The Ten Commandments outside the Texas Capitol. / Credit: BLundin via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

CNA Staff, Aug 21, 2025 / 12:12 pm (CNA).

A federal judge has partially blocked the state of Texas from enforcing its law ordering the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools. 

In a colorful ruling replete with off-the-cuff observances on topics ranging from Greta Garbo to the speed of Earth’s orbit, District Judge Fred Biery said the Texas law — signed by Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this year — could pressure children into “religious observance” in violation of the U.S. Constitution. 

The state government did not establish a “compelling interest” in imposing such a burden on students, Biery said, and further it failed to make the law “narrowly tailored” enough to pass constitutional muster. 

“There are ways in which students could be taught any relevant history of the Ten Commandments without the state selecting an official version of Scripture, approving it in state law, and then displaying it in every classroom on a permanent basis,” he wrote. 

The judge suggested that the state Legislature could alternately require schools to display moral lessons not directly connected to religious practice, such as quotes from Unitarian minister Robert Fulghum’s book “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” 

The ruling applies to nearly a dozen school districts, including the independent school districts of Houston and Fort Bend. The suit had been brought by a coalition of parents on behalf of their children. 

State Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement to media that his office will “absolutely be appealing this flawed decision.” 

“The Ten Commandments are a cornerstone of our moral and legal heritage, and their presence in classrooms serves as a reminder of the values that guide responsible citizenship,” he said. 

This is not the first setback over the past year for advocates of displaying the Ten Commandments in schools. 

In November 2024 a federal judge in Louisiana blocked that state’s Ten Commandments law, calling it “coercive” and “unconstitutional.” 

Elsewhere, in June 2024 the state of Oklahoma directed school districts to incorporate the Bible into middle school and high school curricula, with the state superintendent citing its historical and cultural significance in helping “contextualize” the present-day United States. 

One poll in June showed that a majority of U.S. adults support allowing Christian prayer in schools, though other polling showed a larger number believing the practice shouldn’t be mandatory, with more than half opposing teachers being allowed to lead classes in prayer.

View of the Greek island of Syros. / Credit: Hans Peter Schaefer/Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

CNA Newsroom, Aug 21, 2025 / 10:51 am (CNA).

Prosecutors on the Greek island of Syros have filed felony charges against two Catholic clerics and six civilians in connection with the alleged embezzlement and money laundering of more than 3 million euros ($3.3 million) in diocesan funds.

The indictments this month follow an investigation that began in late 2024 when Greece’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority uncovered suspicious financial transfers from the Catholic Diocese of Syros to accounts linked to nightclub operations, Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported.

The probe discovered that church funds had allegedly been diverted to businesses involved in prostitution, drugs, and protection schemes over eight years, according to ProtoThema.

Prosecutors have charged two Catholic priests along with six civilians in connection with embezzlement exceeding 120,000 euros, complicity in embezzlement, and money laundering.

Central to the case is a 53-year-old nightclub owner from Patra. According to investigators, the businessman allegedly used church funds to sublet nightclub operations, serving as what prosecutors consider the “mastermind” of the scheme.

The financial misconduct prompted swift action from the Vatican.

Pope Francis accepted Bishop Petros Stefanou’s resignation in April and appointed Archbishop Sevastianos Rossolatos, emeritus of Athens, as apostolic administrator of the diocese pending a permanent replacement.

The scandal affects one of the smallest Catholic communities in predominantly Eastern Orthodox Greece, where Catholics represent only about 50,000 of Greece’s 10.7 million people.

Located in the Cyclades island chain in the Aegean Sea, about 78 nautical miles southeast of Athens, Syros serves as the administrative center for the Catholic Diocese of Syros with Milos and Santorini.

The Anti-Money Laundering Authority’s investigation resulted in the freezing of bank accounts belonging to the accused civilians. Notably, the Catholic Church foundations’ accounts themselves were not frozen during the probe, ProtoThema reported.

The scandal has drawn particular attention due to its apparent connection to organized crime elements and the significant duration of the alleged financial misconduct.

Greek authorities traced suspicious transactions back eight years, with the most recent transfer of 50,000 euros occurring shortly before the investigation became public in late 2024, according to Euronews.

Following the Anti-Money Laundering Authority’s findings, Aegean Appellate Prosecutor Odysseas Tsormpatzoglou ordered a preliminary criminal investigation and summoned all accused parties to provide testimony before investigating judges on Syros, ProtoThema reported.

