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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 18, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray announced he is seeking the death penalty for Tyler Robinson, the man charged with murdering Christian conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

"I am filing a notice of intent to seek the death penalty," Gray said in a Sept. 16 news conference. "I do not take this decision lightly, and it is a decision I have made independently as county attorney based solely on the available evidence and circumstances and nature of the crime."

Robinson is charged with seven crimes, the most serious of which is aggravated murder. Utah's criminal code has two forms of intentional homicide: "murder" and the more serious "aggravated murder."

The maximum sentence for murder is life in prison, but an aggravated murder charge carries a maximum sentence of death. A person can only be charged with aggravated murder if there is an "aggravating" factor that applies, which, in this case, is that Robinson allegedly put additional people in harm's way. About 3,000 people were present during the attack.

The charge lists that another aggravating factor was that the offense was allegedly committed in the presence of a child. Robinson also faces an enhancement for allegedly targeting Kirk for his "political expression."

Political targeting and ongoing investigation

After Kirk was shot, Robinson allegedly told Lance Twiggs, his transgender romantic partner with whom he lived, in a text message to "look under my keyboard," at which point Twiggs allegedly found a note that read: "I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I'm going to take it," according to the charging documents.

When Twiggs asked Robinson why he did it, Robinson is alleged to have responded: "I had enough of his hatred" and "some hate can't be negotiated out."

The charging document alleges that Robinson's mother said her son had become more political "over the last year or so" and began "to lean more to the left — becoming more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented." 

When Robinson's parents suspected their son of carrying out the shooting and asked him why he did it, the charging documents allege he said it was because "there is too much evil and [Kirk] spreads too much hate."

The bullet casings found along with the rifle allegedly used in the attack had messages carved into them, including "Hey Fascist! Catch!" and lyrics to the antifascist song "Bella Ciao."

Robinson is exercising his right to remain silent and not answering investigators' questions. Twiggs and Robinson's family have cooperated and are speaking to law enforcement, according to officials.

Kirk was shot while answering a question from an audience member about transgenderism and gun violence. Kirk has long criticized gender ideology, the inclusion of biological males in female sports, and transgender surgeries for minors. 

He supported an effort to legally ban transgender people from owning firearms after a transgender person killed two children and injured more than 20 others at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis last month.

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a Senate hearing Tuesday that investigators are looking into Robinson's communications, including on the messaging application Discord, on which he was allegedly engaged in group chats.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, asked Patel on Sept. 16 whether the FBI is investigating a "broader network" that may have had foreknowledge of the attack, such as "accomplices" or people who may have "encouraged him."

Patel said the FBI will be "investigating anyone and everyone involved in that Discord chat." The investigation is looking into "a lot more than" 20 people, he said. Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, later asked Patel whether "others could have been involved" in the killing, to which Patel responded "yes."

Concerns about death penalty efforts

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that "the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person" regardless of the crime committed.

After the announcement that prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Robinson, Catholic Mobilizing Network Executive Director Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy told CNA that capital punishment is not the proper way to seek justice in this situation.

"Regrettably, executions only model the killing and violence that we detest," she said. "Seeking the death penalty in cases such as this could even provoke a certain notoriety that some want to emulate."

"When seeking justice in times of tragedy, we do well to return to the principle that is the bedrock of our faith: human dignity," Murphy continued. "This sacred valuing of every life needs to influence our response to crime and violence — even in instances of grave harm. The death penalty is contrary to human dignity. It neither deters crime nor provides authentic accountability."

Murphy added that in "these divided and polarized times," Catholics should be reminded of the ongoing Jubilee Year of Hope, "an extraordinary year where we have been called to live as pilgrims of hope."

"Our world is hungry for it," she said.

"Our hope is rooted in Christ's victory over death," she continued. "May we honor the loss of life in a way fitting of our deepest convictions — by turning away from cycles of death and advancing the kind of justice that seeks to restore, repair, and make way for true healing."

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CNA Staff, Sep 18, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV downplayed concerns of the ongoing financial crisis at the Vatican in a recent interview, arguing that "things are going to be OK" regarding the Holy See's finances even as more work is needed. 

The Holy Father made the remarks as part of a wide-ranging interview with Crux senior correspondent Elise Ann Allen. The interview appears in Allen's biography on the pontiff, "Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the 21st Century," published in Spanish on Sept. 18. An English version of the book will be published in early 2026. 

