Catholic World News

Shouting “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is great), Islamist terrorists slit the throats of 10 Christians in Chibok, a city of 65,000 in northeastern Nigeria. Following the December 1 murders, the attackers...

Nine Christians have been detained, and two have been sentenced to a labor camp, after they attempted to evangelize during a week-long period in late July and early August, according to a report...

Devasahayam Pillai (1712-52), a convert from Hinduism who suffered martyrdom, has become the first Indian layman to be beatified. Cardinal Angelo Amato, the prefect of the Congregation for the...

A survey of 1,047 Catholics conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University has found overwhelming support the more literal Mass translation that was...

The director of the Holy See Press Office has devoted his weekly editorial to Advent hope. Amid the world’s economic and political problems, “it is not always easy to recognize the light of hope...

Nearly three months after Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City – St. Joseph was convicted on one count of failing to report suspected child abuse, one half of the priests in his diocese want him to...

Pope Benedict XVI has issued a motu proprio governing Catholic charities, emphasizing that charitable agencies should operate in conformity with the teachings of the Church. The motu proprio De...

“The full history of salvation is a journey of love, mercy and benevolence,” Pope Benedict XVI said as he presided at the first Vespers of Advent on December 1 in St. Peter’s basilica. Speaking...

The Vatican is tightening internal security procedures in the aftermath of the “Vatileaks” scandal. Beginning January 1, Vatican officials will carry an identity card, which will be swiped when...

Claudio Sciarpelletti, the 2nd man convicted in the “Vatileaks” case, has dropped his appeal, and a Vatican tribunal has formally announced his sentencing. Sciarpelletti, a computer expert at the...

Christians should “topple modern idols,” and replace the materialism and individualism that dominates society today with a culture of love, Pope Benedict XVI said in a December 3 address to the...

The Australian Catholic bishops are setting up a special council to work with the government’s commission investigating sexual abuse. The new group will include bishops and their representatives,...

The controversial American theologian Harvey Cox has predicted that within 20 years, China will boast the world’s largest Christian population. Cox, the Harvard Divinity School professor whose...

Pope Benedict XVI visited the Venerable English College of Rome on December 3, as the institution—a training ground for seminarians from England and Wales—celebrates its 650th...

Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George reported on December 2 that his cancer treatment is progressing well. “So far, I’m responding well” to chemotherapy, said the cardinal, who disclosed in August...

Pope Benedict XVI welcomed a group of circus performers, street musicians, and other entertainers to the Paul VI auditorium in a special event organized for “itinerant performers” on December 1....

A Vatican commission studying the alleged apparitions at Medjugorje will release its findings by the end of this year, a French magazine has reported. La Vie says that the Vatican commission,...

The former rector of America’s largest Episcopalian church has become a Catholic. Rev. Larry Gipson, who was once rector of St. Martin’s church in Houston—where his parishioners included former...

New York Times op-ed columnist Ross Douthat argues that America’s falling birth rate is not only an enormous economic problem—since a smaller number of children will bear the massive debt that the...

A prelate has lamented the lack of international attention given to the seizure of mineral-rich portions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by the March 23 Movement, a rebel group founded...

The blog of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops features a post by Cokie Roberts requesting contributions to the Retirement Fund for Religious. “Day after day these women work with...

In a ruling limited to three plaintiffs, a federal district court judge has temporarily blocked California’s ban on reparative therapy for youths with same-sex attractions. Referring to the First...

The chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace is urging senators not to cut aid to Palestinians. “Recent reports have indicated...

Catholic World Report has published a profile of James MacMillan, a 52-year-old Catholic composer who composed music for the Mass during Pope Benedict’s 2010 apostolic journey to...

The National Catholic Reporter has called for the ordination of women to the Catholic priesthood, condemning the Church’s teaching on the issue as “unjust.” “Barring women from ordination to the...

Speaking at a December 4 press conference in Rome, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, said: “The valuable heritage of Christian faith, which is at the origin of the American 'New World' and inspires the life of...

An elderly Jesuit priest has been suspended from ministry in the Milwaukee archdiocese after he joined in a liturgical celebration with a woman who claims to be a Catholic priest. Father Bill...

A Protestant missionary is in critical condition in a hospital in Lahore, Pakistan, after an apparent murder attempt on December 3. Bargeeta Almby, a Swedish native, was shot in the chest at...

The Church is close to”those who are suffering from various forms of limitations, physical or mental,” the president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers said in a message for the...

Catholics in England and Wales observed a day of prayer on December 4, the feast of St. John Damascene, for peace in the Middle East and North Africa. “We’re obviously very conscious of the very...

Queen Elizabeth II has paid tribute to relations between the United Kingdom and the Holy See on the occasion of the 650th anniversary of the founding of the Venerable English College in Rome. “In...

Faculty and staff at 23 leading Catholic colleges and universities overwhelmingly supported President Barack Obama, according to a study of federal election donations conducted by...

