St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church

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CNA Staff, Nov 4, 2025 / 06:30 am (CNA).

Catholic schools are faring much better in dioceses in which state-funded voucher programs are available for parents to use to pay school tuition, one researcher has found, though enrollment is still declining in most places.

John F. Quinn, a historian at Salve Regina University in Rhode Island, examined six Catholic dioceses over the last 16 years — three in states with voucher programs and three in states without them — and found that parochial schools are benefiting from vouchers.

He presented his research at the Society of Catholic Social Scientists’ annual conference at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, in October.

Quinn found that since 2009, the dioceses of Providence, Rhode Island; Fall River, Massachusetts; and Rockford, Illinois — none of which are located in states with voucher programs — have seen school closures and drops, some very large, in their parochial school enrollment.

Providence schools have seen a two-thirds drop, from 16,000 students in 2009 to about 10,000 in 2025, according to the historian. 

The Diocese of Fall River, meanwhile, saw a 36% drop in enrollment, going from 7,800 students in 2009 to 5,000 in 2025. Rockford’s diocese saw a precipitous 52% drop, with 15,500 students in 2009 and 7,400 today. All three dioceses also saw multiple parochial school closures.

The numbers are very different in the dioceses in states that have voucher programs.

According to Quinn, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis only saw its enrollment numbers drop 3% since 2009. Nearly 23,000 were enrolled in its parochial schools in 2009, and the number stands at 22,300 today. The overall population of the archdiocese has also dropped 5% over the same time period, he noted.  

Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program was launched in 2011 and expanded to nearly all residents in 2025.

Two other dioceses, Orlando and Venice, are both in Florida, a state that approved its voucher program in 1999 and expanded it significantly in 2023.

The Diocese of Orlando has seen a 13% drop, going from 14,500 students in 2009 to 12,750 in 2025.

The Diocese of Venice, a relatively new one established in 1984, has seen a 52% increase in parish school enrollment since 2009 and growth in its number of parochial schools. In 2009, 4,400 students attended three high schools and 10 elementary schools, and today there are four high schools and 12 elementary schools with an enrollment of 6,800.

Quinn acknowledged that Florida has a growing population but said even taking that into account, the voucher programs have indisputably aided the Catholic schools there.

“We are full up with nearly every school at capacity,” Father John Belmonte, SJ, Diocese of Venice Superintendent of Catholic Education, said in September.

History of parochial schooling

“America’s Catholic leaders have long seen parochial schools as critical to the well-being of the Church in America,” Quinn noted. 

He recalled the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1884, at which the bishops “called for every parish to have a school and for all Catholic parents to send their children” to them.

Quinn noted that pastors would sometimes build a parish school first before completing the church building.

In 1965, the high point of parochial school enrollment, 52% of American Catholic children, or 5.2 million students, were enrolled at 13,000 Catholic grammar and high schools. 

Quinn cited the National Catholic Educational Association’s annual report, released in the spring, that showed just under 1.7 million students are currently enrolled in the nation’s current 8,500 parochial schools.

In 1965, nearly 70% of all parochial school teachers, or 115,607, were religious sisters, priests, or brothers, according to the Cardinal Newman Society. 

By 1990, only 2.5% of parochial school faculty were priests or religious, and that number remains the same today.

Quinn said costs started rising as more lay teachers replaced religious and priests in the classroom.

The Intercession of Charles Borromeo supported by the Virgin Mary dome fresco by Johann Michael Rottmayr in St. Charles’s Church, Austria. / Credit: godongphoto/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Nov 4, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

St. Charles Borromeo, whose feast day the Catholic Church celebrates Nov. 4, was a cardinal and a prominent teacher of the Catholic faith. He generously donated much of his considerable wealth to charity and sacrificed his own health to help plague victims at a time when many other authorities fled.

And, despite what you might have heard, he probably wasn’t obese.

