“There was concern among a number of Christians in D.C. in the field of economics that there was no ongoing institutional voice in Washington, D.C., for pro-free market Christians, and there are obviously many Christians in D.C. who are pro-free market,” IRD President Mark Tooley told EWTN News.

“There was a vacuum here being filled by other voices and other perspectives that are critical of — if not hostile to — the free-market perspective,” he said.

Tooley, who is Methodist, said IRD is “not tied to any particular Christian tradition” and includes both Protestants and Catholics, noting “Catholics were among our founders.” He said IRD has been ecumenical from the start, with a focus on Christianity in the U.S., democracy, and human rights.

The IRD was founded in 1981, and most of its early board members were Protestant but also included one Catholic, the philosopher Michael Novak. Another early board member, Father Richard John Neuhaus, was Lutheran at the time but converted to Catholicism in 1990 and was ordained to the priesthood.

Tooley said the plan for the project is to hold events, publish articles, and host a semester-long fellowship for young people who align with their vision. He said he expects Novak’s writings to be prominently featured in the reading materials for the fellowship, which would likely meet twice per month this fall.

The launch event

The IRD kicked off the initiative with an early evening event on June 2 at its headquarters in downtown Washington, D.C., just a few blocks north of the White House. A few dozen people gathered for the occasion, which included drinks, hors dʼoeuvres, and an hourlong presentation by two Christian scholars discussing the intersection of Christianity and economic thought.

Erik Matson, a Gibbons fellow in economics at The Catholic University of America, and Jordan J. Ballor, executive director of The Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy at the First Liberty Institute — both of whom are Protestant — delivered the presentation on their book: “A History of Christian Political Economy.”

The book delves into economic thought in the Bible, among the early Church fathers, from medieval theologians, in the writings of later Protestant reformers and Catholic thinkers, and from contemporary scholars.

Jordan said during the presentation that theological perspectives are “not in the mainstream of what is taught in economics” but said “we might be missing something” when we fail to include theological perspectives in economic discourse.

Although much of the older writings do not touch on the subject in the form of an economic treatise, Matson explained in his presentation that Christians were “wrestling with political and economic issues” of the time and commenting on questions about wealth, poverty, and access to resources.

Matson identified two “broad competing perspectives” among the thinkers. One, he called “a limited good perspective” and the other, “a mutual benefits perspective.”

He said the first views material wealth as essentially “fixed,” in the sense that any transaction is “zero sum,” or “the gain of one is the loss of another.” The second views wealth as something that can increase into the future, in the sense that “the good of one need not come at the cost of the good of many” and that transactions can be “wealth generative” rather than just being shifts in resources.

According to Matson, “you can find both of these perspectives” over the course of the last two millennia within all Christian faith traditions. He pointed to St. John Chrysostom as falling more into the “limited good perspective” of economic thought and St. Thomas Aquinas as being more closely aligned with the “mutual benefits perspective,” for example.

Matson told EWTN News after the presentation “there’s no real discernible difference across denominations,” saying the research found representatives of both perspectives in Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox thought.

He said Pope Leo XIII, who authored Rerum Novarum in 1891 and set the foundation of Catholic social teaching, is more “in line with [the] mutual benefits” understanding of economics. He said the pontiff understood the importance of property but also saw “a role for the government [and] for voluntary associations [and] trade associations.”

The book also touches on more direct contributions Christian thinkers made to economics, such as the the School of Salamanca, which was a Catholic Scholastic movement that developed the quantity theory of money and dealt with questions such as pricing and usury.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sent a list of immigration-related requests to lawmakers June 1 as they are set to vote on fiscal 2027 appropriations.

In a letter sent to leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, Bishop Brendan J. Cahill of Victoria, Texas, wrote on behalf of the USCCB asking the committee to consider “additional priorities” in connection “to human life and dignity.”

“The well-being of immigrants, refugees, unaccompanied noncitizen children, victims of trafficking, and other populations, as well as our immigration system in general, is of deep concern to the Catholic Church,” wrote Cahill, chair of the bishops' Committee on Migration.

“Our perspectives on these matters are grounded in Scripture and Catholic teaching, including our belief in the inherent and inviolable dignity of every person,” he said.

The letter was sent to Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine; Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington; Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma; and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut.

The bishops urged that funding continue for the Refugee and Entrant Assistance (REA) programs administered through the Office of Refugee Resettlement, as the programs are needed to assist refugees, victims of human trafficking, and other migrant groups.

They asked for “robust” appropriations for the Wage and Hour Division and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs to support victims of trafficking, and funding for International Humanitarian Assistance and Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance.

While acknowledging the governmentʼs right to enforce immigration laws, the bishops reiterated their opposition to expanded enforcement and detention measures, and asked for “more humane” alternatives.

The letter warned that mass deportation threatens due process, family unity, and discriminatory practice and asked Congress to ensure that people in detention facilities have access to religious and pastoral services.

Bishops' requests

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is operating without fully enacted fiscal 2026 funding, and instead has been funded through continuing resolutions after a 76-day shutdown that ended April 30. The Trump administration is asking Congress to approve $118.4 billion in fiscal 2027 DHS spending, which is a $6.6 billion increase over the continuing resolution levels.

The bishops asked the committee to consider permanently reauthorizing the Religious Worker Visa Program, “to avoid the uncertainty and disruption” that its expiration creates for religious organizations, their workers, and communities they serve.

The bishops also reiterated their request for Congress to take up and pass H.R. 2672/S. 1298, named by sponsors as “the Religious Workforce Protection Act.” The legislation would let DHS keep certain religious workers in the U.S. beyond the five-year limit on R‑1 visas while their green card or immigrant visa applications are still pending.

The bishops urged Congress to support agencies that help “promote trust” in the immigration system that “have been weakened” or “ceased operating entirely,” including the DHS Office of Inspector General and the Office of Immigration Detention Ombudsman.

Concerned about “nationality-based restrictions on legal immigration pathways,” the bishops asked that the State Department and DHS be required to report the status of all nationality-based restrictions.

Bishops urged lawmakers to fund the Legal Orientation Program, support the immigration court system, and oversee functions related to immigration enforcement in their consideration of the fiscal 2027 Commerce‑Justice‑Science (CJS) appropriations bill. U.S. House consideration is next for CJS appropriations; the House Appropriations Committee approved the legislation May 13.

Monsignor Stephen Rossetti was “removed ... as an exorcist of the Archdiocese of Washington,” McElroy said in a statement posted to the archdioceseʼs website. Rossetti is a priest of the Diocese of Syracuse, New York, the statement noted.

In addition to Rossettiʼs removal, McElroy said the archdiocese had “ended all affiliation between the archdiocese and the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal located in Washington, D.C.”

Led by Rossetti, the St. Michael Center is a Catholic nonprofit that “conducts spiritual education workshops and trains clergy, religious, and laity,” according to its website.

Rossetti had on May 29 posted a video to YouTube in which the exorcist had expressed his personal belief that “many, if not most, [UFO] sightings are, in fact, demons.” Such entities, he said in the video, “can do things that we canʼt do, such [as] the speed and all sorts of things that human beings canʼt do.”

McElroy in his statement said Rossettiʼs remarks “gravely undermine the Church’s very precise teaching on the devil, demons, and exorcism.” The cardinal also criticized the St. Michael Centerʼs “recent use of social media,” though the statement did not offer any specifics beyond that.

In a statement after the news broke, Rossetti said he was “saddened” by the archdioceseʼs decision.

“I ask forgiveness for any ways that I have not been faithful to the teachings of the Church’s magisterium, particularly in the cited video on ‘aliens and the demonic,’” he said.

“I believe it is of the utmost importance to be obedient to the Church and I will continue to endeavor to subject all that I do and the center to be thus obedient,” he continued, adding: “Also, I will continue to encourage all to do so as well.”

“I am grateful for 19 years of ministering in the Archdiocese of Washington as its exorcist and I thank the archdiocese for its support and blessing all these years,” the statement continued. “We will remember the cardinal and all in [the archdiocese] in our prayers for its important ministry.”

The St. Michael Center “plans to continue its ministry elsewhere,” Rossetti said.

As of June 3, the video that apparently resulted in Rossettiʼs dismissal had been marked private on YouTube.

It is a “very historical moment in the archdiocesan history, but also [for] the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati and the whole Church,” Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico, said at a press conference outside the Blandina Segale Convent in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on June 1.

“The Sisters of Charity are profoundly grateful for the life of Sister Blandina and her witness of faith, courage, and care for those most in need,” said Sister Monica Gundler, president of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, in a press release.

“As her story continues to be shared with the world, we pray that her compassionate heart will inspire others to emulate her example of charity, justice, and service,” she said.

Her cause moving forward is “a national celebration,” said Allen Sanchez, the petitioner of Segale’s cause, at the event.

The theologians “came together with a very important lens to look at her life” and examined 14,000 pages of “the argument for her heroic virtue, the book she wrote, and books written about her,” Sanchez said.

After doing so, they confirmed that Segale used the gifts of the Holy Spirit and fulfilled the corporal works of mercy, Sanchez said.

“There was no debate” among them, but it was rather a “celebration,” Sanchez said.

“They have everything in place, but in the summer they get to vote and then itʼs up to them to recommend to the pope if sheʼs venerable,” he said. After an examination by cardinals and bishops who are members of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the prefect of the dicastery presents findings to the pope who can consider approval.

If she becomes venerable it will then require one miracle to move forward again to her beatification, but “we have 58 of them,” he said.

Sister Blandina Segale

Segale was an Italian immigrant who came to the Wild West in the 1800s. She was born Maria Rosa Segale in the town of Cigana, Italy, on Jan. 23, 1850. At the age of 4, she and her parents moved to Cincinnati where she joined the Sisters of Charity at 16.

She spent over two decades serving in the American Southwest, primarily in Trinidad, Colorado, and in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

She worked in schools, orphanages, and hospitals that the sisters operated. She worked to build a trade school for Native American women and a home for the elderly.

She offered direct relief to the poor and helped raise money for numerous efforts.

She “started the public schools and the Catholic schools in [New Mexico] and the healthcare system,” Sanchez said. “The healthcare system that she helped begin with other nuns is now the largest nonprofit healthcare provider in the nation.”

Amid her efforts to start schools and hospitals, she intervened against lynch mobs and outlaws.

She eventually formed a friendship with William Bonney, better known as “Billy the Kid” — an American criminal linked to numerous murders in the late 19th century.

According to legend, and Segale’s journal and letters, one of Billy the Kid’s gang members was shot, but doctors refused to treat him. Segale decided to take him in and nurse him back to health.

The criminal was still unhappy so he planned to return to scalp the four doctors in revenge. When he arrived, Segale intervened and convinced him to call it off on behalf of the man she had saved.

After the incident, Segale and Billy the Kid became friends. She visited him in jail, and he called off a stage-coach robbery as soon as he realized she was one of the passengers.

Gifts of the Holy Spirit

“Blandina had wisdom and she had understanding,” Wester said. “She saw the world through the eyes of God. She had the wisdom of the Scriptures, the wisdom of the Church, the wisdom of faith.”

She also had “courage and fortitude,” he said. “She was this little powerhouse” who “rode down here in the stagecoach by herself, and she came to New Mexico.”

“She trusted in Jesus, that the Lord Jesus was with her and calling her to this mission, and she never wavered in her courage.” She “confronted mobs, lynch mobs, Billy the Kid — all kinds of difficulties with courage."

“She had prudence" and “the gift of right judgment,” Wester said. “She conceived that we needed hospitals and schools and cemeteries and orphanages and all kinds of institutions to help people. And she started them.”

“She could make good decisions” with her “knowledge to know the will of God, that God was willing peace for his people,” he said.

“God wants us all to live together in peace, and Blandina knew that,” he said.

“I encourage all of us in New Mexico, Catholic and non-Catholic alive, to follow Blandinaʼs example, to care for people, to live in harmony with people, to see the good in people, to be able to affirm one another and build each other up, and to be able to live together in peace,” Wester said.

The miracle dates back to 1649 in the old town of Santa Magdalena de Ciudad Eten, when on the eve of the solemnity of Corpus Christi, “the Divine Child appeared on a consecrated host” during Mass. Months later, on July 22 of that same year, there was a new apparition of the Divine Child on the feast day of St. Mary Magdalene. It then disappeared, and in its place there were “three intertwined hearts symbolizing the Most Holy Trinity.”

These events, recorded by ecclesiastical authorities of the time, have been preserved in historical documents that are currently housed in San Francisco Convent in Lima and in the National Archive of the Indies in Seville, Spain.

‘A gift from God for living in communion’

In observance of the occasion, the group Eucharistic Miracle Peru 1649 noted that its mission is simple yet profound: to draw more people closer to a love for the Eucharist.

They also recalled the words of the then-bishop of Chiclayo, Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, who was one of the driving forces behind the recognition of the miracle by the Vatican.

During a celebration in Eten, he stated: “This beautiful gift, that great gift which God, the source of all life and of all that is good... this gift that God has bestowed here, in this place, with you and for you, is given precisely to experience this joy of being united in the communion of the Church with the Child of the Miracle.”

In 2019, Prevost presented Pope Francis with a document regarding the history of the Miracle of Eten, which compiled “20,000 testimonies of faith,” and that same year he stated: “This miracle is approved on the basis of a continuous tradition in the city of Eten.”

Faith lived in daily life

Beyond the commemorative events, the celebration was also marked by new stories of faith.

One of them is that of Gabriel Crosby Sánchez. His mother, Arabella, recounted with emotion how, from a very young age, she placed him under the protection of the Child of the Miracle and took him every Saturday to the so-called “Masses of Promise.”

Over time, that practice bore fruit: Today, Gabriel serves as an acolyte at St. John Vianney Parish in the Magdalena del Mar district of metro Lima.

For his family and the community, his story is a simple but strong sign that the faith is passed on at home, in everyday life, and that when lived with perseverance it can transform lives.

A devotion that continues its journey

On this anniversary, the group Eucharistic Miracle Peru 1649 expressed special gratitude for the warm welcome extended by the community of Magdalena del Mar, where the image of the Divine Child of the Miracle was recently received.

The group also renewed its invitation to the faithful to join the spiritual pilgrimage currently traveling through various regions of the country — including central Lima, Comas, Lurín, and Bellavista as a preparation for the expected visit of the Holy Father.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

CNEWA is working with numerous Church entities in Gaza, as it is in a “permanent state of waiting,” La Civita told “EWTN News Nightly” on June 2.

Pope Pius XI founded CNEWA in 1926 to give pastoral and humanitarian support to northeast Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and India. CNEWA has a worldwide network of people committed to helping those most in need, regardless of where they are.

As the conflict in Gaza continues, there are “upwards of 2 million people, most of whom are displaced,” and “their homes have been destroyed,” La Civita said.

There is “severe malnutrition and concerns for the health and well-being of children, expecting mothers, [and] the elderly living in extremely trying circumstances,” he said.

In Gaza, there is “no school, no shelter,” and “very little … access to food,” he said. “Weʼre concerned about, of course, things like hepatitis A and other diseases that are associated with the lack of sanitation, water, clean water, potable water, as well as healthcare.”

There have also been recent reports of child exploitation and child marriages in Gaza, but CNEWA is “not dealing so much with child marriages thus far because we have not been confronted with that with our partners,” La Civita said.

It “is not a particular issue that weʼve yet had to confront,” La Civita siad. But “the situation there economically is pretty horrific. I can imagine all sorts of nefarious things happening, such as that.”

“Weʼre dealing with situations as they see them, he said.

“Much of what we do is … psychosocial work for children and the elderly and vulnerable populations, their parents, their families,” he said. CNEWA also offers “medical care for mothers and expecting mothers.”

Pope’s call for assistance

CNEWA continues to aid the population as Pope Leo XIV continues to renew his appeal for humanitarian assistance in Gaza.

While speaking to journalists outside Castel Gandolfo on May 26, the Holy Father called on the international community to assist the people of Gaza, insisting that human rights must be respected "for everyone.”

"I would also like to renew this not only as an invitation, but truly as an appeal," he said. The Holy Father urged "all authorities to assist and accompany the people of Gaza, and to help begin reconstruction.”

Pope Leo noted that, "unfortunately, the people of Gaza are still not receiving humanitarian aid.”

"The people are truly suffering," and they "continue to suffer greatly,” Pope Leo said.

To answer the Churchʼs call, CNEWA works “with the local Church communities,” including “the Latin Church of the Holy Family and the Greek Orthodox Parish of St. Porphyrius, as well as Christian organizations like the International organization International Orthodox charities as well as Caritas,” La Civita said.

How the faithful can help

In order to help, Catholics and other Christians can “first of all, pray,” La Civita said. ”Because prayer ... works miracles, and we need miracles.”

“Second, we need a willingness for there to be peace. We need a willingness on all sides to want to establish some sense of stability for the people that live there,” he said.

There is a need for “access [to] vehicles as promised,” La Civita added. “What is needed to deliver aid is upwards of 600 trucks a day. Weʼre lucky if we get 400 a week carrying supplies.”

“So if youʼre only getting 400 trucks a week and what you need are more than 600 a day to feed a malnourished population, to provide them with medicines and water and food — you have a difficult, difficult situation.”

“I canʼt imagine stability returning or any sense of normality returning until you have access to materials, access to healthcare, access to food and water.”

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. district court on June 1, alleges that the New York State Public Employment Relations Board is infringing on its “fundamental constitutional right” to religious liberty by presumptively exercising jurisdiction over the schoolʼs union bargaining policy.

In February the school announced that it would no longer recognize two unions on campus, the St. John’s University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors and the Faculty Association. Both had been formed in 1970.

A school spokesman said the decision would "allow [the school] the flexibility required to innovate while continuing to support our faculty and, most importantly, deliver on our promise to our students.”

The unions subsequently filed a complaint with the state Public Employment Relations Board, alleging that the schoolʼs decision, along with changes to faculty employment terms, violated the New York State Employment Relations Act.

In its June 1 filing, the school said the First Amendment and extensive court precedent prohibits the state board from what the university described as “excessive government entanglement with religion.”

The lawsuit alleges that the unionʼs request would require the school to share its decision-making authority with both union leaders and the state government, even on issues that are “essential to its mission.”

Oversight from the state board would “[prevent] St. John’s from exercising its First Amendment right to freely govern itself in accordance with its Catholic and Vincentian mission and faith,” the suit says.

The state labor board did not immediately respond to a request for comment from EWTN News regarding the federal lawsuit.

Earlier this year the school received criticism from some community members for its decision to withdraw from union bargaining.

Sophia Bell, the president of the St. John’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, called the decision “a disastrous mistake.”

“[School president Father Brian Shanley] is violating New York state law and ignoring decades of St. John’s institutional practice and centuries of Catholic social teaching around respect for labor and workers,” Bell told EWTN News.

The school was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Queens, New York.

The archdiocese said the eight-figure security package was part of the newly approved state budget, which was passed by legislators in Tallahassee on May 29. The funding came about after “months of advocacy and budget negotiations,” the archdiocese said.

"We prioritize the safety of our students in a day and age that has seen more anti-Catholic violence and generally more violence against schools,” archdiocesan schools Superintendent Jim Rigg said in the announcement.

The archdiocese said that a “broader statewide reimbursement program” for Catholic school security failed to pass the Legislature.

Rigg said in the archdiocesan announcement that schools have been using money to fund security measures “that could otherwise go toward textbooks, technology, and teacher salaries.”

“In some cases, schools are collecting special security fees from parents," he said.

Catholic schools have increased security amid shooting fears

Numerous Catholic and other Christian schools around the country have lately adopted enhanced security measures, particularly after the August 2025 shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis.

That shooting came after Catholic bishops in Minnesota had petitioned state lawmakers to provide security funding for nonpublic schools; the state government had failed to grant those requests.

Some schools have opted to hire security guards, while others have considered the possibility of allowing teachers to be armed while on campus.

Still others have turned to technology to increase student safety. Trinity Catholic School in Fort Smith, Arkansas, recently adopted an AI-bolstered security system that can spot school shooters and quickly alert law enforcement ahead of a potential mass shooting.

A Catholic school in Ohio has also deployed that system on its own campus.

After the Minneapolis shooting, Jason Adkins, the executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, told “EWTN News In Depth” that school security is “a basic public safety issue that should be available to all students, irrespective of where they go to school.”

“Looking at school safety programs, nonprofit security grants, all these things — we have to take an all-of-the-above approach to looking at public policy solutions that limit gun violence in our communities,” he said.

“We donʼt expect any more justice, because we, the minority, will not get justice in this country,” Father David Gharami, parish priest of the church, told EWTN News. “We Catholics are a minority among the minorities. Thatʼs why no government pays attention to us.”

