World Religions News

Pope Francis delivers the homily during Mass on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception in St. Peter's Basilica, Dec. 8, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, Dec 8, 2024 / 06:56 am (CNA).

Pope Francis celebrated Mass with the College of Cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, marking the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and concluding a historic week in which 21 new cardinals were inducted into the Catholic Church’s most senior advisory body.

Hundreds of priests and bishops attended the celebration, and the new cardinals concelebrated their first papal Mass after receiving their red hats at Saturday’s consistory.

The Mass honored one of the Church’s most significant Marian feasts, commemorating the dogma formally defined by Pope Pius IX in 1854 that the Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved free from original sin from the moment of her conception.

In his homily during the solemn liturgy, Pope Francis reflected on Mary’s “pure harmony, candor, and simplicity,” focusing on her roles as daughter, bride, and mother.

“‘Hail, full of grace,’” the pope began, quoting Luke 1:28. “With these words in the humble house of Nazareth, the Angel revealed to Mary the mystery of her immaculate heart, preserved free from all stain of original sin from the moment of her conception.”

Drawing parallels between the Virgin Mary and the Church, Pope Francis emphasized that Mary was a “handmaid” not in a servile sense but as one who was “trusted and esteemed” by God.

“There is no salvation without a woman, for the Church herself is also woman,” the pope said, highlighting Mary’s pivotal role in salvation history.

Francis also sharply critiqued contemporary materialism and individualism, warning against “hearts that remain cold, empty, and closed.” He challenged believers, asking: “What is the use of having a full bank account, a comfortable home, and virtual connections if they come at the cost of true love, solidarity, and care for others?”

Addressing the newly created cardinals—representing the universality of the Church across five continents—the pope urged them to be servants to the global Catholic community. “They bring great wisdom from many parts of the world to contribute to the growth and spread of the Kingdom of God,” he said.

Concluding his homily, Pope Francis called for spiritual renewal. “Let us look to Mary Immaculate and ask her to conquer us through her loving heart. May she convert us and lead us to become a community where filial, spousal, and maternal love reign as the rule of life.”

Left to right: Father Timothy Gallagher, Archbishop Borys Gudziak, Archbishop Nelson Perez, Archbishop Alexander Sample. / Credit: SOCA

CNA Staff, Dec 8, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Several Catholic bishops and priests will join Catholic therapists, authors, and other experts later this month for a free online conference on mental health and prayer. 

The Divine Fulfillment Conference, to be held Dec. 27–29, “is a first and perhaps only of its kind event,” conference spokesman Daniel Coleman told CNA. A lay apostolate based in Denver called Souls of the Christian Apostolate (SOCA) is organizing the conference. 

The conference’s goal, Coleman explained, is “to move the needle on this epidemic of mental illness, first in the life of participants and then, God-willing, to the people closest to them amongst family, friends, and greater community.”  

The conference will feature speakers ranging from archbishops to qualified mental health counselors, including Catholic therapist and author Bob Schuchts; Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon; and Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska.

The goal of the conference, Coleman explained, is “to move the needle on this epidemic of mental illness, first in the life of participants and then, God willing, to the people closest to them amongst family, friends, and greater community.”

Coleman called the Divine Fulfillment Conference “a unique fusion and special opportunity.”

The idea for the conference began with an idea by SOCA’s founder, Kevin Roerty, who suggested that SOCA focus on mental health and mental prayer, “two items that sorely need attention in today’s world and Church,” Coleman noted.

“When he made the suggestion it really resonated, and we held that in our hearts for quite some time and were delighted to later find out that Bishop [Robert] Barron and Archbishop [Borys] Gudziak in conjunction with the USCCB [U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops] called for a year to raise awareness of mental health,” Coleman said.

“In a world tending toward shallowness and despair that results from forgetting about God, there is one solution, one thing necessary: the interior life with God and the healing that brings to the depths of our souls,” Roerty told CNA. “With the Divine Fulfillment Conference, our aspiration is to provide hope and healing to mental health through a perspective that incorporates deep prayer.”

