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Lima Newsroom, Apr 10, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

In one of the most poverty-stricken areas of Lima, Peru, where hunger and hopelessness have long prevailed, a man who once rejected the Church now leads a quiet revolution of solidarity.

After 24 years away from the faith, Fabrizio Caciano transformed his own conversion into "Emergency Missions," a Catholic nongovernmental organization (NGO) that not only feeds people in hospitals and on the hills but also builds a future by bringing education to those forgotten by society.

His story is a living testimony of how faith in action can transform lives in a country where more than 17 million Peruvians face food insecurity.

Emergency Missions, formed by volunteers from the Santa María Reina (Holy Mary Queen) Parish in the Miraflores district of Lima, has been recognized three times with the Metropolitan Volunteer Award in the religious organizations category.

Caciano, the leader of the initiative, told ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, that the foundation of the mission is deeply Catholic. "We transmit the faith we carry within us, and that also transforms those we serve," he said.

He also noted that he follows this maxim in life: "What is from God is from God. Trust, let go, wait. Let the Lord surprise you," remembering that true transformation begins with surrender and faith in divine providence.

A path of conversion and service

Caciano, 55, began leading the initiative in 2016 after a long process of personal transformation. Raised in a practicing Catholic family, he attended Mass regularly until the age of 18. However, the sudden death of his mother and the loss of his best friend in 1989 led him to distance himself from the faith and reject the Church for 24 years.

While studying business administration and specializing in marketing, he accidentally discovered his calling to serve. Through his passion for candlemaking, he began working with the NGO Mundo Libre ("A Free World"), teaching homeless children. His commitment led him to become the director of the Street Educators program, working with child drug users in the worst-off areas of Lima.

'What kind of Church do you want to be?' 

His return to the faith was unexpected and occurred in 2013 after a conversation with Marianist priest Víctor Müller. During that conversation, Caciano tried to challenge the priest with controversial topics about the Church.

However, Müller's response disconcerted him: "You may be right, but you cannot deny that, at this moment, in the mountains of Peru, at 4,000 meters [13,125 feet] above sea level, there is someone carrying a message of solidarity, faith, and hope to those who need it most."

The priest then asked him a question that would deeply mark him: "What kind of Church do you want to be?" These words were engraved in his heart and began his evangelizing mission.

Caciano admitted that, from that moment on, he began attending Mass and, shortly after, became involved in perpetual Eucharistic adoration. He chose a difficult schedule because, for him, sacrifice is a fundamental part of growth. "Calm waters have never made good sailors," he told ACI Prensa.

Emergency Doors: First humanitarian aid project

Since 2016, every week, a group of young people and adults has met in the evenings in the halls of Santa María Reina Parish to bring love and food to patients and families in seven hospitals in Lima, alleviating their needs with solidarity and closeness.

"The idea is to provide them with a snack and, above all, company, emotional support, and help. These are people who face uncertainty, often without having eaten or without money to return home. We want to be there for those who wait, anguished," Caciano said.

This is how the Emergency Doors project, which has delivered more than 400,000 snacks to hospitals to date and currently distributes 1,100 loaves of bread weekly, was born.

"It's not just about giving bread but about looking into the eyes of those who are suffering, accompanying them in their pain," Caciano said.

In addition to this project, the Emergency Streets initiative was started during the COVID-19 pandemic. "We are going to prepare food to take to people in need, to those who live on the streets, sleep on the streets, and spend their nights outdoors during the winter," he commented.

Some families from Santa María Reina Parish are participating in the project, which began cooking food to distribute in downtown Lima. Currently, approximately 1,500 meals are provided monthly.

The U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization's 2024 report indicates that 51.7% of Peruvians, approximately 17.6 million people, face moderate or severe food insecurity. This makes Peru the country with the highest rate of food insecurity in South America.

Emergency Pots: Fighting hunger

Faced with this reality, initiatives like Emergency Soup Kitchens have been key to bringing aid to those most in need. During the pandemic, Caciano and his team went to the town of Villa María del Triunfo and, seeing dozens of families organizing communal soup kitchens due to a lack of food, decided to take action, supplying them with essential products.

"For a year and a half, we gave them breakfast supplies," Caciano said. "We saw children who hadn't eaten all day, desperate mothers looking for something for their children. We couldn't just stand idly by."

This charitable initiative grew rapidly and continues to support hundreds of vulnerable families today.

Currently, thanks to an agreement with the Plaza Vea supermarket chain and in partnership with the prison ministry at the Lurigancho Penitentiary, they manage to collect 3 tons of food per month to share with the soup kitchens in the San Juan de Lurigancho district, one of the poorest areas of Lima.

Emergency Classrooms: Education for the neediest

Over time, Emergency Missions identified another urgent problem: the lack of access to education. During the pandemic, many children didn't have internet access or the tools to continue studying.

