'God is with Nicaragua!' exclaims first Nicaraguan consecrated bishop in the U.S.

Bishop Pedro Bismarck Chau at his episcopal consecration Mass as the new auxiliary bishop of Newark, New Jersey, on Sept. 8, 2025. / Credit: Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred HeartACI Prensa Staff, Sep 11, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA)."Today, we Nicaraguans are making history again. Do not forget: God is with us and God is with Nicaragua!" said Pedro Bismarck Chau, the new auxiliary bishop of Newark, New Jersey, at the Sept. 8 Mass for his episcopal consecration, making him the first Nicaraguan-born bishop in the United States.Amid a festive atmosphere and before a packed Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark, where he had been rector since 2020, Chau received episcopal consecration through the laying on of hands by several bishops. The principal consecrator was Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the archbishop of Newark.As part of the celebration, Cardinal Christoph Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, read the letter in which Pope Leo XIV officially appointed Chau as bishop and encouraged h...

Catholic nursing students live faith on hospital ship in Madagascar 

Erik Dike, a rising senior nursing student at Belmont Abbey College, carries a patient onboard a hospital ship in Madagascar during a two-week program with Mercy Ships. / Credit: Joshua Kiew Wing ChauCNA Staff, Sep 11, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).Three nursing students from a Catholic liberal arts school in North Carolina spent two weeks on a hospital ship in Madagascar this summer.Emma Harris, who will graduate from Belmont Abbey College in Charlotte in May 2026, joined fellow students Caroline Gutierrez and Eric Dike on a service-oriented internship in Madagascar with an international faith-based group called Mercy Ships. After returning to the U.S., Harris said she was "transformed."Mercy Ships operates the two largest nongovernmental hospital ships worldwide, delivering free surgeries and health care services "to those with little access to safe medical care," according to the organization. The three Belmont students, along with two other students, were selected to make up the fi...

3 teenagers in critical condition after Colorado high school shooting

Police officers are on the scene at Evergreen High School where a shooting occured earlier in the day, in Evergreen, Colorado, on Sept. 10, 2025. A shooting at Evergreen High School in Colorado critically injured three studentsincluding the suspected shooter. Authorities say there is no longer an active threat. / Credit: CHET STRANGE/AFP via Getty ImagesDenver, Colo., Sep 10, 2025 / 20:14 pm (CNA).At least three teenagers, including the suspected shooter, are in critical condition after a shooting at Evergreen High School in Jefferson County, Colorado, on Wednesday.One of the three students who has been hospitalized is the suspected shooter, the Jefferson County Sheriff's office confirmed in a post. The students are being treated at CommonSpirit St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, Colorado. The shooting took place at midday about 30 miles southwest of Denver at a high school of 900 students. Hundreds of law enforcement rushed to the scene. The school has since been cleared b...

Pope Leo XIV: Israeli attack in Qatar a 'very serious' development

Pope Leo XIV preaches at the historic Rotonda church in Albano, Aug. 17, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Sep 10, 2025 / 13:18 pm (CNA).On the evening of Sept. 9, when leaving Castel Gandolfo, where he had spent the day, Pope Leo XIV described Israel's attack earlier Tuesday against leaders of the Hamas terrorist group in Doha, Qatar, as "very serious."Referring to the growing tension in the Middle East conflict, the pontiff stated: "We must pray a lot and keep working, searching, insisting on peace." On Wednesday, at the end of the general audience in St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father encouraged the faithful to remember "in their prayers and in their humanitarian projects also the children of Ukraine, Gaza, and other regions of the world affected by war."At Castel Gandolfo, the pontiff specifically expressed his concern about the situation in Gaza, after Israel ordered the immediate evacuation of residents in anticipation of an imminent intensification of ...

Leo XIV defends crying: 'It can even be the extreme form of prayer'

Pope Leo XIV greets a young child before his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square on Sept. 10, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Sep 10, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).In his general audience on Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV explained that cries of pain, like those of Jesus in his final moments on the cross, instead of a sign of weakness, can express desire, surrender, and prayer.A rainy morning in Rome prevented the Holy Father from spending much time greeting the faithful in St. Peter's Square. Aboard the popemobile, he toured the square amid applause and cheers, stopping to give his blessing, especially to children.The pope dedicated his catechesis at the weekly audience, which began just over five minutes late, to reflecting on the value of crying."At times, what we are unable to say in words, we express with the voice," Leo said. "When the heart is full, it cries. And this is not always a sign of weakness; it can be a profound act of humanity."Although we ar...

