Prince of Peace Parish

Madrid, Spain, Apr 30, 2025 / 15:49 pm (CNA).

In a pastoral letter published by the Archdiocese of Singapore, Cardinal William Goh called on the faithful to pray for the cardinals involved in electing the successor to St. Peter.

Goh first noted that the members of the College of Cardinals are holding general congregations “to hear the views and assessment” of the current situation and “what the Church needs to do after Pope Francis.”

“Hence, it is urgent and important that you all pray for us so that we can discern what kind of pope the Church needs in this present day, because every pope brings with him his own charisms,” the prelate emphasized.

The cardinal asked for prayers “that we will choose the right candidate to be the successor of St. Peter to lead the Church in this complex world.”

Specifically, the cardinal encouraged the organization of “novenas, rosary, and divine mercy devotions to pray fervently, unceasingly, for the cardinals to be guided by the Holy Spirit to elect a good, holy, compassionate, wise, and strong pope.”

A pontiff who, he added, “will not only be a shepherd after the heart of Christ but also courageous in defending the deposit of faith handed down to the Church through the ages.”

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

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 30, 2025 / 15:07 pm (CNA).

Recent polling data has found that Americans’ religious affiliations have not greatly changed since 2020, appearing to stabilize following decades of substantial shifts.

Data collected by the polling firm Gallup surveyed 12,000 adults in the U.S. and found that from 2000 to 2020, the percentage of people with no religious affiliation spiked, while Protestant and Catholic populations declined.

In 2000, 57% of Americans identified as Protestant or nondenominational Christians. Over the following 20 years this group dropped more than 10 points to 46%. The Catholic population experienced a smaller yet still notable decline over the same time period, decreasing from 25% to 22%.

The largest change over the two decades was the increase in American adults who said they had no religious affiliation. In 2000, only 8% of those surveyed said they did not practice a religion, but in 2020 the number had jumped to 20%. 

Yet recent research from 2020 to 2024 revealed that American adults’ religious affiliations have become more stable, experiencing little to no change in numbers from year to year. 

In 2020, 22% of Americans identified as Catholic and in 2024 the population remained similar at 21%. The Protestant population also only slightly declined from 46% to 45%.

The study looked at people who practice “other religions” including those who consider themselves Mormon, Jewish, Muslim, or another religion and found that this group has only increased by 1 percentage point since 2020.

Following the large 12-point increase in nonreligious adults from 2000 to 2020, the group only increased by 2 points from 2020 to 2024. As of 2024, 22% of Americans, or 1 in 5, said they have no religious preference. 

Millennials are primarily responsible for the increase in adults with no religion, with 31% of them reporting they have no affiliation. This amount has almost doubled from 16% in the 2000 to 2004 survey.

The Silent Generation, baby boomers, and Generation X all had smaller 4- and 5-point increases during the same time period.

The most recent surveys further examined the smaller religious populations that make up the “other religions” group, which has remained consistent from 2000 to 2024 with only very slight fluctuation.

In the U.S., 2.2% of adults identify as Jewish, 1.5% as Latter-Day Saints or Mormon, and less than 1% each as Muslim, Buddhist, Orthodox Christian, or Hindu. 

Combined data from 2020 to 2024 revealed that 69% of American adults are Christian, 4.1% are a non-Christian denomination, and 21.4% said they have no affiliation. The other individuals did not answer or provided a response outside the options the survey listed.

Lima Newsroom, Apr 30, 2025 / 13:38 pm (CNA).

Italian Cardinal Camillo Ruini, who chaired the international commission investigating the authenticity of Medjugorje, has offered four criteria for the conclave that will elect Pope Francis’ successor.

In an article titled “Prayer for the Church of the Near Future,” published on the blog “Settimo Cielo” by veteran Italian Vatican expert Sandro Magister, Ruini — who at age 94 is too old to vote in the upcoming conclave — proposes four aspects of the life of the Church he would like to see as the Church moves forward in the next pontificate.

“I trust in a good and charitable Church, doctrinally secure, governed according to law, and deeply united internally. These are my prayer intentions, which I would like to see widely shared,” the cardinal explains.

Ruini was a close collaborator of St. John Paul II, heading the Italian Bishops’ Conference (1991–2007) and serving as vicar general of the Diocese of Rome (1991–2008).

In 2005, he participated in the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI, who in 2010 appointed him president of the Medjugorje Commission consisting of about 20 members, including bishops and cardinals. The commission presented its final report in 2014. In 2024, the Vatican approved the spiritual experience of Medjugorje without confirming its supernatural character.

