Ss. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church

SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser speaks in front of the Capitol on March 27, 2025, in Washington, D.C. “This movement is completely unified in its first priority, and that is to defund big abortion in this reconciliation bill,” she said. / Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNA

Washington D.C., Mar 27, 2025 / 18:30 pm (CNA).

More than 300 pro-life activists from 39 different states gathered on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on March 27 to advocate for the defunding of “Big Abortion” and Planned Parenthood. 

Earlier this week, a letter from more than 150 pro-life groups from all 50 states was sent to members of Congress urging them to “stop the flow of American tax dollars toward the abortion industry” through a reconciliation bill.

The action comes after the announcement that the Trump administration plans to freeze millions of federal taxpayer dollars funding abortion and transgender services.  

Half of the activists on the Hill were students from across the nation, while the other half were women, men, and children of all different ages and demographics. Kelsey Pritchard, communications director for SBA Pro-Life America, told CNA that a few-months-old baby was their youngest supporter at the events.

Some of the attendees also joined various members of Congress and advocates from pro-life organizations at a press conference outside the Capitol highlighting the importance of the issue and the need to act now. 

Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Arizona; Mary Miller, R-Illinois; and Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, along with Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, all shared their support for the initiative. 

“American taxpayers should never be forced to pay for the murder of innocent babies. But that’s exactly what Congress has allowed to happen,” Biggs said. “In 2022-2023, during the Biden-Harris regime, Planned Parenthood received nearly $700 million in taxpayer funding.”

Miller said today is a “historic opportunity” to “defend life in America.”

Milled shared her support by announcing legislation she introduced “to require ultrasounds to be performed on women and girls seeking abortions,” she said, “because 90% of women change their minds after they see the baby for the first time.” 

“Today is a great day to stand for life,” Tuberville said.

“One of our government’s basic duties is to defend life, not destroy it,” he continued. “I’m proud to be here today and look forward to working with my colleagues to defund Planned Parenthood and stand up for life and the American taxpayers.”

Kristen Hawkins, president of Students for Life Action, called the day a “historic moment,” as “the pro-life movement stands unified behind one single message, defund the entire abortion industry, defund the longtime standard bearer of Planned Parenthood once and for all.”

Hawkins explained that next steps will include rallies across more than 100 cities to “tell President Trump and our legislative players here on Capitol Hill, in our state capitals, that it’s very clear what they must do next. Defund your political enemies, invest in lifesaving, life-affirming medical care.”

Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of SBA Pro-Life America, said: “I can tell you one thing, this movement is completely unified in its first priority, and that is to defund big abortion in this reconciliation bill, hopefully by Memorial Day.”

“But until then, we’ve got a lot of work to do,” she continued. “We’re going to go back to those halls in Congress and defund big abortion.”

Dannenfelser told CNA that right now is a hopeful time in the movement to defund Planned Parenthood. 

“There’s a lot of momentum and a lot more conversation,” she said. “There’s a lot more desire to land somewhere post Dobbs. It is very important right now. The policy itself is the most important thing, but it’s also good for the pro-life movement to get some points on the board after some tough losses.”

Kansas Capitol building in Topeka. / Credit: Dave Newman/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Mar 27, 2025 / 15:50 pm (CNA).

Amid plans for a blasphemous “black mass” at the Kansas Capitol building set to take place on March 28, Catholics in the state and elsewhere are urging a prayerful, peaceful response, the centerpiece of which will be adoration and Mass at a Catholic church directly opposite the Capitol.

Organized by the Satanic Grotto, the “black mass” — an explicit parody of the Catholic Mass — is set to begin around 10 a.m. Originally slated to take place inside the Capitol rotunda itself, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly later decreed that the event must take place outside, though organizers of the ritual have said they plan to defy Kelly’s order and enter the Capitol building “around 11:30.”

A promotional flyer for the “mass” posted on Reddit lists the “components” of the ritual, which include the “Denounciation [sic] of Christ,” the “Desecration of the Eucharist,” and the “Corruption of the Blood.”

