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New U.S. embryo screening firm raises specter of ‘designer babies’

null / Credit: Tati9/Shutterstock CNA Staff, Jun 10, 2025 / 15:51 pm (CNA). A U.S.-based biotech company has announced the launch of Nucleus Embryo, a company that screens human embryos for desired genetic profiles, a practice the Catholic Church teaches violates human dignity and contributes to a eugenic mentality. People undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) will be able to screen up to 20 embryos for over 900 conditions and traits, including health risks, intelligence, and physical characteristics like height and eye color, in order to “optimize” their embryos, according to Kian Sadeghi, founder of Nucleus Genomics, parent company of Nucleus Embryo.“I see a world where sequencing, analyzing, and editing DNA merge seamlessly to create a truly preventative health care system,” the 25-year-old Sadeghi said on the company’s website, adding: “Every parent wants to give their children more than they had. For the first time in human histor

Cardinal Ambongo appeals to Trump: ‘Africa is important to the U.S.’

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, the archbishop of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, asked President Donald Trump for aid to Africa an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, June 8, 2025. / Credit: François-Régis Salefran CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 10, 2025 / 15:19 pm (CNA). Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo is asking U.S. President Donald Trump to reinstate foreign aid to Africa. “Targeted humanitarian aid for Africa is urgently needed, morally good, and of great strategic value to the U.S,” Ambongo, the archbishop of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, wrote in a June 8 op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal. “President Trump has made clear that he will put the needs of his country and its citizens first before attending to the needs of the world. No leader of a nation as great as the U.S. could do otherwise,” the cardinal stated. “It would be a mistake, however, for Mr.

New York bishops lament ‘dark day’ as state Legislature passes assisted suicide bill

The New York state capitol in Albany. / Credit: Nina Alizada/Shutterstock CNA Staff, Jun 10, 2025 / 11:34 am (CNA). The Catholic bishops in New York state are warning of a looming “nightmare” there after the state Legislature passed a measure authorizing doctors to participate in assisted suicide.Democrats in the state Senate voted Monday to pass the “Medical Aid in Dying Act,” a measure that will allow doctors to prescribe medication to terminally ill individuals that the patients may “self-administer to bring about death.” The measure limits the suicide option to those 18 years or older with “an incurable and irreversible illness or condition that has been medically confirmed.” The legislation is expected to be signed by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.‘A dark day for New York state’New York joins 11 other states — California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Montana, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont,

USCCB reports decline in abuse allegations against Catholic clergy

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops headquarters in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Farragutful, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 10, 2025 / 09:20 am (CNA). Since last year, there has been a 32% decline in U.S. child abuse allegations against Catholic clergy, according to the 2024 annual report of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection. Overall, “902 allegations were reported by 855 victims-survivors of child sexual abuse by clergy,” the report said, compared with 1,308 allegations by 1,254 survivors last year. Covering July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, the annual report is based on a survey of 195 U.S. Catholic dioceses and eparchies, drawn from data collected by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University as well as an audit by StoneBridge Business Partners. The annu

‘Math as path to God’ a hot topic at Society of Catholic Scientists conference

Harvard University professor of mathematics and biology Martin Nowak speaks at the annual conference of the Society of Catholic Scientists on June 8, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNA Washington D.C., Jun 10, 2025 / 08:50 am (CNA). Harvard professor of mathematics and biology Martin Nowak focused on math as a path to God during a presentation at the 2025 annual conference of the Society of Catholic Scientists in Washington, D.C.During a June 8 lecture titled “Does Mathematics Lead Us to God?” Nowak said that among other things, math can be viewed as “an argument for the existence of God.”Harvard professor Martin Nowak's discussion of mathematics was a hot topic at the Society of Catholic Scientists conference on June 8, 2025, especially given recent attention to Pope Leo XIV having earned a degree in mathematics at Villanova University. Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNAReferencing St. Augustine, Nowak said math is like “an intelligi

