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Rome Newsroom, Feb 16, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Kevin Doran as new bishop of the Diocese of Achonry, in addition to being bishop of the Diocese of Elphin.

The announcement, published Feb. 16, means that the two dioceses of Achonry and Elphin are joined "in persona episcopi" or "in the person of the Bishop." 

On Sunday morning, the bishop of Achonry and Elphin addressed Catholics, expressing his gratitude for the support he has received from people in both dioceses. 

"I gladly accept my responsibility as bishop of the two dioceses to work with you as we grow together into that unity to which we are called, and as we discover the gifts that God has given us to share," he told the congregation at the Cathedral of the Annunciation and Saint Nathy.  

Doran has served as bishop of the Elphin diocese since 2014. He was appointed apostolic administrator of Achonry diocese in April 2024, after the then-serving Bishop Paul Dempsy was appointed as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Dublin.

In a 2024 letter, Doran acknowledged that some Catholics may be "shocked" or "disappointed" by developments but that lower levels of religious practice and inadequate human and financial resources necessitated change.

"Both Achonry and Elphin are small by the standards of the Church around the world," he wrote. "The hope is that, with our combined resources, we will be able to exercise our mission more effectively."  

Doran, 71, was ordained a priest in 1977 for the Archdiocese of Dublin after completing his studies at Mater Dei College in Dublin. He also obtained a Master of Arts in Philosophy from the National University of Ireland. 

Following his priestly ordination, Doran taught at Dublin's Ringsend Vocational School from 1977-1983. He was also a member of the Diocesan Secretariat for Education from 1980 to 1983.

In 1990, Doran continued his studies in Rome and was awarded a Doctorate in Philosophy at the Angelicum while serving as spiritual director at the Pontifical Irish College.

In addition to his pastoral ministry in Dublin parishes, Doran also served as a vocations and formation director at a diocesan and national level between 1998 and 2006 and was general secretary for the preparatory committee for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress from 2008-2012, 

Before his episcopal ordination in 2014, Doran was secretary of the Commission of the Episcopal Conference for Bioethics from 1996-2014. From 2013-2014, he was a member of the Management Committee of the Mater Misericordiae Hospital in Dublin and a consultant to the Congregation for Catholic Education.

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Vatican City, Feb 15, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The First Ecumenical Council, the meeting of Christian bishops that was held in 325 in Nicaea (today Iznik, Turkey), laid the groundwork for reaching consensus within the Church through an assembly representing all of Christendom.

This event marked a key moment in the history of Christianity, 17 centuries ago this year, in which, among other decisions, the way of calculating the date of Easter was established.

However, over the centuries, changes to the calendar resulted in discrepancies between the Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox churches, differences that still persist. While Latin-rite Catholics follow the Gregorian calendar, in the East the tradition of calculating liturgical dates according to the Julian calendar has been maintained.

The difficulties of changing the calendar

"The process of changing the calendar, which began in 1582 with Pope Gregory and was completed to a certain extent in 1923 with the adoption of the new calendar by some Orthodox churches, was not without difficulties," Kostas Mygdalis, consultant to the Orthodox Interparliamentary Assembly (IOA), explained in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner.

"It provoked controversies among the faithful and between the churches and state authorities, consolidating polarizing divisions" that still persist, he added.

Mygdalis is also one of the key figures of the interfaith working group Pasqua (Easter) Together 2025, which seeks to promote the common celebration of Easter between Orthodox and Catholics.

Last September, Pope Francis received the members of this ecumenical initiative and expressed his desire to agree on a common date for the celebration of Easter between Catholics and Orthodox.

Interestingly, this year both Easters — Catholic and Orthodox — fall on the same date, April 20, due to the alignment of the Julian (used by the Orthodox) and Gregorian (followed by Catholics and other Christian denominations) calendars.

A step toward Christian unity

For Mygdalis, the joint celebration of Easter in 2025 should not be seen as just a calendar agreement but as an opportunity to place Christ at the center of the Christian faith.

