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CNA Staff, Sep 30, 2025 / 12:56 pm (CNA).

A West Virginia circuit court judge has tossed out a lawsuit aiming to block a state government agency from providing a $5 million grant to an Ohio Catholic trade school.

Judge Richard Lindsay said in the Sept. 25 ruling that the seven-figure grant from the West Virginia Water Development Authority was constitutional, nixing the effort by the American Humanist Association to block the funds for the College of St. Joseph the Worker in Steubenville, which is looking to expand into West Virginia.

Lindsay had blocked the grant in July after the secular humanist group argued in its lawsuit that the state government's grant would violate Article III of the West Virginia Constitution.

That section forbids the government from using tax funds "for the erection or repair of any house for public worship or for the support of any church or ministry."

In his Sept. 25 ruling, however, Lindsay said the court had received documentation that the entirety of the grant is "being used for the purpose of economic development only" and "therefore is constitutional."

The West Virginia water authority is empowered to issue grants to "encourage economic growth," Lindsay noted in his ruling. The government agency told the court that the grant to the Steubenville school would be used only for "real estate acquisition, site development, construction, infrastructure improvement," and other nonreligious endeavors.

School president Michael Sullivan, meanwhile, agreed that none of the grant would be spent on "religious advocacy of any kind." Grant money would also not go toward teacher salaries, Sullivan said.

Lindsay said in his ruling that the humanist group had "rightly" challenged the grant under the impression that it would fund religious advocacy.

But since the school and the West Virginia government agreed that the funds would only go toward secular concerns, there is "no genuine issue of material fact" in the case, Lindsay said, and there is "no question of constitutional law" remaining.

The Ohio school did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision on Sept. 30. The humanist group, meanwhile, said on Sept. 26 that it was "satisfied" with the ruling.

The group alleged that the original grant was an "affront to West Virginia taxpayers" and a "blatant violation of church-state separation."

St. Joseph the Worker teaches construction-related trades such as carpentry, HVAC, electrical, and plumbing. It also offers a bachelor's degree in Catholic studies along with the trade lessons.

The school says on its website that its Catholic studies program is "designed to prepare [students] for the lay vocation: sanctifying your family, your workplace, and your community."

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ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 30, 2025 / 13:45 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV responded with a father's heart to a 21-year-old Roman medical student who asked him "What does the future hold for us?" and "What can young people do to aspire to a better world, when there is so much injustice, tragedy, and war today?"

Veronica, whose dream is to be a doctor, wrote a letter to Leo XIV asking him these and other questions. She pointed out to him that all the current problems make it seem "impossible to live in peace," according to the September issue of Piazza San Pietro magazine.

After encouraging Veronica to fulfill her dream of serving "the weakest and most unfortunate," the Holy Father noted that her "questions are those on the hearts of many of your contemporaries. It is true that we live in difficult times: Evil seems to overwhelm our lives, wars claim more innocent victims."

"But all this must not make us lose hope for a better world. As I have already said, quoting St. Augustine: 'Let us live well, and the times will be good. We are the times.' Likewise, the times will be good if we are good!" Leo continued.

"For this to happen, we must place our hope once again in the Lord Jesus. It is he who has stirred in your heart the desire to make of your life something great," the pope emphasized.

"It is he who will give you the strength to improve yourself and the society around you so that the times we live in may be truly good," the pontiff continued.

Recalling the 2025 Jubilee of Youth, which brought together 1 million people in Rome, Pope Leo XIV repeated "the invitation I made to you and to all the young people who came to Tor Vergata: 'Cultivate your friendship with Jesus.' It's worth it. You can be sure."

The Holy Father then asked Veronica to keep him "in the loop about your studies and your inner journey. I bless you from my heart."

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, Sep 30, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Political satirist Bill Maher, who has often been a vocal critic of Christianity, recently called attention to the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, calling the ongoing violence a "genocide attempt."

