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CNA Staff, Aug 10, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

While many know him best for his popular "Bible in a Year" podcast, Ascension videos, and inspiring talks he gives across the country, Father Mike Schmitz is first and foremost the chaplain at the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota, Duluth (UMD). 

This fall Schmitz will mark his 21st year working in campus ministry, which he called "the best of both worlds" in a recent sit-down interview with CNA in Vail, Colorado, during his Parables Tour. The tour is part of Schmitz's Seeds of Faith Campaign, which is raising funds for a new Newman Center to be built on the UMD campus.

The 50-year-old priest explained that while he has loved working in both parish and campus settings, each is unique. While college kids can tend to be "fickle" in their faith, he said, they also have a beautiful openness to change that he didn't experience at a parish.

"College ministry is unique because you have this openness … It is that place where so many people are asking the big questions in life and we just see so many conversions happening when we're there," he said.

The Newman Center at UMD has seen a flourishing of vocations. According to Bulldog Catholic, the name of the university's campus ministry, 400 couples have gone through marriage preparation classes, eight women have entered religious life, and over 16 men have entered seminary, with seven ordained as priests.

"One of my favorite things to do is marriage prep; it just really brings me so much life," Schmitz said. "I just love even being able to present to couples who are discerning marriage like, no you're actually discerning how God is asking you, calling you, to be his disciple in your life. That's the big question. That's one of the reasons why we get married in churches is because this is a sacrament of discipleship."

As for those who have discerned religious life, Schmitz called it "a great grace" to walk with these individuals in their vocations.

He highlighted the alarming statistic of nearly 85% of Catholic young adults falling away from the Church while in college and emphasized that at UMD "we want to put a stop to that. So I love being able to even do our little part in Duluth to help that."

He also pointed out the hope he believes Pope Leo XIV's papacy could bring to young Catholics.

"I think something about Pope Leo coming from America … I think what it does is, or can do, is it can once again make it real in the sense of bringing it closer to my own home and closer to my life of saying, 'The pope isn't just some person from far far off, but Chicago, and here's the picture of him at the White Sox game.' And you're like, 'Oh, OK. So, God is closer than we think.'"

He added: "[T]here's been this resurgence in people asking the question, 'How do we become Catholic?' Why? Because, I don't know, maybe something as simple as that — that having a pope who came from this country reminds us that God is closer than we think."

Advice for others in campus ministry 

For others working in campus ministry, Schmitz gave three suggestions to grow involvement: Offer daily Mass and confession, start engaging Bible studies, and host retreats often.

He emphasized that these events in which people are brought together, such as Bible studies and retreats, help grow involvement because "as Catholics we worship in rows, but we grow in circles."

Adding to this idea of growing in circles, Schmitz said individuals "need to actually walk with people — not just kind of anonymously go to Mass, anonymously pray at Mass, anonymously leave, but to be able to also say, 'There's someone here who knows me.' And so we need to do small groups."

Lastly, he urged the need for retreats because "the world is so loud that we need the opportunity for students to be able to just leave, even for a weekend, encounter the Lord in a way that again he's real, he's good, he does have a plan for their lives, so that then they can come back to the world [and] go back to campus with that."

As for what he hopes the students at UMD take away from their time at the Newman Center, he explained that it's not just about accompanying the students through college so that they become "slightly more devout or pious … no, we're here to prepare you to be martyrs. And what I mean by that is to be witnesses to your faith in every situation, in every season, wherever you're called, no matter what it costs."

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 8, 2025 / 18:23 pm (CNA).

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:

Armenian and Azerbaijan presidents sign historic peace deal at White House

After decades of conflict over the ethnically Armenian-Christian Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a peace deal on Friday, Aug. 8. 

Pashinyan hailed the moment as "opening a chapter of peace" and "laying foundations to a better story than the one we had in the past." Aliyev rejoined that the nations were "writing a great new history."

The peace deal cemented by U.S. President Donald Trump includes a trade deal that will create a transit corridor between the two countries, to be named the "Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity."

