St. Andrew Catholic Church

Catholic Relief Services distributes food for school children at one of the schools in the Department of Totonicapán, Guatemala, with the help of parent volunteers. / Credit: Catholic Relief Services

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 22, 2025 / 18:13 pm (CNA).

As part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to reshape American foreign aid, his administration is ending federal funds for nearly a dozen projects operated by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to provide free school meals to children internationally.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) ended funding for 11 of the 13 projects CRS operates through the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program, which was created with bipartisan support in the early 2000s. The funds support international school feeding and maternal and child nutrition projects with American agriculture commodities, according to the USDA.

According to CRS, the termination of these funds will affect more than 780,000 school-aged children in 11 countries. The funding will end this July.

“This decision isn’t just a policy shift — it’s a life-altering blow to hundreds of thousands of children who rely on these meals to stay healthy, stay in school, and stay hopeful about their future,” CRS President and CEO Sean Callahan said in a statement.

CRS contends that, in some impoverished countries, this program provides children with their only reliable meal daily. In a news release, CRS also maintained that the programs strengthen local communities and that terminating these contracts will threaten food security and economic stability in the affected nations.

“Ending a program that provides a child’s only meal is deeply troubling and goes against our values as a nation and as people of faith,” Callahan said. “We have a moral responsibility to ensure vulnerable children have access to the nourishment they need to learn, grow, and build a better future.”

A spokesperson for the USDA confirmed the termination of these funds and told CNA the decision was part of an effort to ensure the programs “align with the president’s agenda to make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous.”

“We look forward to ensuring USDA foreign aid is spent implementing existing projects as well as any new projects that continue to put American agriculture at the forefront and align with the president’s agenda,” the spokesperson said.

According to the spokesperson, the USDA ended 17 McGovern-Dole program agreements in total, 11 of which were operated by CRS. The USDA continues to fund 30 projects through that program, two of which CRS operates. The remaining programs serve 22 countries.

Additionally, the spokesperson said the USDA ended funding for 27 Food for Progress program agreements that were also “not in alignment with the foreign assistance objectives of the Trump administration.” The other 14 Food for Progress agreements, which serve 17 countries, will still be funded.

“It is important to note that all U.S. agricultural producers have received payment for commodities for which invoices have been received,” the spokesperson said. “Those projects which were terminated received a 30-day notification. During this time partners are required to deliver any commodity to its final destination, in accordance with the agreement, to ensure no product goes to waste.”

Callahan, alternatively, said the success of its programs is “undeniable,” adding that he has seen firsthand “the remarkable contributions of the community and local government” in one of the countries, Honduras.

“I spoke with young children who endure nearly two-hour walks to school each day — driven by the hope of receiving both a meal and an education,” he said. “It is un-American to stand by and not provide assistance while hunger robs children of their chance to learn and thrive.”

Callahan requested that the administration “reconsider its decision and restore funding for these life-affirming programs,” saying a reversal would “ensure children continue to have access to daily meals in school and invest in their future, their health, and their ability to break the cycle of poverty.”

Participants at a May 22, 2025, afternoon vigil to honor the two lives lost in an attack outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., the night before hold signs reading “Christians and Jews united against hate.” / Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNA

Washington D.C., May 22, 2025 / 17:43 pm (CNA).

On Wednesday evening, May 21, two Israeli embassy staff members were shot and killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.

“This senseless act of violence is a sobering reminder of the deadly consequences of antisemitism,” Students Supporting Israel (SSI) a student organization at The Catholic University of America (CUA) said in a press release. 

The two embassy staffers killed were identified as Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, and Sarah Milgrim, an American. The young couple was about to be engaged, Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., said at a press conference. He added Lischinsky planned to propose next week in Jerusalem.

Police authorities in the nation’s capital reported that the suspect, Elias Rodriguez, admitted to the killings and yelled “Free, free Palestine” while in police custody. 

“Antisemitism in the U.S. is at an all-time high, with Washington, D.C., now shaken by this act of hate,” SSI said, adding that the organization "continues to advocate for greater awareness, stronger protections, and unambiguous condemnation of antisemitic violence in all forms.”

“We stand in unwavering solidarity with the Jewish community; on our campus, in our city, and around the world.”

