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White House appears to walk back ‘pause’ of federal financial assistance

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CNA Staff, Jan 29, 2025 / 15:40 pm (CNA).

The White House on Wednesday pulled back on a directive that had ordered federal agencies to pause federal grants and loans amid a flurry of executive actions from President Donald Trump.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had issued a memorandum on Monday that directed all federal agencies “to the extent permissible under applicable law … [to] temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance” that could conflict with recent executive orders from Trump.

The memo specified that funding for programs “including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal” would be paused.

But on Wednesday OMB walked back the directive. Multiple news outlets reported that the office had “rescinded” the memorandum without comment. 

The apparent walkback added another layer of whiplash to what was already a chaotic week in Washington. On Tuesday U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan had temporarily blocked the order just minutes before it was scheduled to take effect, with the block scheduled to last until Monday. 

On Wednesday afternoon White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X that the OMB walkback was “NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze.” 

“It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo,” she wrote. “Why? To end any confusion created by the court’s injunction.”

“The president’s [executive orders] on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented,” she wrote.

AliKhan’s injunction against the freeze came after several states and nonprofits filed lawsuits against the Trump administration regarding the pause. 

On Tuesday Catholic Charities USA President and CEO Kerry Alys Robinson released a statement arguing against the proposed halt in federal financial assistance.

“For more than a century, the Catholic Charities network has worked with the government to care for poor and vulnerable people in every community in the U.S., and we continue to be eager to work with government to care for our neighbors in need,” Robinson said. “We strongly urge the administration to rethink this decision.”

Cardinal Dolan: Vance’s remarks on bishops and immigration ‘scurrilous,’ ‘very nasty’

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York addresses the audience at the National Eucharistic Congress at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on July 18, 2024. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

CNA Staff, Jan 29, 2025 / 15:20 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York strongly criticized comments Vice President JD Vance made on Sunday questioning the motives of U.S. Catholic bishops in their efforts to serve migrants and resettle refugees, in which Vance suggested financial incentives were their driving force rather than compassion.

Vance, a Catholic who took office last week, was asked Jan. 26 about the bishops’ criticism of the Trump administration’s various new directives on immigration, specifically the government’s rescinding of a policy that previously restricted immigration arrests at “sensitive locations” such as churches.

“I think that the [U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops] needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?” Vance replied. 

Asked if he believed the U.S. bishops are “actively hiding criminals from law enforcement,” Vance argued that the USCCB has “not been a good partner in commonsense immigration enforcement that the American people voted for, and I hope, again, as a devout Catholic, that they’ll do better.”

Dolan on Tuesday expressed frustration over Vance’s implication that the bishops’ pro-immigrant stance was merely a financial calculation, calling the comments “scurrilous” and “very nasty.”

“I was really disappointed with what he said on ‘Face the Nation’ the other day. And I don’t mind telling you, somewhat hurt. This was not only harmful, this was inaccurate. You heard what he said: ‘Oh, the bishops, they’re pro-immigrant because of the bottom line, because they’re making money off this.’ That’s just scurrilous. It’s very nasty, and it’s not true,” Dolan said, speaking on his weekly SiriusXM show “Conversations with Cardinal Dolan.”

Dolan said the Church’s involvement in migration and refugee services is frequently at the behest of secular leaders such as mayors and governors, who he said recognize the Church’s ability to manage resources efficiently and transparently.

“You want to come look at our audits, which are scrupulously done? You think we make money caring for the immigrants? We’re losing it hand over fist … we’re not in a money-making business,” he continued. 

Some political leaders and commentators have accused the U.S. bishops of complying with or facilitating illegal immigration through their refugee resettlement program, a charge the bishops have strongly denied. Critics have also scrutinized the large sums of money that the USCCB receives each year from the government to resettle refugees, which in recent years has been over $100 million a year.

The USCCB recently defended its long-standing refugee program as a “work of mercy,” pointing out that every person they help to resettle “is vetted and approved for the program by the federal government while outside of the United States” and reiterating that despite the large sums of money involved, the costs of refugee resettlement often exceed the government’s reimbursement.

