Sacred Heart Catholic Church

A Jesuit priest fluent in 13 languages, Father Mitch Pacwa hosts several programs on EWTN, including “EWTN Live.” / Credit: EWTN

Birmingham, Ala., Aug 8, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Edith Stein, the Jewish woman who would become St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, was murdered in the gas chamber at the Auschwitz concentration camp on Aug. 9, 1942. How did a brilliant Jewish philosopher not only manage to find Christ but also become a Discalced Carmelite nun, a martyr, and possibly — if the Carmelite order has its way — a doctor of the Church?

Find out when EWTN premieres “The Paths of Edith Stein: Father Mitch Pacwa’s Investigation” at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, Aug. 8, and 9 a.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 9.

Pacwa’s half-hour program is followed by Father Charles Connor’s one-hour program “Edith Stein: St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross,” which airs at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 9, and 2 a.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 10.

The journey begins as Pacwa shows viewers around the city of Wroclaw, Poland, and explains the significance of different venues to the life and spiritual journey of this intriguing woman. Viewers learn that Stein’s father died when she was just 2 years old, leaving behind his wife and 11 children, with Edith being the youngest.

Viewers also learn that Mrs. Stein was able to keep and even improve the family business because she was not only a strong and intelligent woman who had worked with her husband but also because she truly loved him.

To drive home the latter point, Pacwa shows viewers a photo of the Stein family and challenges the audience to find the oddity. Looking closely, viewers see that the photo of Mr. Stein has been cut out of another picture and pasted into the family photo. That’s because Mr. Stein had died years before the family photo was taken.

Pacwa concludes that while Edith learned from her mother that she had to show her family that she could take care of them after their father’s death, she also wanted them to see that he was still part of the family. Pacwa notes that Edith had a romantic desire for a love like her mother and father, but she found it in Christ.

Both Pacwa and O’Connor also discuss the love that mother and daughter had for each other and explain the life-changing impact that Edith’s “chance” reading of St. Teresa of Ávila’s autobiography had on the budding saint, who, after reading it in one sitting, famously declared: “This is the truth.”

Pacwa notes that even after her conversion, Edith Stein joined her family at synagogue to pray and to observe the great fast of Yom Kippur. He says: “This has been my experience with a number of other Jewish people who became Catholic. They didn’t see their Catholicism as a rejection of Judaism. … They found … they could understand their Judaism even more in the light of Jesus Christ.”

But that doesn’t mean this wasn’t hard for her mother. O’Connor says Edith was aware that while her mother hugged her newly Catholic daughter warmly as she left the house, she didn’t come to the window as she customarily did to watch her depart.

O’Connor tells viewers that Edith would spend eight years living with Dominican nuns in Speyer, Germany, where she taught at St. Magdalena’s. While that meant she put aside the rigors of her scholarly life, it gave her an intimate knowledge of convent life “and she began to grow more and more attracted to the idea that she might someday give herself to … religious life.”

While the future St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross never lost her love for St. Benedict, as evidenced by the religious name she took in Carmel, it was her love of St. Teresa of Ávila, and later St. Thérèse, that attracted her to the Carmelite order.

O’Connor then shares something about Edith’s journey that can help anyone who is struggling to make a decision.

“[Edith’s] desire to enter Carmel was growing with each passing day, but she was very much concerned with the effect that it would have on her mother and on her family. But finally, she thought to herself, ‘While I’m very concerned with it, I cannot wait the rest of my life. I have to make a decision … I have to do something.’ She was 42 years old. She knew that life did not go on forever. If she was going to make this move … she had better do it, and she had better do it soon, and so she decided that she would indeed enter Carmel.”

Her conviction that she shouldn’t put her decision off forever was somewhat prescient, since the Nazis murdered the saint on Aug. 9, 1942, at the age of 50.

At a Catholic symposium on disability ministry, attendees gather for a talk by Dr. Miguel Romero as part of a theological engagement on disability. The symposium, “Recognizing the Body of Christ: A Theological Engagement on Disability” was held at The Catholic University of America on Nov. 9, 2019. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the NCPD

CNA Staff, Aug 7, 2025 / 16:19 pm (CNA).

