Refugees from Mexico. / Credit: David Peinado Romero/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 29, 2025 / 15:49 pm (CNA).

Utah’s Catholic Community Services will continue to operate its refugee support programs despite federal funding cuts after receiving well over $1 million in donations.

In early April, the group, which is based in Salt Lake City, announced that its refugee resettlement program was “winding down” and would eventually close amid major federal funding cuts. The program normally provides “hundreds of refugees the assistance they need to recover from lives dismantled by persecution, war, or violence.”

The organization reported that it lost more than $2.5 million of annual aid and “could not sustain the program” without it.

In a statement on Monday, however, the group said that, following the announcement, “something remarkable happened. Our community rallied.”

The organization said it will no longer be forced to close the refugee program or end its support for Utah-based immigrant families.

“Thanks to a generous lead gift and an outpouring of support from individuals, foundations, and partners, CCS will continue offering resettlement services through a new, privately funded model,” the group said.

Catholic Community Services said it has raised $1.5 million to use over the next four years and said it will continue its work “on a smaller scale.” The majority of the funds came from one donor who wishes to remain anonymous.

The Catholic organization is now asking for another $1 million from “the broader community.” It stated that without this additional money, the organization “will be forced to scale back services and make further cuts to the program.”

The funds will help “refugee clients” by focusing on “six key pillars”: extended case management, housing assistance, employment readiness, youth education support, mental health services, and volunteer coordination and community engagement.

“These services aim to address the most urgent needs of refugee families and foster long-term self-sufficiency,” the organization said.

“While the program will operate at a reduced capacity, its core services — and the impact on the lives of those we serve — remain as vital as ever. This transformation ensures we can uphold our mission while adapting to a changing national landscape.”

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he hosts the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House on April 21, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

CNA Staff, Apr 29, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

U.S. President Donald Trump’s approval ratings are significantly higher among Christians than among the religiously unaffiliated, according to a poll by Pew Research released to coincide with Trump’s first 100 days in office. 

Trump’s approval rating continues to be highest among white evangelical Protestants, while Catholics are almost split at 42%, according to the poll.

Across the board, Christians gave Trump a higher approval rating than nonaffiliated Americans by more than 20 percentage points (48% versus 26%, respectively). 

The approval rating for President Donald Trump among Christians is also 8 points higher than among U.S. adults overall.

Among Christians, white evangelical Protestants had the highest approval rating of Trump at 72%. Black Protestants had the lowest approval rating of the current president at 10%.  

Trump’s overall approval rating with white Catholics was significantly higher than with Hispanic Catholics, standing at 52% and 26%, respectively. 

Pew surveyed more than 3,500 U.S. adults from April 7–13 for the poll. 

Policies and ethics  

Forty-three percent of Christians found the Trump administration’s ethical standards were “excellent” or “good.”

When asked about the ethical standards of top Trump administration officials, about 7 in 10 white evangelicals rated them as “excellent” or “good.” Nearly half of white Catholics and a quarter of Hispanic Catholics agreed. 

About half of Christians approved of the Trump administration’s action to end diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and its budget cuts to federal departments, while 46% approved of the substantially increased tariffs on imports.

For these various Trump administration policies, approval rating points among Catholics sit in the 40s. 

Overall, 43% of Catholics approved of the Trump administration’s anti-DEI action; 47% approved of federal department funding cuts; and 41% approved of increased tariffs.

More than half of white Catholics surveyed (54%) said they approved of the anti-DEI initiative, while a large majority of Hispanic Catholics (69%) disapproved. 

In addition, 55% of white Catholics approved of cuts to federal departments and agencies while 65% of Hispanic Catholics disapproved. 

Another 70% of Hispanic Catholics disapproved of the increased tariffs, while 49% of white Catholics approved.

Across the various categories, Catholics do not vary from U.S. adults by more than 3 percentage points.

Trend now downward

This month Trump’s approval ratings dropped by 7% among U.S. adults overall, according to Pew. 

The drop comes in the wake of the Trump administration implementing a surge of tariffs on various foreign imports.  

Trump’s approval ratings dropped by 1 percentage point more among white Catholics than it did among the religiously nonaffiliated. 

