St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church and Divine Infant of Prague Mission

Idaho Capitol in Boise. / Credit: Through the Lens of Life/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Apr 3, 2025 / 11:30 am (CNA).

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

Idaho governor signs in utero human development education law

Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little recently signed a law requiring public schools to teach students about human development in the womb. 

Last week Little signed the bill, which passed in the Idaho Senate in a 27-8 vote at the end of February and in the Idaho House 63-6 in March.

The law requires schools to teach about fetal development in grades 5 through 12 beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. 

Lessons must include a high-definition ultrasound video at least three minutes long that shows the development of vital organs as well as a rendered or animated video showing the process of fertilization and the stages of human development within the uterus. 

Live Action founding president Lila Rose noted in a post on X that this would include Live Action digital resources such as the “Baby Olivia” video, which follows the growth and development of an unborn child in the womb from conception to just before birth. 

Rose called the move a “big win for truth, science, and life!” In a statement she said she hopes students in Idaho “will gain a deeper understanding of the incredible process of how human life begins.”

Other states that require education on fetal development include North Dakota and Tennessee. 

Alabama attorney general can’t prosecute out-of-state abortion funding

A federal judge ruled on Monday that Alabama can’t prosecute people for obtaining or funding an abortion in another state where it is legal. 

The decision followed a 2023 lawsuit against state Attorney General Steve Marshall, who once threatened that he would prosecute funding for abortion in other states. In 2022 Marshall said funding abortions out of state is “potentially criminally actionable for us.”

Two pro-abortion organizations that fund abortions — the Yellowhammer Fund and West Alabama Women’s Center — requested a declaratory judgment that Marshall’s comments were unconstitutional.

Judge Myron Thompson of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama said in this week’s ruling that the attorney general’s “threatened prosecutions are unlawful,” citing the right to travel as well as the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. 

Thompson ruled that Alabama may outlaw “what happens in its own backyard” but “it is another thing for the state to enforce its values and laws” against people who travel to another state where the conduct is legal.

Other states like Idaho and Tennessee ban “abortion trafficking,” including moving minors across state lines to obtain abortions. 

Nevada can enforce dormant parental notification abortion law, judge rules

A judge ruled Monday that Nevada can enforce a 40-year-old parental notification law for minors obtaining abortions.

U.S. District Court Judge Anne Traum in Nevada ruled that the 1985 law may take effect April 30. Traum cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson decision that repealed Roe v. Wade.

The Nevada law requires that parents or guardians are notified when minors receive abortions, but it allows an exception for minors who get a court order to authorize the abortion.

Traum left the possibility open for opponents to seek a court order to block the law while they challenge it, noting that “the injunction should be lifted unless the 1985 law should be enjoined on an alternative constitutional ground.”

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals initially found the law to be unconstitutional under Roe v. Wade. But after Roe was reversed, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford and others took legal steps to restore the law.

Abortion in Nevada is legal until 24 weeks with exceptions for the mother’s life or health. A possible ballot measure is in progress that, if passed, could enshrine a right to abortion in the state constitution.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin meets with President Alar Karis of Estonia at the Vatican on April 3, 2025, to discuss local and regional issues including prospects of ending the Russia-Ukraine war. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Apr 3, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin met with President Alar Karis of Estonia at the Vatican on Thursday morning to discuss local and regional issues including prospects of ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

During the April 3 audience, Parolin and Karis expressed appreciation for “good bilateral relations” between their two states as well as the “positive contribution” of local Catholic communities in the northern European nation.

Approximately 6,700 Catholics live in Estonia, accounting for 0.5% of the country’s total population. According to Statistics Estonia, the country’s 2022 census showed the Catholic population grew from 0.4% in 2011 to 0.8% in 2021.

The Vatican erected the Diocese of Tallinn, which is immediately subject to the Holy See and not a metropolitan archdiocese, in September 2024. The diocese replaced the Apostolic Administration of Estonia that was founded 100 years prior in 1924.

In 2018, Pope Francis visited Estonia during his apostolic journey to the Baltic States and, in 2024, appointed French-born Bishop Philippe Jourdan as the first local bishop of the country. Jourdan had served as apostolic administrator since 2005. 

The Holy See Press Office said that during the Thursday meeting, “satisfaction was also expressed regarding the imminent beatification of Archbishop Eduard Profittlich, a Jesuit martyr and Estonia’s first blessed.”

Profittlich, who served as the apostolic administrator for Estonia from 1931 to 1942, died in Kirov prison in Serbia after being captured and deported by Soviet authorities. The Soviet Union invaded and occupied the country in 1940.

The Vatican reported “bilateral, regional, and international issues were also discussed” during the audience with “particular reference to the prospects for an end to the war in Ukraine.”

Last year, Statistics Estonia reported the country’s population is increasing due to Ukrainian immigration. Following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war on Feb. 24, 2022, approximately 44,480 Ukrainians migrated to Estonia, accounting for 73% of Ukrainian nationals living in the country.

Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states and international organizations, was also present at the April 3 meeting.

A philosopher of science and technology, Father Ricardo Mejía Fernández is an expert in transhumanism. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Ricardo Mejía Fernández

Madrid, Spain, Apr 3, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).

In his new book “Integral Transhumanism,” Spanish priest Ricardo Mejía Fernández examines the transhumanist movement as “a technological extension of traditional humanism.”

According to the definition of the Transhumanist Association, transhumanism “is a cultural and intellectual movement that affirms the possibility and necessity of improving the human condition, based on the use of reason applied within an ethical framework sustained by human rights and the ideals of the Enlightenment and humanism.” 

In the book’s prologue, the archbishop of Burgos, Mario Iceta, emphasizes that Mejía approaches the general transhumanist proposal from “a de-ideologized view of reality,” like the child in Hans Christian Andersen’s story who unabashedly declares that the emperor has no clothes.

