We Are Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish

Vatican City, Jun 6, 2025 / 11:53 am (CNA).

The Vatican’s foreign minister is in Havana this week, where he met with local Catholics and political authorities during a visit marking 90 years of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the Holy See.

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for relations with states, spoke Thursday at the Palacio de la Revolución, the house of the Cuban government and the office of the first secretary of the Cuban Communist Party, after meetings with President Miguel Díaz-Canel and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, earlier in the day. He also met Foreign Minister Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla on June 4.

According to a post on X by the Secretariat of State, Gallagher’s presentation at the conference June 6 was on the diplomacy of the Holy See, “animated by evangelical values in the promotion of peace and human dignity, as an expression of the very catholicity of the Church.”

Cuba and the Holy See established diplomatic relations on June 7, 1935. Despite the 1959 Cuban Revolution, when Prime Minister Fidel Castro embraced Marxism-Leninism and imposed state atheism, diplomatic ties between the two states have never been broken.

According to the Vatican, 60% of Cuba’s population of over 11.2 million people is Catholic. There are over 300 parishes and more than 2,000 pastoral centers across three archdioceses and 11 dioceses.

On June 4, Gallagher met the bishops of Cuba, of which there are around 15 resident in the country, and celebrated Mass in Havana’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.

In his homily, according to Vatican News, the archbishop emphasized the valuable role the Catholic Church plays in Cuban society, saying “truth makes peaceful relations and constructive dialogue possible.”

He also indicated that peace, justice, and truth are principles that guide both the pastoral action and the diplomatic work of the Holy See, and noted that these principles can serve as a basis for cooperation with state institutions.

“The Church perpetuates this mission of caring for the flock that the Spirit has entrusted to her,” he said. Gallagher also mentioned that the Holy Father’s presence in the life of the Church in Cuba has been manifested not only through the apostolic nuncios but also through the visits of Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis.

Bringing the greeting of Pope Leo XIV to the Church in Cuba, the archbishop called on Mary, that she “who infused the radiance of heavenly light into Cuban souls, [may] turn tears into smiles, and may she return peace to those who are sad, so that the power of charity may live on among us.”

“The pope invites us to the ‘Hour of Love,’ where charity — not as alms but as love that gives life — must prevail. It is a pillar, along with peace, justice, and truth, of our action in society. Therefore, the Holy See reiterates its collaboration with Cuba for the common good,” Gallagher said, according to the website of the Cuban bishops’ conference.

Bringing the message of the Holy Father, the diplomat added: “Pope Leo XIV asked me to assure you that bishops, priests, seminarians, religious sisters, and all Cubans have ‘a little corner in his heart.’ He prays that, united with the successor of Peter, we may live our faith with a missionary spirit and achieve the peace that Christ left us.”

The Vatican’s secretary for relations with states also referred in his homily to the role of religious figures linked to Cuba’s spiritual history, such as Blesseds Olallo Valdés and José López Piteira, and Venerable Félix Varela, whom he described as “a great propagator of love among Cubans and among all people.”

According to the Cuban bishops’ conference, the Mass was attended by members of the Communist Party of Cuba, including Vice President Salvador Valdés Mesa and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla.

Representatives of the Orthodox Church and other Christian denominations also participated, according to official Cuban newspaper Granma.

On the last day of his June 4–6 trip, Gallagher was also scheduled to visit the nursing home Hogar de Ancianos San Francisco de Paula.

Victoria Cardiel of CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, ACI Prensa, contributed to this report.

CNA Staff, Jun 6, 2025 / 10:31 am (CNA).

Catholic bishops from Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C., released a pastoral letter this week addressing the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and the Church’s response to the numerous challenges and opportunities the technology presents. 

Signed by Baltimore Archbishop William Lori, Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, Wilmington Bishop William Koenig, and Maryland’s four auxiliary bishops, the letter, titled “The Face of Christ in a Digital Age,” urges Christians to discern “how to speak and live the Gospel amid the new language and powers emerging through artificial intelligence.”

Released ahead of the solemnity of Pentecost, the bishops write that Christians should not fear the rapid development of technology, which “is not foreign to the Spirit’s work, for God’s Spirit moves through history, culture, and human creativity.”

However, the bishops write: “Will we allow technology to form us in its image — or will we shape it according to the Gospel?”