Philos Catholic, an arm of the Philos Project that fosters Catholic-Jewish relations, noted that the couple “was attending an event for young diplomats that focused on providing humanitarian aid to those in need and building bridges across national and religious lines” just prior to the attack.

“They were living out the core commands of the Bible: to do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” Philos Catholic said in a statement shared with CNA. “They modeled the heart of diplomats from Israel — the nation that gave the world the Bible, the book that teaches us how God expects us to live and act toward one another.”

On Thursday, Philos Catholic organized a vigil to honor the two lives lost. Christians and Jews gathered outside the museum where the attack took place to offer flowers and notes. The museum is across the street from Holy Rosary Catholic Church in the city’s northwest quadrant. Several held signs that said: “Christians and Jews united against hate.”

In a statement, the archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Robert McElroy, said: “The Catholic community of Washington and Maryland stands in prayer, shock, and solidarity with the families of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, with the people of Israel, and with the entire Jewish community, which has been attacked in this act of antisemitic hatred and murder.”

“Let us profoundly deepen our prayers and our commitment to root out hate in our midst whenever and wherever it surfaces,” McElroy added.

In tandem with McElroy, New York archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan declared: “We stand with our Jewish brothers and sisters in this moment of pain, praying that all may live in the peace and security that God surely intends for us.” 

“May their memory be a blessing. As has been so evident in these last months and years, antisemitism is still pervasive in our country and our world, and the Catholic community in New York today renews our resolve to working to eradicate this evil,” Dolan concluded.

null / Credit: alexkich/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, May 22, 2025 / 17:13 pm (CNA).

The budget reconciliation bill that passed in the U.S. House of Representatives this week included groundbreaking school choice legislation that would provide $5 billion in K–12 scholarships each year through 2029.

If passed, the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) establishes a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit for individuals who donate to scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs). These organizations would in turn grant scholarships to students for educational expenses, including private school tuition. 

While the ECCA could be game-changing for Catholic and other private schools across the country, the reconciliation bill must first pass in the U.S. Senate before the president can sign it into law. The bill passed narrowly in the House by only one vote.

Students, including home-schoolers, can use the educational scholarships established in the ECCA to cover a variety of expenses beyond tuition including books and tutoring as well as educational therapies for students with disabilities. If passed the act would go into effect after Dec. 31.

Many Catholic students already benefit from state school choice programs, with 31% of Catholic schools participating, according to the latest data from the National Catholic Educational Association.

The U.S. bishops, who endorsed the act earlier this year, praised the inclusion of the ECCA in the budget bill but also noted some “important changes that need to be made” in parts of the House bill. 

In a statement, the bishops called for the “removal of poison pill language that would debilitate Catholic school participation.”

In school choice, “poison pill” language is wording designed to prevent religious schools from participating in school choice programs. But poison pills can also include a broad variety of restrictions that have the unintended effect of limiting the number of private and religious schools that can participate. These restrictions often include acceptance or hiring requirements that go beyond federal and state laws that private schools already follow. 

For instance, this act requires that private schools provide accommodations to students with special education needs — a requirement that some say can be limiting for private schools that do not have the resources.

While the U.S. bishops have in the past highlighted the importance of “making Catholic education inclusive,” they noted in their statement that this requirement would “debilitate the ability for Catholic schools to participate.” 

The bishops noted that private schools “generally do not receive IDEA [Individuals with Disabilities Education Act] funding, so they would have to pay these significant costs out of pocket.”

Calling it an “unfunded mandate,” the bishops urged the Senate to remove this language.

They also urged the Senate to “restore the $10 billion credit cap with both individual and corporate givers included,” both terms that had been included in the ECCA when it was originally proposed.

In spite of the bill’s shortcomings, advocates still see it as a big moment for school choice.

Norton Rainey, head of the SGO group ACE Scholarships, praised the bill as a “new milestone” after “decades of advocacy.”

“School choice has never seen such momentum at the federal level,” Rainey said in a statement shared with CNA in which he praised the ECCA for providing an alternative to the “one-size-fits-all education system.”

“ECCA has the power to lift children out of poverty, strengthen families, and rebuild communities,” Rainey said. “When you change education, you change everything.”

