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CNA Staff, Feb 20, 2025 / 16:15 pm (CNA).

The Catholic bishops of Kentucky are backing proposed legislation that would require a court to consider alternative sentencing for convicted criminals who have young children.

The measure states that Kentucky wishes to "promote, strengthen, and encourage family life for the protection and care of children" and "maintain the family unit with an emphasis on the parent-child relationship."

Parental incarceration is classified as an "adverse childhood experience," the bill notes, which can lead to poor mental and physical health outcomes and increase a child's chances of criminal activity in turn.

The bill would require courts to consider a convicted criminal's "status as a primary caretaker of a dependent child" before imposing a sentence. A court would be required to "consider an alternative sentence" in such circumstances while weighing the parent's criminal history, the seriousness of the crime, and other factors. 

Violent offenders would be excluded from the rule, as would criminals whose victims were children as well as those who are ineligible for probation. "Strong consideration" would be given to parents whose children are "infant, preschool, or school-age." 

Convicts will be allowed to present alternative sentence proposals to the court as well as read a family impact statement before the judge. The court, meanwhile, may "require the defendant to participate in programs or services with a focus on parent-child unity or supporting the parent-child relationship."

In an alert to supporters this week, the Catholic Conference of Kentucky said the state "ranks second in the nation in the percentage of children with an incarcerated parent."

"Sometimes, a parent may be a risk, and separation is necessary, but often it is not, and it leads to negative outcomes for the children involved," the conference said. "It also puts a significant strain on our foster care system."

Catholic Conference of Kentucky Executive Director Jason Hall said that "keeping families together is something we value very highly." 

"When you have a person who is a primary caregiver of a child and that person is incarcerated, if they don't have another family member who can take them, that child ends up in the foster care system and that can be traumatic," Hall told the Record, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Louisville. "You see negative outcomes for those children."

He said the bill is meant to "do right by Kentucky's kids." 

"Our view is the criminal justice system exists to keep people safe," he told the paper. 

"Incarcerating a parent and putting a child into the foster care system in a lot of cases does not lead to improved public safety down the road; it does harm to Kentucky's children." 

This is not the only prison-related measure recently backed by Catholics. The Missouri Department of Corrections recently launched a nursery program for incarcerated mothers who have children while in prison. The Missouri Catholic Conference had supported the measure when it was first proposed. 

Eligible mothers in that program are allowed to stay in a special unit with their babies for up to 18 months and attend family and parenting classes while there. 

The Kentucky Catholic Conference is backing several other bills this session, including one that strengthens religious liberty protections in the state and one that requires hospitals to offer palliative care services to women who receive a diagnosis indicating that their baby may die before or shortly after birth.

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Vatican City, Feb 20, 2025 / 16:45 pm (CNA).

Speaking on Pope Francis' current health crisis, Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro, a personal friend of the Holy Father, said in an interview on Wednesday that "the situation is delicate, but I [haven't] seen any cause for alarm."

"Francis is an 88-year-old man who has had a serious problem but who is now undergoing treatment. It's not a simple treatment and will require time," said Spadaro, 58, who for 12 years was director of the Jesuit magazine La Civiltà Cattolica (Catholic Civilization) and is currently undersecretary of the Vatican Dicastery for Culture and Education. He emphasized that the pontiff has "an extraordinary vital energy."

"He is not someone who lets go or gives in easily, and that's a very positive aspect; we have seen this in the past as well," he said in an interview with the Italian daily Il Corriere della Sera (The Evening Courier).

"My impression is that the situation has improved, and I hope that he will soon recover completely," Spadaro continued. "Francis is a man of great intelligence, and he knows that he must take the necessary time to recover. He has been visibly affected in recent days. The important thing is that he now takes the necessary time in a protected environment."

The pope's state of health

Pope Francis was admitted to the Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital in Rome on Feb. 14 at 11 a.m. after having done everything on his schedule for that day. However, the Holy Father began to show the first symptoms of his illness at the beginning of the previous week. On Wednesday, Feb. 5, he announced that he was suffering from "a bad cold" and apologized for not being able to read his catechesis during the general audience in Paul VI Audience Hall.

Subsequently, on Thursday, Feb. 6, the Holy See confirmed that it was bronchitis, caused by inflammation of the lining of the bronchi, which made it difficult for him to breathe.

