'Love of neighbor at a global scale': Dioceses launch faith-driven environmental programs

Solar panels on the affordable housing Bishop Valero Residence in Astoria, Queens. / Credit: Catholic Charities Brooklyn and QueensCNA Staff, May 6, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).Catholic dioceses around the U.S. are setting ambitious goals and launching environmental programs inspired in part by the Pope Francis-led effort to make ecological care a priority for the global Church.The Holy Father has made environmentalism a major focus of his pontificate. His 2015 encyclical Laudato Si' was heralded at the time of its publication as a revolutionary papal document for its emphasis on Catholic ecological responsibility and for its call for "swift and unified global action" in the "care for our common home."In October of last year, Francis published a new apostolic exhortation titled Laudate Deum, meant as a further call to address what he called the "global social issue" of climate change. The pope said that in the eight years since Laudato Si' was published, "our responses have not been ...

Could Edith Stein be declared the next doctor of the Church?

Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), pictured in 1938-1939. / Credit: Public DomainRome Newsroom, May 6, 2024 / 11:12 am (CNA).Edith Stein could be declared a doctor of the Church with the title "doctor veritatis," or "doctor of truth," following a petition from the Discalced Carmelites.Pope Francis received an official request from the superior general of the Discalced Carmelites, Father Miguel Márquez Calle, on April 18 in a private audience at the Vatican to recognize the theological legacy of the saint who was martyred in Auschwitz.If accepted, Stein, also known by her religious name St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, could become the fifth woman to be declared a doctor of the Church, a title that recognizes a substantial contribution to the Church's theology and moral life.With the petition, the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints can officially begin the required process to grant Stein the title.The Carmelites first launched an international commission to g...

Colombians march simultaneously in multiple cities to demand end to abortion

Pro-lifers march in Colombia on May 4, 2024, in the country's capital, Bogotá, and other cities and towns throughout the country. / Credit: Eduardo Berdejo/ACI PrensaACI Prensa Staff, May 6, 2024 / 15:45 pm (CNA).Under the theme "Colombia, With Life There Is Hope," tens of thousands of Colombians took to the streets May 4 in more than 110 cities and towns during the South American country's 18th National March for Life, according to the United for Life platform, which organized the event.The marchers called on Colombia's Constitutional Court to annul its rulings that decriminalized and subsequently liberalized abortion.United for Life was also joined by multiple pro-life organizations, including 40 Days for Life, the Men's Rosary, and Rachel's Vineyard, as well as dioceses, nuns, priests, families, and numerous laypeople.The simultaneous pro-life demonstrations took place in Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Cúcuta, Montería, Pereira, Cumaral, and scores of other cities.In Bogotá, t...

New study suggests rampant 'cafeteria Catholicism'

null / Credit: ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 6, 2024 / 18:37 pm (CNA).Ryan Burge, a leading researcher on religion and politics, recently compiled data indicating that "cafeteria Catholicism" is rampant in the United States. Specifically, the country's Catholics express widespread disagreement with the Church's teaching on abortion, euthanasia, and the death penalty.The term "cafeteria Catholic" refers to a Catholic who picks and chooses which Church teachings he or she affirms and adheres to. Washington, D.C., Cardinal Wilton Gregory recently used the term to describe President Joe Biden, who as president has advocated for unrestricted abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.Burge found that only 0.9% of Catholics agree with Church teaching on all three of the issues.  His conclusions were based on 2022 data collected by the Global Social Survey (GSS) and compiled by the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA). Burge told CNA th...

Catholic Charities to open 'Compassion Corner' to serve homeless, poor in Pittsburgh

The Diocese of Pittsburgh's Gismondi Job Training Program helps those in need. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of PittsburghWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 6, 2024 / 17:40 pm (CNA).Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh is expanding its social services offered to people who are homeless and those in poverty with a newly created "Compassion Corner" opening in August. The nonprofit charity group is renovating a former office building located in downtown Pittsburgh to provide health care services, mental health services, job training programs, a place for the homeless population to eat, and a variety of other resources. The nearly 45,000-square-foot building is located at 111 Boulevard of the Allies, next to The Red Door (run by the Catholic Divine Mercy Parish), which provides services such as food for people who are homeless."I believe this is all divinely led," Christopher Scoletti, a board member of Catholic Charities of the...

