Sacred Heart Catholic Church

Pope Francis ordains 10 men to the priesthood in St. Peter’s Basilica on May 7, 2017. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 3, 2025 / 13:35 pm (CNA).

Seminaries and their formators are beginning to rethink what formation should look like in the U.S. following reports that enrollment at graduate-level seminaries is continuing to decline. 

The fall 2025 CARA report released by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University found that graduate and college-level seminary enrollment in the U.S. has declined significantly, while high school enrollment has remained steady. 

According to the report about the 2024-2025 academic year, college seminary enrollment went down 6% from 889 to 840 from the previous year. Similarly, graduate-level seminary enrollment dropped 8% from 2,920 to 2,686. 

High school seminary enrollment rose by 2% from 295 to 300. 

‘Right-sizing’ formation

“Many Catholics, vocations personnel, and seminary officials keep looking for the return to seminary enrollments from the 1950s instead of taking a cold hard look at the facts and how best to ‘right-size’ seminary programs based on today’s realities,” Father Phillip J. Brown, president-rector of St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, told CNA.

Departing from seminary models across the country, he explained, St. Mary’s Seminary, which is the first Catholic seminary in the U.S., made the decision to cap enrollment at 100 students in order to center its efforts in “focusing on the quality of formation.” 

“We believed then and do so now that such emphasis on formation quality will have a positive impact on enrollment,” said Brown, who is the longest-serving seminary rector in the U.S. 

“Our research showed that 80-100 is the optimum number of seminarians in terms of personal contact with formators, faculty availability, variety of effective seminary programs, and seminary finances,” he said.

Formation at St. Mary’s is conducted in the Sulpician tradition founded by Parisian priest Father Jean-Jacques Olier in 1641, according to the seminary’s website. Sulpicians are diocesan priests dedicated to priestly formation and seminary work.

According to Brown, “wishful thinking about the return of large seminaries is out of step with demographic reality, to the detriment of seminary formation in the U.S.”

He continued: “We need to leave wishful thinking behind, rescale seminary programs, and develop programs that better serve the current reality and the need of the Church for well-formed, healthy, and effective pastors — pastors who will not just function well but who will be an animating, consoling, and spiritual presence in the parishes they serve in.”

Another CARA study in September found gaps in evaluations of candidates for the priesthood related to learning disabilities and assessing tendencies toward “activity or inclination towards sexual activity with a minor or other trait that might indicate the person could be a harm to minors.”

Hope in spite of numbers 

While the numbers in CARA’s latest report appear to reflect the continuation of a trend that has seen college seminary enrollment drop from 7,917 in 1970-1971 to 1,118 in 2020-2021 to the current numbers, Jesuit Father John Horn, who is the program director for the Seminary Formation Council, said he is hopeful.

“I don’t see the decline overall as a negative sign,” Horn told CNA. Although the report showcases a downward trend in overall enrollment, he pointed out that “there are a good number of seminaries that are bursting at the seams, actually, that are not declining.” 

“I’m at one of them now,” noted Horn, who also serves as a spiritual director and professor of spiritual theology at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Florida, which draws students from South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. “We’ve had the highest number of seminarians we’ve ever had in the history of the seminary.” 

“When I read about the decline at another seminary or overall, it’s a little difficult to wrap my mind around because I see the new springtime bursting forth,” he said, citing seminaries in Denver, St. Louis, Mount St. Mary’s in Maryland, and Milwaukee as further examples of flourishing institutions of formation. 

“What I think the statistics show are in terms of seminary formation,” Horn said, is “that there are too many seminaries, and there needs to be a reduction of the number of seminaries so that it would be more of a regional service for the Church.” 

‘Hunger in the culture for silence’

Horn observed a “creative tension” between thriving seminaries and those that need to close due to low numbers, which he attributed partly to a failure to “attend to an effective interiority, and help people identify the everyday experience of the Lord.” 

“If they’re emphasizing more externals rather than interior catechesis and evangelization,” he said, “that type of seminary will be very unattractive to current young men.”

In the face of the decline, Horn said, “I’m very hopeful. I think we’re on the cusp of a large number of vocations coming in [due to] the great hunger in the culture for silence and contemplative life.” 

“As that hunger grows, the vocations will grow.”

Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk speaks at the Republican National Convention on July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee. / Credit: Maxim Elramsisy/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 3, 2025 / 12:32 pm (CNA).

The president of the National Association of Black Catholic Administrators (NABCA) decried the “loss of civility and respect” in public discourse after the assassination of Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk and said Black bishops received death threats. 

“It is with sadness that we acknowledge the death of Charlie Kirk. Regardless of our individual opinions about his work or words, every life is sacred,” Father Reginald Norman said in a statement. Kirk was shot dead while speaking at a Utah Valley University event Sept. 10. 

“In the days following his death, however, we have seen something even more tragic than the loss of one life: the loss of civility and respect for one another,” he continued. “Threats against Black bishops and Catholic leaders are deeply troubling. Such behavior has no place among people of faith or in a society rooted in justice.”

The NABCA leader emphasized in the statement that Catholics “are called to honor the dignity of every person — even those with whom we disagree” — and respect each other’s freedom of expression “without fear of retaliation and intimidation.” 

