Catholic News

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Louisiana will now recognize the anniversary of legalized abortion in the United States as a day of mourning. Citizens will be encouraged to lower their flags to half-staff, on the anniversary of Roe v Wade, which takes place on January 22nd.

President Joe Biden will not deliver the commencement address at the University of Notre Dame this year. The decision is a break with tradition. During the last three administrations, U.S. presidents or vice presidents have addressed the university’s commencement in their first year in office. Notre Dame did invite Biden to give the address, but he reportedly had scheduling issues.

Pope Francis spoke about prayer, during his general audience in Rome today. The pope said persistent prayer can lead to miracles, because prayer goes directly to God’s tender heart. Today was the pope’s first general audience with members of the public in six months.

An icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary survived a fire at a church in Belarus this week. The icon is venerated by Catholics in a village north of the capital. The pastor was able to remove the icon and the Blessed Sacrament, before the fire destroyed the roof of the church.

Today is the feast day of Saint Pancras of Rome. Saint Pancras was a fourth-century convert and martyr. He is the patron saint of young people looking for work.

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 has now formally instituted the new lay ministry of “catechist.” This new ministry is for lay people who have a particular call to serve the Catholic Church as a teacher of the faith. In an apostolic letter released May 11, the pope said that instituted catechists will be dedicated to the transmission of the faith through proclamation and instruction. He also emphasized the importance of lay teachers of the faith throughout the history of the Church.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247611/pope-francis-institutes-new-ministry-of-catechist

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247613/what-is-the-new-ministry-of-catechist-a-cna-explainer

The Vatican has corrected a problem on its website that had caused at least two different English editions of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to appear on the site simultaneously. One of the versions accidentally displayed was an older edition. The fix to the website comes after cyber security experts urged the Vatican to strengthen its defenses against hackers.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247612/vatican-fixes-website-glitch-showing-two-versions-of-catechism

Today the Church honors St. Ignatius of Laconi, a Capuchin Friar who spent forty years begging for his community, and was known for his piety and love for the poor.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-ignatius-of-laconi-457

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 Vatican has created a working group to study how to separate criminal groups, such as the mafia, from the Catholic Church. The eight-member group will study the excommunication of the mafia, offering support to bishops around the world. The group was created in honor of newly-beatified Rosario Livatino, a Catholic judge killed by the mafia in Sicily in 1990.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247592/vatican-creates-group-to-study-separating-mafia-from-the-catholic-church

A German Catholic group has called on the country’s bishops to stop blessing celebrations for same-sex partnerships. The group is inviting “all Catholics and people of goodwill” to say a decade of the rosary on May 10, to express their bond with the Virgin Mary and the whole Church. The Vatican, in a decree approved by Pope Francis, had said in mid-March that it is not possible for the Church tot bless same-sex unions. The decree sparked protests among some Catholics in the German-speaking world, and some German priests are planning to hold blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples on May 10.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247595/german-catholic-group-calls-on-bishops-to-unite-with-rome

Today the Church honors St. Damien of Molokai, a Belgian priest who sacrificed his life and health to become a spiritual father to victims of leprosy, quarantined on a Hawaiian island.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-damien-of-molokai-456

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 spoke at an online Vatican health conference on Saturday, offering his perspective on what it means to be human. The pope talked about the human soul, and human beings’ openness to God. The conference also included speeches from Jane Goodall, Anthony Fauci, Chelsea Clinton, and Deepak Chopra.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247588/pope-francis-jane-goodall-speak-on-what-it-means-to-be-human-at-vatican-health-conference

The pope on Sunday asked people to pray for the victims of a terrorist attack in Afghanistan. At least 50 people were killed and more than 100 injured in a bombing on Saturday outside of a school in Kabul. Many of the victims were young girls who attended the school. Pope Francis called the attack inhumane, and asked people to pray for each of the victims and their families, asking that God bring peace to the country.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247590/pope-francis-to-love-like-christ-means-saying-no-to-love-of-money-vanity-power

