Catholic News

Israeli authorities have arrested a man suspected in an attack on Tuesday against a French nun in Jerusalem.

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"Immediately following the incident, the Israel Police opened an investigation, and the suspect was arrested last night," Israel's Foreign Ministry said in an X post on Wednesday, condemning the attack that has circulated online and extending "sincere sympathies" to the nun who was attacked.

"He remains in custody, underscoring Israel's firm policy against violence and its determination to bring offenders to justice swiftly," the post said.

Bishops of England and Wales elect new president

Archbishop Richard Moth of Westminster in London will serve as the next president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.

"It's a real privilege to be in this position and I really pray that, with my brother bishops, I'll be able to serve the Catholic Church in England and Wales," Moth said in a press release Friday. "We look at the challenges in the world around us and that very often shapes our priorities. But it's not just about being reactive, it's about having a real consciousness that the Gospel message is an eternal message, the fact of God's love for us all. That's something that's unchanging, and it's about bringing that message into the world."

Moth succeeds Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who has served as president since April 2009.

Polish TikToker surpasses Guinness World Record for charity livestreaming

A 23-year-old Polish TikTok influencer, Patryk "Latwogang" Garkowski, has landed in the Guinness World Records for the longest charitable livestream, which he ended on Sunday, April 26, at 21:37, the time of Pope John Paul II's death on April 2, 2005.

The nine-day livestream raised over 251 million zlotys (around $63 million) for a children's cancer charity, according to a report Monday from EWTN News Poland, which noted the symbolic ending of the livestream and was "a moving testimony of unity, solidarity, and hope."

Kuwait cathedral hosts interchurch prayer for peace

Holy Family Cathedral in Kuwait hosted an interchurch prayer gathering for peace in Kuwait and the wider Middle East, bringing together Church leaders, diplomats, Christian and Muslim worshippers, and members of several national communities, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Wednesday.

Bishop Aldo Berardi, apostolic vicar of Northern Arabia, led the prayer in the presence of Archbishop Eugene Nugent, the apostolic nuncio. In his remarks, Berardi urged those present not merely to speak about peace but to become active peacemakers, choosing dialogue amid division and hope amid despair.

The gathering concluded with representatives of different churches lighting candles and offering prayers in several languages for the safety and peace of Kuwait, known locally as "Dira al-Khair."

South Sudan bishop mourns 14 killed in plane crash, calls for aviation safety

Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala of South Sudan's Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio has expressed deep sorrow following a tragic April 27 plane crash along the Yei-Juba route in South Sudan, claiming the lives of all 14 people on board.

"We stand in prayer and solidarity with the bereaved families, the government of South Sudan, the aviation company, and the entire nation during this painful moment," Kussala said according to a report from ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, on Tuesday.

"To the families, may God console your hearts and grant eternal rest to the departed. To the nation, may this tragedy renew our commitment to protecting human life," he said. "We strongly appeal for serious scrutiny, strict safety measures, and accountability to prevent such loss in the future, especially as air travel remains a vital means in our context."

Egypt moves toward advancing historic Christian personal status law

Egypt is moving closer to approving what could become the first unified personal status law for Christians, after the Council of Ministers approved a draft bill and prepared to send it to Parliament, ACI MENA reported Tuesday.

The measure, decades in the making, reflects Article 3 of Egypt's constitution, which recognizes the principles of Christian and Jewish religious laws as the main source for their personal status matters.

The draft personal status law for Christians is the result of consensus among six Egyptian churches and would address engagement, marriage, divorce or annulment, custody, visitation, inheritance, and family dispute settlement.

For the Catholic Church in Egypt, spokesman Bishop Hani Nassif Wasef Bakhoum Kiroulos said the Church helped shape the text while preserving its doctrinal autonomy, especially on marriage impediments, annulment, consent, and the form of celebration.

Nigerian archdiocese announces prayers of reparation after chapel vandalized

The Archdiocese of Owerri, Nigeria, has directed a week of prayer in reparation following the desecration of a chapel in the archdiocese by unknown assailants.

The archdiocese announced with "great sadness" in an April 30 statement the desecration of the adoration chapel of St. Mulumba Parish and renewed calls for stricter adherence to Eucharistic norms, ACI Africa reported Thursday.

The statement comes after an unknown assailant broke into the adoration chapel of the parish and stole the monstrance holding the Blessed Sacrament. Describing the act as a grave irreverence, Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji directed that all parishioners of St. Mulumba Parish observe a week of prayer in reparation.

