March 23, 2023

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts. www.catholicnewsagency.com - Pope Francis has invited Catholics to annually renew an act of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25. The solemnity of the Annunciation on Saturday marks one year since Pope Francis consecrated Russia and Ukraine to the Blessed Virgin Mary in Saint Peter’s Basilica with a prayer asking for peace in the world. At the end of his general audience on March 22, the pope recalled his historic act of consecration and called on parish communities and prayer groups to annually renew the Marian consecration. Pope Francis also urged people not to forget to pray for “martyred Ukraine, which is suffering so much.” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253911/pope-francis-invites-catholics-to-renew-consecration-to-immaculate-heart-of-mary-on-march-25 A potential legal case against Pope Benedict XVI over his handling of abuse during his time as archbishop of Munich has been dropped. The accusations had been investigated in the wake of the Munich abuse report, which raised allegations that “there could be misconduct on the part of Church officials in positions of responsibility.” Cardinal Ratzinger, who would later become Pope Benedict XVI, served as archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1977 to 1982. The study criticized the late German pope’s handling of four cases during his time in charge of the southern German archdiocese. On Tuesday, the public prosecutor’s office said: “In each case, the investigations did not reveal sufficient suspicion of criminal activity on the part of those responsible for personnel, which is why the preliminary proceedings were discontinued.” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253917/prosecutors-drop-case-of-alleged-cover-up-against-benedict-xvi A coalition of conservative organizations is taking legal action to obtain documents from the Department of Just