Church in the News

AFTER NINE YEARS, POPE REFORMS CURIA

Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (second from right), speaks at a March 21 news conference to present Pope Francis’ document “Praedicate Evangelium” (“Preach the Gospel”), for the reform of the Roman Curia.

DURING A PRESS CONFERENCE at the Vatican on March 21, Church leaders and experts presented “Praedicate Evangelium” (“Preach the Gospel”)—Pope Francis’ apostolic constitution on the Roman Curia—a project he began shortly aft er his election in 2013, reported Vatican News.

Th e document was promulgated by Pope Francis two days earlier. It will go into eff ect on June 5, the feast of Pentecost.

“Th is new apostolic constitution,” the pope wrote, “proposes to better harmonize the present exercise of the Curia’s service with the path of evangelization that the Church, especially in this season, is living.”

He described the reform as part of the “missionary conversion” of the Church, a renewal movement aimed at making it refl ect more “the image of Christ’s own mission of love.”

He further connected it to the ongoing process of promoting “synodality,” a sense of the shared responsibility of all baptized Catholics for the life and mission of the Church.

As a result of the constitution, some congregations and pontifi cal councils will be merged, and the status of others will be raised, such as the charitable offi ce of the papal almoner. Th e pope said he hoped the constitution would help ensure that the offi ces of the Vatican will fulfi ll their mission in helping to promote the Church as a community of missionary disciples sharing the Gospel and caring for all those in need.

Part of that eff ort, he wrote, requires including more laypeople in Curia leadership positions. He added that the reform of the Curia also needed to “provide for the involvement of lay men and women, including in roles of governance and responsibility.” Th eir participation, he wrote, “is indispensable, because they cooperate for the good of the whole Church and, because of their family life, their knowledge of social realities, and their faith that leads them to discover God’s paths in the world, they can make valid contributions, especially when it comes to the promotion of the family and respect for the values of life and creation, the Gospel as leaven for temporal realities, and the discernment of the signs of the times.”

He also said that, regarding personnel of the offi ces, leadership, “as far as possible, shall come from the different regions of the world so that the Roman Curia may refl ect the universality of the Church.” Th ey can be clergy, religious, or laypeople “who are distinguished by appropriate experience, knowledge confi rmed by suitable qualifi cations, virtue, and prudence. Th ey should be chosen according to objective and transparent criteria and have an adequate number of years of experience in pastoral activities,” he stated.

As part of the new organization, the Pontifi cal Commission for the Protection of Minors is now “within the dicastery,” and “its task is to provide the Roman pontiff with advice and consultancy and to propose the most appropriate initiatives for the protection of minors and vulnerable people.”

In a statement released March 19, Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley of Boston, president of the commission and a member of the Council of Cardinals that draft ed the constitution, said: “For the fi rst time, Pope Francis has made safeguarding and the protection of minors a fundamental part of the structure of the Church’s central government.

“Linking the commission more closely with the work of the new Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith represents a signifi cant move forward in upgrading the place and mandate of the commission, which can only lead to a stronger culture of safeguarding throughout the Curia and the entire Church,” he said.

POPE CONSECRATES HUMANITY, UKRAINE, RUSSIA TO MARY

ON MARCH 25, in the midst of the war between Russia and Ukraine, Pope Francis and bishops around the world consecrated themselves and all humanity to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, specifically citing the two warring countries, reported Vatican News.

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, led the act of consecration at the same time at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal. When Mary appeared to three shepherd children at Fatima in 1917 with a message encouraging prayer and repentance, she also asked for the consecration of Russia to Mary’s immaculate heart.

Prior to the event, which took place during a Lenten penance service in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis sent a letter to dioceses around the globe requesting that bishops join him in the prayer. He said, “This Act of Consecration is meant to be a gesture of the universal Church, which in this dramatic moment lifts up to God, through his Mother and ours, the cry of pain of all those who suffer and implore an end to the violence, and to entrust the future of our human family to the Queen of Peace.”

He said the decision to make the act of consecration came partly in response to the “numerous requests by the People of God.” The pope lamented the atrocities that the war is inflicting upon Ukraine’s “sorely tried people” and said that it is a threat to world peace.

