Holy Cross Catholic Church

The musical will be available for a month for pilgrims coming to Rome during the 2025 Jubilee of Hope. / Credit: Courtesy of ACI Prensa

ACI Prensa Staff, Jan 16, 2025 / 15:45 pm (CNA).

A musical that tells the story of St. Bernadette, visionary of Our Lady of Lourdes, made its debut in Rome on Jan. 14. The premiere was reserved for a select group of guests: 1,600 people from low-income families.

The Office of the Papal Almoner, headed by Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, invited more than a thousand low-income people and refugees to enjoy the show in the large auditorium located on Via della Conciliazione, the wide avenue that leads to St. Peter’s Square.

On Tuesday afternoon, the thousands of guests presented their tickets, distributed at the soup kitchens and in the communities where they live, to enjoy this live performance that has been a success in France and that, starting Jan. 16, will be included in the official program of the 2025 Jubilee of Hope.

At the end of the musical, members of the Missionaries of Charity order founded by St. Teresa of Calcutta offered each guest a bag of food.

Krajewski emphasized in a statement to Vatican News that it is “very beautiful to think that the poor will see the premiere since, after all, “even in the Gospel” they are given priority.

Fatima Lucarini, the musical’s producer in Italy, expressed her desire to present the premiere to the poor of Rome, an initiative that she was able to share with the Holy Father during a private meeting they had Dec. 12, 2024, at the Vatican.

The musical will be available for a month for pilgrims coming to Rome during the Jubilee of Hope. The show will then be performed in other Italian cities such as Naples, Bari, and Turin. It is also expected to come to the United States and Latin America in 2026.

Premiered in France in 2019, “Bernadette of Lourdes” shows the plight and perseverance of Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year-old girl who experienced mystical encounters with the Virgin Mary in the grotto of Massabielle.

In that grotto, Bernadette saw a lady dressed in white who later identified herself as the Immaculate Conception.

The play is directed by the renowned Canadian stage director Serge Denoncourt and the starring role is played by the French singer Eyma.

The visionary of Our Lady of Lourdes died at the age of 35 after leaving Lourdes to join the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity in Nevers, France.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Esther Miller holds a picture and the released documents on Father Michael Nocita as victims and their supporters hold quilts bearing portraits of abused children while gathered outside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles on Feb. 1, 2013. / Credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

CNA Staff, Jan 16, 2025 / 12:10 pm (CNA).

Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) revealed in landmark survey results released this week that “dioceses, eparchies, and religious communities of men” have reported $5,025,346,893 in payouts related to minor abuse allegations since 2004.

Those payments include “settlements paid to victims, other payments to victims, support for offenders, [and] attorneys’ fees” as well as other costs, CARA said.

Though that massive sum has been paid out over the last two decades, the vast majority of the alleged abuse occurred much earlier, with 80% of the alleged crimes taking place in the 1980s or decades prior.

The findings come from two decades’ worth of annual surveys by CARA. The yearly survey collects “information about the allegations of sexual abuse of minors by priests and deacons that had been reported to the dioceses and eparchies each year.”

The original survey was first commissioned in 2004 by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

The survey has polled about 200 dioceses and eparchies and approximately 220 religious communities of men over the course of the 20 years. Respondents in the survey were asked to categorize abuse allegations as “credible” or “unsubstantiated/obviously false” as well as “unable to be proven.”

Since 2004 respondents have labeled 16,276 allegations as “credible.” The majority of credible allegations were reported by dioceses and eparchies.

The survey noted that the number of credible allegations jumped by 46% in its second decade, which CARA said was attributable in part to “the greater number of large lawsuits and state investigations as well as the enactment by some state governments of temporary relaxations of statutes of limitations on crimes and lawsuits.”

The findings indicate that alleged abuse dropped sharply in the U.S. Church over the course of the 20th century into the 21st. “More than 9 in 10 of all credible allegations” were said to have occurred or began in 1989 or earlier, CARA said. Just 3% of the allegations were said to have taken place since 2000.

Eighty percent of alleged abuse victims were male, more than half were ages 10 to 14, and 20% were aged 9 or younger.

All told, the allegations involve a total of 4,490 alleged perpetrators, 95% of whom are priests and 4% of whom are religious brothers. An additional 1% of alleged abusers are deacons. 

A full 86% of all alleged perpetrators were identified as “deceased, already removed from ministry, already laicized, or missing” in the survey.

Dioceses spend hundreds of millions on abuse prevention efforts

While dioceses paid out billions of dollars in responding to alleged abuse victims, Church officials have also outlayed huge sums to prevent further abuse over the past 20 years.

