Pope: war is an outrage and a blasphemy (Vatican News) At his weekly General Audience, Pope Francis once again denounced “the armed aggression of these days” as “an outrage against God…”
Catholic churches in western Ukraine offering aid (Crux) On a recent trip to Ukraine Magda Kaczmarek remembers a priest telling her that even though half of the church’s parishioners have fled, they maintain about the same number of parishioners with the addition of internally displaced Ukrainians – including non-Catholics. “They are really open to God. We could feel it,” Kaczmarek, a project manager for Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) Ukraine, said of the internally displaced Ukrainians. “Nobody’s forcing them. Nobody’s asking them to church. They’re saying that they’re not a church person, but, ‘I’m very grateful I could attend this Mass…’”
Portugal investigation uncovers nearly 300 abuse victims (AP) A lay committee looking into historic child sex abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church said Tuesday it received witness statements from 290 alleged victims in its first three months of work, with cases involving children as young as two years old. More than half the reported cases suggest many more victims were involved, said Pedro Strecht, a psychiatrist who heads the Independent Committee for the Study of Child Abuse in the Church…
Brooklyn bishop offers prayers for subway shooting victims (CNS) Brooklyn Bishop Robert J. Brennan urged prayers April 12 for victims of an early morning shooting spree at a Brooklyn subway station and for the protection of first responders on the scene and those hunting for the shooter. “On this Tuesday of Holy Week, our city has suffered a terrible attack on New Yorkers just trying to commute,” the bishop said in a statement. “Let us fervently pray for the multiple people shot and injured in a Sunset Park subway station…”
Former Anglican bishop named “monsignor” by Pope Francis (Aleteia) Msgr. Michael Nazir-Ali had been Anglican Bishop of Rochester from 1994 to 2009, and was once seen as a leading candidate to become Archbishop of Canterbury. He entered the Catholic Church after retiring from ministry in the Church of England, and was ordained as a priest for the Anglican Ordinariate…
If you use prayer apps, use caution to protect privacy (CNS) The growing popularity of prayer apps has attracted attention from investors. Hallow, Pray and Glorify alone have raised more than $120 million from investors. Such large investments have led to questions about how the apps — like most other apps and online services — use the personal data collected from users and whether such information is being monetized…
