The Church of St. Luke

Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Ill., mother church of the Archdiocese of Chicago. / Credit: Edlane De Mattos/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Apr 16, 2025 / 13:28 pm (CNA).

The Archdiocese of Chicago has reinstated a priest to full ministry after a monthslong investigation into child sexual abuse allegations against him. 

The archdiocese said in January that it had removed Father Matthew Foley from ministry after claims of abuse dating to around 30 years ago. 

Officials said at the time that civil authorities would investigate the allegations, after which the archdiocese would conduct its own inquiry. Foley “strenuously” denied the allegations at the time. 

On Monday, Cardinal Blase Cupich said in letters to parishioners at multiple parishes that the archdiocesan independent review board had completed its investigation into the allegations. Foley “fully complied” with the investigation, Cupich said. 

“After receiving the results of the thorough investigation, the [review board] today determined that there is no reasonable cause to believe Father Foley sexually abused the person making the accusation,” Cupich said. 

The board “recommended that Father Foley be reinstated to ministry and that the file be closed,” Cupich noted, adding that he “accepted their recommendation effectively immediately.”

In January, at the same time it announced the allegations against Foley, the archdiocese said it was also removing Father Henry Kricek from active ministry due to similar allegations. 

The accusations against Kricek involved alleged abuse that occurred “approximately 40 years ago,” the archdiocese said at the time. 

No decision on Kricek had been announced by the archdiocese as of Wednesday morning. 

Ordained in 1989, Foley is known for having befriended future actor Chris Farley at Marquette University in the early 1980s. He would ultimately preside over Farley’s funeral in 1997. 

The priest was the namesake for one of Farley’s most famous characters, “Matt Foley,” who was featured in several “Saturday Night Live” sketches prior to Farley’s death.

Father Paul Murphy exits the Central Criminal Court in Dublin on Thursday, April 10, 2025, after giving a victim impact statement in a sentencing hearing for a boy who stabbed him. / Credit: Press Association via AP Images

Dublin, Ireland, Apr 16, 2025 / 12:26 pm (CNA).

The attack occurred on Aug. 15, 2024, as the priest returned to his barracks in Renvyle in Ireland after an evening swim.

American historian and Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts (right) speaks with "EWTN News Nightly" anchor Erik Rosales on April 15, 2025. / Credit: "EWTN News Nightly"/screenshot

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 16, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts is calling on Americans to become more open about their faith as a means to “revitalizing” religious belief in the United States. 

“I think it’s important, as we are on the brink of Easter during Holy Week, to encourage people of all faiths, whether they’re Christians like me or Jews or Muslims, to speak about their faith,” said Roberts during a Tuesday appearance on “EWTN News Nightly.”

“This is an opportunity here in the United States, not just for political and policymaking success, but more importantly, for the revitalization of our faith as individuals and also as a country,” he said. 

Earlier this week Roberts penned an op-ed for the Daily Signal in which the former Wyoming Catholic College president highlighted “the distinct importance that America’s Founding Fathers placed on Christianity, particularly Our Lord’s passion and resurrection.” 

Roberts in that op-ed called for the return of religious practice to the public sphere. 

“As Christians around the country reflect on that same story this Easter, we should resolve to transform our gratitude — for the political freedoms that our Founding Fathers fought for and the spiritual freedom that Christ died for — into action,” he wrote. 

On Tuesday, meanwhile, Roberts told EWTN News Capitol Hill Correspondent Erik Rosales that President Donald Trump has “done two things exceptionally well thus far.”

“The first is he’s been unabashed about speaking about America’s religious roots,” he said. “The second thing that he’s done — and it’s both in the State Department and across the administration and other agencies — is end the Obama-Biden-era practice of running roughshod over religious liberty.”

“It’s not that we want to establish one particular religion as the official one,” he said. “It’s that we, just as people of faith, want to be able to do more than just have private religious thoughts. We actually want to live out our faith in the public square.”

Roberts insisted that for America to experience a true “cultural awakening,” it must be willing to practice religion publicly. 

“That awakening is not going to come from politics and policy, it’s going to come from each of us,” he said. “We can make [politicians’] jobs easier as it relates to policymaking if we live out our respective faiths with zeal, with a real passion, with a persuasiveness to bring people to the truth.”

Ultimately, he said, the “golden age of America” will not be ushered in merely by economic policies or by reforming Washington.

“Most importantly, it’s going to be because each of us plays a role in revitalizing the religious institutions in our lives and our communities,” he said.

Credit: iweta0077/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 16, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A new initiative is trying to shift the narrative on the Catholic priesthood by shining light on stories of heroic virtue, courage, and selfless acts from modern-day priests and bishops in an effort to strengthen the appeal of the vocation.

The Philadelphia-based nonprofit International Institute for Culture (IIC) launched the first pillar of its “Shepherding Future Shepherds” program, which is the creation of ThankAPriest.com. It showcases positive stories with the hope of inspiring young Catholic men to consider vocations to the priesthood.

“By sharing stories of priestly heroism and compassion, we hope to inspire young men to recognize the priesthood as a profound and fulfilling vocation,” IIC President John M. Haas said in a statement.

“Our goal is to bring to light the countless untold stories of the good and virtuous work priests do every day,” he added. “This effort is critical not only to restoring confidence in the priesthood but also to inspiring future vocations.”

An IIC news release notes that the number of active Catholic priests globally has dropped from about 60,000 to only 35,000 from 1970 to 2020, even though the number of Catholics has risen by 20 million people within that time frame. 

The nonprofit warned that within the next five years, some regions will only have one priest for every 6,000 Catholics.

Matthew Haas, the project director of the initiative and son of the IIC president, told CNA the drop in overall priests is further complicated by the average age of priests increasing.

