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CNA Staff, May 1, 2025 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news:

Sen. Hawley urges FDA to reinstate abortion drug safety regulations

Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley issued a letter on Monday urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reinstate safety regulations for chemical abortion drugs. 

Citing a newly published study from the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Hawley urged the FDA to act, saying the “health and safety of American women depend on it.” 

The study, released this week, found that more than 1 in 10 women who use mifepristone experience adverse side effects including sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging, or an emergency room visit. 

Published on April 28, the study is the “largest known study of mifepristone to date,” according to Hawley. The study found that the rate of negative side effects is “at least 22 times greater” than the adverse effects rate on the drug label, which is approved by the FDA. 

In the letter, Hawley noted that Democratic administrations “have stripped away basic safeguards” surrounding the drug. The Obama administration reduced required in-person visits, removed the physicians prescription requirement, and ended mandatory reporting of adverse effects. 

The Biden administration, meanwhile, ended requirements for in-person visits and dispensing, meaning that mifepristone can be sent via mail without any medical supervision. 

Hawley urged the FDA to “reinstate safety regulations on the chemical abortion drug immediately.”

Catholic leaders fight assisted suicide as bill progresses in New York state

Catholic leaders in New York are speaking out as an assisted suicide bill, the “Medical Aid in Dying Act,” progresses through the state Legislature this week. 

The assisted suicide bill passed the state Assembly on Tuesday. It was the first time such a bill has made it to the floor of either chamber since 2016. 

The bill allows anyone 18 or older to request drugs for assisted suicide if they have been diagnosed with a terminal illness with a prognosis of six months or less and if they retain “decision-making capacity.”

Proponents maintain that there are safeguards against coercion and that the deadly drugs are self-administered.

Robert Bellafiore, a spokesperson for the New York State Catholic Conference, called the bill “state-sanctioned suicide” in a statement this week. 

Bellafiore described the measure a “Pandora’s box” that “cannot be controlled,” saying that it works against the governor’s suicide prevention efforts. He also criticized the bill for putting people with mental health issues at risk, arguing that the safeguards are “made of straw.” 

“It tells young people, who everyone knows are in the midst of an unprecedented mental health crisis, that life is disposable and that it’s OK to end your life if you see no hope,” Bellafiore said.

Bellafiore called on the state to instead “strengthen palliative care, improve health care services and counseling for people in crisis, and show America what real compassion looks like.”

Local Catholic and pro-life organizations are banding together to oppose the measure. 

The bishops of New York wrote a letter last week urging the Legislature to reconsider the policy. The prelates cited concern for the vulnerable, who could be pressured into assisted suicide, as well as concerns about the quick expansion of assisted suicide in Canada.

On May 6, Feminists Choosing Life of New York and the New York Alliance Against Assisted Suicide will lobby against the legislation. The Diocese of Rochester partnered with the pro-life feminist group as well as the Finger Lakes Guild of the Catholic Medical Association to host a webinar on Thursday on physician-assisted suicide. 

Parental notification laws challenged in Missouri, Nevada

A pro-abortion group is suing Missouri over its law requiring parental consent for minors to have abortions. 

The Missouri state law requires a minor to receive parental consent from at least one parent to obtain an abortion. Minors may seek an exception in court. 

A pro-abortion nonprofit, Right By You, filed the lawsuit in Jackson County Circuit Court, alleging the notification laws “bully pregnant young people without parental support into giving birth.”

The lawsuit follows the passage of Missouri’s abortion rights amendment last fall. 

The advocacy group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America said on Thursday that the lawsuit could “enable abusers and traffickers to exploit minors.”

“They’re suing so girls who aren’t old enough to get their ears pierced on their own can have an abortion without their parents,” said group spokeswoman Kelsey Pritchard.

A judge in Nevada, meanwhile, has blocked the state’s rule requiring parental notification for minors seeking abortion, a policy that was set to take effect this week. 

The 1985 law requiring one parent to be notified if a minor sought an abortion has never been enforced after it was found unconstitutional under Roe v. Wade. 

After Roe was overturned, the law was scheduled to be enforced this month. But Planned Parenthood of Nevada challenged the law, calling it “unconstitutionally vague.”

U.S. District Court Judge Anne Traum granted Planned Parenthood’s request to pause the law’s implementation while it files a motion for stay.  

About 70% of U.S. states have some form of parental notification or permission laws for minors seeking abortion. 

Pilgrims at the Wednesday general audience Aug. 9, 2023, hold up an image of the Virgin Mary. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

ACI Prensa Staff, May 1, 2025 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

The Catholic Church dedicates the entire month of May to the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of God and spiritual mother of all.

In the plan of salvation, the Blessed Virgin Mary holds a special place. By virtue of her role to be the mother of the Son of God by divine election, she was conceived immaculately — i.e., without the stain of original sin — and by fidelity to her son has been crowned queen of heaven and earth. 

