We Are Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish

President Joe Biden speaks during an interfaith prayer service at the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, in New Orleans on Jan. 6, 2025. / Credit: ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 7, 2025 / 14:11 pm (CNA).

A report from the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) compiled regulatory actions under former President Joe Biden that the researchers argue show systematic anti-Christian bias from the prior administration.

The Nov. 3 report was released in response to President Donald Trump’s Feb. 6 executive order to eradicate anti-Christian bias and protect religious liberty through changes to federal policies and regulations.

According to the report, the Biden administration disregarded religious liberty as a means to enforce its “radical pro-abortion and pro-LGBTQI+ policies.” It states that religious liberty was ignored “when it came to those policy priorities,” which affected public and private employees, businesses, religious organizations, students, and those seeking federal partnerships.

The report lists three key ways in which this was carried out: policies at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that attacked health-care-related rights of conscience, policies at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that jeopardized religious liberty, and a broader failure to respect religious liberty through the rulemaking process.

Anti-Christian policies and practices

Under Biden, the report said HHS dismantled the enforcement of conscience protections for health care workers despite safeguards in federal law. It says former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra got rid of most mentions of conscience and religious freedom protections and eliminated the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division.

Biden’s HHS website listed four actions regarding conscience protections as of 2024, and two of those were to halt enforcement measures taken under Trump, the report said. The two other measures sought to protect health care workers who participated in abortions. 

HHS also sought to enforce the Affordable Care Act’s ban on “sex” discrimination to include a ban on discriminating against a person based on “gender identity” or having an abortion. HHS later conceded it would hear religious liberty objections on a “case-by-case basis” to permit employees to bring cases against religious employers, according to the report.

The report said HHS used the same “case-by-case” standard for other anti-discrimination rules, including in the administration of grants. 

At EEOC, the administration sought to limit religious exemptions to anti-discrimination laws, the report notes. One example listed was enforcement of the Protecting Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, in which the administration sought to force employers, including religious organizations, to offer accommodations for women to procure abortions. This prompted a lawsuit from the U.S. Catholic bishops and other groups, which led to multiple courts halting enforcement. 

The report notes that the EEOC also pushed transgender pronoun and bathroom mandates on businesses and often argued against religious liberty exemption requests in court proceedings.

The authors of the report encouraged the Trump administration to rewrite any regulations that jeopardize religious liberty. It also suggested that Congress pass laws to better protect religious liberty, which could prevent future administrations from disregarding those protections.

EPPC President Ryan Anderson serves on the Religious Liberty Commission, which Trump created earlier this year to combat discrimination against religious people and organizations.

Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025, presents a liturgical curve ball with the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. Why do we honor one specific building in Rome? In this weekend's homily reflection, Archbishop Weisenburger suggests that honoring our sacred spaces points us toward something much greater: the living Church we form together in Christ.

Photo of the latest federal passport form with no “X” option and the updated sex identification section. / Credit: U.S. Department of State

CNA Staff, Nov 7, 2025 / 11:56 am (CNA).

The U.S. Supreme Court said on Thursday that the Trump administration could require passports to display an applicant’s biological sex, granting the White House a victory in its efforts to roll back transgender ideology in federal policy.

The court said in an unsigned Nov. 6 order that requiring biological sex on a passport “no more offends equal protection principles than displaying [a] country of birth.”

In either case, “the government is merely attesting to a historical fact without subjecting anyone to differential treatment,” the court said.

The White House is “likely to succeed” in its effort to defend the law, the high court said in the order.

The decision overturns a lower court order that paused the policy while the lawsuit in question plays out in court. The suit was brought by a woman who identifies as a man and who challenged the rule on 14th Amendment grounds.

In a dissent, U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan referred to the passport policy as “questionably legal” and argued that individuals who identify as the opposite sex will suffer “concrete injury” if required to display their sex on their passport.

Citing the government’s decades-old policy allowing for opposite-sex identification on passports, the justices argued that Americans who want to be identified as the opposite sex would experience “significant anxiety and fear for their safety” if required to correctly identify the biological marker on their passports. 

In a post on X on Nov. 6, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the order was the administration’s “24th victory” at the Supreme Court so far. 

“Today’s stay allows the government to require citizens to list their biological sex on their passport,” Bondi wrote. “In other words: There are two sexes, and our attorneys will continue fighting for that simple truth.”

The policy comes after several months of effort by the Trump administration to reverse transgender-related rules and policies at the federal level. 

In January President Donald Trump signed an executive order removing gender ideology guidance, communication, policies, and forms from governmental agencies. That order also affirmed that the word “woman” means “adult human female.” 

That same order required government identification like passports and personnel records to reflect biological reality and “not self-assessed gender identity.” 

The White House has also investigated hospitals for performing irreversible and experimental transgender procedures on children. Multiple U.S. children’s hospitals have ended their child gender programs in response to federal pressure. 

Church leaders, including bishops around the world, have spoken out against transgenderism and gender ideology. In April 2024, the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith said in its declaration Dignitas Infinita that gender ideology “intends to deny the greatest possible difference that exists between living beings: sexual difference.”

