Knock Shrine event highlights urgent call to revive First Saturdays practice

Bishop John Keenan speaks at the First Saturdays Conference in Knock, Ireland, on Dec. 6, 2025. / Credit: Photo courtesy of First Saturdays ConferenceDublin, Ireland, Dec 9, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).At Knock Shrine on Saturday, Dec. 6, hundreds came from across Ireland to mark the centenary of the First Saturdays devotion and the promises given by Our Lady to Sister Lucia at Fátima in an apparition on Dec. 10, 1925.Bishop John Keenan of Paisley, Scotland, told participants: "We need to respond to Our Lady not with half-measures."Urging a wider devotion in parishes worldwide to the First Saturdays, Keenan said: "A mother's gut reaction is very visceral, the desire to save and to protect. We need to respond to Our Lady not with 'half-measures'; we need to respond to her wounded Immaculate Heart and practice the First Saturdays."The five First Saturdays devotion is an act of reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which requires devotees on five consecutive first Saturdays to go ...

Polish leaders decry EU court ruling as overreach into national family law

null / Credit: Guillaume Paumier via Flickr, filter added (CC BY 2.0)EWTN News, Dec 9, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).Conservative factions across Europe have responded with concern to a recent ruling by the European Union's Court of Justice requiring Poland to recognize "same-sex marriages" performed in other EU member states, despite such unions having no legal status under Polish law.The situation arose when two Polish citizens who had "married" in Germany in 2018 returned to Poland and requested that officials register their union in the country's civil records. Polish authorities declined, explaining that national law did not provide legal recognition for "same-sex couples."Following this legal challenge, a Polish court referred the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg for clarification on how EU law should be interpreted. It is a standard procedure available to national courts before issuing their own rulings.In its November ruling, the CJEU de...

New York archdiocese announces $300 million settlement for victims of clergy abuse

A view of St. Patrick's Cathedral near Rockefeller Center in Manhattan on Feb. 2, 2023, in New York City. The cathedral was completed in 1878 the Gothic Revival style by architect James Renwick Jr. / Credit: Roy Rochlin/Getty ImagesCNA Staff, Dec 9, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).The Archdiocese of New York will pay out nearly a third of a billion dollars to victims of clergy sex abuse, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said this week, offering one of the biggest Church payouts in U.S. history in order to compensate for the "horror of abuse" by clergy there.  Cardinal Dolan said the archdiocese will pay out "a total of more than $300 million" to abuse survivors as part of a "global settlement" with victims. The archdiocese has made "a series of very difficult financial decisions" to help fund the settlement, Cardinal Dolan said in the Dec. 8 statement, including staff layoffs and a 10% reduction in the archdiocese's operating budget. "We are also working to finalize the sale of...

Trump honors Mary's 'freedom from original sin' in Immaculate Conception message

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Aaron Schwartz/Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 8, 2025 / 18:09 pm (CNA).President Donald Trump honored the feast of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8, which appears to be the first time an American president formally recognized the Catholic holy day.The presidential statement recognized the role Mary played in the salvation of humanity and the importance she has in American history. The statement does, however, contain one theological error about the Incarnation. It says God became man when Christ was born, although Catholic doctrine recognizes God becoming man at the Incarnation: when Mary conceived him."Today, I recognize every American celebrating Dec. 8 as a holy day honoring the faith, humility, and love of Mary, mother of Jesus and one of the greatest figures in the Bible," the statement said. Trump, who is not Catholic and describes himself as a "non-denominational Ch...

On solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, pope encourages renewing our 'yes' to God

Pope Leo XIV prays the Angelus prayer on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Dec 8, 2025 / 13:30 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV led the Angelus prayer Dec. 8 from the window of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican on the occasion of the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.Addressing the faithful and pilgrims in attendance in St. Peter's Square, the pontiff commented that on Dec. 8 we express our joy because the Father of heaven wanted her to be "preserved immune from all stain of original sin.""The Lord has granted to Mary the extraordinary grace of a completely pure heart, in view of an even greater miracle: the coming of Christ the Savior," he added.The pope also noted that the gift of the fullness of grace in the young woman of Nazareth "was able to bear fruit because she in her freedom welcomed it, embracing the plan of God."He emphasized that "the Lord always acts in this way: He gives us great gifts, but he leaves ...

