Follow Us

Follow Us

Catholic News

This is Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of September

Pope Leo XIV greets the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square from the popemobile during his Wednesday general audience on Aug. 6, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA CNA Staff, Sep 2, 2025 / 12:32 pm (CNA). Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of September is for our relationship with all of creation. In a video released Sept. 2, the Holy Father asked the faithful to pray “that inspired by Saint Francis, we might experience our interdependence with all creatures who are loved by God and worthy of love and respect.”According to a press release, this month’s video was made in collaboration with the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.In the video, Pope Leo recites an original prayer written specifically for this month’s prayer intention.Here is Pope Leo’s full prayer:Lord, You love everything You have created,and nothing exists outside the mystery of Your tenderness.Every creature, no matter how small,

New animated movie aims to bring story of Jesus to life through eyes of John the disciple

The disciple John and Jesus in the new animated movie “Light of the World.” / Credit: Salvation Poem Foundation CNA Staff, Sep 2, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA). A new 2D-animated movie, told through the eyes of Jesus’ beloved disciple John, will be released in theaters on Sept. 5, taking viewers from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry to his passion, death, and resurrection. “Light of the World” is the first movie from the Salvation Poem Project, a nonprofit ministry and independent studio that crafts stories to share Jesus Christ with the world.Brennan McPherson, producer of the film, told CNA in an interview that his team chose to tell the story from John’s perspective because he was likely the youngest disciple so they believe his perspective is the most relatable.“Telling it from the perspective of a young teenager — young kids want to age up and they see themselves in that. Teenagers are going through those formative years, so th

Study: Mental health-related hospitalizations rates doubled for women who had abortions

null / Credit: GBALLGIGGSPHOTO/Shutterstock CNA Staff, Sep 1, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA). A recent study found that the rate of mental-health-related hospitalizations doubled for women who had abortions compared with women who gave birth. The study, published this summer in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, compared abortions with other pregnancies in hospitals in Quebec, Canada, between 2006 and 2022, tracking data on women for up to 17 years.The study, which compared more than 1.2 million women who gave birth in Quebec hospitals with more than 28,000 women who had abortions, found that “rates of mental-health-related hospitalization were higher following induced abortions than other pregnancies.” Abortion was associated with a number of mental-health-related difficulties including hospitalization for psychiatric disorders, substance use disorders, and suicide attempts, the study found.This association was especially high for women who were younger than 25

The Catholic Church has a lot to say about Labor Day — why?

null / Credit: mikeledray/Shutterstock Denver, Colo., Sep 1, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA). As the U.S. celebrates Labor Day, Catholics have a wealth of resources in biblical interpretation, Church teaching, and social thought that address the nature of work and the place of the worker in society and in God’s creation.But are Catholics, and others, aware of these resources?One Catholic leader considering such questions is Father Sinclair Oubre, a priest of the Diocese of Beaumont, Texas. He is the spiritual moderator of the Catholic Labor Network, a Catholic association that promotes Catholic teaching about work and labor unions. It also supports labor organizing.“All work, no matter what the work is, is essential,” Oubre likes to say. In his view, if a woman in janitorial work at a major software company does not show up to clean the toilets and empty the trash, all production in the office will nosedive.Centuries of Catholic teaching about labor can be found compile

Sisters of Life launch new website offering pro-life support, resources for women

null / Credit: David Gyung/Shutterstock CNA Staff, Aug 31, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA). The Sisters of Life have launched a new website providing resources and support for women considering an abortion, women seeking healing after having an abortion, and women whose children have an adverse prenatal diagnosis.Vis Center is named after the Latin word “vis,” which means “force” or “power.” “As women, we know that real power is unleashed when you feel listened to,” the website states.The website includes several testimonial videos of women sharing their personal stories about finding themselves in unplanned pregnancies and the joy they found in deciding to choose life, as well as women sharing their stories of finding healing after undergoing an abortion.“As Sisters of Life, we care about you, the whole you — body, mind, and soul. That’s why we offer a holistic approach to pregnancy, because we know that before being a me

