St. Andrew Catholic Church

Algeria’s Imane Khelif (in red) punches Italy’s Angela Carini in the women’s 66kg preliminaries round of 16 boxing match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the North Paris Arena in Villepinte on Aug. 1, 2024. / Credit: MOHD RASFAN/AFP via Getty Images

CNA Staff, Jul 23, 2025 / 12:44 pm (CNA).

The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) will formally prohibit men from competing in women’s sports amid the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back transgender policies throughout the United States. 

USOPC said in an email to Olympic groups and stakeholders on Tuesday that leaders had “engaged in a series of respectful and constructive conversations” with federal leaders after President Donald Trump’s February executive order that moved to “protect opportunities for women and girls to compete in safe and fair sports.”

“Under the Trump administration we will defend the proud tradition of female athletes and we will not allow men to beat up, injure, and cheat our women and our girls,” Trump said when signing the order. “From now on, women’s sports will be only for women.”

“As a federally chartered organization, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations,” USOPC said in its email this week. 

The committee said it had updated its policies to ensure “fair and safe competition environments for women.” 

All Olympic national governing bodies will be required to update their rules in line with the new guidance, the national committee said. 

The decision drew criticism from advocates of letting men who identify as women compete in women’s sporting events. The National Women’s Law Center described the move as a “cruel effort” to block men from women’s competitions. 

Trump had earlier vowed that his February executive order would block men’s participation in women’s Olympic sports in 2028, when the Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles. 

“We’re just not going to let it happen,” the president said when signing the measure. 

The Trump administration has taken an aggressive approach to rolling back years’ worth of transgender policies throughout the country. In May, for instance, the White House launched an inquiry into hospitals that have provided transgender drugs and performed transgender surgeries on minors.

The administration in April also directed the U.S. National Institutes of Health to begin a research initiative to study “regret” among individuals who undergo so-called gender transition treatments.

The U.S. bishops earlier this year praised Trump’s efforts to keep men out of women’s sports. Catholic leadership in recent years has grown increasingly critical of transgender ideology, with Pope Francis in 2023 describing transgenderism as “one of the most dangerous ideological colonizations” of the present day. 

Republican officials have been similarly energized by the Trump administration’s moves on transgenderism. On Tuesday numerous attorneys general demanded that the National Collegiate Athletic Association “reinstate the records, titles, awards, and recognitions rightfully earned by top female athletes” that have been stripped by men allowed to compete in women’s leagues. 

“These women champions earned those records. They trained, competed, and won, only to have their victories stolen by male athletes,” Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said in a press release. 

“Biological reality matters,” the prosecutor said, describing men competing against women as “a grave injustice” that “undermines the integrity of women’s sports.”

The U.S. Supreme Court, meanwhile, said earlier this month that during its next term it will consider two cases addressing whether or not states can ban males from participating in female sports leagues.

Both cases arose from lawsuits brought by young men who identify as female and who sued Idaho and West Virginia over their respective bans on boys competing in girls’ sports.

On July 11, 2025, Pope Leo XIV appointed Father Michel Guillaud, a priest of the Diocese of  Lyon, France, as the new bishop of Hippo in Algeria, St. Augustine’s see. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Bishop-elect Michel Guillaud

ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 23, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).

The Diocese of Constantine-Hippo, located in Algeria and a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Algiers, is proud to have had as its bishop — appointed in 395 — one of the most illustrious doctors of the Church: St. Augustine of Hippo.

Endowed with a fervent intellect, he transformed this vibrant port city, nestled on the coast of present-day Algeria, into a nexus of theological debates that forever shaped the Catholic Church. In this diocese, St. Augustine wrote some of his major works, such as “Confessions” and “The City of God.”

The city was besieged by the Vandals in 430, during which the saint died. The current seat of the diocese is in the coastal city of Annaba, near ancient Hippo. It is one of the four ecclesiastical districts of Algeria and was officially established on July 25, 1866.

After more than a year of vacancy — since the departure of the previous bishop, Nicolas Lhernould, who was appointed archbishop of Tunis in April 2024 — on July 11 Pope Leo XIV appointed Father Michel Guillaud to head the Algerian diocese.

For Guillaud, St. Augustine is a “living” figure who continues to speak to the entire country today. “All of Algeria was thrilled when Pope Leo XIV said, ‘I am the son of Augustine.’ Many even wondered, ‘Could he be Algerian?’ Some even told me, ‘I knew Mohamed Prévost, his grandfather,’” the bishop jokingly told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

Bishop-elect Guillaud — who has served as a pastor in several Algerian cities: Batna (2006–2014); Constantine (2014–2016); and Skikda (2016–present) as well as vicar general of the Diocese of Constantine-Hippo (2020–2024) — does not consider himself an expert on St. Augustine but recognizes that the saint offers a clear model of life and mission.

“He was a tireless truth-seeker. Although he received a Christian education from his mother, that was not enough for him. He sought other answers through philosophy but returned to the faith with solid convictions. Today, where so much fake news and manipulation circulate, Augustine’s passion for the truth is very important,” he noted.

