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CNA Staff, Sep 16, 2025 / 09:20 am (CNA).

In a suburb of Minneapolis in 2008, a small school named after the Catholic author G.K. Chesterton opened its doors.

Seventeen years later, the school has grown into the wide-reaching Chesterton Schools Network, with schools sprinkled across the United States. And this school year, the network is going international.

The president of the Chesterton Schools Network said there is no other word for it but "miraculous."

"The growth has been simply astounding," said Dale Ahlquist, who is also president of the Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton, which operates the network.

But why are the schools a hit? Ahlquist credits the Holy Spirit.

"The real driver of this movement has been the Holy Spirit working to enliven the Church, beginning with the domestic Church," he told CNA. 

At Chesterton schools, "faith in Christ is at the center, with daily Mass and a vigorous moral and spiritual formation program," he said. 

"The Chesterton model is both faithfully Catholic and fully classical, presenting the true, the good, and the beautiful as united transcendental aspects of all learning," Ahlquist added. 

In the U.S., Chesterton schools operate in 31 states and 76 dioceses. 

Parents love it and students thrive in it, according to Ahlquist.  

"The Chesterton model has a proven track record of success now, and people are taking notice," he said. 

"People saw what we were doing here in the U.S., saw the curriculum, witnessed the fruits of the great formation Chesterton Academies provide, and they said, 'We want that, too.'" 

Growing around the world 

Starting new schools across the world has been "challenging, but exciting," Ahlquist said. 

"Every country presents its own unique regulatory and cultural complexities," he said. "But the love parents have for their kids and the desire they have to fulfill their vocations as their children's primary educators and catechists — that's the same everywhere."

With seven new schools in the U.S. and another three around the world opened this Fall, Ahlquist said "we only expect demand to grow worldwide."

Ahlquist said both internationally and in the U.S., the Chesterton schools all follow the same pattern.

"It sprang up organically, from the grassroots," Ahlquist said of the international launch.

Student life 

"The hallmark of our model is an integrated curriculum that unites the truths learned in disparate subjects and shows their interconnectedness and interdependency, all united around one great truth: the Incarnation," Ahlquist said.

"Christ is at the center, the ultimate end not just of our spiritual formation but of character and intellectual formation as well," Ahlquist said.

"Ultimately, the Catholic faith isn't something extra, something tacked on arbitrarily to what they're learning in all the various classes. It's the undergirding principle, the 'why' behind all the other pursuits," Ahlquist said.

Chesterton schools use the Socratic method, which Ahlquist said "encourages students to take ownership of their learning, to probe with questions, and start seeing the connections that are everywhere."

"They learn the humanities, including philosophy and theology, and are formed in how to think about God and the universe," Ahlquist said. "In math and science, they see the handiwork of a creator and an active providence over the natural world. In music, visual arts, and theater, they appreciate the incarnational and sacramental way that beauty attests to the truth and goodness of a God who loves them."

"From the science lab to the sports field to the chapel, students are oriented toward Christ as their friend, model, and ultimate goal. And they get it. This is what parents notice most, and why the network keeps growing," he said.

Chesterton's impact continues into adult life, according to Ahlquist.

After graduation, Chesterton alumni "discern vocations in priestly ministry and consecrated life" and marry earlier in life "than their secular peers," Ahlquist noted.

"Students really enter into this approach and make it their own," he said. "Others can see the transformation that takes place in these kids' lives as they grow into faithful, ethical, confident young adults, ready to live out and share their faith while also excelling in their vocational and career pursuits."

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National Catholic Register, Sep 16, 2025 / 10:21 am (CNA).

While serving as the guest host of Charlie Kirk's podcast Monday, Vice President JD Vance vowed that the Trump administration will seek to "dismantle" left-wing organizations that he said promoted the violence that led to the conservative activist's assassination last week.

"Charlie was gunned down in broad daylight, and well-funded institutions of the Left lied about what he said so as to justify his murder. This is soulless and evil," Vance said.

The two-hour broadcast of "The Charlie Kirk Show," produced by the organization Kirk founded, Turning Point USA, was livestreamed from Vance's ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. It featured appearances from White House aides and administration officials as well as friends of Kirk. 