There’s a category of Catholics in the United States who are often underserved, and one Catholic ministry is trying to remedy that.

Catholics with disabilities experience unique and varied needs that go beyond wheelchair ramps or braille signs. A Catholic with autism might need sensory-friendly liturgies; a Catholic with a developmental disability might need special guidance for catechesis.

But many parishes might not know how to meet their needs or what those needs even are.

By offering a variety of resources — including a conference this weekend — the National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD) is teaching parishes how to fully integrate people with disabilities into parish life.

“From the rise in mental health concerns to the growing number of families navigating autism, parishes across the country are searching for guidance, training, and connection,” NCPD Executive Director Charleen Katra told CNA.

Ignorance can be damaging. Katra said she frequently receives calls from Catholics with disabilities who are denied sacraments — a move that goes against the Church’s teaching.

The U.S. Catholic bishops in recent years have reaffirmed the Church’s teaching that “all forms of the liturgy be completely accessible to persons with disabilities.” The bishops explained that accessibility extends far beyond “physical alterations to parish buildings.”

“Persons with disabilities have the same baptismal rights to be educated in the faith, to celebrate sacraments, and to respond to God’s call,” Katra explained.

The good news: Catholics from across the United States want to get better at serving people with disabilities. Almost 200 Catholic ministers, leaders, and laypeople are gathering in Salt Lake City for the National Catholic Disability Ministry Conference from Aug. 7–9.

Designed to help parishes and ministries fully integrate people with disabilities into  parish life, the conference centers on the 2025 Jubilee theme, “Pilgrims of Hope.”

The goal? Every parish should feel like home.

Inclusion and belonging are “crucial,” but they are just the beginning, Katra explained.

“They open the door for something greater and more important — advancing the full participation of persons with disabilities and striving toward communion — a kinship we experience because we are loved by God and saved by his son, Jesus Christ,” she explained. 

A highlight of the conference will be a panel of people with disabilities who will discuss what Katra called a “powerful message” by the late Pope Francis. 

In 2021, on the U.N.’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Pope Francis told people with disabilities: “The Church is truly your home.”

“Persons with disabilities are not simply on the outskirts of the Church seeking to be invited in,” Katra said. “Rather, the Church is already their home, and their presence and participation are integral to the Church community.”

Designed to “equip Catholics to value the gifts and respond to the needs of persons with disabilities,” conference sessions will address “mental health, autism, sacramental preparation, inclusive Catholic education, sensory-friendly liturgies, public policy, and more,” Katra said. On the last day of the conference, participants will gather for a sensory-friendly Mass.

Keynote speakers include Bishop Brendan Cahill of Victoria, Texas; Mary O’Meara, executive director of the Archdiocese of Washington’s Office of Deaf and Disabilities Ministry; and National Eucharistic Congress President Jason Shanks, who will share a personal testimony of raising a child with a rare genetic condition.

From clergy to catechists to people with disabilities, 180 attendees are gathering for the conference at Hilton Salt Lake City Center. This year, those who can’t attend in person may attend virtually in English or Spanish.

The ministry is not an annual event, but Katra has high hopes for the future.

“This is not currently a recurring event, but we hope it will become one,” she said.

Katra said she hopes the conference will give people a network, fresh perspectives, and “a deeper understanding of disability from a Catholic perspective,” as well as the latest resources and best practices for disability ministry.

“We are all pilgrims of hope — called to walk together in faith and love,” Katra said. “This includes persons with disabilities, whose presence and participation enrich the life of the Church.”

Bishop Mark Brennan of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia. / Credit: Archdiocese of Baltimore

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 7, 2025 / 14:33 pm (CNA).

As officials carry out mass deportations across the United States, Bishop Mark Brennan of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, is criticizing the Trump administration’s policy of deporting “as many immigrants as possible” without “distinguishing between true criminals and law-abiding persons.”

In a recent statement addressing Catholics in his diocese, Brennan said “some of you have told me that you were happy to support a presidential candidate who would install order at the southern border and keep out drug traffickers, terrorists, and violent criminals but that you didn’t expect this wholesale assault on the majority of immigrants, who work hard, are raising their families, and live peacefully in our communities.”

