american – United Yam

Mother Cabrini Institute aims to change ‘mental pattern’ of associating immigrants with crime

unitedyam October 7, 2025

null / Credit: Amy Lutz/Shutterstock

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

A new institute at Pope Leo XIV’s undergraduate alma mater wants to change the “mental pattern” that associates immigrants with crime.

In the 19th century, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini embraced the travails of millions of recently arrived Italian immigrants to the United States. Inspired by this legacy of the first American saint, Villanova University — the flagship institution of the Order of St. Augustine — has just launched the Mother Cabrini Institute on Immigration.

It was from this institution of higher learning in Philadelphia that Robert Francis Prevost — now Pope Leo XIV — earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1977.

The initiative is based on the Augustinian values of “veritas, unitas, and caritas” (truth, unity, and charity) and seeks to bring together the academic community and other external stakeholders to promote concrete actions to address the contemporary challenges of migration.

“Currently, there is a mentality that associates immigrants with crime, drug trafficking, or human trafficking. However, immigrants are the ones who care for our children and our elders; we open the doors of our homes to them so they can clean our homes. We invite them into the most intimate parts of our lives, yet the media generates contrary images that make it difficult to recognize their humanity,” explained Professor Michele Pistone, director of the center, which was inaugurated at the Vatican on Sept. 30.

Mother Cabrini Institute on Immigration Director Michele Pristone is shown here accompanied by Father Joseph Lawrence Farrell, OSA, prior general of the Augustinians. Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother Cabrini Institute on Immigration

The institute seeks to reverse negative perceptions through an interdisciplinary approach based on four pillars: teaching, research, advocacy, and service.

“We want to transform hearts and minds, work with all Villanova colleges, and connect with centers, alumni, and community partners to create systemic change,” the professor said.

For Pistone, the university is an ideal setting for this type of work. “What better place to do it than at a university, where we can study it, be active on the ground, learn from the experience, and teach students — the future leaders of our country and businesses — to understand the migrant experience?”

The scholar also participated in the event “Refugees and Migrants in Our Common Home,” which took place in Rome from Oct. 1–3 ahead of the Jubilee of Migrants (Oct. 4–5). The more than 200 participants in the global gathering from over 40 countries were welcomed to the Vatican last week by Pope Leo XIV.

As Pistone explained in conversation with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, the seed of the Mother Cabrini Institute on Immigration was planted in 2022 when Pope Francis called on universities to research and teach more about migrants and refugees.

“I was in the front row and felt like he was speaking directly to me. I felt a personal calling to be part of the solution,” said the law professor at Villanova’s Charles Widger School of Law.

Personal inspiration and lifelong commitment

Pistone’s passion for migration is deeply rooted in her family history. During her studies in Italy, she visited Sicily in search of the origins of her grandparents, who immigrated to the United States at the beginning of the 20th century.

Professor Michele Pistone is director of the Mother Cabrini Institute on Immigration. Credit: Victoria Cardiel/EWTN News

“Seeing my relatives, who didn’t know my father, and seeing how they rejoiced in his accomplishments in New York, changed my life. I began to understand the history of migrants from a lived perspective, and that led me to work with asylum seekers since 1999,” Pistone said.

For Pistone, migration is part of the identity and mission of the United States. “My state, Pennsylvania, was founded as a refuge for those fleeing religious persecution. That’s what asylum is all about: offering refuge to those who cannot live according to their beliefs or express themselves freely,” she explained.

Inspired by the life and work of Mother Cabrini, canonized by Pius XII in 1946, Pistone emphasized the value of the newly inaugurated center as an intellectual and social hub: “Mother Cabrini was a visionary and social entrepreneur. Her charisma guides us today in asking ourselves: What is Mother Cabrini’s work in the contemporary world? We want to carry out that mission through education, research, public advocacy, and service.”

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

Cash aid for moms: Michigan program cuts infant poverty, boosts families

unitedyam October 6, 2025

null / Credit: Tatiana Vdb via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 6, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A Michigan-based program is providing thousands of dollars to expecting mothers to lessen poverty and improve babies’ health — and all that’s needed is an ultrasound and an ID.

The first community-wide and unconditional cash transfer program for new families in the United States called Rx Kids began with the mission to improve “health, hope, and opportunity.” The initiative began in January 2024 in Flint, Michigan, where enrolled mothers receive $1,500 during their pregnancies and an additional $500 a month for the first year of their child’s life.

In 2024, Dr. Mona Hanna, a pediatrician and the director of the Michigan State University-Hurley Children’s Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative, launched the program with the help of Luke Shaefer, the inaugural director of Poverty Solutions, an initiative that partners with communities to find ways to alleviate poverty.

The city of Flint had been struggling with childhood poverty, “which is a major challenge and economic hardship, especially for new families,” Shaefer told CNA. In order to find ways to combat it, Hanna spoke directly with mothers. They shared how impactful the 2021 expanded Child Tax Credit was, which provided parents funds to put toward necessities for their children.

The program had helped “child poverty plummet to the lowest level ever recorded,” Shaefer explained. He had worked on the program design himself, so he was brought in to help create Rx Kids with a similar goal.

The hope for Rx Kids was simply “to support expectant moms during pregnancy,” Shaefer said. Oftentimes, “the period of pregnancy and the first year of life is actually when families are the poorest,” he said. To combat this, the money helps fund food, rent, car seats, diapers, and other baby supplies and necessities.

Even families higher on “the economic ladder really struggle to make ends meet when they’re welcoming a new baby, which is really maddening because it’s such a critical period for the development of a child,” Shaefer said. “What happens in the womb, and then what happens in the first year of life, are fundamental to shaping the architecture for kids throughout the life course.”

Expecting mothers from all economic backgrounds can apply to the program. To enroll, women submit an ultrasound and identification to verify residency within the participating location. The only other qualification is that the mothers are at least 16 weeks along in their pregnancies or will have legal guardianship over the child after birth.

Funding and operations

Rx Kids is funded through a public-private partnership model that combines federal funds, often Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and private support from philanthropic foundations, local businesses, and health care systems.

Since it started, the program has provided nearly $11 million in cash transfers to the more than 2,000 enrolled mothers in Flint. There have also been 1,800 babies being born in the city within the program.

The cash transfers are sent through the nonprofit GiveDirectly, which solely administers cash payments to families through programs like Rx Kids to lessen global poverty. It currently has operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda, and the U.S.

After seeing success with Rx Kids mothers in Flint, the program expanded to help Michigan families in Kalamazoo, Eastern Upper Peninsula, Clare County, and Oakland County. It has now enrolled more than 3,500 mothers, provided nearly $15 million in funds, and contributed to more than 2,800 babies.

“Not unlike the support provided by the nearly 100 pregnancy resource centers in Michigan whose staff and volunteers walk alongside women providing material support, counseling, and parenting classes, the Rx Kids program aims to care for women and babies during the challenging time of pregnancy and infancy by providing a no-strings-attached cash program,” Genevieve Marnon, legislative director at Right to Life of Michigan, told CNA.

“The pro-life community has long recognized that when women are supported, respected, and valued, they are more likely to choose birth to abortion and experience better health outcomes,” Marnon said.

In a state where abortion is “considered a constitutional right, every effort to ensure women have the support they need to make a choice for life is something to applaud.”

Success and benefits

“Programs like [Rx Kids] lead to healthier birth weights, lower rates of postpartum depression, and an atmosphere that celebrates each and every woman and child,” Maron said. “The data speaks for itself.”

Recently, Rx Kids received back “the first line of research that is looking really positive,” Shaefer said. Researchers from Michigan State University and the University of Michigan conducted a study published by the American Journal of Public Health that analyzed more than 450,000 births across Michigan.

The researchers reported that after the program launched in 2024, Flint experienced an 18% drop in preterm births and a 27% reduction in low birth weight when compared with the previous year and similar Michigan cities.