Vance specifically cited an article in The Nation magazine that he said falsely stated that Kirk had made racist statements. The author, he said, had also expressed "glee over a young husband and young father's death."

"Did you know that the George Soros Open Society Foundation and the Ford Foundation — the groups who funded that disgusting article justifying Charlie's death — do you know they benefit from generous tax treatment?" Vance said.

"They are literally subsidized by you and me, the American taxpayer, and how do they reward us? By setting fire to the house built by the American family over 250 years," he said.

The Trump administration, Vance said, will be working in the coming months to shut down organizations that facilitate politically motivated violence.

"We're not always going to get it right. We will sometimes move more slowly than you would like. We will sometimes move more slowly than I want us to. But I promise you that we will explore every option to bring real unity to our country and stop those who would kill their fellow Americans because they don't like what they say," Vance said.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, a guest on the program, told Vance that Kirk was a "treasured friend" of 10 years. He also vowed to go after those who may have aided and abetted Kirk's killer, calling it "a vast domestic terror movement."

Miller described a coordinated movement to incite violence in the United States.

"The organized doxing campaigns, the organized riots, the organized street violence, the organized campaigns of dehumanization, vilification, posting people's addresses, combining that with messaging that's designed to trigger inside violence and the actual organized cells that carry out and facilitate the violence," he said.

"With God as my witness, we are going to use every resource we have at the Department of Justice, Homeland Security, and throughout this government to identify, disrupt, dismantle, and destroy these networks and make America safe again for the American people. It will happen, and we will do it in Charlie's name," Miller said.

Vance, during the program, said that polling has shown that liberals are more likely than conservatives to "be happy about the death of a political opponent" and to say that political violence is sometimes justified.

"The data is clear. People on the left are much likelier to defend and celebrate political violence," Vance said.

"That problem has terrible consequences. The leader of our party, Donald J. Trump, escaped an assassin's bullet by less than an inch. Our House majority leader, Steven Scalise, came within seconds of death by an assassin himself. Now, the most influential conservative activist in generations, our friend Charlie, has been murdered," he said.

Tributes for Kirk

The vice president, in paying tribute to Kirk, remembered his friend as a faithful Christian and political visionary. He recalled Kirk as a man of great faith who inspired others to be bold in sharing their views.

"On a podcast a couple of months back, Charlie was asked about how he'd want to be remembered if he died. His answer: 'I want to be remembered for courage, for my faith,'" Vance said.

"In this dark moment for our country, I think that's the greatest lesson any of us can take from Charlie, to have faith, to have faith in the Lord and to be bold in how we glorify him, to be bold in our pursuits as Charlie was in his," he said.

When asked by Vance to share something about Kirk, conservative podcast host Tucker Carlson spoke of the role that faith played in Kirk's life. 

"His Christianity was sincere, and his commitment to Jesus was totally sincere. It sometimes isn't, especially in public figures who throw out Bible verses they don't understand and stuff like that," Carlson said.

"But in his case … it informed every single part of his life, from his marriage, to the way he treated his children, to the way he treated his staff, to the way he approached disagreement, to the way he thought of other people, which was always primarily as people first," he said.

Vance, in his concluding remarks, said Kirk was a man "who told the truth in every place, in every environment."

"The most important truth Charlie told is this: that long ago, a man begotten, not made, came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit, was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man. For our sake, he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and suffered death, and was buried, and rose again on the third day," Vance said.

"Charlie believed, as I do, that all the truth he told flowed from that fundamental principle, he said. "I really do believe that we can come together in this country. I believe we must. But unity, real unity, can be found only after climbing the mountain of truth," he said.

Vance said that after speaking with Kirk's widow, Erika, and the rest of the Kirk family, he was struck by the example his friend set, as a husband who "was never cross or mean-spirited" to his wife.

"Maybe the best way that I can contribute and the best way that I could honor my dear friend is to be the best husband that I can be, to be the husband to my wife that he was to his," Vance said.

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA's sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 16, 2025 / 11:54 am (CNA).

