Ss. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church

Authorities say the killer of 9-year-old Carol Ann Dougherty, raped and murdered in a Pennsylvania Catholic church 63 years ago, was identified in October 2025 as William Schrader, who died in 2002. / Credit: Courtesy of Bucks County District Attorney’s Office

CNA Staff, Oct 31, 2025 / 15:48 pm (CNA).

Authorities announced this week that the killer of 9-year-old Carol Ann Dougherty, raped and murdered in a Pennsylvania Catholic church 63 years ago, has finally been identified as William Schrader, who died in 2002.

The Bucks County Investigation Grand Jury found that Schrader is “definitively linked” to the murder “through the combination of decades-old evidence” and a recent breakthrough in the case, the district attorney’s office said in a statement.

The breakthrough came last year when Pennsylvania State Police in November 2024 interviewed Schrader’s stepson, Robert Leblanc, who said Schrader “confessed to him on two separate occasions that he murdered a little girl in a Pennsylvania church.”

Schrader allegedly told his stepson he lured Carol Ann inside the church, raped her and “had to kill the girl in Bristol to keep her from talking.”

“We believe it may be the only rape and murder of a little girl in a church in the United States,” Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said at a news conference on Oct. 29.

In 1962, a witness reported seeing Schrader — who lived a block and a half from the church — outside the church around the time of the murder, and police initially questioned him, the district attorney’s office said.

Schrader failed a polygraph test and lied to investigators about his alibi, saying he had been at work at the time of the murder. He also provided a pubic hair sample, authorities said. 

Knowing he was under investigation, Schrader fled Pennsylvania and moved to Florida and then Texas, eventually settling in Louisiana.

The pubic hair was tested in 1993, and it showed “significant similarities” to hair found in Carol Ann’s hand, according to the district attorney. Of samples collected from 176 men over the years, 141 pubic hair samples were tested during the decadeslong investigation, and “all other individuals were eliminated,” officials said.

The grand jury’s findings, detailed in a 53-page report approved this week by Judge Raymond McHugh, identified Schrader as an “absolute predator” whose criminal history included assaults with deadly weapons in multiple states.  

According to the prosecutor, “Schrader’s life was marked by a pattern of violence and sexual violence, particularly against young, prepubescent, and adolescent females.”

The grand jury found that Schrader also “sexually abused nearly every female child he lived with or had access to, including his own biological daughter and granddaughters.”

He was convicted in 1985 in Louisiana for the death of 12-year-old Catherine Smith after he intentionally set fire to his own house, knowing she and her family were still inside.

On Oct. 22, 1962, Carol Ann, an avid reader excited to check out the next book in a mystery series she was reading, was riding her bike to the Bristol Borough Free Library to meet her friends, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office. 

On her way, she had stopped to buy a soda and candy and was last seen alive outside of the doors to St. Mark’s Roman Catholic Church in Bristol, where she was raped and strangled to death.

Her parents began to look for her when she did not return home for dinner. Her father found her body inside the church.

Carol Ann’s sister, Kay Dougherty, speaking at Wednesday’s news conference, expressed her gratitude to Vincent Faragalli, the Bristol police chief at the time of her sister’s murder, who kept a framed photograph of Carol Ann on his desk throughout his career to remind him of “a promise he made to seek justice for her.”

She also thanked Faragalli’s nephew, Mike Missanelli, a journalist who in 2024 produced a podcast that brought attention to the case. 

Doughterty said: “My parents both passed away without knowing on this earth who murdered their daughter. ... After so many decades of unknowing, this finding finally brings closure and a truth to a wound that never healed.”

“Our family lived without answers,” Dougherty said, crying, “and the uncertainty surrounding Carol’s death became a part of who we were, a shadow that touched every day of our lives.”

“Though I know nothing can bring Carol back,” Dougherty said, “we can finally let her rest in peace knowing that her story has been told, her truth revealed, and her memory honored.”

null / Credit: megaflopp/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 31, 2025 / 14:53 pm (CNA).

The Illinois State Senate passed a bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide in the state. 

The legislation, known as the End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act, would authorize medical aid in dying for terminally ill adults in Illinois if signed into law by Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

The House passed the bill in May, and it stalled in the Senate during the regular session. It was taken up during the fall veto session, and senators passed it early in the morning of Oct. 31. Pritzker will have 60 days to decide whether to sign or veto the bill before it automatically becomes law.

