Entrance to St. Clare’s Monastery in Belorado, Burgos, Spain. / Credit: Nicolás de Cárdenas/EWTN News

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 5, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A Spanish court has ruled in favor of the Catholic Church in the eviction lawsuit against the former Poor Clare nuns of Belorado.

null / Credit: Rohane Hamilton/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 5, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

President Donald Trump’s administration may be walking back an earlier plan that would have required insurance companies to provide coverage for in vitro fertilization (IVF), according to a report from the Washington Post.

The Post reported that “two people with knowledge of internal discussions” told the outlet that the White House does not plan to impose any IVF mandates on health insurance providers.

According to the report, a senior administration official said expanding IVF access is still “a huge priority” for the president but that any government-imposed mandatory coverage would need to come from legislation passed through Congress. The article reported that such a plan is not on the table at the moment.

CNA reached out to the White House for a response to that report and to ask whether religious liberty concerns for Catholics and others opposed to IVF are being weighed in the deliberations but did not get a response by the time of publication.

The Catholic Church opposes IVF because it separates the creation of life from the marital act and because the process results in the destruction of millions of human embryos, which ends human lives. The Southern Baptist Convention officially expressed opposition to IVF last year as well, but many Protestant denominations do not take a formal stance.

Trump first promised nearly a year ago during a campaign rally that the government would either subsidize IVF costs with taxpayer money or impose a coverage mandate on insurers. In October, Trump told EWTN’s Raymond Arroyo that a religious exemption for those opposed to IVF “sounds to me like a pretty good idea” and that “we will look at that.”

As president in February, Trump signed an executive order directing the United States Domestic Policy Council to examine ways to expand IVF access, which sparked immediate concerns from the pro-life community and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). At this point, the administration has not imposed any rules related to IVF coverage.

Father Thomas Ferguson, who serves on the religious leadership advisory board for Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission, told CNA the report suggesting a departure from an insurance coverage mandate is “welcome news” but that Catholics “must continue to remain vigilant” in opposition to IVF.

IVF, Ferguson said, is “an illicit medical procedure” and must not be portrayed as an “essential health benefit.”

“It is a matter of grave concern that there might exist the possibility that tax dollars would be used to pay for IVF procedures under federally funded insurance plans,” Ferguson said.

“An even more serious concern would be the prospect of the federal government attempting to mandate privately funded insurance plans to pay for IVF services in a manner that would be clearly contrary to the religious beliefs of individuals, business owners, or even churches themselves,” he added.

The Religious Liberty Commission has held one hearing so far, but concerns about potential IVF expansion were not on the agenda. Ferguson said that education will be the focus of the second hearing scheduled for Sept. 8. No other topics have been scheduled yet, but he said he expects Catholic leaders to raise the IVF issue within the context of the commission’s work.

“Catholic belief and teaching that IVF is a morally illicit means of conceiving human life is well known, so it should be no surprise that Catholic leaders and the Catholic faithful would be dismayed by the administration’s commitment to promote IVF as a part of its policy on marriage and family life,” Ferguson added.

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, a senior ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC), expressed optimism about the report, telling CNA that Trump’s advisers “thankfully seem to have gotten his ear and reminded him that the government ought not be subsidizing IVF in any manner.”

IVF, he said, is “an unethical approach to satisfying parental desires and customer yearnings by erecting and subsidizing an enormous industry to replace what parents themselves are meant to do uniquely within the marital embrace. Human life is not respected in the process but is instead commodified and objectified.”

Rather than covering IVF, Pacholczyk said health insurance should cover “authentic therapies and treatments for infertility,” such as natural procreative technology and Fertility Education and Medical Management, which are pro-life alternatives that seek to address the root causes of fertility struggles.

NCBC past president and senior fellow Joseph Meaney told CNA the report is “highly welcome news” and noted that IVF is “extremely unethical and costly,” while the many pro-life alternatives are “ethically and financially” preferable.

