helping

St. Charles Borromeo: Patron saint of stomach ailments, dieting — and obesity? #Catholic The Intercession of Charles Borromeo supported by the Virgin Mary dome fresco by Johann Michael Rottmayr in St. Charles’s Church, Austria. / Credit: godongphoto/Shutterstock CNA Staff, Nov 4, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA). St. Charles Borromeo, whose feast day the Catholic Church celebrates Nov. 4, was a cardinal and a prominent teacher of the Catholic faith. He generously donated much of his considerable wealth to charity and sacrificed his own health to help plague victims at a time when many other authorities fled.And, despite what you might have heard, he probably wasn’t obese.Why does that matter? Well, because Charles is popularly invoked as a patron saint of stomach ailments and also of obesity and dieting. These patronages — and whether or not he was himself obese — are not mentioned in hagiographies of St. Charles, so it’s unclear how this particular association began. Charles was known for helping the poor in times of famine and for practicing self-mortification, and he was certainly not known to indulge in food to excess.Whether or not his invocation by dieters is appropriate, what is clear is that St. Charles Borromeo had a massive influence on the Church.Charles was born in 1538 near Milan. He was born wealthy — in fact, he was part of the famously rich and influential Medici family — but sought to use his wealth to benefit the Church rather than himself.Owing in part to his well-connected family, Charles soon assumed staggering responsibilities, serving as a papal diplomat and supervisor of major religious orders.Charles was a central figure in the Council of Trent (1545–1563), which among other things served as the Church’s official answer to the Protestant Reformation. Its twofold mission was to clarify Catholic doctrine against Protestant objections and reform the Church internally against many long-standing problems. As a papal representative, Charles participated in the council’s conclusion in 1563, when he was only 25, and was ordained a priest during the council. He also played a leading role in assembling its comprehensive summary, the Catechism of the Council of Trent.Charles’ uncle, Pope Pius IV, appointed him archbishop of Milan in 1563, and soon after he became a cardinal. He found his diocese in a state of disintegration, after two generations of virtually no local administration or leadership. Charles got straight to work establishing schools, seminaries, and centers for religious life. He constantly directed the work of restoration of ecclesiastical discipline and the education of the young, even down to minute details. He tried as much as possible to live a simple life and give to the poor whenever possible, and he practiced self-mortification.The clergy during this time were in many cases lax and careless, living scandalous lives, such that the people had grown to be equally negligent and sinful. While bishop of Milan, St. Charles oversaw many dramatic and effective reforms of the clergy, the liturgy, and of religious education. He encountered much opposition to those reforms, so much so that a group of disgruntled monks attempted to kill him, but he was miraculously unharmed when an assassin fired a gun straight at him while kneeling in prayer at an altar.He was very active in preaching and ministry and was famous for bringing back many lapsed Catholics to the Church. As a result, today he is honored as the patron saint of catechists and catechumens, people who teach and learn the faith. In fact, he was the founder of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, which systematically instructed children in the faith — the forerunner of the modern “Sunday school.”In 1571, the region where Charles was working suffered a severe famine, during which he worked tirelessly to help the starving, supporting at his own expense as many as 3,000 people daily for three months. At the same time, Charles himself suffered various ailments, including a low fever.A few years later, a plague struck Milan. Charles was convinced that the plague was sent as a chastisement for sin and sought to give himself all the more to prayer and to service to his people. He paid personal visits to plague-stricken houses to comfort those suffering, and as a spiritual penance, he walked in procession, barefoot, with a rope around his neck and a relic in his hand.At the end of 1584 Charles suffered a skin infection in one of his legs but still continued to travel to take care of his diocese. He died young at the age of 46 on Nov. 3, 1584, and was canonized 26 years later, in 1610.This story was first published on Nov. 4, 2022, and has been updated.
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St. Charles Borromeo: Patron saint of stomach ailments, dieting — and obesity? #Catholic The Intercession of Charles Borromeo supported by the Virgin Mary dome fresco by Johann Michael Rottmayr in St. Charles’s Church, Austria. / Credit: godongphoto/Shutterstock CNA Staff, Nov 4, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA). St. Charles Borromeo, whose feast day the Catholic Church celebrates Nov. 4, was a cardinal and a prominent teacher of the Catholic faith. He generously donated much of his considerable wealth to charity and sacrificed his own health to help plague victims at a time when many other authorities fled.And, despite what you might have heard, he probably wasn’t obese.Why does that matter? Well, because Charles is popularly invoked as a patron saint of stomach ailments and also of obesity and dieting. These patronages — and whether or not he was himself obese — are not mentioned in hagiographies of St. Charles, so it’s unclear how this particular association began. Charles was known for helping the poor in times of famine and for practicing self-mortification, and he was certainly not known to indulge in food to excess.Whether or not his invocation by dieters is appropriate, what is clear is that St. Charles Borromeo had a massive influence on the Church.Charles was born in 1538 near Milan. He was born wealthy — in fact, he was part of the famously rich and influential Medici family — but sought to use his wealth to benefit the Church rather than himself.Owing in part to his well-connected family, Charles soon assumed staggering responsibilities, serving as a papal diplomat and supervisor of major religious orders.Charles was a central figure in the Council of Trent (1545–1563), which among other things served as the Church’s official answer to the Protestant Reformation. Its twofold mission was to clarify Catholic doctrine against Protestant objections and reform the Church internally against many long-standing problems. As a papal representative, Charles participated in the council’s conclusion in 1563, when he was only 25, and was ordained a priest during the council. He also played a leading role in assembling its comprehensive summary, the Catechism of the Council of Trent.Charles’ uncle, Pope Pius IV, appointed him archbishop of Milan in 1563, and soon after he became a cardinal. He found his diocese in a state of disintegration, after two generations of virtually no local administration or leadership. Charles got straight to work establishing schools, seminaries, and centers for religious life. He constantly directed the work of restoration of ecclesiastical discipline and the education of the young, even down to minute details. He tried as much as possible to live a simple life and give to the poor whenever possible, and he practiced self-mortification.The clergy during this time were in many cases lax and careless, living scandalous lives, such that the people had grown to be equally negligent and sinful. While bishop of Milan, St. Charles oversaw many dramatic and effective reforms of the clergy, the liturgy, and of religious education. He encountered much opposition to those reforms, so much so that a group of disgruntled monks attempted to kill him, but he was miraculously unharmed when an assassin fired a gun straight at him while kneeling in prayer at an altar.He was very active in preaching and ministry and was famous for bringing back many lapsed Catholics to the Church. As a result, today he is honored as the patron saint of catechists and catechumens, people who teach and learn the faith. In fact, he was the founder of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, which systematically instructed children in the faith — the forerunner of the modern “Sunday school.”In 1571, the region where Charles was working suffered a severe famine, during which he worked tirelessly to help the starving, supporting at his own expense as many as 3,000 people daily for three months. At the same time, Charles himself suffered various ailments, including a low fever.A few years later, a plague struck Milan. Charles was convinced that the plague was sent as a chastisement for sin and sought to give himself all the more to prayer and to service to his people. He paid personal visits to plague-stricken houses to comfort those suffering, and as a spiritual penance, he walked in procession, barefoot, with a rope around his neck and a relic in his hand.At the end of 1584 Charles suffered a skin infection in one of his legs but still continued to travel to take care of his diocese. He died young at the age of 46 on Nov. 3, 1584, and was canonized 26 years later, in 1610.This story was first published on Nov. 4, 2022, and has been updated.

unitedyam

The Intercession of Charles Borromeo supported by the Virgin Mary dome fresco by Johann Michael Rottmayr in St. Charles’s Church, Austria. / Credit: godongphoto/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Nov 4, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

St. Charles Borromeo, whose feast day the Catholic Church celebrates Nov. 4, was a cardinal and a prominent teacher of the Catholic faith. He generously donated much of his considerable wealth to charity and sacrificed his own health to help plague victims at a time when many other authorities fled.

And, despite what you might have heard, he probably wasn’t obese.

Why does that matter? Well, because Charles is popularly invoked as a patron saint of stomach ailments and also of obesity and dieting. These patronages — and whether or not he was himself obese — are not mentioned in hagiographies of St. Charles, so it’s unclear how this particular association began. Charles was known for helping the poor in times of famine and for practicing self-mortification, and he was certainly not known to indulge in food to excess.

Whether or not his invocation by dieters is appropriate, what is clear is that St. Charles Borromeo had a massive influence on the Church.

Charles was born in 1538 near Milan. He was born wealthy — in fact, he was part of the famously rich and influential Medici family — but sought to use his wealth to benefit the Church rather than himself.

Owing in part to his well-connected family, Charles soon assumed staggering responsibilities, serving as a papal diplomat and supervisor of major religious orders.

Charles was a central figure in the Council of Trent (1545–1563), which among other things served as the Church’s official answer to the Protestant Reformation. Its twofold mission was to clarify Catholic doctrine against Protestant objections and reform the Church internally against many long-standing problems. As a papal representative, Charles participated in the council’s conclusion in 1563, when he was only 25, and was ordained a priest during the council. He also played a leading role in assembling its comprehensive summary, the Catechism of the Council of Trent.

Charles’ uncle, Pope Pius IV, appointed him archbishop of Milan in 1563, and soon after he became a cardinal. He found his diocese in a state of disintegration, after two generations of virtually no local administration or leadership. Charles got straight to work establishing schools, seminaries, and centers for religious life. He constantly directed the work of restoration of ecclesiastical discipline and the education of the young, even down to minute details. He tried as much as possible to live a simple life and give to the poor whenever possible, and he practiced self-mortification.

The clergy during this time were in many cases lax and careless, living scandalous lives, such that the people had grown to be equally negligent and sinful. While bishop of Milan, St. Charles oversaw many dramatic and effective reforms of the clergy, the liturgy, and of religious education. He encountered much opposition to those reforms, so much so that a group of disgruntled monks attempted to kill him, but he was miraculously unharmed when an assassin fired a gun straight at him while kneeling in prayer at an altar.

He was very active in preaching and ministry and was famous for bringing back many lapsed Catholics to the Church. As a result, today he is honored as the patron saint of catechists and catechumens, people who teach and learn the faith. In fact, he was the founder of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, which systematically instructed children in the faith — the forerunner of the modern “Sunday school.”

In 1571, the region where Charles was working suffered a severe famine, during which he worked tirelessly to help the starving, supporting at his own expense as many as 3,000 people daily for three months. At the same time, Charles himself suffered various ailments, including a low fever.

A few years later, a plague struck Milan. Charles was convinced that the plague was sent as a chastisement for sin and sought to give himself all the more to prayer and to service to his people. He paid personal visits to plague-stricken houses to comfort those suffering, and as a spiritual penance, he walked in procession, barefoot, with a rope around his neck and a relic in his hand.

At the end of 1584 Charles suffered a skin infection in one of his legs but still continued to travel to take care of his diocese. He died young at the age of 46 on Nov. 3, 1584, and was canonized 26 years later, in 1610.