The Catholic Church “must be a prophetic voice, calling the world to place the human person, made in the image of God, at the heart of this transformation,” the letter states.

“No matter how advanced machines become, they can never replicate the soul, the conscience, or the eternal destiny that belongs to each human being,” the bishops argue in the letter.

The letter highlights AI’s potential benefits to humanity in the realms of health care, education, evangelization, and humanitarian efforts while warning of its risks, including job displacement and the use of lethal autonomous weapons, as well as the manipulation of truth. 

In order to teach discernment in an era where digitally fabricated content blurs the line between truth and falsehood and reality and fantasy, the bishops strongly emphasize a focus on the development of virtue, especially regarding the formation of conscience. 

“It is essential that we form consciences capable of discernment — especially among young people — so that they may not be manipulated by algorithms but by truth and grace,” the prelates write. “Digital tools can inform, but they cannot form the heart.”

The bishops call for parishes and families to ground digital engagement and media literacy in Scripture and the sacramental life and admonish the faithful to cultivate real “empathy and authentic relationships.” 

Michael Hanby, a professor of religion and philosophy of science at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, told CNA that while the document “identifies some obvious dangers with AI as well as some good uses to which it can be put,” it does not go far enough.

“There are other dangers,” Hanby continued, “especially the reduction of human intelligence ordered to understanding the truth, to a ‘functional intelligence without thinking or understanding,’ that the letter doesn’t really address.”

“It is built into the logic of technology, and especially technologies as powerful as this, that there are dangers that we simply cannot foresee.  We have not yet fully comprehended this new kind of power,” Hanby said.

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Dicastery for Culture and Education addressed the same concerns as Hanby in a note issued in January titled “Antique et Nova: Note on the Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence.”

“The Christian tradition regards the gift of intelligence as an essential aspect of how humans are created ‘in the image of God’ (Gn 1:27),” the note stated, emphasizing that “one of the goals of this technology is to imitate the human intelligence that designed it.”

The dicastery acknowledged fears that AI could achieve a kind of superintelligence that “could one day eclipse the human person,” though some welcome this possibility.

“We do not know yet whether AI is simply a ‘tool’ that can be used or shaped according to the Gospel,” Hanby told CNA. “I wish the letter had emphasized more strongly the need for more philosophical thinking about this, and I wish it had taken a little more care to distinguish the movement of the Spirit, which is a mystery, from the history of technological progress. But then again, the letter presents an open-ended challenge, not the final word.”

Drawing parallels to other historical technological shifts like the invention of the printing press and the advent of the internet, the bishops in their letter encourage Catholics to approach AI with courage and hope, invoking the Holy Spirit to “renew the face of the earth” (Ps 104:30).

Vatican City, Jun 6, 2025 / 09:35 am (CNA).

A group of European bishops have turned to Pope Leo XIV and the Holy See for help as the Court of Justice of the European Union reviews a Belgian court case about the cancellation of names from baptismal records.

In a May 23 audience at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV “told us that he considers the issue very important. He mentioned it right from the start. He said, ‘I really want to hear your opinion,’” Alessandro Calcagno, a lawyer and assistant general secretary of the European Union bishops’ conference (COMECE), told ACI Stampa, CNA’s Italian-language news partner.

The Court of Justice of the European Union is currently hearing a case brought by the Brussels Court of Appeal, which asked for clarification about whether the Catholic Church’s refusal to erase names from baptismal records when requested is in violation of Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation.

That rule has regulated the processing of personal data within the European Union since May 2018. The ruling of the European court is expected at the end of 2026 or in 2027.

Calcagno told ACI Stampa that when a baptized Catholic would ask to be removed from a register, usually a note was written in the margin of the document stating “formal apostasy from the faith.” The record that baptism had taken place would remain as a historical fact. 

But at the end of 2023, in the Diocese of Ghent in Belgium, someone asked for all of their data to be completely removed from the register, which was opposed by the diocese.

There were already some similar cases in Europe in 1995, Calcagno said, but all with national court rulings favorable to the Church.

Now, he said, is “the first time that there have been small attempts to undermine this positive tendency. Because until now, case law stated that the judgment was [to add a] notation, but suddenly the idea of the cancellation [of data] has arrived.”

The question of how this can be resolved is open and the subject of a legal tug-of-war between authorities and the Church. 

