class

Bishop Barron critiques New York Mayor Mamdani’s embrace of ‘collectivism’ #Catholic Democratic Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani speaks to members of the media during a press conference after voting on Nov. 4, 2025. | Credit: Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images Jan 5, 2026 / 17:32 pm (CNA). Bishop Robert Barron, founder of the Word on Fire ministry, criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for promising constituents “the warmth of collectivism” in his Jan. 1 inaugural address.Mamdani, who defeated two candidates with nearly 51% of the vote in the November election, won on a democratic socialist platform. His plans include free buses, city-owned grocery stores, no-cost child care, raising the minimum wage to per hour, and freezing the rent for people in rent-stabilized apartments.“We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism,” Mamdani said in his inaugural address.“If our campaign demonstrated that the people of New York yearn for solidarity, then let this government foster it,” he said. “Because no matter what you eat, what language you speak, how you pray, or where you come from — the words that most define us are the two we all share: New Yorkers.”Barron, bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, said in a post on X that this line “took my breath away.”“Collectivism in its various forms is responsible for the deaths of at least 100 million people in the last century,” Barron said.“Socialist and communist forms of government around the world today — Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, etc. — are disastrous,” he added. “Catholic social teaching has consistently condemned socialism and has embraced the market economy, which people like Mayor Mamdani caricature as ‘rugged individualism.’ In fact, it is the economic system that is based upon the rights, freedom, and dignity of the human person.”“For God’s sake, spare me the ‘warmth of collectivism,’” Barron concluded.Catholic teaching on socialismBoth socialism and communism have been condemned by many popes, first by Pope Pius IX in his 1849 encyclical Nostis et Nobiscum, just one year after Karl Marx published “ The Communist Manifesto.”The foundation of Catholic social teaching rests on Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum.In the encyclical, Leo denounced socialism and communism, and also condemned poor labor conditions for the working class and employers “who use human beings as mere instruments for moneymaking.”“Each needs the other: Capital cannot do without labor, nor labor without capital,” the 19th century pontiff wrote. “Mutual agreement results in the beauty of good order, while perpetual conflict necessarily produces confusion and savage barbarity.”Pope Pius XI, in his 1931 encyclical Quadragesimo Anno, wrote of the importance of private property, that man must be able to “fully cultivate and develop all his faculties unto the praise and glory of his Creator; and that by faithfully fulfilling the duties of his craft or other calling he may obtain for himself temporal and at the same time eternal happiness.”Socialism, he said, is “wholly ignoring and indifferent to this sublime end of both man and society, affirms that human association has been instituted for the sake of material advantage alone.”“Religious socialism, Christian socialism, are contradictory terms; no one can be at the same time a good Catholic and a true socialist,” Pius XI wrote.Pope Benedict XVI differentiated socialism and democratic socialism. In 2006, he wrote: “In many respects, democratic socialism was and is close to Catholic social doctrine and has in any case made a remarkable contribution to the formation of a social consciousness.”Though, in his 2005 encyclical Deus Caritas Est, Benedict XVI wrote that government should not control everything but that society needs a state that, “in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, generously acknowledges and supports initiatives arising from the different social forces and combines spontaneity with closeness to those in need.”Pope Francis has criticized Marxist ideology but also “radical individualism,” which he said in his 2020 encyclical Fratelli Tutti “makes us believe that everything consists in giving free rein to our own ambitions, as if by pursuing ever greater ambitions and creating safety nets we would somehow be serving the common good.”In 2024, Francis encouraged cooperation and dialogue between Marxists and Christians. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “The Church has rejected the totalitarian and atheistic ideologies associated in modem times with ‘communism’ or ‘socialism.’ She has likewise refused to accept, in the practice of ‘capitalism,’ individualism and the absolute primacy of the law of the marketplace over human labor.”
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Bishop Barron critiques New York Mayor Mamdani’s embrace of ‘collectivism’ #Catholic Democratic Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani speaks to members of the media during a press conference after voting on Nov. 4, 2025. | Credit: Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images Jan 5, 2026 / 17:32 pm (CNA). Bishop Robert Barron, founder of the Word on Fire ministry, criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for promising constituents “the warmth of collectivism” in his Jan. 1 inaugural address.Mamdani, who defeated two candidates with nearly 51% of the vote in the November election, won on a democratic socialist platform. His plans include free buses, city-owned grocery stores, no-cost child care, raising the minimum wage to $30 per hour, and freezing the rent for people in rent-stabilized apartments.“We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism,” Mamdani said in his inaugural address.“If our campaign demonstrated that the people of New York yearn for solidarity, then let this government foster it,” he said. “Because no matter what you eat, what language you speak, how you pray, or where you come from — the words that most define us are the two we all share: New Yorkers.”Barron, bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, said in a post on X that this line “took my breath away.”“Collectivism in its various forms is responsible for the deaths of at least 100 million people in the last century,” Barron said.“Socialist and communist forms of government around the world today — Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, etc. — are disastrous,” he added. “Catholic social teaching has consistently condemned socialism and has embraced the market economy, which people like Mayor Mamdani caricature as ‘rugged individualism.’ In fact, it is the economic system that is based upon the rights, freedom, and dignity of the human person.”“For God’s sake, spare me the ‘warmth of collectivism,’” Barron concluded.Catholic teaching on socialismBoth socialism and communism have been condemned by many popes, first by Pope Pius IX in his 1849 encyclical Nostis et Nobiscum, just one year after Karl Marx published “ The Communist Manifesto.”The foundation of Catholic social teaching rests on Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum.In the encyclical, Leo denounced socialism and communism, and also condemned poor labor conditions for the working class and employers “who use human beings as mere instruments for moneymaking.”“Each needs the other: Capital cannot do without labor, nor labor without capital,” the 19th century pontiff wrote. “Mutual agreement results in the beauty of good order, while perpetual conflict necessarily produces confusion and savage barbarity.”Pope Pius XI, in his 1931 encyclical Quadragesimo Anno, wrote of the importance of private property, that man must be able to “fully cultivate and develop all his faculties unto the praise and glory of his Creator; and that by faithfully fulfilling the duties of his craft or other calling he may obtain for himself temporal and at the same time eternal happiness.”Socialism, he said, is “wholly ignoring and indifferent to this sublime end of both man and society, affirms that human association has been instituted for the sake of material advantage alone.”“Religious socialism, Christian socialism, are contradictory terms; no one can be at the same time a good Catholic and a true socialist,” Pius XI wrote.Pope Benedict XVI differentiated socialism and democratic socialism. In 2006, he wrote: “In many respects, democratic socialism was and is close to Catholic social doctrine and has in any case made a remarkable contribution to the formation of a social consciousness.”Though, in his 2005 encyclical Deus Caritas Est, Benedict XVI wrote that government should not control everything but that society needs a state that, “in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, generously acknowledges and supports initiatives arising from the different social forces and combines spontaneity with closeness to those in need.”Pope Francis has criticized Marxist ideology but also “radical individualism,” which he said in his 2020 encyclical Fratelli Tutti “makes us believe that everything consists in giving free rein to our own ambitions, as if by pursuing ever greater ambitions and creating safety nets we would somehow be serving the common good.”In 2024, Francis encouraged cooperation and dialogue between Marxists and Christians. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “The Church has rejected the totalitarian and atheistic ideologies associated in modem times with ‘communism’ or ‘socialism.’ She has likewise refused to accept, in the practice of ‘capitalism,’ individualism and the absolute primacy of the law of the marketplace over human labor.”

unitedyam

Democratic Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani speaks to members of the media during a press conference after voting on Nov. 4, 2025. | Credit: Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Jan 5, 2026 / 17:32 pm (CNA).

Bishop Robert Barron, founder of the Word on Fire ministry, criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for promising constituents “the warmth of collectivism” in his Jan. 1 inaugural address.

Mamdani, who defeated two candidates with nearly 51% of the vote in the November election, won on a democratic socialist platform. His plans include free buses, city-owned grocery stores, no-cost child care, raising the minimum wage to $30 per hour, and freezing the rent for people in rent-stabilized apartments.

“We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism,” Mamdani said in his inaugural address.

“If our campaign demonstrated that the people of New York yearn for solidarity, then let this government foster it,” he said. “Because no matter what you eat, what language you speak, how you pray, or where you come from — the words that most define us are the two we all share: New Yorkers.”

Barron, bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, said in a post on X that this line “took my breath away.”

“Collectivism in its various forms is responsible for the deaths of at least 100 million people in the last century,” Barron said.

“Socialist and communist forms of government around the world today — Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, etc. — are disastrous,” he added. “Catholic social teaching has consistently condemned socialism and has embraced the market economy, which people like Mayor Mamdani caricature as ‘rugged individualism.’ In fact, it is the economic system that is based upon the rights, freedom, and dignity of the human person.”

“For God’s sake, spare me the ‘warmth of collectivism,’” Barron concluded.

Catholic teaching on socialism

Both socialism and communism have been condemned by many popes, first by Pope Pius IX in his 1849 encyclical Nostis et Nobiscum, just one year after Karl Marx published “ The Communist Manifesto.”

