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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 7, 2025 / 15:41 pm (CNA).

An underground Chinese Catholic bishop from the Diocese of Zhengding has died at 90 years old. 

Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo, a Catholic bishop in China renowned for his unwavering adherence to the Church despite decades of persecution at the hands of the Chinese government, passed away on Oct. 29.

A member of the underground Church, unsanctioned by the Chinese government, Zhiguo was bishop of the Zhengnding Diocese in the Hebei Province. He was known for having a missionary spirit, promoting priestly training, caring for children with disabilities, and maintaining communion with Rome. 

Born on May 1, 1935, in Wuqiu Village, Jinzhou City, Zhiguo was ordained a priest in 1980 by Bishop Fan Xueyan of Baoding, who later consecrated him as bishop, according to Vatican News’ Chinese-language site.

“The big problems started when I was a seminarian,” he told the Italian news outlet La Stampa in 2016. “From 1963 to 1978 I worked as a forced laborer in remote, cold and hostile areas.”

In the same interview, he said he had “lost count” of how many times he had been arrested. Latest UCA reports say his last arrest took place in August 2020. 

“My life,” Zhiguo said when asked about his experience as a pastor in China, “consists of speaking about Jesus. I have nothing else to say or do. My whole life, every single day, is dedicated to telling others about Jesus. Everyone.” 

President Joe Biden speaks during an interfaith prayer service at the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, in New Orleans on Jan. 6, 2025. / Credit: ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 7, 2025 / 14:11 pm (CNA).

A report from the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) compiled regulatory actions under former President Joe Biden that the researchers argue show systematic anti-Christian bias from the prior administration.

The Nov. 3 report was released in response to President Donald Trump’s Feb. 6 executive order to eradicate anti-Christian bias and protect religious liberty through changes to federal policies and regulations.

According to the report, the Biden administration disregarded religious liberty as a means to enforce its “radical pro-abortion and pro-LGBTQI+ policies.” It states that religious liberty was ignored “when it came to those policy priorities,” which affected public and private employees, businesses, religious organizations, students, and those seeking federal partnerships.

The report lists three key ways in which this was carried out: policies at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that attacked health-care-related rights of conscience, policies at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that jeopardized religious liberty, and a broader failure to respect religious liberty through the rulemaking process.

Anti-Christian policies and practices

Under Biden, the report said HHS dismantled the enforcement of conscience protections for health care workers despite safeguards in federal law. It says former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra got rid of most mentions of conscience and religious freedom protections and eliminated the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division.

Biden’s HHS website listed four actions regarding conscience protections as of 2024, and two of those were to halt enforcement measures taken under Trump, the report said. The two other measures sought to protect health care workers who participated in abortions. 

HHS also sought to enforce the Affordable Care Act’s ban on “sex” discrimination to include a ban on discriminating against a person based on “gender identity” or having an abortion. HHS later conceded it would hear religious liberty objections on a “case-by-case basis” to permit employees to bring cases against religious employers, according to the report.

The report said HHS used the same “case-by-case” standard for other anti-discrimination rules, including in the administration of grants. 

At EEOC, the administration sought to limit religious exemptions to anti-discrimination laws, the report notes. One example listed was enforcement of the Protecting Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, in which the administration sought to force employers, including religious organizations, to offer accommodations for women to procure abortions. This prompted a lawsuit from the U.S. Catholic bishops and other groups, which led to multiple courts halting enforcement. 

The report notes that the EEOC also pushed transgender pronoun and bathroom mandates on businesses and often argued against religious liberty exemption requests in court proceedings.

The authors of the report encouraged the Trump administration to rewrite any regulations that jeopardize religious liberty. It also suggested that Congress pass laws to better protect religious liberty, which could prevent future administrations from disregarding those protections.

EPPC President Ryan Anderson serves on the Religious Liberty Commission, which Trump created earlier this year to combat discrimination against religious people and organizations.

Pro-life advocates participate in a prayer procession in Regensburg, Germany. / Credit: ADF International

Regensburg, Germany, Nov 7, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

The town lifted a 100-meter (328-foot) censorship zone around abortion clinics after courts ruled the restrictions violated constitutional freedoms.

Blessed Clemens August von Galen. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Münster/Domkapitular Gustav Albers (CC BY 2.5)

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 7, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed.

Thousands of European scouts make a pilgrimage to France. / Credit: Illian Callé

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 7, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A total of 3,500 scouts and adult leaders from 13 European countries made a pilgrimage to the French town of Vézelay from Oct. 30–Nov. 2.

Then-Bishop of Verdun Jean-Paul Gusching speaks on the phone before the closing speech on the last day of the Conference des Eveques de France (French Bishops’ Conference), in Lourdes, southwestern France, on Nov. 8, 2022. / Credit: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images

EWTN News, Nov 6, 2025 / 16:02 pm (CNA).

In a statement issued Nov. 4, the apostolic nunciature in France said it had received “information concerning relationships toward women by Bishop Jean-Paul Gusching.”

The National Council of the Slovak Republic, the national Parliament of Slovakia, in Bratislava. / Credit: Peter Zelizňák via Wikimedia (Public domain)

EWTN News, Nov 6, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

Bishops and educators have raised concerns about a major education overhaul signed into law by Slovak President Peter Pellegrini.

Father Francisco José Delgado, a priest of the Archdiocese of Toledo, Spain. / Credit: Photo courtesy of “La Sacristía de la Vendée”

Madrid, Spain, Nov 6, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

Father Francisco José Delgado, a member of the YouTube priests’ discussion group “The Sacristy of the Vendée,” has been declared innocent of “inciting hatred.”

Empty wheelchairs were used during a Nov. 4, 2025, anti-assisted suicide event in Rome. / Credit: Photo courtesy of ProVita & Famiglia

Rome, Italy, Nov 5, 2025 / 17:03 pm (CNA).

An initiative by an Italian pro-life group aims to denounce what the organization considers a “drift toward assisted suicide” in Italy.

Archbishop José Ángel Saiz Meneses of Seville, Spain. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Archdiocese of Seville

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 5, 2025 / 15:19 pm (CNA).

In October, the offended family took their case to the media because a priest had refused to accept Noelia, a 19-year-old with Down syndrome, as a godmother.