SOCA offers a step-by-step guide and resources to prayer as well as remote and in-person accompaniment, Coleman explained. The group also offers check-ins and online group accountability, he noted.

“SOCA is dedicated to spreading the Catholic mystical tradition of interior life to as many Catholics as possible through a three-pillar approach that we have found great success in, initiating over 1,300 Catholics into deeper intimacy with Christ last year alone,” Coleman explained. 

The list of speakers includes Catholic authors Jason Evert, known for his work on chastity, and Father Timothy Gallagher, OMV, a Catholic priest known for his books on Ignatian spirituality. Other speakers include Deacon Ed Shoener, president of the Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers, and Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, psychiatrist and director of the Program in Bioethics and American Democracy at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. 

Several other archbishops and bishops are scheduled to speak at the conference, including Archbishop Borys Gudziak of the Ukrainian Eparchy of Philadelphia; Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas; Archbishop Nelson Perez of Philadelphia; and Bishop Donald Hying of Madison, Wisconsin.

In addition to a long list of speakers, the conference offers practical guidance “for mental and spiritual peace,” according to the press release. The conference will also provide contact information for professional mental health help as well as one-on-one discipleship opportunities in the months following the event.

Coleman called the Divine Fulfillment Conference “a unique fusion and special opportunity.”

“The fruits have been outstanding,” he said. “Greater peace, greater joy, vocations!”

For more information on the conference and to register, click here.

Syrian rebels declared the end of President Bashar Assad’s 24-year rule on Sunday after a swift offensive brought opposition forces into Damascus.

The post Syrian Rebels Announce Fall of Assad Regime Following Rapid Offensive appeared first on Jewish Journal.

Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, knocks on the door of Notre-Dame Cathedral during a ceremony to mark the re-opening of the landmark Cathedral, in central Paris, on Dec. 7, 2024. / Credit: Christophe Petit Tesson/POOL/AFP via Getty Images.)

CNA Newsroom, Dec 7, 2024 / 20:15 pm (CNA).

The doors of the newly restored Notre-Dame of Paris Cathedral were officially reopened to the public during a ceremony Saturday evening just over five years after a blaze ravaged the iconic structure’s roof, frame, and spire.

The celebration, which began at around 7:20 p.m. local time, was attended by some 1,500 people, including around 40 heads of state, including U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York and Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai of Antioch were among the 170 bishops from France and around the world who attended the ceremony, which featured a message from Pope Francis, who did not travel for the occasion.

Authorities mobilized a massive security force of some 6,000 police and gendarmes for the event, citing a “very high level of terrorist threat.” Space was provided for up to 40,000 people outside the cathedral.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who was initially scheduled to speak on the cathedral’s forecourt to respect the law of separation between the Church and the state, wound up speaking inside the building due to inclement weather, as previously announced in a press release from the Archdiocese of Paris.

Expressing “the gratitude of the French nation” to the cathedral’s rebuilders during his address, Macron asserted that Notre Dame “tells us how much meaning and transcendence help us to live in this world.”

Breaking five years of silence, the bell of Notre-Dame, known as the bourdon, rang out across Paris. This was the first step in the reopening office, initiated by three knocks on the cathedral’s central portal, the Portal of the Last Judgement, by the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich. The opening of the doors was set to the music of the polyphonic piece Totus Tuss, composed in 1987 by Henryk Gorecki during John Paul II’s visit to Poland, and sung by the 150 young members of the Maîtrise de Notre Dame.

“May the rebirth of this admirable Church be a prophetic sign of the renewal of the Church in France,” Pope Francis said in a letter read by the apostolic nuncio of France, Monsignor Celestino Migliore, after a tribute to the firefighters who saved the 800-year-old cathedral from the flames and the French president’s speech. “I invite all the baptized who will joyfully enter this cathedral to feel a legitimate pride and reclaim their faith heritage,” he added.

There followed the awakening and blessing of the great organ, a three-century-old instrument whose pipes had remained clogged with lead dust following the 2019 fire.

