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Sister Raffaella Petrini appointed president of Vatican governorate
Posted on 02/15/2025 11:15 AM (CNA Daily News)

CNA Newsroom, Feb 15, 2025 / 07:15 am (CNA).
Pope Francis has appointed Sister Raffaella Petrini, FSE, as president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, the Vatican announced Saturday.
According to the Feb. 15 bulletin from the Holy See Press Office, Petrini will assume her new roles on March 1. She succeeds Cardinal Fernando Vérgez in both positions.
Petrini, who has served as secretary-general of the same governorate since November 2021, brings significant academic and administrative experience to her new role. Born in Rome on Jan. 15, 1969, she holds a degree in political science from the Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Guido Carli and a doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, where she currently serves as a professor.
Before her appointment to the governorate, Petrini worked at the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples from 2005 to 2021.
This appointment follows Pope Francis‘ recent selection of Sister Simona Brambilla as prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, marking a continuing trend of women being appointed to senior Vatican leadership positions.
During a recent television interview, the pope had previously indicated his intention to promote Petrini.
Sister Raffaella Petrini appointed president of Vatican governorate
Posted on 02/15/2025 11:15 AM (CNA Daily News - Vatican)

CNA Newsroom, Feb 15, 2025 / 07:15 am (CNA).
Pope Francis has appointed Sister Raffaella Petrini, FSE, as president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, the Vatican announced Saturday.
According to the Feb. 15 bulletin from the Holy See Press Office, Petrini will assume her new roles on March 1. She succeeds Cardinal Fernando Vérgez in both positions.
Petrini, who has served as secretary-general of the same governorate since November 2021, brings significant academic and administrative experience to her new role. Born in Rome on Jan. 15, 1969, she holds a degree in political science from the Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Guido Carli and a doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, where she currently serves as a professor.
Before her appointment to the governorate, Petrini worked at the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples from 2005 to 2021.
This appointment follows Pope Francis‘ recent selection of Sister Simona Brambilla as prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, marking a continuing trend of women being appointed to senior Vatican leadership positions.
During a recent television interview, the pope had previously indicated his intention to promote Petrini.
Ecumenical initiative calls for unity to celebrate Easter together
Posted on 02/15/2025 11:00 AM (CNA Daily News)

Vatican City, Feb 15, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
The First Ecumenical Council, the meeting of Christian bishops that was held in 325 in Nicaea (today İznik, Turkey), laid the groundwork for reaching consensus within the Church through an assembly representing all of Christendom.
This event marked a key moment in the history of Christianity, 17 centuries ago this year, in which, among other decisions, the way of calculating the date of Easter was established.
However, over the centuries, changes to the calendar resulted in discrepancies between the Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox churches, differences that still persist. While Latin-rite Catholics follow the Gregorian calendar, in the East the tradition of calculating liturgical dates according to the Julian calendar has been maintained.
The difficulties of changing the calendar
“The process of changing the calendar, which began in 1582 with Pope Gregory and was completed to a certain extent in 1923 with the adoption of the new calendar by some Orthodox churches, was not without difficulties,” Kostas Mygdalis, consultant to the Orthodox Interparliamentary Assembly (IOA), explained in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.
“It provoked controversies among the faithful and between the churches and state authorities, consolidating polarizing divisions” that still persist, he added.
Mygdalis is also one of the key figures of the interfaith working group Pasqua (Easter) Together 2025, which seeks to promote the common celebration of Easter between Orthodox and Catholics.
Last September, Pope Francis received the members of this ecumenical initiative and expressed his desire to agree on a common date for the celebration of Easter between Catholics and Orthodox.
Interestingly, this year both Easters — Catholic and Orthodox — fall on the same date, April 20, due to the alignment of the Julian (used by the Orthodox) and Gregorian (followed by Catholics and other Christian denominations) calendars.
A step toward Christian unity
For Mygdalis, the joint celebration of Easter in 2025 should not be seen as just a calendar agreement but as an opportunity to place Christ at the center of the Christian faith.
“The time has come to make a strong appeal to the churches to unify the date of Easter,” he said.
He also emphasized that the central message must be the need for unity in the world: “The world needs unity. A common date for Easter is a step toward this unity.”
However, he noted that “the administrative structures of the churches, composed almost exclusively of clerics, seem reluctant to address this issue, perhaps for fear of creating new extremism and divisions in a world already facing multiple challenges.”
He also pointed out that “dialogue between Christian churches is moving so slowly that, for ordinary faithful, it seems a fruitless process.”
For Mygdalis, the effort to celebrate the resurrection of Christ together must be part of a “pilgrimage of reconciliation and unity” that will continue beyond 2025. He emphasized that the importance of the Resurrection is not only theological but also existential: “Without the Resurrection, all the suffering in the world is absurd.”
A mandate for unity from Nicaea
“The celebration of Easter on a common date is not only necessary but a mandate for unity established by the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, whose 1,700th anniversary we commemorate this year,” he emphasized.
“Through the Pasqua Together 2025 initiative, we seek to demand that the churches comply with what was established by the Council of Nicaea: to celebrate together the resurrection of Christ, the pillar of the Christian faith. It is unacceptable that this division should continue,” he pointed out.
Toward the jubilee of 2033
Beyond Easter 2025, the JC2033 initiative was also mentioned, which proposes an ecumenical journey toward the year 2033, when the 2,000th anniversary of the resurrection of Christ will be celebrated. It is suggested that the date of Easter for Orthodox and Catholics coinciding in 2025 could be a first step toward greater unity on the occasion of this historic celebration.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Ecumenical initiative calls for unity to celebrate Easter together
Posted on 02/15/2025 11:00 AM (CNA Daily News - Vatican)