Respondents to CARA’s survey have reported a total of $727,994,390 in expenditures for child abuse prevention and safety, an average of about $36,000,000 annually.

Those expenditures include “safe environment coordinator and victim assistance coordinator salaries, tracking and other administrative expenses, training programs for adults and children, and background checks.”

The amount of money spent on abuse prevention has increased in recent years. In the first decade of the survey, dioceses reported $259,771,061 in safe environment expenditures; that figure jumped 80% in the second decade that the survey was taken, to $468,223,329. 

In announcing the findings, CARA said the U.S. Church’s “effort to address the sexual abuse of minors by clergy and religious brothers and to implement safeguards to prevent future abuse is unprecedented by any nongovernmental organization and is the largest effort of its kind.”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops first promulgated norms for addressing the sexual abuse of minors in the Church in 2002.

In its “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” the bishops’ body acknowledged that clergy sex abuse, as well as “the ways in which these crimes and sins were addressed,” have caused “enormous pain, anger, and confusion for victims, their families, and the entire Church.”

“As bishops, we have acknowledged our mistakes and our roles in that suffering, and we apologize and take responsibility again for too often failing victims and the Catholic people in the past,” the bishops wrote.

Father Frank Mann is seen with President Donald Trump in an undated photograph. / Credit: The Tablet

CNA Staff, Jan 16, 2025 / 11:40 am (CNA).

A priest in the Diocese of Brooklyn who has been asked to pray at the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump is describing the experience — which includes a personal friendship with the president — as “mind-boggling.” 

Father Francis Mann is scheduled to deliver the closing benediction at Trump’s second inauguration in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20.

The Brooklyn Diocese told CNA that Mann was unavailable for an interview. But in a Wednesday profile at the diocesan newspaper the Tablet, the priest described the distinction as an “indescribable honor.” 

The retired diocesan priest, who was ordained in 1979, originally struck up what the Tablet called an “unlikely friendship” with Trump after he came across the gravesites of Trump’s parents in a Queens cemetery. 

“It was slightly overgrown,” Mann told the Tablet. “I thought this shouldn’t be. This is a historic site. So, I went and bought a weed whacker and some decorations and fixed up the plot.” The priest then sent a photo of the graves to the president.

Several weeks later Trump personally called Mann to inquire about the photograph. Learning that the priest had done the work on his own volition, Trump said the two should “get together the next time he was in New York,” according to the Tablet. 

After his loss in the 2020 election, Trump called Mann up and invited him to a meeting at Trump Tower in Manhattan. The priest described the once and future president as “the nicest, most down-to-earth guy.” 

“There are no airs about him. He has a great sense of humor. He’s a regular guy,” Mann told the Tablet. 

The president and the priest have continued to stay in touch and to meet up, including at Trump’s summer residence in New Jersey as well as a dinner at the president’s country club. Trump subsequently endorsed “The Wounded Butterfly,” a children’s book written by Mann. 

Trump also sought Mann’s advice on winning the Catholic vote in the 2024 election. The president-elect handily won over Catholic voters in his successful November bid for the presidency.

The Tablet reported that Mann intends to make the Jan. 20 benediction “personal” and that he “will be asking for a blessing for his friend, the president of the United States, the new vice president, and the country they will lead.”

“It’s taken me longer than I thought to process having been chosen to be such a significant part of the inauguration’s moment in history,” Mann reflected.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin meets with Cuba President Miguel Díaz-Canel on June 20, 2023, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jan 16, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).

The Vatican’s top diplomat has called the gradual release of 553 prisoners in Cuba “a sign of great hope” at the beginning of the Catholic Church’s jubilee year.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, also commented on U.S. President Joe Biden’s commutation of death sentences for 37 death row inmates, expressing hope that there will be more “gestures of clemency” from governments throughout the 2025 holy year.

Jubilee years in the biblical tradition included the liberation of slaves and the forgiveness of debts, as described in the Book of Leviticus, which proclaimed liberty and restoration every 50 years as a divine act of justice and mercy.

The Cuban government’s announcement of the prisoner release dated Jan. 14 cited “the spirit of the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025” and noted Pope Francis’ mediation in the negotiations, in which the U.S. State Department agreed to remove Cuba from its state sponsor of terrorism list to secure the release of the political prisoners.

“It is significant that Havana authorities linked this decision directly to Pope Francis’ appeal,” Parolin said in an interview published by Vatican News during his visit to France.