The president’s approval rating declined within several categories among Christians. Among white Catholics and Black Protestants, his approval ratings had an 8-point drop. Among white evangelicals and the religiously nonaffiliated, it dropped by 6 and 7 points, respectively.

WASHINGTON – Bishop Brendan J. Cahill of the Diocese of Victoria, the bishop-promoter of Stella Maris in the United States, will commemorate National Maritime Day and the Catholic Church’s observation of the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Mariners and People of the Sea on May 22. The maritime apostolate for the Catholic Church that serves those who work or travel on the high seas and work in ports is known as “Stella Maris” (Star of the Sea). 

The men and women who make their living working on the seas include merchants, sailors, seafarers, fishermen, port personnel and many others in the maritime industry whose work is vital to global commerce. The work of seafarers ensures that raw materials, food, medicines and countless other products are transported to keep the global economy moving.

The nature of maritime work means they are not always a visible presence in the community, and seafarers make great sacrifices with their families to carry out their work. Stella Maris chaplains, deacons and lay ministers serve at ports across the United States to welcome them and be a network of support for them and their families. 

“On National Maritime Day, we thank our brothers and sisters who work as seafarers for their dedication. We also seek the intercession of Our Lady, Star of the Sea -- that she protect and guide those in this important industry that is vital to global commerce,” said Bishop Cahill. 

Commemoration in the Dioceses

In commemoration of National Maritime Day, Bishop Cahill is encouraging dioceses in the United States to remember seafarers during Mass. Dioceses may also wish to consider holding events to support and thank seafarers and raise public awareness of the contributions they make to our country.  

Commemoration in Washington, D.C.

Bishop Cahill will celebrate the Votive Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of the Sea, on Saturday, May 24, 2025, at 12:10 p.m. in the Crypt Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (400 Michigan Ave. NE; Washington, D.C.  20017)

Jubilee Year 2025

Pope Francis has designated the 2025 Holy Year as a time to renew ourselves as “Pilgrims of Hope.” The Vatican has appointed the Italian naval ship Amerigo Vespucci, as a Jubilee church and pilgrimage site, providing seafarers the opportunity to be part of the Holy Year celebrations. A pilgrimage to the ship will allow the faithful to gain a plenary indulgence during the Jubilee Year. Read more about the Amerigo Vespucci from Catholic News Service in Rome: https://catholicreview.org/chapel-onboard-historic-italian-naval-ship-designated-a-jubilee-church/. 

For more information on the ministry of Stella Maris, please visit: https://www.usccb.org/stellamaris.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The next pope needs to continue the path set by Pope Francis: Promoting a church that is welcoming, listens to everyone and unifies, some members of the College of Cardinals told reporters April 29.

As members of the College of Cardinals head most days to the Vatican's New Synod Hall for their pre-conclave meetings, scores of reporters and camera operators rush toward them in a wave seeking information about the closed-door deliberations and insight into what they are looking for in a pope.

Speaking to reporters April 29, Cardinal Louis Sako, the Iraq-based patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, said the atmosphere among the cardinals is "fraternal and sincere."

Cardinal Jorge Jiménez Carvajal, the 83-year-old retired archbishop of Cartagena, Colombia, said there was "a great spirit of communion" even with the expression of many different opinions.

Cardinal John Ribat of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 68, said the atmosphere was "free, welcoming" with everyone being open to one another. 

Cardinal Sako said there is a sense of responsibility "in finding someone who continues Francis' efforts." Asked to comment on the April 28 homily of Cardinal Baldassare Reina, who said the church cannot go backward, and whether this was the right direction for the church, Cardinal Sako said, "For me it is."

Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, retired archbishop of Vienna, 80, also agreed with the homily's message and said, "We are always moving forward. Do not be afraid."

Salvadoran Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez, 82, retired auxiliary bishop of San Salvador, said there is a sense that the church needs to be a kind of "utopia" where there is room "for everyone: 'todos, todos, todos."

The next pope could be a surprise, he said, just as Pope Francis was a surprise for most.

As the cardinals each get a turn to say what they see happening in the church and the world, and what they would like to see happen, Cardinal Rosa said the late pope made those priorities "very clear" in his brief final testament: the need for world peace and brotherhood among peoples.

