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Showing posts from November, 2025

Pope at Divine Liturgy: May we continue to strive towards Christian unity

Pope Leo XIV attends the Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal Church of Saint George in Istanbul, and joins Patriarch Bartholomew I to underscore the bonds that unite us in our Christian faith and the continuing efforts to seek full communion. Read all   source https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-11/pope-leo-may-we-continue-to-strive-towards-christian-unity.html
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Pope Leo and Patriarch Bartholomew reject violence in the name of God

Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I sign a Joint Declaration in Istanbul reaffirming their commitment to the path toward full communion. The text strongly rejects any use of religion to justify violence and appeals for peace, dialogue, and shared Christian witness. Read all   source https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-11/joint-declaration-pope-leo-xiv-ecumenical-patriarch-bartholomew.html
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A look at the Council of Nicaea's impact on the Church

As Pope Leo XIV visits the site of the Council of Nicaea, held in 325, we recall the importance of the first Ecumenical Council's proclamation of the Church’s faith in the divinity of Jesus Christ, which also established the date for Easter for all Christians. Read all   source https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2025-11/council-nicaea-history-arianism-divinity-christ.html
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Pope: The Church in Türkiye is called to hope in the “Logic of Littleness”

During a meeting with bishops, clergy, religious, and pastoral workers in Istanbul, the Pope highlights the region’s profound Christian roots and encourages the small Catholic community to look to the future with confidence, service, and renewed mission. Read all   source https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-11/pope-leo-xiv-prayer-bishops-deacons-consecrated-people-turkiye.html
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Pope Leo to journalists: Visit 'a message of unity and peace'

Aboard the papal plane to Ankara, Pope Leo XIV greets over 80 journalists, who present him with several gifts, such as a baseball bat, pictures of his time as a missionary, and a pumpkin pie, and he describes his Apostolic Journey to Türkiye and Lebanon as seeking to promote peace and unity. Read all   source https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-11/on-board-with-pope-leo-the-visit-is-message-of-unity-peace.html
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Cardinal Parolin: Pope a 'messenger of harmony, dialogue, peace in Middle East'

As Pope Leo XIV prepares to visit Türkiye and Lebanon, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin emphasizes the importance of the Apostolic Journey for ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, as well as his role as a sign of hope and peace. Read all   source https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-11/parolin-pope-messenger-of-harmony-dialogue-peace-middle-east.html
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UN: 50,000 women killed in one year

On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, new UN figures highlight the scale of gender-based violence. As online abuse is on the rise, Sister Abby Avelino of Talitha Kum shines the light on the plight of millions of trafficked women and girls. Read all   source https://www.vaticannews.va/en/world/news/2025-11/day-elimination-violence-against-women-talitha-cum-trafficking.html
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Doctrine of the Faith: Monogamy is not a limitation but a promise of the infinite

The doctrinal Note Una caro. In Praise of Monogamy has been published, exploring the value of marriage as an “exclusive union and mutual belonging.” It highlights the importance of conjugal charity and attentiveness to the poor, and condemns all forms of violence, both physical and psychological. In an individualistic and consumerist age, young people must be educated to understand love as responsibility and trust in the other. Read all   source https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2025-11/doctrine-of-faith-monogamy-not-limitation-but-promise-infinite.html
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Cardinal Koch: Papal journey opportunity to deepen faith in Christ's divinity

The Christian community in Türkiye is awaiting Pope Leo XIV for his joint commemoration of the Council of Nicaea with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. In this interview with Vatican News, Cardinal Koch, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Christian Unity, says he hopes that this joint commemoration will bear witness to Christian unity. Read all   source https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2025-11/papal-journey-expresses-sympathy-and-solidarity-for-christians.html
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Foster collaboration for better witness, Sr. Nina urges religious women gathered in Kenya

Sr. Nina Krepić of the Dicastery for Communication has urged religious women involved in the communication ministry under the umbrella of the Communication Network of Catholic Sisters (CNCS) to foster a spirit of communion, unity, and active participation among themselves and with others. Read all   source https://www.vaticannews.va/en/africa/news/2025-11/kenya-foster-collaboration-for-better-witness-sr-nina-urges-r.html
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Pope Leo issues Apostolic Letter 'In Unitate Fidei' on Nicaea Anniversary