Baton Rouge Diocese announces Sunday Mass dispensation for migrants fearing deportation

null / Credit: chayanuphol/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 8, 2025 / 14:00 pm (CNA).Bishop Michael Duca has granted a dispensation from Sunday Mass attendance for immigrants fearing deportation in the Diocese of Baton Rouge, the fourth U.S. diocese to do so.News of the dispensation comes amid heightened presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Louisiana as part of the Trump administration's "Swamp Sweep," which has been reported to include the deployment of 250 Border Patrol agents to the region and plans to arrest 5,000 individuals across Louisiana and Misssissipi."With the recent publicized arrival of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers into south Louisiana and greater Baton Rouge, and since many of the faithful genuinely fear immigration enforcement actions, thereby making it untenable for them to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation, I hereby grant a dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass for those Ca...

Indigenous artifacts from Vatican welcomed in Montreal ceremony

Pope Leo XIV receives Bishop Pierre Goudreault of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (center), Archbishop Richard Smith of Vancouver (right), and Father Jean Vézina, secretary-general of the Canadian bishops (left), in a Nov. 15, 2025, meeting at which the Holy Father gifted dozens of artifacts that originated with Indigenous peoples of the North American country. Leo at the meeting donated 62 pieces from the ethnological collections of the Vatican Museums to the Canadian bishops. / Credit: Vatican MediaMontreal, Canada, Dec 8, 2025 / 14:48 pm (CNA).Vancouver Archbishop Richard Smith said the 62 Indigenous cultural items received from the Vatican marks "a gift freely given" and an important step in rebuilding trust between the Catholic Church and Indigenous peoples.The artifacts, including a rare century-old Western Arctic kayak, were formally transferred to Indigenous leaders in Montreal as part of the Jubilee of Hope declared...

Tennessee faith leaders call on Gov. Lee to stop executions

Republican Gov. William Lee, pictured in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., in September 2025, should stop all executions and support an end to the death penalty, faith leaders said at a Dec. 8, 2025, press conference hosted by the Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (TADP). / Credit: Saul Loeb/GettyWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 8, 2025 / 15:58 pm (CNA).Faith leaders called for the halt of state executions and a complete end to the death penalty in Tennessee."Together, the Catholics in Tennessee, led by the three bishops, the three dioceses of the Tennessee Catholic Conference, call for a halt to executions and call for an end to the death penalty in Tennessee," said Rick Musacchio, executive director of the Tennessee Catholic Conference (TCC).Tennessee faith leaders urged Republican Gov. William Lee to stop all executions and support an end to the death penalty at a Dec. 8 press conference hosted by the Tennesseans for Alternatives to the D...

You heard of the popemobile, now meet the papal lawn mower

Pope Leo XIV receives an electric lawn mower from Czech manufacturer Swardman during a general audience in mid-November 2025. / Credit: Photo courtesy of SwardmanRome Newsroom, Dec 7, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).The Vatican's gardeners have a new tool for maintaining the papal grounds: a custom-designed electric lawn mower bearing the Holy See's coat of arms.Pope Leo XIV received the white Electra 2.0 mower during a general audience in mid-November, a gift from Czech manufacturer Swardman.The specially commissioned model features leather-lined handles and was hand-assembled at the company's facility in Šardice, Czech Republic. "It was an incredibly powerful experience full of humility and respect," Jakub Dvorák, the company's sales manager who personally presented the gift, told CNA. "The pontiff appreciated the Vatican's coat of arms placed on the appliance, listened with interest as we explained how it functions, and thanked us very politely."The quiet, precision-cutting mower is d...

New print journal for 'intellectual Catholic women' to be released in April

Promo photo for the The Better Part Journal of shadows of Madonna lilies for the Blessed Virgin Mary. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Heidi Bollich-ErneWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 7, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).While teaching an ethics and culture course, Heidi Bollich-Erne was looking for a journal featuring the work of Catholic women for her students to read. After being told that it simply didn't exist, she decided to create one herself.With the help of a team of women, Bollich-Erne has founded what she calls the "first intellectual Catholic women's journal." Its purpose is to not only define the feminine genius but also to show how faithful women can embody its beauty in their daily lives. "I want women to find a home, a place that values their work. The journal itself is edited, written, and published solely by Catholic women," Bollich-Erne told CNA. "The way that women write, the way that we express ourselves is very different. That's just who we are. That's part of the ge...