As could not be otherwise, the teachings of St. Augustine continue to resonate in the daily life of this small and humble Church, yet one filled with spiritual vigor and desire for communion. In times of division, the shepherd of Hippo speaks again of unity.

Making mercy prevail over rigorism

“When he became bishop in 395,” the French priest related, “the Church was divided by the Donatist schism. The Donatists [who believed the validity of sacraments depended on the moral purity of the clergy administering them] outnumbered the Catholics. But with theology, spirituality, and mercy, he managed to reunite the Church. This effort for unity and to make mercy prevail over rigorism seems fundamental to me in a society marked by mistrust and polarization.”

Guillaud, who is the secretary-general of the Bishops’ Conference of the North African Region (CERNA, by its French acronym), emphasized the way in which, as early as the fifth century, St. Augustine embodied fraternity: “He did not live alone. He wanted to live with his brother priests. This fostered a simple, pure, and active life. Many congregations today follow his rule. I love this call to shared life among those who have a common mission.”

A future trip by Leo XIV to Algeria?

After his appointment, Guillaud sent a letter to Pope Leo XIV thanking him for his “trust” in him and extended an invitation to “make a pilgrimage to Algeria in the footsteps of Augustine.”

“I know that the Algerian authorities have also let you know that you would be well received,” he added, although he clarified that, for the moment, there is no official confirmation. The pontiff will receive Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune at the Vatican on July 24, and Tebboune will likely extend an official invitation.

A small but vibrant Church

The Catholic community of the Diocese of Constantine-Hippo in Algeria is a small but vibrant presence. “It is a fraternal presence that is inserted into the Algerian Muslim world. Creating ties, we recognize ourselves as children of God, called to bear witness to his name together, to live in peace and mutual respect. This is what we experience on a regular basis,” the bishop-elect emphasized.

But it wasn’t always this way. During the French colonial period (1830–1962), the Catholic Church grew considerably. However, after Algeria’s war of independence from France, which ended in 1962, most French Catholics left, fearing violence.

According to its website, in 2019 the diocese had approximately 620 Catholics, mostly foreign university students from sub-Saharan Africa. “They represent perhaps 80% of our faithful. So we have a young Church, made up primarily of students,” Guillaud explained.

The Diocese of Constantine-Hippo represents the entire northeast of the country and encompasses seven cities: Annaba, Skikda, Bejaïa, Constantine, Sétif, Batna, and Tébessa. As Guillaud explained, Catholics seek above all to live the Gospel through service, friendship, and dialogue.

Fraternal coexistence with Muslims, albeit with adjustments

However, coexistence with Muslims has required some adaptation. “For example, we don’t celebrate Sunday Mass on Sunday, because it’s a workday. We celebrate it on Friday or Saturday, when it’s a day of rest, because otherwise, no one would come,” he explained.

The bishop-elect emphasized that dialogue with Islam is not a sporadic initiative but a daily reality. 

“Eight or nine out of 10 people who enter our communities are Muslims. They come to bring us some of the couscous they’ve prepared, to ask us how we are doing, to ask for our help, to share something personal. The vast majority of those we meet every day are Muslims,” he noted.

There is a spiritual openness that profoundly influences the mission.

“Algerians have a very strong spiritual and religious sensibility. It’s more pleasant to live here than in a country where religion is marginalized. For us, interreligious dialogue is, above all, a daily experience,” he emphasized.

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

Cardinal Fernando Filoni speaks to EWTN News Nightly” on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. / Credit: EWTN News

Vatican City, Jul 23, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A longtime Vatican diplomat now dedicated to aiding Christians in the Holy Land recently offered reflections on the Church’s mission in conflict zones and its roots in the Middle East. 

In a wide‑ranging interview with “EWTN News Nightly” on July 22, Cardinal Fernando Filoni underscored that the Middle East is not just part of Christianity’s past but remains an area of vital importance.

“Being there means not letting this vast region be considered only historically as the beginning of the Church, without living Christian communities,” he said. A portion of the interview was broadcast on Tuesday evening.

Despite waves of emigration and violence, Filoni insisted, the Church cannot forget her roots. “Jerusalem is the Mother Church. No one should forget their mother’s and father’s home,” he said.

Filoni recalled vividly his service as apostolic nuncio in Baghdad during the first Gulf War. Even as bombs fell and many left the country, he and the bishops agreed: “We remain. The people remain, we remain.”

At that time travel was perilous and telephones were quickly knocked out, but Filoni and an auxiliary bishop made parish visits to check on priests and laity. “We needed to show our faithful, even though we were a minority in a largely Islamic reality: We are with you,” Filoni said. 

Reminded of his own statement that “if a shepherd flees in difficult moments, the sheep scatter,” the cardinal described it as a biblically inspired call to action.

“Jesus himself, speaking of the good shepherd, recommended that those entrusted with the Gospel face difficulties with the same dignity that Christ himself showed,” the cardinal said.

“This remains a fundamental heritage of the Church,” he added.

As grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, Filoni now leads a chivalric order that supports the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, headed by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and assists Christians throughout the Holy Land.

The order provides financial aid, funds schools and parishes, and supports humanitarian efforts that allow Christians to remain in their ancestral homeland.