"I'm not a Christian, but they are systematically killing the Christians in Nigeria," he said during the Sept. 26 episode of his HBO show "Real Time with Bill Maher."

"They've killed over 100,000 since 2009. They've burned 18,000 churches," Maher said, referring to violent Islamists in Nigeria such as Boko Haram.

"This is so much more of a genocide attempt than what is going on in Gaza," he continued. "They are literally attempting to wipe out the Christian population of an entire country."

"Where are the kids protesting this?" Maher asked.

The violent persecution of Christians in Nigeria "is underreported in Western media," Religious Freedom Institute President David Trimble told CNA.

Trimble, commending Maher for raising the issue "to his mass audience, which may otherwise have very little exposure to such weighty issues," noted that the "atrocities committed against Nigerian Christians can rightly be labeled as genocide." 

"Nigeria is the most dangerous place in the world to be a follower of Jesus," Trimble said. "Over the last decade, Islamist extremists have killed approximately 4,000 Christians there annually."

Since July 2009, more than 19,000 Christian churches have been destroyed or looted, while hundreds of clergy, including Catholic priests, have been kidnapped or attacked. Less than two weeks ago, a Catholic priest named Father Matthew Eya was murdered while returning from his ministry.  

Edward Clancy, outreach director of Aid to the Church in Need USA, said that Christian persecution is at its height in Nigeria.

"It's the area in the world where more Christians are killed for their faith than anywhere else," Clancy told CNA.

"It's amazing that it takes Bill Maher to become the voice of Christian persecution in the United States," Clancy added.

Experts call the persecution a genocide

Christians make up about half of Nigerians, but they live in fear of persecution. 

"Shocking levels of violence have persisted for years," Trimble said.

Christians experience frequent violent attacks, especially those living on farms in small towns on the outskirts of the north central state of Benue, which is predominantly Christian. Their farms are often burned to the ground during these attacks, destroying their livelihoods.

"They attack small towns and devastate them to the point that people need to abandon their homes, and then they'll destroy and burn what's remaining," Clancy said. "It just demolishes the whole community." 

Because of the destruction, many parishes have been forced to close. In the Diocese of Makurdi in Benue, at least 16 parishes have been abandoned due to the violence, according to Clancy. As each parish has multiple locations, this translates to roughly 40 churches. 

The violence in Nigeria has "a lot of the elements of a genocide," Clancy said.

The violence began in 2009 with the Boko Haram insurgency, which aimed to turn Nigeria into an Islamic state. Since then, the group has been orchestrating terrorist attacks on civilians and targeting Christians. 

But militant Fulani herdsmen contribute to a majority of the violence, sowing fear in Nigeria's Middle Belt communities.  

"These Fulani militants account for more attacks against Christians (and Muslims) than either of the more prominent Boko Haram and ISWAP [Islamic State West Africa Province]," Trimble said.

The violence is now growing in the south, according to Trimble. 

"Violence against Christians, once confined predominantly to the north and Middle Belt, is now also spreading further south, where the majority of Nigerian Christians reside," Trimble said. 

Persecution is enshrined in Nigerian law, with blasphemy laws, sharia codes, and sharia courts in more than a dozen provinces "that oppose equal rights and due process for religious minorities," according to Trimble.

"Atrocities committed against Nigerian Christians can rightly be labeled as genocide in terms both of how that term is used in popular discourse as well as its more precise usage in international law," Trimble added.

Clancy noted that declarations of genocide are often "after the fact."

"By the time someone says it, it's history," Clancy said. "We've got to stop it beforehand."

Vocations thrive amid persecution 

Though priests are being kidnapped and even killed, vocations thrive in Nigeria.

"Believe it or not, it's inspiring vocations," Clancy said. "You would think that Tertullian was a lunatic when he said, 'The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the faith.' But there's been so many young men who've been emboldened."

"The seminaries are full," he said. 

When asked how Catholics can support their fellow Christians in Nigeria, Clancy said that "we should always start with prayer because it guides us, but it also helps to strengthen us."

