Catholic News

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, testifies during his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 16, 2025 / 07:30 am (CNA).

Prominent U.S. Catholics are expressing optimism after Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s recent confirmation as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), following an arduous confirmation process which saw him challenged on several issues key to the Catholic Church. 

Kennedy, himself a professed Catholic, has faced intense scrutiny from both sides of the aisle for his controversial views on vaccines, abortion, and public health policy since President Donald Trump nominated him to serve as head of HHS.

That position oversees 10 agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Ultimately, Kennedy was confirmed on Thursday by a 52-48 vote that was split along party lines with the exception of Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, the only Republican to vote against him. 

Vaccines and medical ethics: where Catholics stand

Since his nomination and throughout his confirmation hearings, Kennedy took the most heat from Democratic senators for his views on vaccines. But some Catholics have praised Kennedy's commitment to vaccine safety.

Sister Deidre Byrne, who was denied a religious exemption to the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for health care workers in August of 2021, told CNA that "speaking both as a physician and religious," she was "thrilled" by Kennedy's confirmation. 

"Medically, I agree with [Kennedy's] concerns," Byrne, who is widely known as Sister Dede, said via email. She cited "vaccines and the lack of proper research, and then forcing, for example, the COVID-19 vaccine, which had no scientific basis behind it and [has] injured thousands." 

Byrne expressed gratitude over Kennedy's pledge to conduct studies on the safety of abortion pills such as mifepristone, which were partially  deregulated under the Biden administration.

"Now they are giving this abortion pill online without a physician's evaluation or ultrasound," she said, describing the practice as "extremely dangerous and malpractice." 

"So I thank God for President Trump and I thank God that [Kennedy] was confirmed to run HHS," Byrne concluded. 

A representative for the largest collective of Catholic healthcare workers, Catholic Medical Association (CMA), echoed Byrne, telling CNA the organization is looking forward to collaborating with Kennedy and the Trump administration. 

"The Catholic Medical Association looks forward to working closely with the Trump administration and Secretary Kennedy in a shared mission to promote and protect ethical medicine," CMA Board Chairman of the Health Care Policy Committee Dr. Tim Millea told CNA.

"CMA is committed to foundational principles of health care: the inherent dignity of every human life from conception to natural death; the biological reality of two sexes; and, the protection of conscience rights and religious freedom for health care professionals," he continued.

"We are anxious to see Secretary Kennedy's attention to correcting HHS policies that have been in direct conflict with optimal and rational health care methods over the past several years.  It is time to return to medicine practiced as it should be, and not directed by ideology."

Optimism: How Catholics are responding to Kennedy's shifting views on abortion

Despite Kennedy's past support of abortion, many pro-life Catholics are now celebrating his confirmation after he pledged to carry out the Trump administration's pro-life agenda as head of HHS. 

"There was a lot to appreciate in RFK Jr.'s testimony during the confirmation process," said Students for Life Action President Kristan Hawkins. "A highlight of [his] very intense conversations with members of the U.S. Senate was the fact that he and President Trump see abortion as a tragedy and that they are looking at the real and deadly impacts of the abuse of agency power to force chemical abortion pills on the market."

"I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy," Kennedy stated during a hearing with the Senate Finance Committee. "I agree with him that we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions per year, I agree with him that the states should control abortion."

"I'm going to serve at the pleasure of the president, [and] I'm going to implement his policies," he said, revealing that Trump had expressed his desire for Kennedy to end late-term abortions, enact protections for conscience exemptions, and end federal funding for abortions in the U.S. and abroad. 

Kennedy also spoke out against the use of fetal tissue for stem cell research during the hearing, telling Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, "I will protect stem cell research, and today stem cell research can be done on umbilical cords." 

"You don't need fetal tissue," he added. 

Kennedy has vowed to combat nationwide food health crisis

A major touchstone of Kennedy's vision for transforming health in the U.S. is the fight to reduce consumption of highly processed foods, chemicals, additives, and seed oils. 

The founder of a growing grassroots movement among Catholics spoke to CNA on how Kennedy's confirmation could boost support for local farms and homesteads. 

Michael Thomas, co-founder of the Catholic Land Movement, is enthusiastic about Kennedy's confirmation, telling CNA in an interview that he looks forward to the new HHS leader's proposed public health reforms and the benefits they could have for small farms.