In 2023, the latest year for which figures are available, the USCCB spent nearly $131 million on migration and refugee services, with nearly $130 million of that cost being covered by government grants, primarily from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of State.

Despite his disappointment, Dolan expressed hope that Vance’s comments were uncharacteristic and not reflective of Vance’s usual thoughtful demeanor. Dolan also acknowledged, with appreciation, Vance’s supportive stances on Catholic family life and education.

“[From] a guy who has struck me as a gentleman and a thoughtful man, and from whom I’m still expecting great things — I hope it was an uncharacteristic moment. I thought it was a letdown,” the cardinal concluded.

The work of the U.S. bishops and the major humanitarian agency Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) as related to migrants and refugees has been vigorously debated in recent days amid the U.S. Office of Management and Budget’s new — and now-rescinded — spending freeze on federal grants to nonprofit organizations, first announced Jan. 27. 

Catholic Charities, which is composed of 168 diocesan agencies, serves millions of people in need each year across the country by providing affordable housing, food, and disaster relief, as well as immigration services. In addition to donations and other sources, some Catholic Charities agency programs are partially funded through federal aid. 

The president of CCUSA had this week urged the Trump administration to “rethink” its pause on federal funding, noting the “millions of Americans who rely on this life-giving support.”

HHS to review programs to prevent taxpayer funding for abortions

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CNA Staff, Jan 29, 2025 / 14:35 pm (CNA).

Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Dr. Dorothy Fink announced this week that the agency will review its budget to ensure that taxpayer funds are not being used to pay for or promote elective abortions.

In a Monday statement, Fink noted that the agency would ensure that the Hyde Amendment — which prevents taxpayer funding for abortion — is enforced.

“For nearly 50 years, the Hyde Amendment has protected taxpayer funds administered by the department from paying for elective abortion,” Fink said.

“The department will reevaluate all programs, regulations, and guidance to ensure federal taxpayer dollars are not being used to pay for or promote elective abortion, consistent with the Hyde Amendment,” Fink added.

The announcement follows President Donald Trump’s Jan. 24 executive order on enforcing the Hyde Amendment, an order that revoked two Biden-era orders that loosened restrictions around abortion funding.

For instance, Biden’s Executive Order 14079 recategorized abortion as “health care,” enabling Medicaid funding to pay for travel costs for abortions, according to a White House Jan. 25 “Fact Sheet.” Another Biden order “imposed a whole-of-government effort to promote and fund abortion and to politicize enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act,” the White House noted.

Fink also highlighted the importance of enforcing conscience rights and religious liberty.

“The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Office for Civil Rights, is tasked with enforcement of many of our nation’s laws that protect the fundamental and unalienable rights of conscience and religious exercise,” Fink said. “It shall be a priority of the department to strengthen enforcement of these laws.”

“To this end, the Office for Civil Rights will reevaluate its regulations and guidance pertaining to federal laws on conscience and religious exercise,” Fink continued.

Fink also praised the Trump administration’s decision to rejoin “the historic Geneva Consensus Declaration on Promoting Women’s Health and Strengthening the Family,” a pledge the U.S. withdrew from under the Biden-Harris administration that states there is no international right to abortion.

The declaration, Fink noted, promotes “better health for women,” “the preservation of human life,” and the “strengthening of the family as the foundational unit of society” as well as the protection of “every nation’s national sovereignty.”

“The Office of Global Affairs will support the secretary of state in restoring the United States’ leadership in the Geneva Consensus Declaration coalition,” Fink said.

The “review will be conducted consistent with guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget,” Fink noted.

The White House on Wednesday announced it had rescinded an OMB request to agencies to pause funding for all nongovernmental organizations to ensure they are in line with the president’s recent flurry of executive orders. The announcement followed a federal judge’s temporary block on the freeze on federal funding.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Majorie Dannenfelser welcomed Trump’s decision to rejoin the declaration in a Friday statement, saying that “thanks to President Trump, we are standing with the international community for life again.”

“The Geneva Consensus Declaration is a landmark achievement between the United States, spearheaded by President Trump during his first administration, and more than 30 nations affirming the right to life and rejecting abortion on demand,” Dannenfelser said. “One after another, President Trump’s great pro-life victories are being restored, and this is just the beginning.”