To counter the Satanic event, Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, will lead a Eucharistic Holy Hour at Assumption Catholic Church, which is directly across the street from the Capitol.

The Holy Hour will begin at 11 a.m. Friday followed by noon Mass. Similar Holy Hours and Masses are planned in the neighboring Kansas dioceses of Wichita, Salina, and Dodge City. 

The planned Satanic ritual is an “affront to all Christians,” Naumann noted in a recent statement, but he urged the faithful not to “succumb to anger and violence, as that would be cooperating with the devil.”

During the authentic Catholic Mass, “we will pray for God to bless those who blaspheme him and who mock those who believe in Jesus Christ. After all, on Calvary, Jesus implored his heavenly Father to forgive those who crucified him because they did not know what they were doing,” Naumann wrote. 

The archbishop noted that Pope Francis recently announced he will canonize Blessed Bartolo Longo, a 19th-century Italian who embraced the occult and Satanism, becoming a Satanic priest and promising his soul to the devil. 

Amid the fervent prayers of his family, a priest motivated Longo, on the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to make a sincere confession and return to the Church. He became a devout and charitable Catholic and even later inspired St. John Paul II to create the luminous mysteries of the rosary. 

“Catholics should not underestimate Satan, his craftiness and power. However, as long as we keep close to Jesus, we need not fear the devil. Throughout the Gospel, we see Our Lord’s authority over the demonic, liberating many who had given themselves to Satan,” Naumann wrote. 

“If we seize the opportunity to draw closer to Jesus through prayer, then we can make this attempt to mock and blaspheme our Catholic faith into what Satan most fears and despises,” the prelate said. 

“Let us pray that the Lord of Life can penetrate and change the hearts of the Satanists of our time with his merciful love. St. Bartolo Longo, pray for us and especially for those who have become ensnared by the evil one. All things are possible with God!”

Archdiocese filed lawsuit over alleged theft of consecrated hosts

Naumann had on March 14 filed a lawsuit in Leavenworth County District Court seeking an order to secure the safe return of any consecrated hosts in the Satanist group’s possession. Satanist groups intending to stage so-called “black masses” have on at least one other occasion boasted of possessing a stolen consecrated host with an intent to desecrate it. 

Naumann settled the lawsuit after the Satanist leaders testified under oath that the hosts and wine they plan to desecrate in the ritual are not “Catholic in origin.”

The planned Satanic event has sparked a heated debate among Kansas lawmakers as to whether the event should be allowed to go forward. The Legislature passed a nonbinding resolution March 20 denouncing the planned ritual. 

The leader of the Satanic Grotto, Michael Stewart, who has described himself as an atheist who does not believe in Satan, posted a video this week in which he said he expects “up to 5,000 counterprotestors” to show up at the Capitol during his event. 

“5,000 Catholics are what the Capitol Police are preparing for,” Stewart claimed. 

A Catholic-led petition asking Kelly to shut down the event has attracted over 50,000 signatures as of Thursday. 

Students at Kansas’ Benedictine College are invited to pray a rosary in the school’s Mary’s Grotto at 11 a.m. on Friday, school spokesman Steve Johnson told CNA. 

Benedictine students can then participate in daily Mass at 12:10 p.m. that day, which will be offered with the intention for the conversion of those involved in the “black mass,” Johnson said.

Benedictine is in Atchison, about an hour northeast of Topeka. The school is not taking an official group to the capitol to take part in the prayerful protest, Johnson said, but he said some students may be going of their own volition.

Pro-life advocates demonstrate at the Illinois March for Life in Springfield on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. / Credit: Diocese of Springfield

CNA Staff, Mar 27, 2025 / 14:50 pm (CNA).

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news:

Thousands gather for Illinois March for Life

More than 2,000 participants gathered for the Illinois March for Life on Tuesday at the state Capitol building in Springfield.