Allen asked Leo about the financial situation of the Vatican, noting that the pope has previously indicated that the crisis is "not as bad as it's sometimes been made out to be." The Holy See's pension fund has been facing a major shortfall after years of budget deficits. 

Admitting that the Vatican has to "continue to work" to address the issue, Leo told Allen: "I'm not losing sleep over it." 

The Holy Father noted that the pandemic helped drive serious shortfalls in the Vatican's budget when the worldwide health crisis closed the Vatican Museums, a major source of the Holy See's revenue.

But travel has increased in recent years, he said. "There are more tourists in Rome this year. There are things going on that have made a significant turnaround in some of the issues that have been causes of concern in the past."

The pope suggested that the various departments and initiatives at the Vatican need to cooperate to ensure the flow of financial resources there.

"Everything that I might have in this pocket doesn't always get over to that pocket, and we have to learn to work together in a positive way also within the Holy See, within the Vatican," he told Allen.

Part of the problem, he argued, is that the Vatican has "oftentimes given the wrong message" about the Holy See's fiduciary state.

Bad messaging, he said, "doesn't inspire people" to support the Vatican financially; rather, the pope argued, it leads them to conclude: "'I'll keep my money, because if you're not going to administer properly, why should I give you more money?'"

Leo said that after studying the issue at length — including before he became pope — he is convinced that "things are going to be OK," though he said improvements to the Vatican's financial policies will continue. 

"[W]e do have to continue the process of reform that Francis began," he said.

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ACI Africa, Sep 18, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Members of the Mill Hill Missionaries (MHM) go to lands where they risk their own lives for the kingdom of God, Bishop John Oballa Owaa of the Diocese of Ngong in Kenya said in his homily Sept. 13 at the diaconate ordination of nine MHM members.

Oballa lauded the young members of the congregation for not allowing anything to stand in their way of spreading the Gospel.

He narrated a conversation he had with a MHM member who he said was eager to embark on mission in Pakistan, where Christian persecution has been shown to be rising.

"I remember a young parishioner who became a Mill Hill missionary telling me without any voice that seeks sympathy, without any voice that is afraid, that he had been assigned to Pakistan," Oballa recalled at the event, which was held at St. Joseph Cathedral of his episcopal see.

He added: "With all the challenges and the difficulties that I knew about the place, the young missionary was not apologetic to anyone. He was not seeking anybody's sympathy."

"I said to myself, 'Here is a missionary spirit, ready to throw deep, ready to be sent wherever and to whomever for the salvation of souls, for the kingdom of God,'" the bishop said. In Pakistan, more than 96% of the population is Muslim and only 1.9% is Christian.

He said the late Father John Anthony Kaiser, a Mill Hill missionary who was murdered in Kenya and whose 25th death anniversary was marked on Aug. 23, provides a good example of the readiness of members of the congregation to pay the ultimate price for the salvation of souls.

Regarding the American-born Kaiser, who served in the Diocese of Ngong until his death, Oballa said: "Missionary work confronted him with situations of injustice, of exploitation, of abuse, and he would not stand and watch. That cost him his life."

Oballa said missionary work demands sacrifice.

"Some of the terrain can be pretty hostile, can be oppressive, can be unjust, and yet the work of Christ has to be done in obedience to his commands. Missionary experience exposes one to all sorts of terrain," he said.

Since becoming a bishop in April 2012, Oballa has encouraged missionaries who choose to serve in hostile environments and rely on divine protection. "Always remember that even if the nets should break, no fish will escape because the Lord himself will preserve his own amid persecutions," he told the seminarians.

"And if in the process of witnessing to his Gospel you lose your life, know that you will find it. Because that is the logic of the Gospel. Whoever loses his life will find it. Whoever denies himself [will] not have to end up in physical death [and] will find his life," Oballa said.

Lauding the nine MHM members who were ordained deacons for having been found "worthy," the bishop said: "You have been found serious and dignified, that you are honest men, not deceitful, and not addicted to drink."

"You have been tested and found worthy, not to be greedy for money… whatever you do, that you will carry out the mission of Christ without asking what material gain… [you] have been found to be above that," he said.

In his homily, the bishop urged the deacons-elect to be faithful to their prayer life, from where he said they would draw strength to serve amid difficulties.

He further called on them to preach the Gospel with joy, cautioning them not to be "deluded" that everyone would receive their message.