Why does that matter? Well, because Charles is popularly invoked as a patron saint of stomach ailments and also of obesity and dieting. These patronages — and whether or not he was himself obese — are not mentioned in hagiographies of St. Charles, so it’s unclear how this particular association began. Charles was known for helping the poor in times of famine and for practicing self-mortification, and he was certainly not known to indulge in food to excess.

Whether or not his invocation by dieters is appropriate, what is clear is that St. Charles Borromeo had a massive influence on the Church.

Charles was born in 1538 near Milan. He was born wealthy — in fact, he was part of the famously rich and influential Medici family — but sought to use his wealth to benefit the Church rather than himself.

Owing in part to his well-connected family, Charles soon assumed staggering responsibilities, serving as a papal diplomat and supervisor of major religious orders.

Charles was a central figure in the Council of Trent (1545–1563), which among other things served as the Church’s official answer to the Protestant Reformation. Its twofold mission was to clarify Catholic doctrine against Protestant objections and reform the Church internally against many long-standing problems. As a papal representative, Charles participated in the council’s conclusion in 1563, when he was only 25, and was ordained a priest during the council. He also played a leading role in assembling its comprehensive summary, the Catechism of the Council of Trent.

Charles’ uncle, Pope Pius IV, appointed him archbishop of Milan in 1563, and soon after he became a cardinal. He found his diocese in a state of disintegration, after two generations of virtually no local administration or leadership. Charles got straight to work establishing schools, seminaries, and centers for religious life. He constantly directed the work of restoration of ecclesiastical discipline and the education of the young, even down to minute details. He tried as much as possible to live a simple life and give to the poor whenever possible, and he practiced self-mortification.

The clergy during this time were in many cases lax and careless, living scandalous lives, such that the people had grown to be equally negligent and sinful. While bishop of Milan, St. Charles oversaw many dramatic and effective reforms of the clergy, the liturgy, and of religious education. He encountered much opposition to those reforms, so much so that a group of disgruntled monks attempted to kill him, but he was miraculously unharmed when an assassin fired a gun straight at him while kneeling in prayer at an altar.

He was very active in preaching and ministry and was famous for bringing back many lapsed Catholics to the Church. As a result, today he is honored as the patron saint of catechists and catechumens, people who teach and learn the faith. In fact, he was the founder of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, which systematically instructed children in the faith — the forerunner of the modern “Sunday school.”

In 1571, the region where Charles was working suffered a severe famine, during which he worked tirelessly to help the starving, supporting at his own expense as many as 3,000 people daily for three months. At the same time, Charles himself suffered various ailments, including a low fever.

A few years later, a plague struck Milan. Charles was convinced that the plague was sent as a chastisement for sin and sought to give himself all the more to prayer and to service to his people. He paid personal visits to plague-stricken houses to comfort those suffering, and as a spiritual penance, he walked in procession, barefoot, with a rope around his neck and a relic in his hand.

At the end of 1584 Charles suffered a skin infection in one of his legs but still continued to travel to take care of his diocese. He died young at the age of 46 on Nov. 3, 1584, and was canonized 26 years later, in 1610.

This story was first published on Nov. 4, 2022, and has been updated.

President Donald Trump holds a press briefing with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in August 2025. / Credit: Joey Sussman/ Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 3, 2025 / 18:30 pm (CNA).

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened military action against Nigeria if it fails to end Christian persecution.

“If the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria and may very well go into that now-disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” Trump said in a social media post Nov. 1.

The commander-in-chief further revealed he has instructed the Pentagon to “prepare for possible action.”

“If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians!” he added: “WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to the post on Saturday, writing: “The killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria — and anywhere — must end immediately. The Department of War is preparing for action. Either the Nigerian government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”

The post alluding to possible military action comes after Trump announced he would designate Nigeria as a country of particular concern (CPC) on Oct. 31.

Under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the U.S president must designate countries that engage in or tolerate “particularly severe violations of religious freedom” as CPCs. Violations include torture, prolonged detention without charges, and forced disappearence, according to the State Department.