State capitol in Dover, Delaware. / Credit: Jon Bilous/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, May 22, 2025 / 16:43 pm (CNA).

Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer this week signed a bill legalizing physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill adults with a prognosis of six months or less to live.

The law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2026, allows patients to self-administer lethal medication, making Delaware the 11th state to legalize euthanasia. California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington, along with the District of Columbia, also permit the practice.

Meyer said on Tuesday the law is “about compassion, dignity, and respect. It gives people facing unimaginable suffering the ability to choose peace and comfort, surrounded by those they love. After years of debate, I am proud to sign H.B. 140 into law.”

The bill, first introduced in 2015, passed narrowly after a decade-long push by euthanasia advocates, clearing the House (21-16) and Senate (11-8, with two absences) on April 17. Eleven Senate Democrats supported the bill, while a bipartisan group that included three Democrats joined by five Republicans opposed. No Republicans voted in favor of the bill.

Last year, outgoing Democratic Gov. John Carney vetoed the bill when it came before his desk, saying that “although I understand not everyone shares my views, I am fundamentally and morally opposed to state law enabling someone, even under tragic and painful circumstances, to take their own life.”

He went on to cite the official position of the American Medical Association, which says physician-assisted suicide is “fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks. Euthanasia could readily be extended to incompetent patients and other vulnerable populations.”

Wilmington Bishop William Koenig has been urging Delaware residents to oppose the measure, saying in April that “there is a great distinction between, on the one hand, death that comes naturally and, on the other hand, performing actions to bring on death.”

Last year, Koenig, along with Baltimore Archbishop William Lori and Washington, D.C., archbishop Cardinal Wilton Gregory, released a pastoral letter about euthanasia, “A Better Way Forward,” in which they wrote: “The central tenet guiding our opposition to this deadly proposal is that all human life is created in the image and likeness of God and therefore sacred.”

The bishops continued: “We urge all people of goodwill to demand that our lawmakers reject suicide as an end-of-life option and to choose the better, safer path that involves radical solidarity with those facing the end of their earthly journey.”

“Let us choose the path that models true compassion and dignity to those facing end-of-life decisions and protects the most vulnerable from the deadly proposition of physician-assisted suicide,” the letter concluded.

In a message to the International Interfaith Symposium on Palliative Care last year, Pope Francis called euthanasia “a failure of love” and said: “Yet ‘compassion,’ a word that means ‘suffering with,’ does not involve the intentional ending of a life but rather the willingness to share the burdens of those facing the end stages of our earthly pilgrimage.”

Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, said in a statement this week: “End-of-life discussions should focus on palliative care, hospice, and support options. Assisted suicide shifts the focus from life-affirming care to premature death and erodes the public trust in health care and medical doctors.”

The National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC) has emphasized that “dying patients who request euthanasia should receive loving care, psychological and spiritual support, and appropriate remedies for pain … to live with dignity until the time of natural death.”

The NCBC goes on: “Catholic health care institutions may never condone or participate in euthanasia or assisted suicide in any way,” defining euthanasia as “an act or omission that of itself or by intention causes death to alleviate suffering.”

The Delaware Catholic Advocacy Network, which delivered over 11,000 postcards to legislators, warned of the law’s risks to the elderly, mentally ill, and disabled. Despite the new law, the network is urging Catholics to pray for those who are suffering and to continue to engage their legislators.

Tony McFall wears his father’s cowboy hat while looking over the debris of the house of his father and step-mother, who lost their lives during the tornado in the neighborhood of Sunshine Hills on May 17, 2025, in London, Kentucky. A tornado struck communities in Somerset and London, Kentucky, leaving over 10 dead and more injured. / Credit: Michael Swensen/Getty Images

CNA Staff, May 22, 2025 / 16:13 pm (CNA).

Local Catholic Charities organizations are rallying to support communities devastated by the more than 70 tornadoes that tore through the central United States last Friday and Saturday.

A series of large tornadoes wreaked havoc throughout Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana killing at least 28 people, injuring dozens, and causing billions of dollars in damage. The tornadoes reported across the Midwest caused damage to thousands of homes.

