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Washington D.C., Feb 7, 2025 / 21:55 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Catholic bishops' conference laid off 50 staff members in its migration and refugee services office Friday, citing a delay in reimbursements from the federal government.

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops spokesperson Chieko Noguchi, in a statement shared with CNA, said the job cuts were due to "continuing uncertainty regarding refugee resettlement and the overall future of those programs."

"Please pray for these dedicated men and women who have given so much of themselves in service to their sisters and brothers in need," Noguchi said.

The layoffs mark an escalation of a deepening political and financial crisis for the USCCB and its affiliated charitable agencies, whose decades-long role providing essential services for migrants and refugees largely paid with federal funds has come under scrutiny from President Donald Trump's administration.

The USCCB directs the bulk of the more than $100 million in federal grant it receives annually to affiliate organizations that provide migration and refugee services, such as Catholic Charities. 

A large portion of funding comes from grants through the federal U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) to help resettle refugees who have been vetted by the federal government. 

According to the USCCB's audited financial statements, federal funding covered more than 95% of what the conference spent on refugee and migrant programs in recent years. The USCCB has spent slightly more on these services than what is covered by federal funding, according to the financial statements.

In 2023, the most recent year reported, the USCCB spent more than $134.2 million on these services with federal grants covering more than $129.6 million of the spending. In 2022, the USCCB spent nearly $127.4 million after getting nearly $123 million from the government.

According to the USCCB Committee on Migration, the Catholic refugee resettlement network includes more than 65 affiliate offices throughout the United States. The bishops self-report that the USCCB and its Migration and Refugee Services help resettle about 18% of refugees who enter the country every year.

The website The Pillar reported Friday evening that a memo announcing the staff cuts was emailed to U.S. bishops by USCCB General Secretary Father Michael Fuller on Feb. 7.

The memo followed White House directives to freeze federal grants and loans to non-government organizations, and statements by  Vice President JD Vance criticizing the USCCB for receiving federal money to help "resettle illegal immigrants."

Fuller informed the bishops in the memo that "to the best of my knowledge" no resettlement agencies or other non-government agencies, including Catholic Relief Services, had received reimbursement from the federal government for their services since Trump took office on Jan. 20, The Pillar reported.

On its website, Catholic Relief Services, which provides aid to the poor and other people in need in more than countries, is urging its supporters to contact their representatives in Congress to let them know that they are "deeply concerned about the Administration's recent decision to stop work on almost all U.S. foreign assistance programs."

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CNA Staff, Feb 7, 2025 / 18:40 pm (CNA).

The next National Eucharistic Congress will be held in 2029, CNA confirmed today. 

"The National Eucharistic Congress, Inc. is thrilled to share that we have begun the initial steps in preparing for the 11th National Eucharistic Congress, in 2029,"  said Jason Shanks, CEO of the National Eucharistic Congress, in an email to CNA. 

"We look forward to reuniting as an American Church to celebrate our shared Eucharistic faith."

The next iteration of the National Eucharistic Congress had last year been tentatively announced to take place in 2033, the "Year of Redemption" marking 2,000 years since Jesus' crucifixion.

The location for the major Catholic event has not been shared, and Shanks said organizers will "provide more details about the 11th National Eucharistic Congress in the future." 

The news about the date was first reported by The Pillar on Friday. 

Last July's National Eucharistic Congress, the first such event to take place on American soil since World War II, attracted tens of thousands of people for several massive sessions of Eucharistic adoration in Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium, numerous talks and workshops related to the Catholic faith, and a 60,000-participant Eucharistic procession through downtown Indianapolis.

Shanks said they are "eager to build on the grace we received during our gathering in Indianapolis this past summer."

"We recognize that the success of the previous congress can be attributed to the countless individuals who prayed and interceded for the event. So, we invite the Church to join us in praying not only for the planning of this future congress but that we might continue to Walk with One through this year of missionary sending."

The 2024 Congress was a major part of the National Eucharistic Revival, an ongoing initiative of the U.S. bishops that calls Catholics to share their rekindled love of the Eucharist, the body and blood of Jesus.

This is a developing story.

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Washington D.C., Feb 7, 2025 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday evening to create a task force to eradicate anti-Christian bias within the federal government.

The Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias will review policies in federal departments and agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). It will be led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday. The heads of other departments will also serve on the task force. 

