Catholic News

• Pope Leo: God's commandments are not oppression, but liberation (CWN)
  Pope Leo XIV celebrated Sunday evening Mass at a Roman parish (video) and emphasized that God’s commandments are not a source of oppression, but rather a condition of liberation and flourishing.
• Pope calls for global, preventive approach to health care; decries bombing of hospitals (Dicastery for Communication)
  In an address to members of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Pope Leo XIV spoke about the importance of a global, preventive approach to health care. The academy’s 2026 plenary assembly is devoted to “Healthcare for all: Sustainability and Equity.” In his address, the Pope emphasized “the connection between the health of all and that of each individual,” as well as “the theme of prevention, which also involves a broad perspective, for the situations in which communities find themselves are the result of social and environmental policies, and have an impact on the health and life of the person.” “Sadly, today we are also faced with wars that impact civilian structures, including hospitals, which constitute the most grave attacks that human hands can make against life and public health,” he continued, adding: We need to rediscover the fundamental attitude of care as support and closeness to others, not only because someone is in need or is sick, but because they experience vulnerability, the vulnerability that is common to all human beings. Only in this way will we be able to develop more effective and sustainable healthcare systems, capable of satisfying every health need in a world of limited resources as well as restoring trust in medicine and healthcare professionals, notwithstanding any misinformation or skepticism regarding science.
• Promote public order and act with integrity, Pope tells Italy's prefects (Dicastery for Communication)
  In a February 16 audience, Pope Leo XIV encouraged Italy’s prefects to promote public order and act with integrity. “By overseeing social harmony, the Prefect contributes to safeguarding the indispensable prerequisite of the freedom and rights of citizens,” Pope Leo said during the audience, which took place in Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace. Public order, he added, “does not concern only the necessary fight against crime or the prevention of harmful riots; it also requires a tenacious commitment against those forms of violence, falsehood and vulgarity that hurt the social body.” The Pontiff also recalled the historic relations between the offices of prefect and bishop, including St. Ambrose’s service as a prefect before his episcopal consecration. Today, prefects serve as representatives of the national government in each Italian province.
• Pope visits Roman parish, meets with young, elderly, parish council (CWN)
  Pope Leo XIV conducted his first visit to a parish in the Diocese of Rome on the afternoon of February 15 and addressed young people, the elderly and persons with disabilities, and members of the parish’s pastoral council (video).
• Some laity may have charism of authority, Cardinal Ouellet writes in reflection on Roman Curia (CWN)
  In an article published by Vatican News, a former prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops offered a theological reflection on lay authority in the Roman Curia.
• Frequent the sacraments and be active in charity, Pope tells Misericordie movement (CWN)
  Pope Leo XIV encouraged members of the Misericordie movement to be rooted in Catholic spirituality and sacramental practice and to be active in charity.
• Pope confirms 30 members of Dicastery for Bishops (CWN)
  Pope Leo XIV confirmed 30 members of the Dicastery for Bishops on February 14 and appointed a 31st: Sister Simona Brambilla, M.C., the prefect of the Dicastery for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life.
• Cabo Verde PM discusses climate change with Pope, presses for resident nuncio (CWN)
  During a February 14 papal audience, Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva of Cabo Verde discussed the “political and humanitarian situation in West Africa and climate change,” Expresso das Ilhas, a newspaper based in the ten-island nation, reported. The Pontiff, in turn, “expressed solidarity with the small island state.”
• Philippine bishops call for 'digital media fasting' during Lent (Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines)
  In their Lenten statement, the bishops of the Philippines called for “digital media fasting” during the holy season. “By limiting digital consumption, we create time for prayer, reading Scriptures, Eucharistic devotion, works of mercy, and meaningful encounters with others,” said Archbishop Gilbert Garcera of Lipa, the president of the bishops’ conference. “Fasting redirects attention from self-centered habits to the loving service of others. It is not deprivation but transformation.”
• Humanitarian catastrophe looms in South Sudan; Cardinal Mulla, UN plead for reconciliation (CWN)
  The Vatican newspaper warned that over 825,000 children are at risk of malnutrition in South Sudan amid escalating violence, as a peace agreement that ended the South Sudanese Civil War unravels.
• 9 abducted Catholic children released in Nigeria (AFP)
  Nine children abducted from a Nigerian parish on February 8 have been freed. The abduction took place at St. John’s Catholic Church in Ojije, in Nigeria’s Benue State, during a prayer vigil. Benue’s governor announced the children’s release on February 14.
• Retired cardinal named administrator of Texas diocese (USCCB)
  Pope Leo XIV on February 14 accepted the resignation of Bishop Patrick Zurek, 77, from the office of bishop of Amarillo, for reasons of age. Rather than naming a successor, Pope Leo appointed Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, 76, as apostolic administrator of the Texas diocese until a successor is named. Cardinal DiNardo led the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston from 2006 to 2025.
• Vatican bank launches stock investment indexes (Institute for the Works of Religion)
  The Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), colloquially known as the Vatican bank, has launched two equity investment indexes in collaboration with the American financial firm Morningstar. The Morningstar IOR Eurozone Catholic Principles and the Morningstar IOR US Catholic Principles indexes are “built following market best practices and in accordance with Catholic ethical criteria, and are designed to serve as a reference for Catholic investments worldwide,” the IOR announced.
• Stop the slaughter, Nigerian bishops' conference pleads (Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos)
  Decrying the “relentless wave of killings and abductions that continue to plague our nation,” the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria issued a statement, “The Cry of the Innocent: Stop This Slaughterhouse.” “Silence in the face of such horror as we now have in Nigeria can hardly escape being labelled as complicit,” the administrative staff of the bishops’ conference said in its February 7 statement. “Every unaddressed attack, every unpunished crime, and every unfulfilled promise deepens the wound of mistrust between the people and those entrusted with their protection.”
• Vatican offers 'dialogue' with SSPX, warns against ordinations [News Analysis] (CWN)
  At a February 12 meeting with Father Davide Pagliarani, the superior general of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), Cardinal Victor Fernandez proposed a “theological dialogue” with the traditionalist group—but insisted that the SSPX must abandon its plan to proceed with the ordination of new bishops without a papal mandate.
• Pope Leo issues his 1st Lenten message, 'Listening and Fasting' (CWN)
  Pope Leo XIV has issued his first Lenten message, entitled “Listening and Fasting: Lent as a Time of Conversion.”
• SSPX reacts to meeting with DDF prefect, renews request to meet with Pope Leo (CWN)
  The Society of St. Pius X issued a statement following the February 12 meeting of its superior general, Father Davide Pagliarani, with Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF statement, English translation, CWN analysis).
• Pope Leo outlines his vision of the priests that the Church needs today (CWN)
  In a letter to the priests of the Archdiocese of Madrid. Pope Leo XIV outlined his vision of the “type of priests that Madrid—and the entire Church—needs at this time.”
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