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After receiving assistance from the Catholic Charities RGV Humanitarian Respite Center, migrant families from Mexico and Central America who have been granted asylum in the United States are processed for their transport to various destinations across the United States at the Central Station Bus Terminal on June 19, 2018, in McAllen, Texas. / Credit: Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesCNA Staff, Feb 21, 2025 / 13:40 pm (CNA).A federal judge has denied a request from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to block a federal funding freeze that the bishops say will greatly harm refugee aid efforts in the United States. The USCCB sued the Trump administration earlier this week over what the bishops said was an unlawful suspension of funding for refugee resettlement and aid programs. The suspension came via one of several executive orders President Donald Trump issued shortly after taking office. The results of the suspension have been "devastati...
The Reichstag building in Berlin, where the Bundestag meets. / Credit: jan zeschky via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)CNA Newsroom, Feb 21, 2025 / 14:10 pm (CNA).As German voters prepare for federal elections on Feb. 23, the country's Catholics find themselves navigating unprecedented divisions on issues that cut to the heart of Church teaching, from migration policy to gender ideology and the protection of life.The elections come at a time when traditional party allegiances are being questioned and multiple Catholic voices are speaking with markedly different emphasis on key moral and social issues.What do the current polls show?Recent polls place the Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) at around 30%, followed by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) at approximately 20%. The Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens are polling around 15% each, with the SPD holding a slight advantage. Other parties, including the FDP, the Left Party, and BSW face uncertainty about clearing the 5% threshold requir...
The outside of the Planned Parenthood Reproductive Health Services Center in St. Louis is seen on March 8, 2022. / Credit: Neeta Satam for The Washington Post via Getty ImagesCNA Staff, Feb 21, 2025 / 14:40 pm (CNA).Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.Planned Parenthood offers abortions in MissouriPlanned Parenthood is once again offering abortions in Missouri following the passage of a referendum in November that enshrined a right to abortion in the Missouri Constitution.Voters passed Amendment 3 in November establishing a right to "reproductive freedom," but Planned Parenthood initially held off on offering abortions in the state. Abortion became illegal in the state, except in cases of emergency, after the state's 2019 "trigger law" went into effect following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.The decision to resume offering abortions comes after Jackson County circuit judge Jerri Zhang temporarily blocked abortion restrictions on Feb. 1...
Dr. Sergio Alfieri (right) and Dr. Luigi Carbone give a press conference at Gemelli Hospital in Rome, where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for bronchitis, on Feb. 21, 2025. Alfieri said the pope asked him to say hat he has "the mind of a a 50-year-old man." / Credit: ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty ImagesVatican City, Feb 21, 2025 / 15:00 pm (CNA).Pope Francis is "not out of danger" due to his age and fragile health, his medical team told journalists on Friday. During a Vatican press conference at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, both Dr. Sergio Alfieri, head of Gemelli Hospital's medical team, and Dr. Luigi Carbone, the pope's referring doctor at the Vatican, said the 88-year-old Holy Father must remain in the hospital for "enhanced" treatment. "The hospitalization will be as long as it takes for him to return safely to Santa Marta [his Vatican residence]," Alfieri told journalists on Friday. "He will stay here at least all next week. He is better, b...
Marcin Bogacki of Warsaw, Poland (far right) prays before walking through the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica with his mother and 4-year-old son on Feb. 21, 2025. / Credit: Hannah Brockhaus/CNAVatican City, Feb 21, 2025 / 11:20 am (CNA).Local Catholics and jubilee pilgrims in Rome are praying for Pope Francis' recovery as he marks one week in the hospital for treatment for pneumonia.Pilgrim groups and individuals from around the world continue to travel to Rome for the 2025 Jubilee Year, and though they won't catch a glimpse of the pontiff, he is close to their hearts.As they prepared to walk through the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica, a group of about 50 pilgrims from Our Lady of Nantes Parish in France told CNA they are praying for the pope's full recovery.A group of pilgrims from France pray for Pope Francis on Rome on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, as the pontiff remains in the hospital battling pneumonia. Credit: Hannah Brockhaus/CNAThe group was planning to attend the A...
