The Church of St. Luke

President Donald J. Trump watches as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services Secretary, speaks after being sworn in on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 18, 2025 / 13:31 pm (CNA).

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed regulations today that would seek to end “sex-rejecting procedures” on anyone younger than 18 years old, which includes restrictions on hospitals and retailers.

Under one proposal, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would withhold all funding through Medicare and Medicaid to any hospital that offers surgeries or drugs to minors as a means to make them resemble the opposite sex. The proposed rules would prohibit federal Medicaid funding for “sex-rejecting procedures” on anyone under 18 and prohibit federal Children’s Health Insurance program (CHIP) funding for the procedures on anyone under 19.

This includes surgical operations, such as the removal of healthy genitals to replace them with artificial genitals that resemble the opposite sex and chest procedures that remove the healthy breasts on girls or implant prosthetic breasts on boys.

It also includes hormone treatments that attempt to masculinize girls with testosterone and feminize boys with estrogen and puberty blockers, which delay a child’s natural developments during puberty.

HHS also announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing warning letters to 12 manufacturers and retailers that they accuse of illegally marketing “breast binders” to girls under the age of 18 as a treatment for gender dysphoria. Breast binders compress breasts as a means to flatten them under their clothing.

The news release said breast binders are Class 1 medical devices meant to help recover from cancer-related mastectomies, and the warning letters will “formally notify the companies of their significant regulatory violations and how they should take prompt corrective action.”

Additionally, HHS is working to clarify the definition of a “disability” in civil rights regulations to exclude “gender dysphoria” that does not result from physical impairments. This ensures that discrimination laws are not interpreted in a way that would require “sex-rejecting procedures,” the statement said.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a news conference that “sex-rejecting procedures” on minors are “endangering the very lives that [doctors] are sworn to safeguard.”

“So-called gender-affirming care has inflicted lasting physical and psychological damage on vulnerable young people,” he said. “This is not medicine — it is malpractice.” 

The proposals would conform HHS regulations to President Donald Trump’s Jan. 28 executive order to prohibit the “chemical and surgical mutilation” of children. The order instructed HHS to propose regulations to prevent these procedures on minors.

In a news release, HHS repeatedly referred to the medical interventions as “sex-rejecting procedures” and warned they “cause irreversible damage, including infertility, impaired sexual function, diminished bone density, altered brain development, and other irreversible physiological effects.”

HHS cited its own report from May, which found “deep uncertainty about the purported benefits of these interventions” for treating a minor with gender dysphoria. The report found that “these interventions carry risk of significant harms,” which can include infertility, sexual dysfunction, underdeveloped bone mass, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, psychiatric disorders, and adverse cognitive impacts, among other complications.

Stanley Goldfarb, chairman of Do No Harm, a medical advocacy group, said in a statement that the proposed regulation on hospitals is “another critical step to protect children from harmful gender ideology” and said he supports rules that ensure “American taxpayer dollars do not fund sex-change operations on minors.”

“Many so-called gender clinics have already begun to close as the truth about the risks and long-term harms about these drugs and surgeries on minors have been exposed,” he said. “Now, hospitals that receive taxpayer funds from these federal programs must follow suit.”

Mary Rice Hasson, director of the Person and Identity Project at the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), said she sees the proposed restriction on hospitals as “excellent.”

“This proposed rule sends a powerful message to states and health care providers: It’s time to stop these unethical and dangerous procedures,” Hasson said. “Puberty is not a disease to be medicated away. All children have the right to grow and develop normally.”

“Sex-rejecting procedures promise the impossible: that a child can escape the reality of being male or female,” she added. “In reality, these sex-rejecting procedures provide only the illusion of ‘changing sex’ by disabling healthy functions and altering the child’s healthy body through drugs and surgery that will cause lifelong harm.”

In January, Bishop Robert Barron, chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, welcomed Trump’s executive action on these procedures, warning that they are “based on a false understanding of human nature, attempt to change a child’s sex.”

“So many young people who have been victims of this ideological crusade have profound regrets over its life-altering consequences, such as infertility and lifelong dependence on costly hormone therapies that have significant side effects,” Barron said. “It is unacceptable that our children are encouraged to undergo destructive medical interventions instead of receiving access to authentic and bodily-unitive care.”

The Michigan capitol building in Lansing. / Credit: John McLenaghan/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Dec 18, 2025 / 12:36 pm (CNA).

