St. Clement Catholic Parish

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops headquarters in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Farragutful, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Washington D.C., Aug 27, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

As lawmakers prepare to return next week from their August recess, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) wants them to get to work on immigration reform and bolstering federal safety net programs, among other issues, framing its advocacy work around protecting human dignity and supporting the most vulnerable.

“As a nonpartisan organization, the USCCB is engaged with members of Congress, their staff, and the White House and the administration to advance the common good for all and uphold the sacredness of human life and the God-given dignity of the human person,” Chieko Noguchi, the USCCB’s executive director for public affairs, told CNA.

“This means that the care for immigrants, refugees, and the poor is part of the same teaching of the Church that requires us to protect the most vulnerable among us, especially unborn children, the elderly, and the infirm,” Noguchi noted.

Addressing the conference’s ongoing public policy priorities, Noguchi referenced a letter to members of Congress earlier this year from USCCB President Archbishop Timothy Broglio that in addition to immigration reform called for legislation that supports vulnerable communities, especially children and low-income families.

But following this summer’s passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act spending package, Broglio faulted that measure for including “unconscionable cuts to health care and food assistance, tax cuts that increase inequality, immigration provisions that harm families and children, and cuts to programs that protect God’s creation.”

A recently emerging issue for the bishops is digital safety. In a joint letter this July with other faith-based and family organizations, the USCCB voiced support for the Kids Online Safety Act. The measure would place greater responsibility on technology companies to design platforms that protect minors from harmful content and addictive features. The bishops described the legislation as consistent with their commitment to safeguarding children and promoting environments where families can thrive.

This fall, immigration remains central to USCCB advocacy efforts. The bishops continue to press Congress to provide permanent protections for so-called “Dreamers,” referring to people who were brought to the U.S. as children.

“The continued uncertainty associated with the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program is untenable and unjust, depriving hardworking people the ability to be fully recognized members of our society,” the conference maintains.

The bishops also oppose changes to social safety net programs that would limit eligibility for mixed-status families (those with both legal and unauthorized members). They cite, for example, the Child Tax Credit, which currently only requires the benefiting child to have a Social Security number.

“This is consistent with the goals of such programs, which exist to empower families and to prevent them from falling into poverty,” the USCCB asserts.

Religious Workforce Protection Act

The bishops are also urging passage of the Religious Workforce Protection Act, which as of Aug. 22 had 10 Democrat and three Republican lawmakers cosponsoring the House bill and would authorize the continuation of lawful nonimmigrant status for certain religious workers affected by the current backlog for religious worker immigrant visas.

A similar bill in the Senate now has five Republicans and one Democrat cosponsoring. Numerous Catholic institutions such as parishes and schools depend on international clergy. In an Aug. 7 interview with EWTN, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration is committed to fixing the ongoing backlog of religious worker visas.

Despite the fact that earlier this year the USCCB ended its decades-long partnership with the federal government to resettle refugees due to funding cuts and suspended agreements that made the program unsustainable, the bishops continue to call for generous resettlement policies and humane border enforcement.

Housing is also an increasing policy focus. In an Aug. 8 letter, the bishops pressed Congress to strengthen funding for affordable housing and community development in the fiscal year 2026 appropriations process.

Meanwhile, the USCCB’s advocacy around health care policy remains linked to the Church’s pro-life stance. The bishops have been strongly supportive of congressional efforts to ensure that federal programs such as Medicaid do not fund abortion. In July, a federal judge blocked a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that was aimed at defunding Planned Parenthood for one year and ordered the federal government to resume Medicaid reimbursements to the abortion giant while litigation over the law continues.

The USCCB also supports expanding access to maternal health services, pediatric care, and palliative care. Broadly on fiscal policy, the USCCB has called for a federal budget that prioritizes the poor and reflects Catholic principles of solidarity centered on the common good.

The bishops also continue to press for robust support for international humanitarian aid. As global crises intensify, the bishops have asked Congress to provide funding for humanitarian and development assistance in the fiscal year 2026 budget. Funding for the current fiscal year ends on Sept. 30. The USCCB frames these legislative priorities as connected parts of a single mission. 

“The decisions you make in your important work on behalf of our nation will have a lasting impact on the well-being and common good of many people,” Broglio wrote. Congress returns from its summer break on Sept. 2.

Monsignor Stephen Rossetti is the keynote speaker at the 2025 National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors conference. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Monsignor Stephen Rossetti

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 26, 2025 / 17:27 pm (CNA).

This week hundreds of vocation directors, staff, and collaborators are gathering to draw closer to Christ, grow in brotherhood, and learn best practices for creating a culture of vocations at the annual National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors (NCDVD).

Every year members of the NCDVD organization travel from across the United States and from at least 10 different countries to gather for what many describe as “one of the highlights of their year.” They not only receive spiritual renewal and practical knowledge but also enjoy activities and community with brother priests.