There was also a reported 29% reduction in NICU admissions, which prevented nearly 60 hospitalizations annually. The outcomes were linked to behavioral changes of women during their pregnancies, including increased prenatal care.

“We’re not forcing anyone to go to prenatal care, but when we provide the economic resources, they go,” Schaefer explained.

Church support

The Catholic Church in Michigan has also been in favor of the program. Jacob Kanclerz, communications associate for the Michigan Catholic Conference (MCC), told CNA that it helps provide “mothers facing difficult circumstances with the resources they need to make a choice for life and avoid resorting to abortion.”

MCC, which serves as the public policy voice for the Church in the state, “supports the Rx Kids program because of its direct assistance to mothers and children in need in lower-income communities in Michigan.”

In line with the Church, the program works “to promote and protect human life as well as provide for the poor and vulnerable in society,” Kanclerz said. MCC has supported funding in the state budget for the Rx Kids program and has testified in support of the expansion of Senate Bill 309, which would incorporate the program officially into state law.

At a hearing for the bill, Tom Hickson, vice president for public policy and advocacy for MCC, said: “By helping mothers pay for critical prenatal and infant health care services and other expenses surrounding childbirth, Rx Kids can help mothers provide their babies the care they need while in the womb and after they are born.”

He added: “This program has been a wonderful help to expectant mothers and their babies who need extra support during this critical stage of life.”

Rx Kids is currently helping Michigan families, but it also offers a startup guide for other states and communities interested in modeling the program. Schaefer said there is “a ton of interest” from other states that hope to implement the program.

There are two versions of the Rx Kids model that areas can implement, depending on their funding availability and goals. One offers $1,500 during pregnancy and an additional $500 each month for six months following the child’s birth. Communities can also model the original version implemented in Flint, which offers a $1,500 cash transfer during pregnancy, and the additional monthly funds for a whole year.

To secure funding, Rx Kids encourages communities to utilize public sources, state or federal dollars, and private support from philanthropic organizations that want to contribute to the mission of alleviating poverty and supporting babies and their mothers.

Girl Scouts, Cincinnati Archdiocese announce ‘renewed’ partnership after LGBT dispute

unitedyam October 2, 2025

null / Credit: maximino/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Oct 2, 2025 / 09:41 am (CNA).

After cutting ties with the Girl Scouts over the group’s endorsement of gender ideology, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati said this week that it has struck up a renewed partnership with the more-than-century-old youth organization.

Last year, the archdiocese ended a 110-year relationship with Girl Scouts of the USA due to the group promoting gender ideology contrary to Catholic teaching.

The decision was spearheaded by then-Archbishop Dennis Schnurr, who now serves as archbishop emeritus. At the time, Schnurr endorsed a faith-based scouting group, American Heritage Girls, as an alternative.

Newly-instated Archbishop Robert Casey has since made an agreement with the local Girl Scouts of Western Ohio to maintain Church moral teaching while operating in Catholic parishes.

Girl Scouts groups are “welcome” on Catholic campuses, so long as they pledge not to promote anything counter to the Church’s teaching on faith and morals, according to an archdiocesan press release.

Casey said he is “proud” that the archdiocese and the Girl Scouts “focused on our shared desire for the flourishing of young women in virtue and faith, rather than being solely focused on our differences.”

“Girl Scouts is a secular organization, and as such, they do not share all of our views,” he said in a Sept. 30 statement. “As the Catholic Church we are called to uphold the Gospel and teach young people the truth of the Catholic faith.”

“Despite these differences, we have reached a mutual understanding that allows us to fulfill our mission as Church in the faithful formation of young girls while also accessing all that is best about Girl Scouting,” he continued.

Aimée Sproles, president and CEO of Girl Scouts of Western Ohio, said that organization hopes to encourage girls in their faith journey.

“At Girl Scouts, we believe that a part of girls’ healthy development is encouraging girls in their spiritual journey, through partnerships with their individual faith communities,” Sproles said in a statement.

“Girl Scouts of Western Ohio and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati have helped generations of girls to grow in their faith and develop the critical thinking and decision-making skills they need in order to act on the values of their faith in our complex world,” she said.

“This renewed partnership allows our Catholic Girl Scouts to have the support of their family and the Catholic community as they grow in courage, confidence, and character,” she added.

The agreement comes after “continued dialogue,” archdiocesan spokeswoman Jennifer Schack told CNA.

“While this announcement highlights the renewed partnership, there has been ongoing dialogue, given the two agencies share a common interest to strengthen and support girls in our communities,” Schack said.

The agreement specifies that the Girl Scouts cannot promote anything that goes against Catholic faith and moral teachings, according to documents shared with CNA.

Whether the renewal of the Girl Scouts will affect the archdiocese’s partnership with American Heritage Girls is unclear.

When asked about the effect of the partnership renewal, American Heritage Girls told CNA that it looks forward to “deepening its relationship” with the archdiocese.

The interdenominational group has programs and activities designed for its Catholic scouting groups that promote the Catholic faith, including troop-led Stations of the Cross and Eucharistic Revival patches.

“Catholic families in Cincinnati and beyond have embraced AHG as a trusted youth ministry option,” the organization stated. “AHG looks forward to deepening its relationship with the Archdiocese of Cincinnati as more Catholic families and parishes build communities where virtue and faith flourish.”

Schack affirmed that the recent announcement “has no impact on American Heritage Girls troops” in the archdiocese.

American Heritage Girls, which has been endorsed by Catholic dioceses across the country, features a National Catholic Committee headed by Bishop James Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska.

The group forms “girls of integrity through Catholic Faith Awards, troop life, service, outdoor adventure, and leadership,” the group stated.

“American Heritage Girls is grateful for over 30 years of ministry rooted in a Christ-centered foundation, deeply aligned with the Catholic Church,” it added.

Religious Liberty Commission hears from teachers, coaches, school leaders

unitedyam September 29, 2025

President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission meets on Sept. 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNA

Washington, D.C., Sep 29, 2025 / 19:13 pm (CNA).

Teachers, coaches, and other public and private school leaders said their religious liberty was threatened in American schools at a hearing conducted by President Donald Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission on Sept. 29.

Speakers said there must be a fight for schools to bring back the “truth” to protect students and religious liberty. Joe Kennedy, a high school football coach; Monica Gill, a high school teacher; Marisol Arroyo-Castro, a seventh grade teacher; and Keisha Russell, a lawyer for First Liberty Institute, addressed the commission led by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

“There has to be a call to action,” commission member Dr. Phil McGraw said. “The most common way to lose power is to think you don’t have it to begin with. We do have power, and we need to rally with that power.”

Teachers and coaches describe experiences

Kennedy said he was suspended — and later fired — from his position as a football coach at Bremerton High School in Washington for praying a brief and quiet prayer after football games.

“After the game, I took a knee to say thanks,” Kennedy explained. “That’s all. If that could be turned into a national controversy, it says more about the confusion in our country than the conduct of the person performing it.”

Kennedy told the commission the law is “cloudy and muddy” and they “have the power to clarify it.” Kennedy also said some lawyers “need to be held accountable” for actions taken in religious liberty cases.

Kennedy said: “I don’t know a lot about law and liberty, but I know that you’re supposed to advise people on the truth and the facts, and they’re not. They have an agenda, and their agenda is well set and in place and is working very well, keeping prayer out of the public square. They’re still doing it. That needs to be exposed.”

“Being a teacher has been one of the greatest blessings of my life,” Gill said to the committee. “God really gave my heart a mission … to show all of my students every day that they are loved. No matter what they’re going through, no matter what their grades are, no matter what their status is with their peers, I love them.”

“But in the summer of 2021 … Loudoun County Public Schools adopted a policy that forced teachers to deny the foundational truth of what it means to be human, created as male and female,” Gill said.

“This policy forced teachers to affirm all transgender students,” Gill said. “My employer gave teachers a choice: deny truth or risk everything … I knew that I could not stand in front of my Father in heaven one day and say: ‘My pension plan was more important than your truth.’ I also knew that if I say that I love my students, the only right choice would be to stand in love and truth for them.”

To combat the policy, Gill joined a lawsuit by Alliance Defending Freedom after a fellow Virginia teacher was fired for speaking out against the same policy. The lawsuit “resulted in victory for all teachers to freely speak truth and love when Loudoun County finally agreed not to require teachers to use pronouns in accordance with the student’s sex,” Gill said.

Arroyo-Castro testified that she was punished for displaying a cross in her private workspace in her seventh grade classroom in a New Britain School District school in Connecticut.

“I share this with you to help you understand why the crucifix is so significant to me and why I will never hide it from anyone’s view,” Arroyo-Castro said. “The vice principal told me that the crucifix was of a religious nature, so against the Constitution of the United States, and that it had to be taken down by the end of the day.”

If she did not take it down it would be considered “insubordination and could lead to termination,” Arroyo-Castro said. She asked if she could have time to pray on it, and was told she could, but “it wouldn’t change anything.”

“I was later called to a meeting with the district chief of staff, the principal, the vice principal, [and a] union representative. The chief of staff suggested that I put the crucifix in a drawer. I knew I couldn’t do that since my grandmother has instilled in me the meaning of the crucifix and how it should be treated with respect. But the chief of staff said that the Constitution says that I had to take it down,” Arroyo-Castro said.

After she refused to remove it, Arroyo-Castro was released from school with an unpaid suspension. She was offered legal defense by lawyers at First Liberty, which sued the school for violating the Constitution. While the lawsuit is ongoing she works in the administrative building “far from the students.”

Arroyo-Castro said: “Every day, I wonder how they’re doing.”

“Please do what you can to educate the districts in American schools about the true meaning of the establishment clause and the free exercise clause,” Arroyo-Castro advised the commission members. “How can we do our jobs well when many education leaders today don’t understand the Constitution themselves? We must understand as Americans that freedom of religion is a right that benefits all Americans.”

Suggestions from faith leaders

Leaders at Jewish, Catholic, and Christian schools also recounted religious freedom issues facing faith-based schools across the nation and what the country can do.

The leaders highlighted the need to protect the financial aid faith-based institutions receive and stop any threats of losing money if certain values are not enforced. Todd J. Williams, provost at Cairn University, said: “Schools will begin to cave because they’re worried about the millions of dollars that will go out the door.”

Father Robert Sirico, a priest at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said he was recently affected by a decision by the Michigan Supreme Court that redefined sex to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

“While presented as a matter of fairness, this reinterpretation proposes grave dangers, grave risks for all religious institutions, even those like Sacred Heart that receive absolutely no public support,” he said.

Sacred Heart has filed a lawsuit to combat the issue, but Sirico said what needs to be done “exceeds the competency of [the] commission and the competency of this administration.”

“We have to think of this in existential terms, and we have to come at this project with the understanding that this is going to take years to transform. This is why religious people can transform the world: We believe in something that’s greater than our politics. We can reenvision.”

Pro-life group pledges million to Georgia and Michigan Senate races

unitedyam September 26, 2025

null / Credit: Andy via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

CNA Staff, Sep 26, 2025 / 16:28 pm (CNA).

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

Pro-life group pledges $9 million to Georgia and Michigan Senate races

A pro-life advocacy group is launching a massive $9 million campaign in the Senate races of Georgia and Michigan.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and its partner group, Women Speak Out PAC, are working to flip the U.S. Senate in Michigan, pouring $4.5 million into a field effort for the state’s open Senate seat.

Focused in Lansing, Detroit, and Grand Rapids, the pro-life groups aim to expand the U.S. Senate’s pro-life majority. In Michigan, four Planned Parenthoods have closed this year after Congress paused funding for abortion providers.

In Georgia, the same groups will pour $4.5 million into a field effort for Georgia’s U.S. Senate election. The campaign — aiming to defeat U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Georgia senator who has backed pro-abortion policies — will be focused in Savannah, Augusta, Columbus, and Chattanooga.

SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a Sept. 24 statement that the group aims to “stop the abortion lobby from clawing back $500 million in annual Medicaid dollars for their own political machine.”

“No American should be forced to bankroll a brutal industry that kills over 1.1 million unborn children each year, harms women with substandard care, and funnels millions into partisan politics — especially when better, more accessible health care alternatives outnumber Planned Parenthood 15 to 1,” Dannenfelser said.

Pro-life groups celebrate as Google admits to political censorship

Pro-life groups that have experienced censorship in the past are celebrating after Google admitted to political censorship under the Biden administration.

The tech giant admitted the censorship to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and said it was taking steps to open previously banned YouTube accounts.

Kelsey Pritchard, the political communications director for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said companies like Google have a pattern of targeting pro-life advocacy groups.

“We are not at all surprised by Google’s admissions of censorship,” Pritchard told CNA.

“For years, tech giants have demonstrated a pattern of bias, actively undermining, suppressing, and censoring groups like Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, who share the pro-life message in a highly effective way.”

In a timeline on its website, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America detailed censorship and suppression of pro-life groups since 2015 by sites such as Facebook, Yelp, and Google.

For instance, in 2022, Google allegedly shadow banned an online educational resource by Life Issues Institute. In 2021, Google banned Live Action and Heartbeat International’s abortion pill reversal advertisements, including Live Action’s Baby Olivia video, detailing the growth of an unborn child.

SBA Pro-Life America also criticized the Biden administration for allegedly targeting pro-life activists with the law.

“The Biden administration, too, weaponized federal might to target pro-life Americans and even put peaceful activists in jail,” Pritchard said. “The right to voice one’s convictions is a foundational American value and the pro-life movement will always fight back against censorship.”

Students for Life of America spokesperson Jordan Butler, meanwhile, told CNA that the pro-life group “is no stranger to the challenges of free speech in the digital age.”

“While we’ve been fortunate to avoid censorship on platforms like YouTube and Google, TikTok has proven to be a battleground: banning our content 180 times in just 24 hours,” Butler said.

After outcry from pro-life advocates, Butler said the TikTok account, belonging to Lydia Taylor Davis, was restored.

She sees this as “proof that when we stand together, we can push back.”

“That’s why unity matters now more than ever in defending pro-life free speech across America,” Butler said.

“Abortion propaganda is everywhere online, saturating platforms from social media to search engines,” she continued. “Whether it’s digital censorship or campus pushback, we fight relentlessly to protect our voice and our values.”

‘Second-chance-at-life’ bill could protect unborn children across the nation

A group of U.S. congressmen is introducing a bill that could give unborn children a second chance at life even if a mother takes the first pill in the chemical abortion regimen.

U.S. Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, recently introduced the Second Chance at Life Act, which is designed to protect unborn children and mothers from the harms of abortion.

The act, co-sponsored by 16 representatives from 13 states, would establish federal informed consent requirements for abortion pills. This would require abortion providers to inform women seeking to terminate their pregnancies that a chemical abortion can be reversible after the first abortion pill is taken.

Pfluger said many women “are pressured into taking the abortion pill without being fully informed of all their options” and later “express deep regret as they come to terms with the loss of their unborn child.”

“It is unacceptable that so many women are never told by their provider that the effects of the first pill can be reversible,” Pfluger said in a Sept. 18 statement.

Pfluger said the legislation will “empower women to make fully informed choices at every stage of the process, protecting their right to know the full details” about the drugs.

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, supported the bill in a statement, noting that women are often pressured into abortion.

“Many mothers regret their abortions and wish they had been told about abortion pill reversal before it was too late,” she said. “And too many women are exposed to the deadly pills by those who are coercing them.”

Senate investigates alleged abortion facilitation by Virginia school faculty

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, is investigating allegations that school officials in Virginia facilitated an abortion for a minor and attempted to do the same for another student without notifying their parents.

Cassidy, who chairs the U.S. Senate Health Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, sent a letter to Superintendent Michelle Reid demanding answers after an investigative reporter broke the news that officials at Fairfax County’s Centreville High School reportedly pressured students to have abortions.

