Catholic News

• Pope Leo outlines his vision of Christian formation (CWN)
  Pope Leo XIV reflected at length on Christian formation in an address to the plenary assembly of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.
• Continue to speak out on behalf of the voiceless, Pope tells Catholic children's advocates (Dicastery for Communication)
  A year after the Vatican hosted an International Summit on Children’s Rights, Pope Leo XIV received members of the steering committee of the organization From Crisis to Care: Catholic Action for Children. “It is indeed a tragedy that the children and youth of our world, the ones Jesus wanted to come to him, are so often deprived of care and access to the basic necessities of life,” Pope Leo said during the February 5 audience, which took place in Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace. “Regrettably, I see that the situation of children today has not improved during the past year, and it is also of deep concern to learn of the lack of progress in protecting children from danger.” The Pope encouraged the advocates to remember that they “are speaking on behalf of those who have no voice ... Keep that in mind when the temptation to be discouraged arises.” He also encouraged them to “find ways to work together in greater harmony so that children receive care that is well balanced, taking into consideration their physical, psychological and spiritual welfare.”
• Pope, in video, prays for children with rare diseases (Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network)
  The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network released a video associated with the Pontiff’s February prayer intention, for children with incurable diseases. In the four-minute video, filmed in San Pellegrino in Vaticano and released on February 5, Pope Leo began, “Lord Jesus, who welcomed the little ones in your arms and blessed them tenderly, today we bring before you the children living with incurable illnesses.” The Pope concluded: Make of us a Church that, animated by the feelings of your Heart and moved by prayer and service, knows how to uphold fragility, and in the midst of suffering, becomes a source of comfort, a seed of hope, and a proclamation of new life. Amen.
• Let us 'disarm our hearts' to foster Christian unity, Pope tells Oriental Orthodox delegation (CWN)
  Pope Leo XIV received a delegation of priests and monks from all six of the Oriental Orthodox Churches and encouraged them to disarm their hearts so as to foster Christian unity.
• SSPX leader to meet with DDF prefect (Vatican News)
  Father Davide Pagliarani, superior general of the Priestly Society of St. Pius X, will meet next week with Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the director of the Holy See Press Office announced. The Vatican announcement followed the Society’s own announcement that the Society’s bishops will consecrate new bishops on July 1. Cardinal Fernández told The Pillar that “we have been exchanging letters in recent times. Next week I will meet with Father Pagliarani in the DDF to try and find a fruitful path of dialogue.” The Society was founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (1905-1991). Archbishop Lefebvre’s ordination of four bishops in 1988 without a pontifical mandate led to the automatic excommunications of the prelate and the four bishops. In 2009, the Congregation for Bishops issued a decree remitting the excommunications, a decision that Pope Benedict XVI explained in a subsequent letter.
• St. Agatha shows us true freedom, Cardinal Grech preaches in Catania (CWN)
  Crowds thronged the streets of Catania, Sicily, to celebrate the feast of St. Agatha on February 5 (videos).
• Cardinal Farrell: Changing doctrine, structures is false 'solution' to problems in Church (CWN)
  The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life began a three-day plenary assembly on February 4, only the third such assembly since the dicastery’s establishment in 2016, and the first such assembly since 2023.
• Albania's prime minister meets with Pontiff (CWN)
  Pope Leo XIV received Prime Minister Edi Rama of Albania on February 5.
• Pope, Sant'Egidio founder discuss world conflicts, poverty (CWN)
  Pope Leo XIV received Andrea Riccardi, the founder of Community of Sant’Egidio, on February 5.
• New statutes approved for John Paul II Foundation for the Sahel (CWN)
  Pope Leo XIV approved amended statutes for the John Paul II Foundation for the Sahel, founded in 1984 to provide assistance to Africa’s Sahel region.
• 3 former Catholic Charities employees indicted in $2M fraud scheme (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
  Three former employees of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee were indicted on February 3 on charges of defrauding the organization of over $2 million between 2016 and 2024. The three include the former chief finance officer, finance manager, and accounting specialist.
• Virginia bishop writes pastoral letter on mental health (Diocese of Arlington)
  In a recent pastoral letter, Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, sought to “offer encouragement and guidance, in light of the teachings of Christ and the Gospel, to all who wish to confront and overcome the modern world’s challenges to mental health and wellbeing.” “As a priest and bishop, I have observed with increasing pastoral concern the emergence of a broad crisis concerning mental health that is negatively impacting Americans, and especially young people, in terms of their spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing,” Bishop Burbidge wrote in “The Divine Physician and a Christian Approach to Mental Health and Wellbeing.” The prelate also offered his reflections on the “proper place of counseling in the Catholic life—when and in what manner we should make use of it in our pursuit of that authentic happiness that is holiness.”
