adoption

Lawmakers urge White House to restore visas for international adoptions #Catholic Lawmakers are urging the Trump administration to offer government exceptions for international adoption visas so that children can be united with their adoptive families and “welcomed into safe and stable homes.”U.S. Sens. Kevin Cramer and Amy Klobuchar, along with U.S. Reps. Robert Aderholt and Danny Davis, asked the Department of State to restore a “categorical exemption for adoption visas,” one that was suspended in December 2025 amid government travel restrictions on certain countries.The suspension of the visas “has introduced uncertainty for children and American parents who have waited years for their adoptions to be completed and were preparing to bring their children home,” the lawmakers said.The letter cited Department of State guidance from 2025 that acknowledged that adoption “involves children in need — some in urgent need — of a loving, permanent home and family.”In that guidance the State Department acknowledged the need to “vigorously engage at both the policy and case levels to protect the interests of all parties involved.”“We strongly urge you to advocate for the restoration of the categorical exemption for adoption visas,” the lawmakers said, calling on the department to “move expeditiously to address this situation to ensure these children are united with their adoptive parents.”Difficulty of international adoption changes with governmentsKatie Dillon, a spokeswoman for Commonwealth Catholic Charities in Virginia, said international adoptions “typically follow clear, predictable steps,” though she said the process is “lengthy.”Like many Catholic charity groups, Commonwealth Catholic Charities offers adoptive families a variety of resources and services to facilitate in both domestic and international adoptions. Dillon said the Virginia group “acts as the home study provider and post-placement agency” for families seeking to adopt from other countries.Such adoptions “can be a difficult process that ebbs and flows with global policy shifts,” she said. “It can be a challenging process for families to navigate.”“Families interested in international adoption work with an in-state agency like Commonwealth Catholic Charities to complete their home study and an international agency to help with the placement of the child,” she said.Child placement agencies must be accredited by the Hague Adoption Convention of 1993, an international accord that established protections for children in international adoptions. Such agencies “have programs in certain countries to legally assist a family in the adoption of a child from that country,” Dillon said.Though there are numerous resources that prospective adoptive families can utilize to help them in their journey, Dillon said international adoption “is often a long process that can take upwards of three or four years.” Some countries can require parents to reside in the country in question for anywhere from several months to a year, she said.Amid the uncertainty at the federal level, Dillon stressed that the difficult process is at times upended by elections in which government rules can shift without warning.“Parents who are considering international adoption should be aware that adoption policies can change abruptly with changes in government leadership,” she said. “There are no guarantees.”
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Lawmakers urge White House to restore visas for international adoptions #Catholic Lawmakers are urging the Trump administration to offer government exceptions for international adoption visas so that children can be united with their adoptive families and “welcomed into safe and stable homes.”U.S. Sens. Kevin Cramer and Amy Klobuchar, along with U.S. Reps. Robert Aderholt and Danny Davis, asked the Department of State to restore a “categorical exemption for adoption visas,” one that was suspended in December 2025 amid government travel restrictions on certain countries.The suspension of the visas “has introduced uncertainty for children and American parents who have waited years for their adoptions to be completed and were preparing to bring their children home,” the lawmakers said.The letter cited Department of State guidance from 2025 that acknowledged that adoption “involves children in need — some in urgent need — of a loving, permanent home and family.”In that guidance the State Department acknowledged the need to “vigorously engage at both the policy and case levels to protect the interests of all parties involved.”“We strongly urge you to advocate for the restoration of the categorical exemption for adoption visas,” the lawmakers said, calling on the department to “move expeditiously to address this situation to ensure these children are united with their adoptive parents.”Difficulty of international adoption changes with governmentsKatie Dillon, a spokeswoman for Commonwealth Catholic Charities in Virginia, said international adoptions “typically follow clear, predictable steps,” though she said the process is “lengthy.”Like many Catholic charity groups, Commonwealth Catholic Charities offers adoptive families a variety of resources and services to facilitate in both domestic and international adoptions. Dillon said the Virginia group “acts as the home study provider and post-placement agency” for families seeking to adopt from other countries.Such adoptions “can be a difficult process that ebbs and flows with global policy shifts,” she said. “It can be a challenging process for families to navigate.”“Families interested in international adoption work with an in-state agency like Commonwealth Catholic Charities to complete their home study and an international agency to help with the placement of the child,” she said.Child placement agencies must be accredited by the Hague Adoption Convention of 1993, an international accord that established protections for children in international adoptions. Such agencies “have programs in certain countries to legally assist a family in the adoption of a child from that country,” Dillon said.Though there are numerous resources that prospective adoptive families can utilize to help them in their journey, Dillon said international adoption “is often a long process that can take upwards of three or four years.” Some countries can require parents to reside in the country in question for anywhere from several months to a year, she said.Amid the uncertainty at the federal level, Dillon stressed that the difficult process is at times upended by elections in which government rules can shift without warning.“Parents who are considering international adoption should be aware that adoption policies can change abruptly with changes in government leadership,” she said. “There are no guarantees.”

