In his first major liturgy for Holy Week, Pope Francis offered an extended reflection on the spiritual underpinnings of so-called “Catholic guilt,” a by-now notorious concept associated with an almost compulsive need to feel overly guilty for any perceived offense.
Only Jesus can deliver humanity from hatred and violence, Pope Francis said on Palm Sunday.
Leaders of U.S. bishops are urging Catholics to pray during Holy Week for an end to the Israel-Hamas war.
Amid a period of turmoil and uncertainty, the Catholic bishops of Haiti are calling for an end to “all acts aimed at reducing Haiti to rubble and ashes,” and for renewed support from the international community to help foster peace and reconciliation.
Organizers of Pope Francis’ ongoing Synod of Bishops on Synodality announced March 14 that 10 different working groups had been formed in the Roman Curia to address specific topics that came out of last year’s session.
In response to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ deploying hundreds of additional officers and soldiers to the state’s southern coast to “protect” against Haitian migrants, Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami says “Haitians are not an ‘invasive species,’ and shouldn’t be treated as such.”
Istanbul’s Chora Church, famed for nearly 17 centuries for elaborate mosaics and frescoes depicting the life stories of Jesus and Mary, will be reopened as a mosque as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan moves forward with plans to convert iconic Byzantine churches into mosques.
In an interview with Italian media, Vatican Secretary of State Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin defended Pope Francis’ recent controversial remarks suggesting that Ukraine step back and be open to negotiations in its ongoing war with Russia.
There’s a saying in Nigeria, recalls Sister Patricia Ebegbulem, that “if you will act, and I will act, [human] trafficking will end.” It’s a saying she recently invoked as a message to the world that every country, and every person, has a role to play to end the practice.
Pope Francis’ comment that Ukraine should have the “courage of the white flag” and engage in negotiation to end its war with Russia was dismissed by the Ukrainian government and church leaders.
