The music group’s latest project, “Strange Land,” was released as a surprise drop just a couple of days into their summer tour, offering listeners a blend of deep theological reflection and traditional Americana music.

The surprise drop decision was driven largely by their demanding schedules. After writing and recording the tracks a year prior, the postproduction process had to fit around their primary duties as “hounds of the Lord.”

“The postproduction process just takes a while because we are all full-time preachers and teachers and chaplains and pastors,” said Dominican Father Justin Bolger, who spoke with the National Catholic Register, the sister news partner of EWTN News, along with his band brothers while on the road.

“After this kind of two-week stint that we do in the summer, the music takes a backseat to that ... So it kind of came out when it came out.”

Musically, “Strange Land” ranges from spiritual anthems like “In-A-My Soul” and “Gloria” to playfully titled tracks like “Garrigou” and “Good Old Elvis.”

Dominican Father Thomas Joseph White, one of the founding members of the band who also serves as rector at the Angelicum in Rome, noted that the variety reflects the band’s distinct personalities while remaining grounded in shared themes.

“There are some themes that show up, like pilgrimage and hope and struggle, that are in all the songs,” he explained. “It’s very consistent with what we’ve done on other albums, and it just comes out organically or naturally from our songwriting.”

The record marks a step forward in technical execution for the ensemble.

White described the album as representing a “slightly higher echelon of musical sophistication,” aided by tighter harmonies and complex arrangements. Unlike previous albums where the friars handled all engineering themselves in retreat houses, they hired a professional recording engineer for “Strange Land.”

“It frees up more of the band to just focus on the music and to collaborate and just have that be the focus,” Bolger added.

That spirit of collaboration is rooted deeply in their shared Dominican vocation. “We’ve known each other for years, and we’re all united in the Dominican order, so it just makes for a real atmosphere of ease,” said Dominican Father Jonah Teller, describing the mutual trust involved when bringing personal songs to the group.

As the band’s popularity grows, so does a devoted grassroots fan base. White observed a natural overlap between people interested in Catholic intellectual life — such as participants in the Thomistic Institute — and fans of their bluegrass music.

That enthusiasm has even spilled over into unofficial merchandise crafted by fans. At recent shows, custom fan art has begun to emerge, including T-shirts designed by a college student featuring torch-bearing dogs alongside the caption “I’m a dog for my Lord,” as well as custom “Good Tree” hats.

“You do see some kind of fan art emerge at these shows, which is charming,” Bolger noted.

White deadpanned that the order was engaged in a “very serious lawsuit” to confiscate the student’s assets and protect its intellectual property, prompting laughter from the rest of the band.

The group’s reach has extended all the way to the Vatican.

Recalling a past meeting with Pope Leo XIV, White shared that while most gifts were set aside, the pontiff asked to keep The Hillbilly Thomists’ CDs close by.

“So I don’t know if he listens to them, but I do know he made the point of keeping them,” White joked, adding: “It’s unclear at this point in time whether any of our lyrics will be quoted in forthcoming encyclicals, but there’s some speculation.”

When asked about playing traditional American folk and bluegrass music, especially as the nation celebrates 250 years of independence, singer and mandolin player Dominican Father Austin Litke pointed out the unique place the band occupies within the genre.

“The Christian part of American culture has not always been predominantly Catholic,” Litke noted.

“To be able to take up that form of music and infuse it with Catholic doctrine, Catholic culture, and certainly Thomistic culture ... we hope is part of the genius of the creativity that’s come out of our fraternal work.”

The 11-show tour concludes on Saturday, Aug. 8, fittingly on the feast of St. Dominic, with a performance alongside the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia at the Dominican Campus in Nashville, Tennessee.

As for how fans can support the new release, Bolger kept his message simple: “Let all the old people and the young people know that they can find it on Spotify.”

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

“What we’ve come to understand is that mental illness has really come to the forefront as a very big factor in those who are experiencing homelessness,” , told “EWTN News Nightly” on Aug. 7.

“Over the years itʼs been addiction, both alcohol and narcotic kind, and then just traumatic family events, death of a loved one, things like that,” he said. “But the largest number in recent years is really dealing with mental health.”

The Atlantic City Rescue Mission is one of the nationʼs oldest homeless outreach centers, providing shelter, meals, addiction recovery, job training, mental health services, and long-term support for individuals experiencing homelessness.

“Weʼre the largest shelter in southern new Jersey,” Brown said. “An interesting note, during COVID, we were the only shelter that actually remained open during the whole time of COVID. So we really have seen it all.”

The Vatican released a message July 30 urging the United Nations to include the homeless in efforts to create sustainable cities, stating that the “persistence of homelessness should trouble the conscience of the international community.”

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s annual Point-In-Time (PIT) report, 745,652 people were homeless in the U.S. in 2025, including 266,320 people living on the street on a single night in January 2025. While the total number of homeless people in the U.S. has increased by 27% since 2013, the number decreased by 3% from 2024 to 2025.

Ultimately, when addressing the underlying causes of homelessness, Brown emphasized the need to provide hope to those who arrive at the mission.

“When someone steps through the doorway into the mission, itʼs their worst day,” he said. “Our job is to serve them as weʼve been called to be servants to the poor and servants to the homeless, which is to really provide them with hope.”

“If we just feed and house and donʼt share the Gospel, weʼve really done an injustice to that individual. So thatʼs paramount,” Brown said.

“In Australia, the strain on social cohesion has been made painfully visible by a disturbing rise in antisemitism,” the statement said, citing the Bondi Beach shooting attack and other forms of targeting that have “left many to feel unsafe in places that should be secure, such as schools, synagogues, streets, and public events.”

“Such hatred is an affront to God,” the bishops said, calling on Catholics to live the Gospel by remaining close to Christ through prayer and the sacraments, encountering other cultures with openness, and “exercising restraint in what we say — especially online — rejecting gossip, slander, dehumanizing labels, and sharing unverified claims.” 

Canadian military bishop says prayer restrictions came after insufficient consultation

Bishop Scott McCaig of the Roman Catholic Military Ordinariate of Canada said members of the Interfaith Committee on Canadian Military Chaplaincy were not included in the drafting of new policies that restrict prayer at official ceremonies.

McCaig said the Department of National Defence drafted the policy without consulting members and that they were asked to assist only with “word-crafting” and “final touches,” according to a report from the Catholic Register on Aug. 6.

“There are a number of us who are very concerned about the lack of consultation,” the bishop said. Under the new policy, faith leaders are not allowed to include faith-specific language in spiritual reflections at public events, the report said.

Syrian authorities release Kurdish evangelical pastor

Syrian authorities have released the Rev. Nihad Hassan, pastor of the Kurdish Evangelical Church in Beirut, following two weeks in detention.

His attorney said Hassan’s vehicle and personal belongings were also returned, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported.

The pastor had traveled through official crossings to his hometown in the Afrin region before security personnel detained him the following day. A criminal investigation reportedly accused him of publishing online material offensive to a religion or its sacred rites and of provoking sectarian tensions. The Kurdish Lawyers Union welcomed his release while calling for the protection of civil liberties, due process, and the rule of law.

Franciscan youth in Egypt make a ‘Passage to Life’

Egypt’s 33rd Franciscan youth journey marked the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi’s death with 10 days of retreat, prayer, and service held July 25 through Aug. 3.

For the first time, participants began their spiritual exercises in the Siwa Oasis, where silence and reflection offered space to consider their vocations and relationship with God, ACI MENA reported Aug. 6. Returning to Cairo, they visited Melkite, Maronite, and Chaldean Catholic churches; learned about the Dominican mission of Christian-Muslim dialogue; and served in shelters, elder-care homes, and medical institutions.

Father Mokhles Masri, who leads the initiative, said the theme “Passage to Life” presented St. Francis’ death as an entry into eternal life, while the accompanying motto, “Enlighten the darkness of my heart,” invited participants to encounter God’s light amid struggles with faith, hope, and love.