Trump signs order restricting transgender ‘chemical and surgical mutilation’ of children

Demonstrators rally on the steps of the United States Supreme Court on Dec. 4, 2024, as justices heard oral arguments in a challenge to a Tennessee law banning transgender surgeries for minors. / Credit: Migi Fabara/CNA

CNA Staff, Jan 29, 2025 / 13:15 pm (CNA).

President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening issued an executive order that restricts transgender surgeries and drugs for youth, with the president vowing that the United States “will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support” the controversial procedures.

The order, titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” notes that throughout the U.S. “medical professionals are maiming and sterilizing a growing number of impressionable children” under the “radical and false claim that adults can change a child’s sex through a series of irreversible medical interventions.”

“This dangerous trend will be a stain on our nation’s history, and it must end,” the order states, arguing that children who undergo such procedures “soon regret” having mutilated their reproductive organs and other body parts. 

The order directs that every federal agency that offers “research or educational grants” to medical institutions must ensure that those institutions are not administrating transgender drugs to, or performing transgender procedures on, youth.

It further orders the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to “take all appropriate action” to “end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children,” including via Medicare and Medicaid law and drug use reviews. 

As well, the directive moves to end the use of what it calls “junk science” promoted by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). That organization has come under fire for endorsing what critics have called the “pseudoscience” of transgenderism, with an internal leak last year revealing its members admitting that children are too young to fully understand the consequences of such procedures. 

Federal agencies “shall rescind or amend all policies” relying on WPATH’s guidance, Trump’s Tuesday order said. HHS, meanwhile, will perform and publish a review of “best practices for promoting the health of children who assert gender dysphoria.”

The directive comes directly after Trump on Monday signed an executive order to end “radical gender ideology” in the military, reversing former President Joe Biden’s directive that allowed soldiers who identify as transgender to serve in the armed forces.

In December then-President-elect Trump vowed to sign executive orders to end transgender surgeries for children, to prevent biological men from playing in women’s sports, and to end the promotion of gender ideology in schools and the military. 

The president last week signed an executive order billed as “defending women from gender ideology extremism,” one that the White House said restored “biological truth to the federal government.” 

Among other sweeping measures, that order established a government-wide acknowledgement of the reality of biological sex, including the explicit assertion that there are only two sexes, male and female.

CNA explains: How are ‘low-gluten’ Communion hosts made for Mass?

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CNA Staff, Jan 29, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

It’s something most Catholics have probably heard at Mass at some point: An announcement that “gluten-free” or “low-gluten” hosts are available either during Communion or directly afterward so that Catholics with gluten sensitivities can participate in the Blessed Sacrament with minimal discomfort. 

But how are low-gluten hosts manufactured? 

The Church’s canon law is strict: The “most holy Eucharistic sacrifice” can be offered only with unleavened bread made “only [from] wheat,” meaning gluten-free flours are not permitted. 

Canon law dictates that Communion can be distributed “under the form of wine alone in a case of necessity,” but many parishes have opted for the low-gluten option for Catholics who need it. 

Though the practice may seem recent, it has actually been an active question for Church leaders for more than three decades. 

In August 1994, the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith’s prefect, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — the future Pope Benedict XVI — issued the directive “Norms for Use of Low-Gluten Bread” in which the prelate noted that while altar bread “quibus glutinum ablatum est,” or “with the gluten removed,” was invalid for the sacrament, “low-gluten hosts” would be considered “valid matter.”

The bread in question must contain “the amount of gluten sufficient to obtain the confection of bread” and must not contain any “foreign materials” other than wheat and water.

Further, the process for making the hosts must not “alter the nature of the substance of the bread,” Ratzinger directed. The cardinal issued these directives to bishops worldwide in a 1995 letter.

So how are low-gluten hosts made?

The Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Clyde, Missouri, are among the numerous abbeys and monastic communities in the U.S. that produce altar bread. They are also known for developing and marketing a low-gluten host.

