Catholic News

PHOENIX — For the first time in its nearly 100-year history, the Catholic Medical Association is focusing on how the Eastern Catholic Church's emphasis on mystery, united with the Western Church's emphasis on reason, can give a more comprehensive view of human identity and help Western medicine promote human flourishing.

The group's 95th annual educational conference, held in Phoenix Sept. 10–12, emphasized the early Church Fathers, whose influence was strongest in the East, in order to "promote a more comprehensive view and more respect for the mysteries of human health and disease," said conference chair Dr. Mary Keen-Kirchoff.

"We're embodied spirits, not just physical bodies," she said at the opening. Healing, she added, "is a return to humanity's original creation in the image and likeness of God."

The conference theme was "Mysteries and Miracles: Restoring the Practice of Medicine to Heal the Whole Person." Setting the tone, Father Andriy Chirovsky, a theologian and priest of the Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with Rome, and psychiatrist Dr. Donna C. Dobrowolsky shared the first plenary.

They moved between theology and clinical practice, saying they hoped to help medical professionals recover a holistic understanding of "the whole person, because that's who all of us care about." Theology without clinical reality stays abstract, they said; clinical work without a complete Christian anthropology becomes fragmented.

"If the human person is misunderstood, then healing will also be misunderstood and therefore less effective," Chirovsky said. "Healing requires a true anthropology."

He quoted Pope Leo XIV's encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, in which the pontiff wrote: "We Christians lift our eyes to the Incarnate God, knowing that it is 'only the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of humanity truly becomes clear.'"

Why the East, and why now?

Chirovsky cited St. John Paul II's 1995 encyclical Ut Unum Sint (That They May Be One), in which the pope, referring to the Eastern and Western Catholic churches, wrote that "the Church must breathe with her two lungs!"

Dobrowolsky noted that what the West calls sacraments, the East calls mysteries: rites "not fully comprehensible by human reason, but revealed by God."

Chirovsky said Eastern spirituality and practice "preserve certain habits of thought that are especially needed at this moment in history."

He was not arguing against the West, he said. Any strength can become distorted when it loses its complement. The East offers "a needed medicine for some of the pathologies of modern culture," especially the idea that a person is the center of the universe, "self-defining," and "the ground of truth."

"We require revelation to understand our own selves," he said.

"If the person is not self-explaining," Dobrowolsky said, medicine has to be careful because lab values and symptom clusters aren't enough to explain a person. They're important, but they don't tell us everything about who a human person is."

The Catholic Church needs both the East and the West in the same way a healthy person must think with both hemispheres of the brain, the priest said, quoting neuroscientist Iain McGilchrist's book "The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World."

In his book, McGilchrist notes that the left side of the brain is analytical and narrow, while the right side focuses more on the big picture, and pathology results when the two sides don't work together and one side dominates.

Chirovsky compared modern medicine's laser focus on the analytical and quantifiable, using hyperspecialization in the medical field as an example, to a pathology with too much dependence on the left brain.

"The analytic mode is powerful, but when it dominates unchecked, the person becomes legible as data but less visible as mystery and as a person," he said.

"Any practice of medicine that loses sight of the whole person as revealed in the incarnate Son of God is going to run into lots of trouble," he added. "Modern medicine is doing exactly that."

Dobrowolsky agreed, adding that "in medicine, that imbalance isn't theoretical, we see it every day."

Seeing the human being as mystery does not mean the person is unintelligible, she said. "We're saying this human person is not exhausted by reductionist accounts. And that the deepest truth of the human person is disclosed in relation to Christ."

"If a person is reduced to a collection of functions, risks, and measurable outputs, their care becomes reduced as well," she continued, saying that while practitioners may "retain technical brilliance … the patient may begin to disappear beneath the technique."

Indeed, the conference's breakout sessions touched upon the necessity for a Christian anthropology informed by a Church "breathing with both lungs," with talks titled "Healing Is Not the Same as Curing: Patristic Anthropology and the Limits of Modern Medicine," "The Neglected Soul: Ancient Monastic Teachings on Depression in the Modern World," and "Psychedelics, AI, Spirituality, and More: Ancient Wisdom for Reenchanting Medicine."

"My prayer before the conference was that all attendees receive abundant graces of understanding and hope for the future," Keen-Kirchoff told EWTN News. "I am so grateful that the Holy Spirit was so present … and trust that attendees are more in tune with who we are in Christ and who we are to become in Christ."

