Ss. Joseph and Cabrini Parish

Thousands of volunteers in colorful safety vests fill St. Peter’s Square during the Jubilee of Volunteers at the Vatican on March 9, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Vatican City, Mar 9, 2025 / 13:20 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Sunday thanked volunteers for the closeness and tenderness they show others in need of their care.

As the Holy Father continues medical treatment at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, the Vatican released his March 9 Sunday homily and Angelus message dedicated to the approximately 25,000 men and women participating in the March 8–9 Jubilee of the World of Volunteering. 

At the conclusion of his homily, the pope thanked volunteers associated with nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations for following Jesus by serving others.

“On the streets and in homes, in the company of the sick, the suffering, and the imprisoned, with the young and the elderly, your generosity and commitment offer hope to our entire society,” the pontiff shared in his prepared homily. 

“In the deserts of poverty and loneliness, all those small gestures are helping to make a new humanity blossom in the garden that is God’s dream, always and everywhere, for all of us,” he continued.

In his Angelus message, the 88-year-old pontiff said volunteers bear witness to the “primacy of gratuitousness, solidarity, and service to those most in need.” 

“In our societies, too enslaved to market logic, where everything risks being subject to the criterion of interest and the quest for profit, volunteering is prophecy and a sign of hope,” the pope said.

“I express my gratitude to those who are engaged in this field: Thank you for offering your time and abilities; thank you for the closeness and tenderness with which you care for others, reawakening hope in them!”

Calling those who care for the sick “a sign of Lord’s presence,” the Holy Father expressed particular gratitude toward the doctors and medical staff caring for him at Gemelli Hospital.

“Brothers and sisters, during my prolonged hospitalization here, I too experience the thoughtfulness of service and the tenderness of care,” he said. “We need this, the ‘miracle of tenderness’ that accompanies those who are in adversity, bringing a little light into the night of pain.”

The pope on Sunday also thanked those who have and continue to pray for his health and healing since being admitted to the hospital more than three weeks ago on Feb. 14: “Heartfelt thanks to you all! I pray for you too.”

In a March 9 statement released by the Holy See Press Office, the Vatican said it will hold the Roman Curia’s annual spiritual exercises from March 10–14 this year.

“In accordance with tradition, this time of contemplation and prayer represents a moment of silence and discernment for the Holy Father’s collaborators, who will gather in a spirit of reflection and listening to the Word of God, continuing to pray for his health,” the Vatican statement said.

The pope in his Angelus message said he will “join spiritually” those participating in this month’s spiritual exercises.

During the March 10–14 spiritual exercises, the Vatican said the recitation of the holy rosary for the Holy Father’s health will be held at 5 p.m. local time inside the Paul VI Audience Hall instead of 9 p.m. local time in St. Peter’s Square.

Since Feb. 24, cardinals of the Roman Curia have led daily prayer evenings, open to the public, in St. Peter’s Square for the pope’s recovery.

At the end of his Sunday Angelus message, the pope asked people to pray for the “gift of peace” for Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Syria.

“I entrust you all to the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary,” he said. “Happy Sunday, and arrivederci [goodbye]!”

A balloon with an image of Pope Francis is pictured outside the Gemelli University Hospital in Rome, where Pope Francis is hospitalized with pneumonia, on March 3, 2025. / Credit: FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images

Vatican City, Mar 9, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).

Pope Francis on Sunday said defeats are not definitive for those who believe in Jesus Christ and trust in God’s love and forgiveness.

In his prepared March 9 homily for the first Sunday of Lent, the Holy Father said difficulties and trials do not “end in failure” for Christians who embrace their relationship with God our redeemer.

“In the face of temptation, we sometimes fall; we are all sinners,” the papal text said. “Our defeat, however, is not definitive, because following our every fall, God lifts us up by his infinite love and forgiveness.”

The Holy Father was unable to preside over the Mass for the first Sunday of Lent, which coincided with the last day of the Jubilee for the World of Volunteering, due to ongoing medical treatment in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital. 

In his place, Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect for the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, presided over the Sunday Mass, attended by thousands of uniformed volunteers belonging to nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations. 

“Let us consider three aspects of Jesus’ temptation and of our own: its beginning, the way it takes place, and its result,” Czerny said, reading the pope’s homily. “In this way, we will find inspiration for our journey of conversion.”

