Ss. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church

null / Credit: esfera/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 16, 2025 / 16:11 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) at an Oct. 16 hearing heard recommendations from lawmakers and advocates for addressing “severe violations of religious freedom” by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

“For decades the U.S. government has been a leader for combating China’s religious freedom violations,” said Asif Mahmood, vice chair of the commission. He said it “has sanctioned Chinese government officials” and “supported independent media and nongovernment organizations denouncing violations.”

USCIRF “urges the U.S. government to continue prioritizing religious freedom by designating China as a country of particular concern, raising religious freedom issues with Chinese officials, and supporting independent civil society,” Mahmood continued. He said the U.S. “cannot afford to sit on the sidelines on this issue” because “the lives and well-being of millions are at stake.”

Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the CCP imposed mandates that “reflect socialist core values and push to harmonize religion with party-approved Chinese culture.” 

“For a religious organization to even exist in China, that organization must apply for and obtain a permit from the government,” Risch said. But the government has “forcibly eradicated religious elements that are not in line with the CCP’s agenda.” 

This includes “destroying access [to] churches and replacing images of Jesus Christ with Xi Jinping,” Risch said. “China jails thousands of practicing Muslims, Buddhists, and Christians each year for their religious beliefs, with many subjected to forced indoctrination and torture.”

Risch said the aftermath of the country’s “phony” national security law meant “Hong Kong authorities targeted pro-democracy religious groups and activists like Jimmy Lai — a devout Catholic who has tragically been denied holy Communion in prison.”

Sen. Ted Budd, R-North Carolina, said American leadership must continue to be “critical in denouncing persecution of Christians and other religious groups around the world.” It is crucial because the CCP “has no interest in protecting freedom of religion … it continues to restrict religious practice, destroy churches, and imprison religious minorities,” Budd said.

“Every day, they torture and target Uyghurs, Thibetans, Catholics, Protestants, and Falun Gong practitioners. The spirit of religious persecution is evidence of the CCP’s disregard for human life and natural law,” Budd said.

“Until China changes course, it should be the policy of the United States to hold them accountable for their severe violations of religious freedom,” Budd said. The U.S. should continue to designate China as a country of particular concern, he said.

Other speakers, including Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Massachusetts, said the U.S. must protect religious liberty within its own nation as it works to help other countries. He asked: “How can Americans expect to be taken seriously on the world stage if our leaders are failing to defend religious freedom here at home?” 

Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Michigan, chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said: “The CCP doesn’t just threaten American interests. It threatens the very idea that human beings are born free, the truth exists beyond the reach of the state, and that no government can claim ownership of the soul.”

“Under Xi Jinping, the CCP has declared war on faith itself. Across China today, the party is carrying out the most systematic campaign of religious persecution since the Cultural Revolution,” Moolenaar said. “They call it sinicization of religion, but what it really means is subjugation.”

Panelists and suggestions

Annie Boyajian, speaking on behalf of Freedom House, an organization dedicated to fighting for democracy and human rights, told the commission that “first and foremost,” Freedom House agrees that China should be redesignated as a country of particular concern when it comes to religious freedom threats.

“Individuals can face up to 14 years in prison for knowing that someone has committed so-called treason … meaning that priests could be forced to choose between going to jail or divulging information shared with them by parishioners during confession,” Boyajian said.

Freedom House maintains “a global database that documents direct physical incidents of transnational repression, and 22% of the cases … documented since 2014 were committed by the Chinese government,” Boyajian said. 

These instances include “unlawful deportations, assaults, and harassment in 30 countries as well as surveillance, intimidation, coercion of family members, mobility controls, detention, and interval abuse,” Boyajian said. “Religious and ethnic minorities are prime targets for transnational repression.”

“The U.S. government should work to expose transnational oppression by coordinating with allies to monitor, document, and counter China’s unlawful deportations, harassment of diaspora communities, and abuse of Interpol red notices, and take special care to not facilitate the perpetration of transnational repression,” Boyajian said.

Boyajian offered a number of other recommendations to the committee, including that the U.S. “work to enforce accountability” by “imposing targeted sanctions on officials and entities responsible for a severe religious persecution.” She also suggested that policymakers “strengthen asylum protections and humanitarian pathways” for those facing religious persecution.

