Catholic News Agency
Paris Grand Mosque rector proposes to Pope Francis a meeting between Muslims and Christians
Vatican City, Feb 11, 2025 / 13:35 pm (CNA).
The rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, Chems-Eddine Hafiz, proposed to Pope Francis organizing a meeting between Christians and Muslims in the French capital this year to promote interreligious dialogue and fraternity.
Hafiz made the proposal on Feb. 10 at Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican during an audience with the pope, which was also attended by a delegation from the European Coordination Council AMMALE (Alliance of Mosques, Associations, and Muslim Leaders), an organization aimed at improving the integration and practice of Islam in Europe.
Inspired by the encyclical Fratelli Tutti, the initiative seeks to promote fraternity and justice through interreligious dialogue.
During the meeting, the second between the two after one held in 2022, the pontiff apologized for not receiving him at the Apostolic Palace.
“I have bronchitis. I live here and I can’t go out,” he explained in a video posted on the website of the Grand Mosque of Paris.
Despite the illness, the 88-year-old Holy Father has not canceled his schedule and continues to work. However, in recent days he has shown difficulty reading texts aloud.
During the meeting, the rector gave the pontiff a message on the fraternity of Christians and Muslims in Europe in which he proposed the idea of organizing a new international meeting to promote this fraternity on a continental scale.
Specifically, in the letter published on the website of the Grand Mosque of Paris, Hafiz proposes holding a major interreligious meeting in the French capital in 2025, inspired by the Assisi meetings of 1986, with the aim of reaffirming friendship between Christians and Muslims.
Although the Vatican Press Office has not given details in this regard, the Holy Father entrusted this task to the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, according to the Grand Mosque of Paris.
In the letter he delivered to Pope Francis, Hafiz reflected on the shared history between Christians and Muslims, highlighting the fruitful encounters and challenges they have faced together over the centuries.
The Muslim leader said that despite their differences, both communities are united by the same divine origin and must strengthen fraternity in Europe.
Growing fear and rejection of MuslimsHafiz also warned of the growing fear and rejection of Muslims in Europe fuelled by hate speech and stereotypes that associate Islam with violence.
In this regard, he highlighted the role of Pope Francis in combating these prejudices and promoting unity, as demonstrated by his meetings with Muslim leaders and his commitment to interreligious brotherhood.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Pope Francis appoints new auxiliary bishop for Archdiocese of Sydney in Australia
Vatican City, Feb 11, 2025 / 10:35 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Tuesday appointed Father Anthony Gerard Percy as a new auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Sydney and as bishop of the titular see of Appiaria, Bulgaria.
Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher, OP, welcomed the news of Percy’s appointment, saying: “I’m grateful to the Holy Father for choosing another good and faith-filled priest to serve as a bishop in our archdiocese and to work alongside me in the vineyard of Sydney.”
A parish priest of St. Gregory’s Parish in Queanbeyan since 2023, Percy, 62, was born in Cooma, southern New South Wales, and ordained a priest in 1990 for the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn.
Since his priestly ordination, he has ministered to Catholics in six parishes: St. Mary’s Parish in Young; St. Gregory’s Parish in Queanbeyan; Our Lady Help of Christians in Ardlethan; Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Ariah Park; St. Therese Parish in Barellan; and Mary Queen of Apostles in Goulburn.
From 1999–2003 Percy studied at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He was awarded a doctorate specializing in marriage from the university’s Pontifical John Paul II Institute.
The bishop-elect was appointed rector of the Good Shepherd Seminary in Sydney from 2009–2014 by the late Cardinal George Pell and afterward made vicar general of the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn from 2014–2023.
In a Tuesday interview with The Catholic Weekly, Percy said Pell had “placed a lot of trust in me and in the formation team” at the seminary, adding: “We had a great seminary and we had some really great young students who then became great priests.”
Percy also shared with The Catholic Weekly his anticipation for the 54th International Eucharistic Congress set to take place in Sydney in 2028.
“The love you have for the Eucharist drives you to want to go out and serve people who are less fortunate than we are. One would hope that the Eucharistic Congress will really release that sort of grace in the Church once again.”
Percy’s episcopal consecration will take place at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney on May 2.
Pope Francis to Paris AI Action Summit: ‘Love is worth more than intelligence’
Vatican City, Feb 11, 2025 / 10:05 am (CNA).
Pope Francis in his message to leaders participating in the Feb. 10–11 Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris reiterated his stance that technological innovations must ultimately serve and defend humanity.
The Holy Father quoted French philosopher Jacques Maritain in his Feb. 11 message, saying: “Love is worth more than intelligence” and expressing his concern that an overemphasis on data and algorithms can dangerously manipulate the truth and undermine human creativity.
“In my most recent encyclical letter Dilexit Nos, I distinguished between the operation of algorithms and the power of the ‘heart,’” the pope shared.
“I ask all those attending the Paris summit not to forget that only the human ‘heart’ can reveal the meaning of our existence.”
The two-day summit, co-hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in France’s Grand Palais, brought together hundreds of government officials, business executives, scientists, and artists to discuss the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on global governance and the economy.
Vatican Secretary for the Relations with States Archbishop Paul Gallagher was a guest speaker at the international meeting’s Feb. 10 discussion panel on the topic “Harnessing AI for the Future of Work.”
In his message, the pope asked summit participants to have the “courage and determination” to defend humanity through their work.
He stressed that global leaders should not use AI to impose “uniform anthropological, socioeconomic, and cultural models” that reduce reality to “numbers” and “predetermined categories.”
Describing AI as “a powerful tool” that can find innovative solutions to promote environmental sustainability, the Holy Father also warned of its potential to undermine human relationships and further disadvantage people living in developing nations.
“In this regard, I trust that the Paris summit will work for the creation of a platform of public interest on artificial intelligence,” the pope said, “so that every nation can find in artificial intelligence an instrument for its development and its fight against poverty but also for the protection of its local cultures and languages.”
The pope concluded his message by repeating his call for a person-centered approach to the use of AI, saying: “Our ultimate challenge will always remain mankind. May we never lose sight of this!”
On Jan. 28, the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Dicastery for Culture and Education released Antiqua et Nova, a note outlining the Church’s position on the relationship between AI and human intelligence.
Pope Francis to U.S. bishops amid mass deportations: Dignity of migrants comes first
Vatican City, Feb 11, 2025 / 09:35 am (CNA).
Pope Francis addressed the bishops of the United States on Tuesday about the country’s ongoing mass deportation of unauthorized immigrants, urging Catholics to consider the justness of laws and policies in light of the dignity and rights of people.
In a letter published Feb. 11, the pope — while supporting a nation’s right to defend itself from people who have committed violent or serious crimes — said a “rightly formed conscience” would disagree with associating the illegal status of some migrants with criminality.
“The act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution, or serious deterioration of the environment damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness,” he said.
“All the Christian faithful and people of goodwill,” the pontiff continued, “are called upon to consider the legitimacy of norms and public policies in the light of the dignity of the person and his or her fundamental rights, not vice versa.”
‘Respectful of the dignity of all’Pope Francis penned the letter to U.S. bishops amid changes to U.S. immigration policy under President Donald Trump’s administration, including the increased deportation of migrants, which numerous bishops have criticized.
The pope’s letter recognized the “valuable efforts” of the U.S. bishops in their work with migrants and refugees and invoked God’s reward for their “protection and defense of those who are considered less valuable, less important, or less human!”
