Archbishop Timothy Broglio, the newly elected president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, meets with reporters in Baltimore on Nov. 15, 2022. / Joe Bukuras/CNAWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 15, 2023 / 15:40 pm (CNA).During the first public session of their spring meeting in Orlando, Florida, the U.S. bishops discussed spreading the love of the Eucharist as part of their three-year Eucharistic Revival initiative, the Holy Father's emphasis on synodality, and the ways in which the two are connected as they heard updates on both efforts.Synodality and the EucharistThe morning opened with an address from apostolic nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, who told the bishops assembled that "the synodal path is less about a 'program' and more about a way of being Church." Pierre said synodality is not like GPS technology with turn-by-turn directions but more like a compass where "Jesus Christ and his kingdom are the 'true north,'" and ...
An image of the Sacred Heart in the Church of the Jesu, in Rome. / Daniel Ibanez/CNAWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 16, 2023 / 02:00 am (CNA).The solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus falls on the Friday after the Corpus Christi octave, which in 2023 is on June 16.This year, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, alongside the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, is asking parishes across the country to pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 16 at Mass or during a Holy Hour with the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament as an act of reparation for the act of "blasphemy" scheduled to take place at Dodgers Stadium that night.But what is the meaning behind this feast day? Below are answers to some common questions.Why do Catholics venerate the Sacred Heart of Jesus?"Devoting ourselves to the Sacred Heart is one of the easiest, fastest, and most pleasant ways to grow in holiness," Father Ambrose Dobrozsi, a priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, told CNA."Many sain...
Archbishop Georg Gänswein / Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.Rome Newsroom, Jun 15, 2023 / 04:31 am (CNA).The Vatican confirmed Thursday that Pope Francis has asked Archbishop Georg Gänswein to return to Germany as of July 1.The longtime private secretary of Pope Benedict XVI has been told to return to his home diocese of Freiburg in southwest Germany "for the time being," according to a brief statement June 15.The Vatican also said Gänswein's role as prefect of the Papal Household concluded on Feb. 28. It did not indicate that he had been given any new assignment.The news about the 66-year-old Gänswein was first reported by a German newspaper in early June.According to CNA Deutsch, CNA's German-language partner agency, the Welt newspaper reported that Pope Francis had informed Gänswein of his decision during a private audience on May 19. The future role of the late Benedict's secretary has been the subject of rumor and gossip across Rome and the Church in Germany for months. Previous specula...
Scene from "Sound of Freedom" starring Jim Caviezel, out in theaters on July 4, 2023. / Photo courtesy of Angel StudiosDenver, Colo., Jun 15, 2023 / 11:26 am (CNA).Catholic audiences know actor Jim Caviezel for his iconic performances in movies such as "The Passion of the Christ" and "The Count of Monte Cristo." His latest film, "Sound of Freedom," which will be released by Angel Studios in theaters nationwide on July 4, is, in his view, among his best work.Caviezel plays Homeland Security agent Tim Ballard, who, after rescuing a young boy from traffickers, learns that the boy's sister is still captive. He quits his job and puts his life at risk as he embarks on a dangerous journey through the Colombian jungle to save the little girl. In 2013, Ballard and a number of former government operatives left their jobs to found Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.), which works around the world and in conjunction with law enforcement to rescue children from slavery and...
Father Marko Rupnik, SJ, in an interview with EWTN in 2020. / EWTNVatican City, Jun 15, 2023 / 05:22 am (CNA).The priest and artist Father Marko Rupnik, accused of the physical and psychological abuse of numerous religious sisters, was dismissed from the Jesuits this month, according to the religious order.The Society of Jesus said in a June 15 statement Rupnik was expelled due to his "stubborn refusal to observe the vow of obedience."Rupnik had been asked to change communities and "accept a new mission," the statement said. "Faced with Marko Rupnik's repeated refusal to obey this mandate, we were unfortunately left with only one solution: dismissal from the Society of Jesus."According to canon law, Rupnik has 30 days to appeal the dismissal after receiving the decree on June 14. The decree was issued June 9, the Jesuits said.Father Johan Verschueren, SJ, Rupnik's superior whose name the statement was in, said no further comments will be made until after this period has conclud...
Fr. Fidelis Moscinski, CFR (right) encounters protesters during the July 10 "Witness for Life" prayer procession in Brooklyn. / Jeffrey Bruno/Instagram/EWTN Pro-Life WeeklyWashington D.C., Jun 13, 2023 / 16:05 pm (CNA).Pro-life activists are accusing New York Attorney General Letitia James of intimidation and suppressing free speech after the attorney general sued a pro-life group and asked the court to bar members from going within 30 feet of an abortion clinic.The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York on June 8, targets the activist group Red Rose Rescue. The group's members sometimes enter abortion clinics to discourage women from obtaining an abortion and provide them with resources that could help them through their pregnancy. James is asking the court to ban any member, including five who are named as defendants, from coming within 30 feet of any abortion clinic or reproductive health care facility in New Yo...
Pro Vita & Famiglia (Pro Life & Family) headquarters in Rome was vandalized June 10, 2023. / Credit: Pro Vita & FamigliaACI Prensa Staff, Jun 13, 2023 / 14:15 pm (CNA).The Italian association Pro Vita & Famiglia (Pro Life and Family) denounced an attack on its office in Rome after being called "bastards" by the leader of the LGBT Pride demonstration in Italy, Mario Colamarino.On Saturday, June 10, the demonstration in Rome passed in front of the association's office, where, according to its president, Jacopo Coghe, participants voiced insults and committed acts of "verbal violence."This incident, along with statements by the leader of the LGBT lobby in Italy, have been the breeding ground for "a climate of hate" that materialized in the attack on the office of Pro Vita & Famiglia on Monday, June 12, according to Coghe.The office's security gate was covered with messages such as "abortion on demand," "fascists should be hanged," and "transfeminist revenge." T...
Nicaraguan academic and political activist Felix Maradiaga speaks during an interview with AFP in Managua on Feb. 11, 2021. / Credit: STR/AFP via Getty ImagesACI Prensa Staff, Jun 13, 2023 / 15:15 pm (CNA).A Nicaraguan court on June 9 announced the "freezing and forfeiture" of all real estate and of all shares of commercial companies belonging to the 222 political prisoners who were deported to the U.S. in February.The ruling by Criminal Chamber 1 of the Court of Appeals based in Managua, dated May 19, points out that the former prisoners were declared "traitors to the homeland" and therefore exiled from the country and stripped of their citizenship."This theft is another serious violation of fundamental human rights, since private property is a constitutional right and a basic legal guarantee recorded in multiple international agreements signed by Nicaragua," said former Nicaraguan presidential candidate Félix Maradiaga in a message shared with ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-langua...