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White House backs off enforcing underage contraceptive rule in Texas

null / Credit: 279photo Studio/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Dec 6, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

The White House is backing off from enforcing in Texas a U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) rule that allows children to obtain contraceptives without their parents’ consent, state officials said this week. 

This past July, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden Department of Health and Human Services over the change to Title X that eliminated parental consent requirements for minors accessing birth control.

Title X is the federal funding program for family planning and contraceptive services. Under the Biden administration’s rule, projects funded by the program “may not require consent of parents or guardians for the provision of services to minors.” 

The rule also said Title X staff could not “notify a parent or guardian before or after a minor has requested and/or received Title X family planning services.”

In a press release Thursday, Paxton’s office said the Biden administration has now informed a U.S. district court in the state that it will not attempt to “enforce the challenged regulation” in Texas.

“This effectively vacates the unlawful rule in Texas, and Attorney General Paxton filed a notice of dismissal,” the office said. 

“This result ensures that Texas health entities will not be forced to violate state law under threat of losing Title X funding.”

It is unclear if the federal government is dropping the requirement for the rest of the country or if its decision only applies to Texas. HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. 

The attorney general’s office also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Earlier this year the U.S. Senate rejected the “Right to Contraception Act,” which would have created a federal right to contraception with ramifications on religious freedom and protections for minors. 

The bill defined contraceptives broadly to include sterilizing drugs, both those “specifically intended to prevent pregnancy or for other health needs.”

8 Republican senators sign letter opposing military draft for women in defense proposal

null / Credit: rarrarorro/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 6, 2024 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

Eight Republican senators this week signed a letter opposing a provision to automatically register young women for the military draft along with men — a proposal that is included in a bill introduced by Democratic Sen. Jack Reed, who chairs the Senate Committee on Armed Services.

Reed included language that would force women to be registered for the selective service in the proposed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2025, which is an annual piece of legislation that funds the Department of Defense (DOD). 

This is the third time over the past four years that Senate Democrats included this provision in their initial NDAA proposal. 

Per the legislation, both men and women between the ages of 18 and 26 would automatically be registered into the Selective Service System. 

Under current law, men must register for the draft within 30 days of their 18th birthday and are eligible to be drafted until they turn 26, but registration is not done automatically. In the United States, women have never been forced to register for the draft.

“For the third time in four years, Democrats are attempting to force women into the draft,” the Republican senators, led by Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, wrote in a Dec. 5 letter directed to Reed and Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, who chairs the House Armed Services committee.

“Let’s be clear: American women have a proud legacy of service in our armed forces, especially so because their service has always been voluntary,” the letter continued. 

“Never in our history have women been forced to register for the draft. Yet the Biden administration and Senate Democrats want to discard this long-standing tradition and force women to fight in wars against their own will,” the senators said.

The draft has not been used for more than 50 years. The last time someone was involuntarily drafted into the military was in 1973, near the end of the Vietnam War. For a president to authorize a draft, he would need the support of Congress.

“America’s daughters, sisters, wives, and mothers can decide to join the military themselves,” the senators wrote in their letter. 

“President Trump ran in part on a platform of avoiding World War III and ending the progressive policies infecting our military,” the letter added. “The American people gave him a resounding electoral mandate. The Senate should prioritize America’s national security instead of turning defense legislation into a tool of liberal social policy.”

The senators wrote that “we strongly urge you to remove the provision in the Senate version of the NDAA compelling women to register for [the draft],” adding that “Americans rejected social progressivism in 2024, and NDAA conferees should take this lesson to heart.” 

Seven Republican senators joined Hawley in signing the letter: Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz, Steve Daines, James Lankford, Mike Lee, Roger Marshall, and Eric Schmitt.

Northern California parish evacuates after earthquake, tsunami warning

An earthquake was recorded off the coast of northern California near the town of Eureka on Dec. 5, 2024. / Credit: Chiociolla/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Dec 6, 2024 / 11:25 am (CNA).

An earthquake and subsequent tsunami warning in northern California on Thursday led to widespread scurrying for higher ground, including the parish office of at least one Catholic church. 

