Ss. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church

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Rome, Italy, Sep 29, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Many influential figures hope that developments in brain-computer interfaces, artificial general intelligence (AGI), and genetic engineering will usher in a new transhumanist era. But what exactly is transhumanism and how does the Church approach it?

The Transhumanist FAQ 3.0 describes transhumanism as “the intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally improving the human condition through applied reason, especially by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities.”

Although the number of members in official transhumanist organizations remains small, the movement’s mindset is widespread among prominent tech developers and influences key decisions about beginning-of-life and end-of-life decisions made daily.

Media sensation and technology investor Bryan Johnson embodies transhumanist ideals through his strict lifestyle regimen aimed at reversing his aging and buying him and his followers more time to avoid death through eventual scientific breakthroughs.

After optimizing his sleep, diet, and exercise routines, Johnson has turned to over 100 health supplement pills, light exposure therapies, and other experimental enhancements. For example, he uses rapamycin (an immunosuppressant drug given to organ transplant patients), receives blood transfusions from his fit college-aged son, and has traveled to the Caribbean island Roatán for follistatin (a muscle-building protein used to treat degenerative conditions like muscle dystrophy) gene therapy injections not approved by the FDA. 

The fallen-away Mormon has started his “Don’t Die” movement, which he is not afraid to call a new religion. 

Without claiming to start a new religion, other major tech figures are committed to technological solutions to aging and death. For instance, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has invested billions in Altos Labs to investigate slowing and reversing aging, and Google co-founder Larry Page started the radical life extension project Calico Labs.

Supporting human dignity

While it does not promote a biological solution to death, the Church is dedicated to using technological innovations to help patients live healthier and longer lives through its extensive health care system. The Church supports the adoption of promising CRISPR gene therapies for beta-thalassemia, sickle cell anemia, and personalized treatments for rare metabolic conditions. 

However, in her commitment to intrinsic human dignity, the Church refuses to support techno-pronatalist projects that use IVF to create embryos and then screen them for desirable traits. Many in the transhumanism movement are especially eager to select for intelligence so that children will be equipped to innovate and correctly guide AI developments to avoid existential risks and foster a more prosperous society.

These projects are presented as “responsible parenthood,” giving children genetic advantages for their future pursuits. However, behind this benign rhetoric, dark shadows of neo-eugenics lurk. 

Numerous embryos created through IVF are deemed unworthy of life due to their genetic profile and are discarded or kept in perpetual suspension. These transhumanist projects tragically aim to create a superior future humanity at the expense of present humans. 

Moreover, while planning for future generations is a moral responsibility, focusing too much on long-term projects like space colonization can distract from urgent short-term efforts to address present societal injustices, such as poor access to basic health care and unchecked environmental damage.

Along with genetically engineering the next generation, many transhumanist thinkers are interested in bodily modifications that enhance capabilities through brain-computer interfaces. Elon Musk’s Neuralink company’s mission of restoring autonomy in patients who have suffered spinal cord injury or ALS is admirable. Hearing Noland Arbaugh talk about how easily he can connect with loved ones and study neuroscience using a thought-controlled computer is heartening. 

Yet the effort to boost mental capacity with millions of healthy implant users raises serious concerns about mental privacy, manipulating thoughts, and the mental health impacts of such rapid connectivity.

The boldest transhumanist projects aim for a posthuman, post-biological existence maintained through digital immortality. 

Ray Kurzweil, a longtime director of engineering at Google, predicts a singularity event marked by rapid technological growth, self-improving AI systems, and a merging of humans and machines that will bring unimaginable enhancements to human existence. Some hope that advances in AI will enable the preservation and transfer of human consciousness. 

However, these efforts can, at best, provide a copy of data about the deceased. They fail to preserve the embodied human person. Moreover, the misguided hope for digital immortality can discourage individuals from gracefully embracing their earthly finitude while setting their ultimate hope in the resurrection of the body.

Efforts to abandon the fragile, vulnerable body can also negatively affect how people facing illness or disability are treated. Furthermore, if one becomes convinced that the value of life mainly depends on physical and psychological fitness, the temptation to end life through assisted suicide and euthanasia during times of decline and distress becomes more tempting. 