Hundreds of Catholic schools in England to join 'academies'

The Archdiocese of Liverpool in England has announced that all of its Catholic schools will be asked to join three Catholic Multi Academy Trusts as part of its plan "A Family in Christ: Our Future Together," which aims to "secure and enhance" education in the archdiocese.

"The proposal to build the academy framework is a means of protecting our schools for the future to ensure that we can continue to offer excellent Catholic education to the future generations," Archbishop John Sherrington of Liverpool said in a statement Thursday.

The archdiocese has a network of nearly 230 schools, according to its website. Schools belonging to religious orders may decide whether to join academies.

"I believe we are better together, working together to serve the mission, having greater support for staff and keeping control of our educational system for the future generations of Catholic children and others," Sherrington said.

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The Papal Foundation this week announced a record-setting $15 million in grants for its annual distribution of humanitarian aid to support more than 144 projects across 75 countries.

Since its founding, the Papal Foundation has served the Catholic Church with collaboration of laity, clergy, and hierarchy. The United States-based organization is dedicated to fulfilling the requests of the Holy Father for the needs of the Church in developing countries.

The foundation has distributed more than $270 million in grants, scholarships, and humanitarian aid to more than 2,700 projects selected by Pope Leo XIV, Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI, and St. John Paul II.

During his recent papal trip to Africa April 13–23, Pope Leo prayed at the Basilica of St. Augustine in Annaba, Algeria, and he visited the restored Church of Notre Dame d'Afrique. Both sites were restored through the generosity of The Papal Foundation, with investments of $90,000 each from the foundation in 2008.

This year, The Papal Foundation's board of trustees approved $15 million, including $12,502,765 in current grants and an additional $3 million to be distributed in 2026 to further new projects.

The grants will fund initiatives across the globe including the construction and renovation of Catholic schools, classrooms, monasteries, orphanages, and medical clinics in numerous countries including Tanzania, the Central African Republic, and the Philippines.

"This year's grants are a powerful testament to what can be accomplished through faithful stewardship and shared mission," said Ward Fitzgerald, president of The Papal Foundation board of trustees, in a press release announcing the grants.

"Each project represents hope, meeting urgent needs and strengthening the resolve of the Catholic Church community in developing nations," he said.

In Tanzania, the grant will aid the creation of a dormitory to rescue girls from early marriage, trafficking, and sexual abuse, and boys from school dropout. In India, a safe school for marginalized tribal children will be built.

The grants will fund the creation of a library and technology center in the Central African Republic and professional IT training for vulnerable women in the Philippines. Also, in the Republic of Guinea, a well and water tower will be built for the community.

"Supporting these life-changing grants is the core of the mission of The Papal Foundation," Fitzgerald said. "The impact we have on the poor and most vulnerable is the organization's gift to the Church and the Catholic Church's gift to its people around the world."

Requests for the grants come in from developing nations after local bishops identify the most urgent needs. They are then advanced by apostolic nuncios to the foundation's grants committee.

The requests are then reviewed through the assessor's office at the Vatican, led by its current assessor for general affairs of the secretariat Monsignor Anthony Onyemuche Ekpo.

Members of the foundation's grants committee met with Ekpo this week to review proposals and begin building a working relationship.

"It was encouraging to meet Monsignor Ekpo at the start of his tenure and to hear his focus on expanding impact while strengthening efficiency and accountability," Fitzgerald told EWTN News.

"Those are principles we take seriously. Our goal is to be the most highly disciplined and transparent steward of funds, and the most effective means to get resources to the most in need."

Fitzgerald noted Ekpo's work in Nigeria and in Australia, which he said has proven to be strength allowing him to bring "a clear understanding of the realities facing developing countries, along with firsthand experience in more advanced economies."

"That perspective allows us to evaluate requests more effectively and align our resources with the priorities identified by the Holy Father," Fitzgerald said.

Growing engagement

The Holy Father met with members of the Papal Foundation in an audience at the Vatican on May 2, where he said he was "deeply grateful" for the work of the foundation "to assist the Successor of Peter in his mission to care for the needs of the universal Church."

"Your generosity has allowed countless people to experience in a concrete fashion the goodness and kindness of God in their own communities," the pope said.

He pointed out that the charity workers "will probably never meet everyone who has benefitted from your kindness, so in their name I express heartfelt appreciation."

The 2026 grants are the result of an evaluation process led by the foundation's grants committee, chaired by Dr. Tammy Tenaglia of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, with assistance from the foundation's mission fund committee.