Counselors and therapists in Michigan will be allowed to treat children who believe themselves to be the opposite sex, striking down a Michigan law that outlawed such counseling by claiming it constitutes “conversion therapy.”

The Dec. 17 ruling at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit blocked the Michigan law by stating that it “discriminates based on viewpoint” by forbidding therapists from counseling children that they are their own biological sex rather than the opposite sex.

The court noted that the law “expressly” allows therapists to help children commit to a so-called “transition” to the opposite sex. The rule is a “near-certain violation” of the First Amendment, the order said.

The Michigan law was passed on the grounds that steering children away from a transgender identity constitutes “conversion” similar to counseling that seeks to mitigate same-sex attraction. LGBT advocates claim that such “conversion therapy” has been discredited and constitutes a danger to therapy patients.

The lawsuit was first brought to court in July 2024 after the law passed in February of that year. A lower court had earlier ruled against the therapists’ claims that their counseling constitutes protected First Amendment speech.

The appeals court held in its ruling that the Michigan law is discriminatory insofar as it “permits speech on a particular topic only if the speech expresses a viewpoint that the government itself approves.”

“The default … is that the First Amendment protects all speech,” the court held. The Michigan government “[did] not even attempt to identify” that the government has regularly controlled the speech of therapists as the law moves to do.

The plaintiffs in the case — which include a Catholic Charities group and a Catholic therapist — have been represented by the religious liberty law firm Becket. Lead attorney Luke Goodrich said in a Dec. 17 press release that the decision represented “a victory for children nationwide.”

“Michigan’s law was pushing children toward irreversible medical procedures that cause lasting harms,” he said.

“This ruling ensures that children who want it can receive compassionate, evidence-based counseling that alleviates their distress and helps them embrace their bodies without resorting to irreversible, life-altering medical interventions.”

The Michigan government may appeal the decision.

LGBT advocates have argued in recent years that children who claim to be the opposite sex should be facilitated in “transitioning” to a facsimile of the opposite sex, including through cross-sex hormones and procedures such as castrations and irreversible mastectomies.

The Trump administration since January has moved to aggressively limit the ability of doctors and institutions to carry out such procedures, including an executive order restricting so-called transgender surgeries and drugs for youth.

Multiple hospitals around the country have ended child transgender surgeries and programs under pressure from the White House, including the prominent Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

President Donald Trump in August also directed states to remove gender ideology materials from their curriculums or else face the loss of federal funding.

Catholic faithful gather on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, in St. Mary’s Pro Cathedral in Dublin to celebrate two milestones: a decree from Pope Leo XIV formally designating St. Mary’s Pro Cathedral as the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Dublin and the cathedral’s bicentenary. / Credit: John McElroy/Dublin Archdiocese

Dublin, Ireland, Dec 18, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Following a report in one of Ireland’s mainstream media publications, the Archdiocese of Dublin has moved to clarify questions raised about its financial security.

New York Archbishop-elect Ronald Hicks and Cardinal Timothy Dolan hold a press conference at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Dec. 18, 2025, in New York City. / Credit: Adam Gray/Getty Images

CNA Staff, Dec 18, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The newly announced leader of the Catholic Church in New York expressed “heartfelt gratitude” on Dec. 18 for having been appointed to the post by Pope Leo XIV.

Archbishop-designate Ronald Hicks, who will head the Archdiocese of New York after leading the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois, said at a Thursday press conference that he accepted the Holy Father’s appointment “with great humility” and “an open heart.” 

Hicks addressed media at St. Patrick’s Cathedral alongside outgoing Cardinal Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who turned 75 earlier this year, the customary age at which a prelate submits his resignation to the Holy See. 

The new archbishop-designate reflected on his formation under past Church leaders in his hometown of Chicago, including Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, Cardinal Francis George, and Chicago’s current archbishop, Cardinal Blase Cupich. “For all of them, I’m deeply grateful,” he said. 

Makes first ‘controversial statement’

At the press conference Hicks jokingly announced what he anticipated would be his “first controversial statement” by admitting his unending devotion to his hometown Chicago Cubs baseball team and his love of the Windy City’s iconic deep dish pizza. 

“I want you to know that I am going to remain a loyal Cubs fan,” he said. “However, I am going to start rooting for the New York sports teams. And I already love your pizza. I love it a lot.”

