Catholic News

• Let Eucharistic piety transform Spanish society, Pope preaches at Mass for 1.2 million (CWN)
  Pope Leo XIV celebrated the Mass of Corpus Christi today in Madrid’s Plaza de Cibeles (video 1, video 2) and lauded Spain’s heritage of Eucharistic piety.
• Be missionaries of the Gospel, Pope tells over 600,000 Spanish young people (CWN)
  Pope Leo XIV presided at a prayer vigil with young people last evening in Madrid’s Plaza de Lima (video) and challenged the Catholic youth of Spain to “be missionaries of the Gospel amid the material and spiritual poverty of our time, knowing full well that our faith is a way of life that is lived out in charity.”
• Charity is central to the Gospel, Pope says at Madrid homeless shelter (CWN)
  Pope Leo XIV visited a Madrid homeless shelter early this evening (video) and said that charity is central to the Gospel.
• Pope departs from Rome on 4th apostolic journey, arrives in Madrid (CWN)
  Pope Leo XIV departed this morning from Rome Fiumicino Airport for Spain on his fourth international apostolic journey (program), following previous trips to Turkey and Lebanon (November 27-December 2), Monaco (March 28), and Algeria, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea (April 13-23).
• Bishop murdered in Mozambique (Agência ECCLESIA (Portuguese))
  The bishop of Quelimane, Mozambique, died this morning after being shot in the heart in his residence. Born in 1972, Bishop Osório Cîtora Afonso, I.M.C., was ordained to the priesthood in 2002, appointed auxiliary bishop of Maputo (the nation’s capital) in 2023, and became bishop of Quelimane last July, according to the Annuario Pontificio. Prior to being named a bishop, he was an an official in the Dicastery for Evangelization; previously, he earned a licentiate at the Biblicum, worked at seminaries, and held regional leadership positions in his order, the Consolata Missionaries. The Portuguese bishops’ news agency reported that the murder was “committed with an AKM-type weapon by individuals who climbed the wall of his residence, having vandalized the electrical security ... There are no detainees so far, and the authorities are investigating the case.”
• Spanish saints are examples in our own dark night, Pope tells nation's leaders (CWN)
  Pope Leo XIV told Spanish lawmakers today that three Spanish saints—St. John of the Cross (1542-1591), St. Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582), and St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1566)—can assist the people of our own age, which he characterized as “so dark.”
• What the June consistory reveals about Pope Leo's style of governance [New Analysis] (CWN)
  The program for consistory of cardinals scheduled for June 26-27 reveals several things about how Pope Leo XIV intends to govern the Church.
• New French ambassador to Holy See sees Lebanon as crucial to future of Middle East's Christians (Vatican News (French))
  Pope Leo XIV received Charles Personnaz, France’s new ambassador to the Holy See, on June 5, as he presented his credentials. The ambassador said in an interview that a resolution of the Lebanon war is crucial for the region’s Christians. Ambassador Personnaz, the president of Fonds des écoles d’Orient (Fund for Schools of the East), told Vatican News that he hopes to “maintain and enrich the dialogue between France and the Holy See. Because France and the Holy See are two poles of reason, places where people seek ways and means to ease this international situation, to try to find paths toward greater peace or at least dialogue among peoples.” The ambassador added that “it is clear that the crisis in Lebanon is of critical importance, because Lebanon remains a touchstone for Christians across the region; the hope of all Christian communities in the Middle East therefore hinges on Lebanon’s future.”
• Pope Leo: Iran war does not meet just-war criteria (CWN)
  In extemporaneous comments this morning on his flight from Rome to Madrid, Pope Leo XIV said that the Iran war does not meet just-war criteria.
• Cardinal Bo: The Pope made us feel that Myanmar is not forgotten (Vatican News)
  Following a lengthy June 5 papal audience with the bishops of Myanmar, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, S.D.B., of Yangon said that “Myanmar is not forgotten, but always in his prayers.” During the audience, which last nearly two hours, “we explained the situation, difficult situation,” Cardinal Bo told Vatican News. The Myanmar civil war began in 2021 following a coup d’état. “At the same time, all the people of Myanmar, bishop, priests, religious and the faithful, they are very much having faith, they have resilience,” Cardinal Bo added. “In spite of the difficult situation, the Church in Myanmar is growing and being strengthened very much.” Buddhism is the official religion of the Southeast Asian nation of 57.9 million (map). Myanmar is 74% Buddhist, 9% ethnic religionist, 9% Christian, and 4% Muslim.
• Vatican spokesman previews themes of papal trip to Spain (Vatican News)
  In an editorial, Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication, discussed what he sees as the major themes of Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic journey to Spain: a correct understanding of the Church’s role in public life; evangelization through beauty; and the Christian response to migrants. The trip “will be an important opportunity to recall the perspective from which the Church views politics and commitment to the common good,” Tornielli wrote on June 5, the day before the trip began. “Today, this perspective is far removed both from any form of political alignment and from any attempt, encouraged by secularist ideology, to reduce Christian faith to a purely private and interior experience.”
