Pope Francis prays during his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on April 24, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 16:10 pm (CNA). Asked during a new interview if he has any message for Vladimir Putin, the Russian president who instigated the war in Ukraine, Pope Francis stated that “a negotiated peace is better than an endless war.” CBS News broadcast some excerpts April 24 from a new interview conducted by journalist Norah O’Donnell with Pope Francis at St. Martha House, the pontiff’s residence in the Vatican. During the exchange, the fu ..read more

The pro-life flag from the Pro-Life Flag Project (www.prolifeflag.com). / Credit: Pro-Life Flag Project (www.prolifeflag.com) Toronto, Canada, Apr 25, 2024 / 12:50 pm (CNA). The International Pro-Life Flag will not fly over Toronto Catholic schools this May. Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) trustees voted against an April 23 motion proposed by trustee Michael Del Grande that the pro-life flag fly outside all schools and the Catholic Education Centre during the month of May, just as the board voted to fly the Pride flag in June. Del Grande’s motion was defeated at the April 23 boa ..read more

null / Shutterstock CNA Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 11:30 am (CNA). Louisiana State Police have obtained a new search warrant to collect documents from the Archdiocese of New Orleans as part of an ongoing investigation into Church abuse in that state. State police spokesman Jacob Pucheu confirmed to CNA on Thursday that the bureau had obtained the warrant as part of its investigation into “numerous complaints of child sexual abuse” leveled at the archdiocese. The inquiry was first launched in 2022, he said. “As part of the ongoing investigation, on Monday, April 22, 2024, SVU investigators obtained ..read more

null / Shutterstock CNA Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 10:52 am (CNA). Following a recent Vatican declaration on human dignity, the Catholic bishops of England and Wales condemned medical and social transgenderism while encouraging a “sensitive” response in a pastoral reflection released on Wednesday. The Vatican’s doctrinal office came down strongly against gender ideology, stating that “all attempts to obscure reference to the ineliminable sexual difference between man and woman are to be rejected.” The Catholic bishops of England and Wales followed the Vatican’s lead in their April 24 stat ..read more

Pope Francis speaks to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, Sept. 25, 2015. / L'Osservatore Romano. Rome Newsroom, Apr 25, 2024 / 07:22 am (CNA). Pope Francis is reportedly considering returning to the United States in September to speak before the United Nations General Assembly. The news was initially reported by the French Catholic newspaper La Croix and has not yet been officially confirmed by the Vatican. A source from the Vatican Secretariat of State, meanwhile, told CNA this week that "a formal invitation has arrived from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and Pope Fra ..read more

One of the priests on “The Sacristy of the Vendée”show sparked a firestorm after quipping in February that he prayed that Pope Francis would “go to heaven as soon as possible.” / Credit: LSDLV ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA). “The Sacristy of the Vendée” is now back on YouTube. Nearly two months ago, the priests featured on the Spanish-language talk show voluntarily suspended the program in the wake of a firestorm that was sparked when one of them quipped on their Feb. 22 show that he prayed that Pope Francis would “go to heaven as soon as possible.” The YouTube program has had ..read more

St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, Italy. / Credit: Canva CNA Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA). This weekend, on Sunday, April 28, Pope Francis will celebrate Mass in St. Mark’s Square during a one-day trip to Venice, Italy. Afterward, he will privately venerate the relics of St. Mark the Evangelist inside the basilica. This papal visit to the iconic basilica puts a spotlight on the famous church dedicated to St. Mark and on its significance to the famous “floating city.”  St. Mark’s Basilica, also known as the “Church of Gold,” is a Byzantine cathedral in St. Mark’s Square. Founded in 82 ..read more

null / Credit: Photographee.eu via www.shutterstock.com ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 24, 2024 / 17:45 pm (CNA). Father Augusto Meloni Navarro, a priest, physician, and former vice president of the World Health Organization (WHO), urged prayers for the soul of Ana Estrada, the first person to undergo euthanasia in Peru. Meloni also emphasized the importance of protecting life and providing palliative care in these kinds of situations. As a Church “we stand in solidarity, we sympathize with every human person in all their circumstances. And, of course, at the moment of transition to a new life, which i ..read more

Pro-life advocates demonstrate prior to an Arizona House of Representatives session at the Arizona State Capitol on April 17, 2024, in Phoenix. / Credit: Rebecca Noble/Getty Images Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 24, 2024 / 17:15 pm (CNA). The Arizona House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to repeal a law protecting unborn babies from abortion throughout pregnancy. The narrow 32-28 vote passed an “abortion ban repeal” bill designed to overturn the pro-life law. Republicans have a narrow majority in the Arizona House, but the bill was able to pass as three Republicans jo ..read more

Pro-life and pro-abortion activists at a demonstration outside the U.S. Supreme Court as it hears arguments in the Moyle v. United States case, in Washington, D.C., on April 24, 2024. The case deals with whether an Idaho abortion law conflicts with the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). / Credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 24, 2024 / 16:15 pm (CNA). A divided Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday in a case that will determine whether federal law requires pro-life states to have broader exceptions for women who seek abortions ..read more