• Ray Mouton, key figure in early days of clergy abuse crisis, dies at 78 (WWL-TV)
  Ray Mouton, a key figure in the earliest days of revelations of clergy sex abuse in the United States, died on February 25 of cancer at the age of 78. The Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana, retained Mouton to represent the notorious Gilbert Gauthe, a priest convicted in 1985 for the sexual abuse of minors. Mouton later became a leading source for journalist Jason Berry’s 1992 book, Lead Us Not into Temptation. Mouton also coauthored a 1985 report to the US bishops warning of the financially catastrophic nature of the abuse scandal.
• Human fraternity is an urgent necessity, Pope writes in Zayed Award message (CWN)
  In a message for the International Day of Human Fraternity and the awarding of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity, Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to “what is most precious and universal in our humanity: our fraternity, that unbreakable bond which unites every human being, created in the image of God.”
• Pope Leo exhorts pilgrims to read Sacred Scripture (CWN)
  Pope Leo XIV exhorted pilgrims present at his February 4 general audience in Paul VI Audience Hall to read Sacred Scripture.
• Pope Leo: St. Agatha recalls God's goodness (CWN)
  At the conclusion of his February 4 general audience, Pope Leo XIV recalled St. Agatha.
• USCCB president: New START's expiration is 'simply unacceptable' (CWN)
  The president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops described the expiration of New START, an arms reduction treaty between Russia and the United States, as “simply unacceptable.”
• Amid Russian bombings, Ukrainian Catholic diocese houses families (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
  Bishop Pavlo Honcharuk of Kharkiv-Zaporizhia, Ukraine, announced that he will house families affected by Russian bombings in diocesan offices. Father Wojciech Stasiewicz, director of the diocesan charitable organization Caritas-Spes, discussed the bishop’s decision in an interview with the Vatican newspaper and said that Russian bombing has left 70%-80% of Kharkiv’s residents without power, amid subzero temperatures. “Without electricity, there is no heating, and this makes life extremely difficult, especially in apartment buildings where there are no alternatives such as stoves or fireplaces,” said Father Stasiewicz. The priest expressed gratitude for donations of generators from the Polish government and Caritas Poland.
• Vatican diplomat weighs in on bioengineering, transplants of animal organs into humans (Holy See Mission)
  Addressing the executive board of the World Health Organization, a Vatican diplomat discussed organ donation, xenotransplantation (the transplantation of organs from animals), and bioengineering. Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, praised organ donation after death but cautioned that “transplants must always be performed ethically, in a way that respects human dignity,” and never “as an object of trade.” Turning to xenotransplantation, Archbishop Balestrero said in his February 3 statement that “the transplant of procreative organs, or parts of the human brain, which are responsible for the personal identity, is morally unacceptable.” He added, “Any unnecessary suffering of animals must be prevented, and the biodiversity and the balance of species within the created order must be respected as research in this area is pursued.” Commenting on bioengineering, he said: While these technologies could indeed make a real impact in meeting the demand for organs, cells and tissues, it is essential that stem cells used in these processes are obtained through morally acceptable techniques. In this regard, the Holy See deems unacceptable and strongly condemns the use of pluripotent embryonic stem cells. This includes cells derived from embryos so-called “left over” following IVF procedures, or “manufactured” by IVF specifically for the purpose of obtaining stem cells. The Holy See also condemns the use of foetal cells and tissues derived from aborted fetuses.
• Talitha Kum leader describes meeting with Pontiff as 'sacred moment' (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
  A delegation of 20 members of Talitha Kum, an international network of consecrated life against human trafficking, met with Pope Leo at his February 4 general audience. “Coming here from all continents, finding ourselves before the Pope to listen to his words, which from the very first day have invited us to live in peace with ourselves, in our country, in our society and in our community, was a sacred moment,” said Sister Abby Avelino, coordinator of Talitha Kum. “From Leo XIV, we received encouragement to continue the fight against the scourge of human trafficking, aware that peace will not be possible unless we truly respect human dignity.” February 8, the memorial of St. Josephine Bakhita, is the World Day of Prayer and Reflection against Human Trafficking.
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