Most of the deaths happened in Kentucky during what the National Weather Service called the deadliest tornado in eastern Kentucky’s history.

Good neighbors in Kentucky 

At least 19 people died in southeastern Kentucky, within the bounds of the Diocese of Lexington. The tornado pathway was 55.6 miles long, beginning in Russell County, crossing through Pulaski County, and ending in Laurel County, with the majority of fatalities in Laurel County. The storm wiped out large residential areas on the south side of London and later damaged the local airport.

The tornado was ranked at the second-highest rating on the Enhanced Fujita scale (EF-4) with wind speeds of up to 170 miles per hour. 

Catholic Charities Diocese of Lexington is providing assistance in affected areas while looking ahead to support locals in long-term recovery from the disaster.

Executive director Shelli Gregory spoke with CNA from Somerset, one of the hardest-hit cities in the area in addition to London.

Gregory brought a mobile response center to St. Mildred’s Parish in Somerset, where she and other volunteers are handing out bedding, toiletries, and emergency food boxes as well as information on where other various supplies and food can be found. 

“We called our parishes in the affected areas on Saturday — day after the storm — and asked them what they were hearing that people needed,” Gregory said. 

In some areas, days of power outage means people are short on food. In other areas, homes have been leveled.

“Then there’s homes that are completely gone. I mean, just like, where are they? There’s nothing there but a concrete slab,” Gregory said. 

But amid the disaster, people are banding together. Some families are housing others whose houses were destroyed in the storm. One woman is helping get storage units for people whose stuff “is being stolen from the rubble.”  

“What you’re seeing a lot here is everybody is very concerned about their neighbors, not nearly as much concerned about themselves,” Gregory said. 

Rebuilding a small Kansas town 

In northwest Kansas, an EF-2 tornado tore through the town of Grinnell in Gove County on Sunday night, destroying more than a dozen homes in the town of 260 people. 

The tornado was destructive, but no deaths were reported. One of the two tornado sirens malfunctioned, according to the Gove County sheriff, so law enforcement drove through the streets warning people on a loudspeaker.  

A tornado also hit about 200 miles southeast of Grinnell in western Reno County in Plevna, a city of 85 people. The tornado caused “extensive damage” to the town, but no deaths or injuries were reported. 

Catholic Charities of Northern Kansas is providing emergency relief and long-term recovery support to families in Grinnell and affected neighboring areas, according to the executive director, Megan Robl. 

“The road ahead is long, but we are committed to walking alongside this community for as long as we are needed — offering help, hope, and healing every step of the way,” Robl said in a statement.

With the help of a $25,000 grant from Catholic Charities USA, the organization hopes to help Grinnell rebuild. 

“We are incredibly grateful to Catholic Charities USA for this generous $25,000 grant, which will go directly toward helping the Grinnell community recover and rebuild,” Robl said.  

“We’re also deeply thankful for the prayers and support of so many across the Salina Diocese,” Robl added. 

A ‘war zone’ in St. Louis  

Missouri was also hit particularly hard by the storm, as seven people died, five of them in St. Louis. A mile-wide tornado tore through the northern part of St. Louis on Friday, causing more than $1.6 billion in damage in what Mayor Cara Spencer called “one of the worst storms” in the city’s history. 

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Louis is responding to an “overwhelming surge” of requests for aid in Missouri, where the most devastating tornado in decades in the city caused severe damage. 

“It looks like a war zone,” said Jared Bryson, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, describing the scene in North City, St. Louis. 

Bryson was speaking from his office, about two blocks from the “disaster zone” where an EF-3 tornado had ripped through, damaging or destroying an estimated 5,000 buildings.

“It came through so quick,” Bryson told “EWTN News Nightly” Capitol Hill Correspondent Erik Rosales. “People went from a house to nothing in a matter of minutes.” 

Bryson said Catholic Charities is involved in helping city emergency managers “coordinate the efforts on the ground” and is also “part of the long-term recovery of the community.” 

“[When] everybody’s attention turns to something else, we are still here as Catholic Charities for the next several years, till the community returns back,” Bryson said.

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Andrea Izzotti/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 22, 2025 / 15:43 pm (CNA).