"Due to the bronchitis he is suffering from these days and in order to be able to continue with his activities, Pope Francis' audiences on Friday the 7th and Saturday the 8th of February will take place at St. Martha's House," the Vatican said in a brief statement.

The delay in his hospitalization has caused some perplexity and has led to questions about how the medical team at the Vatican is managing his care.

A pope who never stops

Spadaro pointed out that, although Francis has been prescribed "absolute rest," it is difficult for him to comply with it completely.

"Indeed, he has never allowed himself absolute rest. Since the 1970s, when he was a young priest in Argentina, he had difficulty disconnecting. Perhaps now he will take a few days to rest, but soon he will feel the need to do something, to occupy himself with something," the priest commented.

However, he emphasized that the pope is striking a balance where "acceptance of the illness is essential."

"Even these days, he continues reading the newspapers, taking care of some work, and making phone calls. He always shows extraordinary vital energy. Deep down, it's typical of a Jesuit to keep working while he's alive and die in the trenches," he explained.

'He never spares effort'

Spadaro emphasized that the Holy Father "never spares effort" and that, furthermore, "he has no problem letting his weak condition show."

He was referring to Sunday, Feb. 9, when the pope celebrated the Mass for the Jubilee of the Armed Forces in St. Peter's Square and, not feeling well, "had no problem reading only part of the homily."

"He could have pretended that he was finished with his discourse, but he preferred to delegate it. He lives with great tranquility about his physical limitations. At the same time, he never stops giving himself completely in everything he does, because that is also the essence of his spirituality. In the past, when he had other health problems, he pressed on in the same way," Spadaro said.

Could he resign like Pope Benedict XVI?

Asked whether Francis could make the same decision as his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, Spadaro answered clearly: "He is aware, as he has said in the past, that one governs with the head and not with the legs."

"Certainly, it's a question of taking stock of how much energy he can still exert. If he ever feels that he no longer has the strength to lead the Church, he will resign. But as long as he feels that he has the energy, a temporary health problem will not be an obstacle for him," he explained.

Spadaro said that if Pope Francis feels he still has the strength, a passing illness will not stop him. "Benedict XVI opened up the possibility of resigning, and Francis has never excluded that option. He has thought about it, he has reflected on it, he has internalized the ministry of the pope and he lives it," he said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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CNA Staff, Feb 20, 2025 / 17:15 pm (CNA).

A $50 million school choice bill long in the works is awaiting approval from Idaho's governor after the state Senate passed the measure on Wednesday.

The bill would establish a $50 million parental choice tax credit beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, helping parents send their children to nonpublic schools, including private religious schools.

After years of attempts by school choice advocates in the Idaho Legislature, the bill passed in a 15-10 vote in the Senate.

If approved, qualifying students would be able to claim a refundable tax credit worth up to $5,000 to attend a nonpublic school. Students with disabilities could qualify for up to $7,500.

The tax credit covers qualifying expenses such as nonpublic school tuition as well as textbooks, tutoring, and other costs. The school choice measure would prioritize families earning up to 300% of the federal poverty level.

The program also ensures that nonpublic schools maintain independence in their admissions policies, curriculum, and other areas.

Gov. Brad Little hasn't yet made a statement on the bill, though he voiced support for school choice earlier this year.

At his State of the State speech, Little proposed a $50 million private school choice program, provided the program be "fair, responsible, transparent, and accountable" while also preserving public school funding.

But Idaho Education Association President Layne McInelly called on the governor to veto the bill, saying it doesn't hold private schools accountable. McInelly called instead for "ending the state's chronic underfunding of education."

McInelly criticized the bill for not ensuring compliance with state and federal discrimination laws, saying the bill is not transparent and fair "in the same ways public schools are accountable to elected officials, parents, and taxpayers."

Notably, private religious schools are not always able to implement various government requirements. Similar restrictions have prevented Catholic schools from being able to participate in school choice programs in Colorado and Maine.  

But the bill has received praise from organizations including the American Federation for Children.

"With today's vote, families in Idaho are on the verge of experiencing a dramatic expansion in private school choice, and we are eager to see it signed into law," Ryan Cantrell, vice president of government affairs at the federation, said in a statement. 

President Donald Trump also expressed his support for the Idaho measure in a statement on Truth Social earlier this week. 

"Congratulations to Gov. Brad Little, and Idaho legislators, who are fighting to bring school choice to their beautiful state," Trump said. "$50 million to empower parents to provide the very best education for their child — GREAT news for Idaho families. This bill, which has my complete and total support, MUST PASS!" 

Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 30 to expand educational freedom and opportunity for families by expanding school choice.

School choice programs help low- and middle-income families send their children to private schools of their choice, including the nearly 6,000 Catholic schools across the nation. Following a record expansion of state school choice programs in 2023, the National Catholic Educational Association found that more than 1 in 10 Catholic school students used school choice programs to help them attend Catholic school in the 2023-2024 school year. 

While the number of states offering school choice programs has rapidly risen in recent years, these programs are only in select states. Catholic leaders have voiced support for efforts to implement school choice on a national level through a $10 billion federal school choice program.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 20, 2025 / 17:45 pm (CNA).

The chairman of the U.S. bishops' pro-life committee and chairman of the committee for laity, marriage, family life, and youth criticized the new Trump administration order expanding in vitro fertilization (IVF) access.

Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, and Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, released a joint statement issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opposing the president's order and urging more humane options for infertility.

"As pastors," the bishops said, "we see the suffering of so many couples experiencing infertility and know their deep desire to have children is both good and admirable; yet the administration's push for IVF, which ends countless human lives and treats persons like property, cannot be the answer." 

The executive order calls for White House advisers to submit policy recommendations to protect access to IVF and to reduce its out-of-pocket costs. 

"The IVF industry treats human beings like products and freezes or kills millions of children who are not selected for transfer to a womb or do not survive. Tuesday's executive order promoting IVF is thus fatally flawed and stands in regrettable contrast to the promising pro-life actions of the administration last month," they said.

The bishops clarified that "every human person is a precious gift with infinite dignity and worth" regardless of how he or she was conceived. 

"People born as a result of IVF have no less dignity than anyone else. It is our moral responsibility to uphold the dignity of their brothers and sisters who are never given the chance to be born."

The bishops emphasized that the focus should be on solving infertility issues rather than promoting IVF.

"For the sake of couples trying to bring precious new life into the world," they said, "we look forward to working with the administration to expand support for restorative reproductive medicine that can help ethically treat often-overlooked root causes of infertility."

"However, we will strongly oppose any policy that expands destruction of human life or forces others to subsidize the cost," the statement concluded.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Feb 20, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Archbishop Ramón Benito de la Rosa y Carpio was born on Sept. 19, 1939, a little over 85 years ago, in the town of Higüey in the Dominican Republic, the country where he has spent himself and wore himself out for the faithful entrusted to him. 

The midwife who attended to his Mami Nena, as he affectionately calls his mother, was his great-grandmother Damiana Cedano, who that day prophesied what would later come true: "Nenita, your son is a boy and he will be a priest."

Sharing in this marvelous way how his story began, the archbishop expressed his gratitude to those who participated in the celebration of his 60 years of priesthood, which was held at the cathedral of Santiago de los Caballeros, an archdiocese he pastored from 2003 to 2015.

"Thank you, Mommy Nena, for teaching me from the time I was in your womb to pray, to love God and his mother, and to not be afraid of anything, clinging to the redeeming cross of Christ. Thank you, Papa Beno, for teaching me to be a man like you, capable of commitment, of being responsible and of having the right intention in my conduct."

The archbishop, who was also auxiliary bishop of Santo Domingo and bishop of Our Lady of Alta Gracia in Higüey, said he felt the call of God in January 1954, when he was 14 years old, while reading the book "El Drama de Jesús" ("The Drama of Jesus") by Jesuit priest José Julio Martínez and that he also made "the octave of Altagracia for my priestly vocation, going every day to its shrine."

"If I were 14 years old again and if at that age I had to make a decision, I would be a priest again, I would choose the Lord as my only inheritance. I feel completely fulfilled," he emphasized.

On Jan. 23, 1965, at the age of 25, De la Rosa was ordained a priest at the shrine of Our Lady of Altagracia by Bishop Juan Félix Pepén. On Jan. 6, 1989, at age 49, he was consecrated a bishop by Pope John Paul II in Rome.

His final words on the day of the celebration of his 60 years as a priest were: "When I look back, I feel good. I don't know how many days, months, or years the Lord will give me among you, but every day I do pray to him and say this prayer: Lord, give me the grace to be faithful to you and to the Church until eternity."

