St. Michael the Archangel

Pope Leo XIV prays during his general audience on Sept. 24, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Nov 4, 2025 / 14:34 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of November is for the prevention of suicide. 

“Let us pray that those who are struggling with suicidal thoughts might find the support, care, and love they need in their community and be open to the beauty of life,” the pope said in a video released Nov. 4. 

According to a press release, this month’s video was made in collaboration with the Diocese of Phoenix.  

In the video, Pope Leo recites an original prayer written specifically for this month’s prayer intention. Here is his full prayer:

Lord Jesus,

You who invite the weary and burdened

to come to you and rest in your heart,

we ask you this month for all the people

who live in darkness and despair,

especially for those struggling

with suicidal thoughts.

May they always find a community

that welcomes them, listens to them, and accompanies them.

Give all of us an attentive and compassionate heart,

capable of offering comfort and support,

also with the necessary professional help.

May we know how to be close with respect and tenderness,

helping to heal wounds, build bonds, and open horizons.

Together may we rediscover that life is a gift,

that there is still beauty and meaning,

even in the midst of pain and suffering.

We are well aware that those who follow you

are also vulnerable to sadness without hope.

We ask you to always make us feel your love

so that, through your closeness to us,

we can recognize and proclaim to all the infinite love of the Father

who leads us by the hand to renew our trust in the life you give us.

Amen.

The video prayer intention is promoted by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, which raises awareness of monthly papal prayer intentions.

null / Credit: Tekke via Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)

Vatican City, Nov 4, 2025 / 14:04 pm (CNA).

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith will publish a new document on marriage in the context of ongoing discussions about polygamy in Africa.

The document, titled “We Two: In Praise of Monogamy. Doctrinal Note on the Value of Marriage, Exclusive Communion, and Mutual Belonging,” will be released at the end of November, the dicastery’s secretary, Father Armando Matteo, said Tuesday.

Matteo said the work is connected to a request made during the Synod on Synodality for African bishops to prepare a statement on polygamy. African bishops themselves, he noted, asked the Holy See for guidance on the issue.

The Synods on the Family in 2014 and 2015 — though largely dominated by questions of divorce and remarriage — also saw significant interventions from African bishops on the pastoral challenges of polygamous marriages.

A press conference will be held at the Holy See Press Office when the document is released later this month.

Skyline view of Buenos Aires, Argentina. / Credit: Sebasiddi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov 4, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).

The destruction of an image of Our Lady of Luján, the patroness of Argentina, and the burning of a chapel has shocked two communities in Argentina. Authorities are currently investigating the acts of vandalism. 

Father Lucas Arguimbau, a priest at St. Cajetan Shrine, a church in Buenos Aires, announced Nov. 2 that the outdoor small shrine to the Blessed Mother located down the street was the target of vandalism this past weekend in which the image of Our Lady of Luján kept there was smashed to pieces.

The news shocked the community, as the small shrine is located in a busy area monitored by security cameras and near a police station. A woman who lives in the neighborhood found fragments of the destroyed image and brought them to the shrine.

After the 11 a.m. All Souls’ Day Mass on Nov. 2 at St. Cajetan’s, the parochial vicar said: “A neighbor brought us the hands of the statue of Our Lady of Luján, which someone had attacked at the shrine at the corner of Juan B. Justo and Cuzco streets,” as reported by the news site La Nación.

The image of the patroness of Argentina was kept in an outdoor shrine protected by a grille and glass, and served as a gathering spot for the community on special occasions.

After Mass, Arguimbau, accompanied by the parochial vicar, a seminarian, and some laypeople, went to the scene of the incident where, in addition to the broken glass and the destroyed statue of Our Lady, they found a statue of St. Cajetan lying on the ground. A crucifix was undamaged.

Although no report had been filed in previous attacks, this time the priest decided to file one at Police Station 10B, where he also took the remains of the statue.