Reflecting on the different Gospel accounts of Jesus’ temptations in the desert, the pope said Christians should not feel afraid or threatened by the “beginning” of temptation. 

“Whenever we ask God not to lead us into temptation (cf. Mt 6:13), we need to remember that he has already answered that prayer through Jesus, his incarnate word, who remains with us always,” the pope shared in his written homily. 

“The Lord is close to us and cares for us, especially in times of trial and uncertainty, when the tempter makes his voice heard,” he continued. 

According to the Holy Father, “the way” the devil tries to tempt Jesus and his followers is to doubt and reject the “filial relationship” with God our Father.

“In his perversion, the devil wants to destroy that bond,” the pontiff explained. “Jesus’ relationship with the Father is not something to be grasped at (cf. Phil 2:6) or boasted of in order to achieve success and attract followers but rather a gift that he shares with the world for our salvation.”

“The devil whispers into our ear that God is not really our Father, that he has in fact abandoned us,” the Holy Father said. “Yet just when the devil would have us believe that the Lord is far from us and would tempt us to despair, God draws all the closer to us, giving his life for the redemption of the world.”

For Christians, the pope stressed that the “result” of temptations — when faced with the help of Jesus, the “Anointed One” — is the eventual defeat of Satan, “the tempter.” 

“Our testing does not end in failure, because, in Christ, we are redeemed from evil,” he said.  “Jesus himself opens up before us this new path of liberation and redemption.” 

The 88-year-old pontiff concluded his Sunday homily by greeting Jubilee for the World of Volunteering participants and asking the Holy Spirit to sustain Christians throughout their Lenten journey toward Holy Week and Easter — “the central mystery of our faith” in Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Mexico City cathedral. / Diego Grandi/Shutterstock.

Mexico City Newsroom, Mar 9, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The Church in Mexico warned this week about the “manifestations of death that have been taking place in our country,” which, according to the bishops, “threaten human dignity, dehumanize our coexistence, and leave a deep wound in the conscience of our people.”

In a statement issued on March 5, the Mexican Bishops’ Conference specifically pointed out problems such as “the decriminalization and promotion of abortion, the scourge of uncontrolled violence, organized crime, and the scourge of drug trafficking, which has turned entire regions into war zones.”

However, despite this panorama “marked by shadows of death and despair,” the prelates reminded that “life is a sacred gift, which must be welcomed, protected, defended, and promoted with courage.”

6 commitments for life

In this context, the bishops called for a commitment in favor of human dignity, calling for a Week for Life to be held March 24–28. As part of this initiative, they proposed various actions to strengthen the culture of life in the country.

The prelates called for the formation of a “conscience illuminated by the truth,” emphasizing that “it is essential to educate the conscience in the light of the Gospel and the teaching of the Church to avoid falling into error and moral confusion.”

They also insisted on the need to protect people in their most vulnerable stages, especially the unborn and the elderly, and warned that one should not “be silent in the face of unjust laws that violate human dignity.”

The bishops stressed the urgency of “promoting the family and education in values,” emphasizing that the home is the first space for learning and formation. “It is necessary to strengthen marriage, educat[e] in faith and Christian values ​​so that the new generations grow in a culture of respect and solidarity,” they added.

They also urged people to “combat violence with the peace of the Gospel,” affirming that “we cannot resign ourselves to violence. Peace begins in the heart of each person and is built with justice.”

The bishops further urged people to accompany the victims of violence, recalling that the faithful are “called to be Samaritans who heal the wounds of those who have suffered violence. Mercy is a concrete witness to Christian hope.”

Finally, they emphasized the importance of strengthening evangelization and social commitment, emphasizing that “it is not enough to denounce evil; it is necessary to announce the good news of Christ. We must be present in all areas where consolation and accompaniment are needed.”

‘Witnesses and messengers of hope’

Although they recognized that “the situation we face in Mexico is challenging,” the bishops expressed their certainty that “God walks with his people, and we are called to be witnesses and messengers of hope and life.”

“We want to be messengers of hope and life, welcoming motherhood with love. Let us be messengers of hope and life, welcoming with love the sick, the weak, and the vulnerable,” the bishops said.

