Catholic News

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Today is Saint Patrick’s Day. As of yesterday, 72.6% of dioceses in the United States are offering some relief from the no-meat-on-Fridays-during-Lent rule for Saint Patrick’s Day. 93 diocesan bishops are providing a dispensation with no strings attached — although many of those bishops suggest extra prayers or spiritual exercises or abstaining from meat on another day. Thirty-four diocesan bishops said yes but gave additional conditions, requiring a substitute through what canon law calls a ‘commutation’ of the requirement, such as attending Mass on Saint Patrick’s Day, saying the Breastplate of Saint Patrick prayer, praying the rosary, abstaining from meat another day, or helping the poor. Also in the yes-but category is the Archdiocese for the US Military Services, which is requiring abstinence from meat on another day the same week as Saint Patrick’s Day for those planning to eat meat on Friday, March 17. Forty-six diocesan bishops, or 26.3% of the dioceses, have said no to a general dispensation or commutation for all Catholics in the diocese, although many of those say they would grant individual dispensations upon request. For a complete map showing where Catholics are allowed to eat meat this Saint Patrick’s Day, visit catholicnewsagency.com.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253789/where-are-catholics-allowed-to-eat-corned-beef-on-st-patricks-day-this-lent

Catholic bishops in the United Kingdom said a new law criminalizing prayer and outreach outside abortion clinics in England and Wales discriminates against people of faith. Britain’s House of Commons approved legislation on March 7 to create “buffer zones” across the country, which strictly bans behavior that “interferes with any person’s decision to access, provide, or facilitate the provision of abortion services” around abortion facilities. The law’s broad provision would prohibit a wide range of behavior, including silent prayer. Religious freedom is essential for society and human flourishing, the bishops’ statement said.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253878/uk-bishops-call-buffer-zones-banning-prayer-outside-of-abortion-clinics-discriminatory

The Catholic Diocese of Albany has decided to file for bankruptcy, saying a financial reorganization will help provide some compensation for the hundreds of sex abuse victims who have filed lawsuits. Bishop Edward Scharfenberger of Albany said parishes and schools are not part of the filing and are incorporated as different entities. Scharfenberger said the diocese has been named in more than 400 lawsuits filed from August 2019 to August 2021 under the Child Victims Act of 2019. There is no timeline for the Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the Albany Diocese said in a statement. Other reorganizations have continued for several years.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253877/facing-hundreds-of-sex-abuse-lawsuits-albany-diocese-to-declare-bankruptcy

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Patrick. He was captured and brought as a slave to Ireland before escaping back to Britain, but later returned to Ireland as a bishop to minister to the small Christian communities. Using the traditions and symbols of the Celtic people, he explained Christianity in a way that made sense to the Irish and was thus very successful in converting the natives. He remains one of the most beloved Saints of Ireland.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-patrick-of-ireland-180

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Pope Francis said Wednesday that everyone in the Church is equal in dignity, thus a focus on hierarchical advancement is “pure paganism.” “Within the framework of the unity of the mission, the diversity of charisms and ministries must not give rise, within the ecclesial body, to privileged categories,” the pope said at his March 15 general audience in Saint Peter’s Square.“There is no promotion here, and when you conceive of the Christian life as an advancement, that the one above commands others, because he has succeeded in climbing, that is not Christianity,” he said. “That is pure paganism.” At his weekly meeting with the public, Francis reflected on the call to apostleship as part of the larger theme of evangelization. The pope said if you see someone in a “high” position in the Church who is vain, you should pray for “the poor guy,” because he has not understood his vocation. “Listening, humbling one’s self, being at the service of others: This is serving,” he continued. “This is being Christian. This is being apostle.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253867/pope-francis-a-christian-life-based-on-achieving-higher-positions-is-pure-paganism

Recent terrorist raids in Benue, a predominantly Catholic state in north-central Nigeria, are getting scant mention in the country’s news. Six counties in the Middle Belt state have seen deadly attacks by Fulani militants since the election, according to Mike Uba, the county chairman of Guma, adjacent to the state capital of Makurdi. The affected counties are both in the north and southern borders of the state. One of the most recent attacks, on March 7, left at least 20 residents dead in the village of Tse Jor after about 40 attackers with machetes arrived on motorbikes and slashed defenseless men, women, and children for at least two hours, Helen Tikyaa, an aid worker employed by the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi, told CNA. Tikyaa said she drove to the village during the attack but dared not go in until the killers had departed. Benue has more than 1 million people struggling to survive in makeshift camps due to terrorist raids that have depopulated large areas and prevented hundreds of thousands of small farmers from accessing their four-acre farms.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253873/waves-of-attacks-displace-catholic-natives-in-central-nigeria

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Clement Hofbauer, an 18th and 19th-century saint who oversaw the founding of many Redemptorist monasteries, and who is the patron saint of Vienna, Austria.