First African bishop ordained to lead U.S. diocese in Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana

Bishop Simon Peter Engurait was installed on Sept. 5, 2025, as the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux in Louisiana during a ceremony at Nicholls State University.  / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Houma-ThibodauxWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 9, 2025 / 14:14 pm (CNA).Bishop Simon Peter Engurait was ordained last week, making him the first African bishop in the mainland United States. On Sept. 5, Engurait was installed as the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux in Louisiana during a ceremony at Nicholls State University. Engurait was appointed in June by Pope Leo XIV after working as administrator of the diocese since January 2024. He had also previously served as the vicar general and as the pastor of St. Bridget Parish since 2017. "I am humbled beyond words that the Holy Father has chosen me, not from outside, but from among the ranks of the priests of this beloved diocese," Enguarit said after being appointed.The diocese reported tha...

Archdiocese of New Orleans offers $230 million to settle abuse claims

St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. / Credit: travelview/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Sep 9, 2025 / 14:53 pm (CNA).After the Archdiocese of New Orleans increased its settlement offer to clergy sexual abuse claimants from $180 million to $230 million on Sept. 8, attorneys of the victims urged their clients to accept the deal.The archdiocese was able to increase its initial offer, announced in May, after securing a buyer for the $50 million sale of Christopher Homes, a property that has provided affordable housing and assisted living to low-income and senior citizens in the Gulf Coast area for the last 50 years."We knew we could do better, and we have," said attorneys Richard Trahant, Soren Gisleson, John Denenea, and several other attorneys who represent about 200 of the 660 claimants.The attorneys, who said the initial settlement was "dead on arrival," urged their clients to hold out for a better offer, saying that they deserved closer to $300 million, a figure similar to the $323 mi...

Cardinal Pizzaballa says violence in Gaza is the result of hateful language

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa. / Credit: Latin Patriarchate of JerusalemACI Prensa Staff, Sep 9, 2025 / 15:23 pm (CNA).The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, said violence in the Gaza Strip is the result of years of dehumanizing rhetoric and called for the replacement of hateful language with speech that opens horizons and new paths.Pizzaballa issued this call in a video message released during the Venice Film Festival, where the Silver Lion prize was awarded to Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania's film "The Voice of Hind Rajab," which recounts the last moments of a 5-year-old girl killed in 2024 in Gaza."You've already heard the news, so there's no need to delve into the dramatic daily story of what we're experiencing. The images are also very significant; unfortunately, they speak of destruction, of death, of so much pain. One of the problems we're experiencing is precisely this: We're so overwhelmed by pain that there seems to be no room for...

Father Joseph Farrell elected as Augustinians' new prior general 

Father Joseph Lawrence Farrell, OSA. / Credit: Courtesy of the Order of St. AugustineACI Prensa Staff, Sep 9, 2025 / 15:53 pm (CNA).The Order of St. Augustine announced that Father Joseph Lawrence Farrell, OSA, was elected as its new prior general, becoming the 98th in the more than 750-year history of the Augustinian family to which Pope Leo XIV belongs.The election took place Tuesday afternoon in Rome during the 188th general chapter at the Pontifical Patristic Institute Augustinianum, with the participation of 73 voting capitular friars.Until today, Farrell served as the order's vicar general and assistant general for North America. He received the seal of approval from Father Alejandro Moral Antón, OSA, who concluded his second term as prior general.Father Robert P. Hagan, OSA, prior provincial of the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, commented that this decision was made "after much prayer and reflection, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.""We are grateful for our b...

Students detail faith-based discrimination at Religious Liberty Commission hearing

Shane Encinas, 12, shown here with President Donald Trump, was among the students who recounted their experiences facing religious discrimination in American public schools at a Religious Liberty Commission hearing on Sept. 8, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Courtesy of U.S. Department of Justice/ScreenshotWashington D.C., Sep 9, 2025 / 18:25 pm (CNA).More than half a dozen American public school students testified about anti-Christian and other faith-based forms of discrimination in an education-focused hearing conducted by President Donald Trump's Religious Liberty Commission.The Sept. 8 hearing was the commission's second meeting since the president created it earlier this year. The commission's inaugural meeting in June focused on broader threats to religious liberty stemming from federal, state, and local government actors and questions about the proper role of faith in public life.The archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, a member of the commission, made his...