Catholic News

Nicaraguan political prisoner Juan Sebastian Chamorro speaks to the press ouside a hotel in Herndon, Virginia, on Feb. 9, 2023, after he was released by the Nicaraguan government. / Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images Washington D.C., Mar 23, 2023 / 17:14 pm (CNA). Recently released political prisoners and human rights activists testified before members of Congress Wednesday about the ongoing persecution in Nicaragua, which one witness called an “unholy war against the Catholic Church.” In recent years, the Nicaraguan government under Daniel Ortega has detained, imprisoned, and likely tortured numerous Catholic leaders, targeting at least one bishop and several […]

Pleuntje via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0) Boston, Mass., Mar 23, 2023 / 16:00 pm (CNA). Archbishop Jerome Listecki of Milwaukee has stripped one of his priests of the faculty to hear confessions following the clergyman’s public support for civil laws mandating that priests break the seal of confession for sins of sexual abuse. “I have informed Father James Connell that effective immediately he is to cease all such erroneous communications that distort the teachings of the Church about the confessional seal,” Listeicki wrote in a March 22 statement.  “I have also immediately removed the canonical faculties of Father Connell to validly celebrate the sacrament of confession and to offer […]

null / Bilderstoeckchen/Shutterstock St. Louis, Mo., Mar 23, 2023 / 15:30 pm (CNA). Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles will lead a six-mile eucharistic procession on Saturday through the city as part of the National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year initiative of the U.S. bishops to renew Catholics’ devotion to Christ in the holy Eucharist. The March 25 procession will go from a historic Los Angeles mission church, three miles down a main road to another parish, and back. The day will begin with Mass at 8:30 a.m. PT at the historic Mission San Gabriel, which held its first Mass in more than two years last September after suffering severe damage in an arson attack in mid-2020. […]

Father Carlo Crespi Croci (1891-1982) holding a crucifix from his ethnographic collection in Cuenca, Ecuador. / Credit: Salesianos de Don Bosco, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Washington D.C., Mar 23, 2023 / 15:11 pm (CNA). Each “Venerable” now needs a miracle attributed to his or her intercession to be approved by the Vatican in order to be beatified.

null / Krisana Antharith/Shutterstock St. Louis, Mo., Mar 23, 2023 / 14:50 pm (CNA). The U.S. bishops’ doctrine committee on Thursday issued a statement reiterating the Church’s preference for burial of the deceased and stating that newer methods — namely alkaline hydrolysis and human composting — do not show respect for the human body. “In recent years, newer methods and technologies for disposition of the bodies of the deceased have been developed and presented as alternatives to both traditional burial and cremation. A number of these newer methods and technologies pose serious problems in that they fail to manifest the respect for last remains that Catholic faith requires,” […]

Pope Francis waves at pilgrims from China at the general audience in St. Peter's Square on Sept. 7, 2016. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA. Washington D.C., Mar 23, 2023 / 14:08 pm (CNA). In another crackdown on religious freedom, local authorities in an eastern Chinese city ordered parents of kindergarteners to sign a pledge that affirms they are not religious.  Guardians of children at schools in Wenzhou, a city in the Zhejiang province, were asked to sign a “pledge form of commitment for family not to hold a religious belief,” according to the human rights group China Aid. The pledge states that the parents affirm they “do not hold a religious belief, do not participate in any religious […]

null / SiljeAO/Shutterstock Denver Newsroom, Mar 23, 2023 / 13:48 pm (CNA). Some forms of contraceptive use have “a significant increase in risk of breast cancer,” a new study says, and one fertility specialist believes that women deserve to know the risks — and the alternatives. “If it increases risk, women simply need to be informed of this. They need to be able to make an informed choice,” Dr. Marguerite Duane, MD, a family physician who specializes in women’s health and restorative and reproductive medicine, told CNA. “Without birth control, their risk is lower. It is lower, and that is a fact,” she said. Some women may choose to take that risk, while other women with […]

Archbishop Pérez issued the following letter March 23 to the Our Mother of Consolation Parish community following a devastating fire that tore through the school building the afternoon of Tuesday, March 21.