“The Black Catholic community, in particular, continues to feel its contributions overlooked or erased,” Norman wrote. “While some public figures are allowed to disparage Black people without consequence, when Black voices rise in defense of their contributions or offer differing perspectives, they are too often silenced or threatened. This imbalance is unjust.” 

Norman told CNA in an interview that Black Catholics voiced concerns about some of Kirk’s statements.

“I sit in a lot of meetings and committees on the local and the national level,” Norman told CNA in an interview. “And every single meeting that I’ve gone to since this incident, Black people are very upset by some of the comments that have been made for him.”

For example, Black Catholics expressed discomfort with the TPUSA founder being cast as “a martyr,” though Kirk’s death is a tragedy to be mourned, Norman said.

Some of Kirk’s comments hurt Black people, Norman said, such as comments made by Kirk during a July 14, 2023, episode of “The Charlie Kirk Show” mentioning four Black women: Michelle Obama, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, television host Joy Reid, and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas.

Kirk said: “If we had said [those women] were affirmative action picks, we would have been called racists. Now ... They’re coming out and saying ‘I’m only here because of affirmative action.’ We know. You do not have the brain processing power to be taken really seriously.”

Norman said the comments were offensive toward Black people.

“I don’t know [Kirk] personally,” Norman said. “I only know what the media reports, and I’ve seen some great things that he said, but I’ve also seen some negative things that he said. And in this day and age, we should be trying to pull together, not separate.”

Threats to clergy

Norman said that “one of our bishops wrote something on DEI, which wasn’t even [related to the assassination] and it went out there, and then the article was pulled.” 

“He’s been getting death threats ever since,” Norman said, noting the authorities are investigating the threats. 

Norman did not confirm the identity of the bishop, but a Sept. 8 article by Washington Archdiocese Auxiliary Bishop Roy Campbell titled “DEI Means God” was taken down by the USCCB on Sept. 12, two days after Kirk’s death, according to the Black Messenger. The USCCB told the publication at the time that the article had not undergone the proper internal review and was taken down as a result. 

Campbell serves as chairman of the USCCB’s Subcommittee of African American Affairs, part of the Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church. He and the Archdiocese of Washington did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

This incident, Norman said, “relates to the fact that just as [Kirk] was free to say whatever he wanted to say, other people who might have contrasting views should also be able to be free to say what they want to say without being threatened or harmed.” 

According to Norman, “we’re not learning from the loss of [Kirk’s] life,” as “other people who might have a contrasting view are being threatened and harmed.”

“That’s even more dangerous because it doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop, and we just seem to continue going forward with more hate, more harm, more crime, more threats,” Norman said, adding: “And shouldn’t we learn from the example of this life? This man was tragically killed, not by his own fault. Shouldn’t we be putting our efforts to stop that from happening rather than allowing it to continue, just because someone has a different opinion?”

null / Credit: Mike Blackburn via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

CNA Staff, Oct 3, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).

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

Abortion declines even in states where it is still legal

The number of abortions in clinics in pro-abortion states saw a decline in the first half of 2025, according to a recent report.

The report by the pro-abortion group Guttmacher found a 5% decrease in abortions provided by clinics from for the same period in 2024.

The review found declines in clinician-provided abortions in 22 states, all states that did not have “abortion bans.” The report also found an 8% decline in out-of-state travel for abortion to states with fewer protections for unborn children.

States with protections for unborn children at six weeks, such as Florida and Iowa, also saw a decline in abortions so far this year.

The report did not take mail-in or telehealth abortion pill numbers into account.

Michael New, a professor at the Busch School of Business at The Catholic University of America and a scholar at Charlotte Lozier Institute, called the report “good news” but noted that the survey wasn’t “comprehensive.”

“It does not appear that Guttmacher collects data on telehealth abortions from states where strong pro-life laws are in effect but abortion is not banned,” he told CNA. “Pro-lifers should take these figures with a grain of salt.”

In terms of mail-in, telehealth abortions, New noted that pro-lifers should “continue to push for more timely action to protect mothers and preborn children.”

“The Trump administration is within its power to halt telehealth abortions,” he said, noting that “Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy  Jr. recently said the FDA would conduct a new review of abortion pills.”

Florida’s Heartbeat Act, which took effect in May 2024, played “a large role in this decline,” New said.

“The Heartbeat Act is protecting preborn children in Florida and is preventing women from other states from obtaining abortions in the Sunshine State,” he said. “Birth data from Florida shows that the Heartbeat Act is saving nearly 300 lives every month.”

Government takes action against Virginia school system following alleged abortions for students

The U.S. Department of Education has called on a Virginia public school system to investigate reports that high school staff facilitated abortions for students without their parents’ knowledge. 

The department took action against Fairfax County Public Schools under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendments, according to a Sept. 29 press release.

The investigation follows reports that a Centreville High School social worker scheduled and paid for an abortion for a minor and pressured a second student to have an abortion. The federal agency is requiring that Fairfax investigate whether this practice has continued. 

The Fairfax report “shocks the conscience,” the department’s acting general counsel, Candice Jackson, said in a statement.

“Children do not belong to the government — decisions touching deeply-held values should be made within loving families,” Jackson said. “It is both morally unconscionable and patently illegal for school officials to keep parents in the dark about such intimate, life-altering procedures pertaining to their children.” 