Bishop James D. Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska, won the CMA's annual Evangelium Vitae award for his pastoral efforts surrounding mental health.

In May 2024, Conley published a pastoral letter titled "A Future with Hope," concerning the Catholic response to mental health struggles. The honor sits close to the conference's theme: care that views the person as a whole, in the mystery of body and spirit.

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Cissie Graham Lynch, the granddaughter of famed late Southern Baptist evangelist Billy Graham, said this week that President Donald Trump asked her to take up a key religious freedom position in his administration.

Lynch, whose father, Franklin Graham, leads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, revealed the news on X on Sept. 15, saying Trump had asked her to serve as U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.

The role helps lead the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in the U.S. Department of State. Lynch on X said it would be "a great honor and privilege" to serve in the role.

"If confirmed by the Senate, please pray that I would serve with excellence and make the most of every opportunity to protect our most precious and fundamental right—and one that far too many people around the world still live without—freedom of religion," she wrote.

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Lynch has remained active in the religious advocacy and aid networks started by her grandfather and continue to be run by her family.

She has served as an adviser to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and at Samaritan's Purse, an international Christian aid organization also led by Franklin Graham.

On Sept. 15 Franklin Graham said his daughter is "uniquely" qualified for the role, the duties of which include promoting religious freedom abroad and advising the U.S. government when that right is violated internationally.

The government says the religious freedom ambassador serves as "a principal adviser to the president and the principal adviser to the secretary of state regarding matters affecting religious freedom abroad." The ambassador-at-large also has served as a nonvoting member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which has three vacancies yet to be appointed by the president.

Franklin Graham said his daughter has "traveled the world and been a student of this issue for many years" and has "a broad worldview and knowledge of the issues facing religious freedom today."

"I couldn't be more proud of her, and I ask you to pray that God would give her wisdom and strength," Graham wrote.

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Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, said the cross is not a sign of defeat or death but an expression of God's love and the victory of life, urging Christians in the Holy Land to make it a way of life rooted in love and self-giving.

Pizzaballa made the remarks while presiding over a Mass on the eve of the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross at Christ the Redeemer Church in Taybeh, a predominantly Christian town in the West Bank.

Bishop William Shomali, patriarchal vicar; Father Davide Meli; and Father Bashar Fawadleh, the parish priest, concelebrated the Mass.

"The cross is our victory, and it is the victory of love," Pizzaballa said.

He added that Christ "chose to enter into the suffering of the cross out of love for us." The patriarch stressed that Christians are "people of the cross" and that the sign defining their identity should be reflected in the way they live and in their relationships within their families, parishes, and wider communities.

"We are called to live according to the logic of the cross," he said.

Pizzaballa noted that Christians do not need to seek out suffering, because they are already surrounded by suffering in many forms. Yet, he said, such experiences can become an opening for God's presence in their lives.

Fawadleh welcomed Pizzaballa to the celebration, telling him: "Your presence today is more than simply taking part in our feast; it is a sign of communion, consolation, and hope."

The celebration took place as Taybeh continues to face the repercussions of attacks by Israeli settlers, restrictions on movement and access to essential services (Palestinians living in the West Bank require Israeli permits to enter Jerusalem), declining employment opportunities, and continued emigration — all pressures that have placed additional strain on the town's residents.

Following the Mass, the faithful joined a candlelight procession through the streets of Taybeh to the historic St. George Church, known locally as Al-Khader. There, prayers were offered and pomegranates were blessed and distributed to participants before the traditional feast day flame was lit.

This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urged President Donald Trump to push for the release of religious prisoners in China and for the end of religious persecution by the Chinese government.

The commission called on Trump to continue his efforts for the release of the prisoners ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's trip to the U.S. on Sept. 24.

USCIRF called for the release of Catholic pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai, numerous Christian leaders, and others in prison for practicing their religious beliefs.

"President Trump boldly demonstrated to President Xi during their meeting in Beijing earlier this year that the United States stands for religious freedom by calling for the release of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) prisoners," said Asif Mahmood, chair of USCIRF.

"Speaking up again sends a clear and consistent signal that religious freedom for all is a priority for the United States and that it expects the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] to respect its population rather than persecute millions for practicing their faith," he said.

The commission highlighted that after a direct appeal by Trump, Chinese authorities previously freed former prisoner Pastor Ezra Jin of the Zion Church in July. He was permitted to relocate to the United States and reunite with his family.