The bill would allow individuals to request and self-administer medication to end their lives. According to the bill, anyone requesting medically assisted suicide must be at least 18 years old, a resident of Illinois, and have a terminal disease with a prognosis of six months or less to live.

The bill also requires two verbal requests for the medication from the patient, with a five-day waiting period between the first and second request. The death certificates of individuals using physican-assisted suicide in the state would list the terminal disease as the cause of death, not suicide.

“Please continue to pray for vulnerable populations and for those who feel hopeless and are near end of life,” the Catholic Conference of Illinois, the public policy voice of the Catholic Church in the state, wrote in a post to the social media platform X.

“It is quite fitting that the forces of the culture of death in the Illinois General Assembly passed physician-assisted suicide on Oct. 31 — a day that, culturally, has become synonymous with glorifying death and evil,” said Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield in a statement. “It’s also ironic that these pro-death legislators did it under the cloud of darkness at 2:54 a.m.”

“Doctors take an oath to do no harm. Now, they can prescribe death. There are documented cases of patients being denied treatment and instead offered life-ending drugs,” Paprocki said. “Individuals could also be coerced into taking the lethal drug.”

The bishop called for prayers for Pritzker to reject the legislation, as “physician-assisted suicide undermines the value of each person, especially the vulnerable, the poor, and those with disabilities.”

The anti-assisted-suicide group Patients Rights Action Fund called on Pritzker to veto the legislation.

“We encourage lawmakers to instead prioritize expanding access to mental health services, hospice care, and palliative support,” the advocacy group said in a statement. “Every patient deserves compassionate care and a full spectrum of options to live with dignity. The passage of SB 1950 introducing the use of lethal drugs in Illinois compromises that fundamental right. “

Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, strongly criticized the bill in May after it passed the House.

“I speak to this topic not only as a religious leader but also as one who has seen a parent die from a debilitating illness,” Cupich said, recalling his father’s death. Cupich urged Illinois to promote “compassionate care,” not assisted suicide. 

“There is a way to both honor the dignity of human life and provide compassionate care to those experiencing life-ending illness,” Cupich said. “Surely the Illinois Legislature should explore those options before making suicide one of the avenues available to the ill and distressed.” 

The Catholic Conference of Illinois also asked the governor to veto the bill and improve palliative care programs “that offer expert assessment and management of pain and other symptoms.”

“The Illinois General Assembly has put our state on a slippery path that jeopardizes the well-being of the poor and marginalized, especially those in the disability community and have foreseeable tragic consequences,” the conference said in a statement.

Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago describes artificial intelligence (AI) as Pope Leo XIV’s  “industrial revolution” at a Georgetown University forum Oct. 30, 2025. / Credit: Madalaine Elhabbal/CNA

Washington, D.C., Oct 31, 2025 / 14:17 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago described artificial intelligence (AI) as Pope Leo XIV’s “industrial revolution” at a Georgetown University forum Oct. 30.

The event, “Pope Leo XIV’s New Challenge and Moral Leadership on Poverty, Work, and Artificial Intelligence,” examined the impact of AI and the guidance provided by Catholic social teaching as a part of the university’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life. 

“Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate began during what Pope Francis often called a change of epoch, with major changes transforming our world, among them the rise of AI and the effects it would have on work and the economy, something Pope Leo has called another ‘industrial revolution,’” said Kim Daniels, the director of the initiative, at the event.

Discussing the impact of AI on society, Cupich said the “entry point” to discernment on the topic is whether or not it “creates the possibility of everyone having human flourishing.” 

“You accept that the economy belongs to everybody, then you have to be very careful of allowing the technologies to be used in a certain way that gives people more power and control over the economy than they should have,” Cupich said. “The economy should allow for the human flourishing of everyone. It’s like health care. Everyone has a right to health care.”

Panelists included Cecilia Flores, executive director of the Catholic Volunteer Network; Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO; Paul Almeida, dean and William R. Berkeley chair at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business; and the initiative’s founder, John Carr. 

Against the backdrop of the government shutdown and the resulting expected lapse in food assistance, with increasingly heightened political division, Carr said, “many poor and working people are falling further behind or just struggling to keep up.” 

“At the same time, a new elite is moving forward with new technology, new wealth, and new power,” he said, “some of it related to artificial intelligence with its possibilities and dangers for work, the economy, and our society.” 