Asking Our Lady of Guadalupe to protect all those living in fear or pain due to immigration and deportation, he prayed for a society that is more “fraternal, inclusive, and respectful of the dignity of all” and exhorted Catholics and other people of goodwill “not to give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters.”
Francis emphasized that immigration laws and policies should be subordinated to the dignified treatment of people, especially the most vulnerable.
“This is not a minor issue: An authentic rule of law is verified precisely in the dignified treatment that all people deserve, especially the poorest and most marginalized,” he underlined. “The true common good is promoted when society and government, with creativity and strict respect for the rights of all — as I have affirmed on numerous occasions — welcomes, protects, promotes, and integrates the most fragile, unprotected, and vulnerable.”
He said the just treatment of immigrants does not impede the development of policies to regulate orderly and legal migration, but “what is built on the basis of force and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being begins badly and will end badly.”
The ‘ordo amoris’In his letter, Pope Francis also weighed in on the Catholic concept of “ordo amoris” — “rightly ordered love” — which was recently invoked by Vice President JD Vance in the ongoing debate over immigration policy.
“Christian love,” the pope wrote, “is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups. In other words: The human person is not a mere individual, relatively expansive, with some philanthropic feelings!”
“The human person is a subject with dignity who, through the constitutive relationship with all, especially with the poorest, can gradually mature in his identity and vocation,” he continued.
“The true ordo amoris that must be promoted,” the pontiff wrote, “is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the ‘good Samaritan,’ that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.”
Jesus the refugee“The Son of God, in becoming man, also chose to live the drama of immigration,” the pope wrote.
Francis pointed out the social doctrine of the Church, that even Jesus Christ experienced the difficulty of leaving his own land because of a risk to his life and of taking refuge in a foreign society and culture.
Calling it the “Magna Carta” of the Church’s thinking on migration, Francis cited a passage from Pope Pius XII’s apostolic constitution on the care of migrants, Exsul Familia Nazarethana, which says: “The family of Nazareth in exile, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, emigrants in Egypt and refugees there to escape the wrath of an ungodly king, are the model, the example, and the consolation of emigrants and pilgrims of every age and country, of all refugees of every condition who, beset by persecution or necessity, are forced to leave their homeland, beloved family, and dear friends for foreign lands.”
“Likewise,” Pope Francis commented, “Jesus Christ, loving everyone with a universal love, educates us in the permanent recognition of the dignity of every human being, without exception.”
St. Teresa of Calcutta added to Church calendar as optional memorial
Vatican City, Feb 11, 2025 / 09:05 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Tuesday added the Sept. 5 feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta to the Catholic Church’s liturgical calendar as an optional memorial.
The decree issued Feb. 11 by the Vatican noted the influence of St. Teresa’s spirituality around the world and said her name “continues to shine out as a source of hope for many men and women who seek consolation amid tribulations of body and spirit.”
The General Roman Calendar is the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church, which denotes the dates of holy days and the feast days of saints commemorated annually.
The Sept. 5 memorial of St. Teresa of Calcutta will now appear in the Church’s calendars and liturgical texts with specific prayers and readings to be used at Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours.
Memorials rank third in the classification of feast days on the Catholic Church’s liturgical calendar. The memorial of St. Teresa of Calcutta will be an optional memorial, which means it is voluntary whether to observe it.
Popularly known as Mother Teresa, St. Teresa of Calcutta was an Albanian sister who founded the Missionaries of Charity. She died in 1997 at the age of 87 after spending most of her life serving the poor in Calcutta, India. She was canonized by Pope Francis in 2016.
The decree, signed by Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, said: “Radically living the Gospel and boldly proclaiming it, St. Teresa of Calcutta is a witness to the dignity and honor of humble service. By choosing not only to be the least, but the servant of the least, she became a model of mercy and an authentic icon of the Good Samaritan.”
“Jesus’ cry on the cross, ‘I thirst’ (Jn 19:28), cut St. Teresa to the quick,” the decree continued. “Thus, for her whole life she dedicated herself completely to satiate the thirst of Jesus Christ for love and souls, serving him among the poorest of the poor. Filled with the love of God, she radiated that same love in equal measure to others.”
The decision to add the memorial of St. Teresa of Calcutta to the General Roman Calendar was approved by Pope Francis on Dec. 24, 2024.
On Feb. 11, the liturgy dicastery published the decree and issued Latin texts for the new optional memorial to be translated by bishops’ conferences into the local languages and approved for publication by the dicastery.
According to a note from Roche, the first reading chosen for Mass for the Sept. 5 memorial of Mother Teresa is taken from Isaiah 58 on the fast that is pleasing to God. The Psalm for the Mass will be Psalm 33: “I will bless the Lord at all times.”
The Gospel, he said, will be taken from St. Matthew, “which, after enumerating the works of mercy, contains the following words brought wonderfully to life in Mother Teresa: ‘Whatever you have done to the very least of my brothers and sisters you have done also to me’ (Mt 25:40).”
King Charles and Queen Camilla to visit Pope Francis at the Vatican
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 10, 2025 / 17:20 pm (CNA).
Buckingham Palace announced in a Feb. 7 statement that King Charles and Queen Camilla of England will travel to the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis in April.
The statement said the pair “will undertake state visits to the Holy See and the Republic of Italy in early April 2025.”
“During their majesties’ state visit to the Holy See, the king and queen will join His Holiness Pope Francis in celebrating the 2025 Jubilee Year. Traditionally held once every 25 years, the jubilee is a special year for the Catholic Church, a year of walking together as ‘Pilgrims of Hope,’” the statement reads.
The visit will continue a tradition of British royal involvement in the celebration, following Queen Elizabeth II’s travels to the Vatican during the 2000 Jubilee Year. The queen attended a private meeting with Pope John Paul II, one of five popes she encountered through her years of royalty.
The anticipated visit will be King Charles’ first time in Italy as monarch but his third time meeting with Pope Francis. The then-prince met with the pope in 2017 when Pope Francis told him to be a “man of peace,” to which Charles replied: “I’ll do my best.” The two met again in 2019 on a trip Charles took with Camilla.
According to Buckingham Palace, “during their majesties’ state visit to the Republic of Italy, the king and queen will undertake engagements in Rome and Ravenna, celebrating the strong bilateral relationship between Italy and the United Kingdom.”
Pope Francis: Defending Indigenous rights ‘a matter of justice’
Vatican City, Feb 10, 2025 / 11:40 am (CNA).
Defending the rights of Indigenous people is a matter of justice and a way to guarantee a sustainable future for everyone, Pope Francis said in a message on Monday.
“Land, water, and food are not mere commodities but the very basis of life and the link between these [Indigenous] peoples and nature,” the pope said in a message to participants in the Seventh Global Meeting of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum, taking place in Rome Feb. 10–11.
“Defending these rights,” he continued, “is not only a matter of justice but also a guarantee of a sustainable future for all.”
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is hosting the meeting in order to strengthen IFAD’s partnership with Indigenous peoples and its initiatives in their communities.
Pope Francis said the theme of the two-day gathering — “The Right of Indigenous Peoples to Self-Determination: A Path to Food Security and Food Sovereignty — “calls us to recognize the value of Indigenous peoples as well as the ancestral heritage of knowledge and practices that positively enrich the great human family, coloring it with the varied traits of their traditions.”
Ancestral heritage and traditions, he added, open up “a horizon of hope” in a challenging time.
The pontiff also emphasized that preservation of Indigenous culture and identity goes hand in hand with recognizing the value they bring to society and the importance of safeguarding their existence and the natural resources they need to live.