The NCDVD is a fraternity of vocation directors who provide one another support as they help guide men discerning priesthood. The organization encourages priests to collaborate on projects and offer insights from their personal experiences. It also welcomes religious brothers and sisters, vocation office personnel, and laypeople to collaborate in the ministry.

NCDVD focuses on a number of key aspects including community, regional gatherings, the annual convention, fundraising, and its Vocare Institute for New Vocation Directors — an in-depth training held for new directors held before the conference.

Vocation directors have a tremendous responsibility that can often draw a lot of pressure. The overall goal of the conference is to provide knowledge to help them feel properly equipped to tackle such an important role.

This year the conference, held at the Retreat and Conference Center of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, New York, welcomed Father Stephen Rossetti as the keynote speaker on Monday, Aug. 25. The well-known exorcist, psychologist, and author held a talk titled “Deliverance Ministry for Priests.” He discussed how priests can “safely and effectively assist” the laity who come to them for guidance. 

On Tuesday, Aug. 26, priests also had the opportunity to hear from Father Boniface Hicks, OSB, about “the impact of the spiritual direction relationship on personal discernment and prayer.” The discussion tapped into the importance of the formative relationship between a spiritual director and directee.

Throughout the week attendees also participate in workshops held by priests, sisters, and other Catholic leaders. They will address topics including how to operate an effective vocation office, strengthen campus ministries, and encourage younger generations to serve the Church.

Bishop Edward Lohse of the Diocese of Kalamazoo, Michigan, will also join to offer needed guidance for vocation directors as many often struggle to decipher “what can or should be asked of candidates and what should not.”

While many aspects of the conference focus on resources and roles of the directors, a number of workshops also tackle hot topics that are relevant to the changing times.

This year Tanner Kalina will lead a workshop called “Create Digitally, Connect Personally” focused on social media. Kalina, who stars in EWTN’s online series “James the Less,” will discuss how to utilize the tool of social media “in a way that Jesus would if he were in our shoes.”

Another workshop will be led by Miguel Naranjo, who is the director of the Religious Immigration Services section of Catholic Legal Immigration Network. He will address immigration issues in the United States with “attention to the religious worker immigration law programs.”

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 26, 2025 / 16:57 pm (CNA).

President Donald Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) warned states and American territories that they must remove references to “gender ideology” from K–12 education materials or they will lose federal funding.

HHS sent letters dated Aug. 26 to 40 states and Washington, D.C., as well as five territories, that say any state or territory that fails to end the promotion of gender ideology in its implementation of the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) within the next 60 days will lose federal PREP funding.

The states and territories cumulatively receive more than $81.3 million from PREP annually, with most taking in a few million dollars and others receiving several hundred thousand dollars in funding.

The letters document numerous examples of “gender ideology” embedded in the curricula of several Democrat-led and Republican-led states.

For example, the letter to Vermont cites program materials that define gender as “the ideas in a culture or society about the appropriate ways for men and women to dress, behave, think, and feel.” It calls gender identity “peoples’ inner understanding of what gender they identify with,” which could be a man, a woman, or “something that doesn’t fit these labels.”

The letter to Washington points to course material that says a child’s “gender identity” may be different from “their sex assigned at birth.” It asserts that children begin to articulate aspects of their gender identity “between the ages of 18 months and 2 to 3 years” and “have a clear sense of their gender identity by age 4 or 5.”

In South Dakota, the HHS letter references a “frequently asked question” in one of the course materials, which asks: “Why would someone with a penis not identify as a boy/man?” This is answered with the assertion that body parts reference “sex assigned at birth, which is different than gender” and calls gender “how people identify and express themselves.”

Many of the examples cited in the letters are the same in dozens of states because several states use the same course materials.

In the letters, HHS acknowledges that these curricula and programs had previously been approved under President Joe Biden’s administration, which it says “erred in allowing PREP grants to be used to teach students gender ideology.” It states that these materials are now “out of compliance” with HHS regulations.

HHS instructed officials in each state that received a letter to modify their curricula and course materials by Monday, Oct. 27, for the department to review.

“Accountability is coming,” Acting Assistant HHS Secretary Andrew Gradison said in an Aug. 26 statement.

“Federal funds will not be used to poison the minds of the next generation or advance dangerous ideological agendas,” he said. “The Trump administration will ensure that PREP reflects the intent of Congress, not the priorities of the left.”

The warnings come just five days after HHS ended $12 million in PREP funds to California for failing to halt its promotion of gender ideology through its curriculum. HHS had warned the state in June that it would lose funding if officials refused to make the necessary changes.

HHS is enforcing Trump’s Jan. 29 executive order on “ending radical indoctrination in K–12 schooling.” The administration defines gender ideology as a belief system that “replaces the biological category of sex with an ever-shifting concept of self-assessed gender identity.” 

According to the administration, gender ideology permits “the false claim that males can identify as and thus become women and vice versa.” It includes “the idea that there is a vast spectrum of genders that are disconnected from one’s sex.”

null / Credit: Ivon19/Wikipedia (public domain) (CC-BY-SA-4.0)

CNA Staff, Aug 26, 2025 / 14:57 pm (CNA).