The canonization of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in 1975 not only marked the establishment of the first American-born saint but also opened the door for other American Catholics to be honored for embodying the universal call to holiness.

"What made her canonization remarkable was that after 200 years of history in the country, it was the first time that a native-born American was declared a saint of the universal Church," Rob Judge, executive director of the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland, told CNA. "It was this validation, that you can come from these lands and obtain holiness."

Today there are 87 American Catholics on their way to sainthood. To recognize these men and women, the shrine put together the "Saints on Their Way Village" to help share the stories of Americans deemed blessed, venerable, and servants of God. 

The "Saints on Their Way Village" was displayed on Sept. 14 — the 50-year anniversary of Seton's canonization — and was made up of ??nearly two dozen guilds, each dedicated to advancing the cause of an American on the path to sainthood. They gathered on the shrine's grounds, where Mother Seton lived and worshipped, to host tables with information and to sign petitions to help advance their causes.

"St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and those on the path to joining her all share one thing in common: They each lived lives of love and service that embody the universal call to holiness," Judge said. 

Dorothy Day

In 2000, Dorothy Day became a servant of God after her cause for sainthood was officially opened by the Church. Members of the Dorothy Day Guild attended the event to highlight her "steadfastness" and "relatability."

Day worked as an activist and journalist, focused on social justice and aiding the poor. She influenced 20th-century American Catholicism by demonstrating the "preferential option for the poor," which integrated faith and action.

"What I find hopeful is that she stayed the course her whole lifetime," guild member Carolyn Zablotny told CNA. "There were times where I'm sure she had her doubts and she wrote so openly about her struggles. She's not a cookie-cutter kind of person, she failed at times, but she persevered."

Day is a "sign of hope," Zablotny said. "She's a radical alternative to militarism, racism, and the selfishness that we're all suffering from. I think she's a real model for a different kind of holiness."

Blessed Solanus Casey

Members of the Father Solanus Guild shared the message of Blessed Solanus Casey and provided a prayer for the Capuchin's canonization. Fellow friar and guild member Brother Daniel, who did not wish to share his full name, told CNA that Casey's "main goal" was to "thank God ahead of time" as a way to recognize what he is already doing in our lives. 

Casey grew up on a farm in Wisconsin and was known as a "simple man" who dedicated his ministry to the sick and troubled. While the Catholic Church has only officially attributed one miracle to Casey, many people have shared stories of unexplained healing after asking for his intercession. 

"One of our brothers in the order, his family is connected with Father Solanus," Brother Daniel said. "He got in an accident and the doctor wanted to amputate his legs. So his mother and father came to Solanus and told him 'the doctors are going to amputate the leg of my son.' Solanus said: 'Nothing is going to happen. Don't worry.' The doctors, the next morning, said they could do [another] treatment and not amputate his legs."

"When people come to [Solanus], he may not get rid of all the problems," Brother Daniel said. "But when they go from him, they feel peace. They feel that someone is there to comfort them." 

Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos 

Francis Xavier Seelos was born in Germany in 1819 but moved to the United States and lived much of his life in New Orleans. Now the city houses the National Shrine of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, where people come daily "to ask for the blessing of Blessed Francis," Father Steve, a priest advocating for his canonization who did not wish to give his full name, told CNA.

Seelos was known "as a wonderful man," he said. "He was totally self-giving — the type of person that makes a saint. When people were sick, he didn't think about himself at all. He went to bless them and ended up getting sick himself, which is how he died."

Blessed Francis served as a priest during a time where judgment was often passed, but he "was very kind and gentle in confession," Father Steve said. "His confession line was always longer than anybody else's because he was willing to listen and give absolution without making people feel bad."

Mother Mary Lange

Mother Mary Lange was an American religious sister who founded the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first African American religious congregation in the United States. In 1829, she founded the order despite the trials she knew she would endure. She believed that "if you put your faith in God, it'll be OK," Phyllis Johnson, a member of the Mother Mary Lange Guild, told CNA.

The guild is advocating for her canonization because "she loved all people," Johnson said. "Even the people who treated her shabbily, she still cared for them. She's a saint for everyone. She took care of everyone. She didn't discriminate … So if anybody should be a saint, it's the person who says 'all people are God's people.'"