The earthquake, which measured 7.0 on the magnitude scale, was felt at about 10:45 a.m. local time in Humboldt County, said Rex Atienza, office manager of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Arcata, which is about 1.5 miles north of Arcata Bay and about 6 miles east of the Pacific Ocean. 

“There was a big shake,” Atienza told CNA by telephone. “And after people started leaving the building and were outside, when I was in the doorway I could still feel the building moving from left to right.”

“It kept going. I would say maybe 20 to 30 seconds. Which seemed longer in real time,” he said. 

Several members of the parish staff left the parish grounds for high elevations. A nearby public school was also evacuated, he said.

Some people in the area went to a local high school, others to a supermarket, and two parish priests went to the Newman Center at nearby Cal Poly Humboldt, Atienza said. 

He said the parish building remained empty for about an hour and 45 minutes until he got an all-clear message from the Humboldt County regional government. 

Arcata is in the Diocese of Santa Rosa, where much of the early concern was centered. 

About 110 miles to the southeast, in Marin County, Father Gabriel Wankar felt the quake Thursday morning and rushed to the parish school of St. Anselm Catholic Church in Ross, where he is pastor. 

“I felt some strange movement but before I could know what was happening a tsunami alert went off on my phone and I realized what was happening. So, I immediately headed to the school to be with the kids,” Wankar told CNA by email. 

Kids and staff stayed in place, he said. No damage or injuries were reported. 

Ross is in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, where the Catholic schools’ central office sent principals a message saying that parents were welcome to pick up their children but that the Catholic schools would stay open unless public schools in the area closed. 

The earthquake and subsequent tsunami warning were national news for a portion of Thursday, as fears of a damaging series of long waves set off by the quake sent people near the coast scurrying for safer places. 

At 10:49 a.m. Pacific time Thursday the National Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for the coast of Northern California and southern Oregon, based on an earthquake that took place in the Pacific Ocean about 45 miles southwest of Eureka, California. The agency canceled the tsunami warning a little more than an hour later, at 11:54 a.m., according to the National Tsunami Warning Center’s website. 

The northern coast of California near Cape Mendocino “is one of the most seismically active areas in the United States” and had five earthquakes “close to magnitude 7.0” before Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

Catholic bishop in Sudan seriously injured in assault by Rapid Forces

Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku of Sudan's El Obeid Diocese. / Credit: CRN

ACI Africa, Dec 6, 2024 / 10:55 am (CNA).

The bishop of the Diocese of El-Obeid in Sudan has shared his harrowing experience at the hands of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who tortured him and left him seriously injured.

Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku Andali, who was accompanied by a deacon, fell into the hands of the paramilitary force while he was traveling to the embattled country.

He shared his horrific experience with Bishop Edward Hiiboro Kussala of South Sudan’s Diocese of Tombura-Yambio, who shared the report with ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, on Dec. 1. Neither bishop was available to provide more details of where the bishop and the deacon were travelling from when they met their assailants.

In the report, Tombe Trille, a former president of the Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference, wrote about how he and the deacon were first harassed by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), who are in conflict with the RSF in the country’s worst civil war, which is ongoing.

He wrote to Hiiboro, saying: “I just arrived in El Obeid together with Deacon Joseph. This time, I was badly treated.”

He reported: “From the side of the army, some little cash in USD was taken on pretext that I was carrying the forbidden hard currency.”

After the harassment by the SAF, the two ran into the RSF, who beat up the bishop and left him for dead. 

“On the side of Rapid Forces, I was given countless heavy blows on the neck, forehead, on my face and two sides of my head,” the bishop said.

When he wrote to his fellow bishop, Tombe Trille said he was so seriously injured that he could not move his jaws. “I can’t bite food,” he said. 

“Together with [Deacon Joseph], we narrowly missed martyrdom [before] one leader said, ‘That is enough,’” he said in his note to Hiiboro, in which he also expressed gratitude for the “prayers of many.” 

This is not the first time Tombe Trille has stared death in the face as war rages on in Sudan, where he has been serving since he was ordained a member of the clergy of El-Obeid 33 years ago.

On April 20, 2023, just five days after fighting between SAF and RSF erupted, the 60-year-old bishop and some other clergy narrowly escaped death when rockets hit the premises of his cathedral, destroying the main gate of Mary Queen of Africa Cathedral and the priests’ residence.