“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN,’” Trump said Oct. 31.

Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts during a September 2025 interview with CNA. / Credit: Jack Haskins/EWTN News

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 3, 2025 / 17:52 pm (CNA).

The Heritage Foundation is receiving backlash after Kevin Roberts, its president, defended Tucker Carlson’s recent controversial interview with Nick Fuentes. 

Roberts said in a video message on social media Oct. 30 that “the venomous coalition attacking [Carlson] are sowing division” and that “their attempt to cancel him will fail.” While the Heritage Foundation president said he disagreed with and abhorred Fuentes’ views, he said “canceling him is not the answer.” 

“When we disagree with a person’s thoughts and opinions, we challenge those ideas and debate,” Roberts said. “And we have seen success in this approach as we continue to dismantle the vile ideas of the left.” 

During the interview, Fuentes, who said he is Catholic, at one point said he admired Joseph Stalin and lamented against “organized Jewry in America.” For his part, Carlson at another point said he disliked Christian Zionists “more than anybody” and referred to Christian Zionism as a “brain virus” and a “Christian heresy.” 

Reports also surfaced that the Heritage Foundation had spent roughly $1.2 million sponsoring Carlson’s show, for about $75,000 per episode for a 12-month period beginning in June 2024. 

Fallout ensued after Roberts’ video, with Heritage Foundation staffers posting a meme with the caption “Nazis are bad” in reference to Fuentes’ antisemetic views and self-professed admiration of Hitler. 

The Hill initially reported further dissatisfaction among staffers and that Ryan Neuhaus, Roberts’ chief of staff, had been relocated Friday to another position within the organization. This came after Neuhaus reposted multiple statements in defense of Roberts’ video. Neuhaus has since resigned. 

Legal scholar and moral philosopher Robert P. George weighed in on the debate surrounding Carlson’s interview Nov. 1, writing: “Engaging and forcefully arguing against people who deny the inherent and equal dignity of all is one thing, welcoming them into the movement or treating their ideas and ideologies as representing legitimate forms of conservatism is something entirely different.”

He said American conservatism faces a challenge from those like Fuentes “seeking acceptance in the conservative movement and its institutions” with the ultimate goal of subverting “our commitment to inherent and equal human dignity.” 

“It is incumbent upon those of us who maintain the ‘ancient faith’ (to borrow a phrase from Lincoln) to make clear to friend and foe alike that we will not permit the integrity of our movement and its institutions to be compromised,” George concluded. 

President Donald Trump’s administration says Nov. 3, 2025, that it will partially fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits after several states sued to force a court order. / Credit: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 3, 2025 / 17:08 pm (CNA).

President Donald Trump’s administration will partially fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits amid the ongoing government shutdown as Catholic nonprofits are working to accommodate people’s needs through charitable giving.

Food stamp benefits from SNAP came to a temporary halt Nov. 1 after Congress failed to reach an agreement to end the government shutdown or approve a stand-alone SNAP funding bill.

Several states sued, which led a federal court to order the administration to fully or partially fund the program. According to a Nov. 3 court filing, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agreed to drain the SNAP contingency fund to ensure some benefits are received this month.

The contingency fund can supply Americans on food assistance with about $4.6 billion in funds, which is about half of the $9 billion that was expected to be given. It is unclear when the benefits will show up on recipients’ Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards.

Neither the USDA nor the White House responded to a request for comment.

As the shutdown reached its 34th day on Nov. 3, lawmakers were still disagreeing over extending taxpayer subsidies that lower health insurance costs under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and providing funding for a wall on the southern border, food assistance, and military pay. Most of the 2.9 million civilian federal workers are not receiving paychecks.

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia, questioned the USDA inspector general nominee John Walk on Oct. 30 about why the contingency fund wasn’t being used, which prompted the litigation from states.

“There’s nothing legally stopping the administration from making emergency food assistance funds that they’re just sitting on available for Georgia kids and families in November,” Warnock said. “But even as we debate what to do about these ACA subsidies, it is indisputable that the USDA under the Trump administration is choosing to pull hungry children into this fight.”

