World News

null / Credit: NMKStudio@Shutterstock CNA Staff, Oct 17, 2025 / 13:19 pm (CNA). A federal judge in California will allow a class action lawsuit to proceed for potentially millions of parents and teachers regarding school district rules that hide child “gender transitions” from parents. U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez ruled Oct. 15 that the lawsuit Mirabelli v. Olson will proceed as a class action, becoming what the Thomas More Society said is potentially “one of the largest civil rights class actions” in California history. Peter Breen, the head of litigation at the Thomas More Society, a public interest law firm, said in the group’s Oct. 16 press release that parents have a “fundamental right” to direct their children’s education and moral upbringing, and that California school officials “cannot override that right by keeping parents in the dark about major issues and developments in their child’s life.&rd

U.S. Catholic bishops urged Congress to end the federal government shutdown, but only if lawmakers ensure that tax credits are not used for abortions. / Credit: Traci L. Clever/Shutterstock Washington, D.C., Oct 17, 2025 / 12:10 pm (CNA). America’s Catholic bishops are urging Congress to end the nearly three-week federal government shutdown by extending taxpayer subsidies that lower health insurance costs under the Affordable Care Act — but only if lawmakers ensure that the so-called Obamacare tax credits are not used for abortions or other procedures that violate Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life."The premium tax credits established by the ACA are an important tool for ensuring affordable access to health care for millions of Americans by lowering their premiums on the ACA marketplaces; but they also fund health insurance plans that cover elective abortion," the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote in an Oct. 10 letter to members of Congress