Pope Francis has repeatedly called for “gestures of clemency” during the holy year, the cardinal added, particularly in the jubilee’s papal bull Spes Non Confundit, which specifically asked governments to implement forms of amnesty or pardon, as well as programs to help former prisoners reintegrate into the community.

“I propose that in this jubilee year governments undertake initiatives aimed at restoring hope; forms of amnesty or pardon meant to help individuals regain confidence in themselves and in society; and programmes of reintegration in the community, including a concrete commitment to respect for law,” Francis wrote in the papal bull.

“In every part of the world, believers, and their pastors in particular, should be one in demanding dignified conditions for those in prison, respect for their human rights and above all the abolition of the death penalty, a provision at odds with Christian faith and one that eliminates all hope of forgiveness and rehabilitation,” the pope added.

Parolin noted that the 2024 year “closed with the commutation by the president of the United States of dozens of death sentences to life sentences, and with the news that Zimbabwe had abolished capital punishment.”

One day before the start of the Church’s jubilee year on Christmas Eve, Biden commuted the sentences of 37 federal inmates on death row, changing their sentences from execution to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Since then, two prisoners have rejected the commutation in the belief that it could put them at a legal disadvantage in appealing their cases on the claim of innocence.

The African nation of Zimbabwe approved a law abolishing the death penalty on Dec. 31, 2024, resulting in the resentencing or commutation in about 62 prisoners. Globally, 113 countries have fully abolished capital punishment, according to Amnesty International.

“We hope that this 2025 will continue in this direction and that the good news will multiply, especially with the truce for the many conflicts still ongoing,” Parolin said.

Pope Francis’ arm, tied up in a white sling, was visible in photos taken on the morning of Jan. 16, 2025, in the apostolic palace during his scheduled audiences. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jan 16, 2025 / 08:30 am (CNA).

The Vatican said Thursday that Pope Francis had suffered a “contusion” on his right forearm after falling at his residence that same morning.

While the arm was not fractured in the accident, it was braced “as a precautionary measure,” the brief communication said.

Pope Francis’ arm, tied up in a white sling, was visible in photos taken on the morning of Jan. 16 in the apostolic palace during his scheduled audiences.

The 88-year-old pope was also mildly injured in a fall in December. According to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni, on the morning of Dec. 6, 2024, Francis hit his chin on his nightstand, causing a large hematoma on the lower right side of his cheek.

Francis was also sick with a cold right before Christmas.

The illness and both falls did not stop the pontiff from keeping his as usual busy schedule.

On the morning of Jan. 16, he met with the Bektashi Islamic leader of Tirana, Albania, His Grace Haji Dede Edmond Brahimaj; Nosipho Nausca-Jean Jezile, chairwoman of the World Food Security Committee; Alvaro Lario, president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development; Archbishop-elect Alberto Torriani of Crotone-Santa Severina; and a group of Argentine priests studying in Rome. 

Pope Francis has increasingly shown his age in recent years, as he now almost always uses a wheelchair to move around and has occasional problems with breathlessness. At Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 24, 2024, he could be seen wearing what appeared to be hearing devices.

In 2017, Pope Francis also suffered a fall while visiting the South American country of Colombia. He slipped and hit his cheek and eyebrow on the popemobile while reaching to greet a child.

Joan Andrews Bell, Jean Marshall, Heather Idoni, and Paulette Harlow are four pro-life women serving time after being convicted on federal charges for for blockading the inside of an abortion clinic in 2020. / Credit: Chris Bell/Laura Gise/Heather Idoni/Paulette Harlow

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 16, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

A Catholic law firm is formally petitioning the incoming presidential administration to pardon 21 pro-life activists who are imprisoned for protests at abortion clinics under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.

In its petition to President-elect Donald Trump, the Thomas More Society argues “these pro-life Americans are deserving of full and unconditional pardons.” 

At least two times during his 2024 campaign for the presidency, Trump said he intended to release pro-life activists who are currently imprisoned.

“These peaceful pro-life Americans mistreated by [President Joe] Biden include grandparents, pastors, a Holocaust survivor, and a Catholic priest — all are selfless, sincere patriots,” the petition from the Chicago-based law firm reads.

During Biden’s four years in office, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) brought charges against more than 30 people who took part in pro-life demonstrations under the FACE Act, which was legislation in the 1990s to increase penalties for people who obstruct access to abortion clinics or pregnancy resource centers.

Although the FACE Act’s higher sentences also apply to people who obstruct or damage pro-life pregnancy centers, Biden’s DOJ only brought charges in two cases regarding attacks on those facilities despite more than 100 incidents occurring under his tenure.

