Caribbean Cardinal Kelvin Felix dies at 91

Pope Francis offers a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica for the repose of the souls of cardinals and bishops who died the previous year. / Credit: Daniel Iba´n~ez/CNARome Newsroom, Jun 1, 2024 / 07:08 am (CNA).Cardinal Kelvin Edward Felix died in his home on the island nation of St. Lucia Thursday, the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, at the age of 91.The Dominican cardinal led the Archdiocese of Castries in St. Lucia from 1981 until his retirement in 2008. In 2014, in his first-ever consistory, Pope Francis made Felix a cardinal, the first from the Antilles. After his retirement, Felix lived on the island nation of Dominica, where he assisted the local Church.The Archdiocese of Castries said the retired archbishop moved to the Benedictine Abbey of Our Lady of the Assumption on St. Lucia in 2023 to receive medical care for health problems which required him to withdraw from most public functions."Frail from age and medical complications he eventually succumbed after days of constan...

New Filipino bishop of the Pacific's Cook Islands hopes to 'spiritually nourish' his people

Bishop Reynaldo Bunyi Getalado was ordained bishop at St. Joseph's Cathedral in the Cook Islands' capital city, Avarua, on April 27, 2024, in the presence of Father Giosuè Busti, the first deputy-head of mission at the apostolic nunciature of the Holy See in Wellington and representative of Pope Francis, as well as hundreds of Catholic faithful. / Credit: St James the Less Roman Catholic Church Perris/YouTubeRome Newsroom, Jun 1, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).One month after his ordination as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, Bishop Reynaldo Bunyi Getalado expressed his aspiration to "spiritually nourish" the people of God in the Pacific Ocean nation and develop a "harmonious relationship" with the priests of the diocese.Getalado was ordained bishop at St. Joseph's Cathedral in the Cook Islands' capital city, Avarua, on April 27 in the presence of Father Giosuè Busti, the first deputy-head of mission at the apostolic nunciature of the Holy See in Welling...

U.S. ambassador to Holy See to step down in July

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Joe Donnelly will leave his post in July, the embassy announced. The ambassador will step down from his role and return to his native Indiana on July 8, the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See said in a post on X published May 30. "It has been an honor and a privilege to serve my country in this unique way," Donnelly was quoted as saying in the post. The former Indiana senator assumed his role in Rome in April 2022 when he presented his letters of credential to Pope Francis. His posting coincided with the 40th anniversary of the United States establishing formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See in 1984. Pope Francis greets Joe Donnelly, U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, after his annual address to the diplomatic corps Jan. 8, 2024, in the Hall of Blessings at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)In a March interview with Catholic News Service, Donnelly said that when interacting with Vatican officials his job was "to try to make ...

Pope encourages young priests to rely on each other in times of crisis

ROME (CNS) -- The first years of priesthood are challenging, and the best way to survive and thrive is through closeness to God, to one's bishop, one's fellow priests and to one's parishioners, Pope Francis told priests who have been ordained less than 10 years."One never comes out of a crisis alone," the pope told them, according to the Vatican press office.Pope Francis held a closed-door meeting May 29 with about 90 priests working in the Diocese of Rome who have been ordained since 2014; they included priests who were ordained for the diocese in April.Earlier in May the pope had met with priests who have been in ministry for more than 40 years, and he is scheduled to meet June 11 with clerics ordained between 11 and 39 years ago.Meeting at a church complex owned and staffed by the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master, a religious order of women, Pope Francis and the priests began with prayer and then moved into a private question-and-answer session. Pope Francis smiles as he lis...

Pope Francis: Building peace requires 'taking a risk'

Members of ACLI (Italian Christian Workers' Associations) hold a sign with the word "peace" in Italian, in St. Peter's Square on June 1, 2024. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Jun 1, 2024 / 12:00 pm (CNA).Being peacemakers in the style of Jesus Christ, while necessary and valuable, can also be risky, Pope Francis said on Saturday, as multiple conflicts continue to rage around the world.Speaking to members of Italian Christian Workers' Associations (ACLI) at the Vatican on June 1, the pontiff said, "interceding for peace is something that goes far beyond mere political compromise because it requires putting oneself on the line and taking a risk.""Our world, we know, is marked by conflict and division, and your witness as peacemakers, as intercessors for peace, is as necessary and valuable as ever," he underlined.Pope Francis spoke to members of Italian Christian Workers' Associations at the Vatican on June 1, 2024, about "interceding for peace.". Credit: ...

