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Pope Francis kisses the foot of one of the 12 women whose feet he washed at the Rebibbia Women's Prison in Rome on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Apr 15, 2025 / 10:38 am (CNA).For Holy Week, Pope Francis has delegated three cardinals to celebrate the Vatican's Holy Thursday and Good Friday liturgies as the state of the pontiff's health continues to steadily improve, the director of the Holy See Press Office said Tuesday.The 88-year-old pope, who is recovering from a prolonged case of double pneumonia, has delegated Italian Cardinal Domenico Calcagno to celebrate the chrism Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on the morning of Holy Thursday.Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, will lead the Passion service in the Vatican basilica on the afternoon of Good Friday, and the same evening, the vicar general of Rome, Cardinal Baldassare Reina, will preside over the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum with medita...
The coordinator of the Commission for Justice and Peace in Cameroon's Diocese of Kumbo said that traffickers, who are now capitalizing on the region's crises, "keep changing their strategies." / Credit: Justice and Peace Commission of Kumbo DioceseACI Africa, Apr 15, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).Cameroon's Diocese of Kumbo, which is part of Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province, located in the country's conflict-affected northwest region has issued an "urgent alert" on a surge of human trafficking in the diocese.In a statement shared with ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, on April 8, the coordinator of the Commission for Justice and Peace in the Cameroonian diocese said that traffickers, who are now capitalizing on the region's crises, "keep changing their strategies.""The Justice and Peace Commission of Kumbo Diocese has been sensitizing us on issues of trafficking over the years," said Sister Minkoue Falie, a member of the Congregation de Notre-Dame.In a statement titled "An Urgen...
A view of the Opera House in the port zone of Sydney. / Credit: Benh LIEU SONG vía Flickr (CC BY-SA 4.0)CNA Staff, Apr 15, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).Catholic advocates in Australia are warning lawmakers there of the risk that pornography exposure poses to children, including the threat of normalizing forms of violent sexual behavior among young people.The Parliament of New South Wales recently began public hearings for its inquiry into the "impacts of harmful pornography on mental, emotional, and physical health."The Parliament's Standing Committee on Social Issues says the inquiry will particularly focus on "age of first exposure to pornography and impacts of early exposure to pornography" as well as porn's "impacts on body image" and "the impact of exposure to violent and/or misogynistic pornography on children, teenagers, and young adults."Advocates have been warning for years of the detrimental effects of pornography, including the harm it does to young people who consume it. U...
From left to right: Pastor of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, Father Jeffrey Kirby; Nalin Haley and his parents, Nikki Haley and Michael Haley. / Credit: Courtesy of Father Jeffrey Kirby/screenshot of X postWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 14, 2025 / 19:57 pm (CNA).Nalin Haley, the son of former U.S. presidential candidate Nikki Haley, was received into the Catholic Church on Palm Sunday."As parents, Michael and I always prayed that our children would have a faith and relationship with God," Nikki Haley posted on social media Sunday."Today we were so proud to support Nalin in his faith journey as he was confirmed into the Catholic Church, completed RCIA, and received his first holy Communion," she said of her son.Nikki Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and South Carolina governor, was born and raised in the Sikh faith but converted to Christianity after marrying her husband, Michael Haley, in 1996. In a 2012 interview, Haley said she and her husband "c...
Missouri Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt at the CPAC D.C. conference at the Gaylord National Resort in Oxon Hill, Maryland, on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. / Credit: DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 14, 2025 / 17:42 pm (CNA).U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri, announced that he is introducing new legislation to make Easter a federal holiday so families are able to spend "the holiest day in Christianity" together.In a thread of posts on X, Schmitt explained why the day should be federally recognized, starting with the fact that "81% of Americans celebrate Easter." "But," he continued, "our current holiday schedule makes it way too difficult for families to celebrate together."81% of Americans celebrate Easter.But our current holiday schedule makes it way too difficult for families to celebrate together.Easter falls on the longest unbroken work stretch of the calendar. (March and April are the only back-to-back months without a federal ...