Arguimbau led a simple act of reparation at the site: “We are going to ask God to bless this place again, and we pray especially for those who come to the shrine, for those who broke the image of the Virgin. We ask that God bless us, protect our neighborhood, and grant us peace in our hearts, as St. Cajetan always did, in good times and bad, sowing good,” he said. He then blessed the site with holy water, and those present prayed a Hail Mary.

Following the incident, St. Cajetan Shrine is studying ways to reinforce the security and protect the nearby small shrine, while the investigation continues to identify the attackers using images captured by security cameras.

Chapel fire

The attack on the small shrine was not the only one reported in Argentina last weekend, which coincided with Halloween. In the city of Pehuén-Co, in southern Buenos Aires province, Holy Family Chapel was completely destroyed by a fire, the cause of which is under investigation.

In an interview with El Rosalenio, Father Adán Caraballo, who is in charge of the Sacred Heart community and Holy Family Chapel in Pehuén-Co, explained that they are still assessing what happened, especially since graffiti with the number “666” among others were found after the fire.

“The church could have burned down at any other time of year, and it just so happens on this day, and the graffiti appears on this very day. Of course, we understand it from a faith perspective, as too delicate of a situation that has become so widespread globally, trivializing something that should never be trivialized like the night of the witches, like Halloween and all that,” he pointed out.

“We understand it as something serious, but we hope it’s just a prank by someone who saw the church burning and said, ‘Let’s put this on it,’” he said, referring to the graffiti.

“The people who have served so much over the years at the chapel are now saddened to see it destroyed,” he lamented, indicating that the fire started from inside, although the investigation is still underway.

While the community is deeply saddened, the priest highlighted the support and “incredible generosity” of those who have come forward to help restore the chapel.

He also reported that the tabernacle “was intact, Jesus was intact, the Eucharist was intact,” which he considered “a miraculous sign.”

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

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, prays before an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Child during the rosary vigil for Pope Francis at the Vatican on Feb. 28, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Vatican City, Nov 4, 2025 / 08:15 am (CNA).

The Vatican’s doctrinal office said Tuesday the title of “Co-Redemptrix” is not an appropriate way to describe Mary’s participation in salvation.

In Mater Populi Fidelis (“The Mother of the Faithful People of God”), the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) said when an expression requires frequent explanation to maintain the correct meaning, it becomes unhelpful.

“In this case, the expression ‘co-redemptrix’ does not help extol Mary as the first and foremost collaborator in the work of redemption and grace, for it carries the risk of eclipsing the exclusive role of Jesus Christ,” according to the doctrinal note, released Nov. 4.

Pope Leo XIV approved the document, signed by DDF prefect Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, on Oct. 7.

Mary’s contribution to human salvation, specifically the title of “Co-Redemptrix” (“Co-Redeemer”), has been a point of theological debate for decades, with proponents calling for Mary’s role in redemption to be declared a dogma but critics saying it exaggerates her importance and could damage efforts for unity with other Christian denominations.

In a preface to the note, Fernández wrote that the document responds to questions the dicastery received in recent decades about Marian devotion and certain Marian titles, and clarifies which are acceptable.

“There are some Marian reflection groups, publications, new devotions, and even requests for Marian dogmas that do not share the same characteristics as popular devotion,” the cardinal wrote, adding that some Marian devotions, expressed “intensely through social media,” can sow confusion among Catholics.

“This text also aims to deepen the proper foundations of Marian devotion by specifying Mary’s place in her relationship with believers in light of the mystery of Christ as the sole mediator and redeemer. This entails a profound fidelity to Catholic identity while also requiring a particular ecumenical effort,” Fernández wrote.

In addition to “Co-Redemptrix,” the document also addressed at length the Marian title “Mediatrix” or “Mediatrix of All Graces,” analyzing related Church teaching on Mary’s role as intercessor.

The DDF concluded that “some titles, such as ‘Mediatrix of All Graces,’ have limits that do not favor a correct understanding of Mary’s unique place.”

The dicastery encouraged the use of other expressions for Mary, specifically titles referring to her motherhood, including “Mother of God” and “Mother of the Faithful People of God.”

