Holy Family and All Saints Catholic Church Witham

Catholic News Agency

ACI Prensa's latest initiative is the Catholic News Agency (CNA), aimed at serving the English-speaking Catholic audience. ACI Prensa (www.aciprensa.com) is currently the largest provider of Catholic news in Spanish and Portuguese.

Norwegian bishops warn of euthanasia support ahead of parliamentary election
Sat, 30 Aug 2025 10:00:00 -0400

CNA Newsroom, Aug 30, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

The Catholic bishops of Norway have issued a pastoral letter calling on the faithful to be guided by Church teaching on human life and dignity in the country’s parliamentary election scheduled for Sept. 8.

The bishops also voiced concern about growing political support for euthanasia.

In the letter dated for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time and released this weekend, Bishop Erik Varden of Trondheim and Bishop Fredrik Hansen of Oslo emphasized that voting is “not only a right; it is a demanding and weighty duty” for Norway’s approximately 160,000 Catholics.

“We are troubled by the apparent growth of support for euthanasia in our country and among our politicians,” they wrote.

“All who suffer from pain or illness should receive every form of care we can offer, as should their families and those who look after them. To ‘help’ someone die helps no one.”

The bishops stressed the inviolability of human life and dignity, declaring that “no person — whether an unborn child, the incurably ill, a newly arrived refugee, or a victim of violence or human trafficking — may be set aside or counted of lesser worth than the rich, the powerful, or the famous.”

“As your bishops, we wish to share a few thoughts with you before the election,” they continued. “It is not our role as bishops to tell you for whom to vote. Our hope is rather that the basic principles we outline here will aid your own discernment about which party to support.”

The pastoral letter comes as approximately 3.9 million eligible Norwegian voters prepare to choose representatives who will govern the country for the next four years.

Despite Catholics representing only about 3.5% of Norway’s population, the bishops emphasized their community’s responsibility to participate actively in civic life.

“Though Catholics are few in Norway, we may not disclaim our shared responsibility, either for society or for the well-being of our neighbor,” the bishops declared. “We therefore consider it especially important that all eligible Catholic voters make use of their vote and weigh their choices carefully before Election Day.”

The letter outlined several key areas where Catholic social teaching should inform voters’ decisions, including protection of human life “from conception to natural death,” religious freedom, strengthening families, caring for the poor, and Norway’s international responsibilities.

Beyond life issues, the prelates called attention to persistent poverty despite Norway’s reputation as a wealthy welfare state, noting that “each year we hear of people who cannot afford heat in winter or food at Christmas, and of children left out because family means are insufficient for school or leisure activities.”

The bishops also emphasized religious freedom as “rooted in human dignity,” declaring it “essential to ensure that everyone — individually and together with others — can seek faith and live responsibly in accordance with that faith.”

Varden and Hansen concluded their message by invoking Norway’s patron saint.

“St. Olav, Norway’s eternal king, helped found our country upon the values of the Gospel, upon the message and example of Jesus Christ,” they wrote. “At this election, let each of us recognize our responsibility to build upon the saint-king’s work.”

The Catholic Church in Norway has experienced significant growth in recent decades, with registered membership increasing from approximately 95,000 in 2015 to around 160,000 today, largely due to immigration from Catholic countries.

While advance voting began in July, Election Day has been set for Monday, Sept. 8.

The current government is led by the Labour Party under Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, with approximately 20 parties competing in the upcoming parliamentary election.

Where does your state stand on the death penalty? 
Sat, 30 Aug 2025 09:00:00 -0400

CNA Staff, Aug 30, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

The United States is seeing the highest number of executions in more than a decade, with 30 executions so far in 2025.

CNA has released three new interactive maps to show where each state in the U.S. stands on life issues — the protection of unborn life, assisted suicide, and the death penalty. The maps will be updated as new information on each issue becomes available.

Below is an analysis of the map that shows where each state stands on death penalty laws as of August 2025.

The death penalty in the U.S.

The United States is split on the death penalty, which is also known as capital punishment. Twenty-three states have the death penalty, while 23 states have abolished it. In the remaining four states, executions have been temporarily paused via executive action, but the death penalty has not been abolished.

Of the states that have abolished the death penalty, Michigan took the lead, becoming the first state to abolish the death penalty in 1847. Alaska and Hawaii — both newer states — have never had the death penalty.

Five states (Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah) allow the death penalty via firing squad as an alternative to lethal injection.

The federal death penalty can be implemented for certain federal crimes in all 50 states as well as U.S. territories.

A total of 16 federal executions have occurred since the modern federal death penalty was instituted in 1988.

The federal death penalty was found unconstitutional in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Furman v. Georgia in 1972, but it was later reinstated for certain offenses and then expanded by the Federal Death Penalty Act of 1994.

In 2024, President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 men but left three men on death row.

Where does your state stand on the death penalty?

Alabama: The death penalty is legal in Alabama. The state has one of the highest per capita execution rates in the nation, with 81 people executed since 1976.

Alaska: Alaska has never had the death penalty. Capital punishment was abolished by the territorial legislature two years before Alaska became a state. Hawaii and Alaska are the only states to have never had capital punishment in state law.

Arizona: The death penalty is currently legal in Arizona but has been paused for various reasons throughout the state’s history. In 2025 executions resumed in Arizona following a three-year pause.

Arkansas: Arkansas allows the death penalty if a defendant is found guilty of capital murder, defined as the premeditated and deliberate death of another person. In 2025, Arkansas became the fifth state to use nitrogen gas for executions.

California: California has had a moratorium on its death penalty since 2019.

Colorado: In 2020, Colorado abolished the death penalty.

Connecticut: In 2012, Connecticut abolished the death penalty for future crimes.

Delaware: The Delaware Supreme Court found capital punishment to be unconstitutional in 2016, and in 2024 Delaware repealed the state’s death penalty laws.

District of Columbia: The District of Columbia does not have a death penalty. It was repealed by the D.C. Council in 1981.

Florida: Florida allows the death penalty for first-degree murder and other capital felonies, including sexual battery. Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023 ended requirements for juries to vote unanimously for capital punishment. DeSantis also signed legislation allowing capital punishment in the case of sexual battery of children.

Georgia: Georgia law allows the death penalty in cases where the defendants are at least 17 years old and commit certain homicides; for instance, if the method of homicide was depraved or if the defendant committed the murder in a public place threatening other people.

Hawaii: Hawaii abolished the death penalty in 1957 when it was still a territory, prior to becoming a state. Hawaii and Alaska are the only states to have never had capital punishment in state law.

Idaho: Idaho is one of five states to allow the death penalty by firing squads. In 2023, the state allowed this method due to a shortage of lethal-injection drugs. The method can be used if the state cannot obtain lethal-injection drugs.

Illinois: Illinois abolished the death penalty in 2011.

Indiana: In Indiana, the death penalty is legal in some murder cases with “aggravating circumstances” for someone 18 or older who is not intellectually disabled. Lethal injection is the only method of execution that is legal.

Iowa: Iowa abolished the death penalty in 1965. Though some capital punishment proponents have attempted to bring it back over the years, none have succeeded.

Kansas: The death penalty is legal in Kansas, but the state has not executed anyone since 1994. Kansas has abolished and reinstated the death penalty several times.

Kentucky: The death penalty is legal in Kentucky for those convicted of murder with aggravating circumstances.

Louisiana: The death penalty is legal in Louisiana.

Maine: Maine abolished the death penalty in 1887.

Maryland: Maryland abolished the death penalty in 2013.

Massachusetts: Massachusetts abolished the death penalty in 1984.

Michigan: Michigan was the first state — and the first government in the English-speaking world — to abolish the death penalty. It abolished capital punishment in its constitution in 1847.

Minnesota: In 1911, Minnesota abolished the death penalty via the state Legislature.

Mississippi: Mississippi is one of five states to allow the death penalty by firing squad.

Missouri: Capital punishment is legal in Missouri, typically for first-degree murder with aggravating factors.

Montana: The death penalty is legal in Montana.

Nebraska: Though Nebraska lawmakers have debated abolishing the death penalty in recent years, it remains legal.

Nevada: The death penalty is legal in Nevada in first-degree murder cases with at least one aggravating circumstance.

New Hampshire: New Hampshire abolished the death penalty in 2019 after the state Legislature overrode the governor’s veto of the repeal bill.

New Jersey: New Jersey abolished the death penalty in 2007.

New Mexico: New Mexico abolished the death penalty in 2009.

New York: In 2004, the New York Court of Appeals declared New York’s death penalty law unconstitutional.

North Carolina: The death penalty is legal in North Carolina for first-degree murder cases with an aggravating factor. The state law has 11 aggravating factors, including for sexual offenses, cruelty, and murder of a witness or law enforcement officer.

North Dakota: In 1973, North Dakota abolished the death penalty.

Ohio: In 2020, Gov. Mike DeWine declared a moratorium on the death penalty in Ohio.

Oklahoma: Oklahoma has the highest per capita state execution rate, with 127 executions from 1976–2024. Oklahoma is one of five states to allow capital punishment by firing squad.

Oregon: Executions have been paused as Oregon has had a moratorium on the death penalty since 2011.

Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania has had a moratorium on executions since 2015.

Rhode Island: Rhode Island abolished the death penalty in 1852. The state briefly reinstated it in 1872, but it never carried out another execution.

South Carolina: South Carolina is one of five states to allow the death penalty by firing squad.

South Dakota: In South Dakota, the death penalty is legal only in cases where someone dies. Those who are declared insane or those with mental disabilities cannot be sentenced to capital punishment.

Tennessee: The death penalty is legal in Tennessee. In 2022, Gov. Bill Lee placed a moratorium on capital punishment for review of lethal injection protocols, but executions recently reopened.

Texas: Texas has the second-highest per capita state execution rate, with 101 executions from 1976–2024.

Utah: Utah is one of five states to allow the death penalty by firing squad, and it has been requested twice in recent years. States with this option usually allow defendants to choose, as some say it is less painful and more instantaneous than lethal injection, which at times has taken hours to cause death.

Vermont: Vermont abolished the death penalty in 1972 after the U.S. Supreme Court — for a brief period of time — declared the punishment unconstitutional in Furman v. Georgia.

Virginia: Virginia abolished the death penalty in 2021.

Washington: In 2018, the Washington state Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional, citing racial bias and arbitrariness. In 2023, capital punishment was formally removed from state law.

West Virginia: West Virginia abolished the death penalty in 1965, though there have been attempts to reinstate it in recent years.

Wisconsin: Wisconsin abolished the death penalty in 1953, one of the first states to do so.

Wyoming: The death penalty by lethal injection is legal in Wyoming. It is not allowed if the person is mentally incapacitated or pregnant.

Federal: The death penalty is legal on a federal level in the United States of America. The Trump administration restored the death penalty on Jan. 20, 2025, via an executive order.

Catholic Church teaching on the death penalty

In 2018, the Vatican developed the Church’s teaching on the death penalty, with Pope Francis updating the Catechism of the Catholic Church to reflect that the death penalty is “inadmissible” in the contemporary landscape.

Previous teaching in the catechism issued during the pontificate of St. John Paul II permitted the death penalty in “very rare” cases, saying that “cases of absolute necessity for suppression of the offender ‘today ... are very rare, if not practically nonexistent” (CCC, 2267, pre-2018).

Catholic University of America professor receives $3.89 million for study on beauty
Sat, 30 Aug 2025 08:00:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 30, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Here’s a roundup of the latest Catholic education news in the United States:

Catholic University of America professor receives $3.89 million for study on beauty

Brandon Vaidyanathan, a professor of sociology at The Catholic University of America, has received a $3.89 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation for a “first-of-its-kind, large-scale international study of beauty,” the university announced.

“The project will serve as a powerful catalyst to spur scholars, practitioners, and communities to take beauty seriously as a force for good in the world,” Vaidyanathan said.

Titled after a question posed by Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky, “Can Beauty Save the World? Aesthetic Engagement Among the Spiritual But Not Religious,” will center on understanding how experiences of beauty generate “a sense of meaning and transcendence” the university indicated.

St. Louis University launches yearlong AI series amid debates over rising use

St. Louis University has announced its College of Philosophy and Letters and its Catholic Studies program will host a yearlong program, “The Pope Leo Series on AI and the Social Teachings of the Church.”

The series, which launched on Aug. 27 with an event on AI and the future of work, will consist of a monthly panel examining AI from a different aspect of Catholic social teaching and will feature a variety of academic experts on the subject, according to a press release.

Future panels will examine how AI affects education, health care, warfare, how man relates to God, and society and human relationships.

Held in the university’s Catholic Studies Center, all panels will be free to the public. A representative of the university told CNA the series will be recorded but not livestreamed.

“The goal of this series is to promote integration and interdisciplinary dialogue about artificial intelligence and its impact through sustained shared reflection on the social teaching of the Church, using as a springboard a Vatican document recommended by the new pope: Antiqua et Nova,” the university stated.

Villanova University granted $822,258 for Augustinian project

Wake Forest University and Lilly Endowment Inc. have awarded Villanova University $822,258 to go toward its “Educating Augustinian Character” project and to support the creation of an “Augustinian Ambassadors” program for undergraduates.

The grant will also benefit efforts “to make Augustinian character formation deeper and more accessible,” according to a press release from the university.

“This grant gives us the capacity to expand our efforts to advance our formative programming in a way that’s robustly Augustinian while also bringing in the fruits of a larger national conversation around universities and character education,” said one of the program’s co-directors, Anna Bonta Moreland.

Villanova is the alma mater of Pope Leo XIV, who is an Augustinian religious.

‘Sudan needs a voice’: Catholic aid agency pleads for global media attention
Sat, 30 Aug 2025 07:00:00 -0400

ACI Africa, Aug 30, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

In one of the worst and most underreported humanitarian crises in the world, taking place in the northern Darfur region of Sudan, aid agencies have struggled to reach the desperate while lamenting the lack of global media coverage of what is happening there.

The country representative for Sudan for the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD), Telley Sadia, recently spoke to ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, about the growing humanitarian crisis in Sudan and the need for the international press to give it “a voice.”

“This is one of the biggest humanitarian situations in the world, which, unfortunately, has not received much international press,” said Sadia, who has worked in Sudan for many years. “My message is to the media: Sudan needs a voice. I look forward to the day when the world will be made aware of what is actually happening in this country.”

His comments echo the sentiments of the executive director of CAFOD, Christine Allen, who in an Aug. 2 interview told ACI Africa that in the U.K., “trying to get coverage on the media or political interest in Sudan has just been almost impossible.”

Below is part of the interview Sadia gave to ACI Africa about what is happening on the ground right now in northern Darfur and the role CAFOD is playing to assist those in need as they continue to find innovative ways to deliver water, medicine, and different forms of aid to the people.

ACI Africa: What is the current general humanitarian situation of Sudan?

Telley Sadia: The situation isn’t good, especially in locations where fighting is still ongoing, like in the Darfur region and in the Kordofan region. Because of the fighting [two years of heavy fighting between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces], lives are being lost. The infrastructure has been destroyed. People don’t have food. It is in Kordofan where you heard people were at one point feeding on leaves. In the Darfur, the situation is the same.

Accessibility to these places remains a challenge and getting aid to the people who are trapped there is not easy. People have lost their lives because of loss of blood or lack of adequate medical attention.

Children have lost about three years now of not going to school, especially in these locations. In locations such as Kosti where fighting has not been intense, schools have been converted to camps for people fleeing from places where there is still intense fighting. Children not going to school is a challenge that we are going to grapple with for a very long time even after the war is ended.

A majority of those staying in crowded camps are women, children, and the elderly. Most of them are really traumatized. The Sudanese, especially those in the Darfur region, have experienced war before, but nothing came close to what they are witnessing now. Those in Khartoum, going north and in other parts of the east, had never experienced what they’re experiencing now. That is why many in camps are really traumatized.

Even in locations where there is no fighting, we are having economical challenges. The inflation is very high. Liquidity is at zero. It’s very rare to see hard currency. The old currency that was changed is now back into circulation because people don’t have money. Whatever they had that they couldn’t change because of the war is what they are using.

And then, it’s also making it difficult for agencies to easily meet their financial obligations because the banking systems are not efficient because of the situation.

In what ways does CAFOD work with local partners and the Catholic Church on the ground?

CAFOD is a partner-led organization. We work with local partners because they are the ones who are closest to the people, and our desire is to strengthen their operational systems.

Some of these organizations are within the communities, and so, they can easily respond to the needs of the people. We work with Caritas Sudan and secular organizations located within these communities.

We also work with small Christian communities. The challenge, however, is that most humanitarian organizations fled when fighting intensified in north Darfur.

What are CAFOD’s success stories while intervening in the Sudanese crisis?

Beginning August last year up to early this year, we had a huge influx of IDPs [internally displaced people] across the country in about 11 states. Displaced people found refuge in Church premises. The Church was overwhelmed. There were no resources to meet the needs of the people and there was the fear of the outbreak of diseases, especially cholera.

Fortunately, we had already launched the CAFOD Sudan Appeal, where we get support from well-wishers back in the U.K. From the appeal, we raised funds, and we were able to reach all the 11 states, in the Church premises where IDPs were gathering. We went around distributing food, water, and medication. Many people who came in injured were provided with care.

We also worked with other mutual aid groups to support people who were camping in open spaces to provide them with hot meals and clean water. Our immediate response was appreciated by both the Church and the authorities.

What areas does CAFOD generally focus on in Sudan?

CAFOD started its operations as a grant management organization from the U.K. in the 1970s, and then it opened the country offices in 2004. Our work focuses on WASH [water, sanitation, and hygiene] as well as nutrition and protection. We are also doing emergency response for situations like floods and also support schools. We engage in sustainable livelihoods, and we are focusing quite a lot on agriculture and cash assistance.

How has the conflict impacted CAFOD’s operations?

We have been forced to close our offices in El Fashir. Now we are working through local partners who are based there, and things are not as they were before when we had CAFOD staff and an office in the city of El Fashir.

We also had to close our country offices in Khartoum, and this has been a great challenge because now we are operating from our few remaining field offices. This has been very inconvenient.

When war broke out, we had to downsize our staff as we monitored the situation. What we had for a long time was skeletal manpower as we worked mainly through partners, but as we stabilized again after the shock and started getting used to the situation, we had to bring in more new people as the needs grew.

We need to expand our protection program for the vulnerable and fast-track the WASH activities we put on hold for about five to six months. Some of our water projects are lagging behind, and we are fast-tracking them to reach at least 90% completion by the end of this year.

What areas in Sudan remain completely inaccessible to aid organizations?

There are areas where you can’t really access where there is active fighting. Like now, El Fashir town is completely inaccessible. For you to get to this place, you must first go to Chad. You fly to Egypt or Ethiopia, then connect to N’Djamena.

At the border between Chad and Sudan, you encounter a fresh set of challenges. You must first be cleared by Chad authorities. You get a visa, which sometimes takes days to process before you are cleared to proceed to Sudan.

There are also areas in-country that are not easily accessible because they are controlled by either of the warring parties. In many cases, there has not been any engagement between the parties to allow for safe passage for international agencies. Traveling to these areas is like traveling to another country altogether.

What I know is that El Fashir is not accessible. You can’t go in. Coming out is also a challenge because of the unending bombardments. There is fighting going on in other places such as West and South of Kordofan. What we only see are people coming out of these places to seek refuge. But it is still difficult for other people to go in, even humanitarian agencies.

What kind of support is most urgently needed from the international community right now?

Health care and food. Those who need urgent health care are the terminally ill who cannot access treatment because the systems have been broken down, as well as the women and teenage girls who have been abused and require trauma-related support.

People need food. I’ve been in Sudan for a number of years, and I never saw the number of women and children on the streets begging as it is now. All they want is something to eat. The issue of hunger is really serious, and it needs to be addressed.

But the most urgent need for me is for some level of understanding to be reached so that people can have a break from all this stress, and for humanitarian agencies to have free access to places where there is so much need.

Who would you address in your final message concerning the situation in Sudan?

My message is to the media: Sudan needs a voice. I look forward to the day when the world will be made aware of what is actually happening in this country. It is only this awareness that will create a change of attitude of the leaders of the two warring factions, so that they can give peace a chance. And by giving peace an opportunity, people will be able to get back to their normal lives.

This is one of the biggest humanitarian situations in the world, which, unfortunately, has not received much international press. Sudan is not heard. There isn’t much awareness on what is actually happening here. And because of this, not much pressure has been exerted on the warring parties to reach some level of compromise, so that there can be some level of peace for people to at least be a bit free. And also, for humanitarian agencies to have access to the parts of the country where the people have been caught in crossfire, where we cannot access. So, the humanitarian situation remains dire.

The information and interview for this story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa.

Taylor Swift engagement: Start of a promising cultural phenomenon?
Fri, 29 Aug 2025 18:52:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 29, 2025 / 18:52 pm (CNA).

News this week of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement sparked positive commentary from a wide cross-section of Catholics on social media, who anticipate a positive cultural shift from the marriage between the beloved pop star and Kansas City Chiefs tight end.

“Expect a spike in marriage,” wrote marriage and family expert Brad Wilcox in a social media post. “Taylor and Travis put a ring on it.”

“The Life of a Showgirl” singer announced her engagement to Kelce in an Aug. 26 Instagram post, captioned: “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”

Wilcox, the author of “Why Americans Must Defy the Elites, Forge Strong Families, and Save Civilization,” noted in another post the engagement came on the same day as a new study highlighting the value of marriage for women today.

The study, “In Pursuit: Marriage, Motherhood, and Women’s Well-Being,” found married women with children make up the majority of women ages 25 to 55 who describe themselves as “very happy.”

Swift’s engagement “as a sort of left-leaning pop celebrity could create a space where it’s OK again for center-left Americans, both elite and ordinary Americans, to publicly embrace marriage,” Wilcox also told the Wall Street Journal.