The Catholic Church in Greece initially stated it was unaware of the priests’ alleged actions when the scandal first emerged, Euronews reported.

Some of the damage caused to Christian homes by Muslim extremists in 2023. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Aid to the Church in Need

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 21, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Two years after “the worst episode of violence against Christians” in Pakistan’s history, according to the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the bishop of Faisalabad said the community of the faithful is outraged by the apparent failure of justice.

Beginning Aug. 16, 2023, and in the days following, Muslims in the village of Jaranwala in the Diocese of Faisalabad looted and burned more than 25 churches and at least 80 Christian homes.

According to ACN, two months ago, local courts “acquitted 10 people accused of setting fire to one of the churches.” Another 5,213 people were accused of participating in the violence, of whom more than 380 were arrested. However, many were released on bail. To date, no convictions have been handed down.

Bishop Indrias Rehmat spoke to the pontifical foundation about the case, denouncing the lack of justice and explaining the feelings of local Christians.

“Justice has not been done,” he said. “The police have not done their duty. Nobody has been punished and nobody has been dealt with properly. At this stage, we do not see any hope of any culprit being punished.”

The Christians, Rehmat said, have received physical threats and harassment from local extremists for “daring to call for justice but had now become so enraged that they are determined to speak out.”

“What’s changed over the last two years since the attacks is that people have now become ready to fight for their rights. They say we should shout and scream,” he added.

The bishop explained that the Christian community’s discontent is exacerbated by the fact that Christians were the only ones convicted on charges related to the 2023 attacks. Brothers Rocky and Raja Masih were accused of blasphemy against the Quran — which sparked the persecution that year — but were later acquitted.

Pakistan is home to about 4 million Christians. This represents only 1.6% of the country’s total population, estimated at 241 million and predominantly Muslim. From 1987 to early 2021, more than 1,800 people were charged with blasphemy against Islam.

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

Participants gather at the Aug. 18, 2025, launch event for a new digital app that will bring together 66 Catholic radio stations in east Africa. Father Don Bosco, editor-in-chief of ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, is pictured in the center. / Credit: ACI Africa

ACI Africa, Aug 21, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The Department of Social Communications of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) recently celebrated the launch of a new digital app for Catholic radio stations. The new platform will bring together 66 radio stations in the region.

The app — the first of its kind in the Church in eastern Africa — will serve Catholics in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. It will also target AMECEA’s affiliate members of Djibouti and Somalia.

The goal of the app is to boost evangelization efforts, AMECEA’s Department of Social Communications coordinator told ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, at the launch on Monday, Aug. 18.

“With this app, Catholics in any of the AMECEA countries will be able to follow holy Mass or access whichever kind of Church information they want even when they are away from their home countries,” Father Andrew Kaufa said at the event, which was held at the Consolata Shrine in Kenya’s Archdiocese of Nairobi.

“There will be holy Masses, all sorts of prayers, and even news about the Catholic Church in the region,” he said.

AMECEA’s secretary-general, Father Anthony Makunde, echoed Kaufa’s comments, noting that the digital radio app, just like the 10-year communication policy also unveiled on Aug. 18, is an attempt by AMECEA to “harmonize” evangelization efforts across the region.

“This innovative tool brings together all Catholic communication media channels in our region into one platform accessible on mobile phones, tablets, and computers,” he said of the app that is accessible on Android devices.

Of the 66 radio stations that will be accessible through the app, 19 are in Kenya, 12 in Uganda, 13 in Tanzania, and four in Malawi. Zambia has nine while both Sudan and South Sudan have six.

Makunde said these media channels will now be gathered in one place “thanks to the creativity and dedication of the AMECEA communications team.”

Apart from holy Masses, prayers, news, and other programs, the app will also allow for fundraising by individual radio stations, Kaufa said, noting that contributors will not be limited by geographical location.

“Radio stations can fundraise on the app for different causes,” he said. “If there is a radio station in Zambia fundraising on the app, anyone with the app can contribute, not just Zambians.” 

The SECAM official said the development of the app was inspired by the need for Catholic communicators to be on par with others in the industry, especially with the current advancements in technology.

Additionally, SECAM started receiving requests from Catholic TV and radio stations to come up with a platform that unites all the agencies in the region, Kaufa said.