Fasting and abstinence are rewarding practices that can go beyond what we know as standard Lenten obligations. Consider one of these four ways as you progress on your Lenten journey.

Bishop Fernand (Ferd) Joseph Cheri III, OFM, at his ordination as auxiliary bishop of New Orleans in 2015. / Credit: Clarion Herald New Orleans, La., Mar 22, 2023 / 16:00 pm (CNA). Bishop Fernand (Ferd) Joseph Cheri III, OFM, a New Orleans native who had served since 2015 as auxiliary bishop of New Orleans, died March 21 at Chateau de Notre Dame in New Orleans following a lengthy illness. Cheri, 71, served most recently as administrator of St. Peter Claver Parish in New Orleans until kidney and heart problems forced him to step away from active ministry. He was born with one kidney and had been on dialysis three days a week for several months. “He has been called home to the Lord,” […]

null / Christopher E Zimmer/Shutterstock Washington D.C., Mar 22, 2023 / 14:47 pm (CNA). A coalition of conservative organizations is taking legal action to obtain documents from the Department of Justice related to the surge in pro-abortion attacks on churches and pro-life pregnancy centers and a lack of prosecution from the agency. Based on data compiled by CNA, there have been more than 100 attacks on churches and pro-life pregnancy centers since the May 2022 leak of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which overturned the abortion protections guaranteed in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The DOJ has failed to prosecute the perpetrators […]

The National Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia will hold a three-mile walking pilgrimage from the Shrine to the Healing Garden at Saint Augustine Parish on Saturday, April 1, 2023.

On March 20, Archbishop Nelson Pérez celebrated Mass for the school community at La Salle Academy in the West Kensington section of Philadelphia.

"For the solution to racism – to most problems, I believe – begins with prayer and encounter. And that is because racism isn’t just a secular issue. It is a Catholic issue that demands a Catholic response," writes Mary Chollet, Director of Ministry and Communications at St. John Chrysostom Parish in Wallingford and a member of the Archbishop’s Commission on Racial Healing.

Prior to joining CFGP, Gabbard was the Vice President of Finance, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer at Princeton Theological Seminary.

null / Daniel Ibáñez/CNA. CNA Newsroom, Mar 22, 2023 / 08:36 am (CNA). The future role of Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Benedict XVI’s longtime private secretary, remains unclear.

A Notre Dame series titled “Reproductive Justice: Scholarship for Solidarity and Social Change” held an event titled “Trans Care + Abortion Care: Intersections and Questions” on Zoom on March 20, 2023, and drew an audience of about 105 viewers. / Credit: Zoom screen shot CNA Newsroom, Mar 22, 2023 / 08:06 am (CNA). The University of Notre Dame’s local bishop has strongly criticized the Catholic university for hosting a “reproductive justice” talk featuring abortion doula Ash Williams, who described abortion as “a type of birth.” According to a National Public Radio profile, Williams’ role as an abortion doula is to provide “physical, emotional, or financial help to […]

Pope Francis prays at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal on May 12, 2017. / Vatican Media. Vatican City, Mar 22, 2023 / 06:40 am (CNA). The solemnity of the Annunciation on Saturday marks one year since Pope Francis consecrated Russia and Ukraine to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Pope Francis greets pilgrims at the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square on March 22, 2023. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA Vatican City, Mar 22, 2023 / 05:20 am (CNA). To effectively witness to the Gospel, Christians need to be consistent in what they believe, how they live, and what they preach, Pope Francis said.

null / Shutterstock Washington D.C., Mar 21, 2023 / 15:00 pm (CNA). Beginning on July 1, only biological girls will be allowed to participate in seventh- through 12th-grade girls’ athletic competitions in Wyoming, per a new law adopted in the state. The legislation requires schools that participate in interscholastic sports competitions to clearly designate programs as male, female, or coed. Those designations will be based on a student’s biological sex, even if the student identifies as a different gender. The law defines sex as “the biological, physical condition of being male or female, determined by an individual’s genetics and anatomy at birth.” When the legislation goes […]

Archbishop Georg Gänswein was the personal secretary of the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. / Credit: ACI Press Rome, Italy, Mar 21, 2023 / 14:30 pm (CNA). Archbishop Georg Gänswein explained that he thought there were two direct heirs. However, he was surprised to learn that there are three more.