Ahead of his upcoming Apostolic Journey to Türkiye, Pope Leo issues the Apostolic Letter 'In Unitate Fidei' on the 1700th Anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, broken down into 12 points, with the hope of "encouraging the whole Church to renew her enthusiasm for the profession of faith." Read all   source https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-11/pope-leo-issues-apostolic-letter-in-unitate-fidei-on-nicaea.html
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Pope Leo: Choirs are called to be a sign of the Church’s unity

On the Jubilee of Choirs, Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass, urging choristers to live their ministry as a sign of ecclesial unity, singing “in unison” as a people walking together in faith. He notes that liturgical music must foster communion, helping the whole Church journey forward. Read all   source https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-11/pope-leo-xiv-jubilee-choirs-mass-ecclesial-unity-synodality.html
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Vance calls border security ‘humanitarian’ in response to Pope Leo XIV

U.S. Vice President JD Vance participates in a fireside chat with Breitbart Washington Bureau Chief Matt Boyle at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on Nov. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 20, 2025 / 14:25 pm (CNA). Vice President JD Vance called border security “humanitarian” in response to comments from Pope Leo XIV about immigration policy in the United States. “Border security is not just good for American citizens,” Vance said in an interview with Breitbart’s Matthew Boyle on Nov. 20. “It is the humanitarian thing to do for the entire world.” Pope Leo XIV on Nov. 18 asked Americans to listen to U.S. bishops’ message opposing “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people” and urged humane treatment of migrants. “No one has said that the United States should have open borders. I think every country has a right to determine who and how and when people enter,” the pope said. Vance said he has followed th...
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Pro-life groups condemn ‘glorification’ of Kessler twins’ assisted suicide in Germany

Alice Kessler and Ellen Kessler attend the Circus Krone Christmas Premiere at Circus Krone on Dec. 25, 2022, in Munich, Germany. The twin sisters ended their lives by assisted suicide at their home in Grünwald, close to Munich, on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. / Credit: Hannes Magerstaedt/Getty Images CNA Deutsch, Nov 20, 2025 / 13:18 pm (CNA). The Federal Association for the Right to Life, an umbrella organization for numerous pro-life organizations, has condemned the “glorification” of the assisted suicide of the 89-year-old Kessler twins. Alice and Ellen Kessler were German singers and performers who were famous in Europe , especially in Italy, in the 1960s. The twin sisters decided to die together by assisted suicide at their home near Munich on Monday.  Alexandra Linder, the pro life association’s chairwoman, said: “There is widespread media coverage of this, with many praising the ‘self-determination’ of choosing the time and manner of death oneself rather than waiting for ...
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World’s tallest Our Lady of Fátima monument inaugurated in Brazil

The world's tallest monument of Our Lady of Fatima was inaugurated in Crato, located in Ceará state in northeastern Brazil. / Credit: Courtesy of Prefeitura do Crato/Screenshot Sao Paulo, Brazil, Nov 20, 2025 / 12:48 pm (CNA). The world’s tallest monument dedicated to Our Lady of Fátima was inaugurated and blessed on Nov. 13 during the closing Mass of the Marian Jubilee in Crato, located in Ceará state in northeastern Brazil. The 177-foot-tall statue was created by the artist Ranilson Viana, inspired by the replica of the pilgrim image venerated in the cathedral of Our Lady of Penha, a work by the Portuguese sculptor Guilherme Ferreira Thedim. “Our hearts overflow with joy and faith because in this blessed land of Crato, this magnificent image of Our Lady of Fátima stands thanks to the presence of the pilgrim image, coming directly from Fátima, in Portugal, a sign of our spiritual communion with that Marian shrine, a beating heart of prayer, penance, and hope for the who...
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Belarus pardons 2 Catholic priests after talks with Vatican

The priests’ release was credited in part to Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, pictured here celebrating the seventh Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis on May 2, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA CNA Staff, Nov 20, 2025 / 12:12 pm (CNA). Two Catholic priests in Belarus will be released from prison in an act of “goodwill” after national leaders engaged in talks with the Vatican. The state media organ BelTA reported on Nov. 20 that Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko “pardoned two Catholic priests convicted of serious crimes against the state.” The pardons of Father Henrykh Akalatovich and Father Andzej Yukhnevich came after “intensification of contacts with the Vatican, as well as the principles of goodwill, mercy, and the jubilee year proclaimed by the Roman Catholic Church,” the government media organization said.  A separate press release from the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Belarus expressed “gratitude to all tho...
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What attendees can expect at the 2025 National Catholic Youth Conference