The solution emerged unexpectedly when a friend of Caciano's offered him a device that provided internet access for 10 people. Thus, the Emergency Classrooms project was born.

"We've seen mothers crying with joy because their children can study now. One mom told us, 'My son wants to be an engineer, but he didn't have the means to study. Now he has the opportunity to do so,'" Caciano related.

In partnership with Loyalty Bonus, the project has equipped 25 meeting places in South Lima, each with free internet access for one year, tablets, and printers.

In addition, they have set up prefabricated modules in the hilltops of southern Lima, allowing teachers to hold in-person classes with official status. Thanks to this initiative, in 2022 they were able to integrate 100 mothers from the soup kitchens into the school system within their own communities.

The impact has continued to grow. In 2024, 200 mothers returned to and completed their studies, and last year, 60 women graduated from high school with an official state certification. Currently, Emergency Classrooms has seven outlying centers where people can sign up for classes in different areas of Lima, facilitating access to education for those most in need.

Message of hope and faith

Regarding spreading their work, Caciano noted that the projects tend to be discreet in publicizing their work due to their Catholic identity, although he acknowledged the importance of making themselves known.

"We do much more than we show the world, while many publicize more than they actually do. We are present, quietly working. Humility is part of the work, but it is also necessary to make yourself known, because if people don't know about you, they can't help," he said.

For this reason, he invited those who wish to support the outreach to experience it in person. "When someone here says, 'How can I support you?' I say, 'Come. Come, join me on the street. Come, join us at the hospital.' And along the way, I'll tell you what's going on, because it's a lot," he commented.

Finally, reflecting on the journey, he reaffirmed that this work has been a calling from God that has grown into a life mission for many. "We have changed lives, not only with what we give but with what we share: hope, companionship, and faith. And that transforms hearts," he concluded.

To learn more about Emergency Missions, visit this link: misionesdeemergencia.org.

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

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 9, 2025 / 14:37 pm (CNA).

The debate over immigration, border control, and refugee resettlement remains a hot-button topic among the general population, including U.S. Catholics, who have a wide range of stances on the issue. An array of policymakers, theologians, and representatives for Catholic aid organizations have shared their takes on the topic with CNA.

In the wake of the Trump administration's funding cuts, Catholic aid organizations such as Catholic Charities and Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) USA have been outspoken in their advocacy for the restoration of aid to their programs, which benefit migrants and refugees. As part of the 90-day funding freeze, over $18 million in federal federal funding to JRS USA was frozen, though aid to select programs has since been reauthorized. Catholic Charities across the country have shuttered refugee services and other programs due to the freeze.

At a JRS USA-sponsored conference late last month, Kevin Appleby, former director of migration policy for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and current senior director of international migration policy for the Center for Migration Studies, weighed in on the divide between the U.S. bishops and the administration.

"I always believe that dialogue is important," he told CNA. "I don't think the Church should wait for four years. We have to try to engage the administration as much as possible because by doing that, you can help refugees." Appleby indicated there are areas where the Church and administration might find common ground, such as in combatting human trafficking.

At that same conference, Washington, D.C.'s Cardinal Robert McElroy emphasized that "we've got to remember the call of Jesus is constant, to always be attentive to the needs and the suffering that lie around us, to perceive it, and then to act," he said, comparing the plight of migrants to the robbers' victim in the parable of the good Samaritan.

The cardinal archbishop criticized the Trump administration's foreign aid suspension, describing it as "unconscionable through any prism of Catholic thought" and "moral theft from the poorest and the most desperate men, women, and children in our world today." While acknowledging the need for border control, McElroy condemned mass deportation efforts and called for legislation that supports "generous asylum and refugee policy."

Thomistic perspective 

Both St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas have also become subjects of media attention on the topic due to Vice President JD Vance's recent invocation of the concept of "ordo amoris" in the context of the immigration debate, which then garnered a response from Pope Francis himself. 

In discussing the principle, Vance, a Catholic, said "ordo amoris" teaches that one's "compassion belongs first" to one's family and fellow citizens "and then after that" to the rest of the world. "[Y]ou love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country, and then after that you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world," Vance said.

Pope Francis promptly issued a letter to the U.S. bishops in which he stated that "Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups."

Offering additional insights on the subject of welcoming the stranger, the president of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies, Father Thomas Petri, OP, noted that "obviously, Aquinas did not have the same concerns about immigration since his day was not marked by the globalism of today."

Petri said the Angelic Doctor's most explicit treatment of the issue comes out in his analysis of the judicial precepts found in Mosaic law. Essentially, Petri said, Aquinas "argued that foreigners who are just visiting or staying for a short period should be received without problem, [citing] Exodus 22:19 ('Thou shalt not molest a stranger')."

However, Petri explained, for foreigners who wanted to be admitted to citizenship, Aquinas pointed out that in those days "foreigners would not be admitted to citizenship for two or three generations."  Petri added: "The reason this was the case is instructive for us."

