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Vatican City, Aug 7, 2024 / 11:51 am (CNA).

Pope Francis held his first general audience after a monthlong summer break Wednesday, reminding pilgrims gathered in Paul VI Hall that, as the Gospel of Luke emphasizes, "with God all things are possible" when we invite Jesus into our lives as the Virgin Mary did.

The Holy Father's reflections marked his fifth catechesis on the theme "The Spirit and the Bride: The Holy Spirit Guides the People of God toward Jesus Our Hope."

The Holy Father encouraged his listeners to imitate the faith of Mary, who listened to God and invited the Holy Spirit into her life.

"How is it possible to proclaim Jesus Christ and his salvation to a world that seems to only seek well-being in this world?" the Holy Father asked.

"'With God nothing will be impossible,'" he repeated. "If we believe this, we will perform miracles. With God nothing will be impossible."

At one point, activists from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), donned in shirts and waving banners that read "stop blessing corridas" and "la corrida e peccato" ("bullfighting is a sin"), temporarily interrupted the catechesis.

During his address, the Holy Father said the incarnation of Jesus Christ is a historical fact central to the Catholic faith.

"The Church took up this revealed fact and very soon positioned it at the heart of her symbol of faith," the pope said.

Pope Francis added that the Nicene Creed, which is recited during Mass, is also an "ecumenical fact of faith" as all Christians share the same belief on the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ.

"In the Ecumenical Council of Constantinople, in 381 — which defined the divinity of the Holy Spirit — this article enters into the formula of the creed, which is indeed referred to as the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. It affirms that the Son of God was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man," the pope explained.

Throughout the meeting, several pilgrims waved country flags as well as fans as they tried to keep cool during the hourlong midsummer indoor papal audience.

After his catechesis on the incarnation of Jesus the Holy Father urged those present to meditate upon the Gospel accounts of the feast days of the Transfiguration (Aug. 6) and the Assumption (Aug. 15).

The pope also asked for prayers for peace on behalf of those suffering conflict and violence in the Middle East, Ukraine, Myanmar, and Pakistan.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 6, 2024 / 17:35 pm (CNA).

The president of the Vatican Court, Giuseppe Pignatone, is under investigation by the Italian judiciary for allegedly collaborating with the Mafia in the early 1990s.

Pignatone, 75, is known for his extensive career in the justice system. He was also deputy prosecutor for Palermo (Sicily) and Rome's prosecutor. Since October 2019 he has been president of the Vatican Court.

On July 31, Pignatone was summoned to testify in court in Caltanissetta, Sicily, for alleged complicity and cover-up of the Italian Mafia organization La Cosa Nostra ("Our Thing").

The events date back to 1992, when the Sicilian Mafia killed judges Paolo Borsellino and Giovanni Falcone.

On May 23 of that year, both anti-Mafia judges, along with their wives and several members of their escort, were killed when a bomb placed in their cars by the criminal organization's hitmen exploded.

These judges were leading the fight against La Cosa Nostra, responsible for attacks, extortion, drug trafficking, and money laundering during the 1990s in Italy.

At the time, Pignatone was deputy prosecutor in Palermo and allegedly intervened to force the end of an investigation against the organization.

According to the Italian press, in his July 31 statement he claimed to be innocent of all charges and promised to cooperate with the justice system.

Blessed Giuseppe 'Don Pino' Puglisi

On Sept. 15, 1993, the Sicilian mob also took the life of Blessed Giuseppe "Don Pino" Puglisi, a Sicilian priest who, despite threats, had carried out a quiet fight against organized crime by educating young people in the impoverished area of ??Palermo, where he carried out his pastoral work.

Puglisi also preached against the Mafia, prohibited them from leading religious processions, and even gave hidden clues to the authorities about their latest activities in his homilies. After his death it was revealed that his life had been threatened on numerous occasions.

On Sept. 15, 1993, he was stopped on the street and shot in the neck at point-blank range by hitmen sent by local Mafia bosses Filippo and Giuseppe Graviano. He died from his wounds. Puglisi was declared a martyr by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 and beatified in 2013.