Caring for bodily well-being is a Christian duty, but true dignity is not based on physical strength or mental sharpness. The vulnerable body is not just a problem to tolerate but is the reality through which virtues like care, patience, service, empathy, and courage are exercised. Safe and effective improvements in cognition, physical health, and emotional well-being through pharmaceuticals, genetics, or other biotechnologies can contribute to a good life if used wisely, but they cannot ensure moral or spiritual growth. 

‘Catholic transhumanism’

Catholics should dialogue with transhumanists who genuinely seek to improve the human condition via technological tools. Non-Christian authors recognize that the Catholic Church was once the Silicon Valley of its day. It was a well-networked, well-funded hub of innovation in astronomy, architecture, agriculture, engineering, health care, social welfare, and many other fields. Catholic clergy spearheaded Big Bang cosmology, genetics, geology, and internet hyperlinks. Together, they can work to improve health care while guiding biotechnological interventions in ways that uphold the fundamental human dignity of vulnerable patients.

Religious expressions of transhumanism include the Mormon Transhumanist Association and the Christian Transhumanist Association. These groups see emerging technologies as crucial tools for achieving traditional Christian goals of spiritual transformation. Nonetheless, many leading transhumanists consider their movement as a rational and scientific alternative to, and an improvement on, traditional religions.

For instance, Extropy Institute (a forerunner of the World Transhumanist Association) co-founder Max More claims that “apart from the sheer falsity and irrationality of religion it has had the unfortunate consequence (identified by Ludwig Feuerbach) of debasing humanity.” He proposes transhumanism as a liberating force for human ingenuity and ongoing progress. Yet the largely secular contemporary transhumanist movement has surprising Catholic roots. 

Centuries before secular authors like Julian Huxley wrote about transhumanism as the human-driven technological evolution of the human species, Dante insisted that the transhumanizing experience of heavenly transfiguration is so sublime that even his poetic genius cannot capture it fully in words. In “Paradiso” Canto I, 70-71, he writes: “Trasumanar significar per verba, non si poria” (“Passing beyond the human cannot be expressed in words”).

Catholic transhumanism is rooted in the gift of grace and free collaboration with God. Transhumanizing theosis is concerned chiefly with growth in virtue and docility to the Holy Spirit. Catholic divinization is an elevation open to all people of all conditions and circumstances, not only the most physically fit and cognitively acute.

The longtime pro-life advocate Anna Záborská served in both the Slovak and European Parliaments during her political career. / Credit: The Collegium of Anton Neuwirth

Rome, Italy, Sep 27, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A pro-life politician who earned respect across party lines for her unwavering advocacy and integrity has left a lasting legacy in Slovakia and European politics following her death on Aug. 20.

Anna Záborská, 77, built a distinguished career spanning both Slovak and European Parliaments while consistently championing traditional family values, religious freedom, and the rights of the unborn — positions that sparked controversy yet garnered admiration even from political opponents.

Early life and family background

Born in Switzerland in 1948, Záborská was the daughter of Anton Neuwirth, who worked alongside Nobel Prize-winning chemist Paul Karrer. After the family returned to Czechoslovakia, her father became a political prisoner under the communist regime. Following the fall of communism, Neuwirth made history as the first ambassador of the newly independent Slovak Republic to the Holy See.

Political career

Following her father’s path in both medicine and public service, Záborská built an impressive political career. She served multiple terms in the Slovak Parliament in Bratislava before being elected to the European Parliament in Brussels, where she notably chaired the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality.

She later returned to Slovak politics while also serving as plenipotentiary of the government of the Slovak Republic for the protection of freedom of religion or belief.

The position was created in September 2021 by Slovakia’s government, which recognized “the growing seriousness of the problem of violations of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion in the world.” Záborská was appointed to this role just days before Pope Francis visited Slovakia.

The position was eliminated in November 2023.

Advocacy and beliefs

Záborská was a steadfast advocate for pro-life causes, traditional family values, and religious freedom. She consistently spoke out for the rights of the unborn, pregnant women, and what she termed the “natural family.” Her advocacy extended internationally, including support for women’s rights in Iran.

She often drew parallels between communist oppression and modern secular challenges to religious freedom. Recalling how communists labeled her father “a Vatican spy,” she noted that some European Parliament colleagues used similar accusations against her, suggesting they “unconsciously conform their opinions to those who once helped build a monstrous communist regime.”

