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Credit: ShutterstockCNA Staff, Apr 5, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).The U.S. Catholic bishops announced on Wednesday that April 27-28 will be this year's annual Catholic Home Missions Appeal, which supports vital ministries for more than 75 U.S. dioceses in need. Every year, Catholic parishes throughout the U.S. take up this appeal to help support remote, impoverished, or small parishes. (Some dioceses can opt to have the collection during a different weekend.) Bishop Shawn McKnight of Jefferson City, Missouri, who heads the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Subcommittee on Catholic Home Missions, shared his appreciation for the support of the faithful who "help the Church maintain its presence" in these dioceses. "There are places where ministry is marked by the deep commitment of parishioners and the clergy who serve them, who often travel many miles through mountains, deserts, or arctic terrain to attend Mass and serve each other and their communities," McKnight...
Catholic Relief Services workers help to distribute humanitarian aid materials to Gazan civilians in March 2024. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Catholic Relief ServicesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 4, 2024 / 16:10 pm (CNA).As several charitable groups are halting operations in the wake of the killing of seven humanitarian aid workers in Gaza, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is increasing its presence and efforts in the region. Jason Knapp, Holy Land representative for the U.S.-based Catholic group, told CNA that while it is "working hard to keep our team as safe as possible," it remains "committed to doing everything we can to address the significant humanitarian needs of civilians in Gaza."Knapp said that CRS has set up warehouses, guesthouses, and offices in Rafah and Deir al Balah and is "in the process of setting up additional distribution points throughout Rafah, Khan Younis, and Middle Area.""In addition to expanding this operational capacity in the south half of Gaza,"...
Nebraska state Sen. Mike McDonnell, who had been a registered Democrat for 40 years before this week, said that his party change was caused by the Democratic Party's refusal to respect his pro-life views, which he said is grounded in his Catholic faith. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Nebraska LegislatureWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 4, 2024 / 16:40 pm (CNA).A pro-life Catholic lawmaker in the Nebraska Legislature is switching his party registration from Democrat to Republican because of the Democratic Party's staunch support of abortion. Sen. Mike McDonnell, who had been a registered Democrat for 40 years before this week, said in a news conference that his party change was caused by the Democratic Party's refusal to respect his pro-life views, which he said is grounded in his Catholic faith. He was first elected in 2016."Today, I am announcing I am now going to be a registered Republican in the state of Nebraska," McDonnell said.While serving in the Legislature, McDonn...
Guinness World Records recognized Juan Vicente Pérez Mora as the oldest man in the world on Feb. 4, 2022, when he was 112 years old and 253 days old. / Credit: Guinness World RecordsCNA Staff, Apr 4, 2024 / 11:30 am (CNA).Juan Vicente Pérez Mora, a twice-daily prayer of the rosary who at his death was the confirmed oldest man in the world, died on April 2, just weeks before his 115th birthday.Mora held the title of oldest man in the world for a few short years. He was awarded the distinction by Guinness World Records on Feb. 4, 2022, when he was 112 years and 253 days old.His death was confirmed by Freddy Bernal, the governor of Táchira, Venezuela, where Mora lived. "Our dear Juan Vicente Pérez Mora, today with deep sadness and pain we say goodbye to you, to that archetype of a man from Táchira, humble, hardworking, peaceful, enthusiastic about family and tradition," Bernal wrote on X.Nuestro querido Juan Vicente Pérez Mora, hoy con profunda tristeza y dolor nos despedimos...
Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, vice-president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, at the USCCB's fall meeting Nov. 15, 2023. / Credit: Joe Bukuras/CNACNA Staff, Apr 4, 2024 / 12:15 pm (CNA).The Archdiocese of Baltimore is suing numerous insurers over their alleged failure to pay for abuse claims stretching back several decades.The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in September of last year ahead of a state law that ended the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits for negligence concerning child sexual abuse. The law opened the archdiocese up to abuse allegations stretching back decades.With the Chapter 11 filing, "the archdiocese will be reorganized, victim-survivors will be equitably compensated, and the Church will continue its mission and ministries," Archbishop William Lori said at the time.In a new court filing last week, meanwhile, the archdiocese alleged that nearly two dozen insurers "have failed to acknowledge, or will...