Leaders of several Catholic health care systems in the United States are expressing strong opposition to Medicaid reforms included in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” budget reconciliation measure passed on Thursday morning.

The legislation, which now heads to the Senate, would add Medicaid work requirements for most adults without disabilities or young dependents under the age of 65 starting on Dec. 31, 2026. 

If it is adopted, those adults would need to work, volunteer, or attend school at least 80 hours every month, which is 20 hours per week, to qualify for the federal benefit. Current law has no work requirements.

Other changes include more frequent checks on a person’s Medicaid eligibility and reducing federal funds for states that offer Medicaid benefits for immigrants in the country illegally.

The proposals would also prevent states from increasing taxes to cover their share of Medicaid spending and end federal incentives for states with expanded Medicaid.

If the changes are enacted, the federal government could save tens of billions of dollars annually. The proposals could also push millions of people off Medicaid, which reduces the total amount of Medicaid reimbursement dollars received by hospitals.

Catholic health leaders unite against Medicaid changes

The Catholic Health Association (CHA), along with leaders of the health care systems Ascension, Providence, Trinity Health, and SSM Health, have all publicly come out against the proposed Medicaid reforms.

Sister Mary Haddad, the president of CHA, said in a statement that the bill “would harm critical health and social safety-net programs that millions of Americans rely on to live with health, dignity, and security.”

“[CHA] strongly opposes provisions like mandatory Medicaid work reporting requirements, restrictions on state tax authority, and changes to state-directed payment policies — all of which would lead to coverage losses for more than 10 million people who depend on Medicaid for essential care,” she said. 

“These harmful proposals threaten the health and stability of the very communities we are called to serve.”

A spokesperson for Providence said in a statement to CNA that Medicaid “is a lifeline for millions of people across the country, including children, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities and pregnant patients.” 

“The steep cuts proposed in this bill are deeply concerning and would have a far-reaching and devastating impact on health care if passed,” the spokesperson added. 

“Providence continues to advocate for the preservation of Medicaid and urges lawmakers to recognize the integral role Medicaid plays in maintaining the health of our communities.”

Several Catholic health leaders joined a virtual media briefing on Tuesday to voice concerns about the legislation ahead of the House vote.

Eduardo Conrado, the president of Ascension, said during the briefing that about one-third of the funding for Catholic hospitals like Ascension, Providence, and Trinity Health comes from Medicaid and that nearly 9 in 10 of their patients either have Medicaid coverage or are “uninsured or underinsured.”

“For them and for many others, access to health care depends on decisions being made right now in Washington,” he said. The cuts “will harm real people, they will reduce access to care, especially for those already facing barriers in many states.”

Mike Slubowski, the president of Trinity Health, said it’s not possible to cut Medicaid “without hurting people and weakening our communities.”

“We’ve seen it firsthand,” he said. “When people lose coverage, they skip checkups, they stop taking medications and eventually show up in the ER sicker and in need of more costly care that could have been prevented.”

“That’s not just bad for health,” Slubowski said. “It strains hospitals, overcrowds our emergency rooms, drives up costs for everyone, insured or not. Medicaid cuts don’t just impact those who rely on it. The ripple effect — it will impact everyone.”

Republican leaders defend legislation

Thursday’s budget legislation was partisan, receiving support from most House Republicans and no support from House Democrats. A small number of Republicans opposed the bill or declined to vote on it, mostly based on concerns that it would increase the national deficit and the debt.

Ultimately, it passed the House 215-214 after last-minute lobbying from President Donald Trump himself and a few cost-cutting changes to garner support from members of the House Freedom Caucus.

The legislation includes an extension of the tax cuts from Trump’s first term and additional tax cuts, along with increased funding to enhance border enforcement and the military.

House Speaker Mike Johnson issued a statement that called the bill “nation-shaping legislation that reduces spending, permanently lowers taxes for families and job creators, secures the border, unleashes American energy dominance, restores peace through strength, and makes government work more efficiently and effectively for all Americans.”

“House Democrats voted against all of it — which clearly proves they want tax hikes on their constituents, open borders, and Medicaid for illegal immigrants,” Johnson said.

Kentucky Rep. Brett Guthrie, the chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, accused Democratic opponents of the bill of trying to “fearmonger and score political points.”