“Marriage is a beautiful thing,” Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins chimed in, reacting to the news on social media.

She added: “I hope Taylor Swift’s engagement inspires young women to see the joy and purpose in getting married, starting a family, and committing to one person for the rest of their lives.” In another post, Hawkins expressed confidence that “America is heading into its ‘get married and have babies era.’”

Defending the singer against negative reactions on social media to the news of her engagement, CEO and founder of the Classical Learning Test Jeremy Wayne Tate wrote in a post on X: “I’m disappointed with some conservatives today … Boy proposed to girl to enter into the most traditional relationship in human history … marriage.”

“That’s a beautiful thing,” he added. “Just say congratulations.”

LiveAction President Lila Rose also congratulated the happy couple on social media and praised their decision to get married.

“Marriage is the best and tons of women look up to Taylor,” Rose said. “So happy to see her embracing it.”

After Minneapolis Catholic church shooting, public leaders debate prayer
Fri, 29 Aug 2025 18:13:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 29, 2025 / 18:13 pm (CNA).

After a man fired over a hundred bullets into a Minneapolis Catholic Church killing two children and injuring 17 others, thousands of mourners packed into an archdiocesan vigil to pray for the victims and their families with Archbishop Bernard Hebda and other clergy members.

“We know that there are a lot of other things that need to be done [and] we need to be able to address these issues in civic society, but what we do together tonight is to pray,” Hebda told grieving Catholics at the Academy of Holy Angels, just two miles from Annunciation Church, where the tragedy occurred.

“And we look for the words that are able to express inexpressible grief,” he said. “We look for those symbols that might bring some hope. … We come together in our trials and we trust that God will answer us, that he will hear our pain, that he will hear our prayers.”

Catholics across the country held their own vigils or offered prayers for the victims, as did many Protestants and people of other faiths.

Yet as communities sought comfort and a connection with God amid the tragedy, some figures in the media and even politicians went in the opposite direction. On social media and in public statements, those individuals derided prayer and dismissed its role in addressing suffering and societal ills.

“I’m tired of being told this is normal — and you should be too,” Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Colorado, said in a post on X. “Thoughts and prayers aren’t going to do anything to fix this.”

Rep. Maxwell Frost, co-chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, echoed that sentiment, stating on X that “these children were probably praying when they were shot to death at Catholic school.”

“Don’t give us your [expletive] thoughts and prayers,” Frost added.

Jen Psaki, an MSNBC host who served in the administrations of former presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, wrote on X that “prayer is not freaking enough.”

“Prayers [do] not end school shootings,” she added. “Prayers do not make parents feel safe sending their kids to school. Prayer does not bring these kids back. Enough with the thoughts and prayers.”

Why Catholics turn to God in times of need

Over the past few days, Catholics and other Christians have pushed back on the negative view of prayer promoted by some lawmakers and members of the media.

In response to Psaki’s comments, Franciscan University explained through its X account that “prayer is not an escape from reality” but is rather “the very place we meet Christ, who himself was unjustly slain.”

“We will continue to pray, not because we are passive, but because we know only God can bring true justice, healing, and peace,” the university added. “Evil wants us to stop praying and to despair. We will not. We cling to Christ, who has conquered death.”

Franciscan University held a prayer vigil Thursday night for the victims, which about 500 students attended.

University President Father Dave Pivonka, TOR, told CNA: “It makes sense that Catholics would come together and pray given that [the shooting] took place at a Catholic church.” He added: “One of the things that Catholics do is we pray.”

The insinuation of anti-prayer rhetoric, Pivonka said, is that “prayer isn’t doing something.” He rejected that notion, saying “prayer has a great impact.” In the midst of tragedy, he noted that many people are looking to help and offering prayers for “the Lord’s peace to be with them [and] the Lord’s presence to be with them” is a “beautiful way to do that.”

Pivonka said he also prays for public officials, “that God would give them courage, that God would give them wisdom” to address political issues. He said Catholics should also engage society, the culture, and the political world.

He noted that Minnesota’s Catholic bishops had been asking state lawmakers to provide funds for security, which was ultimately not given. He said: “That’s a very active thing that they were trying to do.”

“Yes, we’re praying, but yes we’re doing actions to try to bring about this change,” Pivonka said.

Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, wrote in an op-ed for the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, that his diocese established a Mental Health Council to provide “guidance, responses, and resources to support those experiencing mental health issues as well as to their family members.”

He noted that Catholics can do “certainly, more than one thing,” such as security, mental health resources, engagement with public officials, and acts of charity and compassion.

“Above all, we can and must pray with daily fervency, calling out to the Lord, striving to remain close to him, and asking him to grant us all the peace only he can give,” Burbidge wrote.

Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, told Fox News Digital that “prayer is the raising of the mind and heart to God, which strikes me as altogether appropriate precisely at times of great pain.”

“Prayer by no means stands in contrast to decisive moral action,” he said. “... This is not an either/or proposition.”

Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic, also joined the conversation, posting on X in response to Psaki that any criticism of prayer is “bizarre.”

“We pray because our hearts are broken,” he wrote. “We pray because we know God listens. We pray because we know that God works in mysterious ways and can inspire us to further action. Why do you feel the need to attack other people for praying when kids were just killed praying?”

Council of Nicaea aids Christian unity, Catholic and Orthodox leaders say
Fri, 29 Aug 2025 16:28:00 -0400

ACI Stampa, Aug 29, 2025 / 16:28 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Kurt Koch and Patriarch Bartholomew I, Eastern Orthodox ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, addressed the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea being celebrated in 2025 during the Rimini Meeting held Aug. 22–27.

In his presentation, Koch, the prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, highlighted the importance of the doctrinal issues addressed by the council.

“With it, the Fathers professed their faith in ‘one God, the Father almighty, creator of all things visible and invisible’ ... And in the letter of the Synod to the Egyptians, the Fathers announced that the first real object of study was the fact that Arius and his followers were enemies of the faith and opposed to the law, and therefore affirmed that they had ‘unanimously decided to condemn with anathema his doctrine contrary to the faith, his blasphemous statements and descriptions, with which he insulted the Son of God,’” he noted.

“These statements,” he added, “delineate the context of the creed formulated by the council, which professes faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, ‘consubstantial with the Father.’ The historical context is that of a violent dispute that erupted in Christianity at the time, especially in the eastern part of the Roman Empire; it follows that, by the beginning of the fourth century, the Christological question had become the crucial issue of Christian monotheism.”

The Council of Nicaea placed Jesus’ prayer to the Father at the center of the profession, Koch said, adding: “The Christological creed of the council has become the basis of the common Christian faith. The council is of great importance, especially because it took place at a time when Christianity was not yet torn apart by the numerous divisions that would later arise. The Nicene Creed is common not only to the Oriental Churches, the Orthodox Churches, and the Catholic Church, but also to the ecclesial communities born of the Reformation; therefore, its ecumenical importance must not be underestimated.”

Only in this way is unity in the Church possible, he continued: “In fact, to restore the unity of the Church, there must be agreement on the essential contents of the faith, not only among the Churches and ecclesial communities of today but also with the Church of the past and, in particular, with its apostolic origin. The unity of the Church is founded on the apostolic faith, which in baptism is transmitted and entrusted to each new member of the body of Christ.”

He continued: “Since unity can be found only in the common faith, the Christological confession of the Council of Nicaea is revealed to be the foundation of spiritual ecumenism.”

“The ecumenical movement,” the cardinal noted, “has been a movement of prayer from its origins. It was prayer for Christian unity that paved the way for it. The centrality of prayer highlights that ecumenical commitment is, above all, a spiritual task, undertaken with the conviction that the Holy Spirit will complete the work he has begun and show us the way.”

Ecumenism can only progress “if Christians return together to the source of faith, which is found only in Jesus Christ, as the Council Fathers of Nicaea professed... Christian ecumenism can be nothing other than the adherence of all Christians to the Lord’s priestly prayer, and it materializes when Christians deeply embrace the firm desire for unity,” Koch said.

The importance of the Council of Nicaea was also underscored by Patriarch Bartholomew, who emphasized: “It is evident that this council played and continues to play a primary role in strict adherence to holy Scripture, and the Orthodox Church remains firmly anchored in it; a cornerstone for proclamation in the 17 centuries that followed.”

The patriarch of Constantinople addressed current issues such as synodality and a common date for the celebration of Easter.

“To be credible as Christians,” he noted, “we must celebrate the Savior’s resurrection on the same day. Together with Pope Francis, we have appointed a commission to study the issue. However, there are differing sensitivities among the Churches, and we must avoid new divisions, not fuel more divisions.”

The Orthodox leader said this requires a joint effort: “The effort to find a common date for Easter is an important pastoral objective, especially for couples and families of different faiths, and given the great mobility of people, especially during the holidays.”

“With a common Easter date,” Bartholomew continued, ”the profound conviction of the Christian faith could be expressed even more credibly: that Easter is not only the oldest but also the most important feast of Christianity, and that the Christian faith stands or falls with the Paschal Mystery, as the early Church summed up this fundamental conviction with the phrase: ‘Take away the Resurrection, and you instantly destroy Christianity.’ The fundamental importance of Easter would be highlighted by a common date, which would also give new impetus to the ecumenical journey toward restoring the unity of the Church in East and West in faith and love.”

“Indeed, ecumenism also advances on the path toward recomposing the unity of the Church only if it is carried out jointly and, therefore, synodally. The fundamental importance of synodality for ecumenical commitment is clearly demonstrated by two important documents, such as the study ‘The Church Toward a Common Vision,’ which aspires to a multilateral and ecumenical vision of the nature, purpose, and mission of the Church,” the patriarch stated.

Bartholomew concluded by affirming the importance of the joint study: “This vision is also shared by the International Theological Commission in its programmatic document ‘Synodality in the Life and Mission of the Church,’ which notes that ecumenical dialogue has progressed to the point of recognizing synodality as a ‘revelatory dimension of the nature of the Church.’”

“This historical overview helps us understand that the development of synodality in the life of the Church and of ecumenism must be implemented with theological accuracy and pastoral prudence. This lesson can also be learned by studying the Council of Nicaea,” the Orthodox patriarch concluded.

This story was first published by ACI Stampa, CNA’s Italian-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by ACI Prensa/CNA.

How John the Baptist became linked to the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus
Fri, 29 Aug 2025 14:36:00 -0400

ACI MENA, Aug 29, 2025 / 14:36 pm (CNA).

Each year on Aug. 29, the Church commemorates the beheading of John the Baptist, as recounted in the first three Gospels. The actual resting place of the saint remains uncertain, particularly the fate of his head, which became a focal point of devotion in the Middle Ages, with several sites claiming to possess it.

Today, four places are most often associated with the relic: the Residenz Museum in Munich; San Silvestro in Capite in Rome (upper part of the skull); Amiens Cathedral in France (the front portion of the head, from the forehead to the upper jaw, excluding the teeth); and finally, the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria, according to both Muslim and Christian tradition. However, there is no conclusive evidence that the head rests in any of these locations.

The Umayyad Mosque’s history predates Christianity. About 3,000 years ago, it was a temple dedicated to Hadad, the fertility god of the Arameans and other civilizations of the Fertile Crescent. When the Romans took control of Syria, they erected a vast temple to Jupiter on the site in the first century A.D. Later, under Emperor Theodosius I, Christianity was firmly established, and by the late fourth century, part of the pagan complex was converted to a church.

Scholars debate whether the church was built in the southwestern section of the Roman temple or directly within the Cella (Holy of Holies). While it is uncertain if the church was originally dedicated to John the Baptist, sources suggest that by the time the Arabs entered Damascus in 635, the church was indeed named after him and was believed to house his head. The relic may have been preserved inside or near the main altar.

Muslims left the church standing for about 70 years before the Umayyad Caliph, al-Walid I, ordered its demolition in 705 to build a grand mosque worthy of Damascus — then the capital of the Caliphate. Despite Christian opposition, the project went forward, and construction lasted about a decade.

According to the 12th-century historian Ibn Asakir, during construction workers discovered the relic of Yahya ibn Zakariya (John the Baptist in Islamic tradition) in a cave beneath one of the mosque’s planned pillars. Al-Walid ordered the relic to be reburied in its place, marking the column above it distinctly. A shrine for John the Baptist was later incorporated into the mosque, a detail also confirmed by the Andalusian traveler Ibn Jubayr.

Muslims honor John the Baptist as a prophet mentioned in the Qur’an, revered for his piety and truthfulness.

Christian traces remain visible in the mosque complex. These include a baptismal font thought to date from the church period, a partially destroyed stone relief on the outer wall believed by some to depict Christ, and the two Roman towers (southeastern and southwestern), which may have once served as bell towers before becoming the Minaret of Jesus and the Qaytbay Minaret.

Particularly notable are Greek Christian inscriptions on the lintel of the southern gate of the Byzantine church complex, one quoting Psalm 145:13: “Your kingdom (O Christ) is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations.”

In modern times, the memory of John the Baptist at the Umayyad Mosque continues to bridge faith traditions. During his visit to Syria in 2001, Pope John Paul II entered the mosque and prayed at the shrine of the saint, highlighting its shared significance for Christians and Muslims alike.

This story was first published by ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, and has been translated for and adapted by CNA.

Pope Leo XIV appoints new auxiliary bishop for Diocese of San Jose, California
Fri, 29 Aug 2025 14:06:00 -0400

Vatican City, Aug 29, 2025 / 14:06 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Friday appointed Father Andres Ligot as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of San Jose, California.

The bishop-elect is currently parish priest of St. Elizabeth of Portugal and vicar general of the San Jose Diocese.

Prior to his 2021 appointment to St. Elizabeth of Portugal, Ligot, 59, served as judicial vicar of the diocese from 2008 to 2021.

Bishop Oscar Cantú expressed his gratitude for Ligot’s elevation to bishop in an Aug. 29 statement published on the diocesan website.

“His priestly heart, pastoral experience, and steady leadership will bless our parishes, schools, and ministries,” Cantú said. “I invite the faithful to keep him in prayer as he prepares for episcopal ordination.”

Ligot said he was “humbled” by the trust and support he has received from Pope Leo and Cantú and asked people to pray that he will continue to be a “faithful servant” within the diocese.

“I renew my promise to serve Christ and his people with joy — especially those most in need,” he said in a statement published by his diocese.

Ordained a priest in 1992 by Pope John Paul II in the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome for the Diocese of Laoag City, Philippines, Ligot was incardinated into the Diocese of San Jose on March 30, 2004.

Before his incardination to the California diocese, Ligot served as parish vicar for St. John Vianney Parish, San Jose, from 2003 to 2005. He was also a chaplain at the Veterans Medical Center in San Francisco and a visiting priest at the Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park.

From 2005 to 2009, the bishop-elect was parish priest of St. Lawrence the Martyr Catholic Parish in Santa Clara.

Ligot attended San Pablo College Seminary in Baguio City, Philippines, and later continued his priestly studies at the Bidasoa International Seminary in Navarra, Spain, where he obtained a master’s degree in theology. He later obtained a doctorate in canon law from the University of Navarra in Spain.

Ligot, who is fluent in English, Spanish, Tagalog, and Ilocano, will become the second auxiliary bishop appointed to the Diocese of San Jose and the sixth U.S. prelate from the Philippines.

GoFundMe campaigns raise more than $1.2 million for victims of Catholic school shooting
Fri, 29 Aug 2025 12:21:00 -0400

CNA Staff, Aug 29, 2025 / 12:21 pm (CNA).

Numerous online fundraising campaigns have raised well over $1 million to help support victims of the Minneapolis Catholic school shooting that claimed the lives of two children and injured approximately 20 people.

Verified GoFundMe fundraisers showed over $1.2 million raised as of the morning of Aug. 29, with the funds supporting those injured in the shooting as well as the family of one of the deceased children.

The mass shooting took place on Aug. 27 when a gunman opened fire on the parochial school Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis. The killer subsequently took his own life.

The GoFundMe campaigns created in response to the tragedy include one in support of the Moyski-Flavin family, whose 10-year-old daughter, Harper, was one of the two children killed in the shooting. The other victim has been identified as 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel.

The GoFundMe for Harper’s family says the funds will “be utilized by the family in honor of Harper’s memory with a portion donated in Harper’s honor to a nonprofit to be identified at a later date.” As of Friday morning it had raised about $80,000 of its $100,000 goal.

The largest campaign had raised roughly $530,000 of a $620,000 goal as of Friday morning to help support 12-year-old Sophia Forchas, who the fund said was “in critical condition in the ICU” after being shot during the attack.

The funds for that campaign will contribute to Sophia’s medical care, trauma counseling for her and her brother, family support services, and lost wages.

Other campaigns include fundraisers for 9-year-old Vivian St. Clair, 11-year-old Genevieve Bisek, and 13-year-old Endre Gunter.

‘Give your kids an extra hug’

In the hours after the shooting, family members of Harper Moyski and Fletcher Merkel identified them as the two children killed in the incident, which the FBI is investigating as a possible hate crime against Catholics.

“Because of [the shooter’s] actions, we will never be allowed to hold [Fletcher], talk to him, play with him, and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming,” the Merkel family said after the shooting.

“Please remember Fletcher for the person he was and not the act that ended his life,” the statement said. “Give your kids an extra hug and kiss today. We love you. Fletcher, you’ll always be with us.”

The Moyski-Flavin family, meanwhile, said they were “shattered, and words cannot capture the depth of our pain.”

“No family should ever have to endure this kind of pain,” they said. “We urge our leaders and communities to take meaningful steps to address gun violence and the mental health crisis in this country.”

The other victims of the shooting are expected to survive, authorities have said, though several remain in serious condition.

Prior to carrying out the murders, the killer, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, a man who struggled with his sexual identity, indicated anti-Christian motivation for the murders and an affinity for mass shooters, Satanism, antisemitism, and racism.

Andrea Bocelli, Pharrell Williams to direct Vatican concert for human fraternity
Fri, 29 Aug 2025 11:51:00 -0400

Vatican City, Aug 29, 2025 / 11:51 am (CNA).

Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and American songwriter Pharrell Williams will direct a concert featuring musicians John Legend, Teddy Swims, Jelly Roll, Karol G, BamBam, and Angélique Kidjo in St. Peter’s Square next month.

The Sept. 13 concert, which is free and open to the public, will also include a drone light show and talks on themes including peace, justice, food, freedom, and humanity.

Called “Grace for the World,” the show will close the third edition of the World Meeting on Human Fraternity, organized by the Fratelli Tutti Foundation and St. Peter’s Basilica, and will be preceded by roundtables on social issues in Rome and Vatican City on Sept. 12–13.

Pope Francis established the Fratelli Tutti Foundation at the end of 2021. It is named after his 2020 encyclical on fraternity and social friendship, which expanded on themes in the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together,” signed with Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, grand imam of Al-Azhar, in Abu Dhabi in 2019.

The final event of the World Meeting on Human Fraternity 2025 is intended “to communicate to the whole world, with a symbolic embrace, the joy of fraternal love,” Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, president of the Fratelli Tutti Foundation and archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, said at an Aug. 29 press conference at the Vatican.

Gambetti said organizers tried to “broaden our international scope” with the choice of music artists.

In the press conference, the cardinal said Karol G — a Grammy-winning Colombian reggaeton and urban pop artist — was asked to take part because she is Latin American and “because she is involved in important social work” with women and children. “It seemed relevant to the theme we are trying to address,” Gambetti said.

Prominent U.S. artists will also take the stage in front of the Vatican basilica: rapper Jelly Roll and singer-songwriters John Legend, Teddy Swims, and Pharrell Williams.

Thai rapper BamBam, who is also a member of the South Korean boy band Got7, will perform, as well as Angélique Kidjo, a Beninese-French singer, actress, and activist. The concert will also feature the choir of the Diocese of Rome and the Voices of Fire Gospel choir.

Andrea Bocelli, who has performed in St. Peter’s Square on previous occasions, shared in a video message Aug. 29 that his participation in the concert is “a great honor.”

“I sincerely hope that it will truly succeed in spreading, in everyone’s hearts, a sense of brotherhood and great humanity, which is so badly needed,” the world-famous singer added.

The World Meeting on Human Fraternity 2025 will start with a meeting with Pope Leo XIV on Sept. 12. The program will then focus on roundtables on topics including artificial intelligence, education, economics, literature, children, health, and the environment.

Sept. 13 will include an assembly on the topic of “What It Means to Be a Human Today” and a visit to St. Peter’s Basilica and the Holy Door of the Jubilee of Hope.

“While the world suffers from wars, loneliness, even new poverty, we have decided to stop and ask ourselves what it means to be human today,” Father Francesco Occhetta, SJ, Fratelli Tutti Foundation secretary-general, said Aug. 29.

“It is not an easy question, it even seems a little naive, but it is the only one that can save us if we ask it together,” he added.

Nicaraguan dictatorship banned more than 16,500 religious processions, new report reveals
Fri, 29 Aug 2025 10:24:00 -0400

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 29, 2025 / 10:24 am (CNA).

The dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, in Nicaragua has banned more than 16,500 religious processions and activities in recent years and has perpetrated 1,010 attacks against the Catholic Church.

The statistics are recorded in the seventh installment of the Spanish-language report “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church” by exiled lawyer and researcher Martha Patricia Molina, released on Aug. 27.

Regarding the ban on processions, Molina explained that it has worsened since 2022 and that the dictatorship has imposed it throughout the country since then. However, the report does not cover all parish churches or chapels, of which there are 400 in Managua alone.

“So the figure presented in the study could be at least three or four times higher than what is being recorded,” she emphasized.

In an interview with the Spanish-language edition of EWTN News, Molina explained that so far this year, only 32 attacks by the dictatorship against the Church have been recorded, a figure that could be much higher.

