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Harvard University professor of mathematics and biology Martin Nowak speaks at the annual conference of the Society of Catholic Scientists on June 8, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNAWashington D.C., Jun 10, 2025 / 08:50 am (CNA).Harvard professor of mathematics and biology Martin Nowak focused on math as a path to God during a presentation at the 2025 annual conference of the Society of Catholic Scientists in Washington, D.C.During a June 8 lecture titled "Does Mathematics Lead Us to God?" Nowak said that among other things, math can be viewed as "an argument for the existence of God."Harvard professor Martin Nowak's discussion of mathematics was a hot topic at the Society of Catholic Scientists conference on June 8, 2025, especially given recent attention to Pope Leo XIV having earned a degree in mathematics at Villanova University. Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNAReferencing St. Augustine, Nowak said math is like "an intelligible object." "We judge mathemati...
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops headquarters in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Farragutful, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia CommonsWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 10, 2025 / 09:20 am (CNA).Since last year, there has been a 32% decline in U.S. child abuse allegations against Catholic clergy, according to the 2024 annual report of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection. Overall, "902 allegations were reported by 855 victims-survivors of child sexual abuse by clergy," the report said, compared with 1,308 allegations by 1,254 survivors last year. Covering July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, the annual report is based on a survey of 195 U.S. Catholic dioceses and eparchies, drawn from data collected by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University as well as an audit by StoneBridge Business Partners. The annual reporting stems f...
Grandly co-founder and director Pili Abouchaar (right) discusses the apostolate's work with grandparents on "EWTN Pro-Life Weekly" on June 4, 2025. / Credit: "EWTN Pro-Life Weekly"/ScreenshotWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 10, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA)."What if the most important thing that God wants you to do is still in front of you, and that is passing on the faith to your grandchildren?" That's the proposition Pili Abouchaar focuses on as co-founder and director of Grandly, an apostolate dedicated to helping grandparents do just that.In an interview on "EWTN Pro-Life Weekly," Abouchaar acknowledged that grandparents often feel helpless and hopeless in regard to this mission, but Grandly can make a difference in their approach and outlook. "The main thing that we try to tackle in our mission in Grandly is to try to give grandparents hope to help them bridge that generational gap between how they were raised and how youth culture is moving right now."The apostolate, which cel...
The Texas State Capitol in Austin. / Credit: Gang Liu/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Jun 9, 2025 / 16:06 pm (CNA).A federal judge has overturned the long-standing "Texas Dream Act" in a move the state's Catholic bishops say undermines "just" immigration reform efforts. After the U.S. Department of Justice sued the state of Texas over the matter last week, U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor blocked the law, which had enabled some noncitizens living illegally in Texas to qualify for in-state tuition at the state's public universities and colleges.Reed ruled that the law was "unconstitutional and invalid" because it applied to those who were "not lawfully present in the United States."Enacted in 2001, the law made in-state tuition available for noncitizen students who graduated from a local high school and had lived in Texas for at least three years prior to graduation, including those who weren't in the country legally. The law required that students pledge to apply for permanent res...
Bishop William Byrne of the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts, gives the keynote address at the 2024 National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., Feb. 8, 2024. / Credit: EWTNWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 9, 2025 / 17:08 pm (CNA).As lawmakers consider rules related to the development of artificial intelligence (AI), the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is urging them to prioritize "the life and dignity of the human person and the common good.""Artificial intelligence is rapidly shaping the future of our society," Bishop William D. Byrne, the chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Communications, said in a statement."As pastors entrusted with the care of human life and dignity, we urge lawmakers to heed the call of our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, to help ensure that AI is developed with responsibility and discernment so that it may truly benefit every person," Byrne said.Although Congress is not currently debating comprehensive AI regulations, the...
