Voters in Nebraska will have a choice between two competing abortion measures

A pro-life sign is seen on a roadside in Agnew, Nebraska, on May 14, 2024. / Credit: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty ImagesCNA Staff, Oct 22, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).In an election year in which a record number of states with pro-abortion measures are on the ballot, Nebraska is the only state to have a pro-abortion ballot measure competing with a pro-life measure. Chelsey Youman, with Human Coalition Action, a national pro-life group based in Texas, on "EWTN News In Depth" recently said that amid a "disinformation" campaign, Nebraska is "fighting back.""Nebraska is taking a unique approach to this issue and fighting back, saying that we're not going to accept the pro-abortion industry's rampant push of extreme constitutional measures to allow abortion on demand without limits throughout the entire pregnancy, all three trimesters," Youman told "EWTN News In Depth" host Catherine Hadro on Oct. 18.Nebraska's ballot measure 439 would create a constitutional right to abortio...

5 ways St. John Paul II changed the Catholic Church forever

In 1984, Pope John Paul II met in Rome with 300,000 young people from all over the world in a meeting that laid the foundations for today's World Youth Day. / Credit: Gregorini Demetrio, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia CommonsVatican City, Oct 22, 2024 / 05:00 am (CNA).You probably know that St. John Paul II was the second-longest-serving pope in modern history with 27 years of pontificate, and he was the first non-Italian pontiff since the Dutch Pope Adrian VI in 1523.But did you know that he also changed the Catholic Church forever during those 27 years? Here are five ways he did that:1. He helped bring about the 1989 fall of communism in Eastern Europe.The pope's official biographer, George Weigel, who for decades chronicled the pope's engagement with civic leaders, noted that the way Pope John Paul II influenced the political landscape was enormous. His political influence is seen best in the way his engagement with world leaders assisted the downfall of the U.S.S.R.Just da...

'The Dark Charm of Halloween' is title of new book by International Association of Exorcists

"The Dark Charm of Halloween" is the title of a new book launched by the International Association of Exorcists (AIE, by its Italian acronym) and written by its vice president, Father Francesco Bamonte, along with Alberto Castaldini, spokesman for the institution. / Credit: Courtesy of the International Association of ExorcistsLima Newsroom, Oct 21, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA)."The Dark Charm of Halloween" is the title of a new book launched by the International Association of Exorcists (AIE, by its Italian acronym) and written by its vice president, Father Francesco Bamonte, along with Alberto Castaldini, spokesman for the institution.In the online presentation of the book, which is written in question-and-answer format and now available in Italian only, Bamonte pointed out that Halloween is not "a playful and innocent celebration or a secular occasion" but that "in reality, it is the representation of a pagan religious celebration: the Samhain festival originating in the Celtic wor...

Pope Francis to release new encyclical 'Dilexit Nos' on the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Pope Francis prays during his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Oct. 9, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNAVatican City, Oct 21, 2024 / 07:49 am (CNA).Pope Francis will publish the fourth encyclical of his pontificate on Thursday on "the human and divine love of the heart of Jesus Christ."The encyclical, titled Dilexit Nos, meaning "he has loved us," will be published Oct. 24.The pope had announced in June that he was preparing a document on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, noting that meditating on the Lord's love can "illuminate the path of ecclesial renewal and say something meaningful to a world that seems to have lost its heart."Pope Francis then described the document as something that "brings together the precious reflections of previous magisterial texts and a long history that goes back to the sacred Scriptures in order to re-propose today to the whole Church this devotion imbued with spiritual beauty.""I believe it will do us great good to med...

Jerusalem cardinal: Two-state solution to end Israel-Hamas war is now 'unrealistic'

When asked what Christians can do outside the Holy Land, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa responded: "Pray and support. Support the Christian community as much as they can." / Credit: EWTN NewsACI Prensa Staff, Oct 21, 2024 / 18:30 pm (CNA).The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, has indicated that for now a two-state solution to end the war between Israel and Hamas in the Holy Land is "not realistic.""My impression is that no one wants a wider conflict, but no one is able to stop it," Pizzaballa told EWTN's Colm Flynn in an exclusive interview. "Now you need something new, creative, I don't know what, but all the previous agreements, ideas, the prospective two-state solution, everything is not realistic now," the cardinal explained.Pizzaballa said the war between Israel and Hamas that has been underway since Oct. 7, 2023, is the worst period the people of the Holy Land have experienced in the last 35 years. "Not only for the violence … but...

