Catholic World News

"Dear Brothers and Sisters, a Happy and Holy Easter!" "The Church throughout the world echoes the angel’s message to the women: 'Do not be afraid! I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised… Come, see the place where he lay' (Mt 28:5-6)." "This is the culmination of the Gospel, it is the Good News par excellence: Jesus, who was...

"The Gospel of the resurrection of Jesus Christ begins with the journey of the women to the tomb at dawn on the day after the Sabbath," Pope Francis preached at the Mass of the Easter Vigil. "They go to the tomb to honor the body of the Lord, but they find it open and empty. A mighty angel says to them: 'Do not be afraid!' (Mt 28:5) and orders them to go and tell the disciples: 'He has been...

Pope Francis presided at the solemn Celebration of the Passion of the Lord at St. Peter's Basilica on Good Friday. As is customary, the preacher of the Papal Household, Father Raniero Cantalamessa, preached the Good Friday homily. "In the divine-human history of the passion of Jesus, there are many minor stories about men and women who entered into the ray of its light or its shadow," he...

The Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff has released the meditations for the Way of the Cross at which Pope Francis will preside. The Way of the Cross takes place on Good Friday evening in the Colosseum. The meditations on the 14 traditional stations were prepared by Archbishop Giancarlo Maria Bregantini of...

“We have heard what Jesus did at the Last Supper: it is a gesture of farewell,” Pope Francis preached during his extemporaneous homily during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at a center for the disabled at Rome. “He is God, and He makes Himself a servant, our servant,” the Pope continued. “It is like an inheritance. You also must be servants of one another.” [click link below for full...

Pope Francis reflected on priestly joy during his homily at the Mass of Chrism on Holy Thursday morning. During the Chrism Mass-- typically celebrated on Holy Thursday morning, sometimes celebrated on another day-- a bishop concelebrates Mass with his priests, blesses the oil of the sick and the oil of the catechumens, and consecrates chrism. “The Lord anointed us in Christ with the oil...

"Dear brothers and sisters, Christ is truly risen! Alleluia," Archbishop Fouad Twal, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, preached during his Easter homily. "It is with this immense joy that I...

"Beloved in Christ! Despite this year's trial and uncertainty, Easter - 'the day which the Lord hath made' (Ps. 117, 24) - is the time for us of unspeakable joy and hope," Major Archbishop...

"In this blessed Easter season, we extend to you all, our heartfelt prayerful wishes of Peace and joy as we renew our hope and confidence in the One who conquered death, overcoming the sin and...

Pope Francis has appointed a Coptic Catholic priest, Father Yoannis Lahzi Gaid, to work as his 2nd personal secretary, Andrea Tornielli of La Stamp reports. Father Lahzi Gaid has been working in...

As previously announced, Pope Francis is celebrating the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper at St. Mary of Providence Center, a rehabilitation center for the disabled operated by the Don Carlo...

"Christ is Risen! Come, brethren and children in the Lord, receive the light from the unwaning Light of the Phanar, the Holy Center of the Orthodox, and let us all together and jointly glorify...

The city of Rome is “very ready” for the canonizations of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II later this month, Mayor Ignazio Marino has promised. The joint canonization ceremony on April 27 is...

The leader of the new Anglican ordinariate in England has admitted that the number of Anglicans entering the Catholic Church has fallen short of expectations. "We have to be honest and say that...

A bishop in the Central African Republic, along with three of his diocesan priests, was abducted on April 17 but then released, according to L’Osservatore Romano. Members of the Islamist Séléka...

Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant leaders in Jerusalem have issued their annual joint Easter message. “When our Savior died on Good Friday it seemed to his disciples as if their world had come...

The Catholic bishops of the Philippines have argued strongly against the customs practiced by some zealous believers who scourge or even crucify themselves on Good Friday. Archbishop Socrates...

The gang-rape of a Catholic woman by Muslim youths in Bangladesh has provoked angry protests, and complaints that law-enforcement officials are not providing security for the Christian...

While in Rome for the canonization of Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II, Prime Minister Manuel Valls of France will bestow the nation’s highest honor upon Cardinal Roger Etchegaray,...

In an apparent attempt to gain Coptic Christian political support, the two leading Egyptian presidential candidates will attend the Easter vigil liturgy celebrated by Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros...