In nine states and in the nation’s capital, unborn life is not protected at any stage of life. Another 18 states do not protect unborn life until some point in the second trimester of pregnancy. 

But some states are leading the charge in defending unborn life, with a dozen states protecting life throughout pregnancy in most cases, and another seven states protecting unborn children at some point within the first trimester of life.

CNA is unveiling three new interactive maps to show where each state in the U.S. stands on life issues — the protection of unborn life, the death penalty, and assisted suicide. The maps will be updated as new information on each issue becomes available.

Below is an analysis of the map that shows where each state stands on abortion laws as of August 2025.

After the 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade, abortion legislation returned to the states. But in 2024, Americans had more than 1 million abortions, according to the latest data.

When it comes to unborn human life, only 19 states in the U.S. protect unborn children from abortion during the first trimester of their lives.

Twelve states protect life throughout pregnancy with some exceptions. Soon after Roe was overturned, Texas prohibited almost all abortions, leading the charge alongside a few other states whose pro-life trigger laws went into effect.

Seven states protect unborn children within the first trimester, usually at the times when the child’s heartbeat can be detected, which is about five to six weeks. Ohio led the charge for heartbeat legislation — laws that protect unborn children once the heartbeat can be detected. 

Florida also passed a heartbeat law in 2023 under Gov. Ron DeSantis. Nebraska passed a pro-life constitutional amendment protecting life after 12 weeks. 

In 18 states, laws protect life after 18-24 weeks. Most of these states protect life only after “fetal viability,” the time when a baby can survive outside the womb with medical support. Viability is usually estimated to be between 22 and 23 weeks by most doctors, but it continues to advance thanks to improving technology. For instance, a baby born last year celebrated his first birthday after being born at 21 weeks. 

Unborn life is not protected up to birth in nine states and Washington, D.C. Alaska, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Vermont have no protections for unborn children at any stage of development. In most of these states, taxpayer dollars also fund abortion. 

Several states have passed ballot measures in recent years declaring a “right to abortion” or “reproductive freedom” under the state constitution. These states include: Arizona, California, Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, and New York. In states with a right to abortion, the constitutional amendments leave room to expand already existing laws. While California currently allows abortion up to viability and up to birth in cases of the mother’s life or health, pro-life advocates warn that the constitutional right to abortion could lead to an expansion of abortion in the state.

Where does your state stand on life? 

Alabama: Alabama has a constitutional amendment protecting “the sanctity of unborn life” and the right to life, approved in 2018. Abortion is only legal in Alabama if an attending licensed physician determines an abortion is necessary if the life of the mother is at risk.

Alaska: Alaska has no protections for life. Abortion is legal at any point in Alaska under the state constitutional right to privacy.

Arizona: Arizona has some protections for life. Voters there definitively approved Proposition 139, which provides constitutionally for a “fundamental right to abortion.” The measure says that the state cannot restrict abortion until the point of “viability,” at approximately 24 weeks of pregnancy, unless it has a compelling reason and does so in the least restrictive way possible.

Arkansas: Arkansas protects life in all stages, with some exceptions. Abortion is only legal in Arkansas if the life of the mother is at risk.

California: California has some protections for life. Abortion is legal there until viability and until birth for the life or health of the mother. Californians approved a constitutional right to abortion in 2022.

Colorado: Colorado has no protections for life. In 2024, voters approved a constitutional right to abortion. In 2025, legislation passed to approve state funding of abortion.

Connecticut: Connecticut has some protections for life. Abortion is legal up until viability.

Delaware: In Delaware, life is protected after viability with some exceptions. Abortion is legal up until viability and after in cases of patient health risk or lethal fetal anomaly. The state funds abortion through Medicaid.

Washington, D.C.: Washington, D.C., has no protections for unborn life and abortion is legal through all nine months of pregnancy.

Florida: After implementing a heartbeat law in May 2024, Florida protects unborn children after six weeks. Voters rejected an abortion ballot measure in November 2024.

Georgia: Georgia protects unborn children at six weeks, when their heartbeats are detectable.

Hawaii: Hawaii protects life after viability and funds abortion via Medicaid.

Idaho: Idaho protects unborn children at all stages of pregnancy, with exceptions if the mother’s life is at risk.

Illinois: Illinois protects life after viability, which it estimates to be at 24-26 weeks. State Medicaid funds abortion.

Indiana: Indiana protects life throughout pregnancy with some exceptions. The state also prohibits abortion based on the race, sex, or disability of the unborn child.

Iowa: Iowa protects life after the unborn child’s heartbeat is detectable (six weeks). After six weeks, there are exceptions to these protections in cases of a medical emergency; if the unborn child is a product of rape or incest; or if the child has an abnormality.

Kansas: Kansas protects life after 22 weeks, when the unborn child can feel pain; abortion is legal after if there is a threat to the life of the mother or to prevent irreversible physical damage to her body.

Kentucky: Kentucky protects life throughout pregnancy with exceptions if the mother’s life is at risk.