Filling the gap

Catholic organizations that provide food assistance to low-income people have been trying to fill the gap amid the funding losses. Catholic Charities USA launched a national fundraising effort Oct. 30 to “come to the aid of our vulnerable brothers and sisters during this time of dire need,” according to a news release.

Donations made through the new portal “will be used to buy and ship food directly to Catholic Charities agencies throughout the country that operate food pantries, soup kitchens, food delivery programs and a variety of other initiatives to support those facing hunger or food insecurity,” the news release noted. 

Some local Catholic Charities affiliates told CNA last week that they were committed to helping families in need access food but expressed concern that their organizations may be unable to fully supplement the billions of dollars in lost funding.

John Berry, president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in the United States, said in a statement on Oct. 31 that the funding loss was “a bipartisan moral failure” and alleged that both parties “weaponized the defenseless.”

“This crisis is not a distant tragedy: It is right in front of our face in the look in a mother’s eyes as she worries that her innocent children may soon feel the ache of an empty stomach,” Berry said.

“Its roots run deep in the decisions of policymakers who have chosen partisan brinkmanship over human dignity, and the consequences demand an urgent moral critique through faith and reason,” he said. “This is not a partisan failure. Ironically, it’s one of the few times that both sides of the political aisle have managed to do something together — morally fail in their efforts to appeal to their supporters.”

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in an Oct. 28 statement urged lawmakers to find a solution that reopens the government and funds SNAP.

Broglio called the funding loss “unjust and unacceptable” and “catastrophic for families and individuals who rely on SNAP to put food on the table.” He said it “places the burdens of this shutdown most heavily on the poor and vulnerable of our nation, who are the least able to move forward.” 

The shutdown is already the second-longest government shutdown. Unless it is quickly resolved, it will likely surpass the longest government shutdown, which was 35 days long and occurred during Trump’s first term.

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CNA Staff, Nov 3, 2025 / 11:37 am (CNA).

The Catholic Diocese of Alexandria, Louisiana, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday, Oct. 31, making it the 41st U.S. diocese to seek court-supervised reorganization in the wake of clergy sexual abuse claims.

Bishop Robert Marshall Jr., who has led the 50-parish diocese in central Louisiana since 2020, announced the petition in a letter and video posted to the diocese’s website. 

“As your bishop, I apologize to abuse survivors for the harm, pain, and suffering they experienced and continue to experience in their lives,” Marshall wrote. “This action is occurring because some past priest-perpetrators sexually abused minors, actions that are evil, sinful, and go against everything the Church and the priesthood represent.”

Eighty-five survivors have already filed claims, according to the diocese, with more expected after the court sets a bar date. More than half the allegations date to the 1970s or earlier; nearly every named perpetrator is deceased. 

A 2021 Louisiana law temporarily lifted the statute of limitations, triggering the surge in claims. The law allows victims to pursue civil damages indefinitely for abuse occurring on or after June 14, 1992, or where the victim was a minor as of June 14, 2021, with a three-year filing window (which ended June 14, 2024) for older cases.

The diocese lists $16.7 million in assets and $9.5 million in liabilities. It pledges $4 million plus limited insurance proceeds to a victim compensation trust. “The diocese believes it can contribute $4 million to a plan trust that will be used to compensate abuse survivors,” according to the frequently asked questions section of the diocese’s website.

Chapter 11 will freeze all pending lawsuits and funnel them into one court-supervised settlement. “Without a structured process of this kind, funds would be exhausted in the first settlements or cases that go to trial, leaving nothing for all the other claims waiting to be heard,” the diocese explained.

Parishes, which are separately incorporated from the diocese, remain untouched by the bankruptcy filing. Restricted donations, including the annual diocesan appeal and seminarian funds, are protected, and daily Masses, parish schools, and charities continue uninterrupted.