The prelate summarizes the basis of Mejía’s thesis by stating that “technology is a human way of loving, and love is the human way of using technology.”

As a philosopher of science and technology, the 37-year-old Mejía has been gaining international standing, including his election in 2021 as a member of the International Society for Science and Religion at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

In an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, Mejía did not hesitate to define the majority transhumanist proposal as a “dangerous scam.” At the same time, he was quick to point out that “a technical intervention, simply because it is not natural, is not enough for us to disqualify it as immoral.”

Mejía advocates an approach consistent with the Church’s teachings, a “critical technophilia,” to address the issue, since “technology is already present in the plan of creation.”

ACI Prensa: Is there a bad transhumanism and a good transhumanism?

Father Ricardo Mejía Fernández: Transhumanism in its majority form (transitive and even substitutional), to the extent that it seeks to improve the person solely through biotechnology by altering their specific limits, is completely contrary to an ethics of the person.

My proposal is a forceful critique of transhumanism as it is known today, which lacks a minimally acceptable anthropological, metaphysical, and ethical foundation.

However, even these transhumanists seek to fulfill an infinite desire for fulfillment, what centuries ago was called, as was so often commented on by St. Thomas Aquinas, the “desiderium naturale videndi Deum” (“the natural desire to see God”).

Their error lies in how they propose that this innermost human desire will be fulfilled: not with a reality commensurate with this utterly deep desire but with the provisional devices, techniques, and interventions of the technosciences.

To provide this answer is to defraud humankind because they conceive of the person simply as a complex material mechanism, to which a singular mental capacity is added, the fruit of this mechanism.

The place once occupied by religion will now be taken by the technosciences. Can this transhumanism and its posthumanist extreme be critically reviewed, recognizing its elements of truth? This is what I have done in my work.

You use the concept of “integral transhumanism.“ What does the “integral improvement“ that it proposes consist of in various fields, biologically, socially, or spiritually?

The various transhumanisms have so far been developing their thought without acknowledging their partiality, with a clear danger to the human person: making him dependent on a presumed salvation exclusively through the augmentation of our most hardware-like aspects, which new anthropo-technologies will grant them sooner rather than later.

They also alienate human beings with the future promises that are yet to be revealed thanks to these disciplines. Fortunately, transhumanism is not a closed and monolithic movement, which allows me to reformulate it.

The term “integral transhumanism“ means, on the one hand, a technological expansion of traditional humanism as well as the recognition that the person can be also and not only through advances in new technologies assisted, strengthened, and expanded, without detriment to the human community or the ecosystem, in all that does not endanger its essence, dignity, and centrality.

This is not a “do-goodism,“ since integral improvement must depend on integral moral goodness — that is, improvement, among those found in the technosciences, must depend on integral ethical personalism.

It’s highly questionable, and that’s why I’m inspired by Jacques Maritain’s integral humanism without incurring in his virtualism, a good of the individual completely separate from the good of his community and the planet.

Is transhumanism possible without eugenics, discarding the weak, or the denaturalization of the human being?

Eugenics understood as the elimination of unwanted human life is an aberration, which Pope Francis criticizes as the “throwaway culture,“ but not so the technical strengthening of personal life without undermining or suppressing it. The latter is not condemned by the magisterium of the Church.

Inspired by a silenced early stage of the English scientist Francis Galton, I call this [by analogy] a viticulture of both care and the improvement of the person in relation to the community and the environment. One cannot improve without caring.

Likewise, a technical intervention, simply because it is not natural, is not enough for us to disqualify it as immoral: Is it immoral to wear glasses, an artificial addition to the body to correct vision? Or a pacemaker? Obviously not.

The majority of transhumanists my integral transhumanism opposes understand technology from an unbridled instrumental perspective: If it is technically possible, it is technically feasible to modify not only certain aspects of humankind but the very essence of humankind.

I believe it is metaphysically impossible to modify this essence, although today multiple genetic edits can be made that radically modify our bodies. This does raise concerns in bioethics and other fields, without thus abandoning a hopeful view of its treatment from a comprehensive ethical perspective.

This is emphasized by Archbishop Mario Iceta of Burgos in his extraordinary prologue to my work.

If a hopeful perspective on the transhumanist proposal is possible, what positive elements do you see?

No matter how much we insist on an uneducated humanism regarding the technosciences applied to humankind, these will likely continue to grow. Biotechnology is a specialty increasingly present in universities and is studied by a growing number of our young students, many of them Catholic.

How can we attempt to articulate an ethical discourse about the person, ignoring that today and in the future, our bodies and minds will increasingly be subject to intervention with these technosciences?

Integral transhumanism, far from a technophobia that ultimately grants these technosciences a free pass by failing to address their problems head-on or ignoring them, seeks to incorporate them into a critical approach that responds to ethical demands.

The position most compatible with the Church’s magisterium would be a critical technophilia that can incorporate those interventions of science and technology that allow for and strengthen a more developed human life in growing measures, even expanding it in aspects that our species has not yet reached through evolution, without this implying the suppression of the human person, particularly in an embryonic or dependent stage, or subordinating it to technological determinism.

What should we fear from the most widespread transhumanist proposal, which seems to be an amendment to the mystery of creation?

The majority of transhumanism is, as I’ve pointed out, a dangerous scam. I say it’s dangerous because it doesn’t rely solely on a vague promise but rather proposes that, until the definitive transhuman or posthuman arrives, technological interventions can and should be carried out on human beings, transcending genetic and personal barriers.

According to them, nothing can be more normative, or hold a higher place, than techno-scientific experimentation itself. Thus, we are promised the possibility of being more than human in an uncertain future, and in the meantime, we are invited to do anything with our bodies in an unrestrained experimentalism.