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, Aug 6, 2024 / 10:30 am (CNA).

Vice President Kamala Harris has picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate in the 2024 election, the Democratic nominee for president announced on X Tuesday morning.

The vice president is scheduled to introduce Walz at a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday evening before heading out on the campaign trail for a five-state tour of crucial swing states.

Walz has served as Minnesota's 41st governor since 2019. He previously represented Minnesota's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. Congress from 2007 until his election as governor. 

A staunch supporter of abortion, he has received 100% ratings from both NARAL Pro-Choice America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

In 2023 he signed a Minnesota bill that banned therapists in the state from attempting to cure people of gender dysphoria. At the same time he signed a law strengthening protections for parents who allow extremist "transgender" procedures to be performed on their children. 

A Lutheran and former schoolteacher, Walz has been married to his wife, Gwen, for 30 years. They share two children.

This article was updated on Aug. 6, 2024.

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Rome Newsroom, Aug 6, 2024 / 11:18 am (CNA).

In his homily during second vespers on the solemnity of Our Lady of the Snows at the Basilica of St. Mary Major on Monday evening, Pope Francis meditated upon the significance of grace in the life of the Mother of God and in the life of every Catholic.

"I suggest, then, that we allow ourselves to be guided by a verse from the book of Sirach, which says the following about the snow that God causes to fall from the sky: 'The eye marvels at the beauty of its whiteness, and the mind is amazed at its falling' (Sir 43:18)," the Holy Father said in his vespers homily for the solemnity.

"Just like a midsummer snowfall in Rome. Indeed, grace arouses marvel and amazement. Let us not forget these two words. We cannot lose the ability to marvel and the ability to be amazed, as they are part of our experience of faith," he added.

Every year, Romans celebrate the solemnity dedicated to the Virgin Mary with a shower of white rose petals that fall from the ceiling of the Basilica of St. Mary Major to represent the miraculous midsummer snowfall that occurred almost 1,700 years ago. 

In his contemplation of the gem of the basilica — the ancient icon of Salus Populi Romani (Our Lady Savior of the People) — the pope said the miracle of the snow is symbolic of Mary, who is the only woman created who is full of grace, conceived without original sin, and immaculate.    

"Here, grace fully acquires its Christian form in the image of the Virgin Mother with Child, the holy Mother of God. Grace appears in its concreteness, stripped of every mythological, magical, and spiritualistic vesture always lurking in religion," he said at vespers. 

The pope said grace is essential in the faith journey of every believer and a gift that cannot be bought but only received, and conveyed his hope that Christians not lose a sense of wonder to the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

"Indeed, grace arouses marvel and amazement. Let us not forget these two words. We cannot lose the ability to marvel and the ability to be amazed, as they are part of our experience of faith," the Holy Father reflected.

Before concluding his homily with praises and prayers of invocation to the Mother of God, Pope Francis asked the Catholic faithful — especially those planning to visit St. Mary Major in the 2025 Jubilee Year — to ask for blessings, forgiveness, and the peace of Jesus Christ for the whole world.   

"That peace which is true and lasting only when it flows from repentant and forgiven hearts," he said. "Forgiveness brings about peace because to forgive is the noble approach of the Lord; that peace which comes from the cross of Christ, and from his blood that he took from Mary and shed for the remission of sins."

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 6, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

There was a significant increase in unsupervised abortion attempts from 2021 to 2023, according to a new study published by the American Medical Association.

The percentage of American women who have undergone an unsupervised, self-managed abortion (SMA) rose from 2.4% in 2021 to 3.4% in 2023, according to the study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on July 30.

JAMA said that 3.4% represents a conservative estimate, given that abortion numbers are typically underreported. When adjusted to account for this underreporting, the percentage of American women who underwent a self-managed abortion in 2023 was 7.1%.

The researchers, some of whom have ties to Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, attributed the rise to the increase in the number of states with pro-life laws and of people who "fear criminalization for seeking pregnancy-related care."