"Not all will embrace the message of the Gospel of salvation that you preach. Just remember the Lord's assurance that he would be with you," Oballa said, adding: "May the patron saint of your Mill Hill Society, St. Joseph, and his spouse, the Blessed Virgin Mary, always intercede for you and fill you with hope as you carry out your mission and as you carry out the mandate laid upon you by the Lord, faithfully and perseveringly to the end."

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

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Vatican City, Sep 18, 2025 / 08:30 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV said his primary role as leader of the Church is confirming Catholics in their faith and sharing the Gospel with the world, not resolving global crises.

Speaking to Crux senior correspondent Elise Ann Allen in the first sit-down interview of his pontificate, Leo also said he was "trying not to continue to polarize or promote polarization in the Church."

Leo's first formal interview as pope took place as part of the biography "Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the 21st Century," by Allen, out now in Spanish and next year in English.

"I don't see my primary role as trying to be the solver of the world's problems. I don't see my role as that at all, really, although I think that the Church has a voice, a message that needs to continue to be preached, to be spoken and spoken loudly," he said.

Hot-button issues

In the extensive interview, the first U.S.-born pontiff explained how he plans to tackle divisive issues in the Church, including his approach to LGBT debates, the possibility of women deacons, synodality, and the Traditional Latin Mass.

Leo said he is aware that the Church's teaching on sexual morality is a highly polarizing topic, and though he welcomes everyone in the Church, he does not intend to make changes — at least not anytime soon.

Signaling his intention to be in continuity with Francis' open approach, he said "everyone's invited in, but I don't invite a person in because they are or are not of any specific identity."

"People want the Church doctrine to change, want attitudes to change. I think we have to change attitudes before we even think about changing what the Church says about any given question," he said. 

"I find it highly unlikely, certainly in the near future, that the Church's doctrine in terms of what the Church teaches about sexuality, what the Church teaches about marriage, [will change]," he said.

"The individuals will be accepted and received," the pontiff added, reiterating the importance of respecting and accepting people who make different choices in their lives.

"I've already spoken about marriage, as did Pope Francis when he was pope, about a family being a man and a woman in solemn commitment, blessed in the sacrament of marriage," he continued. 

The "role of the family in society, which has at times suffered in recent decades, once again has to be recognized, strengthened," Leo said. 

He also criticized the publication of rituals blessing "people who love one another" in countries in Northern Europe, saying they violate Pope Francis' directives in Fiducia Supplicans, which gave permission for nonliturgical blessings of same-sex couples. 

"I think that the Church's teaching will continue as it is, and that's what I have to say about that for right now," he said. 

Another change the pope said he will not be making at the moment is allowing the ordination of women deacons.

"I hope to continue in the footsteps of Francis, including in appointing women to some leadership roles at different levels in the Church's life," he explained. "I think there are some previous questions that have to be asked. … Why would we talk about ordaining women to the diaconate if the diaconate itself is not yet properly understood and properly developed and promoted within the Church?"

He noted that there is a study group, in the context of the Synod on Synodality, specifically to examine the question of ministries in the Church, including a potential women's diaconate.

"Perhaps there are a lot of things that have to be looked at and developed at this time before we can ever really come around to asking the other questions. … We'll walk with that and see what comes," he said.

Leo described synodality, Francis' program for wider consultation on Church governance and teaching beyond the hierarchy, as "an attitude, an openness, a willingness to understand" and a process "of dialogue and respect for one another" that could take different forms.

"I think there's great hope if we can continue to build on the experience of the past couple years and find ways of being Church together," he noted. "Not to try and transform the Church into some kind of democratic government, which if we look at many countries around the world today, democracy is not necessarily a perfect solution to everything."

He expressed throughout the interview his willingness to sit down with, and hear out, anyone's point of view, including proponents of the Traditional Latin Mass — though he has not made up his mind about how to resolve tensions over its celebration.

"It's become the kind of issue that's so polarized that people aren't willing to listen to one another, oftentimes. … That's a problem in itself. It means we're into ideology now, we're no longer into the experience of Church communion. That's one of the issues on the agenda," he said.

"Between the Tridentine Mass and the Vatican II Mass, the Mass of Paul VI, I'm not sure where that's going to go. It's obviously very complicated," he added. "It's become a political tool, and that's very unfortunate."

He noted there would be an opportunity soon to speak with people advocating what he called the Tridentine rite of the Mass, a possible reference to an annual pilgrimage of Latin Mass devotees to take place in Rome at the end of October.

The Church's mission

Leo said another issue on the forefront of his agenda is internal Vatican relations. He lamented that currently, the dicasteries work in a very "isolated manner."