This story was first published on Nov. 4, 2022, and has been updated.

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Self-care is stewardship, not selfishness, Catholic therapist tells chaplains #Catholic Father Adam Muda, a chaplain for the U.S. Army, celebrates Mass on the field with soldiers while in Germany. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Adam Muda CNA Staff, Oct 23, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA). During Pastoral Care Week, celebrated Oct. 19–25, a Catholic psychotherapist encouraged a group of Catholic chaplains and ministers to pursue prayer, rest, and self-care in light of burnout — a challenge that often accompanies their unique work.At an Oct. 22 webinar, “Carrying the Cross Without Burnout: Self-Care for Catholic Chaplains,” Adrienne Koller, a Catholic psychotherapist and founder of Strong Self Psychotherapy, encouraged chaplains to make time for spiritual and emotional renewal. The webinar, organized by the National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC), a group that educates and supports Catholic chaplains across the country, highlighted the importance of finding rest amid the emotional toll of ministry.“God doesn’t call us to self-erasure,” Koller told the nearly 100 chaplains who attended the webinar. “He calls us to stewardship of our bodies, our minds, and spirits.”Adrienne Koller, a Catholic psychotherapist and founder of Strong Self Psychotherapy, leads an Oct. 22, 2025, webinar organized by the NACC on finding renewal amid burnout. Credit: Screenshot of webinarKoller described self-care as “stewardship” and “caring for the vessel God entrusted to you.”“One of the most powerful mindset shifts I’ve seen in ministry is this: Self-care is not selfishness; it’s stewardship,” Koller said. “You are the vessel God entrusted with the work he gave you, and taking care of that vessel honors him.”“You’re not taking away from your calling. You’re strengthening it,” she said. “Renewal isn’t an indulgence — it’s obedience.” Erica Cohen Moore, executive director of NACC, highlighted the importance of caring for chaplains, both during Pastoral Care Week and throughout the year. “Our chaplains are often called into spaces where few others are willing or able to go,” Cohen Moore told CNA. “They serve people in some of the most marginalized and challenging situations, where grief and suffering can be profound.” Pastoral Care Week “gives opportunities for organizations and institutions of all types to recognize the spiritual caregivers in their midst and the ministry that the caregivers provide,” according to the NACC’s website.Chaplains are often priests, but seminarians, deacons, religious brothers and sisters, and laymen and laywomen can all serve as chaplains, providing professional spiritual and emotional support in a range of areas — often in prisons, hospitals, fire departments, and campuses.  To help prepare and support chaplains, the NACC offers a variety of resources, training, community, and support for chaplains, both Catholic and non-Catholic. What does burnout look like? “Over the years, I’ve walked with countless individuals who appear incredibly strong on the outside yet wrestle with exhaustion, doubt, or the feeling that their work has taken more from them than they have time to replenish,” Koller told attendees. Koller noted that the “emotional weight” of service can lead to burnout.“That emotional weight, it doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong; it means you’re human,” she said. “But we do take on that emotional weight, and that can lead, if unchecked, to burnout.”  “Burnout doesn’t happen because we’re weak or we’re incapable,” Koller continued. “It happens because we care deeply, we give fully, and sometimes we forget to refill our own cup.”To combat the weight of service, Koller encouraged ministers to pray before and after each difficult meeting or encounter, and to offer the weight of those challenges to the Lord. She also led the group in grounding prayer exercises that incorporate breathing into prayer. Erica Cohen Moore is the executive director of the National Association of Catholic Chaplains. Credit: Photo courtesy of Erica Cohen MooreCohen Moore noted that burnout is a “very real concern” that chaplains face — one that her organization works to combat through the resources they provide.  The association educates chaplains with a program called Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), which is “a process that equips them to manage burnout and care for themselves and one another,” according to Cohen Moore.The group also offers webinars on topics such as self-care, mental illness and trauma, and mental health, as well as networking groups and in-person gatherings, and publishes a magazine called Works of Hope.The association plans to launch a learning institute early next year to include a course on “sustaining pastoral ministers and helping them avoid burnout,” Cohen Moore said. “Burnout is a very real concern in our field, and we take it seriously as we continue exploring new ways to provide care and connection,” Cohen Moore said. ‘I will give you rest’ When Koller speaks with “those in service, especially chaplains and first responders,” she said that one verse “always comes to mind.” In Matthew 11:28, Jesus says: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”Koller noted that Christ “doesn’t say: ‘Keep pushing, work harder, work harder, deplete yourself, run yourself into the ground.” “No — he says, ‘Come to me,’” she said.“That invitation isn’t to perform,” Koller continued. “It’s to rest, in a way, to surrender the illusion that we have to carry everything alone. That’s where our renewal begins.”
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Self-care is stewardship, not selfishness, Catholic therapist tells chaplains #Catholic Father Adam Muda, a chaplain for the U.S. Army, celebrates Mass on the field with soldiers while in Germany. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Adam Muda CNA Staff, Oct 23, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA). During Pastoral Care Week, celebrated Oct. 19–25, a Catholic psychotherapist encouraged a group of Catholic chaplains and ministers to pursue prayer, rest, and self-care in light of burnout — a challenge that often accompanies their unique work.At an Oct. 22 webinar, “Carrying the Cross Without Burnout: Self-Care for Catholic Chaplains,” Adrienne Koller, a Catholic psychotherapist and founder of Strong Self Psychotherapy, encouraged chaplains to make time for spiritual and emotional renewal. The webinar, organized by the National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC), a group that educates and supports Catholic chaplains across the country, highlighted the importance of finding rest amid the emotional toll of ministry.“God doesn’t call us to self-erasure,” Koller told the nearly 100 chaplains who attended the webinar. “He calls us to stewardship of our bodies, our minds, and spirits.”Adrienne Koller, a Catholic psychotherapist and founder of Strong Self Psychotherapy, leads an Oct. 22, 2025, webinar organized by the NACC on finding renewal amid burnout. Credit: Screenshot of webinarKoller described self-care as “stewardship” and “caring for the vessel God entrusted to you.”“One of the most powerful mindset shifts I’ve seen in ministry is this: Self-care is not selfishness; it’s stewardship,” Koller said. “You are the vessel God entrusted with the work he gave you, and taking care of that vessel honors him.”“You’re not taking away from your calling. You’re strengthening it,” she said. “Renewal isn’t an indulgence — it’s obedience.” Erica Cohen Moore, executive director of NACC, highlighted the importance of caring for chaplains, both during Pastoral Care Week and throughout the year. “Our chaplains are often called into spaces where few others are willing or able to go,” Cohen Moore told CNA. “They serve people in some of the most marginalized and challenging situations, where grief and suffering can be profound.” Pastoral Care Week “gives opportunities for organizations and institutions of all types to recognize the spiritual caregivers in their midst and the ministry that the caregivers provide,” according to the NACC’s website.Chaplains are often priests, but seminarians, deacons, religious brothers and sisters, and laymen and laywomen can all serve as chaplains, providing professional spiritual and emotional support in a range of areas — often in prisons, hospitals, fire departments, and campuses.  To help prepare and support chaplains, the NACC offers a variety of resources, training, community, and support for chaplains, both Catholic and non-Catholic. What does burnout look like? “Over the years, I’ve walked with countless individuals who appear incredibly strong on the outside yet wrestle with exhaustion, doubt, or the feeling that their work has taken more from them than they have time to replenish,” Koller told attendees. Koller noted that the “emotional weight” of service can lead to burnout.“That emotional weight, it doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong; it means you’re human,” she said. “But we do take on that emotional weight, and that can lead, if unchecked, to burnout.”  “Burnout doesn’t happen because we’re weak or we’re incapable,” Koller continued. “It happens because we care deeply, we give fully, and sometimes we forget to refill our own cup.”To combat the weight of service, Koller encouraged ministers to pray before and after each difficult meeting or encounter, and to offer the weight of those challenges to the Lord. She also led the group in grounding prayer exercises that incorporate breathing into prayer. Erica Cohen Moore is the executive director of the National Association of Catholic Chaplains. Credit: Photo courtesy of Erica Cohen MooreCohen Moore noted that burnout is a “very real concern” that chaplains face — one that her organization works to combat through the resources they provide.  The association educates chaplains with a program called Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), which is “a process that equips them to manage burnout and care for themselves and one another,” according to Cohen Moore.The group also offers webinars on topics such as self-care, mental illness and trauma, and mental health, as well as networking groups and in-person gatherings, and publishes a magazine called Works of Hope.The association plans to launch a learning institute early next year to include a course on “sustaining pastoral ministers and helping them avoid burnout,” Cohen Moore said. “Burnout is a very real concern in our field, and we take it seriously as we continue exploring new ways to provide care and connection,” Cohen Moore said. ‘I will give you rest’ When Koller speaks with “those in service, especially chaplains and first responders,” she said that one verse “always comes to mind.” In Matthew 11:28, Jesus says: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”Koller noted that Christ “doesn’t say: ‘Keep pushing, work harder, work harder, deplete yourself, run yourself into the ground.” “No — he says, ‘Come to me,’” she said.“That invitation isn’t to perform,” Koller continued. “It’s to rest, in a way, to surrender the illusion that we have to carry everything alone. That’s where our renewal begins.”

unitedyam

Father Adam Muda, a chaplain for the U.S. Army, celebrates Mass on the field with soldiers while in Germany. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Adam Muda

CNA Staff, Oct 23, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

During Pastoral Care Week, celebrated Oct. 19–25, a Catholic psychotherapist encouraged a group of Catholic chaplains and ministers to pursue prayer, rest, and self-care in light of burnout — a challenge that often accompanies their unique work.

At an Oct. 22 webinar, “Carrying the Cross Without Burnout: Self-Care for Catholic Chaplains,” Adrienne Koller, a Catholic psychotherapist and founder of Strong Self Psychotherapy, encouraged chaplains to make time for spiritual and emotional renewal. 

The webinar, organized by the National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC), a group that educates and supports Catholic chaplains across the country, highlighted the importance of finding rest amid the emotional toll of ministry.

“God doesn’t call us to self-erasure,” Koller told the nearly 100 chaplains who attended the webinar. “He calls us to stewardship of our bodies, our minds, and spirits.”

Adrienne Koller, a Catholic psychotherapist and founder of Strong Self Psychotherapy, leads an Oct. 22, 2025, webinar organized by the NACC on finding renewal amid burnout. Credit: Screenshot of webinar
Adrienne Koller, a Catholic psychotherapist and founder of Strong Self Psychotherapy, leads an Oct. 22, 2025, webinar organized by the NACC on finding renewal amid burnout. Credit: Screenshot of webinar

Koller described self-care as “stewardship” and “caring for the vessel God entrusted to you.”

“One of the most powerful mindset shifts I’ve seen in ministry is this: Self-care is not selfishness; it’s stewardship,” Koller said. “You are the vessel God entrusted with the work he gave you, and taking care of that vessel honors him.”