Missouri judge approves pro-life ballot measure, requires plainer language

A Cole County Circuit judge approved a ballot measure that would protect minors and unborn children from transgender surgeries and abortion, respectively, if passed by Missouri voters.

Because the ballot combines protections for minors against transgender surgeries and pro-life protections, activists challenged it in court. But Judge Daniel Green approved the combination in a Sept. 19 ruling, with the caveat that the ballot measure language must explicitly state that it would repeal a previous ballot measure.

The previous ballot measure, passed in 2024, created a right to abortion in the Missouri Constitution.

Wisconsin Planned Parenthood pauses abortions after federal funding cut

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin will stop scheduling abortions beginning Oct. 1 following federal funding cuts by the Trump administration.

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin President and CEO Tanya Atkinson said the pause is meant to be temporary as the group deals with Medicaid funding cuts following the “Big Beautiful Bill.” The location will continue to operate and offer other services in the meantime.

The Trump administration temporarily paused any funding for abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood. At least 40 Planned Parenthoods are closing this year.

Bishop Checchio to join troubled Archdiocese of New Orleans as coadjutor

unitedyam September 24, 2025

Bishop James Checchio of Metuchen, New Jersey, on Sept. 24, 2025, was named coadjutor bishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. / Credit: Leo Song, Seminarian, Pontifical North American College

Rome Newsroom, Sep 24, 2025 / 06:25 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday named Bishop James Checchio coadjutor archbishop of New Orleans, positioning him to head an archdiocese facing bankruptcy and a costly clergy abuse settlement.

The 59-year-old Checchio — bishop of Metuchen, New Jersey, since 2016 — will assist Archbishop Gregory Aymond in the leadership of over half a million Catholics in southeastern Louisiana. Prior to becoming a bishop, Checchio was rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome from 2006 to 2016. He has a doctorate in canon law.

As coadjutor, Checchio will automatically succeed Aymond, who turned 75, the age when bishops are required to submit their resignation to the pope, last year. Aymond, a New Orleans native, has led the archdiocese since 2009.

Checchio joins the leadership of New Orleans as the archdiocese moves to resolve yearslong bankruptcy negotiations with a settlement for over 600 clergy sexual abuse claimants. Earlier this month, the archdiocese announced a $230 million settlement offer to clergy sexual abuse claimants, up from a previous offer of $180 million.

The settlement offer follows five years of negotiations in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, where the nation’s second-oldest Catholic archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in May 2020.

Aymond, who has served as chairman of the child protection commission for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in May that the settlement gave him “great hope.”

The agreement “protects our parishes and begins to bring the proceedings to a close,” he said, adding: “I am grateful to God for all who have worked to reach this agreement and that we may look to the future towards a path to healing for survivors and for our local Church.”

Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans in Rome on Jan. 26, 2012. Credit: Alan Holdren/CNA

The settlement represents one of the largest sums in the U.S. paid out to victims of clergy sexual abuse.

Aymond was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of New Orleans in 1975. His priestly ministry focused on education — including serving as the president-rector of Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans from 1986 to 2000 — and missionary work in Mexico and Nicaragua.

In 1996, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese and given oversight over its Catholic schools.

Aymond came under fire in the late 1990s for allowing the coach at Sacred Heart of Jesus School in Norco, Brian Matherne, to remain in his role for several months after Aymond received information about alleged abuse of a minor boy by Matherne.

Matherne was later arrested and is now serving a 30-year sentence after pleading guilty to the molestation of 17 children over a 15-year period ending in 1999.

Aymond later admitted his mistake in keeping Matherne in his post and called the case a “painful experience — I will never forget it. It helped me to understand the complexity of pedophilia better.”

He was appointed coadjutor bishop of Austin, Texas, in June 2000 and succeeded Bishop John E. McCarthy as bishop of Austin in January 2021.

In that position, Aymond strengthened the diocese’s sex abuse policies, though clerical abuse activists from the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) have criticized the archbishop’s record, claiming he only “postures as someone who takes clergy sex crimes seriously.”

Mothers urge lawmakers to ban assault weapons after Minneapolis Catholic school shooting

unitedyam September 22, 2025

Police gather at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis on Aug. 27, 2025, following a mass shooting that killed two children and injured 17 others, 14 of them children. / Credit: Chad Davis, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Sep 22, 2025 / 17:17 pm (CNA).

At a town hall meeting in Plymouth, Minnesota, over the weekend, three mothers whose children survived the school shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in August advocated for stricter gun laws.

Two children were killed and 21 people were injured after Robin Westman, 23, a man who identified as a woman, shot through the stained-glass windows of the church during a school Mass on Aug. 27.

Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10, were killed in the attack.

Carla Maldonado, who has two children at Annunciation Catholic School, said “taking action” by tightening gun laws would honor the deaths of the two children and “all lives taken by gun violence.”

“We cannot accept a world where civilians have access to weapons designed for battlefields,” she said, referring to assault weapons and calling for their prohibition.

Another mother, Malia Kimbrell, who also supports an assault weapons ban, asked: “If the next mass shooting happens at your child’s school, what type of weapon are you comfortable with the shooter being armed with?”

Kimbrell, whose daughter Vivian, 9, is recovering after she was shot multiple times, advocated for “more mental health resources and safer gun storage and better background checks and detecting potential threats online and improved security measures.”

Stephanie Moscetti said her son “was an honorary pallbearer at his friend’s [Merkel’s] funeral; how is this our reality?”

“Our kids deserve safe schools, they deserve safe childhoods where they can play and learn,” she said.

Rep. Kelly Morrison, a Democrat who represents Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District, organized the town hall meeting, which focused on the prevention of gun violence.

Several of the mothers at the town hall also testified last week before a working group of state lawmakers who deliberated over proposed reforms dealing with gun violence.

At the hearing, Rob Doar, senior vice president of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, asked lawmakers to strengthen the law surrounding mental health resources access, pointing out that none of the proposals put forward would have prevented the shooting because Westman legally purchased the weapons.

Westman used three firearms during the August attack: a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol, all of which were purchased legally under existing state law. The rifle was likely an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle, which is considered an assault weapon.

Laws limiting those with mental health disorders from gun possession

Though Westman struggled with his gender identity, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) removed “gender identity disorder” from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and replaced it with “gender dysphoria” in the revised version, known as the DSM-5, published in 2013.

This change marked a significant shift in how struggles with a person’s sexual identity are classified, with health care professionals no longer calling it a mental illness.

The new classification of gender dysphoria, though it is still in the APA’s manual of mental disorders, addresses the symptoms, or the distress, associated with gender incongruence and not the incongruence itself.

Minnesota, along with 29 other states, bars people with mental health issues who have been involuntarily committed or found to be a danger to self or others from possessing a gun.

This law did not come into play in the August shooting, however.

Gov. Tim Walz in early September called for a special session, which has yet to take place, that will focus on gun safety. He proposed banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazine clips as well as more safety regulations concerning storage and a stronger red flag law.

Minnesota’s current red flag law allows family or local and state officials to ask for an extreme risk protection order, or ERPO, which allows them to petition the court to have an at-risk person’s guns removed or to temporarily prohibit that person from buying a gun.

“We passed a red flag law. It was passed in 2023 and it was supposed to deal with a situation like this,” Minnesota House Republican leader Harry Niska said in early September after Walz proposed the special session. “So I hope everyone is asking serious questions about why — why did this incident not trigger either a background check flag or a red flag?”

Walz will need the support of Republican lawmakers in the special session, and they have different proposals. They want to make private school security eligible for state funding, something the Minnesota Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of Minnesota’s six Catholic dioceses, has asked for multiple times.

Republicans also want to allow doctors more discretion concerning transgender medical procedures, more funds for mental health facilities, and harsher penalties for certain gun crimes.

Ten states ban assault weapons, but the proposal in Minnesota failed to come up for a vote in 2023. Just over half of rural residents opposed an assault weapons ban in a 2022 MinnPost poll, while 69% of urban dwellers supported it. Overall, the poll found that nearly 54% supported it.