“This bill refocuses Medicaid on mothers, children, people with disabilities, and the elderly — not illegal immigrants and capable adults who choose not to work,” he said last week.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “It’s time for our friends in the United States Senate to get to work and send this bill to my desk AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!” He added: “There is no time to waste.”

The legislation needs a simple majority in the Senate, which currently has a 53-47 Republican majority. At least one Republican, Sen. Rand Paul, has said he will not support the bill due to the deficit increase.

Senate lawmakers could also make changes to the bill and send it back to the House.

Pope Leo XIV addresses members of the Pontifical Missions Societies on May 22, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, May 22, 2025 / 14:48 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV delivered an address to the Pontifical Mission Societies on Thursday thanking its members for living the Church’s call to evangelize to all nations with a spirit of communion and universality in union with the pope.

Approximately 120 national directors connected to the Vatican’s four missionary bodies — the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, the Society of the Holy Childhood, the Society of St. Peter the Apostle, and the Missionary Union — and 20 members of the Dicastery for Evangelization met with the Holy Father on the first day of their general assembly taking place in Rome from May 22–28.

“As societies committed to sharing in the missionary mandate of the pope and the college of bishops, you are called to cultivate and further promote within your members the vision of the Church as the communion of believers, enlivened by the Holy Spirit, who enables us to enter into the perfect communion and harmony of the blessed Trinity,” the pontiff said to those present at the morning meeting.

“This dimension of our Christian life and mission is close to my heart and is reflected in the words of St. Augustine that I chose for my episcopal service and now for my papal ministry: ‘In Illo uno unum’ — Christ is our savior and in him we are one, a family of God, beyond the rich variety of our languages, cultures, and experiences,” he added.

Describing apsotolic zeal as “more urgent in our own day,” Pope Leo said the Gospel message of love, reconciliation, and grace through Jesus Christ is needed in a world “wounded” by war and injustice.

“In this sense, the Church herself, in all her members, is increasingly called to be ‘a missionary Church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the word … and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity,” he said, echoing words from his homily given during his May 18 inauguration Mass.

Asking his listeners to be inspired and renewed in their vocation to “be a leaven of missionary zeal within the people of God,” the Holy Father reiterated the message of his predecessor to be “missionaries of hope among all peoples,” especially in light of the 2025 Jubilee Year.

“In the words of Pope Francis, ‘The Lord has overcome the world and its constant conflict “by making peace through the blood of his cross,”’” Pope Leo said, citing Evangelii Gaudium. “Hence we see the importance of fostering a spirit of missionary discipleship in all the baptized and a sense of the urgency of bringing Christ to all people.”

According to Monsignor Roger Landry, head of the Pontifical Mission Societies USA, who was present at the meeting, the Holy Father warmly encouraged national directors to continue to promote World Mission Sunday, celebrated on the second-to-last Sunday of October, and ensure their outreach programs are driven by a “universality that flows from a sense of communion.”

“He doesn’t want us to exclude anybody,” Landry told CNA on Thursday. “Like Pope Francis before him, he was getting us to focus on the peripheries — those who are not yet close to us and those who are not united with us.”

After speaking about the beauty of having representatives from over 120 countries come together “as equals” before the Holy Father at the meeting, Landry said each person present received rosary beads from Pope Leo that were blessed by Pope Francis before he died.

“There was a sense of continuity as he was giving us Pope Francis’ rosary beads,” he said.

From the popemobile, Pope Leo XIV greets thousands of people lined up along Via della Conciliazione on the morning of his inaugural Mass, Sunday, May 18, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, May 22, 2025 / 14:18 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Sister Tiziana Merletti as secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

According to the Vatican Press Office, the 66-year-old consecrated religious previously served as superior general of the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor for nine years.

She will report directly to another nun, Sister Simona Brambilla, whom Pope Francis appointed in January as prefect of the Vatican department, responsible for all matters concerning the government, discipline, studies, assets, rights, and privileges of institutes of consecrated life.

Under the late Argentine pontiff, women’s leadership increased significantly. According to data maintained by the Vatican on its website, the female presence increased from almost 19.2% to 23.4% during Francis’ pontificate. With the 2022 apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium, Francis decreed that laypeople, in addition to women, could lead a dicastery and become prefects, a position previously reserved for cardinals and archbishops.