Dr. Christina Francis, the CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, spoke at the rally on treating mothers and babies as two patients and criticizing pro-abortion measures in the state.

Other speakers included state Rep. Adam Niemerg, former state Rep. Jeanne Ives, and Mary Kate Zander, the president of Illinois Right to Life and Illinois Right to Life Action, as well as other pro-life political and faith leaders.

Pro-lifers marched for babies in the womb but also against state legislation to legalize physician-assisted suicide, according to the Diocese of Springfield.

A Mass for life at the Sangamon Auditorium on the campus of the University of Illinois, Springfield, was packed, largely with students from Catholic grade schools, high schools, and Newman Centers from around the state.

Bishop Thomas Paprocki was the main celebrant, while Belleville Bishop Michael McGovern gave the homily. Paprocki also led the crowd in prayer at the march. 

The Diocese of Springfield in a press release highlighted the large percentage of teenagers and young adults in attendance. 

Indiana judge pauses access to state abortion records

An Indiana judge on Monday ruled against the release of the Indiana Department of Health’s abortion records, handing a win to two doctors who argued the records should be kept private. 

The state had agreed to distribute the records earlier this year after a lawsuit brought by the Thomas More Society on behalf of the pro-life group Voices for Life. The group had been permitted to review abortion access records before the state blocked them from doing so in 2023. 

In February the state agreed to once again allow access to the records. But Indianapolis physicians Caitlin Bernard and Caroline Rouse had argued in a lawsuit that it would violate patient privacy, leading Marion County Superior Court Judge James Joven to grant a preliminary injunction this week.

The judge ruled that the information could be increasingly personal as more details are required to be included following Indiana’s increased abortion restrictions in 2023. 

The injunction will remain until the court makes a final decision on the case. Aggregated data is still made public quarterly. 

California bill could force emergency rooms to prioritize abortions

The California Catholic Conference has urged Catholics to take action against a bill they say would redefine emergency health services to include abortion and would “force emergency rooms to prioritize abortion over caring for both mom and baby.”

The bill continues to move through the state Legislature after a recent hearing on March 25 in the state Assembly’s health committee.

“We need as many voices raised on this as we can,”  said Molly Sheahan, associate director for Healthy Families, a branch of the California Catholic Conference.

The conference told Catholics to inform the state that “emergency services are integral to a hospital’s ministry to the community, providing critical, timely care in life-threatening situations.” 

“Calling out abortion as the only explicitly required medical intervention in emergency services gives abortion disproportionate weight for clinicians examining and evaluating pregnant patients,” the conference said.

The conference also noted that the bill “does not include consideration for the fetal patient, as federal law EMTALA [the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act] provides” and noted that lifesaving intervention should balance “the life and health of both.” 

The British Parliament building in London. / Credit: Marinesea/Shutterstock

London, England, Mar 27, 2025 / 13:30 pm (CNA).

A parliamentary bill that would unleash medically assisted suicide on England and Wales might not be implemented for another four years amid a growing climate of concern about the viability of such a system.

According to several U.K. publications, including The Times, the Guardian, and the Catholic Herald, the future of the legislation looks uncertain since it may not take effect until 2029 following amendments to the proposed legislation.

It was originally thought that the bill might take two years to implement, but Member of Parliament (MP) Kim Leadbeater, sponsor of the bill, said the delay might be as long as four years.

According to Leadbeater’s spokesperson, “Kim has always been clear that it’s more important to get the assisted dying legislation right than to do it quickly.”

“The bill now contains even stronger safeguards than when it was first tabled, with a new judge-led voluntary assisted dying commission and multidisciplinary panels to examine every application. These will inevitably take longer to implement,” the spokesperson continued.

“But the four-year limit is not a target, it’s a backstop. Kim hopes and believes the service can be delivered more quickly if it becomes law later this year.”

Since members of Parliament voted in support of the bill in January, the bill has been going through the committee stage of its passage, during which it has been scrutinized by several MPs.

