ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST, SLATERSVILLE RI

Father José Luis Quijano is one of the 500 priests who participated in the March 28-30, 2025, Jubilee of Priests Instituted as Missionaries of Mercy. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

Vatican City, Apr 1, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

In 2016, when Pope Francis instituted the ministry of the Missionaries of Mercy during the extraordinary holy year, Argentine priest José Luis Quijano never imagined that the pope’s initiative would renew his priestly zeal. With more than three decades of ministry, he thought he’d already learned everything.

“I wasn’t a priest just going through the motions; I was always very pastoral, but this meant an authentic renewal in the inner fiber of my ministry,” he explained to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, nine years after having personally received from the pontiff the task of imparting God the Father’s infinite forgiveness on a daily basis.

“Mercy is not for those who are squeaky clean, for those who are good or just. That’s easy. The recipient of mercy is the evil person, the one who has committed horrible deeds, the one who doesn’t deserve it,” he explained.

Those are not empty words. Even before receiving this mission of mercy, the priest of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires had made a radical decision: to accompany a former priest in prison who was convicted of pedophilia.

Those were 20 years in which, despite the difficulties, he never doubted that his mission was to remain by the side of that man forever tainted by a terrible crime.

“When you visit a prisoner with these characteristics, the person doesn’t speak. We spent hours and hours in silence. Afterward, every so often, he was transferred to another prison. Sometimes I had to drive 185 miles to see him, and once there, they would deny me entry,” he recounted, noting that his only motivation was the words of the Gospel: “I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

Quijano had met the priest in the early 1990s, and although he was never aware of the abuse, he had perceived in him certain worrying attitudes that denoted a life that was “hardly in order,” he noted, without wishing to go into detail. In 1997, the scandal came to light. The priest involved, who was later laicized, admitted his guilt, was prosecuted, convicted, and served two decades in prison.

“When I saw Pope Francis’ call to the Missionaries of Mercy, I asked myself: When in my life was I truly merciful? Because being good, being tolerant, being cordial, is easy with those we like. But true mercy is loving those who don’t deserve it,” Quijano reflected. He was also quite aware that the harm inflicted by the former priest on the victims is irreparable and that divine forgiveness does not erase the consequences of human actions.

“Here we must note the difference between two things. One is forgiveness and the experience of God’s mercy in the heart. And the other is experiencing the world’s rejection. Even if a person repents, society’s condemnation remains,” he explained.

When the former priest finished serving his sentence and was released, he encountered the wall of exclusion. He couldn’t get a new start in life. It was impossible for him to find work or reintegrate into society. He ended up changing his name and moving to a city where no one knew him.

“Even though he may have repented internally in his intimate dialogue with God, that doesn’t exempt him from the harshness of life and the resistance of a world that will always continue to condemn him. In a certain way, the perpetrator is also a victim,” Quijano commented, not seeking to downplay the crimes but rather to highlight the complexity of forgiveness.

In this sense, for him, mercy must encompass “both the victims and the perpetrators.”

“Being a Missionary of Mercy doesn’t just mean administering the sacrament of confession but also living out mercy with others, even when it’s difficult, when it hurts, when it seems impossible,” he explained.

A broader vision of the priesthood

During these nine years as a Missionary of Mercy priest, Quijano participated in several meetings at the Vatican as part of his formation. In these meetings fundamental topics related to legal issues were discussed, such as how far the missionary authority goes and how they should exercise their ministry in relation to local ecclesiastical authorities, the bishops.

“In Rome, Pope Francis broadened our vision of the ministry. He reminded us that mercy is not just an act but a way of living the priesthood. It’s not just absolving sins; it’s bringing God’s forgiveness to all, without exception,” he recounted.

Quijano remains convinced that mercy is the greatest legacy Pope Francis has left within the Catholic Church.

“Everyone should look in the mirror and ask themselves: When did I truly exercise mercy? Not just forgive in words, but love someone who didn’t deserve it,” he emphasized. 

Quijano is one of the 500 priests who participated this past weekend in the Jubilee of Priests Instituted as “Missionaries of Mercy,” the sixth major event in the 2025 Jubilee.

Pope Francis was not able to accompany them due to his ongoing convalescence at St. Martha’s House after spending 38 days in Gemelli Hospital.

However, he sent a written message to impart his blessing to the priests, who came from countries such as Italy, the United States, Poland, Brazil, Spain, France, Mexico, Germany, Slovakia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Colombia, and India, among others.