Catholic bishop walks length of Gaza Strip in support of cease-fire

Bishop Bart van Roijen walked the length of the Gaza Strip on April 29 in support of those suffering due to the Israel-Hamas conflict. / Development and Peace - Caritas CanadaCNA Staff, May 6, 2024 / 17:20 pm (CNA).A Catholic bishop walked the length of the Gaza Strip on April 29 in support of those suffering due to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Bishop Bart van Roijen of the Diocese of Corner Brook and Labrador in Newfoundland, Canada, walked 42 kilometers, a little over 26 miles, from York Harbor to Corner Brook and ended his journey with a prayer service at the Cathedral of the Holy Redeemer. People around the world are participating in similar walks to call for a cease-fire in Gaza and for peace in both Israel and Palestine. Van Roijen told CNA in an interview that he felt called to do this walk because he wanted "to quietly witness to the sufferings of both citizenries and to make a strong statement that the atrocities, damage, and indignities that are being don...

Blood of St. Januarius miraculously liquifies again

Naples Archbishop Domenico Battaglia kisses the reliquary containing the blood of St. Januarius on May 4, 2024. / Credit: Chiesa di NapoliACI Prensa Staff, May 6, 2024 / 16:48 pm (CNA).The miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius, bishop, martyr, and patron saint of Naples, Italy, was repeated in St. Clare Basilica on May 4.The Archdiocese of Naples reported on its website that on May 4 at 6:38 p.m. local time, the miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius occurred once again. St. Januarius was martyred in the year 305, during the fierce persecution unleashed by the Roman emperor Diocletian.The miraculous liquefaction occurred during the Mass offered by the archbishop of Naples, Domenico Battaglia, with Abbot Vincenzo De Gregorio participating and the mayor of Naples, Gaetano Manfredi, in attendance.When the miracle is repeated, a white cloth is waved to indicate to the people that the miraculous sign has taken place. On this occasion, De G...

Catholic Olympic swimmer awarded presidential Medal of Freedom 

President Joe Biden presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 3, 2024. / Credit: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty ImagesCNA Staff, May 6, 2024 / 16:15 pm (CNA).Katie Ledecky, Olympic swimmer, devout Catholic, and winner of 10 Olympic medals, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Friday. "Thank you Mr. President for this honor, and thank you to everyone at the White House for an incredibly special day!" Ledecky wrote in a post on X.Since she began her Olympic career in 2012 as a 15-year-old in the London Olympics, Ledecky has earned seven Olympic gold medals and three silver medals. She also earned 26 world championship medals, 21 of which are gold, and she currently holds two world records in the 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle events. Ledecky finds herself among other iconic athletes including gymnast Simone Biles, golfer Tiger Woods, and baseball star Babe Ru...

Angola archdiocese announces monthly Eucharistic adoration ahead of Church's 2025 Jubilee

Archbishop Filomeno do Nascimento Vieira Dias of Angola's Archdiocese of Luanda. / Credit: Radio EcclesiaACI Africa, May 5, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).Archbishop Filomeno do Nascimento Vieira Dias of Angola's Archdiocese of Luanda has asked the people of God under his pastoral care to dedicate the last Sunday of the month to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament as part of the preparations for the Church's 2025 Jubilee Year. Pope Francis on Jan. 21 announced the start of a Year of Prayer in preparation for the Church's 2025 Jubilee Year, the second in his pontificate after the extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy in 2015."Following the Holy Father's call, as an archdiocese, we will be holding adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on the last Sunday of each month in all parishes and, in alternate months, a meditation on the importance of prayer in the life of the Church," the archbishop said in his April 18 message.Eucharistic adoration, he said, facilitates "a true encounter with Chri...

Pope Francis: Let us thank the Lord for our friends

Pope Francis greets the crowd gathered at St. Peter's Square on May 5, 2024. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, May 5, 2024 / 09:30 am (CNA).Pope Francis asked for a moment of silence as he spoke from the window of the Apostolic Palace on Sunday for people to thank the Lord for their friends. The pope reflected on the gift of friendship during his Regina Caeli address on May 5."Since childhood, we learn how beautiful this experience is: We offer friends our toys and the most beautiful gifts; then, growing up, as teenagers, we confide our first secrets to them; as young people we offer loyalty; as adults, we share satisfactions and worries; as seniors, the memories, considerations, and silences of long days," the 87-year-old pope said."The word of God, in the Book of Proverbs, tells us that 'Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel' (Prv 27:9). Let us think a moment of our friends and thank the Lord for them."S...