Catholic News

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

-

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that he had spoken to Pope Francis on the phone, telling the pope that he would welcome Vatican mediation to end the suffering in his country. Zelenskyy said that in the conflict with Russia, at least 117 children have been killed, thousands wounded, tens of thousands of families destroyed, and millions of homes abandoned. Zelenskyy reportedly repeated his invitation to Francis to visit Ukraine.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250751/ukraine-war-president-zelenskyy-tells-pope-francis-he-would-welcome-vatican-mediation

Poland’s Catholics are engaging in an unprecedented effort to help Ukrainian refugees. Caritas Poland, the country’s largest charity, said on March 21 that it had collected a record sum of around $20 million, sent some 500 aid trucks to Ukraine, and organized thousands of meals a day for refugees. According to the U.N. refugee agency, Poland had seen an influx of more than 2 million refugees from Ukraine as of March 21.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250750/ukraine-war-poland-s-catholics-dig-deep-to-help-refugees

On the first of four days of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, Senators signaled interest in the judge’s legal view on topics including abortion and religious liberty. President Joe Biden nominated Jackson to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. Jackson said she supports religious liberty, but pro-life leaders have expressed concern with Jackson’s past in regards to abortion, which includes legal representation of pro-choice groups.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250747/ketanji-brown-jackson-hearings-senators-signal-abortion-religious-liberty-concerns

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Lea of Rome, a fourth-century widow who left her wealth behind, entered consecrated life, and attained great holiness through asceticism and prayer.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-lea-185

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

-

The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church accused Russian forces on Monday of committing “genocide” in the besieged city of Mariupol. In his video message on Monday, major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk said: “Real crimes against humanity are happening in the temporarily occupied territories. Every day we receive news about a real humanitarian catastrophe, about murders, looting, rape.” He also said nearly 44 churches and religious buildings have been destroyed so far. Ukrainian government officials have accused Russia of engaging in genocide since the full-scale invasion launched on February 24.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250740/ukrainian-catholic-leader-accuses-russia-of-genocide-in-beseiged-city-of-mariupol

Pope Francis on Saturday issued a reform of the structure of the Roman Curia, the administration at the Vatican that assists the pope in governing the Catholic Church. Among the many changes, the new reform changes the name and structure of the Vatican’s departments, and gives evangelization and charitable giving a more central role in the Vatican’s structure. Check out catholic news agency dot com for a full analysis of the changes.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250733/how-praedicate-evangelium-changes-the-vatican-s-dicasteries-a-cna-explainer

On Friday, Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, meaning he will entrust the nations to Mary’s help and protection. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI plans to privately join in praying for the consecration of Russia and Ukraine on March 25. Bishops around the world have announced that they will join in praying for the consecration, with many inviting the public to Masses or prayer services on Friday. Check out the list at catholic news agency dot com to see if your diocese is participating.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250730/is-your-diocese-participating-in-pope-francis-consecration-of-russia-and-ukraine-find-out-here

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250738/pope-emeritus-benedict-xvi-consecration-russia-ukraine

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Nicholas of Flue. During his lifetime, the Swiss saint had 10 children, became a hermit and later prevented a civil war.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-nicholas-of-flue-184

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

-

Pope Francis intends to invite all Catholic bishops and priests around the world to join the Act of Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which will be performed on March 25. Ukraine’s Latin Rite Catholic bishops asked Pope Francis earlier this month to consecrate Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary amid the invasion of their country. The last time this occurred was in 1984.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250716/pope-francis-to-invite-catholic-bishops-around-the-world-to-join-him-in-consecrating-russia-ukraine

A relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis’ heart is coming to New York City in the first week of April. The relic is a fragment of Acutis’ pericardium, the membrane that surrounds and protects the heart. Acutis was a young Catholic from Italy with a passionate devotion to the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and an aptitude for computer programming. He died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15, and became the first millennial to be beatified by the Catholic Church in October 2020.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250720/a-relic-of-blessed-carlo-acutis-heart-is-coming-to-new-york

Pro-life groups in the United Kingdom are speaking out against an amendment which, if passed into law, would permanently allow women to take abortion pills at home. The amendment would extend a temporary provision which started in March 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the UK government announced that it was temporarily lawful for women to take both abortion pills to procure a chemical abortion in their homes up to nine weeks and six days gestation. Previously, the policy was that women were only allowed to take the second pill at home, while the first pill was required to be taken at a clinic.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250717/pro-lifers-speak-out-as-diy-abortion-amendment-advances