He closed his message by expressing a hope that people will work to ensure future generations also have access to a world “in keeping with the beauty and goodness that guided God’s hands in creating it.”
“I beseech Almighty God that these efforts may be fruitful and serve as an inspiration to the leaders of nations,” Francis said, “so that appropriate measures may be taken to ensure that the human family will walk together in the pursuit of the common good, so that no one will be excluded or left behind.”
Vatican official: People ‘terrorized’ by U.S. crackdown on illegal immigration
CNA Newsroom, Feb 10, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).
A prominent Vatican cardinal said on Monday that people are being “terrorized” by the U.S. government’s “crackdown” on immigration and freeze of Catholic-run aid programs.
Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, told the Associated Press in an interview published Feb. 10 that U.S. measures affecting both migration policy and international aid programs are causing serious harm to vulnerable populations.
“A crackdown is a terrible way to administer affairs and much less to administer justice,” the Czech-born Canadian Jesuit said. “I’m very sorry that many people are being hurt and indeed terrorized by the measures.”
The cardinal’s comments coincided with a sharp rebuke from Caritas Internationalis, which on Monday strongly condemned what it called “the reckless decision by the U.S. administration to abruptly close USAID funded programs and offices worldwide.”
Caritas warned: “Stopping USAID will jeopardize essential services for hundreds of millions of people, undermine decades of progress in humanitarian and development assistance, destabilize regions that rely on this critical support, and condemn millions to dehumanizing poverty or even death.”
Catholic Relief Services — the U.S. Catholic Church’s primary aid agency and one of USAID’s recipients — has already raised concerns about the impact.
Czerny noted that smaller Catholic programs are also affected.
The Vatican official emphasized Pope Francis’ teaching that caring for migrants and vulnerable people is a fundamental Christian duty.
“What the Church teaches is very well summed up by Pope Francis, who says that our obligation, not only as Christians but as human beings, is to welcome people, to protect them, to promote them, and to integrate them,” Czerny said.
The Jesuit cardinal is the latest of several prelates to weigh in on U.S. immigration policy changes, which numerous Catholic leaders, including Pope Francis, have criticized as unjust.
On Feb. 7, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, noted that “the Church does not have the authority or the responsibility to determine the legal status of those living in the United States” but does have “an obligation to care for every person with respect and love, no matter their citizenship status.”
At the same time, the Kansas archbishop offered a full-throated endorsement of prioritizing public safety threats in immigration enforcement.
Young Christians, Muslims, Jews at the Vatican: ‘It’s possible to live together in peace’
Vatican City, Feb 10, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
In 2023, the conflict between Israel and Hamas dragged universities around the world into a war of ideas with protests, proclamations, and accusations ramping up the tension.
The initial, almost unanimous support for Israel and the condemnation of the 1,200 murders and 252 hostages that Hamas took on Oct. 7, 2023, quickly turned into protests, some very violent, due to the overwhelming Israeli response.
“What happened in the academic world is that it became a place where people can no longer speak freely. Everyone takes sides and silences the other by saying: ‘We’re right, the others are wrong,’” Professor Elitzur Bar-Asher Siegal of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.
“When I see my students go to a demonstration, I don’t tell them not to do it because I think it represents the issue that matters to them. The problem is when they repeat rhetoric that means nothing or arguments based on fake news; that’s when I feel that the university has failed in its purpose,” the professor commented.
The pro-Palestinian demonstrations held across more than 60 university campuses in the United States were replicated by students in Europe, Australia, and Latin America, who in turn organized hundreds of sit-ins in which they even demanded that each of their universities break academic ties with Israeli institutions.
All of this was forged in the heat of a torrent of social media posts orchestrated to manipulate public opinion, with images and videos that promoted two opposing and partial narratives.
In this context of polarization, the “Middle Meets” project emerged with the aim of creating a space for listening and understanding between Muslim, Jewish, and Christian students.
Professor Elitzur Bar-Asher Siegal (at left) of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem leads the "Middle Meets" project. Credit: Scholas Occurrentes“We felt that universities around the world were becoming very divided and very extremist. And we wanted to create a platform for Palestinian, Hebrew, and American students to have an in-depth conversation, without superficial slogans and without going to extremes; just listening to each other in an open dialogue,” university student Tomy Stockman explained.
Two months after the Hamas attacks in Israel, this student from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem planted the seed that gave birth to Middle Meets, which is currently run by Bar-Asher Siegal. So far, 33 young people from Israel, Palestine, and the United States have participated.
The first meeting was held remotely in November 2024, but last week they met in person in Rome in an interreligious meeting promoted by the Vatican, thanks to the Pontifical Foundation Scholas Occurrentes.
“More than just meeting, they have lived together and forged bonds of friendship. It hasn’t been easy because they have spoken of painful situations, of war, of confrontation, but it has been a process of sharing pain and suffering,” Bar-Asher Siegal explained.
Students engage in a workshop discussion. Credit: Scholas OcurrentesHe also noted the significance of the Vatican lending its facilities for the occasion.
“When we visited Rome’s Campo de Fiori square, we were told that the Vatican banned the Talmud in the 16th century. But here we are now, five centuries later, invited by the Vatican. Things can change,” he said during one of the meetings held Feb. 4 at Palazzo San Calixto, headquarters of the Pontifical Foundation Scholas Occurrentes, located in the central Roman neighborhood of Trastevere.
Ignoring the other: the main cause of polarizationJewish student Stockman, who attends classes at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem with other Muslim students, said the lack of understanding between Jews and Palestinian Arabs is a constant factor.
“We ignore each other. Before this meeting promoted by Middle Meets, I didn’t have any Palestinian friends,” she revealed, adding that “Society is so divided that it’s almost impossible to start a conversation with someone from another ethnic group.”
In this regard, Stockman hopes the creation of a space for dialogue like this will succeed in forging fruitful bridges of friendship that overcome the divisions present in the social fabric of the Holy Land.
Thanks to the Middle Meets project, university students are able to get to know each other better and break down prejudices. Credit: Scholas Ocurrentes“At this moment there is an Israeli narrative and a Palestinian narrative about the conflict, and we are trying to create a third narrative based on the possibility of coexisting in peace within the societies of the country,” Stockman explained.
Shadan Khatib is one of the young women who participated in the Middle Meets project. She is Muslim and studies at a university in Tel Aviv. When she received the invitation to participate in the meeting, she was initially somewhat skeptical.
“It was very difficult to see your people, innocent civilians, die, and at first I thought that these types of organizations that bring Jews and Muslims together never get anywhere,” she said.
However, a friend who also participated in the project made her change her mind. After two days of living with other young Christians and Jews, she judged the experience to be “very positive.”
Thus, she said she is going back to Tel Aviv with the conviction that the mission of the young people is to “start a new chapter.”
“Peace is very far away now, but I have hope. I think there will be forgiveness if we find a solution that is equal for both parties,” she commented.
“At the end of the day we are all human, we all want to live in peace and happiness,” she emphasized.
Pope Francis with the group after a general audience. Credit: Scholas OcurrentesOne of the most anticipated moments of the program was a meeting with Pope Francis, which occurred at the conclusion of his Feb. 5 general audience. There, the young people had the opportunity to present the conclusions they had worked on, along with a letter expressing their desire for peace in the region.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
PHOTOS: Military, police gather with Pope Francis for armed forces jubilee Mass
Vatican City, Feb 9, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).
Pope Francis presided over the Jubilee Mass for Armed Forces, Police, and Security Personnel on Sunday, with Archbishop Diego Ravelli reading his prepared homily as the pontiff recovers from bronchitis.