The bishop urged the government to prioritize deporting violent criminals rather than upstanding people, highlighting that entering the U.S. “without official government permission is a misdemeanor, a crime but a lesser one, on the level with loitering, public intoxication, and shoplifting.”

Brennan’s critique of mass deportations aligns with a number of other Catholic leaders including Los Angeles Archbishop José Gómez, who recently said: “A great nation can take the time and care to make distinctions and judge each case on its merits.”

“On our journey to eternity, the Lord expects us to help one another,” Brennan said. “Why else would he command us: Love your neighbor as yourself and do unto others as you would have them do unto you?”

“In the light of these Christian principles, we the people must act,” Brennan declared. For example, Catholics can call for “less cruel” enforcement and can speak up “when we hear grossly inaccurate talk about undocumented immigrants being uniformly criminal, when only a few commit violent crimes.”

“As people of faith, we should pray intensely for God to touch the minds and hearts of our political leaders and move them to be more reasonable and humane in their policies; and for those who implement those policies to do so with respect for their fellow human beings.”

Brennan encouraged those enforcing immigration policies “to consider whether a specific action is morally justified,” because ultimately, “the final judge of our actions is God.”

Speaking of law enforcement officers, he said: “I recognize that they have sworn to uphold the law. Yet the manner in which a law is enforced matters. Those acting on the government’s behalf cannot escape personal responsibility for an unjust action with the excuse that it was ordered by their superiors.”

“That defense was not allowed during the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals at the end of World War II,” Brennan explained. “The judges held that a soldier, guard, or official who authorized or engaged in gross violations of human rights was personally responsible for his acts.”

With that said, Brennan clarified: “What has been reported about excesses in immigration enforcement does not approach the horror of Nazi treatment of prisoners, but the principle of personal responsibility for one’s actions remains the same.”

“Our Church would have no martyrs if the highest good was to preserve one’s life. Some things are worth taking a principled stand for,” Brennan said. In tandem with bishops across the nation, Brennan called on Catholics “to affirm the humanity of all immigrants, regardless of legal status.”

Assets sold to help pay an abuse settlement include the Diocese of Buffalo’s former headquarters, pictured, here, in downtown Buffalo, New York. / Credit: Warren LeMay/Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0

CNA Staff, Aug 7, 2025 / 11:51 am (CNA).

The Diocese of Buffalo is reportedly dismissing a substantial number of workers at its headquarters as it continues to move through a nine-figure sex abuse bankruptcy payout. 

A leaked email from Bishop Michael Fisher, reported on by local media, said the diocese’s ongoing settlement “require[s] us to make further sacrifices” at the diocesan Catholic Center, located in downtown Buffalo.

The diocese said earlier this year that it would pay a $150 million settlement “to survivors of sexual abuse for acts perpetrated against them by clergy, religious, lay employees, and volunteers.” 

Fisher in the leaked email said the settlement means the diocese needs to “significantly reduce costs” at the Catholic Center. 

“This entails the painful reality of having to [reduce] the number of positions in order to create a leaner, more cost-effective central administration,” the prelate said. 

An Aug. 6 press release from the diocese said 22% of its 75 employees at the Catholic Center will lose their jobs, totaling around 15 or 16 workers.

The diocese will also transition to a four-day workweek beginning in September, while paid holidays will be reduced for full-time staff and eliminated for part-time employees working less than 25 hours per week.

Workers will also relocate from the Catholic Center to other offices nearby. The diocese announced the sale of the Catholic Center property last year.

Diocesan Chief Operating Officer Rick Suchan in the press release said the diocese “cannot adequately express our gratitude to the members of the Catholic Center staff who have worked tirelessly to deal with the difficult challenges of recent years.”

“We are committed to doing everything possible to ease the departure of those staff members affected by these cost reductions, which in no way reflect their performance or lasting contributions,” he said.

In the leaked email, Fisher said the “extreme sacrifices” are required to fulfill “our primary obligations to victim-survivors” of clergy abuse.

“We will have to find new ways of working, new ways of responding to the needs and opportunities of our diocese, and, importantly, new ways of supporting the ministries which are so essential to serving the countless needs of our local Church,” the bishop said.