The work of The Papal Foundation has been accomplished with the help of the foundation's Stewards of Saint Peter, which is made up of North American Catholic philanthropists committed to bringing the love of Christ to those most in need.

Since Pope Leo's election, the community of Stewards of Saint Peter has welcomed 25 new families committed to supporting the Holy Father's mission to serve the poor.

"The growth we're seeing is incredibly encouraging, as it reflects a shared commitment to serve, to give, and to bring the Church's mission to life in meaningful ways across the globe," said David Savage, executive director of The Papal Foundation.

The foundation's annual pilgrimage to Rome the week of April 27 brought together 56 of the Steward families. Led by The Papal Foundation's chairman, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the trip included a visit to St. Peter's Basilica and an audience with Pope Leo XIV on Saturday, May 2.

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The Catholic Church on May 2 honors St. Athanasius of Alexandria, a fourth-century bishop known as "the father of orthodoxy" for his dedication to the doctrine of Christ's divinity. Athanasius played a key role at the First Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325 and defended the Nicene Creed throughout his life.

Last year marked the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which was convened during the pontificate of Pope Sylvester I in 325.

St. Athanasius was born to Christian parents living in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in 296. His parents took great care to have their son educated, and his talents came to the attention of a local priest who was later canonized — St. Alexander of Alexandria. The priest and future saint tutored Athanasius in theology and eventually appointed him as an assistant.

Around the age of 19, Athanasius spent a formative period in the Egyptian desert as a disciple of St. Anthony in his monastic community. Returning to Alexandria, he was ordained a deacon in 319 and resumed his assistance to Alexander, who had become a bishop. The Catholic Church, newly recognized by the Roman Empire, was already encountering a new series of dangers from within.

The most serious threat to the fourth-century Church came from a priest named Arius, who taught that Jesus could not have existed eternally as God prior to his historical incarnation as a man. According to Arius, Jesus was the highest of created beings and could be considered "divine" only by analogy. Arians professed a belief in Jesus' "divinity" but meant only that he was God's greatest creature.

Opponents of Arianism brought forth numerous Scriptures that taught Christ's eternal preexistence and his identity as God. Nonetheless, many Greek-speaking Christians found it intellectually easier to believe in Jesus as a created demigod than to accept the mystery of a Father-Son relationship within the Godhead. By 325, the controversy was dividing the Church and unsettling the Roman Empire.

Nicaea

In that year, Athanasius attended the First Ecumenical Council, held at Nicaea to examine and judge Arius' doctrine in light of apostolic tradition. It reaffirmed the Church's perennial teaching on Christ's full deity and established the Nicene Creed as an authoritative statement of faith. The remainder of Athanasius' life was a constant struggle to uphold the council's teaching about Christ.

Near the end of St. Alexander's life, he insisted that Athanasius succeed him as the bishop of Alexandria. Athanasius took on the position just as Emperor Constantine, despite having convoked the Council of Nicaea, decided to relax its condemnation of Arius and his supporters. Athanasius continually refused to admit Arius to Communion, however, despite the urgings of the emperor.

A number of Arians spent the next several decades attempting to manipulate bishops, emperors, and popes to move against Athanasius — particularly through the use of false accusations. Athanasius was accused of theft, murder, assault, and even of causing a famine by interfering with food shipments.

Arius became ill and died in 336, but his heresy continued to live. Under the rule of the three emperors that followed Constantine, and particularly under the rule of the strongly Arian Constantius, Athanasius was driven into exile at least five times for insisting on the Nicene Creed as the Church's authoritative rule of faith.

Athanasius received the support of several popes and spent a portion of his exile in Rome. However, the Emperor Constantius did succeed in coercing one pope, Liberius, into condemning Athanasius by having him kidnapped, threatened with death, and sent away from Rome for two years. The pope eventually managed to return to Rome, where he again proclaimed Athanasius' orthodoxy.

Constantius went so far as to send troops to attack his clergy and congregations. Neither these measures nor direct attempts to assassinate the bishop succeeded in silencing him. However, they frequently made it difficult for him to remain in his diocese. He enjoyed some respite after Constantius' death in 361 but was later persecuted by Emperor Julian the Apostate, who sought to revive paganism.

In 369, Athanasius managed to convene an assembly of 90 bishops in Alexandria for the sake of warning the Church in Africa against the continuing threat of Arianism. He died in 373 and was vindicated by a more comprehensive rejection of Arianism at the Second Ecumenical Council, held in 381 at Constantinople.