The United States Senate has failed to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), a United Nations treaty opposed by several pro-life and homeschooling organizations....

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services have issued an “action alert” urging Catholics to contact President Barack Obama and members of Congress in support of...

Over a month after Hurricane Sandy ravaged parts of the Caribbean and the United States, electricity and heat have yet to be restored to nearly half of the homes in some parishes in New York City’s...

Pope Benedict XVI devoted his weekly public audience on December 5 to the opening of St. Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians, saying that the Apostle’s words serve as an appropriate introduction to...

Religious freedom is high on the agenda as Catholic patriarchs and bishops of the Middle East meet this week in Harissa, Lebanon, to discuss Ecclesia in Medio Oriente, the apostolic exhortation by...

Pope Benedict XVI issued a plea for peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo as he concluded his regular weekly audience on December 5. Referring to “the grave humanitarian crisis” that exists...

The Vatican has denied a report that a special commission investigating the alleged apparitions at Medjugorje will release its findings this month. Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the...

A new Italian biography of Julius Nyerere, the 1st president of Tanzania after independence, explains why the African leader is now a candidate for beatification, writes Andrea Tornielli of La...

The Basilicata region, at the southern end of Italy, has furnished the Christmas crèche that will be erected in St. Peter’s Square this year. The crèche includes 100 terra cotta figures, created...

The Irish bishops’ conference has issued a statement criticizing a government commission’s report on the country’s abortion laws. The “expert group” report recommended considering a series of...

A federal bankruptcy-court judge in Delaware has granted a motion by two ex-priests of the Wilmington diocese, blocking public release of their personnel files. Under the terms of a $77 million...

Addressing a conference devoted to immigration policy and advocacy, Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta said that the bishops of the United States will oppose immigration-reform proposals that do...

A US district court judge has ruled that the Archdiocese of New York’s lawsuit against the HHS mandate may proceed. Other courts have dismissed similar lawsuits on the grounds that the Catholic...

Eritrea’s totalitarian regime – widely recognized as one of the most repressive in the world – is stifling the Church through compulsory military service laws, according to Aid to the Church in...

Nearly 100 priests and religious from the People’s Republic of China are studying theology at an institute in Taiwan. “Except for a handful who are priests in their 40s, the majority of the...

Representatives of 40 pro-abortion organizations will meet with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and urge her to permit the morning-after pill to be sold to minors over the...

Jazz legend Dave Brubeck, who converted to Catholicism after being asked in 1980 to compose a musical setting for the Mass, has died at the age of 91. In addition to the Mass, Brubeck -- best...

Pope Benedict XVI met on December 6 with Germany’s President Joachim Gauck. The Pope’s conversation with the German leader centered on the current global economic crisis, and especially the...

An Egyptian Catholic leader has sharply criticized the sweeping constitutional changes proposed by President Mohamed Morsi, but said that the Church will not tell the faithful to boycott a...

The British government will introduce legislation early next year to end the 300-year old policy that bars Catholics and spouses of Catholics from the throne. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg...

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has announced a campaign of prayer and fasting for the “rebuilding of a culture favorable to life and marriage and for increased protections...

L’Osservatore Romano has published a brief article paying tribute to the growth of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, the ecclesial structure established by Pope Benedict on January...

Greek Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch, honored as the third-ranking prelate within Eastern Orthodoxy after the Patriarchs of Constantinople and Alexandria, has died at the age of 91....

On the early hours of St. Nicholas’ Day, workers set up a Christmas tree next to the crèche in St. Peter’s Square. The tree, which comes from the south-central Italian province of Isernia, is 80...

Natalia Tsarkova, Pope Benedict’s official portrait artist, has written her first work: a fairy tale entitled Il mistero di un piccolo stagno [The Mystery of a Little Pond], a book inspired by the...

Robert George, Ryan T. Anderson, and Sherif Girgis have coauthored What is Marriage? Man & Woman: A Defense, a new book widely praised for its reasoned defense of marriage. George is a...

A federal bankruptcy-court judge in Wisconsin has ruled that creditors of the Milwaukee archdiocese cannot tap into the assets of over 200 individual parishes. Rejecting an argument by lawyers...

Pope Benedict XVI has raised his personal secretary, Msgr. Georg Gänswein, to the rank of archbishop, and made him the prefect of the pontifical household. The 56-year-old German prelate has...

The Vatican has received 2 new "popemobiles" to replace the vehicles now in use. The cars are made by Mercedes-Benz, customized for the Pope's use. The new model "popemobiles" are lower to the...

The president of Caritas International has issued a plea for international action to end the bloodshed in Syria, saying that the situation there reminds him of the Balkan crisis in the...

Pope Benedict XVI provided direct answers to critics of Catholic teaching, both inside and outside the Church, in a December 7 address to members of the International Theological...

The Vatican’s top foreign-policy official stressed the importance of religious freedom at a meeting of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Dublin this...

