We Are Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish

CNA Staff, May 16, 2025 / 10:39 am (CNA).

A Georgia hospital is requiring that a pregnant woman who was declared brain dead more than 90 days ago remain on life support until the birth of her unborn child.

In February, doctors declared 30-year-old Adriana Smith, a nurse who was nine weeks pregnant, brain dead after discovering multiple blood clots in her brain.

According to Smith’s mother, April Newkirk, after visiting the hospital complaining of painful headaches, Smith was “given medication” and sent home. Smith’s boyfriend found her “gasping for air” the next morning and called 911. After a CT scan, doctors discovered the blood clots and eventually determined nothing could be done.

Emory University Hospital in Atlanta informed Newkirk that due to Georgia state law, because Smith is brain dead and no longer considered at risk, her medical team is legally required to keep her on life support until her unborn child can survive outside the womb.

Smith’s family, including her young son, visits her in the hospital regularly. Newkirk told 11Alive that seeing her daughter, who is now 21 weeks pregnant, “breathing through machines” the last three months has been “torture.”

Newkirk said not having any choice in the matter has been difficult. She also said she is concerned about raising both her grandsons and the mounting medical costs.

“They’re hoping to get the baby to at least 32 weeks,” Newkirk said of Smith’s doctors. “But every day that goes by, it’s more cost, more trauma, more questions.”

Georgia law prohibits abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, usually around the sixth week of pregnancy. While removing life support from a pregnant woman is not a direct abortion, Smith’s situation is not clear from a legal perspective.

The law defines abortion as “the act of using, prescribing, or administering any instrument, substance, device, or other means with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy with knowledge that termination will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of an unborn child.”

State Sen. Ed Setzler, lead sponsor of the Georgia law while he served in the state House of Representatives in 2019, told CNA that he is glad “the hospital is seeking to stabilize the child.” 

In Setzler’s opinion, the hospital’s reading of the law “is not inconsistent with the way the statute is crafted because of the direct foreseeability that ending the mother’s life ends the life of the child,” though “you could argue that the removal of the life support of the mother is a separate act” from an abortion.

While the Catholic Church teaches that direct abortion is always wrong, in a case like Smith’s, it is “complicated,” Joseph Meaney, senior fellow at the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC), told CNA.

Meaney said the Church recognizes that in cases like Smith’s, where there is no clear teaching, a “discernment of conscience” is required. He said these situations can “reach a threshold of disproportionate burdens,” which can include financial considerations. 

Another NCBC ethicist, Joe Zalot, told CNA that Smith’s case is a question of prudential judgment. Removing Smith from life support “without the direct intent to kill her unborn child” is not an abortion, he said.

However, Zalot continued, “when a woman is pregnant, doctors will say they are treating two patients. In this case, you have one patient, the mother, who is deceased, and another patient who is alive.”

“The question is, if it can be demonstrated that we are not harming the mother,” Zalot said, “can we give the unborn child an opportunity to live?”

In the end, Meaney said, “the state of Georgia says it has state interest in the life of the child, and they’re stepping in.”

Emory Healthcare did not respond to CNA’s request for comment.

Vatican City, May 16, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, has not ruled out the possibility of Pope Leo XIV traveling to Nicaea, located in the present-day Turkish town of Iznik, where the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council will be celebrated later this month.

“It’s an important moment for the Catholic Church and for ecumenism,” the Italian cardinal stated after noting that it could be the new pontiff’s first international destination.

“It was definitely planned that Pope Francis would go. I imagine Pope Leo will follow the same path,” he added, speaking with Vatican media on the sidelines of the event “Toward a Theology of Hope for and from Ukraine,” held at the Gregorian University on May 14–15, organized under the patronage of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

The death of Pope Francis on April 21 had dashed the hopes of the Eastern Orthodox ecumenical patriarch, Bartholomew, of being able to celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea with the bishop of Rome around May 24.

The pivotal ecclesial meeting, which took place in A.D. 325 at the initiative of Emperor Constantine, marked a milestone in the history of Christianity as the first ecumenical council of the Church, during which the Nicene Creed, the first official summary of Christian belief, was formulated.

Nonetheless, Patriarch Bartholomew did not rule out the possibility of a visit by Leo XIV. On May 8, during a tribute he received at the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation in Athens, Greece, he proposed an alternative plan to travel to Turkey at the end of November in observance of the feast of the patron saint of the ecuemenical patriarchate, St. Andrew, on Nov. 30.