Live musical performance honors life and legacy of St. Teresa of Calcutta

Soprano Catherine Wethington sings during a live performance of “Journey of Faith: A Musical Tribute to Mother Teresa” at Carnegie Hall. / Credit: Richard Termine CNA Staff, Aug 31, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA). A live musical performance celebrating the life of St. Teresa of Calcutta will be taking center stage at the Music Center at Strathmore in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 6 after a successful performance at the historic Carnegie Hall in New York.“Journey of Faith: A Musical Tribute to Mother Teresa” highlights the life and legacy of Mother Teresa, especially her service to the poor through the order she founded — the Missionaries of Charity. The live musical event is conducted by Dante Santiago Anzolini and features the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, baritone Sean Michael Plumb, and soprano Catherine Wethington, who also curated the show.Catherine Wethington, the featured soprano and curator of "Journey of Faith: A Musical Tribute to Mother Te

Where does your state stand on the death penalty?

null / Credit: felipe caparros/Shutterstock CNA Staff, Aug 30, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA). The United States is seeing the highest number of executions in more than a decade, with 30 executions so far in 2025. CNA has released three new interactive maps to show where each state in the U.S. stands on life issues — the protection of unborn life, assisted suicide, and the death penalty. The maps will be updated as new information on each issue becomes available.Below is an analysis of the map that shows where each state stands on death penalty laws as of August 2025.The death penalty in the U.S. The United States is split on the death penalty, which is also known as capital punishment. Twenty-three states have the death penalty, while 23 states have abolished it. In the remaining four states, executions have been temporarily paused via executive action, but the death penalty has not been abolished.Of the states that have abolished the death penalty, Michigan took the le

Catholic University of America professor receives $3.89 million for study on beauty

null / Credit: Trevor Owens via Flickr (CC BY 2.0) Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 30, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA). Here’s a roundup of the latest Catholic education news in the United States:Catholic University of America professor receives $3.89 million for study on beautyBrandon Vaidyanathan, a professor of sociology at The Catholic University of America, has received a $3.89 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation for a “first-of-its-kind, large-scale international study of beauty,” the university announced.“The project will serve as a powerful catalyst to spur scholars, practitioners, and communities to take beauty seriously as a force for good in the world,” Vaidyanathan said.Titled after a question posed by Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky, “Can Beauty Save the World? Aesthetic Engagement Among the Spiritual But Not Religious,” will center on understanding how experiences of beauty generate “a sense of meaning and tran

Taylor Swift engagement: Start of a promising cultural phenomenon?

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Jan. 28, 2024. / Credit: Patrick Smith/Getty Images Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 29, 2025 / 18:52 pm (CNA). News this week of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement sparked positive commentary from a wide cross-section of Catholics on social media, who anticipate a positive cultural shift from the marriage between the beloved pop star and Kansas City Chiefs tight end. “Expect a spike in marriage,” wrote marriage and family expert Brad Wilcox in a social media post. “Taylor and Travis put a ring on it.” Expect a spike in marriage.Taylor & Travis put a ring on it: pic.twitter.com/sTN2PLGMSv— Brad Wilcox (@BradWilcoxIFS) August 26, 2025 “The Life of a Showgirl” singer announced her engagement to Kelce in an Aug. 26 Instagram post, captioned: “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.” Wilcox, the author of &ldquo

After Minneapolis Catholic church shooting, public leaders debate prayer

null / Credit: Deemerwha studio/Shutterstock Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 29, 2025 / 18:13 pm (CNA). After a man fired over a hundred bullets into a Minneapolis Catholic Church killing two children and injuring 17 others, thousands of mourners packed into an archdiocesan vigil to pray for the victims and their families with Archbishop Bernard Hebda and other clergy members.“We know that there are a lot of other things that need to be done [and] we need to be able to address these issues in civic society, but what we do together tonight is to pray,” Hebda told grieving Catholics at the Academy of Holy Angels, just two miles from Annunciation Church, where the tragedy occurred.“And we look for the words that are able to express inexpressible grief,” he said. “We look for those symbols that might bring some hope. … We come together in our trials and we trust that God will answer us, that he will hear our pain, that he will hear our prayers.&r

1626 West 26th Street, Erie, PA 16508 | (814) 454-0171

Share by: