St. James the Less Catholic Parish

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. / Credit: USCCB video

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 18, 2025 / 16:00 pm (CNA).

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has called for peace and an “immediate ceasefire” following the bombing of the only Catholic church in Gaza.

“With the Holy Father, the Catholic bishops of the United States are deeply saddened to learn about the deaths and injuries at Holy Family Church in Gaza caused by a military strike,” Broglio wrote in a Thursday statement. 

The July 17 Israeli strike killed three people and injured nine others, including the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli.

“Our first concern, naturally, goes out to Father Gabriel Romanelli and all his parishioners, most especially to the families of those killed,” Broglio said. “Our prayers are for them during these tragic times.”

The statement follows a message from Pope Leo XIV on the social media platform X that said: “I commend the souls of the deceased to the loving mercy of Almighty God and pray for their families and the injured. I renew my call for an immediate ceasefire. Only dialogue and reconciliation can ensure enduring peace!”

In agreement, Broglio wrote: “With the Holy Father, we also continue to pray and advocate for dialogue and an immediate ceasefire. Yesterday was the memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel; through her intercession, may there be peace in Gaza.”

On Friday, CNA reported that Pope Leo received a phone call from Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, following yesterday’s Israel Defense Forces attack on Holy Family Church in Gaza.

During the conversation, the Holy Father renewed his call for the urgent reactivation of the negotiation process in order to establish a ceasefire and end the war. He expressed his deep concern for the humanitarian situation in Gaza as well as the urgent need to protect places of worship “and the faithful and all people living in both Palestine and Israel.”

Human embryos. / Credit: Andrii Vodolazhskyi/CNA

CNA Staff, Jul 18, 2025 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

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

California couple that had 21 kids via surrogate mothers charged with neglect, endangerment

A California couple that had 21 children via surrogacy has been charged with felony child endangerment and neglect.

Authorities also alleged that their nannies were physically abusing the children. 

Guojun Xuan, 65, and Silvia Zhang, 38, own a mansion in Arcadia and a business called Mark Surrogacy. 

Unbeknownst to the surrogate mothers the couple was working with, the embryos the mothers were carrying belonged to the company owners — and each embryo was one of many. 

Seventeen of the children are toddlers or infants, and the oldest is 13. All 21 children have since been taken in by the state Department of Children and Family Services.

The investigation took place after a 2-month-old child was brought into a hospital with a traumatic brain injury.

Cops alleged that the family nanny, 56-year-old Chunmei Li, had injured the baby and committed other abuses. Surveillance footage allegedly shows Li shaking and hitting the infant. Footage also showed other nannies abusing the children, according to the authorities. 

Federal court upholds West Virginia ban on abortion drugs

The 4th Circuit Court has upheld West Virginia’s ban on chemical abortion, ruling that the law cannot be overridden by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations.

Mifepristone manufacturer GenBioPro asked the court to strike down West Virginia’s protections for unborn children against chemical abortion, arguing that the FDA has the final say in whether drugs are legal.

In a 45-page opinion by Judge J. Harvey Wilkinson III, the court found that in approving the drug, the FDA “did not create a right to utilize any particular high-risk drug” simultaneously. Rather, the FDA regulations constitute the “minimum safety rules for administering drugs like mifepristone where they may be legally prescribed.”

March for Life President Jennie Bradley Lichter called the decision “huge,” noting that it meant that a state could ban a federally approved drug.

It was the first time a federal appeals court had said states can restrict mifepristone use.

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said the decision was a “big win.”

“West Virginia can continue to enforce our pro-life laws and lead the nation in our efforts to protect life,” Morrisey stated. “We will always be a pro-life state!” 

8 babies born via IVF from DNA of 3 people

Eight healthy babies were born via an in vitro fertilization procedure where doctors created embryos with DNA from three people.

The United Kingdom made the procedure legal in 2015 and granted the first license in 2017 to a fertility clinic at Newcastle University.

The doctors used the third-party DNA to prevent children from inheriting incurable genetic disorders. The mothers were at risk for passing on life-threatening diseases to their babies, but the babies have no signs of the mitochondrial diseases they were at risk of inheriting. Four boys and four girls — including one set of identical twins — were born to the seven women.