Minnesota already has one of the nation’s stronger gun regulation frameworks, according to Everytown Research, which ranks the state 14th in the country for gun safety policies.

The state requires universal background checks for all firearm sales, including private transfers, and domestic violence protections prohibit access for those under restraining orders or with misdemeanor convictions, among many other regulations.

Report: Charlie Kirk was ‘this close’ to becoming Catholic just prior to his death

unitedyam September 19, 2025

Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk speaks at the Republican National Convention on July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee. / Credit: Maxim Elramsisy/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Sep 19, 2025 / 12:02 pm (CNA).

Slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk was reportedly strongly considering becoming Catholic just prior to his assassination, according to a bishop who spoke to him shortly before his killing.

Robert Brennan, a Los Angeles-based writer and the brother of Fresno, California, Bishop Joseph Brennan, said in a Sept. 18 column in the Los Angeles archdiocesan newspaper Angelus that Kirk had a “personal exchange” with the California prelate about a week before Kirk’s murder at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.

The writer Brennan, who said Bishop Brennan gave him permission to share the story, wrote that Kirk had spoken to the prelate at a prayer breakfast in Visalia. The conservative activist “told the bishop about his Catholic wife and children and how he attended Mass with them.”

Bishop Joseph Brennan of the Diocese of Fresno in California. Credit: Thank You (22 Millions+) views from Los Angeles, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Kirk acknowledged “speculation” about his possible interest in becoming Catholic, Brennan wrote in Angelus; he subsequently told Bishop Brennan: “I’m this close” to converting.

In his Angelus column Brennan pointed to a recent video Kirk made in which he acknowledged some “big disagreements” with Catholicism but claimed that Protestants “under-value” the Blessed Mother.

“We don’t talk about Mary enough. We don’t venerate her enough,” Kirk said, arguing that Mary is “the solution” to “toxic feminism” in the U.S.

“[H]ow fitting one of Charlie Kirk’s last videos was about the preeminent mediatrix of all time and space,” Robert Brennan wrote in Angelus. “In his own way he was reaching out to her, and now, I am convinced, she is returning the favor.”

Kirk was fatally shot while taking questions from audience members during a stop at Utah Valley University as part of his “American Comeback Tour.” He is survived by his wife, Erika Frantzve, and their 3-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son.

Prominent Catholics around the world have joined in the chorus of voices mourning Kirk’s death in the days since he was killed. German Catholic Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller referred to Kirk this week as “a martyr for Jesus Christ” and condemned the “satanic celebration” of his death by some of his detractors.

Kristan Hawkins, the president of Students for Life of America and Students for Life Action and a close friend of Kirk’s, said on Sept. 13 that the activist’s death “will be a turning point” for the country.

And Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts said Kirk’s activism “restored optimism about the American future for millions of Americans.”

Appellate court protects Baptist association’s autonomy in internal dispute

unitedyam September 17, 2025

null / Credit: Zolnierek/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 17, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

An appellate court in Mississippi dismissed an employment-related lawsuit brought against an agency of the Southern Baptist Convention, ruling that a secular court cannot intervene in matters of religious governance.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi ruled 2-1 to dismiss Will McRaney’s lawsuit against the North American Mission Board (NAMB), which he first brought over eight years ago. The court cited the long-standing church autonomy doctrine.

McRaney was fired from his role in the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware (BCMD) in 2015 based on a dispute about how to implement the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) between BCMD and NAMB.

According to the court ruling, McRaney was tasked with implementing the SPA’s evangelical objectives to spread the Baptist faith “through church planting and evangelism.” The ruling states the dispute was related to “missionary selection and funding, associational giving, and missionary work requirements.”

The BCMD ultimately voted 37-0 to fire him “because of his wretched leadership,” among other reasons, according to the court. Alternatively, McRaney alleged in his lawsuit that he was fired because NAMB defamed him by spreading “disparaging falsehoods.”

The three-judge panel did not rule on the merits of the dispute, but rather a majority found that resolving the claims would require the court “to decide matters of faith and doctrine,” which the courts do not have the authority to do because religious bodies have autonomy when handling such matters based on Supreme Court precedent related to the First Amendment’s protection of the free exercise of religion.

“The church is constitutionally protected against all judicial intrusion into its ecclesiastical affairs — even brief and momentary ones,” the court ruled.

“Can a secular court determine whether NAMB’s conduct was the ‘proximate cause’ of BCMD’s decision to terminate McRaney, without unlawfully intruding on a religious organization’s internal management decisions?” the judges wrote.

“And can a secular court decide it was ‘false’ that McRaney’s leadership lacked Christlike character?” they continued. “To ask these questions is to answer them: no. The SPA is not a mere civil contract; it is ‘an inherently religious document’ that is ‘steeped in religious doctrine.’”

Hiram Sasser, the executive general counsel for First Liberty Institute, which helped provide legal counsel to NAMB, said in a statement that the court’s ruling is consistent with the First Amendment.

“The First Amendment prohibits the government from interfering with the autonomy of religious organizations and the church,” Sasser said. “No court should be able to tell a church who it must hire to preach their beliefs, teach their faith, or carry out their mission.”

Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez dissented from the court’s majority, stating: “His secular claims against a third-party organization do not implicate matters of church government or of faith and doctrine.”

McRaney told Baptist News Global that he intends to petition the court for an “en banc” hearing, which would require the entirety of the appellate court to be present for a hearing. He told the outlet that NAMB “fooled the courts” and said the Southern Baptist Convention is “not a church” and he wasn’t employed by NAMB, which means it is not an internal church matter.

In 2023, a Texas judge dismissed a civil lawsuit from a Carmelite monastery against Fort Worth Bishop Michael Olson on similar grounds. The dispute was over a diocesan investigation into an alleged sexual affair between the monastery’s prioress and a priest.

The Carmelite Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Arlington, Texas, in this case ultimately entered into a formal association with the Society of St. Pius X, which is not in full communion with the Catholic Church. The bishop called this a “scandalous” act that was “permeated with the odor of schism.” The Holy See suppressed the monastery.

Faith, family and God’s mercy: Highlights from Erika Kirk’s TV address

unitedyam September 13, 2025

Vice President JD Vance (R) second lady Usha Vance (C) and Erika Kirk deplane Air Force Two while escorting the body of Charlie Kirk on Sept. 11, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. / Credit: Kirk, Eric Thayer/Getty Images

CNA Newsroom, Sep 13, 2025 / 10:05 am (CNA).

Erika Kirk, the widow of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, vowed to continue her husband’s work Friday night during an impassioned and deeply personal televised address that focused on the importance of faith and family life.

Appearing on Fox News just two days after her husband was shot and killed by an assassin’s bullet, fired from a rooftop on the campus of Utah Valley University where he was holding an outdoor event, she spoke for more than 16 minutes, maintaining her composure as she stood at a podium in her husband’s podcast studio, beside his empty chair.

“I will never, ever have the words to describe the loss that I feel in my heart,” said Erika Kirk, the mother of two young children, ages 1 and 3.

“I honestly have no idea what any of this means,” she said. “I know that God does, but I don’t. But Charlie, baby, I know you do, too. So does our Lord.”

“The evildoers responsible for my husband’s assassination have no idea what they have done,” she said.

“They killed Charlie because he preached a message of patriotism, faith, and of God’s merciful love.”

Here are other highlights from her remarks:

She revealed that she had not yet told the couple’s 3-year-old daughter of her father’s death.

“When I got home last night, Gigi, our daughter, just ran into my arms. And I talked to her, and she said, ‘Mommy, I missed you.’ I said, ‘I missed you too, baby.’

“She goes, ‘Where’s daddy?’ She’s 3. I said, ‘Baby, daddy loves you so much. He’s on a work trip with Jesus, so he can afford your blueberry budget.'”

She talked about why her husband advocated so passionately for marriage and family life.

