'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...

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...

'Holy Fire' ceremony at Jesus' tomb marks beginning of Orthodox Easter celebrations

The "Holy Fire" is passed from inside Christ's tomb to pilgrims gathered inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jersusalem on May 4, 2024, for the annual Orthodox Christian ceremony, held on the day before Easter, according to the Julian calendar. / Credit: Marinella Bandini/CNAJerusalem, May 5, 2024 / 09:00 am (CNA).Pilgrims gathered in Jerusalem on Saturday for the annual "Holy Fire" ceremony at the revered site of Jesus' burial and resurrection, an ancient custom considered by many believers to be a miraculous event that takes place the day before the Orthodox Christian celebration of Easter.For safety reasons, attendance at the May 4 event was capped at 4,200 people inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, though the crowds were more manageable and somewhat subdued this year because of a lack of pilgrims from the Palestinian territories and abroad due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.Israeli police man a checkpoint inside the Old City of Jerusalem duri...

Special remembrance of Baltimore bridge collapse victims to take place on National Maritime Day

In an aerial view, the cargo ship Dali sits in the water after running into and collapsing the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024, in Baltimore. / Credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty ImagesACI Prensa Staff, May 5, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).Bishop Brendan Cahill of Victoria, Texas, is inviting Catholics throughout the United States to join the May 22 "National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Sailors and People of the Sea," which this year will include a special prayer in memory of those affected by the catastrophic March 26 Baltimore bridge collapse. "Each year, we pray for those who work on the high seas and the ports. In a special way this year, we remember those who have been impacted by the collapse of the Key Bridge, particularly the six construction workers who perished in the bridge collapse, and for their families as they mourn the loss of their loved ones," Cahill said.On March 26, the container ship Dali suffered a power failure and collided with one of the bridge...

An afternoon with the new Swiss Guards: Preparing for a mission of faith and service 

Swiss Guard cadets prepare their armor in the guards' barracks at the Vatican on April 30, 2024. / Credit: Matthew Santucci/CNAVatican City, May 5, 2024 / 17:00 pm (CNA).For the newest class of 34 Swiss Guards who will be sworn in on Monday, their service is based on faith and a love for the Church and the pope, as storied as the uniform itself. "For me it was something, first and foremost, to give something to the Church, because the Catholic Church gave us a lot when I was a child and with this service, I can give something back," explained Nicolas Hirt, one of the new guards who hails from the Swiss canton of Fribourg. The cadets, joined by their instructors, gathered for a media event on April 30 in the courtyard behind the barracks adjacent to the Sant'Anna entrance, which was adorned with the flags from each of the Swiss cantons. The Swiss Guard's annual swea...

New palliative care hospital brings 'sweetness of Mary' to poorest in Peru

A patient at the new Misky María Palliative Care Hospital located on the outskirts of Lima, Perú. / Credit: Asociación de las Bienaventuranzas (Association of the Beatitudes)ACI Prensa Staff, May 4, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).In the context of the recent news of the death of Ana Estrada, the first person to request and receive euthanasia in Peru, there is a contrasting story to tell on care for the dying in that country: that of a new Catholic hospital on the outskirts of Lima that provides palliative care, which extends the love of Christ to those in extreme poverty who are in the final stages of their lives.The beginning of the 'Misky María' HospitalIn 2021, Father Omar Sánchez Portillo, a priest known for his extensive charitable work in the district of Lurín (south of Lima) and founder of the Association of the Beatitudes, had the dream of building a center to serve, with the "sweetness of Mary," people in situations of abandonment and extreme poverty who have terminal illnesses...

Cardinal Goh of Singapore: 'Deep encounter with Jesus' is key to passing on the faith

The spiritual shepherd of the Church in Singapore is Cardinal William Goh, archbishop since early 2013 and a cardinal since 2022. / Credit: Sean Boyce/EWTN NewsNational Catholic Register, May 3, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Pope Francis recently announced his intention to travel to Southeast Asia in September to visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore. The island nation of Singapore is one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse regions in Asia and is home to about 395,000 Catholics. The small but strategically important nation also has the highest urban density in Asia but is ranked as the country with the highest quality of life. Like everywhere else, it also faces the threats of secularism and relativism and a loss of traditional values, especially a commitment to family and respect for the elderly. The spiritual shepherd of the Church in Singapore is Cardinal William Goh, archbishop since early 2013 and a cardinal since 2022. He sat down in his res...