A vision for a continent in crisis

Twenty years ago, at a Rome conference, Záborská expressed concern about Europe’s direction, identifying “an ever more profound crisis of European civilization” that she believed was “strictly connected to the crisis of the faith in God and weakening of family.” Despite these concerns, she maintained hope that Europe could overcome its challenges through “untiring teaching of the Church among peoples sustained by patient diplomacy of the Holy See.”

While Záborská’s positions generated controversy and criticism from extreme leftists, radical feminists, and abortion advocates, she earned respect across party lines for her integrity and consistency.

A progressive Slovak daily acknowledged that “she was admired, even beyond her supporters, for her integrity and consistency. Few Slovak politicians of her generation maintained such a steady ideological course over decades.”

Some within her own conservative circle occasionally viewed her kindness as a political weakness. However, Archbishop Bernard Bober, chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Slovakia, praised her character: “She was a woman with an open heart who could bring people together with kindness, tenderness, and peace.” He emphasized that her faith was not merely rhetorical but “a lifestyle, which she showed in service and work.”

Philanthropic work

Beyond her political activities, Záborská demonstrated her commitment to her values through personal sacrifice, donating a significant portion of her parliamentary salary to charitable causes that support women and the education of young Catholic intellectuals.

Bober summarized her life’s message as: “Loyalty, humility, and service have the power to change the world for the better.”

St. Vincent de Paul. / Credit: Public domain

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

On Sept. 27 the Catholic Church remembers St. Vincent de Paul, the 17th-century French priest known as the patron of Catholic charities for his apostolic work among the poor and marginalized.

During a September 2010 Angelus address, Pope Benedict XVI noted that St. Vincent “keenly perceived the strong contrast between the richest and the poorest of people” and was “encouraged by the love of Christ” to “organize permanent forms of service” to provide for those in need.

The exact year of Vincent’s birth is not definitively known, but it has been placed between 1576 and 1581. Born to a poor family in the southwest of France, he showed his intellectual gifts from a young age, studying theology from around age 15. He received ordination as a priest in the year 1600 and worked as a tutor to students in Toulouse.

During a sea voyage in 1605, Vincent was seized by Turkish pirates and sold into slavery. His ordeal of captivity lasted until 1607, during which time the priest converted his owner to the Christian faith and escaped with him from Tunisia. Afterward, he spent time studying in Rome, and — in a striking reversal of fortune — served as an educator and spiritual guide to members of an upper-class French family.

Although Vincent had initially begun his priesthood with the intention of securing a life of leisure for himself, he underwent a change of heart after hearing the confession of a dying peasant. Moved with compassion for the poor, he began undertaking missions and founding institutions to help them both materially and spiritually. The onetime slave also ministered to convicts forced to serve in squalid conditions as rowers aboard galley ships.

Vincent established the Congregation of Priests of the Mission in 1625 as part of an effort to evangelize rural populations and foster vocations to remedy a priest shortage. Not long after this, he worked with the future St. Louise de Marillac to organize the Daughters of Charity, the first congregation of women religious whose consecrated life involved an extensive apostolate among the poor, the sick, and prisoners.

Under Louise’s direction, the order collected donations, which Vincent distributed widely among those in need. These contributions went toward homes for abandoned children, a hospice for the elderly, and an immense complex where 40,000 poor people were given lodging and work. Vincent was involved in various ways with all of these works as well as with efforts to help refugees and to free those sold into slavery in foreign lands.

Though admired for these accomplishments during his lifetime, the priest maintained great personal humility, using his reputation and connections to help the poor and strengthen the Church. Doctrinally, Vincent was a strong opponent of Jansenism, a theological heresy that denied the universality of God’s love and discouraged reception of the Eucharist. He was also involved in the reform of several religious orders within France.

St. Vincent de Paul died on Sept. 27, 1660, only months after the death of St. Louise de Marillac in March of the same year. Pope Clement XII canonized him in 1737. In 1835, the French scholar Blessed Frederic Ozanam took him as the inspiration and namesake for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a lay Catholic organization working for the relief of the poor.

This story was first published on Sept. 23, 2012, and has been updated.

Cardinal Lucian Mureşan, major archbishop of the Greek Catholic Church in Romania, died Sept. 25, 2025, at age 94. / Credit: Mihai Andrei, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 26, 2025 / 15:58 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Lucian Mureşan, major archbishop of the Greek Catholic Church in Romania and a priest who was secretly ordained during persecution by the communist regime that fell in 1989, died Sept. 25.

