First Catholic college in South Carolina to open in fall 2024

Rosary College logo. / Credit: Rosary CollegeCNA Staff, May 10, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Author and Anglican convert Father Dwight Longenecker along with a number of Catholic scholars are launching the first Catholic college in South Carolina, a two-year liberal arts college set to open this fall.Rosary College will offer an associate of Catholic studies in integrated humanities degree, which can be transferred to a number of other universities. The college offers "an affordable, transferable credit for students who are either going on to a four-year Catholic college or those who are going into the workforce and/or trade school," Longenecker explained in a post on X. "Our focus is with our foundation on truth, beauty, and goodness, and in alignment with our primary value of Catholic identity," Mike Shick, founding president of Rosary College, told CNA in a phone call. "We want to ensure that we're in alignment with the magisterium of the holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church."...

Class of '24: Commencement speakers range from 'The Chosen' actor to a Catholic cardinal

Clockwise, from top left: Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie, Cardinal Stephen Chow of Hong Kong, Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs, and Father Mike Schmitz of Duluth, Minnesota, will address the Class of 2024. / Credits: Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty Images; Edward Pentin/National Catholic Register; Benedictine College; and FOCUSNational Catholic Register, May 10, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Commencement ceremonies are underway at the nation's Catholic colleges and universities, many of which are annually highlighted in the National Catholic Register's "Catholic Identity College Guide."Notable speakers include Cardinal Stephen Chow at Boston College on May 20 and "The Bible in a Year" and "The Catechism in a Year" podcast host Father Mike Schmitz, who serves as chaplain at the University of Minnesota-Duluth's Newman Center and who spoke to Ave Maria University's Class of 2024 on May 4. "Life takes courage ... because love takes courage. And every one of you is called to love, eve...

Qatar's St. Charbel Maronite Church prepares to welcome worshippers

Ongoing construction work on St. Charbel Maronite Church in Doha, Qatar, in April 2024. / Credit: Father Charbel MhannaACI MENA, May 10, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Construction is nearing completion on the St. Charbel Maronite Church in Doha, Qatar, with plans to open its doors to worshippers in 2025, coinciding with the Catholic Church's Jubilee Year, according to Father Charbel Mhanna from Qatar's Maronite parish.In an interview with ACI Mena, CNA's Arabic-language news partner, Mhanna explained that with a capacity of about 3,000 people, St. Charbel will be the country's largest church, open to all Catholics. Once completed, it will be Qatar's second Catholic church, joining the existing Church of Our Lady of the Rosary. While precise statistics on the Christian population in Qatar are lacking, Mhanna estimates there are close to 1 million Christians there, of which about 70% are Catholic. Approximately 12,000 belong to the Maronite rite, which is in full communion with the ...

Vatican opens photographic exhibition on effects of climate change

Vatican Dicastery for Communications prefect Paolo Ruffini and Vatican Secretary-General Sister Raffaella Petrini inaugurate the photographic exhibition titled "Changes" on May 7, 2024, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Elizabeth Alva/EWTN NewsACI Prensa Staff, May 10, 2024 / 15:15 pm (CNA).A photographic exhibition titled "Changes" opened this week in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, showcasing the effects of climate change and the creative work of God.The Dicastery for Communication explained in a press release that this exhibition makes reference to St. Francis of Assisi's  "Canticle of the Creatures," also known as the "Canticle of the Sun." The exhibition aims to show "the contrasts of the effects of climate change" as well as "the hope that the emotions engendered by the creative work of God give."The exhibition was developed as part of the project "Emotions to Generate Changes" and will be open to the public through May 27.Taking part in the initiati...

Bishop Paprocki: Biden mocks Catholic faith by invoking Christ in pro-abortion message

Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois. / Credit: Diocese of Springfield in IllinoisWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 10, 2024 / 17:30 pm (CNA).Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, is accusing President Joe Biden of "making a mockery of our Catholic faith" after he made the sign of the cross while promoting abortion.Biden, who is the country's second Catholic president, made the sign of the cross at an abortion rally in Tampa, Florida, more than two weeks ago. In his speech, the president criticized Catholic Gov. Ron DeSantis for signing a bill that restricts abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. The governor had previously helped enact legislation limiting abortion to 15 weeks of pregnancy.During the rally, Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried said that when DeSantis decided to run for president, "15 weeks wasn't good enough; we had to go to six weeks," at which point Biden made the sign of the cross in apparent ...