"The Catholic Land Movement is excited about the rhetoric we've seen from RFK around American health and the prohibition of harmful additives and processes," he said. "However, it is not enough to just restrict the bad, we must support the good." 

According to Thomas, there is much to be hopeful about with Kennedy's confirmation. Giving the example of Kennedy's desire to replace seed oils with beef tallow in deep-fryers across the U.S., Thomas pointed out that a new market could be created for small American farms to provide the alternative.

"As an organization on the front line of small farms and American Homesteads, we are enthusiastic to work on a restoration of local and regenerative agriculture with this administration and we are eager to see and hopeful to participate in detailing that policy course," he added.

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Bishop Kevin Doran / Credit: Catholic Communications Office

Rome Newsroom, Feb 16, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Kevin Doran as new bishop of the Diocese of Achonry, in addition to being bishop of the Diocese of Elphin.

The announcement, published Feb. 16, means that the two dioceses of Achonry and Elphin are joined "in persona episcopi" or "in the person of the Bishop." 

On Sunday morning, the bishop of Achonry and Elphin addressed Catholics, expressing his gratitude for the support he has received from people in both dioceses. 

"I gladly accept my responsibility as bishop of the two dioceses to work with you as we grow together into that unity to which we are called, and as we discover the gifts that God has given us to share," he told the congregation at the Cathedral of the Annunciation and Saint Nathy.  

Doran has served as bishop of the Elphin diocese since 2014. He was appointed apostolic administrator of Achonry diocese in April 2024, after the then-serving Bishop Paul Dempsy was appointed as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Dublin.

In a 2024 letter, Doran acknowledged that some Catholics may be "shocked" or "disappointed" by developments but that lower levels of religious practice and inadequate human and financial resources necessitated change.

"Both Achonry and Elphin are small by the standards of the Church around the world," he wrote. "The hope is that, with our combined resources, we will be able to exercise our mission more effectively."  

Doran, 71, was ordained a priest in 1977 for the Archdiocese of Dublin after completing his studies at Mater Dei College in Dublin. He also obtained a Master of Arts in Philosophy from the National University of Ireland. 

Following his priestly ordination, Doran taught at Dublin's Ringsend Vocational School from 1977-1983. He was also a member of the Diocesan Secretariat for Education from 1980 to 1983.

In 1990, Doran continued his studies in Rome and was awarded a Doctorate in Philosophy at the Angelicum while serving as spiritual director at the Pontifical Irish College.

In addition to his pastoral ministry in Dublin parishes, Doran also served as a vocations and formation director at a diocesan and national level between 1998 and 2006 and was general secretary for the preparatory committee for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress from 2008-2012, 

Before his episcopal ordination in 2014, Doran was secretary of the Commission of the Episcopal Conference for Bioethics from 1996-2014. From 2013-2014, he was a member of the Management Committee of the Mater Misericordiae Hospital in Dublin and a consultant to the Congregation for Catholic Education.

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A recent meeting of various members of the ecumenical initiative Easter Together 2025. / Credit: Courtesy of Easter Together 2025

Vatican City, Feb 15, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The First Ecumenical Council, the meeting of Christian bishops that was held in 325 in Nicaea (today Iznik, Turkey), laid the groundwork for reaching consensus within the Church through an assembly representing all of Christendom.

This event marked a key moment in the history of Christianity, 17 centuries ago this year, in which, among other decisions, the way of calculating the date of Easter was established.

However, over the centuries, changes to the calendar resulted in discrepancies between the Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox churches, differences that still persist. While Latin-rite Catholics follow the Gregorian calendar, in the East the tradition of calculating liturgical dates according to the Julian calendar has been maintained.

The difficulties of changing the calendar

"The process of changing the calendar, which began in 1582 with Pope Gregory and was completed to a certain extent in 1923 with the adoption of the new calendar by some Orthodox churches, was not without difficulties," Kostas Mygdalis, consultant to the Orthodox Interparliamentary Assembly (IOA), explained in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner.

"It provoked controversies among the faithful and between the churches and state authorities, consolidating polarizing divisions" that still persist, he added.

