Catholic News

• US bishops receive call of encouragement, assurances of prayer from Pope Francis (USCCB)
  The Pope also discussed the death of George Floyd and unrest in the United States during his June 3 general audience.
• African bishops plead for aid for the poor, cancellation of debts (SECAM)
  The continent’s bishops also called on African leaders to ensure that “limited available resources be used to assist those who really need help, especially, the poorest of the poor, and not end in the pockets of the politically connected people through corrupt practices.”
• 'Deplorable': EU bishops join Ukrainian hierarchy in decrying surrogacy (COMECE)
  Catholic teaching against surrogacy is discussed in Donum Vitae (1987) and Dignitas Personae (2008), two documents of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
• Catholic responses to the killing of George Floyd (America)
  The Jesuit magazine has compiled comments from the Vatican, bishops, universities, the Catholic press, and others.
• Catholic schools in Spain call for respect for educational freedom (Vatican News)
  Recent changes in education law threaten to “stifle teaching in private schools, making it subsidiary to that of public schools,” according to the report.
• For Christians in Pakistan, pandemic lockdown spells hunger, hardship (Aid to the Church in Need)
  Islam is the official religion of the South Asian nation of 211 million (map), the fifth most populous in the world. 96% of Pakistan’s people are Muslim, 2% are Christian, and 1% are Hindu.
• Philippine religious superiors voice concern about anti-terror bill (CBCP News)
  Proposed legislation “can be abused to stifle dissent and curtail rights to free speech, to organize and form associations, to peaceable assembly in redress of grievances,” the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines warned.
• Vatican's pediatric dispensary reopens as lockdown eases (Vatican News)
  Pope Pius XI founded the Santa Marta Pediatric Dispensary in 1922.
• Ugandans celebrate low-key Martyrs' Day (Vatican News)
  St. Charles Lwanga and his companions, whose feast day is June 3, suffered martyrdom rather than consent to the homosexual advances of the king.
• Parish offers sanctuary amid Minneapolis riots (CNA)
  The parish, St. Albert the Great, sheltered 34 people who were afraid to remain in their homes.
• Scotland's bishops finalize plans to reopen churches (Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh)
  “The obligation to attend Sunday Mass remains dispensed until further notice and everyone is asked to consider carefully whether or not they should return in the early phases,” said Bishop Hugh Gilbert, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Scotland.
• Detroit archdiocese to shift to 'family of parishes' (Our Sunday Visitor)
  In 1966, the Archdiocese of Detroit had 823 diocesan priests and 347 parishes; there are now 382 diocesan priests and 218 parishes. The city’s population has plummeted from 1.85 million in 1950 to an 670,000 in 2019.
• Pope's education foundation holds 'celebration of sense' on World Environment Day (Scholas Occurentes)
  Founded by the future Pope Francis in 2001, Scholas Occurrentes, now a pontifical educational foundation, seeks to “educate young people in the commitment for the common good” and to “implement the culture of the meeting for peace through education.”
• Churches in 6 states damaged by violent protests (National Catholic Register)
  “Vandals repeatedly struck the Denver cathedral on multiple nights of the protests and riots over the weekend,” according to the report. “The doors to the cathedral are believed to have been permanently damaged by the vandalism … but the cathedral’s most valuable windows were unharmed.”
• Zambia receives papal donation of ventilators (Vatican News)
  The southern African nation of 16.9 million (map) is 51% Protestant and 34% Catholic, with 11% adhering to ethnic religions.
• In Rome, Cardinal Farrell to lead prayer for 'peaceful coexistence in the United States' (Community of Sant'Egidio)
  Now prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, the Irish-born prelate was auxiliary bishop of Washington (2001-07) and bishop of Dallas (2007-16).
• Vatican did not profit from Knight of Malta takeover: Cardinal Parolin (National Catholic Register)
  Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, has rejected claims that the Vatican’s takeover of the Knights of Malta in 2017 was motivated by an effort to divert funds from a large and controversial bequest. “The Vatican received nothing,” he insists.
• St. John Paul II Shrine defends President Trump's visit (Saint John Paul II Shrine)
  The shrine, located in Washington, issued this statement following Archbishop Wilton Gregory’s condemnation of the visit, which took place on the anniversary of the late Pontiff’s visit to Poland.
• 'We cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism': Pope prays for George Floyd, criticizes violence (Vatican Press Office)
  Pope Francis said, “Dear brothers and sisters in the United States, I have witnessed with great concern the disturbing social unrest in your nation in these past days, following the tragic death of Mr. George Floyd. My friends, we cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life. At the same time, we have to recognise that the violence of recent nights is self-destructive and self-defeating. Nothing is gained by violence and so much is lost...”
• In symbolic vote, assembly rejects Parliament's legalization of abortion in Northern Ireland (BBC)
  The bishops of Northern Ireland issued a statement before the Northern Ireland Assembly’s vote.
• More...