USCIRF releases report on religious freedom in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has released a report on religious freedom in Houthi-controlled areas of northern Yemen, stating that attacks on religious groups including Baha'is, Christians, Jews, and Ahmadiyya Muslims have escalated since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel. 

The Houthis have escalated their systematic and egregious violations of religious freedom affecting a range of groups," the USCIRF stated in an Aug. 6 press release. "By advancing its religious ideology across sectors ... the Houthis are severely restricting religious freedom in a country with a millennia-long history of religious diversity." The statement noted that the "few remaining members of minority faith communities" have gone into hiding to avoid Houthi threats and intimidation. 

Nearly 100 Russian Catholics gather in solidarity with Rome pilgrims for Jubilee of Youth

A group of 90 young Russian Catholics unable to travel to Rome for the July 28 to Aug. 3 Jubilee of Youth gathered together in Moscow for their own event in solidarity with pilgrims in the Eternal City, according to a report from Fides news agency. 

"We, too, were able to feel like pilgrims of hope and part of the universal Church. When we return home, we will take this spark of hope back to our parishes and to the entire country," said Roman Andreev, the Moscow Archdiocese head of youth ministry. 

Young people gathered from cities across the archdiocese, as well as the suffragan dioceses of St. Clement and St. Joseph, and were accompanied by Moscow Auxiliary Bishop Nikolaj Dubinin. The young Russian pilgrims processed through the city, visiting its various Catholic churches, and met in the evening at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. 

Austrian bishop criticizes sculpture of Trump crucified: 'Simply abnormal' 

Bishop Hermann Glettler of Innsbruck, Austria, in an interview with Swiss outlet kath.ch on Wednesday decried a sculpture depicting U.S. President Donald Trump crucified, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA's German-language news partner. 

The bishop condemned the work for portraying Trump, whom he described as "an egomaniac dealmaker from Washington," on the cross, which is a "central Christian symbol."

The life-size sculpture shows Trump in orange prison clothing strapped to a white cross, and its estimated price is around 20,000 euros (about $23,300).

"I find the work of the British [artist] Mason Storm, which was supposedly already shown in Vienna, simply abnormal," Glettler said. "There is simply nothing to be seen in this that would somehow make sense."

Third Pan African Congress on theology, society, and pastoral life kicks off in Ivory Coast

Participants in the third Pan African Catholic Congress on Theology, Society, and Pastoral Life have called for "spiritual and structural reawakening" in Africa, along with their commitment to confront issues affecting the continent during the five-day event, reported ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa. 

Organized by the Pan-African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network (PACTPAN) on the theme "Journeying Together in Hope as God's Family," the third Pan-African Catholic Congress has been described as a call for the people of God in Africa to rediscover their shared vocation as Christians and members of the universal body of Christ.

Pope Leo calls on Malawi to make its first Eucharistic congress a time of 'profound grace'

Pope Leo XIV has called upon the people of God in Malawi to make their first-ever national Eucharistic congress a time of "profound grace" and an opportunity to rekindle missionary zeal in their country, ACI Africa reported. 

In a message read by the apostolic nuncio to Malawi and Zambia, Archbishop Gian Luca Perici, Leo expressed his solidarity to the faithful gathered for the official opening of the Congress and conveyed his prayer that the event would be "a moment to deepen the love for the most holy Eucharist, strengthen the bonds of communion among the people of God, and inspire a renewed missionary zeal in every diocese, parish, and family."

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CNA Staff, Aug 8, 2025 / 13:08 pm (CNA).

The University of Nebraska has officially apologized for sanctioning a profane "drag" performance that mocked the Catholic Mass earlier this year, with the school undertaking an investigation into the incident after Catholic outcry against it. 

Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, publicly criticized the so-called "drag Mass" in June, calling it "a blatant public display of faith-based discrimination."  

The event was put on in April by music doctoral student Joseph Willette, who claimed the performance was meant to "bridge the gap between queerness and spirituality."

The demonstration "imitated various parts of the Mass, including the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei."