The incident is said to have occurred when the bishop of El-Obeid and the priests were praying. Thankfully no one was injured.

Tombe Trille has been vocal about the Sudanese war that has reportedly led to tens of thousands of deaths and massive displacements, questioning the willingness of the warring parties to lay down their weapons.

The war, now in its second year, has reportedly led to 61,202 deaths, according to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s Sudan Research Group, which also reported that 26,024 of those killed died from direct injuries owing to the conflict.

In an interview with ACI Africa last year, Tombe Trille lamented that dialogue between the two opposing forces had been given a wide berth, saying: “So far there is not even a clue to the light of peace dialogue that can bring hope for the Sudanese.”

“I believe that our leaders are not ready for peace. Fighting and conflict have the upper hand as we hear them say, ‘Unless we defeat the other group we won’t put down weapons,’” he said.

The bishop cautioned that “the more the fighting, the more people get scattered” and “the more hatred grows among various Sudanese ethnic groups.”

He appealed for prayers, noting that the humanitarian situation in the country was dire.

He further appealed to the people of neighboring South Sudan to share the little they have with the Sudanese who are fleeing the conflict and to make the refugees feel at home. 

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

Jordan Peterson: The Bible is a collection of ‘world-ordering’ ideas

Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson on “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo” Dec. 5, 2024, said he originally wrote a book “three times” as long as his latest, “We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine,” and said that there’s “another book coming that includes the story of Job and the and the story of the Passion.” / Credit: EWTN News “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo”/Screenshot

CNA Staff, Dec 6, 2024 / 10:25 am (CNA).

Renowned Canadian psychology professor Jordan Peterson on Thursday described the Bible as a collection of “world-ordering,” “civilization-engendering” ideas — a source of profound wisdom, psychological insight, and moral guidance that he said ought to point readers to Jesus Christ. 

“There’s an idea that Christians know well: that the biblical stories, as they’re aggregated, edited, and sequenced, are pointing to something. And what they’re pointing to, of course, is the passion of Christ,” Peterson said during the Dec. 5 episode of EWTN’s “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo.” 

Peterson, a countercultural influencer and author who is promoting his new book “We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine,” has often focused in his work on what he sees as a human need for meaning-making, which he says is regularly expressed through religious belief.

He has in recent years expressed appreciation and respect for aspects of Christianity and Catholicism, such as the sacrament of confession and the Church’s tradition of moral and spiritual discipline, while stopping short of announcing a desire to convert to the faith.

In the past, Peterson has opined that Catholicism “is as sane as people can get” and hosts a popular series of online lectures on the Bible, a book he described to Arroyo as “a collection of stories, each of which provides a different characterization of God, or you could say a different definition.”

“While there’s many definitions of God in the biblical library, they do conclude that there’s an underlying unity which is finally expressed in the figure of Christ, which I also think … seems appropriate,” he told Arroyo.

There’s more to come

In his new book, Peterson examines several stories of the Old Testament, contending that these scriptural texts offer profound insights into the human condition, the nature of good and evil, and the relationship between humanity and God. Referring to the Bible as a “library,” Peterson said he originally wrote a book “three times” as long and said there’s “another book coming that includes the story of Job and the story of the Passion.”

Peterson said he has “spent most of [his] life trying to understand the origins of evil,” a search he said necessarily raises questions about the reality of God. 

“You see, once you admit to the reality of evil, you’re backed into a corner theologically. Because if evil exists, then its opposite exists, right? And then if good exists, well, then the question ‘What constitutes the highest form of good?’ is an obvious follow up,” he told Arroyo. 

Christianity proposes, as opposed to the pagan worship of nature, for example, a relationship with the divine that is “personal and much more psychological,” he said.

“[T]here’s a spirit at work at the beginning of time, now and forever, that contends with chaotic possibility and engenders the order that’s ‘good.’ And then the secondary proposition is that what it means to be man and woman alike is to bear the image of that process. And … I think both of those things are correct.”

Citing St. John Henry Newman’s view of conscience as a powerful argument for the existence of God, Peterson also noted that popular myths and stories, such as Pinocchio or Harry Potter, are compelling to people because they “fill a void … left by the partial demise of Christianity.” 