According to Petri, Aquinas believed that "those who want to be citizens need to come to understand and hold the common good of the society 'firmly at heart' lest they attempt to do something (even unintentionally) that might harm the society."

Backlash against refugee resettlement 

As the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), Mark Krikorian, sees it, the refugee system has been "so abusive of taxpayers, such a misdirection of resources" that "it may require a blunt instrument, at least at first, to address it."

Known for its close relationship with the Trump administration, CIS bills itself as a "low-immigration, pro-immigrant" think tank. Krikorian himself is a deacon in the Orthodox Armenian Apostolic Church. 

According to Krikorian, the moral debate surrounding refugee resettlement is not just the amount of money being spent or what services people should be eligible for, but over the purpose of resettlement itself.

"This public image of resettlement is that we're saving lives, when the reality is nothing of the kind," he said, adding: "If anything, more people die because of the money we spend on refugee resettlement than would if we spent that money on refugee protection abroad." 

"We did a deep dive into the costs of resettling a refugee here versus the cost of taking care of a refugee in the country they took their first asylum," Krikorian continued. "The five-year cost of resettling a refugee was 12 times greater than the cost of taking care of a refugee in the country they had taken their initial refuge."

"The analogy here is that there's 12 people floundering in the water, and instead of throwing each one of them a life preserver, which isn't great, but at least you won't drown, we're sending a yacht to pick up one of them and leaving the rest to their fate," he added. "There's simply no excuse for it."

While he acknowledged concerns for human dignity advanced by the U.S. bishops advocating for the restoration of the resettlement program, Krikorian also noted that "there is no infinite source of funding for refugee protection." As such, he argued, the best use of taxpayer dollars for this purpose would be toward helping refugees abroad, "where you get much more bang for the humanitarian buck." 

A 'longer view' 

"I would advise Catholics to take a longer view of Catholic teaching, which does not support open borders or illegal migration," Chad Pecknold, an associate professor of systematic theology at The Catholic University of America, told CNA. 

"As well, I would remind faithful Catholics that the USCCB is not 'the Catholic Church' but a national conference which has outsourced much of the Church's charitable work with immigrants to NGO [nongovernmetnal organization]-type organizations, many of which work on the liberal principles which have been operative in global humanitarian aid for decades," he added. This, he said, "is at the heart of the so-called 'debate' between the USCCB and the administration."

Pecknold recalled Pope Benedict XVI's teachings in Deus Caritas Est, which stated that the Church's charitable work "must avoid any semblance of becoming an NGO." Benedict's teachings were not meant to exclude the Church from becoming allied with federal programs, he said, but rather to discourage it from becoming dependent on government aid.

Notably, in the past week, the USCCB announced its decision to end its cooperative agreements with the federal government for resettling refugees and unaccompanied minors.

Multiple U.S. bishops continue to call on the Trump administration to make a radical about-face on mass deportation efforts, citing Catholic social teaching on human dignity. At a recent vigil march in solidarity with migrants in El Paso, Texas, Bishop Mark Seitz described the administration's actions in this regard as "a fundamental attack on human community. On the body. On Jesus' vision of a fully reconciled humanity."

Pecknold noted that the Church has been opposed to mass deportations since the end of World War II. Yet then, as now, the Church's position against the practice has been "under the prudential caveat that nations have the right to decide such questions." 

"It was never framed as 'a fundamental attack' on any of the emotive points the bishops insist upon," he continued. "I think it's good that the Church advocates always for the migrant family, for keeping the family together and safe, and when necessary and possible, for returning migrant families to the countries where they are from. But I think Bishop Seitz's condemnations go too far." 

The CUA professor also referenced Pope Pius XII's Excul Familia Nazarethana, the only papal encyclical on the question of migration, in which Pecknold said "the overwhelming concern was to protect the family unit." 

"Pope Pius XII encyclical on protecting migrants did not make human dignity hinge upon the absolute rights of individuals who want to cross any border they want, regardless of laws," he explained. "Human dignity for Pius XII was bound up with the family, and the plight of migrants was keyed to both mercy and justice: Mercy for the migrant family must be balanced with the just laws of nations." 

For 2,000 years, he reflected, the Catholic Church has served as "a light" to nations on these crucial societal questions, not by acting as social activists "but by encouraging rulers to make 'justice and mercy kiss' as far as that is possible in their prudential decisions of civic governance."

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Vatican City, Apr 9, 2025 / 09:44 am (CNA).

Pope Francis on Wednesday highlighted the need to overcome the "logic of merit" to be a committed follower of Jesus Christ and to trust more in God's gratuitous love.

Continuing his jubilee catechesis series "Jesus Christ Our Hope" on the life of Jesus, the pope wrote a reflection on Chapter 10 of St. Mark's Gospel when Christ encounters a rich young man with a "fine resume" of good deeds.