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, a fourth-century bishop and Doctor of the Church whose writings are still regarded as masterful expressions of Christian faith. Cyril is also remembered for his exhaustive Biblical knowledge, and his endurance in the face of misunderstanding and opposition.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-cyril-of-jerusalem-181

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

-

The leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church said on Thursday that women are becoming the “first victims” of the occupation of Ukraine, and warned that some women are becoming victims of violence and rape. More than 3 million people, mainly women and children, have left Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion on February 24.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250704/ukrainian-catholic-leader-women-are-becoming-the-first-victims-of-the-occupation

Three aid workers for a Catholic charity operating in Ukraine sustained head injuries last week when the van they were riding in was hit by artillery fire. The men were delivering food and supplies close to the Russian lines to Ukrainians trapped by the fighting, and planned to evacuate a group of children on the return trip. After leaving the hospital, the two men who were less seriously hurt said they were ready to rejoin the humanitarian effort.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250698/catholic-aid-group-van-struck-artillery-ukraine-jason-jones

A new survey of Black Catholics in the United States has found that Black Catholics are significantly less likely than other Catholics — and also less likely than Black Protestants — to attend a church where most of the other parishioners are of the same race or ethnicity they are.

About 6% of the Black population in the U.S. — around 3 million total people — is Catholic, compared with some 66% who are Protestant. Black Catholic communities in the U.S. include not only African-Americans, but also African and Caribbean immigrants. They make up about 4% of all Catholic adults.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250700/black-catholic-worship-pew-survey

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

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

-

Breaking: Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary later this month, on March 25. A person— or nation— that is consecrated is set aside for a holy purpose. The word “entrustment” is often used synonymously with the word consecration. Ukraine’s Latin Rite Catholic bishops requested that Pope Francis do the consecration, amid the invasion of their country. March 25 was the day in 1984 that Pope John Paul II consecrated Russia and the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. At the time of that first consecration, Ukraine and Russia were both parts of the Soviet Union. For more resources and in-depth information about the consecration, check out catholic news agency dot com.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250674/pope-francis-to-consecrate-ukraine-and-russia-to-immaculate-heart-of-mary

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250675/pope-francis-consecration-russia-ukraine-meaning

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250685/we-are-grateful-ukrainian-catholic-leader-welcomes-consecration-to-mary-s-immaculate-heart

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250687/latin-american-catholic-bishops-to-join-pope-francis-consecration-of-russia-and-ukraine-to-mary-s-immaculate-heart

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250686/pope-francis-after-a-nuclear-war-humanity-would-have-to-start-from-scratch

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.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/calendar/2022-3-16

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

-

Almost 1,000 Catholic convents in Poland are helping refugees from Ukraine, as hundreds of thousands of people cross the border, fleeing the country. Some religious communities have offered help to a few people, while others have offered assistance to as many as 18,000. The U.N. refugee agency reported that as of March 14, almost 1.8 million people have entered Poland from Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion on February 24.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250669/ukraine-war-almost-1000-polish-catholic-convents-are-helping-refugees

A Spanish seminary welcomed 60 refugees from Ukraine on Sunday, who arrived accompanied by dozens of volunteers who had helped them make the trip from the Polish-Ukrainian border. The seminary of the Diocese of Tarazona will host the group of refugees consisting of women, children, adolescents, and three men. The group of refugees arrived in Spain thanks to the initiative of several volunteers from Tarazona, who brought food, clothing, and medical supplies to the Polish-Ukrainian border and returned with refugees.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250665/spanish-seminary-takes-in-60-refugees-from-ukraine

A German Catholic diocese has commissioned 17 women to administer baptisms, citing a shortfall in the number of priests. The Diocese of Essen, in Germany’s industrial Ruhr area, is the first diocese in the country to commission a group of women to administer the sacrament. Catholic Canon law allows for people other than bishops, priests, or deacons to be designated to perform baptisms if the ordinary ministers are, quote, absent or impeded.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250670/women-commissioned-to-confer-baptisms-in-german-catholic-diocese