Louisiana: Louisiana protects life throughout pregnancy except to save the life of the mother or to prevent substantial impairment. Physicians are urged to attempt to save both lives.

Maine: Maine protects life after viability with exceptions for the life and health of the mother.

Maryland: Maryland does not protect unborn life at any stage. A constitutional amendment in 2024 created a right to “reproductive freedom” in the state. The state allows abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.

Massachusetts: Massachusetts protects life after 24 weeks, after which there are exceptions for the mother’s life or physical or mental health, and for lethal or grave fetal diagnosis. State Medicaid funds cover abortion.

Michigan: Michigan does not protect life at any point. The state approved a constitutional right to “reproductive freedom” in 2022. Abortion is legal through all nine months of pregnancy, though the constitutional provision allows the state to enact some regulations after viability.

Minnesota: Minnesota has no protection for unborn children. The state has a right to abortion under its right to privacy in the constitution and funds abortion. Gov. Tim Walz signed a law in 2023 that prevents local governments from regulating access to “reproductive health care.”

Mississippi: Mississippi protects life at all stages with exceptions for preservation of the mother’s life or cases of rape.

Missouri: Missouri’s abortion law is in flux. Voters approved a constitutional right to abortion in 2024, but how this right is enforced is still being determined in court.

Montana: Montana protects life after viability. The state approved a right to abortion in its constitution in 2024. A court in June 2025 struck down laws protecting life after 20 weeks of gestation. A pro-life group called Montana Family Foundation has filed a lawsuit alleging that the abortion rights ballot measure was invalid because it did not show the full text to voters.

Nebraska: Nebraska protects life after 12 weeks of pregnancy, when the unborn child can feel pain. In 2024, Nebraska passed a constitutional amendment protecting life in the second and third trimesters except in cases of medical emergencies, rape, or incest.

Nevada: Nevada protects life after 24 weeks of pregnancy with exceptions after for the health or life of the mother. State Medicaid covers abortions.

New Hampshire: New Hampshire protects life after 24 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions after in cases of medical emergencies or fetal anomalies.

New Jersey: New Jersey does not protect life at any stage of pregnancy. Courts have recognized a right to privacy including abortion for decades, and the state funds abortion.

New Mexico: New Mexico does not protect life at any point of pregnancy, and the state funds abortion.

New York: New York does not protect life at any point during pregnancy, and state funding goes toward abortion. In 2024, New York created a constitutional right to abortion. Abortion was legal in New York in 1970, prior to the Roe v. Wade decision.

North Carolina: North Carolina protects unborn children after 12 weeks of pregnancy, when the unborn child can feel pain, as of 2023.

North Dakota: North Dakota protects unborn children after viability. A judge recently ruled that the state’s abortion law protecting unborn children throughout pregnancy was unconstitutional.

Ohio: Ohio protects life at 20 weeks from fertilization. In 2023, the state passed an amendment creating a constitutional right to abortion.

Oklahoma: Oklahoma protects life throughout all nine months of pregnancy except when the mother’s life is at risk.

Oregon: Oregon does not protect life at any stage of pregnancy, and the state funds abortion.

Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania protects life after 24 weeks, with exceptions for the mother’s health or life.

Rhode Island: Rhode Island protects life after fetal viability under the Reproductive Privacy Act, passed in 2019. The state funds abortion.

South Carolina: South Carolina protects unborn children after six weeks under the Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act, with some exceptions for rape, incest, medical emergencies, or fatal fetal anomalies.

South Dakota: South Dakota protects unborn children throughout pregnancy except to save the life of the mother.

Tennessee: Tennessee law protects unborn children in all stages, with exceptions to save the life of the mother or prevent major bodily damage.

Texas: Texas protects unborn children in all stages except when the life or health of the mother is at risk.

Utah: Utah protects unborn children after 18 weeks of gestation.

Vermont: Vermont does not protect unborn life at any point during pregnancy. The state’s constitution was amended in 2022 to include a right to abortion. The state also funds abortion.

Virginia: Virginia protects life after 28 weeks of pregnancy, meaning that abortion is legal until the end of the second trimester, and after in cases of serious risk to the woman’s health or life.

Washington: Washington protects life after viability with exceptions if there is a threat to the life or health of the mother. State Medicaid covers abortion.

West Virginia: West Virginia protects unborn children in all stages of pregnancy except in medical emergencies, cases of rape or incest, or if the unborn child is deemed “nonviable.”

Wisconsin: Wisconsin protects unborn children after 20 weeks, with exceptions to save the life or health of the mother. The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently struck down an 1849 law protecting life.

Wyoming: Wyoming protects life after the unborn child is viable outside the womb. The state is engaged in legal battles over two abortion laws: one that protects life in most cases and another that bans chemical abortions via abortion pills. 

Where does the Church stand on abortion?

The Church opposes direct abortions in all cases, teaching that human life must be protected at all stages. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception” (CCC, 2270).  

“Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion,” the catechism continues. “This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable (CCC, 2271). 

Notably, the Church does not teach that the life of the child must be preferred to the life of the mother but rather instructs doctors “to make every effort to save the lives of both, of the mother and the child.” The U.S. bishops encourage every Catholic parish to offer support to pregnant mothers in need.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 26, 2025 / 13:53 pm (CNA).

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis announced a new initiative that will “meet families where they are” as it helps them reclaim the Sabbath as a day dedicated to prayer and rest. 

The initiative, “Reclaiming Sundays: Recover Sunday as a Day for the Lord and Family,” includes both a video series and an online print edition that will “share ideas for building lasting habits to anchor our weeks in a joyful, prayerful, and restful observance of Sunday,” Archbishop Bernard Hebda said in a video announcing the initiative.

The print guide called “Guide to Reclaiming Sundays for the Lord” lays out monthly themes and practical suggestions for families to begin this September and through August 2026. The guide kicks off with its first month focused solely on “Prayer” but includes months dedicated to a number of other topics including “Screen-free Sundays” and “Music and Prayer.”

The video series will also begin in September and be uploaded to the archdiocese’s social media accounts. Viewers can expect to hear from parents, grandparents, fellow parishioners, and Catholic leaders about “what has worked, and hasn’t” when trying to “keep holy the Sabbath” and about how “to make meaningful connections with their families and communities as God intended,” the archbishop said.

The initiative focuses on a proposition of the Archdiocesan Synod 2022 process: “Form and inspire parents to understand and fulfill their responsibility as the first teachers of their children in the ways of faith.”

The guide was carefully tailored to what works best for parishioners and families as it grew out of recommendations made to the archbishop by the Blue Ribbon Commission on Parents as Primary Educators — a group made up of clergy, religious, educators, parents, and grandparents that works to create practical resources for parents.

“Sunday is essential for keeping family life centered and balanced, and yet so many families are struggling with a frantic pace of life and daily demands that keep them from experiencing the joy, peace, and renewal that God desires for all families,” Hebda said.

“The intent of this initiative is not just another activity to add upon already over-scheduled calendars of parishes, schools, and families. Rather … this effort is designed to meet families where they are and help them take meaningful steps to reorient their Sundays (and their entire lives) to reflect the gift of the Lord’s Day,” he said.

Parish groups, school communities, and Catholic families are encouraged to watch the videos and follow the guide together.

Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, announced in a video message Aug. 20, 2025, that he will soon open the sainthood cause of Sister Annella Zervas, OSB, making it the first sainthood cause ever opened in the northerly Minnesota diocese. / Credit: Diocese of Crookston; Joanne Zervas

National Catholic Register, Aug 26, 2025 / 13:23 pm (CNA).

When Anna Zervas entered religious life and chose her religious name, Mary Annella, her mother reportedly objected to the choice. “There’s no St. Annella,” her mother pointed out. To which the young woman answered: “Then I shall have to be the first one.”

Zervas’ goal — sainthood — is now closer than ever, as Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, announced that he will soon open her sainthood cause, making Zervas’ the first sainthood cause ever opened in the northerly Minnesota diocese. 

Zervas died in 1926, aged just 26, after suffering from a debilitating skin condition. After her death, people began to report receiving favors and miracles through the holy Benedictine nun’s intercession. 

In a video message posted Aug. 20, Cozzens announced that he will open Zervas’ cause with a Mass on Oct. 9 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Crookston; “everyone” is invited. Doors will open at 4 p.m., and at 5 p.m., Patrick Norton, a local Catholic who has worked to spread devotion to Zervas in recent years, will share his story.

An organ recital will take place at 6 p.m., followed by Mass at 6:30. 

Cozzens said in his video message that he had received a “nihil obstat” from the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, affirming that nothing stands in the way of opening Zervas’ cause. Once opened — giving Zervas the title “Servant of God” — the cause will first gather testimonies and information to determine if Zervas lived a life of “heroic virtue.”

“Sister Annella is a daughter of the Diocese of Crookston, who was born and died in Moorhead, Minnesota. And she offers all of us an extraordinary example of deeply lived Catholic faith and deep trust in God,” Cozzens said. 

“Through this cause,” he added, “we begin the process of gathering evidence to determine if her life is one of heroic virtue and whether imitation and formal recognition will be granted by the universal Church.”

Zervas was born Anna Cordelia Zervas in the Fargo, North Dakota-adjacent town of Moorhead in 1900. The second of six children in a devoutly Catholic family, Zervas showed a great devotion to her faith, especially to Christ’s presence in the Eucharist. As a young girl, she would often walk to daily Mass, even in the extreme cold of the upper Midwest.

At age 15, she entered the Order of St. Benedict at the convent of the Benedictine Sisters in St. Joseph, Minnesota. She made her perpetual vows in July 1922.

After only one year as a sister, Sister Annella began experiencing what was later diagnosed as pityriasis rubra pilaris, a chronic and debilitating skin disease that caused extreme itching and other serious discomforts. Despite her condition, the musically talented sister persisted in her role as a music teacher at a Catholic school in Bismarck, North Dakota. 