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“Adoption visas are not guaranteed” amid a travel freeze, said lawmakers who have asked the State Department to restore a “categorical exemption for adoption visas.”

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‘Adopt a Bishop’ initiative invites faithful to pray for Church leaders #Catholic Pope Leo XIV speaks to bishops gathered for the Jubilee of Bishops on June 25, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. | Credit: Vatican Media Jan 11, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA). Soon after the election of Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle shared in a press conference that moments before then-Cardinal Robert Prevost was chosen to be pontiff, Tagle noticed the emotion by the soon-to-be-pope as it was becoming more clear he would be elected, so he reached into his pocket and offered Prevost a piece of candy.It was this simple moment that inspired Lauren Winter, founder of the Catholic company Brick House in the City, to start the Adopt a Bishop initiative.“It really reminded me that these are all human beings who made the choice one day to accept a very serious ‘yes,’” Winter told CNA in an interview.The Adopt a Bishop initiative, which has been launched in collaboration with The Dorothea Project, invites the faithful to adopt a bishop for the year and pray for that bishop throughout the year.“I think our bishops carry an enormous and often invisible spiritual weight,” she said. “They carry a responsibility that most of us never see — it’s pastoral and spiritual and it’s deeply personal and they’re holding entire dioceses in their prayer. And I think that kind of weight requires spiritual support.”This is the first year of the initiative and over 1,000 people have already signed up to adopt a bishop in prayer. When an individual signs up on the website that person is randomly assigned a bishop from anywhere in the world.Winter explained that she decided to use a random generator in order to “remove preference.”“I didn’t want anyone to choose a bishop that they already knew and admired and I wanted to leave that room for the Holy Spirit,” she said. “And it may be a bishop you are already familiar with. It may be a bishop that is someone that you have disagreed with. But the call to prayer is still there and I think receiving a bishop instead of choosing one, that felt more like a posture of reception, which I feel like it’s more aligned with how grace works in the Church — just leaving the room there for the Spirit to work.”The Catholic business owner highlighted the importance spiritual adoption plays in the Church in that it reminds us that “we are also being prayed for, it strengthens the bonds within the Church, and then I feel like it helps us to live more intentionally as one body of Christ.”Winter said she hopes that through this initiative “people feel more connected to their bishop, to the Church, to the quiet work of prayer, and how a small faithful commitment can really shape our faith.”“I imagine many people when they meet a bishop, they ask the good bishop to pray for them and I think it’s really beautiful that we can return that — the reciprocity of prayer. I think they need our prayers too.”
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‘Adopt a Bishop’ initiative invites faithful to pray for Church leaders #Catholic Pope Leo XIV speaks to bishops gathered for the Jubilee of Bishops on June 25, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. | Credit: Vatican Media Jan 11, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA). Soon after the election of Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle shared in a press conference that moments before then-Cardinal Robert Prevost was chosen to be pontiff, Tagle noticed the emotion by the soon-to-be-pope as it was becoming more clear he would be elected, so he reached into his pocket and offered Prevost a piece of candy.It was this simple moment that inspired Lauren Winter, founder of the Catholic company Brick House in the City, to start the Adopt a Bishop initiative.“It really reminded me that these are all human beings who made the choice one day to accept a very serious ‘yes,’” Winter told CNA in an interview.The Adopt a Bishop initiative, which has been launched in collaboration with The Dorothea Project, invites the faithful to adopt a bishop for the year and pray for that bishop throughout the year.“I think our bishops carry an enormous and often invisible spiritual weight,” she said. “They carry a responsibility that most of us never see — it’s pastoral and spiritual and it’s deeply personal and they’re holding entire dioceses in their prayer. And I think that kind of weight requires spiritual support.”This is the first year of the initiative and over 1,000 people have already signed up to adopt a bishop in prayer. When an individual signs up on the website that person is randomly assigned a bishop from anywhere in the world.Winter explained that she decided to use a random generator in order to “remove preference.”“I didn’t want anyone to choose a bishop that they already knew and admired and I wanted to leave that room for the Holy Spirit,” she said. “And it may be a bishop you are already familiar with. It may be a bishop that is someone that you have disagreed with. But the call to prayer is still there and I think receiving a bishop instead of choosing one, that felt more like a posture of reception, which I feel like it’s more aligned with how grace works in the Church — just leaving the room there for the Spirit to work.”The Catholic business owner highlighted the importance spiritual adoption plays in the Church in that it reminds us that “we are also being prayed for, it strengthens the bonds within the Church, and then I feel like it helps us to live more intentionally as one body of Christ.”Winter said she hopes that through this initiative “people feel more connected to their bishop, to the Church, to the quiet work of prayer, and how a small faithful commitment can really shape our faith.”“I imagine many people when they meet a bishop, they ask the good bishop to pray for them and I think it’s really beautiful that we can return that — the reciprocity of prayer. I think they need our prayers too.”