"On Jan. 23, 1965, I was ordained a priest at the feet of this blessed image of [Our Lady of] Altagracia, venerated by all the Dominican people as Mother Protectress. Sixty years later, as one more pilgrim, I have climbed up [the stairs] again to her altar, located in the basilica, her home and everyone's home." 

On the occasion of his 60th anniversary as a priest, De la Rosa shared with ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, 10 pieces of advice for all priests and those who discover a vocation or open themselves to the possibility of one to persevere in it.

1. God called you — never doubt it.

"First, remain sure that it was God who called you. Never doubt it. I have always been sure for 60 years that God has called me and I have never felt a temptation or thoughts contrary to this vocation. I have felt sure, I have never doubted. That is why I remain sure and I feel as happy now as I did 60 years ago with my time in the seminary," the Dominican archbishop emphasized.

 2. Go where you are sent.

"The second idea that occurs to me is this: Wherever they send you, go. Always be open to the ministerial mission, open to universality," he recommended. "Wherever they send you, go. Always feel open to the universal mission."

3. Value the powers you have received.

"Third idea: Always value the powers you have received. It is wonderful what the Lord grants to a priest," the prelate emphasized.

"The first thing that draws my attention is the power of the Eucharist and not only being able to say Mass and being able to see that I can celebrate the Eucharist, changing the bread into the body of Christ and the wine into the blood of Christ, but I see that it is really so, by the fruits that are seen."

In addition, De la Rosa referred to the ability a Catholic priest has to administer other sacraments, such as the anointing of the sick.

4. Remember that there will be "envy and gossip."

"Fourth point: People will be envious and gossip. People will be envious, as happened to Cain. I think that it happens to everyone, to all human beings, in all ministries. You will be gossiped about inside the Church and outside the Church."

"But always remember what Jesus Christ said, woe to you if everyone speaks well of you. The important thing is to carry out the ministry, to do what we have to do and to bless," the archbishop encouraged.

5. There will be problems.

The archbishop pointed out that the problems in the life of the priest "are not vocational but of another type" and that work must be done to find a solution.

6. Leaving the priestly ministry doesn't solve the problems.

After reiterating that the priest's problems "are not vocational or of celibacy," the archbishop emphasized: "Never look for a solution to priestly problems by leaving the ministry. I always believe that those who have left the ministry had a vocation."

So he recommended that, in these situations, the priest has to "do what has to be done."

7. Always say yes.

The prelate said he saw many fruits in his life by always saying yes and "never saying no."

"One time I made the decision to say no to people because they were failing me. I said so to a woman who was telling me, 'Come celebrate my daughter's 15th birthday at my house.' I said, 'I can't, I won't go, I have pastoral ministry to do.'" However, because of the woman's insistence, he finally went and thus understood the importance of not refusing the call of his flock.

8. Greet everyone.

"An eighth point that occurs to me is to greet everyone. I always remember my father who told me: 'Ramón, until the last old lady is greeted, you will not have greeted everyone.' I still maintain that position after 60 years."

9. "God has a way": Trust in providence.

"Ninth, when faced with life's problems, I have to say what I learned from my great-grandmother, which I told my mother: 'God has a way.' There wasn't a cent in the house to enter the seminary, but 'God has a way,' my great-grandmother told my mother, and the means were found," he recounted, emphasizing that he was always able to find a solution to complicated financial situations.

"God has a way, God has a way to find solutions," he added, and advised: "Work and you will never die of hunger."

"The shirts that I wear now, with 60 years gone by, I haven't bought any of them, people give them to me. Which is why I can say that God has a way. Divine providence takes care of you," he said.

10. Priestly loneliness?

"People talk to me about the loneliness of the priest. I am always surprised by this question, because I have never felt alone. I cannot speak of priestly loneliness," the Dominican archbishop shared with ACI Prensa.

"I have always had people who accompany me," he added. After emphasizing that he always seeks to be "attentive and available," the prelate said "I'm not alone, I have communities that accompany me," such as the faithful of the parishes, of his "domestic church."

De la Rosa affirmed: "I thank God every day and I'm still alive. And I say, Lord, I will be alive to fulfill the mission that you give me. I repeat many times, I will always be a priest. A priest in everything, a priest forever."

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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CNA Staff, Feb 20, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A prison nursery program in Missouri that has drawn support from local Catholic leaders is offering mothers a supportive "family-oriented" place to bond with their newborn babies while still incarcerated. 

