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  • 1/16/2019

    English bishop: Britain in 'amazing political mess' over Brexit

    MANCHESTER, England (CNS) -- Britain is in an "amazing political mess" over Brexit, an English bishop said. Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth voiced his opinion on Twitter Jan. 16, a day after the House of Commons overwhelming rejected the withdrawal agreement struck between Prime Minister Theresa May and the European Union. The agreement sought to set out terms of a future relationship with the European Union following Britain's withdrawal from the bloc, something the British people approved in a June 2016 referendum.

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  • 1/16/2019

    Pope wants abuse summit to lead to clarity, action

    VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- At the upcoming meeting on protecting minors, Pope Francis wants leaders of the world's bishops' conferences to clearly understand what must be done to prevent abuse, care for victims and ensure no case is whitewashed or covered up.

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  • 1/16/2019

    Pope Francis: What to expect in 2019

    Vatican City, Jan 15, 2019 CNA.- The finalization of a Curial reform process, a reshuffle in some Vatican positions, and an eventual consistory to “refill” the College of Cardinals might be among Pope Francis’ key moves in 2019.

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  • 1/15/2019

    Pope advances sainthood causes for 17 women

    VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of three women and recognized the martyrdom of 14 religious sisters who were killed during the Spanish Civil War. The pope formally recognized a miracle needed for the canonization of Blessed Marguerite Bays, a laywoman from Switzerland known for her spirituality in the face of great physical suffering and for bearing the stigmata of Christ.

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  • 1/14/2019

    Irish abuse survivor wants Vatican summit to increase accountability

    DUBLIN (CNS) -- A prominent survivor and advocate for those affected by clerical abuse has urged Pope Francis to publicly name bishops who have been found guilty of negligence by church tribunals. Marie Collins -- who was a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors from 2014 to 2017 -- also said that, during the Vatican summit on safeguarding in February, the pope should set out comprehensive procedures to hold bishops accountable.

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  • 1/14/2019

    Pope meets with Chilean bishops, discusses abuse crisis

    VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis spent nearly three hours with bishops from Chile discussing the sexual abuse crisis that has rocked the church in the country, a Chilean bishop said. Briefing journalists on the bishops' meeting with the pope Jan. 13, Bishop Luis Fernando Ramos Perez, apostolic administrator of Rancagua and secretary-general of the bishops' conference, said they met for one hour with the pope at Vatican's Apostolic Palace and were invited to have lunch for nearly two hours with him to discuss "the situation of the church in Chile."

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  • 1/14/2019

    Faith is passed on at home, pope tells parents at baptism

    VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Faith isn't something learned just by studying the catechism but rather is a gift passed on to children by the example of their parents, Pope Francis said. Although children learn the tenets of the Catholic faith in catechism class, it is first transmitted in the home "because faith always must be transmitted in dialect: the dialect of the family, the dialect of the home, in the atmosphere of the home," he said before baptizing 27 babies.

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  • 1/11/2019

    Pope will go to Romania calling for unity, focus on the common good

    VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis will make a three-day apostolic visit to Romania in late May, the Vatican announced. Accepting invitations from President Klaus Iohannis and from Catholic leaders, the pope will visit the capital of Bucharest, the cities of Iasi and Blaj, and the Marian sanctuary in Sumuleu Ciuc in the Transylvanian region.

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  • 1/9/2019

    Be a devotee of Black Nazarene, not a fanatic, says Cardinal Tagle

    MANILA, Philippines (CNS) -- Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila warned against fanaticism in his homily during a Mass to usher in the feast of the Black Nazarene Jan. 9. The cardinal told thousands of people who attended the midnight celebration to distinguish "fanatics" from "devotees," reported ucanews.com.

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  • 1/9/2019

    Austrian Catholics start year of celebrations for Emperor Maximilian

    The Austrian Catholic Church will officially begin a year of honor Jan. 11 to remember the founder of Austria's Catholic Habsburg Empire, Maximilian I, to mark the 500th anniversary of his death. The country's decision to publicly honor a former Catholic ruler, who died Jan. 12, 1519, marks a noteworthy change in mainstream Austrian culture, which has sought to distance the country from its Christian past and national history in recent decades.

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  • 1/9/2019

    Prayer has the power to change lives, hearts, pope says

    VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- God is a father who never ignores his children when they call to him in times of suffering, loneliness and despair, Pope Francis said. Although at times it seems that "so many of our prayers seem to have no result," Christians are called by Christ to "insist and not give up," the pope said Jan. 9 during his weekly general audience.

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  • 1/8/2019

    Analysis: The non-trial of Theodore McCarrick

    Vatican City, Jan 7, 2019 CNA.- While recent media reports suggest that a trial of Archbishop Theodore McCarrick is underway, Vatican sources have told CNA that his case is not being handled by a full judicial process.

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  • 1/8/2019

    Christians concerned about religious freedom if Turkey enters Syria

    AMMAN, Jordan (CNS) -- Growing numbers of Christians in North America and Europe are joining Christians in Syria's northeast in expressing concern for the future of religious minorities and Kurds in that region should the U.S. give Turkey the "green light" to take over the fight against Islamic State.

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  • 1/7/2019

    French cardinal reiterates innocence in abuse cover-up trial

    PARIS (CNS) -- A French cardinal took the stand in court Jan. 7, the first day of a civil trial for church officials accused of covering up abuse by a priest. Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, 68, testified in the case against him and others accused of covering up abuse by Father Bernard Preynat, who has confessed to abusing minors at Lyon's Saint-Luc Parish, where he ran a large Catholic Scout group in the 1970s and 1980s.

