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Catholic News Agency
Papal names: What are the most and least popular?
By Francesca Pollio Fenton CNA Staff, May 7, 2025 / 10:38 am John, Pius, Leo, and Alexander. These are just a few of the names popes have taken over the centuries. When the white smoke appears and a new pope is chosen, he is asked: “By what name shall you be …
Trump’s Justice Department investigates Washington law threatening seal of confession
By Tyler Arnold Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 6, 2025 / 16:11 pm President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating an “anti-Catholic law” in Washington state that threatens priests with up to one year in jail if they fail to report child abuse they learn about during the sacrament of …
Bishop Barron offers overview of ‘papabile’ field
By Tessa Gervasini Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 7, 2025 / 09:38 am One of America’s best-known prelates, Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, has shared what he believes to be the qualities of some of the cardinals being mentioned as “papabile,” the Italian term for a man who could be pope. …
FULL TEXT & VIDEO: Cardinal Re’s homily for the Mass for the election of the Supreme Pontiff
By Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re Rome Newsroom, May 7, 2025 / 04:43 am Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, delivered this homily at the “Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice” (For the Election of the Roman Pontiff) Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on May 7, 2025, just hours before …
The history behind ‘habemus papam’ and the white smoke that announces a new pope
By Julieta Villar , Zoe Romanowsky ACI Prensa Staff, May 6, 2025 / 17:41 pm When a new pope is elected, there are two signs that mark that historic moment: the white smoke (“fumata bianca” in Italian) erupting from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and the formula “habemus papam” pronounced by the …
Catholic leaders respond to President Trump over AI image of himself as pope
By Tyler Arnold Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 5, 2025 / 14:57 pm Catholic leaders and some members of the Church hierarchy in the United States have criticized President Donald Trump for sharing an AI-generated image of himself dressed as a pope. Trump, who frequently shares memes of himself on social media, posted …
Cardinal Dolan, Bishop Barron to serve on Trump’s new religious liberty commission
By Tyler Arnold Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 1, 2025 / 16:53 pm Two members of the Catholic hierarchy in the United States — Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Bishop Robert Barron — have been tapped to serve on a new presidential commission on religious liberty created by President Donald Trump on Thursday, …
Baltimore Archdiocese to launch missionary ‘lab’ program to draw young people
By Madalaine Elhabbal Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 2, 2025 / 06:00 am The Archdiocese of Baltimore is launching a new initiative this summer to address the crisis of disaffiliation among young people in the Church through a proactive missionary “lab” program. “The impetus behind it is really giving tools to young …
Pew: Catholics who attend Mass weekly more likely to oppose changes to the Church
By Tessa Gervasini Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 1, 2025 / 13:30 pm The more often Catholics in the United States attend Mass, the more likely they are to oppose proposed changes to the Church, such as blessing same-sex marriages and allowing women to become priests, a new Pew Research Center study reveals. Pew …
Americans’ religious preferences remain mostly unchanged over the last 5 years, poll shows
By Tessa Gervasini Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 30, 2025 / 15:07 pm Recent polling data has found that Americans’ religious affiliations have not greatly changed since 2020, appearing to stabilize following decades of substantial shifts. Data collected by the polling firm Gallup surveyed 12,000 adults in the U.S. and found that from …
