Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 8, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).
Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan is moving where the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) will take place in the diocese, and who will say it, as the diocese faces a clergy shortage following several priest deaths.
“Bishop Brennan very much wants to meet the needs of the people and has developed an approach that will be more sustainable,” diocesan spokesman John Quaglione told CNA.
At the end of September, TLM attendees at St. Cecilia Church in Brooklyn were informed the Mass will no longer be offered there after Oct. 12 but will continue to be offered about five miles away at Our Lady Queen of Peace in the Carroll Gardens section of Brooklyn and St. Josaphat’s in the Bayside area of Queens.
Quaglione told CNA that the weekly attendance at the Mass at St. Cecilia’s was averaging between 25 and 35 people and was being served by a rotation of priests that can no longer continue because of the declining numbers of parish priests in the diocese.
In order to address the priest shortage, Brennan is employing a “site model.” The official site in Brooklyn will be Our Lady Queen of Peace, which has celebrated the TLM for more than 25 years, and the official site in Queens will be at St. Josaphat’s, which has also celebrated the TLM for years and which will now be run by the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.
Priests will still rotate to say the Latin Mass at the Brooklyn site.
Quaglione told CNA that with the recent deaths of several priests in the Brooklyn Diocese, where priests already minister to two or three parishes each and where Masses have had to be cut as a result, “the bishop is taking the initiative here and seeing the writing on the wall. He does want to provide the TLM for the people.”
“By cutting the Mass at the St. Cecilia site, we’re actually bettering our ability to provide the TLM with this model, which addresses staffing concerns and gives the assurance of the continuation of the Mass,” he said.
Average weekly Mass attendance at St. Josaphat’s is around 240 people, and at Our Lady Queen of Peace, it averages about 65 attendees, according to Quaglione.
Neither the revised official Mass schedule nor the exact date of the Christ the King Institute takeover of St. Josaphat’s has been finalized, according to the Brooklyn Diocese.
The Christ the King Institute priests will establish an oratory at St. Josaphat Parish, which other orders in the diocese have already done, according to the press secretary.
According to its website, the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest “celebrates the classical Roman Liturgy, the ‘Latin Mass,’ in its traditional form according to the liturgical books promulgated in 1962 by Pope St. John XXIII.”
“During his pontificate, Pope St. John Paul II exhorted bishops to be generous in allowing its use. It was with his blessing that the Institute began to celebrate the Traditional Mass.”
The institute, based out of Chicago, did not respond to a request for comment.
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 8, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).
The U.S. Supreme Court during oral arguments on Oct. 7 scrutinized Colorado’s law banning counseling on gender identity with some justices voicing concern about possible viewpoint discrimination and free speech restrictions embedded in the statute.
Colorado Solicitor General Shannon Stevenson defended the law, which prohibits licensed psychologists and therapists from engaging in any efforts that it considers “conversion therapy” when treating minors. It does not apply to parents, members of the clergy, or others.
Nearly half of U.S. states have a similar ban. The Supreme Court ruling on this matter could set nationwide precedent on the legality of such laws.
The Colorado law defines “conversion therapy” as treatments designed to change a person’s “sexual orientation or gender identity,” including changes to “behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attraction or feelings toward individuals of the same sex” even if the minor and his or her family has requested that care.
Under the law, permitted therapy includes “acceptance, support, and understanding” of a minor’s self-asserted transgender identity or same-sex attraction.
The law is being challenged by Kaley Chiles, a Christian counselor who provides faith-based counseling to clients with gender dysphoria and same-sex attraction.
Free speech and viewpoint discrimination
Stevenson argued that Colorado’s law is not a speech restriction but instead a regulation on a specific type of “treatment,” saying that regulations cannot cease to apply “just because they are using words.”
“That treatment does not work and carries great risk of harm,” Stevenson said, referring to the practices the state considers to be “conversion therapy.”
She argued that health care has been “heavily regulated since the beginning of our country” and compared “conversion therapy” to doctors providing improper advice on how to treat a condition. She claimed this therapy falsely asserts “you can change this innate thing about yourself.”
“The client and the patient [are] expecting accurate information,” Stevenson said.
Justice Samuel Alito told Stevenson the law sounds like “blatant viewpoint discrimination,” noting that a minor can receive talk therapy welcoming homosexual inclinations but cannot access therapy to reduce those urges. He said it is a restriction “based on the viewpoint expressed.”
Alito said the state’s position is “a minor should not be able to obtain talk therapy to overcome same-sex attraction [even] if that’s what he wants.”
Stevenson argued Colorado is not engaged in viewpoint discrimination and said: “Counseling is an evidence-based practice.” She said it would be wrong to suggest lawmakers “reach[ed] this conclusion based on anything other than protection of minors.”
“There is no other motive going on to suppress viewpoint or expression,” Stevenson said.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Justice Neil Gorsuch asked questions about how to handle issues where medical disagreement exists.
Gorsuch noted, for example, that homosexuality was historically viewed as a mental disorder and asked Stevenson whether it would have been legal for states to ban therapy that affirmed a person’s homosexuality at that time. Stevenson argued that at that time, it would have been legal.
Banning ‘voluntary conversations’
Alliance Defending Freedom Chief Counsel Jim Campbell argued on behalf of Chiles and her counseling services, telling the justices his client offers “voluntary speech between a licensed professional and a minor,” and the law bans “voluntary conversations.”
Campbell noted that if one of her minor clients says, “I would like help realigning my identity with my sex,” then the law requires that Chiles “has to deny them.”
“Kids and families that want this kind of help … are being left without any kind of support,” he added, warning that Chiles, her clients, and potential clients are suffering irreparable harm if access to this treatment continues to be denied.
Campbell argued that “many people have experienced life-changing benefits from this kind of counseling,” many of whom are seeking to “align their life with their religion” and improve their “relationship with God.”
Justice Sonia Sotomayor contested whether the issue was about free speech, noting Colorado pointed to studies that such therapy efforts “harm the child … emotionally and physically.”
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson similarly objected to the claim, questioning whether a counselor acting in her professional capacity “is really expressing … a message for a First Amendment purposes.” She said treatment is different than writing an article about conversion therapy or giving a speech about it.
Campbell disagreed, arguing: “This involves a conversation,” and “a one-on-one conversation is a form of speech.” He said Chiles is “discussing concepts of identity and behaviors and attraction” and simply helping her clients “achieve their goals.”
Young people listen to the stories of Christian youth with lived experience of mental health challenges as part of “The Sanctuary Youth Series” by Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries
CNA Staff, Oct 4, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
Daniel Whitehead knew it was time for a change when his wife told him she couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him smile. With the strain of constantly meeting with people who were struggling, the Christian pastor said he had “gone numb.”
“I realized in that moment, it had been well over a year that I’d felt any emotion,” he told CNA. “No laughter, no tears, just numbness.”
Then he discovered Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries. At the time, it was a small, local ecumenical group creating resources for mental health in pastoral ministry. Nine years later, Whitehead has become its leader and Sanctuary has become a large-scale resource operating across the world.
Daniel Whitehead is the CEO of Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries. Credit: Photo courtesy of Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries
Working through burnout “was really confusing,” Whitehead said of his own experience.
“I didn’t have language, or self-permission, or a framework to really understand what I was going through,” he said. “But how I would describe it was a feeling of fear, anxiety, and feeling trapped.”
Looking back at his challenges in ministry, Whitehead said he was experiencing “emotional overwhelm” from “moving from meeting to meeting, feeling the weight of people’s expectations, having to be there for people when they’re at their worst, and not really having an outlet to process that with.”
This experience helped him “realize the great need that exists in the church for support in this area,” he said.
“From that moment throughout my recovery journey I was looking for a cause to give myself to, and Sanctuary was that cause,” he said. “I very much felt called to the work.”
Reaching young people
Whitehead told CNA that amid an ongoing mental health crisis, the church can be a great resource.
“The church is so perfectly placed to offer hope, belonging, community, and purpose to people in crisis — all of which are vital components of a person’s recovery and all of which are areas that the church has a monopoly on,” Whitehead said.
In the United States, depression and anxiety rates rose by more than 50% from 2010 to 2019 and suicide rates for adolescents ages 10 to 19 rose 48%.
“It really is an opportunity for the church to step in and offer Christ’s hope to people in crisis,” Whitehead said.
Youth pilot “The Sanctuary Youth Series” at The Way Church’s youth ministry in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in summer 2024. Credit: Photo courtesy of Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries
Sanctuary’s resources guide both the church and people struggling with mental health.
The ministry “creates high-quality resources that anyone anywhere can access,” which Whitehead said “makes us quite a unique proposition globally speaking.”
Resources include video courses designed to be taken in small-group settings.
Since its launch, more than 365,000 Christians in 102 countries have participated in the Sanctuary Course, according to the organization.
Sanctuary’s work “allows people who are experiencing crisis to feel seen and gives the church more confidence to know what its role is and what its role isn’t when walking with a person in crisis,” Whitehead explained.
This year, the organization is developing resources to reach young people.
It recently launched “The Sanctuary Youth Series,” which is all about starting “important conversations” with youth in youth ministry, explained Bryana Russell, Sanctuary’s director of engagement and interim director of development.
The series, Russell told CNA, “targets the pressing questions young people are asking about mental health” and is designed “to raise awareness and reduce stigma” about mental health.
“We know young people want to talk about the intersection of faith and mental health,” Russell said. “This series is one of the few resources available to help faith communities do so.”
“Our hope is that the next generation will experience the Church as a supportive place and that youth ministry leaders, parents and caregivers, and youth will all be equipped to have conversations about mental health,” Russell said.
Sanctuary Ambassador and Grammy nominated artist Matt Maher sings at an event hosted at the Archdiocese of Vancouver, where Sanctuary was presenting on mental health and faith on July 21, 2025. Credit: Nicholas Elbers/The BC Catholic
The series is “designed to be used in groups” to help “young people connect with trusted adults in their church or school community,” Russell said, noting that being in community helps mental health.
“Young people benefit from the support of trusted adults, but few are having the conversations they need to,” she said.
Working together
The ecumenicism of Sanctuary is what drew Whitehead to the group nine years ago.
“Our staff represent a range of church traditions, the majority of which are Protestant, but I would suggest that the spiritual practices that many of us draw from both individually and corporately are often more liturgical in nature,” Whitehead said.
“I think we all have a deep appreciation for the richness and vitality that different church traditions and denominations bring to the table,” Whitehead said.
Sanctuary works with various churches, including Catholic dioceses and parishes.
“Across the United States and Canada, many other dioceses are providing the leadership and support for mental health ministry,” Russell said.
Sanctuary’s course for Catholics — designed specifically for Catholic parishes and in use in parishes around the world — features Catholic voices including Archbishop J. Michael Miller of Vancouver and Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver.
“The Sanctuary Course for Catholics plays an important role in opening the conversation and equipping parishes to begin such a ministry,” Russell said.
This year, Sanctuary officially teamed up with the Archdiocese of Vancouver, which is formally launching a Mental Health Ministry with the help of Sanctuary.
“We are delighted that our resources will be a part of their designed reach to build this ministry of presence,” Russell said.
To kick off the event, Sanctuary and the archdiocese hosted Matt Maher, a Catholic contemporary Christian worship musician and Sanctuary’s ambassador.
Matt Maher and Bryana Russell (Sanctuary’s director of engagement and interim director of development) speak about Sanctuary, mental health, and faith at an event hosted at the Archdiocese of Vancouver on July 21, 2025. Credit: Nicholas Elbers/The BC Catholic
“Through stories, conversation, and song, themes of psychology, theology, and lived experience were introduced, offering an accessible and inspiring call to this ministry,” Russell said of the launch event.
“What makes Sanctuary unique is our ability to bring psychology and theology together to really validate and sanctify peoples’ stories,” Whitehead said. “Which means that in order to hold mental health well we have to really take each of these disciplines seriously.”
He added: “I’m inspired to continue this work when I look at the great need and also the great opportunity we have for the church to step into a gap that exists in society.”
Boys swing on a rope during recess at Western Academy in Houston, Texas. / Credit: Courtesy of Western Academy
Houston, Texas, Oct 4, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
After years of boys (and their parents) repeatedly ignoring the rules, a private boys school in Houston is taking a novel approach to its smartphone and digital device policy: Bring it to school, and “we will destroy it.”
In the past, if a boy was caught with a phone or other device at the school or a school-sponsored event, faculty would confiscate the device, which would be returned to the parents only after they had met with headmaster Jason Hebert. He would explain the harms to boys caused by smartphone use and why parents “should not put the phone back into your son’s hands.”
Boys look for toads in a pond during recess. Credit: Courtesy of Western Academy
Under the new policy, which Hebert laid out in a four-page letter to parents last month, after the device is discovered and destroyed, the boy will be suspended. If it happens again, the boy will be automatically expelled.
Along with its singular smartphone policy, the school, which has 230 students in third through eighth grade, takes a unique approach to education. The boys are free to play throughout the park-like, rambling grounds, where they climb and swing from trees, build forts, shoot Nerf guns, and care for (or chase) chickens before and after school and multiple times throughout the school day.
The all-male faculty expects respect and responsibility from the boys at a young age, according to Hebert. The teachers have the boys rise when an adult visits a classroom and encourage parents to let their sons learn to endure hardship and experience natural consequences when they forget their homework or their lunch at home.
Jason Hebert, headmaster at Western Academy in Houston. Credit: Courtesy of Western Academy
A Catholic priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei serves as chaplain to the school, which was founded in 2010, and oversees the religious education program.
The model is popular: Even with middle-school tuition close to $28,000 a year, every grade has extensive waitlists, and the school may start wait-listing boys beginning as early as kindergarten.
At the beginning of each school year, the boys are sorted into one of four houses that compete throughout the year in games such as capture the flag and “The Hero’s Race,” where the boys in each house choose one boy to race across campus, climbing over obstacles and crawling through mud. There is also a poetry recitation competition known as “The Bard.” One mother, Stephanie Creech, told CNA her sons are so happy at the school they “beg to get to school early and to stay afterward to play.”
Hebert sat down with CNA and discussed what brought about the change in the smartphone policy, saying he chose the words in his letter very carefully.
Hebert speaks to the boys on the first day of school as the faculty looks on. Credit: Courtesy of Western Academy
Witnessing the damage
“Smartphones are causing significant, unimagined damage to the students who have them,” Hebert wrote in his letter to parents, “as well as to the sons of those parents who have chosen not to give phones to their sons.”
“The damage these phones have caused to our children,” he told CNA in the interview, “it literally has never been imagined.”
“It’s not just pornography,” Hebert continued. “YouTube actors and other characters just trying to get clicks perform the most shameless actions on video. They just have zero respect for the dignity of their bodies and for life, zero. And these boys want to emulate these people.”
Hebert said the last straw came after a mother called him complaining her son saw a graphic, violent video on a smartphone at a school event.
After that, Hebert said he and the other administrators agreed: “That’s it. We’re done.”
Asked why the school did not just consider automatic expulsion after the first offense rather than the destruction of the devices, Hebert said with a laugh: “To be perfectly candid, I want to destroy the phone. I want to give the boys an opportunity to have life without it.”
He ordered a metal grinder for the purpose.
“Look, I am not an alarmist. I am not reactionary. But the bottom line is this: These devices are not neutral. The research is definitive: They are bad for our kids. I have dealt with hundreds and hundreds of boys over two decades in education and I have yet to see an exception to this,” he said.
Hebert said that over the years, he has noticed a degradation in the quality of the boys’ conversation. “You can’t imagine the level of shamelessness” among some of the boys,” many of whom are generally considered “good kids.”
“This type of behavior is unprecedented in my tenure as an educator, and even as a professional athlete,” he said.
Boys cheer their teammates on as the houses compete in a game of “Thud,” in which two boys throw a medicine ball at one another as hard as they can until one of them drops it or gives up. Credit: Courtesy of Western Academy
In the early 2000s, before beginning his teaching career, which included teaching at The Heights School in Maryland, he spent one year as a professional football player on practice squads for three NFL teams: the Chargers, the Titans, and the Raiders.
“I never played in a regular-season game. This is what I tell people: I made it to the NFL. I did not make it in the NFL,” he said, laughing.
“Let me make it clear: I was an athlete around some of the most earthy human beings on the planet,” he said. “These men were not ashamed to say anything in the locker room. Yet these same men would have blushed if they heard some of the things these boys talk about! This is so unimaginable. Yet it is becoming more common now, thanks to these devices.”
Parents on board
Asked if he was worried parents would leave over the school’s new policy, Hebert said if parents are not on board with the school’s values, it might be better if they left and one of the many others on the waitlist could take their spot.
In his letter to parents, Hebert wrote that the “school is a true partnership with parents. We say this not for poetic effect, but because it must be so for the authentic growth of your sons to become a reality.”
He told CNA parents should ask themselves: “How valuable is the phone to you? Are you willing to leave this place for it? This place where your son is so abundantly happy? Is your phone worth that? And if it is, well, it’s a mismatch of vision.”
Since the change in policy, however, Hebert said parental response has been “100% positive.”
After hearing about the school’s new policy, a mother whose son graduated from the school several years ago dropped off a financial donation at the front desk recently “for the phone grinder.”
“Everybody just knows it’s right. Parents might be frustrated because saying no to their sons makes their lives harder, but they know it’s right,” he said.
Hebert, a father of seven, said he and his wife do not allow their children to have smartphones or social media. “My children may not know a lot of the lingo or some of the jokes or about all the parties. They’re on the outside, to a degree.”
“And even though that’s a big deal,” he continued, “the alternative overrides that. It’s a bigger deal.”
“The alternative is not worth it,” he said.
“We all want the truth,” he said, “and the truth is these devices are severely hurting kids. I’m not a doomsday guy, but some day these kids will be in charge of society. Think about that.”
Photographer holding camera against newlywed couple. / Credit: Vectorfusionart/Shutterstock
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 3, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).
A federal court awarded nominal damages to a Christian photographer after the city government of Louisville, Kentucky, sought to enforce an anti-discrimination ordinance that could have forced her to provide photography services for same-sex civil weddings.
Judge Benjamin Beaton found that Louisville’s Fairness Ordinance contained “two provisions” that limited the expression of Christian wedding photographer Chelsey Nelson, who sought $1 in damages. The court awarded Nelson the requested damages.
According to the ruling, the ordinance prohibited “the denial of goods and services to members of protected classes,” which includes people with same-sex attraction.
The publication provision of the ordinance also prevented her “from writing and publishing any indication or explanation that she wouldn’t photograph same-sex weddings, or that otherwise causes someone to feel unwelcome or undesirable based on his or her sexual orientation or gender identity.”
Both provisions, Beaton ruled, “limit Nelson’s freedom to express her beliefs about marriage.”
The court stated Nelson “suffered a First Amendment injury” because she decided to limit the promotion of her business, ignore opportunities posted online, refrain from advertising to grow her business, and censored herself, which was done to avoid prosecution.
“The government can’t force Americans to say things they don’t believe, and state officials have paid and will continue to pay a price when they violate this foundational freedom,” Nelson said in a statement through her attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom following the ruling.
“The freedom to speak without fear of censorship is a God-given constitutionally guaranteed right,” she added.
In his ruling, Beaton noted the Supreme Court set nationwide precedent when it ruled on 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis. In that decision, the court ruled a Colorado law violated a web designer’s First Amendment rights because it would have forced him to design websites for same-sex civil weddings in spite of his religious beliefs.
Beaton wrote that in spite of the Supreme Court precedent, “Louisville apparently still ‘actively enforces’ the ordinance … [and] still won’t concede that the First Amendment protects Nelson from compelled expression.”
His ruling noted that the mayor publicly stated that he would keep enforcing the ordinance, including against Nelson, after the 303 Creative decision.
Although the city’s lawyers argued in court that the city did not intend to enforce the law against Nelson, Beaton wrote: “Nothing in Louisville’s informal disavowal would prevent the city from making good on that promise [to enforce the rule against Nelson] tomorrow.”