But also, Clancy encouraged Christians in the U.S. to "build awareness" as the topic of Christian persecution often "becomes cloistered in the confines of worship space" but "it doesn't break out."

"The Church is being very faithful and serving the people around the world in the harshest places," Clancy said. "Let people know that our brothers and sisters in places like Nigeria are suffering."

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CNA Staff, Sep 29, 2025 / 21:45 pm (CNA).

Multiple U.S. Catholic bishops offered prayers and expressed their solidarity after a gunman attacked a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) chapel in Grand Blanc, Michigan, on Sept. 28,, killing four people, injuring eight, and setting the building on fire. The incident occurred just before 10:30 a.m. during a Sunday service with hundreds in attendance.

The suspect, identified as 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford of Burton, Michigan, drove a pickup truck into the chapel's entrance, entered with an assault-style rifle, and began shooting. Witnesses reported Sanford shouting anti-LDS slurs. He then used an accelerant to start a fire inside the building. Grand Blanc Township Police arrived within a minute of 911 calls, engaging Sanford in a shootout and killing him. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, but the chapel was destroyed.

The victims included two adults and one child found in the debris, and one person who died from gunshot wounds at the hospital. Eight others were injured, five with gunshot wounds and three with smoke inhalation. 

In a statement, Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul-Minneapolis promised prayers for the LDS community, saying the LDS church had recently "extended their sincere condolences and prayers to the faithful of this Archdiocese," referring to the August shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, where two students were killed and over 20 people were injured.

"Please join me in praying for them and for an end to senseless violence around the globe," Hebda said.

In a separate statement, Bishop Earl A. Boyea of Lansing also offered his prayers for those killed at the church, while also "assuring those who mourn, and those who are injured, my solace and support." 

"Any place of worship should be a sanctuary of peace," Boyea continued. "The violation of such a haven, especially upon a Sunday morning, makes yesterday's act of mass violence even more shocking. I commend the first responders for heroically assisting at the scene and for working to safeguard other local places of worship."

"Lastly, let us remember that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life," he said. "Hence, in this moment of tragedy, let us all draw closer to Jesus, Prince of Peace."

Meanwhile,  Detroit Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger said he was "heartbroken" by the gun violence and arson in Grand Blanc. "In this time of immense sorrow, I ask that we stand in solidarity with the victims, their families, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints," Weisenburger said.

"In an era marked by hostilities and division, let us all come together in faith and compassion, upholding the fundamental right to worship freely and without fear. May God's infinite love and mercy embrace and heal us all."

Bishop David J. Walkowiak of Grand Rapids also expressed his sorrow after the tragic attack, saying "No one should ever fear for their safety while gathering to worship. The ability to pray, to assemble peacefully, and to express one's faith is not only a constitutional right but a moral necessity for a compassionate society. My prayers are with the victims, their families, and the entire Latter-day Saints community as they grieve and seek healing in the face of this senseless violence."

Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington prayed for healing in another post, saying: "May we be united in prayer for those who lost their lives in the tragic violence at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan. We pray for their eternal rest, for comfort to their families, and for healing and peace for the entire community."

The attack came one day after the death of LDS Church President Russell M. Nelson on Saturday, Sept. 27, at age 101 in Salt Lake City.

President Donald Trump addressed the incident in a post on Truth Social, stating: "This appears to be yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America. The Trump Administration will keep the Public posted, as we always do. In the meantime, PRAY for the victims, and their families. THIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!" 

Vice President JD Vance also addressed the attack in a social media post: "Just an awful situation in Michigan. FBI is on the scene and the entire administration is monitoring things. Say a prayer for the victims and first responders." 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also issued a statement expressing grief and gratitude for support: "We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of prayers and concern from so many people around the world. In moments of sorrow and uncertainty, we find strength and comfort through our faith in Jesus Christ. Places of worship are meant to be sanctuaries of peacemaking, prayer and connection. We pray for peace and healing for all involved."