"He is a man who has observed the commandments ever since his youth but who, despite this, has not yet found the meaning of his life," the Holy Father wrote in his April 9 catechesis.

"Perhaps he is one who has not yet truly made up his mind, despite his appearance as a committed person," he continued.

Commenting that "eternal life" is not "obtained by right" or "through meticulous observance of commitments," the 88-year-old pope emphasized that a loving relationship with God and with others is key for a happy and fulfilling life on earth and also in heaven.

"Indeed, beyond the things we do, our sacrifices and successes, what truly counts in order to be happy is what we carry in our heart," the Holy Father said.

In his catechesis, the pope invited his readers to consider God's love as a gift he desires to share with others and not merely as a reward he grants to those who carry out good works.

"Jesus' love is gratuitous: exactly the opposite of the logic of merit that has beset this person," he said. "We are truly happy when we realize we are loved in this way, freely, by grace." 

"This also applies to the relationships between us: as long as we try to buy love or beg for affection, those relationships will never make us feel happy," he added.

To make "our hearts freer" to accept the proposal of Jesus to follow him, the Holy Father said it is necessary to take a look inside our hearts and give our wounds and weaknesses to the God who wants to heal us.  

"Perhaps today, precisely because we live in a culture of self-sufficiency and individualism, we find ourselves more unhappy because we no longer hear our name spoken by someone who loves us freely," the pope shared in his catechesis.

Noting the sadness of the young man who refused Jesus' offer to be his disciple and follow him, the pope said to be aware that "what we think are riches" could be "only burdens that are holding us back."

The Holy Father concluded his Wednesday catechesis with a prayer, entrusting "all people who are sad and undecided" to the Heart of Jesus "so that they may feel the loving gaze of the Lord."

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ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 9, 2025 / 10:53 am (CNA).

The Kerygma Center for the New Evangelization offers a program that, since its founding in 2013, has brought closer to God thousands of nonbelievers, especially baptized persons who had been living far from their faith.

Founded in response to the call of St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis, the center proposes a "re-evangelization" aimed particularly at those who, despite having faith, have not experienced "a living and personal encounter with Jesus Christ," Kerygma president Carlos Macías de Lara explained to ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner.

Originally from Mexico, Macías is a full-time evangelist living in Italy and has more than 30 years of experience spreading the good news.

Despite having grown up in a Catholic family, during his youth he strayed from the faith and fell into the world of drugs, disordered sexuality, and alcohol. However, in 1992 he had a personal encounter with Jesus that, in his own words, "changed my life."

It was then that he began to take his first steps in the new evangelization with the Evangelization 2000 group and later underwent formation at the San Andrés School of Evangelization in Guadalajara, Mexico, until he founded the Kerygma Center in 2013.

Macías also studied theology at the Catholic Biblical Institute for the Laity in Guadalajara, where he deepened his faith formation.

"We propose a series of projects through catechesis aimed at young people, adults, and families," he explained.

The courses are based on the proclamation of the Gospel (kerygma) through biblical and spiritual formation. Macías emphasized that "the Kerygma Center is not a structure or a building but an evangelization program."

The program, he explains, is introduced in communities and parishes that request it. "We send evangelizers to teach these courses when the parish or community asks us for them. Each course includes a manual so that it can be introduced and experienced in the community itself without the need for us to be constantly present."

Currently, the team of about 40, including laypeople and priests, is organizing to meet requests coming from numerous communities in Europe, America, Australia, and Asia. "Our Ukrainian team member, for example, is replicating the courses in Ukraine, despite the painful wartime situation," Macías added.

"In all our courses, we strive to help people live and experience an encounter with Jesus Christ, regardless of the path they've been on or the formation they may have, inviting them to share it in their families, at work, and in all their situations," he explained.

Macías expressed gratitude for the growth the center has experienced over the years, although he lamented the rejection they encounter, especially in Europe, "where there is to all appearances a strong Christian presence."

For this reason, he insisted that "the urgent need is to evangelize, helping the brothers and sisters who are serving and working within the Church to grow so they can reach out to others beyond the confines of the Church as well as the baptized who have not deepened their faith."

Re-evangelizing the baptized

For Macías, this is the "great challenge": re-evangelizing the laity and searching for committed Catholics who desire to evangelize beyond their borders.

The Kerygma Center advises priests who request its help to begin by offering a course to those who are part of the parish community, especially catechists and the faithful most involved with the reality they face in the parish.

Through the various courses, through which the word of God is brought into everyday life, parish members are invited "in a very simple way to get the Gospel message out there to the existential peripheries, as Pope Francis invites us."

Therefore, according to Macías, it's about providing formation to the faithful so that they themselves can evangelize and fulfill the mission of spreading the Gospel. These formation sessions, according to Macías, "are like a shot in the arm that strengthen the community."