According to Vatican News, Mureşan died at his residence in Blaj, Romania, after several months of illness. He was 94.

Mureşan was created a cardinal at the age of 80 in 2012, during the pontificate of Benedict XVI. This type of designation, when one has already surpassed the age to be an elector in a possible conclave, is a papal recognition of the service to the Church offered by the recipient.

Who was Cardinal Mureşan?

Lucian Mureşan was born on May 23, 1931, in Transylvania, in Ferneziu, a present-day district of the city of Baia Mare in Romania, into a family of 12 children.

Following the suppression of the Greek Catholic Church in Romania by the communists in 1948, he had to abandon his high school studies and, for a time, his priestly vocation, to train professionally as a carpenter.

In 1955, the bishop of Alba Iulia, Márton Áron, admitted five young Greek Catholics, including Mureşan, to the theological institute of the Latin rite Catholic Church in that diocese.

In their fourth year, Mureşan and the others who entered with him were expelled from the institute by the Department of Religious Affairs, thus beginning the onslaught by the Securitate, the secret police of President Nicolae Ceauşescu’s communist regime.

For 10 years, he worked in the road and bridge maintenance department in the Maramureş district, but he continued to study theology clandestinely.

On Dec. 19, 1964, Mureşan was ordained a priest. He also carried out his ministry clandestinely, working in youth and vocation ministry. After the death of Bishop Ioan Dragomir in 1986, he led the Eparchy of Maramureş.

One of Mureşan’s last public speeches when he was already ill was at the commemoration of Cardinal Iuliu Hossu, blessed and martyr under the communist regime in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.

Among other things, Mureşan said that in the martyred cardinal’s testimony, he had found the strength “to forgive and love those who persecuted him.”

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

Protesters wave the Union Jack and St. George’s Cross flags during the “Unite the Kingdom” rally on Westminster Bridge by the Houses of Parliament on Sept. 13, 2025, in London. / Credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 25, 2025 / 16:48 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, has joined other church leaders in England to express concern that protesters were “co-opting Christianity” at the recent “Unite the Kingdom” rally in London.

“As leaders of Christian churches in this country, we wish to express our deep concern that in the recent rally ‘Unite the Kingdom’ and in other places, use has been made, by some, of the symbols and words of the Christian faith to support views and attitudes actually opposed” to the Christian message, the presidents of Churches Together in England (CTE) said in a Sept. 23 statement. 

“In contrast, we wish to state clearly some of the key messages of our shared faith that are a crucial contribution to the well-being of all people in our lands,” they wrote. 

The statement comes after a recent “Unite the Kingdom” rally in England, organized by anti-immigration activist Tommy Robinson, reportedly drew an estimated 110,000 to 150,000 people, according to Reuters, and featured a video appearance by billionaire Elon Musk. 

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, organized the rally in response to record-breaking levels of asylum-seeking migrants in Britain and the rising levels of crimes they are allegedly committing.

Robinson said during an address at the rally where protesters carried Britain’s Union Jack flag, as well as flags bearing the red-and-white St. George’s Cross of England: “Today is the spark of a cultural revolution in Great Britain, this is our moment,” and praised those gathered for the demonstration for representing “a tidal wave of patriotism.”

At the smaller “Stand Up to Racism” counterprotest of about 5,000 people, which took place alongside Robinson’s demonstration, a speaker identified as Ben Hetchin said that “the idea of hate is dividing us and I think the more that we welcome people the stronger we are as a country,” according to Reuters.

The Christian leaders’ statement similarly countered the tone of the rally, condemning its use of the Cross of St. George to protest against immigration.

“The cross of Christ reveals God’s overwhelming and unconditional love for every single human being,” the statement said. ”The cross and the Gospel of Christ must never be co-opted to support the messages that breed hostility towards others. Its message never legitimizes rejection, hatred, or superiority towards people of other cultures.”

“As Christians, we wish all policy to be grounded in solid and compassionate values. So, we pray for a generous and just spirit, which does not demonize the other simply for being other. We pray that we can have mercy on those in need who legitimately come seeking our aid. We pray for a true Christian revival where people of all creeds and none, of all ethnicities and ways of life, can feel secure and appreciated for the gifts they bring.”