He praised the renewed focus on evangelization in Pope Francis' reform of the Roman Curia through the apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium, but said there is still more work to be done.

"The lack of dialogue, of instruments of communication, between the different dicasteries has at times been of great limitation and harm to the government of the Church," he said. 

"So, I think that there is an issue there, of, someone used the expression 'a silo mentality.' … We have to find a way to bring people together to talk about that."

One of the issues the Curia has on its plate is the clerical sexual abuse crisis. Pope Leo said while it remains unresolved, it cannot be the Church's sole focus.

It is a challenge to balance providing help and justice for victims with respect for the rights of the accused, he said. "We're in kind of a bind there."

Leo put the issue of clerical sexual abuse into the context of his views on the wider role of the Church in the world: "We can't make the whole Church focus exclusively on this issue, because that would not be an authentic response to what the world is looking for in terms of the need for the mission of the Church."

The pontiff said this approach to the Church's mission would also influence his interaction with Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists. He said it's important to have respect for those with different beliefs, but "I believe very strongly in Jesus Christ and believe that that's my priority, because I'm the bishop of Rome and successor of Peter, and the pope needs to help people understand, especially Christians, Catholics, that this is who we are. And I think that's a beautiful mission."

During encounters with representatives of other religions, he said, "I'm not afraid to say I believe in Jesus Christ and that he died on the cross and rose from the dead, and that we together are called to share that message."

He also expressed satisfaction over what he perceives to be an improvement in relations with the Jewish community. Under Francis, the relationship had suffered following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas and Israel's subsequent war on Gaza based on the pope's strong support of Palestine.

"I may be too presumptuous," Leo said, "but I daresay that already in the first couple of months, the relationship with the Jewish community as such has improved a bit." 

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Vatican City, Sep 18, 2025 / 10:08 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV, in his first interview since his election, signaled he may be open to future changes to the Vatican's controversial deal with China, saying that he is in dialogue with persecuted Chinese Catholics as he weighs the future of Vatican policy toward Beijing.

The interview, conducted in English in July and published Thursday in a new Spanish-language biography, provides the clearest view yet of the 70-year-old American pope's priorities in global politics and Vatican diplomacy, including how he sees the Church engaging with the Trump administration, the war in Gaza, and the defense of human dignity.

On China, Pope Leo said he is listening to "a significant group of Chinese Catholics who for many years have lived some kind of oppression or difficulty in living their faith freely" as he tries to get "a clearer understanding of how the Church can continue the Church's mission."

"I would say that in the short term, I will continue the policy that the Holy See has followed for some years now … I'm also in ongoing dialogue with a number of people, Chinese, on both sides of some of the issues that are there," he said.

As the first pope ever to have visited mainland China, Leo, who traveled there years before his election, said he draws on his experiences with "government as well as religious leaders and laypeople."

Leo's comments indicate openness to a possible shift from the status quo on China since 2018, when the Holy See signed a power-sharing agreement with Beijing on the appointment of bishops. The agreement was renewed under Francis three times in the past seven years despite objections from human rights activists and reports of increased persecution of the so-called underground Church in China, which rejects government control.

"It's a very difficult situation. In the long term, I don't pretend to say this is what I will and will not do," he said.

American pope on U.S. politics 

Pope Leo XIV also spoke about President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Elon Musk, while insisting that he does not want to take part in political battles. 

"I don't plan to get involved in partisan politics. That's not what the Church is about. But I'm not afraid to raise issues that I think are real Gospel issues, that hopefully people on both sides of the aisle, as we say, will be able to listen to," he said. 

The Chicago-born pope suggested that his background gives him an advantage in dealing with other Americans, including members of the Church. Referring to relations between the Vatican and U.S. Catholic bishops, he said: "The fact that I am American means, among other things, people can't say, like they did about Francis, 'He doesn't understand the United States.'" Under his predecessor Pope Francis, the U.S. bishops' conference clashed with the Vatican over the bishops' designation of abortion as the "preeminent priority" of their public policy agenda. 

Leo said he would not hesitate to meet with Trump if the opportunity arose and said he has already spoken with Vance "about human dignity and how important that is for all people, wherever you're born, and hopefully to find ways to respect human beings and the way we treat them in the policies and choices we make." 

"Obviously, there's some things going on in the States that are of concern," Leo added. 