“We are not the main actors,” Filoni said, “but we are those who, behind the scenes, support the patriarchate and all its actions. This is the Church’s communion in action.”’

Filoni, a former prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, stressed the Church’s role as peacemaker in the region.

“Peace is not a secondary option but a primary one,” he said. “We cannot live always thinking of past injustices. The Church is there to remind everyone that a normal, serene life is what children, men, and women truly desire.”

The cardinal pointed to past Vatican efforts — such as an informal, indirect role in encouraging prisoner exchanges during the Iran-Iraq war — as examples of how even small gestures can open doors.

Today, amid the war in Ukraine, the Church is working to trace missing children, advocate for prisoners and the wounded, and deliver aid. “These actions create a platform for dialogue, starting from the concrete suffering caused by war,” he said.

Filoni warned, however, that such efforts are ultimately futile if warring powers don’t seek peace. “You can even offer a golden platform [for negotiations], but it won’t work because it’s the will of the people involved in the war who must accept or reject the possibility of dialogue, of discussion,” he said.

The cardinal praised Pope Leo XIV’s early reaffirmation of Sollicitudo Omnium Ecclesiarum, the foundational document on Vatican diplomacy issued by St. Paul VI, and observed how St. John Paul II expanded this mission through his extensive travels.  

“There is a centripetal and a centrifugal dynamic — one that brings in and one that reaches out,” Filoni explained. “In this exchange, the life of the Church is created.” 

Asked what could distinguish Pope Leo XIV’s approach, Filoni replied that a new pope “does not follow his predecessor — he follows Peter.”

“There is continuity, but also something new,” he said. He noted that the world has changed rapidly, with the revolution of artificial intelligence emerging in just the past decade. Leo XIV’s unusually varied background as a missionary bishop, head of his religious order, and superior of the Roman Curia has prepared him well for such challenges, the cardinal said.

Turning to Gaza, Filoni struck a somber note. “Sadly, there is no place in Gaza untouched by the violence of weapons, war, revenge, and killings. To keep kidnapped people in captivity is unacceptable. And to attack those searching for water or food is terrible,” he said.

“There is no justification,” the prelate added. He called for the immediate release of all hostages and an end to indiscriminate bombings. The Patriarchate of Jerusalem, under Pizzaballa’s leadership, he said, works tirelessly to provide aid and remain present, supported by the Holy See and by the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

The cardinal shared an image of the Church’s resilience he witnessed in Mosul, Iraq: After a bombing, a priest showed him a wall where the image of the pope remained intact amid the rubble. “Here, the cross did not fall,” the priest told him.

Filoni reflected: “That is the message. The cross is stronger than violence, because it is the instrument through which God made peace between heaven and earth.”

Father Heriberto García Arias with a group of young people. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Heriberto García Arias

Vatican City, Jul 23, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

In the context of the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers, which will be held in Rome July 28–29, Mexican priest Father Heriberto García Arias, author of the upcoming Spanish-language book “Digital Missionaries: Influencers or Witnesses of Christ Today?”, offered a reflection on the role of evangelizers on social media and the importance of their presence in the digital environment.

With more than 2 million followers on his TikTok account @heribertogarciaar and more than 200,000 on Instagram, the young priest gave an interview to the Spanish-language broadcast edition of EWTN News, “EWTN Noticias,” from the Eternal City emphasizing that the Catholic Church “is taking very important steps to be present throughout the digital context.”

The difference between a Catholic influencer and a digital missionary

Drawing on his experience and the recent publication of his book, García explained the difference between a Catholic influencer and a digital missionary, whose “purpose is different.” Although “both use media,” the influencer can offer and sell products in line with their values, while the digital missionary’s purpose is to bring his or her experience of Christ to social media.

He pointed to the amount of time younger generations spend on social media: “There are people who are searching for God, and so we have to be present there, being witnesses, but not with the goal of stopping there, but rather to move [the viewer] from the screen to the altar.” 

“So,” he added, “that’s only the path, not the destination.”

Moving from the screen to the altar

The Mexican priest pointed out that the Church “has always adapted to different cultures” to bring the message of Jesus Christ and affirmed that “now it’s our turn, in this culture where new generations come with a different way of thinking, where the digital world is real for them.”

For the priest, the celebration of the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers — which also coincides with the Jubilee of Youth — represents “official recognition from the Church of all these missionaries.”

“Just three years ago, the term ‘digital missionary’ didn’t even exist,” he noted, adding that today there are more than 3,500 digital missionaries worldwide. Although he acknowledged that this new reality can elicit a certain “fear,” he assured that “the fruits are already being seen.”

According to the priest from Jalisco state in Mexico, being present on social media “is urgent and necessary,” since many young people “watch TikTok” but “aren’t going to cross the threshold of a church.” He therefore emphasized the importance of creating content that sparks their interest and helps them “come over to the Church.”

Regarding the risk of trivializing the message, he pointed out that the Church is experienced in different ways in each culture while emphasizing the need to form and accompany digital missionaries so that they are “united in the same truth.”

‘I’m not the one who’s speaking, it’s him’

Explaining the origin of his social media presence, García stated that it responds to “a pastoral urgency to address the needs of the young people who are there.”