Earlier this year the New York law firm Jeff Anderson & Associates, which has represented abuse victims in the Buffalo suit, told CNA the diocese’s $150 million payout was “the second-largest contribution by a bankrupt Roman Catholic institution and its affiliates in any Roman Catholic bankruptcy case to date.”

The largest diocesan-level bankruptcy settlement in U.S. history thus far was in the Diocese of Rockville Centre — also in New York — which agreed to pay $323 million to abuse victims in 2024.

The largest Church abuse payout total in U.S. history has been at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which last year agreed to pay out nearly $1 billion to abuse victims.

null / Credit: ElenaR/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Aug 7, 2025 / 11:21 am (CNA).

Prosecutors say a Catholic priest in Pennsylvania has confessed to falsifying the results of a high-level raffle at his parish.

Father Ross Miceli allegedly “admitted to publicly falsifying the results of the grand prize winner” of a raffle at St. Jude the Apostle Parish in Erie.

The confession was reportedly detailed in warrants from the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, according to an Aug. 7 report in the Erie Times-News.

The Catholic parish had hosted the “Winavette” raffle in 2024, allowing buyers to purchase $50 tickets for the chance to win a Stingray 1LT Corvette. The grand-prize winner of the event could take either the car or $50,000 in cash. The raffle was open to players nationwide.

On Dec. 25, 2024, the church announced that “Martin Anderson” of Detroit had won the grand prize. The reported winner “chose the cash option,” the church said.

Yet an employee of the parish allegedly “raised concerns” about the raffle to Bishop Lawrence Persico, according to the warrants, leading the diocese to investigate the contest and eventually contact the county prosecutor’s office.

The priest reportedly “admitted [to the employee] that he fabricated the grand-prize winner’s name,” the Times-News reported, citing the documents. The priest allegedly committed the falsification after “a problem with the raffle system” left the grand prize without a winner.

The priest said the prize money was “still in an account” after the fabrication. Miceli allegedly told the employee that he “needed to keep this secret,” according to prosecutors. Miceli also allegedly fabricated several other winners in the raffle.

Detectives seized Miceli’s iPad and iPhone as well as financial records for both the parish and the raffle, the Erie paper reported.

The priest announced his resignation from the parish on the weekend of July 20, though he did not give a reason at the time. The Erie Diocese said last month that Miceli would be heading to St. Timothy Parish in Curwensville starting on Aug. 12, where he would be a “sacramental assistant.”

Law enforcement handling the case did not immediately respond to a query from CNA on Aug. 7. The Diocese of Erie also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

But the diocese told the Times-News that it was aware of the investigation and was “cooperating fully with the appropriate authorities.”

On Facebook the church posted that 2024 was the “last year” the raffle would be held, though they noted that Father John Detisch was operating a similar raffle at Dubois Central Catholic School in Dubois.

Left to right: Negative photo of the frontal image of the man of the shroud. A side view of the sculpture, “The Sign,” which depicts the man of the shroud. / Credit: Copyright 1978, Vernon Miller/Copyright Collection of Gilbert Lavoie

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 7, 2025 / 10:51 am (CNA).

The Shroud of Turin is one of the most studied and controversial religious artifacts in the world. Housed in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy, the linen cloth bears the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma consistent with crucifixion. Many Christians believe it to be the burial shroud of Jesus Christ.

While the Catholic Church has never formally declared the shroud to be authentic, it has encouraged its veneration as a powerful aid to faith and reflection. Pope Francis called the shroud an “icon of the Lord Jesus crucified, dead, and risen,” and St. John Paul II called it “a mirror of the Gospel.”

Here’s what we know about the Shroud of Turin, based on recent studies and commentary from experts, scientists, and Catholic thinkers.

Evidence suggesting authenticity 

The shroud depicts the front and back of a man’s body, showing wounds that match the Gospel accounts of Christ’s passion: scourge marks, punctures in the wrists and feet, and a wound in the side.

Italian engineer Giulio Fanti, who has conducted detailed forensic studies of the shroud, reports that the bloodstains correspond with those of a person subjected to severe physical torture and crucifixion. His analysis points to real human blood containing high levels of creatinine and ferritin — markers consistent with intense trauma.

