Pope Francis Meets with Mayor of Lisbon, Portugal Ahead of World Youth Day

Pope Francis welcomed the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas.

The meeting took place three months before the start of World Youth Day in Portugal. It will be the Catholic Church’s first international, large-scale event since the pandemic, bringing together people from 120 countries.

The last World Youth Day was on January 27, 2019 in Panama. Since then, it has not been possible to organize the event due to pandemic restrictions.

World Youth Day will be held in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, from August 1 to 6. The motto chosen for the occasion is “Mary arose and departed without delay,” a quote referring to Mary’s visit to her cousin St. Elizabeth.

Catholic News Headlines for Friday 04/21/2023

We are once again awaiting a Supreme Court decision related to abortion.

It’s been four years since the Sri Lanka Easter Church bombings took place and the Catholic Church there is fighting to uncover the truth.

Thousands of objects that couldn’t fit in a new museum at the Colosseum Archaeological Park in Rome are now on display elsewhere.

What Happened to Pope Francis’ Blue Checkmark on Twitter?

Pope Francis’ Twitter account—that holds over 18 million followers—no longer has a blue checkmark next to his name. Now, it is grey.

The grey checkmark means the account represents an official government organization or active government leader.

The new checkmark is one of many changes made to Twitter since it was purchased by Elon Musk in 2022.

Twitter CEO, billionaire and tech mogul Elon Musk met with Pope Francis at Casa Santa Marta in 2022 with four of his seven children.

“Sri Lanka Will be Free When the Truth About the Easter Sunday Bombing is Known”

On April 21, 2019, a terrorist attack in Sri Lanka destroyed two Catholic churches and killed 250 people. Four years later, the local community is still searching for the truth.

Fr. Julian Perera, from the Archdiocese of Colombo, Sri Lanka, has spoken with the United Nations Human Rights Council. He claims the investigation into the attacks stalled after details of the terrorist group began to emerge. The 23 people investigating were also transferred to another case.

“Because what happened was it happened in 2019 in April. But in the month of November of 2019, the entire set of investigators, as far as I remember 23 of them, who were leading the investigation, who were going into the details of who was behind that,” Fr. Perera said. “What was the reason, what was happening within this group… All of them were transferred and removed.”

The Sri Lankan priest claims that the government is trying to make the case too complicated to solve. They arrested 25 people, but charged them with 23,000 crimes. He says that with so many charges, it will be difficult for the case to be solved.

“Can you imagine having a case with 23,000 charges against 25 people?” Fr. Perera said. “So you can see that it’s just a eyewash because it will take more than a lifetime to read these charges against them. So you can see that there is an attempt, a deliberate attempt to somehow cover the truth being exposed.”

Fr. Perera suggests that there are links between political groups and the terrorist attack four years ago. A climate of instability could electorally benefit the political parties with a reputation for being tough on the country’s enemies. But this has not stopped him and many others from trying to uncover the truth.

“We will somehow fight for justice and somehow also ultimately reveal the truth because our faith tells us as Jesus said: truth shall set you free,'” Fr. Perera said. “This country will be set free of all this political gameplay only when the truth of the Easter Sunday attack is revealed.”

While there is religious freedom in Sri Lanka, Fr. Perera argues that not all religions have freedom of speech. The Catholic Church has developed a good reputation in the country by fighting against injustice.

For example, the Church helped defend Jeevantha Peiris, who protested against the corruption of the government and Cardinal Ranjith, Bishop of Colombo, who called for a more democratic society.

“We have gained some credibility because we have been standing up and saying what is wrong is wrong,” Fr. Perera said. “For example, recently, there was a postponement of elections in Sri Lanka. So the religious leaders were not vocal enough. But the cardinal was out there, saying it out right, saying it straight out, saying that this is unacceptable. If you have the time for elections, have it. Why do you want to delay elections? Because you are going to lose it.”

Fr. Perera says the Church in Sri Lanka will continue to fight for answers and support justice for all.

As Title 42 Expiration Approaches, Mayor Adams Pleads for More Federal Assistance

Cities across the U.S., including New York, have seen migrants pouring in for months. They are now bracing themselves for even more newcomers.

With the COVID-19 pandemic in the rearview mirror, Title 42, which allows border officials to quickly expel migrants who cross illegally, is expected to expire on May 11th.

Some local officials are already requesting federal assistance before the migrant crisis gets worse.

New York Mayor Eric Adams is calling out Washington for failure to help New York City with the current migrant crisis.

“The national government has turned its back on New York City,” Adams said.

Mayor Adams is warning things will get worse.

“This is one of the largest humanitarian crises that this city has ever experienced,” Adams said. “It will impact every service in the city . Why isn’t every elected official in Washington DC asking the national government, ‘why are you doing this to New York?’”

Catholic News Headlines for Thursday 04/20/2023

New York City Mayor Eric Adams says the national government turned its back on NYC.

We have an update on the investigation into the parking garage collapse in lower Manhattan this week.

