Divine Redeemer Parish

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. / Credit: Jonah McKeown/CNA

CNA Staff, Jun 18, 2025 / 16:23 pm (CNA).

Leading Catholic voices in New York, including Cardinal Timothy Dolan, are urging the state’s Catholic governor to veto an assisted suicide bill that has no wait period or psychological evaluation requirement.  

“This is the cheapening of human life,” Dolan said in a June 17 episode of “Conversations with Cardinal Dolan.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Catholic, has yet to publicly disclose her position on the bill. The state Senate passed the measure on June 9 in spite of bipartisan opposition in the New York Legislature, where numerous Democrats voted against it along with all Republicans. 

Proponents of the bill say assisted suicide would expand end-of-life choices. New York state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Senate sponsor of the bill, said that New York “has made history” by passing the bill, which he says will “reduce human suffering.”

Dennis Poust, the executive director of the New York State Catholic Conference, called the bill “the worst assisted suicide bill in the country” because of its lack of patient guardrails.

While assisted suicide is legal in a dozen states and the District of Columbia, the New York bill is unique in that it has no waiting period, Poust said.

“You could get a terminal diagnosis from your doctor. You’ll be grief-stricken, you’ll be in despair, and you could at that moment request assisted suicide drugs from that doctor and then from a subsequent doctor next door,” Poust told “EWTN News Nightly” on June 13.

“The next day, you could be ending your life,” he said. “It’s egregious.”

Poust also criticized the lack of a psychological evaluation requirement in the bill. 

“Everyone who gets a terminal diagnosis has a moment of depression,” he said. “We all know the five stages of grief, and depression is one of them. But the doctors don’t have to even go there. They can just prescribe the pills if you’re of sound mind.” 

Dolan had earlier expressed hope in a June 10 episode of his show, recalling when he spoke with Hochul at a Puerto Rican parade earlier in the month.

The cardinal had praised Hochul for her work in support of mental health care. Hochul has promoted mental health support and suicide prevention during her tenure, including a billion-dollar effort to improve mental care.

“Suicide is an effect when somebody’s struggling emotionally as well as physically,” Dolan recalled telling the governor. “That’s when people are so desperate and we have to help their mental health so that they don’t go for suicide — that’s why we don’t want the physician-assisted suicide.” 

“She didn’t commit herself, but something tells me her gut’s not into this,” Dolan continued. “I’m hoping she’ll take the courageous, right thing to do.”

Dolan urged local Catholics to write to the governor and share their opposition to the bill. 

“This bill is just bad public policy,” Poust said. “It’s bad for people with disabilities, vulnerable people, people of color who tend to live in medically underserved areas and already get cheated in the health care system.”

“There are a lot of good reasons for the governor to veto this that have really nothing to do with her Catholic faith,” Poust continued.

Assisted suicide legislation has passed in multiple countries across the globe, including Canada. But these laws have seen backlash in many cases as assisted suicide has encroached on health care.

Poust urged anyone who is considering assisted suicide to seek out palliative care.

“We don’t want anyone to suffer,” Poust said. “We want people to avail themselves of hospice care. There are ways to control pain. There are ways to pass from this life to the next in peace and love and with caring people around you.”

“I would strongly urge people to not despair and to let God take you when he’s good and ready,” Poust concluded.

Pope Leo XIV waves as the popemobile passes by a crowd of American pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the pope’s general audience on June 18, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jun 18, 2025 / 15:53 pm (CNA).

“Take part in the steps of Leo XIV with your donation to Peter’s Pence.”

With these words, the Vatican is encouraging Catholics to participate in the collection to support the Holy Father in his mission at the service of the universal Church.

At the end of June, most parishes hold the Peter’s Pence collection, a financial contribution that the faithful offer to the pontiff as an expression of support for the needs of the Catholic Church around the world and the charitable works it carries out.

The collection is taking place on the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, which is celebrated Sunday, June 29.

According to a statement from the Vatican, Peter’s Pence also represents a gesture “of communion and participation in the pope’s mission to proclaim the Gospel, promote peace, and spread Christian charity.”

In support of this initiative, the Secretariat for the Economy and the Dicastery for Communion released a video presenting the “first steps” of Pope Leo XIV as successor to St. Peter.