However, the process has been mired in controversy due to accusations of bias from campaigners, who highlight that the committee has a disproportionate majority of members who support the bill.

On March 26, The Times newspaper wrote an editorial titled “The Dangerously Flawed Assisted Dying Legislation Should Be Abandoned,” which concluded: “The thankless task of scrutinizing this sinister and half-baked proposal has fallen to a few brave MPs on the committee … Thanks to them its flaws have been fatally exposed. It remains only to administer the coup de grace and kill this bill.”

Following the news that implementation might be delayed, former Paralympian and cross bench peer (a non-party political member who sits on the benches that cross the chamber of the House of Lords) Tanni Grey-Thompson told CNA: “I’m disappointed with the process. This is the biggest legislative change to our society potentially ever, and it feels like it’s been pushed through at a pace. When you take note of the number of amendments to improve the safeguards that are being rejected, it’s quite disappointing.”

“We’ve continually been told it’s the safest bill in the world, but that’s quite a low bar as every jurisdiction has changed since inception and the safeguards have become weaker,” she added. “It’s hard to know what to make of this potential delay and whether it’s because they’ve begun to understand that, in its current format, the bill is unworkable.”

Grey-Thompson continued: “So many organizations have come out and said it’s an awful bill. If the government is committed to wanting to help people, they need to look at palliative care. When you look at the other proposals around cuts to welfare and winter fuel, it’s pushing vulnerable people into greater vulnerability. On the back of the budget, many charities have talked about the impact on the vulnerable. It’s a worrying time.”

null / Credit: Evgeny Atamanenko/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Mar 27, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).

A recent analysis of U.S. survey data found that children tend to bring “high levels of happiness” to activities such as mealtimes, socializing, and household activities. 

Ken Burchfiel, a research fellow at the Institute for Family Studies, said in an analysis published on Thursday that American Time Use Survey (ATUS) data shows “everyday activities are actually more enjoyable when children are present.”

Burchfiel said a 2013 Time magazine article that glamorized the “child-free life” is counteracted by ATUS data showing that levels of “happiness and meaningfulness” tend to be highest when children are involved in an activity. 

Overall, 44% of respondents to the survey rated their happiness levels at their highest when their children were involved in an activity, compared with 37% when a spouse was involved and just 19% when respondents were alone. 

Meanwhile, 56% of respondents said their “meaningfulness” levels were at their peak when with their children, compared with 43% with their spouses and 29% while alone. 

Broken down by category, higher happiness and meaningfulness levels with children were observed in activities ranging from mealtimes to socializing to traveling. 

Respondents only said they were happier with others when engaged in “consumer purchases,” though they still ranked their “meaningfulness” higher when shopping with children.

The analysis “calls into question the wisdom of the ‘child-free’ movement,” Burchfiel wrote, arguing that it’s “possible that those who forgo children in order to focus on their careers or social lives are actually limiting their happiness as a result.”

He stressed that the results “do not prove that the presence of children directly increases well-being,” arguing that other factors such as marriage and religion may play large roles. 

Moreover, the data was collected during the COVID-19 crisis, he noted, which was “a time when Americans were more isolated than usual” and their social options were limited. 

Yet the results “should prove encouraging to those who are considering having kids but are afraid to give up their current lifestyle,” he said. 

The analysis comes amid record-low fertility rates in the U.S. and much of the rest of the world, with huge numbers of young people opting to have few or no children and demographers predicting population declines in the coming decades.  

Researchers in Canada last year underscored that much of the decline in fertility can be traced to declining marriage rates, with many people marrying later and later and thus delaying childbirth for years. 

Notably, even majority-Catholic and historically Catholic countries have not been free from the demographic collapse.

The University of Notre Dame. / Credit: Grindstone Media Group/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 27, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Neither U.S. President Donald Trump nor Vice President JD Vance will deliver the commencement address for the 2025 graduating class at the University of Notre Dame — signaling a departure from the tradition of the revered Catholic institution.