The debate on acceptance of same-sex marriage has brought new attention to the influence of the Catholic Church in France, writes Sandro Magister of L'Espresso. "No one would have bet on it. But...

A Catholic bishop from Sri Lanka has asked Australian government officials to stop deportation of Tamil refugees, saying that they could still face violence if they attempt to return to their homes...

Men’s sperm counts have fallen dramatically since the 1990s, a major French study has found—prompting scientists to search for an explanation of the problem, which has major implications for human...

Noting the prevalence of anti-Catholic propaganda in prime-time television shows, Father Val Peter, the former director of Boys Town, asks whether cable-television subscribers should be required to...

Tim Stanley of London’s Daily Telegraph sees a pervasive hostility toward the Catholic Church in the work of the mainstream...

Alfred Hitchcock grew estranged from the Catholic Church, and refused to have a priest visit him in his final days, according to a leading biographer of the noted film director. Not so, reports a...

The Holy See has approved the establishment of a Canadian deanery of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, the ecclesial structure established by Pope Benedict on January 1 for Anglican...

Pope Benedict has offered his condolences following the death of Greek Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch, the third-ranking prelate within Eastern Orthodoxy. “During his long life of...

Archbishop Ambrose Madtha, the Holy See’s nuncio to the Ivory Coast, was killed in a head-on collision on December 8 while returning from an ordination. His driver was also killed. Born in India...

The United States Supreme Court has decided to hear two cases involving the constitutionality of the definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman. “The US Supreme Court's decision to...

The Swiss Guards, in conjunction with harpist Daniela Lorenz, have released a CD, “Weihnachten mit der Schweizergarde” [Christmas with the Swiss Guard]. “Most of them are German Christmas songs,...

Pope Benedict XVI appointed Cardinal Franc Rodé, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, as his special envoy to the closing...

On December 8, Pope Benedict XVI said that “the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary expresses the certainty of faith that the promises of God are realized; that his covenant does not...

The Phoenix, Arizona diocese has denied an Italian newspaper story that Bishop Thomas Olmsted will soon be appointed to a post in the Roman Curia. Marco Tosati of La Stampa reported that Bishop...

Irish columnist David Quinn predicts that Taoiseach (prime minister) Enda Kenny will introduce a proposal to legalize abortion, and only a revolt within his political party will stop the proposal...

Poland’s most beloved Marian image, the “Black Madonna” of Jasna Gora, was undamaged by an attack on December 9. A man threw cans of paint at the famous image. But the icon, which is shielded by...

An appeals court in Quebec has ruled that a Catholic school is legally obliged to offer a state-sponsored ethics course that conflicts with the teachings of the Church. The Quebec court’s...

China’s government-controlled Catholic bishops’ conference has revoked its recognition for Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin as an auxiliary of the Shanghai diocese, in the latest in a series of punishments...

Pope Benedict XVI called for “education to and promotion of a culture of life” in the Americas, as he spoke to participants in an international conference on Ecclesia in America, the apostolic...

At his Angelus audience on Sunday, December 9, Pope Benedict XVI spoke on the role of St. John the Baptist. "John--as the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, both of priestly families--is not only...

A California court was scheduled to hear final arguments on December 10 in a case involving the release of priests’ personnel files by the Los Angeles archdiocese. After years of litigation, the...

A US district court judge has declared that the North Carolina legislature’s decision to issue “choose life” license plates is unconstitutional. Motorists would have been permitted to purchase the...

The Diocese of Monterey has launched a yearlong series of initiatives commemorating the 300th anniversary of the birth of Blessed Junipero Serra (1713-84), who founded Franciscan missions throughout...

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has announced that a collection will be taken up throughout the US to assist the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Funds from the collection will also...

The Vatican Museums are sponsoring an exhibition of 70 Renaissance paintings at the Hangaram Design Museum in the Seoul Arts Center – allowing a largely Buddhist public a glimpse at the some of the...

Journalist Edward Pentin examines why the Second Vatican Council failed to issue an explicit condemnation of Communism. “Today we must ask: were those who denounced the brutal oppression of...

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services have announced a December 17 webcast entitled “Celebrating Your Advocacy Efforts to Confront Global Poverty in...

Pope Benedict XVI has frequently praised the vigor of the Church in Africa, and indicated his special interest in the growth of the Church there. L'Espresso observes that Vatican appointments have...

Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II has declined an invitation from Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi to join in a "national dialogue," explaining that the Church is not a political...

The Vatican post office has announced the release of an annual Christmas envelope, postmarked on Christmas Day and featuring a reproduction of a work from the Vatican Museums. Each year the...

A retired Catholic bishop in Michigan has denounced a right-to-work bill passed by the state’s legislature as an “unjust law,” saying that it is “designed to break unions,” and claiming that the US...

Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison, Wisconsin, has banned retreats and workshops led by two women religious, saying that they “may not share an authentic view of the Catholic Church’s approach to...