Over the Feb. 8–9 weekend, approximately 30,000 men and women from more than 100 countries participated in various jubilee festivities in Rome, including a pilgrimage to the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica.
Pope Francis arrives in a vehicle at St. Peter’s Square for the Jubilee Mass for Armed Forces, Police, and Security Personnel on Feb. 9, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNADuring the outdoor Mass in St. Peter’s Square, Ravelli, reading the pope’s prepared homily, thanked those who have dedicated their lives to a “lofty mission that embraces numerous aspects of social and political life.”
A New York City police officer holds an American flag during the Armed Forces Jubilee Mass in St. Peter's Square on Feb. 9, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA“You are present in penitentiaries and at the forefront of the fight against crime and the various forms of violence that threaten to disrupt the life of society,” Ravelli read from the pope’s text.
Pope Francis and Archbishop Diego Ravelli during the Armed Forces Jubilee Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Feb. 9, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNAThe prepared homily continued: “I think too of all those engaged in relief work in the wake of natural disasters, the safeguarding of the environment, rescue efforts at sea, the protection of the vulnerable, and the promotion of peace.”
Military personnel in dress uniforms attend the Armed Forces Jubilee Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Feb. 9, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNAPraising their vigilance amid “the opposing forces of evil,” the homily noted that security personnel who protect the defenseless and uphold law and order in cities and neighborhoods can “teach us that goodness can prevail over everything.”
A military officer holds a rosary and service booklet during the Armed Forces Jubilee Mass in St. Peter's Square on Feb. 9, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNAThe papal text also acknowledged the chaplains who provide moral and spiritual support to military and security personnel, describing them as “the presence of Christ, who desires to walk at your side, to offer you a listening and sympathetic ear, to encourage you to set out ever anew and to support you in your daily service.”
Military personnel gather in St. Peter’s Square as a banner reading “Pilgrimage of the Polish Army” is displayed during the Armed Forces Jubilee Mass on Feb. 9, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNAThe homily concluded with a call for those gathered to have the courage to be peacemakers who never lose sight of their purpose to save and protect lives, warning: “Be vigilant not to be taken in by the illusion of power and the roar of arms... Be vigilant lest you be poisoned by propaganda that instills hatred, divides the world into friends to be defended and foes to fight.”
A priest distributes holy Communion to a uniformed servicewoman during the Armed Forces Jubilee Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Feb. 9, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNASpeaking in his own voice during the Angelus prayer that followed the Mass, Pope Francis invoked the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, for those who are the “servants of the security and freedom of their peoples.”
“This armed service should be exercised only in legitimate defense, never to impose domination over other nations, always observing the international conventions,” the pope said, referencing Gaudium et Spes.
Polish military photographers document the Armed Forces Jubilee Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Feb. 9, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA“Brothers and sisters, let us pray for peace in the tormented Ukraine, in Palestine, in Israel and throughout the Middle East, in Myanmar, in Kivu, in Sudan,” he urged.
“May the weapons be silent everywhere and the cry of the peoples, who ask for peace, be heard!”
A Swiss Guard stands alongside bishops during the Armed Forces Jubilee Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Feb. 9, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNAMan attacks high altar of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican
ACI Prensa Staff, Feb 7, 2025 / 18:20 pm (CNA).
A man desecrated the main altar of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican by climbing on top of it and throwing six candelabras that were on the altar to the ground, according to the Italian news agency ANSA.
After throwing the candelabras, the man began to remove the altar cloth, as can be seen in a video posted on social media. The subject was then quickly detained by security agents.
Le Vatican… bordel LE VATICAN !!!!@F_Desouche @FrDesouche pic.twitter.com/O87ZSb4QNW
— Père Lapouque (@Boujoumapoule) February 7, 2025According to ANSA, the suspect, of Romanian origin, was detained by the Vatican Police, after which he was identified and charged by agents of the Vatican Inspectorate.
“This is an episode of a person with a serious mental disability, who has been detained by the Vatican Police and then placed at the disposal of the Italian authorities,” the director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, told ANSA.
According to the Spanish newspaper ABC, the man was arrested because the basilica’s alarm was activated when he stood on the altar.
In 2023 a similar incident was recorded when a man climbed the high altar and undressed, after which he was also arrested.
The Code of Canon Law, the law that regulates the Catholic Church, establishes in canon 1210 that “in a sacred place” such as St. Peter’s Basilica, “only those things which serve the exercise or promotion of worship, piety, or religion are permitted in a sacred place; anything not consonant with the holiness of the place is forbidden.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Pope Francis’ astronomer shares ‘A Jesuit’s Guide to the Stars’
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 7, 2025 / 17:00 pm (CNA).
Brother Guy Consolmagno, SJ, has spent the last 30 years staring at the sky. As the director of the Vatican Observatory, known informally as “the pope’s astronomer,” he has just published his 13th book — “A Jesuit’s Guide to the Stars: Exploring Wonder, Beauty, and Science,” which he said he wrote at the suggestion of Loyola Press.
“I pulled together a lot of ideas, some of my own experience and some of the history of the Jesuits working on science,” he told “EWTN News Nightly” on Feb. 5.
Consolmagno has been the director of the Vatican Observatory since 2015. He told “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Tracy Sabol that the observatory was officially established in 1891 to “show the world that the Church supports science. And we have been doing that ever since,” he said, adding that “we’re doing cutting-edge research, as we’re also carrying forth the message of how the heavens proclaim the glory of God.”
In his book, Consolmagno disputes the idea that we can’t study science and also be people of faith.
“If we believe that God created this universe, and if we believe that God so loved it that he sent his Son to become a part of it, then science becomes an act of growing closer to the Creator. In that way, it becomes an act of prayer,” he said.
Consolmagno’s book explores how deeply involved the Jesuits are in astronomy and the history of that involvement.
“There are about 60 craters on the moon or asteroids named for Jesuit scientists,” he told Sabol. “The Jesuits have been involved in our understanding the universe. It’s part of our Jesuit charism to find God in all things. What’s more ‘all things’ than the universe?”
“We do science because we’re curious about the universe and who we are, and our place in the universe. And when I say ‘we,’ I mean anyone who is a human being.”
He added: “If you think of the seven days of creation, what’s the goal of the seventh day? The day when we spend the time to contemplate the things that God has created. Being an astronomer, talking about the stars — that’s part of our mission as human beings in love with God.”
Journey to the Vatican ObservatoryIn a subsequent interview with CNA, Consolmagno said he started off his mission as an astronomer as an ordinary kid from Detroit. He said he grew in his love for science at an early age, describing his young self as a “Sputnik kid.” He finished high school when people landed on the moon. It was a time he felt anything was possible.
Consolmagno’s original plan was to be a journalist, but he joked that he didn’t like the idea of having to call up strangers for a story. So he pivoted and went to Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study planetary science. He said he chose his field of study because “planets are places people have adventures.”
Consolmagno told CNA that he had contemplated becoming a Jesuit priest when he was in high school but felt God was saying no. It wasn’t until decades later that God pulled him to the Society of Jesus. He was working at Lafayette College as an assistant professor of physics when he said, “I do not have a vocation to be a priest but rather a vocation to be a brother.”
When asked if he understood why he was meant to be a brother and not a priest, he said: “It was that simple. I didn’t understand it then, and it has taken me 30 years to appreciate the difference.”
“Jesuit priests are called to be available, and my skills are deep, but limited. Unlike most Jesuits, I have had the same job for 30 years.”