Cupich, who was described by Daniels as a “close adviser to Pope Francis and now Pope Leo,” said: “I think the Holy Father has already indicated how the Church should respond and what he’s already done, namely to make sure that the inspiration of Rerum Novarum, which is about the defense of human dignity of the worker but also human dignity at large, should all begin with preferential option for the poor.”

Cupich emphasized the need to view the poor not as “subjects” but as “agents” who “have something to offer us,” and underscored Catholic social teaching as being at the heart of “who we are.”

Flores, who was part of a delegation that went to the Vatican last week to meet with Pope Leo for the World Meeting of Popular Movements, echoed this sentiment, saying: “I’m sure many of you have heard a lot of people say it’s the best-kept secret of the Catholic Church. I think that’s categorically untrue … This is who we are.”

Flores told CNA that the Gospel and Catholic social teaching requires Catholics to approach compassion for migrants without discernment. “There should be an element that does not need to be discerned because it’s a Gospel response,” she said. “I see a person that’s suffering, what does the Gospel require me to do? That shouldn’t have to be discerned.”

Electrical poles are down as a man bikes through the destroyed neighborhood of North Street following the passage of Hurricane Melissa in Black River, Jamaica, on Oct. 29, 2025. / Credit: Ricardo Makyn/Getty

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 31, 2025 / 13:31 pm (CNA).

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio this week called for “prayer and action” as Hurricane Melissa devastated the Caribbean region.

Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), urged Catholics in an Oct. 29 statement to pray for and support the people and communities affected by the Category 5 storm.

“Hurricane Melissa, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes in history, has made landfall in Jamaica, had an impact in Haiti, and prompted the evacuation of hundreds of thousands in Cuba,” Broglio wrote.

With sustained winds of 185 miles per hour, Hurricane Melissa has swept through the region, causing destruction and claiming up to 50 lives since making landfall on Oct. 28.

“The Church accompanies, through prayer and action, all people who are suffering,” Broglio wrote. “I urge Catholics and all people of goodwill to join me in praying for the safety and protection of everyone, especially first responders, in these devastated areas.”

As effects of the hurricane expand, “families face severe risk of flooding, landslides, displacement, and infrastructure damage with little resources to respond,” Broglio wrote. “Our brothers and sisters in small island nations like Jamaica, Cuba, and Haiti are the most vulnerable to the impact of such strong storms, often intensified by a warming climate.”

Jamaica has suffered the greatest impact. While the hurricane did not make direct landfall in Haiti, the storm has produced heavy rains that have led to flash flooding and landslides in many areas and blocked major national routes. 

“Let us stand in solidarity by supporting the efforts of organizations already on the ground such as Caritas Haiti, Caritas Cuba, and Caritas Antilles, as well as Catholic Relief Services (CRS), who are supplying essential, direct services and accompaniment to those in need,” Broglio wrote. 

The USCCB called on Catholics and people of goodwill to support “the urgent and ongoing relief efforts, and long-term recovery work of CRS.” The agency is providing “lifesaving support — including emergency shelter, clean water, and essential supplies — to families most at risk,” CRS reported.

The St. Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square are seen at sunset near the French Quarter in downtown New Orleans on April 10, 2010. / Credit: Graythen/Getty Images

CNA Staff, Oct 31, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).

The Archdiocese of New Orleans secured nearly unanimous approval for a $230 million bankruptcy settlement on Thursday, paving the way for payouts to over 650 victims after five years of contentious litigation in the nation’s second-oldest Catholic archdiocese.

The vote, which closed at midnight on Oct. 30, saw 99.63% of creditors — including hundreds of abuse survivors — endorse the plan in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Eastern District of Louisiana, according to The Guardian.

Only the bondholder class, owed $30 million, opposed it, voting against the plan by a vote of 59 to 14, according to court documents. In 2017, bondholders lent the Church $40 million to help refinance parish debt and have been repaid only 25% of the outstanding balance. They have alleged fraud against the Church after it withheld promised interest payments. Legal experts say their “no” vote will not derail confirmation of the settlement, however. 

“Your honor, there is overwhelming support for this plan,” archdiocese attorney Mark Mintz said in court on Thursday. The plan required that two-thirds of voters approve it.

Final tallies of the votes will be filed next week, and a hearing before Judge Meredith Grabill is set for mid-November, potentially ending the archdiocese’s Chapter 11 case filed in May 2020 amid a flood of abuse claims.