He then invited all bishops, priests, religious, and Catholic faithful to “assemble in their places of prayer on March 25, so that God’s holy people may raise a heartfelt and choral plea to Mary our Mother.”

Since the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops, Pope Francis has repeatedly spoken out against the war and offered the Vatican’s assistance to help achieve peace. In late February, Pope Francis visited the Russian ambassador to the Holy See “to express his concern for the war,” said Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office.

On March 16, the pope spoke with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill via teleconference, reported Catholic News Service (CNS). Bruni said the meeting “was motivated by the desire to show, as shepherds of their people, a road to peace, to pray for peace so that there may be a cease-fire.” Both the pope and the patriarch agreed that “the Church must not use the language of politics, but the language of Jesus,” Bruni said.

The pope also spoke twice to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Andrii Yurash, Ukrainian ambassador to the Holy See, tweeted that the March 22 conversation between the pope and Zelenskyy was “very promising.” Yurash reported that the pope was “praying and doing everything possible” to help end the war. He also noted that Pope Francis was again invited to visit the country.

PROSECUTORS IN EL SALVADOR have brought charges against former President Alfredo Cristiani and 12 others—most of whom were former soldiers—for their involvement in the 1989 slayings of six Jesuits, their housekeeper, and the housekeeper’s teenage daughter at their residence on the campus of the Jesuit-run José Simeón Cañas Central American University. According to the Associated Press, the charges apparently include murder, terrorism, and conspiracy.

Cristiani, who served as president from 1989 to 1994, has denied any involvement in the murders.

This past January, the country’s supreme court ordered a reopening of the case into the slayings, ruling favorably on a petition from the attorney general.

Former El Salvador President Alfredo Cristiani An overhead view from a drone shows the site of a destroyed shopping center after it was hit during a Russian military strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 21, 2022. Pope Francis has called the war a “senseless massacre” and “sacrilegious” attack on human life.

FORMER EL SALVADOR PRESIDENT CHARGED IN JESUITS’ MURDERS

Franciscan Father Francesco Patton, custos of the Holy Land (left), Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, and Armenian Patriarch Nourhan Manougian remove a stone to start the project to restore the fl oor of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

THE SECOND PHASE of restoration and conservation work on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem began in March, with the Franciscan custos of the Holy Land saying he hoped the work would serve as an example of cooperation, reported CNS.

At a joint inaugural stone-lift ing ceremony, Father Francesco Patton, OFM, said: “Th ere is always great signifi cance beyond the material [aspect]. We are looking at something worse than the pandemic now, with a war between two Christian countries, so our cooperation here acquires greater signifi cance, and I hope we can show how important cooperation is.”

Greek Orthodox Patriarch Th eophilos III of Jerusalem echoed that message. “We hope the whole world will be able to see and understand that this has been done in understanding and mutual cooperation and love,” he said.

Th e two-year restoration project will take place in stages while allowing for religious celebrations, pilgrimages, and visits by tourists. In addition to the restoration—and, when necessary, replacement of pavement stones—the project will include any work needed to maintain the safety and stability of the Edicule, which is revered as the tomb of Jesus, along with the updating of electrical, water, mechanical, and special fi re prevention systems.

Th e fi rst phase, which took place from 2016 to 2017, involved the restoration of the Edicule. Th at project was directed by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and conducted by an interdisciplinary team from the National Technical University of Athens.

NUN SUES DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA OVER VACCINATION MANDATE

IN A FEDERAL LAWSUIT fi led March 9, a religious sister sued the District of Columbia aft er she was denied a religious exemption from its COVID-19 vaccination mandate for health-care workers, reported CNS.

Sister Deirdre Byrne, who is a member of the Sisters of the Little Workers of the Sacred Heart, is boardcertifi ed as a surgeon and in family practice. She provides free medical services in the nation’s capital. Th e mandate, she believes, violates her rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

On March 15, Catholic News Agency reported that Sister Deirdre received a letter from DC Health and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, which stated that she can resume her work as a physician and surgeon until 2023. Attorneys for the sister said the lawsuit is not going away, however.