Swiss defense minister apologizes for draft law change affecting clergy

Swiss Defense Minister Martin Pfister has issued an apology for removing exemptions from military service for clergy members without consulting church leaders.

Pfister said in a July 21 letter that the Federal Council’s decision to end exemptions for clergy was “an oversight” and that church leaders should “unquestionably” have been consulted prior to the change going into effect on June 1.

“We ask your forgiveness,” he wrote. The Federal Council had defended the reform by arguing that the exemption had become obsolete. It said the provision was originally intended to ensure civilians would continue receiving spiritual care during wars and national emergencies.

In its reasoning, the government stated that “the increasing secularization of society means that fewer and fewer people feel connected to the Church’s offerings,” concluding that pastoral ministry can no longer be regarded as “an activity essential to maintaining social life.”

Saidnaya churches in Syria cancel feast celebrations

Christian parish committees in Saidnaya, Syria, have canceled public celebrations for several upcoming feasts in protest of the continued detention of local residents, ACI MENA reported.

Representatives of the Melkite Greek Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Syriac Orthodox communities said churches would hold prayers indoors but suspend festivities for the Transfiguration, Our Lady, the Cross, and Hagia Sophia until detainees are released, abducted residents return, and security concerns are addressed. Their joint statement also cited prolonged scrutiny of Saidnaya residents at the Jdeidet Yabous border crossing, online threats, and a rise in thefts and kidnappings.

The decision follows the cancellation of the Christian village of Marmarita’s annual carnival for a second consecutive year amid concerns about public safety.

Indonesian Catholics mourn last foreign missionary priest

Catholics on the eastern Indonesian island of Lembata bid farewell to their last foreign missionary priest, Father Nicholas Strawn, an American, who died on Aug. 4, according to UCA News. 

“We remember him as a priest who was very close to the people, willing to visit remote areas and greet us warmly, while reminding us to study well,” Anselmus Deri, a Catholic and journalist from Lembata, said in the report.

Strawn, 92, had served parishes in the Diocese of Larantuka since 1963, helping to foster vocations to the priesthood and religious life, according to the report, which noted the diocese has about 50 priests and dozens of nuns.

Historical society to record interiors of more than 3,000 Irish churches

The Catholic Historical Society of Ireland is launching an initiative to digitally record the interiors of Catholic churches across Ireland.

The project will be carried out by Maynooth University and the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, according to a report from the Catholic Herald on Aug. 4. The team of researchers will compile an online database of photos and other historical records that will be freely accessible for research purposes, the report said.

British historian to walk ‘In the Footsteps of the Martyrs’ for charity

The walk “In the Footsteps of the Martyrs” will take place in London on Sept. 13 in support of Aid to the Church in Need, the charitable organization announced on Aug. 6.

Historian and journalist Joanna Bogle will lead the walk along the Thames River retracing the path of Catholic martyrs in the Reformation era in solidarity with those suffering persecution today.

“Our Catholic story is richer than just the Catholic martyrs of the Reformation era, but we’re focusing on that to link with the millions of people globally who are being persecuted today,” Bogle said. “On the way we will pray and unite ourselves with people who suffered in the past and we are praying for people who are suffering for their faith today.”

The executive orders issued Aug. 6 direct the government to stop allowing foreign visitors to enter the United States on short‑term visas for the purpose of giving birth and impose a narrower limit on birthright citizenship after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a broader attempt to end citizenship for children born to people in the country temporarily or unlawfully.

One executive order would end automatic birthright citizenship for the children of parents who are not U.S. citizens and engage in a commercial transaction or fraudulent activity to ensure the mother is inside U.S. territory to give birth. It also would end birthright citizenship for a child born of a parent considered an “alien enemy,” including members of terrorist organizations.

A second executive order titled “Ending Birth Tourism” authorizes federal departments to implement rules that prevent the entry of pregnant foreign women seeking to give birth in the United States and allow removal if they enter the country. The order refers to noncitizens entering the U.S. for the purpose of giving birth on American soil and efforts from a foreign national to coordinate such entries.

Under existing State Department guidance, consular officers can deny a B‑1/B‑2 visitor visa if they believe the applicant’s primary purpose is to give birth in the U.S. to obtain citizenship for the child.

Anna Gallagher, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), criticized the birthright citizenship executive order in a statement to EWTN News.

“The Supreme Court has already spoken: birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Constitution,” Gallagher said.

“This latest attempt by the Trump administration to circumvent settled law only creates needless fear and uncertainty for immigrant families,” she added. “Catholic social teaching calls us to uphold the dignity of every person and welcome the stranger — not seek new ways to exclude them.”

The USCCB has not taken a clear position on the executive orders yet, but it is monitoring how they are enforced and potential judicial proceedings.

“The USCCB supports the application of constitutional principles and the rule of law in a manner consistent with the God-given dignity of every human person,” USCCB spokesperson Chieko Noguchi told EWTN News.

“We’re reviewing the executive orders and will continue to monitor for administrative actions taken and possible judicial proceedings concerning their implementation,” she said.

In June, the Supreme Court ruled the 14th Amendment of the Constitution protects automatic birthright citizenship with few exceptions. The protection extends to children who are born to people who are in the country unlawfully.

Although the majority opinion did not directly address “birth tourism,” it did clearly say birthright citizenship applies to the children of parents who are “unlawfully or temporarily present” in the country.

The “birth tourism” concern appeared in the dissents authored by both Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas.

Alito, in his dissent, wrote that he believed the majority’s opinion protects birthright citizenship to “the children of ‘birth tourists,’” though saying he does not not agree with the ruling.

Thomas wrote in his dissent that people have taken advantage of birthright citizenship through “birth tourism” and said there are companies that “collect large fees from wealthy foreigners to facilitate their trips to give birth in the United States.”

However, in the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that words like “temporary” and “lawful” do not appear in the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment: “For a simple reason: they did not matter.”

Ashley Feasley, a legal expert for the Immigration Law and Policy Initiative at The Catholic University of America, told EWTN News she believes the executive orders are “an attempt to undermine” the Supreme Court.

“Although they will almost certainly face legal challenge, in the interim they will place a profound burden on some of the most vulnerable migrants, pregnant women, and on the officers who work diligently to defend our borders,” she said.

“Requiring Department of Homeland Security officials to interrogate women, many of whom have legal visas, about their pregnancies, even turning them away from ports of entry without clearly defined criteria for doing so, risks harming both woman and unborn child and diverts DHS officers' attention from the vital missions of border security and trade facilitation,” Feasley said.

Legal challenges have not yet been filed.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, first announced by Paxton’s office in May, Texas Children’s, the largest children’s hospital in the United States, said it would no longer provide “gender-transition” interventions, including puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, to minors, per Texas law.

“This historic settlement is a resounding defeat for the radical gender ideology that has preyed on Texas children under the guise of ‘care,’” Paxton said in a press release Aug. 5.

Per the executed agreement, Texas Children’s “will pay a total of $10 million to resolve these claims,” with $8,576,000 going to the state of Texas. It will also fund, for five years, a detransition clinic offering free restorative medical care to patients who previously underwent such procedures. The clinic must open by the end of October.

“Texas Children’s has agreed to pay millions back to Texas,” Paxton said. “The detransition clinic, which is the first of its kind, must open within months. Activist doctors who harmed children have been fired.”

The agreement also required the permanent termination and revocation of privileges for five physicians who performed these interventions.

The hospital is permanently barred from rehiring or credentialing the doctors and must implement new compliance measures, including bylaw changes that will automatically revoke privileges for any physician who violates Texas law prohibiting such procedures on children.

“This settlement sends an unmistakable message,” Paxton said. “If you put radical ideology over childrenʼs health, my office will go after you. We will continue to lead the way in stopping the far-left’s radical gender agenda.”

The settlement agreement resolves a yearslong investigation of the hospital by the DOJ and the state of Texas that began after whistleblower allegations surfaced claiming the hospital had continued performing sex-change procedures on minors in secret even after state lawmakers made such procedures illegal.