“She is the mother who gave the world the author of redemption and of grace, who stood firm at the foot of the cross (cf. John 19:25), suffering alongside her son and offering the pain of her maternal heart pierced by the sword (cf. Luke 2:35),” the document said. “From the Incarnation to the cross and the Resurrection, she was united to Christ in a way that is unique and that far surpasses any other believer.”

Emphasizing that Mary was saved by her son, Jesus Christ, “in a particular and anticipatory way,” the document explained that “Mary’s incomparable greatness lies in what she has received and in her trusting readiness to allow herself to be overtaken by the Spirit.”

It warned that “when we strive to attribute active roles to her that are parallel to those of Christ, we move away from the incomparable beauty that is uniquely hers.”

Presentation in Rome

Experts on Mariology have have held different positions on the title “Co-Redemptrix,” as have different popes.

At a presentation at the Jesuit Curia in Rome on Nov. 4, Fernández emphasized Pope Leo XIV’s support for the doctrinal note but said “there is no doubt that this document will not please some people.”

He explained that note was intended to help Catholics avoid either exaggerating or underrating the importance of devotion to Mary.

“We care for the people’s faith without complicating it with issues that are not among the concerns of the vast majority and that add nothing essential to their love for Mary,” he added.

He also called debates online defending Mary as “Co-Redemptrix” evidence of the “maximalism” the dicastery wants to avoid.

The cardinal’s approximately 40-minute speech was interrupted on several occasions, including in response to this claim, by an Italian man who called himself Gianfilippo (he declined to give his last name to reporters after the event).

The man, who claimed to be part of a Marian study group of about 30 people, appeared to object to some of Fernández’s arguments, shouting that the document “does not please God” and the title of Mary as “Co-Redemptrix” is “is God’s eternal truth … which the Church has approved for centuries.”

“You must also listen to the laity,” the man claimed in a raised voice. “Documents cannot be made like this without listening to the people.”

“You are not the people,” the cardinal answered. “If you want to write, write to the dicastery.”

Fernández added that the dicastery would listen to his position with respect, “but it’s not the only one. I recommend [you read] the document.”

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. / Credit: Thomas Bresson from Belfort, France, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 4, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

On Oct. 21, Nicolas Sarkozy became the first former French president to walk through a prison gate to begin serving a sentence behind bars.

The former president arrived at La Santé prison in Paris to serve a five-year sentence for illegally financing his 2007 presidential campaign through the regime of Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi. Sarkozy notably took with him two books: “The Count of Monte Cristo” and “The Jesus of History.”

The choice of these two titles has not gone unnoticed. In a statement to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, the author of the second book, historian and theologian Jean-Christian Petitfils, explained that Sarkozy confessed to him that he had been “deeply affected by reading” the book about Jesus, which was published in 2011.

Petitfils said when he met Sarkozy in person about four years ago, the former president revealed he was particularly interested in the section detailing the miracles of Jesus.

“Sarkozy only had some vague notions from catechism, but he didn’t truly know the story of Jesus,” the author recounted.

A clear symbolic and political dimension

“He received me at his home, and we talked about the content of my book. He told me he was very interested in miracles, exorcisms, and, of course, the resurrection of Jesus. And I think he believes in the resurrection of Jesus,” he commented.

Petitfils met with Sarkozy again after publishing his French-language book in 2022 on the Shroud of Turin titled “The Holy Shroud of Turin: Witness to the Passion of Jesus Christ,” in which he defends the relic’s authenticity and presents the new research that he says refutes the carbon-14 dating that indicated the cloth is of medieval origin.

Asked about the significance of Sarkozy’s decision to take his book about Jesus Christ to prison, Petitfils acknowledged that the gesture has a clear symbolic and political dimension. 

“There is a political message involved,” he said, which shows that Sarkozy wanted to draw a parallel with the idea of ​​being an unjustly condemned victim. The hero of “The Count of Monte Cristo” is unjustly condemned, and so is Jesus, Petitfils pointed out.