The upsurge also appears to be spurred on by an increase in women taking chemical abortion pills, which can now be legally obtained without a doctor's visit.

A chemical abortion is a two-pill regimen in which the first — a drug called mifepristone — is ingested to cut off nutrient flow to the unborn baby, essentially starving the child to death.

In 2021, chemical abortions accounted for 18% of all unsupervised abortions. As of 2023, chemical abortions now account for 24.1%, a 6.1% increase. This comes after another study by the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute found that chemical abortions account for 63% of all U.S. abortions.

The Biden administration significantly loosened restrictions on chemical abortion pills following the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022. Revisions to FDA regulations made in 2021 and 2023 made it so that abortion pills can now be obtained at retail pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens as well as through the mail without an in-person doctor's visit.

Despite abortion pills being heavily restricted in 14 states, those laws have not impeded pills from being mailed in from other states where they are legal.

The study reported that women used a wide range of other methods to attempt a self-managed abortion including taking emergency contraception (29.7%) and herbs (25.9%). Meanwhile, 21.6% of women participating in the study tried to abort their baby by hitting themselves in the stomach, while 18.6% reported using alcohol or other controlled substances.

Consistent with overall abortion statistics, the largest proportion of women attempting self-managed abortions were African Americans at 5.1% versus all other ethnic groups at 3.1%.

The study noted that several of the methods employed by women in the study have the "potential for harm" and that many "offer low to no effectiveness in ending a pregnancy."

Because of this, researchers said that "interaction with the health care system following SMA is not uncommon, whether to seek emergency care related to adverse effects or complications or to seek subsequent prenatal or abortion care."

Dr. Ingrid Skop, an OB-GYN based in Texas, responded to the study by saying: "We must skeptically evaluate this blatant propaganda by abortion advocates promoted by increasingly biased medical journals."

"For years, abortion advocates have been seeking to de-medicalize induced abortion. Whereas, once they insisted abortion should be 'between a woman and her doctor,' increasingly there is no doctor involved in abortion provision, and women are left to suffer alone … Thus, 'self-managed' abortion is being promoted to women, regardless of the increased risks, in pursuit of ideological goals," Skop told CNA. "Now, abortion advocates attempt to have it both ways, by implying the methods they have encouraged will cause harm to women in states protecting unborn life."

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser commented to CNA that "pro-abortion fearmongering has hit new lows as the Democrats go all in on abortion to save them in the coming elections" and that "rebranding DIY mail-order abortions as 'self-managed abortion' exposes the lie of the Democrats' old 'safe, legal, and rare' stance."

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 6, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Sister Magdalene Schafer of the Daughters of Holy Mary of the Heart of Jesus in Steubenville, Ohio, recently described the "beautiful process" of answering her religious vocation thanks in part to the mission of the Labouré Society.

The Labouré Society, a nonprofit organization founded in 2001, serves to assist men and women who aspire to become Catholic priests and religious but face challenges of resolving student debt and other financial obstacles.

Speaking with CNA, Schafer recalled visiting her future order during a retreat in October 2015, where "the Lord, thanks be to God, made it very clear that yes, he was calling me to religious life, and that this was his spot, the community he wanted me to be at. But there was this obstacle of student loan debt."

Schafer shared this with the mother superior of the order at the time. "[Mother] went and grabbed an envelope that she had received from the Labouré Society" at Franciscan University's Religious Vocations Fair.

According to its website, the Labouré Society has given more than $10 million to aspirants such as Schafer, reporting that 70% of these individuals have gone on to ordination, profession of final vows, or are currently still in formation.

Becoming a member of the Labouré Society's July 2016 class, Schafer described beginning in "boot camp," in which participants were trained in fundraising and "equipped to be able to go forth and be part of this mission of Labouré."

"It's this beautiful mission of helping young men and women who have this call to a religious life or to the priesthood but who also have this obstacle of debt," she continued. "But then to also invite other people in the Church into this mission and to share that joy and hope that there are still young people who are responding to God's call, that God hasn't stopped calling, and that he is still faithful."