While Jin was released, eight other Zion Church leaders who were arrested alongside him remain detained.

"In releasing Pastor Jin, President Xi showed that he has the power to release FoRB prisoners if he so desires—and indeed he has an obligation to do so under international law," said Cece Heil, vice chair of USCIRF.

USCIRF detailed the other leaders whose release the commission is urging and is asking Trump "to seize the opportunity during his upcoming summit with President Xi," Heil said.

They called on Trump to discuss religious leaders including "Gulshan Abbas, Ekpar Asat, Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife Pang Yu, Jimmy Lai, the Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family," Heil said.

The commission also asked Trump "to urge the Chinese government to provide a passport to U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident, Pastor John Cao and allow him to reunite with his family and seek urgent medical treatment in the United States," Heil said.

The appeal also precedes a planned hearing on Sept. 16 held by Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, to discuss the release of Lai. Jimmy Lai's son, Sebastien Lai, will offer testimony regarding his father's immediate release and to examine the broader implications of his continued imprisonment.

In its 2026 annual report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State redesignate China as a country of particular concern (CPC) for engaging "in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom," according to the commission.

USCIRF urges special watchlist designation for Kyrgyz Republic

In a September report, USCIRF also reaffirmed its call for the Kyrgyz Republic to be placed on the U.S. Department of State's special watchlist.

The brief was released to highlight "legal restrictions as well as recent violations that Kyrgyz officials have committed against independent Muslims and Christians from unregistered communities," USCIRF reported.

"The Kyrgyz government regularly violates freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) as laid out in its constitution as well as in international documents such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which it is a signatory," the report said.

USCIRF detailed that Kyrgyz officials apply a "vague label of extremism" to justify matters such as regularly raiding places of worship, issuing fines, seizing religious materials, imposing prison sentences, forcing individuals to renounce their beliefs, and engaging in physical abuse.

In early 2025, the nation's president, Sadyr Japarov, amended a restrictive  religion law and approved other acts, which significantly tightened state control over religious groups.

"Enforcement of these laws—which often occurs in conjunction with broadly framed anti-extremism statues under the Criminal Code—often involves targeting religious groups that the government considers 'nontraditional,' particularly independent Muslims and members of unregistered Christian groups," the report said.

The commission's report noted that targeted Christian groups often face persecution "from harassment and fines to prison sentences and physical abuse," according to the report.

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The family of Suleiman Khalil, a former mayor in Sadad, Syria, is urging U.S. officials to intervene after he spent 19 months in detention without charges under the Syrian transitional government.

Khalil was arrested and detained Feb. 8, 2025. His daughter and advocacy group Christian Solidarity International (CSI) have urged U.S. governmental intervention.

Veronica Dudo, "EWTN News Nightly" anchor, interviewed Khalil's daughter, Natalie Khalil, and Joel Veldkamp, CSI director for public advocacy, on Sept. 14 about the detention, the state of U.S.-Syrian relations, and Natalie's recent letter to President Donald Trump appealing for help.

"It's been 19 months since they got him. We don't know why they got him. They didn't claim that they have any charges against him. We weren't allowed to get a lawyer. They came to our house and said, 'He was wanted,'" she said.

Khalil, known for his Christian faith, gained wide respect in 2015 when he organized the defense of Sadad during an ISIS assault, an effort credited with saving more than 9,000 residents.

Veldkamp said: "Suleiman Khalil is very well known in Syria for saving the town."

He received an early warning that ISIS, a violent extremist organization responsible for mass atrocities across Syria and Iraq, was approaching, Veldkamp said.

Khalil was not aligned with the former regime but was an independent Christian political figure who acted out of necessity to protect his community, Veldkamp said.

Veldkamp said it appears Khalil is being punished for those actions, a move that sends a stark warning to Christians across Syria about their place in the country. Veldkamp said such treatment threatens the survival of the Christian community in one of the world's oldest centers of Christianity. The treatment of Khalil, Veldkamp said, undercuts the government's own assurances to Washington.

"For the new Syrian government, which has only been in power for about two years, to tell the United States that they're joining their fight against terrorism, and then to put a man like this in prison, it sends a very confusing message to the U.S. It sends a terrible message to Christians in Syria who are really uncertain about their future under this new government," Veldkamp said.

