U.S.
Federal judge rules Maine abortion clinic network can lose Medicaid funding
PORTLAND, Maine — A federal judge in Maine declined on Aug. 25 to prevent the government from stripping Medicaid funding from a network of abortion providers in Maine, arguing that doing so would circumvent “the will of the people as expressed by Congress.” A provision in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which President Donald Trump signed into law July 4, would strip funds to health providers who also perform abortions — most notably, particular Planned Parenthood affiliates — from receiving Medicaid payments for one year. Although it was not named in the provision, Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, sued in response, arguing the parameters for ending these funds effectively singled it out. The same provision would strip Maine Family Planning, a network of similar clinics in Maine, of these funds.(OSV News)
Trump: Administration will pursue death penalty for all murders in DC
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said at an Aug. 26 Cabinet meeting that capital punishment will be sought for all murders in Washington, D.C. Trump’s comments came amid his federalization of the police force in the nation’s capital and after he activated the National Guard in what he called an effort to combat crime in Washington. “If somebody kills somebody in the capital, Washington, D.C., we’re going to be seeking the death penalty,” Trump said at the White House meeting. Trump argued the policy was “preventative,” a claim disputed by death penalty opponents. The Catholic Church’s official magisterium opposes the use of the death penalty as inconsistent with the inherent sanctity of human life and advocates for the practice’s abolition worldwide. In his 2020 encyclical “Fratelli Tutti,” Pope Francis addressed the moral problem of capital punishment by citing St. John Paul II, writing that his predecessor “stated clearly and firmly that the death penalty is inadequate from a moral standpoint and no longer necessary from that of penal justice.” (OSV News)
Pope appoints Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Cepeda as auxiliary bishop of San Antonio
WASHINGTON — Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Jose Arturo Cepeda, who has served as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit for 14 years, as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Texas. Msgr. Veceslav Tumir, chargé d’affaires at the apostolic nunciature, in the temporary absence of Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, announced the appointment Aug. 26 in Washington. With this appointment, Bishop Cepeda will return to his home diocese, where he was ordained a priest in 1996. Bishop Cepeda was born on May 15, 1969, in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, and immigrated to the U.S. with his family when he was 19. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of San Antonio in 1996 at his home parish of St. Mary Magdalen by Archbishop Patricio Flores. Pope Benedict XVI named Father Cepeda as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit in April 2011, becoming the youngest bishop in the United States at age 41. (OSV News)
WORLD
Amid conflict, cholera outbreak accelerates hunger and starvation in Sudan
JUBA, South Sudan — Catholic Church leaders are sounding the alarm over a deadly cholera outbreak sweeping across South Sudan and Sudan. In South Sudan alone, officials have reported more than 88,000 cases and 1,500 deaths since the outbreak began in 2024 — many of the victims children under five. Bishop Christian Carlassare of Bentiu said the crisis is fueled by flooding, displacement and dire sanitation. Families are forced to drink from polluted pools and rivers, while overcrowded camps worsen the spread. Faith-based groups are stepping in. The Catholic Medical Mission Board has launched an emergency response in Upper Nile and Central Equatoria, distributing clean water sachets, running mobile clinics, and supporting vaccination campaigns. Across the border in Sudan, the toll is even higher: nearly 100,000 cases and 2,300 deaths, centered in war-torn Darfur. (OSV News)
Pope to inaugurate Borgo Laudato Si’ during Season of Creation
VATICAN CITY — Two months after celebrating a new Mass “for the care of creation,” Pope Leo XIV will return to Castel Gandolfo to formally inaugurate Borgo Laudato Si’, a place of education, ecology and spirituality in the papal summer estate. Famed tenor Andrea Bocelli and his son Matteo will sing during the late afternoon prayer service Sept. 5, the Laudato Si’ Center for Higher Education announced Aug. 25. The prayer service and inauguration of the center take place during the ecumenical Season of Creation, a time of Christian prayer and commitment that runs from Sept. 1 through the Oct. 4 feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology. Borgo Laudato Si’ is dedicated to living out the vision of Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical, “Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home.” (CNS)
Colombia’s bishops condemn terrorist attacks that ‘rocked the country’
CALI, Colombia — Colombia’s Catholic bishops are denouncing a fresh wave of violence that left at least 18 people dead and more than 40 injured in two separate attacks linked to dissident factions of the former FARC guerrilla movement. Authorities say six people were killed and dozens injured when a vehicle packed with explosives detonated near a Colombian Air Force base in Cali. Hours earlier, a police helicopter was shot down in Antioquia, killing 12 officers. In an Aug. 22 statement, the bishops called the attacks “brutal,” urging armed groups to abandon “the path of death” and state authorities to prioritize protection of civilians. Archbishop Luis Fernando Rodríguez Velásquez of Cali warned this marks the city’s fourth terrorist attack this year, condemning impunity and demanding justice. (OSV News)
