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Nation and world briefs

U.S.

At convention, Catholic educators reminded of missionary roles

CINCINNATI — Nearly 5,000 Catholic school educators and administrators attended the National Catholic Educational Association Convention and Expo at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati April 3-5. The three-day convention was filled with workshops dealing with how to help students write more creatively or tackle math concepts, use modern technology safely and live their faith in the modern world, but it also examined constant challenges and a way forward for educators and Catholic education at large. In the opening session, Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education, encouraged educators from around the country to continue in their role as missionaries and evangelists. He urged the convention delegates to always place the heart of the Gospel in their ministry and to see the importance of their work as evangelization, not just with students but parents and in dialogue with the larger world.

Bishops on both sides of Mexico border criticize troop deployment

MEXICO CITY — The Mexican bishops’ conference criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border and issued a strong defense of migrants, saying the Catholic Church could not stand by “in the face of suffering by our brother migrants as they seek better conditions by crossing the border to work and contribute to the common good.” The letter, addressed to people in Mexico and the United States and the presidents of both countries, echoed sentiments of U.S. border bishops by saying the frontier between the two countries is an area “called to be an example of social connection and joint responsibility. The only future possible for our region is the future built with bridges of trust and shared development, not with walls of indignity and violence,” according to the statement signed by the bishops of 16 northern Mexican dioceses and the conference’s six-member presidential council. The day before the Mexican bishops’ statement, eight U.S. Catholic bishops from four border states issued a joint statement expressing concern about troop placement at the border. “This is not a war zone, but instead is comprised of many peaceful and law-abiding communities that are also generous in their response to human suffering,” the U.S. bishops stated. They stated they recognize the right of nations to control and secure their borders and to respect the rule of law but it also pointed out that current U.S. law allows those who arrive in this country fleeing persecution to “due process as their claims are reviewed.”

Pope appoints auxiliary bishop for Los Angeles

WASHINGTON — Pope Francis has named Msgr. Marc V. Trudeau as a new auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Aug. 6, 1991, Bishop-designate Trudeau, 60, is currently rector of St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, Calif., a post he has held since 2014. He joined the seminary’s faculty as vice rector and assistant director of pastoral formation in 2013. The appointment was announced in Washington April 5 by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. Two days earlier, the pope accepted the resignation of Bishop Thomas J. Curry, 75, as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

WORLD

Consistory to approve canonizations announced

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis will preside over a consistory to approve several canonizations, the Vatican announced. The May 19 consistory, which the Vatican announced April 11, will most likely confirm the canonization dates of Blesseds Paul VI and Oscar Romero. The meeting of cardinals and promoters of the sainthood causes, also known as an “ordinary public consistory,” formally ends the process of approving a new saint. While no date has been formally announced, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, has said that Blessed Paul’s canonization will take place at the end of the Synod of Bishops on youth and discernment, scheduled for Oct. 3-28. At a meeting March 6 with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, Pope Francis recognized a miracle attributed to Blessed Paul, who was born Giovanni Battista Montini and was pope from 1963 to 1978. The same day the pope, who has expressed his admiration for Blessed Romero on several occasions, also signed the decree recognizing a miracle needed to advance the slain archbishop’s sainthood cause.

Catholic priest in Congo shot dead; kidnapped priest released, unharmed

ARU, Congo — A Catholic priest was shot dead in Congo shortly after celebrating Mass. U.N. radio in Congo reported April 9 that Father Etienne Nsengiunva, a priest in Kitchanga, was shot at point-blank range April 8. Father Emmanuel Kapitula, vicar of the parish in Kitchanga, said an armed man entered the room where Father Nsengiunva was eating with parishioners. “An armed man entered his house, pointed a gun at him and shot several times, killing him instantly. Those who were sharing the meal … could not believe it,” said Father Kapitula. Father Kapitula has asked the government to protect the people. “We demand that investigations be done, that culprits be punished,” he added. The murder occurred three days after Father Celestin Ngango of St. Paul Karambi Parish, abducted on Easter, was found, unharmed, by villagers.

Sweden’s Lutherans to let Catholic parish hold Masses in Lund cathedral

LUND, Sweden — For the first time in 500 years, Lutherans in Sweden are welcoming Catholics to celebrate Masses in Lund cathedral. The historic cathedral, formerly the site of bitter religious feuding, has become a site of interfaith friendship since Pope Francis held a service there in 2016. The agreement to allow Catholic Masses to be celebrated in the cathedral was announced in early April to accommodate the growing parish of St. Thomas Aquinas in Lund, which will be undergoing building renovations. Catholic services will be held there beginning in October until the renovations are complete. “People are very excited,” said Dominican Father Johan Linden, pastor of St. Thomas Parish. “As I and my Lutheran counterparts have stressed, this is not merely a practical solution but a fruit of the Holy Father’s visit and the joint document ‘From Conflict to Communion.’”

— Catholic News Service

Nation and world briefs 18

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