Acknowledging both the joys and struggles that came with fundraising — including having to complete a second six-month class and boot camp — Schafer expressed how this process helped her to "see the greater reality in that we are inviting others to share in the mission, because not everyone in the Church is called to be a religious or a priest."

"Not everyone is called to take that step, but everyone in the Church is called to pray for and support vocations. And so as the Church is a body, we all have different functions. I think Labouré helps to highlight this," she stated. 

"Some of us are called to be religious and priests," she continued. "And others of us, some members of the Church, are invited to share in this mission as well through their prayer but also through their financial contributions."

Regarding those who wish to answer this call to the priesthood and religious life, a recent Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) study found that debt can be a significant barrier of entry. Seventy percent of religious institutes that participated in this study reported that serious inquirers have been impacted by student loan debt. 

Additionally, the study found that 80% of dioceses face formal applicants with student loan debt, which can be difficult for these applicants to pay when taking a vow of poverty.

Highlighting the need for vocations within the Church today, Schafer would tell those who are discerning a religious vocation but facing the challenges of debt to follow "the example of Jesus, for the sake of the joy that lay before him. He endured the cross."

"I'd say to trust that if God has called you to this, that he is going to bring it to completion," as "being able to overcome that debt, that the joy of being able to respond to your call and of living that out is so much more than any trouble or obstacle that there can be."

Schafer also called on aspirants to trust in the Lord, to "fix your eyes on him and trust that he [who] has called you is faithful and that he will bring about the miracle that is needed for you to respond to your call" during both the "little — and sometimes seemingly big — moments that could happen within this journey at the Labouré Society."

"Any obstacles there may be, whether it is student loan debt or any other ones, if we entrust them to [the Lord] and are faithful in our prayer to him each day, to giving our little yeses like our Blessed Mother did each day, then he will be the one to bring this calling about," she said.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 5, 2024 / 18:28 pm (CNA).

Richard DeGraff, a founding board member at EWTN who was instrumental in helping Mother Angelica launch the network in 1981, passed away on July 31 at age 94.? 

DeGraff met Mother Angelica in 1980 while working for the Family Rosary in Wisconsin. It was DeGraff who connected Mother Angelica, at the time seeking funding to purchase EWTN's first satellite dish, to the De Rance Foundation, a Catholic philanthropic organization that provided crucial early support for the acquisition. 

During those critical moments when EWTN was being birthed as well as for decades to come, DeGraff played a key role in getting the first Catholic satellite television network off the ground and keeping it going.

His pioneering and providential work with Mother Angelica is chronicled in the biography of EWTN's foundress, "Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles."

Prior to his work with EWTN, various philanthropic foundations, and charities, DeGraff had an illustrious career in higher education. In the 1970s, he served as president of Thomas More College in Kentucky. He previously held both academic and development posts at Benedictine University, Saint Mary's College, Tri-State College, DePaul University, and the University of Chicago. 

Before serving in the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division during the Korean War, DeGraff graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in music. While a student there, he performed on "The Ed Sullivan Show" several times as part of the Notre Dame Glee Club. 

Following the war, DeGraff earned his master's and doctorate degrees in education at Indiana University. He also later worked as assistant to the chairman of the Grace Corporation as well as executive director of the De Rance and Koch Foundations. 

In addition, he served on the board of Catholic Charities in Chicago and was involved with the Serra Club, an organization that works to foster religious vocations.

DeGraff was a member of the Knights of Columbus and was preceded in death by his wife of 64 years, Gerry. He is survived by four children, 12 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren.

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CNA Staff, Aug 5, 2024 / 14:58 pm (CNA).

The Catholic bishops of the United Kingdom are praying for peace amid rioting sparked by the tragic stabbing of several schoolchildren by the son of Rwandan immigrants, saying "such violence threatens the values of our society."

"I condemn the appalling violence over the past week, especially that directed at migrants and their places of residence," Auxiliary Bishop Paul McAleenan of Westminster, the U.K.'s lead bishop for migrants and refugees, said in an Aug. 5 statement. "They demonstrate a complete disregard of the values which underpin the civil life of our country."