He also described God as a “tricky character” who appears in unexpected ways throughout human experience.

“God has died many times in human history and been reborn many, many times. And you see that in the Exodus story, when Moses disappears, the voice of the prophet and the people fall into hedonistic golden calf worship, it’s exactly the same thing. There’s no removing, there’s no eradicating the central unity that characterizes the human spirit without eradicating the human itself,” he asserted. 

‘A joy to behold’

Peterson’s wife, Tammy, converted to Catholicism earlier this year after a recovery from a rare form of kidney cancer that many considered miraculous. Tammy said she found solace and healing during her ordeal through prayer, particularly the rosary, aided by a friend’s daily guidance.

While Tammy’s journey affected Peterson deeply, and he has expressed openness to the idea that her healing was miraculous, Peterson demurred when asked if the experience had strengthened his own faith. He went on to say that his wife’s healing “hasn’t been so much something that transformed me as it has been something that’s been a joy to behold, let’s say.”

“One of the things that was remarkable about the way that she conducted herself while she was ill, and mortally ill as far as we were all concerned … she conducted herself in an exemplary manner. And that was the miracle,” Peterson told Arroyo. 

“I mean, she did survive her cancer, which is something very difficult to account for. But the miracle, I would say more precisely, was in the equanimity that was manifested.”

Tammy’s newfound Catholic faith has “been nothing but good for her. And it’s a wonderful thing to see. And so now, has that increased my faith in God? Well, like I said, it was already there to a large degree,” Peterson said. 

“Everything I do is an act of faith. Now, whether I’m doing it perfectly or not, that’s a whole different question,” he told Arroyo. 

Arroyo’s entire interview with Peterson can be seen below.


Vatican could reportedly restrict Latin Mass for Chartres pilgrimage, French media claims

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament along route of Chartres pilgrimage June 9, 2019. / Credit: Benjamin Crockett/EWTN

Vatican City, Dec 6, 2024 / 09:55 am (CNA).

The Vatican Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments is reportedly looking into enforcing restrictions on the Latin Mass at the annual Chartres pilgrimage, according to a French media outlet.

The three-day walking pilgrimage from Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris to the Chartres over Pentecost weekend culminates in a massive Latin Mass inside the Notre-Dame de Chartres Cathedral. The pilgrimage drew a record attendance of 18,000 people earlier this year.

Citing anonymous sources in Paris and Rome, La Croix reported that Vatican officials are examining whether the Latin Mass offered in the Chartres cathedral at the conclusion of the popular pilgrimage is in accordance with the restrictions laid out in Traditionis Custodes, the motu proprio Pope Francis issued in 2021 that sharply curtailed the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass worldwide.

In February 2023, Pope Francis issued a rescript that required bishops to seek specific approval from the Dicastery for Divine Worship before designating the use of additional parish churches for the Latin Mass.

Last year, the Vatican enforced restrictions on the Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage, which was denied permission to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica.

The 2025 edition of the Chartres pilgrimage organized by the Notre-Dame de Chrétienne association is scheduled to take place from June 7–9, 2025.

The reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris this weekend would make it possible for the pilgrimage to begin inside of the Paris cathedral for the first time since the Notre Dame fire in 2019.

New Mexico bishops come out strongly against mass deportations

The U.S./Mexico border in El Paso, Texas. / Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNA

CNA Staff, Dec 6, 2024 / 09:25 am (CNA).

The Catholic bishops of New Mexico this week articulated a strongly worded statement against a policy of mass deportation of unauthorized immigrants, a policy that President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to enact. 

“A mass deportation policy will not fix the broken immigration system but, rather, create chaos, family separation, and the traumatization of children,” wrote Archbishop John Wester of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, Bishop Peter Baldacchino of the Diocese of Las Cruces, and Bishop James Wall of the Diocese of Gallup in a statement reported on by the Santa Fe New Mexican. 

“While removing those who cause harm to us is necessary, deporting immigrants who have built equities in our communities and pose no threat is contrary to humanitarian principles and to our national interest,” the bishops continued. 

“We urge the new administration to rethink this proposed deportation policy and instead return to bipartisan negotiations to repair the U.S. immigration system.”