1. A good and charitable Church

Ruini notes in his first point that “love made effective in our lives is in fact the supreme law of Christian witness and, therefore, of the Church. And this is what people, even today, most yearn for.”

“In our style of government all useless harshness, all pettiness, and dryness of heart must be eliminated,” he emphasizes.

2. A doctrinally secure Church

The Italian cardinal then notes that Pope Benedict XVI observed that “faith today is a flame that threatens to go out.”

Thus Ruini points out that “rekindling this flame is therefore another great priority of the Church. This requires much prayer, the ability to respond in a Christian manner to today’s intellectual challenges, but also the certainty of truth and the security of doctrine.”

“For too many years,” he warns, “we have been experiencing that if these are weakened, all of us, pastors and faithful, pay a heavy price.”

3. A Church governed according to law

For the Italian cardinal, “Benedict XVI’s pontificate was undermined by his poor capacity to govern, and this is a concern that is valid for all times, including the near future. Furthermore, we must not forget that this is about governing that very special reality that is the Church.”

“Here, as I said, the fundamental law is love: The style of government and the recourse to the law must be as compliant as possible with this law, which is very demanding for anyone.”

4. A united Church

Ruini states that “in recent years we have perceived some threats — which I do not wish to exaggerate — to the unity and communion of the Church.”

“To overcome them and bring to light what I like to call the ‘Catholic form’ of the Church, mutual charity is once again decisive, but it is also important to raise awareness that the Church, like every social body, has its rules, which no one can ignore with impunity.”

“At 94 years of age, silence is more appropriate than words. I hope, however, that these lines of mine are a small fruit of the love I have for the Church,” the cardinal says.

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

CNA Staff, Apr 30, 2025 / 12:04 pm (CNA).

The Archdiocese of New Orleans has been ordered to appear in federal court to defend ongoing proceedings in its years-old bankruptcy case, with a federal judge citing no resolution after years of proceedings and millions in expenditures.

Under financial pressure from clerical abuse litigation compounded by the coronavirus pandemic, the archdiocese announced in May 2020 that its administrative offices were filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Yet U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Grabill said in an order this week that after “five years and millions of dollars expended, no coalition of parties has proposed a confirmable plan” to help the diocese compensate abuse victims both monetarily and with “nonmonetary remedies in the form of disclosure, transparency, and lasting institutional protocols.”

The judge directed the archdiocese to appear in the New Orleans court on June 26 to argue “why this case should not be dismissed for cause, including the inability to effectuate a plan of reorganization.”

The court “remains steadfast in its belief that [the bankruptcy] process can supply the best outcomes for all parties in this case,” the order said. 

In a statement this week, the archdiocese said it was “pleased to have the opportunity to share our significant progress in negotiations to bring just and equitable compensation to the survivors and creditors while providing a sustainable path forward for the ministry of the Catholic Church to continue in our area.” 

“Despite the unacceptable amount of time and money spent over the past five years, we believe resolution of these bankruptcy proceedings will be for the benefit of all survivors and creditors and the faithful of the Archdiocese of New Orleans,” the archdiocese said. 

Attorneys for the archdiocese would “work to formally respond to the court’s order,” the statement said.

Last September the archdiocese proposed a bankruptcy settlement of $62.5 million to victims of abuse, though the victims themselves have requested hundreds of millions of dollars more in compensation. 

The $62.5 million proposal was considerably less than the roughly $1 billion proposed by survivors of clergy abuse, the vast majority of which would be paid by insurers.

The New Orleans Archdiocese is one of many U.S. bishoprics to have filed for bankruptcy in recent years due to financial pressure from abuse claims.

Vatican City, Apr 30, 2025 / 09:43 am (CNA).

The archdioceses of Spanish Cardinal Antonio Cañizares and Kenyan Cardinal John Njue on Wednesday both confirmed the two prelates will not participate in the upcoming papal conclave to elect the successor to Pope Francis. 

The Archdiocese of Valencia told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that Cañizares “will not travel to Rome for health reasons.”

Sources in the Archdiocese of Nairobi, meanwhile, on Wednesday confirmed with ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, that due to health reasons the African prelate will not travel to Rome to elect the Church’s next supreme pontiff.

Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, had stated at an April 29 press briefing that two cardinal electors would not participate in the conclave due to health reasons, but the Vatican did not reveal their names at the time.