On June 3, 2001, at least 10 people were killed and more than 50 injured when a bomb exploded during Sunday Mass at Most Holy Redeemer Church in Baniarchar, in Gopalganj district. A quarter of a century later, police have yet to file a full charge sheet in the case.

Gharami said the parish has grown weary of seeking justice from the government. “For the past four to five years, no investigating officer has been looking into our case,” he said. He believes the attack was carried out by a religious extremist group or for political or social motives.

“On this day, we offer a Mass for the souls of those who died and pay floral tributes at their graves,” he said.

Nine of the 10 people killed in the bombing were between the ages of 20 and 25, and one was in his 40s, according to Premananda Halder, a local schoolteacher.

At the time of the attack, Sheikh Hasinaʼs Awami League was in power; Gopalganj is Hasinaʼs home district, and she visited the site after the bombing. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party won the parliamentary election held on Feb. 12 this year. Successive governments have come and gone, but no one has been brought to justice for the bombing.

Lalita Biswas, 46, a Catholic and mother of one, has sought justice for 25 years. Her husband, Satish Biswas, was among the 10 killed.

“I am tired of seeking justice, I donʼt want to seek justice anymore. If I get justice for my husbandʼs murder, I will be happy,” Biswas told EWTN News. “I will not get my husband back, or the son his father, but if we get justice, I will be able to see the punishment of those who killed him.”

Twenty-five years later, Bangladeshi police have yet to complete their investigation. Some 38 suspected militants have been arrested over the years, but none has confessed, and the investigating officer has been changed at least 22 times in 25 years.

The current investigating officer could not be reached. A former investigating officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told EWTN News that police were still working on the case.

“The investigating officer has been changed repeatedly, and a lack of sufficient evidence is prolonging the inquiry. But I hope police will be able to submit a full report soon,” he said.

Father Anthony Odiong received a 99-year sentence on June 2 for three counts of sexual assault after jurors in McLennan County, Texas, found him guilty on May 29, according to local news reports.

The priest reportedly served at Baylor Universityʼs St. Peterʼs Catholic Student Center in Waco, Texas, from 2007 to 2012 and later served in Luling, Louisiana, from 2015 to 2023. Prosecutors had said that Odiong used his position of authority as a priest to facilitate the sex crimes.

Odiong was arrested in July 2024 in Ave Maria, Florida. Authorities had been investigating an allegation of sexual assault committed by Odiong when they said they discovered child pornography in his possession. He was extradited to Texas after the arrest.

Upon arriving in Texas he was held on $2.5 million bond after authorities judged him a significant flight risk. Arrest warrants claimed that he had “access to immense amounts of money, contacts with money who follow him and provide heavily through financial means, and access to passports and multiple avenues to flee the country.”

Prosecutors also pointed to DNA evidence indicating that Odiong had fathered a child during one of his sexual assaults. The state described him as “a calculated predator who exploited vulnerable parishioners for decades while hiding behind a collar.”

In addition to the lengthy prison stretch, Odiong was also fined $10,000 for each charge as well.

“A recurring concern throughout the proceedings was the alleged role of state institutions. Participants described instances in which police officers failed to protect victims, registered cases against those who had been attacked, delayed investigations, or pressured communities into so-called compromise agreements,” the tribunal said in a statement released June 2.

More than 200 leaders and delegates of Christian networks and action groups, lawyers, researchers, and members of Hindu and Muslim groups took part in the June 1 tribunal in New Delhi.

The event also heard testimony from 20 survivors of anti-Christian violence, “documenting a disturbing escalation of violence and discrimination targeting Christians.”

“The tribunal [proceedings] examined attacks on places of worship, pastors and priests, social and economic boycotts, denial of burial rights, expulsions from villages, the role of Hindutva [Hindu nationalist] organizations, and the conduct of political leaders, police, and judicial institutions,” the statement said.

“The constitutional guarantees of freedom of conscience, religion, and equal citizenship are increasingly under threat,” said John Dayal, a senior journalist and outspoken Catholic activist who organized and coordinated the tribunal.

“We want the state governments to obey Supreme Court directions in this regard to end the rampant impunity. Then only, the atrocities will go down,” Dayal told EWTN News on June 3.

A sharp rise since 2014

Sporadic anti-Christian violence turned endemic after the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power under Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, with incidents of anti-Christian violence shooting up from 127 in 2014 to 834 by 2024.

In the run-up to the national tribunal, Dayal said, the investigative team visited troubled spots in Chhattisgarh state in central India in April and neighboring Odisha state in May, as these BJP-ruled states had reported a higher number of violent and oppressive incidents of late.

“There is systematic denial of burial rights — one of the gravest forms of humiliation inflicted upon Christian communities,” said Father Ajay Singh, former director of the Odisha Forum for Social Action of the Catholic Church.

Briefing the tribunal on the situation in Odisha, Singh recounted cases in which “funeral processions were obstructed, burial in village graveyards was denied, and even the bodies of deceased Christians were allegedly removed and buried against the wishes of families.”

“I was part of three fact-finding teams that visited troubled spots in Odisha this year. The situation has become so shocking that even [Christian] dead bodies are dug out” and subject to reconversion ceremonies, Singh told EWTN News.

‘A systematic campaign of exclusion’

A.C. Michael, a Catholic and coordinator of the United Christian Forum, which monitors atrocities against the community, told the tribunal about the “growing normalization of hostility towards Christian prayer meetings and places of worship.”

“Peaceful acts of worship are increasingly portrayed as threats to public order and national interest while there is no Christian representation in statutory minority institutions,” Michael pointed out.

Despite rising violence against Christians, the quota for a Christian member on the autonomous National Commission for Minorities has not been filled for six years under the BJP government.

“Accusations of conversion have become a recurring pretext for violence,” pointed out Vijayesh Lal, general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India, who said that “recent violence has been justified through allegations of religious conversion.”

Siju Thomas, director of Alliance Defending Freedom India, lamented the “social and economic boycotts, expulsions, and ostracization of Christians, especially of newly converted families and members of independent congregations.”

“Denial of access to community resources, social isolation, displacement, and restrictions on burial rights have become instruments of coercion … [with] misuse of laws intended to protect Adivasi communities, to target Christian Adivasis and restrict their rights,” he said.

Harsh Mander, one of the eminent social activists, concluded the tribunal, deploring that widespread anti-Christian violence “could not be understood as isolated acts of prejudice or spontaneous expressions of hostility.”

“Rather, they revealed a systematic campaign of exclusion that threatened the constitutional promise of equal citizenship,” said Mander, who quit the elite Indian Administrative Service to protest the 2002 carnage of Muslims in Gujarat state under Modi, who was then the stateʼs chief minister.

The findings of the Peopleʼs Tribunal, Dayal said, will be published in book form in two months. “What we have recorded are shocking and graphic, and these will run into around 300 pages,” he said.

Coakley spoke at a virtual panel June 2 held by Georgetown Universityʼs Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life.

The dialogue explored what the encyclical is asking, how technological changes can enhance humanity’s relationship with God, and also what aspects of human creation technologies can never replace.

The group also addressed the Church’s important role in the matter and why it must use its voice to speak about the emerging technologies.

Kim Daniels, director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, moderated the conversation with numerous panelists including Irish Bishop Paul Tighe, secretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education and a leading Vatican expert on AI.

The discussion also welcomed Meghan Sullivan, founding director of Notre Dame’s Institute for Ethics and the Common Good; Emilce Cuda, Argentinian theologian and secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America at the Holy See; and Daniel Daly, founding executive director of the Center for Theology and Ethics in Catholic Health.

“When dealing with something new and complex” as the faithful read the encyclical, Coakley reminded them to focus on “the main thing.”

Magnifica Humanitas is being “proposed and discussed as an encyclical on artificial intelligence,” Coakley said. “But I think the main thing is the need to keep the human person, made of the image and likeness of God, at the center of our discernment about these new technologies.”

“So itʼs, not really, fundamentally … about the technologies. I think itʼs really about anthropology — having an adequate anthropology to really address the challenges that are being proposed by these developing and emerging technologies,” he said.

Why the Church’s voice on AI matters

In the encyclical, Coakley said, "itʼs significant that prior to beginning his reflections on AI, the Holy Father first answers a foundational question, which is ‘Why does the Church have the ability to speak at all?’”

“In doing so, he affirms that it is central to the Churchʼs mission to walk alongside humanity … and be responsive to the contemporary challenges that men and women in every age, and certainly today, are facing,” Coakley said.

Pope Leo “connects with what all of us, whether we are believers or unbelievers alike, at our very core understand and know instinctively to be true, and that is that the human person possesses an ontological and infinite dignity and therefore must be at the center of all of our deliberations” about AI, Coakley said.

“Thatʼs the center and heart of it,” Coakley said.

“I think people are concerned about whatʼs happening now and what they envision or fear might happen in the future,” he said.

Pope Leo is “bringing in this essential lens to the conversation, which has the ability, I think, to activate … the consciences of all — all who create, all who regulate, all who use or all who are impacted by artificial intelligence,” he said.

The Churchʼs voice on the matter goes back to “Vatican II, where the Church realized we shared our destiny with other people," Tighe said.

“We journeyed together on this world. We canʼt be exempt from the struggles of our fellow brothers and sisters. We live together,” he said.

Since AI is “going to impact so much what it is to be human, how we live our lives” and “impact the destiny of so many of our brothers and sisters and of ourselves, we cannot but take it seriously,” Tighe said.

The Church also has a voice when it comes to how AI affects jobs, as "Pope Leo has been deeply inspired by the first encyclical to ever come out in the Catholic social tradition, Rerum Novarum,” which addresses “What does it mean to think that our work is part of our human dignity?" Sullivan said.

“The Church has an incredible teaching on this,” she said.

The Church says “work is an essential part of our dignity, because work is nothing more and nothing less than our ability and call to serve the common good. And so we do not want to live in a society where AI has replaced work in that sense,” she said. 

The Church also must help guide the conversation as technologies impact health care.

“Jesus invites his followers to proclaim the kingdom by healing the sick. So Catholic healthcare has to be a sign that God loves all persons, especially those who are poor, sick, disabled, suffering, rejected,” Daly said.

“So this culture of encounter and accompaniment needs to be animated by Christ and is sacrosanct in Catholic healthcare,” Daly said.

Healthcare professionals “must remain the norm,” he said. “AI can augment the care that humans provide but must not replace them.”

Artificial intelligences “canʼt care for patients, they canʼt do the works of mercy. They canʼt express empathy, as Leo writes. They cannot witness the healing ministry of Jesus.”

Daly did note that AI may have benefits in healthcare despite its inability to replace human beings' care.

AI “could allow marginalized communities to access expert-level care in areas like radiology,” he said. “AI translation services may help patients who speak languages other than the dominant language in the area to communicate and have their concerns be listened to.”

His encyclical, the title of which means "magnificent humanity,” pleads for AI development that safeguards Earth’s natural resources, preserves the dignity of work, builds up human solidarity, and does not concentrate power in the hands of a few but rather ensures all people benefit from the innovation.

As American companies move fast to expand AI data centers — with over 4,000 operating and thousands more under construction — projects face local protests and critics cite environmental concerns, noise pollution, lack of long-term employment, and broader skepticism of AI’s impact on society.

Although a March Gallup poll of 1,000 Americans found 71% oppose local AI data centers and only 27% support them, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum promoted data center expansion on Fox Business on May 26, citing productivity benefits across many sectors of the economy.

The protests, he claimed, are “foreign-directed propaganda” campaigns from nations competing with the United States. He dismissed Leo’s guidance while laughing and said: "I didnʼt know that tech editorializing was part of the role of being pope.”

Yet AI skepticism is quite prominent among the American public. A June 2025 Pew survey of 5,000 people found 50% are more concerned than excited about AI, 38% are equally excited and concerned, and just 10% are more excited than concerned. An NBC poll of 1,000 people in March found that 57% believe the risks of AI outweigh the benefits and 34% said the opposite.

David Cloutier, a Notre Dame theology professor and academic director of the Business Ethics and Society Program, told EWTN News: “I think the resistance to data centers is rooted in a larger suspicion of the technology itself.”

“They are a really tempting symbolic target,” he said, adding that data centers “symbolize a future that is all computer and machine and no people.”

“I think people experience the arrival of this technology as something that they did not ask for and seems overwhelming to them,” Cloutier added.

Dignity of work and power concentration

Data centers often receive significant state and local tax incentives. At least 28 states offer tax incentives specific to data centers: Each waives certain sales tax, 14 offer energy subsidies, and 11 provide property tax reductions, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In a small number of states with significant data center growth — such as Texas and Virginia — data centers are receiving more than $1 billion annually in tax incentives. Apart from temporary construction jobs, smaller data centers often employ fewer than 150 permanent workers, while larger ones may employ a few hundred.

Father Philip Larrey, a philosophy professor at Boston College, told EWTN News “it doesn’t make sense to me” to offer those incentives because “you don’t need many people to actually run these things.”

“What advantage is there for the local people to have a data center in their city?” he questioned. “Probably none.”

Cloutier noted the difference between incentives given to data centers and to factories, saying “the factory can only work if workers come to the factory,” but “data centers don’t employ people like factories do.”

“The question is a question about power and who controls these very important entities and whether they share the wealth that is generated by these entities,” he said, pointing to Leo’s concern about the centralization of power and dignity of work.

In the encyclical, Leo contrasted the Tower of Babel with the Book of Nehemiah, which details the construction of new walls for Jerusalem. The Holy Father said AI development should mirror the priorities outlined in that text: “Safeguarding humanity and the common good.”

Cloutier encouraged local government officials to question “Who’s truly being benefited by these developments?” and “Is this really benefiting my local community?” when considering projects.

“Listen to the community and ask questions of the company in ways that attempt to make the project more like Nehemiah building the wall,” he said.

The backlash to data centers also fuels concerns about AI replacing people in the workforce, with Cloutier noting “they’re enormous but empty of people.”

As the technology improves, Larrey expressed concern about the long-term impact on the labor force, saying it will be hard to convince a company to hire a person if it can achieve “the same result from an AI that you get from a human being and they cost almost nothing.” Yet, he urged employers to consider the human impact and encouraged employees to incorporate AI into their work if it can help prevent replacement.

“Just because you can replace a person with AI doesn’t mean that you should,” he said.

Judith McGill, vice president of strategic marketing for DataBank — a data center developer — and a practicing Catholic, told EWTN News that she believes critics' objections about employment are misleading, because although the centers themselves do not employ “a lot of people,” the services benefit “all of the employees of our customers” who use AI.

She said governments would not offer incentives if investments were not “a net economic benefit to those communities.” Despite incentives, she said: “We pay taxes and, in fact, contribute to schools and roads.”

For example, McGill said DataBank aligns itself with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines for multinational enterprises, which prioritizes issues like labor rights and the environment.

“Our focus is on those organizations which are building technical skills for students entering the workforce and for teachers,” she said.

Environment and resources

In his encyclical, Leo warned of a “tendency to overlook the environmental impact” of AI and the “enormous amounts of energy and water” needed for data centers, which puts “heavy demands on natural resources” and influences carbon dioxide emissions.

A report from the Electric Power Research Institute found 4%-5% of national energy is consumed by data centers, but that will rise to somewhere between 9% and 17% by 2030, mostly because of AI. It could exceed 20% in seven states and be somewhere between 39% and 57% in Virginia. Many data centers use water to cool machines.

Cloutier said environmental concerns are “a very important point that is very easy to miss,” adding that “the amount of computer work that has to go on in order for the AI company to answer [a] question is very, very large.”

“The environmental impact is downstream from the way we use that technology,” he said, noting that if AI progresses to be “completely embedded in our lives,” it will exacerbate the concerns.

Larrey said water and energy are two concerns people have as data centers continue to be built: “They need huge data centers in order to run the servers that give us these large AI models that are only going to get larger and larger as time goes on.”

Larrey said innovation can ease concerns and cited OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s investments in small nuclear reactors that could increase opportunities to employ clean energy. He referenced Nobel-Prize winning AlphaFold as well, developed by DeepMind, which significantly reduced the time and energy needed for AI protein structure prediction.

“You need massive data centers in order to keep up with the competition,” he said. “Now the companies have to come up with a way of making these more efficient and using less electricity. … It’s becoming a real problem for the companies because people are protesting, actually in the street.”

McGill, speaking for DataBank, said Leo’s environmental concerns and broader concerns are “well taken” and even though data center developers are not religious organizations, it “doesn’t absolve us from behaving responsibly.”

She said DataBank is experimenting with hydrogenated vegetable oil for power. The company also designs the data centers with a closed-loop water cooling system, which means the water is continuously recycled through the system rather than consuming additional water.

McGill added that “data centers pay for their power.” She acknowledged power consumption as a "legitimate concern” but criticized the narrative of the data center industry as “one big scary monster,” making them “the scapegoat” for higher consumption and rate hikes. She noted that inflation and foreign policy in the Middle East have a major effect on energy costs.

“What we are doing toward responsible behavior, toward human beings, and toward the environment is absolutely in line with the pope’s encyclical,” she said.

Amid growing protests and guidelines coming down from the Vatican, McGill said a parishioner at the parish she attends asked her how a Catholic could work for a data center company, but she said this incorrectly “implied there was a disconnection.”

“My conscience is clear,” she said. “This is an industry that is not just avoiding doing bad things but actively seeking out ways to do the right thing.”

Organizations working for the abolition of surrogacy are using this moment to challenge both countries' surrogacy frameworks. The practice was among 13 violations of human dignity condemned in the Vatican declaration Dignitas Infinita, issued in April 2024.

Among the groups raising concerns is Juristes pour lʼEnfance, a French association of legal professionals dedicated to defending childrenʼs rights. The group has submitted two formal observations to the Human Rights Council, arguing that Ireland and Greece have repackaged what is fundamentally a commercial arrangement in the language of compassion and altruism, while children ultimately bear the consequences.

EWTN News spoke with Matthieu Le Tourneur, a French jurist with Juristes pour lʼEnfance. He said the organizationʼs central concern is that “a child must never be the object of a contract” since that commodifies them. He added that “surrogacy, whether commercial or presented as altruistic or regulated, involves treating a human being as goods. This is unacceptable.”

‘Children are not contracts,’ advocates say

Of the European Unionʼs 27 member states, 16 explicitly prohibit surrogacy and seven have no clear legal framework. Only four — Greece, Ireland, Cyprus, and Portugal — formally permit it.

Greece and Ireland are viewed as having the broadest legal openings for surrogacy, while both heavily describe their systems as “altruistic,” meaning no direct payment is made to the surrogate mother for carrying and delivering the child.

Juristes pour lʼEnfance disputes that characterization. Le Tourneur explained that under Irelandʼs Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024, a surrogate may receive compensation for up to 12 months of lost income as well as reimbursement for a wide range of expenses. In Greece, fixed payments of 10,000 euros — rising to 15,000 euros for multiple pregnancies — are permitted as compensation for what the law calls “suffering” or “fatigue.”

“Altruistic for whom?” Le Tourneur asked. “It is never altruistic for the child, who will carry for life the invisible mark of having been sold or given away, of having been the object of a contract. The term ‘altruistic surrogacy’ concerns only adults; it does not concern the child.”

Advocates for abolition frequently cite the 1989 U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, specifically Article 7, which guarantees a childʼs right to know and be raised by its parents. They argue that surrogacy deliberately severs the childʼs maternal bond at birth and constitutes a form of child sale under Article 35 and its Optional Protocol, even when the arrangement bears no overt price tag.

Trafficking, vulnerability, and the limits of regulation

The limits of surrogacy regulation became starkly visible in 2023, when Greek authorities uncovered an alleged criminal network operating out of the Mediterranean Fertility Institute in Crete. Investigators found evidence of trafficked migrant women, primarily from Eastern Europe, who had been recruited as surrogates. The case involved falsified documents, fraudulent embryo transfers, and what prosecutors described as industrial-scale handling of embryos.

“Legalizing a practice never eliminates trafficking outside the legal framework,” Le Tourneur said. “In some cases, the existence of a legal market even strengthens illegal trafficking.” He drew a parallel to debates around drug legalization, where legal supply has not always suppressed black markets.

He further noted that legalization can act as a pull factor for vulnerable women, since they know that for roughly 12 months they will receive financial support, care, and “sometimes accommodation.”

These concerns have increasingly been echoed by U.N. experts. Le Tourneur pointed to the 2018 findings of former special rapporteur Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, a 2019 report by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and a 2025 report by Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem — all of which raised concerns about surrogacy as a form of exploitation affecting women and children.