Describing the situation in Iraq as “worrying,” the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church has issued his Easter message. “We are now in Holy Week, despite the worrying situation that are currently...

Having resolved questions about Vatican financial affairs, Pope Francis and his 8-member Council of Cardinals will now turn their attention to a restructuring of the Roman Curia, writes Andrea...

Iraq’s leading Catholic prelate has issued an Easter prayer for “an end to the suffering of our people.” Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako urged the faithful to keep their eyes fixed...

A priest who has served in the Archdiocese of Portland since 1998 has been arrested on charges of attempting to lure a 14-year-old girl into his car in Vancouver, where he maintains a second...

A Chicago priest has been restored to active ministry after an investigation concluded that abuse charges against him had been unfounded. Father Michael O’Connell was suspended from ministry last...

The man who shot and killed three people at Jewish community centers in Kansas City is likely to face hate-crime charges because of his animus against Jews, although all three victims were...

El Al, the Israeli national airline, will furnish a plane for the return flight after Pope Francis visits the Holy Land in May. The El Al plane, which will take the Holy Father from Tel Aviv to...

Cuba has declared Good Friday a national holiday, to be observed every year. After years of official atheism, Cuba recognized Good Friday as a holiday in 2012, in response to a special request...

India’s top court has ordered the federal government to grant privileged status to transgendered people, recognizing them as a third gender, the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN) service...

A self-proclaimed visionary who has attracted an internet following under the pseudonym “Maria Divine Mercy” has been firmly condemned by Archbishop Diamuid Martin of Dublin, Ireland. The Dublin...

In an Easter message to his people, Archbishop Charles Bo of Yangon, Myanmar speaks of the “excruciating pain” his country has suffered under military rule, and calls for national reconciliation to...

Pope Francis devoted his Wednesday general audience to Christ’s humiliation, beginning with his betrayal by Judas for 30 pieces of silver. In the Passion of Christ, we see “the divine response to...

An Austrian-born missionary bishop in Brazil recounted a recent conversation with Pope Francis on the ordination of married men to the priesthood. The bishop met with the Pope on April 4. “I told...

Local Christian, Jewish, and Muslim leaders joined Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles at an interfaith gathering on behalf of immigration reform. “These are human souls, not statistics,” the...

Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver led hundreds of people in prayer at the state capitol to protest the Reproductive Health Freedom Act. The Colorado Catholic Conference stated that the...

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, offered Mass at the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere on April 15 for Christians who have recently died for their faith. “In various...

In an audience with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Pope Francis approved the publication of decrees on miracles attributed to the intercession of two...

One child was killed and 61 people injured when a missile struck a Catholic school in Damascus, Syria, on April 15, the Fides news service reports. The missile hit the Armenian Catholic school in...

The heavily Catholic island nation of Malta has allowed for legal recognition of same-sex unions, and adoption of children by homosexual couples. The new legislation, despite opposition from the...

The Irish government has published the Children First Bill, which requires professionals—including members of the clergy—to report any concerns about child abuse to appropriate law-enforcement...

Pope Francis will visit the Regina Caeli prison in Rome on April 16—the Wednesday of Holy Week—and distribute pocket-sized copies of the Gospels to inmates there. The Pope has recommended that...

The Vatican has acknowledged that it will make a report to the UN’s committee monitoring implementation of the Convention against Torture. Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican...

People all around the world are generally consistent in condemning extra-marital affairs as immoral, a new Pew Research study finds. But attitudes on contraception vary widely. In the 40...

A survey on marriage and family, distributed by the Vatican in preparation for the October meeting of the Synod of Bishops, was not intended for public release, according to a spokesman for the...

In a harsh 89-page letter addressed to “Francis, head of state of the Vatican City,” two Greek Orthodox prelates have denounced Catholicism as a heresy and urged the Pope to repentance. In their...

Reports that a woman was implanted with another couple’s twin embryos have caused fears among Italian couples seeking fertility treatment. Sandro Pertini Hospital in Rome, where the problem...

A leading Irish newspaper columnist has reported that he has trouble sleeping, has lost weight, fears for his safety, and may move out of Dublin because of harassment and threats he has suffered...