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered flags lowered statewide, describing the incident as "unacceptable violence in a sanctuary" and pledging support for the investigation. Grand Blanc area schools, both Catholic and public, closed Sept. 29.

The FBI, with support from the ATF and Michigan State Police, is investigating the attack as targeted violence. Three unexploded devices were found at the scene. Sanford, a former Marine and truck driver, had no known ties to the church but expressed anti-LDS views, according to neighbors. His social media included posts about religious "deceptions." The FBI is examining his motives.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 29, 2025 / 16:53 pm (CNA).

Attacks against Christian communities, especially in northern Nigeria, are not an isolated phenomenon but rather a strategy to "annihilate them all and Islamize the country," said Emeka Umeagbalasi, a criminologist and researcher.

The expert has spent 30 years denouncing human rights violations in his country and is clear that "this is not simply a case of violence."

"We have documented the coordinated and systematic murder of an entire people; therefore we are clearly talking about a Christian genocide," he told ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner.

Umeagbalasi, the director of the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), has just published a report with chilling data on the violence that extremists carry out every day against those who profess the Christian faith.

They can't pray out loud so they do it in secret

The nongovernmental organization estimates that in the north of the country there are some 40 million Christians who "cannot pray out loud" because it is extremely dangerous. "They do it in secret, at night. No one dares to openly confess their faith. If you do, you risk being killed for 'blasphemy,'" the expert said.

Thus, he warned against a "systematic strategy to achieve the extermination of Christians," which, he alleged, is supported by the complicity of the state and the passivity of the international community.

"Today in northern Nigeria, it's almost impossible to live as a Christian, and if the trend continues, within half a century we will no longer be a country with religious pluralism," he affirmed.

One of the most serious issues documented by the organization he leads is precisely the "complicity" of the Nigerian state.

"Complicity is part of an expansive policy by the Nigerian government to Islamize the country," he charged. According to Umeagbalasi, during the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari (2015–2023), a former military officer of Fulani origin, Nigeria experienced a significant deterioration in internal security.

Although Buhari came to power with the promise of defeating jihadist groups and restoring stability, the truth is that both Boko Haram and its offshoot, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have consolidated their control over large areas of the northeast of the country in recent years.

There is a 'national Islamization project'

"The jihadists have seized political power and have since launched a national Islamization project," he stated.

To justify the Nigerian state's inaction, Umeagbalasi cited the paradigmatic case of mass kidnappings in Kaduna state in the country's north. In this area, various armed groups linked to radicalized Fulani herders frequently attack Christian villages, with security forces making no attempt to prevent them. In fact, according to the expert, the Nigerian government tends to downplay this violence, describing it simply as "community crime."

"More than 850 Christians remain captive in several camps in the Rijana area, very close to a military base. This began in December 2024, and they remain held by jihadists to this day. Between December and August 2025, more than 100 prisoners were killed there. How is it possible that all this is happening just a few kilometers from military installations without anyone taking action?" the activist asked.

Parishes virtually empty for fear of attacks

According to the Nigerian Bishops' Conference, at least 145 Catholic priests have been kidnapped since 2015. However, investigations by Intersociety raise that number to 250 Catholic clergy attacked, along with another 350 ministers of various Christian denominations.

"The Catholic Church and the bishops in Nigeria are doing what they can, but there are limits to what they dare to say publicly," Umeagbalasi explained.

"They can't openly acknowledge, for example, that many parishes in the north of the country are practically empty for fear of attacks. But we, however, can tell the truth, and we do it to help them," he explained.

Violence has profoundly altered the religious balance in Nigeria. "The jihadists' goal is to eliminate Christians," the director of Intersociety warned.

The mass displacements to internally displaced persons camps — and beyond the country's borders, to Cameroon or Chad — are further evidence of the magnitude of the problem. "When they destroy your church, attack your community, and threaten your life, you have no choice but to flee," he pointed out.

