Pope offers special prayer for Ukraine (Vatican News) As Pope Francis wrapped up the General Audience on Wednesday, he led those gathered in the Paul VI Hall and online in a special prayer for an end to the war in Ukraine. He made his own a prayer composed by the Italian Archbishop of Naples, Domenico Battaglia, making a few minor additions…

DeSantis v. Miami’s archbishop, with Cuban Americans in the middle (The New York Times) The state was threatening the Roman Catholic Church’s ability to shelter immigrant children when Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami went for South Florida’s emotional jugular: He compared the unaccompanied children who were crossing the border today to those who fled Communist Cuba six decades ago without their parents. Offended by the comparison, angry Cuban Americans called Spanish-language radio. They wrote letters to the editor. A discussion at the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora to denounce the archbishop’s comments turned emotional. Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, who had directed his administration to stop renewing shelter licenses, called the comparison to Cuban exiles who had arrived legally “disgusting…”

Ukrainian archbishop calls for worldwide novena ahead of consecration (CNA) Ukrainian Catholic leaders have been urging Pope Francis to take the dramatic step to consecrate both Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and will lead a nine-day novena to prepare for the March 25 event, a top prelate in the war-ravaged country told CNA Tuesday…

 Survey offers insights into experience of Black Catholics (Pew) Black Catholics are a minority in the United States in numerous ways. They comprise a small share of Black adults (6%) and an even smaller share of Catholic adults (4%). Still, there are approximately 3 million Black Catholics in the U.S., and the group received media attention after Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, D.C., became the first Black American cardinal in 2020. A recent Pew Research Center study designed to capture the diversity of Black American religious life offers new insights into Black Catholics’ religious habits and experiences, finding that their experiences at parishes and at Mass are often distinctive from those of other U.S. Catholics. It also shows that their religious beliefs and practices differ from those of Black Protestants…