Archbishop to patriarch: Urge Putin to stop the war in Ukraine (CNA) The president of Poland’s Catholic bishops’ conference has urged the head of the Russian Orthodox Church to ask President Vladimir Putin to stop the war in Ukraine. In a strongly worded letter dated March 2, Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki told Patriarch Kirill of Moscow that Putin could “stop the suffering of thousands of people with one word…”
Pope names coadjutor to succeed Peoria’s bishop (Holy See Bulletin) The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Peoria, United States of America, presented by Bishop Daniel Robert Jenky, C.S.C. He is succeeded by Bishop Louis Tylka, until now coadjutor of the same diocese.
Orthodox clergy: no call for peace should be rejected (Vatican News) A group of 233 priests and deacons of the Russian Orthodox Church has launched a strong appeal to all those who can bring an end to the war in Ukraine. They have described the situation as “fratricidal” and called for reconciliation and an immediate cease-fire. They write: “We mourn the ordeal to which our brothers and sisters in Ukraine were undeservedly subjected”. The appeal came following the Sunday of the Last Judgement and in the week before Forgiveness Sunday (the two Sundays preceding Great Lent in the Eastern calendar)…
Biden to reporter: “I don’t want to get into a debate about theology” (CNA) U.S. President Joe Biden (D), a Catholic, declined to discuss why he supports abortion rights despite Church teaching prior to boarding Marine One ahead of a flight to Duluth on Wednesday, March 2. “I don’t want to get into a debate with you about theology,” said Biden, after being asked by EWTN Correspondent Owen Jensen about how he is able to reconcile his Catholic faith with his public support of abortion. “I’m not going to make a judgment for other people…”
German archbishop offers resignation after “timeout” (AP) A prominent Catholic archbishop who faced strong criticism for his handling of the church’s sexual abuse scandal in Germany said Wednesday that he has offered his resignation to Pope Francis following a “spiritual timeout” granted by the pontiff. Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, the archbishop of Cologne, marked his return to work with a lengthy letter to the faithful in which said he was “not returning unchanged, as if nothing had happened in this time…”
Company creates Ukraine candles to fund relief efforts (CNS) “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.” This ancient proverb — made famous by Maryknoll Father James Keller, after he founded The Christophers in 1945 — has taken on a new meaning for Christiana Gorchynsky Trapani, owner of Door County Candle Co. in Sturgeon Bay. With war now raging in Ukraine, home to many of Trapani’s relatives, the Catholic business owner came up with the idea of making and selling what is called the Ukraine Candle…