The Justice Department said in May that the Houston-based hospital had agreed to pay millions in civil penalties and damages for allegedly falsely billing Medicaid and other insurers for “pediatric sex-rejecting procedures.”

The federal government had alleged that the hospital violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the False Claims Act, and federal fraud and conspiracy laws.

Following the publication of a directive by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that transgender procedures on minors that could be considered “child abuse” under existing state law, Texas Children’s announced in 2022 that it would cease “sex-change” therapies and procedures, citing concerns that these practices were potentially illegal.

In 2023 Texas passed a law that explicitly banned puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender-transition surgeries for minors under 18.

Nevertheless, at least three doctors associated with Texas Children’s — Richard Roberts, David Paul, and Kristy Rialon — continued to perform “sex-rejecting” procedures on children throughout 2022 and 2023, according to whistleblower evidence published by Christopher Rufo, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

Rufo claimed that Rialon had been performing surgeries on minors ranging in age from 15 to as young as 1.

Calling the settlement “historic,” Paxton said in May that it “will ensure that the deranged child mutilators who hurt our kids are fired and held accountable.”

According to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the DOJ “will use every weapon at its disposal to end the destructive and discredited practice of so-called ‘gender-affirming care’ for children.”

The Department of Justice noted that Texas Children’s cooperated with the investigation and took proactive steps that contributed to the resolution. The claims resolved in the settlement remain allegations, with no determination of liability.

“I am grateful that Texas Children’s wants to be part of the solution and no longer the problem,” said Brett Shumate, assistant attorney general for the Civil Division.

Hicks returned to St. Patrickʼs Cathedral to serve as the principal celebrant at the profession of vows of the Sisters of Life on Aug. 6, the feast of the Transfiguration. The day also marked the six-month anniversary of his installation as archbishop of New York.

After only being able to celebrate Mass privately following surgery, “it was a great joy to be back at the main altar and to share that beautiful occasion with the Sisters of Life, their families, and friends,” Hicks wrote in a statement.

After returning from a pilgrimage to Rome in the beginning of July, Hicks was diagnosed with a detached retina in his left eye. He underwent surgery involving “a vitrectomy, two sutures to reattach the retina, and the insertion of a gas bubble,” to aid the healing process.

The surgery was successful, but the archbishop has been in a quiet recovery period since, he said.

“Thanks be to God, my eye and vision continue to heal from the surgery. I am deeply grateful for the excellent medical care I have received,” Hicks said. “Following doctors' orders, I have been taking things slowly during my recovery. As many of you know, that is not always easy for me.”

While the gas bubble is in his eye, Hicks shared he is unable to travel by airplane but will “gradually and carefully” add public Masses and other responsibilities to his schedule.

“I look forward to being with you more frequently in the weeks ahead,” he said.

“This period of recovery has also been a gift. It has provided more time than usual to sit quietly before the Lord in prayer. In the stillness, I have been reminded once again how much we all depend on Godʼs grace each day,” he wrote.

“During these weeks, I have also been praying for you and your intentions, and will continue to do so,” he said. “Please, also, continue to pray for me. Your prayers are the greatest gift you can offer me at this time, and I am deeply grateful for each one.”

“May the Lord Jesus, who healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, and brought hope to those in need, bless you with light, peace, and love,” he concluded.

Blanche, who is currently the acting attorney general nominated to replace former Attorney General Pam Bondi, made the commitment during a July 30 phone call with pro-life leaders, which was leaked online.

The nominee specifically said he intends to protect pro-life states from outside organizations that mail chemical abortion drugs into pro-life states where the drugs are illegal. Some states, such as New York and California, have enacted policies or laws to prevent prosecutions of abortionists who engage in that practice.

“If states have said we are … going to protect the unborn and we’re going to protect every life from the moment of conception, we’re putting practices and policies in place so that other states and other organizations can’t attack that and they can’t do things like they’re doing with mailing in mail-order drugs and things like that,” Blanche said on the call.

“It’s a process that takes a lot of time, and that’s why it’s been 19 months and we don’t have complete victory yet, but we will have victory and victory will be soon and it will be permanent and that’s the important thing [for] everybody [to] remember,” he said.

Blanche said this will be part of the administration’s efforts “to get permanent solutions so that the Dobbs decision becomes permanent in every single state.” The Dobbs decision reversed Roe v. Wade and allowed states to restrict abortion.

He said he is also working with agencies and the White House to reverse “the pro-abortion work” of former President Joe Biden’s administration.

To be elevated to the position officially, Blanche needs to be confirmed by a simple majority in the Senate.

Kansas voters reject referendum

Voters in Kansas overwhelmingly rejected a referendum that had support from pro-life leaders in the state, with 61.4% opposed and only 38.6% in support of it.

The referendum itself was not about abortion. Rather, it would have made the state’s Supreme Court justices democratically elected. In 2019, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the state constitution guarantees a right to abortion, and pro-life advocates saw the proposed change as an opportunity to combat that interpretation.

Kansans for Life Executive Director Peter Northcott told “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly” on July 30 that the Kansas Supreme Court “is one of the reasons why abortions have tripled over the last five years” and the amendment would have allowed “the opportunity to have a fair day in court.”

3 Planned Parenthood locations in Michigan shut down

Planned Parenthood of Michigan announced it will close three locations, citing a loss in federal funding as the cause. The locations closing are in Lansing, Livonia, and Warren.

“We have to reshape how we deliver care so Planned Parenthood of Michigan can continue serving patients for generations to come,” Paula Thornton Greear, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Michigan, said in a statement.

“That means concentrating our resources at regional access points and procedural sites and continuing to expand virtual care across Michigan,” she said.

Chemical abortions in Missouri

A Planned Parenthood affiliate in Springfield, Missouri, has begun to offer chemical abortions at its location.

Sam Lee, the executive director of Campaign Life Missouri and a Catholic deacon, called the development “very distressing news” in a statement.

“Because of the passage of the amendment in 2024 and the ruling by Judge [Jerri] Zhang last month, it’s clear that Planned Parenthood is greatly expanding their abortion activity, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they start doing abortions at even more clinics in Missouri,” he said.

Lee said this news shows that it is “essential” that the people of Missouri pass Amendment 3, which would repeal the 2024 referendum that established a state-level constitutional right to abortion.

The Harford County Sheriff’s Office said Deacon Kenneth Goedeke was arrested after arranging a meeting with what he believed was a 15-year-old boy.

Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler said in an official statement on Aug. 6 that the 45-year-old Goedeke had been communicating with an undercover detective rather than an underage boy. He was charged with two counts of soliciting a minor.

Gahler in the statement said he was “angry” and “disgusted” but added that he was “deeply thankful” to detectives for “intervening before a child was harmed.”

In a separate statement on Aug. 6, the Archdiocese of Baltimore confirmed Goedeke’s arrest and said it had “removed Goedeke’s faculties to function as a deacon and suspended him from ministry and employment” pending the results of the investigation.

The archdiocese said the charges were “not related to anyone at the parishes or schools” where Goedeke served. He was ordained as a deacon in 2023, the archdiocese said, and he passed a “thorough employment screening” including background checks and a fingerprint criminal history check.

In his statement, Gahler expressed “anger and resolve, and an unwavering commitment to the safety of our children.”

He urged parents to talk to their children not only about Goedeke’s arrest but “about the broader dangers posed by trusted adults who misuse their positions and by online predators who target our youth.”

Under Maryland law, Goedeke faces up to 30 years in prison and fines of up to $75,000.

Oklahoma established a charter school system in 1999, which provides public funds for privately run K–12 schools to which parents can send their children instead of a public school operated by a school district. The law only allows “nonsectarian” applicants, which prevents any participation from schools that have a religious identity.

In 2023, the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board (SCSB) approved an application from a proposed Catholic charter school — St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School — which led to a legal challenge from Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who opposed religious charter schools.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court sided against the school, finding that charter schools are public schools and that public schools must be secular. St. Isidore appealed this to the U.S. Supreme Court, but that resulted in a 4-4 deadlock with no majority opinion because Justice Amy Coney Barrett had a conflict of interest and recused herself.