Nichols was joined by Bishop Tedroy Powell, CTE Pentecostal and Charismatic president and national bishop of the Church of God of Prophecy UK; Rev. Dr. Tessa Henry-Robinson, moderator of the Free Churches Group; Bishop Paulina Hławiczka-Trotman, CTE president for the Fourth Presidency Group and head of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain; and His Eminence Archbishop Nikitas, CTE president for the Orthodox Churches and archbishop of the Oecumenical Patriarchate (Diocese of Thyateira and Great Britain).

Pope Leo XIV and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. / Credit: Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News; Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 3.0)

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 25, 2025 / 15:18 pm (CNA).

American actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to attend the Oct. 1–3 “Raising Hope for Climate Justice” conference, led by Pope Leo XIV in Castel Gandolfo. This is the second time the American actor will meet with a pontiff, having greeted Pope Francis in January 2017 following a general audience held in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican.

This international gathering “seeks to promote a global response to the climate and ecological crisis from faith, politics, and civil society,” according to the Vatican Press Office, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the encyclical Laudato Si’, the Paris Agreement on climate, and the 2025 Jubilee.

Promoted by the Laudato Si’ Movement in collaboration with international organizations, speakers will include the Brazilian minister of the environment, Marina Silva, as well as “bishops, heads of international organizations, Indigenous leaders, climate and biodiversity experts, and representatives of civil society.”

According to the organizers, the three days “will feature conferences, panel discussions, spiritual moments, and cultural encounters that will highlight the progress made since the publication of Laudato Si’ and the urgent steps that must be taken in preparation for COP30 in Brazil.”

Organizers said the event seeks “to celebrate the fruits of Laudato Si’ and the climate action of faith communities over the past decade,” “to inspire hope in the midst of the climate crisis with a unique spiritual and cultural program,” “to mobilize concrete commitments from religious, political, and social leaders toward climate justice,” and “to promote long-term collaboration between the Church, civil society, and policymakers.” 

The Oct. 1 program includes an address by the director of the Laudato Si’ Movement, Lorna Gold, and the president of the Focolare Movement, Margaret Karram, plus remarks by Pope Leo XIV, the Brazilian minister, and the former governor of California.

The following day is set to feature the keynote address, “A Reason for Hope,” by the archbishop of Porto Alegre, Brazil, Cardinal Jaime Spengler, president of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil and the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM, by its Spanish acronym).

The conference’s third day will explore practical ways to implement Laudato Si’.

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

The chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing, defended his country’s controversial guidelines on same-sex blessings this week, asserting that there was no contradiction with Vatican teaching, despite Pope Leo XIV’s recent criticism. / Credit: Deutsche Bischofskonferenz/Marko Orlovic

CNA Deutsch, Sep 25, 2025 / 14:03 pm (CNA).

The chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference defended his country’s controversial guidelines on same-sex blessings this week, asserting that there was no contradiction with Vatican teaching, despite Pope Leo XIV’s recent criticism. 

Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg used his closing address at the autumn assembly to address the concern. “To construct the matter of ‘episcopal disobedience’ on the part of German bishops from Pope Leo XIV’s statements on Fiducia Supplicans  is simply absurd,” Bätzing said. 

Pope Leo made the statement in a recent interview with Crux.  

“In Northern Europe, they are already publishing rituals of blessing ‘people who love one another,’ which goes specifically against the document that Pope Francis approved,” the pontiff said. 

Even before Leo’s warning words, five German dioceses refused to implement the German guidelines, citing conflicts with Vatican teaching. 

On Thursday, Bätzing maintained that these guidelines, titled “Blessings Give Love Strength,” were created “in consultation with the Roman Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.”  

The German prelate said that “the criticism that the pope hints at in the interview is directed against the publication of liturgical formularies for formal blessing rituals. This is precisely what the German bishops have consciously not done.” 

“The handbook created in Germany, ‘Blessings Give Love Strength,’ is a pastoral concretization of Fiducia Supplicans created in consultation with the Roman Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith about the situation in Germany,” the conference chairman said.

When asked by CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, about how this “consultation” was structured, a conference press spokesman stated that it does not comment on such internal matters as a matter of principle.

Vatican document context 

The German tensions relate to the document Fiducia Supplicans, issued by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in December 2023.