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

On April 2, 2025, the Augustine Institute will release its second documentary in its “Based on a True Saint” series, which airs on its faith formation streaming platform Formed. The latest installment in the series, “The Boy from Milan,” focuses on soon-to-be saint Carlo Acutis. / Credit: The Augustine Institute

CNA Staff, Apr 1, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

On April 2, the Augustine Institute will release its second documentary in its “Based on a True Saint” series, which airs on its faith formation streaming platform Formed. The latest installment in the series, “The Boy from Milan,” focuses on soon-to-be saint Carlo Acutis.

The film aims to help viewers get to know the Church’s first millennial saint better and show how an ordinary teenager with a deep love for God and other people can became a saint. 

The documentary includes interviews with three individuals who knew Acutis personally: his mother, Antonia Salzano Acutis; his high school religion teacher at Leone XIII Institute in Milan, Fabrizio Zaggia; and Dr. Mercedes Arguello, Acutis’ pediatric oncologist at San Gerardo Hospital in Monza.

Emily Mentock, executive producer of “The Boy from Milan” and co-founder of Digital Continent — the production company that worked in partnership with the Augustine Institute — spoke to CNA about the inspiration behind the film and why she believes Acutis is resonating with so many people around the world.

She explained that Acutis was the inspiration behind the “Based on a True Saint” series in the first place. The first documentary in the series was about Blessed Solanus Casey. In each film in the series, the goal is to answer the question “Is holiness possible today?”

“I was thinking of Carlo and the way he is presented to the world when we came up with the idea for the series as a whole because I just kept hearing how I should care about the saint because he’s a millennial like me and played video games, but that doesn’t tell me anything about the path to holiness,” Mentock shared. “So, I was really just grateful for the opportunity to dive deeper into his story and hear from people who really knew him, not just about him, what he was really like on a daily basis.”

Mentock said she believes Acutis’ popularity stems from the fact that “he’s relevant, he lived in our time,” and this gives people “hope for believing that we can also maybe achieve holiness.”

“Sometimes you look around at our world today and wonder, is this [holiness] really possible? And Carlo shows us that it is, absolutely,” she added.

While filming and getting to know Acutis better, Mentock came to admire his love for life and how “he looked at life as his field to put into practice the teachings of Jesus.”

She also pointed out how all of the individuals shown in the film were greatly impacted by knowing Acutis personally, especially Arguello, his pediatric oncologist, who found strength in Acutis’ testimony when she herself received a cancer diagnosis. 

“It never ceases to amaze me that it was so evident how they were living differently and in a different relationship with God because of how Carlo had helped them turn toward God,” she said.

Mentock said she hopes the film will leave viewers inspired by Acutis’ “daily holiness.”

“I think that Carlo can inspire anyone, but I do think that he especially is a gift for young, young people today to look around and say, it doesn’t matter if you’re 10 years old, 12 years old, 14 years old — you can go out and make a difference, live your life boldly for the Lord, and Carlo’s a great example for that,” she said.

EWTN has also released a documentary on Acutis titled “I Am With You,” which can be seen on EWTN On Demand.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 31, 2025 / 16:40 pm (CNA).

Several U.S. Supreme Court justices across ideological lines during oral arguments Monday morning expressed concerns about a Wisconsin agency’s refusal to legally recognize a Catholic charity — run by the Diocese of Superior — as a religious organization.

The dispute between Catholic Charities Bureau (CCB) and the Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission (LIRC) will determine whether the charity is required to pay taxes into the state’s unemployment system or whether the organization can enroll workers in the Church-run unemployment system and avoid the tax.

State law allows organizations “operated primarily for religious purposes” to qualify for the tax exemption if it provides its own unemployment system. Yet, the LIRC asserts that CCB is not operated primarily for a religious purpose because it offers charitable services to people of all faiths and does not focus its efforts on converting the people it serves to Catholicism.

Religious freedom advocates have warned that the denial of CCB’s recognition as a religious entity could have a ripple effect that leads to the denial of other legal rights afforded to religious organizations, such as exemptions from mandates that conflict with an organization’s religious beliefs.

Justices challenge Wisconsin’s position

Colin Roth, assistant attorney general for the Wisconsin Department of Justice, told the justices during the March 31 oral arguments that CCB functions similar to a secular charity because of the lack of proselytization — a position that was challenged by justices who were appointed by both major political parties.

