New Vatican guide for bishops addresses common challenges to Christian unity
by Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Dec 4, 2020 / 09:40 am MT (CNA).- The Vatican published Friday a guide with suggestions for Catholic bishops to promote unity with other Christian communities, offering practical advice for how to overcome common challenges to ecumenism. The 26-page The Bishop and Christian Unity and …
Notre-Dame choir to return to fire-damaged cathedral for Christmas concert
by Courtney Mares Rome Newsroom, Dec 4, 2020 / 08:30 am MT (CNA).- Notre-Dame Cathedral choir will return to the damaged cathedral on Christmas Eve to perform a concert that will be broadcast live from Paris. A year and a half after a fire burned through the spire and roof …
Pro-life is pro-woman, incoming Catholic congresswoman says
by Kate Scanlon Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 3, 2020 / 04:00 pm MT (CNA).- The growing number of pro-life women in Congress demonstrates the growing consensus that opposition to abortion is part of a holistic platform to support women, Representative-elect Michelle Fischbach (R-Minn.) told Catholic News Agency in an interview …
Pope Francis: Disabled people must have access to the sacraments, Catholic parish life
by Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Dec 3, 2020 / 06:05 am MT (CNA).- People with disabilities must have access to the sacraments and, as missionary disciples, the ability to be full and active participants in the life of their Catholic parish, Pope Francis said Thursday. “Before all else, I strongly …
Seek the Lord: Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr
Much of this difficult year has been spent in uneasy, uncertain waiting – waiting for businesses and schools to reopen, waiting for the development of a vaccine, waiting for life to return to normal and, for some, waiting for COVID test results. Perhaps most of all, we have spent many …
Editor’s Note: Cutting Through the Noise
This year has been one packed with a cacophony of sound. There’s the bigger-picture noise: the dire warnings and subsequent mourning related to the ongoing global pandemic; the presidential election and ever-increasing polarization and ugliness we hurl at one another on social media; the ripping sounds of hurricanes tearing through …
Scholar: Paper books essential for kids’ developing brains
CNA Staff, Dec 3, 2020 / 11:00 am MT (CNA).- A Catholic scholar who specializes in dyslexia has warned that children must be exposed to physical books – and not just screens – if they are to develop the skills necessary for analysis and in-depth thinking. Maryanne Wolf was featured …
Supreme Court vacates ruling on California church closures
CNA Staff, Dec 3, 2020 / 10:00 am MT (CNA).- In an apparent victory for religious freedom during state efforts to impose necessary COVID restrictions, the Supreme Court on Thursday vacated the Ninth Circuit’s ruling against California churches. Last week, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of the Brooklyn …
Payday loan expansion means fast money and cycle of debt for Michigan’s poor, bishops say
CNA Staff, Dec 2, 2020 / 04:01 pm MT (CNA).- A Michigan proposal to quadruple the maximum lending amount allowed for payday lenders would exploit the poor and trap many people in a cycle of debt when alternatives are available, the Michigan Catholic Conference has told a State Senate committee. …
Hong Kong democracy protestors sentenced to months in prison
CNA Staff, Dec 2, 2020 / 01:05 pm MT (CNA).- Three Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, including a Catholic university student, were sentenced to prison on Wednesday for participating in illegal protests. Democracy activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow, and Ivan Lam were sentenced to 13.5 months, 10 months, and 7 months, …