Reporting attacks against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua

The researcher explained that there are a series of factors that prevent these types of incidents from being reported: “Laypeople are terrified that members of the Citizen Power Council and the paramilitaries, which are organizations affiliated with the dictatorship, will harm them if they decide to report.”

Furthermore, Catholic priests “are prohibited from making any complaints, and if by chance any attack is reported in the media, [the dictatorship] simply denies it.”

“Another negative aspect we find, and which makes it possible for these attacks to continue to go unreported, is that there is no independent media presence in the country,” the expert stated.

An example of this, she said, was the recent confiscation of St. Joseph School run by the Josephine Sisters in Jinotepe: “When people reported it [to the outside free press] several authorities, including Catholic ones, said it was false. But two days later when dictator Rosario Murillo announced the confiscation, it was already known that what was being reported was actually true.”

The researcher also noted that her study “has documented the arbitrary closure of 13 universities and educational or training centers” and added that “what the dictatorship is doing is first prohibiting the students who remained at the confiscated school from withdrawing their enrollment,” since if they do so, “they will face some kind of retaliation.”

Molina also told EWTN News that these schools or educational centers are then used to “indoctrinate young people, children, so they see Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo as the saviors of Nicaragua.”

So far in 2025, she continued, “24 media outlets and 75 nonprofit organizations have been arbitrarily closed simultaneously,” and the dictatorship has confiscated 36 properties, despite the fact that Nicaragua’s Political Constitution, “even the one recently reformed in 2025, prohibits this type of action.”

“Priests and bishops are constantly under surveillance. Some of them are even followed 24 hours a day,” she continued.

“The clergy meetings held by bishops and priests are constantly monitored by the police [who] come to take photographs and videos of the religious who attend, and [the Ortega regime’s security forces] must be fully informed of everything discussed at these meetings.”

Nicaragua and the Vatican

After noting that the dictatorship has not returned the bank accounts confiscated from the Catholic Church and that “heavy fines and high fees are being imposed on religious buildings,” the lawyer addressed the relationship with the Holy See.

The latest constitutional reform, she said, “is creating a rift between the Nicaraguan Catholic Church and the Vatican because the dictatorship included in this reform that no interference in these religious activities is permitted. So what this means is that the [Nicaraguan] Catholic Church should not have any contact with the Vatican.”

“The relationship between the Vatican City State and the Sandinista dictatorship is nonexistent. It is known that there is no dialogue of any kind, at least not openly,” she commented.

Pope Leo XIV’s meeting with Nicaraguan bishops

Regarding the meeting that Pope Leo XIV held on Aug. 23 with three exiled bishops from Nicaragua, Molina expressed her joy and emphasized: “Who better than these bishops, who have been exiled and stripped of their citizenship, to attest to the persecution that is unfolding in Nicaragua?”

The Holy Father received at the Vatican Bishop Silvio Báez, whom he confirmed as auxiliary bishop of Managua; Bishop Isidoro Mora of Siuna; and Bishop Carlos Enrique Herrera, bishop of Jinotega and president of the Nicaraguan Bishops’ Conference.

Báez wrote on X on Aug. 26: “The Holy Father, Leo XIV, received me in a private audience on Saturday, Aug. 23, together with Bishop Herrera and Bishop Mora. We spoke at length about Nicaragua and the situation of the Church in particular. He encouraged me to continue my episcopal ministry … I am sincerely grateful for his fraternal welcome and his encouraging words.”

“The pope needs true, objective information,” Molina pointed out, “and I believe that these three bishops who attended this private audience with Pope Leo were very intent on reporting on what is being suffered in Nicaragua and also what we, the migrant community, whether Catholic or not, are going through in other countries as a result of the damage the Sandinista dictatorship is causing in the country.”

‘There are attacks that cannot be published’

Molina told EWTN News that she also keeps a separate record of “attacks that cannot be published in the media or in studies because of the fear felt by the people who leaked the information.”

She said she does send these reports to “the authorities of some countries that monitor freedom, attacks on religious freedom, and also to human rights organizations at the Organization of American States and the U.N., so that they can truly hear from the victims what is happening."

Molina also reported that recently “the seminary that was confiscated from the Diocese of Matagalpa [in January of this year] is being destroyed, dismantled, a place where future priests who would serve the Diocese of Matagalpa were being formed.”

She called on the international community to closely monitor events in Nicaragua so that the people can finally “be free from this criminal dictatorship, because I don’t see how the people in Nicaragua can mount any kind of protest because the dictatorship only prescribes jail, exile, or the cemetery for people who demand human rights.”

The report can be accessed here.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Leo XIV listed in Time magazine’s ‘Most Influential People in Artificial Intelligence’
Fri, 29 Aug 2025 09:00:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 29, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Time Magazine included Pope Leo XIV in its 2025 list of the “World’s Most Influential People in Artificial Intelligence” on Thursday, Aug. 28, praising the pontiff’s focus on the ethical concerns related to the emerging technology.

The magazine listed the top 100 influential people in artificial intelligence (AI) in four categories: Leaders, Innovators, Shapers, and Thinkers. Leo XIV is among the 25 most influential thinkers in the field, according to Time.

In a profile included in the magazine, Time technology correspondent Andrew Chow noted that Leo XIV chose his papal name, in part, based on the need for the Church to address ethical matters related to AI and wrote that the Holy Father is “already making good on his vow.”

When the pontiff met with the College of Cardinals two days after he assumed the papacy, he said he took the name in honor of Pope Leo XIII, who had “addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution.”

Leo XIII, who was pope from 1878 until 1903, published the encyclical Rerum Novarum, which discussed the needs of the working class amid the industrial revolution. The text eschewed both socialism and unrestrained market power, opting for cooperation between competing interests that is centered on the dignity of the human person.

The current pope, Leo XIV, said he took the name because of the “developments in the field of artificial intelligence,” which he noted pose “new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor.”

Time’s profile noted that the Vatican hosted the Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, and Corporate Governance in June, and stated: “Leo XIV’s keynote speech underlined AI’s potential as a force for good, particularly in health care and scientific discovery.”

“But AI ‘raises troubling questions on its possible repercussions on humanity’s openness to truth and beauty, on our distinctive ability to grasp and process reality,’ he added,” the profile stated, quoting the Holy Father. “And he warned that the technology could be misused for ‘selfish gain at the expense of others, or worse, to foment conflict and aggression.’”

Other figures on Time’s list include xAI founder Elon Musk, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, and Sen. Chris Murphy.

This is the third annual list published by Time focusing on the most influential people in AI.

“We launched this list in 2023, in the wake of OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT, the moment many became aware of AI’s potential to compete with and exceed the capabilities of humans,” Time Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs wrote regarding the publication of the list.

“Our aim was to show how the direction AI travels will be determined not by machines but by people — innovators, advocates, artists, and everyone with a stake in the future of this technology,” he added. “... This year’s list further confirms our focus on people.”

Minneapolis Catholic church shooter expressed regret about ‘gender transition’
Fri, 29 Aug 2025 08:00:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 29, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The shooter who killed two children and injured 17 others at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis on Aug. 27 voiced some regret over his 'gender transition' efforts when he was a minor, according to handwritten notes he displayed in a YouTube video before the attack.

Robin Westman, who was named “Robert” at birth, legally changed his name when he was 17 years old to reflect his self-identified status as a transgender girl. Court documents show that his mother signed off on the name change.

Westman published videos to YouTube shortly before the attack, which contained written notes, some of which were in English and others using the Cyrillic alphabet. Several Slavic languages use the Cyrillic script, but Westman was not writing in any of them. Rather, he tried to match the sounds of the Cyrillic letters to form English-language words when read aloud.

According to a partial translation published by the New York Post, Westman wrote: “I regret being trans,” and added: “I wish I was a girl. I just know I cannot achieve that body with the technology we have today. I also can’t afford that.”

The Post’s translation states that Westman also wrote he wished “I never brainwashed myself,” but kept his long hair “because it is pretty much my last shred of being trans.”

“I can’t cut my hair now as it would be an embarrassing defeat, and it might be a concerning change of character that could get me reported,” he wrote. “It just always gets in my way. I will probably chop it on the day of the attack.”

According to the translation, Westman also wrote: “I know I am not a woman but I definitely don’t feel like a man.”

Jason Evert: Westman did not get ‘mental health care he needed’

Chastity Project Founder Jason Evert, who authored “Male, Female, Other? A Catholic Guide to Understanding Gender,” told EWTN News that he believes Westman “was not receiving … the mental health care that he needed.”

Evert noted that many people who struggle with gender dysphoria often suffer from other mental health conditions, such as major depressive disorder or borderline personality disorder, or have experienced bullying, isolation, and social distress.

“If they’re being told, ‘Well, hey, you need to change your outfit or change your name, and you’ll feel at home in your own body,’ … it’s depriving the young people to have opportunities to live in their bodies and get the clinical intervention that they actually need to receive,” he said.

Catholic teaching

In 2024, the Vatican issued the declaration Dignitas Infinita, which teaches that “the soul and the body both participate in [human] dignity” and the body “is endowed with personal meanings, particularly in its sexed condition.” It adds that “sex-change intervention … risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception.”

In contrast, Evert noted that doctors in the United States primarily follow the “Dutch protocol,” which is to “affirm” a person’s self-asserted transgender identity and then provide minors with puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and eventually transgender surgeries. However, recent studies have shown that most children outgrow transgender inclinations and that surgeries do not solve their mental health issues.

“It’s not working,” he added. “We’re actually contributing to a mental illness instead of actually treating it. We’re depriving these young people of opportunities and strategies to learn how to live in their bodies. And instead of that, we’re giving them hormones and telling them that they can hurt their body in order to be their authentic selves.”

Yet, Evert urged caution against suggesting that Westman’s gender dysphoria was the reason for the attack, emphasizing that “most people who do experience gender dysphoria would never commit an atrocity like this and most people who have committed school shootings do not identify as trans.”

“I think it’s careful that we at least explain that, so as to not stir up animosity amongst young people who might be struggling with their sense of sexual identity,” Evert said.

What we know about the shooter’s motive

Police have not identified a clear motive up to this point, but FBI Director Kash Patel announced that the agency is investigating the tragedy as “an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics.”

Videos Westman recorded before the shooting demonstrate some anti-Catholic motivation.

The videos show that Westman had attached an image of Jesus Christ wearing the crown of thorns to the head of a human-shaped shooting target. He also wrote anti-Christian messages on his guns and loaded magazines, which included “Where’s your God?” and a comment that mocked the words of Christ by writing “take this all of you and eat” on a rifle.

Some of the drawings also appeared Satanic, including an inverted pentagram and an inverted cross.

Other messages showed hatred toward Jewish people, Black people, Hispanic people, Indian people, and Arab people. The messages also included threats against President Donald Trump.

Some of Westman’s writings highlight a struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts. He also apologized to his family for the trouble his attack would cause them but made clear he was not sorry to the children he wanted to murder. He showed a strong affinity for mass murderers.

Illinois man faces homicide charge after allegedly poisoning girlfriend with abortion pill
Fri, 29 Aug 2025 07:00:00 -0400

CNA Staff, Aug 29, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news in the United States:

Illinois man faces homicide charge after allegedly poisoning girlfriend, unborn child with abortion pill

A 31-year-old Illinois man has been arrested for homicide of an unborn child after allegedly poisoning his girlfriend with abortion pills.

Police in Bloomington, Illinois, arrested Emerson Evans after police found the girlfriend in a bathroom with what appeared to be a human fetus in the toilet on Aug. 22, according to court documents.

The girlfriend, who was seven weeks pregnant, told police that the boyfriend had told her he wanted her to have an abortion, but she did not want an abortion. Evans has been charged with intentional homicide of an unborn child after allegedly poisoning his girlfriend and their child.

With the rise of the abortion pill, similar cases have been documented across the United States. In Texas this summer, two men are being charged for poisoning the mothers of their children with the abortion pill, leading to the deaths of their unborn children.

Illinois governor mandates that chemical abortion pills be offered on public college campuses

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law mandating that public universities offer chemical abortion and contraceptives this school year.

The new law requires all public colleges to offer abortion pills on their on-campus pharmacies and at student health centers. Pritzker also expanded shield laws protecting abortionists from laws in pro-life states.

On-campus student activism prompted the abortion pill mandate on college campuses, according to a local report. Recent graduates of a local public college testified in support of the bill after a student referendum question brought the issue to their campus.

Local bishop calls allegations that public school-funded student abortions ‘deeply troubling’

A local bishop has voiced concern over a report that a Virginia public school facilitated and funded abortion procedures for students.

The report, Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington said during a recent podcast, is “deeply troubling.”

Staff at Centreville High School, part of the Fairfax County Public Schools system, arranged abortions for two pregnant high school girls in 2021, according to a report by Walter Curt Dispatch Investigations from earlier this month.

According to the investigative report, one of the girls, who was 17 years old at the time, had an abortion after a school official brought her to an abortion facility.

“How terrible that the minors may have been advised or even provided funds to end the life of a child,” Burbidge said.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is investigating the report as state law protects minors from having abortions without parental consent.

“The governor has rightly called for a full investigation, and we will await the outcome,” Burbidge said.

Texas ‘Women and Child Protection Act’ closing abortion pill loophole advances

Texas lawmakers are advancing a bill to stop mail-order abortion pills amid the illegal abortion pill crisis.

The bill would enable Texas to shut down abortion pill companies that are sending abortion pills to Texas, where the law protects unborn children from abortion in most cases.

The bill would also enable women who are harmed by illegal abortions to sue, according to Texas Right to Life.

The Women and Child Protection Act, which was put forward by state Rep. Jeff Leach and sponsored by state Sen. Bryan Hughes, will head to the House floor next.

Texas Right to Life said in a statement that abortion businesses “ship lethal pills into Texas illegally from other states and countries — to the tune of at least 19,000 orders of abortion drugs each year.”

New Jersey pregnancy centers challenge state attorney general investigation

Five New Jersey pregnancy centers filed an opening brief in the U.S. Supreme Court alleging that their state attorney general targeted them with an “unconstitutional investigation” in which the government demanded personal information of donors and other confidential documents.

First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, the collective of five faith-based pregnancy centers, challenged state Attorney General Matthew Platkin for issuing a subpoena demanding that First Choice disclose names, addresses, places of employment, and phone numbers of donors as well as up to 10 years of internal confidential documents, according to a press release.

The opening brief also alleges that Platkin made an attempt “to manufacture procedural roadblocks to evade federal court review” and displayed an “undisguised animosity” toward the pregnancy centers.

Aimee Huber, executive director of First Choice, said in a statement that the attorney general has been “pursuing a personal and political vendetta” against them for more than two years.

Senior Counsel Erin Hawley of Alliance Defending Freedom, the legal nonprofit arguing on behalf of First Choice, added that the attorney general was “targeting” the pregnancy center.

EWTN radio conference highlights importance of ‘strong Catholic identity’
Fri, 29 Aug 2025 06:00:00 -0400

Washington D.C., Aug 29, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The 2025 EWTN Catholic Radio Conference has drawn hundreds of attendees to Washington, D.C., this week to discuss and learn more about Catholic radio as an evangelization tool.

During the conference, attendees have had the opportunity “to network with each other, learn things from each other, and discuss things that have worked, and things that haven’t worked, in Catholic radio,” EWTN Radio General Manager Jack Williams told CNA.

Among the attendees, Williams said about 65 are associated with affiliate stations who carry the network’s radio programming in different parts of the country. He noted that many of them didn’t necessarily start off their careers in radio but are people who “heeded Mother Angelica’s call.”

On a live EWTN broadcast in 1995, hosted by network foundress Mother Angelica, “she put out the call that if anybody had, or could procure, an AM or FM radio station she would give them the programming for free. And that’s essentially what we’ve been doing since 1996,” Williams said. “By the end of that year, she had six people; now we have over 440 affiliates around the country.”

The conference always starts with a retreat day, and this year the group gathered for their retreat at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The days following the retreat have included workshops and professional development opportunities on various topics.

The topics discussed are tailored to what the attendees want to learn more about based on a sampling of affiliate groups that EWTN calls the “Affiliate Advisory Team.” They “meet on a monthly basis and talk about various issues facing the radio world in general, and Catholic radio in particular,” Williams explained.

“We use feedback from that group to help plan the topics for the workshops and the things that we think will best suit the operators that will help to propel them forward.”

Along with the workshops, the conference welcomed various speakers, including EWTN Chairman of the Board and CEO Michael Warsaw and EWTN News Vice President and Editorial Director Matthew Bunson.

During his Aug. 28 keynote address, Bunson, who hosts the network’s weekly “Register Radio” program, reviewed the relationship various popes have had with radio and how their work can serve as a guide for radio professionals.

The popes have “understood that radio had a role to evangelize, to proclaim Christ Jesus, to lead a profound cultural service, a service to truth, to justice, and to human dignity,” Bunson noted.

The popes’ work in radio dates back to Pope Pius X in 1931 when he began his broadcast that allowed him to speak “directly to the faithful across continents.”

Then in 1957, Pope Pius XII continued to “highlight the importance” of religious radio. Bunson said: “He exhorted bishops to increase and enhance programs, deal with Catholic affairs, and emphasize the need for well-trained priests and laity in the fields, seeing radio as a new means to fulfill Christ’s command to preach the Gospel.”

Pius XII “underscored a fundamental principle” that technology, when ethically used, can be “a powerful ally in the service of faith,” Bunson explained.

“In the Second Vatican Council’s important 1964 document about the means of social communications, the famous document Inter Mirifica, the bishops made sure to include radio in the list of the great forms of expression that have to be put to use by the Church ... [to] reach and influence not only individuals but a whole human society.”

Pope Paul VI “expressed even more vividly the power of radio. He wrote: ‘TV and radio, they have given society new patterns of communication. They have changed ways of life ... broadcasters have access to the minds and the hearts of everyone.’”

Pope John Paul II “further articulated Catholic radio’s mission, stating that it is entrusted with the task of ‘proclaiming the Christian message with freedom, fidelity, and efficacy.’”

Bunson said Catholic radio and other forms of Catholic social communication “have an obligation to understand the real media landscape.” It “requires continuous adaptation, updating, solid human, cultural, professional, and spiritual formation to the community.”

By reflecting on the popes, those working in Catholic radio can learn “to have clarity in self-identity, to be as professional as possible, [and] to follow the call of the Second Vatican Council to utilize all the means of social communications that are before us.”

Bunson added: “Authentic Catholic radio … must be built on from the ground up with a strong Catholic identity.”

Pope Leo XIV accepts Medal of St. Augustine: ‘It’s an honor held dearly’
Fri, 29 Aug 2025 05:10:00 -0400

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 29, 2025 / 05:10 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV expressed his gratitude to receive the Medal of St. Augustine, awarded by the United States Augustinian Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, and affirmed that the spirituality of the doctor of the Church has marked his life and ministry.

“To be recognized as an Augustinian, it’s an honor held dearly. So much of who I am I owe to the spirit and the teachings of St. Augustine,” he said in a video message shared on St. Augustine’s feast day, Aug. 28.

The Augustinian Province said on Facebook that the Medal of St. Augustine is the highest honor the province can bestow, “given to those who embody the spirit and teachings of St. Augustine, living with deep commitment to truth, unity, and charity.”

The province added: “From his early years in formation to his decades of service in Peru, leadership as prior general, and now as the first Augustinian pope, Pope Leo XIV has witnessed to a life of generosity, faith, and service. In him, we see a true son of Augustine — dedicated to building unity in the Church, teaching with wisdom, and shepherding with a heart rooted in love. We are honored to bestow upon him this award.”

In his video message, recorded from Castel Gandolfo, where he spent a few days of prayer and rest in mid-August, the pope recalled that the life of St. Augustine still inspires the faithful today.

“His life was full of much trial and error, like our own lives. But through God’s grace, through the prayers of his mother, Monica, and the community of good people around him, Augustine was able to find the way to peace for his restless heart,” he said.

Leo emphasized that the example of St. Augustine invites us to put our talents at the service of others: “The life of St. Augustine and his call to servant leadership reminds us that we all have God-given gifts and talents, and our purpose, fulfillment, and joy comes from offering them back in loving service to God and to our neighbor.”

He assured the members of the Augustinian province that they are called to continue the legacy of the first Augustinians in the United States — such as Father Matthew Carr and Father John Rosseter — whose missionary spirit led them to proclaim the Gospel to immigrants in Philadelphia: “Jesus reminds us in the Gospel to love our neighbor, and this challenges us now more than ever to remember to see our neighbors today with the eyes of Christ: that all of us are created in the image and likeness of God through friendship, relationship, dialogue, and respect for one another.”

He also encouraged the U.S. Augustinians to become instruments of reconciliation. “As a community of believers and inspired by the charism of the Augustinians, we are called to go forth to be peacemakers in our families and neighborhoods and truly recognize God’s presence in one another.”

The pope emphasized the importance of listening, following the advice of St. Augustine: “It is within our hearts where God speaks to us.” He added: “The world is full of noise, and our heads and hearts can be flooded with many different kinds of messages. These messages can fuel our restlessness and steal our joy. As a community of faith … may we strive to filter the noise, the divisive voices in our heads and hearts, and open ourselves up to the daily invitations to get to know God and God’s love better.”

The pontiff expressed his confidence that, like Augustine, every believer can find in God the strength to overcome anxiety, darkness, and doubt, and “through God’s grace, we can discover that God’s love is truly healing. Let us strive to build a community where that love is made visible.”

Leo XIV concluded his message by asking for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Mother of Good Counsel, and by offering a prayer for the Church: “May God bless you all and bring peace to your restless hearts, and help you continue to build a community of love, one in mind and heart, intent upon on God.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Ancient cross discovered in Abu Dhabi points to deep Christian roots in region
Thu, 28 Aug 2025 17:37:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 28, 2025 / 17:37 pm (CNA).