As part of the Jubilee of Hope, approximately 170 members of the faithful will travel to Italy July 3–6 to hold their international seminar at San Lorenzo College of Brindisi in Rome.

At this year's conference they will meditate on four chapters from the Book of Ruth. "Our goal is, as the Catholic Church and Pope Francis invite us, to be pilgrims of hope as evangelizers, to help all those living in desperate situations, whether it's financial, social, or due to the wars that are taking place around the world."

The seminar will culminate with a pilgrimage to Rome to pass through the Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica, where they will participate in a Mass celebrated by the archpriest of the basilica, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti.

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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Puebla, Mexico, Apr 9, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

At 103 years of age, Mexican Bishop José de Jesús Sahagún de la Parra is a living witness to the history of the Catholic Church. He is the world's oldest bishop, still celebrates the Eucharist, and is one of only four surviving bishops who participated in the Second Vatican Council.

He was born in Cotija, a small and humble town in the state of Michoacán, in 1922 and ordained a priest on May 26, 1946. Fifteen years after his priestly ordination, Pope John XXIII appointed him the first bishop of the newly created Diocese of Tula in the state of Hidalgo.

For 24 years, he was a pillar of the diocese, until in 1985 when Pope John Paul II called him to a new challenge: to be the first bishop of the Diocese of Lázaro Cárdenas.

With the same dedication with which he had served in Hidalgo, he returned to his home state of Michoacán to shepherd a growing community, where he remained until 1993, the year he was allowed to retire.

Since then, his life has been lived in the tranquility of a home for nuns in Michoacán.

The 'great builder'

For José Antonio Fernández Hurtado, current archbishop of Tlalnepantla, Sahagún de la Parra, who ordained him a priest in Tula, was a "great builder."

Sahagún de la Parra arrived in Tula on Feb. 27, 1961. The newly established diocese was in its early stages, during which, according to Hurtado, "there was no evangelization and, therefore, no native vocations."

However, his vision and efforts transformed the region, and he was responsible for the construction of "El Huerto" major seminary, which began holding classes in 1964. This center also welcomed students from the historic Montezuma Seminary in New Mexico when it closed its doors in 1972.

In addition to his educational work, Sahagún de la Parra dedicated himself to several social projects that he funded himself, demonstrating his deep commitment to social justice. Hurtado recalled that in the Mezquital Valley region, where people lived "precariously in jacales [humble huts]," he promoted the construction of small houses so they could have decent living conditions.

He also encouraged seminarians to get involved in these projects. "We would go help the bricklayers ... and in the afternoon we would teach catechism," he recalled.

On Oct. 11, 1985, St. John Paul II erected the Diocese of Lázaro Cárdenas and due to Sahagún de la Parra's extensive experience in Hidalgo, he chose him as bishop for this new jurisdiction, which was formed from part of the Archdiocese of Morelia and the Diocese of Apatzingán.

His relationship with others

Hurtado recalled with admiration that, in addition to being a great builder of structures, Sahagún de la Parra was a builder of more humane communities with decent living conditions.

He recognized him as a "kind, generous, and very practical" person. A trait that stands out about the bishop is his "great respect for Indigenous people, that is, always thinking about human dignity," he added.

As a pastoral leader, Sahagún de la Parra showed his priests "closeness and trust," deeply caring about their personal formation. He also promoted good relations between priests and laypeople, actively involving the latter in the organizational life of the Church.

When Hurtado was appointed bishop of Tuxtepec, then archbishop of Durango, and later of Tlalnepantla, he always sought the advice of Sahagún de la Parra, who reiterated the same recommendation to remain "close to the priests, treat them with kindness, encourage them and, consequently, the laypeople as well."

The Council period

In 1962, Pope John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council. Despite having been a bishop for only one year, Sahagún de la Parra was called to participate in this epoch-shaping ecclesial event. He attended three of the four sessions of the council, which opened on Oct. 11, 1962, in St. Peter's Basilica with more than 2,000 council fathers from around the world.

According to an article published by Mexican researcher and historian Father Juan Carlos Casas, some 40 Mexican bishops attended the council from 1962 to 1965.

At that time, Mexico had approximately 35 million inhabitants, 98% of whom declared themselves Catholic. The priority concerns of the Mexican bishops at the council included "the increase in vocations, the construction of churches and seminaries, the moralization of a permissive and secularized society, and the communist threat."

Few records exist regarding Sahagún de la Parra's participation. However, in his book "Diocese of Tula: Notes on Its First 25 Years," he mentions that he witnessed the collaborative work of the world's bishops "united by the same ideals: that the Church authentically fulfill the mission of making Christ present in this phase of humanity."

Currently, only four council fathers are still alive; in addition to Sahagún de la Parra, they are Victorinus Youn Kong-hi, archbishop emeritus of Gwangju, South Korea; Daniel Verstraete, bishop emeritus of Klerksdorp, South Africa, both 100 years old; and Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, who is 92.

