Catholic News

• Pope backs multi-faith efforts to eradicate child sexual abuse (Vatican News)
  Pope Francis sent a message to a symposium organized by Harvard University in partnership with the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and Catholic University of America.
• Vatican foreign minister reiterates Holy See's opposition to anti-Semitism (Vatican News)
  Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, made his remarks in a video for the Israeli embassy to the Holy See’s media campaign to combat anti-Semitism.
• Pope recalls nocturnal Eucharistic adoration in his youth (Vatican News)
  A recently discovered record “indicated that as a young man, Pope Francis was one of the many faithful who made regular visits to the Basilica of the Blessed Sacrament in Buenos Aires,” according to the report.
• Vatican Museums to reopen in May (Vatican News)
  The Vatican Museums, which have been closed because of the Covid epidemic, are scheduled to reopen during the first week of May. Visitors will be required to follow strict safety protocols, wearing masks and preserving social distance.
• Human rights are undermined when elderly are cast aside, Vatican diplomat says at UN (CNS)
  Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, participated in a UN working group on aging.
• British court says removal of Franklin Graham bus ads violated religion and speech rights (Religion Clause)
  Complaints about Graham’s bus ads “predominantly referred to his views on homosexuality and same-sex marriage as being offensive,” according to the report.
• Protestant pastor arrested at Easter under Madhya Pradesh's anti-conversion law (AsiaNews)
  The central Indian state (map) is 91% Hindu, 7% Muslim, and 0.3% Christian.
• Congregation's lawsuit says gas pipeline violates its religious freedom (CNS)
  “We were stunned that eminent domain could be used for something that is not for the common good,” Sister Janet McCann of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ said of a natural gas pipeline constructed on their property. “It’s just for this multibillion-dollar for-profit company.”
• Arkansas diocese takes no stand on state's transgender bill (Arkansas Catholic)
  By large margins, the Arkansas House (72-25) and Senate (25-8) overrode Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s veto of the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act.
• Cardinal Woelki: Strengthen canon law on clerical abuse (The Tablet)
  “Canon law on how to deal with priestly sexual abuse must be changed,” said the Archbishop of Cologne. “It needs tightening, that is, the rulings must be made clearer and more explicit.”
• Kazakhstan law bans all distribution of religious material (Forum 18)
  In Kazakhstan, “People don’t have the right to distribute religious materials in any form whatsoever,” a government minister explains. In the first four months of 2021, 17 people have been fined for violation of the country’s strict law banning religious materials.
• Former Franciscan University priest indicted on rape, battery charges (Steubenville Herald-Star)
  Father David Morrier, TOR, has been indicted on “one count of rape and two counts of sexual battery of a female patient dating from November 2010 to the spring of 2013.” Father Morrier was banned from campus in 2014, according to Franciscan University; he then became parochial vicar of a Texas parish.
• Notre Dame to require students to be vaccinated for Covid (University of Notre Dame)
  “Requiring students to be vaccinated for COVID-19 is a new and important addition to our health policies, one that we believe will enhance public health at Notre Dame and in our community,” said Father John Jenkins, CSC, the university’s president since 2005. The university pledged to “accommodate documented medical or religious exemptions.”
• Russian patriarchate reaches out to Chinese Orthodox (AsiaNews)
  The Russian Orthodox Church is reaching out to isolated Orthodox communities in China. Although China’s strict controls on religious organizations make it difficult to envision a Chinese Orthodox Church—or the recognition of a religious body affiliated with Moscow—the Russian Orthodox Church sees room for an autonomous Orthodox body in Beijing.
• 'How many of us will be left?': Felician sisters face loss, pain (AP)
  21 members of the Felician Sisters of North America have died of Covid over the past year.
• Economic recovery must produce new global model, Pope tells IMF leaders (Vatican Press Office)
  In a message to leaders of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, who are meeting this week, Pope Francis insists that recovery from the Covid epidemic should lead to “new, more inclusive and sustainable solutions to support the real economy.” The Pontiff says that recovery plans cannot be limited to individual nations, but should include new roles for global governance. The Pope urges steps to relieve the debt of poor countries, while acknowledging an “ecological debt” that the rich nations owe to the poor.
• Paris archbishop takes action against priest for ignoring mask mandate (CNA)
  Archbishop Michel Aupetit of Paris has opened canonical disciplinary proceedings against a traditionalist priest for failing to enforce archdiocesan safety mandates during an Easter Vigil liturgy. The archbishop took action after Paris police announced their own investigation, citing the parish of Ste. Eugene-Ste. Cecile for “endangering the lives of others” by allowing parishioners to participate in the liturgy without wearing masks.
• Leading German, Swiss bishops praise Father Hans Küng (Crux)
  Cardinal Walter Kasper was more nuanced in his recollection of the late dissident theologian: “in my judgment, he went too far — beyond Catholic orthodoxy — and so did not remain tied to a theology based on the doctrine of the Church, but ‘invented’ his own theology.”
• Assyrian monk sentenced to 2 years in a Turkish prison after giving visitors a piece of bread (AsiaNews)
  “Father Aho will serve 25 months in prison for providing ‘help to a terrorist organization,’” AsiaNews explains. “The trial was held without journalists and [the] public.”
• Cardinal Burke: Catholic officials who promote abortion guilty of apostasy (Cardinal Burke's web site)
  “The reception of Holy Communion by those who publicly and obstinately violate the moral law in its most fundamental precepts is a particularly grave form of sacrilege,” writes Cardinal Raymond Burke. Explaining that he has received many inquiries about the question, the cardinal suggests that Catholic public officials who promote abortion are guilty of apostasy, and might also be accused of heresy. “Clearly, no priest or Bishop can grant permission to a person who is in public and obstinate grave sin to receive Holy Communion,” he insists.
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