Vatican City, Feb 15, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
The First Ecumenical Council, the meeting of Christian bishops that was held in 325 in Nicaea (today İznik, Turkey), laid the groundwork for reaching consensus within the Church through an assembly representing all of Christendom.
This event marked a key moment in the history of Christianity, 17 centuries ago this year, in which, among other decisions, the way of calculating the date of Easter was established.
However, over the centuries, changes to the calendar resulted in discrepancies between the Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox churches, differences that still persist. While Latin-rite Catholics follow the Gregorian calendar, in the East the tradition of calculating liturgical dates according to the Julian calendar has been maintained.
The difficulties of changing the calendar
“The process of changing the calendar, which began in 1582 with Pope Gregory and was completed to a certain extent in 1923 with the adoption of the new calendar by some Orthodox churches, was not without difficulties,” Kostas Mygdalis, consultant to the Orthodox Interparliamentary Assembly (IOA), explained in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.
“It provoked controversies among the faithful and between the churches and state authorities, consolidating polarizing divisions” that still persist, he added.
Mygdalis is also one of the key figures of the interfaith working group Pasqua (Easter) Together 2025, which seeks to promote the common celebration of Easter between Orthodox and Catholics.
Last September, Pope Francis received the members of this ecumenical initiative and expressed his desire to agree on a common date for the celebration of Easter between Catholics and Orthodox.
Interestingly, this year both Easters — Catholic and Orthodox — fall on the same date, April 20, due to the alignment of the Julian (used by the Orthodox) and Gregorian (followed by Catholics and other Christian denominations) calendars.
A step toward Christian unity
For Mygdalis, the joint celebration of Easter in 2025 should not be seen as just a calendar agreement but as an opportunity to place Christ at the center of the Christian faith.
“The time has come to make a strong appeal to the churches to unify the date of Easter,” he said.
He also emphasized that the central message must be the need for unity in the world: “The world needs unity. A common date for Easter is a step toward this unity.”
However, he noted that “the administrative structures of the churches, composed almost exclusively of clerics, seem reluctant to address this issue, perhaps for fear of creating new extremism and divisions in a world already facing multiple challenges.”
He also pointed out that “dialogue between Christian churches is moving so slowly that, for ordinary faithful, it seems a fruitless process.”
For Mygdalis, the effort to celebrate the resurrection of Christ together must be part of a “pilgrimage of reconciliation and unity” that will continue beyond 2025. He emphasized that the importance of the Resurrection is not only theological but also existential: “Without the Resurrection, all the suffering in the world is absurd.”
A mandate for unity from Nicaea
“The celebration of Easter on a common date is not only necessary but a mandate for unity established by the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, whose 1,700th anniversary we commemorate this year,” he emphasized.
“Through the Pasqua Together 2025 initiative, we seek to demand that the churches comply with what was established by the Council of Nicaea: to celebrate together the resurrection of Christ, the pillar of the Christian faith. It is unacceptable that this division should continue,” he pointed out.
Toward the jubilee of 2033
Beyond Easter 2025, the JC2033 initiative was also mentioned, which proposes an ecumenical journey toward the year 2033, when the 2,000th anniversary of the resurrection of Christ will be celebrated. It is suggested that the date of Easter for Orthodox and Catholics coinciding in 2025 could be a first step toward greater unity on the occasion of this historic celebration.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
A new generation of saints? 6 millennials on the road to canonization
Posted on 02/15/2025 10:00 AM (CNA Daily News - Vatican)