Fort Worth, Texas, skyline. / Credit: The Safety Kingpin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Houston, Texas, Jul 18, 2025 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

Catholic Charities Fort Worth (CCFW) announced July 17 that it will continue leading the Texas Office for Refugees until September 2026, reversing an earlier decision to step down later this year due to challenges imposed by the Trump administration’s funding cuts to refugee programs. 

The move follows urgent pleas from approximately 60 refugee service providers across Texas, who warned that CCFW’s withdrawal would jeopardize $200 million in critical federal funding for over 118,000 refugees.

In early June, CCFW announced plans to relinquish its role in October as the state’s replacement designee for the Texas Office for Refugees, a role the nonprofit took on in 2021 after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott withdrew the state from the federal refugee resettlement program in 2016.

This prompted a swift response from providers, who sent letters to the group warning that its abrupt exit would disrupt critical refugee services. 

“To do this in this climate is not moral in a lot of ways,” said Kimberly Haynes, Texas director of Church World Service, who urged CCFW to stay for another year to ensure a stable transition.

Haynes told the Houston Chronicle in June that CCFW’s departure could force her organization to lay off employees and close programs, including the Refugee Cash Assistance, Medical Assistance, Immigration Legal Services, and Social Adjustment programs, affecting 80% of its services in Dallas and Houston.

CCFW President and CEO Michael Iglio said in a statement shared with CNA the reversal came after “deeper reflection” and “thoughtful feedback” from providers. 

“We recognized that an early withdrawal could risk serious disruptions in services,” Iglio stated, adding that stepping down prematurely was a decision the agency “could not in good conscience allow.” 

By continuing through September 2026, when its contract ends, CCFW aims to safeguard services and facilitate a responsible transition.

CCFW sued the Trump administration and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in March, alleging an unlawful freeze of $36 million in funding. Although payments resumed after a program integrity review, the incident highlighted the precarious funding environment for refugee programs.

The decision comes amid broader challenges for refugee services under the second Trump administration, which froze the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in January, disrupting $100 million in aid for Houston-area refugees alone.

As a result, the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in February laid off 120 employees who mostly worked in refugee assistance.

Catholic social teaching on immigration, which is built on Jesus’ call to welcome the stranger (cf. Matthew 25:35), underpins CCFW’s commitment to refugees. The agency’s decision to stay aligns with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ advocacy for humane immigration policies.

null / Credit: Brian A Jackson/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jul 18, 2025 / 12:30 pm (CNA).

A federal court on July 18 blocked a controversial Washington state reporting law that would require priests to violate the seal of confession, siding with the state’s Catholic bishops who brought suit against the measure earlier this year.

The law, passed by the state Legislature earlier this year and signed by Gov. Robert Ferguson, added clergy to the list of mandatory abuse reporters in the state. But it didn’t include an exemption for information learned in the confessional, explicitly leaving priests out of a “privileged communication” exception afforded to other professionals.

In the ruling, District Judge David Estudillo said there was “no question” that the law burdened the free exercise of religion.

“In situations where [priests] hear confessions related to child abuse or neglect, [the rule] places them in the position of either complying with the requirements of their faith or violating the law,” the judge wrote.

Estudillo noted that the measure as passed “modifies existing law solely to make members of the clergy mandatory reporters with respect to child abuse or neglect.” 

As written, the law is “neither neutral nor generally applicable” insofar as it “treats religious activity less favorably than comparable secular activity,” he said.

The state could have made clergy mandatory reporters while allowing a narrow exception for confession, Estudillo said, as more than two dozen other states already have. 

The order bars the Washington state government from enforcing the law.

The ruling comes after the bishops sued Ferguson, state Attorney General Nicholas Brown, and more than three dozen prosecutors over the controversial reporting law. 

On July 15 those prosecutors filed a motion in the court promising not to appeal the injunction against the law or any final judgment of the court in exchange for largely being excused from the ongoing legal proceedings. Ferguson and Brown are still subject to the suit.

The lawsuit argued that the law violated the free exercise of religion protected by the First Amendment by infringing on the sacred seal of confession as well as both the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment and the state constitution.

The Washington bishops’ effort drew support from a broad variety of advocates, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the U.S. Department of Justice, a coalition of Orthodox churches, and Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota.

Barron earlier this month argued to the court that a penitent who is “aware the priest might (let alone must) share with others what was given in the most sacred confidence” of confession
“would be reluctant indeed to ever approach” the sacrament. 

The Department of Justice, meanwhile, said the law “appears to single out clergy as not entitled to assert applicable privileges, as compared to other reporting professionals,” including lawyers, doctors, and social service workers. 