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

Mother Angelica. / Credit: EWTN

ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 9, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

With the season of Lent, Catholics around the world have entered into a time of prayer, almsgiving, and penance in preparation for Holy Week. There are many and varied sacrifices that the faithful choose to adopt during these days, but which ones are most beneficial for our souls?

Mother Angelica (1923–2016), the foundress of EWTN, explained that the season of Lent is an invitation from the Church to consider the end of our lives and to orient ourselves toward ultimate realities.

“You’re gonna go. We don’t like to think about when you’re going to go. Eventually the person that was in that casket is gonna be a couple of handfuls of mixed bones and ashes,” the nun said in a program broadcast by EWTN in 2000.

Mother Angelica, a pioneer in the world of Catholic communications, shared several tips over the years about Lenten resolutions and how we can grow in faith and prepare ourselves in the best way to accompany the Lord in his passion, death and resurrection.

1. Offer things that will last over time.

Mother Angelica pointed out that Lenten resolutions should be those that last. “I need to give up something that I know is wrong in me,” she explained in the same program in 2000.

Instead of “giving up candy,” she continued, it’s more worthwhile to give up a defect that has a negative impact on us and the people around us.

“Why don’t you give up your temper? That’s what I’m going to do for Lent: I want to give up my temper… and then perhaps these 40 days will get you in a habit, a habit of not losing your temper, a habit of being nice, a habit of being kind. And begin with your family,” she said.

2. Offer each sacrifice with joy.

Lent is a very special time in which the Church offers us the possibility of receiving many graces. 

In another program, broadcast in 1999, Mother Angelica said we should offer our sacrifices cheerfully because we want to offer them to please Jesus more.

“And be sure that you are cheerful. I’d rather you eat three eggs and be cheerful than not eat any eggs and be a grouch. Some people get very grouchy when they’re hungry. I mean they’re just not liveable. Go eat something for goodness sake, who wants to live with you?” Mother Angelica joked.

3. Remember that we offer sacrifices because we are sinners.

Mother Angelica explained in her program on March 7, 2000, that the sacrifices and purposes of Lent, in addition to helping us imitate Jesus, should strengthen our will. When we sin, she commented, sometimes it’s a mistake, sometimes it’s deliberate because of “it’s a lack of willpower, you can’t say no to yourself.”

“There’s a twofold advantage to doing penance. Real penances, that’s not giving up candy, for goodness sakes. You’re hard up if that’s all you can give up. If you gave up something that cost you, not money, but cost you something in here [pointing to her heart], then by the end of Lent you’re stronger, you’re stronger to say no to more important things,” she explained.

“The whole thing of Lent is not to give up candy, sweets, cake, cigarettes… There comes a time in your life when you have to say no to something very difficult, when to say yes would be so easy,” Mother Angelica added.

In addition, the EWTN founder said that “Lent is not about doing penance for 40 days but rather a reminder that there is much in me that has not changed one bit.”

4. Mortifications are internal acts.

In another program, this time from 1994, Mother Angelica commented that Lenten sacrifices have to do with the interior of the person, with the movements of his or her soul, “and not about eating or drinking or not eating and not drinking.”

“Give God your whole self this Lent. Just say: ‘Lord, I have done a lot of terrible things in my life. This Lent I’m going to go to confession, I’m gonna live a whole new life.’ Wouldn’t that be great? That’s not hard to do,” she said.

“There are so many things you can do that will enhance your spiritual life just by being loving, compassionate,” Mother Angelica said.

5. Resolve to deepen your faith during Lent.

A early as 1994, Mother Angelica said in a program that there is “much deceit in the world today” and so it was becoming increasingly essential to stop being “gullible” in the face of trends and sects that seek to “corrupt your mind and your heart” and instead to be strengthened through prayer and sacramentals.

For Mother Angelica, one of the best resolutions that Catholics can make during Lent is to go to confession and receive the Eucharist as well as to resume in our daily lives a devotion to the rosary and to sacramentals, such as holy water.

“We need to pray. Go and eat a box of candy, for goodness sake. Why do we always think it’s our stomach that’s wrong? It’s our soul that is wrong, forget your stomach!” the nun repeated.

“Do really nice and pious things for Lent. At no other time have we needed so much prayer and penance. Praying is a penance for many of you, so is giving up your life of sin. It is a penance to act like a Catholic. Defend your faith! That is a good penance,” Mother Angelica said.