Amid no clear guidance from the federal courts, a Jewish organization — National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation — filed an application to set up a charter school, which was denied. The group, represented by lawyers at the Becket Fund, filed a new lawsuit and asked a federal district court to require the SCSB to consider religious applicants.

“Oklahoma makes room in its charter program for schools of all shapes and sizes, from those focused on science and fine arts to language immersion and classical education,” Daniel Chen, a Becket attorney representing the Jewish foundation, said in a statement.

“The one it refuses to make room for is a faith-based school,” Chen added. “That is religious discrimination, plain and simple, and the state deserves a failing grade for it.”

Chen told EWTN News that Becket is asking the federal court to immediately allow National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation to set up a charter school, citing U.S. Supreme Court precedent that requires government programs to allow religious institutions the same access as secular institutions.

“They’re private actors,” he said. “And because they’re private actors, they cannot be excluded from participating in a public benefits program.”

Chen said the federal district court is not bound by the precedent of the Oklahoma Supreme Court because that is a state court, so it could rule in favor of the school. He also said if the case goes to the U.S. Supreme Court, he hopes Barrett can weigh in to break the 4-4 deadlock.

“We’re hoping that [for] our case, there wouldn’t have to be any recusals,” he said.

School board’s hands are tied

Although the charter school board denied the application from the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation, one of its lawyers at First Liberty Institute explained to EWTN News that its hands are tied by the statute and the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s decision.

“They’re following that order,” said Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel for First Liberty and the lawyer representing SCSB. “But [they] would be happy if the federal court didn’t [require the school board] to engage in that kind of discrimination.”

Sasser said the SCSB does not want to exclude an applicant “simply because it’s religious” and would rather evaluate applicants “just based on the merits.” But he said the order “makes them exclude religious schools just because they’re religious.”

“They want to maximize all of the various choices and opportunities for parents,” he added.

Sasser said he hopes the question goes to the U.S. Supreme Court again so “we’ll get an answer — a real answer.” He said it would provide more clarity for the school board, which “needs an answer.”

John Meiser, director of the Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic at the University of Notre Dame and the lawyer who represented St. Isidore at the Supreme Court, told EWTN News that the question ultimately comes down to whether charter schools are private or public institutions.

In Oklahoma, he said charter schools “are called public schools” and that label “introduces a confusion that I don’t think would be present if they chose any other word.”

He said Supreme Court precedent is clear that religious institutions must have equal access to government programs available to private institutions, but if a charter school is a “government school,” that “doesn’t apply” because the government “doesn’t and can’t run religious schools.”

In spite of the label, Meiser said charter schools in Oklahoma are “formed and designed and run by private groups” and people who work there “are private employees.” He said the structure “looks just like a government contract” and funding from the government “doesn’t turn all those private contractors into the government itself.”

“The dispute is really just about, ‘Well is a charter school in some way different?’” he said.

Although Meiser said he is not aware of any ongoing Catholic efforts to recreate a charter school, he said that a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation’s constitutional arguments for equal access “would presumably apply to all religious operators of schools, and so it would open the door to a Catholic charter school or other religiously based charter school.”

Attorney general stands firm

Drummond, who remains Oklahoma’s attorney general, is standing firm in opposing the creation of religious charter schools and is fighting against National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation’s efforts.

"This matter was resolved when the state Supreme Courtʼs ruling to prevent taxpayer funded religious charter schools was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court last year,” Leslie Berger, press secretary for the attorney general’s office, told EWTN News.

Drummond has also criticized the charter school board in public statements surrounding this legal battle in March, accusing the SCSB of “playing politics with the taxpayers' money” and alleged it “manipulated the record [about why National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation’s application was rejected] to make that lawsuit easier to lose — not win.”

"A state agency that deliberately hobbles its own legal position is not doing its job — it is betraying Oklahoma taxpayers,” he said. “I will not allow that.”

Drummond has garnered support from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) for opposing the creation of religious charter schools.

Attorneys for FFRF are representing seven Oklahomans who oppose their tax money being used to support religious charter schools.

“The federal court should rule according to constitutional principles,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said in a statement. “A religious public charter school has no place in our secular public education system.”

It’s unclear when the federal court will issue its ruling, but National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation has asked the judge to issue a preliminary injunction against the state so it can begin operating a school while the litigation plays out.

Speaking with “EWTN News Nightly” in an Aug. 5 interview with anchor Veronica Dudo, Colleen De Vos recounted the final months of her father’s life. He died through Canadaʼs medical assistance in dying (MAID) program in 2023 at age 85 after being diagnosed with terminal chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

“My father wasnʼt very forthcoming with his intentions, unfortunately,” De Vos said. “We did see some very fragile moments during the course of his illness.”

As his condition worsened, De Vos said her family worked to arrange hospice or in-home palliative care, believing those services would provide the compassionate support he needed.

“We were advocating very strongly for hospice care or at-home palliative program,” she said. “He seemed to agree with that.”

But the familyʼs efforts were unsuccessful.

“He was turned down on two occasions, deeming that his diagnosis wasnʼt enough to warrant hospice care,” De Vos said. “That was a surprise to us because we could see he was deteriorating very quickly.”

Instead, she said, a nurse practitioner overseeing his care at home spoke privately with her father about pursuing MAID as his symptoms worsened.

De Vos said the contrast between accessing hospice and obtaining assisted suicide was striking.

“The irony of the availability of MAID that could be arranged very quickly ...  sidelined us very much,” she said.

She recalled receiving “literally the cardboard box in the mail” containing the drugs and supplies needed for the procedure.

“Obtaining [hospice care] was very difficult,” she said. “And this was very simple.”

On the day her father was scheduled to die, De Vos said the family finally learned that a hospice bed had become available.

She called it “very heartbreaking” that he declined the hospice bed.

“I think he proceeded because of his loss of hope,” she said. “We absolutely were prepared to provide him with round-the-clock care.”

Religious freedom challenge in New York

De Vos' story comes as Catholic ministries in New York are challenging the stateʼs new assisted suicide law in federal court.

Speaking on Aug. 5 with “EWTN News Nightly,” Adele Keim, senior counsel at Becket Fund, said New Yorkʼs law differs significantly from those in states such as Oregon and Washington.

“New York has created an opt-out law,” Keim said. “The presumption is youʼre in unless you opt out.”

While some providers may decline to prescribe or administer the lethal drugs, Keim argued that Catholic ministries are still required to participate in other aspects of the process.

“You canʼt opt out of your obligations to counsel patients about assisted suicide and the ‘benefits’ it would provide,” she said. Nor can Catholic providers refuse to refer patients elsewhere if they object to assisted suicide on religious grounds, she said.

Keim said those requirements prompted the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne and other Catholic ministries to seek relief in federal court.

Hope, dignity, and the court’s decision

She also spoke with hope in a federal judgeʼs decision to temporarily block New York from enforcing the law against the Catholic plaintiffs while the case proceeds.

“The right to assisted suicide is not a fundamental right,” Keim said, noting that both the U.S. Supreme Court and New Yorkʼs highest court have ruled there is no constitutional right to assisted suicide. “But... there is a fundamental right to religious freedom.”

According to Keim, the injunction ensures the state cannot enforce the law against the Catholic ministries while their constitutional claims are considered.

The Catholic Church teaches that assisted suicide and euthanasia are gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person while encouraging compassionate palliative and hospice care that accompanies patients through natural death.

De Vos said she hopes lawmakers instead “think about the sacred gift of life that we are given by God,” adding: “I donʼt believe that itʼs up to the lawmakers... to give someone the autonomy to end their life.”

Eight Florida bishops, representing all six dioceses in the state, signed the Aug. 5 letter. They “urgently” asked Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, and Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Florida, “to bring about the passage of S. 4814.”

The legislation will “offer certainty to our Haitian brothers and sisters in the short-term, while also working toward broader legislative reforms that include opportunities for long-time residents of our communities to regularize their status,” they wrote.

The U.S. House of Representatives advanced the bill that would extend TPS for Haiti through 2029 in April, and the measure has stalled in the Senate.