Jackson said the Trump administration will “take swift and decisive action” to “restore parental authority.”

Virginia bishop speaks out against potential ‘abortion rights’ amendment

Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, this week spoke out against a proposed amendment to create a right to abortion in the Virginia Constitution. 

“While the amendment is not yet on the ballot, the outcome of this fall’s elections will determine whether it advances or is halted,” he said in an October “Respect Life Month” message. 

“If adopted, this amendment would embed in our state constitution a purported right to abortion through all nine months of pregnancy with no age limits,” he said.

He noted that Virginia has “some modest protections” for life, but “the proposed amendment would likely make it impossible … to pass similar protective laws in the future.”

Protections for unborn children, for parental consent, and for conscience rights “would be severely jeopardized under this amendment,” he added.

“Parents have the sacred right to be involved in the most serious decisions facing their daughters,” Burbidge said. “No one should ever be forced to participate in or pay for an abortion.” 

“Most importantly, the lives of vulnerable women and their unborn children are sacred and must be welcomed and protected,” he said.

He called on Catholics to not “remain silent,” urging the faithful to inform themselves and others about “the devastating impact this amendment would have.”

“Our faith compels us to stand firmly for life, in prayer and witness, and also in advocacy and action,” he said.

“We must speak with clarity and compassion in the public square, reminding our legislators and neighbors that true justice is measured by how we treat the most defenseless among us,” he concluded.

Planned Parenthood closes its only 2 clinics in Louisiana

The only two Planned Parenthood locations in Louisiana closed this week following the Trump administration’s decision to halt federal funding for abortion providers for a year.  

The president of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast cited “political attacks” as the reason for the closures of the two facilities located in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. 

The closures follow a court ruling last month enforcing the Trump administration’s defunding of Planned Parenthood, which halted government funding for abortion providers.

Louisiana authorities issue arrest warrant for California abortionist 

Louisiana authorities issued an arrest warrant for a California doctor for allegedly providing abortion drugs to a woman without consulting her. 

The woman, Rosalie Markezich, said she felt coerced into the abortion by her boyfriend at the time, who arranged for an abortionist in California to prescribe drugs to induce a chemical abortion.

The same abortionist, Remy Coeytaux, has faced charges for telehealth abortions after the abortionist allegedly sent abortion pills to Texas, where they are illegal.

Photographer holding camera against newlywed couple. / Credit: Vectorfusionart/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 3, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).

A federal court awarded nominal damages to a Christian photographer after the city government of Louisville, Kentucky, sought to enforce an anti-discrimination ordinance that could have forced her to provide photography services for same-sex civil weddings.

Judge Benjamin Beaton found that Louisville’s Fairness Ordinance contained “two provisions” that limited the expression of Christian wedding photographer Chelsey Nelson, who sought $1 in damages. The court awarded Nelson the requested damages. 

According to the ruling, the ordinance prohibited “the denial of goods and services to members of protected classes,” which includes people with same-sex attraction. 

The publication provision of the ordinance also prevented her “from writing and publishing any indication or explanation that she wouldn’t photograph same-sex weddings, or that otherwise causes someone to feel unwelcome or undesirable based on his or her sexual orientation or gender identity.” 

Both provisions, Beaton ruled, “limit Nelson’s freedom to express her beliefs about marriage.”

The court stated Nelson “suffered a First Amendment injury” because she decided to limit the promotion of her business, ignore opportunities posted online, refrain from advertising to grow her business, and censored herself, which was done to avoid prosecution.

“The government can’t force Americans to say things they don’t believe, and state officials have paid and will continue to pay a price when they violate this foundational freedom,” Nelson said in a statement through her attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom following the ruling.

“The freedom to speak without fear of censorship is a God-given constitutionally guaranteed right,” she added.

In his ruling, Beaton noted the Supreme Court set nationwide precedent when it ruled on 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis. In that decision, the court ruled a Colorado law violated a web designer’s First Amendment rights because it would have forced him to design websites for same-sex civil weddings in spite of his religious beliefs.

Beaton wrote that in spite of the Supreme Court precedent, “Louisville apparently still ‘actively enforces’ the ordinance … [and] still won’t concede that the First Amendment protects Nelson from compelled expression.” 

His ruling noted that the mayor publicly stated that he would keep enforcing the ordinance, including against Nelson, after the 303 Creative decision.

Although the city’s lawyers argued in court that the city did not intend to enforce the law against Nelson, Beaton wrote: “Nothing in Louisville’s informal disavowal would prevent the city from making good on that promise [to enforce the rule against Nelson] tomorrow.”

“Anyone who’s tussled with the city’s lawyers this long and who continues to do business in and around Louisville might reasonably look askance at the city’s assurances that enforcement is unlikely,” Beaton wrote in his ruling.

Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Bryan Neihart said in a statement that “free speech is for everyone” and the precedent set in 303 Creative ensures that Americans “have the freedom to express and create messages that align with their beliefs without fear of government punishment.”

“For over five years, Louisville officials said they could force Chelsey to promote views about marriage that violated her religious beliefs,” he said. 