St. Gregory Nazianzen, who presided over part of that council, described St. Athanasius as "the true pillar of the Church" whose "life and conduct were the rule of bishops and his doctrine the rule of the orthodox faith."

This story was last published on May 2, 2025, and has been updated.

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Two adults, eight children, 22 miles, and one purpose — to grow closer to Jesus Christ through Mary, his mother. That about sums up what the Allex family from Barrington, Illinois, will be taking on during their 10th Walk to Mary on May 2 in Champion, Wisconsin.

The Walk to Mary is an annual pilgrimage held on the first Saturday of May. The first walk took place in 2013 and over the years thousands of Catholics from around the world have participated. The 22-mile pilgrimage starts at the National Shrine of St. Joseph and ends at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, which is the only approved Marian apparition site in the United States, in which the Blessed Mother appeared to Adele Brise in 1859.

For Kym Allex, a Catholic home schooling mother; her husband, Preston; and their eight children — ranging in age from 17 to 4 — the pilgrimage has become an annual tradition.

The "Allex tribe" — as they're referred to by their community — first participated in the Walk to Mary when the eldest child was only 8 years old. At the time, there were seven children in the family and they all took part in the two-mile version of the pilgrimage for their first several walks.

The pilgrimage includes several "join in" points along the route that allow participants unable to walk the entire distance the ability to participate.

"For that children's walk — the little two-miler — it was so great to have seven kids just tromping around, excited to walk for Mary," Allex told EWTN News in an interview.

She added: "It didn't seem like a very long walk to be able to have a 2-year-old in a backpack or my 5-year-old running as fast as he could because he wanted to catch up to Mary, which I don't think he ever did, but it was just a beautiful experience for our family for the first time and every year after."

After their first couple of years participating in the two-mile version of the walk, the Allexes began to expand on the length they completed. This year, for the first time, they plan to walk the entire 22-mile route. And it wasn't mom and dad who made this decision — it was the two eldest children.

"My 17-year-old daughter and my 16-year-old son came to my husband and [me] after last year's 14-mile and they said, 'Next year we have some big prayer intentions,'" she shared. "They're on the cusp of looking at colleges and figuring out where they want to go and where the Lord is calling them and so they've stated, 'Mom, I'm going to do the 22 miles if you're OK with it. I'd like for our whole family to join.'"

The Allexes then sat down as a family to discern what God was calling them to do and what goals they needed to reach in order for everyone to feel comfortable doing the entire pilgrimage. With this in mind, the entire family has been preparing physically and spiritually for this event.

"Even our little 4-year-old has been walking and biking in the neighborhood every day that she can to be able to get her sweet little legs ready for this beautiful opportunity," Allex said.

She added that it is her oldest children who want to make sure that taking part in the Walk to Mary is always a part of the family's culture.

"They take off of work, they've told their sports coaches, 'We won't be able to go and do this race' … because our family really wants to keep this part of our family tradition," Allex said. "And it's great that it's my teenagers who are the ones that want to continue to pass this on. There's no fight because we've grown into this together."

Allex admitted that she was hesitant when her children first brought up the idea of doing the full pilgrimage.

"I will tell you, this 22-miler makes me a little nervous and yet my kids are the ones who are like, 'We can do this mom. We've done 18 miles at Disney. So we can do 22 miles for Mary.' I'm like, 'That is such a beautiful thought, right? If I can do this for pleasure, I can surely do this for Mary, for my faith,'" she shared.

When reflecting on how her family's faith has been impacted by taking part in the Walk to Mary, Allex shared that it has reminded them that "the Blessed Mother is such an incredible spiritual mom for all of us."

She added: "Especially for me as a mom in this world today, I can get lost sometimes in the worry, the anxiety, the stress of life. And so to know that our Blessed Mother will wrap me like a swaddling blanket into her mantle and bring me to Jesus is so consoling."

"The fact that my kids have seen that I go to the Blessed Mother when I'm struggling and ask for her help to get closer to her son, then they see the humanness of their own mom and they're like, 'Wow, mom might not have it all together, but she knows someone who does and she's going to lean in on that.'"

The Catholic mother pointed out that the pilgrimage has also taught her children how to pray for others. She recalled an instance when one of her sons went up to a man during the walk and asked him if he had an intention he could lift in prayer for him. The man was from Brazil and was walking the pilgrimage asking for healing for his wife.

"My hope is that they feel inspired to be those missionary disciples … and that they're cultivating hearts of missionary discipleship — walking with people, being inspired to go and pray with people," she said.