The foundation of Catholic social teaching rests on Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum.

In the encyclical, Leo denounced socialism and communism, and also condemned poor labor conditions for the working class and employers “who use human beings as mere instruments for moneymaking.”

“Each needs the other: Capital cannot do without labor, nor labor without capital,” the 19th century pontiff wrote. “Mutual agreement results in the beauty of good order, while perpetual conflict necessarily produces confusion and savage barbarity.”

Pope Pius XI, in his 1931 encyclical Quadragesimo Anno, wrote of the importance of private property, that man must be able to “fully cultivate and develop all his faculties unto the praise and glory of his Creator; and that by faithfully fulfilling the duties of his craft or other calling he may obtain for himself temporal and at the same time eternal happiness.”

Socialism, he said, is “wholly ignoring and indifferent to this sublime end of both man and society, affirms that human association has been instituted for the sake of material advantage alone.”

“Religious socialism, Christian socialism, are contradictory terms; no one can be at the same time a good Catholic and a true socialist,” Pius XI wrote.

Pope Benedict XVI differentiated socialism and democratic socialism. In 2006, he wrote: “In many respects, democratic socialism was and is close to Catholic social doctrine and has in any case made a remarkable contribution to the formation of a social consciousness.”

Though, in his 2005 encyclical Deus Caritas Est, Benedict XVI wrote that government should not control everything but that society needs a state that, “in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, generously acknowledges and supports initiatives arising from the different social forces and combines spontaneity with closeness to those in need.”

Pope Francis has criticized Marxist ideology but also “radical individualism,” which he said in his 2020 encyclical Fratelli Tutti “makes us believe that everything consists in giving free rein to our own ambitions, as if by pursuing ever greater ambitions and creating safety nets we would somehow be serving the common good.”

In 2024, Francis encouraged cooperation and dialogue between Marxists and Christians.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “The Church has rejected the totalitarian and atheistic ideologies associated in modem times with ‘communism’ or ‘socialism.’ She has likewise refused to accept, in the practice of ‘capitalism,’ individualism and the absolute primacy of the law of the marketplace over human labor.”

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How a Catholic university is combating the health care crisis in Maryland #Catholic Mount St. Mary’s University Physician Assistant Program Director Mary Jackson, MMS, PA-C, CAQ-EM, demonstrates hands-on ultrasound techniques with students at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Mount St. Mary’s University CNA Staff, Jan 3, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA). In response to Maryland’s growing health care crisis, Mount St. Mary’s University is launching a physician assistant program later this month. The private Catholic liberal arts university, located in Emmitsburg, Maryland, is partnering with the Daughters of Charity — the religious order founded by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton — to bring more students into the field of health care.Exterior view of the new Timothy E. Trainor School of Health Professions at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Credit: Photo courtesy of Mount St. Mary’s UniversityAmid a staffing shortage, Maryland has had the longest emergency room wait times in the nation for nine years, averaging more than four hours. The number of serious medical mistakes that have resulted in death or severe disability for patients has risen each year in Maryland for the past four years, according to a report published in September 2025.A recent projection found that Maryland needs to increase the number of primary physicians by 23% by 2030 to cover the gap in primary care providers.The Maryland Department of Health has cited staffing shortages — among several causes of rising medical errors — as something that Mount St. Mary’s program hopes to mitigate.Ndidi Nwokorie, MBBS, FAAP, medical director of the Mount St. Mary’s physician assistant program, works one-on-one with a PA student. Credit: Photo courtesy of Mount St. Mary’s UniversityThe program — part of the college’s recent move into the health care arena — will welcome its inaugural class of 43 students on Jan. 20.The school’s new program includes resources for students to prevent burnout through its Center for Clinician Well-Being.CNA spoke with physician assistant program director Mary Jackson about the new program.Kevin Richardson, MSPAS, PA-C, director of assessments for the physician assistant program, leads a classroom lecture. Credit: Photo courtesy of Mount St. Mary’s UniversityCNA: What inspired the launch of the new physician assistant program? Mary Jackson: The Mount made a very intentional decision to enter the health care education arena as another way to live out our mission. As a Catholic university, Mount St. Mary’s graduates ethical leaders who are inspired by a passion for learning and who lead lives of significance in service to God and others. Preparing future health care clinicians is a natural extension of this mission, one that allows our students to serve individuals, families, and communities at moments of greatest vulnerability. We chose to launch a physician assistant program because the PA profession consistently ranks among the top careers nationally, with strong student interest and growing workforce demand. With a growing health care shortage in Maryland, how do you hope this program will address this crisis?  Maryland, like much of the country, is experiencing a significant health care workforce shortage, marked by long wait times, limited access in rural and underserved areas, and an aging population with increasing medical needs.Physician assistants play a vital role in expanding access to high-quality care. By educating future PAs who are clinically excellent, compassionate, and mission-driven, our program aims to strengthen Maryland’s health care workforce and ensure that more patients receive timely, patient-centered care.Associate Program Director Leanne Hedges, MMS, PA-C, demonstrates a comprehensive physical examination as part of clinical training for PA students. Credit: Photo courtesy of Mount St. Mary’s UniversityHow does your mission as a Catholic university drive the physician assistant program? Our Catholic identity shapes every aspect of the physician assistant program. The Mount’s commitment to service, compassion, equity, and well-being calls us to prepare clinicians who go beyond transactional medicine.We aim to form PAs who care deeply for all patients, especially those who are underserved, while also tending to their own well-being so they can flourish long term in their calling to health care.How did Mount St. Mary’s work with the Daughters of Charity to build this program?   The Daughters of Charity have been extraordinary partners in bringing this vision to life. Their legacy of caring for the poor and vulnerable has inspired the program’s mission and helped us ground our work in the values of humility and loving service.The Daughters have generously provided both tangible and in-kind support, enabling our inspiring facility, helping fund our Care for America scholarships, and working with us as thought leaders in this work.
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How a Catholic university is combating the health care crisis in Maryland #Catholic Mount St. Mary’s University Physician Assistant Program Director Mary Jackson, MMS, PA-C, CAQ-EM, demonstrates hands-on ultrasound techniques with students at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Mount St. Mary’s University CNA Staff, Jan 3, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA). In response to Maryland’s growing health care crisis, Mount St. Mary’s University is launching a physician assistant program later this month. The private Catholic liberal arts university, located in Emmitsburg, Maryland, is partnering with the Daughters of Charity — the religious order founded by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton — to bring more students into the field of health care.Exterior view of the new Timothy E. Trainor School of Health Professions at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Credit: Photo courtesy of Mount St. Mary’s UniversityAmid a staffing shortage, Maryland has had the longest emergency room wait times in the nation for nine years, averaging more than four hours. The number of serious medical mistakes that have resulted in death or severe disability for patients has risen each year in Maryland for the past four years, according to a report published in September 2025.A recent projection found that Maryland needs to increase the number of primary physicians by 23% by 2030 to cover the gap in primary care providers.The Maryland Department of Health has cited staffing shortages — among several causes of rising medical errors — as something that Mount St. Mary’s program hopes to mitigate.Ndidi Nwokorie, MBBS, FAAP, medical director of the Mount St. Mary’s physician assistant program, works one-on-one with a PA student. Credit: Photo courtesy of Mount St. Mary’s UniversityThe program — part of the college’s recent move into the health care arena — will welcome its inaugural class of 43 students on Jan. 20.The school’s new program includes resources for students to prevent burnout through its Center for Clinician Well-Being.CNA spoke with physician assistant program director Mary Jackson about the new program.Kevin Richardson, MSPAS, PA-C, director of assessments for the physician assistant program, leads a classroom lecture. Credit: Photo courtesy of Mount St. Mary’s UniversityCNA: What inspired the launch of the new physician assistant program? Mary Jackson: The Mount made a very intentional decision to enter the health care education arena as another way to live out our mission. As a Catholic university, Mount St. Mary’s graduates ethical leaders who are inspired by a passion for learning and who lead lives of significance in service to God and others. Preparing future health care clinicians is a natural extension of this mission, one that allows our students to serve individuals, families, and communities at moments of greatest vulnerability. We chose to launch a physician assistant program because the PA profession consistently ranks among the top careers nationally, with strong student interest and growing workforce demand. With a growing health care shortage in Maryland, how do you hope this program will address this crisis?  Maryland, like much of the country, is experiencing a significant health care workforce shortage, marked by long wait times, limited access in rural and underserved areas, and an aging population with increasing medical needs.Physician assistants play a vital role in expanding access to high-quality care. By educating future PAs who are clinically excellent, compassionate, and mission-driven, our program aims to strengthen Maryland’s health care workforce and ensure that more patients receive timely, patient-centered care.Associate Program Director Leanne Hedges, MMS, PA-C, demonstrates a comprehensive physical examination as part of clinical training for PA students. Credit: Photo courtesy of Mount St. Mary’s UniversityHow does your mission as a Catholic university drive the physician assistant program? Our Catholic identity shapes every aspect of the physician assistant program. The Mount’s commitment to service, compassion, equity, and well-being calls us to prepare clinicians who go beyond transactional medicine.We aim to form PAs who care deeply for all patients, especially those who are underserved, while also tending to their own well-being so they can flourish long term in their calling to health care.How did Mount St. Mary’s work with the Daughters of Charity to build this program?   The Daughters of Charity have been extraordinary partners in bringing this vision to life. Their legacy of caring for the poor and vulnerable has inspired the program’s mission and helped us ground our work in the values of humility and loving service.The Daughters have generously provided both tangible and in-kind support, enabling our inspiring facility, helping fund our Care for America scholarships, and working with us as thought leaders in this work.

