April 2026
Enough of war - From prayer to action - Three cardinals explain Pope Leo's Church - Building peace - Vatican II's least read document - Studying Cardijn
Friends
Following Pope Leo’s refusal to endorse the Iran War as a “just war,” commentators have subjected his theology from unrelenting attack. Simultaneously, his critique of “imperialist occupation of the world” has also struck a nerve.
Catholic leaders in the US have also responded strongly, beginning with Cardinals McElroy, Tobin and Cupich, as illustrated in several articles that we feature in this edition.
Similarly, our Gospel Reflection from last Sunday highlights the need for Christians to work continuously to build peace, a message endorsed by Fr Chris Malano CP in his own homily.
This month, we also present two articles by Stefan Gigacz, the first highlighting the gact that the Vatican II Decree on Lay Apostolate, Apostolicam Actuositatem, remains the least read document of the Council, while the second focuses on the French priest and marriage specialist, Fr Henry Caffarel, now declared Venerable by Pope Leo.
For those who wish to study more deeply, we present a newly developed website, which sets out the essentials of Cardijn’s thought along with a study guide.
The Cardijn Associates Team
Cardinal McElroy: From prayer to action
As the peace negotiations between the USA and Iran fail, Pope Leo XIV and Cardinal Robert McElroy (above) have both issued powerful condemnations of war and called on Catholics and all people of good will to urgently pray and to act for peace.
This enquiry aims to help us respond to those appeals.
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Social enquiry: From prayer to action (See Judge Act)
Three cardinals explain Pope Leo’s Church
In a segment called “Pope Leo’s Church” on the CBS News program “60 Minutes” on April 12, the three U.S. cardinals heading archdioceses reflected on the pope’s leadership and on why Catholic Church leaders have voiced opposition to the United States’ war against Iran and the Trump administration’s policy of mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
READ MORE
In ’60 Minutes’ interview, three U.S. cardinals reflect on Pope Leo’s leadership and Church’s opposition to Iran war and mass deportation (Catholic Standard)
Cross disrupts ‘imperialist occupation of world’: Pope Leo
The Cross disrupts “imperialist occupation of the world from within,” Pope Leo said in a pointed comment during his homily for the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday 2 April 2026.
“The violence that until now has been the law is unmasked,” he added. “The poor, imprisoned, rejected Messiah descends into the darkness of death, yet in so doing he brings a new creation to light.”
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Cross disrupts ‘imperialist occupation of world’: Pope Leo
Enough of war: Pope Leo’s three-word mandate for a wounded world
In a world fractured by conflict, writes Richard Pütz, Pope Leo XIV’s prayer at the Vatican Vigil for Peace stood out for its clarity: “War divides; hope unites. Arrogance tramples others; love lifts them up. Idolatry blinds us; the living God enlightens.”
Crucially, the heart of Pope Leo XIV’s message is clear: the divisions that erupt in violence and war stem from a deep spiritual blindness. The Pope’s mandate is not about improved politics or information, but about conversion that addresses the core spiritual condition—idolatry displacing the living God. Every part of his call flows from this diagnosis, forming the central thesis of his vigil.
Using the See-Judge-Act method, we can delve deeper into the mechanics of our current discord and find a path forward.
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Enough of war: Pope Leo’s three-word mandate for a wounded world (Cardijn Reflections)
Apostolicam Actuositatem: Vatican II’s least read document
The final reports from the various Synodal Study Groups have now started to appear. So perhaps it’s time to look again at various issues that have been raised.
Thus, reading the final report of the Study Group on “To hear the cry of the poor and the earth,” I was struck – and heartened – to see the number of references – 92, in fact – to the need for “formation,” a theme that has recurred throughout the whole process of the Synod on Synodality as well as during the Australian Plenary Council.
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Apostolicam Actuositatem: Vatican II’s least read document (Synodal Reflections)
Henri Caffarel’s new spirituality of marriage
Pope Leo has approved a decree declaring venerable Henri Caffarel, a French YCW chaplain, who later founded the Teams of Our Lady movement, writes Stefan Gigacz.
During an audience with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, on 23 March 2026, Pope Leo authorised the promulgation of a decree recognising “the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Henri Caffarel, diocesan priest, founder of the ‘Equipes Notre Dame’ (Teams of Our Lady) and the ‘Fraternité Notre-Dame de la Résurrection’ (Our Lady of the Resurrection Fraternity),” Vatican News reports.
He also began his priestly ministry as a YCW chaplain.
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Venerable Henri Caffarel, YCW chaplain and founder of the Teams of Our Lady (Cardijn Research)
YCW chaplain Henri Caffarel declared venerable
Website: Cardijn study guide
Cardijn Resources is a newly revamped website presenting several key Cardijn resources for leaders animators of YCW-inspired groups.
But if there’s one document above all to read, it’s surely his famous 1935 Three Truths article, which concisely summarises the whole Cardijn methodology under the headings of Truths of Faith, Experience and Pastoral Method.
The site also includes study guides for those who wish to go deeper.
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Fr Chris Malano : We do it scared - Because Christ Is Risen
On the night of Sunday 12 April 2026,
a social media post described Pope Leo XIV
as “weak” and criticized the Church,
especially on issues like nuclear weapons and foreign policy.
And immediately, people reacted.
Some echoing it.
Others coming to the defense of the Pope and the Church.
We know that pattern and spiral..
We’ve seen it.
Perhaps, we’ve done it in other situations.
But in the Acts of the Apostles, the early Church is also attacked:
publicly, politically, directly.
And what does the Church do?
They don’t react first.
They pray first.
And the Church prays:
“Enable your servants to speak your word with all boldness…
as you stretch forth your hand to heal.”
READ MORE
Homily for Monday of the Second Week of Easter (Bridging Our Worlds)
We do it scared because Christ is risen (Bridging Our Worlds)
Gospel Enquiry: What if peace is a verb?
The first Sunday after the Feast of Easter is known as Divine Mercy Sunday. It comes with a focus on the forgiveness of God and calls upon followers to repent and seek forgiveness.
The Gospel account, from the fourth Gospel, is set on two consecutive Sundays, the first is the evening of the day of the resurrection, the second, eight days later. The first scene finds the disciples in hiding for fear that they would suffer the same fate of Jesus, at the hands of the religious authorities.
Jesus appears among them, despite the locked doors, indicating the risen Lord is not subject to the same physical constraints as the human Jesus.
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Gospel Enquiry: What if peace is a verb? (Cardijn Reflections)
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