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ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 4, 2025 / 16:30 pm (CNA).

In the context of the growing geopolitical complexity and uncertainty surrounding peace in Ukraine, the presidency of the Commission of the Episcopal Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) issued a statement on Tuesday, March 4, expressing strong support for Ukraine.

The European Catholic bishops stated that "Ukraine's struggle for peace will also be decisive for the fate of Europe and the world." 

They also emphasized that "Ukraine's struggle for peace and the defense of its territorial integrity is not only a fight for its own future. Its outcome will also be decisive for the fate of the entire European continent and of a free and democratic world." 

In a geopolitical landscape that the bishops of the European Union described as "complex" and marked by "the unpredictability of the actions taken by some members of the international community," the COMECE presidency urged the European Union and its member states "to remain united in their commitment to support Ukraine and its people."

Ukraine must be included in the negotiations, bishops say

"Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a blatant violation of international law. The use of force to alter national borders and the atrocious acts committed against the civilian population are not only unjustifiable but demand a consequent pursuit of justice and accountability," the bishops said.

The prelates also pointed out in their press release that a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine can only be achieved through negotiations, which must be supported by strong transatlantic and global solidarity, and include Ukraine.

They noted that "in order to be sustainable and just, a future peace accord must fully respect international law and be underpinned by effective security guarantees to prevent the conflict from re-erupting."

In addition, COMECE urged the international community to "continue to assist Ukraine in the reconstruction of the destroyed infrastructure" and specified that Russia "must adequately participate in this effort."

The European bishops also emphasized that Ukraine is "the victim in this war and Russia the aggressor," stressing that any attempt to distort the reality of this aggression must be "firmly rejected."

Regarding Ukraine's application to join the European Union and the internal reforms undertaken to achieve this goal, the European bishops urged the EU to "advance with the enlargement process in a timely and fair manner alongside other candidate countries."

The statement concluded by expressing the hope that the European Union "will remain faithful to its vocation to be a promise of peace and an anchor of stability to its neighborhood and to the world," particularly at a time when the contours of a new global security architecture are being redrawn.

The president of COMECE, Bishop Mariano Crociata of Italy, insisted on the need for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and warned against "a shameful spectacle" that falsely portrays the victim as the aggressor.

The response of the European bishops comes in the wake of the tense meeting on Feb. 28 between U.S. President Donald Trump and the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in the Oval Office. During the televised meeting, Trump and Vice President JD Vance reproached Zelenskyy for his alleged refusal to cooperate in the efforts for peace and for even "playing with World War III." Trump warned Zelenskyy that he would withdraw U.S. military support for Ukraine and on Tuesday the Trump administration put a temporary pause on the aid.

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, Mar 4, 2025 / 17:45 pm (CNA).

A woman athlete and a parental rights advocate are among the guests invited by the White House for President Donald Trump's speech in front of a joint session of Congress scheduled for 9 p.m. Tuesday. 

In Trump's first address to Congress in his second term, the president will focus on the theme of  "The Renewal of the American Dream." He is expected to discuss some of his executive orders from the first month and a half of his presidency, which include policies to combat gender ideology in public life and curtail illegal immigration.

Payton McNabb, advocate for women's sports

One of Trump's 15 guests is Payton McNabb, a former high school athlete from North Carolina.

McNabb, according to the White House, suffered a traumatic brain injury when playing women's high school volleyball after a biological male — who self-identified as a girl — spiked a volleyball in her face in September 2022. She is now an ambassador for the Independent Women's Forum and advocates against men in women's sports.

On Trump's first day in office, the president signed an executive order to deny federal funding to all K–12 schools, high schools, and colleges that permit biological males to play in women's and girls' athletics. The order is facing ongoing legal battles from state-level Democratic officials and transgender advocacy groups.

House lawmakers passed a bill to codify the prohibition of men in women's sports, but the effort stalled in the Senate after it failed to receive any Democratic support in that chamber.

January Littlejohn, parental rights advocate

January Littlejohn, a mother and parental rights advocate from Tallahassee, Florida, is also expected to attend the event as a guest of the president.

Littlejohn sued the Leon County School Board after school officials socially transitioned her middle-school-aged daughter. According to the White House, the school began treating her as though she was a boy without her parents' knowledge or permission. 

