Article Archive
Please click below to view any of the articles in our archive.
St. Paul's Chaldean Catholic Cathedral in Mosul, Iraq. / Credit: France YousifWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 28, 2025 / 17:35 pm (CNA).Here are some of the major stories about the Church from around the world that you may have missed this week:Cardinal calls on Iraqi Christians to vote for fellow Christians in upcoming electionsCardinal Louis Raphael Sako, patriarch of the Chaldean Church, is urging Iraqi Christians to actively participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections, emphasizing the importance of updating electoral records and obtaining voter cards, ACI MENA, CNA's Arabic-language news partner, reported. Sako stressed that the five parliamentary seats that are designated for Christians be confined to Christians alone to ensure accurate representation and underscored the crucial role that each individual can play in shaping Iraq's future. Latin patriarch of Jerusalem promotes interfaith dialogue during historic visit to Bahrain Cardinal Pierbattista P...
The Philippines has the highest adult Christian faith retention rate in the world, according to Pew Research. / Credit: icosha/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 28, 2025 / 12:45 pm (CNA).Surveys in about three dozen countries compiled by the Pew Research Center found that most Christians who are raised in the faith hold onto it in adulthood. In fact, in every country surveyed the majority of people who are raised Christian still remain in the faith as adults.However, the numbers vary widely, from a high of 99% Christian faith retention in the Philippines and 98% in Hungary and Nigeria to lows of 51% in South Korea and 53% in the Netherlands.The United States was slightly lower than the average from the countries included in the research. About 73% of Americans who are raised Christian as children have kept the faith in their adult lives.Pew's data includes numbers from 10 European countries, 10 east and South Asian countries, eight countries in the Americas, five Afric...
People stand past the debris of a collapsed building in Mandalay, Myanmar, on March 28, 2025, after a powerful earthquake killed more than 150 people across Myanmar and Thailand on March 28, toppling buildings and bridges and trapping over 80 workers in an under-construction skyscraper in Bangkok. / Credit: STR/AFP via Getty ImagesRome Newsroom, Mar 28, 2025 / 13:15 pm (CNA).Pope Francis sent his condolences to Church and civil authorities in Myanmar and Thailand after a powerful earthquake killed more than 150 people and caused widespread devastation in the region."Deeply saddened by the loss of life and widespread devastation caused by the earthquake in Southeast Asia, especially in Myanmar and Thailand, His Holiness Pope Francis offers heartfelt prayers for the souls of the deceased and the assurance of his spiritual closeness to all affected by this tragedy," said the message sent on the pope's behalf by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin."His Holiness likew...
Maryland State House. / Credit: Jon Bilous/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 28, 2025 / 14:25 pm (CNA).The Catholic Church in Maryland is urging the state Legislature to treat cases of child sexual abuse in state-run facilities equal to those in private institutions following a proposed bill that would "decrease the number of civil causes of action for child sexual abuse filed against the state."The Maryland Catholic Conference (MCC) said in a statement on Thursday that the bill "greatly exacerbates an existing difference in treatment for victims abused in state institutions and those abused in private institutions."If passed, the bill would reduce the state damage cap for abuse victims to $400,000 while keeping the cap for private organizations at $1.5 million.The "overtly unequal treatment in HB 1378 is not only poor policy for victim-survivors but also unfairly targets nonprofit and religious organizations that have long served children in this state and have implem...
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin (right) meets with Polish President Andrzej Duda on March 28, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaCNA Newsroom, Mar 28, 2025 / 09:40 am (CNA).Pope Francis continues to show gradual improvement as he recovers from bilateral pneumonia at his residence in Casa Santa Marta, according to an update provided Friday by Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni.The pontiff's health remains stable, and his respiratory function, mobility, and speech have improved.While still requiring supplemental oxygen, he has been able to reduce the high-flow oxygen therapy during daytime hours with a slight reduction also occurring overnight.Blood tests conducted Wednesday indicate all hematological parameters are within normal range."The pope's daily schedule includes physiotherapy sessions, which are helping improve his voice usage, along with periods of prayer, rest, and limited work," Bruni said.All dicasteries of the Roman Curia conti...
