U.S.
U.S. saw more than 1.12 million abortions in 2025, but actual figures likely higher
WASHINGTON — New data estimates show the number of abortions in the U.S. remained stable in 2025, totaling some 1.126 million, with apparent declines in out-of-state travel for abortions offset by increasing access to telehealth abortions. The actual number of abortions is likely higher, given certain exclusions in the estimates. At the same time, abortion data remains incomplete amid the lack of a mandatory, federal-level reporting system, researcher Mia Steupert of the Charlotte Lozier Institute — the education and research arm of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America — said April 15. The Guttmacher Institute, a national policy and research firm that supports legalized abortion, released data March 24 for calendar year 2025. Guttmacher found that the 2025 figures were “largely unchanged from 2024,” when the institute counted 1.124 million clinician-provided abortions. Steupert detailed a number of gaps in abortion data, in the absence of a federally mandated reporting system, and given the inability to count the actual number of abortions from telehealth abortion pills. (OSV News)
Supreme Court to hear clash between Catholic preschools, Colorado over ‘universal’ program
WASHINGTON— The U.S. Supreme Court April 20 agreed to hear a case over a clash between Catholic preschools and the state of Colorado over whether those schools can participate in the state’s universal preschool program. Two Catholic parishes with preschools in the Archdiocese of Denver have alleged the state of Colorado excluded the religious preschools from participating in the program due to their religious beliefs. The program provides funds — up to about $6,000 — to parents to send their child to the preschool of their choice, public or private, including faith-based schools. Colorado has argued the Catholic preschools ran afoul of a nondiscrimination rule in the program that prohibits participating schools from refusing admission on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity of the child or the child’s family. (OSV News)
Bishops’ pro-life chair concerned about ‘uneven enforcement’ of FACE Act
WASHINGTON — After the Department of Justice released a report alleging the Biden administration “weaponized” a federal law crafted to protect access to both reproductive health facilities and houses of worship, Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, expressed concern about that law and its “uneven application.” In its 882-page report released April 14, the DOJ accuses the Biden administration of weaponizing the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE Act, by collaborating with groups that support legal abortion to target pro-life organizations and individuals. It also says that in some criminal cases, there were disproportionate sentences for pro-life defendants and defendants who support abortion. However, some of the communications and actions detailed in the report took place in 2020 and January 2021, the final months of Trump’s first term. (OSV News)
WORLD
Christians protest after Pakistani court says forced marriage of Christian girl, 13, is legal
LAHORE, Pakistan — Christians in Pakistan are protesting a controversial court ruling that upheld the marriage of a 13-year-old Christian girl to a 30-year-old Muslim man, a case widely known as “Maria.” The girl’s family says she was abducted and forcibly converted. Church leaders, human rights groups and politicians warn the decision could set a dangerous precedent for minority protections. In response, the federal government has quietly formed a 37-member national committee — including Catholic and Protestant bishops — to review the case and propose safeguards against forced conversions and marriages. Officials said a formal announcement about the committee is pending. Catholic leaders have strongly condemned the ruling, calling it unjust and harmful to vulnerable girls. (OSV News)
Israeli military to investigate soldier who destroyed Jesus statue
JERUSALEM — Catholic leaders in the Holy Land expressed their “unreserved condemnation” after a picture of an Israeli soldier striking the head of a statue of Jesus in Debel, a Christian village in southern Lebanon, went viral on social media April 19. In an April 20 statement signed by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land expressed its “profound indignation and unreserved condemnation of the desecration of a representation of Jesus Crucified by an Israeli soldier in a Lebanese village.” In an April 19 statement, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed the photo’s authenticity and condemned the act as “wholly inconsistent” with its values, promising disciplinary action. The image, shared by journalist Younis Tirawi, appears to show a soldier striking a crucifix statue with a sledgehammer in the village of Debel. The incident sparked widespread outrage, especially among Christians, amid reports of rising harassment against Christian symbols in the region. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an April 20 X post: “I condemn the act in the strongest terms.” (OSV News)
Pope Leo donates $100K to CRS clean water project in El Salvador
BALTIMORE — Pope Leo XIV has personally donated $100,000 to provide access to clean water in El Salvador, supporting a program launched by the papal nuncio to that nation and by Catholic Relief Services, the official humanitarian and development agency of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The gift was announced in an April 20 press release issued by CRS and the apostolic nunciature in El Salvador. The funds will help expand the clean water project “Agua Segura” (“Safe Water”) to four of the eight dioceses in El Salvador — Chalatenango, Santa Ana, San Miguel and Sonsonate — through the installation of chlorination devices and the construction of water treatment plants. “Clean water is life,” said CRS president and CEO Sean Callahan. An estimated 50,000 living in rural areas are ultimately expected to benefit from the Agua Segura initiative. (OSV News)