When justices repeatedly pressed Roth to give examples of what sort of “proselytization” would qualify CCB for an exemption, he suggested that asking patrons to “please repent” or “please join our religion” while delivering services would likely be sufficient.

In a more specific example, Roth said instructing a patron to say the Lord’s Prayer with a worker or volunteer while receiving food at a soup kitchen would add the proselytization component.

“That type of job function is tethered to religious doctrine,” Roth said.

Justice Clarence Thomas, who is Catholic, asked Roth why expressing the statement “we believe deeply in the corporal works of mercy” wouldn’t be sufficient, adding: “Why is there a difference?”

Roth acknowledged that charity is essential to the Catholic faith but said the corporal works of mercy are “not expressing or inculcating religious doctrine.”

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who is Catholic, and Justice Elena Kagan, who is Jewish, both emphasized that proselytization is not a component of all religious acts and not even part of some religions.

Barrett noted that many sects of Judaism do not “have that as a component” and the standard supported by Wisconsin “will inevitably exclude certain religions.” Kagan agreed, saying it is “fundamental” that the government does not “treat some religions better than other religions” but that Wisconsin’s standard “puts the state on the side of some religions.”

“Why are we treating some religions better than others based on that element of religious doctrine?” Kagan asked.

Roth defended Wisconsin’s position, arguing that it is not just “proselytization” that would make an organization eligible for a tax exemption here, but also if it engages in “worship” or “religious education.” 

“These are ‘ors,’” Roth said. “These are not ‘ands.’”

However, Roth emphasized that simply showing that an act is motivated by religion “does not render you eligible for the exemption.”

Eric Rassbach, a vice president and senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, represented CCB at the Supreme Court. 

“Wisconsin draws distinctions along theological lines — something that this court has repeatedly forbidden,” he argued.

Rassbach said the standard supported by Wisconsin would force CCB to operate its charity in an “almost coercive way” by “using [food and services] to influence people, to take advantage of people, and to exploit them.” He argued the religious exemption was denied because “they serve non-Catholics, they hire non-Catholics, and because they do not proselytize.”

“Mother Teresa might not qualify,” Rassbach said.

Where does the line get drawn?

Although the justices appeared unified in their concerns about Wisconsin’s narrow interpretation for what qualifies as a “religious purpose,” they also raised numerous questions about where the line should be drawn on what does qualify as a “religious purpose.”

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who is a nondenominational Protestant, raised the question of whether such exemptions would extend to a for-profit vegan restaurant launched by a minister in a religion that opposes the consumption of meat.

Barrett similarly raised the possibility of a religious institution requesting tax exemptions for the creation of a for-profit business to raise money to benefit its members or other people, asserting it “is essential to its religious mission.”

Some of the justices also expressed a need to differentiate between a religious motivation and a philosophical motivation and to have an understanding of what constitutes religion and religious belief.

Rassbach expressed some sympathy for those concerns, saying that his position was not for “limitless exemptions” without any standards. He suggested that the test should be for courts to determine whether something is motivated by a “duty that we owe and the means of discharging it.”

Barrett stated that one of the problems for the court is “figuring out what the line is.”

Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon, Myanmar. / Credit: ACI Prensa/EWTN News

ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 31, 2025 / 15:18 pm (CNA).

Following the March 28 earthquake that struck Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and China, Cardinal Charles Bo, president of the Myanmar Bishops’ Conference, said the people of the Asian country now “need everything,” including peace to end the civil war.

“The people need food, shelter, medicine, and all lifesaving materials,” said Bo, the archbishop of Yangon, in an interview with Vatican News following the 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar that has so far left more than 2,000 dead and thousands more injured. In addition, in many places there is no electricity or internet, and the health system has collapsed. 

“More than anything, our people need peace, not the churning anxiety triggered by the multidimensional crisis,” emphasized the cardinal, who was traveling in his car when the earthquake struck: “We saw huge craters created on the road … It was a scary moment for all of us.”

Bo said he saw “poignant scenes of men and women rushing through the roads, seeking safety,” adding that he has “appealed to all concerned for urgent humanitarian support and unimpeded access to the affected people. I have made an earnest appeal for the ceasefire by all the groups in hostility” in the country’s civil war.

The cardinal’s main concern is the distribution of aid, which, due to the violence, “could be hindered with the disturbances of the armed groups.”