The bankruptcy filing comes as the diocese, experiencing declining numbers of priests, seminarians, and Mass attendance, is in the midst of a reorganization plan launched in 2024 titled “Together as One Church: Embracing the Future of Hope.” The plan will entail “closures and reconfigurations” of parishes and missions, according to the diocese.

In this context, Marshall, after consulting the priest council, finance council, and the Vatican, called the Chapter 11 filing “the most prudent course.”

The case, filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Louisiana, is projected to last 18 to 24 months and cost $1 million to $2 million in fees — far less than larger dioceses.

In 2019, the diocese published names of credibly accused clerics and has adopted the U.S. bishops’ safe environment policy. “We remain committed to transparency,” Marshall said.

The Alexandria filing follows the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ $230 million settlement last week.

St. Martin de Porres. / Credit: AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Nov 3, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

On Nov. 3, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Martin de Porres, a Peruvian Dominican brother who lived a life of humble service and charity and became the first Black saint of the Americas.

Here are seven fascinating facts about this inspiring saint:

1. His father refused to acknowledge him.

De Porres was born in Lima, Peru, in 1579. He was the son of a Spanish nobleman and former Panamanian Black slave. His father, Don Juan de Porres, refused to publicly acknowledge the boy as his own because Martin was Black, like his mother. Being biracial would prove challenging for Martin de Porres throughout his life. 

2. He started practicing medicine before he was 13.

De Porres served as an apprentice to a doctor, and before the age of 13 he began to learn the practice of medicine. He would eventually become a barber, which at the time performed minor medical and surgical procedures like pulling teeth or emptying abscesses. 

3. He faced discrimination as a Dominican.

De Porres entered the Dominican order in 1603. Becoming a Dominican brother proved to be challenging for de Porres because a Peruvian law at the time prevented people of mixed race from joining religious orders. Therefore, he lived with the community and did manual work, earning himself the nickname “the saint of the broom” for his diligence in cleaning the Dominicans’ quarters.

Eventually he was allowed to enter the order, despite the law, and worked in the infirmary tending to the sick and among the impoverished of Peru. “I cure them, but God heals them,” de Porres would say when curing the sick. He also had the task of begging for alms that the community would use to clothe and feed the poor. He also established an orphanage and planted an orchard from which those in need could freely take a day’s supply of fruit. 

4. He levitated and bilocated.

De Porres was deeply prayerful, so much so that many of the brothers witnessed him levitating in intense prayer and embracing the crucified cross. De Porres reportedly also had the gift of bilocation, and some of his contemporaries said they encountered him in places as far off as Japan even as he remained in Lima. Some claimed he had appeared to them supernaturally behind locked doors or under otherwise impossible circumstances. 

5. He refused to eat meat.

De Porres loved animals. He refused to eat meat and ran a veterinary hospital for sick animals that seemed to seek out his help. Portrayals of the saint often include cats, dogs, and even the rats to whom he showed compassion.

6. He is the patron saint of multiple manual labor occupations.

De Porres was known for the various assignments he carried out and which earned him the title of patron saint of barbers, the sick, and street cleaners. On the 50th anniversary of St. Martin de Porres’ canonization, Father Juan Anguerri, director of the St. Martin de Porres Home for the Poor, said: “These are often thankless tasks, but yet through his humble service, St. Martin sent a message to revitalize these jobs.”

7. He was canonized more than 300 years after his death.

Martin de Porres died on Nov. 3, 1639, at age 60. He was canonized by Pope John XXIII on May 16, 1962. At his canonization Mass, John XXIII called him “Martin of Charity.” 

This story was first published on Nov. 3, 2021, and has been updated.

The Sister Servants of Mary hold a procession with the statue of Our Lady of the Assumption at Mary Health of the Sick Convalescent Hospital in Newbury Park, California. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick

CNA Staff, Nov 2, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

When a 93-year-old Catholic father from New Orleans had a stroke, he knew he was prepared to die.

