African bishop cautions Catholic journalists against compromising standards

Bishop António Francisco Jaca of the Diocese of Benguela in Angola speaks on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Radio Ecclesia, Angola's Catholic Radio on Dec. 8, 2024. / Credit: João Vissesse/ACI AfricaLuanda, Angola, Dec 12, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).Catholic journalists in Angola received from one of the country's leading bishops an impassioned charge about their vocation that transcends borders.Speaking during a thanksgiving Mass for the 70th anniversary of Radio Ecclesia, Angola's Catholic Radio, Bishop António Francisco Jaca of the country's Diocese of Benguela emphasized the need for Catholic journalists to adhere to their profession's code of ethics. "A Catholic journalist cannot be allied with the powerful of this world. You must not be bought; you must not lose your freedom. Journalism is a vocation that requires commitment, dedication, the ability to give, and sacrifice," Jaca said during the Dec. 8 Eucharistic celebration at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Major Sem...

Russian Orthodox patriarch writes to pregnant women to encourage them to keep their babies

Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church. / Credit: Nickolay Vinokurov/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Dec 12, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill is sending letters in support of new mothers in Russia as part of a new project designed to encourage pregnant women to keep their babies, according to a Russian state news agency.There were a reported 500,000 abortions in Russia in 2022, even as Russia's birth rate hit its lowest in a quarter century this year. Amid the demographic crisis in Russia, the patriarch has committed to combatting the "tragedy" of abortion.The goal of the letters is to encourage women to keep their babies, according to "Hello, Mom!" leader Natalia Moskvitina, president of the charity group Women for Life."Women received letters from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill during their gynecologist appointments at the Church Hospital of St. Alexis in Moscow," Moskvitina said in a state...

Pope Francis: Gentleness, respect are more effective than 'the strength of arguments'

Pope Francis addresses pilgrims gathered in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican for his general audience on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNAVatican City, Dec 11, 2024 / 10:25 am (CNA).Pope Francis told thousands of pilgrims attending his general audience on Wednesday that "the strength of arguments" is not enough to convince people about Jesus Christ and his Church.Concluding his 17-part catechetical series on "The Spirit and the Bride" this week, the Holy Father said "the first and most effective form of evangelization" is the love we show others. Pilgrims listen to Pope Francis' address during his general audience on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA"The apostle Peter exhorted the first Christians with these words: 'Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you' (cf. 1 Pt 3:15)," the pope t...

Pope Francis is a proponent of ??popular piety, expert says

Father Juan Miguel Ferrer Grenesche of the Archdiocese of Toledo in Spain is an expert in popular piety. / Credit: Nicolás de Cárdenas/ACI PrensaMadrid, Spain, Dec 11, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).Father Juan Miguel Ferrer Grenesche, a Spanish priest and an expert in liturgy and popular piety, explained in anticipation of Pope Francis' upcoming visit to Corsica on his 47th apostolic journey that the pontiff "has highly valued popular piety" throughout his life.Popular piety, in this sense, means the piety characteristic of a people, often manifested in public expressions of faith. On Dec. 15, the pope will visit the city of Ajaccio, the capital of the French island, to close a conference on popular religiosity in the Mediterranean in which Ferrer will participate, speaking about processions and popular faith in Spain.In an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, Ferrer explained how he believes the pope will approach his participation in this conference, s...

Wisconsin parishioners launch GoFundMe to appeal to Vatican to save 150-year-old church

The interior of St. Boniface is seen in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. / Credit: John MaurerCNA Staff, Dec 11, 2024 / 15:05 pm (CNA).Parishioners in a small Wisconsin city have launched a GoFundMe as part of an effort to save a nearly 150-year-old church from permanent closure. Advocates for St. Boniface Church in Manitowoc are hoping to raise $8,000 to bankroll an appeal at the Vatican to stop the Diocese of Green Bay from shuttering the church. The parish itself dates to the 1850s while the current building was constructed in 1886. St. Boniface as it appeared in the 1880s. Credit: Photo courtesy of John MaurerThe diocese ordered the parish to merge with several others in 2005, with the last regularly scheduled Mass taking place there that year and the most recent Mass taking place in 2013. Bishop David Ricken issued a decree last year ordering that the 137-year-old building be relegated to "profane but not sordid use," meaning it can be sold and used...

