St. Mary's Church

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 14, 2025 / 13:38 pm (CNA).

A recent study found that among adults who attend Christian worship at least monthly, 68% agreed marriage is between one man and one woman, but only 46% defined “family” in corresponding terms of a husband and wife, their children, and relatives.

Family Research Council in partnership with the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University released findings this week from a new national survey of 1,003 churchgoing adults. The survey, “Social Issues and Worldview,” was conducted in July to build off a similar 2023 study. The research identified beliefs of the faithful in regard to social topics and family life.

Of the 9 in 10 respondents identifying as Christian, 39% were Catholic, 20% mainline Protestant, 18% evangelical, 9% independent or nondenominational Christian, and 4% Pentecostal.

Among the respondents, about 22% claimed the definition of family changes over time and across cultures. About 20% said family is any group of people who care for one another, 6% said family is any group of people who live together, and 6% said they did not know how to describe family.

No demographic or Christian group was found to have a clear majority in support of the biblical definition of family, but the highest support came from theologically defined born-again Christians (59%) and Pentecostal churchgoers (56%). 

The majority of respondents did agree on a number of other family-related topics. Of churchgoing adults, 70% said it is important for society to facilitate families with a father, mother, and children living together and 68% said they believe marriage is only between a man and a woman.

Christian stances on social issues and need for discipleship 

The report found churchgoers are open to more discipleship and teaching on a number of current social issues. A large majority reported that additional worldview training is desirable in areas regarding religious freedom (88%), social and political responsibility (76%), and abortion and the value of life (60%).

The research revealed more specific Christian views on pro-life topics including abortion and euthanasia. About 25% of churchgoing respondents said they would prefer their church to preach or teach about abortion at worship services more often, while 18% said they would prefer teachings on the topic less often. 

Those interested in increasing preaching on the topic mostly attend either evangelical (31%) or Pentecostal churches (31%), while adults who align with independent and nondenominational churches were the least interested in increasing the number of sermons on abortion (19%). Interest among Catholics in increasing the frequency fell from 41% to 29% since 2023.

Respondents were asked their beliefs in regard to the statement: “Euthanasia is morally wrong.” Less than half of churchgoers (43%) said they agreed, another 23% said they disagreed, and 35% said they were unsure and did not know whether euthanasia was right or wrong.

Overwhelming majorities agreed that people should be able to practice “peaceful, genuinely held religious beliefs without being punished by the government, even if those beliefs are not culturally popular” (83%), that “every person is made in the likeness of God” (84%), and that “every human being has undeniable value and dignity” (83%).

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 14, 2025 / 13:02 pm (CNA).

A 2025 survey of more than 1,100 American priests found high rates of self-reported personal flourishing, strong confidence in Pope Leo XIV, and a mixed level of trust in U.S. bishops.

The National Study of Catholic priests, published on Oct. 14, was commissioned by the Catholic Project at The Catholic University of America and conducted by Gallup. Researchers surveyed the same priests who were surveyed in The Catholic Project’s 2022 survey to examine the U.S. priesthood. 

The survey showed strong confidence in the first-ever American pope. About 43% of those surveyed expressed “a great deal” of confidence in Leo and another 43% reported “quite a lot” of confidence in the pontiff. About 13% said they have “some” confidence, and only 1% expressed “very little” confidence.

Most priests also predicted the U.S. Church’s relationship with the Vatican will improve, with 51% saying it will improve significantly and 28% saying it will improve somewhat. About 17% said it would likely stay the same, and 3% think it will worsen.

Priests lack trust in U.S. bishops

Confidence in bishops was significantly lower. Just 52% of diocesan priests reported they trust their own bishop, which is slightly higher than the 49% who said the same in 2022. Yet, those numbers are much lower than 2001, when 63% trusted their own bishop.

About 74% of priests said their bishop cares about them, and 11% said their bishop did not. The survey also found that 83% said they can reach their bishop or superior when needed, while 8% said they could not. 

The numbers are worse for U.S. bishops as a whole. Only 27% of priests surveyed reported trust in the U.S. bishops, although this is an uptick from 2022 when only 22% had trust in them. It is much lower than 2001, when 39% of priests trusted U.S. bishops.