“The app was inspired by the very fact that almost every media house is now developing an app. We had been receiving this question, ‘Do we have an app for our Catholic radios, our Catholic TVs?’” he said.

“The bishops’ conference of Uganda approached us first, saying that they had a Catholic TV station and wanted to be linked with other [stations] in the region. Later on, somebody asked us about the radio. That is how we saw the gap.”

He added: “I also attended a digital summit and I could see that everyone there was saying that they have an app. I thought as Catholics, we should not be left behind in this movement.”

The journey toward the realization of the digital app began in 2022. The challenge was getting as many radio stations as possible on board.

“Developing this app has been slow,” he said. “Being regional, there was so much to be done and the different radios had to first get permission from their bishops. Eventually, everyone came on board.”

He also said the app will be easy to run and may require no finances to sustain.

“Initially, we thought that the app would need many resources to sustain. However, eventually, we come to realize that running the app is almost free of charge,” Kaufa said.

Speaking about the evolution of the radio and its growing significance in evangelization, Kaufa said: “The radio has been removed from the sitting room. People are listening more from their phones than from the big radio.”

“I always agree with those who say that a bishop without a radio is more or less like a bishop without a voice,” he said. “Radio is still very important, more than all other media, especially in terms of evangelization. More people in many parts of Africa can afford radio. If you want to reach your people very easily, you must embrace the radio.”

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

A child who lost his left hand in the June 2025 Yelewata massacre is treated at Nigeria’s Benue State University Teaching Hospital. / Credit: Courtesy of Ekani Olikita/Truth Nigeria

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 21, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Nigeria is the deadliest country in the world for Christians, according to the new chair of the U.S. Commission on International Freedom (USCIRF).

Vicky Hartzler, a Republican who represented Missouri in the U.S. House of Representatives for 12 years, became chair of the commission in June. In an interview with CNA, she said of her new mission: “We want to make a difference. We want to save lives.”

Hartzler’s top priority is Nigeria. Citing statistics from Open Doors, an international organization dedicated to helping persecuted Christians, Hartzler said 69% of Christians killed worldwide in 2023 died in Nigeria, with more than 50,000 killed since 2009. The violence includes mass killings of worshippers, such as the June attack on a Catholic mission where more than 200 people were slaughtered.

Hartzler is calling on the U.S. State Department to designate Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and pressure its government to better protect citizens and prosecute those committing crimes against religion.

Iran and China remain major focuses. In Iran, Hartzler said more than 900 executions took place in 2024, and 96 Christians received sentences totaling more than 260 years in prison.

China, meanwhile, continues its so-called sinicization campaign, especially against Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region, requiring mosques and churches to display portraits of leader Xi Jinping and replace traditional worship with Chinese Communist Party propaganda. Hartzler said these examples not only represent repression but also are systematic attempts to erase authentic religious practice.

Stephen Schneck, who served as chair of the USCIRF under President Joe Biden and is a former director of the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at The Catholic University of America, equates USCIRF’s work within a Catholic tradition of defending religious liberty, tracing back to the Second Vatican Council’s declaration of religious freedom Dignitatis Humanae.

He warned of “a historic uptick in the persecution of religion around the world” and highlighted two genocides in Asia: against Uyghur Muslims in China and the Rohingya in Myanmar. For Schneck, it is vital not only to document these atrocities but also ensure they remain in international focus.

Fellow Commissioner Maureen Ferguson, a former senior fellow at The Catholic Association and EWTN radio host, wants to draw attention to Nicaragua, where President Daniel Ortega’s regime has targeted the Catholic Church by arresting priests, expelling nuns, and even monitoring homilies.

“When they kick out the nuns, what are the nuns doing?” Ferguson asked. “They take care of the street girls, the elderly poor who are dying. Who’s taking care of them now? The government is certainly not taking care of these people.”

Ferguson also pointed to Cuba’s ongoing repression of churches and independent religious voices as another regional priority for USCIRF. 

She framed international religious freedom as part of a broader defense of human dignity. “The right to practice your faith is one of the most fundamental human rights,” Ferguson said, linking it with conscience rights and the sanctity of life. 

Schneck said USCIRF’s bipartisan structure adds weight to its recommendations. But he cautioned that designations such as CPC or the Special Watch List are not enough without enforcement.

“Too often these designations come with no sanctions, or sanctions are waived,” he said.