Apostolate helps grandparents pass on the faith to their grandchildren

Grandly co-founder and director Pili Abouchaar (right) discusses the apostolate’s work with grandparents on “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly” on June 4, 2025. / Credit: “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly”/Screenshot Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 10, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA). “What if the most important thing that God wants you to do is still in front of you, and that is passing on the faith to your grandchildren?” That’s the proposition Pili Abouchaar focuses on as co-founder and director of Grandly, an apostolate dedicated to helping grandparents do just that.In an interview on “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly,” Abouchaar acknowledged that grandparents often feel helpless and hopeless in regard to this mission, but Grandly can make a difference in their approach and outlook. “The main thing that we try to tackle in our mission in Grandly is to try to give grandparents hope to help them bridge that generational gap between how they were raised

Pew report: How the global religious landscape changed from 2010 to 2020

Pew’s latest research released June 5, 2025, found that while Christianity still remains the world’s largest religion, Islam’s growth outpaced every religion over the course of a decade. / Credit: Arthimedes/Shutterstock Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 9, 2025 / 18:08 pm (CNA). While Christianity remained the largest global religion from 2010 to 2020, the latest Pew Research study found that followers of Islam outpaced every world religion in population over the course of the decade.The recently released report, “How the Global Religious Landscape Changed from 2010 to 2020,” includes data from over 2,700 sources, including national census, demographic surveys, and population registers. Some of the estimates made in the report originate from data about 2020 that was not made available till 2024 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which delayed census data in at least 65 countries.The report covered 201 countries, focusing on seven religious categories: Chr

Archbishop Gomez urges calm and restraint as ICE protests erupt in Los Angeles

Waymo cars are set on fire and vandalized during a protest against immigration raids on June 8, 2025, in Los Angeles. / Credit: Nick Ut/Getty Images CNA Staff, Jun 9, 2025 / 17:38 pm (CNA). Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, the nation’s largest Catholic community, issued a statement calling for “restraint and calm” as tensions in Los Angeles escalated over the weekend after protests sparked by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of unauthorized immigrants turned violent.“I am troubled by today’s immigration enforcement raids in Los Angeles, and I am praying for our community,” Gomez said in a statement issued June 6.“We all agree that we don’t want undocumented immigrants who are known terrorists or violent criminals in our communities. But there is no need for the government to carry out enforcement actions in a way that provokes fear and anxiety among ordinary, hardworking immigrants and their fa

Bishops to Congress: AI must support dignity of person, common good

Bishop William Byrne of the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts, gives the keynote address at the 2024 National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., Feb. 8, 2024. / Credit: EWTN Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 9, 2025 / 17:08 pm (CNA). As lawmakers consider rules related to the development of artificial intelligence (AI), the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is urging them to prioritize “the life and dignity of the human person and the common good.”“Artificial intelligence is rapidly shaping the future of our society,” Bishop William D. Byrne, the chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Communications, said in a statement.“As pastors entrusted with the care of human life and dignity, we urge lawmakers to heed the call of our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, to help ensure that AI is developed with responsibility and discernment so that it may truly benefit every person,” Byrne said.Although Congress is not currentl

Catholic bishops express ‘profound disappointment’ over Texas Dream Act reversal

The Texas State Capitol in Austin. / Credit: Gang Liu/Shutterstock CNA Staff, Jun 9, 2025 / 16:06 pm (CNA). A federal judge has overturned the long-standing “Texas Dream Act” in a move the state’s Catholic bishops say undermines “just” immigration reform efforts. After the U.S. Department of Justice sued the state of Texas over the matter last week, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor blocked the law, which had enabled some noncitizens living illegally in Texas to qualify for in-state tuition at the state’s public universities and colleges.Reed ruled that the law was “unconstitutional and invalid” because it applied to those who were “not lawfully present in the United States.”Enacted in 2001, the law made in-state tuition available for noncitizen students who graduated from a local high school and had lived in Texas for at least three years prior to graduation, including those who weren’t in the country

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