In a statement to CNA, the archdiocese said: “Today we have the voting results of our proposed settlement and reorganization plan, which has been overwhelmingly approved by survivors and other creditors. We are grateful to the survivors who have voted in favor of moving forward with this plan and continue to pray that both the monetary settlement and the nonmonetary provisions provide each of them some path towards their healing and reconciliation.”

Archbishop Gregory Aymond originally told the Vatican in a letter that he thought he could settle abuse claims for around $7 million. The archdiocese has spent close to $50 million so far on legal fees alone.

The settlement going to abuse victims breaks down to $130 million in immediate cash from the archdiocese and affiliates, $20 million in promissory notes, $30 million from insurers, and up to $50 million more from property sales, including the Christopher Homes facilities, a property that has provided affordable housing and assisted living to low-income and senior citizens in the Gulf Coast area for the last 50 years.

Payout amounts to individual claimants will be determined by a point system negotiated by a committee of victims and administered by a trustee and an independent claims administrator appointed by the court. 

The point system is based on the type and nature of the alleged abuse. Additional points can be awarded for factors like participation in criminal prosecutions, pre-bankruptcy lawsuits, or leadership in victim efforts, while points may be reduced if the claimant was over 18 and consented to the contact. The impact of the alleged abuse on the victim’s behavior, academic achievement, mental health, faith, and family relationships can also adjust the score.

Abuse victim Richard Coon cast his vote on Monday. “I voted ‘yes’ to get Aymond out of town. I just think he’s been a horrible leader,” Coon said.

In September, Pope Leo XIV named Bishop James Checchio as coadjutor archbishop of New Orleans. Checchio has been working alongside Aymond and will replace him when he retires, which Aymond has said he plans to do when the bankruptcy case is resolved.

The $230 million deal is significantly higher than the initial $180 million proposal in May, which drew fire from attorneys like Richard Trahant, who criticized it for being “lowball.”

The initial settlement was “dead on arrival,” according to Trahant, who, along with other attorneys, urged his clients in May to hold out for a better offer, saying they deserved closer to $300 million, a figure similar to the $323 million paid out to about 600 claimants by the Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York in 2024. 

“There is no amount of money that could ever make these survivors whole,” Trahant said in a statement Thursday.

In the Diocese of Rockville Centre bankruptcy settlement, attorneys reportedly collected about 30% of the $323 million, or approximately $96.9 million. Similarly, the Los Angeles Archdiocese’s $660 million settlement in 2007 saw attorneys receiving an estimated $165-$217.8 million, or 25%-33% of the payout.

The bankruptcy stemmed from explosive revelations in 2018, when the Archdiocese of New Orleans listed over 50 credibly accused priests. In 2021, the Louisiana Legislature eliminated the statute of limitations for civil actions related to the sexual abuse of minors. 

The new law allows victims to pursue civil damages indefinitely for abuse occurring on or after June 14, 1992, or where the victim was a minor as of June 14, 2021, with a three-year filing window (which ended June 14, 2024) for older cases.

The Diocese of Lafayette, along with the Archdiocese of New Orleans, the Diocese of Baton Rouge, the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, Catholic Charities, the Diocese of Lake Charles, and several other entities challenged the law’s constitutionality, arguing it violated due process, but the Louisiana Supreme Court upheld it in June 2024 in a 4-3 decision.

Critics argued the retroactive nature of the law risks unfairness to defendants unable to defend against decades-old abuse claims due to lost evidence and highlighted the potentially devastating financial impact.

null / Credit: Shower of Roses

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 31, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

The celebration of “Holywins” (“Holiness wins“), is an initiative that originated in Paris in 2002 with the aim of celebrating the eve of All Saints on Oct. 31 in a Christian way. Over time, this Catholic celebration has been spreading to other places in the world.

On that day, parishes and Catholic communities gather to celebrate Mass, participate in Eucharistic adoration and prayer meetings, and take part in recreational activities to encourage the participation of children, young people, and their families.

It’s customary for children to dress up as their favorite saints, to discuss the exemplary lives of the saints, and to remind children of the call to sainthood. In addition, games are usually played, lively songs are sung, and food and sweets are shared.

The Diocese of Alcalá de Henares in Spain has been putting on a Holywins program for children and youths since 2009 that includes games, workshops, a procession to the cathedral, activities for the evening, and Eucharistic adoration.