The bishops further expressed “deep pastoral concern in response to the current state of our immigration system and the human realities involved.”

“The situation is especially daunting for hundreds of thousands of Haitians, Venezuelans, and others who have been relying on temporary protected status (TPS) to live and work lawfully in the United States,” they said.

“So many of these families are left without any legal status or a way to support themselves, all while returning to their country of origin remains unsafe, impractical, and unreasonable because of the ongoing conditions there.”

The letter follows Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski’s previous call for “compassionate” immigration protections for Haitians with TPS upon expiration of their automatic work‑permit extension on July 27.

Following the expiration, Wenski traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with lawmakers and advocated on behalf of the estimated 353,000 Haitian nationals who hold TPS status in the U.S.

Additional call for broader immigration reform

The bishops also called for broader immigration reform, citing Pope Leo XIV’s message on the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding.

The Holy Father said “those who have arrived seeking freedom, opportunity, and a place to belong have helped to shape the nation’s character.” He added: “To receive them into the nation with compassion and generosity is not only an act of charity but also a recognition of the dignity that belongs to every human person.”

“We do not ask you to commit yourselves to immigration reform as a rejection of the national interest but as a means of promoting it,” the bishops said.

“Beyond even the positive economic and social contributions made by immigrants, including those in our own state of Florida, the considerations warranting meaningful improvements to our immigration system are profoundly moral in nature,” they wrote.

“The Catholic Church remains committed to working with you and your colleagues in Congress to bring about bipartisan reforms of our immigration system. Please be assured of our prayers for you and your service to our nation in this 250th year of its independence,” they concluded.

The destructive episode at St. Rita Roman Catholic Church in the neighborhood of Long Island City in Queens occurred on Aug. 1 when a man jumped a fence around the courtyard of the parish and smashed a statue of the Virgin Mother with a hammer.

Photos of the attack showed the statue of Mary knocked off its pedestal and in pieces.

The Brooklyn Diocese said in a news release that the New York Police Department is investigating the incident as a hate crime. A diocesan spokesman told EWTN News that no arrests had yet been made in the case as of the morning of Aug. 6.

The diocese said the attack was the fourth of a series of incidents of vandalism at the parish since 2024. In previous attacks vandals smashed a stained-glass window and defaced statues of both St. Francis of Assisi and St. Jude.

Numerous other New York-area parishes have also been vandalized in recent years. Among them was an October 2024 incident at St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church in Brooklyn in which a man vandalized two statues, one of the Blessed Mother and one of St. Thérèse of Lisieux.

Similar incidents occurred at other churches in 2023, including at two parishes also located in Brooklyn. A February 2024 report by the Family Research Council found an uptick in hostility and vandalism against churches in the U.S., particularly Catholic parishes. 

In January, New York State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton called for increased security for churches after multiple crimes at Catholic parishes on Staten Island.

Church, the state senator said at the time, “is a place of peace and reflection; nobody should feel unsafe where they pray.”

Recent data from the Vienna-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe, meanwhile, showed that church arson attacks across Europe nearly doubled in 2024.

The fire attacks were part of a broader surge in anti-Christian hate crimes that included 274 personal assaults against Christians and the killing of a 76-year-old Spanish monk, according to the report.

As announced by the Holy See on Aug. 6, the pontiff also accepted the resignation of Archbishop Roberto Octavio González Nieves, OFM, who has led the archdiocese since 1999.

González concludes nearly 30 years of service

González concludes his service in Puerto Rico having led the archdiocese through challenging times, including Hurricane María in 2017 and the COVID-19 pandemic.

He was ordained a Franciscan priest in 1977 and served as auxiliary bishop of Boston before becoming bishop of Corpus Christi, Texas. Notably, he replaced Bishop René Gracida at Corpus Christi, who signed his name to a “filial correction” criticizing Pope Francis’ 2016 encyclical Amoris Laetitia.

Assigned to Puerto Rico by St. John Paul II, in 2023 González was honored with the Spirit of Francis Award by the Catholic Extension Society in recognition of his service in helping Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane María.

Bishop Ramos: A theologian with pastoral work

Ramos was born in Maunabo, Puerto Rico, on Dec. 15, 1952. After completing studies in biology and theology in Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Rome, he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Caguas in Puerto Rico in 1983.

After more than 20 years as a parish priest and professor, he was named bishop of Fajardo-Humacao in 2008. He was transferred to Caguas in 2017 and was subsequently nominated as president of the Puerto Rican Episcopal Conference.

Verret and her husband, Ryan, have for years run the marriage ministry Witness to Love; in 2024 Pope Francis named them as consultants to the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life.

Since 2012 the Verrets have used that ministry to reach both engaged and married couples in a variety of formats. And their work has occurred amid an encouraging shift in U.S. marriage culture: declining divorce rates for new marriages.

Data compiled by the Institute for Family Studies shows that couples who married in the 2010s have markedly lower divorce rates than couples who married in earlier decades.

That trend has been part of an overall decline in divorce since roughly the 1980s onward: While 30% of first marriages in the 1970s ended in divorce after 10 years, just 18% of first marriages from 2010–2012 did so, with the divorce rate for the rest of the latter decade remaining roughly similar so far.

Mary Rose Verret told EWTN News there’s “not a lot of data” to indicate reasons why that rate is trending downward. Yet some of the explanations, she said, could be that people “are taking marriage a little more seriously” and are entering into the institution more prepared.

She said that half of the work of their ministry involves engaged or recently married couples, while the other half is with couples who have been married longer and who serve as mentors of younger husbands and wives.

When looking to keep divorce rates low, Verret said, ministering to those who have been married for years is just as critical a component as preparing couples for marriage.

“The more we can do to strengthen existing marriages, that’s what going to lower the divorce rate and increase the number of happily married couples that are really being witnesses,” she said.

The beginning point, meanwhile, is close to home, she said: “Start with your own marriage. Start with investing in your church community. Invest in your diocese.”

“There’s nothing more important than preparing the next generation of couples and families,” she said.

The 50% divorce myth

A pop culture talking point for years has been the contention that half of all marriages will end in divorce. Yet the Institute for Family Studies argues that that statistic is outdated, having been popularized “during the heyday of hippies through the MTV era” amid massive shifts in the institution of marriage.

Decades of data, on the other hand, indicate that only first marriages that began in the 1970s had a more-than-50% likelihood of ending in divorce by their 50th anniversary. In the 1950s the rate hovered around 30%; in the 1960s it was slightly over 40%.

Other decades thus far have trended higher or lower, though none have topped 50%.

Grant Bailey, the deputy director of the Get Married Initiative at the Institute for Family Studies, told EWTN News that the decline of divorce rates from their peak in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s can be explained in part by “later marriages.”

“The divorce revolution of the 1960s and 1970s saw rising divorce rates across the board, with the highest divorce rates among couples who married in their early 20s,” he said. “Adults began marrying later, bringing lower divorce risks, and as a result we saw the aggregate divorce rate fall from the 1980s onward.”

Yet more recent data show divorce rates trending downward “regardless of what age couples marry.” Later marriages, he said, “no longer explain why divorce rates are falling.”

Peter and Sheila Oprysko, the North America secretariat ecclesial team of Worldwide Marriage Encounter, said declining divorce numbers are in part due to a greater “intentionality” about marriage among younger people.

“We know that people are getting married later in life,” Peter told EWTN News. “So when they make a decision, they’ve spent the time living with it, thinking it out, and coming out in the end with it. So there’s a more permanent decision there.”

Sheila said many young Catholic couples getting married today are “coming back to the Church” with a greater awareness of its implications.

“They’re understanding what our faith is, and they’re beginning to understand marriage is a sacrament,” she said.

Marriage Encounter advertises itself as a “marriage enrichment program.” Peter said the program itself is “not a crisis hotline” for marriages but one that helps husbands and wives develop a “lifelong communication framework” that actually prevents crises from arising in the first place.

He said that the statistics of successful marriage “don’t happen by accident.”