Allex added that each member of the family has a prayer journal and the children have already been "collecting people's prayers and they've already been wrapping them in our nightly rosary that we do every night."

When the Blessed Mother appeared to Brise in the woods of Champion, Wisconsin, one of the messages she gave the young woman was to "gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation."

This is something that has deeply impacted Allex's faith and a message she carries daily in her vocation of motherhood.

"I've memorized it [the message] because that right there, that is the role for us as parents," Allex said. "I think every one of our homes can feel like a wild country, you walk in and … for me sometimes it feels that way. It feels like a wild country. But if I can continue to gather my kids and teach them what they should know — I might not be preparing them for Harvard. I'm going to prepare them for heaven."

Summarizing her experiences taking part in the Walk to Mary and how it has impacted the entire family, Allex concluded that "this walk truly is this pilgrimage of graces."

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The national organization in Canada Catholic Conscience is launching a new annual conference, "Building a Culture of Life and Dignity," with its inaugural 2026 gathering set to tackle one of the deepest problems in contemporary society: the breakdown of our shared social covenant and the erosion of human dignity from conception to natural death.

The 2026 conference, "Restoring the Covenant: Catholic Social Teaching as Common Social Ground," will take place on Saturday, May 30, at De La Salle Oaklands College in Toronto.

The gathering is rooted in Catholic social doctrine and inspired by Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum, in which he says: "Since the end of society is to make people better, the chief good that society can possess is virtue," said Matthew Marquardt, executive director of Catholic Conscience.

Open to Catholics and all people of goodwill, the aim is to offer Catholic social teaching as a roadmap for renewing public life, Marquardt said.

The conference is meant to be a place where young professionals, potential volunteers, and benefactors can begin to match their skills and resources to the Church's most pressing projects.

The day will combine liturgy and prayer with plenary talks and themed breakout sessions, all framed by Catholic social teaching's vision of human dignity and the common good.

Speakers include Bishop Mark Hagemoen of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon; Peter Copeland of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute; Tucker Sigourney, a John and Daria Barry postdoctoral fellow at Harvard; Moira McQueen, a prominent lawyer and consultant in moral theology who until recently served as executive director of the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute; and Kathleen Muggeridge of Young Professional Catholics of Toronto and the Office of Social Action of the Archdiocese of Montreal.

In an education session, Catholic Register publisher Peter Stockland will host a discussion examining the influence of news and media in shaping social values.

In a world marked by radical individualism, moral relativism, and what organizers describe as "a culture indifferent to the dignity of life," the conference proposes Catholic social teaching as a unifying framework for rebuilding the bonds that make us a true covenant people.

For example, Catholic social teaching offers a Catholic lens for evaluating and interpreting governmental wellness indexes, such as the Quality of Life Framework recently adopted by the government of Canada.

"Our social covenant is broken and needs to be restored, said Marquardt, who is also president of Canadian Catholic News. "And the responsibility for doing that is on every one of us. We belong to one another and each have a role to play in society."

The conference grew out of months of discussions about the fragile state of Catholic apostolates in Canada and the surprising appetite among young Catholics for serious engagement, he said.

"If you go to church in Toronto since the pandemic, attendance is up a lot," Marquardt said. "The difference is a lot of young people who are very ardent. They say they want things to do."

Organizers say the event is intended to:

• Advance civic conversation on restoring a shared social covenant grounded in common principles and values, as an alternative to the social currents pulling people away from God and one another.
• Bring together Canadian Catholic social and civic initiatives — along with other groups of goodwill — to increase awareness and promote cooperation among them.
• Promote volunteer, employment, and fundraising opportunities for these initiatives, helping them find the skills and support they need to survive and grow.

The vision goes beyond theory. In recent years, small Catholic organizations such as Catholic Insight, Catholic Conscience, and Canadian Catholic News have struggled with increasingly complex regulatory demands, especially those affecting interactions with agencies such as the Canada Revenue Agency, and the practical burden of running lean operations with minimal staff.

This story was first published by The B.C. Catholic and is reprinted here with permission.

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A New Orleans federal appeals court restricted access to mail-order prescriptions of the abortion-inducing drug mifepristone.

The panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans, will require in-person distribution of the mifipristone at clinics.

The ruling found that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation that allows prescriptions of the medication that blocks progesterone without meeting with a physician "undermines" the state of Louisiana. In Louisiana, the state considers unborn children to be human beings from the moment of conception and legal persons.