The kidnapping business

In other research, the African security and strategy consultancy SBM Intelligence documented in its annual report, "Economics of Nigeria's Kidnap Industry, 2025 Update," that 4,722 people were kidnapped between July 2024 and June 2025 by extremist groups. Among the victims were 18 priests.

For the release of these thousands of hostages, people paid in Nigerian currency approximately 2.57 billion naira ($1.72 million), which is approximately 10% of what the kidnappers were demanding.

"The priests and nuns have families who end up paying ransoms even though the Catholic Church officially refuses to negotiate. In addition, the kidnappers keep the cars used by the clerics, which they end up selling on the black market. A car stolen from a priest can fetch up to 10 million naira ($6,727) on the black market," Umeagbalasi explained. 

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, Sep 29, 2025 / 18:43 pm (CNA).

Bishop Michael Martin of the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, said the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) must cease at four parishes and will be only be permitted at a chapel beginning Oct. 2.

After delaying the restrictions three months, Martin said in a Sept. 26 letter that the Chapel of the Little Flower in the St. Therese Parish in Mooresville, North Carolina, which was recently renovated by the diocese and can seat just over 350 people, will have two Masses each Sunday and on holy days of obligation, both of which will be said by Father Brandon Jones, the recently appointed chaplain. 

The bishop said the chapel is "not a parish, nor is it a parish-like community being formed for those who desire to celebrate the TLM."

Brian Williams, a leader of Charlotte Latin Mass attendees since 2009, told CNA there were nearly 700 people at Sunday's extraordinary form Mass at St. Ann's, his parish and what he called the "flagship" Latin Mass parish in the diocese, and more than 500 at St. Thomas Aquinas parish.

Recognizing that the chapel is too small to accommodate all the regular attendees of the TLM, and that many will now have to drive long distances to reach the chapel, Martin encouraged all those attending extraordinary form Masses at the four parishes to continue attending those parishes' ordinary form Masses and to view the chapel as a shrine chapel "that you might visit for Mass on occasion." 

He expressed his understanding of the possible grief faced by the TLM attendees, saying he has "listened to your stories of faithfulness and the ways the TLM has enriched your spiritual journeys."

Martin said he prays members of the TLM community "will be open to [the] opportunity" for grace that "faithfulness to the discipline of the Church" can bring, acknowledging the "uncertainty" many may experience because of the restrictions.

The restriction of the extraordinary form of the Mass to the Little Flower Chapel is the result of the tighter regulation of the TLM initiated by Pope Francis in his 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, which brought about a marked change from Pope Benedict XVI's more welcoming approach to the extraordinary form communities in his 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum.

Williams said members of the community are "sad, angry, reluctant, resigned, and everything in between" over the changes.

"Everything flows out of the Mass," Williams said. "From there you get the different ministries: St. Vincent de Paul, children's faith formation, OCIA, etc. Forcing us away from our parishes weakens the community altogether and weakens the parishes we've left behind because we're not part of it fully."

Williams told CNA that of the large number of seminarians in the Charlotte Diocese — at least 50% — have come from the parishes with a Latin mass or which previously had one. There are so many boys interested in the priesthood that a minor seminary has been created in the diocese.

He said from the TLM community at St. Ann's Parish alone, there are nine young men in various stages of seminarian formation in the past seven years. 

"This Mass, this parish has created vocations," Williams said.

Addressing the issue of unity, which has been used by those restricting the TLM, he pointed out that most people he knows who attend it "absolutely believe in the validity of the novus ordo Mass."

He credited the tremendous growth in the TLM community in recent years, however, to "a level of reverence and beauty that helps them recognize the timeless aspect of the liturgy."

The Latin Mass community is an extremely "welcoming" community that has "really thrived organically," Williams said. It attracts a diverse and growing number of people: young families, single people, a variety of ethnic groups, "women who veil, and some who don't."