Corey Jackson, a Presbyterian pastor from Kerry, North Carolina, who previously lived in China, recounted his experience: “The CCP attempts to control every aspect of life, including the freedom of religion of Christians.”

He explained that for Christians, “building or renting spaces for churches is prohibited, and Bibles cannot be sold in bookstores or made publicly available.” Leaders within unregistered churches “are particularly vulnerable,” he said, and are often placed under house arrest or imprisoned on broad national security charges such as subversion of power.

Jackson asked the commission and the U.S. government to “exert pressure on the CCP” to release political prisoners arrested for their faith including Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri and the other 21 prisoners arrested last week at an underground church. He also recommended that Congress impose religious freedom tariffs on China alongside other economic tariffs. 

Boyajian said that “despite China’s religious persecution, millions of believers continue to practice their faith, often at immense personal risk.”

She added: “Their resilience reminds us that religious freedom is not a secondary concern. It is central to human dignity, to civil society, and to the defense of democracy worldwide.”

The number of young Americans who are self-identifying as transgender or nonheterosexual declined in 2024 and 2025, according to an Oct. 10, 2025, report. / Credit: Andrii Yalanskyi/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 16, 2025 / 14:11 pm (CNA).

The number of young Americans who self-identify as transgender or nonheterosexual declined in 2024 and 2025, according to a report from the Centre for Heterodox Social Science (CHSS), which compiled data from undergraduate student surveys and broader surveys of young people.

The Oct. 10 report, titled “The Decline of Trans and Queer Identity Among Young Americans,” found an overall decline in people who identify with the broader “LGBTQ+” community, with a bulk of the decline in those who identify as bisexual, transgender, and queer.

Eric Kaufmann, director of CHSS and a politics professor at the University of Buckingham, led the study.

The report noted a surge in young people identifying with those segments in the 2010s and the 2020s, which peaked in 2023. Since then, the report concluded that “trans, queer, and bisexual identities are in rapid decline among young educated Americans.”

It found that the number of young people identifying as “nonbinary” — neither male nor female — dropped significantly in three of five data sources reviewed in the report. Both of the other surveys, however, showed stability in “nonbinary” identification.

According to the report, the Andover Phillips Academy survey saw the total number of students identifying as “nonbinary” drop from 9% to 3% from 2023 to 2025. A much larger sample from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) saw a decline from 6.8% to 3.6% in the same time period. The Brown University student survey showed a drop from 5% to 2.6%.

The other data sources — the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) and the Cooperative Election Study (CCES) — alternatively found “nonbinary” identification to be stable.

According to the report, the number of students identifying as “gay” and “lesbian” was stable in the time period measured, but researchers found a decrease in other nonheterosexual identification, such as “questioning,” “asexual,” “pansexual,” and “other.”

The report noted the Andover survey showed nonheterosexual identification peak in 2023, when 63.5% of the student body identified as heterosexual.

In that survey, identification as bisexual peaked in 2023 at 17% of the student body and decreased to 12% by 2025. “Queer” and “other” identifications also peaked in 2023 to 17%, dropped to 9% in 2024, and went back up to 12% in 2025. 

According to the FIRE data, identification as heterosexual was at 68% in 2023 and increased to 77% in 2025, with strong decreases in the “queer” and “other” categories of sexual orientation.

The HERI data showed heterosexual identification drop to 77% in 2023 and increase to 82% in 2024, which is the most recent year data is available. The Brown survey found that heterosexual identification reached its low point of 60% in its 2022-2023 data and increased to 68% in fall 2025.

The General Social Survey saw heterosexual identification drop to its low point of 71% in 2022 and rise to 81% in 2024. The CCES survey alternatively showed a stable increase in nonheterosexual identification through 2024.

“To the extent that the youngest represent the leading edge of new trends, this suggests that trans, bisexual, and queer identities are declining in popularity with each new cohort,” the report noted.

The report concluded the decline is not likely related to political, cultural, or religious beliefs, but suggested a correlation with improved mental health, which “appears to be part of the explanation for the decline of BTQ+ identification.”

“Only time will tell if the substantial decline of BTQ+ identification will continue among young Americans,” the report’s conclusion read. “If so, this represents a momentous and unanticipated post-progressive cultural shift in American society.” 

Mary Rice Hasson, director of the Person and Identity Project at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told CNA the research “is interesting and somewhat encouraging, but I wouldn’t pop the champagne corks and celebrate a victory yet.”

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed a “troubling rise” in transgender identification among high schoolers, Hasson said.

“Even with a possible decrease, young Americans are still self-identifying as ‘trans’ in radically higher numbers than in past generations, when only a fraction of a fraction of a percent self-identified as ‘trans,’” she added. 

Even with the decrease in nonheterosexuality among college students, Hasson said “the ‘improvement’ still leaves nearly a quarter of our youngest generation as self-identified ‘nonheterosexuals’ … which means they reject the nature and truth of the body and human sexuality.”

“The overall concern remains — too many young people do not know the truth of ‘who they are’ and don’t accept the sexual identity God has given to them,” Hasson added. “So, it doesn’t change the work we do — we continue to pray and speak the truth, to reach those who are lost and searching for the truth and love that only God can give.”

Nigerian security officers during a military operation ahead of the gubernatorial elections in Benin City, Edo, Nigeria, on Sept. 17, 2020. / Credit: Oluwafemi Dawodu/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 16, 2025 / 13:18 pm (CNA).

Christian leaders delivered a letter to President Donald Trump on Oct. 15 urging him to redesignate Nigeria as a country of particular concern on the U.S. government’s international religious freedom watch list. 

“We fervently urge you to redesignate Nigeria as a ‘country of particular concern’ (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom [IRF] Act, as you did in your first term,” the letter states. “The last several years have seen a burgeoning of violent attacks specifically targeting rural Christians in the country’s Middle Belt, while the government in Abuja barely lifts a finger to protect them.” 

The letter’s signatories included San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone; Nina Shea, Hudson Institute senior fellow and director for the Center for Religious Freedom; Kelsey Reinhardt, CatholicVote president and CEO; Robert Royal, editor-in-chief of The Catholic Thing; and Luke Moon, executive director of the Philos Project. 

“The Nigerian government is directly violating religious freedom by enforcing Islamic blasphemy laws that carry the death penalty and harsh prison sentences against citizens of various religions,” the letter continued. “It also demonstrably tolerates relentless aggression uniquely against Christian farming families by militant Fulani Muslim herders, who appear intent on forcibly Islamizing the Middle Belt.”

In a statement to CNA on Monday, Shea said the Nigerian government “refuses to enforce the law against Fulani militants who are relentlessly and systematically invading rural Christian areas in the Middle Belt and massacring and driving out the civilians while crying the jihadi war cry “Allahu Akbar.” 

“Many Middle Belt Christian leaders are reporting that this is a concerted land grab from Christian communities in order to forcibly Islamicize Nigeria,” she added. The letter describes the Fulani herdsmen as “the biggest threat facing Nigeria’s Christians.” 

The letter called attention to “innocent Muslims and Christians alike” who have been “brutally victimized by Boko Haram and other Islamic State and al-Qaeda-linked terror groups seeking religious and political domination within that country.”

Citing research from various groups, the letter noted that 52,000 Christians have been killed and over 20,000 churches attacked and destroyed since 2009. In addition, it said, thousands of Christians have been murdered and raped in 2025, and “over 100 Christian pastors and Catholic priests have been taken hostage for ransom.”

“We are concerned that your administration may be considering listing Nigeria on the IRF Act’s ‘Special Watch List’ instead of designating it as a CPC,” the letter said, noting the decision, likely influenced by the “misconception” that a CPC designation requires the U.S. to sanction Nigeria, would be a mistake.

“In fact, the IRF Act does not mandate automatic sanctions and, moreover, provides for a sanctions waiver and cites a range of other possible policy responses,” it stated.

“We believe that, after nearly five years of simply ‘watching’ the arrest of individuals on harsh blasphemy charges and the relentless massacre and persecution of defenseless Christians solely for their faith, assigning only Special Watch List status would be a weak and legally inadequate response,” the letter concluded. “Such a move would dishonor religious freedom as a core pillar of U.S. foreign policy and further reinforce the previous administration’s downgrade and sidelining of the targeted killing of Christians.”

In November 2021, the Biden administration, through then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken, removed Nigeria from the list of countries of particular concern.