In my work, I assert that this transhumanism deforms humankind (human beings conduct experiments based on deliberation that concerns morality, even if they don’t know it) and deforms technology, since the only way to exercise this ability is by opposing it to humankind itself.

I call this a “Molochan“ deformation, in reference to the demon Moloch, who demanded that the purest human life [babies] be sacrificed to him so that he could offer greater prerogatives in the future.

But technology is already present in the plan of creation, precisely at the moment when God asks Adam and Eve, according to the beautiful story of Genesis, to care for and serve in the Garden of Eden without damaging it or its caretakers. Caring is key to the creation of technical humanity, since technology is meant to be an ally for the integral good of humankind in relation to our fellow human beings and the Earth.

Is there a relationship between the drive for this transhumanism and the secularization of the West?

This is what I argue in a chapter of my book. The majority of transhumanism is a consequence of secularization, although for some members of this movement, it presents itself with clear overtones of secularist religion.

In my opinion, it is an ultra-secularist proposal in the realm of technoscience, born directly from the most unbridled exclusionary humanism of modernity: a humanism that excludes God, neighbor, and care for our common home.

In my work, I criticize the worst of the modernisms from which this movement springs, as well as the understanding of humanism only as that which defends the despotic man. That’s why I so much like the neologism “transhumanism,“ such that I understand the prefix “trans“ not as abandoning our essence (this is metaphysically impossible), but rather as overcoming this modernist and exclusivist bias of a mistaken understanding of the self-deifying individual who can do whatever he pleases, no matter the cost.

I think, as a philosopher of science and technology, as a priest, that we must boldly critique the ultra-secularism that many transhumanists draw upon to try to improve humanity by turning their backs on God, in that neo-Gnosticism and neo-Pelagianism they unwittingly champion.

Integral transhumanism, on the other hand, cannot obstruct the innermost desire of [Homo] Sapiens, his specific religiosity, with techno-scientific fixes that are always revisable and perfectible. Improving humanity is a broader and grander undertaking.

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

A Planned Parenthood facility in Indianapolis. / Credit: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock

Ann Arbor, Michigan, Apr 3, 2025 / 08:30 am (CNA).

A coalition of pro-life organizations on Wednesday held rallies outside abortuaries to demand that Congress and the White House completely end the taxpayer subsidy of killing unborn human beings, nationally and at the state level.

The Pro-Life Action League and Citizens for a Pro-Life Society promoted the April 2 Nationwide Day of Protest to Defund Planned Parenthood to redirect public funds away from abortion to instead go to health centers that affirm life. 

In an interview with CNA, Matt Yonke of the Pro-Life Action League pointed out that “Planned Parenthood provides less than 1% of annual pap tests and clinical breast exams but performs 42% of annual abortions in the U.S. They’ve been caught shielding child predators, defrauding Medicaid, and harvesting fetal tissue for profit.” 

“Now with the Trump administration, it’s time to put defunding Planned Parenthood back on the table. Americans, even people who don’t have moral qualms about abortion, don’t want their tax dollars going to abortion,” he said. Yonke told CNA some 80 rallies took place in 20 states across the country.

The Trump administration is moving to freeze $27.5 million in federal funds for Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers of the more than $286 million allocated to the Title X program for the current fiscal year, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

Yonke cited as an example of pro-life action the rally that took place Wednesday at the Planned Parenthood-Aurora Health Center in Aurora, Illinois. The facility provides surgical and chemical abortion, contraception, and sex education. According to Yonke, the location also serves as a call center. Speaking to broad support among pro-lifers, Yonke said: “This is definitely an ecumenical effort among Christians.”

Monica Miller of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society told CNA that rallies were planned at four abortion facilities in Michigan, where she is based. “We want to draw attention to this issue and let Planned Parenthood know we are not going away,” Miller said.

The Government Accounting Office (GAO) found that federal funds going to domestic and international organizations providing “preventative health care services, including sexual and reproductive health services [and] family planning” as well as “treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS,” amounted to approximately $8 billion during the 2019–2021 period. During that time, Planned Parenthood Federation of America received about $148 million in HHS grants as well as $1.54 billion in Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) payments. Its affiliates also received $89 million in loans and accrued interest that were forgiven.

In addition, the International Planned Parenthood Federation received about $2.03 million from the now-defunct U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Separately, MSI Reproductive Choices received about $1.35 million from USAID.  

Yonke said pro-lifers do not want to reduce spending on legitimate health care and that defunding Planned Parenthood “would not reduce the overall pool for spending on health care or women’s health care in particular.” 

Planned Parenthood not only receives millions in federal subsidies, it is also a political powerhouse. According to OpenSecrets, the organization gave over $500,000 to Democratic congressional candidates during the 2023-2024 season. 

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, has introduced the End Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Providers Act, which would defund Planned Parenthood and abortion providers nationally.

“Americans have long made it clear that they oppose taxpayer-funded abortions,” Hawley said. “My legislation defends the unborn and upholds the will of the American people.” Similar legislation has been introduced in the House.

“We want to extract this bad actor, Planned Parenthood, from every level of public life altogether,” Yonke emphasized. Citing a recent New York Times article that references botched abortions, misplaced IUDs, declining revenue, and staff fatigue at Planned Parenthood affiliates, Yonke said the time is ripe to take action. 

Participants in the three-day planned peaceful protests in Nigeria’s Diocese of Auchi from March 25–27, 2025, emphasized the need for improved security and called for an end to abductions targeting the clergy that have resulted in deaths of some of the abductees. / Credit: ACI Africa

ACI Africa, Apr 3, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Participants in peaceful protests held March 25–27 in Nigeria’s Diocese of Auchi emphasized the need for improved security and called for an end to abductions targeting clergy that have resulted in the deaths of some abductees. 

Speaking to ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, on March 27, the final day of the protests, a group of protesters called for the enforcement of an anti-grazing law to curb the activities of armed herdsmen suspected of carrying out attacks.