Williams, who recently appeared on EWTN's The World Over to discuss the TLM in Charlotte, said members of the TLM communities are experiencing the restrictions as "a lot of coercion. It all seems very strategic, like they're setting up this chapel not to succeed, and for the parishes not to succeed." 

"Why is going to the Latin Mass a bad thing? It's no different from the Ordinariate, or Byzantine, or any other rite. It's all still Catholic. No one is threatened by them," he said.

Williams told CNA that the previous Charlotte bishop, Peter Jugis, requested and received a two-year dispensation from Francis' restrictions in 2023. He retired in 2024 and was succeeded by Martin.

Williams said he and other members of the TLM community are still hopeful that Pope Leo XIV's pontificate will be more welcoming of the TLM and that things can change, citing a post on X on Sept. 29 showing a priest at the St. Michael's chapel in St. Peter's Basilica saying the Mass in the extraordinary form, as well as the recent granting of an exemption to the restrictions imposed by Traditionis Custodes in the San Angelo Diocese in Texas, the first exemption granted under the new pontificate.

The Diocese of Charlotte did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

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Washington, D.C., Sep 29, 2025 / 19:13 pm (CNA).

Teachers, coaches, and other public and private school leaders said their religious liberty was threatened in American schools at a hearing conducted by President Donald Trump's Religious Liberty Commission on Sept. 29.

Speakers said there must be a fight for schools to bring back the "truth" to protect students and religious liberty. Joe Kennedy, a high school football coach; Monica Gill, a high school teacher; Marisol Arroyo-Castro, a seventh grade teacher; and Keisha Russell, a lawyer for First Liberty Institute, addressed the commission led by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

"There has to be a call to action," commission member Dr. Phil McGraw said. "The most common way to lose power is to think you don't have it to begin with. We do have power, and we need to rally with that power."

Teachers and coaches describe experiences

Kennedy said he was suspended — and later fired — from his position as a football coach at Bremerton High School in Washington for praying a brief and quiet prayer after football games.

"After the game, I took a knee to say thanks," Kennedy explained. "That's all. If that could be turned into a national controversy, it says more about the confusion in our country than the conduct of the person performing it."

Kennedy told the commission the law is "cloudy and muddy" and they "have the power to clarify it." Kennedy also said some lawyers "need to be held accountable" for actions taken in religious liberty cases.

Kennedy said: "I don't know a lot about law and liberty, but I know that you're supposed to advise people on the truth and the facts, and they're not. They have an agenda, and their agenda is well set and in place and is working very well, keeping prayer out of the public square. They're still doing it. That needs to be exposed."

"Being a teacher has been one of the greatest blessings of my life," Gill said to the committee. "God really gave my heart a mission … to show all of my students every day that they are loved. No matter what they're going through, no matter what their grades are, no matter what their status is with their peers, I love them."

"But in the summer of 2021 … Loudoun County Public Schools adopted a policy that forced teachers to deny the foundational truth of what it means to be human, created as male and female," Gill said.

"This policy forced teachers to affirm all transgender students," Gill said. "My employer gave teachers a choice: deny truth or risk everything … I knew that I could not stand in front of my Father in heaven one day and say: 'My pension plan was more important than your truth.' I also knew that if I say that I love my students, the only right choice would be to stand in love and truth for them."

To combat the policy, Gill joined a lawsuit by Alliance Defending Freedom after a fellow Virginia teacher was fired for speaking out against the same policy. The lawsuit "resulted in victory for all teachers to freely speak truth and love when Loudoun County finally agreed not to require teachers to use pronouns in accordance with the student's sex," Gill said.

Arroyo-Castro testified that she was punished for displaying a cross in her private workspace in her seventh grade classroom in a New Britain School District school in Connecticut. 

"I share this with you to help you understand why the crucifix is so significant to me and why I will never hide it from anyone's view," Arroyo-Castro said. "The vice principal told me that the crucifix was of a religious nature, so against the Constitution of the United States, and that it had to be taken down by the end of the day."

