US Vatican ambassador: World is looking to Pope Francis to help end Ukraine war
The first time new U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Joseph Donnelly ever stepped foot inside of St. Peter's Basilica was just hours after he arrived in Rome on March 16, when he attended a prayer service for peace with diplomats from around the world, including Ukraine and Russia.
Laying eyes on Michelangelo's Pietà, he said the "agony on the Blessed Mother's face was so real," especially in light of the raging war. The war in Ukraine has quickly become President Joe Biden's most pressing international priority, and as Biden's representative to the Vatican, Donnelly believes the United States has a critical partner here in helping bring about peace.
"I know that the rest of the world, when they hope for one person to solve this problem, they look at the pope," Donnelly told NCR on May 16, in his first interview with a U.S. news agency since his arrival in Rome.
"The United States will do anything humanly possible to partner with the Vatican or anyone else to see a peaceful conclusion to Ukraine," he said.
Read the article by Vatican correspondent Chris White.
More background:
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Donnelly officially began his duties as U.S. Vatican Ambassador on April 11, presenting his letters of credential to Pope Francis.
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A few weeks ago, Pope Francis said he asked to meet with President Putin in Moscow.
Buffalo makes it clear: racism and gun violence are a Christian problem
NCR columnist Franciscan Fr. Dan Horan learned of the mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo on May 14 just as he was boarding a plane to the city, in order to take part in the annual commencement ceremonies at St. Bonaventure University. He says the shooting makes it clear that both racism and gun violence are twin pandemics facing the country, and ones that Christians must respond to.
"You cannot claim to be a legitimate Christian and espouse white supremacist ideology, deny the reality of racism, embrace white nationalism or conspiratorial narratives, or support the proliferation of assault weapons and other weapons of mass destruction," writes Horan.
"Pretending that the body politic or the Body of Christ is not infected with these destructive viruses will not make them go away," he says.
Read more of Fr. Dan Horan's column here.
More background:
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U.S. bishops expressed sorrow and condemned the racially motivated shooting in Buffalo.
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The history of white evangelical racism also implicates Catholics, scholar Anthea Butler said in a November NCR interview.
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Three-quarters of Black Catholics say fighting racism is 'essential' to their faith, according to a Pew Research Center survey released in March.
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Over at EarthBeat, Brazil's bishops raise their voices against mining on Indigenous land.
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ICYMI: The Vatican's foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, is heading to Kyiv this week as the Holy See seeks to balance its concern for Ukrainians with its efforts to dialogue with Moscow.
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ICYMI: Global Sisters Report has a special series this week on women religious who are ministering at the U.S.-Mexico border. Most recently, they featured a Q&A with Sr. Judy Bourg of the School Sisters of Notre Dame.
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