Personal flourishing

Priests reported high rates of personal flourishing, which is measured by mental health, physical health, purpose, character, and social relationships. The average rate was 8.2 out of 10, which is identical to the results of the 2022 survey. Diocesan and religious priests reported the same rate of personal flourishing.

When asked questions about whether their religious communities were flourishing, the results were lower. The community flourishing rate was 5.7 out of 10 for diocesan priests and 6.2 out of 10 for religious priests. 

Researchers found that 92% have a close relationship with at least one other priest, but also about one-third of those surveyed said their relationships with other priests tends to be superficial. 

Recently-ordained priests reported more loneliness. About 45% of priests ordained in 2000 or later reported loneliness, as did 34% of priests ordained between 1980 and 1999 and 27% ordained before 1980.

Burnout

The survey also measured priests’ “burnout,” which asked questions about feeling “worn out and weary” or “emotionally drained” and whether they “talk about [their] ministry in a negative way.” 

For diocesan priests, 56% said they felt no burnout while 44% felt some burnout. Among those feeling burnout, only 7% had high burnout. For religious priests, 69% said they felt no burnout, 31% felt some burnout, and among those feeling burnout only 2% had high burnout. Burnout rates slightly improved since the 2022 survey, which found half of diocesan priests and one-third of religious priests feeling some burnout.

The survey found that 96% of priests reported having access to mental health counseling if they need it, but only 11% are receiving treatment or therapy for a mental health condition.

Some priests, however, said they are “expected to do too many things that go beyond my calling as a priest.” The rate is much higher for newer priests than it is for older priests.

About 45% of priests ordained in 2000 and later reported that feeling, as did 38% of priests ordained between 1980 and 1999 and 13% of priests ordained before 1980.

The survey was conducted between May 12 and June 30 of this year. The response rate was 38%.

La Fundación de Abogados Cristianos ha presentado una denuncia penal contra la ministra de Sanidad de España, Mónica García, por negar las consecuencias del aborto. 

El Observador de la Santa Sede ante las Naciones Unidas, el arzobispo Mons. Gabriele Caccia, destacó la urgencia de paliar la “deuda ecológica” en los países en desarrollo.

El Obispo Emérito de Alcalá de Henares, Mons. Juan Antonio Reig Pla, reivindicó que “España sin catolicismo no es España”.

El P. Pietro Rossini, portavoz de la red internacional “Sacerdotes contra el genocidio”, valoró como una “buena noticia” el alto el cese del fuego acordado la semana pasada entre Israel y Hamás, pero afirma que la paz todavía está lejos.

La Iglesia Católica en el mundo ha acogido Dilexi te como un serio y urgente llamamiento a la solidaridad con los pobres y como un texto que refleja una clara continuidad con el magisterio del Papa Francisco.

Tras el acuerdo de paz, el Papa León XIV ha enviado 5.000 dosis de antibióticos a la Franja de Gaza: un gesto humanitario posible gracias a la reciente reapertura de los principales pasos fronterizos.

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 14, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The Diocese of Lexington has developed an ambitious plan to make all of its buildings net-zero by 2030 because, it noted, as Scripture says: “The earth and all in it belongs to God.” The plan includes all buildings of the 59 parishes in the diocese, spanning over 50 counties in central and eastern Kentucky.

The plan is a direct response to Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’ (“On Care for Our Common Home”), which called on the global Catholic Church to engage in dialogue about the future of the planet. Within the writings, Pope Francis urged the Church to acknowledge environmental challenges.

The diocese was inspired by Laudato Si’ No. 217, which says “living our vocation as protectors of God’s handiwork is a life of virtue,” Josh Van Cleef, director of the Office of Peace and Justice for the diocese, told CNA. “It is not a secondary dimension of Christian life.”

The Diocese of Lexington’s plans stem from the seven goals of Laudato Si', which include response to the cry of the earth, response to the cry of the poor, ecological economics, adoption of sustainable lifestyles, ecological education, ecological spirituality, and community resilience and empowerment.

Inspiration from Pope Francis

Since the encyclical was published, dioceses and archdioceses across the country have implemented ways to live out Pope Francis’ call. As this year marks the 10-year anniversary of the encyclical, Bishop John Stowe of Lexington and his leadership team have laid out one of the most ambitious plans yet.