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Today, the Church celebrates Saint Louise de Marillac, a spiritual directee of Saint Vincent de Paul who founded the Daughters of Charity, a group of women dedicated to serving the sick, the poor and the neglected. She was declared patroness of social workers in 1960.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-louise-de-marillac-178

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The first hearing in what could be the most consequential abortion case since the overturning of Roe v. Wade is set for this Wednesday, March 15. The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM), along with several other medical organizations and doctors, is suing the Federal Drug Administration for its approval and expansion of the abortion drug mifepristone. On January 3, the FDA changed its policy to allow pharmacies, such as CVS and Walgreens, to sell mifepristone. Previously, the FDA only allowed certified doctors, clinics, and some mail-order pharmacies to dispense the drug. After the FDA’s policy change, any patient with a prescription can obtain mifepristone from her local retail pharmacy. Represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), AHM is alleging that the FDA has been recklessly endangering women and young girls for decades by ignoring its own research and testing standards and continuing to expand its mifepristone approval. The case is being heard by U.S. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk for the Northern District of Texas. A high-stakes case, if Kacsmaryk rules against the FDA, the administration could be forced to rescind its approval of the drug, bringing its legal distribution to a halt across the country, even in states where abortion remains legal.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253858/case-that-could-stop-half-of-us-abortions-set-for-this-wednesday

Police are searching for a man who burglarized and vandalized Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Gales Ferry, Connecticut, early Saturday. The Ledyard Police Department reported that the man broke into the church, smashing windows and attempting to break into rooms using a crowbar. The police reported that the man further vandalized the church by painting “hateful” messages on the floor of the church meeting hall with black paint and more “hateful speech” on a wall that displayed a large crucifix. Based on security camera footage from inside the church, police allege the man entered the building at about 1 am Saturday, March 11, and stayed in the building for about two and a half hours. The police believe the man first tried to enter the building by throwing bricks at the front door but was unsuccessful. The police believe the man then walked around the outside of the building and broke windows with bricks, rocks, and religious items before breaking into a window on the north side of the building and entering the church.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253854/police-looking-for-man-who-vandalized-connecticut-catholic-church

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Matilda, Queen of Germany and wife of King Henry I was the daughter of Count Dietrich of Westphalia and Reinhild of Denmark.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-matilda-177

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Pope Francis asked for prayers as he spoke about the future of the Church and his pontificate so far in an interview published in the early hours of Sunday. Speaking to the Italian daily Il Fatto Quotidiano, Francis declined to evaluate his pontificate so far, saying the Lord will judge his life one day based on whether he practiced the Corporal Works of Mercy as taught by Jesus. “The Church is not a business, or an NGO, and the pope is not an administrator who has been commissioned to balance the numbers at the end of the year,” he said, according to an English transcript published on Il Fatto Quotidiano March 12. According to the pope, it’s not easy to pay attention to God’s will and put it into practice: “It’s necessary to attune yourself with the Lord, not with the world.” Asked about his wish for the world, Pope Francis responded: “peace.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253848/not-an-easy-job-pope-francis-asks-for-prayers-on-10th-anniversary-as-pope

The president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, has ordered the closing of the Vatican embassy in Managua and the Nicaraguan embassy to the Holy See in Rome, according to Reuters. And according to the AP, Vatican sources confirmed there had been a request from Nicaragua to shut down the two embassies. The proposal to suspend relations between the Vatican and Nicaragua follows just days after Pope Francis likened Nicaragua’s Sandinista government to Nazi Germany in an interview. He also called Ortega “unstable.” Ortega, who leads Nicaragua’s socialist Sandinista National Liberation Front party, has governed Nicaragua continuously since 2007 along with his wife, Rosario Murillo, who is now the vice president. The regime has variously been accused of corruption, voter fraud, imprisoning critical dissenters and journalists, and committing violent human rights abuses against the people of Nicaragua.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253850/report-nicaragua-to-close-vatican-embassy-in-managua-nicaraguan-embassy-to-holy-see

