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This Lent, a new study finds that two-thirds of Catholics who have not attended confession in the last year say they are open to going. According to “The Catholic Pulse Report: The Confession Study,” which surveyed 1,500 Catholics in the U.S. who attend Mass “at least occasionally,” 67% of respondents who have not been to confession in the past year said they are open to returning, and half of those said they would like to go more often. The study, conducted by the Vinea Research Group, a Catholic nonprofit, found that only 20% of Catholics go to confession regularly (defined as…

Catholic organizations in the Middle East are helping provide aid, food, and shelter to people in Lebanon who are displaced by the ongoing military conflict, and some people remain concerned that a possible full-scale invasion by Israel could exacerbate the crisis. Lebanon was pulled into the regional conflict when Iranian-backed Hezbollah fighters launched missiles into northern Israel and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) returned fire in their strongholds, primarily southern Lebanon. Monalisa Freiha, associate editor and deputy editor-in-chief at An-Nahar Al Arabi, spoke to “EWTN News Nightly” on March 26 with concerns for Lebanese people, saying they “did not choose this…

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday said priestly ministry in the Catholic Church, entrusted only to men, is understood in light of apostolic succession and called for priests who are “ardent with evangelical charity” and “courageous missionaries.” During his March 25 catechesis dedicated to the dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium, from the Second Vatican Council, Leo explained that the Church “is founded on the apostles, whom Christ appointed as the living pillars of his mystical body.” Speaking in St. Peter’s Square, the pontiff emphasized that the Church possesses a “hierarchical structure that works in the service of the unity, mission, and sanctification of all her…

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday said organ donation is a noble act that should be governed by fair and transparent criteria, avoiding “any form of commodification of the human body.” He also encouraged the safeguarding of the well-being of patients in his comments to participants of an event organized by the Italian National Transplant Network at the Vatican on March 26. The Holy Father thanked those who serve human life “in its moments of greatest fragility.” The first donation by Blessed Carlo Gnocchi In his speech, the pope recalled the first organ donation carried out in Italy, when Blessed Carlo…

The announcement came just two days after Sarah Mullally’s installation as archbishop of Canterbury. Pope Leo XIV is set to meet with Sarah Mullally, the first female archbishop of Canterbury, as part of Mullally’s planned visit to Rome from April 25–28. The announcement of the visit came from Lambeth Palace just two days after Mullally’s installation, which made her the first woman to hold the highest-ranking role in the Church of England. It is also notable that the ascension of Mullally to that post continues to have significant repercussions within Anglicanism. Earlier this month, the Global Anglican Future Conference —…