Clinton Jacob attended adoration and Mass daily and was “rarely without a prayer book or rosary in hand,” according to his daughter, Kim DeSopo.

“[He] never spoke of death with fear or sadness,” she told CNA. “He would simply say, ‘I’ll be going home.’”

But not everyone feels prepared for death.

The Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick, is a Catholic community of sisters who dedicate their lives to caring for the sick and dying in New Orleans and around the world. As nurses, they are at the bedside of the dying through the long nights, whether their patients are lifelong Catholics or have never thought about religion.

The sisters often encounter patients as well as family members who are struggling to accept “an illness or imminent death,” Sister Catherine Bussen, a Servant of Mary, told CNA.

“Many times, there is a need for reconciliation within the family, for a return to their faith, for acceptance of their condition, etc.,” Bussen said.

As medical professionals, the sisters provide physical treatment, but they also walk with their patients throughout their illnesses, encouraging patients and families “always with the hope of eternal life,” Bussen said. 

DeSopo, Jacob’s daughter, called the sisters for support. The next day, Bussen arrived at their doorstep, and every night for two weeks, she sat at Jacob’s bedside. 

Bussen’s presence was “a gift,” DeSopo said. “Sister Catherine brought peace and calm into a time filled with stress and sorrow.”

“Her prayers, patience, and care provided comfort not only to my father but also to my mother, who could finally sleep knowing someone trustworthy and compassionate was by his side,” DeSopo said, recalling Bussen’s “selfless dedication” and “unwavering faith.” 

Bussen was with Jacob when he died on Sept. 26, 2024. She prepared his body, cleaning him and sprinkling him with holy water, and then prayed with his wife and daughter.

“I will never forget the care and dignity she gave him, even after his final breath,” DeSopo said.

Mary at the foot of the cross 

“I was sick and you visited me.”

This Scripture verse, Matthew 25:36, summarizes the charism of the Servants of Mary, according to Bussen. 

When they care for the sick, they care for Christ.

The sisters will care for anyone in need, preferably within the sick person’s own home. In those who are suffering, the sisters “discover Jesus carrying his cross,” Bussen explained. 

“By caring for the sick, we believe that we are caring for Christ himself, who still suffers today in the suffering mystical body of Christ,” she said.

Founded in Madrid, Spain, in the 1800s, the sisters care for the sick and dying in Louisiana, Kansas, and California as well as throughout Central and South America, Spain, France, England, Italy, Cameroon, the Philippines, and Indonesia. They run a hospital for the poor in Bamenda, Cameroon, as well as two missionary houses in Oaxaca, Mexico.

The sisters look to Mary as an example as they accompany those who are suffering.

“Although we are not able to take away someone’s cross, we are present to them, offering all to the Father, like Mary did at the cross of Jesus, that all suffering may be redemptive and fruitful,” Bussen said.

“Every one of us sisters would tell you that it is an absolute privilege to be able to enter into the intimacy of a family’s home, listening to the dying, praying with them, and encouraging them on the final stage of their journey as their soul passes into eternity,” she said.

“Our Catholic Christian faith is a beautiful comfort during these times because it is all about looking forward to the promised life to come, the whole goal of our lives, eternal life,” Bussen said.

One woman from New Orleans received news no one wants to hear — she had a terminal illness. Though she was not religious, she knew she needed help and did not know who else to turn to, so she called the Servants of Mary.

As they cared for her and helped her deal with her terminal diagnosis, the sisters learned the woman was “completely alone in the world,” said Bussen, who took care of her. Other people from the surrounding Catholic community volunteered to stay with her.

During that time, the woman found a home in the Catholic Church and received the sacrament of baptism.

Her “anxiety was transformed into peace,” said Bussen, who was with her as she died.

“As the end drew near, she had a new faith family,” Bussen said. “She was no longer alone.”

Remembering the dead 

The life of a sister Servant of Mary is “contemplative in action.” 

