In another televised interview—his first with at US network—Pope Francis has renewed his call for peace in Ukraine and in Gaza, and has dismissed as “foolish” peole who do not believe in the urgency of climate change. In an interview with Norah O’Donnell of CBS, timed for broadcast before World Children’s Day, the Pope spoke about the suffering of children in war zones. “Those kids don’t know how to smile,” he said ruefully. “That’s really very serious.” Questioned about Catholics who have left the Church, the Pope said: “If in this parish, the priest doesn’t seem welcoming, I understand; but ..read more

Pope Francis met on April 25 with members of Italian Catholic Action, and encouraged them to adopt a “culture of the embrace.” In his remarks to the group the Pope asked them to “bear witness to everyone that the way of the embrace is the way of life.” He spoke of “first the missing embrace, then the embrace that saves, and third the embrace that changes life ..read more

Pope Francis met on April 25 with President Tamás Sulyok on Hungary. A brief statement released by the Vatican after the meeting indicated that the conversation had centered on Church-state relations. The discussion also touched on the war in Ukraine and its consequences ..read more

Questioned whether the reforms begun by Pope Francis will endure, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, said: “Precisely because it is the action of the Spirit, there can be no turning around.” Cardinal Parolin offered that thought at a press conference introducing a new book about Vatican controversies by the journalist Ignazio Ingrao. In that book the author writes of “irreversible processes” of reform begun in this pontificate ..read more

America’s fertility rate has hit an all-time low. New data from the federal government show a rate of 1.62 births per woman in 2023. That figure, a 2% decline from the previous year, is the lowest ever recorded. The number of births in 2023 also dropped 2% from the previous year, The 3.59 million births were the fewest since 1979. The birth rate in the US has been declining 1 to 2% consistently over the past decade. The fertility rate is now well under the “replacement rate” of 2.1 children per woman ..read more

Responding to negative public reactions, the Catholic Answers web site has announced that an artificial character who answers questions using artificial intelligence (AI) will no longer be identified as “Father Justin” but simply as “Justin.” Early this week, Catholic Answers introduced the AI-generated character, which answers questions by drawing on the site’s archives. The experiment proved unpopular with many users, who questioned the prudence of using AI to answer serious questions of faith—and especially to invoke the authority of the priesthood. One user reported that “Father Justin” ha ..read more

The new edition of the Vatican yearbook, the Annuario Pontificio, has subtracted a year from the listed age of Cardinal John Njue, the retired Archbishop of Nairobi. Because his birth records are unavailable, Cardinal Njue had been listed as being born simply in “1944.” That date has now been corrected to January 1, 1946. The change has important implications for Cardinal Njue, who would have become ineligible to vote in a papal election or sit on a Vatican dicastery upon reaching his 80th birthday—which had previously been set at December 31 of this year ..read more

An infant with a congenital heart condition has been airlifted from a hospital in the United Kingdom to Rome, to undergo emergency surgery at the Vatican’s Bambino Gesu Hospital. The child, who has not been identified, is the child of an Italian citizen who lives and works in the UK. He sought treatment for the baby in Rome after being informed by the National Health Service that treatment would not be approved ..read more

Four years after the Archdiocese of New Orleans declared bankruptcy, over $36.3 million has been paid to attorneys, accountants, and other professionals, according to court records. Jones Walker, the archdiocese’s law firm, has received nearly $15.5 million; victims’ attorneys have received nearly $13.5 million; and other attorneys, as well as accountants, actuaries and other professionals, have received over $7.3 million ..read more

Pope Francis sent a video message to the faithful of the Diocese of Termoli-Larino, Italy, as the diocese prepared to welcome, for a week, a statue of Our Lady of Fátima. Our Lady is “coming now,” Pope Francis said. “She will arrive by helicopter, but then she’ll knock; with her presence, she knocks on the door of families, of homes—on the door of your hearts ..read more