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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 27, 2025 / 08:30 am (CNA).

A looming U.S. government shutdown could affect Roman Catholic churches and Catholic institutions that depend on government funding.

The closure, which will come about if lawmakers cannot agree on a spending package to fund the federal government, could pause military members' ability to attend Mass, interrupt subsidized meals for preschoolers in Catholic schools, and limit assistance with church security. Congress so far lacks agreement on funding federal agencies when the budget year begins on Oct. 1.

A shutdown would mean housing, health, and food programs for people in need could experience cascading delays, according to a Sept. 26 statement by Catholic Charities USA.

"A government shutdown would result in more people falling into poverty, and the recovery from such a setback could take several months or even years," the statement said. 

"One thing we can all agree on is that the poorest of the poor and the most vulnerable in society should not suffer because lawmakers cannot come to an agreement."

Besides Church-related programs, a shutdown would affect a range of other services, including education for at-risk preschoolers, scientific research, and grants to charitable organizations. 

Many Catholic entities rely on federal funding from Head Start, an early childhood education program that offers health screenings and meals to families below the federal poverty level. 

Military Masses, church security

Military worship services could be affected in a lengthy shutdown. In an extended shutdown in 2013, the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, said it would lack a Catholic priest to celebrate Sunday Mass at chapels at some U.S. military installations where non-active-duty priests serve as government contractors.

A spokesperson for the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Federal efforts to "maintain safe and secure houses of worship" also could be degraded at the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency in a government shutdown. Two children died in August in a mass shooting at the Church of the Annunciation in Minneapolis. 

The federal agency provides resources that assist houses of worship in securing physical and digital infrastructure. The department said in anticipation of a narrowly avoided government shutdown in 2023 that it "would also be forced to suspend both physical and cybersecurity assessments for government and industry partners."

Federal agencies have not yet issued contingency plans for a potential shutdown, and the security agency did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

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Vatican City, Sep 27, 2025 / 09:50 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has chosen as the theme for World Day of the Sick 2026: "The Compassion of the Samaritan: Loving by Bearing the Pain of Others."

The theme focuses on the Gospel figure of the Good Samaritan, "who shows love by taking care of the wounded and abandoned man on the road," according to a press release issued by the Holy See. 

The Vatican said the theme is meant to emphasize an essential aspect of love of neighbor, one requiring concrete gestures of closeness while being capable of assuming the fragility and suffering of others, particularly those who experience illness accompanied by poverty, isolation, or loneliness.

The Holy See also recalled that today, Christ, the "Good Samaritan," continues to draw close to wounded humanity and, through the sacraments of the Church, pours out "the oil of consolation and the wine of hope." 

In this way, he "[inspires] actions and gestures of help and closeness for those who live in conditions of fragility due to illness," the Holy See said. 

The upcoming World Day of the Sick will take place on Feb. 11, 2026. 

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 27, 2025 / 07:30 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV marked the Jubilee of Catechists on Saturday, urging practitioners of the Church's lay teaching ministry to hand on the faith in a way that helps others encounter Christ personally, rooted in humility and hope.

In his general catechesis, the pope spoke to all the faithful: "God reveals himself to those who are simple and humble of heart because they are open to receiving him," he said.

Leo recalled the election of Saint Ambrose as bishop of Milan, chosen by popular acclaim while still preparing for baptism. "It was also docility that led Ambrose to respond to that call, trusting in the grace of God," he said. Christians today, he added, are likewise invited "to become childlike. Whether we are parents, students or catechists; businesspeople, priests or religious, we are all called to live our Christian faith authentically by humbly following the Lord's inspirations."

The Jubilee of Catechists is one of a series of themed celebrations during the Holy Year 2025, which centers on the theme of hope. Each gathering highlights how different vocations and ministries can bear witness to the renewal of the Church and the world. This weekend, more than 20,000 pilgrims from 115 countries have come to Rome for the celebration dedicated to catechists.