“They happen when couples invest in their relationship and learn the skills to communicate deeply,” he said. Marriage advocates in recent years are “seeing a greater intentionality in nourishing that commitment,” he said.

Sheila said the program teaches not just communication but prayer as a couple. “They also have a community (of married couples) afterward, too, so they realize they have even more support.”

Though divorce numbers are promising, overall marriage rates remain anemic in recent decades. A Heritage Foundation report in May found that over the past 50 years, marriage rates have declined from more than 90% of Americans having married by ages 30-35 in 1962 to 55% as of 2025.

In October, the Vatican will host a meeting of bishops focused on marriage and childbearing, among other issues. The Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life said discussions will include “walking with families in complex situations” such as “abandonment, separation, and divorce.”

Worldwide Marriage Encounter was recognized by the Vatican this year as an official international association of the faithful, Peter Oprysko told EWTN News. Peter and Sheila attended the reading of the decree in Rome and afterward had an audience with Pope Leo XIV.

At the event, both Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell and Pope Leo XIV “talked about the importance of marriage, for the family and for the Church,” Sheila said.

Though the decline in divorce is a welcome development for marriage advocates, Bailey said the “at least some of the decline in divorce rates is due to a more select population,” which he called “the admittedly dark side to an otherwise positive finding.”

“Fewer adults are getting married today, but couples who do marry appear to be more committed than those from recent decades,” he said. He said the public should be taught that “a successful marriage is not a coin toss and that it is possible to form a stable and happy family life in the present day.”

Ryan Verret argued that in his extensive writings on the topic, Pope John Paul II positioned marriage and family as a counterrevolution to destructive modernist tendencies.

“Maybe in some ways we’re in the counterrevolution now,” he said. “There definitely seems to be a substantial movement of young people coming back to faith and things that are transcendent.”

Sheila Oprysko said that married couples should treat their marriage like anything else that needs regular upkeep to stay healthy.

“You bring your car in for maintenance,” she said. “Priests go on for retreat once a year. You do something for yourself spiritually. You’ve got to do something for your marriage as well.”

Peter Oprysko argued that marriage advocates “can’t be complacent” even as divorce trends look promising. “We have to keep reaching out,” he said. “We’re trying to change the narrative.”

Mary Rose Verret, meanwhile, stressed that husbands and wives in happy, thriving unions need to serve as vital witnesses to a culture in need of healthy marriage.

“If you don’t see happy married couples around, you’re not going to want to get married,” she said.

“If we get it right, the marriage rate will go up and the divorce rate will go down,” she said.

“The Voting Rights Act of 1965 emerged from the sacrifices and perseverance of countless individuals who worked to secure the fundamental right to vote, particularly for communities of color that had long faced discrimination and exclusion,” said Bishop Daniel E. Garcia, chair of the USCCB Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation.

The USCCB issued the statement on Aug. 5, one day before the anniversary. The Voting Rights Act was enacted to combat Jim Crow laws that were designed to disenfranchise Black Americans.

“For decades, the U.S. bishops have advocated for the right of eligible citizens to participate fully in public life, including the protection of voting rights,” said Garcia, bishop of Austin, Texas. “We encourage all citizens to exercise their right to vote and urge policymakers to safeguard voting rights and promote fair representation for all.”

“Today is also an occasion to remember the hard-won history of voting rights in our country, and to recommit to the work which remains,” he added.

Garcia also said in his statement that “today, many communities of color worry about how recent developments will impact their fair representation and future participation in the democratic process.”

Recent developments could affect fair district maps, equal representation, and long‑term participation in elections. One development includes a 2013 Supreme Court decision, which ruled unconstitutional a provision of the Voting Rights Act that required certain states to obtain federal approval to change voting laws if that state had a history of disenfranchising voters.

Another development included a 2020 ruling that upheld Arizona election laws that required voters to cast ballots in their assigned precincts and banned people from submitting another person’s ballot (unless that person is a family or household member).

Rulings in 2023 and 2026 addressed racial gerrymandering, which is illegal under the Voting Rights Act. The 2023 ruling found a 2023 Alabama congressional district map to be illegal for not having any Black-majority districts and the 2026 ruling struck down Louisiana maps for relying too much on race in crafting districts.

Although racial gerrymandering is illegal, federal law does not prohibit partisan gerrymandering.

Garcia quoted Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, saying the bishops “affirm the value of democracy ‘insofar as it guarantees the effective participation of citizens’ as a reflection of their dignity.”

“May we continue to work together for the common good and for a society in which all citizens are able to participate fully and faithfully in our democracy,” Garcia said.

In the address, Coakley drew a clear distinction between authentic patriotism and distorted nationalism, emphasizing that true love of country must be rooted in virtue. “Patriotism is not first and foremost a political virtue; itʼs a religious one,” he said at the Aug. 4 dinner, which opened the 144th Knights’ convention at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center.

The archbishop of Oklahoma City, a fourth-degree member of the Knights of Columbus, said patriotism naturally “flows from the Fourth Commandment,” which commands honor toward one’s mother and one’s father. He said “it can rightly be understood as a form of familial love extended outward.”

Coakley cited St. Thomas Aquinas’ writings on piety from the “Summa Theologica,” in which the theologian explained the duties that one has for his or her nation, comparing them to the duties owed to one’s parents.

"The principles of our being and government are our parents and our country that have given us birth and nourishment,” Coakley quoted from the “Summa.” “Consequently, man is chiefly debtor to his parents and his country, after God. … Just as it belongs to religion to worship God, … so it belongs to piety in the second place to give honor to our parents and to our country.”

The archbishop explained that a person owes unique debts to family that he or she would not owe to a stranger “not because our family is objectively more valuable than other people, but because of the unique relationship we have with them.”

“So too, patriotism is a recognition of a similar debt of gratitude owed to our country — a debt of gratitude,” he said. “It is not a claim that our nation is superior to every other nation on earth. It is a claim that this nation, with all its imperfections, is the one through which God chose to give us life, language, liberty, and the countless ordinary gifts that make everything in our lives possible.”

This virtue, Coakley said, applies to “all people of every nation” and cited the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “The love and service of oneʼs country follow from the duty of gratitude and belong to the order of charity.”

Catholic patriotism

The archbishop said a proper Catholic understanding of patriotism is not “blind allegiance” or “some sort of tribal pride” but rather “gratitude,” which is “the same virtue that should animate a son toward the mother who raised him.”

“The Church has never asked us to love our country instead of loving God or to love it more than we love the truth,” Coakley added. “She has simply recognized that what most people already know: that we owe something real to the place that gave us life and that ignoring this debt is a form of ingratitude.”

He said most people “do not choose our country,” just as they do not choose their parents, but “our country has shaped so much of who we are” for better or for worse, and that “none of this is accidental” but instead “divine providence.”

“Our Heavenly Father positioned each of us at this moment in these circumstances and in this place where we find ourselves for a reason,” Coakley said. “Our love of country and our desire for it to be more just and more perfect is not merely sentiment. Itʼs a participation in Godʼs providential plan for our lives and the lives of those who will come after us.”

Patriotism vs. nationalism

“A love of country can go wrong and go wrong badly,” Coakley said. Patriotism “is not the same as nationalism,” Coakley said.

“Patriotism, as the Knights of Columbus have always understood it, is not a matter of uncritically affirming everything our country has done in its history, excusing its injustices, or treating its power or prestige as ends in themselves. Nationalism, by contrast, tends to elevate the nation to the status of an idol, something owed a total and unconditional loyalty that properly belongs only to God. It resents correction. It rejects the suggestion that the nation could ever be wrong.”

“Patriotism, by contrast, is more like the love of a good son for his mother,” Coakley said. “He honors her. He defends her. He is grateful to her. And precisely because he loves her, he also tells her the truth when she has strayed and he works to help her become the woman God intended her to be.”

He said a patriot can “grieve his countryʼs sins without ceasing to love his country,” which is “often the clearest sign that love is real.” He said patriotism and Christian conscience “were never meant to be enemies.”

