July 14, 2023

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts. www.catholicnewsagency.com - The US House of Representatives passed two amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Thursday evening mandating the military stop its programs paying for abortion travel and transgender surgeries for service members. Under a policy laid out by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the military has been granting paid leave and subsidizing service members’ travel to obtain abortions. Transgender and gender-identity treatments and surgeries also have been subsidized by the military under the Biden administration. Two amendments passed by the House Thursday evening would undo those military policies. The NDAA is an annual must-pass spending package that sets the military’s budget for the next fiscal year. Both the House and Senate advance their own versions of the package, which must be reconciled with each other and then signed by the president. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254797/house-passes-amendments-ending-military-spending-on-abortion-travel-transgender-surgeries Following failed negotiations with the regime of Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega to free the persecuted Bishop Rolando José Álvarez Lagos, the US bishops have called for the imprisoned prelate’s release. Álvarez, who in February was sentenced to 26 years in prison after declining exile to the United States, was convicted of treason, undermining national integrity, and spreading false news. In addition to his jail sentence, Álvarez was stripped of his citizenship and fined. His imprisonment came after his outspoken criticism of Ortega’s dictatorial policies and religious persecution. The government has committed egregious religious freedom abuses in the country including detaining and expelling priests from the country, denying them reentry, hindering the services of Church-affiliated organizations, targeting Cat