Mexico City cathedral organizes 'Guadalupe Night' to celebrate Our Lady

Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City. / Credit: Salvador alc, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPuebla, Mexico, Dec 5, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).The metropolitan cathedral of the Archdiocese of Mexico will host a special program to celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe on the night of Dec. 11, the eve of the solemnity of the Virgin of Tepeyac.  Under the title "Guadalupe Night," a program is planned that will begin at 6 p.m. local time with a procession that will depart from the Church of Santa Inés (St. Agnes) carrying the "Virgin of the Oath" (of loyalty) which, as explained on the cathedral's social media, is "the historical image before which the Virgin of Guadalupe was proclaimed patroness of New Spain."Midway between Santa Inés Church and the metropolitan cathedral stands what was once the archbishop's palace, built by the first bishop of Mexico, Friar Juan de Zumárraga. It was precisely to this place that St. Juan Diego, the visionary who saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, cam...

DR Congo's bishops announce construction of national shrine honoring Blessed Anuarite

The president of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) has announced the construction of a national shrine dedicated to Blessed Marie-Clémentine Anuarite Nengapeta, a Congolese sister beatified in August 1985. / Credit: DiaCENCOACI Africa, Dec 5, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).The president of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) has announced the construction of a national shrine dedicated to Blessed Marie-Clémentine Anuarite Nengapeta, a Congolese sister beatified in August 1985.Announcing the launch of construction on Dec. 1, Archbishop Fulgence Muteba Mugalu described Blessed Anuarite as a timeless model of hope for a nation scarred by violence and social injustice."I am pleased to address this message to you on the feast of Blessed Anuarite, during which the construction works for the great shrine dedicated to her are being launched," Muteba said of the construction, which will take place in the Diocese of Isiro-Niangara.He said the initiative is a "signi...

Former Maronite priest still presenting himself as a cleric, Denver Archdiocese warns

Andre Mahanna, a former Maronite Catholic priest. / Credit: "EWTN News Nightly"/ScreenshotSt. Louis, Missouri, Dec 4, 2025 / 18:06 pm (CNA).Andre Mahanna, a former Maronite Catholic priest who gained a national profile as a commentator, fundraiser, and advocate for persecuted Christians is continuing to present himself as a priest despite having been dismissed from the clerical state for financial impropriety, the Archdiocese of Denver announced Thursday.  In a statement, the archdiocese said Bishop Elias Zaidan of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles had dismissed Mahanna from the clerical state due to financial impropriety and that Mahanna is not permitted to act or present himself validly as a Catholic priest.Mahanna has no priestly faculties, the statement continues, and is not authorized to "celebrate sacraments, preach, bless, or represent himself as a cleric in any setting."  Catholics and members of the public should not engage ...

Leo XIV eliminates commission for donations to Holy See created by Pope Francis

null / Credit: Yury Dmitrienko/ShutterstockACI Prensa Staff, Dec 4, 2025 / 16:07 pm (CNA).The Vatican announced on Dec. 4 a new decision by Pope Leo XIV regarding fundraising for the Holy See.Through the new chirograph Vinculum Unitatis et Caritatis, the Holy Father is eliminating the current Commissio de Donationibus (Donations Commission) structure created in February by Pope Francis to raise funds, which was approved "ad experimentum" (for temporary or provisional use) for three years.This commission was tasked with encouraging donations through specific campaigns among the faithful, bishops' conferences, and other potential benefactors.The pontiff thus repealed the rules in force until now and established that they will no longer have "any canonical or legal force," as well as any acts adopted up to this point. Furthermore, Pope Leo XIV decreed that all the commission's assets must be transferred to the Holy See.By means of this decree, the members of the commission are imm...

Catholic bishops back Trump's removal of gender ideology in refugee forms

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops headquarters in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Farragutful, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia CommonsWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 4, 2025 / 15:07 pm (CNA).The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has published a public comment that supports the removal of gender ideology within refugee resettlement forms for unaccompanied children.In accordance with President Donald Trump's executive order "defending women from gender ideology extremism" and restoring "biological truth to the federal government," the Office of Refugee Resettlement has proposed a change to forms that would replace the word "gender" with "sex."The proposed change would require that the forms reflect the child's biological sex as opposed to perceived identity. The form options will be limited to only "male" and female."In the public comment, the bishops said they have "historically partnered closely with the...