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:

Ancient cross discovered in Abu Dhabi points to deep Christian roots in region

The Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, has announced a new archaeological discovery: a 30-centimeter (11.8-inch) plaster cross unearthed in an ancient monastery on Sir Bani Yas Island about 106 miles southwest of Abu Dhabi, ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, reported.

The artifact was uncovered during excavation work that began earlier this year. According to the Abu Dhabi Media Office, the cross was found in the courtyard of one of the monastery’s houses. The cross is believed to date back to the seventh or eighth century A.D. Its eastern-style design resembles crosses found in Iraq and Kuwait, reflecting the historic connections of the Eastern Church and its spread across the gulf in the early centuries of Christianity.

Church in Thailand equips seminarians to minister to the Deaf

The Catholic Church in Thailand has launched a training program for seminarians at Fatima Minor Seminary in the Archdiocese of Thare-Nongseng to help strengthen their ability to minister to the Deaf, according to Vatican News.

The program kicked off with training sessions on Aug. 22–24 led by Father Peter Bhuravaj Searaariyah, director of pastoral ministry for the Deaf of the Diocese of Chanthaburi and of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand. The sessions included an introduction to religious sign language terminology, participation in a Thai Sign Language (TSL) Mass, and the recitation of the Liturgy of the Word in sign language, Vatican News reported.

Nigerian priest: Surge in child trafficking a ‘national emergency’

A Nigerian Catholic priest is sounding the alarm over the growing trafficking of secondary school children — most often young girls who live in poverty across the west African nation who are taken during and after school hours.

“This is a national emergency. We are dealing with a crisis that threatens the future of our children and the soul of our nation,” Father George Ehusani told ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, in an interview on Monday. “When teenagers who should be in classrooms are lured, moved, and exploited by criminal networks, the entire community is diminished.”

Armenian Catholics launch website for St. Maloyan’s canonization

The Armenian Catholic Patriarchate of Cilicia has announced the official launch of a website dedicated to the upcoming canonization of Blessed Ignatius Maloyan, ACI MENA reported Thursday.

The site provides detailed information for the faithful who wish to participate in the celebration, including visa instructions for Lebanese citizens and comprehensive travel packages covering flights, accommodations, and local transportation. The platform also offers specialized services for the Armenian diaspora to facilitate participation in this historic event at the heart of the universal Church.

Climate activists convene in Kenya for interfaith prayer against fossil fuel expansion

Climate activists and faith leaders from across Africa gathered in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, on Aug. 24 for an interfaith prayer session to push for an end to fossil expansion on the world’s second-largest continent.

Convened by the continental Laudato Si’ Movement at the Holy Family Basilica, the prayer vigil was grounded in prayer and moral witness, ACI Africa reported. The movement’s programs manager, Ashley Kitisya, told ACI Africa: “Our goal is to increase moral and spiritual pressure on decision-makers to halt fossil fuel expansion and instead invest in a just and sustainable transition.”

Summit cross in Swiss Alps uprooted in act of vandalism

In the Swiss Alps, a cross and a statue of Mother Mary were torn out of the ground in an act of vandalism, CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, reported earlier this week. The cross and statue were located in the Basòdino mountain, the second-highest peak in the canton of Ticino.

Roberto Iori, who runs a mountain hut in the area, said: “What also torments me is the fact that the perpetrator of this abominable act probably passed our hut and maybe even slept here. The cross and the Madonna were symbols for mountain lovers … It could be religiously motivated vandalism. It’s not the first time someone has destroyed religious symbols on a summit.”

British MP: Catholic support for Palestinians in Gaza ‘extremely powerful’

Independent British member of Parliament Shockat Adam said in an interview with Crux this week that support from the Catholic Church for people in Gaza has been “extremely powerful” and emphasized the Church’s unique role to play in ending the conflict.

“The Vatican has been doing it, but other Christian denominations and even Muslim leaders haven’t been as vociferous and clear on this,” Adam said. “The Vatican has a role to play, have played a role, and should continue to do so … The leadership of the Church addressing parliamentarians and legislators and world leaders is a really powerful avenue of making change.”

7 Christians jailed after Hindu groups say they violated anti-conversion laws

A group of seven Christians in the Uttar Pradesh state in India have been jailed following accusations made by “Hindu vigilante groups” that they violated the northern Indian state’s anti-conversion laws by “converting gullible people to Christianity,” according to a UCA News report.

The arrests took place on Aug. 24 in three separate locations where Sunday prayer services were taking place. Six prayer services were interrupted in total that same day, an anonymous church leader told UCA.

Pope Leo XIV brings about unity in the Syro-Malabar Church
Thu, 28 Aug 2025 16:23:00 -0400

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 16:23 pm (CNA).

The Holy See Press Office has published a series of decisions by Pope Leo XIV to bring about unity in the Syro-Malabar Church of India, which has been at serious risk of schism in recent years due to liturgical disputes.

The Syro-Malabar Church is one of the 23 Eastern Churches in full communion with the bishop of Rome and follows the Chaldean liturgical tradition. It is the largest Eastern Church after the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and its origins date back to the preaching of St. Thomas the Apostle.

Since 1999, the Church has undergone a long period of division as a result of liturgical reforms that were later confirmed by the synod of the Syro-Malabar Church in 2021.

In July, Pope Leo XIV terminated the 2023 appointment of Archbishop Cyril Vasil’ as papal delegate to the Syro-Malabar Church after an internal agreement was reached without his mediation.

Appointments of new bishops

The Vatican reported Aug. 28 that it had accepted resignations, made several episcopal appointments, and created several ecclesiastical provinces in the Syro-Malabar Church.

First, the synod of bishops of the Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church accepted the resignation of the bishop of Belthangady, Mar Lawrence Mukkuzhy, and elected as new eparch Claretian Father James Patteril, “to whom the Holy Father had granted prior assent,” according to information provided by the Holy See.

Patteril, 63, is a native of Mangalore in the Indian state of Karnataka. He professed his vows in the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1988 and was ordained a priest in 1990.

After completing his studies in philosophy and theology, he was sent to Germany to study pastoral theology at the Pastoral-Theologisches Institut of the Pallottine Fathers in Friedberg. He has exercised his pastoral ministry in India and Germany.

Carmelite Father Joseph Thachaparambath has been elected bishop of the Eparchy of Adilabad. Born in 1969 in Nalumukku, India, he entered the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate congregation in 1985.

After completing his studies in philosophy and theology, he was ordained a priest in 1997. His pastoral work has focused on parish life and teaching at various educational institutions within his religious institute. Since 2023, he has served as superior of the Mar Thoma Province.

His Beatitude Mar Raphael Thattil, major archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, with the consent of the synod of bishops, has accepted the resignation of Thomas Elavanal of the Missionary Congregation of the Most Holy Sacrament as bishop of the Eparchy of Kalyan.

New ecclesiastical provinces of the Syro-Malabar Church

Regarding the territorial organization of the Syro-Malabar Church, the Holy See has announced the establishment of several ecclesiastical provinces and the assignment of the corresponding metropolitan archbishops.

The ecclesiastical province of Faridabad will be composed of the dioceses of Faridabad, Bijnor, and Gorakhpur. The Diocese of Faridabad will become an archdiocese, with its current bishop, Kuriakose Bharanikulangara, designated as archbishop.

The ecclesiastical province of Kalyan will have the Eparchies of Chanda and Rajkot as suffragans, with Kalyan remaining as the archiepiscopal see. Its first archbishop will be Sebastian Vaniyapurackal, currently bishop of the Major Archiepiscopal Curia.

The ecclesiastical province of Shamshabad, named after the see that is being elevated to a metropolitan archdiocese, will have the Eparchy of Adilabad as its suffragan. Its first archbishop-designate will be Bishop Prince Antony Panengaden, currently the prelate of the same see.

Ujjain is the fourth ecclesiastical province created, taking its name from the Diocese of Ujjain. Its suffragan sees are Jagdalpur, Sagar, and Satna. The current bishop of Ujjain, Sebastian Vadakel, a member of the Missionary Society of St. Thomas the Apostle, was appointed metropolitan archbishop.

Finally, the Eparchy of Hosur has been designated a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archeparchy of Trichur.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

School district backs off violating student’s free speech, religious freedom rights
Thu, 28 Aug 2025 15:53:00 -0400

CNA Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 15:53 pm (CNA).

A rising senior at a high school in Grand Island, New York, Sabrina Steffans, is now allowed to decorate her school parking space with Christian messages after her high school reversed course after initially rejecting her faith-based artwork.

Grand Island High School allows seniors to paint their parking spots “to encourage students to express themselves through positive artwork, to beautify the campus, to build school spirit, and to create a new and exciting radiation to support senior class activities and events.”

When Steffans, a Christian who leads a Bible club at her school, proposed three drawings for her parking space, the school rejected the first two, which had Christian themes.

Steffans said the school approved the third design, “which had no Bible verses, no crosses, or anything.”

Steffans said after the school rejected the second proposed drawing, “that’s when we kind of decided to take charge and move forward with this [legal action].”

Steffans hired lawyers from First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit religious liberty law firm, who wrote a demand letter to the Grand Island school district insisting she had a constitutionally-protected right to freely express her religious beliefs at school.

Days later, attorneys for the school district responded to the demand letter stating that Sabrina could proceed with her original design.

“We are pleased that the school district changed course and will allow Sabrina to truly express her deeply held beliefs in her design,” said Keisha Russell, senior counsel for First Liberty Institute. “The First Amendment protects students’ private expressions of faith in public schools.”

In response to the threatened lawsuit, Grand Island Central School District Superintendent Brian Graham issued a statement last week saying the district takes “seriously our responsibility to uphold constitutional principles, including the First Amendment.”

He continued: “While we strongly dispute any assertion that our policies or decisions violated the rights of any student, the board of education and district leadership, after careful consultation with legal counsel, have decided that the student in question will be permitted to proceed with her original senior parking space design.”

Pope Leo XIV recalls the ‘life and witness’ of St. Augustine on his feast day
Thu, 28 Aug 2025 15:02:00 -0400

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 15:02 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV recalled what the “life and witness” of St. Augustine means for Christians on the day the Catholic Church celebrates his feast day, Aug. 28.

“The life and witness of St. Augustine reminds us that each of us has received gifts and talents from God and that our vocation, our fulfillment, and our joy come from giving them back in loving service to God and others,” the pontiff wrote on a post on X.

Since his election as successor of St. Peter, Pope Leo XIV has continually alluded to his vocation as an Augustinian religious. In his first greeting from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica on May 8, he exclaimed:

“I am an Augustinian, a son of St. Augustine, who once said, ‘With you I am a Christian, and for you I am a bishop.’ In this sense, all of us can journey together toward the homeland that God has prepared for us.”

Throughout his more than three months as pontiff, Pope Leo XIV has consistently included in almost every one of his discourses, catechesis, and statements a pearl of wisdom passed on by the bishop of Hippo.

Not surprisingly, his papal motto, “In Illo uno, unum” (“In the one Christ, we are one”), comes from a homily by St. Augustine, the saintly disciple of St. Ambrose of Milan.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Leo XIV urges Catholic politicians to follow the Gospel in public life
Thu, 28 Aug 2025 12:30:00 -0400

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 12:30 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday encouraged Catholic politicians to live coherently as Christians and follow the Gospel, even when performing their public duties in a secular polity.

During an Aug. 28 meeting with a delegation of political representatives and civic leaders from the Diocese of Créteil, France, accompanied by Bishop Dominique Blanchet, the Holy Father stated that “a more just, more human, more fraternal world” can only be “a world more imbued with the Gospel.”

Thus, he added, “in the face of the various deviations present in our Western societies, we can do nothing better, as Christians, than to turn to Christ and ask for his help in carrying out our responsibilities.”

For this reason, the pope highlighted the importance of political and social leaders being committed to acting in coherence with their faith, because “beyond mere personal enrichment, it carries great importance and usefulness for the men and women they serve.”

In this regard, he underlined that such determination “is all the more praiseworthy considering that, in France, due to a sometimes-misunderstood secularism, it is not easy for an elected representative to act and decide consistently with their faith.”

‘Christianity cannot be reduced to a mere private devotion’

Because the Christian message embraces every dimension of the human person, Leo XIV stressed that “Christianity cannot be reduced to a mere private devotion, since it entails a way of living in society infused with love for God and neighbor, who in Christ is no longer an enemy but a brother.”

To face social challenges, the Holy Father said Catholic politicians must rely “on the virtue of charity that dwells within them since baptism,” a gift of God that, as he cited from the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, constitutes a “force capable of inspiring new paths to address today’s problems and to renew profoundly from within structures, social organizations, and legal norms,” bringing charity from the personal realm into the social and political one because “it makes us love the common good and leads us to effectively seek the good of all.”

Pope Leo XIV also noted that the Christian politician “is better prepared to face the challenges of today’s world, provided, of course, that he lives and bears witness to his faith in him, to his personal relationship with Christ.”

In this sense, he warned against the temptation to promote values “however evangelical they may be, but ‘emptied’ of Christ, their author,” since they will be “incapable of changing the world.”

Responding to Blanchet’s request for advice to Catholic politicians, Leo XIV replied: “The first and only one I will give you is to unite yourselves more and more to Jesus, to live and bear witness to him.”

Coherence in public life

“There is no split in the personality of a public figure: There is not, on one side, the politician and, on the other, the Christian. Rather, there is a politician who, under God’s gaze and before his conscience, lives his commitments and responsibilities as a Christian!” he added.

To achieve such coherence of life, the pope recalled the call for Catholic politicians “to strengthen themselves in faith, to deepen their knowledge of doctrine — especially social doctrine — that Jesus taught the world, and to put it into practice in carrying out their duties and in drafting laws.”

He also affirmed the enduring validity of natural law, a norm “that all can recognize, even non-Christians. Therefore, we should not fear proposing it and defending it with conviction: It is a doctrine of salvation that seeks the good of every human being, the building of peaceful, harmonious, prosperous, and reconciled societies.”

Courage in the face of difficulties

At the end of his address, the pope acknowledged that “an openly Christian commitment by a public official is not easy, especially in certain Western societies where Christ and his Church are marginalized, often ignored, and at times ridiculed.”

Such a commitment also means facing political pressures, including that of “ideological colonization,” Leo said, using a term coined by his predecessor Pope Francis to refer to campaigns by wealthy countries and organizations to influence the values of developing nations. Leo said that Christian public officials “need courage: the courage sometimes to say ‘no, I cannot,’ when the truth is at stake.”

“Only union with Jesus — Jesus crucified! — will give you that courage to suffer for his name,” the pontiff declared, recalling Christ’s words: “In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage: I have overcome the world.”

In conclusion, the pope expressed his support for Catholic politicians and encouraged them not to lose hope in a better world: “Remain certain that, united to Christ, your efforts will bear fruit and receive their reward.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Bankruptcy court accepts Diocese of Syracuse’s $176 million abuse settlement
Thu, 28 Aug 2025 12:00:00 -0400

CNA Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).

A federal bankruptcy court has accepted the Diocese of Syracuse, New York’s massive $176 million abuse settlement plan, Bishop Douglas Lucia said this week.

The decision comes after a yearslong negotiation process between the diocese and victims of clergy abuse as well as between the diocese and insurers that will pay into the settlement fund.

Lucia said in an Aug. 27 letter that the diocese will contribute $100 million to the fund, as diocesan leaders first announced in 2023.

Fifty million dollars will come from the diocese itself, with $45 million from parishes and $5 million from “other Catholic entities” associated with the Syracuse Diocese.

The remaining $76 million will be contributed by diocesan insurance companies, the bishop said.

Further “nonmonetary items” in the agreement include provisions such as strengthening diocesan safe environment policies.

The diocese initiated the bankruptcy process in 2020. In his letter, Lucia thanked his fellow Catholics “who throughout these five years have prayed for this resolution and for those whose hearts were broken by the betrayal that came at the hands of Church members.”

“Together I now pray we will grow ever more as the body of Christ in this part of the world community,” he said.

The Syracuse decision comes amid a wave of high-value abuse settlement payouts from U.S. dioceses, including throughout New York.

Abuse victims in New York last month agreed to a massive settlement from the Diocese of Rochester, which is set to pay $246 million to survivors of clergy abuse there.

The Diocese of Buffalo, New York, earlier this year agreed to pay out a $150 million sum as part of its own abuse settlement.

The largest diocesan-level bankruptcy settlement in U.S. history thus far has been from the Diocese of Rockville Centre — also in New York — which last year agreed to pay $323 million to abuse victims.

The largest Church abuse payout total in U.S. history thus far has been at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which last year agreed to a near-$1 billion payment to abuse victims.

Minneapolis Catholic school closed after shooting; leaders vow to ‘rebuild’ with ‘hope’
Thu, 28 Aug 2025 11:30:00 -0400

CNA Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 11:30 am (CNA).

The leaders of the Minneapolis Catholic school where two children were shot and killed during a mass shooting incident on Wednesday say the school will remain closed for the time being as the community continues to deal with the “unfathomable” deadly incident.

The shooting took place during the all-school Mass at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis on Aug. 27. The gunman, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, born Robert Westman, shot through the church’s stained-glass windows with a rifle, killing the two children and injuring nearly 20 children and adults before taking his own life.

The shooting generated global headlines and drew prayers and support from leaders including Pope Leo XIV and President Donald Trump.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday evening, Annunciation Catholic School Principal Matthew DeBoer and parish pastor Father Dennis Zehren described the crisis as an “impossible situation.”

“No words can capture what we have gone through, what we are going through, and what we will go through in the coming days and weeks,” they wrote. “But we will navigate this — together.”

The leaders indicated the school would remain closed for at least the rest of the week and possibly longer. “As we process and navigate this unfathomable time together, we will be in touch this weekend regarding when school will resume,” they said.

The statement noted that law enforcement are still carrying out “essential work” on the school’s campus, located several miles south of downtown Minneapolis.

Families in the parish will have access to support services, they said.

“In this time of darkness, let us commit to being the light to our children, each other, and our community,” the statement said. “We will rebuild our future filled with hope — together.”

Pope Leo XIV after the shooting sent his “heartfelt condolences and the assurance of spiritual closeness” to the victims of the shooting, while Catholic bishops and leaders from around the country likewise called for prayers and support for the school community.

The deadly shooting came after Minnesota’s bishops had implored state lawmakers to provide security funding for local nonpublic schools.

Those appeals from the bishops came after deadly school shootings at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee.

The prelates had argued that students at Catholic and other nonpublic schools should receive the same level of protection as their public-school peers, though bills to that effect stalled in the state Legislature.

Catholic military chaplains convene to discuss gender, deliverance ministry
Thu, 28 Aug 2025 11:00:00 -0400

CNA Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

Over 60 Catholic military chaplains and other priests who serve the U.S. military gathered in San Diego this month for a convocation focused on pastoral issues related to gender and deliverance ministry, according to a news release from the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.

The event, part of a series organized by Military Services Archbishop Timothy Broglio, marks the beginning of a broader initiative to address contemporary challenges faced by chaplains serving some 1.8 million Catholics across 220 military installations worldwide.

The San Diego convocation is the first of four scheduled gatherings, with Broglio planning additional sessions in Washington, D.C., from Sept. 1–5; San Antonio from Sept. 15–19; and Rome from Oct. 13–17.

Broglio, who will direct all four meetings, regularly hosts the same five-day gatherings at different locations in order to make it “more affordable and convenient for the more than 200 priests on active duty worldwide, as well as those serving the military as civilians, to attend one nearest them.”

The archdiocese highlighted the gatherings as opportunities for liturgical celebrations, prayer, reflection, dialogue, and expert-led presentations, with this year’s theme centered on “Military Chaplaincy and Contemporary Pastoral Issues in Gender and Deliverance Ministry.”

Broglio emphasized the importance of these gatherings, saying: “Together we learn to grow in the ministry of caring for the men and women in uniform and their families. These privileged moments of the convocations allow me time to spend with the priests who serve the faithful of the [archdiocese], to hear their concerns, and to draw near to the Lord together in prayer.”

“In a special way this year, we are uniting ourselves to the prayers of Pope Leo for world peace,” Broglio said.

The convocations will feature input from notable figures, including Monsignor Stephen J. Rossetti, a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and an exorcist from the Diocese of Syracuse, New York. He is the author of more than a dozen books including the 2021 bestseller “Diary of an American Exorcist: Demons, Possession, and the Modern-Day Battle Against Ancient Evil.”

Additionally, the Nesti Center for Faith and Culture at the University of St. Thomas in Houston will contribute through presentations by its director, Kevin Stuart, and research fellow Amy Hamilton, who will explore the intersection of faith and contemporary issues, including gender.

LIVE UPDATES: Shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis
Thu, 28 Aug 2025 10:45:00 -0400

CNA Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 10:45 am (CNA).

Law enforcement on Wednesday said two children have been killed at a shooting during a Mass held at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, with the gunman reportedly taking his own life after the deadly attack.

Follow here for live updates.

Note: CNA has concluded this live blog. Please visit our main website for ongoing coverage and other Catholic news.

20 years after Hurricane Katrina, bishops call for renewed commitment to racial justice
Thu, 28 Aug 2025 10:30:00 -0400

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).

On the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, two U.S. bishops called on Catholics to remember the victims of the tragedy and to “renew our commitment to racial equity and justice in all sectors of public life.”

Washington Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr., chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Subcommittee on African American Affairs, and Chicago Auxiliary Bishop Joseph N. Perry, chairman of the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, issued a joint statement on the occasion.

“As we mark the 20th anniversary of this tragedy, we remember those who were lost and displaced but also renew our commitment to racial equity and justice in every sector of public life,” the prelates stated.