"The new Syrian government is very dependent on the U.S. government — on the Trump administration. The Trump administration has high hopes for Syria," Veldkamp said.

'We weren't allowed to be Christians'

Natalie Khalil said the family faced strict limits during their visits, including rules that barred them from expressing their Christian identity.

"Even when we went to visit, we weren't allowed to be ourselves," she said. "We were asked to wear hijab to cover the head and hair. We were to cover the whole body. Yet, my brother went wearing a necklace with a cross — they took it off his neck. We weren't allowed to be Christians in that place."

She added: "I wasn't able to get him a Bible inside to the prison."

In a letter to Trump, Natalie expressed her plea for justice.

"My story is not unique. I don't need special treatment; I just need the justice for my father's case," Natalie said.

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Pope Leo XIV has appointed Newark, New Jersey, auxiliary bishop Michael Saporito as the new bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey.

The Vatican announced his appointment on Sept. 15, ending a nearly one-year wait for a new bishop of the diocese. The diocese was previously led by then-Bishop James Checchio from 2016 to 2025, after he served as rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome. Checchio became the archbishop of New Orleans in 2026 after a brief period as its coadjutor archbishop.

The pope has also accepted the resignation of Bishop Francis Malone of Shreveport, Louisiana. Malone, 76, has led the diocese since 2019. Bishops are required to submit their resignations to the pope at the age of 75.

According to the Vatican announcement, Saporito was born in Newark on May 3, 1962. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Newark on May 30, 1992.

He also earned an accounting degree from Rutgers University and studied at Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology in South Orange, New Jersey, for several years before his ordination.

After his ordination, Saporito served as a parish priest at several parish churches throughout the archdiocese: St. Peter the Apostle in River Edge (1994–1999), Our Lady of Visitation in Paramus (1999–2001), St. Elizabeth in Wyckoff (2001–2004), St. Joseph in Maplewood (2004–2011), and St. Helen in Westfield (2011–2020).

In February 2020, Pope Francis appointed Saporito as an auxiliary bishop of Newark. He received his episcopal consecration on June 30 of the same year from Cardinal Joseph Tobin, CSsR, who has served as archbishop of Newark since 2016.

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A new biblical drama is bringing the story of the prophet Daniel to the big screen, depicting his rise in the Babylonian Empire and the faith of three men who chose death rather than bow to a king who demanded they worship him.

"Daniel and the Fiery Furnace" stars Mena Massoud, best known for his role playing Aladdin in the live action version of the film, as Daniel and Elijah Alexander, known for his role playing Atticus in the series "The Chosen," as King Nebuchadnezzar.

Co-directed and produced by brothers Matthew and Daniel Kooman, "Daniel and the Fiery Furnace" became one of the most successful recent faith-based crowdfunding campaigns. It raised $1.2 million in order to fund its production.

The movie will be released in theaters on Sept. 18.

EWTN News spoke to the stars of the movie and the Kooman brothers about the inspiration behind the film and what they hope audiences will take away from it.

Daniel Kooman explained that the inspiration for the film came from the "timeless relevance of the story."

"It really felt like coming to it as an origin story of Daniel and his friends being young men at the time of the Jewish exile was something that hadn't been depicted — that we've seen — in [a] story before," he said. "So imagining it, these young men coming up against intense and immense challenges coming into Babylon, which was the heart of the world … and seeing how they stood up under temptation, how they stood for their convictions, and their faith was something that inspired us so much as storytellers."

When it came to making the movie, Matthew Kooman emphasized the importance placed on relying on Scripture to tell the story. While some creative liberties were still taken, he said that anytime Scripture was being spoken or used "we didn't stray from it."

"The first three chapters that we're telling in this movie are really based on a lot of research about time and the world that they were living in and when things happened in sequence," Matthew added. "But then when you're sharing the scriptural moments that everybody knows — that are accurate and what everybody has memorized or learned as kids — without straying from those things, making it interesting with kind of filling in some of the gaps that we don't know."

As for the actors, both had always hoped to portray biblical figures.

Massoud, a Coptic Orthodox Christian, shared that he grew up taking part in church plays and played Jesus in the Stations of the Cross in elementary school, so he has wanted to take part in a faith-based project in his professional career for some time.

"I really wanted to get involved with a biblical, faith-based project and Daniel just seemed like the perfect fit," he said.