The law even drew international rebuke when the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy — which represents over 500 Roman Catholic priests and deacons from the U.S., Australia, and the United Kingdom — last month issued a statement criticizing the passage of laws “which attempt to compel ordained priests to disclose the identity and content of what a penitent has confessed.”

The group criticized governments for specifically targeting priests while at the same time “respect[ing] and uphold[ing] the institutions of attorney/client and doctor/patient privilege.”

Though the Washington bishops had mounted an aggressive challenge to the state law, Church leaders there assured the faithful that the seal of confession would remain inviolate regardless of any legal stipulations one way or the other. 

“[S]hepherds, bishops, and priests” are “committed to keeping the seal of confession — even to the point of going to jail,” Spokane Bishop Thomas Daly said in May. 

Church canon law dictates that a priest who directly violates the seal of confession is automatically excommunicated. Barron earlier this month told the court that “few religious practices are more misunderstood than the sacred seal of confession in the Catholic Church.”

Catholics believe that penitents who seek the sacrament of confession are “speaking to and hearing from the Lord himself” via the priest, the prelate wrote. 

As a result, “absolutely nothing ought to stand in the way of a sinner who seeks this font of grace,” Barron said.

In a scene marked by deep sorrow and righteous anger, churches across Syria held funeral services for the victims of the suicide bombing that targeted St. Elias Church in the Syrian capital, Damascus. The attack claimed the lives of 25 people and left dozens injured. / Credit: Mohammad Al-Rifai/ACI MENA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 18, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

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

Violence against Christians escalates in Syria

Christian communities in Syria continue to experience escalating violence, with one church severely damaged and another narrowly escaping what would have been a fatal car bombing attack, according to CNA’s Arabic-language news partner ACI MENA.

Vandals desecrated the altar at Mar Michael (Saint Michael) Church in the southern Syrian province of Sweida, smashed Christian symbols, and set fire to its ceiling and walls, charring the upper icons and the central cross above the altar. 

In a parallel development, security forces thwarted an attempt to bomb the Maronite Church of Mar Elias (Saint Elias) in eastern rural Tartus. Three individuals who planned to detonate a car bomb loaded with roughly 44 pounds of explosives have been arrested. The attacks come amid escalating armed clashes in southern Syria between Druze and Bedouin militias. 

Sako appeals to Iraqi prime minister to protect Christian heritage in Najaf

Chaldean Patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako has issued an urgent appeal to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, calling on him to avert the threat of encroachment on sacred Christian historical sites in Najaf province dating back to the sixth century, ACI MENA reports. 

In a July 15 statement, Sako cited “trusted sources in Najav” who warned of “attempts to allocate historic Christian cemeteries for investment” despite their status as archeological sites. The Chaldean patriarch further noted that “oil will one day run out,” and the historic sites could one day become a destination for religious tourism, bringing in substantial revenues.

Among them are the al-Manathira Cemetery, burial site of great Patriarchs of the Church of the East, and Umm Khishm Cemetery, which dates back to the time of the Kingdom of al-Hira.

Chinese bishop encourages faithful to abandon burdensome dowry custom 

In a wedding Mass homily on July 13, Archbishop Meng Ningyou of Taiyuan invited the faithful to abandon the still-widespread custom of wedding dowries, a practice which has caused couples in rural areas to break up due to the financial burden it places on families, according to a report from Fides. 

Bishop Meng reportedly described the sacrament of marriage as “a union of free, mutual self-giving blessed by God” and “called on spouses to accept one another, support each other in the Christian upbringing of their children, and care for one another, following the example of the Good Samaritan.” 

Filipino cardinal slams government for promoting online gambling addictions 

The president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, delivered a sharp criticism of the government in a homily on July 13 for promoting online gambling addictions, according to a local Catholic news report. 

“We fail to see the real culprit: a government that grants licenses and expands online gambling platforms just to earn revenue for public spending — spending that often becomes a tool for political power,” he declared, adding: “The Word opens our eyes to see the hidden victims on these digital highways. … It urges us to take concrete steps to help these vulnerable ones whom society often ignores.”

Vietnamese bishop celebrates the abolition of the death penalty for eight crimes 

Bishop Joseph Nguyen Dec Cuong of Thanh Hóa, president of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam, is celebrating the country’s decision to end the death penalty for crimes against the state, bribery, and drugs. 