A still open wound

Hurricane Katrina, which struck New Orleans and the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, left more than 1,800 dead and forced thousands of families, mostly African American, to flee their homes.

The bishops emphasized that “the impacts of ongoing mental and physical injuries remain and today the cost of the injuries is borne unequally.”

In particular, they recalled the devastation in neighborhoods like the predominantly African American Ninth Ward, where residents were forced to take refuge in attics and on rooftops to escape the floodwaters. There, they noted, not only human lives were lost but also “the loss of irreplaceable items handed down through generations such as photos, videos, diaries, genealogical records, documents, and other mementos.”

The role of the Catholic Church

In the face of a delayed and inadequate response from the federal government, the bishops highlighted the role of the Church.

“The powerful witness of the Catholic Church filled the gaps of an inadequate governmental response to the tragedy. It was people of faith, moved by their hearts, who assisted in resettlement efforts in new cities and supported rebuilding when people attempted to return home,” they stated.

They mentioned several of the Church’s actions in the aftermath of the devastation. Catholic Charities USA mobilized hundreds of volunteer teams to clean and rebuild thousands of homes, providing critical support to affected communities. The Catholic Home Missions Appeal allocated more than $3 million in immediate financial assistance to five dioceses.

Additionally, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development provided $665,000 in grants to low-income communities across 11 dioceses. The Knights of Columbus contributed $2 million in relief assistance, further bolstering the Church’s response. Through the work of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, by Oct. 1, 2005, 95% of Catholic school students in the city were enrolled in Catholic schools in other parts of the country.

A present reality

The bishops pointed out that Hurricane Katrina revealed not only the fragility of cities in the face of natural disasters but also the reality of poverty and deep-rooted racial inequalities in the United States.

They urged the faithful to reflect on the words of Pope Leo XIV: “In our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of the other, and an economic system that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest.”

Finally, they called on the Church to be a sign of hope amid inequalities: “As Church, let us be a lifeboat in the floodwaters of injustice.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Legionaries of Christ comment on HBO series exposing sordid life of founder
Thu, 28 Aug 2025 10:00:00 -0400

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

An HBO series on Marcial Maciel this month has once again placed the spotlight on the founder of the Legionaries of Christ and the complaints of sexual abuse against him.

The congregation in Rome confirmed to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that it had known about the production for years and agreed to be interviewed to address their past and show the changes the order has undertaken since the scandal.

“Yes, we are aware of the production,” the congregation told ACI Prensa. “At the end of 2022, we received an interview request from the documentary’s producers. The project, according to what they said, would address events that were mostly already publicly known thanks to complaints from victims, former members, and specialists, as well as investigations conducted by the congregation and the Holy See,” the congregation noted.

They specified that Father Andreas Schöggl, LC, former secretary-general and currently archivist of the congregation, was the only one to grant an interview, “due to his thorough knowledge of the history of the Legion and his ability to explain it accurately and transparently.”

The Legionnaires emphasized that “agreeing to the interview did not mean they were collaborating in the production or influencing” the final cut. “We answered every question with complete openness and clarity,” they said.

They noted that their website has a specific section on Marcial Maciel and five annual “Truth, Justice, and Healing” reports. They have also implemented a Safe Environments program and a process of outreach and reparation for victims.

Context of the series

The HBO Max documentary series examines the career of the founder of the Legionaries of Christ.

Maciel was considered a charismatic leader and effective fundraiser for decades, but it was later revealed that he had sexually abused at least 60 minors, battled addiction to a morphine derivative, led a hidden double life, and had at least one daughter.

The first season of the series directed by Matías Gueilburt consists of four episodes. The first, set in the 1940s in Mexico, chronicles the founding of the Legionaries of Christ and the initial warning signs about Maciel, which were ignored.

The second episode, set in the 1950s, describes the Legion’s expansion to Spain and Italy, as well as the start of investigations after the first reports of abuse and his addiction to a morphine derivative became known.

The third, set in the 1990s, depicts his closeness to Pope John Paul II, the launch of Regnum Christi, the revelation of his double life through a 1997 report, and the strategies employed to avoid exposure under growing international scrutiny. The fourth episode is scheduled to air on Thursday, Aug. 28.

The series draws on archives, multiple sources such as journalists and specialists, and testimonies from victims, such as former Legionaries Juan Vaca, Alejandro Espinoza, and José Barba, who recount in detail the abuses perpetrated by Maciel. Throughout the episodes the documentary maintains a respectful tone toward the Church and the victims and uses dramatizations in certain scenes to create a powerful impact.

The congregation explained that, from the beginning, it conditioned its participation on doing so “with openness and humility: facing up to our history, acknowledging the harm caused, and showing the path of renewal we have taken.”

The objective, the congregation stated, was to “contribute to a more complete account of the events” and, at the same time, reaffirm their “commitment to the truth and to the victims, make known the renewal process, to bear witness to the service we provide to the Church today, and to share information about the events verified and compared with multiple sources.”

Producer Sebastián Gamba’s perspective

Sebastián Gamba, executive producer of Anima Films and the docuseries, explained in an interview with the Spanish-language edition of EWTN News that the Maciel case “really resonates in recent Mexican history” and that the decision to address it was made seven years ago.

Regarding the series’ title, he explained that the reference to Maciel as a “wolf” perfectly represents the person of Maciel, “a sinister character who hides behind religion to commit as much evil as possible.”

Gamba stated that the greatest challenge the production faced was telling a “very painful” story, protecting the victims and showing “the full scope, which is not only the most dramatic and darkest aspect — that of sexual abuse — but many other aspects.”

The producer noted the inclusion of journalists and researchers from various countries, such as Raúl Ormos (author of the Spanish-language investigative book “The Financial Empire of the Legionaries of Christ”), Jason Berry (one of the first to decry abuse in the U.S. in the 1990s), and Idoia Sota (who published a report in 2009 that revealed the existence of Norma Hilda Rivas Baños, a daughter Maciel allegedly conceived with a 17-year-old girl named Norma Baños), among others. “The great challenge was being able to include all these voices and, of course, the voices of the victims,” he said.

The production took almost four years because, according to Gamba, “there’s a whole process of getting to know each other, of understanding from every angle what the project is trying to accomplish, so that the other person really feels like participating or not.”

Regarding the Legionaries of Christ’s participation in the documentary, the producer said that “of course, they condemn Maciel’s entire life” and that “there wasn’t any kind of resistance or obstacles” coming from the congregation or the Vatican.

Regarding how they handled the victims’ testimony, Gamba emphasized that the amount of time allotted was essential to avoid sensationalism.

The subject matter “is treated very carefully. The interesting thing about making a series is that you can give a much more complete overview of these stories.” The person is first presented as a child, “fascinated by the world they found, and then comes the horrific part. This narrative arc avoids sensationalism,” he said.

The producer clarified that the series does not seek to attack faith. “Here, neither religion nor the Catholic Church is called into question. It specifically talks about one person, Marcial Maciel, and his story, which is reprehensible and which absolutely no one defends today, for obvious reasons.”

“I think faith is a wonderful thing; the Catholic religion, for those who live it, is a wonderful thing. And it’s not about that, but rather about showing what human nature can come to, epitomized by a person who committed every evil and abuse within his reach,” he commented.

Background and reports on Maciel and the congregation

Father Marcial Maciel (1920–2008), founder of the Legionaries of Christ in 1941, was investigated by the Vatican in the 1950s for allegations of sexual abuse of minors and misuse of morphine.

He was temporarily removed from office in 1956 and then reinstated two years later. In 2006, 50 years after the Vatican investigation, Pope Benedict XVI removed Maciel from active ministry, based on an investigation the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith conducted when as Joseph Ratzinger he was at the helm before being elected pope in 2005. The pontiff asked Maciel to lead a life of prayer and penance.

On May 19, 2006, the Holy See issued a statement on the case with the following information: “After having subjected the results of the investigation to careful study, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, under the guidance of the new prefect, His Eminence Cardinal William Levada, has decided, taking into account both Reverend Maciel’s advanced age and his poor health, to forgo a canonical process and invite the priest to a reserved life of prayer and penance, renouncing all public ministry. The Holy Father has approved these decisions. Regardless of the person of the founder, the worthy apostolate of the Legionaries of Christ and the Regnum Christi association is gratefully acknowledged.”

The progressive discovery of Maciel’s double life provoked a series of crises within both the Legion and Regnum Christi. The Holy See therefore deemed it necessary to conduct an apostolic visitation. The concluding statement of May 1, 2010, reads:

“The apostolic visitation was able to ascertain that the conduct of Father Marcial Maciel Degollado has given rise to serious consequences in the life and structure of the Legion, such as to require a process of profound reevaluation. The very grave and objectively immoral actions of Father Maciel, confirmed by incontrovertible testimonies, in some cases constitute real crimes and manifest a life devoid of scruples and authentic religious meaning. This life was unknown to the great majority of the Legionaries.”

At the same time, the congregation’s superiors launched a process of institutional introspection.

According to the Legionaries of Christ’s 1941–2019 Report, 175 minors were victims of sexual abuse committed by 33 priests of the congregation throughout its history and in different countries. This number includes at least 60 minors abused by Maciel, according to the report. The majority of the victims were adolescents between the ages of 11 and 16.

According to the fifth annual report “Truth, Justice, and Healing,” published in April of this year, since the presentation of the first report in 2019 and through Dec. 31, 2024, the congregation has received 20 additional complaints against Legionary priests not accounted for in the historical report and occurring in different decades.

The latest report also reveals that 61 people who suffered sexual abuse as minors are currently undergoing therapy for healing, 40 of whom are receiving care through the independent organization Eshmá. Since 2022, 21 victims have received financial compensation and comprehensive support.

The document also reports that the reaccreditation of safe environments has begun in various territories, with training programs and follow-up on historical cases. In addition, a study commission on the abuse of authority has been created, the results of which will be presented to the general chapter in January 2026.

A call to discernment

When asked whether Catholics could watch the series confident it accurately portrays the events, the Legionaries in Rome responded that “all information must be approached with discernment” and noted that they make available all the information “on the history of the congregation and aspects of Marcial Maciel’s life” for those who wish to learn more.

Regarding the potential impact of the production, they stated that “to the extent that the damage caused is recognized and the firm commitment to not repeating it, it is useful for the Church, the congregation, and society in general.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Where does your state stand on assisted suicide?
Thu, 28 Aug 2025 09:30:00 -0400

CNA Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).

Assisted suicide has become legal in a growing number of states since it was first adopted in 1997 in Oregon.

CNA has released three new interactive maps to show where each state in the U.S. stands on life issues — the protection of unborn life, the death penalty, and assisted suicide. The maps will be updated as new information on each issue becomes available.

Below is an analysis of the map that shows where each state stands on assisted suicide laws as of August 2025.

What is assisted suicide?

Assisted suicide — sometimes also called physician-assisted suicide — is legal in 10 states as well as the District of Columbia. Assisted suicide is when a doctor or medical professional provides a patient with drugs to end his or her own life. Assisted suicide is not the same as euthanasia, which is the direct killing of a patient by a medical professional.

The term euthanasia includes voluntary euthanasia, a practice legal in some parts of the world when the patient requests to die; involuntary euthanasia is when a person is murdered against his or her wishes; and nonvoluntary euthanasia is when the person is not capable of giving consent.

Assisted suicide is legal in some U.S. states and around the world, while voluntary euthanasia is legal in a limited number of countries including Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, and Portugal. In Belgium and the Netherlands, minors can be euthanized if they request it.

In Canada, patients with any serious illness, disease, or disability may be eligible for what is known as medical aid in dying (MAID), even when their condition is not terminal or fatal. In 2027 Canada plans to allow MAID for those with mental health conditions; Belgium, Luxembourg, and Colombia already allow for this.

While most U.S. states have laws against assisted suicide, a growing number of state legislatures have attempted to legalize it.

Where does your state stand on assisted suicide?

Alabama: In 2017, Alabama passed legislation making it a crime for health care workers to administer life-ending drugs, in addition to pre-1997 legislation banning assistance of suicides.

Alaska: Alaska failed to pass laws enabling assisted suicide in 2017. Pre-1997 laws against assisted suicide are still in place.

Arizona: Arizona still has pre-1997 laws prohibiting assisted suicide in effect, but legislators have tried to legalize assisted suicide for years. A 2025 bill did not advance.

Arkansas: In 2019, Arkansas considered legalizing assisted suicide, but the bill did not go through. Pre-1997 laws against assisted suicide are still in place.

California: In 2016, California legalized assisted suicide.

Colorado: In 2016, Colorado legalized assisted suicide via a proposition passed by voters.

Connecticut: Connecticut has repeatedly proposed legislation to legalize assisted suicide, but none has passed. Pre-1997 laws against assisted suicide are still in place.

Delaware: In 2025, Delaware legalized assisted suicide.

Florida: Proposed bills to legalize assisted suicide in Florida have not advanced in recent years. Pre-1997 laws against assisted suicide are still in place.

Georgia: In 2012, Georgia passed a law making assisted suicide a felony, renewing its legislation against assisted suicide.

Hawaii: In 2019, Hawaii legalized assisted suicide.

Idaho: In 2011, Idaho made assisted suicide a felony, renewing its legislation against assisted suicide.

Illinois: In 2025, a bill to legalize assisted suicide in Illinois stalled and will cross over to the 2026 session. Legislators have made efforts to pass pro-death legislation, but pre-1997 laws against assisted suicide are still in place.

Indiana: While various bills to legalize assisted suicide have been proposed in recent years, Indiana’s pre-1997 laws against assisted suicide are still in place.

Iowa: While various bills to legalize assisted suicide have been proposed in recent years, Iowa’s pre-1997 laws against assisted suicide are still in place.

Kansas: In 2011, Kansas passed a law criminalizing assisted suicide, renewing its legislation against assisted suicide.

Kentucky: While various bills to legalize assisted suicide have been proposed in recent years, Kentucky’s pre-1997 laws against assisted suicide are still in place.

Louisiana: Louisiana’s pre-1997 law against assisted suicide is still in place.

Maine: In 2019, Maine legalized assisted suicide.

Maryland: Maryland has yet to legalize assisted suicide, though legislators have made attempts to in recent years. The state has renewed its legislation against assisted suicide since 1997, the year Oregon legalized assisted suicide.

Massachusetts: In 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that there is no right to assisted suicide in the commonwealth.

Michigan: Michigan has renewed its legislation against assisted suicide since 1997, the year Oregon legalized assisted suicide. Legislators, however, have pushed to legalize assisted suicide in recent years.

Minnesota: While various bills to legalize assisted suicide have been proposed in recent years, Minnesota’s pre-1997 law against assisted suicide is still in place.

Mississippi: Mississippi’s pre-1997 law against assisted suicide is still in place.

Missouri: While various bills to legalize assisted suicide have been proposed in recent years, Missouri’s pre-1997 law against assisted suicide is still in place.

Montana: Assisted suicide is a legal gray area in Montana. While legislators have not made assisted suicide legal, a 2009 Montana Supreme Court ruling said that a doctor can use patient consent in defense in a homicide case.

Nebraska: Assisting suicide is a felony in Nebraska.

Nevada: Nevada does not authorize assisted suicide. The governor recently vetoed a bill that would have legalized assisted suicide.

New Hampshire: Pre-1997 laws against assisted suicide are still in place in New Hampshire. Legislators have pushed for assisted suicide legislation in recent years.

New Jersey: In 2019, New Jersey legalized assisted suicide.

New Mexico: New Mexico legalized assisted suicide in 2021.

New York: New York legislators approved an assisted suicide law that is awaiting signature by the New York governor.

North Carolina: North Carolina does not have a law legalizing assisted suicide.

North Dakota: Pre-1997 laws against assisted suicide are still in place in North Dakota. Aiding a suicide is a felony in the state. Legislators have pushed to legalize assisted suicide in recent years.

Ohio: Assisting suicide is against Ohio law. Ohio added laws against assisting suicide in 2003 and 2017.

Oklahoma: Oklahoma has renewed its legislation against assisted suicide since 1997, the year Oregon legalized assisted suicide. Oklahoma code explicitly states that it does not condone assisted suicide.

Oregon: Oregon became the first state to implement assisted suicide legislation in 1997.

Pennsylvania: Pre-1997 laws against assisted suicide are still in place in Pennsylvania. Legislators have attempted to legalize assisted suicide in recent years.

Rhode Island: Pre-1997 laws against assisted suicide are still in place in Rhode Island. Assisting a suicide is a felony in the state.

South Carolina: South Carolina has renewed its legislation against assisted suicide since 1997, the year Oregon legalized assisted suicide. South Carolina has never officially considered legalizing assisted suicide and has declared in recent years that health care professionals who participate in assisted suicide may have their licenses revoked.

South Dakota: Pre-1997 laws against assisted suicide are still in place in South Dakota. The state does not condone euthanasia, “mercy killing,” or assisted suicide.

Tennessee: Pre-1997 laws against assisted suicide are still in place in Tennessee. Assisting suicide is a class D felony in the state.

Texas: Pre-1997 laws against assisted suicide are still in place in Texas. Aiding someone in committing suicide is a felony in the state if it results in bodily harm or causes death.

Utah: Utah has renewed its legislation against assisted suicide since 1997, the year Oregon legalized assisted suicide. Legislators have attempted to legalize assisted suicide without success. The state amended its manslaughter statute to criminalize the prescription of medication intended to cause death.

Vermont: Vermont legalized assisted suicide in 2013.

Virginia: Virginia has renewed its legislation against assisted suicide since 1997, the year Oregon legalized assisted suicide. Virginia explicitly bans assisted suicide, and health care professionals who assist a suicide are subject to the suspension or removal of their licenses.

Washington: Washington state legalized assisted suicide in 2008.

West Virginia: West Virginia approved a constitutional amendment in November 2024 prohibiting medically assisted suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing, becoming the first state to do so.

Wisconsin: Pre-1997 laws against assisted suicide are still in place in Wisconsin. State statutes currently define any case of assisting suicide as a Class H felony.

Wyoming: Wyoming law does not condone assisted suicide, though legislators have attempted to legalize assisted suicide in recent years.

Washington, D.C.: Washington, D.C., legalized assisted suicide in 2017.

Where does the Church stand on assisted suicide?

The Catholic Church condemns both assisted suicide and euthanasia, instead encouraging palliative care, which means supporting patients with pain management and care as the end of their lives approaches. Additionally, the Church advocates for a “special respect” for anyone with a disability or serious health condition (CCC, 2276).

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “intentional euthanasia, whatever its forms or motives, is murder” and “gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and the respect due to the living God, his Creator” (CCC, 2324).

Any action or lack of action that intentionally “causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator” (CCC, 2277).

Catholic teaching also states that patients and doctors are not required to do everything possible to avoid death, but if a life has reached its natural conclusion and medical intervention would not be beneficial, the decision to “forego extraordinary or disproportionate means” to keep a dying person alive is not euthanasia, as St. John Paul II noted in Evangelium Vitae.

Minnesota school shooting came after bishops’ pleas for security went unanswered
Thu, 28 Aug 2025 06:00:00 -0400

National Catholic Register, Aug 28, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

After a pair of out-of-state school shootings in 2022 and 2023 shocked the nation, Minnesota’s bishops implored state lawmakers to provide security funding for local nonpublic schools.

Now, two years after their appeals went unheeded, tragedy has struck one of their own.

On the morning of Aug. 27, a gunman opened fire during an all-school Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, killing two students, aged 10 and 8; 14 other students and three adults were injured.

The tragedy comes after the Minnesota Catholic Conference (MCC), the public policy voice of Minnesota’s six dioceses, made requests to state officials to extend funds for security upgrades and emergency-response training to nonpublic schools in both 2022 and 2023.

The appeals, which came after deadly school shootings at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, argued that students at Catholic and other nonpublic schools should receive the same level of protection as their public-school peers.

“We need to ensure that all our schools have the resources to respond to and prevent these attacks from happening to our schools,” wrote Jason Adkins, MCC’s executive director, in an April 14, 2023, letter to Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who are both Democrats. The letter was also signed by Tim Benz, president of a Minnesota independent school organization.

If MCC’s request had been granted, Catholic schools like Annunciation would have been able to use state funds for enhancements like secure entries to facilities or even to hire school resource officers.

But the Minnesota bishops’ appeals were rebuffed in both years, as related bills stalled in the state Legislature, resulting in no additional funding for nonpublic school security. Meanwhile, for the 2023 legislative session, Minnesota enjoyed a historic $17.6 billion surplus.

In the aftermath of the Annunciation school shooting, the issue will assuredly be revisited — including why lawmakers failed to act on the bishops’ request.

Responding to a request for comment, Walz’s office underscored that the governor “cares deeply about the safety of students” and has “signed into law millions in funding for school safety.” The National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, confirmed, however, that none of the previously signed funding bills applied to nonpublic school safety.

“We remain committed to working with anyone who is willing to work with us to stop gun violence and keep our students safe,” said the spokesman, noting that Walz meets with MCC on a regular basis.

Meanwhile, Republican state Sen. Julia Coleman, R-Waconia, told the Register that the tragedy is prompting her to reflect on her “responsibility as an elected official.”

“There are no easy answers, but I know our children — our most precious assets — must be protected,” said Coleman, a Catholic. “Now is the time to make school security funding a priority.”

In his first public remarks following the shooting, Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis begged for prayers for those affected. He also called for an end to gun violence.

“Our community is rightfully outraged at such horrific acts of violence perpetrated against the vulnerable and innocent,” he wrote in a statement. “They are far too commonplace.”

Adkins declined to comment at this time.

Previous requests

The Minnesota bishops’ efforts to secure school security funding came after state lawmakers had passed “Safe Schools” legislation in 2019 that provided money for security enhancements to public schools but not to nonpublic ones.

