Alabama executes man by nitrogen gas after Supreme Court denies request for firing squad

The state of Alabama on Oct. 23, 2025, executed convicted murderer Anthony Boyd by nitrogen gas just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider requiring the state to execute him by firing squad instead. / Credit: Alabama Department of Corrections via AP, FileCNA Staff, Oct 24, 2025 / 11:32 am (CNA).The state of Alabama on Thursday executed convicted murderer Anthony Boyd by nitrogen gas just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider requiring the state to execute him by firing squad instead.Boyd reportedly took around 20 minutes to die from the execution method, according to the Associated Press. The news wire said he "clenched his fist, raised his head off the gurney slightly, and began shaking," after which he became still but continued with a series of "heaving breaths" for "at least 15 minutes."The Alabama man was convicted of capital murder in the 1993 killing of Gregory Huguley in Talladega County. Huguley was taped up, doused with gasoline, and ...

Prayers answered: Annunciation shooting survivor Sophia Forchas finally comes home

Annunciation School shooting survivor Sophia Forchas in a photo before the incident and then posing with neurosurgeon Dr. Walt Galicich at Gillette Children's Hospital in Minneapolis on a very happy day as she goes home to be with her family on Oct. 23, 2025. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Forchas familyNational Catholic Register, Oct 24, 2025 / 12:02 pm (CNA).Twelve-year-old Sophia Forchas is finally home after spending 57 days in the hospital with severe injuries sustained from the deadly shooting on Aug. 27 at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis during the first school Mass of the year that claimed the lives of two students. Sophia received a fond farewell outside the hospital on Oct. 23. In a statement posted to the family's GoFundMe page, Sophia's parents, Tom and Amy Forchas, wrote: "Today marks one of the most extraordinary days of our lives! Our beloved daughter, Sophia, is coming home!!"Speaking with gratitude for the team of doctors that worked dili...

Bill proposed in Hungary could require priests to violate seal of confession

null / Credit: AS photo studio/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 24, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:Bill proposed in Hungary could require priests to violate seal of confessionThe Permanent Council of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops' Conference has expressed shock over the proposition of a bill that would require Catholic priests to violate the seal of confession. "This is in serious conflict with the agreement between the Republic of Hungary and the Holy See of Feb. 9, 1990, which states that the Catholic Church in our county operates on the basis of [canon law]," the council stated in an Oct. 17 press release. The council expressed regret over "extremely crude" and "baseless sentiment-mongering and slander" that has occurred during the ongoing election cycle. "We emphasize to our priests, all believers, and society that we are not a political organization, we do not wish to partici...

Healing, women, and youth are priorities as Irish Church plans renewal

The faithful pray before the altar at Knock Shrine in Knock, Ireland, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNADublin, Ireland, Oct 24, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).Seven pivotal priorities emerged from the Irish bishops' Pre-Synodal Assembly meetings on Oct. 18 in Kilkenny, reflecting the hopes and concerns of the Irish faithful, drawing upon a series of gatherings held throughout the country from February to May.The assembly brought together delegates from parish communities across Ireland to discern how the Holy Spirit is guiding the Church today.Father Gerry O'Hanlon, SJ, one of the delegates, welcomed the process. "Building on the trust that has been established, we need to face difficult issues and embrace conflict and difference on the way," he told CNA. "The Pre-Synodal Assembly was characterized by a constructive spirit of speaking and listening in a spirit of prayer. As we go forward, we probably need a more concrete focus, with input from theology and the other sc...

Consultant to European bishops: Attacks on places of worship are 'pandemic'

José Luis Bazán, legal adviser to the Commission of Episcopal Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) in Brussels. / Credit: Victoria Cardiel/EWTN NewsVatican City, Oct 24, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).The rise in violence and attacks against places of worship and believers, traditionally associated with regions of conflict, has seen a worrying upturn in recent years in Europe, South America, and North America.According to the latest report from Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), in 2023, France recorded nearly 1,000 attacks on churches, and more than 600 acts of vandalism were documented in Greece.Similar increases were observed in Spain, Italy, and the United States, where attacks not only target church property but also include disruptions of worship services and attacks on clergy."These attacks reflect a climate of ideological hostility toward religion," said José Luis Bazán, one of the report's authors, in a statement to ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner.For Bazán,...