ACI Prensa Staff, Feb 15, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Six young people who lived with deep faith and committed their lives to the Church that Jesus founded are on their way to being proclaimed saints, with most of them currently on the path to beatification.
From Carlo Acutis, the “cyber apostle of the Eucharist,” to Akash Bashir, Pakistan’s first servant of God who gave his life protecting the faithful from a suicide bomber, these witnesses challenge the idea that holiness is simply a thing of the past.
Below is a brief sketch of these young millennials — those born between 1981 and 1996 — who followed Jesus with all their hearts and today are a source of inspiration to new generations.
1. Pierangelo Capuzzimati

The Servant of God Pierangelo Capuzzimati was a young Italian who from the age of 14 suffered from leukemia but lived with strong faith and a deep trust in God. He was born in Taranto, Italy, in 1990 and grew up in a peaceful environment with his family in Faggiano.
His illness, far from plunging him into despair, led him to intensify his spiritual life, devoting his time to prayer, study, and contemplation of the beauty of creation.
An admirer of the thought of the saints and with a great passion for the history of the Church, his testimony of serenity and dedication left an indelible mark on those who knew him. He died on April 30, 2008, at the age of 17 with the conviction that his suffering was a gift from the Lord.
On April 26, 2018, the Holy See granted the “nihil obstat” (“nothing stands in the way”) for the opening of his cause for beatification, and on Jan. 20, 2024, the diocesan phase of the process concluded after an exhaustive collection of testimonies and documents about his life and virtues.
All the documentation will now be sent to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, where it will be evaluated by theologians and historians. If his heroic virtues are recognized, Capuzzimati will be declared venerable, which will mark a new step on his path to sainthood.
2. Sister Clare Crockett

Sister Clare Crockett was a young woman who left a promising career in movies and television to dedicate herself to God as a religious in the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother.
Clare was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1982 and although she seemed to be heading toward a life in the arts, an encounter with Christ during a retreat changed her destiny. She felt God’s call, entering the congregation in 2001, and took her perpetual vows in 2010. Her life was marked by a joyful spirit, a total dedication to others, and a testimony of faith that impacted many. She died on April 16, 2016, during an earthquake in Ecuador while helping her students at a community school in Playa Prieta.
Following the 2023 granting of the “nihil obstat” by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the diocesan phase of the cause for her beatification was officially opened on Jan. 12, 2025, in Alcalá de Henares, Spain. Since her passing, there have been numerous testimonies reporting graces and conversions attributed to her intercession, including religious vocations and possible miracles. The ecclesiastical tribunal is now investigating her life and heroic virtues, a key step on the path to her possible beatification.
3. Matteo Farina