The National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) meets in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium starting Nov. 20, 2025. / Credit: Robin Marchant/Getty Images Indianapolis, Indiana, Nov 20, 2025 / 11:34 am (CNA). The National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) meets in Indianapolis for three days of prayer, community, evangelization, catechesis, and service for Catholic teenagers. The 2025 theme is “I Am,” and the conference mission is for participants to encounter Christ and be empowered for discipleship.  NCYC was created by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM), an organization committed to advancing the field of pastoral ministry to young people in the United States. Founded with the support of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the organization works to strengthen those who accompany young people as they encounter and follow Jesus Christ.  The conference, from Nov. 20–22, will feature Catholic speakers, daily Mass and adoration, music ...
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Catholic advocates petition New York foundation to fund pensions, church preservation

St. Joseph Cathedral, Buffalo, New York. / Credit: CiEll/Shutterstock CNA Staff, Nov 20, 2025 / 10:40 am (CNA). Advocates in New York state are petitioning a Catholic foundation there to help fund major pension shortages and church preservation efforts as well as to help support victims of clergy sex abuse. In a Nov. 13 letter to the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation in New York City, representatives of the group Save Our Buffalo Churches, sexual abuse victims, and pensioners of the former St. Clare’s Hospital asked the foundation to help the three communities with the “profound hardship” they are experiencing. Numerous parishes in Buffalo have been fighting diocesan-mandated closures and mergers over the past year. Hundreds of former workers of St. Clare’s, meanwhile, saw their pensions reduced or eliminated starting in 2018 due to major shortfalls. The hospital itself closed about a decade before. Abuse victims, meanwhile, have “been locked in a legal morass, denied the lon...
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President of EWTN Spain: The most reasonable thing to believe is that Jesus Christ is God

EWTN Spain President José Carlos González-Hurtado. / Credit: Nicolás Cárdenas/ACI Prensa Madrid, Spain, Nov 20, 2025 / 10:10 am (CNA). José Carlos González-Hurtado, president of EWTN Spain, has published a new book, “ The Scientific Evidence that Jesus Is God ,” following the success of his first book on the existence of God, which has already gone through eight editions. While his first bestseller offered scientific arguments supporting the existence of God, his new work uses scientific arguments to address the five possible options regarding Jesus Christ: myth, manipulated figure, liar, maniac, or Messiah. In a recent interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, González explained how he became a successful writer talking about science and faith and the providential meaning this has today before going through some aspects of the book. ACI Prensa: You say in the book that despite considering yourself Catholic and being a practicing Catholic, for a time “fa...
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Polish, German bishops sign new declaration 60 years after historic reconciliation

Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda of Gniezno, president of the Polish Bishops’ Conference (left), and Bishop Georg Bätzing, president of the German Bishops’ Conference, embrace after signing the joint declaration “Courage of Extended Hands” at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Wrocław, Poland, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, during commemorations of the 60th anniversary of the historic correspondence between the Polish and German Bishops’ Conferences. / Credit: Deutsche Bischofskonferenz/Rafael Ledschbor EWTN News, Nov 20, 2025 / 09:10 am (CNA). In 1965, Polish bishops sent a letter of reconciliation to their German counterparts. “We grant forgiveness and ask for forgiveness,” they wrote on Nov. 18. The German episcopate responded on Dec. 5, 1965, expressing the hope that “the evil spirit of hatred may never again separate our hands.” It was a significant two-sided gesture of reconciliation after World War II, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland, killing many people and establishing con...
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Microsoft says it will not discriminate against religious groups after investor criticism

null / Credit: OlegRi/Shutterstock CNA Staff, Nov 20, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA). After pushback from investors, Microsoft has signed a statement agreeing not to discriminate against religious or conservative nonprofit groups seeking a discount the tech giant offers to other nonprofits. On Oct. 10, Microsoft and Boyer Research, a group of shareholders represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a Christian legal group, signed the agreement. News of the agreement was published on Nov. 14. The shareholders had planned to put forth a proposal asking Microsoft on Dec. 5 at its annual meeting for a report on the company’s discounting practices, according to Bloomberg News.    The shareholders agreed not to move forward with the proposal after Microsoft signed the agreement, which stated that nonprofits no longer needed to affirm a nondiscrimination attestation. The company also said a categorical ban on pregnancy centers would be removed. In a statement to CNA on...
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Scorsese’s ‘The Saints’ spotlights extraordinary Catholic men and women

