Pope Francis meets with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill in Havana, Cuba. on Feb. 12, 2016. / Vatican Media.Vatican City, Mar 12, 2023 / 06:00 am (CNA).In his public diplomatic efforts in the war in Ukraine, Pope Francis has repeatedly said that he is ready to go to Kyiv, but only if that trip can be combined with a trip to Moscow. This is the latest demonstration of the pope s strong preference in diplomatic matters: He does not want to take sides but rather engage in conversation with all the interlocutors, even if this willingness to dialogue at all costs risks being misinterpreted.Throughout the 10 years of his pontificate, Pope Francis has abandoned the traditional diplomatic prudence of the Holy See, opting instead for a pragmatic approach of direct dialogue. The foundation of this approach can be seen in his first apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium ("The Joy of the Gospel"), which is in some ways the ideological basis of the pontificate. As he calls for Christia
Janada Marcus with Pope Francis at the general audience on March 8, 2023. / Credit: Vatican MediaRome Newsroom, Mar 8, 2023 / 11:45 am (CNA).Pope Francis met Wednesday with two young Nigerian girls who suffered horrendous violence at the hands of the Boko Haram terrorist group.Sixteen-year-old Maryamu Joseph, who escaped from the Boko Haram in July after being held against her will for nine years, greeted the pope with Janada Marcus, also a victim of Boko Haram kidnapping, at the end of his general audience on March 8.Both girls saw members of their families murdered by the Boko Haram. Marcus father was beheaded by a machete in front of her in 2018. Joseph saw her brother killed and cut into pieces in 2019."Right before my eyes, they took one of my siblings and killed him. They cut off his head, then his hands, legs, and stomach," she said in a report published by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).The pontifical charity arranged for the girls to meet the pope on International
null / OpenRangeStock/ShutterstockSt. Louis, Mo., Mar 8, 2023 / 13:45 pm (CNA).Oklahomans on Tuesday night overwhelmingly voted down a measure that would have legalized recreational marijuana, which the Catholic bishops of the state had urged voters to reject because of the physical and spiritual harms of drug use.State Question 820, which would have legalized the consumption of marijuana for adults 21 and over, was put before Oklahoma voters in a special election March 7. The final tally was 62% no to 38.3% yes, with a turnout of about 25% of registered voters, the Associated Press reported.The vote continues a recent trend of conservative-led states rejecting marijuana ballot measures, despite analyst predictions that marijuana legalization has, for the past decade or so, largely been a winning issue no matter what state it is introduced in. At the midterm elections in November 2022, voters in Arkansas, North Dakota, and South Dakota rejected measures put before them to legal.
More than 100,000 people attended the papal Mass in Juba, according to local authorities. / Elias Turk/EWTNWashington D.C., Mar 8, 2023 / 12:15 pm (CNA).On March 3 the Vatican newspaper L Osservatore Romano reported the latest statistics about the global Catholic Church.The Vatican s reporting is based on data gathered at the end of 2021.Here are the most important takeaways for you to know about the state of the Catholic Church today.The total number of Catholics has increased.The total number of Catholics across the world reached 1.378 billion, increasing 1.3% from the previous year. Though notably, this increase does not match the world s total population increase of 1.6%.The total number of priests continues to decrease.The number of diocesan and religious order priests declined globally by 0.57% to 407,872. Religious order priests saw a larger decrease of 1.1%, while diocesan priests decreased by 0.32%.The number of seminarians also continues its steady decline.According t.
Fr. Marko Ivan Rupnik, S.J., with the official image of the 10th World Meeting of Families in Rome. / Screenshot from Diocesi di Roma YouTube channel.Vatican City, Mar 7, 2023 / 11:12 am (CNA).Father Marko Rupnik concelebrated Mass at a basilica in Rome on Sunday despite restrictions prohibiting "any public ministerial and sacramental activity."The Jesuit priest and artist who has been accused of sexually and psychologically abusing consecrated women stood at the altar of the Basilica of Santa Prassede, a historic church popular with pilgrims located near the Basilica of St. Mary Major, at the 9 a.m. Sunday Mass on March 5, according to the Italian newspaper Domani.When asked about the Mass, Rupnik s superior, Jesuit Father Johan Verscheuren, said that Rupnik is only allowed "to concelebrate Masses in the context of the Aletti Center, which is his inner circle, his community."In comments to ACI Prensa, CNA s Spanish-language sister news agency, Verscheuren said that