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New York Encounter panel: Marriage matters ‘more than ever’ amid falling birth rates

Marriage researchers Brad Wilcox (right) and Margarite Mooney on the stage of a panel discussion titled "Why Have Children?" on Feb. 15, 2025, at the New York Encounter conference in New York City. / Credit: Migi Fabara/EWTN News New York City, N.Y., Feb 16, 2025 / 13:40 pm (CNA). Forecasts that one in three young adults in the U.S. today will never marry signify a closing of the “American heart,” a leading marriage researcher said Saturday.“Love and marriage have fallen on harder times of late,” observed Brad Wilcox, a sociologist who directs the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, during a panel discussion titled “Why Have Children?” at New York Encounter, an annual conference organized by members of the Catholic movement Communion and Liberation. Wilcox, author of the 2024 book, “Get Married: Why Americans Must Defy the Elites, Forge Strong Families, and Save Civilization,” was joined in the

Catholics hopeful on abortion, health policy after Kennedy’s confirmation as HHS secretary

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, testifies during his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 16, 2025 / 07:30 am (CNA). Prominent U.S. Catholics are expressing optimism after Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent confirmation as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), following an arduous confirmation process which saw him challenged on several issues key to the Catholic Church. Kennedy, himself a professed Catholic, has faced intense scrutiny from both sides of the aisle for his controversial views on vaccines, abortion, and public health policy since President Donald Trump nominated him to serve as head of HHS.That position oversees 10 agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control a

Ecologists at center dedicated to St. Kateri help children integrate faith and nature

A statue of St. Kateri Tekakwitha. / Credit: Saint Kateri Conservation Center CNA Staff, Feb 16, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA). When Kathleen Hoenke and William Jacobs aren’t working as professional ecologists by day in their secular jobs, they’re using their backgrounds to serve the Saint Kateri Conservation Center, a national Catholic nonprofit that promotes faith, ecology, biodiversity, and climate resiliency — especially with the next generation.The two colleagues have written a new book titled “God Made That!” that aims to inspire kids to explore nature, deepen their faith, and discover the beauty of God’s creation. It introduces a Catholic perspective on ecology, with accessible explanations of how Scripture, the saints, and Church teaching encourage care for creation.The book also includes interactive features such as nature journal prompts, saint profiles, prayers, and hands-on activities, inspiring readers to actively explore their surroundi

New York Encounter: Technology is costing us our humanity, experts say

Left to right: Paolo Carozza, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame; Christine Rosen, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and Carter Snead, a Notre Dame law professor and bioethicist, discuss “the corporeal dimension of human identity in an age of virtual reality” at the New York Encounter in New York City on Feb. 15, 2025. / Credit: Zelda Caldwell/CNA New York City, N.Y., Feb 15, 2025 / 17:16 pm (CNA). Technology is robbing us of our humanity, turning humans in some respects into “disembodied” minds, Paolo Carozza, professor of law at the University of Notre Dame, warned Saturday during a panel discussion at this year’s New York Encounter.Such a notion might have sounded like science fiction not so long ago. But this “disembodiment” — or “forgetting the centrality of the human body,” as Carozza put it — defines who we are as a culture today, thanks to technological advances that have ma

New animated film honors legacy of 21 Coptic Martyrs on 10th anniversary of their martyrdom

On Feb. 15, 2015, ISIS militants brutally executed 21 Coptic Christian prisoners on a beach in Libya. Now, on the 10th anniversary of their deaths, a short animated film called “The 21” is honoring these 21 men who died because of their unwillingness to deny their faith in Jesus Christ. / Credit: MORE Productions/Tod Polson CNA Staff, Feb 15, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA). On Feb. 15, 2015, ISIS militants brutally executed 21 Coptic Christian prisoners on a beach in Libya. Now, on the 10th anniversary of their martyrdom, a short animated film called “The 21” is honoring these 21 men who died because of their unwillingness to deny their faith in Jesus Christ.The 13-minute short, animated film was made by MORE Productions in collaboration with the global Coptic community. Actor Jonathan Roumie, best known for his portrayal of Jesus in the hit series “The Chosen,” served as the film’s executive producer.“The 21” can be viewed for free