“While Biden’s prosecutors almost entirely ignored the firebombing and vandalism of hundreds of pro-life churches and pregnancy centers, they viciously pursued pro-life Americans,” the petition adds.

The longest sentence was given last year to Lauren Handy, who received four years and nine months in prison for her role in a protest at an abortion clinic in Washington, D.C. The second longest was also given last year to Bevelyn Beatty Williams, who received three years and five months in prison for a protest inside an abortion clinic in New York City. 

Several pro-life activists in their mid-to-late 70s also received multiyear sentences for their protests.

“These 21 peaceful pro-lifers, many of whom are currently imprisoned for bravely standing up for unborn life, are upstanding citizens and pillars of their communities,” Steve Crampton, who works as senior counsel for the Thomas More Society, said in a statement.

“Through full and unconditional pardons for these pro-life advocates, President Trump has the chance to remedy the harm done to them and their families, deliver on his campaign promises, and repair trust in our constitutional order,” Crampton added.

The petition also asserts that Biden’s DOJ “flagrantly violated Congress’ intent in its pursuit of the prosecutions,” noting that members of Congress were “fearful that the FACE Act might be used against protesters who had been employing tactics that were used and celebrated by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”

“Dr. King and many with him engaged in peaceful sit-ins at lunch counters — an act of simple trespass — and these pro-life Americans engage in similar sit-ins at abortion facilities,” the petition adds. “FACE expressly contemplated that group-oriented peaceable civil disobedience, as advocated and practiced by Dr. King and his followers, would be punishable as mere misdemeanors.”

Trump is scheduled to assume office on Monday, Jan. 20.

Pope Francis and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby exchange greetings with other Christian leaders at an ecumenical second vespers at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome on the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, Jan. 25, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Madrid, Spain, Jan 16, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which runs Jan. 18–25, takes on special significance this year because of the 1,700th anniversary of the first ecumenical council in history, the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325.

On Jan. 25, the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, Pope Francis will conclude this week of prayer with vespers in St. Paul Outside the Walls Basilica at 5:30 p.m. Rome time.

In addition, on Thursday, Jan. 23, at 6 p.m., the Diocese of Rome will organize a traveling vigil involving three different places of worship: the Lutheran church located at 70 Via Sicilia, St. Andrew Orthodox Church at 153 Via Sardegna, and St. Camillus de Lellis Parish at 41 Via Piemonte.

According to a statement released by the Vicariate of Rome, this is not simply a prayer vigil but “a brief pilgrimage in three stages” with biblical meditations intended for evangelicals, Orthodox, and Catholics.

“This giving of gifts also represents circularity, communion, and diversity within the same faith,” said Monsignor Marco Gnavi, head of the office for ecumenism and interreligious dialogue of the Diocese of Rome.

The prayers and reflections for this event were drafted by the brothers of the Monastic Community of Bose in northern Italy together with an international group appointed by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and the Faith and Order Commission of the Ecumenical Council of Churches. 

The theme for the week, “Do You Believe This?” (Jn 11:26), is inspired by the dialogue between Jesus and Martha during Jesus’ visit to the home of Martha and Mary in Bethany after their brother Lazarus had died as recounted in John’s Gospel.

According to Gnavi, the theme chosen this year “is central, because today not only the churches but also the peoples must face many forms of real death, which also involves division, separation, to the point of conflict and the massacre of innocents.”

Even in one’s personal life, the priest continued, “many are alone and, in the uncertainty of the present, the need for answers arises.”

“The dialogue between Jesus and Martha shows how in every man and woman there is an implicit or explicit question about faith. These words also help us to remember the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which gave us this profession of faith that unites us all in baptism,” he concluded.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Francis blesses a baby during the Saturday jubilee audience in the Vatican’s audience hall on Jan. 11, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, Jan 16, 2025 / 05:00 am (CNA).

At Pope Francis’ request, the Vatican will now pay a monthly bonus of 300 euros (about $309) per family to employees of the city-state who have three or more children, giving credibility to his frequent warnings about countries’ low fertility rates.

A Jan. 15 press release from the Vatican Governorate called the child bonus the pope’s “personal initiative” and said that Francis “supports large families and offers them financial assistance.”

The economic measure applies only to employees working for the Governorate of the Vatican City State, who will receive the monthly payment until the offspring’s 18th birthday or 24th birthday if enrolled in university studies.

Francis has also determined that the city-state’s three days of paid parental leave for new fathers — whether through birth, adoption, or fostering — be extended to five days.