He added: "A lot of biblical stories, I think, get the reputation of being older characters, older messages, but I think this is a story that's really about young people taking charge of not only their own lives, but taking charge of their faith, of their relationship with God, and leading by example, which is, I think, the most powerful thing about Daniel and the king's relationship is that they both lead by example and they both challenge each other in action as well."

Alexander, who was born and raised Jewish, said he has wanted to portray an Old Testament figure since Hebrew school.

"Ever since Hebrew school when I was first introduced to the stories of the five books of Moses … I was fascinated by these remarkable stories, these huge epic stories of men and women who changed the course of history," Alexander said.

"They were stories of particular and personal relationships with God," he added. "And I was always inspired by that, by the idea of being close friends with God."

A particularly powerful line from the movie — which the filmmakers call the theme of the film — is: "God does not put you through the fire to test you, he puts you through it to refine you."

"One of the things that the Bible later tells us is that God disciplines those he loves and the one that he calls as a son or a daughter, he will actually refine you, he will make your life come more in line with his will and his ways," Daniel Kooman said. "And that was something that Daniel and his friends actually embraced."

"The furnace was literally seven times hotter, which is the temperature that can refine and purify gold. So these men walked in and they burned hotter than the flames. And they actually saw the refinement of their lives and their hearts and they submitted humbly to God," he added. "They said in incredible reverence to the Almighty, 'Even if God doesn't deliver us, because he's the Almighty, he can do what he wants, we're still going to follow him. We still choose Yahweh.' And that's just such an incredibly powerful theme. And they were refined by the flames."

Massoud — who speaks the line in the film — said: "Young people and old people, people of any age, we often ask the question, 'Why is this happening to me? Why is God putting me through this? Why am I being tested?' And I think it is important to keep in mind that God doesn't throw anything at you that he knows you can't handle. He is not looking to defeat people. He is not looking to have people surrender to life, though, he is looking for people to surrender to him."

"God is throwing things at you, challenges in your life, obstacles in your life, to help you become a better, stronger version of yourself," he emphasized.

As for what they hope audiences take away from the film, Matthew Kooman said that "there's a refining fire that we can walk through, we can be a part of, and that it's worth standing for your faith."

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The Catholic Church has documented 304 martyrs in Latin America so far this century. These are men and women killed not only for professing their faith but also for defending the poor, confronting organized crime, and protecting creation.

Their stories are part of a global catalog of martyrs promoted by the Vatican that already exceeds 1,700 documented cases.

"Many were murdered for reasons related to drug trafficking, deforestation, or for opposing the exploitation of natural resources," explained Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

The cardinal noted that while many were missionaries, the group also included lay faithful who gave their lives defending the Gospel and denouncing drug traffickers, protecting Indigenous territories from deforestation, or fighting the illegal exploitation of natural resources.

As he explained, the common thread in these cases is that these individuals became "inconvenient" to those controlling illicit activities. Their Gospel witness clashed directly with economic interests and criminal structures.

A conference to reflect on the new martyrs

Semeraro offered these reflections while presenting the international conference "The 21st Century: A New Era of Martyrs?" at the Vatican, a day of study and reflection dedicated to exploring the witness of Christians who have lost their lives for the sake of the Gospel in various parts of the world.

The gathering, organized by the Commission for New Martyrs — Witnesses to the Faith, was scheduled to take place Sept. 15 at the Pontifical Augustinianum Institute in Rome.

The international congress will bring together some of the most prominent voices from the Church, academia, and journalism in Rome to reflect on Christian witness in the contemporary world.

Participants include Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, archbishop of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo; Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem; and Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Community of Sant'Egidio. Experts will also speak, such as Archbishop Fabio Fabene, president of the Commission for New Martyrs; journalist Lucia Capuzzi; historian Father Roberto Regoli; and South Sudanese religious sister Alice Jurugo Drajea, who will share about Christian life amid the war ravaging her country.

The initiative comes a year after the commemoration of the martyrs and witnesses of the faith of the 21st century, presided over on Sept. 14, 2025, by Pope Leo XIV together with representatives of other Christian churches and communities at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

The commission continues to gather testimonies and information regarding Christians killed for their faith, aiming to preserve their memory and document the various forms of persecution and Christian witness in contemporary times.

According to data released by the organization last year, 1,624 martyrs worldwide had been documented between 2000 and 2025. Of these, 304 were from the Americas, a figure that reflects the specific nature of martyrdom in this region today.