A defining debate for Europe

This focus on surrogacy comes at a time when Europe is increasingly split on the topic. While surrogacyʼs proponents frame it as an act of generosity between willing adults, the majority of EU member states — including France, Germany, Spain, and Poland — continue to treat it as a form of exploitation incompatible with human dignity.

Italy has taken one of Europeʼs toughest stances, classifying surrogacy as a universal crime. Under a law that took effect in November 2024, Italian citizens can face prosecution for obtaining surrogacy services abroad, even in countries where the practice is legal. Convictions carry prison sentences of up to two years and fines ranging from 600,000 euros to 1 million euros.

Against that backdrop, Le Tourneur said Greece and Ireland matter not only for what is happening within their borders but also for the precedent they set. If the Human Rights Council issues recommendations against their surrogacy laws, it would send a powerful signal to other governments weighing similar legislation.

“We hope that, thanks to our alerts, the council will urge the countries concerned to amend their national legislation,” Le Tourneur said. “Such recommendations may also deter other countries from adopting laws that the Human Rights Council would consider to be violations of human rights.”

Several elected officials are recognizing “Fidelity Month,” including the governors of Arkansas and Utah.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas recently announced her recognition of the month along with Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah, the Kentucky Senate, and Mayor Jerry Weiers of Glendale, Arizona.

Fidelity Month was founded in 2023 by Professor Robert P. George, an American legal scholar and professor of jurisprudence and director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University.

“He was inspired by a WSJ [Wall Street Journal] poll that showed declining rates of commitment to patriotism, religion, having children, and community involvement among Americans,” Christopher Parr, a spokesman for the movement, told EWTN News.

“We believe that faith in God, our spouses and families, and our country and communities are the sources of America’s unity and strength,” Parr said. “Professor George thought that it would be fitting for Americans to take one month of the year to rededicate themselves to these basic values.”

Parr described Fidelity Month as “a grassroots movement, not a top-down organization.”

“We grow as individuals, congregations, and organizations find our mission compelling and join it each June,” Parr said. “That’s why we list numerous ways that people can celebrate Fidelity Month on our website and organize programs such as our webinars and high school essay contest.”

“We give some direction on the website, but our emphasis is on Americans taking initiative to celebrate and promote Fidelity Month in their communities,” Parr explained.

Parr said Fidelity Month has seen “steady growth in our social media and website engagement, event attendance, and the number of organizations and elected officials partnering with us” since its inception three years ago.

Those involved “seem to be from many different backgrounds and across the country,” Parr added. “Our hopes are that each year, more and more Americans will come to celebrate June as Fidelity Month.”

Sanders formally recognized June as Fidelity Month on May 29, saying that “Fidelity Month provides an opportunity for residents to reflect on and renew commitments to these shared values and institutions.”

"The United States of America was founded on the values of faith, liberty, and patriotism as acknowledged in its founding documents and in the statements of its Founding Fathers,” the proclamation reads.

“The commitment of Arkansas to spiritual and civic institutions is at the core of the state’s collective identity,” the proclamation continued. “Cultivating fidelity to God, family, community, and country contributes to human flourishing and supports a healthy, stable, well-ordered society.”

“We are honored whenever elected officials choose to recognize June as Fidelity Month,” Parr said. “We hope that people will recognize Fidelity Month as an opportunity to unify all Americans around what matters most.”

“There is no such thing as a ‘just’ nuclear war,” Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico, said in a live video address to those gathered for the annual meeting of the Arms Control Association on June 2 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

The Arms Control Association, founded in 1971, encourages nonproliferation and disarmament efforts for nuclear, chemical, biological, and other weapons the organization says pose dangers to humanity. Wester has been one of the most outspoken bishops on this topic in recent years.

In his address, Wester quoted extensively from papal writings and speeches from recent popes, including Pope Leo XIV, who encouraged disarmament efforts from nuclear powers in his papal encyclical Magnifica Humanitas last month.

Leo called the 2021 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons a step in the right direction but warned it’s “largely symbolic since the major nuclear powers have not agreed to it.” He also voiced concern for “a new arms race,” the development of miniaturized nuclear weapons, and the potential use of artificial intelligence (AI) to make combat decisions.

Wester quoted from the text in which Leo said it is erroneous to believe nuclear deterrence is an “indispensable prerequisite for security.” The archbishop noted “there had been progress” in the past with U.S. and Russian disarmament, but “whatever momentum we had is completely gone.”

“We’re now in a nuclear arms race that’s even more dangerous than the first,” Wester said in reference to efforts in the U.S., Russia, and China to modernize nuclear arsenals.

Wester said “we’ve got to take a sober look at what’s going on today” and take the “momentum of the past and harness it and move it forward” toward nuclear weapon abolition.

“We’ve done this in the past and we can do it again,” he said.

Wester also referenced Leo’s encyclical comments on fears that AI could be used in weapons of war, with the Holy Father urging leaders to “avoid a race to develop such arms.” The archbishop referenced research that found that AI models would choose to use nuclear weapons in 95% of the researchers’ simulated crisis situations.

The possibility that AI could hypothetically choose to “wipe out human civilization overnight is rather scary,” the archbishop said, echoing the Holy Father’s warnings.

In addition to citing Leo, Wester also cited Leoʼs predecessor Pope Francis, who also gave strong warnings against nuclear weapons, going so far as to say “the use of nuclear weapons, as well as their mere possession, is immoral.” Wester called this “a huge, huge statement” that goes further than other popes.

“The pope has said it’s immoral,” he said, and added that his question to Catholics who do not focus on the issue is: “What are you going to do about that?”

The archbishop penned a 51-page pastoral letter on nuclear weapons in 2022 and said most of the feedback he received from fellow bishops was favorable, but “there’s not a huge urgency” from most clergy because there are “so many other issues to deal with these days.”

“How do we get people to look at an issue that, for many, it just doesn’t seem that urgent?” he said.

Wester said he hopes for a stronger focus on nuclear disarmament from the U.S. bishops and intends to ask Leo to write an encyclical specifically about the threat.

The French Bishops' Conference contends the legislative initiative infringes upon several fundamental freedoms, including freedom of conscience, freedom of education, and freedom of worship.

Although the bishops support the governmentʼs intention to combat psychological, physical, and sexual violence perpetrated against children and adolescents, they specifically expressed concern that the proposed legislation could compromise the seal of confession and the autonomy of Catholic education.

The bishops point to Article 9 of the bill, which mandates the obligation to report acts of violence against minors even if knowledge of such acts was acquired in the exercise of the priestly ministry and adds that no “seal of confession” may be invoked to override said obligation.

The prelates further warned that the measure would jeopardize the autonomy of Catholic schools, as it provides for an expansion of state control over government-subsidized private institutions.

The French bishops maintain that these new oversight measures could open the door to greater state intervention in areas such as moral formation, affective and sexual education, or even teaching Christian anthropology.

They point out that the state would also have the authority to impose administrative sanctions and even order the closure of schools that fail to comply with the established regulations.

What does the Church say regarding the seal of confession?

The sacramental seal is governed by canons 983, 984, and 1388 as well as No. 1467 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which states: “Given the delicacy and greatness of this ministry and the respect due to persons, the Church declares that every priest who hears confessions is bound under very severe penalties to keep absolute secrecy regarding the sins that his penitents have confessed to him.”

“He can make no use of knowledge that confession gives him about penitents' lives. This secret, which admits of no exceptions, is called the 'sacramental seal,' because what the penitent has made known to the priest remains 'sealed' by the sacrament,” the catechism adds.

In July 2019, the Vatican’s Apostolic Penitentiary published a note regarding the importance of the private nature and the inviolability of the sacramental seal in order to highlight the importance and foster a better understanding of these concepts, “which today seem to have become more alien to public opinion and sometimes to civil juridical systems.”

“The inviolable secrecy of confession comes directly from the revealed divine right and is rooted in the very nature of the sacrament, to the point of not admitting any exception in the ecclesial sphere, nor, least of all, in the civil one,” the note states.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

“Despite the enormous and intense medical efforts undertaken to restore the health of our Brother [akin to ‘comrade’] Brooklyn whose physical and neurological deterioration was the result of a bacterial infection triggered by the COVID-19 virus, we regret to confirm that unfortunately he has departed this plane of existence,” states a communiqué from Nicaragua’s Ministry of Health dated May 31.

The Ministry of Health and the Directorate of Forensic Medicine “are carrying out the procedures corresponding to the certification of his death,” adds the text published in El 19 Digital, a media outlet aligned with the Nicaraguan dictatorship.

‘To be a Christian is to speak out and not remain silent’

“What exists in our country is not a government; it is a regime of repression, a cruel dictatorship that has turned Nicaragua into a police state,” Father Edwing Román, a Nicaraguan priest serving as vicar at St. Agatha Parish in Miami, told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, on May 31.

The priest denounced various “crimes against humanity” committed by the dictatorship, such as “arbitrary detentions based on fabricated charges, political prisoners dying in jails from torture, persecution of the Church, closing universities, stripping people of their citizenship, confiscations, disappearances, and murders.”

Román also warned that “thinking differently is now a crime in Nicaragua. The Nicaraguan people deserve freedom, justice, and dignity, which are today being trampled upon by these criminals in power.”

All of this “is already known to the international community, and they must act in the face of these systematic violations. To be a Christian is to speak out, not to remain silent in the face of this injustice,” the priest emphasized.

Martha Patricia Molina, author of the report “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church,” which chronicles the dictatorship’s attacks against the Catholic Church since 2018, said that what happened to the late political prisoner is “repugnant, reprehensible, and inhumane.”

“With the Indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera, the total number of people murdered by the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship now stands at nine. There are more than 45 political prisoners who could still meet the same fate. These are crimes that must not go unpunished,” Molina told ACI Prensa on May 31.

UN reports more cases

On May 1, a group of U.N. experts gathered in Geneva expressed their “deep concern” regarding missing persons in Nicaragua who reportedly died while in the dictatorship’s custody after having been tortured.

In addition to Rivera, the experts referred to the case of another missing person who reportedly died “in February 2026 while in detention, and whose body was returned to their relatives without a death certificate.”

In total, there are reportedly more than 112 victims of enforced disappearance, cases regarding which the Nicaraguan regime has been notified yet has provided no response to date.

Rivera’s case

The case of Rivera, who was detained by the dictatorship on Sept. 29, 2023, has recently drawn a number of reactions from both the international and domestic communities, including that of his daughter, Tininiska Rivera, who refuted the regime’s statements regarding her father’s health.

On Wednesday, May 27, the Nicaraguan regime published a statement in El 19 Digital reporting on Brooklyn’s “delicate” health condition, following his hospitalization on March 7. At that time, the news outlet reported that the political prisoner was on “invasive mechanical ventilation” due to a respiratory issue.

“As the daughter of Brooklyn Rivera Bryan, I categorically reject the recent statement issued by the Ortega-Murillo Sandinista regime in Nicaragua, which contains false information regarding the condition of my father’s health and the conditions of his detention,” Tininiska stated in a communiqué sent to the media, as reported by the newspaper La Prensa.

After noting that her father was in “optimal health” at the time of his detention, Tininiska emphasized that “since his abduction and forced disappearance, no visits by any family members have been permitted. Our family has gone through this period in a state of uncertainty, anguish, and zero response from the government, without independent access or verifiable information regarding his actual condition.”

Rivera ‘didn’t simply die; he was murdered’

Arturo McFields Yescas, Nicaragua’s former ambassador to the Organization of American States, stated on X that “Brooklyn Rivera Bryan didn’t [simply] die; he was murdered. It was a state crime. It is the same playbook used in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua: They enter [prison] alive and leave dead.”

Rivera was one of the most influential Indigenous leaders on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast and founded the Yatama movement, an organization dedicated to the defense of the Miskito people and other Indigenous communities. He served as a representative in the National Assembly.

Born on Sept. 24, 1952, in Nicaragua, he led an armed Indigenous resistance in the 1980s against the first Sandinista government and later participated in peace negotiations and the process for autonomy for the Indigenous peoples of Nicaragua’s Caribbean region.

Dictators far from God ‘multiply human victims’

Although he did not refer directly to Rivera, the exiled auxiliary bishop of Managua, Silvio Báez, stated May 31 that “in contemplating the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, a mystery of love, unity, and freedom, we grasp just how far removed from God are the cruelty and cynicism of dictators who, no matter how much they invoke his name, exude hatred, multiply human victims, and seek to deify themselves by means of violence and repression.”

“They are aging people in power, blinded by their ambition, destined for destruction,” the prelate stated in his homily for the Mass he celebrated Sunday, May 31, at St. Agatha Parish in Miami.

Those who believe in the one and triune God, the bishop continued, “don’t impose ourselves by force; we know how to listen, and we donʼt offend.”

“Faith in the Trinity,” he emphasized, “compels us to reject the logic of division, polarization, contempt for diversity, and the exclusion of minorities.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

In comments to local media, Rmeish Municipality Head Hanna Al-Amil said a missile fell between inhabited homes on Sunday morning and “narrowly avoided causing a major disaster.”

Al-Amil stressed that the village contains no military forces, armed groups, or weapons, emphasizing that residents “simply want to live safely on their land, away from confrontation and escalation.”

The people of Rmeish remain attached to their land and continue their lives “despite difficult circumstances,” he said, calling for the protection of civilians and for the village and its residents not to be placed at risk. 

The incident is not an isolated one. It comes amid a series of missile launches affecting Christian villages in the south, increasing fears among local residents. On Friday, several Hezbollah rockets fired toward Israeli forces operating in the town of Dibbin landed in residential and civilian areas of Marjayoun, causing significant property damage.

According to local reports, one rocket struck the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George, damaging parts of the church, while another landed within the grounds of the Sacred Hearts Secondary School, leaving extensive destruction to the building and its surroundings.

Speaking to ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, Rizkallah Alam, a resident of Rmeish whose daughter received her first Communion, said villagers have effectively been living in a state of war since Oct. 8, 2023.

“We have been living the reality of war since then,” he said, adding that the village has not experienced a genuine ceasefire at any point. “The children and their parents live in constant anxiety. We asked to postpone the first Communion to another time, but our parish priest refused and insisted that it take place.”

Alam described the daily reality facing children in the village, saying they live without a sense of security or psychological stability. “My children pray and sing hymns all the time, and they live according to the news cycle. Some days schools are open, and other days they are not. Today the situation has become even worse because of the siege.”

He said the restrictions affecting the village have impacted even the most basic aspects of daily life. “Everything has become unavailable. We wait for the aid convoy and hope it will be allowed to reach the village.”

In previous years, families would hold large celebrations for first Communion. This year, however, circumstances forced them to scale back their plans. “This year the celebration was limited to family homes, with no large festivities,” he said. “The number of children was also lower than in previous years because families are scattered. Some are in Beirut, while others have left the country.”

Alam described the immense uncertainty facing both parents and children. “The situation is extremely difficult. We cannot even plan for tomorrow,” he said. “As we speak, rockets have fallen in Rmeish again, one person has been injured, and a car has caught fire.”

Between missiles and first Communion, Rmeish embodies one of southern Lebanonʼs most painful paradoxes: a village that wants to live, families determined to remain, and children learning faith in a time of fear.

This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been translated for and adapted by EWTN News English.

A statement included in parish bulletins on May 31 said all parishes in the diocese would file “rapid prepackaged bankruptcy” cases in federal court “in an effort to bring the bankruptcy proceedings of the Diocese of Buffalo to a successful conclusion.”

The Buffalo Diocese has been moving through the bankruptcy process for a notable length of time. The diocese filed for bankruptcy in 2020 and has been working to finalize a major settlement since April 2025.

The announcement at parishes on May 31 said the parish bankruptcy filings would occur “immediately before a hearing on confirmation of the plan.”

The move “will happen if and only if sufficient votes [from abuse victims] are received for approval of the plan,” the statement said, adding that the approach “has the support of pastors and the diocese.”

“The parish bankruptcy cases will not be commenced until later this year and will come at the very last minute before the ‘confirmation’ hearing on approval of the diocese’s plan,” the statement said, adding that it was “anticipated that parishes will emerge from bankruptcy within 48 hours.”

Similar approaches have been taken in other dioceses undergoing bankruptcy, the statement said, including the Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York as well as the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

“With the prospect of officially achieving this goal, we look to the future with renewed commitment and focus on our mission and work in service to the Catholic faithful throughout Western New York and our broader community,” the diocese said in its statement.

In addition to its yearslong bankruptcy proceedings, the Buffalo Diocese has also fended off both legal and ecclesial challenges from parishioners who have objected to an ongoing diocesan merger plan.

Opposition to proposed closures and mergers in the diocese reached the New York Supreme Court in 2025; the state court ultimately tossed the suit out, ruling that it did not have jurisdiction over Church governance disputes.

In December 2025, after appeals from parishioners, the Vatican ordered the reversal of several parish closures in the Buffalo Diocese.

In April the Vatican also said that multiple parishes would not have to contribute disputed amounts of cash into the diocesan abuse settlement plan.

Alyan Johnson, 22, was critically injured in a shooting involving personnel of the Dolphin Force in Rawalpindi, the garrison city adjoining Islamabad, on the night of May 26.

According to his family, Johnson had just dropped off a passenger when police arrived in pursuit of a suspected armed man. The suspect allegedly fired into the air and attempted to flee, after which officers opened fire.

Johnson, who joined a ride-hailing company six months ago to help support his family, remains hospitalized.

His family has filed a complaint at Sadiqabad police station, demanding an impartial investigation, strict action against those responsible, and compensation for the injuries and losses suffered.

Four Dolphin Force personnel allegedly involved in the shooting have been suspended and charged on the orders of the Rawalpindi city police officer.

Joseph Michael, Johnsonʼs uncle, said the family was dissatisfied with what he described as a limited official response.

“We demand justice and imprisonment for the shooters who misused their authority,” Michael told EWTN News. “Johnson raised his hands and identified himself as a rider in a loud voice, but the shooting continued. He had no weapon and no criminal record. He only wanted to help his father, who works as a sanitary worker.”

Michael said Johnson suffered multiple gunshot wounds and two fractures in his right leg.

“Anything could have happened. We are grateful he survived,” he added.

Raja Abdul Hanif, chairman of the Punjab chief ministerʼs inspection team, visited Johnson in the hospital on May 29 and assured the family of justice. He directed authorities to ensure all medicines and treatment costs were provided by the hospital.

“The law is equal for everyone and action will be taken against those involved in the incident following a transparent investigation,” Hanif said.

Police have yet to issue a detailed public explanation of the shooting.

The incident has triggered strong reactions among Christian activists and rights advocates.

A delegation led by Tariq Mehmood Ghouri, coordinator of the Catholic bishops' National Commission for Justice and Peace in the Islamabad-Rawalpindi Diocese, visited the hospital and pledged legal and moral support to the family.

“The situation was mishandled. Doctors are still uncertain whether the young laborer will ever walk normally again,” Ghouri said.

“For many poor families, motorcycle ride-hailing is one of the few ways to earn a living amid soaring inflation and fuel prices. The state must recognize these realities and act with compassion.”

Ghouri said the shooting raised serious questions about police training and operational procedures.

“The incident is an eye-opener for those who claim that religious minorities enjoy equal rights and protection in Pakistan,” he said.

A pattern of police ‘encounters’ in Punjab

The shooting comes amid growing scrutiny of police encounter practices in Punjab.

A fact-finding report released in February by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) concluded that Punjabʼs Crime Control Department has pursued a policy of staged police encounters, often resulting in extrajudicial killings and undermining constitutional safeguards and the rule of law.

Based on media reports, the commission documented at least 670 Crime Control Department-led encounters during the first eight months of 2025, resulting in the deaths of 924 suspects, while only two police officers were reported killed.

“In genuine armed confrontations, such a ratio appears to be statistically implausible,” the report states. “This imbalance suggests deliberate executions and reckless disregard for the sanctity of life.”

The report also documented allegations of intimidation against victims' families, including pressure to bury relatives quickly, obstacles to independent medical examinations, and threats against those seeking justice.

Concerns over Dolphin Force operations are not new. In 2022, members of the unit shot dead a dismissed police constable and injured two others in Lahore, the capital of Punjab, after allegedly mistaking them for robbers.

McGuire, pastor of St. Simon Parish in Los Altos, California, told “EWTN News Nightly” that tech companies are searching for “wisdom” right now, and Pope Leo’s encyclical can offer it.

The Church has “been working with the different tech companies for a number of years … directly from Rome, in the Vatican, and also here locally,” he said.

In 2024 Anthropic, an AI safety company and creator of the Claude AI system that filed to go public June 1, reached out to the Vatican for ethical guidance. McGuire helped shape Claudeʼs Constitution, the 23,000-word document governing how Claude reasons through complex moral questions.