“Anyone who’s tussled with the city’s lawyers this long and who continues to do business in and around Louisville might reasonably look askance at the city’s assurances that enforcement is unlikely,” Beaton wrote in his ruling.
Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Bryan Neihart said in a statement that “free speech is for everyone” and the precedent set in 303 Creative ensures that Americans “have the freedom to express and create messages that align with their beliefs without fear of government punishment.”
“For over five years, Louisville officials said they could force Chelsey to promote views about marriage that violated her religious beliefs,” he said.
“But the First Amendment leaves decisions about what to say with the people, not the government. The district court’s decision rests on this bedrock First Amendment principle and builds on the victory in 303 Creative.”
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.
Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan is calling on the faithful to contact New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to oppose the assisted suicide legislation that currently awaits her signature.
“Our fight against assisted suicide is not over,” Brennan said in a post on the social media platform X.
Assisted suicide is not yet legal in New York, but the Medical Aid in Dying Act was passed by the state Legislature in June and will become legal upon Hochul’s signature. The law will allow terminally ill New York residents who are over 18 to request medically assisted death.
“Gov. Hochul, we know difficult decisions weigh heavily on leaders and you carefully consider the impact of every decision on New Yorkers,” Brennan wrote. “As you review the assisted suicide legislation, we respectfully urge you to veto it.”
“Assisted suicide targets the poor, the vulnerable, and especially individuals suffering with mental illness. There are better ways to support those facing end-of-life challenges, through improved palliative care, pain management, and compassionate support systems.”
In a video to the faithful, Brennan addressed Hochul and said: “You championed New York’s suicide prevention program and invested millions of dollars to, as you said, ‘ensure New Yorkers are aware of this critical resource.’ That groundbreaking program has worked to provide the right training and crisis intervention measures to prevent suicides.”
Hochul has previously launched several campaigns to bring New York suicide rates down including a crisis hotline and initiatives to help schools, hospitals, first responders, and veterans. She has also helped develop and fund a number of youth suicide prevention programs.
The programs offer “hope to those who are most in need,” Brennan said. He added: “But now you are being asked to sign a bill that contradicts your efforts and targets high-risk populations. How can we justify preventing suicide for some while helping others to die?”
In support of the New York State Catholic Conference’s mission to “work with the government to shape laws and policies that pursue social justice, respect for life, and the common good,” Brennan asked the faithful to message the governor directly with a pre-written email to stop the legislation.
“I urge Catholics to reach out to Gov. Hochul now and to ask her to stay consistent on this issue,” Brennan said. “Let us continue to pray for the respect of all life and the human dignity of all people.”
Lobbying against the legislation is ‘critical’
Catholic bioethicist Father Tad Pacholczyk told CNA that “it’s critical” that New Yorkers “respond to the bishop’s call for action.”
“The push of anti-life forces has continued unabated for many years, and the incessant turning of the wheels of their finely-tuned propaganda machine has managed to gradually draw more and more of us into a perspective of complacency when it comes to physician-assisted suicide,” he said.
Pacholczyk added: “Combined with a tendency to substitute emotion for ethical reasoning, prevalent in much of the media and society, I think we stand on the edge of a well-greased slope, poised to hurl down headlong.”
The bioethicist highlighted that if assisted suiside “is not outlawed and strong protections for vulnerable patients are not enacted,” the U.S is likely to replicate the repercussions seen in Canada, which is experiencing disproportionately high rates of premature deaths among vulnerable groups.
“We need to do what we can to light a fire and raise heightened awareness of the rights of patients not to be pressured in this manner,” Pacholczyk said. “We also need to take steps to offer real support and accompaniment to our loved ones as they pass through one of the most important stretches of their lives, so their journey can be indelibly imprinted by a genuinely good and holy death.”
Nurses who are on strike hold signs in support of the community following a shooting and fire at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in front of Henry Ford Genesys Hospital on Sept. 29, 2025, in Grand Blanc, Michigan. / Credit: Emily Elconin/Getty Images
CNA Staff, Sep 29, 2025 / 21:45 pm (CNA).
MultipleU.S. Catholic bishops offered prayers and expressed their solidarity after a gunman attacked a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) chapel in Grand Blanc, Michigan, on Sept. 28, killing four people, injuring eight, and setting the building on fire. The incident occurred just before 10:30 a.m. during a Sunday service with hundreds in attendance.
The suspect, identified as 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford of Burton, Michigan, drove a pickup truck into the chapel’s entrance, entered with an assault-style rifle, and began shooting. Witnesses reported Sanford shouting anti-LDS slurs. He then used an accelerant to start a fire inside the building. Grand Blanc Township Police arrived within a minute of 911 calls, engaging Sanford in a shootout and killing him. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, but the chapel was destroyed.
The victims included two adults and one child found in the debris, and one person who died from gunshot wounds at the hospital. Eight others were injured, five with gunshot wounds and three with smoke inhalation.
In a statement, Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul-Minneapolis promised prayers for the LDS community, saying the LDS church had recently ”extended their sincere condolences and prayers to the faithful of this archdiocese,” referring to the August shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, where two students were killed and over 20 people were injured.
”Please join me in praying for them and for an end to senseless violence around the globe,” Hebda said.
In a separate statement, Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing, Michigan, also offered his prayers for those killed at the church, while also “assuring those who mourn, and those who are injured, my solace and support.”
”Any place of worship should be a sanctuary of peace,” Boyea continued. “The violation of such a haven, especially upon a Sunday morning, makes yesterday’s act of mass violence even more shocking. I commend the first responders for heroically assisting at the scene and for working to safeguard other local places of worship.”
”Lastly, let us remember that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life,” he said. ”Hence, in this moment of tragedy, let us all draw closer to Jesus, prince of peace.”
Meanwhile, Detroit Archbishop Edward Weisenburger said he was “heartbroken” by the gun violence and arson in Grand Blanc. “In this time of immense sorrow, I ask that we stand in solidarity with the victims, their families, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,” Weisenburger said.
”In an era marked by hostilities and division, let us all come together in faith and compassion, upholding the fundamental right to worship freely and without fear. May God’s infinite love and mercy embrace and heal us all.”
Bishop David Walkowiak of Grand Rapids, Michigan, also expressed his sorrow after the tragic attack, saying: “No one should ever fear for their safety while gathering to worship. The ability to pray, to assemble peacefully, and to express one’s faith is not only a constitutional right but a moral necessity for a compassionate society. My prayers are with the victims, their families, and the entire Latter-day Saints community as they grieve and seek healing in the face of this senseless violence.”
Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, prayed for healing in another post, saying: “May we be united in prayer for those who lost their lives in the tragic violence at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan. We pray for their eternal rest, for comfort to their families, and for healing and peace for the entire community.”
The attack came one day after the death of LDS Church President Russell M. Nelson on Saturday, Sept. 27, at age 101 in Salt Lake City.
President Donald Trump addressed the incident in a post on Truth Social, stating: “This appears to be yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America. The Trump administration will keep the public posted, as we always do. In the meantime, PRAY for the victims, and their families. THIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!”
Vice President JD Vance also addressed the attack in a social media post: “Just an awful situation in Michigan. FBI is on the scene and the entire administration is monitoring things. Say a prayer for the victims and first responders.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also issued a statement expressing grief and gratitude for support: “We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of prayers and concern from so many people around the world. In moments of sorrow and uncertainty, we find strength and comfort through our faith in Jesus Christ. Places of worship are meant to be sanctuaries of peacemaking, prayer, and connection. We pray for peace and healing for all involved.”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered flags lowered statewide, describing the incident as “unacceptable violence in a sanctuary” and pledging support for the investigation. Grand Blanc area schools, both Catholic and public, closed Sept. 29.
The FBI, with support from the ATF and Michigan State Police, is investigating the attack as targeted violence. Three unexploded devices were found at the scene. Sanford, a former Marine and truck driver, had no known ties to the church but expressed anti-LDS views, according to neighbors. His social media included posts about religious “deceptions.” The FBI is examining his motives.
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.”
Archbishop of Philadelphia Nelson J. Perez speaks to members of his congregation at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul following a special Mass for Pope Francis on April 21, 2025, in Philadelphia. / Credit: Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images
CNA Staff, Sep 29, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson Pérez on Sept. 29 announced the designation of multiple “missionary hubs” throughout the Philadelphia Archdiocese, part of a broad effort to help bring lapsed Catholics back into the Church while highlighting the “deeply positive impact” the Church has had on the region.
The rollout comes after Pérez earlier this year revealed the 10-year plan meant to bring Catholics back to the pews. The archdiocese said in January that the effort would be “phased in” across the region.
A “standout feature” of the campaign, the archdiocese said on Monday, is the creation of five “missionary hubs” at parishes in the region’s four major counties of Delaware, Bucks, Montgomery, and Chester as well as Philadelphia County itself.
Those parishes will serve as “a new method of evangelization that will be instrumental in reaching out to Catholics who no longer attend Mass regularly and others seeking a spiritual connection in their lives and an outlet to serve those in need.”
“Following the example of Jesus Christ, we are moving to encounter all of our brothers and sisters where they are,” Pérez said in a press release. “I want everyone to know that they are not alone and that they will always have a home in the Catholic Church.”
The hubs will feature trained individuals under the leadership of the parish’s pastor, with teams working to “address the distinct needs and priorities of the people living within the neighborhoods of that parish and beyond.” The designation of the hubs came after “dozens of meetings” with hundreds of Catholics throughout the year.
The parishes will use pastoral, educational, and charitable ministries to “reach people who feel far from the Church,” according to the archdiocese.
‘Catholic. Every day’
In addition to the hub effort, the archdiocese will also be rolling out a marketing campaign, dubbed “Catholic. Every Day,” that will broadcast on local TV and radio stations. It will also be featured on displays such as billboards and bus shelters.
The archdiocese described the effort as an “extensive and privately funded marketing and advertising campaign covering Philadelphia and its suburbs.”
The donor-sponsored ads will feature “the many faces of Catholicism in the region” and will run in several phases through July 2026, coinciding with multiple major events in the region, including the FIFA World Cup and events marking the 250th anniversary of the founding of the U.S.
“This campaign will remind Catholics of their rich heritage of service to others in Philadelphia while introducing our message to new audiences in fresh and compelling ways,” Pérez said.
The archbishop said in the Monday press release that the Philadelphia Church “has 1.5 million Catholics, directly helps hundreds of thousands of people through our schools and charitable ministries, and has an economic impact of more than $1 billion a year.”
Organizers wanted to “highlight the broad scope of compassionate and dignified service we provide to people of faith traditions and diverse walks of life,” he said.
Archdiocesan spokesman Kenneth Gavin told CNA earlier this year that the entire effort will be funded primarily by “private philanthropic funding secured over time and hopefully endowed for long-term sustainability.”
“The archbishop recognizes the urgency of reaching out to the 83% of baptized Catholics not regularly practicing their faith while continuing to serve more effectively and efficiently the 17% who do attend Mass,” he said.
A stained-glass window in St. Sulpice Church in Fougeres, France, depicts (from left to right) the archangels Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel. / Credit: Tiberiu Stan/Shutterstock
CNA Staff, Sep 29, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).
Many Catholics can, at the drop of a hat, recite the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel — the famous petition to that venerable saint to “defend us in battle” and “cast into hell Satan.”
In the culture of the Church, Michael is often accompanied by his two fellow archangels — Sts. Gabriel and Raphael — with the three forming a phalanx of protection, healing, and petition for those who ask for their intercession. The Church celebrates the three archangels with a joint feast day on Sept. 29.
St. Michael the Archangel
St. Michael the Archangel is hailed in the Book of Daniel as “the great prince who has charge of [God’s] people.”
Michael Aquilina, the executive vice president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology in Steubenville, Ohio, described Michael among angels as “the one most often named — and most often invoked — and most often seen in history-changing apparitions.”
Devotion to Michael, Aquilina told CNA, “has been with the Church from the beginning. And Michael has been with God’s people since before the beginning of the Church.”
Michael’s history in the Bible is depicted through Daniel, in Jude (in which he battles Satan for possession of Moses’ body), and in Revelation as he “wag[es] war with the dragon” alongside his fellow angels.
Michael, Aquilina said, was “a supremely important character who was there from the beginning of the story.” Rabbinic tradition holds that Michael was at the center of many of the great biblical dramas even if not explicitly mentioned.
He was an early subject of veneration in the Church, though Aquilina noted that the Reformation led to a steep decline in devotion to the angels — until the end of the 19th century, when Michael began an “amazing comeback journey” in the life of the Church.
Following a vision of Satan “running riot” on the planet, “Pope Leo composed three prayers to St. Michael, ranging from short to long,” Aquilina said. “The brief one, he commanded, should be prayed at the end of every Mass.”
This was a regular feature of the Mass until the Vatican II era, after which it came to an end — though Pope John Paul II in 1994 urged Catholics to make the prayer a regular part of their lives.
“St. Michael is there for us in the day of battle, which is every day,” Aquilina said.
The St. Michael Prayer: St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil / May God rebuke him, we humbly pray / And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the divine power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
St. Gabriel the Archangel
Gabriel appears regularly in Scripture as a messenger of God’s word, both in the Old and New Testaments. Daniel identifies Gabriel as a “man” who came “to give [him] insight and understanding,” relaying prophetic answers to Daniel’s entreaties to God.
In the New Testament, Luke relays Gabriel’s appearances to both Zechariah and the Virgin Mary. At the former, he informs the priest that his wife, Elizabeth, will soon conceive a child; at the latter he informs Mary herself that she will do the same. The two children in question, of course, were respectively John the Baptist and Jesus Christ.
Christian tradition further associates Gabriel with the apostle Paul’s reference in his First Letter to the Thessalonians to the “archangel’s call” and “the sound of the trumpet of God.”
“Judgment will begin with the archangel’s call and the sound of the horn,” Aquilina told CNA. “Thus we hear often of Gabriel’s trumpet.”
Media workers in particular have “good professional reasons to go to Gabriel,” Aquilina said.
“Since he is the Bible’s great communicator — the great teller of good news — he is the natural patron of broadcasters and all those who work in electronic media,” he said.
“For the same reason, he’s the patron saint of preachers … but also of postal workers, diplomats, and messengers.”
The St. Gabriel Prayer: O Blessed Archangel Gabriel, we beseech thee, do thou intercede for us at the throne of divine mercy in our present necessities, that as thou didst announce to Mary the mystery of the Incarnation, so through thy prayers and patronage in heaven we may obtain the benefits of the same, and sing the praise of God forever in the land of the living. Amen.
St. Raphael the Archangel
Lesser-known among the three great archangels, Raphael’s mission from God “is not obvious to the casual reader” of the Bible, Aquilina said. Yet his story, depicted in the Book of Tobit, is “something unique in the whole Bible.” In other depictions of angels, they come to Earth only briefly, to deliver a message or to help God’s favored people in some way.
“Raphael is different,” Aquilina said. “He stays around for the whole story, and by the end he’s become something more than an angel … he’s become a friend.”
In Tobit, Raphael accompanies Tobias, the son of the book’s namesake, as he travels to retrieve money left by his father in another town, helping him along the way and arranging for his marriage to Sarah.
The biblical account “has in every generation provided insight and consolation to the devout,” Aquilina said.
Notably, Raphael deftly uses the natural world to work God’s miracles: “What we would ordinarily call catastrophes — blindness, multiple widowhood, destitution, estrangement — all these become providential channels of grace by the time the threads of the story are all wound up in the end.”
“Raphael is patron of many kinds of people,” Aquilina said. “Of course, he’s the patron of singles in search of a mate — and those in search of a friend. He is the patron of pharmacists because he provided the salve of healing. He is a patron for anyone in search of a cure.”
He is also the patron saint of blind people, travelers, sick people, and youth.
“Raphael’s story,” Aquilina said, “remains a model for those who would enjoy the friendship of the angels.”
Prayer to St. Raphael: St. Raphael, of the glorious seven who stand before the throne of him who lives and reigns, angel of health, the Lord has filled your hand with balm from heaven to soothe or cure our pains. Heal or cure the victim of disease. And guide our steps when doubtful of our ways. Amen.
This story was first published on Sept. 29, 2023, and has been updated.
“Now people need not go as far away as Spain to see this beautiful thing,” said Christendom College President Emeritus Timothy O’Donnell of the school chapel’s monumental thurible. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College
Ann Arbor, Michigan, Sep 28, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
A tradition dating from the 11th century has been brought to Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia, extending an enduring symbol of faith and pilgrimage. A jumbo-sized thurible, commissioned by the college and made in Spain, now embellishes the college’s Christ the King chapel.
The connections between Christendom College and the Catholic culture of Spain date back to even before the college’s founding in 1977. Its first president and co-founder, Warren Carroll, took students to Spain on several visits to learn Spain’s history and experience life at El Escorial monastery near Madrid.
Drone shot of Christendom College’s Christ the King Chapel in Front Royal, Virginia. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College
Believed to be one of the largest thuribles or censers in the world, the famed Botafumeiro is a giant thurible used at the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral in northern Spain, which has been a pilgrimage destination for centuries, rivaled only by Rome and Jerusalem.
According to tradition, it is the burial place of St. James the Greater, who evangelized the Iberian Peninsula. In a centuries-old tradition, the massive censer, which weighs hundreds of pounds, is swung from ropes when pulled by a team of eight men at the transept of the historic church on feast days. It weighs more than 176 pounds and is over 6 feet tall.
O’Donnell recalled that St. John Paul II said in a homily in 1982, as the first pilgrim pope to Santiago: “This place, so dear to Galicians and Spaniards alike, has in the past been a point of attraction and convergence for Europe and all of Christendom.”
According to O’Donnell: “I was so moved by that because that is the name of our college. So, on certain anniversaries, we would take pilgrimages to Santiago.”
Seeing the giant thurible there ultimately gave him the idea to reproduce such a symbol of faith. “I thought it would be awesome to have something like this in the new chapel.” He turned to Heritage Liturgical, which designed and realized the project.
Seeing the giant thurible at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela gave Timothy O’Donnell, speaking here at the chapel, the idea to reproduce such a symbol of faith in the college’s chapel. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College
“Now people need not go as far away as Spain to see this beautiful thing and incense going up to heaven like the prayers of the faithful and angels going to God on high,” he said. In a tradition dating back to the Old Testament, costly incense was a sacrifice; after the coming of Christ, it joins our prayers with his perfect prayer and sacrifice.
Instead of producing an exact reproduction of the Botafumeiro in Spain, Heritage Liturgical executed a censer that echoes the design of the chapel. Enzo Selvaggi, principal and creative director of Heritage Liturgical, told CNA that Christendom’s monumental thurible was “designed in a cogent and well-defined Gothic Revival mode to fit the architecture of the college’s Chapel of Christ the King.”
Emilio León, a silversmith of Córdoba, Spain, was selected for the project and helped restore the original Botafumeiro. Starting in 2021, León sculpted and chiseled for a year and a half to complete the work, which is silver-plated brass.
In an email to CNA, León wrote: “I incorporated my spiritual and religious values, just as I do in all my work, giving my best effort, knowing that it is for the glory of God.” León belongs to a royal fraternity that preserves Catholic traditions such as Holy Week processions and the dignity of sacred spaces.
León is also working on other projects for Heritage Liturgical to be installed in the U.S. For Catholics in Spain, he continued, the Botafumeiro represents “the grandeur of Christ the King and the apostle James.”
On feast days of the Church, Christendom’s thurible is brought near the central altar where it is hoisted on chains and swung by senior students. Credit: Courtesy of Christendom College
Christendom’s thurible is normally displayed near the image of the Virgin Mary in the chapel. On feast days of the Church, it is brought near the central altar where it is hoisted on chains and swung by senior students, much in the tradition of Spain. The next feast day for swinging the grand censer will be the solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, on Nov. 23.
Selvaggi told CNA that in works produced by Heritage Liturgical, the Catholic principle of sacramentality applies at their conception so that designers and artists use matter, as do theologians, to “make a spiritual reality encounterable in the world.”