Waymo cars are set on fire and vandalized during a protest against immigration raids on June 8, 2025, in Los Angeles. / Credit: Nick Ut/Getty ImagesCNA Staff, Jun 9, 2025 / 17:38 pm (CNA).Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, the nation's largest Catholic community, issued a statement calling for "restraint and calm" as tensions in Los Angeles escalated over the weekend after protests sparked by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of unauthorized immigrants turned violent."I am troubled by today's immigration enforcement raids in Los Angeles, and I am praying for our community," Gomez said in a statement issued June 6."We all agree that we don't want undocumented immigrants who are known terrorists or violent criminals in our communities. But there is no need for the government to carry out enforcement actions in a way that provokes fear and anxiety among ordinary, hardworking immigrants and their families."In his stament, Gomez called on Congress to fix t...
Pew's latest research released June 5, 2025, found that while Christianity still remains the world's largest religion, Islam's growth outpaced every religion over the course of a decade. / Credit: Arthimedes/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 9, 2025 / 18:08 pm (CNA).While Christianity remained the largest global religion from 2010 to 2020, the latest Pew Research study found that followers of Islam outpaced every world religion in population over the course of the decade.The recently released report, "How the Global Religious Landscape Changed from 2010 to 2020," includes data from over 2,700 sources, including national census, demographic surveys, and population registers. Some of the estimates made in the report originate from data about 2020 that was not made available till 2024 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which delayed census data in at least 65 countries.The report covered 201 countries, focusing on seven religious categories: Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhi...
Mass in a Catholic church in Cotia, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Jan. 25, 2020. / Credit: wtondossantos/ShuttestockSao Paulo, Brazil, Jun 9, 2025 / 13:30 pm (CNA).The percentage of Brazilians who identify as Catholic fell to 56.75% in 2022, a reduction of 8.4% compared with 2010, according to data from the 2022 demographic census released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics.Despite the reduction, Catholicism remains by far the largest religion in the country, followed by evangelicalism and Brazilians who identify as having no religion, whose percentage has grown by 1.4% since 2010, accounting for 9.28% of the population. Evangelicals posted growth of 5.2% during the period, comprising 26.9% of the country's population of just over 203 million people.The trend of increasing numbers of people without a religious affiliation was discussed by the bishops during a January meeting in Rio de Janeiro. The archbishop of Porto Alegre and president of the National Conference o...
Over 10,000 pilgrims joined together at the national Marian shrine in Knock, Ireland, to mark the 40th anniversary of the All Ireland Rosary Rally on June 8, 2025. / Credit: Photo courtesy of All Ireland Rosary RallyDublin, Ireland, Jun 9, 2025 / 14:00 pm (CNA).This past weekend, over 10,000 pilgrims joined together at the national Marian shrine in Knock, Ireland, to mark the 40th anniversary of the All Ireland Rosary Rally.Since the rally began in 1985, it has attracted increasingly larger crowds. This year's rally included a youth conference and a prayer vigil in the basilica to welcome the feast of Pentecost. Hundreds of rally-goers joined together to create a huge human rosary outside. On Sunday morning, attendees climbed Croagh Patrick holy mountain where Mass was celebrated at noon at the summit. "We are inspired in our efforts by the rallies of Father Patrick Peyton, a [County] Mayo native who inspired millions around the globe," event organizer Father Marius O...
Cardinal Anders Arborelius of Stockholm at the consistory in St. Peter's Basilica on June 28, 2017. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNAStockholm, Sweden, Jun 9, 2025 / 14:30 pm (CNA).The conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV was first and foremost a unifying experience, despite the frantic pace and intrigue, said Swedish Cardinal Anders Arborelius."The conclave was a wonderful experience of unity in the Church and openness to the voice of the Spirit," Arborelius told CNA on June 5. "It was also very well organized."However, one of the primary challenges for the cardinals at the conclave was getting to know one another, especially those from faraway countries. During the general congregations prior to the conclave, when cardinals discussed the challenges that the Church and the new pope would face, Arborelius told the New York Times that the "cardinals don't know each other so well" and that he himself felt "lost all the time."The cardinal explained to CNA that the College of Cardinals got...