Pope Francis has sent a message of condolence to the victims of a fire that spread through Valparaiso, Chile, killing at least 12 people and driving 10,000 from their homes. In a message conveyed...

A Nigerian prelate has decried the increasingly destructive attacks committed by the Islamist terrorist organization Boko Haram. Boko Haram “continues to kill people like animals,” Archbishop...

A newly installed Scottish bishop has taken up residence in a parish house in a low-income housing area, rather than in the more opulent episcopal residence. “[Pope] Francis dreams, and so do I,...

Caritas Internationalis, the Church’s confederation of relief and development agencies, has issued an appeal on behalf of Senegal. “Recent poor harvests, climatic factors, natural disasters and a...

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, who holds a primacy of honor in Eastern Orthodoxy, issued a Palm Sunday message to civil and Church leaders in Ukraine. “The Holy Mother and Great Church of...

The head of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church has welcomed the Syrian government’s victory over rebel forces in the historic Christian town of Ma'loula. Rebel forces seized the town in December...

In a television appearance, Venezuela’s leading prelate criticized socialism and denounced trends toward “Cubanization,” the Fides news agency reported. Referring to officials f the government of...

In remarks delivered at the annual White House Easter prayer breakfast, President Barack Obama reflected on his recent meeting with Pope Francis. After lamenting the murder of three people at a...

Warning of a humanitarian catastrophe, South Sudan’s Catholic and Protestant leaders urged the parties in the nation’s four-month-old conflict to stop fighting. “We called on the warring parties...

A special task force has reported “serious shortcomings” in the handling of sex-abuse complaints in the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese. The Safe Environment and Ministerial Standards Task...

More than 22,000 people have signed a petition protesting plans by Archbishop John Myers of Newark, New Jersey, to build an expensive new addition to his personal residence. Archbishop Myers...

The Vatican has dismissed sex-abuse charges made against a Puerto Rican bishop. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith examined a complaint against Bishop Daniel Fernandez Torres of...

The head of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) has denounced a proposal by Cardinal Walter Kasper for allowing the reception of Communion by Catholics who are divorced and...

For the 4th time in the past two months, a court in Pakistan has postponed a hearing on the appeal of Asia Bibi, the Christian woman who was convicted of unsupported blasphemy charges. The High...

In meditations written for the Way of the Cross, to be read on Good Friday during the traditional observance at the Roman Coliseum, Archbishop Giancarlo Bregantini of Campobasso-Boiano, Italy calls...

The Diocese of Roermond, in the Netherlands, has disclosed that complaints of sexual abuse by the late Bishop Johannes Gijsen were “well-founded.” Bishop Frans Wiertz, the current leader of the...

Another UN committee is planning to interrogate Vatican officials about the Church’s response to sexual abuse. The UN’s committee monitoring implementation of the Convention Against Torture will...

The Vatican is an increasingly popular destination for Italian vacationers, according to tour guides, who attribute the trend to the popularity of Pope Francis. Among Italians traveling for...

A major fundraising Archdiocese of Philadelphia has fallen short of its goal, due in part to an unusually high level of unfulfilled pledges. The archdiocesan capital campaign, designed to raise...

Pope Francis has sent a message of best wishes for Passover to Rome’s Jewish community. In his message, which was addressed to Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni, the Pope expressed the hope that the...

In an April 14 address to seminarians from the Pontifical Leonine College, Pope Francis told the young men that if they are not prepared to dedicate themselves to serving the faithful, they should...

President Barack Obama has announced the names of the members of the presidential delegation to the April 27 Mass of canonization of Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II. John Podesta,...

In an April 12 address to participants in an Italian Society of Oncological Surgery conference, Pope Francis told physicians that they should “not lose sight of the human person, created in the...

In an address to members of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, Pope Francis said that the study of history is important for discerning “what the Holy Spirit wants to say to the Church...

In his brief Sunday Angelus address, delivered at the conclusion of Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis greeted 250 World Youth Day delegates, and Brazilian youth consigned the...

In his homily at Palm Sunday Mass, Pope Francis told those assembled in St. Peter's Square that “we might well ask ourselves just one question: Who am I? Who am I, before my Lord?” “We have just...