“The decision marks an encouraging step forward in legal awareness, in line with the spirit of international treaties,” the bishop said, adding that the occasion marked a significant step towards “a modern constitutional state, in which life is protected, human dignity is respected, and opportunities for rehabilitation are open.” 

Religious freedom group calls on EU to create position to combat Christian hate crimes 

The Observatory for Religious Freedom in Spain has called on the president of the European Commission to create a Special Coordinator position to combat anti-Christian hate crimes, according to a Christian Daily report. 

“It is imperative that the European Commission act with the same commitment it shows in the fight against other forms of religious hatred,” OLRC President María García said in a press statement. Equivalent positions exist to combat anti-semitism and Islamophobia in the EU already.

Charity pledges continued support for seminarians in Nigeria as vocations rise

The pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need International (ACN) has expressed its commitment to continue supporting the formation of priests in Nigeria, where the foundation has observed exponential growth in vocations, ACI Africa reports. 

ACN said on Monday it would move forward in its support for one more year for the 76 members of the Sons of Mary, Mother of Mercy, who are currently studying to be priests.

“Nigeria is a dangerous country for priests,” the organization stated. “In the last 10 years, more than 150 have been kidnapped and more than a dozen murdered. However, the number of vocations has not decreased, but has even increased, and many young men aspire to become diocesan or religious priests.” 

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops headquarters in Washington, D.C. / Farragutful, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 17, 2025 / 19:30 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is asking a federal district court to block the government from enforcing any portion of an abortion “accommodation” rule against them while they appeal a court order that provided only partial relief from the rule.

Under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) abortion accommodation rule, the USCCB can deny workplace accommodations for employees who obtain purely elective abortions, but they may still have to provide accommodations for abortions related to treating medical conditions.

Qualifying medical conditions are broad. According to the EEOC rule, conditions include “modest” or even “minor” anxiety, depression, nausea, dehydration, and changes in hormone levels that result from a pregnancy.

Because of this, the USCCB asked the District Court for the Western District of Louisiana to fully block the EEOC’s abortion accommodation rule during their appeal. The rule comes from the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, passed under President Joe Biden, which requires employers to offer reasonable workplace accommodations for women with limitations from pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.

Although the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act itself makes no mention of abortion, the EEOC regulation states that “having or choosing not to have an abortion” qualifies as a related medical condition. The rule provides for religious exemptions only on a case-by-case basis, which would be determined after the accommodation request was made and denied.

Daniel Blomberg, the lead attorney for the bishops, told CNA that the case-by-case exemption is “facially inadequate.” He said USCCB policy is to never provide accommodations for an abortion and warned that the USCCB would need to change its policy to comply with the mandate, which the bishops have not done and will not do.

Numerous Catholic and other religious organizations have also sued the EEOC for its abortion accommodation rule and were given full relief from the mandate. Blomberg said the USCCB is the only entity that was denied full relief.

“They cannot change their policy,” Blomberg said. “They cannot violate the faith that animates what they do.”

Blomberg, who serves as vice president and senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, said the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act itself ensures that “religious organizations are protected.” He contested that the EEOC’s implementation regulations go against the text of the law and Congress’s intent.

“Congress did not intend to force the bishops or any other religious groups to accommodate abortions at any time,” he added.

In addition to arguing that the EEOC regulations are an improper implementation of the law, the lawsuit also appeals to the religious liberty protections in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the First Amendment guarantee of the free exercise of religion.

Andrea Lucas, the new EEOC chair appointed by President Donald Trump, has vocally criticized the final rule. However, because Trump removed two Democrat-appointed commissioners from the EEOC, the body lacks the necessary quorum to issue new guidelines. 

Trump nominated Brittany Panuccio, a Republican lawyer, to serve on the commission. If she is confirmed by the Senate, the commission would have the necessary quorum.

Blomberg said the commission is likely “months away from any prospect of getting [a quorum]” right now, which means the rule will stay in place for the time being.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) speaks during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on July 15, 2025. / Credit: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

CNA Newsroom, Jul 17, 2025 / 15:58 pm (CNA).

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) delivered a speech on the Senate floor on July 16 denouncing cuts to federal funding of faith-based organizations that play critical roles in refugee resettlement and international humanitarian aid. 

