Head

By Daniel Payne CNA Staff, Aug 5, 2024 / 08:00 am Pope Francis has appointed Providence, Rhode Island, Bishop Richard Henning as the archbishop of Boston as longtime Archbishop Cardinal Sean O’Malley is retiring at age 80. The Vatican said in a statement on Monday that the Holy Father had accepted O’Malley’s resignation from the archdiocese where has served for over 20 years.  At 80, O’Malley is five years past the age at which prelates normally tender their resignation to the Holy See; the archbishop originally submitted his resignation in 2019 but stayed in the position at the pope’s request.  A press release from the Diocese of Providence said the two prelates will concelebrate Mass in Boston on Monday morning and that O’Malley would introduce Henning at a press conference at ...

ROME (AP) — The Vatican said Saturday it “deplored the offense” caused to Christians by the Olympic Games opening ceremony, a scene of which evoked Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” and featured drag queens. A week after a storm of criticism erupted around the event, the Holy See issued a statement in French that it was “saddened by certain scenes at the opening ceremony” and joined those who had been offended. “At a prestigious event where the whole world comes together to share common values, there should be no ridiculous allusions to religion,” it said. To critics, the scene during the July 26 ceremony evoked Jesus and his apostles in Da Vinci’s famous painting. It featured DJ and producer Barbara Butch — an LGBTQ+ icon — wearing a silver headdress that looked like a halo while flan...

By CNA Staff CNA Newsroom, Aug 2, 2024 / 09:00 am In a strongly worded open letter, Catholic cardinals and bishops from around the world are calling on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to “repudiate” and “apologize” for the “intentionally hateful mockery” of the Last Supper during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. In addition, “the undersigned commit to a day of prayer and fasting in reparation for this blasphemy.”  The letter was signed by three cardinals and 24 bishops as of Friday, Aug. 2, and states: “With shock, the world watched as the Summer Olympics in Paris opened with a grotesque and blasphemous depiction of the Last Supper.” “It is hard to understand how the faith of over 2 billion people can be so casually and intentionally blasphemed,” say the prel...

By Agnes Aineah ACI Africa, Jul 31, 2024 / 10:47 am The bishop of Nigeria’sDiocese of Lokoja has withdrawn the ordination certificates of four men he ordained as deacons July 12 after it was revealed he had been presented with allegedly forged documents claiming the men were qualified for holy orders.  In a statement issued July 30, Bishop Martin Dada Olorunmolu revoked the four men’s certificates and suspended their activities as “deacons.” After the ordinations, it emerged that everything Olorunmolu was presented with — including the existence of the congregation the men supposedly belonged to called the “Paraclete Missionaries” as well as the congregation’s superior general — was fraudulent. The men involved in the alleged forgery were identified as Aloysius Kubiatabasi Ebong, Fran...

By Tyler Arnold Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 29, 2024 / 14:57 pm President Joe Biden on Monday unveiled a proposal to reform the United States Supreme Court by adding term limits and an ethics code, saying he was motivated in part by the overturning of Roe v. Wade and other recent rulings. In a July 29 op-ed for the Washington Post attributed to Biden, the president said “term limits would help ensure that the court’s membership changes with some regularity.” The plan would give justices one 18-year term. The president would appoint one justice every two years, which would ensure that the Supreme Court continues to have nine justices. “The United States is the only major constitutional democracy that gives lifetime seats to its high court,” Biden continued. ...

By Kristina Millare Vatican City, Jul 29, 2024 / 11:18 am The Vatican was criticized by online commentators over the weekend for swiftly deleting an online poll that reflected poorly on the Synod on Synodality. Originally posted on Friday to the social media account of the office facilitating the synod, the poll asked: “Do you believe that synodality as a path of conversion and reform can enhance the mission and participation of all the baptized?” Respondents could only answer “yes” or “no,” and 88% responded in the negative. The low levels of support for synodality, a novel theological concept that means journeying together, come as a multiyear, global consultative process focusing on the topic draws to a close, with a final gathering set for the Vatican City this October. ...

By Daniel Payne CNA Newsroom, Jul 28, 2024 / 10:51 am Crookston Bishop Andrew Cozzens this weekend slammed what he described as the “heinous” mockery of the Christian faith displayed at the Summer Olympics in Paris on Friday, urging Catholics to respond to the spectacle with fasting and prayer. The drag queen-led parody of the Last Supper featured during Friday’s opening ceremonies of the 2024 Paris Olympics sparked a wave of incensed reactions and denunciations from Catholic leaders and others around the world. The controversial scene, part of the 1.5 billion euros (about $1.62 billion) spectacle to kick off the Olympic Games, featured drag queens portraying the apostles and an overweight DJ as Jesus in what appeared to be a part of a fashion show apparently mocking Leonardo d...

By CNA Staff CNA Newsroom, Jul 27, 2024 / 01:17 am A drag queen-led parody of the Last Supper featured during Friday’s opening ceremonies of the 2024 Paris Olympics has sparked a wave of incensed reactions and denunciations. In a statement released Saturday, the French Bishops’ Conference criticized the “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity, which we deeply deplore.” “We thank the members of other religious denominations who have expressed their solidarity. This morning, we think of all Christians on all continents who have been hurt by the outrage and provocation of certain scenes,” the French bishops said. One of the best known prelates of the Catholic Church in the United States, Bishop Robert Barron of Minnesota, called on Catholics to “make their voices heard” in response to...