Cardinal Ribat said the next pope should be "open to all," but there should also be "a way of kind of controlling, not in a bad way, but in a way that keeps everyone together and unites everyone and to journey together in that way."

So far most of the cardinals who have spoken at the general congregation have been from Europe, he added.

Nearly three-quarters of the 135 cardinal electors -- 99 of them -- were elevated to the college by Pope Francis. Fifty-two of them were named in the last three years, and 20 were named less than five months ago. There are a total of 252 cardinals in the whole college.

That means the cardinals have also spent the first six general congregation meetings trying to get to know each other better, Cardinal Rosa said. "We don't know each other yet."

Nonetheless, he and Cardinal Sako said they expect the conclave to be brief and last two to three days. While not revealing a name, Cardinal Sako said he already had a "very clear" idea of who he intended to vote for.

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Contributing to this story was Justin McLellan at the Vatican.
 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- True discipleship is not measured by the creeds Christians recite or the theology they know, but by how deeply they love, a cardinal said at a memorial Mass for Pope Francis.

"It is not the profession of faith, the theological knowledge or the sacramental practice that guarantees participation in the joy of God," said Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica, "but the qualitative and quantitative involvement in the human experience of the least of our brothers and sisters."

Celebrating Mass in the basilica April 29 for the fourth day of the "novendiali" -- nine days of mourning for Pope Francis marked with Masses -- the cardinal said that Christ's final judgment will not be based on knowledge or status, but on acts of mercy toward the hungry, the stranger, the sick and the imprisoned.

His message came as cardinals gathered in Rome said they are beginning to reflect on what qualities the next pope must embody. The cardinals are meeting daily in general congregation meetings ahead of the conclave, which is scheduled to begin May 7.

Concelebrating the Mass with Cardinal Gambetti were the cardinals who lead the three other papal basilicas in Rome: Cardinal Baldassare Reina, papal vicar of Rome and archpriest of the Basilica of St. John Lateran; Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, coadjutor archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major; and U.S. Cardinal James M. Harvey, archpriest of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

Patrick Kelly, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus, was seated in a front row.

Reflecting on the Gospel's imagery of sheep and goats, Cardinal Gambetti explained that those who are welcomed into God's kingdom are not those who sought independence and self-interest, but those who lived with gentleness, solidarity and compassion.

"At the personal and institutional level, we must ask ourselves: which of these two styles do we embody?" he said.

Pope Francis' humanity, tenderness and commitment to peace touched believers and nonbelievers alike, the cardinal said. Quoting Edith Bruck, a Holocaust survivor, poet and friend of Pope Francis, Cardinal Gambetti said the late pope was "a man who loved, who wept, who invoked peace, who embraced and spread warmth wherever he went."

True evangelization, the cardinal said, does not come through grand proclamations but through humble acts of solidarity that reveal God's love in tangible ways.

"Who touches humanity touches God; who honors humanity honors God; who scorns humanity scorns God," he said.

Recalling Pope Francis' conviction that "all, all, all, are called to live in the church," Cardinal Gambetti reflected the on the episode from the Acts of the Apostles in which St. Peter meets Cornelius.

In that account, St. Peter enters the gentile's home despite Jewish custom forbidding him to do so, and, after preaching about Jesus, the Holy Spirit descends upon them both, and the apostle baptizes Cornelius.

The Gospel account is "an episode that, in an age that is globalized, secularized and thirsting for truth and love such as ours" reveals the first pope's attitude toward evangelization, the cardinal said: "Openness to the human person without reservation, gratuitous concern for others, sharing and deepening experiences to help every man and woman give credit to life, to the grace of creation."

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Reporting by CNS Rome is made possible by the Catholic Communication Campaign. Give to the CCC special collection in your diocese May 10-11 or any time at: https://bit.ly/CCC-give

null / Credit: ivanko80/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 28, 2025 / 16:52 pm (CNA).

A first-of-its-kind study that delves into public health insurance records found that more than 1 in 10 women who take the abortion pill mifepristone to complete a chemical abortion will suffer a serious health complication during the process.

The study of 865,727 patients between 2017 and 2023, which was published by the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) on April 28, discovered that 10.93% of women suffer at least one “serious adverse event” within 45 days of taking mifepristone for an abortion.

