NOTE: On May 16, this daily feature, The Church Bulletin, will become available exclusively to Patreon subscribers.  Don’t miss out: click here to learn how to continue receiving daily headlines in your in-box! 

Louisiana advances bill classifying abortion as homicide (The New York Times) The State Legislature in Louisiana advanced a proposal this week that would classify abortion as homicide, going further than anti-abortion measures in other states by making it possible for prosecutors to bring criminal cases against women who end a pregnancy…

Pope attends meeting in wheelchair (CNA) Pope Francis used a wheelchair during a public meeting on Thursday, the first time he has done so publicly since leaving the hospital after colon surgery in July 2021. The 85-year-old pope has had difficulty walking due to a painful torn ligament in his knee. He was pushed in a wheelchair onto the stage of the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall on May 5, at the start of a meeting with participants in the plenary meeting of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG)…

Cardinal: Pope approved secret deal to free abducted nun (The New York Times) Pope Francis approved spending up to one million euros to free a Colombian nun kidnapped in Mali, a cardinal told a Vatican court on Thursday, revealing previously undisclosed negotiations to secure her release. Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, formerly one of the Vatican’s highest-ranking prelates, said the pope had authorized his efforts, including payments to the militants linked to Al Qaeda who in 2017 had kidnapped Sister Gloria Cecilia Narvaez Argoti in a village in Mali. She was released in 2021…

Cardinal Dolan, New York delegation visit Ukraine (CNS)  New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan said he was surprised and inspired by Ukrainians he met when he made a brief visit to Lviv, Ukraine. “I thought I would come to Ukraine and see great depression,” he told the Religious Information Service of Ukraine. “Yes, I see sadness and pain, but I am impressed by the vitality, hope and solidarity of Ukrainians.” On May 2, the cardinal and Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki, Latin-rite archbishop of Lviv, met with the leadership of the Ukrainian Catholic University, families of displaced Ukrainians who found refuge during the war and student volunteers. The visit was part of a trip by a New York church delegation to visit and express solidarity with Ukrainian refugees, including those in the bordering countries of Poland and Slovakia…

Pope’s Ukraine diplomacy: a spiritual and political tightrope (AP) Pope Francis hasn’t made much of a diplomatic mark in Russia’s war in Ukraine, seemingly unable to capitalize on his moral authority, soft power or direct line to Moscow to nudge an end to the bloodshed or at least a cease-fire. Rather, Francis has found himself in the unusual position of having to explain his refusal to call out Russia or President Vladimir Putin by name — popes don’t do that, he said — and to defend his “very good” relations with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, who has justified the war on spiritual grounds…

Deacon named new school superintendent for Diocese of Brooklyn (AMNY) Bishop Robert Brennen has announced Deacon Kevin McCormack as the new Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Brooklyn.  Deacon McCormack will replace Dr. Thomas Chadzutko, who is retiring as of August 31, 2022, after serving in the position for the past 18 years. The appointment is effective as of July 1, 2022. Prior to his new appointment, Deacon McCormack served as the principal of Xaverian High School for 15 years, having previously worked at the school as an English and Religion teacher…