Responding to reports that Chinese authorities have withdrawn their recognition for Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin, the Vatican has reaffirmed the exclusive right of the Holy See to appoint Catholic...

A California court has ordered the Los Angeles archdiocese to produce personnel files for priests accused of sexual abuse by December 27. Judge Emilie Elias said that she would review the...

The Archdiocese of Miami has organized a prayer vigil for December 11, as prison officials in Florida prepare to execute a convicted killer, Manuel Pardo, Jr. “Recourse to the death penalty is...

Most of Catholic colleges in the US no longer require students to study theology, the Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) has found. A survey conducted by Kimberly Shankman of Benedictine College for...

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila has asked the faithful of the Philippines to join in a December 11 vigil of prayer for the defeat of sweeping family-planning legislation. The cardinal...

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has issued a clear statement of opposition to the government’s plan to recognize same-sex marriage. “We strongly oppose such a Bill,” the...

The percentage of residents of England and Wales who identify themselves as Christians fell from 72% in 2001 to 59% in 2011, according to census statistics released on December 11. The same...

The bishops of the Church of England have issued a statement lamenting the failure of the Church’s general synod to approve women bishops. The proposal won the required two-thirds approval from...

The bishops of North Carolina have issued a statement lamenting a federal judge’s decision on “choose life” license plates. “The State’s offering of a Choose Life license plate in the absence of...

In Rome for a conference commemorating the 15th anniversary Blessed John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in America, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore said that prelates must work...

Robert Ballard, a leading underwater archeologist who discovered the wreck of the Titanic in 1985, says he has found evidence in the Black Sea for the flood described by the Book of Genesis. ABC...

Writing for the website of the Biblical Archaeology Society, Andrew McGowan, president of Trinity College at the University of Melbourne, discounts the theory that Christmas is celebrated on...

Pope Benedict XVI made his much-anticipated Twitter debut on December 12, with a first entry welcoming the hundreds of thousands of internet users who were already following his Twitter account...

“What illuminates and gives full meaning to the history of the world and man begins to shine in the cave of Bethlehem,” Pope Benedict XVI told his public audience on December 12. The Pontiff...

Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George has revealed that doctors have found no signs of cancer in his body after a round of chemotherapy. Cardinal George, who is attempting a 2nd comeback from...

In Catholic World Report, Mark Shea reports that an execrable new book from Ireland, The Testament of Mary, by Colm Tóibín, is the “latest piece of Catholic-hating detritus to wash up on our shores...

An ancient Mayan prediction that the world will end on December 21 is “not even worth discussing,” according to the head of the Vatican Observatory. Father José Funes wrote in L’Osservatore...

China’s reported decision to revoke the title of Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin is an “abuse of power,” the secretary of the Congregation for Evangelization told the AsiaNews service. Archbishop Savio...

The lower house of the Filipino legislature has approved a sweeping new family-planning bill, over the energetic opposition of the Catholic bishops’ conference. The Reproductive Health bill,...

The Italian Catholic weekly Famiglia Cristiana has decried the comeback plans of Silvio Berlusconi, describing the the country’s former prime minister as a “dinosaur” who would “throw the country...

Noting that the past four decades have been “grace-filled years of evangelization in Asia,” the papal legate to the meeting of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) called upon the...

67 hate crimes were committed against Catholics in the US in 2011, according to a report issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The report, which lists crimes motivated by the victim’s...

The spokesman for the Egyptian Catholic Bishops' Conference is calling upon the European Union to press the nation’s current government to respect human rights. “The European Union must make it...

In Rome for a conference commemorating the 15th anniversary Blessed John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in America, Cardinal Thomas Collins of Toronto rued the loss of faith among the...

Christaayan, the first Hindi-language film about Jesus, will appear on Indian television. 80% of the actors, including the actor who portrays Jesus, are non-Christian, though the film is directed by...

Warning that “the window of opportunity to protect poverty-focused international assistance from steep cuts during fiscal cliff negotiations is closing,” officials of the United States Conference of...

During a December 13 meeting with 6 new ambassadors to the Holy See, Pope Benedict XVI spoke on the importance of education, saying that recent changes in the way young people learn have caused...

About 150,000 Christians are living in fear in western Syria, in a valley that has been subjected to steady artillery fire by Islamic rebels, the Fides news service reports. The rebels have been...

The Catholic hierarchy in Australia has set up a Truth, Justice, and Healing Commission to coordinate its response to a government commission investigating sexual abuse of children. The...

The French government has announced a plan to combat religious groups that are judged “potentially violent,” including both militant Muslims and traditionalist Catholics. Interior Minister Manuel...

R. Albert Mohler, the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, has criticized Newsweek magazine for publishing an essay that questions the Christian belief in the...

The Economist notices the rising popularity of the Latin Mass among the faithful in England, and remarks that the congregations seem disproportionately young. A magazine rarely sympathetic toward...

