The Church of St. Luke

null / Credit: Rohane Hamilton/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 10, 2025 / 18:00 pm (CNA).

The House passed a defense authorization bill Dec. 10 without a provision to allow health care coverage of in vitro fertilization for active-duty military. 

Pro-life groups cheered the provision’s removal from the bill. The original bill would have required Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “ensure that fertility-related care for a member of the uniformed services on active duty (or a dependent of such a member) shall be covered under TRICARE Prime and TRICARE Select.” Tricare does not cover IVF.

The House passed the bill (S. 1071) by a vote of 312-112, and Senate consideration is next.

Like last year, the IVF provision was eliminated from the defense authorization bill shortly before its consideration. President Donald Trump had made a campaign promise to make IVF free.

A spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson told CNA in a statement that “President Trump and Congressional Republicans have been working to lower costs and expand access to IVF.”

“The Speaker has clearly and repeatedly stated he is supportive of access to IVF when sufficient pro-life protections are in place, and he will continue to be supportive when it is done responsibly and ethically,” the spokesperson said. 

Live Action President Lila Rose praised Johnson for “ensuring TRICARE was not used to subsidize this destruction of life.”

“Students for Life has opposed IVF as practiced, as it's a business model that by design, destroys far more lives than are allowed to live and thrive,” Students for Life Vice President Kristy Hamrick told CNA in a statement responding to Speaker Mike Johnson’s move to strip the bill of IVF provisions. “The move to pull the funding for IVF will free up resources to seek better answers,” she said. 

“Unquestioning financial support props up an industry known to prey on people's hopes for a child while ending many lives. We need to seek better answers for the question of how to help people have families than to assume that IVF is the solution,” she said. “We can do better.” 

The Advancing American Freedom Foundation, which is led by former Vice President Mike Pence, posted a memo on X stating “many pro-life Americans are opposed to IVF because the standard process destroys human embryos.” 

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council reacted to news that IVF would be cut from the bill by praising Johnson, and said in a post on X: “The Speaker is right to put the pause on IVF funding in the Defense spending bill.”

“The IVF industry operates with little, if any, oversight, which has led to the creation and destruction of tens of thousands of so-called ‘excess’ embryos,” he said. “There are other pro-life options. Taxpayers' dollars should fund fertility methods that respect human dignity, treat the underlying causes of infertility, AND are successful—like Restorative Reproductive Medicine.”

Cardinal Baltazar Enrique Porras. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Caracas, Venezuela, Dec 10, 2025 / 16:45 pm (CNA).

On Dec. 10 Venezuelan immigration police confiscated and invalidated the passport of Cardinal Baltazar Porras, the archbishop emeritus of Caracas.

Sister Lucia, visionary of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal. / Credit: Fatima Shrine

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 10, 2025 / 16:22 pm (CNA).

Today, Dec. 10, marks the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to Sister Lucia of Fatima in Pontevedra province in Spain.

Sister Norma Pimentel spoke with the Holy Father at the Oct. 2, 2025 meeting. / Credit: Vatican Media

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 10, 2025 / 16:00 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has suspended Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley from receiving federal funding, according to the charity group.

The Catholic Charities group is the charitable branch of the Diocese of Brownsville and is part of Catholic Charities USA and Caritas Internationalis.

The charity is located in South Texas and operates the Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen. The migrant shelter is run by Sister Norma Pimentel, known popularly as “the immigrants’ nun.” Pimentel and the center offer immigrants awaiting court hearings shelter and food before they travel to meet relatives in other cities and states.

The nonprofit reported in a statement that the organization learned that the government "temporarily suspended” its "eligibility for federal funding pending a further determination." 

“Those on the front lines of our humanitarian outreach know the work we do truly helps to restore human dignity,” Pimentel said in the statement. “I take very seriously every single dollar entrusted to us.”

The organization did not specify exactly what led to the suspension, and reported it is “committed to compliance with federal grant requirements and will work expeditiously with DHS to resolve this matter.”  

“All funding provided by DHS was used to care for individuals who were brought to CCRGV by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP),” the organization said. “These are individuals who were released by CBP with a document that gave them permission to travel to their points of destination with instructions on where to follow up with their immigration proceedings.”

“CCRGV exists for one purpose – to help those in need,” the statement said. “Ours is a humanitarian response aimed at restoring human dignity to the thousands of immigrants who have been offered care, and we are proud of our work feeding the hungry and providing care for those here in our country.”

The suspension applies only to the Catholic charity, but not to Catholic Charities USA or any other branches nationwide. 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment from CNA.

Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, speaks about a sanctions plan to increase pressure on the Nigerian government amid ongoing Christian persecution on Dec. 9, 2025. / Credit: Madalaine Elhabbal/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 10, 2025 / 15:30 pm (CNA).

U.S. President Donald Trump is crafting a sanctions plan to increase pressure on the Nigerian government amid ongoing Christian persecution, according to a leading member of Congress. 

President Trump “ “is in the process of crafting a comprehensive action plan including sanctions to pursue reform,” according to Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, who described Nigeria as “ground zero,” and the “focal point of the most brutal and murderous anti-Christian persecution in the world today.” 