Prominent Northern Ireland cleric calls for King Charles to abdicate after prayer with pope

Pope Leo XIV and King Charles III meet before their prayer together in the Sistine Chapel during a historic meeting at the Vatican on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaDublin, Ireland, Oct 23, 2025 / 18:04 pm (CNA).King Charles III has acted contrary to the oath made at his coronation and should now "let someone else take his place, who is a true Protestant and who will take their vows seriously," a prominent Free Presbyterian minister from Northern Ireland said after the king prayed with Pope Leo XIV on Thursday in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican.Rev. Kyle Paisley, the son of firebrand Democratic Unionist Party founder Ian Paisley, made the statements in a letter to Newspapers in Northern Ireland and subsequently in an interview on BBC Radio as well as other media outlets. In the Sistine Chapel prayer service, King Charles, the supreme governor of the Church of England, accompanied by Queen Camilla, sat at Pope Leo's left-hand side as the pope and Anglican...

In Virginia, a Founding Father's Catholic daughter is laid to rest after 185 years

A color guard stands at attention as Eliza Monroe Hay's remains are carried for reinterment at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Payne/CNARichmond, Virginia, Oct 23, 2025 / 17:04 pm (CNA).Nearly two centuries after her death, the daughter of American Founding Father James Monroe has been laid to rest in Richmond, Virginia, joining her family's historic burial plot in the city's famed Hollywood Cemetery. The Diocese of Richmond held Eliza Monroe Hay's reinterment at the top of Hollywood Cemetery overlooking the James River on Oct. 23. Hay, who died in 1840, converted to Catholicism several years before her death. Pallbearers prepare the casket of Eliza Monroe Hay during her reinterment at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. Credit: Daniel Payne/CNAState Sen. Bryce Reeves, who worked with the Eliza Project to repatriate Hay's remains, said she was "far more than the daughter of a pres...

Pope Leo XIV encourages Order of the Holy Sepulchre in its mission in the Holy Land

Pope Leo XIV addresses the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre at the Vatican on Oct. 23, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Oct 23, 2025 / 17:34 pm (CNA).In an audience with the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, Pope Leo XIV thanked them for their humble service to the communities of the Holy Land, where they are called to bear witness "that life conquers death."At the beginning of his address, the pope recalled the mission with which the order was established in 1098: to protect the Holy Sepulchre, care for pilgrims, and sustain the Church of Jerusalem.The Holy Father thanked the members of the order present for continuing the work they do "with the humility, dedication, and spirit of sacrifice that characterize chivalric orders," especially for their witness and solidarity with the Christians of the Holy Land.In particular, the pontiff emphasized that even today they help the communities of the Holy Land "without any fanfare or seeking publicity" and support th...

U.S. Vice President JD Vance attends Mass at Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre 

U.S. Vice President JD Vance tours the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. / Credit: Nathan HOWARD / POOL / AFP / Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 23, 2025 / 13:20 pm (CNA).U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, attended a private Mass celebrated by Franciscan monks at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Thursday during a three-day diplomatic trip to Israel.Vance, the nation's second Catholic vice president, met with a group of bishops and went to confession prior to Mass, according to the White House Pool Report.The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was constructed in the early fourth century during the reign of Constantine the Great, the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. It is jointly operated by the Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, and four Oriental Orthodox churches.According to tradition, the church is built on the site of Jesus Christ's crucifixion, burial, and resurrect...

Pope Leo XIV criticizes pharmaceutical industry's role in scourge of opioid addiction

Pope Leo XIV meets with participants of the fifth World Meeting of Popular Movements on Oct. 23, 2025, in the Vatican's Paul VI Audience Hall. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Oct 23, 2025 / 15:26 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Thursday decried the devastating impact of opioid addiction in the U.S., criticizing the pharmaceutical industry for its lack of "a global ethic" for the sake of profits.In an Oct. 23 meeting with participants of the fifth World Meeting of Popular Movements held inside the Vatican's Paul VI Audience Hall, the pope directly spoke out against "unbridled consumerism" and its negative impacts on people living in both poor and wealthy nations."In the current culture, with the help of advertising and publicity, a cult of physical well-being is being promoted, almost an idolatry of the body and, in this vision, the mystery of pain is reduced to something totally inhuman," he said."This can lead also to dependence on pain medications, the sale of which obviously g...