Sister Ruth Starman, the head of altar bread production at the abbey, told CNA via email that their abbey produces low-gluten hosts “by combining two different wheat starches that have had most of the gluten removed.” The starches are removed via a special milling process.

“We use the same type of baker as regular Communion hosts,” she said. “The mixing process is a little harder because the wheat starch makes a more gelatinous batter or ‘sticky’ batter than regular flour does.”

The Clyde abbey was the first U.S. producer of altar breads approved by the Vatican to make low-gluten hosts. The sisters previously told CNA that it took over 10 years of experimentation for the sisters to develop the right recipe.

“We were done with an experiment for the day and kind of had a little batter left on the spoon, so we flicked it onto the waffle iron and forgot about it and went and washed dishes,” Sister Jane Heschmeyer, who works in the altar bread department, said in an interview.

“We opened [the waffle iron] up and there was a lacy-looking edible thing. So we ate it right away and forgot how we got there, but the Holy Spirit helped us get back to that.”

Starman told CNA that the nuns have been making the hosts since 2004. “We still get new patrons every month,” she said.

Asked about the history of the practice, the nun told CNA that low-gluten hosts “were not produced before [modern times] as far as I know.”

“I don’t know if gluten sensitivity would have even been ‘known’ in past days,” she noted. “It could have existed but I don’t know if it would have been specifically diagnosed.”

After developing their recipe for low-gluten hosts, the sisters had them tested in a lab for their gluten content and also asked several volunteers with celiac disease to eat the hosts and report any adverse effects.

The scientists found that the hosts contained just .001% gluten, low enough to be safe for most people with celiac disease while still satisfying the norms for Communion.

Catholic Charities urges Trump administration to ‘rethink’ freeze on NGO funding

Immigrants at Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley humanitarian respite center in McAllen, Texas. / Credit: Vic Hinterlang/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jan 28, 2025 / 19:52 pm (CNA).

The president of Catholic Charities USA has urged the Trump administration to “rethink” its pause on federal funding for executive departments, noting the “millions of Americans who rely on this life-giving support.”

In a two-page memo on Monday the Office of Management and Budget directed all federal agencies “to the extent permissible under applicable law … temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance” that could conflict with President Donald Trump’s policies as outlined in his recent executive orders.

The memo specified that funding for programs “including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal” would be paused.

Though the memo put the pause into effect on Jan. 28 at 5 p.m., a federal judge in the District of Columbia temporarily blocked the order on Tuesday. 

In response to news of the freeze on federal grants, Catholic Charities USA President and CEO Kerry Alys Robinson released a statement calling attention to the work the organization does for those in need. 

“For more than a century, the Catholic Charities network has worked with the government to care for poor and vulnerable people in every community in the U.S., and we continue to be eager to work with government to care for our neighbors in need,” Robinson said. “We strongly urge the administration to rethink this decision.”

Robinson pointed to the effect that a federal freeze could have on those who rely on Catholic Charities. 

“The millions of Americans who rely on this life-giving support will suffer due to the unprecedented effort to freeze federal aid supporting these programs,” Robinson said. “The people who will lose access to crucial care are our neighbors and family members. They live in every corner of the country and represent all races, religions, and political affiliations.” 

Catholic Charities has operated in the U.S. for more than a century. It is currently made up of 168 diocesan Catholic Charities agencies serving millions of people each year. It works to provide affordable housing, food and nutrition, and disaster relief as well as supporting health, workforce development, and immigration services.

In addition to government contracts, Catholic Charities receives contributions from everyday Catholics, charitable foundations, and other sources of private philanthropy, among other sources.

“Last year, 92% of the services provided by the 168 independent Catholic Charities agencies around the country covered basic needs — access to food, housing, health care, and other necessities — for families and individuals struggling to get by,” Robinson said.

“These vital services include food pantries for those who can’t afford groceries, child care programs for low-income families, meal deliveries for homebound seniors, job training resources for veterans, temporary and permanent housing, mental health services, and much more.” 

Trump administration officials said that programs providing individual assistance to Americans — such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, student loans, and food stamps — would not be affected. 

What the exact effect will be on Catholic Charities and other charitable organizations is still unclear. 