Both Selvaggi and León are working on other projects destined for the U.S., including helping to restore churches in Nebraska and Georgia, and designing mosaics for churches in Wisconsin. The message from the company affirmed that the new thurible at Christendom College is “captivating not only because of its size and beauty, but more importantly, because it reveals something that already exists: the love of God that causes us to send our prayers rising up to God.”
The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Andrea Izzotti/Shutterstock
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 27, 2025 / 08:30 am (CNA).
A looming U.S. government shutdown could affect Roman Catholic churches and Catholic institutions that depend on government funding.
The closure, which will come about if lawmakers cannot agree on a spending package to fund the federal government, could pause military members’ ability to attend Mass, interrupt subsidized meals for preschoolers in Catholic schools and limit assistance with church security. Congress so far lacks agreement on funding federal agencies when the budget year begins on Oct. 1.
A shutdown would mean housing, health and food programs for people in need could experience cascading delays, according to a Sept. 26 statement by Catholic Charities USA.
“A government shutdown would result in more people falling into poverty, and the recovery from such a setback could take several months or even years,” the statement said.
“One thing we can all agree on is that the poorest of the poor and the most vulnerable in society should not suffer because lawmakers cannot come to an agreement.”
Besides Church-related programs, a shutdown would affect a range of other services, including education for at-risk preschoolers, scientific research, and grants to charitable organizations.
Many Catholic entities rely on federal funding from Head Start, an early childhood education program that offers health screenings and meals to families below the federal poverty level.
Military Masses, Church security
Military worship services could be affected in a lengthy shutdown. In an extended shutdown in 2013, the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA said it would lack a Catholic priest to celebrate Sunday Mass at chapels at some U.S. military installations where non-active-duty priests serve as government contractors.
A spokesperson for the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Federal efforts to “maintain safe and secure houses of worship” also could be degraded at the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency in a government shutdown. Two children died in August in a mass shooting at the Church of the Annunciation in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The federal agency provides resources that assist houses of worship in securing physical and digital infrastructure. The department said in anticipation of a narrowly avoided government shutdown in 2023 that it “would also be forced to suspend both physical and cybersecurity assessments for government and industry partners.”
Federal agencies have not yet issued contingency plans for a potential shutdown, and the security agency did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte gives a speech during a campaign rally at Southorn Stadium on March 9, 2025, in Hong Kong, China. / Credit: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images
Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:
Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte charged with murder
After Filipino Catholic bishops welcomed the arrest of Rodrigo Duterte in March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has now charged Duterte, the former president of the Philippines, with murder.
The three charges laid against Duterte, made public on Sept. 22, were dated back to July, according to the BBC. The first charge relates to Duterte’s involvement in the murder of 19 people in Davao City while he served as mayor from 2013 to 2016. The remaining charges relate to Duterte’s “war on drugs,” which saw the murder of 14 people across the country and the attempted murder of 45 others.
Caritas Philippines President Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo of Kidapawan called Duterte’s detention a critical step toward justice, Vatican News reported in March. “For years Duterte has claimed that he is ready to face the consequences of his actions. Now is the time for him to prove it,” the bishop said.
Syriac Catholic bishop discusses role of Christians in rebuilding Syria
In a meeting with the Levantine National Council, Syriac Catholic Bishop Hanna Jallouf discussed the role of Christians in public life as the country rebuilds after the fall of the Assad regime last winter.
According to a report from the Syriac Press, the meeting took place on Sept. 25 at the Monastery of St. Lazarus in Daramsuq (Damascus). “The meeting featured an in-depth discussion on the country’s current challenges, focusing on ways to enhance the role of Christians in public life while also addressing their concerns and fears amid ongoing instability,” the report said.
Jallouf reportedly advocated for “citizenship and pluralism as the foundation for Syria’s stability” and encouraged the council to continue its efforts “to preserve the Church’s witness and unity” amid a period marked by fear for Christians and other religious minorities in the country.
Christians in India suffer harassment, arrests at hands of Hindu groups
Police in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh arrested 14 Christians on Sept. 19 for allegedly violating the state’s stringent anti-conversion law and the national criminal code, according to UCA News.
The report also noted that a group of 19 girls accompanied by a Catholic nun and two staff members of a nongovernmental organization were also arrested Sept. 19 in Jharkhand, which borders Uttar Pradesh from the south, for violating the conversion law as well. The group was released the following day. According to Church sources cited in the report, the arrests were made after “allegations by some right-wing Hindu groups as the girls were traveling to attend a training program, and the nuns came to the railway station to welcome them.”
Chair of Philippines Bishops’ Conference speaks out against corruption
Bishop Broderick Pabillo of Taytay in Palawan, Philippines, chair of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Office on Stewardship, has published a pastoral letter condemning the normalization of corruption in the country.
“We must not accept corruption as the norm — it is stealing the people’s taxes,” he said in the letter, according to local reports, pointing out that government funds have been redirected away from critical services such as hospitals, clean water initiatives, safe roads, and electricity for political reasons. “If we want to reduce corruption, we must stop voting for relatives in power,” the bishop added.
Chaldean Catholics return to ancestral homeland in Turkey after nearly half a century
A Chaldean Catholic community from the southeast village of Köreli in the Şirnak Silopi district of Turkey returned to their ancestral homeland after nearly half a century, according to a local report on Sept. 25.
About 150 pilgrims, who traveled from across Turkey and abroad, participated in the 10-day visit and celebrated a “deeply symbolic Mass and offered prayers at the village cemetery.”
According to the report, Turkey’s Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Sabri Anar expressed gratitude to the government and for those who welcomed the group. “Our aim is to reconcile those who left this land with their past and show them that the region is safe,” he noted. “Each visit fills us with happiness. In the eyes of our people, we can see the longing for homeland, for soil, and for history.”
Australian bishop returned to public ministry after abuse allegation dismissed
Bishop Richard Umbers of the Archdiocese of Sydney has been reinstated to public ministry after an independent investigation determined abuse allegations lodged against him were “not sustained,” according to an internal email cited in a Sept. 24 report by the Pillar.
“The report from the independent investigator highlighted information given by the complainant that was inconsistent with other evidence obtained and therefore, the investigator could not be satisfied that the alleged conduct occurred,” the email by archdiocesan vicar general Father Samuel Lynch said.
The claim of historical abuse against the Opus Dei bishop had been made in early July, after which he stepped down in accordance with archdiocesan protocol.
Bangladesh Catholics fear Muslim extremist persecution as elections loom
The Catholic community in Bangladesh is “living in fear” of persecution as Islamic fundamentalism is on the rise and elections loom in the coming February, according to a Sept. 24 Crux report.
“We are afraid of the upcoming elections. Because, before and after the elections, we have been subjected to many injustices and this time there is a greater possibility of it. So, we are constantly praying to God to protect us,” Welcome Lamba, a leader of the Khasi Indigenous village of Pratappur Punjee, told Crux, which noted that there were over 1,000 cases of human rights violations against religious minorities in the country from 2023 to 2024.
Australia donates vehicles to Catholic Church Health Services in Papua New Guinea
After government officials in Papua New Guinea (PNG) announced in June a nationwide HIV emergence, the Australian government has now donated “a fleet of vehicles” to the Catholic Church Health Services in PNG to help aid efforts to expand access to treatment for HIV, according to a local report on Sept. 25.
“The vehicles will support outreach services that include community-based HIV testing, prevention of mother-to-child transmission, antiretroviral therapy adherence, and referrals to other clinics and social services,” the report stated.
Angolan bishop speaks out against deforestation, poaching
Bishop Martín Lasarte Topolansky in Lwena, Angola, spoke out this week against escalating environmental destruction in eastern Angola, particularly in border areas with Zambia, where illegal logging and poaching are severely impacting the population, ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, reported Thursday.
“It is with a heavy heart that I see the felling of precious trees and the disappearance of animals that are part of our environmental heritage. We are witnessing a true plunder of what belongs to the Angolan people,” Lasarte told ACI Africa, while recalling a recent pastoral visit to communities in Eastern Moxico.
The bishop also noted “illegal exploitation of our forests by foreign citizens crossing our border,” likely by Zambians taking advantage of weak local enforcement. He further called on the Angolan government to secure the country’s eastern border and establish stricter environmental laws. “This land is a gift from God, and we will be accountable for how we treat it,” he said.
Patricipants gather at a Courage and EnCourage annual conference. / Credit: Courage International
CNA Staff, Sep 26, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
Courage International, the Catholic apostolate that helps men and women experiencing same-sex attraction “persevere on the path of holiness,” marked 45 years of ministry on Sept. 26, celebrating nearly half a century of helping individuals struggling with sexuality to “live a chaste life” in line with Church teaching.
The Connecticut-based organization traces its earliest roots to an effort started by New York archbishop Cardinal Terence Cooke, who in 1978 conceived of a same-sex attraction ministry and asked Father John Harvey, OSFS, to lead the effort.
Harvey, who died in 2010, authored the 1979 pamphlet “A Spiritual Plan to Redirect One’s Life,” offering a program for “homosexually-oriented persons” to “achieve a chaste, productive, and happy life.”
The apostolate held its first official meeting the following year on Sept. 26 at the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Manhattan. In 1981 the group published the first version of its “Five Goals,” which include dedications to chastity, service, the sacraments, and fellowship.
Within a few years the program expanded to Canada, officially becoming an international organization; it also began to expand throughout the U.S. at the time.
An endorsement by the Holy See came in 1994. The group by this time had already begun hosting annual “Courage Conferences,” with Harvey publishing several new works on the ministry over the years.
The group’s offerings for those struggling with same-sex attraction include retreats, literature, online chat groups, and a men’s sports camp — a weekend of “team sports with encouragement, coaching, and an abundance of Christian fellowship” (where teams compete in an “annual epic battle for the coveted Harvey Cup”).
‘Such a needed ministry’
Father Brian Gannon, the executive director of Courage, said the group was originally founded to minister to men with same-sex attraction and eventually expanded to include women. A sister program, “EnCourage,” ministers to family members of those with same-sex attraction.
The group works primarily through chapters, which number around 160 worldwide and function as clergy-led support groups.
“There’s individual groups in various dioceses that are run by chaplains — either priests or deacons — and they meet on a regular basis, usually about once a week,” Gannon said.
Group members “come together, read through the goals, discuss their experiences and challenges during the week, and pray,” he said. “Prayer is absolutely central to it.”
Courage has a presence in numerous countries worldwide, including the Philippines, Singapore, and Poland. In addition to executive leadership, the group is overseen by an episcopal board of several bishops. “It’s fully sanctioned by the Church,” Gannon said.
Gannon himself came into the leadership role in 2024. Years before he helped to start a Courage chapter in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He was approached by the organization last year and asked to serve as director.
The priest took on that role in addition to his pastorship at St. Theresa Parish in Trumbull, Connecticut. “It’s a challenge,” he said with a chuckle. ”But you balance it as best you can. You always want to do more for both [roles].”
He described the men and women who take part in the apostolate as “truly inspirational,” while the organization’s staff, including another full-time priest, are “very hardworking.”
Looking to the future, Gannon said the group is hoping to expand its social media presence. He also said it is making efforts to contact each new bishop installed in the U.S.
“We’ve just started to reach out to newly appointed bishops, sending them a welcome letter and encouraging them to get in touch with us, letting them know we’d love to come and talk to them about starting a Courage chapter if they don’t have one,” he said.
Gannon said participants in the ministry do not seek a watered-down version of Catholic doctrine. “They want to follow exactly what the Church is teaching,” he said.
“The secular world has a twisted view of sexuality,” he said. “This is such a needed ministry. It helps people find peace.”
From left: Ross Douthat, media fellow at the Institute for Human Ecology; Will Wilson, CEO of AI company Antithesis; Father Michael Baggot, LC, professor of bioethics at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome; and Brian J.A. Boyd, director for the Center for Ethics and Economic Justice at Loyola University New Orleans discuss AI and the Church on Sept. 23, 2025, at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNA
Washington, D.C., Sep 25, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
The Catholic University of America (CUA) hosted a panel this week to discuss how Christians should think about the developing technology surrounding artificial intelligence (AI).
The Sept. 23 panel was hosted by CUA’s Institute for Human Ecology, which works to identify the economic, cultural, and social conditions vital for human flourishing. The group discussed the threats posed by AI, the future of the technology, and the Church’s place in the conversation.
Ross Douthat, media fellow at the Institute for Human Ecology, led the discussion between Father Michael Baggot, LC, professor of bioethics at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome; Will Wilson, CEO of AI company Antithesis; and Brian J.A. Boyd, director for the Center for Ethics and Economic Justice at Loyola University New Orleans.
Douthat asked the panelists what they each believe to be the greatest threat of the emerging technology as it poses new challenges to the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor.
According to Boyd, the potential loss of human connection is the most prominent threat of AI. He said: “To be human is to be created in and for relationships of love — by love of God. Our nature is made to be receptive to grace.”
AI becomes an issue if “our main relationship and reference point is talking to a computer rather than to humans,” Boyd said. “I think that is an existential threat, and something worth discussing.”
“If we’re habituated to look at the screen before we look at our neighbor … and AI is [the] constant reference point, it will make habits of prayer much more difficult to include. It will make it harder to learn to listen to the voice of God, because the answer is always in your pocket.”
Baggot said his greatest concern is that “artificial intimacy is going to distract us from, and deter us from, the deep interpersonal bonds that are central to our happiness and our flourishing.”
“Companies now grip not only our minds but also are capturing our affections,” Baggot said. “We can all read about these tragic cases of exploitation and manipulation that are only going to continue unless we put proper guardrails in place and also provide the information that allows us to have the kind of deep interpersonal relationships we were made for.”
While many people worry that AI could create “mass unemployment,” Wilson said he disagrees: “I think that this is a very silly fear because human desires and human wants are infinite, and therefore, we always find new things for people to do.”
Rather, Wilson shared his concern that humans will no longer create their own ideas and will lose their intelligence and knowledge.
“The trouble with AI is even if it’s not actually intelligent, it does a very good simulacrum of intelligence, and it’s very tempting to use it to substitute for human intelligence,” Wilson said. “It’s very possible that we’re entering a world where very soon any cognitive labor, any reason, [or] any thought will be a luxury.”
Catholic AI
While there are dangers to AI, Baggot addressed the positive aspects the tool can offer, highlighting the benefits of Catholic AI companies.
“I’ve been privileged to work on the Scholarly Advisory Board of Magisterium AI, which is basically a Catholic answer engine that’s very narrowly trained on reliable documents, magisterial documents, [and] theological texts,” Baggot said.
Magisterium AI is a “system designed to give people reliable responses to their questions about the Catholic faith,” Baggot explained. “This is appealing to Catholics who want to go deeper, but it’s also quite appealing to people who have never really had the chance, or aren’t quite ready, to speak to another human person about their curiosities regarding Catholicism.”
Baggot explained that creators of the technology work hard to keep it from being “anthropomorphic” to avoid users confusing the AI with actual connection. He said: “We do not want people having an intimate relationship with it.”
While Magisterium AI can provide useful information, Baggot acknowledged that it is not a tool for spiritual direction. He said: “Spiritual direction … should be with another living, breathing human being who actually has insight into human experience [and] who can develop a relationship of real empathy and real compassion.”
The Church’s place in AI
The panelists had differing viewpoints about the Church’s place in AI and how Christians should approach it. Wilson said he believes “the conversation about where the technology is going and what we’re going to do with it is happening among people who do not care … what any Christian church has to say on the topic.”
“It’s actually a little hard to blame them because Christians have basically sacrificed their place at the forefront of science and technology, which is where we were in centuries past,” Wilson said.
“Control goes to those who can deploy the most capital, and capital gets allocated very fast to people who are able to deploy very efficiently. And by and large, those people are not Christians because Christians aren’t really trying.”
Baggot said that while AI does pose dangers, the Church “has a lot of insight and wisdom” that can help guide the conversation. “The Church is in a privileged position to leverage its incredible patrimony, its reflection on the human person, [and] human flourishing.”
“The Church has reflected a lot about the meaning and value of work, the subjective value of work. It’s not just about economic efficiency, but it’s about how I use my own God-given talents to grow as a person and then also to serve others in intrinsically valuable activities.”
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.
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?”
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.
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.
Erika Kirk embraces U.S. President Donald Trump at the conclusion of the memorial service held for Charlie Kirk in Glendale, Arizona, on Sept. 21, 2025. / Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 22, 2025 / 09:35 am (CNA).
President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Erika Kirk, and more than a dozen others gave speeches to honor the late Charlie Kirk at Sunday’s memorial service, highlighting his efforts to promote conservative values to young people and promote the Gospel on campus.
Some 90,000 people gathered for the memorial service at State Farm Stadium and an adjacent venue in Glendale, Arizona, on Sept. 21. Bishop Robert Barron, who had scheduled Kirk to come on his show, was among those in attendance.
Kirk, an evangelical Christian, was assassinated on Sept. 10 during an event at Utah Valley University while debating students on campus. At the time, Kirk was conversing with a young ideological opponent about transgenderism and gun violence. Prior to the question, he had been discussing his Christian faith with another questioner, something he often included in his conservative campus activism.
“What was even more important to Charlie than politics and service was the choice he made in the fifth grade — which he called the most important decision of his life — to become a Christian and a follower of his Savior Jesus Christ,” Trump, a self-identified nondenominational Christian, said during his speech.
Trump praised Kirk’s legacy of evangelizing the message of Christ and his activism to promote conservative values on campus, saying Kirk was “inspired by faith and his love of freedom” to establish the conservative campus organization Turning Point USA when he was just 18 years old.
“Charlie Kirk started with an idea only to change minds on college campuses and instead he ended up with a far greater achievement: changing history,” the president said. “… Today Charlie Kirk rests in heaven for all eternity. He has gone from speaking on campuses in Wisconsin to kneeling at the throne of God.”
Vance, a Catholic who often discussed theology with Kirk, spoke about Kirk’s devotion to honest debate in his campus activism, saying his “unshakable belief in the Gospel led him to see differences in opinion, not as battlefields to conquer but as waystations in the pursuit of truth.”
“He knew it was right to love others, your neighbor, your interlocutor, your enemy,” Vance said. “But he also understood his duty to say what is right and what is wrong, to distinguish what is false from what is true.”
U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks during the memorial service for slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Glendale, Arizona, on Sept. 21, 2025. Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images
The vice president noted that even after death, Kirk’s message to defend life, to get married and start a family, and to follow Christ, continue to reach people. Vance said his own public appearances have been particularly influenced by Kirk after the assassination.
“I was telling somebody backstage that I always felt a little uncomfortable talking about my faith in public, as much as I love the Lord, as much as it was an important part of my life,” Vance told the crowd. “I’ve talked more about Jesus Christ in the past two weeks than I have my entire time in public life. And that is the undeniable legacy of the great Charlie Kirk. You know, he loved God and because he wanted to understand God’s creation and the men and women made in his image.”
Kirk’s widow forgives assassin
Kirk’s wife, Erika, said her husband’s devotion to Christ has influenced many Americans in the aftermath of the assassination.
“This past week, we saw people open a Bible for the first time in a decade, we saw people pray for the first time since they were children, we saw people go to a church service for the first time in their entire lives,” Erika Kirk said.
“Pray again, read the Bible again, go to Church next Sunday and the Sunday after that, and break free from the temptations and shackles of this world,” she urged the audience.
“Being a follower of Christ is not easy,” she continued. “It’s not supposed to be easy. Jesus said ‘if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.’ He said he would be persecuted, he said we would be persecuted, and Charlie knew that and happily carried his cross all the way to the end.”
Erika Kirk said he had gone onto Utah Valley University’s campus to show people, especially young men, “a better path and a better life that was right there for the taking.” She added: “He wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life.”
Appealing to the Gospel message, Erika Kirk also extended forgiveness to the man who shot her husband.