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Roderick, a priest in Cabra, Spain during the persecution of Christians by the Moors. Authorities accused Roderick of apostacy under Sharia Law and he was imprisoned. While in prison, he met a man named Solomon, also charged with apostasy. After a long imprisonment, they were both beheaded.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-roderick-176

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Saint Peter’s Basilica will now host an hour of Eucharistic adoration on its front portico once a month. Beginning March 14, adoration will take place every second Tuesday from 8-9 pm on the parvise in front of the Vatican basilica leading to St. Peter’s Square. The March 14 adoration will be led by Cardinal Mauro Gambetti who is the archpriest of Saint Peter’s Basilica. The prayer will be offered for Pope Francis in light of his 10th anniversary as pope. Saint Peter’s Basilica is typically open every day from 7 am to 6:30 pm in the winter or 7 pm in the summer. The Eucharist is also exposed in Saint Peter’s Basilica for adoration in the Chapel of the Most Blessed Sacrament from approximately 9 am to 4:45 pm Monday through Saturday.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253828/vatican-basilica-to-hold-monthly-eucharistic-adoration-on-portico

In a new blow to the Church in Nicaragua, the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega has ordered the legal status of several institutions to be revoked, including that of John Paul II Catholic University. The reason given for the decision was “noncompliance” with the obligations of the universities “according to the laws that regulate them.” The cancellation affects the students and campuses of the John Paul II Catholic University in Managua, Juigalpa Chontales, Matagalpa, and Granada, as well as UCAN and its locations in León, Chinandega, Estelí, Juigalpa Chontales, Masaya, and Matagalpa. The university responded by saying that "the Lord is the master of our history, and that in the most adverse moments He has supported us and will continue to do so."

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253829/dictatorship-in-nicaragua-dissolves-john-paul-ii-catholic-university

Daniel Ortega has also dissolved Caritas Nicaragua and Caritas Jinotega, aid organizations of the Catholic Church that assist those most in need in the Central American country. Caritas Jinotega provided food for the country’s poorest people, donations of crutches and prostheses, delivered medicines at low cost, among many other charitable works.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253831/ortega-dictatorship-dissolves-caritas-nicaragua-catholic

The Vatican held a hearing Thursday to try three climate activists for criminal damage to a famous statue in the Vatican Museums. Guido Viero, 61, and Ester Goffi, 26, were ordered to appear before the Vatican City State’s tribunal on March 9. Viero and Goffi superglued their hands to the marble base holding Laocoön and His Sons, an ancient marble sculpture on display in the Vatican Museums, on the morning of August 18, 2022. They are accused of damaging the base of the statue through the use of “particularly tough and corrosive synthetic adhesive.” The three are part of Ultima Generazione (“Last Generation”), an Italian group that encourages nonviolent civil disobedience to “raise the alarm on the climate emergency.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253824/vatican-takes-climate-activists-to-trial-for-damage-to-base-of-famous-statue-in-vatican-museums

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Aurea, a young 11th century Spanish woman who lived a life of sacrifice in a convent before dying in her late 20s. The Church also celebrates Saint Sophronius, a courageous leader of the Jerusalem Church during the Islamic conquests of the seventh century, who is more commonly venerated among Eastern Catholics and within the Eastern Orthodox churches.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/calendar/2022-3-11

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Pope Francis met Wednesday with two young Nigerian girls who suffered horrendous violence at the hands of the Boko Haram terrorist group. Sixteen-year-old Maryamu Joseph, who escaped from the Boko Haram in July after being held against her will for nine years, greeted the pope with Janada Marcus, also a victim of Boko Haram kidnapping, at the end of his general audience on March 8. Both girls saw members of their families murdered by Boko Haram. The pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need arranged for the girls to meet the pope on International Women’s Day. Pope Francis recently wrote a book preface in which he condemned violence against women. “We must find the cure to heal this plague and not leave women alone,” the pope said.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253817/pope-francis-meets-with-two-nigerian-girls-who-were-kidnapped-by-boko-haram