On Aug. 8 the bishop said in a public statement that he had met with University of Nebraska President Jeffrey Gold and other leaders of the university after the incident. The university told the prelate that an "investigation into the matter was already underway."

Conley wrote that University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Chancellor Rodney Bennett subsequently sent a follow-up letter in which the administrator told the bishop: "We regret deeply that the matter we met to discuss has caused disruption, and we sincerely apologize."

The university will "fully embrace the opportunity this incident has prompted to consider carefully how we educate members of our community about the impact individual acts may have on people and communities — both positively and negatively, and whether intended or inadvertent," Bennett wrote, according to Conley.

In his Aug. 8 letter Conley said the school was also establishing a university advisory group meant to reduce the likelihood of such incidents occurring in the future. 

It is unclear if the university has concluded its investigation into the event or if the inquiry is still ongoing. The school did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Aug. 8. 

The school's President's Advisory Roundtable on Community Engagement will help advise the school on "addressing sensitive and often emotional matters for which there are strong convictions."

Representatives from the local Catholic community will be included on the panel, Conley said. 

In addition to backlash from the bishop's office, state lawmakers also reportedly criticized the performance. 

Nebraska Sen. Dan Lonowski told the higher education news website the College Fix that he and a dozen colleagues wrote to the university condemning the display. 

Lonowski, a Catholic, told the Fix that the performance "[did] not appear to advance music nor faith in any manner." Lonowski said the university confirmed that it was undertaking an investigation.

Conley, meanwhile, expressed hope that the school was apologizing not just for the controversy surrounding the incident but "for the substance of the incident itself."

"On behalf of Catholics and all people of faith, I would like to see a more concrete commitment from the university to provide training and education on why this behavior is offensive to Catholics," the bishop wrote. 

Mocking the Eucharist, Conley said, "should never be an action that is rewarded with a degree, but instead should be condemned for its ignorance and evil."

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ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 8, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

According to Father Francisco Javier Calvo, Pope Leo XIV's recent announcement that St. John Henry Newman will be declared a doctor of the Church represents "enormous hope," because his figure is called to "illuminate the paths of the Church in the 21st century."

Calvo is a member of the research committee of the John Henry Newman Chair at the Catholic University of Ávila in Spain.

The expert told ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, that it is no coincidence that Pope Leo XIV decided to name him a doctor of the Church, since St. Augustine was the prime source of the English saint's theology.

"It is very significant that he is the first doctor of the Church proclaimed during his pontificate. As an Augustinian, Leo XIV recognized in Newman one of his own. Both share a spirituality centered on an interior encounter with God, on conscience as the place of dialogue with the Lord," he explained.

St. John Henry Newman, Calvo noted, was a great scholar of the Church Fathers, especially St. Augustine.

In fact, the best-known aspect of Newman's theological and philosophical work is his commitment to a "moral and upright conscience, which he defines as the natural sphere of encounter with the voice of God and is one of the central themes of his theology."

"This connects deeply with the Augustinian tradition, from the "Confessions" to the "Soliloquies," he noted.

Calvo also lauded Newman as a man "of profound truth and profound faith," whose conversion to Catholicism in 1845 was the result of a journey marked by docility in the light of the Holy Spirit.

"Everything he did in his life — including his journey of conversion — he lived with absolute moral integrity. He himself said that he asked the Lord not for light for his entire life but for the next step, and the strength to take it," the priest emphasized.

This attitude of constant discernment, Calvo added, is particularly inspiring in a time like the present, where there is an urgent need to recover a spirituality guided by listening to God and not by one's personal pet projects. 

After his conversion he was viewed by Catholics as an 'infiltrator'

Following his conversion, St. John Henry Newman faced both misunderstandings from the Anglican world and misgivings in the Catholic world, where he was even seen as an "infiltrator" or "a kind of Trojan horse." Despite this, "Pope Leo XIII dispelled those suspicions by appointing him a cardinal," Calvo explained.