The protests follow a stabbing attack at a children's dance class in Southport, England, which left three young girls dead and nearly a dozen people injured in late July. According to the BBC, the 17-year-old suspect was born in the United Kingdom and his parents are immigrants from Rwanda, a predominantly Christian country in central Africa.

Reports have emerged of protestors attacking and damaging hotels housing asylum seekers, including a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, on Sunday night. About 240 asylum seekers who had been staying at the hotel were moved overnight after clashes between police and a crowd of hundreds of people, the BBC reported. 

Amid promises by Prime Minister Kier Starmer to make rioters feel "the full force of the law," police in the U.K. have arrested nearly 400 people since the protests began last week, and trials for some rioters have already begun.

"Today, and always, we need to continue to pray, work, and stand together for peace in our country. The actions of the few involved in violence stands in stark contrast to the work of charities, church groups, and volunteers who tirelessly extend the hand of welcome to migrants in acts of solidarity. We hope and pray that they will redouble their efforts so that we can rebuild communities after the terrible events of the last few days," McAleenan continued. 

"My prayers are particularly with those who are sheltering in hotels or are feeling threatened. You are loved and welcome here. We all should do what we can to make sure that you feel safe. My prayers are also with the emergency services, who selflessly continue to work despite the risks. Thank you for all that you do in the service of the common good."

Three children — 6-year-old Bebe King, 7-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and 9-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar — died in the stabbing attack, which occurred at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the northwest English town. Another eight children who attended the dance class suffered stab wounds, according to police. Two adults who were injured remained in critical condition before being later discharged. As of Monday, one child remains in the hospital. 

Archbishop Malcolm McMahon of the Archdiocese of Liverpool last week urged Catholics to join him in prayer for the victims. 

"For those who have been injured, for those who are parents, family, and friends of the injured, for all involved in the emergency services, we pray for God's blessing, God's peace, and God's presence today," McMahon said in a statement on Monday, July 29, after the attack.

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CNA Staff, Aug 5, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Pope Francis has appointed Providence, Rhode Island, Bishop Richard Henning as the archbishop of Boston as longtime Archbishop Cardinal Sean O'Malley is retiring at age 80.

The Vatican said in a statement on Monday that the Holy Father had accepted O'Malley's resignation from the archdiocese where has served for over 20 years. 

At 80, O'Malley is five years past the age at which prelates normally tender their resignation to the Holy See; the archbishop originally submitted his resignation in 2019 but stayed in the position at the pope's request. 

A press release from the Diocese of Providence said the two prelates will concelebrate Mass in Boston on Monday morning and that O'Malley would introduce Henning at a press conference at the diocesan pastoral center at 10 a.m. 

O'Malley has served as the archbishop of Boston since 2003, appointed to the post by Pope John Paul II. Home to nearly 2 million Catholics, the archbishopric is one of the most prominent roles in the U.S. Church. 

A noted leader in confronting clerical sex abuse in the Church, O'Malley has headed the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors as its first president since 2014. He has served as a member of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and sits on the Council of Cardinal Advisers. He participated in the 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis; at 80 he is ineligible to participate in future conclaves. 

Born on Oct. 17, 1964, in the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, Henning studied history at St. John's University in Queens before studying for the priesthood at the now-closed Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, New York. He was ordained a priest at Rockville Centre on May 30, 1992. 

Prior to becoming a bishop, Henning served a variety of posts in the New York diocese including as parish vicar of St. Peter of Alcantara in Port Washington, New York, and as an associate professor of sacred Scripture at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception as well as the seminary's rector. 

He also served as vicar for clergy and as vicar for parish evangelization and pastoral planning in the Rockville Centre Diocese and as the diocesan episcopal vicar of the central vicariate.

He was consecrated as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre on July 24, 2018, and subsequently appointed as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Providence on Nov. 23, 2022. 

Upon the retirement of Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin, Henning became the ninth bishop of Providence on May 1, 2023. 