In response to the earthquake, Bo said he called for an urgent meeting and formed a response protocol named MERCI (Myanmar Earthquake Response Church Initiative) to establish an emergency appeal and response, adding that he also called for a wider meeting including Church and Caritas personnel from all affected areas.

“When nature attacks, human beings forget all their differences. Human tears unite us. We survive as species, because we can be moved by others’ tears,” he said, whether in Thailand or Myanmar, because they are “tears of fellowship.”

The cardinal then addressed his fellow countrymen and said he shares their pain. “The world feels their pain and we will stand shoulder to shoulder with all people in this moment of sorrow and help to heal their wounds and recover.”

He recalled that “we have shown this after the tsunami; we have shown that after the Nargis Cyclone in Myanmar. We will overcome because compassion is the common religion in times of natural disaster.” 

Bo said that Pope Francis’ words have been “a soothing balm of consolation” and that “despite his recent sickness,” he expressed his closeness to them with a telegram, as he has done “throughout the difficult time in the last four years.”

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

Pilgrims gather in St. Peter's Square for a Mass and canonization of 14 new saints on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Vatican City, Mar 31, 2025 / 13:17 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis has advanced five people’s paths to sainthood after approving decrees promulgated by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints on March 28.

Blessed Peter To Rot of Papua New Guinea, Blessed Ignatius Shoukrallah Maloyan of Turkey, and Blessed María Carmen of Venezuela will be proclaimed saints of the Church. 

The pope also approved the beatification of Italian diocesan priest Carmelo De Palma and declared Brazilian priest José Antônio de Maria Ibiapina a “venerable” of the Church. 

The canonization ceremonies of both To Rot and Maloyan are to be discussed in a future customary consistory, according to a Holy See Press Office announcement.   

To Rot, a lay catechist born on March 5, 1912, and martyred for his faith during World War II, will be the first canonized saint from Papua New Guinea. 

Beatified by St. John Paul II during his apostolic journey to the Oceania nation on Jan. 17, 1995, To Rot is recognized by the Church as a defender of Christian marriage and a faithful catechist who continued his ministry until his death in prison.

Fame of To Rot’s sanctity spread throughout Papua New Guinea and to other countries in the Pacific Ocean — including the Solomon Islands and Australia — following his 1995 beatification.

Maloyan was born on April 19, 1869, and died a martyr in Turkey in 1915 after refusing to convert to Islam. He was beatified by St. John Paul II on Oct. 7, 2001, alongside six other servants of God.

Ordained in Lebanon in 1883, Maloyan was known as an intelligent and exemplary priest with a deep understanding of Scripture. He was later elected archbishop of Mardine during the Synod of Armenian Bishops held in Rome in 1911. 

Following the great persecution of Armenians in the country with the outbreak of World War I, Maloyan alongside other priests and Christian faithful were executed by Turkish officers in June 1915 after refusing to convert to Islam.

Blessed María Carmen (née Carmen Elena Rendíles Martínez) will become the first canonized saint of Venezuela after the Holy Father approved the miracle — the healing of a woman diagnosed with idiopathic triventricular hydrocephalus — attributed to her intercession.

Born in the country’s capital, Caracas, on Aug. 11, 1903, she became a religious sister of the Congregation of the Servants of Jesus of the Blessed Sacrament in 1927 and later became one of the founders of the Congregation of the Servants of Jesus in Venezuela in 1946.

Serving the Catholic faithful in schools and parishes alongside her sisters who founded the new Latin American congregation, Blessed María Carmen was known for her love for Jesus in the Eucharist.

Mosaics by alleged abuser Father Marko Rupnik are displayed throughout the shrine in Lourdes, France. / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Mar 31, 2025 / 11:03 am (CNA).

The Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France announced Monday that the entrances to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, featuring art by the disgraced artist Father Marko Rupnik, are being covered.

Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes called the decision a “second step” after his initial decision in July 2024 to no longer light up the mosaics at night and during processions.

“You know my opinion about the presence of these mosaics on the doors of the basilica. It seemed to me, together with my collaborators, that a new symbolic step had to be taken to make the entrance to the basilica easier for all those who today cannot cross the threshold,” Micas said in an online post from the renowned Marian apparition site.

Mosaics by the alleged sexual abuser Rupnik, who is under investigation and awaiting a trial by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, were added to the neo-Gothic facade of the lower Lourdes basilica in 2008.