“Notre-Dame has known darkness, now it is back in the light. It has known silence, and now it rediscovers the joy of our chants,” said Archbishop Ulrich, who took possession of the Paris cathedral for the first time, two years after his nomination as head of the Paris archdiocese, succeeding Archbishop Michel Aupetit.

In his brief homily, Ulrich emphasized that “it is not only princes, chiefs and notables who have their place in the Church,” but that “the door is open to all,” including foreigners and non-believers.

After singing the Magnificat and reciting the Our Father, the ceremony concluded with a final blessing and the singing of the Te Deum.

At the end of the religious ceremony, a concert organized and broadcast by France Télévisions and Radio France featured internationally renowned artists including Chinese pianist Lang Lang, South African soprano Pretty Yende, and Franco-Swiss tenor Benjamin Bernheim.

The consecration Mass for the cathedral’s new main altar was scheduled for Sunday at 10:30 a.m. local time, again in the presence of the French President and religious leaders. The cathedral itself was not desecrated by the blaze, as Archbishop Aupetit celebrated a mass there two months later.

Celebrations surrounding the reopening of Notre-Dame will continue until Dec. 16, with each day devoted to welcoming different communities and groups, including firefighters and patrons. At the end of this octave, the cathedral will return to its usual schedule. 

The fire, the causes of which have yet to be determined, has sparked a wave of emotion around the world, including in the United States, which has the largest number of foreign contributors to the restoration and reconstruction work, amounting to almost 700 million euros ($740 million.) Michel Picaud, president of the Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris, saidin a recent interview that American donors accounted for 90% of 50,000 euros worth of international donations received by the charitable association. The five years of work involved a total of 250 companies and hundreds of craftsmen.

With almost half of the French population already planning to visit the breathtaking and now-immaculate cathedral, rebuilt in the style of the one designed by 19th-century architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, extended opening hours will be offered until next Pentecost, with a new free online booking system.

At a press conference in Paris, Nov. 13, the cathedral’s rector Monsignor Olivier Ribadeau Dumas announced that some 15 million visitors would now be expected to visit the cathedral each year, compared with around 12 million before the fire. “Now is the time to return to Notre-Dame!” he declared.

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The post Did Christian Nationalism Win? Matthew Taylor on the Vote and the Future appeared first on RNS.

Pope Francis arrives for a consistory at St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, Dec. 7, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, Dec 7, 2024 / 15:39 pm (CNA).

As the iconic Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris reopened its doors five years after a devastating fire, Pope Francis on Saturday called the church’s restoration a “prophetic sign” of the Church’s renewal in France.

In a message read by Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the apostolic nuncio to France, during Saturday’s reopening ceremony, Pope Francis expressed his joy at joining “in spirit and prayer” with the faithful gathered for the historic occasion.

The pope recalled the “terrible fire” that severely damaged the cathedral in April 2019, saying: “Our hearts were heavy at the risk of seeing a masterpiece of Christian faith and architecture disappear, a millennial witness to your national history.”

“Today, sadness and mourning give way to joy, celebration, and praise,” the Holy Father wrote in his message, addressed to Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris.

The pope particularly praised the firefighters “who worked so courageously to save this historic monument from collapse” and acknowledged the “determined commitment of public authorities” along with the “great wave of international generosity” that made the restoration possible.

This outpouring of support, Francis noted, demonstrates not only an attachment to art and history but also “the symbolic and sacred value of such an edifice is still widely perceived, from the smallest to the greatest.”

Looking to the future, the pope emphasized the cathedral’s role as a beacon of faith: “Dear faithful of Paris and France, this house, which our Heavenly Father inhabits, is yours; you are its living stones.”

The pontiff expressed hope that Notre Dame would continue to welcome visitors from all backgrounds, noting it would soon “be visited and admired again by immense crowds of people of all conditions, origins, religions, languages and cultures, many of them in search of the absolute and meaning in their lives.”

The message concluded with Pope Francis imparting his apostolic blessing and invoking “the protection of Notre Dame de Paris over the Church in France and the entire French nation.”

The reopening marked the culmination of an intensive five-year restoration project following the April 2019 blaze that threatened to destroy the historic Gothic cathedral, which has stood as a symbol of French Catholicism for over 850 years.