“Love of country should impel us toward peace, toward justice for the poor and the vulnerable, and toward the kind of civic friendship that has always been harder to sustain than either indifference or tribalism, which today often takes the form of an extreme partisanship,” he said.

In practice, Coakley said this means voting with a properly formed conscience, being engaged civilly, and being there for one’s neighbors. For some, he said, it has meant “risking your lives in the uniform of your country.”

The archbishop warned that patriotism is sometimes neglected or treated with suspicion and encouraged Catholics to instill properly ordered patriotism into their children and grandchildren.

“We are called to love our country,” he said. “Honor your country as you honor your parents with gratitude, with loyalty, and with honesty that never mistakes flattery for love. Put God first and let your patriotism flow from that priority rather than compete with it.”

Patriotism is one of the four pillars of the Knights of Columbus, with the other three being charity, unity, and fraternity.

Results from the Missouri Secretary of State’s office on Aug. 5 showed 83% of voters rejecting Amendment 5, which if passed would have reduced and eventually eliminated Missouri’s income tax while allowing lawmakers to expand sales taxes.

Missouri’s four Catholic bishops in July had urged voters to consider “the moral principles that should guide us in pondering any tax proposal.” They had warned that the “most vulnerable” of the state’s residents could face undue burdens if sales taxes increased there.

The bishops had acknowledged that supporters of the income tax repeal had “a sincere desire to promote the long-term prosperity” of Missouri. But such aims should be “weighed alongside the potential effects on those who are most vulnerable,” they said.

The measure had been touted by state Republicans including Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Catholic, who said after the ruling’s defeat that the measure’s advocates “made the case that Missouri should think boldly about its future, challenge the status quo, and pursue policies that make our state more competitive.”

“I remain committed to working with the General Assembly in the years ahead on ways to continue cutting taxes, growing our state’s economy, and pursuing conservative policies that help Missouri families keep more of what they earn,” the governor said.

Advocates, meanwhile, hailed the defeat of the measure. The Washington, D.C.-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy described the measure in a blog post as “a blank check to raise or expand sales taxes,” one the group said would “enable enormous income tax cuts for the state’s wealthiest households.”

Voters who rejected the measure “set a positive example for states around the country, turning away from what would have been one of the most damaging tax policy changes in any state in recent years,” the group said.

The Catholic fraternal organizationʼs annual convention is being held Aug. 4–6 in Denver. It includes Masses, prayer services, an awards session recognizing member and council achievements, and a summary of the organizationʼs annual report.

The event, focused on the order’s principles of charity, unity, fraternity, and patriotism, opened with Mass celebrated by Archbishop James Golka of Denver along with dozens of bishops, hundreds of priests and deacons, and thousands of Knights and families.

In his homily, Golka shared his personal relationship with the Knights, as he is a fourth-degree Knight, his six brothers are Knights, and his late father was a Knight. In 2021, the year Golka was named bishop of Colorado Springs, his family was named Family of the Year by the Knights of Columbus Nebraska State Council.

“The Knights of Columbus exists to help our men grow in their faith, and they sure did for my dad,” Golka said.

“God wants the Knights of Columbus to help him care for his children. God wants the Knights of Columbus to help carry out Godʼs purposes. God wants the Knights of Columbus to live for God and Godʼs purposes, not ours,” he said.

“And when we do that, we care for the people of God,” he said.

“The Knights of Columbus empowers Catholic men to live their faith and serve their family, parish, community, and country,” he said.

“But I think if I step back and look at the Knights of Columbus, along with many other apostolates doing such good work, I think weʼre all part of a bigger mission. The Knights of Columbus exist because God wants his world back,” he said.

In order to further this mission, we must “listen to God” and “beg God for clarity,” Golka said.

“He already has a plan for the Knights of Columbus. He has a plan for your council. He has a plan for your marriage and your family. We need to be experts in listening to him so we know what his plan is,” he said.

“And brothers and sisters, whenever I look at Jesus to find out his plan, he is never anxious. He is never afraid. Heʼs excited to show us who he is,” Golka said.

Supreme Knight presents Knights’ annual report

During the convention, Knights and observers also gathered for Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly’s presentation of the Knights’ report on Aug. 4, which highlighted the Knights’ work aiding the most vulnerable, and its growing membership.

“Just as Christ came to serve, we devote our lives to serving others, especially the vulnerable,” Kelly said. “All of our charity reflects the love of God. It’s a charity that evangelizes.”

Kelly’s address included a comprehensive summary of the Knights of Columbus’ work over the past year, highlighting initiatives that have advanced the mission of the organizationʼs founder, Blessed Michael McGivney.

“We are not just another charitable organization. We are not a social club,” Kelly said. “We are a global brotherhood of Catholic leaders and we are united in Jesus Christ. He is the true source of our strength. And as we reflect on our service over the past year, we give all the glory to God.”

“Last year, our brother Knights devoted more than 48 million hours to volunteering,” Kelly said. “Thatʼs 130,000 hours of volunteer service every day. And around the world, we donated more than $200 million. And thatʼs a new record.”

Addressing some of the specific efforts, Kelly shared that “California Knights delivered more than 800 wheelchairs to the Philippines last year, and through this program, weʼre serving refugees fleeing war, soldiers injured in the line of duty, and children with nowhere else to turn.”

“We also serve children who need a warm jacket to get through the winter, and our Coats for Kids program is growing faster than ever. Last year, we gave more than 300,000 coats to children in need. Thatʼs the most ever,” he said.

He also detailed the Knights’ work aiding those affected by natural disasters, including the earthquakes in Venezuela in June and those in Jamaica.

Kelly discussed the growing number of men joining the Knights and how the organization is reaching new groups.

“More than 2.2 million men now count themselves as Knights of Columbus, and last year we welcomed more than 105,000 new members. Thatʼs the most growth weʼve had in more than a century since the surge that followed the first world war,” he said.

“Last year, 15% of new members who joined in the United States and Canada were Hispanic, and our commitment to Latino communities has never been stronger,” he said.

“Father McGivney also wanted to reach young men. The fastest-growing group of Knights is men under the age of 35. And we continue to reach young men during their college years. We now have more than 37,000 college Knights at 320 college councils,” he said.

Looking ahead, the Supreme Knight also shared new initiatives by the Knights intended to continue McGivney’s mission and further guide the fraternity’s members.

“For years, weʼve heard … from Knights about the need for a retreat for men,” Kelly said. The Knights responded by creating “Heart of the Gospel” in collaboration with ACTS XXIX.

“It gives councils everything they need to hold a retreat for the men of the parish,” Kelly said. “This retreat will help you grow in your faith so you can witness to others.”

To advance Knights’ faith, the Knights of Columbus also launched “Cor,” a small-group program “to give young men exactly what they are looking for — a community centered in Jesus Christ.”

He also announced a new video series, "Encountering the Poor,” which is in partnership with Denver-based Christ in the City, to better equip Knights to serve the homeless.

Supreme Knightʼs Awards Session

To acknowledge the works of the fraternity councils, more than 2,100 Knights and their families also gathered for the Supreme Knight’s Awards Session.

Presented by Kelly, the awards recognize individual Knights, councils, assemblies, and jurisdictions throughout the world who have carried out McGivney’s mission.

The annual Blessed Michael McGivney Medal went to Father Robert F. Higgins, who serves as the parochial vicar of St. John Neumann Parish in Columbia, South Carolina, the South Carolina Knights of Columbus district friar, and the South Carolina Knights of Columbus state chaplain — a role he has held for 19 years.

Following in the footsteps of McGivney, Higgins is the diocese’s first vicar of prisons, ministering in four federal prisons, 24 state prisons, and 48 county jails.

Other winners included a council in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, which won “Faith Program of the Year” for coordinating a pilgrimage to Poland for the more than 45 widows and orphans of Ukrainian men who died defending their country.

Kelly also awarded “Family Program of the Year” to a council in the Philippines, recognizing its work restoring the marriage of 18 couples, who were previously only civilly married or living together unwed. The council worked to bring the couples to full communion with the Church through the sacrament of matrimony.

