With Church as facilitator, Colombian armed group to hand over 13 tons of weapons

Cathedral of Bogotá, Colombia. / Credit: Eduardo Berdejo/ACI PrensaACI Prensa Staff, Jul 25, 2025 / 10:10 am (CNA).An armed group in Colombia pledged to hand over for destruction 13.5 tons of weapons to the Colombian government after reaching an agreement facilitated by the Catholic Church.The agreement, known as Accord No. 12, was signed July 19 following talks between the government and the armed group known as the National Coordinator of the Bolivarian Army (CNEB, by its Spanish acronym) held in the Inda Zabaleta Indigenous Reserve in the town of Tumaco.Representatives of President Gustavo Petro's government and the CNEB, as well as the bishops' delegate for church-state relations, Monsignor Héctor Fabio Henao, were present at the meeting.In an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, Henao explained that the Church representatives "are permanent facilitators at the [negotiating] table, along with the United Nations.""Our role is to connect the territo...

Excitement in Tanzania as over 200 young people prepare for Jubilee of Youth in Rome

Over 200 young people from Tanzania are traveling to Rome as pilgrims to the Jubilee of Youth, an event that is part of the ongoing 2025 Jubilee Year. / Credit: AMECEA/Vatican MediaACI Africa, Jul 25, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).Over 200 young people from Tanzania are traveling to Rome as pilgrims to the Jubilee of Youth, an event that is part of the ongoing 2025 Jubilee Year. It is a huge number, coming from Africa, where denied visa applications have blocked many youth from participating in the global July 28 to Aug. 3 event.Father Liston Lukoo, head of the Youth Department of the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC), told ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, that excitement is high among those set to travel to Rome for the event. For many, this is the first time they are setting foot outside their native country, he said. But their biggest anticipation is to visit the Vatican, and if fortunate, shake hands with the new pontiff, Pope Leo XIV.Asked to describe the mood of t...

White House releases U.S. plan for AI as Catholics say it must uphold human dignity

null / Credit: maxuser/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 24, 2025 / 17:53 pm (CNA).This week the White House released its plan for artificial intelligence (AI) in the United States, which aims "to achieve global dominance in AI" and promote "human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security for the American people." The plan comes as Catholic leaders continue to urge developers to exercise caution when growing and refining the new technology.The government's "Winning the AI Race: America's AI Action Plan" identifies more than 90 federal policy actions within the categories of "accelerating innovation, building American AI infrastructure, and leading in international diplomacy and security."The White House announcement laid out the key policies the AI plan will focus on, including sharing technology with allies around the world, developing data centers, and stripping away red tape around AI development.The government will also focus on "updating fe...

Exclusive: Gaza priest injured in Israeli bombing discusses impact on parish community

Father Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest at the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family who was wounded in a recent strike on the church, stands before the altar during a Sunday morning Mass held by the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem at the church in Gaza City on July 20, 2025. / Credit: OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 24, 2025 / 18:13 pm (CNA)."Thanks be to God more people weren't harmed," said Father Gabriel Romanelli in an exclusive interview with EWTN on July 24 in the wake of the July 17 bombing of his parish, Holy Family Church in Gaza, which left three dead and 15 wounded, including himself. "It was a shocking experience," Romanelli told "EWTN Noticias" in the Spanish-language interview, noting that while the parish grounds were struck toward the beginning of the war in December 2023, last week's attack marked the first time the church itself was hit. The front of the church was hit in a strike that Israeli officials have said was an ...

Los Angeles Archdiocese launches aid program for immigrant families in crisis

Archbishop José Gómez of Los Angeles greets perpetual pilgrims of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angeles in Los Angeles, California, on June 22, 2025. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno/EWTNCNA Staff, Jul 24, 2025 / 13:05 pm (CNA).Archbishop José H. Gómez has announced a new initiative of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to support parishes in providing essential services to immigrant families affected by recent immigration enforcement policies. The archdiocese will partner with area businesses and philanthropists to administer the Family Assistance Program, which will ensure that "every dollar" will provide direct aid such as groceries, meals, and prescription deliveries to those in crisis."Many of our friends and family, our neighbors and fellow parishioners, are afraid and anxious," said Gómez, who unveiled the new program at a press conference at St. Patrick Church in South Los Angeles on July 23. "These are good, hardworking men and women, ...

