Article Archive
Please click below to view any of the articles in our archive.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1st through November 30th.
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. / Credit: fisheradam13/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 10, 2025 / 16:00 pm (CNA).Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy made a splash at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) in Kings Point, New York, during a speech last week when he called for a painting of Jesus to be brought up from the flood-prone basement of a building on academy grounds, where it has been held since the Biden administration.Midshipmen broke out into loud and prolonged applause after Duffy, a practicing Catholic, in his April 3 speech called for the beloved painting to be restored, saying: "Can we bring Jesus up from the basement? Let's not put Jesus in the basement! Let's get him out! Let's bring him up!"The enthusiastic response prompted a surprised reaction from Duffy, who remarked: "You want Jesus up from the basement? All right, great!" "That was the loudest applause we got," he added. Painted in 1944 by U.S. Maritime Service...
null / Credit: lazyllama/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 10, 2025 / 16:30 pm (CNA).The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) are urging lawmakers in the House of Representatives to approve tens of billions of dollars in international humanitarian assistance in an upcoming appropriations bill.CRS Executive Vice President Bill O'Keefe provided testimony to the House Subcommittee on National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs earlier this month to present lawmakers with "a Catholic pro-life vision of international assistance that drives to the common good."Congress allocated nearly $70 billion in total foreign aid funding in the last fiscal year, although President Donald Trump's administration froze most of those funds for a three-month period in January. The administration intends to restore some funds, but it's unclear which organizations will continue to receive federal money.CRS receives more federal funding...
null / Credit: Brian A Jackson/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Apr 10, 2025 / 17:00 pm (CNA).Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news:Illinois upholds free speech for pro-life ministriesA federal district court has struck down a law forcing pro-life ministries to promote abortion while upholding a law requiring physicians to refer patients to abortion providers. In a split decision issued on Friday, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois found that a law compelling pregnancy centers to promote the medical "benefits" of abortions violated freedom of speech protections.U.S. District Court Judge Iain Johnston ruled that part of the law violated free speech. But the court upheld that its abortion referral requirement "doesn't compel speech" but "merely regulates professional conduct." In 2016, Illinois amended the state Health Care Right of Conscience Act to require health care providers to share benefits of abortions and refer clients ...
Father Aaron Nord, pastor of St. Stephen Protomartyr Church, carries the Eucharist through St. Louis on the way to his parish. / Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNACNA Staff, Apr 10, 2025 / 17:30 pm (CNA).Organizers of the 2025 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage shared details today about the planned 3,340-mile trek that will see Jesus in the Eucharist carried across 10 U.S. states by a cadre of young Catholics, with members of the public invited to join in walking and special events along the way, beginning May 18.The pilgrimage, dubbed the Drexel Route, will open with a Mass of Thanksgiving in Indianapolis on Sunday, May 18. The route then heads northwest through Illinois to Iowa before turning to the southwest and descending through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. From Texas the route continues roughly west through New Mexico, Arizona, and finally California, culminating in a Mass, Eucharistic procession, and festival on June 22 in Los Angeles. As with last year's ground...
Kansas Capitol in Topeka. / Credit: Dave Newman/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 10, 2025 / 18:00 pm (CNA).The Kansas House and Senate voted successfully to override Gov. Laura Kelly's veto of a bill that will protect the religious liberty of adoptive parents and foster parents on issues related to gender identity and sexual orientation.House lawmakers voted 87-38 and Senate lawmakers voted 31-9, which exceeds the two-thirds supermajority needed to override a veto. Although the governor is a Democrat, the Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers of the state's Legislature.The new law, which takes effect immediately, prohibits the Kansas Department for Children and Families from enacting any policies that would force an adoptive parent or foster parent to affirm support for gender ideology or homosexuality to obtain a license to adopt or foster children.Under this law, a person cannot be denied a license based on his or her "sincerely held religious or moral b...
St. Joseph Cathedral in Buffalo, New York. / Credit: CiEll/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Apr 10, 2025 / 14:30 pm (CNA).More than a dozen parishes in the Diocese of Buffalo, New York, have received a temporary reprieve from the Vatican regarding planned mergers as the churches petition the Holy See to halt parts of the diocese's renewal plan. Bishop Michael Fisher announced in May 2024 that the diocese would be merging over a third of its 160 parishes, calling the move an effort to "reinvigorate the Catholic faith in western New York." In September the diocese said it would see a total of 118 worship sites remain open, down from 196. Multiple parishes in the diocese appealed the decision to the Vatican, asking the Dicastery for the Clergy to review Fisher's proposal. Local media reported this week that 14 parishes received letters from the dicastery confirming that their respective mergers would be suspended while the Vatican reviews the plans. The request for the suspen...
An aerial view shows rescue teams working at the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on April 9, 2025, a day after the collapse of its roof. / Credit: ALFRED DAVIES/AFP via Getty ImagesVatican City, Apr 10, 2025 / 11:12 am (CNA).Pope Francis on Thursday offered prayers for the victims of a deadly nightclub collapse in the Dominican Republic that killed at least 200 people.As of Thursday morning, a reported 218 people have been killed and more than 200 others injured after the ceiling of the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo collapsed early Tuesday morning local time during a merengue concert, media reported.The Holy Father said he was "deeply saddened" by the tragic events in the Dominican Republic's capital city and offered his "prayers for the eternal repose of the deceased" in an April 10 telegram addressed to Archbishop Francisco Ozoria Acosta of Santo Domingo."His Holiness also extends his heartfelt condolences to the relatives of the deceased, togethe...
Emergency Missions volunteers at the Dos de Mayo National Hospital in Lima, Peru. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Fabrizio CacianoLima Newsroom, Apr 10, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).In one of the most poverty-stricken areas of Lima, Peru, where hunger and hopelessness have long prevailed, a man who once rejected the Church now leads a quiet revolution of solidarity.After 24 years away from the faith, Fabrizio Caciano transformed his own conversion into "Emergency Missions," a Catholic nongovernmental organization (NGO) that not only feeds people in hospitals and on the hills but also builds a future by bringing education to those forgotten by society.His story is a living testimony of how faith in action can transform lives in a country where more than 17 million Peruvians face food insecurity.Fabrizio Caciano with young children who benefit from Emergency Missions' charitable projects. Credit: Photo courtesy of Fabrizio CacianoEmergency Missions, formed by volunteers from the Santa María...
Participants march at a rally for immigrants and refugees at the Diocese of El Paso on Monday, March 24, 2025. / Credit: Father Miguel Briseño, OFM ConvWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 9, 2025 / 14:37 pm (CNA).The debate over immigration, border control, and refugee resettlement remains a hot-button topic among the general population, including U.S. Catholics, who have a wide range of stances on the issue. An array of policymakers, theologians, and representatives for Catholic aid organizations have shared their takes on the topic with CNA.In the wake of the Trump administration's funding cuts, Catholic aid organizations such as Catholic Charities and Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) USA have been outspoken in their advocacy for the restoration of aid to their programs, which benefit migrants and refugees. As part of the 90-day funding freeze, over $18 million in federal federal funding to JRS USA was frozen, though aid to select programs has since been reauthorized. Catholic Chariti...
