Pope names new bishop for Jefferson City, Missouri

Father Ralph O'Donnell, bishop-elect of Jefferson City, Missouri. / Diocese of Jefferson City website.Vatican City, Aug 19, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV named Father Ralph O'Donnell of the Archdiocese of Omaha as the new bishop of Jefferson City, Missouri. He will succeed Archbishop Shawn McKnight, who in May was installed as archbishop of Kansas City, Kansas.Bishop-elect O'Donnell has most recently served as pastor of Saint Margaret Mary Parish in Omaha.Born on August 31, 1969, in Omaha, he earned a bachelor's degree in religious studies from Conception Seminary College and a Master of Divinity from the University of Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. He later obtained a master's degree in spirituality from Creighton University.Ordained a priest in 1997, O'Donnell has served in various pastoral and administrative roles, including vocations director, seminary vice rector, and executive director of the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life an...

From Rome to home: Young people strive to be witnesses for Christ

Young people gather on the esplanade of Tor Vergata during the Jubilee of Youth. / Credit: Courtesy of Claudia ArrietaACI Prensa Staff, Aug 19, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).Two weeks ago, 1 million young people returned to their countries after participating in the Jubilee of Youth, an experience that undoubtedly left a profound mark on their lives of faith. Now, beyond what they experienced in Rome, they have a mission: to take that message and testimony home.In the days leading up to the long-awaited event, Pope Leo XIV exhorted a group of young Peruvian pilgrims to "keep everything you live in these days in your heart, but not to conserve it only for yourselves. This is very important: Let what you will experience here be not only for yourselves. We must learn how to share."A young man reads a book on the Tor Vergata esplanade. Credit: Photo courtesy of Claudia ArrietaBeing an example of the love of Jesus ChristMarta Zambrano, a 25-year-old Spaniard who participated as a volunteer ...

Report: Taliban law erases religious freedom, targets women and religious minorities

A mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2024. / Credit: eyetravelphotos/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 18, 2025 / 16:04 pm (CNA).The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has released a report examining the religious liberty implications for women and minorities in Afghanistan four years after the Taliban's takeover. "Religious freedom conditions in Afghanistan continue to decline dramatically under Taliban rule," the USCIRF wrote in an Aug. 15 report examining the Taliban's Law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice one year after its enactment. "The new morality law reinforces a systematic and overt erasure of religious freedom in Afghanistan and facilitates the ongoing repression of religious minorities."According to the USCIRF, the morality law "impacts all Afghans" but "disproportionately affects religious minorities and women, eradicating their participation in public life and systematically eliminating their right to [freedo...

Latin patriarch of Jerusalem: Satan wants to rule where Jesus lived

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa tours the war-torn area surrounding Holy Family Church with the parish's pastor in Gaza, Father Gabriel Romanelli. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Latin Patriarchate of JerusalemACI Prensa Staff, Aug 18, 2025 / 16:56 pm (CNA).The ongoing violence in the Holy Land, especially now with the war in Gaza, was addressed by the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, in his homily during the solemnity of the Assumption of Mary.The prelate's diocese includes not only Israel but also those living in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank. This has allowed him to experience firsthand the consequences of violence, especially that which has ravaged the Gaza Strip in the last two years and which requires true words of peace, not "sugarcoated and abstract" speeches, he said.From the Benedictine Monastery of Abu Gosh in Israel, the cardinal stated that while everyone wants an end to the conflict, its end will not mark "the en...

Israel issues evacuation order for Holy Family Parish's Gaza City neighborhood

Worshippers attend a Sunday morning Mass led by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, at the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City on July 20, 2025. / Credit: OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty ImagesCNA Staff, Aug 18, 2025 / 15:04 pm (CNA).Father Gabriel Romanelli, the pastor of the only Catholic church in Gaza, Holy Family Parish, said Monday that an evacuation order was issued by Israeli forces for the al-Zaytun neighborhood surrounding the parish in Gaza City.The Aug. 18 order was part of a broader Israeli plan to relocate Palestinians from northern Gaza, where the parish is located, to designated zones in the south. Earlier this month, Israel revealed its plan to occupy Gaza.Romanelli expressed concern about the feasibility of relocating Gaza's 2.3 million inhabitants, however, asking: "Where can they find the space for all the inhabitants?" He said Israel was distributing tents to facilitate the evacuation.The Israeli military said the ...