Medication abortions, which rely on mifepristone and misoprostol, accounted for 63% of U.S. abortions in 2023, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The number of actual abortions might be higher due to underreporting, according to the organization, which was affiliated with Planned Parenthood until 2007.

Activists, lawmakers, and state attorneys general have been calling on the FDA to do a safety review of the drug, citing severe risks to women's health.

A recent study by the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) found that the removal of in-person visit requirements led to an increase in adverse effects for women having drug-induced abortions. This study is one among several pointing to a higher rate of serious problems.

Multiple other studies have shown high rates of hospitalizations for women taking the abortion pill. "Chemical abortion has a complication rate four times greater than surgical abortion," according to one study. Another report found that medication abortion complications are often underreported or misclassified.

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Lawmakers and activists are voicing support for a bill that would protect unborn children from a form of second trimester abortion that involves dismembering the bodies of unborn babies.

Introduced by Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Florida, along with Pro-Life Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Bob Onder, R-Missouri, on April 30, the Dismemberment Abortion Ban Act of 2026 would prohibit dilation and evacuation (D&E) abortion procedures in the United States.

The bill protects women from being prosecuted, as only abortionists would be prosecuted under the act and not women who have abortions. Abortionists who knowingly perform these abortions would face fines and/or imprisonment for up to two years, according to the legislation. Women who experienced trauma from these abortions would also have legal recourse to seek damages.

The 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act is the only federal law that prohibits a specific abortion procedure, leaving every other procedure unregulated. Lawmakers introduced similar legislation to ban dismemberment abortion in 2023.

Cammack, who is also mother to a newborn, described dismemberment abortion as "inhuman."

"Under our current system, abortion procedures exist in a legal gray area with no federal standards and no accountability," Cammack said. "Providers can perform inhumane extraction methods and face zero consequences. That ends now."

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, who is introducing companion legislation in the Senate, described dismemberment abortions as "among the most brutal methods of abortion, accounting for around 80% of second-trimester abortions."

"Our legislation would make performing a dismemberment abortion a criminal offense, with the doctor or healthcare provider who performs it liable to fines and up to two years in prison," Rounds stated.

Supporters of the bill point out that unborn children in the second trimester can often feel pain.

"The fact that this horrifying procedure is still being done to children who can feel pain in the womb is why we need to enact the Dismemberment Abortion Ban Act," said Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Mississippi, who introduced the companion legislation with Rounds.

Studies vary on exactly when unborn children can feel pain. There is some evidence suggesting they can feel pain as early as 12 weeks' gestation, before the second trimester even begins, while babies delivered preterm as early as 21 weeks' gestation have been documented to react to pain.

Jennie Bradley Lichter, president of March for Life Action and a practicing Catholic, voiced her support for the bill.

"March for Life Action thanks Rep. Cammack for this important piece of legislation that would stop the barbaric practice of tearing preborn babies apart limb from limb — which is often performed at a point in pregnancy when babies have the capacity to feel pain," Lichter stated.

Hon. Marilyn Musgrave, vice president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, called the practice "barbaric," noting that it "takes the lives of 60,000 to 70,000 developed babies every year."

"Dismemberment abortions, the most common second trimester abortion method, ends the life of an unborn baby by tearing off her arms and legs, removing her torso, then crushing her tiny head," Musgrave said.

Rep. Andy Harris, R-Maryland, co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus and a medical doctor who formerly worked at Johns Hopkins Hospital, said the practice "violates both medical ethics and human dignity."

"As a physician, I believe the practice of medicine requires a commitment to protect and preserve human life, never to take it," Harris said. "This legislation defends the sanctity of unborn life, holds providers who perform this procedure accountable, and recognizes rare medical emergencies in which a physician must intervene to save the life of the mother."

Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Indiana, pointed out that the bill would "allow women to receive compensation for the harms done to them."

"Medical providers that cause the slow, painful death of an unborn child ought to be held criminally responsible," Stutzman said. "In addition, this bill allows women to seek damages for physical and psychological harm that often accompanies these horrific procedures."

A 2026 peer-reviewed study by the Charlotte Lozier Institute documented the trauma that women often experience because of abortion. According to the study, nearly 25% of women who had abortions reported high levels of grief, depression, and regret; they also said they frequently thought of their aborted child.

Another recent study found that nearly 40% of women who suffer pregnancy loss from abortion or miscarriage experience persistent grief for about 20 years after.

Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus along with Harris, said the law "exposes the reality of abortion practices and protects unborn babies from the excruciating pain of being dismembered alive."

"The truth is that unborn babies are society's youngest patients: They deserve respect, love, and access to healing, life-affirming medical care and interventions," he said.