Oklahomans on Tuesday night overwhelmingly voted down a measure that would have legalized recreational marijuana, which the Catholic bishops of the state had urged voters to reject because of the physical and spiritual harms of drug use. State Question 820, which would have legalized the consumption of marijuana for adults 21 and over, was put before Oklahoma voters in a special election March 7. The final tally was 62% no to 38.3% yes, with a turnout of about 25% of registered voters, the Associated Press reported. The vote continues a recent trend of conservative-led states rejecting marijuana ballot measures, despite analyst predictions that marijuana legalization has, for the past decade or so, largely been a winning issue no matter what state it is introduced in. At the midterm elections in November 2022, voters in Arkansas, North Dakota, and South Dakota rejected measures put before them to legalize recreational pot while Missouri and Maryland approved theirs. Catholic bishops in all of those states had urged voters to reject marijuana legalization. The Catholic Conference of Oklahoma, representing Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City and Bishop David Konderla of Tulsa, strongly urged voters to reject the measure, citing the well-documented harms to society, children, and the family associated with the proliferation of marijuana.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253821/oklahoma-voters-reject-marijuana-legalization

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Frances of Rome, who from an early age felt called to religious life, but was forced into marriage at age thirteen. Despite her situation, Frances gave up all her wealth to the sick and poor, and began to go door to door raising money to aid the sick and poor. She eventually founded a charitable society of women to continue her work. She is the patron of widows and motorists, because according to legend, an angel always lit her path.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-frances-of-rome-415

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Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, whose spire and roof were destroyed by an April 15, 2019, fire, is expected be rebuilt within the five-year deadline set by the French government. As confirmed by the head of the construction site, French Army General Jean-Louis Georgelin, in an interview with the Associated Press, the faithful and tourists should have access to the site again by the end of 2024. Reconstruction work only began some 24 months after the tragic incident occurred, with the first phase consisting of cleaning and securing the site, involving more than 200 different companies. Although the beloved cathedral will not be ready for the Olympic Games to be held in the French capital in July and August 2024, it should have regained its former shape by then, with the reconstruction phase of its emblematic spire to begin in April. The wood that will be used to rebuild the frame was blessed by the rector of the cathedral, Bishop Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, on December 15, 2022.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253809/reopening-of-notre-dame-cathedral-confirmed-for-late-2024

A human rights group active in China is reporting that religious believers in a populous Chinese province are now required to register on a government app in order to attend worship services. ChinaAid, a U.S.-based Christian charity, reported March 6 that the religious department of the provincial government of Henan is rolling out a system whereby all believers must make online reservations before they can attend services in churches, mosques, or Buddhist temples. The reservations are to be made through an app called “Smart Religion” developed by the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission of Henan Province. According to ChinaAid, applicants must fill in personal information, including their name, phone number, government ID number, permanent residence, occupation, and date of birth before they can make a reservation. Henan, located in the east-central part of the country, has one of the largest Christian populations in China — as much as 6% — according to a 2012 government survey. The communist government of China is officially secular.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253810/chinese-province-rolls-out-reservation-app-for-religious-believers

Britain’s House of Commons approved legislation Tuesday to create “buffer zones” around abortion facilities that would prohibit a wide range of behavior, including silent prayer. An amendment to exempt prayer and consensual conversation was voted down by lawmakers, who added the buffer zones to the Public Order Bill. The final vote came the day after a pro-life woman was arrested in Birmingham for the second time for praying silently in an alleged violation of a local buffer zone law. Opponents of the legislation decried the bill’s passage as a strike against individual liberty in the United Kingdom. The bill would create a buffer zone of 150 meters, about 492 feet, outside abortion facilities in England and Wales. It bars intimidation, harassment, or interference toward those seeking or providing abortions. Violation would be punished with a fine, a change from a previously proposed penalty that called for a prison sentence.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253814/uk-parliament-bans-pro-life-outreach-and-prayer-near-abortion-facilities

Today, the Church celebrates Saint John of God. Born in Portugal in 1495, John lived through decades of sin and suffering before a profound conversion that led him to embrace poverty, humility and charity. Saint John of God was canonized in 1690, and has become the patron of hospitals and the dying.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-john-of-god-confessor-171

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A group of Catholic bishops will visit San Quentin Prison’s death row inmates on Tuesday as inmates await transfer to other facilities in light of California’s moratorium on executions. In 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions and ordered the closure of the execution chamber at San Quentin Prison, the Marin County facility near San Francisco that dates back to the 19th century. The state of California aims to move 671 death row inmates, 21 of whom are women, to high-security units at other prisons. After Newsom announced the death penalty moratorium, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco issued a statement on behalf of the California Catholic Conference encouraging the governor to “use well the time of the moratorium to promote civil dialogue on alternatives to the death penalty, including giving more needed attention and care to the victims of violence and their families.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253806/california-bishops-to-visit-death-row-inmates-at-san-quentin