Known for her positive attitude and good humor, she offered up her pain in unity with Christ’s suffering, trusting in Mary’s intercession and finding in the Eucharist her “greatest consolation.” She died on the eve of the solemnity of the Assumption.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) voted overwhelmingly in favor of moving forward her cause at its fall 2024 plenary assembly. 

As part of the buildup to the opening of her cause, the Zervas family has reportedly been cooperative, sharing photos and information to help tell her story. A nonprofit guild, made up of Catholic faithful, has been organized under the guidance of Cozzens to promote prayer for and awareness of her prospective cause as well.

Based on the evidence of the “positio,” the official document compiled by the Diocese of Crookston that is sent to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints to determine if the Benedictine lived a life of heroic virtue, Sister Annella will be declared “venerable.” If the Vatican verifies that a miracle can be attributed to her intercession, she will be declared “blessed.”

“May God bless you, and may he continue to raise up saints in our midst,” Cozzens concluded.

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

Bishop José Arturo Cepeda. / Credit: Courtesy of the Archdiocese of Detroit

Vatican City, Aug 26, 2025 / 09:45 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday appointed Detroit Auxiliary Bishop José Arturo Cepeda as auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of San Antonio.

The transfer marks the Mexican-born bishop’s return to San Antonio, the south-central Texas city where he served as a priest from his ordination in 1996 until his consecration as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Detroit in 2011.

Born in San Luis Potosí in eastern-central Mexico, the 56-year-old bishop attended Catholic schools and the minor seminary. Cepeda immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of 19.

In the Archdiocese of San Antonio, the auxiliary bishop will assist Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, also born in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, and two other auxiliary bishops in leading over 1.1 million Catholics. 

In an Aug. 26 statement, García-Siller said he is “particularly glad to offer a heartfelt welcome home to Bishop Cepeda. San Antonio is where he grew up and first heard the Lord call him and nurture his priestly vocation.”

The archbishop added that Cepeda will bring the Archdiocese of San Antonio “valuable perspectives that will assist us in our evangelization efforts to spread the Gospel with missionary zeal.”

Cepeda earned a licentiate degree and later a doctorate in spiritual theology from the Pontifical University of Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum) in Rome in 2005. 

He also has a bachelor’s degree from the College Seminary of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and a master’s degree in biblical theology from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio.

Before being appointed an auxiliary bishop, he spent four years as parochial vicar of the San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio, followed by a decade as a faculty member at Assumption Seminary and the Oblate School of Theology, also in San Antonio. 

Cepeda was vocation director and faculty member for the Transitional Ministry Formation Program for the Archdiocese of San Antonio. From 2010 to 2011 he was also rector of Assumption Seminary.

During his 14 years in Detroit, Cepeda was a leader in the Michigan archdiocese’s ministry to Hispanic and Spanish-speaking Catholics. He also served as director of the Department of Evangelization, Catechesis, and Schools from 2013 to 2017.

On the national level, he served as chairman of the U.S. bishops’ conference’s Subcommittee on Hispanic Affairs and Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church. He was also one of the organizers of the Fifth National Encuentro (“Encounter”) of Hispanic/Latino Ministry. 

“I am deeply grateful for the trust placed in me and for the opportunity I had to serve for 14 years in this archdiocese,” Cepeda said in an Aug. 26 message to Catholics of Detroit. “My episcopal ministry undoubtedly took shape here, my temporary home. As I begin my new mission, know that I hold you in my prayers and humbly ask that you keep me in yours.”

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 26, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

President Donald Trump’s administration has started to incorporate some elements of pro-life reproductive health care into its policy goals, which pro-life advocates argue are alternatives to in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures meant to address fertility problems.

So far the inclusion of these efforts has been limited and the president has remained consistent in supporting IVF as the major solution to fertility issues. Yet some Catholics and others in the pro-life movement have been urging these alternative approaches amid ethical concerns surrounding IVF, such as the millions of human embryos killed through the procedure.

Life-affirming options tend to focus on curing the root causes of infertility. This health care, which many practitioners call “restorative reproductive medicine,” can include charting one’s menstrual cycle, lifestyle and diet changes, and diagnosing and treating underlying conditions that lead to fertility struggles.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is currently considering grant applicants for an “infertility training center,” which is the most concrete plan to date to incorporate pro-life fertility care options within the administration’s policy goals.

The potential $1.5 million grant would use federal Title X family planning funds to help the recipient “educate on the root causes of infertility and the broad range of holistic infertility treatments and referrals available.” The money would also help “expand and enhance root cause infertility testing, treatments, and referrals.”

When reached for comment, an HHS spokesperson told CNA the agency could not comment on “potential or future policy decisions.”

Restorative reproductive medicine was also discussed at a recent event hosted by the MAHA Institute, named after HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” slogan. The institute is run by Del Bigtree, who is Kennedy’s former communications director.

