Catholic News

• Cardinal Parolin, in wide-ranging interview, laments international drift from diplomacy to force (Dialoghi)
  In a wide-ranging interview with Dialoghi, a periodical published by the Italian Catholic Action movement, Cardinal Pietro Parolin lamented the drift from diplomacy to force in international relations. “I am struck by how much determination—I was about to say ease—the war option is presented as decisive, almost inevitable, bending international law to one’s liking,” the Secretary of State of His Holiness said. “The awareness of the value of peace, the awareness of the tragic nature of war, the awareness of the importance of shared rules and of respecting them seems to have disappeared.” Cardinal Parolin also discussed the European Union, the United Nations, China, Venezuela, and Greenland, as well as the contribution that Christians can make to public life: by their support of “human life and dignity, of religious freedom, of the proposal of correctives to the current economic-financial system in accordance with the principles of the social doctrine of the Church, of the protection of creation.” Asked about the Trump administration’s professed support of Christian values, Cardinal Parolin said: We cannot say that we love and defend life and be concerned only with that of the unborn without considering that life is also that of migrants who die at sea, of women and children who have nothing to eat, of peoples devastated by the weapons we produce and sell ... At the same time, those who are concerned about saving whales but justify the silent killing of huge numbers of human beings in the womb fall into the same contradiction.
• Tehran cardinal writes Easter message to his flock (Fides)
  The cardinal archbishop of Tehran-Ispahan, Iran, wrote an Easter message to his flock, a month after his evacuation to Rome. “I find myself far from you, the flock entrusted to me, separated by the events of war, waiting to be able to see you again,” said Cardinal Dominique Mathieu, O.F.M. Conv. “In the communion of saints and in the grace of the sacraments, especially in the Eucharist, we are truly united, even when we cannot be so visibly.” The Latin-rite Archdiocese of Tehran-Ispahan has four parishes and 3,500 Catholics, according to the Annuario Pontificio.
• Vice President Vance, Defense Department respond to report that official delivered 'bitter lecture' to Cardinal Pierre (Newsweek)
  The Free Press reported that Defense Department officials summoned Cardinal Christophe Pierre, then the apostolic nuncio to the United States, to the Pentagon in January and delivered “a bitter lecture warning that the United States has the military power to do whatever it wants.” Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby reportedly told Cardinal Pierre, “America has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world. The Catholic Church had better take its side.” “I would actually like to talk to Cardinal Cristophe Pierre and, frankly, to our people, to figure out what actually happened,” Vice President JD Vance said in response. “I think it’s always a bad idea to offer an opinion on stories that are unconfirmed and uncorroborated, so I’m not going to do that.” A spokesman for the Defense Department described the report as “highly exaggerated and distorted” and said that “the meeting between Pentagon and Vatican officials was a respectful and reasonable discussion. We have nothing but the highest regard and welcome continued dialogue with the Holy See.”
• Nigerian archdiocese pleads with government to rescue abducted worshippers (Leadership)
  The Archdiocese of Kaduna, Nigeria, called on federal and state governments to rescue the Catholic and other Christian worshippers who were kidnapped in Ariko on Easter Sunday. “The attack in Ariko left five worshippers dead, and about 35 others abducted,” said Father Christian Okewu Emmanuel, the archdiocesan chancellor, according to an Abuja-based newspaper. “Our hearts are heavy as families grieve the loss of loved ones while others remain in captivity,” he added. “We appeal to the authorities to do all in their power to ensure their safe return.”
• Military Archbishop Broglio relieved by US-Iran ceasefire, but concerns loom (EWTN News)
  Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, welcomed the two-week ceasefire in the Iran war but expressed regret that Lebanon was not included. The prelate said in an interview with EWTN News that “I’m happy that at least the two sides are talking to each other and perhaps looking for a solution to avoid any sort of armed conflict and perhaps pull back on the tensions in the area.” “It would be helpful that any sort of peace dialogue involve all of the participants and all of those who might be either belligerents or victims of any sort of military action,” he said. Dialogue, he added, “should have taken place before any sort of military action was taking place.”
• Priest discusses plight of Lebanese Christians on Israeli border (Vatican News)
  The Maronite parish priest in Rmaish (Rmeich), a Lebanese village on the Israeli border, discussed the plight of Christians there amid the Lebanon war. “Just this morning, the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Paolo Borgia, asked us how we are and what our needs are,” Father Toni Elias said on April 8. “These days, I am compiling a list of medicines. There are people with cancer or undergoing serious treatments. Some need very specific or very expensive medicines, which cost a lot or are no longer available.” “We need these essential goods, and above all, a humanitarian corridor,” he added.
• Pope Leo: Iran war ceasefire is 'sign of deep hope' (CWN)
  Pope Leo XIV this morning welcomed news of a ceasefire in the Iran war and renewed his appeal for prayer for peace.
• Pope, in audience on Vatican II, reflects on universal call to holiness, evangelical counsels (CWN)
  Continuing his series of Wednesday general audiences on the Second Vatican Council and its documents, Pope Leo XIV spoke today about the universal call to holiness, as well as the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
• Pope encourages beleaguered Lebanese Christians not to lose heart (CWN)
  Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, sent a message in the Holy Father’s name to the beleaguered residents of the Christian village of Debel, Lebanon.