Born in 1945, Cañizares was ordained a priest in 1970 in the Archdiocese of Valencia. The Spanish prelate has been archbishop emeritus for the Archdiocese of Valencia since 2022, after serving as archbishop there from 2014 to 2022. 

Pope John Paul II appointed Cañizares the bishop of Ávila in 1992, where he remained until his appointment to the Archdiocese of Granada in 1996. In 2002, he was transferred to Spain’s primate Archdiocese of Toledo.

Cañizares was created a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in the March 2006 consistory. From 2008 to 2014, he served as prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 2008 to 2014 before returning to Spain.

Njue, 79, is the second Kenyan prelate to be elevated to cardinal. Ordained a priest in 1973 by Pope Paul VI in St. Peter’s Basilica for the Kenyan Diocese of Meru, Njue received his episcopal ordination in 1986 — at the age of 40 — after Pope John Paul II appointed him first bishop of the Diocese of Embu, where he remained until 2002.

Before being created a cardinal in 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI, Njue served the Church in Kenya as coadjutor archbishop of Nyeri and apostolic administrator of Isiolo. 

The African prelate also served two terms as president of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops from 1997 to 2003 and from 2006 to 2015. 

The Vatican recently updated Njue’s birth date record in the latest Pontifical Yearbook to Jan. 1, 1946, meaning the archbishop emeritus holds the right to vote in a papal conclave until Jan. 1, 2026. He is currently a member of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization.

With the absence of Cañizares and Njue in the upcoming conclave, a total of 133 cardinal electors are eligible to cast their vote in the conclave. 

At least 89 votes, a two-thirds majority, are required by the Church to elect the new pontiff and successor of Pope Francis to lead the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.

Vatican City, Apr 30, 2025 / 09:23 am (CNA).

The College of Cardinals on Wednesday called on Catholics around the world to pray for them as they prepare to enter the conclave next week to elect the next pope, acknowledging the “enormity of the task ahead” in choosing the next successor of Peter. 

The appeal came as the cardinals concluded their seventh general congregation — the daily meetings leading up to the start of the conclave on May 7. 

In a statement released by the Holy See Press Office, the cardinals said they are “conscious of the responsibility to which they are called” and are relying on the prayers of the global Catholic community. 

“This is the true force that in the Church promotes the unity of all the members of the one body of Christ,” the statement said, citing 1 Corinthians 12:12. “Faced with the enormity of the task ahead and the urgency of the present time, it is first of all necessary to make ourselves humble instruments of the infinite wisdom and providence of our heavenly Father, in docility to the action of the Holy Spirit.” 

The cardinals emphasized the importance of listening to the Holy Spirit in their deliberations and asked that the Blessed Virgin Mary accompany their prayers “with her maternal intercession.” 

Cardinal Becciu 

The cardinals on Wednesday also addressed two procedural matters, including the number of electors and the role of Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who on Tuesday renounced his right to vote in the conclave. 

Becciu, the former deputy secretary of state, had previously insisted on his right to vote but stepped aside “to contribute to the communion and serenity of the conclave,” according to the Vatican statement.

The college expressed appreciation for his decision and said it hoped “the competent organs of justice will be able to definitively ascertain the facts.” 

Becciu resigned his cardinal privileges in 2020 amid accusations of financial misconduct and was convicted in December 2023 of embezzlement, aggravated fraud, and abuse of office. He has denied all wrongdoing and is appealing his conviction. 

More than 120 cardinal electors  

The cardinals also confirmed that Pope Francis had lawfully dispensed with the numerical limit of 120 electors previously established by St. John Paul II’s 1996 apostolic constitution Universi Dominici Gregis. While the document’s paragraph 33 capped the number of cardinal electors at 120, paragraph 36 of the constitution affirms that “a cardinal of holy Roman Church who has been created and published before the College of Cardinals thereby has the right to elect the pope.” 

The college noted that Pope Francis, in the exercise of his supreme authority, had created more than 120 cardinal electors, and those over the threshold may validly vote. The same precedent was set under Pope John Paul II, who in February 2001 allowed the number of cardinal electors to reach 135. 

As of now, 133 cardinal electors — those under the age of 80 — are expected to participate in the conclave. The Vatican confirmed Tuesday that two of the 135 eligible cardinal electors will not attend due to health reasons, though their names were not released at the time. 

