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The nave of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral on Nov. 29, 2024. / Credit: STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesParis, France, May 25, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).The 16th annual Vigil for Life was held in the newly restored Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on the evening of May 21 as the French Parliament continues to debate legislation that would legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.Organized by the bishops of the Île-de-France region, the vigil has taken place annually since 2009. The 2025 edition, which gathered approximately 2,000 faithful, centered on the theme?"Builders of Love, Let Us Live in Hope!"The 2024 edition, also marked by the national conversation on end-of-life issues, carried the theme "When I Am Weak, Then I Am Strong"?(2 Cor 12:10).This year's gathering featured a series of testimonies from individuals with diverse personal and professional backgrounds, offering reflections on the ethical and human dimensions of end-of-life care and the responsibilities socie...
A priest celebrates the Traditional Latin Mass at the Church of St. Pancratius in Rome. / Credit: Thoom/ShutterstockCNA Staff, May 24, 2025 / 12:30 pm (CNA).The Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, will significantly restrict the practice of the Traditional Latin Mass, limiting it to a single chapel in what Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv, said is a bid to "promote the concord and unity of the Church."Martin issued a statement on Friday announcing the new policy, directing that the ancient liturgy would henceforth be celebrated in an as-yet-unnamed chapel in the town of Mooresville. Martin in his statement said the measure was meant to bring the Charlotte Diocese in line with Pope Francis' 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, which greatly restricted the Latin Mass "in defense of the unity of the body of Christ."The pope said at the time that he was saddened that the celebration of the extraordinary form was characterized by a rejection of the Second Vatican Council and its...
Priest celebrating the traditional Latin Mass at the church of St Pancratius, Rome / Thoom/ShutterstockCNA Newsroom, May 24, 2025 / 12:30 pm (CNA).The Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina will significantly restrict the practice of the Traditional Latin Mass, limiting it to a single chapel in what Bishop Michael Martin OFM Conv. said is a bid to "promote the concord and unity of the Church." Martin issued a statement on Friday announcing the new policy, directing that the ancient liturgy would henceforth be celebrated in an as-yet-unnamed chapel in the town of Mooresville. Martin in his statement said the measure was meant to bring the Charlotte diocese in line with Pope Francis' 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, which greatly restricted the Latin Mass "in defense of the unity of the Body of Christ."The pope said at the time that he was saddened that the celebration of the extraordinary form was characterized by a rejection of the Second Vatican Council and its liturgical...
null / Credit: sergign/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 23, 2025 / 15:51 pm (CNA).A federal court in New York has ordered the state to halt its enforcement of a law against a Christian photographer and blogger that would force her to express ideas on human sexuality that conflict with her religious faith.U.S. District Judge Frank Geraci wrote in his Thursday decision that a New York law guaranteeing "equal access to publicly available goods and services" in the marketplace regardless of a person's sexuality cannot be used to force a business to provide services that convey ideas about human sexuality with which the provider disagrees.Emilee Carpenter, who operates Emilee Carpenter Photography, sued the state over the law, arguing that it would force her to produce photographs and blogs for same-sex civil weddings and polyamorous engagements despite her religious belief that marriage is between one man and one woman.Violations of the law could land Carpenter up to one ...
Alasdair MacIntyre in March 2009. / Credit: Sean O'Connor/Flickr via Wikimedia (CC BY 2.0)CNA Staff, May 23, 2025 / 16:30 pm (CNA).Alasdair MacIntyre, a towering figure in moral philosophy and a Catholic convert credited with reviving the discipline of virtue ethics, died on May 21 at age 96. His seminal 1981 work "After Virtue" reshaped contemporary moral and political philosophy, emphasizing virtue over utilitarian or deontological frameworks. Known by many as "the most important" modern Catholic philosopher, MacIntyre's intellectual and spiritual journey spanned atheism, Marxism, Anglicanism, and ultimately Roman Catholicism. MacIntyre's striking intellect, razor-sharp wit, and exacting teaching profoundly influenced generations of students and academics."A great light has gone out," wrote Patrick Deneen, a political philosophy professor at the University of Notre Dame, in response to the news of MacIntyre's death."I have never met, nor do I ever expect to meet, a ...