Attorneys for the Th omas More Society fi led the lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. Society attorney Christopher Ferrara said, “All three COVID-19 vaccines approved in the United States have been tested, developed, or produced with cell lines derived from abortions, something to which Sister Deirdre has deep and sincere religious opposition.”

Th e lawsuit says that Sister Deirdre waited nearly six months for the city to consider her “amply documented request for a religious exemption from the vaccine mandate.” It also said that she has practiced medicine without need of vaccination and without objection from the hospitals and clinics for which she provides volunteer medical services for people in need. “Th e only stated basis for the denial is the legally nonexistent grounds that her religious exemption would pose an ‘undue hardship’” to the city’s health department, the society said.

Some Catholics object to the use of COVID-19 vaccines because the animal-phase testing for some vaccines used stem cells from fetuses aborted 50 years ago. In December 2020, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith declared all of the vaccines to be morally licit, and the Vatican recently updated its rules to require all of its employees to be vaccinated against the virus or prove they have recently recovered from the disease. Both Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI have received the vaccines.

The relics of St. Bernadette, seen in this undated photo, began a months-long tour of the United States on April 7. In the fi lm CODA, actress Emilia Jones plays the role of Ruby Rossi, the daughter of two parents who are deaf.

BEGINNING IN APRIL AND ENDING AUGUST 4, the relics of St. Bernadette, the Marian visionary of Lourdes, France, will travel throughout the United States for the fi rst time. The tour, which began in South Florida on April 7, will visit 23 other dioceses, including 34 churches, cathedrals, and shrines. The full schedule of the tour can be found at StBernadetteUSA.org. The Vatican has granted a plenary indulgence for those visiting the relics.

THIS PAST FEBRUARY, THE VATICAN ANNOUNCED that the theme for this year’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees is “Building the Future with Migrants and Refugees” (September 25). The Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development said the theme highlights “the commitment that we are all called to share in building a future that embraces God’s plan, leaving no one behind.”

STARTING APRIL 1, people can begin uploading designs for the offi cial logo for Holy Year 2025 with the theme “Pilgrims of Hope.” Participants with a unique piece of art to offer can upload their designs at iubilaeum2025.va/ en/logo.html. The deadline for entries is May 20.

A STUDY BY THE BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL the Lancet shows that an estimated 5.2 million children in 21 countries, including the United States, lost at least one parent, a custodial grandparent, or a primary caregiver to COVID-19 during the fi rst 20 months of the pandemic. The report noted: “Our fi ndings suggest an urgent need for pandemic responses to prioritize children affected by deaths of parents and caregivers. Effective national strategies should be tailored to children’s age and the circumstances of loss.” FATHER JAMES E. GOODE, OFM, who was known as the “dean of Black Catholic preachers” for his evangelizing work among Black Catholics, died on March 4. He was 81. In 1989, Father Goode founded the National Day of Prayer for the African-American Family. The day of prayer is celebrated on the fi rst Sunday of Black History Month, which is observed in February.

IN MARCH, THE VATICAN ANNOUNCED that it would begin granting three-day paternity leave for lay employees. Under the new policy, all male employees are now “entitled to three days of paid leave on the occasion of the birth of a child.” The measure also applies for new adoptive and foster fathers. Previously, the Vatican offered only maternity leave, which is six months long with 50 percent pay.

Both the Vatican’s and Italy’s paternity policies are relatively low compared with other European countries. Italy increased its paid paternity leave from seven days to 10 days, the minimum number of days adopted by the European Union. Comparatively, in France, new fathers are granted 28 days of paternity leave, while in Spain paid paternal leave is 16 weeks.

ON MARCH 1, the fi lm CODA, which stands for Children of Deaf Adults, won a number of awards from the International Catholic Film Critics, reported CNS. In the fi lm, a teen girl, whose parents are deaf, weighs the choice between staying home to continue helping her family or leaving home to pursue opportunities. It won the best picture award, in addition to best screenplay, written by Sian Heder, and best supporting actor for Troy Kotsur. The full list of nominees and winners is available at CatholicFilmCritics.com.