New Mexico shares a 180-mile border with Mexico and relies heavily on migrants to provide labor. There were an estimated 25,000-75,000 immigrants residing in New Mexico illegally in 2022, according to Pew Research Center estimates. 

The New Mexico bishops’ statement follows words last month by fellow borderlands Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, head of the U.S. bishops’ migration committee, who said that if the Trump administration advances immigration measures that violate basic human rights, the nation’s Catholic bishops are prepared to “raise our voice loudly.”

Seitz said the bishops were “concerned” about Trump’s immigration rhetoric on the campaign trail — including Trump’s estimate of “around a million people per year” deported — but that they “don’t want to get ahead” of the administration before it announces its concrete plans.

“We are waiting to see just what exactly takes shape,” Seitz said Nov. 12, speaking to the media at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) fall meeting in Baltimore. 

Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso during a September 2019 press event at the U.S.-Mexico border. Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNA
Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso during a September 2019 press event at the U.S.-Mexico border. Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNA

Seitz said the USCCB recognizes that some immigrants have not entered the country legally but stressed that the U.S. government should distinguish between those who have committed additional crimes from those who, “for the benefit of our country, should be able to remain.”

There are an estimated 11.7 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. as a whole, according to July 2023 statistics from the Center for Migration Studies. Trump has promised to deport all migrants illegally in the country and said that the plan, which has been criticized as financially unfeasible, “will have no price tag.” The proposal has proven highly controversial within Catholic circles

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that countries, especially wealthier ones, should try to welcome migrants “to the extent they are able” but that nations also have the right to regulate migration.

Experts cited by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, while noting that a policy of mass deportations would be economically disruptive, also warned that it risks creating a “police state” where human dignity and the right to seek asylum is undermined, harming family unity and the common good. 

Others, meanwhile, including Ken Cuccinelli, former acting deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under Trump, contend that the scale of the prospective deportation program has no bearing on the underlying moral dimension.

“I don’t think the scale really has any effect on the moral question of it,” Cuccinelli, a Catholic, told the Register. 

“Richer nations have an obligation to welcome migrants, and migrants have an obligation to respect the laws and customs of the place to which they are migrating, and the people we are talking about haven’t done that,” said Cuccinelli, referencing the catechism.

Paul Hunker, a Catholic and an immigration attorney who previously served as chief counsel of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Dallas, told CNA this week that he believes it is “quite reasonable” for Catholics to oppose a program of “large-scale arrests by ICE targeting undocumented noncitizens.” 

“Many of these individuals have lived in the United States for years and have deep ties, including children and spouses who are U.S. citizens. Removing such individuals inflicts significant harm on them, their families, and society,” Hunker noted. 

He pointed to a notable dissent from a 19th-century U.S. Supreme Court case upholding the removal of long-term resident noncitizens in which Justice Stephen Field wrote that “a forcible deportation from a country of one’s residence and the breaking up of all the relations of friendship, family, and business there contracted” constitutes a “cruel and unusual” punishment. 

“While this may not fully apply to those who have only recently arrived in the United States, it resonates for most long-term resident noncitizens,” Hunker said. 

For his part, Pope Francis over the summer delivered some of the clearest words in his papacy yet in support of migrants and in rebuke of those who turn away from them. 

“It must be said clearly: There are those who work systematically and with every means possible to repel migrants,” the pope said during a weekly general audience. “And this, when done with awareness and responsibility, is a grave sin.”

What is a consistory? Your questions answered

The last ordinary public consistory to create new cardinals took place on Sept. 30, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Dec 6, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

On Saturday, Dec. 7, Pope Francis will create 21 new cardinals at a consistory in Rome, including the archbishops of Tehran, Iran; Tokyo; and Toronto.

Here’s everything you need to know:

What is a consistory?

Cardinals are the pope’s closest assistants and advisers from all around the world. A consistory is a formal meeting of the College of Cardinals. The pope can convene them for a number of reasons.

One of the most common reasons for a consistory, as is the case here, is to create new cardinals. The ceremony in which the pope makes cardinals is known as an ordinary public consistory. 

Another consistory the pope may convene is an ordinary consistory to vote on the causes of new saints, the last step before a formal canonization can take place.

There are also extraordinary consistories, in which every cardinal is expected to take part, barring a serious reason.