French archbishop rescinds appointment of priest convicted of rape, asks for forgiveness

Archbishop Guy de Kirimel of Toulouse, France. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Diocese of ToulouseACI Prensa Staff, Aug 18, 2025 / 15:34 pm (CNA).Archbishop Guy de Kirimel of Toulouse, France, has reversed his decision to appoint a priest convicted of rape as chancellor of the archdiocese and asked forgiveness of the victims of abuse, whom he had no intention of offending, according to a statement released Aug. 16."In order not to cause division among bishops, and not to remain at a standoff between those for and against, I decided to reverse my decision; this has now been done, with the appointment of a new chancellor," the archbishop said.The reversal of the appointment of Father Dominique Spina, a priest sentenced in 2006 to five years in prison for raping a 16-year-old boy in 1993, came after the French Bishops' Conference asked the archbishop on Aug. 11 to "reconsider the decision."The French prelates stated at the time that "an appointment of such importance, both canonically...

Planned Parenthood makes nearly $500 million in pro-life states, including tax funds

The American Life League has found that Planned Parenthood has received nearly half a billion dollars from pro-life states. / Credit: American Life League, Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 18, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).Planned Parenthood affiliates based in pro-life states rake in close to a half-billion dollars from various sources in annual revenue, which includes millions of dollars in taxpayer funds, according to a new report.The revenue data, which was unveiled by the Catholic nonprofit American Life League (ALL) on Aug. 18, found that the financial performance of Planned Parenthood affiliates in pro-life states is nearly identical to the performance of affiliates in pro-abortion states.Planned Parenthood still has 11 affiliates that represent 81 facilities in states that have heavily restricted abortion following the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. The average annual revenue for an affiliate in a pro-life state is more than $41.2 million, which means t...

Pope Leo XIV: Bear Christ's 'fire of love' to spread peace throughout the world

Pope Leo XIV preaches at the historic Rotonda church in Albano, Aug. 17, 2025. / Vatican media screenshotRome Newsroom, Aug 17, 2025 / 07:16 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV celebrated Sunday Mass at the Shrine of Santa Maria della Rotonda together with the poor and Caritas workers, saying Christ's "fire of love" is what can create peace in society. During his Aug. 17 homily, the Holy Father said the Church of Jesus is a "Church of the poor," whose faithful should not seek their own comfort and security at the expense of those most in need.    "The world accustoms us to exchange peace for comfort, goodness for tranquility," he said. "Some will advise us not to take risks, to spare ourselves, because it is important to be at peace and others do not deserve to be loved." "Jesus, on the other hand, immersed himself courageously in our humanity," he said. Expressing gratitude to Caritas staff and volunteers working in the Diocese of Albano, Leo encouraged th...

Chant Camp aims to help children appreciate beauty and tradition of the Mass

Mary Ann Wilson conducts a children's choir during Mass at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Ann Arbor, Michigan. / Credit: Martin BarillasAnn Arbor, Michigan, Aug 17, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).The setting: a suburban Michigan parish.The agenda: a crash course in Gregorian chant as well as posture, breathing, and other elements of sacred choral music.The attendees: youth ages 8 to 18.Canticle Chant Camp was held at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Ann Arbor, Michigan, from July 28 to Aug. 1 and was attended by more than 40 children and teens. The camp ended with a sung Mass.Mary Ann Wilson conducts a children's choir during Mass at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Credit: Martin BarillasThe instructor was veteran choral director and educator Mary Ann Wilson. Wilson, who holds degrees in music, was trained in opera and Gregorian chant in Europe and has taught for nearly 30 years. She told CNA that she enjoys sharing "the glories of Gregorian chant, which uni...

Trump vows to do 'everything' to 'save' Jimmy Lai ahead of trial verdict

Police with automatic weapons guard outside the West Kowloon court after Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai arrived for his national security trial in Hong Kong on Aug. 15, 2025. / Credit: ISAAC LAWRENCE/AFP via Getty ImagesCNA Staff, Aug 16, 2025 / 07:30 am (CNA).President Donald Trump has vowed to do "everything [he] can" to "save" imprisoned Catholic activist Jimmy Lai, promising to "see what we can do" to help the longtime human rights advocate who has languished in jail for years.Trump made the remarks during a radio interview with Fox News this week, stating that he has "already brought it up" in government circles.The U.S. president's vow comes as Lai, imprisoned by Chinese Communist Party authorities since 2020, is nearing the end of a lengthy national security trial in Hong Kong. Closing arguments in the trial were postponed repeatedly this week amid inclement weather and medical concerns regarding Lai. The 77-year-old has reportedly experienced heart troubles while impri...