Bern, Switzerland. / Credit: SCStock/Shutterstock

CNA Deutsch, Jun 3, 2025 / 10:16 am (CNA).

Originally founded a century ago, the Swiss Catholic Women’s Federation was established to preserve Catholic life in families, communities, and the state.

Bern, Switzerland. / Credit: SCStock/Shutterstock

CNA Deutsch, Jun 3, 2025 / 10:16 am (CNA).

In a landmark decision, the Swiss Catholic Women’s Federation (SKF) — the largest denominational women’s organization in the country with 100,000 members — has voted to remove the word “Catholic” from its name. The group will now operate as the Women’s Federation Switzerland, accompanied by the tagline “Surprisingly Different Catholic.”

Originally founded a century ago, the organization was established to preserve Catholic life in families, communities, and the state. It was also established as an alternative to the predominantly Protestant Swiss Federation of Women’s Associations.

As reported by CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, the name change is driven by concerns regarding the public image of the term “Catholic.”

“As a Catholic umbrella organization, we consciously and repeatedly adopt positions different from those of the official Church,” Simone Curau-Aepli, the federation’s president, said of the change.

One concrete example of this is the SKF’s stance on homosexuality. Since 2001, the SKF board has advocated opening civil and ecclesiastical marriages to same-sex couples.

Manuela Winteler, head of the Bazenheid Women’s Community, maintained that “to save the ‘catholic’ in its original sense and the goals and values of the federation,” the word “Catholic” must disappear from the name.

She referred to the etymological meaning of “catholic,” which comes from Greek and means “all-embracing, total, universal.” This, she explained, signifies that the Church was “sent to all people,” not just to “members of the Roman Catholic denomination.”

The reasoning behind the name change drew criticism from Catholic organizations. Both the Cooperation Council of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference (SBK) and the Roman Catholic Central Conference (RKZ) expressed regret about the requested name change. It remains to be seen whether the move will also have financial consequences. The SBK receives around 7% of its funding from the RKZ.

The move by the SKF raises questions about whether similar decisions to “rebrand” will be made by Catholic women’s organizations in neighboring Germany and Austria. However, an analysis of current discussions suggests that the major Catholic women’s associations in both countries intend to maintain their religious name despite undergoing reflection processes.

German associations currently reject name change

The two largest Catholic womens’ organizations in Germany have ruled out renaming themselves in the manner of the Swiss. With approximately 265,000 members, the Catholic Women’s Community of Germany (Katholische Frauengemeinschaft Deutschlands, KFD) and with about 145,000 members, the Catholic German Women’s League (Katholischer Deutscher Frauenbund, KDFB), currently see no reason to remove “Catholic” from their names.

Agnes Wuckelt, deputy federal chairwoman of the KFD, stated that removing the “K” from the association’s name is not an issue at the federal level. Despite similar experiences to the SKF, the KFD is “proactively addressing” this by advocating strongly for women’s issues within the Catholic Church, she said.

The KDFB, however, described the name change of the Swiss women as an “understandable strategic decision,” without announcing any plans to rename their organization.

Instead, both associations instead are focusing on redefining what “Catholic” should mean in their context.

The KFD has expressed this intention for several years with the concept of “differently Catholic.” Birgit Kainz, KDFB regional chairwoman, explained: “We in the KDFB call ourselves ‘Catholic’ but understand ourselves not just as a Roman Catholic but as a Christian association.”

Austrian situation remains unchanged

With around 170,000 members, the Catholic Women’s Movement of Austria (Katholische Frauenbewegung Österreichs, KFB) has not yet made any efforts to change its confessional designation. Unlike the German associations, there are no documented public discussions about a possible name change. 

The Austrian KFB is organized as a lay Church organization within the framework of Catholic Action, making it structurally more closely tied to Church hierarchies than its German sister organizations. This organizational integration may explain why discussions about abandoning “Catholic” in the name have not yet taken place publicly.

For Claretian Fathers Mark Brummel and John Molyneux, both former editors-in-chief of U.S. Catholic, the enduring appeal of the magazine lies in people—the dedicated staff, faithful readers, and diverse writers who make this magazine feel like a living, breathing conversation among people of faith. Brummel, who served as editor-in-chief from 1972 to 2002, and Molyneux, […]

The post Past U.S. Catholic editors on the magazine’s enduring mission appeared first on U.S. Catholic.

Pope Leo XIV addresses 159 cyclists before they take a noncompetitive ride around Vatican City on the day of the last leg of the international Giro d’Italia multistage bicycle race on June 1, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News/Vatican Pool

Vatican City, Jun 3, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday blessed the cyclists of the Giro d’Italia before the last leg of the multistage international race, telling them they are all welcome in the Catholic Church.

Addressing the 159 cyclists in a square just inside Vatican City, the pope said in English: “May God bless all of you on this last part of the Giro d’Italia. Congratulations to all of you, and may you know that you are always welcome here in the Vatican, you are always welcomed by the Church, which represents God’s love for all people.”