The last ordinary public consistory to create new cardinals took place on Sept. 30, 2023. The new cardinals included Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem; Cardinal Stephen Chow of Hong Kong; and Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Who is being made cardinal this weekend?

Twenty-one men from around the world will “receive the red hat” and become cardinals at the consistory this month.

Among them is Archbishop Frank Leo, metropolitan archbishop of Toronto in Canada; Archbishop Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi, SVD, metropolitan archbishop of Tokyo in Japan; Archbishop Dominique Joseph Mathieu, OFM Conv, archbishop of Tehran-Ispahan, a Belgian missionary bishop in Iran; Father Fabio Baggio, CS, undersecretary for the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development (from Italy); Father Timothy Radcliffe, OP, a theologian from the United Kingdom; and Archbishop Domenico Battaglia of Naples, Italy.

A list along with an analysis of each cardinal-elect’s spiritual motto and coat of arms can be found here.

What will actually happen at this consistory?

In addition to giving each new cardinal their hat, or biretta, Pope Francis at the Dec. 7 liturgy at St. Peter’s Basilica will place a ring on the hand of each new cardinal while saying: “Receive this ring from the hand of Peter and know that, with the love of the prince of the apostles, your love for the Church is strengthened.” They will also each receive the formal decree (or papal bull) announcing their creation as a cardinal.

The scarlet biretta is, as the pope will recite, a “sign of the dignity of the cardinalate, signifying your readiness to act with courage, even to the shedding of your blood, for the increase of the Christian faith, for the peace and tranquility of the people of God, and for the freedom and growth of the holy Roman Church.”

Immediately before, the new cardinals will make a profession of faith by reciting the Creed. They then pronounce an oath of fidelity and obedience to the pope and his successors.

The pope will also assign each new cardinal a church in the Diocese of Rome, called a “titular church.” This further links the cardinal to Rome and to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome.

The other members of the College of Cardinals, clergy, Catholics, and members of the public may all attend a consistory to create cardinals.

So, how many cardinals will there be, and why does it matter?

St. Paul VI established in 1970 that cardinals aged 80 and over cannot participate in the process of electing a pope — thus, cardinals who are younger than 80 are known as “electors.” Paul VI also established a numerical limit for the number of electors, capping it at 120, but the number occasionally has risen above that number.   

The number of cardinal electors in the college — and indeed the number of cardinals in general — is always changing, since at any time cardinals may be celebrating their 80th birthday or may have died.

As of October of this year, 15 members of the College of Cardinals have turned 80 since the last consistory, thus losing their chance to participate in a future papal election, according to the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner.

After the December consistory, there will be 141 cardinal electors (barring the unexpected death of any of the cardinals) — 111 (79%) of whom have been appointed by Pope Francis.

Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has created 142 cardinals from 70 countries at nine consistories.

5 things to know and share about St. Nicholas

St. Nicholas, by Jaroslav Čermák (1831-1878). / Credit: Galerie Art Praha via Wikimedia (public domain)

Vatican City, Dec 6, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

St. Nicholas, whose feast day is celebrated on Dec. 6, is known to possibly be the real-life inspiration for the beloved Christmas character of Santa Claus.

Not a lot is known about the historical Nicholas, who was bishop of Myra, a Greek city in modern-day Turkey, during the fourth century A.D.

But there are many stories and legends that explain his reputation as a just and upright man, charitable gift-giver, and miracle-worker.

Here are five things to know and share about St. Nicholas:

1. There is a legend behind why St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children.

Many people know that St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children, but they may not know why he has that title.

There is a grisly legend that says that during a famine in Myra, three young boys were lured into a butcher’s shop, where they were killed and then brined in a wooden barrel with the intention of being sold as “ham.” The good bishop worked a miracle, bringing the pickled children back to life and saving them from a gruesome fate.

Painting by Gentile da Fabriano, who lived in Italy from c. 1370 to 1427. Credit: Public domain
Painting by Gentile da Fabriano, who lived in Italy from c. 1370 to 1427. Credit: Public domain

This story became the subject of many portrayals of Nicholas in art, especially during the Middle Ages. Some people believe depictions of Bishop Nicholas with the three boys led to his reputation as a protector of children.