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Pope Leo XIV speaks to bishops gathered for the Jubilee of Bishops on June 25, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. | Credit: Vatican Media

Jan 11, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Soon after the election of Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle shared in a press conference that moments before then-Cardinal Robert Prevost was chosen to be pontiff, Tagle noticed the emotion by the soon-to-be-pope as it was becoming more clear he would be elected, so he reached into his pocket and offered Prevost a piece of candy.

It was this simple moment that inspired Lauren Winter, founder of the Catholic company Brick House in the City, to start the Adopt a Bishop initiative.

“It really reminded me that these are all human beings who made the choice one day to accept a very serious ‘yes,’” Winter told CNA in an interview.

The Adopt a Bishop initiative, which has been launched in collaboration with The Dorothea Project, invites the faithful to adopt a bishop for the year and pray for that bishop throughout the year.

“I think our bishops carry an enormous and often invisible spiritual weight,” she said. “They carry a responsibility that most of us never see — it’s pastoral and spiritual and it’s deeply personal and they’re holding entire dioceses in their prayer. And I think that kind of weight requires spiritual support.”

This is the first year of the initiative and over 1,000 people have already signed up to adopt a bishop in prayer. When an individual signs up on the website that person is randomly assigned a bishop from anywhere in the world.

Winter explained that she decided to use a random generator in order to “remove preference.”

“I didn’t want anyone to choose a bishop that they already knew and admired and I wanted to leave that room for the Holy Spirit,” she said. “And it may be a bishop you are already familiar with. It may be a bishop that is someone that you have disagreed with. But the call to prayer is still there and I think receiving a bishop instead of choosing one, that felt more like a posture of reception, which I feel like it’s more aligned with how grace works in the Church — just leaving the room there for the Spirit to work.”

The Catholic business owner highlighted the importance spiritual adoption plays in the Church in that it reminds us that “we are also being prayed for, it strengthens the bonds within the Church, and then I feel like it helps us to live more intentionally as one body of Christ.”

Winter said she hopes that through this initiative “people feel more connected to their bishop, to the Church, to the quiet work of prayer, and how a small faithful commitment can really shape our faith.”

“I imagine many people when they meet a bishop, they ask the good bishop to pray for them and I think it’s really beautiful that we can return that — the reciprocity of prayer. I think they need our prayers too.”

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