“We mothers are crying! Our children are being killed. Our daughters are being raped. We can’t go to the farm, we can’t go to the market, we can’t even go to church without fear. We need help now!” Monica Nosa told ACI Africa.

“Hunger is killing us, and insecurity is making it worse. If we had security, we could farm and feed our families. But now, we live in constant fear. This must stop!” Nosa lamented. 

Another protestor, Osagie Emafidon, agreed: “The government must pass and implement the anti-grazing policy so our forests can be cleared of these criminals. People should be able to go to their farms without fear of being kidnapped or killed.” 

Emafidon called for urgent deployment of security forces to protect vulnerable communities, explaining: “Fulani terrorists are now invading homes. They break down doors and abduct people from their own bedrooms. This shows a total failure of security in our region.”

James Ekemhenkhoele, also a participant in the peaceful protests, expressed concern about the ritual dimension of the killings, revealing that the killers now trade in human parts. 

“Seeing these people in the forest, they’ve made it an obligation, a willful, deliberate, wicked obligation, to rape, to kill, to maim in our forest. Even on the farms, they can just come to the farm and kill, and then they remove parts of the body… and sell them,” Ekemhenkhoele told ACI Africa. 

The protests included online campaigns against abductions and killings, a day of mourning, and a peaceful march with recitation of the rosary to demand increased security from the Nigerian government.

Mamadou Suleyman, a special adviser to the local government, has weighed in on the security challenge, outlining the latest efforts in addressing insecurity as voiced by the protesters. 

“The executive chairman has been in Benin for the past three days addressing this security crisis,” Suleyman was quoted as saying, telling protestors: “We understand your concerns, and we assure you that efforts are being made to tackle the issue. A special squad has already been redeployed to Auchi. We ask for patience as we continue working on this problem.”

The director of the Justice Development and Peace Commission in the diocese, Father Clement Anaedevha, expressed concern about the trauma priests and many other Christians experience amid persistent kidnappings and killings there.

In an interview with ACI Africa, Anaedevha said: “Priests have suffered immense trauma, killings, abductions, and assaults. Fear and restlessness have gripped the community. If this continues unchecked, it could lead to an outbreak of retaliatory violence.”

“There is confusion in the air, and that confusion can generate chaos,” he added. “People could take the law into their own hands. We have these Fulani people around here, and someone could go into the market and start attacking them indiscriminately. That would result in complete breakdown of law and order.”

The priest went on to express his frustration over ineffective policing. Referring to a recent kidnapping incident, he recalled: “From the first day to the 10th, the kidnappers used the same phone number, yet authorities claimed they were ‘tracking’ the call. They never came up with anything useful. We no longer trust this security regime.”

“If the government is not willing to act, then they should be prepared for the consequences. People are ready to defend themselves. That is the body language of everyone at the moment,” said Anaedevha, who took part in the March 27 protest. 

At the peaceful march, Anaedevha noted that the presence of armed herdsmen in Edo North was not accidental. “They have been here for decades, some for over 40 years. Communities that allow them to stay must be held accountable. Traditional rulers and local leaders who collude with these criminals by accepting bribes or livestock must be exposed,” he said.

To move forward, Anaedevha told ACI Africa that they “will focus on community and environmental sensitization, encouraging people to report suspicious activity. We will also pressure the government to engage with local leaders and enforce security policies.”

The diocese has taken proactive steps to counter the insecurity, including establishing the Uduma Protection Squad in 2021, deploying drones for surveillance, and working closely with community trackers, he said, noting that without government backing, these efforts remain insufficient.

Also speaking to ACI Africa, the parish priest of St. Patrick Enwan Parish in the Auchi Diocese, Father Terence Egwaogie, lamented gaps in government intervention over security challenges.

“The state governors are not saying anything. The government is not addressing the issue. This protest is our way of pushing for action and advocating for security in our country,” Egwaogie said. 

“We cannot continue like this. Strangers are coming into our land and terrorizing us,” he added. “We need security in our own communities. This protest is a necessary step, and it must continue until our demands are met.”

“They kidnap our priests and demand outrageous ransom amounts. Where do they expect us to get such money? They assume priests have wealthy connections, but the truth is we are all struggling,” he said.

The bishops of Nigeria have continually challenged the government to prioritize the security of its citizens.

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

More than 60 men died after a mosque collapsed in Sagaing Township aftera 7.7-magmitude earthquake struck Myanmar on March 28, 2025. / Credit: Courtesy of the Action Against Hunger team in Sagaing

ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 2, 2025 / 18:36 pm (CNA).

Rescue teams have been working against the clock in Myanmar searching for survivors under the rubble after last Friday’s 7.7-magnitude earthquake. But the battle hasn’t just been against time or the high temperatures of over 100 degrees.

“The army isn’t allowing relief teams to operate freely,” a priest from the Diocese of Loikaw in eastern Myanmar told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

“The Church is also trying to help, but we encounter countless obstacles. We can’t freely access the affected areas because there are military checkpoints everywhere. Supplies are confiscated, volunteers are prevented from entering, and in some areas the army doesn’t even allow victims to receive the assistance they need,” said the priest, who requested anonymity.

He said he fears reprisals from the military regime that seized power in a coup in February 2021 and overthrew the democratically-elected government of the National League for Democracy party.

So far, the official death toll from the March 28 earthquake stands at 2,886, while the number of injured is approaching 4,639, according to the latest figures shared by the military junta. This number is expected to continue to rise.

The devastation is particularly widespread in Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, just 11 miles from the earthquake’s epicenter, as well as in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, which is more than 150 miles away, and in the Sagaing region in the northwest of the country.