Blessed Michael J. McGivney 

Several employees of the Knights of Columbus, the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization, talked with attendees to share the cause for canonization of the organization's founder, Father Michael J. McGivney. 

"He's a powerful intercessor," Alicia Mucha, manager of events at the Knights of Columbus, told CNA. "He loves to answer prayers for unemployment, family conflict, and any substance abuse."

In 1882, McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus "to give men a better community, something that was rooted in their faith that would keep them away from drinking," Mucha said. The organization started in Connecticut "to provide benefits for women and children, in case anything happened to the men. He would ensure that women and orphans were taken care of."

In 2020, McGivney was beatified after the Vatican recognized a miracle attributed to his intercession.

Judge said that McGivney and the other potential American saints show "us that we, too, can draw closer to God and achieve great things."

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CNA Staff, Sep 16, 2025 / 12:24 pm (CNA).

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople met with President Donald Trump this week during a visit to the United States, with the leaders discussing world affairs including ongoing strife in the Middle East and Ukraine.

A press release on the patriarch's website said Bartholomew, considered the first among equals in the Orthodox Church, met with Trump in a "very cordial atmosphere" and congratulated the U.S. leader "on his initiatives and overall efforts to promote peace in the world, and particularly in Ukraine."

The leaders "also discussed the situation of Christians in the Middle East."

Also present at the meeting were numerous other Orthodox leaders as well as U.S. Vice President JD Vance. Bartholomew's office said the patriarch also "offered his condolences to [Trump] for the murder of his friend and colleague Charlie Kirk."

Kirk, a prominent conservative activist, was shot and killed by an assassin on Sept. 10. Trump has publicly mourned Kirk's death.

In his first visit to the U.S. in about four years, the patriarch will stay for nearly two weeks.  

Bartholomew's tenure, which began in 1991, has been marked by overtures of reconciliation between the Eastern church and Rome on several centuries-old disputes. 

In March of this year the patriarch offered a hopeful historical assessment of the traditional 1054 date for the "Great Schism" between Rome and Constantinople, suggesting that those tensions developed gradually over time and "are not insurmountable."

During a meeting with Orthodox leaders in June, Pope Leo XIV stated his intention to "persevere in the effort to reestablish full visible communion between [the] churches." 

The Holy Father said that goal can only be achieved "with God's help, through a continued commitment to respectful listening and fraternal dialogue."

Amid numerous visits scheduled for his trip in the U.S. this month, Bartholomew is scheduled to receive the Templeton Prize on Sept. 24. 

The John Templeton Foundation said in April that the patriarch was being awarded the prestigious recognition "for his pioneering efforts to bridge scientific and spiritual understandings of humanity's relationship with the natural world, bringing together people of different faiths to heed a call for stewardship of creation."

Bartholomew has been hailed as the "Green Patriarch" for his promotion of environmental values and causes. The leader has called for the faithful to "protect life on earth from the worst consequences of human recklessness."

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Vatican City, Sep 16, 2025 / 13:06 pm (CNA).

The head of the Armenian Apostolic Church during a meeting Tuesday at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo invited Pope Leo XIV to visit Armenia.

Catholicos Karekin II, the patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church, met Pope Leo for the first time at Villa Barberini, the papal summer residence overlooking Lake Albano. Leo has recently begun spending Tuesdays, the pope's traditional day off, in Castel Gandolfo while the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City undergoes renovations.

The two discussed the need for a peace based on justice, according to Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, the Armenian Church's representative to the Holy See, in comments to the Armenian-language edition of Vatican Media.

The invitation would mark a continuation of ecumenical dialogue and papal outreach to Armenia, the first state to adopt Christianity as its state religion in A.D. 301. Karekin II has previously traveled to the Vatican for meetings with John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis.

John Paul II became the first pope to set foot on Armenian soil in 2001, visiting for celebrations of the 1,700th anniversary of the country's Christian heritage. Pope Francis followed with a three-day trip to Armenia in 2016.