Hartzler and her fellow commissioners also highlighted USCIRF’s Victims List, which features individuals imprisoned or tortured for their beliefs. By publicizing their names and stories, the commission seeks to pressure governments into releasing them and to remind the world that religious persecution is not abstract but lived by real people.

The commissioners all agree that Americans have a role to play. Hartzler urged people not just to pray but also to act: calling elected officials, pressing the White House and State Department, and demanding that religious freedom be a core element of U.S. foreign policy.

Ferguson called for the confirmation of President Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, former Congressman Mark Walker, to strengthen U.S. diplomatic efforts.

The U.S. State Department is expected to release the annual International Religious Freedom report soon.

USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan legislative branch agency created by the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, as amended. The commission monitors the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad; makes policy recommendations to the president, secretary of state, and Congress; and tracks the implementation of these recommendations.

Judge Frank Caprio served for decades as chief municipal judge in Providence, Rhode Island. / Credit: StephanieRPereira, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Aug 20, 2025 / 19:14 pm (CNA).

Frank Caprio, who served as a Providence, Rhode Island, municipal court judge for nearly 40 years and came to be known as “America’s nicest judge,” passed away on Aug. 20 from pancreatic cancer.

“Beloved for his compassion, humility, and unwavering belief in the goodness of people, Judge Caprio touched the lives of millions through his work in the courtroom and beyond. His warmth, humor, and kindness left an indelible mark on all who knew him,” read a statement posted on his official Facebook page.

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee ordered flags in the state to be flown at half staff at all state agencies and buildings until the day of Caprio’s internment, and he also asked Rhode Island residents to lower their flags out of respect.

Caprio gained worldwide fame for a lenient judicial style that blended justice, extreme empathy, and mercy when his courtroom was televised in a program called “Caught in Providence.” The program began in 1999 and went viral in 2017, achieving hundreds of millions of views since then. The show was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in 2021 and has a YouTube channel with nearly 3 million subscribers.

When handing down judgments for low-level offenses like parking and speeding tickets, Caprio told EWTN News correspondent Colm Flynn on “EWTN News In Depth” in February that he always kept in mind something his father, a hardworking Italian immigrant with a fifth-grade education, had impressed upon him: “What might seem like a small fine to some was something that many couldn’t afford.”

“That’s why I would always inquire: ‘Tell me a little bit about what’s going on in your life,’” Caprio said.

“Your case is dismissed” became Caprio’s signature phrase.

When other judges asked him why he would be so lenient, he said: “I would just place myself in the shoes of the person before me.” 

Caprio dismissed the case of a 96-year-old man, Victor, who had an outstanding unpaid speeding ticket, the first one in his life, which he received while taking his disabled son to a doctor’s appointment. Four years later, Caprio celebrated the man’s 100th birthday with him.

“Watching my father, I learned how to treat people with respect and dignity,” Caprio said.

Early life and education

Caprio was born in 1936 in Providence, Rhode Island, the second of three sons of Italian immigrants Antonio Caprio and Filomena Caprio, who emigrated from Naples. 

Caprio attended Providence public schools, winning a state title in wrestling when he attended Central High School, and later graduating from Providence College in 1958. While teaching American government at Hope High School, he pursued a law degree at Suffolk University School of Law, attending night classes and passing the bar in 1965. He became a judge in 1985 and served until his retirement in 2023.

Caprio said that his father, a fruit peddler and milkman, used to wake him and his brothers at 4 a.m. to accompany him on his milk delivery rounds. 

“I had the most privileged childhood you could imagine,” Caprio told Flynn. “I had the privilege of being brought up poor.”

He described living in a “cold water flat,” an apartment that had no hot water. 

Caprio’s father told his sons if they “didn’t want to stay on this milk cart for the rest of your life, you better stay in school.” 

One day when he was around 12 years old, Caprio said, his father put his hand on his shoulder and said: “You’re going to be a lawyer someday, and you can’t charge poor people like us.”

The elder Caprio showed his sons how to be compassionate even as a poor milkman, refusing to stop milk deliveries when customers could not pay.

Caprio’s father continued to be a powerful presence in his life even after he became a judge. On his first day on the bench, Caprio required a belligerent, rude woman with multiple parking tickets to pay the full amount she owed and impounded her car. At the end of the day, he asked his father, who had been watching: “How’d I do?” 

His father told him he was too harsh with the woman, even if she did have a bad attitude. He told him she had three kids and might not be able to feed them that night.

