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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.

Pope Leo XIV may visit Sri Lanka, Vatican diplomat says
Mon, 10 Nov 2025 09:39:00 -0500

Colombo, Sri Lanka, Nov 10, 2025 / 09:39 am (CNA).

A top Vatican diplomat has raised the possibility of a papal visit to Sri Lanka as the two nations marked 50 years of diplomatic relations this month, a milestone reached as the island nation emerges from years of political turmoil and economic crisis.

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states and international organizations, visited Sri Lanka Nov. 3–8 to commemorate the diplomatic ties established Sept. 6, 1975. During meetings with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and other key officials, Gallagher said Pope Leo XIV may consider visiting the country in recognition of its progress toward peace and stability.

The visit came at a pivotal moment for Sri Lanka, which is rebuilding after a devastating civil war that ended in 2009 and a severe economic collapse in 2022 that forced the president’s resignation. The country also saw Easter Sunday terrorist attacks in 2019 that killed 269 people at Catholic churches and hotels.

On Nov. 4, Gallagher met Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat. During the meeting, the president briefed the archbishop on the country’s progress under his administration, according to the President’s Media Division.

‘A blessing for Sri Lanka’

Dissanayake thanked the archbishop for his visit, calling it “a blessing for Sri Lanka.”

The president lauded the Vatican’s contributions to Sri Lanka’s education sector and its humanitarian assistance following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Gallagher responded that Pope Leo XIV is impressed with Sri Lanka’s progress in promoting peace and unity among religious and ethnic groups. He added that the pope may consider visiting Sri Lanka in the future, given the Vatican’s ties with the country and its progress on many fronts.

In January 2015, Pope Francis visited Sri Lanka amid the aftermath of the nation’s civil war. During that visit, Francis canonized Joseph Vaz (1651–1711), known as the apostle of Sri Lanka.

Gallagher also praised Dissanayake’s leadership in restoring political and economic stability. He said the Vatican supports Sri Lanka’s ongoing efforts to improve ethnic harmony, interfaith understanding, and financial recovery.

The archbishop also conveyed that Pope Leo XIV and the Vatican acknowledge and appreciate Sri Lanka’s progress in championing peace and unity among ethnic and religious communities.

Reaffirming partnership

During a joint news conference on Nov. 4, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath and Gallagher reaffirmed their enduring bilateral relations.

In his remarks, Herath recalled the significant role that the Catholic Church plays in Sri Lanka’s religious and social fabric, particularly in nation-building and reconciliation efforts following the country’s decades-long civil war.

“As we mark this occasion, we reflect with pride on our multifaceted engagement in areas such as education, health care, interfaith dialogue, and humanitarian cooperation,” he said.

“This 50-year anniversary is a testament to a long tradition of dialogue and collaboration,” Gallagher stated in response. “With the intention of making the world a more equitable and peaceful place, we reached a consensus on the significance of maintaining our shared path, enhancing our collaboration on a global and regional scale, and continuing to move forward in the same direction.”

Both sides expressed optimism about the future of relations between Sri Lanka and the Holy See, which are founded on mutual respect and a shared vision for peace and development.

Civil War legacy

Sri Lanka’s civil war lasted from 1983 to 2009, claiming tens of thousands of lives. The conflict ended in 2009 when government forces defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a separatist group founded in 1976 to fight for Tamil rights. The conflict had its roots in long-standing ethnic tensions between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamil populations.

From 2019 to 2024, Sri Lanka also faced severe political and economic crises, including the 2022 collapse that led to the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Buddhism is practiced by approximately 70% of Sri Lanka’s estimated 22 million people, while 12.6% are Hindu, 9% are Muslim, and 7% are Christian.

Commemorative events

The Vatican diplomat participated in a commemorative ceremony in Colombo, attended by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo, along with other Sri Lankan dignitaries and Church officials.

The cardinal expressed joy at the joint celebration of bilateral ties, highlighting shared endeavors of friendship, collaboration, and partnership.

On Nov. 4, Ranjith accompanied Gallagher to St. Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo, one of two Catholic churches targeted by suicide bombers on Easter Sunday 2019. The attacks, carried out by a local Islamic extremist group, killed up to 269 people and injured approximately 500.

Hopes for continued partnership

“His [Gallagher’s] visit marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and the Holy See — a milestone of friendship, mutual respect, and shared values,” said Arun Hemachandra, deputy minister of foreign affairs and foreign employment.

“This golden jubilee celebration is a moment of reflection on our enduring partnership with the Vatican, grounded in peace, compassion, and the service of humanity,” he added.

Father Cyril Gamini Fernando, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Colombo, described Gallagher’s visit as important and timely.

“Gallagher’s presence in the country was an excellent occasion to acknowledge the Catholic Church and the Vatican’s efforts to support Sri Lanka in its common good and development efforts,” he said.

Michael Fernando, a Catholic and social worker based in Colombo, told CNA that the golden jubilee offers hope for further collaboration grounded in shared values.

“Even if Christians are a minority in Sri Lanka, the government values their contribution and the service they render to people,” he said. “The five decades of partnership between the Vatican and Sri Lanka are a joyous occasion to sustain in the future for the welfare of all.”

Bangladesh police arrest suspect in bomb attacks on Catholic sites
Mon, 10 Nov 2025 09:09:00 -0500

Dhaka, Bangladesh, Nov 10, 2025 / 09:09 am (CNA).

Dhaka police have arrested a 28-year-old man in connection with homemade bomb attacks that targeted a Catholic cathedral and a Church-run school in Bangladesh’s capital this month.

Police investigators identified the suspect as a member of Bangladesh Chhatra League, the banned student wing of the Awami League, the political party of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The suspect is being questioned about multiple incidents, including the Nov. 7-8 explosions at St. Mary’s Cathedral and St. Joseph School, one of the country’s prominent Catholic educational institutions.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police, working with the country’s elite Rapid Action Battalion, has launched a citywide search for additional suspects. Police have increased security at churches and other religious sites across the capital.

Bangladesh’s interim government, which took power after Hasina’s ouster in August, said it remains committed to protecting religious minorities and will prosecute those who threaten religious harmony.

Attacks on Catholic sites

On the night of Nov. 7, around 10:30 p.m. local time, a homemade bomb exploded near St. Mary’s Cathedral in central Dhaka. Police found another unexploded device on the church grounds.

A few hours later, around 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 8, another homemade bomb exploded inside the compound of St. Joseph’s Higher Secondary School and College in Mohammadpur, a Dhaka neighborhood near the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh headquarters and several religious communities’ residences.

The attacks came just before the bishops’ conference was scheduled to host a national jubilee celebration honoring the birth of Christ, bringing together bishops, priests, and lay Catholics from across the country.

Homemade bombs — called “cocktails” in Bangladesh — are crude explosive devices often used in political violence in the South Asian nation.

Community concern

“The throwing of cocktails at the church again in a month has worried our Catholic community. But we do not know the motive for this attack, but we will request the administration to quickly find out the motive for these incidents and arrest and bring to justice those who committed them,” said Father Bulbul Rebeiro, secretary of social communications for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh.

At a Nov. 8 press conference, Rebeiro said: “We Christians are very few in number, we are peace-loving people. But these incidents are frightening us.”

He demanded that the administration ensure that Christians, who are a minority, can safely hold religious festivals or activities.

Pattern of attacks

On Oct. 8, a homemade bomb exploded at the gate of Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Dhaka’s oldest Catholic church, located in a predominantly Christian neighborhood.

The Bangladesh Christian Association said the timing of the bomb attacks within a month appears coordinated. In a Nov. 8 statement, Nirmol Rozario, president of the association, urged the government to investigate and prosecute those responsible.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks or explained why the Christian community was targeted. Christians comprise less than 1% of Bangladesh’s approximately 180 million people, the vast majority of whom are Muslim.

Political turmoil and religious minorities

Bangladesh has experienced significant political instability since August 2024, when mass student-led protests forced Hasina to flee the country after 15 years in power. An interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus now governs the country.

The new government banned the Awami League’s student wing, Bangladesh Chhatra League. Under the country’s anti-terrorism act, authorities designated the student organization a “terrorist organization” for alleged attacks during the uprising that toppled Hasina’s government.

Christians and other religious minorities in Bangladesh have reported increased security concerns since the political transition. The Christian community celebrated Christmas 2024 under military protection at several churches in Dhaka.

New book recounts anecdotes from Pope Leo XIV’s life, including the day he was reported dead
Mon, 10 Nov 2025 07:00:00 -0500

Vatican City, Nov 10, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

His voice reveals, above all, the gratitude he feels toward his friend, Pope Leo XIV. From this friendship, forged over more than three decades, comes the Spanish-language book “From Robert to Leo,” published by Mensajero, in which Armando Lovera, originally from Iquitos, Peru, recounts various little-known episodes from the pontiff’s life, like the day many parishioners in Trujillo, Peru, thought that Father Robert Prevost had died.

“In reality, it was a young man, an aspiring Augustinian, who died in a bus accident while traveling to Lima for the new year,” Lovera explained in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

The young man’s parents, who were from a rural area north of Trujillo, didn’t have the means to retrieve their son’s body and asked “Father Roberto” to bring it back to their village.

“He drove over 2,000 kilometers [1,240 miles] round trip to do them a favor,” the author explained. But when making the arrangements [to return the body], he continued, “they wrote down his name incorrectly and included him on the list of victims,” which ended up being published in a local Trujillo newspaper.

“When people found out, especially the poorest people in the parish, they went to the Augustinian house in tears, newspaper in hand, to offer their condolences,” Lovera recounted. But to their surprise, it was Prevost himself who opened the door.

“What impresses me most about this story is the availability he has always shown to his friends, and, on the other hand, the affection of the people,” he commented.

Lovera vividly remembers the first time he met the future pope in 1991 in Colombia. “At that time, in my parish, the young people were quite boisterous and informal, and when I was told he was a canon lawyer, I thought, ‘Here comes a very formal, rule-bound gentleman.’ But as soon as he introduced himself and we talked, he disarmed us. Our prejudices vanished instantly because he was a very approachable person,” the author related.

The following year, in 1992, Lovera arrived at the Augustinian formation house in Trujillo, under the direction of Prevost. For seven years they shared community life and pastoral experiences, which gave rise to a deep friendship that has withstood the passage of time and distance.

“I found in him a dazzling warmth. From that day on, he became simply Roberto, or Father Roberto,” Lovera recalled.

Prevost was the parish priest at Our Lady of Monserrate in Trujillo from 1992 to 1998. Lovera vividly remembers that community in its early days: “My wife was from that parish. We witnessed [its construction] when it was still just a sandy area, and on Sundays we would bring our own chairs to attend Mass, which had a very simple altar.”

Given the presence of armed subversive groups in the regions where Prevost and other missionaries carried out their ministry in the 1990s, “they were advised to leave, but he and his community decided to stay. And that witness deeply impacted me. I was moved by his courage, his sense of mission,” Lovera recounted. “Besides, he was a mathematician. And I love mathematics. That also brought us together.”

The friendship between the two also grew around music, a shared passion. “Roberto loved music. We started singing Peruvian music together, as well as Augustinian hymns. He had a very good voice and enjoyed singing with people,” he recalled.

Prevost’s mother, Mildred, was a prominent contralto in Chicago

The pope’s musical inclination has deep roots. As Lovera recounted in the book, Prevost’s mother, Mildred, played the organ and was a prominent contralto (the lowest female vocal range) in Chicago, participating in the 1941 Chicagoland Music Festival. She also sang with devotion the “Ave Maria” at Sunday Mass.

Many years later, Lovera recounted, Mildred’s electric organ ended up at the Augustinian formation house that Prevost founded in Trujillo. Hearing about that “made an impression on me. There was something of his mother, of her faith, that continued to resonate there. It was as if her prayer continued among us,” he explained.

When Prevost was assigned to Chicago in 1999, their friendship remained alive thanks to technology. “We exchanged emails. He is a very approachable person. That familiarity was never lost,” Lovera related.

Over the years, Lovera came to understand that Prevost’s simplicity concealed a profound vocation for service. “He never sought positions within the Church. That touched me deeply. I used to say then, ‘This person is someone who reveals God to me.’ He stood out for his generosity, his ability, and his command of languages.”

He recalled with humor his own reactions to his friend’s rise to the papacy: “I honestly would have preferred that he had remained a bishop, so as not to lose touch so much. Then, in 2021, some friends were saying that Father Roberto would be the next pope, although I thought they were exaggerating.”

However, in the days leading up to the conclave, Prevost’s name began circulating on lists of papal candidates published by the media, and Lovera began to consider that possibility.

“I supposed that if they discovered what kind of person he was, they would elect him. And that’s what happened,” explained Lovera, who currently coordinates the editing of religious texts at the Loyola Communication Group.

“The goal of the book,” Lovera explained, “is to show [the reader] a friend who offers his friendship and, with it, the friendship of the one who gives meaning to life: Jesus. Roberto always wanted the doors of the diocese to remain open to everyone. He never acted like a distant sovereign or a bureaucrat. He always behaved like a brother among brothers, with the responsibility of leading and making decisions, but always with reasoning.”

For Lovera, that is the defining characteristic of the current pontiff: “Pope Leo XIV has not changed in his essence. He is the same approachable, joyful, and brotherly priest I met in 1991. Only now that approachability carries the weight and grace of guiding the entire Church.”

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

Meet the college student sharing bumper stickers to save unborn lives
Mon, 10 Nov 2025 06:00:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Nov 10, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Born and raised Catholic, 22-year-old Gabriel Dionisi always knew that life begins at conception and that it’s wrong to kill an unborn child in the womb. But it wasn’t until he was a teenager that he became more interested in his faith and started to read more Catholic news, which led to him learning more about the abortion issue. Feeling called to do more for the unborn, he created a pro-life ministry using bumper stickers to help spread awareness.

“I’d heard the word abortion before, I knew it was a sin, but I didn’t realize how widespread it was,” Dionisi told CNA in an interview.

One day at Mass, he read a pamphlet explaining the different abortion procedures and was left “disturbed” after reading about how many unborn babies are dismembered in certain kinds of abortion procedures.

He said he was also surprised to hear how many women are pressured into abortion.

“I remember being struck by reading about how many women didn’t want to have abortions — felt pressured or coerced or it wasn’t their first choice — and that was also surprising to me because it made me think, ‘OK, we could actually do something about this,’” he said.

In 2018 Dionisi decided to create bumper stickers encouraging individuals to “choose life.” For women who might be in crisis pregnancies, the stickers include the URL to Option Line, a website run by Heartbeat International that offers a map of pregnancy resource centers around the country. The site also offers a 24/7 helpline with counselors who speak both English and Spanish.

Dionisi explained that he chose to create bumper stickers because they’re inexpensive to print and “there’s such a good return on investment because if you put a bumper sticker on your car and let’s say 20 people see it every day as you drive, you multiply that by 365, that’s over 7,000 a year.”

Since launching his pro-life ministry, Dionisi has shared over 10,000 bumper stickers with people in 45 out of the 50 states.

Speaking to the importance of defending the unborn, Dionisi said: “It’s foundational. If we want to see our country succeed and thrive, we need to respect that value of equal human dignity.”

He added: “The magnitude of the problem is that so many babies are being lost and not just that, but so many women who are being hurt, men who are being hurt, and it affects our whole society when people are just carrying that wound around with them.”

Dionisi said he hopes his bumper stickers are helping to spread awareness of the many resources available for pregnant women in need.

“I think it’s important to spread this awareness to everybody because you never know when someone in your own life might be going through a situation where they need help,” he said.

“The amazing thing about the pro-life movement is that there are so many opportunities for us, just as regular people, to literally save the lives of others. This is especially important as Catholics, because we know that every human being is made in the image of God and has an enormous potential to bring more love into the world.”

Dionisi’s free pro-life bumper stickers can be found here.

Pope warns against stereotypes and prejudices that obscure the mystery of the Church
Sun, 09 Nov 2025 07:15:00 -0500

Vatican City, Nov 9, 2025 / 07:15 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV invited the faithful to contemplate “the mystery of unity and communion with the Church of Rome” and to recognize that “the true sanctuary of God is Christ who died and rose again” during his Sunday Angelus on the feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

Speaking to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the pope said in his catechesis that the Lateran, the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome and the seat of Peter’s successor, “is not only a work of extraordinary historical, artistic, and religious value, but it also represents the driving force of the faith entrusted to and preserved by the Apostles, and its transmission throughout history.”

He noted that this mystery “shines forth in the artistic splendor of the building,” which contains “the 12 large statues of the Apostles, the first followers of Christ and witnesses of the Gospel.”

The pope urged Christians to look beyond appearances and to see the Church’s deeper reality. “This points to a spiritual perspective, which helps us to go beyond the external appearance, to understand that the mystery of the Church is much more than a simple place, a physical space, a building made of stones,” he said.

Recalling the Gospel account of Jesus cleansing the Temple, Leo XIV said: “In reality, the true sanctuary of God is Christ who died and rose again. He is the only mediator of salvation, the only redeemer, the one who, by uniting himself with our humanity and transforming us with his love, represents the door that opens wide for us and leads us to the Father.”

“United with him,” he continued, “we too are living stones of this spiritual edifice. We are the Church of Christ, his body, his members called to spread his Gospel of mercy, consolation, and peace throughout the world, through that spiritual worship that must shine forth above all in our witness of life.”

The pope cautioned that the sins and weaknesses of believers, together with “many clichés and prejudices,” often obscure the mystery of the Church. “Her holiness, in fact, is not dependent upon our merits,” he said, “but in the ‘gift of the Lord, never retracted,’ that continues to choose ‘as the vessel of its presence, with a paradoxical love, the dirty hands of men.’”

“Let us walk then in the joy of being the holy people that God has chosen,” Leo XIV concluded, inviting the faithful to pray: “Let us invoke Mary, Mother of the Church, to help us welcome Christ and accompany us with her intercession.”

After praying the Angelus, the pope expressed his closeness to the people of the Philippines, where a massive typhoon has caused widespread destruction.

“I express my closeness to the people of the Philippines who have been hit by a violent typhoon: I pray for the deceased and their families, as well as for the injured and displaced,” he said.

He also noted that the Church in Italy was observing its annual Thanksgiving Day and joined the Italian bishops in encouraging “responsible care for the land, combating food waste, and adopting sustainable agricultural practices.”

Finally, Leo XIV made a heartfelt appeal for peace amid ongoing conflicts. “If we truly want to honor their memory,” he said of recent war victims, “we must stop the wars and put all of our efforts into negotiations.”

The pope concluded by greeting groups of pilgrims from around the world and wishing everyone “a blessed Sunday.”

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

Cardinal Czerny brings message of hope to Rohingya in Bangladesh
Sun, 09 Nov 2025 07:00:00 -0500

Dhaka, Bangladesh, Nov 9, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, concluded a five-day pastoral visit with migrants and displaced Catholics under the theme “Raising Hope to Foster a Culture of Care.”

From Nov. 1–5, Czerny met with internally displaced Catholics near Dhaka and visited Rohingya in Cox’s Bazar, highlighting urgent issues of migration, poverty, and social justice.

Bangladesh hosts two vulnerable communities: approximately 50,000 internally displaced Catholics in Dhaka and Narayanganj, and nearly 1.1 million Rohingya refugees and migrants in Cox’s Bazar — considered the largest refugee camp in the world.

The visit sought to affirm the Church’s solidarity with these groups and encourage collaboration among Church leaders, government agencies, and humanitarian organizations.