Statues of St. Florian (at left) and St. Michael the Archangel (at right) are currently barred from appearing on the planned public safety building of Quincy, Massachusetts. / Credit: Courtesy of Office of Mayor Thomas Koch

Boston, Massachusetts, Oct 16, 2025 / 12:18 pm (CNA).

A Massachusetts trial court judge has issued an order blocking the installation of statues of two Catholic saints on a new public safety building in the city of Quincy, setting up a likely appeal that may determine how the state treats separation of church and state disputes going forward.

The 10-foot-high bronze statues of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian, which were scheduled to be installed on the building’s façade this month, will instead await a higher court’s decision.

The statues cost an estimated $850,000, part of the new, $175 million public safety building that will serve as police headquarters and administration offices for the Boston suburb’s fire department.

Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch, a practicing Catholic, has said he chose St. Michael the Archangel because he is the patron of police officers and St. Florian because he is the patron of firefighters, not to send a message about religion.

But the judge said the statues can’t be separated from the saints’ Catholic connections.

“The complaint here plausibly alleges that the statues at issue convey a message endorsing one religion over others,” Norfolk County Superior Court Judge William Sullivan wrote in a 26-page ruling Oct. 14.

The judge noted that the statues “represent two Catholic saints.”

“The statues, particularly when considered together, patently endorse Catholic beliefs,” the judge wrote.

The plaintiffs who brought the lawsuit challenging the statues — 15 city residents represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts — have amassed facts that “plausibly suggest that an objective observer would view these statues on the façade of the public safety building as primarily endorsing Catholicism/Christianity and conveying a distinctly religious message,” the judge wrote.

Rachel Davidson, staff attorney at the ACLU of Massachusetts, who argued the case during a lengthy court hearing on Sept. 19, praised the judge’s decision.

“This ruling affirms the bedrock principle that our government cannot favor one religion above others, or religious beliefs over nonreligious beliefs,” Davidson said in a written statement. “We are grateful to the court for acknowledging the immediate harm that the installation of these statues would cause and for ensuring that Quincy residents can continue to make their case for the proper separation of church and state, as the Massachusetts Constitution requires.”

The mayor said the city will appeal.

“We chose the statues of Michael and Florian to honor Quincy’s first responders, not to promote any religion,” Koch said in a written statement provided to the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, by a spokesman. “These figures are recognized symbols of courage and sacrifice in police and fire communities across the world. We will appeal this ruling so our city can continue to celebrate and inspire the men and women who protect us.” The lawsuit, which was filed May 27 in Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, relies on the Massachusetts Constitution, not the U.S. Constitution, but there is a tie-in.

In 1979, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court adopted the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1971 three-pronged “Lemon test” when considering church and state cases — whether a law concerning religion has “a secular legislative purpose,” whether “its principal or primary effect … neither advances [n]or inhibits religion,” and whether it fosters “excessive entanglement between government and religion.” 

The state’s highest court also added a fourth standard — whether a “challenged practice” has “divisive political potential.”

But in June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ditched the Lemon test in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, a case involving prayers offered by a high school football coach in Washington state.

If the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, which is the ultimate interpreter of state law, takes the Quincy statues dispute, it would be the first time the court has considered a case on point since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Kennedy decision.

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. / Credit: legacy1995/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Oct 16, 2025 / 11:48 am (CNA).

A Missouri appeals court has ordered that an alleged victim of clergy sexual abuse can sue the Archdiocese of St. Louis, ruling that an arcane aspect of bankruptcy law does not negate the archdiocese’s potential liability for abuse that the plaintiff allegedly repressed for decades.

The case touches on both the complex character of U.S. bankruptcy statutes as well as the often-protracted nature of abuse allegations, which frequently only come to light years or decades after the abuse is alleged to have occurred. 

In its Oct. 14 ruling, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, said the alleged victim, John Doe, claims to have been abused at the St. Joseph’s Home for Boys in the late 1980s. 

Doe alleges that Father Alexander Anderson, who was assigned as a counselor to the home, sexually abused him; the plaintiff said he “reported the abuse [but] no action was taken,” according to the court. 

Doe “alleged he repressed his memory of the abuse until 2016,” the court said. He ultimately filed suit against the archdiocese in August 2022. 