In 2022, after a bill to expand the funding to nonpublic schools stalled, Minnesota’s bishops urged Walz to call a special session and pass an expansion to Safe Schools. The measure would have provided $44 per student for security costs, regardless of their school’s affiliation.

“Although no legislation can stop the manifestation of evil, this Safe Schools legislation is an important, commonsense first step to establishing an ongoing funding source for schools to increase security staff, enhance building security, and strengthen violence prevention programs and mental health initiatives,” Hebda wrote in a May 2022 letter.

The House version of the bill was supported by multiple members of the Democrat-Farmer-Labor Party, the Minnesota affiliate of the national Democratic Party, indicating bipartisan support. However, Walz did not call a special session to pass the legislation.

The following year, MCC implored Minnesota’s lawmakers to make nonpublic schools eligible recipients of a $50 million security grant program included in the state’s education finance bill.

The 2023 letter cosigned by MCC described “the exclusion of one sector of schools” from security funding as “a discriminatory act against our students.”

An attack on any school, whether it is a public, nonpublic, charter or another school site, cannot be tolerated or allowed to happen in Minnesota,” the letter writers said.

Meeting, but no funding

According to comments Adkins made to The Daily Wire, Minnesota’s bishops had raised their concerns with Walz, a former public school teacher, in a meeting.

“He communicated his belief that people should feel safe in their schools and places of worship,” Adkins said. “But the appropriation was not created.”

As governor, Walz exerts significant influence over the budget process, including by proposing the initial biennial budget legislators are tasked to work with.

The Daily Wire article suggested that Walz focused on other priorities that year, such as securing Minnesota’s status as a “trans sanctuary” state.

MCC’s support for nonpublic school security in 2022 and 2023 is part of a more comprehensive effort to reduce gun violence. The bishops have also supported “red flag” orders, which temporarily restrict firearm access to individuals who pose a risk to themselves or others, and expanded background checks.

The Minnesota bishops did not take a public stance on security funding for Catholic schools in 2024 or 2025. Instead, MCC’s Catholic school-related efforts in those years included opposing the exclusion of religious colleges from postsecondary enrollment programs and securing religious exemptions from new legislation that included “gender identity” as a protected class under state law.

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.

5 powerful quotes from St. Augustine’s most famous work, the ‘Confessions’
Thu, 28 Aug 2025 04:00:00 -0400

CNA Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

The Catholic Church honors St. Augustine of Hippo, an early Church Father, doctor of the Church, and foundational theologian, on Aug. 28.

Augustine was brought up as a Christian in his early childhood but drifted from the Church, fathering a child out of wedlock and falling into the heresy of Manichaeism. His mother, Monica, a woman of deep faith who was later canonized herself, never stopped praying for his return to the Church.

Of the more than 5 million words that St. Augustine wrote during his lifetime (A.D. 354–430), his “Confessions” have had a particularly lasting influence as a philosophical, theological, mystical, and literary work. Written in about A.D. 400, “Confessions” details how God worked in Augustine’s life and reads not just as a story but as a prayer.

Here are five powerful quotes from St. Augustine’s “Confessions”:

1. “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee” (Book I).

2. “To Carthage I came, where there sang all around me in my ears a cauldron of unholy loves. I loved not yet, yet I loved to love, and out of a deep-seated want, I hated myself for wanting not … For within me was a famine of that inward food, Thyself, My God” (Book III).

3. “But what am I to myself without Thee, but a guide to mine own downfall?” (Book IV).

4. “I cast myself down I know not how, under a certain fig-tree, giving full vent to my tears; and the floods of mine eyes gushed out an acceptable sacrifice to thee” (Book VIII).

5. “Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace” (Book X).

This story was first published on Aug. 28, 2024, and has been updated.

Minneapolis Catholic Church shooter mocked Christ in video before attack
Wed, 27 Aug 2025 20:15:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 27, 2025 / 20:15 pm (CNA).

The man who killed two children and injured 17 other people in the Minneapolis Catholic church shooting posted a YouTube video before the attack, which showed an anti-Christian motivation for the murders and an affinity for mass shooters, Satanism, antisemitism, and racism.

Robin Westman — who was born “Robert” and identified as a transgender woman — died by suicide on Wednesday, Aug. 27, after shooting through the windows of Annunciation Catholic Church during a weekday Mass. Most of the worshippers were children who attend the parish elementary school next to the church.

Mocking Christ and giving nod to Satanism

In a video posted ahead of the attack, which YouTube has since removed from its website, the shooter showed a written apology to his friends and family but clarified “that’s the only people I’m sorry to” and then disparaged the children he planned to shoot.

Westman wrote that he has “wanted this for so long” and acknowledged: “I’m not well. I’m not right. I am a sad person, haunted by these thoughts that do not go away. I know this is wrong, but I can’t seem to stop myself.”

During the video, Westman zooms in on an image of Jesus Christ wearing the crown of thorns that he attached to the head of a human-shaped shooting target. The photo of Christ displayed the text “He came to pay a debt he didn’t owe because we owe a debt we cannot repay” below the image.

Westman laughed while pointing the camera at the shooting target, and then moved the camera to show anti-Christian messages and drawings on his guns and loaded magazines.

One message read: “Where’s your God?” and another: “Where’s your [expletive] God now?” A third read: “Do you believe in God?” while another stated “[expletive] everything you stand for.”

Another message on a rifle stated “take this all of you and eat,” which mocks the words Jesus Christ said at the Last Supper and the words said in the Eucharistic prayer during every Mass.

Westman drew an inverted pentagram on one of the magazines, which is a symbol often used to promote Satanism but is sometimes used in other occult practices. The number “666” was also written on the magazine. He also drew an inverted cross on the barrel of one of the rifles, which is a traditional Christian symbol that has since been co-opted by Satanists.

Affinity for mass shooters, antisemitism, and racism

Westman wrote the names of about a dozen mass murderers on his weapons, including largely writing “Rupnow” on one of his guns, referencing Natalie Rupnow, the Abundant Life Christian School shooter.

One mass murderer that Westman wrote on his magazines and rifles more than once was the Norwegian neo-Nazi Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people and injured 319 others in two mass casualty attacks.

Most of the names were written on magazines, while some were written on the rifles. This also included the New Zealand Christchurch mosque shooter Brenton Harrison Tarrant, the Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza, and the Aurora movie theater shooter James Holmes written on a loaded magazine.

Several written messages were antisemitic, such as “6 million wasn’t enough,” in reference to the number of Jewish people killed during the Holocaust. A smoke grenade he showed had “Jew gas” written on it, which is another Holocaust reference. There were also several anti-Israel messages.

Other messages targeted several ethnic and racial groups. One message used a slur for Hispanic people and another said “Nuke India.” One message read “remove kebab,” which is a reference to a meme disparaging Arab and Muslim people. Another written message referenced a meme mocking Black people.

Several messages also disparaged and threatened to kill President Donald Trump.

One message on a loaded magazine read “for the kids” and another read Mashallah, which is Arabic for “God has willed it.” Others referenced various memes and two of them referenced the movie “Joker.”

Concerning Satanic and racist association in other shootings

In his video, Westman flashed the “OK” hand symbol one time when showing his weapons. This appeared to be a reference to the Abundant Life Christian School shooter, Rupnow, who posted an image of herself displaying the same symbol before her attack.

Although use of the “OK” hand symbol is usually benign, it has also been used by some white supremacists as a sign of their ideology.

Researchers who tracked Rupnow’s social media activity found that the 15-year-old shooter was deeply involved in online networks that espouse neo-Nazi, racist, and Satanic beliefs, according to a joint report from Wisconsin Watch and ProPublica. These communities also promote violence and some have praised mass shootings.

One of the communities noted in the joint Wisconsin Watch and ProPublica report was “764,” which is a Satanic neo-Nazi community associated with the Order of Nine Angles, another Satanic neo-Nazi community. Several people involved in these communities have been arrested for grooming and sexually exploiting children online. In several examples, community members have urged people to harm or kill themselves.

In April of this year, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that two “764” leaders were arrested for allegedly running a “global child exploitation enterprise.” The DOJ alleges that they “ordered their victims to commit acts of self-harm and engaged in psychological torment and extreme violence against minors

Although Westman directly referenced Rupnow and used rhetoric promoting both Satanism and neo-Nazi ideology, so far there is no direct evidence that connects Westman to these communities.

Archbishop Hebda after Annunciation School shooting: ‘My heart is broken’
Wed, 27 Aug 2025 16:57:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 27, 2025 / 16:57 pm (CNA).

Archbishop Bernard Hebda, who leads the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, released a statement following the deadly shooting that took place on Wednesday morning at Annunciation Catholic School in southern Minneapolis.

“My heart is broken as I think about students, teachers, clergy and parishioners and the horror they witnessed in a church, a place where we should feel safe,” Hebda wrote in a statement Wednesday afternoon, hours after police confirmed two children were killed and 17 injured in the shooting.

Hebda expressed gratitude to Pope Leo XIV, who sent his condolences to Hebda after the attack, and all those around the world who have offered prayers following the shooting that occurred during a Mass for the K–8 school early Wednesday morning.

“I beg for the continued prayers of all of the priests and faithful of this archdiocese, as well for the prayers of all men and women of goodwill,” Hebda continued, “that the healing that only God can bring will be poured out on all those who were present at this morning’s Mass and particularly for the affected families who are only now beginning to comprehend the trauma they sustained.”

The Twin Cities archbishop further pledged the souls of the two children who lost their lives to God through the intercession of Our Lady, Queen of Peace, and called for an end to gun violence, which he described as “far too commonplace.”

He noted the Annunciation School shooting comes just 24 hours after another shooting near Cristo Rey Jesuit High School that reportedly left one dead and six injured on Tuesday.

“Our community is rightfully outraged at such horrific acts of violence perpetrated against the vulnerable and innocent,” Hebda wrote. “While we need to commit to working to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies, we also need to remind ourselves that we have a God of peace and of love, and that it is his love that we will need most as we strive to embrace those who are hurting so deeply.”

Hebda revealed that archdiocesan staff are currently working with the parish and school to “make sure they have the support and resources they need at this time and beyond.”

A prayer service is set to take place at 7 p.m. CT at the Academy of the Holy Angels in Richfield, Minnesota.

We have to be men and women of hope,” Hebda also said at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. While he was speaking, a church bell rang in the background.

“A bell in the Catholic Church is always a call to prayer,” he continued, adding: “And we have to recognize that it’s through prayer … that we can indeed make a difference. That has to be the source of our hope.”

FBI Director Kash Patel announced in a social media post Wednesday afternoon that the FBI is investigating the shooting “as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics.” He also confirmed the identity of the shooter as Robin Westman, a trans-identifying male born as Robert Westman.

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered American flags at the White House, across the country, and at all U.S. embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad to be flown at half staff until sunset on Aug. 31 “as a mark of respect for the victims” of the deadly shooting.

United in prayer: A litany to be prayed after a school shooting
Wed, 27 Aug 2025 16:18:00 -0400

CNA Staff, Aug 27, 2025 / 16:18 pm (CNA).

Two children were killed and multiple victims injured in a shooting during an opening school year Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis on Wednesday.

In times of tragedy, the Church turns to prayer. The Catholic Church believes that prayer can effect real change — not just in the heart of the person praying but in the world. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “Prayer and Christian life are inseparable” (CCC, 2745) and that prayer is a “vital necessity” (CCC, 2743).

The popular global prayer app Hallow has launched a prayer campaign for “healing for the injured, comfort for students, staff, and families, and the peace of Christ to be with all who were present.”

The Church also calls on the prayers of Mary and the saints to intercede for us. Below is a litany written specifically to be prayed after a school shooting.

Litany of prayer after a school shooting

Our Lady, Help of Christians, we turn to you, who watched your Son give his life for us, and stood strong at the foot of his cross, to ask for your consolation, your guidance, your motherly arms to embrace us. We stand in silence, praying beside you.

St. Joseph, great protector, pray for us.

Archangel Michael, defend us in every battle.

Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin, parents who lost four children, pray for us.

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, missionary to the United States, pray for us.

St. Emilia, mother of saints, pray for us.

St. Monica, mother of St. Augustine, pray for us.

Servant of God Dorothy Day, defender of all who lack protection, pray for us.

Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, mothers who left their infants to die for Christ, pray for us.

St. Junipero Serra, lover of peace, pray for us.

Blessed Lucien Botovasova, a dad, a teacher, and a martyr, pray for us.

St. Rita of Cascia, mother, patron of impossible causes, pray for us.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, who lost two children and is the first saint of the United States, and patron of educators, pray for us.

Sts. Jacinta and Francisco, sweet children, pray for us.

Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Girogio Frassati, soon to be declared saints and inspiring examples for all young people, pray for us.

Virgin Mother, we know that as a mother, you never took your eyes off of your children in Annunciation School, especially in those moments of dramatic confusion and fear; you accompanied them with your tenderness.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

May the souls of the departed rest in peace. Amen.

This litany was first published at Aleteia. It is reprinted here with permission and has been adapted by CNA.

Pope Leo prays for victims of ‘terrible tragedy’ in Minneapolis Catholic school shooting
Wed, 27 Aug 2025 15:30:00 -0400

CNA Staff, Aug 27, 2025 / 15:30 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday said he was offering prayers for the victims of the Minneapolis Catholic school shooting, one he described as an “extremely difficult” and “terrible” tragedy.

Two children were killed in a shooting incident at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis on Aug. 27, with the gunman taking his own life after the deadly attack during the parochial school Mass.

Law enforcement were still working to determine a motive to the shooting on Wednesday afternoon. In his telegram to Saint Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop Bernard Hebda, meanwhile, Leo said he was “profoundly saddened” at the news of the killings.

The pope “sends his heartfelt condolences and the assurance of spiritual closeness” to the victims of the shooting, said the telegram, signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Leo “sends his heartfelt condolences and the assurance of spiritual closeness to all those affected by this terrible tragedy, especially the families now grieving the loss of a child,” the message said.

“While commending the souls of the deceased children to the love of Almighty God, His Holiness prays for the wounded as well as the first responders, medical personnel, and clergy who are caring for them and their loved ones,” the message continued.

The pope offered an apostolic blessing to the archdiocese “as a pledge of peace, fortitude, and consolation in the Lord Jesus.”

U.S. bishops: ‘Let us all beg the Lord for protection’

Also on Wednesday, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a statement lamenting the loss of life in the deadly shooting.

“Whenever one part of the Body of Christ is wounded, we feel the pain as if it were our very own children,” USCCB Vice President Archbishop William Lori said in the statement.

“Let us all beg the Lord for the protection and healing of the entire Annunciation family.”

The remarks from the pope and the U.S. bishops come amid an outpouring of grief and support from around the U.S. and the world.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday morning said the White House was monitoring the situation. “Please join me in praying for everyone involved!” he wrote. The president subsequently ordered the U.S. flags at the White House to be lowered to half staff in honor of the victims of the shooting.

Numerous other U.S. bishops responded to the tragedy as well. “Please join me in praying for all those who were injured or lost their lives — along with their families,” Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, Bishop Robert Barron said. “Let us also pray for the students, faculty, and entire parish community.”

The New York State Catholic Conference, meanwhile, wrote that the state’s bishops were “devastated” by the shooting.

Catholic community unites in prayer after shooting at Minneapolis school Mass
Wed, 27 Aug 2025 15:10:00 -0400

CNA Staff, Aug 27, 2025 / 15:10 pm (CNA).

After a shooter killed two children and injured 17 other people on Wednesday morning during Mass at a Minneapolis Catholic school, the community is reeling as leaders call for prayer.

The shooter opened fire from the parking lot through the church window during a school Mass at the Annunciation Catholic School, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara. The local Catholic school of almost 400 students has grades pre-K through eighth grade.

The shooter killed an 8- and 10-year-old and injured 17 other people before killing himself. Fourteen children were injured and at least two are in critical condition.

Jeff Cavins, a Minneapolis-based Catholic author with close ties to the parish, said that in the “vibrant Catholic community” of the Twin Cities, everybody is affected by the tragedy.

“Everyone heard about it within minutes, and it’s in the heart of our city,” Cavins told EWTN News’ Abigail Galván. “So what happens to one person in our Catholic community, everybody else is affected.”

Cavins, who attended the parish for several years when he was growing up, said the parish priest has “a pastor’s heart and love for children.”

“My pastor is the pastor there, Father [Dennis] Zehren, who is one of the most outstanding priests in America, truly is, and probably one of the best homilists I’ve ever heard,” Cavins said.

Cavins, who went to school at Annunciation as a kid, said that “what’s going through my mind is the vulnerability of these children in their first week of school.”

Many of the children had likely just attended the state fair before the school year started, Cavins said.

“But also, what’s going on in my mind is the responsibility of pastors and leaders in Catholic schools, and that they’re vulnerable as well,” Cavins said. “They’re putting their lives on the line to teach children in a world that we’re living in today, which, as we can see, anything can happen in your own backyard — and suddenly the world knows about it.”

Auxiliary Bishop Kevin Kenney said the parents are “in shock.”

“Unbelievable that this could happen,” Kenney told the local KSTP 5 News. “It’s very sad for the community. It’s very sad for the families that have lost loved ones.”

The shooting took place at Mass during the responsorial psalm, according to local priest Father Paul Hedman.

“It was the opening school Mass, is my understanding,” Kenney said. “It’s a horrible, horrific way for all the students to begin the school year.”

Police identified the shooter as a man in his early 20s. He had posted several disturbing videos with anti-religious messaging on social media on Wednesday morning before the shooting. He reportedly had ties to the parish through his mother, who had retired from a job at the parish several years ago.

The Catholic community across the United States is uniting in prayer for the parish and local community.

Soon after the shooting, Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, called for prayers “for all those who were injured or lost their lives — along with their families” as well as “for the students, faculty, and entire parish community.”

Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver said “the pain of this tragedy is present in our hearts.”

“At a time when young hearts were turned toward the Lord in prayer, violence entered the sanctuary, leaving wounds, fear, and deep sorrow,” he said in a statement Wednesday morning.

“Let us lift every child, teacher, and family of Annunciation Catholic School to the Father, especially those who have been injured, asking Christ the Divine Physician to bring healing to them,” Aquila said.

“We entrust the school and parish community to the maternal intercession of Our Lady of Sorrows, who stood faithfully by the cross of her Son and knows the anguish of a grieving heart,” he said.

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ vice president Archbishop William Lori said the Church is following the tragic news with “heartbreaking sadness,” adding that “whenever one part of the Body of Christ is wounded, we feel the pain as if it were our very own children. Let us all beg the Lord for the protection and healing of the entire Annunciation family.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin relayed to Minneapolis Archbishop Bernard Hebda a message from the Holy Father, which reads: “His Holiness Pope Leo XIV was profoundly saddened to learn of the loss of life and injuries following the shooting that took place at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis” and “sends his heartfelt condolences to all those affected by this terrible tragedy, especially the families now grieving the loss of a child.”

“While commending the souls of the deceased children to the love of Almighty God, His Holiness prays for the wounded as well as the first responders, medical personnel, and clergy who are caring for them and their loved ones,” the message added.

Augustinian priests: St. Monica had ‘great interior strength’
Wed, 27 Aug 2025 13:40:00 -0400

Rome Newsroom, Aug 27, 2025 / 13:40 pm (CNA).

Since the fourth century, Christians have revered St. Monica, the mother of Church Father St. Augustine, as a woman of unwavering faith in God.

In an interview with EWTN News reporter Valentina Di Donato, two Augustinian priests living in Rome explain why the woman they refer to as their “grandmother” continues to be a source of hope and inspiration, especially for Catholic wives and mothers.

Father Angelo Di Berardino, OSA, who has worked and lived at the Augustinian International College of Santa Monica in Rome for 50 years, said St. Monica had a great interior strength that influenced all members of her family.

“Respecting her husband, she was able to convert him,” Di Berardino told EWTN News. “Then, she was a strong woman to educate her three children, especially Augustine.”

“I think she was so strong in her life, in her prayer, that she had a great influence on the great theologian Augustine,” he added.

According to Order of St. Augustine procurator general Father Edward Daleng Daniang, OSA, St. Monica is the saint to turn to for spouses who feel alone in their desire to create a Christian family home.

“St. Monica did not have it easy with her husband Patrick,” he said. “She tried to win him with her love, with her patience and endurance and tolerance and, above all, bringing her husband to God through prayer.”

Describing the ancient saint as a “living example” of a mother who does not give up on her children, Daniang said those struggling with their children can have hope that their prayers, and tears, are never wasted.

“St. Monica was struggling with her son St. Augustine who wandered away from home,” he said. “He left Monica, his mother, to come to Italy in those days and Monica did not give up.”

“He left the faith which she tried to transmit to him but she did not give up,” he emphasized.

Following her son to Italy, Daniang said her main intention of leaving Africa was not to bring her son back home but to lead her son to Jesus Christ for the salvation of his soul.

“St. Monica stands as someone who led her husband to God, to Christ, and also brought her son St. Augustine to Christ,” he said.

“That’s bringing the unity of family together,” he added.

UPDATE: 2 children killed in shooting at Minneapolis Catholic church, police say
Wed, 27 Aug 2025 10:41:00 -0400

CNA Staff, Aug 27, 2025 / 10:41 am (CNA).

Law enforcement on Wednesday said two children had been killed at a shooting incident during a Mass held at a Minneapolis Catholic church, with the gunman reportedly taking his own life after the deadly attack.

During a press conference around noon local time, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara described the incident at Annunciation Catholic Church as an “unthinkable tragedy.”

The shooting took place during the opening Mass of the parish’s parochial school, O’Hara said.

“During the Mass, a gunman approached the building on the outside and began firing a rifle, [and] shooting through the windows,” the chief said. “He struck children and worshippers that were inside the building.”