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Mount St. Mary’s University Physician Assistant Program Director Mary Jackson, MMS, PA-C, CAQ-EM, demonstrates hands-on ultrasound techniques with students at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Mount St. Mary’s University

CNA Staff, Jan 3, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA).

In response to Maryland’s growing health care crisis, Mount St. Mary’s University is launching a physician assistant program later this month. 

The private Catholic liberal arts university, located in Emmitsburg, Maryland, is partnering with the Daughters of Charity — the religious order founded by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton — to bring more students into the field of health care.

Exterior view of the new Timothy E. Trainor School of Health Professions at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Credit: Photo courtesy of Mount St. Mary’s University
Exterior view of the new Timothy E. Trainor School of Health Professions at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Credit: Photo courtesy of Mount St. Mary’s University

Amid a staffing shortage, Maryland has had the longest emergency room wait times in the nation for nine years, averaging more than four hours. The number of serious medical mistakes that have resulted in death or severe disability for patients has risen each year in Maryland for the past four years, according to a report published in September 2025.

A recent projection found that Maryland needs to increase the number of primary physicians by 23% by 2030 to cover the gap in primary care providers.

The Maryland Department of Health has cited staffing shortages — among several causes of rising medical errors — as something that Mount St. Mary’s program hopes to mitigate.

Ndidi Nwokorie, MBBS, FAAP, medical director of the Mount St. Mary’s physician assistant program, works one-on-one with a PA student. Credit: Photo courtesy of Mount St. Mary's University
Ndidi Nwokorie, MBBS, FAAP, medical director of the Mount St. Mary’s physician assistant program, works one-on-one with a PA student. Credit: Photo courtesy of Mount St. Mary’s University

The program — part of the college’s recent move into the health care arena — will welcome its inaugural class of 43 students on Jan. 20.

The school’s new program includes resources for students to prevent burnout through its Center for Clinician Well-Being.

CNA spoke with physician assistant program director Mary Jackson about the new program.

Kevin Richardson, MSPAS, PA-C, director of assessments for the physician assistant program, leads a classroom lecture. Credit: Photo courtesy of Mount St. Mary's University
Kevin Richardson, MSPAS, PA-C, director of assessments for the physician assistant program, leads a classroom lecture. Credit: Photo courtesy of Mount St. Mary’s University

CNA: What inspired the launch of the new physician assistant program? 

Mary Jackson: The Mount made a very intentional decision to enter the health care education arena as another way to live out our mission. As a Catholic university, Mount St. Mary’s graduates ethical leaders who are inspired by a passion for learning and who lead lives of significance in service to God and others. 

Preparing future health care clinicians is a natural extension of this mission, one that allows our students to serve individuals, families, and communities at moments of greatest vulnerability. 

We chose to launch a physician assistant program because the PA profession consistently ranks among the top careers nationally, with strong student interest and growing workforce demand. 

With a growing health care shortage in Maryland, how do you hope this program will address this crisis?  

Maryland, like much of the country, is experiencing a significant health care workforce shortage, marked by long wait times, limited access in rural and underserved areas, and an aging population with increasing medical needs.

Physician assistants play a vital role in expanding access to high-quality care. By educating future PAs who are clinically excellent, compassionate, and mission-driven, our program aims to strengthen Maryland’s health care workforce and ensure that more patients receive timely, patient-centered care.

Associate Program Director Leanne Hedges, MMS, PA-C, demonstrates a comprehensive physical examination as part of clinical training for PA students. Credit: Photo courtesy of Mount St. Mary's University
Associate Program Director Leanne Hedges, MMS, PA-C, demonstrates a comprehensive physical examination as part of clinical training for PA students. Credit: Photo courtesy of Mount St. Mary’s University

How does your mission as a Catholic university drive the physician assistant program? 

Our Catholic identity shapes every aspect of the physician assistant program. The Mount’s commitment to service, compassion, equity, and well-being calls us to prepare clinicians who go beyond transactional medicine.

We aim to form PAs who care deeply for all patients, especially those who are underserved, while also tending to their own well-being so they can flourish long term in their calling to health care.

How did Mount St. Mary’s work with the Daughters of Charity to build this program?   

The Daughters of Charity have been extraordinary partners in bringing this vision to life. Their legacy of caring for the poor and vulnerable has inspired the program’s mission and helped us ground our work in the values of humility and loving service.

The Daughters have generously provided both tangible and in-kind support, enabling our inspiring facility, helping fund our Care for America scholarships, and working with us as thought leaders in this work.

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Federal judge strikes down rules allowing schools to hide gender ‘transitions’ from parents #Catholic null / Credit: sergign/Shutterstock CNA Staff, Dec 23, 2025 / 10:07 am (CNA). A federal judge in California this week issued a permanent block against the state’s “gender secrecy policies” that have allowed schools to hide children’s so-called “gender transitions” from their parents.U.S. District Court Judge Roger Benitez issued the ruling in the class action lawsuit on Dec. 22, holding that parents “have a right” to the “gender information” of their children, while teachers themselves also possess the right to provide parents with that information. The order strikes down secretive policies in school districts across California that allowed schools to conceal when a child began identifying as the opposite sex or another LGBT-related identity. Benitez had allowed the legal dispute to proceed as a class action lawsuit in October. School districts in California “are ultimately state agents under state control,” the judge said at the time, and the issue of settling “statewide policy” meant the class action structure would be “superior to numerous individual actions by individual parents and teachers.” The case, Benitez said on Dec. 22, concerns “a parent’s rights to information … against a public school’s policy of secrecy when it comes to a student’s gender identification.” Parents, he said, have a right to such information on grounds of the 14th and First Amendments, he said, while teachers can assert similar First Amendment rights in sharing that information with parents. Teachers have historically informed parents of “physical injuries or questions about a student’s health and well-being,” the judge pointed out, yet lawmakers in California have enacted policies “prohibiting public school teachers from informing parents” when their child claims to have an LGBT identity. “Even if [the government] could demonstrate that excluding parents was good policy on some level, such a policy cannot be implemented at the expense of parents’ constitutional rights,” Benitez wrote. The Thomas More Society, a religious liberty legal group, said in a press release that the decision “protects all California parents, students, and teachers” and “restores sanity and common sense.”School officials in California who work to conceal “gender identity” decisions from parents “should cease all enforcement or face severe legal consequences,” attorney Paul Jonna said in the release. Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West, the Christian teachers who originally brought the suit, said they were “profoundly grateful” for the decision. “This victory is not just ours. It is a win for honesty, transparency, and the fundamental rights of teachers and parents,” they said. The Thomas More Society said on Dec. 22 that California officials had gone to “extreme lengths” to “evade responsibility” for their policies, up to and including claiming that the gender secrecy rules were no longer enforced even as they were allegedly continuing to require them. Gender- and LGBT-related school policies have come under fire over the past year from the White House. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in August directed U.S. states to remove gender ideology material from their curricula or else face the loss of federal funding. In February the Department of Education launched an investigation into several Virginia school districts to determine if they violated federal orders forbidding schools from supporting the so-called “transition” of children. In December, meanwhile, a Catholic school student in Virginia forced a school district to concede a lawsuit she brought alleging that her constitutional rights had been violated when the school subjected her to “extreme social pressure” to affirm transgender ideology.
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Federal judge strikes down rules allowing schools to hide gender ‘transitions’ from parents #Catholic null / Credit: sergign/Shutterstock CNA Staff, Dec 23, 2025 / 10:07 am (CNA). A federal judge in California this week issued a permanent block against the state’s “gender secrecy policies” that have allowed schools to hide children’s so-called “gender transitions” from their parents.U.S. District Court Judge Roger Benitez issued the ruling in the class action lawsuit on Dec. 22, holding that parents “have a right” to the “gender information” of their children, while teachers themselves also possess the right to provide parents with that information. The order strikes down secretive policies in school districts across California that allowed schools to conceal when a child began identifying as the opposite sex or another LGBT-related identity. Benitez had allowed the legal dispute to proceed as a class action lawsuit in October. School districts in California “are ultimately state agents under state control,” the judge said at the time, and the issue of settling “statewide policy” meant the class action structure would be “superior to numerous individual actions by individual parents and teachers.” The case, Benitez said on Dec. 22, concerns “a parent’s rights to information … against a public school’s policy of secrecy when it comes to a student’s gender identification.” Parents, he said, have a right to such information on grounds of the 14th and First Amendments, he said, while teachers can assert similar First Amendment rights in sharing that information with parents. Teachers have historically informed parents of “physical injuries or questions about a student’s health and well-being,” the judge pointed out, yet lawmakers in California have enacted policies “prohibiting public school teachers from informing parents” when their child claims to have an LGBT identity. “Even if [the government] could demonstrate that excluding parents was good policy on some level, such a policy cannot be implemented at the expense of parents’ constitutional rights,” Benitez wrote. The Thomas More Society, a religious liberty legal group, said in a press release that the decision “protects all California parents, students, and teachers” and “restores sanity and common sense.”School officials in California who work to conceal “gender identity” decisions from parents “should cease all enforcement or face severe legal consequences,” attorney Paul Jonna said in the release. Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West, the Christian teachers who originally brought the suit, said they were “profoundly grateful” for the decision. “This victory is not just ours. It is a win for honesty, transparency, and the fundamental rights of teachers and parents,” they said. The Thomas More Society said on Dec. 22 that California officials had gone to “extreme lengths” to “evade responsibility” for their policies, up to and including claiming that the gender secrecy rules were no longer enforced even as they were allegedly continuing to require them. Gender- and LGBT-related school policies have come under fire over the past year from the White House. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in August directed U.S. states to remove gender ideology material from their curricula or else face the loss of federal funding. In February the Department of Education launched an investigation into several Virginia school districts to determine if they violated federal orders forbidding schools from supporting the so-called “transition” of children. In December, meanwhile, a Catholic school student in Virginia forced a school district to concede a lawsuit she brought alleging that her constitutional rights had been violated when the school subjected her to “extreme social pressure” to affirm transgender ideology.