“On the cross, our Savior said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,’” she said. “That man, that young man, I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do. The answer to hate is not hate. The answer, we know from the Gospel, is love and always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”
‘I want to be remembered for courage for my faith’
Other speakers also highlighted Kirk’s emphasis on Christ in his campus activism.
Donald Trump Jr. reminded the crowd that Kirk said just months before his death that if he were to die, “I want to be remembered for my courage for my faith.”
“Those were not empty words,” Trump Jr. said. “Last week, Charlie joined a long line of courageous men and women who were martyred for what they believe.”
The country’s Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Catholic, said Kirk’s devotion to God modeled St. Francis of Assisi’s instruction to try to live one’s life in imitation of Christ.
“Charlie understood the great paradox: That it’s only by surrender to God that God’s power can flow into our lives and make us effective human beings,” Kennedy said. “Christ died at 33 years old, but he changed the trajectory of history. Charlie died at 31 years old, but because he had surrendered, he also now has changed the trajectory of history.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth similarly noted that Kirk “was a true believer,” one who understood that “Only Christ is King, our Lord and Savior.”
“Our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus,” Hegseth said. “Fear God and fear no man. That was Charlie Kirk.”
Political commentator Tucker Carlson said Kirk was essentially “a Christian evangelist” who “was bringing the Gospel to the country.”
“He also knew that politics wasn’t the final answer,” Carlson said. “It can’t answer the deepest questions, actually. That the only real solution is Jesus.”
The Eucharist is displayed in a monstrance in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City before a Eucharistic procession on Oct. 15, 2024. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 22, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
A recent study found that traditional liturgical experiences, including receiving the Eucharist by tongue, indicate a stronger belief among Catholics in the Real Presence.
Last year, Natalie A. Lindemann published a journal article on Catholics’ belief in the real presence of Jesus Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist. Lindemann, a professor in the department of psychology at William Paterson University, recently published a follow-up peer-reviewed article that uses a larger sample size and examines additional information.
Belief in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist is central to the Catholic faith, but only about 57% of U.S. Catholics believe with certainty the Eucharist is Jesus’ body, according to Lindemann’s report.
The new study, published in the Catholic Social Science Review, found receiving the Eucharist on the tongue, attending a parish that rings consecration bells, and attending a parish that offers the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) have an effect on one’s belief in the Real Presence.
The research is from a survey of 860 U.S. Catholic English-speaking adults. The group closely reflects the ratio of men to women in the U.S. adult Catholic population. The ethnicity demographic was biased toward the overrepresentation of some ethnic groups, so a corrective weight was applied.
Participants’ Eucharistic beliefs varied with 31% reporting they are certain of the Real Presence, 23.6% being certain that the Eucharist is a symbol without Jesus being present, 10.5% said Jesus is probably present, 19.2% were not sure, and 15.8% said the Eucharist is probably a symbol.
How ‘bodily and related social liturgical practices’ predict beliefs
The survey asked participants to answer questions on a scale of 1 to 5. One represented the belief that “bread and wine are symbols of Jesus; I am certain that Jesus is not really present.” Five indicated that person is “certain that Jesus is really present in the bread and wine of the Eucharist.” Belief in the Real Presence on the five-point rating scale was found to have an average mean (M) of 3.10.
Participants who have received the Eucharist on the tongue at some point (M=3.27) believe more in the Real Presence than those who have never received the Eucharist by tongue (M=2.79). People who often receive on the tongue, and often see others receive on the tongue, also reported a stronger belief in the Real Presence.
Those who always receive on the tongue (M=3.69) showed a moderately higher belief in the Real Presence than those who always receive in the hand (M=3). The report noted that since most participants consistently receive the Eucharist via one method, treating the reception method as a scale variable is questionable.
Catholics who said people should receive the Eucharist on the tongue had a significantly stronger belief in the Real Presence (M=4.32) than those who said one should receive in the hand (M=2.62). Those who reported they value personal choice regarding how one receives fell in between (M=3.37).
The report noted that 33 participants mentioned that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an effect by prompting more reception in the hand.
Factoring in the Traditional Latin Mass
“The TLM liturgy prescribes Eucharistic-reverent behavior … therefore, [Lindemann] expected that Catholics who attend the TLM would on average have stronger Real Presence beliefs.” The study found this to be true as participants whose parishes offer a TLM (M=3.63), whether or not the participant has ever attended it, showed a slightly stronger belief in the Real Presence than those whose parishes do not offer one (M=3.04).
The effect of the Latin Mass was slightly higher among those who both attend a parish that celebrates TLM and have attended it before (M=3.83), compared with Catholics with no exposure to a Latin Mass (M=3.07).
There was also a trend toward stronger Real Presence belief among people who have a positive perception of TLM (M=3.74) than those with a negative perception (M=2.44). Those with neutral feelings toward TLM were found to have a mean of 3.60.
“Since consecration bells signal the importance of the consecration,” Lindemann said she “predicted that participants whose parishes more often ring consecration bells would report a stronger belief in the Real Presence.” This prediction was found to be true. Specifically, there was a substantially higher belief among Catholics who have always heard consecration bells at Mass (M=3.43) than those who have never heard them before (M=2.53).
Other factors that tended to result in a higher belief in the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist included more frequent Mass attendance and politically conservative viewpoints.
The participants were also asked about the location of the tabernacle at the altar, but the study found there was no relationship between where it is placed and Eucharistic belief. Sex, age, and ethnicity were also found to have no effect.
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 20, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).
Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed.
Bomb squad called after Christian nonprofit CEO in Ireland receives anthrax
The Irish Army bomb squad blocked off part of Dublin city center this week after David Quinn, CEO of the Iona Institute, received a letter in the mail containing a white powdery substance purporting to be anthrax. In a post on social media, Quinn wrote: “Received this in the post today. Nice,” sharing an image of a letter containing the white substance, which read: “Happy anthrax.”
“I opened up the thing about 1 o’clock and all this powder comes out,” Quinn told the Irish Independent. “It was just addressed ‘Iona Institute,’ so it’s basically targeting me and Breda O’Brien,” he continued, adding: “I can only imagine that it’s somebody with a hang-up about the Catholic Church.”
Catholic monastery in Corfu closes after 381 years due to ‘lack of vocations’
The Capuchin Fathers monastery in Corfu, Greece, has been shut down after nearly 400 years due to a “lack of vocations,” according to the Greek Reporter.
A final Mass at the monastery was celebrated by the Catholic archbishop of Corfu, Georgios Altouvas, this week, the report said, noting that “worshippers who had long turned to the friars for guidance and support wept as they bid farewell to the last brothers.” The order reportedly said they could no longer find friars to continue running the monastery’s operations.
Mass attendance in Austria goes up, disaffiliation goes down
Mass attendance in Austria has gone up, according to statistics reported by the Pillar on Sept. 17, and the number of individuals filing for formal disaffiliation from the Church has gone down in the past year.
In addition to the positive attendance trend, the annual statistics also found a rise in Church tax revenue. According to the Pillar, the data reflects a rise from 309,000 worshippers in the spring of 2022 to 378,797 in the fall of 2024. “Attendance rose in the Sankt Pölten Diocese, led by Bishop Alois Schwarz, from 40,193 and 42,652 in 2023 to 63,520 and 46,179 in 2024. In the Vienna Archdiocese, the increase was from 56,906 and 63,157 in 2023 to 78,806 and 84,621 in 2024,” the Pillar reported.
Church in Nepal joins government in condemning unrest
The apostolic administrator of the Vicariate of Nepal, Father Silas Bogati, has signaled approval of the new interim government led by former Chief Justice Sushila Karki amid ongoing anti-corruption protests that have left at least 72 dead, according to UCA news.
“We as a Catholic community have confidence in Sushila Karki, who, among other things, in the past, when she was still a lawyer, defended one of our priests and some religious sisters who had been wrongly accused in several court cases,” Bogati said of the country’s new interim leader. “We have a good opinion of her and trust in her work in the coming months to act in accordance with the rule of law and the democratic principles of justice and legality.”
Democratic Republic of Congo bishops denounce latest killings
The National Episcopal Conference of Congo has condemned the new wave of deadly attacks in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, decrying what they describe as the growing trivialization of human life in the Central African nation, according to ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa.
In a Sept. 16 statement shared with ACI Africa, the bishops highlighted recent attacks and expressed concern about the “evolution of the security situation, particularly in the eastern part of the country, which continues to suffer enormous loss of human life as a result of various forms of violence.” The deadliest incident, the Church leaders said, occurred Sept. 8 when at least 102 people were killed in Ntoyo village, Lubero Territory.
Benin bishop: Jihadist attacks ‘a constant threat to our pastoral activities’
Bishop Martin Adjou Moumouni of the Diocese of N’Dali in the West African country of Benin is speaking out after jihadists carried out an attack on a local village, targeting its police station, looting homes, and taking at least six hostages, according to statements the prelate made to Fides News Agency.
“Nigerian Jihadists have long been spreading terror in our diocese, especially in rural areas,” the bishop said. “We were forced to suspend pastoral activities in the villages, and even in the city, I asked the priests of my diocese to hold services only during daylight hours, as insecurity increases with nightfall.”
Cardinal Vincent Nichols signs joint statement to end war in Gaza
The president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, has signed a joint statement with Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox, and other church leaders from England and Ireland, pushing for an end to the war in Gaza.
“We fear that the unfolding assault on Gaza City will only intensify the human suffering and misery as already malnourished and traumatized families are forced, yet again, to flee the horrors of this war,” the statement reads. “This deadly escalation is futile and must stop.” The statement comes ahead of the United Nations’ International Day of Peace on Sept. 21, for which many Christian leaders have organized a day of prayer and public witness.
Christians in Syria divided over police presence at churches
Syria’s Ministry of the Interior has tightened security measures around churches by deploying armed guards at their entrances following the St. Elias Church bombing in June, according to a Sept. 16 report from ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner.
“Many believe that the guards give them a sense of comfort and reassurance during prayer, as it provides a layer of protection,” said Joseph Kneifati, a deacon in the Melkite Greek Catholic Archdiocese of Aleppo. “But on the other hand, the church is our second home, sometimes even our first.”
“When we enter and are asked where we’re going, it feels less natural,” he added. “Since childhood, we’ve been accustomed to attending church freely and simply. The presence of armed personnel at the doors has erased that spirit.”
Lila Rose (left) debates Frances Kissling on Sept. 16, 2025, at Yale University. / Credit: Live Action via YouTube screenshot
National Catholic Register, Sep 19, 2025 / 10:40 am (CNA).
The news that pro-life activist Lila Rose was declared the winner by students attending a debate earlier this week with an abortion activist at Yale University — a campus not particularly known for its pro-life sentiment — lit up the pro-life corners of the internet.
Rose, the founder and president of Live Action, posted on X following Tuesday night’s debate, which was hosted by the Yale Political Union. She said the event’s organizer was “shocked” after those in attendance voted in favor of the pro-life argument by a margin of 60-31.
For defenders of the lives of unborn babies, it was heartening to see apparent evidence that arguments against abortion are making headway, even at one of the country’s most elite educational institutions.
Rose’s opponent, Frances Kissling, the former head of Catholics for Choice and founding president of the National Abortion Federation, laid bare the diabolical essence of the “pro-choice” argument. An unborn baby may be human, according to Kissling, but a woman should be able to decide whether the child lives or dies.
“We need to begin to think about abortion as a conflict of values. I tend to favor more or think more about the value of women’s lives,” Kissling said.
“I’m not talking about whether they’re going to die or not,” she said. “I’m talking about the fact that they have decisions to make about how they are going to live that life,” Kissling clarified.
Kissling, who is Catholic and had spent two years as a religious sister in a convent, went on to say that abortion should be condoned by what she said is an ever-evolving Catholic Church.
“The idea that Catholicism never changes is not true, even in very serious decisions,” she said. “I was thinking about this. Whatever happened to limbo?”
“I’m in the group of Catholics who look at the idea that even the Catholic Church can change. We learn new things,” she said.
Rose countered by describing what allowing “choice” to trump life really looks like, citing the recent case of a 21-year-old college student whose newborn baby was found dead, wrapped in a towel and stuffed in a closet.
“A child hidden in a closet, his humanity denied. If this does not grieve us, then what will? This is what choice over life looks like when the choice of adults is made supreme,” Rose said.
“What about the child’s choice? That has not been represented here yet tonight. And so let me ask the question here plainly: Should murder be legal? Of course not. Then why do we excuse abortion? Abortion is the direct and intentional killing of an innocent human being,” she said.
Rose called for more federal funding for pregnancy-resource centers, for government-funded cash credits for parents, and for making childbirth free.
“Instead of turning to violence against the most vulnerable as a solution to problems that we face, instead, we should be a society that uplifts, that makes life better for the vulnerable, that focuses our energy and our efforts and our organizations and our resources on supporting women and young families and children,” Rose said.
At the conclusion of the debate, Kissling revealed that at the heart of her position is a concession that an unborn child is, in fact, a human being.
Kissling then presented the argument put forward by adherents of utilitarian moral theory that an action can be justified if it leads to the “happiness” of the greatest number of people.
The abortion activist suggested considering a “thought experiment” involving a situation in which there is a fire in a building, and one is faced with deciding whether to rescue a poor family of six or a doctor who was about to come up with a cure for cancer.
“I’m asking you to think for yourself about how much you really believe and how much you act and how all our governments act within the principle of ‘every single life [has equal value],’” she said.
“The greatest good for the greatest number of people. Good principle. Do you save the family of six or do you save the doctor? That’s it,” she said.
Following the debate, Sabrina Soriano, a junior and art history major at Yale, said she thought Rose was the clear winner.
“I think Lila definitely just swept the floor and took the trophy prize because she came in with a sense of humility, and also with a deep sense of wanting to do justice to the Church in general, and also to the unborn.”
“I think regardless of if you were pro-choice, you understood that the argument [Kissling made] was weak, and it was based on more of a crowd-surfing or sentimentality rather than the facts,” said Soriano, who is Catholic and a member of the campus pro-life group, as were many students in attendance.
Kylyn Smith, a 19-year-old senior and double major in physics and economics, told the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, that while there was a strong contingent of pro-life advocates in the audience, Rose bested Kissling in the debate fair and square.
“Lila Rose valiantly defended the pro-life position with a secular, logical argument centered on the humanity of the unborn child. It was incredible watching her speak just as incisively and coherently live and in person as on her videos,” Smith said.
“Passion from attendees of all opinions quite literally rang throughout the auditorium, from hissing in disagreement to stomping in support. Ms. Rose’s cogent reasoning stood in stark contrast to the often-contradictory statements of the other guest, solidifying Lila’s win.”
This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.
Here’s a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.
National Institutes of Health refuses to renew fetal tissue grants
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is refusing to renew more than a dozen grants related to human fetal tissue research.
The federal agency told Breitbart News that multiple grants involving human fetal remains “will not be renewed.” The funding was originally launched under the Biden administration, the NIH told the conservative news outlet.
The agency revealed the decision shortly after a report from the watchdog group White Coat Waste exposed the ongoing funding.
The NIH told Breitbart that it is “guided by a commitment to valuing human life and ensuring that federally funded research is conducted responsibly and transparently.”
Lila Rose wins Yale debate on abortion with pro-choice leader
Lila Rose, the founder and president of Live Action, emerged the winner in a debate about abortion at Yale Political Union, the pro-life group said this week.
The Yale group describes itself as “the oldest and largest collegiate debate society in America” and “the central forum for political engagement and debate at Yale.” Attendees are permitted to vote to determine the winner of debates after speeches are given.
Live Action reported that Rose on Sept. 16 debated Frances Kissling, a former Catholics for Choice president and the founding president of the National Abortion Federation.
Kissling “argued that preborn children are not as valuable as other humans,” while Rose “defended their humanity and pointed out the injustices that occur when society dehumanizes certain human beings,” Live Action said.
Rose “came out ahead in a 60-31 vote,” the pro-life group said.
“We won. The room voted for the pro-life side,” Rose later wrote on X. “Yale organizer was shocked. Change is here. Thank you for praying.”
Assisted suicide activists go on trial in France as country debates euthanasia
Multiple elderly defendants are on trial in France for allegedly helping dozens of people purchase deadly drugs to end their own lives.
The trial of a dozen defendants, ranging from 74 to 89 years old, comes as the country debates legalizing assisted suicide. The French National Assembly approved an assisted dying measure earlier this year, with the bill now before the national senate.
Le Monde reported this week that the 12 defendants in the recently begun trial are accused of helping patients procure the drug pentobarbital, which is used in executions in the United States but is only legal to euthanize animals in France.
The defendants are reportedly members of Ultime Liberte (“Ultimate Freedom”), a pro-assisted-suicide group.
Texas governor signs bill allowing state residents to sue abortion pill manufacturers
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Sept. 17 signed into law a measure permitting state residents to sue manufacturers of abortion pills who circulate the deadly drugs in the state.
The law, passed by the state Legislature earlier this month, will allow plaintiffs to collect up to $100,000 in damages from those who bring abortion pills into the state or provide them to Texas residents.
Pregnant women who use the pills cannot be sued under the law.
Ethics and Public Policy Center scholar Mary Rice Hasson praised the Bishop of Toledo's recent pastoral letter, titled "The Body Reveals the Person: A Catholic Response to the Challenges of Gender Ideology." / Credit: "EWTN News Nightly"/Screenshot
Toledo, Ohio, Bishop Daniel Thomas’ recently released pastoral letter offering guidance on sex and gender identity issues received praise from the head of the Ethics and Public Policy Center’s (EPPC) Person and Identity Project, Mary Rice Hasson.
“[Thomas] really hones in so beautifully in this document on the truth that we are body and soul, and that our bodies reveal something wonderful about who we are,” Rice told “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Veronica Dudo on Sept. 17. “And so, rejecting the body, which is really what’s going on in the transgender issue, it’s sex rejection, rejection of yourself, is really turning back on yourself and hating and destroying something that is really, really good.”
Drawing on Scripture, theology, philosophy, and social sciences, the letter presents Church teaching in a form the bishop said he hopes is “readable, digestible, accessible, and charitable.”“I think it’s tremendously important that we have a bishop speaking out and giving such timely, but really comprehensive, loving, and hopeful guidance,” Rice said, noting the letter comes in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
EPPC scholar calls on more bishops to emulate Thomas
While some dioceses have offered “terrific responses” to the transgender issue, Rice acknowledged, “there are some dioceses where there’s nothing, there’s not even a statement about how people should understand this issue [and] what the Church’s teaching is.”
“I encourage bishops, if they have not written and spoken to this issue to please do that,” she continued. “People want to hear that. And that’s what I hear from people when I travel all over the U.S. talking about this issue.”
Rice pointed out that while social media can be used well to form connections with other people, “it really has become a channel of evil in many respects,” especially regarding sexual orientation and gender identity issues.
“Our youth are particularly vulnerable because they’re young,” she said. “They don’t have the prudence, the discretion, to be able to judge what’s the truth of what’s coming at them. They’re very subject to manipulation and peer pressure.”
Rice further encouraged parents to be vigilant in monitoring social media usage among their children.
“We have to speak the truth, and we have to be really clear that this is evil,” Rice said of transgenderism. “There are wonderful holistic ways to deal with difficult feelings,” she said, adding: “God loves everyone so much, and he wants something better than what is on offer right now from the culture on this issue.”
Priests throughout the country have mentioned assassinated conservative Christian activisit Charlie Kirk in their homilies this week. / Credit: ChoeWatt/Shutterstock
Catholic priests around the country have discussed the assassination of Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk during their homilies in the last week.
Kirk, 31, was shot during a campus event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. The alleged shooter has since been apprehended and identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson. Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika, and their two young children.
“So many times it seems almost surreal how the Gospel passage for the day fits … a situation that we face as Christians in our daily lives,” Father Chris Alar at the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, said during his homily on Sept. 11, referencing the day’s reading from the Gospel of Luke, when Jesus instructs his disciples to love their enemies.
