News Around Christendom

By Hannah Brockhaus Pope Francis on Monday said it is important to combat the “temptation of activism” with time for reflection and contemplation. Speaking to an association of Italian entrepreneurs at the Vatican on March 14, he said: “Allow me, finally, the advice ‘of a bishop’: If you want to be a ‘soul’ in the world of business, do not ...

By CNA Staff The leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church thanked Poland on Monday for welcoming more than a million people fleeing Ukraine. In a video message recorded on March 7 in the besieged Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk also praised Pope Francis for describing the conflict in Ukraine as a war. “I would like to thank ...

By Francesca Pollio Fenton On Feb. 23, hours before the world would hear that Russia had invaded Ukraine, a statue of St. Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of Kyiv, began to emit a dark liquid which appears to be blood. A video shared on Facebook of the occurrence quickly made headlines. Alicia Martinez, 57, of Broomfield, Colorado, a Denver ...

By Hannah Brockhaus Given the many challenges the world is facing, next year’s World Youth Day should be a gathering filled with life and strength, Pope Francis told the Portugal event’s organizers. “In the midst of all these crises, you have to prepare and help, so that the August 2023 Event is a young event, a fresh event, an event ...

By Andrea Gagliarducci Pope Francis’ Angelus address on Sunday marked a substantial change of pace in the diplomatic action of the Holy See concerning the Ukraine conflict. The pope stressed that in Ukraine, “there is no military operation, but a war which sows death, destruction, and misery.” He thanked journalists “who put their lives at risk to provide information,” saying ...

Legends about Patrick abound; but truth is best served by our seeing two solid qualities in him: He was humble and he was courageous. The determination to accept suffering and success with equal indifference guided the life of God’s instrument for winning most of Ireland for Christ. Details of his life are uncertain. Current research places his dates of birth ...

By Katie Yoder The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit recently ruled in favor of a Christian couple in New Jersey seeking legal protection to welcome foster children into their home without hiding their religious beliefs on marriage and sexuality. Michael and Jennifer Lasche say that a state agency — New Jersey’s Division of Child Protection and Permanency ...

By Rev Fr. Gerald Nwafor Ojukwu said in 1983 during the campaign fiasco between NPP and NPN “As I was at Nkpo Junction, I was sufficiently informed by my entourage about the dissident activity of some group of people within the rank and file of Anambra State Government. And I hereby call Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe to warn his political son ...

By Christine Rouselle The State of Texas should grant clemency to a woman set to be executed in April, a Catholic organization and two bishops said in a release on Monday. “The risk of the state taking an innocent life is especially concerning,” said a Feb. 28 statement from Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, Executive Director of Catholic Mobilizing Network. “Texas must ...

How Religious Sisters Are Helping People in Need amid the Ukraine Conflict By CNA Staff For Sister Franciszka Tumanevych, the first day of the full-scale Russian invasion was the most difficult. The 42-year-old member of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth told CNA that fear spread in Zhytomyr, the Northern Ukrainian city where her convent is based, when ...

By Jonah Mckeown The British secretary for education recently praised Catholic schools on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the founding of the Catholic Education Service, a body of the English and Welsh bishops that supports Catholic schools. Nadhim Zahawi, a Conservative member of Parliament who serves as Secretary of State for Education, spoke at a meeting with Catholic ...

By Hannah Brockhaus A Vatican cardinal has said that the Synod on Synodality is a process of discernment, not a sociological survey. “This synodal process is not sociological analysis of the Church, but it is a discernment process. And when we say discernment, that means that we are trying to listen to the Holy Spirit,” Cardinal Mario Grech told CNA. ...

By Fr George Adimike Lent is 40 days designated by the Church to prepare her children for the annual Easter and eternal Easter in heaven. It is a period when Christians are walked through the desert experience of Jesus Christ in his salvific project. Being that events in the life and ministry of Christ possess exemplary value, the Church proposes ...

By Matt Hadro With the Lenten about to begin, Catholics will be immersing themselves in 40 days of abstaining from sweets, technology, alcohol and other luxuries. But did you know that Catholic monks once brewed beer specifically for a liquid-only Lenten fast? Back in the 1600s, Paulaner Monks moved from Southern Italy to the Cloister Neudeck ob der Au in ...

By Shannon Mullen Pope Francis spoke Feb. 27 about the human tendency to focus on the faults of others, rather than our own flaws and the harmful ways we often speak to one another. In his weekly Angelus address, the pope reflected on Sunday’s Gospel, in which Jesus asks the question: “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s ...

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Lent is a favourable time for personal and community renewal, as it leads us to the paschal mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For our Lenten journey in 2022, we will do well to reflect on Saint Paul’s exhortation to the Galatians: “Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due ...

By Kevin J. Jones Dr. Takashi Nagai’s work to help survivors of the Nagasaki atomic bombing and to console his devastated Japanese Catholic community is an unusual example of life-giving love and faith amid desolation and death, various speakers said at the New York Encounter on Sunday. “There was nothing, nothing anymore around him. He had completely lost everything,” Gabriele ...

By Courtney Mares Pope Francis decried the excessive “exaltation of youth” on Wednesday as he began a new general audience series on old age. Speaking at his live-streamed general audience on Feb. 23, the pope noted that as the average age of populations continued to rise, the “elderly are often seen as a burden.” “The dominant culture has as its ...

By Courtney Mares Expressing great sadness at the worsening situation in Ukraine, Pope Francis asked world leaders on Wednesday to “make a serious examination of conscience before God.” Speaking at his live-streamed general audience on Feb. 23, the pope called for people to fast for peace on March 2, Ash Wednesday, praying that “the Queen of Peace will preserve the ...

The first day of Lent. Ash Wednesday is one of the most popular and important holy days in the liturgical calendar. Ash Wednesday opens Lent, a season of fasting and prayer. Ash Wednesday takes place 46 days before Easter Sunday, and is chiefly observed by Catholics, although many other Christians observe it too. Ash Wednesday comes from the ancient Jewish ...