"The time has come to make a strong appeal to the churches to unify the date of Easter," he said.

He also emphasized that the central message must be the need for unity in the world: "The world needs unity. A common date for Easter is a step toward this unity."

However, he noted that "the administrative structures of the churches, composed almost exclusively of clerics, seem reluctant to address this issue, perhaps for fear of creating new extremism and divisions in a world already facing multiple challenges."

He also pointed out that "dialogue between Christian churches is moving so slowly that, for ordinary faithful, it seems a fruitless process."

For Mygdalis, the effort to celebrate the resurrection of Christ together must be part of a "pilgrimage of reconciliation and unity" that will continue beyond 2025. He emphasized that the importance of the Resurrection is not only theological but also existential: "Without the Resurrection, all the suffering in the world is absurd."

A mandate for unity from Nicaea

"The celebration of Easter on a common date is not only necessary but a mandate for unity established by the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, whose 1,700th anniversary we commemorate this year," he emphasized.

"Through the Pasqua Together 2025 initiative, we seek to demand that the churches comply with what was established by the Council of Nicaea: to celebrate together the resurrection of Christ, the pillar of the Christian faith. It is unacceptable that this division should continue," he pointed out.

Toward the jubilee of 2033

Beyond Easter 2025, the JC2033 initiative was also mentioned, which proposes an ecumenical journey toward the year 2033, when the 2,000th anniversary of the resurrection of Christ will be celebrated. It is suggested that the date of Easter for Orthodox and Catholics coinciding in 2025 could be a first step toward greater unity on the occasion of this historic celebration.

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

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CNA Newsroom, Feb 15, 2025 / 07:15 am (CNA).

Pope Francis has appointed Sister Raffaella Petrini, F.S.E., as President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, the Vatican announced Saturday.

According to the Feb. 15 bulletin from the Holy See Press Office, Sister Petrini will assume her new roles on Mar. 1, 2025. She succeeds Cardinal Fernando Vérgez in both positions.

Sister Petrini, who has served as Secretary General of the same governorate since November 2021, brings significant academic and administrative experience to her new role. Born in Rome on Jan. 15, 1969, she holds a degree in political science from the Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Guido Carli and a doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, where she currently serves as a professor.

Before her appointment to the governorate, Sister Petrini worked at the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples from 2005 to 2021.

This appointment follows Pope Francis' recent selection of Sister Simona Brambilla as prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, marking a continuing trend of women being appointed to senior Vatican leadership positions.

During a recent television interview, the Pope had previously indicated his intention to promote Sister Petrini.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 14, 2025 / 19:00 pm (CNA).

A Catholic ministry called Eden Invitation is working to "create space to receive the whole person" for people with LGBTQ+ experiences. Founders Anna Carter and Shannon Ochoa said they started the organization to form a community of Christians who want to stay close to God and their faith but experience discord in their desires and attractions.

Carter, the ministry's president, explained in a Valentine's Day "EWTN News Nightly" interview that these experiences don't need to be "a cause for shame" but rather can be "an invitation to surrender more deeply to Jesus in your life."

"I recognized in high school that I experienced attraction to other women. But I also was really into youth group and had these beautiful experiences of prayer and community, and I knew that the Church was home." 

Carter said she realized, "OK, this isn't really going away." So she asked herself: "How do I work this out? What does discipleship look like? What does friendship look like? What does vocation look like in the midst of all of this?"

She said Eden Invitation flowed out of that, "really trying to create community for other people wrestling with sexuality and gender in the Church and world today." 

The group now operates across the nation with members who describe themselves as "disciples with LGBTQ+ experiences, building community with others who desire a way of life in congruence with Christ and his Church."

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines chastity as "the successful integration of sexuality within the person and thus the inner unity of man in his bodily and spiritual being."

Carter commented on this definition and the act of being chaste, saying that we need an "awareness of our body and soul and the reality that has for our sexual relationships."