“That is what Charlie Kirk did. I was watching some of his videos last night, and he was saying of murderers that they are still children of God, and he prayed for them,” the priest reflected, noting that though Kirk was political, he had not been a politician.
“When one side realizes they can’t defeat the truth, they turn to violence,” he said, citing the emperor Herod, who he said “realized that he couldn’t defeat the truth, so he turned to violence.”
Father John Hollowell at All Saints Parish in Indianapolis also reflected during his homily on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that he had felt “a great welling up in my heart” to join the military in the aftermath of the tragic event 24 years ago. Ultimately, he said, “I felt God telling me that the way that I was supposed to respond to the tragedy that I was seeing unfolding 24 years ago today was to become a diocesan priest.”
“Throughout the last 12 hours,” he said, “some of your young adult children and young adult family and friends are having that same urge to join the military, to join the police.”
He continued: “We need to just take a minute to just calmly ask ourselves: ‘Lord, what do you want me to do with my life? How can I lay down my life more perfectly for other people, for my country, for my community, for my parish?’ And God will let you know.”
“On Sept. 11, my prayers are with Charlie Kirk’s wife, with his children, but also in this tragic time in the United States of America,” said Father Jonathan Meyer, also of All Saints Parish. “My prayers are also with the family of the refugee from Charlotte, the families in Minnesota that … grieve and mourn, but also for those 24 years ago who, due to acts of hate, still don’t have their grandparents, their parents, their sons.”
“Just this week we were reminded once again of how fallen our world is with the murder of Charlie Kirk,” said Father Eric Ayers of St. Bede Catholic Church in Williamsburg, Virginia, during his Sunday homily. “He was the most recent in a long line in the last number of years of attempts at assassinations … [and] other acts of violence that occur in the political spheres.”
“These acts of violence of course are unconscionable and are a horrible tragedy for our nation,” he added.
The priest stated “before we blame one side or another, we need to remember that those actions don’t represent the vast majority of people for whom politics is important.”
Noting that “language over politics has gotten more extreme, more polarizing, more divisive,” Ayers concluded his reflections by advocating for self-sacrifice and the abandonment of “ego” as ways to foster civility in political discourse in the U.S.
In churches where Kirk’s death was not mentioned in the priest’s homily, prayers were offered for the repose of his soul, including on Sunday Mass at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C, and at St. Joseph’s on Capitol Hill.
Father John Evans of the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City told a local news outlet that people began gathering at the cathedral in the wake of Kirk’s assassination, with many coming to the church before Sunday Mass, “praying privately, some in groups, praying the rosary, and different prayers of different sorts.”
Several users on social media noted their priests offered homilies about Kirk’s death, with one account on X writing: “Today at my Catholic Mass the homily was about Charlie Kirk, what he stood for … It was about walking in Jesus’ shoes and bearing our cross.”
Today at my Catholic mass the Homily was about Charlie Kirk, what he stood for & the message his widow displayed on the way to the airport holding the Crucifix out of the window. It was about walking in Jesus’s shoes & bearing our cross. #ChristisKing
Catholic social media influencer Sachin Jose also noted the church where he attended Mass in New York “remembered Charlie Kirk in the priest’s homily.”
The Catholic Church where I attended Mass today remembered Charlie Kirk in the priest’s homily. Masses are being offered across the country for the repose of his soul. Here is a Mass card from New York.
Flowers are seen on Sept. 3, 2025, outside the Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, where a shooter killed two children and injured 21 other people on Aug. 27, 2025. / Credit: Alex Wroblewski/Getty
CNA Staff, Sep 16, 2025 / 16:14 pm (CNA).
Less than three weeks after the Annunciation Catholic School shooting in Minnesota that killed two children and injured 21 during Mass, the parents of a 12-year-old girl who was shot in the head say her progress has been “miraculous.”
When Sophia Forchas arrived at the hospital with a critical gunshot wound in her head, the doctors warned her parents that her life was in the balance.
“Doctors warned us she was on the brink of death,” Forchas’ parents, Tom and Amy Forchas, said in a statement. “In that darkest hour, the world responded with faithful devotion and fervent prayer.”
As news of the shooting spread, people around the world offered prayers for the victims and the community in prayer services, online, and in the quiet of their own homes.
In the early days after the shooting, Forchas’ condition “was changing minute to minute,” according to a Sept. 5 update from her parents.
A GoFundMe page organized by Michelle Erickson on the Forchas’ behalf has raised more than $1 million for Sophia’s recovery and to support her family with counseling services.
Sophia’s younger brother was also inside the school during the shooting, according to Erickson. Sophia’s mother, a pediatric critical care nurse, “arrived at work to help during the tragedy, before knowing it was her children’s school that was attacked and that her daughter was critically injured,” according to the GoFundMe page.
Sophia’s parents asked the world for prayers — and the world responded. The Forchases say they have heard from people from Athens to Minneapolis who are praying for their daughter.
In the wake of the tragedy, the Forchas family said that “rays of hope emerged” last week.
Sophia’s doctor said she “was showing signs of resilience,” the family said. “Her progress to this point is being called miraculous. We are calling it a miracle.”
“We thank you for all the prayers, love, and unwavering support from across the globe,” the Forchas family said. “The road ahead for Sophia is steep, but she is climbing it with fierce determination.”
“She is fighting not just for herself, but for every soul who stood by her in prayer,” they continued. “Please continue to keep Sophia in your hearts and prayers. She is a warrior! And she is winning!!”
‘Shattered and heartbroken, but not lost’
This week, hundreds gathered to support the family of 10-year-old Harper Moyski, one of the two children killed in the shooting. Fletcher Merkel, 8, also died in the attack. Twenty-one other people, mostly children, were also injured.
Mike Moyski and Jackie Flavin, Harper’s parents, called her a “light” in their remarks at a celebration of life on Sept. 14 at Lake Harriet Bandshell in Minneapolis.
“She taught us something profound, that light doesn’t always mean being strong on your own,” Flavin said, according to a report by CBS News. “Sometimes it really means being soft enough to let love in.”
“Harper didn’t do anything halfway. She was extra in the very best way,” Flavin said. “She just packed so much joy and imagination into her short 10 years, and thank God. Thank God she made it all count.”
Harper’s mother said the last few weeks “have felt like being dropped at the bottom of the ocean, where it is pitch dark, and the pressure is crushing and no human is really meant to survive it.”
But in the midst of their suffering, Harper’s parents said they feel grateful for the support.
“There’s just so much love and support lighting our path that we haven’t felt lost,” Flavin said. “Shattered and heartbroken, but not lost.”
“You’ve lifted us up during the hardest days of our lives, and we are so grateful,” Moyski said.
Aftermath of a tragedy
Annunciation Catholic School students are returning to school with a modified schedule this week, according to an announcement by the school’s leaders. The school will have supportive activities as well as extra security and support staff.
The church where the shooting took place will have to be reconsecrated, according to the archdiocese.
Reconsecration is a Catholic ritual used to purify a sacred space after it has been desecrated.
Father Matthew Crane, a canon lawyer in Minnesota, explained that as part of the rite, “the sanctuary is stripped in a manner consistent with Good Friday.”
“After the procession, much like the rite for initially dedicating a church, the celebrant, usually a diocesan bishop, blesses holy water and then sprinkles the people and walls with it,” Crane said. “Penitential prayers are offered, and the altar is only dressed with cloth and candles after these rituals have concluded.”
Crane said the “spiritual effects” include “purification and reparation.”
Crane, who has attended a reconsecration in the past, said he “was surprised at how, by virtue of participating in that ritual, I felt connected to and comfortable in the building and place.”
“I would hope that in Annunciation, or any Catholic community, the ritual of reconsecration would grant the community a profound sense of being once again at home in a house of God,” he said.
The Catholic University of America has announced that Taylor Black, director of artificial intelligence at Microsoft, will lead a new institute on emerging technologies and AI at the Washington, D.C.-based university. / Credit: The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America (CUA) announced that Taylor Black, director of artificial intelligence (AI) at Microsoft, will lead a new institute on emerging technologies and AI at the Washington, D.C.-based university.
At the technology conglomerate, Black serves as the director of AI and venture ecosystems in the Office of the Chief Technology Officer. In the role, he designs and leads cross-company initiatives that integrate innovation, product development, and community engagement to foster the next generation of technologies. He will remain in the position but plans to travel regularly to CUA’s campus.
“Taylor’s background in innovation, AI, and entrepreneurship; studies in philosophy and law; and his formation as a deacon candidate make him the ideal person for this new venture,” H. Joseph Yost, senior vice provost of research for CUA, said in a statement. “From our first conversation, we knew he was the person we wanted to lead Catholic University’s expansion of AI programs and innovation.”
Black received an undergraduate degree in philosophy and classics from Gonzaga University and a master’s degree in philosophy and a law degree from Boston College. His career took off after he created a successful web development business while still in school. He went on to hold consulting, business development, and venture positions before joining Microsoft in 2021.
While working in the technology field, Black said he has noticed an increase in questions related to human dignity from his secular colleagues. The new institute will work to tackle some of the concerns by pursuing innovation in AI and engaging in dialogue about human issues central to the Catholic Church.
“The Church has been trying to get people to ask the question ‘What does it mean to be human?’ for a very long time. Now a bunch of people are asking it unprompted,” Black said in an interview with CUA. “This lends itself to addressing the gaping hole in understanding what people should know about what it means to be human in a deeper way.”
“Universities are for the formation of human persons. If you’re well-formed, you generally do a better job in the workplace,” Black said. He is interested in “how we reinvigorate the heart of what the university is — its human formation roots — while still providing the tools and training necessary from an entrepreneurial perspective to take this new economic paradigm in stride.”
The new AI initiative will bring faculty together from multiple departments including engineering, business, science, art, philosophy, and theology to engage collaboration within as well as outside the university.
The new institute follows a number of other advances at CUA. Earlier this year, the university achieved R1 status, which placed it among the top 5% of universities nationwide in terms of research funding and doctorates.
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.”
Kendrick Castillo, who died in a school shooting in 2019 and whose cause for canonization has been opened in the Diocese of Colorado Springs. / Credit: Photo courtesy of John and Maria Castillo
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 13, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).
The Diocese of Colorado Springs announced it received a petition to open a cause for canonization for Kendrick Castillo, the lone fatal casualty after a shooting at a Colorado school in 2019, when the 18-year-old died after jumping into the line of fire to stop one of the shooters.
“Knowing Kendrick, we knew that that was something that he would do,” said his parents, Maria and John Castillo, in an interview with “EWTN News In Depth” this week.
“We’re so humbled and grateful,” John said about the opening of Kendrick’s cause for canonization. “It’s one of the greatest gifts that can ever be bestowed upon anybody. It’s just the sheer mention of sainthood. We always have felt … that since Kendrick was born, he’s been our saint. He’s worthy, and we believe that. But to hear it coming from our Catholic brothers and sisters and our families, it’s different and it’s more powerful.”
The priests in the diocese advocating for Kendrick’s cause believe that he qualifies for beatification in a new category called “Offering of Life.”
In a 2017 motu proprio, Pope Francis established a new category of Christian life eligible for beatification, recognizing individuals who died prematurely as a sacrificial offering of their life out of love for God and neighbor.
Since his death, there have been “numerous things that have taken place to honor Kendrick, and they’ve all been spectacular,” John said. “But this is on a level that is indescribable. It really is an honor, it’s humbling.”
Reflected on the kind of man his son was, John said: “Kendrick was joyful all the time. I don’t think there’s a picture [of him] that we have that doesn’t have a smile on it. He was just happy all the time. He loved life.”
“He made friends everywhere he went,” John continued, remembering a particular time when Kendrick was in preschool. “A child was being dropped off and was afraid to leave his mom for the day. Kendrick, as a little kid, went over and hugged him and said it would be OK and comforted him. That was just in his nature.”
At the public school Kendrick attended, “he took his Catholic faith and did what we’re asked to do as Catholics,” John said. He showed the “agape love that we should have for our savior. That’s what Kendrick did every day. I just wish people got to know his personality and see that.”
His son had a “willingness to live out his faith and help his community at church,” the elder Castillo said, recalling his service as an usher and altar server at Mass and funerals.
On the day of the shooting, Kendrick “risked his life to save others,” John said. “That was in Kendrick’s nature. We wish that he didn’t have to do that, of course. But in that moment, it wasn’t surprising to us that he would not run the other way [and] that he would defend the sanctity of life.”
Maria said she wants her son to be remembered for “his love.” She said: “He loved his friends, his parents, but most importantly, he loved God.”
Following recent shootings at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minnesota and Evergreen High School in Colorado, John offered consolation and wisdom to parents who have lost a child in such a tragedy. “My words to them would be: ‘Hold each other close.’”
“Remember what we’re called to do in faith and surrender to trust in the Lord,” John said. “God did not make this happen. Evil is real, and we can’t let evil divide us. We must comfort one another. We must try to seek viable solutions that are going to create safety for our families and our community … Reach out to one another and don’t let evil win and pull you away from anything that’s positive and God’s grace in our lives.”
In an interview with “EWTN News In Depth,” Hawkins called Kirk “a joyful warrior.” She pointed out: “He was a man of God and just moments before he was assassinated, he had proclaimed that Jesus Christ is his Lord and Savior. And he never shirked away from that, just like he never shirked away from any of the other political debates … I believe with my whole heart, he died a martyr.”
Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and campus activist, “truly enjoyed having conversations with those who disagreed with him and having the opportunity to change their minds,” Hawkins said. “He was a huge learning advocate … He was always wanting to find out the best ways to save our country and to advance our faith.”
“We work symbiotically on campuses to spread the good news of the Gospel, but then also spread the voice of reason, which Pope Benedict was very clear [about]. He wrote about how reason is God’s gift and when reason is abandoned, violence becomes the only remaining path … When people stop talking, when they disagree with each other, it only leads to violence.”
Hawkins highlighted Kirk’s mission to protect human life. Students for Life honored him in January at the National Pro-Life Summit with the Defender of Life Award “for his advocacy for life on college campuses.”
Turning Point, Students for Life, and similar organizations that work to defend life “have become increasingly effective [in] winning back students,” Hawkins said, especially because of Kirk’s “ability to reach young men.”
While the pro-life organizations have been “effective and things have started to shift in our country, it hasn’t shifted enough,” Hawkins said. “We still have a culture of death.”
Manifestation of the ‘culture of death’
The day of Kirk’s death, Hawkins was speaking to students at the University of Montana. “I was on campus for two hours before Charlie was shot and every argument from the 150 pro-choice students who surrounded me … was: ‘Maybe it is a baby, maybe it is human, but I can still kill it because I want to. That’s a culture of death.”
“When I announced to them that my friend had been shot and we were trying to find updates on Charlie’s condition … they laughed.”
This is the callous response of pro-choice students at the University of Montana when I told them my friend Charlie Kirk had been shot.
It was horrific. I share this because evil must be exposed in our nation, now more than ever. We may be at one of the lowest points in our… pic.twitter.com/1QFpG754AX
“This is what a culture of death breeds. When you say it’s OK to kill innocent babies and that there should be no recourse [for] killing innocent, helpless babies who are the most innocent among us, this is what it leads to. This is why we say it’s a culture of death that must be defeated and this is why we can’t abandon the campuses right now,” Hawkins said. “Do we abandon violence or accept reason?”
Despite this tragedy, Hawkins said: “We have to stay on campuses, because we have to teach this generation, Gen Z, that violence isn’t acceptable.” She shared that her organizations will be going to “160 campuses this semester talking about [their] fall theme, which is ‘every human life matters.’ Charlie Kirk’s life matters.”
“We have to go now harder and louder than ever before because God’s gift of reason must prevail. That is the only way our mission survives this.”
Hawkins also asked people to pray for Kirk’s wife, Erika, and their young children. “I can’t even imagine the pain that Erika is going through,” Hawkins said. “To lose the love of her life, the father of her children, her rock, one that she loves so dearly, and Erika loves so fiercely. But she also loves the Lord.”
“And so my prayer for her right now is that her faith prevails, and her faith carries her through this moment, and God grants her strength. She is strong enough to endure this. I would ask folks every morning when you wake up, pray for Erika. Pray for those two young children.”
Pilgrims at the canonization Mass for Sts. Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 7, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 13, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:
‘Surge of enthusiasm’ among Catholic in Asia after St. Carlo Acutis canonization
Young Catholics in Asia are “experiencing a surge of enthusiasm” around the life of the newly canonized St. Carlos Acutis, according to the testimony of Father Will Conquer, a Paris Foreign Missions Society priest stationed in Cambodia, according to a Sept. 8 UCA News report.
“In Asia, where digital culture is omnipresent, Carlo Acutis stands out as a ‘saint 2.0,’” said Conquer, who added that the young saint’s life “resonates particularly in this region where young people, connected and searching for meaning, find in him an accessible and inspiring role model.”
Catholic leaders in Jerusalem gather for conference on property tax laws
The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land gathered at the Notre Dame Center in Jerusalem on Sept. 10 for a “high-level conference dedicated to the Arnona property tax issue,” the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a Sept. 12 press release.
The conference comes after the Jerusalem Municipality’s decision to impose the Arnona municipal property tax on church properties, breaking with the historic status quo that has exempted Christian churches in the Holy Land from paying property taxes since the Ottoman Empire.
According to the release, the conference opened with a keynote address by Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who “emphasized that the status quo regarding the Arnona tax has come to an end and that change is inevitable.” Pizzaballa further called for leaders among the assembly to unite and “for institutions to prepare themselves collectively and responsibly for the upcoming changes.”
Catholic charity delivers water to South Korean city plighted by drought
A charity organization called the Catholic Medical Angels has delivered 10 tons of water to the coastal city of Gangneung in South Korea, where rapidly declining water levels in the city’s Obong Reservoir has prompted a water crisis, according to a report from UCA News.
“Though it is a small effort, we hope it helps the citizens of Gangneung and that this severe drought is resolved as soon as possible,” said Min Chang-Ki, director of the Catholic Medical Center, which oversees the Catholic Medical Angels.
The delivery took place on Sept. 3 and was carried out at parishes across the local Chuncheon Diocese. The diminishing reservoir ordinarily supplies about 87% of the city’s tap and industrial water, the report said.
Filipino priest to receive Nobel Prize of Asia for opposition toward former president
Filipino priest Father Flavie Villanueva will receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award, often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of Asia,” for his work building shelters for Manila’s homeless population and “defending victims of extrajudicial killings” in former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug crackdown, according to Crux.
“I accept this on behalf of the thousands of homeless and those victims of social injustice, particularly the EJK victims, that they may have a face in this fast-changing world,” Villanueva said in a press conference on Wednesday. He will receive the award officially in a ceremony on Nov. 7.
Catholics in Nepal hoping for an end to violence amid corruption protests
Catholics in Nepal are hoping for an end to ongoing violence, according to Nepal priest Father Silas Bogati, after anti-corruption protests in the country escalated on Sept. 6, resulting in the deaths of at least 22 people, according to a Sept. 10 Crux report.
“Violence is never a solution to problems, and now we hope there will be peaceful transition and people can live in peace,” the priest said. “For the Catholic Church, we want to see the end of violence and arson attacks and get a peaceful solution to the ongoing problems.”
The priest’s words come after “a full curfew” was enacted following Saturday’s unrest, which was ignited by social media bans across the country.
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.
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.
“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.
Alveda King has suffered three assassinations in her family: that of her father, Rev. Alfred Daniel Williams King; her grandmother, Alberta King; and her renowned uncle, Martin Luther King Jr. / Credit: “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo”/Screenshot
CNA Staff, Sep 12, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).
After the assassination of Charlie Kirk at a college campus on Wednesday, Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., encouraged people to pray.
“It broke my heart,” King said when asked about her reaction to learning of the assassination.
“I was so very startled when I got the news that Charlie had been shot, and my heart immediately went to him and his family, his beautiful wife, his little children,” she told Raymond Arroyo on EWTN’s “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo.”
“Having experienced those kinds of occurrences in my own family, I immediately went into prayer,” she said.
