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Dozens of Catholic members of Congress issued a statement on Friday, claiming that denial of Holy Communion to pro-abortion politicians is a “weaponization of the Eucharist.” The statement was released hours after U-S bishops voted at their spring meeting to draft a document on the Eucharist. In the statement, sixty House Democrats claimed their Catholic faith influences their actions in Congress, and that denial of Communion for their support of legal abortion would be “contradictory.”
Inmates of a Rome prison met with Pope Francis this morning at the Vatican, before making a visit to the Vatican Museums. The group of around 20 prisoners met Pope Francis shortly before 9 a.m. at his residence, the Vatican said. The men are inmates of a low-security prison, located in Rome’s east suburb. The prison caters to those with addictive disorders and includes a treatment center and program for inmates with substance dependence.
Pope Francis has declared venerable a Frenchman who is known as one of the key founding fathers of the European Union. Robert Schuman dedicated much of his life to unifying Europe, including seeking peace and reconciliation with Germany after the second World War.
In his Angelus message this Sunday, Pope Francis offered a reminder that the Lord wants us to seek his presence in the trials and storms of life. How often do we remain fixated on problems, rather than going to the Lord and casting our concerns upon him, the pope asked. He encouraged Catholics to pray for the grace of a faith that never tires of seeking the Lord.
Today is the feast of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. Aloysius was born into a noble Italian family. At 18 he signed away his legal claim to his title and his family's lands and entered the Jesuits. He died shortly thereafter of the plague at the age of 23, having devotedly cared for plague victims in Rome in the outbreak of 1591. He was canonized in 1726 and is the patron saint of youth, AIDS patients and AIDS caregivers.