In the moving, short video, images from the beginning of the Holy Father’s pontificate are shown, along with several significant quotes of his, taken in particular from his first greeting to the world from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.

In 2023, the latest year for which data is available, 48.4 million euros (about $55.6 million) was raised compared with 43.5 million euros (about $50 million) the previous year, according to a statement from the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy.

These donations were supplemented by 3.6 million euros (about $4.1 million) in income from assets. However, expenses totaled 109.4 million euros (about $125.7 million).

Given this situation, on Feb. 26 Pope Francis created the “Commissio de donationibus pro Sancta Sede” (Commission for Donations to the Holy See), a new body to raise funds “for the mission and charitable works of the Apostolic See.” The commission will operate “ad experimentum” (on a trial basis) for the next three years, until 2028.

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

null / Credit: Wolfgang Schaller|Shutterstock.

CNA Staff, Jun 18, 2025 / 15:23 pm (CNA).

In a pivotal 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled to uphold Tennessee’s ban on medical procedures on transgender-identifying youth.

The June 18 ruling in United States v. Skrmetti marks a significant victory for Tennessee and 25 other states with similar restrictions on transgender medical interventions, such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgeries for minors. 

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti on X hailed the ruling as a “landmark VICTORY for Tennessee,” emphasizing its role in “defending America’s children.” 

Tennessee’s defense was supported by 24 Republican state attorneys general; Republican governors; the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, who issued a statement in 2023 opposing surgeries that mutilate the human body; conservative legal and policy groups; and “detransitioners” who no longer identify as transgender.

Christian legal nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorneys filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the Supreme Court in October 2024, urging the court to allow state legislatures to protect children from “experimental medical procedures.”

ADF CEO and President Kristen Waggoner called Wednesday’s decision a “monumental victory for children, science, and common sense.” 

She continued: “No one has the right to harm a child. The Biden administration and ACLU asked the court to create a ‘constitutional right’ to give children harmful, experimental drugs and surgeries that turn them into patients for life. This would have forced states to base their laws on ideology, not evidence — to the immense harm of countless children … States are free to protect children from the greatest medical scandal in generations — and that’s exactly what states like Tennessee have done.”

The Biden administration had argued that gender-altering medical interventions are necessary for transgender youth. 

Directly opposing the Biden administration’s position, President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January ending federal support for gender transition-related care for minors and, in a March joint address to Congress, called for federal legislation “permanently banning and criminalizing sex changes on children.” 

Background and legal arguments

The case stemmed from L.W. v. Skrmetti, where parents argued that the Tennessee law, Senate Bill 1 (SB1), violated the 14th Amendment’s due process clause by infringing on their right to make medical decisions for their children. They also claimed the law violated the equal protection clause by discriminating based on sex. 

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals had previously upheld SB1, finding it constitutional under both due process and equal protection analyses, contrasting with the 8th Circuit’s 2024 ruling striking down a similar Arkansas law on equal protection grounds.

At the Supreme Court, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar and ACLU attorney Chase Strangio argued for the plaintiffs, asserting that SB1 constituted sex-based discrimination requiring intermediate scrutiny — a standard demanding that the state show the law is substantially related to an important government objective. 

They claimed Tennessee failed to meet this burden, as the law targeted treatments specific to transgender minors, effectively discriminating based on sex.

Tennessee Solicitor General J. Matthew Rice countered that SB1 did not discriminate based on sex but instead regulated medical interventions based on age and purpose. He argued for rational basis review, a lower standard requiring only that the law be rationally related to a legitimate government objective, such as protecting minors from unproven medical interventions. 

Rice argued in favor of the state’s authority to regulate medical interventions, particularly for children, given ongoing debates about the long-term effects of gender-based medical treatments.

The Supreme Court’s majority opinion on Wednesday held that SB1 does not constitute sex discrimination warranting heightened scrutiny. The court ruled that the law distinguishes treatments based on their medical purpose, not sex, and thus passes rational basis review.

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, echoed his earlier remarks during oral arguments in December 2024: “The Constitution leaves that question to the people’s representatives, rather than to nine people, none of whom is a doctor.” 