"The school drove a wedge between January's daughter and her parents and deceived January about their covert plan to transition her daughter," according to the White House.

Trump also signed an executive order to deny federal funding from K–12 schools that socially transition a child's gender. A social transition refers to treating a child as a gender that is not consistent with his or her biological sex. This includes modifying the child's name, using pronouns that do not match his or her sex, or permitting the child to use locker rooms, bathrooms, and other facilities that are not consistent with his or her sex.

The president also signed an executive order that restricts doctors from providing gender transition drugs to children or performing gender transition surgeries on them.

Victims of crimes, others will also attend

Some other guests invited by the White House include victims of crime — particularly of crimes in which the perpetrator was a migrant who entered the country illegally.

"These men, women, and families come from all different walks of life with incredible stories about the disaster wrought by the previous administration, and the historic achievements President Trump has already enacted to usher in the Golden Age of America," read a statement from the White House. 

Allyson and Lauren Phillips, the mother and sister of Laken Riley, will be in attendance. Riley was a nursing student who was murdered by a man who entered the country illegally and remained in the country after an earlier shoplifting conviction. 

The first bill Trump signed after his inauguration was the Laken Riley Act, which requires the automatic detention of a person who entered the country illegally if he commits certain crimes while in the United States.

Trump's guests also include Alexis Nungaray, whose 12-year-old daughter Jocelyn was murdered by two people who were in the country illegally after previously being arrested in the United States. Another guest is Roberto Ortiz, a Border Patrol agent who has been repeatedly shot at by members of Mexican drug cartels.

Other guests will be Elliston Berry, a 15-year-old who was the victim of computer-generated deepfakes, and Stephanie Diller, whose husband, NYPD police officer Jonathan Diller, was murdered by a repeat criminal.

The family of Corey Comperatore, who was at the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and was shot and killed by the same gunman who shot the president's ear, will also be in attendance.

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Vatican City, Mar 3, 2025 / 14:35 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Monday had two episodes of acute respiratory insufficiency, according to the latest health update from the Vatican.

The Holy Father was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14 and has since been treated for respiratory infections, double pneumonia, and mild kidney insufficiency, alongside his other chronic illnesses.

"The Holy Father presented two episodes of acute respiratory insufficiency, caused by significant accumulation of endobronchial mucus and consequent bronchospasm," the Holy See Press Office shared on Monday.

Gemelli Hospital medical staff performed two bronchoscopies March 3 to "remove large secretions" from the 88-year-old pontiff's airways.

Though the pope's medical condition remained stable, though complex, over the weekend, the Holy Father previously experienced a bronchospasm last Friday, which had led to an episode of "vomiting with inhalation."

The Vatican said the Holy Father was "alert, oriented, and cooperative" during the procedures and resumed "noninvasive mechanical ventilation" Monday afternoon.

After more than two weeks of hospitalization, Gemelli medical staff said the pope's prognosis "remains guarded." 

Since the pope's admission into the hospital, hundreds of jubilee pilgrims from around the world have come to Gemelli Hospital to stop and pray for the Holy Father's recovery as part of their pilgrimage in the Eternal City.

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Vatican City, Mar 3, 2025 / 15:45 pm (CNA).

Since Pope Francis was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 14, the world has focused its attention on Gemelli Hospital in Rome.

As people from different countries continue to arrive in the Eternal City to experience this year's Jubilee of Hope, the hospital where Pope Francis is staying has also now become a part of their pilgrimage.

Just outside the hospital, hundreds of the faithful with their own stories stop to pray every day at the feet of the statue of St. John Paul II. Their gaze rises to heaven and, with special devotion, to the top floor of the hospital, where the pontiff continues to recover.

'It's not just a hospital. It's like being at a general audience with the pope'

This past weekend, Father Enzo del Brocco, a Passionist priest, took a moment to pray with devotion before the statue of St. John Paul II for his mother, who was scheduled for surgery on March 1. 

"Knowing that she is in the same hospital with Pope Francis is very moving. He always says that the shepherd must have the smell of his sheep, and I think that he has it now in a special way with those who are here," del Brocco said, his voice full of emotion.

"If my mother could, she would definitely try to get through security to see him. I'm sure she would! She's very happy. It's incredible, because she has been praying for him," he told ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, with a smile.

