News - January 2021 RSS Feed

Even a pope’s appointment calendar can be a way of getting a message across, which was certainly the case for St. Francis’s namesake, Pope Francis, yesterday.

President Joe Biden's decision to rescind a regulation governing the Title X family planning program that was enforced by the Trump administration "will force abortion" to be part of the program and "may be unlawful," said the chairman of the U.S. bishops' pro-life committee.

"I hope it is a joyful time for all those who are participating virtually. Our young people bring with them an energy that is life-giving," Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory said. "I hope we realize as we do this from a distance that we are really close and united."

Carl Olson, editor of Catholic World Report, said that their Twitter account had been locked for violating the company's rules against hateful conduct. Catholic News Agency story about Biden's plans to nominate Dr. Rachel Levine as assistant secretary of health. Levine would be the first openly transgender individual to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Overturning Roe v. Wade will not be the silver bullet many in the pro-life movement have hoped for. Even if the Supreme Court delivers a symbolic repudiation of its 1973 ruling, abortion will continue with state oversight and passions will run high on the extremes of the debate, according to speakers on a Jan. 27 webinar.

Al final de la audiencia general, el Papa dedicó un pensamiento y un llamamiento a la celebración del Día de la Memoria del Holocausto. Recordar el exterminio nazi, dijo, es una condición para un futuro de paz: "Cuidado con cómo empezó este camino de muerte".

The Australian bishops have released information regarding a new national protocol for addressing child sexual abuse, due to take over past protocols as of 1 February.

As often seems to be the case, Jan. 22 was the coldest day of the week as hundreds of people in central Indiana participated in a solemn observance of the 48th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.

Pope Francis meets with David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Program, at the Vatican Jan. 28, 2021. On the same day, the WFP issued a joint press release with UNICEF warning that millions of children have missed meals since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Mexican officials found 19 charred bodies in two burned-out vehicles Jan. 23 in municipality of Camargo, an area rife with organized crime activity, which sits opposite the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. It's considered a popular spot for smugglers working with organized criminal groups to move migrants across the border.

Many Catholics look at religious orders of men or women and wonder what their vow of poverty means. After all, the brothers, priests and nuns run schools and hospitals, have large convents or abbeys and they all pretty much know where their next meal will come from. "Evangelical poverty" -- the vow of poverty -- usually will not mean living in destitution, although there are some religious men and women who see living that way as the best way to follow Christ and be in solidarity with the poor.

And 100 years later, CNS has the same goals -- to serve its client news outlets by reporting fully, fairly and freely on the church in the world today.

Just as Jesus said, "The poor you will have with you always," it seems as if the same news subjects, with different dimensions, keep cropping up over the past century. Here we examine just four topics that have had staying power over the lifespan of CNS' 100 years. The excerpts below are from stories published by Catholic News Service under its original name of NCWC News Service, which was founded in 1920 by the U.S. bishops' National Catholic Welfare Council, later Conference. (NCWC was the precursor to today's U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.)

The Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Tucson launches the 2021 Annual Catholic Appeal, Persevering in Hope, inspired by Romans 12:12, "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."

Father Michael Pfleger, senior pastor of St. Sabina Church in Chicago, faces a second sexual abuse allegation, from the brother of the first alleged victim who came forward in early January.

Orar con las Sagradas Escrituras no debe ser una repetición sin sentido de citas bíblicas, sino que un regalo que debe ser aceptado en el corazón de las personas, dijo el papa Francisco.

Para Stephanie Niedringhaus, lo importante de las vigilias era leer los nombres de los ejecutados.

According to a new poll by the Pew Research Center, more Americans say the coronavirus pandemic has strengthened their religious faith than those in 13 other nations that possess what Pew called "advanced economies."

Remembering the Holocaust and its victims is not only an act of solidarity but also serves as a warning to humanity that such horrors could happen again, Pope Francis said.

At least 10 U.S. Catholic bishops have signed a statement supporting the Tyler Clementi Foundation in standing up for at-risk LGBT youth in the United States and speaking out against bullying directed at them.