Ashley Banks and her son Jakori (left) and Janyla (right) at MiraVia on Dec. 12, 2019. / Courtesy of MiraViaWashington D.C., May 23, 2023 / 13:34 pm (CNA).Editor s note: This story is part of a series of reports by EWTN News detailing what U.S. Catholic colleges and universities do to support young mothers and students facing unexpected pregnancies. To see the full series, click here.In 2019, Ashley Banks, from Hickory, North Carolina, was in her early 20s, destitute, and expecting her second child."There was no doubt in my mind, I thought I was going to get an abortion," Banks told CNA. "I wasn t really established as an adult; I didn t have a steady job or anything like that. So, in my brain, my automatic thought was; How am I going to take care of two children when I can t even take care of myself and one? "With only two weeks until her unborn baby girl was due, Banks was given 30 days to vacate her home. Her car had already been repossessed, and she had no
Pope Francis at the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square on June 17, 2015. / Bohumil Petrik/CNA.Rome Newsroom, May 22, 2023 / 04:40 am (CNA).The Vatican announced Monday that Pope Francis will travel to Lisbon, Portugal for World Youth Day this August with a visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima.Pope Francis is set to participate in World Youth Day from Aug. 2 to 6 and is scheduled to visit Fatima on Aug. 5. The Lisbon trip will mark the 86-year-old pope s fourth World Youth Day after taking part in the international Catholic gatherings in Panama, Poland, and Brazil.World Youth Day was established by Pope John Paul II in 1985. The weeklong celebration usually attracts hundreds of thousands of young people.The event is typically held on a different continent every three years, with the presence of the pope. The Vatican previously announced that World Youth Day would be postponed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Lisbon, the capital and largest city in.
Pope Francis recognized the heroic virtue of Brazil s "Surfer Angel" Guido Schäffer in a decree issued by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on May 20, 2023. / Credit: Photo courtesty of guidoschaffer.com.brVatican City, May 22, 2023 / 11:15 am (CNA).The Catholic Church is one step closer to canonizing a surfing saint. Pope Francis recognized the heroic virtue of Brazil s "Surfer Angel" Guido Schäffer in a decree issued by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on Saturday. Schäffer was a seminarian, a doctor, and a surfer who drowned while surfing in 2009 off the coast of Rio de Janeiro at the age of 34 before he could fulfill his desire of being ordained to the priesthood.The Brazilian seminarian, known locally as the "Anjo Surfista" or "Surfer Angel," used to begin each of his surfing lessons with a prayer and was known for his work with the poor, providing medical care to Rio s "favelas" (poor, working-class neighb
Pope Francis delivers his Regina Caeli address on May 21, 2023. / Vatican MediaVatican City, May 21, 2023 / 06:40 am (CNA).One week after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Pope Francis urged that "we must not get used to war" as he prayed for peace in Ukraine and Sudan.In his Regina Caeli address on May 21, the pope entreated people to "continue to stand by the battered people of Ukraine" more than one year after Russia s invasion.The day prior, Pope Francis entrusted Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi with a peace mission on behalf of the Vatican to try to help end the war in Ukraine.Pilgrims in St. Peter s Square hold up a sign that says "pace," which means "peace" in Italian. Vatican MediaPope Francis also prayed for peace in Sudan, where fighting between the country s military and a coalition of paramilitary forces has killed hundreds and displaced nearly 1 million people."It is sad, but one month after the outbreak of vi
Pope Francis at his general audience in St. Peter's Square on May 17, 2023. / Vatican MediaRome Newsroom, May 21, 2023 / 08:40 am (CNA).In a letter marking the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Pope Francis asserted that the mere possession of nuclear weapons creates "a climate of fear and suspicion" and offers "only an illusion of peace."The Vatican released a letter on May 20 that the pope wrote to Bishop Alexis Mitsuru Shirahama of Hiroshima assuring his prayers as "the G7 Summit meets in Hiroshima to discuss urgent issues currently facing the global community.""The choice of Hiroshima as the site of this meeting is particularly significant, in light of the continuing threat of recourse to nuclear weapons," Pope Francis said.Hiroshima is the site of the world s first atomic attack. On Aug. 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city that resulted in the deaths of about 70,000 immediately after the blast and 140,000 people by the e