Doctorate in canon law, experience in Church government

Born Sept. 30, 1959, in Pineto in the Teramo province of Italy, Merletti made her first religious profession in 1986 at the Institute of the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor. She holds a degree in civil law from the then-Libera Università Abruzzese degli Studi “Gabriele d’Annunzio” in Teramo (1984) and obtained her doctorate in canon law in 1992 from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome.

From 2004 to 2013, she served as superior general of her congregation. Currently, Merletti is a professor in the canon law department of the Pontifical Antonianum University in Rome and collaborates as a canon lawyer with the International Union of Superiors General, the organization representing women religious of apostolic life worldwide.

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

Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson speaks as (left to right) House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Lisa McClain, Rep. Jason Smith, Rep. Jim Jordan, Rep. Mark Green, House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise, and House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer listen during a news briefing after a House Republican Conference meeting with President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol on May 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

CNA Staff, May 22, 2025 / 13:48 pm (CNA).

Catholic leaders and pro-life advocates on Thursday praised the passage of the House of Representatives’ major budget bill, hailing the reconciliation package’s defunding of abortion providers including Planned Parenthood. 

The massive spending and tax cut bill, called the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” includes a provision that forbids Medicaid dollars from flowing to abortion providers. The ban will last for 10 years, according to the text of the bill.

Federal funding will still be permitted for clinics that assist pregnant women in medical emergencies or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. 

‘The intrinsic dignity of the human person’

The abortion defunding measures have received strong support from Catholic advocates around the U.S. 

Ahead of the vote this week, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USSCB) praised the proposed measure in a letter to U.S. representatives and senators.

Stressing “the sacredness of every human life and the intrinsic dignity of the human person, created male and female, and made in the image and likeness of God,” the bishops said they “strongly support[ed]” the ending of taxpayer funding for abortion providers as well as a ban on funding for “gender transition for minors.”

Following the bill’s early passage on Thursday, Catholic Association Senior Fellow Ashley McGuire said in a statement that the organization “applaud[ed] the House’s efforts to protect women and children from exploitation at these dangerous clinics.” 

“American taxpayers overwhelmingly oppose funding abortions and harmful hormones for children,” McGuire said. “Planned Parenthood is a corporate abortion chain that is a leading provider of both, without basic and commonsense health and safety guardrails.”

“America’s women and children deserve better and American taxpayers should have no role in funding these atrocities,” she said. 

Students for Life Action President Kristan Hawkins, meanwhile, said in a statement that abortion providers were “cut out” of the bill and “told to go fund themselves.” 

The pro-life group “will now turn our attention to the U.S. Senate” in order to help secure the bill’s passage there, she said.

The advocacy group CatholicVote on Thursday said Catholics should be “ecstatic” at the House passage of the bill.

“We’re closer to defunding Planned Parenthood, ending federal funding of gender transition surgeries for minors, [and] expanding the Child Tax Credit,” the organization said in a post on X, urging Catholics to “pray the Senate passes this bill.”

SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said Congress “took a big step toward stopping forced taxpayer funding of the Big Abortion industry.”

The passage of the bill was “a crucial win in the fight against America’s No. 1 cause of death — abortion,” Dannenfelser wrote. 

“There is no excuse for forcing taxpayers to prop up a scandal-ridden industry that prioritizes abortions, gender transitions, and partisan political activism instead of prenatal care, cancer screening, and other legitimate health services that are in continual decline,” she said. 

Dannenfelser urged the Senate to “do its part” and pass the bill. 

“More than 400,000 babies a year, their mothers, and countless American taxpayers are depending on you,” she said. 

Not all reaction from pro-life groups was positive, however. Katie Brown Xavios, the national director of the American Life League, said in a statement that the bill’s allowance for abortions to be performed in some limited circumstances “will still allow for the murder of millions.” 

“Give Planned Parenthood an inch, and it will take a mile,” she said. “If the exceptions are the only way Planned Parenthood will get paid, you better believe that every abortion will now become a life-or-death situation so that Planned Parenthood ensures that it will get its money.”