JD Vance at Wisconsin faith rally says Catholics 'feel abandoned' by Biden, Harris

Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance listens as Republican presidential nominee former president Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds on Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. / Credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 21, 2024 / 18:10 pm (CNA).Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, at an Oct. 20 faith rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin, accused the Biden-Harris administration of persecuting Christians and Catholics in particular.In his speech, Vance also spoke about religious liberty and the impact of inflation, illegal immigration, and drug addiction."There are a lot of Catholics … [who] I think rightfully feel abandoned by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' leadership, and they're just looking for somebody to protect their rights and make this country an affordable and decent place to raise a family," Vance said at the Sunday afternoon rally in the battleground state. "I think that's ...

3 states pick up abortion pill lawsuit against Food and Drug Administration

Pro-life protestors hold signs outside the Missouri Supreme Court on Sept. 10, 2024, advocating against Amendment 3, which would dramatically expand abortion access in Missouri if passed in November. / Credit: Courtesy of Thomas More SocietyWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 21, 2024 / 17:50 pm (CNA).Three states have picked up a lawsuit previously dismissed by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over its removal of safety restrictions on abortion drugs. In June 2023, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision saying the group of pro-life doctors and organizations who filed the original case lacked standing as they could not show they had been harmed by the abortion drug mifepristone's widespread availability. The states of Missouri, Kansas, and Idaho argue in the new lawsuit, filed in the same Texas federal court as the original case, that "women should have the in-person care of a doctor when taking high-risk drugs....

Thousands of Colombians protest government's embrace of gender ideology

"Don't mess with my children," reads a sign carried by a participant in one of some 30 marches on Oct. 19, 2024, in Colombia to protest the country's health department memorandom that sanctions sex changes for minors. / Credit: Eduardo Berdejo/ACI PrensaACI Prensa Staff, Oct 21, 2024 / 17:30 pm (CNA).Thousands of Colombians took to the streets in some 30 of the country's cities over the weekend to demand the repeal of External Memorandum 115 of the national government's Superintendency of Health (Supersalud) that sanctions sex changes for minors.Sponsored by several organizations that defend life and the family, including Unidos por la Vida (United for Life) and Unión Familia (Family Union), the marches saw wide participation by the country's citizens, including families, religious leaders, and health professionals.In addition to Bogotá, there were demonstrations in Cali, Medellín, Barranquilla, Cartagena, and Santa Marta, among other cities. The demonstration in Bogotá, t...

Mexican priest shot dead after celebrating Mass

Interior of the parish church in the Cuxtitali sector of the city of San Cristóbal de Las Casas in the Mexican state of Chiapas. / Credit: Leogeograph, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsACI Prensa Staff, Oct 21, 2024 / 17:00 pm (CNA).Father Marcelo Pérez of the Mexican Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas was murdered on Saturday, Oct. 19, by unknown assailants. The priest was shot dead after he had finished celebrating Mass and was on his way in his car to continue his pastoral duties.According to the news site El Heraldo de Chiapas, the crime occurred after the priest had finished celebrating the Eucharist at the church located in the Cuxtitali neighborhood and was heading to the church in the Guadalupe neighborhood when some men riding a motorcycle reportedly shot him.The murder was condemned by the Mexican Bishops' Conference (CEM by its Spanish acronym) in an Oct. 20 statement, which said the act "not only deprives the community of a dedicated pastor but also silenc...

Persecution of 10 Catholic bishops in China intensified after Vatican-China deal, report says

Cardinal Joseph Zen arrives at a court for his trial in Hong Kong on Sept. 26, 2022. / Credit: PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty ImagesVatican City, Oct 21, 2024 / 16:30 pm (CNA).A new report sheds light on the repression faced by 10 Catholic bishops in China who have resisted the Chinese Communist Party's attempt to exert control over religious matters since the 2018 China-Vatican agreement on the appointment of bishops. The report, authored by Nina Shea for the Hudson Institute, documents the harrowing experiences of Vatican-approved bishops who have suffered detention without due process, surveillance, police investigations, and banishments from their dioceses for refusal to submit to the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA), a state-managed group controlled by the CCP's United Front Work Department. "This report shows that religious repression of the Catholic Church in China has intensified since the 2018 China-Vatican agreement on the appointment of bishops," Sh...