Article Archive
Please click below to view any of the articles in our archive.
Gold dome of the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta. / Credit: Rob Hainer/ShutterstockCNA Staff, May 21, 2025 / 17:33 pm (CNA).In response to national outcry over the case of Adriana Smith, a brain-dead pregnant woman on life support, the Georgia attorney general's office released a statement clarifying that the state's heartbeat law, which prohibits abortions after detection of a fetal heartbeat, does not require Smith be kept alive."There is nothing in the LIFE act that requires medical professionals to keep a woman on life support after brain death," said the statement, issued by Attorney General Chris Carr's office last week. Quoting the law itself, the statement continued: "Removing life support is not an action 'with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy.'"Doctors at Emory University Hospital declared Smith, who was nine weeks pregnant at the time, brain dead in February after she was diagnosed with multiple blood clots in her brain. According to Smith's mother, Ap...
Catholic Health building in Buffalo, New York. / Credit: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsCNA Staff, May 21, 2025 / 14:01 pm (CNA).A Catholic health care system in New York state has agreed to pay a multimillion-dollar settlement over allegations that it violated federal Medicare reporting laws. The U.S. attorney's office for the western district of New York said in a press release that Catholic Health Systems agreed to pay nearly $3.3 million in order to resolve allegations that the network "knowingly submitted or caused to be submitted false claims to the Medicare program" in violation of federal law. The government had alleged that the Catholic hospital system violated the Stark Law, a federal rule that prohibits health care entities from receiving Medicare payments for services referred by a physician with "a financial relationship to the health care entity."The prosecutor's office claimed that the Catholic health provider "had financial rela...
Pope Leo XIV at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls on May 20, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN NewsVatican City, May 21, 2025 / 14:32 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on May 20 visited St. Paul Outside the Walls Basilica, one of the papal basilicas located outside Rome, to pray at the tomb of the "apostle to the Gentiles."Upon his arrival, the Holy Father was welcomed by basilca abbot Father Donato Ogliari, OSB, and the archpriest of the basilica, Cardinal James Michael Harvey.Accompanied by Benedictine monks, custodians of the church built over the tomb of St. Paul the Apostle, Pope Leo XIV entered the basilica through the Holy Door amid the chants of the Sistine Chapel choir and the Benedictine community.He then descended to the altar of confession to venerate the tomb of St. Paul, kneeling in silence. After returning to the apse of the church, a passage from St. Paul the Apostle's Letter to the Romans was read.In his homily, delivered in Italian, the Holy Father emphasized th...
Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia speaks at a press conference for a Vatican summit on longevity on March 24, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNAWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 21, 2025 / 15:22 pm (CNA).The Pontifical Academy for Life, the elderly advocacy group AARP, and the Muslim Council of Elders this month signed a declaration promising to support elderly populations and promote research on brain health. The organizations launched the initiative in order to help safeguard the elderly from discrimination and abuse and to protect their human dignity, right to independence, and engagement in society. The leaders met at a two-day global symposium held at the Vatican titled "The Memory: Addressing the Opportunities and Challenges of an Aging Global Population."Representatives from the Vatican and AARP talked with doctors, scientists, academics, nongovernmental organizations, and nonprofits from more than 20 countries about the future of the elderly population an...
Pope Leo XIV smiles during his first general audience in St. Peter's Square on May 21, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNAVatican City, May 21, 2025 / 10:46 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV will hold a meeting of cardinals on June 13 to give the final approval to the canonizations of several beatified men and women.The ordinary public consistory, as it is called, will be the first of Leo's pontificate. Pope Francis had called for the consistory in late February, when he was in the hospital, but the date was never set.At the consistory, cardinals will vote to approve the canonizations of five beatified men and women whose causes were advanced earlier this year by Pope Francis. The vote of the cardinals marks the final step in the canonization process and allows a date for the Mass of canonization to be set.Among the almost-canonized saints expected to be discussed on June 13 is Blessed Bartolo Longo (also known as Bartholomew Longo).Longo, an Italian layman and lawyer, was a former Sata...
