Catholic News

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Pope Francis has declined the resignation of the influential German Cardinal, Reinhard Marx. Marx sent his resignation to the pope last month, over the German Church’s handling of clerical sex abuse. The pope asked Marx to continue as archbishop of Munich and Freising. The 67-year-old cardinal is also a member of the pope’s Council of Cardinals, and the coordinator of the Vatican Council for the Economy. Until last year, he served as the chairman of the German bishops’ conference.

The number of Canadians who ended their lives by euthanasia and assisted suicide, increased by 17% in 2020, the country’s health department announced on Monday. A total of 7,595 people received “medically assisted deaths” last year, a figure which amounts to 2.5% of all deaths in Canada for the year. Euthanasia was legalized in Canada in 2016.

The website of the University of Notre Dame has a feature post celebrating Pride month, on its diversity and inclusion page. The university’s media relations staff did not reply to CNA’s multiple requests for comment. The university’s campus ministry office told CNA, that it was not aware of any plans for an initiative honoring the Sacred Heart in the month of June.

Three lay Catholics in Germany have asked the Vatican if the Church in Germany is in schism, through a process called a “dubium.” A dubium, from the Latin word meaning “doubt,” is a question addressed to the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation, that can be answered with a “yes” or “no.” One of the Catholics told CNA he is concerned about demands in Germany for the ordination of women, blessings of same-sex couples, and lay people preaching at Masses.

Today, the Church celebrates Blessed Edward Poppe, a priest from Belgium who died in 1924, at the age of 33. Poppe is remembered for his priestly ministry to the poor and dying. He spent the last years of his life studying, praying, and producing thousands of writings against Marxism and secularism.

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.

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Ireland’s High Court will hear a case later this month, involving a couple who claim that their unborn child was aborted, after they were mistakenly told that the baby had a fatal, fetal abnormality. Ireland’s constitution recognized the right to life of the unborn, until Irish citizens voted to repeal pro-life laws in 2018.

Arizona bishops are concerned that the state could resume executions this fall, including the possibility of executions by gas chamber. Documents obtained by journalists show that Arizona’s department of corrections spent more than $2,000, on the necessary ingredients to make hydrogen cyanide gas. In 2018, Pope Francis ordered a revision to the Church’s catechism, calling the death penalty “inadmissible”, and an “attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.”

Cardinal George Pell turned 80 years old on Tuesday, losing his eligibility to vote in a future papal conclave. The Australian was made a cardinal by St. Pope John Paul II in October 2003. Ten years later, Pope Francis appointed Pell a member of his Council of Cardinals, and the year after, put him in charge of Vatican finances. In total, six cardinals have turned, or will turn 80 years old in 2021, losing their right to vote in a conclave.

During his general audience today, Pope Francis encouraged busy Catholics, to say the “Jesus Prayer” throughout the day. The short prayer goes, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ It is at the heart of Eastern Christianity’s mystical tradition.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Ephrem of Syria. The deacon, hermit, and Doctor of the Church, made important contributions to the spirituality and theology of the Christian East, during the fourth century.

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.

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The Diocese of Buffalo has placed three diocesan priests on administrative leave, following a new abuse accusation that dates back to the 1990s. The accusation was filed anonymously. Buffalo’s bishop has said the decision to place the priests on administrative leave is not intended to indicate guilt, or any determination about the truth or falsity of the complaint. The priests have reportedly denied ever committing any acts of abuse.

The Archbishop of Toronto has responded to requests for a papal apology, over abuses at Canadian Catholic-run schools, for First Nations and other Indigenous children. The Cardinal said a papal apology would need to happen on a papal visit to Canada. He said the pope has already called on individual bishops to continue the process of reconciliation, in their own dioceses.

Weakness is a chance for an encounter with God. That was the message of Pope Francis on Monday, in a meeting with young priests from France. The pope encouraged the priests to release any dreams of greatness, and to put God and people at the center of their concerns. The French priests are in Rome for their studies.

Today is the feast of Saint Medard. The fifth-century bishop is venerated in northern France. Legend says that when he was a child, Medard was once sheltered from the rain by a hovering eagle. This is his most common depiction in art, and it led to his patronage of good weather.

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.

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Pope Francis expressed sorrow on Sunday, at the discovery of Indigenous children’s graves, at a Church-run residential school in Canada. The pope assured Canadians of his sympathy and prayers. He did not issue a formal apology for the Catholic Church’s role in residential schools, as requested by the Canadian government.

A majority of U.S. adults still support the administration of capital punishment, according to a June 2 Pew Research Center report. The report referred to a survey taken in April, that was conducted online. The survey concluded about six-in-ten U.S. adults favor the death penalty, for people convicted of murder. Majority support for the death penalty gradually rises with an increase of the age of respondents. The most supportive of the death penalty are adults, ages 50 to 64, with 69% in favor.

