"Memento Mori: An Advent Companion on the Last Things,” by Sr. Theresa Aletheia / Courtesy of the Daughters of St. Paul
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 20, 2021 / 14:10 pm (CNA).
Catholics should contemplate death in preparation for Baby Je… […]
Screenshot of Facebook post by the creator of "Mama," an icon that some say depicts George Floyd as Jesus. / CNA photo
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 20, 2021 / 12:38 pm (CNA).
John Garvey, president of The Catholic University of Amer… […]
Gabriel Boric, who won the 2021 Chilean presidential election, speaks after a candidates’ debate, Oct. 10, 2021. / Mediabanco Agencia via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Santiago, Chile, Dec 20, 2021 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
José Antonio Kast, a lawyer and pro-life Catholic politician, conceded defeat Dec. 19 to leftist candidate Gabriel Boric, a proponent of elective abortion, in Chile’s runoff presidential election.
“I just spoke with Gabriel Boric and congratulated him on his great victory. As of today he is the President-elect of Chile and deserves all our respect and constructive collaboration. Chile is always first,” Kast, of the Christian Social Front, wrote on Twitter.
With 98.76% of the votes counted, Boric led with 55.85% compared to 44.15% for Kast, a difference of almost 11 points.
During his campaign, Kast, 55, proposed different strategies to protect life from conception to natural death, to reinforce the preferential right of parents to educate their children, and to recognize the culture and identity of indigenous people.
In his campaign, Boric, of the Apruebo Dignidad alliance, promised to incorporate a comprehensive feminist perspective, to implement such policies as “legal, free and safe abortion on demand,” and changes to the gender identity law.
Boric is 35 years old, the minimum age to run for president. He is single and studied law at the University of Chile, but did not receive a degree.
As president of the Student Center of the Faculty of Law, he led the takeover of one of the university buildings to demand the departure of the dean at that time.
In 2011, he became spokesman for the Chilean Student Confederation during student protests in which thousands of young people took to the streets demanding educational reforms.
Boric is in his second term as a representative in the Chamber of Deputies and during the civil unrest of 2019 he signed the “Agreement for Peace” to accept the demands of citizens regarding the lack of public policies for a more decent life, which led to the Constitutional Convention now working on a new constitution.
Before the presidential election, the Standing Committee of the Chilean Bishops’ Conference issued a statement Dec. 16 offering their prayers for whomever would be the next president, calling on him to “govern for all Chileans, seeking paths of dialogue, agreement, justice and fraternity.”
The Standing Committee called on both candidates to “honor democratic values, accept the decision of the citizens and to work together from their place, to build a political community whose soul is social charity.”
“As Christmas approaches, we invite you to pray for the unity of our country, contemplating God with us who assumes our human condition so we may live as brothers. May the song that resounds these days: ‘Glory to God in heaven and on earth peace to the men loved by Him’ encourage us in the challenge of being peacemakers” the Standing Committee concluded.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
John Kraemer lays a brick while constructing his latest church. / Catholic Diocese of Saginaw
Denver Newsroom, Dec 20, 2021 / 11:19 am (CNA).
John Kraemer isn’t an architect by training, but he is a builder. In fact, he’s probably designed and … […]
A screenshot of the program "Pope Francis and the Invisible People," which aired on the Italian TV channel TG5 on Dec. 19, 2021. / null
Vatican City, Dec 20, 2021 / 05:32 am (CNA).
In a new television interview aired on Sunday, Pope F… […]
Have you ever heard the smug criticism that Christmas is really a Pagan festival? While it is usually uttered with the air of being a devastating dismissal of Christianity, I’m not sure what actual point […]
The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (CDW) has published a set of responsa ad dubia regarding Pope Francis’s recent Apostolic Letter, Traditionis custodes. Just in time for Christmas. In case […]
Pope Francis had a belated birthday celebration on Dec. 19 with children helped by the Vatican’s Santa Marta Pediatric Dispensary / Veronica Giacometti/CNA
Vatican City, Dec 19, 2021 / 07:42 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Sunday joined a belated celebration of his 85th birthday, thrown by the children and families helped by the Vatican’s charitable pediatric clinic.
During the Dec. 19 party, Pope Francis was entertained by songs and skits from the kids, and everyone was treated to a piece of a giant birthday cake.
Pope Francis turned 85 years old on Dec. 17.
For almost 100 years, the Santa Marta Pediatric Dispensary has been providing free medical care to children from all over the world.
The annual event with Pope Francis was skipped last year due to the pandemic, but the 2021 party included a new attraction: A Christmas Village complete with Santa Claus and elves.
The Christmas Village was set up inside and outside the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. Children were able to have their photo taken with Santa Claus and each got a Christmas box filled with pizza, muffins, and chocolate.
During the visit, Pope Francis greeted the kids and spoke to them about what it means to love other people.
“Love for others means that we must look at and listen to the people’s needs,” he said. “There are always people who need us, but if we don’t look them in the face we will never understand…”
“If I go down the street and I see that someone is cold and hungry, even if he is bad, I help him,” the pope said. “Always help each other. Today we are all here because we are friends.”
Pope Francis was surrounded by red balloons and the Happy Birthday song was playing in Spanish when he was presented with a large box containing a birthday cake.
Pope Francis gives the Angelus address on Dec. 19, 2021 / Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Dec 19, 2021 / 06:00 am (CNA).
A good way to get out of a cycle of self-pity or a negative mood is to help others, following the example of the Virgin Mary, … […]
In his classic book Suicide of the West, James Burnham famously characterized liberalism as “the ideology of Western suicide.” I’ve been meaning for some time to write up an essay on the book. This isn’t it. […]
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