Mygdalis is also one of the key figures of the interfaith working group Pasqua (Easter) Together 2025, which seeks to promote the common celebration of Easter between Orthodox and Catholics.

Last September, Pope Francis received the members of this ecumenical initiative and expressed his desire to agree on a common date for the celebration of Easter between Catholics and Orthodox.

Interestingly, this year both Easters — Catholic and Orthodox — fall on the same date, April 20, due to the alignment of the Julian (used by the Orthodox) and Gregorian (followed by Catholics and other Christian denominations) calendars.

A step toward Christian unity

For Mygdalis, the joint celebration of Easter in 2025 should not be seen as just a calendar agreement but as an opportunity to place Christ at the center of the Christian faith.

"The time has come to make a strong appeal to the churches to unify the date of Easter," he said.

He also emphasized that the central message must be the need for unity in the world: "The world needs unity. A common date for Easter is a step toward this unity."

However, he noted that "the administrative structures of the churches, composed almost exclusively of clerics, seem reluctant to address this issue, perhaps for fear of creating new extremism and divisions in a world already facing multiple challenges."

He also pointed out that "dialogue between Christian churches is moving so slowly that, for ordinary faithful, it seems a fruitless process."

For Mygdalis, the effort to celebrate the resurrection of Christ together must be part of a "pilgrimage of reconciliation and unity" that will continue beyond 2025. He emphasized that the importance of the Resurrection is not only theological but also existential: "Without the Resurrection, all the suffering in the world is absurd."

A mandate for unity from Nicaea

"The celebration of Easter on a common date is not only necessary but a mandate for unity established by the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, whose 1,700th anniversary we commemorate this year," he emphasized.

"Through the Pasqua Together 2025 initiative, we seek to demand that the churches comply with what was established by the Council of Nicaea: to celebrate together the resurrection of Christ, the pillar of the Christian faith. It is unacceptable that this division should continue," he pointed out.

Toward the jubilee of 2033

Beyond Easter 2025, the JC2033 initiative was also mentioned, which proposes an ecumenical journey toward the year 2033, when the 2,000th anniversary of the resurrection of Christ will be celebrated. It is suggested that the date of Easter for Orthodox and Catholics coinciding in 2025 could be a first step toward greater unity on the occasion of this historic celebration.

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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Sister Raffaella Petrini. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

CNA Newsroom, Feb 15, 2025 / 07:15 am (CNA).

Pope Francis has appointed Sister Raffaella Petrini, F.S.E., as President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, the Vatican announced Saturday.

According to the Feb. 15 bulletin from the Holy See Press Office, Sister Petrini will assume her new roles on Mar. 1, 2025. She succeeds Cardinal Fernando Vérgez in both positions.

Sister Petrini, who has served as Secretary General of the same governorate since November 2021, brings significant academic and administrative experience to her new role. Born in Rome on Jan. 15, 1969, she holds a degree in political science from the Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Guido Carli and a doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, where she currently serves as a professor.

Before her appointment to the governorate, Sister Petrini worked at the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples from 2005 to 2021.

This appointment follows Pope Francis' recent selection of Sister Simona Brambilla as prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, marking a continuing trend of women being appointed to senior Vatican leadership positions.

During a recent television interview, the Pope had previously indicated his intention to promote Sister Petrini.

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WBVM/Tampa (90.5 Spirit FM) announces the promotion of Davis Watts to Program Director. Watts will continue to serve as Music Director and host of the More Music Middays (10 a.m. - 3 p.m.) Watts says, "It's been an honor serving the Tampa Bay community with this amazing team for the past 13 years. I feel that the Lord, our listeners and the industry friends I've made over these years have prepared me for the exciting challenge of leading our air staff and I'm eager to get started."  

Watts joined the Spirit FM team in 2008, moving through the ranks of night time announcer, to middays, Music Director and now Program Director.  "I've seen tremendous growth in Davis, and a hunger to improve not only his craft, but the station's as a whole.  I'm excited that he's up to the challenge." said John Morris, Station Manager. 

Spirit FM is a 100,000 FM station serving the Tampa/St. Petersburg market since May 1986. The station is owned by the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg, the only Catholic station in the country programming contemporary Christian music. For more information about Spirit FM, visit myspiritfm.com.

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