St. Mary's Church

El Arzobispo de Oklahoma City, Mons. Paul Coakley, fue elegido para servir como nuevo presidente de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de Estados Unidos (USCCB, por sus siglas en inglés) en una votación realizada el 11 de noviembre.

El Arzobispo de Portland, Mons. Alexander Sample, aseguró que los obispos católicos de Estados Unidos están trabajando para pedir a las autoridades “un trato humano y respetuoso” hacia los migrantes.

En ocasión del Día de los Veteranos, varios obispos de Estados Unidos expresaron su profundo agradecimiento a los hombres y mujeres que han servido en las Fuerzas Armadas, invitando a los fieles a elevar oraciones por ellos y por la paz.

Baltimore, Maryland, Nov 11, 2025 / 12:15 pm (CNA).

Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City was elected to serve as the next president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in a secret ballot on Nov. 11.

Bishops chose Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, to serve as vice president. Flores, who serves in the southernmost diocese in Texas, finished second in balloting for president. Coakley subsequently won a runoff.

Coakley, who was previously secretary of the USCCB, will serve a three-year term as president, succeeding the former president, Archbishop Timothy Broglio. The bishops held the election at the Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore.

He has a history of promoting a culture of life, opposing gender ideology, and supporting migrants.

The archbishop, who turned 70 years old in May, became a bishop in 2004. He has served in the Oklahoma City Archdiocese since 2011. He holds a licentiate in sacred theology.

Coakley’s defense of a culture of life is a continuation of Broglio’s leadership on the subject. Under Broglio, the bishops maintained that abortion is the “preeminent priority” in elections.

In 2022, Coakley praised Oklahoma lawmakers “for supporting pro-life measures” following a law that banned nearly all abortions. He said, to build a culture of life, one must recognize “the inherent dignity of every person [and it] requires the protections afforded by pro-life legislation and a profound change of heart.”

Coakley has criticized the Oklahoma government for its support of the death penalty. In 2022, he said: “The use of the death penalty only contributes to the continued coarsening of society and to the spiral of violence.”

In 2023, he expressed concern about the rise of gender dysphoria and the promotion of gender ideology in American society. He provided advice to parents but criticized drugs and surgeries used to facilitate a gender transition.

Coakley has also criticized the mass deportation efforts taken by President Donald Trump’s administration. In February of this year, he said deportations are “creating fear and even distress for our immigrant, migrant, and refugee neighbors who have arrived in search of the same dreams that awaited many of our ancestors at a different moment in time.”

He also said in the statement that “illegal immigration is wrong, and renewed efforts should be considered to protect our nation’s borders.” He mentioned concerns about human and drug trafficking but said the majority of people who entered the country illegally “are upstanding members of our communities and churches, not violent criminals.”

Flores to serve as vice president

Flores is former president of the USCCB Committee on Doctrine and was the only southern-border bishop in contention for the role of president.

Flores will serve a three-year term as vice president, succeeding the former vice president, Archbishop William Lori.

Flores, who is 64 years old, holds a doctorate in sacred theology and is a former theology professor. He has been a bishop since 2006. He was one of 12 bishops to serve on the Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod on Synodality and is a promoter of synodality in the Church. 

In 2017, Flores said support for mass deportations is “formal cooperation with an intrinsic evil,” similar to driving someone to an abortion clinic. He has expressed concern about polarization in the Church and urged “civil conversation … to seek what is good and make the priority how to achieve it and how to avoid what is evil.”

La homilía del Papa León XIV en la Misa del 125º aniversario de la Dedicación de la iglesia de San Anselmo en Roma, cuya construcción fue promovida por León XIII.

CNA Staff, Nov 11, 2025 / 11:40 am (CNA).

An Arizona man will serve more than half a decade in prison after he carried out multiple hoax bomb threats at churches in the western U.S.

The U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release that 46-year-old Phoenix resident Zimnako Salah would spend six years in prison after his 2025 conviction in the terror plot.