“Charlie always believed that God’s design for marriage in the family was absolutely amazing. And it is. It is. And it was the greatest joy of his life. And over and over, he would tell all these young people to come and find their future spouse, become wives and husbands and parents. And the reason why is because he wanted you all to experience what he had, and still has,” she said.

“He wanted everyone to bring heaven into this earth through love and joy that comes from raising a family. It’s beautiful. Charlie always said that if he ever ran for office —I know a lot of you asked if he ever was going to — but privately, he told me if he ever did run for office, that his top priority would be to revive the American family. That was his priority.

“One of Charlie’s favorite Bible verses was Ephesians 5 verse 25: ‘Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.’

“My husband laid down his life for me, for our nation, for our children. He showed the ultimate and true covenantal love,” she said.

Erika, who is a baptized Catholic, witnessed to the Christian faith she and her husband shared.

“Charlie always said that when he was gone, he, he wanted to be remembered for his courage and for his faith,” she said.

“And one of the final conversations that he had on this earth, my husband witnessed for his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Now and for all eternity, he will stand at his Savior’s side, wearing the glorious crown of a martyr.”

During the broadcast, Erika Kirk urged others to make faith central to their lives, as her husband had done.

“But most important of all, if you aren’t a member of a church, I beg you to join one, a Bible-believing church,” she said.

“Our battle is not simply a political one above all. It is spiritual. It is spiritual. The spiritual warfare is palpable. Charlie loved his Savior with all of his heart, and he wanted every one of you to know him, too. He wanted everyone to know that if they confess, if they confess the Lord Jesus Christ who rose from the dead, then they will be saved.

“Hear me when I say this. Nobody is ever too young to know the gospel. Nobody. Nobody is ever too young to get involved with saving this beautiful country, this country my husband loved and still loves. And nobody is ever too old, either.”

She vowed to continue Charlie’s work with Turning Point USA, the conservativve advocacy organization he founded, and said the campus speaking tour he had just embarked on would go on.

“If you thought that my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea. You have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country and this world. You have no idea,” she said.

“You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife. The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry.

“To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die,” she said. “It won’t. I refuse to let that happen. It will not die.”

Pew survey: 8 out of 10 U.S. Catholics view Pope Leo XIV favorably

unitedyam September 12, 2025

Pope Leo waves to the crowds in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 6, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Sep 12, 2025 / 14:56 pm (CNA).

A new report from a Pew Research Center survey finds that 8 out of 10 American Catholics view Pope Leo XIV favorably.

According to the report, 84% of U.S. Catholics surveyed say they have a “mostly favorable” view (47%) of the pope or a “very favorable” view (37%) — while only 4% of Catholics view him unfavorably and 11% say they have never heard of him.

Among non-Catholic Americans, more than half of those surveyed (56%) say they view him favorably, while 31% say they have never heard of him.

Pew surveyed 9,916 U.S. adults (which includes 1,849 Catholics) from July 8 through Aug. 3. The margin of error in the survey is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

The very same percentage of U.S. Catholics — 84% — viewed Pope Francis favorably in the early months of his pontificate as well, according to the report.

Those who attend Mass more often have a more favorable view of the new pope. Among U.S. Catholics who attend Mass weekly or more often, 95% say they have a favorable view. Of those who attend Mass once or twice a year or a few times a month, the number stands at 84%, while 77% of Catholics who seldom or never attend Mass say they have a favorable view.

More than three-quarters of U.S. Catholics say they are excited that Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago in 1955, is the first U.S.-born pope.

Though so many view him in a positive light, only 7% of Catholic survey respondents say they know a lot about the new pope, while a quarter say they know nothing at all. Just under 70% say they know “a little” about the pontiff, who spent decades working for the Church in Peru, eventually serving as the bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023.

He was elected to the papacy by the College of Cardinals on May 8 after the death of Pope Francis on April 21.

Among weekly Catholic Mass attendees, 75% say they only know a little about the new pope, and 11% say they know nothing.

“These numbers show both the excitement and the challenge of a new papacy,” said Montse Alvarado, president and COO of EWTN News (CNA’s parent company). “While Pope Leo XIV has been warmly received, many still don’t know his story.”

“With our presence in Peru and the Vatican, and decades of experience covering the Church, EWTN News is uniquely positioned to help Catholics understand the people and places that shaped the Holy Father — and to serve as a force for unity for his pontificate,” she said.

The latest findings are part of Pew’s American Trends Panel, part of Pew’s ongoing research on Catholicism in the U.S.

In June, Pew reported that nearly 50% of adults in the U.S. have some connection to the Catholic faith.

“Catholicism’s roots in the United States run deep,” Pew stated in the report titled “U.S. Catholicism: Connections to the Religion, Beliefs, and Practices.”

Pew found that 47% of U.S. adults have Catholic ties: 20% identify as Catholic, 9% as “culturally Catholic,” 9% as ex-Catholic, and 9% report a connection through a Catholic parent, spouse, or past Mass attendance.

Politicians, faith leaders condemn political violence after Charlie Kirk assassination

unitedyam September 11, 2025

A makeshift memorial is seen at Timpanogos Regional Hospital in honor of political activist Charlie Kirk on Sept. 11, 2025, in Orem, Utah. / Credit: George Frey/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 11, 2025 / 13:04 pm (CNA).

Faith leaders and political leaders are uniting their voices to condemn politically motivated violence following the assassination of Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk.

Following the confirmation of Kirk’s death by President Donald Trump, some hours after the TPUSA founder was shot at a Utah Valley University event on Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 10, countless faith and political leaders began to speak out against the scourge of political violence.

In a statement, Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, railed against the “vicious pattern of political and social disorder” of the past several weeks, citing the Annunciation Catholic school shooting, the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, “and now the political assassination of Charlie Kirk, known for his commitment to civil and rational discourse.”

As Americans, we are witnesses in just the past few weeks to a vicious pattern of political and social disorder. At Annunciation Catholic Parish in Minneapolis, the killings of Harper Moyski and Fletcher Merkel, two innocent children. In Charlotte, the murder of Ukrainian refugee…

— Bishop Burbidge (@BishopBurbidge) September 10, 2025

“What we see unfolding in our nation is a vicious pattern of hatreds rooted in the rejection of God, of the dignity of the human person, and the sanctity of the family,” the bishop observed.

“We are living through a perilous moment,” Burbridge continued. “Our challenge is not only one of partisan disagreement, law, and policy, but in a deeper way our challenge is to uphold the central goods of American political life: of faith, of families, and of a national commitment to live together in harmony as brothers and sisters.”

Kirk’s assasination hit Bishop Barron particularly hard

“I am devastated by the news of Charlie Kirk’s death,” Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, Bishop Robert Barron said after news of Kirk’s death was confirmed by President Donald Trump.

Barron went on to reveal that Kirk had been scheduled to appear on his show, “Bishop Barron Presents,” in 10 days. The founder of Word on Fire called Kirk “a great debater and also one of the best advocates in our country for civil discourse, but he was, first and last, a passionate Christian,” recalling that when they first met four years ago, “we didn’t talk much about politics. We talked about theology, in which he had a deep interest, and about Christ. I know I’m joining millions of people around the world in praying that he rests now in the peace of the Lord.”

Moral theologian on root of problem

“You have to be willfully blind not to see that the root of the problem is political hatred, and that that hatred is no more obvious than in those who cannot restrain themselves from badmouthing a man even when he lay dying,” said Edward Feser, a Catholic philosopher and professor at Pasadena City College.

I have nothing against reasonable gun control laws. But you have to be willfully blind not to see that the root of the problem is political hatred, and that that hatred is no more obvious than in those who cannot restrain themselves from badmouthing a man even when he lay dying.

— Edward Feser (@FeserEdward) September 10, 2025

In a joint post showcasing their shared perspective across ideological divides, Princeton legal scholar Robert George and Harvard theology and philosophy professor Cornel West said: “For our nation, this is a moment for deep healing and for bearing witness to the precious humanity of all our brothers and sisters — those with whom we agree and those with whom we disagree.” The pair had appeared together on Kirk’s show recently.