“We have a very beautiful message, an incomparable philosophy, a transcendental proposal. But sometimes we don’t know how to convey it, we don’t know how to speak their language. I believe we need to convey this message that we have experienced, adapted to the new generations.”

The priest, who received his call to the priesthood when he was 15, confessed that as he began his vocation, he suffered from “stage fright.” However, his formation in the Church’s institutional communications helped him understand that “God has shown me that I’m not the one who’s speaking, it’s him.”

The young priest takes up his work on social media as a great responsibility, and faced with the temptation of becoming “self-referential,” he pointed out: “If you want the message to get across, you also have to deal with that temptation, because in the end, they’re following you, because they empathize with you and they like you.”

“But you do have to be vigilant. It’s not about being the center of attention and talking about Christ; he has to be the center of attention,” he added.

The priest acknowledged that his formation allowed him to understand that he is a “spokesman” for the Church: “You are not the protagonist; it’s about the Church, it’s about Christ, and you have to always keep that in mind, because the great risk is that the Church will not only lose its reputation but also lose its authority in the world. And that is in our hands.”

‘The Holy Spirit is acting through algorithms’

García shared that he has received numerous testimonies from people whose lives were transformed by his messages. 

“People who were about to have an abortion and ended up not having it, people who were perhaps a bit at odds with God because they had a child in the hospital and [then] received the message they needed to encourage them to carry on. Or even someone who wanted to commit suicide and a message stopped him and motivated him to persevere.”

“The Holy Spirit is acting through algorithms, reaching hearts that need his word, that need hope,” he emphasized.

Finally, he assured that his work has the support of the Church and his bishop, something that gives him peace and strength to move forward in this increasingly necessary evangelizing mission.

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

Sean Graber, president of EWTN Digital (left), and Peter Gagnon, president of EWTN Studios. / Credit: EWTN

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 22, 2025 / 16:47 pm (CNA).

Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) Chairman and CEO Michael P. Warsaw has announced a new organizational structure to further EWTN’s mission in the digital landscape by enhancing its content creation and distribution methods under the leadership of two new presidents.

EWTN will now align its operations around two new divisions: EWTN Studios and EWTN Digital. Led by Peter Gagnon, EWTN Studios will focus on content development, while Sean Graber will lead EWTN Digital, which will prioritize the network’s media distribution and broadening its audience. (Note: EWTN is the parent company of CNA.)

“Under the leadership of our foundress, Mother Angelica, EWTN learned to constantly adopt new technology to reach souls,” Warsaw said. “Just as our major network peers in secular media have done, this change in structure will allow EWTN to expand our content offerings and reach new audiences in the places where people now consume media, while remaining always anchored in the teachings of the Church.”

President of EWTN Studios: Peter Gagnon

Gagnon, named president of EWTN Studios after 32 years with the network, has pioneered initiatives in content production, global expansion, and multilingual offerings and has experience leading coverage of papal conclaves, jubilees, and other world events.

Gagnon holds a tremendous understanding of EWTN and its legacy as he is one of the few remaining team members who worked alongside the network’s founder, Mother Angelica.

“EWTN began offering the Mass, the most essential expression of what EWTN exists to bring to the world,” Gagnon said. “And I am excited to embark on this pivotal moment in EWTN’s history as we take the next steps in continuing Mother Angelica’s mission to proclaim the truths of the faith to both our existing audience as well as a whole new generation of Catholics.”

EWTN Studios will continue the organization’s legacy of creating impactful content in the Catholic sphere, producing compelling content in a manner that reflects the changing nature of media and evolving technologies.

President of EWTN Digital: Sean Graber

Graber will serve as the president of EWTN Digital. He holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and has a strong background in business strategy, digital transformation, and product management.

“Mother Angelica was the original innovator, and it’s humbling and exciting to continue her legacy by bringing EWTN’s message to the next generation of Catholics — a message that has profoundly shaped my own faith life,” Graber said.

“I’m thrilled by how this reorganization positions EWTN to reimagine Catholic media at such an inspiring moment for the Church, as many rediscover their faith and we celebrate the historic election of an American pope.”

EWTN Digital will also focus on building platforms to distribute EWTN Studios content and other media in line with the network’s mission, to serve the legacy EWTN audience and new generations of consumers. It will also launch and manage a globally scaled streaming platform that will house the collection of the world’s most beloved Catholic stories and personalities.

Future of EWTN

“In these new roles, Peter and Sean bring diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and legacies to the EWTN family,” Warsaw said. “They are the ideal choice to guide these important new initiatives at EWTN.”

In its 45th year, EWTN continues its mission of service as the largest Catholic media organization in the world. As the network opens new doors and expands its audience, Warsaw said he is “incredibly excited about this next era of EWTN’s history.”

“We will build new platforms that are best in class where our audiences can engage with our content as part of their daily faith journey,” Warsaw said. “EWTN will continue to be present wherever souls thirsting for truth are found.”