“This isn’t idle speculation; this is based on the largest data set that we know of,” Ryan T. Anderson, the president of EPPC and one of the study’s authors, told EWTN.

More than 4.7% were forced to visit an emergency room related to the abortion, more than 3.3% suffered hemorrhaging, and more than 1.3% got an infection. Thousands were hospitalized, more than 1,000 needed blood transfusions, and hundreds suffered from sepsis. Nearly 2,000 had a different life-threatening adverse event.

In 2.84% of cases, the chemical abortion was unsuccessful and was subsequently completed through a surgical abortion. In a few thousand cases, an ectopic pregnancy went undetected.

The EPPC study is the most comprehensive research on the subject to date and suggests that the controlled environment of prior clinical trials — some of which reported the rate of adverse events to be as low as 0.5% — may not reflect the real-world consequences of the widespread use of the abortion pill in an increasingly deregulated market.

As the study notes, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) deregulated mifepristone in 2016 under President Barack Obama’s administration and again in 2023 under President Joe Biden’s administration.

The FDA lowered the number of in-person doctor visits to obtain mifepristone from three to one in 2016 and then to zero in 2023. In 2016, the FDA also removed requirements that the drugs be dispensed by a physician and taken in an office and got rid of the follow-up appointment rule and the mandatory reporting of adverse events. In 2023, the FDA opened up mail delivery for the drugs by ending the rule that they must be dispersed in a doctor’s office.

Prior to the 2016 changes, mifepristone could only be used through the first seven weeks of pregnancy. The revision under Obama changed that to the first 10 weeks.

More than half of all abortions nationwide are now conducted with mifepristone. 

“Now, because of Obama and Biden, abortion pills are taken alone, at home, via mail order,” Anderson said in a joint statement with co-researcher Jamie Bryan Hall, the director of data analysis at EPPC.

“The abortion industry tells women that the abortion pill is as safe as Tylenol,” they said. “That is fundamentally false, and women deserve the truth. Because most women are denied the truth about the abortion drugs, they are terribly unprepared for subsequent complications.”

A British study from late last year confirmed that this was the case, with many women reporting that they were unprepared for the pain they experienced from the chemical abortion. Nearly half of them experienced more pain than they expected and some warned that the pain levels were “washed over,” “downplayed,” or “sugarcoated” during consultations.

Christina Francis, a practicing OB-GYN and the CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life OBGYNs, told CNA that EPPC’s data “confirms what we’re seeing in the real world” and that “even just based on my own clinical practice,” she knows “these drugs are not safe.”

Francis spoke about a patient she treated recently “who had ordered these drugs online.” The woman requested the abortion pill when she was nine weeks pregnant, but when she took them, she was “much further along … [than] when she first ordered the drugs” and suffered several health complications that required surgery.

She also discussed a colleague who treated a patient whose unborn child was expelled when the body was the “size of the palm of her hand,” which suggests the chemical abortion occurred past “the legal limit.”

“She saw her baby and it was very, very traumatic for her,” Francis said. “... This is happening in emergency rooms across the country.”

Father Tad Pacholczyk, a senior ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC), told CNA that the report “reminds us again how these toxic agents do not even belong in the field of medicine, which at its core is a healing ministry, since they directly target the life of unborn human patients.”

“Rather than being left to their own devices, when overwhelming evidence indicates that this powerful pharmaceutical has a high probability of causing sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging, or other life-threatening outcomes, women are entitled to more restrictive regulation over those distributing these drugs, improved follow-up and surveillance in the aftermath of their self-administration,” Pacholczyk added.

EPPC urges Trump administration review

The researchers at EPPC encouraged President Donald Trump’s administration to review the current regulations and reimplement the safeguards that existed prior to the deregulation of the Obama and Biden administrations.

This would require three in-person doctor visits and confirmation that the woman’s pregnancy is still within the first seven weeks, as was originally required by the FDA. It would also require that the drug be prescribed by a physician and administered in person. It would also reestablish the mandatory reporting of adverse events.

“We’re hopeful the Trump administration will do the right thing,” Anderson told EWTN News.

Trump has promised that he would not ban the abortion pill but did not rule out regulating the drugs. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said earlier this year that he planned to investigate safety concerns related to mifepristone.