The commission also noted that the record now exceeds 1,700 documented cases and that between 100 and 150 new testimonies were added in the last year alone, confirming that the phenomenon remains very much ongoing.

Holiness goes beyond canonization

In his remarks, Semeraro emphasized that holiness in the Church is not limited to those officially canonized.

"The grace of holiness in the Church is represented by canonization, but it is not exhausted by them. Obviously, this does not rule out the possibility that, provided the necessary conditions are met, the corresponding processes of beatification and canonization could be initiated for some of those listed in the catalogue," he noted.

This is the case, for example, of Floribert Bwana Chui, a young Congolese man from the Community of Sant'Egidio who was murdered in 2007 for refusing to accept bribes and who was beatified in 2025.

However, he noted that the primary goal is to highlight the "high standard of ordinary Christian living" spoken of by St. John Paul II in Novo Millennio Ineunte, which Pope Francis later referred to as that of "the saints next door."

The anthropological value of holiness

The cardinal also highlighted the deeply human dimension of Christian holiness.

"We need witnesses, martyrs, who have given themselves completely to demonstrate this to us day after day. We need them so that, even in the small choices of daily life, we may choose the good over comfort, knowing that this is precisely how we truly live life," he explained, citing Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical Spe Salvi.

Semeraro also highlighted the ecumenical value of this project, a characteristic that he noted St. John Paul II had sought to instill in the commission from its very inception.

Martyrdom continues to grow in the 21st century

During the presentation of the conference, historian Riccardi, vice chair of the commission, maintained that the Church is truly experiencing a "new era of martyrdom."

He recalled that St. John Paul II promoted the gathering of testimonies from 20th-century martyrs for the jubilee of the year 2000, an initiative deeply shaped by his personal experience under the Nazi and communist regimes. In Riccardi's view, that insight has proven even more relevant today.

For this reason, he explained, Pope Francis decided to reactivate and consolidate the Commission for New Martyrs, convinced that "the time of martyrdom continues."

The Church's response has been extensive. Dioceses, religious congregations, lay movements, episcopal conferences, and apostolic nunciatures have sent hundreds of testimonies to the Vatican.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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A report by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) found diocesan natural family planning (NFP) programs across the country are experiencing continued low course completion among couples.

In January 2025, 196 dioceses were invited to take part in the annual Diocesan Natural Family Planning Ministry National 2025 Profile Report by the USCCB. Of the dioceses, 61 completed the questionnaire.

Similarly to past years, there is a wide gap between the numbers of couples who enroll in an introductory NFP education program and those who follow up with a full course.

The report found that a total of 18,211 individuals received some information or instruction on NFP across dioceses in 2025. In comparison, there were only 7,518 individuals who attended a full course in NFP.

The report noted that further research must be done among dioceses to understand the disparities and adjust NFP efforts to combat them.

It is important to strengthen NFP programs for many reasons but especially for the overall health of women, according to Dr. Annevay Conlee, vice president of the Women's Health Service Line at OSF HealthCare, an integrated health system founded by the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis.

"When looking at the overall health of the couple, but also the woman in particular, fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) are better than artificial contraceptive methods when looking at the wellness aspect and monitoring health, recognizing abnormalities, and being able to help in a restorative way sustain and support health," Conlee told EWTN News.

"It does not cause the side effects and long-term potential consequences that contraception does," she said.

To best ensure that couples continue the NFP learning process, Conlee suggested dioceses and other NFP providers ensure that they offer different types of options to "fit the needs and time commitment of the couple," she said.

Also, they should be "making sure that there is awareness of not only the ability to achieve and avoid pregnancy with this but also monitor health and wellness," she said.

Report reveals few employees and low budget

The 2025 report also found that employment for NFP programs differs among dioceses.

Of the 2025 respondents, 30% reported they rely on paid part-time staff and volunteers, and 16% have a full-time paid NFP coordinator.

Most instructors are volunteers (58%) who do not receive any stipend, while some are volunteers who do receive a stipend (16%) to cover expenses.

Steve Mattern, senior vice president of mission services at OSF HealthCare, noted high levels of volunteers may contribute to some of the low numbers.

"It seems like volunteers staff much of the demands of this work and while some … pre-marriage work does involve expectation of education and training, many dioceses do not expect this nor have the ability to serve it if they did expect it," Mattern said.

