Day: 22 January 2025

In less than a month and a half, Pope Francis will install Franciscan nun Raffaella Petrini as head of the General Secretariat of the Government of the Vatican City State. The change will take effect in March when Petrini, who currently serves as secretary in the same department, replaces Spanish Cardinal Fernando Vérgez, who will...

A Montana bill that could compel Catholic priests to break the seal of confession is being criticized by Catholics who say it could eliminate key religious liberty protections. The proposed bill would “eliminate clergy exemption in mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect.” It states that clergy and others in the mandatory reporting group such...

The New York Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a Nassau County law prohibiting men from competing in female sports at a county-run facility is constitutional. State Supreme Court Judge Bruce Cozzens ruled against the Long Island Roller Rebels, a women’s roller derby league that had sought to block a Nassau County law banning men...

The Vatican announced this week that Pope Francis has erected a new diocese in China and appointed Father Anthony Ji Weizhong as its first bishop. The pope decided last October to suppress the Diocese of Fenyang in mainland China, which was originally erected in 1946 by Pope Pius XII, and at the same time erect the new...

The seminary of the Diocese of Matagalpa, Nicaragua, has been confiscated by the country’s dictatorship. The confiscation was first reported by the Nicaraguan newspaper Mosaico CSI. According to the outlet, at the time of the confiscation there were at least 30 students in formation at the seminary. St. Aloyisius Gonzaga Major Seminary of Philosophy is...

The Sodality of Christian Life has reported that between May 2016 and December 2024 it provided reparations to 83 people who were victims of sexual, psychological, and power abuse through out-of-court settlements. According to the report published Tuesday on its website, of the total number of cases given reparations, 15 were for the sexual abuse...

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under President Donald Trump this week rescinded Biden-era guidelines that previously required Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to seek their superior’s approval before arresting people at or near “sensitive locations” such as churches, hospitals, or schools. The “sensitive locations” policy began in 2011 with a memo from then-ICE...

Pope Francis on Monday emphasized the ecumenical vocation shared by Christians during an audience held at the Vatican with Finnish representatives of various Christian denominations who have made a pilgrimage to Rome on the occasion of the feast of St. Henry, celebrated Jan. 19. The Jan. 20 meeting took place in the Vatican Apostolic Palace...

Numerous notable Catholic celebrities and public figures attended festivities surrounding Donald Trump’s swearing-in as the 47th president of the United States on Monday. Trump has made headlines by choosing several Catholics to serve in his Cabinet and other parts of his administration, most prominently among them with the selection of Vice President JD Vance. Among...

At the interfaith prayer service held at Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday morning, an Episcopal bishop challenged President Donald Trump, urging him to “have mercy” on migrants and those who identify as members of the gay, lesbian, and transgender community. “Let me make one final plea, Mr. President,” Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of the Episcopal...