Pope Francis has confirmed Msgr. Guido Marini in his position as Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, according to a notice in L'Osservatore Romano. Pope Benedict XVI appointed Msgr....

Pope Francis has named Margaret Archer as president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. Archer succeeds Mary Ann Glendon, 75, the Harvard law professor who has served as president of the...

For the 2nd time in recent weeks, parents of students at a Catholic high school are protesting that a speaker’s presentation on Catholic morality was harsh and insensitive. Parents of students at...

The Vatican’s representative at the UN has called attention to falling fertility rates around the world, saying that they “should be a great cause for alarm.” Citing a report from the UN’s...

A German court has denied Bishop Richard Williamson’s appeal of his conviction for denying the Holocaust. The traditionalist bishop was convicted in 2010 for statements he made in a Swedish...

The Church “will not take one step backward” in efforts to punish those who abuse children, Pope Francis promised in an April 11 address to the International Catholic Child Bureau (BICE). The...

The devil is a reality, Pope Francis reminded worshippers at a Mass on April 11. “The devil is here, even in the 21st century,” the Pope said in his homily. “And we mustn’t be naïve,...

An Orthodox Jewish group is planning to offer sacrifice on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem for Passover next week. The group, Hozrim El Ha-Har, has told members to gather on Monday, April 14,...

An Italian court has recognized a same-sex marriage, rousing new hopes among gay-rights activists for a change in the country’s law. The court in Grosseto granted recognition to the union of a...

A priest of the Society of St. Pius X has been indicted and jailed on charges of rape and torture, according to French media reports. The Society, which is not in full communion with the Holy...

In an April 11 audience, Pope Francis thanked Italian pro-life leaders for “promoting and defending human life from its conception.” “We know human life is sacred and inviolable,” the Pope said....

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth has conducted a dialogue with the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) and issued a non-binding...

Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, has issued a statement welcoming the first state visit of an Irish president to the United Kingdom. “The historic events...

An annual survey conducted by the Barna Group and the American Bible Society has found that increasing numbers of Americans view the Bible as “just another book.” 19% of survey respondents...

As Ukraine prepares for national elections on May 25, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has directed priests to distance themselves from partisan politics. A new document, “Instructions on the...

Secretary of State John Kerry has announced that the State Department and the US bishops are collaborating in the fight against human trafficking. “I remember when I went to the Vatican, just the...

Pope Francis is urging Venezuelan government and opposition leaders to foster mutual respect and focus on the common good as they begin nationally televised talks. “I am aware of the...

Bishop Juan Ruben Martinez of Posadas, Argentina, has called attention to a disturbing outbreak of vigilante violence against suspected criminals, the Fides news service reports. Bishop Martinez...

The government of Venezuela has asked the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, to serve as a mediator in negotiations with opposition leaders to end a political crisis. The...

Pope Francis cautioned against a “dictatorship of a narrow line of thought” in his homily at a Mass on April 10. Reflecting on the disputes between Jesus and the Pharisees, the Pope said that the...

Cardinal Timothy Dolan has written to 70,000 families in the New York archdiocese, expressing bitter disappointment that the state legislature did not approve tax credits for parents of children in...

Catholics living in the Crimea have been cut off from their co-religionists in Ukraine since Russia seized the province, a bishop serving in Crimea has reported to Aid to the Church in Need...

An Italian Catholic newspaper has criticized the film Noah as "ecologically and vaguely New Age," saying that the movie misses the specifically religious theme of the Biblical story. Avvenire is...

Christians in India’s troubled Kandhamal region are worried about the outcome of elections, but “they believe in democracy and the power of the vote,” Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar...

Italy’s Constitutional Court has overturned a law that prohibited a ban on the use of donated sperm and eggs for human reproduction. The lawyers who challenged the Italian law hailed the ruling...

Human trafficking is “an open wound on the body of contemporary society, a scourge upon the Body of Christ,” Pope Francis said in an April 10 address to participants in the Second International...

The study of theology is “fruitful only if it is done with an open mind and on one’s knees,” Pope Francis said in an April 10 address to students at the Gregorian University in Rome. In his talk...

A data breach of the Archdiocese of Portland’s computer systems has led to the filing of fraudulent tax returns, according to local media reports. “A number of employees and volunteers of the...