Fanti also observes that the direction and shape of the blood flows suggest multiple body positions, as would be expected if the man had been moved post-mortem, wrapped in cloth, and buried according to ancient Jewish customs.

A debate over the dating 

In 1988, three independent laboratories dated a sample from the shroud using carbon-14 testing and concluded that the cloth originated between A.D. 1260 and 1390. However, many scientists have questioned these results due to the location of the tested material. The sample was taken from a corner of the cloth that was likely part of a medieval repair following fire damage.

Nuclear engineer Robert Rucker has proposed that a burst of neutron radiation — possibly at the moment of Christ’s resurrection — could have altered the carbon isotopes in the linen, leading to a false medieval date. His research, while not universally accepted, supports the theory that the cloth could be much older than the 1988 tests suggest.

Further testing of uncontaminated samples has been called for by several researchers, but new carbon dating has not yet been authorized.

The shroud in popular media 

The shroud has lately been the subject of renewed public interest thanks to the 2023 documentary “The Shroud: Face to Face” by filmmaker Robert Orlando.

Once skeptical, Orlando now presents the cloth as a compelling mystery that bridges history, science, and faith. The film explores the shroud alongside other images traditionally associated with Christ, including the Veil of Veronica and the Manoppello Image.

The documentary features commentary from Jesuit priest and physicist Father Robert Spitzer, who views the shroud as a “supernatural” object bearing witness to Christ’s death and resurrection.

Popes have upheld shroud as holy object

Multiple popes over the years have held up the Shroud of Turin as an objection worthy of Christian devotion and reflection.

Pope Francis in 2015 said the cloth pushes Christians “toward the face of every suffering and unjustly persecuted person” and “in the same direction as the gift of Jesus’ love,” while in 2010 Pope Benedict XVI said its depiction of Christ points to the days that the Lord’s body rested in his tomb, a time “infinite in its value and significance.”

St. John Paul II, meanwhile, in 1998 described the cloth as a “mirror of the Gospel,” a “reason for deep reflection,” and “a truly unique sign that points to Jesus.” And Pope Paul VI described it simply as "the most important relic in the history of Christianity."

Pope Leo XIV has not yet spoken publicly about the shroud, but in April and May, just prior to the start of his pontificate, the shroud's custodians hosted an event in Turin billed as "the first digital and immersive Shroud experience," the offerings of which included a life-sized digital reproduction of the shroud.

Earlier in the year Papal Custodian Cardinal Roberto Repole described the Shroud as an “invitation to live a new life” and as the "imprint of the Resurrection."

Other cloths venerated as images of Christ 

The Shroud of Turin is not the only cloth believed to bear the image of Jesus. 

Others include the Veil of Veronica. According to tradition, a woman named Veronica wiped the face of Jesus on his way to Calvary, leaving a miraculous image. Several relics claim to be this veil, but none have undergone scientific analysis comparable to the shroud. 

Also venerated is the Manoppello Image. Preserved in a church in Manoppello, Italy, this cloth bears a faint image of a man’s face and is sometimes associated with the Veil of Veronica.  

Both images appear in “The Shroud: Face to Face,” where they are presented as part of the broader mystery of what Christ may have looked like. 

A mystery that endures 

While the Church does not require belief in the shroud’s authenticity, it recognizes its value in drawing the faithful into deeper contemplation of Christ’s suffering and love. As Pope Francis said in 2015, the shroud “draws people to the face and the martyred body of Jesus.” 

Whether it is a miraculous relic or a centuries-old artwork, the Shroud of Turin continues to invite scientific inquiry, spiritual reflection, and personal conversion.

Correction: This report has corrected quotes in the second paragraph about the Shroud of Turin attributed to Pope Francis and St. John Paul II. (Published Aug. 7, 2025)

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Aug. 5, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 7, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Some Christian and conservative organizations are expressing optimism that President Donald Trump may rein in “debanking” — a practice in which financial institutions have allegedly cut ties with people or groups for their religious or political beliefs.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Aug. 5 that the White House drafted an executive order that would instruct regulators to investigate financial institutions accused of ending relationships with customers for political reasons.