The document allowed priests to offer “spontaneous” pastoral blessings to same-sex couples and others in “irregular situations” while maintaining that such blessings cannot resemble ceremonies and must be very brief.

In his opening Mass homily this week, Bätzing reflected on the Church’s theological self-understanding.

The Church’s identity as “sacrament and instrument of salvation,” as formulated by the Second Vatican Council, “must not be understood exclusively, as it has been for centuries,” he said, referencing the traditional teaching “extra ecclesiam nulla salus” (“no salvation outside the Church”).

The conciliar declaration Nostra Aetate  on the Church’s relationship to other religions has become “exemplary for the further development of Church teaching,” enabling “ecumenism, dialogue with other religions, acceptance of freedom of religion and conscience,” Bätzing argued. 

However, other bishops quickly shifted focus at the assembly to different concerns, including declining membership.

Membership crisis deepens 

Considering catastrophic results from the 2023 Church membership survey, Mainz Bishop Peter Kohlgraf emphasized that “reforms are not enough.”

According to the survey, only 22% of Catholic Church members have confidence in their institution, down from over 80% in the 1980s. Three-quarters of Catholic Church members are considering leaving the Church.

Kohlgraf emphasized: “Even if the Church and we bishops, as responsible actors, were to implement such an agenda in full, the church pews would not automatically fill up again, baptism rates would not rise, and Church departures would not decline.”

Archbishop Udo Bentz of Paderborn warned Tuesday: “We must not get stuck in crisis mode.” While calling for “a synodal culture,” he cautioned against focusing solely on “who is allowed to participate in decision-making” at the expense of broader pastoral concerns. 

The division among German bishops reflects broader tensions as the Church navigates between pastoral outreach and doctrinal clarity in an increasingly secular society. 

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, CNA's German-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.

A 13th-century fresco of St. Francis of Assisi by the Florentine painter Cimabue, one of the earliest depictions of the saint, is located in the lower church of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Assisi, Italy.  / Credit: Jacob Stein/Crux Stationalis

Rome, Italy, Sep 24, 2025 / 13:02 pm (CNA).

The Italian Parliament this week took a major step toward making the Oct. 4 feast of St. Francis of Assisi a national holiday.

The Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Italy’s Parliament, voted to pass the bill on Sept. 23, with 247 votes in favor of the proposal and two against. Eight people abstained.

The bill is highly expected to pass into law but must first be put to vote in the other house of Italy’s Parliament, the Senate. No date has been set for the Senate vote on the bipartisan initiative introduced by the center-right party “Noi Moderati” (“Us Moderates”).

St. Francis is considered Italy’s patron saint, and his feast was celebrated as a national holiday by the country until 1977. The year 2026 will be a significant year of celebration as it will mark the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis in 1226.

The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Lorenzo Fontana, said: “I am delighted that the chamber has given the initial green light to this proposal: Rediscovering St. Francis also means reviving his message of peace, which is more relevant than ever.”

Italy currently has 12 national work holidays on the calendar, of which eight are solely based on religious feast days, including: Epiphany on Jan. 6, Easter Monday, the Assumption of Mary on Aug. 15, All Saints Day on Nov. 1, the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8, Christmas Day on Dec. 25, and the feast of St. Stephen the Martyr on Dec. 26.

The eighth religious-based holiday differs city to city as it is the patronal feast of the place. The solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul on June 29 is a holiday in Rome because they are the city’s patron saints.

The other four national holidays are Jan. 1, New Year’s Day (also the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God); April 25, the celebration of the liberation of Italy from Nazi-fascism in 1945; May 1, Labor Day (also the feast of St. Joseph the Worker); and June 2, the holiday marking the birth of the Italian republic in 1946.

Thousands of demonstrators joined the March for Life on Cologne, Germany, on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2025. / Credit: EWTN Germany

CNA Newsroom, Sep 23, 2025 / 09:35 am (CNA).

Thousands of pro-life advocates gathered peacefully in Berlin and Cologne on Sept. 20 for Germany’s annual March for Life.  

Police prevented disruption attempts by left-wing activists, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.

The peaceful demonstrations marked the third year of simultaneous marches in both cities. Participants carried colorful balloons and signs defending human dignity from conception to natural death.

Episcopal endorsement energizes marchers 

Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg joined thousands of marchers in Berlin, walking alongside Berlin Auxiliary Bishop Matthias Heinrich through the German capital’s streets.