EWTN’s 11 global TV channels broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in multiple languages, reaching over 435 million households in more than 160 countries and territories. EWTN platforms also include radio services transmitted through SIRIUS/XM, iHeart Radio, and over 600 domestic and international AM and FM radio affiliates; a worldwide shortwave radio service; one of the most visited Catholic websites in the U.S.; and EWTN Publishing, its book publishing division.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., EWTN News operates multiple global news services, including Catholic News Agency; the National Catholic Register newspaper and digital platform; ACI Prensa in Spanish; ACI Digital in Portuguese; ACI Stampa in Italian; ACI Africa in English, French, and Portuguese; ACI MENA in Arabic; CNA Deutsch in German; and ChurchPop, a digital platform that creates content in several languages. It also produces numerous television news programs including “EWTN News Nightly,” “EWTN Noticias,” “EWTN News In Depth,” “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly,” “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo,” and “Vaticano.”

The grounds at the Sanctuary of La Sainte-Baume. / Credit: Sanctuary of La Sainte-Baume

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 22, 2025 / 16:17 pm (CNA).

Tucked away in a rocky mountain in southeast France is a cave formed by natural erosion called La Sainte-Baume. It is one of the oldest Christian pilgrimage sites in the world as it is the place where Mary Magdalene is believed to have spent the last 30 years of her life.

Esteemed by St. Thomas Aquinas as the “Apostle to the Apostles,” St. Mary Magdalene is regarded by the Dominicans as a secondary patroness of their order, which was founded in Toulouse, France. Appropriately, the cave remains under the care of the friars in the Toulouse province. 

The Dominicans are charged with the task of welcoming and evangelizing pilgrims who make their way to La Sainte-Baume. (The word “baume” comes from the Provençal word “baumo,” meaning “cave.”) The friars, alongside staff and volunteers, run the hostelry located next to the convent at the foot of the mountain directly below the cave. 

“One striking thing about Mary Magdalene is how many different people are drawn to her,” Frère Vincent-Thomas Rist, a Dominican friar of the Toulouse province, told CNA in an email. “At La Sainte Baume, we get a bit of everything: mainstream orthodox Catholics, hikers on holiday, converts from Islam, sisters on pilgrimage, tall blond women convinced of being reincarnations of Mary Magdalene, traditionalists, liberals, and even Jesuits.”

“We sometimes see a couple of Americans,” he added. “We would be delighted to see a few more!”

The friars also run a variety of retreats, including their “Session des bien-aimés” for families with disabled children, especially those with trisomy, and with the association “Mère de miséricorde” for women who have lost a child in the womb, especially due to abortion. They have also run a program called “Ecole de vie,” where young people in their 20s can spend a few months serving, praying with the friars, and taking courses taught by the friars.

Every two years, the Toulouse friars typically meet together at La Sainte Baume for a few days at the end of June immediately following priestly ordinations.

Novices and student brothers will typically spend a week there every summer, acting as chaplains for student or scout groups. A few friars also tend to spend a week in the small house built into the cliff next to the cave in order to be available for confessions, Rist noted. 

“Mary Magdalene reached the highest heights of holiness after having started off in the lowest realms of serious and degrading sin — whatever those sins were,” he said, explaining the significance of the saint to his order.

“In that respect, she is a model of perfect conversion and a sign of hope for all sinners,” he added. “The faith of the Church rests on her eyewitness testimony, and she is a model for preachers.” 

Another friar, Frère Bruno-Thomas Mercier des Rochettes, OP, of Toulouse also told CNA in an email that Mary Magdelene is “an example for the spiritual life (from conversion to evangelization), for those to whom we preach (and for us as well).” 

“We find in Mary Magdalene an example for our preachers,” he said.

Who is Mary Magdalene? 

St. Mary Magdalene is one of the most prominent women mentioned in the New Testament. Her name comes from the town of Magdala in Galilee, where she was born. 

“The Latin exegetical tradition has often identified Magdalene with the penitent woman in Luke 7 and with the sister of Martha, that is, Mary of Bethany in Luke 10 and John 11,” Mercier des Rochettes said. “If it is one and the same person, we have a lot to say about her! She is always at the feet of Jesus, choosing the best and hearing his word, pouring out precious perfumes for him, faithfully staying at the cross, etc.”

In 2016, the Catholic Church upgraded the July 22 liturgical celebration of St. Mary Magdalene from a memorial to a feast.

A historic view of the Provincial tradition: Mary Magdalene’s journey  

The story of Mary Magdalene’s presence in France, according to Rist, “stems from an oral tradition which eventually got put down in writing in the 13th century.” 

The tradition, which was written down in the 1260s by Dominican Blessed Jacobus Voragine, he explained, holds that Mary Magdalene was forced to flee from persecution on a boat with several others, including Martha. She eventually landed in the South of France, where she evangelized Marseilles before retreating to the cave, where she lived for many years in prayer and penance. 

“This, incidentally, is also a point of contact with the Dominican order,” Rist pointed out. “We once used to be known as the Order of Penance.” 

According to the website for La Sainte-Baume, Mary Magdalene arrived in what is now known as Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, a commune in the Camargue region of southern France, around A.D. 47.

“Before dying she went to Saint-Maximin, received holy Communion from the hands of the bishop, and then died,” Rist said. “Her body was kept and pilgrims started coming. When Muslims tried to invade the South of France in the eighth century, her body was hidden in a place which gradually faded out of memory.” 

