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Catholic News Agency
Patience and the priesthood: A vocation 50 years in the making

by Christine Rousselle Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 5, 2020 / 12:00 pm MT (CNA).- On average, diocesan priests take about six years to complete seminary formation. For Dominican priests, it is seven. Jesuits study for over a decade. David Pinto, however, has them all beat. Pinto was ordained a deacon …
Pope Francis transfers financial administration out of Secretariat of State

By Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Nov 5, 2020 / 07:00 am MT (CNA).- Pope Francis has requested that responsibility for financial funds and real estate assets, including a controversial London property, be transferred out of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State. The pope asked for the management and administration of the …
Supreme Court hears arguments in Philadelphia adoption case

CNA Staff, Nov 4, 2020 / 12:35 pm MT (CNA).- On Wednesday morning, the Supreme Court heard arguments on a Pennsylvania adoption case, as senior U.S. bishops warned of the case’s potential consequences for religious freedom and the role of Catholic welfare agencies in American public life. Fulton v. City …
Report: Catholic nuns in China forced out of convent amid government harassment

CNA Staff, Nov 4, 2020 / 05:57 pm MT (CNA).- Due to pressure from the Chinese government, eight Catholic nuns have reportedly been forced to leave their convent in the northern province of Shanxi. Their current whereabouts have not been reported. “Officials declared us ‘dangerous persons’ and repeatedly harassed us,” …
Why many Catholic dioceses offer free interment of cremated remains

by Mary Farrow Denver Newsroom, Nov 3, 2020 / 03:49 pm MT (CNA).- There are many ways – some more conventional than others – that cremated remains, kept in urns or in other containers, find their way to the Catholic cemetery overseen by Richard Peterson in Seattle, Washington. Sometimes, an …
Colorado voters fail to approve 22-week abortion ban, Proposition 115

CNA Staff, Nov 3, 2020 / 09:47 pm MT (CNA).- Voters in Colorado rejected a ballot measure that would have banned abortion in the state after 22 weeks of pregnancy, except in cases where a mother’s life is threatened. Proposition 115 failed 59%-41%, with 81.5% of precincts reporting, according to …
Democrats projected to keep House, plan to advance abortion legislation

CNA Staff, Nov 3, 2020 / 09:05 pm MT (CNA).- Democrats will retain control of the House of Representatives, NBC News and Bloomberg projected late Tuesday night. Democrats have pledged to push for federal funding of abortion if they retained control of the House after the 2020 election. While Republicans …
Louisiana voters approve Amendment 1 to exclude ‘right to abortion’ from state constitution

CNA Staff, Nov 3, 2020 / 08:47 pm MT (CNA).- Louisiana voters on Tuesday approved a constitutional amendment to prevent Louisiana’s courts from finding a “right to abortion,” or to public abortion funding, in the state’s constitution. Amendment 1 passed 64%-36%, with 96% of precincts reporting, according to the Associated …
Pope Francis requires bishops to have Vatican permission for new diocesan religious institutes

by Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Nov 4, 2020 / 10:00 am MT (CNA).- Pope Francis has changed canon law to require a bishop to have permission from the Holy See prior to establishing a new religious institute in his diocese, further strengthening Vatican oversight over the process. With a Nov. …
Shooting in Vienna ‘apparent terrorist attack’

CNA Staff, Nov 2, 2020 / 02:22 pm MT (CNA).- This story is developing and will continue to be updated. Exchanges of gunfire Monday night between police and unknown assailants in Vienna come after several days of apparently Islamist attacks and demonstrations against Catholics and Catholic churches in Austria. Monday …