The jubilee opened Friday evening with a prayer vigil in St. Peter's Basilica following a day of pilgrimages to the Holy Door. It will conclude Sunday morning with a Mass in St. Peter's Square at 10:00 a.m., during which the pope will confer the lay ministry of catechist on 39 men and women. Among them is Catherine Miles-Flynn, an American mother of eight serving in the Arabian Peninsula, profiled here.

At the end of the Saturday audience, the pope offered a special word to catechists: "As you instruct others in the faith, keep in mind the importance of teaching them to cultivate a relationship with Jesus. May his love revive in all of us the hope that does not disappoint."

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London, England, Sep 26, 2025 / 19:01 pm (CNA).

King Charles III and Queen Camilla will be making their first state visit to the Vatican in late October, Buckingham Palace has announced.

The palace said in a Sept. 27 statement that the king and queen "will join His Holiness Pope Leo XIV in celebrating the 2025 Jubilee Year," which, it noted, is a "special time" for the Catholic Church, "traditionally marked every 25 years."

The palace also said the visit would "celebrate the ecumenical work by the Church of England and the Catholic Church, reflecting the jubilee year's theme of walking together as 'Pilgrims of Hope.'"

The king and queen last visited the Holy See on April 9 this year when they had a private meeting with Pope Francis at his Casa Santa Marta residence just 12 days before he died.

Francis reportedly blessed their marriage during the 20-minute audience, which coincided with Charles and Camilla's 20th wedding anniversary. Camilla is divorced from her first husband, Andrew Parker-Bowles, a Catholic who is still living.

That audience was meant to be a state visit, but that was not possible due to Francis' ill health. The British royals were also making a state visit to Italy at the time.

State visits to the Vatican by the British monarch are, like their secular equivalents, more formal occasions than private visits, emphasizing ecumenical as well as diplomatic relations with full formal recognition of the pope's dual role as head of state and religious leader. A private audience, by contrast, focuses more on spiritual and personal relationships with fewer formalities and no official state status.

British monarchs have made several state visits to the Holy See in modern history: King Edward VII met Pope Leo XIII in April 1903, followed by Queen Elizabeth II in October 1980, where she met Pope John Paul II. She made another state visit to John Paul II in 2000. Elizabeth also made two non-state visits, to Pope John XXIII in May 1961 and Pope Francis in April 2014.

Charles has been a frequent visitor to the Vatican, making five visits as the Prince of Wales in total, beginning in April 1985 when he met Pope John Paul II and again in April 2005 when he attended his funeral.

He visited Benedict XVI in April 2009 and April 2017, both times accompanied by Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall, and lastly in October 2019 for the canonization of St. John Henry Newman. Charles also met and accompanied Pope St. John Paul II in Canterbury in 1982, the first ever papal visit to the U.K.

King Charles has shown a keen interest in the life and works of St. John Henry Newman, and earlier this month became the first monarch to visit the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Birmingham, the priestly community Newman established there in 1848. He said during that visit that he was hoping it would "not be too long" before he met Pope Leo.

Details to be announced

Buckingham Palace said further details of their majesties' state visit to the Vatican "will be announced in due course."

It is possible that it might coincide with the formal proclamation of St. John Henry Newman as the 38th doctor of the Church, which the Vatican announced in July. The Vatican has yet to confirm when that might take place.

Asked if it might time with the proclamation, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said this evening that he "did not have much to share at this time."

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CNA Staff, Sep 26, 2025 / 10:37 am (CNA).

The suspect in the violent assault of a pro-life advocate in New York City earlier this year will not face charges after a prosecutor's office dropped the case against the alleged assailant.

The Thomas More Society said this week it was launching a civil lawsuit against Brianna Rivers over her alleged assault of Savannah Craven Antao after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg dismissed the case.