Message of faith for displaced Catholics

On Nov. 2, Czerny celebrated Mass with more than 600 Catholics in Modonpur, Narayanganj, an industrial area where many migrants from rural Bangladesh live in precarious conditions. Many have fled their ancestral villages seeking better livelihoods, often working in factories under difficult circumstances.

“You are poor, but you gather to worship God,” Czerny told the faithful. “As you pray, God will answer your prayers. You will be blessed.”

For Sujon Das, 28, a machine operator originally from Thakurgaon, the encounter was deeply moving. “Cardinal Czerny admired us,” Das told CNA. “I had night duty on Nov. 3, but after work I joined the Mass. Normally we cannot attend Sunday Mass because we only get Fridays off — and sometimes we work even then.”

Das recalled a painful memory: “On Aug. 5, 2024, during political unrest, miscreants set fire to our church. Still, we keep our faith.” The violence occurred during widespread unrest following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, which resulted in attacks on religious minorities across Bangladesh.

Father Ajit Victor Costa, who ministers regularly in Modonpur, explained why so many Catholics migrate to the area. “For existential reasons and better livelihood, they come to industrial zones seeking jobs,” he explained. “Most are landless and worked as day laborers in villages, earning very little. Migration continues, and many families remain separated.”

During his homily, Czerny praised those who serve migrants and refugees: “Communities that welcome migrants can be a living witness to hope — a promise of a present and future where the dignity of all as children of God is recognized.”

Solidarity with Rohingya

On Nov. 3, Czerny traveled to Cox’s Bazar to visit Rohingya who fled violence in Myanmar.

During a tour of Caritas Bangladesh’s humanitarian programs, he expressed concern about dwindling global support.

“The situation is very difficult, with funding cuts and less attention from the world,” Czerny said during his visit to the migrant camp. “The world should show more solidarity, not less. All organizations — Christian and others — must respond to real needs and continue to support those who suffer.”

Czerny assured them of the Church’s commitment. “I hope one day you can return safely to your homeland and live in peace and dignity,” he said.

Abdul Rahman (not his real name), 55, a Rohingya refugee, voiced gratitude. “Caritas Bangladesh stands with us, offering love and care — clean water, sanitation, shelter, and hope,” Rahman said. “Even when the world forgets, Caritas remains close.”

CNA is using pseudonyms for Rohingya refugees at their request for security reasons.

Children welcomed the visitor from the Vatican with songs and drawings. “Please help us with more play and learning materials,” said Mohammad Nur (not his real name). Czerny called their joy “a sign of hope and life that inspires us all to keep serving with compassion.”

Justice and peace at the heart of mission

On Nov. 4 in Dhaka, Czerny inaugurated the 50th anniversary of the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace of Bangladesh, praising its work on human rights, child protection, climate change, migration, and anti-trafficking efforts.

He also visited children in drug rehabilitation centers, orphanages, and migrant shelters. “The care you receive is good,” he told them, “but think also about what kind of service you can offer to others.”

At a press conference later that day, Czerny reflected on the challenges facing both communities. “For those in the camps, being stateless, unemployed, and confined for years is intolerable,” he said. “The international community has not been able to provide a solution to the Rohingya crisis, and that needs to change.”

Call to action

Czerny’s visit underscored the Church’s mission to accompany those on the margins.

“The Holy Spirit sends us to others,” he reminded the faithful. “The care you bring to migrants and refugees is a trace of the Spirit — a sign of salvation and hope.”

Archbishop Bejoy N. D’Cruze of Dhaka, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh, expressed his gratitude to Czerny for the pastoral visit.

“I am confident that this visit will be a blessing for the Catholic Church in Bangladesh,” D’Cruze said. “I believe it will further inspire and strengthen our commitment to inclusive human development.”

Pope Leo XIV: Build the Church on the solid foundations of Christ, not on worldly criteria
Sun, 09 Nov 2025 06:40:00 -0500

Vatican City, Nov 9, 2025 / 06:40 am (CNA).

At the Basilica of St. John Lateran on Sunday, Pope Leo XIV urged Christians to build the Church on “solid foundations” rooted in Christ rather than on “worldly criteria” that demand immediate results and overlook the value of patience and humility.

Celebrating Mass for the solemnity of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica — the cathedral of the bishop of Rome and the oldest church in the city — the pope reflected in his homily on the meaning of this feast and on the Church as a living temple built of “living stones.”

“The millennial history of the Church teaches us that with God’s help, a true community of faith can only be built with humility and patience,” he said. “Such a community is capable of spreading charity, promoting mission, proclaiming, celebrating, and serving the apostolic magisterium of which this temple is the first seat.”

The pope drew on the image of the basilica’s physical foundations to speak about the spiritual foundations of the Church. “If the builders had not dug deep enough to find a solid base on which to construct the rest, the entire building would have collapsed long ago,” he said. “As laborers in the living Church, we too must first dig deep within ourselves and around ourselves before we can build impressive structures. We must remove any unstable material that would prevent us from reaching the solid rock of Christ.”

Citing St. Paul’s words that “no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ,” the pope encouraged Christians to “constantly return to Jesus and his Gospel and be docile to the action of the Holy Spirit,” warning against “overloading a building with heavy structures whose foundations are too weak to support.”

Pope Leo XIV also cautioned against haste and superficiality in serving God’s kingdom. “Let us dig deep, unhindered by worldly criteria, which too often demand immediate results and disregard the wisdom of waiting,” he said.

Reflecting on the Gospel story of Zacchaeus, the pope said that when Jesus calls believers to take part in God’s great project, “he transforms us by skillfully shaping us according to his plans for salvation.” The image of a “construction site,” he added, captures “the concrete, tangible efforts of our communities as they grow every day, sharing their charisms under the guidance of their pastors.”

Acknowledging that the Church’s current journey — particularly in the context of the Synod — requires perseverance, he urged the faithful not to be discouraged. “Let us not allow fatigue to prevent us from recognizing and celebrating this good, so that we may nourish and renew our enthusiasm,” he said. “After all, it is through charity in action that the face of our Church is shaped, making it ever clearer to all that she is a ‘mother,’ the ‘mother of all Churches,’ or even a ‘mom,’ as St. John Paul II said when speaking to children on this very feast day.”

Turning to the liturgy, the pope said it is “the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed... the source from which all its power flows.” He called for particular care for the liturgy at the See of Peter, so that it “can serve as an example for the whole people of God.”

“It must comply with the established norms, be attentive to the different sensibilities of those participating, and keep with the principle of wise inculturation,” he said. At the same time, it should remain “faithful to the solemn sobriety typical of the Roman tradition,” ensuring that “the simple beauty of the rites expresses the value of worship for the harmonious growth of the whole body of the Lord.”

“I hope that those who approach the altar of Rome’s cathedral go away filled with the grace that the Lord wishes to flood the world,” Pope Leo XIV concluded.

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

Mass celebrated again at ancient St. Maron’s Shrine in Syria after 15-year silence
Sun, 09 Nov 2025 06:00:00 -0500

ACI MENA, Nov 9, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

For the first time in over 15 years, the Maronite Church in Syria celebrated a solemn Mass at the ancient shrine of St. Maron in the village of Brad, northwest of Aleppo.

A pilgrimage to the site, organized by the Maronite Scouts, drew more than 80 participants, young and old, reviving one of the most sacred Christian sites in the region known as the “Dead Cities.”

Father Ghandi Mahanna, who led the liturgy, reminded worshippers that “the true presence of God is found in every human heart,” urging them to live faith through love.

The group also visited the nearby ruins of St. Simeon the Stylite’s Church and the cave chapel once home to the hermit Toufic Ajib, which suffered partial damage during the war.

Accompanied by security forces ensuring safe passage, the pilgrims expressed hope that religious tourism to Syria would soon revive, reaffirming that “Syria was beautiful, and still is.”

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 meets with 15 abuse survivors at the Vatican
Sat, 08 Nov 2025 15:00:00 -0500

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 8, 2025 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV met on Saturday with 15 survivors of clergy sexual abuse in a meeting marked by dialogue, listening, and prayer, according to the Holy See Press Office.

The encounter, described as one of “closeness with the victims, of deep and painful listening and dialogue,” lasted nearly three hours. The meeting concluded with “an intense moment of prayer” shared between the pope and the survivors.

This was the second time in less than three weeks that Leo has met at the Vatican with victims of clerical abuse. On Oct. 20, he received four survivors and two representatives of the international coalition Ending Clergy Abuse, which brings together victims and advocates from more than 30 countries.

That earlier meeting lasted about an hour and was described by participants as a “deeply meaningful conversation.”

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

Amid clown protesters, Boston men’s march for life remains ‘prayerful’
Sat, 08 Nov 2025 09:00:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Nov 8, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news:

Amid clown protesters, Boston men’s march for life remains ‘prayerful’

Hundreds gathered in Boston last Saturday for a men’s march for life, which drew a rambunctious crowd of protesters dressed as clowns and inflatable dinosaurs.

The fourth annual National Men’s March to Abolish Abortion and Rally for Personhood began at Boston Planned Parenthood and concluded about three miles away at Boston Common.

While counterprotesters — some dressed as clowns or wearing inflatable dinosaur costumes — played instruments and yelled on the sidelines, marchers carried on in a “prayerful and well-composed” manner, said march co-founder and president Jim Havens, who called the event “outstanding.”

At the rallying point at Boston Common, an estimated 50 Antifa members also showed up. Another counterprotester wore a pony costume and carried a megaphone.

Though the event sees protesters every year, Havens told CNA that the marchers have a good relationship with local law enforcement, so the event is “safe and secure.”

“In our current culture of death, when we publicly stand for the least among us and for the abolition of the ongoing daily mass murder of our littlest brothers and sisters, protesters are to be expected,” Havens said. “We strive to incorporate the protesters into those for whom we pray as we march.”

A marching band from the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property also participated to counterbalance the noise of the counterprotesters.

The march invites men “to step forward to protect the women and children,” Havens explained.

The idea that abortion is not a men’s issue is “nonsense,” Havens said.

“As men, we have a moral responsibility to protect and defend vulnerable women and children, and it’s time we all get off the sidelines and do so,” Havens said.

Speakers included Sister Deirdre Byrne, pro-life activist Will Goodman, and Bishop Joseph Strickland, among others.

“As we marched, there was a sense among the men that we were simply being true to who we are as men,” Havens said.

“Now active in the urgent fight for abolition, these men will not be going back to the sidelines,” he said. “Instead, they are now asking, ‘What more can I do?’”

South Carolina man arrested for threatening pro-lifers with grenade

A group was gathered outside a South Carolina church on a Sunday morning to protest board members’ involvement with abortion funds when a man threatened them with a grenade.

Video footage shows Richard Lovelace, 79, holding up a grenade, saying: “I have a grenade for y’all, a gift for you protesters.”

After Lovelace was arrested, police found that the grenade was hollowed out.

Lovelace, a member of St. Anne Episcopal Church, is a retired lawyer whose wife is on the church’s board and is a judge in South Carolina.

The Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust group was protesting the board’s involvement with the Palmetto State Abortion Fund, a group that partners with Planned Parenthood to bring illegal abortion pills into the state and helps women travel out of state for abortions.

Police charged Lovelace with four counts of having a hoax device and threatening to use it. On Monday, he was released from the J. Reuben Long Detention Center on a $60,000 bond.

Nebraska governor signs order barring abortion providers from state funding

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen on Nov. 6 issued an executive order preventing abortion providers from receiving taxpayer funding in Nebraska.

While the federal law and some state laws prevent taxpayer funding from going directly to abortion, state governments often subsidize providers for other services, therefore indirectly funding abortion.

In Nebraska in 2025, more than $300,000 went to abortion providers, according to the governor’s office. President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act recently prohibited federal funds from going toward abortion providers for one year.

Pillen said he is “proud that we can take this bold step in halting funding to abortion providers that receive Medicaid funding.”

“Nebraskans have made clear they support a culture of love and life in our state — one that provides protections for the unborn,” he said in a press release.

Attorney General Mike Hilgers said the issue has “been in the background for a long time for a lot of people.”

“In fact, the desire of Nebraska taxpayers to not have their funds be used for abortions has been in state statutes for some time,” Hilgers noted.

Thousands gather for Michigan March for Life

Thousands gathered for the March for Life in Lansing, Michigan, on Thursday, Nov. 6.

March for Life president Jennie Bradley Lichter, who spoke at the event, called the march a chance to “send a vital message to our legislators who have the power to support women, children, and families.”

“The women of Michigan deserve better than the tragedy of abortion, and we want them to know we are here for them, no matter what they are facing,” Lichter said in a statement shared with CNA.

Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing as well as Knights of Columbus State Deputy Barry Borsenik spoke at the event. Michigan state lawmakers including state Rep. Ann Bollin, state Sen. John Damoose, and state Rep. Jennifer Wortz also spoke at the event.

President of Right to Life Michigan Amber Roseboom said the pro-life movement in Michigan stands with women facing unplanned pregnancies.

“While a woman in Michigan can have an abortion at any point in her pregnancy for any reason, no woman should ever be made to feel that abortion is the best or only option,” she said in a statement shared with CNA.

“Pro-lifers from across our state have a powerful message for women facing unplanned pregnancies: You are not alone! We stand with you. We stand for you,” Roseboom said.

Florida announces $350 million false advertising lawsuit against Planned Parenthood
Sat, 08 Nov 2025 08:00:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Nov 8, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Florida is suing Planned Parenthood for up to $350 million for allegedly falsely advertising abortion pills as “safer than Tylenol,” a claim debunked in a study this year.

The 37-page lawsuit claims that Planned Parenthood has falsely advertised the abortion pill as “safer than Tylenol” despite evidence that shows a high rate of hospitalizations for women who take the drug mifepristone to induce abortions.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said Planned Parenthood has been “wrongfully deceiving women.”

“We want to hold people accountable for hurting our women, for hurting our children, and these lawsuits are seeking to do it,” he told EWTN News’ Catherine Hadro, host of “EWTN News In Depth.”

“They have been wrongfully deceiving women out there, advertising that these new chemical abortion pills are safer than Tylenol and pain medications you’d get over the shelf,” Uthmeier said. “Our evidence suggests that is entirely false.”

“One in 25 women that take these chemical pills end up in the hospital, and we’ve seen dozens of deaths resulting,” Uthmeier continued.

At least 36 women have died due to mifepristone-related complications since 2000, averaging more than one each year, according to the lawsuit.

“We’re continuing to learn more, but the reality is there are dangers and harms with these dangerous chemical abortion pills that we’re only going to see more of going forward,” Uthmeier said.

Uthmeier shared his concerns about pill trafficking, a growing problem for pro-life states. Current federal regulations allow providers to prescribe abortion drugs through telehealth and send them by mail. Abortion providers in states with lax abortion laws will ship pills into pro-life states without an in-person doctor’s visit.

“The nature of these pills is it’s easier for them to get mailed into states like Florida, where we have a heartbeat bill, and they can violate that law,” Uthmeier said. “They also are more easily [put] into the hands of kids as a result of these new practices.”

In recent months, several women who have been poisoned or coerced into taking the pill have sued abortion providers, who shipped the pills to their unborn children’s fathers. But pro-abortion states like New York and California have shield laws designed to protect abortion providers from the legal ramifications. California even allows anonymous prescription of the abortion pill.

Uthmeier said Planned Parenthood has “turned to the chemical abortion pills because they’re so profitable.”

“They have a 500% profit margin on the sale of these dangerous products,” he said. “By telling women that these drugs are safe, they’re able to sell more product, and they’ve had billions in revenues in recent years.”

Uthmeier is asking the judge to fine Planned Parenthood $10,000 for each chemical abortion that Florida’s Planned Parenthood has provided since it began saying mifepristone was safer than Tylenol. Under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, there is a $10,000 penalty for each act of deception.

Uthmeier called it a “slam-dunk case.”

“The evidence shows hospitalizations at significantly higher rates than going to the hospital for taking Tylenol,” he said. “They’re lying to the public. They need to be held accountable.”

Uthmeier, who is a practicing Catholic, also joined a lawsuit earlier this year challenging the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to ease restrictions on mifepristone.

“I’d like to say everybody on both sides of the aisle supports women and women’s safety,” Uthmeier said. “And wherever you stand on abortion, the reality is these drugs are sending women to the hospital. That can’t happen. So that’s why this fight is so important.”

The Gospel of Qaraqosh: 13th-century Syriac manuscript preserved in Vatican Library
Sat, 08 Nov 2025 07:00:00 -0500

ACI MENA, Nov 8, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

In the Vatican Apostolic Library rests one of its most treasured possessions: the “Gospel of Qaraqosh,” a richly illuminated Syriac manuscript dating back to the 13th century. Catalogued as “Vat. Syr. 559,” it was penned in A.D. 1220 by monk Mubarak ibn Dawud al-Bartelli of the Monastery of Mar Mattai near Mosul.

Written in Estrangelo Syriac script, the manuscript gathers passages from the four Gospels used in the Syriac liturgical year and is adorned with vivid miniatures depicting scenes from Christ’s life and miracles.

According to Father Behnam Soni, an expert on Syriac Church Fathers, the manuscript endured multiple thefts throughout history but was repeatedly reclaimed by the faithful of Qaraqosh, who finally offered it to the Church of al-Tahira. In 1937, Bishop Georges Dallal presented the precious volume to Pope Pius XI, who entrusted it to the Vatican Library for preservation and study.

Measuring roughly 44 by 33.5 centimeters (17.32×13.19 inches) and bound in black leather with a gilded cross, the “Gospel of Qaraqosh” stands as a masterpiece of medieval Christian art and devotion.

Qaraqosh — also known as Baghdeda and Hamdaniyah — is a historic Christian town in northern Iraq located near Mosul in the Nineveh Plains. It is home to one of the largest Christian communities in the country, mainly belonging to the Syriac Catholic Church. The town has deep religious and cultural roots dating back centuries and is known for its churches, heritage, and resilience, especially after suffering destruction during the ISIS occupation and later rebuilding efforts.

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

Cardinal Orlando Quevedo: Mindanao’s ‘Man of Peace’ and his lifelong mission of unity
Sat, 08 Nov 2025 06:00:00 -0500

Manila, Philippines, Nov 8, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Cardinal Orlando Beltran Quevedo, OMI, archbishop emeritus of Cotabato, has spent a lifetime building bridges of understanding across the complex cultural and religious landscape of Mindanao, the Philippines’ second-largest island.

Widely known as the region’s “Man of Peace,” Quevedo’s ministry has been defined by dialogue, compassion, and his belief that peace begins in the heart.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, as of July 1, 2024, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is home to 5.69 million Filipinos, the majority of whom are Muslim.

The region is located on Mindanao, the Philippines’ second-largest island, with a total population of approximately 26 million. While BARMM has a Muslim majority, the Philippines as a whole — with a population of 112.7 million — remains a Christian-majority nation.

Winner of peace award for inspiring hope

In recognition of his decadeslong work for reconciliation among Christians, Muslims, and Lumad Indigenous communities, the Philippine government honored Quevedo, the first cardinal from Mindanao and a member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, with the “Gawad Kapayapaan” (Peace Award) in September — a distinction given to individuals and institutions whose efforts advance peace and social cohesion.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) described Quevedo’s mission as one “for healing divisions and inspiring hope.” Officials cited his ability to unite faith leaders and ordinary citizens alike in a shared pursuit of understanding.

OPAPRU also honored Maria Veronica P. Tabara, a former revolutionary turned peace advocate, and the provincial government of Basilan with the Peace Award.