The Rescissions Act of 2025, pushed by both President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans, proposes $9.4 billion in cuts to previously appropriated federal funding, $800 million of which supports faith-based organizations like Catholic Relief Services (CRS) as well as World Vision, an evangelical organization.

The rescissions bill, which passed in the U.S. House of Representatives 214-212 on June 12 and passed in an amended form in the Senate on July 17, threatens to dismantle funding for faith-based groups, including the U.S. bishop-supported CRS.

Kaine, a Catholic and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who opposes the cuts, on Wednesday called them an “attack on the religious organizations so that they cannot do the work that their faith in their Creator compels them to do.”

During the Senate’s consideration of the measure on July 16, Kaine unsuccessfully introduced a motion to recommit the bill to the Senate Committee on Appropriations with instructions to preserve funding for faith-based organizations involved in refugee resettlement and international assistance. The motion was rejected in the Senate by a vote of 48-51.

Kaine, the former governor of Virginia, had urged the Senate to preserve funding for the faith-based groups, many of which have already laid off employees.

According to Kaine, Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Services and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society have fired staff, and the Episcopal Church has closed its resettlement program completely.

World Relief has warned that the cuts undermine protections for persecuted Christians, Kaine said.

While he said he was “not surprised” that Trump had supported the funding cuts, Kaine expressed dismay at the cuts’ support among Republicans, many of whom “go to churches just like me and hear sermons preached about the Good Samaritan, just like I do every Sunday.”

The senator said seven of the ten organizations resettling refugees in the U.S. are faith-based, with Catholic advocates leading efforts to integrate legal immigrants, such as Afghan allies and Congolese families, into American communities. 

In his speech Wednesday, Kaine spoke about his home parish, St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Richmond, Virginia, which was founded by Italian and German immigrants after World War I.

He said those immigrants chose to honor St. Elizabeth because she took bread to the poor, a symbol of serving those in need.

Kaine’s parish, which he said he has attended for 40 years, now has a large community of Congolese refugees.

“My church looks … different in some ways than when it was founded 100 years ago,” Kaine said, “but in other ways it’s exactly the same—a haven for … legal immigrants” who have “come to a place where they feel loved and cared for and safe and welcome.”

He highlighted the impact of the proposed funding cuts on his parish, where Congolese families fear for relatives still in refugee camps. 

“These families come to me after Mass, frightened about what these cuts mean,” he said.

The Senate passed a version of the measure on July 17 incorporating an amendment that preserved $400 million to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The amendment also protected some country-specific grants.

Because it was amended, the bill was sent back to the House. If Congress fails to pass the Rescissions Act by midnight on July 18, the White House must release the $9 billion in funds, including $7.9 billion in foreign aid cuts affecting faith-based organizations, to be spent as originally appropriated.

Correction: An earlier version of this story identified Catholic Relief Services as assisting with refugee resettlement in the United States. CRS does not perform refugee resettlement in the U.S., but Catholic Charities does. Sen. Tim Kaine's remarks have also been updated. (Published July 18, 2025)

U.S. Small Business Administration, Washington, D.C. / Jer123/Shutterstock

CNA Newsroom, Jul 16, 2025 / 16:35 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is opening a “Center for Faith” and eliminating a regulation that banned faith-based groups from receiving disaster loans. 

The SBA, a branch of the federal government established to bolster the economy by supporting small businesses, announced they would remove the longstanding regulation as part of the agency’s efforts to end faith-based discrimination by the government. 

The SBA previously prohibited any group “principally engaged in teaching, instructing, counseling, or indoctrinating religion” from applying for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), a regulation which the SBA is now nixing under the Trump administration. 

The SBA argues that the regulation is unconstitutional, citing the 2017 U.S. Supreme Court decision Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer. 

In the ruling, the court found that a Missouri state agency violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution when it refused to let a church participate in a state-funded program because of its religious affiliation. 

“We're rooting out religious discrimination — and embracing religious freedom,”  SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said in a post on X.

In addition to cutting the restriction against faith-based groups, the SBA is launching the Center for Faith under the agency’s Office of Economic Development. 

Set to be headed by Director of Faith Outreach Janna Bowman, the center will “focus on building partnerships with faith-driven organizations to increase awareness and access to capital, business counseling, contracting opportunities, and disaster recovery,” according to a SBA press release. 

The agency, Loeffler said, “is committed to ending the era of weaponized government that has systematically discriminated against Americans of faith – even denying them access to vital disaster relief in times of tragedy.”  