“But the First Amendment leaves decisions about what to say with the people, not the government. The district court’s decision rests on this bedrock First Amendment principle and builds on the victory in 303 Creative.”

An Israeli air strike hits Khiam, Nabatieh region in southern Lebanon, on Sept. 25, 2024. / Credit: Mawan Semaan/ACI MENA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 3, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:

Patriarch Raï praises Lebanon border communities for staying on their land

Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Raï returned to southern Lebanon, visiting border villages that have endured years of instability, ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, reported Sept. 28.

Presiding over Mass in Marjeyoun, Raï praised local communities for their resilience and unwavering attachment to their land. “The south reminds Lebanon that salvation is for those who endure to the end,” he said, urging unity and strength in the face of loss. 

Raï called for a permanent peace built on Israeli withdrawal and the assertion of full Lebanese sovereignty, stressing that the army remains the nation’s sole legitimate defender. His message was both pastoral and political: Lebanon’s survival depends on the steadfastness of its people and the rebuilding of a state rooted in law, dignity, and faith.

Syria’s security breakdown puts Christians at risk

In Syria, a wave of violence continues to sweep across different regions, exposing civilians to daily dangers, ACI MENA reported Oct. 2. 

The killing of two young Christian men in Wadi al-Nasara this week sparked outrage among residents, who blocked roads and rang church bells in protest. Simultaneously, reports surfaced of a violent robbery targeting a Christian family in the same area and arbitrary arrests of believers in Maaloula.

These incidents underscore the fragility of local security and the increasing vulnerability of minority communities caught between lawlessness and repression. 

Iraq hosts official celebration of Nicaea’s 1,700th anniversary

On Sept. 27, the Catholic University of Erbil in Iraq hosted the opening of a three-day international academic conference, organized by the Assyrian Church of the East, to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325). ACI MENA reported that the event was held under the patronage and presence of Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Awa III Royel, with the participation of Chaldean Patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako.

Attendees included Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, along with senior government officials, bishops, clergy, representatives of several Apostolic Churches from around the world, scholars, and members of the public.

In his welcoming remarks, Royel described the conference as the only official celebration in Iraq marking the great anniversary of the Church’s first ecumenical council, which brought together the Fathers of the Church to unify their faith and doctrine. He underscored the importance of the Council of Nicaea, which produced the first shared Creed accepted by all Christians, at a time when unity of faith and participation in the sacraments was still maintained among different Churches.

Asian bishops hold synodal gathering in Bangkok suburb ahead of 2026 plenary assembly

Over 50 bishops and Church leaders gathered in Samphran, a western suburb of Bangkok, last week to discuss the final document produced by the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican in preparation for the 2026 Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) plenary assembly in Bali, according to Vatican News. 

“The purpose was to study and understand the final document of the synod together, reflect on our dioceses, and consider how the Church in Asia can put it into practice,” said Archbishop Anthony Weradet Chaiseri, vice president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand.

The gathering focused on discussions about how the final document relates to the FABC’s Bangkok Document from 2022, the reception of synodality across Asia, and “the need for transparency and accountability in a synodal Church.”

Catholic, Anglican Irish bishops meet in Dublin to discuss Gaza, AI 

Representatives from the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the Church of Ireland House of Bishops gathered for a meeting at the Church of Ireland Theological Institute on Sept. 22 to discuss the tragedy continuing to unfold in Gaza and the role of the Church with respect to AI. 

“These meetings are held as part of an Irish response to the request some years ago from the International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM) that there should be regular meetings between Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops in countries where both share a parallel diocesan structure,” said a Sept. 24 press release. “The next such gathering will take place in Maynooth in September 2026.”

Jesuit communities in India become completely solar powered 

Jesuit communities across India have been making the complete switch to solar-powered energy as a means of combating climate change, according to a report from UCA News. 

The coordinator of the Ecology Platform of Jesuit West Zone Provinces in India, Father Frazer Mascarenhas, told UCA that about 60 institutions “have achieved zero electricity bills for quite some time and demonstrated that it is a viable project to save the only home we have — the fragile Earth.”

The communities that made the switch join a wider project aimed at making all 110 Jesuit residences, schools, and institutions across India’s four Jesuit provinces of the western zone, which includes Bombay, Goa, Gujarat, and Pune.

DR Congo, Rwandan dioceses mark International Peace Day 

The Archdiocese of Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda’s Cyangugu Diocese have jointly planted a tree of peace to mark the International Day of Peace, ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, reported Oct. 1. 

Presiding over the ceremony, Bishop Edouard Sinayobye of Cyangugu said: “When we speak of peace and plant this tree, we pray for peace in the world and in our region. This tree is a symbol representing our dioceses.”

Also speaking during the Sept. 28 event, Telesphore Mugisha Buhendwa, a member of the Justice and Peace Commission of Bukavu Archdiocese, expressed joy in meeting with counterparts from the Rwandan diocese. He further noted planting the tree of peace symbolized cooperation and hope, demonstrating that people in border regions can live in harmony, fostering collaboration and mutual respect.

Catholic bishops call for peaceful election in Ivory Coast

Catholic bishops of the Episcopal Conference of the Ivory Coast have joined the Higher Council of Imams, Mosques, and Islamic Affairs in calling for calm and “restraint” ahead of the country’s Oct. 24 presidential election, ACI Africa reported on Oct. 1. 

