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null / Credit: Jonathan Weiss/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 16, 2025 / 12:34 pm (CNA).Budget initiatives backed by several Republican lawmakers to cut federal funding for Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for the next fiscal year are facing opposition from prominent Catholic organizations.For Medicaid, the proposal would add work requirements for able-bodied adults under the age of 65 if they do not have young children as dependents. It would also shift some Medicaid costs to states if they offer benefits to immigrants who are in the country illegally.The proposed SNAP reforms would shift some costs to states and raise the work requirement age from 54 to 64. It would also implement stricter verifications to ensure money is not given to immigrants who are in the country illegally.These initiatives could potentially save the federal government more than $100 billion annually but could also cause millions of people to lose SNAP and Medi...
null / Credit: Thomas Andreas/ShutterstockCNA Staff, May 16, 2025 / 14:09 pm (CNA).Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news:HHS investigates conscience rights caseThe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is reviewing a hospital for compliance with federal conscience protections following reports that the hospital had denied ultrasound technicians exemptions from participating in abortions.The department's Office for Civil Rights on May 12 announced it had opened a review to investigate violations of free exercise and conscience protections.Though unnamed in the HHS announcement, the legal group involved in the case confirmed in a statement that it had contact with the HHS about a hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico.The legal group American Center for Law and Justice alleged that Presbyterian Hospital was requiring religious staff to assist in abortions. The hospital had changed its policy in late 2024, requiring participation in abortion proc...
Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. / Credit: Harrison Keely, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsCNA Staff, May 16, 2025 / 10:39 am (CNA).A Georgia hospital is requiring that a pregnant woman who was declared brain dead more than 90 days ago remain on life support until the birth of her unborn child.In February, doctors declared 30-year-old Adriana Smith, a nurse who was nine weeks pregnant, brain dead after discovering multiple blood clots in her brain.According to Smith's mother, April Newkirk, after visiting the hospital complaining of painful headaches, Smith was "given medication" and sent home. Smith's boyfriend found her "gasping for air" the next morning and called 911. After a CT scan, doctors discovered the blood clots and eventually determined nothing could be done.Emory University Hospital in Atlanta informed Newkirk that due to Georgia state law, because Smith is brain dead and no longer considered at risk, her medical team is legally required to keep her on life su...
St. Hedwig's Cathedral in Berlin, Germany. / Credit: Cedric BLN via Wikimedia (public domain)Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 16, 2025 / 11:21 am (CNA).Here is a roundup of Catholic world news that you might have missed this week:Berlin pharmacist ordered to give up practice after refusing to sell 'morning-after' pillBerlin pharmacist Andreas Kersten was forced to end his practice this month after he refused to sell the so-called "morning-after" pill for reasons of conscience, according to CNA Deutsch, CNA's German-language news partner.Kersten was forced to withdraw his license as a pharmacist after the higher administrative court of Berlin-Brandenburg acquitted him of misconduct in June 2024 but ruled that pharmacists who cannot reconcile the sale of the morning-after pill must give up their profession."It is regrettable that pharmacists are denied the right to freedom of conscience when they adopt a pro-life attitude," Kersten said. "I cannot reconcile the so-called 'morning a...
Meetings took place this week between the head of the transitional phase in Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and U.S. President Donald Trump, in the presence of the Saudi Crown Prince, Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh. / Credit: Syrian Arab Republic Presidency Facebook pageACI MENA, May 15, 2025 / 17:33 pm (CNA).In a surprising announcement made this week from Saudi Arabia, U.S. President Donald Trump declared that the United States would fully lift its sanctions on Syria. The announcement sparked applause in the hall where Trump was speaking, echoed in the hearts of Syrians watching from afar with joy and hope.The announcement was followed by a landmark meeting between Syria's Transitional President Ahmed Al-Sharaa and Trump in the presence of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who joined via video conference.Syrian currency strengthensThe first signs of impact were immediate, according to ACI MENA, CNA's Arabic-language news partner....
Pope Leo XIV meets with the Brothers of the Christian Schools on May 15, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, May 15, 2025 / 18:03 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Thursday lamented that today's youth must deal with "relativism," "emotional instability," and "superficiality," although he called for transforming these challenges of the contemporary age into "springboards."The pontiff received the Brothers of the Christian Schools, founded by St. John Baptist de La Salle, on May 15 at the Vatican. He reminded them of the importance of experiencing teaching as a "ministry and mission" to help young people give their best according to God's plan.In his address, he listed the obstacles facing the younger generations: "Think of the isolation caused by rampant relational models increasingly marked by superficiality, individualism, and emotional instability; the spread of patterns of thought weakened by relativism; and the prevalence of rhythms and lifestyles in which the...
Vice President JD Vance speaks at a film-screening event April 1, 2025, at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Erin Granzow/Courtesy of the Heritage FoundationWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 15, 2025 / 18:23 pm (CNA).U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, both of whom are Catholic, will attend the inaugural Mass for Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pope, on Saturday, May 18.The Mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. Rome time and will be celebrated in St. Peter's Square to mark the beginning of Leo's pontificate.Vance, a convert to the faith, congratulated the Holy Father on his elevation to the papacy in a post on X following the new pope's election, saying "millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church."Shortly after his papacy was announced, prior posts on X from Leo that criticized Trump and Vance over the administration's deportation and migration policies resurfaced on an account...
Brian Burch's nomination as U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See was blocked by Senate Democrats on May 13, 2025. / Credit: Photo courtesy of CRC AdvisorsWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 15, 2025 / 18:43 pm (CNA).Senate Democrats this week blocked the confirmation of Brian Burch, President Donald Trump's nominee for U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, stalling the nomination process ahead of Pope Leo XIV's installation Mass this Sunday.Burch, co-founder of the political advocacy group CatholicVote, must now garner 60 votes in the Senate, a three-fifths majority, after Democratic senators invoked the filibuster on more than 50 low-level nominations. A filibuster is a Senate tactic allowing senators to delay or block votes by extending debate, requiring 60 votes to invoke cloture and proceed to a final vote."I never thought I'd see the day when Democrats would be willing to block the nominee for ambassador to the Holy See simply to score political points with their far-left radicals, but i...
CREDO is a new, global streaming platform for faith-driven content launching on May 28, 2025. / Credit: Castletown Media CNA Staff, May 15, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).CREDO will launch worldwide on May 28 and is on track to stream Castletown Media's newest project, "Leo XIV: A Pontiff's Path" later this year.
Charitable organizations distribute food to displaced people in shelter tents in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on June 9, 2024. / Credit: Anas-Mohammed/Shutterstock Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 15, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).The global number of internally displaced people worldwide skyrocketed to a record high of 83.4 million in 2024, according to a report released Tuesday.