Now in its fourth year, the award recognizes leaders and institutions whose dedication to fostering mutual understanding, interfaith dialogue, and solidarity is bringing the nation closer to its vision of justice and lasting peace while inspiring all Filipinos to participate in this peace journey.

“Quevedo’s decades of service to the Church and communities in Mindanao show us that peace is built not only through institutions but through compassion, unity, and faith in humanity,” OPAPRU said.

Accepting the award, Quevedo said: “Peace is born in the heart. Let us continue building bridges — not only between communities but between hearts — for only together can we truly walk the path of peace.”

He dedicated the award to Muslims, Christians, and Lumads “who have labored quietly for peace.”

A life shaped by service and dialogue

Born March 11, 1939, in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte province, in the northern Philippines, Quevedo was ordained a priest in 1964 and became bishop of the Diocese of Kidapawan in 1982. After leading the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia, he was later appointed archbishop of Cotabato, witnessing firsthand the deep fractures of Mindanao — long affected by armed conflict, historical grievances, and economic inequality.

Additionally, he was president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines from 1999 to 2003 and head of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences from 2005 to 2011. Quevedo was made a cardinal in 2014.

Quevedo has devoted his ministry over the years to bridging divides. In 1996, he participated in the Bishops-Ulama Conference, a forum that brought together Catholic bishops, Protestant pastors, and Muslim ulama for dialogue and cooperation. The initiative remains a cornerstone of interfaith peacebuilding in the Philippines.

“Peace is born in the heart,” Quevedo often says. “It grows when we build bridges — not only between communities but between hearts.”

Peace and fellowship as witness to faith

Even after retiring in 2018, the cardinal remains a moral voice for peace in the BARMM, serving on its Council of Leaders. His advocacy now centers on addressing the root causes of conflict — inequality, exclusion, and mistrust — through education, inclusive governance, and people-to-people encounters.

He insists that peacebuilding cannot rely solely on institutions. “It is through compassion, unity, and respect for human dignity,” he has said, “that true peace takes root.”

Quevedo has spent years working among communities and building bridges where violence once tore them apart.

One of his goals is to bring religious leaders together in a place where they can discuss and plan ways to promote peace. He also wants to make it easier for them to talk to government agencies and other groups involved in reconciliation, with the right policies in place.

He believes in “the effects of ripples” — and that small steps always lead to significant changes. He says that a simple act of peace and openness can change the world in the most dangerous and dark places.

Quevedo urges people to respect differences in language, culture, and religion. His work aims to end violence and respect human dignity by linking community involvement to democratic values. He urges everyone to reach out to people with compassion and respect. In Mindanao, his approach has been to include children, youth, women, elders, religious leaders, government officials, and the public in promoting peace.

His dedication has resulted in tangible outcomes: Educational institutes, civil society groups, and public institutions have endorsed his initiatives for peace and fellowship.

Today, interfaith dialogue efforts are a sign of hope in the Philippines, thanks to people like Quevedo and many others. It indicates that peace isn’t just the lack of conflict; it’s also the presence of compassion and friendship.

Quevedo says that when people of different faiths walk together with open hearts and hope, healing starts and peace becomes not just possible but real. Such efforts, according to Quevedo, would enrich people’s life expressions and experiences across religions, and all would have a role to play as peace catalysts.

For many, Quevedo’s legacy lies not just in his ecclesial titles — bishop, archbishop, cardinal — but in his enduring witness to faith in action. His influence extends to educators, faith leaders, and grassroots advocates who continue his mission of dialogue and understanding.

DHS blasts order for improvements to migrant facility, says it houses ‘worst of the worst’
Fri, 07 Nov 2025 18:40:00 -0500

Washington, D.C., Nov 7, 2025 / 18:40 pm (CNA).

The Trump administration this week denounced a Chicago-based federal judge’s ruling that mandated cleanliness and hygiene standards as well as adequate legal representation at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Illinois.

Government lawyers said Nov. 7 they are in compliance or are in the midst of complying with the judge’s conditions. The detainees’ attorneys, however, say they “are doubtful” the government is “actually in compliance” with some of the conditions, “including as to facility cleaning, the provision of food and water, and the provision of prescription medication.”

The detainees’ attorneys asked the court to conduct an inspection with an expert and have the government provide immediate proof of compliance.

Administration officials said an “activist judge” issued the temporary restraining order and based it on hoaxes, while religious and civil-rights advocates pressed for detainees’ access to the Eucharist.

Access to Communion

A group of 19 spiritual leaders including six priests renewed a request to offer pastoral care and Communion at the Broadview facility in a Nov. 6 letter to ICE and asked to discuss “procedures by which our small delegation of religious ministers can be granted access.” The delegation bringing Communion was denied access Nov. 1.

The judge’s temporary restraining order followed an Oct. 30 lawsuit in which detainees claimed they were placed in unsanitary conditions, provided inadequate food and water, and unconstitutionally deprived of access to legal representation and spiritual care. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said ICE’s Broadview facility houses “criminal illegal aliens” whom it described as “some of the worst of the worst.”

“Some of the worst of the worst including pedophiles, gang members, and rapists have been processed through the facility in recent weeks,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant Homeland Security secretary for public affairs, said in a Nov. 5 statement.

The list included Jose Manuel Escobar-Cardona, described by DHS as “a criminal illegal alien” from Honduras who was convicted of multiple charges of lewd or lascivious acts with a minor, assault, driving under the influence of liquor, making a false report, illegal reentry, and making a false report.

Also named by DHS was Alfonso Batalla-Garcia, “a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, convicted of sex assault, kidnapping an adult to sexually assault, and homicide.”

Other detainees named by DHS included migrants who were said to have been convicted of drug trafficking, kidnapping, first-degree murder, and weapons trafficking.

Publicly reported individuals detained by ICE in November also included a day care worker at the Rayito De Sol center, a Chicago preschool where the woman was removed in front of children.

Pope Leo XIV on Nov. 4 said: “Many people who’ve lived for years and years and years, never causing problems, have been deeply affected by what’s going on right now.” Leo invited authorities to allow pastoral workers to attend to the needs of detainees.

He reminded that “Jesus says very clearly … at the end of the world, we’re going to be asked … how did you receive the foreigner? Did you receive him and welcome him or not? And I think that there’s a deep reflection that needs to be made in terms of what’s happening.”

A detainee testified he spent six days at the Broadview ICE facility before Judge Robert Gettleman ordered bedding, three meals a day, free water, hygiene products, papers translated into Spanish, a clock in each hold room, and free phone service for detainees to talk to counsel. Gettleman also ordered DHS to list all detainees on the Locator Online Detainee Locator System of ICE.

DHS says facilities such as Broadview are designed to serve only as short-term holding centers, typically for about 12 hours, where individuals are briefly held for processing before being moved to longer-term detention facilities.

“Despite hoaxes spread by criminal illegal aliens, the complicit media, and now an activist judge, the ICE Broadview facility does not have subpar conditions,” McLaughlin said. She said detainees receive three meals a day, access to water, and proper medical care.

Neither McLaughlin’s statement nor the judge’s order addressed the lawsuit’s claims that Broadview detainees have been unconstitutionally denied access to faith leaders and clergy.

McLaughlin wrote on X that “religious organizations have ALWAYS been welcome to provide services to detainees in ICE detention facilities. Religious leaders may request access to facilities through proper channels and have those requests approved.”

McLaughlin also responded to questions from CNA, saying dangerous conditions — including belligerent actions and “attacks,” such as the use of tear gas, by protesters — and Broadview’s status as a short-term “field office” have prevented ICE from accommodating requests by religious organizations seeking access to detainees there.

“ICE staff has repeatedly informed religious organizations that, due to Broadview’s status as a field office and the ongoing threat to civilians, detainees, and officers, they are not able to accommodate these requests at this time,” McLaughlin told CNA. “Even before the attacks on the Broadview facility, it was not within standard operating procedure for religious services to be provided in a field office, as detainees are continuously brought in, processed, and transferred out.”

Chicago faith leaders wrote to ICE Nov. 7: “We understand that in past years ministers were granted access to the Broadview ICE facility for pastoral purposes. We also note public statements by DHS acknowledging detainees’ rights to chaplaincy and religious resources, while noting that requests for entry may require advance approval.”

‘Careful review’

Bishop Robert E. Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, who serves on the Department of Justice’s Religious Liberty Commission, said on X that senior officials in the U.S. government “assured” him that detainees in immigration custody will have access to Catholic sacraments and that the situation is “under careful review.”

The Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC) said in a email Nov. 7: “CLINIC is disturbed by these instances in which the human and constitutional right to religious practice is being restricted. We hope the administration follows up on its ‘careful review’ by rectifying this and taking further action.”

Pope Leo’s recent exhortation Dilexi Te says: “The Church, like a mother, accompanies those who are walking. Where the world sees threats, she sees children; where walls are built, she builds bridges. She knows that her proclamation of the Gospel is credible only when it is translated into gestures of closeness and welcome. And she knows that in every rejected migrant, it is Christ himself who knocks at the door of the community.”

New Jersey diocese drops lawsuit in anticipation of fix to foreign-born priest visa issue
Fri, 07 Nov 2025 18:10:00 -0500

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 7, 2025 / 18:10 pm (CNA).

A Catholic diocese in New Jersey has dropped a lawsuit against the U.S. government over a rule change to the religious worker visa used by foreign-born priests.

Attorneys for the Diocese of Paterson dropped a lawsuit they filed last year against the Biden administration’s State Department, Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, along with their respective heads, after reportedly coming to an agreement regarding a solution with national implications, according to OSV News.

The lawsuit was filed Aug. 8, 2024, in the U.S. District Court in Newark, New Jersey.

Raymond Lahoud, the lawyer representing the diocese, said in an Oct. 31 email that the diocese and its five foreign-born priests listed as plaintiffs moved to dismiss the case “to allow for agency action and/or rulemaking that will render moot the relief plaintiffs sought from the court.”

The priests named in the suit include Filipino citizens Father Regin Nico Dela Cruz Quintos, Father Joemin Kharlo Chong Parinas, Father Armando Diaz Vizcara Jr., and Father Joseph Anthony Aguila Mactal, and Colombian national Father Manuel Alejandro Cuellar Ceballos.

Lahoud also said in the email that his team had “reached a deal that impacts the entire country” and that he would provide more details “as soon as I am permitted.”

Lahoud did not respond to multiple requests by CNA for comment.

The lawyer later said the diocese “was hoping proposed legislation regarding religious worker visas would resolve their lawsuit,” citing legislation introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate that would allow religious workers to remain in the country amid the unprecedented backlog in the EB-4 visa category.

Neither piece of legislation has moved forward amid the government shutdown.

Religious workers such as foreign-born priests come to the U.S. on R-1 visas, which allow them to remain in the country for up to five years. During this time, religious workers seeking to apply for a green card must do so in the EB-4 visa category. However, due to an unprecedented backlog, the former 12- to 24-month process has stalled significantly enough that religious workers are faced with the possibility of having to return to their home countries before completing their green card application.

The EB-4 “special immigrant” category can distribute up to 7.1% of all available immigration visas, the second-lowest of any category, and contains not only programs for religious workers but also individuals such as former employees of the U.S. government overseas, broadcasters, and, recently under the Biden administration, unaccompanied minors.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly attributed information to local reports instead of OSV News. (Published Nov. 10, 2025)

‘This is our faith in action:’ Catholic groups expand food aid amid SNAP cuts
Fri, 07 Nov 2025 17:40:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Nov 7, 2025 / 17:40 pm (CNA).

As federal food benefits have been frozen during the government shutdown, Catholic dioceses and charities around the country are holding emergency food drives and launching fundraising efforts.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will resume once the government passes a bill to fund the federal government — but, more than a month into the shutdown, there is no set end date in sight.

Two federal district judges at the end of October moved to compel the Trump administration to pay for SNAP benefits, but because Congress has not yet authorized funding for federal government operations, the Trump administration asked an appeals court on Friday to block the orders and continue with partial SNAP payments.

The pause in SNAP benefits is estimated to affect about 42 million Americans.

In St. Louis, food pantries saw an influx of people in need. In response, parishes across the archdiocese are holding emergency food drives for the first two weekends of November.

Nearly 300,000 people in the area could “lose access to vital food benefits,” Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski said in a letter to pastors, whom he asked to “respond with love and generosity to this urgent need.”

“We are called to be people of faith and action,” Rozanski said. “And so, I ask the good people of our archdiocese to come together to help our neighbors who are in danger of going without their ‘daily food.’”

The archdiocese is working with the local Catholic Charities and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to ensure that food pantries are full.

Julie Komanetsky, a spokesperson for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in St. Louis, said the food drives are “bringing great results for our food pantries.”

“This is our faith in action,” she told CNA. “Like the story of the good Samaritan who sees the victim and cares for him, Catholics see that people need to be fed and they are responding. They are answering God’s call to be good Samaritans rather than indifferent bystanders!”

So far, the parish food drives have been “very successful and will help keep our pantries stocked and able to support the need,” Komanetsky said.

“Our hope for this effort is to keep all within the boundaries of our archdiocese from going hungry during this difficult time in our country,” she continued. “This is our united Catholic effort to let all people know that we see them, we hear their needs, and we will help.”

“Pope Leo tells us: Faith cannot be separated from love for the poor,” she continued. “This effort is a testament of our faith and our love.”

St. Louis is not the only archdiocese finding creative solutions to the SNAP crisis. In Connecticut, Hartford Archbishop Christopher Coyne has released $500,000 of emergency funding to food banks.

Coyne said the funding is being contributed “in the spirit of Jesus’ command to serve our brothers and sisters in need.”

“The Catholic Church provides relief and hope for God’s children,” Coyne said in a statement. “It’s what we have done for over 2,000 years and what we continue to do today.”

The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Catholic Charities is seeing a similar rise in need. Across its three food pantries Catholic Charities is extending hours and increasing distribution.

“Many families across our service area are struggling, worried about missing paychecks or not being able to put food on the table,” Cynthia Nunes Colbert, who heads the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, told CNA.

The group is also offering emergency rental assistance to federal workers and is reaching out to the wider community for support by encouraging food drives, volunteering, and donations, Catholic Charities told CNA.

“Whether it’s through financial donations, food drives, or volunteering, together we can provide hope and stability during these uncertain times,” Colbert said.

As part of a nationwide effort, Catholic Charities USA launched a fundraising effort in light of the funding cuts. The funds raised will go directly toward buying and sending food to Catholic Charities groups across the country to support ministries such as food pantries and soup kitchens.

For families who rely on food assistance programs, this a “catastrophic moment” said CCUSA President and CEO Kerry Alys Robinson.

The government shutdown “has created incredibly serious, real-life consequences for millions of people, from furloughed federal workers to those living in poverty who will now struggle even more to provide for their families,” Robinson said in a recent statement.

Pope Leo XIV plans to hold major meeting of cardinals in January
Fri, 07 Nov 2025 17:10:00 -0500

National Catholic Register, Nov 7, 2025 / 17:10 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV is planning to convene an extraordinary consistory of cardinals in early January, the theme of which is not yet known.

In a brief communication sent to cardinals on Nov. 6 and obtained by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, on Friday, the Vatican Secretariat of State said that “Holy Father Leo XIV has in mind to convene an extraordinary consistory for the days of Jan. 7 and 8, 2026.”

“In due course, the dean of the College of Cardinals will send to Your Eminence the relevant letter with further details,” the note continued, before ending: “With profound reverence, coordinating office of the Secretariat of State.”

When the Register asked Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni about the communication on Friday, he said the press office had not yet publicly “confirmed its existence” and that he did not think an announcement of such an event would be made “that far ahead.”

As well as the topic remaining unknown, it is also not yet certain if all cardinals have been notified of the planned gathering.

Extraordinary consistories are usually special gatherings of all cardinals, convened by the pope to discuss matters of “particular needs of the Church” or highly important issues requiring broad consultation among the world’s cardinals.

News of the meeting comes after cardinals at this year’s conclave complained about a lack of meetings and collegiality under Pope Francis.

Held behind closed doors, the last extraordinary consistory at the Vatican took place on Aug. 29-30, 2022, under Pope Francis. Its purpose was to bring all the cardinals together to discuss the implementation and meaning of the new apostolic constitution for the Roman Curia, titled Praedicate Evangelium. The meeting also focused on the reforms of Church governance and the Roman Curia.

During that consistory, cardinals received an official report on the curial reform and then broke into language groups to debate the practical consequences and underlying principles of the new constitution before reuniting for a concluding summary discussion. The format was a departure from previous consistories, modeled instead on synodality.

Pope Francis also used the opportunity to hold a consistory of new cardinals at the same time, although it is unlikely that will be Pope Leo’s intention, as the College of Cardinals already has 128 cardinal-electors, well over the advised limit of 120.

Prior to that extraordinary consistory, a more famous one was held on Feb. 20-21, 2014, also under Pope Francis. That gathering brought together all the cardinals to reflect on the theme of the family and was intended to provide guidance and theological foundations for a Synod on the Family, which was held later in 2014 and again in 2015.

That extraordinary consistory notably featured a controversial address by Cardinal Walter Kasper in which the German theologian launched what became known as the “Kasper Proposal” that would open the door to a “pastoral solution” for some civilly remarried divorcees to be able to receive holy Communion. The proposal, which attracted considerable criticism and controversy, significantly influenced the synod proceedings, and a form of the Kasper Proposal was included in Pope Francis’ 2016 postsynodal apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia. A number of cardinals rose to criticize Kasper’s intervention, according to reports.

That was the only extraordinary consistory of the College of Cardinals under Francis at which members were permitted to speak freely on any topic they wished. At subsequent such consistories, in February 2015 and the later one in August 2022, interventions were limited to certain subjects.

Prior to Francis, Pope John Paul II convened six extraordinary consistories, three of which discussed issues pertaining to curial reform and the Holy See’s financial situation. The other three gatherings covered present-day threats to life, the proclamation of Christ as sole savior, and the threat of sects (1991); preparation for the 2000 Jubilee (1994); and the Church’s prospects in the third millennium in light of Novo Millennio Ineunte (2001), John Paul II’s apostolic letter outlining the Church’s priorities for the millennium.

Benedict XVI held no formal extraordinary consistories during his pontificate, instead choosing to hold all-day meetings the day before consistories of new cardinals.

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

Pope Leo XIV warns about new addictions: pornography and internet abuse
Fri, 07 Nov 2025 16:11:00 -0500

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 7, 2025 / 16:11 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Friday warned about new addictions of recent times such as compulsive gambling, betting, and pornography as consequences of excessive internet use.

The Holy Father issued his warning in a video message addressed to participants in the seventh National Conference on Addictions, organized in Rome by Italy’s Presidency of the Council of Ministers.

In his Nov. 7 message, the pontiff emphasized that in recent times, in addition to addictions such as drugs and alcohol — which continue to be the most prevalent — “new forms have emerged, since the growing use of the internet, computers, and smartphones is associated not only with clear benefits but also an excessive use that often leads to addictions with negative consequences for health.”

These addictions, the pope explained, are related “to compulsive gambling and betting, pornography, and almost constant presence on digital platforms. The object of addiction becomes an obsession, conditioning behavior and daily life.”

He emphasized that these phenomena are “a symptom of the mental or inner distress of the individual and a social decline in positive values and references, particularly in teenagers and young people.”

In this context, he stressed that this time of youth “is a time of trials and questions, of the search for meaning in life,” sometimes marked by drug use, the pursuit of easy money through slot machines, or internet addiction, which demonstrates “that we live in a world without hope, where there is a lack of vigorous human and spiritual proposals.”