The Armenian Apostolic Church, sometimes known as the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church, is the national church of Armenia and part of the family of Oriental Orthodox Churches.

It is distinct from the much smaller Armenian Catholic Church, which is in full communion with Rome. The Armenian Church formally broke with Rome after the Council of Chalcedon in 451, though relations have deepened in recent decades. In 1996, John Paul II and then-Patriarch Karekin I signed a declaration affirming their shared Christian origins.

In addition to his audience with the pope, Karekin II met in Rome with Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, and Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education. He also prayed at the Basilica of St. Mary Major before the tomb of Pope Francis and the Marian icon of Salus Populi Romani.

Karekin II's first visit to Rome dates back to November 2000, when, newly elected, he was received by John Paul II during celebrations for the jubilee of 2000. On that occasion, John Paul presented him with relics of St. Gregory the Illuminator, the patron saint credited with converting Armenia's king to Christianity in the fourth century.

Armenians worldwide maintain strong ties to their church, shaped in part by the 1915 genocide, known in Armenia as the Medz Yeghern ("Great Evil Crime"). Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, according to the Associated Press. Pope Francis in 2015 called it the "first genocide of the 20th century," drawing a strong protest from Turkey.

The Vatican has yet to announce any international trips for the new pope, although many expect his first journey abroad will be ecumenical in nature, a trip to Turkey to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea.

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CNA Staff, Sep 15, 2025 / 17:31 pm (CNA).

In what some are calling "the Charlie Kirk effect," people across the nation, including many college students who are not ordinarily churchgoers, have decided to go to church since the assassination last week of the conservative Christian political activist Charlie Kirk.

Matt Zerrusen, co-founder of Newman Ministry, a Catholic nonprofit that operates on about 250 campuses nationwide, told CNA he has spoken with Catholic college ministry leaders throughout the country over the last few days, and "every one of them told me they've seen bigger crowds" at Masses and lots of people "they've never seen before."

"I have not talked to anyone who has not seen an increase in Mass attendance," Zerrusen said. "Some schools are reporting increases of 15%."

He told CNA that many more college students are also asking for spiritual direction. "So many people are asking 'What do I do?' What is evil? How does God allow this?" Zerrusen said. "They are asking so many basic questions."

One priest at a large state school in the Northeast told Zerrusen he spoke over the weekend with 15 young men he had never seen before who sought him out for faith advice. 

Zerrusen said the spiritual "revival" Kirk's death has amplified comes amid one he has been observing for months.

He pointed out that more than 400 students at Texas A&M University in College Station are attending the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) class at St. Mary's Catholic Center near campus.

Social media users say Kirk inspired them to go to church

Since Kirk's death on Sept. 10, social media platforms X, TikTok, and Instagram have been flooded with posts from users saying they plan to go to church for the first time or to return to church, thanks to Kirk's influence.

With more than half a million followers, X user @TONYxTWO posted a TikTok video on Sunday showing a young man saying he had to park "five blocks away from church because everyone wants to come now! Amen. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Charlie."

Another X user who calls herself a "Devout Aggie" and "Catholic" who has nearly 15,000 followers said her son, who "is not a churchgoer," asked her to go to Mass with him over the weekend, attributing it to "the Charlie Kirk effect." 

The vicar general for the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, Father John Evans, said on Monday that he had noticed a "slight increase" in Mass attendance over the weekend, but what was more unusual was what happened in the days immediately after Kirk's assassination.

"People were coming together before Sunday, praying privately, some in groups, praying the rosary, and different prayers of different sorts," Evans told KSL-TV in Utah.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 15, 2025 / 18:01 pm (CNA).

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox confirmed that the man accused of killing Christian conservative activist Charlie Kirk lived with a transgender partner who is cooperating with authorities in the ongoing investigation.

The suspected assassin is 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, a resident of St. George, Utah, which is about a three-and-a-half-hour drive south of Utah Valley University, where the shooting occurred. Formal charges are expected Tuesday, Sept. 16.

Although Robinson has exercised his right to remain silent while in custody and has not spoken to authorities, his live-in transgender partner and members of his family are cooperating with the investigation. He was arrested Thursday night, Sept. 11, the day after the shooting.