At a White House press conference on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was  asked if the president intended “to permanently cut off funding to NGOs that are bringing illegal foreign nationals to the country, such as Catholic Charities.”

Leavitt responded: “I am actually quite certain that the president signed an executive order that did just that, and I can point you to that.”

Last year, the country’s bishops rejected claims that Catholic nonprofit organizations such as Catholic Charities are complicit in harboring migrants who illegally cross the Texas border.

This story was updated Jan. 29, 2025, with updated information about contributions to Catholic Charities.

U.S. bishops’ pro-life chair commends Trump on anti-abortion measures

Pardoned by President Trump and released from jail just hours before, Joan Andrews Bell (center) arrived at the March for Life rally with her husband, Chris, and son Emiliano Bell. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 28, 2025 / 17:15 pm (CNA).

The chairman of the bishops’ pro-life committee commended President Donald Trump for his executive order to end Biden administration policies that used taxpayer dollars to fund abortions worldwide.

Bishop Daniel Thomas of the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio, also applauded a memorandum issued by the White House on Friday to reinstate the Mexico City policy to prevent the U.S. from funding foreign organizations that support or perform abortions.

“I am grateful for the strengthening of policies that protect us from being compelled to participate in a culture of death and that help us to restore a culture of life at home and abroad,” Thomas said in a press release issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on Sunday. 

Trump signed an executive order rescinding two of former president Biden’s executive orders that, the White House said, violated the Hyde Amendment’s ban on the use of taxpayer funds for abortion.

The new order limits the enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. On Thursday, Trump issued pardons for 23 pro-life activists imprisoned under the FACE Act, including several elderly people and a young mother.

“Pro-life Americans have a right to pray in public, to counsel women who are considering abortion, and to peacefully protest. We welcome support for men and women who are exercising these rights to witness to a culture of life and, at the same time, we absolutely reject resorting to force or violence,” Thomas said.

The executive order also cancels a Biden order that “recategorized abortion as ‘health care’ in order to provide taxpayer funding for elective abortions,” the White House said.

Thomas reflected on the new orders and the United States’ announcement that it will join the Geneva Consensus Declaration, a document focused on promoting women’s health, protecting life, and strengthening the family.

“It is important and encouraging to see the United States again taking the leadership in affirming the right to life and fundamental place of the family on the global stage where many pressures can be arrayed against these values,” Thomas said.

Republicans introduce bill to protect parents’ rights

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 28, 2025 / 16:45 pm (CNA).

Republican members of Congress have introduced a bill to protect parental rights “to direct the upbringing, education, and health care of their children.” 

Introduced by U.S. Sens. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina; James Lankford, R-Oklahoma; and Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-North Carolina, the Families’ Rights and Responsibilities Act seeks to prevent government intervention in parental decisions.

“Parents have a fundamental right to control the upbringing of their child, whether it’s in the classroom or at home,” Scott stated in a press release after the bill was introduced last Thursday. 

“Yet, far too often,” he continued, “parents are being pushed out of their child’s lives, and kids are paying the price. I will always fight to put parents back in the driver’s seat and ensure they remain the lead decision-maker in their child’s life.”

If enacted, the bill would “affirm that parents have the fundamental right to direct the upbringing, education, and health care of their children,” block the federal government from interfering substantially with this “right,” and allow parents to seek legal action for violations of the bill in legal or administrative proceedings at both state and federal levels. 

The bill makes an exception for instances where a parental action or decision “would result in physical injury to the child or that would end life.”

“Parents deserve to raise their children without the looming threat of government infringement,” Foxx said in the release. “The Families Rights and Responsibilities Act will shield parental rights while instituting a necessary, fundamental check against the government whenever it decides to enforce policies that fail to extend due deference to parental decision-making.”

The release also notes that the bill would allow parents to seek legal recourse if schools fail to inform them of their child’s “social transition” to another gender, as the Biden administration’s proposed Title IX regulations would have allowed.

Biden’s Title IX reinterpretation was blocked by a federal court in Kentucky earlier this month.

Had the rule been upheld, it would have expanded Title IX “sex” discrimination protections to include a ban on “gender identity” discrimination, even though the phrase “gender identity” does not appear anywhere in the 1972 law.