“You’re not taking away from your calling. You’re strengthening it,” she said. “Renewal isn’t an indulgence — it’s obedience.” 

Erica Cohen Moore, executive director of NACC, highlighted the importance of caring for chaplains, both during Pastoral Care Week and throughout the year. 

“Our chaplains are often called into spaces where few others are willing or able to go,” Cohen Moore told CNA. “They serve people in some of the most marginalized and challenging situations, where grief and suffering can be profound.” 

Pastoral Care Week “gives opportunities for organizations and institutions of all types to recognize the spiritual caregivers in their midst and the ministry that the caregivers provide,” according to the NACC’s website.

Chaplains are often priests, but seminarians, deacons, religious brothers and sisters, and laymen and laywomen can all serve as chaplains, providing professional spiritual and emotional support in a range of areas — often in prisons, hospitals, fire departments, and campuses.  

To help prepare and support chaplains, the NACC offers a variety of resources, training, community, and support for chaplains, both Catholic and non-Catholic. 

What does burnout look like? 

“Over the years, I’ve walked with countless individuals who appear incredibly strong on the outside yet wrestle with exhaustion, doubt, or the feeling that their work has taken more from them than they have time to replenish,” Koller told attendees. 

Koller noted that the “emotional weight” of service can lead to burnout.

“That emotional weight, it doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong; it means you’re human,” she said. “But we do take on that emotional weight, and that can lead, if unchecked, to burnout.”  

“Burnout doesn’t happen because we’re weak or we’re incapable,” Koller continued. “It happens because we care deeply, we give fully, and sometimes we forget to refill our own cup.”

To combat the weight of service, Koller encouraged ministers to pray before and after each difficult meeting or encounter, and to offer the weight of those challenges to the Lord. She also led the group in grounding prayer exercises that incorporate breathing into prayer. 

Erica Cohen Moore is the executive director of the National Association of Catholic Chaplains. Credit: Photo courtesy of Erica Cohen Moore
Erica Cohen Moore is the executive director of the National Association of Catholic Chaplains. Credit: Photo courtesy of Erica Cohen Moore

Cohen Moore noted that burnout is a “very real concern” that chaplains face — one that her organization works to combat through the resources they provide.  

The association educates chaplains with a program called Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), which is “a process that equips them to manage burnout and care for themselves and one another,” according to Cohen Moore.

The group also offers webinars on topics such as self-care, mental illness and trauma, and mental health, as well as networking groups and in-person gatherings, and publishes a magazine called Works of Hope.

The association plans to launch a learning institute early next year to include a course on “sustaining pastoral ministers and helping them avoid burnout,” Cohen Moore said. 

“Burnout is a very real concern in our field, and we take it seriously as we continue exploring new ways to provide care and connection,” Cohen Moore said. 

‘I will give you rest’ 

When Koller speaks with “those in service, especially chaplains and first responders,” she said that one verse “always comes to mind.” 

In Matthew 11:28, Jesus says: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Koller noted that Christ “doesn’t say: ‘Keep pushing, work harder, work harder, deplete yourself, run yourself into the ground.” 

“No — he says, ‘Come to me,’” she said.

“That invitation isn’t to perform,” Koller continued. “It’s to rest, in a way, to surrender the illusion that we have to carry everything alone. That’s where our renewal begins.”

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Jerusalem Church leaders welcome Gaza ceasefire #Catholic Churches in Jerusalem. / Credit: Amizor via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 17, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA). Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:Jerusalem church leaders welcome Gaza ceasefireThe Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem has hailed the announcement of a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange, describing it as a “first real step toward ending the war,” CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, ACI MENA, reported Oct. 16. The statement thanked the international community, particularly mediators at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, for helping secure the deal and called for rapid humanitarian access to food, clean water, fuel, and medicine.The church leaders also voiced alarm over growing violence and settlement expansion in the West Bank, insisting that peace talks must lead to an independent Palestinian state living in safety beside Israel. They praised Christians in Gaza for their steadfast faith, calling the communities of St. Porphyrius Orthodox and Holy Family Catholic churches “a living witness of hope amid suffering.”Tokyo archbishop calls for end to death penaltyCardinal Isao Kikuchi, archbishop of Tokyo, is calling on Japan to abolish the death penalty and grant clemency to two men charged with murder, according to a report by Crux. “The Catholic Church in Japan opposes capital punishment, calling for the protection of all life as a gift from the Creator. The Church urges the government to abolish the death penalty and reform the Japanese criminal justice system,” the cardinal said, adding: “I fundamentally believe that if we uphold the value of human life and dignity, we must not employ the same method as the criminals by taking a life away.” Protests in Cameroon overshadow presidential election despite bishops’ call for peaceDespite repeated appeals by Catholic bishops for peace and transparency ahead of Cameroon’s presidential elections, protests reportedly erupted in some cities in the country, ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, reported Oct. 16.In the country’s capital of Douala, angry demonstrators accused authorities of electoral fraud in the Oct. 12 vote. This comes after members of the Cameroon bishops’ conference called on authorities to address any electoral insecurities they said could possibly mar the country’s presidential elections. “Every human life is sacred and must be protected. It is everyone’s duty to ensure that the sanctity of human life is preserved before, during, and after the upcoming elections,” they said, adding: “We call on the competent authorities of the Republic to use their powers to prevent electoral insecurity and ensure a favorable environment, free from fear and intimidation.” Results for the election are expected by Oct. 26. Pope Leo XIV meets Jordan’s King Abdullah II: a renewed friendshipPope Leo XIV welcomed King Abdullah II of Jordan and Queen Rania to the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City this week, their first meeting since the pope’s election earlier this year, ACI MENA reported Oct. 14. The encounter reaffirmed the long-standing friendship between the Holy See and the Hashemite Kingdom, centered on interfaith dialogue and shared concern for peace in the Middle East. The visit comes as King Abdullah tours Europe, including Italy, Hungary, and Slovenia, for talks on regional stability. Observers note that the strong personal rapport once shared between Pope Francis and the Jordanian monarch is likely to continue under Pope Leo, whose pontificate has already signaled continuity in humanitarian outreach and mutual respect.Korean Catholics call on government to protect workers under new lawCatholic officials are welcoming a change to Korea’s labor laws that will help protect workers by strengthening unions and adding protections for workers in Korea’s segmented labor market, according to an Oct. 15 report from UCA News. “Nothing is more important than the happiness, well-being, and protection of the lives of workers and their families, so it is natural for the Church to stand on the side of workers,” said Father Alexander Lee Young-hoon, the Bishops’ Conference of Korea’s secretary of labor.“When the Church speaks out on labor and social issues, many believers perceive it as a political stance,” said John Park Young-ki, attorney and member of the Seoul Archdiocese Labor Ministry Committee. “The path of a Church that stands with the poor and the vulnerable, as Pope Francis has said, is not to follow secular logic but to show concern for the vulnerable.”Germany names its head of foreign intelligence service as ambassador to Holy SeePope Leo XIV received Bruno Kahl, Germany’s new ambassador to the Holy See, on Oct. 11, according to a Vatican press bulletin. Kahl presented Leo with his credential letters during the meeting, marking the official start of his post. The new ambassador has been in Rome for several weeks, according to reports, and previously met with Leo during a private audience with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. During his stint as head of German intelligence, Kahl was in Ukraine when Russia invaded at the start of the war and had to be evacuated by special forces from the country via car, according to several reports.
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Jerusalem Church leaders welcome Gaza ceasefire #Catholic Churches in Jerusalem. / Credit: Amizor via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 17, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA). Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:Jerusalem church leaders welcome Gaza ceasefireThe Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem has hailed the announcement of a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange, describing it as a “first real step toward ending the war,” CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, ACI MENA, reported Oct. 16. The statement thanked the international community, particularly mediators at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, for helping secure the deal and called for rapid humanitarian access to food, clean water, fuel, and medicine.The church leaders also voiced alarm over growing violence and settlement expansion in the West Bank, insisting that peace talks must lead to an independent Palestinian state living in safety beside Israel. They praised Christians in Gaza for their steadfast faith, calling the communities of St. Porphyrius Orthodox and Holy Family Catholic churches “a living witness of hope amid suffering.”Tokyo archbishop calls for end to death penaltyCardinal Isao Kikuchi, archbishop of Tokyo, is calling on Japan to abolish the death penalty and grant clemency to two men charged with murder, according to a report by Crux. “The Catholic Church in Japan opposes capital punishment, calling for the protection of all life as a gift from the Creator. The Church urges the government to abolish the death penalty and reform the Japanese criminal justice system,” the cardinal said, adding: “I fundamentally believe that if we uphold the value of human life and dignity, we must not employ the same method as the criminals by taking a life away.” Protests in Cameroon overshadow presidential election despite bishops’ call for peaceDespite repeated appeals by Catholic bishops for peace and transparency ahead of Cameroon’s presidential elections, protests reportedly erupted in some cities in the country, ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, reported Oct. 16.In the country’s capital of Douala, angry demonstrators accused authorities of electoral fraud in the Oct. 12 vote. This comes after members of the Cameroon bishops’ conference called on authorities to address any electoral insecurities they said could possibly mar the country’s presidential elections. “Every human life is sacred and must be protected. It is everyone’s duty to ensure that the sanctity of human life is preserved before, during, and after the upcoming elections,” they said, adding: “We call on the competent authorities of the Republic to use their powers to prevent electoral insecurity and ensure a favorable environment, free from fear and intimidation.” Results for the election are expected by Oct. 26. Pope Leo XIV meets Jordan’s King Abdullah II: a renewed friendshipPope Leo XIV welcomed King Abdullah II of Jordan and Queen Rania to the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City this week, their first meeting since the pope’s election earlier this year, ACI MENA reported Oct. 14. The encounter reaffirmed the long-standing friendship between the Holy See and the Hashemite Kingdom, centered on interfaith dialogue and shared concern for peace in the Middle East. The visit comes as King Abdullah tours Europe, including Italy, Hungary, and Slovenia, for talks on regional stability. Observers note that the strong personal rapport once shared between Pope Francis and the Jordanian monarch is likely to continue under Pope Leo, whose pontificate has already signaled continuity in humanitarian outreach and mutual respect.Korean Catholics call on government to protect workers under new lawCatholic officials are welcoming a change to Korea’s labor laws that will help protect workers by strengthening unions and adding protections for workers in Korea’s segmented labor market, according to an Oct. 15 report from UCA News. “Nothing is more important than the happiness, well-being, and protection of the lives of workers and their families, so it is natural for the Church to stand on the side of workers,” said Father Alexander Lee Young-hoon, the Bishops’ Conference of Korea’s secretary of labor.“When the Church speaks out on labor and social issues, many believers perceive it as a political stance,” said John Park Young-ki, attorney and member of the Seoul Archdiocese Labor Ministry Committee. “The path of a Church that stands with the poor and the vulnerable, as Pope Francis has said, is not to follow secular logic but to show concern for the vulnerable.”Germany names its head of foreign intelligence service as ambassador to Holy SeePope Leo XIV received Bruno Kahl, Germany’s new ambassador to the Holy See, on Oct. 11, according to a Vatican press bulletin. Kahl presented Leo with his credential letters during the meeting, marking the official start of his post. The new ambassador has been in Rome for several weeks, according to reports, and previously met with Leo during a private audience with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. During his stint as head of German intelligence, Kahl was in Ukraine when Russia invaded at the start of the war and had to be evacuated by special forces from the country via car, according to several reports.

unitedyam

Churches in Jerusalem. / Credit: Amizor via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 17, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

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

Jerusalem church leaders welcome Gaza ceasefire

The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem has hailed the announcement of a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange, describing it as a “first real step toward ending the war,” CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, ACI MENA, reported Oct. 16. 