The prelate admitted he would miss the Joliet Diocese, at which he has served for the last five years. “I have felt happy, grateful, and blessed to be their bishop,” he said. “Together, we have worked with some missionary zeal to catechize, to evangelize, and to put our faith into action as disciples who make disciples.”

Describing New York City as “rich in energy, languages, cultures, and people,” he said he was excited to get to know the city, though he acknowledged that the archdiocese is facing “complex and challenging days” including issues of life, faith, and “healing.” 

Hicks specifically said he was committed to learning about the archdiocese’s efforts to compensate survivors of sexual abuse. The archdiocese is currently pursuing a settlement for victims that is expected to top $300 million.

“As a Church, we can never rest in our efforts to prevent abuse, to protect children, and to care for survivors,” he said. 

The prelate said he looks forward to “working closely and collaboratively with the priests, the deacons, the religious, the lay leaders of [the] archdiocese” as well as working with the “great variety and diversity of faith leaders and civic leaders” that populate New York City. 

Addressing the archdiocese’s Spanish-speaking faithful, the archbishop-designate spoke in Spanish of his past ministry in Mexico and Central America, including five years in El Salvador. 

Saying he has “an enormous heart for Latino culture and Hispanic people,” he mentioned he has two Colombian nephews, Puerto Rican godparents, many Dominican friends, and that he intends “to walk with all of you, together, as brothers and sisters.”

Responding to speculation in the media and on the internet as to who he is as a bishop, Hicks said: “If you want to know the core of who I am and what I stand for, you should know this: I love Jesus with my mind, heart, and soul, and I strive to love my neighbor as myself.”

“My desire is to be obedient to the Holy Spirit and to do the will of God, serving with a shepherd’s heart,” he emphasized.

This story was updated at 11:57 a.m. on Dec. 18, 2025.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The "confrontational" tone dominating both global and national politics is "deepening instability and unpredictability day by day," Pope Leo XIV wrote in his message for World Peace Day.

"It is no coincidence that repeated calls to increase military spending, and the choices that follow, are presented by many government leaders as a justified response to external threats," he wrote in the message for the Jan. 1 observance.

But peace must be protected and cultivated, Pope Leo said. "Even when it is endangered within us and around us, like a small flame threatened by a storm, we must protect it."

Throughout the coming year, Pope Leo will give visiting heads of state signed copies of his message, which was released by the Vatican Dec. 18, and Vatican ambassadors will distribute it to government leaders in the countries where they serve.

Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, presented the message at a Vatican news conference. 

"In some ways we have been beaten into accepting the logic of war, the logic of armaments, the logic of enemies," the cardinal said. Pope Leo's message recognizes that "the first triumph of the logic of war is that we give up our hope for peace."

"I am not a soldier, I have never been a soldier," the cardinal said, but "even a soldier can be comforted" by Pope Leo's appeal to cultivate "peace in his heart and in his relationships and in his prayer and in his aspirations."

While the message "does not diminish in any way the horrors that we are surrounded with," he said, "it puts an enormous part of the responsibility on ourselves."

The theme of the pope's message, "Peace be with you all: Towards an 'unarmed and disarming' peace," begins with the first words he said to the crowd in St. Peter's Square May 8, the night of his election.

Pope Leo wrote in the message that he and all religious leaders have an obligation to teach and preach against "the growing temptation to weaponize even thoughts and words" and to condemn the use of religion to justify violence and exaggerated forms of nationalism. 

"Unfortunately, it has become increasingly common to drag the language of faith into political battles, to bless nationalism, and to justify violence and armed struggle in the name of religion," the pope wrote.

"Believers must actively refute, above all by the witness of their lives, these forms of blasphemy that profane the holy name of God," Pope Leo said.

What is needed instead, he said, is prayer, spirituality and ecumenical and interreligious dialogue "as paths of peace and as languages of encounter within traditions and cultures."

The message echoed what Pope Leo had told reporters Dec. 2 after meeting Christian, Muslim and Druze leaders in Turkey and Lebanon during his first foreign trip: "The more we can promote authentic unity and understanding, respect and human relationships of friendship and dialogue in the world, the greater possibility there is that we will put aside the arms of war, that we will leave aside the distrust, the hatred, the animosity that has so often been built up and that we will find ways to come together and be able to promote authentic peace and justice throughout the world."