"Also, I think being aware of these places where we do experience discord and desires, being honest about that, and bringing all of that to God," she added.

During her "EWTN News Nightly" interview, Carter was asked what her response is to young adults questioning their attractions and desires. 

"To have increased vulnerability in some of your close relationships, and that this doesn't have to actually be an obstacle to your holiness, but maybe this is actually a means that Jesus is inviting you to keep surrendering to him and just continuing to move forward in your life and discipleship," she said. 

"I think that as we grow in chastity, as a virtue, it's about developing these habits of using our reason and our intellect within our desires. There's a lot that can be gained as we grow in self-discipline in our lives." 

"I also think it affects the way we see other people, not just as objects for our own pleasure or own use but as people worthy of reverence and dignity."

Carter further discussed the virtue of chastity in a recent Eden Invitation blog post where she expressed that living a chaste life goes beyond sexuality. She referenced Pope Francis' description of chastity where he said that it "is freedom from possessiveness in every sphere of one's life." 

"Only when love is chaste is it truly love," the pontiff said. 

Referring to Valentine's Day, Carter concluded her "EWTN News Nightly" interview by saying: "I think, especially on Valentine's Day, there can be a lot of mixed feelings if you find yourself in particular states of life. Stay close to the Lord, because no matter what your state of life is in this moment, that's the place that God has you and that God wants to meet you."

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CNA Staff, Feb 14, 2025 / 09:15 am (CNA).

Addressing concerns raised by Pope Francis about the U.S. government's initiation of a mass deportation program, U.S. border czar Tom Homan defended the morality of the Trump administration's enforcement policies, saying the administration's approach is saving lives and preventing human trafficking.

"What the pope needs to understand is that President Trump and I have been very clear that our prioritization right now are public safety threats and national security threats," Homan said in a Feb. 13 interview on EWTN's "The World Over with Raymond Arroyo." 

When asked about whether the administration is respecting the dignity of deportees, Homan, a lifelong Catholic, responded: "We absolutely are." 

Strong border enforcement, Homan went on to emphasize, reduces tragic deaths and exploitation suffered by migrants and citizens alike. For example, he noted that a sizable percent of female migrants who "make that journey through the cartels get sexually assaulted."

"So when President Trump has illegal immigration down 90%, how many women aren't being sexually assaulted? How many children aren't dying crossing the river? How many women and children aren't sex trafficked in this country? How many Americans aren't dying from fentanyl poisonings?" Homan said. "President Trump's policies save lives."

"We have a right to have a secure border," Homan noted. "We have the right to our sovereignty, just like the Vatican," he added.

Referencing the Vatican's tough new penalties for illegal entry into its own territory, which include fines from $10,000 to $25,000 and prison sentences from one to four years, Homan said the Vatican State's penalties are "more severe" and "more extreme" than those of the United States.

Supports funding cuts to end 'magnet for illegal immigration'

When asked about federal funding cuts for Catholic Charities and other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that serve migrants, Homan said that when organizations help make the process easier for people illegally crossing the border, "you are feeding a monster that kills thousands of people every year." 

"The U.S. government, we're going to be out of the business of this because it's just, it's a magnet for more illegal immigration to come," Homan said of the government's decision to cut funding for migrant services. "We'll leave it up to, you know, the way it used to be," he said, referring to private, charitable funding.  

"I've gotten reports that there have been U.S. citizens show[ing] up at a Catholic Charities place and they were turned down when they asked for help because they weren't getting paid for it," Homan revealed, saying investigations into these alleged activities are underway.

Labor and sex trafficking: finding the children 

Homan said Trump has commissioned him to track down hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied migrant children that were brought into the country during the Biden administration. While some may be safe and with family, many were likely trafficked by cartels, he said.

"President Trump gave me three things: to secure the border, run a deportation operation, and find these children," Homan said. 