St. Patrick as depicted in Martin Scorsese’s “The Saints.” / Credit: Fox Nation CNA Staff, Nov 20, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA). The second season of Martin Scorsese’s docudrama series “The Saints” premiered on Fox Nation on Nov. 16. The series highlights the extraordinary lives of men and women who embodied their faith and became saints in the Catholic Church. The new season includes episodes on St. Patrick, St. Peter, St. Thomas Becket, and St. Carlo Acutis. Created by Matti Leshem and developed by Scorsese, himself a Catholic, the show’s new episodes will be released weekly from Nov. 16 to Dec. 7. The first season included episodes on St. Mary Magdalene, St. Moses the Black, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Joan of Arc, St. John the Baptist, and St. Sebastian. Leshem, who co-founded a production company focused on Jewish history and Judeo-Christian dialogue, spoke to CNA in an interview about the inspiration behind the series and how his own Jewish faith has been ...
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Faith leaders file suit to distribute Communion at ICE facility

Police vehicles surround the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Oct. 31, 2025, in Broadview, Illinois. / Credit: Jamie Kelter Davis/Getty Images Long Island, New York, Nov 19, 2025 / 18:38 pm (CNA). A coalition of Catholic faith leaders filed suit Nov. 19 to seek access to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Broadview, Illinois, where clergy have been denied entry to distribute Communion. The complaint  alleged that ICE’s refusal to allow clergy to pray with detainees or offer Communion violates the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Catholic spiritual leaders attempted to bring Communion to detainees at the ICE facility Nov. 1 after making formal requests to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, and officials denied entry . “Despite the long history of religious access to the Broadview detention center established through the persistence a...
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Immigrant rights advocate Mercy Sister JoAnn Persch, 91, dies

Sister of Mercy JoAnn Persch, a longtime immigrant rights advocate, died on Nov. 14, 2025, at age 91. / Credit: Kathleen Murphy/CNA Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 19, 2025 / 17:48 pm (CNA). Longtime immigrant rights advocate Sister JoAnn Persch died on Nov. 14 at age 91. Two weeks before her death, Persch attempted to bring Communion to detainees at the Broadview, Illinois, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility where for decades the Sisters of Mercy ministered to migrants and refugees. Officials denied her entry . Auxiliary Bishop Jose María García-Maldonado with eight spiritual leaders including Sister JoAnn Persch, left, attempt to bring Communion to detainees at the Broadview, Illinois, facility and were not admitted Nov. 1, 2025. Credit: Bryan Sebastian, courtesy of Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership Persch and Sister Pat Murphy were founding members of the Su Casa Catholic Worker House in Chicago, serving refugees from Central America who were ...
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New immersive Shroud of Turin museum opens in Southern California

“The Shroud of Turin: An Immersive Experience,” a $5 million, 10,000-square-foot museum on the chancery campus of the Diocese of Orange in Southern California opened to visitors on Nov. 19, 2025. / Credit: Everett Johnson, Diocese of Orange Los Angeles, California, Nov 19, 2025 / 16:53 pm (CNA). “The Shroud of Turin: An Immersive Experience,” a $5 million, 10,000-square-foot museum on the chancery campus of the Diocese of Orange in Southern California, opened to visitors Wednesday.   The museum is presented by Papaian Studios in partnership with the Diocese of Orange and Othonia Inc. , an international team of specialists dedicated to exploring and sharing the mystery of the Shroud of Turin. The 90-minute experience introduces visitors to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, with a special focus on the Shroud of Turin, which many believe to be the burial cloth of Christ. The 90-minute experience at the new Shroud of Turin museum on the chancery camp...
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