Blessed Rosario Livatino, a Catholic judge brutally killed by the mafia in 1990, was beatified on Sunday in the Cathedral of Agrigento, Sicily. Livatino worked as a prosecutor in Sicily dealing with the criminal activity of the mafia throughout the 1980s. Pope Francis said Sunday, “He always placed his work under the protection of God; for this he became a witness of the Gospel until his heroic death.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247589/rosario-livatino-beatified-in-sicily-honored-as-martyr-of-justice-and-faith

Today the church celebrates St. Pachomius, a fourth century monk who likely was the first to create a Christian monastery where monks lived in community, rather than alone as hermits.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-pachomius-454

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Pope Francis has joined a growing number of leaders in calling for a temporary suspension of COVID-19 vaccine intellectual property rights. In a video message for a benefit concert on Saturday, the pope said, quote, “God the Creator instills in our hearts a new and generous spirit to abandon our individualisms and promote the common good: a spirit of justice that mobilizes us to ensure universal access to the vaccine and the temporary suspension of intellectual property rights.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247587/pope-francis-calls-for-suspension-of-covid-19-vaccine-patents-in-vax-live-concert-video

A new documentary about Blessed Carlo Acutis, the first millennial to be beatified by the Catholic Church, is available to watch this month online for free. The film chronicles Carlo’s life and talks about his love for the Eucharist, as well his love for computer programming. For more information about the documentary, check out the EWTN website.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247570/new-ewtn-documentary-on-bl-carlo-acutis-available-to-watch-for-free

Today the church celebrates St. Peter of Tarantaise, a twelfth century monk and bishop who created a tradition of providing food to the poor called “May Bread,” which lasted for more than 500 years.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-peter-of-tarantaise-bishop-470

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Members of the public will once again be able to attend in-person general audiences with Pope Francis, starting May 12. The audiences went virtual in March 2020, and were briefly held in person again beginning last September. Pilgrims will be required to observe safety measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The courtyard where the audiences will be held has a capacity of around 500 or so socially distanced and masked participants.

Thirty-four new Swiss Guards were sworn in on Thursday, in an elaborate ceremony in Vatican City. The Swiss Guard is one of the world’s oldest standing armies, and the new guards promised to protect the pope, even at the cost of their own lives. Although the Vatican increased the size of the Swiss Guards three years ago, from 110 to 135 men, it remains the world’s smallest army.

The Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina, expressed its dismay Thursday after the state House passed a bill effectively allowing the state to resume executions, by using new methods such as electrocution and firing squad. A spokeswoman for the diocese said, quote, “It is time for our state to abolish the death penalty, not to find new ways to execute our brothers and sisters.”

The Catholic University of America has received a $20 million donation for its nursing school. The donation from honorary graduates Bill and Joanne Conway will give tuition assistance and other aid to 160 nursing students over the next five years.

Today the church celebrates St. John of Beverley, bishop of York, and also Saint Rosa Venerini, who founded Catholic schools for girls and young women in Italy during the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

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A fourteenth century reliquary that was stolen from a museum in the 1980s has been recovered. The reliquary, along with ten other sacred artifacts, were found by police in a collector’s home in Italy. The Vatican Museums will now spend the next six months restoring the items, and then the reliquary and other sacred objects will be returned to the archdiocese from which they were stolen.

A Mexican priest was able to give general absolution to the victims of a train accident in Mexico City earlier this week. Father Juan Ortiz says he reached the scene of the accident, which killed 24 people, soon after it happened, and he absolved the victims’ sins. Priests are allowed to give general absolution if the faithful are in danger of death, and there is no time to hear their sins individually.

Pope Francis will issue an apostolic letter next week on the ministry of catechist. Catechists are lay Christians who teach the Gospel under the direction of a missionary. Pope Francis’ letter, which is set to be released on May 11, will, quote, “formally establish the ministry of catechist, developing that evangelizing dimension of the laity called for by Vatican II.”

Catholic bishops in Texas have voiced opposition to a bill allowing certain adults to carry handguns without permits, which they say, quote, “advances a culture of violence.” The bill would allow all Texas residents over 21 to carry a firearm, provided they are not otherwise prohibited from doing so by state or federal laws. In an open letter to Texas lawmakers and Catholics, the state’s Catholic bishops said the bill, quote, “fails to reflect a commitment to life or a vision of hope.”