Over 30,000 youth associated with Taizé, the French ecumenical monastic community, will make a pilgrimage to Rome from December 28 to January 2 and take part in a prayer vigil with Pope...

The prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples has traveled to northwestern Uganda to commemorate the centenary of the beginning of missionary work in what is now the Diocese of...

Seven weeks after Hurricane Sandy ravaged Cuba, hundreds of thousands of residents remain homeless, according to Bishop Luis del Castillo Estrada, a Uruguayan Jesuit bishop who has served as a...

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York has welcome a US district court judge’s ruling that the Archdiocese of New York’s lawsuit against the HHS mandate may proceed. “Of course, there is still a long...

The UN Human Rights Committee has reprimanded Russia because one of its provinces has enforced a regional law against promoting homosexuality among minors. Later this month, Russia’s national...

An alliance of 16 Catholic development agencies has issued a statement blasting the international community for inaction during recent climate-change talks in Doha, Qatar. The alliance, CIDSE...

The light that came into the world with the birth of Christ “shows no sign of dimming through the passing of the centuries and the millennia,” Pope Benedict XVI said as the Vatican prepared for the...

The Archbishop of Canterbury denounced the “eccentric idea” that elderly people cannot contribute to society, in his final address to the House of Lords. Dr. Rowan Wiliams, who is stepping down...

Cardinal Joseph Zen, the retired Bishop of Hong Kong and leading critic of Chinese restrictions on religious freedom, has denounced the Beijing regime for revoking its recognition of Bishop Thaddeus...

Egypt’s Christian leaders have encouraged their followers to participate in a constitutional referendum, without giving them instructions on how to vote. “Every citizen has the freedom to vote,”...

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, a conservative Catholic who is often mentioned as a potential Republican presidential candidate, has endorsed over-the-counter sales of contraceptive pills. In a...

The Congregation for the Causes of Saints has voted to declare the “heroic virtue” of Pope Paul VI, according to an Italian report. Andrea Tornielli of La Stampa--who has compiled an admirable...

In the 2nd in his series of Advent Sermons, the preacher of the pontifical household, Father Raniero Cantalamessa, spoke about the proper interpretation of the teachings of Vatican II. Reflecting...

"Peace is not a dream or something utopian; it is possible,” Pope Benedict XVI insists in his message for the 46th World Day of Peace. The World Day of Peace is celebrated on January 1. The...

Expressing “heartfelt grief” following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut, Pope Benedict offered prayers and condolences in a December 15 telegram sent to the administrator of...

Catholics and non-Catholics alike flocked to St. Rose of Lima Parish in Newtown, Connecticut, following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Upon hearing news of the shooting, Msgr. Robert...

Lamenting Italian media coverage of Pope Benedict’s treatment of marriage in his message for the World Day of Peace, the director of the Holy See Press Office called upon “everyone to read the...

The prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, in northern Uganda to mark the centenary of the region’s evangelization, called upon seminarians to be chaste men of prayer who...

Continuing a tradition begun by Pope Paul VI in 1963, Pope Benedict is sending Christmas cards to the members of the Roman Curia. The card’s greeting -- Veritas de terra orta est! -- is taken...

Pope Benedict XVI met on December 17 with the 3 cardinals who composed a commission investigating the “Vatileaks” scandal. Although the Vatican issued no statement about the meeting, Italian...

The Vatican has concluded an agreement with Taiwan regarding the governance of Catholic universities and the recognition of titles and degrees from Catholic univerities. A Vatican announcement of...

Pope Benedict XVI met on December 17 with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, who expressed gratitude for the Vatican’s public stand in favor of a Palestinian representation at the...

A terrorist bombing in Kirkuk, Iraq, shook the Chaldean Catholic cathedral in which the prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Eastern Churches was celebrating Mass on December 16. Nine people...

David Warren writes for The Catholic Thing about a young Canadian girl with a remarkable gift for pro-life...

Boston’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley has called for tighter restrictions on firearms ownership in the wake of the Newtown school massacre. The cardinal referred to the killing of 20 schoolchildren as...

An Anglican cleric has declined appointment as a bishop because of opposition to his stance against the ordination of women as bishops. Father Philip North, who had been named to become Bishop of...

“Justice and charity are not opposed,” Pope Benedict XVI told his public audience on Sunday, December 16. “Both are necessary and complement each other.” The Pope offered a short meditation on...

During a pastoral visit to a parish in Rome on December 16, Pope Benedict XVI said that the Advent season should be a time of joyous anticipation, since “awaiting the arrival of a loved one always...

At a December 17 audience with Italian athletes who had participated in the 2012 Olympic Games, Pope Benedict XVI made the provocative observation that humility is “the secret of victory.” The...

“The love of God sometimes follows paths one could never have imagined,” Pope Benedict XVI writes in his message for the 50th World Day of Prayer for Vocations; “but it always reaches those who are...

As Christmas approaches, and young people hear stories of Santa Claus and his reindeer, Vatican Radio reports that the world’s reindeer population is dropping at an alarming rate. In Canada...