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

Left: Abbot Placid Solari, chancellor of Belmont Abbey College, and Bishop Michael Martin, bishop of the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, tour the Belmont House and other facilities on Feb. 28, 2025. Right: The Belmont House and other properties in Washington, D.C., under construction and renovation on the morning of Feb. 28, 2025. / Credit: Belmont Abbey College

CNA Staff, Mar 9, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A Catholic liberal arts college in North Carolina is launching a new student program in Washington, D.C., designed to “amplify Catholic voices in media, politics, and culture.” Belmont Abbey College plans to launch its Intentional Catholic Student Residency Program, the first of its kind for students, in fall 2025.

Student interns will be able to stay at two neighboring properties next door to the college’s new D.C. hub called Belmont House, which now has a permanent location on Third Street, 500 feet from Capitol grounds. The student housing consists of two properties to the right of the Belmont House, one for men and one for women.

The college recently acquired the new location for Belmont House, a step up from its original location first established in 2021. Belmont House’s mission is to “restore civil society and reclaim the rights of people of faith in the public square,” according to a Feb. 28 press release.

About 1,500 students attend Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina, just 15 miles outside of Charlotte. The college is located next to the 100-year-old Benedictine monastery, Belmont Abbey, home to a group of Catholic Benedictine monks who serve as spiritual mentors and educators within the college and local community.

The Intentional Catholic Student Residency Program in Washington, D.C., will be open to Catholic undergraduates interning in the capital, beginning with 30 residents, but the college hopes to expand it to 60 students a semester in the future.

Bill Thierfelder, president of Belmont Abbey College, said the new initiatives in Washington, D.C., are about bringing Catholic voices into the public square. 

“We are taking Catholic higher education to a new level, we are ensuring that as a faithful Catholic college our voice is heard in the public square,” Thierfelder said in a statement. 

Belmont is also looking to launch a series of academic programs targeted at various age levels, including a summer honors program for high schoolers and an online master’s degree in government and public policy and in political journalism. The academic programs are designed “to transform political discourse to equip future leaders to defend the role of faith in our society,” according to the press release.

The initiatives are part of the “Made Strong” element of the college’s $130 million “Made True Capital Campaign.” Made Strong prioritizes the importance of religious freedom in civil society and the goal of “realigning culture with God’s truth.” 

“These initiatives will play a significant role in effecting the change needed to foster a culture that upholds faith, community, and the common good,” Thierfelder noted. 

Belmont House’s executive director, Emmett McGroarty, hopes that Belmont House will be “an anchor” for Catholics in Washington, D.C. 

“This is only the beginning for the Belmont House,” McGroarty said. “The Belmont House will be an anchor for the faithful on Capitol Hill, bringing strong moral leadership and the teachings of the Church into the heart of politics and public life and serving as a home for Catholics on the Hill.” 

“We are proud to be a voice for truth, advocating for the restoration of faith in the public square,” McGroarty added. 

Abbot Placid Solari, the Benedictine chancellor of Belmont Abbey College, said the initiatives will help promote religious liberty and faithful contributions to public life. 

“We are establishing a place in Washington, D.C., where, building on St. Benedict’s instruction to receive all guests as Christ, we can offer a space for people of goodwill to gather to discuss and promote religious liberty and the important contributions that faith communities can bring to public life,” Placid said.

“As a Catholic college, we can place the insights of the Catholic intellectual tradition and the Church’s social teaching at the service of those tasked with shaping the life of our country,” Solari noted.

Last week, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, another Catholic liberal arts college, officially opened a center in Washington, D.C., with a similar goal of forming faithful Catholic leaders. 

St. Teresa of Calcutta. / Credit: © 1986 Túrelio (via Wikimedia Commons), 1986 / Lizenz: Creative Commons CC-BY-SA-2.0 de

CNA Staff, Mar 8, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

On March 8, International Women’s Day is celebrated around the world. It is a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women as well as advocate for continued equality.

The Catholic Church is filled with female saints who accomplished incredible feats for the Church and serve as role models for women around the world.

Here is a list of inspiring quotes from 10 female saints:

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein): “The world doesn’t need what women have, it needs what women are.”

St. Teresa of Ávila: “We always find that those who walked closest to Christ were those who had to bear the greatest trials.”