“In both Belgium and the Netherlands, there is an attempt by secular civil courts to interpret canon law to argue in favor of cancellation,” Calcagno noted. “This is a great danger because if you start to enter into a law that is not your own, you start to manipulate [that law].”

COMECE is working with the Holy See to defend the Church’s position on the issue of baptismal records.

The role of COMECE has been to “bring together reflections and legal arguments when certain cases arise at the European Union level,” Calcagno said, and to hold meetings with various jurists from the national bishops’ conferences.

“We gathered many arguments that were then used,” he said. “Several member states intervened in the procedure, and there was also work done by the churches at the local level. In addition, there was strong collaboration with the Holy See, and a note was published on April 17, 2025, specifically on cancellations from baptismal registers, and we worked very intensively with the Holy See on this.”

The note from the Dicastery for Legislative Texts affirmed that “canon law does not allow the modification or cancellation of registrations made in the baptismal register, except to correct possible transcription errors. The purpose of this register is to provide certainty regarding certain acts, making it possible to verify their actual existence.”

The issue has been monitored for years, and solutions that the European Court will accept are being sought. But it should be clarified, according to Calcagno, that “the court is merely drafting a response to questions it has received from a national court. It is not an initiative against the Church by the European Union. It is a response to clarifications requested at the national level.”

The answer will take a few years, he explained, because “there has to be a public hearing, then there is an advocate general who gives guidance, called conclusions, and then the ruling comes.” 

According to a 2023 annual report, 1,270 Catholics in Belgium requested their names be removed from the baptismal register, due largely to profound fallout and public outrage over the handling of sexual abuse scandals.

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 6, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Here’s a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:

Petition to Pope Leo XIV to remove German cardinal gains over 60K signatures 

A petition launched by a Munich priest to Pope Leo XIV calling for the dismissal of Cologne, Germany, archbishop Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki has gained 60,130 signatures, CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, reported on Wednesday. 

The German-language petition accuses Woelki of moral corruption and argues that he has lost all credibility in the public sphere and the Church at large after investigations of the cardinal were discontinued after the payment of a 26,000-euro (about $29,700) fine. The petition cites the cardinal’s alleged failure to deal with sexual abuse by Church officials as legal basis for dismissal under canon law. 

Attempted suicide bombers killed outside Ugandan Martyrs’ Day memorial event

Ugandan Bishop Christopher Kakooza of the Lugazi Diocese urged pilgrims participating in Martyrs’ Day celebrations on Tuesday to carry on the legacy of the Ugandan martyrs as local authorities intercepted and killed two alleged terrorists, including a female suicide bomber, outside the event.

During his homily at the event, the bishop encouraged the congregation to “endure just like the martyrs who suffered with hope for what was to come.” 

A local news outlet reported that a counterterrorism unit “intercepted and neutralized” a man and a female suicide bomber on a motorbike headed toward the commemorative event after an explosive detonated about midway to the church. 

Kenyan bishop appeals for unity among warring communities after priest’s murder

Bishop Dominic Kimengich of the Kenyan Diocese of Eldoret is urging warring factions in the bandit-infested Kerio Valley to end violence and division following the murder of a local priest, Father Allois Cheruiyot Bett, reported ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, on Tuesday. 

In a heartfelt plea on the sidelines of the requiem Mass for the priest on Monday, June 2, the bishop appealed for an end to the long decades of violence and division in the territiry. “We speak the same language … So, what are these? Where is the problem?” he said, adding: “Can we not sit down and be serious once and for all?”

Cheruiyot Bett was fatally shot by assailants while returning from Mass at his parish on May 22. 

Patriarch Younan meets Pope Leo XIV, calls for support of Middle East Christians

In their first official meeting, Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican to discuss the plight of Christians in the Middle East, ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, reported.

Younan shared concerns over emigration, the loss of youth, and the need for continued spiritual and humanitarian support. He highlighted his church’s efforts in pastoral care both in the East and in diaspora communities while calling for deeper ecumenical cooperation, especially with the Syriac Orthodox Church. 

Monastic order appeals for return of seized lands in Mosul

The Antonine Hermizdian Chaldean Order is appealing to Iraqi authorities to return more than 1,400 dunams (346 acres) of land that it claims were unjustly confiscated during Saddam Hussein’s regime, ACI MENA reported. The call comes after a recent government initiative reallocated part of that land for a housing project for Christian returnees — without acknowledging its original monastic ownership. 