The author also noted that the Christian experience is very meaningful for a prisoner: “The experience of God invites us to understand that we are not alone and that we are always with Christ, even in solitude. All of this naturally pushes us to go beyond our circumstances and to understand transcendence.”

Petitfils, a historian and theologian renowned for his studies on the Ancien Régime (the political, economic and social system in France before the 1789 revolution) and the history of Christianity, reconstructs the true figure of Jesus using historical, archaeological, and theological sources.

The book, published in Spanish by Gaia, is based on the latest archaeological discoveries and contemporary biblical exegesis, combining scholarly research with an openness to the dimension of faith that Petitfils considers inseparable from the Christian mystery.

History from a faith perspective

“My book is first and foremost the work of a historian. I tried to outline the personality of Jesus and show that he was not just a prophet or a Jewish reformer. This work delves into the mystery of Jesus’ very person. And, as a historian, I am obliged to stop and consider that mystery. The historian cannot ‘prove’ miracles, much less the Resurrection. But it is clear that faith and history are not incompatible,” Petitfils explained.

The book begins in Galilee, in the political and religious context of a Palestine oppressed by Rome and divided by internal tensions. From there, Petitfils traces the biography of a man who preaches love for God and mercy, who tells parables and performs signs that tradition has called miracles, who welcomes the marginalized and proclaims that the kingdom of God is near.

‘The Gospels are not myths, but a real history’

Petitfils states that these texts are “not symbolic or mythical narratives, but a real history, albeit with some contradictions between them.” 

“They are biographies in the ancient style, as they were written then, and they profoundly testify to the faith of the first Christian communities,” he explained.

Since its publication, “The Jesus of History” has enjoyed considerable success in France and numerous other countries, with translations into Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese.

“I’ve received countless testimonials from people who read it and felt transformed by it. Some told me, ‘This book restored my faith’ or ‘It allowed me to better understand the personality of Jesus.’ And that is, in a way, what I wanted to do, respecting the rules of historical research, which is a scientific endeavor,” the French writer explained.

The author said he hopes Sarkozy, who began serving his sentence in mid-October, will be among that group. 

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

null / Credit: RasyidArt, Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Nov 4, 2025 / 06:30 am (CNA).

Catholic schools are faring much better in dioceses in which state-funded voucher programs are available for parents to use to pay school tuition, one researcher has found, though enrollment is still declining in most places.

John F. Quinn, a historian at Salve Regina University in Rhode Island, examined six Catholic dioceses over the last 16 years — three in states with voucher programs and three in states without them — and found that parochial schools are benefiting from vouchers.

He presented his research at the Society of Catholic Social Scientists’ annual conference at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, in October.

Quinn found that since 2009, the dioceses of Providence, Rhode Island; Fall River, Massachusetts; and Rockford, Illinois — none of which are located in states with voucher programs — have seen school closures and drops, some very large, in their parochial school enrollment.

Providence schools have seen a two-thirds drop, from 16,000 students in 2009 to about 10,000 in 2025, according to the historian. 

The Diocese of Fall River, meanwhile, saw a 36% drop in enrollment, going from 7,800 students in 2009 to 5,000 in 2025. Rockford’s diocese saw a precipitous 52% drop, with 15,500 students in 2009 and 7,400 today. All three dioceses also saw multiple parochial school closures.

The numbers are very different in the dioceses in states that have voucher programs.

According to Quinn, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis only saw its enrollment numbers drop 3% since 2009. Nearly 23,000 were enrolled in its parochial schools in 2009, and the number stands at 22,300 today. The overall population of the archdiocese has also dropped 5% over the same time period, he noted.  

Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program was launched in 2011 and expanded to nearly all residents in 2025.

Two other dioceses, Orlando and Venice, are both in Florida, a state that approved its voucher program in 1999 and expanded it significantly in 2023.

The Diocese of Orlando has seen a 13% drop, going from 14,500 students in 2009 to 12,750 in 2025.