The shooter was armed with a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol, O’Hara said. He reportedly fired all three of the weapons during the incident.

The suspected gunman took his own life after the shooting, the police chief said.

“This deliberate act of violence is a sign of cruelty that is beyond comprehension,” O’Hara said. “Our hearts are broken for everyone that has been affected by this tragedy.”

Also at the press conference, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said there were “no words that can capture the horror and the evilness of this unspeakable act.”

“You cannot put into words the gravity, tragedy, or absolute pain of this situation,” Frey said, pointing out that the victims of the shooting were “literally praying” when they were attacked.

National, Church leaders offer prayers, support

O’Hara at the press conference said the suspect was a lone shooter in his 20s.

“He does not have a known criminal history,” the chief said. “We are looking through information left behind to try and determine some type of motive.”

Multiple victims, including nine children, had reportedly been taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, with several of the children in critical condition, according to media reports.

The shooting generated headlines around the world and led to an outpouring of support from civic and religious leaders around the country.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday morning said the White House was monitoring the situation. “Please join me in praying for everyone involved!” he wrote.

Vice President JD Vance similarly offered prayers after the shooting, as did Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

“I am heartbroken by the horrific violence [at the school],” Klobuchar wrote on X. “My prayers are with the students, teachers, and families, and I am grateful for the first responders who are on the scene.”

Church leaders also responded with support and prayers. “Please join me in praying for all those who were injured or lost their lives — along with their families,” Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, Bishop Robert Barron wrote on X. “Let us also pray for the students, faculty, and entire parish community.”

Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila also called for prayers for the victims. “We entrust the school and parish community to the maternal intercession of Our Lady of Sorrows, who stood faithfully by the cross of her Son and knows the anguish of grieving hearts,” he said in a statement.

The New York State Catholic Conference, meanwhile, wrote that the state’s bishops were “devastated” by the shooting.

“We join the bishops of [Minnesota] and all Americans in praying for all who are impacted and for an end to gun violence,” the conference wrote.

The tragedy comes just one day after another mass shooting at Minneapolis’ Cristo Rey Jesuit High School located just a few miles from the Annunciation parish. Authorities on Wednesday did not indicate that the two shootings were related.

Mass shooting events at Catholic churches in the U.S. are exceedingly rare.

Notably, on June 10, 2002, a 71-year-old gunman entered Conception Abbey in rural Conception, Missouri, and opened fire, killing three monks before taking his own life. The motive for that shooting remains unclear.

This story was updated Aug. 27, 2025, at 1:11 p.m. ET with new information from the police chief and mayor. Follow here for live updates.

Catholic priest forced to leave Texas amid visa backlog and residency denial
Wed, 27 Aug 2025 09:30:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 27, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).

A Mexican-born Catholic priest who has served in the Diocese of Laredo, Texas, for nine years must leave the United States because his application for residency was denied and his religious worker visa is expiring.

Father Alan Sanchez, the pastor of St. Joseph Church in La Pryor and St. Patrick Mission in Batesville, will return to his native country of Mexico on Wednesday, Aug. 27, amid the visa issues. He will be received into the Archdiocese of Monterrey in northeastern Mexico when he arrives.

“Originally, I was hopeful … [this would] be resolved,” Sanchez told CNA.

“I was sad [when I got the news] because of the community I was serving,” he said. “This is a very small and poor community in Texas and this was my first role as a pastor.”

Sanchez applied for residency two years ago but said the process was repeatedly delayed and then his application was eventually denied in November 2024. He appealed the denial and later applied for a different visa but said he ultimately “ran out of time.” He still hopes the matter can be resolved so he can return to his parish at some point.

“I spoke to my bishop about it and the attorney, but there’s nothing else that [I] can do except return to Mexico,” he said.

Sanchez said the delay was caused by a backlog of applicants and that he was denied because of a lack of available spots for visas. He noted that asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors were given priority and that priests cannot have a “change of status for residency, because the spots are already taken.”

He said the prioritization is “understandable” and “certainly fine” but added that many foreign-born priests also need to transition to residency.

“Because there is no availability, they are just denying it,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez explained that “I don’t think this is political” but rather “this is the process — this is what’s going on.”

“It’s just like the process, the way it is, and of course it’s heartbreaking to see that happening but it seems that it’s out of my hands,” he added.

Sanchez asked the faithful to pray for him and expressed hope that “this can be resolved.” He also said he hopes this raises awareness about issues with the current immigration system and warned that other priests are facing the same struggle, which could ultimately exacerbate the priest shortage if it is not addressed by Congress.

“It’s a call to make awareness that the immigration system needs to be expanded [to] a point and I think there is room for everybody as long as we can do it in a good way,” Sanchez said.

Bishop James Tamayo of the Diocese of Laredo appointed Father Heleodoro Lozano — who is the parochial vicar of St. Jude Church in Laredo — to take over Sanchez’s role beginning on Thursday, Aug. 28.

The diocese told CNA in a statement that Sanchez “will temporarily return to Mexico … until this process is resolved” and that the diocese helped him obtain legal counsel and will “continue to walk with him in prayer and assistance.”

“We are profoundly grateful for the generosity of spirit, pastoral care, and joy [Sanchez] has brought to the people of St. Joseph and St. Patrick,” the diocese said.

“His presence is deeply cherished, and we remain hopeful that he will soon return to continue his mission of faith and service among us,” the statement added. “Like all dioceses, we long to keep our priests serving their communities, and we will continue to pray and work diligently so that Father Sánchez may once again minister among the faithful of our diocese.”

Sanchez noted that some lawmakers are trying to address the concern with the bipartisan Religious Workforce Protection Act. The proposed legislation would ease the process for extending religious visas.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview earlier this month on EWTN’s “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo” that President Donald Trump’s administration is “committed” to fixing the backlog.

“I’ve been in touch with a number of our cardinals here in the United States and bishops about that as well,” Rubio said, “and it’s not only the Catholic Church — I mean there are other places that are being impacted, but we’re trying to streamline that process.”

Several bishops have endorsed the Religious Workforce Protection Act and have expressed concerns that without some type of action, the number of foreign-born priests being forced out of the United States will continue to increase.

Pope Leo XIV: ‘Christian hope is not evasion, but decision’
Wed, 27 Aug 2025 09:00:00 -0400

Vatican City, Aug 27, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

We find true hope when we give of ourselves freely and with love — encountering suffering, not running away from it, Pope Leo XIV said at his weekly audience with the public on Wednesday.

Addressing thousands of pilgrims in the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall, the pope emphasized Jesus’ embrace of suffering, when he gave himself up to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane before his crucifixion.

Jesus “is not the victim of an arrest but the giver of a gift,” Leo said on Aug. 27. “In this gesture, he embodies a hope of salvation for our humanity: to know that, even in the darkest hour, one can remain free to love to the end.”

The pontiff said Jesus’ actions show us what it is to be free.

“In life, it is not necessary to have everything under control. It is enough to choose to love freely every day,” he underlined.

Leo’s general audience message centered on the scene that begins Jesus’ passion: his arrest. Despite knowing what is going to happen to him, the Lord does not retreat but “gives himself up” out of love to the soldiers who have come to arrest him.

“In the middle of the night, when everything seems to be falling apart, Jesus shows that Christian hope is not evasion, but decision,” the pope said.

Speaking to a packed hall, he recalled that Jesus prepared every day of his life for the moment of his arrest and subsequent passion and death. “For this reason, when it arrives, he has the strength not to seek a way of escape. His heart knows well that to lose life for love is not a failure.”

“Jesus too is troubled when faced with a path that seems to lead only to death and to the end,” Leo continued. “But he is equally persuaded that only a life lost for love, at the end, is ultimately found.”

“This,” the pontiff said, “is what true hope consists of: not in trying to avoid pain but in believing that even in the heart of the most unjust suffering, the seed of new life is hidden.”

He asked those listening to reflect on their lives and to think about how often they defend themselves and their own plans, without realizing that it leaves them, ultimately, alone.

“The logic of the Gospel is different: Only what is given flourishes; only the love that becomes free can restore trust even where everything seems lost,” he said, adding that “this is true hope: knowing that, even in the darkness of trial, God’s love sustains us and ripens the fruit of eternal life in us.”

During his greeting to Spanish-speaking pilgrims, Pope Leo recalled the Church’s Aug. 27 celebration of the feast of St. Monica and the Aug. 28 feast of St. Augustine, Monica’s son.

“Let us ask the Lord, through the intercession of these beloved saints, that we may know — following the logic of the Gospel — how to love and give our lives freely and generously, as Christ, our hope, did,” he said.

At the end of the Wednesday audience, the pope added an appeal for the end of wars, especially the conflict in the Holy Land.

“I implore that all hostages be released, that a permanent ceasefire be reached, that safe access for humanitarian aid be facilitated, and that humanitarian rights be fully respected: in particular, the obligation to protect all civilian areas and the prohibition of collective punishment, indiscriminate use of force, and forced displacement of the population,” he said.

“We implore Mary, Queen of Peace, source of consolation and hope, to intercede for reconciliation and peace in that land so dear to us all,” Leo added.

U.S. bishops identify several policy priorities in Congress this fall
Wed, 27 Aug 2025 06:00:00 -0400

Washington D.C., Aug 27, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

As lawmakers prepare to return next week from their August recess, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) wants them to get to work on immigration reform and bolstering federal safety net programs, among other issues, framing its advocacy work around protecting human dignity and supporting the most vulnerable.

“As a nonpartisan organization, the USCCB is engaged with members of Congress, their staff, and the White House and the administration to advance the common good for all and uphold the sacredness of human life and the God-given dignity of the human person,” Chieko Noguchi, the USCCB’s executive director for public affairs, told CNA.

“This means that the care for immigrants, refugees, and the poor is part of the same teaching of the Church that requires us to protect the most vulnerable among us, especially unborn children, the elderly, and the infirm,” Noguchi noted.

Addressing the conference’s ongoing public policy priorities, Noguchi referenced a letter to members of Congress earlier this year from USCCB President Archbishop Timothy Broglio that in addition to immigration reform called for legislation that supports vulnerable communities, especially children and low-income families.

But following this summer’s passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act spending package, Broglio faulted that measure for including “unconscionable cuts to health care and food assistance, tax cuts that increase inequality, immigration provisions that harm families and children, and cuts to programs that protect God’s creation.”

A recently emerging issue for the bishops is digital safety. In a joint letter this July with other faith-based and family organizations, the USCCB voiced support for the Kids Online Safety Act. The measure would place greater responsibility on technology companies to design platforms that protect minors from harmful content and addictive features. The bishops described the legislation as consistent with their commitment to safeguarding children and promoting environments where families can thrive.

This fall, immigration remains central to USCCB advocacy efforts. The bishops continue to press Congress to provide permanent protections for so-called “Dreamers,” referring to people who were brought to the U.S. as children.

“The continued uncertainty associated with the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program is untenable and unjust, depriving hardworking people the ability to be fully recognized members of our society,” the conference maintains.

The bishops also oppose changes to social safety net programs that would limit eligibility for mixed-status families (those with both legal and unauthorized members). They cite, for example, the Child Tax Credit, which currently only requires the benefiting child to have a Social Security number.

“This is consistent with the goals of such programs, which exist to empower families and to prevent them from falling into poverty,” the USCCB asserts.

Religious Workforce Protection Act

The bishops are also urging passage of the Religious Workforce Protection Act, which as of Aug. 22 had 10 Democrat and three Republican lawmakers cosponsoring the House bill and would authorize the continuation of lawful nonimmigrant status for certain religious workers affected by the current backlog for religious worker immigrant visas.

A similar bill in the Senate now has five Republicans and one Democrat cosponsoring. Numerous Catholic institutions such as parishes and schools depend on international clergy. In an Aug. 7 interview with EWTN, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration is committed to fixing the ongoing backlog of religious worker visas.

Despite the fact that earlier this year the USCCB ended its decades-long partnership with the federal government to resettle refugees due to funding cuts and suspended agreements that made the program unsustainable, the bishops continue to call for generous resettlement policies and humane border enforcement.

Housing is also an increasing policy focus. In an Aug. 8 letter, the bishops pressed Congress to strengthen funding for affordable housing and community development in the fiscal year 2026 appropriations process.

Meanwhile, the USCCB’s advocacy around health care policy remains linked to the Church’s pro-life stance. The bishops have been strongly supportive of congressional efforts to ensure that federal programs such as Medicaid do not fund abortion. In July, a federal judge blocked a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that was aimed at defunding Planned Parenthood for one year and ordered the federal government to resume Medicaid reimbursements to the abortion giant while litigation over the law continues.

The USCCB also supports expanding access to maternal health services, pediatric care, and palliative care. Broadly on fiscal policy, the USCCB has called for a federal budget that prioritizes the poor and reflects Catholic principles of solidarity centered on the common good.

The bishops also continue to press for robust support for international humanitarian aid. As global crises intensify, the bishops have asked Congress to provide funding for humanitarian and development assistance in the fiscal year 2026 budget. Funding for the current fiscal year ends on Sept. 30. The USCCB frames these legislative priorities as connected parts of a single mission.

“The decisions you make in your important work on behalf of our nation will have a lasting impact on the well-being and common good of many people,” Broglio wrote. Congress returns from its summer break on Sept. 2.

St. Monica: The persistent mother of St. Augustine who never gave up
Wed, 27 Aug 2025 04:00:00 -0400

CNA Staff, Aug 27, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

On Aug. 27, one day before the feast of her son St. Augustine, the Catholic Church honors St. Monica, whose holy example and fervent intercession led to one of the most dramatic conversions in Church history.

Monica was born into a Catholic family in 332 in the north African city of Tagaste, located in present-day Algeria. She was raised by a maidservant who taught her the virtues of obedience and temperance. While still relatively young, she married Patricius, a Roman civil servant with a bad temper and a disdain for his wife’s religion.

Patricius’ wife dealt patiently with his distressing behavior, which included infidelity to their marriage vows. But she experienced a greater grief when he would not allow their three children — Augustine, Nagivius, and Perpetua — to be baptized. When Augustine, the oldest, became sick and was in danger of death, Patricius gave consent for his baptism but withdrew it when he recovered.

Monica’s long-suffering patience and prayers eventually helped Patricius to see the error of his ways, and he was baptized into the Church one year before his death in 371. Her oldest son, however, soon embraced a way of life that brought her further grief. He fathered a child out of wedlock in 372 and a year later began to practice Manichaeism, a religion founded in the third century by the Parthian prophet Mani.

In her distress and grief, Monica initially shunned her oldest son. However, she experienced a mysterious dream that strengthened her hope for Augustine’s soul in which a messenger assured her: “Your son is with you.” After this experience, which took place around 377, she allowed him back into her home and continued to beg God for his conversion.

This would not take place for another nine years, however. In the meantime, Monica sought the advice of local clergy, wondering what they might do to persuade her son away from the Manichean heresy. One bishop, who had once belonged to that sect himself, assured Monica that it was “impossible that the son of such tears should perish.”

These tears and prayers intensified when Augustine, at age 29, abandoned Monica without warning as she passed the night praying in a chapel. Without saying goodbye to his mother, Augustine boarded a ship bound for Rome. Yet even this painful event would serve God’s greater purpose, as Augustine left to become a teacher in the place where he was destined to become a Catholic.

Under the influence of the saintly Bishop Ambrose of Milan, Augustine renounced the teaching of the Manichees around 384. Monica followed her son to Milan and drew encouragement from his growing interest in Ambrose’s preaching. After three years of struggle against his desires and perplexities, Augustine succumbed to God’s grace and was baptized in 387.

Shortly before her death, Monica shared a profound mystical experience of God with Augustine, who chronicled the event in his “Confessions.” Finally, she told him: “Son, for myself I have no longer any pleasure in anything in this life. Now that my hopes in this world are satisfied, I do not know what more I want here or why I am here.”

“The only thing I ask of you both,” she told Augustine and his brother Nagivius, “is that you make remembrance of me at the altar of the Lord wherever you are.”

St. Monica died at the age of 56 in the year 387. In modern times, she has become the inspiration for the St. Monica Sodality, which encourages prayer and penance among Catholics whose children have left the faith.

This article was first published on Aug. 27, 2024, and has been updated.

Vocation directors conference kicks off to help those ‘forming healthy and holy priests’
Tue, 26 Aug 2025 17:27:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 26, 2025 / 17:27 pm (CNA).

This week hundreds of vocation directors, staff, and collaborators are gathering to draw closer to Christ, grow in brotherhood, and learn best practices for creating a culture of vocations at the annual National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors (NCDVD).

Every year members of the NCDVD organization travel from across the United States and from at least 10 different countries to gather for what many describe as “one of the highlights of their year.” They not only receive spiritual renewal and practical knowledge but also enjoy activities and community with brother priests.

The NCDVD is a fraternity of vocation directors who provide one another support as they help guide men discerning priesthood. The organization encourages priests to collaborate on projects and offer insights from their personal experiences. It also welcomes religious brothers and sisters, vocation office personnel, and laypeople to collaborate in the ministry.

NCDVD focuses on a number of key aspects including community, regional gatherings, the annual convention, fundraising, and its Vocare Institute for New Vocation Directors — an in-depth training held for new directors held before the conference.

Vocation directors have a tremendous responsibility that can often draw a lot of pressure. The overall goal of the conference is to provide knowledge to help them feel properly equipped to tackle such an important role.

This year the conference, held at the Retreat and Conference Center of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, New York, welcomed Father Stephen Rossetti as the keynote speaker on Monday, Aug. 25. The well-known exorcist, psychologist, and author held a talk titled “Deliverance Ministry for Priests.” He discussed how priests can “safely and effectively assist” the laity who come to them for guidance.

On Tuesday, Aug. 26, priests also had the opportunity to hear from Father Boniface Hicks, OSB, about “the impact of the spiritual direction relationship on personal discernment and prayer.” The discussion tapped into the importance of the formative relationship between a spiritual director and directee.

Throughout the week attendees also participate in workshops held by priests, sisters, and other Catholic leaders. They will address topics including how to operate an effective vocation office, strengthen campus ministries, and encourage younger generations to serve the Church.

Bishop Edward Lohse of the Diocese of Kalamazoo, Michigan, will also join to offer needed guidance for vocation directors as many often struggle to decipher “what can or should be asked of candidates and what should not.”

While many aspects of the conference focus on resources and roles of the directors, a number of workshops also tackle hot topics that are relevant to the changing times.

This year Tanner Kalina will lead a workshop called “Create Digitally, Connect Personally” focused on social media. Kalina, who stars in EWTN’s online series “James the Less,” will discuss how to utilize the tool of social media “in a way that Jesus would if he were in our shoes.”

Another workshop will be led by Miguel Naranjo, who is the director of the Religious Immigration Services section of Catholic Legal Immigration Network. He will address immigration issues in the United States with “attention to the religious worker immigration law programs.”

Trump’s HHS gives states 60 days to remove ‘gender ideology’ in school material
Tue, 26 Aug 2025 16:57:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 26, 2025 / 16:57 pm (CNA).

President Donald Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) warned states and American territories that they must remove references to “gender ideology” from K–12 education materials or they will lose federal funding.

HHS sent letters dated Aug. 26 to 40 states and Washington, D.C., as well as five territories, that say any state or territory that fails to end the promotion of gender ideology in its implementation of the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) within the next 60 days will lose federal PREP funding.

The states and territories cumulatively receive more than $81.3 million from PREP annually, with most taking in a few million dollars and others receiving several hundred thousand dollars in funding.

The letters document numerous examples of “gender ideology” embedded in the curricula of several Democrat-led and Republican-led states.

For example, the letter to Vermont cites program materials that define gender as “the ideas in a culture or society about the appropriate ways for men and women to dress, behave, think, and feel.” It calls gender identity “peoples’ inner understanding of what gender they identify with,” which could be a man, a woman, or “something that doesn’t fit these labels.”

The letter to Washington points to course material that says a child’s “gender identity” may be different from “their sex assigned at birth.” It asserts that children begin to articulate aspects of their gender identity “between the ages of 18 months and 2 to 3 years” and “have a clear sense of their gender identity by age 4 or 5.”

In South Dakota, the HHS letter references a “frequently asked question” in one of the course materials, which asks: “Why would someone with a penis not identify as a boy/man?” This is answered with the assertion that body parts reference “sex assigned at birth, which is different than gender” and calls gender “how people identify and express themselves.”

Many of the examples cited in the letters are the same in dozens of states because several states use the same course materials.

In the letters, HHS acknowledges that these curricula and programs had previously been approved under President Joe Biden’s administration, which it says “erred in allowing PREP grants to be used to teach students gender ideology.” It states that these materials are now “out of compliance” with HHS regulations.

HHS instructed officials in each state that received a letter to modify their curricula and course materials by Monday, Oct. 27, for the department to review.

“Accountability is coming,” Acting Assistant HHS Secretary Andrew Gradison said in an Aug. 26 statement.

“Federal funds will not be used to poison the minds of the next generation or advance dangerous ideological agendas,” he said. “The Trump administration will ensure that PREP reflects the intent of Congress, not the priorities of the left.”

The warnings come just five days after HHS ended $12 million in PREP funds to California for failing to halt its promotion of gender ideology through its curriculum. HHS had warned the state in June that it would lose funding if officials refused to make the necessary changes.

HHS is enforcing Trump’s Jan. 29 executive order on “ending radical indoctrination in K–12 schooling.” The administration defines gender ideology as a belief system that “replaces the biological category of sex with an ever-shifting concept of self-assessed gender identity.”

According to the administration, gender ideology permits “the false claim that males can identify as and thus become women and vice versa.” It includes “the idea that there is a vast spectrum of genders that are disconnected from one’s sex.”