Father Jacques Mourad, a Syrian Catholic monk who was kidnapped in Syria by Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists in 2015 and managed to escape after five months in captivity, was consecrated as the new archbishop of Homs, Syria. At the March 3 Mass for the episcopal consecration, Bishop Flavien Rami Al-Kabalan, procurator of the Syrian Patriarchate of Antioch to the Holy See, noted that the new archbishop “has placed his life in the hands of the Lord.” Al-Kabalan stressed that God chose the new archbishop “to be the spiritual father who sanctifies souls with the sacraments of salvation and guides everyone in prayer and fasting, the patient and loving brother, the wise and understanding teacher.” In May 2015, masked Islamic State militants broke into the Mar Elian Monastery in Syria and kidnapped Mourad. On several occasions during his captivity, a masked man threatened him with a knife to his throat. During the more than five months that he was held captive, Mourad could have easily been set free; all he had to do was renounce Christianity. However, in each and every one of the days of captivity, he chose to remain steadfastly faithful to Christ.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253803/syrian-catholic-monk-once-kidnapped-by-isis-consecrated-archbishop

Vandals smashed the windows of a pro-life pregnancy center in Minneapolis and spray-painted it with graffiti in the middle of the night March 3, in the latest incident in a wave of attacks against crisis pregnancy centers. Video surveillance shows two masked individuals at about 1 am tagging the clinic with graffiti and breaking the windows with a hammer. A group called Jane’s Revenge has claimed responsibility for similar attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers in a wave of attacks since Roe v. Wade was overturned. A group called Jane’s Revenge has claimed responsibility for similar attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers in a wave of attacks since Roe v Wade was overturned.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253802/abortion-activists-smash-windows-at-minnesota-pregnancy-clinic-that-provides-free-diapers

Today, the Church celebrates Saints Perpetua and Felicity, young martyrs who died for the faith around the year 203.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/sts-perpetua-and-felicity-and-their-companions-169

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Thousands gathered Friday for the funeral of slain Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell, who was remembered as “a friend of Jesus Christ” and the poor. Archbishop José Gomez presided over the funeral Mass, held at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles. Speaking briefly at the conclusion of the liturgy, Gomez said “Bishop Dave,” as O’Connell was affectionately known, would be sorely missed, but “we know that he’s in heaven.” O’Connell, 69, a popular Irish-born priest who worked on myriad social causes in South LA for the past 45 years, died February 18 after being shot multiple times in his Hacienda Heights home, according to District Attorney George Gascón. Carlos Medina, the husband of O’Connell’s housekeeper, has admitted to murdering the bishop, Gascón said in a February 22 press conference. Earlier in the week, both Pope Francis and President Joe Biden issued condolences to O’Connell’s family and all those grieving his death.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253792/we-know-that-he-s-in-heaven-thousands-gather-for-funeral-of-bishop-david-o-connell-in-los-angeles

Dozens of people reportedly were murdered in post-election attacks on villages in Nigeria’s Benue State Wednesday, according to a diocesan official. During the attacks, Fulani men armed with military gear descended on the Benue State capital, Makurdi, the official said. International observers are linking the attacks to the outcome of the recently announced presidential results of Nigeria’s general elections, in which an all-Muslim presidential ticket was declared the winner.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253794/wave-of-murders-after-elections-in-nigeria-forces-catholic-diocese-staff-to-evacuate

The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) expressed its concern for the situation of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua and for Bishop Rolando Álvarez, who was sentenced on February 9 to 26 years and four months in prison by the Daniel Ortega dictatorship. One of the latest low points in the Nicaraguan dictatorship’s persecution of the Church was the recent sentencing of Álvarez to 26 years and four months in prison as a “traitor to the homeland” convicted of “undermining national security and sovereignty” and “spreading fake news.” The bishop was also stripped of his Nicaraguan citizenship.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253788/aid-to-the-church-in-need-greatly-concerned-about-nicaraguan-bishop-sentenced-to-prison

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Colette, the founder of the Colettine Poor Clares (Clarisses).

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-colette-413