The statement thanked the international community, particularly mediators at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, for helping secure the deal and called for rapid humanitarian access to food, clean water, fuel, and medicine.

The church leaders also voiced alarm over growing violence and settlement expansion in the West Bank, insisting that peace talks must lead to an independent Palestinian state living in safety beside Israel. They praised Christians in Gaza for their steadfast faith, calling the communities of St. Porphyrius Orthodox and Holy Family Catholic churches “a living witness of hope amid suffering.”

Tokyo archbishop calls for end to death penalty

Cardinal Isao Kikuchi, archbishop of Tokyo, is calling on Japan to abolish the death penalty and grant clemency to two men charged with murder, according to a report by Crux. 

“The Catholic Church in Japan opposes capital punishment, calling for the protection of all life as a gift from the Creator. The Church urges the government to abolish the death penalty and reform the Japanese criminal justice system,” the cardinal said, adding: “I fundamentally believe that if we uphold the value of human life and dignity, we must not employ the same method as the criminals by taking a life away.” 

Protests in Cameroon overshadow presidential election despite bishops’ call for peace

Despite repeated appeals by Catholic bishops for peace and transparency ahead of Cameroon’s presidential elections, protests reportedly erupted in some cities in the country, ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, reported Oct. 16.

In the country’s capital of Douala, angry demonstrators accused authorities of electoral fraud in the Oct. 12 vote. This comes after members of the Cameroon bishops’ conference called on authorities to address any electoral insecurities they said could possibly mar the country’s presidential elections. 

“Every human life is sacred and must be protected. It is everyone’s duty to ensure that the sanctity of human life is preserved before, during, and after the upcoming elections,” they said, adding: “We call on the competent authorities of the Republic to use their powers to prevent electoral insecurity and ensure a favorable environment, free from fear and intimidation.” 

Results for the election are expected by Oct. 26. 

Pope Leo XIV meets Jordan’s King Abdullah II: a renewed friendship

Pope Leo XIV welcomed King Abdullah II of Jordan and Queen Rania to the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City this week, their first meeting since the pope’s election earlier this year, ACI MENA reported Oct. 14. 

The encounter reaffirmed the long-standing friendship between the Holy See and the Hashemite Kingdom, centered on interfaith dialogue and shared concern for peace in the Middle East. The visit comes as King Abdullah tours Europe, including Italy, Hungary, and Slovenia, for talks on regional stability. 

Observers note that the strong personal rapport once shared between Pope Francis and the Jordanian monarch is likely to continue under Pope Leo, whose pontificate has already signaled continuity in humanitarian outreach and mutual respect.

Korean Catholics call on government to protect workers under new law

Catholic officials are welcoming a change to Korea’s labor laws that will help protect workers by strengthening unions and adding protections for workers in Korea’s segmented labor market, according to an Oct. 15 report from UCA News. 

“Nothing is more important than the happiness, well-being, and protection of the lives of workers and their families, so it is natural for the Church to stand on the side of workers,” said Father Alexander Lee Young-hoon, the Bishops’ Conference of Korea’s secretary of labor.

“When the Church speaks out on labor and social issues, many believers perceive it as a political stance,” said John Park Young-ki, attorney and member of the Seoul Archdiocese Labor Ministry Committee. “The path of a Church that stands with the poor and the vulnerable, as Pope Francis has said, is not to follow secular logic but to show concern for the vulnerable.”

Germany names its head of foreign intelligence service as ambassador to Holy See

Pope Leo XIV received Bruno Kahl, Germany’s new ambassador to the Holy See, on Oct. 11, according to a Vatican press bulletin. 

Kahl presented Leo with his credential letters during the meeting, marking the official start of his post. The new ambassador has been in Rome for several weeks, according to reports, and previously met with Leo during a private audience with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. During his stint as head of German intelligence, Kahl was in Ukraine when Russia invaded at the start of the war and had to be evacuated by special forces from the country via car, according to several reports.

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Miami archbishop, president of Society of St. Vincent de Paul USA delve into Dilexi te #Catholic “The Christian is supposed to answer the question ‘Who is my neighbor?’, and the answer is: ‘The one who needs me,’” said Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski during an Oct. 9, 2025, press conference in Miami. / Credit: Emily Chaffins/CNA Miami, Florida, Oct 10, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA). “There’s somebody here who wants to talk to you,” the receptionist said to John Berry.Now the president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul USA (SVdp USA), Berry was serving the Georgia branch when a woman arrived at the office with a check. The stranger wanted to support the organization’s goals of helping people overcome poverty. Her donation was large, but her reason for donating was even more astounding.“A number of years ago, I was down on my luck, and you all helped me,” she said. “I’m in a position now where I can help you.”Berry recalled the encounter while pondering Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic exhortation, Dilexi te, published Oct. 9, centering on compassion for the poor. The exhortation’s introductory phrase — from which the title is derived — is “I have loved you,” from Revelation 3:9.Indeed, the first American pope’s message is about the necessary exchange of love between the poor and those who serve, as mirrored by Berry and the donor.Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami recognized the major papal milestone by holding a press conference Thursday to unpack Pope Leo’s words. He summarized the pope’s message: “We are to love the poor, not to blame them for their poverty but to assist them so they can discover and own their … dignity as human beings.”During the press conference at the Archdiocese of Miami pastoral center, the archbishop spoke about one of the key ideas in Dilexi te, “accompaniment,” which informs the SVdP donor’s story.“Accompaniment would be treating them as a brother or sister and not lording it over [them],” Wenski said. Otherwise, “they themselves feel offended in their dignity, and then what we’re doing is not so much trying to help them but [instead] trying to make us feel good.”On the contrary, accompaniment can be far from the feel good.“Accompaniment means that we roll up our sleeves and work with them, and oftentimes when doing so we’re not going to feel good because it’s going to require a lot of sweat and tears,” the archbishop added. Indeed, SVdP USA strives to embody the Catholic mindset of accompaniment, as volunteers dialogue with impoverished families and individuals to tailor the method of aid to their specific situations. Some of SVdP USA’s offerings include monetary aid, food pantries, free pharmacy programs, shelters, clinics, and education centers.Society of St. Vincent de Paul pharmacist Kellie Elisar (left) and team at the St. Vincent de Paul of Baton Rouge Charitable Pharmacy on June 24, 2025. Credit: Photo courtesy of Society of St. Vincent de Paul“We’re not the kind of agency where somebody who’s in need walks in the door, fills out a form, slips it under a hole in a glass wall, and then next thing you know, somebody says, ‘OK, we’ll pay your bill’ or hands over a box of food,” Berry explained. “Ours is a sit-down conversation, a personal encounter, where we talk with people and create a solution together. We find out from them what are their needs, what are the things that are challenging them.”In the Archdiocese of Miami, Catholic Legal Services represents immigrants in need, and people struggling with the English language can attend parish-based ESL (English as a second language) classes.As Wenski put it: “The Christian is supposed to answer the question ‘Who is my neighbor?’, and the answer is: ‘The one who needs me.’”“It is significant because these first apostolic exhortations tend to be the putting forth of a strategic plan for the priorities of the pope for his pontificate,” he added.Both the archbishop and Berry pointed out that Pope Leo’s missionary outreach in Peru likely informs his perspective on the poor within the exhortation as someone who walked the walk. “This is his heart,” Berry said.
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Miami archbishop, president of Society of St. Vincent de Paul USA delve into Dilexi te #Catholic “The Christian is supposed to answer the question ‘Who is my neighbor?’, and the answer is: ‘The one who needs me,’” said Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski during an Oct. 9, 2025, press conference in Miami. / Credit: Emily Chaffins/CNA Miami, Florida, Oct 10, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA). “There’s somebody here who wants to talk to you,” the receptionist said to John Berry.Now the president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul USA (SVdp USA), Berry was serving the Georgia branch when a woman arrived at the office with a check. The stranger wanted to support the organization’s goals of helping people overcome poverty. Her donation was large, but her reason for donating was even more astounding.“A number of years ago, I was down on my luck, and you all helped me,” she said. “I’m in a position now where I can help you.”Berry recalled the encounter while pondering Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic exhortation, Dilexi te, published Oct. 9, centering on compassion for the poor. The exhortation’s introductory phrase — from which the title is derived — is “I have loved you,” from Revelation 3:9.Indeed, the first American pope’s message is about the necessary exchange of love between the poor and those who serve, as mirrored by Berry and the donor.Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami recognized the major papal milestone by holding a press conference Thursday to unpack Pope Leo’s words. He summarized the pope’s message: “We are to love the poor, not to blame them for their poverty but to assist them so they can discover and own their … dignity as human beings.”During the press conference at the Archdiocese of Miami pastoral center, the archbishop spoke about one of the key ideas in Dilexi te, “accompaniment,” which informs the SVdP donor’s story.“Accompaniment would be treating them as a brother or sister and not lording it over [them],” Wenski said. Otherwise, “they themselves feel offended in their dignity, and then what we’re doing is not so much trying to help them but [instead] trying to make us feel good.”On the contrary, accompaniment can be far from the feel good.“Accompaniment means that we roll up our sleeves and work with them, and oftentimes when doing so we’re not going to feel good because it’s going to require a lot of sweat and tears,” the archbishop added. Indeed, SVdP USA strives to embody the Catholic mindset of accompaniment, as volunteers dialogue with impoverished families and individuals to tailor the method of aid to their specific situations. Some of SVdP USA’s offerings include monetary aid, food pantries, free pharmacy programs, shelters, clinics, and education centers.Society of St. Vincent de Paul pharmacist Kellie Elisar (left) and team at the St. Vincent de Paul of Baton Rouge Charitable Pharmacy on June 24, 2025. Credit: Photo courtesy of Society of St. Vincent de Paul“We’re not the kind of agency where somebody who’s in need walks in the door, fills out a form, slips it under a hole in a glass wall, and then next thing you know, somebody says, ‘OK, we’ll pay your bill’ or hands over a box of food,” Berry explained. “Ours is a sit-down conversation, a personal encounter, where we talk with people and create a solution together. We find out from them what are their needs, what are the things that are challenging them.”In the Archdiocese of Miami, Catholic Legal Services represents immigrants in need, and people struggling with the English language can attend parish-based ESL (English as a second language) classes.As Wenski put it: “The Christian is supposed to answer the question ‘Who is my neighbor?’, and the answer is: ‘The one who needs me.’”“It is significant because these first apostolic exhortations tend to be the putting forth of a strategic plan for the priorities of the pope for his pontificate,” he added.Both the archbishop and Berry pointed out that Pope Leo’s missionary outreach in Peru likely informs his perspective on the poor within the exhortation as someone who walked the walk. “This is his heart,” Berry said.

unitedyam

“The Christian is supposed to answer the question ‘Who is my neighbor?’, and the answer is: ‘The one who needs me,’” said Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski during an Oct. 9, 2025, press conference in Miami. / Credit: Emily Chaffins/CNA

Miami, Florida, Oct 10, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

“There’s somebody here who wants to talk to you,” the receptionist said to John Berry.

