Archive

Washington D.C., Dec 17, 2019 / 11:00 am (CNA).- The U.S. bishops have praised the passage of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019, which creates a new status for migrant agricultural workers and enacts changes to the temporary worker program.  The bill passed the House of Representatives on Dec. 11, with bipartisan support. The… Read More »

Vatican City, Dec 17, 2019 / 10:02 am (CNA).- For more than a year, CNA has been following a Vatican financial scandal involving a bankrupt Italian hospital, a potentially illicit loan from the Vatican’s central bank, and a controversial grant request to an American charitable foundation. The financial scandal is one of several unfolding at… Read More »

Vatican City, Dec 17, 2019 / 05:27 am (CNA).- Pope Francis Tuesday accepted Archbishop Luigi Ventura's resignation as apostolic nuncio to France. Ventura was accused of sexual assault earlier this year. The Vatican revoked Ventura's diplomatic immunity in July, paving the way for a possible trial. Ventura turned 75 on Dec. 9, the mandatory age… Read More »

Vatican City, Dec 17, 2019 / 04:12 am (CNA).- Pope Francis declared Tuesday that the pontifical secret will no longer apply in cases of accusations and trials involving abuse of minors or vulnerable persons, and in cases of possession of child pornography by clerics. With the instruction published Dec. 17, “On the Confidentiality of Legal… Read More »

Washington D.C., Dec 16, 2019 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- A bipartisan bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives to hold Russia accountable for what Congressmen claim is the persecution of religious groups in occupied territories of the Ukraine. The legislation, the Ukraine Religious Freedom Support Act, requires the President to take account of any… Read More »

Vatican City, Dec 16, 2019 / 11:00 am (CNA).- The elderly are crucial to a society that is respectful of the rights of all, Pope Francis told leaders and members of Italy’s National Association of Elderly Workers on Monday. Speaking at an audience commemorating the 70th anniversary of the organization’s founding, the pope said that… Read More »

Vatican City, Dec 15, 2019 / 10:00 am (CNA).- On Gaudete Sunday, Pope Francis celebrated a Filipino Christmas tradition in St. Peter’s Basilica — the Simbang Gabi Christmas novena. “In the Philippines, for centuries, there has been a novena in preparation for Christmas called Simbang Gabi, ‘Mass of the night’. During nine days the Filipino… Read More »

Vatican City, Dec 15, 2019 / 05:30 am (CNA).- As Pope Francis blessed children's nativity scene figurines Sunday, the pope said that the Advent season is a time of conversion to make space in one’s heart for Christ to come and fill it with joy. “Advent, a time of grace, tells us that it is… Read More »

San José, Costa Rica, Dec 15, 2019 / 03:22 am (CNA).- Costa Rica's president on Dec. 12 issued a technical decree that defines the conditions under which a doctor may perform an abortion when doctors consider it necessary to preserve the life of the mother. President Carlos Alvarado on Thursday signed the decree that, while… Read More »

Beirut, Lebanon, Dec 14, 2019 / 02:00 pm (CNA).- As Lebanon’s economic crisis worsens, a Lebanese priest is asking for people to spiritually and charitably adopt a persecuted Christian refugee family this Christmas season. “Imagine that for the last 4-6 years there were more than 2 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, a nation that is… Read More »