One of Newman's greatest legacies was his firm commitment to the formation of the laity. As rector of the Catholic University of Ireland in Dublin, he promoted not only the training of good professionals but, above all, of "good Christians who would bear witness to their faith in their environment," the expert explained. This vision, which seems obvious today after the Second Vatican Council, was profoundly innovative at the time.

Newman was also ahead of his time and had to face the challenge of responding to rationalist schools of thought and English empiricism, represented by figures such as Hume and Locke. "He knew how to respond from a deeply reasoned faith, taking up the philosophical presuppositions of modernity, but rooted in Augustinian spirituality," Calvo emphasized.

But beyond his intellectual brilliance, Newman was, above all, a witness to holiness. "Being a Christian is a personal encounter with Christ that transforms one's entire life. Newman understood it that way, drawing inspiration from the radical commitment of the early Christians, the witness of the martyrs, and the example of the saints," he noted.

In this regard, Calvo recalled Newman's motto, "Cor ad cor loquitur" ("Heart speaks to heart"), and said: "Faith is transmitted from person to person, through the attractiveness of a person's life. It is not treatises but witnesses that evangelize."

Newman's proclamation as a doctor of the Church not only recognizes his holiness but also proposes his thought as a sure guide for believers today.

"We learn from his life, but also from his writings," Calvo noted. "His intellectual journey, his theological and philosophical discernment, are a clear light for Christians to grow in their faith in this complex world, which so desperately needs authentic teachers and true saints."

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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National Catholic Register, Aug 8, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

A Massachusetts mayor is going to bat for including statues of two Catholic saints on the city's new public safety building, saying he picked them because of their importance to police and firefighters and accusing opponents of harboring "'negative attitudes' toward Catholicism."

But lawyers for local residents who object to the planned 10-foot-high bronze statues of St. Michael and St. Florian say the mayor is making non-Catholics "feel like second-class citizens" because of the statues, which they say violates the Massachusetts Constitution by favoring one religion over another.

The two sides exchanged pointed arguments in court papers filed recently in a state lawsuit brought earlier this year by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.

Thomas Koch, a practicing Catholic and the mayor of Quincy, a city of about 100,000 just south of Boston, wants to install on the façade of a forthcoming $175-million, 120,000-square-foot public safety building statues of St. Michael the Archangel (the patron saint of police officers) and St. Florian (the patron saint of firefighters). The statues are expected to cost about $850,000.

"I selected the statutes of Michael and Florian for installation on the public safety building due to their status as symbols in police and fire communities worldwide. The selection had nothing to do with Catholic sainthood but rather with an effort to boost morale and to symbolize the values of truth, justice, and the prevalence of good over evil," Koch said in an affidavit filed last month.

"If Michael and Florian did not have significance in the police and fire service, respectively, I would not have selected them for installation," the mayor added.

The mayor is asking a judge to dismiss the lawsuit, which was filed May 27 in Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham.

But lawyers for the plaintiffs, who are 15 residents of Quincy who object to the mayor's plan, described the statues earlier this week as "icons with unmistakable religious significance," noting: "Saints in general, and patron saints specifically, are prominent within certain sects of Christianity, especially Catholicism."

An "objective observer," the plaintiffs' lawyers argued, would see the statues as "permanent installations that will invoke and convey, on an ongoing basis, the city's preference for Catholic religious doctrine."

"The primary effect of the statues will be to advance religion over non-religion, and Catholicism over other Christian and non-Christian sects and denominations," a motion filed Aug. 4 states.

The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction from the state Superior Court judge preventing the city from installing the statues when the public safety building opens, which is scheduled for October.

A court conference in the case has been scheduled for Aug. 12.

A question of Massachusetts law

The legal wrangling is over the Massachusetts Constitution, not the U.S. Constitution. Residents who object to the statues have appealed primarily to state law.

During colonial times and in the early decades of independence, the Massachusetts government favored the Congregational Church over other denominations, forcing property owners to support their local Congregationalist minister with their property taxes whether they belonged to the church or not.