According to the report, the draft would direct regulators to determine whether the institutions violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, antitrust laws, or consumer financial-protection laws and subsequently issue monetary penalties, consent decrees, or take other disciplinary action that would apply.

Jennifer Morse, a Catholic who leads The Ruth Institute, told CNA she is “glad to see the Trump administration addressing the debanking issue.”

The Ruth Institute, which combats the harms of the sexual revolution, states that it was targeted through debanking as early as 2017.

“As one of the earliest victims of anti-Christian discrimination within the financial services sector, I am very relieved to see the Trump administration addressing this problem,” Morse said. “This particular sword of Damocles has been hanging over the heads of Christian organizations all over the geographic region formerly known as Christendom. I hope the Trump administration’s leadership on this issue has ripple effects around the world.”

Sam Brownback, the former ambassador for international religious freedom who currently leads the National Committee for Religious Freedom, said his nonprofit was debanked by Chase for two years.

Brownback told CNA that his organization opened an account in April 2022 and was unable to make a deposit in the account just four weeks later.

“They said the account had been closed and they told us it had been [decided] at the corporate level and they told us it was a non-revocable decision and they couldn’t say anything about it,” he said.

Brownback said he was later contacted by more than 10 organizations that reported similar experiences. Many organizations, he said, were “Christian or traditional values organizations” such as “groups that stand for traditional marriage.”

“It seems to be a tactic of the left to try to suffocate — in the marketplace — groups that back viewpoints they don’t agree with,” he added.

Brownback said federal action is “a necessary way” to address the problem, calling the possible executive action “a fabulous step forward.”

He also suggested there needs to be “a private route” as well with more conservatives joining large corporate boards.

“If you just had one conservative in the boardroom challenging some of these practices, that might [have an effect],” Brownback said.

Brian Knight, who serves as senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) — a group that provides legal representation in defense of religious freedom — said in a statement to CNA that “everyone needs access to basic financial services.”

ADF represented Indigenous Advance Ministries, a Christian nonprofit that reported it was debanked by Bank of America, allegedly for its religious beliefs. The account cancellation forced the ministry to delay paychecks to its partners in Uganda.

“Shutting people out because of their political or religious beliefs? That’s not just wrong — it’s un-American,” he said. “No one should be locked out of the financial system for their views. Period. No American should have to worry that they could lose their bank account or have a payment declined because of their religious or political beliefs.”

Knight noted ADF worked with Tennessee and Idaho to combat debanking in their states and “worked diligently with federally elected officials to secure similar protections nationwide.” He said he appreciates Trump “taking this issue so seriously” and that ADF will analyze any executive order when it is published.

Others who have allegedly faced debanking include parental rights group Moms for Liberty, Christian ministry Timothy Two Project International, Christian preacher Lance Wallnau, evangelist Nick Vujicic, and British Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) expressed concerns about the debanking trend in its Annual Report on the State of Religious Liberty earlier this year.

Trump says he was a victim of debanking

In an Aug. 5 interview with CNBC, Trump did not confirm whether an executive order was coming but did discuss an instance in which JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America rejected deposits from the Trump organization and called out the trend.

“[Banks] discriminated against many conservatives,” the president said, claiming that he had “hundreds of millions” of dollars in accounts with JP Morgan Chase and was told he had “20 days to get out.”

“I said, ‘I can’t believe it,’” Trump added. “Well, I was never in this situation before. I’ve never had anything like it. And it’s not like, gee, you defaulted on a loan. You know, geez, I could understand that. That’s different. But there’s no default. I mean, there’s nothing but cash.”

Trump said he then reached out to Bank of America, which had “zero interest” in having him deposit the cash.

“I went to another one, another one, another one, another one,” he said. “I ended up going to small banks all over the place. I mean, I was putting $10 million here, $10 million there. Did $5 million, $10 million, $12 million. I have them all over the place, the craziest thing.”

Trump suggested that regulators reviewing the operations of financial institutions that engage in this practice could be a potential solution.

“The group they’re really afraid of is bank regulators,” the president said.

Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley Executive Director Sister Norma Pimentel speaks to reporters on May 8, 2023, in Brownsville, Texas. / Credit: Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images

CNA Staff, Aug 6, 2025 / 14:55 pm (CNA).