He further explained the Catholic Church’s history in science goes back to before Galileo.
Many Jesuits served as astronomers at the Roman College from the 17th to the 19th centuries. They worked alongside Galileo before his condemnation. Some of these Jesuit astronomers actually disagreed with him on certain scientific matters, which led Galileo to blame “Jesuit hostility” as a cause for his infamous downfall, according to the Vatican Observatory.
Consolmagno said that “while some believe that all science stopped when Galileo was condemned, that’s not true.” Priests and brothers were involved then and still are now, he said, “because of our spirituality to find God in the universe.”
Consolmagno referenced Paul’s letter to the Romans while explaining to CNA the connection between faith and the universe, which says: “For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse” (Rom 1:20).
Jesuits have played a large role in developments in astronomy, Consolmagno said. Even St. Ignatius of Loyola, who founded the Society of Jesus, believed “the greatest consolation that he received was from gazing at the sky and stars, and this he often did and for quite a long time.”
While the work of Jesuits in astronomy has greatly expanded scientific knowledge, Consolmagno told EWTN during a visit to the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, that science can’t explain God. “The deep thing is, you’re not going to prove God with science. God is bigger than science. God proves that science works, not the other way around.”
Consolmagno believes that studying science and furthering one’s understanding of God’s universe is actually a way to strengthen our relationship with him.
“My scientific work has made me recognize the joy that comes from being close to God. My scientific work has made me recognize the necessity of Church. I can’t just find God on my own,” he said.
Consolmagno’s book looks deeper into the Jesuit’s past in astronomy and closely at the connection of faith and science.
“I hope this book will bring a smile to people who look through it, even if they don’t get past the pretty pictures, because joy is where we find God and you find joy in the stars,” Consolmagno told CNA.
Watch the full “EWTN News Nightly” interview with Consolmagno below.
Pope Francis: Keep the hope that it is possible to eradicate human trafficking
Vatican City, Feb 7, 2025 / 13:00 pm (CNA).
In his message for the 11th International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking, Pope Francis on Friday encouraged the world to not lose hope in the belief that it is possible to eradicate the scourge of modern slavery.
“With the help of God, we can avoid becoming accustomed to injustice and ward off the temptation to think that certain phenomena cannot be eradicated,” he said in the message, released a day ahead of the Feb. 8 commemoration.
“The Spirit of the risen Lord sustains us in promoting, with courage and effectiveness, targeted initiatives to weaken and oppose the economic and criminal mechanisms that profit from trafficking and exploitation,” he continued.
The International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking coincides with the feast day of St. Josephine Bakhita, a woman kidnapped from her home country of Sudan and sold into slavery by Arab slave traders at the age of 7.
While in slavery, Bakhita endured beatings and torture. In her early 20s, she discovered Christ and the Church, and after she was freed from slavery was baptized into the Catholic faith. She later joined the Canossian Sisters in Italy.
In his message for the Vatican-supported day of prayer against trafficking, Pope Francis emphasized the importance of staying hopeful even in the face of the darkness of millions of people being trapped in modern slavery around the world.
“Where do we get new impetus to combat the trade in human organs and tissues, the sexual exploitation of children and girls, forced labor, including prostitution, drug, and arms trafficking? How do we experience all this in the world and not lose hope?” he said. “It is only by lifting our eyes to Christ, our hope, that we can find the strength for a renewed commitment.”
The pope added that the commitment against human trafficking and exploitation can “ignite flames of light, which together can illuminate the night until the dawn breaks.”
On the occasion of the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking, Francis met with members of Talitha Kum, an international network of consecrated women devoted to helping victims of trafficking.
Speaking at his Santa Marta residence, the pope said all forms of human trafficking and sexual exploitation “are a disgrace and a very serious violation of fundamental human rights.”
He thanked Talitha Kum for its service, encouraging the organizations and individuals in the network “to continue to work together, making victims and survivors your primary concern, listening to their stories, caring for their wounds and enabling them to make their voices heard in society at large.”
“That is what it means to be ambassadors of hope, and it is my hope that during this jubilee year many others will follow your example,” he said.
In his message to the world, Pope Francis listed the many contributing factors to the complex phenomenon of trafficking, including wars, conflicts, famine, and climate change.
It requires a global response, strengthened by prayer, he said. “Together — trusting in the intercession of St. Bakhita — we can make a great effort and create the conditions for trafficking and exploitation to be banned and for respect for fundamental human rights to prevail, in fraternal recognition of common humanity.”
Bishop Álvarez: ‘I always believed in my liberation and what sustained me was prayer’
Vatican City, Feb 7, 2025 / 12:20 pm (CNA).
In an exclusive interview, persecuted Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Álvarez, bishop of Matagalpa and apostolic administrator of Estelí, shared with EWTN News his experience one year after his release and arrival in Rome.
The Nicaraguan bishop was detained for 17 months in his country, first under house arrest and then in prison, accused by the regime of Daniel Ortega of “conspiracy” and “treason,” among other crimes.
In an interview with EWTN Noticias correspondent Paola Arriaza, Álvarez spoke about his release in Nicaragua in January 2024, which he described as “a supernatural action of God,” his physical and mental recovery, his relationship with Pope Francis, and his participation in the Synod on Synodality.
With an unwavering faith and a message of hope, Álvarez reflected on his past in Nicaragua, his present in the Eternal City, and his continued commitment to the universal Church.
Paola Arriaza: Bishop Rolando Álvarez, you arrived in Rome a year ago. How has your life been here and what tasks has Pope Francis entrusted to you?
Bishop Rolando Álvarez: Well, I am very happy in Rome because when I was detained, I thought that at the time of liberation, after Nicaragua, the best city in which I could live is the eternal one. Precisely because I am close to Peter, and that renews my faith in such a way that I have had a year of recovery, certainly of my integral health, but in which I have also been getting the inner peace that I needed so much.
On the day when you left, you left behind your country, the country where you spent your childhood. Tell us a bit about your childhood in Managua — I don’t know if your vocation to priesthood could be seen from then on.
My childhood was normal. I grew up in the heart of a peasant, working-class, and very Catholic family, with a serious education in the faith, in such a way that my vocation was glimpsed from my childhood because I would pretend to be a priest. Of course I had my girlfriends, but I think that helped me to discern that my path was not marriage. In fact, when I reached a moment of maturity, I wanted to discern well my marriage process, but I did it in reverse, because being in Guatemala I began the path of vocational discernment in the Seminary of the Assumption and there, in that year, I realized that mine was the priesthood, that I was called to the priestly ministry.
How was that moment when you realized that? Or was it just another process?
It was a process, yes, I always say that I am one of those who come from the street because I did not go through the minor seminary, but after a year, after the discernment process, I was admitted directly to the propaedeutic and then to philosophy, always in the Seminary of the Assumption in Guatemala, because that is where my process of ministerial formation began.
EWTN’s Paola Arriaza interviews Bishop Rolando José Álvarez Lagos, the Nicaraguan bishop of Matagalpa and apostolic administrator of Estelí, in Feb. 5, 2025, in Rome. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNASpeaking of your priestly ordination, there is a particularity: The ordination was not in Rome. How did this happen?