Applauding Pope Francis' letter to U.S. bishops earlier this year criticizing the Trump administration's policy on deportation of immigrants, he said: "I was very happy to see how the American bishops picked that up, and some of them were courageous enough to go with that. I think that approach, in general, is a better approach, that I would engage with the bishops primarily." 

"The United States is a power player on the world level, we have to recognize that, and sometimes decisions are made more based on economics than on human dignity and human support," Leo said. "But [we have to] continue to challenge and to raise some questions and to see the best way to do that." 

"Especially about questions of human dignity, of promoting peace in the world, which [Trump] at times has made clear he wants to do, in those efforts I would want to support him," he said. 

Elon Musk, inequality, and artificial intelligence

Pope Leo XIV also mentioned Elon Musk, reserving some of his sharpest words for economic disparities and the potential "crisis" that could result from the rise of artificial intelligence. 

"One … very significant [factor] is the continuously wider gap between the income levels of the working class and the money that the wealthiest receive," he said. CEOs once earned a few times more than workers, but today "the last figure I saw, it's 600 times more." 

He pointed to reports that "Elon Musk is going to be the first trillionaire in the world," warning: "If that is the only thing that has value anymore, then we're in big trouble." 

Leo also cautioned that artificial intelligence could cause a "crisis" because of its potential to accelerate shifts in the labor force. "If we automate the whole world and only a few people have the means with which to more than just survive, but to live well, have meaningful life, there's a big problem, a huge problem coming down the line." 

Wars in Gaza and Ukraine

Pope Leo weighed in on the debate over whether Israel's campaign in Gaza constitutes genocide, with the pope noting that "the word genocide is being thrown around more and more." 

"Officially, the Holy See does not believe that we can make any declaration at this time about that," he said. "There's a very technical definition about what genocide might be, but more and more people are raising the issue, including two human rights groups in Israel have made that statement."

Leo emphasized the importance of getting humanitarian aid, medical assistance, and food to people in Gaza, noting that the U.S. is "obviously the most significant third party that can place pressure on Israel."

On Ukraine, Leo confirmed the Vatican had offered to host peace talks, though the offer was not accepted. "The Holy See, since the war began, has made great efforts to maintain a position that, as difficult as it might be, [is not] one side or the other, but truly neutral," he said.

He also suggested that the Vatican might be able to help end a schism within the Orthodox world, between the patriarchs of Moscow and Constantinople, arising from disagreements over Orthodox Church leadership in Ukraine.

"If the bishop of Rome can help build bridges … I think there is certainly challenges in that, but a great service to be offered because ultimately, we do all believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and Our Savior." 

A weakened U.N. and a polarized world

Leo acknowledged the declining role of the United Nations and the shift to bilateral dialogue in international relations. "It seems to be generally recognized that the United Nations, at least at this moment in time, has lost its ability to bring people together on multilateral kinds of issues," he said. 

He also pointed to polarization worldwide, citing a "loss of a higher sense of what human life is about." 

"The value of human life, the value of society, of the family … if we lose the sense of those values, what matters anymore?" he asked. "You oftentimes find people questioning: What is this all about and what is the meaning of life, and why should we be doing this?" 

The pope is not a 'solver of the world's problems' 

The interview appears in the Spanish-language book "León XIV: ciudadano del mundo, misionero del siglo XXI" ("Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the XXI Century"), a biography by Crux correspondent Elise Ann Allen, published on Sept. 18 in Spanish by Penguin Peru. English and Portuguese editions are expected in 2026. 

In the book, Pope Leo, a longtime missionary in Peru before he was pope, underlines that the Church's primary mission remains spiritual, not political. 

"My role is announcing the good news, preaching the Gospel," he said. "I don't see my primary role as trying to be the solver of the world's problems. I don't see my role as that at all, really, although I think that the Church has a voice, a message that needs to continue to be preached, to be spoken and spoken loudly." 

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 17, 2025 / 19:34 pm (CNA).

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a U.S. Senate hearing that there have been "terminations" and "resignations" of employees related to a 2023 anti-Catholic memo produced by Richmond, Virginia's field office and the agency has made policy adjustments.

Patel made the comments during a Sept. 16 line of questioning from Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, who requested an update on the administration's investigation into the memo and asked about the FBI's efforts to combat anti-Catholic and anti-Christian violence and hate crimes.

He did not specify how many people were terminated or what their roles were in drafting the memo.

