As breastfeeding groups begin admitting men, advocates launch new women-only effort

null / Credit: Tomsickova Tatyana/ShutterstockCNA Newsroom, Jul 12, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA)."The only males allowed in our meetings will be very young ones," said Ruth Lewis, one of the founders of MoMa Breastfeeding, a newly launched support group for breastfeeding mothers. The group was founded by former trustees of La Leche League Great Britain, who say they were ousted from the group for their belief that only women can breastfeed. "As experienced breastfeeding counselors, we saw skills and knowledge being lost through changes in language and the abandonment of mother-centered practice," says the website of MoMa Breastfeeding. "Support for mothers and children that protects the mother-baby dyad is needed more than ever." Group has Catholic rootsFounded in 1956 by seven Catholic women in Illinois who named the group after the nursing Madonna and in response to a rise in formula feeding, La Leche League ("La leche" means milk in Spanish) originally supported...

French bishops reveal 12 new abuse allegations against Abbé Pierre

French Catholic priest Abbe Pierre takes part in a demonstration on May 6, 1994. / Credit: JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty ImagesCNA Newsroom, Jul 12, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).The Bishops' Conference of France this week said a dozen new accusers have come forth with allegations of abuse against deceased Capuchin priest Abbé Pierre.The famed French priest has already been accused by several dozen people of inflicting abuse over the course of several decades. Pierre founded the Emmaus movement, an international charity effort, after World War II.In a July 10 press release the French bishops said they were "shocked to receive the testimony of 12 new victims of Abbé Pierre, including 7 minors at the time of the events."The bishops "assure these people of their support," the prelates said in the release. Allegations of abuse against Pierre, who for decades was hailed for his charity work in France, shocked the Catholic world last year. Emmaus International revealed the abuse claims in July of...

Former liberation theology leader calls on Latin American bishops to focus on Christ

Friar Clodovis Boff belongs to the Order of the Servants of Mary. / Credit: Lennoazevedo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsSao Paulo, Brazil, Jul 12, 2025 / 08:40 am (CNA).Friar Clodovis Boff has written an open letter to the bishops of the Latin American and Caribbean Bishops' Council (CELAM, by its Spanish acronym), who recently met in assembly, asking: "What good news did I read there? Forgive my frankness: None. You, bishops of CELAM, always repeat the same old story: social issues, social issues, and social issues. And this has been going on for more than fifty years.""Dear older brothers, don't you see that this music is getting old?" asked the priest who belongs to the Order of the Servants of Mary (Servites), in reaction to the final document of the 40th Ordinary General Assembly of CELAM, held at the end of May in the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. "When will you give us good news about God, Christ, and his Spirit? About grace and salvation? About conver...

10 years after Obergefell, state legislators fight uphill battle against same-sex marriage

Idaho State Capitol building, Boise. / Alden Skeie via UnslpashWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 12, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).Just over a decade ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered that every state must offer marriage licenses to homosexual couples. Ten years later, several lawmakers throughout the country are reigniting the marriage debate within their state legislatures.In 2025, lawmakers in several states introduced resolutions that urged the Supreme Court to overturn the 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which established same-sex civil marriage nationwide. The North Dakota House and the Idaho House passed resolutions, but both efforts failed when sent to their respective state senates. In most states, the resolutions died in committees.The limited success was in legislative chambers with overwhelming Republican supermajorities. The Idaho House, for example, has a 61-9 Republican majority and passed the resolution in a 46-24 vote. The North Dakota House, with its 81-...

Poll: Most Americans agree with Supreme Court on LGBT issues, porn, parents' rights

null / Credit: Wolfgang Schaller|Shutterstock.Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 11, 2025 / 10:45 am (CNA).A recent poll has revealed that the majority of American adults' beliefs align with recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings supporting parental authority, allowing states to ban transgender treatment for minors, and permitting authorities to require age verification on websites with sexually explicit content.On June 18, the Supreme Court ruled that Tennessee was permitted to ban medical treatments for minors including hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and surgeries. On June 27, meanwhile, the high court ruled that public schools in Maryland must allow parents the option to withdraw their children from discussions of LGBT topics if they have religious objections. It also ruled that a Texas law that requires pornography websites to verify that users are at least 18 years old does not violate the Constitution and can remain in effect.The poll, which was conducted before the rulin...