Pope Francis prays during his Wednesday general audience on Feb. 5, 2025, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Feb 21, 2025 / 06:05 am (CNA).Pope Francis was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Friday, Feb. 14, to undergo testing and treatment for bronchitis, the Vatican said. On Tuesday he was diagnosed with double pneumonia but on Wednesday showed "slight improvement," according to the Vatican.Follow here for the latest news on Pope Francis' health and hospitalization:
U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks with Mercedes Schlapp at the 2025 Conservative Action Political Conference on Feb. 20, 2025, in National Harbor, Maryland. / Credit: Courtesy of Conservative Action Political Conference/YouTube screenshotWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 20, 2025 / 15:45 pm (CNA).U.S. Vice President JD Vance advocated for government policies and cultural values that encourage Americans to "choose life" and "start families" during an interview on the main stage of the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Feb. 20 in National Harbor, Maryland."[People need to] stop thinking about babies as inconveniences to be discarded," Vance said in a Thursday morning interview with Mercedes Schlapp, a senior fellow at the American Conservative Union (ACU) Foundation and the wife of ACU chairman and CPAC organizer Matt Schlapp."We've got to start thinking of them as blessings to cherish," Vance said.During the interview, Vance noted that the United States Supr...
null / Credit: Inked Pixels/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Feb 20, 2025 / 16:15 pm (CNA).The Catholic bishops of Kentucky are backing proposed legislation that would require a court to consider alternative sentencing for convicted criminals who have young children.The measure states that Kentucky wishes to "promote, strengthen, and encourage family life for the protection and care of children" and "maintain the family unit with an emphasis on the parent-child relationship."Parental incarceration is classified as an "adverse childhood experience," the bill notes, which can lead to poor mental and physical health outcomes and increase a child's chances of criminal activity in turn.The bill would require courts to consider a convicted criminal's "status as a primary caretaker of a dependent child" before imposing a sentence. A court would be required to "consider an alternative sentence" in such circumstances while weighing the parent's criminal history, the seriousness of the crime,...
Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro. / Credit: Antoniospadaro, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsVatican City, Feb 20, 2025 / 16:45 pm (CNA).Speaking on Pope Francis' current health crisis, Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro, a personal friend of the Holy Father, said in an interview on Wednesday that "the situation is delicate, but I [haven't] seen any cause for alarm.""Francis is an 88-year-old man who has had a serious problem but who is now undergoing treatment. It's not a simple treatment and will require time," said Spadaro, 58, who for 12 years was director of the Jesuit magazine La Civiltà Cattolica (Catholic Civilization) and is currently undersecretary of the Vatican Dicastery for Culture and Education. He emphasized that the pontiff has "an extraordinary vital energy.""He is not someone who lets go or gives in easily, and that's a very positive aspect; we have seen this in the past as well," he said in an interview with the Italian daily Il Corriere della Sera (The Evening Cou...
null / Credit: RasyidArt/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Feb 20, 2025 / 17:15 pm (CNA).A $50 million school choice bill long in the works is awaiting approval from Idaho's governor after the state Senate passed the measure on Wednesday.The bill would establish a $50 million parental choice tax credit beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, helping parents send their children to nonpublic schools, including private religious schools.After years of attempts by school choice advocates in the Idaho Legislature, the bill passed in a 15-10 vote in the Senate.If approved, qualifying students would be able to claim a refundable tax credit worth up to $5,000 to attend a nonpublic school. Students with disabilities could qualify for up to $7,500.The tax credit covers qualifying expenses such as nonpublic school tuition as well as textbooks, tutoring, and other costs. The school choice measure would prioritize families earning up to 300% of the fed...