The basilica’s side doors were covered on the morning of March 31, and the two central doors will be covered in a few days, according to the shrine. The coverings are yellow with small crosses and the words “With Mary, Pilgrims of Hope 2025.”

For the 2025 Jubilee of Hope, Micas decreed the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes to be one of two places in the diocese where pilgrims can receive a jubilee plenary indulgence. He said “passing through the entrance doors of the basilica had to be symbolic of the moment,” and noted that the third Friday of Lent, March 28, was also the Memorial Day of Prayer for the victims of sexual abuse committed in the Church of France.

After forming a special commission in May 2023, Micas announced in July 2024 that, as a “first step,” he had decided the mosaics will no longer be lit up at night during the shrine’s nightly candlelight rosary processions. He said his personal opinion was that the art installations should be completely removed, but it was too early for a final decision.

The shrine’s next steps regarding the Rupnik artwork, Micas said on March 31, is to continue with the commission “to move forward calmly rather than under pressure from various sources.”

“We are working for the long term, for the victims, for the Church, for Lourdes and its message for all,” he added.

Marlene Watkins, the leader of the North American Lourdes Volunteers, posted on the Facebook page “Our Lady of Lourdes Hospitality North American Volunteers” on Monday, welcoming the French bishop’s “thoughtful, prayerful, and courageous discernment to address this art in the sanctuary.”

“This step in his wise plan makes it possible for some and easier for many victims and those who love them to enter the Holy Doors for this jubilee. His timing seems slow to some unaware of French art legalities — but his plan is prudent and methodical to take measured steps to make the removal possible. He asked for our prayers for this from the announcement of his decision. Please, let us continue to pray,” Watkins wrote.

The mosaics from Rupnik and his art and theology school, the Centro Aletti in Rome, depict the luminous mysteries of the rosary with the Wedding Feast at Cana in the center. Rupnik’s signature red dot decorates one of the arched panels above the entrance.

Rupnik, a priest and artist, has been accused of spiritual, psychological, and sexual abuse of religious sisters. He was removed from the Jesuits in June 2023. He is currently facing a canonical trial over the allegations he abused dozens of women religious, including some within the context of the creation of his art.

The priest’s prolific art career has created a problem for many shrines and Catholic churches across Europe and North America. Rupnik’s workshop was involved in projects for over 200 liturgical spaces around the world, including Fátima, the Vatican, the John Paul II shrine in Washington, D.C., and the tomb of St. Padre Pio.

The Knights of Columbus last year covered mosaics by Rupnik in the two chapels of the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington and in the chapel at the Knights’ headquarters in New Haven, Connecticut, a dramatic move that represented at the time the strongest public stand by a major Catholic organization regarding the former Jesuit’s embattled art.

A view of the Opera House in the port zone of Sydney. / Credit: Benh LIEU SONG vía Flickr (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Rome Newsroom, Mar 31, 2025 / 10:33 am (CNA).

Australian bishops on Sunday said the country’s Catholics have a vital role to promote the common good when they head to the polls on May 3 for a national election.

The Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference’s Commission for Life, Family, and Public Engagement — chaired by Archbishop Peter Comensoli — released “Election Statement 2025: Called to Bring Hope in the Year of the Jubilee” after the Australian government announced the election date over the weekend. 

“Our faith calls us to engage in democracy, to build, in the words of Pope St. John Paul II, ‘a civilization of love’ and ‘to contribute to the good of society with a spirit of truth, justice, solidarity, and freedom,’” the March 30 statement read.

“The jubilee reminds us that voting is not just a civic duty but an opportunity to advance the common good and pave the way for hope,” the bishops’ conference said.

The conference identified four key issues that Australian Catholics should consider before casting their vote in May: the dignity and value of every human being; religious freedom and conscience rights; fairness, justice, and the common good; and responsible stewardship of God’s creation.

In the statement, the bishops’ conference said Catholics have an “obligation” to form their consciences “through reason, sacred Scripture, and Church teachings” to respond to the country’s important political and social issues and discern what will advance peace and justice in society.  

“Conscience is our inner guide, enabling us to discern right from wrong and judge what is good and just, and we have a duty to follow it faithfully,” the bishops’ statement said.

“This demands careful consideration of the facts and the background to our decisions and a commitment to prayer to discern God’s will,” the statement continued.  