St. Faustina: “In whatever state a soul may be, it ought to pray. A soul that is pure and beautiful must pray, or else it will lose its beauty; a soul that is striving after this purity must pray, or else it will never attain it; a soul that is newly converted must pray, or else it will fall again; a sinful soul, plunged in sins, must pray so that it might rise again. There is no soul that is not bound to pray, for every single grace comes to the soul through prayer.”

St. Kateri Tekakwitha: “Look at this cross. Oh, how beautiful it is! It has been my whole happiness during my life, and I advise you also to make it yours.”

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton: “We know certainly that our God calls us to a holy life. We know that he gives us every grace, every abundant grace; and though we are so weak of ourselves, this grace is able to carry us through every obstacle and difficulty.”

St. Teresa of Calcutta: “It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home, for this is where our love for each other must start.”

St. Joan of Arc: “I have a good master, that is God; it is to him I look in everything and to none other.”

St. Rose of Lima: “The gifts of grace increase as the struggles increase.”

St. Josephine Bakhita: “If I were to meet the slave-traders who kidnapped me and even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands, for if that did not happen, I would not be a Christian and religious today.”

St. Catherine of Siena: “You are rewarded not according to time or work but according to the measure of your love.”

San José de Luján formation house, Argentina. / Credit: Miles Christi Institute

ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 8, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).

The Vatican's Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life has decreed the suppression of the Miles Christi religious order, founded in Argentina and the subject of a Vatican intervention in 2022.

“This decision was specifically approved by Pope Francis on Feb. 6, 2025,” stated an official communication released by the AICA news agency.

Implementing the measure fell to Mauricio Landra, auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Mercedes-Luján, as the papal delegate appointed by the Vatican dicastery.

“Given the delicacy and complexity of the situation, in order for everything to be carried out with justice and charity, in order to implement the decision taken by the Holy See, we entrust this time to Mary, Mother of the Church,” Landra said when announcing the decision.

Miles Christi (Soldier of Christ) was a clerical religious order of diocesan right founded in 1994 in the Archdiocese of La Plata, Argentina.

In February 2020, its founder, Roberto Juan Yannuzzi, was expelled from the clerical state after having been found guilty “of crimes against the Sixth Commandment with adults, of absolution of the accomplice, and of abuse of authority.”

At the end of 2022, Pope Francis appointed Jorge García Cuerva, then the bishop of Río Gallegos and now archbishop of Buenos Aires, as pontifical commissioner of the order.

In December of the same year, the Archdiocese of La Plata — under the authority at that time of then-Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández — determined that the contract by which for 16 years the Miles Christi order had been in charge of the St. Louis Gonzaga Parish and the St. Francis School be rescinded.

The archdiocese then took over running the parish and the school.

A few days later, and after receiving questions from the order about the measures taken, the ecclesiastical tribunal of La Plata reported that there was “an investigation due to a sexual abuse complaint filed against a Miles Christi priest.”

The complaint, the tribunal said, was submitted to the superior general of the religious order in the first semester, then forwarded to the archdiocese, expanded, and finally filed in the state courts.

In February 2023, García, as pontifical commissioner of the Miles Christi order, together with the Archdiocese of La Plata, communicated the decision to close the St. Ignatius center, which operated in the city of La Plata.

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

The U.S. Postal Service announced March 6, 2025, that it will issue a stamp of William F. Buckley Jr. (1925–2008), a political commentator and Catholic. / Credit: U.S. Postal Service

CNA Staff, Mar 8, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) this week announced that celebrated Catholic writer and public intellectual William F. Buckley Jr., who shaped U.S. political discourse for decades, will receive his own commemorative stamp for his contributions to American public life.

Hailing him as “one of the most influential public intellectuals in modern U.S. history,” the USPS said in an announcement that Buckley “defined the conservative movement of the mid-20th century and was one of its most recognizable spokesmen.”

Buckley, who died in 2008, founded the conservative commentary magazine National Review in 1955. Known for his unique northeastern accent and erudite commentary, he further served as the host of the public affairs television show “Firing Line” from 1966–1999.

Buckley was raised Catholic and was a member of the Knights of Malta. In his book “Nearer, My God: An Autobiography of Faith,” he wrote that he was “baptized as a Catholic and reared as one by devoted parents” and that his faith had “not wavered” over his life.