Saint Teresa of Calcutta’s former secretary has been named the new superior of the Missionaries of Charity. The sisters elected Sister Joseph Michael, who will be the third superior to lead the order since its founder’s death in 1997. Saint Teresa of Calcutta founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950. Together with some of her former students, she took in men, women, and children who were dying in the gutters along the streets and cared for them. The Missionaries of Charity now have hundreds of houses worldwide and its membership includes religious sisters and brothers and priests, plus a lay organization.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250671/mother-teresa-s-former-secretary-to-lead-missionaries-of-charity

Today marks the eleventh anniversary of the war in Syria. Since the war started on March 15, 2011, there have been an estimated half a million casualties. The conflict has also created an estimated 6.6 million refugees, and 6.7 million internally displaced persons. The pope’s ambassador to Syria, Cardinal Mario Zenari, said Syria’s people continue to suffer the effects of war. Zenari said in an interview, quote, “It is sad to see repeated in Ukraine the same harrowing images of pain seen in Syria: destroyed neighborhoods, deaths, millions of refugees, use of unconventional weapons such as cluster bombs, bombing of hospitals and schools. Seeing the exact same descent into hell that was seen in Syria.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250672/syria-lost-in-oblivion-on-11th-anniversary-of-war-says-cardinal-zenari

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

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

-

Pope Francis on Sunday called for an end to the “harrowing war” in Ukraine, condemning in particular the “barbarism” of Russia’s reported attacks last week on civilians— including pregnant women and children— in the eastern city of Mariupol. Pope Francis said that Mariupol, a city of 400,000 which was founded and named for the Virgin Mary, “has become a city martyred” amid the assault.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250655/pope-francis-calls-for-an-end-to-the-massacre-in-ukraine-in-the-name-of-god

The pope’s words echoed those of a prominent Catholic leader in Ukraine, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, who on Monday called for prayer and fasting to “cast out the evil spirit of war” from his homeland.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250659/expel-evil-spirit-of-war-from-ukraine-with-prayer-and-fasting-urges-catholic-leader

On Monday, Pope Francis met a South Sudan bishop-elect whose consecration was postponed last year, after he was shot in the legs shortly after his nomination to lead Rumbek diocese. Bishop-elect Christian Carlassare was shot during the early hours of April 26, 2021, when two armed men fired multiple bullets at his door. His consecration as a bishop is scheduled for March 25.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250658/pope-francis-meets-shot-south-sudan-bishop-elect-at-vatican

The new $1.5 trillion spending bill for the US federal government promises to place millions into the pockets of Planned Parenthood. However, pro-life leaders are still celebrating it as a victory because it includes the Hyde Amendment, which largely prohibits taxpayer dollars from going toward abortions. While Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, cannot place federal funding toward abortion, pro-life groups frequently make the case that receiving funds for certain services can free up other money for abortion. The 2,741-page bill, which the US House first passed Wednesday, now goes to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250646/hyde-amendment-federal-spending-planned-parenthood

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Matilda, the tenth-century Queen of Germany known for her considerable almsgiving. In her final years, she devoted herself to the building of many churches, convents and monasteries.

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

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

-

A Catholic leader said on Friday that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is “becoming a war primarily against the civilian, peaceful population.” In a video message issued on March 11, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk highlighted the suffering of Ukrainian children on the 16th day of the war. Nearly 600 civilians have been killed in the assault according to official estimates, though the actual number is likely much higher.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250641/russian-invasion-of-ukraine-turning-into-war-against-civilians-says-catholic-leader

According to the city council of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, a Russian airstrike on March 9 killed at least three people, including a child, and wounded at least 17 doctors, children, and pregnant women. Vatican Cardinal Michael Czerny, whom Pope Francis recently sent to Ukraine, called the attack “unacceptable.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250633/at-ukraine-border-papal-envoy-denounces-hospital-bombing

A military aircraft attack on a town in the east of Myanmar caused severe damage to a Catholic convent’s roof, ceiling, and windows. Two Myanmar military aircraft hit the Sisters of Reparation convent, which serves as a retirement home and hospital for aging nuns. The convent is in Doungankha village in Demoso township in the eastern state of Kayah, a green and mountainous region which borders Thailand. Since fighting began in May 2021 following a military coup, at least eight Catholic churches in that area have been hit by artillery shelling or airstrikes. Some 16 parishes in the local diocese have been abandoned because of the fighting.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250635/air-strike-damages-catholic-convent-as-myanmar-conflict-continues