“Today again, we unfortunately see verbal violence, particularly on social media, which has intensified since the Constitutional Council’s decision on the final list of candidates for the Oct. 25 election,” the religious leaders said in a joint statement, lamenting that every presidential election since 1990 has been marked by “weakened social cohesion.”

The religious leaders called on politicians to use politics as an instrument of building society and encouraged elections officials to carry out their duties with full transparency. 

Timothy Schmalz’s latest sculpture, soon to be installed at Ave Maria University in Florida, depicts Jesus covering the fatal wound of slain Christian activist Charlie Kirk. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Ave Maria University

CNA Staff, Oct 3, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The day after Charlie Kirk was assassinated, renowned Catholic sculptor Timothy Schmalz began working on a sculpture no one had commissioned: Jesus comforting the slain conservative Christian activist, the fatal wound to his neck covered by Christ’s pierced hand. 

“Shocked and devastated” upon hearing of the Turning Point USA founder’s assassination, Schmalz told CNA in an interview that he entered his studio at 4 a.m. the following day and began building up the sculpture with his hands as “a form of prayer.” 

“I had an audio recording of the Old Testament playing in the background and Charlie’s voice debating at the same time as I sculpted,” he said. 

When he first formed the face of Jesus, Schmalz said it was screaming with rage, reflecting the rage he himself felt at the time. 

“This was the murder of a human being. It was also a violent attack on the premise that we can have discussions as decent human beings,” said Schmalz, who had listened to Kirk regularly and admired him for his courage and energy. “When he was murdered, it was like our freedoms were murdered as well.”

“Another reaction I had was horror at seeing the murder on video over and over again,” he said. “Can you give this person some dignity? Not only are people absolutely barbarically rude when it comes to social media, but now you have this other layer of removing things that are sacred: the idea that a human life should not be murdered.”

Seeing it posted everywhere made it “seem more barbaric and animalistic,” he said. 

“All of this really compelled me to do something positive within this horrible situation,” Schmalz said. “I wondered, how would Charlie, who loved Jesus, want to be represented?”

“As I worked, Jesus’ face became less angry and more compassionate,” he said.

“Hopefully, that will be how our society becomes. Hopefully, like my sculpture of the face of Christ, it will change. I had him enraged and then it turned. I hope our world will also turn from that rage.”

“My hope with the sculpture is that it gives some dignity to the human life of Charlie and to all of us. We are slowly moving away from this dignity in culture today,” he lamented, saying he wanted to do what he could to make the world “more kind and peaceful.”

‘If we are in a culture war, we have to fight it with culture’

“We are in a culture of nihilism, and our secular society has to be challenged,” he said. “If we are in a culture war, we have to fight it with culture.” 

“I have spent my life doing sculptures like my piece ‘Angels Unawares’ that presents the truth that all human life is sacred,” he said.

The day after Kirk’s death, Schmalz and his 16-year-old daughter, who he had been unaware also followed Kirk, began talking about “important issues like abortion.” She told Schmalz she had joined the high school debating club because of Kirk.

“It was the first time I had such a conversation about deep issues with my daughter,” he said.

A fortuitous meeting

Schmalz told CNA that after showing Ave Maria University President Mark Middendorf photographs of the sculpture, which was still in its early stages, at a fortuitous meeting in Orlando in mid-September, Middendorf told him “that belongs on our campus” and asked if the school could receive the first bronze casting.

Schmalz agreed, and the sculpture will soon be installed at the Catholic school in southwest Florida. 

Middendorf told CNA that the Ave Maria University community, which has had an active Turning Point USA chapter for years, responded immediately to news of Kirk’s passing. An on-campus Mass was offered for the repose of Kirk’s soul on the evening of his death.

“I admired Charlie’s search for truth,” Middendorf said. “Engaging in peaceful dialogue with others who believe things contrary to ourselves is profoundly needed in our current climate. My hope is that our students will continue to engage our culture with courage, sharing the truths of our faith.”On Sept. 14, the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Middendorf said Deacon Mark Miravalle in his homily recalled one of Kirk’s own remarks: “When asked, ‘Why does God allow suffering or evil?’ Kirk had once responded: ‘Wrong question. The right question is: What did God do about it? The answer: the cross.’”

Statue to stand as ‘lasting tribute to Charlie Kirk’s fearless witness’

Middendorf said the sculpture will serve as a “profound and lasting tribute to Charlie Kirk’s fearless witness, bold defense of life, and unwavering love for Jesus Christ.”

The university president told CNA he also wants the sculpture “to serve as inspiration for students to live and share their faith with heroic courage and to use their God-given gifts to transform the culture and seek the salvation of souls, which is why Tom Monaghan built this university, and why I and all our faculty and staff are here.”

The bronze sculpture will not be the first piece of Schmalz’s work on campus. Monaghan commissioned him to make the university oratory’s crucifix. In addition, along the school’s rosary wall, Schmalz also made a sculpture depicting the Annunciation.

Art as a form of evangelization

The acclaimed artist attributes his success to seeing his work as a form of prayer and his studio as a chapel, in a sense. He also sees his work as a form of evangelization, which he said is “unique” in the current art world that does not value beauty or truth.