“Traditional women’s health and fertility care has relied heavily on Big Pharma Band-Aids and workarounds that circumvent a woman’s reproductive system rather than working in harmony with it and doing the work of deeper investigation to find and treat underlying causes of infertility,” Maureen Ferguson, a commissioner on the Commission on International Religious Freedom, said at the event.

Ferguson introduced a roundtable of doctors who practice restorative reproductive medicine.

“Restorative reproductive medicine is effective, affordable, it leads to healthier moms and babies, and it’s far preferred by couples, most of whom wish to conceive naturally,” Ferguson said.

Reproductive medicine policy opportunities

Emma Waters, a policy analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation, told CNA there are several ways the government can promote restorative reproductive medicine.

“This needs to be a project that both states and the federal government prioritize,” she said.

Waters said current insurance coding “doesn’t account for the kinds of care that [restorative reproductive medicine] is offering” or “doesn’t cover each step.”

She noted that insurance will often cover surgeries to fix endometriosis, which often causes infertility, but will not cover the initial exploratory surgery needed to properly diagnose the condition.

She said this could be improved with broader coverage or a restorative reproductive medicine “bundle package for care,” similar to an OB-GYN bundle package for when a woman is pregnant, to “simplify the billing process.”

Additional policy options, Waters noted, include grant funding for research and training. 

Restorative reproductive medicine “is aiming to ensure that that man and woman’s body is the healthiest it can be for the pregnancy journey,” she said.

Waters noted that this health care “recognizes that infertility is not a disease but is a symptom of underlying conditions.” As opposed to IVF, restorative reproductive medicine focuses on “the root, rather than bypassing the body,” and helps ensure the body is healthy enough to “sustain that embryo through pregnancy and a live birth.”

Theresa Notare, who serves as the assistant director of the natural family planning program at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told CNA restorative reproductive medicine is often practiced in a way consistent with Catholic Church teaching, such as natural procreative technology and fertility education and medical management.

“You’re trying to basically healthfully address whatever problem a patient is having and you’re trying to restore them to the balance that they should have … to naturally conceive,” she said.

IVF alternatively violates Church teaching because it destroys human embryos and because “conception would be taking place outside of the marital embrace,” Notare said. 

She said marriage is a covenant in which “the man and the women are coming together in this one-flesh union.”

“That communion of persons — that environment — is where the Lord God gave husband and wife stewardship over the power of life and love,” Notare said.

The Catholic bishops are backing a suit by a coalition of Apache Stronghold, a coalition of Native Americans and their supporters, in their lawsuit against the federal government. The lawsuit argues that their freedom of religion was violated when the federal government announced its intention to sell formerly protected land in Arizona to a mining company. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Becket

CNA Staff, Aug 26, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

“Arbitrary government interference.”

That’s what the Knights of Columbus warned will befall religious believers in the U.S. if a copper mining company is allowed to take possession of, and destroy, a centuries-old Native American worship site in Arizona.

That site, Oak Flat, has been the subject of years of dispute and litigation, with a coalition group of activists known as Apache Stronghold leading an effort to prevent the government from surrendering the ancient religious location to private interests.

For decades the federal government protected the parcel from development in the Tonto National Forest. But the Obama administration in 2014 began the process of transferring the land to the multinational Resolution Copper, whose mining operations will dig a massive pit at the site and end its status as a center of worship.

The Native American activists have drawn support from a wide variety of religious advocates and stakeholders in the U.S., including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Knights of Columbus.

Apache Stronghold lost its bid at the Supreme Court earlier this year to halt the sale. This month, as part of a different legal challenge, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit paused the sale just hours before it was to take effect, giving Native advocates likely their last chance to head off the destruction of the site.

Religious Freedom Restoration Act weakened

At issue in the main legal dispute is the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), a Clinton-era law that restricts how and under what conditions the U.S. government can impose burdens upon U.S. religious liberty.

RFRA states that laws “shall not substantially burden” an individual’s religion, ordering that the government must have both a compelling interest in burdening a religion and must achieve it via the least restrictive means. 

Joe Davis, an attorney with the religious liberty legal group Becket, told CNA that the law is what’s known as a “super statute,” one that “applies to all federal law and all federal actions under the law.” 

Becket has supported Apache Stronghold in its effort to halt the sale of the site. Davis said that Congress in passing RFRA aimed to ensure that “before the government really does anything, it’s supposed to think about the effects and implications on religion and religious practitioners.” 

“RFRA doesn’t actually stop the government from doing anything,” he said. “It just requires them to have a really good reason to do it.”

Prior to the Supreme Court’s rejection of the Apache Stronghold case, a lower court had decided that though RFRA generally prohibits the government’s “substantial burdening” of religion, that guidance does not apply in cases of “disposition of government real property,” as is the case with the Oak Flat parcel. 

Davis described that ruling as a “restrictive interpretation of RFRA.” The more narrow reading of the law, he said, “will filter down into other cases and be applied any time the government wants to avoid having to prove a burden on religious exercise.”