A Mass was celebrated at a cathedral in Geneva, Switzerland, last week, the first Catholic Mass at the cathedral in nearly 500 years. The last Mass celebrated at St. Pierre Cathedral took place in 1535. After the Reformation, the building was taken over by John Calvin’s Reformed Protestant Church, which destroyed the cathedral’s statues and paintings, and banned Catholic worship. Around 1,500 people attended the Mass.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250634/first-mass-since-reformation-celebrated-at-swiss-calvinist-cathedral

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

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

-

In a video message issued on March 10, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, lamented what he described as the “mass murder” of Ukrainians following Russia’s full-scale invasion. He said the city of Mariupol, which was founded by the Greek community as the ‘City of Mary,’ has been transformed into a cemetery for tens of thousands of people. He went on: “Yesterday we saw horrific scenes of the bombarding of a maternity ward as well as scenes of mass graves, common burials, where hundreds of lifeless bodies are laid to rest.” The U.N. human rights office reported on March 9 that it had recorded 1,424 civilian casualties in Ukraine, including over 500 deaths, with the actual figures likely much higher.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250630/ukrainian-catholic-leader-mariupol-the-city-of-mary-has-been-turned-into-a-cemetery

The former residence of St. John Paul II in the Polish city of Kraków has opened its doors to Ukrainian refugees. The Catholic Archdiocese of Kraków said on March 9 that Archbishop Marek Jędraszewski had welcomed people fleeing the Ukraine war to the city’s Bishop’s Palace.

Karol Wojtyła, the future John Paul II, lived at residence from 1958 to 1978 when he was archbishop of Kraków. According to the U.N. refugee agency, more than 2.1 million people had fled Ukraine as of March 8, and almost 1.3 million of them have traveled to Poland.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250621/ukraine-war-st-john-paul-ii-s-former-residence-in-krakow-poland-opens-doors-to-ukrainian-refugees

Four men were convicted on Wednesday of terrorist conspiracy, in the 2016 murder of French Catholic priest Father Jacques Hamel. The 85-year-old priest was killed in a terrorist attack while he offered Mass in the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, in the northern French archdiocese of Rouen, on July 26, 2016. Three of the men convicted received between eight and 13 years in prison, and one received a life sentence in absentia.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250629/father-jacques-hamel-murder-catholic-archbishop-says-justice-is-done-as-4-are-convicted

Today, the church celebrates Saint John Ogilvie, a 16th- and 17th-century Scotsman who converted from Protestantism to Catholicism, served as a Jesuit priest, and died as a martyr after refusing to accept King James I’s claim of supremacy over the Church. He is the only post-Reformation Scottish saint.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-john-ogilvie-173

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

-

Two Catholic cardinals sent by Pope Francis to Ukraine met on Tuesday with the leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the head of Ukraine’s Latin Rite bishops’ conference. Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, was pictured in Lviv, western Ukraine, with Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk and Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki. During the meeting the three men spoke directly with the pope via telephone.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250616/papal-envoy-meets-catholic-leaders-in-ukraine

Major Archbishop Shevchuk said that “priests are being killed” amid fighting in the north, south, and east of Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24. “Our spiritual heritage is being destroyed by bombing,” he said. “Churches, our spiritual values, cultural treasures.” The major archbishop stressed the unity among religious bodies in Ukraine, a country with a population of 44 million people before the war.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250618/ukraine-war-our-aspiritual-heritage-is-being-destroyed-by-bombing-says-catholic-leader

Pope Francis has announced his prayer intention for March. The pope is praying that bioethical issues will be approached with respect for human life and dignity. The pope’s prayer video, released March 8, included images of a pregnant woman, a sonogram of a preborn child, an infant soon after birth, and an elderly woman in the hospital.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250607/this-is-pope-francis-prayer-intention-for-march-2022

In President Joe Biden’s statement Tuesday in observance of International Women’s Day, the president detailed his administration’s efforts intended to improve the status of women, including the launch of “a whole-of-government effort to protect reproductive rights.” In contrast, pro-life groups, such as the March for Life, stressed that abortion harms women.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250613/biden-promotes-abortion-policies-on-international-womens-day

Today, the church celebrates St. 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