“If the truth of our faith were presented in an awesome way, you would have more people coming to Christ. People are spiritually starving out there. We need to reach out to them however we can,” including through beautiful art, he said.

“My mission is to use artwork to bring peace to the world,” Schmalz said. “We have to be better humans.”

Pope Leo-inspired statue in the offing

Earlier this week, the artist met with Pope Leo XIV to present his idea for a new sculpture titled “Peace Be With You,” inspired by the pope’s first message to the world upon being elected pontiff in May.

Schmalz’s works are on display all over the world. He created a sculpture of the Blessed Virgin Mary pregnant with Jesus that will be displayed on the grounds of the state capitol in Austin, Texas, after that state’s Legislature approved in May the installation of what it calls the “Texas Life Monument.”

Earlier versions of the 8-foot-tall statue were erected in Rome in 2022 at the Church of San Marcello al Corso and at the national seminary of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

The Canadian artist’s “Homeless Jesus” statue, inaugurated in March 2016 during the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in Vatican City, is now installed in more than 50 locations around the world, including Hong Kong, the end of the Camino de Santiago in Spain, and in Capernaum in Israel.

The bones and reliquary of St. Thérèse of Lisieux make their first stop at the Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica in Royal Oak, Michigan, on Oct. 1, 2025. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Detroit Catholic

Ann Arbor, Michigan, Oct 2, 2025 / 17:02 pm (CNA).

The faithful are gathering in Michigan, where the relics of St. Thérèse of Lisieux are on display at the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica in Royal Oak, near Detroit. A Mass of installation was celebrated on Oct. 1 by Archbishop Edward Weisenburger and rector Father John Bettin as the beautiful, glass-encased reliquary was present near the altar. 

In an interview with CNA, Bettin said the saint’s bones and reliquary first visited the United States and the basilica named for her over a quarter of a century ago, in 1999. The 2025 tour is the first stop of 40 in 11 states. According to the StThereseusa2025.com website, her relics will go to California; Washington, D.C.; Texas; Wisconsin; and various Carmelite convents through December.

Bettin pointed out that the “simplicity and depth” of the saint’s spirituality has a growing appeal that transcends national boundaries. “She is a doctor of the Church and one of the most beloved saints of all time. The last time she was here, approximately 70,000 pilgrims visited the shrine in one day. We are planning for even bigger crowds,” he said.

Over 400 volunteers are supporting the shrine’s staff to accommodate the many pilgrims who will visit from Oct. 1–8. During a recent visit, volunteers could be seen signing up duty rosters while others were busy festooning the beautiful sanctuary with roses. 

Born in Alençon, France, on Jan. 2, 1873, Thérèse Martin was the daughter of Louis Martin and Zélie Guérin. When Zélie died, young Thérèse and her family moved to Lisieux in northern France. When her sisters entered the Carmel of Lisieux, she wished to follow them but was turned down because of her youth. But during an audience with Pope Leo XIII, she was granted permission. She entered the Carmel in 1888 and made her religious profession in 1890.

During her nine years in the Carmel, she was ultimately wracked with doubt. Even so, she wrote fervently about her love of God, much like the Carmelite saints Teresa de Avila and John of the Cross. Following her death from tuberculosis at the age of 24 in 1897, her Carmelite sisters gathered her writings, which have since formed the basis of “The Story of a Soul,” a book that has been translated into numerous languages and millions of copies.

Bettin spoke warmly of the special devotion that Chaldean Catholics, for example, have for the saint, and said he expects many to visit the relics. Father Patrick Setto, a priest of Iraqi origin of the Chaldean Catholic Church in the Detroit area, told CNA that he and his community are grateful for being able to celebrate their liturgy at the basilica. He noted that he recently held a silent retreat for adults, centering on the life of St. Thérèse and her Little Way. 

In an interview, Setto said his relationship with St. Thérèse goes back to his childhood. When he was in the sixth grade in 1999, he and his mother waited for hours to venerate the relics. He recalled that when the reliquary came around in a procession, he wanted to reach out and touch it.

“But I was so short, I couldn’t get to it. So, a man — out of nowhere — lifted me out of the pew and I got to touch it,” Setto said. “Soon, 26 years later, I will celebrate a Mass in the shrine with her reliquary there.”

“It’s a very powerful, special blessing that God has bestowed on me,” he added. He never saw the man again, he said.

The priest said that Dominican and Redemptorist missionaries to Iraq spread devotion to St. Thérèse in the early 20th century. The Catholics in Iraq feel a connection to her amid their suffering during war and Muslim domination, and during their flight as refugees. In a 2014 video message, Pope Francis referred to Iraqi refugees as “the reeds of God,” in parallel to the saint’s spirituality of perseverance and faith despite adversity.

Bettin also has a special relationship with St. Thérèse. As the youngest of 11 children in his family, he was often chided as “spoiled,” much like the saint, who was also the youngest in her family. In her memoir, St. Thérèse recalled that when she was 14, she was tearful upon overhearing her father say that it would be the last Christmas she would receive gifts typical for children. 

“St. Thérèse’s spirituality began as a little girl when she was not sure that there was a world outside of herself. But she had an epiphany, if you will, on Christmas in 1886 when she experienced a profound conversion,” Bettin said. “She realized there was a world outside, and she gained a great devotion for God. It was not so much for herself, but for others.”