Matteo Farina was a young Italian born in 1990 in Brindisi. Inspired from a very young age by St. Francis and St. Padre Pio, he developed an intense spiritual life with a great devotion for the Eucharist and for praying a daily rosary.
From the age of 9, he felt the call to evangelize, seeking to influence his peers. At age 13, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which did not weaken his faith but strengthened it. During the six years that his illness lasted, he accepted suffering with love, offering his pain for others and living with joy and hope until his death on April 24, 2009.
The witness of his holiness led the Church to initiate his cause for beatification. On May 5, 2020, Pope Francis recognized his heroic virtues, declaring him venerable. Currently, the Church is investigating possible miracles attributed to his intercession, which would allow the process of beatification to advance.
4. Helena Agnieszka Kmieć

Helena Agnieszka Kmiec was a young Polish missionary born in 1991 in Krakow and raised in a home of deep faith. From a young age, she showed a strong love for Jesus, attending Mass almost daily and devoting herself to service. During her university studies at the Silesia University of Technology, she joined the Salvator Missionary Volunteer Service, serving in missions in Hungary, Zambia, and Romania. She especially dedicated herself to children and young people in vulnerable situations.
In 2017, Helena traveled to Bolivia to help out at a school in Cochabamba, where, just a few weeks after her arrival, she was murdered during an attempted robbery.
After her death, her reputation for holiness became more well known, inspired by her life of dedication to God and her missionary service. In April 2024, the archbishop of Krakow announced the opening of her cause for beatification after receiving approval from the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. Currently, the Church is investigating her life and witness in the process that could lead to her being declared blessed.
5. Akash Bashir

Akash Bashir was a young Pakistani and former Salesian student who gave his life to protect hundreds of faithful at St. John’s Church in Lahore.
On March 15, 2015, when he was just 20 years old, he prevented a suicide bomber from entering the church during Sunday Mass, holding him tightly and saying: “I will die, but I will not let you into the church.” The attacker detonated the bomb and both died.
Bashir’s sacrifice prevented a massacre and his unwavering faith has made him a symbol of hope for the Christian community in Pakistan — a country where the faithful suffer constant persecution.
On Jan. 31, 2022, Pope Francis proclaimed him a servant of God. Two years later, on March 15, 2024, the diocesan phase of the process was concluded at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Lahore. All the documentation has now been sent to the Vatican for evaluation. If the pope approves the decree of martyrdom, Bashir will be beatified without the need for a miracle. If this recognition occurs, he would become Pakistan’s first “blessed.”
6. Carlo Acutis

Carlo Acutis was a young Italian born in 1991 who, despite his short life, left a profound legacy of love for the Eucharist. Known as the “cyber apostle of the Eucharist,” Carlo used his computer skills to evangelize, creating a digital exhibit of Eucharistic miracles.
From childhood, Carlo showed a special devotion to the Mass as well as praying the rosary. When he was diagnosed with leukemia in 2006, he offered his sufferings “for the Lord, the pope, and the Church.” He died on Oct. 12 of that same year and was buried in Assisi, following his desire to be close to St. Francis.
His path to sainthood progressed quickly. He was declared venerable in 2018 and blessed in 2020 after the approval of a first miracle.
On May 23, 2024, Pope Francis recognized a second miracle, which occurred in Florence, where a young Costa Rican woman miraculously recovered from a serious accident. Carlo is scheduled to be canonized during the Jubilee of Teenagers in April, becoming the first millennial saint and a model of holiness for young people in the digital age.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
A new generation of saints? 6 millennials on the road to canonization
Posted on 02/15/2025 10:00 AM (CNA Daily News)

ACI Prensa Staff, Feb 15, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Six young people who lived with deep faith and committed their lives to the Church that Jesus founded are on their way to being proclaimed saints, with most of them currently on the path to beatification.
From Carlo Acutis, the “cyber apostle of the Eucharist,” to Akash Bashir, Pakistan’s first servant of God who gave his life protecting the faithful from a suicide bomber, these witnesses challenge the idea that holiness is simply a thing of the past.
Below is a brief sketch of these young millennials — those born between 1981 and 1996 — who followed Jesus with all their hearts and today are a source of inspiration to new generations.
1. Pierangelo Capuzzimati