The order, led by Abbot Samer Sourisho, says it is willing to donate hundreds of plots of land to Christian families if the full land is restored. Despite multiple legal attempts since 2003 — including a rejected lawsuit in 2012 — the monastic order says the Iraqi state continues to ignore historical land claims. 

Sourisho criticized the local government for “generously giving away what it does not own” and described the situation as emblematic of how past injustices are being entrenched instead of corrected. 

The monks called on the state to recognize their rightful ownership and support the return of displaced Christians by empowering religious institutions, not sidelining them.

Over 10,000 Vietnamese Catholics participate in Marian jubilee pilgrimage 

Over 10,000 Vietnamese Catholics from across the Da Nang Diocese took part in a jubilee pilgrimage to the Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Tra Kieu, according to Agenzia Fides. 

The pilgrimage took place on the solemnity of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, May 31. Archbishop Joseph Dang Duc presided over Mass, which was concelebrated by hundreds of priests. The archbishop described the event as one “of love, faith, commitment, and service, an opportunity to profess one’s faith in the face of the challenges of the present time.”

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 6, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

This month the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is hosting two pilgrimages to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of the canonization of the first American-born saint. 

The Footsteps of Mother Seton pilgrimage and the Camino of Maryland will both offer a chance for the faithful to walk together in prayer and travel through some of the same places that Seton did more than 200 years ago.

“As the late Pope Francis once said, ‘Making a pilgrimage to the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is one of the most eloquent expressions of the faith of God’s people,’” the executive director at the shrine, Rob Judge, said in a press release.

“We see every day how our sacred and historical spaces at the shrine enable pilgrims to encounter Our Lord, grow in their faith, and receive answers to their prayers,” Judge said. 

Footsteps of Mother Seton

Footsteps of Mother Seton is a four-day pilgrimage organized by the shrine that will guide pilgrims along the same path Seton took from Baltimore to Emmitsburg, where she founded the first community of religious sisters in the U.S., the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph. 

The pilgrimage will begin on June 19 with a Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption in Baltimore and then proceed on the 61-mile trek to the shrine in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

The shrine was “inspired” to do the pilgrimage “because even before the jubilee was announced, we knew it was going to be the 50th anniversary of Mother Seton’s canonization,” Becca Corbell, associate director of programs for the shrine, told CNA.

“It’s totally God’s timing because we’re in a jubilee year,” Corbell said. 

Throughout the journey, pilgrims will stop at three jubilee sites and four parishes to pray with parishioners and to share and reflect on Mother Seton. Along the way, participants will have the opportunity to attend Eucharistic processions, Holy Hours, adoration under the stars, Mass, and community meals.

“We wanted to do things that help people encounter God the way Elizabeth Ann Seton did, and we thought this might be a good fit. The parishes along the way have been super supportive and [are] excited to partner with us. They’re just as big of a part of it as we are,” Corbell said. 

There are expected to be 12-15 pilgrims who will walk the full four days, but the pilgrimage is accessible for those who want to join for only parts of the travels or just the evening events. 

“We wanted to structure it in such a way that even people that can’t walk long distances are still pilgrims. We didn’t want there to be any barrier to entry with that type of spirituality program.”

“It’s more to us about the spirituality of pilgrimage. That [is] something a lot of people don’t know about Elizabeth Ann Seton, she really was focused on ‘this world is not our home, eternity is.’”

“That’s why she made the decision to convert to Catholicism,” Corbell said, because “eternity was “a real guiding light for her.”

The Camino of Maryland 

The Camino of Maryland hosted by the Avalon School in Wheaton, Maryland; the Brookewood School in Kensington, Maryland; and the shrine is also taking place this month. The two-week-long pilgrimage begins June 9 at Point Lookout in southern Maryland and will end at the shrine. 

The Camino of Maryland journey will cover 218 miles as pilgrims travel through multiple landscapes in Maryland and the nation’s capital. They will have access to daily Mass, confession, and time for the rosary. They will stop at seven jubilee sites throughout the route.

