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Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica, where Bernini's gorgeous bronze monument to the Chair of Peter acts as a massivebronze reliquary for the historic wooden chair. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Feb 22, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).Every year on Feb. 22, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the Chair of St. Peter, a tradition that dates back more than 1,600 years.The feast honors not just a physical chair but what it represents: the authority of St. Peter, the first pope, and the unbroken line of his successors.References to the "Chair of Peter" date back to the early centuries of Christianity. St. Jerome, a biblical scholar of the fourth century, wrote in a letter: "I follow no leader save Christ, so I enter into communion with … the Chair of Peter, for this I know is the rock upon which the Church is built."The feast itself has been celebrated on Feb. 22 since at least A.D. 336, according to Monsignor Tiziano Ghirelli, a canon of St. Peter's Basilica. ...
Sviatoslav Shevchuk is major archbishop of Kyiv-Galicia and primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. / Credit: Screenshot/EWTN News NightlyWashington D.C., Feb 22, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church during a visit to Washington, D.C., this week advocated for a lasting peace in Ukraine "that does not appease dictators" as the U.S. begins negotiations with Russia."Putin's objectives are clear: He wants to erase Ukraine, its people, and its church," Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk stated during a panel discussion at the Hudson Institute on Thursday."If Russia succeeds in occupying Ukraine, our church will not survive. For us, it's a matter of life and death," Shevchuk said. He continued: "History teaches us that whenever Russia takes control of territories with Eastern Catholics, it enforces them into the Russian Orthodox Church, drives them into exile, or sends them to perish in prison camps."Shevchuk's visit comes as the Trump ...
American Principles Project President Terry Schilling. / Credit: Courtesy of CPAC/ScreenshotWashington D.C., Feb 21, 2025 / 19:50 pm (CNA).In the wake of the 2024 election and with Republicans in full control of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives, social conservatives gathering at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) said they are relishing the opportunity to switch from a defensive to offensive posture on several policy fronts.Mercedes Schlapp, a senior fellow at the American Conservative Union (ACU) Foundation and wife of ACU chairman and CPAC organizer Matt Schlapp, told CNA Friday she believes that specifically, "the death of wokeism and gender ideology has been a crucial part of President [Donald] Trump's victory and the Republicans' victory." "[Trump] talks about the revolution of common sense when he's talking about two genders," said Schlapp, who is Catholic. Schlapp said Trump's focus on gender ideology "really hit home for p...
Statue of St. Peter in front of St. Peter's Basilica. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Feb 21, 2025 / 16:30 pm (CNA).A ruling by the High Court of England and Wales published Feb. 21 has confirmed that the Vatican Secretariat of State was deceived by Italian financier Raffaele Mincione in the irregular purchase of a London building.For this transaction that ended in fraud Mincione was sentenced in December 2023 by a Vatican lower court to five years and six months in prison for financial crimes related to the case.In addition, he was ordered to forfeit 200.5 million euros (about $210 million), one of the largest financial penalties ever imposed in the Vatican courts.In that trial, Cardinal Angelo Becciu was also sentenced to five and a half years in prison for embezzlement of public funds.According to the ruling, Becciu arranged the acquisition of property located on Sloane Avenue when he was deputy secretary of state from 2011 to 2018.To do so, he used a third of the ...
The offices of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Farragutful, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsCNA Staff, Feb 21, 2025 / 17:05 pm (CNA).Pope Francis appointed Father Gregg Caggianelli, an Air Force veteran and Florida priest, as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, on Friday.Caggianelli, 56, has served on active duty and in the reserves for more than 30 years. He currently works at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, as a mobilization assistant to the Air Force Academy chaplain.Caggianelli is a priest of the Diocese of Venice, Florida, and has served as vice rector of a Florida seminary since 2013. Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the U.S., announced his appointment on Feb. 21. Caggianelli shared that he was both "humbled and grateful" for the appointment. "After the initial shock and disbelief, and much time begging for ...
EWTN's Raymond Arroyo interviews Father Tad Pacholczyk, senior ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, about the moral concerns inherent in IVF on Feb. 20, 2025. / Credit: EWTN News/The World OverWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 21, 2025 / 17:45 pm (CNA).Father Tad Pacholczyk, senior ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC), discussed on EWTN this week the moral concerns and risks of in vitro fertilization (IVF) following the Trump administration executive order promoting access to the treatment.In a Feb. 20 interview on EWTN's "The World Over with Raymond Arroyo," Pacholczyk said IVF is "called a pro-life, pro-family technology, but at its core, it's not.""I think it's good to start out and emphasize that it's good to hear the president seeing the importance of family formation," Pacholczyk said. However, he continued, "there are a number of concerns that arise in the wake of this technology … that has just ga...
Pope Francis prays during his Wednesday general audience on Feb. 5, 2025, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Feb 21, 2025 / 06:05 am (CNA).Pope Francis was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Friday, Feb. 14, to undergo testing and treatment for bronchitis, the Vatican said. On Tuesday he was diagnosed with double pneumonia but on Wednesday and Thursday showed "slight improvement," according to the Vatican. However, the Vatican confirmed it is likely Pope Francis will not recite the Sunday Angelus this weekend.Follow here for the latest news on Pope Francis' health and hospitalization:
The Justice and Peace Commission of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference has called for "racial reconciliation" in response to ongoing land reform disputes between South Africa and the United States government. / Credit Photos courtesy of SACBCACI Africa, Feb 21, 2025 / 11:50 am (CNA).The Justice and Peace Commission of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC) has called for "racial reconciliation" in response to ongoing land reform disputes causing tension between South Africa and the United States government.In early February, South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa reportedly signed the Expropriation Act into law, permitting the government there to seize land without compensation. This policy aims to address historical land disparities favoring the country's white minority.President Donald Trump criticized the move, stating: "South Africa is confiscating land and treating certain classes of people very badly." In response, he issued an executive ...
After receiving assistance from the Catholic Charities RGV Humanitarian Respite Center, migrant families from Mexico and Central America who have been granted asylum in the United States are processed for their transport to various destinations across the United States at the Central Station Bus Terminal on June 19, 2018, in McAllen, Texas. / Credit: Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesCNA Staff, Feb 21, 2025 / 13:40 pm (CNA).A federal judge has denied a request from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to block a federal funding freeze that the bishops say will greatly harm refugee aid efforts in the United States. The USCCB sued the Trump administration earlier this week over what the bishops said was an unlawful suspension of funding for refugee resettlement and aid programs. The suspension came via one of several executive orders President Donald Trump issued shortly after taking office. The results of the suspension have been "devastati...
The Reichstag building in Berlin, where the Bundestag meets. / Credit: jan zeschky via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)CNA Newsroom, Feb 21, 2025 / 14:10 pm (CNA).As German voters prepare for federal elections on Feb. 23, the country's Catholics find themselves navigating unprecedented divisions on issues that cut to the heart of Church teaching, from migration policy to gender ideology and the protection of life.The elections come at a time when traditional party allegiances are being questioned and multiple Catholic voices are speaking with markedly different emphasis on key moral and social issues.What do the current polls show?Recent polls place the Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) at around 30%, followed by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) at approximately 20%. The Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens are polling around 15% each, with the SPD holding a slight advantage. Other parties, including the FDP, the Left Party, and BSW face uncertainty about clearing the 5% threshold requir...