Since the 1970s, Notre Dame has routinely invited newly inaugurated presidents to deliver the university’s commencement address. However this year, rather than hosting a political figure, Joint Chiefs of Staff Acting Chairman Adm. Christopher Grady will deliver the address.

In total, six United States presidents have delivered commencement addresses at the university while in office: Eisenhower in 1960, Jimmy Carter in 1977, Ronald Reagan in 1981, George H. W. Bush in 1992, George W. Bush in 2001, and Barack Obama in 2009. 

Former Vice President Mike Pence delivered the 2017 commencement speech. Trump was traveling to Saudi Arabia at the time, although former Notre Dame President Father John Jenkins said that Trump had not been invited after his first inauguration because he did not meet “a certain bar in terms of just moral decency,” which prompted the Pence invitation instead.

Former President Joe Biden, the second Catholic president, was invited to deliver the 2021 address but did not do so because of a scheduling conflict. Former President Bill Clinton also did not deliver the commencement in 1993, but it’s unclear whether the university extended an invitation to him.

Prior to becoming president, former President John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic president, delivered the 1950 winter commencement while serving as a member of Congress.

CNA reached out to Notre Dame and the White House to ask whether Trump or Vance were invited to deliver the commencement address this year but did not receive a response from either by the time of publication.

Vance, a convert to the faith, is the nation’s second Catholic vice president after Biden.

The National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, reported that the Notre Dame campus was divided on whether to invite either Trump or Vance, with College Republicans urging an invite and College Democrats discouraging one. The editorial board for the student newspaper, The Observer, suggested that Notre Dame should invite Trump. 

In a news release announcing Grady’s upcoming May 18 commencement speech, Notre Dame President Father Robert A. Dowd referred to the award-decorated Navy admiral as an American hero.

“A true American hero, Adm. Grady has demonstrated tremendous courage, visionary leadership, and outstanding dedication to public service over his distinguished career, which spans more than 40 years,” Dowd said. “It is a privilege to have him address our graduates who will, no doubt, be inspired both by his words and by his example.”

Mother Angelica, foundress of EWTN. / Credit: EWTN

CNA Staff, Mar 27, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

The foundress of EWTN, Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation, died nine years ago, but her legacy lives on in the spiritual renewals that have resulted from the fruits of her work. 

Born Rita Antoinette Rizzo on April 20, 1923, she died on Easter Sunday, March 27, 2016, after a lengthy struggle with the aftereffects of a stroke. She was 92 years old.

Mother Angelica founded EWTN out of a garage in Alabama in 1981, and it has since become the largest religious media network in the world. (CNA is a service of EWTN News.)

Nine years after her death, EWTN viewers are still sharing their stories of how Mother Angelica’s life and the network she founded continue to influence them. Here are some of those stories, edited for clarity:

Daily Mass viewers

“EWTN has changed my life. I faithfully watch from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. every morning in Massachusetts. My father, who is 95 years old, lives in Maine. We watch daily Mass together through FaceTime and we discuss our thoughts on the homily for the day, every day. I was lost for many years and felt unworthy. EWTN is the vehicle that has taught me to forgive and learn to love myself. The greatest blessing I have received is from EWTN. I now feel at peace, feel hope, and I know that I am loved.”

“I just wanted to acknowledge how your EWTN network has blessed me. I am not Catholic, but [it] does not matter, I am a Christian. I am shut in and I tape your 8 a.m. morning Mass and watch it at 11 p.m. instead of the news. I also enjoy Father [Mitch] Pacwa and his weekly show.”

EWTN in prison

“I’m 42 and was recently released from prison. You have no idea the impact you are making for those of us who were and are incarcerated. Your program is an excellent resource for all Catholics! When I couldn’t watch EWTN on television, I would listen to the radio. I have reconnected with God and my faith and through your program, I have helped others by letting them know what resources to watch and listen to. You have helped so many, you don’t even realize! Archbishop Fulton Sheen is my favorite, as well as ‘Father Spitzer’s Universe,’ the rosary, and Divine Mercy. You have helped me and so many others grow in their faith and really turn their lives around that I even made my confirmation in prison! This feels so good to be able to share this with you! I’m walking by faith and will continue to help others through your program to see God’s light … this is why I donate.”