Now the president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul USA (SVdp USA), Berry was serving the Georgia branch when a woman arrived at the office with a check. The stranger wanted to support the organization’s goals of helping people overcome poverty. Her donation was large, but her reason for donating was even more astounding.

“A number of years ago, I was down on my luck, and you all helped me,” she said. “I’m in a position now where I can help you.”

Berry recalled the encounter while pondering Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic exhortation, Dilexi te, published Oct. 9, centering on compassion for the poor. The exhortation’s introductory phrase — from which the title is derived — is “I have loved you,” from Revelation 3:9.

Indeed, the first American pope’s message is about the necessary exchange of love between the poor and those who serve, as mirrored by Berry and the donor.

Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami recognized the major papal milestone by holding a press conference Thursday to unpack Pope Leo’s words. He summarized the pope’s message: “We are to love the poor, not to blame them for their poverty but to assist them so they can discover and own their … dignity as human beings.”

During the press conference at the Archdiocese of Miami pastoral center, the archbishop spoke about one of the key ideas in Dilexi te, “accompaniment,” which informs the SVdP donor’s story.

“Accompaniment would be treating them as a brother or sister and not lording it over [them],” Wenski said. Otherwise, “they themselves feel offended in their dignity, and then what we’re doing is not so much trying to help them but [instead] trying to make us feel good.”

On the contrary, accompaniment can be far from the feel good.

“Accompaniment means that we roll up our sleeves and work with them, and oftentimes when doing so we’re not going to feel good because it’s going to require a lot of sweat and tears,” the archbishop added. 

Indeed, SVdP USA strives to embody the Catholic mindset of accompaniment, as volunteers dialogue with impoverished families and individuals to tailor the method of aid to their specific situations. Some of SVdP USA’s offerings include monetary aid, food pantries, free pharmacy programs, shelters, clinics, and education centers.

Society of St. Vincent de Paul pharmacist Kellie Elisar (left) and team at the St. Vincent de Paul of Baton Rouge Charitable Pharmacy on June 24, 2025. Credit: Photo courtesy of Society of St. Vincent de Paul
Society of St. Vincent de Paul pharmacist Kellie Elisar (left) and team at the St. Vincent de Paul of Baton Rouge Charitable Pharmacy on June 24, 2025. Credit: Photo courtesy of Society of St. Vincent de Paul

“We’re not the kind of agency where somebody who’s in need walks in the door, fills out a form, slips it under a hole in a glass wall, and then next thing you know, somebody says, ‘OK, we’ll pay your bill’ or hands over a box of food,” Berry explained. “Ours is a sit-down conversation, a personal encounter, where we talk with people and create a solution together. We find out from them what are their needs, what are the things that are challenging them.”

In the Archdiocese of Miami, Catholic Legal Services represents immigrants in need, and people struggling with the English language can attend parish-based ESL (English as a second language) classes.

As Wenski put it: “The Christian is supposed to answer the question ‘Who is my neighbor?’, and the answer is: ‘The one who needs me.’”

“It is significant because these first apostolic exhortations tend to be the putting forth of a strategic plan for the priorities of the pope for his pontificate,” he added.

Both the archbishop and Berry pointed out that Pope Leo’s missionary outreach in Peru likely informs his perspective on the poor within the exhortation as someone who walked the walk. 

“This is his heart,” Berry said.

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Faith-based ministries discuss how to further pro-life mission #Catholic Kat Talalas, Amy Ford, Christopher Bell, and Sister Maria Frassati, SV, speak at the Leading with Love Conference at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 8, 2025. / Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNA Washington, D.C., Oct 9, 2025 / 12:55 pm (CNA). Pro-life leaders from across the country gathered this week to discuss how faith-based ministries are helping to cultivate a society that promotes human dignity and how others can advance the cause.The Leading with Love Conference at The Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington, D.C., was sponsored by the Human Life Foundation and the Center for Law and the Human Person at The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law. It was aimed at “empowering Christians to cultivate a culture of life within their local communities.”Jennie Bradley Lichter, president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, spoke to attendees Oct. 8 about the power of faith-based ministries, including The Guadalupe Project. Lichter founded the initiative in 2022 to provide resources and encouragement to parents within the CUA community.To cultivate this encouragement, we must figure out how we can “create more of a revolution of love,” Lichter said. “Christ started this revolution of love, but it’s now up to each one of us in our particular time and place.”“Caring for unborn babies and their mothers is one of the most urgent challenges of our time, Lichter said. “Six out of 10 women who have chosen abortion would have preferred to choose life if they had the emotional and financial support they felt necessary.” The Guadalupe Project’s goal was to combat this by “[making] sure every woman on campus knows that resources exist and knows exactly how to find them,” Lichter said. “It’s meant to support all parents on campus, not just students, and not just mothers in unexpected or challenging circumstances.”“We wanted to foster a culture on campus where each life is celebrated, knowing that a positive, vibrant, and joyful culture of life is truly life-giving in so many ways,” Lichter said. The initiative “revamped all of the university’s pregnancy resource materials for students” and created “a poster campaign, including one designed specifically for the men’s dorms,” Lichter said.It also promoted the placement of stickers in every women’s restroom stall on campus with a QR code leading to these pregnancy materials. The campus started allotting more maternity and paternity leave, designating maternity parking spots on campus, providing free diapers and wipes at the campus food pantry, holding maternity clothing drives, and “affirming the goodness of family life and that new babies are a moment to celebrate,” Lichter said.The 2026 theme for the March for Life is “Life Is a Gift,” Lichter said. The initiative helps carry that out, because “life is something to be celebrated.” She added: “[Life] is not a burden for which someone needs support, or not solely that. It is really a cause for celebration.” Faith-based communities can use The Guadalupe Project as “prototype,” Lichter suggested. She shared that other universities have reached out to talk about the initiative as they were inspired to consider doing something similar.“We need to make sure that pregnant women never reach the point of despair that drives them into the arms of the abortion clinics,” Lichter said. “We need to meet that moment of loneliness, fear, or emptiness with encouragement and empowerment.”Hopes and suggestions for faith-based ministries Other leaders from prominent pro-life ministries discussed what gives them hope for the future of the pro-life movement, including Kat Talalas of Walking with Moms in Need, Amy Ford of Embrace Grace, Christopher Bell of Good Counsel Homes, and Sister Maria Frassati of the Sisters of Life.Talalas, who is the assistant director of pro-life communications for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Walking with Moms in Need started five years ago but has already reached countless communities. The parish-based initiative is “to the point where we don’t even know a lot of the time what new diocese or parish is starting a Walking with Moms in Need, what new lives are being saved, [and] what new women are being accompanied,” Talalas said. “It’s taken on a life of its own. That’s the work of the Holy Spirit — the Holy Spirit convicting hearts.”“God guides us, we have each other, and we’re not alone. Just as we tell [mothers] that they’re not alone, we’re not alone in this movement. So what’s giving me hope is seeing the Holy Spirit catch fire and individual people saying: ‘I want to start talking with moms in need,’ and women saying: ‘I can do this,’” Talalas said. Talalas said the work all begins with prayer. “It’s sitting in the presence of the love of God, letting him love you, and seeing how the Holy Spirit convicts you … It begins with that individual conviction. If we’re not following God’s law, it doesn’t matter what we’re doing.”Ford, who leads Embrace Grace, which provides mothers support through local churches, said she has “noticed there’s a lot of people that seem like they have more of an open heart about Christianity, about spirituality … especially with the younger generation.” She added: “I think that’s something we can all have hope about.”To get involved, Ford said people need to carry out “the good works that God’s called us to do.” She posed the question: “What strengths and gifts did God put inside each of you that you can do?” While Bell’s ministry, Good Counsel, provides services including housing for homeless mothers and children and post-abortion healing services, he said every person can help by simply praying. He specifically called on people to pray in front of an abortion center. “If you have done it, do it again. If you’ve never done it, just go ... You don’t have to say anything. You didn’t have to look up. You don’t have to open your eyes. But your presence will mean the world,” Bell said. “The babies who will die there that day will know that you loved them … That’s the most important thing to do.”Sister Maria Frassati shared that “we could really grow in having more faith in what [God] is doing.”“The truth is that God is actually really working in so many ways,” she said. “God is faithful, and that really gives me a lot of hope that nothing that you give is ever wasted. Even if you walk with a woman who’s not receptive, there’s really no gift that has been offered to him that he has not kept sacred and precious in his heart.”
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Faith-based ministries discuss how to further pro-life mission #Catholic Kat Talalas, Amy Ford, Christopher Bell, and Sister Maria Frassati, SV, speak at the Leading with Love Conference at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 8, 2025. / Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNA Washington, D.C., Oct 9, 2025 / 12:55 pm (CNA). Pro-life leaders from across the country gathered this week to discuss how faith-based ministries are helping to cultivate a society that promotes human dignity and how others can advance the cause.The Leading with Love Conference at The Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington, D.C., was sponsored by the Human Life Foundation and the Center for Law and the Human Person at The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law. It was aimed at “empowering Christians to cultivate a culture of life within their local communities.”Jennie Bradley Lichter, president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, spoke to attendees Oct. 8 about the power of faith-based ministries, including The Guadalupe Project. Lichter founded the initiative in 2022 to provide resources and encouragement to parents within the CUA community.To cultivate this encouragement, we must figure out how we can “create more of a revolution of love,” Lichter said. “Christ started this revolution of love, but it’s now up to each one of us in our particular time and place.”“Caring for unborn babies and their mothers is one of the most urgent challenges of our time, Lichter said. “Six out of 10 women who have chosen abortion would have preferred to choose life if they had the emotional and financial support they felt necessary.” The Guadalupe Project’s goal was to combat this by “[making] sure every woman on campus knows that resources exist and knows exactly how to find them,” Lichter said. “It’s meant to support all parents on campus, not just students, and not just mothers in unexpected or challenging circumstances.”“We wanted to foster a culture on campus where each life is celebrated, knowing that a positive, vibrant, and joyful culture of life is truly life-giving in so many ways,” Lichter said. The initiative “revamped all of the university’s pregnancy resource materials for students” and created “a poster campaign, including one designed specifically for the men’s dorms,” Lichter said.It also promoted the placement of stickers in every women’s restroom stall on campus with a QR code leading to these pregnancy materials. The campus started allotting more maternity and paternity leave, designating maternity parking spots on campus, providing free diapers and wipes at the campus food pantry, holding maternity clothing drives, and “affirming the goodness of family life and that new babies are a moment to celebrate,” Lichter said.The 2026 theme for the March for Life is “Life Is a Gift,” Lichter said. The initiative helps carry that out, because “life is something to be celebrated.” She added: “[Life] is not a burden for which someone needs support, or not solely that. It is really a cause for celebration.” Faith-based communities can use The Guadalupe Project as “prototype,” Lichter suggested. She shared that other universities have reached out to talk about the initiative as they were inspired to consider doing something similar.“We need to make sure that pregnant women never reach the point of despair that drives them into the arms of the abortion clinics,” Lichter said. “We need to meet that moment of loneliness, fear, or emptiness with encouragement and empowerment.”Hopes and suggestions for faith-based ministries Other leaders from prominent pro-life ministries discussed what gives them hope for the future of the pro-life movement, including Kat Talalas of Walking with Moms in Need, Amy Ford of Embrace Grace, Christopher Bell of Good Counsel Homes, and Sister Maria Frassati of the Sisters of Life.Talalas, who is the assistant director of pro-life communications for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Walking with Moms in Need started five years ago but has already reached countless communities. The parish-based initiative is “to the point where we don’t even know a lot of the time what new diocese or parish is starting a Walking with Moms in Need, what new lives are being saved, [and] what new women are being accompanied,” Talalas said. “It’s taken on a life of its own. That’s the work of the Holy Spirit — the Holy Spirit convicting hearts.”“God guides us, we have each other, and we’re not alone. Just as we tell [mothers] that they’re not alone, we’re not alone in this movement. So what’s giving me hope is seeing the Holy Spirit catch fire and individual people saying: ‘I want to start talking with moms in need,’ and women saying: ‘I can do this,’” Talalas said. Talalas said the work all begins with prayer. “It’s sitting in the presence of the love of God, letting him love you, and seeing how the Holy Spirit convicts you … It begins with that individual conviction. If we’re not following God’s law, it doesn’t matter what we’re doing.”Ford, who leads Embrace Grace, which provides mothers support through local churches, said she has “noticed there’s a lot of people that seem like they have more of an open heart about Christianity, about spirituality … especially with the younger generation.” She added: “I think that’s something we can all have hope about.”To get involved, Ford said people need to carry out “the good works that God’s called us to do.” She posed the question: “What strengths and gifts did God put inside each of you that you can do?” While Bell’s ministry, Good Counsel, provides services including housing for homeless mothers and children and post-abortion healing services, he said every person can help by simply praying. He specifically called on people to pray in front of an abortion center. “If you have done it, do it again. If you’ve never done it, just go … You don’t have to say anything. You didn’t have to look up. You don’t have to open your eyes. But your presence will mean the world,” Bell said. “The babies who will die there that day will know that you loved them … That’s the most important thing to do.”Sister Maria Frassati shared that “we could really grow in having more faith in what [God] is doing.”“The truth is that God is actually really working in so many ways,” she said. “God is faithful, and that really gives me a lot of hope that nothing that you give is ever wasted. Even if you walk with a woman who’s not receptive, there’s really no gift that has been offered to him that he has not kept sacred and precious in his heart.”