The archdiocese argued in response that Doe’s abuse claim was effectively negated by two bankruptcy claims he had filed in 2008 and 2009. U.S. law dictates that when debtors file for bankruptcy, they create “an estate that includes nearly all of the debtor’s legal or equitable interests in property,” including legal causes of action. 

The archdiocese claimed that since Doe did not list his abuse claims as “exempted assets” in his bankruptcy proceedings, they became part of that “estate” and can only be administered by the trustee that handled those proceedings. 

The appeals court rejected the archdiocese’s argument, reversing a lower court decision and holding that Doe’s “cause of action” only arose when he said he remembered the alleged abuse in 2016, “well after” his bankruptcy filings. 

Doe’s standing to sue “did not accrue [when] the sexual abuse was allegedly committed” but rather when it was “capable of ascertainment,” the court held. 

The court’s ruling cited Missouri Supreme Court precedent, which holds that, in some cases of abuse, “the victim may be so young, mentally incompetent, or otherwise innocent and lacking in understanding that the person could not reasonably have understood that substantial harm could have resulted from the wrong.”

The St. Louis Archdiocese did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling on Oct. 16. 

This is not the first instance in which the archdiocese has been held accountable for abuse allegations that an alleged victim claimed to have repressed for decades.

In 2023 the archdiocese agreed to pay a $1 million settlement to a man who said he was abused by Father Gary Wolken in the mid-1990s but repressed the memories until he was an adult. 

Wolken was in prison from 2003 to 2015 for sexually abusing another boy in the St. Louis area from 1997 to 2000. 

Cardinal Pietro Parolin speaks at an Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) press conference in Rome, Italy, on Sept 28, 2017. / Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.

Vatican City, Oct 16, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

International Catholic nonprofit Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) will release its global religious freedom report in Rome next week with an Oct. 21 conference featuring the Vatican’s secretary of state and victims of religious persecution.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin will introduce the “Religious Freedom in the World Report 2025” with a speech at the Pontifical Patristic Institute Augustinianum conference center near the Vatican. 

The report, released every two years since 1999, is a global study of religious freedom and persecution across all countries and faith groups.

“Since the first edition of the RFR, the situation has steadily worsened, and unfortunately, this negative trend is expected to continue,” Marta Petrosillo, the report’s editor-in-chief, said in a press release published ahead of the report’s launch.

According to ACN, this year’s report highlights the continent of Africa, particularly the spread of jihadist violence into the countries of Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The daylong conference will feature the voices of religious freedom experts and persecuted Christians from Nigeria, Syria, India, Sudan, and Pakistan.

The second half of the day will also include a panel of speakers on the increasing restrictions to religious freedom in democratic societies in the West, including legal and cultural pressure, secularist intolerance, and challenges to public witness.

In 2024, ACN spent more than $150 million on thousands of projects in 137 countries.

In an audience with members of the nonprofit at the Vatican on Oct. 10, Pope Leo XIV emphasized the importance of their work, especially in a world that continues to “witness growing hostility and violence against those who hold different beliefs, including many Christians.”

Pope Leo XIV is shown here at the Holy Mass for the opening of the general chapter of the Order of Saint Augustine on Sept. 1, 2025 . / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 16, 2025 / 06:03 am (CNA).

The Order of St. Augustine and the Vatican Publishing House announced the publication of a new book by Pope Leo XIV, Robert Francis Prevost O.S.A., titled “Free Under Grace: Writings and Meditations 2001-2013.” The book will be presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, which opened Wednesday.

The tome will include, for the first time, the writings of the current pontiff during his term as prior general of the Augustinian Order, offering readers a "closer look at his spirituality," according to a statement from the Vatican Publishing House. It will include reflections, meditations, homilies, and addresses, all imbued with the characteristic Augustinian spirituality of the reigning pontiff.

The book will be published in Italian in the Spring of 2026. Spanish and English versions will also be available, the Vatican Publishing House confirmed to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

Fr. Joseph Lawrence Farrell, O.S.A., current prior general of the Augustinian Order, commented: “This book, which compiles many of the communications of the then prior general, Robert Francis Prevost, O.S.A., offers an overview of some of the important themes developed during his years at the head of the Order of Saint Augustine.”