Rivers struck Antao in the face and left her bloodied in the April assault in Manhattan. The assault, which was caught on camera, came as Antao was calmly interviewing Rivers and debating pro-life politics with her.

Antao told CNA in April that she "had absolutely no time to see that it was coming."

"I regularly do street interviews for my YouTube channel and various other organizations," she said at the time. "This isn't something I'm not used to doing. It was just like any other day."

Antao's injuries required a trip to the hospital and stitches. The Thomas More Society this week said the hospital visit resulted in $3,000 worth of bills.

Christopher Ferrara, a senior lawyer with the Thomas More Society, said this week that Bragg's dismissal of the charges "only works to undermine confidence in the system, especially when our political climate has become as fraught as it is now."

"Failing to prosecute these clear-cut charges sets a dangerous standard for how our society responds to violence against those engaging in democratic dialogue," he said.

Antao did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNA on Sept. 26. In the Thomas More Society's press release, she criticized the prosecutor's decision to "quietly let the charges fade away" in spite of the "indisputable evidence" of the recording of the assault.

"Political violence should never be tolerated or given a free pass," she said. "When those in power refuse to hold accountable those who respond to free speech with violence, it threatens the very fabric of our civil society."

Bragg's office did not immediately respond to a phone call and email seeking comment.

Ferrara said the lawsuit will seek punitive damages for Antao.

"Savannah's assailant may have been spared criminal consequences by the Manhattan DA's failure, but we will see to it that she faces accountability," he said.

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CNA Staff, Sep 26, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Courage International, the Catholic apostolate that helps men and women experiencing same-sex attraction "persevere on the path of holiness," marked 45 years of ministry on Sept. 26, celebrating nearly half a century of helping individuals struggling with sexuality to "live a chaste life" in line with Church teaching. 

The Connecticut-based organization traces its earliest roots to an effort started by New York archbishop Cardinal Terence Cooke, who in 1978 conceived of a same-sex attraction ministry and asked Father John Harvey, OSFS, to lead the effort. 

Harvey, who died in 2010, authored the 1979 pamphlet "A Spiritual Plan to Redirect One's Life," offering a program for "homosexually-oriented persons" to "achieve a chaste, productive, and happy life." 

The apostolate held its first official meeting the following year on Sept. 26 at the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Manhattan. In 1981 the group published the first version of its "Five Goals," which include dedications to chastity, service, the sacraments, and fellowship. 

Within a few years the program expanded to Canada, officially becoming an international organization; it also began to expand throughout the U.S. at the time. 

An endorsement by the Holy See came in 1994. The group by this time had already begun hosting annual "Courage Conferences," with Harvey publishing several new works on the ministry over the years.

The group's offerings for those struggling with same-sex attraction include retreats, literature, online chat groups, and a men's sports camp — a weekend of "team sports with encouragement, coaching, and an abundance of Christian fellowship" (where teams compete in an "annual epic battle for the coveted Harvey Cup").

'Such a needed ministry'

Father Brian Gannon, the executive director of Courage, said the group was originally founded to minister to men with same-sex attraction and eventually expanded to include women. A sister program, "EnCourage," ministers to family members of those with same-sex attraction. 

The group works primarily through chapters, which number around 160 worldwide and function as clergy-led support groups. 

"There's individual groups in various dioceses that are run by chaplains — either priests or deacons — and they meet on a regular basis, usually about once a week," Gannon said. 

Group members "come together, read through the goals, discuss their experiences and challenges during the week, and pray," he said. "Prayer is absolutely central to it." 

Courage has a presence in numerous countries worldwide, including the Philippines, Singapore, and Poland. In addition to executive leadership, the group is overseen by an episcopal board of several bishops. "It's fully sanctioned by the Church," Gannon said. 

Gannon himself came into the leadership role in 2024. Years before he helped to start a Courage chapter in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He was approached by the organization last year and asked to serve as director.