In an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, Sept. 14, Cox said the roommate of the alleged shooter "is a boyfriend who is transitioning from male to female." He said the roommate "has been very cooperative with authorities."

"This person did not have any knowledge [and] was shocked … when he found out about it," the governor said. "The suspect has not been cooperating so far, and so we're getting all of this information from family members, again, people around the suspect, and then the forensic information that we have, which is confirming everything and more than what we were able to share in that initial press conference."

In a previous news conference, Cox said the roommate showed investigators messages that Robinson allegedly sent, which discussed engraving bullets, needing to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, leaving a rifle in a bush, and wrapping a rifle in a towel.

Kirk was shot while answering a question about transgenderism and gun violence. Kirk said he supported an effort to ban transgender people from owning firearms in light of the shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minnesota last month, which was carried out by a man who identified as a transgender person.

Throughout his career as a conservative activist, Kirk had been a critic of gender ideology, opposing allowing biological males in women's sports, transgender surgeries and drugs for children, and the promotion of transgenderism and homosexuality in K–12 schools.

FBI investigates suspect's communications

Cox said Robinson came "from a conservative family, but his ideology was very different" from his family's, and "there clearly was a leftist ideology with this [alleged] assassin."

"The 'why' behind this, again, we're all drawing lots of conclusions on how someone like this could be radicalized," he said. 

FBI Director Kash Patel told "Fox & Friends" on Monday, Sept. 15, the agency will not "politicize this investigation." Rather, he said, "we are looking at the facts and that is why we are releasing the facts in record fashion."

"My job as FBI director is not to speak to motive; it's to speak to the facts, and that's what I'm going to do," he said.

"His family has collectively told investigators that he subscribed to left-wing ideology, and even more so in these last couple of years," Patel continued. "And [the suspect] had a text message exchange … with another individual in which he claimed that he had an opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and he was going to do it because of his hatred for what Charlie stood for."

Markings on bullet casings found by investigators included the phrase "Hey, fascist. Catch!" and lyrics to the Italian anti-fascist song "Bella Ciao."

Patel said the FBI has evidence of a since-destroyed note written before the assassination in which the suspect wrote that he had the opportunity to "take out" Kirk and planned to do so. He said "even though it has been destroyed, we have found forensic evidence of the note, and we have confirmed what … it says because of our aggressive interview posture." He said the FBI also has DNA evidence to link the suspect to the shooting.

According to Patel, the FBI is also investigating the suspect's conversations in chatrooms on the online messaging application Discord, and investigators will interview people with whom he conversed there.

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino told Fox News' "America's Newsroom" on Monday that the agency has evidence that the suspect may have communicated that "his target was obviously going to be Charlie [Kirk] and that people knew in advance."

Bongino said he does not "want anyone to jump to conclusions on this," noting this is a question of whether people knew in advance and kept it quiet or whether they thought "it was some type of joke."

"That's what we're trying to find out now," he said. "But I promise you, if there's a larger network here, we're going to get that out to the public as soon as we can."

The New York Times reported that in one Discord chat, friends of Robinson noted that he looked similar to the shooter. Robinson allegedly said the shooter was a "doppelganger" who was trying to "get me in trouble."

According to the Times, much of the communications appeared to be joking. After Robinson's arrest, the report noted that members were in disbelief with one saying: "I truly cannot distinguish if this is for real."

The Washington Post reported on a separate Discord chat in which Robinson was allegedly involved, which showed members expressing concern about the shooting with one saying Kirk "didn't deserve to go out like that."

Robinson allegedly told this chat: "I have bad news for you all," adding: "It was me at UVU yesterday. [I'm] sorry for all of this."

One friend reportedly urged the group to "pray for Tyler [Robinson] and his repentance" after the arrest.

Bongino said the FBI is looking into the man who asked the question about transgenderism and gun violence just before Kirk was shot at the event, but noted Kirk "was known to speak out about these issues" and that it is "not terribly uncommon for him to get questions like that."

The man who asked the question gave an interview to "Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan" late last week and denounced the assassination and political violence.