The legend of the brining may explain how he also became, oddly, the patron saint of brewers and coopers (people who make wooden casks, barrels, vats, troughs, and similar containers from timber).

2. He is one of the foremost saints in the Russian Orthodox Church.

St. Nicholas is a unifying figure among Catholics and Orthodox Christians since both churches venerate him.

He is incredibly important in the Russian Orthodox Church, where he is known as St. Nicholas the Wonderworker for the many miracles attributed to him both during and after his life.

To the Orthodox, Nicholas is principally honored for his qualities as a holy bishop and a good shepherd of his people.

Also, in their weekly liturgical cycle, which dedicates different days of the week to Jesus Christ and other saints, only three are specifically named: Mary, the Mother of God, John the Forerunner (known to Catholics as St. John the Baptist), and St. Nicholas.

Nicholas did not leave behind any theological writings, but when he was made a bishop, he is credited with saying that “this dignity and this office demand different usage, in order that one should live no longer for oneself but for others.”

3. Was he really jolly ol’ St. Nicholas?

Because of his popularity among Orthodox Christians, St. Nicholas is a favorite subject in iconography.

But don’t be surprised if, among the hundreds of icons depicting him, you don’t see any merry dimples or a “round little belly.” He does have a white beard, though.

An icon of St. Nicholas painted in 1294 for a Russian Orthodox church on Lipno Island in northwestern Russia. Public Domain
An icon of St. Nicholas painted in 1294 for a Russian Orthodox church on Lipno Island in northwestern Russia. Public Domain

4. He is the patron saint of unmarried people, fishermen, pawnbrokers, and the falsely accused.

One of the most popular legends about Nicholas is that the saint, who is said to have come from a wealthy family, secretly helped a poor man with three daughters.

The father could not provide proper dowries for the girls to marry, and without husbands to support them, they might have been forced to turn to prostitution.

After learning about the situation, Nicholas secretly slipped a bag of gold coins through the family’s window while they were sleeping. He later left a second bag of coins, and likewise, another bag for the third daughter, at which point, the legend says, the father, who had waited up all night, “caught” Nicholas red-handed in his gift-giving. But Nicholas made him promise to keep the secret.

The story is likely the explanation for why the modern Christmas character of Santa Claus brings his gifts for children under the cover of night.

In artworks referencing this legend, the three bags of coins are often depicted as three golden balls. Images of gold balls were also used to mark the shops of pawnbrokers, which is probably how Nicholas came to be their patron saint, too.

A painting of St. Nicholas and Mary Magdalene by Antonello da Messina, created between 1475 and 1476. Credit: Public domain
A painting of St. Nicholas and Mary Magdalene by Antonello da Messina, created between 1475 and 1476. Credit: Public domain

One of many miracles attributed to St. Nicholas happened at sea as he traveled aboard a boat to the Holy Land. Nicholas is a patron saint of sailors and travelers because he calmed the stormy waters that threatened their lives.

His patronage of the falsely accused can be attributed to an early story about his rescue of three innocent men moments before their execution. It is said that St. Nicholas, then bishop of Myra, boldly pushed away the executioner’s sword, released the men from their chains, and angrily reprimanded a juror who had taken a bribe to find them guilty.

5. He has two feast days.

Most people know that Nicholas’ feast day is celebrated on Dec. 6, the day he died in the year 343, but for East Slavs, as well as the people of Bari, Italy, May 9 is also an important day to celebrate the saint.

That date is the anniversary of the day that St. Nicholas’ relics were moved from Myra, in present-day Turkey, to Bari, not long after the Great Schism of Catholics and Orthodox in 1054 A.D.

Accounts differ over whether the transmission of the relics was theft or an attempt by Christian sailors to preserve the saint’s remains from destruction by the Turks. But whatever the real reason, the relics can still be venerated today in the Basilica of St. Nicholas in Bari.

Pope Francis has visited Bari, in Italy’s southern region of Puglia, two times during his papacy. During both the 2018 and 2020 visits, he stopped in the basilica’s crypt to venerate St. Nicholas’ relics.