The priest took on that role in addition to his pastorship at St. Theresa Parish in Trumbull, Connecticut. "It's a challenge," he said with a chuckle. "But you balance it as best you can. You always want to do more for both [roles]." 

He described the men and women who take part in the apostolate as "truly inspirational," while the organization's staff, including another full-time priest, are "very hardworking." 

Looking to the future, Gannon said the group is hoping to expand its social media presence. He also said it is making efforts to contact each new bishop installed in the U.S. 

"We've just started to reach out to newly appointed bishops, sending them a welcome letter and encouraging them to get in touch with us, letting them know we'd love to come and talk to them about starting a Courage chapter if they don't have one," he said. 

Gannon said participants in the ministry do not seek a watered-down version of Catholic doctrine. "They want to follow exactly what the Church is teaching," he said. 

"The secular world has a twisted view of sexuality," he said. "This is such a needed ministry. It helps people find peace."

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Vatican City, Sep 26, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Archbishop Filippo Iannone as prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Bishops, a department the pope himself once led.

The appointment, announced Sept. 26, marks Leo's first selection of a head of a major Vatican office since his election in May.

Iannone, 67, an Italian canon lawyer, has headed the Dicastery for Legislative Texts as prefect since 2022.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 26, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The United States bishops have expressed their solidarity with the bishops and faithful in Africa "as they offer the world a profound witness of respect for human life and dignity amidst ongoing conflicts" on the continent.

In a Sept. 24 statement, Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee on International Justice and Peace, said the bishops "pray that government officials and people of all faiths may work together to bring lasting peace, justice, and security to the continent."

"In 2025, millions of our brothers and sisters on the African continent live displaced from their homes and communities, forced to flee due to conflict, religious and ethnic persecution, economic hardship, and environmental crises," Zaidan wrote.

African nations have experienced extreme violence, war, and disease, which has left more than 15 million displaced in the sub-Saharan region. Zaidan emphasized that "cycles of deadly violence" are leading humanitarian crises to continuously "claim thousands of innocent lives in Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, and throughout the Sahel region."

In Sudan, thousands have been affected by the country's cholera outbreak, exacerbating the country's existing humanitarian crisis, with nearly 100,000 reported cases and more than 2,470 related deaths (as of August).

Ongoing violent conflicts in countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia also continue to escalate and have resulted in the deaths of thousands amid the ongoing wars.

"Due to the rise of extremist violence, Christians, Muslims, and other people of faith are increasingly targeted by campaigns of mass killings, abductions, and forced displacement," Zaidan wrote. He particularly drew attention to "the hundreds of Christian civilians massacred in recent weeks and months in Nigeria's Middle Belt and northern regions as well as in eastern Congo."

These acts of violence include a June attack by Islamist Fulani militants in northern Nigeria, which left around 200 Nigerian Christians dead. International aid organizations referred to it as the "worst killing spree" in the region yet.

"The Catholic Church and the U.S. government have a shared responsibility to promote the international common good and respect for human life by contributing to international humanitarian and development assistance," Zaidan said, adding that the bishops "reaffirm that lifesaving and life-affirming international assistance funding is a crucial complement to these efforts."

"In fraternal unity with the Church in Africa, we ask Our Lady Queen of Peace to comfort all those afflicted by violence and grant all people of goodwill the courage to build peace both in their local communities and across borders."

"As our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, has said: 'May every community become a "house of peace," where one learns how to defuse hostility through dialogue, where justice is practiced and forgiveness is cherished.'"

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CNA Staff, Sep 25, 2025 / 18:23 pm (CNA).

A $1.8 billion lawsuit brought by an anonymous activist and the state of Texas is seeking to recover money they say Planned Parenthood illegally took from Medicaid.

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Thursday in the case, Doe v. Planned Parenthood.

When Planned Parenthood was exposed for selling fetal tissue and organs, Louisiana and Texas quickly moved to revoke the organization's Medicaid eligibility. Court orders delayed the revocation.

