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The state capitol building of Yucatán, Mexico. / Credit: J. Magno, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPuebla, Mexico, Apr 11, 2025 / 15:20 pm (CNA).Mexico's Yucatán state Congress has approved the decriminalization of abortion up to 12 weeks of gestation, amending the penal code, although the state constitution continues to protect life from the moment of fertilization.The April 9 legislative action passed with 22 votes in favor and 13 against. According to a statement from the local congress, the deputies approved "the right of women and pregnant persons to decide up to 12 weeks."In addition, the penalties for a forced abortion were increased from three to eight years in prison to five and 10 years, and in the case of forced abortion with violence, the penalties increased from six to nine years to nine to 15 years in prison.Nonetheless, the protection of life remains in force in the Yucatán Constitution, which "recognizes, protects, and guarantees the right to life of every hu...
null / Credit: Andy via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 11, 2025 / 15:52 pm (CNA).The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Jubilee USA Network this week sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to pursue global debt relief initiatives that will economically serve both developing countries and the United States. In the letter, Bishop Abdallah Elias Zaidan, the chairman of the USCCB's Committee on International Justice and Peace, and Eric LeCompte, the executive director at Jubilee USA Network, argued that "building on the successes" of relief initiatives introduced by Trump during his first term could lower global debt. Jubilee USA Network on its website describes itself as "a coalition of religious, development, and advocacy groups" and "works on debt, tax, trade, and transparency policies that help end poverty."The letter stated the president previously "expanded and introduced new global debt relief initiatives … while also l...
A sign outside the Internal Revenue Service building in downtown Washington, D.C. / Credit: Rob Crandall/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Apr 11, 2025 / 16:23 pm (CNA).A federal bill proposed this week would affirm that nonprofits and charities are not receiving federal "financial assistance" simply by being granted a tax-exempt status.The Safeguarding Charity Act, introduced by Florida Rep. Greg Steube, would order that the term "federal financial assistance" in the U.S. code "shall not include any exemption from federal income tax.''The two-page bill would further direct that the government could not retroactively deem nonprofit groups as having received federal "assistance" prior to the bill's passage.Steube in a press release said the measure "is about protecting churches, religious schools, and charities from federal overreach."Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford introduced a companion bill in the U.S. Senate on Thursday. Lankford argued that tax-exempt organizations "should not live in fe...
Jimmy Lai and other demonstrators were convicted in 2021 of taking part in what the Hong Kong government argued was an "unauthorized assembly" at Victoria Park in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay neighborhood. / Credit: ??????, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 11, 2025 / 16:58 pm (CNA).The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation announced that Catholic human rights activist and political prisoner Jimmy Lai will be an honorary recipient of a 2025 Bradley Prize for being an "inspiration to all who value freedom."Lai is the founder of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily and a human rights activist who chose to stay in Hong Kong and risk imprisonment to fight for freedom against the Chinese Communist Party.The foundation said Lai "is a courageous advocate for democracy and freedom of the press, whose powerful criticisms of Beijing's control over Hong Kong have made him a target of Chinese authorities.""He is currently in prison, where he has spent more...
Photo illustration. / Credit: yougoigo/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 11, 2025 / 17:46 pm (CNA).Here is a roundup of Catholic world news that you might have missed this week:Traffickers pose as Christian missionaries to entrap victims, Thai-Phillippine law enforcement saysHuman traffickers have begun posing as Christian missionaries or pilgrims in order to pass airport controls, Philippine and Thai police reported after a recent investigation, according to a report from Agenzia Fides on Wednesday. Law enforcement recently stopped two young women, 23 and 25 years old, from being trafficked to Thailand by an older woman who claimed they were Christian missionaries. After noticing inconsistencies in their documents, airport officials detained the women, who said they were "volunteers belonging to the Catholic Church for missionary work in Thailand." Upon investigation, they discovered the older woman to be an organizer of a trafficking network that smuggles ...
Pope Francis appears at St. Peter's Basilica absent his usual papal attire on Thursday, April 10, 2025. / Credit: EWTN News/screenshotVatican City, Apr 11, 2025 / 09:38 am (CNA).A day after Pope Francis surprised pilgrims by appearing inside St. Peter's Basilica in a wheelchair, draped in a blanket and wearing a white undershirt and black pants instead of his usual white cassock and zucchetto, the Vatican on Friday offered a brief update on the 88-year-old pontiff's ongoing recovery.The pope, who has been largely absent from public life since being released from Rome's Gemelli Hospital nearly three weeks ago, was seen in the basilica Thursday with nasal tubes delivering oxygen, escorted by his personal nurse and health aides.A Vatican spokesman told journalists Friday morning that the pope had simply wanted to get some air and then spontaneously decided to extend his time outside of his Vatican residence by going to the basilica "as he was" to pray at the tomb of Pope Pius X an...
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 ...
