St. Mary's Church

Con motivo de la solemnidad de Cristo Rey, la asociación Rescoldo lanza una campaña en ciudades de toda España para recordar una verdad antigua y siempre actual: Cristo es el verdadero Rey de la historia y de las naciones.

CNA Staff, Nov 20, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

After pushback from investors, Microsoft has signed a statement agreeing not to discriminate against religious or conservative nonprofit groups seeking a discount the tech giant offers to other nonprofits.

On Oct. 10, Microsoft and Boyer Research, a group of shareholders represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a Christian legal group, signed the agreement. News of the agreement was published on Nov. 14.

The shareholders had planned to put forth a proposal asking Microsoft on Dec. 5 at its annual meeting for a report on the company’s discounting practices, according to Bloomberg News.   

The shareholders agreed not to move forward with the proposal after Microsoft signed the agreement, which stated that nonprofits no longer needed to affirm a nondiscrimination attestation. The company also said a categorical ban on pregnancy centers would be removed.

In a statement to CNA on Nov. 19, Microsoft said: “The broad and diverse array of nonprofits is one of America’s great strengths, and the purpose of this nonprofit program is to provide discounts to a broad group of organizations that qualify as nonprofits under the federal tax code. We don’t think it’s desirable to pick and choose among these organizations based on ideological orientation. In this instance, we found that a small number of organizations that should have been eligible for these discounts were not receiving them. We’ve fixed this and those organizations are now eligible.”

ADF attorney Alexandra Gaiser, who represented the shareholders, told CNA that the legal group and some pregnancy centers they represent are now in “wait-and-see mode.”

She said since the agreement was signed, one pregnancy center has applied for the discount and been denied, but “a couple have received the nonprofit discount.”

“We are looking forward to seeing more nonprofits get the discount,” Gaiser said.

Microsoft is not the only corporation alleged to have discriminatory practices against faith-based or conservative groups that ADF has contended with.

ADF filed two federal lawsuits this year, one against California-based software company Asana and the other against OpenAI, makers of ChatGPT, who both agreed in settlements to give previously withheld nonprofit discounts to Holy Sexuality, a Christian nonprofit group that makes videos and courses that teach about biblical principles on human sexuality.

In the settlements, both tech companies said they would remove barriers to the discounts for religious organizations, according to ADF.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier shared a letter he sent to Microsoft on social media on Nov. 3 in which he said the state might take legal action against the company if discriminatory practices against religious groups continued.

CNA Staff, Nov 20, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The second season of Martin Scorsese’s docudrama series “The Saints” premiered on Fox Nation on Nov. 16. The series highlights the extraordinary lives of men and women who embodied their faith and became saints in the Catholic Church. The new season includes episodes on St. Patrick, St. Peter, St. Thomas Becket, and St. Carlo Acutis.

Created by Matti Leshem and developed by Scorsese, himself a Catholic, the show’s new episodes will be released weekly from Nov. 16 to Dec. 7. The first season included episodes on St. Mary Magdalene, St. Moses the Black, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Joan of Arc, St. John the Baptist, and St. Sebastian.

Leshem, who co-founded a production company focused on Jewish history and Judeo-Christian dialogue, spoke to CNA in an interview about the inspiration behind the series and how his own Jewish faith has been impacted by diving into the lives of Catholic saints.

The filmmaker shared that he was introduced to the lives of the saints from a young age and was “really moved by them.”

From the ages of 10 to 15 Leshem attended a Catholic school in Copenhagen that was run by Assumptionist nuns. Despite his father being an Israeli ambassador and having a Jewish school available to them, his father “prized education over all things … and he sent me to a Catholic school because that was the best school.”

“I was really exposed to all those stories and I was really taken with it … And I think in adulthood, as I kind of became a filmmaker and told different stories, I thought these are incredible stories of humanity, the story of the saints, and what is it like to be someone who’s actually willing, in many cases, to die for the thing you believe in,” he said.