Well, after having done my propaedeutic and philosophy in Guatemala, back in the ’90s, I was transferred to Nicaragua to study at the Interdiocesan Seminary of Our Lady of Fátima, and when I was in my second year of theology, Archbishop-Cardinal [Miguel] Obando called me to tell me that he was sending me to study philosophy in Rome at the Pontifical Gregorian University. So I finished my philosophical specialization and theological formation at the Lateran, being in Rome 30 years ago, and at that time the rector of the John Paul II International Seminary, where I lived, proposed that Pope John Paul II ordain me to the priesthood. But with all the love I have for the saint and to whom I am really very devoted, I chose to be ordained by my bishop in my Archdiocese of Managua, which is the diocese of origin, in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, with my people, with my people and among my own.
Don’t you think that shows a great affection for your people, your country?
Well, I think I have always had it. I remember an interesting anecdote, and it is that I did not take with me the beautiful vestments that are here in Rome, but I gave them to a Nicaraguan farmer who makes them — he is a professional technician of this — and my vestments are very simple, anti-liturgically I think, because in this the liturgists, listening to me, will criticize me, my sacred vessels were made of wood and I still keep them there. So yes, I have always had this attachment for the cultural, for what is ours, for what is Nicaraguan, for what I am and for the origin where I come from, that one should not forget it.
And your pastoral work as well. I imagine it must have been difficult to leave this pastoral work, to come to Rome. I don’t know if you still do this kind of pastoral work.
Well, it was difficult for me to leave pastoral work when I was a young man, a boy, and enter the seminary because my life has always been very intense, and I was already the leader of youth pastoral work in the Archdiocese of Managua and so I was very active in the three departments that make up the archdiocese. We had a huge, strong youth structure. For example, in a youth Pentecost Vigil we gathered up to 30,000 young people, a whole night. It was quite a feast of the Holy Spirit. To detach myself from that rhythm of work and take on another one: the academic, the disciplinary, the systematic, the organic at the human level, the pastoral at the spiritual level, at the intellectual level, cost me a little, but with the help of my spiritual directors I was able to channel my energies into my vocational process.
And the same thing will be happening to you here in Rome.
Well, I tell you that it is a little different, because I came to Rome with the illusion of praying, praying and walking the streets being happy. In such a way that I also thought that in the same week of my coming I was going to resign from my diocese of Matagalpa and from the apostolic administration of this mess. I was ready to present my resignation to the pope, but I met with the goodness of God and the Holy Father who wanted me to continue to be the ordinary of Matagalpa and the apostolic administrator of Esteli, even though I was in the diaspora. I don’t call it exile because I am not exiled, I am liberated. I do not feel exiled, but liberated. And in the diaspora. In the diaspora, faith always grows and hope is strengthened.
So that day you came to Rome, what did you feel? What was that day like for you?
Well, first let me tell you that when I got out of jail and they were taking me to the airport in the steps that the Holy See, the Secretariat of State, on behalf of the Holy Father, made to the government, of course, I felt a deep joy, but above all it was an experience of faith, because at that moment I recited and professed the Creed, which is why I suffered that experience: for my faith in a holy, catholic, and apostolic [Church]. So when I came to Rome, I was very moved, very happy, very enthusiastic, very tearful and very grateful in my heart to God, to the pope, to the Secretariat of State, and to all those men and women who silently managed my departure and to everyone who prayed for me. And I want to take advantage of this interview to thank with my heart all those men and women, not only believers, but also agnostic nonbelievers who wished me well and from that good wish, I am sure, the Lord received those good intentions as a prayer for my liberation.
When you were imprisoned, what was it that kept you hopeful? Did you think that this day of liberation would come? What did you think?
I always thought and believed in my freedom. And in prison I learned two things that can be mistakes: for those who are outside, to think that the prisoner will never get out. That is a serious mistake. And for the prisoner, thinking that he will never get out is another serious mistake. I always believed in my release. When? I don’t know, I didn’t know, but I always hoped to be free and what sustained me was prayer. Now that I am out I have realized that it was not only my prayer but also the prayer of all the faithful and holy people of God, not only Nicaraguan, but spread throughout the world, and it is to the people that I reiterate my deep gratitude and I insist that what sustained me was prayer, to be here with you before the cameras of EWTN, to be able to give this interview in this beautiful Pontifical Commission for Latin America, can only be explained as a supernatural action of God. There is no human explanation for me to be with you at this moment.
You spoke about your state of health on that day you left, during that year you were imprisoned. How was your state of health before and how are you now?
I came, to put it in a language of quantification, minus zero in all my psychological, psychiatric, emotional, affective, sentimental, moral, spiritual, physical, somatic capacities, minus zero. Now, one year later, I can say that I am 90% recovered.
The people you have left behind, how do you think the Church in Nicaragua is living the current situation?
I always carry in my pocket, which I don’t have at the moment, what a barbarity, the pastoral letter that the Holy Father addressed to us Nicaraguans on April 2 of last year. And in that pastoral letter the pope exhorts us with a very domestic language and very much our own to believe and trust in divine providence, even in those moments in which we cannot understand what is happening. In other words, even in those moments when hope becomes darkness, we have to firmly believe that God is acting in the history of human beings and in the history of peoples, and I am convinced of that, and that is why I am a man of hope and I believe that my people, my town, are a people of hope.
And do you know what this reminds me of? The Angelus in February 2023, where the pope said he was praying very much for Bishop Rolando Álvarez, and he said: “The bishop, whom I am very fond of.” How did you receive that news?
Well, I didn’t know about it in prison.... I didn’t know until I came here to Rome, and I don’t feel worthy of the pope’s affection. But I want to tell you a secret that is, I think, why the pope began to be fond of me. Once, in 2018, when there was the most violent situation in Nicaragua, I came to make a visit with the current archbishop, Cardinal [Leopoldo] Brenes, to the Holy See, and we were going to meet with the pope. As a matter of protocol, the archbishop was shown in first and I was left outside for about 20 minutes or half an hour. And I began to pray the holy rosary. After half an hour they showed me in and the pope, in a wonderful gesture, got up, went to receive me, opened his arms to me and said: “Forgive me because I made you go through purgatory waiting for so long.” And I, with my rosary in my hand, said: “Don’t worry, Holy Father, because I took the opportunity to pray the rosary.” It seems to me that there was a moment of sympathy, because from that moment on I remember that the pope always sent me greetings whenever a bishop from Nicaragua came to visit me.
Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando José Álvarez Lagos speaks with EWTN’s Paola Arriaza on Feb. 5, 2025, at the Palace of St. Callixtus at the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNAAnd since then, I imagine that this year in Rome you have had that close relationship?
We have had a close relationship, especially during the synod. A very interesting thing happened to me. I went to lunch near the Vatican, there in a little restaurant, and I finished early. Then I came back at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. The sessions started at 4 o’clock and I thought: I’m going to go and rest at the table. There I’m going to sleep for a while until the work begins. And that synod hall was totally empty. Only the pope was sitting there. I took the opportunity to go and talk to him and there, as we Nicaraguans say, I had a good time because I talked about everything I had to talk about and there the pope told me something that I can’t say.
Speaking of the Synod — that was your first public appearance in which you gave your testimony, and we know that this had a great impact on the members who were there. What did you tell them?
Cardinal Marc [Ouellet] was kind enough to call me personally for 15 days and told me: “The pope wants you to participate in the synod.” I had another plan because I was not ready to participate in the assembly, but well, it was God’s and the pope’s will and I did it with joy and with simplicity and normality. This is how I lived my synodal life. And I always say that I got a license in synodal ecclesiology. That month was very intense for me. I learned a lot from my brother cardinals, bishops, priests, religious, nuns, laypeople. I learned a lot from their speeches, from the conversations in the corridors. One learns a lot at the synod.
