Catholic News

• New Vatican document calls on every diocese to develop pro-life plan (CWN)
  The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life has published a 40-page document calling for organized pro-life initiatives in every diocese.
• Poetry key to understanding Pope Francis, cardinal, speakers say (CNS)
  The prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith spoke at the presentation of Viva la poesia! [Long Live Poetry!], a newly published collection of the Pope’s reflections on poetry. “We cannot adequately appreciate Pope Francis’s immense contribution without including this aspect of the symbolic, poetic, evocative and even gestural language that he knows how to use,” said Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández.
• Pontifical academy holds 'longevity summit' (Pontifical Academy for Life)
  On March 24, the Pontifical Academy for Life held a half-day conference, entitled “Vatican Longevity Summit: Challenging the Clock of Time.” “The topic of aging and aging well is at the center of my interest,” said Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, the pontifical academy’s president. “It is at the center of my interest, not only for personal reasons, but because the quality of old age is the litmus test of the degree of civilization of a nation.” He added: Equitable access to scientific discoveries becomes a central issue. Biomedical innovations should not be the privilege of the few but tools to improve quality of life for everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status. The goal is not just to live longer but to live better, preventing degenerative diseases and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity for healthy and dignified aging. Longevity, then, is not just a matter of science but of justice, solidarity, and collective responsibility.
• 3 churches built, reopened in China (CWN)
  In recent days in China, a new church has been dedicated, and two churches have been rededicated and reopened, according to Fides, the news agency of the Pontifical Mission Societies.
• Nightly Vatican Rosary for Pontiff's health concludes (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
  Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, OFM Conv, the archpriest of Saint Peter’s Basilica, led the last nightly Vatican Rosary for the Pope’s health on March 23, hours after the Pontiff left Gemelli Hospital. “We are gathered here once again in prayer, united in heart and spirit for our beloved Holy Father, Pope Francis,” he said. “May his return home, here in the Vatican, in the heart of the Church, be a sign of hope for all those who at this time face with courage and trust the hour of suffering.” The Rosary began on February 24, ten days after the Pope was admitted to the hospital, and was led each night by a different Vatican official.
• Amid Holy Land conflict, learn from Mary, Jerusalem Patriarch preaches on Annunciation (Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem)
  In his homily for the Solemnity of the Annunciation, preached in Nazareth, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem spoke of “this very difficult time for us and the whole world.” “Instead of moving towards a context of encounter, instead of looking for ways and solutions for a perspective of peaceful coexistence, we see barriers of fear, mistrust, hatred and bitterness everywhere,” said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM. “And here in our Holy Land, we must continue to mourn our dead, the many wounds that worry our hearts, our families and our communities.” “So, we have come here to be guided once again by the Virgin Mary, to learn from her how we should behave and live in these situations,” he continued. “This is why we want to start anew from Nazareth, strengthened by the maternal gaze of Mary, who invites us to look up, not to give in to the fears that paralyze us, and to see the work that God is still doing through so many men and women who give concreteness to our hope.”
• Vatican spokesman reflects on Pope's hospital stay (Vatican News)
  In an editorial written after Pope Francis left Gemelli Hospital, a leading Vatican spokesman said that the Pope has “shown us that suffering and weakness can become opportunities for evangelical witness, a testament to a God who became Man, suffered with us, and accepted annihilation on the cross.” “We thank him for sharing that, from his hospital room, war seemed even more absurd to him; for reminding us of the need to disarm the world rather than rearm it by stuffing arsenals with new instruments of death; and for praying and offering his suffering for peace, which remains so fragile today,” added Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication.
• Pope returns to residence after 5-week hospitalization (CWN)
  Pope Francis returned to his residence on March 23 following a 38-day stay in Gemelli Hospital.
• Vatican now choosing judges for Rupnik trial: Cardinal Fernandez (Crux)
  The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) has completed an investigation of Father Marko Rupnik, and is now selecting judges for his trial, reports Cardinal Victor Fernandez. Cardinal Fernandez says that the DDF has “made a list” of potential judges, noting that they must be chosen carefully because of the sensitivity and prominence of the case. Some of the judges who have been approached have not yet indicated whether they will accept the appointment, he added. The DDF first received complaints of sexual abuse by Father Rupnik in 2018. After an investigation—which resulted in his excommunication for the separate canonical crime of abuse of the confessional—the DDF announced that the allegations of sexual abuse were covered by the statute of limitations, and the prosecution could not proceed. In October 2022, amid an international uproar, Pope Francis waived the statute of limitations in this case, allowing for the investigation of Rupnik to be re-opened. Thus seven years have passed since the original complaint, and nearly five years since the case was re-opened, and the DDF still has not set a date for the trial.
• Cardinal Parolin sees AI as 'exciting' but 'fearful' tool (Vatican News (Italian))
  Addressing a Vatican conference on AI and children, the Pope’s Secretary of State described AI as an “exciting and fearful tool at the same time.” “It is essential that governments, technology companies, educators, civil society and religious institutions work together to reflect on ethical regulations and governance frameworks, as well as data transparency and child-centered policies,” said Cardinal Pietro Parolin. “It is not only essential to ensure children’s safety, privacy and respect for their dignity, but also to protect them from the harm caused by artificial intelligence.” “It is equally essential to ensure transparency, accountability and equity to make artificial intelligence more beneficial for every child,” he added.