unitedyam

null / Credit: sergign/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Dec 23, 2025 / 10:07 am (CNA).

A federal judge in California this week issued a permanent block against the state’s “gender secrecy policies” that have allowed schools to hide children’s so-called “gender transitions” from their parents.

U.S. District Court Judge Roger Benitez issued the ruling in the class action lawsuit on Dec. 22, holding that parents “have a right” to the “gender information” of their children, while teachers themselves also possess the right to provide parents with that information. 

The order strikes down secretive policies in school districts across California that allowed schools to conceal when a child began identifying as the opposite sex or another LGBT-related identity. 

Benitez had allowed the legal dispute to proceed as a class action lawsuit in October. School districts in California “are ultimately state agents under state control,” the judge said at the time, and the issue of settling “statewide policy” meant the class action structure would be “superior to numerous individual actions by individual parents and teachers.” 

The case, Benitez said on Dec. 22, concerns “a parent’s rights to information … against a public school’s policy of secrecy when it comes to a student’s gender identification.” 

Parents, he said, have a right to such information on grounds of the 14th and First Amendments, he said, while teachers can assert similar First Amendment rights in sharing that information with parents. 

Teachers have historically informed parents of “physical injuries or questions about a student’s health and well-being,” the judge pointed out, yet lawmakers in California have enacted policies “prohibiting public school teachers from informing parents” when their child claims to have an LGBT identity. 

“Even if [the government] could demonstrate that excluding parents was good policy on some level, such a policy cannot be implemented at the expense of parents’ constitutional rights,” Benitez wrote. 

The Thomas More Society, a religious liberty legal group, said in a press release that the decision “protects all California parents, students, and teachers” and “restores sanity and common sense.”

School officials in California who work to conceal “gender identity” decisions from parents “should cease all enforcement or face severe legal consequences,” attorney Paul Jonna said in the release. 

Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West, the Christian teachers who originally brought the suit, said they were “profoundly grateful” for the decision. 

“This victory is not just ours. It is a win for honesty, transparency, and the fundamental rights of teachers and parents,” they said. 

The Thomas More Society said on Dec. 22 that California officials had gone to “extreme lengths” to “evade responsibility” for their policies, up to and including claiming that the gender secrecy rules were no longer enforced even as they were allegedly continuing to require them. 

Gender- and LGBT-related school policies have come under fire over the past year from the White House. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in August directed U.S. states to remove gender ideology material from their curricula or else face the loss of federal funding. 

In February the Department of Education launched an investigation into several Virginia school districts to determine if they violated federal orders forbidding schools from supporting the so-called “transition” of children. 

In December, meanwhile, a Catholic school student in Virginia forced a school district to concede a lawsuit she brought alleging that her constitutional rights had been violated when the school subjected her to “extreme social pressure” to affirm transgender ideology.

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HHS announces actions to restrict ‘sex-rejecting procedures’ on minors #Catholic President Donald J. Trump watches as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services Secretary, speaks after being sworn in on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 18, 2025 / 13:31 pm (CNA). The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed regulations today that would seek to end “sex-rejecting procedures” on anyone younger than 18 years old, which includes restrictions on hospitals and retailers.Under one proposal, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would withhold all funding through Medicare and Medicaid to any hospital that offers surgeries or drugs to minors as a means to make them resemble the opposite sex. The proposed rules would prohibit federal Medicaid funding for “sex-rejecting procedures” on anyone under 18 and prohibit federal Children’s Health Insurance program (CHIP) funding for the procedures on anyone under 19.This includes surgical operations, such as the removal of healthy genitals to replace them with artificial genitals that resemble the opposite sex and chest procedures that remove the healthy breasts on girls or implant prosthetic breasts on boys.It also includes hormone treatments that attempt to masculinize girls with testosterone and feminize boys with estrogen and puberty blockers, which delay a child’s natural developments during puberty.HHS also announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing warning letters to 12 manufacturers and retailers that they accuse of illegally marketing “breast binders” to girls under the age of 18 as a treatment for gender dysphoria. Breast binders compress breasts as a means to flatten them under their clothing.The news release said breast binders are Class 1 medical devices meant to help recover from cancer-related mastectomies, and the warning letters will “formally notify the companies of their significant regulatory violations and how they should take prompt corrective action.”Additionally, HHS is working to clarify the definition of a “disability” in civil rights regulations to exclude “gender dysphoria” that does not result from physical impairments. This ensures that discrimination laws are not interpreted in a way that would require “sex-rejecting procedures,” the statement said.HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a news conference that “sex-rejecting procedures” on minors are “endangering the very lives that [doctors] are sworn to safeguard.”“So-called gender-affirming care has inflicted lasting physical and psychological damage on vulnerable young people,” he said. “This is not medicine — it is malpractice.” The proposals would conform HHS regulations to President Donald Trump’s Jan. 28 executive order to prohibit the “chemical and surgical mutilation” of children. The order instructed HHS to propose regulations to prevent these procedures on minors.In a news release, HHS repeatedly referred to the medical interventions as “sex-rejecting procedures” and warned they “cause irreversible damage, including infertility, impaired sexual function, diminished bone density, altered brain development, and other irreversible physiological effects.”HHS cited its own report from May, which found “deep uncertainty about the purported benefits of these interventions” for treating a minor with gender dysphoria. The report found that “these interventions carry risk of significant harms,” which can include infertility, sexual dysfunction, underdeveloped bone mass, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, psychiatric disorders, and adverse cognitive impacts, among other complications.Stanley Goldfarb, chairman of Do No Harm, a medical advocacy group, said in a statement that the proposed regulation on hospitals is “another critical step to protect children from harmful gender ideology” and said he supports rules that ensure “American taxpayer dollars do not fund sex-change operations on minors.”“Many so-called gender clinics have already begun to close as the truth about the risks and long-term harms about these drugs and surgeries on minors have been exposed,” he said. “Now, hospitals that receive taxpayer funds from these federal programs must follow suit.”Mary Rice Hasson, director of the Person and Identity Project at the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), said she sees the proposed restriction on hospitals as “excellent.”“This proposed rule sends a powerful message to states and health care providers: It’s time to stop these unethical and dangerous procedures,” Hasson said. “Puberty is not a disease to be medicated away. All children have the right to grow and develop normally.”“Sex-rejecting procedures promise the impossible: that a child can escape the reality of being male or female,” she added. “In reality, these sex-rejecting procedures provide only the illusion of ‘changing sex’ by disabling healthy functions and altering the child’s healthy body through drugs and surgery that will cause lifelong harm.”In January, Bishop Robert Barron, chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, welcomed Trump’s executive action on these procedures, warning that they are “based on a false understanding of human nature, attempt to change a child’s sex.”“So many young people who have been victims of this ideological crusade have profound regrets over its life-altering consequences, such as infertility and lifelong dependence on costly hormone therapies that have significant side effects,” Barron said. “It is unacceptable that our children are encouraged to undergo destructive medical interventions instead of receiving access to authentic and bodily-unitive care.”
Read More