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined fully by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and partially by Justice Elena Kagan, filed a dissenting opinion contending that the law targets transgender minors by denying them access to medical treatments available to others for different purposes and warrants heightened scrutiny because the law “singles out transgender youth for unequal treatment, punishing them for their gender identity in violation of equal protection principles.”

Justice Kagan, in a separate dissenting opinion, emphasized the law’s infringement on parental rights under the due process clause and its lack of rational basis given medical evidence supporting gender-affirming care. She also argued that Tennessee’s categorical ban disregards established medical standards and parental decision-making authority without adequate justification. 

“By overriding medical consensus and parental choices, this law undermines fundamental liberties and sets a dangerous precedent for state overreach,” Kagan stated.

Pope Leo XIV addresses pilgrims at his general audience in St. Peter’s Square on June 18, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jun 18, 2025 / 14:25 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on June 18 renewed his strong call for peace, urging people to not “get used to war.”

Addressing pilgrims at the end of Wednesday’s general audience, the pontiff lamented that “the Church is brokenhearted at the cry of pain rising from places devastated by war.”

In particular, he focused on the conflicts in Ukraine, Iran, Israel, and Gaza. “We must not get used to war!” he exclaimed from St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

In this context, he emphasized that “the temptation to have recourse to powerful and sophisticated weapons needs to be rejected.”

He then cited the Second Vatican Council noting that in modern warfare, “every kind of weapon produced by modern science is used in war, the savagery of war threatens to lead the combatants to barbarities far surpassing those of former ages.”

“For this reason, in the name of human dignity and international law, I reiterate to those in positions of responsibility the frequent warning of Pope Francis: ‘War is always a defeat!’” the pontiff said, quoting his predecessor.

Finally, he also recalled the words of Pope Pius XII, who reiterated that “nothing is lost in peace. Everything may be lost in war.”

Pope Leo XIV’s remarks come a day after Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack on Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.

Authorities have confirmed 23 fatalities, and the Ukrainian Air Force claims to have neutralized 30 of the 58 drones launched in another attack carried out against its territory early Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile, the ceasefire has not held in Gaza, and more than 50,000 people have died in the territory since the war between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas began.

The conflict has spilled onto different fronts, most recently with Israel and Iran trading attacks.

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

Father Theodore Gabrielli, SJ. / Credit: San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office

CNA Staff, Jun 18, 2025 / 12:27 pm (CNA).

A priest in California has been arrested and charged with acts of child sex abuse that reportedly occurred through the 1990s. 

Police arrested Father Theodore Gabrielli last week on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a minor, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office said in a post on X on Tuesday. 

Authorities identified three alleged male victims of the priest, the sheriff’s office said; all three were members of the same family. 

At the time of the alleged abuse, “the family was living in Mexico” where they allegedly befriended Gabrielli. 

“The priest became close with the family, and he was allowed to take the three boys with him to many places in California including his parents’ residence in Los Osos,” the sheriff’s office said. “It was there, the victims stated, the priest would sexually assault them.” 

The alleged assaults “continued over the course of about eight years,” reportedly between 1991 and 1999. The victims “decided to come forward last year and report the abuse,” the statement added. 

Gabrielli was arrested in Los Osos on June 12.

The 2023 Archdiocese of Los Angeles directory listed Gabrielli as residing at the Dolores Mission. As recently as June 1 he was listed as a member of the Loyola High School Los Angeles board of directors, though his listing had been removed as of June 18. 

His name has also apparently been removed from the staff directory of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in San Diego. 

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Gabrielli’s arrest.

Scenes from the beatification of Floribert Bwana Chui Bin Kositi, a Congolese martyr, in Rome on Sunday, June 15, 2025. In a Monday, June 16, audience with pilgrims from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), who traveled for the beatification of Bwana Chui at the Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls, the Holy Father said: “This Congolese layman highlights the precious witness of the laity and young people.” / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Africa, Jun 18, 2025 / 11:57 am (CNA).

Floribert Bwana Chui Bin Kositi, a Congolese martyr beatified in Rome on Sunday, June 15, provides a powerful testament to the invaluable witness of the laity and youth, Pope Leo XIV said.