Consequently, he lamented that many young people “think that all forms of behavior are equal, as they are unable to distinguish good from evil and do not have a sense of moral limits.”

For this reason, the Holy Father urged everyone to value and encourage “the efforts of parents and various educational agencies, such as schools, parishes, and oratories, aimed at inspiring spiritual and moral values in the younger generation so that they behave responsibly.”

Furthermore, he emphasized that young people “need to form their consciences, develop their inner lives, and establish positive relationships with their peers and constructive dialogue with adults in order to become free and responsible architects of their own lives.”

Pope Leo made a powerful appeal to institutions, the Church, and all of society “to perceive among these young people a cry for help and a deep thirst for life, to offer an attentive and supportive presence that invites them to make an intellectual and moral effort, and helps them to forge their will.”

He thus called for a commitment to prevention efforts “that translates into action by the community as a whole.” He also emphasized the urgency of “boosting the self-esteem of the younger generation in order to combat the sense of insecurity and emotional instability fostered both by social pressures and by the very nature of adolescence.”

Finally, he encouraged the formulation of “practical proposals aimed at promoting a culture of solidarity and subsidiarity; a culture that opposes selfishness and utilitarian and economic logic but which reaches out to others, listening to them, on a journey of encounter and relationship with our neighbors, especially when they are most vulnerable and fragile.”

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

Underground Chinese bishop who said his life ‘consists of speaking about Jesus’ dies at 90
Fri, 07 Nov 2025 15:41:00 -0500

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 7, 2025 / 15:41 pm (CNA).

An underground Chinese Catholic bishop from the Diocese of Zhengding has died at 90 years old.

Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo, a Catholic bishop in China renowned for his unwavering adherence to the Church despite decades of persecution at the hands of the Chinese government, passed away on Oct. 29.

A member of the underground Church, unsanctioned by the Chinese government, Zhiguo was bishop of the Zhengnding Diocese in the Hebei Province. He was known for having a missionary spirit, promoting priestly training, caring for children with disabilities, and maintaining communion with Rome.

Born on May 1, 1935, in Wuqiu Village, Jinzhou City, Zhiguo was ordained a priest in 1980 by Bishop Fan Xueyan of Baoding, who later consecrated him as bishop, according to Vatican News’ Chinese-language site.

“The big problems started when I was a seminarian,” he told the Italian news outlet La Stampa in 2016. “From 1963 to 1978 I worked as a forced laborer in remote, cold and hostile areas.”

In the same interview, he said he had “lost count” of how many times he had been arrested. Latest UCA reports say his last arrest took place in August 2020.

“My life,” Zhiguo said when asked about his experience as a pastor in China, “consists of speaking about Jesus. I have nothing else to say or do. My whole life, every single day, is dedicated to telling others about Jesus. Everyone.”

Pope Leo XIV highlights role of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Blessed Juan de Palafox in Mexico
Fri, 07 Nov 2025 15:11:00 -0500

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 7, 2025 / 15:11 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV praised the missionary work of the Church in Mexico throughout history, inspired by the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the example of Blessed Juan de Palafox y Mendoza.

In a message addressed to the participants of the 17th National Missionary Congress of Mexico, being held in Puebla Nov. 7–9, the Holy Father noted that the greatest privilege and duty of missionaries is “to bring Christ to the heart of every person.”

Taking a closer look at missionary work, the pope offered the parable of the yeast from the Gospel of Matthew: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened” (Mt 13:33).

In light of this verse, the pope explained that the “leaven of the Gospel” arrived in Mexico in the hands of a few missionaries: “These were the hands of the Church, which began to knead the leaven they carried with them — the deposit of faith — with the new flour of a continent that did not yet know the name of Christ.”

The Holy Father noted that the Gospel “did not erase what it found but transformed it,” until it “took root in their hearts and blossomed into works of unique holiness and beauty.”

Legacy of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Blessed Juan de Palafox y Mendoza

The pope referred to the message of the Virgin Mary on Tepeyac Hill as “a sign of perfect inculturation” that God bestowed upon the Church, and noted that the message of Guadalupe provided “missionary momentum” for the first evangelizers, who “faithfully took up the task of doing what Christ commanded.”

He also highlighted the figure of Blessed Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, whom he described as a “pastor and missionary who understood his ministry as service and leaven.”

The Holy Father recalled his visit to Puebla as prior general of the Order of St. Augustine, where, he stated, the figure of Blessed Juan “remained alive in the memory of the people of Puebla; his [spiritual] fatherhood had left such a profound mark that it is still felt today in the simple faith of the faithful.”

Palafox served as bishop of Puebla in the mid-1600s.

For the pontiff, the example of the bishop challenges pastors today, “for it teaches that to govern is to serve, that to provide serious formation is to evangelize, and that all authority, when exercised according to the criteria of Christ, becomes a source of communion and hope.”

Furthermore, as the pope pointed out, in his life and writings Palafox “shows that the true missionary does not dominate but loves; does not impose but serves; and does not exploit faith for personal gain.”

Looking at the present, he lamented that “social divisions, the challenges of new technologies, and sincere desires for peace continue to be ground together like new flours that risk being fermented with bad yeast.”

Therefore, he emphasized that today’s missionaries are called to be “the hands of the Church that place the leaven of the risen Lord in the dough of history, so that hope may be fermented anew.”

“We must be willing to put our hands into the dough of the world! It is not enough to talk about the flour without getting our hands messed up; we must touch it,” he emphasized.

He added: “This is how the kingdom will grow — not by force or numbers but by the patience of those who, with faith and love, continue kneading alongside God.”

At the end of his message, the pope noted that the Catholic Church in Mexico “strives to live this call of Christ fully” and thus thanked the missionaries for their dedication.

“May the Lord Jesus make all your initiatives fruitful and may Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Star of Evangelization, always accompany you with her motherly tenderness, showing you the way that leads to God,” he prayed.

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 calls on Catholics to lead in ethical AI development
Fri, 07 Nov 2025 14:41:00 -0500

Vatican City, Nov 7, 2025 / 14:41 pm (CNA).

The story of a mother whose son committed suicide after interacting with a chatbot moved participants at an AI conference in Rome on Friday, underscoring what Pope Leo XIV described earlier in the day as Catholics’ moral and spiritual responsibility for the development of artificial intelligence (AI).

An MIT researcher nearly broke down in tears as he recounted the experience of the woman, Megan Garcia, who herself took part in the conference and spoke there to experts in robotics and AI.

“I apologize for being so emotional because it is so emotional,” said Jose J. Pacheco, co-director of the MIT Advanced Manufacturing and Design Program, speaking at the Builders AI Forum at the Pontifical Gregorian University on Nov. 7. He said Garcia's story illustrated “how urgent this conversation needs to be, how urgent this conversation is, and how much responsibility we have.”

In a message to the conference, which was read aloud to participants on Friday morning, Leo said the development of AI “cannot be confined to research labs or investment portfolios. It must be a profoundly ecclesial endeavor.”

He urged all AI creators to “cultivate moral discernment” and put technology at the service of every human person.

AI, the pope wrote, “carries an ethical and spiritual weight” because “every design choice expresses a vision of humanity.” He called on builders of AI “to develop systems that reflect justice, solidarity, and a genuine reverence for life.”

“Whether designing algorithms for Catholic education, tools for compassionate health care, or creative platforms that tell the Christian story with truth and beauty, each participant contributes to a shared mission: to place technology at the service of evangelization and the integral development of every person,” Leo XIV said.

The two-day Builders AI Forum brought together Catholic ethicists, entrepreneurs, educators, technology experts, and health care professionals from more than 160 organizations across the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Vatican. Hosted by the Pontifical Gregorian University and sponsored by Longbeard, the company behind the Catholic chatbot Magisterium AI, the event aimed to form an interdisciplinary community to guide AI innovation through the lens of Catholic social teaching.

In small working groups, participants discussed AI’s impact on education, health care, and business. Educators debated how much children should interact with chatbots, while health care experts questioned what the “essential role of a human” in medicine could be in an increasingly automated system.

On the sidelines of the conference, young Catholic entrepreneurs pitched new AI tools and applications to potential investors, and professors exchanged ideas with practitioners over cappuccinos. Despite differences in opinion, participants broadly agreed that Catholics — with their intellectual and ethical tradition and focus on human dignity — must help shape AI’s future.

Josh Thomason, CEO of TrekAI, an Atlanta-based Catholic tutoring startup, said he attended to “come together with like-minded believers to think together about where we are today and how we iterate towards what that future is.” He added that “it is critical that people of faith are ultimately working in this space to shape it.”

John Johnson, CEO of Patmos Hosting and the Albertus Magnus Institute in California, urged participants to offer a “human alternative” to the commodification of people by technology.

“Every tech company that invented this technology … has the same exact product and that’s you, and that’s me,” Johnson said. “The Church … is called to stand up and very aggressively, even triumphantly, pronounce … the transcendent alternative to the commodification of the human person.”

Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope and a former mathematics major, has made ethical technology one of the key priorities of his papacy. He said he chose his papal name in part to honor Pope Leo XIII, who addressed the challenges of the industrial revolution in his encyclical Rerum Novarum.

“In our own day,” Leo said shortly after his election in May, “the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor.”

Leo XIV praised the Builders AI Forum for fostering “dialogue between faith and reason renewed in the digital epoch,” saying that “intelligence — whether artificial or human — finds its fullest meaning in love, freedom, and relationship with God.”

Think tank criticizes Biden for fueling anti-Christian bias in government
Fri, 07 Nov 2025 14:11:00 -0500

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 7, 2025 / 14:11 pm (CNA).

A report from the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) compiled regulatory actions under former President Joe Biden that the researchers argue show systematic anti-Christian bias from the prior administration.

The Nov. 3 report was released in response to President Donald Trump’s Feb. 6 executive order to eradicate anti-Christian bias and protect religious liberty through changes to federal policies and regulations.

According to the report, the Biden administration disregarded religious liberty as a means to enforce its “radical pro-abortion and pro-LGBTQI+ policies.” It states that religious liberty was ignored “when it came to those policy priorities,” which affected public and private employees, businesses, religious organizations, students, and those seeking federal partnerships.

The report lists three key ways in which this was carried out: policies at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that attacked health-care-related rights of conscience, policies at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that jeopardized religious liberty, and a broader failure to respect religious liberty through the rulemaking process.

Anti-Christian policies and practices

Under Biden, the report said HHS dismantled the enforcement of conscience protections for health care workers despite safeguards in federal law. It says former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra got rid of most mentions of conscience and religious freedom protections and eliminated the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division.

Biden’s HHS website listed four actions regarding conscience protections as of 2024, and two of those were to halt enforcement measures taken under Trump, the report said. The two other measures sought to protect health care workers who participated in abortions.

HHS also sought to enforce the Affordable Care Act’s ban on “sex” discrimination to include a ban on discriminating against a person based on “gender identity” or having an abortion. HHS later conceded it would hear religious liberty objections on a “case-by-case basis” to permit employees to bring cases against religious employers, according to the report.

The report said HHS used the same “case-by-case” standard for other anti-discrimination rules, including in the administration of grants.

At EEOC, the administration sought to limit religious exemptions to anti-discrimination laws, the report notes. One example listed was enforcement of the Protecting Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, in which the administration sought to force employers, including religious organizations, to offer accommodations for women to procure abortions. This prompted a lawsuit from the U.S. Catholic bishops and other groups, which led to multiple courts halting enforcement.

The report notes that the EEOC also pushed transgender pronoun and bathroom mandates on businesses and often argued against religious liberty exemption requests in court proceedings.

The authors of the report encouraged the Trump administration to rewrite any regulations that jeopardize religious liberty. It also suggested that Congress pass laws to better protect religious liberty, which could prevent future administrations from disregarding those protections.

EPPC President Ryan Anderson serves on the Religious Liberty Commission, which Trump created earlier this year to combat discrimination against religious people and organizations.

U.S. Supreme Court allows Trump administration to require biological sex on passports
Fri, 07 Nov 2025 11:56:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Nov 7, 2025 / 11:56 am (CNA).

The U.S. Supreme Court said on Thursday that the Trump administration could require passports to display an applicant’s biological sex, granting the White House a victory in its efforts to roll back transgender ideology in federal policy.

The court said in an unsigned Nov. 6 order that requiring biological sex on a passport “no more offends equal protection principles than displaying [a] country of birth.”

In either case, “the government is merely attesting to a historical fact without subjecting anyone to differential treatment,” the court said.

The White House is “likely to succeed” in its effort to defend the law, the high court said in the order.

The decision overturns a lower court order that paused the policy while the lawsuit in question plays out in court. The suit was brought by a woman who identifies as a man and who challenged the rule on 14th Amendment grounds.

In a dissent, U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan referred to the passport policy as “questionably legal” and argued that individuals who identify as the opposite sex will suffer “concrete injury” if required to display their sex on their passport.

Citing the government’s decades-old policy allowing for opposite-sex identification on passports, the justices argued that Americans who want to be identified as the opposite sex would experience “significant anxiety and fear for their safety” if required to correctly identify the biological marker on their passports.

In a post on X on Nov. 6, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the order was the administration’s “24th victory” at the Supreme Court so far.

“Today’s stay allows the government to require citizens to list their biological sex on their passport,” Bondi wrote. “In other words: There are two sexes, and our attorneys will continue fighting for that simple truth.”

The policy comes after several months of effort by the Trump administration to reverse transgender-related rules and policies at the federal level.

In January President Donald Trump signed an executive order removing gender ideology guidance, communication, policies, and forms from governmental agencies. That order also affirmed that the word “woman” means “adult human female.”

That same order required government identification like passports and personnel records to reflect biological reality and “not self-assessed gender identity.”

The White House has also investigated hospitals for performing irreversible and experimental transgender procedures on children. Multiple U.S. children’s hospitals have ended their child gender programs in response to federal pressure.

Church leaders, including bishops around the world, have spoken out against transgenderism and gender ideology. In April 2024, the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith said in its declaration Dignitas Infinita that gender ideology “intends to deny the greatest possible difference that exists between living beings: sexual difference.”

The Holy See said at the time that “all attempts to obscure reference to the ineliminable sexual difference between man and woman are to be rejected” and that “only by acknowledging and accepting this difference in reciprocity can each person fully discover themselves, their dignity, and their identity.”

Bavarian city backs down on ‘buffer zone’ banning prayer at abortion clinic
Fri, 07 Nov 2025 10:00:00 -0500

Regensburg, Germany, Nov 7, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

The Bavarian city of Regensburg has withdrawn restrictions banning prayer vigils near an abortion clinic following court rulings that found the buffer zone violated constitutional freedoms, according to a report by CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.

The Bavarian city lifted its 100-meter (328-foot) exclusion zone around abortion facilities on Oct. 24 after suffering setbacks before both the Regensburg Administrative Court and the Bavarian Administrative Court, according to a Nov. 6 press release from the international human rights organization.

The city established the buffer zone in summer 2025, effectively prohibiting prayer vigils held by the group Helpers for God’s Precious Children Germany in the immediate vicinity of the clinics, CNA Deutsch reported Nov. 7.

Courts counter claim of coercion

The Bavarian Administrative Court clarified in its ruling that Germany’s Pregnancy Conflict Law, amended at the end of 2024, does not permit blanket prohibition zones for expression of opinion or assemblies near abortion facilities.

The court found that the city failed to prove prayer participants were exerting impermissible coercion on women seeking abortions, as officials had claimed.

Felix Böllmann, director of advocacy at ADF International, characterized the outcome as “a clear commitment to the rule of law.”

“This victory protects peaceful protesters from partisan politics and prevents the misuse of amended legislation to suppress fundamental freedoms,” Böllmann said in the press release.

According to the legal organization, the city withdrew its restrictions because it likely would have lost the main proceedings. ADF International represented the prayer group in the case.

Persistent political pressure

The implementation of the buffer zone followed sustained political pressure on city officials, according to ADF International. A member of the German Parliament from the Social Democratic Party had reportedly urged municipal authorities to act against the prayer vigils.

The case marks the latest battle in Germany over peaceful pro-life witness near abortion facilities. In 2022, the Mannheim Administrative Court ruled in favor of prayer vigils organized by 40 Days for Life in Pforzheim after the city had banned the gatherings.

Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg has been a prominent voice for life protection in Germany, regularly participating in Berlin’s annual March for Life.

Apostolic nuncio to Germany: Cardinal von Galen should be canonized
Fri, 07 Nov 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 7, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

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

Apostolic nuncio to Germany: ‘Lion of Munster’ Cardinal von Galen should be canonized

The apostolic nuncio in Germany is calling for the swift canonization of Cardinal Clemens August Graf von Galen, widely known as the “Lion of Münster,” renowned for his courageous opposition to Nazi persecution.

Archbishop Nikola Eterović made the appeal during a memorial Mass marking 20 years since the cardinal’s beatification by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. Around 400 faithful gathered for the commemoration, which celebrated the life and witness of one of Germany’s most outspoken Catholic voices during the Third Reich.

“May this grateful remembrance also become a prayer for a swift canonization of the revered cardinal,” Eterović said, according to CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.

Von Galen served as bishop of Münster from 1933 to 1946, earning his nickname after delivering three powerful sermons in summer 1941 that condemned Nazi euthanasia programs and attacks on the Church. His fearless defense of human dignity and religious freedom made him a target of the regime, yet he continued advocating for the vulnerable until his death in March 1946, just weeks after being elevated to cardinal.

New Vatican envoy for South Korea is hoping for peace with North Korea

South Korea’s new ambassador to the Holy See has expressed hope to serve the Vatican’s efforts to achieve peace between North and South Korea.

“I will do my best for peace on the Korean peninsula,” said Ambassador Stefano Shin Hyung-sik in an interview with UCA News. Shin, who was appointed on Oct. 29, also said he hopes a visit from Pope Leo XIV to South Korea during World Youth Day 2027 will be “a decisive diplomatic opportunity to revive the momentum for dialogue for peace on the Korean peninsula.” The event, he said, will not only serve as a gathering for the Church but also will be one “that can send a message of peace and solidarity to the world.”

Pope Leo receives credentials of Lebanon’s new ambassador to the Holy See

In a ceremony held at the Apostolic Palace, Pope Leo XIV accepted the credentials of Lebanon’s new ambassador to the Holy See, Fadi Assaf, reported ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner. The meeting follows the pope’s recent audience with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and comes just weeks before the pontiff’s apostolic journey to Turkey and Lebanon, his first official visit to the region.

During his stay in Lebanon, the pope will deliver an address at the presidential palace in Baabda, visit the tomb of St. Charbel in Annaya, and meet clergy and consecrated persons at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa.

The trip will also feature an interfaith gathering in Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square and a youth encounter in front of the Maronite Patriarchate in Bkerke.

Catholic Church in Pakistan celebrates 55th anniversary, opens theological college

The Catholic Church in Pakistan marked its 55th anniversary this week amid widespread Christian persecution in the Muslim-majority country.

A thanksgiving and holy Communion service was celebrated by the moderator Bishop Azad Marshall alongside Multan Bishop Leo Paul to honor the occasion on Nov. 1, according to a Nov. 5 press release. The event also inaugurated the new St. Thomas Theological College in Khanewal.

Aleppo honors St. Ignatius Maloyan, saint of faith and loyalty

The Armenian Catholic community in Aleppo celebrated a thanksgiving Mass to honor the canonization of St. Ignatius Maloyan, bishop of Mardin, who was martyred during the Ottoman persecutions of 1915.