1 in 4 post-abortive women regret abortion decades later, study finds

null / Credit: MikeDotta/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Dec 4, 2025 / 15:37 pm (CNA).Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news:1 in 4 post-abortive women regret abortion decades later, study finds A new study found that 1 in 4 women regret their abortion decades after undergoing the procedure. The study, published in the International Journal of Women's Health Care, measured the levels of distress abortive women feel years after having an abortion. Authored by Father Donald Paul Sullins with The Catholic University of America and the Ruth Institute, the study found that 24% of postabortive women in the U.S. "suffer from serious post-abortion distress." Of these post-abortive women, just under half showed "multiple symptoms of post-traumatic stress," according to the study. In the study, Sullins called for more research on the long-term effects of abortion as well as the development of "effective therapeutic interventions.""The health care o...

'You leave or we'll kick you out' can't be only answer for migrants, Chilean archbishop says

La Moneda Presidential Palace in Santiago, Chile. / Credit: Dennis G. Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsACI Prensa Staff, Dec 4, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).Chileans are preparing to go to the polls once again to elect their president. Following the general elections, two candidates will be vying to replace the current president, Gabriel Boric: Jeannette Jara, a former government official, and the opposition candidate José Antonio Kast of the Republican Party.In a climate marked by insecurity, rising crime rates, and the migration crisis, citizens are closely watching the proposals of both candidates to address these problems.The archbishop of Concepción, Sergio Pérez de Arce, addressed the debate over the situation of immigrants without legal status in the country in a column titled "It's Either 'You Leave or We Expel You'?" in which he maintains that migration policy cannot be reduced to these two options.The question that titles his column refers to the warning that candi...

Discalced Carmelites prepare to celebrate jubilee year of St. John of the Cross

Poster for the St. John of the Cross 2026 Jubilee. / Credit: Iberian Province of the Discalced CarmelitesACI Prensa Staff, Dec 4, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).The Iberian Province of the Discalced Carmelites is preparing to celebrate the jubilee year of St. John of the Cross, marking the 300th anniversary of his canonization and the 100th anniversary of his proclamation as a doctor of the Church.The jubilee year dedicated to St. John of the Cross was approved by the Apostolic Penitentiary at the request of the Order of Discalced Carmelites and the dioceses of Ávila, Jaén, and Segovia in Spain, which are particularly linked to the life and work of the mystic and reformer of the Carmelite order, along with St. Teresa of Ávila.The superior of the Iberian Province of the Discalced Carmelites, Friar Francisco Sánchez Oreja, stated in a message commemorating the jubilee that "the centenaries serve to confirm that St. John of the Cross, whom we are celebrating, is still alive and has a word ...

The kitchen friar's book that inspires Pope Leo's spirituality

Pope Leo XIV speaks with reporters on his flight from Beirut to Rome on Dec. 2, 2025. / Credit: Elias Turk/EWTNCNA Staff, Dec 3, 2025 / 18:21 pm (CNA).On the papal plane on the way home from his first international trip, Pope Leo XIV referenced a book that has greatly influenced his spirituality after being asked by a journalist about the conclave and what it's been like becoming the pope."Besides St. Augustine," Pope Leo said that "The Practice of the Presence of God" by a 17th-century Carmelite friar named Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection is a book that can help anyone to understand his spirituality."It's a very simple book by someone who doesn't even give his last name," the pope told journalists on the papal plane Dec. 2. "I read it many years ago, but it describes a type of prayer and spirituality where one simply gives his life to the Lord and allows the Lord to lead.""And if you want to know something about me, that's been my spirituality for many years, in midst of ...

Bishop Simon Kulli, witness to the faith in post-communist Albania, dies at 52

Bishop Simon Kulli of Sapë, Albania. / Credit: ACNACI Prensa Staff, Dec 3, 2025 / 18:51 pm (CNA).The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) announced the sudden death of Bishop Simon Kulli of Sapë in northern Albania on Saturday, Nov. 29, at the age of 52.The prelate, a close collaborator of ACN and one of the most prominent voices in the Albanian Church, belonged to the first generation of priests formed after the fall of the communist regime, considered the most atheist and repressive of the 20th century.In a statement, the pontifical foundation said that it received "with deep sorrow the news of the sudden death of Bishop Kulli, who has been a project partner of ACN … He rendered an invaluable service not only to the Church but also to his country and to humanity."A vocation born from the suffering of the Albanian martyrsDuring a visit to the international headquarters of ACN earlier this year, Kulli recounted the origin of his priestly vocation, which was ins...