Smith, a Catholic who chairs the house Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights, mentioned the plan during his Dec. 9 speech at “The Emergency Summit on Crimes Against Christians,” organized by For the Martyrs, a nonprofit that aids persecuted Christians. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, and Rep. Marlin Stuzman, R-Indiana, also spoke at the event. 

The veteran New Jersey congressman praised Trump’s designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and affirmed that “Religious freedom will now be at the forefront of the U.S.-Nigeria bilateral relationship.” 

The president can choose from a menu of sanctions for a CPC-designated country under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), ranging from diplomatic measures to economic sanctions. The White House did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

During his remarks, Senator Josh Hawley said Nigeria “has recently drawn global attention and has drawn the attention of our own president.” 

“I applaud President Trump for standing up for persecuted Christians. I applaud the president for putting Nigeria back on the watch list where it belongs,” Hawley said. The Missouri senator quoted the Book of Revelation while praising Christians persecuted around the world, saying: “They love not their lives, even unto death.” 

“We see here in the Lord's own word, his testament to the power of the persecuted church,” Hawley said. “That he says it is those who are persecuted, who are willing to lay down their lives for the Gospel…it is those believers whose blood bears witness to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Stutzman, whose district includes Fort Wayne, Indiana, also condemned the persecution of Christians in Nigeria during his remarks, and praised Trump for being “the strongest president on [religious freedom] since probably Ronald Reagan.” 

“We have a president who's willing to call out those bad guys around the world,” he said. “At the end of the day, I think this is why it's so important for us as Americans, especially for us as Christians. We are the party of life. We believe life is a gift from God. And so therefore, we should protect it. And we should be asking those folks, What is the threat? What is the threat of Christians in Nigeria to the government, to the leaders in that nation? What is the threat of Christians there?”

Trump has charged Rep. Riley Moore, R-West Virginia, with leading an investigation into persecution in Nigeria.

China

Congressman Smith went on to highlight religious persecution in China, saying “Chinese dictator Xi Jinping’s accelerated and brutal crackdown on believers in China must be exposed and stopped as well.” He highlighted the October raids on home churches by Chinese security agents, saying, “in Xi Jinping’s China, devotion that isn’t Communist Party-approved is treated as a political problem to be solved by police brutality.”

“We must act with sanctions, especially those prescribed by the International Religious Freedom Act,” Smith said. 

Hawley also drew attention to persecution in China, where he said “the totalitarian, secularist, anti-Christian government carried out raids on home church after home church.” 

The St. Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square are seen at sunset near the French Quarter in downtown New Orleans on April 10, 2010. / Credit: Graythen/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 10, 2025 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond announced a Sunday Mass dispensation for migrants fearing deportation amid heightened presence of immigration enforcement officials in the state.

“​​As I write to you, our immigrant sisters and brothers are facing real fear and anxiety in the wake of an increase in immigration enforcement actions,” Aymond wrote in a Dec. 8 letter.

Aymond is the fifth U.S. bishop to announce dispensations for Catholic immigrants from Sunday Mass. Bishop Michael Duca of Baton Rouge granted the same dispensation in his diocese earlier this week. Bishops in the dioceses of San Bernardino, California; Nashville, Tennessee; and Charlotte, North Carolina, also granted a dispensation this year.

Aymond’s move comes amid the deployment of 250 Border Patrol agents to the region with plans to arrest 5,000 individuals across Louisiana and Mississippi as a part of the Trump administration’s “Operation Catahoula Crunch.”

“I have been made aware that many of our faithful families have chosen not to leave their homes out of fear of encountering immigration enforcement actions,” Aymond said. “In light of these circumstances, I am granting a dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass for those Catholics rightfully afraid to participate in Mass because of their fear.”

The dispensation, he said, would remain valid until the Catholic individual feels safe to return, or until it is revoked or amended. 

“I encourage those who choose to stay home to gather as a family to spend time in prayer and to perhaps participate virtually in the Celebration of the Eucharist either online or on television,” he continued. “Please continue to pray for our community and for peace as we look ahead with hope to you rejoining us in church and full participation in the Sacraments.”

Aymond emphasized his “prayerful support” of migrants “in the face of these challenging times,” calling on people of faith to join him in prayer for families in the immigrant community, “that we work for real justice and a system that protects and preserves the dignity of the human person and families regardless of where they live or from where they come. “ 

The flag of the European Union. / Credit: U. J. Alexander/Shutterstock

ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 10, 2025 / 12:35 pm (CNA).

Europe's Catholic bishops expressed concern over the Court of Justice of the European Union obliging all member states to recognize same-sex marriage.

Entrance to the building of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal / Credit: Adrian Grycuk / Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0 pl)

EWTN News, Dec 10, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

Poland's top court unanimously bans Communist Party of Poland, ruling it violates Article 13 of the constitution, which prohibits parties promoting totalitarian methods

“For patients with serious disabilities, this law will put us at risk of deadly discrimination," says Daniese McMullin-Powell, a polio survivor who has used a wheelchair for most of her life. / Credit: Institute for Patients' Rights

CNA Staff, Dec 10, 2025 / 06:10 am (CNA).

