanxi provinces. The two churches were inaugurated on May 13 “as concrete signs of perseverance on the path of faith.”
• Vatican newspaper laments 'the tears of mothers and blood of innocents' in Gaza (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
  In a prominent front-page article in its May 15 edition, the Vatican newspaper mourned “the tears of mothers and blood of innocents” in Gaza. “Dozens more dead in Gaza, between Jabalia and Khan Younis, because of Israeli bombings,” L’Osservatore Romano reported. “22 children have also lost their lives in the last few hours.” The unsigned article stated: In the difficulty of verifying numbers and dynamics, while the press around the world repeats news of “anti-bunker” bombs and toxic gases released by the detonations, the only thing that is certain is that the blood of innocents continues to flow, and their mothers are weeping over so many broken lives.
• Pope lauds 'sense of mystery' in Eastern Catholic liturgy (Vatican Press Office)
  “The Church needs you,” Pope Leo XIV said to May 14 audience of participants in the Jubilee of the Eastern Catholic churches. “I am happy to be with you and to devote one of the first audiences of my pontificate to the Eastern faithful,” the Pope said. He spoke of “your glorious history and the bitter sufferings that many of your communities have endured or continue to endure.” More specifically, the Pope spoke about the beauty of the liturgy celebrated in the Eastern churches. “We have great need to recover the sense of mystery that remains alive in your liturgies,” he said. Taking note of the conflicts that threaten Christians in many of the Eastern churches, the Pope said: “The Church will never tire of repeating: let weapons be silenced.” He paid tribute to those who search for peace, and also to “those Christians—Eastern and Latin alike—who, above all in the Middle East, persevere and remain in their homelands, resisting the temptation to abandon them.” Pope Leo recalled the strong stand that his namesake, Leo XIII, had taken in support of the Eastern Catholic churches. He cited with approval the words of Leo XIII that “preserving the Eastern rites is more important than is generally realized,” and that Latin clerics who seek to entice Catholics away from the Eastern churches should be “dismissed and removed from office.”
• L'Osservatore Romano pays tribute to Rerum Novarum (CWN)
  Under a red-colored banner headline, L’Osservatore Romano published a two-page, three-article tribute in its May 15 edition to mark the anniversary of Rerum Novarum, Pope Leo XIII’s landmark 1891 social encyclical on capital and labor.
• Cardinal Parolin speaks on peace talks, papal trip to Nicea (Vatican News)
  Speaking to reporters on May 15, Cardinal Pietro Parolin voiced the hope that peace talks in Turkey would bring an end to the war in Ukraine, and his expectation that Pope Leo will travel to Turkey later this year for an ecumenical commemoration of the Council of Nicea. Regarding the Ukraine talks, the Vatican Secretary of State said that the prospect of a “direct meeting” between warring parties is encouraging. He said, however, that it would be “premature” to discuss a visit by Pope Leo to Ukraine. Asked about possible papal trips, the cardinal said that a trip to Nicea would be a likely possibility. “It was definitely planned that Pope Francis would go,” he said. “I imagine Pope Leo will follow the same path.”
• European, African bishops join to question European priorities (COMECE)
  In a joint statement, the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) and the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) have criticized European attitudes toward Africa. “We have witnessed a profound shift in European priorities—away from solidarity with the most fragile regions and communities, and from development cooperation aimed at eradicating poverty and hunger, towards a more narrowly defined set of geopolitical and economic interests,” the two episcopal conferences lament. “We are particularly disturbed by growing use of African territory as a site for Europe’s resource needs and climate ambitions.” “Africa does not need charity, nor does it need to be a battleground for external interests,” COMECE and SECAM insist. “What it needs is justice. What it needs is a partnership grounded in mutual respect, environmental stewardship, and the centrality of human dignity.”
• Spread the doctrinal, spiritual heritage of St. Augustine: papal encouragement to Augustinians (Order of St. Augustine)
  The Order of St. Augustine has offered additional details about Pope Leo’s surprise May 13 visit to the order’s general curia. The Pontiff “encouraged those present to persevere in spreading the wonderful doctrinal and spiritual heritage of St. Augustine,” the order stated. Pope Leo “recalled how he still holds dear some words that Pope Benedict XVI addressed to him in the Vatican Gardens ... On that occasion, Benedict XVI passionately encouraged the Augustinians to study, deepen, and spread the thought of St. Augustine.” The order also stated that Cardinal Robert Prevost, while prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops (2023-25), regularly prayed Lauds, celebrated Mass, and had lunch with his Augustinian confrères. He “left this house wearing the Augustinian habit and the cardinal red, only to return exactly one week later dressed entirely in white.”
• Starvation in Gaza is unacceptable, Jerusalem Patriarch says (Our Sunday Visitor)
  At a press conference in Jerusalem, the Latin Patriarch said that the situation in Gaza is “inconceivable” and “not acceptable.” “Starvation is not solving the situation, it is only making it worse,” said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM. “This is not acceptable. It is no way to resolve a conflict, it is only creating hate.” The Israeli government announced in March that it was cutting off humanitarian aid to Gaza. UN officials warned earlier this week that 500,000 residents face the prospect of starvation.
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