The Diocese of Venice, a relatively new one established in 1984, has seen a 52% increase in parish school enrollment since 2009 and growth in its number of parochial schools. In 2009, 4,400 students attended three high schools and 10 elementary schools, and today there are four high schools and 12 elementary schools with an enrollment of 6,800.

Quinn acknowledged that Florida has a growing population but said even taking that into account, the voucher programs have indisputably aided the Catholic schools there.

“We are full up with nearly every school at capacity,” Father John Belmonte, SJ, Diocese of Venice Superintendent of Catholic Education, said in September.

History of parochial schooling

“America’s Catholic leaders have long seen parochial schools as critical to the well-being of the Church in America,” Quinn noted. 

He recalled the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1884, at which the bishops “called for every parish to have a school and for all Catholic parents to send their children” to them.

Quinn noted that pastors would sometimes build a parish school first before completing the church building.

In 1965, the high point of parochial school enrollment, 52% of American Catholic children, or 5.2 million students, were enrolled at 13,000 Catholic grammar and high schools. 

Quinn cited the National Catholic Educational Association’s annual report, released in the spring, that showed just under 1.7 million students are currently enrolled in the nation’s current 8,500 parochial schools.

In 1965, nearly 70% of all parochial school teachers, or 115,607, were religious sisters, priests, or brothers, according to the Cardinal Newman Society. 

By 1990, only 2.5% of parochial school faculty were priests or religious, and that number remains the same today.

Quinn said costs started rising as more lay teachers replaced religious and priests in the classroom.

The Intercession of Charles Borromeo supported by the Virgin Mary dome fresco by Johann Michael Rottmayr in St. Charles’s Church, Austria. / Credit: godongphoto/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Nov 4, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

St. Charles Borromeo, whose feast day the Catholic Church celebrates Nov. 4, was a cardinal and a prominent teacher of the Catholic faith. He generously donated much of his considerable wealth to charity and sacrificed his own health to help plague victims at a time when many other authorities fled.

And, despite what you might have heard, he probably wasn’t obese.

Why does that matter? Well, because Charles is popularly invoked as a patron saint of stomach ailments and also of obesity and dieting. These patronages — and whether or not he was himself obese — are not mentioned in hagiographies of St. Charles, so it’s unclear how this particular association began. Charles was known for helping the poor in times of famine and for practicing self-mortification, and he was certainly not known to indulge in food to excess.

Whether or not his invocation by dieters is appropriate, what is clear is that St. Charles Borromeo had a massive influence on the Church.

Charles was born in 1538 near Milan. He was born wealthy — in fact, he was part of the famously rich and influential Medici family — but sought to use his wealth to benefit the Church rather than himself.

Owing in part to his well-connected family, Charles soon assumed staggering responsibilities, serving as a papal diplomat and supervisor of major religious orders.

Charles was a central figure in the Council of Trent (1545–1563), which among other things served as the Church’s official answer to the Protestant Reformation. Its twofold mission was to clarify Catholic doctrine against Protestant objections and reform the Church internally against many long-standing problems. As a papal representative, Charles participated in the council’s conclusion in 1563, when he was only 25, and was ordained a priest during the council. He also played a leading role in assembling its comprehensive summary, the Catechism of the Council of Trent.

Charles’ uncle, Pope Pius IV, appointed him archbishop of Milan in 1563, and soon after he became a cardinal. He found his diocese in a state of disintegration, after two generations of virtually no local administration or leadership. Charles got straight to work establishing schools, seminaries, and centers for religious life. He constantly directed the work of restoration of ecclesiastical discipline and the education of the young, even down to minute details. He tried as much as possible to live a simple life and give to the poor whenever possible, and he practiced self-mortification.

The clergy during this time were in many cases lax and careless, living scandalous lives, such that the people had grown to be equally negligent and sinful. While bishop of Milan, St. Charles oversaw many dramatic and effective reforms of the clergy, the liturgy, and of religious education. He encountered much opposition to those reforms, so much so that a group of disgruntled monks attempted to kill him, but he was miraculously unharmed when an assassin fired a gun straight at him while kneeling in prayer at an altar.