The nursery program at the Women's Eastern Reception, Diagnostic, and Correctional Center (WERDCC) in Vandalia, Missouri, is offering "a great opportunity to reach a lot of moms" who might otherwise be separated from their very young children, program manager Kim Perkins told CNA. 

Perkins said the facility came about after the Missouri Legislature in 2022 passed a bill creating the "Correctional Center Nursery Program," which "requires the Department of Corrections to establish a correctional center nursery" in at least one of the state's women's prisons by July 2025. 

The program "allows eligible inmates and children born to them while in the custody of the department to reside together in the institution for up to 18 months post-delivery," the measure said.

Perkins told CNA that the program she oversees is the only one in the state. "We have two female facilities in Missouri, and all of our pregnant moms stay at our institution at WERDCC," she said. 

"The state government funds the program, which is amazing, because most programs that exist like this are not fully funded by the state but by donations," she said. 

"We have a great opportunity to reach a lot of moms and not worry about if we're going to have enough diapers from month to month."

Catholic leaders back nursery program

The nursery initiative has received backing from the Missouri Catholic Conference. The group noted earlier this month that it had supported the legislation establishing the program in 2022.

Father Louis Dorn, a priest with the Diocese of Jefferson City who has done prison ministry for decades, told the Catholic Missourian that year that he has seen the toll taken on mothers who are separated from their newborn babies. 

"Having been chaplain to incarcerated women for many years, I know that one of the most painful things for them is the separation from their newborn infants," he said, calling it "demoralizing and harmful to their mental health."

Perkins told CNA that the specialized facility — which looks more like a comfortable hospital or birthing center than a prison — offers bonding opportunities for mothers and "time to focus on themselves and their baby."

She noted that there are requirements for mothers participating in the program, most specifically that they have 18 months or fewer left on their sentence. The crimes for which they were incarcerated, meanwhile, cannot have been dangerous felonies, sex crimes, or crimes against children. 

"Once they're cleared, we can move them over to our facility," she said. "We have seven rooms that are designated for moms and babies, but we can hold 14. They can double up if we need to. They're pretty big rooms."

"We have nice beds in there, baby beds, rockers, changing tables, the whole nine yards," Perkins said. 

Mothers in the program go to a local hospital to have their babies, she said, after which they return to the facility, which offers a variety of services geared toward helping mothers and small babies.

"We offer parenting classes," she said. "We have Early Head Start coming in. We're going to have a nutritionist come in. We're looking to get WIC [the supplemental nutrition program]." 

"We have programs to help them with the basics — with life skills, how to parent, how to do that well, watching their mental health," she said. The facility also offers substance abuse classes if the mothers are recovering addicts. 

Also living in the facility, Perkins said, are "caregivers," fellow inmates who also must be cleared to participate in the program. 

"If mom has to go to treatment, we have a daycare set up, and our caregivers work for the daycare and take care of the babies," she said. 

"They record everything — when they change a diaper, if they feed the baby, if the baby was fussy."

There are several other prison nursery programs throughout the United States. Numerous other countries, meanwhile, make efforts to keep incarcerated women with their young children if possible. 

In 2018, Pope Francis visited a facility in Rome that keeps children with their mothers who might otherwise be separated because of imprisonment.

The facility "allows mothers to accompany and take their children back to school and to carry out activities useful for learning a profession, in view of future reintegration into the world of work and society," the Vatican said at the time. Francis has regularly visited prisons and emphasized the need to reach out to prisoners and minister to them.

Perkins, meanwhile, said the Missouri facility is intentionally designed to create a family environment for the women and children living there.

"It's a different atmosphere," she said "It's very family-oriented. The ladies are very supportive of each other. It's a nice, secure place. And we've tried to make it that way."

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 20, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A group of pro-life philanthropists in the United States has launched a $30 million Pro-Life Venture Fund to support projects aimed at making abortion "unavailable and unthinkable," according to its founder.

The new group, called the Life Leadership Conference, was formally announced on Tuesday, Feb. 18. The intention, according to the executive director, David Bereit, is to reduce overlap and redundancies among pro-life groups and create "a team dedicated to advancing the entirety of the movement."

"This is what the pro-life movement has needed, in my opinion, for decades," Bereit told CNA.

Although Bereit said "everything is still in the very earliest stages" and "we have not begun the process of formal invitations and establishing the membership," the Life Leadership Conference is already backed by influential pro-life leaders.