King shared about her own experience with political assassinations in her family. Not only was her uncle, Dr. King, assassinated but her father, Rev. Alfred Daniel Williams King, was also assassinated as well as her grandmother, Alberta King.
“For me, I am a Christian. I still have the peace and the joy of the Lord, but it’s almost like a trauma or a trigger point when those things happen,” King said.
But amid the trauma, King encouraged listeners to “do what my uncle talked about,” encouraging people to have “regard for human dignity.”
“We’ve got to care again,” King said. “We’ve got to see human beings as human beings — from the womb to the tomb and beyond.”
“We’ve got to get back to a point of caring, of loving, of repenting, of forgiving,” she continued. “Therein lies the answer.”
The greatest of these is love
Calling Charlie Kirk a “man of faith,” King said she will remember him with a Scripture verse: 1 Corinthians 13:13.
“Now abides faith, hope, and love. The greatest of these is love,” she said. “That’s the way that I do remember Charlie.”
King said she believed that if Charlie Kirk, Dr. King, or President John F. Kennedy were still with us, they would encourage us to not “seek our answers in humanity.”
“We’re going to find not our heroes in humanity, but we’re going to have to look to Jesus at these times,” King said.
“We’re living in tumultuous times, and social media drives us to retaliate, to strike back,” she said. “I want to remind people that if you don’t agree with someone, you don’t shoot the person. You pray, you talk, and you consider your position. But this violence is just absolutely wrong.”
She noted that we are living in “a time of violence and anger and fear and frustration.”
“So that leads me to say to everyone: fear not, listen, love, communicate,” she said.
King encouraged listeners “to do something good for someone” in remembrance of Charlie Kirk and in memory of the victims of the violence on the 24th anniversary of 9/11.
“I would remind us to call for peace, to call for prayer,” she said. “And I know Charlie would want us to do that as well.”
The premiere of “Triumph of the Heart” in Dallas on Sept. 8, 2025. / Credit: Nicole Marie Richards
CNA Staff, Sep 12, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
A new film called “Triumph of the Heart” depicts St. Maximilian Kolbe’s last days on earth in a starvation bunker in the German death camp of Auschwitz. The film will be released in theaters on Sept. 12.
St. Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish Franciscan friar and priest who volunteered to die in place of another man in Auschwitz. He spent the last 14 days of his life in a starvation bunker alongside nine other men.
The red carpet at the premiere of “Triumph of the Heart” in Dallas on Sept. 8, 2025. Credit: Nicole Marie Richards
At the film’s Sept. 8 premiere in Dallas, where over 1,000 people gathered at the Edith O’Donnell Arts and Technology Building on the University of Texas at Dallas campus to show their support and watch the film, writer and director Anthony D’Ambrosio told CNA on the red carpet that it was “surreal” to see the magnitude of the premiere.
He explained that it was originally meant to be a more intimate gathering with roughly 200 people in attendance but “God, of course, had other plans,” D’Ambrosio said. “I think that what I’m seeing is that God keeps on growing our vision for where he wants to take the film, where he wants to take this story.”
The current rise in faith-based media
Actors who also spoke on the red carpet discussed the resurgence of faith-based media being seen in today’s culture.
Michael Iskander, who portrays King David in Prime Video’s “House of David” and served as the master of ceremonies for the premiere, said he believes “Christ is pouring his heart out to all of us in every way possible and media is one of those frontiers that hasn’t really been touched yet.”
He credited the hit series “The Chosen” for “paving the path for so much faith-based filmmaking and showing people that this is a market that people want to see.”
Michael Iskander, the actor who portrays King David in Prime Video’s “House of David,” at the Sept. 8, 2025, premiere of “Triumph of the Heart.” Credit: Nicole Marie Richards
A recent convert to Catholicism, Iskander shared that St. Maximilian Kolbe was one of the first saints he learned about from the Catholic Church. He highlighted the saint’s use of media to spread the Gospel message to the masses and said it is “fitting that this film and this rise in Christianity, especially in filmmaking, had to do with St. Kolbe.”
Jeff Schiefelbein, co-host of the podcast “The Beatidudes” and an investor in “Triumph of the Heart,” said he believes there is a resurgence in faith-based media because people are “sick of all the fake stuff.”
“We’re being told to compare ourselves to things that aren’t even important. The materialism has swung so far that the pendulum is making its way back,” he said. “… I think there’s going to be this resurgence … of young people, Gen Xers, old people coming back and saying, ‘Wait, we want what’s real, what’s true, what’s good, and what’s beautiful’ and so it is rooted in the Gospel when we go and seek those.”
Marcellino D’Ambrosio, a well-known author, Catholic commentator, and executive producer of the film — also the father of Anthony D’Ambrosio — called this moment we’re seeing in faith-based media “a Holy Spirit moment.”
“Human beings always need God but I think something really special is going on right now,” he said.
“St. Augustine said it well: Our hearts are restless until we rest in him. And success in the culture — this is a fascinating thing that actually goes back even to the successful cultures in Rome — there’s an emptiness when you have a certain amount of success and you have leisure; nothing satisfies but God,” he added. “So it oftentimes leads people to that restlessness that St. Augustine talks about — to look for him, to be open to him, and I think that’s what’s going on in our culture right now.”
Actor Marcin Kwaśny as Maximilian Kolbe in “Triumph of the Heart.” Credit: Triumph of the Heart movie/Sherwood Fellows
A film that inspires hope
As for what those involved in the film hope viewers take away from it, the major theme they mentioned was their wish that it fills the audience with hope.
“I hope they will take away hope,” Marcellino D’Ambrosio said. “I hope that everyone realizes that God is real; I have a future, no matter how bad the present looks … he’s with me in the present and he has something in store for me that’s greater than my wildest dreams.”
Rowan Polonski, the actor who portrays Albert in the film — one of the men in the starvation bunker alongside Kolbe — told CNA his hope is for the audience to be “pleasantly surprised in the way that they’re moved.”
“Entering into this movie, you could quite easily walk in thinking it’s going to be a pretty dark and heavy write, but what I want them to walk out with is a sense of joy and catharsis,” he added. “And a sense that no matter how dark times can get, how low one can feel, there’s always a way out, there’s always a crack of light somewhere that you can cling onto and follow through and it’s normally in the form of love.”
Producer Cecilia Stevenson added: “I really want people to feel love when they watch this movie and specifically to feel the love of Our Lord and how he enters into our suffering with us, just like Kolbe did for those men in that film. Our movie, Kolbe’s story, it’s a modern-day example that ultimately points us to Christ, and I really hope people feel that love and I hope it gives them hope, that there is meaning in life and that suffering itself can have meaning.”
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 11, 2025 / 17:27 pm (CNA).
After two children died and more than 20 people were injured by a transgender-identifying man in Minneapolis in August, Catholic schools around the country have been evaluating their security measures, with some hiring security guards and others allowing teachers and staff to be armed.
The Diocese of Buffalo this week announced it has hired armed security guards for the 29 Catholic elementary schools in its jurisdiction and has also engaged a “security consultant” to help create “comprehensive safety plans tailored to each school community.”
Catholic schools superintendent Joleen Dimitroff sent a letter to parents informing them of the decisions, which she said are “a reflection of our shared belief that the safety of our children is priceless and must be protected with the highest level of care.”
Parents’ reactions have been mixed. Marc Bruno, a longtime Buffalo public school teacher, called the move “a necessary step.”
“No one wants to see guns in the schools,” he told local ABC news station WKBW. However, he continued, “if you look at some of the previous shootings, principals have thrown their bodies at the gunman, and you know, our bodies don’t stand a chance against a bullet.”
One mother opposed the move, saying having armed security guards will put “children’s lives in danger.” She said she will not continue sending her child to school with armed guards present, emphasizing that her child “isn’t allowed to have peanut butter in his classroom to protect kids, but you want a stranger strolling the halls with a gun?”
Arming teachers
A less-talked-about solution among Catholic schools is the practice of arming school staff, including teachers.
In Ohio, nearly 100 public school districts — and even some private Christian schools — have anonymous armed staff this year, up from 67 the year before, according to a roster released by the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
Hametown Christian Academy, a private school in Norton, Ohio, allows armed staff.
Associate pastor and head of school safety at the school Rick Wright told the Akron Beacon Journal on Aug. 25 that the school board decided it was “prudent to arm teachers and staff members” due to the increase in school shootings in recent years.
“A gun is not evil,” Wright said. “It is a tool, and the fact that some of our staff may be armed is a deterrent.”
The names and numbers of teachers and other school staff carrying guns are not publicly available, nor are the total number of armed staff in each district. All armed staff are trained to use their weapons, according to Wright.
Schools post signs alerting visitors of the gun policy, hoping the knowledge that staff are armed will serve as “a deterrent,” Wright said.
If you “put up a no gun zone sign,” Wright said, “you’re telling somebody you can come in here and shoot all you want.”
“It works the opposite (of the intent); you’ve made yourself a soft target,” he said.
An independent Catholic school in the South that wishes to remain unnamed told CNA that after extensive discussion about campus security, administrators arrived at an “informal” security policy that involves armed staff.
“We’re pretty sure some of the teachers have guns in their cars,” an administrator told CNA.
When asked whether teachers were also carrying concealed weapons, the administrator said he does not know, and the school has “never said yes or no” to the practice.
Because of the “high quality of the teachers” at the school, the administrator said the leadership “came to the conclusion that the teachers would go after a guy with a gun rather than run away.” The school would “call the police and then the teachers with weapons would use … deadly force” if necessary to protect students.
“We’re willing to bet that would be a sufficient response,” he said.
Funding for security measures
Funding for the new security measures in the Buffalo Diocese for the 2025-2026 school year has been provided by the Foundation for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, according to Dimitroff. Tuition will increase in subsequent years to cover the cost, which might also be covered by public funding.
James Cultrara, the director for education for the New York State Catholic Conference, told CNA after the 2012 school shooting in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, that New York state lawmakers had instituted two funding streams to address school security: one for public schools and one for private schools.
The private school funding program has expanded tenfold, from $7 million initially to more than $70 million. Schools can use the funds to address anything related to “health, safety, and security.” Environmental hazard mitigation as well as security cameras, security guards, and remote door locks are covered by the funding, Cultrara said.
The Minnesota Catholic Conference released a statement on Sept. 5 saying it “welcomes a broader legislative discussion about preventing gun violence” and asking the state Legislature to address security funding disparities between public and private schools.
Jason Adkins, executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, noted that while the Catholic Church in Minnesota “has long supported commonsense gun regulations, such as protective orders and expanded background checks,” neither of those measures prevented “the Annunciation tragedy.”
Adkins noted that while “Americans have a right to possess firearms,” that right comes with responsibilities, including that of public officials to address the “deeper causes of violence — mental health struggles, family breakdown, and a growing despair often worsened by harmful ideologies, substance abuse, and the effects of the absence of God in people’s lives.”
Adkins urged the Legislature to reconsider recently-enacted laws that loosen restrictions on THC (a cannabis plant derivative) and “the widely debated treatment of young people experiencing gender dysphoria.”
A controversial Minnesota law prohibits mental health counselors from practicing so-called conversion therapy on LGBT youth, which in practice means that therapists who want to help people who do not want to embrace a LGBT identity are fearful of doing so, according to Christian therapist Dr. David Kirby, who testified against the legislation before it passed.
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
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…
“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.
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…
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…
“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
“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…
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…
“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.
“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.
Bishop Pedro Bismarck Chau at his episcopal consecration Mass as the new auxiliary bishop of Newark, New Jersey, on Sept. 8, 2025. / Credit: Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart
ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 11, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).
“Today, we Nicaraguans are making history again. Do not forget: God is with us and God is with Nicaragua!” said Pedro Bismarck Chau, the new auxiliary bishop of Newark, New Jersey, at the Sept. 8 Mass for his episcopal consecration, making him the first Nicaraguan-born bishop in the United States.
Amid a festive atmosphere and before a packed Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark, where he had been rector since 2020, Chau received episcopal consecration through the laying on of hands by several bishops. The principal consecrator was Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the archbishop of Newark.
As part of the celebration, Cardinal Christoph Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, read the letter in which Pope Leo XIV officially appointed Chau as bishop and encouraged him to allow himself to be strengthened “by the grace of this jubilee year and you will have reason to be confident in the gift of hope, which does not disappoint. May God continue to bless you and may he bless the people of God in this archdiocese.”
The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep
In his homily in English and Spanish, Tobin encouraged the new bishop to remember that “you have been called from among the people of God and for the people of God. Not for yourself, but for the things that belong to God. Indeed, episcopacy is the name of a service, not an honor, for a bishop should strive to serve rather than rule.”
“According to the Master’s commandment, whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of all … Be a faithful steward and dispenser of the mysteries of Christ. Always follow the example of the Good Shepherd, who knows his sheep and is known by them, and who did not hesitate to give his life for them.”
The cardinal then recalled that “Pope Francis never tired of repeating to bishops that there are three aspects to a bishop’s closeness to the people he serves: closeness to God in prayer, the first task; closeness to the priests and deacons of the Church; and closeness to the people of God. … Do not forget your roots, do not forget those who have passed on the faith to you.”
‘God is with Nicaragua!’
At the beginning of his address as a newly consecrated bishop, Chau thanked the Deaf community in sign language, recalling that for 17 years they have been a great support and encouragement in his ministry, offering them his prayers and concluding with a clear: “I love you!”
Speaking later in Spanish, he addressed his “dear Hispanic community: Thank you for the faith and devotion you possess. You are a great gift of life for the Church in the United States. Continue, brothers, to be a Church that goes out in search of the lost sheep.”
“I would also like to acknowledge the presence this afternoon,” Chau continued, “of a group of people here from a very small country but with a big and resilient heart that cries out with a phrase that no other country has: ‘Who causes so much joy? The conception of Mary. Mary of Nicaragua! Nicaragua of Mary!’”
The prelate addressed his family, especially his mother: “Thank you, my dearest mother, for everything and for praying so many rosaries for me, three, four, and five times a day that you pray for me. I need them, so don’t stop praying those rosaries for me. OK, Mommy?”
“I love you very much,” he told his family, “you know I love you with all my heart.”
The example of the Virgin Mary
Chau said he hopes to “follow the example of Mary, whose birthday we celebrate today. Happy birthday, Mary! She trusted in God’s plan even though she didn’t know what she was being called to or where it would take or lead her. She renounced all the dreams and aspirations that a young girl would have and put God’s will first.”
Then addressing all those assembled he said: “I humbly ask you to remember me in your prayers to the Lord and to ask the Virgin to watch over me and bring me closer to her son, Jesus, so that I may reflect for you the image of the Good Shepherd. Thank you, and may God bless you all!” he said.
Words of Bishop Silvio Báez
Following the Mass, Bishop Silvio Báez, the exiled auxiliary bishop of Managua, Nicaragua, who has been living in the U.S. since 2019, said the episcopal consecration of Chau was a “historic celebration. The first Nicaraguan, born in Nicaragua, to be ordained a bishop in the United States. He was baptized and took his first steps in the faith in Nicaragua.”
“This is a sign of the richness and fruitfulness of the Church of Nicaragua and a message of hope for all the people of God in our country. The fact that Bismarck came from Nicaragua and settled in the United States shows that it is possible to move forward despite the difficulties one may encounter,” he added.
When asked about his meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican in August, along with two other exiled Nicaraguan bishops — Carlos Herrera and Isidoro Mora — the prelate said: “The interview with the Holy Father was a moment of grace, a moment of hope, seeing how deeply he holds Nicaragua in his heart as well as the situation the Nicaraguan people are experiencing at this time.”
Who is Bishop Pedro Bismarck Chau?
Pedro Bismarck Chau was born on June 28, 1967, in Managua, Nicaragua. He studied at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
He completed his ecclesiastical studies at Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange and later earned a master’s degree in counseling from Seton Hall University.
He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark on May 24, 2008.
He served as parochial vicar of Our Lady of Mount Virgin in Garfield, New Jersey, from 2008–2012; as director of vocations from 2012–2016; and as head of campus ministry at Rutgers University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology from 2015–2020.
He also served as pastor of the Pro-Cathedral of Sts. John and Patrick in Newark from 2015–2020 and rector of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart since 2020.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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 10, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
“It would have to be studied.” That was President Donald Trump’s take on the proposal to arm teachers in schools in order to counteract mass shooters.
The president made those remarks on Sept. 2, nearly a week after the deadly mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis. That attack claimed the lives of two children, injured many others, and once again raised the question of whether or not teachers should be permitted to carry guns in schools.
Policymakers will likely debate the matter for some time. In some cases it has already been decided: A handful of states, including Florida, Idaho, and Texas, allow for public school teachers to carry guns in some circumstances.
Whether or not it will be adopted broadly in Catholic schools is another question. Although the debate is deeply, and at times bitterly, contentious, Catholic Church teaching would appear to allow it.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church has never pronounced directly on the morality of carrying firearms, much less in a school environment. But the text does stipulate that “legitimate defense” can include the act of a “lethal blow,” though it must be done in defense of one’s life and not as an end to itself.
Perhaps most notably, the catechism stipulates that “legitimate defense” can “be not only a right but a grave duty for someone responsible for another’s life” (No. 2265).
“[T]hose holding legitimate authority have the right to repel by armed force aggressors against the civil community entrusted to their charge,” it states.
This would seem to at least allow for the possibility of arming teachers to counteract mass shooters. But whether or not this is a good or defensible idea is another matter.
“I’m not convinced we are in a social situation where arming teachers is justifiable,” Professor Jacob Kohlhaas told CNA.
Kohlhaas is a professor of moral theology at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. He described himself as “not absolutely pacifist” but said the proposal to arm teachers is “profoundly misguided” and that it “utilizes some parts of the Catholic moral tradition while neglecting others.”
“I can actually imagine scenarios where armed teachers might be justifiable, but I can only imagine this in the context of widespread security issues or civil unrest,” he said.
“In a functioning democracy, increasing the capability for deadly response without questioning why such force is needed runs contrary to our obligations to the common good,” he said.
Kohlhaas said his own state has lately made gun ownership much more accessible, rendering it “more difficult to remove [firearms] from potentially violent individuals.”
“It is hard for me to imagine how a drastic response is justified when we are actively creating an environment that is more conducive to the underlying problem,” he said.
In contrast, Patrick Toner, a professor of philosophy at Wake Forest University, has argued that it is “not a bad idea” to put guns in the hands of teachers.
Following the 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, which claimed the lives of 19 students and two teachers, Toner wrote that laws prohibiting lawful gun carrying on school campuses means shooters can “generally assume that schools are truly gun-free zones,” making them “soft targets” for would-be killers.
“It’s unsettling to write about hardening up our schools. Don’t we wish there were no crazed murderers … looking to massacre harmless children?” Toner said. “And yet, in our depraved culture, unsurprisingly, we find no shortage of hopeful murderers.”
Toner told CNA that his beliefs on the matter “lie mainly in the realm of prudential judgment rather than in the direct application of any Church teachings.”
Still, he said, the Church does clearly state that Catholics “do indeed have a right to defend ourselves and a profound obligation to protect the helpless.”
Whether or not that obligation extends to carrying guns in schools is, of course, a matter of debate.
The catechism quotes St. Thomas Aquinas in saying that any self-defense that incorporates “more than necessary violence” is “unlawful” but that repelling an attack with “moderation” is appropriate (No. 2264).
Yet Aquinas further stipulates that in acts of self-defense it is not necessary to moderate one’s response solely “to avoid killing,” since “one is bound to take more care of one’s own life than of another’s.”
The saint further writes that those with “public authority” have more latitude to use lethal defense insofar as they “refer [the killing] to the public good.”
Though Church authorities in the U.S. have not explicitly weighed in on the question, some have expressed misgivings about the proposal to arm teachers.
Following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a statement that the “idea of arming teachers seems to raise more concerns than it addresses.”
“We must always remember what is at stake as we take actions to safeguard our communities and honor human life,” the bishops said at the time.
