Diocese of Oakland funneled millions into fund to avoid abuse payout, filing claims

Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, California. / Credit: Skier Dude, via Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0CNA Staff, Dec 26, 2024 / 11:35 am (CNA).A bankruptcy court filing this month alleges that the Diocese of Oakland, California, poured tens of millions of dollars into a diocesan fund in order to avoid a payout to survivors of clergy sexual abuse. A Dec. 11 filing by attorneys on behalf of a committee of abuse survivors, lodged in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, claims the diocese "perpetrated a fraudulent scheme to funnel substantial assets away from what would soon become its bankruptcy estate" into the coffers of a "non-debtor alter ego," the Oakland Parochial Fund (OPF).In the months leading up to its bankruptcy filings, the claim alleges, the diocese "entered into a series of synthetic management and services agreements" with the fund, after which it "transferred approximately $106 million in assets" to the fund before borrowing $35 million back from it. Prior to those tr...

Patriarch of Jerusalem: Let us look to the future with hope, without hatred or violence

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, leans on his pastoral staff while listening to the proclamation of the Gospel during the Christmas Eve Mass at the Church of St. Catherine, the Latin section of the Basilica of the Nativity, on Dec. 24, 2024. / Credit: Marinella BandiniBethlehem, Dec 26, 2024 / 10:50 am (CNA).The atmosphere in Bethlehem, the town where Jesus was born, was more relaxed this Christmas. The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who was the object of a protest in the town at last year's celebration, spoke to the people from Manger Square, where a stage was set up."Our commitment this Christmas is to rebuild our trust and renew our hope for life here in Bethlehem and throughout Palestine," the patriarch said. "We believe that the light has come to us, and the light is Jesus Christ. We belong to the light, not to darkness. We may not have lights, but we are the light," he declared."Take courage, don't ...

Biden signs defense bill that eliminates funding for underage transgender drugs

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office at the White House on July 25, 2024, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 26, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).President Joe Biden this week signed a nearly $900 billion defense spending bill despite Democratic reservations about a provision that prohibits the Department of Defense (DOD) from covering transgender drug prescriptions for minors.The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025 provides $895 billion in defense and military spending. The annual legislation, which often receives strong bipartisan support, passed the Senate 85-14 and the House 281-140."This bill provides vital benefits for military personnel and their families and includes critical authorities to support our country's national defense, foreign affairs, and homeland security," Biden said in a statement."While I am pleased to support ...

Jubilee USA partners with Caritas International in debt relief campaign for poor countries

Pope Francis opens the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica before Mass on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2024, officially launching the Jubilee Year 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 26, 2024 / 14:30 pm (CNA).Continuing St. John Paul II's mission from the 2000 Jubilee, a U.S.-based jubilee network is partnering with international aid organizations to provide debt relief for the world's poorest countries during the 2025 Jubilee Year. Representatives from Caritas Internationalis and Jubilee USA Network, a league of faith-based development and debt-relief organizations, announced the five-year campaign, "Turn Debt into Hope," during a Vatican press conference on Dec. 23, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network Eric LeCompte said during the conference that his organization is launching the effort "to finish the unfinished business of Jubilee 2000, when John Paul II called on the international communi...

We're 'finding creative methods to reach people,' says bishop of 1-year-old Nigerian diocese

Bishop Gerald Mamman Musa of the Diocese of Katsina in Nigeria. / Credit: Diocese of KatsinaACI Africa, Dec 26, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).The Diocese of Katsina, whose erection the Vatican made public on Oct. 16, 2023, is realizing "creative methods" of evangelization, the pioneer local ordinary said in a recent interview. In the Dec. 18 interview with ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, days after marking his first episcopal anniversary on Dec. 12, Bishop Gerald Mamman Musa said the innovative approaches to evangelization are bearing fruit in various sectors of his diocese, including governance, education, and pastoral care."Evangelization is at the heart of our work. We focus not only on traditional preaching but also on finding creative methods to reach people, especially those in remote or underserved areas through various strategies including living a good Christian life," Musa said.He said the Katsina Diocese is realizing a "like-unto-like" approach as central to t...