“Because you’re in a position of power doesn’t mean you have to use it against people who don’t have power,” Caprio’s father said to him.

It was a lesson he would never forget.

“I was just trying to be decent with everyone. I never sat on the bench and thought I was better than anyone else or that I was superior to them in any way,” Caprio told Flynn.

Cancer diagnosis

Caprio was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2023. 

A devout Catholic, Caprio’s faith sustained him during a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, in 2024, where he sang “Ave Maria” at the grotto, describing it as a profound spiritual moment.

He told Flynn he hoped his fans would pray for him after his cancer diagnosis because “I have a deep and abiding faith in the Catholic Church, in Jesus, in the power of prayer.” He said his faith in God and the prayer from all his fans kept him going.

He asked for prayers again on Aug. 19, posting a video on Facebook. He passed away the next day.

Career, legacy, and honors

Caprio, a Democrat, served on the Providence City Council for six years, from 1962 to 1968, and lost the general election for Rhode Island attorney general in 1970. He served as a delegate for five Democratic National Conventions. Caprio also served in the Rhode Island Army National Guard.

He was actively involved in several community organizations, including the Boys Town of Italy and the Rhode Island Food Bank. He co-chaired the Rhode Island Statue of Liberty Foundation, raising funds for the restoration of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Additionally, he served on the Rhode Island Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education. Caprio was also a member of the President’s Council at Providence College.

At Suffolk University School of Law, Caprio established the Antonio “Tup” Caprio Scholarship Fund, named after his father, to support Rhode Island students dedicated to enhancing access to legal services in the state’s poor, urban neighborhoods. Caprio also created scholarships at Providence College, Suffolk Law School, and for Central High School graduates, all honoring his father’s legacy.

Caprio received two honorary doctorates and a Producer’s Circle Award at the Rhode Island International Film Festival along with the Daytime Emmy nomination. His former municipal courtroom was renamed “The Chief Judge Frank Caprio Courtroom” in 2023. 

An avid Boston Red Sox fan, Caprio threw the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park in 2019.

In 2025 he published his memoir, “Compassion in the Court: Life-Changing Stories from America’s Nicest Judge.”

Caprio is survived by his wife of 60 years, Joyce, with whom he had five children: Frank T. Caprio, David Caprio, Marissa Pesce, John Caprio, and Paul Caprio. The couple had seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

A view of a marijuana plant on Aug. 11, 2025, in San Anselmo, California. Cannabis company stocks surged by up to 10% on reports that the Trump administration is considering rescheduling marijuana on the federal level, from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug. The move would step toward the decriminalization of the drug nationwide. / Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 20, 2025 / 16:58 pm (CNA).

President Donald Trump announced he might loosen the federal restrictions on marijuana, but moral and legal scholars who spoke with CNA this week expressed concern about the drug and its impact on American society.

The federal government considers marijuana — also referred to as cannabis, the name of the plant that contains psychoactive compounds called cannabinoids — a Schedule I substance. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), this is reserved for drugs with “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”

Trump said in a news conference Aug. 11 that he is considering rescheduling it to Schedule III, which is a drug “with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence” and has abuse potential “less than Schedule I,” according to the DEA.

“We’re looking at reclassification and we’ll make a determination over the next … few weeks and that determination will hopefully be the right one,” the president said.

Trump called it a “very complicated subject” and said he hears good things about medical cannabis and bad things “with just about everything else.”

Federal law prohibits the sale of marijuana for recreational and medical use, but 40 states have medical cannabis programs and 24 states legalized recreational use. Both violate federal law, but the government has generally allowed states to regulate it as they see fit rather than enforce the prohibition.

Rescheduling marijuana would not lift the ban, but it could reduce criminal penalties, open the door for more medical research, and potentially be a step toward further deregulation.

Charles Nemeth, the director of the Center for Criminal Justice, Law, and Ethics at Franciscan University, told CNA that Schedule III is “generally for more minor things” and “the seriousness and the impact is supposed to be reflected in these schedules.”

“The [federal] ban would not exist in the same way [if Trump reschedules marijuana],” Nemeth said. “Right now, the drug is an illicit drug and it can be a felony, depending on how much you have or how much you’re selling.”

“It [would] have an enormous impact on the policymaking of law enforcement, decision-making, [and] what they concentrate on,” he added. “They [would] not look at the drug as much as they used to.”