Bereit previously founded and led the international pro-life 40 Days for Life and serves as a member of the Equal Rights Institute's board of advisers. The Life Leadership Conference is also supported by Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society, Princeton professor Robert George, and retired businessman Ray Ruddy.

"[We need to] bring our very best efforts to solving one of the greatest cultural problems," Bereit added.

Bereit said the Life Leadership Conference is still finalizing its membership criteria but that the coalition will hopefully include major pro-life nonprofits as well as newer and emerging pro-life leaders. 

A coordinated effort post-Dobbs

The launch of the Life Leadership Conference was announced in a Feb. 18 letter outlining its goals that was sent to numerous pro-life organizations.

According to the letter, Bereit will build membership, create channels of communication among pro-life groups, and manage a budget to facilitate gatherings, support research and polling, and wage pro-life campaigns.

"The Life Leadership Conference is our way of working to ensure that the pro-life movement's ideals are fully and faithfully operationalized, to the end of winning more and losing and compromising less," the letter states. 

"Membership in the conference will be extended to those organizations and influencers who know how to achieve genuine victories as well as to philanthropists and donors with a significant interest and stake in seeing progress towards our goal of building an America in which every child is protected in law and welcomed in life," the letter adds.

The pro-life movement secured major legislative wins after the Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization in 2022 that states and the federal government can restrict abortion. However, the movement has struggled to win at the ballot box when the issue of abortion is put directly in front of voters through referendums.

"More people are — in general — opposed to what they perceive to be the pro-life movement's position at this moment in time than they were five to 10 years ago," Bereit acknowledged. 

"We can't keep operating in a pre-Dobbs world," he said. 

The letter states that "pro-life organizations need to adapt to an altered landscape and new set of challenges" given the circumstances.

"Some groups have adapted and are charting winning strategies," the letter adds, but warns that "some are posting more losses than gains and are redefining what it means to win in ways that risk making the movement weaker and less effective."

Building a culture of life

The letter states that the Pro-Life Venture Fund will be "spent on member projects that will actually reduce the killing of unborn children." Its goals include making abortion less available, engaging younger generations, and providing women with assistance and resources to help them choose life. 

While the specifics are still in the works, Bereit said the mission is to make abortion "unavailable and unthinkable," adding that an essential part of that effort is "reducing the supply of and the perceived demand for abortion."

Although Bereit said some efforts will be legislative, he also emphasized the need "to raise awareness about the injustice perpetrated by the abortion industry" and to "strengthen [pro-life] pregnancy centers" and "bring about much, much greater awareness of these resources" that are available to pregnant women. 

Bereit also emphasized the need to work with younger activists and influencers, noting that young people are "the target of the abortion industry."

"We need young people educated and then able to educate their peers, and that's going to be a major thrust of this," he said.

The pro-life movement "can achieve so much more" when organizations successfully work together, Bereit said.

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Vatican City, Feb 20, 2025 / 02:05 am (CNA).

Pope Francis was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Friday, Feb. 14, to undergo testing and treatment for bronchitis, the Vatican said. On Tuesday he was diagnosed with double pneumonia but on Wednesday showed "slight improvement," according to the Vatican.

Follow here for the latest news on Pope Francis' health and hospitalization:

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ACI Prensa Staff, Feb 19, 2025 / 17:20 pm (CNA).

Father Donald Martin Ye Naing Win, a 44-year-old diocesan priest of the Archdiocese of Mandalay in Myanmar, was killed Feb. 14 in the midst of the civil war that has plunged the Asian country into a serious humanitarian and human rights crisis.

According to the Vatican agency Fides, the priest's body was found by some members of the faithful around 6 a.m. local time, "mutilated and disfigured with stab wounds," on the grounds of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, where the priest worked as a parish priest. 

Ye Naing Win was ordained a priest in 2018. He devoted himself to his parishioners with zeal and fidelity, also bringing humanitarian assistance and spiritual consolation to those displaced by the civil war.

The church where he served is in the village of Kan Gyi Taw in the territory of the Shwe Bo district belonging to the Sagaing region. This area, Fides noted, is one of the areas where fighting is frequent between the militiamen of the People's Defense Forces and the army of the junta that overthrew the government. 

"May the blood and sacrifices of countless innocent people, together with that of Father Donald Martin, serve as an offering to end the violence that is raging throughout the country," the Myanmar bishops' conference said in a statement, signed by their president and archbishop of Yangon, Cardinal Charles Bo.