Pope Francis said Sunday that we need to “enlarge our hearts,” to truly appreciate the gift of the Eucharist. He said enlarging our hearts will break us out of the smallness of our egos, and bring us into the vast expanse of wonder, and adoration. The pope made his comments in his homily during Mass for the feast of Corpus Christi, in Rome.

A Catholic organization is suing a Michigan township, after it was denied permission to build a chapel and prayer trail dedicated to Padre Pio, on land it already acquired. Catholic Healthcare International is alleging that Genoa Township is violating its First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. According to the lawsuit, the proposed chapel, parking spaces, and prayer trail did not violate any of the township’s zoning laws.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Anthony Mary Gianelli. The Italian priest founded several religious communities, including the Daughters of Our Lady of the Garden, who continue their ministry in education and healthcare today, in Europe, Asia, and the United States.

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.

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Pope Francis and President Joe Biden could meet for the first time since Biden's election, as early as June 15, according to sources in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace. Biden and Pope Francis spoke on the phone several days after Biden’s election. Although the in-person meeting has not been confirmed, another source from the Vatican Secretary of State said that the meeting “is likely to occur.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247883/pope-francis-and-president-biden-may-meet-on-june-15-sources-say

For the second year in a row, Chinese authorities have forbidden people in Hong Kong from gathering at a candlelight vigil on the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Last year, thousands of people in Hong Kong defied the ban and gathered for a vigil, remembering the thousands of people who died in the 1989 massacre. An auxiliary bishop celebrated a memorial Mass in Hong Kong last year, and this year churches across the island will be celebrating Masses for the dead.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247891/hong-kong-advocacy-organization-condemns-chinas-refusal-to-allow-commemoration-of-tiananmen-square-protests

Cardinal Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munich and Freising in Germany, has offered his resignation to Pope Francis. The influential cardinal said he is resigning in part because of mistakes he made in handling the abuse crisis in Germany.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247895/cardinal-marx-offers-resignation-to-pope-francis

Pope Francis has hinted at new regulations regarding the celebration of the Mass in the extraordinary form, although he has not yet spoken about the matter in detail. A source at the Congregation for Divine worship told CNA this week that the pope may soon issue a document on the matter.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247884/pope-francis-believed-to-be-preparing-restrictions-for-the-traditional-mass

A historic Catholic abbey in Belgium is brewing beer again for the first time in 200 years. The Grimbergen Abbey, near Brussels, was forced to abandon beer-making, when the abbey was dissolved, following the French Revolution.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247878/beer-making-returns-to-belgian-catholic-abbey-after-200-years

Today the Church honors St. Francis Caracciolo, a 16th-century priest known for his ardent devotion to the Blessed Sacrament; as well as St. Optatus, a fourth-century convert from paganism, best known for his opposition to the heresy of Donatism.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-francis-caracciolo-489

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-optatus-695

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.

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Six Catholic dioceses in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Delaware, are the latest to announce plans to lift the dispensation from the Sunday obligation. The obligation will be reinstated in those dioceses beginning June 26. Dioceses in New Jersey, and several dioceses in upstate New York will lift the dispensation beginning on June 5, for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi.

The International Society for Stem Cell Research has lifted a limitation on how long scientists can experiment on lab-grown embryos. For decades, researchers were prohibited from experimenting on lab-grown, human embryos, beyond 14 days of formation. Bioethicists have warned against the relaxation of the rule.

A community of Benedictine nuns, known for inventing and distributing low-gluten Communion hosts, has seen their business decimated by the pandemic. The Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Missouri said their business in 2020 dropped by about 75%. The sisters said business is increasing as dioceses reinstate the Sunday Mass obligation, but they doubt demand will reach pre-pandemic levels.

A historic Catholic abbey in Belgium is brewing beer again for the first time in 200 years. The Grimbergen Abbey, near Brussels, was forced to abandon beer-making, when the abbey was dissolved, following the French Revolution.

Today is the feast day of Saint Charles Lwanga, and many other martyrs killed for the faith in Uganda in the late 1880s.

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.

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Canadian bishops have pledged to work towards healing and reconciliation with the country’s indigenous populations, after the remains of more than 200 indigenous children were discovered in unmarked graves, at the site of a former Catholic residential school, late last month. It is unknown how the children died, or who they were. The deaths are believed to have been undocumented.

The European Parliament will vote next week on a measure that would allow access to abortion in all member states. The report would also recognize a right to abortion, and a redefinition of conscientious objection as a denial of medical care. Most of the European Union’s 27 member states permit abortion on demand, or on broad social grounds, except Malta and Poland, which have strong pro-life laws.