In 1833, the state disestablished the Congregational Church, declaring in an amendment to the state constitution approved by a state constitutional convention that "no subordination of any one sect or denomination to another shall ever be established by law."

On occasion, disputes over that language make it to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, as the Quincy statues' case might.

In 1979, the state's highest court upheld the ability of both the state Senate and state House of Representatives to hire and pay a part-time chaplain for each chamber — both of whom at the time happened to be Catholic priests — in a case called Colo v. Treasurer & Receiver General. 

In that same case, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court adopted for the state the so-called Lemon test after a 1971 case in which the U.S. Supreme Court stated three standards for determining whether a law that affects religious entities passes constitutional muster: whether it has "a secular legislative purpose," whether "its principal or primary effect … neither advances or inhibits religion," and whether it fosters "excessive entanglement between government and religion."

In June 2022, after years of expressing skepticism about the Lemon test, the U.S. Supreme Court formally disavowed it in a case involving prayers offered by a high school football coach in Washington state called Kennedy v. Bremerton School District.

In the Quincy statues case, the city solicitor, James Timmins, argued in court papers filed July 30 that since the U.S. Supreme Court has disavowed the Lemon test, "that test can no longer govern in Massachusetts, either."

But the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, which is the ultimate interpreter of the state constitution, hasn't heard a case on that point since then.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs in Quincy argue in court papers that since the state's highest court hasn't walked away from the Lemon test, then lower state courts must apply it — plus a fourth standard the state Supreme Judicial Court added in the 1979 Colo case: whether a "challenged practice" has "divisive political potential."

Under those criteria, the plaintiffs' lawyers argue, the state Superior Court judge must deny the city's motion to dismiss and issue an injunction preventing the statues from being installed.

However the Superior Court judge rules, if the Quincy case makes the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on appeal, it will provide the justices a chance to revisit the Lemon test, including how the state constitution applies to disputes involving religion.

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA's sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 7, 2025 / 14:33 pm (CNA).

As officials carry out mass deportations across the United States, Bishop Mark Brennan of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, is criticizing the Trump administration's policy of deporting "as many immigrants as possible" without "distinguishing between true criminals and law-abiding persons."

In a recent statement addressing Catholics in his diocese, Brennan said "some of you have told me that you were happy to support a presidential candidate who would install order at the southern border and keep out drug traffickers, terrorists, and violent criminals but that you didn't expect this wholesale assault on the majority of immigrants, who work hard, are raising their families, and live peacefully in our communities."

The bishop urged the government to prioritize deporting violent criminals rather than upstanding people, highlighting that entering the U.S. "without official government permission is a misdemeanor, a crime but a lesser one, on the level with loitering, public intoxication, and shoplifting."

Brennan's critique of mass deportations aligns with a number of other Catholic leaders including Los Angeles Archbishop José Gómez, who recently said: "A great nation can take the time and care to make distinctions and judge each case on its merits."

"On our journey to eternity, the Lord expects us to help one another," Brennan said. "Why else would he command us: Love your neighbor as yourself and do unto others as you would have them do unto you?"

"In the light of these Christian principles, we the people must act," Brennan declared. For example, Catholics can call for "less cruel" enforcement and can speak up "when we hear grossly inaccurate talk about undocumented immigrants being uniformly criminal, when only a few commit violent crimes."

"As people of faith, we should pray intensely for God to touch the minds and hearts of our political leaders and move them to be more reasonable and humane in their policies; and for those who implement those policies to do so with respect for their fellow human beings."

Brennan encouraged those enforcing immigration policies "to consider whether a specific action is morally justified," because ultimately, "the final judge of our actions is God."

Speaking of law enforcement officers, he said: "I recognize that they have sworn to uphold the law. Yet the manner in which a law is enforced matters. Those acting on the government's behalf cannot escape personal responsibility for an unjust action with the excuse that it was ordered by their superiors."

"That defense was not allowed during the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals at the end of World War II," Brennan explained. "The judges held that a soldier, guard, or official who authorized or engaged in gross violations of human rights was personally responsible for his acts."