“Even pro-choice citizens should want to make sure that women make an informed choice, based on all the facts, and that any drugs they take are safe,” Anderson and Hall said in their joint statement provided to CNA.

Christina Francis agreed, emphasizing: “We cannot place abortion access above patient care and patient safety.”

“[This] should be something that all of us can agree on and come together on,” she said.

San Antonio is the state’s second most populous city. Texas is short roughly 660,000 affordable rental units for its lowest‑income residents, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. / Credit: f11photo/Shutterstock

Seattle, Wash., Apr 28, 2025 / 13:56 pm (CNA).

Texas lawmakers are weighing whether parish parking lots, ballfields, and spare acreage could help ease the state’s housing crunch.

House Bill 3172 — the so‑called Yes in God’s Backyard, or YIGBY, bill — would let churches and other faith institutions build mixed‑income housing on land they already own without running a gauntlet of rezoning hearings, provided at least half the units stay affordable.

Jennifer Carr Allmon, executive director of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops, backs the proposal.

“Catholics believe that housing is a human right, and governments, the private sector, and the Church share responsibility to make sure people have a stable place to live,” she said in an interview with CNA. YIGBY, she added, “gives parishes a chance to rethink their campuses so they can create affordable homes and keep their ministries thriving.”

Allmon pointed to a century‑old parish that turned about an acre of underused land into a project that rebuilt its aging school and carved out deeply discounted apartments for seniors. She sees similar deals sprouting across the state once zoning barriers fall. Her stance draws on “The Right to a Decent Home,” a 1988 pastoral letter from the nation’s bishops urging Catholic entities to inventory property “and examine how it might better be put at the service of those who lack adequate shelter.”

Rep. Gary Gates, the bill’s House author, chairs the Land and Resource Management Committee. A Catholic lobbyist flagged the idea, he recalled in an interview: “Vacant church land was a great thought. Some churches — Catholic, evangelical, you name it — have a lot of land that’s just sitting there.” Gates drafted the bill soon after.

The measure would let congregations develop parcels they’ve held for at least five years, up to five acres at a time, without a full zoning change. Projects must stay under nonprofit control and meet affordability targets. 

Gates said the acreage cap is meant to stop massive master‑planned enclaves from claiming a religious exemption. The Senate passed its companion in March; the House version awaits a committee vote while Gov. Greg Abbott’s policy team reviews it. “Our session ends in five weeks,” Gates said. “Either we do this now or we wait a year and a half.”

The need is clear enough. Texas is short roughly 660,000 affordable rental units for its lowest‑income residents, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. In San Antonio alone, a 2024 nonprofit survey counted about 3,000 acres of underused church land inside city limits. 

Financing structures will vary, said Maddie Johnson, program director of the Church Properties Initiative at the University of Notre Dame, but ground leases “are a natural option in a YIGBY context because the emphasis is on the church remaining the landowner.”

Equity splits expose parishes to development risk that can be hard to understand, she cautioned. Community pushback is inevitable whenever density lands in a low‑rise neighborhood, yet church campuses may have an edge because they already break the single‑family pattern.

“Any kind of density introduced into a low‑density neighborhood is going to be opposed,” Johnson said, but the scale of most church sites “is already an interruption to that texture.”

Gates argues that unlocking church land tackles cost at its root. “Thirty percent of the cost of a house is the land,” he said. “Opening church land widens the supply overnight.” Homeowner groups in well‑heeled enclaves worry that subsidized apartments will dent property values, but Allmon believes real‑world examples calm fears.

“When people see a parish partner with a developer to add affordable housing and expand ministry, the objections fade,” she said.

If the House clears the bill, parishes could break ground as early as 2026. Catholic conferences in Colorado, Georgia, and Florida are pushing similar bills. 

“Vacant acreage can sit idle or serve the Gospel,” Allmon said. “This legislation lets us choose the latter.”