McGuire also co-founded the Institute for Technology, Ethics, and Culture — a formal partnership between Santa Clara Universityʼs Markkula Center for Applied Ethics and the Vaticanʼs Dicastery for Culture and Education.

Earlier he had worked for the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA), an industry consortium of computer hardware manufacturers.

The Irish priest holds degrees in engineering and computer science from Trinity College Dublin and has a theology degree from St. Patrickʼs Seminary and University.

‘Engaged in deeper conversations’

“More intensely over this last year, weʼve been more deliberately, and more intentionally, engaged in deeper conversations monthly … mostly with Anthropic, and we believe this document now will be able to deepen these relationships even more,” he said.

These relationships will prompt “real dialogue as to how AI is going to affect humanity,” he said.

“I love the reframing that the pope has done” by asking “How do we have all of humanity … flourish inside of AI? Instead of the other way around,” McGuire said. “Itʼs a reframing of the whole issue.”

While some wonder if tech companies will listen to the pope’s call, McGuire said he believes they will, as people in the industry “are looking for wisdom.”

Those in the tech industry “are men and women of goodwill, and they want this AI to go well,” he said. “And if itʼs going to go well, then theyʼre going to have to have people outside of the programmers, and the mathematicians, and the technology people, and engineers.”

“They need wisdom from outside. Itʼs not just the Catholic Church. Every religious tradition needs to lean into this moment,” he said.

Reading the pope’s encyclical is ‘the most important thing’

The encyclical comes years after AI really took off, but “itʼs not true” when people say the pope’s call is too late, McGuire said.

“The technology people themselves say that itʼs not true. But I do believe that the window is closing,” he said.

The “whole intention” of the popeʼs encyclical is “to start asking those more difficult questions,” McGuire said.

The pope has asked: “What [does it] mean for a human being to flourish? What is good for all of humanity? And not what is just good for a handful of people, but what is good for all of us?”

“So what weʼve done here is raised questions more than got answers,” McGuire said. Now we must “bring about a dialogue to go for those answers.”

The “first thing I implore everyone to do is to read it,” he said. Reading it is “the most important thing” and “not relying … on soundbites from somebody else.”

The first half of the encyclical “is a survey of the previous documents of the Church and social doctrine” and it is “a great summary of them,” he said.

Then, focus on reading “Chapter 3 on artificial intelligence” and “Chapter 4 [on] the impact of it.”

Pope Leo “uses two biblical metaphors” that “are beautiful and really important”: the Tower of Babel and the rebuilding of Jerusalem by Nehemiah, he said.

He is “basically saying we donʼt want to go back to the Tower of Babel, where everyone builds it for their own … purposes,” he said. Instead, it must be like the city Jerusalem where “everyone has a role. Every family, every person, every engineer, every journalist, every philosopher.”

“Everyone needs to play a role, and we need to engage with this because it will, in large part, determine our future as a humanity,” McGuire said.

“The jubilee year provides us the opportunity to be more than a tourist … to be a pilgrim, joining the millions of pilgrims expected in Assisi for the jubilee, with even more pilgrims who will travel to Franciscan churches throughout the world,“ explained Father John Puodziunas, OFM , the new Franciscan commissary of the Holy Land USA based in Washington, D.C. “The pilgrim returns changed … they see themselves, their world, God differently.”

A must-see is the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, a vast church overlooking his Umbrian hometown. In the crypt, pilgrims rest their hands on the saint’s neo-Romanesque tomb, where a votive lamp softly illuminates the dim space and only the shuffle of footsteps breaks the silence.

In February and March, many viewed his skeletal remains in the basilica, displayed for the first time in honor of the jubilee year. Vatican News estimates that 400,000 people came to pay their respects and venerate the relics of this extraordinary Christian saint.

His epic life is told through the artistic genius of Giotto in frescoes painted above the crypt in the upper basilica: Francis hears the voice of Christ while praying to the San Damiano cross; his surrender of all his clothes and worldly goods back to his wealthy father; his meeting with Pope Innocent III; his creation of the first Christian manger scene at Greccio; Francis preaching the Gospel to the birds; Francis receives the stigmata.

Father David Wathen, OFM, also of the Franciscan Monastery in Washington, D.C., is a veteran guide who has led more than 200 pilgrimages to the Holy Land but took a detour to Italy this year in honor of the jubilee.

Wathen celebrated Mass with 10 pilgrims from all over the country in April in the Portiuncula, the small chapel where St. Francis acted on Christ’s call: “Francis, Francis, go and repair my house, which, as you can see, is falling into ruins…” Francis responded by giving up his family’s wealth and status and embracing a life of chastity, poverty, and obedience with his small band of brothers. Today there are 35,000 Franciscan friars worldwide spread across 100 countries.

The Portiuncula became the spiritual center of the new Franciscan community and the place where Francis welcomed the young woman who would become St. Clare of Assisi, founder of the Poor Clares.

Today the Portiuncula, housed inside the Papal Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels, is another major pilgrimage site, right outside Assisi. A bronze statue of Francis in the basilica’s rose garden commemorates his conversations with turtle doves, inviting them to join him in worshipping the Lord. Today doves still nest in the hands of the statue while birdsong creates a symphony of praise.

It was also in this garden that St. Francis, in an act of penance, rolled through the brambles, which mysteriously turned into dog roses on contact with his body. This hybrid of rose is still flourishing centuries later.

“A pilgrim experiences the spirituality of space, where the location … a chapel, a cave, a town square, a garden ... speaks to the inner yearnings of the individual. In Assisi, we not only encounter Francis, but we step into his personal encounter with God formed on medieval streets or on the side of a mountain,” Puodziunas said.

Asceticism, bodily mortification, and fasting were constant reminders to St. Francis of Christ’s suffering. At the Carceri hermitage, a favorite retreat of St. Francis, pilgrims can see the small stone alcoves where he slept, often using a wooden board as a pillow.

Being close to sites strongly associated with St. Francis and St. Clare has inspired pilgrims to deepen their faith and to serve others.

“Some of my neighbors in the Florida retirement community where I now live are dying,” said Regina Brown, one of Wathen’s pilgrims who volunteers with St. Timothy Catholic Church Ministry to the Sick and Homebound in Florida. Brown explained that the Franciscan pilgrimage has fortified her practice of taking Communion to her bedridden friends.

“Itʼs the closest I can get to keeping in mind and expressing my (our) hope in Christ, the promise of eternal life, the Mass, our glimpse into heaven,” she said.

Wathen’s pilgrimage concluded in Rome, where everything his group had learned about St. Francis came into focus. At a papal audience in St. Peter’s Square, they witnessed its grandeur as Pope Leo reflected on the living mystical body of Christ, the Church.

Throughout the jubilee year, pilgrims are granted plenary indulgences by making a visit to any Franciscan church — including the Franciscan Monastery in Washington, D.C. — or to any site dedicated to St. Francis, receiving holy Communion on the day of the visit, reciting the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Creed, and the Glory Be for the intentions of the Holy Father, and making a confession within eight days.

Manda, 23, a member of Bhalukapara Parish in the Diocese of Mymensingh, was appointed to lead her nationʼs squad for the 2026 South Asian Football Federation Womenʼs Championship by English head coach Peter James Butler.

The tournament is being held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa, India, from May 25 to June 7.

In Muslim-majority Bangladesh, where Christians make up a tiny minority, Mariaʼs appointment has been a source of widespread pride among the countryʼs Christian community, particularly its young people.

A member of the Garo Indigenous community, she is known for her ability to carry the ball from defensive lines to the opponentʼs box, earning a reputation as one of the teamʼs most decisive players.

‘A fighting leader’

Butler expressed strong confidence in the new captain.

“Maria is a player with a very fighting mentality, and she is highly respected in the entire squad,” he said.

“She will lead the team with her performance. I know she will earn that respect from others too. A fighting leader like her can earn everyoneʼs respect in the dressing room.”

Speaking at the tournamentʼs official press conference in Goa, Maria declared: “We have been champions in the last two editions. We want to play our natural game and keep moving forward.”

Under her captaincy, Bangladesh opened the tournament with a 4-2 victory over the Maldives on May 28. After the match, Manda told Bangladeshi broadcaster T Sports: “We always aim to play well and give a good game to our countrymen. We won the first match with everyoneʼs prayers and blessings. It feels great. I want more such support in the future.”

Bangladesh fell 3-0 to host nation India on May 31 but advances to the semifinal round, where the team faces Nepal on June 3.

From U-15 glory to senior captain

Manda first became involved in organized football through the Bangamata School Football Tournament in 2011. She went on to captain Bangladeshʼs U-15 team, which won the inaugural SAFF U-15 Womenʼs Championship in 2017 — a campaign in which Bangladesh went unbeaten and did not concede a single goal. She became a fixture in the senior squad that won back-to-back SAFF Womenʼs Championship titles in 2022 and 2024.

This is her first time captaining the senior national team.

Father Bikash James Rebeiro, CSC, secretary of the Episcopal Commission for Youth and national youth coordinator for the Catholic Church in Bangladesh, told EWTN News: “Today, Christian youth and the youth of the country are very happy and proud to see the national team armband in your hand. Maria, the fighter on the field, is leading the entire country — this is a huge achievement for us.”

“You have proven that with concentration and dreams, it is possible to overcome any obstacle,” he added.

“Your leadership, hard work, and dedication are a great inspiration for millions.”

Christian women rising in South Asian soccer

Manda is not alone in representing Christian communities on the South Asian soccer stage.

In Pakistan, Catholic defender Joyann Geraldine Thomas became the first Christian woman to represent her country when she debuted at the 2014 SAFF Womenʼs Championship in Islamabad, having developed her skills through a parish-based soccer club in Karachi.

India forward Grace Dangmei — a Christian from Manipurʼs Rongmei Naga tribe who faced Mandaʼs Bangladesh in Goa on May 31 — has helped India win multiple SAFF titles and is among the few Indian women to have played professionally overseas.

For now, Manda remains focused on the semifinal ahead. “We will be careful not to make the same mistakes we made in the first match,” she said.

On the occasion of the apostolateʼs 60th anniversary — originally scheduled for 2025 but postponed due to the death of Pope Francis — Pope Leo XIV sent a special message to those who attended a Mass marking the occasion that was celebrated by Cardinal José Cobo, archbishop of Madrid, at the Almudena Cathedral.

“It is essential to remember that the evangelizing mission is a fundamental task of the entire Church — which, with joy and humility, seeking the unity of all its members (cf. Lumen Gentium, 7) and docile to the action of the Holy Spirit, strives to bring the gift of salvation to all,” the pope noted in a message signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

“May this conviction serve as an inspiration to undertake this missionary work on behalf of God’s beloved children,” the Holy Father emphasized, concluding with his apostolic blessing for the members of the Neocatechumenal Way.

In January, Pope Leo XIV received the leaders of the Neocatechumenal Way at the Vatican and highlighted that their charism, as well as their works of evangelization and catechesis, constitute “a valuable contribution to the life of the Church.”

Kiko Argüello: ‘Christian initiation inspired by the Holy Spirit’

“History is important — calling to mind how the Lord has acted throughout all these years,” said Argüello before the start of the Eucharist, beneath the icons he himself painted in the apse of the Madrid cathedral.

In the presence of several bishops and cardinals, and after asking for a round of applause for the 130 priests attending the Mass, Argüello expressed his joy at the conclusion of the diocesan phase of the canonization process for Hernández — the formal closing of which is scheduled to take place on June 2 in the Spanish capital.

“In the Way, we do nothing without the pope and without the bishops. If the Way has spread so remarkably, it is due to the support of all the popes, who have regarded it as a gift of the Holy Spirit for the good of the Church,” he affirmed.

Argüello — as noted on the Neocatechumenal Way’s website — explained that this apostolate “is a Christian initiation raised up by the Holy Spirit as one of the fruits of the council. What was being drafted in writing at Vatican II, Carmen and I were putting into practice in the shantytowns of Palomeras Altas.”

‘God tends to sow his most fruitful works in places that the world barely notices’

In his homily, Cobo referred to the place of origin of the Neocatechumenal Way, emphasizing that “it is no coincidence that it emerged there: God tends to sow his most fruitful works in places that the world barely notices, and through specific individuals such as Kiko, Carmen, and so many others who have followed in their footsteps.”

The cardinal expressed his gratitude for the evangelizing work of the Neocatechumenal Way over these past 60 years, highlighting that it “continues to inspire new paths for proclaiming the Gospel and calls upon the Church to confront the challenges of every era through the word of God, liturgical life, and community.”

‘Filial obedience to the Church’s pastors’

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, also sent a message in which he noted that “Spain has gifted the Church with luminous examples of Christian life and spiritual renewal — through saints, martyrs, evangelization initiatives, schools of prayer, ecclesial movements, and spiritual currents. Among these fruits, the Neocatechumenal Way can undoubtedly be included.”

After highlighting the “innumerable conversions” and the many vocations that the Neocatechumenal Way has given to the Church, the cardinal invited its members to “live out their charism with renewed impetus and creativity, interpreting the spiritual needs of the men and women of today, and bringing them the ever-relevant treasure of the faith and of ecclesial tradition.”

“Emulate their example of creativity, courage, and candor, of filial obedience to the pastors of the Church, and of tireless zeal for the good and salvation of souls,” he encouraged.

The Neocatechumenal Way

Argüello and Hernández met in the mid-1960s in the Palomeras Altas neighborhood of Madrid, where the former — despite a promising career as a painter — gave it all up to live in a shack and proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ among the poorest of the poor.

This Christian initiation for adults soon spread to numerous parishes, driven by the encouragement of the then-archbishop of Madrid, Casimiro Morcillo.

The Neocatechumenal Way was officially approved by the Holy See in 2008 — “not as an association or movement but as a post-baptismal catechumenate, as an instrument to assist parishes and dioceses in the work of evangelization” — according to the organization.

The Neocatechumenal Way is present in 138 countries, has more than 115 seminaries, and comprises some 25,000 communities, totaling over 1 million members.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

The number surpasses the previous record high of seven ordinations (set in 2000 and 2024) and follows six ordinations in 2025.

“We stand in awe of God’s work in our midst,” Martin told EWTN News in a statement. “We give thanks for the ‘yes’ of these men, which is freely offered by them to God’s free invitation.”

The ordinands will bolster the diocese’s 145 active priests who serve more than 575,000 Catholics. The Diocese of Charlotte, covering western North Carolina, has seen steady growth in vocations amid a booming Catholic population.

“There is always a desire to explain a moment such as ours,” Martin said, noting that there are “factors unique to each man in our seminary formation program” that explain the record number of ordinations and that there is “no one set formula.”

“God uses whatever he chooses to invite and foster a faith-filled response from these men,” he said.

He credited families, who are “responsible as they are placing faith in Christ in its rightful place at the center of daily life,” as well as the diocese’s priests, who “are more regularly inviting young men to consider the priesthood.”

He also said the diocese has promoted a culture of vocations” for years and it “is clearly making a difference.”

In 2016, then-Bishop Peter Jugis founded St. Joseph’s College Seminary. Eight of this year’s 10 ordinands studied there before advancing to major seminary. The other two lived there during their pastoral years of parish ministry.

“Many years ago, seeing the desperate need for priests, Bishop Jugis and his clergy made the cultivation of vocations the highest priority,” said the seminary’s rector, Father Matthew Kauth, in May.

In addition, under the leadership of Father Christopher Gober, who served as the diocese’s vocations director until July 2025, two vocations camps were launched: “Quo Vadis Days” in 2014 for young men and “Duc in Altum” in 2016 for young women. The programs are held at Belmont Abbey College.

“We are now reaping the harvest of 20-plus years of labor. It didn’t just happen,” Kauth said. “God has blessed our efforts and a culture of vocations has been established — yielding increasing returns, just as Christ said it would. Now, we must cultivate and care for those vocations and give thanks to God.”

Saturdayʼs ordination drew an overflowing crowd of more than 1,640 attendees, many of whom arrived hours early.

In his homily, Martin described the occasion as “a day of great joy for the Church and for these 10 men.”

The bishop urged the new priests to love so that people “will follow not just what you say but follow who you are,” and encouraged them to “love the people of God you’re being sent out to serve.”

“His sheep are every human person on the face of the Earth, every person in whatever school or parish, every community, every hospital or nursing home,” Martin told the new priests. “Wherever you go, love them all … you cannot wait for them to come to you, you have to go out to them. That is the nature of the apostolic Church. As you feed them with this holy banquet, you nourish them in ways only the Lord can.”

The new priests are Father Robert Bauman, Father Michael Camilleri, Father Daniel Chaves Peña, Father John Cuppett, Father Maximilian Frei, Father Juan González Hernández, Father Bryan Ilagor, Father Michael Lugo, Father Peter Townsend, and Father James Tweed.

They offered first blessings for more than two hours after the Mass and will celebrate their inaugural Masses of thanksgiving in the coming days. Effective July 1, they will take up assignments across the diocese, serving as university and high school chaplains and in parochial vicar positions.

Also on May 30, the nine perpetual pilgrims from the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage arrived in the diocese where they were greeted by more than 100 Catholics at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Monroe.

The 2026 theme, “One Nation Under God,” recognizes the nation’s 250th anniversary. The pilgrimage began on Pentecost Sunday and will continue through Independence Day weekend.

A group of nine perpetual pilgrims carrying the Blessed Sacrament will journey up the Eastern Seaboard on the St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Route, named for the first U.S. citizen to be canonized.

All are invited to join the public processions and other events.

In an exclusive interview with EWTN News, the new Chaldean patriarch described his return to serve as patriarch in his homeland more than a decade after leaving it as part of the Church’s mission of service.

“The Church sends us wherever there is a need,” he said. “We served in Mosul during difficult years, when the Church needed us there. We do the same whenever the Church sees a need for our service in another place. The purpose of our service is to fulfill our mission: to be wherever the Church sends us and to do the will of Our Lord in that place.”

Nona served as bishop of the Chaldean Eparchy of Mosul in extremely difficult circumstances for nearly four years, before the city fell to terrorist groups in 2014. He accompanied the displaced faithful of his eparchy and continued serving them in the villages and towns where they took refuge after their displacement. In 2015, the Chaldean Synod appointed him to serve the Eparchy of Australia and New Zealand, where he remained until his election as patriarch this past April.

Speaking about his experience in Mosul, Nona said the years before ISIS as well as the period marked by the terrorist group’s advance shaped him deeply.

“I think the experience of Mosul before ISIS, and also the experience with ISIS, enriched my personality and made me more mature as a person and as a Christian,” he said.

He recalled living with the faithful in Mosul during a very difficult period, saying their faith was “very strong.” He also described the displacement of Christians to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq as a painful but spiritually powerful experience.

“It was sad to see all these people in that situation,” he said. “But on the other hand, it was very good to see that their faith was the first and most important thing for them.”

Fear and faith

Asked about his patriarchal motto, “Do not be afraid, just believe,” Nona said fear is not limited to the Middle East but is present throughout the world.

“I believe that fear is the most common aspect in all the world, not just in the Middle East,” he said. “I lived in Australia, in what we can call the Western world, and the fear there is the same as here — of course, with different challenges. But there is always fear. So we have to face our fear with faith.”

Safeguarding rights and dignity

Asked about the expected relationship between the new patriarch and Iraq’s new government, whose formation coincided with his installation, Nona said the Church has historically defended the rights of its faithful and remains committed to participating in building the country on sound and legal foundations that respect the dignity of all people and freedom of religion.

He highlighted the Church’s essential role in society wherever it is present, through educational, healthcare, and other institutions, as well as through serving its people and working to secure their rights and protect their dignity.

Challenges of being rooted in faith

Regarding the challenges facing members of the Chaldean Church in diaspora countries — whether in terms of being rooted in the faith and preserving identity or in facing moral challenges — Nona drew on his experience of service in Australia. He stressed that confronting these challenges, and succeeding in doing so, is possible by deepening the meaning of faith in the lives of believers, especially among new generations born and raised in diaspora countries.

He said the challenges facing young people have pushed their families to return to the Church. When these young people come to know their faith properly and hear meaningful answers to their complex and important questions, he said, they give the Church strength and support and become the strongest defenders of its faith and identity.

On strengthening dialogue among the three Churches that share the heritage of the Church of the East today, and on efforts toward the desired unity, the Chaldean patriarch said that a true relationship of human fraternity is the foundation of unity and common action.

While stressing respect for the different traditions and distinct heritage of each Church, he said the shared heritage and tradition of the three Churches open doors to joint work in cultural and liturgical fields while respecting the particular identity of each.