The priest from Pittsburgh emphasized how special this place is for him. "It's not just a hospital. It's a place where suffering is intertwined with hope, and people find a lot of consolation."

"Many people who have been praying here tell me the same thing, they feel as if they are at a general audience with the pope, even when he cannot speak to them. And I think that's the most beautiful thing."

'He has always been there for us, so now is the time to be here for him'

Sister Mary Jane traveled to Rome from Stockton, California, for the Jubilee of Hope. As another stop on her pilgrimage, she came to Gemelli with other women from St. Luke Church to show their closeness to the Holy Father.

"I think the most important thing we can do for the pope is to show how much we care and how much we love him as our father figure; praying for him and showing him that we care is the least we can do. He has always been there for us, so now is the time to be here for him," she said.

The pilgrims expressed their faith that Jesus is the "supreme healer" and emphasized that prayer "strengthens, not only physically but spiritually. I think that is where the pope also draws strength," Sister Mary Jane added.  

Before resuming their journey back to the center of Rome by train, Monica and Zoltan prayed silently before the lit candles bearing the face of Pope Francis. The couple travelled from Bucharest, Romania, on the occasion of their honeymoon 18 years ago in the Eternal City.

Stopping at Gemelli Hospital was a must for them. "It's important to pray for his situation, although you always have to pray, no matter what the situation is," Zoltan emphasized.

Both fondly remember the Holy Father's apostolic journey to their country in 2019 and now wished to express to him the same closeness. "We pray every day, but only God knows what is best for him."

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, Mar 3, 2025 / 16:15 pm (CNA).

Word on Fire Founder Bishop Robert Barron will attend President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday following an invitation from Rep. Riley Moore of West Virginia. 

"Through Word on Fire, Bishop Barron has helped countless souls discover, strengthen, or return to the Catholic Church by proclaiming the Gospel 'through the culture,'" Moore, who is Catholic, said in a press release shared with CNA on Monday.

Word on Fire is a nonprofit global media apostolate founded to evangelize and educate with an emphasis on contemporary media that produces blogs, podcasts, books, videos, and educational materials.

While he is in Washington for the president's address, Barron will celebrate Mass for Catholic members of Congress.

"His use of contemporary media to reach people is innovative and highly effective," the Republican congressman continued. "I am honored to host him as my guest for President Trump's joint address to Congress and am equally thrilled to have him celebrate the Mass for my colleagues and me prior to the speech."

One of the most well-known bishops in the United States, Barron has 1.85 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, where he teaches about the faith through talks, interviews, and prayer. Many of his videos also address politics and religion, delving into the principles of the American founding and their relationship to contemporary politics.

"I want to express my sincere gratitude to Rep. Riley Moore for his kind invitation to celebrate Mass for Catholic members of Congress and to attend, as his guest, the State of the Union Address," Barron said in the statement, adding: "I look forward to this opportunity both as a Catholic bishop and as an avid student of American history."

The speech will mark Trump's first address to Congress since taking office for his second term.

Barron serves as the bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, and as chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth.

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Washington D.C., Mar 3, 2025 / 16:45 pm (CNA).

In recent days, congressional staff working in the U.S. Capitol have reported seeing something unusual in the normally staid grand corridors and offices where Congress conducts its business: Tiny Jesus figurines are popping up everywhere.

Congressional aides have shared images of the little statues on X after spotting them around the Capitol. One was found perched on a marble column in Statuary Hall, another was seen propped up on a pillar directly outside the doors of the Speaker of House's office.

Some are a bit more hidden, including a diminutive Jesus placed high on a small ledge and one tucked next to a frame on the wall. Another tiny figurine was even discovered inside a lawmaker's office in the Cannon House Office Building.

Whoever is placing the Jesus figurines around the Capitol appears to be participating in the new "mini Jesus figure" TikTok trend. TikTok is even selling packs of up to 100 tiny Jesus statuettes on the app's store, TikTok Shop. Many Christian users are encouraging others to buy them to place in stores, hospitals, gas stations, or any other stops they make throughout their days.

TikTok users participating in the trend are posting videos of themselves leaving the figurines in public spaces, often with the hashtags #jesuslovesyou and #spreadingthelove. The trend is meant to serve as a reminder that "everyone needs a little Jesus," according to some of the viral videos. 

Users can search the phrase "hiding mini Jesus" on the app to see dozens of people spreading Jesus by placing the figures around for strangers to find. 