Presided over by Archbishop Boutros Marayati at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the service included the consecration of a new altar bearing the saint’s icon. Among the attendees were descendants of survivors of the Mardin massacres, whose ancestors perished alongside Maloyan, ACI MENA reported.

Marayati described Maloyan as a “universal saint and a witness to faith,” recalling his refusal to renounce Christianity under threat of death. The bishop’s letter before martyrdom, read aloud during the Mass, emphasized loyalty to both faith and civic duty, urging his flock to remain steadfast and faithful.

Many testimonies of miracles and healings attributed to Maloyan’s intercession continue to reach Church authorities in Lebanon and Armenia.

Kenyan bishop offers spiritual comfort to landslide victims

Bishop Henry Juma Odonya of Kitale, Kenya, has offered his spiritual solidarity with victims of a landslide that has left more than 26 people dead in the neighboring Eldoret Diocese, ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, reported on Wednesday.

“We pray for the Christians of the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret and those from the Chesongoch Parish and other parts of Kenya who have lost their lives or property,” the bishop said during a Nov. 5 homily during the annual Peace Mass bringing together the dioceses of Eldoret, Lodwar, and Kitale. May the God of peace bless them and give them comfort during this time of trial. We offer prayers for our departed loved ones, particularly in November, a month dedicated to honoring the deceased.”

Indian Supreme Court orders state government response to anti-conversion law challenge

The Supreme Court in India has directed the Rajasthan state government to file a response to challenges raised against its stringent anti-conversion laws, according to a Nov. 4 report from UCA News.

The move comes after a division bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta accepted the petitions of Christian journalist and activist John Dayal and M. Huzaifa, a researcher and rights defender, who both called the courts to suspend the Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act 2025, which criminalizes religious conversion. “This law is a chilling example of how the state seeks to bypass the judiciary entirely,” Dayal said, according to the report.

Pope Leo XIV: We should allow ‘ourselves to be challenged’ by those who suffer
Fri, 07 Nov 2025 08:00:00 -0500

Vatican City, Nov 7, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV said we should “allow ourselves to be challenged” by the presence of those who suffer “without fear of abandoning our own security” during an audience this week with the general chapters of two women’s religious congregations with strong missionary outreaches.

The two orders present were the Religious of Jesus and Mary, founded by St. Claudine Thévenet, and the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo, known as the Scalabrinians, who are dedicated to the pastoral care of migrants and refugees.

During his Nov. 6 address at the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father noted that both congregations, though they originated in different circumstances, were founded “out of the same love for the poor.”

Specifically, he noted that St. Claudine Thévenet and the Religious of Jesus and Mary served “young women in difficult situations,” while St. Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, Blessed Assunta Marchetti, and Venerable Don Giuseppe Marchetti, founders of the Scalabrinians, served migrants.

The pope urged the sisters to spend these days “humbly listening to God and in courageous attention to the needs of others.”

“This requires courage, so as to let ourselves be challenged by the presence of those who suffer, without fear of abandoning our own security, and to venture, if the Lord asks it, onto new paths,” he noted.

The pope also highlighted the profound harmony between the guiding themes chosen by both congregations for their chapters: “Jesus himself drew near” (Lk 24:15) for the Religious of Jesus and Mary, and “Wherever you go, I will go” (Ruth 1:16) for the Scalabrinian missionaries.

“These are complementary themes,” the pope affirmed, “because they express the dynamics of your foundations. Indeed, they bring together God’s initiative and our response.”

‘The most important insights are gained on our knees’

“During these days,” the pope said, “may he always be at the center. Give plenty of space, then, to prayer and silence throughout the course of your work … the most important insights are gained ‘on our knees,’ and what matures in the meeting rooms of the chapter needs to be sown and sifted before the tabernacle and in listening to the word.”

The Holy Father emphasized that listening to God and listening to one another are inseparable. “Only by listening to the Lord,” he affirmed, “do we learn to truly listen to one another.”

Pope Leo also recalled the difficult circumstances in which both institutes were founded: the French Revolution for the Religious of Jesus and Mary, and an era of mass emigration for the Scalabrinians.

“None of them backed down or became discouraged,” the pontiff emphasized, “even in the face of the difficulties that arose after their foundations.”

He pointed out that the secret of such fidelity lies precisely in the “encounter with the risen Jesus. That is where it all began for them and also for you. That is where we begin and from where we start again, when necessary, in order to carry on with courage and tenacity in spending ourselves in charity,” he encouraged.

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

Thousands of European scouts make pilgrimage to France
Fri, 07 Nov 2025 07:00:00 -0500

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 7, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A total of 3,500 scouts and adult leaders from 13 European countries made a pilgrimage to the French town of Vézelay to “rebuild the kingdom of God with their own hands” and receive the strength of the Holy Spirit as they trekked along the roads of the Burgundy region.

The event marked the 50th edition of the historic pilgrimage, held Oct. 30–Nov. 2, and the theme for this year was “Called to an Apostolate of Beauty.”

Thousands of Rover Scouts (typically 18-26 years old) from all over Europe set out on the pilgrimage from eight different churches located about 25 miles from Vézelay, according to the Catholic scouting program Guides and Scouts of Europe’s website.

In 1976, barely a hundred young people participated in the first pilgrimage to Vézelay. Half a century later, this gathering of the Scouts of Europe has become an iconic event in the small Burgundy town.

The young pilgrims participated in Masses and camped outdoors as they passed through villages like Marigny, Cure, and Malassis, also inviting the locals to participate in the Masses.

For four days, the scouts hiked the roads in an atmosphere of silence, prayer, and fraternity, sharing the journey, Eucharistic adoration, community life, and listening to the advice of the leaders and chaplains on Christian commitment as they gathered around a campfire at night.

Coming to the event from Switzerland, a youth named Grégoire told the Guides and Scouts of Europe that he experiences “something indescribable” every year and so he wanted to invite several friends to share the pilgrimage.

The scouts were able to visit the small town of Paray-le-Monial, where Jesus Christ revealed to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque his Sacred Heart. In addition, on Oct. 30, 1,300 Rover Scouts gathered in front of the church in Anzy-le-Duc.

After four days of walking, the pilgrims arrived at St. Mary Magdalene Basilica in Vézelay to participate in the traditional vigil, followed by Eucharistic adoration, while several priests heard confessions by the pillars in the church.

Upon entering the basilica, the young Scouts of Europe knocked on the door of the church with their walking sticks, sang the “Kyrie des gueux” (“Poor hungry pilgrims begging for sustenance”), from a traditional song inspired by an old German military hymn “Wir zogen in das Feld,” composed in 1540.

Finally, on Sunday, Nov. 2, Archbishop Pascal Wintzer of Sens-Auxerre sent the Rover Scouts out to bear witness to the strength they had received in Vézelay, even amid difficulties. “The Christian faith is not an insurance policy that protects us from life’s trials,” he exhorted during the closing Mass.

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

Religious sisters announce historic land return to Wisconsin Native American tribe
Fri, 07 Nov 2025 06:00:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Nov 7, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A Wisconsin religious community says it has completed the first known instance of a Catholic group returning land to a Native American tribe, hailing it as a move made in the “spirit of relationship and healing.”

The Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration announced the transfer in an Oct. 31 news release on its website. The community is located in La Crosse, Wisconsin, near the state’s border with Minnesota.

The sisters had purchased the land from the Lac du Flambeau Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa tribe in 1966 and used the property for its Marywood Franciscan Spirituality Center.

The sisters said they sold the property to the tribe for $30,000, the exact amount for which they paid for the land six decades ago. The modern sale price represented “just over 1% of [the land’s] current market value,” the sisters said.

The bargain sale represents “the first known return of Catholic-owned land to a tribal nation as an act of repair for colonization and residential boarding schools,” the sisters said.

“Today, the tribe’s reservation represents only a fraction of [its] traditional territories,” the news release said. “Rebuilding and protecting tribal land bases is vital to sustaining sovereignty — it restores the ability for self-determination, cultural preservation, and community development.”

“A strong land base supports essential services, creates employment opportunities, and provides a foundation for long-term economic and social resilience,” the sisters said.

Tribal President John Johnson hailed the sale as “an example of what true healing and partnership can look like.”

“We are proud to welcome Marywood home, to ensure it continues to serve future generations of the Lac du Flambeau people,” Johnson said.

The sisters said the retreat center was “facing challenges to its viability,” leading the community to “discern a future for the land” in line with its institutional priorities.

In their press release, the sisters said they have also been in “a process of reckoning” with the history of St. Mary’s Catholic Indian Boarding School. The sisters administered the school in Odanah, Wisconsin, from 1883 to 1969.

Critics in recent years have claimed that such boarding schools participated in the erasure of Native American culture. Others have alleged that significant clergy sex abuse took place at such institutions.

The sisters on Oct. 31 said such schools were guilty of “separating children from their families, suppressing Native identity, and paving the way for the large-scale seizure of Native homelands.”

“It was painful to address our complicity, but we knew it had to be done,” former community president Sister Eileen McKenzie said in the press release.

Diocese of Superior Bishop James Powers, meanwhile, praised the transfer, describing it as “a tangible act of justice and reconciliation that flows directly from the heart of our Catholic faith.”

The Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration traces its roots to a group of Bavarian immigrants who traveled to Milwaukee in 1849 “intent upon founding a religious community to spread the Gospel among German immigrants.”

The community has run hospitals and schools in Wisconsin and has also sponsored medical clinics and mission schools abroad.

Pope Leo XIV receives European Christian leaders after signing of new Ecumenical Charter
Thu, 06 Nov 2025 18:29:00 -0500

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 6, 2025 / 18:29 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV received in a Nov. 6 audience the members of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE, by its Spanish acronym), the Ecumenical Council of Churches (CEC), and the representatives of the Christian Churches of Europe, who met in Rome to sign the updated “Charta Œcumenica.”

Signed in 2001 by the presidents of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the CCEE, the Ecumenical Charter has been the cornerstone of European ecumenical cooperation for more than two decades. The revised version seeks to address contemporary challenges and reflect the changing realities of European society and Christianity.

The revision process, initiated in 2022, was led by a joint working group of the CEC and the CCEE. To this end, input from churches and ecumenical organizations throughout Europe was considered for the purpose of ensuring that the updated text responds to current ecumenical needs.

The updated version was signed on Nov. 5 by Archbishop Gintaras Grušas of Vilnius, Lithuania, the president of the CCEE, and by Greek Orthodox Archbishop Nikitas Loulias of Thyateira and Great Britain.

Challenges on the ecumenical journey

During the meeting at the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father emphasized that “the challenges Christians face on the ecumenical journey are constantly evolving,” and for this reason, it has been necessary to reexamine the situation in Europe.

Loulias, president of the CEC, explained to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, after the audience with the Holy Father that “the world has changed” and that the realities of 25 years ago are not the same as those of today.

“Now there is the problem of migration, and how to treat migrants and the laws related to it. Also, how to confront nationalism, populism, ideas based on prejudice and hate, and what we, as Christians, preach: peace,” he emphasized.

The pope also noted in his address the importance of “constant and careful” discernment while lamenting that many Christian communities in Europe “feel increasingly like a minority.”

In this context, he recalled that new peoples are arriving in Europe that must be welcomed and listened to, promoting dialogue, harmony, and fraternity, particularly “amid the clamor of violence and war, whose echoes resound throughout the continent.”

“In all these situations,” the pope continued, “the grace, mercy, and peace of the Lord are truly vital, because only divine help will show us the most convincing way to proclaim Christ in these changing contexts.”

The pontiff referred to the ecumenical document as a “testimony to the willingness of the Churches of Europe to look at our history with the eyes of Christ” and noted that “the synodal path is ecumenical, just as the ecumenical path is synodal.”

In this regard, he emphasized that the new Ecumenical Charter “highlights the common path undertaken by Christians of different traditions in Europe, capable of listening to one another and discerning together in order to proclaim the Gospel more effectively.”

Sharing a common vision

Furthermore, Pope Leo highlighted that one of the most remarkable achievements of the review process has been “the ability to share a common vision on contemporary challenges and to establish priorities for the future of the continent while maintaining a firm conviction in the enduring relevance of the Gospel.”

In this regard, Loulias commented to ACI Prensa on the progress made on the path of ecumenism, emphasizing that “a hundred years ago, we didn’t even speak to each other.”

Although he acknowledged that challenges and problems still exist, especially due to language differences, he noted that this update “has allowed us to come together, cooperate, work together, respect one another, exchange thoughts and ideas, and recognize the values ​​we share.”

At the end of his address, the Holy Father also expressed his desire to proclaim to all the peoples of Europe that “Jesus Christ is our hope, because he is both the path we must follow and the ultimate destination of our spiritual pilgrimage.”

Loulias referred to Pope Leo XIV as “a very humble, very thoughtful, and very kind man. We discussed various topics, and of course, I asked him to pray for peace during our private conversation.”

“As an Orthodox Christian and as a representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, I am proud to have been part of this process. Now the pope is preparing to travel to Istanbul to meet with the ecumenical patriarch [Bartholomew I]; these are significant signs of what is happening,” he said.

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

Vatican confirms French bishop’s resignation linked to inappropriate conduct toward women
Thu, 06 Nov 2025 16:02:00 -0500

EWTN News, Nov 6, 2025 / 16:02 pm (CNA).

The Vatican has clarified that the resignation of Bishop Jean-Paul Gusching, former head of the Diocese of Verdun in eastern France, was prompted by reports of inappropriate relationships with women rather than solely by health concerns as initially stated at the end of September.

In a statement issued on Nov. 4, the apostolic nunciature in France said it had received “information concerning relationships toward women by Bishop Jean-Paul Gusching, then bishop of Verdun,” which was forwarded to the Dicastery for Bishops in Rome.

According to the communiqué, despite the bishop’s “persistent denials” and the “fragmentary and contradictory” nature of the reports, he had pledged to the dicastery “to avoid in the future any behavior toward women that could be interpreted as contrary to his priestly commitments.”

However, “given the persistence of the situation,” Pope Leo XIV solicited and accepted his resignation, which took effect  Sept. 27. The nunciature clarified that the “health reasons publicly invoked by the prelate are only one element among others” that led to the Holy Father’s decision to accept the resignation.

As a precautionary measure, the Vatican has imposed on Gusching “a retired life in a place located outside both his diocese of origin, Amiens, and that of Verdun” and instructed him “to refrain from any liturgical celebrations and public pastoral activities.”

A preliminary canonical investigation has been opened, entrusted to Pontoise Emeritus Bishop Stanislas Lalanne, assisted by Archbishop Philippe Ballot, the metropolitan of Metz and apostolic administrator of Verdun.

The nunciature also confirmed that a report has been submitted to the civil authorities.

In a message to the clergy and faithful of Verdun, Ballot expressed “his closeness and support to all those who will be legitimately hurt by this information,” emphasizing the Church’s duty to act transparently.

“Doing the work of truth is necessary in order to maintain the habitual trust between the faithful of Christ and those who have received the mission to be their pastors,” he wrote.

Gusching, 70, had announced his resignation in late September, citing “a concerning situation requiring appropriate medical care.” At that time, no reference was made to disciplinary measures.

The apostolic nunciature’s statement confirms that the resignation was in fact requested by the Holy See following ongoing concerns about the bishop’s conduct.

“Faithful to the received tradition, the Church recalls that priests — and therefore bishops first of all — are called to live in conformity with the commitments made at the time of their ordination,” Ballot wrote in his pastoral letter, issued from Lourdes where the French bishops are currently gathered for their autumn plenary assembly.

The case comes at a delicate time for the French episcopate, which has committed to addressing issues of clergy accountability with greater transparency, particularly since the publication of the 2021 report on sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.

The Church in France, long criticized for handling these issues discreetly, created the world-first National Canonical Criminal Court (TPCN) in 2022 to deal with canonical offenses.

Speaking to the regional newspaper L’Est Républicain, Gusching admitted having had a relationship for seven years, from around 2015 to 2022, which he described as consensual and with “a woman of age.”

Claiming that he is “not proud of it” and has made amends to the Holy See in this regard, he nonetheless denounced Rome’s handling of the affair as “disgusting” and claimed that “they want [his] head,” speaking of “jealousy” toward him in this case.

The canonical inquiry remains ongoing, and Church authorities have declined further comment “to preserve the serenity of the judicial process and in respect of the presumption of innocence,” the nunciature said.

Texas bishops issue statement expressing solidarity with immigrants ahead of court order
Thu, 06 Nov 2025 14:45:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Nov 6, 2025 / 14:45 pm (CNA).

The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops expressed its solidarity this week with immigrants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in Texas ahead of the implementation of a federal court order that will impact the immigrants’ legal status.

In a statement released Nov. 4, the Texas bishops called the looming implementation of the court ruling in the case Texas v. United States “unprecedented and disruptive.” The bishops said the ruling’s implementation will target “law-abiding people,” many of whom are “some of the most upstanding individuals” in “our communities.”

In the Texas v. United States case, Texas sued the federal government, claiming that DACA was illegally created without statutory authority, as it was created through executive action rather than legislation passed by Congress.

In January, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals largely upheld the U.S. district court’s declaration that DACA is unlawful but narrowed the scope to Texas, separating deportation protections from work authorization. This means, in theory, that DACA’s core shield against removal could remain available nationwide for current recipients and new applicants, while work permits might be preserved for most — except in Texas.

On Sept. 29, the U.S. Department of Justice proposed how the appellate court’s order should be implemented. According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), implementation of the district court’s order is expected at some point after Nov. 24.

In their statement, the Texas bishops blamed political “unwillingness” to address immigration reform over the years for the “terribly broken immigration system” that has led to the current situation, which is “fomenting fear [and] severing relationships.”

“The present distress in our country regarding immigration is the result of decades of unwillingness on all sides to enact reasonable and meaningful immigration reform,” the bishops wrote, “reform which respects both national security needs and the human right of each person to work and raise a family in peace.”

“We will continue to work with people of goodwill to encourage compassionate outreach to those in dire predicaments and a humane reform of our terribly broken immigration system,” the bishops wrote.

The Texas bishops noted that they “are pastors of ICE agents and DACA recipients” and said the 5th Circuit’s ruling will “only exacerbate fear and distrust, pit community members against one another, and cause significant economic disruption for many communities.”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Department of Migration and Refugee Services also called attention to the ongoing federal court developments expected to affect the program’s beneficiaries in Texas in an advisory at the end of October.

“Anyone eligible for DACA should consider the consequences of moving to or from Texas,” the USCCB update states, pointing out that relocation could trigger revocation of employment authorization with just 15 days’ notice.

For Texas’ approximately 90,000 DACA recipients — the second-largest population after California’s 145,000 — the implications could be stark, according to the U.S. and Texas bishops.

Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, told CNA in October that the key takeaway from the USCCB’s update is a “warning” to DACA recipients “who live in Texas.”

Under the looming order, if it is implemented according to the U.S. government’s proposals, DACA recipients who live in Texas could receive “forbearance from removal” (deferred deportation) but lose “lawful presence” status, disqualifying them from work permits and benefits such as in-state tuition or driver’s licenses.

Launched in 2012 through executive action by President Barack Obama, DACA offers work authorization and temporary protection from deportation to undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as minors.

The first Trump administration tried to end the program but was blocked from doing so in 2020 by the U.S. Supreme Court. While President Donald Trump has indicated a willingness to work with Democrats on the status of DACA beneficiaries, the program continues to be subject to litigation, with the latest developments centering on the Texas v. United States case.

To be eligible for DACA, applicants must have arrived before age 16, resided continuously since June 15, 2007, and been under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012. There are approximately 530,000 DACA participants nationwide according to KFF, formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation. KFF estimates that up to 1.1 million individuals meet DACA eligibility criteria.