The Berlin march commenced at Washingtonplatz near Brandenburg Gate, where participants carried red and green balloons as vibrant symbols of life’s protection.

In Cologne, Auxiliary Bishop Dominik Schwaderlapp celebrated Mass with the faithful before the march began at Neumarkt in the city center. Bishop Georg Bätzing, chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, contributed a written message emphasizing that life “is a gift from God that humans do not acquire themselves but is entrusted to them.” 

Global perspective grounds German gathering 

Alexandra Linder, chairwoman of the Federal Association for the Right to Life, addressed the Berlin crowd with gratitude for strong participation and favorable weather while highlighting the international scope of pro-life activism. She noted a historic inaugural march in Vilnius, Lithuania, and a simultaneous event in Zurich as well as the upcoming march in Vienna on Oct. 4.  

Johanna Durairaj from the organization Life for All brought sobering testimony from India, where millions of abortions occur annually. 

The demonstrations prominently featured calls for conscience protection, with pharmacist Andreas Kersten advocating for the right to refuse dispensing the “morning-after pill” on moral grounds as an essential example of following one’s conscience.  

Felix Böllmann of ADF International told EWTN Germany, which covered the whole event, that while freedom of assembly enables such rallies, “freedom of conscience is also constitutionally protected.”

Professor Holm Schneider, a pediatrician from the University of Erlangen, shared compelling testimony about a quadruplet pregnancy where all four children were born despite medical recommendations for “selective abortion,” describing it as “moving witness to life that makes clear every child can be welcome.” 

Germany’s Federal Association for the Right to Life unveiled comprehensive policy demands, including complete abortion statistics and research into abortion’s causes, quality assessments of pregnancy conflict counseling centers, and recognition that “human existence begins with conception.”

The organization demanded unrestricted conscience protections for medical professionals, including during training.

Addressing assisted dying legislation, the association declared assisted suicide “a bankruptcy declaration of society” while calling for expanded hospice and palliative care services.

Swiss solidarity strengthens statement 

Simultaneously, Switzerland’s March for Life in Zurich drew approximately 2,000 participants.  

The event focused on prenatal medicine challenges, heard testimonies from late-term abortion survivors, and debated insurance coverage for abortions. 

The peaceful demonstrations represent continuing momentum for European pro-life movements navigating complex cultural and political landscapes while maintaining their commitment to human dignity. 

St. Pio of Pietrelcina, better known as Padre Pio, at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Rome, Italy on Feb. 3, 2016. / Credit: Alexey Gotovskiy/CNA

National Catholic Register, Sep 23, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

One of the most popular Catholic saints of the 20th century, St. Pio of Pietrelcina, commonly known as Padre Pio, was a Capuchin Franciscan friar, priest, and mystic. His tomb can be found in the Sanctuary of St. Mary Our Lady of Grace in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy. 

Padre Pio is known for his deep wisdom about prayer and peace, his stigmata, miraculous reports of his bilocation, being physically attacked by the devil, and mastering the spiritual life.

As the Church celebrates his feast day on Sept. 23, here’s a look at 13 facts about St. Pio’s life and faith.

1. Padre Pio was only 5 years old when he expressed a strong desire to serve God.

Born Francesco Forgione on May 25, 1887, in Pietrelcina, Italy, he served as an altar boy at his local parish. At the early age of 5, he consecrated himself to Jesus. By the age of 10, his family looked to see how he could become a Capuchin friar.

2. Padre Pio was only 15 when he entered the Capuchin Friars Minor as a novice. 

Being a young teenager, Francesco was given the name Pio or Pius when he entered as a novice. He professed his solemn vows three years later. No stranger to suffering amid frail health throughout much of his studies, he was ordained a priest in 1910. He ascended the Gargano mountains to the rural friary outside of San Giovanni Rotondo in 1916. He remained there for more than 50 years, until his death on Sept. 23, 1968.

3. St. Pio received the visible wounds of Christ known as the stigmata, just like St. Francis of Assisi.

On Sept. 20, 1918, Padre Pio received the stigmata while praying in a church. The wounds remained visible on his body for the rest of his life. The wounds were on his hands, feet, and side, corresponding to the wounds suffered by Jesus during his crucifixion. 