Catholic bishops in Austria are speaking out against assisted suicide. Austria’s top court ruled in December that assisted suicide should no longer be a criminal offense, because it violates the right to self-determination. It ordered the Austrian government to lift a ban on assisted suicide in 2021.

Pope Francis said Wednesday, that just as Jesus prayed for his friends while on earth, he also prays for each person eternally, before the Father in heaven. The pope made his comments during his general audience in Rome. He also prayed that the upcoming Solemnity of Corpus Christi would spark a deeper awareness of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

Today, the Church remembers two fourth-century martyrs, Saints Marcellinus and Peter. Although the biographical details of the two martyrs are largely unknown, they became highly venerated after the discovery of their tomb, and the conversion of their executioner.

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.

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On Monday Pope Francis asked for the intercession of Mary, Undoer of Knots, as he completed a month-long global rosary marathon. The pope launched the prayer marathon on May 1 at St. Peter’s Basilica. On each day of the event, a different Catholic shrine around the world led the rosary. He encouraged Catholics to continue to pray for the protection of the whole world from the pandemic and access to vaccines for all.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247848/pope-francis-turns-to-mary-undoer-of-knots-at-end-of-rosary-marathon-for-end-to-pandemic

The Vatican published several revisions to canon law today. Under the revised laws, among other things, lay people, including founders of lay religious movements and parish employees, can be sanctioned for sexual abuse. The reforms also introduced new crimes in the area of economic and financial matters to canon law.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247850/pope-francis-unveils-sweeping-reform-of-catholic-churchs-penal-sanctions

The Chinese government announced a new policy that couples can now have up to three children, amid a sharp fall in the country’s birth rate. China aggressively enforced a “one-child policy” from 1980 to 2016 in an effort to curb population growth, a measure which the Catholic Church has consistently opposed. China’s National Bureau of Statistics said earlier in May that the country recorded 12 million births in 2020, the lowest number reported since the 1960s.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247845/china-unveils-3-child-policy-amid-sharp-drop-in-births

Today the Church honors St. Justin Martyr, a second-century philosopher who is best known for arguing for the Catholic faith against the claims of Jews, pagans, and non-Christian philosophers.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-justin-martyr-486

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

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Lawmakers in California are considering a bill that would remove several safeguards on assisted suicide. The bill would replace a 15-day waiting period for lethal drugs, with a 48-hour waiting period. It would also remove a mandatory mental health assessment. The California Catholic Conference is urging local Catholics to speak out against the bill. Assisted suicide has been legal in California since 2015.

A proposed bill in Spain would criminalize efforts to interact with women entering abortion clinics. The bill characterizes as harrassment approaching women with photographs, models of babies, and proclamations against abortion. Penalties include jail terms of three months to a year, or community service.

The pope has ordered an apostolic visitation of Germany’s Cologne archdiocese, amid fierce criticism of its handling of abuse cases. The pope will send a Cardinal from Stockholm, and the president of the Dutch bishops’ conference, to evaluate the handling of abuse cases by the Cardinal who leads the Cologne archdiocese. The visitation will take place during the first half of June.

The Vatican has imposed penalties on a retired Polish bishop, after an investigation into his handling of clerical abuse cases. The bishop led a diocese in southern Poland from 1992 to 2013. The investigation was conducted under the norms of the pope’s motu proprio, Vos estis lux mundi.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Bernard of Menthon. Bernard was an Italian priest in the late first-century, who founded a series of centers of hospitality for travelers through the Alps.

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.

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U-S bishops are praying for all affected by a shooting Wednesday at a rail yard in San Jose, California. A gunman killed nine people, and injured multiple others, before taking his own life. The head of the U-S bishops’ committee on domestic justice said something is fundamentally broken in U-S society and culture.

Pope Francis has appointed a new leader for the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship, and the Discipline of the Sacraments. English Archbishop Arthur Roche is currently secretary for the congregation. He will succeed Cardinal Robert Sarah, who led the congregation for six years, before the pope accepted his resignation in February, at the age of 75.

Florida State University has agreed to a settlement with a Catholic student, who sued the school last year. The student sued the university over his removal from the student senate, after comments he made in a private text messaging forum. In the forum, the student cautioned other students against financially supporting the A-C-L-U, and the official Black Lives Matter organization, because the groups’ policies violated Church teachings on abortion and gender issues.

A man with a gun allegedly robbed the bishop of Oakland of his episcopal ring, and some money, near the city’s cathedral. The attack took place on Saturday, the same day the cathedral was scheduled to hold a vigil against gun violence. Bishop Michael Barber was reportedly praying the rosary while taking a walk, when he was attacked.

Today is the feast day of Saint Augustine of Canterbury. The Italian Benedictine monk founded the famous See of Canterbury, under the direction of Saint Gregory the Great. He preached the Catholic faith to the country’s Anglo-Saxon pagans during the late sixth and early seventh centuries.