The flag of the European Union flying in Rome. / Credit: Bohumil Petrik/CNAACI Prensa Staff, Mar 28, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).The bishops of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) held their spring assembly this week in Italy, a meeting in which they considered the European Union's vocation in the face of current challenges.From Nemi, a town outside Rome where the meeting took place behind closed doors March 26-27, COMECE secretary-general Father Manuel Barrios spoke with ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, and explained the foundations of the mission.The European Union, a project for peace with Christian roots"The innate vocation of the European Union is to guarantee peace on the continent and in the world," the Spanish priest said, noting that the EU was born as a project of reconciliation after the Second World War, so its mission is also to "defend and promote human rights, freedom, democracy, and the dignity of the person," esse...
null / Credit: sebra/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Mar 28, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).A Texas Catholic charity group that sued the federal government this month over budget cuts says it will drop its lawsuit as payments from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) resume. Catholic Charities Fort Worth sued the agency at the beginning of March after the Trump administration froze tens of millions of dollars in grants for refugee services in Texas. Earlier this month the government said it was conducting a "program integrity review" of the Catholic charity. Last week the government said it had paid out more than $47 million to the charity after completing the review. In a "joint status report" filed earlier this week, the charity and the government said HHS has made continuous payments to the Catholic group since March 17 following the conclusion of the review. "As a result of [the government's] representations and action, [the Catholic charity] will move t...
A relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis, a fragment of his pericardium, visits the U.S. at Holy Family Parish in Queens, New York, on April 6, 2022. / Credit: Photo courtesy DeSales MediaVatican City, Mar 27, 2025 / 16:25 pm (CNA).Italian prosecutors are investigating the illegal online sale of alleged relics of Blessed Carlo Acutis, who will be declared the first millennial saint next month. The investigation by the Perugia Public Prosecutor's Office was prompted by a complaint by the bishop of Assisi, the city where Acutis' tomb is located for public veneration."On the internet, there is a marketplace for relics concerning various saints, such as our St. Francis, complete with a price list. Something impossible to accept," Bishop Domenico Sorrentino of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino said in a statement on March 26.Sorrentino filed a formal complaint with Italian authorities after learning of an internet auction of an alleged first-class relic of Acutis' hair, which sold onlin...
Pope Francis presides at Palm Sunday Mass at the Vatican on March 24, 2024. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Mar 27, 2025 / 18:00 pm (CNA).The Vatican has published the official calendar of liturgical celebrations planned for Holy Week, but it has not clarified whether Pope Francis will preside.The pontiff was discharged on Sunday after spending 38 days in the hospital with double pneumonia, but doctors have prescribed complete rest for at least two months. It is expected that he will be able to resume his full schedule by the end of May.The Holy See Press Office indicated that it will be necessary to monitor "the improvement of the pope's health in the coming weeks to assess his possible presence, and under what conditions, at the Holy Week rites."Archbishop Diego Ravelli, papal master of ceremonies, announced the planned Holy Week schedule, which will begin on Palm Sunday, April 13, with Mass in St. Peter's Square at 10 a.m. local time, commemorating Jesus' triumphant ent...
SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser speaks in front of the Capitol on March 27, 2025, in Washington, D.C. "This movement is completely unified in its first priority, and that is to defund big abortion in this reconciliation bill," she said. / Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNAWashington D.C., Mar 27, 2025 / 18:30 pm (CNA).More than 300 pro-life activists from 39 different states gathered on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on March 27 to advocate for the defunding of "Big Abortion" and Planned Parenthood. Earlier this week, a letter from more than 150 pro-life groups from all 50 states was sent to members of Congress urging them to "stop the flow of American tax dollars toward the abortion industry" through a reconciliation bill.The action comes after the announcement that the Trump administration plans to freeze millions of federal taxpayer dollars funding abortion and transgender services. Half of the activists on the Hill were students from across ...