HHS announces actions to restrict ‘sex-rejecting procedures’ on minors #Catholic President Donald J. Trump watches as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services Secretary, speaks after being sworn in on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 18, 2025 / 13:31 pm (CNA). The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed regulations today that would seek to end “sex-rejecting procedures” on anyone younger than 18 years old, which includes restrictions on hospitals and retailers.Under one proposal, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would withhold all funding through Medicare and Medicaid to any hospital that offers surgeries or drugs to minors as a means to make them resemble the opposite sex. The proposed rules would prohibit federal Medicaid funding for “sex-rejecting procedures” on anyone under 18 and prohibit federal Children’s Health Insurance program (CHIP) funding for the procedures on anyone under 19.This includes surgical operations, such as the removal of healthy genitals to replace them with artificial genitals that resemble the opposite sex and chest procedures that remove the healthy breasts on girls or implant prosthetic breasts on boys.It also includes hormone treatments that attempt to masculinize girls with testosterone and feminize boys with estrogen and puberty blockers, which delay a child’s natural developments during puberty.HHS also announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing warning letters to 12 manufacturers and retailers that they accuse of illegally marketing “breast binders” to girls under the age of 18 as a treatment for gender dysphoria. Breast binders compress breasts as a means to flatten them under their clothing.The news release said breast binders are Class 1 medical devices meant to help recover from cancer-related mastectomies, and the warning letters will “formally notify the companies of their significant regulatory violations and how they should take prompt corrective action.”Additionally, HHS is working to clarify the definition of a “disability” in civil rights regulations to exclude “gender dysphoria” that does not result from physical impairments. This ensures that discrimination laws are not interpreted in a way that would require “sex-rejecting procedures,” the statement said.HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a news conference that “sex-rejecting procedures” on minors are “endangering the very lives that [doctors] are sworn to safeguard.”“So-called gender-affirming care has inflicted lasting physical and psychological damage on vulnerable young people,” he said. “This is not medicine — it is malpractice.” The proposals would conform HHS regulations to President Donald Trump’s Jan. 28 executive order to prohibit the “chemical and surgical mutilation” of children. The order instructed HHS to propose regulations to prevent these procedures on minors.In a news release, HHS repeatedly referred to the medical interventions as “sex-rejecting procedures” and warned they “cause irreversible damage, including infertility, impaired sexual function, diminished bone density, altered brain development, and other irreversible physiological effects.”HHS cited its own report from May, which found “deep uncertainty about the purported benefits of these interventions” for treating a minor with gender dysphoria. The report found that “these interventions carry risk of significant harms,” which can include infertility, sexual dysfunction, underdeveloped bone mass, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, psychiatric disorders, and adverse cognitive impacts, among other complications.Stanley Goldfarb, chairman of Do No Harm, a medical advocacy group, said in a statement that the proposed regulation on hospitals is “another critical step to protect children from harmful gender ideology” and said he supports rules that ensure “American taxpayer dollars do not fund sex-change operations on minors.”“Many so-called gender clinics have already begun to close as the truth about the risks and long-term harms about these drugs and surgeries on minors have been exposed,” he said. “Now, hospitals that receive taxpayer funds from these federal programs must follow suit.”Mary Rice Hasson, director of the Person and Identity Project at the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), said she sees the proposed restriction on hospitals as “excellent.”“This proposed rule sends a powerful message to states and health care providers: It’s time to stop these unethical and dangerous procedures,” Hasson said. “Puberty is not a disease to be medicated away. All children have the right to grow and develop normally.”“Sex-rejecting procedures promise the impossible: that a child can escape the reality of being male or female,” she added. “In reality, these sex-rejecting procedures provide only the illusion of ‘changing sex’ by disabling healthy functions and altering the child’s healthy body through drugs and surgery that will cause lifelong harm.”In January, Bishop Robert Barron, chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, welcomed Trump’s executive action on these procedures, warning that they are “based on a false understanding of human nature, attempt to change a child’s sex.”“So many young people who have been victims of this ideological crusade have profound regrets over its life-altering consequences, such as infertility and lifelong dependence on costly hormone therapies that have significant side effects,” Barron said. “It is unacceptable that our children are encouraged to undergo destructive medical interventions instead of receiving access to authentic and bodily-unitive care.”

unitedyam

President Donald J. Trump watches as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services Secretary, speaks after being sworn in on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 18, 2025 / 13:31 pm (CNA).

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed regulations today that would seek to end “sex-rejecting procedures” on anyone younger than 18 years old, which includes restrictions on hospitals and retailers.

Under one proposal, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would withhold all funding through Medicare and Medicaid to any hospital that offers surgeries or drugs to minors as a means to make them resemble the opposite sex. The proposed rules would prohibit federal Medicaid funding for “sex-rejecting procedures” on anyone under 18 and prohibit federal Children’s Health Insurance program (CHIP) funding for the procedures on anyone under 19.

This includes surgical operations, such as the removal of healthy genitals to replace them with artificial genitals that resemble the opposite sex and chest procedures that remove the healthy breasts on girls or implant prosthetic breasts on boys.

It also includes hormone treatments that attempt to masculinize girls with testosterone and feminize boys with estrogen and puberty blockers, which delay a child’s natural developments during puberty.

HHS also announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing warning letters to 12 manufacturers and retailers that they accuse of illegally marketing “breast binders” to girls under the age of 18 as a treatment for gender dysphoria. Breast binders compress breasts as a means to flatten them under their clothing.

The news release said breast binders are Class 1 medical devices meant to help recover from cancer-related mastectomies, and the warning letters will “formally notify the companies of their significant regulatory violations and how they should take prompt corrective action.”

Additionally, HHS is working to clarify the definition of a “disability” in civil rights regulations to exclude “gender dysphoria” that does not result from physical impairments. This ensures that discrimination laws are not interpreted in a way that would require “sex-rejecting procedures,” the statement said.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a news conference that “sex-rejecting procedures” on minors are “endangering the very lives that [doctors] are sworn to safeguard.”

“So-called gender-affirming care has inflicted lasting physical and psychological damage on vulnerable young people,” he said. “This is not medicine — it is malpractice.” 

The proposals would conform HHS regulations to President Donald Trump’s Jan. 28 executive order to prohibit the “chemical and surgical mutilation” of children. The order instructed HHS to propose regulations to prevent these procedures on minors.

In a news release, HHS repeatedly referred to the medical interventions as “sex-rejecting procedures” and warned they “cause irreversible damage, including infertility, impaired sexual function, diminished bone density, altered brain development, and other irreversible physiological effects.”

HHS cited its own report from May, which found “deep uncertainty about the purported benefits of these interventions” for treating a minor with gender dysphoria. The report found that “these interventions carry risk of significant harms,” which can include infertility, sexual dysfunction, underdeveloped bone mass, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, psychiatric disorders, and adverse cognitive impacts, among other complications.

Stanley Goldfarb, chairman of Do No Harm, a medical advocacy group, said in a statement that the proposed regulation on hospitals is “another critical step to protect children from harmful gender ideology” and said he supports rules that ensure “American taxpayer dollars do not fund sex-change operations on minors.”

“Many so-called gender clinics have already begun to close as the truth about the risks and long-term harms about these drugs and surgeries on minors have been exposed,” he said. “Now, hospitals that receive taxpayer funds from these federal programs must follow suit.”

Mary Rice Hasson, director of the Person and Identity Project at the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), said she sees the proposed restriction on hospitals as “excellent.”

“This proposed rule sends a powerful message to states and health care providers: It’s time to stop these unethical and dangerous procedures,” Hasson said. “Puberty is not a disease to be medicated away. All children have the right to grow and develop normally.”

“Sex-rejecting procedures promise the impossible: that a child can escape the reality of being male or female,” she added. “In reality, these sex-rejecting procedures provide only the illusion of ‘changing sex’ by disabling healthy functions and altering the child’s healthy body through drugs and surgery that will cause lifelong harm.”

In January, Bishop Robert Barron, chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, welcomed Trump’s executive action on these procedures, warning that they are “based on a false understanding of human nature, attempt to change a child’s sex.”

“So many young people who have been victims of this ideological crusade have profound regrets over its life-altering consequences, such as infertility and lifelong dependence on costly hormone therapies that have significant side effects,” Barron said. “It is unacceptable that our children are encouraged to undergo destructive medical interventions instead of receiving access to authentic and bodily-unitive care.”

