Vatican City, Sep 11, 2025 / 12:11 pm (CNA).

In response to the Sept. 10 fatal shooting of Christian conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the Vatican’s secretary of state condemned the use of violence against those with whom one disagrees.

“The Vatican stand is that we are against all types of violence. And we think that we have to be very, very tolerant, very respectful of everybody, even though we don’t share the same view,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin told journalists at the sidelines of a conference at the Vatican on Sept. 11.

“If we are not tolerant and respectful, and we are violent, this will produce a really big problem inside the international community and the national community,” he added.

Parolin’s comments were made one day after the 31-year-old Kirk was shot dead during the first stop of his American Comeback Tour at Utah Valley University on the afternoon of Sept. 10.

Kirk, who often debated students on campus, strongly defended free speech at colleges and was an outspoken critic of discrimination against Christians and of gender ideology. He founded Turning Point USA in 2012 to promote free speech and conservative values on college campuses.

The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, speaking on the sidelines of a Vatican conference on Thursday, expresses his concern over recent news of growing wars, stressing, 'If there isn’t a moment of reconsideration, there is a risk of the outbreak of a wider war.'

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ACI Africa, Sep 11, 2025 / 11:34 am (CNA).

The superior general of the Via Christi Society in Nigeria has decried the state of insecurity in his native Makurdi Diocese, saying he can no longer travel to his village.

In an interview with ACI Africa on the sidelines of a canonical visit to St. Matthew Kuchikau Parish of the Diocese of Lafia on Sept. 7, Father Vealumun Paul Ansbert Mom described the current insecurity in Benue state and others in the north-central region of Nigeria as “deliberate persecution of Christians in the West African nation.”

“St. Paul Parish Ayititwa in Katsina-Ala Diocese was burnt down and destroyed. The parish house, rectory, and church building were reduced to ashes. From every evidence available, what is going on is the persecution of Christians, and we cannot hide away from that fact,” Mom told ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa.

The Nigerian priest, who has lost family members amid insecurity in Benue state, said the attacks have destroyed entire communities. 

“I don’t have a village any longer; I can’t travel to my village. My village no longer exists because everyone has been driven away by killer herders,” he lamented.

“When Yelewata community was burnt down, I lost two cousins, and another cousin was shot on his farm two weeks ago,” Mom said. “These attacks are targeted. There are areas where Christianity is simply not allowed to grow.”

The priest further explained that priests continue to live and work in dangerous conditions even after government officials have abandoned those areas. 

“Many parishes in Makurdi Diocese and outstations have been closed down because of this insecurity. Local government chairmen have relocated their offices to Makurdi, but Catholic priests remain in those villages. They go to bed every night wondering if they will survive, yet they stay,” he said.

Mom urged the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led government to acknowledge the scale of the crisis and take action. 

“The popular narrative among the powers that be is to deny the reality, but those of us who face it firsthand know the truth. Churches are destroyed, priests are displaced, and Christians are being persecuted. Government presence is almost nonexistent in these communities. The only officials left are soldiers,” he said.

Despite the insecurity and criticisms, Mom noted that the Catholic Church does not see itself as an enemy of the Nigerian government and state officials. 

“The Church and the state have always worked hand in hand. The Scriptures call us to pray for our leaders. We love them, we pray for them, and we wish them well. But as a credible moral voice, we must call their attention to the suffering of the people,” he said.

In the Sept. 7 interview, Mom also reflected on the challenges of vocations to priestly and religious life and the formation of candidates.

“The world has become very secular and lazy, and vocations come from this same society. It is tougher now to train priests because many young people lack commitment. We must build virtues of sacrifice and dedication,” he explained.

Mom dismissed suggestions that economic hardship alone prevents young people from joining the priesthood and religious life.

“We train all our seminarians without asking them to pay. What really hinders vocations today is materialism. If you are driven by wealth and comfort, you cannot survive in the priesthood. Our priests in Via Christi Society work in remote and difficult missions where sacrifice is required, not wealth,” Mom said.

“The Lord says, ‘Foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.’ To follow him means surrender and sacrifice. If you are driven by wealth, you have no place in the priesthood,” he warned, highlighting the sacrifices of Via Christi missionaries both in Nigeria and abroad. 

“In Makurdi Diocese, our priests remain in flashpoints like Udei, Adaka, Aondona, and Naka. In Bauchi, one of our priests installed solar power that became the only source of light for an entire village,” Mom said.

He went on to recount: “In the Caribbean, when hurricanes hit St. Vincent and the Grenadines, one of our priests sheltered an entire community in his church basement. That is what missionary service looks like.”