"We are doing our investigation simultaneously with Congress," Patel said. "Just to put it in perspective, we provided 700 documents on the Richmond Catholic memo, specifically to this committee, whereas my predecessor provided 19 pages."

The referenced 2023 memo detailed an investigation into "radical traditionalist" Catholics and purported ties to "the far-right white nationalist movement." It suggested "opportunities for threat mitigation" through "trip wire or source development" within parishes that celebrate the Latin Mass and within "radical-traditionalist" Catholic online communities.

Immediately after the document was leaked to the public in February 2023, the FBI retracted the memo for not meeting the agency's "exacting standards." Although the FBI said at the time that the issue was isolated to one document in one field agency, an investigation by the House Judiciary Committee revealed coordination between multiple field offices and at least 13 documents that contained disparaging language about traditionalist Catholicism.

Under Patel's leadership, the current FBI director told Hawley "we looked into how the source recruitment structure at the FBI was conducted during this time and we made adjustments and permanent fixes to ensure that sources are not put into houses of worship unless there is an actual ongoing criminal or international terrorism threat."

"We will not use sources at this FBI to investigate and cull information just for the sake of culling information in houses of worship," he said.

60 reports of anti-Catholic hate crimes under investigation

Hawley also asked Patel about threats of violence against Catholics and other Christians during the hearing, particularly in light of the shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis last month.

Patel said the FBI is currently investigating 60 reports of anti-Catholic hate crimes, including ones in Kansas City, Missouri; Louisville, Kentucky; Houston; Nashville, Tennessee; and Richmond, Virginia.

"Any ideologically-based attack against any faith, as a man of faith myself, will not be tolerated," said Patel, who is Hindu. "The full resources of the FBI [are] committed to all of it." He said the FBI will also look into ensuring that rewards of monetary value are offered for information on "all ideologically-based attacks."

Regarding investigations into that violence, Patel said "we follow the money." Whether it's an attack based on people of faith or institutions of faith, he said, "someone's paying for it."

"We are reverse tracing those steps, we are not stopping at the perpetrator themselves," he added. "We are reverse engineering to hold those accountable in our investigations to who funded them and knowingly funded them. We will [take] the appropriate steps against them."

Hawley noted that there have been hundreds of instances in which houses of worship have faced direct violent action or threats, including arson, bomb threats, and shootings. He asked Patel whether the FBI would consider designating a senior official as a liaison to houses of worship.

"You're speaking my language," Patel said. "The private-public sector partnership on this specific issue, just like the other ones we've talked about, is equally transformative to finding those involved in these criminal activities. With your assistance, I would ask you if you're able to identify someone who's an expert in that area, we will work with them."

In light of last week's assassination of Christian and conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Hawley also asked Patel whether the FBI is investigating the attack as "part of this broader pattern of anti-religious, anti-Christian violence."

"We are investigating Charlie's assassination fully and completely and running out every lead related to any allegation of broader violence, and we're producing results on that that we'll disclose when appropriate," Patel told him.

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CNA Staff, Sep 17, 2025 / 13:19 pm (CNA).

A deacon in San Diego told parishioners last week that he will voluntarily deport himself after his residency status was revoked by the U.S. government.

The deacon reportedly made the announcement at St. Jude Shrine of the West during Masses on Sept. 14. Local media reported that the clergyman came to the U.S. when he was 13 and "served the St. Jude community for roughly four decades." He will reportedly be returning to Tijuana, Mexico.

Local reports did not identify the deacon. A diocesan representative indicated to CNA that the news reports were accurate, but the diocese said it could not identify the deacon himself and that he was handling the matter privately.

Representatives at St. Jude Parish did not respond to queries regarding the announcement.

The deacon's self-deportation comes amid a wave of heightened immigration enforcement around the country as the Trump administration works to ramp up deportations of immigrants in the U.S. illegally.

Catholic and Christian advocates have criticized the elevated enforcement. Prior to his death, Pope Francis in February told the U.S. bishops that amid the deportations, the faithful "are called upon to consider the legitimacy of norms and public policies in the light of the dignity of the person and his or her fundamental rights, not vice versa."

In the spring, meanwhile, religious leaders including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Association of Evangelicals lamented the potential impacts of mass deportations on Christian families in the U.S.

A "significant share of the immigrants who are a part of our body are vulnerable to deportation, whether because they have no legal status or their legal protections could be withdrawn," the leaders said. 