If she did not take it down it would be considered "insubordination and could lead to termination," Arroyo-Castro said. She asked if she could have time to pray on it, and was told she could, but "it wouldn't change anything." 

"I was later called to a meeting with the district chief of staff, the principal, the vice principal, [and a] union representative. The chief of staff suggested that I put the crucifix in a drawer. I knew I couldn't do that since my grandmother has instilled in me the meaning of the crucifix and how it should be treated with respect. But the chief of staff said that the Constitution says that I had to take it down," Arroyo-Castro said.

After she refused to remove it, Arroyo-Castro was released from school with an unpaid suspension. She was offered legal defense by lawyers at First Liberty, which sued the school for violating the Constitution. While the lawsuit is ongoing she works in the administrative building "far from the students."

Arroyo-Castro said: "Every day, I wonder how they're doing."

"Please do what you can to educate the districts in American schools about the true meaning of the establishment clause and the free exercise clause," Arroyo-Castro advised the commission members. "How can we do our jobs well when many education leaders today don't understand the Constitution themselves? We must understand as Americans that freedom of religion is a right that benefits all Americans."

Suggestions from faith leaders

Leaders at Jewish, Catholic, and Christian schools also recounted religious freedom issues facing faith-based schools across the nation and what the country can do.

The leaders highlighted the need to protect the financial aid faith-based institutions receive and stop any threats of losing money if certain values are not enforced. Todd J. Williams, provost at Cairn University, said: "Schools will begin to cave because they're worried about the millions of dollars that will go out the door."

Father Robert Sirico, a priest at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said he was recently affected by a decision by the Michigan Supreme Court that redefined sex to include sexual orientation and gender identity. 

"While presented as a matter of fairness, this reinterpretation proposes grave dangers, grave risks for all religious institutions, even those like Sacred Heart that receive absolutely no public support," he said.

Sacred Heart has filed a lawsuit to combat the issue, but Sirico said what needs to be done "exceeds the competency of [the] commission and the competency of this administration." 

"We have to think of this in existential terms, and we have to come at this project with the understanding that this is going to take years to transform. This is why religious people can transform the world: We believe in something that's greater than our politics. We can reenvision."

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Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sep 29, 2025 / 14:17 pm (CNA).

St. Michael the Archangel's feast day was officially incorporated into Brazil's national calendar following the enactment of a law approved by acting President Geraldo Alckmin and published on Sept. 25 in the official government gazette.

The date established is Sept. 29, the day on which the Catholic Church celebrates the holy archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, and in particular St. Michael, venerated as the protector and defender of the faith.

"The date established by this law aims to pay tribute to St. Michael the Archangel, recognizing his historical importance and relevance to the Catholic faith of the Brazilian people," Law No. 15.219 states.

The website of the presidency of the republic noted that St. Michael is "a symbol of protection and defense of the faith, and patron saint of the military police and various Brazilian cities, such as Uberaba, Nova Iguaçu, São Miguel do Oeste, and São Miguel do Iguaçu."

A deeply rooted devotion in Brazil

St. Michael is celebrated in Brazil with Masses, processions, and religious festivals in various regions. The institution of the date in the national calendar, the authorities explained, has a symbolic and cultural character, has no budgetary impact, and officially recognizes a devotional practice already widespread in Brazilian society.

In recent years, the practice of St. Michael's Lent has grown, which begins on Aug. 15, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and concludes on Sept. 29. Thousands of faithful participate in this devotion, especially through online broadcasts led by Friar Gilson Azevedo of the Carmelite Messengers of the Holy Spirit and the Hesed Institute.

A national pilgrimage

Since late July, a statue of St. Michael the Archangel from the Mount Gargano shrine in Italy has been on a pilgrimage through Brazil. The statue has traveled through the five regions of the country and will conclude its journey on Sept. 29.