Seeing the Eucharist through the eyes of 10 saints

null / Sidney de Almeida / ShutterstockACI Prensa Staff, Jun 1, 2024 / 10:20 am (CNA).Jesus is present in the Eucharist and the Catholic Church, and many of the Church's saints have encouraged Catholics to prayerfully participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.Throughout the centuries, the saints have taught us through their witness and their writings, the vital importance of the Eucharist in the Christian life.Below 10 saints offer their wise counsel on loving the Eucharist more:1. St. Alphonsus Mary Liguori"Know for certain that the time you spend with devotion before this most divine Sacrament will be the time that will bring you the most good in this life and will console you the most in your death and in eternity. And know that perhaps you will gain more in a quarter of an hour of adoration in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament than in all the other spiritual exercises of the day."2. St. Francis de Sales"When prayer...

Lawsuit: Los Angeles Co. Fire Dept. 'retaliated' against Christian employee who refused to raise Pride flag

The Progress Pride flag is shown above (center flag) at a White House "Pride" celebration on June 10, 2023. / The White House, public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsCNA Newsroom, Jun 1, 2024 / 10:00 am (CNA).A Christian employee has filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Fire Department in which he alleges he was subjected to "retaliation" and "religious discrimination" for refusing to raise a well-known Pride theme flag while he was working.A veteran county employee, Captain Jeffrey Little alleges that the fire department violated his religious freedom when they ordered him to raise the so-called "Progress Pride" flag after he requested a religious exemption.The lawsuit alleges that Little was suspended from his role in a department unit due to the dispute and subjected to an internal investigation. It also alleges that Little's superiors breached his privacy by informing unauthorized persons about his request for a religious accommodation, which led to him rec...

Catholic doctors, ethicists criticize Pontifical Academy for Life

Statue of St. Peter in front of St. Peter's Basilica. / Credit: Vatican MediaCNA Newsroom, May 31, 2024 / 09:47 am (CNA).Representatives of the Australian Catholic Medical Association, with the support of several Catholic moral theologians and bioethicists, have criticized a book published by the Pontifical Academy for Life for its lack of understanding of "current science" and specific areas of medicine. The experts argue that the book spreads "misleading and confusing" theological and medical information that contradicts established Church teachings on contraception and assisted reproductive technologies.The book in question, "Etica Teologica Della Vita" (ETV), covers "Theological Ethics of Life: Scripture, Tradition, and Practical Challenges." The 528-page Italian publication is a synthesis of a seminar sponsored by the academy in 2021.The critique, published April 23 in the Linacre Quarterly, the official journal of the Catholic Medical Association, describes cont...

Church responds to mob attack on Christians in Pakistan

Catholics attend Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Lahore, on Aug. 20, 2023, four days after mob attacked several Pakistani churches over blasphemy allegations. More than 80 Christian homes and 19 churches were vandalized when hundreds rampaged through a Christian neighbourhood in Jaranwala in Punjab province on Aug. 16. / Credit: ARIF ALI/AFP via Getty ImagesBlackburn, UK, May 31, 2024 / 15:40 pm (CNA).Church officials strongly condemned a recent attack on Christians in Sargodha, Pakistan, and expressed disappointment over the level of intolerance in Pakistani society.On May 25, a violent mob attacked the homes of two Christian families in Mujahid Colony, Sargodha City, about 150 miles south of Islamabad, in Punjab province of Pakistan. The mob burned and vandalized the Christian houses and their shoe factory after Nazir Masih, a Catholic, was accused of blasphemy for allegedly desecrating pages of the Holy Quran.Masih, 76, spent a couple of years ...

Tennessee bans 'abortion trafficking' of underage girls   

null / Credit: ShutterstockCNA Staff, May 31, 2024 / 14:30 pm (CNA).An adult who helps an underage girl get a surgical or chemical abortion in Tennessee will be liable to criminal prosecution and a civil lawsuit for wrongful death starting July 1 if a new law enacted this week takes effect.The new Class C felony, called "abortion trafficking of a minor," applies to an adult who "recruits, harbors, or transports" a pregnant girl 17 or younger within the state for the purpose of procuring an abortion. It does not apply to the parents or legal guardian of the underage girl. A Class C felony in Tennessee carries a prison sentence of between three and 15 years and may carry a fine of up to $10,000. Abortion is already illegal in Tennessee except to preserve the life of the mother or "prevent serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman," according to a statute enacted in April 2023. Tennessee is one of 14 states t...