The first step in sowing peace, the pope wrote, is to believe that peace is possible and that all people desire it.

"When we treat peace as a distant ideal," he wrote, "we cease to be scandalized when it is denied, or even when war is waged in its name."

"When peace is not a reality that is lived, cultivated and protected, then aggression spreads into domestic and public life," he said. When that happens, "it could even be considered a fault not to be sufficiently prepared for war, not to react to attacks, and not to return violence for violence."

Statistics show that is already happening, the pope said.

Global military expenditures "increased by 9.4% in 2024 compared to the previous year, confirming the trend of the last ten years and reaching a total of $2718 billion -- or 2.5% of global GDP," he wrote, citing studies by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 

Pope Leo also decried a shift in education and in the media that instead of focusing on achievements in peacemaking and diplomacy since World War II and on remembering with horror just how many people died in that war, "we now see communication campaigns and educational programs -- at schools, universities and in the media -- that spread a perception of threats and promote only an armed notion of defense and security."

That shift becomes especially frightening given advancements in weapons technology, particularly the development of drones, robots and other automated lethal weapons systems that can be controlled by artificial intelligence.

"There is even a growing tendency among political and military leaders to shirk responsibility, as decisions about life and death are increasingly 'delegated' to machines," he wrote.

Pope Leo called on Christians and all people of goodwill to join forces "to contribute to a disarming peace, a peace born of openness and evangelical humility."

"Goodness is disarming," he wrote. "Perhaps this is why God became a child."

Pope Leo prayed that as the Jubilee Year draws to a close, its legacy would be a "disarmament of heart, mind and life."
 

WASHINGTON – Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of His Eminence Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, 75, from the pastoral governance of the Archdiocese of New York, and has appointed Most Reverend Ronald A. Hicks, currently Bishop of Joliet, as the Metropolitan Archbishop of New York.

The resignation and appointment were publicized in Washington, D.C. on December 18, 2025, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

The Archdiocese of New York is comprised of 4,683 square miles in the State of New York and has a total population of 5,445,700, of which 1,572,580, are Catholic.

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U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (at right) meets with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (at left) and then-National Security Adviser Mike Waltz (at center). / Credit: The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Dec 17, 2025 / 20:05 pm (CNA).

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced that he has issued a directive aimed at reforming the military’s Chaplain Corps, beginning with the elimination of the U.S. Army’s current Spiritual Fitness Guide.

In a video post, Hegseth described a “real problem” facing the nation’s military forces: “the weakening of our Chaplain Corps,” which has “been going on for far too long.”

“In an atmosphere of political correctness and secular humanism, chaplains have been minimized, viewed by many as therapists instead of ministers,” he said. “Faith and virtue were traded for self help and self care.”

Hegseth said that “chaplains are intended to be the spiritual and moral backbone of our nation’s forces,” recalling that at the outset of the American Revolution, Gen. George Washington, in one of his first acts as commander of the Continental Army, established the Chaplain Corps because he saw the need for “the blessing and protection of heaven … especially in times of public distress and danger.”

“For about 200 years, the Chaplain Corps continued its role as the spiritual leader of our service members, serving our men and women in times of hardship and ministering to their souls,” he said.

In what he described as an “ongoing war on warriors” in recent years, Hegseth said the role of chaplains “has been degraded.”

He cited the current Army Spiritual Fitness Guide, which he said mentions God only once and has “zero” references to virtue, relying instead “on New Age notions, saying that the soldier’s spirit consists of consciousness, creativity, and connection.”

According to the guide, Hegseth said, about “82% of the military are religious, yet, ironically, [the guide] alienates our war fighters of faith by pushing secular humanism. In short, it’s unacceptable and unserious. So we’re tossing it.”

“Our chaplains are chaplains, not emotional support officers,” he said.

According to Hegseth, the reforms will be “a top-down cultural shift, putting spiritual well-being on the same footing as mental and physical health.”

He said initial reforms will result in the removal of training materials that “have no place in the War Department” as well as the streamlining of religious affiliation coding practices, with more changes in the coming weeks and months.

“We’re going to restore the esteemed position of chaplains as moral anchors for our fighting force,” Hegseth said.

Quoting the 1956 army chaplain’s manual, Hegseth said: “‘The chaplain is the pastor and the shepherd of the souls entrusted to his care.’”