With that said, Brennan clarified: "What has been reported about excesses in immigration enforcement does not approach the horror of Nazi treatment of prisoners, but the principle of personal responsibility for one's actions remains the same."

"Our Church would have no martyrs if the highest good was to preserve one's life. Some things are worth taking a principled stand for," Brennan said. In tandem with bishops across the nation, Brennan called on Catholics "to affirm the humanity of all immigrants, regardless of legal status."

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CNA Newsroom, Aug 7, 2025 / 09:53 am (CNA).

Marine Rosset, the newly appointed president of France's largest Catholic-inspired scouting organization, resigned less than two months after her election amid intense criticism over her support for abortion rights and her homosexual relationship.

After announcing her resignation on Aug. 6, the 39-year-old Socialist Party member explained her decision in an interview with the Catholic daily La Croix, saying the "situation had become untenable" and expressing her desire to "protect the movement."

Rosset was elected president of the Scouts et Guides de France (SGDF) on June 14 by a decisive vote of 22 to 2, with one abstention.

The SGDF is France's largest scouting association with over 100,000 members. The association was formed in 2004 through the merger of two historically Catholic organizations.

Today, the group maintains Catholic chaplains and describes itself as both "a Catholic youth and popular education movement" and as "open to all, without distinction of nationality, culture, social origin, or belief."

Controversial positions spark criticism

The controversy centered on Rosset's public positions that directly conflict with Catholic teaching. A Paris city councilor and former schoolteacher of history and geography, Rosset is in a same-sex civil union and has a child through artificial reproduction. 

The Socialist Party member has also publicly advocated for abortion rights, positions that drew sharp criticism from Catholic media and clergy.

"After my election, there were people outside of scouting — political forces, communications networks, even financial ones — who instrumentalized positions I had taken," Rosset told La Croix. "This created a false image of the Scouts and Guides de France, because a number of my positions became associated with those of the movement."

According to Le Monde, some chaplains within the scouting movement had expressed opposition to her appointment, citing concerns about both her political activism and personal life that contradict Church teaching on sexuality and life issues.

Catholic website Tribune Chrétienne called her resignation "the end of an organized misunderstanding," arguing that one cannot lead a Catholic youth movement while "openly contradicting what the Church teaches as nonnegotiable."

Political complications compound controversy

Political factors also contributed to Rosset's decision. With a by-election scheduled in her Paris constituency this fall, she had planned to campaign for her party's candidate. This move would have further politicized the scouting group and potentially alienated Catholic families, according to Le Monde.

"Any statement I made would have been scrutinized," Rosset explained to La Croix. "It was really important to me that the movement not be reduced to my person alone — it is bigger than me."

The official SGDF statement claimed "violent, discriminatory, and dehumanizing remarks" had been directed at Rosset and that she had filed legal complaints over online threats.

Pierre Monéger, the organization's former vice president, has assumed leadership through a collective governance structure that includes two new vice presidents, Julie Lefort and Charles Le Gac.

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CNA Staff, Aug 6, 2025 / 14:55 pm (CNA).

A state appeals court in Texas this week affirmed that Attorney General Ken Paxton will not be permitted to question the leaders of a Catholic Charities affiliate at the U.S.-Mexico border amid an inquiry into illegal immigration.

The state 15th Court of Appeals said in an Aug. 4 ruling that Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley has cooperated sufficiently with the state's investigation into the charity. Paxton's office has been conducting broad inquiries into allegations that nonprofits have facilitated illegal immigration in the state.

Prosecutors were not entitled to a "pre-suit deposition" from charity leaders, including its executive director, Sister Norma Pimentel, the court ruled.

Rather than "an uncooperative or evasive organization," the Catholic charity has been "responsive to [Paxton's] requests," up to and including extensive documentation and a sworn testimony from Pimentel, the appeals court said. 

Those responses "may not have provided all of the information or the narrative responses" sought by the attorney general's office, the court said. But they "addressed the lion's share of the issues" the state was investigating and allowed the attorney general's office to decide whether or not to file an official lawsuit.