Eden Invitation founder: Chastity helps us view people as ‘worthy of reverence and dignity’

The co-founders of Eden Invitation, Shannon Ochoa (left) and Anna Carter (right). / Credit: Eden Invitation Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 14, 2025 / 19:00 pm (CNA). A Catholic ministry called Eden Invitation is working to “create space to receive the whole person” for people with LGBTQ+ experiences. Founders Anna Carter and Shannon Ochoa said they started the organization to form a community of Christians who want to stay close to God and their faith but experience discord in their desires and attractions.Carter, the ministry’s president, explained in a Valentine’s Day “EWTN News Nightly” interview that these experiences don’t need to be “a cause for shame” but rather can be “an invitation to surrender more deeply to Jesus in your life.”“I recognized in high school that I experienced attraction to other women. But I also was really into youth group and had these beautiful experiences of prayer and communit

Fertility rates show pro-life laws saved 22,000 lives in 2023, study finds

null / Credit: maxim ibragimov/Shutterstock CNA Staff, Feb 14, 2025 / 18:05 pm (CNA). Here is a roundup of recent pro-life- and abortion-related news. Pro-life policies save lives, study finds Following the adoption of pro-life laws protecting unborn children across many states, a recent study found there were more births than anticipated in the United States — more than 22,000 additional births. A Feb. 13 study published on JAMA Network analyzed the impact of recent pro-life laws by looking at state-level fertility information from 2012 to 2023. The study found that fertility rates increased in 2023 — the first full year after the U.S. Supreme Court put abortion issues back into the hands of the states. The number is a powerful indication of the impact of pro-life laws, according to pro-life expert Michael New, a senior associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute and assistant professor of practice at the Busch School of Busi

Vance draws attention to lack of religious freedom, free speech in Europe

U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks at the 61st Munich Security Conference on Feb. 14, 2025, in Munich, Germany. / Credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 14, 2025 / 17:35 pm (CNA). U.S. Vice President JD Vance called attention to deteriorating religious freedom and free speech rights in Western liberal democracies throughout Europe during an address to the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Germany on Friday.“I come here today not just with an observation but with an offer,” Vance said in a speech to hundreds of high-ranking European leaders, including heads of state and European Union officials.“Just as the [President Joe] Biden administration seemed desperate to silence people for speaking their minds, so the [President Donald] Trump administration will do precisely the opposite, and I hope that we can work together on that,” Vance continued.“In Washington, there is a new sheriff in town, and under Donald Trump’s l

Catholic leaders push for $10 billion federal school choice program

null / Credit: PUWADON SANG/Shutterstock CNA Staff, Feb 14, 2025 / 14:45 pm (CNA). Catholic leaders have voiced support for a bill that would establish a federal tax credit to expand school choice in K–12 education.If passed, the Educational Choices for Children Act (ECCA), introduced at the end of January during National School Choice Week and National Catholic Schools Week, would provide $10 billion in tax incentives for those who contribute to nonprofits that provide education scholarships for K–12.The program is designed to encourage individuals and businesses to donate by offering tax credits for donations to Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOS), non-private 501c3s that provide scholarships for eligible students to attend qualifying K–12s. The program would also help assist students in public, private, and home school with tuition, fees, books, and educational materials. A companion version of the bill has been introduced in the House. School ch

Catholic welfare group says U.S. funding cuts won’t affect ministry

Syrian refugees in the Bekaa valley of Lebanon in 2018. / Credit: Melkite Greek Archeparchy of Furzol, Zahle and the Bekaa CNA Staff, Feb 14, 2025 / 14:00 pm (CNA). A major global Catholic aid group says the recent funding cuts at the U.S. government will not affect its globe-spanning ministries in India, Africa, and elsewhere. Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) said in a Thursday press statement that the Trump administration’s slashing of funding for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) “will neither curtail nor limit” the group’s ministries across several continents. CNEWA serves communities “scattered throughout the historic but unstable lands of the ancient Eastern churches” — specifically in the Middle East, northeast Africa, India, and Eastern Europe.The group distributes emergency relief to churches that require it while also supporting the formation and development of Church leader

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