Unsurprisingly, no pope has ever commented directly on the question, but popes have regularly spoken out against the proliferation of firearms.
Pope Francis was a consistent critic of the arms industry, though mostly in the context of war; following the Minneapolis shooting, meanwhile, Pope Leo XIV prayed for God “to stop the pandemic of arms, large and small, which infects our world.”
Kohlhaas, meanwhile, acknowledged that there are “people charged with protecting society who should possess and responsibly use firearms,” but he argued that “extending that to teachers without seriously asking why and how we got to this point is a problem.”
Gun violence, he said, is not inevitable, and humans have “an obligation to craft and adapt human products towards the common good.”
“[W]hen we simply give up and think that a particular form of violence that occurs in a very particular type of society is somehow beyond our control, we profoundly fail to acknowledge our responsibilities for assessing and reshaping that society,” he said.
Artist Johnny Vrba presents the commissioned Carlo Acutis piece to kids at St. Carlo Acutis Parish in Chicago. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Chicago Catholic
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 9, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).
As the faithful continue to celebrate the canonization of St. Carlo Acutis, a 1,000-piece mosaic portrait of the new saint made of toy soldiers, Pokémon, shoelaces, and other surprises hangs in Rome.
After artist Johnny Vrba heard about Acutis, he was inspired to create a portrait of the saint out of recognizable items that visually tell his story. Vrba has now crafted and presented two portraits of Acutis to help young Catholics learn about the first millennial saint.
“Every figure, every toy, every single thing that is glued on the piece has a meaning and a purpose,” Vrba told CNA. “It’s all on there for a reason. Every single one of them is numbered, just like Scripture says: ‘He hasn’t just counted them, because he’s numbered us. He’s numbered the hairs on our heads.’”
Johnny Vrba with his Carlo Acutis portrait in Assisi, Italy. Credit: Photo courtesy of Johnny Vrba
Discovering ‘an ordinary, but extraordinary, saint’
Vrba was raised Catholic but didn’t completely commit to his faith until an unexpected trip established his relationship with Christ.
In 2020, Vrba was on a study abroad trip sailing to Shanghai, China, when the COVID-19 virus broke out. “The voyage did not go as planned, but during that uncertain time I actually met the Lord for the first time in a really powerful way.”
After the experience, Vrba got involved in missionary work, was in school, and created a bit of art on the side. He had always enjoyed painting and building small toys and thought: “I wonder if there’s a way to combine drawing, painting, and this sculptural component.”
Vrba put faith and art together to create a couple portraits of Jesus with the Crown of Thorns. One is made of wine corks to represent Jesus’ miracle in Cana, and the other is crafted of toy soldiers.Then a friend of Vrba’s told him about Acutis, inspiring the next steps for the young artist.
“I’d never heard of Carlo Acutis. He was totally under my radar,” Vrba said. “Then I researched him and thought: ‘He has some very similar things to my own story and synchronicities.’ Like bringing his parents to the faith and bringing them to Mass. Then being into technology and filming and animals, like his dogs and cats. He’s just such an ordinary, but extraordinary, saint.”
The St. Carlo Acutis mosaic in the making. Credit: Photo courtesy of Johnny Vrba
“I started dreaming about what a piece could look like,” Vrba said. He decided his next sculpture would be an image Acutis made of toys, because “Carlo would have played with video game controllers, and played Pokémon and Mario.”
‘The First Millennial Saint’
Creating the mosaic was no simple task. Vrba had to track down thousands of quality soldiers and toys, paint them, and meticulously glue each one in place. The result was the 45-pound mosaic called “The First Millennial Saint.”
“Every toy has a meaning and a purpose,” Vrba said. Many of the soldiers are turned facing a figure of the crucifixion to represent “the culture of death.” They are “flaccid, boring, colored, gray, white, and black figures that are all pointing at the cross — pointing at Jesus.”
There are also colorful soldiers that are “outward-facing, evangelizing, and filled with the joy of the Gospel.” The 163 colorful figures represent Christians who are fighting against the culture of death and also the 163 Eucharistic miracles Acutis documented on his website.
The sculpture also has dozens of hidden “Easter eggs” that viewers might just miss, including a dolphin and various Pokémon characters hinting at Acutis’ favorite animal and favorite game. The background is even a soccer field to represent his love for the sport.
“People really gravitate towards the computer desk setup. It has a saxophone, the Bible, a world map, a little soda, and his dogs and cats around him where he would have worked at his little station. It blends right in with the piece, you would never even know, but when you turn your head sideways you can see it.”
“Then both of the miracles are incorporated,” Vrba said. The miracle of Mattheus, a young boy from Brazil who was healed from a birth defect that caused him difficulty eating is represented with small steak and french fry figurines, because it was the first meal he was able to consume after his mother asked Acutis to intercede for her son.
The sculpture includes a bicycle to represent the miracle that saved Valeria Valverde, a young Costa Rican woman who suffered a serious head injury from a bike accident in Florence. The toy bike is “placed on Carlo’s head where she cracked her head and suffered brain hemorrhaging.” After her mother prayed at Acutis’ tomb, she made a complete recovery.
Artist Johnny Vrba presents the commissioned Carlo Acutis piece to kids at St. Carlo Acutis Parish in Chicago. Credit: Photo courtesy of Chicago Catholic
A mission of more than just art
Vrba created the original mosaic for Acutis’ mother, which he planned to give to her during a meeting at Acutis’ canonization in April. After it was postponed due to Pope Francis’ death, the meeting was unfortunately canceled. Since the piece had already traveled to Italy, Vrba decided to take it to the church where Acutis is buried in Assisi.
The sculpture traveled around the city where Vrba showed it to pilgrims and placed it in spots Acutis once stood himself. After gaining traction on its journey, it was acquired by and placed in the Vatican’s youth center.
While in Assisi, Vrba also met a number of parishioners of St. Carlo Acutis Parish in Chicago — the only church in the United States named after Acutis. One parishioner commissioned a replica of the piece that Vrba created with even more details than the original.
Inspired by Acutis’ quote “We are all born originals, but many of us die photocopies,” Vrba ensures each work of art, even replicas, are different. “I want to make every piece unique, because every person is unique. Die as an original, not as a photocopy.”
Vrba presented the original during the Jubilee of Youth and the replica to kids at St. Carlo Acutis Parish. When kids see the sculpture Vrba loves that they realize “each figure on the piece has a special mission, and each one of us in the Church [has] a special mission. We are made for a purpose. We are the lifeblood of the Church.”
“I want to make art that people don’t just look at but look into. And it’s the greatest joy in my life when kids come up to it and they’re able to touch things, push buttons, and they can get their hands on it, interact with it. I love seeing them look into it.”
Vrba is currently working on four pieces that will be shown at Miami Art Week in December, including portraits of St. John Paul II and newly canonized St. Pier Giorgio Frassati. Vrba’s art will be one of the very few, if not the only, religious pieces at the mostly secular show.
“Then the goal would be to use those pieces at school parishes, stand-alone parishes, churches, and any Catholic missions to preach the lives of the saints.” He added: “The mission is to speak and evangelize, and especially, convict the universal call to holiness in an artistic way … using the commonplace household items and toys that people recognize.”
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.
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Rochester, New York. / Credit: DanielPenfield via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)
CNA Staff, Sep 8, 2025 / 12:37 pm (CNA).
One of the nation’s largest sexual abuse settlements unfolded in a federal bankruptcy court in Rochester, New York, on Friday, bringing about resolution for the nearly 500 survivors of child sex abuse by clergy within the Diocese of Rochester.
After a six-year legal battle, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of New York approved a $246 million settlement, which will average approximately $500,000 per survivor.
The settlement concludes a process that began when the diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019 following the passage of the New York Child Victims Act, which allows abuse victims to file civil lawsuits until they are 55 years old. The law temporarily lifted the statute of limitations, enabling survivors to pursue claims against their abusers.
Bankruptcy attorney Ilan Scharf described the day as a “milestone for survivors in the Rochester area after being the first bankruptcy filed in New York” after the passage of the Child Victims Act.
Survivors expressed a mix of emotions, with many ready to move forward.
Gregory Stanley noted: “The healing can start now, which is more important than the money. I’m just glad it’s over.” Merle Sweet echoed this sentiment, saying: “Relief. It’s all finally over,” while John McHugh added: “I am actually, for the first time, excited for the future.”
Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, representing 97 victims, emphasized the survivors’ resilience, stating in a press release that the process validated their experiences and contributed to a safer world for children, setting an example of determination for others globally.
Survivor Carol Dupre shared the profound impact on her community. “This was a real wounding of a lot of people and their families. There’s literally thousands upon thousands of people that have been negatively affected by what happened to us,” she said.
Bishop Salvatore Matano of the Diocese of Rochester addressed the media after the settlement, offering a message of hope and regret. “I pray that this is certainly a step toward their healing,” he said of the victims. “I apologize to them. I deeply regret what transpired in their lives, which, as the judge said, never should have happened.”
He continued: “While this process legally concludes today, I take them in my heart every day of my life, and every time I approach the altar, they will be in my memory, asking the good Lord to give them the strength and the courage to continue on, and that they be blessed in the years ahead.”
Matano issued a letter the same day in which he said the “settlement provisions can be effectuated” in the next several weeks. Of the $246 million settlement, $55 million will be paid by the diocese and affiliated entities, according to the letter, and the rest by the diocese’s insurers.
The bishop concluded the letter addressing abusers, saying he entrusts “them to Jesus, the final judge, and I pray they have acknowledged their offenses and used their remaining years to seek his mercy and have prayed fervently for those they have hurt.”
Tom Vander Woude with two of his grandchildren, Michael and Bobby Vander Woude (from left to right). The Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, is investigating Tom Vander Woude’s cause for sainthood almost two decades after he died saving his son. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild
CNA Staff, Sep 8, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Suffocation awaited a young man with Down syndrome when the eroded surface of a toxic sewage tank crumbled beneath his feet.
Joseph Vander Woude would have died alone in the cramped tank surrounded by toxic fumes, but his father jumped in, pushing him toward the surface with his last breath.
Even as his lungs filled with toxic gases, Tom called out to the farmhand who was trying to pull Joseph out.
“You pull, I’ll push,” he said.
Tom eventually faded into unconsciousness, still propping Joseph up until emergency responders pulled them both out of the 7-foot-deep tank.
By the time they did, Tom was dead.
It was Sept. 8, 2008, when Tom, 66, left behind his wife and seven sons. But Tom’s legacy wouldn’t end there.
Seventeen years later, a group of Catholics is now working with the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, to open his cause for sainthood.
“You’re shocked that he’s gone, and you miss him, and you don’t know what’s going to replace that void, if it ever will be replaced,” his fifth son, Chris Vander Woude, told CNA. “But then you’re like, that’s a hero.”
More than 1,500 people attended Tom’s funeral Mass, including the local bishop, more than 75 priests, and more than 60 altar boys.
Tom’s story continues to resonate. A guild founded in his name is interviewing those who knew him, while the diocese has named a postulator and vice postulator to investigate his cause for sainthood.
Depending on what they find, his case could go to Rome.
Signs of holiness
In the Catholic Church, three things can put you on the path to sainthood: martyrdom, heroic virtue, and now — after a 2017 move by Pope Francis to expand sainthood — a sacrificial death.
Keith Henderson never knew Tom, but as he learned about him, he was inspired to found the Tom Vander Woude Guild that is advocating for his cause by sharing his story. Alongside the guild, the Diocese of Arlington has taken several preliminary steps to open his cause, including naming a postulator and vice postulator, who are investigating and promoting the cause.
As Henderson has learned more about Tom, he found that “his entire life was one of tremendous faith and selfless service to everyone he met.”
“His selfless life and death serve as a model for how laypeople can pursue holiness in the 21st century,” he told CNA.
Tom Vander Woude and his wife, Mary Ellen. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild
“He was very joyful. His charity abounds,” Chris added. “He was always helping people.”
But at the same time, Tom was ordinary.
Chris remembers his dad as “quiet” and more of a “St. Joseph character.” Born on April 24, 1942, Tom was a “South Dakota farmer boy” who married his high school sweetheart, Mary Ellen. It was a “country boy meets city girl” type of love story, Chris said.
Tom would go on to become many more things — math whiz, Navy pilot, commercial pilot, farmer, father, and now, potential saint.
In 1965, Tom Vander Woude became a Navy pilot. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild
“He was just an ordinary sort of a guy who made an extraordinary impact in so many ways, and on so many people during his life,” Henderson said.
By all accounts, Tom was a busy man: a commercial pilot with a demanding schedule, an attentive father of seven, and a dedicated farmer.
But Tom attended daily Mass often, prayed the rosary every day, and made a weekly Holy Hour from 2 to 3 a.m. — odd hours due to his flying schedule.
“Dad was the unquestioned leader and protector of the family, and he led spiritually, too,” Chris said. “No matter what dad did that day, if it was flying or farming, he was on his knees saying the rosary.”
Tom Vander Woude with baby Joseph “Josie” Vander Woude. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild
Getting Josie off the sidelines
For Chris it has been “surreal” to share his father’s story. People are praying for his father’s intercession in all sorts of scenarios — often related to having a child with special needs, Chris said.
Tom’s third-oldest son, Dan Vander Woude, recalled how Tom went out of his way to ensure that Joseph, affectionately known as “Josie” by his family, was included.
When he was young, part of Joseph’s physical therapy entailed crawling on the ground. Tom was right there with him, crawling on the floor.
When a grown-up Dan asked his father to coach a JV basketball team, Tom was all in — as long as Joseph could be there, too.
Tom Vander Woude coached basketball in his spare time. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild
“I thought Joseph would simply do the warm-ups with the team and cheer them on from the bench,” Dan recalled.
But to Dan’s surprise, during one basketball game, Tom had convinced the other coach and the referees to let Joseph play.
“Joseph went into the game and wasted no time getting a couple of fouls and chucking up some long shots,” Dan said. “Joseph was beaming because Dad had given him the opportunity to play in a real game.”
“I was deeply moved that my dad was always committed to getting Joseph off the sidelines and into the game — in basketball and all areas of life,” Dan said.
Tom Vander Woude with Josie on a horse. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild
‘Just do the right thing’
After the sewage tank accident, Joseph spent several days at the hospital recovering. Healthy now, Joseph takes care of his 81-year-old mother on the family farm.
“Seventeen years later, Joseph actually takes care of Mom,” Chris said. “It’s just amazing to see God’s plan and providence.”
Joseph carries the groceries, gets the door for his mom, and offers her his arm when she needs it.
“You always see Joseph and mom together — very similar to early on, you always saw Joseph and dad together in his last few years,” Chris said.
Tom’s family continues to grow, with 39 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. His eldest son, Father Tom Vander Woude, is a Catholic priest.
A family photo taken at Chris Vander Woude’s graduation from Christendom College. From right to left: Joseph, Tom, Dan Vander Woude (third son), Father Tom Vander Woude (oldest son), Steve Vander Woude (second son), Pat Vander Woude (sixth son), Chris Vander Woude (fifth son). Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild
Chris had decided to spread his father’s story after telling it to a parish in Boston one day.
“Many people were crying,” he recalled. “They were on the edge of their seats. A lot of it resonates with them.”
“Knowing that people were grateful for being able to hear the story — that was a big catalyst,” he said. “If they were grateful, there’s probably a lot of other people out there that would love to hear his story.”
Since then, Chris is set on sharing his father’s story. In addition to several podcasts and talks he has given at local Virginia parishes and in Maryland, he plans to speak at parishes in Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, Texas, New York City, and several other states.
“He’s a very humble man, so he’s probably not very happy with all the notoriety,” Chris said.
Tom wasn’t one to turn a phrase, but Chris does remember a simple saying of his dad’s. Tom used to say: “Just do the right thing,” Chris recalled. “Usually, that’s pretty simple. We’re the ones that make it more complicated by thinking of all the different circumstances or possibilities.”
“Dad never aimed to do anything extraordinary. He just aimed to live every day as best he can,” Chris said. “And so I think that’s an example for all of us.”
Jason Adkins, the executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, speaks to “EWTN News In Depth” anchor Catherine Hadro on the shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. “Almost everyone … in our Catholic community has a connection to Annunciation,” he said. / Credit: “EWTN News In Depth.”/Screenshot
CNA Staff, Sep 6, 2025 / 11:30 am (CNA).
A leading Catholic advocate in Minnesota is calling for an “all-of-the-above” approach to school safety and security in the wake of the Aug. 27 mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis that claimed the lives of two children and injured more than 20 children and adults.
Jason Adkins, the executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, told “EWTN News In Depth” anchor Catherine Hadro on Friday that “nonpublic school students” should have access to the same levels of security as those in public schools.
“We’ve been consistent advocates for [security] policies that include, and are nondiscriminatory against, nonpublic school students,” he said.
“We think that when the state makes a commitment to protecting students and to promote public safety, [that it’s] a basic public safety issue that should be available to all students, irrespective of where they go to school,” he argued further.
Adkins noted that Minnesota Catholic leaders in the past have implored state lawmakers to provide security funding for local nonpublic schools, though those calls went unheeded prior to the Aug. 27 shooting. “People have noticed that,” he said.
“Looking at school safety programs, nonprofit security grants, all these things — we have to take an all-of-the-above approach to looking at public policy solutions that limit gun violence in our communities,” he said.
Focusing just on guns will ‘fall short’
The Annunciation shooting once again touched off what is a regular debate in U.S. politics regarding school safety and gun crime. Some advocates have called for broad new gun control laws, while others have argued for arming teachers in classrooms.
In a statement this week amid a special session of the Minnesota Legislature, Adkins acknowledged that “continued discussion is warranted about access to certain weapons and high-capacity magazines.”
“At the same time, a special session that focuses only on gun regulations will fall short, as the issue runs deeper than firearm access,” he argued, calling for a focus on school security measures “that ensure the safety of all students.”
Adkins told Hadro, meanwhile, that policymakers and leaders “have to have honest conversations and take a look at every facet of this problem and explore creative solutions.”
In addressing the problem, meanwhile, he said those seeking solutions “have to see with the eyes of Christ.”
“Ultimately, there’s no political solution to what’s a theological and spiritual problem,” he said. “The answer to all these problems and challenges is ultimately the call to holiness.”
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
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.’”
Father Mike Schmitz speaks at the revival session of the National Eucharistic Congress at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on July 18, 2024. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
CNA Staff, Sep 5, 2025 / 14:25 pm (CNA).
Popular podcasting priest Father Mike Schmitz — best known for the “Bible in a Year” podcast — is back at it planning a new podcast titled “Called.”
Inspired by the Scripture verse Matthew 25:40, the podcast will be made up of episodes featuring conversations with individuals who have answered God’s call to serve others. From teachers and entrepreneurs to parents and community leaders, the podcast aims to inspire the faithful to put their faith into action.
The Catholic Initiative, a nonprofit organization dedicated to renewing the Church and serving those most in need, has partnered with Ascension to create the podcast. An official release date has not yet been announced.
“This ‘Called’ podcast is giving flesh to the fact that every one of us is called to be the hands and feet of Jesus,” Schmitz said in a video released Sept. 3 announcing the new podcast.
The priest began the video by retelling the parable told by Jesus in Matthew 25. In this parable Jesus welcomes into the heavenly kingdom those who fed him when he was hungry, gave him something to drink when he was thirsty, and clothed him when he was naked. However, for others who did not do these things, they are told to “depart from him.” Schmitz called this parable “one of the most convicting.”
“Every time I read through it, every time I hear it proclaimed, every time I even think of it, I think, ‘Well, here is Jesus — he’s giving us the answer to the test when it comes to the end of our lives,’” Schmitz explained.
He continued: “Jesus makes it very, very clear we’re not being judged on what did you believe — although that’s very important — but here in this parable he’s not highlighting that part, he’s highlighting what did you do? Not just what did you do in your life, but what did you do for the least of my brethren?”