CNA spotted one of the figures near an entrance to the Capitol. The Jesus statue matched the ones posted online with a "Jesus loves you" message on it.

Erik Rosales, Capitol Hill correspondent for "EWTN News Nightly," told CNA he has heard about "more than two dozen baby Jesus on Capitol Hill" found all around the building.

Rosales told CNA he's spoken to a number of tour guides who told him they have seen quite a few while giving tours. 

"They don't remove them, but they let other people know. Then the architects of the Capitol are the ones that are taking them," Rosales said. "They've collected a bunch of them."

Whoever is placing them there seems to be determined to keep the presence of Jesus in the Capitol. 

In a post on X, Politico reporter Mia Camille McCarthy explained that shortly after she removed a figurine near her office it was replaced.

It remains a mystery who is leaving the mini-Jesus statues, but one thing seems clear: It's a message meant for everyone, Democrats, Republicans, independents, and even members of the press. 

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Vatican City, Mar 3, 2025 / 12:20 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Monday announced the theme for the 111th World Day of Migrants and Refugees: "Migrants, Missionaries of Hope."

This year, the Church will mark the World Day of Migrants and Refugees from Oct. 4-5 to coincide with the two-day celebration of the Jubilee of Migrants and the Missionary World. 

In 2018, Pope Francis moved the Church's annual observance day dedicated to people on the move from January to the last Sunday of September.

In the Feb. 3 statement released by the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the Holy Father chose this year's theme to highlight the "courage and tenacity" of migrants and refugees, "who daily bear witness to their hope for the future despite the difficulties."

"Migrants and refugees become 'missionaries of hope' in the communities where they are welcomed, often helping to revitalize their faith and promoting interreligious dialogue based on common values," the Vatican statement said.

"They remind the Church of the ultimate goal of the earthly pilgrimage, that is, reaching the future homeland," the statement continued. 

On Monday, the Vatican shared on Pope Francis' X account: "Many migrants and refugees bear witness to hope through their trust in God."

The first World Day of Migrants and Refugees was instituted by Pope Pius X in 1914, a few months before the outbreak of World War I, asking Catholics worldwide to pray and care for those leaving their homelands. 

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Vatican City, Mar 3, 2025 / 12:50 pm (CNA).

The Vatican's Academy for Life has awarded a Ukrainian religious sister the 2025 "Guardian of Life" award for her work leading a perinatal hospice for parents who receive a life-ending or life-limiting diagnosis for their preborn children.

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia awarded Sister Giustina Olha Holubets, SSMI, during a March 3 press conference at the Vatican. A member of the Sister Servants of Mary Immaculate, Holubets is a bioethicist, biologist, psychologist, and president of the nonprofit organization "Perinatal Hospice - Imprint of Life" in Lyiv, Ukraine.

Holubets said at the press conference that she was honored to receive the award "for our children and parents." Life is always precious, she added, "even if it is very, very small, and even if it is very short."

"Perinatal Hospice - Imprint of Life" was established in Lyiv in 2017 to accompany parents who face severe diagnoses while their child is still in the womb. 

The psychologist explained that the development of medicine and technology, when it overlaps with the prevention of hereditary diseases, leads to the abortion of children with prenatal diagnoses.

Her organization helps couples cope with the difficulty of a prenatal diagnosis so they can embrace life, even with its challenges, and accompanies parents who have experienced perinatal or postnatal death. It is the first perinatal hospice in Ukraine.

"In these situations we emphasize that we recognize life, taking care of it, and at the same time, considering death as an intrinsic part of human life," Holubets said. "This care of life strengthens parents in continuing the pregnancy, appreciating every moment, even brief ones, to be with their child."

The "Guardian of Life" Award, awarded by the Pontifical Academy for Life, is for people "who have distinguished themselves in their private and professional lives for significant actions in support of the protection and promotion of human life."

"Any threat to the life and dignity of the person strikes the Church deeply in its heart," Holubets said, noting that the organization's motto is "I cannot give days to your life, however, I can give life to your days."

"We are convinced that there is no foot too tiny to not leave its mark on this world," she said.

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CNA Staff, Mar 3, 2025 / 13:20 pm (CNA).

Catholic schools outranked public schools in recently released mathematics and reading test scores for 2024. 