“In the 13th century, a pilgrimage in her honor still existed, but with no relics. The count of Provence started looking for them and found them in what is now the crypt of the Basilica of Saint-Maximin,” he continued. The Dominicans were then installed as caretakers of the site in 1295 by the count of Provence with the support of Pope Boniface VIII, in part because “Dominicans had special authorization to absolve particularly grave sins.” 

“Penitents having committed those sins could conveniently be sent on pilgrimage to venerate the relics of Mary Magdalene and would receive absolution by a Dominican,” Rist said.

“As far as I know,” he told CNA, “dating reveals that the relics belong to a Mediterranean woman from the first century who died around the age of 90. What is certain is that the relics we have now are the ones found in 1279 by the count of Provence.”

A history of Dominican presence

In modern history, the order was forced to leave during the French Revolution in the 18th century, during which the cave was looted and the Dominicans’ sanctuary destroyed. They later returned in 1859 at the behest of the Dominican priest, journalist, and political activist Frére Henri Lacordaire, who had the sanctuary rebuilt.

The Dominican communities at Saint-Maximin and La Sainte-Baume were part of the French Christian resistance to the Nazi occupation. And, according to public records, one Dominican friar, Frére Gabril Piprot d’Alleaume, even founded a school at La Sainte-Baume for Jewish and Christian orphan children who had been hidden from deportation efforts during the occupation. 

While Rist acknowledged that it is “difficult to say” how much of the tradition of Mary Magdalene’s presence in France is authentic, rather than “medieval imagination,” he reflected, “that there is a kernel of truth is not impossible.”

The Dominican further explained that both Saint Maximin and La Sainte-Baume were “important places for early Christians” and that “Mary Magdalene’s possible presence in the area is the best/only explanation we have.” 

Some of Mary Magdalene’s relics are kept in the cave at La Sainte-Baume, while her skull remains in the basilica of Saint-Maximin, which is 30 minutes away by car, according to Rist. A community of Dominican sisters live at Saint-Maximin, which he noted is “the one which in France has recently had the most vocations.” 

“It is quiet,” Mercier des Rochettes said of the cave, noting he was struck in his first visit by “the beauty of the place” in particular. “The mountain is great, and from the top, (at a chapel called Saint-Pilon) you have one of the best viewpoints on the entire Provence,” he said. According to Mercier des Rochettes, the climb is not long, about 45 minutes, “but it is enough to feel the effort.”

“Prepare to take your intentions to Magdalene in her cave, with a few rosaries along the way,” he added. 

“There is always at least one friar at the cave,” explained Mercier des Rochettes, noting that there is a small house “clinging to the cliff” next to it. The cave, which also serves as a chapel, is nestled into the rocky mountainside.

At the foot of La Sainte-Baume, the order has its convent and a hostellry it runs for pilgrims who come to visit the cave.

Every year, on the Sunday closest to July 22, a procession with Mary Magdalene’s skull — contained in a gold reliquary — takes place throughout the streets of Sainte-Maximine.

null / Credit: Brian A Jackson/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 22, 2025 / 15:46 pm (CNA).

Massachusetts federal judge Indira Talwani on Tuesday issued a ruling blocking the provision in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” that stopped taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood and other abortion centers.

In the July 21 ruling, Talwani unilaterally decided that the law does not apply to abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood and granted the organization’s request for a temporary injunction while the lawsuit progresses.

Planned Parenthood sued the administration in the Planned Parenthood v. Kennedy lawsuit challenging the provision in the recent reconciliation bill that sought to prohibit abortion centers from receiving Medicaid reimbursements for one year. The case stated the “Defund Provision” violates the First Amendment, the equal protection clause, and the bill of attainder clause of the Constitution. 

Another affected abortion center, Maine Family Planning, also filed a similar lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking to restore Medicaid funding.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the political group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, called the decision “a desperate attempt to run out the clock and a shameful abuse of our tax dollars.”

In a statement, SBA Pro-Life America slammed the ruling, reporting that “every day the order remains in effect, Planned Parenthood continues to rake in millions from American taxpayers.”

“Every day her decision remains in effect, millions are funneled into a business that profits from ending unborn lives and putting women at risk,” Dannenfelser said. “Planned Parenthood’s desperate ploy for our tax dollars only underscores why the One Big Beautiful Bill is such a historic win. It halted, for the first time, over half a billion taxpayer dollars from propping up the corrupt abortion industry.”

“Life is winning. And Big Abortions’ death grip is slipping. With community health centers outnumbering Planned Parenthood facilities 15 to 1, women have better and more comprehensive alternatives. We look forward to the Trump administration swiftly ending this lawfare and restoring the historic victory secured through the One Big Beautiful Bill,” Dannenfelser concluded. 

Other pro-life organizations have also spoken out following the decision. Students for Life of America reported in a post to social media platform X that the decision by the “unelected judge … forced Americans to hand $800 million to Planned Parenthood — the nation’s largest abortion vendor.”

“The courts are protecting death and the abortion industry, not the 402,000 innocent babies that Planned Parenthood kills each year,” the post concluded.