Lorenzo Fazzini, editorial director of the Vatican Publishing House, said that “We are truly delighted to participate in the Frankfurt Book Fair by presenting this previously unpublished book by Robert Francis Prevost O.S.A. — Leo XIV — to publishers around the world.” Fazzini noted that “This text will allow readers to delve into the pope's writings during his time as an Augustinian religious and superior of his order. It is a highly anticipated volume for readers around the world.”

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

Abigail, Joshua, Jesus, Sheep, and Pigeon in "The Chosen Adventures," which comes out on Prime Video on Oct. 17. / Credit: David Griffin

CNA Staff, Oct 16, 2025 / 05:11 am (CNA).

5&2 Studios, the production company behind the hit series “The Chosen,” is releasing its new animated series called “The Chosen Adventures” on Prime Video on Oct. 17. 

The new series follows 9-year-old Abby and her best friend Joshua as they navigate life in the city of Capernaum. When the two children meet a wise carpenter — Jesus of Nazareth — he changes the way they see the world. 

“The Chosen Adventures” consists of 14 11-minute episodes and features several of the original cast members, including Jonathan Roumie as Jesus, Elizabeth Tabish as Mary Magdalene, Paras Patel as Matthew, and George Xanthis as John, among others. 

Joining the cast is Paul Walter Hauser as Sheep, Yvonne Orji as Pigeon, Romy Fay as Abby, Jude Zarzaur as Joshua, Danny Nucci as Abba, and Zehra Fazal as Eema.

Dallas Jenkins, writer, director, and creator of “The Chosen,” serves as an executive producer for the new animated series. He told CNA in an interview that the inspiration for the new show came from episode three of Season 1 of “The Chosen,” in which Jesus is seen interacting with children throughout the episode. 

“Not only did kids love it, but adults loved it because seeing Jesus with the eyes of a child is actually how Jesus often wants you to see him,” he told CNA. “And that episode resonated so strongly that we thought, ‘Okay, well, this is an opportunity. What if we did an animated series where Abigail and Joshua, the two main characters from that episode, were featured and it really allows us to explore a whimsy and a playfulness that you can really dig into with animation in a fresh way.”

Jenkins emphasized that while children will enjoy the show, it is also something adults can enjoy. 

“It's still grounded in truth,” he said. “And I still think that you'll watch this show and it will still feel real even though yes, there's a pigeon and a sheep that talk to each other, we always want to ground it in ‘The Chosen’ way.”

He added, “Yes, younger kids are going to appreciate it. But I think it's going to still feel like ‘The Chosen.’ It's not going to feel like it's a departure from who we are.”

As a huge fan of “The Chosen,” Hauser, who will voice the character of Sheep, told CNA that “the idea of doing a faith-based program that I was really proud of” was a major factor in what drew him to the role. He hopes the series will leave both children and adults feeling “encouraged or inspired to deepen their relationship with God.”

“You don't have to come to God with fancy big words and sound like someone you're not,” he added. “God is not impressed with us trying to dress up our faith in some way. I think it has more to do with authenticity and with the readiness to want to approach God and ask questions and engage with that.”

Jenkins added that he hopes viewers will be left inspired to be “curious.”

“Abigail sets an example for all of us with curiosity. She's asking questions. She never wants to stop learning. And I think God loves that,” he said. “I turned 50 this year. I never want to stop being curious. I never want to stop learning more, seeing things from a different perspective. I think we need that more than ever in society.”

He added: “Yes, we are grounded on foundational, Biblical truths that won't change but our perspective, the way we interact with others, the way we see the world, the way we see politics, the way we see other people, the empathy that we can find for other people that I think children are capable of, that we adults sometimes don't do, is something that is really important.”

Apparition of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. / Credit: Alacoque, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Oct 16, 2025 / 05:00 am (CNA).

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque — whose feast day is celebrated in the Catholic Church on Oct. 16 — was a French nun responsible for spreading the devotion of the Sacred Heart throughout the Western Church.

Born in July 1647, Margaret had a great love for God from a young age. Her father, Claude, passed away when she was 8 years old. From ages 9 to 13 she suffered a paralyzing illness. This, in addition to a struggle over her family’s property, made life difficult for Margaret and her mother. However, it was during her time suffering with the illness that she made the promise to enter religious life.