Magnifica Humanitas

Nona also addressed the issue of artificial intelligence and its threat to human dignity, citing Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas. He stressed the need for technology to remain at the service of the human person and human dignity, and to be used properly to promote a sound humanity built on upright values and principles — not one that demeans human beings and their dignity or encourages violence.

He encouraged people to read and study the pope’s teaching, saying its timely importance led Leo to choose it as the subject of his first encyclical.

Peoples longing for peace

Nona assumes his responsibilities amid the current challenges facing the Middle East, which he described as complex and painful. Wishing peace and stability for the countries and peoples of the region, he said: “I believe and think that all the peoples of the Middle East want to live in peace and security. Years of wars, divisions, and violence have exhausted them.”

Asked where he sees the future of the region heading amid ongoing conflict, Nona said major changes appear to be underway in the Middle East.

“Something is happening now that will change the Middle East a lot,” he said. “We hope it will be for the good, not for the bad. So we pray that everything will be good.”

He said taking on any responsibility in such a complex situation is a serious matter that requires responsible discipline in words and actions, directing them toward achieving peace and stability and defending the rights and dignity of peoples.

On the possibility of Christians returning to the Middle East, Nona said their return and continued presence depend on peace, stability, and a genuine sense of citizenship.

“When there is peace in this region, when there is stability, when they feel that they are citizens of this land and of these countries, they will come back, and they will stay here,” he said. Asked whether he hoped Christians would one day return, he replied: “I hope that. Of course, we pray for that also.”

A message to Catholics in the West

Nona also addressed Catholics in the West, asking them first to pray for the Chaldean Church.

“We need them to pray, because we are all Christians and Catholics,” he said. He also asked them to learn more about the Chaldean Church and the reality of Christians in the Middle East, and to help support efforts that allow Christians to remain in the region.

He emphasized the role of Chaldean youth, and Christian youth in general, as the foundation of the Church and a firm pillar of its mission. He stressed the need to give young people the place they deserve in the Church.

Nona concluded with a message to Christian youth, based on his personal experience: “Our Christian faith is our foundation, our strength, and our life. In the Chaldean Church, we live it through our Chaldean identity, distinct in language, liturgy, and tradition. The closer young people come to knowing their identity of faith in its proper form, the more they will become a tremendous force of faith and humanity, capable of defending faith and humanity.”

In a final message to Catholic youth around the world, Nona said: “Prayer is the most important thing. And also try always to live your faith with joy.”

Titled “A National Prayer Service Honoring the Many Journeys that Shaped America,” the resource was developed by the Committee on Migration and the Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation.

Designed as a template for dioceses and parishes across the country, the prayer service invites Catholics to reflect on the nation’s history through the lens of migration, displacement, slavery, and faith while encouraging advocacy for vulnerable migrant populations.

“In observance of the United States’ 250th anniversary in 2026, and rooted in the Church’s pastoral mission of welcome, accompaniment, and solidarity,” the instructions state, the service seeks “to acknowledge and honor the many diverse communities that have journeyed to the United States in search of hope, safety, and opportunity.”

The document also highlights “the voices, sufferings, and enduring contributions of those who were forcibly brought to this land.”

A prayer service rooted in hospitality

The proposed service combines hymns, Scripture readings, intercessory prayers, testimonies, and guided reflections focused heavily on migrants, refugees, victims of trafficking, and immigrant communities.

Organizers are encouraged to adapt the service to local needs and cultures by incorporating music and devotional practices that reflect “the lived experiences of migration, displacement, resilience, and faith.”

The service opens with the hymn “All Are Welcome” by Marty Haugen and includes prayers asking Catholics to “walk in deeper solidarity with immigrant communities” and to advocate for “greater protection, justice, and accompaniment for vulnerable and at-risk migrant populations.”

A prayer to St. Frances Xavier Cabrini — patroness of immigrants and herself an immigrant to the United States — asks for protection for migrant families separated from one another and for the grace to “welcome every stranger as Christ in our midst.”

The document also includes a “call to action” encouraging Catholics to reflect on “concrete and compassionate ways to welcome, protect, promote, and integrate migrants, immigrants, and refugees” while advocating for “just and humane immigration reform that upholds the dignity of every human person created in the image of God.”

The service concludes with a “Prayer for Migrants” asking God to help the Church “welcome, protect, promote, and integrate those who knock at our doors.”

Scripture and civil rights themes woven throughout

The Scripture passages selected for the service strongly emphasize hospitality toward foreigners and care for society’s most vulnerable.

A reading from Deuteronomy 10:12-22 exhorts believers: “So you too must befriend the alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.”  The Gospel reading from Matthew 25:31-46 centers on Christ’s words, “I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me.”

The template also incorporates themes of racial justice and historical memory. Intercessions address slavery and modern human trafficking, praying both for victims of exploitation and for “perpetrators of slavery” to repent.

The service further recommends “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” often referred to as the Black national anthem and rooted in Black church worship and civic life in the U.S., as an intermediate hymn.

It also includes optional excerpts from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream" speech for use in a homily or guided reflection, alongside passages from the bishops’ 2025 special pastoral message on immigration.

Dignity of migrants

In recent years, U.S. bishops have consistently advocated for immigration reform while emphasizing the dignity of migrants, opposition to family separation, and support for refugees and trafficking victims.

The prayer service places those concerns within the broader context of the nation’s identity ahead of America’s 250th anniversary observances.

“This prayer service seeks to provide a sacred space for reflection, remembrance, lament, and hope,” the document states, inviting participants to encounter one another “as members of the one human family and the one body of Christ.”

EWTN News reached out to the USCCB for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

The society exists as an answer to the call of St. John Paul II that “members of the Church who are active scientists” be of service to those who are attempting to “integrate the worlds of science and religion in their own intellectual and spiritual lives.” SCS does this through annual and regional conferences, college chapters, lectures, and other activities, as well as by a large archive of educational material and articles on its website.

Founded in 2016, SCS has quickly grown to over 2,700 members from 65 countries (75% are from the U.S. and Canada, followed by Spain, Poland, and the UK). Many hundreds of scientists have attended its conferences — along with theologians, philosophers, and historians — while thousands, from professors to high school students, regularly attend its local events.

Stephen Barr, a physicist at the University of Delaware and founder of the group, told EWTN News that SCS gains about 250 new members each year. He expects this year’s convention to attract approximately 130 attendees, including a significant number of young participants.

Barr explained his impetus for founding SCS. “Thereʼs this big perception in society that science and religion are at odds — this has become the conventional wisdom. It’s going to take a lot of work to overcome that,” he said.

“We are there to proclaim that they are not at odds. The mere fact that we exist shows people that there are not just a handful of scientists who are religious, but a large number of scientists who are religious — and not only that, but a large number who are believing, practicing, faithful Catholics.”

Historically, many prominent scientists were Catholic, and several of this year’s talks will highlight that joint history.

Nuno Castel-Branco, a historian of science and Research Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford, will speak about “The Anatomy of a Conversion: Nicolaus Steno and the Search for Certainty in the Scientific Revolution.”

Steno was a Danish scientist in the 1600s. A pioneer in both anatomy and geology, he became a Catholic bishop in his later years and has been beatified by the Catholic Church.

Ignasi Rosell of the Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera will share a presentation called “John Henry Newman, New Doctor of the Church: His Vision of the University and the Place of the Sciences,” and Berta Moritz of "Science Meets Faith" will present “Gregor Mendel in Brno and Vienna: An On-Site Perspective.”

Part of SCS' mission is being a public witness to the compatibility of faith and science and a first-of-its-kind event at this yearʼs conference will address that issue directly: an event designed to prepare Catholic scientists to deliver effective talks on science and faith. Science and Faith Speaker Training is a one-and-a-half-day workshop that will take place before the main conference begins. A grant from The Templeton Religious Trust supports this event.

Another top-of-mind topic for science-curious Catholics is human biology and sexuality, and two talks from prominent scientists will clarify aspects of these issues.

James J. Lee, a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota, will discuss “The Evolution of Sexual Reproduction and Differentiation” and Maureen L. Condic, a professor at The Catholic University of America whose research focuses on the role of stem cells in development and regeneration, will present a lecture on “The Biology of Human Nature and Human Individuation.”

“A lot of social issues nowadays touch upon the meaning of sex and what it means to be human,” Barr told EWTN News. “What is sex? What is a human being? We donʼt necessarily aim to have talks that address hot-button issues — actually, we try to steer clear of highly contentious social issues — but clearly a lot of theological questions revolve around the nature of sex and the nature of human beings.”

Another conference presentation will illuminate the latest research about the future of the universe. Robert J. Scherrer, a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Vanderbilt University, where he also served as department chair for 13 years, will present “How the Universe Will End.”

“The universe is accelerating, but it seems that will end at some point,“ Barr said. ”Itʼs not so clear anymore whether the universe is going to expand forever or collapse, and that is a very interesting question. It also has some theological interest if weʼre thinking about the end of the world and the next world and how theyʼre connected.”

Computer scientist Gregory F. Johnson, principal software engineer at Zap Surgical Systems, a spin-off of the Stanford Medical School, will discuss Gödelʼs Incompleteness Theorem and how it launched “a mathematical and philosophical revolution.”

“That talk is personally interesting to me, as Gödelʼs Theorem is regarded as having great philosophical implications,” Barr said. “But I think all the talks this year Iʼm going to learn something from, and thatʼs exciting. I like it when I go to a talk and come out knowing more than I did when I went in.”

The 2026 conference is open to SCS members and associates and will be livestreamed for free. The conference schedule and speaker biographies can be found here.

“To go and be there, near where I was born and where my family is from, is of course a very moving experience, and I am looking forward very much to it,” Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, told EWTN News.

Czerny was born 80 years ago, but due to a communist threat his family soon emigrated to Canada. Though he remembers the 1950s in Montreal, he said, “I never imagined what was happening behind the Iron Curtain.”

Getting to know Jan Bula and Václav Drbola

The Diocese of Brno, which will mark its 250th anniversary next year, will celebrate the first beatifications in its history. The diocese expects thousands of visitors at the cityʼs exhibition center, where a spiritual and cultural program will run all day, and it prepared a novena for the nine days leading up to the beatification.

“The coming days should help us get to know Jan Bula and Václav Drbola personally better, so that they will be close to us and become our spiritual friends,” Bishop Pavel Konzbul explained, stressing that he does not want “the beatification to be a one-time event.”

Jan Bula (1920–1952) and Václav Drbola (1912–1951) faced increasing pressure from the communist regime that took power in 1948 in Czechoslovakia. The regime imprisoned them without cause and accused them of complicity in a shooting that killed three communists, although both were already in prison at the time. They were condemned to death in staged trials in the early 1950s.

To prepare the faithful, the diocese has published educational, prayer, and catechetical materials. A six-minute animated film about the martyrs' lives was produced using AI, along with a documentary. Around 40 catechists also went on a pilgrimage this year to places linked with the two priests.

The organizer said the catechists were given “firsthand experience to get to know the churches, parishes, and other places where both martyrs worked” to “spread the story and legacy of Jan Bula and Václav Drbola among children and youth.”

Life as a hymn of praise

The two priests' witness was also recounted at a May 20 conference in Rome, “The Blessed Martyrs of Communism,” organized by the Embassy of the Czech Republic to the Holy See at the Czech Pontifical College Nepomucenum, where Czerny reflected on their martyrdom. The date marked the anniversary of Bulaʼs execution in 1952.

“Their life was a hymn of praise that burst out of the depths of promise and rose up above the tumult of the world,” Czerny said at the opening, adding that the two priests “turned the courtroom into a pulpit and the prison into an altar.”

When the bishops in Czechoslovakia decided to inform the faithful about the worsening situation in 1949 through pastoral and circular letters, many priests did not read them out. “They were afraid of the consequences,” said Father Karel Orlita, head of the diocesan phase of the beatification process. Bula and Drbola, however, read the pastoral letter in church, which testified to their courage, Orlita underscored.

The postulator of the Roman phase of the process, Maria Bresciani, said “the profound reason for their persecution was their Christian identity, influence on the faithful, loyalty to the pope and the Church, and their ability to shape peopleʼs consciences, mainly of the young.”

Both speakers agreed that Bula and Drbola were not stubborn or fanatics but simply decided to remain faithful to Christ, in peace and without hatred. Communists even singled out Bulaʼs influence on peopleʼs consciences as problematic, claiming he “abused the trust among people that he had as a priest.”

“They were popular with their parishioners and active in community life, and the reverence for them has a long tradition after their death,” said Eva Vybíralová of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes.

She noted that Bishop Felix Davídek, who was secretly ordained in Czechoslovakia and had known Bula from the seminary, considered him a “candidate for canonization and one of the protectors of the secret Church.”

Bula and Drbola were rehabilitated in 1990 and will become the first beatified victims of the totalitarian regimes of the 20th century on the territory of todayʼs Czech Republic.

Trump posted: “Someone should explain to the pope that the mayor of Chicago is useless, and that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.” He also shared screenshots of the mayor’s posts with pictures of him and the Chicago-born pope sharing gifts and praying. Trump made the comments in a May 30 post on Truth Social.

The president has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that Leo wants the Middle Eastern country to develop nuclear armaments.

Leo has rejected those allegations. On May 5 at Castel Gandolfo he stated that the Church "has spoken for years against all nuclear weapons." Later, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin stated that the Holy See "has always worked, and will continue to work, on nuclear disarmament."

The White House and Chicago mayor’s office did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Trump sharply criticized Pope Leo XIV in April, calling him “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy” and saying he is “not a fan” of the pope.

Trump expressed his disapproval of Leoʼs public statements denouncing the U.S.-led war on Iran. The Holy Father has repeatedly called for peace amid the ongoing conflict.

The pope has said he is “not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel.”

“We had a couple of seafarers of our own among the apostles — Peter, Andrew, James, and John were fishermen,” said Schuster, who serves as the bishop promoter of Stella Maris in the U.S.

Stella Maris, first known as the Apostleship of the Sea, is the Church’s official ministry for seafarers and mariners. Formal Catholic port ministry began in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1920 but was not officially recognized by the Vatican until 1922, when Pope Pius XI granted his approval. The ministry was renamed “Stella Maris” on its 100th anniversary in 2020, a nod to St. John Paul II’s 1997 motu proprio Stella Maris.

While the main role of port chaplains with Stella Maris is to celebrate Mass and the sacraments aboard ships, their work includes providing counsel and aid to sailors.

“One of the reasons why this ministry is so vitally important is — if you do a quick search of the United Nations, you’ll find this number — it’s fascinating that 80% of all tradable goods have, in some fashion, had to at some point travel by ship,” Schuster said.

“They’re performing a service,” he said, “so when they arrive to our ports, we come on board delivering gifts and different items that they might find helpful such as toothbrushes, bars of soap, shaving cream, and razors.”

‘A ministry of accompaniment’

“It’s a ministry of accompaniment,” Schuster said, explaining that the ministry of port chaplains often includes walking with seafarers struggling with mental health or trauma from their time on board a ship.

“Some of these seafarers often have trauma in their past,” Schuster said. “I’ve talked to several seafarers who have been on the Hormuz route — if you’re a sailor on one of these ships and you’re watching missiles fly over you, you are constantly worried about being attacked.”

“And so, we can also just be a good ear and listen,” he said. “But also, if we see signs of real depression, we can be helpful there in terms of referrals to make sure that these seafarers get the help that they need.”

Stella Maris also often assists crews on abandoned ships, according to Schuster.

“There may be a ship out there where the company abandoned the seafarers, so they’re no longer getting paid and they’re just kind of sitting out there on a boat because the country won’t let them leave the boat abandoned,” he explained, citing the crew of the Dali cargo ship that crashed into Baltimore’s Key Bridge in March 2024.

A port chaplain with Stella Maris in Baltimore regularly checks in on several members of the Dali crew who have remained in the city amid the ongoing investigation of the incident, the bishop noted.

Schuster said his favorite part about his role as bishop promoter of Stella Maris is “just getting on board the ships and being able to do ministry.”

“Before I was a bishop, I was a pastor of a parish, and that meant daily accompaniment of people from a variety of different backgrounds and a variety of different needs, and I missed that one-on-one ministry,” he said.

“So when I get on board a ship and minister to a crew, being able to celebrate Mass, sit down to eat with them and talk about life, it feels like Iʼm a pastor again. And it feels good.”

Here are 12 things to know and to share.

1. Where does the word “Trinity” come from?

It comes from the Latin word “trinitas,” which means “three” or “triad.” The Greek equivalent is “triados.”

2. When was the word first used?

The first surviving use of the term (there may have been earlier uses that are now lost) was about 170 A.D. by Theophilus of Antioch, who wrote: “In like manner also the three days which were before the luminaries are types of the Trinity [Τριάδος], of God, and His Word, and His wisdom. And the fourth is the type of man, who needs light, that so there may be God, the Word, wisdom, man” (“To Autolycus,” 2:15).

3. What is the Trinity?

The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains it this way: “The Church expresses her trinitarian faith by professing a belief in the oneness of God in whom there are three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The three divine Persons are only one God because each of them equally possesses the fullness of the one and indivisible divine nature. They are really distinct from each other by reason of the relations which place them in correspondence to each other. The Father generates the Son; the Son is generated by the Father; the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son” (No. 48).

4. Is the Trinity the central mystery of the Christian faith?

Yes. The compendium explains: “The central mystery of Christian faith and life is the mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity. Christians are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (No. 44).

5. When did the Church infallibly define the Trinity?

The dogma of the Trinity was defined in two stages, at the First Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.) and the First Council of Constantinople (381 A.D.).

First Nicaea defined the divinity of the Son and wrote the part of the Creed that deals with the Son.

This council was called to deal with the heresy known as Arianism, which claimed that the Son was a supernatural being but not God.

First Constantinople defined the divinity of the Holy Spirit and wrote the part of the Creed that deals with the Spirit.

This council dealt with a heresy known as Macedonianism (because its advocates were from Macedonia), which denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit. This heresy was also called Pneumatomachianism (from a Greek phrase meaning “fighting the Spirit”).

6. How can the Trinity be proved?

The Trinity can only be proved through the divine revelation that Jesus brought us. It cannot be proved by natural reason or from the Old Testament alone. The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “God has left some traces of his trinitarian being in creation and in the Old Testament but his inmost being as the Holy Trinity is a mystery which is inaccessible to reason alone or even to Israel’s faith before the incarnation of the Son of God and the sending of the Holy Spirit. This mystery was revealed by Jesus Christ and it is the source of all the other mysteries” (No. 45).

Although the vocabulary used to express the doctrine of the Trinity took time to develop, we can demonstrate the different aspects of the doctrine from Scripture.

7. How can we show from Scripture that there is only one God?

The fact that there is only one God was already made clear in the Old Testament. For example, the book of Isaiah proclaims: “You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me” (Is 43:10).

It continues: “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god” (Is 44:6).

8. How can we show that the Father is God?

The Father is proclaimed as God numerous times in the New Testament. For example, St. Paul declares: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Cor 1:3).

And: “There is ... one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all” (Eph 4:4-6).

9. How can we show that the Son is God?

This is proclaimed in a variety of places in the New Testament, including at the beginning of the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father” (Jn 1:1, 14).

And later: “Then [Jesus] said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” (Jn 20:27-28).

10. How can we show that the Holy Spirit is God?

In the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit is portrayed as a divine Person who speaks and who can be lied to: “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them’” (Acts 13:2).

And: “But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? ... You have not lied to men but to God’” (Acts 5:3-4).

11. How can we show that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are distinct Persons?

The distinction of the persons can be shown, for example, in the fact that Jesus speaks to his Father. This would make no sense if they were one and the same person.

“At that time Jesus declared, ‘I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will’” (Mt 11:25-26).

The fact that Jesus is not the same Person as the Holy Spirit is revealed when Jesus — who has been functioning as the Counselor (Greek, “Parakletos”) of the disciples — says he will pray to the Father and the Father will give them “another Counselor,” who is the Holy Spirit.

This shows the distinction of all three Persons: Jesus who prays; the Father who sends; and the Spirit who comes: “And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you” (Jn 14:16-17).

12. How can we show that the Son is generated by the Father and that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son?

The fact that the Son is generated by the Father is indicated by the names of these Persons. Sons are generated by fathers. The second Person of the Trinity would not be a Son if he were not generated by the first Person as his Father.

The fact that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son is reflected in another statement of Jesus:

“But when the Counselor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me” (Jn 15:26).

This depicts the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son (“whom I shall send”). Here the outward operations of the Persons of the Trinity reflect their mutual relations with each other. It may also be said that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father through the Son.

For more on the procession of the Holy Spirit, click here.

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, on June 7, 2020, and has been updated and adapted by EWTN News.