Credit: Gregory Dean/ShutterstockDenver, Colo., May 20, 2025 / 17:28 pm (CNA).The Archdiocese of Denver launched a vocations campaign this weekend to connect young men who may be interested in pursuing the priesthood with the archdiocese.The "Called By Name" campaign invites parishioners across the archdiocese to nominate young men ages 15 to 35 who they think may have the qualities to become a priest.The archdiocese is one of nine dioceses currently collaborating with Vianney Vocations, an organization founded in 2009 that helps support vocations efforts in Catholic dioceses around the U.S.Men who are nominated by their fellow parishioners will receive a letter from the archbishop congratulating them for being recognized.The letter encourages them to be open to God's call in their lives and invites them to connect with Father Jason Wallace, the archdiocesan director of vocations, who will send a weekly message about discernment to nominees. Nominees are also invited to attend ...
"Leo XIV: Portrait of the First American Pope," written by Matthew Bunson, vice president and editorial director at EWTN News, is the first authoritative biographical portrait of Cardinal Robert Prevost, who was elected the new Holy Father on May 8, 2025. / Credit: EWTN PublishingCNA Staff, May 20, 2025 / 17:58 pm (CNA).A new biography of Pope Leo XIV, the first pope from the United States, will be available May 21 from EWTN and is now available for preorder. "Leo XIV: Portrait of the First American Pope," written by Matthew Bunson, vice president and editorial director at EWTN News, is the first authoritative biographical portrait of Cardinal Robert Prevost, 69, who was elected the new Holy Father on May 8. The book will be officially launched at a May 22 event set to be held at the Vatican's Campo Santo Teutonico in the Aula Benedict XVI at 5:30 p.m. local time.The biography provides an "assessment of his three fundamental roles as a successor to the apostles: his s...
With Speaker of the House Mike Johnson by his side, President Donald Trump speaks to the press following a House Republican meeting at the U.S. Capitol on May 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 20, 2025 / 18:28 pm (CNA).While speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said he likes Pope Leo XIV and looks forward to meeting with the pope's elder brother, Louis Prevost, at the White House."I like the pope and I like the pope's brother," Trump told reporters after meeting with House Republicans in an attempt to rally support behind a budget reconciliation bill.Trump noted that the pope's brother Louis "is a major MAGA fan," alluding to the "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan."I look forward to getting him to the White House," Trump said. "I want to shake his hand. I want to give him a big hug."??PRESIDENT TRUMP: I like the Pope, and I like the Pope's brother. You know he's a major ...
Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City Missouri. / Credit: eurobanks/ShutterstockSt. Louis, Mo., May 20, 2025 / 12:32 pm (CNA).Republican lawmakers in Missouri approved a new referendum last week that, if passed by voters, could reinstate many of the state's pro-life laws, largely undoing a previous statewide referendum that expanded abortion rights a few months ago. The ballot measure, HJR73, would ask voters if they want to allow abortion only in the case of a medical emergency, fetal abnormality, or rape or incest. It also would ban public funding for any abortions not done because of medical emergency or rape or incest. In addition, the referendum would allow the state General Assembly to enact laws that regulate the provision of abortions, abortion facilities, and abortion providers to ensure the health and safety of pregnant mothers.The measure would also constitutionally ban hormones, puberty blockers, and surgeries for "gender transition" for minors. Missour...
Planned Parenthood gets millions of dollars in federal support each year. / Credit: Ken Wolter/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 20, 2025 / 14:50 pm (CNA).Two American Catholic bishops are hailing a Republican-led legislative effort to end certain taxpayer funds for abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood as well as an attempt to block funding for transgender drugs and surgeries for children.Proposed budget language currently being considered in the U.S. House of Representatives would prevent Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers from receiving Medicaid reimbursements for any services. It would also end all reimbursements for transgender drugs or surgeries that doctors prescribe for children."Americans should not be forced to subsidize abortions and 'gender transition' services with their tax dollars," Toledo, Ohio, Bishop Daniel Thomas and Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, said in a joint statement on Monday from the U.S. Conference ...