Read More
College campus ministries register remarkable growth in baptisms, confirmations #Catholic Mass at Arizona State University’s Newman Center chapel. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Bill Clements, director of ASU Newman Center Ann Arbor, Michigan, Dec 15, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA). Several college campuses across the country are witnessing a notable rise in baptisms and confirmations among students. Catholic evangelists tell CNA that this growth reflects a deepening desire among young adults for certainty, stability, and faith amid today’s turbulent cultural landscape.For example, at Arizona State University, the Newman Center is experiencing its largest group of students entering the Church. Ryan Ayala, a former seminarian and campus minister who has served at ASU for three years, oversees the evangelization efforts. “This past semester, we welcomed 52 students into the Church at Christ the King Parish” in Mesa, Ayala said. “And we are expecting 50 more for the Easter Vigil this spring.” According to Ayala, this year marked a record number of students received into the Catholic Church at ASU.Each year, ASU’s campus ministry prepares students for baptism, confirmation, and full communion through a fall vigil held in collaboration with Christ the King Parish. Students enter the Church from a wide range of backgrounds: Some encounter Christianity for the first time, others come from Protestant communities, and still others are baptized Catholics preparing to complete their sacraments. Yailen Cho (at left) was one of 52 Arizona State University students received into the Church last month. Credit: Photo courtesy of Yailen ChoThis year’s group included eight catechumens who were baptized, 26 Christians who made affirmations of faith, and a significant number of Catholics who received confirmation. The ceremony took place on the feast of Christ the King, Nov. 23.Ayala attributes the growth in part to simple, consistent outreach. “No phone call goes unanswered,” he said. Students come from Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, and nondenominational evangelical backgrounds. Those not yet baptized often come from nonreligious homes, and two identified as atheists. One Muslim student is expected to join the program in January. ASU enrolls approximately 200,000 students.Overall, participation in ASU’s OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) program has more than doubled. “This is by far the biggest class we’ve had,” Ayala said.Supporting this expansion are missionaries from the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), who lead Bible studies and accompany students in their growing faith. Ayala supervises the missionaries and has completed FOCUS formation himself. The Newman Center offers a focused nine-week OCIA process — shorter than the traditional yearlong program — requiring weekly sessions alongside FOCUS Bible studies.Reflecting on the surge of interest, Ayala sees both cultural and pastoral dynamics at work. “Two things are going on in this surge. There’s a trend in Gen Z. They are asking deeper, philosophical, and theological questions. Some students were shaken up by the shooting of Charlie Kirk. The other thing is simply responding to emails. I ask my staff to be diligent to inquirers. The most important thing is to respond and give them clarity about how to become Catholic.”“Our main strategy is to have an urgency to respond to them,” he added. “It was so moving to see all those students from other faith traditions stand up and make the commitment to become Catholic.” Ayala also noted the role of Catholic media, highlighting one student influenced by Father Mike Schmitz’s online ministry. He further praised the spiritual guidance of Father Bill Clements, who leads the Newman Center. “He does a great job humanizing the priesthood but also removing a lot of the anxieties that newcomers to the faith may have.”Clements, who has directed the Newman Center for 15 years, reports that about 400 students participate in weekly FOCUS Bible studies, and approximately 1,500 attend one of the six weekend Masses. He said he has seen a clear shift in the past two years. “In the last two years, a switch was flipped. I think people are tired of crazy. They’re hungry for some direction, truth, goodness, and beauty. We have one of the most beautiful Newman chapels in the country,” he said, “and that has been a huge attraction.”To meet the growing demand, Clements expanded the OCIA schedule. “I revamped the OCIA process here. When people would hit me up at this time of year, I would have to tell them that we start that in the fall. But I couldn’t stand making people wait. So now I have three sessions: fall, spring, and summer.” He credited FOCUS missionaries for their close accompaniment of students. “They appeal to students. It affords students a chance to connect with other Catholics, and it’s been instrumental in reviving interest in the Church. The missionaries work hard,” he said.One student, Yailen Cho, received baptism and confirmation on Nov. 23 at the ASU Newman Chapel. She told CNA: “I didn’t grow up very religious at all. My dad became Catholic two years ago, but I didn’t have any religious background.” Cho now regularly attends Mass and says the FOCUS program helped deepen her reading of the Gospels. Reflecting on her journey, she shared: “I’d had a prayer relationship with God for a while, and I had prayed that my heart would be softened towards God.” After wrestling with questions of faith, she reached out to the Newman Center, which she said she found “very warm and welcoming.” Directing a message to others considering the Catholic faith, she said: “I want everyone to be happy, and I want to be happy. If you live by the Word, as the Bible says, you can be happy in heaven forever.”Meanwhile, in Michigan and NebraskaSimilar momentum is evident at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Rita Zyber, OCIA coordinator at St. Mary Student Parish, said 50 students are currently preparing to enter the Church. Last Easter, 30 students were received, compared with about 20 in 2024.With daily liturgies and seven weekend Masses, the parish remains consistently full. One Mass was added this year to accommodate greater attendance. “They are packed,” Zyber said.Reflecting on the increase, she noted: “There is so much chaos in the world. They are looking for structure, stability, and some grounding in God.”The parish is staffed by Jesuit priests whose Ignatian spirituality resonates strongly with students, Zyber said. She added that other campus and parish OCIA programs across Michigan are seeing similar growth.In a report last month in the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, Father Ryan Kaup, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church and Newman Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, characterized the current situation as “a golden age of campus ministry.” Kaup reported that this past spring, 72 converts entered the Church at the Easter Vigil. So far this semester, they already have 125 students interested in joining the Church, he said.
Read More

College campus ministries register remarkable growth in baptisms, confirmations #Catholic Mass at Arizona State University’s Newman Center chapel. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Bill Clements, director of ASU Newman Center Ann Arbor, Michigan, Dec 15, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA). Several college campuses across the country are witnessing a notable rise in baptisms and confirmations among students. Catholic evangelists tell CNA that this growth reflects a deepening desire among young adults for certainty, stability, and faith amid today’s turbulent cultural landscape.For example, at Arizona State University, the Newman Center is experiencing its largest group of students entering the Church. Ryan Ayala, a former seminarian and campus minister who has served at ASU for three years, oversees the evangelization efforts. “This past semester, we welcomed 52 students into the Church at Christ the King Parish” in Mesa, Ayala said. “And we are expecting 50 more for the Easter Vigil this spring.” According to Ayala, this year marked a record number of students received into the Catholic Church at ASU.Each year, ASU’s campus ministry prepares students for baptism, confirmation, and full communion through a fall vigil held in collaboration with Christ the King Parish. Students enter the Church from a wide range of backgrounds: Some encounter Christianity for the first time, others come from Protestant communities, and still others are baptized Catholics preparing to complete their sacraments. Yailen Cho (at left) was one of 52 Arizona State University students received into the Church last month. Credit: Photo courtesy of Yailen ChoThis year’s group included eight catechumens who were baptized, 26 Christians who made affirmations of faith, and a significant number of Catholics who received confirmation. The ceremony took place on the feast of Christ the King, Nov. 23.Ayala attributes the growth in part to simple, consistent outreach. “No phone call goes unanswered,” he said. Students come from Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, and nondenominational evangelical backgrounds. Those not yet baptized often come from nonreligious homes, and two identified as atheists. One Muslim student is expected to join the program in January. ASU enrolls approximately 200,000 students.Overall, participation in ASU’s OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) program has more than doubled. “This is by far the biggest class we’ve had,” Ayala said.Supporting this expansion are missionaries from the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), who lead Bible studies and accompany students in their growing faith. Ayala supervises the missionaries and has completed FOCUS formation himself. The Newman Center offers a focused nine-week OCIA process — shorter than the traditional yearlong program — requiring weekly sessions alongside FOCUS Bible studies.Reflecting on the surge of interest, Ayala sees both cultural and pastoral dynamics at work. “Two things are going on in this surge. There’s a trend in Gen Z. They are asking deeper, philosophical, and theological questions. Some students were shaken up by the shooting of Charlie Kirk. The other thing is simply responding to emails. I ask my staff to be diligent to inquirers. The most important thing is to respond and give them clarity about how to become Catholic.”“Our main strategy is to have an urgency to respond to them,” he added. “It was so moving to see all those students from other faith traditions stand up and make the commitment to become Catholic.” Ayala also noted the role of Catholic media, highlighting one student influenced by Father Mike Schmitz’s online ministry. He further praised the spiritual guidance of Father Bill Clements, who leads the Newman Center. “He does a great job humanizing the priesthood but also removing a lot of the anxieties that newcomers to the faith may have.”Clements, who has directed the Newman Center for 15 years, reports that about 400 students participate in weekly FOCUS Bible studies, and approximately 1,500 attend one of the six weekend Masses. He said he has seen a clear shift in the past two years. “In the last two years, a switch was flipped. I think people are tired of crazy. They’re hungry for some direction, truth, goodness, and beauty. We have one of the most beautiful Newman chapels in the country,” he said, “and that has been a huge attraction.”To meet the growing demand, Clements expanded the OCIA schedule. “I revamped the OCIA process here. When people would hit me up at this time of year, I would have to tell them that we start that in the fall. But I couldn’t stand making people wait. So now I have three sessions: fall, spring, and summer.” He credited FOCUS missionaries for their close accompaniment of students. “They appeal to students. It affords students a chance to connect with other Catholics, and it’s been instrumental in reviving interest in the Church. The missionaries work hard,” he said.One student, Yailen Cho, received baptism and confirmation on Nov. 23 at the ASU Newman Chapel. She told CNA: “I didn’t grow up very religious at all. My dad became Catholic two years ago, but I didn’t have any religious background.” Cho now regularly attends Mass and says the FOCUS program helped deepen her reading of the Gospels. Reflecting on her journey, she shared: “I’d had a prayer relationship with God for a while, and I had prayed that my heart would be softened towards God.” After wrestling with questions of faith, she reached out to the Newman Center, which she said she found “very warm and welcoming.” Directing a message to others considering the Catholic faith, she said: “I want everyone to be happy, and I want to be happy. If you live by the Word, as the Bible says, you can be happy in heaven forever.”Meanwhile, in Michigan and NebraskaSimilar momentum is evident at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Rita Zyber, OCIA coordinator at St. Mary Student Parish, said 50 students are currently preparing to enter the Church. Last Easter, 30 students were received, compared with about 20 in 2024.With daily liturgies and seven weekend Masses, the parish remains consistently full. One Mass was added this year to accommodate greater attendance. “They are packed,” Zyber said.Reflecting on the increase, she noted: “There is so much chaos in the world. They are looking for structure, stability, and some grounding in God.”The parish is staffed by Jesuit priests whose Ignatian spirituality resonates strongly with students, Zyber said. She added that other campus and parish OCIA programs across Michigan are seeing similar growth.In a report last month in the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, Father Ryan Kaup, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church and Newman Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, characterized the current situation as “a golden age of campus ministry.” Kaup reported that this past spring, 72 converts entered the Church at the Easter Vigil. So far this semester, they already have 125 students interested in joining the Church, he said.

unitedyam

Mass at Arizona State University’s Newman Center chapel. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Bill Clements, director of ASU Newman Center

Ann Arbor, Michigan, Dec 15, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Several college campuses across the country are witnessing a notable rise in baptisms and confirmations among students. Catholic evangelists tell CNA that this growth reflects a deepening desire among young adults for certainty, stability, and faith amid today’s turbulent cultural landscape.