The Eucharist, the center of his life

At 103 years of age, Sahagún de la Parra remains a living testimony of faith and dedication. For Hurtado, his longevity is no coincidence, but the fruit of two essential pillars in his life: the Eucharist and contact with the people.

When Hurtado had the opportunity to visit him to celebrate his 100th birthday, he was surprised to see that his "great capacity for hospitality" remained intact and that despite the passage of time, "he welcomed many people, and with everyone, because lay people came to visit him, and the doors were always open to all of them."

Sahagún de la Parra's daily life takes place in the serenity of his home, carefully cared for by the Diocesan Sisters of Our Lady of the Angels in Michoacán.

When contacted by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner — noting that for now the bishop does not grant interviews or receive visitors — the nuns shared that the prelate "celebrates the Eucharist daily. It's one of the reasons that has kept him strong and joyful."

One of the things the sisters have learned from the bishop is that "he has invited us to live joyfully, to be generous with our lives, to live in peace, and to always ask God for his strength."

"He has been a very generous person, who easily gives away material goods to help others," the sisters 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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Washington D.C., Apr 8, 2025 / 15:39 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Senate confirmation hearing for CatholicVote president Brian Burch to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See took place Tuesday morning, with Burch facing questions on how he plans to represent the Trump administration's foreign aid cuts to the Vatican as well as his position on the Holy See's relationship with China.

"I am deeply honored and humbled to be nominated by President [Donald] Trump to serve as the United States ambassador to the Holy See," Burch told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "This is a role of great significance, and I am grateful for the trust President Trump and Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio have placed in me."

Burch described the U.S.-Holy See relationship as "both unique and vital," highlighting its character as being rooted not in traditional diplomacy but rather in "shared commitments to religious freedom, human dignity, global peace, and justice."

The hearing took place alongside those of Trump's ambassadorship nominees to Croatia and Chile. Burch, a Catholic father of nine, answered questions from a handful of committee members, including committee chairman Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho; Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire; Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Nebraska; and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida.

"This is going to be a very challenging issue," Burch told the committee in response to questions regarding the Trump administration's widespread cuts to foreign aid. "The secretary has made clear when he took office that he was recharging and refocusing our foreign aid on places that would make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous."

"I think those criteria have to be met by these places," he continued. "Of course, again, I think the partnership with the Holy See can be a very good one, but I think those partners have to understand that our foreign aid is not endless, that we can't fund every last program."

During the hearing Shaheen repeatedly pressed Burch on his support for the Trump administration's foreign aid cuts and their impact on Catholic nonprofit organizations abroad. 

At one point the New Hampshire senator asked Burch if he knew how much the U.S. spends on foreign aid, and whether he could name any programs that were not in keeping with American foreign policy interests. 

Burch stated that he was "unaware of the exact numbers" and further stated that he had "read some of the stories" about superfluous foreign spending, citing one about alleged "transgender mice experiments," a claim Shaheen disputed.

Burch said the situation regarding foreign aid "is going to be a process" and noted several aid organizations he had spoken to had had their grants reauthorized, while others are still pending. 

Ricketts asked Burch for his thoughts on the Vatican-China deal, expressing concern that the communist-ruled government should be allowed to appoint Catholic bishops and that the arrangement encourages the continued persecution of religious minorities in the country. 

"I think it's important for the Holy See to maintain a posture of pressure and of applying pressure to the Chinese government around their human rights abuses, particularly their persecution of religious minorities, including Catholics," Burch stated. 

"I would encourage the Holy See as the United States ambassador, if I'm confirmed, to resist the idea that a foreign government has any role whatsoever in choosing the leadership of a private religious institution," he said.

Scott, meanwhile, asked Burch what he believed he could achieve through diplomacy with the Vatican for hostages, including American citizens, still being held by Hamas in Gaza. 

Burch said he believed the Holy See "can play a very significant role" by being "a partner in that conversation and [delivering] the necessary moral urgency of ending this conflict and hopefully securing a durable peace."

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 8, 2025 / 16:12 pm (CNA).

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on Monday vetoed legislation that would have protected the religious liberty of adoptive parents and faith-based adoption centers on issues related to gender identity and sexual orientation.

The bill, which passed the state Senate 31-9 and the House 84-38, would have prohibited the Kansas Department for Children and Families from enacting policies that require a prospective adoptive parent or foster parent to first affirm support for gender ideology and homosexuality if they want to qualify to adopt or foster children.

The vetoed bill would have ensured a person could not be denied a license to adopt or foster children and could not be refused selection for adopting or fostering children because he or she holds "sincerely held religious or moral beliefs" that conflict with the state government's ideology on those subjects.