The White House on May 28 launched a government website, Aliens.gov, a retro sci-fi-styled site that claims the government has “kept a closely guarded secret” about “aliens” and an “invasion” for decades.

The site mimics sci‑fi aesthetics with a bold, geometric sans‑serif typeface in neon green and black, like 1950s movie posters used to advertise Cold War‑era sci‑fi films featuring monstrous extraterrestrials.

“Aliens have been walking among us, living in our neighborhoods, and interacting with us in our daily lives,” the site claims, alleging that “aliens” have “shopped in the same stores, attended the same classes as our children, and lived seemingly normal human existences.”

Promoting an “alien arrest map” of immigrant detentions around the country, the site states bluntly that people without legal status “do not belong here.”

The website urges visitors to “report suspicious aliens” to an “ICE tip line.”

In U.S. law, the word alien is a formal legal classification meaning a person who is not a U.S. citizen or national, a definition that appears in the Immigration and Nationality Act and is used in statutes, regulations, and court decisions.

Dignity, national security ‘not in conflict,’ bishops say

Immigrants have long been portrayed through metaphors in U.S. culture, from 19th‑century political cartoons that depicted Irish, Italian, and Chinese newcomers as monsters or subhuman creatures to modern rhetoric framing migrant groups as “invaders,” “infestations,” or something other than fully human.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) lamented “the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants” in a special message in November 2025.

In February, the bishops condemned a plan from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to increase the capacity of migrant detention centers around the U.S. The government earlier this year indicated it would spend about $38 billion to bolster detention space.

Victoria, Texas, Bishop Brendan Cahill, chair of the bishops' immigration committee, called the plans “deeply troubling” at the time.

“The thought of holding thousands of families in massive warehouses should challenge the conscience of every American," the bishop said.

Asked about the governmentʼs new “aliens” campaign on May 29, USCCB spokeswoman Chieko Noguchi told EWTN News that the bishops have “continuously condemned vilification of immigrants and dehumanizing rhetoric and consistently advocated for a meaningful reform of our nation’s immigration laws and procedures.”

“They’ve also repeatedly asserted that human dignity and national security are not in conflict,” she said, pointing to the bishops' special message.

The bishops at that time said they “oppose[d] the indiscriminate mass deportation of people,” with the prelates praying “for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement.”

The bishops in February urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the U.S. constitutional policy of “birthright citizenship” wherein any individual born on U.S. soil is counted as an American citizen.

The dispute before the court was launched after Trump in January 2025 signed an order directing that children born to parents in the country illegally were not entitled to U.S. citizenship.

Pope Leo XIV — the first pope in history from the United States — has also weighed in, affirming in November 2025 that while nations have “a right to determine who and how and when people enter,” countries “have to look for ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have.”

“When people are living good lives — and many of them [in the United States] for 10, 15, 20 years — to treat them in a way that is extremely disrespectful, to say the least,” is not acceptable, the pope said on Nov. 18, 2025.

Regarding the bishops' Nov. 12, 2025, message on immigration, the pope remarked: “I appreciate very much what the bishops have said. I think it’s a very important statement. I would invite, especially all Catholics, but people of goodwill to listen carefully to what they said."

In a statement to EWTN News, meanwhile, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on May 29 argued that news reports “too often” ignore “the victims [of illegal immigration] and their stories.”

"These victims and their families are why we work around the clock to arrest and deport illegal aliens from our communities," the department said, describing crimes committed by undocumented immigrants as "completely preventable.”

“What makes someone a target of ICE is if they are in the U.S. illegally,” the statement continued, arguing that “nearly 70% of ICE arrests are of criminal illegal aliens who have been convicted or have pending charges.”

ICE data shows most people arrested and booked into ICE custody do not have criminal convictions, and some analyses show the 70% figure comes from redefining “criminal” to include pending charges, foreign allegations untested in a U.S. court, and people who have never been found guilty of a crime.

Roughly 25%-30% of people arrested by ICE have a prior conviction, according to analyses of ICE arrest and detention data, including work by the Cato Institute and the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse based on ICE data.

Over the past three months, Catholic Charities Boston has “seen over 2,000 new households register who have never come to our food pantries before,” said Jonathan Tetrault, the vice president of economic empowerment at Catholic Charities Boston.

Tetrault told “EWTN News Nightly” on May 29 that these families “are seeking help with food assistance because of the many pressures that are … colliding to put pressure on their family budgets.”

“So theyʼre reaching out to us for help,” he said.

The organization operates "four food pantries across the cities of Brockton, Dorchester, Lowell, and Lynn. This past year, weʼve served nearly 70,000 people through these four food pantries – almost 3 million pounds of food through these four locations,” Tetrault said.

“We offer fresh fruits and veggies, frozen lean proteins, shelf-stable dry goods,” he said.

“[W]hat weʼre hearing from [families] when theyʼre coming in to get these critical groceries is that itʼs ... a number of factors" that are causing the need, he said.

Following federal cuts to programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Catholic Charities is experiencing an “elevated need in our communities, and weʼre seeing fewer dollars to meet that need with,” he said.

“For some folks, the SNAP work requirements are going into effect. Most of our other clients are being impacted by the high cost of gas” and “utility prices soaring,” he said.

“This is all coming together to strain their family budgets over the past several months,” he said.

“It is becoming harder to stand in the gap, but that is our commitment [to] those families, those individuals who are coming to us for support. And so weʼre figuring out ways to do that,” he said.

The organization is adapting to meet the urgent needs and acquire the necessary food, he said.

“Most recently, we had to double the credit limit on our fuel cards" to ensure delivery trucks and vans could continue to get fueled up, he said.

Call for community involvement

As Catholic Charities Boston’s food pantries operate with small numbers of staff members, they rely on volunteers and are calling for community support.

“We recognize that it takes each one of us to meet the needs of our neighbors in our communities. So we would love for … our community to support us with their time, their talent, their treasure,” Tetrault said.

To help, Tetrault called on the community to “find out where your local food pantry is” and “show up to volunteer.”

“You can bring donations of dry goods there as well. And then supporting us financially ... is critical because oftentimes weʼre able to purchase food at a better scale, better price points, when we pull those funds together," he said.

The “food pantries operate with two staff each,” he said. “So we rely heavily on our volunteer support” which is “critical for us to be able to serve the hundreds and hundreds of families that we see each and every day throughout the week.”

A circuit court judge in Florida said the state can continue legal action against Planned Parenthood over the abortion giantʼs claims that the abortion pill is safer than Tylenol.

In a May 27 ruling, First Circuit Court Judge J. Scott Duncan of Santa Rosa County struck down Planned Parenthood’s attempt to dismiss a Florida lawsuit that accused the company of false advertising.

In November 2025, state Attorney General James Uthmeier sued Planned Parenthood for $350 million, alleging that the abortion provider spread information that was deceptive and misleading by claiming abortion drugs are safer than Tylenol, Viagra, and penicillin.

Planned Parenthood then asked for the suit to be dismissed, but the judge refused, allowing the legal action to continue.

Colorado governor signs bill requiring college health centers to provide abortion pills

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill requiring college student health centers to provide chemical abortion pills on-site.

The law includes exemptions, however. Colleges are exempt from providing abortion pills “if doing so would jeopardize an institutionʼs federal grant participation, require the institution to deviate from generally accepted billing practices, [or] modify the generally accepted standards of medical practice."

Colleges are also allowed to opt out of the mandate if the rule would “conflict with the institutionʼs sincerely held religious beliefs or practices.”

Babies lost to abortion at a record high in Scotland

Scotland saw a record high in the number of babies lost to abortion in 2025, with recent statistics showing that 18,783 babies died from abortion last year.

The count is the highest on record, according to statistics released May 26 by Public Health Scotland.

Scotland currently protects unborn children after 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Report details Planned Parenthood transgender ideology and services

A recent report by the organization Biological Integrity, a project of the American College of Pediatricians, details Planned Parenthood’s transgender, or “sex-rejecting,” procedures.

The report notes that Planned Parenthood provides free chest binders for minors and distributes hormones to patients as young as 16 years old.

According to the report, Planned Parenthood provides birth control to halt periods of minor girls without parental consent as a “loophole.”

Planned Parenthood is a “primary distributor” of sexual education, spending more than $70 million on training participants in fiscal year 2025 and providing resources about transgenderism for children as young as three years old.

The report highlights malpractice lawsuits filed against Planned Parenthood by people who detransition after receiving hormones and surgery.

He gives retreats, hears confessions, and provides biblical formation and pastoral care to vulnerable individuals, a ministry through which he says he frequently witnesses “many miracles” in the form of conversions and renewed closeness to the faith.

“The truth is that it’s a blessing, because practically every weekend there are groups attending the retreat,” the priest said in an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, referring to Holy Family Retreat House in Lurín, the place from which he carries out a large part of his missionary work.

“One certainly sees the fruits," he said. "One sees the good it does for people." He told ACI Prensa that priests like him "are privileged” because people open their consciences to them, and consequently, "one sees miracles constantly.”

Ampuero explained that the most requested retreats are those focused on inner healing and those designed for couples, which are open to engaged couples and those living together, with the aim of drawing them closer to the sacrament of matrimony.

“We have also been emphasizing silent retreats, because we see that there is a need to turn inward, a need to put down roots, and a need to strengthen that relationship with the Lord,” he added.

A mission accessible to the poorest

Ampuero highlighted that one of the aims of the retreat house is to enable people of limited financial means to participate.

“If there are people who can’t pay, or who can only pay a portion, we welcome them just the same. Divine Providence has always looked after us, and we have never gone without,” he explained.

For the priest, the impact of these encounters with God is evident. “One need only look at the joy with which people leave at the end of a retreat; the difference in their faces between the day they arrive and the day they depart,” he remarked.

“People come back again. They say, ‘It has done me so much good that I want to do it again.’ So, that is certainly very motivating,” he added.

‘I’ve found great openness to the Gospel here’

Ampuero arrived in Peru in 2011, following years of pastoral service and academic formation in Spain and Italy.

A specialist in Sacred Scripture, he pursued studies in Rome and Jerusalem at the behest of his superiors. He served as a professor of “Introduction to Sacred Scripture and the Epistles of St. Paul” at the San Ildefonso Institute of Higher Theological Studies in Toledo, in addition to serving as a formator at the seminary for several years.

He subsequently channeled this experience toward evangelization and the formation of Godʼs people.

“I didn’t view myself as a biblical researcher, but rather as someone tasked with disseminating, with making known, all that richness,” he explained.

He currently has nearly 30 publications on biblical and spiritual formation to his name.

The presence of priests from Toledo in South Lima dates back several decades to when they first began working in Villa El Salvador, a district still marked by poverty.

Ampuero said that one of the experiences that has impacted him most since his arrival in Peru has been the peopleʼs receptiveness to the Catholic faith.

“In Spain, there has been very strong secularization over the last few decades. My experience upon arriving here is that, generally speaking, that was not the case. I have encountered a great openness to the Gospel, a great openness to the tenets of the faith,” he said.

He also said the people are close to their priests and place a high value on the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

“One can sometimes spend hours hearing confessions, and people seek out the priest; sometimes simply to unburden themselves, to share their problems, and to find a little consolation and hope,” he recounted.

Evangelizing among the most vulnerable

In addition to leading spiritual retreats, Ampuero ministers at the Sowing Hope shelter, which houses 150 men — including the elderly, individuals with mental illnesses, and people rescued from the streets, many of whom are former drug addicts.

“These individuals, who have often lost everything, can come to know the greatest thing of all: the love of God,” he said.

The priest particularly highlighted the transformative power of faith in people struggling with addiction. “We know that in cases of addiction, it’s faith in Christ, the encounter with Christ, that can most radically set you free,” he affirmed.

“That encounter with Christ is what liberates you and heals all wounds.”

‘Prayer is my daily strength’

The priest said that the key to sustaining such an intense apostolate lies in prayer.

“For me, prayer is my daily strength, and I would not give it up for anything. It’s what gives you oxygen; it’s what strengthens you; it’s what enables you to bear the burdens of your brothers and sisters as well,” he explained.

Finally, he shared a message to young people who may be experiencing stirrings to enter the religious or consecrated life.

“Don’t be afraid. When God calls us to something, he will always provide the means to carry it out,” he affirmed.

“God takes nothing away; rather, he gives everything,” he said, recalling a saying of the late Pope Benedict XVI.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

On the night of May 8, the news had spread across the campus that Lynch, a Benedictine student suffering from cancer, had died.

A college senior, Lynch had just had his graduation ceremony. He didn’t walk the stage, however; instead, the college president went to him.

On May 7, Benedictine College President Stephen Minnis traveled from the school in Atchison, Kansas, to Lynch’s family home in Indianola, Iowa, along with 30 Benedictine students for Lynch’s personal baccalaureate Mass and graduation ceremony.

“Graduation is a powerful moment for these students,” Minnis told EWTN News. “They have worked so hard for it, including their whole primary and secondary education.”

“I want to make that moment special for every student,” he said. “It’s a moment that is powerful for me too — I pray a Hail Mary for every student by name when they come and when they graduate, but I have prayed especially for Alex.”

“It just took an extra step in his case, but I didn’t want to miss his big moment,” Minnis said.

Father Ryan Richardson, Benedictine Collegeʼs chaplain, told EWTN News he spoke “directly to Alex” in his homily, detailing how Lynch lived out the fruits of the Holy Spirit while at school.

“He radiated the Holy Spirit and the love of Christ,” Richardson said. “Alex often said that his desire was that others see Christ in him. He definitely accomplished that.”

Finnegan Ritchie, a close friend of Lynch’s, was among the 30 students who attended the ceremony.

“We were both worried that it was going to be unreasonably long,” Ritchie said in an interview with EWTN News. “Entertaining people is exhausting. But Alex was able to sit and stand at will; he had a lot of grit.”

“After the ceremony, he had a little graduation party and greeted his family and friends,” Ritchie said. “It was wonderful to see how everyone came together to bring food, drinks, and tables for the occasion. People were catching up with each other and treating it like any other grad party.”

Ritchie said goodbye to Lynch in the evening, “around 5:30 p.m.”

“It was very difficult to leave him,” Ritchie said.

On May 8, less than a day after his home graduation ceremony, Lynch died. It was late in the evening on a Friday night. Off-campus parties stopped. Students gathered in the chapel, again, this time to pray for a friend who had passed away.

“Students left parties and gathered spontaneously in our adoration chapel,” Minnis said. “It was filled until late that night. It was an overwhelming response.”

The following day, Benedictine held a Mass on campus in his memory.

Students traveled from all over the country for Lynch’s funeral at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Indianola, Iowa, on May 14, nearly filling the pews in the church.

“He made such an impact,” Minnis said. “The way he lived and the way he died will change these students for years.”

Yellow pins and applause

On Saturday, May 16, just over a week after Lynch died, Benedictine’s official graduation took place. The crowd was peppered with students wearing yellow pins, which they wore, Richardson said, “to remember Alex.”

While at Benedictine, Lynch was a resident adviser (RA) on campus. He played intramural sports, was active with FOCUS, and sang in the choir at Mass.

“The best way I can describe Alex is that he was faith-filled,” Richardson said. “Faith in Christ was the foundation of his life and his faith in Christ spilled over into all his relationships."

“[Lynch] had a friendship with the Holy Spirit that was alive and active,” the chaplain continued.

“He loved people sincerely and intensely,” he said. “Even in the midst of his illness he would often look me in the eye and intentionally ask how I was doing and how he could pray for me.”

“We have grieved as a community,” Richardson said.

“Since Alex’s passing, though, I think many of us have transitioned from sadness to peace,” he continued. “In his death Alex showed us what it means to truly live and what it means to live the faith to the end.”

Lynchʼs friend Jack Figge, a recent Benedictine graduate and a Catholic journalist, wrote a tribute to Lynch in Benedictineʼs school publication.

“I spent three days with Alex at the beginning of the week he passed away. It’s a series of days I will never forget because Alex lived out what it meant to be a suffering servant,” Figge told EWTN News.

“He never complained about the pain he was in; he was so generous with his time making sure that everybody who wanted to see him could,” Figge recalled. “Whenever you walked in, the first question he asked was ‘How are you?’”

“Even in the midst of being close to death, he remained joyful, laughing, and cracking jokes,” Figge continued. “On the day of his graduation, so many people wanted to say goodbye and he was clearly tired. But he sat and talked with everybody for hours, making sure he had a moment with everybody.”

In the last week of his life, Lynch visited his parish to pray a Holy Hour.

He died reciting his baptismal promises — promises made by Catholics at baptism and renewed at the Easter Vigil.

Benedictine students and faculty remembered Lynch at the schoolʼs graduation ceremony, where Lynch’s parents walked the stage in his place.

“It was truly fitting to have Alex’s family with us at graduation,” Richardson said. “The resounding applause they received was a tribute to the impact that Alex had on each of us and the legacy he has left at Benedictine College.”

Shaved heads and a walk down the aisle

When Lynch discovered he would lose his hair from chemotherapy, 30 of his friends at Benedictine shaved their heads, Ritchie recalled.

“We did it to be funny, but we also wanted to present ourselves as Alexʼs friends,” Ritchie said. “He and I, along with many others, had spiritual conversations often — we wanted to do college well. We wanted to know what our purpose in life was and how to go about getting it.”

“At the end of the day, we wanted to be virtuous; it was the way to a happier life on earth and an even more perfect one in the next life,” Ritchie said.

“Alex sought to see God in everyone he met in order to love them well. We rarely talked about his disease; I figured he wanted to let go of it while he was with people,” he said.

“He loved the quiet; he enjoyed eating breakfast at the door to St. Joseph Hall and seeing people he loved walk by,” Ritchie continued. “I was always struck by his take on things, since death was a real threat for him; it put my life in perspective. He taught me that I have a lot to be grateful for, and that it is best to take action now than wait until later.”

In one of their last conversations, Lynch told his friend he had learned from him as well. “Iʼm honored to have been taught by him,“ Ritchie said. ”Iʼm even more honored to have taught him something. I think we just wanted to seek God together.”

Earlier this year, Lynch walked down the aisle as a groomsman at the wedding of one of his best friends, Ben Shonka, who recently served as a pallbearer at Lynchʼs funeral.

“Alex was a goofy man; he loved his faith and loved to have fun,” Shonka, also a Benedictine graduate, told EWTN News. “He made every moment count whether he was with friends or whoever.”

“He was one of the groomsmen in my wedding because he was one of the best men in my life,” Shonka said. “He really showed me what masculinity could look like at our age.”

“He was so intentional in everything he did,” Shonka recalled. “He knew everyone’s name and would always greet them accordingly. He would always be down to talk whenever. He lived a life of prayer, often going to Mass and adoration.”

After Lynch’s death, Shonka’s wife observed that Lynch had walked down the aisle as a groomsman at their wedding and now her husband had carried Lynch “down the aisle as a pallbearer to his final resting place.”

The college president noted the impact Lynch had on both students and himself.

“I think the students saw him as a representative of the best of what they are and a model to aspire to,” Minnis said. “I see him that way, too.”

“The problems not only are very, very present, but worsening,” Schneck told EWTN News. “I think the situation for religious freedom in the world today is worse than it was when I came on the commission, and certainly worse than it was a decade ago.”

In its 2026 report, the commission recommended 18 countries to be labeled as "countries of particular concern" (CPCs) — "the label that we give to the governments in the world who are the worst abusers of religious freedom,” Schneck said.

The list includes 12 countries the U.S. Department of State designated as CPCs in December 2023, including Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

It also includes Nigeria, which President Donald Trump designated in 2025, and five additional recommendations: Afghanistan, India, Libya, Syria, and Vietnam.

India “is among the worst countries in the global community in regards to religious freedom from the analysis that has been done by the commission over the last decade or so,” Schneck said.

“Since 2020, maybe 2019, the commission has been calling on the United States government to designate India as a CPC."

The religious freedom status in India is “particularly tragic” because it “is a country that is famous for its democratic traditions and … where many religions have actually emerged historically,” he said.

“The principal driver” of the current problems “is a really powerful religious nationalism,” he said. “Particularly itʼs Hindu nationalism that is being promoted largely for political reasons by the political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), of the current prime minister, Narendra Modi.”

“Since the separation from Great Britain and its independence after the Second World War, there have been a number of episodes of communal violence,” he said. 

There is “mob violence against minority religious believers increasingly being allowed, and frankly sometimes being promoted, or at least given legal impunity, under the governmentʼs control by the BJP.”

“The State Department never really explains fully … why they decline to go along with our designation,“ Schneck said. It could be due to “geopolitical reasons of international politics and U.S. foreign policy.”