Here are some ideas to celebrate Holywins with your family.

1. Dress up as your favorite saints.

A large investment isn’t needed to make a costume, and with the help of some fabrics or household items, you can create good characterizations of your favorite saints.

For example, to dress as St. Catherine of Siena, try a long white or cream-colored dress that represents the habit of the Dominican order, and a black cloth in the form of a veil used by nuns to cover their heads. In addition, a crown of dry branches can be made for the head and a cross and a small bouquet of lilies can be carried in the hand.

To dress up as St. Rose of Lima, consider using the same habit suggested for St. Catherine of Siena, but change the crown of dry branches for one of red roses.

To dress up as St. Juan Diego, all that is needed is a large white or cream-colored blanket or sheet to wrap around the body and on the front can be placed an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe with some red roses at her feet.

To represent St. Dominic Savio, the patron saint of children’s choirs, you only need brown pants, a green jacket, a white shirt, and a bow tie.

For St. Ignatius of Loyola, a black robe is all that is needed; and for St. Francis of Assisi, a brown robe.

You can find more ideas for costumes here.

2. Share themed foods and treats.

A Holywins celebration is usually accompanied by food, so take advantage of this day to cook with your family and prepare desserts related to favorite saints. As you enjoy the meal, share with your family stories of or quotes by these saints.

For example, for St. Juan Gualberto, the patron saint of parks and forest workers, you could make chocolate cupcakes decorated with white frosting and small trees made with chocolate or stretchy dough. In the case of St. Rose of Lima, you could make cupcakes with frosting in the shape of red roses.

For St. Anthony the Abbot, the patron saint of domestic animals, or St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and environmentalists, you could make or buy cookies in the shape of animals or leaves or trees.

3. Come up with playful activities about the saints.

In addition to the prepared desserts, you might fill large containers or cups with candy with each one wrapped in a piece of paper that has a quote from a saint written on it. You can also fill cups with candy and place a lollipop stick or a short stick inside with the image of a saint glued to it.

If you have pumpkins, draw a star or a cross on them and fill them with candy that has quotes from your favorite saints wrapped around them. In this way, the scary faces that are typically carved on pumpkins will be avoided and a more Christian meaning will be given to this activity.

Later, you could tell the story of some saints or watch movies of saints as a family — perhaps animated ones for children — and then ask questions to see how much family members understood. With those who already know various stories of the saints, you could play charades. Those who answer correctly can be rewarded with a small prize.

You could also have the smallest children in your family make a dramatization or performance of the story, episode, or anecdote of one of their favorite saints. This activity could be more fun if they have a costume or something associated with the saint.

In addition, each member of the family could be encouraged to draw his or her favorite saint or make origami or crafts representing his or her patron saint or some characteristic element of the saint. Afterward, each member could explain why he or she chose that saint and share a favorite quote of the saint with the others.

4. Decorate your home altar and pray as a family.

Set up a family altar in your home if you don’t already have one. This is an excellent place to pray the rosary as a family, and this devotional practice is better done with others than individually.

Images of saints are often placed on altars for veneration and can also be very educational.

Remembering that this space in the home should be special and encourage recollection for prayer, take advantage of this special day and decorate it as a family with images of your favorite saints and flowers for the Virgin Mary, whether natural or made with paper using the origami technique. 

Then, pray the rosary with your family, asking God for holiness for every member, and dedicate a prayer to the saint or saints of your devotion. Each family member could read a mystery of the rosary, and at the end everyone could sing a Marian hymn.

The concept of Holywins

For last year’s celebration of Holywins, the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares explained that “the phonetic similarity with the word ‘Halloween’ is not accidental, since Holywins seeks to help reinforce the Christian festival of All Saints in the face of [an] increasing” pagan influence on Halloween.

The diocese pointed out that although “Halloween means ‘All Hallows Eve’ in English, currently this celebration has no relation to the Christian faith. On the contrary, its way of approaching life and death, good and evil, is completely different from that of the Gospel of Christ and the tradition of his Church.”

Holywins is an initiative that seeks to encourage breaking with “the cult of death and the exaltation of the monstrous or ugly that it brings with it, since what is proper to Christians is to celebrate the triumph of life and promote beauty and [goodness],” the diocese said.