According to the order, the task force will review policies in every department to "identify any unlawful anti-Christian policies, practices, or conduct" and recommend agency heads to end them. The task force, which will conclude in two years, will also submit reports to the president 120 days from its creation, one year after its creation, and a final report when it finishes its work.

The executive order directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to provide the task force with funding and administrative and technical support.

Trump announced his intention to create the task force Feb. 6 at the National Prayer Breakfast.

Combat targeting of Catholics, Christians, pro-life Americans

Trump's executive order laid out numerous examples of anti-Christian bias as a reference point for the types of policies the task force was created to root out, including a 2023 Richmond FBI memo that established a plan to investigate traditionalist Catholics.

"[The memo] asserted that 'radical-traditionalist' Catholics were domestic-terrorism threats and suggested infiltrating Catholic churches as 'threat mitigation,'" the executive order states. "This later-retracted FBI memorandum cited as support evidence propaganda from highly partisan sources."

In the memo, FBI officials detailed an investigation into supposed ties between what it called "radical-traditionalist" Catholics and "the far-right white nationalist movement." It recommended "trip wire or source development" within parishes that offer the Latin Mass and within online communities it deemed "radical-traditionalist."

The FBI relied on the Southern Poverty Law Center to designate "radical-traditionalist" Catholics in the memo. The FBI rescinded the memo after it was leaked to the public.

Certain regulatory actions were also listed as examples of anti-Christian bias, including rules to prohibit "discrimination" based on a person's self-asserted "gender identity."

This includes a rule issued by President Joe Biden's Department of Health and Human Services that could have forced Catholic hospitals to perform transgender surgeries on patients, including minors. The regulation would have required religious organizations to cover such surgeries in their insurance plans.

Trump's executive order also listed the DOJ's prosecution of pro-life activists under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and the comparative lack of prosecutions for attacks on Catholic churches, charities, and pro-life pregnancy resource centers as another example of bias. Trump pardoned the pro-life activists prosecuted under Biden's DOJ.

"My administration will not tolerate anti-Christian weaponization of government or unlawful conduct targeting Christians," the executive order states.

"The law protects the freedom of Americans and groups of Americans to practice their faith in peace, and my administration will enforce the law and protect these freedoms," it adds. "My administration will ensure that any unlawful and improper conduct, policies, or practices that target Christians are identified, terminated, and rectified."

Tommy Valentine, the Catholic accountability project director for CatholicVote, said the executive order is "truly welcome news for Catholics, who have seen our churches attacked to the tune of nearly 500 acts of violence and vandalism in the last five years." 

"Let nobody be confused as to whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump was a greater friend to Christians while in the White House," Valentine said in a statement. 

"Our second Catholic president facilitated the persecution and prosecution of Christians who disagreed with his anti-Christian agenda, while the current president stands strong for the safety and religious freedom of Christians everywhere," he added. "We thank the Trump administration for this order and look forward to the fruit it will bear."

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CNA Deutsch, Feb 7, 2025 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

The Paris public prosecutor's office has announced that, despite serious allegations of abuse, it will not investigate Abbé Pierre because he is no longer alive. No investigations are possible against other people who may have covered up abuse due to the statute of limitations.

"The Paris public prosecutor's office announced that the priest could no longer be investigated even after his death in 2007," ORF reported. "The crime of 'failure to report' is time-barred, so no investigations are possible here either."

Previously, the French bishops formally requested that prosecutors open a criminal investigation into allegations of sexual abuse against Abbé Pierre.

The move followed nine new allegations in a new report released Jan. 13. Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, the head of the French bishops' conference, announced the formal request in a radio interview on Jan. 17, stressing the need to uncover more victims.

Abbé Pierre founded the Emmaus Movement in Paris in 1949. Before the allegations that he sexually abused a number of people, he was considered one of the most popular and well-known figures in the Catholic Church of France. He was best known for advocating for the homeless in France and for introducing the Trève Hivernale (Winter Rest) law in the 1950s, which still protects tenants from evictions during the winter months.

The allegations against the priest first came to light in 2023, when Emmaus France received the testimony of a woman who accused Abbé Pierre of sexual abuse. Further testimony was published in an independent report commissioned by Emmaus in July 2024. The documented allegations span several decades, from the 1950s to the 2000s, and the victims include Emmaus employees, volunteers, and young women close to Abbé Pierre.