Mom said the Church will continue to rely on faith to sustain its mission. 

“Our founder, Father Angus Fraser, always reminded us to live by divine providence. Even when obstacles seem impossible, divine providence takes us a step further. That is what keeps us going in Nigeria and in every part of the world where we serve,” he said.

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

Considering everything that is observable and quantifiable by today's science-- where is there room for God? With a little help from Einstein and Joseph Ratzinger (who would later become Pope Benedict XVI) Bishop Barron shares...

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 11, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

“Today, we Nicaraguans are making history again. Do not forget: God is with us and God is with Nicaragua!” said Pedro Bismarck Chau, the new auxiliary bishop of Newark, New Jersey, at the Sept. 8 Mass for his episcopal consecration, making him the first Nicaraguan-born bishop in the United States.

Amid a festive atmosphere and before a packed Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark, where he had been rector since 2020, Chau received episcopal consecration through the laying on of hands by several bishops. The principal consecrator was Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the archbishop of Newark.

As part of the celebration, Cardinal Christoph Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, read the letter in which Pope Leo XIV officially appointed Chau as bishop and encouraged him to allow himself to be strengthened “by the grace of this jubilee year and you will have reason to be confident in the gift of hope, which does not disappoint. May God continue to bless you and may he bless the people of God in this archdiocese.”

The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep

In his homily in English and Spanish, Tobin encouraged the new bishop to remember that “you have been called from among the people of God and for the people of God. Not for yourself, but for the things that belong to God. Indeed, episcopacy is the name of a service, not an honor, for a bishop should strive to serve rather than rule.”

“According to the Master’s commandment, whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of all … Be a faithful steward and dispenser of the mysteries of Christ. Always follow the example of the Good Shepherd, who knows his sheep and is known by them, and who did not hesitate to give his life for them.”

The cardinal then recalled that “Pope Francis never tired of repeating to bishops that there are three aspects to a bishop’s closeness to the people he serves: closeness to God in prayer, the first task; closeness to the priests and deacons of the Church; and closeness to the people of God. … Do not forget your roots, do not forget those who have passed on the faith to you.”

‘God is with Nicaragua!’

At the beginning of his address as a newly consecrated bishop, Chau thanked the Deaf community in sign language, recalling that for 17 years they have been a great support and encouragement in his ministry, offering them his prayers and concluding with a clear: “I love you!”

Speaking later in Spanish, he addressed his “dear Hispanic community: Thank you for the faith and devotion you possess. You are a great gift of life for the Church in the United States. Continue, brothers, to be a Church that goes out in search of the lost sheep.”

“I would also like to acknowledge the presence this afternoon,” Chau continued, “of a group of people here from a very small country but with a big and resilient heart that cries out with a phrase that no other country has: ‘Who causes so much joy? The conception of Mary. Mary of Nicaragua! Nicaragua of Mary!’”

The prelate addressed his family, especially his mother: “Thank you, my dearest mother, for everything and for praying so many rosaries for me, three, four, and five times a day that you pray for me. I need them, so don’t stop praying those rosaries for me. OK, Mommy?”

“I love you very much,” he told his family, “you know I love you with all my heart.”

The example of the Virgin Mary

Chau said he hopes to “follow the example of Mary, whose birthday we celebrate today. Happy birthday, Mary! She trusted in God’s plan even though she didn’t know what she was being called to or where it would take or lead her. She renounced all the dreams and aspirations that a young girl would have and put God’s will first.”

Then addressing all those assembled he said: “I humbly ask you to remember me in your prayers to the Lord and to ask the Virgin to watch over me and bring me closer to her son, Jesus, so that I may reflect for you the image of the Good Shepherd. Thank you, and may God bless you all!” he said.

Words of Bishop Silvio Báez

Following the Mass, Bishop Silvio Báez, the exiled auxiliary bishop of Managua, Nicaragua, who has been living in the U.S. since 2019, said the episcopal consecration of Chau was a “historic celebration. The first Nicaraguan, born in Nicaragua, to be ordained a bishop in the United States. He was baptized and took his first steps in the faith in Nicaragua.”

“This is a sign of the richness and fruitfulness of the Church of Nicaragua and a message of hope for all the people of God in our country. The fact that Bismarck came from Nicaragua and settled in the United States shows that it is possible to move forward despite the difficulties one may encounter,” he added.

When asked about his meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican in August, along with two other exiled Nicaraguan bishops — Carlos Herrera and Isidoro Mora — the prelate said: “The interview with the Holy Father was a moment of grace, a moment of hope, seeing how deeply he holds Nicaragua in his heart as well as the situation the Nicaraguan people are experiencing at this time.”

