Pope Francis greets an elderly couple at his general audience on Jan. 11, 2023 / Vatican MediaRome, Italy, Apr 13, 2023 / 12:00 pm (CNA).The Vatican announced Thursday the date and theme for the third annual World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.The event will take place this year on July 23, the Sunday before the feast of Sts. Anne and Joachim, the grandparents of Jesus, and the theme for the day, selected by the pope, will be "His mercy is from age to age" (Lk 1:50).According to the Vatican Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life, the theme is linked to the theme for World Youth Day 2023, which also comes from the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke: "Mary arose and went with haste" (Lk 1:39).Pope Francis will preside over a special Mass in St. Peter s Basilica to mark the grandparents day and has invited parishes, dioceses, associations, and communities around the world to celebrate the day "in their own pastoral context."The pope, who is 86 years o
Bishop Rolando Álvarez. / Credit: Middle Diocese - TV MercedACI Prensa Staff, Apr 11, 2023 / 17:00 pm (CNA).Félix Maradiaga, a former political prisoner and presidential candidate who now lives in exile in the United States, explained why he believes that Bishop Rolando Álvarez, who was sentenced to 26 years and four months in prison, decided to stay in Nicaragua and not be deported to the United States when he had the chance to leave.In a recent interview with EWTN and ACI Prensa, CNA s Spanish-language news partner, Maradiaga said he was edified by "seeing the example of a bishop who has given absolutely everything for the freedom of his people."Álvarez was sentenced on Feb. 10 after he was unjustly accused of being a "traitor to the homeland" due to his criticism of the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo.A day earlier, the bishop refused to be part of the 222 political prisoners, which included priests and sem
null / Credit: Dzelat/ShutterstockWashington D.C., Apr 11, 2023 / 16:30 pm (CNA).A new document revealed that the Richmond Federal Bureau of Investigation used at least one undercover agent to obtain information about traditionalist Catholics, said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who chairs the House Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.In response to its inquiry, the committee announced it received from the FBI a heavily redacted 18-page document that uncovered limited information about the agency s efforts to investigate a supposed link between traditionalist Catholics and "the far-right white nationalist movement." The committee had requested information following the leak of an internal memo dated Jan. 23 that originated from the FBI s Richmond division. The memo, which the FBI later retracted, called for such investigations within traditionalist Catholic communities. Titled "Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in
Carabineros at the funeral Mass for 1st Cpl. Daniel Rodrigo Palma Yáñez, who was killed in the line of duty April 5, 2023. / Credit: Twitter Carabineros de ChileACI Prensa Staff, Apr 11, 2023 / 17:30 pm (CNA).At a heavily attended Mass in the Rancagua, Chile, cathedral, police officers, officials, family members, and the faithful bid their last farewell to 1st Cpl. Daniel Rodrigo Palma Yáñez, who was killed in the line of duty.Palma was murdered the night of April 5 when he responded to an emergency call. While trying to inspect a vehicle, he was shot twice. One of the bullets struck him in the head, and although he received medical attention, he died hours later at the hospital.Palma was 33 years old, the father of a 4-year-old boy, and his wife, also a police officer, is pregnant. He is the third member of the Carabineros (national police) killed in a month s time.During the Mass, the victim was posthumously promoted to Non-Commissioned Officer, and it was announced that Poli.
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California. / Karl Sonnenberg/ShutterstockWashington D.C., Apr 11, 2023 / 15:20 pm (CNA).Since a federal judge s Friday ruling called the legality of the abortion drug mifepristone into question, the governors of New York, Washington, Massachusetts, and California revealed they have begun stockpiling years worth of chemical abortion supplies for use in their states.In the case that last week s ruling suspending the FDA s abortion pill approval is upheld by higher courts, these four governors intend to have a surplus of abortion drugs on hand."I want to assure Washington women that mifepristone will remain available in the state of Washington," Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said on Friday. "The Texas judge s decision, while unfortunate, will not stop us from making this product available to Washington women who exercise their right of choice … This is an important right; it will be protected in the state of Washington."By ordering the Washington