The Catholic Church “is unique in that it is governed by a vision that has not changed in 2,000 years,” he wrote. “It tells us, in just about as many words, that we are not accidental biological accretions, we are creatures of a divine plan; that the God who made us undertook to demonstrate his devotion to us as individual human beings by submitting to the pain and humiliation of the cross.”

“Nothing in that vision has ever changed, nothing at all,” Buckley continued, describing it as “a mind-shaking, for some a mind-altering certitude.”

The Buckley stamp was created by artist Dale Stephanos. It was drawn “by hand with graphite and charcoal on hot-press watercolor paper, then refined digitally,” the post office said. It was designed by USPS art director Greg Breeding.

Credit: Christopher E Zimmer/Shutterstock

Denver Newsroom, Mar 8, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.

Trump administration moves to drop Biden-era lawsuit against Idaho pro-life law 

The Trump administration this week moved to drop a Biden-era federal lawsuit against Idaho’s broad abortion ban.

The Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss the Biden-era lawsuit, according to court papers filed by St. Luke’s Health System, which has also sued the state over the law. 

Idaho state law largely outlaws abortion but allows for it in life-threatening situations as well as in cases of rape or incest. The Biden administration had argued that the strict ban violates the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act.

The Supreme Court last year blocked the law but did not fully resolve the issue, which went before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in December. The appeals court has not ruled yet. 

A district court this week, meanwhile, ruled that a temporary block of the pro-life law would continue after the federal government dropped its suit. 

Wyoming legislators pass ultrasound requirement for chemical abortions 

Legislators in Wyoming voted to require abortion providers to offer ultrasounds in the event of chemical abortions, passing the law even after state Gov. Mark Gordon vetoed it.

Both the Wyoming House and Senate voted in a landslide in favor of the bill following Gordon’s Monday veto, meeting the two-thirds threshold to override the governor’s rejection of the law.

The ultrasound law is designed to give pregnant women “the opportunity to view the active ultrasound of the unborn baby and view the fetal heart motion or hear the heartbeat of the unborn baby if the heartbeat is audible.” 

Effective immediately, the new law requires patients to receive an ultrasound at least 48 hours before having a chemical abortion. 

Gordon had vetoed the bill citing concerns that the law could be traumatizing for victims of rape and incest as the procedure is likely to require a transvaginal ultrasound.

Wyoming House Speaker Chip Neiman, a Republican and the primary sponsor of the bill, maintained that having an ultrasound is a matter of women’s safety. Some pregnancy conditions such as an ectopic pregnancy can only be ruled out with an ultrasound but can have high risk factors for a woman taking an abortion pill. 

Providers who violate the ultrasound law face up to six months’ imprisonment, a maximum fine of $9,000, or both. 

A group of abortion advocates quickly filed a legal challenge against the ultrasound law as well as against a separate law requiring surgical abortion clinics to be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers. 

Highlights from Georgia’s March for Life 

Georgia pro-lifers on Thursday gathered in Atlanta for the state’s annual March for Life. 

Pro-lifers carried handmade signs with various messages including “Live, Laugh, Love Them Both” and “Every Beating [Heart] Matters to God.”

The rally began at 11 a.m. across from the Georgia capitol building at Liberty Plaza. The march began at noon. 

Super Bowl champion Benjamin Watson — a retired NFL tight end for the New England Patriots — spoke at the event. Watson, an outspoken pro-life advocate, authored the book “The New Fight for Life: Roe, Race, and a Pro-life Commitment to Justice.” 

Atlanta Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer, OFM Conv, also spoke at the event, as did Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. 

Other speakers included state Sen. Benjamin Watson, columnist and Baptist Pastor Rev. Thomas Hammond Jr., media personality Martha Zoller, former deputy director of the Georgia Republican Party Janelle King, and Christian speaker and author April Chapman. 

Georgia Life Alliance and the March for Life Education and Defense Fund partnered to hold the event.

Nevada legislators propose euthanasia pill

Nevada legislators have introduced a bill to legalize euthanasia to end the lives of patients with terminal conditions. 

The bill, which would legalize physician-assisted suicide in Nevada, enables an adult patient who has been given a terminal diagnosis to request life-ending medication. The bill would require that the patient be diagnosed with a terminal condition by at least two practitioners. It also would require that the patient make the decision voluntarily and be deemed mentally capable to make the decision.