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The Supervisory and Financial Information and Authority (ASIF, by its Italian acronym), the body established by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 to put an end to irregularities, received a total of 78 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) within its financial system in 2025.

Of these reports, 73 were linked to accounts held at the Institute for the Works of Religion — known as the Vatican Bank — four originated from various entities of the Holy See and the Vatican City State, while one pertained to another unspecified organization.

The annual report, presented April 30, underscores, according to the Vatican, "the robustness" of its own oversight system regarding "the prevention of and fight against money laundering and terrorist financing."

According to the report, there has also been "a strengthening" of relations with counterpart agencies and key international bodies, as part of its commitment to international standards in the field of financial oversight.

In 2024, the Vatican's financial watchdog received 79 reports of suspicious activity, representing a 36% decrease compared with 2023, when 123 cases were identified.

Compared with the previous year, the report notes a lower incidence of communications related to the use of cash, a phenomenon that, according to the official statement, would be linked to a reduction in financial flows passing through Vatican City State. In 2024, these flows totaled 27,866,033 euros ($32.6 million), whereas last year the figure was 18,770,783 euros ($22 million).

This trend is also reflected in the statistics regarding declarations of cross-border cash transport.

The report also indicates that a financial transaction valued at approximately 522,000 euros ($611,883) was suspended as a preventive measure in light of potential illegality, although the report does not specify the date or the intended purpose of said amount.

Despite this, the qualitative level of the communications received by the ASIF remains stable, as evidenced by both the volume of exchanges with other authorities and the preventive measures adopted. Financial intelligence continues to be a key element in the conduct of subsequent investigative activities.

Throughout 2025, the ASIF sent 16 reports to the Office of the Promoter of Justice, the body that exercises prosecutorial functions, a figure slightly higher than that of the previous year, when 11 cases were referred.

Internally, the report specifically highlights the strengthening of collaboration between the authorities of the Holy See and those of Vatican City State.

The flow of communications with key domestic counterparts saw a notable increase compared with the previous year, with a 65% rise in incoming communications and a 31% rise in outgoing ones — a figure that, according to the document, reflects an increasingly integrated and cohesive system.

Likewise, international cooperation activities have been strengthened, with the participation of the Holy See in Moneyval, the Council of Europe body tasked with assessing systems for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, among other forums.

The report concludes by highlighting the close and constant cooperation with the Vatican Gendarmerie Corps, which has established itself as a central interlocutor in the work carried out by ASIF.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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In a bill proposed on April 16, several senators are looking to close a loophole that has enabled hundreds of millions of federal dollars to go to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.

U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Marsh Blackburn, R-Tennessee; Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana; and others introduced the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, which would ban Title X family planning grants from going to any group that provides abortion or funds abortion providers.

The bill makes exceptions for Medicaid coverage in cases of rape, incest, or situations that threaten the life of the mother. The prohibition also does not apply to hospitals, as long as the hospitals don't fund clinics that provide abortions.

"Organizations that perform abortions should not receive any taxpayer dollars," Cruz said in a statement. "I have long fought to end federal funding for Planned Parenthood and to ensure that Title X family planning grants are not awarded to entities that perform abortions or fund abortion providers."

EPA to test drinking water for drug used in chemical abortions

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will test drinking water for misoprostol, a pill used in chemical abortions.

The move to test the water for the drug follows recent efforts by activists and lawmakers to protect the environment from chemical abortion pill drugs, given the increase in their use.

In December 2025, Students for Life of America called on the EPA to add the abortion drug mifepristone to a list of drinking water contaminants tracked by public utilities.

Legislators in several states are introducing bills restricting abortion pills, citing concerns about water contamination. New legislation in Arizona, Idaho, Maine, West Virginia, and Wyoming would require abortion providers to have their patients collect expelled medical waste from at-home abortions.

Chemical abortions now make up 63% of all abortions in the United States, according to 2023 data by the Guttmacher Institute, in a more than 50% increase since 2020.

Poll finds slight decrease in support for abortion legality

A recent poll on abortion found a slight decrease in pro-abortion support.

From 2024 to 2025, the percent of people who say abortion should be legal in most or all cases fell slightly, by two points, according to the recent poll by the Public Religion Research Institute.

The institute surveyed more than 21,000 adults between February and December 2025.

According to the poll, 6 in 10 Americans said abortion should be legal in most or all cases.

The poll also found that Americans who attend religious services with some frequency are more likely to oppose abortion. Of Americans who attend services weekly or more, only 32% supported abortion. Of those who rarely or never attend religious services, 76% supported abortion.