In his Monday, June 16, audience with pilgrims from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), who traveled to participate in the beatification of Bwana Chui at the Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, the Holy Father said: “This Congolese layman highlights the precious witness of the laity and young people.”

“This African martyr, in a continent rich in youths, shows how young people can be leaven for peace — peace that is unarmed and disarming,” Pope Leo said about Bwana Chui, who had turned 26 in June 2007 and was murdered the following month.

The pope added: “May the long-awaited peace in Kivu, in Congo, and across all of Africa come soon — through the intercession of the Virgin Mary and Blessed Floribert.”

On Nov. 15, 2024, the late Pope Francis recognized the martyrdom of Bwana Chui and authorized the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints to publish the decree announcing his beatification. 

Born on June 13, 1981, in the city of Goma, Floribert Bwana Chui was abducted and martyred in the same Congolese city on July 8, 2007, for standing up against corruption. 

Bwana Chui hailed from a wealthy family and studied law and economics. As a student, he joined the Community of Sant’Egidio, the Rome-based lay Catholic association dedicated to the provision of social services and arbitrating conflicts. He volunteered to reach out to street children.

He started his professional life in DRC’s capital city, Kinshasa, as a claims officer at the customs and goods control agency, the Congolese Control Office. His duty was to evaluate products crossing the DRC eastern border.

In this capacity, Bwana Chui had to wrestle with a moral dilemma, that of allowing contaminated food imported from neighboring Rwanda and without proper documentation and authorization for sale entry into DRC. He chose to speak up.

In his June 16 address to the Congolese pilgrims at the Vatican, Pope Leo lauded Blessed Bwana Chui’s unwavering stance against corruption, emphasizing that such moral courage is rooted in a life grounded in prayer.

“Where did such a young man find the strength to resist corruption, so deeply rooted in the current mentality and capable of unleashing violence?” the pope asked.

Blessed Bwana Chui’s “decision to keep his hands clean — as a customs officer — was shaped by a conscience formed through prayer, listening to the word of God, and communion with his brothers and sisters,” the pontiff said.

“He lived the spirituality of the Community of Sant’Egidio, which Pope Francis summarized with three ‘Ps’: prayer, the poor, and peace,” Pope Leo said and went on to remember the Congolese martyr for his dedication to the poor, saying: “The poor were central in his life. Blessed Floribert had a committed relationship with street children, driven to Goma by war, disdained and orphaned.”

“He loved them with the charity of Christ; he cared for them and was concerned about their human and Christian formation,” the Holy Father said. “Floribert’s strength grew from his faithfulness to prayer and to the poor.” 

Blessed Bwana Chui was a man of peace, the Holy Father further said, and explained: “In a region as afflicted as Kivu, torn by violence, he waged his battle for peace with gentleness — serving the poor, fostering friendship and encounter in a fractured society.”

“This young man, not resigned to evil, had a dream — nourished by the words of the Gospel and closeness to the Lord,” the pope said. “Many young people felt abandoned and hopeless, but Floribert listened to Jesus’ words: ‘I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you’ (Jn 14:18).”

Testimonies about Bwana Chui have indicated that he “preferred to die rather than allow through food that could harm many people.”

People who knew him say he refused to be bribed and reportedly went on to destroy the expired rice. For his honesty and moral integrity, he was abducted and then murdered, according to witnesses, who recalled that he was fond of saying: “Money will disappear quickly. And what about those who would have consumed these products?”

The remains of Bwana Chui will be transferred from the Kanyamuhanga cemetery to a place where pilgrims can access them with ease. “This step will be followed by a procession and then Mass at Goma Cathedral Parish,” Bishop Willy Ngumbi Ngengele said during a June 9 press conference. 

The June 15 beatification of Bwana Chui made him the fourth blessed in the DRC after Sister Marie-Clémentine Anuarite Nengapeta from the Diocese of Wamba, layman Isidore Bakanja from the Mbandaka-Bikoro Archdiocese, and Father Albert Joubert from the Diocese of Uvira, who was beatified in August 2024 alongside three Xaverian missionaries in eastern DRC.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

Delegates at the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, on June 17, 2025. / Credit: ACI Africa

ACI Africa, Jun 18, 2025 / 09:46 am (CNA).