“India is a particularly important country, for a variety of reasons,” including being “an important country set against China in the geopolitical politics of our day, and itʼs an important country for trade purposes for the United States.”

“Unfortunately, now through several administrations ... we have not seen the United States governments actually support our commissionʼs recommended designation.”

The commission also continues to recommend China as a CPC, which the State Department has listened to. It has continued to list China since it was first categorized a CPC in 1999.

Despite its designation, Schneck noted that the commission is “very concerned about the situation in China.”

As Trump recently traveled to China and discussed political prisoners with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Schneck noted the commission has “called for Jimmy Laiʼs release and [has] made not only his case, but the case of millions of others within China.”

The situation “gets worse and worse” and “itʼs not just limited to individuals,” Schneck said. “Weʼre talking about whole populations here — the Uyghur Muslims, the Tibetan Buddhists, Christians.”

“Even our own Catholic Church is under the watchful eye of China … The repression of religion by China is a real deal and something that we should all be concerned about,” he said.

Catholics should be ‘on the front lines’ of defending religious freedom

May marked the end of seven commissioners' terms, including Schneckʼs. He said: “Iʼm very concerned about leaving this work at this particular moment … that I see religious freedom really under a great deal of stress around the world.”

Schneck was appointed to the commission in June 2022 by President Joe Biden. He was later reappointed to the commission and served as its chair for the 2024-2025 term.

Schneck joined the commission after having worked as a political philosopher, a professor, department chair, and dean at The Catholic University of America for more than 30 years. There, he founded and directed the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies.

Schneck served as a national co-chair of Catholics for Biden, part of Biden’s presidential campaign. The group worked to rally Catholics to vote for Biden, despite the then-nominee’s support for legislation and policies that did not align with Church teaching. Prior to that, Schneck was appointed by President Obama to the White House Advisory Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

Prior to that, he was appointed by President Barack Obama to the White House Advisory Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

Schneck was also the executive director of Franciscan Action Network, a national organization promoting environmental, economic, and social justice for the Franciscan communities of the United States.

Following his multiple positions, Schneck said serving on USCIRF was the “capstone” of his career.

The work “is so meaningful,” he said. “But sometimes itʼs incredibly hard. You talk to people whose relatives have been killed. You talk to people … who have just come out of prison. You go to refugee camps and you see how refugees are living in absolutely dire situations.”

“So, emotionally it can be tremendously hard,” he said. “But at the same time…you really do feel that bearing witness to what has happened to these people is important work and makes a difference.”

“It was a privilege … to be a representative of my own faith on the commission,” Schneck said. “I do feel that my own faith really was strengthened as a result of my participation on the commission."

“The famous document from the end of Vatican II, Dignitatis Humanae, really laid down for our Church what religious freedom should be about, how we as Catholics should be on the front lines in trying to defend religious freedom around the world.”

“I feel like I was called in a way by that teaching of our Church to do this work. I mean, truly, even though itʼs only four years, it did feel like a vocation,” he said.

While Schneck is no longer a USCIRF commissioner, he said he plans to continue his advocacy work through other organizations.

Schneck serves on the governing board of Catholic Climate Covenant, a U.S. organization that advocates for care for creation and climate action. He also is on the board of the Catholic Mobilizing Network, an organization working to end the death penalty.

“Both of these two organizations … spun out of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops,” he said. 

“Iʼm pleased to continue my work for the Church with both of these fine organizations, by working on behalf of care for creation ... and working on the Churchʼs pro-life mission in working against the death penalty here in the United States,” he said.

EWTN News confirmed on May 29 that the Nationals had dismissed its former community relations director Sean Hudson amid media coverage and criticism from religious groups over the video.

Hudson was at the center of controversy earlier in the week when footage posted to X by “guerrilla journalist” James OʼKeefe apparently showed him claiming that the baseball team “[doesnʼt] use” Williams in certain team activities due to his having criticized an LGBT group that mocks Catholic religious imagery.

Williams had spoken out in 2023 against the Los Angeles Dodgers' decision to honor the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” with a “Community Hero Award.” Members of the group of drag performers dress up in attire resembling Catholic nuns and engage in sexualized performances.

The group also uses imagery of Jesus and the Blessed Mother in its performances. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has referred to the displays as "blasphemy."

A source confirmed to EWTN News that Hudson had been dismissed following the video controversy. An email to Hudsonʼs Nationals address earlier in the day had been returned with the notification that the address was “no longer a system account,” while Hudsonʼs LinkedIn account had been taken down at some point prior to May 29.

Prior to a May 29 game against the San Diego Padres, team business president Jason Sinnarajah said in an interview on the Nationals broadcast channel that the team is “not anti-Catholic” and does “not hide players from social media.”

“We were horrified by the comments that were made on the video,“ he said. ”The comments don’t reflect us as an organization, our values and who we are. We took action right away, and that individual is no longer employed by the team.”

The recent OʼKeefe video, posted to X on May 26, features a man identified as Hudson describing Williams as a “super Catholic” and referencing his criticism of the drag group.

“Because of that, [the team doesnʼt] use him on social [media],” Hudson claims in the video.

Williams told “EWTN News in Depth” in 2023 that his criticism of the Dodgers “had to be said.”

“We cannot stand idly by while Our Lord gets mocked," he said at the time.

A port transformed into a symbol

For four months, more than 2,600 people — six times the capacity of the pier, which spans a mere 656 ft. — remained crowded together there in inhumane conditions. There were as many people jammed together on the concrete as there were inhabitants in the town that hosted them.

“It was already a very turbulent time, on many levels. Locally, we were right in the middle of the [Covid 19] pandemic, and due to a lack of resources, the food bank had just closed,” recalled Father Adrián Sosa Nuez, who arrived in September 2020 at Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Agatha Parish. Located just a few feet from the port, the parish was where he began to witness the mass arrival of hundreds of “cayucos” — the narrow flat bottom boats that migrants use.

That year, 23,000 migrants and refugees arrived in the Canary Islands, mostly hailing from the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa. Fleeing poverty, war, and drought in search of hope, the desperate people of the worldʼs poorest continent cast off into the Atlantic for an extremely perilous voyage.

The island of Gran Canaria lies approximately 95 miles off the northwest coast of Morocco, a distance that in the unseaworthy, open-topped wooden vessels the migrants use, can stretch into voyages lasting up to a week.

The collapse nobody knew how to handle

Although the 2020 figure is lower than the historic record of 46,843 arrivals recorded in 2024, the surge six years ago caught institutions off guard. There were no adequate facilities to receive them, no beds, and no defined strategy to address a situation that, though foreseeable, spiraled into a humanitarian crisis.

“The impact came as a shock to us not only as a parish, but as the Canarian people. We were unaccustomed to witnessing scenes of this kind, and it caught all the authorities off guard. No one knew how to handle it,” Sosa told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

He is currently a judge on a diocesan tribunal, a professor of canon law, and the parochial vicar in the Siete Palmas neighborhood of Las Palmas, where the pope will celebrate Mass in Gran Canaria Stadium.

Trying to survive in overcrowded conditions

The migrants themselves improvised makeshift shelters using tarps and cardboard. The pier became a place where people slept, ate, and prayed. In real terms, each person had little more than one square yard of space.

Arguineguín thus came to symbolize a triple failure: that of the migrant reception system, that of respect for human rights, and, ultimately, that of human dignity. Added to this were restrictions imposed because of the pandemic.

“We were unable to be at the pier due to Covid protocols, so we could only provide help at a later stage,” explained the priest. Around twenty hotels on the island then opened their doors to accommodate the migrants. “That was when we began to put a human face to their suffering and to accompany them,” he said.

The response of the Church and society

Volunteers from the parish and from Caritas mobilized to offer Spanish classes. Some even welcomed migrants into their own homes. Sosa himself gave shelter to a young man in the rectory after the young man was left out of the reception system.

“Pope Francis had recently published Fratelli Tutti, and it was truly providential. It helped us greatly in raising awareness across all social strata that, as Christians, not everything is negotiable and that we had a duty to help these people,” he explained.

The crisis also fostered collaboration among various ecclesial organizations. Among others, Sosa received calls from Father Ángel, founder and president of the NGO Messengers of Peace, inquiring about their needs, as well as from the evangelical church Misión Moderna.

“Despite the difficulties, it was a time of great joy, a time of feeling in communion with the entire Church,” he recalled.

Along the edges of the pier in those days, family members also gathered in search of news regarding their loved ones. They arrived bearing photographs, asking survivors if they had seen them. “Many arrived traumatized. If someone fell ill during the crossing, in many cases they were thrown into the sea,” Sosa recounted.

In the words of the priest, it was “a major traumatic experience." Since 2020, more than 19,000 people have died attempting to reach the Canary Islands, victims of the cold, the currents, and a journey spanning hundreds of miles, depending on the point of departure.

In 2025 alone, of the more than 3,000 people who perished on maritime routes, 1,906 lost their lives on the Atlantic route to Europe as documented in the 2025 Monitoring the Right to Life report by the NGO Caminando Fronteras (Walking the Borders).

Pope coming to the ‘pier of shame’

Six years later, the pope will visit this site, now known as the “pier of shame.” Nearly 2,000 people will await him there, the very place where many first set foot in European territory under extreme conditions. Moreover, this visit fulfills a wish that his predecessor, Pope Francis, was unable to realize.

“Many of those who will be with the pope have experienced the grueling Atlantic route. A great many have left friends or acquaintances behind at the bottom of the sea,” explained Caya Suárez, a social worker, secretary general of Caritas in the Diocese of the Canary Islands, and coordinator of the event.

One of the most moving moments will be the casting of a floral wreath into the sea in memory of the victims, echoing the gesture performed by Pope Francis in the Sicilian island of Lampedusa. Alongside Pope Leo, a human chain will be formed by people who “wish to remember those they have seen die.”

The pope will listen to the testimonies of four migrants, who will recount not only the hardships of their journey and the stigmatization they endured, but also how Caritas and other ecclesial organizations have become a new family to them.

In Las Palmas province alone, Caritas has assisted more than 22,000 migrants of African and Latin American origin since 2020. Since 2024, the Caritas Española confederated network has launched 47 diocesan projects dedicated to welcoming and supporting undocumented individuals.

“Caritas steps in when people, regrettably, find themselves outside the system, when government assistance fails to reach them,” Suárez explained.

A cross made from cayuco wood

Another significant moment will be the blessing of an image of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, the patroness of sailors. A small altar dedicated to her image, which is deeply rooted in local fishing traditions, is kept on the pier. On numerous occasions, sailors have been the first to go out to rescue incoming vessels.

Alongside this altar will be a cross crafted from the wood of a migrant boat, a cross that has already become a symbol of the local Church. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the pope will bless both the cross and the image of the Virgin, which will remain on the pier.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Miller, whose citizenship was revoked by the Nicaraguan government in 2023, said that while Catholics in Nicaragua continue to face “the lack of freedom to worship” amid continued pressure from the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife and “co-president” Rosario Murillo, other denominations have chosen to “work with the government to avoid that persecution.”

The May 29 panel discussion took place at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. The discussion comes after the release of GHREN’s March 2026 report detailing systematic repression and human rights violations against the Nicaraguan people.

“Everything has to be vetted by the government, especially what priests are going to preach on Sunday,” she said, noting the presence of spies for Maduro regime in churches, who she said, “are not taking notes only, but recording what the priest is saying in case that homily was changed or there is variation.”

“Those who are not with [the government] are quiet,” Miller said. “I have permission to mention that in my meeting with [Monsignor Silvio José Báez, auxiliary bishop of Managua], when I asked him, what is the status of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, he said ‘silence.’”

“I think that Rosario Murillo, she’s afraid of the power of the Nicaraguan faith,” Miller said. “It’s values that shape their beliefs and commitments. She, as we know, needs to control and repress communities of faith in order to prevent the social process, and protests, because that immediately gives them cause for concern.”

Miller lamented the cancellation of traditional Holy Week processions across her home country. “I remember back to my childhood what that meant for a child, what it meant for the whole population — it was a joyous occasion. And now, they cannot do that.”

“But guess what?” she said, “If you look at the videos, and I see them, they’re being held inside the churches. And that gives me so much encouragement, so much pride, because they cannot just wipe us out […] Faith is being practiced regardless.”

Other participants in the panel included Christopher Hernandez-Roy, acting director and senior fellow of the Americas Program, Jan-Michael Simon, chair of the United Nations Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua (GHREN), and Juan Holmann Chamorro, the manager and publisher of the Nicaraguan newspaper, La Prensa.

The May 26 report by Charlotte Lozier Institute, a think tank affiliated with Susan B Anthony Pro-Life America, examined the telehealth abortion landscape and investigated whether abortion drug providers follow U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements.

Titled “An Overview of Online Abortion Drug Access in Post-Dobbs America,” it found numerous alleged violations, including a discovery that eight online abortion distributors violate state pro-life laws by shipping abortion drugs into those states.

The report also found that eight in 10 abortion drug sellers send abortion drugs after 10 weeks of pregnancy, flouting an FDA rule meant to protect women from potential harm.

Within the formal U.S. healthcare system, which involves licensed healthcare professionals, the report found that abortion drug sellers “do not provide the type of oversight typically associated with telemedicine or even telehealth services.”

In addition, abortion sellers outside the formal U.S. healthcare system — such as international online organizations, e-commerce pharmacies, and community networks — have minimal safeguards for women. These organizations ship abortion drugs “produced outside of the FDA’s approved supply chain.” The report maintains that this “could be characterized as the wild west, as almost zero safeguards exist for women.”

The report also found that 28 websites are still selling unapproved and misbranded abortion drugs to women even after the FDA sent abuse letters to them in 2019.

Mia Steupert, research associate at the institute and the reportʼs author, called the findings “egregious.”

“The abortion industry loves to claim ‘abortion is healthcare,’ but their actions and advocacy have shown they don’t want abortion to be treated with the same level of regulatory scrutiny as legitimate medical procedures,” Steupert said.

“No one should be able to obtain abortion drugs as easily as purchasing something off Amazon,” Steupert said, adding that the findings "should serve as a wake-up call to policymakers that a wild west of online abortion drug access only serves to end unborn life at all costs, even at the expense of women’s safety.”

Kristi Hamrick, a spokesperson for Students for Life of America, said the “anonymous distribution of what is sometimes classified as a controlled substance is out of control.”

“Our undercover work, ordering chemical abortion pills online without any verification at all — of whether a woman is pregnant, or late in pregnancy, or experiencing an ectopic pregnancy (which canʼt be ended with the pills) — is medically negligent,” she said.

“Just as horrific, the fact that abusers can get the drugs easily, makes it clear that pill pushers donʼt care what happens to the women exposed to the dangerous dies, as long as they get paid,” Hamrick continued. “Chemical abortion pills expose women to injury, infertility, and death. And thatʼs when they work as advertised.”

Andrea Trudden, a spokeswoman for Heartbeat International, a worldwide network of more than 4,000 pregnancy help organizations, said the report “confirms exactly what many of us warned would happen when abortion pills were deregulated.”

“The FDA needs to reinstate in-person dispensing now to protect women from unnecessary harm,” Trudden said.

“Ironically, the more the abortion industry markets abortion as ‘reproductive healthcare,’ the fewer actual healthcare professionals tend to be involved in the process,” Trudden continued. “Women are increasingly being pushed toward mail-order abortion drugs with little medical oversight, no in-person examination, no ultrasound, and in some cases apparent disregard even for FDA safety limits.”

Trudden also raised concerns about abortion drug poisonings, citing recent arrests for alleged secret druggings. There are numerous documented cases of pregnant women being drugged with abortion pills, ending the lives of children they wanted to keep.

“Concerns about coercion, abuse, and complications were repeatedly dismissed, yet Heartbeat International continues to document disturbing cases involving abortion drug poisonings and women being secretly drugged by boyfriends or family members attempting to end pregnancies without their knowledge or consent,” Trudden said. 

Just this week, a Kentucky woman’s boyfriend was arrested for allegedly committing fetal homicide, causing the woman to lose her baby by replacing her medications with an abortifacient.

In another case this week, a Texas man was indicted on charges of an abortion and injury to a child after he allegedly administered a substance to a Texas woman without her knowing, causing the death of the unborn baby and “serious bodily injury” to the woman.

In addition, Rosalie Markezich, a Louisiana woman, is involved in an ongoing lawsuit after she was allegedly coerced into taking mail-order abortion drugs by her boyfriend.

“Women deserve real healthcare and real protections, not an increasingly profit-driven system willing to sacrifice their health and safety for the sake of abortion,” Trudden said.

Spanish President Pedro Sánchez offered his praise for Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, on Wednesday.

“No technology is neutral, AI isnʼt either. And even less so those who use it and the purposes for which they use it,” Sánchez wrote in a social media post on X. “I have congratulated Pope Leo XIV for centering his first encyclical on this topic. Only multilateralism and international governance can ensure that technology serves humanity, and not the other way around,” he said.

Catholic and Coptic dialogue resumes after tensions over same-sex blessings

After nearly two years of tension, the Catholic Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church are moving back toward theological dialogue, ACI MENA, EWTN News’ Arabic language service, reported.

Following renewed contact between Pope Leo XIV and Pope Tawadros II, the Coptic Orthodox Holy Synod announced that dialogue with the Catholic Church would resume. The move comes after the Coptic Orthodox Church strongly rejected Vatican guidance on blessings for people in same-sex relationships.

The continuation of dialogue protects a decades-long ecumenical relationship at a time when Christians in the Middle East face severe, shared pressures.

Catholic agency in South Sudan issues Ebola alert

The Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CODEP) of the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio (CDTY) in South Sudan has issued an alert and advisory notice urging heightened preparedness against Ebola following reports of the outbreak in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), ACI Africa, a sister EWTN News service, reported Thursday.

In the May 26 advisory addressed to staff of the Wholeness and Wellness Health Service Department, St. Theresa Mission Hospital, health workers, community leaders, and the public, CODEP Director, Father Charles Mbikoyo warned that “the risk of cross-border transmission remains serious due to frequent population movement within the region.”

Mbikoyo said that “although no confirmed case has yet been reported in our area, the risk of cross-border transmission remains serious due to frequent population movement within the region. We therefore cannot remain passive or unprepared.”

Aleppo Catholics bid farewell to beloved archbishop

The Melkite Catholic Church in Aleppo celebrated the funeral of Archbishop Emeritus Jean Jeanbart, whose name became closely linked with rebuilding, education, and pastoral resilience in the city.

At his funeral on Tuesday, church leaders remembered him as a bishop who invested in schools, housing, youth formation, and the future of Christians in Aleppo, even during years of war, ACI MENA reported. His legacy was presented not only as a record of service, but as a practical answer to fear and displacement.

Belarusian Noble laureate meets Pope Leo XIV

Ales Bialiatski, a Catholic and Nobel laureate, met Pope Leo XIV on and delivered a letter to the pontiff raising concerns over human rights issues facing believers in Belarus.

“There are around a thousand political prisoners in prisons, including Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant priests. That is why I asked him to pray for the release of political prisoners in Belarus, to pray for the Church and for the priests who are imprisoned, as well as for democratic change in Belarus," Bialiatski said in a social media post on Wednesday.

Bialiatski has been detained multiple times, including in 2021 amid government crackdowns on nationwide protests following President Alexander Lukashenko’s contested election. He has previously said, “if I get to meet the pope, I’ll inform him of our Church’s needs.”

Chaldean patriarch meets Iraq’s new Prime Minister ahead of installation

Chaldean Patriarch-elect Paul III Nona received Iraq’s new prime minister in Baghdad just days before his installation, ACI MENA reported Tuesday.

The meeting between the newly elected leaders touched on Iraq’s diversity, the place of Christians in public life, and the need to face the country’s challenges through cooperation rather than division. The patriarch, Paul III Nona, was installed on Friday at St. Joseph Cathedral in central Baghdad.

Christians in northern India arrested on mass conversion charges

Authorities in Uttar Pradesh arrested three Christians on Thursday, alleging that the individuals organized “mass conversion events,” according to a UCA report on Friday.

The three men, Pastor Vivek Kumar, Mohit Chaudhary, and a man identified in the report as “Amit” were arrested after hardline Hindu activists stopped their vehicle while they were traveling with a group of about 30 people to the state capital of Lucknow for a prayer gathering.

The activists said in the First Information Report (FIR) that the men were “conducting religious conversion activities and were found carrying Bibles and other Christian literature,” according to UCA.

Lebanese choir brings Zahle’s sacred music to Rome

Lebanon’s WATAR Choir brought the sound of Zahle to Rome in a recital that blended prayer, memory, and Lebanese musical heritage, ACI MENA reported Thursday.