“In the next 10 years, 20 years, we’re going to see a dramatic dropoff of priests who are able to remain active,” he said.

Our culture “is becoming more secular, just overall,” he noted, but the declining trend in priests is more severe.

“It’s not a 1:1 ratio that would explain the priesthood,” Haas said. He argued there is a negative perception about the priesthood among many young people rooted in Church scandals but that those scandals reflect a “very small group of people — bad actors.”

Haas added that a major part of the initiative is to “start changing perception” because there are “so many good priests doing noble, heroic … things.”

“We’re sharing all kinds of stories, but one of the things we want to make sure we’re doing is there’s going to be a wide representation,” he added.

The heroism of Bishop Christian Carlassare

The first profile on ThankAPriest.com tells the story of Bishop Christian Carlassare, who was the bishop of the Diocese of Rumbek in South Sudan and is now the bishop of the Diocese of Bentiu in the same country.

Carlassare was shot by two unknown assailants when he was bishop-elect of Rumbek.

“Two gunmen broke into his house during the night, burst into his bedroom, and shot him several times,” the profile notes. “There was speculation it was a targeted assault. Bishop Carlassare sustained numerous gunshot wounds to his legs, but miraculously none of the injuries were life threatening.”

The profile shares the message to his diocese that Carlassare recorded while in the hospital in Nairobi, Kenya, in which he tells them: “I want you to be at peace, to know that I’m well here in the hospital.” 

“I’m being taken care [of] and I’m improving,” he said. “It will take some time for my legs to be able again to walk, but I assure you that I will be back and I will be with you. Please let us be united in prayer, let us be united with all our hearts to uphold forgiveness in our community and be able to seek for justice with the same heart of God. It is a merciful heart.”

Carlassare, who is a native of Italy, spent months in his home country to rehabilitate himself before returning to serve his diocese in the East African nation. On his decision to return to the diocese, the bishop said: “I clearly could not turn my back to this call … and abandon the sheep when witnessing Christ becomes demanding.”

The profile notes that Carlassare hoped his return would signal “reconciliation, forgiveness, and new beginnings,” which is “a message that defines his ministry, and one he hopes to share with the divided nation.”

Prior to his appointment as a bishop, Carlassare served the Church as a missionary priest with the Comboni Missionaries religious order. He served South Sudan as a missionary priest for 15 years before his appointment.

Matthew Haas told CNA there are many priests “putting their lives … at risk in some instances to serve God” and it’s important to tell the stories of “these men [who] are holy and serving the Church and trying to do good things,” expressing hope that “people see them as role models” and “aspire to live a life like that.”

The organization is also requesting that people share stories of priests who are living heroic and virtuous lives through their vocation.

Next steps for the initiative

The launching of the website represents the first pillar of the initiative, which intends to “elevate” the priesthood within society. The other three pillars are: educate, engage, and embark.

Matthew Haas told CNA that the second pillar, “educate,” will likely be launched this year and is designed to be “really reaching out, specifically to young men.” This will include efforts to show people the different roles priests can have and the distinctions between priests, deacons, brothers, and monks.

“We believe God has a calling for everyone,” he said. 

The third pillar, “engage,” is also supposed to be launched later this year and is designed to help young men navigate the discernment process and connect them to resources to help in that decision-making process, according to Haas. 

The fourth pillar, “embark,” is scheduled to begin in early 2026. This part is meant to provide the help of spiritual guidance. Haas said most men who enter the seminary “had either a spiritual director or a guide who helped them through the discernment process.”

“The work we’re doing now is laying the foundation for these priests who are going to be available in the next decade,” Matthew Haas added.

He noted that the discernment process and the priest formation process can take up to a decade to complete, which is why it’s “urgent to start now.”

“It will help to reverse the trend of secularism by bringing in new and young priests to help serve our Church,” he said.

The Catholic Church in France will welcome a record number of adults into the faith in 2025, with particularly strong growth in the numbers of young adults and teenagers, according to newly released statistics from the country’s Conference of Bishops (CEF). / Credit: French Bishops’ Conference

Paris, France, Apr 16, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The Catholic Church in France will welcome a record number of adults into the faith this weekend with strong growth in the numbers of young adults and teenagers.

Nicaraguan Vice President Rosario Murillo and her husband, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. / Credit: Inti Ocon/AFP via Getty Images

ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 15, 2025 / 15:28 pm (CNA).

According to Confidencial newspaper, the dictatorship is supposedly deploying 14,000 police officers to prevent processions during Holy Week in Nicaragua.

Father Antonio Aurelio is vicar general of the Trinitarian order. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Rome Newsroom, Apr 15, 2025 / 14:26 pm (CNA).

The Trinitarian order was founded at the end of the 12th century to free persecuted Christians. Today, it continues to quietly and humbly assist those persecuted for their faith.

The Diocese of Westminster, which includes much of the capital city London, said it had 252 catechumens and over 250 candidates, making a total of over 500 to be received into the Catholic Church at Easter — the most seen since 2018. / Credit: Diocese of Westminster

London, England, Apr 14, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Almost all English dioceses reported a significant increase in both catechumens and candidates at the Rite of Election at the start of Lent this year.

The choir, clergy and guests stand during the ceremony to mark the reopening of Notre-Dame of Paris Cathedral on Dec. 7, 2024, in Paris. / Credit: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images for Notre-Dame de Paris

CNA Newsroom, Apr 12, 2025 / 11:30 am (CNA).

The French Catholic Church will welcome more than 10,384 adult converts at Easter baptisms this year, marking a 45% increase from 2024.

The exterior of St. Barnabas Cathedral in Nottingham. / Credit: Diocese of Nottingham/Luke Potter

Nottingham, England, Apr 12, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Nottingham’s St. Barnabas Cathedral in England has been awarded an approximately $2.2 million grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for restoration.