Concerns about recreational use

The Catechism of the Catholic Church does not directly mention marijuana but broadly teaches “the use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life.” It calls drug use a “grave offense” with the exception of drugs used on “strictly therapeutic grounds,” such as treatment for a condition.

Nemeth said “marijuana’s destructive impact” is clear in studies about mental acuity and brain development, calling it “destructive to intellectual formation.” He also pointed to concerns that it may harm fertility.

On top of this, Nemeth noted the immediate impact of the high, saying: “It shuts your mind down; it makes you less intellectually curious than you normally would be.”

“It’s so contrary to human flourishing,” Nemeth said. “There is nothing that comes from the perpetual smoking of marijuna that has a positive impact on the human person.”

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, a senior ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, also has concerns about rescheduling marijuana, telling CNA that labeling it a Schedule I drug has “sent a much-needed message to Americans and drawn a kind of moral line for many years.”

“Adults who smoke[d] marijuana regularly during adolescence have decreased neural connectivity (abnormal brain development and fewer fibers) in specific brain regions,” he said. “These notable effects of marijuana on brain development may help to explain the association between frequent marijuana use among adolescents and significant declines in IQ, as well as poor academic performance and an increased risk of dropping out of school.”

He said drug users “seek to escape or otherwise suppress their lived conscious experience and instead pursue chemically-altered states of mind, or drug-induced pseudo-experiences.”

“Any time we act in such a manner that we treat something objectively good as if it were an evil by acting directly against it, we act in an immoral and disordered fashion and make a poor and harmful choice,” Pacholczyk said.

Catholic Answers’ senior apologist Jimmy Akin echoed those concerns, noting that “all mind-altering substances — including both marijuana and alcohol — have the potential to be misused in sinful ways.”

“The classic Catholic moral analysis distinguishes imperfect intoxication, which does not rob one of the gift of reason, from perfect intoxication, which does and disposes one to commit grave sins,” he told CNA. “To deliberately engage in perfect intoxication is itself gravely sinful.”

Jared Staudt, a Catholic theologian who serves as director of content for Exodus 90, told CNA “a federal reclassification would only further the damage” of recreational marijuana.

“It’s time to acknowledge that legalization has proven to be a failed experiment,” he said.

What about medical cannabis?

Trump’s primary motivation for the potential rescheduling is his interest in research for medicinal uses of cannabis.

According to Akin, “Catholics may have different opinions on the best legal policy regarding marijuana.” He said learning about medicinal uses could have benefits but that Catholics should make informed decisions.

“Catholics contemplating using medical marijuana should consider whether the science actually supports its use as the best treatment for a condition or whether the science has been ‘cooked’ to make marijuana more available,” he said. “If marijuana really is the best treatment for a condition, it is licit to use it for that purpose. If there is a better treatment, then that should be used instead.”

Nemeth expressed concern about most purported uses of medical cannabis. He said there are almost always alternatives to marijuana, which is a “mind-altering … product.” For mental health conditions such as anxiety or depression, he said it may mask symptoms “just because you’re high” but does not provide a cure and could exacerbate issues long-term.

“Most people who need to be high all the time are either anxious people or unhappy people or people in distress,” he said.

Alternatively, some Catholic hospitals have engaged in research about the use of medical cannabis as an alternative to opioids for pain management.

Bishop Giovanni Arana (right), secretary-general of the Bolivian Bishops’ Conference, seated beside Susana Inch, a lawyer and legal adviser to the bishops. / Credit: Bolivian Bishops’ Conference

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 20, 2025 / 15:30 pm (CNA).

The Bolivian Bishops’ Conference (CEB, by its Spanish acronym) expressed hope after Bolivia’s recent general election, which marked a change in the country’s political direction.

Rodrigo Paz Pereira, the centrist Christian Democratic Party candidate for president who won the Aug. 17 election, will now face former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga in a runoff. The unexpected result is viewed as a setback for the far-left Movement Toward Socialism, the party that governed the country for two decades.

Amid food shortages, historic inflation, political confrontations, and a climate of violence in the country, Bolivians voted for change. 

In an Aug. 18 statement, the bishops celebrated voter turnout on Election Day. “This demonstration of democratic commitment, hope, and responsibility on the part of the Bolivian people — who experienced a great historic occasion, marked by respect and the will to decide the country’s course — should characterize the path ahead,” they said.