Everything Mary said and did leads to Christ. Who knows a child better than a mother? And what good and loving child does not know his or her mother and love her with all of his or her heart?

Mary knew and loved Jesus like no one else on earth — and she loves each of her children, human beings, with similar affection and tenderness.

The Church, in its wisdom, asks its children to be especially devoted to Mother Mary during the month of May and to be particularly grateful for all of her care.

A model for every Christian

Mary, the most humble of all women, is a model for everyone, today, in the here and now. She is a model in a particular way for every woman, as expressed by Pope Francis:

“There is only one model for you, Mary: the woman of fidelity, the one who did not understand what was happening to her but obeyed. The one who, as soon as she knew what her cousin needed took off [to help her], the Virgin of Promptness. The one who escaped as a refugee in a foreign country to save the life of her son,” Pope Francis said during an April 2014 message to 20,000 young people gathered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for a regional youth day.

The first disciple

Years later, during an Aug. 24, 2021, catechesis, Pope Francis called Mary “the first disciple of Jesus” and reminded us that “Mary is there, praying for us, praying for those who do not pray. Why? Because she is our mother.”

The Virgin, through Jesus, has brought heaven closer to us and her life is the best proof that it is possible to reach it. Pope Francis said it best: “She shows us that heaven is within reach, if we too do not give in to sin, we praise God with humility, and we serve others with generosity” (Pope Francis, Angelus address on the solemnity of the Assumption, Aug. 15, 2022). 

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

National Shrine and Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Sheshan, also known as Basilica of Mary, Help of Christians, in Shanghai, China. / Credit: lobia, via Wikimedia Commons

Vatican City, May 1, 2025 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

As the Catholic Church continues through a period of interregnum between the reign of popes, Chinese authorities have made moves to assert the Church in China’s autonomy from Rome by unilaterally “electing” two bishops — including in a diocese already led by a Vatican-appointed bishop.

On April 28, Father Wu Jianlin, vicar general of Shanghai, was chosen to be the city’s new auxiliary bishop by an assembly of local priests. The following day, Father Li Jianlin was “elected” bishop of the Diocese of Xinxiang.

As of Thursday afternoon there have been no reports that either priest has been installed as a bishop. 

Both appointments come during a sede vacante — the period when the Apotolic See is vacant following the death of Pope Francis on April 21 — a time during which the Holy See is unable to ratify episcopal nominations. A conclave to elect the next pope is scheduled to begin May 7.

These appointments in China will present the new pope with an early diplomatic challenge.

The appointment in Xinxiang is particularly contentious. The Vatican already recognizes Bishop Joseph Zhang Weizhu as the legitimate bishop of the diocese. Appointed clandestinely by Pope John Paul II in 1991, Zhang has spent decades ministering without state approval and has been arrested multiple times.

He was detained most recently in 2021 while recovering from cancer surgery and remains in custody without trial, according to a 2024 report by the Hudson Institute.

Father Li Jianlin, the diocese’s bishop-elect in the eyes of Beijing, has a history of alignment with the Communist Party. In 2018 he cosigned a directive enforcing a ban on minors attending Mass in Henan province. His appointment is viewed by observers as an overt challenge to Vatican authority, particularly given the presence of a sitting bishop already appointed by Rome.

The move underscores the fragile and often opaque relationship between the Vatican and Beijing. A 2018 provisional agreement between the two sides, renewed most recently in October 2024, is intended to regulate the appointment of bishops in China through a joint process.  

While the terms of the agreement have never been publicly disclosed, Asia News reported that even under the Vatican-China agreement, Beijing usually presented a single candidate to the Vatican chosen by assemblies of the clergy affiliated by the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, which the pope could then approve or not.  

In recent years, Vatican officials have acknowledged that Beijing has violated the agreement on multiple occasions. 

Bishop Shen Bin, installed by Chinese authorities in Shanghai in 2023 without Vatican approval, was later recognized by Pope Francis “for the good of the diocese” — a concession that sparked controversy. Wu’s appointment this week as Shen’s auxiliary appears to consolidate Shen’s power in Shanghai. 

The Vatican came under criticism during Francis’ pontificate for what some see as a muted response to China’s human rights abuses, including the internment of Uyghur Muslims and the imprisonment of Catholic pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong.  

Human rights groups have also documented ongoing persecution of underground Catholic clergy, with seven bishops currently detained without trial. 

On May 1, new restrictions from China’s United Front came into force banning foreign clergy from presiding over religious activities for Chinese people without the invitation of the Chinese government, severely limiting foreign missionary activity in the country. 

Meanwhile, state-sanctioned Catholic institutions in China offered little acknowledgement of Pope Francis’ death.  

The Patriotic Catholic Association mentioned it in passing on its website, while greater prominence was given to the 76th anniversary of the communist victory in Nanjing. On April 23, Catholics in Nanjing gathered to honor fallen People’s Liberation Army soldiers, with no mention of the late pontiff at the event, according to the blog Bitter Winter. 