Both priests called on Catholics to come to the shrine to venerate the relics. When Bettin was asked what Christians can expect from venerating the relics, he said: “It’s interior for each pilgrim who comes, whether they are parishioners, from Detroit, or other countries.”

Some may even see miracles, said Setto, who cited the Old Testament, where in 2 Kings 13:21, a dead man was brought back to life after his body touched the bones of the prophet Elisha. “Come and see her,” he said. 

Dominican Sister Mercedes Torres, who serves as vocations director of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in nearby Ann Arbor, invited the world, especially young people, to visit with the saint while her relics are in the U.S.

In a video, Sister Mercedes said: “Faith is essential to who we are. But it’s really that call of love that we have all been called to live. St. Thérèse is making herself known to young people in the country right now. Go and see her as she is making herself known, and you can make yourself known to her. Make your intentions known to St. Thérèse. It is such a gift, and I want everyone to participate in that gift.”

Setto said that those who are discouraged in their search for closeness to God can go to the writings of the saint and experience renewal. When people experience shame and discouragement, he said St. Thérèse can help them “refocus on God’s mercy rather than their weakness, just as St. Paul says that in my weakness, God is able to be strong in me. She was able to flesh that out in a very human and practical way that is easy to understand.”

The FDA approved a new abortion pill this week made by a company seeking to “normalize abortion.” / Credit: Postmodern Studio/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Oct 2, 2025 / 16:13 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week approved a new abortion pill made by a company that explicitly says it seeks to “normalize” abortion.

A Sept. 30 letter obtained from the office of Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, said the FDA approved the abbreviated new drug application for “mifepristone tablets” from Evita Solutions, a Virginia-based pharmaceutical company.

The FDA said in the letter that it had “concluded that adequate information has been presented to demonstrate that the drug meets the requirements for approval” under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

On its website as of Oct. 2, Evita Solutions was advertising a “new generic mifepristone product” coming to the U.S. Mifepristone constitutes one of the major components of abortion pill prescriptions.

The company says it “assist[s] the medical community in recognizing the utility and freedom that medical abortion provides patients.”

“[W]e seek to normalize abortion care, and we commit to making care accessible to all,” it says. 

Evita Solutions did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Oct. 2. The drug’s approval, meanwhile, was met with criticism and pushback from pro-life advocates. 

In an X post, Hawley called the approval “shocking.” 

He wrote that the approval came “when the evidence shows chemical abortion drugs are dangerous and even deadly for the mother. And of course 100% lethal to the child.” 

Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a media statement that the “reckless” approval by the FDA was “unconscionable.” 

“These dangerous drugs take the lives of unborn children, place women and underage girls at serious risk, empower abusers, and trample the pro-life laws enacted by states across the nation,” she said. 

Kristan Hawkins, the president of Students for Life of America, said in a statement that the Trump administration’s approval of the drug “represents a true failure.” 

“More babies will die; more women will be harmed; and more Americans [will be] exposed to abortion water pollution as a direct result of this unfathomable decision,” she said. “This is a stain on the Trump presidency and another sign that the deep state at the FDA must go.”

Bishop Abdallah Elias Zaidan of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles serves as chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace. / Credit: Joe Bukuras

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 2, 2025 / 14:16 pm (CNA).

As negotiations between Israel and Hamas continue, Bishop A. Elias Zaidan is urging Catholics to pray for a peaceful conclusion to the nearly two-year-long armed conflict in the Gaza Strip.

“As an international community and people of faith who deeply care for all our brothers and sisters who live in the land of Christ’s life, death, and glorious resurrection, we cannot lose this opportunity for peace,” Zaidan, who chairs the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on International Justice and Peace, said in an Oct. 1 statement.

“I call on Catholics and all men and women of goodwill to, once again, pray ardently for an end to this devastating war,” the bishop implored.

Zaidan’s comments come in response to a 20-point peace plan unveiled by President Donald Trump last week. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to the plan. Hamas, which operates the government in Gaza, is reviewing the plan but has not yet agreed to the conditions or provided a counteroffer.

The bishop noted that Pope Leo XIV expressed hope Hamas would agree and quoted the Holy Father’s comments in May, when he said the “deepest purpose of the Church’s social doctrine” is a “contribution to peace and dialogue in the service of building bridges of universal fraternity.”

“In this difficult context, any peace plan will involve challenges that will require the utmost effort and cooperation from all sides,” Zaidan said. “… May Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, instill on all sides a sincere willingness to attain peace.”

The 20-point peace plan

If Hamas agrees, the war would immediately end, Israel would suspend all military operations, and the battle lines would be frozen. Israel would withdraw its troops once all conditions of the peace deal are met.

Hamas would release all Israeli prisoners, both dead and alive, and Israel would release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas would need to demilitarize and agree to have no involvement in government operations, but all members who agree to decommission their weapons and peacefully coexist with Israel would be given amnesty and be permitted to either remain in Gaza or have safe passage out.

Governance would be transferred to a transitional government comprised of Palestinians and international experts and overseen by the United States president and other heads of state. No one would be forced to leave Gaza, Israel would not annex or occupy the territory, aid would resume, and participating countries would give Gaza a preferred tariff rate.