The new faith center was announced in the wake of President Donald Trump’s Feb. 7 executive order establishing the White House Faith Office, according to the SBA. 

Other federal agencies have also launched centers for faith, including the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and others. 

SBA’s first-ever faith center is designed to “improve access to agency resources for the faith community, ensuring that all SBA programs are accessible to eligible Americans regardless of their religious affiliation,” Loeffler said. 

“We are proud to uphold the principles of religious freedom that our nation was founded on — and look forward to forging lasting relationships that bring new small businesses into the SBA ecosystem,” she added.

Mosaic of Mary, Virgin Immaculate, in the Chapel of the Choir in St. Peter's Basilica, Rome. / Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 16, 2025 / 15:30 pm (CNA).

A new study has found that “reciting the rosary privately” is the most popular Marian devotion among those discerning a religious vocation.

The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University published its June 2025 report: “Impact of Mary, Mother of the Church, on Ecclesial Vocations,” which includes results from six surveys with 1,091 respondents, 65% of whom were diocesan personnel in the U.S. — including bishops (9%), diocesan priests (40%), permanent deacons (10%), and deacon directors (7%). 

U.S. religious men and women accounted for the other 35% of respondents including religious priests (6%), major superiors of men (8%), and major superiors of women (21%). The majority of respondents are Latin Rite Catholic (95%), and 5% are Eastern Rite Catholic.

The surveys were conducted by CARA in collaboration with the Diocese of Saginaw from March to May 2025.

Marian devotions impact on vocational discernment

The study found that 59% of respondents reported that their devotion to Mary has had either “a meaningful impact” or “a great impact” on their “original sense of a vocation to serve Christ and the Church.” Religious priests (71%) were most likely to report so, while responding deacon directors (49%) were least likely.

The survey found that the most popular Marian devotion when discerning a vocation was “reciting the rosary privately.” Seven in 10 respondents reported that it “positively impacted them during their discernment period,” specifically among bishops, with 80% reporting that it did. 

When discerning a vocation to a particular religious community or diocese, 35% of respondents reported that a Marian dimension of that community was “significant" or "very significant.” 

Responding priests were found to be the most likely to report that the Marian dimension held some form of significance (47%) and deacon directors were the least likely (30%).

Of all survey respondents, 44% reported that they visited at least one apparition site before deciding on their current ecclesial vocation. Nearly three in 10 made pilgrimages to Guadalupe (29%) and Lourdes (28%), which were the two most common sites mentioned. 

Marian devotions related to Fátima, Lourdes, and Guadalupe were the most likely to have impacted a respondent’s “original sense of ecclesial vocation.” Of respondents, 44% reported Marian devotions related to Fatima had “a meaningful impact” or “a great impact” on their original sense of an ecclesial vocation, 43% to Lourdes, and 31% to Guadalupe. 

Influence of Marian devotions on those living out ecclesial vocations

When asked about their current devotion to Mary in a religious order, nearly all respondents (89%) reported they have a "strong devotion” (58%) or “some devotion” (31%).

An average of 75% of respondents reported that their devotion to Mary has either “strengthened” (34%) or “very much strengthened” (41%) them while living out their ecclesial vocation. A combined 80% reported that they turn to Mary for spiritual assistance “often” (36%) or “very often” (44%).

The study found that 80% of respondents indicated that their devotion to Mary has had either a “meaningful impact” (58%) or a “great impact” (22%) on their devotion to the Eucharist. 

Reciting the rosary alone (72%) was the most frequent Marian devotion that respondents reported doing “weekly” or “daily,” specifically among responding bishops with 87% answering that they do. Other popular Marian devotions included meditative or contemplative prayer with Our Lady (46%), reciting the rosary with others (37%), and reading spiritual writings on Mary (28%). 

Of respondents, 77% said at least one Marian site and its related devotions have strengthened them while living out their ecclesial vocation. Guadalupe (63%), Lourdes (59%), and Fátima (53%) were the most frequently mentioned. Responding bishops were most likely to report that Guadalupe (77%) and Lourdes (72%) have strengthened them.  

Role of Mary in religious men and women’s lives

Out of 710 respondents who specified how they view Mary in their lives, 167 expressed experiencing Mary’s presence in their life as a “companion, friend, guide and comforter.”  One respondent said: “Mary stands by me each day as I celebrate holy Mass, just as she stood by Christ at the foot of the Cross,” while another said Mary "is my comfort whenever I am afraid.”

