Changes to global fertility rates could be on the way. Some countries are likely to experience a spike in births, while others are likely to see fewer births. Few women want to have a child in a time of uncertainty. In the rich world many are delaying starting a family or adding to it. But Read more
The Vatican says comments by Pope Francis on civil union laws in a documentary last month were taken out of context and did not signal a change in Church doctrine on homosexuals nor support for same-sex marriage. It said Francis did not question the Catholic dogma of marriage being between a man and a woman. Read more
French bishops conducted a “penitential rite of reparation” in a church where three people were murdered in a second significant Nice terror attack. The mass was celebrated in Notre Dame Basilica on Nov. 1 by Nice Bishop André Marceau. He was joined by Archbishop Jean-Marc Aveline of Marseille and Archbishop Dominique-Marie David of Monaco. The Read more
The Brunei bishop Cornelius Sim has thanked Pope Francis for “choosing someone from the peripheries” to be counted among his cardinals. In the cardinal designate’s view, Pope Francis understands that the Church exists “in those little places where there is not much publicity” but where the faith is alive. Sim, along with 3 other priests, Read more
Two female pro-abortion activists stripped naked in front of photographers to protest against a new Polish abortion law. Ania Bielawska and Lukasz Stanek drew profanities on their naked bodies. They then paraded in front of photographers at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw. Their demonstration was short-lived as police quickly wrapped them in blankets and led Read more
Pope Francis’ Christmas liturgies at the Vatican will be offered without public participation this year, as countries continue to react to the coronavirus pandemic. According to a letter seen by CNA and sent by the Secretariat of State to embassies accredited to the Holy See, Pope Francis will celebrate the Vatican liturgies of the Christmas Read more
The ABC says it was inappropriate for its news channel to call Cardinal George Pell “disgraced” during a news bulletin last month. But the channel stopped short of apologising for the mistake. The public broadcaster posted a brief statement on its corrections and clarifications page online on Monday afternoon. They acknowledged that it was “inappropriate” Read more
Catholics in Rome marked the 70th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Assumption Sunday with a solemn Mass offered by Cardinal Mauro Piacenza. Pope Pius XII defined the Assumption of the Virgin Mary formally as a dogma of the Catholic faith on Nov. 1, 1950. This invoked papal infallibility to proclaim in Read more
Pope Francis, during his Wednesday General Audience, said his thoughts and prayers were with the innocent victims of hatred and terror that have bloodied European soil. Holding his in the library of the Apostolic Palace, the pope described the violence in Nice and Vienna as “deplorable acts that aim to compromise fraternal collaboration between religions”. Read more
Pope Francis says he is praying for the families of the three people killed at Nice’s Notre Dame cathedral last week. He is asking the Lord to bring them comfort and he commends the victims to God’s mercy. The attack, one of two at churches in France last week was attributed to Muslim extremists. It Read more