The sisters unite “our prayer life with our work — going about what we are doing, in all the business of daily life, in a prayerful spirit,” Bussen said.

The sisters have time set aside for prayer and work, “but these two aspects cannot be separated from one another,” she continued. “The grace and light received in prayer flows into our work and ministry, and everything we experience in our ministry is taken to prayer.”

Throughout the year, the sisters take special care to remember the dead. 

In November especially, Bussen said the sisters “remember all our patients who have died with us by placing their names in our chapel and offering Masses for their eternal happiness.”

“Even after a patient has passed,” she said, “and they no longer need physical care, our ministry continues by praying for their soul.”

Scene from Nov. 1, 2025, Mass outside the Broadview facility near Chicago where immigration advocates allege federal authorities inhumanely treat detainees. / Credit: Kathleen Murphy/CNA

Chicago, Illinois, Nov 1, 2025 / 17:29 pm (CNA).

Auxiliary Bishop Jose María García-Maldonado celebrated a Mass on Nov. 1 outside the Broadview facility near Chicago where immigration advocates allege federal authorities inhumanely treat detainees.

Maldonado, an auxiliary bishop in Chicago, and a group of eight spiritual leaders sought to bring holy Communion to detainees and were not admitted. Mass organizers said they followed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s guidelines to obtain access and submitted the request weeks in advance.

An estimated 2,000 Catholics attended the outdoor Mass including Sister JoAnn Persch, 91, a Sister of Mercy and longtime advocate for immigrant rights in the Chicago area.

Persch said in previous years she was granted access to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and brought Communion to detainees, but access has ceased. Obtaining access initially took time when she first began visiting the facility decades ago, she said.

“Our motto is peacefully, respectfully, but never take no for an answer, so we kept working with ICE,” Persch said. “Finally, we got inside.”

Father David Inczauskis, SJ, who worked with the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership and Broadview, Illinois’ mayor to request access, said: “On a day of All Saints, people should be able to receive Communion. That’s a reasonable request to make, fitting with our Constitution and with the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.”

A full slate of information about who is inside the facility is lacking, he said. But family members of detainees say their loved ones are inside desiring Communion, he said. Authorities cited “safety reasons” for denying the group access, Inczauskis said.

“The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. It’s such an important thing for people to be able to receive Communion. To be denied that right, that opportunity, as Catholics, is devastating,” Inczauskis said.

Michael Okinczyc-Cruz, executive director of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership, cited media reports saying people are being kept at the Broadview facility for days, sleeping on floors, having medications withheld, with no showers.

The American Civil Liberties Union and MacArthur Justice Center sued the federal government Oct. 31, saying migrants are housed in inhumane conditions at Broadview and denied their right to access counsel. The Department of Homeland Security has vigorously denied the allegations of subprime conditions.

Alexa Van Brunt, director of the MacArthur Justice Center’s Illinois office and lead counsel on the suit, said in a statement: “Community members are being kidnapped off the streets, packed in hold cells, denied food, medical care, and basic necessities, and forced to sign away their legal rights. This is a vicious abuse of power and gross violation of basic human rights by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. It must end now.”

The suit alleges ICE agents at Broadview deny detainees sufficient food, water, hygiene, and medical care. The suit also alleges detainees are deprived of sleep, privacy, menstrual products, and the ability to shower.

President Donald Trump expanded use of deportations without a court hearing this year and ramped up federal law enforcement efforts to identify and arrest immigrants lacking legal status. The administration set a goal of 1 million deportations this year.

Genin De la Peña is a Chicago resident who said she attended the Mass at Broadview “because others cannot, I want to support,” she said.

null / Credit: SibRapid/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Nov 1, 2025 / 07:19 am (CNA).

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

7 in 10 voters support requiring doctor’s visit for abortion pills 

More than 7 in 10 voters believe a doctor’s visit should be required for a chemical abortion prescription, a recent poll found. 