He also indicated that he would be present at the Mass to inaugurate Leo XIV’s pontificate, scheduled for Sunday, May 18, at St. Peter’s.

Istanbul, a path to peace in Ukraine

On another note, Parolin also encouraged peace negotiations between the presidents of Ukraine and Russia during the meeting to be held in Turkey with the mediation of the United States.

He expressed his hope that the meeting planned for Istanbul could be “a serious starting point for ending the war.” 

“We always hope there are openings for peace,” Parolin said. “We are pleased that there is finally the possibility of a direct meeting. We hope that the existing issues can be resolved there and that a genuine peace process can begin.”

No immediate plans for a papal trip to Ukraine

Regarding a possible visit by Pope Leo XIV to Kyiv, Ukraine, following President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s telephone invitation Monday, the Vatican secretary of state indicated that it is still “premature” to consider such a possibility.

Pope Leo XIV “will continue, as he has done numerous times since the start of his pontificate, to call for an end to the war,” Parolin affirmed.

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

CNA Staff, May 16, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Earlier this week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee unveiled its portion of the reconciliation bill, which included language to defund Planned Parenthood and abortion vendors for the next 10 years in the base text of the House bill.

Leading pro-life voices say the proposed congressional reconciliation bill could be a “historic opportunity” to stop federal funding from going to the abortion giant.

“Through a process called budget reconciliation, a new budget is being crafted that will soon be voted on by both chambers of Congress and sent to the White House for approval,” Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins said this week in a livestream that gathered together leading pro-life advocates.

“Our goal is to see Planned Parenthood and big abortion defunded of our taxpayer dollars once and for all through this process,” Hawkins said.

What is budget reconciliation? 

Reconciliation is an expedited process for passing laws related to spending, budget, or taxes. 

What makes the reconciliation process unique is that for certain budget-related bills, it allows for a simple majority vote in the Senate as opposed to the usual supermajority requirement. Getting a supermajority of 60 votes in the Senate is a challenge, but in budget reconciliation, bills can pass with a simple majority of 51 votes.

Reconciliation enables Congress to efficiently make fiscal policy changes. The process begins with the House and Senate budget committees creating budget resolutions and working together to pass an identical budget resolution.

After negotiating and voting on the reconciliation bills, the finalized reconciliation bill is brought to the president for a signature.

Why pro-lifers have high hopes

David Bereit, founder of 40 Days for Life and head of the Life Leadership Conference, called this opportunity “the best shot we’ve ever had.”

“With a Republican trifecta in Washington, Congress can finally use the budget reconciliation process to stop the forced taxpayer funding of the Big Abortion industry,” read an SBA statement shared with CNA.

Kristi Hamrick, vice president at Students for Life Action, noted that the language of disqualifying abortion vendors is in the “base text” of the bill. “An amendment is easy to throw away,” Hamrick told CNA. “But we’re written into the bill itself, and we’re written in for 10 years.”  

“A major hurdle was just passed,” Hamrick said. 

But the Republican majority in the House and Senate is slim — and not all right-leaning legislators consistently vote pro-life. 

According to Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser, moderate Republicans could be key to passing the bill. 

Without enough votes, legislators may have to comprise on the proposed 10-year pause on Planned Parenthood funding.

Hawkins and other pro-life voices are encouraging citizens to reach out to their members of Congress to encourage them to vote pro-life. 

Hawkins has high hopes for the reconciliation bill. “We know we can get out there and get this job done,” she said.

Why defund Planned Parenthood?   

While the Hyde Amendment blocks federal funding of abortion in programs like Medicaid, the abortion industry is still funded by the federal government via subsidies.

According to its most recent annual report, Planned Parenthood received $800 million in U.S. taxpayer funding, with taxpayer dollars making up nearly 40% of their funding. 

“Imagine if you or I had someone covering 40% of our bills,” Hamrick said. “That’s a lot of money, and that gives you a lot of freedom and flexibility.”

The same annual report revealed Planned Parenthood caused over 400,000 abortions. 

“Forcing Americans to fund the abortion industry is a gross abuse of our hard-earned tax dollars and it’s unconscionable how long it has gone on,” Dannenfelser said.