Who is Bishop Pedro Bismarck Chau?

Pedro Bismarck Chau was born on June 28, 1967, in Managua, Nicaragua. He studied at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

He completed his ecclesiastical studies at Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange and later earned a master’s degree in counseling from Seton Hall University.

He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark on May 24, 2008.

He served as parochial vicar of Our Lady of Mount Virgin in Garfield, New Jersey, from 2008–2012; as director of vocations from 2012–2016; and as head of campus ministry at Rutgers University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology from 2015–2020.

He also served as pastor of the Pro-Cathedral of Sts. John and Patrick in Newark from 2015–2020 and rector of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart since 2020.

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

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 11, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A new Pew Research Center study found that religion does not play a large role in how most Americans vote in U.S. elections. 

The research was conducted as part of Pew’s “About the American Trends Panel.” It was conducted May 5–11 and surveyed a representative sample of 8,937 U.S. adults. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 1.4 percentage points.

Of the responding participants, 56% of Americans said religion shapes how they vote “a little” or “not at all,” 18% said religion shapes how they vote “some,” and 25% said religion affects how they vote “a great deal” or “quite a bit.”

Susan Hanssen, a professor of history at the University of Dallas, told CNA the data is “striking” because “it does not follow a normal curve.”

“One would expect that on the edges of the sociological spectrum, a small portion of people would not vote according to their religious beliefs, the majority of people would vote somewhat in accordance with their religious beliefs, and a small number of people would vote absolutely based on their religious beliefs. But this curve is the opposite.”

“This follows what we know to be true about people who say grace before meals,” Hanssen explained. “People either always say grace before meals and vote according to their religious beliefs, or they never say grace before meals and do not vote according to religious beliefs. Very few people only say grace every once in a while, and only consider God every once in a while while voting. It seems to be a kind of all or nothing thing with God.”

Hanssen explained a possible reason behind the research findings. She said: “The fact that a majority of people are on one end of the spectrum, not taking God or religion into account when voting, matches perfectly with our deplorable birth rate.” 

“Clearly people are living for their immediate economic benefit and not thinking about either the next generation (their children and grandchildren) nor eternity. The widespread contraceptive mentality has undermined people’s habit of voting for family, values, and religious principles.”

Catholic subset

Among Catholic respondents, 24% said religion affects their voting patterns “a great deal” or “quite a bit,” 22% said “some,” and 54% said “a little” or “not at all.” 

The majority (67%) of Catholics also said “God does not get involved in U.S. presidential elections.” The research found that 26% of Catholics reported they agree Trump’s election “must be part of God’s overall plan, but doesn’t necessarily mean God approves of Trump’s policies.” Only 5% said “God chose Trump to become president, because God approves of his policies.”

The Pew report revealed that religion affects how evangelical Christians vote the most among religious affiliations. Out of respondents, more than half (51%) of white evangelical Christians said their religion affects how they voted “a great deal” or “quite a bit.” 

Voters least affected by religious beliefs were unsurprisingly self-identified atheists, with 88% reporting that it affects them “a little” or “not at all.” Out of religiously affiliated, nonevangelical Christians were least likely to report their religious beliefs affect how they vote.

Republicans (34%) were almost twice as likely as Democrats (18%) to report religion shapes how they vote. Republicans were also more likely to believe that recent election results must be part of God’s overall plan, even if God doesn’t necessarily approve of the winner’s policies.

In regard to the most recent presidential election, the survey posed a question to Christians about what “good Christians” should think of Trump. It found that 80% of U.S. Christians said “good Christians can disagree about Donald Trump,” 11% said “opposing Trump is essential to being a good Christian,” and 7% said “supporting Trump is essential to being a good Christian.”

CNA Staff, Sep 11, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Three nursing students from a Catholic liberal arts school in North Carolina spent two weeks on a hospital ship in Madagascar this summer.

Emma Harris, who will graduate from Belmont Abbey College in Charlotte in May 2026, joined fellow students Caroline Gutierrez and Eric Dike on a service-oriented internship in Madagascar with an international faith-based group called Mercy Ships. After returning to the U.S., Harris said she was “transformed.”

Mercy Ships operates the two largest nongovernmental hospital ships worldwide, delivering free surgeries and health care services “to those with little access to safe medical care,” according to the organization. The three Belmont students, along with two other students, were selected to make up the first-ever cohort of The Mercyship, the hospital ship’s summer internship program.