In some cases priests have faced deportation or loss of legal status amid changing immigration rules. In Texas, a Mexican-born Catholic priest who served in the Diocese of Laredo, Texas, for nine years left the United States last month because his application for residency was denied and his religious worker visa was expiring.

Catholic advocates have repeatedly warned that changes to U.S. visa rules have brought about a looming crisis in which many U.S.-based priests will be forced to leave their ministries, return to their home countries, and remain there for lengthy wait times.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told EWTN News in August that the Trump administration is "committed" to addressing that issue. 

"We'll have a plan to fix it," Rubio said. Details of that plan have yet to be released.

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ACI Africa, Sep 17, 2025 / 14:10 pm (CNA).

Nigeria is "sinking in many fronts," the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) said at a recent meeting, lamenting that in addition to economic hardships Nigerians are grappling with, many communities have been thrown into perpetual mourning due to unending insecurity.

In his address at the ongoing interactive session between CBCN and the "prominent lay faithful" of Calabar ecclesiastical province, Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji said many Nigerians have been killed, and those who fled are languishing in camps where they are exposed to extreme weather conditions, often without food and water.

Acknowledging "notable progress here and there" in the country where persecution against Christians is said to be the highest globally, the archbishop of Nigeria's Archdiocese of Owerri said: "We also lament that our beloved country Nigeria is sinking in many fronts."

"Insecurity continues to haunt us," he said at the nine-day event that started on Sept. 11. "Many towns and villages across the nation have become communities of fear, flight, and funerals."

"Our fellow citizens are being daily kidnapped, extorted, dehumanized, killed, or forced to flee their ancestral homes, abandoning their sources of livelihood to seek refuge in makeshift camps, exposed to extreme weather conditions, often without food and water," the CBCN president said.

The CBCN interaction with the faithful of Calabar ecclesiastical province is being held at the Diocesan Retreat and Youth Centre in Akwa Ibom state.

Over the years, it has been CBCN's custom to have an interactive session with the faithful of the ecclesiastical province wherever the bishops gather for their plenary assembly.

The goal, Ugorji said in a statement shared with ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, is for the bishops in Nigeria to know the people they serve "closely, to share their concerns and to acquaint them with our own concerns as shepherds of God's flock in Nigeria."

In his address, the archbishop expressed concern about the growing poverty in the West African nation, where he said unemployment continues to increase.

"We are deeply troubled that our fellow Nigerians have continued to groan under economic hardship and seem doomed to a life of destitution and frustration," he said.

"We are also worried about the high rate of youth unemployment, which is driving some of our young men and women to crimes and others to migrate in search of greener pastures abroad, leading to brain drain and continuous loss of some of our best and brightest minds."

He further lamented that Nigeria's health sector is on its knees, noting that the death of the immediate former President Muhammadu Buhari in London exposed the gaps in the country's health care.

Buhari's death on July 13 away from home, Ugorji said, "raised fresh questions about our crumbling health institutions, the mass exodus of our medical professionals, the billions of naira [Nigeria's monetary unit] spent abroad by our leaders on medical tourism, while millions of Nigerians languish at home from treatable ailments due to the miserable state of our hospitals."

Also worrying is Nigeria's educational institutions that the CBCN president said are facing significant challenges, including inadequate funding, "decaying infrastructure" and diminishing number of qualified teachers.

The result, he said, is a steady decline in the quality of education.

Underpinning the challenges, the archbishop said, is corruption, which he described as moral rottenness that is "spreading unchecked like a deadly cancer to all sectors of our national life, silently eating up the soul of the nation."

The official of CBCN expressed concern that while Nigerians face serious existential threats, many politicians at the national and sub-national levels seem more preoccupied with the country's 2027 general elections and less concerned with fulfilling their campaign promises to the electorate.

The opposition on the other hand, he said, "is busy building coalitions to clench power in 2027."

"If this state of affairs continues, the nation will totally collapse," Ugorji warned, calling for "a drastic change" to allow the common good to drive Nigeria's economic, social, and cultural life.

"Who is to effect the transformation of our nation?" he posed. "We strongly believe that the lay faithful have a major and decisive role to play in this matter."

Acknowledging that change is not easy to come about in Nigeria's political system, the archbishop said: "If we expect much from the laity in the area of national transformation, much has to be given to them in terms of political education."

He underlined the need for political education that encourages honest and God-fearing lay faithful to join political parties and persuade those with the talent for leadership to seek political office as a way of advancing the common good in accordance with the social teaching of the Church.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 17, 2025 / 15:44 pm (CNA).

