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Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime incenses the altar at the eighth Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica, Saturday, May 3, 2025 / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNACNA Newsroom, May 3, 2025 / 14:00 pm (CNA).Pope Francis desired that consecrated Catholic men and women possess "a heart and a spirit pure and free enough" to love and serve the least among us, Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime said at the eighth Novendiales Mass on Saturday.The prelate, the former prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, celebrated, and delivered the homily at, the second-to-last Mass held in mourning for the Holy Father, who passed away on April 21. Praying for the dead, the cardinal said during the homily at St. Peter's Basilica, is "the greatest work of charity." Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime speaks at the eighth Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis at St. Peter's Basilica, Saturday, May 3, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA"When we help...
Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime speaks at the eighth Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis at St. Peter's Basilica, Saturday, May 3, 2025 / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNAVatican City, May 3, 2025 / 14:30 pm (CNA).Editor's Note: On May 3, 2025, Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, the former prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, delivered the following homily during the 8th day of Novendiales Masses for Pope Francis. The text below is a CNA working translation of the Italian original published by the Vatican.Dearest Sisters and Brothers,St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori teaches that praying for the dead is the greatest work of charity. When we help our neighbors materially, we share ephemeral goods, but when we pray for them we do so with eternal goods. In a similar way lived the Holy Curé of Ars, universal patron of priests.To pray for the dead means, therefore, to love those who have died, and that is what we are doing now for Pope F...
Cardinals participate in the fifth Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis on April 30, 2025, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNACNA Newsroom, May 3, 2025 / 10:09 am (CNA).The conclave to elect Pope Francis' successor will begin on May 7, as the Church enters the final preparatory phase for choosing its 267th pope.Follow here for live updates of the latest news and information on the papal transition:
Cardinal Francis Arinze speaks to EWTN News on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025 / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNAVatican City, May 3, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).Cardinal Francis Arinze has said that the Church needs "a pope who is full of fire for the kingdom of Christ." In an interview with EWTN earlier this year, the 92-year-old cardinal reflected on the qualities needed in the next pope, offered wisdom to younger cardinals who will enter their first conclave, and spoke of the challenges facing the Church today. "We want a pope who is full of fire for the kingdom of Christ," the Nigerian cardinal said. "A pope who is there spreading the Gospel. … A pope through whom people will believe." Cardinal Francis Arinze speaks to EWTN News on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNAFor Arinze, who has served as a bishop for 60 years and a cardinal for 40, the next successor of St. Peter must above all be a witness to Christ, a pope whose "life is powerful." "The biggest chal...
Confessional. / AS photo studio/ShutterstockCNA Newsroom, May 3, 2025 / 06:30 am (CNA).Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson on Friday signed a controversial state law that requires priests to report child abuse to authorities even if they learn of it during the sacrament of confession.The measure, introduced in the state legislature earlier this year, adds clergy to the list of mandatory abuse reporters in the state, but doesn't include an exemption for information learned in the confessional. A 2023 version of the proposal had offered an exemption for abuse allegations learned "solely as a result of a confession." The latest bill does not contain such a carve-out, and in fact explicitly notes that clergy do not qualify for a "privileged communication" exemption. Ferguson told reporters that as a Catholic he was "very familiar" with the sacrament of confession. "[I] felt this was important legislation," he said on Friday. Spokane Bishop Thomas Daly, meanwhile, said in a Frida...
Cardinal John O'Connor attends the St. Patrick's Day parade in New York City as grand marshal on March 17, 1995. / Credit: JON LEVY/AFP via Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 3, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).In 1975, Cardinal John O'Connor, the late former archbishop of New York, visited the Dachau concentration camp. His life-changing experience there eventually led him to found the Sisters of Life, a community of women dedicated to living out his mission: protecting and enhancing human life.Today, 25 years after his death, more than a 100 of those sisters will gather with O'Connor's relatives, friends, and those who have benefited from his ministry to celebrate his legacy.Sister Maris Stella, vicar general of the Sisters of Life, reflected on that legacy and told CNA that throughout his life O'Connor "had great respect for the dignity of the human person" and always had the dream to work with people in need, specifically children with disabilities and other vulnerable groups....
Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, celebrates the seventh Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis on May 2, 2025, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN NewsVatican City, May 2, 2025 / 17:14 pm (CNA).On the seventh day of the Novendiales Masses for Pope Francis, Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti recalled the extreme sacrifice Catholics from the Eastern Catholic Churches have made to remain faithful to the successor of St. Peter, the pope."In the past, Eastern Catholics have agreed to adhere to full communion with the successor of the Apostle Peter, whose body rests in this basilica. And it was in the name of this union that they bore witness, often in blood or persecution, to their faith," Gugerotti said at a Mass on May 2 in St. Peter's Basilica.Eastern Catholics, "in part now reduced, in numbers and in strength but not in faith, from wars and intolerance," he continued, "remain firmly clinging to a sense of...
Cardinals gather for the the seventh Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis on May 2, 2025, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNACNA Newsroom, May 2, 2025 / 17:32 pm (CNA).The conclave to elect Pope Francis' successor will begin on May 7, as the Church enters the final preparatory phase for choosing its 267th pope.Follow here for live updates of the latest news and information on the papal transition:
null / Credit: Bill Chizek/ShutterstockCNA Staff, May 2, 2025 / 17:44 pm (CNA).The National Catholic Committee on Scouting (NCCS) announced today a new memorandum of understanding with Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America, which the organizations say solidifies their "long-standing commitment to the holistic development and spiritual growth of young people.""This agreement reaffirms [our] shared values and outlines collaborative efforts to provide enriching and character-building opportunities for Catholic youth through Scouting," the organizations said in a May 1 joint announcement. The text of the memorandum was not immediately made available. The NCCS, founded in the early 20th century, is an advisory committee that utilizes all the programs and activities of the Boy Scouts of America but works with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to ensure alignment of Catholic Scouting programs with Catholic teaching, the organization says. The organiz...
null / Credit: angellodeco/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 2, 2025 / 18:23 pm (CNA).The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a report Thursday that outlines concerns about the use of life-altering drugs and surgeries on minors who struggle with gender dysphoria.The HHS report notes that this model, sometimes called "gender-affirming care," includes irreversible medical interventions on children who do not have any physical health conditions. The treatments are designed to feminize boys and masculinize girls, and the surgeries make the child's body appear more similar to that of the opposite sex."Systematic reviews of the evidence have revealed deep uncertainty about the purported benefits of these interventions," the foreword of the executive summary of the 400-page report notes.President Donald Trump signed an executive order during his second week in office that directed HHS, led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to produce a report on t...