4. The blood from his stigmata smelled of floral perfume. 

Referred to as the “odor of sanctity,” the blood that came from Padre Pio’s wounds is said to have smelled like perfume or as having a floral aroma. The trait has also been exhibited by other saints who manifested stigmata markings.

5. Padre Pio heard confessions 12 to 15 hours a day.

While listening to confessions, the saint would smell flowers as sins were confessed. Some penitents waited two weeks just to visit him in the confessionial. Padre Pio could also read the hearts of penitents, reminding them of sins that were forgotten or omitted.

The saint once said: “Confession is the soul’s bath. You must go at least once a week. I do not want souls to stay away from confession more than a week. Even a clean and unoccupied room gathers dust; return after a week, and you will see that it needs dusting again!”

6. Padre Pio suffered attacks from the devil on a consistent basis. 

From a young age, Padre Pio was blessed with heavenly visions, but he also experienced spiritual warfare, including attacks of the devil.

In a book written by Father Gabriele Amorth on Padre Pio, the famous exorcist of Rome said: “The great and constant struggle in the life of the saint was against the enemies of God and souls, those demons who sought to capture his soul.”

Amorth continued: “The devil appeared to him under many different forms: as a big black cat, wild and threatening, or as a repulsive animal, in the clear intention to frighten him; under the appearance of naked and provocative young girls who danced obscene dances, obviously to test the chastity of the young priest. However, the worst was when the devil took on the appearance of his spiritual director, or posed as Jesus, the Virgin Mary, or St. Francis.”

7. He had the gift of bilocation, meaning that he could be in more than one place at a time.

Multiple eyewitness accounts attest to the ability of Padre Pio to be in multiple places at once. Fellow friars remember seeing him in prayer outside when they knew he was still in his room. Some accounts come from others who claim to have seen him on different continents all over the world. 

As to how Padre Pio experienced such feats, the closest he ever came to an explanation of bilocation was to say that it occurred “by an extension of his personality.”

8. A sighting of a “flying friar” kept war planes from bombing Padre Pio’s town during World War II. 

Among the most remarkable of the documented cases of bilocation was Padre Pio’s appearance in the air over San Giovanni Rotondo during World War II. While southern Italy remained in Nazi hands, American bombers were given the job of attacking the city of San Giovanni Rotondo. However, when they appeared over the city and prepared to unload their munitions, a brown-robed friar appeared before their aircraft. All attempts to release the bombs failed. In this way, Padre Pio kept his promise to the citizens that their town would be spared. Later on, when an American airbase was established at Foggia a few miles away, one of the pilots of the incident visited the friary and found, to his surprise, the friar he had seen in the air that day over San Giovanni.

9. Before dying at the age of 81, all his wounds healed without scars, just as he had foretold they would 50 years prior.

A doctor examining the saint’s body who was present when he was dying observed that the wounds of the stigmata were completely healed, without any trace or scar. Padre Pio’s body was placed in a coffin in the church of the monastery to allow pilgrims to visit and pray. 

10. Pilgrims can visit the rooms in which Padre Pio lived. 

All the cells where Padre Pio lived in Italy have been outfitted with vintage furnishings to make them look exactly like they were in the early 20th century. Each site also boasts a small museum with relics and artifacts from his life.

11. Many miracles have been attributed to Padre Pio. 

Several miracles have been attributed to the saint’s intercession, including the story of Gemma di Giorgio, a little girl who visited Padre Pio. Born blind without pupils in either eye, she miraculously regained her sight after visiting him. One truly miraculous factor about her healing was that, although she could see, she still lacked pupils. Another miracle was chronicled on EWTN.

12. He established a hospital.

Living a life of suffering, made difficult by physical pain and sickness, Padre Pio was able to build a hospital with the help of generous sponsors. Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, which means “Home for the Relief of the Suffering,” was inaugurated on May 5, 1956. The hospital sits atop a hill overlooking San Giovanni Rotondo. Starting with only about 250 beds and just enough equipment, the hospital is now known for its state-of-the-art facilities and services.

13. Even before his death on Sept. 23, 1968, Padre Pio reportedly spent his last moments in prayer.

Beatified in 1999, St. Padre Pio was canonized on June 16, 2002, by the late pope St. John Paul II. He is known among Catholics as St. Pio of Pietrelcina. More than 500,000 attended his canonization.

The video below shows St. Pio celebrating Mass the day before his death:

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