Arab and other international partners, including Egypt and Jordan, would develop a temporary International Stabilization Force to establish long-term security and train police. The plan would also establish an interfaith dialogue process focused on tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

“Crucially, this plan incorporates Israel’s and Palestine’s neighbors, including Jordan and Egypt, in a multilateral coordination for the plan’s implementation that recognizes the reality of the region’s interconnectedness,” Zaidan said.

“I am especially hopeful of the plan’s ‘interfaith dialogue process,’ which is intended to create a greater sense of community between Israelis and Palestinians,” the bishop added.

The plan states that agreement could establish a “credible pathway” to Palestinian statehood, but does include a timetable or a guarantee. The Holy See recognized statehood for Palestine in 2015, and more than three-fourths of the countries in the world recognize its statehood. The United States and Israel do not.

However, the plan does not address ongoing Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory. After several European countries announced recognition of Palestinian statehood, Israel approved new settlements in the West Bank to divide contiguous Palestinian land. According to the United Nations, Israeli settlement activities have accelerated since June.

The U.S. bishops meet for their 2022 annual fall general assembly in Baltimore. / Credit: Katie Yoder

CNA Staff, Oct 2, 2025 / 13:46 pm (CNA).

Political and religious debate has continued to ferment in the wake of Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin’s withdrawal from a prominent Catholic award after backlash over his decades of support for pro-abortion politics. 

Durbin was scheduled to receive a “Lifetime Achievement Award for support to immigrants” at a Chicago archdiocesan event in November. But criticism from numerous U.S. bishops led the senator to back out of the award ceremony on Sept. 30. 

Pope Leo XIV even weighed in on the controversy prior to Durbin’s decision, seemingly coming at least partly to the senator’s defense on Sept. 30 when during a press availability at Castel Gandolfo he argued that it was “important to look at the overall work that a senator has done [during] 40 years of service in the United States Senate.”

The Holy Father, a Chicago native, argued that such political disputes are “complex.”

“I don’t know if anyone has all the truth” regarding such issues, he said, urging those who disagree with each other to “have respect for one another” amid debates. 

Leo in that exchange argued in favor of a consistent ethic of life.

“Someone who says I’m against abortion but says ‘I’m in favor of the death penalty’ is not really pro-life,” the pope told journalists. “Someone who says that ‘I’m against abortion but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants who are in the United States,’ I don’t know if that’s pro-life.”

‘A hierarchy of truths’

Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, the chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ pro-life committee, argued this week that there exists a “hierarchy of truths” regarding the sanctity of life. 

“There’s no question that people across the board are vulnerable, but who are the most vulnerable?” Thomas told OSV News. “Those are the innocent and completely vulnerable little children in the womb who cannot defend themselves.” 

Durbin himself, meanwhile, expressed surprise over the “level of controversy” surrounding his intended receipt of the award. 

The senator, who has served Illinois in the U.S. Senate since 1997 and previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives, told NBC News that he withdrew from the award “because the reaction has been so controversial” against Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich. 

“[I] see no point in going forward with that,” he told the U.S. network, though he said Pope Leo’s remarks were “amazing” and that he “didn’t expect” the pope to seemingly come to his defense.

Durbin has long been vocal in his support for abortion rights. He opposed abortion earlier in his political career but told the late Tim Russert in 2005 that he had come to change his mind on the matter, claiming that there are “certain times in the life of a woman” when an abortion is necessary. 

The senator was more outwardly supportive of abortion in 2022 following the repeal of Roe v. Wade when he said that the Supreme Court had “eliminate[d] a federally protected constitutional right that has been the law for nearly half a century.” 

“As a result, millions of Americans are waking up in a country where they have fewer rights than their parents and grandparents,” he said. 

Durbin vowed to “keep fighting to enshrine into law a woman’s right to make her own reproductive choices,” arguing against “[letting] our children inherit a nation that is less free and more dangerous than the one their parents grew up in.

The senator has received praise from pro-abortion advocates. He has regularly been awarded a “100” score from the group Reproductive Freedom for All — formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America — for his years of favorable votes toward pro-abortion policies. 

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, meanwhile, gives Durbin an “F” award for having “consistently voted to eliminate or prevent protections for the unborn and for children born alive after failed abortions,” among other pro-abortion positions. 

After days of backlash, various U.S. bishops expressed relief at Durbin’s backing out of the award. Similar to Thomas, Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, said after Durbin’s withdrawal that the Church’s “public witness to the Gospel” requires it to “show the hierarchy and unity of all truths.”

In announcing Durbin’s decline of the award, Cardinal Blase Cupich on Sept. 30 argued against “total condemnation” of Catholic political leaders who fail to espouse the entirety of the Church’s teaching. 

“[A] positive approach can keep alive the hope that it is worth talking to one another — and collaborating with one another — to promote the common good,” the prelate argued. 

Thomas, meanwhile, told OSV News this week that the “promotion of direct killing of infants in the womb” is “a very grave matter.”

“I think we have to say there is a moral hierarchy here of life,” he said. “[C]ertainly doing one thing or another may be wrong, but the direct killing of children in the womb is the gravest of these things.”