The French bishops released the files on Abbé Pierre in September 2023. These documents would normally have remained sealed in the National Archives Center of the Church of France until 2082. But it is now acknowledged that from a legal point of view, the French state cannot do anything about the matter.

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, CNA's German-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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Bangalore, India, Feb 7, 2025 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

Dozens of Catholic families of the Nandagiri settlement in the remote Kandhamal district of eastern Odisha state in India said on Feb. 5 they were "thrilled" when 23 Catholic bishops from across the country visited and prayed with them.

Christians performed traditional animist dances with men wearing buffalo horns while women in colorful dresses offered flower bouquets to each bishop and young dancers led the bishops into the church.

 As Cuttack-Bhubaneswar Archbishop John Barwa introduced each bishop, the 300 Catholics in attendance offered loud applause.

"We have heard so much about your faith and perseverance. We are all happy to come here and meet you," Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore told the gathering, speaking on behalf of the two dozen bishops who visited troubled Kandhamal after the weeklong assembly of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI).

The bishops had their first stop in Kandhamal after more than five hours of traveling by bus from the Odisha capital of Bhubaneswar.

"We are thrilled as the visit of so many bishops is recognition of our suffering and witness," Chrisanto Mallick, one of the seniors in the Nandagiri Catholic community, told CNA.

Catholics driven out of homes, put on government land

The travails of the 54 Catholic families of Beticola began in August 2008 when they were banished from the village of Beticola and transplanted by the government to Nandagiri during a wave of anti-Christian violence in Kandhamal district, 150-250 miles southwest of Bhubaneswar. 

The persecution followed the murder of Hindu nationalist monk Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati in Kandhamal. Leaders touted the Aug. 23 murder as a "Christian conspiracy" and called for revenge on Christians. 

Hindu nationalist outfits banned Christianity in Kandhamal and Christians were ordered into Hindu temples to recant their faith in Christ. Christians who defied the order were even burnt alive, buried alive, and dismembered. 

Nearly 100 Christians were killed, while over 300 churches and 6,000 houses were plundered, rendering 56,000 homeless.

During the widespread violence, the Catholics of Beticola fled while their dwellings were looted and destroyed and their church, built in 1956, was razed to the ground.

When the violence subsided, the Catholics tried to return to the village. But they were chased out, with their persecutors vowing never to let them return. The government subsequently put them up in tents on a remote government strip of land on a mountain slope.

Each family was granted plots on which small houses were built for them. 

"My family had 20 acres of land and were living comfortably from a farming income when we had to leave Beticola without anything," Sunil Mallick told CNA.

"Here, we had to restart life from zero and I used to go for work as a daily wager for survival," said Mallick, who also served as the catechist at the community church.

"The Church extended great support to take care of our needs, arranging admissions in hostel schools even in other dioceses," said Mallick, whose three children, including his blind daughter, are pursuing higher studies.

Thomas Mallick, another Catholic of Nandagiri, also had to struggle to get work as a daily laborer to take care of his family after being cast out from Beticola.

"But luckily, for us, the Church arranged hostel schooling for our children," he said. "Not only for my family — all the families here are happy as their children have come up with an education." 

"That would not have happened in Beticola," he argued. "That way, it has been a blessing for us."

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CNA Staff, Feb 7, 2025 / 15:30 pm (CNA).

Virginia McCaskey, principal owner of the Chicago Bears football team and a committed pro-life Catholic, died Thursday at age 102.

"While we are sad, we are comforted knowing Virginia Halas McCaskey lived a long, full, faith-filled life and is now with the love of her life on earth," her family said in a statement as reported by the Chicago Tribune.

A deeply dedicated Catholic and mother of 11 who was referred to as "The First Lady of the NFL," McCaskey for over four decades quietly guided the team that her father, George "Papa Bear" Halas, founded. Halas, a legendary coach, was also a co-founder of the NFL and lends his name to the NFC Championship trophy.

After her only sibling and the team's original heir, George "Mugs" Halas Jr., died unexpectedly in 1979, McCaskey reluctantly inherited ownership of the Bears when her father died in 1983. Three years later, the Bears won their first Super Bowl.

Though the team has yet to hoist the Vince Lombardi trophy since then and various Bears executives have attracted fans' ire over the years, McCaskey herself was "always was respected and admired in Chicago and NFL circles alike," a Tribune columnist noted. 

McCaskey's husband of over 60 years, Ed, died in 2003. She is survived by nine of her 11 children — six boys and three girls, two sons having died of cancer — as well as 21 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren, the Chicago Tribune reported. 