Lila Rose, founder of global pro-life organization Live Action, called Talwani “a rogue district judge” who is “trying to force Americans to keep bankrolling killing children.”

Rose called the ruling “blatant judicial abuse” and urged the Trump administration to “appeal immediately.”

null / Credit: Dzelat/Shutterstock

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

The Richmond office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) spied on a priest because he refused to discuss private conversations he had with a parishioner who was converting to Catholicism, according to a July 22 report from the House Judiciary Committee.

According to the report, the Richmond FBI investigated the priest’s background, monitored his travel plans, and looked into his credit card information. This investigation was allegedly launched after the priest became uncomfortable with an FBI agent’s questions about a parishioner and said he would need to speak to the church’s leadership and an attorney before answering questions.

“There appeared to be no legitimate law-enforcement purpose for investigating this priest,” the report determined. “This new information suggests that the FBI’s religious liberty abuses were more widespread than the FBI initially admitted and led the public to believe.”

The report, provided to CNA by Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan’s office, offers more details about the extent to which the FBI investigated so-called “radical traditionalist” Catholics. 

The FBI’s investigation into supposed “radical traditionalist” Catholic ties to “the far-right white national movement” was first revealed to the public through a leaked Richmond FBI memo in February 2023.

Although the FBI under former President Joe Biden quickly disavowed the document when it came to light and asserted it was a single product of a single field agency, information unveiled by the Judiciary Committee shows the investigatory efforts into Catholics was more widespread and that the national FBI headquarters was involved.

In the report, the committee states that the Richmond FBI was working with the national FBI headquarters to develop an agency-wide document on “radical traditionalist” Catholics, which was ultimately shelved. The headquarters and other field offices also coordinated with the Richmond FBI investigation of the previously mentioned priest.

The 2023 memo cited the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for the definition of “radical traditionalist” Catholicism, but the new committee report says the field office relied on “several radical anti-religious materials” from organizations that “spewed radical, left-leaning ideology” to inform the agency apart from just the SPLC.

CNA reached out to the FBI for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Spying on a Catholic priest

Emails uncovered by the committee show that the Richmond FBI allegedly coordinated with the national FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, the Louisville FBI field office, and the international London FBI field office in its investigation of the Richmond-area priest who belongs to the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX).

SSPX is a traditionalist Catholic priestly fraternity that holds an irregular canonical status with the Catholic Church. Its bishops were excommunicated in 1988, though that order was lifted in 2009. The Vatican has worked with SSPX with the intent of eventually reestablishing full communion.

The committee report showed that a Richmond FBI employee interviewed the priest about a parishioner who had recently been arrested.

When the FBI employee asked the priest whether the parishioner had spoken about “desires and plans to commit violence,” the priest “became very uncomfortable and started incoherently stuttering,” according to an email that the employee sent to the counterterrorism unit.

The email stated that the priest “requested to speak with the church’s leadership and attorneys” before continuing. It said the priest then “refused to speak with us any further but has continued to speak with [the parishioner] while in prison, and even attempted to visit him.”

The FBI employee incorrectly asserted in the email that the priest’s communications with the parishioner were “not considered privileged” because he “has not completed his catechism or been baptized in the Church.” Virginia law protects priest-penitent privilege for any confidential communication with a member of clergy related to “spiritual counsel and advice.” 

“The priest-penitent privilege rightly protects communications between a clergy member and an individual seeking spiritual guidance,” the report notes. “It is not dependent on the individual achieving certain milestones in his or her spiritual life.”

In response to the priest’s refusal to disclose confidential information, the Richmond FBI opened a “formal investigative assessment” of the priest. This included an examination of the priest’s ordination history and coordination with the FBI’s London office to monitor the priest’s trip to the United Kingdom. 

In emailed communications, FBI employees discussed the priest’s location, travel plans, and credit card information. The Richmond FBI employee also sought information from other agents about the SSPX more broadly, including the priestly fraternity’s recruitment efforts.

“This new information demonstrates that the FBI not only used its federal law enforcement resources to surveil certain Catholic Americans, but it also used these resources to investigate a clergy member,” the report states.

Richmond FBI briefings on ‘radical traditional Catholics’

The new committee report also details Richmond FBI briefings on traditionalist Catholics and the questionable sources from which they drew their concerns. 

An official Richmond FBI presentation document titled “Traditionalist Catholicism Overview” discussed the “core ideology and beliefs” of traditionalist Catholics and what they view as being “radical-traditionalist Catholicism,” which they abbreviate as RTC. 

Some “core concepts” of traditionalist Catholicism, according to the Richmond FBI presentation, include the Traditional Latin Mass, “conservative family values/roles,” a “rejection of modernity,” and a “tendency toward isolationism.”

The Richmond FBI categorized “radical-traditionalist Catholicism” beliefs to include “belief that mainline Catholicism is illegitimate” and “hardline positions on abortion, LGBTQ matters, and interreligious dialogue.”

It also allegedly includes “apocalyptic overtones,” “rigid fundamentalism [and] integralism,” and an “undertone of antisemitism.”

Some of the sources that FBI analysts cited regarding their concerns include an article in the Atlantic titled “How Extremist Gun Culture Is Trying to Co-opt the Rosary” and another article in Sojourners Magazine titled “The Catholic Church Has a Visible White-Power Faction.” 

