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National & World News
Catholic bishops: No ‘stable and just peace’ 25 years after Dayton Accords

CNA Staff, Dec 14, 2020 / 06:30 am MT (CNA).- The Dayton Agreement, signed in Paris 25 years ago today, ended the Bosnian War but failed to create “a stable and just peace,” the Catholic bishops of Bosnia and Herzegovina have said. Speaking ahead of the anniversary, the bishops called …
Is Christmas simply a re-imagining of ancient pagan celebrations?

by Mary Farrow Denver Newsroom, Dec 13, 2020 / 04:58 am MT (CNA).- ‘Tis the season to be jolly, and, perhaps, to have one’s social media inundated with memes about Christmas being nothing more than a co-opted pagan holiday – maybe a winter solstice celebration – repurposed and baptized by …
DC archdiocese sues over Christmas Mass restrictions

CNA Staff, Dec 12, 2020 / 10:00 am MT (CNA).- The Archdiocese of Washington is suing the District of Columbia over restrictions on public worship during the coronavirus pandemic. The lawsuit was filed Friday in U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia. “From the start of the pandemic,” the …
US Supreme Court: government agents violating religious liberty liable for monetary damages

By Kevin J. Jones Denver Newsroom, Dec 11, 2020 / 05:02 pm MT (CNA).- Three Muslims who claim the FBI wrongly pressured them into becoming informants on Muslim communities may seek monetary damages as part of their lawsuit under a federal religious freedom law, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled …
Why in-person worship matters

by Matt Hadro Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 11, 2020 / 02:00 pm MT (CNA).- After Virginia’s governor appeared to suggest that church attendance is immaterial to the act of worship, one theologian says that Catholics see worship differently. On Thursday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) asked religious leaders to consider …
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 …
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 …