Patriarchates of Jerusalem: Forced evacuation of Gaza City is a ‘death sentence’
Tue, 26 Aug 2025 16:27:00 -0400

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 26, 2025 / 16:27 pm (CNA).

In a joint message released Aug. 26, the Latin and the Greek Orthodox Patriarchates of Jerusalem denounced the evacuation of Gaza City in the face of an imminent Israeli operation as “a death sentence.“

The text stated that, in light of the repeated announcement of “a massive military mobilization and preparations for an imminent offensive” by the Israeli army to take control of Gaza City, the first evacuation orders have been issued for civilians, including Christians, to be relocated to the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

The statement also denounced that in recent days, “there is more destruction and death in a situation that was already dramatic before this operation,” and noted that “it seems that the Israeli government’s announcement that ‘the gates of hell will open’ is indeed taking on tragic forms.”

For the Greek Orthodox and Latin Patriarchates of Jerusalem, the announced offensive and “the reports now reaching us from the ground show that the operation is not just a threat but a reality that is already in the process of being implemented.”

The patriarchates pointed out that the Greek Orthodox complex of St. Porphyrius and the Latin complex of the Holy Family are located in Gaza City, which have become “a refuge for hundreds of civilians,” including the elderly, women, and children. The Latin complex also houses people with disabilities, cared for by the sisters of the Missionaries of Charity.

The joint message stated that “the refugees living in the facilities will have to decide according to their conscience what they will do,” taking into account that “many are weakened and malnourished due to the hardships of the last months.”

“Leaving Gaza City and trying to flee to the south would be nothing less than a death sentence. For this reason, the clergy and nuns have decided to remain and continue to care for all those who will be in the compounds,” the statement confirmed.

Faced with the uncertainty surrounding the situation, the two patriarchates reiterated that “there can be no future based on captivity, displacement of Palestinians, or revenge” and echoed the words of Pope Leo XIV spoken Aug. 23: “All peoples, even the smallest and weakest, must be respected by the powerful in their identity and rights, especially the right to live in their own lands; and no one can force them into exile.”

“This is not the right way. There is no reason to justify the deliberate and forcible mass displacement of civilians. There is no reason to justify keeping civilians as prisoners and hostages in dramatic conditions,” the statement emphasized.

The Greek and Latin patriarchates emphasized that “it is time to end this spiral of violence, to put an end to war and to prioritize the common good of the people. There has been enough devastation, in the territories and in people’s lives. There is no reason to justify keeping civilians as prisoners and hostages in dramatic conditions. It is now time for the healing of the long-suffering families on all sides.”

Finally, they urgently called on the international community to act for an end “of this senseless and destructive war, and for the return of the missing people and the Israeli hostages.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Caritas calls ‘man-made famine and assault on Gaza City’ a ‘horror’
Tue, 26 Aug 2025 15:57:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 26, 2025 / 15:57 pm (CNA).

Caritas Internationalis issued a statement on “the man-made famine and assault on Gaza City” following the Israel Defense Forces’ latest incursion into the embattled enclave, where the United Nations declared famine last week.

“This is not war. It is the systematic destruction of civilian life,” the renowned international Catholic aid organization wrote in its Aug. 25 statement. “The siege of Gaza has become a machinery of annihilation, sustained by impunity and the silence, or complicity, of powerful nations.”

“Famine here is not a natural disaster but the outcome of a deliberate strategy: blocking aid, bombing food convoys, destroying infrastructure, and denying basic needs,” the aid group declared. “Caritas Internationalis bears witness to this horror.”

The statement continued: “Civilians, mostly children and women, are being starved, bombed, and erased. Influential governments, corporations, and multinationals have enabled this catastrophe through military support, financial aid, and diplomatic cover.”

Caritas went on to condemn “hollow declarations and empty platitudes” offered by the international community in response to the plight of Gazans.

“Caritas Internationalis sees in Gaza a deliberate assault on human dignity and the collapse of moral order, a failure of leadership, responsibility, and humanity itself,” the organization said. “In the light of the Spirit that guides us, Caritas Internationalis abhors all these acts and omissions in the strongest terms. They represent a blatant disregard for the values and fundamental principles of humanity and clearly violate international law, international humanitarian law, and international human rights law, as well as numerous provisions of specific U.N. conventions, including the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.”

The statement comes after an Israeli strike hit Nasser Hospital in Gaza on Monday, “killing at least 20 people, including five journalists,” according to Reuters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on social media after the strike: “Israel deeply regrets the tragic mishap that occurred today at the Nasser Hospital in Gaza. Israel values the work of journalists, medical staff, and all civilians.”

“The military authorities are conducting a thorough investigation,” he added. “Our war is with Hamas terrorists. Our just goals are defeating Hamas and bringing our hostages home.”

Israel similarly issued a statement after striking Gaza’s only Catholic Church last month, saying “a deviation of munitions” had led to an accidental strike on Holy Family Catholic Church. Three people were killed in the strike and nine injured, including the parish’s pastor, Father Gabriel Romanelli.

Caritas concluded its blistering statement with a list of demands, including a complete and immediate ceasefire, humanitarian aid, the release of all hostages, and an end to “Israel’s unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

“The famine in Gaza is a test of moral integrity, and too many have failed. To starve a population is to desecrate life. To remain silent is to be complicit,” the organization stated, concluding: “Caritas Internationalis calls on all people of faith and conscience to raise their voices, pressure their governments, and demand justice. The world is watching. History is recording. And Gaza is waiting, not for words, but for salvation.”

‘Let there be peace!’: Book of Pope Leo XIV’s discourses to be published Aug. 27
Tue, 26 Aug 2025 15:27:00 -0400

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 26, 2025 / 15:27 pm (CNA).

On Aug. 27 the Vatican will publish a compilation of Pope Leo’s discourses from the first months of his pontificate in a book signed by the pontiff titled “Let There Be Peace! Words to the Church and the World.”

According to the Vatican publishing house, the 160-page volume, which will be published in Italian, English, and Spanish, “is a valuable book: It collects the first discourses of Pope Leo XIV, through which we can better understand the pontiff through his own words.”

The book’s title underscores the Holy Father’s emphasis on calling for peace, which began from the very moment of his election on May 8, when he exclaimed from St. Peter’s:

“Peace be with you all! Dear brothers and sisters, these are the first words spoken by the risen Christ, the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for God’s flock. I would like this greeting of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world. Peace be with you! It is the peace of the risen Christ. A peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering. A peace that comes from God, the God who loves us all, unconditionally.”

According to information provided by the Vatican, the ideas that stand out in the first discourses of Leo XIV’s pontificate include “the primacy of God, communion in the Church, the search for peace.”

The pontiff has also emphasized the fundamental importance of “an irrevocable commitment for anyone who exercises a ministry of authority in the Church: to disappear so that Christ may remain, to become small so that he may be known and glorified.”

Also notable in the book’s first pages are his calls to strive for “a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which may become leaven for a reconciled world.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Where does your state stand on abortion?
Tue, 26 Aug 2025 14:57:00 -0400

CNA Staff, Aug 26, 2025 / 14:57 pm (CNA).

In nine states and in the nation’s capital, unborn life is not protected at any stage of life. Another 18 states do not protect unborn life until some point in the second trimester of pregnancy.

But some states are leading the charge in defending unborn life, with a dozen states protecting life throughout pregnancy in most cases, and another seven states protecting unborn children at some point within the first trimester of life.

CNA is unveiling three new interactive maps to show where each state in the U.S. stands on life issues — the protection of unborn life, the death penalty, and assisted suicide. The maps will be updated as new information on each issue becomes available.

Below is an analysis of the map that shows where each state stands on abortion laws as of August 2025.

After the 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade, abortion legislation returned to the states. But in 2024, Americans had more than 1 million abortions, according to the latest data.

When it comes to unborn human life, only 19 states in the U.S. protect unborn children from abortion during the first trimester of their lives.

Twelve states protect life throughout pregnancy with some exceptions. Soon after Roe was overturned, Texas prohibited almost all abortions, leading the charge alongside a few other states whose pro-life trigger laws went into effect.

Seven states protect unborn children within the first trimester, usually at the times when the child’s heartbeat can be detected, which is about five to six weeks. Ohio led the charge for heartbeat legislation — laws that protect unborn children once the heartbeat can be detected.

Florida also passed a heartbeat law in 2023 under Gov. Ron DeSantis. Nebraska passed a pro-life constitutional amendment protecting life after 12 weeks.

In 18 states, laws protect life after 18-24 weeks. Most of these states protect life only after “fetal viability,” the time when a baby can survive outside the womb with medical support. Viability is usually estimated to be between 22 and 23 weeks by most doctors, but it continues to advance thanks to improving technology. For instance, a baby born last year celebrated his first birthday after being born at 21 weeks.

Unborn life is not protected up to birth in nine states and Washington, D.C. Alaska, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Vermont have no protections for unborn children at any stage of development. In most of these states, taxpayer dollars also fund abortion.

Several states have passed ballot measures in recent years declaring a “right to abortion” or “reproductive freedom” under the state constitution. These states include: Arizona, California, Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, and New York. In states with a right to abortion, the constitutional amendments leave room to expand already existing laws. While California currently allows abortion up to viability and up to birth in cases of the mother’s life or health, pro-life advocates warn that the constitutional right to abortion could lead to an expansion of abortion in the state.

Where does your state stand on life?

Alabama: Alabama has a constitutional amendment protecting “the sanctity of unborn life” and the right to life, approved in 2018. Abortion is only legal in Alabama if an attending licensed physician determines an abortion is necessary if the life of the mother is at risk.

Alaska: Alaska has no protections for life. Abortion is legal at any point in Alaska under the state constitutional right to privacy.

Arizona: Arizona has some protections for life. Voters there definitively approved Proposition 139, which provides constitutionally for a “fundamental right to abortion.” The measure says that the state cannot restrict abortion until the point of “viability,” at approximately 24 weeks of pregnancy, unless it has a compelling reason and does so in the least restrictive way possible.

Arkansas: Arkansas protects life in all stages, with some exceptions. Abortion is only legal in Arkansas if the life of the mother is at risk.

California: California has some protections for life. Abortion is legal there until viability and until birth for the life or health of the mother. Californians approved a constitutional right to abortion in 2022.

Colorado: Colorado has no protections for life. In 2024, voters approved a constitutional right to abortion. In 2025, legislation passed to approve state funding of abortion.

Connecticut: Connecticut has some protections for life. Abortion is legal up until viability.

Delaware: In Delaware, life is protected after viability with some exceptions. Abortion is legal up until viability and after in cases of patient health risk or lethal fetal anomaly. The state funds abortion through Medicaid.

Washington, D.C.: Washington, D.C., has no protections for unborn life and abortion is legal through all nine months of pregnancy.

Florida: After implementing a heartbeat law in May 2024, Florida protects unborn children after six weeks. Voters rejected an abortion ballot measure in November 2024.

Georgia: Georgia protects unborn children at six weeks, when their heartbeats are detectable.

Hawaii: Hawaii protects life after viability and funds abortion via Medicaid.

Idaho: Idaho protects unborn children at all stages of pregnancy, with exceptions if the mother’s life is at risk.

Illinois: Illinois protects life after viability, which it estimates to be at 24-26 weeks. State Medicaid funds abortion.

Indiana: Indiana protects life throughout pregnancy with some exceptions. The state also prohibits abortion based on the race, sex, or disability of the unborn child.

Iowa: Iowa protects life after the unborn child’s heartbeat is detectable (six weeks). After six weeks, there are exceptions to these protections in cases of a medical emergency; if the unborn child is a product of rape or incest; or if the child has an abnormality.

Kansas: Kansas protects life after 22 weeks, when the unborn child can feel pain; abortion is legal after if there is a threat to the life of the mother or to prevent irreversible physical damage to her body.

Kentucky: Kentucky protects life throughout pregnancy with exceptions if the mother’s life is at risk.

Louisiana: Louisiana protects life throughout pregnancy except to save the life of the mother or to prevent substantial impairment. Physicians are urged to attempt to save both lives.

Maine: Maine protects life after viability with exceptions for the life and health of the mother.

Maryland: Maryland does not protect unborn life at any stage. A constitutional amendment in 2024 created a right to “reproductive freedom” in the state. The state allows abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.

Massachusetts: Massachusetts protects life after 24 weeks, after which there are exceptions for the mother’s life or physical or mental health, and for lethal or grave fetal diagnosis. State Medicaid funds cover abortion.

Michigan: Michigan does not protect life at any point. The state approved a constitutional right to “reproductive freedom” in 2022. Abortion is legal through all nine months of pregnancy, though the constitutional provision allows the state to enact some regulations after viability.

Minnesota: Minnesota has no protection for unborn children. The state has a right to abortion under its right to privacy in the constitution and funds abortion. Gov. Tim Walz signed a law in 2023 that prevents local governments from regulating access to “reproductive health care.”

Mississippi: Mississippi protects life at all stages with exceptions for preservation of the mother’s life or cases of rape.

Missouri: Missouri’s abortion law is in flux. Voters approved a constitutional right to abortion in 2024, but how this right is enforced is still being determined in court.

Montana: Montana protects life after viability. The state approved a right to abortion in its constitution in 2024. A court in June 2025 struck down laws protecting life after 20 weeks of gestation. A pro-life group called Montana Family Foundation has filed a lawsuit alleging that the abortion rights ballot measure was invalid because it did not show the full text to voters.

Nebraska: Nebraska protects life after 12 weeks of pregnancy, when the unborn child can feel pain. In 2024, Nebraska passed a constitutional amendment protecting life in the second and third trimesters except in cases of medical emergencies, rape, or incest.

Nevada: Nevada protects life after 24 weeks of pregnancy with exceptions after for the health or life of the mother. State Medicaid covers abortions.

New Hampshire: New Hampshire protects life after 24 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions after in cases of medical emergencies or fetal anomalies.

New Jersey: New Jersey does not protect life at any stage of pregnancy. Courts have recognized a right to privacy including abortion for decades, and the state funds abortion.

New Mexico: New Mexico does not protect life at any point of pregnancy, and the state funds abortion.

New York: New York does not protect life at any point during pregnancy, and state funding goes toward abortion. In 2024, New York created a constitutional right to abortion. Abortion was legal in New York in 1970, prior to the Roe v. Wade decision.

North Carolina: North Carolina protects unborn children after 12 weeks of pregnancy, when the unborn child can feel pain, as of 2023.

North Dakota: North Dakota protects unborn children after viability. A judge recently ruled that the state’s abortion law protecting unborn children throughout pregnancy was unconstitutional.

Ohio: Ohio protects life at 20 weeks from fertilization. In 2023, the state passed an amendment creating a constitutional right to abortion.

Oklahoma: Oklahoma protects life throughout all nine months of pregnancy except when the mother’s life is at risk.

Oregon: Oregon does not protect life at any stage of pregnancy, and the state funds abortion.

Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania protects life after 24 weeks, with exceptions for the mother’s health or life.

Rhode Island: Rhode Island protects life after fetal viability under the Reproductive Privacy Act, passed in 2019. The state funds abortion.

South Carolina: South Carolina protects unborn children after six weeks under the Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act, with some exceptions for rape, incest, medical emergencies, or fatal fetal anomalies.

South Dakota: South Dakota protects unborn children throughout pregnancy except to save the life of the mother.

Tennessee: Tennessee law protects unborn children in all stages, with exceptions to save the life of the mother or prevent major bodily damage.

Texas: Texas protects unborn children in all stages except when the life or health of the mother is at risk.

Utah: Utah protects unborn children after 18 weeks of gestation.

Vermont: Vermont does not protect unborn life at any point during pregnancy. The state’s constitution was amended in 2022 to include a right to abortion. The state also funds abortion.

Virginia: Virginia protects life after 28 weeks of pregnancy, meaning that abortion is legal until the end of the second trimester, and after in cases of serious risk to the woman’s health or life.

Washington: Washington protects life after viability with exceptions if there is a threat to the life or health of the mother. State Medicaid covers abortion.

West Virginia: West Virginia protects unborn children in all stages of pregnancy except in medical emergencies, cases of rape or incest, or if the unborn child is deemed “nonviable.”

Wisconsin: Wisconsin protects unborn children after 20 weeks, with exceptions to save the life or health of the mother. The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently struck down an 1849 law protecting life.

Wyoming: Wyoming protects life after the unborn child is viable outside the womb. The state is engaged in legal battles over two abortion laws: one that protects life in most cases and another that bans chemical abortions via abortion pills.

Where does the Church stand on abortion?

The Church opposes direct abortions in all cases, teaching that human life must be protected at all stages. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception” (CCC, 2270).

“Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion,” the catechism continues. “This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable (CCC, 2271).

Notably, the Church does not teach that the life of the child must be preferred to the life of the mother but rather instructs doctors “to make every effort to save the lives of both, of the mother and the child.” The U.S. bishops encourage every Catholic parish to offer support to pregnant mothers in need.

Cholera crisis deepens in Sudan amid war and aid blockades
Tue, 26 Aug 2025 14:23:00 -0400

ACI Africa, Aug 26, 2025 / 14:23 pm (CNA).

The current cholera devastation in Sudan, especially in the country’s Darfur region, is taking a toll on the population already battered by the world’s worst humanitarian crisis following two years of heavy fighting between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

From Tawila in north Darfur where there is still heavy fighting, to relatively calmer regions such as Kosti in the White Nile, Sudan’s worst cholera outbreak is exacerbating the country’s humanitarian crisis.

According to ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, the fighting started in Sudan’s capital city, Khartoum, before becoming a full-fledged civil war in the entire northeastern African nation. It has reportedly resulted in the deaths of “as many as 150,000 people”; well over 14 million people have been displaced, including to unstable countries such as Chad, Ethiopia, and South Sudan, where they have reportedly overrun refugee camps.

The cholera outbreak was declared by Sudan’s Ministry of Health on Aug. 12, 2024, and since then 99,700 cases have been reported and more than 2,470 related deaths (as of Aug. 11, 2025). In the Darfur region alone, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams have treated over 2,300 patients and recorded 40 deaths in the week that ended on Aug. 12.

According to MSF, the situation is most extreme in Tawila, where 380,000 people have reportedly fled to escape ongoing fighting around the city of El Fasher.

In El Fasher, and in many other parts where fighting has been heaviest, infrastructure has been destroyed, making it impossible to pump water from the source to the people. The war has also blocked aid related to hygiene, further exacerbating the cholera crisis.

At the heart of intervention in this crisis, and navigating a dangerous terrain with a “skeletal manpower,” is the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD), which is innovating every day to find ways to deliver water, medicine, and different forms of aid to the people.

Where power plants have been destroyed, CAFOD, which is the official aid agency for the Catholic Church in England and Wales, is transporting water manually using trucks from the source to distribution points near the people, especially in camps for those internally displaced.

In places where access is impossible for humanitarian organizations, CAFOD is working closely with the Federal Ministry of Health and with local leaders, supporting them with what they need because their challenge is lack of resources.

ACI Africa recently spoke to Telley Sadia, CAFOD’s Country Representative for Sudan about the situation in north Darfur and the challenges CAFOD, which has maintained a presence in the country since the 1970s, faces in their work there.

“This is one of the biggest humanitarian situations in the world which, unfortunately, has not received much international press. Sudan is not heard,” the Ugandan-born CAFOD official said.

Sadia, who has worked in Sudan for many years, echoed the sentiments of CAFOD’s executive director, Christine Allen, who told ACI Africa on Aug. 2 that in the U.K., “trying to get coverage on the media or political interest in Sudan has just been almost impossible.”

Sadia appealed to journalists, saying: “My message is to the media: Sudan needs a voice. I look forward to the day when the world will be made aware of what is actually happening in this country.”

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

New initiative seeks to help families ‘reclaim’ the Sabbath
Tue, 26 Aug 2025 13:53:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 26, 2025 / 13:53 pm (CNA).

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis announced a new initiative that will “meet families where they are” as it helps them reclaim the Sabbath as a day dedicated to prayer and rest.

The initiative, “Reclaiming Sundays: Recover Sunday as a Day for the Lord and Family,” includes both a video series and an online print edition that will “share ideas for building lasting habits to anchor our weeks in a joyful, prayerful, and restful observance of Sunday,” Archbishop Bernard Hebda said in a video announcing the initiative.

The print guide called “Guide to Reclaiming Sundays for the Lord” lays out monthly themes and practical suggestions for families to begin this September and through August 2026. The guide kicks off with its first month focused solely on “Prayer” but includes months dedicated to a number of other topics including “Screen-free Sundays” and “Music and Prayer.”

The video series will also begin in September and be uploaded to the archdiocese’s social media accounts. Viewers can expect to hear from parents, grandparents, fellow parishioners, and Catholic leaders about “what has worked, and hasn’t” when trying to “keep holy the Sabbath” and about how “to make meaningful connections with their families and communities as God intended,” the archbishop said.

The initiative focuses on a proposition of the Archdiocesan Synod 2022 process: “Form and inspire parents to understand and fulfill their responsibility as the first teachers of their children in the ways of faith.”

The guide was carefully tailored to what works best for parishioners and families as it grew out of recommendations made to the archbishop by the Blue Ribbon Commission on Parents as Primary Educators — a group made up of clergy, religious, educators, parents, and grandparents that works to create practical resources for parents.

“Sunday is essential for keeping family life centered and balanced, and yet so many families are struggling with a frantic pace of life and daily demands that keep them from experiencing the joy, peace, and renewal that God desires for all families,” Hebda said.

“The intent of this initiative is not just another activity to add upon already over-scheduled calendars of parishes, schools, and families. Rather … this effort is designed to meet families where they are and help them take meaningful steps to reorient their Sundays (and their entire lives) to reflect the gift of the Lord’s Day,” he said.

Parish groups, school communities, and Catholic families are encouraged to watch the videos and follow the guide together.