The prosecutor's office was required to prove that "the benefits of forcing a pre-suit deposition outweigh the burdens to Catholic Charities." But the charity's high level of cooperation with the government meant Paxton's office could not justify the deposition.

A representative with Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley did not immediately respond to a query on the ruling on Wednesday morning.

Following the lower court's ruling last year, Pimentel said in a statement that the charity hoped to "put this behind us and focus our efforts on protecting and upholding the sanctity and dignity of all human lives while following the law."

Paxton has challenged several Catholic organizations in the state in recent months, including Annunciation House in El Paso, which he attempted to shut down for allegedly facilitating "illegal border crossings."

Earlier this year that charity, which operates a shelter network for "migrant, refugee, and economically vulnerable peoples," argued in the state Supreme Court that though it does offer housing to immigrants in the country illegally, it is "not concealing anyone [or] hiding anyone from detection from law enforcement."

First Liberty Institute, which advocates religious freedom, also filed a brief against a forced closure of Annunciation House, arguing that the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act protects the charity against "outright closure."

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Vatican City, Aug 5, 2025 / 14:16 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV made a surprise visit to Ignacio Gonzálvez, a 15-year-old Spanish boy who had been urgently admitted to Bambino Gesù Hospital in Rome after collapsing during the Jubilee of Youth.

Upon learning of Ignacio's situation, Pope Leo XIV asked the thousands of young people gathered for the Aug. 2 vigil at Tor Vergata to join in prayer for him.

"I would like to ask for your prayers for another friend, a young Spaniard, Ignacio Gonzálvez, who has been admitted to the Bambino Gesù Hospital. Let us pray for him, for his health," the visibly moved pontiff said.

Ignacio's parents, Pedro Pablo and Carmen Gloria, along with his siblings Pedro Pablo Jr. and Adela, traveled to Rome immediately upon receiving the news.

On the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 4, according to the Holy See, Pope Leo XIV personally visited Ignacio in his room in the intensive care unit. The young pilgrim has been diagnosed with lymphoma affecting his respiratory tract.

As reported by Vatican News, the Holy Father entered silently as the young man's family prayed at the foot of his bed and simply joined them in prayer. The family had their eyes closed at the time, and a priest accompanying them had to nudge them when he saw the pontiff cross the threshold unannounced.

The youth's sister, Adela, 17, described Pope Leo XIV as "a simple man" and said the Holy Father was with them for about half an hour before visiting other patients in the hospital's oncology ward. "I was crying and praying when he entered Ignacio's room. I went in crying and came out laughing," she said.

During the time spent with Ignacio's family, Pope Leo XIV reminded them that "we are made for heaven." Pedro Pablo, the young man's father, said they all found solace after the pontiff's visit.

"He told us that the important thing is to do God's will, that our true place is eternal life in heaven. This comforted us, because we are people who try to live our faith and know that's the truth. And in times of so much suffering, hearing the pope come and give you such a word is ... the best thing that could have happened to us," he told Vatican News.

His mother, Carmen Gloria, shared that Pope Leo told her: "If Ignatius had come to Rome [from Spain], that he could come to the hospital to see him. They were simple words, but full of affection."

"The pope told us that this is a mystery and that, despite many things we don't understand, we know that God is there and wants the best for everyone. As a mother, I saw that Jesus Christ drew close to me and said, 'You're not alone.' That's what the pope's presence in the hospital meant to me, the confirmation that God has not abandoned us," she added with emotion.

Ignacio's family said they find comfort and hope despite their pain and are grateful for the gestures of closeness. "It's the work of the Holy Spirit. We are nothing, a family like many others... And to see so many people praying, so many people concerned, and that the pope himself should come, is a great consolation. We know that God is with us," Carmen Gloria said.

Ignacio's brother, Pedro Pablo Jr., emphasized that the pope had helped them accept God's will: "He listened to us at all times, he was truly concerned, he gave me the feeling of someone who truly understood the situation and the pain we are experiencing. [He has] great empathy."