• Ecumenical Patriarch issues Easter encyclical, denounces war (Ecumenical Patriarchate)
  The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople today released an Easter encyclical by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who holds a primacy of honor among the Orthodox churches. “The joy of the Cross and the Resurrection has preserved the people of God from identifying themselves with the spirit of this world, while at the same time safeguarding them from barren insularity and a spirituality devoid of dynamism and hope-bearing breath,” he wrote. “The message of the Cross and the Resurrection resounds today as a Gospel of peace, reconciliation, and justice.” The Ecumenical Patriarch added: War, hatred, and injustice stand opposed to the fundamental Christian principles for whose realization and establishment the people of God pray and labor each day. In the light of the Resurrection, we beseech the Lord on behalf of the victims of wartime violence, the orphans, the mothers who mourn their children, and all those who bear in body and soul the effects of human cruelty and callousness. “Christ is risen” is a denial and condemnation of violence and fear and an invitation to a life of peace. War brings forth lamentation and death; the Resurrection conquers death and bestows incorruptibility. Before the daily images of the cruelty of war, the Church raises her voice and proclaims the sacredness of the human person—of every concrete human being anywhere on earth—and the duty of absolute respect for that dignity.
• Archbishop Rudelli begins work as new Sostituto (CWN)
  The Holy See’s Secretariat of State announced that Archbishop Paolo Rudelli begins his work as the new Sostituto today, only nine days after his appointment to the powerful position.
• Indian nuns detained on trafficking suspicion, released (Catholic Connect)
  Eight Indian religious sisters and two religious-order candidates were detained at the train station in Indore after being accused of human trafficking. They were released after Church officials intervened. “There are many elements who are often critical of the Church,” said Bishop Thomas Mathew of Indore. “We may be proved innocent later, but the loss of time, money, and peace of mind remains.”
• Blessed Sacrament stolen, faithful attacked during adoration in Mexican chapel (EWTN News)
  The Blessed Sacrament was stolen, and members of the faithful robbed and beaten, during Eucharistic adoration on the morning of April 4 in San Lucas Cuauhtelulpan, Mexico. “We deplore this incident, above all for the lives and physical and spiritual well-being of the people who suffered this outrage,” said Bishop Julio César Salcedo Aquino, M.J., of Tlaxcala. “These events wound us deeply, for among the offenses committed against the Catholic faith, the theft of the Eucharist constitutes one of the most grave.”
• Ukrainian Catholic seminary established in London (The Tablet)
  Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic bishop of London, has established a seminary there. “The creation of this seminary is a direct response to the growing needs of our eparchy,” said Bishop Nowakowski. “By establishing a house of formation here in London, we are investing in the future of our parishes and ensuring that our candidates for the priesthood are prepared to serve within the unique pastoral context of Great Britain.”
• Dominican sisters challenge New York gender-identity law in court (EWTN News)
  The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a New York statute, The Long-Term Care Facility Residents’ Bill of Rights for LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers and People Living with HIV. The sisters, who care for terminally ill cancer patients, filed the lawsuit after state officials accused the sisters of “refusing to assign a room to a resident other than in accordance with the resident’s gender identity,” “prohibiting a resident from using a restroom available to other persons of the same gender identity,” and “willfully and repeatedly failing to use a resident’s preferred name or pronouns after being clearly informed of the preferred name or pronouns.”
• Pope Leo: The threat against the entire Iranian people is unacceptable (Vatican News)
  Speaking with journalists at the conclusion of his weekly visit to Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV asked “all people of goodwill to always search for peace and not violence, to reject war—especially a war which many people have said is unjust, which is continuing to escalate and which is not resolving anything.” “Today, as we all know, there has also been this threat against the entire people of Iran,” Pope Leo said, referring to comments made by President Donald Trump. “And this is truly unacceptable! There are certainly issues of international law here, but even more, it is a moral question concerning the good of the people as a whole, in its entirety.” “We have a worldwide economic crisis, an energy crisis, and a situation in the Middle East of great instability, which is only provoking more hatred throughout the world,” the Pope continued. “Come back to the table. Let’s talk. Let’s look for solutions in a peaceful way.” The Pope added: Let’s remember, especially, the innocent: children, the elderly, the sick, so many people who have already become, or will become, victims of this continued warfare—and to remind all that attacks on civilian infrastructure are against international law, and that they are also a sign of the hatred, division, and destruction that the human being is capable of. “We all want to work for peace. People want peace,” Pope Leo concluded. “I would invite the citizens of all the countries involved to contact the authorities—political leaders, congressmen—to ask them, to tell them, to work for peace and to reject war and violence.”
• USCCB president urges President Trump to 'step back from the precipice of war' (CWN)
  Stating that “the threat of destroying a whole civilization and the intentional targeting of civilian infrastructure cannot be morally justified,” the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops today called upon President Donald Trump to “step back from the precipice of war and negotiate a just settlement for the sake of peace and before more lives are lost.”
• Dozens killed in Easter attacks across Nigeria (CWN)
  Dozens of Christians were killed in Easter attacks across Nigeria.
• 'Bring everyone the good news that Jesus is risen,' Pope Leo preaches at Easter Vigil Mass (CWN)
  Pope Leo XIV celebrated the Easter Vigil Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica tonight (booklet, video) and called on the faithful to “bring everyone the good news that Jesus is risen.”
• Pope Leo, in Easter message, proclaims Christ's Resurrection, urges prayer for peace (CWN)
  Pope Leo XIV proclaimed his Easter message urbi et orbi (to the city and the world) from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica at midday today (video). The Pontiff reflected on Christ’s Resurrection, lamented indifference to violence and the “deaths of thousands of people,” and called on the faithful to “implore the Lord to grant his peace to a world ravaged by wars.”
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