He said the Church has consistently condemned IVF as immoral since 1987 in the document Donum Vitae and that the First Amendment would require that any potential insurance mandate have religious liberty exemptions.

“Religious freedom constitutional guarantees in the U.S. would make it illegal to impose IVF on Catholics and particularly on Catholic employers who might have been required to pay for IVF through their employee health insurance plans,” Meaney added.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A solo traveler, even using Google maps and ChatGPT, cannot safely and happily complete the journey of life or the journey of faith, Pope Leo XIV told thousands of young pilgrims meeting at the Marian shrine in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

"No algorithm will ever replace a hug, a look, a real encounter -- not with God, not with our friends, not with our family," the pope wrote to people attending the international youth festival known as Mladifest Aug. 4-8.

Pope Leo urged young people to "seek genuine encounters" following the example of Mary, who "undertook a difficult journey to visit her cousin Elizabeth." 

The gathering in Medjugorje was the 36th annual youth festival and the first to be held after the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith published a notification in September 2024 recognizing the spiritual value of devotions connected to Medjugorje but not ruling on the authenticity of the alleged apparitions there or alleged messages from Mary.

Six young people, aged 10 to 16, said Mary began appearing to them in June 1981. Three of them say they still have apparitions of Mary each day, while the other three have them only on special occasions.

Pope Leo did not mention the apparitions or the Vatican notification in his message, instead focusing on the theme of the gathering, "Let us go to the house of the Lord."

"This phrase speaks to us of a journey, of a desire that moves us toward God, toward the place of his dwelling, where we can truly feel at home, because his love awaits us there," the pope wrote. 

"On the road of life, we never walk alone," he told the young people. "Our journey is always intertwined with that of others: we are made for encounter, for walking together and for discovering a shared destination."

Young or old, he said, Christians "are not solitary pilgrims. The path toward the Lord is traveled together. That is the beauty of faith lived in the church."

Traveling to Bosnia-Herzegovina from dozens of countries, the pilgrims also discover that "there is a language stronger than any barrier -- the language of faith, nourished by the love of God."

"You are all members of his body, which is the church," the pope wrote, encouraging the young people to "meet one another, get to know one another, share with one another."

And, he said, "if any of you feels within yourselves the call to a special vocation -- to consecrated life or to the priesthood -- I encourage you not to be afraid to respond. That invitation, which you feel stirring within you, comes from God, who speaks to our hearts. Listen to him with trust: the word of the Lord not only makes us truly free and happy but leads to our fulfillment as people and as Christians."
 

WASHINGTON – “The women and men who served our country, to defend innocent life, deserve quality health care and supportive resources, not the violence of abortion,“ said Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Bishop Daniel E. Thomas, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, in response to a proposed rule  published by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on Monday. 

In 2022, the VA and dependents’ civilian health benefits were changed to include abortion. The proposed rule would restore the prior, long-standing policy that prevented VA and civilian dependents’ health benefits from including abortion.

“The women and men who served our country, to defend innocent life, deserve quality health care and supportive resources, not the violence of abortion. Veterans’ health facilities must not be places of death, but places of great hope. We are grateful that the Department of Veterans Affairs is stepping up to protect preborn children and families once again from taxpayer-funded, elective abortion, and look forward to reviewing the new proposed rule in full.”

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Bishop Robert Barron delivers the keynote address at the Jubilee of Youth’s National U.S. Pilgrim Gathering on July 30, 2025, at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

CNA Staff, Aug 4, 2025 / 17:00 pm (CNA).

Word on Fire announced Monday that a new documentary by Bishop Robert Barron is underway that will showcase the beauty of Catholic cathedrals and how they guide the faithful to the divine. 

In the announcement, Barron — who also serves as bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota — explained that the inspiration for the documentary came after the tragic fire that destroyed part of the historic Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. 