They also praised the work of the institutions responsible for ensuring the integrity of the electoral process, “so that Election Day would be held within a framework of trust and respect for the will of the Bolivian people.”

“We welcome with hope the election results that open a new chapter in the country’s political history,” the bishops stated, saying the election gave “a voice to all Bolivians who strive and yearn for significant change.”

The CEB congratulated the candidates who qualified for the runoff, scheduled for Oct. 19.

The bishops urged the public to “continue to responsibly inform themselves about each candidate’s proposals in this new electoral phase.”

“We invite all Bolivians to maintain unity, respect, and solidarity in these decisive moments. May God continue to accompany the history of our homeland, and may the Virgin Mary always intercede for better days for all,” they concluded.

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

Pope Leo XIV greets the faithful at the gates of Castel Gandolfo on Aug. 19, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 20, 2025 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

Speaking to reporters at Castel Gandolfo on Aug. 19, Pope Leo XIV expressed hope for an end to the war in Ukraine but noted that hard work and prayer are needed so that the peace negotiations may bear fruit. 

According to Vatican News, before returning to the Vatican after his morning visit to the shrine of Our Lady of Mentorella, Mother of Graces, the pontiff spoke with journalists waiting outside the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo about the conflict in the heart of Europe: “There is hope, but we still need to work hard, pray hard, and truly seek the way forward to find peace.” 

Leo XIV made these comments just after 9 p.m. local time after greeting hundreds of pilgrims gathered in the street, some of whom were able to speak briefly with the pontiff.

First 100 days, ‘a blessing from God’

Asked about his first 100 days as bishop of Rome and successor to St. Peter, the pontiff simply said that they have been “a blessing from God.”

“I receive so much, I believe deeply in the Lord’s grace, and I am very grateful for the welcome I have received. I thank you all,” he said before leaving for the Vatican. 

Before that, Pope Leo XIV did not miss the opportunity to express his gratitude for the opportunity to enjoy Castel Gandolfo, where he hopes to return soon: “Being here is a blessing; I am very happy with the welcome I have received from the people.”

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

null / Credit: Brian A Jackson/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Aug 20, 2025 / 13:26 pm (CNA).

Pro-life activists in New York state were awarded $1 this month after a court found that a county abortion clinic rule violated their constitutional free speech rights. 

The Thomas More Society brought suit in federal district court in 2022 against New York’s Westchester County over its rule forbidding “interference” with abortion access there. 

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found in favor of pro-life sidewalk counselors Oksana Hulinsky and Regina Molinelli, with District Judge Philip Halpern ruling on Aug. 12 that the county ordinance violated the activists’ free speech and due process rights. 

The plaintiffs were only seeking “nominal damages” in the suit, the court noted, leading Halpern to order the $1 award. The county had already repealed the ordinance in question prior to the ruling.

Thomas More Society attorney Christopher Ferrara said in a press release that the ruling sends a “powerful message to municipalities nationwide” that “vague laws targeting pro-life speech will not stand.”

“Westchester County’s pro-life sidewalk counselors seek only to offer compassionate, life-affirming alternatives on public sidewalks — as is their First Amendment right,” he said. 

“Westchester’s arrogant overreach tried to silence their voices, but this decision helps reaffirm their constitutional freedom to share the pro-life message.”

The law firm, however, noted that it would appeal an earlier court ruling that upheld parts of the law that forbid so-called “following-and-harassing” behavior.

Rules regarding conduct outside of abortion clinics have become legal flashpoints in the abortion debate around the U.S. and internationally in recent years. 

The Supreme Court earlier this year refused to hear a case involving a “buffer zone” around abortion clinics in Carbondale, Illinois. That rule criminalizes approaching within eight feet of another person without his or her consent for purposes of protest, education, or counseling within 100 feet of a health care facility.

In 2023 a Washington state county judge ordered a pro-life group to pay nearly $1 million to Planned Parenthood for gathering and praying outside of one of its abortion clinics. 

Earlier this month, a 28-year-old man was found guilty of assaulting two elderly pro-life activists in front of a Planned Parenthood facility in Baltimore, though the perpetrator was sentenced to just one year of home detention. 

Last year, meanwhile, a national “buffer zone” law went into effect across England and Wales barring protests outside abortion facilities. Officials stipulated that silently praying outside of abortion clinics is “not necessarily” a crime under the new rules.