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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http://www.myspiritfm.com/news?blogid=catholic-news&view=post&articleid=287390&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 5, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

President Donald Trump's administration may be walking back an earlier plan that would have required insurance companies to provide coverage for in vitro fertilization (IVF), according to a report from the Washington Post.

The Post reported that "two people with knowledge of internal discussions" told the outlet that the White House does not plan to impose any IVF mandates on health insurance providers.

According to the report, a senior administration official said expanding IVF access is still "a huge priority" for the president but that any government-imposed mandatory coverage would need to come from legislation passed through Congress. The article reported that such a plan is not on the table at the moment.

CNA reached out to the White House for a response to that report and to ask whether religious liberty concerns for Catholics and others opposed to IVF are being weighed in the deliberations but did not get a response by the time of publication.

The Catholic Church opposes IVF because it separates the creation of life from the marital act and because the process results in the destruction of millions of human embryos, which ends human lives. The Southern Baptist Convention officially expressed opposition to IVF last year as well, but many Protestant denominations do not take a formal stance.

Trump first promised nearly a year ago during a campaign rally that the government would either subsidize IVF costs with taxpayer money or impose a coverage mandate on insurers. In October, Trump told EWTN's Raymond Arroyo that a religious exemption for those opposed to IVF "sounds to me like a pretty good idea" and that "we will look at that."

As president in February, Trump signed an executive order directing the United States Domestic Policy Council to examine ways to expand IVF access, which sparked immediate concerns from the pro-life community and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). At this point, the administration has not imposed any rules related to IVF coverage.

Father Thomas Ferguson, who serves on the religious leadership advisory board for Trump's Religious Liberty Commission, told CNA the report suggesting a departure from an insurance coverage mandate is "welcome news" but that Catholics "must continue to remain vigilant" in opposition to IVF.

IVF, Ferguson said, is "an illicit medical procedure" and must not be portrayed as an "essential health benefit."

"It is a matter of grave concern that there might exist the possibility that tax dollars would be used to pay for IVF procedures under federally funded insurance plans," Ferguson said.

"An even more serious concern would be the prospect of the federal government attempting to mandate privately funded insurance plans to pay for IVF services in a manner that would be clearly contrary to the religious beliefs of individuals, business owners, or even churches themselves," he added.

The Religious Liberty Commission has held one hearing so far, but concerns about potential IVF expansion were not on the agenda. Ferguson said that education will be the focus of the second hearing scheduled for Sept. 8. No other topics have been scheduled yet, but he said he expects Catholic leaders to raise the IVF issue within the context of the commission's work.

"Catholic belief and teaching that IVF is a morally illicit means of conceiving human life is well known, so it should be no surprise that Catholic leaders and the Catholic faithful would be dismayed by the administration's commitment to promote IVF as a part of its policy on marriage and family life," Ferguson added.

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, a senior ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC), expressed optimism about the report, telling CNA that Trump's advisers "thankfully seem to have gotten his ear and reminded him that the government ought not be subsidizing IVF in any manner."

IVF, he said, is "an unethical approach to satisfying parental desires and customer yearnings by erecting and subsidizing an enormous industry to replace what parents themselves are meant to do uniquely within the marital embrace. Human life is not respected in the process but is instead commodified and objectified."

Rather than covering IVF, Pacholczyk said health insurance should cover "authentic therapies and treatments for infertility," such as natural procreative technology and Fertility Education and Medical Management, which are pro-life alternatives that seek to address the root causes of fertility struggles.

NCBC past president and senior fellow Joseph Meaney told CNA the report is "highly welcome news" and noted that IVF is "extremely unethical and costly," while the many pro-life alternatives are "ethically and financially" preferable.

He said the Church has consistently condemned IVF as immoral since 1987 in the document Donum Vitae and that the First Amendment would require that any potential insurance mandate have religious liberty exemptions.

"Religious freedom constitutional guarantees in the U.S. would make it illegal to impose IVF on Catholics and particularly on Catholic employers who might have been required to pay for IVF through their employee health insurance plans," Meaney added.

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