null / Andrii Zastrozhnov/ShutterstockACI Prensa Staff, Apr 4, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).Father Francisco "Patxi" Bronchalo of the Diocese of Getafe in Spain shared on X about the emotional wounds he has encountered throughout his pastoral experience in persons who declare themselves "trans."The priest began a thread on X on April 3 affirming that "a man who says he's a woman is not a woman but a man who says he's a woman," which "seems obvious" but nevertheless means going against "the ideological trans dogma and makes many people cry to high heaven."The priest explained that among people who declare themselves "trans," he has always found in his pastoral experience that "there are deep wounds that have led to nonacceptance of their biological reality."Given this, instead of facing their problems, they are offered an "escape forward" into an ideology "that says that biological reality does not define what a person is but that what is defining is how this person perceives...
Father Javier Sánchez, 60, from the Archdiocese of Zaragoza in Spain died April 4, 2024, a victim of burns suffered when his liturgical vestments caught fire from a candle during the Easter Vigil on Saturday, March 30. / Credit: Óscar Cortel/Archbishopric of ZaragozaACI Prensa Staff, Apr 4, 2024 / 14:55 pm (CNA).Father Javier Sánchez of the Archdiocese of Zaragoza in Spain died early this morning from burns he suffered when his liturgical vestments caught fire from a candle during the Easter Vigil on Saturday. According to the Spanish newspaper El Heraldo de Aragón, sources from the archdiocese said the priest "tried to protect the nuns of the convent.""The priest tried to protect the nuns of the convent when embers lit up in the basin that was used [for the fire] and that ultimately caused his death. Apparently a flammable substance had been used to start the fire. [The Easter Vigil] was held inside the convent," said the source cited by the Spanish newspaper.Sánchez, 60, who ...
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I / President.gov.ua / Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 4, 2024 / 10:15 am (CNA).The Eastern Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople has expressed a desire that Christians in the East and the West begin celebrating Easter on a "unified date" rather than adhere to separate Lenten calendars."It is a scandal to celebrate separately the unique event of the one resurrection of the one Lord," Patriarch Bartholomew I, who holds the title "first among equals" in Eastern Orthodoxy, said in a recent homily, according to Orthodox Times.The ecumenical patriarch made the comments during a homily on March 31, which marked Easter on the Western calendar and the second Sunday of Lent on the Eastern calendar."We extend a heartfelt greeting of love to all Christians around the world who celebrate holy Easter today," Bartholomew said during the homily. "We beseech the Lord of Glory that the forthcoming Easter celebration next year will not merel...
A person walks past an area of a damaged building that is cordoned off following a 7.5-magnitude earthquake on April 3, 2024, in Hualien, Taiwan. / Credit: Annabelle Chih/Getty ImagesRome Newsroom, Apr 4, 2024 / 10:45 am (CNA).The Vatican on Thursday sent a telegram to the president of Taiwan's bishops' conference in which Pope Francis expressed his sadness and solidarity after a Wednesday morning earthquake left several dead and more than 1,000 injured. "His Holiness Pope Francis was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and damage caused by the earthquake in Taiwan," read the telegram, which was signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The Holy Father "assures everyone affected by this disaster of his heartfelt solidarity and spiritual closeness," the telegram said."Pope Francis likewise prays for the dead, the injured, and all those displaced as well as for the emergency personnel engaged in recovery efforts and invokes upon all the divi...
Father Artur Bubnevych, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Byzantine Catholic Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico. / Credit: Courtesy of Father Artur BubnevychAnn Arbor, Michigan, Apr 4, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).Father Artur Bubnevych told CNA he is honored and delighted to be among the five priests from the United States selected to attend the upcoming Synod on Synodality meeting of priests in Rome. He said he will aim to share how the liturgy and spirituality of the Byzantine rite is attracting people to the Catholic faith.In an interview, Bubnevych said he was surprised by the appointment, which had been announced by the Eparchy of Phoenix of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church. "I'm excited to bring the voice of our Church to the synod: the experience of living out the mission, and to walk together and listen to each other and to the Holy Spirit and discern the future path," Bubnevych said."I want to bring a unique perspective and our rich spiritual heritage," Bubnevych told C...