The bill would have still allowed the state to consider an adoptive or foster parent's beliefs on those subjects for the placement of a specific minor who identifies as transgender or has same-sex attraction, but it would have prevented a blanket ban on people with those beliefs adopting or fostering children.

Kelly, who is a Democrat, said in a statement that the bill would have interfered with children's welfare.

"The top priority of the Kansas Department for Children and Families should be adhering to the 'best interest of the child' standard," she said. "Legislation like this detracts from this standard and stands in the way of best serving those in the child welfare system."

Kelly said she was also concerned the bill could subject the state to "frivolous lawsuits," which would take away "time and resources" from adoptive care and foster care services.

"Children in need of care already face unique and complex challenges," Kelly added. "I will not sign legislation that could further complicate their lives."

Republican lawmakers could have the votes to override the veto, which requires a two-thirds vote by both chambers of the Legislature. The party holds an 88-37 supermajority in the House and a 31-9 supermajority in the Senate.

Senate President Ty Masterson and House Speaker Dan Hawkins, both Republicans, released a joint statement suggesting they may take that action, asserting that "this veto cannot stand" and arguing that the proposed law reinforces the First Amendment's guarantee that every person is free to exercise his or her religious beliefs.

"Our foster care system depends on strong and stable families to care for the children in our system," they said. 

"The last thing any administration should be doing is discriminating against qualified families due to their religious or moral beliefs. It's perplexing that the governor would choose to veto legislation that would ensure First Amendment protections extend to foster parents."

Concerning national trends

In recent years, some states have enacted policies that force prospective adoptive and foster parents to agree that they will affirm a child's transgender identity or same-sex attraction as a condition to adopt or foster any children, even if they would be adopting or fostering a child who has never indicated that he or she identifies as transgender or has same-sex attraction.

Two families in Vermont, who are represented by the legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), filed a lawsuit against the state after their licenses to foster children were revoked because they refused to agree to a policy that would have required them to affirm a child's transgender "gender identity" or same-sex attraction.

Neither of those families had fostered any children who identified themselves as transgender or had same-sex attraction when their licenses were revoked.

In Oregon, a mother of five who is also represented by ADF is fighting a lawsuit after she was denied the opportunity to foster any children for the same reason. In that state, a prospective foster parent must also agree to support a child's transgender identity or same-sex attraction to receive a certification.

ADF Senior Counsel Greg Chafuen issued a statement expressing concern over Kelly's veto and "hope that the Kansas Legislature will prioritize the state's children and promptly override this veto."

"Kelly's disappointing veto … puts politics over people, excluding caring families and faith-based adoption and foster care organizations from helping children find loving homes — just like we've seen in other states that don't have this protection," Chafuen added.

Chafuen said the proposed law "would help children benefit from as many adoption and foster care agencies as possible, both faith-based and non-faith-based," and that an override of the veto "would mean that more families can open their hearts and homes to children in need of a safe and loving environment — that's keeping kids first."

"Every child deserves a loving home that can provide them stability and opportunities to grow," Chafuen added.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 8, 2025 / 16:42 pm (CNA).

The U.K. Catholic Medical Association (CMA) is warning against a bill seeking to legalize assisted suicide, arguing the measure will cause patients to "fear for their safety" in the medical system.

In an April 7 statement, the CMA indicated that it is "committed to upholding the moral teachings of the Catholic Church as applied to the field of health care" and is "therefore fundamentally opposed to the legislation proposed in [member of U.K. Parliament] Kim Leadbeater's Assisted Dying Bill."

The group argued that it is "always wrong to make a direct attack on innocent human life."

Leadbeater is sponsoring the controversial Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill that would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their own lives with the help of a doctor. The bill is currently facing a delay in its implementation that could last as long as four years. 

The bill would "allow adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life."

"The term 'assisted dying' is used in a euphemistic way in the bill," CMA said. "What it actually proposes is assisted suicide."

The group argued that although suicide was decriminalized in England and Wales in 1961 because of its relation to mental health issues, "assisted suicide remains a crime which may attract a long prison sentence."

The bill requires "that a person requesting assisted suicide has a clear, settled, and informed wish to end their own life," CMA noted. The bill further stipulates that the decision must be "voluntarily without coercion or pressure from any other person."

The Catholic group countered that it will "prove difficult or impossible to establish that these provisions have been strictly observed," as it is "clear from experience in countries which have legalized assisted suicide that abuse of the regulations is not at all uncommon."

CMA said this could lead patients "to fear for their safety within health services."

"For Christians and non-Christians alike, the ancient, fundamental principle of absolute respect for human life has always been officially upheld," CMA said. "In the Hippocratic Oath, which dates to several hundred years before the time of Christ, it states: 'I will give no deadly drug to any, nor will I counsel such.'"

The bill, meanwhile, would "overturn the ethical basis of medicine" by forcing medical professionals "to take the lives of their patients."

"The CMA would not endorse this under any circumstances and will always advocate for health workers to be allowed to act in accordance with their Christian principles."

