May 25, 2022

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 - A Catholic group in Hong Kong will not be holding Masses this year to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, citing concerns that doing so could run afoul of the Beijing-imposed national security laws under which several Catholic leaders have been arrested. In mainland China, people have not been allowed to hold official commemorations of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, but Hong Kong has long held annual vigils to commemorate its victims. Last year, at least seven churches in Hong Kong offered candlelight vigil Masses on the anniversary. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251354/tiananmen-memorial-masses-won-t-be-held-in-hong-kong-this-year-amid-security-law-concerns Bishop Daniel Flores said on Wednesday that he was sick of hearing people say that “guns aren’t the problem” after a gunman killed at least 19 children and two teachers at a Texas elementary school. It was one of many responses from Catholic bishops around the US after an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, about 80 miles west of San Antonio. Among the victims were 10-year-old students in the fourth grade. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251362/bishop-flores-on-texas-elementary-school-shooting-don-t-tell-me-that-guns-aren-t-the-problem Cardinal Joseph Zen offered Mass after his court appearance in Hong Kong on Tuesday and prayed for Catholics in mainland China who are facing persecution. The 90-year-old retired Catholic bishop of Hong Kong prayed in Chinese for his “brothers and sisters who cannot attend the Mass in any form tonight — for they have no freedom now.” On the World Day of Prayer for the Church in China, Zen said that the Holy See “made an unwise decision” to enter into a provisional agreement with the Chinese Communist Party government. https://www.catholicne