Two prominent Catholic writers offer insightful reviews of Pope Benedict's new book on the infancy narratives: Anthony Esolen for the Wall Street Journal and Father C. John McCloskey for the...

A group of 58 members of the British Parliament, representing both major political parties, have joined in an open letter opposing a government plan to offer legal recognition to same-sex...

The world population is 32% Christian, 23% Muslim, 15% Hindu, 7% Buddhist, and 0.2% Jewish, according to a new demographic study from the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public...

Christian voters were not permitted to cast ballots in some polling places during the December 15 constitutional referendum, the Associated Press and BBC reported. Egypt’s ruling Muslim...

Bishop Richard Garcia of Monterey will travel to the historic Old Mission San Juan Bautista on December 22 to offer a Mass of reconciliation and apologize to members of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band...

The Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has sent out an “action alert” urging Catholics to contact members of Congress about the...

Writing in The New York Times, a 30-year-old evangelical pastor reflects upon the decline of evangelical Protestantism in the United States. “While America’s population grows by roughly two...

Blessed John Paul II’s words on the “culture of death” were no exaggeration, Father Robert Imbelli writes in a L’Osservatore Romano column devoted to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in...

The Vatican has made “an increasing commitment to transparency and accuracy” in all financial dealings, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said in a December 18 address on the work of the Prefecture for...

Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, the prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, visited a mosque in Kirkuk on December 16, in a gesturing promoting inter-religious accord in the Iraqi city....

The spokesman for the Catholic bishops’ conference of Turkey has emphatically denied that he suggested Vatican archives would show that Turkey was innocent of genocide against the Armenian...

A Louisiana man was arrested on December 16 after he reportedly destroyed statues in two neighboring Catholic parishes, smashing them with a sledgehammer. The man, who is also accused of damaging...

The Irish government has announced that it will draft legislation allowing abortion when the mother’s life is deemed at risk, including when a mother threatens suicide. “The government is...

The University of Notre Dame has announced a pastoral plan “for the support, holistic development and formation of students who identify as GLBTQ [gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered,...

In a radio interview that took place on the day of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia advised priests, as well as friends of the victims’ families,...

In a letter to Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, the president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops offered “heartfelt prayers and deepest sympathies” in the wake of the Sandy Hook...

In a four-minute YouTube video, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services argue that budget cuts to federal programs that offer assistance to the poor throughout...

Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, the Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, has resigned at the age of 85. Pope Benedict XVI has called a Synod of the Chaldean bishops to choose his successor, and...

City official in Green Bay, Wisconsin, have moved to shut down a homeless shelter operated by the Catholic Church, saying that the St. John the Evangelist Shelter has regularly exceeded its legal...

In an interview with England’s Catholic Herald, the new prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said that the Catholics of Britain should “wholeheartedly” welcome former Anglicans...

The Archdiocese of New Orleans has issued a public rebuke to Governor Bobby Jindal, who has announced his support for over-the-counter contraceptive sales. “The Archdiocese of New Orleans...

Robert Bork, the noted jurist, author, and Catholic convert, died on December 19 at the age of 85. Bork’s nomination in 1987 for a seat on the US Supreme Court provoked a series of vicious...

In National Review, George Weigel reviews what is at stake in the political battle over the contraceptive mandate, where the argument stands today both in Congress and in the courts, and the choices...

The Catholic bishops of the Philippines have promised that they will not give up their fight to prevent enactment of a sweeping Reproductive Health bill that has now won approval in both houses of...

The Catholic bishops of India’s Kerela state have suspended a priest who faces criminal charges for human trafficking. Father Jaison Kollannur, who served on the Kerela bishops’ youth commission,...

At his weekly public audience on December 19, Pope Benedict XVI spoke about the Annunciation, saying that the angel’s greeting to the Virgin Mary “marks the beginning of the Gospel, the Good...

The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has ruled that the Obama administration must rewrite its controversial HHS mandate, which in its current form will compel many religious...

In a letter to National Security Advisor Thomas Donilon, the chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace called for “immediate...

The European Commission, which functions as the executive cabinet of the European Union, has approved Italy’s decision to tax Church-affiliated institutions that engage in profit-making...

The Christian-Muslim Forum, an organization co-chaired by Auxiliary Bishop Paul Hendricks of Southwark, has published guidelines on Christian-Muslim marriages. According to the Christian-Muslim...

The Archdiocese of San Francisco, which regularly had dispensed Catholics from the obligation of attending Mass on January 1 when it occurred on any day besides Sunday, has announced that the day is...

“The birth of Christ challenges us to reassess our priorities, our values, our very way of life,” writes Pope Benedict XVI in an op-ed column that appears in the December 20 issue of London’s...

Pope Paul VI has moved closer to beatification, as Pope Benedict XVI approved a decree proclaiming the “heroic virtue” of the Pontiff who closed Vatican II and wrote the landmark encyclical Humanae...