In a short address in Italian, Leo praised cycling as an important sport, reminding the world-class athletes that they are models for many young people.

“And I hope that, just as you have learned to care for the body, the spirit too is always blessed, and that you are always attentive to the human being as a whole: body, mind, and spirit,” he added.

The professional race, which started in Albania on May 9, is among the top three most important international multistage races in the world, together with the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana. It includes 21 stages, mostly in Italy.

The last leg of the 108th edition of the race took place on June 1, starting from the Caracalla Baths, just south of the Coliseum, and proceeding toward the Vatican.

The 1.8-mile noncompetitive ride through the Vatican started from the Petriano Square, just south of St. Peter’s Basilica inside the city state, where Pope Leo XIV greeted the athletes at the starting line.  

The cyclists then followed the Vatican walls past the basilica to climb toward the Vatican Gardens and arrive at the heliport, the highest, westernmost point of the territory.

The racers then pedaled through a green space dotted with Marian images, including a replica of the Lourdes grotto and a mosaic of Our Lady of Good Counsel — a favorite devotion of Pope Leo. 

After descending toward the Vatican Museums and the “Square Garden,” the cyclists doubled back along the rear of St. Peter’s Basilica to exit out a side gate on the south side of Vatican City.

Pope Leo XIV addresses 159 cyclists before they take a noncompetitive ride around Vatican City on the day of the last leg of the international Giro d’Italia multistage bicycle race on June 1, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News/Vatican Pool

Vatican City, Jun 3, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday blessed the cyclists of the Giro d’Italia before the last leg of the multistage international race, telling them they are all welcome in the Catholic Church.

Addressing the 159 cyclists in a square just inside Vatican City, the pope said in English: “May God bless all of you on this last part of the Giro d’Italia. Congratulations to all of you, and may you know that you are always welcome here in the Vatican, you are always welcomed by the Church, which represents God’s love for all people.”

In a short address in Italian, Leo praised cycling as an important sport, reminding the world-class athletes that they are models for many young people.

“And I hope that, just as you have learned to care for the body, the spirit too is always blessed, and that you are always attentive to the human being as a whole: body, mind, and spirit,” he added.

The professional race, which started in Albania on May 9, is among the top three most important international multistage races in the world, together with the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana. It includes 21 stages, mostly in Italy.

The last leg of the 108th edition of the race took place on June 1, starting from the Caracalla Baths, just south of the Coliseum, and proceeding toward the Vatican.

The 1.8-mile noncompetitive ride through the Vatican started from the Petriano Square, just south of St. Peter’s Basilica inside the city state, where Pope Leo XIV greeted the athletes at the starting line.  

The cyclists then followed the Vatican walls past the basilica to climb toward the Vatican Gardens and arrive at the heliport, the highest, westernmost point of the territory.

The racers then pedaled through a green space dotted with Marian images, including a replica of the Lourdes grotto and a mosaic of Our Lady of Good Counsel — a favorite devotion of Pope Leo. 

After descending toward the Vatican Museums and the “Square Garden,” the cyclists doubled back along the rear of St. Peter’s Basilica to exit out a side gate on the south side of Vatican City.

Listen on: Apple | Spotify During a time when ICE raids tear families apart, current administration policies criminalize asylum seekers, and cruelty has become policy, how do people of faith respond? This is the question we ask in this episode of Just Politics. Our guest is Sister of St. Joseph Janet Kinney, the executive director […]

The post Sister Janet Kinney on the Catholic response to immigration justice appeared first on U.S. Catholic.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Blessed Iuliu Hossu, the Romanian Greek Catholic bishop of Cluj-Gherla, was named a cardinal "in pectore" -- secretly -- by St. Paul VI in 1969.

But the bishop was in a communist prison in Romania and never received his red hat.

Pope Leo XIV, along with representatives of the Romanian church and the country's Jewish community, paid tribute to the martyred bishop June 2 during an evening ceremony in the Sistine Chapel.

The bishop was arrested, imprisoned and denied his freedom for decades because he refused to join the Orthodox Church after the Greek Catholic Church was outlawed by the communist government.

But the ceremony in the Sistine Chapel also honored the bishop for what Pope Leo described as "his courage and heroism before the communist takeover of Romania," when he stood up for and saved thousands of Jews in Northern Transylvania between 1940 and 1944 as "the Nazis were carrying out their heinous plan of deporting them to extermination camps." 

"At enormous risk to himself and to the Greek Catholic Church, Blessed Hossu undertook extensive activities on behalf of the Jews aimed at preventing their deportation," the pope said. And in 1944, "he mobilized the Greek Catholic clergy and faithful through a pastoral letter" in which he called on them "to help the Jews not only with your thoughts, but also with your sacrifice, knowing that there is no act more noble to be carried out today than providing Christian and Romanian assistance, born of ardent human charity."

Silviu Vexler, president of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania and a member of the Romanian parliament, told the gathering, "The actions of Cardinal Iuliu Hossu are unimaginable and almost incomprehensible to almost all of us: during the Holocaust, the darkness of history, he placed himself, his community and his church in peril, without regard to the possibility of being destroyed in order to try and save people that were unknown to him."

