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Cardinal Robert McElroy gives his first homily as the shepherd of the Archdiocese of Washington at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on March 11, 2025. / Credit: Patrick Ruddy/CNAWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 6, 2025 / 16:30 pm (CNA).The Archdiocese of Washington has announced plans to "cut spending, reduce its workforce, and restructure departments" to combat "crippling economic challenges."In a June 5 letter sent to archdiocesan staff members, Cardinal Robert McElroy indicated that the archdiocese has had an annual operating deficit of $10 million for the past five years, leading the archdiocese "to draw from financial reserves to cover shortfalls."The cardinal archbishop of Washington said "our situation has only been exacerbated by the present economic uncertainty that is impacting so many, both locally and globally." "I have come to the painful realization that the only way forward is to take drastic measures to achieve a balanced budge...
null / Credit: Mark Van Scyoc/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 6, 2025 / 17:27 pm (CNA).The U.S. Department of State (DOS) plans to destroy a reserve of artificial contraceptives that was previously set aside for distribution in developing countries through foreign aid programs.The stockpile, including birth control pills, condoms, and long-term implantable contraceptives, is worth more than $12 million.A senior State Department official confirmed to CNA that officials had concerns that some of the nongovernmental organizations previously contracted to distribute contraceptives may have participated in programs that performed coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.According to the official, the DOS is destroying the products to comply with President Donald Trump's executive order to reinstate the Mexico City Policy, which bans taxpayer funding of organizations that promote abortion and forced sterilization abroad.Destroying the products will cost DOS about $16...
Seven Dominican brothers were ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Anthony Fisher, OP, who leads the Archdiocese of Sydney, Australia. The newest Dominican priests are Louis Mary Bethea, Gregory Marie Santy, Bertrand Marie Hebert, Basil Mary Burroughs, Titus Mary Sanchez, Nicodemus Maria Thomas, and Linus Mary Martz, pictured here with the archbishop at their ordination at the the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., on June 4, 2025. / Credit: Jeffrey BrunoWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 6, 2025 / 17:57 pm (CNA).On Wednesday at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., seven Dominican brothers were ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Anthony Fisher, OP, who leads the Archdiocese of Sydney, Australia."We are overjoyed at the ordination of seven of our brothers to the priesthood of Jesus Christ," Father Allen Moran, OP, prior provincial of the Dominican Friars of the Province of...
Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, archbishop of Cologne in Germany. / Credit: Marko Orlovic/German Bishops' Conference (DBK)Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 6, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).Here's a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:Petition to Pope Leo XIV to remove German cardinal gains over 60K signatures A petition launched by a Munich priest to Pope Leo XIV calling for the dismissal of Cologne, Germany, archbishop Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki has gained 60,130 signatures, CNA Deutsch, CNA's German-language news partner, reported on Wednesday. The German-language petition accuses Woelki of moral corruption and argues that he has lost all credibility in the public sphere and the Church at large after investigations of the cardinal were discontinued after the payment of a 26,000-euro (about $29,700) fine. The petition cites the cardinal's alleged failure to deal with sexual abuse by Church officials as legal basis for dismissal under can...
Pope Leo XIV addresses pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square for his general audience on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Jun 6, 2025 / 09:35 am (CNA).A group of European bishops have turned to Pope Leo XIV and the Holy See for help as the Court of Justice of the European Union reviews a Belgian court case about the cancellation of names from baptismal records.In a May 23 audience at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV "told us that he considers the issue very important. He mentioned it right from the start. He said, 'I really want to hear your opinion,'" Alessandro Calcagno, a lawyer and assistant general secretary of the European Union bishops' conference (COMECE), told ACI Stampa, CNA's Italian-language news partner.The Court of Justice of the European Union is currently hearing a case brought by the Brussels Court of Appeal, which asked for clarification about whether the Catholic Church's refusal to erase names from baptismal records when requeste...