Catholic Church ‘one of the first to respond’

“Many people are still trapped under the rubble, but time passes and the chances of finding survivors are diminishing. Furthermore, those who managed to escape alive are in deplorable conditions: without food, without drinking water, and without shelter. There is a great need for medical assistance, but there is also no access to adequate hospitals,” the priest related.

“People are desperate. This morning I heard someone say: ‘If you can’t give us anything else, at least give us clean water.’ That shows the gravity of the situation,” he added.

From the very beginning, the Catholic Church has tried to mobilize to assist the victims. Through Caritas Myanmar, teams have been coordinated to distribute drinking water, food, and medicine.

“The Church has been one of the first to respond to the emergency, but we encounter barriers in every attempt to help. There are military checkpoints on the roads, we are required to obtain permission to transport supplies, and in many cases, the soldiers simply confiscate the aid or block its passage,” the priest explained.

The nation, one of the poorest in Asia, has been mired in a civil war for four years, triggered by the 2021 coup by the current military junta in power. The conflict has displaced 3.5 million people, according to the U.N., and has exacerbated poverty and food insecurity.

Despite the humanitarian crisis unleashed after the powerful earthquake, the spiral of violence has not abated.

“The conflict makes it almost impossible to move aid from one region to another. The military junta controls access to main roads, there are checkpoints everywhere, and anyone trying to bring supplies risks arrest or having everything confiscated,” the priest recounted.

The archbishop of Rangoon and president of the Myanmar Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, has called for a ceasefire in his country to facilitate rescue efforts, but his appeal has been unsuccessful.

“We have received reports of fighting in some areas, but communications are damaged, making it difficult to assess the full impact,” said Lisette Suárez, head of the Mental Health and Protection Department of Action Against Hunger in Myanmar, one of the organizations responsible for collecting foreign humanitarian aid and distributing it throughout the country.

“It’s essential to ensure safe and unrestricted access to all affected communities, regardless whose control they’re under,” she emphasized.

The distribution of humanitarian aid has also been hampered because many roads and main thoroughfares “have been completely destroyed” by the earthquake.

“Furthermore, some local airports are still working to restore operations, limiting the air transport of humanitarian aid,” Suárez added.

Without food, water, or electricity

Added to this infrastructure paralysis are administrative problems, as many government offices have also suffered damage and some of their staff are directly affected by the tragedy, Suárez noted.

“The country was already experiencing a humanitarian crisis before the disaster, with a conflict limiting mobility and safe access to many areas,” she pointed out.

The electricity and running water supply remains disrupted, hampering access to health services and increasing the risk of disease outbreaks spreading through water and food. Furthermore, hospitals are operating at half capacity.

“They are treating patients on the streets, with limited resources and without electricity. The few remaining care centers are overwhelmed,” said the worker for Action Against Hunger, an organization that has been operating in the country for 30 years.

Supply problems also affect food. “Markets have collapsed, and there is no access to basic foodstuffs. Thousands of families have lost their livelihoods.”

The earthquake has not only worsened the conditions of those internally displaced by the conflict. “It has affected everyone, without distinction. Displaced communities, those who lived in conflict zones, and those who did not,” explained Suárez, who also emphasized the incalculable psychological impact on a population already traumatized by the war.

“The earthquake has left a profound mark on the mental health of the population. Not only have the communities suffered human and material losses, but also the response teams are working in extremely difficult conditions,” she explained.

Despite the difficulties, international aid has begun to arrive. “Many organizations are using supplies that had been reserved for the monsoon season [June-October], but they probably won’t be enough,” Suárez pointed out.

In any case, despite the devastation, the small Catholic community in Myanmar continues to show great resilience. “Our faith remains strong. Despite the difficulties, we remain united, praying, and helping one another. We cannot lose hope that better days will come,” the priest from the Diocese of Loikaw said.

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

U.S. Supreme Court. / Credit: PT Hamilton/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 2, 2025 / 18:16 pm (CNA).

The United States Supreme Court on Wednesday heard oral arguments for a lawsuit that will determine whether South Carolina and other states can deny Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood for non-abortive medical services.

All three justices appointed by Democrats appeared to empathize with Planned Parenthood in the case, but the six Republican-appointed justices were more nuanced with their questions for the lawyers representing both parties.

Federal Medicaid funds cannot be used to cover elective abortions, but federal law does not restrict abortion clinics, such as Planned Parenthood facilities, from receiving Medicaid funds for other services they offer.

However, in 2016, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed an executive order to block abortion clinics from receiving Medicaid reimbursements for any services, arguing that tax money should not support institutions that perform abortions. This spurred a lawsuit from Planned Parenthood and a patient named Julie Edwards who was receiving non-abortive services at a Planned Parenthood facility through Medicaid.

The bulk of the legal arguments focus on one line in federal law that regulates the way in which state governments must structure their Medicaid reimbursement policies.

Under the federal law, “any individual eligible for medical assistance … may obtain such assistance from any [doctor or health care provider] qualified to perform the service or services required.”

Interpretation of federal law

John Bursch, a lawyer with Alliance Defending Freedom representing South Carolina, and Nicole Saharsky, a lawyer representing Planned Parenthood, disputed the meaning of the federal law and whether patients can file lawsuits about the matter.

Bursch told the justices that states have the authority to set their own eligibility requirements and argued that the federal law does not establish an absolute “right” to receive services from any medical provider and patients should not be able to seek recourse through the courts. 

“[There’s] a difference between a benefit and a right,” he said and alleged that to assert an absolute right, there would need to be “rights-creating language with … an unmistakable focus on the benefited class.”

Bursch argued that South Carolina has many other alternative health care providers that can provide the services covered by Medicaid and acknowledged that one of the primary reasons the state denied funding to Planned Parenthood was because “they’re the nation’s largest abortion provider.”

Saharsky disputed those claims, arguing that the federal law uses “individual-centric rights-creating language that imposes a mandatory obligation” on South Carolina and all other states.