Credit: Perrant via Wikimedia Commons CC BY 3.0
Credit: Perrant via Wikimedia Commons CC BY 3.0

The pontifical basilica is an important place of ecumenism, since the Catholic Church welcomes many Eastern Catholics and Orthodox Christians to the pilgrimage site. In the crypt, where St. Nicholas is buried, there is also an altar for the celebration of Orthodox and Eastern Catholic liturgies.

For Christians who follow the Julian calendar, as the Eastern Orthodox do, St. Nicholas’ principal feast day falls on Dec. 19. An Orthodox Divine Liturgy is usually celebrated at the Basilica of St. Nicholas that morning.

On Dec. 6, Catholics in Bari celebrate the beloved saint with Mass, concerts, and a procession of the saint’s statue through the city’s streets.

This story was first published on Dec. 6, 2022, and has been updated.

Naples’ new cardinal sees red hat as call to ‘embrace the cross of the weakest’

Archbishop Domenico Battaglia of Naples, Italy. / Credit: Vincenzo Amoruso via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Rome Newsroom, Dec 5, 2024 / 17:35 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis will create 21 new cardinals at a consistory this Saturday, including Archbishop Domenico Battaglia of Naples, Italy, who said he sees the appointment not as a personal honor but as “a call to dream together of a Church that gets its hands dirty, that is not afraid of the peripheries and that allows itself to be guided by the transforming power of the Gospel.”

In an interview with ACI Stampa, CNA’s Italian-language news partner, Battaglia described his initial reaction to the news as “a deep inner silence, inhabited by awe but also by fear.”

“At that moment I felt all the weight and grace of a call that I had neither sought nor imagined,” said the 62-year-old archbishop, who is known in his diocese simply as “Don Mimmo.”

Appointed as archbishop of Naples in late 2020, Battaglia spent more than 20 years leading a center for drug rehabilitation in Catanzaro.

Speaking about what it means to become a cardinal in Naples today, Battaglia emphasized that “this is the meaning of the purple: service, not honor.”

“Becoming a cardinal in this time and in this city means embracing the cross of the weakest, making room for their dreams and struggles, sharing the hope of those who, despite a thousand difficulties, continue to believe in a different future,” he told ACI Stampa. “Naples when it loves, loves totally, and I believe that in this, my people, can help me in this totality of giving.”

Battaglia drew inspiration from Bishop Tonino Bello, a venerated Italian prelate known for his work with the poor, quoting his saying: “We do not have the right to sit on the side of the road and watch those who pass by; we must take up the path again with the Gospel in our hands and poverty in our hearts.”

The archbishop acknowledged that the challenges facing Naples are complex. “Naples is a city that changes you before you can even imagine changing it,” he said. “In these years I have seen the beating heart of this land emerge powerfully: the generosity of people, the creativity that flourishes even in the midst of decay, the deep faith of those who rely on God with all their fragility.”

However, he also pointed to ongoing struggles, particularly among young people. “I have also seen the pain that does not cease, the loneliness of so many, the young people struggling to find prospects, the bonds broken by malfeasance, and especially the difficulty of children living in a real educational emergency.”

To address these challenges, Battaglia has initiated an Educational Pact in Naples, bringing together various stakeholders involved in education and youth work. “Naples cannot be changed from above: We need to walk together, listen, get alongside people, build networks of hope,” he explained.

Looking toward his new role as cardinal, Battaglia said he sees it as “an invitation to go even deeper” rather than a culmination. “I will try to continue my journey together with my Church, starting again always and every day from the streets, the alleys, the faces that meet my life every day,” he said.

He emphasized that as a cardinal, he feels “even stronger the call to widen my heart to the entire universal Church, collaborating with Pope Francis and my brother bishops, to proclaim the Gospel and continue to give voice to the least, to denounce injustice, to build alliances for the common good.”

Battaglia, who participated in the recent Synod on Synodality, also reflected on the connection between synodality and hope, particularly in light of the upcoming Jubilee Year of Hope declared by Pope Francis.

“Synodality is walking together, while hope is the force that pushes us to take steps,” he said. 

“The pope invites us to be a Church not closed in on itself but open to dialogue, to listening to each other, to building common paths. This is not only a method but a way of life, a conversion of the heart.”

The consistory for the creation of new cardinals will take place on Saturday, Dec. 7, at St. Peter’s Basilica.

This story was originally published by ACI Stampa, CNA's Italian-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.