Holywins seeks to “convey the same message: Life is beautiful and its goal is heaven; there are many who have already arrived and we are all called to share their happiness, since we can all be saints,” the diocese pointed out.

The diocese also noted that “with the costumes of the living dead that fill the streets of the cities on Oct. 31” for the celebration of Halloween, “more and more dioceses are joining the celebration of Holywins.”

“We Catholics want to return to this day its true meaning and celebrate all those who heroically followed Jesus Christ, with a luminous feast of All Saints that overflows with joy and hope,” it concluded.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, on Oct. 25, 2022, and has been translated, adapted, and updated by CNA.

Shrine of the Queen Mother in Atibaia, Brazil. / Credit: Schoenstatt Apostolic Movement

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 30, 2025 / 16:50 pm (CNA).

On the occasion of the centenary of the Secular Institute of the Sisters of Mary of Schoenstatt, Germany, Pope Leo XIV has granted a plenary indulgence to anyone who visits the original Schoenstatt shrine or any shrine, church, or chapel under the care of this community.

The indulgence can be obtained throughout the community’s jubilee, which began on Oct. 1 and will conclude on Nov. 4, 2026.

“For our community, this gift of indulgence in our jubilee year is an invitation from God, through the Church, for a deeper purification of our hearts,” the Schoenstatt Movement said on its website, adding: “We trust that God’s grace will sustain us in a more perceptible way at the beginning of a new era for our family.”

The decree from the Apostolic Penitentiary of the Holy See states that the indulgence is granted “to members of the institute and to all the faithful who, moved by repentance and love, unite themselves to the spiritual goals of the Jubilee Year 2025.”

The faithful are invited to make a pilgrimage to one of the aforementioned places and spend time there in contemplation.

To obtain the indulgence, which can also be obtained on behalf of a deceased person, the following conditions must be met: sacramental confession, reception of the Eucharist, prayer for the pope’s intentions — according to the decree, the Our Father, the Creed, the invocation of Mary, Mother of God, as Queen of Peace and Mother of Mercy — and performing an act of penance and a work of charity.

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

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin meets with the head of government of Andorra, Xavier Espot, on Oct. 22, 2025. / Credit: Photo courtesy of government of Andorra

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 30, 2025 / 10:09 am (CNA).

A delegation from the Andorran government met on Oct. 22 with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin to continue discussions on the decriminalization of abortion in Andorra, a country whose co-heads of state are the bishop of the Diocese of Urgell in Spain, Josep-Lluís Serrano Pentinat, and French President Emmanuel Macron.

The boundaries of the diocese also encompass Andorra, which is a small principality situated in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain, roughly halfway between Toulouse and Barcelona.

The prime minister of Andorra who heads the executive branch, Xavier Espot, and the minister of institutional relations, Ladislau Baró, traveled to the Vatican, accompanied by the country’s ambassador to the Holy See, Carlos Álvarez.

The meeting, according to the Andorran government, took place “within the framework of the institutional dialogue between the two parties to address the process of decriminalizing abortion in Andorra.”

According to the executive branch of the small country, “both delegations reaffirmed their shared commitment to continue working constructively with the aim of having a draft legislative text in the coming months.”

At the same time, it was acknowledged that “this is a matter of great legal, institutional, and social complexity, requiring careful technical development,” and therefore both parties “maintain their desire to find a solution.”

This complexity relates to the Andorran Constitution, under which the bishop of Urgell and the president of France serve as co‑princes who sanction and enact the laws approved by the General Council (Parliament) with the required countersignature and within eight to 15 days of approval. The Constitution also allows the co‑princes to request a prior ruling on constitutionality before sanctioning a law.

“Decrimnalization” typically means that abortion remains a crime but only after a specific number of weeks of pregnancy. Prior to that time frame it is unpunishable. 

Abortion in the Andorran penal code

Title II of the Andorran penal code deals with “crimes against prenatal human life,” distinguishing between “nonconsensual,” “consensual,” and “negligent” abortion.

Article 107 on nonconsensual abortion establishes “a prison sentence of four to 10 years and disqualification from practicing any health care profession for up to 10 years.”

The same penalties apply if consent has been obtained “through violence, intimidation, or abuse of the victim’s vulnerability” due to age, disability, or similar circumstances. Furthermore, the article establishes that even attempted (unsuccessful) abortion is punishable.