The prelate holds a licentiate in biblical theology from The Catholic University of America as well as a doctorate in that field from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 5, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Members of the United States Congress are demanding immediate answers after the U.S. State Department admitted a $500,000 grant the agency awarded to a humanist group may have been misused to promote atheism in Nepal and Asia under the guise of "religious freedom."

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, is demanding the State Department disclose exactly how much it knew about a pro-atheist organization called "Humanists International" (HI) and its efforts to promote atheism before it awarded the group a $500,000 grant.

McCaul has given the State Department until Aug. 6 to comply with demands for more information, threatening a congressional subpoena if the agency fails to comply.

What is going on?

For several months, high-ranking members of the State Department denied accusations that the agency was funding efforts to promote atheism abroad. However, in an April 29 letter to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs Naz Durakoglu acknowledged that the department may have been misled about the exact nature of HI's humanist and atheist activism.

Humanists International is a coalition of dozens of "humanist, rationalist, secular, ethical culture, atheist, and freethought" organizations. According to the group's website, part of its mission is to "encourage the growth" of humanism, which it defines as "a democratic and ethical life stance" that "does not accept supernatural views of reality."

Humanists International Chief Executive Gary McLelland has specifically expressed "disgust" for the Catholic Church and said in a 2019 interview that he considers it his job to "combat the Vatican policies and to push against them."

The State Department awarded HI $500,000 under funds made available by a 2021 program titled "Promoting and Defending Religious Freedom Inclusive of Atheist, Humanist, Non-Practicing, and Non-Affiliated Individuals."

In March of this year, State Department Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources Richard Verma testified that he was very familiar with HI's mission and that based on its grant application he considered the group to be a "exactly the right kind of program" for the department to fund.

He asserted that HI's aim was not to advance atheist proselytizing efforts but simply to "support civil society and protect them from persecution."

However, the department has since stated that HI provided the incorrect training materials when applying for the grant and that it was "deeply concerned" about the contents of the actual material being used.

Durakoglu's April 29 letter claimed that the new information sent to the department "directly contradicts Humanists International's previous representation to the department that the slides [training materials] it had earlier provided were the ones used at the training."

She said the department was "deeply concerned" about the contents of the actual materials being used, indicating that the U.S. funds sent to HI could have been abused.

In response, several members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said that "despite all of the evasions by the department, it is now plain that the grant promoted atheism and expanded atheist networks abroad while neglecting Christian and Muslim minorities who, unlike atheists and humanists, face real persecution in the relevant parts of South Asia."

What's next?

In a July 29 letter sent to Verma, McCaul said that though the State Department claimed to have been misled it had still failed to disclose all its correspondence with HI, leaving questions about how much the department knew of the group.

McCaul said he expects the department to turn over all its correspondence with HI by Aug. 6. If the department fails to comply, McCaul said he will issue a congressional subpoena.

"The department has engaged in a pattern of obfuscation and denial regarding the details of the grant as it sought, vis-à-vis its grantee, to expand atheist networks abroad in violation of the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution," McCaul wrote.

He referenced another letter sent by other members of the Foreign Affairs Committee in May in which the members expressed they were "skeptical" the department had any intention to fulfill its promise to take corrective action or recoup the money granted to HI under false pretenses.

McCaul said the department's continued failure to produce its correspondence with HI demonstrates an "unacceptable continuation" of evading responsibility for its misuse of funds. 

"Such revelations are alarming and remain a pressing matter for congressional oversight," McCaul wrote. "The committee has stated its expectation 'to be informed fully, and without delay, of all developments in this matter.' Accordingly, the committee expects a comprehensive update on this matter imminently."

Additionally, Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, who also sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has introduced a bill to amend the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Foreign Assistance Act to "prohibit preferential federal grant treatment for atheist groups.

Michael Finan, a representative for Smith, told CNA that the State Department has been "misinterpreting one of Congressman Smith's four religious freedom laws" and that this new bill would "make sure that they comply with congressional intent."

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