St. Mary's Church

Los cristianos en Nigeria continúan demostrando resiliencia y vitalidad en medio de los violentos ataques de grupos extremistas como Boko Haram, afirmó un sacerdote del país africano.

El P. Mateo Bautista, experto en pastoral del duelo y pastoral de la salud, y la psicóloga clínica Ximena López han escrito el libro Duelo por la propia muerte, que enseña de forma práctica cómo preparase para este evento inevitable, un tema del que muchos prefieren no hablar, pero que es esencial, con la mirada puesta en Dios y la eternidad.

La Iglesia Católica en México presentó una guía dirigida a los peregrinos que acuden a distintos centros de peregrinación del país, especialmente a quienes se dirigen a la Basílica de Guadalupe durante las fiestas guadalupanas, con el objetivo de promover el cuidado y la protección del medio ambiente.

CNA Staff, Dec 10, 2025 / 18:30 pm (CNA).

Pro-life advocates are calling for action as top federal health officials deny reports that they are delaying a promised safety review of the abortion pill. 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “has delayed a promised review of safety data” until after midterm elections at Commissioner Marty Makary’s request, a Tuesday report by Bloomberg Law claimed, citing unnamed sources.  

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has denied the claim, saying it is “baseless.” 

“Assertions that the FDA is slow walking this review for political purposes are baseless,” an HHS spokesperson told CNA. 

“FDA takes the time necessary to conduct comprehensive scientific reviews, and that is what Dr. Makary is ensuring as part of the Department's commitment to gold-standard science and evidence-based reviews,” the statement continued. 

In response, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri — an outspoken advocate for reviewing abortion pill safety regulations — called the FDA’s actions "unacceptable." 

In a letter addressed to Makary, Hawley urged the FDA to conduct a safety review and reinstate safety regulations that were removed during the pandemic  under the Biden administration.

“It is unclear whether you are conducting an independent safety review at all,” Hawley said in the Dec. 10 letter. “I cannot emphasize enough the danger of playing politics with women's health.” 

In June of this year, Makary told Hawley that he would conduct a review of the abortion drug. In May, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also said the FDA would do a review of the drug. 

Since then, the FDA has not completed a safety review, but has approved a generic version of the abortion drug mifepristone. 

“There are more abortions in America now than when Roe was still law,” Hawley said in the letter.

Pro-life advocates are demanding action from the FDA, saying the issue is urgent because of the lives that are at risk given the danger of mail-order prescriptions of the drug.    

Two recent, peer-reviewed studies found that one in 10 women experience serious adverse reactions after having a chemical abortion. 

FDA regulations allow abortion pills to be shipped to patients without a telehealth visit. Multiple cases have been reported where the father of the unborn child has allegedly coerced or poisoned the mother with the abortion drug. 

“The FDA must act NOW to protect children and their mothers,” said Lila Rose, founder of Live Action.  

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser has called for Makary to be fired, saying he is “undermining President Trump and Vice President Vance’s pro-life credentials and their position that states should have the right to enact and enforce pro-life protections.”

“The FDA is doing nothing while every single day abortion drugs take the lives of children, put women and girls at serious risk, empower abusers and trample state pro-life laws,” Dannenfelser said in a Dec. 9 statement shared with CNA. 

Dr. Christina Francis, head of the American Association of Pro Life OBGYNs (AAPLOG) called on the FDA to review the drug immediately and to reinstate safeguards around the drug. 

“We are tired of empty promises,” Francis said in a statement. “Women’s health matters more than political elections.”

Tres meses después del mortal tiroteo en Minneapolis (Estados Unidos) que dejó dos estudiantes fallecidos y otros 18 alumnos heridos, además de tres adultos, el Arzobispo Bernard Hebda, celebró el 6 de diciembre una Misa especial en la Iglesia Católica de la Anunciación que incluyó un rito de reparación para restaurar el templo para el culto.

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.”

El grupo católico de música latinoamericana Takillakkta, cuyo nombre en quechua significa “canto del pueblo” o “pueblo que canta”, lanzó una renovada versión del clásico de Adviento “Hoy se enciende una llama”, un tema muy conocido en América Latina.

El obispo nicaragüense Silvio Báez aseguró que hoy en día se necesitan voces, como la de San Juan Bautista, que denuncien a los tiranos y corruptos, en la celebración que presidió hace unos días con sus compatriotas en Palm Beach, Florida (Estados Unidos).

En el día de la Inmaculada Concepción, la localidad de Cotoca (Bolivia) recibió a cientos de miles de fieles para honrar a la Virgen. Las celebraciones contaron con la presencia del presidente Rodrigo Paz. 

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.