The bill is co-sponsored by Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyoming; Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-North Dakota; as well as Reps. Randy Weber, R-Texas; John Rose, R-Tennessee; Mary Miller, R-Illinois; Gus Bilirakis, R-Florida; Clay Higgins, R-Louisiana; Brett Guthrie, R-Kentucky; Brad Finstad, R-Minnesota; Barry Loudermilk, R-Georgia; Rich McCormick, R-Georgia; and Mike Haridopolos, R-Florida.

Trump signs order barring transgender-identifying soldiers from military service

An aerial view of the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., May 11, 2021. / Credit: Air Force Staff Sgt. Brittany A. Chase, DOD, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 28, 2025 / 13:55 pm (CNA).

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday to end “radical gender ideology” in the military, reversing former President Joe Biden’s directive that allowed soldiers who identify as transgender to serve in the armed forces.

The Jan. 27 order, effective in 30 days, states that any person who expresses “a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service.” It adds that “military service must be reserved for those mentally and physically fit for duty.”

The executive order states that Biden’s policy to permit individuals with gender dysphoria to serve in the military is “inconsistent with the medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals with gender dysphoria.”

According to a Congressional Research Service report updated Jan. 10, the Department of Defense spent about $15 million on gender transition services for active duty members of the military from Jan. 1, 2016, through May 14, 2021. The document does not report how much the department spent on those services under the Biden administration, which instituted a policy to provide “medically necessary” coverage for gender transitions.

Also effective in 30 days, all sleeping, changing, and bathing facilities will be separated on the basis of biological sex, regardless of a person’s self-asserted gender identity. This rule includes an exception for situations in which there is an “extraordinary operational necessity” not to have certain facilities separated.

Another provision directs the newly confirmed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to issue a directive in the military to end the use of pronouns that are inconsistent with a person’s biological sex.

Trump’s order notes that long-standing Department of Defense policy ensures that members of the military are free from medical conditions that will likely require excessive time lost from duty and that policies consider certain mental health struggles as incompatible with active duty. 

“Beyond the hormonal and surgical medical interventions involved, adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life,” the order states. “A man’s assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member.”

“It is the policy of the United States government to establish high standards for troop readiness, lethality, cohesion, honesty, humility, uniformity, and integrity,” it adds.

The primary mission of the military, according to the order, is “to protect the American people and our homeland as the world’s most lethal and effective fighting force.”

“Success in this existential mission requires a singular focus on developing the requisite warrior ethos, and the pursuit of military excellence cannot be diluted to accommodate political agendas or other ideologies harmful to unit cohesion,” the text adds.

Ending DEI and other military executive orders

In addition to revising the Department of Defense’s gender policies, the president signed three other executive orders regarding the military on Monday, including one that ends diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

The DEI executive order refers to the practice as “race and sex preferences within the armed forces.” 

“These actions undermine leadership, merit, and unit cohesion, thereby eroding lethality and force readiness,” the order states. “They also violate Americans’ consciences by engaging in invidious race and sex discrimination.”

Another executive order reinstates members of the military who were discharged for refusing to receive a vaccine for COVID-19. The order also provides back pay and benefits to those who were removed from duty for that reason.

fourth executive order seeks to bolster the country’s missile defense system.

Vatican recognizes martyrdom of Spanish missionaries in Georgia

Five Spanish Franciscan missionaries, Father Pedro de Corpa, Father Blas Rodríguez, Father Miguel de Añon, Brother Antonio de Badajóz and Father Francisco de Veráscola were martyred in 1597 in the present-day state of Georgia. / Credit: Courtesy of Diocese of Savannah/public domain

Baltimore, Md., Jan 28, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

The Dicastery of the Causes of Saints has promulgated a decree recognizing that five Spanish Franciscans were killed “in odium fidei” (“in hatred of the faith”) in 1597 — specifically for defending the sanctity of marriage. Monday’s announcement paves the way for the beatification of the missionaries, who have been known collectively as the “Georgia Martyrs” for decades.