Martha Karambu Koome, the chief justice in Kenya, called upon delegates at the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit in Nairobi this week to have a “united stance” in fostering religious liberty.

As regional and global experts as well as proponents of religious freedom, the delegates gathered on Tuesday, June 17, for the first summit of its kind to be hosted by an African country.

In her address during the opening ceremony, delivered by Third Deputy Chief Justice and Vice President of the Supreme Court of Kenya Honorable Justice Philomena Mbete Mwilu, Koome emphasized the urgency of developing a collective response to the multiple cases of religious persecution, discrimination, and extremism on the continent.

“We must adopt a united stance — one that upholds religious freedom not only as a legal right but also as a cornerstone of Africa’s democratic and evolving institutions,” Koome said to attendees gathered at Nairobi’s Safari Park Hotel.

“Let this summit be remembered as a turning point — a moment when Africa stood up, not merely in defense of freedom of religion or belief but in pursuit of a richer, deeper peace grounded in dignity, justice, and the recognition of our shared humanity,” she said.

The chief justice praised the Religious Freedom Institute and the International Religious Freedom Summit for convening what she described as a “very timely conference on African soil.” 

“Around the world, and particularly in parts of Africa, we are witnessing an alarming rise in incidents of religious persecution, restrictions on religious expression, and violent extremism and violence,” she said.

“These violations are not just attacks on religious freedoms,” Koome added. “They strike at the very fabric of our societies and threaten the social cohesion essential for sustainable peace and development.”

Addressing the summit’s theme of religious freedom and its defense in courts and society, Koome underscored the judiciary’s unique responsibility.

“An independent, impartial, and accessible judiciary is the cornerstone of constitutional democracy. Through progressive jurisprudence, African courts have increasingly demonstrated their capacity to stand as bulwarks against discrimination, marginalization, and complicity,” she said.

In the speech, Koome emphasized that courts must “position themselves as a critical center against both state and non-state actors that threaten religious liberty.”

At the same time, she pointed to the transformative power of faith leaders, describing them as “ethical innovators and peace leaders” and as essential actors in times of crisis, mediation, and reconciliation.

“Faith communities are often the first to respond in times of crisis, the voice of conscience in the moment of moral failure, and the bridge-builders in the context of religious and ethnic tensions,” she said.

The chief justice emphasized that religious freedom cannot be safeguarded in isolation, urging solidarity, collaboration, and a united continental commitment.

“It is therefore imperative that we act together and with identity. The ILO [International Labor Organization] Summit Africa presents a unique platform for continental consensus, sharing innovative approaches and post-apocalyptic frameworks to promote and protect religious freedom,” she said.

Koome also said that what attendees learn from the summit “will help us position our courts with a critical center against both state-of-the-art and state actors that threaten religious liberty.”

The one-day event sought to explore “the impact of government actions on religious freedom” on the continent.

In a series of sessions under the theme “Africa Together: A Continental Call to Religious Freedom,” the co-chairs of the IRF Summit and a variety of civil society leaders from across Africa facilitated discussions around “the context, the challenges, and the path forward for freedom of religion and belief” in the world’s second-largest and second-most-populous continent after Asia.

In her address, Koome lauded the organizers of the one-day IRF Summit for choosing Kenya to host the event.

“Kenya is deeply honored to host this milestone event. It speaks to the heart of who we are as a nation and as a continent,” she said.

Highlighting Kenya’s progressive 2010 constitution, the chief justice reminded participants of its foundational principles: human dignity, equality, inclusiveness, and freedom of conscience, religion, belief, and opinion, as enshrined in Article 32.

Kenya, she said, offers a model for constitutional protection of religious diversity and political expression.

“We are a pluralistic society that embraces multiculturalism and respects the dignity of every person to worship, or not to worship, in accordance with their conscience,” she said. “This constitutional design reflects our broader African leadership and commitment to peaceful coexistence, communal harmony, and mutual respect.”

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

Pope Leo XIV spoke about how Christ can heal our past during the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on June 18, 2025. / Credit Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Vatican City, Jun 18, 2025 / 06:03 am (CNA).

