Representatives from the U.S. and African bishops’ conferences convened in Washington, D.C., during a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill this week in a display of solidarity as religious freedom in Nigeria continues to come into sharper focus. Bishop Stephen Dami Mamza of the Yola Diocese in northeast Nigeria concelebrated a Mass on Feb. 4 for…
Across continents, Filipino Catholics have emerged as what Pope Francis once memorably called “smugglers of the faith”: believers who carry the Gospel not by argument but through presence, perseverance, and hope. During the first-ever Simbang Gabi — a nine-day series of devotional Masses celebrated by Filipino Catholics from Dec. 16–24, leading up to Christmas —…
A steep decline in Catholic marriages in the U.S. over the past few decades is underscoring the need for “proactive” marriage support in the Church. Data obtained by EWTN News from the Official Catholic Directory shows a major drop-off in U.S. Catholic marriage, from about 267,000 in the year 2000 to just 111,718 in 2024,…
Ahead of general elections scheduled for next month, Catholic bishops in Thailand have urged all citizens to elect worthy candidates. “Let this election be proof of our love for God and our neighbors,” said Archbishop Francis Xavier Vira Arpondratana of Bangkok, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand, in a pastoral letter dated Jan….
In an official break with major medical organizations in the U.S., the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) issued a position statement this week recommending that due to the “low certainty” of benefit, plastic surgeons should delay surgeries related to treating gender dysphoria in children — including breast and chest, genital, and facial surgeries —…
Pope Leo XIV on Thursday voiced deep concern at a “lack of progress in protecting children from danger” as he met with the organizing committee of the initiative “From Crisis to Care: Catholic Action for Children.” Addressing participants gathered to advance proposals stemming from last year’s International Summit on Children’s Rights, convened by Pope Francis,…
About 300 Catholic leaders, including 15 bishops, sent a letter to the Senate this week asking lawmakers to reject funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if the appropriations bill does not include protections for migrants. Republicans and Democrats reached a temporary deal on the appropriations bill, which extends funding for the Department of…
Court documents reveal that a man who served as a substitute teacher for over a year in the Archdiocese of Chicago has been accused of inappropriately touching children multiple times in multiple states and has even served jail time related to those charges. The archdiocese said in a Jan. 25 email and confirmed in public…
The Vatican will receive representatives of the Priestly Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) following the traditionalist group’s announcement that it plans to consecrate new bishops without permission from Rome — a move that could incur automatic excommunication of all bishops involved and deepen the group’s rupture with the Catholic Church. The Vatican meeting will…
The Cuban regime summoned two priests and two peaceful dissidents for questioning on Jan. 23 and interrogated them for several hours, a move that has been described by one analyst as a means of “pressuring and punishing” those who defend the right to live in a free country. The digital platform Cuba Trendings reported that…