Article 108, referring to consensual abortion, provides for whoever perpetrates the crime “a prison sentence of three months to three years and disqualification to exercise any health profession for a period of up to five years.” 

In addition, the code states that “the woman who causes her abortion or allows another person to cause it will be punished with a light sentence,” typically less than three months. 

With regard to abortion caused by negligence, Article 109 establishes a brief sentence or a fine of up to 30,000 euros ($34,760) and disqualification for a period of three years if the abortion is the result of “professional negligence.”

In this section it is also specified that “the pregnant woman will not be punished for this offense.”

Parolin’s visit to Andorra

In September 2023, Parolin visited Andorra, where he went before the media along with Espot and stated that this legal amendment “is a very delicate and complex matter that we must address with great discretion and wisdom.”

“For the Holy See, the principle of defending life at all its stages is fundamental. And this principle is accompanied by the desire to be close to, and to help, all those who are in difficulty,” the cardinal explained.

Parolin added that this affirmation of principles “also entails concrete actions; in this case, for example, toward pregnant women who encounter difficulties in having a child, in giving life to their child.”

The Vatican secretary of state pointed out that amending the penal status of abortion in Andorra also involves “the problem of the constitutional system” under which the bishop of Urgell is the co-prince.

“It’s not easy to reconcile these two aspects,” the cardinal acknowledged, adding: “We are working, we are reflecting; we are further studying [the matter]. These are things that cannot be resolved overnight; they require a great deal of participation, a great deal of commitment, and a great deal of effort.”

“We hope to find a solution that is satisfactory for everyone,” the Vatican secretary of state concluded.

The role of the bishop of Urgell in sanctioning Andorran laws

The constitution of Andorra establishes in Article 45 subsection 1g  that the co-princes of Andorra “with the countersignature of the head of government (prime minister) or, where appropriate, the president of the General Council, who assume political responsibility,” are the ones who “sanction and promulgate the laws” within a period of between eight and 15 days after their approval by the General Council of Andorra.

The reform also establishes the possibility that the co-princes, as an “act freely at their disposal,” may require a “prior ruling on the constitutionality of laws” (Article 46, subsection 1e). 

ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, contacted the government of Andorra for more information on the reform and its potential implications for the bishop of Urgell but received no response. The Diocese of Urgell declined to comment.

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

Archbishop Georg Gänswein speaks at a conference on the Šiluva Declaration in Šiluva, Lithuania, on Sept. 4, 2024. / Credit: Juozas Kamenskas

Šiluva, Lithuania, Oct 29, 2025 / 15:59 pm (CNA).

Twenty years after then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger warned of a “dictatorship of relativism” on the eve of his election as Pope Benedict XVI, his former secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, echoed that warning at a recent conference in Lithuania.

The former prefect of the papal household and longtime personal secretary to Pope Benedict XVI, Gänswein drew deeply on the late pontiff’s philosophy as he delivered the keynote address at this year’s conference, which brought together academics, civic leaders, public intellectuals, and clergy to discuss the principles of the 2021 Šiluva Declaration. 

The declaration advocates the defense of fundamental human rights, the fostering of virtue, and the promotion of societal common good. It recognizes the importance of a society built upon the pillars of truth, family values, human dignity, and faith in God and has since become a moral reference point for Catholic social thinkers in Lithuania.

Gänswein’s lecture offered a rich philosophical and theological reflection on faith, reason, and relativism, aspects that he described as a “constant theme in Ratzinger’s work.” The archbishop, who now serves as nuncio to the Baltic states, warned that when either faith or reason is diminished, that inevitably leads to “pathologies and the disintegration of the human person.”

This is the third such conference dedicated to reflecting on the Šiluva Declaration, published on Sept. 12, 2021, during the town’s annual Marian festival. Šiluva is the location of a Marian shrine dedicated to one of Europe’s earliest approved apparitions.

Archbishop Kęstutis Kėvalas delivered the conference’s opening remarks, urging vigilance against temptations to experiment with human nature and dignity. He also reminded attendees that the Marian shrine at Šiluva symbolizes fidelity to God’s order in creation. 

“The holy place of Šiluva invites respect for the order that the Creator has given to this world,” he said.

Gänswein said that in the face of today’s great challenges, such as technical thinking and globalization, the first step must be to recover the full scope of reason. He described true reason as inherently truthful, contrasting it with relativism, which he called “an expression of weak and narrow-minded thinking … based on the false pride of believing humans cannot recognize the truth and the false humility of refusing to accept it.” 

