Gunmen shoot Catholic priest dead in Nigeria on Boxing Day December 30, 2024By OSV News OSV News Filed Under: News, Religious Freedom, World News In a dark sign of descending security in Africa’s most populous country, a Catholic priest has been shot dead on the open road in southeast Nigeria on Boxing Day.
African bishops cry out for their people amid horrific persecution in 2024 December 30, 2024By Frederick Nzwili OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Religious Freedom, World News From Nigeria to Mozambique, Sudan and Congo to Burkina Faso, Christians across Africa were victims of horrific persecution in 2024, mainly because of their faith.
Jimmy Carter, the first president to host a pope at the White House, dies at 100 December 29, 2024By Kate Scanlon OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Obituaries, World News Former President Jimmy Carter died Dec. 29 at his home in Plains, Georgia, his presidential library announced. At 100, Carter, who had been in hospice care since February 2023, was the longest-living U.S. president.
European Catholics take stock of year’s mixed progress on life issues December 29, 2024By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Respect Life, World News When British parliamentarians approved a law to allow physician-assisted suicide on Nov. 29, it followed a year of legislative inroads against Catholic social teaching across Europe.
How Father Tolton handled travails, transitions is model for living out the faith, says bishop December 29, 2024By Jay Nies OSV News Filed Under: Black Catholic Ministry, Feature, News, Racial Justice, Saints, World News A Missouri native, Father Augustus Tolton is recognized as the first African American to be ordained a priest. A candidate for sainthood, he has the title of “Venerable.”
As ‘Fiducia Supplicans’ marks 1 year, divisions over Vatican document persist December 28, 2024By Maria Wiering OSV News Filed Under: Marriage & Family Life, News, Vatican, World News A year after “Fiducia Supplicans” whipped up a firestorm of controversy in the days before Christmas, the Vatican declaration remains a point of division in the U.S. church and worldwide. Meanwhile, it is unclear whether it has freshly prompted many Catholics in “irregular situations” to seek the kind of blessings it permits.
Pope Francis’ 2024: Turning 88, praying for peace, presiding over synod December 28, 2024By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News Pope Francis, who celebrated his 88th birthday Dec. 17, mostly uses a wheelchair instead of walking and presides over rather than concelebrates most public liturgies. Still, he had a 2024 full of important engagements, the longest trip of his papacy and major preparations for the Holy Year 2025, which he is set to open Dec. 24.
Report: Most US executions in 2024 come down to 4 states December 28, 2024By Kate Scanlon OSV News Filed Under: News, Respect Life, World News Just four states were responsible for three-quarters of the executions that took place in the U.S. in 2024, according to a new report by the Death Penalty Information Center.
Don’t lose hope, pope says as he opens Holy Door at Rome prison December 27, 2024By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Jubilee 2025, News, Vatican, World News Wearing red vestments for the feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, Pope Francis knocked on the door of the church in Rome’s Rebibbia prison complex and walked over its threshold.
God wants all people to be saved; he forgives all who repent, pope says December 27, 2024By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News God wants to save each and every person, and Christians are called to give witness to that fact by praying even for people who have harmed them, Pope Francis said.
For Catholics in Nicaragua, the year has been ‘tragic on every level’ December 27, 2024By Junno Arocho Esteves Filed Under: News, Religious Freedom, World News For Latin American Catholics, December is an important month, not just in anticipation of the Christmas celebrations, but also for important Marian feast days, such as Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Immaculate Conception, that remain linked to their cultural history.
In 2024, state laws of interest to Catholics span abortion to IVF to immigration December 27, 2024By Kate Scanlon OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Respect Life, Supreme Court, World News State laws of interest to Catholics spanned policy areas from abortion to IVF to immigration in 2024. An expected ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in 2025 could have an impact on state laws across the country banning certain types of medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures for minors who identify as transgender.