"Let us take lessons from this heartbreaking tragedy. We call upon all brothers and sisters to wake up and end the violence," the statement said.

Vatican News reported that 10 suspects have been arrested by the militants who control the region.

What is happening in Myanmar?

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is in the midst of a civil war following a military coup in early 2021, in which a junta overthrew the elected government of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who had promised a new democratic era.

The coup sparked widespread resistance by militants of the People's Defense Forces, mass protests, and an escalation of conflict across the country.

The junta has killed thousands of people, detained tens of thousands, and bombed hospitals, schools, and religious buildings such as the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Mindat, which was badly damaged by airstrikes on Feb. 6 in Chin state, the only Christian-majority state in Myanmar.

The junta has announced elections for 2025 in which only parties approved by it will be able to participate.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 19, 2025 / 17:40 pm (CNA).

Local Catholic Charities agencies across the country are being forced to lay off staff and weigh shutting down programs in the wake of the Trump administration's 90-day federal funding freeze. 

Upon taking office last month, President Donald Trump issued directives that, among other measures, paused grants to organizations that aid migrants and refugees.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), on Feb. 18 filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over what the bishops say is an unlawful suspension of funding for refugee programs in the United States, many of which are run by Catholic Charities. 

Catholic Charities Santa Rosa: Aid for legal migrants cut

Last week Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Santa Rosa, California, became one of the first local agencies to comment publicly on the impact of the Trump administration's funding freeze on its services for legal immigrants, noting that funding for its citizenship classes had been cut off.

Jennielynn Holmes, a spokesperson for Catholic Charities Santa Rosa, told CNA that on Feb. 4, the agency received a four-sentence email from the Grants Branch Chief of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Mary Jane Sommerville, informing them their funding had been revoked. 

According to Holmes, the freeze suspended nearly $500,000 in expected reimbursements from the federal government. The move, she said, was "unprecedented." 

"We've never had this happen before in any funding stream, but definitely not mid-contract year," she said. 

The email, reviewed by CNA, states: "Pursuant to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's memorandum dated Jan. 28, 2025, and effective immediately, your grant from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is frozen." 

"We recognize this will have an impact on your organization. We are unable to provide a timeline on this freeze," the email added.  

"I think what was most alarming to us was who these services were for," Holmes said. "These services were not for individuals who were undocumented. These were for individuals who are legally here [who] did everything right in a very broken immigration system." 

"They did everything right," she continued, "and now, in an indirect way, they are being targeted through this loss of funding."

Catholic Charities in Santa Rosa's immigration center provides citizenship classes and naturalization legal services to aid legal migrants through the process of becoming U.S. citizens. The center has nine Board of Immigration Appeals accredited staff, according to Holmes, who also said there are about 20-30 people enrolled in citizenship classes and several hundred more who are working through various stages of the naturalization process. 

Holmes told CNA the agency has no plans to stop providing its services, despite the funding freeze. 

Santa Rosa is currently working to apply for funding through the state of California after lawmakers set aside $50 million for different initiatives, including those that serve migrants. "We're hopeful that we might be able to apply for some of those funds," Holmes said, noting that the organization is in touch with state policymakers. 

Catholic Charities in Syracuse cuts jobs

According to a local report, a local Catholic Charities in Syracuse, New York, recently slashed 51 jobs from its refugee resettlement program after the Trump administration blocked $1.7 million in government grants it was set to receive this year. 

The Onondaga County Catholic Charities refugee program specifically assists migrants when they first arrive in the U.S., providing grants for food and housing, as well as job assistance in their first 90 days stateside.

"Catholic Charities provides support for refugees the moment they arrive in Syracuse, connecting refugees to education, housing, jobs, English language class, health care, and more," the program website states. "Programs for children and youth help young refugees acclimate and find success."

Catholic Charities Dallas: Nearly 60 employees laid off

According to a local NBC News report, Catholic Charities Dallas was forced to lay off 59 of its employees after federal funding for its refugee program was suspended last month. 

The program, which is almost entirely funded by the State Department, serves documented migrants in north Texas. The program recently received roughly 180 migrant families, which it must seek alternative funding to support, the report said.

Iraqi and Afghan refugees who aided the U.S. government overseas are among the program's beneficiaries, according to the program website. 

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