Pope Leo XIV prays in front of the famous icon at the Shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel in Genazzano, Italy, on Saturday, May 10, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, May 22, 2025 / 13:12 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV, the first pope to come from the Order of St. Augustine (OSA), made a visit very early in his pontificate to the Shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel in Genazzano, Italy, near Rome. It houses a famous image of the Virgin Mary that according to tradition appeared there under miraculous circumstances.

Known by the title “Our Lady of Good Counsel” or “Mother of Good Counsel,” the small image of the Virgin Mary housed in the church at Genazzano has been held dear by the Augustinians for centuries. The Midwest Augustinians, which Pope Leo led as prior provincial before his election, oversee the Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel.

During his May 10 visit to the church, Leo spoke of the Virgin Mary’s protection and the importance of devotion to her. He prayed at the altar and before the Marian image there, and also prayed a prayer to the Mother of Good Counsel with the assembly.

“As the mother never abandons her children, you must also be faithful to the Mother,” Pope Leo said.

Who is Our Lady of Good Counsel?

The title of “Good Counsel” given to Mary is a recognition of Christ’s mother as a source of heavenly wisdom and guidance.

​​According to tradition, on April 25, 1467, the feast of St. Mark, a mysterious cloud descended on an ancient fifth-century deteriorated church in Genazzano, which had previously been dedicated to Our Lady of Good Counsel and was being renovated by the Augustinians, having been entrusted to that order in 1356.

When the cloud disappeared, a fragile image of the Blessed Virgin and Child was found on a thin sheet of plaster. The painting, about 18 inches square, is said to have hung in midair, suspended without support.

It was widely believed that the image — said to date to the time of the apostles — had been miraculously transported to Italy from a church in Albania’s capital city, Scutari, just before its invasion by the Ottomans that same year. As the Midwest Augustinians tell it, however, scientific tests done in the 1950s gave evidence that the small image was probably painted sometime between 1417 and 1431 for the church and was painted over before later being uncovered when a poor widow gave all she had to fund the renovation of the church. 

Regardless of how it arrived, in the months following the appearance of the image, a local priest acting as a notary recorded over 160 miracles, including physical healings, answered prayers, and dramatic conversions.

Much of the church of Our Lady of Good Counsel was destroyed during World War II, but the image remained intact and in place. Today it is housed in a small chapel that forms the heart of the church. 

As described by EWTN Vatican, the Virgin Mary is depicted wearing a blue mantle — symbolizing humanity — while the child Jesus wears a red robe, signifying his divinity. Mary’s face reflects the classical artistic tradition, while the child displays features of the Byzantine style, symbolizing a union between East and West. Above them arches a rainbow, the biblical sign of peace.

Over the years, a large number of popes — including saintly popes — have visited the church in Genazzano seeking Mary’s guidance and wisdom, and have promoted devotion to Our Lady under this title. 

Pope Urban VII (1521–1590) prayed for the end of a plague in Rome; Pope Pius IX sought the Virgin’s intercession before the First Vatican Council, which began in 1869.  

Leo XIII, Leo XIV’s spiritual predecessor and a devotee to Our Lady of Good Counsel, added the invocation “Mater boni concili, ora pronobis” (“Mother of Good Counsel, pray for us”) to the Litany of Loreto in 1903. Leo XIII also approved the white scapular of Our Lady of Good Counsel and entrusted it to the Augustinians.

In more recent times, St. John XXIII came to the shrine to, in similar fashion to Pius IX, seek guidance for the Second Vatican Council. St. John Paul II endorsed the devotion during an April 22, 1993, visit to the church, and soon afterward consecrated Albania to Our Lady of Good Counsel. Pope Benedict XVI had an image of the icon placed in the Vatican Gardens in 2009. 

Many pilgrims visit the church in Genazzano and take part in the annual spring celebration, observed on April 25. Elsewhere in the world, the feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel is celebrated on April 26.

How can you increase your devotion to Our Lady of Good Counsel?

— Prayer to Mary, our Lady of Good Counsel on CNA’s website

— Litany to Our Lady of Good Counsel on EWTN’s website

— Icon available at EWTN Religious Catalogue