"Leo XIV: Portrait of the First American Pope," written by Matthew Bunson, vice president and editorial director at EWTN News. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNACNA Staff, May 23, 2025 / 17:14 pm (CNA).EWTN officially launched the first authoritative biography of Pope Leo XIV, which is available for purchase now, during an event at the Vatican on May 22."Leo XIV: Portrait of the First American Pope," written by Matthew Bunson, vice president and editorial director at EWTN News, tells the story of Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost, who was elected the new Holy Father on May 8.Bunson, a Church expert and longtime Vatican journalist who has written over 50 books, said at the book launch at the Campo Santo Teutonico in Rome that Leo's diverse experience as a pastor, prior general, missionary and bishop in Peru, and as a cardinal have given him a profound understanding of the global Church.Pope Leo XIV, in his first weeks as pope, has also proven to be a unifying figure who has brought ...
Bishop Francisco Javier Acero with the mothers of the disappeared and priests. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Bishop AceroPuebla, Mexico, May 23, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).Amid a wave of violence that has shaken Mexico, including the murder this week of two high-ranking officials in the capital, the Catholic Church is redoubling its efforts to restore peace.Through the National Dialogue for Peace and more than 300 initiatives across the country, bishops, priests, and laypeople are working to train mediators, provide mental health care, and support victims, taking risks and embracing hope, even though, as Church leaders themselves warn, "you can't dialogue with organized crime."The bishops of Mexico, along with various organizations, launched the National Peace Dialogue initiative following the 2022 murders of Jesuit priests Javier Campos and Joaquín Mora. While various initiatives promoted by the Catholic Church already existed in the country, this proposal sought to strengthen all th...
Cologne Cathedral in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. / Credit: Rudolf Gehrig/CNA DeutschWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 23, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).Here is a roundup of Catholic world news that you might have missed this week:New statistics show increase in crimes against churches and Christians in GermanyThe Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Criminal Police Office found that attacks against German churches increased by 20% in 2024, with a total of 111 registered crimes, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA's German-language news partner. Crimes against religious communities also increased, reaching 8,531 in 2024, compared with 7,029 in 2023. A 22% increase was reported in crimes against members and representatives of religious communities, jumping from 6,122 in 2023 to 7,504 in 2024. The German government reported that from the start of 2024 to Dec. 10, 2024, a total of 228 crimes with the subtopic "anti-Christian" were registered, including one homicide, 14 assaults, a...
Participants at a May 22, 2025, afternoon vigil to honor the two lives lost in an attack outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., the night before hold signs reading "Christians and Jews united against hate." / Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNAWashington D.C., May 22, 2025 / 17:43 pm (CNA).On Wednesday evening, May 21, two Israeli embassy staff members were shot and killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C."This senseless act of violence is a sobering reminder of the deadly consequences of antisemitism," Students Supporting Israel (SSI) a student organization at The Catholic University of America (CUA) said in a press release. The two embassy staffers killed were identified as Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, and Sarah Milgrim, an American. The young couple was about to be engaged, Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., said at a press conference. He added Lischinsky planned to propose next week in Jerusalem.Police authorities i...
Catholic Relief Services distributes food for school children at one of the schools in the Department of Totonicapán, Guatemala, with the help of parent volunteers. / Credit: Catholic Relief ServicesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 22, 2025 / 18:13 pm (CNA).As part of President Donald Trump's efforts to reshape American foreign aid, his administration is ending federal funds for nearly a dozen projects operated by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to provide free school meals to children internationally.The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) ended funding for 11 of the 13 projects CRS operates through the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program, which was created with bipartisan support in the early 2000s. The funds support international school feeding and maternal and child nutrition projects with American agriculture commodities, according to the USDA.According to CRS, the termination of these funds will affect more than 780,000 school-aged children in 11 countries. T...