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem has decided to forgive the school debts of all families in the diocese for the school years prior to the Jubilee of Hope as a gesture "to promote and demand justice, equity, and, above all, solidarity."

The patriarchate is the Latin-rite Catholic diocese based in Jerusalem, reestablished in 1847 by Pope Pius IX. Its ecclesiastical jurisdiction encompasses Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Cyprus, serving the Latin Catholic communities present in the Holy Land and these regions of the Middle East.

In a statement, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, said the jubilee year "has taken place in a context of violence and war," which "seems to be increasing evermore."

The cardinal explained that under the motto "Hope Does Not Disappoint," Catholics are called "to a special conversion of heart. We are called to return to God, to rediscover our Christian roots and the beauty of our faith." They are also called to "heal the relationships we have wounded" and to "rediscover the joy of encountering Christ."

Despite the perilous situation in the region, one that has had "serious consequences for the lives of all our families and institutions," Pizzaballa said he sees it as an opportunity not to get lost "in petty and short-sighted considerations but to focus on the essentials of life in our relationship with God and in the life of the world."

Thus in order to give expression to "this desire for change, for renewal, for a return to God and to our brothers and sisters," the patriarchate has decided to forgive "all debts of all the families to the schools of the Latin Patriarchate for the years prior to the jubilee, that is, up to and excluding the 2024-2025 school year."

"This was not an easy decision to make because of the costs involved. As you can imagine, the various administrative offices did not fail to raise their legitimate concerns. Nevertheless, we feel it is necessary to make this gesture and to once again trust and rely on God and his providence," the patriarch wrote.

"We hope that this gesture will make life easier for many of our families in need and help them to regain confidence and hope," the statement added.

Pizzaballa pointed out that the jubilee is also "a time of responsibility" and that debt forgiveness "means that everyone commits to changing their lives and taking responsibility for their obligations."

"The forgiveness of these debts therefore does not release anyone from their responsibilities, not even families, in their obligations to schools. It is a special time that, precisely because it is so, remains a unique moment that involves us as a Church and requires everyone to take their responsibilities seriously," the patriarch explained.

He therefore asked all school principals to "to implement and communicate this decision immediately to those concerned" and the patriarchate's administrators to "update our books in accordance with the decision made."

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 17, 2025 / 16:19 pm (CNA).

Italian permanent deacon Alessandro Frateschi, who was convicted of sexual offenses against minors, has been expelled from the clerical state directly by Pope Leo XIV.

The Diocese of Latina-Terracina-Sezze-Priverno announced the news Sept. 16, stating that Frateschi was notified of the decree in prison, where he is currently serving a 12-year sentence. This is the first known case of canonical sanction for abuse during the new pope's pontificate.

Frateschi, 46, was sentenced in the Italian civil court in 2024 after being found guilty of sexually abusing five minors between 2018 and January 2023. Three of the victims were his students at a secondary school in Latina where he taught Catholic religion; another was a minor in foster care; and the fifth was the son of family friends.

"On the morning of Sept. 16, in the Latina prison, permanent deacon Alessandro Frateschi was notified of the decree of dismissal from the clerical state by direct decision of Pope Leo XIV. This decree of conviction is not appealable," the official statement from the diocese notes.

The canonical investigation was conducted by the disciplinary section of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is competent in "delicta graviora" ("more serious offenses"), including crimes against the Sixth Commandment committed by clerics with minors under 18 years of age. Due to the gravity of Frateschi's crimes, the dicastery referred the case directly to the Holy Father, who decided to impose the severest penalty provided by canon law.

Frateschi was informed that he will no longer be able to speak in the name of the Church, preach homilies, hold any kind of position in seminaries or parishes, or teach Catholic theology or religion in academic institutions, regardless of whether they are under the Church's authority.

The bishop of Latina, Mariano Crociata, had provisionally suspended Frateschi in January 2023, the same day he learned of the allegations. After listening to Frateschi, he accepted his resignation as religion teacher, revoked his teaching qualifications, and opened a preliminary investigation, the results of which were forwarded to Rome.

The conclusion of the process "leaves a wound in the entire diocesan community," the statement acknowledges. "We renew our solidarity and closeness to the victims and their families."

The diocese also reiterated its commitment to the protection of minors and vulnerable people and encouraged everyone to report any instances of abuse, even from the past, to the Interdiocesan Service for the Protection of Minors, emphasizing that this step does not replace but rather encourages recourse to the civil justice system.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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