"Faith, family, and football — in that order — were her north stars and she lived by the simple adage to always 'do the right thing,'" NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a Thursday statement.

"The Bears that her father started meant the world to her, and he would be proud of the way she continued the family business with such dedication and passion."

Faith journey

Virginia Marion Halas McCaskey was born on Jan. 5, 1923. Her father, George, wrote in his autobiography that he was so certain she would be a boy that he and his wife "didn't even have a name for a girl."

Her parents were both children of immigrants, her mother being a German Lutheran and her father a Czech Catholic, McCaskey explained in a 2015 interview posted to YouTube. 

McCaskey's paternal grandmother, who lived with them for part of every year, prayed the rosary every day, and McCaskey later realized many of her grandmother's prayers "must have been for me and my brother." Later in life, McCaskey's mother converted to Catholicism. 

The young McCaskey was educated by Benedictine sisters at St. Hillary's elementary school for eighth grade and Chicago's now-shuttered St. Scholastica High School before attending college at Drexel Institute, now Drexel University, in Philadelphia.

Through a Bible study class in the early 1970s, McCaskey said she got connected to the devotional group World Apostolate of Fatima, formerly the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima. She also became acquainted with mothers of girls attending Willows Academy, a local all-girls school under the care of the Catholic personal prelature Opus Dei. McCaskey later became a cooperator to support the work of Opus Dei.

McCaskey said over the years she cultivated spiritual practices such as attending early morning daily Mass, taking time for praying the rosary and personal prayer, listening to Relevant Radio, and reading spiritual books. In her later life, she would often offer Nativity sets as gifts to families to help them celebrate the Advent and Christmas seasons. 

She added that she and her husband tried to raise their large family "God's way." The family gathered to pray the rosary almost every night after dinner.

Pat McCaskey, Ed and Virginia's fourth child and a Bears vice president and board member, expressed appreciation for the strong faith his mother and father passed on to him and his family in an interview with the National Catholic Register in 2018. 

A frequent speaker at the March for Life Chicago, the younger McCaskey co-founded Sports Faith International, an organization that honors "people who are successful in sports while leading exemplary lives." 

"For our family, being Catholic is not incidental … Being a good Catholic is more important than winning, but that doesn't mean you can't win as a good Catholic. Ideally, the two go together," Pat McCaskey told the Register.

'Countless lives have been saved'

American Life League (ALL), a Virginia-based national pro-life group, praised McCaskey on Thursday as one of the group's "dearest supporters."

"Through the work and tireless support of the McCaskey family, there is no doubt that countless lives have been saved," ALL said Thursday. 

Speaking to ALL's magazine in 2020, McCaskey related the story of how in the early days of her marriage, she and her husband learned that an abortion facility would soon open directly across the street from their local hospital. 

"It felt like a personal attack on our values and our neighborhood," McCaskey recalled.

"We knew we needed to do something more than write letters and write a few small checks to different organizations," she continued, saying she soon after learned about the pro-life advocacy work of ALL and remained a strong supporter of the organization for the rest of her life.

"These people were going all out for what they believed in. They were giving more than just lip service to the cause," McCaskey said of ALL. 

She told the magazine she was particularly thankful to God for the invention of the sonogram because a mother "can face the reality that this is a living child," not a blob of tissue.

In 2009, McCaskey received a "People of Life" award from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat of Pro-life Activities. The People of Life award is presented to individuals who have "demonstrated their lifetime commitment to the pro-life movement, to promoting respect for the dignity of the human person, and to advocacy for an end to the culture of death in this nation."

"I accept this on behalf of all the little old ladies who … write checks, and pray rosaries, and listen to Relevant Radio and who usually struggle to get to daily Mass … I salute you," McCaskey said in accepting the honor at the time.

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Seattle, Wash., Feb 7, 2025 / 10:15 am (CNA).

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio capped a whirlwind tour of Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic this week by signing fresh migration accords designed to stem northbound flows. But the trip was as much about Central America as it was about China as the Trump administration aims to reclaim American influence and authority in the continent away from its Far East rival.

Rubio began his trip in Panama, where he attended Mass at Our Lady of Mercy in Panama City, a nod to the Catholic faith he often cites as a guiding force in his life. Talks swiftly pivoted to U.S. priorities: curbing illegal migration, restraining Beijing's influence, and ensuring authoritarian regimes face repercussions for driving mass migration.