After a turn in the popemobile to greet thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his general audience on Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV continued his catechesis on “Jesus Christ, Our Hope.”

The pope reminded listeners that Jesus is capable of healing and unblocking the past, which at times paralyzes us — inviting us to move forward and decide what to do with our own history.

The Church: A house of mercy

The Holy Father invited the faithful to reflect on moments in which “we feel ‘stuck’ and trapped in a dead end,” where it seems “pointless to keep hoping — we resign ourselves and no longer have the strength to fight.”

Referring to the Gospel passage from John 5:1–9, which recounts the healing of a paralytic, the pope said that it is Jesus who “reaches people in their pain” — the sick and those who had been cast out of the Temple for being considered unclean.

These people, the Holy Father recalled, hoped to get well in a pool whose waters were believed to have healing powers. According to the custom of the time, the first person to plunge into the pool when the water stirred would be healed.

“That pool was called ‘Betzatà,’ which means ‘house of mercy.’ It could be seen as an image of the Church, where the sick and the poor gather, and to which the Lord comes to heal and bring hope,” he added.

The paralysis of disillusionment

Jesus then approaches a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years and had never managed to enter the pool. The pope pointed out that “what often paralyzes us is precisely disillusionment. We feel discouraged and risk falling into neglect.” When Jesus speaks to the paralytic, he asks a “necessary” question: “Do you want to be healed?”

“Sometimes we prefer to remain in the condition of being sick, forcing others to take care of us. It can also become an excuse to avoid deciding what to do with our lives. But Jesus leads this man back to his true and deepest desire,” Leo XIV said.

The paralytic, feeling defeated, replies that he has no one to help him into the pool — an attitude that, according to the pope, “becomes a pretext for avoiding personal responsibility.”

Regarding the man’s fatalistic view of life, the pope said that at times “we think things happen to us because we are unlucky, or because fate is against us. This man is discouraged. He feels defeated by life’s struggles.”

With Jesus, we discover that life is in our hands

Nevertheless, Jesus “helps him discover that his life is also in his own hands. He invites him to rise up from his chronic condition and take up his mat. That mat is not thrown away or abandoned: It represents his past illness — his history,” the pope continued.

The past, he explained, had kept the man stuck, forcing him “to lie there like someone already dead.” But thanks to Jesus, he is able to “carry that mat and take it wherever he wants — he can decide what to do with his history. It’s a matter of walking forward, taking responsibility for choosing which path to take.”

Finally, the pope invited the faithful to ask the Lord “for the gift of understanding where in our life we have become stuck. Let us try to give voice to our desire for healing. And let us pray for all those who feel paralyzed and see no way out,” he said.

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

Over 450 boys and girls received their first holy Communion during liturgies held over the past month in various churches of the town of Qaraqosh, Iraq. / Credit: Syriac Catholic Archdiocese of Mosul, Iraq

Mosul, Iraq, Jun 18, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Amid renewed tensions in the Middle East, the Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Mosul and its surrounding areas has continued its tradition of celebrating first holy Communion for children in Qaraqosh (Baghdeda), Iraq. Over 450 boys and girls received the sacrament during liturgies held over the past month in various churches of the town.

In his homilies during the celebrations, Archbishop Benedictus Hanno praised the steadfast faith of the local Christian community, emphasizing their determination to return to their ancestral homeland despite the suffering they endured due to forced displacement. 

“When we see this radiant group receiving the body of Christ in faith, we know our families remain firm in their commitment, and our Church continues to grow and flourish,” he said.

Hanno also highlighted the vital role of Catholic families in nurturing the faith of their children: “When the father and mother are united in faith, the family becomes a fortified castle, capable of resisting temptation, evil, and moral deviation,” he said.

The archbishop stressed that these celebrations are “a great joy for our Church and a living testimony to the renewal and perseverance of Christian faith.”

Christians from Qaraqosh and neighboring towns were forcibly displaced from their historic homeland in the Nineveh Plain when ISIS seized the region on Aug. 6, 2014. 

“They did not hesitate to give up their homes and possessions in order to preserve their faith... they are persecuted for their belief, and there is nothing more noble than holding onto one’s faith,” Hanno said in an earlier interview with ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner.