The Holy See said at the time that “all attempts to obscure reference to the ineliminable sexual difference between man and woman are to be rejected” and that “only by acknowledging and accepting this difference in reciprocity can each person fully discover themselves, their dignity, and their identity.”

Pro-life advocates participate in a prayer procession in Regensburg, Germany. / Credit: ADF International

Regensburg, Germany, Nov 7, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

The Bavarian city of Regensburg has withdrawn restrictions banning prayer vigils near an abortion clinic following court rulings that found the buffer zone violated constitutional freedoms, according to a report by CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.

The Bavarian city lifted its 100-meter (328-foot) exclusion zone around abortion facilities on Oct. 24 after suffering setbacks before both the Regensburg Administrative Court and the Bavarian Administrative Court, according to a Nov. 6 press release from the international human rights organization.

The city established the buffer zone in summer 2025, effectively prohibiting prayer vigils held by the group Helpers for God’s Precious Children Germany in the immediate vicinity of the clinics, CNA Deutsch reported Nov. 7.

Courts counter claim of coercion

The Bavarian Administrative Court clarified in its ruling that Germany’s Pregnancy Conflict Law, amended at the end of 2024, does not permit blanket prohibition zones for expression of opinion or assemblies near abortion facilities.

The court found that the city failed to prove prayer participants were exerting impermissible coercion on women seeking abortions, as officials had claimed.

Felix Böllmann, director of advocacy at ADF International, characterized the outcome as “a clear commitment to the rule of law.”

“This victory protects peaceful protesters from partisan politics and prevents the misuse of amended legislation to suppress fundamental freedoms,” Böllmann said in the press release.

According to the legal organization, the city withdrew its restrictions because it likely would have lost the main proceedings. ADF International represented the prayer group in the case.

Persistent political pressure

The implementation of the buffer zone followed sustained political pressure on city officials, according to ADF International. A member of the German Parliament from the Social Democratic Party had reportedly urged municipal authorities to act against the prayer vigils.

The case marks the latest battle in Germany over peaceful pro-life witness near abortion facilities. In 2022, the Mannheim Administrative Court ruled in favor of prayer vigils organized by 40 Days for Life in Pforzheim after the city had banned the gatherings.

Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg has been a prominent voice for life protection in Germany, regularly participating in Berlin’s annual March for Life.

Blessed Clemens August von Galen. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Münster/Domkapitular Gustav Albers (CC BY 2.5)

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 7, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:

Apostolic nuncio to Germany: ‘Lion of Munster’ Cardinal von Galen should be canonized

The apostolic nuncio in Germany is calling for the swift canonization of Cardinal Clemens August Graf von Galen, widely known as the “Lion of Münster,” renowned for his courageous opposition to Nazi persecution. 

Archbishop Nikola Eterović made the appeal during a memorial Mass marking 20 years since the cardinal’s beatification by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. Around 400 faithful gathered for the commemoration, which celebrated the life and witness of one of Germany’s most outspoken Catholic voices during the Third Reich. 

“May this grateful remembrance also become a prayer for a swift canonization of the revered cardinal,” Eterović said, according to CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner. 

Von Galen served as bishop of Münster from 1933 to 1946, earning his nickname after delivering three powerful sermons in summer 1941 that condemned Nazi euthanasia programs and attacks on the Church. His fearless defense of human dignity and religious freedom made him a target of the regime, yet he continued advocating for the vulnerable until his death in March 1946, just weeks after being elevated to cardinal.

New Vatican envoy for South Korea is hoping for peace with North Korea

South Korea’s new ambassador to the Holy See has expressed hope to serve the Vatican’s efforts to achieve peace between North and South Korea. 

“I will do my best for peace on the Korean peninsula,” said Ambassador Stefano Shin Hyung-sik in an interview with UCA News. Shin, who was appointed on Oct. 29, also said he hopes a visit from Pope Leo XIV to South Korea during World Youth Day 2027 will be “a decisive diplomatic opportunity to revive the momentum for dialogue for peace on the Korean peninsula.” The event, he said, will not only serve as a gathering for the Church but also will be one “that can send a message of peace and solidarity to the world.”

Pope Leo receives credentials of Lebanon’s new ambassador to the Holy See

In a ceremony held at the Apostolic Palace, Pope Leo XIV accepted the credentials of Lebanon’s new ambassador to the Holy See, Fadi Assaf, reported ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner. The meeting follows the pope’s recent audience with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and comes just weeks before the pontiff’s apostolic journey to Turkey and Lebanon, his first official visit to the region.

During his stay in Lebanon, the pope will deliver an address at the presidential palace in Baabda, visit the tomb of St. Charbel in Annaya, and meet clergy and consecrated persons at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa.

The trip will also feature an interfaith gathering in Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square and a youth encounter in front of the Maronite Patriarchate in Bkerke.

Catholic Church in Pakistan celebrates 55th anniversary, opens theological college

The Catholic Church in Pakistan marked its 55th anniversary this week amid widespread Christian persecution in the Muslim-majority country. 

