VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The rites and symbols of the liturgy are not arbitrary ceremonies but the means through which Catholics encounter God and are formed in faith, Pope Leo XIV said June 3. Continuing his series on the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, “Sacrosanctum Concilium,” the pope reflected on the role…
WASHINGTON – Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), welcomed the news that Ms. Maria Montserrat Alvarado has been appointed by Pope Leo XIV as the new prefect for the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication. “It was with gratitude that I learned of Montse’s appointment as the next prefect of…
WASHINGTON – On May 27, an Emergency Presidential Determination (PD) on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 was published in the Federal Register, based on the President’s finding of “an unforeseen emergency refugee situation.” This new rule will allow 10,000 individuals, exclusively Afrikaners from South Africa, to be admitted to the United States as refugees. Bishop Brendan J. Cahill, chairman of the…
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection has released the 2025 Annual Report – Findings and Recommendations on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The report is based on the audit findings of StoneBridge Business Partners, a consulting firm which provides…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Amid renewed tensions between the Vatican and traditionalist Catholics over the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Leo XIV defended Church reform as a legitimate process that adapts to current needs while remaining rooted in authentic tradition. During his May 27 general audience in St. Peter’s Square, the pope said…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In his first encyclical, Pope Leo XIV used a sweeping reflection on artificial intelligence to question whether the Catholic Church’s centuries-old just war framework remains valid in modern warfare and to ask pardon for the church’s role in slavery. The pope’s 82-page encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas” (“Magnificent Humanity”), primarily focuses on the…