She said the federal law ensures that a patient “may obtain [these services] from any qualified and willing provider,” which she said prevents health care providers from “being excluded from Medicaid arbitrarily.” She argued that this language has the same effect as it would if Congress had used the word “right” or the language that no person “shall be denied.”

Saharsky referred to South Carolina’s rules as imposing a “magic word test” by asserting that there is no established “right” based on the word choice used. 

Justices weigh the arguments

Justices appointed by Democrats landed heavily on the side of Planned Parenthood during the oral arguments.

“What this language does is the same as the rights language does,” Justice Elena Kagan said. 

While questioning Bursch, Kagan asserted: “It’s impossible to even say the thing without using the word ‘right,’” adding: “The right is the right to choose your doctor.”

Justice Sonia Sotomayor said Congress was motivated to pass the law because “states were limiting the choices people had.” She added: “It seems hard to understand that states didn’t understand that they had to give individuals the right to choose a provider.”

“You’re not quite calling it a ‘magic word,’ but you’re coming pretty close,” she added.

Alternatively, Republican-appointed justices assumed a more nuanced approach when addressing the lawyers. 

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, for example, said he’s “not opposed to magic words” if it could provide clarity on “the words that are rights-creating.”

“One of my goals coming out of this will be to provide that clarity,” Kavanaugh said.

Polonia Castellanos, founder of the Spanish Association of Christian Lawyers. / Credit: Women World Platform, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Puebla, Mexico, Apr 2, 2025 / 17:46 pm (CNA).

Attacks against Christians, especially Catholics, are on the rise in both Europe and Latin America, according to various reports from specialized organizations.

During 2023, the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe documented 2,444 anti-Christian hate crimes in 35 European countries. This figure includes 232 personal attacks ranging from harassment and threats to physical violence. Nearly half the attacks occurred in France.

The disturbing trend was also noted in the 2023 Report on Religious Freedom published by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need.

The executive summary of the latter research report warns of “a considerable increase in incidents perpetrated by individuals or groups advocating for certain ideological views that are intolerant of the religious beliefs of others.”

“The attacks have largely focused on members of religious communities (i.e., Catholics and evangelicals) and have generally been committed by members of pro-abortion and pro-feminist groups, as well as by groups that promote gender ideology,” the summary adds.

“In Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Haiti, and Mexico, incidents (in several cases, crimes) have been reported, including attacks on religious persons, acts of vandalism, desecration, or offenses against religious sentiments,” the document states.

Polonia Castellanos, president of Christian Lawyers, a foundation founded in Spain that has opened a chapter in Mexico, said: “When Catholics and Christians in general are attacked and humiliated, nothing happens, but if it were done to another group, the consequences would be immediate.”

“I think the reason is partly our fault,” she lamented, because Catholics “have allowed ourselves to be humiliated and insulted without doing anything, and that’s why we’ve reached these extremes that are beginning to be dangerous.”

She is not alone in her views. Along with her, other Catholic leaders from Latin America and Europe interviewed by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, warn of growing complacency in the face of attacks against Christians in countries that were once staunch defenders of the faith.

A recent, global example of an offense against Christians was the parody of the Last Supper presented during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Other cases in Latin America include the canceled art exhibition “The Coming of the Lord” in Mexico, which featured sexualized religious symbols, and the play “María Maricón” in Peru, which, according to the official synopsis, “explores the conflict between religion and gender through the deconstruction of various Catholic virgins and saints.” 

‘Unreported or normalized’ attacks

For Uriel Esqueda, campaign manager for the Mexican platform Actívate (Get Active), “the attacks against Christians and people who practice a religion are growing larger and more noticeable every day. I think it’s a form of persecution, and the attacks are unfortunately unreported or normalized to a certain extent. So it’s a very serious situation.”

“Unfortunately, both religious leaders and individuals are not accustomed to the culture of speaking out regarding the violations of their human right to religious freedom, and I think that’s part of the problem,” he noted, warning that currently “there is greater intolerance against Catholic groups compared with other types of religious groups.”

For example, although the Mexico Constitution “recognizes and protects the human right to religious freedom,” as well as international treaties, “unfortunately, no one knows how to report [violations] or how to enforce this human right,” he lamented.

Esqueda said Actívate will launch a campaign so that “Christianophobia can be reported and that authorities know what to do about these types of issues, and that people who carry out or practice Christianophobia can receive some type of sanction.”

Attempts to eliminate the presence of Catholicism in Mexico

Marcial Padilla, director of ConParticipación (Awareness and Participation), a Mexican organization dedicated to promoting human dignity, lamented that “historically, there has been a desire on the part of political and ideological groups to reeducate society to eliminate the presence of Catholicism, whether in education, customs, art, or any trace of laws inspired by the principles of the Christian faith.”

He explained that secularism is “expressed as tolerance of mockery of the faith but intolerance toward expressions of faith. Put another way: In the name of freedom of expression, the Catholic faith can be ridiculed, but in the name of the secular nature of the state, it cannot be freely expressed or celebrated in community.” 

In Mexico, national symbols are protected, but religious symbols are not

“In Mexico, you can desecrate religious images or churches, but not the flag or national symbols, because that is clearly penalized,” noted Father Hugo Valdemar, a Mexican priest who headed the communications office of the Archdiocese of Mexico City for 15 years when it was led by Cardinal Norberto Rivera.

“The question is: Why are national symbols out of bounds but religious symbols can be mocked and ridiculed without any criminal consequences?” Padilla questioned.

In the country, he lamented, “a Jacobin [anti-religious] mentality persists against the Catholic Church.”

There are remnants of the past that culturally have not been overcome, he said, referring to the tensions between the state and the Catholic Church in Mexico that date back to the mid-19th century and reached their peak in the 1920s, during the fierce government persecution of Catholics that sparked the Cristero War.

