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Thousands participate in the March for Life on May 3, 2025, in Mexico City. / Credit: Courtesy of Steps for LifePuebla, Mexico, May 6, 2025 / 17:11 pm (CNA).Thousands of people participated in the March for Life on May 3 in Mexico City to mark 18 years since abortion was decriminalized in Mexico's capital.The march, organized by the Pasos por la Vida (Steps for Life) association along with other groups, set out from the Monument to the Revolution and followed a route of more than 1.2 miles to arrive at the City Congress, the legislative branch of Mexico City, a quasi state in the Mexican federal system. Young people, senior citizens, and entire families marched amid banners and signs with pro-life messages lamenting the lack of comprehensive policies to aid pregnant women. They also decried the terrible toll of almost two decades of legalized abortion.Since April 2007, abortion has been legal in Mexico City up to the 12th week of pregnancy, making it the first federal enti...
White smoke rises from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on March 13, 2013, signaling that the College of Cardinals has elected a new pope. / Credit: ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty ImagesACI Prensa Staff, May 6, 2025 / 17:41 pm (CNA).When a new pope is elected, there are two signs that mark that historic moment: the white smoke ("fumata bianca" in Italian) erupting from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and the formula "habemus papam" pronounced by the cardinal protodeacon from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica overlooking the square of the same name.This is the history of both traditions:The white smoke The history of the white smoke, which indicates that the cardinals have elected a new successor of St. Peter, is ancient. In 1274, at the Second Council of Lyons, Pope Gregory X, in a document titled Ubi Periculum, determined the procedure for holding a conclave. There he specified that the election would be done in isolation and with strict secrecy. For this reason,...
null / Credit: pim pic/ShutterstockCNA Staff, May 6, 2025 / 18:11 pm (CNA).The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday urged a federal judge in Texas to dismiss an ongoing lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over its removal of safety restrictions on abortion drugs. In its filing on Monday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) argued in federal court that Idaho, Kansas, and Missouri did not have standing to sue, following the Biden administration's legal course. The three Republican-led states sued the FDA last year, maintaining that the loosening restrictions on the drug mifepristone have led to abortion pills flooding their states, endangering women and undermining pro-life laws. The FDA should prohibit telehealth prescriptions for mifepristone, require in-office visits, and restrict the gestational age at which chemical abortions can occur, the states argued, saying that "women should have the in-person care of a doctor when taking high-risk d...
Lt. Matt Owens of the Arlington County Police Department plays the bugle in honor of fallen service members, at the annual Blue Mass on Tuesday May 6, 2025, at St. Patrick Cathlolic Church in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Madalaine Elhabbal/CNAWashington D.C., May 6, 2025 / 18:41 pm (CNA).On Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of first responders filled St. Patrick Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., to attend the 31st annual Blue Mass, a tradition that honors the sacrifice of those serving in law enforcement and public safety.Organized by the Archdiocese of Washington, Auxiliary Bishop Roy Campbell celebrated the May 6 Mass, as Cardinal Robert McElroy is currently in Rome for the papal conclave. Washington Auxiliary Bishop Roy Campbell greets first responders after the annual Blue Mass on Tuesday May 6, 2025, at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. Credit: Madalaine Elhabbal/CNASeveral prominent members of law enforcement participated in the Mass, including Chief John Th...
The Sistine Chapel awaits the arrival of cardinal electors for the conclave to elect the next pope, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaCNA Newsroom, May 6, 2025 / 18:44 pm (CNA).The conclave to elect Pope Francis' successor will begin on May 7, as the Church enters the final preparatory phase for choosing its 267th pope.Follow here for live updates of the latest news and information on the papal transition:
Cardinal Kevin Farrell and the College of Cardinals witness the cancellation of papal fisherman's ring and lead seal of Pope Francis on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, in the New Synod Hall at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaCNA Newsroom, May 6, 2025 / 08:25 am (CNA).The conclave to elect Pope Francis' successor will begin on May 7, as the Church enters the final preparatory phase for choosing its 267th pope.Follow here for live updates of the latest news and information on the papal transition:
The papal fisherman's ring and lead seal are nulled during the 12th general congregation of the College of Cardinals on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, May 6, 2025 / 09:46 am (CNA).The papal fisherman's ring and lead seal were nulled during the 12th general congregation of the College of Cardinals on Tuesday.The ring and seal are destroyed or nulled after a pope's death to prevent their future misuse to seal official documents.Cardinal Kevin Farrell and the College of Cardinals witness the cancellation of papal fisherman's ring and lead seal of Pope Francis on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, in the New Synod Hall at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican MediaVatican Media shared photos and videos of the cancellation of the ring and seal on May 6, and the X account of the Vatican secretary of state said the procedure was carried out in the presence of camerlengo Cardinal Kevin Farrell and the College of Cardinals in the New Synod Hall.Come tradizione in tempo di Sede Vac...
Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, Bishop Robert Barron speaks to EWTN News Vatican Correspondent Colm Flynn in Rome on Monday, May 5, 2025. / Credit: EWTN NewsCNA Staff, May 6, 2025 / 10:27 am (CNA).Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, this week said the next pope should be a disciple of Christ first and foremost, one who places "the declaration of Jesus" at the center of his papacy. Barron spoke to EWTN News Vatican Correspondent Colm Flynn on May 5 in Rome. The U.S. prelate noted that the Church is on "pins and needles" during the interregnum before the election of the next pope, though he admitted it's "an exciting time."Asked by Flynn about the commentary that has proliferated around the papacy since Pope Francis' death on April 21, Barron said the "politicization" of the papal selection process reflects a "lack of proper prioritization." The bishop pointed to Australian priest and theologian Father Gerald Glynn O'Collins, SJ, who when asked what ...
A woman pays tribute to victims of the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks at a cemetery in Negombo, Sri Lanka, on April 21, 2022, marking three years since the tragic attacks. / Credit: Ruwan Walpola/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 6, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).The archbishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka, announced this week that the 167 Catholics killed in the Sri Lanka Easter Sunday bombings in 2019 will be included on the list of "Witnesses of Faith" established by Pope Francis.Inspired by an apostolic letter by Pope John Paul II, who wanted to ensure the legacy of the "unknown soldiers of God's great cause" was not lost, Pope Francis created the Commission of the New Martyrs - Witnesses of the Faith in 2023. Francis sought to acknowledge Catholics who have lost their lives while professing their faith in the first quarter of the 21st century. Compiled by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in preparation for the 2025 Jubilee Year, the list is an ongoing catalogue of Christ...
The popemobile used by Pope Francis during his visit to Bethlehem in 2014. / Credit: Courtesy of CaritasVatican City, May 5, 2025 / 13:56 pm (CNA).Before his death, Pope Francis donated one of his popemobiles to be converted into a mobile clinic to assist the children of Gaza, one of the communities most affected by the war and humanitarian crisis in that region.As Peter Brune, secretary-general of Caritas Sweden and one of the project's driving forces, explained to ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, it is the popemobile the pontiff used during his visit to Bethlehem in May 2014 during his historic trip to the Holy Land. "Since then, the vehicle has been on display in a public square in the Palestinian city," he said."The popemobile has been refurbished and upgraded to fulfill a new and hopeful mission: to provide medical assistance to injured and malnourished children who currently have no access to any type of health care," Brune explained.The initiative was per...