For example, at Arizona State University, the Newman Center is experiencing its largest group of students entering the Church. Ryan Ayala, a former seminarian and campus minister who has served at ASU for three years, oversees the evangelization efforts. 

“This past semester, we welcomed 52 students into the Church at Christ the King Parish” in Mesa, Ayala said. “And we are expecting 50 more for the Easter Vigil this spring.” According to Ayala, this year marked a record number of students received into the Catholic Church at ASU.

Each year, ASU’s campus ministry prepares students for baptism, confirmation, and full communion through a fall vigil held in collaboration with Christ the King Parish. Students enter the Church from a wide range of backgrounds: Some encounter Christianity for the first time, others come from Protestant communities, and still others are baptized Catholics preparing to complete their sacraments. 

Yailen Cho (at left) was one of 52 Arizona State University students received into the Church last month. Credit: Photo courtesy of Yailen Cho
Yailen Cho (at left) was one of 52 Arizona State University students received into the Church last month. Credit: Photo courtesy of Yailen Cho

This year’s group included eight catechumens who were baptized, 26 Christians who made affirmations of faith, and a significant number of Catholics who received confirmation. The ceremony took place on the feast of Christ the King, Nov. 23.

Ayala attributes the growth in part to simple, consistent outreach. “No phone call goes unanswered,” he said. Students come from Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, and nondenominational evangelical backgrounds. Those not yet baptized often come from nonreligious homes, and two identified as atheists. One Muslim student is expected to join the program in January. ASU enrolls approximately 200,000 students.

Overall, participation in ASU’s OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) program has more than doubled. “This is by far the biggest class we’ve had,” Ayala said.

Supporting this expansion are missionaries from the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), who lead Bible studies and accompany students in their growing faith. Ayala supervises the missionaries and has completed FOCUS formation himself. The Newman Center offers a focused nine-week OCIA process — shorter than the traditional yearlong program — requiring weekly sessions alongside FOCUS Bible studies.

Reflecting on the surge of interest, Ayala sees both cultural and pastoral dynamics at work. “Two things are going on in this surge. There’s a trend in Gen Z. They are asking deeper, philosophical, and theological questions. Some students were shaken up by the shooting of Charlie Kirk. The other thing is simply responding to emails. I ask my staff to be diligent to inquirers. The most important thing is to respond and give them clarity about how to become Catholic.”

“Our main strategy is to have an urgency to respond to them,” he added. “It was so moving to see all those students from other faith traditions stand up and make the commitment to become Catholic.”

Ayala also noted the role of Catholic media, highlighting one student influenced by Father Mike Schmitz’s online ministry. He further praised the spiritual guidance of Father Bill Clements, who leads the Newman Center. “He does a great job humanizing the priesthood but also removing a lot of the anxieties that newcomers to the faith may have.”

Clements, who has directed the Newman Center for 15 years, reports that about 400 students participate in weekly FOCUS Bible studies, and approximately 1,500 attend one of the six weekend Masses. He said he has seen a clear shift in the past two years.

“In the last two years, a switch was flipped. I think people are tired of crazy. They’re hungry for some direction, truth, goodness, and beauty. We have one of the most beautiful Newman chapels in the country,” he said, “and that has been a huge attraction.”

To meet the growing demand, Clements expanded the OCIA schedule. “I revamped the OCIA process here. When people would hit me up at this time of year, I would have to tell them that we start that in the fall. But I couldn’t stand making people wait. So now I have three sessions: fall, spring, and summer.”

He credited FOCUS missionaries for their close accompaniment of students. “They appeal to students. It affords students a chance to connect with other Catholics, and it’s been instrumental in reviving interest in the Church. The missionaries work hard,” he said.

One student, Yailen Cho, received baptism and confirmation on Nov. 23 at the ASU Newman Chapel. She told CNA: “I didn’t grow up very religious at all. My dad became Catholic two years ago, but I didn’t have any religious background.” 

Cho now regularly attends Mass and says the FOCUS program helped deepen her reading of the Gospels. Reflecting on her journey, she shared: “I’d had a prayer relationship with God for a while, and I had prayed that my heart would be softened towards God.”

After wrestling with questions of faith, she reached out to the Newman Center, which she said she found “very warm and welcoming.”

Directing a message to others considering the Catholic faith, she said: “I want everyone to be happy, and I want to be happy. If you live by the Word, as the Bible says, you can be happy in heaven forever.”

Meanwhile, in Michigan and Nebraska

Similar momentum is evident at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Rita Zyber, OCIA coordinator at St. Mary Student Parish, said 50 students are currently preparing to enter the Church. Last Easter, 30 students were received, compared with about 20 in 2024.

With daily liturgies and seven weekend Masses, the parish remains consistently full. One Mass was added this year to accommodate greater attendance. “They are packed,” Zyber said.

Reflecting on the increase, she noted: “There is so much chaos in the world. They are looking for structure, stability, and some grounding in God.”

The parish is staffed by Jesuit priests whose Ignatian spirituality resonates strongly with students, Zyber said. She added that other campus and parish OCIA programs across Michigan are seeing similar growth.

In a report last month in the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, Father Ryan Kaup, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church and Newman Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, characterized the current situation as “a golden age of campus ministry.”

Kaup reported that this past spring, 72 converts entered the Church at the Easter Vigil. So far this semester, they already have 125 students interested in joining the Church, he said.