From September to November 2023 Salah “traveled to four Christian churches in Arizona, California, and Colorado” with black backpacks, according to the Department of Justice. At two churches he was turned away by security, while at two others he “planted” the backpacks, causing congregants to believe they contained bombs, the Justice Department said.

Though the planted backpacks were in fact hoaxes, Salah reportedly had “been building a bomb capable of fitting in a backpack,” the department said. FBI investigators said they seized “component parts of an improvised explosive device” from a storage unit being rented by Salah.

Salah also had been actively searching for “extremist propaganda online,” the government said, including searches for videos such as “infidels dying.”

The jury that convicted Salah in 2025 found that he “targeted the church because of the religion of the people who worshipped there, making the offense a hate crime.”

U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins levied a $10,000 fine against Salah, telling him he “failed to take responsibility for [his] actions.”

U.S. Attorney Eric Grant said Salah’s ultimate goal appeared to be “many deaths and injuries.”

“Thanks to the action of church security, local law enforcement, and the FBI, this defendant was stopped before he had a chance to carry out the crimes he sought to commit,” he said.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, meanwhile, said in the press release that criminals “who target people because of their faith will face the full force of federal law.”

“The Department of Justice will continue to protect the rights of all people of faith to worship and live free from fear, and we will hold accountable anyone who threatens or harms them,” she said. 

El Papa León XIV se trasladó en la tarde de este martes a la colina del Aventino para presidir una Misa con ocasión del 125º aniversario de la Dedicación de la iglesia de San Anselmo, custodiada por monjes benedictinos.

La organización Pax Christi Internacional (PCI), el movimiento católico mundial por la paz, clausuró este domingo en la ciudad de Florencia su Encuentro Mundial del 80º Aniversario

CNA Staff, Nov 11, 2025 / 11:10 am (CNA).

Legislation that would provide protections for people lacking legal immigration status won endorsement from Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, who has served as chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration.

The bill (HR 4393), which would not lay out a direct path to citizenship, would give people who lack legal status the chance to earn it through labor and financial penalties if they lack a criminal record. It would apply to people who entered the United States before 2021.

The measure would authorize funding for border security and create centers for asylum seekers during consideration of their case. It would require asylum cases to be completed within 60 days.

Rep. María Elvira Salazar, R-Florida, sponsored the measure, which she named the Dignity Act and first introduced in 2022. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, cosponsored the measure, along with 22 other members of Congress. No hearings or other legislative action has been scheduled.

Seitz, who is expected to address fellow bishops Nov. 11 about immigration, said in a joint statement with Salazar in August that he is “deeply grateful to Congresswoman Salazar, Congresswoman Escobar, and their colleagues for this sustained commitment to working across the aisle.”

Seitz said: “Pope Leo XIV has emphasized the responsibility of all political leaders to promote and protect the good of the community, the common good, particularly by defending the vulnerable and the marginalized. Under our current system, families across our nation are living in fear. Bipartisan proposals such as the Dignity Act are a step toward fulfilling the call made by our Holy Father to offer a better way forward — one that begins and ends with respect for the God-given dignity of every person.”

The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, comprising over 42,000 affiliated churches, has endorsed the measure. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Immigration Forum, Business Roundtable, and the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities also are backing the bill.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform has voiced opposition to the measure, saying it would forgive illegal entry and allow authorities to waive offenses such as certain controlled substance crimes and prostitution.

The group criticized the bill’s proposal to create the Dignity Program to provide a renewable seven-year grant of deferred action, saying it is likely that future legislation would attempt to provide a direct path to citizenship if “Dignity status” was granted.

X: La Diócesis de Punta Arenas (Chile) conmemora este martes el 505° aniversario de la primera Misa celebrada en territorio chileno, que tuvo lugar en 1520 en la bahía de Las Sardinas (actual Fortescue).