"It is not his suffering that must define the image we hold of him, but the strength of his beliefs," Vexler said. "The strength, courage, dignity and power of the faith that Cardinal Hossu displayed in front of evil continue to be a symbol that guides me, now and for the future."

Thanking Pope Leo, Vexler told him, "At the beginning of your pontificate allow me to make the following wish, on behalf of the Jews and Jewish communities in Romania: May G-d give you the strength to bring hope to those without hope, to make those that cry smile, to bring peace to those without comfort, to bring love to those that hate and to bring faith to those that lost it." 

Pope Leo said Blessed Hossu is an example of how the spirit of the martyrs is "an unshakeable faith in God, devoid of hatred and coupled with a spirit of mercy that turns suffering into love for one's persecutor."

"Cardinal Hossu's message remains most timely," the pope said. "What he did for the Jews of Romania, and his efforts to protect his neighbor in spite of all risks and dangers, today make him a model of freedom, courage and generosity, even to the point of making the supreme sacrifice."

The pope prayed that the example of Blessed Hossu, "which anticipated the teaching later expressed in the declaration 'Nostra Aetate' of the Second Vatican Council -- the 60th anniversary of which is approaching -- together with your friendship, will serve as a beacon for today's world."

"Let us say 'No!' to violence in all its forms, and even more so when it is perpetrated against those who are defenseless and vulnerable, like children and families," Pope Leo said.

- - -

Reporting by CNS Rome is made possible by the Catholic Communication Campaign. Give to the CCC special collection in your diocese or at: https://bit.ly/CCC-give

 

“As a husband, wife, father or mother, we assume a particular responsibility to lead our spouse and children to heaven, in addition to our own attainment of heaven.” OUR VOCATION In His infinite love and goodness, God created man and woman in freedom to know, love and serve Him in this life and to spend […]

The post Understanding the Vocational Call to Holy Marriage appeared first on Integrated Catholic Life™.

A Daily Quote to Inspire Your Catholic Faith “In the family, faith is handed on together with life, generation after generation. It is shared like food at the family table and like the love in our hearts. In this way, families become privileged places in which to encounter Jesus, who loves us and desires our […]

The post Daily Quote — Pope Leo XIV appeared first on Integrated Catholic Life™.

Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver. / Credit: Denver Catholic

Denver, Colo., Jun 2, 2025 / 18:27 pm (CNA).

Every Sunday afternoon since Oct. 7, 2023, a peaceful group has gathered for a vigil walk in downtown Boulder, Colorado, to remember the Israeli hostages held by the terrorist group Hamas. 

This past Sunday, as they marched past local shops and restaurants in the city’s outdoor Pearl Street Mall, eight participants in the group’s activity were firebombed in what the FBI is investigating as an act of terrorism.

In the wake of the June 1 attack, the archbishop of Denver, Samuel Aquila, called for an end to anti-Jewish violence and urged the faithful to join together in prayer for the victims.

“I’m deeply saddened this evening to hear of the attack in Boulder, especially as it seems our Jewish brothers and sisters were targeted,” Aquila said in a statement released June 1. 

A suspect used a makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd, yelling “Free Palestine” during the attack, according to law enforcement.

Four women and four men ages 52 to 88 were taken to the hospital with burns and other injuries after the attack. 

“This type of violence must come to an end as it only fuels hatred,” Aquila said. 

The attack closely followed the killing of two Israeli embassy employees — a young couple soon to be engaged — in Washington, D.C., just weeks ago. 

The Boulder attack suspect, identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, was booked in the Boulder County Jail on multiple felony charges, according to the City of Boulder. 

An FBI affidavit said Soliman confessed to the attack, telling the police he had planned it for a year and that he wanted to “kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead.” 

After being taken into custody, Soliman reportedly told the police he would do it again. 

In addition to the two Molotov cocktails that Soliman threw into the crowd, investigators found more than a dozen unlit Molotov cocktails as well as weed sprayer filled with gasoline, according to the FBI affidavit. 

An Egyptian citizen, Soliman entered the country on a B2 visa in August 2022 and filed for asylum the following month. He remained in the country even though his visa expired in February 2023, according to Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel described what happened as a “targeted terrorist attack” and said the federal agency is “fully investigating” it as such.

In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump pledged to prosecute the perpetrator “to the fullest extent of the law.” 

“My heart goes out to the victims of this terrible tragedy and the great people of Boulder, Colorado!” Trump continued. 

The mayor of Boulder, Aaron Brockett, decried the attack in a statement, saying that the city would “stand strong together.”

“Know that the Jewish community has my full support and the support of the entire Boulder community,” Brockett said. 

“Please join me in praying for everyone affected by this horrific attack,” Aquila said. “We ask the Lord to bring comfort, healing, and peace in the face of such hatred.” 

“May we listen to the voice of God, who calls us to love one another!” Aquila concluded.