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Kat Talalas, Amy Ford, Christopher Bell, and Sister Maria Frassati, SV, speak at the Leading with Love Conference at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 8, 2025. / Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNA

Washington, D.C., Oct 9, 2025 / 12:55 pm (CNA).

Pro-life leaders from across the country gathered this week to discuss how faith-based ministries are helping to cultivate a society that promotes human dignity and how others can advance the cause.

The Leading with Love Conference at The Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington, D.C., was sponsored by the Human Life Foundation and the Center for Law and the Human Person at The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law. It was aimed at “empowering Christians to cultivate a culture of life within their local communities.”

Jennie Bradley Lichter, president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, spoke to attendees Oct. 8 about the power of faith-based ministries, including The Guadalupe Project. Lichter founded the initiative in 2022 to provide resources and encouragement to parents within the CUA community.

To cultivate this encouragement, we must figure out how we can “create more of a revolution of love,” Lichter said. “Christ started this revolution of love, but it’s now up to each one of us in our particular time and place.”

“Caring for unborn babies and their mothers is one of the most urgent challenges of our time, Lichter said. “Six out of 10 women who have chosen abortion would have preferred to choose life if they had the emotional and financial support they felt necessary.” 

The Guadalupe Project’s goal was to combat this by “[making] sure every woman on campus knows that resources exist and knows exactly how to find them,” Lichter said. “It’s meant to support all parents on campus, not just students, and not just mothers in unexpected or challenging circumstances.”

“We wanted to foster a culture on campus where each life is celebrated, knowing that a positive, vibrant, and joyful culture of life is truly life-giving in so many ways,” Lichter said.

The initiative “revamped all of the university’s pregnancy resource materials for students” and created “a poster campaign, including one designed specifically for the men’s dorms,” Lichter said.

It also promoted the placement of stickers in every women’s restroom stall on campus with a QR code leading to these pregnancy materials. The campus started allotting more maternity and paternity leave, designating maternity parking spots on campus, providing free diapers and wipes at the campus food pantry, holding maternity clothing drives, and “affirming the goodness of family life and that new babies are a moment to celebrate,” Lichter said.

The 2026 theme for the March for Life is “Life Is a Gift,” Lichter said. The initiative helps carry that out, because “life is something to be celebrated.”

She added: “[Life] is not a burden for which someone needs support, or not solely that. It is really a cause for celebration.” 

Faith-based communities can use The Guadalupe Project as “prototype,” Lichter suggested. She shared that other universities have reached out to talk about the initiative as they were inspired to consider doing something similar.

“We need to make sure that pregnant women never reach the point of despair that drives them into the arms of the abortion clinics,” Lichter said. “We need to meet that moment of loneliness, fear, or emptiness with encouragement and empowerment.”

Hopes and suggestions for faith-based ministries 

Other leaders from prominent pro-life ministries discussed what gives them hope for the future of the pro-life movement, including Kat Talalas of Walking with Moms in Need, Amy Ford of Embrace Grace, Christopher Bell of Good Counsel Homes, and Sister Maria Frassati of the Sisters of Life.

Talalas, who is the assistant director of pro-life communications for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Walking with Moms in Need started five years ago but has already reached countless communities. 

The parish-based initiative is “to the point where we don’t even know a lot of the time what new diocese or parish is starting a Walking with Moms in Need, what new lives are being saved, [and] what new women are being accompanied,” Talalas said. “It’s taken on a life of its own. That’s the work of the Holy Spirit — the Holy Spirit convicting hearts.”

“God guides us, we have each other, and we’re not alone. Just as we tell [mothers] that they’re not alone, we’re not alone in this movement. So what’s giving me hope is seeing the Holy Spirit catch fire and individual people saying: ‘I want to start talking with moms in need,’ and women saying: ‘I can do this,’” Talalas said. 

Talalas said the work all begins with prayer. “It’s sitting in the presence of the love of God, letting him love you, and seeing how the Holy Spirit convicts you … It begins with that individual conviction. If we’re not following God’s law, it doesn’t matter what we’re doing.”

Ford, who leads Embrace Grace, which provides mothers support through local churches, said she has “noticed there’s a lot of people that seem like they have more of an open heart about Christianity, about spirituality … especially with the younger generation.”

She added: “I think that’s something we can all have hope about.”

To get involved, Ford said people need to carry out “the good works that God’s called us to do.” She posed the question: “What strengths and gifts did God put inside each of you that you can do?” 

While Bell’s ministry, Good Counsel, provides services including housing for homeless mothers and children and post-abortion healing services, he said every person can help by simply praying. He specifically called on people to pray in front of an abortion center. 

“If you have done it, do it again. If you’ve never done it, just go … You don’t have to say anything. You didn’t have to look up. You don’t have to open your eyes. But your presence will mean the world,” Bell said. “The babies who will die there that day will know that you loved them … That’s the most important thing to do.”

Sister Maria Frassati shared that “we could really grow in having more faith in what [God] is doing.”

“The truth is that God is actually really working in so many ways,” she said. “God is faithful, and that really gives me a lot of hope that nothing that you give is ever wasted. Even if you walk with a woman who’s not receptive, there’s really no gift that has been offered to him that he has not kept sacred and precious in his heart.”

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High Court weighs free speech in Colorado’s law banning counseling on gender identity
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High Court weighs free speech in Colorado’s law banning counseling on gender identity

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null / Credit: Wolfgang Schaller|Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 8, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

The U.S. Supreme Court during oral arguments on Oct. 7 scrutinized Colorado’s law banning counseling on gender identity with some justices voicing concern about possible viewpoint discrimination and free speech restrictions embedded in the statute.

Colorado Solicitor General Shannon Stevenson defended the law, which prohibits licensed psychologists and therapists from engaging in any efforts that it considers “conversion therapy” when treating minors. It does not apply to parents, members of the clergy, or others.

Nearly half of U.S. states have a similar ban. The Supreme Court ruling on this matter could set nationwide precedent on the legality of such laws. 

The Colorado law defines “conversion therapy” as treatments designed to change a person’s “sexual orientation or gender identity,” including changes to “behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attraction or feelings toward individuals of the same sex” even if the minor and his or her family has requested that care.

Under the law, permitted therapy includes “acceptance, support, and understanding” of a minor’s self-asserted transgender identity or same-sex attraction.

The law is being challenged by Kaley Chiles, a Christian counselor who provides faith-based counseling to clients with gender dysphoria and same-sex attraction.

Free speech and viewpoint discrimination

Stevenson argued that Colorado’s law is not a speech restriction but instead a regulation on a specific type of “treatment,” saying that regulations cannot cease to apply “just because they are using words.”

“That treatment does not work and carries great risk of harm,” Stevenson said, referring to the practices the state considers to be “conversion therapy.”

She argued that health care has been “heavily regulated since the beginning of our country” and compared “conversion therapy” to doctors providing improper advice on how to treat a condition. She claimed this therapy falsely asserts “you can change this innate thing about yourself.”

“The client and the patient [are] expecting accurate information,” Stevenson said.

Justice Samuel Alito told Stevenson the law sounds like “blatant viewpoint discrimination,” noting that a minor can receive talk therapy welcoming homosexual inclinations but cannot access therapy to reduce those urges. He said it is a restriction “based on the viewpoint expressed.”

Alito said the state’s position is “a minor should not be able to obtain talk therapy to overcome same-sex attraction [even] if that’s what he wants.”

Stevenson argued Colorado is not engaged in viewpoint discrimination and said: “Counseling is an evidence-based practice.” She said it would be wrong to suggest lawmakers “reach[ed] this conclusion based on anything other than protection of minors.”