As the courts debated Planned Parenthood's eligibility, the group continued to make Medicaid reimbursement claims despite the uncertain status until 2020, when the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the states. 

In a lawsuit filed in 2021, a whistleblower sued Planned Parenthood under the False Claims Act. Designed to protect taxpayer dollars from fraudulent actors, the False Claims Act requires that "any person who knowingly submits, or causes to submit, false claims to the government is liable for three times the government's damages plus a penalty that is linked to inflation," according to the U.S. Department of Justice website. 

Pro-life leader and legal expert Jennie Bradley Lichter called the case an "existential threat" to Planned Parenthood in an opinion piece for The Hill.

Lichter, president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, wrote that "under the False Claims Act, money obtained from the government while ineligible — even if collected under a court order that is later overturned — must be repaid in full."

Susan Baker Manning, general counsel for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, denied that the legal theory has any merit. 

"This theory is yet another effort to weaponize the law to attack Planned Parenthood," Manning said in a statement on Wednesday. "This case has one goal: to shut down Planned Parenthood and deny patients access to sexual and reproductive health care."

Katie Glenn Daniel, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America's director of legal affairs, said Planned Parenthood "had no right" to the taxpayer money. 

"The whistleblower in this case, Doe, is suing on behalf of the people to recover taxpayer dollars Planned Parenthood had no right to take and still has not voluntarily paid back, plus fees and interest," Glenn Daniel told CNA.

"The nation's largest abortion business felt so entitled to taxpayer money, it spent years billing Medicaid after being disqualified by Texas and Louisiana — a direct result of their disregard for human life exposed by David Daleiden's undercover videos showing their role in the sale of baby body parts," Glenn Daniel said. 

As part of a recently enacted tax package, the federal government cut Planned Parenthood funding. More than 40 locations are closing this year. The New York Times reported alleged medical negligence at New York-based Planned Parenthood locations earlier this year. 

"Despite reports of medical negligence, declines in actual health services, and record political spending, Planned Parenthood demands the taxpayer faucet stay flowing forever," Glenn Daniel said.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 25, 2025 / 16:18 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Bishop Ciro Quispe López of Juli, Peru, following a Vatican investigation initiated in mid-2024 into several accusations against him of sexual misconduct with women and financial mismanagement.

"The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the Territorial Prelature of Juli [Peru], presented by Bishop Ciro Quispe López," the Vatican Press Office reported Sept. 24 without providing further details.

Quispe and the Prelature of Juli did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In statements to the American media outlet Crux in 2024, the bishop said malevolent forces were behind the accusations against him. In response to a query from a local newspaper, he said "all these things, brother, are under investigation" and "we are currently in that process," without specifying whether he was referring to civil or Church jurisdiction.

In July 2024, the apostolic nunciature in Peru reported that the Vatican had appointed Bishop Marco Antonio Cortez of Tacna and Moquegua as apostolic visitor (investigator) following "the publication of news in various local media outlets regarding the Prelature of Juli." The results of the investigation have not been made public.

The Prelature of Juli was established in 1957. Its seat is in the city of the same name in the department (administrative district) of Puno, in the southern Andes of Peru, near the border with Bolivia. It is located at an altitude of more than 12,465 feet above sea level and is a difficult-to-reach area.

Who is Bishop Ciro Quispe López?

Bishop Ciro Quispe is 51 years old, and his resignation was accepted well before his 75th birthday, the usual retirement age for bishops.

Pope Francis appointed him in late 2018 during the time when then-Bishop Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, was bishop of Chiclayo in northern Peru.

Quispe was ordained a priest in 2001. He served as parochial vicar of St. Jerome and St. Anthony the Abbot in Cuzco; as a professor of biblical sciences at the Pontifical and Civil School of Theology in Lima; and as parochial vicar of St. Beatrice, also in Lima.

He completed his studies for a degree in biblical theology and then a doctorate in biblical sciences at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

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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