Thousands of Christian pilgrims are gathering in Bethlehem for Christmas celebrations, as the city enjoys a respite from years of political struggle. Reservations for Christmas pilgrimages to the...

A Filipino-born priest of the Worcester, Massachusetts diocese, who fled to his native land after he was indicted on child-pornography charges, has returned to face prosecution. Father Lowe...

At the funeral for a schoolteacher who was killed in the Newtown, Connecticut, massacre, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York said that her “life and death brings light, truth, goodness and love to a...

Boldly borrowing the language of Catholic Pontiffs, Ireland’s Taoiseach (prime minister) Enda Kenny has said that legislation introduced by his government to allow abortion in some cases will...

A Danish survey has found that as many as one-sixth of babies show some signs of life after late-term abortions. At Aaarhus University Hospital, of the 70 babies destroyed by late-term abortions...

The Vatican is close to securing a top-level domain name, “.catholic,” written in Chinese characters, which could be used to identify internet sites qualifying for the Holy See’s approval. ICANN,...

The Archdiocese of Boston has declined a bid by backers of an independent Catholic school to rent space in an empty parish school building. The archdiocese turned down an application by the...

A federal judge in Delaware has ruled that the Wilmington diocese can continue payments to priests who have been removed from ministry because of sex-abuse allegations, despite a bankruptcy-court...

At a December 20 audience with young members of Italy’s Catholic Action, Pope Benedict XVI said that God is a source of joy, a guide in love, and a maker of peace. "There are many people who...

The Iranian government has jailed a Protestant minister who is a US citizen. Rev. Saeed Abedini, who was born in Iran but now lives in the US with his wife and 2 children, was arrested while he...

An estimated 50,000 Muslims took to the streets of Asyut, a central Egyptian city of 400,000, to intimidate Christians on the eve of Egypt’s constitutional referendum, according to the Associated...

In his Christmas message, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem reviewed the year’s developments in interreligious and ecumenical relations as well as local political developments. “Interreligious...

The Vatican newspaper has reported that Pope Benedict is “exceeding pop stars like Justin Bieber in the percentage and number of retweets of his messages.” “More than 1.2 million followers of the...

Reflecting on “the moral and human dimensions of how to reduce unsustainable federal deficits,” the bishops who chair two committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops urged members...

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North America have issued a joint statement supporting the Federal Trade Commission’s changes to the...

“The Church represents the memory of what it means to be human in the face of a civilization of forgetfulness,” Pope Benedict XVI said in his address to the Roman Curia on December 21. In his...

Writing in England’s Catholic Herald, American Catholic columnist Mark Shea argues that the drone strikes carried out by the US military cannot be justified. Not only do the drones claim too many...

In his 3rd and final Advent Sermon for 2012, Father Raniero Cantalamessa, the preacher to the pontifical household, said that the birth and infancy of Jesus are marked by “a rush of calm and...

In a public statement responding to the Newtown massacre, the chairmen of three committees of the US bishops’ conference have joined in a call for tighter restrictions on legal gun ownership,...

The FBI crime report for 2011 listed 68 anti-Catholic “hate crimes” in the US. The FBI statistics included over 6,000 incidents that were classified as hate crimes. Nearly half (47%) were...

Irish police are investigating death threats against Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. The archbishop reported that after he voiced opposition to the legalization of abortion he received a...

An editorial in the Investors’ Business Daily calls attention to the Little Sisters of the Poor, whose work will become impossible in the US if the HHS mandate goes into full effect without a broad...

In the wake of the Newtown massacre, many politicians are calling for more restrictions on gun ownership. Charles Krauthammer writes that he has no objection--except that gun-control laws won’t...

(This news story was originally posted December 22, and is re-posted today for the benefit of readers accustomed to the CWN weekday news service.) Pope Benedict XVI has pardoned Paolo Gabriele,...

As Syrian rebels’ “ranks are becoming dominated by Islamists,” the Christians who have not fled the country are increasingly fearful for the future, the Associated Press reports. One woman who...

Deacon William Kokesch, a former director of communication services of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, has been arrested on charges of making child pornography. Kokesch and another...

Edwarda O’Bara, who lived in a comatose state for nearly 43 years, died recently at her home in Florida at the age of 59. O’Bara, who fell into a diabetic coma at the age of 16, was surrounded by...

Columnist Mark Steyn compares the Newtown school massacre with the slaughter of the Innocents in Bethlehem at the time of Christ's birth. Evil is always present, he observes, whether or not we...

City officials in Jerusalem have ordered display of a Christmas tree at Jaffa Gate, the most conspicuous entrance to the historic Old City, as a gesture to welcome Christian pilgrims arriving for...

Christians have complained that the official greeting cards issued by the European Parliament include no religious messages or symptoms and no direct references to Christmas. One representative of...

The Visitation—the Virgin Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth—represents “the encounter of the Old Testament with the New Testament,” Pope Benedict XVI told his Sunday Angelus audience on December...