The camino’s “mission is to not only provide a unique experience of physical and spiritual growth but to also foster an environment of friendship, understanding, and appreciation of the beauty that surrounds us,” the pilgrimage’s website indicated. 

The camino will also end on June 22, the feast of Corpus Christi, which Corbell shared was unintentional but rather “God’s timing.” The two pilgrimages will come together and end with a solemn Eucharistic procession together on the historic shrine grounds.  

If people wish to participate, but are not local to either pilgrimage, the shrine’s website is accepting prayer intention submissions and the pilgrims will “carry those and pray for them every day,” Corbell said.

At the heart of the meeting at the Secretariat of State was the proposal to establish a global fund to eliminate world hunger and promote the development of the poorest countries, as well as the international situation, including the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.

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Vatican City, Jun 6, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

When will Carlo Acutis be canonized? That is the question Catholics are asking after the ceremony scheduled for April 27 was postponed due to the death of Pope Francis.

The young millennial, who suffered from leukemia and whose astonishing life and love for the Catholic Church sparked worldwide interest, died on Oct. 12, 2006, and was buried in Assisi, according to his wishes, due to his admiration for St. Francis.

Acutis was declared venerable in 2018 and blessed on Oct. 10, 2020. On May 23, 2024, Pope Francis paved the way for the youth to be elevated to sainthood after approving a second miracle attributed to his intercession.

The scientifically inexplicable event that allegedly occurred with Acutis’ intervention concerned a 21-year-old Costa Rican woman, Valeria Valverde, who miraculously survived a serious bicycle accident that left her on the verge of death with a severe head injury.

Last July, Pope Francis convened an ordinary public consistory to confirm several causes for canonization. This ceremony determined the final step of the canonization process through a vote. In addition to Acutis, the canonizations of Blesseds Giuseppe Allamano, Marie-Léonie Paradis, and Elena Guerra were also approved.

However, although the consistory approved Acutis’ canonization, the pontiff did not determine the exact date on which he would be proclaimed a saint.

The long-awaited announcement came a few months later, last November, when Pope Francis indicated at the end of a general audience that the young man known as “God’s influencer“ would be elevated to the altars on April 27, 2025, coinciding with the Jubilee of Teenagers.

The news was received with great enthusiasm by the faithful — and especially by teenagers from around the world, tens of thousands of whom made plans to travel to Rome to be part of this historic event. However, the ceremony had to be postponed following Pope Francis’ death on April 21.

Now, following the path forged by Francis, Pope Leo XIV has convened his first consistory for June 13 to confirm the canonization of eight blesseds whose processes were initiated by his predecessor. However, Acutis’ name is not included on the official list of blesseds.

The date is not voted on: The pope announces it

Asked about the reasons why Acutis is not among these names, Monsignor Alberto Royo, promoter of the faith at the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, explained to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that “his canonization was approved in the last consistory [on July 1, 2024], so he is no longer included in this one.”

In this regard, he clarified that the canonization date “is not something that is approved in the consistory, but rather the pope normally announces it on that occasion, although not necessarily,” he added.

“In the case of Carlo Acutis, the pope did not announce the date at the consistory, and it was announced later by the Secretariat of State,” he continued.

Therefore, Royo pointed out that at the next consistory on June 13, “it could happen that the pope takes the opportunity to announce the new date of the canonization, but it could also happen that he doesn’t announce it and that it will be the Secretariat of State that does.”

Regarding Pier Giorgio Frassati, the young “mountaineer” whose canonization will be celebrated on Aug. 3, Royo recalled that Pope Francis “directly announced his canonization before the consistory had even been held,” which is why his name appears on the June 13 list.

The Vatican official referred to this gesture as one of Pope Francis’ “spontaneous actions” that “preempted the consistory process, as also happened with José Gregorio Hernández,” the first Venezuelan saint. “After all, he had the authority to do it,” he emphasized.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached a critical point, with food aid becoming a tool of political strategy rather than relief. The failure of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a joint Israeli-American initiative, highlights the collapse of efforts to secure a ceasefire and exposes deeper tensions over control, legitimacy, and the future governance of the Strip.

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In a conversation with Vatican Media, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expresses his opinion that a truce for Gaza is not sufficient and that there is no viable path to coexistence other than a two-state solution.

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In Chiclayo, northern Peru, five charity projects promoted by the former local bishop, Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, have been given new life.

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