"Under the last administration, over half a million children were separated from their families, put in the hands of criminal cartels to enter this country illegally," Homan said. "And who knows what happened to them during that journey? I can tell you many of them were sexually assaulted. I know. I've done this for three and a half decades. I know how these groups operate." 

Homan indicated that many of these children "have been sex trafficked and forced labor traffick[ed] in this country, and we're already finding them." 

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Vatican City, Feb 14, 2025 / 11:30 am (CNA).

Pope Francis was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Friday to receive medical care for bronchitis after struggling with the illness for over a week.

The Vatican said the pontiff's schedule was cleared through at least the morning of Feb. 17 while he undergoes "diagnostic tests" and treatment.

The respiratory infection is the latest health challenge for the 88-year-old pope, who has been struggling with breathlessness, which has prevented him on several recent occasions from reading the entirety of his speech or homily.

The pope was also treated for a contusion on his right forearm after falling at his residence last month and suffered a facial injury and cold during the Christmas season.

Francis spent much of the past decade as pope in relatively good health but has dealt with several painful medical conditions over the last few years.

Here is a timeline charting Pope Francis' recent health concerns:

December 2020

A bout of sciatic pain in the final days of 2020 keeps Pope Francis from presiding at the Vatican's liturgies on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Francis has suffered from sciatica for a number of years; he spoke about it during an in-flight press conference returning from a trip to Brazil in July 2013.

"Sciatica is very painful, very painful! I don't wish it on anyone," he said about the condition, which starts in the lower back and can cause pain running down the back of the thigh and leg to the foot.

January 2021

Pope Francis cancels three more public appearances at the end of the month due to sciatic nerve pain.

July 2021

A problem with his colon lands the pope in the hospital on July 4.

Pope Francis undergoes surgery to relieve stricture of the colon caused by diverticulitis. The three-hour surgery includes a left hemicolectomy, the removal of one side of the colon.

The pope spends 11 days in Rome's Gemelli Hospital recovering from the surgery.

January 2022

Pope Francis shares that he is having problems with his knee.

"Excuse me if I stay seated, but I have a pain in my leg today ... It hurts me, it hurts if I'm standing," the pope tells journalists from the Jerusalem-based Christian Media Center on Jan. 17.

Francis tells the crowd at his general audience that the reason he is unable to greet pilgrims as usual is because of a temporary "problem with my right leg," an inflamed knee ligament.

February 2022

Pope Francis cancels two public events at the end of February due to knee pain and doctors' orders to rest.

In the month that follows, he receives help going up and down stairs but continues to walk and stand without assistance.

April 2022

During a trip to Malta, Pope Francis uses a lift to disembark the papal plane. A special lift is also installed at Malta's Basilica of St. Paul in Rabat so Francis can visit and pray in the crypt grotto without taking the stairs.

On the return flight on April 3, Francis tells journalists: "My health is a bit fickle, I have this knee problem that brings out problems with walking."

At the Vatican's Good Friday service, the pope does not lie prostrate before the altar as he has done in the past.

He also does not celebrate the Easter Vigil Mass on April 16 or participate in the paschal candle procession but sits in the front of the congregation in a white chair.

On April 22 and April 26, Francis' agenda is cleared for medical checkups and rest for his knee. The following day, the pope tells pilgrims at his general audience that his knee prevents him from standing for very long.

Pope Francis also begins to remain seated in the popemobile while greeting pilgrims in St. Peter's Square.

On April 30, he says that his doctor has ordered him not to walk.

May 2022

The pope says at the beginning of the month that he will undergo a medical procedure on his knee, "an intervention with infiltrations," by which he may have meant a therapeutic injection, sometimes used to relieve knee pain caused by ligament tears.

Two days later, he uses a wheelchair in public for the first time since his July 2021 colon surgery. Throughout May he continues to use the wheelchair and avoids most standing and walking.

Francis also undergoes more than two hours of rehabilitation for his knee every day, according to an Argentine archbishop close to the pontiff.