A patch depicting the late Pope Francis is seen on the jersey of San Lorenzo’s Spanish midfielder No. 10 Iker Muniain during the Argentine Professional Football League 2025 Apertura Tournament football match between San Lorenzo and Rosario Central at the Pedro Bidegain stadium in Buenos Aires on April 26, 2025. The late Pope Francis, Jorge Bergoglio, was a fan and member No. 88235 of Argentina’s San Lorenzo football club. / Credit: ALEJANDRO PAGNI/AFP via Getty Images

Dublin, Ireland, Apr 28, 2025 / 10:39 am (CNA).

Among the tens of thousands of mourners paying their respects before the coffin of Pope Francis late last week was Gianluigi Buffon, the Italian World Cup-winning goalkeeper.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The 135 cardinals eligible to elect the next pope will enter the Sistine Chapel to begin the conclave May 7, the Vatican announced. 

The cardinals will first celebrate the "Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff" in St. Peter's Basilica that morning before processing into the Sistine Chapel that evening.

The Vatican Museums announced that the Sistine Chapel would be closed to visitors beginning April 28 to allow preparations for the conclave to begin. The preparations include the installation of a stove to burn the cardinals' ballots and a chimney on the roof to signal the election results to the world.

The date for the conclave was set during the fifth general congregation meeting of cardinals April 28, Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, told reporters at a briefing later that day. The general congregation meeting was the first after a two-day pause to allow cardinals to participate in the funeral rites for Pope Francis.

More than 180 cardinals attended the April 28 meeting, including over 100 cardinal electors. During the session, about 20 cardinals offered reflections on the state of the church, its mission in the world, the challenges it faces and the qualities needed in the next pope, Bruni said.

Topics addressed included evangelization, interfaith relations and the ongoing need to address clerical sexual abuse, he added.

The cardinals also discussed whether Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who relinquished the rights associated with being a cardinal after he was forced to resign in 2020, would be permitted to participate in the conclave. Bruni said no decision had yet been made, and Cardinal Becciu has been attending the general congregation meetings.

Looking ahead to the next session, Bruni said the general congregation meeting April 29 would open with a reflection by Benedictine Father Donato Ogliari, abbot of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome and a member of the Dicastery for Bishops.

As cardinals entered the Vatican for the morning's session, Cardinal Anders Arborelius of Stockholm was asked by reporters if he expected a long conclave. "I think it will be," he said, "because up to now we don't know each other."

Meanwhile, Cardinal Walter Kasper, former president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity who is past the age limit to vote in the conclave, told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that he hopes the cardinal-electors "come to a consensus on the next pope very soon, in the footsteps of Francis."

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Reporting by CNS Rome is made possible by the Catholic Communication Campaign. Give to the CCC special collection in your diocese May 10-11 or any time at: https://bit.ly/CCC-give

Judy Henderson spent 36 years in prison for a crime she did not commit. Now she works with Catholic Charities helping women, children, and families in need. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Judy Henderson

CNA Staff, Apr 27, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Judy Henderson spent 36 years in prison for a crime she did not commit, leaving her 3-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter behind while she was behind bars. Despite the hardship, Henderson never lost hope. Written above the sink in her cell was the Bible verse Jeremiah 29:11, which served as her daily reminder that God had plans for her future.

She didn’t wait around for that future to unfold, however; instead, she got to work helping other incarcerated mothers and still serves in this capacity today. Currently an administrative assistant for Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Henderson continues to assist mothers and families in need.

She has also written a book called “When the Light Finds Us: From a Life Sentence to a Life Transformed,” released on April 15, in which she shares her inspiring story from wrongful conviction to redemption.

Raised in a Christian household, Henderson was the oldest of eight. She grew up, got married, and had her daughter, Angel, and then her son, Chip, nine years later. Her marriage, which was physically and emotionally abusive, ended after 12 years.

Henderson, along with her children, then moved back to her hometown of Springfield, Missouri, to be closer to her parents and for a fresh start. However, within months of the move Henderson was charmed by a new man. 

“He was very suave and debonair and wore a three-piece suit and had been in the ministry and a real estate broker and just everything that you would think a woman would want,” she told CNA in an interview. 

Henderson shared that even her parents loved him because they “thought he was a good Christian.” 

One day he showed up at Henderson’s home with suitcases and told her he was moving in. Henderson was taken aback and told him she wasn’t going to live with a man she wasn’t married to, especially with her children living with her.