During meetings with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, Rubio warned of China's "influence and control" near the canal's logistics chain. In response, Mulino announced that Panama would let its participation in Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative expire, effectively distancing the nation from a deal it had signed in 2017.

Archbishop José Domingo Ulloa Mendieta pointedly defended Panama's sovereignty and the canal's neutrality, calling it a "symbol of national identity." 

"The people of Panama have demonstrated the ability to administer and maintain the canal's neutrality, open to the world," he said.

Ulloa Mendieta added that any outside claims on the canal "don't know the generational struggle and sacrifice" of Panamanians, urging international respect for the nation's territory and for "dialogue and common sense" to avoid conflict.

New migration accords

Rubio devoted much of his trip to forging alliances to reduce unauthorized journeys to the U.S. In Panama, Rubio observed a U.S.-funded flight at Albrook International Airport repatriating dozens of undocumented Colombians, a measure officials say has curbed illicit crossings through the country's Darién region.

In El Salvador, Rubio lauded President Nayib Bukele's commitment to accept deportees regardless of nationality, while Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo agreed to increase U.S. deportation flights by 40%, emphasizing that job creation and reintegration programs are crucial for tackling emigration's root causes.

A recent clash with Colombia loomed in the background. After facing a threat of 25% tariffs on key exports, Bogotá reversed an earlier refusal to receive U.S. deportees — a move that demonstrated Washington's readiness to impose economic penalties if nations spurn its migration agenda. 

Shortly before Rubio's visit, Red Clamor, a regional Catholic Church network that advocates for migrants, refugees, and trafficking survivors, issued a statement condemning the Trump administration's deportation-heavy posture, saying it fosters fear and erodes the "fundamental rights" of those escaping violence. 

The group cited Pope Francis' call to "welcome, protect, promote, and integrate" migrants, contending that heightened national-security measures and detention without due process conflict with essential humanitarian principles, echoing the criticism from Church leaders in the U.S.

Recasting U.S. aid strategy

Another key element of Rubio's tour focused on clarifying the Trump administration's freeze on most foreign aid while programs are reviewed for alignment with U.S. priorities — a move the USCCB and Catholic Relief Services urged Congress to more broadly resume.

Rubio underscored that certain initiatives would receive waivers despite the freeze. He noted that the Dominican Republic's operations targeting narcotics and transnational crime merit continued U.S. support, pointing to record drug seizures preventing narcotics from reaching American streets.

In addition, Rubio singled out Haiti's spiraling crisis as qualifying for an exception. Dominican President Luis Abinader emphasized the urgent threat that Haiti's instability poses to the entire region, warning that gang violence could trigger "uncontrollable" migration waves.

Acknowledging that Haitian governance "belongs to the people of Haiti themselves," Rubio said the U.S. would back the Kenyan-led mission aimed at stabilizing gang-held areas.

Hard line on Venezuela

Rubio's trip ended in the Dominican Republic with a striking display of U.S. resolve toward Venezuela's leftist government. Dominican prosecutors, alongside U.S. officials, placed a "seized" notice on a Dassault Falcon 200 jet under Venezuelan ownership, allegedly used to sidestep U.S. sanctions.

"The seizure of this Venezuelan aircraft, used for evading U.S. sanctions and money laundering, is a powerful example of our resolve to hold the illegitimate Maduro regime accountable for its illegal actions," Rubio posted on X. 

He reiterated that recent talks between White House Envoy Richard Grenell and President Nicolás Maduro solely aimed at pressing Caracas to accept deported Venezuelans and free U.S. citizens held as political prisoners — not at recognizing Maduro's legitimacy.

Labeling Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua "enemies of humanity," Rubio blamed Maduro's government for displacing millions of Venezuelans and accused Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega of persecuting the Catholic Church, while deeming Cuba's jailing of dissenters an "international disgrace."

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Vatican City, Feb 6, 2025 / 15:50 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis reiterated his desire for "full unity" with other Christian confessions when he received in audience young priests and monks of the Oriental Orthodox churches.

Oriental Orthodox churches, as differentiated from the Eastern Orthodox churches, only accept the first three ecumenical councils.

"The proclamation of the common faith requires, first of all, that we love one another," the Holy Father said. As on Feb. 5, during his general audience, the pontiff did not read the speech he had prepared because he is suffering from a "bad cold."