The Servant of God Pierangelo Capuzzimati was a young Italian who from the age of 14 suffered from leukemia but lived with strong faith and a deep trust in God. He was born in Taranto, Italy, in 1990 and grew up in a peaceful environment with his family in Faggiano.
His illness, far from plunging him into despair, led him to intensify his spiritual life, devoting his time to prayer, study, and contemplation of the beauty of creation.
An admirer of the thought of the saints and with a great passion for the history of the Church, his testimony of serenity and dedication left an indelible mark on those who knew him. He died on April 30, 2008, at the age of 17 with the conviction that his suffering was a gift from the Lord.
On April 26, 2018, the Holy See granted the “nihil obstat” (“nothing stands in the way”) for the opening of his cause for beatification, and on Jan. 20, 2024, the diocesan phase of the process concluded after an exhaustive collection of testimonies and documents about his life and virtues.
All the documentation will now be sent to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, where it will be evaluated by theologians and historians. If his heroic virtues are recognized, Capuzzimati will be declared venerable, which will mark a new step on his path to sainthood.
2. Sister Clare Crockett

Sister Clare Crockett was a young woman who left a promising career in movies and television to dedicate herself to God as a religious in the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother.
Clare was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1982 and although she seemed to be heading toward a life in the arts, an encounter with Christ during a retreat changed her destiny. She felt God’s call, entering the congregation in 2001, and took her perpetual vows in 2010. Her life was marked by a joyful spirit, a total dedication to others, and a testimony of faith that impacted many. She died on April 16, 2016, during an earthquake in Ecuador while helping her students at a community school in Playa Prieta.
Following the 2023 granting of the “nihil obstat” by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the diocesan phase of the cause for her beatification was officially opened on Jan. 12, 2025, in Alcalá de Henares, Spain. Since her passing, there have been numerous testimonies reporting graces and conversions attributed to her intercession, including religious vocations and possible miracles. The ecclesiastical tribunal is now investigating her life and heroic virtues, a key step on the path to her possible beatification.
3. Matteo Farina

Matteo Farina was a young Italian born in 1990 in Brindisi. Inspired from a very young age by St. Francis and St. Padre Pio, he developed an intense spiritual life with a great devotion for the Eucharist and for praying a daily rosary.
From the age of 9, he felt the call to evangelize, seeking to influence his peers. At age 13, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which did not weaken his faith but strengthened it. During the six years that his illness lasted, he accepted suffering with love, offering his pain for others and living with joy and hope until his death on April 24, 2009.
The witness of his holiness led the Church to initiate his cause for beatification. On May 5, 2020, Pope Francis recognized his heroic virtues, declaring him venerable. Currently, the Church is investigating possible miracles attributed to his intercession, which would allow the process of beatification to advance.
4. Helena Agnieszka Kmieć

Helena Agnieszka Kmiec was a young Polish missionary born in 1991 in Krakow and raised in a home of deep faith. From a young age, she showed a strong love for Jesus, attending Mass almost daily and devoting herself to service. During her university studies at the Silesia University of Technology, she joined the Salvator Missionary Volunteer Service, serving in missions in Hungary, Zambia, and Romania. She especially dedicated herself to children and young people in vulnerable situations.
In 2017, Helena traveled to Bolivia to help out at a school in Cochabamba, where, just a few weeks after her arrival, she was murdered during an attempted robbery.
After her death, her reputation for holiness became more well known, inspired by her life of dedication to God and her missionary service. In April 2024, the archbishop of Krakow announced the opening of her cause for beatification after receiving approval from the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. Currently, the Church is investigating her life and witness in the process that could lead to her being declared blessed.
5. Akash Bashir