A total of 129 respondents expressed that Mary plays the role of “intercessor” in their lives. One specified: “I wouldn't be who I am today, or where I am today, if it were not for Mary's intercessory role in my life.”

A total of 121 respondents answered that Mary plays the role of a “mother” in their ecclesial vocation. A respondent wrote that Mary as a mother “has always been there and continues to be there. I love her even more as I grow in my awareness of her love for me.”

The majority of respondents (74%) said the Catholic Church places the “right amount of emphasis” on devotion to Mary. Among the others, 5% reported that there is “too much emphasis” and 21% said there is “not enough emphasis.” 

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference is urging lawmakers to prohibit surrogacy in all cases in a letter submitted on July 9, 2025. / Credit: Shutterstock

CNA Newsroom, Jul 16, 2025 / 12:05 pm (CNA).

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has urged the Australian Law Reform Commission to ban all forms of surrogacy, including “altruistic” arrangements, in a nine-page letter highlighting the “profound harms” of the practice. 

“The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference calls on the Law Reform Commission to recommend the prohibition of all forms of surrogacy in Australia,” the bishops write in the letter, which was shared with CNA. 

“A woman is not a machine for reproduction,” the bishops argue in the letter, “she is a person made in the image of God, called to bear life with love, freedom, and dignity.”

“Surrogacy reduces this sacred role [of motherhood] to a service contract—an arrangement that denies the women’s full humanity,” the letter says. “Surrogacy attempts to divide a woman's body from her identity, as though she could be a vessel without being a mother.” 

Submitted to the commission on July 9 by Sydney Auxiliary Bishop Tony Percy — the conference’s delegate for life issues — the letter asserts that current laws fail to protect women and children from exploitation and trauma, emphasizing that children "have no voice" in surrogacy arrangements and deserve to be "received in love, not produced as part of a contractual arrangement."

“While the pain of infertility is real and deserving of compassion, not all responses to suffering are just. Surrogacy introduces new and profound harms,” the bishops say in the letter, noting the practice places both women and children at heightened risk for medical and emotional trauma. 

“For children,” the letter continues, “it breaches core human rights, including identity, parentage, and protection from commodification, which are rights affirmed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.” 

Commercial surrogacy, where surrogate mothers are paid to carry the child, is illegal in Australia. Only “altruistic” surrogacy, where the mother’s pregnancy expenses are covered but she makes no profit, is considered lawful. 

Because commercial surrogacy is illegal, Australian state and territory courts will generally not recognize those who engage in a commercial surrogacy arrangement as the legal parents of the child born through it. 

Some states, however, including New South Wales, have passed laws that allow the granting of legal parentage in certain circumstances after a commercial arrangement. The pathways, however, “often require admitting criminal conduct to the court,” according to the Review of Surrogacy Laws being considered by the law commission. 

“It is concerning that although commercial surrogacy is banned in Australia, including overseas arrangements in several jurisdictions, these laws are rarely enforced,” the bishops point out in their letter. 

“As a result, Australians are continuing to commission children through international commercial surrogacy with little scrutiny or consequence, undermining the intent of the legal prohibitions which are to protect children.”

The bishops’ letter includes testimony from former surrogate mothers who experienced “deep emotional, physical, and spiritual harm” when participating in the practice. 

One mother, identified as Cathy, stated: "The pain never goes away. I am still an emotional basket case and struggle every day with this… When I signed the paper, I thought I could do it. I did not realize it would break my heart. The pain and emptiness I feel have been unbearable.”

Another woman, called Sherrie, said: “I can’t describe the depth of sadness I felt when I came home without the child I loved, carried within me, and gave birth to. It was as if I had a child die.” 

She continued: “I just couldn’t help but love this child like my own, because it was my own… As I watched their car driving away that day on the gravel road, I felt like the dust left behind to scatter in the corn fields.” 

Ultimately, the bishops in the letter express deep concern for the terms of the review conducted by the commission, which they say “appear[s] to prioritize easier access to surrogacy,” rather than promoting the “fundamental rights and dignity of women and children.” 

“We reject the idea that expanding surrogacy serves the best interests of children or respects human dignity,” they write. “Any legal reform must begin with a clear commitment to protect children from commodification, women from exploitation, and society from the normalization of contract-based human reproduction.”