However, those in attendance received a copy of the text during the meeting that took place in the Casa Santa Marta.

The Holy Father told the group of young priests and monks of the Oriental Orthodox churches, including Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Malankar, and Syriac, that "Christians who remain divided are like fragments that must find unity in the confession of the one faith."

"We need each other to be able to confess the faith," he added.

This audience was part of a curriculum for young Oriental Orthodox priests and monks organized by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. This was the fifth time such a meeting has taken place.

Previously, similar study trips have been made for Catholic priests prepared by the Armenian Patriarchate of Etchmiadzin.

Pope Francis emphasized the "special relevance" of this visit in the year that marks the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical council (A.D. 325) in which the symbol (Greek: symbolon/summary) of faith common to all Christians was professed.

The pontiff expressed his gratitude for the "exchange of gifts" promoted by the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox churches and noted that "it allows the dialogue of charity to go hand in hand with the dialogue of truth."

The ecumenical dimension of the 'symbol of faith'

He then reflected on the ecumenical dimension of the term "symbol," noting that in the theological sense, the concept is understood as "the set of the principal truths of the Christian faith, which complement and harmonize with each other."

"In this sense, the Nicene Creed, which succinctly sets forth the mystery of our salvation, is undeniable and incomparable," the pontiff said.

From an ecclesiological point of view, he said the creed also "unites believers."

"In ancient times, the Greek word 'symbolon' indicated one half of a tile split in two to be presented as a sign of recognition [by perfectly fitting with the other half]. The symbol is therefore a sign of recognition and communion between believers," he said.

For this reason, he pointed out that faith is a "symbol" that only finds "its full unity together with others."

"Therefore, we need each other to be able to confess the faith, which is why the Nicene Creed, in its original version, uses the plural 'we believe,'" he said.

Pope Francis referred to a third meaning of the creed on the spiritual level and asked his listeners not to forget that the creed is above all "a prayer of praise that unites us to God: Union with God necessarily passes through unity among us, we Christians, who proclaim the same faith."

"If the devil divides, the creed unites!" the pope said. He added: "How beautiful it would be if, every time we proclaim the creed, we felt united with Christians of all traditions!" Finally, everyone prayed the Nicene Creed together, each in his own language.

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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CNA Staff, Feb 6, 2025 / 16:20 pm (CNA).

Catholic International University (CIU) is launching a master's degree program designed to form Catholic-minded students in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. 

The fully remote Catholic university was founded in 1983, well before the rise of remote learning, with the mission to "communicate the mind and heart of the Church in support of the new evangelization." CIU's master of science degree in the prudential design of emerging technologies is designed to teach graduates how to integrate Christian principles into the design of artificial intelligence (AI). 

The program organizers took inspiration from the growing commentary from the Catholic Church about AI, including the Vatican's recent "Antiqua et Nova" note, which offered guidelines on the use of AI and its ethical and anthropological implications. 

"The Church is most worried about preserving the dignity of the human person," Mark Amelang, vice president of marketing and communications at CIU, told CNA. 

"In order for higher education to make a difference, it must be at the intersection of science and a human-centric approach," Amelang said. 

In recent years, Pope Francis has spoken frequently about potential challenges the Church sees with AI. For instance, Pope Francis last month reflected that AI must be ordered to the human person and serve the common good rather than human dignity being "subordinated in the pursuit of efficiency."

"Since the pope started to message about the potential challenges the Church sees with AI, we have been creating a program to address them," Amelang said. "We have assembled some of the top Catholic AI experts to design and run our program." 

But Amelang noted that "what hasn't yet been addressed" in Catholic circles is how much higher education could make a difference in the field of AI. 

"At Catholic International, we are the only Catholic university to develop a program specifically designed to train students to make a positive impact on AI applications, ensuring that they remain person-centric," Amelang said. 

The new degree is part of a new "emerging technologies" department at CIU. What makes the department "so unique," Amelang said, is that it brings together technology and theology.

"Most universities draw stark lines between the engineering departments and those of theology and philosophy! And to make a solution work, both sides of campus need to be integrated," Amelang said. 

Michael Pencina, board of trustees member at Catholic International University and chief data scientist and director at Duke AI Health, said that CIU is "committed to advancing technology in a way that prioritizes the dignity and well-being of every person."

"We are shaping a future where technology advances and uplifts humanity by equipping graduates with the tools to integrate human-centered principles into applications of artificial intelligence," Pencina said in a Feb. 6 press release.