We join our fellow citizens of all faiths in praying for the repose of the soul of Charlie Kirk and for the comfort and consolation of his wife, two small children, and other loved ones.

We recently appeared as guests on Charlie’s podcast, where he engaged us with moral…

— Robert P. George (@McCormickProf) September 11, 2025

Meanwhile, CatholicVote President Kelsey Reinhardt said the tragic shooting “was not merely an assault on one man: It was an assault on the principles of free dialogue, civic order, and human dignity.”

It is with profound grief that I respond to the brutal assassination of Charlie Kirk during his “American Comeback” tour at Utah Valley University. Today, our nation mourns not only the loss of a bold voice for truth, but a husband and father who leaves behind a wife and two…

— Kelsey (Wicks) Reinhardt (@catholickelsey) September 10, 2025

“As Catholics, we affirm with unwavering conviction that every human life is sacred,” Reinhardt continued, offering prayers for the repose of Kirk’s soul. “I call upon every leader, regardless of party or persuasion, to condemn this murder unequivocally. To remain silent in the face of such evil is to be complicit in its advance. Let this tragedy awaken America to the urgent need to recover respect for life, civility in discourse, and courage in the pursuit of truth.”

Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts also weighed in, writing: “What a horrific day in American history.”

What a horrific day in American history.

To Charlie’s family, friends, and @TPUSA colleagues: we must never, never, never, never, never, never stop fighting to build the America that he helped make possible. He restored optimism about the American future for millions of… pic.twitter.com/VYP2WUaRiD

— Kevin Roberts (@KevinRobertsTX) September 10, 2025

“To Charlie’s family, friends, and @TPUSA colleagues: We must never, never, never, never, never, never stop fighting to build the America that he helped make possible,” Roberts added.

Netanyahu: Kirk ‘stood tall for Judeo-Christian civilization’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined world leaders in condemning Kirk’s assasination, writing: “Charlie Kirk was murdered for speaking truth and defending freedom. A lion-hearted friend of Israel, he fought the lies and stood tall for Judeo-Christian civilization.”

Charlie Kirk was murdered for speaking truth and defending freedom. A lion-hearted friend of Israel, he fought the lies and stood tall for Judeo-Christian civilization. I spoke to him only two weeks ago and invited him to Israel. Sadly, that visit will not take place.
We lost an…

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) September 10, 2025

Netanyahu revealed he had spoken to Kirk “only two weeks ago” and had invited the late TPUSA founder to visit Israel.

“Sadly, that visit will not take place,” the prime minister said. “We lost an incredible human being. His boundless pride in America and his valiant belief in free speech will leave a lasting impact.”

In another tribute, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who hosted Kirk as the first guest on his new podcast, said: “His senseless murder is a reminder of how important it is for all of us, across the political spectrum, to foster genuine discourse on issues that deeply affect us all without resorting to political violence.”

We should all feel a deep sense of grief and outrage at the terrible violence that took place in Utah today. Charlie Kirk’s murder is sick and reprehensible, and our thoughts are with his family, children, and loved ones.

I knew Charlie, and I admired his passion and commitment…

— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) September 10, 2025

“The best way to honor Charlie’s memory is to continue his work: Engage with each other, across ideology, through spirited discourse,” he continued. “In a democracy, ideas are tested through words and good-faith debate — never through violence.”

Newsom added: “Honest disagreement makes us stronger; violence only drives us further apart and corrodes the values at the heart of this nation.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden both took to social media as well, with Biden writing in a post: “There is no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now. Jill and I are praying for Charlie Kirk’s family and loved ones.”

There is no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now. Jill and I are praying for Charlie Kirk’s family and loved ones.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 10, 2025

“I am deeply disturbed by the shooting in Utah. Doug and I send our prayers to Charlie Kirk and his family,” Harris wrote, adding: “Let me be clear: Political violence has no place in America. I condemn this act, and we all must work together to ensure this does not lead to more violence.”

I am deeply disturbed by the shooting in Utah. Doug and I send our prayers to Charlie Kirk and his family.

Let me be clear: Political violence has no place in America. I condemn this act, and we all must work together to ensure this does not lead to more violence.

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) September 10, 2025

Seton Shrine to celebrate 50 years of America’s first native-born saint

unitedyam September 9, 2025

The National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland, began a year of celebration on the saint’s canonization in 2025. / Credit: Seton Shrine

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 9, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

This week the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton will welcome hundreds of people to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the canonization of the first American-born saint and to recognize the 87 American Catholics on the path to sainthood now.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, a mother, convert to the Catholic faith, and founder of the Sisters of Charity, was canonized by Pope Paul VI on Sept. 14, 1975.

The Seton Shrine will commemorate the milestone of her canonization with a weekend-long event on its grounds in Emmitsburg, Maryland, honoring her legacy and her work of planting the seeds for Catholic education in the United States.

The weekend will also highlight other American saints and those who are blessed, venerable, or servants of God “who reveal that people from the U.S. can obtain holiness,” Rob Judge, executive director of the Seton Shrine, told CNA.

“We wanted to make the celebration about that possibility for all of us,” he said. “That God loves us, he’s destined all of us for heaven, and we can all obtain that through his grace.”

The event is expected to be one of the biggest events in the history of the shrine.

The celebration will kick off Friday, Sept. 12, with a concert by classically trained musicians from the Peabody Institute in Baltimore and The Juilliard School who will perform in the evening as the historic grounds are lit up with tea lights and candles. They will play hits from the 1970s to take attendees back the year Seton became a saint.

On Saturday, Sept. 13, the general superior of the Vincentian order, Father Tomaž Mavrič, will celebrate Mass; adoration and confession will also be available as well as the chance to learn more about Seton’s story through tours and exhibits.

Sunday, Sept. 14, marks the 50th anniversary and will include a Mass celebrated by Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore and Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Attendees will also hear “a message and an apostolic blessing from Pope Leo that will be read at the Mass by representatives of the nuncio’s office,” Judge said.

Since Seton’s canonization, 11 Americans have been canonized and 87 more have the potential to join them. The weekend’s special event called “Saints on Their Way Village” will welcome representatives from nearly two dozen guilds dedicated to advancing the cause of an American for canonization. Each guild will host a table to share information and answer questions.

Attendees can also explore the “Who’s Next?” exhibit in the shrine’s museum. The display features photos of potential saints including Dorothy Day, Blessed Solanus Casey, and Venerable Fulton Sheen.

Attendees might even catch a glimpse of themselves in the mirrors that hang alongside the pictures to show “we can all be saints, even if not declared saints,” Judge said.

Picture of the day

American chocolates from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory
#ImageOfTheDay

unitedyam September 7, 2025

Picture of the day

American chocolates from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

‘Triumph of the Heart’ tells powerful story of St. Maximilian Kolbe

unitedyam September 6, 2025

From left to right: Actor Marcin Kwaśny as Maximilian Kolbe and Christopher Sherwood as Karl Fritzsch in “Triumph of the Heart.” / Credit: Triumph of the Heart movie/Sherwood Fellows

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

Anthony D’Ambrosio grew up Catholic and always viewed his faith as one of the most important aspects of his life — even entering seminary for a brief period of time. However, he felt called to leave seminary and go into youth ministry. He fell in love and was about to get engaged when he was diagnosed with a life-altering medical condition — a chronic mold infection with a major symptom being severe and even life-threatening insomnia.

D’Ambrosio’s relationship ended, he couldn’t maintain a job, and his faith unraveled. It was during the sleepless nights that he began to discover the story of St. Maximilian Kolbe, which led to creating a movie about the saint — “Triumph of the Heart.” It will be released in theaters on Sept. 12.

St. Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish Franciscan friar, priest, and martyr who volunteered to die in place of another man in the German death camp of Auschwitz. Kolbe spent the last 14 days of his life in a starvation bunker alongside nine other men. “Triumph of the Heart” focuses on Kolbe’s last days on earth spent in the starvation bunker.

While writing the film, D’Ambrosio began to see his own battle with insomnia as “being a bit of a stand-in for starvation,” he told CNA in an interview. The fact that Kolbe was also able to accompany three other men “to that miracle of staying alive for 14 days without food or water with him” was also meaningful for D’Ambrosio because “I knew that if Kolbe could have helped men in that situation to find a reason to live, that he could help me to find a reason to live.”

As D’Ambrosio spent more and more time with Kolbe’s story, he began to “see what true sanctity looked like, what love looked like.”

“This idea that he had volunteered to take on the suffering of these men in order to be with them — that really began to melt my own heart and to open me back up to God’s presence,” he added.

It was then that D’Ambrosio began his journey to create the film. He began to write the script, pilgrimaged several times to Poland to learn more about Kolbe, lived with the Franciscan friars in Poland, studied his story with the librarian who handles his archives, and ultimately worked with an American crew and partnered with Poles to tell the martyr’s story.

A portrayal seen in "Triumph of the Heart" of Maximilian Kolbe, along with the other men, in the starvation bunker. Credit: Triumph of the Heart movie/Sherwood Fellows — A portrayal seen in “Triumph of the Heart” of Maximilian Kolbe, along with the other men, in the starvation bunker. Credit: Triumph of the Heart movie/Sherwood Fellows

Despite facing numerous challenges while making the film, D’Ambrosio said the most beautiful aspect was seeing “how generous the Catholic world has been.”

“Triumph of the Heart” was an entirely crowdfunded movie — meaning all production costs were covered thanks to donations from individuals.

D’Ambrosio shared that not only did everyday Catholics generously donate financially, but they also donated airline miles for the crew to be able to travel and many volunteered to go to Poland on their own dime to help with the production while the team was there for three months filming.

“I mean the whole movie is just a compilation of the stories of people who have sacrificed immensely in order to tell the story,” D’Ambrosio said.

When reflecting on the life and story of Kolbe, D’Ambrosio said it serves as a great reminder to Catholics that “when everything is hopeless, really, truly, love has the power to overcome darkness and to change the world.”

“The choice to have to maintain love and hope and faith in the face of darkness is the most powerful expression of God’s love and presence that any person can offer the world,” he added.

Despite having his life’s work destroyed by the Nazis and witness his country of Poland be conquered and destroyed by the Germans, Kolbe maintained his faith, and for D’Ambrosio “that has been the part of his life that has resounded the most throughout history and throughout time.”

“I think for anybody that is struggling in any way in their lives right now, they can look at his suffering and look at the fruit of it and make sense in many ways — maybe not make sense but they can like find a balm and find a compass for their own action the way that I did,” he said.

D’Ambrosio emphasized that the movie is primarily about hope and said he finds it “very apropos that this year was declared to be a Jubilee of Hope and that somehow Kolbe’s movie and his story is coming out in the jubilee year.”

The filmmaker said he hopes viewers “will come away with this catharsis — with this feeling of all of that was worth it if that’s what heaven is like.”

“I think that the way that the movie leaves people is like a little promise of ‘Hey, it’s going to be OK. The place we’re going is better and all of the suffering and trials and tribulations that you go through here now and all the crosses that you bear, they will be fully redeemed and you will be completely filled up and made new.’”

Priest shares his hopes for the Church in Nicaragua and describes his life in exile

unitedyam September 5, 2025

Father Edwin Román (left) with Bishop Silvio Báez. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Edwin Román

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 5, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Father Edwin Román talked about his life in exile in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, expressing his hopes for the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, which is suffering persecution at the hands of the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo.

The priest, who is now parochial vicar at St. Agatha Parish in Miami, noted that Aug. 3 marked four years since he left Nicaragua to go into exile for being critical of the dictatorship.

“My plane ticket was for 10 days [abroad], but due to direct threats from Rosario Murillo and a pro-government journalist threatening to imprison me — and after being the victim of much harassment — traffic stops on the highway — and efforts to defame me, I decided to stay and apply for asylum,” he said.

“Since then, I’ve been at St. Agatha Parish, welcomed by the pastor, Father Marcos Somarriba, and the community. I’ve also been supporting neighboring parishes,” said the 65-year-old priest, who was ordained Dec. 12, 1990, for the Archdiocese of Managua.

Somarriba recently spoke with the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and expressed his concerns about the persecution of Catholics in Nicaragua and the Trump administration announcing it will deport thousands of his fellow Nicaraguans who have been in the United States for decades.

“My people, the Nicaraguan people, are dumbfounded. They don’t know where to go, what to do, and I think the regime is not going to be open to this. They disappear people; they put people in jail; they exile people and don’t let them come back into the country,” the priest said.

Parochial vicar at St. Agatha’s

On Aug. 17, Román thanked Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami on X for appointing him as parochial vicar of St. Agatha, the church where Bishop Silvio Báez, auxiliary bishop of Managua who went into exile in 2019, also celebrates Mass.

As parochial vicar, Román explained, he supports “evangelization with parish groups and lay leadership, celebrates the sacraments, assists in caring for the faithful in the office, and visits the sick.”

“It has been very difficult to adapt. The pain remains of not having said goodbye to my parish, nor the faithful to me, their pastor. Thank God, we have found priests and bishops who have opened the doors of their parishes to us. Bishops who, like good shepherds, have listened to us and opened their hearts, as Archbishop Thomas Wenski did for me,” the priest shared.

The persecuted Catholic Church in Nicaragua

When asked what he knows about the current persecution of the Catholic Church in his homeland by the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship, Román emphasized that “the Catholic faithful haven’t stopped going to Mass, filling their churches during Holy Week, the feast day of [the parish’s] patron saint, and Sundays. People continue to pray and have not lost hope for better times.”

All of this continues, the priest pointed out, despite “the harassment, parishes being infiltrated, prohibitions against the Prayer of the Faithful at Mass, and requirements that priests send their homilies to police stations for review. Processions and prayer group meetings in homes are also prohibited.”

The dictatorship of Ortega and Murillo in Nicaragua has banned more than 16,500 processions and acts of piety in recent years and has perpetrated 1,010 attacks against the Catholic Church.

This is all detailed in the seventh installment of the report “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church” by exiled lawyer and researcher Martha Patricia Molina, which was released on Aug. 27.

Pope Leo XIV and Nicaragua

Pope Leo XIV received on Aug. 23 at the Vatican three Nicaraguan bishops in exile: Báez; Bishop Isidoro Mora of Siuna; and Bishop Carlos Herrera of Jinotega, president of the Nicaraguan Bishops’ Conference.

Báez recounted on X that he, his brother bishops, and Pope Leo XIV spoke “at length about Nicaragua and the situation of the Church in particular.”

The Holy Father, the prelate said, encouraged him “to continue with my episcopal ministry and confirmed me as auxiliary bishop of Managua. I sincerely thank him for his fraternal welcome and his encouraging words.”

Regarding the meeting between the bishops and Leo XIV, Román told ACI Prensa that “the pope expressed his closeness to the Nicaraguan people and to the Church. This visit has undoubtedly been a very encouraging one for us.”

“The pope is familiar with our Latin American reality” considering his many years as a missionary and bishop in Peru, Román said.

How can the faithful help the Church in Nicaragua

Román told ACI Prensa that “one day someone told me: ‘Find a benevolent bishop.’ I have already found that bishop” in the archbishop of Miami, who has also warmly welcomed Báez.

“I thank the many Nicaraguans and people of other nationalities who have welcomed me and made me part of their families,” the priest added.

Asked how the faithful can help Catholics in his homeland, the priest responded: “By praying for this pilgrim Church in Nicaragua, including us in the prayers of the faithful in all parishes, and that Catholic and fair-minded media continue to denounce the injustice experienced by the Nicaraguan people and the persecution of the Church.”

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

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