“Health care should promote health,” Hamrick added. “If your health care kills people on purpose, you’re doing it wrong.” 

More and better alternatives 

Hamrick noted that defunding Planned Parenthood “doesn’t cut health care dollars away from poor women.” 

Pro-life advocates like Dannenfelser also maintain that “better alternatives to businesses like Planned Parenthood exist for women.” 

A recent report from the Charlotte Lozier Institute — the research and policy arm of SBA — found that in the U.S., community health centers for women outnumber Planned Parenthood locations 15 to 1. 

Dannenfelser noted that the community health centers give “high quality care.” 

“These centers are accessible and provide much more comprehensive care without performing abortions,” Dannenfelser said. “And because Medicaid dollars follow patients, they can continue to use Medicaid.” 

“We want them to go to health care providers that care for them as a full person,” Hamrick added.  

The celebration marking the official beginning of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate on May 18 is a solemn liturgy. The rite highlights the bond with the Apostle Peter and his martyrdom, which nurtured the nascent Church of Rome, and the significance of the “Petrine” episcopal insignia conferred upon the Pope: the Pallium and the Ring of the Fisherman.

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Vatican City, May 16, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Millions of tourists flock to Rome’s Spanish Steps each year, but few realize that at the top of the steps is a hidden chapel with a special connection to St. Thérèse of Lisieux.

In 1887, during a pilgrimage to Rome, Thérèse Martin — now known around the world as St. Thérèse of Lisieux — visited the chapel of “Mater Admirabilis,” tucked inside a convent atop the iconic staircase.

There, she prayed on her knees before a painting of the Virgin Mary, beseeching God for the grace to enter the Carmelite convent at the age of 15, a request that she also boldly made during an audience with Pope Leo XIII at the Vatican.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of St. Thérèse’s canonization on May 17, 1925. Declared a doctor of the Church in 1997, Thérèse is among the most beloved Catholic saints, known for her “Little Way,” a spirituality of childlike trust and love.

The unique fresco of Our Lady, known by the title “Mater Admirabilis,” is still preserved in the chapel. Today, visitors can access it through the entrance to the Instituto del Sacro Cuore, just to the left of the church of Santissima Trinità dei Monti. 

Many graces and miracles associated with the Marian image have been reported over the years, according to Father Fabrice du Hays, rector of Trinità dei Monti.

“We have a ex-voto on the walls everywhere from people who receive graces from this place. And we had a lot of testimonies of people getting healed or getting a special grace,” du Hays told CNA.

In celebration of the Jubilee of Hope, the Trinità dei Monti church is displaying the relics of the saint for public veneration all year and will host the Jubilee of Families at the end of May.

“We are the church for the whole jubilee dedicated to St. Thérèse,” the rector said.

The humble story of the Mater Admirabilis

While the Mater Admirabilis chapel is little known today, it was a “must see” for 19th-century Catholic pilgrims to Rome, according to du Hays.

St. John Bosco offered Mass in the chapel, and Pope Pius XII also visited the image and granted the painting its Marian title, “Mater Admirabilis,” or “Mother Most Admirable.”

The fresco itself had humble beginnings. In 1844, a young postulant of the Society of the Sacred Heart, Pauline Perdrau, was asked to paint an image of the Virgin Mary on the recreation room wall of the sisters’ school. Though she had painted before, she found the fresco technique more difficult than expected.

She portrayed Mary as a young woman in a rose-colored dress. The vivid colors and amateur style led the mother superior to cover the image when it was first completed, calling it “ugly.”

Weeks later, however, many of the sisters found themselves drawn to the image and referred to it as beautiful, despite its technical flaws.

On Oct. 20, 1846, Pope Pius IX visited the convent and viewed the now-softened fresco. He gave it the title “Mater Admirabilis” and called for the hallway to be turned into a chapel. 

The chapel later became associated with several miraculous healings and spiritual graces. The Society of the Sacred Heart adopted the Mater Admirabilis image as a symbol of the Virgin Mary in its global network of schools, including at Catholic schools established in Louisiana and Missouri.

“Students who have been in a Sacred Heart school … have prayed in front of copies of this image. And when they come to Rome, they want to see the original,” du Hays said. 

“You cannot imagine the consequences of this painting,” he added.