Akash Bashir was a young Pakistani and former Salesian student who gave his life to protect hundreds of faithful at St. John’s Church in Lahore.
On March 15, 2015, when he was just 20 years old, he prevented a suicide bomber from entering the church during Sunday Mass, holding him tightly and saying: “I will die, but I will not let you into the church.” The attacker detonated the bomb and both died.
Bashir’s sacrifice prevented a massacre and his unwavering faith has made him a symbol of hope for the Christian community in Pakistan — a country where the faithful suffer constant persecution.
On Jan. 31, 2022, Pope Francis proclaimed him a servant of God. Two years later, on March 15, 2024, the diocesan phase of the process was concluded at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Lahore. All the documentation has now been sent to the Vatican for evaluation. If the pope approves the decree of martyrdom, Bashir will be beatified without the need for a miracle. If this recognition occurs, he would become Pakistan’s first “blessed.”
6. Carlo Acutis

Carlo Acutis was a young Italian born in 1991 who, despite his short life, left a profound legacy of love for the Eucharist. Known as the “cyber apostle of the Eucharist,” Carlo used his computer skills to evangelize, creating a digital exhibit of Eucharistic miracles.
From childhood, Carlo showed a special devotion to the Mass as well as praying the rosary. When he was diagnosed with leukemia in 2006, he offered his sufferings “for the Lord, the pope, and the Church.” He died on Oct. 12 of that same year and was buried in Assisi, following his desire to be close to St. Francis.
His path to sainthood progressed quickly. He was declared venerable in 2018 and blessed in 2020 after the approval of a first miracle.
On May 23, 2024, Pope Francis recognized a second miracle, which occurred in Florence, where a young Costa Rican woman miraculously recovered from a serious accident. Carlo is scheduled to be canonized during the Jubilee of Teenagers in April, becoming the first millennial saint and a model of holiness for young people in the digital age.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Pope Francis ‘peaceful’ after first night in Rome hospital
Posted on 02/15/2025 09:53 AM (CNA Daily News - Vatican)

CNA Newsroom, Feb 15, 2025 / 05:53 am (CNA).
Pope Francis had a “peaceful night” and read several newspapers Saturday morning following his admission to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital for bronchitis, according to the Vatican.
“The Holy Father had a good night’s sleep. This morning he had breakfast and read several newspapers,” Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, told journalists Feb. 15.
“Medical assessments and necessary treatments are continuing.”
The 88-year-old pontiff was admitted to the Gemelli Polyclinic Friday morning during meetings with several people, including Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico. According to the Vatican, initial examinations revealed a respiratory tract infection with mild fever.
A medical update from the hospital is expected later on Saturday.
The Vatican has cleared the pope’s schedule through at least Feb. 17, canceling several appointments, including a jubilee audience planned for Saturday and a meeting with artists at Rome’s historic Cinecittà film studios scheduled for Monday.
Marco Mancini contributed to this report.
Pope Francis ‘peaceful’ after first night in Rome hospital
Posted on 02/15/2025 09:53 AM (CNA Daily News)

CNA Newsroom, Feb 15, 2025 / 05:53 am (CNA).
Pope Francis had a “peaceful night” and read several newspapers Saturday morning following his admission to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital for bronchitis, according to the Vatican.
“The Holy Father had a good night’s sleep. This morning he had breakfast and read several newspapers,” Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, told journalists Feb. 15.
“Medical assessments and necessary treatments are continuing.”
The 88-year-old pontiff was admitted to the Gemelli Polyclinic Friday morning during meetings with several people, including Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico. According to the Vatican, initial examinations revealed a respiratory tract infection with mild fever.
A medical update from the hospital is expected later on Saturday.
The Vatican has cleared the pope’s schedule through at least Feb. 17, canceling several appointments, including a jubilee audience planned for Saturday and a meeting with artists at Rome’s historic Cinecittà film studios scheduled for Monday.
Marco Mancini contributed to this report.
Eden Invitation founder: Chastity helps us view people as ‘worthy of reverence and dignity’
Posted on 02/14/2025 23:00 PM (CNA Daily News)