For some time during her adolescence, however, Margaret forgot about her vow and lived an ordinary life. It wasn’t until she had a vision one evening at age 22 that her life changed.

In the vision, Margaret saw Christ being scourged. She believed this meant that she had betrayed Jesus by living a worldly life instead of a religious one. It was then that she entered the convent.

In 1673, Margaret experienced Christ’s presence in a way she never had while praying. She heard Jesus tell her that he wanted to show his love for people by encouraging a special devotion to his Sacred Heart.

Christ revealed ways to venerate his Sacred Heart and explained the immense love he has for humanity, appearing with his heart visible outside his chest, on fire, and surrounded by a crown of thorns.

Christ told Sister Margaret Mary: “My Sacred Heart is so intense in its love for men, and for you in particular, that not being able to contain within it the flames of its ardent charity, they must be transmitted through all means.”

These visions continued for 18 months. When Margaret told her superior, she did not believe her.

On June 16, 1675, Jesus told Sister Margaret Mary to promote a feast that honored his Sacred Heart. He also gave Sister Margaret Mary 12 promises made to all who venerated and promoted the devotion of the Sacred Heart.

Soon after, Father Claude La Colombiere, a Jesuit, became Margaret’s spiritual director. He believed what she had to say and began to write down her revelations. Colombiere has since been canonized, and many have read his writings on the Sacred Heart.

Thanks to Colombiere, Margaret had found inner peace about her revelations being doubted by others. However, her writings and the accounts of others faced a thorough examination by Church officials.

Margaret died in 1690 and was canonized by Benedict XV on May 13, 1920.

The Vatican was at first hesitant to declare a feast to the Sacred Heart. But as the devotion spread throughout France, the Vatican granted the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to France in 1765.

In 1856, Blessed Pius IX designated the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi as the feast of the Sacred Heart for the universal Church.

This article was first published on Oct. 16, 2022, and has been updated.

Eduardo Peñalver will begin his role as the 49th president of Georgetown on July 1, 2026. / Credit: Georgetown University

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 15, 2025 / 18:22 pm (CNA).

The oldest Catholic and Jesuit institution of higher learning in the United States, Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., has named Eduardo Peñalver, current president of Seattle University and former dean of Cornell Law School, as its 49th president. 

“We are pleased to welcome Eduardo Peñalver to Georgetown University,” Thomas A. Reynolds, chair of the board of directors, said in a press release announcing the decision. “President Peñalver is an exceptional leader steeped in the Catholic and Jesuit tradition who brings a wealth of experience in higher education, a global mindset, a commitment to social justice and academic excellence, and a bold vision for Georgetown’s future.”

Peñalver will assume his new role on July 1, 2026.  He has served as the 22nd president of Seattle University, also a Jesuit institution, since 2021. He succeeds Georgetown’s interim president, Robert Groves. 

“I’m deeply honored to have the privilege of serving as Georgetown’s next president,” Peñalver said in the release. “I would like to thank the Presidential Search Committee and Georgetown’s board of directors for entrusting this role to me at such a pivotal time for Georgetown and for higher education.” 

In the university’s announcement, Peñalver said he would apply his experience as leader of a Jesuit institution to his role at Georgetown. “At the center of our work, [Jesuit universities] share an interest in students as whole persons, focusing on their experiences both inside and outside the classroom,” he said.

He continued: “We share an aspiration to do more than teach a skill or impart knowledge, but to get students to grapple with the deeper questions, to pursue more ambitious goals like wisdom and understanding and meaning, in their academic work and in their lives.”

The incoming president said today “is an exciting moment in Georgetown's history,” citing the expansion of the University’s Capitol Campus, as well as the establishment of interdisciplinary programs, and increased efforts to make attendance more affordable for students. 

“I look forward to working with the students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of Georgetown to deepen the university’s impact on our country and on our world,” he said. 

Peñalver was raised in a Catholic family in Puyallup, Washington. He graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University in 1994, before earning his law degree in 1999. He then clerked for Judge Guido Calabresi of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and for Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, according to the release. 

He later taught at Fordham Law School, the University of Chicago Law School, and Cornell Law School, where he was appointed dean in 2014.