NEW: Pope Leo XIV has named Salvadoran immigrant Evelio Menijar-Ayala to be West Virginia’s lone Catholic bishop.
As a teenager, he made three attempts to enter the United States illegally.
He finally arrived in California in 1990, having been smuggled in the trunk of a car with his brother over the border crossing between Tijuana and San Diego.
Over the next several years, Menjivar-Ayala worked janitorial and construction jobs in California before deciding to become a priest.
It’s a remarkable choice in a state that is over 90% white and voted for President Trump by 42 points.
@TheCatholicEngr The irony of calling yourself a devout Catholic in your bio yet if you just read the first couple pages of St Francis de Sales’ Introduction to the Devout life, you would learn you have a lot of work to do to earn that title
I offer my support to those who advocate for the abolition of the death penalty in the United States of America and around the world. I pray that your efforts will lead to a greater acknowledgement of the dignity of every person, and will inspire others to work for the same just cause.
https://t.co/0PBPY2Gl83
The Catholic Church has consistently taught that each human life, from the moment of conception until natural death, is sacred and deserves to be protected. Indeed, the right to life is the very foundation of every other human right. For this reason, only when a society safeguards the sanctity of human life will it flourish and prosper.
God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs. Military action will not create space for freedom or times of #Peace, which comes only from the patient promotion of coexistence and dialogue among peoples.
This is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood” (Is 1:15).
BREAKING: The Israeli police prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, together with the Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Francesco Ielpo, the official Guardian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass.
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem issued a statement condemning the Israeli police’s actions, calling it a grave precedent and a disregard for the sensibilities of billions of Christians around the world.
For the first time in centuries, the Heads of the Church were prevented from celebrating the Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
The statement added that preventing the entry of the Cardinal and the Custos—who bear the highest ecclesiastical responsibility for the Catholic Church and the Holy Places—constitutes a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure.
Honest question for @BishopBarron : Do Gaza and the West Bank have a right to exist? How about Iran?
Is Israel the only nation with this special protected status?
Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of immense proportions, I make a heartfelt appeal to all the parties involved to assume the moral responsibility of halting the spiral of violence before it becomes an unbridgeable chasm. May diplomacy regain its proper role, and may the well-being of peoples, who yearn for peaceful existence founded on justice, be upheld. And let us continue to pray for peace.
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops files a SCOTUS amicus against Trump's bid to end birthright citizenship
They call Trump's order "immoral" and urge the justices to "protect God-given human dignity" by finding it unconstitutional 👀
Pope Leo XIV said health is “not a consumer good, but a universal right.” He urged leaders to prioritize what is “best for everyone” vs. quick profits and resources for weapons.
🎥 (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Pope Leo XIV in a very practical Lenten Message to all Christians says:
“I would like to invite you to a very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that offend and hurt our neighbor. Let us begin by disarming our language, avoiding harsh words and rash judgement, refraining from slander and speaking ill of those who are not present and cannot defend themselves. Instead, let us strive to measure our words and cultivate kindness and respect in our families, among our friends, at work, on social media, in political debates, in the media and in Christian communities. In this way, words of hatred will give way to words of hope and peace.”
Full text here: https://t.co/GTHINqW7wR
War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading. The principle established after the Second World War, which prohibited nations from using force to violate the borders of others, has been completely undermined. #Peace is no longer sought as a gift and a desirable good in itself. Instead, peace is sought through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominion. This gravely threatens the rule of law, which is the foundation of all peaceful civil coexistence.
https://t.co/LZ9hxddaS1
@ProLifeIVF@conservmillen The only trap I’m victim to is the trap of mercy which our Lord commands. Also how are you going to try and say you’re being faithful to Christian ethics when you advocate for IVF 😭
@litrallyhitlr@conservmillen Well I’m Catholic so that’s where I was getting it (the only true church so only her opinions matter) and yeah killing a murderer is just as wrong as killing the unborn because each has infinite human dignity. That means they have a right to life no matter what they done