Notre Dame chief architect reveals 'particular devotion' to Our Lady

Philippe Villeneuve, the architect of the restoration of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, speaks with EWTN News' Colm Flynn about his devotion to Our Lady on "EWTN News In Depth." / Credit: Screenshot/"EWTN News In Depth"CNA Staff, Dec 11, 2024 / 14:35 pm (CNA).The chief architect of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris shared in an interview with EWTN that he felt Our Lady guided the restoration of the 861-year-old cathedral following the fire that ravaged the building in April 2019.In an interview with Colm Flynn on "EWTN News In Depth," architect Philippe Villeneuve said that he was a believer with a "particular devotion to Mary."When asked if he was "a man of faith," Villeneuve explained that he had kept this private during the rebuilding, but now he is ready to reveal it."I spent five years saying nothing about this because I'm a civil servant in a secular republic, and therefore, I couldn't say something like this," Villeneuve told Flynn. "But now...

Quebec bishops 'deeply concerned' after premier says he wants to end prayer in public

Trois-Rivières Bishop Martin Laliberté (right), the president of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Quebec, said the bishops there were "deeply concerned about the erasure of people and believing communities from Quebec's public space" after Quebec Premier François Legault (left) said last week that praying in public parks and streets "is not something we want in Quebec." / Credit: Lea-Kim Chateauneuf, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Michel Montembeault, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsCNA Staff, Dec 11, 2024 / 12:40 pm (CNA).Bishops in Quebec are expressing alarm after a prominent government official said he wanted to end prayer in public spaces in the Canadian province.Quebec Premier François Legault said last week that praying in public parks and streets "is not something we want in Quebec." The premier said he wished to "send a very clear message to the Islamists" who he suggested were a danger to "the values ??that are fundamental to Quebec.""W...

Healing at Lourdes of British World War I soldier declared 'miraculous'

John Traynor is believed to be the first British Catholic to be cured at Lourdes. / Credit: Courtesy of Hospitality of Our Lady of LourdesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 10, 2024 / 09:30 am (CNA).The healing of a British World War I soldier at the Marian shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France has been proclaimed as the 71st miracle attributed to the pilgrimage site.Archbishop Malcolm McMahon of Liverpool in England declared the miraculous healing of John Traynor, a soldier of the British Royal Navy, on Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception and the 81st anniversary of his death.The Church has not recognized a miraculous event at Lourdes since 2018.The news comes after the president of the Lourdes Office of Medical Observations, Dr. Alessandro de Franciscis, commissioned a review of Traynor's case last year, which was undertaken by an English doctor and member of the International Medical Committee at Lourdes, Kieran Moriarty.Moriarty's investigations uncovered numerous ...

World's youngest cardinal is just 44 years old

Cardinal Mykola Bychok is a Ukrainian Greek Catholic prelate. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN NewsACI Prensa Staff, Dec 10, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).Among the new crop of cardinals created by Pope Francis on Dec. 7, Cardinal Mykola Bychok, CSSR, stands out. He is the bishop of the Eparchy of Sts. Peter and Paul in Melbourne for Ukrainian Catholics in Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania, and at age 44, he has become the youngest cardinal in the world. The website of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Australia explains that the new cardinal belongs to an Eastern-rite church, so for the Dec. 7 occasion he wore "a purple robe according to the old Kyivan tradition" that was "adorned with embroidered images of Sts. Peter and Paul.""On his head he wore a black koukoul [or koukoulion] in accordance with the Ukrainian monastic tradition, styled after the 17th-century Brest Union and trimmed with a thin red border." Bychok also wore on his chest a medallion with an image of the Virgin...

Catholic Church to European Union: Fight against anti-Christian hate

The flag of the European Union flying in Rome. / Credit: Bohumil Petrik/CNAMadrid, Spain, Dec 10, 2024 / 13:30 pm (CNA).The Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) has called on the European Union (EU) to appoint a coordinator for the fight against anti-Christian hatred in the same way it already employs coordinators to combat hate directed against Jews and Muslims."The time is mature for the appointment of an EU coordinator on combating anti-Christian hatred in Europe," said Alessandro Calcagno, an adviser to the bishops on fundamental rights, during his speech at the European Prayer Breakfast held at the European Parliament last week. "It is not a question of victimism but equal access to tools of protection," Calcagno said. COMECE is the body that officially represents the Catholic Church to the EU.Calcagno explained that the right to freedom of religion, as well as provisions to fight against discrimination on the grounds of religion, ...