Schmitz said one example of someone who lived this parable was Pier Giorgio Frassati, who will be declared a saint on Sept. 7 in Rome. He explained that the young man would often return to his home without shoes on because he would give them to someone who did not have a pair of shoes.
Therefore, the podcast aims to answer the question: How is God calling each of us to live this out in our daily lives?
“On this podcast ‘Called’ you’ll be able to see ‘Oh, here’s how people right now do this.’ So it takes out some of the mystery and actually gives you and me the strength and the vision and the direction to be able to say, ‘That’s how they live that out. I can totally live that out in my life right now,’” Schmitz said.
“This podcast isn’t just to highlight and spotlight the heroes among us. What it’s meant to do is inspire us, to give us that new vision of what this could look like in your life and in my life.”
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.”
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.
Father Rony Salim, chancellor of the Syriac Catholic Archdiocese of Mosul, shared with ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, that the bishop has called Qaraqosh the “City of Hosanna” due to its uniquely spirited celebration marked by hymns, prayers, and massive crowds of worshippers. / Credit: Ismael Adnan/ACI MENA
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 5, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).
Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:
Syriac Catholic archpriest attacked in Syria
Tensions in Syria deepened this week after a brutal assault on Archpriest Michel Naaman of the Syriac Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Homs. Returning home one evening, Naaman was ambushed by two masked men who beat him, threatened him at gunpoint, and stripped him of his gold cross and cash, ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, reported Thursday.
The attack is part of a troubling pattern of insecurity hitting Christian communities across Syria. In recent months, robberies, kidnappings, and even attacks on churches have become increasingly common in Homs, Aleppo, and beyond. For many, the assault on Naaman is another chilling reminder of the dangers Christians still face in a country fractured by war and lawlessness.
European Commission to examine EU abortion funding initiative
The European Commission has said it will examine the European Citizens’ Initiative’s call for EU funding for “safe and accessible” abortion after an initiative reached over 1 million signatures across 19 member states, according to a European News Room report.
A Slovenian nonprofit organization, Institute 8th March, led the initiative, alongside several other EU nongovernmental organizations. “We want the European Union to establish a financial mechanism that would allow countries to provide abortion services to those individuals who do not have access to abortion in their own countries,” Institute 8th March Director Nika Kovač said. The commission said it will provide a response by March 2026.
Internal displacement camps in Nigeria ‘competing for space’ amid ongoing violence
Refugee camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Nigeria are experiencing heightened pressure amid ongoing violence across the West African country, according to Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja.
“People are losing their homes. The growing number of IDP camps is competing for space with estates in the cities,” he said in an Aug. 31 statement posted to his Facebook account. The archbishop further called on the government to “rise up to the occasion and take definitive action to stop the incessant killings, terrorism, banditry, and economic hardships ravaging our people.”
South Sudan bishop expresses solidarity with victims after landslide
Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala of the Tombura-Yambio Diocese in South Sudan has expressed his solidarity with the victims of a devastating landslide that reportedly wiped out the village of Tarasin in the southwest Darfur region.
“It is with a heart full of sorrow and solidarity that I write to you in the wake of the devastating landslide that has erased the village of Tarasin and claimed so many innocent lives. The scale of this tragedy defies words, yet it is our shared humanity, our common faith, and our spiritual responsibility that compel us to speak to comfort, to support, and to hope,” the bishop said in a Sept. 3 letter shared with ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa. “Please accept my deepest condolences and heartfelt prayers for all those affected. I stand with you in mourning but also in courage and in the pursuit of justice, dignity, and healing for the survivors.”
South Korean priests urge government not to build airport over wetland
The Catholic Priests’ Association for Justice in South Korea is protesting against government proposals to build an airport near the Saemangeum wetland, according to a UCA News report.
The association celebrated Mass on Sept. 1 outside the presidential office in Seoul to express its opposition to the project, which it said “is destroying the environment and people’s livelihoods.” Parish priest Father Song Yeon-hong, who presided over the Mass, spoke out against the project, saying: “Many lives are dying due to the project, migratory birds that once visited Saemangeum have vanished, and local fishermen are leaving.”
St. Anne’s Church in Syria reopens
In a rare scene of celebration from Syria’s battered northwest, hundreds of worshippers gathered in the village of Yacoubiyah for the rededication of St. Anne’s Church, ACI MENA reported Monday. The centuries-old site, scarred by war and earthquakes, has been restored thanks to the efforts of Franciscan friars and local Christians.
The liturgy, led by Bishop Magar Ashkarian of the Armenian Orthodox Church, was filled with music, bells, and the sight of parishioners reclaiming a sacred space long denied to them. St. Anne’s, first built in the 14th century, had suffered destruction and neglect through war and extremism. Only in recent years, under shifting local conditions, were Christians permitted to return and celebrate their patron saint’s feast. For villagers from Yacoubiyah, al-Quniyah, and al-Jadida, and pilgrims from across Syria, the reopening was more than a religious event; it was a sign of endurance and hope.
Kendrick Castillo, the lone fatality at the STEM School shooting in Highlands Ranch, Colorado on May 7, 2019. / Credit: Courtesy of John and Maria Castillo
Denver, Colo., Sep 4, 2025 / 07:30 am (CNA).
Kendrick Castillo was 18 years old when he tragically died in the STEM School shooting in Highlands Ranch, Colorado on May 7, 2019. He died, witnesses said, after he jumped up in the line of fire and ran to stop one of the shooters with a couple other students. He was the lone fatality. Now, this young man could become a saint in the Catholic Church.
The Diocese of Colorado Springs — the diocese to which the city of Highlands Ranch belongs — announced that a petition to open his cause for canonization has been received.
“I am very grateful for the time and effort that Father Gregory Bierbaum and Father Patrick DiLoreto of St. Mark Parish in Highlands Ranch have spent gathering evidence and conducting interviews to prepare for a petition to open the cause for canonization of Kendrick Castillo. Although I have just begun to review the information submitted, it seems clear that Kendrick was an exceptional young man,” Bishop James Golka, of the Diocese of Colorado Springs, said in a statement.
He added, “As we study and discern how to approach the massive undertaking of promoting a canonization cause, I ask all the faithful to keep Kendrick’s family in their prayers. I also encourage everyone to privately invoke Kendrick’s intercession, praying especially for the youth in our diocese, that they emulate his example of fortitude and generosity.”
While Castillo had many connections to the Archdiocese of Denver — attending Notre Dame School in Denver, serving as a Squire of the Knights of Columbus in a Denver council and having his funeral at St. Mary Parish in Littleton — the Church looks to where the individual’s life ended to determine which diocese has the right to petition for canonization.
Therefore, since Castillo died in Highlands Ranch, which belongs to the Diocese of Colorado Springs, it is this diocese’s responsibility to conduct the investigation. Golka and the diocese will now review and examine the evidence collected and if approved, the petition will be sent to Rome for further consideration.
Father Patrick DiLoreto, the parochial vicar at St. Mark Parish in Highlands Ranch, is one of the individuals involved in gathering evidence for Castillo’s cause of canonization. He and the parish’s pastor, Father Gregory Bierbaum, both experienced Castillo’s story coming up in prayer for months, DiLoreto told CNA in an interview.
Kendrick Castillo serving with the Knights of Columbus. Credit: Courtesy of John and Maria Castillo
“After learning that the issue had been on both of our hearts, we felt this was a prompting by the Holy Spirit to investigate further,” he said. “After interviewing his parents and reviewing the manner in which he died we believed there was reason to petition the Diocese to open a cause for him.”
DiLoreto explained that the priests believe that Castillo qualifies for the category of “Offering of Life.” In a 2017 Motu proprio, Pope Francis declared a new category of Christian life suitable for consideration of beatification called “offering of life” — in which a person has died prematurely through an offering of their life for love of God and neighbor.
Though similar to martyrdom, this definition fits those Servants of God who have in some way given up their life prematurely for charity, though the circumstances may fall outside the strict definition of martyrdom, which requires the presence of a persecutor.
“He [Castillo] courageously threw himself at one of the school shooters without hesitation allowing other students to follow and subdue the gunman. This saved the lives of his fellow classmates when in any other circumstance, there would surely have been more deaths on that day,” DiLoreto expressed.
When discussing Castillo’s faith, DiLoreto called him “a pious young man who cared deeply for his faith and desired to be a witness of the faith for others, especially those who had never encountered our Lord.”
“We have seen this through the devotionals which he had,” he continued. “For example, he always carried his rosary with him — seeing how well-worn the rosaries were, it can also be inferred that he used them frequently. He had one of his rosaries on him when he was murdered which has since been gifted to a classmate who was in the room.”
Actively served in his parish
DiLoreto also shared that Castillo served at Mass and funerals, actively volunteered at his parish, and attended the funerals of individuals he didn’t even know just to pray for the deceased and their family.
“As the country faces more and more persecution of Christians especially in these horrific school shootings, such as the one last week in Minnesota, we can look at the heroic examples such as Kendrick and the children who protected others for inspiration,” DiLoreto said.
“The elderly can look to such young examples as hope for the future generations where there may be skepticism over the future of the Church. Young people can look to such examples and be inspired that they too can live a life of virtue and that they can become saints,” he added. “It is not something that is out of reach for them if they are willing to build up virtue through acts of charity and the grace of the sacraments.”
The canonization process is a lengthy one with many steps. A large part of the process is determining if the individual has miracles attributed to his or her intercession. The Church requires one verified miracle for beatification, after which the individual is referred to as a “Blessed.” After this, another verified miracle is needed for canonization, at which point they become a “Saint.”
Relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis on display. / Credit: Courtesy of Milagro Eucarístico Perú – 1649
CNA Staff, Sep 4, 2025 / 05:17 am (CNA).
From the finger of St. Thomas, to the arm of St. Jude, to the miraculous blood of St. Januarius and the Shroud of Turin, the Catholic Church is home to a plethora of relics. To an outsider, the tradition of venerating relics may seem strange; however, the roots of the practice are found in Scripture as well as in the ancient tradition of the Church.
Below are 10 of the most asked questions pertaining to relics and their veneration:
What is a relic?
A relic is a physical object that had a direct association with a saint or with Jesus Christ. The word “relic” derives from the Latin word “relinquere,” which means “to abandon or leave behind.”
What are the different classes of relics?
Traditionally, relics can be broken down into three classes: first, second, and third.
First class relics are the body or fragments of the body of a saint, such as pieces of bone or flesh. An example of a first class relic would be the skull of St. Thomas Aquinas or the bone of St. Jude Thaddeus. Pieces of the cross on which Jesus was crucified are also considered first class relics.
A second class relic is an item that a saint touched or owned, such as a shirt or book, or fragments of these items.
Third class relics are items that a saint has touched or items that have been touched to a first, second, or another third class relic. For example, touching the first class relic of St. Bernadette Soubirous’ bones with your own personal rosary would make your rosary a third class relic.
Additionally, a 2017 decree on relics identified the difference between “significant” and “non-significant” relics.
The decree defines a significant relic as “the body of the Blesseds and of the Saints or notable parts of the bodies themselves or the sum total of the ashes obtained by their cremation.”
These relics are preserved in properly sealed urns and are to be kept in places that guarantee their safety and respect their sacredness.
“Little fragments of the body of the Blesseds and of the Saints as well as objects that have come in direct contact with their person are considered non-significant relics,” the decree states.
These are also preserved in sealed cases “and honored with a religious spirit, avoiding every type of superstition and illicit trade.”
How are relics authenticated?
The process of authenticating a first or second class relic begins with the certification from a bishop or cardinal. In many cases the relics belong to the diocese to which the saint belonged.
Then, especially for first class relics, the item must be scientifically proven to be human remains, along with other criteria. This is done to ensure that fake relics are not being venerated by the faithful.
There is no process for formally recognizing third class relics.
Why do Catholics venerate relics?
Catholics venerate the relics of saints as a way to honor the saint’s inspiring way of life and bold faith. As Catholics, we strive to become saints ourselves and are encouraged to imitate the lives of the saints in our own daily lives.
St. Jerome, a great biblical scholar, said, “We do not worship relics, we do not adore them, for fear that we should bow down to the creature rather than to the creator. But we venerate the relics of the martyrs in order the better to adore him whose martyrs they are.” (Ad Riparium, i, P.L., XXII, 907).
The veneration of relics is a Catholic practice of honoring the extraordinary work God did in a person’s life – a person who has achieved the highest level of holiness in the Catholic Church.
The major relic of St. Jean de Brebeuf, his skull, flanked by major relics of St. Gabriel Lalemant (left) and St. Charles Garnier (right), both bone fragments. Credit: The Shrine of the Canadian Martyrs Photos
Is relic veneration biblical?
Yes. There are several instances in the Bible where individuals are healed by touching an item.
In 2 Kings 13:20-21, the corpse of a man is touched to the bones of the prophet Elisha and the man comes back to life. In Matthew 9:20-22, the hemorrhaging woman is healed by touching the hem of Jesus’ cloak. People were healed and evil spirits were driven out when handkerchiefs from the apostle Paul were placed on these individuals as is written in Acts of the Apostles 19:11-12.
Can relics perform miracles?
It is important to understand that while relics may be used in many miracles that are mentioned, the Catholic Church does not believe that the relic itself causes the miracle, but God alone. The relic is the vehicle through which God may work, but God is the cause for the healing.
Any good that comes about through a relic is God’s doing. But the fact that God chooses to use the relics of saints to work healing and miracles tells us that He wants to draw our attention to the saints as “models and intercessors” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 828).
Is it okay to own a relic?
Ideally a relic should be kept in a church or shrine where they can be made available for public veneration. However, the Church does not forbid the possession of relics by lay persons. They may even be kept in homes. Additionally, the Church no longer issues relics to individuals — not even clergy. The Church will only issue relics to churches, shrines, and oratories.
Can I buy or sell relics?
According to canon law of the Catholic Church, the sale of first- and second-class relics is strictly forbidden. Relics can only be given away by their owners, and some very significant relics, such as a heart, arm, etc., cannot be given away without the permission of the Vatican.
Where can I see or venerate relics?
Relics are housed all over the world in different churches and shrines. For example, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Notre Dame, Indiana, is home to an estimated 1,200 relics. In Venice, Italy, St. Mark’s Basilica houses the relics of St. Mark the Evangelist. Catholics can venerate relics of the True Cross at the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem in Rome, Italy.
Relics will also go on tour to churches across cities throughout the world in order for the faithful to have an opportunity to venerate them.
Are there relics of Jesus or Mary?
There are no first class relics of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Catholic Church teaches that Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven. However, the most well-known second class relic that is believed to have been Mary’s is her veil, which is kept in Chartres Cathedral in France.
The case is similar for Jesus. While there are no bodily relics of Christ, who rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, there are fragments of the True Cross, a fragment of the holy manger in which Jesus was placed after he was born, and fragments of black and white stone that are said to be from the pillar on which he was scourged.
Archbishop Hebda told EWTN News that Annunciation Church will have to be reconsecrated after the shooting, an act he described as “reclaim[ing] that territory for the Lord.” / Credit: "EWTN News Nightly"/Screenshot
CNA Staff, Sep 3, 2025 / 08:55 am (CNA).
Saint Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop Bernard Hebda said this week that Catholics and others in the Twin Cities are revealing “signs of God’s great love” in the week following the deadly shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church.
“I get the idea that people are very much turning to the Lord at this time and there’s just been a real outpouring of love,” the archbishop said on “EWTN News Nightly” on Sept. 2.
Hebda told EWTN News President Montse Alvarado that there has been “no shortage of volunteers” in the days since the shooting, which claimed the lives of eight-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski while injuring approximately 20 others.
“Counselors are coming forward,” the archbishop said. “Those who are able to help their parents and families in all different ways are stepping forward to really show what happens when a church community is impacted.”
Hebda said he was gratified after Pope Leo XIV spoke directly about the shooting and called for an end to the “pandemic of arms” that brings about such violence.
The Holy Father’s prayers were particularly poignant, the archbishop said, given that Leo himself is a native of the Midwest.
“[It was] huge … especially to be able to hear those words in English and in a Midwestern accent,” he said.
“The victims of the shooting were taken to two different hospitals in Minneapolis,” Hebda said. “And one of them is adjacent to the very hospital where Pope Leo had done his [clinical pastoral education] when he was a seminarian.”
“So I know he knows the spot, he knows Minneapolis, and we’re really counting on him continuing those prayers,” the prelate said.
Stricken church will be reconsecrated
Annunciation Church will have to be reconsecrated after the shooting, an act that Hebda described as “reclaim[ing] that territory for the Lord.”
“I know it’s going to take a long time for some of the faithful to be able to go back into that building that was the site of such devastation,” he told Alvarado. “But we’re hoping that as time continues to heal and as those prayers continue … that we will get to that point where that church will once again be a hub of activity.”
The archbishop also touched briefly on the recently renewed debate over the effectiveness of prayer in the wake of tragedies. Some figures in the media and even politicians over the past week have derided prayer and dismissed its role in addressing suffering and societal ills.
In contrast, Hebda said he has heard numerous stories about how students at Annunciation Catholic School have “turned to prayer” after the shooting.
“I was with one young woman, and she was talking about holding the hand of the other young girl who was in the ambulance with her, and how they prayed [the Our Father] fervently,” he said.
The archbishop said he also heard of a young man who was injured in the shooting and who “asked the doctor to pray with him before the operation.”
“It’s interesting at a time when prayer is being debated, that’s what it seems like people are appreciating the most,” Hebda said.
The disciple John and Jesus in the new animated movie “Light of the World.” / Credit: Salvation Poem Foundation
CNA Staff, Sep 2, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).
A new 2D-animated movie, told through the eyes of Jesus’ beloved disciple John, will be released in theaters on Sept. 5, taking viewers from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry to his passion, death, and resurrection. “Light of the World” is the first movie from the Salvation Poem Project, a nonprofit ministry and independent studio that crafts stories to share Jesus Christ with the world.
Brennan McPherson, producer of the film, told CNA in an interview that his team chose to tell the story from John’s perspective because he was likely the youngest disciple so they believe his perspective is the most relatable.
“Telling it from the perspective of a young teenager — young kids want to age up and they see themselves in that. Teenagers are going through those formative years, so they relate with it. And then adults know what that formative time in their life was like. So it made it more appealing to a full family,” he explained.
He added that the filmmakers “wanted to show how the Gospel changed a young boy’s life and how it can still change our lives today.”
For the filmmakers — who also create other forms of faith-based media — projects such as this one are an “an act of worship.”
“We’re nerdy animation lovers, and we wanted to make a beautiful animated film that honored God, that told the truth about the Gospel, and that could be used as a tool to share our faith with people in a way that’s nonthreatening and that is not just compelling but genuine and respectful towards the audience,” McPherson said.
“What we’re trying to give people is an experience of the goodness of Jesus and let that resonate on a heart level so that they can fall in love with him,” he added.
The disciple John in the new animated movie “Light of the World.” Credit: Salvation Poem Foundation
When deciding what parts of Jesus’ ministry to include in the film, McPherson explained that filmmakers were trying to answer the question “How do you tell the basic big fundamental beats that make the Gospel totally clear to someone who’s had zero background?”
With this in mind, all of the choices “were through the lens of how do we make the actual structure of the story basically symbolize the Gospel itself, show the Gospel in action, as opposed to just telling us about it.”
He also emphasized the importance the filmmakers gave to “the biblical accuracy, the theological accuracy, [and] making it accessible for children.”
As for what he hopes viewers will take away from the film, McPherson said he hopes “that they will see Jesus is beautiful and fall in love with him and decide to follow him with their lives.”
“We wanted to give people a very clear emotional experience of the Gospel so that it just poured into their hearts. We’re so busy in this culture these days that it’s hard to get people to stop and really think about the claims of Jesus, really consider who he was and whether or not he was true,” he said. “And so this is our way of just basically like, ‘Hey, this is the most beautiful thing to us. That’s what we want to spend our time making art about, and we hope that you see what we see in it.’”