Despite the large-scale emigration of Christians from Iraq, many have returned to Qaraqosh after its liberation in 2017, determined to rebuild their churches and homes and to remain rooted in their land.

Qaraqosh — known in Syriac as “Baghdeda” and located in Iraq’s northern Nineveh province — remains one of the country’s largest Christian towns. However, the number of Christians has declined from about 60,000 before 2014 to around 30,000 today.

According to the Syriac Catholic Archeparchy’s chancery office, the number of Syriac Catholics alone dropped from 55,000 before the ISIS occupation to just 27,000 today, not including Christians from other churches.

During his historic visit to Iraq in 2021, Pope Francis visited Qaraqosh and met with the faithful at the Grand Immaculate Conception Cathedral.

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

CNA Staff, Jun 17, 2025 / 18:46 pm (CNA).

British lawmakers have voted to decriminalize abortions in England and Wales in a move that pro-life advocates and medical professionals say could endanger women and unborn children. 

The House of Commons — the publicly-elected house of Parliament of the United Kingdom — approved on June 17 an amendment to change the law so that it would no longer be illegal for women to abort their unborn children for any reason, up to birth.  

Abortions in England and Wales are currently legal for up to 24 weeks of pregnancy with the approval of two doctors and in some other cases after 24 weeks. 

Labor member of Parliament (MP) Tonia Antoniazzi, who introduced the amendment, argued it was cruel to prosecute a woman for killing her unborn child and cited police investigations of more than 100 women for suspected illegal abortions.

In one case Antoniazzi cited, a mother of three who was eight months pregnant killed her unborn child and was then sentenced to about two years in prison. Antoniazzi said of the current law: “This is not justice, it is cruelty and it has got to end.”

The amendment was opposed by pro-life advocates and medical professionals. In a June 17 letter, more than 1,000 medical professionals urged the members of Parliament to oppose the abortion amendment.

In the letter, the medical professionals noted that the amendment would make abortions “possible up to birth for any reason including abortions for sex-selective purposes.” 

Antoniazzi’s amendment would, they said, “remove any legal deterrent against women administering their own abortions late in pregnancy.” 

The letter also encouraged the MPs to reinstate in-person check-ins for chemical abortions — a measure that was defeated on Tuesday.

Right to Life United Kingdom expressed concern that Antoniazzi’s amendment could endanger women “because of the risks involved with self-administered late-term abortions.”

In the June 17 press release, the pro-life group noted the high risk of late-term abortions and abortion pills, maintaining that the amendment “would enable abortion providers to cover up the disastrous consequences of the pills by post scheme.” 

The group also noted the high cost of lives lost related to the prospective abortion of viable unborn children. The amendment, they said, could lead to “an increased number of viable babies’ lives being ended well beyond the 24-week abortion time limit and beyond the point at which they would be able to survive outside the womb.” 

The decriminalization amendment, which was part of a broader crime bill, passed 379-137. The House of Commons will need to pass the crime bill before it goes to the House of Lords — the second chamber of the U.K. Parliament — where it could be delayed but not blocked.

The top bishop for life issues for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Archbishop John Sherrington of Liverpool, said the bishops were “deeply alarmed” by the passage of the amendment. 

“This decision significantly reduces the protection of unborn lives and will result in grave harm for pregnant women,” Sherrington said in a June 17 statement. 

Sherrington voiced concern that the change “will result in women being more alone, vulnerable, and isolated.”

“Abortion is often chosen because of the personal challenges that a woman faces as well as the lack of proper suitable guidance and support,” he said. 

The change in the law will make women “even more vulnerable to manipulation, coerced and forced abortions,” he said.

“This legal change will also discourage medical consultation and make the use of abortion pills for dangerous late-term, at-home abortions more likely,” he added. 

But the Church, the archbishop said, “keeps working tirelessly to protect the dignity of every life.”

“We will not abandon pregnant women and their unborn children in their most vulnerable moment,” Sherrington said. 

“Let us continue to pray and commend the lives of these women, children, their families, and all who support them to the maternal intercession of Our Lady, Mother of God,” he concluded.

This story was updated on June 18, 2025, at 11:28 a.m. ET with the statement from Archbishop Sherrington.