Arthur Brooks: Let's emulate Pope Leo by speaking truth in a spirit of love

"When you love the people with whom you disagree, and then you talk about the disagreements, then you're able to persuade people, potentially," Brooks points out. "Its your only shot at persuading people, is with love." / Credit: EWTN NewsWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 11, 2025 / 09:40 am (CNA).Best-selling author, Harvard professor and renowned social scientist Arthur Brooks says the missionary character and approach of Pope Leo XIV is one which all Catholics should emulate.In an interview with "EWTN News in Depth," Brooks called attention to the new pope's track record of threading the needle of "speaking the truth in a spirit of love, and that's a lot more of what we all need to emulate as Catholic people."This approach, Brooks said, is a winning one that gives him a lot of hope and optimism for Leo's pontificate and the future of the Church, which he says is on the cusp of a revival.Speaking with anchor Catherine Hadro, Brooks said all Catholics are called to missionary wor...

Funeral of soccer star Diogo Jota: tributes, mourning and final farewell 

Diogo Jota of the Liverpool soccer team. / Credit: Spanish-language edition of EWTN NewsACI Prensa Staff, Jul 9, 2025 / 20:19 pm (CNA).In an atmosphere of deep recollection and sadness, but also of hope, the funeral of Portuguese soccer players Diogo Jota of the Liverpool Football Club and his brother André Silva, who died last Thursday in a traffic accident in Zamora, Spain, was held on July 5. Jota's marriage to Rute Cardoso had been solemnized in the Church just 11 days prior. They have three children.At the funeral, which took place in the town of Gondomar's main church on the outskirts of Porto, Portugal, the coffins were brought in as the church bells rang. The funeral was attended by several of Jota's teammates, including Liverpool F.C. captain Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Argentine Alexis MacAllister, Uruguayan Darwin Nuñez and coach Arne Slot.Father Alípio Germano Barbosa, who was the pastor of the church in Gondomar for more than 18 years and who gave Diogo and An...

San Antonio Archdiocese to commemorate martyr who fought for religious freedom in Mexico

Blessed Anacleto González Flores, martyr of the religious persecution that Mexico experienced in the 1920s. / Credit: Mexican Bishops' ConferencePuebla, Mexico, Jul 10, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).The Archdiocese of San Antonio, Texas, will hold a celebration in Spanish and English on Sunday, July 13, commemorating the 137th anniversary of the birth of Blessed Anacleto González Flores, a martyr of the religious persecution Mexico experienced in the 1920s and patron saint of the Mexican laity.González was born in Tepatitlán, Jalisco state, Mexico, on July 13, 1888. He was a prominent layman, lawyer, and catechist, recognized for his profound faith and leadership during the religious persecution in Mexico in the 1920s. He founded associations for Christian formation and defended the rights of the Church, promoting peaceful resistance to the government's anti-clerical laws.For his commitment to faith and justice, he was arrested, tortured, and ultimately executed on April 1, 1927. Pope ...

Crippling priest shortage leads to restructuring of Grand Rapids Diocese

The Diocese of Grand Rapids, Michigan, announced on June 29, 2025, a restructuring plan that will merge parishes in the face of a priest shortage. / Credit: Snehit Photo/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 10, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).The Diocese of Grand Rapids, Michigan, has announced a restructuring process as it faces a shortage of priests.  The announcement of the "Rooted in Christ Pastoral Planning Process" comes a year after Bishop John Walkowiak issued an urgent diocesan-wide appeal to pray for an increase in vocations in the diocese, which has had just one ordination to the priesthood in the last two years. "In 2024, we had one priestly ordination. In 2025, seven pastors were either granted senior priest status or reassigned outside the Diocese of Grand Rapids, and there were no priestly ordinations," the diocese said in a June 29 statement. "Given this reality, the Presbyteral Council and priests of the diocese urged Bishop Walkowiak to take a hard ...

'Never again second-class people:' German bishops defend life amid high court controversy

Bishops Rudolf Voderholzer and Stefan Oster / Credit: Diocese of Regensburg / Diocese of PassauCNA Newsroom, Jul 10, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).Amid a heated debate over appointments to Germany's constitutional court, two Bavarian bishops have issued an urgent call to uphold human life and dignity, warning "there must never again be second-class people" in Germany as the country faces a contentious parliamentary vote.Bishop Stefan Oster of Passau and Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg declared that anyone who relativizes human dignity protections should be disqualified from Germany's highest judicial body, according to CNA Deutsch, CNA's German-language news partner.The bishops' intervention comes as the German parliament prepares to vote Friday on three candidates for the court that serves as the nation's supreme judicial authority and final arbiter on fundamental rights questions.The debate over nominations has focused on views publicly expressed by Social Democratic Party no...