Commending the statement to Catholics and to all people of goodwill, the bishops condemned discrimination, hatred, and violence against other citizens and called for a renewed commitment among Australians to resolve issues “peacefully through dialogue and democratic processes.”

Pope Francis on March 31, 2025, appointed Bishop Michael McGovern of Belleville, Illinois, to lead the Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska. / Credit: Archdiocese of Omaha

Rome Newsroom, Mar 31, 2025 / 10:03 am (CNA).

Pope Francis on Monday appointed Bishop Michael McGovern of Belleville, Illinois, to lead the Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska, after he accepted the resignation of Omaha Archbishop George Lucas.

McGovern, 60, has led the Diocese of Belleville since April 2020. The Chicago native will be installed as archbishop of Omaha in the Cathedral of St. Cecilia on May 7.

He succeeds Lucas, who submitted his resignation when he turned 75 in June 2024 as required by canon law. Lucas has led the Archdiocese of Omaha since 2009.

McGovern is the youngest child of a large Catholic family. He grew up in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood, where he attended Christ the King Parish and grammar school and was an altar server.

He was ordained a priest in 1994, and in 2020 he was named bishop of Belleville, Illinois.

The archbishop-designate of Omaha is a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Since 2021, he has served as the state chaplain for the Illinois Knights of Columbus.

In 2022, the Diocese of Belleville announced it would sell the historic mansion that had served as the bishop’s residence for over 70 years, with the majority of the proceeds being used for a diocesan maternity fund for expectant mothers.

“I hope to live more simply and, as a pastor, I believe the proceeds from the sale of the home can be better used in helping pregnant mothers in need, assisting families seeking a Catholic education, and providing programs for our youth,” McGovern said about the decision to sell the property.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 31, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) recently sent a letter to federal senators and representatives urging them to defund Planned Parenthood and stop taxpayer money from funding services such as abortions and transgender procedures that “gravely violate human dignity.”

Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, Bishop Robert Barron and Toledo, Ohio, Bishop Daniel Thomas, the chairmen of the USCCB’s marriage and pro-life committees, respectively, wrote the letter last Thursday to “affirm our support for stopping taxpayer funding of the abortion and ‘gender transition’ industries.”

The letter was sent following the announcement that the Trump administration plans to freeze millions of taxpayer dollars from subsidizing abortion services via the federal Title X program.

The bishops addressed the senators on the same day hundreds of pro-life advocates went to Capitol Hill to urge Congress to cut the “funding of the abortion industry in the budget reconciliation process,” the prelates said.

“Necessary, long-standing, and historically bipartisan policies like the Hyde Amendment help prevent public funding for elective abortions themselves,” the bishops said, citing the decades-old rule that forbids federal funding of most abortions.

“Yet Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the U.S. at over 390,000 preborn children killed per year (about 40% of the total), still receives nearly $700 million annually — about a third of its revenue — from taxpayers,” they noted.

The letter further argued that federal funds to Planned Parenthood must be cut not just to limit abortion but also the gender ideology the organization promotes.  

Planned Parenthood is “the nation’s ‘second-largest provider of hormone therapy’ for patients attempting ‘gender transition,’” the bishops said. 

“The off-label use of hormones and puberty blockers has proven to be a lucrative billion-dollar business in an ever-growing market,” they wrote. “Planned Parenthood offers ‘gender transition’ services at nearly 450 clinics across the nation, surpassing the number of its locations that perform abortions.”

Planned Parenthood itself has admitted that most of these patients leave their first visit with a hormone prescription, the bishops noted.

“As the rate of these destructive services has dramatically increased, so too has government funding,” the bishops said. They asked Congress to put the money toward supporting families in need rather than helping harmful services be carried out.

“As you consider how to best steward taxpayer resources in the weeks ahead, we call upon you to stop funding abortion and ‘gender transition’ industries that gravely violate human dignity. Instead, we urge you to prioritize the needs of struggling families so they can flourish,” the bishops said.

Panelists discuss the connection between Catholicism and feminism at a recent Notre Dame conference. From left to right, Rachel Coleman, Deborah Savage, Leah Libresco Sargeant, Erika Bachiochi, Melissa Moschella, Helen Alvare, Abigail Favale, and Angela Franks. / Credit: Jonathan Liedl/National Catholic Register

South Bend, Ind., Mar 31, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Should Catholics identify as “feminists?” A panel of prominent female Catholic thinkers explored the question at a recent conference at the University of Notre Dame dedicated to the Church’s teaching on women, with some speakers embracing the strategic use of the term while others expressed uncertainty.