Since 2010, there has been an overall upward trend toward supporting abortion. For instance, the percent of Americans who say abortion should always be illegal has dropped from 15% in 2010 to 8% in 2025, according to the institute's poll.

CVS denies 'partnership' with New York Planned Parenthood

CVS is denying a strategic partnership with Planned Parenthood of Greater New York after the abortion provider referenced a partnership between the two organizations.

Planned Parenthood of Greater New York said it had a "strategic partnership" with CVS for abortion pill access, language that has since been removed from the abortion provider's website.

CVS said it does not have a formal partnership with Planned Parenthood, though it does fill prescriptions for chemical abortions.

"We don't have a partnership with Planned Parenthood," CVS said in a statement to EWTN News. "As we do for all physicians, we dispense medicines as prescribed and consistent with the law."

Wyoming judge blocks heartbeat law

A judge in Wyoming blocked a "heartbeat" law that protects unborn children throughout most of pregnancy, beginning when their heartbeats are detectable.

In January the state Supreme Court struck down protections for unborn children, finding the laws violated the state constitution.

Natrona County District Judge Dan Forgey granted a temporary restraining order against the law, saying the law would likely be struck down for similar reasons.

Wyoming — the least populated state in the United States with just under 600,000 residents — has one abortion clinic.

Four states have heartbeat laws to protect unborn children when cardiac activity can be detected, usually at about six weeks' gestation.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the farm bill in a 224-200 vote on April 30, advancing legislation that could reshape U.S. global food assistance, following warnings from Catholic organizations about its potential impact on global hunger response efforts.

Catholic Relief Services (CRS), which had urged lawmakers ahead of the vote to preserve and strengthen global food aid programs, said in an emailed statement to EWTN News that it was "encouraged that key international food security and nutrition programs were protected."

"Several steps remain in the process," it continued, "and we look forward to continuing to work with both parties to lift up these essential programs as conversations move forward."

The bill's passage marks a step forward in a farm bill process that has stalled in recent years since the 2018 reauthorization. Senate consideration is next, where lawmakers are expected to consider revisions amid ongoing debate over how the federal government should structure food assistance at home and abroad.

At the center of the international provisions is Food for Peace, the U.S. flagship global hunger program that provides food assistance to countries facing war, natural disasters, or severe economic instability, often serving as a key source of emergency food aid worldwide.

Under the House-passed bill, Food for Peace would be permanently transferred from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), a shift long debated by policymakers. USAID has been largely dismantled under the Trump administration, with most of its programs absorbed into the U.S. Department of State.

The legislation also would require that at least 50% of Food for Peace funding be used to purchase and transport U.S.-grown agricultural commodities. Additionally, the bill includes a $200 million earmark for ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF), nutrient-dense products used to treat severe malnutrition in children.

Supporters argue the changes would strengthen ties between U.S. farmers and international aid programs, while humanitarian groups have raised concerns that they could reduce flexibility in responding to emergencies.

The House Agriculture Committee has defended the changes as strengthening the connection between U.S. agriculture and international food assistance while maintaining the program's humanitarian purpose.

The House-passed bill also would reauthorize the McGovern-Dole Food for Education program, which supports efforts to reduce hunger and improve literacy in low-income countries. Organizations such as Save the Children and Bread for the World, a Christian advocacy group focused on reducing global hunger, praised the provision, framing it as consistent with broader humanitarian goals.

Hunger as a 'moral issue'

Catholic organizations have consistently framed international food assistance as part of a broader moral responsibility toward vulnerable populations, a theme reflected in recent joint advocacy from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), CRS, and other Catholic agencies.

In earlier outreach to Congress ahead of the vote, CRS warned that limiting flexibility or resources could weaken the ability of the United States to respond quickly when families face hunger driven by forces beyond their control.

"Programs like Food for Peace have a long track record of saving lives, and it's critical they remain well funded and able to adapt to complex emergencies," CRS said in a statement, describing hunger as not just a policy issue "but a moral one."

Much of the broader House debate also centered on domestic nutrition policy, particularly the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), as lawmakers considered amendments addressing eligibility rules and restrictions on certain food purchases like rotisserie chickens.

Debate on the bill also included contentious provisions related to pesticide regulation and other agricultural policy issues, reflecting broader divisions over the direction of federal farm policy.

Lawmakers considered more than 300 amendments during the process, with roughly 49 ultimately adopted or incorporated into the final package.

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