Cardinals discuss Vatican finances 

The general congregation began at 9 a.m. on April 30 with 124 cardinal electors present. In the first part of the morning, the economic and financial situation of the Holy See was discussed. 

Cardinal Reinhard Marx presented challenges and proposals from the perspective of sustainability. Cardinal Kevin Farrell spoke about the Holy See’s investment activity, Cardinal Christoph  Schönborn spoke about the situation of the Vatican Bank, Cardinal Fernando Vergez about the activities of the Governorate, and Cardinal Konrad Krajewski spoke about the Dicastery for Charity. 

Fourteen other cardinals delivered interventions during the congregation touching on themes including the ecclesiology of the people of God, synodality and episcopal collegiality, vocations, and evangelization, according to the Vatican. 

The meeting ended at 12:30 p.m. with the prayer of the Regina Coeli. 

A time of discernment 

As the conclave approaches, the cardinals have emphasized that this is a time of grace and discernment for the Church. 

“The College of Cardinals gathered in Rome, engaged in the general congregations in preparation for the conclave, wishes to invite the people of God to live this ecclesial moment as an event of grace and spiritual discernment, listening to the will of God,” the statement read.  

“Indeed, [the Holy Spirit] is the protagonist of the life of the people of God, the One to whom we must listen, accepting what he is saying to the Church (cf. Rev 3:6).” 

The conclave will begin on May 7 in the Sistine Chapel with the cardinals voting in daily ballots until one man receives a two-thirds majority. 

In this week's News from the Orient, produced in collaboration with L'Œuvre d'Orient: An Eastern tribute is offered to Pope Francis, we mark the 110th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, and Churches celebrate St. Thomas Sunday .

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Buenos Aires, Argentina, Apr 30, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

As the faithful of Buenos Aires bid farewell to Pope Francis with a symbolic embrace in the Plaza de Mayo after the heavily attended Mass celebrated by the local archbishop April 29, a familiar face appeared among the crowd. A male religious in a blue-gray habit crossed the Plaza de Mayo with a smile that has circulated on social media over the past week.

It was Brother Juan of the Community of the Lamb whose face went viral last week in a video recalling an emotion-laden moment with Pope Francis in Rome.

In the video posted by Upsocl, which lasts just a few seconds and has already drawn more than 2.3 million views, the Holy Father can be seen making his usual appearance after the general audience, greeting the people gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

At one point, Pope Francis’ face changes to an expression of surprise, and then he briefly makes the gesture of placing his hand over his heart upon seeing a familiar face in the crowd. The video depicts that moment as “the day Pope Francis forgot he was pope” when he recognized his friend in the crowd.

That friend, with whom they could then be seen giving each other a big hug, is Brother Juan, who, as he told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, was celebrating his 50th birthday that day when he attended the general audience at the Vatican.

Upon seeing him, “the pope was surprised, and when I told him I was 50, that’s when he hugged me.”

Regarding the pope’s death, the priest, who had known Jorge Bergoglio since 1996, said: “I always had a great friendship with him, and now it’s time to put into practice what he taught us. We must continue.”

Regarding the celebrations and tributes, he acknowledged that “it’s all very emotional,” adding that the pope “loved Thérèse very much, so he will continue to do good from heaven,” in reference to St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, one of the saints who inspires the charism of the Community of the Lamb, which is present in France, Argentina, Austria, Spain, the United States, and Poland.

A long friendship

In 1994, Bergoglio welcomed the community to Buenos Aires to found new small fraternities of brothers and sisters there. 

In 2002, at Bergoglio’s own initiative, the community settled on land adjacent to St. Joseph Carmelite Monastery in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Constitución, where the small monastery “Light of Nazareth” was built.

Such was the familiarity with this community that two days after his papal election, Francis, together with Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, called together all the brothers and sisters of the Community of the Lamb who were in Rome.

On that occasion, March 15, 2013, he told them: “Thank you for what you do in the Church. John Paul II and Pope Benedict insisted that more than teachers, we need witnesses. You have a great capacity to be witnesses. Pure grace. Preserve it… That bearing witness to life; prayer, liturgy; that asking for bread, hitchhiking; that witness of poverty and joy… Because people love you… And in fact, I want to thank you.”

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

Vatican City, Apr 30, 2025 / 06:34 am (CNA).

The College of Cardinals announced Monday, April 28, that the conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor will begin on May 7, as the Church enters the final preparatory phase for choosing its 267th pope.

Follow here for live updates of the latest news and information on the papal transition:

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