"Still, there are some wonderful things happening where the next generations of Catholics are stepping up to give witness talks, to help give orientation, and to support education," he said.

Along with employees, the survey also found that limited funding continues to be a significant issue for NFP programs. Of dioceses surveyed, 68% budgeted less than $5,000 for NFP programs.

Most diocesan NFP programs rely on indirect funding from other sources including donations from parishes, grants from local Knights of Columbus councils, a fee for course instruction, and follow-up fees, according to the report.

Next steps for the Church

"We hear anecdotally in healthcare that fewer couples are coming to seek marriage in the Catholic Church," Mattern said.

As "more people are living together and may be seeking marriage outside the Church when they do marry," there is more of a question around what "needs to be in the required marriage prep pathway," he said.

"Should the couple go through a course of their choosing within a range of offered methodologies for NFP, and should the diocese offer a coupon or resource for them to do this?"

"This has been tried and it does work; many do go on to take a course offering," he said. "However, other dioceses may seek to do a very basic course … and may not really get to NFP or may make only a brief mention of it."

"It seems like a strong and effective communication approach and partnership across both the diocese and the Catholic healthcare ministry, and its professionals can bring a stronger approach for life and for the good of these couples and their family life," Mattern said.

Overall, "people still need basic awareness of what the fertility awareness-based methodologies offer and provide and so this work is ongoing and invites our creativity, hope, and imagination," he said.

While discussion around NFP is usually in regard to pregnancy, "it is so much more important to start forming our minds and hearts when we are young and in the context of our families," Sister M. Mikela Meidl, FSGM, president of OSF HealthCare, said.

"Learning about modesty, purity, and the beauty of our bodies as we grow and develop helps create an openness to understand ourselves long before we marry," she said.

"Supporting and helping parents to hold these conversations without embarrassment and full of confidence and attentive listening will go a long way in making people desire what is true and good," she said.

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The sainthood cause of Tom Vander Woude is moving forward, according to his home diocese of Arlington, Virginia. Vander Woude, a father of seven sons, died saving the life of his youngest son, Joseph, who has Down syndrome.

The diocese will begin gathering information — a key initial stage in the Catholic Church's process of determining sainthood.

When Joseph, a teenager at the time, fell into a septic tank, Tom climbed into the tank with him, pushing him up toward the surface, away from the toxic fumes, saving his son's life. Tom, 66, died on Sept. 8, 2008, in the accident, leaving behind his wife and seven sons.

His legacy didn't end there, however. Because of his self-sacrificial act, a group of Catholics, formally called the Tom Vander Woude Guild, began to advocate for his cause.

"His final act of self-sacrificial love was widely regarded as the culmination of a Christian life marked by faith, charity, humility, fortitude, and generous service to others," read Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge's edict, also signed by Monsignor Paul deLadurantaye, the chancellor of the diocese.

After receiving a formal petition from the cause's postulator, Waldery Hilgeman, the diocese is asking for all information that could affect the cause to be brought forward. The bishop is also collecting any writings by Vander Woude and any documents about him.

"We see in the life and death of Thomas Vander Woude a sincere response to the Christian call to sainthood," Burbidge said. "As heroic as were the circumstances of Thomas Vander Woude's death, this husband and father showed in a profound way that sanctity is to be sought first and foremost through personal faithfulness in daily life and to a consistent and sincere yes to God in the circumstances of one's vocation and responsibilities."

Burbidge spoke about the cause in a podcast on Sept. 10, describing Vander Woude as "a holy, faithful, selfless, sacrificial man who serves as an inspiration for us."

"That's what saints do," he continued. "They show us that we, who are ordinary and flawed, can live heroic and holy lives."

"When you move forward in this cause, it's not just because of that one heroic event, but also the day-to-day faithfulness as a husband, as a father, as a citizen, as a man of God," Burbidge said.

Chris Vander Woude, a son of Tom Vander Woude who is advocating for his cause, expressed his excitement at the progress.

"I am grateful to the Diocese of Arlington and Bishop Burbidge for taking this step in the investigative process; it is truly exciting and incredibly humbling at the same time," Chris Vander Woude told EWTN News.

"Not a day goes by without missing Dad, but witnessing how his story continues to inspire so many is a consolation," he said. "I think his commitment to his daily vocation as a husband and father, culminating in his sacrifice for my brother, resonates with all sorts of people — especially parents. We continue to pray that God's will be done in this process."

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