Performing in several languages, the choir offered a program rooted in church tradition while also carrying the emotional weight of Lebanon’s story abroad. The evening drew clergy, diplomats, and members of the Lebanese community, turning the concert into a moment of faith, culture, and belonging far from home.

The organizations will help students who complete a graduate-level Catholic Social Teaching Certificate Course through FCI continue their public policy studies by earning three credit hours toward CUA’s Master in Public Policy (MPP) program.

“This brings together the practical training offered by FCI and the rigorous professional training of the MPP program. That creates a pathway for policy professionals to gain the skills necessary to put Catholic social teaching into practice,” Richard Gallenstein, founding director of the master of public policy program, said in a press release.

The two organizations also will collaborate on events and programming. In addition to receiving course credits, all MPP students will have access to FCI’s upcoming formation and networking platform, Fratelli.

The collaboration comes at a time when “current political culture is marked by deep division that extends beyond Capitol Hill – even to our church pews,” said Jennifer Daniels, FCI president and co-founder.

“By forming public policy professionals in the principles of Catholic social teaching, they will reflect the light of the Gospel in civic life to serve the common good,” she said.

Benedictine College moves closer to launching its osteopathic medical school

Benedictine College has filed the application for candidate status with the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation after acquiring the necessary funds for submission. This pushed the institution one step closer to opening its proposed School of Osteopathic Medicine.

The institution may receive notification of status as early as September 2026, allowing for progression to the next steps. The expected status keeps the school on track to welcome its first class in 2028.

“This is the big moment that many people have been waiting for,” Benedictine College President Stephen D. Minnis said in a press release. “Our next task is to finish this proposed medical school that will imitate Christ the teacher and the healer."

The proposed Benedictine College School of Osteopathic Medicine plans to train 180 medical students per year, who will then serve in Catholic hospitals around the country, bringing medical care to those in need.

“This is a great moment when Benedictine College sees the need for rural health care and is stepping forward to educate physicians to fill the gap in delivering faithfully Catholic, high-quality medical care,” said Mike Kuckelman, chair of the board of Benedictine College.

Families open school in Sacramento following closure of Catholic school

Families in the Diocese of Sacramento established Alphonse Gallegos Academy (AGA) after the diocese announced the consolidation of three Catholic schools, leading to the closure of two campuses this summer.

The new school refers to itself as "a modern alternative to traditional private school" and “an independent, faith-based learning co-op."

It plans to serve Sacramento families through a full-day, teacher-guided academic environment rooted in faith, community, and strong educational foundations.

Families are actively enrolling for the 2026–2027 school year as the school prepares for its founding classes.

The schoolʼs launch began after the Diocese of Sacramento announced the merger of St. Charles Borromeo School, St. Patrick Academy, and St. Robert School, which will take effect in June 2026.

AGA will include faith-based education “inspired by Catholic tradition,” according to its website, but is not a diocesan school.

AGA is named in honor of Blessed Alphonse Gallegos, who “devoted his ministry to serving others, especially children, families, and those often overlooked by society.”

His “example of joyful service and compassionate leadership continues to inspire the mission and values of AGA,” the school reported.

CUA honored for demonstrating ‘significant contributions’ in space or aerospace research

The Universities Space Research Association (USRA) has welcomed The Catholic University of America (CUA) to its consortium.

CUA was granted membership on May 18 from USRA, a nonprofit corporation to advance space-related science, technology, and engineering. It operates scientific institutes and facilities other research and educational programs under federal funding.

To receive a USRA membership, institutions must have demonstrated “significant contributions in space or aerospace research by faculty,” and “a substantial commitment to a course of studies and dissertation research leading to a doctorate in one or more related fields.”

"We look forward to the contributions of The Catholic University of America in ongoing space science investigations, and collaborations with faculty and peers on space-related projects, and USRA programs that bridge academic research with real-world space exploration challenges,” Dr. Elsayed Talaat, president and CEO of USRA, said in a press release.

CUA’s designation marks the 124th USRA institution. The designation also follows the universityʼs achievement in 2025 of the R1 designation, granted to institutes with the highest levels of research activity.

CUA’s “academic prominence and background in physics, engineering, computer science” and its “passion for space science made it an ideal candidate for membership with USRA,” USRA reported.

During the commencement address in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Vance told over 900 graduating cadets that “the thing I worry about most with AI is how it will change warfare.”

Vance said that “decisions over life and death must be made by humans and not machines.” He warmed the graduates to fiercely guard their roles “as the decision-makers in warfare” rather than outsource to AI.

“You are the masters of warfare and both your minds but also your hearts are the opposite of artificial,” he said. “Use technology to make you better, but never submit to it.”

Vance echoed Pope Leo’s recently released encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, in which the pope said human beings must not allow AI to make decisions in war because those systems do not “have a moral conscience, since they do not judge good and evil, grasp the ultimate meaning of situations, or bear responsibility for consequences.”

Leo called for a “moral and social discernment that safeguards the primacy of the human person, in order to ensure that it will always be human intelligence, with its conscience and freedom, that guides technical innovations and responsibly determines their use and limits.”

In the encyclical, the pope said that AI’s power “remains entirely tied to data processing. So-called artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships and do not know from within what love, work, friendship or responsibility mean.”

A total of 931 graduates received their diplomas during the graduation ceremony and will enter the Air Force or Space Force, where they will serve for a minimum of five years.

Though Vance told the graduates his main worry with AI is how it will affect war, he also acknowledged other concerns, namely “how it will affect the labor market, how it will distribute resources, and how it has fundamentally changed how we interact with one another, our social lives.”

Leo also addressed these concerns in the encyclical, writing that while AI systems “often surpass human intelligence in speed and computational capacity, offering tangible benefits across many fields,” society must not forget “the primacy of human labor over any mindset focused solely on finance or productivity — with the consequent attention to the people and families most susceptible to exploitation.”

AI systems “may imitate language, behavior and analytical skills, or even simulate empathy and understanding,” the pope wrote, “but they do not understand what they produce, for they lack the affective, relational and spiritual perspective through which human beings grow in wisdom.”

Just War theory ‘outdated’

The vice president told the cadets that what “makes Americans unique … is that we wage war justly,” admonishing them they must do the same when they become “the ones who lead on the battlefield.”

Waging just wars "is an incredible burden to put on your shoulders. But it is one that we entrust to you with full confidence,” Vance said. “And if the warfare of the future is to live up to the moral values of our ancestors, decisions over life and death must be made by humans and not machines.”

“Youʼre the ones who ensure that our lethality in war, which is amazing and necessary … also coexists with our heart and with our conscience”, he said.

In his encyclical, however, Leo suggested the Church must update its “just war theory” in light of modern technological and political developments.

“Today, more than ever, without prejudice to the right to self defense in the strictest sense, it is important to reaffirm that the ‘just war’ theory, which has all too often been used to justify any kind of war, is now outdated," the pope said.

While acknowledging nations' continued right to legitimate self defense, the pope wrote that resorting to “force, violence and weapons reflects a relational poverty that always has disastrous consequences for civilian populations.”

“Humanity possesses far more effective and capable tools for promoting human life and resolving conflicts, such as dialogue, diplomacy and forgiveness,” he said.

Vance’s address to the Air Force cadets comes after Pope Leo’s recent comments implying the U.S. is not engaged in a just war in Iran, remarks that were followed by a verbal attack from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Vance weighed in on the matter several weeks ago, saying the pope should take more care when he speaks on theological issues such as just war.

“In the same way that it’s important for the vice president of the United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy, I think it’s very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology," he said.

In a statement issued May 26, the bishops said they reject conversion measures in all their forms. “Practices aimed at changing or suppressing sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression contradict the dignity of the person as the image of God and can cause considerable harm,” the conference said (translated from German).

The bishops defined conversion measures as targeted influence intended to make a person change or suppress his or her sexual orientation or “gender identity,” exercised through means such as pressure, blame, threats, isolation, devaluation, or religious fear.

Open-ended, respectful conversation and accompaniment, in which a person reflects on his or her situation and decides in freedom, does not fall under that definition, they said.

The conference reserved its sharpest language for religious settings. “In a religious context, such practices can become spiritual abuse when people are shamed, threatened, or manipulated in the name of God,” the bishops said. Church pastoral care must never exert pressure or shame people, they added, and conversion measures are incompatible with Catholic pastoral care.

Pastoral care is legitimate, the bishops said, “when it preserves the dignity and freedom of the person, protects personal integrity, and exercises no undue influence.”

The statement backs the aim of Motion 22.3889, now before the Swiss Parliament, which would prohibit and penalize the offering, facilitating, and advertising of conversion measures, the bishops said, “especially to protect minors and vulnerable persons.”

They set three conditions for any law: a clear definition that captures targeted “conversion” practices; a precise delineation so that open-ended pastoral care, counseling, and professional psychotherapy are not criminalized; and ready access for those affected to support, counseling, and channels for filing complaints.

A long-running Swiss debate

A federal ban has been debated in Switzerland for years. The National Council, the larger chamber of Parliament, adopted Motion 22.3889 on Dec. 12, 2022, instructing the government to create a criminal provision against conversion practices.

The Federal Council recommended rejection, with then-Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter arguing that a ban at the federal level was not feasible and that some acts could already be punishable under existing law.

The motion remains in committee in the Council of States, which has awaited a federal report on the scope of the practices. Several cantons have already enacted their own bans.

The bishops were not alone in weighing in. The Protestant Church in Switzerland, the countryʼs main Reformed body, issued its own statement the same day, also backing a legal ban.

The debate extends beyond Switzerland: In late April the European Parliament voted in favor of an EU-wide ban, and on May 13 the European Commission said it would recommend, without binding force, that member states outlaw such practices. Switzerland is not a member of the European Union.

Bishops say position is grounded in Catholic teaching

The bishops argued that they were grounding their position in the teaching of Pope Leo XIV, citing his inauguration homily of May 18, 2025, in which he said the Church is called “to offer Godʼs love to everyone, in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person.”

That pastoral emphasis sits within the wider framework of Catholic moral teaching. The Catechism of the Catholic Church holds that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered” and that “under no circumstances can they be approved” (No. 2357), while teaching that persons with homosexual inclinations are called to chastity and, through prayer and sacramental grace, “can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection” (No. 2359).

In its 1986 “Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons,” what was then the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith — now the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith — then led by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (the future Benedict XVI), wrote that pastors “should have the confidence that they are faithfully following the will of the Lord by encouraging the homosexual person to lead a chaste life and by affirming that personʼs God-given dignity and worth.”

The same letter taught that those who experience the inclination should not be led to believe that “the living out of this orientation in homosexual activity is a morally acceptable option,” adding: “It is not.”

A caution over religious freedom

The Swiss bishops' insistence on protecting pastoral care echoes a concern raised by their Austrian counterparts.

As CNA Deutsch, EWTN News‘ German-language news partner, has reported, the Institute for Marriage and the Family of the Austrian Bishops’ Conference warned in 2023, when Austria considered a similar ban, that an overly broad prohibition could sweep in serious counseling for people experiencing conflicted sexuality and could restrict religious freedom where it touched pastoral accompaniment by confessors, pastoral workers, or laypeople.

The divided political climate coincides with an unprecedented event in Spanish democracy: the indictment on charges of alleged corruption by a former prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, who held the office when Pope Benedict XVI visited the country 15 years ago.

Zapatero’s scheduled court appearance in connection with his alleged involvement in a scheme linked to the 2021 public bailout of the airline Plus Ultra, originally set for June 2, has been postponed by the judge to June 17–18.

The cardinal archbishop of Madrid, José Cobo, downplayed the impact the case will have on the popeʼs June 6–12 visit. “We are accustomed to operating amid many events in political life. That is simply part of life, and the headlines keep shifting,” he stated in an interview with EWTN News.

The stability of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchezʼs government is also being called into question by some of its coalition partners, such as the Basque Nationalist Party, which has labeled the decision not to call general elections before the end of the year “irresponsible.”

Polarization is not limited to the political sphere, however. According to the Atlas of Polarization by More in Common (2025), nearly 5 million Spaniards have broken off a personal relationship in the past year due to ideological differences, a figure equivalent to 14% of the population. Furthermore, three out of every five citizens say they avoid discussing politics to avoid creating conflict.

According to jurist Rafael Domingo Oslé, professor at the University of Navarra in Spain, this phenomenon reflects a grave deterioration of society at large. “Spain is experiencing a moment of profound social fragmentation, exacerbated by a political class incapable of lowering the tone,” he said in an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. In his view, the volume of personal breakups “is a symptom that we are losing the respect necessary to prevent a society from fragmenting.”

A shared language

In this context, the pope’s visit takes on a particular significance as the emergence of a voice capable of introducing a different language into the public debate.

“A papal visit does not, in and of itself, resolve a crisis of this nature. But it can accomplish something that politics, by its very logic, is no longer able to achieve: offering a common framework and a shared language,” Domingo explained.

The key, he added, lies in the pontiff’s unique position: “The pope arrives not as an arbiter of an ideological debate but as a shepherd reminding a weary society that every person, regardless of whom they vote for, possesses a dignity that precedes their opinions.”

This circumstance has prompted an unusual gesture in recent Spanish politics: a unanimous invitation to the pope extended by both the House and the Senate.

“In a country where parliamentary consensus is nearly impossible, all political forces have agreed to listen to the same voice. That, in itself, is already a healthy gesture,” Domingo emphasized.

Leo XIV will address a joint session of the Legislature on June 8, marking the first time a pontiff has spoken before both Spanish legislative chambers.

The motto of the trip, “Lift Up Your Eyes,” encapsulates the spirit of the visit, according to Domingo, who said he hopes Spaniards will "cease focusing solely on immediate conflict and look toward what truly matters.”

Concurrently, the encyclical Magnifica Humanitas has met with a remarkable reception in the Spanish political world.

In a message posted on X, Sánchez emphasized: “Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas challenges us all. AI is not neutral, and digital power could lead us to new atrocities if it is not directed toward the common good. The text is also a defense of peace, human dignity, and multilateralism. Spain is clear on this: In this moment of change, we cannot be resigned spectators. Everything that makes us human is at stake.”

Along the same lines, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares told the press, following his audience with the pope on May 4: “There is a great convergence between the Vatican’s positions and Spain’s humanist foreign policy at this time.”

Despite these points of convergence, tensions between the Church and the political realm remain.

One of the most visible flashpoints is the re-signification of the Valley of the Fallen (Cuelgamuros), a monument to the victims from both sides of the 1936–1939 Spanish Civil War comprising a basilica, a cemetery, and a guesthouse.

For 44 years, the mortal remains of dictator Francisco Franco lay buried there until their exhumation in 2019. Franco was the general who led the victorious right-wing Nationalist side against the leftist Republican side in the conflict.

The current government has led the drive to transform the site into a political memorial, while the Church has advocated for the preservation of the monumentʼs religious dimension.

Italian constitutional scholar Marco Olivetti warned during a press conference at LUMSA University in Rome that “historical memory has been used as a divisive element that shapes public perception of the Church.”

Added to this are legislative clashes such as the attempt to enshrine abortion rights in the Spanish Constitution or proposals to eliminate military chaplains, efforts in direct confrontation with Church doctrine.

However, criticism of the Church does not stem solely from the left. The bishops' defense of immigrants, including their support for the government’s plan to give legal status to undocumented immigrants, which would benefit nearly half a million people already residing in Spain, has also drawn reproaches from conservative quarters.

Santiago Abascal, the leader of the Vox party, which declares itself Catholic, lashed out at the secretary-general of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Francisco César García Magán: “This character never dares to criticize the mafioso government. Because the government provides him with his business through the invasion [the influx of illegal immigrants]. And that’s his priority: the business. And a profound contempt for the Spaniards who wish to defend their homeland.”

The risk of instrumentalizing the pope’s words

The papal visit is not without risks in a climate of high polarization, Domingo warns. “One party will highlight whatever suits its agenda while remaining silent on the rest; another will try to do the opposite. It’s inevitable.”

Nevertheless, he underscored the Holy See’s experience in “writing speeches that stand as a cohesive whole.”

“Taking the pope out of context is relatively easy; refuting him is much more difficult,” he said.

Cobo shared this concern regarding the pontiffʼs address before the joint session. “I believe this is a gesture that is also very characteristic of the Church, for it entails listening to the Christian tradition speaking about politics, but ‘Politics with a capital P’ [the noble art or statesmanship]. In a society where we are accustomed to talking about political parties, that moment is significant. The fear, indeed, is that we might attempt to make a discourse on ‘Politics with a capital P’ to fit into a partisan narrative, effectively pitting one against the other,” he noted in his interview with EWTN News.

Moreover, the context is exacerbated by the rise of identity-based discourses that conflate politics and faith.

Sociologist Rafael Ruiz Andrés, a professor at Complutense University in Madrid, warned in an interview with ACI Prensa that “there is a whole range of sectors, located primarily within the far-right spectrum, and specifically in Spain within the Vox party, that seek to portray the defense of Christian culture as a central tenet of their platforms.” However, he qualified this by noting that “it’s not necessarily a defense based on religion” but is rather linked to “identity-based culture, and in many instances, positioned in opposition to Islam.”

In his view, one of Pope Leo XIV’s concerns is precisely “that there be this sort of hijacking of Christianity by politics.” In line with this, reports published following a meeting of the executive committee of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference with the pope pointed to the Vatican’s unease regarding attempts to “instrumentalize the Church,” although the bishops subsequently clarified that the pontiff spoke in general terms about “the risks of subjecting faith to ideologies,” without referring to any specific group.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

“Respect for each person does not mean giving up the truth about marriage that the Church has been preaching from the beginning,” the Family Council of the Polish Bishops' Conference (KEP) said in a May 22 statement signed by its chairman, Archbishop Wiesław Śmigiel.

Warsaw and Wrocław have begun transcribing same-sex “marriage” certificates into Polandʼs civil registry after Prime Minister Donald Tusk pledged to implement a November 2025 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union requiring member states to recognize such unions contracted elsewhere in the bloc.

In their reaction, the bishops recall that Article 18 of the Polish Constitution states that “marriage, being a union of a man and a woman, as well as the family, motherhood, and parenthood, shall be placed under the protection and care of the Republic of Poland.”

This is not a formality, the bishops say, warning that “expansive interpretations of law may lead to the weakening of the constitutional understanding of marriage.” They contend that “such fundamental issues should not be resolved through interpretations that raise serious social and constitutional concerns,” pointing instead to a deeply rooted reality in “the Polish legal system, cultural tradition, and the Christian understanding of marriage and family, which for centuries have co-shaped European understanding of humanity.”

The episcopate stressed that the debate on marriage “should be conducted with responsibility, calm, and genuine concern for the common good.”

Meanwhile, Slovak lawmaker Michal Šabo “married” his male partner in Hainburg, Austria, just across the Slovak border, where same-sex marriage is legal. He wants Slovakia to recognize the marriage, but the countryʼs constitution has defined marriage as a union of a man and a woman since 2014, and a September 2025 amendment recognized only two sexes, male and female.

Šabo knows Slovakia cannot register the union and would eventually sue the country over it, former minister Milan Krajniak warned. The progressives “do not want tolerance” but want others “to have to accept their idea of the world,” the former minister claimed.

In April, after elections in Hungary, the EUʼs top court ruled that the countryʼs 2021 law limiting the promotion of LGBT and gender-related issues to minors, passed under outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, breached the EUʼs founding values.

Cahill, who chairs the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, welcomed the decision to admit 10,000 more Afrikaners as refugees but said in a statement that resettlement opportunities should be more broadly available.

Afrikaners are a white minority descendent of Dutch settlers. In February, the White House issued a statement that accused the South African government of racial discrimination against Afrikaners through land seizures permitted under the Expropriation Act 13 of 2024. The South African government denies racial discrimination.

On May 28, the administration updated the federal register to change the cap on Afrikaner refugees from 7,500 to 17,500, citing an “unforeseen emergency refugee situation.”

Cahill, in a May 28 statement, said the U.S. has a long-standing moral and historical commitment to offering refuge to people fleeing persecution but stressed that the U.S. refugee program should not be limited to “favoring one particular group.”

“For decades, the United States was known for offering this opportunity, not favoring one particular group but granting relief in accordance with our laws, our shared values, and the national interest,” he said. “Today, however, that is sadly not the case.”

He urged the government to restore broader refugee admissions and ensure that vulnerable people of all backgrounds have access to safety.

“We appreciate the administration’s acknowledgement that our country can continue to resettle refugees, and we renew our call for resettlement to be extended further to others in need, including those persecuted on the basis of their faith, the likes of whom have no access to refuge in our country at this time,” Cahill said.