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The British Parliament building in London. / Credit: Marinesea/ShutterstockLondon, England, Mar 27, 2025 / 13:30 pm (CNA).A parliamentary bill that would unleash medically assisted suicide on England and Wales might not be implemented for another four years amid a growing climate of concern about the viability of such a system.According to several U.K. publications, including The Times, the Guardian, and the Catholic Herald, the future of the legislation looks uncertain since it may not take effect until 2029 following amendments to the proposed legislation.It was originally thought that the bill might take two years to implement, but Member of Parliament (MP) Kim Leadbeater, sponsor of the bill, said the delay might be as long as four years.According to Leadbeater's spokesperson, "Kim has always been clear that it's more important to get the assisted dying legislation right than to do it quickly.""The bill now contains even stronger safeguards than when it was first tabled, wi...
Pro-life advocates demonstrate at the Illinois March for Life in Springfield on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. / Credit: Diocese of SpringfieldCNA Staff, Mar 27, 2025 / 14:50 pm (CNA).Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news:Thousands gather for Illinois March for LifeMore than 2,000 participants gathered for the Illinois March for Life on Tuesday at the state Capitol building in Springfield.Dr. Christina Francis, the CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, spoke at the rally on treating mothers and babies as two patients and criticizing pro-abortion measures in the state.A participant demonstrates at the Illinois March for Life in Springfield on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. Credit: Diocese of SpringfieldOther speakers included state Rep. Adam Niemerg, former state Rep. Jeanne Ives, and Mary Kate Zander, the president of Illinois Right to Life and Illinois Right to Life Action, as well as other pro-life political and faith leader...
Mother Angelica, foundress of EWTN. / Credit: EWTNCNA Staff, Mar 27, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).The foundress of EWTN, Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation, died nine years ago, but her legacy lives on in the spiritual renewals that have resulted from the fruits of her work. Born Rita Antoinette Rizzo on April 20, 1923, she died on Easter Sunday, March 27, 2016, after a lengthy struggle with the aftereffects of a stroke. She was 92 years old.Mother Angelica founded EWTN out of a garage in Alabama in 1981, and it has since become the largest religious media network in the world. (CNA is a service of EWTN News.)Nine years after her death, EWTN viewers are still sharing their stories of how Mother Angelica's life and the network she founded continue to influence them. Here are some of those stories, edited for clarity:Daily Mass viewers"EWTN has changed my life. I faithfully watch from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. every morning in Massachusetts. My father, who is 95 years old, lives in Ma...
null / Credit: RasyidArt/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Mar 27, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).A recent Australian study based on government data found that people who attended Catholic schools saw "lifelong benefits" across employment, health, and general life satisfaction.The study, released at the beginning of this month, found that Catholic school attendees were more likely on average to be employed and to earn higher wages than attendees of Australian "government schools," with average wage differences ranging from 4% to 11%.Commissioned by the Victorian Catholic Education Authority (VCEA), the study also found other lifelong benefits, including that attendees were more likely to have "higher life satisfaction" and to have better general health than public school attendees.Catholic school attendees were also more likely to donate to charity and to be working in an industry that directly benefits the public than public and independent school attendees.Andrew Wade, lead researcher on the stu...
Bishop Abdallah Elias Zaidan of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles serves as chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace. / Credit: Joe Bukuras/CNAWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 26, 2025 / 17:15 pm (CNA).Bishop Abdallah Elias Zaidan, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace, is encouraging prayers and solidarity for the Holy Land as what he called the "devastation of Gaza" continues. Zaidan, who leads the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, said in a USCCB statement that the resumed conflict "will have dire implications for any future civil society development in the region and will likely exacerbate existing tensions for another generation."On March 18, about two months after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was announced, Israel Defense Forces launched new attacks to pressure Hamas to release more hostages. "I am deeply saddened th...
null / Orhan Cam/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 26, 2025 / 17:45 pm (CNA).Several pro-life organizations are praising President Donald Trump's administration for plans to freeze tens of millions of dollars in federal taxpayer money that was intended in part for the country's largest abortion supplier, Planned Parenthood.Officials are mulling an immediate freeze of $27.5 million from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Title X Family Planning Services Program for Planned Parenthood and other organizations that are yet to be named.Congress allocated more than $286 million for funding of the Title X program for the current fiscal year. The expected freeze would block about $20 million that was expected to support Planned Parenthood affiliates, according to a Tuesday report from the Wall Street Journal.Federal law prohibits direct federal taxpayer funding for most abortions but allows funds for abortion clinics if the money is spent on other services.This ...
The General House of the Society of Jesus in Rome. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN NewsCNA Staff, Mar 26, 2025 / 19:05 pm (CNA).The Society of Jesus is offering reparations to about 20 women who say they were sexually, psychologically, and spiritually abused by the disgraced ex-Jesuit artist Father Marko Rupnik.Rupnik is accused of having committed serious sexual, psychological, and spiritual abuse of dozens of religious sisters under his spiritual care over decades. His case is currently under investigation by the Vatican.Father Johan Versuchen, Rupnik's former superior and current general counsellor and delegate for the Interprovincial Houses and Works of the Society of Jesus in Rome, said he sent a letter to the women who have come forward with accusations against Rupnik, offering an open invitation to reparations, according to The Associated Press.While the letters were not made public out of respect to the alleged victims, some excerpts were shared by Laura Sgrò, a lawyer for...
Maltese priest Fabio Attard was elected rector major of the Salesians for the next six years. / Credit: Courtesy of Salesian FamilyACI Prensa Staff, Mar 26, 2025 / 13:05 pm (CNA).Maltese priest Fabio Attard was elected as the new rector major of the Salesian congregation during its general chapter in Turin, Italy, becoming the 11th successor of St. John Bosco.The new superior general of the order founded in 1859 succeeds Spanish Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, who became prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in January.According to the Salesians, the new rector major did not participate in the Salesian chapter meeting, so he was informed of his election by telephone, at which point he was asked for his required acceptance."His words were heard in the hall and, moved to tears, he thanked the brothers for their trust and especially for their trust in God in taking on this new task," the Salesians said in a statement. This is ...
Pope Francis waves from a balcony at Gemelli Hospital in Rome on Sunday, March 23, 2025, following weeks of hospitalization for bilateral pneumonia. / Credit: Vatican Media/ScreenshotVatican City, Mar 26, 2025 / 14:00 pm (CNA).Pope Francis on Wednesday highlighted the transformative power of God's merciful love for those who encounter him at the crossroads of life.Since being discharged from Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Sunday, the Holy Father's weekly general audiences are suspended for the duration of his at-least-two-month convalescence in his Casa Santa Marta home in the Vatican. In his written March 26 catechesis, titled "Jesus Christ Our Hope" and released by the Vatican, the pope said: "Jesus waits for us and lets himself be found precisely when we think that there is no hope left for us."Reflecting on the Gospel of St. John, the Holy Father noted that Jesus had the desire to start a conversation with the Samaritan woman "who has had five husbands and is now with...
"It has been disappointing to see how seldom a CPC designation has resulted in real consequences for those responsible for religious freedom violations," U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Chairman Stephen Schneck told CNA. / Credit: U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Public Hearing/ScreenshotWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 26, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is urging President Donald Trump to ensure that religious freedom violations by foreign governments result in severe consequences, such as sanctions, for the aggressors.The USCIRF, which is a federal commission tasked with providing policy recommendations on advancing religious liberty abroad, conveyed those recommendations in its 2025 Annual Report published on March 25."Make appropriate policy changes to demonstrate meaningful consequences and encourage positive change," the report recommends.The report urges the Trump administ...