EWTN in schools

“I work as a substitute teacher, and many times when the teacher leaves work for kids to do independently, I turn on EWTN on the school computers and keep closed captioning on so as not to bother the students and I can read the entire Mass and the Lord have mercy in Latin — all of it — and obtain graces. So, thank you! I can’t wait to meet Mother Angelica in heaven one day. I went to Alabama in 2006 to the family celebration and she was supposed to be there but that was the beginning of her decline as they said she wouldn’t make it after all. I live in Arizona now and am eternally grateful for EWTN.”

EWTN in RCIA classes

“EWTN is a valuable tool that brings back those who have lost their way and the spirit of listening to the call to seek him. I have been praying for a long time for my husband to convert to the Catholic faith with me. I am happy to say that it is through your programming and listening to Sirius XM in the car that has called my husband to RCIA classes. Together we are taking RCIA classes and use your resources to further educate us. I am so grateful to EWTN and my answer to prayer that has brought my husband and I even closer. I will continue to donate because I want this light to keep burning … to call others.”

EWTN in the hospital

“Several years ago, I was in the hospital with a serious respiratory infection. I found myself flipping through the channels on the television and came to EWTN and your show ‘Scripture and Tradition.’ You and the Holy Spirit saved me that day. After listening to you I came back to the Church after being gone for many years. I went to the local church, St. Lawrence, and joined immediately. Since then, I have been very faithful, including watching daily Mass on YouTube and praying the daily rosary. I also go to confession every first Saturday and attend Mass and sacramental communion … I also watch EWTN every day, especially your show. Thank you for all that you do and for helping to save me. You are very special to me as I am hopeful that the Lord will take me to heaven when I die because of your efforts. God bless you and give you the strength and energy to keep up your fabulous work. I will always pray for you.”

EWTN on the journey ‘home’

“Just a quick email to say how much I enjoy listening to your program on EWTN ... it’s terrific! I am a somewhat lapsed Catholic and am currently busy ‘finding my way home’ ... programs like yours (and others on EWTN) are helping me immensely. I’m so pleased to have stumbled across EWTN a few months ago and now I regularly tune in (via satellite) to listen. I’m very impressed by your knowledge, Dr. David Anders, and you are great at explaining complicated things in a simple, readily understandable way. By the way, I also like the chap who helps you on the program, too. Thank you EWTN for bringing the word of God to us viewers. We appreciate the way EWTN’s programs bring peace and unity to us viewers in order to help in our life with the presence of the Lord. Through the virtues, we open our mind and heart, and learn our strengths and weaknesses. Our heart is with God, and we believe all the truths of the Church. The programs on Scripture and education teach us to learn more. Our heart is with God. We serve God. The word of God is important. Thank you for televising this program and Catholic news about Vatican City and Pope Francis.”

EWTN on the App Store

“I wanted to say that I am eternally grateful that EWTN has its own app. I don’t have to go to one of the million-dollar apps like YouTube or Facebook to get my EWTN programming.”

EWTN becoming family

“I’m 95 years old. I have trouble falling asleep since my husband, Joseph, passed away two years ago. In January 2021, I scrolled through the television at midnight. I came across your channel and daily Mass. I was so inspired by Father Mark’s homily that I have watched you all continuously seven days a week because of his homily and how much it meant to me. I have grown to love you all and I just worry about the friars. They are like my children, I love them so much. I am so thankful to have EWTN in my home. It is so hard being alone. You have become my family.”

This story was first published on March 22, 2022, and has been updated.

The General House of the Society of Jesus in Rome. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

CNA Staff, Mar 26, 2025 / 19:05 pm (CNA).