He was very active in preaching and ministry and was famous for bringing back many lapsed Catholics to the Church. As a result, today he is honored as the patron saint of catechists and catechumens, people who teach and learn the faith. In fact, he was the founder of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, which systematically instructed children in the faith — the forerunner of the modern “Sunday school.”

In 1571, the region where Charles was working suffered a severe famine, during which he worked tirelessly to help the starving, supporting at his own expense as many as 3,000 people daily for three months. At the same time, Charles himself suffered various ailments, including a low fever.

A few years later, a plague struck Milan. Charles was convinced that the plague was sent as a chastisement for sin and sought to give himself all the more to prayer and to service to his people. He paid personal visits to plague-stricken houses to comfort those suffering, and as a spiritual penance, he walked in procession, barefoot, with a rope around his neck and a relic in his hand.

At the end of 1584 Charles suffered a skin infection in one of his legs but still continued to travel to take care of his diocese. He died young at the age of 46 on Nov. 3, 1584, and was canonized 26 years later, in 1610.

This story was first published on Nov. 4, 2022, and has been updated.

President Donald Trump holds a press briefing with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in August 2025. / Credit: Joey Sussman/ Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 3, 2025 / 18:30 pm (CNA).

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened military action against Nigeria if it fails to end Christian persecution.

“If the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria and may very well go into that now-disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” Trump said in a social media post Nov. 1.

The commander-in-chief further revealed he has instructed the Pentagon to “prepare for possible action.”

“If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians!” he added: “WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to the post on Saturday, writing: “The killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria — and anywhere — must end immediately. The Department of War is preparing for action. Either the Nigerian government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”

The post alluding to possible military action comes after Trump announced he would designate Nigeria as a country of particular concern (CPC) on Oct. 31.

Under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the U.S president must designate countries that engage in or tolerate “particularly severe violations of religious freedom” as CPCs. Violations include torture, prolonged detention without charges, and forced disappearence, according to the State Department.

“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN,’” Trump said Oct. 31.

Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts during a September 2025 interview with CNA. / Credit: Jack Haskins/EWTN News

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 3, 2025 / 17:52 pm (CNA).

The Heritage Foundation is receiving backlash after Kevin Roberts, its president, defended Tucker Carlson’s recent controversial interview with Nick Fuentes. 

Roberts said in a video message on social media Oct. 30 that “the venomous coalition attacking [Carlson] are sowing division” and that “their attempt to cancel him will fail.” While the Heritage Foundation president said he disagreed with and abhorred Fuentes’ views, he said “canceling him is not the answer.” 

“When we disagree with a person’s thoughts and opinions, we challenge those ideas and debate,” Roberts said. “And we have seen success in this approach as we continue to dismantle the vile ideas of the left.” 

During the interview, Fuentes, who said he is Catholic, at one point said he admired Joseph Stalin and lamented against “organized Jewry in America.” For his part, Carlson at another point said he disliked Christian Zionists “more than anybody” and referred to Christian Zionism as a “brain virus” and a “Christian heresy.” 

Reports also surfaced that the Heritage Foundation had spent roughly $1.2 million sponsoring Carlson’s show, for about $75,000 per episode for a 12-month period beginning in June 2024. 

Fallout ensued after Roberts’ video, with Heritage Foundation staffers posting a meme with the caption “Nazis are bad” in reference to Fuentes’ antisemetic views and self-professed admiration of Hitler. 

The Hill initially reported further dissatisfaction among staffers and that Ryan Neuhaus, Roberts’ chief of staff, had been relocated Friday to another position within the organization. This came after Neuhaus reposted multiple statements in defense of Roberts’ video. Neuhaus has since resigned. 

Legal scholar and moral philosopher Robert P. George weighed in on the debate surrounding Carlson’s interview Nov. 1, writing: “Engaging and forcefully arguing against people who deny the inherent and equal dignity of all is one thing, welcoming them into the movement or treating their ideas and ideologies as representing legitimate forms of conservatism is something entirely different.”