A state appeals court in Texas this week affirmed that Attorney General Ken Paxton will not be permitted to question the leaders of a Catholic Charities affiliate at the U.S.-Mexico border amid an inquiry into illegal immigration.

The state 15th Court of Appeals said in an Aug. 4 ruling that Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley has cooperated sufficiently with the state’s investigation into the charity. Paxton’s office has been conducting broad inquiries into allegations that nonprofits have facilitated illegal immigration in the state.

Prosecutors were not entitled to a “pre-suit deposition” from charity leaders, including its executive director, Sister Norma Pimentel, the court ruled.

Rather than “an uncooperative or evasive organization,” the Catholic charity has been “responsive to [Paxton’s] requests,” up to and including extensive documentation and a sworn testimony from Pimentel, the appeals court said. 

Those responses “may not have provided all of the information or the narrative responses” sought by the attorney general’s office, the court said. But they “addressed the lion’s share of the issues” the state was investigating and allowed the attorney general’s office to decide whether or not to file an official lawsuit.

The prosecutor’s office was required to prove that “the benefits of forcing a pre-suit deposition outweigh the burdens to Catholic Charities.” But the charity’s high level of cooperation with the government meant Paxton’s office could not justify the deposition.

A representative with Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley did not immediately respond to a query on the ruling on Wednesday morning.

Following the lower court’s ruling last year, Pimentel said in a statement that the charity hoped to “put this behind us and focus our efforts on protecting and upholding the sanctity and dignity of all human lives while following the law.”

Paxton has challenged several Catholic organizations in the state in recent months, including Annunciation House in El Paso, which he attempted to shut down for allegedly facilitating “illegal border crossings.”

Earlier this year that charity, which operates a shelter network for “migrant, refugee, and economically vulnerable peoples,” argued in the state Supreme Court that though it does offer housing to immigrants in the country illegally, it is “not concealing anyone [or] hiding anyone from detection from law enforcement.”

First Liberty Institute, which advocates religious freedom, also filed a brief against a forced closure of Annunciation House, arguing that the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act protects the charity against “outright closure.”

null / Credit: Lionsgate

CNA Staff, Aug 6, 2025 / 14:17 pm (CNA).

Lionsgate has officially announced the release dates for Mel Gibson’s highly anticipated film “The Resurrection of the Christ.”

In an X post on Aug. 5, the film company announced that the film will be split into two parts and will be released starting Holy Week in 2027.

Part 1 of the film will be released on March 26, 2027, Good Friday, and Part 2 will be released several weeks later on May 6, which will fall on the feast of the Ascension. 

On May 15 it was announced that Lionsgate had been chosen as the studio partnering with Gibson’s Icon Productions on the upcoming film.

“For many, many people across the globe, ‘The Resurrection of the Christ’ is the most anticipated theatrical event in a generation. It is also an awe-inspiring and spectacularly epic theatrical film that is going to leave moviegoers worldwide breathless,” Adam Fogelson, chair of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said in a press release announcing the partnership.   

“Lionsgate’s brave, innovative spirit and nimble, can-do attitude have inspired me for a long time, and I couldn’t think of a more perfect distributor for ‘The Resurrection of the Christ,’” Gibson said at the time.

“I’ve enjoyed working with Adam and the team several times over recent years. I know the clever ingenuity, passion, and ambition the entire team commits to their projects and I’m confident they will bring everything they can to the release of this movie.”

This upcoming film, the sequel to “The Passion of the Christ,” will once again feature Jim Caviezel in the role of Jesus. While not much is known about the details of the film, in an interview with podcast host Joe Rogan, Gibson said the film is “very ambitious” and the story follows “the fall of the angels to the death of the last apostle.” 

He also shared that he plans to use “a few techniques,” such as CGI de-aging, on Caviezel due to the fact that over 20 years have passed since the first movie was released.

Released in 2004, “The Passion of the Christ” vividly depicts the final hours of Jesus’ life, from his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane to his crucifixion. 

The film has been the subject of debate since its release. The graphic scenes of Christ’s scourging and crucifixion sparked controversy; some critics considered it excessively violent, while others praised it for its historical authenticity and its ability to realistically convey Christ’s suffering.