“We want to say unequivocably to all our immigrant sisters and brothers, and in a particular way to those who arrived as children: We have heard your cries. We are with you in these difficult days,” the Texas bishops wrote.

Catholics mobilize in Caribbean following Category 5 hurricane 
Thu, 06 Nov 2025 14:15:00 -0500

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 6, 2025 / 14:15 pm (CNA).

Catholic leaders and agencies have mobilized to help communities left devastated after Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica.

The Category 5 hurricane swept through the Caribbean with sustained winds of 185 miles per hour and claimed up to 50 lives after making landfall on Oct. 28. Jamaica suffered the largest impact, but neighboring nations also experienced immense effects including flash flooding and landslides.

In Jamaica, practically no buildings along the country’s southern coast remain intact. Areas have experienced structural failures, immense roof damage, floods, power outages, and communication disruptions. Families have a long road to recovery after many lost loved ones, property, possessions, and livelihoods.

To help communities suffering from Hurricane Melissa’s aftermath, Catholic agencies are on the ground supporting relief efforts and fundraising across the globe to provide aid.

Providing aid

Dominican friars with St. Martin’s Missions, an initiative that supports communities in Jamaica and Grenada, are working to help communities most affected. Father Bede Mullens, OP, one of the friars working in Jamaica, told CNA they are based in Kingston, “which mercifully was left largely unscathed by the hurricane.”

“Nonetheless, some of our poorer parishioners in August Town, an impoverished neighborhood, did lose roofs, walls, and in one case pretty much the whole house,” Mullens said. With the help of donations from across the globe, St. Martin’s will purchase and provide materials for repairs and food.

Mullens explained that “after recent panic-buying, some food items are hard to come by, and food prices on the whole are set to go up in the coming months, as the part of the island hardest hit is a major agricultural area.”

This Friday, Nov. 7, the friars will distribute 300 meals to students at the University of the West Indies in Mona, Jamaica, and to several less-well-off parishioners. Mullens said: “We are trying to arrange sponsorship from local benefactors for students in need to receive support for food and personal hygiene items.”

Across the island the friars have been able to contact some parishes near Montego Bay, which suffered great damage. “One of the churches is currently operating as a shelter with just half a roof,” Mullens said.

The friars have also coordinated provisions of basic building materials and essentials including water and baby food that will be transported to Sacred Heart Church near Montego Bay and St. Agnes Church in Chester Castle.

When the roads reopen and the friars are able to make contact with more parishes in other areas, they plan to also assist their rebuilding efforts and support the local community needs.

“There is, of course, a massive need for material assistance, but for us it is very important that St. Martin’s bears witness to our worldwide solidarity in the body of Christ,” Mullens said. “We belong to a Church that is at once truly Catholic and truly one, at once global and personal.”

Franciscan Friars Charities (FFC), the charitable arm of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe, activated the Franciscan Relief Fund to help the people in western Jamaica recover from extensive damage.

“The friars in Negril have quickly mobilized to assess the community’s needs after the storm,” FFC said in a statement. “Each day they ground their hearts in faith through morning prayer and daily Mass before heading out into the community to provide vital services.”

The friars are serving warm meals daily at St. Anthony Kitchen, a soup kitchen in Negril. They anticipate a significant increase in the number of people coming to the kitchen, expecting approximately 400 to 500 people a day.

The friars are cleaning the Revival Health Clinic, which provides basic medical care, and are looking into creating a mobile clinic to visit remote areas. They are also visiting parishioners, many of whom have lost their homes, and providing them with immediate relief including water and food.

“Communicating with our friars in Negril has been difficult because there’s no electricity and the cellular services are down,” said Brother Jim Bok, OFM. “There’s just unbelievable destruction. It’s going to take years to recover. A tremendous amount of outside support will be needed to help deal with it.”

Organizations respond with action

Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach, an Illinois-based organization that partners with organizations, hospitals, and clinics around the world, is working directly with Food for the Poor and other organizations transporting and distributing aid.

After learning there was an urgent need for diapers, Mission Outreach’s warehouse team mobilized to send out 4,000 it had available. It also shipped out a 40-foot container to Jamaica filled with requested medical supplies and equipment.

A number of Catholic relief organizations including Cross Catholic Outreach (CCO) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) are fundraising to send food, medicines, and housing supplies to ministry partners in Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Cuba.

CCO said it is “sending shipments of recovery supplies to the Compassionate Franciscan Sisters of the Poor and will airlift medical supplies into Montego Bay when conditions are safe enough to do so.” It is also working to help the Diocese of Mandeville to rebuild St. Theresa Kindergarten, which was destroyed in the storm.

CRS is working to help on the ground with “a team of 100 staff in Haiti and local partners in Jamaica and the region,” the organization reported. “CRS and the Catholic Church are committed to walking with families through every phase of recovery — from immediate relief to long-term rebuilding. ”

The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs will coordinate with the Catholic Church to distribute $3 million in humanitarian assistance. The funds will go directly to helping those impacted in eastern Cuba by the devastation of Hurricane Melissa.

Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts issues apology for controversial video
Thu, 06 Nov 2025 13:45:00 -0500

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 6, 2025 / 13:45 pm (CNA).

Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts has issued an apology following his controversial defense of Tucker Carlson’s interview with Nick Fuentes.

“Leadership requires owning the moments where we fall short — then using them to reset, refocus, and recommit,” Roberts said in a video statement posted on X Nov. 6. The apology followed remarks made during a Heritage Foundation town hall that were leaked to the media.

The Heritage Foundation and its president began receiving backlash after, in an Oct. 30 video, Roberts defended Carlson against “cancellation” for an interview he conducted with Fuentes, a white nationalist, self-described fan of Stalin and Hitler, and Holocaust denier, who has said women “want to be raped” and argued in favor of segregation and racism against African Americans. Carlson drew heavy criticism for failing to challenge Fuentes on his views, including at one point in the interview when Fuentes said he was a “fan” of Stalin.

Roberts said in a video message on social media Oct. 30 that “the venomous coalition attacking [Carlson] are sowing division” and that “their attempt to cancel him will fail.”

“My use of the phrase ‘venomous coalition’ was a terrible choice of words,” Roberts said, referring to the video statement that went viral last week. “It caused justified concern — especially among friends and allies who know how seriously Heritage has fought, and continues to fight, against the rise of antisemitism.”

Roberts later posted a written statement decrying Fuentes’ views, which he said he abhorred.

In his latest statement, the former president of Wyoming Catholic College also emphasized the importance of speaking out against antisemitism, “no matter the messenger.”

“Heritage and I will do so, even when my friend Tucker Carlson needs challenging,” he said.

Prosecutors claim Kansas City diocesan staffer stole $150,000 from scholarship fund
Thu, 06 Nov 2025 13:15:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Nov 6, 2025 / 13:15 pm (CNA).

A staffer at the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in Missouri allegedly stole more than $150,000 while serving as the leader of a diocesan scholarship program, officials have alleged.

Federal prosecutors claim that Jeremy Lillig engaged in wire fraud to steal from the diocesan Bright Futures Fund, which offers tuition assistance for students in diocesan schools.

Bishop James Johnston Jr. said in a Nov. 5 letter to the diocese that Lillig had been arrested by law enforcement pursuant to a warrant from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Missouri.

Lillig was last employed by the diocese in October 2023, Johnston said. The diocese became aware of the alleged theft “shortly after his departure,” after which they reported it to law enforcement including the FBI.

“This news is, I’m sure, unsettling to many within our diocesan family, and, like you, I was shocked to learn of such a gross violation of the trust and integrity that is essential to any institution, especially one upheld by Catholic teachings,” the bishop wrote.

Johnston said the diocese has conducted a full audit of its finances to determine the extent of the alleged theft. In addition, the diocese has strengthened security and oversight of the Bright Futures program.

“In everything we do, we strive to be faithful stewards of the resources and generous gifts with which we are entrusted and which help sustain our many services and ministries,” the bishop wrote in the letter.

The Kansas City Star reported on Nov. 5 that Lillig pleaded not guilty to the charges. His trial is set for March 16, 2026.

Lillig reportedly worked as director of stewardship for the diocese in addition to his role at the scholarship fund.

Prosecutors accused him of having diverted diocesan funds to purchase hundreds of Visa gift cards over the course of about five years.

In 2015 Lillig had been hailed by the local magazine the Independent as a “rising star of philanthropy,” with the outlet describing philanthropic giving as an “ingrained part of his professional, civic, and personal life.”

He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

‘House of David’ Season 2 is ‘transformative,’ lead actor Michael Iskander says
Thu, 06 Nov 2025 12:45:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Nov 6, 2025 / 12:45 pm (CNA).

Earlier this year, a new series telling the story of King David, one of the best-known kings of Israel, was released on Prime Video and garnered over 40 million views worldwide. “House of David,” produced by the faith-based studio The Wonder Project, is now in its second season.

While the first season focused on the anointing of David and his defeat against Goliath, the second season sees David go from shepherd boy to warrior as a commander of King Saul’s army.

Michael Iskander, the actor who portrays King David in the series, recently sat down with CNA for an exclusive interview and discussed the new season and David’s transformation.

“I really, really love this season,” he said. “I’m extremely proud of it and proud of the work that we'’ve done this time because it is truly a transformative season.”

He added: “In the time of David people asked, ‘How is this guy going to defeat Goliath?’ He’s just a youth … He’s a shepherd.’ In the same way this time around in this season, people are questioning, ‘How is this guy going to be a commander? How is he going to lead Saul’s armies?’ But we see that transformation that God takes him on. We see that complete switch in demeanor, complete switch in confidence, in his build. He’s a different man by the end of the season than he is at the beginning and it’s really indicative of how much God can work in our lives if we let him.”

Iskander, a recent convert to Catholicism, pointed out that this season is one of war, bloodshed, romance, and drama as well as “much more biblical material that I think is going to be really informative for people.”

One of the actor’s favorite aspects of the season is the deeper look into the friendship between David and Jonathan, one of King Saul’s sons.

“We really dive into the friendship between David and Jonathan this season and that friendship is one of the the only kind of main friendships that we see in the Old Testament between two guys,” he explained. “And it’s really a model for us as men today of how do we express love for one another? How do we show friendship? What is true friendship? What does love and friendship look like?”

As for what he hopes people are taking away from the show, Iskander hopes that “people take away the point of the story, which is that everything about David … is about the heart. What does your heart look like? I hope people ponder this question: ‘Do we love God? Do we love him as much as we should?’”

He added: “Christ says ‘To lay one’s life for another, that is the greatest love we can show.’ Are we willing to lay down our lives for Christ in the same manner that David did? David was put in so many life-threatening situations because of God and God led him through. Are we willing to trust him to lead us through those same challenges?”

“Ultimately above this, do we love God? That is the most important question,” he said. “So, I hope people ask themselves that question. And I hope it inspires them to go on a deeper faith journey. And, for me, I ultimately hope it inspires them to grow closer to Christ.”

Season 2 of "House of David" is streaming now on Prime Video with a Wonder Project subscription.

Watch an exclusive clip from “House of David” Season 2 Episode 7 below:

Nancy Pelosi announces she will retire from Congress in 2027
Thu, 06 Nov 2025 12:15:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Nov 6, 2025 / 12:15 pm (CNA).

Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader who has served in Congress since the late 1980s, announced on Nov. 6 that she will not seek reelection once her current term expires, ending a 50-year-long career in politics including roughly four decades in the nation’s capitol.

In a video address to residents of the city of San Francisco, which she represents in Congress, Pelosi said she has “truly loved serving” the constituents of the California city.

“That is why I want you, my fellow San Franciscans, to be the first to know, I will not be seeking reelection to Congress,” she said.

“With a grateful heart, I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative,” she said in the address.

Pelosi first assumed congressional office in 1987. She notably served as the first female Speaker of the House from 2007–2011.

She began her career in Democratic politics in 1976 when she was elected as a member of the Democratic National Committee. She headed the California Democratic Party from 1981–1983.

Catholic identity

Pelosi has described herself as “very Catholic,” styling herself in 2022 as “devout, practicing, all of that,” though her professed Catholicism has long been at odds with her staunch, decadeslong support of abortion.

In 2022 Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone announced that Pelosi should not be admitted to holy Communion in the Archdiocese of San Francisco and should not present herself to receive the Eucharist until she publicly repudiates her support for abortion, which the Catholic Church teaches is a grave sin.

A longtime backer of LGBT politics, Pelosi has also criticized the U.S. bishops for what she has claimed is “very negative, anti-LGBTQ stuff,” including regarding surgical or chemical techniques that aim to exchange or simulate the sex characteristics of a patient’s body for those of the opposite sex.

“[S]ome of it is stirred up by some of the more conservative leaders in the Church,” she alleged in 2023.

Pelosi has been married to her husband, Paul, since 1963. They have five children.

Bangladesh’s Indigenous Catholics seek support of the Church
Thu, 06 Nov 2025 11:45:00 -0500

Dhaka, Bangladesh, Nov 6, 2025 / 11:45 am (CNA).

Indigenous Catholic leaders in Bangladesh called for stronger Church support to protect their rights, land, and culture in the Muslim-majority South Asian nation during the 50th anniversary celebration of the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace (EC-JP) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh.

Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, head of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, inaugurated the celebration Nov. 4 under the theme “Raising Hope to Foster a Culture of Care.”

Christians make up less than 1% of Bangladesh’s population of approximately 170 million people. Indigenous Christians, who comprise more than 50% of the country’s 400,000 Catholics, face particular challenges regarding land rights and cultural preservation.

Indigenous leaders said they have long been successful stewards of the country’s biodiversity. However, Indigenous peoples’ land, territories, and way of life are threatened by extractive industries, tourism, industrial agriculture, and development projects.

“Proper and meaningful recognition of Indigenous peoples’ rights is a big challenge here in Bangladesh,” said Sanjeeb Drong, a Garo Indigenous Catholic leader. “Major challenges include human rights violations, land grabbing and exploitation, lack of access to justice, displacement, poverty and unemployment, loss of culture and language, and exclusion from decision-making that affects their lives and future.”

Drong called for the Church’s help and a strong position to uphold Indigenous rights in Bangladesh. “Indigenous youth and women leaders need support to promote their advocacy capacity. Let’s respect the cultures, dignity, and rights of Indigenous peoples on this land and take necessary steps to support them.”

He recalled Pope Francis’ work for Indigenous people. Laudato Si’ calls for dialogue between the Church and Indigenous peoples, recognizing them as crucial allies in the struggle for justice and environmental protection. Drong emphasized the need to implement the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the country level.

The EC-JP is an official commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh. On Feb. 2–4, 1972, at their first meeting in independent Bangladesh, the bishops took the initiative to establish the Justice and Peace Commission by prioritizing human rights and justice activities in association with the global Church.

The commission works for the protection of human rights, child protection and safeguarding, climate adaptation and mitigation, protection of migrants and internally displaced people, and pastoral support to prisoners, said Holy Cross Father Hubert Litom Gomes, secretary of EC-JP.

“We have some limitations in Bangladesh, as minorities, religion, migration, and labor rights are sensitive issues,” Gomes said.

Even with moral support, the actual implementation of development projects requires funding, local capacity, and bureaucratic cooperation.

However, Gomes expressed hope that Czerny’s visit could provide immediate visibility and inspiration. “We hope that we can do better with the help of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development,” he added.

Benedict Alo D’Rozario, president of Caritas Bangladesh, who was involved with the EC-JP from the beginning, said the commission has conducted important studies on tea workers and brickyard workers, which have had significant impacts on their lives.

“I think Christian religious and other minorities — unless we are organized, unless we raise our voice — our demands and issues will not be met,” D’Rozario said. “So we need to rethink our strategy for how we face these realities: the issues of injustice, issues of discrimination, issues of negligence.”

“As you consider the mission of the promotion of justice, I want to emphasize that no one can develop someone else,” Czerny said. “Parents help their children develop; they do not develop them. The Church promotes integral human development, but the people themselves are the primary agents of their own development.”

The cardinal added: “Our role is to accompany them pastorally in overcoming the obstacles to their development. We hope in their struggles they will say, ‘The Church is with us, Jesus is always with us.’”

Slovakia passes school reform criticized by bishops and educators amid funding concerns
Thu, 06 Nov 2025 11:00:00 -0500

EWTN News, Nov 6, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

Bishops and educators have raised concerns about a major education overhaul signed into law by Slovak President Peter Pellegrini, saying new funding rules could unfairly affect Catholic and private schools.

The changes include unified online registration of kids for a school year and compulsory pre-school education for 4-year-olds, and later for 3-year-olds. Less-qualified personnel will be allowed to teach to offset the shortage of teachers. Universities should reduce bureaucracy and adopt modern methods, including artificial intelligence, according to the changes.

Yet one of the main issues is the new financing of private and Church-run schools.

The Ministry of Education explained that such schools can receive full funding if they admit students in accordance with the new rules, provide free education, or clearly serve the public interest.

The Slovak Bishops’ Conference (KBS) will monitor the implementation of the changes. However, the conference said the education ministry did not take into account KBS’ numerous suggestions, the episcopate stated in September. Therefore, KBS was “fundamentally in conflict with the amendment to the School Act in the form in which it was submitted to Parliament.”

The Slovak Chamber of Teachers warned that the legislative process took place “without any professional discussion in a few hours, and not months.” However, it requires “high-quality, honest legislative and professional work.”

Former Minister of Education Ján Horecký, who was a principal at a Catholic school, said he thinks the effect on private and Church-run schools will be discriminatory and unfair. It will “reduce the availability of education” and “worsen conditions for children in the name of shifting decision-making about children from parents to the state.”

After the passing of the School Act, the principals of Catholic schools in the Košice Archdiocese went on a pilgrimage to Rome for the Jubilee of the World of Education. They attended the general audience with Pope Leo XIV. Auxiliary Bishop Marek Forgáč, who accompanied them, greeted the pontiff, saying they were “very encouraged” by the pope’s words.

It was important to be “with our supreme teacher, as we need to be formed and spiritually encouraged, too, to be a good example for those to whom we are sent — our pupils and students,” the bishop concluded.

Church tribunal acquits priest of charge of ‘inciting hatred’ against the Holy See
Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:00:00 -0500

Madrid, Spain, Nov 6, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

Father Francisco José Delgado, a priest of the Archdiocese of Toledo, Spain, and a member of the YouTube priests’ discussion group “The Sacristy of the Vendée,” has been declared innocent of the charge of “inciting hatred” against the Holy See, interfering in the investigation into the Sodality of Christian Life (SCV by its Latin acronym), and damaging the “good reputation” of layman José Enrique Escardó, one of the main promoters of proceedings against the SCV.

The Vendée is a region in France where priests refused to take the oath of loyalty to the revolutionary government hostile to the Catholic Church that had seized power in 1789. “The Sacristy of the Vendée” describes itself as “counterrevolutionary.”

The verdict, announced on X Nov. 5 by the Spanish priest, closes the canonical penal investigation, which began in June 2024.

Months earlier, the Archdiocese of Toledo had received two complaints against the priest. In the first, dated Jan. 30, 2024, he was accused of “damaging the good name and slandering Mr. Escardó Stecjk, the alleged victim” of the SCV.

Two days later, on Feb. 1, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith officially notified the Archdiocese of Toledo of “its concern” regarding Delgado’s actions whom it accused of “interfering with the [Vatican’s] special mission to the Sodality of Christian Life.”

Based on both complaints, the archbishop of Toledo, Francisco Cerro, opened an investigation in June 2024 and its report was submitted a month later.