The Society of Jesus is offering reparations to about 20 women who say they were sexually, psychologically, and spiritually abused by the disgraced ex-Jesuit artist Father Marko Rupnik.

Rupnik is accused of having committed serious sexual, psychological, and spiritual abuse of dozens of religious sisters under his spiritual care over decades. His case is currently under investigation by the Vatican.

Father Johan Verschueren, Rupnik’s former superior and current general counsellor and delegate for the Interprovincial Houses and Works of the Society of Jesus in Rome, said he sent a letter to the women who have come forward with accusations against Rupnik, offering an open invitation to reparations, according to The Associated Press.

While the letters were not made public out of respect to the alleged victims, some excerpts were shared by Laura Sgrò, a lawyer for the alleged victims, Religion News Service reported. 

In the letters, Verschueren reportedly lamented that Rupnik had not publicly taken responsibility for his actions nor repented. He told The Associated Press that in the letters he invited alleged victims to share what they needed and how the order can meet that need.  

Verschueren also reportedly offered to start a “process of healing” and shared that the Jesuit order is “uneasy” with the situation and aware that “the various kinds of violence suffered at the time are compounded by the pain caused by the lack of listening and justice for many years.”

Sgrò thanked the Jesuits for the gesture of reparation and called on the Vatican in the statement to follow “the example of the Society of Jesus and bring Marko Rupnik to trial as soon as possible, restoring dignity to the victims.” 

“There really can be no more delay now; justice just has to be done,” she said.

In Sgrò’s statement, the alleged victims thanked Verschueren for “acknowledging the mistakes made thus far” and having “finally welcomed and embraced the victims of Marko Rupnik, offering them the support that had been lacking until now.”

The Jesuits want to protect the privacy of the alleged victims and do not plan to share future information on dialogue with them, Verschueren told RNS. 

“Any eventual journey toward reparation will depend entirely on the person who was invited,” Verschueren told RNS.

“We wrote the letter because we, too, need reparation and healing,” he continued. “We have a lot to learn from them, and to do better in the future, to avoid any type of abuse in the company of Jesus.”

null / Orhan Cam/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 26, 2025 / 17:45 pm (CNA).

Several pro-life organizations are praising President Donald Trump’s administration for plans to freeze tens of millions of dollars in federal taxpayer money that was intended in part for the country’s largest abortion supplier, Planned Parenthood.

Officials are mulling an immediate freeze of $27.5 million from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Title X Family Planning Services Program for Planned Parenthood and other organizations that are yet to be named.

Congress allocated more than $286 million for funding of the Title X program for the current fiscal year. The expected freeze would block about $20 million that was expected to support Planned Parenthood affiliates, according to a Tuesday report from the Wall Street Journal.

Federal law prohibits direct federal taxpayer funding for most abortions but allows funds for abortion clinics if the money is spent on other services.

This move would not end all of the federal taxpayer money Planned Parenthood receives. The organization and its affiliates get hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding annually. 

Planned Parenthood received more than $1.75 billion in federal tax money from a variety of sources between 2019 and 2021, according to a 2023 Government Accountability Office report.

Pro-life groups signal support

The news prompted positive feedback from several pro-life organizations.

Kristan Hawkins, the president of Students for Life Action, told CNA the move is a “great step forward in defunding Planned Parenthood.

“Rather than helping people with families, Planned Parenthood sells never having one and abuses Title X funds to market their real product — abortion,” Hawkins said. “... The Pro-Life Generation supports every effort that tells Planned Parenthood to go fund themselves.”

Joseph Meaney, a senior fellow at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, told CNA that the report is “wonderful news” and said it is “scandalous that Planned Parenthood managed to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars in government funding annually for many years.”

“That organization has from its inception trampled on the human dignity of its ‘clients’ and violated the natural moral law regarding sexual morality and the right to life,” Meaney added.