In January 2004, Joaquín Navarro-Valls, then the director of the Holy See Press Office, noted that Pope John Paul II had seen the film and gave it a positive review, describing it as “the cinematographic recounting of the historical fact of the passion of Jesus Christ according to the Gospel accounts.”

Despite controversies surrounding the film, it garnered a profit of $370 million domestically with many crediting it as having opened the door to faith-based media in Hollywood.

Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly. / Credit: Courtesy of Knights of Columbus/Screenshot

Washington D.C., Aug 6, 2025 / 13:47 pm (CNA).

At the first Knights of Columbus Supreme Convention since Pope Francis’ death, Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly offered a tribute to the former pontiff’s legacy and celebrated the growth of the organization and its charitable accomplishments over the past year.

The Knights of Columbus began their 143rd annual convention on Aug. 5 at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., where thousands of members of the organization — including Archbishop William Lori, the Knights’ supreme chaplain of 20 years — gathered for the occasion.

Kelly, who has served as supreme knight since 2021, remembered Pope Francis’ dedication to the most vulnerable — a hallmark of the Knights of Columbus’ global charity work — and the late pontiff’s close relationship with the fraternal organization.

“Pope Francis was a powerful witness to charity and when he summoned the Church to the peripheries, he led by example — like a good father,” Kelly said in his delivery of the annual report of the Knights’ charity work.

“His love for the poor and the sick was extraordinary,” he said. “Who can forget the moment, in the early days of his papacy, when he embraced a severely disfigured man in St. Peter’s Square or when he celebrated his 80th birthday by sharing breakfast with the homeless? He did what our world so often refuses to do. And the world watched, with admiration.”

Kelly said Francis was “a great friend of the Knights of Columbus” who “encouraged our charity around the world” and “especially praised our humanitarian work in Ukraine, as well as our efforts to combat human trafficking.” He also credited Francis with inspiring the organization to grow its outreach to the Indigenous people of the United States, Canada, and the Philippines.

Knights of Columbus’ global charity work and growth

During his address, Kelly also reported on the fraternal organization’s ongoing charity work globally and its growth.

The report noted that members of the Knights of Columbus collectively dedicated more than 48 million hours to service. The organization also broke its record for charitable donations, reaching about $197 million over the year.

According to the report, the Knights of Columbus surpassed 2.1 million members after more than 96,000 men joined the organization last year. The Knights of Columbus have also grown on college campuses with now 8,000 knights at 146 college councils.

Kelly noted that the Knights of Columbus is currently responding to the flash flood in Texas, where “hundreds of families lost their loved ones — and one brother knight tragically lost both his parents and his two young daughters.” The Knights also responded to floods in Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida along with the wildfires in California.

The report stated that the Knights of Columbus have continued “bringing emergency supplies to refugees” in Ukraine with the organization’s Charity Convoys and serve people in the country through its Mercy Centers.

“We pray for an end to the war in Ukraine, but so long as the war continues, we’ll be there for those who suffer,” Kelly said.

Kelly reported on the growth of the Knights’ Global Wheelchair Mission, which has now donated more than 158,000 wheelchairs, including 19,000 last year. This includes 300 to Nigeria, which was provided to “Christians who have endured violence and persecution for their faith.”

The Knights of Columbus also set a new record for winter jackets delivered to children through its Coats for Kids initiative, which has now surpassed 1.6 million total jackets to children.

According to the report, the Knights’ program Aid and Support After Pregnancy (ASAP) provided pro-life pregnancy centers with $6 million last year and more than $17 million over the last three years. The Knights also surpassed more than 2,000 donated ultrasounds through its Ultrasound Initiative meant to “save lives by showing parents their unborn children.”

The Knights of Columbus also saw growth in its Cor program, which is a “small-group setting [that] gives men a place to embrace the mission for which they were made — the mission that God himself has uniquely given to them,” according to the report. In August 2024, Cor was active at 650 councils but has now expanded to more than 5,000 councils.

“Like every generation that came before us, we will move forward — in charity, unity, and fraternity,” Kelly said.

“We will serve Our Lord by serving others,” he added. “And we will sacrifice for them, like he did for us.”