"Santiago: The Camino Within" is being released for one day only on March 28, 2023. / YouTube/Fathom Events Boston, Mass., Mar 21, 2023 / 14:00 pm (CNA). A new film that takes moviegoers along on a pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain is being released in theaters for one day only on March 28. The Camino de Santiago, also known as “The Way of St. James,” is a 1,000-year-old pilgrimage route through Spain that leads to the Cathedral of Santiago located in the Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. The cathedral is traditionally held to be the burial place of St. James the Apostle. Today thousands of pilgrims continue to make the pilgrimage, sometimes […]

On Saturday, March 11, La Salle University honored BLOCS as an organization that values education in the spirit of St. John Baptist de La Salle.

"The Pope Answers" airs on Hulu on April 5, 2023. / Hulu Washington D.C., Mar 21, 2023 / 13:30 pm (CNA). Hulu will be airing “The Pope Answers,” an informal conversation between Francis and a small group of young people, on April 5.

Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu. / Credit: Christian Peschken/EWTN News Rome Newsroom, Mar 21, 2023 / 13:00 pm (CNA). The Nigerian archbishop was recently appointed by Pope Francis as a secretary for the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization.

Pope Francis at the International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest, Hungary Sept. 12, 2021. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA Rome Newsroom, Mar 21, 2023 / 12:00 pm (CNA). Pope Francis will travel to Budapest, Hungary, in just over a month for an April 28–30 visit to the capital of the central European country.

In his latest vlog, Archbishop Pérez talks about his Go Forth initiative and how you can join him in his mission to create a culture of missionary disciples in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

null / Minerva Studio/Shutterstock Denver, Colo., Mar 21, 2023 / 08:56 am (CNA). The Catholic Diocese of Oakland is considering filing for bankruptcy as it prepares to respond to hundreds of lawsuits concerning decades-old sex abuse incidents in what the local bishop called a “monumental challenge.” “Since the closing of the filing window on Dec. 31, 2022, we have been informed there may be approximately 330 lawsuits filed against our diocese,” Bishop Michael Barber, SJ, said in a March 16 letter to parishioners and friends of the Diocese of Oakland. “As the court continues to process the lawsuits, the total magnitude will become clearer. However, it is increasingly evident we […]

Maryland state capital building, Annapolis. Via Shutterstock. / null Washington D.C., Mar 20, 2023 / 16:30 pm (CNA). Legislation that would end the statute of limitations for lawsuits against entities that are accused of negligence involving incidents of child sexual abuse overwhelmingly passed the Maryland Senate last week.  The bill, sponsored by Sen. William C. Smith, D-Montgomery, passed the Senate in a 42-5 vote. The proposed legislation was sent to the House of Delegates, where it has been referred to the Judiciary Committee. The House has already passed a version of the same bill. The Maryland Catholic Conference criticized the bill for its unequal treatment of private groups, Crux […]

null / Image credit: ADragan/Shutterstock CNA Newsroom, Mar 20, 2023 / 16:00 pm (CNA). The U.S. Catholic bishops released a statement Monday offering moral guidance for Catholic health care institutions, reiterating that “gender transition” interventions are not to be performed because they do not respect the fact that God has created each person as a unity of body and soul.  “The body is not an object, a mere tool at the disposal of the soul, one that each person may dispose of according to his or her own will, but it is a constitutive part of the human subject, a gift to be received, respected, and cared for as something intrinsic to the person,” the U.S. bishops’ Committee […]