Carol Tobias, the president of National Right to Life, told CNA the group is “extremely grateful” that the administration plans to cut funding for an organization that performs hundreds of thousands of abortions annually. 

“Americans do not want their money being used to end the lives of innocent preborn children,” she said.

“We are also very encouraged that the president has said he will look into Planned Parenthood as an alleged supplier of aborted baby parts,” Tobias said. “Abortion is gruesome and the government should not be using taxpayer funds to prop up a business involved in performing abortions and promoting the deaths of preborn babies.”

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America published a series of posts on X praising the plan, saying that “abortion is not family planning” and criticizing the standards of care at Planned Parenthood facilities.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America did not respond to a request for comment from CNA. However, the organization’s president, Alexis McGill, told the Journal that this plan is allegedly part of an effort to shut down its abortion clinics.

“The Trump-Vance-Musk administration wants to shut down Planned Parenthood health centers by any means necessary, and they’ll end people’s access to birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, and more to do it,” McGill claimed. 

The pro-life movement has had a hot-and-cold relationship with Trump over the course of his political career.

Trump has delivered several wins for the pro-life movement, including the nomination of three Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, along with several pardons of pro-life activists who were previously in prison.

However, Trump has opposed new federal restrictions on abortion, he has been reluctant to use executive power to restrict access to the abortion pill mifepristone, and he signed an executive order that begins the process of lowering costs for in vitro fertilization (IVF) — all of which have frustrated many pro-life advocates.

Cuts are part of broader diversity targeting

According to the Wall Street Journal, the administration’s expected funding freeze for family planning grants is part of the president’s efforts to prevent tax money from funding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order to halt all federal DEI programs, which he called “illegal and immoral discrimination programs.” The executive order also directs departments and agencies to align its contracts and grant funding with the administration’s position on DEI.

“Americans deserve a government committed to serving every person with equal dignity and respect, and to expending precious taxpayer resources only on making America great,” the executive order read.

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CNA Staff, Mar 26, 2025 / 16:45 pm (CNA).

The Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, is promoting a “Diocesan Day of Unplugging” — intentionally eliminating screen time or time spent consuming digital media — on March 28 as a Lenten fasting discipline to encourage Catholics to spend more time with God as opposed to spending time on their smart devices.

Noting that fasting is a “practice of self-discipline with a penitential focus,” the diocese, which is led by Bishop Michael Burbidge, called “unplugging” from the addicting influence of the internet, phones, and social media a “worthwhile and challenging type of fasting.”

Citing studies suggesting most people spend more than two hours a day on social media, the diocese said such statistics beg the questions: Are we spending more time with our devices than with God? And are we investing more time on social media than on nurturing in-person relationships within our communities?

“When we fast from food or luxuries, we create space for God. Our fast reminds us of our need for God and brings us back into relationship with him. Fasting also invites us to renew our relationships with one another in our communities,” the diocesan announcement says.

As suggestions for alternative activities to engage in rather than screen time on March 28, the diocese suggested numerous prayerful activities including attending daily Mass; making a Holy Hour or even a holy “five minutes”; praying a rosary or Divine Mercy chaplet for a loved one or the souls in purgatory; reading Scripture, the catechism, or a classic spiritual book; walking in nature; journaling; or attending the Stations of the Cross.

Works of charity would also be a good idea, the announcement says, suggesting Catholics take advantage of volunteer opportunities at their parish or local Catholic Charities, spend fellowship time with their community, or offer to grocery shop for an ill, elderly, or pregnant neighbor.

The Catholic day of “unplugging” was inspired by the Global Day of Unplugging promoted March 7–8 by the nonprofit Unplug Collective.

Pope Francis is promoting screen time fasts this year as part of the ongoing Jubilee Year of Hope. As part of the special year, by the pope’s decree, Catholics worldwide can obtain an indulgence through various acts of penance. Francis’ decree specifically mentions as an option for obtaining a plenary indulgence “abstaining for at least one day a week from ‘futile distractions,’ such as social media or television.”