Prior to these events, Cerro imposed precautionary measures on Delgado to “prevent any presence on social media or posts on social media and any type of written publication intended for dissemination.”

This decision stemmed from the controversy sparked by a comment about Pope Francis in the priests’ discussion group he coordinates. One of the participants, Father Gabriel Calvo Zarraute, spoke of praying for the pontiff “so that he may go to heaven as soon as possible.”

The ecclesiastical tribunal’s ruling, dated July 28, established that Delgado did not commit any of the canonical offenses of which he was accused.

Regarding Escardó’s good reputation, the tribunal stated that “the facts point to the complete opposite. That is to say, the one who has truly damaged the reputation of the Church and its priests is none other than Mr. Escardó.”

Furthermore, it is stated that “at no point has it been demonstrated that he was a victim of abuse,” “nor is it proven at any point that he felt revictimized,” and his attitude “is merely an excuse to defame and slander the Church.”

“We must give full credence to what Father Francisco José Delgado and the witnesses have declared, and not to what Mr. Escardó supposedly says and accuses,” the ruling stated.

Delgado didn’t impede the investigation into the SVC

Regarding the accusation made by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith of interfering in the investigation into the Sodality of Christian Life, the tribunal stated that “it is not proven that the comments and actions” of the priest from Toledo “impeded the special mission carried out by the Holy See,” which concluded with the dissolution of the Sodality of Christian Life.

This decision by the dicastery is in fact the main proof the tribunal’s recognition of Delgado’s innocence: “It is necessary that there be a complete impossibility of exercising the authority’s discretionary act, and in the present case, the resolution of the aforementioned dicastery with respect to the sodality proves the contrary.”

Delgado tried to correct the alleged joke about Pope Francis

When analyzing the accusation of “inciting aversion or hatred toward the Apostolic See,” the tribunal found that Calvo had made “a regrettable and inappropriate joke” during “The Sacristy of the Vendée” YouTube discussion.

The tribunal described how “Father Francisco José immediately and repeatedly attempted to divert the course of the discussion, fully aware of the seriousness of the statements,” and added that he was “fully aware of the implications of the supposed joke ... and tried to correct what had been said.”

Toledo Archdiocese issues statement

“We regret that the statement issued by the Archdiocese on February 28, 2024, may have generated erroneous interpretations that damaged the good name and reputation of Father Francisco José Delgado Martín,” states a Nov. 5 press release issued by the Archdiocese of Toledo.

“Likewise, we regret that the imposition of disciplinary measures, such as the prohibition on using media outlets or social media, has been interpreted as a condemnation imposed by the Archdiocese or the Holy See, which is categorically false,” the text clarifies.

The statement also highlights “the good attitude of Father Francisco José Delgado Martín who, since the aforementioned measures were imposed, has always shown obedience and scrupulous respect for the canonical process and his superiors, remaining in full ecclesial communion throughout the entire process.”

Finally, the text states that “once the sentence has been handed down and is final, in order to ensure the truth of the facts and reaffirm the commitment to justice to the affected party and to the Christian community, we consider that the good name and reputation of the Rev. Francisco José Delgado Martín as a priest of this particular Church of Toledo has been restored.”

‘The Sacristy of the Vendée’ returns to the internet

A few days before the verdict was announced, the priestly discussion group “The Sacristy of the Vendée” announced its return to the internet on Nov. 6 after months of intermittent broadcasts. The group released a video in which they decried “18 months of lies, hatred, silence, and darkness.”

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 discusses 2-state solution with Palestine’s President Mahmoud Abbas
Thu, 06 Nov 2025 09:30:00 -0500

Vatican City, Nov 6, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV received President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine for an audience in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on Thursday, almost a month after the truce agreement in the Gaza Strip came into effect.

According to the Holy See Press Office, during the meeting “it was recognized that there is an urgent need to provide assistance to the civilian population in Gaza and to end the conflict by pursuing a two-state solution.”

This is the first in-person meeting between Leo XIV and the 90-year-old Palestinian leader, who was also received at the Vatican by Pope Francis on Dec. 12, 2024, and on prior occasions.

Abbas spoke with Leo by phone on July 21. The conversation focused on the evolution of the conflict in the Gaza Strip and the violence in the West Bank.

Thursday’s meeting coincides with a time of intense diplomatic activity surrounding the Palestinian issue, marked by more than two years of war in Gaza and increasing violence in the West Bank as well as by renewed international recognition of the State of Palestine, including by France and several other European countries.

The Holy See, which has officially recognized the State of Palestine since 2015, has repeatedly reiterated its support for the two-state solution, based on respect for international law and the need to guarantee the security of Israel and the dignity of the Palestinian people.

Leo has multiple times expressed his concern for the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, where the civilian population continues to suffer the consequences of the prolonged conflict.

The papal audience with Abbas coincides with the 10th anniversary of the agreement between the Holy See and the State of Palestine, signed on June 26, 2015, which formalized bilateral relations and addressed issues relating to the life and activity of the Catholic Church in the Palestinian territories.

Visit to the tomb of Pope Francis

Upon arriving in Rome on Nov. 5, Abbas visited the tomb of Pope Francis in Santa Maria Maggiore, according to Vatican News.

The Palestinian head of state entered the papal basilica at 4:30 p.m., accompanied by Father Ibrahim Faltas, former vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land, and his entourage. Abbas remained in prayer for approximately 15 minutes and, before leaving, placed a white rose on the marble tomb of the Argentine pope.

“I have come to see Pope Francis because I cannot forget what he has done for Palestine and the Palestinian people, and I cannot forget that he recognized Palestine without anyone asking him to,” Abbas told reporters waiting in the square outside the basilica.

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

Ethiopia’s Catholic bishops condemn deadly attack on parish, call for government protection
Thu, 06 Nov 2025 09:00:00 -0500

ACI Africa, Nov 6, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ethiopia (CBCE) have strongly condemned attacks in the Oromia region that claimed lives and destroyed property belonging to members of the Catholic community.

In a statement issued Nov. 4, CBCE members called on the government to take urgent measures to protect citizens from further violence.

“The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ethiopia expresses deep sorrow over the recent killings and destruction of property that occurred in October in the vicinity of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in West Harerghe, Oromia region,” the bishops said of the Oct. 25 and 27 attacks.

They added: “The attacks have resulted in the loss of lives and the destruction of property belonging to members of the Catholic community.”

The bishops noted that similar acts of violence were reported against the faithful of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and communities under the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council in the Arsi Zone of Oromia.

“The Catholic Church strongly condemns these inhumane acts and calls on the government to take immediate and necessary legal measures to ensure the safety and security of all citizens,” the CBCE members said, adding that they pray that those who lost their lives in the tragic incidents “may find eternal rest.”

The bishops further expressed “heartfelt condolences to the entire Catholic community, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council, all Ethiopians, and the affected families, asking the Creator to grant them true consolation and comfort in this time of grief.”

On Oct. 27, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) reported that more than 25 civilians were killed in East Arsi Zone, Oromia regional state, in October 2025 alone, APA News reported.

The report further stated that the majority of the victims “were Christians apparently shot dead or fatally stabbed by unknown gunmen.”

The statement quoted a report received by the church on Oct. 28 claiming that “five people were killed in Honqolo Wabe (Siltana) district.”

APA News further reported that three civilians were killed and four others abducted in what eyewitnesses described as a “religious-motivated attack” carried out by “unidentified gunmen” around 10 p.m. on Oct. 27, in Hela Zibaba Kebele, Shirka Woreda, East Arsi Zone of Oromia regional state.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

Upcoming collection to support more than 21,000 retired religious and priests
Thu, 06 Nov 2025 08:00:00 -0500

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 6, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Catholics in the United States will have an opportunity to support more than 21,000 retired priests and men and women religious from various orders during the weekend of Dec. 13–14 with the annual collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious.

According to a statement from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), this collection, organized by the National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO), “helps provide critical financial assistance to eligible religious institutes caring for their retired members.”

For decades, consecrated men and women in the U.S. have served in multiple ministries — schools, hospitals, parishes, and social service organizations — often with little or no compensation. Today their communities face a serious imbalance between the rising costs of elder care and limited resources.

In 2024, religious over the age of 70 outnumbered the young by nearly 3 to 1, and only 4% of communities reporting to the NRRO indicated they had sufficient funds for retirement.

Since its creation in 1988, the fund has been “a lifeline for our aging religious leaders, but the need remains urgent,” the USCCB pointed out. Last year, the fund raised $28.1 million, while the annual cost of care exceeded $1 billion.

The average annual cost per person is $56,600, and specialized care costs $96,000. In contrast, the average Social Security benefit for a religious leader is just $9,090, less than half the average benefit for a layperson.

In light of this reality, NRRO Director John Knutsen noted that “for decades, the faithful service of these religious has touched countless lives, including my own.”

“Through your generosity, we can help ensure they are cared for with the dignity they so rightly deserve, while also living out the values ​​of compassion and solidarity that unite us as disciples of Jesus,” he urged.

Knutsen also emphasized the gratitude owed to religious communities for their members: “Supporting our aging religious is a profound opportunity to show gratitude for their lifetime of service, and we hear all throughout the year how deeply thankful they are for that support.”

Since 1988, the fundraising campaign has distributed more than $1 billion to religious institutions across the U.S., sustaining daily care for the elderly, building up retirement funds, and funding educational programs on geriatric care and long-term planning.

The USCCB noted that “every gift makes a difference, providing retired religious with the care and dignity they deserve.”

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

Fact check: Do parental notification laws for abortion harm minors?
Thu, 06 Nov 2025 07:00:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Nov 6, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Claim: Laws requiring minors to notify their parents if they are getting an abortion “threaten young people’s health and safety and undermine their human rights,” claims a report by the Human Rights Watch.

CNA finds: CNA finds a strong pro-abortion bias in the report. Experts say parental notification laws help protect girls from predators and put girls in a better situation by ensuring family support.

Breakdown: Parental notification laws vary across states, but most require the abortion provider to notify a parent before the abortion takes place, unless it’s a medical emergency or the minor obtains a court order.

For instance, in Colorado, a written notice must be delivered to the parent’s home by someone from the abortion clinic, a sheriff, a clergy member, or other person. The law contains a built-in exemption if the minor is in an abusive home.

Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Montana, and New Hampshire all have notification laws with judicial bypass options. States such as Florida, Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota have parental consent laws, which require the parent to approve the abortion before it takes place.

Women seeking abortion face a variety of challenges, often including coercion or pressure from others in their lives. Several studies have found that women have a higher likelihood of mental health struggles after an abortion.

The U.S. Catholic bishops require every diocese to have mental health and counseling resources for women who have had abortions in an initiative known as Project Rachel.

In the Archdiocese of Denver, Rachel’s Vineyard Colorado operates healing programs, support, and care for women who have gone through abortions.

Lori Frank, executive director of Rachel’s Vineyard Colorado, told CNA that abortion is “an emotional, moral, and spiritual trauma.”

“Many women feel shame, guilt, and regret after experiencing abortion, and they often do not have mental health support,” Frank said.

Rachel’s Vineyard Colorado sees women who struggle with post-abortive problems including depression, grief, emotional numbness, anxiety, panic attacks, nightmares, eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse, and other challenges including spiritual and relationship difficulties.

Frank noted that abortion can be especially harmful to minors, especially because “youth generally have fewer resources to draw upon with unexpected pregnancy.”

“As a society, we need to provide real loving support to women of all ages when they are pregnant and help them understand the real risks of abortion as well as the support they need overall in their lives during this time,” she said. “Using abortion as a quick fix is not the solution.”

Several experts expressed concerns for girls who may be in abusive or dangerous situations, such as an abuser using abortion to cover his crimes.

Dr. Ingrid Skop, a spokesperson for the Charlotte Lozier Institute and an OB-GYN, told CNA that notification laws protect minors from a variety of concerns, including “abortion coercion or pressure from an abuser.”

“Sadly, the damage from coercive abortions goes beyond the brutality of the abortion itself,” Skop said, citing a study documenting mental health impacts on women who are pressured to abort.

“Parents must be aware if their daughters are in abusive relationships or engaged in risky sexual behavior so they can intervene to prevent negative, long-term consequences on their health and well-being,” Skop said.

“Parents, who know their daughters best, are critical to help and support them in the midst of such a substantial, life-changing decision,” Skop said.

Christina Francis, who heads the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, emphasized the importance of safeguards around abortion.

Francis told CNA that “removing regulations on chemical abortion pills” makes them more “easily accessible to abusers.”

“Eliminating parental involvement only deepens that risk,” she added.

“Parental notification laws protect minors, not threaten them,” Francis said. “Involving parents in critical decisions involving their children’s health ensures truly informed consent and excellent care.”

Michael New, senior associate scholar at Charlotte Lozier Institute and assistant professor of practice at The Catholic University of America, also noted that these laws can help prevent abuse.

“Parental involvement laws may prevent child predators from sexually abusing minor girls — since many child predators use abortion to cover up their sexual misconduct,” New told CNA.

In addition, the report by Human Rights Watch “has a strong pro-abortion bias,” New said.

According to New, the report “ignores a substantial body of academic research which shows that pro-life parental involvement laws improve health outcomes.”

In addition, “the report relies largely on anecdotal evidence from health care providers, attorneys, people working for abortion funds, and public health researchers,” New said.

What about dysfunctional families?

Parental notification laws provide an option for a judicial bypass, meaning that minors, if they seek it, can be exempt from the requirement.

In addition, some states provide explicit exemptions for minors in abusive homes or allow another adult to be notified instead of a parent if the minor wishes.

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, neuroscientist and senior ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, said that “underage mothers should not be expected to navigate, by themselves, serious matters of their health and the health of others who depend on them, like their unborn child.”

“They need support and assistance in what is a very fear-filled moment when they discover they have become pregnant,” Pacholczyk told CNA.

Pacholczyk noted that underage girls who are pregnant may face difficult situations at home.

In some cases, the mother of the daughter “will encourage her daughter to get an abortion,” while in other cases “she may believe she cannot tell her mom about her unexpected pregnancy without facing severe consequences” and “might fear being kicked out of the house” or damaging family relationships.

But Pacholczyk noted that eliminating parental notification only increases dysfunctionality in a home and distances underage girls from their much-needed support systems.

“It is also important to note that in many instances, the fears of the young girl may not be rooted in reality, and she may be surprised to learn how her parents are actually more open than she imagines to her new situation,” he said.

Pacholczyk recommended that parental notification be done “in a roundabout manner” through counselors or pregnancy resource centers so as to connect the girl and her family with resources such as adoption services, support, and even temporary living quarters if needed.

“The clinic’s staff have a vested financial interest in seeing the abortion take place and really should not act as mediators between the underage girl and her family,” he said.

“Parental involvement and support … should be the default position we seek to promote as a caring and civilized society,” Pacholczyk said.

The verdict: Parental notification laws protect girls from abuse and enable parents to support their daughters in a difficult time in their lives, as the decision they make could go on to affect their mental health and well-being in the future.

Diocese of Peoria breaks ground on center honoring Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
Thu, 06 Nov 2025 06:00:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Nov 6, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The Diocese of Peoria in Illinois on Oct. 19 broke ground for a cultural center honoring Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. The Spalding Institute is being transformed into “The Fulton J. Sheen Experience,” an expansion of the Sheen museum, which has been open since 2008.

The new center has an estimated construction cost of $9 million to $11 million, all of which is being raised from private donations. Visitors will be able to see interactive exhibits, artifacts, and large archives of television and radio work from the archbishop’s life.

“We are thrilled to transform the historic diocesan high school building into this new facility,” Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria said in a press release. “We believe this project will draw even more visitors to the city to grow in their knowledge and love of the man who is arguably Peoria’s greatest son and through his witness draw closer to Jesus Christ.”

Currently, the Sheen museum draws roughly 4,000 visitors a year. The new center is predicted to increase tourism with roughly 11,000 to 15,000 visitors a year.

“Archbishop Fulton Sheen was not only a son of Peoria but a voice for the Church that touched millions across the world,” Tylka said. “With the Fulton J. Sheen Experience, we are creating a place where visitors can encounter his faith, vision, and enduring witness. This center will inspire future generations to live boldly for Christ, just as he did.”

Monsignor Jason Gray, executive director of the Fulton Sheen Foundation, told “EWTN News Nightly” in an interview that the event was a “great day for the development of the Sheen cause.”

The cause for the beatification of Sheen was paused in 2019 due to concerns raised about his tenure as bishop of Rochester, New York (1966–1969), especially in light of the New York state attorney general investigation into diocesan handling of abuse cases. After careful research and a presentation to the then-Congregation for the Causes of Saints, it was deemed Sheen handled them correctly.

“For a long time, we’ve been working on the cause itself and trying to bring that forward, but today was about making sure that we can perpetuate the cause,” Gray said. “We want to keep the legacy of Fulton Sheen alive. It’s so important that we welcome people who want to come and express their devotion to Sheen.”

He explained that people from all over the world come to visit the museum, and they’re running out of space to be able to accommodate all those who wish to visit.

Due to this issue, Gray said he believes that “it’s important that we provide a larger facility to really allow people to get to know Sheen better and through Sheen to encounter Jesus Christ.”

Dolores Sheen, a niece of Sheen, was also in attendance at the groundbreaking ceremony. She called the event “very exciting.”

“I’m behind them expanding because there’s so much that still needs to come out and be in that museum. And of course, the fact that it was the place where he walked. I think that’s very important,” she added.

Dolores Sheen is married to Sheen’s nephew John and spent time with the beloved archbishop on several occasions. She recalled spending Sheen’s 80th birthday with him and the numerous times they spent time together as a family.

“I’d call him and I’d say, ‘Bishop, what do you want to do?’ He’d always say, ‘I want to be with family. I want to be with family,’” she recalled. “So we’d gather the family together, that was in Peoria, the cousins, and we would just have a wonderful, wonderful day.”

“I feel honored that I can share some of these things in regard to him, that he was just very real. He was just a very down-to-earth person.”

As for her hopes for the new center, Dolores said she hopes visitors see that “the bishop was very much in love with Christ and Mary.”

Gray added that he hopes visitors appreciate Sheen’s “personal insight into Jesus Christ and the way in which he would pray and be united with him in prayer. We want people to discover that and what a precious gift that is to the Church.”

Judge orders halt to alleged ‘inhumane’ conditions for Illinois detainees
Wed, 05 Nov 2025 18:58:00 -0500

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 5, 2025 / 18:58 pm (CNA).

A Chicago-based federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to maintain strict cleanliness and hygiene requirements for migrants detained at an Illinois facility.

The court also ordered the administration to provide detainees with access to legal representation.

The temporary restraining order entered Nov. 5 by Judge Robert W. Gettleman, who was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 1994 by President Bill Clinton, did not address the plaintiff’s concerns about a lack of religious accommodations, including the ability to receive holy Communion.

Gettleman’s order Nov. 5 directed the administration to provide adequate food, water, and hygiene practices to detainees along with prescribed medications.

“Plaintiffs and members of the putative class have suffered, and are likely to suffer, irreparable harm absent the temporary relief granted,” said the order, which will be in effect until a Nov. 19 status hearing.

Gettleman required detainees to be provided with soap, towels, toilet paper, oral hygiene products (including toothbrushes and toothpaste), and menstrual products.

The order said: “Defendants shall provide each detainee with at least three full meals per day that meet the U.S. recommended dietary allowance … Defendants shall provide each detainee with a bottle of potable water with each meal and bottled water upon request free of charge.”

