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ABOVE: Pope Francis, with Master of Ceremonies Msgr. Guido Marini at his side, offers Mass Feb. 1, 2020, at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican [Andreas Solaro/AFP via Getty Images]. BELOW: See photo captions and credits at end of article. In ‘Querida Amazonia,’ Pope Francis Lays Out a Vision for the Future of the Amazon The post-synodal apostolic exhortation Querida Amazonia sets forth the Holy Father’s ‘Four Dreams’ for the region, but steers clear of endorsing married priests or women deacons. VATICAN CITY — Through “four great dreams” for a better ecological, social, cultural and ecclesial future, Pope Francis says he wishes his new post-synodal apostolic exhortation will “awaken” the world’s “affection and concern” for the Amazon region — and help other areas of the world to confront ...

Washington D.C., Feb 10, 2020 / 05:00 pm (CNA).- Pro-life Democrats responded on Monday to Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’ suggestion that there is no room in the party for pro-lifers. “It’s a disturbing time in America,” Louisiana state senator Katrina Jackson (D) told CNA, “when the party that’s supposed to be the big tent party, that has always had differing views not only on abortion but also on other issues, begins to have candidates that try to close off the party to those with diverse views.” “Across our country, there are pro-life people of all political persuasions and I don’t believe it makes sense for any party to try to exclude people because of their position on life,” Rep. Colin Peterson (D-Minn.) said to CNA on Monday. Democratic presidential candidat...

“Jesus invites us not to be afraid to live in the world, even if sometimes there are conditions of conflict and sin in it,” said Pope Francis. “Jesus at the last supper did not ask the Father to remove the disciples from the world, but to keep them from the spirit of the evil one.” Through people trafficking, “criminal organisations are increasingly using modern means of communication to entice victims through deception.” For Syria, the pontiff calls for “talks and negotiations, in accordance with international humanitarian law, to safeguard the lives and welfare of civilians.” Vatican City (AsiaNews) – In his Angelus address today, Pope Francis urged Christians to live the “presence and testimony” as “salt” and “light” in the world. “J...

Washington D.C., Feb 8, 2020 / 06:01 am (CNA).- Several state-level pro-life measures cleared legislative hurdles this week. Lawmakers have considered several of the proposals before, and already a number of the proposals have advanced further than they did last year. A bill that would temporarily revoke a doctor’s license for performing an abortion has advanced in the Oklahoma House of Representatives and will proceed to the Senate. HB 1182 passed the Oklahoma house Feb. 6 by a vote of 71-21. The bill would revoke a physician’s medical license for a minimum of six months and would also provide for a minimum fine of $500. An amendment added to the bill before the vote provides an exception for a case of an abortion being necessary “to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent a...

Vatican City, Feb 7, 2020 / 05:46 am (CNA).- Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation on the Amazon region will be published Feb. 12, the Vatican announced Friday. The document, which follows October’s Synod of Bishops on the Amazon, is highly anticipated for how the pope will respond to the recommendation to allow the ordination of married men to the priesthood for ministry in the region. The synod’s final document had also called for women to be considered for diaconal ordination and contained strong appeals on environmental issues and the rights of indigenous peoples, which Francis’ letter is also expected to address. Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, and Cardinal Michael Czerny, special secretary of the Amazon synod, will hold a press conference in the ...

ROME – Speaking at a summit in Rome with some of the world’s most powerful financial officials, Pope Francis said the fact that five million children under five will die this year due to extreme poverty is something that should motivate the world to act. He also alluded to the situation in his home country of Argentina, which is facing a renegotiation of debt with the International Monetary Fund that could save the country from a default. “These are solvable problems, there is no lack of resources,” Francis said on Thursday. “There is no determinism that condemns us to universal inequality. Let me repeat: We are not doomed to universal inequality.” Knowing this, Francis said, can lead to creativity in finding and generating responses to the suffering of so many innocent people, as it is, i...

Vatican City, Feb 5, 2020 / 08:10 am (CNA).- After a German Catholic weekly reported that Archbishop Georg Gänswein was asked to take a leave of absence from his position as head of the papal household, the Vatican has said it cannot confirm the report, and the archbishop is still in his job. Die Tagespost reported Feb. 5 that the German archbishop had recently been asked by Pope Francis to “focus on his role as private secretary to pope emeritus Benedict XVI.” A Vatican source told CNA that the Die Tagepost report was on the mark. Gänswein has been requested to “stay away from his office [as prefect of the papal household] indefinitely,” the source said. But the Holy See press office told CNA Wednesday that it has “no information” regarding Ganswein being on a leav...

Christ the King Seminary, which for 163 years trained men to become Catholic priests, will be shut down in May at the end of the current academic year, as the Buffalo Diocese slashes costs amid a clergy sex abuse scandal that’s led to a dramatic downturn in giving. The Rev. Kevin Creagh, seminary rector and president, announced the decision on campus this afternoon to faculty, staff and students, following votes of the board of trustees and members of the seminary corporation. Creagh cited diocesan financial constraints and “uncertainties surrounding future vocations” in explaining the closure. “This is very difficult for us. It’s a very sad and disappointing moment in our history. It’s the end of an era,” he said. Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger, chairman of the se...

Christian funerals have been banned in some areas of China as the communist government begins to enforce a set of repressive regulations on religious practices. In the eastern province of Zhejiang, the government has put in force a set of Regulations on Centralized Funeral Arrangement, which bans priests from attending funeral prayers outside a religious place. The government claims the new rules aim to “get rid of bad funeral customs and establish a scientific, civilized and economical way of funerals.” “Clerical personnel are not allowed to participate in funerals” at homes and “no more than 10 family members of the deceased are allowed to read scriptures or sing hymns in a low voice,” the rules state.  The new rules began to take effect recently, although enacted on...

Vatican City, Feb 2, 2020 / 06:20 am (CNA).- Pope Francis spoke Sunday about the need for Catholics to be active in going out to announce the faith of Jesus Christ to the world. “The world needs Christians who let themselves be moved, who never tire of walking the streets of life, to bring everyone the consoling word of Jesus,” he said Feb. 2 in his Angelus address. “Every baptized person has received the vocation to proclaim,” he added “– to proclaim something, to proclaim Jesus – the vocation to the evangelizing mission: to proclaim Jesus!” For the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Pope Francis reflected on the day’s Gospel passage, which speaks of Joseph and Mary bringing the child Jesus to be consecrated in the temple, where they encountered the holy Simeon and Anna. These men and...

New Haven, Conn., Jan 31, 2020 / 07:11 pm (CNA).- The Knights of Columbus has announced a major revision to its longtime initiation ceremonies and for the first time will open them to the public, saying the changes are needed to become more appealing to prospective members and to respond to a “crisis” in church membership. “Today, we need an exemplification of our principles that presents, in a clear and convincing way, how charity, unity and fraternity can come together to form a Catholic way of life for today’s man and his family,” Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson said in the January 2020 issue of Columbia magazine. The rituals of the Knights, sometimes called ceremonies or exemplifications, have for decades been separated into first, second and third degrees focused respectively on the p...

Countless Catholics and other Christians across China are facing a weekend without church services and changed Eucharistic practices after the coronavirus spread to every province, the infection rate surpassed SARS and the World Health Organization declared a global emergency. Human rights groups have become increasingly disturbed at controls being enforced by Chinese authorities, including heavy censorship, some of which are considered by medical experts to be counterproductive, as governments around the region scrambled to get citizens out of the Hubei province quarantine zone. The death toll had climbed to 213 in China with 9,692 infections as of Jan. 31. Hundreds more cases have been reported around the world and tens of thousands of people are under observation. The UK today reported ...