Indeed, the case has already had a demonstrable effect on religious liberty in the U.S., specifically involving a Knights of Columbus chapter in Virginia. 

The Knights Petersburg Council 694 had held a memorial Mass at Poplar Grove National Cemetery for decades, but the National Park Service in 2023 moved to bar the Knights from any further Masses, claiming it constituted a prohibited “demonstration” due to its religious character. 

The government eventually relented in the face of litigation. But Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing in dissent earlier this year over the high court’s refusal to hear the Apache case, pointed out that the government in banning the Knights had explicitly cited the new RFRA standard brought about by the Oak Flat case.

Davis noted the diverse religious concerns raised by the case, pointing to filings in support of the Native Americans from the U.S. bishops, the Knights, and numerous other major faith groups.

The injunction issued this month by the 9th Circuit concerns three separate cases, one of which involves environmental claims. Briefs in the case will be due starting Sept. 8. Whether or not the more restrictive interpretation of RFRA can be reversed in those cases is unclear.

Davis, meanwhile, stressed that the statute “protects all religions and religious practitioners in this country.”

The U.S. bishops agreed last year, writing with other Christian groups that changing the parameters of RFRA made the law “a dead letter when applied to obliteration of an Indigenous sacred site on federal land.”

“Beyond that catastrophic harm, this approach defies the statutory text, misreads precedent, and would produce other unjust results,” they wrote.

Davis, meanwhile, argued that the restrictive interpretation “is really bad for all religions in this country.”

“It’s bad for the Apaches, and it’s bad for all people of faith,” he said.

null / Credit: Ground Picture/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 25, 2025 / 18:27 pm (CNA).

In a bid to help strengthen marriages across the state, the California Catholic Conference (CCC) has launched its first-ever statewide partnership with Communio, a nonprofit organization that equips parishes to “evangelize through the renewal of healthy relationships, marriages, and families.”

News of the agreement follows the CCC’s efforts over the past year to promote marriage and family through its “Radiate Love” initiative, which is set to end on Sept. 26 with a marriage summit in Oakland, where the CCC’s partnership with Communio will officially launch.

“The goal is to quantifiably strengthen marriage, either by self-reported happiness in marriage, by rising marriage rates, or by encouraging people to marry,” Communio’s director of church growth, Damon Owens, told CNA.

Ordinarily, Communio partners on a diocesan and parish level to build out the most optimal version of its Full Circle Relationship Ministry® model to suit the needs of the community. Owens said he was inspired about a year and a half ago by the Radiate Love initiative to reach out to the conference about a partnership.

After speaking with California Catholic Conference Executive Director Kathleen Domingo for some months and traveling to California to deliver talks centered on the theology of the body and marriage and family issues, the partnership — which includes all 12 bishops and dioceses in the state — came to fruition.

The agreement, Owens said, marks the first time that every bishop across an entire state has bought in to bringing the program to every parish in his diocese.

“Every parish in California will now have access to Communio’s relationship ministry model, which is credited with a 24% drop in the divorce rate in Jacksonville, Florida,” the conference said in an Aug. 20 press release announcing the arrangement.

“I’ve been watching the progression of Communio over the years and hearing really great things from our marriage and family life directors, who have always told us that Communio is the gold standard,” Domingo said in the release.

She added: “If they could have any tool in their toolbox to help parishioners and parish families, it would be Communio.”

“In John 10:10, the Lord said that he came so that we would have life and have it more abundantly. We know that strong marriages and healthy families help us to have this abundant life, so we are excited to partner with Communio,” Auxiliary Bishop Timothy Freyer of the Diocese of Orange and executive officer for the CCC also said in the release.

Inside the data-driven effort to reach parishioners

“The core of what we offer is data insight to know what the problems are, but also access to technology and consulting that helps to build a plan of events and encounters where new people come to the parish and parishioners themselves want to come,” he explained.

“We have a unique technology that helps to do both the data gathering but also determining which programs are a good fit for them,” Owens continued. “So part of the consulting is literally going through almost like an Amazon page where you’re selecting facilitator-led programs or on your own or workbook or group or individual.”

Communio provides programs tailored to one of four areas: singles, marriage preparation, marriage enrichment, and marriage in crisis. They work with a team of five to six people in a parish to build a calendar of events for the year in a sequence that best helps “to draw people into the Church, but addresses the top needs first.”

“It’s a very customized way of making sure that they get the results that they want because people are telling us what their needs are through the surveys,” he said, noting that this addresses the “deepest concern” for pastors regarding the “specific needs that their people have.”

“California represents probably the whole spectrum of the type of parishes that we work around the country. You’ve got the poor rural, you’ve got the wealthy suburbs, you’ve got big cities, you’ve got mountains, you’ve got large parishes, small parishes,” Owens pointed out. 

“I think for each of those pastors, they want to know, is investing in Communio to invest in those marriages going to bring to them the success that we’ve been able to achieve around the country?” he said. “And that’s why we’re so confident and excited about it, because we know that we can.”