Harris joined Mercy Ships because she wanted to follow Jesus’ example.

“Being on Mercy Ships completely transformed me,” Harris said. “I went in with my whole life mapped out, but the experience changed my perspective and priorities.”

Mercy Ships, which has been operating for nearly 50 years, brings medical care to people in need around the world while incorporating the faith. 

Kerry Peterson, senior vice president of advancement at Mercy Ships, said its mission is “not just about providing medical care but creating a community centered on love, service, and faith.” 

More than 2,500 volunteers serve on the two ships. Students work with volunteer professionals “and witness firsthand how transformative health care can restore hope and dignity,” Peterson said. 

“Serving with Mercy Ships is a unique experience because it brings people from all over the world together with one purpose: using their skills and gifts to bring healing and hope to those who need it most,” Harris said.

Faith and service in a ‘medical desert’ 

Madagascar is a “medical desert,” Peterson said. It is a country of more than 28 million residents, 75% living under the poverty line, and for every 1,000 people, there are 0.2 physicians, according to Peterson.

The Africa Ship, one of the two hospital ships, arrived in Madagascar in February 2024 and will remain there until the end of 2025.

“Access to safe surgical care is extremely limited, making it one of the world’s medical deserts where patients would otherwise go untreated for conditions that are easily treatable,” Peterson said.

But the Mercy Ships program helps in “cultivating the next generation of faith-inspired health care leaders who will carry forward our commitment to bringing hope and healing to those who need it most,” Peterson said.

“We hope students leave with a transformed understanding of what health care can be when delivered with compassion and cultural humility, seeing how healing encompasses dignity and hope far beyond clinical procedures alone,” Peterson said.

Dike, a senior from Wake Forest, North Carolina, said: “Being part of this program was both eye-opening and deeply fulfilling.”

“While I was there, I could see how God was working through the staff to bring healing to those who need it most,” Dike told CNA. “None of the staff are paid, yet they serve with so much joy and love — a rare and inspiring thing to witness.”

Harris said she “was inspired to join Mercy Ships because of my faith in Jesus and my desire to follow his example of serving others with compassion.”

“Mercy Ships’ mission to bring hope and healing through love perfectly reflects the calling I feel to use my gifts in service,” Harris said. “I have always had a passion for caring for others, especially children and families, and the vision of Mercy Ships, to provide free medical care and show God’s love in practical, life-changing ways was the perfect way to do that.”

For Harris, Mercy Ships is a “tangible” connection to Christ.

“For me, it connects deeply to my walk with Jesus, because he calls us to care for the sick, love our neighbors, and serve with humility,” she said.

“Being part of this program is important to me because it lets me live out my faith by serving others, growing in my walk with God, and using my gifts to make a difference,” Harris said.

Gutierrez, a senior in the nursing program at Belmont Abbey from North Carolina, joined the program because she said she felt “drawn to helping people in some of their toughest, most vulnerable, painful moments, because we are called as Christians to heal the sick, feed the poor, and show love to those rebuked by the world.”

“At Mercy Ships, they start the day with prayer and worship, offering up their work and service up to God,” Gutierrez said. “Everyone is there out of love of God and love of others — I found this to be the unifying key to the mission of mercy ships.”

“Mercy Ships is truly something bigger than yourself,” Dike said, adding that the program helped him realize “how beautiful people’s hearts can be.”

“Everyone on the ship speaks passionately about how much they love being a part of Mercy Ships and how it has become a lifelong calling for many of them,” he said. “I was grateful to share even a small part of that by caring for patients and witnessing their joy and gratitude.”

Communicating beyond words

Mercy Ships gives students the opportunity to “witness how our volunteer medical professionals combine clinical excellence with genuine care for each patient’s whole being,” Peterson said.

Dike said it was a “unique experience” and “very different from nursing in America.” 

Health care practitioners on board “rely on translators for every patient,” he noted.  

“This taught me the importance of communicating beyond words, through body language and facial expressions, when language barriers exist,” Dike said.

Peterson hopes students view “their work not just as jobs but as callings to serve.”

“This immersive experience shows them that faith, service, and clinical excellence aren’t separate components but integrated aspects of transformative health care that treats each patient with dignity and compassion,” Peterson said.

After the transformative experience, Harris said she is setting her sights on a future of service. 

“Now, the one thing I know for certain is that I want to finish my degree and get back on the ship as soon as I can,” Harris said. “It showed me what it really means to serve, to live in community, and to trust God with my future.”