The treatment "is giving results," then-Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández writes on Twitter on May 14 after he has a private meeting with Francis.

Other than his knee, "he's better than ever," Fernández adds.

Earlier, Lebanon's tourism minister says that a reported papal visit to the country in June was postponed due to the pope's health.

The pope does stand for long periods of time when celebrating a May 15 Mass in St. Peter's Square. Afterward, a seminarian from Mexico catches a moment of lightheartedness between pilgrims and the pope as he greets them from the popemobile. Someone thanks the pope for being present at the Mass, despite his knee pain, to which Francis responds: "Do you know what I need for my knee? A bit of tequila."

June 2022

In early June, the Vatican postpones Pope Francis' planned visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan for health reasons. The trip was planned for July 2–7 but is put off "at the request of his doctors, and in order not to jeopardize the results of the therapy that he is undergoing for his knee," according to the Vatican.

Less than a week later, the Vatican announces that Pope Francis will not preside over the June 16 Corpus Christi Mass because of his knee problems and "the specific liturgical needs of the celebration."

Pope Francis comments on his health and speaks about the effects of old age in general terms during his June 15 general audience.

"When you are old, you are no longer in control of your body. One has to learn to choose what to do and what not to do," the pope says. "The vigor of the body fails and abandons us, even though our heart does not stop yearning. One must then learn to purify desire: Be patient, choose what to ask of the body and of life. When we are old, we cannot do the same things we did when we were young: The body has another pace, and we must listen to the body and accept its limits. We all have them. I too have to use a walking stick now."

Toward the end of the month, on June 28, Pope Francis walks with a cane to meet bishops from Brazil and tells them: "I have been able to walk for three days."

August 2022

On Aug. 4, the Vatican announces that Massimiliano Strappetti, a Vatican nurse, has been appointed as Pope Francis' "personal health care assistant."

November 2022

José María Villalón, the head doctor of the Atlético de Madrid soccer team, is recruited to assist Pope Francis with his knee problems. He says the pope is "a very nice and very stubborn patient in the sense that there are surgical procedures that he does not want" and that "we have to offer him more conservative treatments so that he will agree to them."

January 2023

In an interview published by the Associated Press on Jan. 25, Pope Francis announces that his diverticulitis has returned. He emphasizes that he is in "good health" and that, for his age, he is "normal."

February 2023

On Feb. 23 the Vatican announces that Pope Francis has a "strong cold." The pope distributes copies of his speeches at two morning appointments rather than reading them aloud as usual.

March 2023

On March 29 the Vatican announces that Pope Francis is expected to remain in a hospital in Rome for "some days" due to a respiratory infection. It had announced earlier in the day that he was in the hospital for previously scheduled medical checkups.

June 2023

Pope Francis undergoes a three-hour abdominal surgery to repair an incisional hernia on June 7.

A team of surgeons removes scar tissue and operates on a hernia in the pope's abdominal wall at the site of a previous surgical incision in Rome's Gemelli Hospital. 

The pope is discharged on June 16 after an eight-day stay in the hospital recovering from the operation.

November 2023

Pope Francis comes down with a "mild flu," according to the Vatican. The pope cancels his scheduled meetings and goes to the hospital on Nov. 25 for precautionary testing.

The CT scan at the hospital rules out pneumonia but shows that the pope has lung inflammation that is "causing some breathing difficulties," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni tells journalists on Nov. 27.

The pope is treated with antibiotics intravenously as he recovers. A bandage holding in place a cannula for intravenous treatment can be seen on the pope's right hand as he gives the Angelus blessing from his residence, the Casa Santa Marta, rather than from the usual window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter's Square. 

"Today I cannot appear at the window because I have this problem of inflammation of the lungs," the pope says in the Angelus broadcast on Nov. 26.

Pope Francis feels well enough to keep his scheduled appointment with the president of Paraguay the following day. The Vatican releases photos of the pope's meeting with the Paraguayan president showing the pope smiling and using a cane to walk.