It specified that papers provided to detainees “should include an accompanying Spanish translation.”

‘Squalid living environment’

The judge’s order followed an hourslong hearing on Nov. 4 featuring argument between lawyers for detainees and Trump administration attorneys, and testimony from former detainees at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Broadview facility located at 1930 Beach St.

On Oct. 30, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, together with the MacArthur Justice Center — a self-described nonprofit civil rights law firm based in Chicago — filed a civil suit (Moreno Gonzalez v. Noem) in federal court alleging detainees at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Broadview facility faced overcrowded, “inhumane” conditions, insufficient nutrition, inadequate medical care, lack of privacy, and a squalid living environment.

“The food provided to detainees is insufficient and lacks nutrition,” according to the complaint filed last week by lawyers for several detainees. “At most, detainees receive two to three small, cold sandwiches per day.”

The detainee’s lawyers say in their lawsuit: “The physical conditions are filthy, with poor sanitation, clogged toilets, and blood, human fluids, and insects in the sinks and the floor.” The complaint says overcrowding, “unhygienic conditions, lack of medical care, and deprivation of adequate food” has turned the Broadview ICE facility into “a breeding ground for illness to spread.”

“The toilets are filthy and often get clogged, resulting in urine and dirty water on the floor where detainees are forced to sleep,” according to the detainees’ attorneys in their complaint.

The lawyers argued the ICE Broadview facility was designed to serve only as a short-term (roughly 12 hours) “holding facility” where people are briefly held for processing before being moved to a longer-term detention facility. But in the wake of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration in the Chicago area, the federal government, including the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, “are now warehousing people at Broadview for days on end,” the detainees’ attorneys said. “The consequences have been dire, and wholly predictable,” including a lack of adequate access to legal representation.

“Everyone, no matter their legal status, has the right to access counsel and to not be subject to horrific and inhumane conditions,” said Alexa Van Brunt, director of the MacArthur Justice Center’s Illinois office and lead counsel on the suit, in an Oct. 31 statement.

The complaint also alleges the detainees have been unconstitutionally denied access not only to their attorneys but also to faith leaders and members of clergy, “who have provided religious services at Broadview for years but are now denied the ability to provide pastoral care under defendants’ command.”

“For many years, faith leaders and members of the clergy … provided pastoral care to individuals detained inside Broadview,” the detainees’ lawyers told the court.

“Now, no one is allowed inside Broadview. Faith leaders seeking to provide religious services are blocked from providing Communion and spiritual support to detainees, even from outside.”

Catholic leaders in Chicago sought to bring holy Communion to Broadview detainees Nov. 1. Auxiliary Bishop Jose María García-Maldonado and others were not admitted despite requesting access weeks in advance and attempting to follow U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s guidelines.

Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday said the spiritual rights of migrants in detention must be considered by government authorities. “I would certainly invite the authorities to allow pastoral workers to attend to the needs of those people,” the pontiff said. “Many times, they’ve been separated from their families for a good amount of time. No one knows what’s happening, but their own spiritual needs should be attended to.”

On Oct. 1, Pope Leo said being “in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States, I don’t know if that’s pro-life.”

The Homeland Security Department’s Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin responded to the detainees’ lawsuit and told CNA that the Broadview facility was a “field office,” not a “detention facility.”

She added: “Illegal aliens are only briefly held there for processing before being transferred to a detention facility. Religious organizations are more than welcome to provide services to detainees in ICE detention facilities.”

McLaughlin said the Broadview facility had recently been the target of numerous attacks and vandalism by anti-Trump administration protesters that presented many public safety dangers, including assaults on law enforcement officers, throwing tear gas cans, slashing tires, firearms possession, and blocking the entrance of the building.

“ICE staff has repeatedly informed religious organizations that due to Broadview’s status as a field office and the ongoing threat to civilians, detainees, and officers … they are not able to accommodate these requests at this time,” she told CNA, adding: “Even before the attacks on the Broadview facility, it was not within standard operating procedure for religious services to be provided in a field office, as detainees are continuously brought in, processed, and transferred out.”

McLaughlin wrote on the X that “religious organizations have ALWAYS been welcome to provide services to detainees in ICE detention facilities. Religious leaders may request access to facilities through proper channels and have those requests approved.”

Tyler Arnold contributed to this story.

A beloved Iowa priest and immigrant advocate dies at 39
Wed, 05 Nov 2025 17:33:00 -0500

CNA Staff, Nov 5, 2025 / 17:33 pm (CNA).

Father Guillermo Treviño Jr., a 39-year-old priest who advocated for the rights of immigrants in the Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, passed away suddenly on Oct. 31, just hours after returning from a trip to the Vatican.

His death from sepsis after a fatal stomach perforation was a complication of undiagnosed diabetes, according to his sister, Mariela Treviño-Luna, who had traveled with him to Italy.

Due to a shortage of priests in Iowa, Treviño served as a pastor of St. Joseph Church in Columbus Junction as well as St. Joseph Church in West Liberty, southeast of Iowa City.

Treviño’s national profile stemmed from his immigrant rights work as a founder, board president, and chaplain of Escucha Mi Voz Iowa, a group aiding Latino workers, including immigrants. Treviño had just returned from Rome, where he represented the group at Pope Leo XIV’s World Meeting of Popular Movements.

He fought deportations, notably for his godson, 18-year-old Pascual Pedro, a West Liberty High School soccer star U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported this summer despite his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status.

In a statement issued on the day of his death by the Diocese of Davenport, Bishop Dennis Walsh said: “Father Guillermo’s heart was consistently with those in need. Throughout the current migrant crises, he showed great compassion for the many migrants who find themselves on edge due to aggressive immigration enforcement action.”

As pastor of both St. Joseph churches, Treviño nurtured the meatpacking and farming communities there with “remarkable authenticity,” Walsh said.

“His voice was becoming a beacon of hope and advocacy on this vital issue, gaining national prominence,” Walsh continued in the statement. “He was recently invited to be part of a panel discussion at Georgetown University and had the distinct honor of traveling to the Vatican as part of the World Gathering of Popular Movements. His leadership and commitment to justice will be deeply missed by the Church and the wider community he so faithfully served.”

Archbishop Thomas Zinkula of Dubuque recalled Treviño’s “playful and serious sides,” telling the Des Moines Register this week that “Father Guillermo loved movies, Star Wars, and professional wrestling. But he also was passionate about serving and advocating for immigrants. I was inspired by his total commitment to seeking justice and mercy for people on that particular margin of society.”

Born on March 7, 1986, in San Antonio, Texas, to Maria Luna and Guillermo Treviño Sr., Treviño and his family moved to Moline, Illinois, when he was 3. He earned an associate’s degree from Black Hawk College before entering seminary at Conception Seminary College and Mundelein Seminary. Despite an initial rejection, he said at the time that his faith — rekindled after his father’s early death — drove him forward. Ordained on June 6, 2015, he quickly became a force in rural Hispanic parishes.

According to the diocese’s statement, Treviño “received the National 2022 Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award. The award recognizes a ‘young faith-filled Catholic who has demonstrated leadership against poverty and injustice in the United States,’ according to the USCCB [U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops].”

“It recognizes the leadership, energy, and diverse skills that young people bring to the anti-poverty work of low-income projects and Catholic parishes. It highlights the gifts of young leaders and their Gospel commitment to the poor,” the statement said.

Treviño’s funeral Mass is set for Nov. 7 at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport and will be livestreamed on YouTube. He is survived by his mother, sisters, and extended family.

‘Don’t kill me’: Empty wheelchairs dramatize campaign against assisted suicide in Italy
Wed, 05 Nov 2025 17:03:00 -0500

Rome, Italy, Nov 5, 2025 / 17:03 pm (CNA).

The Piazza del Popolo (People’s Square), one of Rome’s most iconic and monumental spaces, became the stage on Nov. 4 for a powerful campaign against a bill currently under consideration in the Italian Senate to decriminalize assisted suicide.

Two hundred empty wheelchairs with a rose-colored balloon floating above each one were arranged in meticulously ordered rows in the center of the Italian capital’s expansive urban space by the pro-life ProVita & Famiglia association as part of a flash mob with a direct and unsettling message: “Non mi uccidere” (“Don’t kill me”).

The initiative aimed to denounce what the organization considers a “drift toward assisted suicide” in Italy.

Legislative background

Currently in Italy, anyone who “causes the death of a man with his consent” is punishable by six to 15 years in prison, according to Article 579 of the penal code.

However, in 2019 the country’s constitutional court partially modified this legislation, ruling that no one will be punished for killing “a patient who is kept alive by life-support treatments and suffers from an irreversible condition.”

This ruling came after the trial and subsequent acquittal of Marco Cappato, who was tried for accompanying producer Fabiano Antoniani, better known as DJ Fabo, to Switzerland to obtain assisted suicide in 2017. Antoniani had become quadriplegic and blind after an accident in 2014.

Three years later, in 2022, Italy’s lower house passed a bill regulating a patient’s right to request medical assistance in dying based on certain conditions, such as being of legal age or suffering from an irreversible illness.

The legislation was then sent to the Senate, which has been debating the proposal for three years. The ProVita & Famiglia campaign aims to prevent its final passage.

According to the organizers, the 200 empty wheelchairs represent the sick, disabled, elderly, and vulnerable people who, in the association’s words, “are asking Parliament for more care, more rights, more dignity but are instead faced with cynical shortcuts to death.”

“Only 33% of those entitled to palliative care” have access to it, according to data compiled by the organization, “with some Italian regions where coverage drops to as low as 4%-5%.” This figure leaves thousands of families without health care assistance.

Drifting toward assisted suicide

Italy has begun a “drift toward assisted suicide that could lead to a veritable state-sanctioned massacre of the sick, the elderly living alone, the depressed, and people with disabilities,” ProVita & Famiglia stated in a press release.

“Any national law in this direction would only accentuate the process, reinforcing in public opinion the idea that the state can offer suicide as just another social and health care service,” the group warned.

Massimo Gandolfini, leader of the Family Day movement, also joined the Nov. 4 demonstration, reiterating his rejection of “any form of medically assisted dying.” In his address, he warned that “the experience of the 13 countries that have legalized it is devastating: From a few initial cases, it has grown to thousands every year, including young people with depression.”

Among the participants in the event was Emanuel Cosmin Stoica, a writer, activist, and disabled person.

“In a moment of suffering,” he said, “I myself might think about death, but it is precisely then that society must help people live and not offer suicide as an escape from pain.” Instead, “the state must invest in assistance, psychological support, inclusion, and social networks that leave no one alone.”

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 to seminarians: ‘Piety without doctrine becomes fragile sentimentality’
Wed, 05 Nov 2025 16:33:00 -0500

Vatican City, Nov 5, 2025 / 16:33 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday addressed a letter to seminarians of the Archdiocese of Trujillo, Peru, reminding them of the need to be close to Christ while discerning a vocation to the priesthood.

In a long letter to men studying at the “San Carlos y San Marcelo” major seminary, who celebrated the institution’s 400th anniversary on Nov. 4, the Holy Father emphasized that prayer and the search for truth are not “parallel journeys” but a single path that leads to God.

‘Nurture both’

“A piety without doctrine becomes fragile sentimentality; doctrine without prayer becomes sterile and cold,” he wrote. “Nurture both with balance and passion, knowing that only in this way can you authentically proclaim what you live and live coherently what you proclaim.”

As an Augustinian missionary, Leo XIV once served as the seminary’s director of studies. From 1989–1998 he taught San Carlos y San Marcelo seminarians canon law, moral theology, and patristics.

Stressing the importance of forming both the “spiritual and intellectual life” at the seminary, the Holy Father said the combination of study and prayer prepares candidates for a “solid and luminous priesthood.”

Focusing on the centrality of Jesus Christ, the pope said the “first task” of all seminarians is “to be with the Lord, to let him form you, to know and love him, so that you may become like him.”

In the letter, he explained that the Church has always wanted seminaries to be places to help foster their personal relationship with Jesus and “prepare those who will be sent to serve the holy people of God.”

“For this reason, before anything else, it is necessary to allow the Lord to clarify one’s motivations and purify one’s intentions,” he wrote. “The priesthood cannot be reduced to ‘achieving ordination’ as if it were an external goal or an easy way out of personal problems.”

The priesthood as ‘a total gift of one’s existence’

“It is not an escape from what one does not want to face, nor a refuge from emotional, family, or social difficulties; nor is it a promotion or a shelter, but a total gift of one’s existence,” he added.

Underscoring the importance of freedom in the discernment process, the pope said it is not possible for a man “bound by interests or fears” to freely offer his life for others through the priesthood.

“The will is truly free when it is not a slave,” he wrote in his letter, quoting St. Augustine’s “The City of God.”

“The decisive thing is not to be ‘ordained’ but truly to be priests,” he said.

Warning that the priesthood should not be confused with a “personal right” or a “mere prerogative or bureaucratic function,” Leo said a genuine vocation “arises from the choice of the Lord” to share in his saving ministry.

“Seminary life is a journey of inner rectification,” he said. “Rectitude of intention means being able to say every day, with simplicity and truth: ‘Lord, I want to be your priest, not for myself, but for your people.’”

Encouraging seminarians to be configured to Christ, the Holy Father urged them to devote time to encountering the Lord through dedicated times to prayer and study using sacred Scripture.

‘Those who do not speak enough with God cannot speak of God’

“Time spent in prayer is the most fruitful investment of one’s life, because it is there that the Lord shapes our feelings, purifies our desires, and strengthens our vocation,” he said. “Those who do not speak enough with God cannot speak of God!”

Speaking about the importance of the magisterium, the pope said: “The Church has always recognized that the encounter with the Lord needs to be rooted in intelligence and to become doctrine.”

“Without serious study there is no true pastoral ministry, because the ministry consists in leading people to know and love Christ and, in him, to find salvation,” he wrote.

Before concluding his letter with his apostolic blessing, the Holy Father said Eucharistic union and communion with others is essential to understand Jesus’ “priestly fatherhood” and “the unity between ministry and sacrifice.”

“Dear sons, in conclusion, I want to assure you that you have a place in the heart of the successor of Peter,” he said. “The seminary is an immense and demanding gift, but you are never alone on this journey.”

Archdiocese of Seville permits woman with Down syndrome to be a godmother
Wed, 05 Nov 2025 15:19:00 -0500

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 5, 2025 / 15:19 pm (CNA).

The Archdiocese of Seville in Spain has announced that a young woman with Down syndrome who was initially prohibited from being a godmother at a baptism will be able to fulfill that role after “high-level” consultations with experts in canon law and pastoral care.

In late October, the offended family took their case to the media because a priest had refused to accept Noelia, a 19-year-old woman with Down syndrome, as a godmother.

In a Nov. 4 statement, the archdiocese explained that since the controversy broke out, it has gathered “all the relevant information and testimonies,” and “in agreement with the pastor and the family of the child being baptized, the archdiocese authorizes the celebration of the sacrament of baptism on the scheduled date, allowing the parents to put forward the godparents they had initially chosen.”

ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, confirmed through archdiocesan sources that one of the auxiliary bishops and the chancellor of the archdiocese participated in meetings with the family and the pastor.

The archdiocese reiterated that the Church wants to “foster the inclusion of all people in the ecclesial community, based on pastoral accompaniment and prudence,” saying it regretted “the harm caused by the handling of this situation” and calling “for harmony and dialogue based on the communion that should characterize the life of a parish community.”

At the initial meeting with Noelia and the baby’s parents, the pastor of Our Lady of the Snows Parish in Benacazón asked Noelia some questions about the baptism and the meaning of being a godparent.

Noelia, who was confirmed in the Seville cathedral by Archbishop José Ángel Saiz Meneses, has “a serious difficulty expressing herself,” despite being independent in managing her daily life — for example, traveling to Seville by bus on her own.

The situation was also complicated because Noelia had not enrolled in the formation program for prospective godparents provided by the parish, which requires several biweekly sessions as well as Mass attendance there every Sunday, but had instead enrolled in another parish that offers a shorter preparation period.

The pastor, who, according to the same sources who spoke to CNA, “is not an expert in canon law but is very competent in pastoral care,” initially consulted the archdiocese.

He attempted to resolve the matter according to the guidelines of the Instruction on Christian Initiation in effect in the diocese since 2015 with a unique proposal: Noelia could have a prominent role in the ceremony but would not be registered as the godmother.

The decision displeased her family, however, and they appealed.

Now that the pastoral issue has been resolved, the outcome of the campaign undertaken by Noelia’s father, demanding the pastor’s removal “and a public apology,” remains to be addressed.

The archdiocese told ACI Prensa that the pastor is a “well-liked person who is doing very well and working very well with his team” in a social context where rules can be “difficult to understand.”

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

2 Nigerian minor seminarians released months after kidnapping, 1 killed in captivity
Wed, 05 Nov 2025 14:04:00 -0500

ACI Africa, Nov 5, 2025 / 14:04 pm (CNA).

The Catholic Diocese of Auchi in Nigeria has announced the release of two seminarians who were abducted in July during an armed attack on Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary in Ivianokpodi while confirming the death of a third victim.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the assistant director of communications of the diocese, Father Linus Imoedemhe, recalled that during the July 10 incident, seminarians Japhet Jesse, Joshua Aleobua, and Emmanuel Alabi were abducted.

“We are grateful to God for the safe release of Japhet Jesse much earlier and, most recently, Joshua Aleobua, who regained his freedom on Nov. 4,” Imoedemhe said in the statement shared with ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa. “However, with deep sorrow, we announce the passing of seminarian Emmanuel Alabi, who lost his life in the course of the ordeal.”

Imoedemhe went on to extend the condolences of the bishop of Auchi to the families of the victims.

“Most Rev. Gabriel G. Dunia has expressed his deep pain and sorrow over the loss of the young seminarian and has called on security agencies to intensify efforts toward protecting the lives and property of all citizens,” Imoedemhe said.

The bishop has cautioned political leaders against “turning a blind eye on the worsening insecurity situation in the nation,” urging them to prioritize the safety and well-being of the people over political ambitions ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 elections.

In his statement, Imoedemhe invited the people of God to “join us in praying for the repose of the soul of Emmanuel Alabi, and for the peace, healing, and security of our people and land.”

“The Diocese of Auchi remains committed to the values of faith, peace, and justice, trusting in God’s infinite mercy to bring comfort to the bereaved family, the seminary community, and all those affected by this tragedy,” he said.

“May the soul of Emmanuel Alabi, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen,” Imoedemhei added.

The July 10 attack also claimed the life of Christopher Aweneghieme, a security guard at the seminary.

On Aug. 14, the Diocese of Auchi confirmed the authenticity of a viral video showing two of the three abducted seminarians.

The footage shows the two young seminarians with what appears to be a human skull, crying and pleading for their release while surrounded by gun-wielding individuals believed to be their captors.

Following the abduction, Dunia urged the families of the three seminarians to remain steadfast in prayer.

In a July 13 interview with ACI Africa, Dunia addressed the seminarians’ parents, saying: “Do not be crushed by fear, threats, or intimidation.”

“These things are not happening only at the seminary,” he said. “Some seminarians have even been kidnapped from their homes while on holiday. We must remain vigilant and do all we can to protect them,” the bishop said.

Dunia appealed to all levels of government — local, state, and federal — to take decisive action to address the challenge of insecurity.

“There is a vast forest stretching between Edo and Kogi states, and that forest is where these criminals hide and launch their attacks. The government knows how to deal with this — they have the intelligence and the resources — but they must act.”

He warned: “If nothing is done, communities will be abandoned, and these criminals will take over our land. We must not allow this to happen.”

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.