CIU's current president, Sophia Aguirre, has a particular interest in artificial intelligence. Before her time as president, Aguirre — an economist — took a one-year sabbatical to study AI.  

"Dr. Aguirre is a well-known economist and was bothered by the seemingly poor job AI was doing with larger mathematical economic data sets. It occurred to her that the same kind of technology was also being applied to the medical field," Amelang said. "As an academic, she felt called to research the problem."

"This desire to make a difference in the development of AI solutions stuck with her as she was asked to lead Catholic International University," Amelang noted.

The program brings together technological, philosophical, and theological educators.   

"As God would have it, we were able to gather some of the greatest minds in artificial intelligence that are deeply Catholic," Amelang said. "We welcomed them into Catholic International University, where they worked alongside philosophers and theologians to create this program that teaches from the heart of the Church." 

CIU hopes to form all sorts of students — whether technically or philosophically minded. 

"The program is designed to support both technically minded engineering types and philosophically, theologically inclined thinkers," Amelang noted. "Both types of students are welcome and can thrive in this program."

CIU changed its name from Catholic Distance University last year under Aguirre's leadership. 

"At the time of [Aguirre's] arrival, the university was still called Catholic Distance University (CDU)," Amelang said. "She was given the task of growing the university and expanding its breadth in order to spread the joy of the truth to God's people in more facets than just theology." 

In addition to the emerging technologies department, the university has since developed its liberal arts program as well as an ecclesial administration and management program.

To learn more about the emerging technologies department at Catholic International University, visit https://catholiciu.edu/emerging-tech/. 

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 6, 2025 / 16:50 pm (CNA).

The Roman Catholic bishops of Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina, have issued a joint statement about immigration policy and enforcement in the United States, describing the issue as "both complicated and emotional."

In their statement, Bishop Michael T. Martin, OFM Conv, of the Diocese of Charlotte and Bishop Luis Rafael Zarama of the Diocese of Raleigh indicate that while "there is room for disagreement and discussion with respect to immigration policy, we wish to remind our more than 1 million Catholic faithful in North Carolina of the stated positions of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, formed by Catholic social teaching, and encourage personal reflection and formation on these issues."

"We respect our borders and laws AND support immigration policy reforms and care for those who are already here, many already contributing members of our society for years. We do not see these ends as mutually exclusive," the bishops state.

"We recognize there are persons residing in the United States without legal documentation and we do not condone violating the law," the bishops make clear. "We will not counsel anyone to thwart or resist proper law enforcement but will continue to provide education about individuals' legal rights," they add.

At the same time, the bishops continue, "as Catholics, we advocate for the recognition that immigrants, as members of God's human family, are deserving of and must be granted the appropriate dignity as our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Jesus himself was a refugee and taught us to welcome the stranger and to realize that in welcoming the stranger, we are welcoming Christ himself."

Referencing Catholic social teaching, the Tarheel State bishops call for "lasting solutions to our immigration system" and specify four principles upon which those solutions should be based.

Those principles include recognizing the right of people to migrate "to sustain their lives and the lives of their families … when a person cannot achieve a meaningful life in his or her own land."

In addition, the bishops affirm that "Catholics should not view the work of the federal government and its immigration control as negative or evil. Those who work to enforce our nation's immigration laws often do so out of a sense of loyalty to the common good and compassion for poor people seeking a better life. In an ideal world, there would be no need for immigration control. The Church recognizes that this ideal world has not yet been achieved."

When it comes to enforcement, the bishops hold that "a country must regulate its borders with justice and mercy." 

"Immigration policy that allows people to live here and contribute to society for years but refuses to offer them the opportunity to achieve legal status perpetuates a permanent underclass and does not serve the common good," the bishops state. "It is the position of the Catholic Church that pastoral, educational, medical, and social services provided by the Church are never conditioned on legal status."

Finally, the bishops indicate that "humanitarian protections for vulnerable families should be a priority."

"Catholic teaching maintains that families are the foundation of society, and the success of any civilization hinges on the well-being of its families. For generations, families living in the United States have included combinations of citizens and noncitizens."

In their conclusion, North Carolina's bishops "urge the preservation and strengthening of access to asylum, refugee resettlement, protections for unaccompanied children, assistance for victims of human trafficking, temporary forms of relief, and other humanitarian protections already enshrined in our law."

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