In April 2019, Notre Dame’s iconic roof and spire were engulfed by a fire, the causes of which have yet to be determined. Its main structure was saved, along with many of its priceless contents, but the restoration project was monumental, amounting to almost 700 million euros ($740 million). The historic cathedral reopened on Dec. 7, 2024.   

Barron recalled that the response from people all around the world was “intriguing” to him and he “had a sense that people knew the fire was threatening to destroy something of great spiritual value — even if they were not faithful themselves.”

After this, Barron wrote a script for a documentary that explored the idea of the spirituality of cathedrals and their ability to draw in even those who do not believe in God or practice any faith.

The documentary will take viewers to the French cathedrals of Amiens, Chartres, Notre-Dame, Reims, and Saint-Denis to explore these medieval cathedrals more in depth. It will combine history, theology, art, and Scripture to show the significance of cathedrals and answer the question: What is it about the beauty of a cathedral that is so transcendent?

Barron said he believes the documentary will have “great evangelical value.”

“My hope is that this film can have a similar impact by drawing people into the beauty of our faith through the intrigue of these impressive buildings,” he said.

Barron has released several documentaries over the years including the “Catholicism” series, which took viewers to 50 locations throughout 15 countries to reveal the fullness of the Catholic faith, and the “Pivotal Players” series, which dove into the lives of 12 of the most influential Catholic figures in history.

A release date for the new documentary has not been announced.

Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney told a packed basilica of young jubilee pilgrims in Rome on Aug. 4, 2025, that holy relics are “not just a quirky Catholic thing — they are a quirky God thing.” / Credit: Ivanka Ranic/Archdiocese of Sydney

Vatican City, Aug 4, 2025 / 16:29 pm (CNA).

Standing before the casket containing the incorrupt body of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and the tomb of St. Catherine of Siena in Rome, Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney told a packed basilica of young jubilee pilgrims that holy relics are “not just a quirky Catholic thing — they are a quirky God thing.”

The Australian Dominican archbishop delivered the homily at the closing Mass of the weeklong public veneration of Frassati’s body during the Jubilee of Youth, a celebration that drew 1 million Catholic young people to the Eternal City.

“It’s a quirky thing, that Catholics so honor their dead and the remains of the dead,” Fisher said. “I was asked once by a radio host, ‘What’s this thing with Catholics and bones?’ I explained that the relics of saints are sacramentals: Sites where God imparts graces of healing and strength through the intercession of the faithful ones whose relics they are.”

“Through ‘this Catholic thing with bones,’” he added, “we honor the person who was and look forward to the person who will be again — but now purified, restored, glorified.” 

“In reverencing the remains of our loved ones and especially the saints, we proclaim our faith in the holy Catholic Church and the communion of saints, but also in the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting!” 

The Mass in the Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva on Aug. 4 had standing room only, as young pilgrims crowded in for a chance to pray before the incorrupt body of Frassati, a 20th-century Italian layman whose body was found intact 60 years after his death, which is considered a miracle. 

“When Pier Giorgio’s mortal remains were transferred from Pollone cemetery to Turin Cathedral, they were found to be incorrupt after 60 years,” Fisher explained. “In miraculously preserving his body for so long, God was saying something powerful about the purity of this incorruptible man, about the significance of life in the flesh, and about the promise of resurrection to us all.”

Following the Mass, Dominican friars carried Frassati’s casket in a solemn procession down the basilica’s central aisle. Outside, pilgrims lined the steps, waving as the vehicle carrying Frassati’s body departed for the eight-hour drive back to Turin, where his tomb is located in the city’s cathedral.

Evangeline Jenan, 16, from Arizona, was one of the few who were able to reach out and touch the casket after it was processed outside of the basilica.

“Being able to touch his casket is just an absolutely powerful experience,” she told CNA.

“His love for God is just so inspiring and amazing to me. And I want to be like him.”