The McLaughlin & Associates poll of 1,600 participants found that 71% of voters approved of a proposal “requiring a doctor’s visit in order for the chemical abortion drug to be prescribed to terminate an unwanted pregnancy.”

The poll also found that 30% of voters had “significant concerns” about the safety of the abortion pill.

Current federal regulations allow providers to prescribe abortion drugs through telehealth and send them by mail.

States like California even allow anonymous prescription of the abortion pill, and states including New York and California have “shield laws” that protect abortion providers who ship drugs into states where it is illegal.

SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said this week: “The harmful impact of Biden’s FDA removing safeguards on abortion drugs, like in-person doctor visits, is an issue that overwhelmingly unites voters of all stripes.”

“As a growing body of research indicates, these drugs are far more dangerous than advertised, and new horror stories emerge day after day of women coerced and drugged against their will, landing in the ER and even dying along with their babies; Americans’ concerns are more than valid,” she said in an Oct. 28 statement.

Dannenfelser urged the Trump administration to “heed the emerging science and the will of the people and immediately reinstate in-person doctor visits.”

Texas attorney general secures win in Yelp’s targeting of pregnancy centers

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a state appellate court victory against Yelp Inc. for allegedly adding misleading notices to pro-life pregnancy centers. 

Paxton filed the lawsuit after misleading notices were attached to the pages of crisis pregnancy centers. The 15th Court of Appeals in Texas reversed a lower court’s dismissal, which had concluded that Texas did not have jurisdiction over Yelp because it is based in California. 

The 15th Court of Appeals concluded this week that the company is still “subject to specific jurisdiction in Texas” and that the concern is relevant to other states as well. 

“As evidenced by the number of attorneys general who signed the letter sent to Yelp, several states share Texas’ interest in ensuring that crisis pregnancy venters are not the targets of actionable misleading statements,” Justice April Farris wrote in the opinion. 

Paxton said in a statement that Yelp tried to “steer users away from pro-life resources,” noting that Texas will keep Yelp accountable. 

Paxton pledged to “continue to defend pro-life organizations that serve Texans and make sure that women and families are receiving accurate information about our state’s resources.”

Virginia superintendent denies that staff facilitated student abortions

A Virginia public school district has denied allegations that staff at a high school facilitated student abortions without parental consent or knowledge.

In an Oct. 16 letter to families and staff at Centreville High School, Fairfax County Superintendent Michelle Reid said that internal investigations found that the “allegations are likely untrue” as “new details have emerged.” 

In the wake of an investigative report by a local blogger and accusations by a teacher on staff, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin instructed police to launch a criminal investigation. U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee, as well as the U.S. Department of Education also launched investigations. 

Reid said that “such behavior would never be acceptable” in the school district, which “is fully cooperating with these government investigations.” 

Planned Parenthood Wisconsin resumes abortions

After a temporary pause in October, Wisconsin Planned Parenthood resumed providing abortions in the state by giving up its designation as an “essential community provider” under the Affordable Care Act. 

Planned Parenthood Wisconsin stopped offering abortions on Oct. 1 after President Donald Trump cut federal Medicaid funding for abortion providers. The yearlong pause is designed to prevent federal tax dollars from subsidizing organizations that provide abortions. 

Heather Weininger, executive director of Wisconsin Right to Life, said: “Planned Parenthood’s abortion-first business model underscores why taxpayer funding should never support organizations that make abortion a priority.”

“Women in difficult circumstances deserve compassionate, life-affirming care — the kind of support the pro-life movement is committed to offering,” she said in an Oct. 27 statement.  

Ohio cuts Medicaid contract with Planned Parenthood 

Ohio has terminated Medicaid provider contracts with Planned Parenthood, preventing state funds from going to the abortion giant there.

The Ohio Department of Medicaid cited Trump’s recent yearlong pause on Medicaid reimbursements to abortion providers as the reason for termination. Planned Parenthood has since requested a hearing with the department to oppose the termination. Whether the state’s decision to end the agreement will extend longer than the federal pause is unclear.