He said American conservatism faces a challenge from those like Fuentes “seeking acceptance in the conservative movement and its institutions” with the ultimate goal of subverting “our commitment to inherent and equal human dignity.” 

“It is incumbent upon those of us who maintain the ‘ancient faith’ (to borrow a phrase from Lincoln) to make clear to friend and foe alike that we will not permit the integrity of our movement and its institutions to be compromised,” George concluded. 

President Donald Trump’s administration says Nov. 3, 2025, that it will partially fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits after several states sued to force a court order. / Credit: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 3, 2025 / 17:08 pm (CNA).

President Donald Trump’s administration will partially fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits amid the ongoing government shutdown as Catholic nonprofits are working to accommodate people’s needs through charitable giving.

Food stamp benefits from SNAP came to a temporary halt Nov. 1 after Congress failed to reach an agreement to end the government shutdown or approve a stand-alone SNAP funding bill.

Several states sued, which led a federal court to order the administration to fully or partially fund the program. According to a Nov. 3 court filing, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agreed to drain the SNAP contingency fund to ensure some benefits are received this month.

The contingency fund can supply Americans on food assistance with about $4.6 billion in funds, which is about half of the $9 billion that was expected to be given. It is unclear when the benefits will show up on recipients’ Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards.

Neither the USDA nor the White House responded to a request for comment.

As the shutdown reached its 34th day on Nov. 3, lawmakers were still disagreeing over extending taxpayer subsidies that lower health insurance costs under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and providing funding for a wall on the southern border, food assistance, and military pay. Most of the 2.9 million civilian federal workers are not receiving paychecks.

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia, questioned the USDA inspector general nominee John Walk on Oct. 30 about why the contingency fund wasn’t being used, which prompted the litigation from states.

“There’s nothing legally stopping the administration from making emergency food assistance funds that they’re just sitting on available for Georgia kids and families in November,” Warnock said. “But even as we debate what to do about these ACA subsidies, it is indisputable that the USDA under the Trump administration is choosing to pull hungry children into this fight.”

Filling the gap

Catholic organizations that provide food assistance to low-income people have been trying to fill the gap amid the funding losses. Catholic Charities USA launched a national fundraising effort Oct. 30 to “come to the aid of our vulnerable brothers and sisters during this time of dire need,” according to a news release.

Donations made through the new portal “will be used to buy and ship food directly to Catholic Charities agencies throughout the country that operate food pantries, soup kitchens, food delivery programs and a variety of other initiatives to support those facing hunger or food insecurity,” the news release noted. 

Some local Catholic Charities affiliates told CNA last week that they were committed to helping families in need access food but expressed concern that their organizations may be unable to fully supplement the billions of dollars in lost funding.

John Berry, president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in the United States, said in a statement on Oct. 31 that the funding loss was “a bipartisan moral failure” and alleged that both parties “weaponized the defenseless.”

“This crisis is not a distant tragedy: It is right in front of our face in the look in a mother’s eyes as she worries that her innocent children may soon feel the ache of an empty stomach,” Berry said.

“Its roots run deep in the decisions of policymakers who have chosen partisan brinkmanship over human dignity, and the consequences demand an urgent moral critique through faith and reason,” he said. “This is not a partisan failure. Ironically, it’s one of the few times that both sides of the political aisle have managed to do something together — morally fail in their efforts to appeal to their supporters.”

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in an Oct. 28 statement urged lawmakers to find a solution that reopens the government and funds SNAP.

Broglio called the funding loss “unjust and unacceptable” and “catastrophic for families and individuals who rely on SNAP to put food on the table.” He said it “places the burdens of this shutdown most heavily on the poor and vulnerable of our nation, who are the least able to move forward.” 

The shutdown is already the second-longest government shutdown. Unless it is quickly resolved, it will likely surpass the longest government shutdown, which was 35 days long and occurred during Trump’s first term.