Those in favor of using the feminist label described it as rhetorical tool for finding common ground with non-Catholic women who might support practices like abortion and contraception but are nonetheless open to pursuing what is good for women.

“It has an instrumental use if we want to establish that we are both on the side of addressing the needs of women,” said Helen Alvaré, a legal scholar and Church leader who has advocated for the need for a “new feminism.”

Philosopher Melissa Moschella offered a similar perspective, encouraging attendees, which included religious sisters and nursing mothers, to call themselves feminists if doing so is useful with a particular audience, “and if it’s not, don’t.”

Abigail Favale, a theologian and the conference’s organizer, said that although she uses the term strategically to connect with various audiences, she is “very ambivalent” about whether Catholics should continue speaking positively about feminism.

Part of that is due to how opposed mainstream secular feminism has become to several important elements of Church teaching, but Favale also cited her own personal experience as a reason for concern.

Raised an evangelical, Favale began identifying as a feminist in college while reading feminist literature and theology. Initially, she said, she engaged with the arguments grounded in her faith but soon found herself “adapting Christianity to secular feminism.”

“It switched so subtly, almost without a conscious decision,” Favale shared, noting that she has seen something similar with Christian students she has taught who strongly associate themselves with feminism.

But other panelists suggested that there is value in Catholics appropriating the feminist label precisely because of the rise of so-called “red pilled” anti-feminist views, including among Catholics. These views, speakers argued, not only reject secular feminism but also recent magisterial teaching on the dignity of women.

“We have to defend women’s full rights and dignity,” said legal scholar Erika Bachiochi, who has argued that 19th-century feminism was motivated by Christian principles. “We have to tell young women today, ‘I’m with you, not with them.’”

And although “trad wife” influences are popular with young Catholic women right now, theologian Angela Franks said staking out a Catholic feminism now will be important in the event of widespread disillusionment with the anti-feminist turn.

“There’s going to be a backlash, and those women or their kids are going to be right back in the radical feminist camp” unless an alternative is provided, Franks said.

Whether the term “feminism” is employed or not, all panelists at Notre Dame agreed about the value of the Church’s ongoing focus on the unique mission of women and the need to promote justice for women in society.

“Women are equal in dignity, and they need specific advocacy because they are different,” said writer and policy analyst Leah Libresco Sargent, who added that the world treats women “like defective men.”

Another point of agreement was on the evangelical value of women embracing their femininity. Theologian Rachel Coleman underscored the importance of “living a joyful Catholic life and being happy you are a woman,” while Deborah Savage, director of the Institute for Men and Women at Franciscan University of Steubenville, encouraged attendees to “not apologize” for being women and to be proud of the gifts they “bring to the table.”

The panel took place in the aftermath of a somewhat contentious exchange of views on the merits of “Catholic feminism” in the Wall Street Journal. 

The debate was kicked off on March 13 when Bachiochi wrote a piece describing St. John Paul II as a “feminist pope.” Carrie Gress, who like Bachiochi is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, responded on March 20 that John Paul II’s teaching on women has nothing to do with feminist ideology, while Margaret McCarthy, a theologian at the John Paul II Institute, wrote a March 24 letter arguing the Bachiochi had reduced the Polish pontiff to “sound bites.”

At Notre Dame, the panel discussion brought to a close the three-day conference, which was titled “True Genuis: The Mission of Women in Church and Culture.” Coinciding with the 30th anniversary of John Paul II’s 1995 “Letter to Women,” the conference explored topics like “The Female Body and the Culture of Life” and “The Feminine Genius and Catholic History.” Perspectives on complementarity between the sexes and the development of the Church’s doctrine on women were also presented.

Participants in the closing panel also discussed other topics like the importance of women receiving education about their bodies and turning to Mary as a model of femininity and a protective mediator. They also addressed challenges like the rise of gender ideology, social norms that suggest children are oppressive, and anxiety over body image.

The thinkers also spoke about the need for Catholic women to have good mentors and draw inspiration from female saints throughout the Church’s history, from mystics to mothers, foundresses to theologians.

“We need to open up this world of holy women who lived radical lives of service to the Church,” Favale said. “We need a lot of different models of holy femininity.”