Bongino said the assassination was "an ideologically motivated attack" on a conservative.

"Family members said he'd become more political, leading us to believe that this ideology had infected him and had taken over," Bongino said.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 15, 2025 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Monday received the participants of the general chapter of the Order of St. Augustine, with whom he said he felt "at home." In his address, he reflected in particular on the theme of love, which the order's founder, St. Augustine, "placed at the center of his spiritual quest."

At the beginning of his Sept. 15 address, the Holy Father expressed his gratitude to Father Alejandro Moral, OSA, for his years of service and extended a warm welcome to the newly-elected prior general, Father Joseph Farrell, OSA.

Referring to the general chapter as an opportunity to reflect on the gift received, the challenges, and the current situation of the order, he reminded the Augustinians of the importance of "interiority in the journey of faith."

He emphasized that this interiority is not "an escape from our responsibilities" but rather "a return to ourselves and then emerge with greater motivation and enthusiasm for the mission."

"Returning to ourselves," he added, "renews our spiritual and pastoral drive: We return to the source of religious life and consecration so that we may offer light to those the Lord places on our path."

Vocations and the formation of young people

He then reflected on what he considers "a fundamental theme": vocations and initial formation. Pope Leo XIV advised "not to fall into the error of imagining religious formation as a set of rules to observe, things to do, or even as a ready-made habit to be worn passively."

On the contrary, he clarified that love is at the heart of everything and that "the Christian vocation, and in particular the religious vocation, is born only when one perceives the attraction of something great, of a love that can nourish and satisfy the heart."

Therefore, he reiterated that it is essential to help young people in particular "to glimpse the beauty of the call and to love what, by embracing the vocation, they can become." He added: "Vocation and formation are not predetermined realities: They are a spiritual adventure that involves a person's entire history, and it is above all an adventure of love with God."

Thus, he emphasized that love, which St. Augustine "placed at the center of his spiritual quest," is also a fundamental criterion for the dimension of theological study and intellectual formation.

"In the knowledge of God, it is never possible to reach him only with our reason or with a set of theoretical information; it is, above all, a matter of allowing ourselves to be surprised by his greatness, of questioning ourselves and the meaning of events to discover in them the traces of the Creator, and above all, of loving him and making him loved," he noted.

He also exhorted his Augustinian brothers to be generous and humble, two qualities that are born precisely from love, to have as their reference the "ineffable gift of divine charity," and to be "faithful to evangelical poverty."

Finally, he asked them not to forget "our missionary vocation," recalling that since 1533 the Augustinians have proclaimed the Gospel throughout the world.

"This missionary spirit must not be extinguished, because it is sorely needed today as well. I urge you to revive it, remembering that the evangelizing mission demands the witness of humble and simple joy, availability to service, and participation in the life of the people to whom we are sent," he emphasized.

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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Vatican City, Sep 14, 2025 / 12:38 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV led an ecumenical commemoration of the martyrs and witnesses of faith of the 21st century at Rome's Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls on Sunday, stressing that "even though they have been killed in body, no one can silence their voice or erase the love they have shown."

The Sept. 14 liturgy brought together Orthodox, Eastern, and Protestant leaders, along with ecumenical organizations and Vatican officials.

"Through his cross, Jesus revealed to us the true face of God, his infinite compassion for humanity," the pope said. "He took upon himself the hatred and violence of the world, to share the lot of all those who are humiliated and oppressed."

Pope Leo, speaking on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, said that many believers still share in Christ's cross. "Like him, they are persecuted, condemned and killed," the pope said, pointing to women and men — religious, lay people, and priests — who have died for their fidelity to the Gospel, their fight for religious freedom, and their solidarity with the poor.

The pope described their witness as "a hope filled with immortality" because it continues to spread the Gospel, cannot be silenced, and stands as a prophecy of the victory of good over evil.

He recalled Sister Dorothy Stang, murdered in Brazil after telling her killers, "This is my only weapon," as she held up her Bible. He also remembered Father Ragheed Ganni, a Chaldean priest shot in Mosul, and Brother Francis Tofi, an Anglican religious killed in the Solomon Islands. "Unfortunately, despite the end of the great dictatorships of the twentieth century, to this day the persecution of Christians has not ended," the pope said.