Fisher recalled how Frassati’s body was brought to Sydney for World Youth Day in 2008. “To offer Mass again beside his casket is a real privilege,” he said, welcoming Frassati’s niece, Wanda Gawronska, who has played a vital role in sharing her uncle’s story with the world.

The liturgy coincided with the feast of St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, and Fisher reminded the youth that sainthood comes in many forms.  

“Male and female, tall and short, young and old, clerical and lay, alive or dead at the moment: Sainthood is not one-size-fits-all,” he said.

Frassati, who died at age 24 in 1925, has long inspired young Catholics with his deep piety, charity for the poor, and love of the outdoors. He famously said: “To live without faith is not living, but merely existing.”

Fisher described Frassati as someone who showed that “faith is fun.”

“Mountain climbing or skiing, study or socializing — all could be apostolate,” he said.

Young pilgrims in attendance said the encounter with Frassati’s relics and Fisher’s message left a deep impression.

Rebecca Calabrese, 27, from Sydney, traveled with 64 young Australians for the jubilee. “It really inspires a lot of young people who are searching for their vocation and looking for a deeper relationship with Christ,” she said, “to see someone so ordinary but also extraordinary… who lived out his faith with such zeal and joy and passion in the normal, everyday aspects of life.”

For Dylan Staub, 21, of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the jubilee was a life-changing experience. “I’ve never even been out of the country before,” he said. “It’s just so many people, so many people filled with grace and on fire with their faith.” 

He added that the jubilee really makes one reflect on how “you’re here for a purpose, and you were created and chosen by God and loved by God.” 

In his final exhortation, Fisher urged the youth to ask Frassati’s intercession for courage and clarity in their vocations.  

“Ask Pier Giorgio to intercede for wisdom about your calling, for courage to embrace it, and for the holy joy of flourishing in that vocation in the years ahead,” he said.

The Durg railway station in Chhattisgarh, site of the July 25, 2025, arrest of two nuns. / Credit: Rajbhatt, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 4, 2025 / 14:54 pm (CNA).

Two Catholic nuns who were arrested at a train station in central India have been released on bail after spending more than 10 days in prison. 

“The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) has welcomed with relief the grant of bail to Sister Preethi and Sister Vandana by the NIA Court in Bisaspur,” the Indian Catholic bishops wrote in an Aug. 2 statement following the sisters’ release, which they said “has brought a sense of hope to the Christian community across the country.” 

Government Railway Police had arrested Sisters Preeti Mary and Vandana Francis of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate congregation July 25 at the Durg railway station in Chhattisgarh for human trafficking and forced conversion. 

The nuns had been accompanying three young women between the ages of 19 and 22 as well as a young tribal man from Narayanpur to Agra in Uttar Pradesh, where the young women had plans to work.

“We are grateful to the government for the support shown in this case,” CBCI President Archbishop Andrews Thazhath said in the statement, adding: “We hope this marks the beginning of renewed efforts to protect the rights and dignity of all religious minorities in our secular democracy.”

The bishops expressed gratitude to Christians across denominations and all “who stood in solidarity” with the nuns during their imprisonment and called on the government to “take concrete measures to curb the increasing incidents of intimidation against members of religious communities.”

News of their release comes after the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delayed the process, prompting widespread protests across the country. The Indian Catholic bishops’ conference expressed “outrage and deep concern” over the arrests in a statement at the time, revealing that the nuns had been “subjected to harassment, false accusations, and fabricated cases.” 

“They were physically assaulted and the arrest took place despite written consent letters issued by the parents of each woman above 18 years of age,” the bishops said, describing the event as “a grave violation” of the country’s constitution. 

“It is absolutely shocking and sad that the two religious sisters have been illegally detained under false charges of human trafficking and forced conversion,” Sister M. Nirmalini, the president of the women’s wing of the Conference of Religious India, told CNA on July 30. 

“Shockingly, the charges have been made without ascertaining or verifying facts,” said the nun, who belongs to the Apostolic Carmel Congregation. She noted that some congregations have asked members not to wear their habits in public “to avoid harassment.”