In a Christmas message, Cardinal John Tong of Hong Kong has repeated his plea to let all of the people of Hong Kong participate in votes to elect the political leaders of the territory. Cardinal...

A Boston priest has been named the Vatican’s top prosecutor in sex-abuse cases. Father Robert Oliver, who has been an assistant for canonical affairs in the Boston archdiocese, will become the...

Dear Brothers and Sisters! Again and again the beauty of this Gospel touches our hearts: a beauty that is the splendour of truth. Again and again it astonishes us that God makes himself a child...

“Veritas de terra orta est!” – “Truth has sprung out of the earth” (Ps 85:12). Dear brothers and sisters in Rome and throughout the world, a happy Christmas to you and your families! In this...

“I greet you all from the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, a few steps away from the grotto where the Blessed Virgin brought forth her admirable Son into the world,” Patriarch Fouad Twal...

Days after the Irish government announced it would draft legislation allowing some abortions, Cardinal Seán Brady said in his Christmas message that “there is no more important value than upholding...

Less than two weeks after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting left 20 children and six staff members dead, the pastor of the parish where eight of the children were members reflected on the...

In his Urbi et Orbi message, Pope Benedict XVI made special appeals for peace in Syria, the Holy Land, and Africa, and for religious freedom in China. The Pope delivered his traditional message...

Israel’s Christian communities are “strong, growing, and wholly integrated into the life of the country,” claimed the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Christmas message....

The Vatican Museums will install new high-tech systems to remove dust from visitors’ clothing, the director has announced. Antonio Paolucci, the director of the Vatican Museums, said that special...

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has refused to block enforcement of that part of the HHS mandate which requires employers to provide insurance coverage for the morning-after pill. In...

Two Protestant churches in Nigeria suffered terrorist attacks during Christmas services. Gunmen attacked a Baptist church in the northeastern city of Maiduguri on Christmas Eve. Then, during a...

In a recent study, “Tortillas on the Roaster,” Catholic Relief Services warned that climate change threatens farmers in Mexico and Central America. “The report highlights that there is no quick...

Archbishop Charles Brown, the new apostolic nuncio to Ireland, discusses the first year of his new assignment in an interview with the Irish Catholic. The archbishop—who was appointed by Pope...

Five Christian churches, three Hindu temples, and one mosque of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community were attacked in Pakistan in 2012, according to a report prepared by the Pakistani Bishops Conference’s...

“The powerful Catholic Church”--and more specifically, “the powerful Italian Bishops Conference”--is supporting a signature-gathering campaign in support of reimposing limits Sunday shopping, The...

Archeologists have discovered the ruins of a temple built in 750 B.C. at Tel Motza, a site west of Jerusalem. “The finds recently discovered at Tel Motza provide rare archaeological evidence for...

The Vatican newspaper has given what appears to be a clear signal of support for Mario Monti in his effort to form a new coalition government for Italy. L’Osservatore Romano said that Monti’s...

The Vatican has released the prayer intentions of Pope Benedict XVI for January 2013. The Pope’s general intention is: “That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the...

Ten priests, one sister, and one lay pastoral worker were murdered in 2012, according to the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Six were killed in Latin America, four...

On January 1, the Church will commemorate the 46th World Day of Peace. Pope Benedict’s message for the day is entitled “Blessed Are the Peacemakers.” In his message for the 1st World Day of...

The Department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) have welcomed the defeat of legislation offered...

The Hobby Lobby stores will defy a federal mandate requiring coverage of the morning-after pill in employees’ health-insurance policies, risking fines of over $1 million a day beginning on January...

Protesters occupied the offices of the apostolic nuncio in Paris on December 31, to protest the decision by Church officials to evict squatters from a church in Lille. Undocumented immigrants,...

Catholic World Report has posted the full introduction to the landmark new book by James Hitchcock: History of the Catholic Church: From the Apostolic Age to the Third...

At his midday audience on Sunday, December 30—the feast of the Holy Family—Pope Benedict XVI reminded parents that they are “neither the friends nor masters of their children’s lives, but the...

Political opponents of Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Monti have derided L’Osservatore Romano for an editorial endorsement of Monti’s re-election effort. Critics pointed out that the Vatican...

The Vatican prelate who handles the Pope’s personal charities has offered a glimpse of his work in an interview with L’Osservatore Romano. Archbishop Guido Pozzo, the Almoner of His Holiness,...

The Russian Orthodox Church has thrown its support behind a government proposal to bar adoption of Russian children by US couples. Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, the chief foreign-affairs...

A new state law in Michigan, which requires abortion clinics to obtain licenses as certified surgical facilities, could force the closing of some clinics. The law, which takes effect March 31,...

Pope Benedict XVI presided at the final liturgical ceremony of 2012, the Solemn Vespers for the Feast of Mary the Mother of God, at St. Peter’s basilica on December 31. The Vespers...