Surely you heard another way in which the Church around the world is struggling in its own circumstances to move forward. Did this have an impact on you?
Well, I think we could all have a different worldview, but there is also a kind of, if I may use a technical expression that I don’t know if I’m going to invent it at this point, a different cosmoecclesiology. There is a way of seeing and living the Church depending on the culture, depending on the continents, depending on the experiences. For example, we have an experience in Nicaragua and Central America where women have an extraordinary participation. I know women who are spiritual directors of bishops, chancellors, promoters of justice, coordinators of communities, delegates of the word, ministers, extraordinary readers of communion, catechists, members of choirs... our churches and our altars are full of boys and girls. On the other hand, I know and I learned during the synod that there are other ecclesial realities in which it seems that women do not have the same participation.
Lastly, Bishop, I wanted to give you the space to say what you would like to your people. Is there any message you want to thank them for?
To tell them that I love them. I love my people very much, I love my town and to tell them that I am a bishop for the universal Church. That is to say, I was ordained bishop for Matagalpa. I am the visible head of Matagalpa and apostolic administrator of Estelí and I will continue to be so until God wills it. The day that the Lord, through the pope, does not allow me to continue juridically to pastor this diocese, I will continue to be bishop and pastor of the universal Church. Thank you all. Thank you for the interview, and I want to send from here my blessing from the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to all the people of Nicaragua and all Latin America.
Bishop Rolando Álvarez, thank you very much.
Thank you.
Cardinals Re and Sandri confirmed as dean and vice dean of College of Cardinals
Vatican City, Feb 7, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
The Holy See Press Office announced that Pope Francis has extended the approval he had granted for the election of Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re as dean of the College of Cardinals. Last month, the pontiff also extended the approval for the election of Cardinal Leonardo Sandri as vice dean.
Re and Sandri began their respective assignments in January 2020, a few days after the motu proprio — dated Dec. 21, 2019, following the resignation of the then-Cardinal-Dean Angelo Sodano — with which the pope modified the term of office of the dean of the Sacred College to a five-year term, possibly renewable, rather than the term being indefinite.
According to Canon 352 of the Code of Canon Law: “§1. The dean presides over the College of Cardinals; if he is impeded, the assistant dean takes his place. Neither the dean nor the assistant dean possesses any power of governance over the other cardinals but is considered as first among equals. §2. When the office of dean is vacant, the cardinals who possess title to a suburbicarian church, they alone are to elect one from their own group who is to act as dean of the college; the assistant dean, if he is present, or else the oldest among them, presides at this election. They are to submit the name of the person elected to the Roman pontiff who is competent to approve him. §3. The assistant dean is elected in the same manner as that described in §2, with the dean himself presiding. The Roman pontiff is also competent to approve the election of the assistant dean.”
On Thursday, the pope also promoted Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, OSA, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, to the Order of Bishops, making him the titular bishop (there is also a diocesan bishop) of the Suburbicarian (in the vicinity of Rome) Church of Albano. This position had been vacant since May 27, 2022, the day of the death of Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who held the title.
To date, the Order of Bishops includes cardinals Re, Sandri, Francis Arinze, Beniamino Stella, Tarcisio Bertone, Josè Saraiva Martins, Pietro Parolin, Fernando Filoni, Marc Ouellet, Luis Antonio Tagle, Prevost, Bechara Boutros Rai, and Louis Raphael I Sako.
This story was first published by ACI Stampa, CNA’s Italian-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Vatican gives definitive approval to statutes of Regnum Christi
ACI Prensa Staff, Feb 6, 2025 / 17:20 pm (CNA).
The Vatican has approved the statutes of the Regnum Christi Federation (RCF) “in a definitive manner.” The RCF’s General Directive College stated Feb. 5 that the recognition “reaffirms the validity of the path traveled and strengthens the commitment to live our charism with confidence and courage, in communion with the Church and at the service of the mission.”
The RCF defines itself as “a spiritual family in the Catholic Church made up of lay members, consecrated men and women, and the priests and brothers of the religious congregation of the Legionaries of Christ.”
The apostolate is governed by the General Directive College, which is made up of the directors of the Legionaries of Christ, consecrated men and women, plus two representatives of the laity (with a voice and consultative vote), assisted by a plenary assembly.
The Holy See, through the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, expressed the hope that the new statutes “will help promote the common charism” and foster “collaboration in view of the mission entrusted to them by the Church.”
The official recognition of the Catholic Church is the conclusion of a renewal process that began in 2010 after numerous incidents of sexual abuse and the abuse of power came to light involving in particular the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, Marcial Maciel. In 2019, the federation’s statutes were approved “ad experimentum” (on a trial basis) for five years.
During the RCF’s First General Convention in 2024, its members approved the statutes as “adequately expressing” the charism and functioning of the institution. The statutes were presented to the Vatican, which, after examining them, finally approved them definitively on Dec. 16, 2024.
“This approval represents a recognition by the Holy See that gives solidity and stability to the federation. At the same time, the future general conventions of the federation will have to evaluate the experience of the statutes and will be able to make any necessary modifications and submit them for ratification by the federated institutions, and for approval by the Holy See,” explained the General Directive College, headed by Father John Connor, director general of the Legionaries of Christ.
The RCF board’s statement concluded by thanking God for the Holy See’s decision while inviting all members to “read the statutes and to reflect on them in prayer” in order to live their mission faithfully and safeguard their own charism.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Pope Francis reiterates desire for ‘full unity’ among Christians
Vatican City, Feb 6, 2025 / 15:50 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis reiterated his desire for “full unity” with other Christian confessions when he received in audience young priests and monks of the Oriental Orthodox churches.
Oriental Orthodox churches, as differentiated from the Eastern Orthodox churches, only accept the first three ecumenical councils.
“The proclamation of the common faith requires, first of all, that we love one another,” the Holy Father said. As on Feb. 5, during his general audience, the pontiff did not read the speech he had prepared because he is suffering from a “bad cold.”
However, those in attendance received a copy of the text during the meeting that took place in the Casa Santa Marta.
The Holy Father told the group of young priests and monks of the Oriental Orthodox churches, including Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Malankar, and Syriac, that “Christians who remain divided are like fragments that must find unity in the confession of the one faith.”
“We need each other to be able to confess the faith,” he added.
This audience was part of a curriculum for young Oriental Orthodox priests and monks organized by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. This was the fifth time such a meeting has taken place.
Previously, similar study trips have been made for Catholic priests prepared by the Armenian Patriarchate of Etchmiadzin.
Pope Francis emphasized the “special relevance” of this visit in the year that marks the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical council (A.D. 325) in which the symbol (Greek: symbolon/summary) of faith common to all Christians was professed.
The pontiff expressed his gratitude for the “exchange of gifts” promoted by the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox churches and noted that “it allows the dialogue of charity to go hand in hand with the dialogue of truth.”
The ecumenical dimension of the ‘symbol of faith’He then reflected on the ecumenical dimension of the term “symbol,” noting that in the theological sense, the concept is understood as “the set of the principal truths of the Christian faith, which complement and harmonize with each other.”
“In this sense, the Nicene Creed, which succinctly sets forth the mystery of our salvation, is undeniable and incomparable,” the pontiff said.
From an ecclesiological point of view, he said the creed also “unites believers.”
“In ancient times, the Greek word ‘symbolon’ indicated one half of a tile split in two to be presented as a sign of recognition [by perfectly fitting with the other half]. The symbol is therefore a sign of recognition and communion between believers,” he said.
For this reason, he pointed out that faith is a “symbol” that only finds “its full unity together with others.”