Ahead of the event, Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris told CNA that the reopening of Notre Dame is “a renaissance, a rediscovery for the priests and faithful of Paris who have been waiting for this moment for five years.” On Saturday night, Ulrich commenced the reopening ceremony by striking the doors with his crozier three times.

The cathedral welcomed over 2,500 faithful and dignitaries on Saturday, including U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, Britain's Prince William, Tesla founder Elon Musk, and Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin represented the Holy See.

The historic occasion drew international figures One public highlight of the evening shone in the Paris night as the cathedral projected a simple message – "Merci" – onto its restored facade.

Sharing the image on X, President Macron expressed his gratitude to ”our firefighters and all the forces that saved Notre-Dame, to all the craftsmen and companions who have made it even more beautiful, to the patrons and generous donors from around the world, to all those who helped keep the promise.”

The inaugural Mass at Notre Dame will be celebrated on Dec. 8 at 10:30 a.m. local time. The new high altar designed by Guillaume Badet will be consecrated.

The Mass will be full of symbols: Holy water will be sprinkled on the people, then on the altar and the pulpit as a sign of purification of these elements intended for sacred use. 

Nearly 170 bishops from France and around the world will participate in the Mass, as will a priest from each of the 106 parishes of the Diocese of Paris and a priest from each of the seven Eastern-rite Catholic Churches. 

Thi story was last updated on Dec. 7, 2024, with further details of the event.

Pope Francis places the red biretta on Cardinal Domenico Battaglia, archbishop of Naples, during the consistory for the creation of 21 new cardinals in St. Peter's Basilica, Dec. 7, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, Dec 7, 2024 / 12:09 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis created 21 new cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday, urging them to resist the “seduction of power” and instead follow “the path of Jesus.”

“In spiritual life as in pastoral life, we risk focusing on what is incidental and forgetting what is essential,” the pope cautioned. “Too often, secondary things replace what is necessary, external appearances overshadow what truly counts.”

Pope Francis also reminded the cardinals to stay rooted in Christ.

“We should constantly be returning to the center, to what is basic, and divest ourselves of all that is superfluous, in order to clothe ourselves in Christ.” 

The pope highlighted that the term “cardinal” symbolizes a “hinge,” emphasizing their vital role as in holding the Church together.

The new cardinals include Archbishop Frank Leo of Toronto, Archbishop Dominique Joseph Mathieu of Tehran-Isfahan, and Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo, reflecting Pope Francis’ emphasis on the Church’s global mission.

Ten of the new cardinals belong to religious orders, including Dominicans, Franciscans, and the Society of the Divine Word—a notable proportion from consecrated life.

Cardinals assigned titular churches in Rome

As tradition dictates, each new cardinal received a titular church in Rome, symbolizing their connection to the Diocese of Rome and the pope’s pastoral ministry. 

Archbishop Rolandas Makrickas was assigned the deaconry of Sant’Eustachio, a historically significant minor basilica near the Pantheon in Rome’s historic center, while Dominican Father Timothy Radcliffe was given the deaconry of SS. Nomi di Gesù e Maria in via Lata, located on the Via del Corso, part of one of Rome’s most fashionable districts.

With these appointments, the College of Cardinals now includes 140 members eligible to vote in a future conclave. Of these, 110 — or 79% — were appointed by Pope Francis. 

Synodality and fraternity 

Cardinal Angelo Acerbi, speaking on behalf of the new cardinals, reflected on the Synod on Synodality and Pope Francis’ new encyclical, Dilexit nos.

“We are united today by profound gratitude toward the Supreme Pontiff and by a sincere desire to serve in ecclesial unity,” he said. 

The 99-year-old cardinal described the pope’s recent encyclical — which explores the human and divine love of the Sacred Heart of Christ — as an inspiration for the pastoral missions entrusted to the new cardinals.

On Sunday, the new cardinals will concelebrate Mass with Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, marking their first liturgical act as members of the College of Cardinals. 

The liturgy will emphasize Mary’s purity and dedication, reflecting the themes of humility and service woven throughout the consistory.