December 2024

According to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni, Pope Francis hit his chin on a bedside table on the morning of Dec. 6, causing a large hematoma on the lower right side of his cheek. Despite the visible bruising, he continues with his scheduled appearances, including the consistory for the creation of new cardinals the following day.

The pope is also sick with a cold right before Christmas. At Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on Dec. 24, he is seen wearing what appears to be hearing devices.

January 2025

The Vatican says on Jan. 16 that Pope Francis suffered a "contusion" on his right forearm after falling at his residence that morning. Photos from his scheduled audiences show his arm tied up in a white sling.

While the arm was not fractured in the accident, it is braced "as a precautionary measure," the brief communication says.

February 2025

The Vatican says on Feb. 14 that Pope Francis is being hospitalized to undergo "diagnostic testing" and treatment for bronchitis, and his audiences are canceled for the next three days.

The pope is admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital over a week after he first announced he was ill.

This story was first published May 21, 2022, and was last updated Feb. 14, 2025.

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Vatican City, Feb 14, 2025 / 06:05 am (CNA).

Pope Francis was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Friday to undergo testing and treatment for bronchitis, the Vatican said.

The 88-year-old pope was hospitalized in the late morning on Feb. 14, following meetings with a number of people, including the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico.

"This morning, at the end of his audiences, Pope Francis will be admitted to the Agostino Gemelli Hospital for some necessary diagnostic tests and to continue treatment for bronchitis, that is still ongoing, in a hospital setting," the Holy See Press Office said in a message sent shortly before 11:00 a.m.

Pope Francis has been sick with bronchitis for over a week. On Feb. 6, the Vatican announced the pope would hold most of his meetings that day and the following days in rooms at his Vatican residence in order to rest more.

Despite the illness, which has largely prevented the pontiff from reading his own speeches and homilies, Francis presided at a jubilee Mass for members of the police and armed forces in St. Peter's Square on Feb. 9 and participated in his weekly general audience on Wednesday.

Pope Francis was also hospitalized for a respiratory infection in March 2023, and canceled a November 2023 trip to Dubai due to a "very acute infectious bronchitis." 

The pope, who has been suffering from visible breathlessness during recent meetings, has more and more frequently declined to read his prepared remarks to audiences or opted to have the remarks read by a priest aide.

He has faced several health challenges in recent years, including knee problems requiring a wheelchair, respiratory infections, and a fall resulting in a forearm contusion.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 13, 2025 / 17:35 pm (CNA).

A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's executive order barring transgender medical surgeries and interventions for individuals under the age of 19. 

The move comes after a group of seven families with transgender-identifying children filed a lawsuit challenging the executive order earlier this month.

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland Judge Brendan Hurson granted the plaintiffs a temporary restraining order on Thursday following a hearing for the case in a federal court in Baltimore.

According to the Washington Post, Hurson reportedly described young people who identify as transgender as "a population with an extremely higher rate for suicide, poverty, unemployment, [and] drug addiction" during the hearing and called the executive order's imperative to immediately end transgender medical interventions for them "horribly dangerous."

The temporary block will remain in effect for two weeks, though according to an NBC News report, the plaintiffs' attorneys are planning to ask for a preliminary injunction before the time is up on the restraining order.

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CNA Staff, Feb 13, 2025 / 15:40 pm (CNA).

Local Democratic officials in Illinois are leading an effort to remove from government buildings the name of Henry J. Hyde, the late Republican congressman who lent his name to a significant pro-life federal policy that prohibits the use of taxpayer funds for most elective abortions.

The Democratic-controlled board of DuPage County, a wealthy suburban jurisdiction just west of Chicago, voted 10-5 earlier this week to remove Hyde's name from the county courthouse and related offices in Wheaton because of Hyde's opposition to abortion.

The courthouse will now be known as the DuPage County Judicial Office Facility, the Chicago Tribune reported.