He added: “I also felt that there was a strong need at this moment, especially, to tell stories about faith. And that really is where the inspiration came from.”

Leshem explained that he believes a series like this is needed right now because “social media has really fragmented society in every way — spiritually, politically, I think especially for young people — I think we’re kind of suffering a spiritual crisis.”

“It’s really been a struggle for young people who are constantly being faced with the comparative ego on social media and this is a time for people to go inwards and to try to find their faith, and the great monotheistic faith traditions are really the thing that we’ve always gone back to time and time again,” he shared.

One saint who will be featured in the second season who Leshem believes is a relatable figure for many today is St. Carlo Acutis — the first millennial saint who was canonized on Sept. 7.

“I think what’s beautiful about Carlo is that he was a regular teenager in some ways, but he also had this deep, spiritual connection from a very early age. He knew that his relationship with Christ was very special,” Leshem shared.

The filmmaker recalled going to Assisi to visit the body of Acutis at the Sanctuary of the Renunciation and witnessing hundreds upon hundreds of schoolchildren lined up to see the beloved saint.

“It was an incredible experience to see that,” he added. “So, we wanted to tell the story of a relevant, modern saint. And I do think that Carlo is a really good example of that resurgence of faith that I hope that we’re seeing.”

In regard to how his Jewish faith has been impacted by delving into the life of Catholics saints, Leshem said: “I feel privileged to be having the most important conversation I think there is to have every single day because I work in the world of saints.”

“I revere the saints and I understand their holiness,” he added.

He pointed out that “a lot of our saints are Jews” — referencing Sts. Peter and Paul, for example —  and with this in mind he tries “to bring a kind of authenticity from my own tradition around that.”

“For me, I’m very comfortable living in a world where I understand the covenant of Judaism and I understand the expression of Christ’s message. It just all feels like a continuum,” he said.

As for what he hopes viewers will take away from the series, Leshem said: “I want believers to be reignited in their faith and I want every atheist that watches the series to be interested and to kind of lean towards the ability — everybody needs to believe in something. I think it’s really hard to be a believer, but I think it’s much harder to be an atheist. And so I am hoping that our series inspires everyone wherever they are on the spectrum of belief.”

Editor’s notes: Due to the content and context of the saints’ stories, including graphic violence and gory details of war, the series is recommended for an adult audience. Additionally, each episode ends with a short discussion between three panelists: Jesuit priest Father James Martin, author and poet Mary Karr, and author and senior fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs Paul Elie.

A pocos días de la Solemnidad de Cristo Rey, que se celebrará el domingo 23 de noviembre, les compartimos 7 datos relevantes sobre esta gran celebración que surgió en respuesta a la secularización.

León XIV también visita Montefalco donde celebrará la Santa Misa en el monasterio de las monjas agustinas

Ya es oficial: Dublín, capital de uno de los países con mayor población católica de Europa, cuenta por fin con su primera catedral católica en 500 años tras la aprobación del Papa León XIV.

Cada 20 de noviembre la Iglesia conmemora a la Beata Anna Kolesárová, joven laica nacida en Vysoká nad Uhom, Michalovce, Checoslovaquia (hoy Eslovaquia), en 1928. Anna es patrona de la juventud, de las víctimas de las agresiones sexuales y de los abusos de todo tipo. Ha sido nombrada “Mártir de la Castidad”.

El Papa León XIV nombró Arzobispo de Keewatin-Le Pas (Canadá) al sacerdote de origen indio Susai Jesu, O.M.I., miembro de los Misioneros Oblatos de María Inmaculada y párroco en la Arquidiócesis de Edmonton.

La Iglesia Católica en México convoca este 23 de noviembre a una amplia jornada nacional por la paz, con actividades que irán desde caminatas y conversatorios hasta encuentros familiares, convivencias juveniles y jornadas de oración parroquiales y ecuménicas. 

El Papa León XIV nombró este miércoles al sacerdote nigeriano Anthony Onyemuche Ekpo asesor para asuntos generales de la Secretaría de Estado del Vaticano.