U.S bishops distribute $2.6 million to African churches, projects

null / Credit: Sergi Lopez Roig/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 24, 2025 / 13:35 pm (CNA).The U.S. Catholic bishops' 2024 Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa has awarded $2.6 million to support 96 pastoral projects across 32 African countries and multinational regions.In a July 22 statement, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) said the "boundless growth of the Catholic faith" throughout Africa "can challenge the Church as much as material poverty does."The "gifts of American Catholics to the USCCB's Solidarity Fund" help preserve a "spirit of unity" within the universal Church, the bishops said.Compared with the 2023 effort, funding has increased by $500,000, expanding grant projects by 28%. "The Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa makes it possible for African Catholics to carry out vital spiritual and social ministries," said Dubuque, Iowa, Archbishop Thomas Zinkula, chairman of the bishops' Subcommittee on the Church in Africa."The Afric...

Philadelphia archbishop in pastoral letter tells immigrants: 'You are not alone'

Archbishop Nelson Pérez of Philadelphia (pictured at his installation Mass in 2020) issued a pastoral letter in support of immigrants on July 23, 2025. / Credit: Sarah Webb/Archdiocese of PhiladelphiaWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 24, 2025 / 14:05 pm (CNA).Archbishop Nelson Perez of Philadelphia has expressed "sorrow" for and "prayerful solidarity" with the immigrant community as arrests continue to take place across the United States. "You are not alone," Perez wrote to U.S. immigrants in a July 23 pastoral letter. "The Church is a community of faith, and the divine person of Christ, who was forced to flee his homeland as a child, holds you in his compassionate arms."Perez called for the support of immigrants as many "came to the United States seeking new opportunities far away from oppressive regimes," adding that their "presence and contributions to society through hard work and upright living are a blessing to our country and to our Church.""Recent news reports detaili...

Pope Leo XIV meets Algerian president, discusses Church life and peacebuilding

Pope Leo XIV meets with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on July 24, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 24, 2025 / 14:35 pm (CNA).Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:Pope Leo XIV meets Algerian president, discusses Church life and peacebuildingPope Leo XIV on Thursday met with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune at the Vatican, where they discussed the state of the Catholic Church in Algeria and emphasized the importance of interfaith dialogue and cultural cooperation for global peace, reported ACI MENA, CNA's Arabic-language news partner. Tebboune also met with top Vatican diplomats, including Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The visit coincided with an Algerian-Italian business forum in Rome aimed at strengthening economic ties through 30 new trade agreements. Tebboune and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced efforts to register sites linked to St....

HHS investigation exposes 'horrifying' ethical failures in organ transplant system

Consultant Surgeon Andrew Ready and his team conduct a live donor kidney transplant at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham on June 9, 2006, in Birmingham, England. / Credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesCNA Staff, Jul 23, 2025 / 18:17 pm (CNA).The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced a sweeping reform initiative of the nation's organ transplant system after a four-year investigation by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) uncovered systemic ethical and safety violations. The violations discovered during the investigation, outlined July 21 in an HHS press release, showed "that hospitals allowed the organ procurement process to begin when patients showed signs of life," said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who called this "horrifying.""The organ procurement organizations that coordinate access to transplants will be held accountable," Kennedy continued. "The entire system must be fixed to ensure that every potential ...

Cardinal Filoni: 'We remain with the people' in war-torn Middle East?

Cardinal Fernando Filoni speaks to "EWTN News Nightly" on Tuesday, July 22, 2025 / Credit: EWTN NewsVatican City, Jul 23, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).A longtime Vatican diplomat now dedicated to aiding Christians in the Holy Land recently offered reflections on the Church's mission in conflict zones and its roots in the Middle East. In a wide-ranging interview with "EWTN News Nightly" on July 22, Cardinal Fernando Filoni underscored that the Middle East is not just part of Christianity's past but remains an area of vital importance."Being there means not letting this vast region be considered only historically as the beginning of the Church, without living Christian communities," he said. A portion of the interview was broadcast on Tuesday evening. Despite waves of emigration and violence, Filoni insisted, the Church cannot forget her roots. "Jerusalem is the Mother Church. No one should forget their mother's and father's home," he said.Filoni recalled vividly his serv...