Articles by JD Flynn
What is Opus Dei? A CNA explainer
Oct 2, 2024 / 05:00 amOpus Dei was founded Oct. 2, 1928, by Father Josemaría Escrivá to help lay Catholics understand the baptismal calling of holiness and evangelization.
What is the ‘sacred triduum’? A CNA explainer
Mar 28, 2024 / 04:00 amAt the end of Lent, right before Easter, the Catholic Church observes the “sacred triduum.” What is it?
Analysis: Vatican decision on Indianapolis could impact pending lawsuit, and Catholic identity in Catholic schools
Dec 21, 2020 / 09:35 amThe outcome of a Vatican appeal involving same-sex civil marriage and the Catholic identity of an Indiana school could have effect on a pending religious liberty lawsuit, and on the way other Catholic schools approach the issue of Catholic identity among their faculty.
Priest jailed for theft blames Catholic doctrine, also facing sex abuse charges
Nov 25, 2020 / 12:20 pmA South Dakota priest has been sentenced to almost eight years in federal prison, after he was convicted of 65 felonies related to stealing donations from Catholic parishes. Ordered to pay more than $300,000 in restitution, the priest said he stole in part because he disagrees with Catholic doctrine on homosexuality.
Analysis: Archbishop Gregory says he won’t deny Biden communion. How will Catholics respond?
Nov 24, 2020 / 16:25 pmWashington’s archbishop, who will be made a cardinal this weekend, told a journalist Tuesday that in his diocese, he will not deny Holy Communion to a politician who has pledged to enshrine access to abortion in federal law and permit federal funding of abortions. That politician is President-elect Joe Biden.
California Bishop Cantu under Vatican 'Vos estis' investigation
Nov 17, 2020 / 07:52 amSenior sources in the Vatican told CNA that the investigation was ordered by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, and concerns Bishop Oscar Cantu’s handling of abuse and misconduct cases in his former diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Analysis: After McCarrick Report, embracing the cross
Nov 11, 2020 / 17:10 pmHow will ordinary Catholics respond to the disappointment of the McCarrick Report?
McCarrick Report: What to know before it's released - A CNA Explainer
Nov 9, 2020 / 12:15 pmOn Tuesday, Nov. 10, the Vatican’s Secretariat of State will release a report on its two-year investigation into the career of ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who has been found canonically guilty of serial sexual abuse and misconduct, and was laicized in 2019.
Analysis: After McCarrick report, US bishops have Zoom meeting
Nov 6, 2020 / 17:22 pmWhile the USCCB have several items of business at a meeting this month, it is likely to be what’s said or not said about Theodore McCarrick that gets attention from Catholics during the meeting.
McCarrick report due for release next week
Nov 5, 2020 / 13:30 pmThe Vatican’s long-awaited report on the career of former cardinal Theodore McCarrick is set to be released early next week, multiple Vatican sources have told CNA.
What did Pope Francis say about civil unions? A CNA Explainer
Oct 21, 2020 / 17:49 pmAfter comments from Pope Francis on civil unions, CNA looks at your questions.
Analysis: What does Cardinal Farrell's promotion say about the McCarrick report?
Oct 13, 2020 / 13:55 pmCardinal Farrell has insisted that he knew nothing about the numerous sex abuse allegations and payouts surrounding his former boss, Theodore McCarrick. Will the McCarrick report take him at his word?
After ‘demonic’ desecration, Louisiana church reconsecrated as details about priest emerge
Oct 12, 2020 / 15:35 pmArchbishop Gregory Aymond on Saturday consecrated a new altar at the Louisiana parish where a priest reportedly filmed a pornographic video atop the parish altar with two women last month. Details have emerged about the priest, who is expected to face criminal and canonical charges after the episode.
Lawyer says New Orleans priest groomed teens by text, archdiocese doubles down on defense
Oct 9, 2020 / 16:40 pmThe Archdiocese of New Orleans defended on Friday its handling of a priest who sent text messages to at least one high school student, in violation of archdiocesan policy. An attorney representing the student said the priest’s texts were grooming behavior, and the archdiocesan response put students at risk.
Analysis: Cardinal Becciu is accused of setting up Pell. But facts are few
Oct 5, 2020 / 11:29 amWhen an allegation against a high-ranking churchman makes its way from Vatican-watchers to Italian newspapers to American headlines in just a matter of days, it’s a safe bet the story will have something to do with sex.
Analysis: Two years after McCarrick investigation began, report not yet in sight
Oct 1, 2020 / 21:48 pmOn October 6, 2018, the Holy See announced a review of its files and archives pertaining to Theodore McCarrick, the former Archbishop of Washington, D.C, who is now laicized and living in disgrace, a known sexual abuser who has offered no public word of repentance.
People of Praise hacked before Amy Coney Barrett nomination
Sep 29, 2020 / 19:50 pmDays before Judge Amy Coney Barrett was nominated to the Supreme Court, the website of the People of Praise was hacked. The hack breached the membership database of the charismatic community, in which Barrett and her family are reportedly members.
Vatican has 'moral authority' to speak on China, Pompeo tells CNA in exclusive interview
Sep 28, 2020 / 15:40 pmIn an exclusive interview with CNA ahead of his visit to the Vatican this week, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he plans to discuss human rights abuses in China, and urge Vatican officials to speak about religious persecution there.
Linden Cameron shooting ‘devastating,’ Catholic disability group says
Sep 27, 2020 / 11:00 amThe director of a Catholic organization focused on the needs of people with disabilities said Wednesday that the police shooting of a Utah boy with autism points to the importance of advocacy, understanding, and compassion for people with autism and other disabilities.
Fort Worth Bishop Olson apologizes for ‘horrible effects’ of invalid baptisms
Sep 18, 2020 / 10:20 amAn Oklahoma City priest who discovered he was invalidly baptized as a child received that invalid sacrament from a deacon in a Texas parish, the bishop of Fort Worth said this week, while encouraging others baptized by the same deacon to contact their pastors to address the situation.