The changes went into effect Jan. 1.

The “baby bonus” initiative is the latest in the Vatican’s efforts to make itself a more family-friendly employer. Late last year, the city-state announced its intention to open an on-site daycare center for employees’ children ages 3 months to 3 years.

Since 2020, the Vatican has also run a summer camp for the children of staff. Kids ages 5–13 can attend the day camp, which usually runs for several weeks in July and as of 2024 includes a new sports facility and swimming pool.

Pope Francis baptized 21 babies, all the children of Vatican staff and Swiss Guards, in the Sistine Chapel on Sunday. The group baptism is a papal custom for the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

The 52nd annual March for Life will have the theme “Every Life: Why We March.” / Credit: Photo courtesy of March for Life

CNA Staff, Jan 15, 2025 / 17:10 pm (CNA).

This year, the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., is taking place on Jan. 24. Ahead of the march, the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) is inviting the faithful to take part in its “9 Days for Life” initiative.

“9 Days for Life” is an annual nine-day novena for the protection of human life. Each day’s prayer intention is accompanied by a reflection and suggested actions that participants can take to help build a culture of life.

This year the novena starts on Thursday, Jan. 16, and ends on Friday, Jan. 24, the day of the March for Life.

The nine intentions include: may the tragic practice of abortion end; may each person suffering from participating in abortion find forgiveness, hope, and healing in Christ; may every pregnant mother receive compassionate care and support as she nurtures the life in her womb; may every father of a preborn child lovingly support the mother of his child in welcoming new life; may every pregnant mother choosing adoption receive grace and support in embracing this loving option; may all who support or participate in abortion experience a conversion of heart to seek and receive the Lord’s boundless mercy; may all preborn children be protected in law and welcomed in love; may civic leaders work for the protection of all human life, in every stage and circumstance; and may all who defend life find strength and renewal in the Holy Spirit.

Each day of the novena also includes resources, such as videos or articles, that teach participants, for example, how to talk to someone considering abortion, how to support a mother in an unexpected pregnancy, and how to build a culture of life.

This year, the annual Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children, Jan. 22, falls during the novena. This date is also the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision.

Participants can choose to receive the daily prayers either through email or text message and it is available in both English and Spanish.

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing to be the next U.S. attorney general in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Jan. 15, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 15, 2025 / 16:15 pm (CNA).

President-elect Donald Trump’s presumptive nominee to serve as attorney general, Pam Bondi, at her Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday vowed to stop government “weaponization” against Catholics, pro-life activists, and concerned parents.

During her Jan. 15 hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Bondi — the former attorney general of Florida — referred to the Richmond FBI memo that targeted Catholics as the “ultimate weaponization” of government.

The January 2023 memo detailed an investigation into what it called “radical-traditionalist” Catholics and potential ties to “the far-right white nationalist movement.” It discussed an opportunity for “trip wire or source development” within parishes that offer the Latin Mass and within Catholic online communities the agency considered “radical-traditionalist.”

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, asked Bondi whether she would put a stop to “abuses” like this memo, which he called an “unbelievable assault on Americans’ First Amendment rights.”

“Of course,” Bondi said, adding: “I think what you’re talking about is the ultimate weaponization [of government].”

When Hawley asked whether Bondi would investigate the federal agents involved, she said she “will personally read that memo” and have discussions about it with Kash Patel, who is Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI.

“I would think this is something that we can all agree on, on both sides,” Bondi added. “This should not be happening in the United States of America, and [we should] work together on it.”

Bondi also said the FBI’s use of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as a source on extremist groups “will be one of the first things we will look at as well.” The FBI relied on the SPLC designations of “radical-traditionalist” Catholics to draft the memo. 

Hawley also referenced the prosecution of pro-life protesters under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, some of whom are facing multiple years in prison. Bondi promised to ensure the Department of Justice would not be used to target pro-life demonstrators or people of any religious faith.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, asked Bondi whether she would end the “weaponization of government,” such as the targeting of “Catholics attempting to practice their faith, … parents showing up to school board meetings, [and] people showing up to engage in peaceful [protests] outside of abortion clinics.”

“Going after parents at a school board meeting has got to stop,” Bondi said, adding that investigations “for practicing your religion” and “sending informants into Catholic churches” must also stop.

“It will stop — must stop,” Bondi said. 

Trump is set to be sworn into office on Monday, Jan. 20. He has criticized the FBI for its investigation of Catholics and has vowed to release the pro-life activists imprisoned under the FACE Act.