The report noted that some of the sources disparage Catholics and the pro-life movement. In the Atlantic article, the author states “the convergence within Christian nationalism is cemented in common causes such as hostility toward abortion-rights advocates.” 

“The FBI analysts who developed the Richmond memorandum relied on literature with an inherent prejudice against people of faith and those with widely-held, deeply personal views of the sanctity of life,” the report notes.

Richmond FBI employees also worked with the FBI national headquarters to develop a “Strategic Perspective Executive Analytic Report” for external use. It notes that the Richmond FBI interacted with the national office about the possibility as early as December 2022, just a month after the Richmond office began to produce the now-retracted memo. Ultimately, this effort was abandoned after the Richmond memo became public. 

The report stated that current FBI Director Kash Patel, who was nominated by President Donald Trump, provided the committee with the documents. It accused the Biden administration and former FBI Director Christopher Wray of withholding information from the public and misleading Congress about the extent of the investigation into Catholics. 

“Under the Biden-Harris administration, the FBI disrespected and potentially violated the constitutionally protected religious liberties of faithful Americans,” the report states. 

“Throughout the committee’s oversight in the 118th Congress, the Biden-Harris administration refused to provide relevant information to the committee,” it adds.

Jordan in a statement to CNA said lawmakers “knew the Biden-Wray FBI was targeting Catholics, but new documents obtained by the committee — thanks to the leadership of FBI Director Patel — shows that it was worse than anyone thought.”

“Contrary to Director Wray’s statements, the targeting of Catholics went beyond the Richmond Field Office and extended not to just offices across the country but around the world,” Jordan said.

Father Alphonsus Afina. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Fairbanks

CNA Staff, Jul 22, 2025 / 14:16 pm (CNA).

A Nigerian priest who served for years in the U.S. has been released after being held in captivity by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram for several weeks.

Father Alphonsus Afina was captured by Boko Haram in June while serving in the Diocese of Maiduguri in the Nigerian state of Borno.

The priest had previously worked in the Diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska, for six and a half years. 

The Fairbanks Diocese last month urged the faithful to “pray for [Afina’s] freedom from captivity and for his physical and spiritual strength” while he was in captivity.

In a Facebook post on July 21, the diocese announced that Afina had been freed.

“Praise God! We received word today that [Father] Alphonsus Afina is unharmed and has been safely released!” the diocese wrote. “Thank you to all who have been storming heaven for him.”

The diocese called on the faithful to “continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who continue to be held captive that they, too, will soon taste freedom.”

On July 21 the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need said the priest had spent 51 days in captivity. 

Maiduguri Auxiliary Bishop John Bakeni told the charity that the priest was “a bit frail and tired” but was “in good health” and emotionally stable.

“We are now arranging medical checkups and rest for him,” the bishop said, adding that he would be reunited with his family.

The prelate said the priest’s release “should be regarded as a true miracle,” according to the charity, with the bishop citing “the prayers and the intercession of Our Lady.”

Afina was released alongside 10 women who were being held in captivity at the same time, Aid to the Church in Need said.

Church property sits vandalized at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church in Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania, in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Sunday, July 19, 2025. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Pittsburgh

CNA Staff, Jul 22, 2025 / 12:32 pm (CNA).

Federal agents are investigating a vandalism incident at a church in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, according to Bishop Mark Eckman.

Eckman said in a July 19 statement that St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church in Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania, had been desecrated with “anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic messages.” 

The vandalism “wounded not only the people of this parish but every member of our diocesan family,” the bishop said. 

“This holy place, meant for prayer, community, and the merciful presence of God has been violated in a deeply painful way,” he added. 

Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are leading the inquiry into the incident, the bishop said. 

On Monday the diocese released photos of the vandalism “with the hope that it will prompt someone in the community to come forward with information that may assist investigators in identifying those responsible.”

Images showed a statue of the Virgin Mother defaced with spray paint as well as a door marked with graffiti and a wall tagged with profanity and a swastika.

The diocese is “heartbroken over this hateful act,” Eckman said on Monday, adding that he was urging the faithful to “[pray] for comfort and peace.”

Bradford Arick, a spokesman for the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, confirmed to CNA on Tuesday that the agency “has been made aware of the reported vandalism and is investigating.”

The Family Research Council said in a report last year that vandalism against churches — especially Catholic places of worship — has increased significantly in the U.S. since 2018.

Arielle Del Turco, the director of the group’s Center for Religious Liberty, said last year that “our culture is demonstrating a growing disdain for Christianity and core Christian beliefs, and acts of hostility against churches could be a physical manifestation of that.”

Many of those acts of violence appear to have been in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s repeal of Roe v. Wade in 2022, which allowed abortion to be regulated by the states for the first time in decades.

Then-U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, last year demanded that then-President Joe Biden protect Catholic churches from the “growing number of attacks” they suffered in the wake of that repeal. 

A Catholic church in Wichita, Kansas, was vandalized in March, including damages to statues and hateful graffiti. President Donald Trump at the time described the incident as “terrible” and vowed that the government would “take a look at it.”