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  • 1/7/2019

    Christian faith is concrete, pope says at Mass

    VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The saints were Christians who were "crazy for concreteness," knowing that faith is not an idea, but a relationship with Jesus, which leads to actions that demonstrate love, Pope Francis said.

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  • 1/7/2019

    'Nationalistic tendencies' threaten world peace, pope tells diplomats

    VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As it did prior to the Second World War, the rise of nationalism in the world poses a threat to peace and constructive dialogue among nations, Pope Francis said. During his annual address to diplomats accredited to the Vatican, the pope said that the establishment of the League of Nations nearly 100 years ago ushered a new era of multilateral diplomacy based on goodwill, readiness among nations to deal fairly and honestly with each other and openness to compromise.

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  • 1/4/2019

    Irish bishops urge Catholics to 'resist' country's new abortion law

    DUBLIN (CNS) -- The primate of All-Ireland insisted that the country's new abortion law that took effect Jan. 1 has "no moral force" and it "must be resisted" by Catholics. Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, Northern Ireland, who also is president of the Irish bishops' conference, said in a message to mark the legislation that the new law "in good conscience cannot be supported."

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  • 1/3/2019

    Pope to U.S. bishops: Abuse crisis requires conversion, humility

    VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The clerical abuse crisis and the "crisis of credibility" it created for the U.S. bishops have led to serious divisions within the U.S. church and to a temptation to look for administrative solutions to problems that go much deeper, Pope Francis told the U.S. bishops.

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  • 1/1/2019

    Details published on Vatican delaying USCCB vote on abuse provisions

    VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The surprising news in November that the Vatican had asked U.S. bishops not to vote on several proposals for responding to the sexual abuse crisis was motivated by a lack of time given the Vatican to study the proposals and potential conflicts with church law, according to a letter obtained by the Associated Press.

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  • 12/31/2018

    Mass grave of Christians killed by Islamic State found in Libya

    Misrata, Libya, Dec 28, 2018 CNA.- A mass grave of 34 Ethiopian Christians executed by the so-called Islamic State group in 2015 has reportedly been unearthed in Libya. The bodies have been exhumed and will be eventually repatriated to Ethiopia, the Libyan interior ministry says.

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  • 12/31/2018

    Top officials of Vatican press office resign

    VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Saying they thought Pope Francis should be "completely free to assemble a new team" for Vatican communications "at this time of transition," the director of the Vatican press office announced he and the vice director had resigned.

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  • 12/27/2018

    On Christmas, Nicaraguan bishop reiterates calls for dialogue

    MANAGUA, Nicaragua (CNS) -- Managua Auxiliary Bishop Silvio Jose Baez reiterated his calls for dialogue and respecting human dignity in Nicaragua, where the president has crushed protests, closed critical media outlets and persecuted anyone -- including priests -- publicly opposing his administration.

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  • 12/27/2018

    Churches damaged in Sicily quake, but no lives lost

    ROME (CNS) -- Italy's Mount Etna volcano began a new eruption the morning of Christmas Eve, triggering hundreds of small earthquakes and one, early Dec. 26, that damaged homes and churches nearby. Italy's civil protection service reported no deaths or serious injuries in the Sicilian towns surrounding the volcano, but dozens of families who fled their homes when the magnitude 4.8 quake hit just after 3 a.m. Dec. 26 were told by firefighters that the buildings were not safe to re-enter.

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  • 12/26/2018

    Amid uncertainty, patriarchs urge Mideast faithful to keep hope

    BEIRUT (CNS) -- Amid Lebanon's political and economic strife and uncertainty in the Middle East, Catholic patriarchs urged their faithful to forge ahead in hope at Christmastime. At least two patriarchs expressed concern about Lebanon's failure to form a new government since parliamentary elections in May.

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  • 12/21/2018

    Irish president signs abortion law

    DUBLIN (CNS) -- Although Ireland's new abortion law takes effect Jan. 1, by mid-December only 8 percent of family doctors had signed up to provide the terminations. Irish President Michael D. Higgins signed the legislation into law Dec. 20, paving the way for wide-ranging access to abortion in the country.

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  • 12/21/2018

    Church will spare no effort to end abuse, pope tells Curia

    VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Acknowledging the gravity of the clerical sexual abuse crisis, Pope Francis told members of the Roman Curia that the church's strength does not depend on its members' perfection, but on the willingness to recognize its failings and correct them.

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  • 12/20/2018

    New Vatican newspaper director explains his vision

    VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican newspaper must demonstrate how the Catholic Church walks alongside people, but it also must keep the distance necessary to proclaim hope when many people are disappointed and to shake people when they get complacent, said the paper's new director.

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  • 12/19/2018

    Analysis: How the Vatican is preparing for its February abuse summit

    Vatican City, Dec 19, 2018 CNA.- Preparations in the Vatican are underway for a summit of the bishops to discuss the problem of clerical sexual abuse. The meeting, which will involve the leadership of bishops’ conferences from around the world, seems to follow Pope Francis’ methodology for addressing abuse by clerics.

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  • 12/19/2018

    Warm city, warm hearts: Panama opens its doors to young people

    VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As World Youth Day in Panama draws near, organizers said they are prepared to make young people from around the globe feel right at home. While warm temperatures will greet thousands of young people in Panama, Father Romero Aguilar, WYD general coordinator, told Catholic News Service he hopes that the warmth of hospitality also will make them feel welcome.

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  • 12/19/2018

    Pope accepts resignation of Los Angeles auxiliary accused of abuse

    VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of 69-year-old Auxiliary Bishop Alexander Salazar of Los Angeles after the archdiocese's independent Clergy Misconduct Oversight Board recommended he not be allowed to minister because of an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor in the 1990s.

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