As the conclave approaches, how the new pope navigates the challenging relationship with Beijing — and responds to episcopal appointments made without Rome — will likely define the next phase of Vatican diplomacy with China. 

null / Credit: lunamarina/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 1, 2025 / 13:30 pm (CNA).

The more often Catholics in the United States attend Mass, the more likely they are to oppose proposed changes to the Church, such as blessing same-sex marriages and allowing women to become priests, a new Pew Research Center study reveals.

Pew Research surveyed 1,787 Catholics nationwide from Feb. 3–9 and asked their views on a wide range of topics. Pew’s report specifically tracked and categorized the answers of Catholics who attend Mass at least weekly and those who don’t. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that participation in Mass “is a testimony of belonging and of being faithful to Christ and his Church” (No. 2182) and that “on Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass“ (No. 2180). The precept of participating in the Mass is satisfied by attendance at Mass on Sundays or holy days, or on the evening of the preceding day.

According to the study, 53% of Catholics who attend weekly Mass said the Church should “stick to its traditional teachings” and limit change, while only 31% of those who attend less regularly affirmed the same position.

Between Catholics who attend Mass weekly and those who attend less regularly, the topic where the two groups differed the most was on the Church’s stance on recognizing gay marriages. 

Nearly two-thirds, or 66%, of Catholics who go to weekly Mass oppose Church recognition of gay marriages, while 58% of those who attend less frequently believe the Church should recognize same-sex marriages. 

Similarly, 56% of Catholics who go to weekly Mass oppose allowing women to become priests, while 67% of Catholics who attend less frequently are in favor of it. 

A majority of both weekly and non-weekly attendees, however, are in favor of women becoming deacons, with 54% of weekly attendees and 74% of non-weekly attendees supporting the proposal. 

According to the survey, Catholics who attend weekly Mass are sharply divided on the question of allowing priests to get married, with 49% in favor and 48% opposed. That is within the survey’s 3% margin of error. Non-weekly Mass-goers, meanwhile, clearly support such a change, with 69% in favor. 

Other issues surveyed showed less marked differences between the two groups. Large majorities of both weekly and non-weekly attendees believe the Catholic Church should allow the use of birth control (72% of weekly Mass-goers and 90% of less frequent participants). Seventy-one percent of weekly Mass attendees also believe the Church should allow couples to use in vitro fertilization (IVF) to get pregnant, a position also supported by 88% of non-weekly Mass attendees.

Pope Francis meets director Martin Scorsese in the Vatican on Nov. 30, 2016. / Credit: L’Osservatore Romano

CNA Staff, May 1, 2025 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

Filmmaker Martin Scorsese is producing a feature-length documentary about Pope Francis and the educational movement the late pontiff founded.

“Aldeas, a New Story” will feature conversations between Scorsese and the pope, including what is reportedly Francis’ final in-depth on-camera interview for a film.

The documentary will highlight the work of Scholas Occurrentes, the nonprofit Pope Francis created in 2013 that aims to bring about what the pope called a “culture of encounter” through the education system. 

Part of the group’s work has included filmmaking under the Aldeas Initiative, which brings together film production with education and community building. The program encourages participants to make scripted short films highlighting their identities and histories. 

The documentary will show the short films of participants of the Aldeas Initiative from Italy, Gambia, and Indonesia. 

Aldeas Scholas Film and Scorsese’s Sikelia Productions announced the documentary on April 30. The two production companies said the film is “a testament to the enduring belief that creativity is not only a means of expression but a path to hope and transformation.”

“Now, more than ever, we need to talk to each other [and] listen to one another cross-culturally,” Scorsese said in a statement. “One of the best ways to accomplish this is by sharing the stories of who we are, reflected from our personal lives and experiences. It helps us understand and value how each of us sees the world.” 

“It was important to Pope Francis for people across the globe to exchange ideas with respect while also preserving their cultural identity, and cinema is the best medium to do that,” the filmmaker said.

Before his passing, Pope Francis said Aldeas “is an extremely poetic and very constructive project because it goes to the roots of what human life is, human sociability, human conflicts… the essence of a life’s journey.”

A release date for the film has not been announced. 

After Pope Francis’ passing, Scorsese called the Holy Father “a remarkable human being” in a statement shared with ABC News. 

“He acknowledged his own failings. He radiated wisdom. He radiated goodness. He had an ironclad commitment to the good. He knew in his soul that ignorance was a terrible plague on humanity. So he never stopped learning,” Scorsese said.

He added: “The loss for me runs deep — I was lucky enough to know him, and I will miss his presence and his warmth. The loss for the world is immense. But he left a light behind, and it can never be extinguished.”

Pope Francis created an atmosphere of mercy and encounter around the world, Detroit priests say as conclave nears