Members of the Guale tribe of Native Americans killed Father Pedro de Corpa, Father Blas Rodríguez, Father Miguel de Añon, Brother Antonio de Badajóz, and Father Francisco de Veráscola — all members of the Order of Friars Minor — during a four-day period in what was then Spanish Florida. The first martyr died on the feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross (Sept. 14) in 1597. The third and fourth died on a Franciscan feast day — the feast of St. Francis of Assisi receiving the stigmata (Sept. 17).

Martyrs for the Gospel and for the sacrament of marriage

Father de Corpa had angered Juanillo, a Christian convert and heir of the main tribal chief, after the Franciscan rebuked his decision to take on a second wife — thus violating both his baptismal and wedding vows. The convert recruited warriors to raid four Franciscan missions in Guale territory, according to the official website for the Georgia Martyrs. They struck down de Corpa after dawn on Sept. 14 at the mission of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe), which was near present-day Darien, Georgia.

The band of Guales then moved on to Rodríguez’s mission outpost of Santa Clara about 12 miles away near present-day Eulonia, Georgia. They killed him on Sept. 16. The following day, they murdered Añon and de Badajoz at their mission, Santa Catalina, on nearby St. Catherine’s Island.

Juanillo’s group arrived at Veráscola’s mission on Sept. 18. The Franciscan had just returned to St. Simon’s Island from St. Augustine, Florida, with supplies and was ambushed as he was exiting his canoe.

A protracted cause for the Georgia Martyrs

Spanish colonial authorities pursued an investigation into the death of the five Franciscans when they returned to reestablish the missions. However, after ministering to the local tribes for nearly 100 years, the Spanish abandoned these religious outposts in 1686 due to the increasing influence of the British, who had established their first permanent settlement in the region at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1670.

More than 250 years later, in 1941, the bishops of the United States petitioned Pope Pius XII to beatify 118 missionaries — including the five Franciscan martyrs. However, 39 years would lapse before Bishop Raymond Lessard of Savannah, Georgia, opened the local process for the cause with help from the Franciscans in the United States.

The Diocese of Savannah closed the local stage of the process in 2007. Fifteen years later, the Dicastery for the Cause of Saints “approved and advanced the cause of beatification for Friar Pedro de Corpa and Companions,” as reported in September 2022 by The Georgia Bulletin, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. The Diocese of Savannah announced the approval on the 425th anniversary of de Corpa’s death.

Savannah bishop, Franciscans celebrate martyrs’ recognition

Reacting to the Vatican’s decision, current Savannah Bishop Stephen Parkes said that “from this day forward and until beatification, Friar Pedro de Corpa, Friar Blas Rodríguez, Friar Miguel de Añon, Friar Antonio de Badajóz, and Friar Francisco de Veráscola are entitled to the title of ‘venerables.’” He added that “details regarding the rite of beatification will be forthcoming.”

The Georgia prelate also expressed his gratitude to “the Holy Father; His Eminence Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints; the Order of Friars Minor of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Province; and all of those who have worked to promote the cause of the Georgia Martyrs for over four decades.” He concluded by invoking their intercession: “May Venerable Friar Pedro de Corpa and companions intercede for families everywhere and inspire husbands and wives around the world to live out the sacrament of marriage with love, truth, and fidelity.”

In 2019, the Diocese of Savannah had received a $75,000 grant from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to “produce and film a documentary on the history and martyrdom of Fray Pedro de Corpa and companions.” The resulting documentary, “For the Sake of the Gospel,” premiered on EWTN, the parent company of CNA, in February 2024.

Author Paul Thigpen, who has helped promote the cause of the martyrs for a quarter-century as founder of Friends of the Georgia Martyrs, celebrated the news from the Vatican: “It’s a great grace for the Catholics of Georgia and Catholics everywhere. Father Pedro and his companions served the Guale people heroically and offered up their lives in witness to the Gospel and the sanctity of marriage. We need that witness now more than ever.”

The international website for the Order of Friars Minor also heartily celebrated the news, noting in a statement how the “five venerable servants of God, all originally from Spain, responded generously to the Lord’s call to evangelize the peoples of America, even to the point of giving their lives.”