The Vatican on April 2, 2022, announced that Pope Francis had appointed Father Earl K. Fernandes to be the next bishop of the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio. / Courtesy of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.Denver Newsroom, May 26, 2023 / 15:40 pm (CNA).Ohio s Catholic Diocese of Columbus will close 15 churches as part of a parish reorganization and merger plan, but Bishop Earl K. Fernandes emphasized new possibilities for growth, especially if lay Catholics take on more responsibility for the Church s future."When I arrived, I said I m not interested in presiding over 25 years of decline in the diocese," the bishop said in a May 25 video series at the diocese s YouTube channel. "I want to grow the church, not for my glory, but for God s glory," he said.Fernandes said the reorganization plan was an effort to "try to come up with the best possible solution for the whole Diocese of Columbus."The bishop stressed the need for "an engaged lay faithful" who take
The facade of Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in La Paz, Bolivia. / Credit: Yasemin Olgunoz Berber/ShutterstockACI Prensa Staff, May 25, 2023 / 15:30 pm (CNA).Faced with the scandal over allegations of sexual abuse perpetrated by various priests in Bolivia, the country s bishops acknowledged having been part of the "deep pain caused to innocent persons" and announced the creation of commissions to investigate the cases.In a May 24 statement, the Bolivian Bishops Conference reported that it had received the visit of Msgr. Jordi Bertomeu, an official with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and an expert in the fight against abuse.As a result of the meeting they had with the Vatican envoy, the prelates issued a statement in which they admitted that they had a part in the deficient handling of multiple cases."We are certain that we have been part, directly or indirectly, of deep pain caused to innocent people who have been victims of sexual abuse and the in
The loss of St. Bernard s Church in Grouard, Alberta, Canada, on May 22, 2023, makes a sad moment for those with memories of the church, said Grouard-McLennan Archbishop Gerard Pettipas. Two men have been arrested in connection with the fire. / Credit: Archdiocese of Grouard-McLennan photo/B.C. CatholicVancouver, Canada, May 25, 2023 / 12:15 pm (CNA).The archbishop of Grouard-McLennan in Northern Alberta, Canada, says he is saddened but "not overcome" by the loss of a 121-year-old church to arson.Archbishop Gérard Pettipas, CSsR, released a statement Tuesday, May 23, following the May 22 fire that destroyed the historic St. Bernard Catholic Church.Pettipas said the church was "irreparably destroyed" and marks "a sad moment for the many people who have fond memories of this church. Frequent Masses, baptisms, funerals, confirmations, and confessions took place between these walls, which are now charred and rendered as rubbish."The interior of St. Bernard s
Cardinal Mario Grech, who serves as secretary general of the global Synod on Synodality, speaks to EWTN Rome Bureau Chief Andreas Thonhauser for an exclusive interview that aired on EWTN on May 22, 2023. / EWTN VaticanRome Newsroom, May 25, 2023 / 12:45 pm (CNA).Cardinal Mario Grech, who serves as secretary general of the global Synod on Synodality, says the ongoing process underway in the Church risks missing "a moment of grace" if it focuses on polarizing issues raised during listening sessions, including same-sex marriage, abortion, and women s ordination. In a sit-down interview with EWTN News, the Maltese prelate says that while he believes "a synodal Church is a more spiritual Church," it is important to remember that the Church "is not a democracy." He also addresses the involvement of lay men and women and other "non-bishops" in the synod s assembly of bishops in October, and he draws a distinction between the worldwide sy
A man places his hands on the glass urn holding the remains of St. Pio in Pietrelcina, Italy, in 2016. St. Pio was found to be in a state of partial deterioration and partial preservation when his coffin was opened in 2008, but experts present at the exhumation have said there was no supernatural quality to what was preserved. Artificial preservation techniques have since been applied to conserve his body from further deterioration and a lifelike mask has been placed over his skull. / Ivan Romano/GettyRome Newsroom, May 25, 2023 / 09:33 am (CNA).Catholic pilgrims are descending on a Benedictine monastery in rural Missouri after a seemingly incredible discovery.The body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, OSB, the African American foundress of the Benedictine Sisters of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, appears to be in an unexpected state of preservation even four years after she died in 2019 at the age of 95.When the abbess and sisters of Sister Wilhelmina s community decided.