“This is a high and sacred calling,” he continued, “but this only works if our shepherds are actually given the freedom to boldly guide and care for their flock.”

This image is preserved in the Church of San Vital, built in 386, in Rome. / Credit: Victoria Cardiel/EWTN News

Rome Newsroom, Dec 17, 2025 / 17:30 pm (CNA).

The Church of St. Vitale is the oldest Christian church still standing in the center of Rome and contains the first image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Rome.

Disabilities advocates in Buffalo, New York, during a candlelight vigil in opposition to assisted suicide. / Credit: New York Alliance Against Assisted Suicide

CNA Staff, Dec 17, 2025 / 17:00 pm (CNA).

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will sign into law an assisted suicide bill that Catholic leaders have ardently opposed, making New York the 13th state to allow the practice. 

Hochul, who called it an “incredibly difficult decision,” said she will sign the bill after lawmakers add some “guardrails.” The bill allows doctors to give terminally ill patients drugs to end their lives. Hochul’s additions to the law include requiring a waiting period, a recorded oral request for death, and a health evaluation. The law will go into effect six months after signing.    

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York and other New York bishops have been outspoken against the legislation, issuing several statements opposing it. In a brief meeting with Hochul over the summer, Dolan urged her not to sign the measure. 

Earlier this month, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law similar assisted suicide legislation. Other jurisdictions that permit assisted suicide include: California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

Hochul, who is a Catholic University of America alumna, said in a Dec. 17 statement that the bill will enable people “to suffer less — to shorten not their lives, but their deaths.”

“New York has long been a beacon of freedom, and now it is time we extend that freedom to terminally ill New Yorkers who want the right to die comfortably and on their own terms,” Hochul said. 

“My mother died of ALS, and I am all too familiar with the pain of seeing someone you love suffer and being powerless to stop it,” she continued. 

In a joint statement, Dolan and the bishops of New York state said they were “extraordinarily troubled” by Hochul’s announcement. 

The bishops say the law endangers the vulnerable, calling assisted suicide “a grave moral evil” that “is in direct conflict with Catholic teaching on the sacredness and dignity of all human life.” 

“This new law signals our government’s abandonment of its most vulnerable citizens, telling people who are sick or disabled that suicide in their case is not only acceptable but is encouraged by our elected leaders,” the Dec. 17 statement said. 

The Patients’ Rights Action Fund, a nonpartisan group that opposes assisted suicide on the grounds that it is inherentaly discriminatory, said that “safeguards” in bills like the one Hochul said she would sign “are falling short” where they exist.

“The amendments added that try to address the serious dangers that come with legalizing assisted suicide do nothing to protect people who deserve care and support from the state and their medical teams,” Matt Vallière, who heads the group, said in a Dec. 17 statement shared with CNA. 

Citing the tragic case of Eileen Mihich, a woman struggling with mental illness who died under the assisted suicide law in Washington state, Vallière said that “it is impossible to prevent abuse of the law in which people not on the verge of dying can utilize assisted suicide.”

“There is no true accountability to protect patients from potential harm, abuse, or coercion,” Vallière continued.

The New York bishops also raised concerns about mental health, saying the law “will seriously undermine” anti-suicide and mental health care efforts made by Hochul. 

“How can any society have credibility to tell young people or people with depression that suicide is never the answer, while at the same time telling elderly and sick people that it is a compassionate choice to be celebrated?” the bishops stated. 

The bishops urged the state to instead invest in palliative care, which is medicine focused on relieving suffering and improving quality of life for people with serious illnesses. 

“We call on Catholics and all New Yorkers to reject physician-assisted suicide for themselves, their loved ones, and those in their care,” the bishops said. “And we pray that our state turns away from its promotion of a culture of death and invest instead in life-affirming, compassionate hospice and palliative care, which is seriously underutilized.”

Vallière also called for better access to palliative care. 

“Gov. Hochul’s statements undermine the importance of hospice and palliative care, which provides the compassionate end-of-life experience for which so many are advocating but is drastically underutilized in New York,” Vallière said. “We need more access to this care, not a fast track to death in the absence of it.”

Church of the National Vow in Bogotá, Colombia. / Credit: Eduardo Berdejo

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 17, 2025 / 16:15 pm (CNA).

The Colombian Senate passed a law on Dec. 15 that recognizes the historical, religious, and cultural value of the Church of the National Vow.