• Papal Angelus address: reflection on Lord's patience, hospitalization (Vatican Press Office)
  In his Angelus address for the Third Sunday of Lent, Pope Francis reflected on the Lord’s patience with the barren fig tree, as recounted in the day’s Gospel reading (Luke 13:1-9). “This patient farmer is the Lord, who works the soil of our lives with care and waits confidently for our return to Him,” the Pope said in his address, which he prepared but did not deliver. “In this long period of my hospitalization, I have had the opportunity to experience the Lord’s patience, which I also see reflected in the tireless care of the doctors and healthcare workers, as well as in the care and hopes of the relatives of the sick,” the Pope added. “This trusting patience, anchored in God’s unfailing love, is indeed necessary in our lives, especially when facing the most difficult and painful situations.”
• Diocesan jubilee pilgrimages foster unity, faith, charity, Pope tells pilgrims (Vatican Press Office)
  In a brief message to pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Naples and other Italian dioceses, Pope Francis wrote that diocesan pilgrimages for the 2025 jubilee year “express the unity that gathers you as a community around your pastors and the bishop of Rome, as well as the commitment to embrace Jesus’ invitation to enter ‘through the narrow gate.’” “Love is like this: it unites and makes us grow together,” the Pope said in his March 22 message. “That is why, even though your paths are different, it has brought you here together at the tomb of Peter, from which you can depart even stronger in faith and more united in charity.”
• Ukrainian primate: no peace without punishment of Russia (UGCC)
  Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of the Ukrainian Catholic Church has insisted that an end to the war in Ukraine “will never result in a just and lasting peace” unless it means “full international condemnation of everything that led to Russia’s genocidal war.” In an interview with the Italian daily Il Foglio, the Ukrainian primate said that “unpunished evil will eventually resurface,” and any peace accord that does not condemn “the ideology of the Russian world’ will be illusory.
• 12-year decline in worldwide priestly vocations accelerates (CWN)
  The number of major seminarians worldwide fell from 108,481 in 2022 to 106,495 in 2023, according to statistics published in the new Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae (CWN coverage)—a decline of 1.83% in a single year.
• Swiss bishop urges ordination of women as priests (CNA)
  Bishop Markus Büchel of the Diocese of St. Gallen in Switzerland has called for the ordination of women to the Catholic priesthood. Bishop Büchel said that the move is necessary to address a “consecration emergency”—the shortage of priests—which he attributed to the fact that the priesthood is open only to celibate males.
• Desecration of church in Orissa, India (AsiaNews)
  Vandals desecrated a Catholic church in the state of Orissa, India, on March 21. Msgr. Niranjan Sualsingh informed parishioners of Holy Family church in Titilagarh that thieves had broken into a collection box, destroyed a statue, and taken the tabernacle with the Eucharistic species. “The acts of sacrilege and vandalism have deeply wounded our community,” he said.
• Renewed papal appeal for peace in Gaza, elsewhere (Vatican Press Office)
  At the conclusion of his March 23 Angelus address, Pope Francis renewed his appeal for prayer for peace. Turning first to Gaza, the Pope said: I am saddened by the resumption of heavy Israeli bombing on the Gaza Strip, causing many deaths and injuries. I call for an immediate halt to the weapons; and for the courage to resume dialogue, so that all hostages may be released and a final ceasefire reached. In the Strip, the humanitarian situation is again very serious and requires urgent commitment from the conflicting parties and the international community. The Pope then welcomed progress toward peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan before calling for prayer “for an end to wars and for peace, especially in tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
• Seoul archbishop rues climate of 'hatred, conflict, and division' between North, South Korea (Fides)
  Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-Taick of Seoul, South Korea, said in a recent homily that “the current situation on the Korean peninsula is dominated by the mechanism of hatred, conflict, and division, rather than love, reconciliation, and unity.” As he marked the 30th anniversary of an archdiocesan committee for Korean reconciliation, the prelate called on the faithful to “take courage so that we can continue on our path of national reconciliation and remember our mission for peace in this country: inter-Korean reconciliation and the evangelization of all people.” “Amid the current tensions and conflicts on the Korean peninsula, your efforts to open a new chapter of reconciliation are more valuable than ever,” said Archbishop Giovanni Gaspari, who was also present at the Mass. “The Holy See follows these efforts with great attention and joins in prayer for the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula.”
• Catholic, Orthodox prelates criticize Kerala's government over lax alcohol policy (AsiaNews)
  Catholic and Orthodox leaders in the the southwestern Indian state of Kerala (map) criticized the state government’s alcohol policy for its laxity. “Many governments, after securing consecutive terms in power, resort to increasing revenue through measures such as the production and distribution of alcohol,” the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council stated, as they warned of an attempt to “drown Kerala in liquor.” Likewise, the head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (CNEWA profile) said that “despite the easy access to alcohol, the authorities are working to increase its flow even more and this is not the right approach ... The news of children and mothers being killed is terrifying. The cause of all this is alcohol and drugs,”
• Nigeria: one priest freed, another kidnapped (Fides)
  One Catholic priest was freed from kidnappers on Sunday, March 23. But another was kidnapped that same day. Father Stephen Echezona was set free by police and military forces in a successful joint operation in Ihiala, in the southeast of the country. He had been seized by gunmen at a gas station, but his abductors abandoned him and fled after an exchange of gunfire with police. However in nearby Oguta, Father John Ubaechu was seized as he traveled to an annual retreat for priests. The Archdiocese of Owerri issued a call for prayers for his safe release.
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