When questioned as to why he felt the need to move in, Henderson recalled him telling her: “‘I think you need me. I want to love you and take care of you and the children and for us to be a happy family.’”

“As a battered woman, our thinking and the way we view things aren’t from a healthy lens,” she explained. “And so I was already kind of like Pavlov’s dogs, conditioned, and to be a ‘yes,’ ‘yes sir,’ ‘I want to take care of you’ kind of woman. Never thinking that there was any side to him that was not just good. And I did not see any of the signs. I didn’t even know what to look for because back then we didn’t have the battered women syndrome. We didn’t know the definition of the different stages that battered women go through.”

Soon after, Henderson began to see his bad side, which included dealing cocaine. Unbeknownst to Henderson, her boyfriend planned to rob a jeweler in Springfield, Missouri. However, the robbery turned deadly when the jeweler refused to hand over the valuables. Henderson’s boyfriend fired his gun several times, killing the jeweler and leaving Henderson injured.

Both were charged with murder, but only Henderson was sentenced to life without parole for 50 years for capital murder. A major issue in her trial, which was later deemed unconstitutional, was that both Henderson and her boyfriend shared the same attorney. 

“The only reason he had him [the attorney] along with me is to make sure the strategy did not include him or nothing [was] being said bad about him or me taking the stand against him. It was another manipulating tool that he wanted to control,” Henderson said.

Henderson entered prison and admitted that she “was very angry with God.” 

The mother of two was able to see her daughter throughout the years; however, her ex-husband did not allow Henderson to see her son from the age of 5 until 16, causing her more anger.

“There’s two things you can do with anger — you can get bitter or you can get better. And I chose better because nobody cared that I was angry in prison. Everybody was angry in prison,” she shared.

So Henderson started to deal with her anger and “started fighting those emotions that Satan loves for us to feel.”

“I stood on the fact that I was going home because God’s promises are always ‘yes’ and ‘amen,’ and he promised in Jeremiah 29:11, ‘I know the plans I have for you,’ ‘a future,’ and my future was not prison. That’s not what God gave me.”

While in prison, Henderson became a certified paralegal and mentor for others who were incarcerated. She also worked toward legislative reform and led efforts to ensure that battered women could use their histories of abuse as legal defense. Her work in this area led to a landmark decision in Missouri that recognized battered women’s syndrome as legal defense. 

She also pioneered the PATCH (Parents and Their Children) Program, which creates a safer, less traumatic experience for children visiting their incarcerated mothers. A trailer is used outside the prison and is decorated to look like a home with a TV, kitchen, and living room, and children never see handcuffs or guards, only volunteers who escort the children to their mothers. 

“I kept very, very busy being productive,” she recalled. “I thought either you can do the time or the time can do you. And so I did the time. I got educated in every program they had to offer me.”

One program that deeply touched Henderson and brought her back to Christ was Residents Encounter Christ, a Catholic ministry that offered “lifers” — those with a life sentence — a chance at a three-day retreat to encounter Christ, which Henderson said helped her to “understand what the love of God was really about.”

On Dec. 20, 2017, Henderson received an unexpected visitor — then-Gov. Eric Greitens of Missouri. At the sight of him she dropped to her knees crying. He approached her, took her by the shoulders, and said, “I want to apologize for the state of Missouri for not looking at your case sooner, and for you having to spend 36 years of your life locked away. I’m going to, on this day, commute your sentence to life with parole to time served,” she recalled. 

“He opened the door and my daughter came running to me and my son and other family members and two of my attorneys … we were overjoyed, everybody crying.”

Today Henderson works with Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph and uses her skills and talents across departments to help veterans, women, children, and families in need.

“To see those women and those babies, and even the men, come in and be lifted up because of the work that we do is such a blessing and so inspiring for us to be able to be such great instruments for God,” she said.

Henderson recalled how she always saw God’s hand at work in her life and how “God does things in pieces, like a puzzle,” bringing people and events into your life just at the right time “if you follow his lead and let him guide you.”

“I was blessed enough to find my purpose and finding joy inside a dark, horrible, painful place. And so God is everywhere to shine his light … He shines a light for you to follow, and that’s what I did and I was blessed to be able to listen to his voice and to do what I what he created me to do. This was my purpose.”