"This resolution reinforces the notion that the buildings on this campus support the rights of all people to receive the services they need. I believe our actions should reflect our values," board chair Deb Conroy, a Democrat, said.

The "Hyde Amendment" prohibits the use of Medicaid taxpayer funds for most elective abortions but includes exceptions for cases involving rape, incest, or a maternal mortality risk.

Congress first enacted the amendment championed by Hyde in 1976, shortly after the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion nationwide until the Supreme Court overturned it in 2022.

Since the policy is not permanent law, it must be attached to individual appropriations bills as a rider, specifying that the health care funding therein cannot be used for elective abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is at stake. 

Who was Henry Hyde?

Hyde, who died in 2007, represented parts of DuPage County in the U.S. House of Representatives beginning in 1975. He was a Catholic, and Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 named him a knight of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great, an honor the pope bestows to recognize merit and service. 

The move by the DuPage County Board provoked a variety of reactions after it was publicized, with many commentators calling it a mistake, including Democratic strategist David Axelrod, who called it a "regrettable move."

Hyde's son, Anthony, told "EWTN News Nightly" this week that he and his family had heard "rumblings" for the last couple of years about lawmakers wanting to remove his father's name, an action he called "part of the cancel culture."

"My father was far more than just a one-issue politician. My father did a lot of great things for DuPage County ... my father was also somebody who helped families. He supported tax breaks for low-income families and for children. He was a strong proponent of adoption services as an alternative to abortion," Anthony Hyde said. 

"He understood that you can't care for the unborn child only. You certainly need to care for the unborn child, but after nine months you just can't walk away and say, 'Well, you're on your own.'"

Though the provision enjoyed bipartisan support in the past, many pro-abortion advocates and Democratic lawmakers have voiced opposition to the Hyde Amendment in recent years.

Former President Joe Biden, a supporter of legal abortion, repeatedly excluded the Hyde Amendment from his budget requests despite supporting the amendment years ago as a senator. 

In contrast, President Donald Trump on Jan. 25 issued an executive order promoting the reinstatement of policies like the Hyde Amendment and the Mexico City policy — which prohibits overseas abortion funding — reversing actions taken by Biden during his term in office.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 13, 2025 / 17:15 pm (CNA).

The Catholic University of America announced that it has earned the R1 designation for institutes with the "highest levels of research activity," according to Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education, which grants the status. 

"Being named an R1 institution affirms what we have long known: That intellectual discovery and a commitment to Catholic identity are mutually supportive," Catholic University President Peter Kilpatrick said.

Fewer than 5% of universities nationwide have been recognized as R1 institutions. To receive the designation, a university must spend at least $50 million on research and grants and award at least 70 research doctorates yearly.

Catholic University surpassed the goal by granting 94 research doctorates in one year. 

The college is carrying out initiatives in multiple fields including suicide prevention, vaccine delivery, technology for stroke survivors, and containment of nuclear waste, and it holds a partnership with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

"Since our founding, we have seen the pursuit of truth through research as a sacred duty. Today, this approach continues to drive our private and public partnerships, and our groundbreaking work in the sciences, the social sciences, the arts and humanities, law, philosophy, and theology," Kilpatrick said. 

The Catholic University of America, which was the first Catholic research university in the nation, is now one of seven Catholic higher education institutions to receive the elite title. 

"Our commitment to academic excellence and our Catholic identity set us apart in the research landscape. We are proud to be one of a small number of Catholic institutions to have achieved R1 status," said H. Joseph Yost, senior vice provost of research.  

"There's a false narrative out there that you can't be a research university and be faithfully Catholic. That's simply not true, and we're proving it," Yost said.

The Washington, D.C.-based college is now one of five R1 institutions in the city, helping to mark the nation's capital as a research hub. 

"R1 status recognizes the volume and breadth of the serious research we do here, and points to the discoveries and breakthroughs we make in service to our world," said Catholic University Executive Vice President and Provost Aaron Dominguez.

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