• FBI fires 5 analysts linked to memo on 'radical traditionalist Catholics' (AP)
  The FBI yesterday fired four intelligence analysts and a supervisory analyst linked to a memo from the bureau’s Richmond office that warned against “radical traditionalist Catholic ideology.” “This action is manifestly unjust, completely unsupported by the facts, and subverts standard FBI policy and procedure,” the analysts’ attorney said. “These individuals deserved far better for the exceptional and faithful public service they rendered to protect our country.” The FBI director had previously reported firings of staff members linked to the memo, which was leaked in 2023.
• UNESCO leader hails Pope's stance on AI, commitment to peace (CWN)
  The director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) praised Pope Leo’s reflections on artificial intelligence and commitment to peace following a June 5 papal audience.
• Vatican designates Philippine Padre Pio shine as an international shrine (CBCP News)
  In a May 25 decree, the Dicastery for Evangelization designated the Padre Pio Shrine in Batangas, Philippines, an international shrine. Praedicate Evangelium, the 2022 apostolic constitution on the Roman Curia, grants the dicastery’s Section for Fundamental Questions regarding Evangelization in the World the authority to designate international shrines (Article 56).
• Help lead society to a God-centered life, Pope tells German Catholic students (CWN)
  Pope Leo XIV told members of German Catholic student associations today that “human beings are always seeking God, and he has revealed himself to us as our Saviour.”
• Philippine cardinal defends priest accused of receiving kickbacks (CBCP News)
  A Philippine cardinal today came to the defense of Father Flavie Villanueva, S.V.D., after 18 former soldiers accused the priest, a human rights activist, of receiving kickbacks. “I have known Fr. Flavie for many years and have witnessed firsthand his unwavering commitment to the human dignity of the poorest of the poor, especially the families of victims of violence and those who often have no one else to accompany them in their suffering,” said Cardinal Pablo Vigilio David of Kalookan. “No person’s good name should be destroyed by unsubstantiated accusations.”
• Appeals court rules that sexual assault suit against Father Rosica may proceed (Pillar)
  The Court of Appeal for Ontario ruled that a sexual assault lawsuit filed against Father Thomas Rosica, C.S.B., by a younger priest may proceed. In a 2024 suit, Father Michael Bechard alleged that Father Rosica assaulted him in 2002, when Father Rosica was organizer of World Youth Day in Toronto. The Congregation of St. Basil argued that because both are priests, a canonical court should have exclusive jurisdiction. The appellate court, upholding a lower court ruling, held that civil courts do have jurisdiction in the case. Father Rosica has denied the allegations. After organizing World Youth Day, Father Rosica helped lead Salt + Light Television, a Canadian Catholic network. He resigned in 2019 amid a plagiarism scandal.
• Indian prelate warns against 'Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ' (Archdiocese of Bombay)
  Archbishop John Rodrigues of Bombay (Mumbai), India’s largest city, warned in a recent pastoral letter that the “’Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ’ is not in full communion with the Catholic Church under the leadership of the Successor of St. Peter, Pope Leo XIV.” “In an age of confusion and misinformation, we must remain rooted in the authentic teaching, sacramental life, and ecclesial communion of the Catholic Church under the leadership of Pope Leo XIV,” Archbishop Rodrigues added. Based in Detroit, the Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ was founded by Karl Rodig, an Austrian priest who was automatically excommunicated in 1999 when he received episcopal consecration from an Old Catholic bishop. The church established a presence near Mumbai in 2021, under the leadership of a former priest of the Archdiocese of Bombay.
• Sydney archbishop, in pastoral letter on Eucharistic adoration, emphasizes importance of kneeling (The Catholic Weekly)
  Archbishop Anthony Fisher, O.P., issued a pastoral letter on Eucharistic adoration for the feast of Corpus Christi. In “Adoring the Eucharistic Lord: ‘Let us kneel before the God who made us,’” Archbishop Fisher wrote that kneeling is the posture that “most clearly reveals what we believe about God and our relationship to Him.” Receiving Communion while kneeling, he said, is “a perfectly valid option envisaged in the current Missal.” Archbishop Fisher asked priests to “offer at least one holy hour each week in each parish, and to collaborate with adjoining parishes to increase availability of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, including a Perpetual Adoration chapel in each deanery.”
• Record 14 bishops to attend March for Life UK (National Catholic Register)
  March for Life UK announced that a record 14 bishops, led by Archbishop Richard Moth of Westminster, will take part in the march this year. “It is hard to think of another event, or cause, that receives this level of support from the hierarchy of the Church,” organizers said in a statement. “Their presence demonstrates the primary importance that the Church places on this key and fundamental issue.”
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