The best gift to give to our heavenly mother, according to St. John of Avila

Virgin Mary by Sassoferrato. / Credit: Public domainACI Prensa Staff, May 10, 2024 / 16:45 pm (CNA).Along with other saints, every May 10 the Church honors St. John of Avila, the patron saint of the Spanish clergy. This renowned founder of schools and centers of formation and study recorded in one of his writings what he considered to be the best gift we can give to our heavenly mother, the Virgin Mary.St. John of Avila's recommendation appears today in a section of the website of the Spanish Bishops' Conference. In the text, St. John of Avila asks himself: "What shall I do for the virgin? God has given me many good things through her."The answer to the question, the saint says, is found in the Gospel account of the wedding feast at Cana. There, the Virgin pointed out to her Son that the wine had run out. When Jesus responds, "What concern is that to you and me? My hour is not yet come," it seems that nothing is going to happen. Nonetheless, the Mother of God immediately p...

Thousands pack Ottawa's Parliament Hill for 27th annual March for Life

Pro-life supporters march in this year's March for Life in Ottawa, Canada, May 9, 2024. / Credit: Peter StocklandOttawa, Canada, May 10, 2024 / 16:00 pm (CNA).Thousands of pro-lifers packed onto Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada, and spilled out onto Wellington Street on May 9 for the 27th annual National March for Life.The diverse crowd gathered on the Hill at noon with its members bearing both homemade and professionally crafted signs pledging them to stand fast for the unborn and vulnerable.The march's theme, "I Will Never Forget You" was taken from the prophet Isaiah's poignant question: "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast?"Participants in the Ottawa, Canada, March for Life on May 9, 2024, sing the national anthem. Credit: Peter StocklandThe rally and march were broadcast live by the U.S. cable network EWTN. (Editor's note: EWTN is the parent company of Catholic News Agency.)This year's speakers included pro-life speaker and author Abby Johnson, President of 40...

Biden-Harris go all in for 'reproductive freedom' 

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks about Florida's new six-week abortion ban during an event at the Prime Osborn Convention Center on May 1, 2024, in Jacksonville, Florida. / Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 9, 2024 / 11:17 am (CNA).Just six months from Election Day, the Biden-Harris administration is ramping up its campaign rhetoric and going all in on abortion.Here's what is going on with abortion throughout the country. Vice President Harris calls pro-life laws 'immoral' Over the last several weeks Vice President Kamala Harris has been touting the Biden administration's support for unrestricted abortion on her "Reproductive Freedoms Tour." At a stop in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, Harris slammed states such as Texas whose pro-life laws do not allow exceptions for abortion in cases of rape and incest. "The idea that these so-called leaders would say even no exception for rape or incest, to say to a survivor of ...

Texas says Catholic group should be shut down over 'criminal enterprise' at U.S. border

Dainelys Soto, Genesis Contreras, and Daniel Soto, who arrived from Venezuela after crossing the U.S. border from Mexico, wait for dinner at a hotel provided by the Annunciation House on Sept. 22, 2022, in El Paso, Texas. / Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesCNA Staff, May 9, 2024 / 10:44 am (CNA).Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday filed an injunction against a Catholic nonprofit group in the state, accusing it of "systemic criminal conduct" for allegedly facilitating illegal border crossings from Mexico. Paxton announced the filing in a press release on his website, accusing Annunciation House in El Paso of facilitating "illegal border crossings" and of concealing "illegally present aliens from law enforcement."Located just a few thousand feet from the U.S.-Mexico border, Annunciation House says on its website that it serves "migrant, refugee, and economically vulnerable peoples of the border region," primarily through "several houses of hospitality...

San Antonio archbishop deletes some social media posts about Gaza war

Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of the Archdiocese of San Antonio. / Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNACNA Staff, May 9, 2024 / 15:35 pm (CNA).The Archdiocese of San Antonio says Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller "deeply regrets" that some recent social media posts on the war in Gaza, several of which were deleted Thursday, have "caused confusion and misunderstanding."In a series of posts on X on Tuesday, García-Sillar expressed solidarity with Palestinians while also appearing to conflate the Jewish people with the state of Israel. "Jewish brothers and sisters stop killing Palestinians. STOP!" the archbishop wrote in one now-deleted post. In another post, now deleted, García-Sillar wrote: "Antisemitism is condemned. To save the Palestinians is our hope.""As we pray & are in solidarity with the Palestinians, does not mean antisemitism," García-Sillar wrote in one of the posts, which as of Thursday remains on his X page. "Peace is the goal. It is ins...