While a medical practitioner would provide the pill, the patient would administer it. The bill also requires the death certificate to state that the patient died of his or her terminal condition.

The bill allows doctors the right to refuse to prescribe medication. If they refuse, they are required to help facilitate the patient’s transfer to a different provider to access the euthanasia pill.

Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed a similar bill two years ago. The Archdiocese of Las Vegas advocated against the bill at the time, citing in part concerns that safeguards surrounding the bill would eventually be removed.

Republican state Rep. Danielle Gallant and Democratic state Rep. Joe Dalia sponsored the legislation. The bill has not been scheduled for a hearing yet.

Democratic Republic of Congo Republican Guard soldiers walk in the streets of Kinshasa on March 1, 2025. As the M23 fighters continue their offensive in eastern DR Congo, hundreds of soldiers from the Republican Guard walk the streets of Kinshasa in a show of force. / Credit: HARDY BOPE/AFP via Getty Images

ACI Africa, Mar 8, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The ongoing violent conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which keeps escalating, risks spreading to the entire nation and even becoming regional if there is no immediate intervention, Caritas Internationalis has warned.

In a statement that the development arm of the Catholic Church delivered at the 58th regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the organization highlighted the widespread effects of the conflict that has claimed at least 7,000 lives.

“We express our deep concern over the worsening security and humanitarian crisis in the eastern DRC, which risks spreading to the entire country and region if no action is taken,” Caritas Internationalis said at the UNHRC session that started on Feb. 24 and is set to end April 4.

“The looting of humanitarian supplies, the closure of the airports in Goma and Bukavu, and insecurity on major roads have made access to humanitarian aid extremely difficult,” the organization’s representatives said.

The conflict in the DRC has escalated significantly in recent months, with the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group making substantial territorial gains.

On Jan. 27, the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels announced that its forces had taken over the capital of the Eastern Province of the DRC, Goma, according to a Reuters report. The news agency also reported that on Feb. 16, M23 rebels captured the second-largest city of eastern DRC, Bukavu.

In seizing Bukavu, a key mining city in South Kivu province, learning institutions and businesses have been disrupted with a mass exodus of residents and Congolese soldiers.

Some of the latest reports about the protracted crisis in the mineral-rich eastern part of the DRC have indicated that besides the death of thousands, the conflict has displaced about 600,000 people.

On Feb. 28, M23 rebels abducted at least 130 patients from two hospitals in Goma, suspecting them of being Congolese soldiers or members of the pro-government Wazalendo militia.

On March 4, Reuters reported that a blast targeted a convoy of rebel leaders in Bukavu, killing 17 people. The city has been under M23 control since February, with both the government and rebels blaming each other for the attack.

In the two-page statement that the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) and Act Alliance also signed, Caritas Internationalis also said the widespread cuts in international aid have resulted in a chronic lack of resources, leaving access to food, health care, and shelter severely inadequate.

The organization further reported that sexual violence has significantly increased in DRC’s regions that are experiencing violence, while medical facilities lack sufficient human, material, and financial resources to provide emergency response to survivors.

Furthermore, Caritas Internationalis said that “the absence of antiretroviral stocks and medical support exposes survivors to increased long-term risks.”

On the effects of the conflict on learning institutions, the organization said that “young people and children are at risk of forced recruitment into armed groups and are deprived of education due to prolonged school closures. This increases their vulnerability to exploitation and violence.”

Despite these challenges, Caritas Internationalis emphasized that local actors, including local churches, remain steadfast in providing essential support to affected populations and advocating for the restoration of peace.

In its statement, it called for immediate, sustainable, and unrestricted humanitarian access via secure corridors, along with the allocation of material and financial resources commensurate with the needs of affected populations.

The group also underlined the need to protect internally displaced persons, ensuring voluntary and secure return in accordance with the Kampala Convention and relevant guiding principles.

In addition, it called for “prevention of exploitation and forced recruitment of young people and children and guaranteeing access to education by reopening schools in a safe environment.”

“Ceasing hostilities and pursuing inclusive dialogue for a peaceful resolution of the conflict” is also among the recommendations of Caritas Internationalis to help end the conflict in the central African nation.

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