Caritas Africa President, Monsignor Pierre Cibambo, has told Vatican News that the tragic and ongoing situation in Darfur has left the local Church in the Diocese of El Obeid more vulnerable than ever before.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Close to 200 clerics who had been named bishops in the past year were not the only ones in the Vatican's New Synod Hall to have been thrust into new ministries and leadership roles.

"Maybe some of you are still saying: Why was I chosen? At least I ask myself that," Pope Leo XIV said Sept. 11 during a meeting with bishops in Rome for the Vatican's annual formation courses for new bishops.

"The gift you have received is not for yourselves, but to serve the cause of the Gospel. You have been chosen and called to be sent out as apostles of the Lord and as servants of the faith," the pope told them. 

The courses -- sometimes casually referred to as "Baby Bishops' School" or "Bishops' Boot Camp" -- are sponsored by the dicasteries for Bishops, for Evangelization and for Eastern Churches. The courses include sessions on topics such as what canon law says about administering a diocese, investigating abuse allegations and communication, but they also introduce the bishops to Vatican officials and offices and give them a chance to pray and meet with their peers from around the world.

Since the courses are a fixture on the Vatican calendar, Pope Leo said he had expected to be there as Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops.

"I thought I'd be here, but dressed in black like you are," he said. Instead, he was wearing papal white. 

Pope Leo spent more than three hours with the bishops; he read a prepared text, which the Vatican published, and then he spent some 90 minutes listening to their concerns and responding to their questions behind closed doors. The pope ended the morning by posing for a photo with each bishop separately.

"The bishop is a servant, the bishop is called to serve the faith of the people," the pope told the group, which included about a dozen bishops named to U.S. dioceses.

Service, he said, "is not an external characteristic or just a way of exercising a role" but is an essential part of the call.

"Those whom Jesus calls as disciples and proclaimers of the Gospel -- especially the Twelve -- are called to interior freedom, poverty of spirit and a willingness to serve that is born of love, in order to embody the very choice of Jesus, who became poor to make us rich," he said.

Jesus showed his disciples "the style of God, who does not reveal himself through power, but through the love of a Father who calls us into communion with him," the pope said.

"Always stay vigilant and walk in humility and prayer, so that you may become servants of the people to whom the Lord sends you," Pope Leo asked the bishops.

Knowing one is called to serve is not enough, he told them. The "spirit of service" must be "translated into an apostolic style, into the various forms of care and pastoral governance (and) into a deep longing to proclaim the Gospel, expressed in diverse and creative ways depending on the concrete situations you will face." 

The need for creativity and new approaches to ministry is clear, he said. 

"The crisis of faith and its transmission, along with the struggles related to belonging and ecclesial practice, call us to rediscover the passion and courage for a new proclamation of the Gospel," he said. "At the same time, many people who seem distant from the faith often return to knock at the doors of the church or open themselves to a new search for spirituality -- one that sometimes does not find adequate language or form in our usual pastoral approaches."

Many of the bishops also will be called to respond to other challenges, too, he said, including "the tragedy of war and violence, the suffering of the poor, the longing of many for a more fraternal and united world, the ethical challenges that question us about the value of life and freedom -- and the list could certainly go on."

Amid all those challenges, he told the bishops, "the church sends you as caring, attentive shepherds -- shepherds who know how to walk with their people, to share in their questions, anxieties and hopes; shepherds who long to be guides, fathers and brothers to priests and to their sisters and brothers in the faith."

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The U.S. bishops who attended the course are seen in the photo, from left to right: Chicago Auxiliary Bishop Timothy J. O'Malley; Auxiliary Bishop Kevin T. Kenney of St. Paul and Minneapolis; Bishop Scott E. Bullock of Rapid City, South Dakota; Bishop-designate Ralph B. O'Donnell of Jefferson City, Missouri; Chicago Auxiliary Bishop John S. Siemianowski; Bishop-designate Thomas J. Hennen of Baker, Oregon; Bishop Richard F. Reidy of Norwich, Connecticut; Bishop John E. Keehner of Sioux City, Iowa; Chicago Auxiliary Robert M. Fedek; Bishop Artur Bubnevych of the Holy Protection of Mary Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix; Chicago Auxiliary Bishop Lawrence J. Sullivan; and Chicago Auxiliary Bishop José Maria Garcia Maldonado. Auxiliary Bishop Dennis E. Spies of Joliet, Illinois, also attended the course but is not pictured.
 

Following a recent meeting in Piedra Negras, Coahuila, the bishops from along the Mexico-U.S. border once again denounce the dire circumstances affecting thousands of people and call for accountability of the violations against human dignity faced by those fleeing war, violence, and extreme poverty.

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