Catholic World News Headlines
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Background: World Day of Prayer for Vocations (CWN)
On April 21, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, the Church commemorates the 61st World Day of Prayer for Vocations.
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New motu proprio sets standards for Vatican tribunal judges (Vatican News)
Pope Francis has issued another motu proprio setting norms for the judges who serve on Vatican tribunals.The new norms set the retirement age for judges at 75, or 80 for those who are cardinals. The Pope may extend a judge’s term beyond that age at his own discretion. The motu proprio also gives the Pontiff the authority to remove judges who “due to proven incapacity, are unable to fulfill their duties, even temporarily.”
The document also sets payment, benefits, and pension standards for the judges.
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Dream big, build peace: Pope exhorts young students (Vatican News)
Pope Francis spoke on April 19 to children from the Schools for Peace National Network, and told them “you are called to be protagonists and not spectators of the future.”The Pontiff asked the young people to repeat his challenge, then to repeat it again—saying, “I can’t hear you!” He told them that they must be “committed to working in the building site of the future, overcoming the temptation of a life restricted merely to today, that risks losing the ability to dream big.”
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Cardinal Dolan meets with Israeli, Palestinian leaders, speaks of local reactions to Pope (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, visiting the Holy Land in his role as president of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.Both leaders “expressed their appreciation for the role that Christian communities play in their civil societies,” Cardinal Dolan said in an interview with the Vatican newspaper.
Cardinal Dolan said that the efforts of Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, to promote peace are widely respected in the area.
“I was able to appreciate the hearing that the powerful voice of Pope Francis receives,” Cardinal Dolan added. “In both parties [Israeli and Palestinian], some find reasons to criticize him, but there is unanimous appreciation for his strong words in favor of dialogue and peace.”
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7 major Italian sees no longer led by a cardinal (Il Messaggero)
Seven major Italian sees—Florence, Genoa, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Turin, and Venice—are now no longer led by a cardinal, Vatican reporter Franca Giansoldati notes in an analysis for Il Messaggero.Pope Francis appointed archbishops of six of these sees: Archbishop Corrado Lorefice (Palermo) in 2015, Archbishop Mario Delpini (Milan) in 2017, Archbishops Domenico Battaglia (Naples) and Marco Tasca (Genoa) in 2020, Archbishop Roberto Repole (Turin) in 2022, and Archbishop-elect Gherardo Gambelli (Florence) in 2024. Patriarch Francesco Moraglia has led the Patriarchate of Venice since 2012.
Pope Francis has named bishops of less prominent Italian dioceses as cardinals, including Archbishop Edoardo Menichelli (Ancona-Osimo), Archbishop Francesco Montenegro (Agrigento), Archbishop Giuseppe Petrocchi (L’Aquila), Archbishop Augusto Paolo Lojudice (Siena-Colle di Val d’Elsa-Montalcino), and Bishop Oscar Cantoni (Como).
As has been customary, the Pontiff named the (now former) vicar general of Rome (Angelo De Donatis) and Archbishop Matteo Zuppi of Bologna as cardinals.