“The truth sets us free,” he added, referencing John 8:32 and noting that truth serves as the standard by which humans must measure themselves and that embracing it requires humility.

Gänswein concluded by warning that relativism — the defining mindset of modernity, which he described as “a creeping poison” — ultimately undermines human freedom. Driven by self-sufficiency and amplified by social media, relativism blinds people to truth and their ultimate purpose.

Humanity’s true goal, he affirmed, is “to come to the knowledge of the truth, which is God, and thus to attain eternal life.” His address was met with sustained applause.

The conference also featured a range of thought-provoking talks on Lithuania’s moral and political identity, the challenges of liberal democracy, post-Soviet societal changes, and the role of faith and family in public life. It concluded with a panel discussion on Europe’s moral direction, freedom of speech, and the renewal of Christian values in society.

Archbishop Gintaras Grušas of Vilnius recalled Pope Leo XIV’s words that the Church “can never be exempted from the duty to speak the truth about man and the world, using, when necessary, even harsh language that may initially cause misunderstandings.” He stressed that all Christians, including those in public life, have a duty to defend the truth, which he described as “not an abstract idea but a path along which a person discovers true freedom.”

The conference was organized jointly by the Lithuanian civic group Laisvos visuomenės institutas (Institute of a Free Society), the Lithuanian Christian Workers’ Trade Union, and the Faculty of Catholic Theology at Vytautas Magnus University.

A new stamp issued by the Irish postal service honors Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, who saved 6,500 news in Rome during World War II. / Credit: An Post

Dublin, Ireland, Oct 29, 2025 / 13:51 pm (CNA).

The Irish postal service has released a new postage stamp marking the 100th anniversary of the ordination of Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, savior of 6,500 Jews in Rome during World War II.

O’Flaherty used his position in the Roman Curia to hide fugitives from Nazi forces for the duration of their occupation of Rome from September 1943 to June 1944. It is estimated that he saved 6,500 Jews by hiding them in monasteries, convents, Vatican living quarters, and even Castel Gandolfo before smuggling them to safety.

Every evening, he stood in defiance of the Nazis, taking up his position in the half shadows on the steps at St. Peter’s. The German occupiers, unable to cross into neutral Vatican soil, could only watch in frustration and anger as O’Flaherty audaciously and courageously greeted a succession of fugitives.

To the Germans, O’Flaherty was elusive, enigmatic, and provocative, becoming the most wanted man in the Eternal City. He used disguise and subterfuge to move outside the Vatican at night, visiting those he helped. He was never apprehended.

Col. Herbert Kappler, the SS commander in Rome, mounted several unsuccessful attempts to abduct and murder O’Flaherty. Once, a Gestapo hit squad was reportedly apprehended in St. Peter’s Basilica by a team of four Swiss guards who, together with some Yugoslavian refugees, put manners on the Germans before ejecting them, disheveled and bruised, from Vatican territory.

Postwar, Kappler was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the Ardeatine Massacre. O’Flaherty was his only visitor in the Gaeta prison outside Rome, calling every month. O’Flaherty baptized Kappler into the Catholic faith in 1959.

Gregory Peck stars as Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty in the 1983 movie “The Scarlet and the Black,” with Christopher Plummer featured as Kappler.

The Irish priest’s network was established without his ecclesiastical superiors’ permission, though Pope Pius XII eventually became aware that something was happening within the Vatican walls.

He earned the nickname “The Pimpernel of the Vatican” after the fictional character the Scarlet Pimpernel, a daring English aristocrat who rescued French nobles from the guillotine during the French Revolution using disguises and daring rescues.

O’Flaherty was born in County Cork, Ireland, and his family moved to Killarney, where his father was steward of Killarney Golf Club. There, the young O’Flaherty was a scratch handicap golfer. Following ordination in Rome in 1925, he served in Egypt, Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Czechoslovakia as a Vatican diplomat before returning to Rome and a position in the Holy Office.

The “Dictionary of Irish Biography” says of O’Flaherty: “Despite his rough-edged demeanor, his skills at bridge and golf admitted him to the highest echelons of Roman society … After serving as secretary to the papal nuncio to Allied prisoner-of-war camps in northern Italy, O’Flaherty began to assist Jews, dissidents, deserting Italian soldiers, and others fleeing from the Italian fascist government.”