“There is no other motive going on to suppress viewpoint or expression,” Stevenson said.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Justice Neil Gorsuch asked questions about how to handle issues where medical disagreement exists.

Gorsuch noted, for example, that homosexuality was historically viewed as a mental disorder and asked Stevenson whether it would have been legal for states to ban therapy that affirmed a person’s homosexuality at that time. Stevenson argued that at that time, it would have been legal.

Banning ‘voluntary conversations’

Alliance Defending Freedom Chief Counsel Jim Campbell argued on behalf of Chiles and her counseling services, telling the justices his client offers “voluntary speech between a licensed professional and a minor,” and the law bans “voluntary conversations.”

Campbell noted that if one of her minor clients says, “I would like help realigning my identity with my sex,” then the law requires that Chiles “has to deny them.”

“Kids and families that want this kind of help … are being left without any kind of support,” he added, warning that Chiles, her clients, and potential clients are suffering irreparable harm if access to this treatment continues to be denied.

Campbell argued that “many people have experienced life-changing benefits from this kind of counseling,” many of whom are seeking to “align their life with their religion” and improve their “relationship with God.”

Justice Sonia Sotomayor contested whether the issue was about free speech, noting Colorado pointed to studies that such therapy efforts “harm the child … emotionally and physically.”

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson similarly objected to the claim, questioning whether a counselor acting in her professional capacity “is really expressing … a message for a First Amendment purposes.” She said treatment is different than writing an article about conversion therapy or giving a speech about it.

Campbell disagreed, arguing: “This involves a conversation,” and “a one-on-one conversation is a form of speech.” He said Chiles is “discussing concepts of identity and behaviors and attraction” and simply helping her clients “achieve their goals.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Funding and operations

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Success and benefits

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

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

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

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

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

Church support

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Brooklyn bishop calls on faithful to lobby against New York assisted suicide legislation
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Brooklyn bishop calls on faithful to lobby against New York assisted suicide legislation

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Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan carries the thurible around the altar inside Louis Armstrong Stadium on April 20, 2024. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 30, 2025 / 17:32 pm (CNA).

Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan is calling on the faithful to contact New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to oppose the assisted suicide legislation that currently awaits her signature.

“Our fight against assisted suicide is not over,” Brennan said in a post on the social media platform X.

Assisted suicide is not yet legal in New York, but the Medical Aid in Dying Act was passed by the state Legislature in June and will become legal upon Hochul’s signature. The law will allow terminally ill New York residents who are over 18 to request medically assisted death.

“Gov. Hochul, we know difficult decisions weigh heavily on leaders and you carefully consider the impact of every decision on New Yorkers,” Brennan wrote. “As you review the assisted suicide legislation, we respectfully urge you to veto it.”

“Assisted suicide targets the poor, the vulnerable, and especially individuals suffering with mental illness. There are better ways to support those facing end-of-life challenges, through improved palliative care, pain management, and compassionate support systems.”

In a video to the faithful, Brennan addressed Hochul and said: “You championed New York’s suicide prevention program and invested millions of dollars to, as you said, ‘ensure New Yorkers are aware of this critical resource.’ That groundbreaking program has worked to provide the right training and crisis intervention measures to prevent suicides.”

Hochul has previously launched several campaigns to bring New York suicide rates down including a crisis hotline and initiatives to help schools, hospitals, first responders, and veterans. She has also helped develop and fund a number of youth suicide prevention programs.

The programs offer “hope to those who are most in need,” Brennan said. He added: “But now you are being asked to sign a bill that contradicts your efforts and targets high-risk populations. How can we justify preventing suicide for some while helping others to die?”

In support of the New York State Catholic Conference’s mission to “work with the government to shape laws and policies that pursue social justice, respect for life, and the common good,” Brennan asked the faithful to message the governor directly with a pre-written email to stop the legislation.

“I urge Catholics to reach out to Gov. Hochul now and to ask her to stay consistent on this issue,” Brennan said. “Let us continue to pray for the respect of all life and the human dignity of all people.”

Lobbying against the legislation is ‘critical’ 

Catholic bioethicist Father Tad Pacholczyk told CNA that “it’s critical” that New Yorkers “respond to the bishop’s call for action.” 

“The push of anti-life forces has continued unabated for many years, and the incessant turning of the wheels of their finely-tuned propaganda machine has managed to gradually draw more and more of us into a perspective of complacency when it comes to physician-assisted suicide,” he said.

Pacholczyk added: “Combined with a tendency to substitute emotion for ethical reasoning, prevalent in much of the media and society, I think we stand on the edge of a well-greased slope, poised to hurl down headlong.”

The bioethicist highlighted that if assisted suiside “is not outlawed and strong protections for vulnerable patients are not enacted,” the U.S is likely to replicate the repercussions seen in Canada, which is experiencing disproportionately high rates of premature deaths among vulnerable groups.

“We need to do what we can to light a fire and raise heightened awareness of the rights of patients not to be pressured in this manner,” Pacholczyk said. “We also need to take steps to offer real support and accompaniment to our loved ones as they pass through one of the most important stretches of their lives, so their journey can be indelibly imprinted by a genuinely good and holy death.”

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Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael: The 3 great archangels of the Bible
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Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael: The 3 great archangels of the Bible

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A stained-glass window in St. Sulpice Church in Fougeres, France, depicts (from left to right) the archangels Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel. / Credit: Tiberiu Stan/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Sep 29, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

Many Catholics can, at the drop of a hat, recite the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel — the famous petition to that venerable saint to “defend us in battle” and “cast into hell Satan.”

In the culture of the Church, Michael is often accompanied by his two fellow archangels — Sts. Gabriel and Raphael — with the three forming a phalanx of protection, healing, and petition for those who ask for their intercession. The Church celebrates the three archangels with a joint feast day on Sept. 29.

St. Michael the Archangel

St. Michael the Archangel is hailed in the Book of Daniel as “the great prince who has charge of [God’s] people.”

Michael Aquilina, the executive vice president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology in Steubenville, Ohio, described Michael among angels as “the one most often named — and most often invoked — and most often seen in history-changing apparitions.”

Devotion to Michael, Aquilina told CNA, “has been with the Church from the beginning. And Michael has been with God’s people since before the beginning of the Church.”

Michael’s history in the Bible is depicted through Daniel, in Jude (in which he battles Satan for possession of Moses’ body), and in Revelation as he “wag[es] war with the dragon” alongside his fellow angels. 

Michael, Aquilina said, was “a supremely important character who was there from the beginning of the story.” Rabbinic tradition holds that Michael was at the center of many of the great biblical dramas even if not explicitly mentioned. 

He was an early subject of veneration in the Church, though Aquilina noted that the Reformation led to a steep decline in devotion to the angels — until the end of the 19th century, when Michael began an “amazing comeback journey” in the life of the Church. 

Following a vision of Satan “running riot” on the planet, “Pope Leo composed three prayers to St. Michael, ranging from short to long,” Aquilina said. “The brief one, he commanded, should be prayed at the end of every Mass.” 

This was a regular feature of the Mass until the Vatican II era, after which it came to an end — though Pope John Paul II in 1994 urged Catholics to make the prayer a regular part of their lives.

“St. Michael is there for us in the day of battle, which is every day,” Aquilina said.

The St. Michael Prayer: St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil / May God rebuke him, we humbly pray / And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the divine power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

St. Gabriel the Archangel

Gabriel appears regularly in Scripture as a messenger of God’s word, both in the Old and New Testaments. Daniel identifies Gabriel as a “man” who came “to give [him] insight and understanding,” relaying prophetic answers to Daniel’s entreaties to God. 

In the New Testament, Luke relays Gabriel’s appearances to both Zechariah and the Virgin Mary. At the former, he informs the priest that his wife, Elizabeth, will soon conceive a child; at the latter he informs Mary herself that she will do the same. The two children in question, of course, were respectively John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. 

Christian tradition further associates Gabriel with the apostle Paul’s reference in his First Letter to the Thessalonians to the “archangel’s call” and “the sound of the trumpet of God.”

“Judgment will begin with the archangel’s call and the sound of the horn,” Aquilina told CNA. “Thus we hear often of Gabriel’s trumpet.”

Media workers in particular have “good professional reasons to go to Gabriel,” Aquilina said.

“Since he is the Bible’s great communicator — the great teller of good news — he is the natural patron of broadcasters and all those who work in electronic media,” he said. 

“For the same reason, he’s the patron saint of preachers … but also of postal workers, diplomats, and messengers.”

The St. Gabriel Prayer: O Blessed Archangel Gabriel, we beseech thee, do thou intercede for us at the throne of divine mercy in our present necessities, that as thou didst announce to Mary the mystery of the Incarnation, so through thy prayers and patronage in heaven we may obtain the benefits of the same, and sing the praise of God forever in the land of the living. Amen.

St. Raphael the Archangel

Lesser-known among the three great archangels, Raphael’s mission from God “is not obvious to the casual reader” of the Bible, Aquilina said. Yet his story, depicted in the Book of Tobit, is “something unique in the whole Bible.” In other depictions of angels, they come to Earth only briefly, to deliver a message or to help God’s favored people in some way. 

“Raphael is different,” Aquilina said. “He stays around for the whole story, and by the end he’s become something more than an angel … he’s become a friend.”

In Tobit, Raphael accompanies Tobias, the son of the book’s namesake, as he travels to retrieve money left by his father in another town, helping him along the way and arranging for his marriage to Sarah. 

The biblical account “has in every generation provided insight and consolation to the devout,” Aquilina said. 

Notably, Raphael deftly uses the natural world to work God’s miracles: “What we would ordinarily call catastrophes — blindness, multiple widowhood, destitution, estrangement — all these become providential channels of grace by the time the threads of the story are all wound up in the end.”

“Raphael is patron of many kinds of people,” Aquilina said. “Of course, he’s the patron of singles in search of a mate — and those in search of a friend. He is the patron of pharmacists because he provided the salve of healing. He is a patron for anyone in search of a cure.” 

He is also the patron saint of blind people, travelers, sick people, and youth. 

“Raphael’s story,” Aquilina said, “remains a model for those who would enjoy the friendship of the angels.”

Prayer to St. Raphael: St. Raphael, of the glorious seven who stand before the throne of him who lives and reigns, angel of health, the Lord has filled your hand with balm from heaven to soothe or cure our pains. Heal or cure the victim of disease. And guide our steps when doubtful of our ways. Amen.

This story was first published on Sept. 29, 2023, and has been updated.

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Monumental censer at Christendom College chapel represents ‘grandeur of Christ the King’
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Monumental censer at Christendom College chapel represents ‘grandeur of Christ the King’

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“Now people need not go as far away as Spain to see this beautiful thing,” said Christendom College President Emeritus Timothy O’Donnell of the school chapel’s monumental thurible. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College

Ann Arbor, Michigan, Sep 28, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A tradition dating from the 11th century has been brought to Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia, extending an enduring symbol of faith and pilgrimage. A jumbo-sized thurible, commissioned by the college and made in Spain, now embellishes the college’s Christ the King chapel.