Pope Francis prays for persecuted Christians on feast of St. Stephen

Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer and delivers an address from a window in the Apostolic Palace on Dec. 26, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Dec 26, 2024 / 13:30 pm (CNA).Pope Francis recalled the witness of persecuted Christians around the world on Thursday as he celebrated the feast of St. Stephen, the Church's first martyr.In his Angelus address on Dec. 26, Pope Francis reflected on Stephen's last words as he was being stoned to death as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles: "Lord, do not hold this sin against them."Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer and delivers an address from a window in the Apostolic Palace on Dec. 26, 2024, at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican MediaPope Francis said: "Even though at first sight Stephen seems to be helplessly suffering violence, in reality, as a truly free man, he continues to love even his killers and to offer his life for them, like Jesus; he offers his life so that they may repent and, having been forgiven,...

PHOTOS: Pilgrims from all over the world pass through Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica

The Holy Door of the Jubilee "represents Jesus, the door of salvation open to all," Pope Francis noted. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN NewsACI Prensa Staff, Dec 26, 2024 / 15:30 pm (CNA).Pilgrims from around the world are passing through the open Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica, which Pope Francis opened on Christmas Eve to begin the 2025 Jubilee.The pilgrimage to the Holy Doors of the papal basilicas in Rome is a central act of the jubilee. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN NewsThe faithful from different parts of the world and from different walks of life have already passed through the open Holy Door that symbolizes Christ."The door is open, wide open. There is no need to knock," Pope Francis declared. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN NewsIn his Christmas Day message, Pope Francis recalled that "the door of God's heart is always open; let us return to him. Let us return to the heart that loves us and forgives us."Pilgrims cross the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on Dec....

Urbi et Orbi: Pope Francis urges world leaders to pursue dialogue, peace in Jubilee Year

Pope Francis delivers the Urbi et Orbi address in St. Peter's Square, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024 / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNAVatican City, Dec 25, 2024 / 12:54 pm (CNA).Pope Francis on Christmas Day delivered the traditional Urbi et Orbi address and blessing in Vatican City, inviting all individuals and nations to "silence the sound of arms and overcome divisions."Delivering his Christmas Day message overlooking crowds of thousands of international pilgrims in St. Peter's Square from the Central Loggia of St. Peter's Basilica, the pope insisted that a "just and lasting peace" can only be achieved in our world if people first turn to the "Father of Mercies." Pope Francis delivers the Urbi et Orbi address in St. Peter's Square, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA"Let us be reconciled with God," he said. "Then we will be reconciled with ourselves and able to be reconciled with one another, even our enemies.""God's mercy can do all things. It unties every kno...

Becoming the mother of God: Did Mary have a choice?

Greek icon of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, the Theotokos. / Credit: FWA Design/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Dec 24, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).Earlier this month, the pro-abortion group "Catholics for Choice" stirred controversy online when it wrote in a tweet: "This holiday season, remember that Mary had a choice, and you should, too."The explicit pro-abortion message is meant to equate Mary's choice to be the mother of God with a mother's "choice" to have an abortion. "By explicitly seeking definitive consent from Mary to conceive of Christ, God empowered and uplifted her bodily autonomy," the group claims on its website. "It's clear that reproductive choice is God's will."The Catholic Church, of course, has since its ancient beginnings forbidden abortion on the grounds that it constitutes homicide. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unc...

The little-known story of a saint's Christmas vision of the infant Jesus in Rome

A marble sculpture of St. Cajetan holding the infant Jesus identifies the spot where the saint's vision occurred in the crypt of the Chapel of the Nativity, the side chapel to the right of the main altar of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome. / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNAVatican City, Dec 24, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).On Christmas Eve in 1517, a saint experienced a mystical vision in which the Blessed Virgin Mary placed the Christ Child in his arms as he offered his first Mass in Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major.The little-known but profound experience of the newborn Jesus occurred within the storied walls of the Marian basilica's Chapel of the Nativity, where St. Cajetan of Thiene prayed before the relics of Christ's manger."In the hour of his most holy birth, I found myself in the true and material most holy Nativity," St. Cajetan wrote to Sister Laura Mignani, an Augustinian nun and spiritual confidant. "From the hands of the timid Virgin, I took that tender child, the ...