For Valdemar, it’s important for Catholics to “firmly defend their faith and their values, but without falling into provocations that make us appear fanatic or intolerant. And also with great prudence, because often these expressions of hatred for the faith would go unnoticed if they weren’t provoked in order to gain publicity.”

“Sometimes, some supposed works of art are so mediocre that no one would notice them if it weren’t for the scandal that publicizes them,” he noted.

Social media important to ensure attacks are not silenced

For Father Juan Manuel Góngora of the Diocese of Almería in Spain, who has more than 82,600 followers on X, “we are living in adverse times, and an example of this is the growing number of Eucharistic desecrations in various parishes and anti-Christian violence.”

“The social engineering we have been suffering for decades has gradually increased [tolerance of offenses]. And since the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party came to power in 2018 and [prime minister] Pedro Sánchez took office, a series of laws that are completely harmful to the Catholic faith and anthropology are being implemented, such as the application of laws on historical memory, abortion, and euthanasia.”

Furthermore, Góngora criticized “the attempt by the government and its parliamentary partners to eliminate the crime against religious sentiments, protected by Article 16 of the Spanish Constitution and included in the penal code (Articles 522-526).”

The Spanish priest emphasized that these laws “are generally serving to ensure that these attacks and power strategies are not silenced and hidden. Meanwhile, the vast majority of the media, fueled by institutional advertising and along with a constellation of associations affiliated with the progressive left, are necessary collaborators in implanting narratives and stories along secularist and anti-Christian lines.”

Europe is ‘forgetting its identity’

Castellanos said she believes the current situation of religious freedom in Spain and the rest of Europe is “very worrying and dangerous; attacks against Christians are increasing not only in number but also in intensity.”

“Europe, which was built on Christian roots, is forgetting its identity and persecuting Christians and imposing anti-Christian ideologies,” she said.

Referring to the proposal to eliminate crimes against religious sentiments, the president of Christian Lawyers warned that this would “exponentially multiply crimes against Christians.”

“What’s even more alarming is that many crimes are committed by public officials. So what we see is that not only is the crime not prosecuted (because we already know that in Spain the law is not equal for everyone), but we are paying with our taxes for people or individuals who dedicate themselves to insulting us, when they should be the first to respect all citizens,” she said.

Castellanos specified that legislation should “guarantee respect. The freedom of expression of some does not involve insults or humiliation; they are two very different things.”

“Despite everything, we must be aware of our victory (although action will be necessary). Spain is the land of Mary, and I am sure that all the struggle in defense of life (from conception to its natural end), the family, and religious freedom will bear fruit very soon,” she stated.

The results depend on Catholics

Alberto González Cáceres, president of the St. Thomas More Center for Legal Studies in Peru, lamented that the defense of religious freedom seems “not relevant to the vast majority of the population, because religion has become an almost secondary cultural manifestation, except when people are living in dire straits, as in the case of Nicaragua, or when there are calamities. I say this with great sadness.”

“Now, for people who truly practice their faith, it’s overwhelming to realize that there is strong media censorship against all forms of religious practice, just as there is social stigmatization against anything orthodox,” he noted.

In this context, Catholics, he said, can respond in “two concrete ways”: “The first is by praying a lot, and the second is by educating themselves in the catechism and Catholic doctrine.”

Regarding the authorities’ actions regarding religious offenses, González said he believes that “absolutely nothing can be expected. The results will depend on actions taken by Catholics themselves.”

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

Vice President JD Vance speaks at a film-screening event April 1, 2025, at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Erin Granzow/Courtesy of the Heritage Foundation

National Catholic Register, Apr 2, 2025 / 17:03 pm (CNA).

Vice President JD Vance hailed the accomplishments of the Trump administration in ushering in a return to democratic and faith-based values Tuesday evening at the screening of a documentary film series that warns a regime of “soft totalitarianism” threatens the United States and the West.

In his remarks, Vance returned to the theme he raised in his February speech at the Munich Security Conference in which he criticized European Union leaders for undermining free speech and democracy.

“The ruling elite of the societies have become actively hostile to some of the very ideas that those countries were founded on in the first place,” Vance said before an audience of about 100 people at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. In addition to Vance’s speech, the by-invitation-only event featured a screening and discussion of the first episode of the film series “Live Not by Lies” released April 1 by Angel Studios.

The vice president praised the 2020 book the film is based upon, “Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents,” written by Rod Dreher, who he said is a “dear friend.”

The book’s title comes from a 1974 essay Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote in which he urged his countrymen to stand up for truth and resist the communist regime’s pervasive ideology. It features the accounts of survivors of Soviet persecution and argues that life in the West today is a sort of “soft totalitarianism” that bears a resemblance to life behind the Iron Curtain.

Vance called the work the author’s “most prophetic” book, pointing to its diagnosis that the problem afflicting the West is a spiritual one, created by the abandonment of the West’s Christian heritage. Dreher is the author of the bestselling 2017 book “The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation.”

“It’s the most prophetic about where Western civilization has gone; and, in particular, some of the very founding ideas of the West, the Christian faith on which all Western nations were in some important respect really based on in their original charter,” Vance said.

“Those very ideas have not just fallen out of favor, and they’re not just less popular than they were 200 years ago or 300 years ago; of course, in the case of our friends in Europe, a thousand years ago. What we’ve seen is that those ideas have become disfavored,” Vance said.

“You see, in Europe, people arrested for praying, and you have the police asking them, ‘Well, what are you praying about?’ — as if it was any of the police’s business. Yes, you see people who are thrown in prison or have their jobs destroyed because they don’t believe the right things or they don’t say the right things, according to the liberal intelligentsia that rules some of these societies,” Vance said.

The vice president credited President Donald Trump for “making progress” toward a return to these faith-based values, as evidenced by the administration’s protection of free speech.