Archbishop Eamon Martin. / Credit: Irish Jesuits, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 4, 2025 / 14:23 pm (CNA).

Archbishop Eamon Martin of Ireland commemorated St. John Vianney, the patron saint of all priests and especially parish priests, whose memorial is celebrated Aug. 4.

Rows of bunk beds line the interior of the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” detention facility in the Florida Everglades, a repurposed training center now designated for holding immigrants. President Donald Trump appears in the background during a July 1, 2025, visit to the site. / Credit: The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 4, 2025 / 13:52 pm (CNA).

As part of a new Catholic ministry, the Archdiocese of Miami celebrated its first Mass at the Florida detention center for unauthorized immigrants known as “Alligator Alcatraz.”

“I am pleased that our request to provide for the pastoral care of the detainees has been accommodated,” Archbishop Thomas Wenski said in an Aug. 3 statement. “Also, we were able to respond to a request to provide similar service to the staff who reside at the facility.”

In a July interview with “EWTN News In Depth,” Wenski said his “greatest concern” was the “health and care of the people that are being detained” at Alligator Alcatraz. He and other advocates were calling for “a minimum of standards” and said that “one of those standards should be access to pastoral care.”

At the time, Wenski explained his archdiocese was having difficulty arranging Masses and spiritual care for the immigrants being held because the Florida state government and the federal government were “arguing among themselves who is accountable” for the detention center.

After months of discussions between Florida bishops, archdiocesan leadership, and state correctional authorities, an agreement was finally reached. Chaplains and pastoral ministers from the Archdiocese of Miami will have “full access” to the facility to offer liturgical Masses for detainees and staff.

The first Mass was held on Aug. 2 and is just the start of the regular liturgical celebrations expected at the center. The archdiocese reported that it will continue the ministry “following the facility’s guidelines and the pastoral availability of our clergy.”

The archdiocese plans “to have a successful and consistent Catholic presence at Alligator Alcatraz that will depend on effective ordination and coordination.” The goal is to “ensure a stable schedule of sacramental care and pastoral ministry that meets the spiritual needs of both attendees and staff, with the support of clergy and committed lay volunteers.”

“The Church has ‘no borders,’ for we all are members of one human family,” Wenski said. “Our ‘agenda’ was always to announce the ‘good news’ to the poor.”

Pope Leo XIV prays during Mass for more than 1 million young pilgrims at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, in Rome’s outskirts, on Aug. 3, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

CNA Staff, Aug 4, 2025 / 13:22 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of August is for mutual coexistence.

In a video released July 29, the Holy Father asked the faithful to pray “that societies where coexistence seems more difficult might not succumb to the temptation of confrontation for ethnic, political, religious, or ideological reasons.”

According to a press release, this month’s video was made in collaboration with the Jesuit Communications Foundation (JesCom).

In the video, Pope Leo recites a prayer composed specifically for this month’s prayer intention.

Here is Pope Leo’s full prayer:

Jesus, Lord of our history,

Faithful companion and living presence,

You who never tire of coming to meet us,

Here we are, in need of your peace.

We live in times of fear and division.

Sometimes we act as if we were alone,

Building walls that separate us from one another,

Forgetting that we are brothers and sisters.

Send us your Spirit, Lord,

To rekindle within us

The desire to understand one another, to listen,

To live together with respect and compassion.

Give us the courage to seek paths of dialogue,

To respond to conflict with gestures of fraternity,

To open our hearts to others without fear of differences.

Make us builders of bridges,

Able to overcome borders and ideologies,

Able to see others through the eyes of the heart,

Recognizing in every person an inviolable dignity.

Help us create spaces where hope can flourish,

Where diversity is not a threat

But a richness that makes us more human.

Amen.

The video prayer intention is promoted by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, which raises awareness of monthly papal prayer intentions.