null / Credit: Blue Planet Studio/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Jun 6, 2025 / 10:31 am (CNA).Catholic bishops from Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C., released a pastoral letter this week addressing the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and the Church's response to the numerous challenges and opportunities the technology presents. Signed by Baltimore Archbishop William Lori, Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, Wilmington Bishop William Koenig, and Maryland's four auxiliary bishops, the letter, titled "The Face of Christ in a Digital Age," urges Christians to discern "how to speak and live the Gospel amid the new language and powers emerging through artificial intelligence."Released ahead of the solemnity of Pentecost, the bishops write that Christians should not fear the rapid development of technology, which "is not foreign to the Spirit's work, for God's Spirit moves through history, culture, and human creativity."However, the bishops write: "Will we allow tec...
Stained glass window of Blessed Carlo Acutis at St. Aldhelm's in Malmesbury, England. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Thomas Kulandaisamy/Catholic HeraldVatican City, Jun 6, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).When will Carlo Acutis be canonized? That is the question Catholics are asking after the ceremony scheduled for April 27 was postponed due to the death of Pope Francis.The young millennial, who suffered from leukemia and whose astonishing life and love for the Catholic Church sparked worldwide interest, died on Oct. 12, 2006, and was buried in Assisi, according to his wishes, due to his admiration for St. Francis.Acutis was declared venerable in 2018 and blessed on Oct. 10, 2020. On May 23, 2024, Pope Francis paved the way for the youth to be elevated to sainthood after approving a second miracle attributed to his intercession.The scientifically inexplicable event that allegedly occurred with Acutis' intervention concerned a 21-year-old Costa Rican woman, Valeria Valverde, who mirac...
A statue of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in the Seton Legacy Garden at the Seton Shrine in Maryland. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Seton ShrineWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 6, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).This month the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is hosting two pilgrimages to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of the canonization of the first American-born saint. The Footsteps of Mother Seton pilgrimage and the Camino of Maryland will both offer a chance for the faithful to walk together in prayer and travel through some of the same places that Seton did more than 200 years ago."As the late Pope Francis once said, 'Making a pilgrimage to the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is one of the most eloquent expressions of the faith of God's people,'" the executive director at the shrine, Rob Judge, said in a press release."We see every day how our sacred and historical spaces at the shrine enable pilgrims to encounter Our Lord, grow in their faith, and receive ...
Fairbanks, Alaska, Bishop Steven Maekawa, OP, said he plans to offer a special Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Fairbanks for Father Alphonsus Afina, who was captured by Boko Haram on June 1, 2025. / Credit: RadioKAOS, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsCNA Staff, Jun 5, 2025 / 16:09 pm (CNA).A Nigerian-born priest who served in the Diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska, for more than half a decade has been captured by the terrorist group Boko Haram after returning to his home country. Fairbanks Bishop Steven Maekawa, OP, said in a statement this week that Father Alphonsus Afina was "captured by Boko Haram as he was serving the Church in the Diocese of Maiduguri" in the Nigerian state of Borno.Afina served in the Alaskan diocese for six and a half years before returning to Nigeria last April, the bishop said. "Pray for his freedom from captivity and for his physical and spiritual strength," he wrote. The bishop said he planned to offer a special Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral...
Kentucky Capitol. / Credit: Alexey Stiop/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Jun 5, 2025 / 17:34 pm (CNA).Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news:Kentucky ACLU drops suit challenging state's near-ban on abortion The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky recently dropped a lawsuit it filed last year challenging Kentucky's protections for unborn children. The ACLU filed a motion last Friday to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit and did not give a reason. The organization filed the suit, Poe v. Coleman, last year in a state court in Louisville on behalf of a woman identified under the pseudonym Mary Poe for her privacy. She was seven weeks pregnant at the time.The suit challenged Kentucky's laws that protect unborn children from abortion: namely the state's trigger law prohibiting most abortions after Roe v. Wade was overturned and a separate law protecting unborn children after six weeks of life. Kentucky law allows abortions only when the m...