“Therefore, we need each other to be able to confess the faith, which is why the Nicene Creed, in its original version, uses the plural ‘we believe,’” he said.
Pope Francis referred to a third meaning of the creed on the spiritual level and asked his listeners not to forget that the creed is above all “a prayer of praise that unites us to God: Union with God necessarily passes through unity among us, we Christians, who proclaim the same faith.”
“If the devil divides, the creed unites!” the pope said. He added: “How beautiful it would be if, every time we proclaim the creed, we felt united with Christians of all traditions!” Finally, everyone prayed the Nicene Creed together, each in his own language.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Pope Francis to take meetings at home while sick with bronchitis, Vatican says
Vatican City, Feb 6, 2025 / 12:30 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis will hold the next few days of meetings in rooms at his Vatican residence while sick with bronchitis, the Vatican said Thursday.
“Due to bronchitis, from which he is suffering at this time, and in order to continue his activities, on Friday, Feb. 7, and Saturday, Feb. 8, Pope Francis’ audiences will be held at Casa Santa Marta,” the Feb. 6 message from the Holy See Press Office said.
The 88-year-old Francis’ meetings with an association of Italian midwives and with Eastern Orthodox priests and monks on Feb. 6 were also held at his Santa Marta home instead of the Apostolic Palace as planned. The pope also did not read aloud his prepared speeches for those audiences.
Due to the light illness, the day prior, the pope had an aide to read his catechesis at his weekly public audience in the Paul VI Hall.
On Sunday, Feb. 9, the pontiff is scheduled to preside over a Mass in St. Peter’s Square for the second special weekend of the 2025 Jubilee of Hope: the Jubilee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Security Personnel.
Pope Francis also kept his schedule while remaining indoors when he had a cold right before Christmas. His Angelus prayer and message on Dec. 22, 2024, were livestreamed from the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta.
The pope, who has been suffering from visible breathlessness during recent meetings, has more and more frequently declined to read his prepared remarks to audiences or opted to have the remarks read by a priest aide.
He has faced several health challenges in recent years, including knee problems requiring a wheelchair, respiratory infections, and a fall resulting in a forearm contusion.
Pope Francis praises midwives, OB-GYNs who welcome babies with ‘humanity’
Vatican City, Feb 6, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis on Thursday encouraged midwives and OB-GYNs to carry out their mission not only with professional skill but also with “a great sense of humanity.”
The pope’s words were conveyed in a written speech handed out during an audience with an association of midwives and OB-GYNs from the southern Italian region of Calabria on Feb. 6.
With Francis suffering from bronchitis, the pontiff’s meetings on Thursday were held in halls at his Santa Marta residence rather than at the Apostolic Palace.
The Vatican Press Office said Feb. 6 Francis would continue to hold his meetings at the Casa Santa Marta on Feb. 7 and 8 due to the illness.
Pope Francis greets members of the Interprovincial Order of the Profession of Midwifery of Catanzaro on Feb. 6, 2025, at his Casa Santa Marta residence at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media“At a crucial moment of existence such as the birth of a son or daughter, one may feel vulnerable, fragile, and therefore most in need of closeness, tenderness, and warmth,” the pope said to the group of midwives and OB-GYNs.
“It does so much good, in such circumstances, to have sensitive and delicate people beside you. I therefore recommend you to cultivate, in addition to professional skill, a great sense of humanity, which confirms ‘in the parents’ souls the desire and joy for the new life, blossomed from their love’ (St. John Paul II, Address to Midwives, Jan. 26, 1980) and contributes to ‘assuring the child a healthy and happy birth.’”
The pope noted the loss of enthusiasm for parenthood in Italy and in other countries, where motherhood and fatherhood are no longer seen as “the opening of a new horizon of creativity and happiness.”
He also urged Christian midwives and doctors to use the “hidden but effective medicine” of prayer in their practices.
Whether it is appropriate to pray directly with patients or to offer a silent prayer in one’s own heart, prayer can “help strengthen that ‘admirable collaboration of parents, nature, and God, from which a new human being in the image and likeness of the Creator comes into being,’” he said, quoting Venerable Pius XII in a 1951 address to the Italian Catholic Union of Midwives.
“I encourage you to feel toward the mothers, fathers, and children whom God puts in your path the responsibility to pray for them as well, especially in holy Mass, Eucharistic adoration, and simple, daily prayer,” Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis urges all Catholics to be ‘missionaries of hope’ through prayer and action
Vatican City, Feb 6, 2025 / 11:30 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Thursday released his message for World Mission Day 2025, encouraging all Catholics to be “missionaries of hope” who actively participate in the Church’s evangelizing mission through a “communion of prayer and action.”
“I urge all of you, children, young people, adults, and the elderly, to participate actively in the common evangelizing mission of the Church by your witness of life and prayer, by your sacrifices, and by your generosity,” the pope shared in his message.
The pope said he chose “Missionaries of Hope Among All Peoples” as the motto for the 2025 mission day, which will be observed this year on Oct. 19.
To continue Jesus’ “ministry of hope for humanity,” the Holy Father said each Catholic must first develop “a mature faith in Christ” that is nourished by prayer.
“Missionaries of hope are men and women of prayer, for ‘the person who hopes is a person who prays,’” the pope said, quoting Venerable Cardinal François-Xavier Van Thuan. “Let us not forget that prayer is the primary missionary activity.”
The Eucharist and the other sacraments, the Holy Father explained, are essential for Catholics to “draw upon the power of the Holy Spirit” to work with determination and patience in the “vast field of global evangelization.”
“In following Christ the Lord, Christians are called to hand on the good news by sharing the concrete life situations of those whom they meet and thus to be bearers and builders of hope,” the pope said.
“Indeed, ‘the joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the people of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted, are the joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well. Nothing that is genuinely human fails to find an echo in their hearts’ (Gaudium et Spes, 1),” he continued.
‘Missionaries of hope among all peoples’In order to be builders of hope in both advanced and developing nations, the 88-year-old pontiff said the Church must recognize that Jesus Christ, the “divine Missionary of hope,” wants to speak to the heart of every man and woman and offer them salvation through his followers.
“Christian communities can be harbingers of a new humanity in a world that, in the most ‘developed’ areas, shows serious symptoms of human crisis,” he said. “In the most technologically advanced nations, ‘proximity’ is disappearing: We are all interconnected but not related.”
In his message, the Holy Father decried how obsession with efficiency, materialism, ambition, and self-centeredness has created a culture of loneliness and indifference in wealthy nations.
Expressing his special love for the poor, the pope said the Church’s missionaries must give particular attention to the weakest and most vulnerable members of society.
“Often they are the ones who teach us how to live in hope,” the Holy Father said. “Through personal contact, we will also convey the love of the compassionate heart of the Lord.”
Referring to his papal bull for the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, Spes Non Confundit, the pope said Christians can be “signs of hope” through works of mercy such as visits to the poor, elderly, sick, and migrants.
‘Missionaries ad gentes’The Holy Father also shared his particular gratitude for the work of Pontifical Mission Societies who “have gone forth to other nations to make known the love of God in Christ” and built new churches.
“I thank you most heartily! Your lives are a clear response to the command of the risen Christ, who sent his disciples to evangelize all peoples (cf. Mt 28:18-20),” the pope said.
“In this way, you are signs of the universal vocation of the baptized to become, by the power of the Spirit and daily effort, missionaries among all peoples, and witnesses to the great hope given us by the Lord Jesus,” he added.