Several disability and patient advocacy groups filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Delaware on Dec. 8 alleging that Delaware’s new physician-assisted suicide law discriminates against people with disabilities. 

In May 2025, Delaware passed a bill legalizing physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill adults with a prognosis of six months or less to live. The law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2026, allows patients to self-administer lethal medication. 

The 74-page complaint alleges that the new law is unconstitutional under both Delaware and federal law and violates the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, among other challenges.  

Plaintiffs include the Institute for Patients’ Rights; The Freedom Center for Independent Living, Inc., in Middletown; the Delaware chapter of ADAPT; Not Dead Yet; United Spinal Association, the National Council on Independent Living; and disability advocate Sean Curran.

The lawsuit, which names Gov. Matthew Meyer and the Delaware Department of Health and Human Services as two of several defendants, said that “people with life-threatening disabilities” are at “imminent risk” because of Delaware's new law.   

“Throughout the country, a state-endorsed narrative is rapidly spreading that threatens people with disabilities: namely, that people with life-threatening disabilities should be directed to suicide help and not suicide prevention,” the lawsuit read.

“At its core, this is discrimination plain and simple,” the lawsuit continued. “With cuts in healthcare spending at the federal level, persons with life-threatening disabilities are now more vulnerable than ever.”

The lawsuit alleges that, under the new law, people with life-threatening disabilities who express suicidal thoughts will be treated differently than other people who express suicidal thoughts. The new law lacks requirements for mental health screening for depression or other mental illness, “all of which are necessary for informed consent and a truly autonomous choice,” according to the lawsuit. 

Curran, a Delaware resident who has lived with a severe spinal cord injury for 36 years, called the law “repugnant.”

“The act tells people like me that they should qualify for suicide help, not suicide prevention,” said Curran, who is a quadriplegic, meaning he is paralyzed in all four limbs.

"The act devalues people like me," Curran continued in a press release shared with CNA. “I have led a full life despite my disability.” 

Daniese McMullin-Powell, who is representing Delaware ADAPT in the lawsuit, said that the medical system already neglects people with disabilities.  

“We do not need exacerbate its brokenness by adding an element where some patients are steered toward suicide,” said McMullin-Powell, who is a polio survivor and has used a wheelchair for most of her life. 

“For patients with serious disabilities, this law will put us at risk of deadly discrimination from doctors and insurance companies in Delaware to make subjective and speculative judgments based on their perception of our quality of life,” McMullin-Powell said, according to the press release. 

The legal group Ted Kittila of Halloran Farkas + Kittila LLP, who are representing the plaintiffs, called the law “ill-considered” and said it will “cause real harm to people who need real help.”

“For too long, assisted suicide has been pitched as an act of mercy,” the group said in the press release. “For those in the disability community, it represents a real threat of continued discrimination.”  

The office of Gov. Meyer did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The secret to living an authentic life is praying to understand what is truly beneficial according to God's plan and letting go of the superfluous, Pope Leo XIV said.

In fact, death "can be a great teacher of life. To know that it exists, and above all to reflect on it, teaches us to choose what we really want to make of our existence," the pope said Dec. 10 at his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.

"Praying, in order to understand what is beneficial in view of the kingdom of heaven, and letting go of the superfluous that instead binds us to ephemeral things, is the secret to living authentically, in the awareness that our passage on earth prepares us for eternity," he said.

It was the pope's first general audience after returning from his first apostolic trip, a visit to Turkey and Lebanon Nov. 27-Dec. 2. An 82-foot-tall Christmas tree, which arrived Nov. 27 and will be fully decorated and unveiled with the Nativity scene Dec. 15, could be seen near the obelisk in the square. 

Instead of using his general audience talk to recap his trip as had been the custom of his immediate predecessors, the pope did so after reciting the Angelus Dec. 7. At the audience, he continued his series of talks on the Jubilee theme of "Jesus our hope," focusing on "death in the light of the Resurrection."

"Our present culture tends to fear death and seeks to avoid thinking about it, even turning to medicine and science in search of immortality," Pope Leo said in his English-language remarks.

However, Jesus' victory of passing from death to life with his Resurrection "illuminates our own mortality, reminding us that death is not the end, but a passing from this life into eternity," he said. "Therefore, death is not something to be feared, but rather a moment to prepare for."

"It is an invitation to examine our lives and so live in such a way that we may one day share not only in the death of Christ, but also in the joy of eternal life," the pope said.

"The event of the Resurrection of Christ reveals to us that death is not opposed to life, but rather is a constitutive part of it, as the passage to eternal life," he said in his main catechesis in Italian.

"He has prepared for us the place of eternal rest, the home where we are awaited; he has given us the fullness of life in which there are no longer any shadows and contradictions," Pope Leo said.

Awaiting death "with the sure hope of the Resurrection preserves us from the fear of disappearing forever and prepares us for the joy of life without end," he said. 

Pope Leo: Do not fear death!

A look at Pope Leo's general audience Dec. 10, 2025. (CNS video/Robert Duncan)