Catholic aid groups in India, including Catholic Relief Services and Caritas India, are mobilizing to bring aid as the coronavirus outbreak worsens. India recorded over 400,000 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, and is also averaging about 3,500 deaths per day. Catholic Relief Services says one of their top priorities at the moment is expanding vaccine education in hard-hit areas.

Today the church celebrates St. Evodius of Antioch, who likely died around the year 67, and who was the first person to coin the word “Christian” to refer to the followers of Jesus.

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Pope Francis has announced his prayer intention for the month of May. This month, the pope is asking Catholics to pray that those responsible for finance will collaborate with governments to regulate financial markets and protect citizens. The pope said in a video announcement that to protect the poor, “financial speculation must be strictly regulated.”

Catholics gathered Tuesday at the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth and prayed a rosary for all expectant women and their unborn babies. The prayer is part of a rosary marathon that Pope Francis launched on Sunday. The rosary marathon, which will take place at 30 different shrines throughout the world, will continue until May 31.

The Catholic bishops of the United States praised the Biden Administration this week for raising the refugee cap, from 15,000 people to 62,500 this fiscal year. The chair of the bishop’s migration committee called it a step in the right direction, and said, “As a nation of immigrants, we have a moral obligation to help our brothers and sisters around the world who are in need.”

Today, the church celebrates Saint Hilary of Arles, a fifth-century bishop who gave up wealth and privilege in favor of austerity and sacrifice for the sake of the Church.

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Pope Francis presided Monday over a consistory, or meeting, of cardinals, during which the cardinals voted to approve the canonizations of seven people. Among the blesseds who will soon be canonized is Devasahayam Pillai, the first lay Catholic in India to be declared a saint. The dates and locations of the seven canonizations have not yet been announced.

May third would have been the thirtieth birthday of Blessed Carlo Acutis, and Catholics across the world are celebrating Carlo’s birthday. Carlo, who died in 2006 at age 15, had a love for the Eucharist and was good with computers. Carlo became the first millennial to be declared blessed by the Catholic Church, in October 2020.

President Joe Biden has raised the refugee admissions cap for the current fiscal year, from 15,000 to 62,500. The chair of the U.S. bishops’ migration committee had said last month that the cap of 15,000 was, quote, far short of what we can do as a country.

The leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church says they are hoping for a visit from Pope Francis, despite the ongoing challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. Pope Francis has repeatedly appealed for peace in Ukraine, where Ukrainian and Russian forces have clashed in the east of the country since February 2014.

Today the Church celebrates the English Carthusian Martyrs, who were monks put to death in England under King Henry VIII in the sixteenth century for maintaining their allegiance to the Pope.

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The Vatican's divine worship office has announced the addition of seven new invocations to the Litany of St. Joseph. The new invocations of St. Joseph can be translated in English as Guardian of the Redeemer, Servant of Christ, Minister of Salvation, Support in Difficulties, Patron of Refugees, Patron of the Afflicted, and Patron of the Poor.

The blood of St. Januarius, patron of the southern Italian city of Naples, turned to liquid on Saturday inside the small reliquary where it is kept. St. Januarius is believed to have been martyred during the Diocletian persecution in the fourth century. The alleged miracle usually takes place three times a year, though in December 2020 the blood unexpectedly remained solid.

Pope Francis will give the opening remarks at an Italian conference addressing the country’s low birth rate. The Pope will speak at the General States of Birth initiative on May 14. The event will feature other speakers, including Italian government ministers, who will give talks on the family.

Catholics in several cities in the diocese of Houma-Thibodaux will no longer be required to wear a mask to Mass. According to the bishop, parishioners in Terrebonne, Lafourche, and Morgan City will no longer be required to wear masks to attend Mass. Bishop Shelton Fabre is still encouraging parishioners to wear masks at Mass voluntarily.

Today the Church celebrates Saint Phillip and Saint James, Apostles of Jesus, both of whom died as martyrs.

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