A smiling Pope Francis arrives in St. Peter's Square on April 13, 2025, in a surprise visit at the end of the outdoor Palm Sunday Mass. / Credit: Bénédicte Cedergren/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 13, 2025 / 10:50 am (CNA).Marking another in a series of recent surprise public appearances, Pope Francis on Sunday briefly greeted thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square to celebrate Palm Sunday."Happy Palm Sunday and beginning of Holy Week!" the Holy Father said with some difficulty to the cheers of the large crowd that filled the square and spilled out along the Via della Conciliazione.Unable to participate in the Palm Sunday Mass, the 88-year-old pontiff, still convalescing after a serious bout of double pneumonia that kept him hospitalized for 39 days, arrived in a wheelchair toward the end of the outdoor liturgy, smiling and without nasal tubes as he passed by clergy, religious men and women, and lay people standing near the altar.Pope Francis offers a blessing to the ...
At least 33 people have been reported dead and thousands displaced following April 5-6, 2025, flooding that cut access to over half of the Congolese capital of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. / Credit: Catholic Radio Elikya/Arsene/Radio OkapiACI Africa, Apr 13, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).Catholic bishops in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have expressed their "spiritual closeness and solidarity" with victims of the recent floods and landslides that struck the capital city of Kinshasa and surrounding areas, leaving scores dead and causing widespread destruction.At least 33 people were reported dead and thousands displaced following the April 5-6 flooding that cut access to over half of the capital. The floods reportedly occurred when the N'Djili River, which runs through the city of an estimated population of 17.8 million, burst its banks and submerged major roads.In a statement shared with ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, on April 9, members of the Nati...
null / Credit: Harvepino/ShutterstockVatican City, Apr 12, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development has announced the theme chosen by Pope Francis for the 2025 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, held annually on Sept. 1: "Seeds of Peace and Hope."The day is part of the Season of Creation, an ecumenical initiative that takes place Sept. 1 to Oct. 4. This 2025 edition takes on a special character as it coincides with the Jubilee Year of Hope and the 10th anniversary of the encyclical Laudato Si', the Holy Father's magisterial text on the care of our common home.According to a Vatican statement, this year's theme reflects the urgency of working "to create the conditions for peace, a lasting peace built together that inspires hope.""The metaphor of the seed indicates the need for long-term commitment," the fruit of concrete actions and a profound ecological conversion, according to the statement.The biblical reference text chosen for t...
Seminarians live active lives, balancing prayer, studies, fraternity, and exercise. The Nazareth House provides seminarians with a healthy space to recreate, pray, cook, and share meals together. / Credit: Mike McCleary/University of MaryCNA Staff, Apr 12, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).A Catholic liberal arts university based in North Dakota is partnering with the Diocese of Phoenix to develop Arizona's only Catholic seminary.Despite now being home to more than 2 million Catholics, the Diocese of Phoenix had no seminary of its own for more than 50 years.Nazareth Seminary is working with University of Mary's "Mary College," a satellite academic institution partnered with Arizona State University (ASU).University of Mary, also known as "UMary," has offered Catholic studies and theology courses at ASU through Mary College for more than a decade. Through the "unprecedented" partnership, Mary College classes fulfill degree requirements at the large public university.With the new diocesan pa...
Pope Francis kneels in prayer before the revered Marian icon "Salus Populi Romani" at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, April 12, 2025. / Holy See Press OfficeCNA Newsroom, Apr 12, 2025 / 09:20 am (CNA).Pope Francis made a prayerful pilgrimage to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore on Saturday afternoon, continuing the pontiff's gradual return to public appearances ahead of Holy Week celebrations.The 88-year-old pope paused to pray before the venerated icon of the Virgin Mary known as "Salus Populi Romani" (Protectress of the Roman People), according to a Vatican statement released Saturday.This visit marks another step in Francis' cautious comeback to public life following his recent health challenges. The pope has been largely absent from public view since his release from Rome's Gemelli Hospital approximately three weeks ago, where he was treated for a respiratory infection.Saturday's visit to the Marian basilica comes on the eve of Palm Sunday, which ...