A thanksgiving and holy Communion service was celebrated by the moderator Bishop Azad Marshall alongside Multan Bishop Leo Paul to honor the occasion on Nov. 1, according to a Nov. 5 press release. The event also inaugurated the new St. Thomas Theological College in Khanewal.

Aleppo honors St. Ignatius Maloyan, saint of faith and loyalty

The Armenian Catholic community in Aleppo celebrated a thanksgiving Mass to honor the canonization of St. Ignatius Maloyan, bishop of Mardin, who was martyred during the Ottoman persecutions of 1915.

Presided over by Archbishop Boutros Marayati at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the service included the consecration of a new altar bearing the saint’s icon. Among the attendees were descendants of survivors of the Mardin massacres, whose ancestors perished alongside Maloyan, ACI MENA reported. 

Marayati described Maloyan as a “universal saint and a witness to faith,” recalling his refusal to renounce Christianity under threat of death. The bishop’s letter before martyrdom, read aloud during the Mass, emphasized loyalty to both faith and civic duty, urging his flock to remain steadfast and faithful. 

Many testimonies of miracles and healings attributed to Maloyan’s intercession continue to reach Church authorities in Lebanon and Armenia. 

Kenyan bishop offers spiritual comfort to landslide victims

Bishop Henry Juma Odonya of Kitale, Kenya, has offered his spiritual solidarity with victims of a landslide that has left more than 26 people dead in the neighboring Eldoret Diocese, ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, reported on Wednesday. 

“We pray for the Christians of the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret and those from the Chesongoch Parish and other parts of Kenya who have lost their lives or property,” the bishop said during a Nov. 5 homily during the annual Peace Mass bringing together the dioceses of Eldoret, Lodwar, and Kitale. May the God of peace bless them and give them comfort during this time of trial. We offer prayers for our departed loved ones, particularly in November, a month dedicated to honoring the deceased.”

Indian Supreme Court orders state government response to anti-conversion law challenge

The Supreme Court in India has directed the Rajasthan state government to file a response to challenges raised against its stringent anti-conversion laws, according to a Nov. 4 report from UCA News. 

The move comes after a division bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta accepted the petitions of Christian journalist and activist John Dayal and M. Huzaifa, a researcher and rights defender, who both called the courts to suspend the Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act 2025, which criminalizes religious conversion. “This law is a chilling example of how the state seeks to bypass the judiciary entirely,” Dayal said, according to the report.

Pope Leo XIV receives members of the Religious of Jesus and Mary, founded by St. Claudine Thévenet, and the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo, known as the Scalabrinians, in the consistory hall at the Vatican on Nov. 6, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Nov 7, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV said we should “allow ourselves to be challenged” by the presence of those who suffer “without fear of abandoning our own security” during an audience this week with the general chapters of two women’s religious congregations with strong missionary outreaches.

The two orders present were the Religious of Jesus and Mary, founded by St. Claudine Thévenet, and the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo, known as the Scalabrinians, who are dedicated to the pastoral care of migrants and refugees.

During his Nov. 6 address at the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father noted that both congregations, though they originated in different circumstances, were founded “out of the same love for the poor.”

Specifically, he noted that St. Claudine Thévenet and the Religious of Jesus and Mary served “young women in difficult situations,” while St. Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, Blessed Assunta Marchetti, and Venerable Don Giuseppe Marchetti, founders of the Scalabrinians, served migrants. 

The pope urged the sisters to spend these days “humbly listening to God and in courageous attention to the needs of others.”

“This requires courage, so as to let ourselves be challenged by the presence of those who suffer, without fear of abandoning our own security, and to venture, if the Lord asks it, onto new paths,” he noted.

The pope also highlighted the profound harmony between the guiding themes chosen by both congregations for their chapters: “Jesus himself drew near” (Lk 24:15) for the Religious of Jesus and Mary, and “Wherever you go, I will go” (Ruth 1:16) for the Scalabrinian missionaries.

“These are complementary themes,” the pope affirmed, “because they express the dynamics of your foundations. Indeed, they bring together God’s initiative and our response.”

‘The most important insights are gained on our knees’

“During these days,” the pope said, “may he always be at the center. Give plenty of space, then, to prayer and silence throughout the course of your work … the most important insights are gained ‘on our knees,’ and what matures in the meeting rooms of the chapter needs to be sown and sifted before the tabernacle and in listening to the word.”

The Holy Father emphasized that listening to God and listening to one another are inseparable. “Only by listening to the Lord,” he affirmed, “do we learn to truly listen to one another.”

Pope Leo also recalled the difficult circumstances in which both institutes were founded: the French Revolution for the Religious of Jesus and Mary, and an era of mass emigration for the Scalabrinians.

“None of them backed down or became discouraged,” the pontiff emphasized, “even in the face of the difficulties that arose after their foundations.”

He pointed out that the secret of such fidelity lies precisely in the “encounter with the risen Jesus. That is where it all began for them and also for you. That is where we begin and from where we start again, when necessary, in order to carry on with courage and tenacity in spending ourselves in charity,” he encouraged.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.