Van Cleef, who leads the Respect Life Ministries for the diocese, said the idea began to develop in 2024. Each parish was asked and encouraged by leaders including the bishop to form Laudato Si’ teams. The teams then carried out “parish assessments based on the seven goals of Laudato Si’, to do listening sessions, and to come up with concrete action plans.”

The parishes “did not come up with a ‘net-zero plan’ but just a plan for them to implement care for creation.” These plans included “looking at what concretely they can do from their lighting, like moving to LED [light bulbs], to the different programming they can do to promote this as a faith issue in the parishes.”

“We’ve seen a lot of our parishes really take this on, and it’s been pretty inspiring,” Van Cleef said. “Then as a diocese, the action plan was published on Jan. 1, 2025, which included plans from each one of the 59 parishes, plus the diocese-wide commitments.”

The biggest undertaking within the diocese’s goals is “to move all facilities to net-zero emissions.” Diocese leaders have been working for more than a year with a group of experts in the area of sustainability to accomplish it.

Net-zero is defined by the diocese as “the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that an organization generates and the amount removed from the atmosphere.”

Net-zero plan

The four steps the diocese is taking to shape its net-zero approach include measuring, efficiency, solar development, and transitioning from gas to electric. Measuring is the first step and “identifies the main sources of emissions, calculates the overall carbon footprint, and sets the stage for developing an effective action plan,” according to the published plan.

Efficiency will be tracked through an energy audit from 2025–2026. The diocese will conduct “evaluations of energy use within a building with the goal of identifying areas where energy is being wasted,” the report explained. 

An essential part of the plan is the implementation of solar power, which “offers a pathway for the transition to renewable energy.” Finances will be discussed, including grants, low-interest financing options, and energy service agreements “to ensure that projects can fit within a location’s budget.”

The diocese will carry out a shift from gas to efficient electric to “facilitate the diocese’s overall movement towards renewable energy.” Once again, the diocese will “identify available grants, rebates, and other financing options to assist locations in this transition.”

The diocese is committed to the steps because as Catholics, “we’re not opting in to care for creation for partisan reasons, and we don’t get to opt out,” Van Cleef explained. “For us, we’re all in because of our faith. And when we look at Scripture, we see Psalm 24:1 say: ‘The earth and all in it belongs to God.’”

“Then we read in Genesis that our job is to ‘till and keep.’” Therefore, we must “cultivate and protect what belongs to God,” Van Cleef said. “It is a matter of faith. When we look to Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, and Pope Leo, it is clear that the Church is called to urgent and decisive action.”

“We know that all creation communicates God’s glory, and it is a sacred place where we encounter God.”

More Laudato Si’ inspiration 

The Diocese of Lexington’s plan is in motion and will continue to develop over the coming years to hopefully reach its goal by 2030, according to the diocese. While parts of its mission will take time, other practices Lexington and a number of other Catholic communities are carrying out are active now.

The Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., created an action plan that provided a number of options for parishes, schools, and families “to become better stewards of God’s creation, help reverse climate change, and work towards sustainability as proclaimed in Laudato Si’’.” This included a volunteer group called Laudato Trees, which began in 2022 to increase the tree canopy in the D.C. area by planting trees on Catholic church and school properties. 

The Diocese of Sacramento, California, began to utilize solar panels in 2022, including at its memorial center at St. Anthony Parish. Soon after, a diocesan Creation Care Committee was established and the diocese enrolled in the Vatican’s Laudato Si’ Action Platform.

Parishes in the Diocese of Tucson, Arizona, also implemented plans by adding solar panels to buildings around the community in 2024. Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church was the flagship parish, but quickly after a number of others across the diocese joined.

Other communities across the nation including the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois, and the Archdiocese of Atlanta wrote plans that offered everyday actions for parishes and families to carry out in order to further the seven goals. They called for the faithful to recycle, focus on energy production, cut back on toxic and plastic items, replace gas-fueled appliances with electric ones, and to spread the message of Laudato Si’.

Cada 14 de octubre se celebra la fiesta del Papa San Calixto mártir (Roma, c.155 - c.222), decimosexto Papa de la Iglesia Católica. Su pontificado abarcó el periodo entre los años 217 y 222.