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