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 14, 2025 / 19:00 pm (CNA).
A Catholic ministry called Eden Invitation is working to “create space to receive the whole person” for people with LGBTQ+ experiences. Founders Anna Carter and Shannon Ochoa said they started the organization to form a community of Christians who want to stay close to God and their faith but experience discord in their desires and attractions.
Carter, the ministry’s president, explained in a Valentine’s Day “EWTN News Nightly” interview that these experiences don’t need to be “a cause for shame” but rather can be “an invitation to surrender more deeply to Jesus in your life.”
“I recognized in high school that I experienced attraction to other women. But I also was really into youth group and had these beautiful experiences of prayer and community, and I knew that the Church was home.”
Carter said she realized, “OK, this isn’t really going away.” So she asked herself: “How do I work this out? What does discipleship look like? What does friendship look like? What does vocation look like in the midst of all of this?”
She said Eden Invitation flowed out of that, “really trying to create community for other people wrestling with sexuality and gender in the Church and world today.”
The group now operates across the nation with members who describe themselves as “disciples with LGBTQ+ experiences, building community with others who desire a way of life in congruence with Christ and his Church.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines chastity as “the successful integration of sexuality within the person and thus the inner unity of man in his bodily and spiritual being.”
Carter commented on this definition and the act of being chaste, saying that we need an “awareness of our body and soul and the reality that has for our sexual relationships.”
“Also, I think being aware of these places where we do experience discord and desires, being honest about that, and bringing all of that to God,” she added.
During her “EWTN News Nightly” interview, Carter was asked what her response is to young adults questioning their attractions and desires.
“To have increased vulnerability in some of your close relationships, and that this doesn’t have to actually be an obstacle to your holiness, but maybe this is actually a means that Jesus is inviting you to keep surrendering to him and just continuing to move forward in your life and discipleship,” she said.
“I think that as we grow in chastity, as a virtue, it’s about developing these habits of using our reason and our intellect within our desires. There’s a lot that can be gained as we grow in self-discipline in our lives.”
“I also think it affects the way we see other people, not just as objects for our own pleasure or own use but as people worthy of reverence and dignity.”
Carter further discussed the virtue of chastity in a recent Eden Invitation blog post where she expressed that living a chaste life goes beyond sexuality. She referenced Pope Francis’ description of chastity where he said that it “is freedom from possessiveness in every sphere of one’s life.”
“Only when love is chaste is it truly love,” the pontiff said.
Referring to Valentine’s Day, Carter concluded her “EWTN News Nightly” interview by saying: “I think, especially on Valentine’s Day, there can be a lot of mixed feelings if you find yourself in particular states of life. Stay close to the Lord, because no matter what your state of life is in this moment, that’s the place that God has you and that God wants to meet you.”
Fertility rates show pro-life laws saved 22,000 lives in 2023, study finds
Posted on 02/14/2025 22:05 PM (CNA Daily News)