On Aug. 12, during a solemn session in the national congress, the pilgrim statue was presented, and St. Michael was proclaimed spiritual commander of the Brazilian nation.

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

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Vatican City, Sep 29, 2025 / 14:52 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Monday said European institutions need "people who know how to live a healthy secularism" while urging recognition that religion has value both on a personal and social level.

"When the religious dimension is authentic and well cultivated, it can greatly enrich interpersonal relationships and help people live in community and society. And how important it is today to emphasize the value and importance of human relationships!" he noted.

Leo XIV made his remarks on Sept. 29 when receiving at the Vatican the European Parliament's Working Group on Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue. The objective of this structure, an initiative of the European People's Party (EPP) coaltion, is to promote dialogue between different cultures, religions, philosophical beliefs, and nondenominational communities within Europe.

The pope also emphasized that participation in interreligious dialogue, by its very nature, "recognizes that religion has value both on a personal level and in the social sphere."

"Being men and women of dialogue means remaining deeply rooted in the Gospel and the values ??derived from it and, at the same time, cultivating openness, listening, and dialogue with those from other contexts, always placing the human person, human dignity, and our relational and communal nature at the center," the pope explained in his address.

The Holy Father emphasized that promoting dialogue between cultures and religions is a "fundamental objective for a Christian politician" and cited as examples Robert Schuman, Konrad Adenauer, and Alcide De Gasperi, considered the founding fathers of what eventually became the European Union, who also lived their faith as a sociopolitical commitment.

Thus, he urged the cultivation of a style of thought and action that affirms the value of religion, while "preserving its distinction — not separation or confusion — with respect to the political sphere."

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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ACI Africa, Sep 29, 2025 / 15:24 pm (CNA).

Members of the Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD) marked the International Day of Peace on Sept. 21 with an appeal to the international community to cancel Zimbabwe's debt, saying such a step would help revive the country's economy, reduce poverty, and build lasting peace.

Zimbabwe is struggling with an $8.3 billion debt (in U.S. dollars), mostly in arrears, which blocks access to affordable international financing and slows economic recovery.

In a joint statement published on Twitter by the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, the ZHOCD body, which consists of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference, Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, and the Union for Development of Apostolic Churches in Zimbabwe Africa, the Christian leaders stressed that peace cannot be separated from social and economic well-being.

"On this International Peace Day, we urge international partners to consider debt cancellation to alleviate the economic burden on our nation and local leadership to alleviate the situation and arrest the social evils that threaten the very fiber of our society," members of ZHOCD said in their collective Sept. 21 statement.

"Such a step could enable Zimbabwe to redirect critical resources towards vital sectors like health care, education, and infrastructure development, addressing poverty and inequality," they added.

The Christian leaders reflected on the state of peace in the Southern African nation, saying that despite the country's good security, the people of God are still experiencing injustices and inequalities.

They noted that while Zimbabwe is not embroiled in outright violence or war, the situation of the country can be characterized as a "negative peace," a concept they said highlights the "absence of direct violence but presence of underlying structural injustices and inequalities." They said the country is grappling with economic hardships, political polarity, and social injustices.

They specifically pointed out social ills like drug and substance abuse, widespread domestic violence, and armed robberies that they described as "a worrisome phenomenon" all impact the well-being of the people, particularly vulnerable groups like women, youths, and persons with disabilities.

The members of ZHOCD called upon all political leaders in Zimbabwe to prioritize peace, justice, and the human rights of Zimbabweans, especially the vulnerable.

"Let us work together to promote dialogue and understanding, address root causes of conflict, and protect human dignity and rights," they said in their message.

The Christian leaders in Zimbabwe referred to the words of Mahatma Gandhi on poverty and stated their support for structural issues to be addressed to restore positive peace "marked by justice, equity, and human dignity for all Zimbabweans."

"Let us work together to build a more peaceful, just, and stable society in Zimbabwe and contribute to global peace efforts," they said.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

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