St. Thérèse and Pope Leo XIII

On Nov. 20, 1887, during her Roman pilgrimage, Thérèse Martin — then just 14 — met Pope Leo XIII at the Vatican to plead her case.

According to her autobiography, “The Story of a Soul,” she kissed the pontiff’s foot, then his hand, before lifting her tear-filled eyes to his.

“Holy Father, I have a great favor to ask you,” she said. “In honor of your jubilee, will you allow me to enter the Carmel when I am 15?”

The vicar general of Bayeux, France, interrupted to say the superiors were reviewing her request.

St. Thérèse recalled that Pope Leo “bent towards me till his face almost touched mine, and his piercing black eyes seemed to read my very soul.”

“Well, my child,” Pope Leo XIII said, “do whatever the superiors decide.”

Thérèse pressed further: “Holy Father, if only you say ‘yes,’ everyone else would agree.”

Leo XIII replied: “Well, well! You will enter if it is God’s will.”

As guards began to move her along, Thérèse clung to the pope’s knee. He placed his hand gently over her lips and then gave his blessing.

“I must admit that in spite of my tears I felt a deep inward peace, for I had made every effort in my power to respond to the appeal of my Divine Master,” Thérèse wrote. “This peace, however, dwelt in the depths of my soul — on the surface all was bitterness; and Jesus was silent — absent it would seem, for nothing revealed that he was there.”

“Rome, where I thought to find comfort and where I found the cross,” she later reflected.

Despite her suffering in the moment, Thérèse went on to enter the Carmel in Lisieux a few months later at the age of 15.

She carried the memories of her Roman pilgrimage with her throughout the rest of her life, recalling in her autobiography her experiences visiting the Colosseum where she kissed “the dust reddened with the blood of the early Christians,” the catacombs where she prayed at what had once been the tomb of St. Cecilia, the Church of St. Agnes in Piazza Navona, and where she venerated the relics of the true cross in Rome’s Basilica of Santa Croce.

St. Thérèse wrote: “Ah, what a journey! It taught me more than the long years of study... I saw beautiful things, contemplated the wonders of art and religion, but most of all, I walked on the very ground of the apostles, a land soaked with the blood of the martyrs, and my soul expanded in contact with holy things.”

The French roots of the Spanish Steps

Despite their name, the Spanish Steps have a distinctly French history. In the 15th century, King Louis XI of France, ill and seeking a cure, asked for St. Francis of Paola, a Calabrian friar, to come to France to heal him.

“When he arrived … he told the king, ‘The Lord sent me to you, not to heal you, but to prepare you to die, and I will help you to die as a Christian,’” du Hays said. The king underwent a conversion before dying and instructed his son to build a convent in Rome for the friar’s order, the Order of the Minims.

That royal wish led to the founding of the French Royal Convent at Monte Pincio in 1495. In 1502, King Louis XII began construction of the Trinità dei Monti church.

Following the French Revolution, the Order of the Minims was forced to leave the Roman church. The Sisters of the Sacred Heart later moved in and opened a school that still operates today.

The famous Spanish Steps “were built by France and they were given back to Rome, to Italy in the 19th century,” du Hays said.

The sisters’ convent school today is still open and includes young students with disabilities among its pupils. “It’s really a place of inclusion,” the rector said.

How to visit the hidden chapel

The Mater Admirabilis chapel can be visited by entering the Instituto del Sacro Cuore, reached via a small staircase to the left of the church entrance at the top of the Spanish Steps.

“The password, if you want to enter in the convent is you go to the entrance door and you say, ‘I want to go to the chapel of Mater,’ and they let you go to pray there,” du Hays said.

“If you want to visit the convent, you have to have a guided tour. But if you want to go just pray in the chapel, it’s always possible during the day.”

Trinità dei Monti is currently entrusted to the Emmanuel Community, a Catholic charismatic movement that seeks to evangelize the throngs of tourists who visit the Spanish Steps.

On Thursday evenings, volunteers invite tourists taking photos on the steps to visit the Trinita de Monti church for prayer, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, confession, or conversation with a priest from 7:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.

“We try to do it as often as possible, and if other missionaries want to join us on a Thursday evening, they are always very welcome,” du Hays said.

English-language Mass is celebrated in the church at the top of the Spanish Steps on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m., with the opportunity to venerate the relics of St. Thérèse. Eucharistic adoration is held at the church Monday through Thursday from 5:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

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