Cathedral of St. Eugene in Santa Rosa, CA. / chrisw80/wikimedia. CC BY SA 4.0Denver, Colo., Mar 14, 2023 / 09:47 am (CNA).The Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa in northern California said on Monday that it will file for bankruptcy, citing the number of child sexual abuse lawsuits filed against it in the last three years. Many alleged abuse incidents are more than three decades old."While I have been anticipating this action for more than a full year, it is most distressing to have the duty of actually proceeding with this filing," Bishop Robert F. Vasa said in a March 10 statement. "Nevertheless, I remain convinced that it is a necessary step for the diocese and the only way to resolve the claims which have been presented against it."In December 2022 the diocese announced plans to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy following "careful and prayerful consideration" and seeking the advice of priests, the diocesan finance council, and professional counsel. Santa Rosa s
Pope Francis at his general audience in Paul VI Hall on Feb. 15, 2023. / Vatican MediaRome Newsroom, Mar 12, 2023 / 11:00 am (CNA).Pope Francis asked for prayers as he spoke about the future of the Church and his pontificate so far in an interview published in the early hours of Sunday.Speaking to the Italian daily Il Fatto Quotidiano, Francis declined to evaluate his pontificate so far, saying the Lord will judge his life one day based on whether he practiced the Corporal Works of Mercy as taught by Jesus."The Church is not a business, or an NGO, and the pope is not an administrator who has been commissioned to balance the numbers at the end of the year," he said, according to an English transcript published on Il Fatto Quotidiano March 12.The interview, one in a slew of recent papal interviews to be published, marks the March 13 anniversary of Pope Francis election to the papacy."Being the pope is not an easy job. Nobody has studied before doing this," the pope s
Pope Francis at his weekly Wednesday audience in St. Peter's Square June 26, 2019. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA.St. Louis, Mo., Mar 13, 2023 / 03:00 am (CNA).Pope Francis was elected to the papacy 10 years ago, on March 13, 2013. How has the worldwide Catholic Church changed since then?Statistically speaking, the Church has grown, keeping pace with and even exceeding overall world population growth. The total number of Catholics worldwide grew from ??1.253 billion in 2013 to 1.378 billion in 2021, an increase of nearly 10%. During the same period, the world s population as a whole grew by 9.1%, according to the World Bank.Despite this increase, the Church performed 2 million fewer baptisms in 2020 than in 2013. The number of marriages declined by 702,246, or nearly a third. Confirmations and first Communions also dropped by 12% and 13%, respectively, despite relatively stable levels of Mass attendance in the world s 13 most Catholic countries.A Catholic researcher told CNA this wee.
EWTN CEO Michael P. Warsaw delivers the keynote address at conclusion of "Journalism in a Post-Truth World," a conference held March 10-11, 2023, at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., co-sponsored by EWTN News and Franciscan University of Steubenville. / Shannon Mullen/CNAWashington D.C., Mar 13, 2023 / 09:00 am (CNA).Catholic journalists are "called to do our part to be truth tellers," even in the face of rising intolerance toward religious belief, traditional moral values, and the very idea that objective truth even exists, EWTN CEO Michael P. Warsaw said Saturday.The head of the world s largest religious media network, which includes CNA and the National Catholic Register, Warsaw delivered the keynote address at the conclusion of "Journalism in a Post-Truth World," a conference held March 10-11 at the Museum of the Bible co-sponsored by EWTN News and Franciscan University of Steubenville.His speech, titled "Communicating the Truth in a Po
The faithful in Nicaragua participate in a pilgrimage in support of the bishops, July 28, 2018. / Photo credit: Javier Ruiz / Facebook Archdiocese of ManaguaRome Newsroom, Mar 13, 2023 / 04:15 am (CNA).The president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, has ordered the closing of the Vatican embassy in Managua and the Nicaraguan embassy to the Holy See in Rome, according to Reuters.The government of Nicaragua said March 12 that it had proposed "a suspension of relations" with the Holy See, the Associated Press reported.According to the AP, Vatican sources confirmed there had been a request from Nicaragua to shut down the two embassies.The proposal to suspend relations between the Vatican and Nicaragua follows just days after Pope Francis likened Nicaragua s Sandinista government to Nazi Germany in an interview. He also called Ortega "unstable."The Nicaraguan government expelled the Vatican ambassador from the country one year ago, a decision the Vatican called at the time a