“I think if you just look in the past two months in this administration, we’ve gone from a country where we would harass and threaten and investigate and even arrest pro-life protesters to one where we’re encouraging pro-life activists to do what they can to persuade their fellow Americans,” he said.

“A couple of months ago, we had social-media censorship run amok. We were threatening people’s right of free expression for not saying the things that Silicon Valley technology companies told them to say. Now, I believe that we have more free speech on the internet today than we’ve probably had in 10 or 15 years. So we’re making progress,” Vance continued.  

Following the vice president’s remarks, Dreher concurred with Vance’s assessment of the Trump administration’s efforts to reverse the trends he documented in his book but warned against complacency.

“We are living in a time of hope,” he said. “But we can’t lose our vigilance because the conditions that allow for totalitarianism to rise are still with us.”

“These evil lies do not conquer our institutions overnight, and they won’t be gotten rid of overnight,” he said.

Dreher referred to the work of philosopher Hannah Arendt whose 1951 work “The Origins of Totalitarianism” pointed to certain conditions that made Germans and Russians incapable of resisting the state’s “lies,” even to the point of turning against their fellow citizens and reporting their transgressions to authorities.  

Arendt, he said, saw that “mass atomization and loneliness, a complete lack of confidence in institutions, a desire for transgression for the sake of transgression” paved the way for totalitarianism then, adding that those conditions remain with us today.

“I’m very grateful that we have a president and a vice president who are pushing back hard against this stuff,” he said.

He said he hopes the book and the film “Live Not by Lies” are shared with young people, many of whom know little about the consequences of communism and even profess themselves enamored of it.

“Let’s remember that if we forget the past, we are condemned to repeat it. This film and the book, they’re acts of memory. And do not forget what you see here. And be sure to tell, especially young people, that it’s important to know what communism was,” he said, noting that there are dozens of films on Nazism on Netflix but little focus on communism from the streaming service.

Dreher emphasized: “This is why I believe we have a whole generation, a post-Cold War generation, of young people who are all into socialism and communism. That’s all on us. We can now turn it around. But you’ve got to share these stories with young people and let them know what happened and why it matters to them.”

Watch

“Live Not by Lies” is produced and distributed by Angel Studios, which previously produced the popular series “The Chosen” about the life of Jesus as well as the film “Sound of Freedom.” The first episode of the four-part documentary film is now available to stream on the Angel Studios app for members of the Angel Guild, a paid subscription service that allows the studio’s faith-based content to be crowdfunded. To join the Angel Guild, visit Angel Studios’ website. Subsequent episodes will be available to watch each week. Watch the trailer here.

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

Asylum seekers wait for their CBP One appointments with U.S. authorities before crossing through El Chaparral port in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico, on Jan. 20, 2025. / Credit: GUILLERMO ARIAS/AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 2, 2025 / 16:31 pm (CNA).

Catholic and evangelical leaders are urging Christians to consider the “sobering” effects of mass deportation efforts by the government, arguing that ongoing aggressive immigration enforcement will be felt beyond those who are being deported. 

Church leaders with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Association of Evangelicals, World Relief, and the Center for the Study of Global Christianity in their report “One Part of the Body” highlight the potential impacts of mass deportations on Christian families in the U.S.

“In the United States,” the leaders write in the report, “immigrants from various countries form integral parts of the body of Christ. Most, of course, are lawfully present, whether as naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, resettled refugees, or others with permanent legal status.”

“But,” the report argues, “a significant share of the immigrants who are a part of our body are vulnerable to deportation, whether because they have no legal status or their legal protections could be withdrawn.”

“That has long been true, but it is of increased urgency given President Trump’s repeated pledge to carry out ‘the largest deportation in U.S. history,’” they write.

The report includes what the leaders call “sobering” statistics that reveal how broadly this situation may affect Christians. 

Currently, 80% of all individuals at risk of deportation are Christians, according to the report. The majority of this group is Catholic at 61%, greatly surpassing the 13% of evangelicals and 7% of other Christian denominations.

About 1 in 12 Christians are vulnerable to deportation or live with someone who is, specifically immigrants in the U.S. who entered “unlawfully” or “on a temporary nonimmigrant visa,” the report says. 

The report specifies that of these Christians, 1 in 5 are Catholic.

The leaders state that people in the U.S. who have been granted temporary protected status could have their status “withdrawn by the executive branch, without the need for congressional approval.” More than half of those individuals are Catholics.

Those who hold temporary status “are physically present in the U.S. as of a particular date when the conditions in their country of origin make it unsafe for them to return for reasons such as war, conflict, a natural disaster, or a public health epidemic,” according to the report.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients are also primarily Catholic, making up 73% of the group. The DACA program was originally created to allow deferred deportation for young adults who were brought to the U.S. as children, but the report argues that this program is at risk along with its Christian recipients.

Individuals who have been granted DACA status will be at risk “if the Trump administration (or any subsequent presidential administration) would follow the appropriate processes to terminate DACA or if the U.S. Supreme Court would agree with the lower courts that the program was created illegally and, as a result, invalidate the policy.”

Lastly, the statistics reveal that 58% of immigrants who came to the U.S. as asylum seekers are Catholic. These individuals “could be at risk of deportation after the final disposition of their immigration court proceedings, if they are not granted asylum or other relief by an immigration judge.”

The report states that “nearly 7 million Christians who are U.S. citizens live in households with someone at risk of deportation,” arguing that this issue does not affect only immigrants but also their families and other Christians.

“Our prayer is that the president and his administration as well as the Congress will take these stark realities into consideration as they pursue immigration policies,” the religious leaders say.

“Just as importantly,” they continue, “we pray that the whole of the American church, including the 11 out of 12 Christian households not at risk of losing a family member to deportation, will recognize that this suffering that is likely to affect many parts of the body of Christ actually impacts them as well.”