The connections between Christendom College and the Catholic culture of Spain date back to even before the college’s founding in 1977. Its first president and co-founder, Warren Carroll, took students to Spain on several visits to learn Spain’s history and experience life at El Escorial monastery near Madrid.

Among other works, Carroll, a historian, authored “Isabel of Spain: The Catholic Queen” and “The Last Crusade: Spain 1936” with an interest in defending Catholic faith and culture, said Timothy O’Donnell, the college’s president emeritus, in an interview with CNA.

Drone shot of Christendom College’s Christ the King Chapel in Front Royal, Virginia. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College
Drone shot of Christendom College’s Christ the King Chapel in Front Royal, Virginia. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College

Believed to be one of the largest thuribles or censers in the world, the famed Botafumeiro is a giant thurible used at the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral in northern Spain, which has been a pilgrimage destination for centuries, rivaled only by Rome and Jerusalem.

According to tradition, it is the burial place of St. James the Greater, who evangelized the Iberian Peninsula. In a centuries-old tradition, the massive censer, which weighs hundreds of pounds, is swung from ropes when pulled by a team of eight men at the transept of the historic church on feast days. It weighs more than 176 pounds and is over 6 feet tall.

O’Donnell recalled that St. John Paul II said in a homily in 1982, as the first pilgrim pope to Santiago: “This place, so dear to Galicians and Spaniards alike, has in the past been a point of attraction and convergence for Europe and all of Christendom.”

According to O’Donnell: “I was so moved by that because that is the name of our college. So, on certain anniversaries, we would take pilgrimages to Santiago.”

Seeing the giant thurible there ultimately gave him the idea to reproduce such a symbol of faith. “I thought it would be awesome to have something like this in the new chapel.” He turned to Heritage Liturgical, which designed and realized the project.

Seeing the giant thurible at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela gave Timothy O'Donnell, speaking here at the chapel, the idea to reproduce such a symbol of faith in the college's chapel. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College
Seeing the giant thurible at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela gave Timothy O’Donnell, speaking here at the chapel, the idea to reproduce such a symbol of faith in the college’s chapel. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College

“Now people need not go as far away as Spain to see this beautiful thing and incense going up to heaven like the prayers of the faithful and angels going to God on high,” he said. In a tradition dating back to the Old Testament, costly incense was a sacrifice; after the coming of Christ, it joins our prayers with his perfect prayer and sacrifice.

Instead of producing an exact reproduction of the Botafumeiro in Spain, Heritage Liturgical executed a censer that echoes the design of the chapel. Enzo Selvaggi, principal and creative director of Heritage Liturgical, told CNA that Christendom’s monumental thurible was “designed in a cogent and well-defined Gothic Revival mode to fit the architecture of the college’s Chapel of Christ the King.”

Emilio León, a silversmith of Córdoba, Spain, was selected for the project and helped restore the original Botafumeiro. Starting in 2021, León sculpted and chiseled for a year and a half to complete the work, which is silver-plated brass.

In an email to CNA, León wrote: “I incorporated my spiritual and religious values, just as I do in all my work, giving my best effort, knowing that it is for the glory of God.” León belongs to a royal fraternity that preserves Catholic traditions such as Holy Week processions and the dignity of sacred spaces.

León is also working on other projects for Heritage Liturgical to be installed in the U.S. For Catholics in Spain, he continued, the Botafumeiro represents “the grandeur of Christ the King and the apostle James.”

On feast days of the Church, Christendom's thurible is brought near the central altar where it is hoisted on chains and swung by senior students. Credit: Courtesy of Christendom College
On feast days of the Church, Christendom’s thurible is brought near the central altar where it is hoisted on chains and swung by senior students. Credit: Courtesy of Christendom College

Christendom’s thurible is normally displayed near the image of the Virgin Mary in the chapel. On feast days of the Church, it is brought near the central altar where it is hoisted on chains and swung by senior students, much in the tradition of Spain. The next feast day for swinging the grand censer will be the solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, on Nov. 23.

Selvaggi told CNA that in works produced by Heritage Liturgical, the Catholic principle of sacramentality applies at their conception so that designers and artists use matter, as do theologians, to “make a spiritual reality encounterable in the world.”

Both Selvaggi and León are working on other projects destined for the U.S., including helping to restore churches in Nebraska and Georgia, and designing mosaics for churches in Wisconsin. The message from the company affirmed that the new thurible at Christendom College is “captivating not only because of its size and beauty, but more importantly, because it reveals something that already exists: the love of God that causes us to send our prayers rising up to God.”

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Courage International marks 45 years helping faithful address same-sex attraction
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Courage International marks 45 years helping faithful address same-sex attraction

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Patricipants gather at a Courage and EnCourage annual conference. / Credit: Courage International

CNA Staff, Sep 26, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Courage International, the Catholic apostolate that helps men and women experiencing same-sex attraction “persevere on the path of holiness,” marked 45 years of ministry on Sept. 26, celebrating nearly half a century of helping individuals struggling with sexuality to “live a chaste life” in line with Church teaching. 

The Connecticut-based organization traces its earliest roots to an effort started by New York archbishop Cardinal Terence Cooke, who in 1978 conceived of a same-sex attraction ministry and asked Father John Harvey, OSFS, to lead the effort. 

Harvey, who died in 2010, authored the 1979 pamphlet “A Spiritual Plan to Redirect One’s Life,” offering a program for “homosexually-oriented persons” to “achieve a chaste, productive, and happy life.” 

The apostolate held its first official meeting the following year on Sept. 26 at the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Manhattan. In 1981 the group published the first version of its “Five Goals,” which include dedications to chastity, service, the sacraments, and fellowship. 

Within a few years the program expanded to Canada, officially becoming an international organization; it also began to expand throughout the U.S. at the time. 

An endorsement by the Holy See came in 1994. The group by this time had already begun hosting annual “Courage Conferences,” with Harvey publishing several new works on the ministry over the years.

The group’s offerings for those struggling with same-sex attraction include retreats, literature, online chat groups, and a men’s sports camp — a weekend of “team sports with encouragement, coaching, and an abundance of Christian fellowship” (where teams compete in an “annual epic battle for the coveted Harvey Cup”).

‘Such a needed ministry’

Father Brian Gannon, the executive director of Courage, said the group was originally founded to minister to men with same-sex attraction and eventually expanded to include women. A sister program, “EnCourage,” ministers to family members of those with same-sex attraction. 

The group works primarily through chapters, which number around 160 worldwide and function as clergy-led support groups. 

“There’s individual groups in various dioceses that are run by chaplains — either priests or deacons — and they meet on a regular basis, usually about once a week,” Gannon said. 

Group members “come together, read through the goals, discuss their experiences and challenges during the week, and pray,” he said. “Prayer is absolutely central to it.” 

Courage has a presence in numerous countries worldwide, including the Philippines, Singapore, and Poland. In addition to executive leadership, the group is overseen by an episcopal board of several bishops. “It’s fully sanctioned by the Church,” Gannon said. 

Gannon himself came into the leadership role in 2024. Years before he helped to start a Courage chapter in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He was approached by the organization last year and asked to serve as director.

The priest took on that role in addition to his pastorship at St. Theresa Parish in Trumbull, Connecticut. “It’s a challenge,” he said with a chuckle. ”But you balance it as best you can. You always want to do more for both [roles].” 

He described the men and women who take part in the apostolate as “truly inspirational,” while the organization’s staff, including another full-time priest, are “very hardworking.” 

Looking to the future, Gannon said the group is hoping to expand its social media presence. He also said it is making efforts to contact each new bishop installed in the U.S. 

“We’ve just started to reach out to newly appointed bishops, sending them a welcome letter and encouraging them to get in touch with us, letting them know we’d love to come and talk to them about starting a Courage chapter if they don’t have one,” he said. 

Gannon said participants in the ministry do not seek a watered-down version of Catholic doctrine. “They want to follow exactly what the Church is teaching,” he said. 

“The secular world has a twisted view of sexuality,” he said. “This is such a needed ministry. It helps people find peace.”

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In sparsely Catholic North Carolina, the Diocese of Raleigh leads nation in conversions
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In sparsely Catholic North Carolina, the Diocese of Raleigh leads nation in conversions

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The Holy Name Cathedral in the Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, which is leading the nation in conversions to the Catholic faith. / Credit: Wileydoc/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Sep 23, 2025 / 12:42 pm (CNA).

The Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, is leading the nation in conversions to the Catholic faith, according to a new analysis, a unique finding in a region known for relatively low levels of Catholicism and a high Protestant population. 

The Raleigh Diocese said in a press release last week that an analysis by Catholic World Report revealed it as “the nation’s most conversion-rich diocese.” The analysis drew its data from the 2024 edition of the “Official Catholic Directory.”

Catholic World Report ranked dioceses in the country “by the proportion of adult baptisms, non-infant baptisms, and receptions into full communion compared to overall Catholic population,” the Raleigh Diocese said. 

The 2024 report identified 3,476 total baptisms in Raleigh during the prior year, which broke down as 2,761 under-18 baptisms, 242 adult baptisms, and 473 receptions into full communion.

The high levels of conversions come to the diocese in a state where Catholicism is a small minority of the population. Data from Pew shows the state’s population is about 7% Catholic, with Black, evangelical, and mainline Protestants making up nearly 60% of the population there. 

In 2018 Gallup ranked North Carolina as among the “most Protestant” states in the country, at about 66% Protestant. It further ranked the state as having among the lowest Catholic populations in the nation. 

Raleigh Faith Formation Director Patrick Ginty said this month that the high level of conversions there “speaks to the good work that is being done in many parishes in bringing ‘culturally Catholic’ families back to the practice of their faith.”

“There really is great evangelization occurring, especially online, where the conversation is taking place in podcasts, videos, debates, and discussions favoring Catholicism,” he said. “It’s exciting to see the greater Church waking up and taking on the great commission of Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Catholic World Report analysis said the Raleigh Diocese displayed “particularly successful efforts to inspire non-practicing adults to return to the practice of the faith” and “introduce their non-baptized older children to the sacraments.” Teen and pre-teen conversions also drove the numbers. 

Ginty told the World Report that “culturally Catholic Hispanics” are helping drive the high numbers there. Those individuals are “for a plethora of reasons” just receiving their sacraments, he said.

“Many of the Hispanic immigrants in our diocese come from very rural areas of Mexico and Central America, where access to the sacraments is very limited,” he said.

The high levels of non-infant baptisms “suggest an extraordinary profusion of graces” in eastern North Carolina, the World Report said, dubbing the phenomenon “a Raleigh miracle, as it were.”

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An Eye-catching Star Cluster
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An Eye-catching Star Cluster

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Westerlund 1 is the biggest and closest “super” star cluster to Earth. Data from Chandra and other telescopes are helping astronomers delve deeper into this galactic factory where stars are vigorously being produced. Observations from Chandra have uncovered thousands of individual stars pumping out X-ray emission into the cluster.

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