The abortion pill Mifepristone is still available as the Supreme Court considers a lower court ruling that would have imposed restrictions on the drug.

Father Grieves His 20-Year-Old Daughter Who Was Killed For Turning In Wrong Driveway

A father shares his pain and anguish after losing his daughter, all because she drove into the wrong driveway.

For the first time we’re hearing from Andrew Gillis, whose daughter Kaylin was killed in that tragic shooting.

“Kaylin’s two younger sisters Chloe and Maddie are going to have to grow up without their older sister,” Gillis said. “My wife Angel is going to have to go through the rest of her life without her baby girl.”

Gillis’ last words to his daughter were ”I love you.”

It’s one of several shootings that have taken place this week and Andrew wants something done about it.

Kevin Monahan, 65, is now facing a second degree murder charge, after firing the gun that killed Kaylin, authorities said.

Kaylin was with her boyfriend, Blake Walsh and two others, driving on a rural road in Washington County, New York, looking for a friend’s house last weekend, when they lost cell service, terminating their GPS service.

Walsh then pulled into Monahan’s driveway.

Monahan, who has a reputation in the area for being “confrontational and hot-tempered,” according to prosecutors, let off two shots, hitting Kaylin as the car was turning.

Vatican Sends Relic of True Cross to Britain’s King Charles

By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As Britain’s King Charles III walks into Westminster Abbey for his coronation, he will walk behind a processional cross containing a relic of Christ’s cross given to the king by Pope Francis.

“The fragments of the relic of the true cross were donated by the Holy See in early April, through the apostolic nunciature, to His Majesty King Charles III, supreme governor of the Church of England, as an ecumenical gesture on the occasion of the centenary of the Anglican Church in Wales,” Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office said April 20.

A Vatican official said the two fragments in the coronation cross came from a relic preserved in the Lipsanoteca Room of the Vatican Museums.

The fragments now are under glass in the center of the coronation cross, which is made of recycled silver bullion.

Anglican Archbishop Andrew John of Wales blessed the cross during a service April 19.

The Anglican Church in Wales, which refers to the cross as the Cross of Wales, said it is inscribed on the back with words, in Welsh, from the last sermon of St. David, a sixth-century bishop and patron saint of Wales: “Be joyful. Keep the faith. Do the little things.”

King Charles has given the cross to the Christians of Wales, and after the coronation it will be shared by the Anglican and Catholic churches there.

“With a sense of deep joy, we embrace this cross, kindly given by King Charles, and containing a relic of the true cross, generously gifted by the Holy See,” said Catholic Archbishop Mark O’Toole of Cardiff in a statement published on the Church in Wales website.

The cross “is not only a sign of the deep Christian roots of our nation but will, I am sure, encourage us all to model our lives on the love given by our savior, Jesus Christ,” Archbishop O’Toole said.

Chris Trott, the British ambassador to the Holy See, said on Twitter that “we are deeply moved and grateful to Pope Francis for this extraordinary gift.”

The gift of the relic, he said, reflects the strength of the relationship between the Holy See and Great Britain, a “relationship that developed over the course of the reign of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth, who met five popes!”

Msgr. Ervin Lengyel, secretary of the Vatican nunciature in London, tweeted: “In a significant ecumenical gesture, the Cross of Wales will incorporate a relic of the true cross, the personal gift of Pope Francis to His Majesty the King to mark the coronation.”

How This Mother’s Love Helps Her Son Endure a Rare Genetic Disorder

Anthony Filipazzo’s words have power – they represent hope for a community of people.

Anthony,11, has Williams Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder and his mother Camille Fortunato has been fighting for him since the moment he was born.

The way he lives today is a product of his mother’s love and sacrifice, not only for her son but generations to come.

“When you have a child who’s sick, that’s always something that’s in my mind, I go to bed with it at night and wake up with it every morning,” Fortunato said. “There’s not a second of the day that I don’t think it could be today.”

Williams Syndrome affects Anthony’s entire body.

Fortunato has dedicated herself to raising money for research that without her foundation, would never have been conducted.

“Shifting my efforts into Williams Syndrome research was a dream fueled by the fear of losing my child, that was it,” Fortunato said. “I was scared, really, really scared.”

Now she and her family are letting their faith carve out a path they’re hoping leads to a medical breakthrough.

Fortunato is a lifelong parishioner of St. Bernard’s Parish in Bergen Beach. She says her faith is what keeps her motivated but that wasn’t always the case.

“I’d say you could have done anything to me, why did you have to hurt him?” she said. “But part of how I’ve healed has been my way of coming to terms with maybe this is God’s plan. He knew we could take something that is really painful and personal and make good on it.”

Catholic News Headlines for Wednesday 04/19/2023

A woman whose son is battling Williams Syndrome is leaning on her faith while raising money to research the disorder.

There seems to be tension between the White House and House Republicans on the debt ceiling.

The FBI is investigating a Lutheran church fire in Massachusetts to see if it was intentionally set.