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1 in 4 post-abortive women regret abortion decades later, study finds #Catholic null / Credit: MikeDotta/Shutterstock CNA Staff, Dec 4, 2025 / 15:37 pm (CNA). Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news:1 in 4 post-abortive women regret abortion decades later, study finds A new study found that 1 in 4 women regret their abortion decades after undergoing the procedure. The study, published in the International Journal of Women’s Health Care, measured the levels of distress abortive women feel years after having an abortion. Authored by Father Donald Paul Sullins with The Catholic University of America and the Ruth Institute, the study found that 24% of postabortive women in the U.S. “suffer from serious post-abortion distress.” Of these post-abortive women, just under half showed “multiple symptoms of post-traumatic stress,” according to the study. In the study, Sullins called for more research on the long-term effects of abortion as well as the development of “effective therapeutic interventions.”“The health care of this population of women is understudied and underserved,” the study read. “Women considering an abortion should be informed of the possibility that they may experience persistent emotional distress.” 1 million ‘conversion counts’ highlights pregnancy center’s lifesaving workA group that promotes life-affirming pregnancy centers has logged 1 million “conversions” away from abortion since its inception, the group announced earlier this week.Choose Life Marketing works with more than 900 pro-life clients, including pregnancy centers, maternity homes, and adoption agencies. The group found that a million women experiencing unplanned pregnancies had scheduled an appointment with a pregnancy help center since the agency’s founding in 2016. “It reflects women choosing connection over isolation, hope over fear, and the courage to reach out for help,” said Nelly Roach, who heads Choose Life Marketing. “Pregnancy help centers across the country continue to meet those moments with the compassion, excellence, and support women deserve.”“One million women reached out,” she continued. “Hundreds of thousands found the support they needed to choose life. Their courage and their children will shape families, communities, and futures for generations.”  Appeals court rules in favor of pregnancy centers in legal battle A federal appeals court in New York ruled in favor of pregnancy centers in a legal battle over abortion pill reversal services.A panel on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a preliminary injunction allowing pregnancy clinics to advertise abortion pill reversal.New York Attorney General Letitia James sued the group Heartbeat International and 11 pregnancy centers in May 2024 accusing them of fraud in promoting a drug regimen that purports to reverse the effects of mifepristone. In response, the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates sued James, claiming she was attacking their right to free speech. The three-judge panel at the appeals court ruled unanimously that the pregnancy centers could continue to advertise abortion reversal. Thomas Glessner, president of the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, heralded the ruling, saying that pregnancy resource centers in the state “are now free to help women who regret taking the abortion pill and want a chance at saving the lives of their babies.” “Abortion pill reversal, like the court said, offers no financial gains for pregnancy centers,” Glessner said in a statement shared with CNA. “They are simply giving women another option than ending the life of their unborn babies.”Iowa lawmaker reintroduces bill in support of pregnant college students Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, has reintroduced a bill requiring colleges to inform pregnant students of their rights and the resources available to them in their schools.Under Title IX, pregnant students have the right to remain in school and complete their education, but about 30% of abortions are performed on college-aged women, according to Hinson’s press release. Resources that colleges offer to pregnant students often include flexible class schedules, excused absences, and child care assistance.Students “deserve to know every resource available to them,” Hinson said in a statement.“It is unacceptable that so many often feel they have to choose between finishing their education and having their baby,” the lawmaker continued.Praising the bill, Kristan Hawkins, the president of Students for Life of America, said in a statement: “Women balancing school, pregnancy, and family deserve our support. Yet, ironically, far too few know about Title IX, the law that is supposed to protect their rights.”
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1 in 4 post-abortive women regret abortion decades later, study finds #Catholic null / Credit: MikeDotta/Shutterstock CNA Staff, Dec 4, 2025 / 15:37 pm (CNA). Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news:1 in 4 post-abortive women regret abortion decades later, study finds A new study found that 1 in 4 women regret their abortion decades after undergoing the procedure. The study, published in the International Journal of Women’s Health Care, measured the levels of distress abortive women feel years after having an abortion. Authored by Father Donald Paul Sullins with The Catholic University of America and the Ruth Institute, the study found that 24% of postabortive women in the U.S. “suffer from serious post-abortion distress.” Of these post-abortive women, just under half showed “multiple symptoms of post-traumatic stress,” according to the study. In the study, Sullins called for more research on the long-term effects of abortion as well as the development of “effective therapeutic interventions.”“The health care of this population of women is understudied and underserved,” the study read. “Women considering an abortion should be informed of the possibility that they may experience persistent emotional distress.” 1 million ‘conversion counts’ highlights pregnancy center’s lifesaving workA group that promotes life-affirming pregnancy centers has logged 1 million “conversions” away from abortion since its inception, the group announced earlier this week.Choose Life Marketing works with more than 900 pro-life clients, including pregnancy centers, maternity homes, and adoption agencies. The group found that a million women experiencing unplanned pregnancies had scheduled an appointment with a pregnancy help center since the agency’s founding in 2016. “It reflects women choosing connection over isolation, hope over fear, and the courage to reach out for help,” said Nelly Roach, who heads Choose Life Marketing. “Pregnancy help centers across the country continue to meet those moments with the compassion, excellence, and support women deserve.”“One million women reached out,” she continued. “Hundreds of thousands found the support they needed to choose life. Their courage and their children will shape families, communities, and futures for generations.”  Appeals court rules in favor of pregnancy centers in legal battle A federal appeals court in New York ruled in favor of pregnancy centers in a legal battle over abortion pill reversal services.A panel on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a preliminary injunction allowing pregnancy clinics to advertise abortion pill reversal.New York Attorney General Letitia James sued the group Heartbeat International and 11 pregnancy centers in May 2024 accusing them of fraud in promoting a drug regimen that purports to reverse the effects of mifepristone. In response, the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates sued James, claiming she was attacking their right to free speech. The three-judge panel at the appeals court ruled unanimously that the pregnancy centers could continue to advertise abortion reversal. Thomas Glessner, president of the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, heralded the ruling, saying that pregnancy resource centers in the state “are now free to help women who regret taking the abortion pill and want a chance at saving the lives of their babies.” “Abortion pill reversal, like the court said, offers no financial gains for pregnancy centers,” Glessner said in a statement shared with CNA. “They are simply giving women another option than ending the life of their unborn babies.”Iowa lawmaker reintroduces bill in support of pregnant college students Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, has reintroduced a bill requiring colleges to inform pregnant students of their rights and the resources available to them in their schools.Under Title IX, pregnant students have the right to remain in school and complete their education, but about 30% of abortions are performed on college-aged women, according to Hinson’s press release. Resources that colleges offer to pregnant students often include flexible class schedules, excused absences, and child care assistance.Students “deserve to know every resource available to them,” Hinson said in a statement.“It is unacceptable that so many often feel they have to choose between finishing their education and having their baby,” the lawmaker continued.Praising the bill, Kristan Hawkins, the president of Students for Life of America, said in a statement: “Women balancing school, pregnancy, and family deserve our support. Yet, ironically, far too few know about Title IX, the law that is supposed to protect their rights.”

unitedyam

null / Credit: MikeDotta/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Dec 4, 2025 / 15:37 pm (CNA).

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

1 in 4 post-abortive women regret abortion decades later, study finds 

A new study found that 1 in 4 women regret their abortion decades after undergoing the procedure. 

The study, published in the International Journal of Women’s Health Care, measured the levels of distress abortive women feel years after having an abortion. 

Authored by Father Donald Paul Sullins with The Catholic University of America and the Ruth Institute, the study found that 24% of postabortive women in the U.S. “suffer from serious post-abortion distress.” 

Of these post-abortive women, just under half showed “multiple symptoms of post-traumatic stress,” according to the study. 

In the study, Sullins called for more research on the long-term effects of abortion as well as the development of “effective therapeutic interventions.”

“The health care of this population of women is understudied and underserved,” the study read. “Women considering an abortion should be informed of the possibility that they may experience persistent emotional distress.” 

1 million ‘conversion counts’ highlights pregnancy center’s lifesaving work

A group that promotes life-affirming pregnancy centers has logged 1 million “conversions” away from abortion since its inception, the group announced earlier this week.

Choose Life Marketing works with more than 900 pro-life clients, including pregnancy centers, maternity homes, and adoption agencies. 

The group found that a million women experiencing unplanned pregnancies had scheduled an appointment with a pregnancy help center since the agency’s founding in 2016. 

“It reflects women choosing connection over isolation, hope over fear, and the courage to reach out for help,” said Nelly Roach, who heads Choose Life Marketing. “Pregnancy help centers across the country continue to meet those moments with the compassion, excellence, and support women deserve.”

“One million women reached out,” she continued. “Hundreds of thousands found the support they needed to choose life. Their courage and their children will shape families, communities, and futures for generations.”  

Appeals court rules in favor of pregnancy centers in legal battle 

A federal appeals court in New York ruled in favor of pregnancy centers in a legal battle over abortion pill reversal services.

A panel on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a preliminary injunction allowing pregnancy clinics to advertise abortion pill reversal.

New York Attorney General Letitia James sued the group Heartbeat International and 11 pregnancy centers in May 2024 accusing them of fraud in promoting a drug regimen that purports to reverse the effects of mifepristone. 

In response, the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates sued James, claiming she was attacking their right to free speech. The three-judge panel at the appeals court ruled unanimously that the pregnancy centers could continue to advertise abortion reversal. 

Thomas Glessner, president of the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, heralded the ruling, saying that pregnancy resource centers in the state “are now free to help women who regret taking the abortion pill and want a chance at saving the lives of their babies.” 

“Abortion pill reversal, like the court said, offers no financial gains for pregnancy centers,” Glessner said in a statement shared with CNA. “They are simply giving women another option than ending the life of their unborn babies.”

Iowa lawmaker reintroduces bill in support of pregnant college students 

Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, has reintroduced a bill requiring colleges to inform pregnant students of their rights and the resources available to them in their schools.

Under Title IX, pregnant students have the right to remain in school and complete their education, but about 30% of abortions are performed on college-aged women, according to Hinson’s press release. Resources that colleges offer to pregnant students often include flexible class schedules, excused absences, and child care assistance.

Students “deserve to know every resource available to them,” Hinson said in a statement.

“It is unacceptable that so many often feel they have to choose between finishing their education and having their baby,” the lawmaker continued.

Praising the bill, Kristan Hawkins, the president of Students for Life of America, said in a statement: “Women balancing school, pregnancy, and family deserve our support. Yet, ironically, far too few know about Title IX, the law that is supposed to protect their rights.”

Read More
Picture of the day Explosive Ordnance Disposal 1st Class Christopher Courtney assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Six (EODMU-6), Det. 16 assists his team members during Special Purpose Insertion Extraction (SPIE) training from an SH-60 Seahawk helicopter. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) shown below the helicopter was launched on this day 50 years ago. #ImageOfTheDay
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Picture of the day Explosive Ordnance Disposal 1st Class Christopher Courtney assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Six (EODMU-6), Det. 16 assists his team members during Special Purpose Insertion Extraction (SPIE) training from an SH-60 Seahawk helicopter. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) shown below the helicopter was launched on this day 50 years ago. #ImageOfTheDay

unitedyam
Picture of the day
Explosive Ordnance Disposal 1st Class Christopher Courtney assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Six (EODMU-6), Det. 16 assists his team members during Special Purpose Insertion Extraction (SPIE) training from an SH-60 Seahawk helicopter. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) shown below the helicopter was launched on this day 50 years ago.
Read More