The group instead called for greater access to palliative care for the dying, which was originally developed in the U.K. but which the group said is "extremely poorly resourced by the government." 

CMA "believes that adequate medical and nursing care during a person's final illness is at least as important as at any other stage of life," the group said. 

Rather than assisted suicide, the organization urged "major investment in palliative care services such that they become available to all who need them in the U.K., 24 hours a day."

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CNA Staff, Apr 8, 2025 / 17:12 pm (CNA).

The accused killer of a Kansas Catholic priest shot the clergyman last week "intentionally" and with "premeditation," a prosecutor has said. 

Gary Hermesch was taken into custody last week at the Nemaha County Jail and charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of Father Arul Carasala, the Nemaha County Sheriff's Office said. 

Carasala was shot at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Seneca on April 3. The priest later died from his injuries at Nemaha Valley Community Hospital.

Nemaha County Attorney Brad Lippert's office said in a press release that the murder was planned beforehand. Hermesch is being held on a $1 million bond at the county jail. 

The exact motive of the shooting remains unclear, though local news outlet KSNT reported that Hermesch had previously written letters to the local paper that contained both political and religious remarks. 

"[M]aybe if we just follow Donald Trump's example we'll 'make the Church great again,'" Hermesch reportedly wrote in one of the letters in which he also alleged that "the faith" is "not being taught."

In other letters he reportedly referenced a "fake Catholic Church" and spoke negatively of the Second Vatican Council. 

The priest had served in the archdiocese for more than 20 years. Kansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann said after the shooting last week that Carasala "was a devoted and zealous pastor" who "faithfully served" the archdiocese. 

"His love for Christ and his Church was evident in how he ministered to his people with great generosity and care," the archbishop said. "His parishioners, friends, and brother priests will deeply miss him."

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 7, 2025 / 16:22 pm (CNA).

The Trump administration has directed the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to begin a research initiative to study "regret" among individuals who undergo so-called gender transition treatments.

In March, the White House canceled multiple NIH grants involving gender identity along with diversity, equity, and inclusion. Now, the administration is ordering the NIH to resume some transgender research but with the goal of examining the potential negative consequences the hormonal and surgical treatments can have.

Theresa Farnan, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, discussed with CNA why this research is needed to help individuals who experience regret after transitioning treatments.

Farnan said many people who report negative consequences after medical gender transitions were already struggling with a mental health issue, trauma, or a form of autism before they transitioned. She said they are often "not really presented with alternative explanations for their feelings or less invasive treatments."

She explained that when transitioners do feel regret, "it is nearly impossible, outside of a few dedicated physicians (many of whom are Catholic or Christian physicians), to find a doctor who will supervise the process of detransitioning from hormones."

"This research should Illuminate the need for ongoing medical care addressing the needs of detransitioners and insurance coverage," Farnan continued, saying she hopes it will reveal "the damaging effect of social transition, which is misleadingly presented as a period of exploration but in reality locks children into a 'transgender' identity."

Farnan said she anticipates that "the NIH research will be vigorously opposed by the gender clinic industry."

"The last thing they want is a spotlight on what really goes on in gender clinics. Detransitioners are compelling witnesses to the unethical and dangerous nature of this industry," she said.

Catholic deacon and retired medical doctor Patrick Lappert told CNA that during his time as a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, he performed multiple reversal surgeries on people who experienced regret after transitioning.

"The regret itself, the emotional, psychological process the person has endured … deserves a lot of examination and support," he said. "The NIH can definitely get involved in the research of what is in the long-term."

Lappert specified that the NIH research should examine the long-term effects of medications and surgeries that he said "we have little to no information" on. He said this includes puberty blockers, high-dose cross-sex steroids, fertility harms, heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes.

He explained that if there is research to help further understand these issues, "we will better serve the persons who are detransitioning." Then the next steps can be "research into surgical techniques for, in some measure, reversing the effects of the surgery," he said.

Lappert said Europe has conducted research on gender ideology and transitioning, especially with children, and found that the process "does not help, it hurts."

"It's a result because the Europeans have a medical database that can be examined and you can see the long-term effects," he said. "The American process of practicing medicine has a lot of scattered medical records. Everybody keeps their own records, hospital systems, medical systems. It's very hard to interrogate that."

Dr. Roy Eappen, a senior fellow at Do No Harm, told CNA that he views the new NIH research initiative as "a huge step towards dismantling and exposing the lies propping up the transgender industry."

"For too long the United States avoided asking the real questions surrounding sex-change issues, and it's because transgender activists in leadership positions … didn't want them to be asked," Eappen said.

"Meanwhile, Europe conducted studies into these harmful practices and subsequently abandoned them due to the lack of scientific support," he said.

The Trump administration and the NIH have not yet released specific details pertaining to the research or how it will be conducted.

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