The Nation's Report Card by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released national scores for fourth- and eighth-grade mathematics and reading. Catholic school students in both grades surpassed public school students in both categories.

In fourth-grade math, Catholic schools had a score of 247, while public schools were ranked 237, according to the NAEP's scoring system. In fourth-grade reading, Catholic schools outpaced public schools by 16 points. In eighth grade, Catholic schools outpaced public schools by 21 points in math and 20 points in reading. 

The data is based on mandated standardized testing given between January and March 2024. 

Notably, public school scores have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, while public school reading scores continue to decline.   

Catholic schools have consistently outpaced public schools in recent decades, with higher-ranking scores going back to the 1990s.  

The National Catholic Educational Association highlighted Catholic schools' scores in a recent press release, noting that "NAEP assessments are considered the gold standard of testing."

NCEA President and CEO Steven Cheeseman emphasized that the primary goal of Catholic education is to "form saints."

"In Catholic schools, faith and academics are seamlessly woven together, fostering not only intellectual growth but also moral and spiritual formation," Cheeseman said in a Jan. 30 statement. "While academic excellence is a hallmark of our schools, our true goal is to form saints and to prepare students to lead with wisdom, compassion, and integrity."

Catholic leaders are pushing for a national school choice bill to enable students who could not afford Catholic school to attend. An unprecedented number of school choice programs have been launched in various states in recent years. The programs are designed to help low- and middle-income families send their children to private schools of their choice, including the nearly 6,000 Catholic schools across the nation.

Following a record expansion of state school choice programs in 2023, the NCEA found that more than 1 in 10 Catholic school students used school choice programs to help them attend Catholic school in the 2023-2024 school year.

Last year, reports showed that Catholic school enrollment remained stable, following three years of modest growth. The growth followed the sharpest drop in enrollment in decades in 2021 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCEA is set to release enrollment data by April.

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Vatican City, Mar 3, 2025 / 11:50 am (CNA).

Pope Francis addressed what he called a "planetary crisis" that is adversely affecting the world in multiple ways in a message Monday to the general assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

"The term 'polycrisis' evokes the dramatic nature of the historical juncture we are currently witnessing, in which wars, climate changes, energy problems, epidemics, the migratory phenomenon, and technological innovation converge," the pope said in his message, dated Feb. 26 from Rome's Gemelli Hospital.

"The intertwining of these critical issues, which currently touch on various dimensions of life, lead us to ask ourselves about the destiny of the world and our understanding of it," the pope said.

The Vatican academy is holding a meeting of scientists, theologians, and historians March 3-4 at the Augustinianum Conference Center near the Vatican on the theme "The End of the World? Crises, Responsibilities, Hopes."

Academics from across the scientific and theological fields, including Nobel laureates, planetologists, physicists, biologists, paleoanthropologists, theologians, and historians, are attending the Pontifical Academy for Life's plenary meeting this week.

In a presentation of the conference to journalists March 3, academy president Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia explained that "we felt the urgency to save the common human."

"The frontier before us is a planetary frontier," it affects all people, he said. With the meeting, the archbishop added, they desire "to design a future of hope for all without leaving anyone behind."

"It's obvious we cannot be indifferent," Paglia said.

Pope Francis in his message said the first step in the face of the world's "polycrisis" is to examine "with greater attention our representation of the world and the cosmos."

"If we do not do this, and we do not seriously analyze our profound resistance to change, both as people and as a society, we will continue to do what we have always done with other crises," he said, including the COVID-19 pandemic, which he said was "squandered" as an opportunity to transform consciences and social practices.

The pope also warned against "endorsing utilitarian deregulation and global neoliberalism means imposing the law of the strongest as the only rule; and it is a law that dehumanizes."

Francis also lamented the "progressive irrelevance of international bodies, which are also undermined by shortsighted attitudes, concerned with protecting particular and national interests."

He said people of goodwill must continue to be committed to more effective world organizations so that "a multilateralism is promoted that does not depend on changing political circumstances or the interests of the few."

The pope said hope is of fundamental importance. "It does not consist of waiting with resignation but of striving with zeal toward true life, which leads well beyond the narrow individual perimeter," he said.

Hope, Francis said, quoting Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical Spe Salvi, "is linked to a lived union with a 'people,' and for each individual it can only be attained within this 'we.'"

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