"We cannot and do not want to forget," he said. "Just as in the first centuries, so too in the third millennium, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of new Christians."

Pope Leo reaffirmed the Catholic Church's commitment to keep alive the memory of martyrs from every Christian tradition, noting the collaboration of the Vatican's Commission of New Martyrs with the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.

Recalling the "ecumenism of blood" discussed at the Vatican's recent Synod on Synodality, he said that the witness of Christian martyrs is "more eloquent than any word: unity comes from the Cross of the Lord."

The pope ended by citing the words of Abish Masih, a Pakistani boy killed in an attack on a Catholic church, who had written in his notebook: "Making the world a better place." That dream, Pope Leo said, should inspire Christians today "to bear courageous witness to our faith, so that together we may be leaven for a more peaceful and fraternal humanity."

The service also included prayers from representatives of different Churches for persecuted Christians, the conversion of persecutors, and a united Christian stand for justice, peace, and solidarity with the poor.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 14, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Juan Dabdoub Giacoman, a legendary and tireless defender of life and family in Mexico, passed away at the age of 71 on Sept. 11 in Mexico City after a long battle with cancer.

"A Catholic at heart and by conviction," as he described himself on his social media, Dabdoub was born on Nov. 30, 1953, in Monterrey in Nuevo León state in Mexico and specialized in marketing and business management.

Self-described as a "rebel by nature and an idealist by conviction," Dabdoub dedicated his recent decades to activism in support of life and family, and founded the Mexican Council of the Family (ConFamilia), which promoted an amendment to the Mexican Constitution to officially recognize marriage as between one man and one woman.

The proposal was supported by more than 200,000 signatures, nearly twice the number required by law, but was ignored by the country's Senate despite the legal requirement to consider the initiative. Under Mexican law, a citizen initiative is a means for citizens to directly file a specific bill or have a particular issue taken up by the Congress.  

Dabdoub was also part of the founding group of the National Front for the Family, which organized a historic day of demonstrations across Mexico on Sept. 10, 2016, in rejection of the attempt by the federal executive branch, then led by President Enrique Peña Nieto, to promote same-sex marriage nationwide.

A few days later, in Mexico City alone, more than 400,000 people gathered, an event led by Dabdoub, along with other pro-family leaders.

In 2023 he denounced that textbooks distributed by the Mexican government contained "ideologized education": "They provide sex education that the state is not supposed to provide. They provide it in a bad way and pervertedly," he told ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, at the time.

In his fight to defend life and family, as well as against gender ideology, he organized speaking tours throughout the country alongside figures such as Agustín Laje and Nicolás Márquez, authors of the Spanish-language book "Black Book of the New Left," also available in English. 

He was a speaker at various international and national events on family issues, a panelist on various television programs, and a guest columnist for various media outlets such as Grupo Reforma's newspaper El Norte. He was also the author of numerous articles and essays on the defense of life and the family.

He participated in the U.N. Population Conference in Cairo, Egypt, in 1994, and in the World Congresses of Families in Geneva (1999) and Mexico City (2004).

Dabdoub studied at the Pan-American Institute of Senior Business Management (IPADE by its Spanish acronym) in Monterrey; he earned a master's degree in marketing from Thunderbird in Glendale, Arizona, and a postgraduate degree in international trade from the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Rio de Janeiro.

He was a professor of strategic planning at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, a professor of marketing at the University of Monterrey, and a professor at the Middle Management Training Institute, a subsidiary of IPADE.

He was the founding president of Familia Mundial (World Family) and also worked at companies such as Kimberly-Clark Mexico, the Gamesa-Nabisco Group, and the Alfa Industrial Group.

In recent years, Dabdoub remained steadfast in his pro-life and pro-family activism, even as he battled a devastating bout of cancer. After an initial victory, he experienced a relapse in recent months.

He is survived by his four children, Juan Pablo, Patricio, Alejandro, and Nicole; and by a granddaughter.

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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