CNA Staff, Feb 14, 2025 / 18:05 pm (CNA).
Here is a roundup of recent pro-life- and abortion-related news.
Pro-life policies save lives, study finds
Following the adoption of pro-life laws protecting unborn children across many states, a recent study found there were more births than anticipated in the United States — more than 22,000 additional births.
A Feb. 13 study published on JAMA Network analyzed the impact of recent pro-life laws by looking at state-level fertility information from 2012 to 2023. The study found that fertility rates increased in 2023 — the first full year after the U.S. Supreme Court put abortion issues back into the hands of the states.
The number is a powerful indication of the impact of pro-life laws, according to pro-life expert Michael New, a senior associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute and assistant professor of practice at the Busch School of Business at The Catholic University of America.
But this week, National Public Radio drew attention to reports by nearly a dozen pro-life states that reported zero or very few abortions in 2023, pointing out that these official records do not account for illegal abortions.
Many factors impact abortion data tracking. Chemical abortions via abortion pills have become increasingly accessible as the FDA has decreased regulations such as in-person requirements for prescriptions. Meanwhile, the rise of shield laws — implemented by pro-abortion state governments such as California, Colorado, New York, and others — helps protect abortionists who send abortion drugs via mail to women and girls in states where the drug is restricted or illegal.
But New noted that “in the post-Dobbs era, the most accurate way to analyze the impact of pro-life laws is through birth data.”
“That is because some women are able to circumvent pro-life laws by obtaining abortions in other states, obtaining abortions in other countries, acquiring chemical abortion pills through mail, or getting abortions outside the formal health care system,” New told CNA. “As such, the abortion statistics released by state health departments may not reflect the actual incidence of abortion.”
“However, if more babies are being born after pro-life laws take effect, that is powerful statistical evidence that more unintended pregnancies are being carried to term — and lives are being saved — as a result of the pro-life law,” New said.
In fact, given the limitations of the study, New suspects it “undercounts the lives saved to some extent” because it considers only abortion bans and heartbeat acts, not additional post-Dobbs gestational age limits.
Maternal mortality reaches lowest point since 2018
This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported an almost 17% decrease in the maternal mortality rate in 2023 — its lowest point since 2018.
The maternal mortality rate dropped to 18.6 deaths per 100,000 live births from 22.3 in 2022, according to a February report by the National Center for Health Statistics. This continues a trend in decreasing maternity mortality rates since 2022, when Roe v. Wade was overturned and many states began to institute protections for unborn children.
While pro-abortion advocates have expressed concerns that increasing abortion restrictions harm women’s health, mortality rates are on a steady decline, according to the CDC data.
From 2018 to 2019, maternal deaths had increased, peaking in 2021 and then decreasing in 2022 and 2023. The statistics includes a woman dying while pregnant as well as of pregnancy-related causes within 42 days of an abortion.
The maternal mortality rate decreased for all racial demographics except for Black women, among whom there was a slight increase, which the CDC noted was not statistically significant. Though, notably, the number has not decreased with the other demographics. Asian women also had a statistically insignificant decrease in maternal mortality, according to the study.
Texas and Louisiana slap $100,000 fine, extradition order, on New York doctor who mailed abortion pills
Texas and Louisiana — states with many laws protecting unborn children from abortion — issued a $100,000 fine and an extradition order, respectively, to a New York doctor who mailed abortion pills illegally into the state.
New York on Thursday rejected the request from Louisiana to extradite the doctor who was charged by Louisiana with prescribing abortion pills to a pregnant minor. A Texas judge the same day ordered the same doctor to stop prescribing and sending abortion pills to patients in Texas and to pay a penalty of more than $100,000.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul refused to honor Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill’s request to arrest and send Dr. Margaret Carpenter, who was indicted last month by a Louisiana grand jury, to Louisiana.
While Texas and Louisiana have strong protections for unborn babies, New York has a “telemedicine abortion shield law” protecting abortion providers who send telehealth abortion pills to women and girls in states where it is illegal or restricted. Abortionists have sent more than 10,000 abortion pills per month to patients in states with restrictions on abortion under the shield laws, according to the New York Times.
Texas Judge Bryan Gantt of Collin County District Court signed an order permanently banning Carpenter from prescribing abortion drugs to Texas residents. But New York’s shield law prohibits cooperation with out-of-state legal actions, so Carpenter did not respond to the suit nor appear for the hearing.
Democrats push restrictions for crisis pregnancy centers
Democratic lawmakers are pushing for the federal government to regulate pregnancy resource centers with the “Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation (SAD) Act.” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon reintroduced the SAD Act on Thursday.
The SAD Act is designed to enable the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to regulate pregnancy centers designed to support women to choose life. The bill would allow the FTC to take disciplinary actions against pregnancy clinics by levying fines for “misleading” or providing “false” information about abortion or contraception.
With a Republican majority in Congress, the bill is unlikely to pass. Pregnancy resource centers outnumber abortion clinics in the U.S., offering pregnant women support and resources, and providing an alternative to abortion.
The nearly 3,000 pro-life pregnancy resource centers in the United States provided nearly $367.9 million worth of life-affirming pregnancy services and material goods to clients and their families in 2022, a 2024 report found.