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Catholic News Agency
Only frequent church attendees avoided downward mental health trend in 2020
CNA Staff, Dec 11, 2020 / 12:09 am MT (CNA).- Americans who attend religious services weekly are the only demographic group appearing to show improved mental health in 2020, despite the stresses of the coronavirus pandemic and other events, says a new survey. The survey otherwise shows significant self-reported mental …
Pope Francis to offer Midnight Mass at 7:30pm
by Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Dec 10, 2020 / 10:00 am MT (CNA).- Pope Francis’ Midnight Mass will begin at 7:30 p.m. this year, as the Italian government extends a national curfew through the Christmas season. The pope’s traditional celebration of Christmas “Mass during the Night,” which takes place at …
St. Juan Diego hailed as messenger of hope, healing for Native Americans
CNA Staff, Dec 9, 2020 / 06:48 pm MT (CNA).- The Feast of St. Juan Diego, an Aztec peasant who witnessed an indigenous apparition of the Virgin Mary and later became the first canonized indigenous American saint, is a time for hope and healing for Native Americans and for recognition …
Fifteen ways to gain an indulgence in the Year of St. Joseph
by Courtney Mares Rome Newsroom, Dec 10, 2020 / 08:30 am MT (CNA).- Pope Francis has decreed a Year of St. Joseph in which Catholics will have the opportunity to obtain a special plenary indulgence. Until December 2021, there are many new ways that Catholics can receive an indulgence, including …
Pope Francis grants plenary indulgence to Catholics marking Guadalupe feast at home
Vatican City, Dec 10, 2020 / 07:30 am MT (CNA).- Pope Francis has granted a plenary indulgence to Catholics celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe at home this Saturday. Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes announced the pope’s decision following a Dec. 6 Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady …
Ohio governor: Lethal injection impermissible for executions
CNA Staff, Dec 10, 2020 / 12:19 am MT (CNA).- The use of lethal injections will no longer be allowed for executions in the state of Ohio, and an alternative method must be found if capital punishment is to continue in the state, Governor Mike DeWine said this week. In …
Catholic high schools in Michigan sue over coronavirus order keeping them closed
CNA Staff, Dec 8, 2020 / 04:14 pm MT (CNA).- Two high schools in the Diocese of Lansing have joined a lawsuit against a public health order keeping schools in Michigan closed for in-person learning, calling the order “scientifically, educationally and constitutionally unjustified.” Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced Dec. 7 an …
US bishops praise judge’s decision to reinstate DACA, call for path to citizenship
CNA Staff, Dec 9, 2020 / 03:30 am MT (CNA).- The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) applauded a federal judge’s recent decision to restore the full Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, including the resumption of new applicants. Auxiliary Bishop Mario Dorsonville of Washington, chairman of the USCCB’s …
Circuit court vacates California church closure decision
CNA Staff, Dec 9, 2020 / 01:00 pm MT (CNA).- California churches scored another victory in their cases against state coronavirus restrictions on Tuesday. The South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista is now one step closer to winning its push for unrestricted indoor worship during the pandemic, after …
Assisi in Advent: illuminated frescoes and a nurse in a nativity scene
by Courtney Mares Rome Newsroom, Dec 9, 2020 / 01:00 pm MT (CNA).- Assisi unveiled a nativity scene Tuesday made of 50 figurines of shepherds, angels, and barn animals with a new addition this year: a life-size figure of a nurse in scrubs wearing a mask. The diocese said that …