Kelly honored a council in Carbonear and Labrador, Newfoundland, as the “Community Program of the Year” for aiding 50 firefighters and volunteers during the 2025 Kingston, Newfoundland, wildfire.

Judge Heather Cooper said in a July 28 decision in U.S. Bankruptcy Court that a committee of abuse victims could seek compensation from the reportedly “hundreds of millions of dollars” tied up in diocesan parishes and other assets.

Memorandum of Decision - 7/28/2026

The diocese had argued in part that opening those assets to legal proceedings would require “substantial” litigation “against over 64 defendants” linked to the diocese, though Cooper said that the federal bankruptcy process helps “streamline” such legal disputes.

Attorneys for the diocese also argued that the parishes in general “were built with funds raised by the parishioners” and that their current financial assets “are limited for the specific charitable, religious, and educational purposes” established by the parishes themselves.

The judge said that “more clarity” about the extent of diocesan property “could help the ongoing efforts” to reach a final settlement in the case. The Burlington Diocese filed for bankruptcy in 2024 amid large numbers of abuse lawsuits.

Including parishes directly in legal proceedings is relatively rare in diocesan bankruptcy cases. In most instances, dioceses pursue global settlements with abuse victims without directly involving parish assets.

When a diocese files for bankruptcy it will usually ask the court to halt any litigation against individual parishes, in part because a parish being sued for the actions of a diocesan priest could claim the diocese itself is liable and sue the diocese in turn.

Yet parishes will often be required to contribute to diocesan abuse settlements internally. In 2025, for instance, the Diocese of Buffalo, New York, said its parishes would be required to pay up to 80% of their “unrestricted cash” to help fund a $150 million settlement there.

Parishes in the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, meanwhile, were also required to contribute to a settlement trust after the diocese said in 2024 that it would pay $323 million to abuse survivors.

The second installment of the institute’s “America’s Demoralized Men” study, based on a nationally representative YouGov survey of 2,000 men ages 18 to 29, examined young men’s social lives, mental health, civic engagement, and online habits. Researchers said the findings revealed a generation that still desires marriage, fatherhood, and meaningful work but often struggles to achieve those goals.

“We really tried to allow young men to speak for themselves,” said Michael Toscano, co-author of the report and director of the Family First Technology Initiative at the Institute for Family Studies. “They still have these honorable aspirations to be responsible men, to marry, to have children, and to contribute to society.”

A generation searching for connection

Researchers described many respondents as “demoralized” — not because they have abandoned hope entirely, but because many feel powerless to reach the lives they desire.

The survey found that 61% of young men often feel they have little control over what happens to them, while 54% said they never seem to do enough to please others. More than 4 in 10 (43%) agreed with the statement “I am inclined to think that I am a failure.”

Loneliness also emerged as a defining theme.

While roughly 45% of respondents said they rarely or never feel lonely, 55% reported feeling lonely at least some of the time. Similarly, 54% said they feel isolated at least occasionally, and nearly half (48%) said they lack a sense of community. About 1 in 5 respondents said they seldom or never feel loved or wanted by others.

Toscano cautioned against attributing the crisis to a single cause.

“We strive in the report not to think in a monocausal way,” he said. “The loneliness crisis is something that is visiting everyone.”

Still, he argued that the breakdown of family life has played a significant role.

“An honest assessment of where young men are today would have to begin with the breakdown of the family,” Toscano said, noting that many respondents still desire marriage and fatherhood but increasingly feel those milestones are beyond reach.

Fewer friendships, less community

The survey also found many young men have few close relationships.

About 4 in 10 respondents reported having two or fewer close friends, including 34% who have just one or two close friends and 9% who said they have none at all.

Researchers found that strong institutional ties often made a difference. Young men connected to marriage, education, or religious communities were more likely to report having three or more close friends. Participation in all-male organizations during adolescence, such as sports teams or the Boy Scouts, was also associated with stronger friendships later in life.

Overall civic participation remained relatively low. Although 57% participate in at least one community activity, only 31% volunteer regularly, while fewer than one-third belong to a faith-based group, social club, or civic organization. Just one-quarter attend religious services at least monthly.

Financial worries

Economic concerns also weighed heavily on respondents.

About half agreed with the statement “No matter how hard I work, people like me will never achieve the American dream,” while nearly three-quarters (72%) said personal connections matter more than ability or hard work when it comes to getting ahead.

Toscano said rising living costs were one of the clearest explanations offered by respondents.

“The main expression of doubt in the American dream was the sense that the money they earned was simply not enough to keep up with the rising costs of life,” he said.

Despite those concerns, optimism has not disappeared entirely. An overwhelming 84% of respondents said having ambitious plans for the future describes them at least somewhat well.

Digital habits often deepen distress

The report also points to widespread use of electronic media, with researchers warning that many young men appear to be using technology as a substitute for genuine relationships.

Nearly half (44%) play video games many times each day, while another 42% play at least several times a week.

Pornography use was also common. About 42% reported viewing pornography daily or several times each week, including 24% of regular religious service attendees.

Online gambling likewise proved widespread, with 23% gambling daily and another 12% doing so several times a week.

Toscano said these behaviors appear to function as what the report calls “maladaptive coping.”

“If the world around you is increasingly closing off your opportunity to be a successful man, what you might do is look for it in a synthetic environment,” he said.

Researchers found strong links between frequent online activity and emotional distress. Among men who watch pornography many times a day, 43% reported loneliness, 36% depression, and 29% anxiety. Two-thirds of daily online gamblers reported emotional distress, while 66% of daily gamblers and 63% of daily pornography users described themselves as failures, compared with 42% of young men overall.

Toscano emphasized that the survey cannot establish cause and effect but suggests a troubling cycle in which loneliness and unhealthy digital habits reinforce one another.

A call for the Church

Although church attendance was associated with stronger social connections, Toscano noted that loneliness remains common even among churchgoers.

“The lonely might be sitting in the pew right next to them,” he said.

He encouraged pastors and parish leaders to listen carefully to young men’s experiences, affirm their aspirations, and create opportunities for authentic friendships and mentorship between younger and older men.

“There still remains a desire for them to get married and have kids and have good jobs,” Toscano said. “We need to encourage those desires.”

He also said the Church should respond to the broader loneliness crisis affecting every generation. Referencing Pope Leo’s call for “digital sobriety,” Toscano said Catholics of all ages — not only young people — must intentionally rebuild face-to-face relationships.

“It’s time for everyone to be called out of their shell,” he said.

Despite significant obstacles, he said, many young men continue to desire family, responsibility, meaningful work, and lives of service.

“Men have value as men,” Toscano said. “It’s important to allow them to contribute to society as men. That’s not something we should be afraid of, but something we should encourage.”

Catholic leaders in social teaching, environmental stewardship, and advocacy said the Church is not opposed to artificial intelligence itself.

“The Church is not anti-tech. It is not, in a sense, anti-AI,” Scott Hurd, vice president of leadership development and Catholic identity at Catholic Charities USA, told EWTN News. “But it is very concerned about the ethics involved in the design of these tools and the data centers.”

Why data centers matter

Data centers house the computer servers that process and store information behind artificial intelligence systems. Their rapid growth, however, has also prompted concerns over electricity use, water consumption, electronic waste, and impacts on nearby communities.

Hurd said the issues can be understood in simple terms.

“They require immense amounts of energy,” he said, noting that facilities also consume large quantities of water to keep servers cool. In some areas, he added, residents have reported concerns over water quality, while aging computer equipment contributes to growing amounts of electronic waste.

Hurd also pointed to local concerns including electrical grid demands and noise from cooling systems.

“Water, energy use, the type of energy being used, and e-waste are big problems,” he said. “Then locally for people who live there, the noise pollution can really impact a community and the well-being of the people who live there.”

Kayla Jacobs, director of advocacy and youth mobilization for the Catholic Climate Covenant, said her organization regularly hears from Catholics living in communities where data centers are planned or under construction.

“We’ve been hearing a lot about the huge strain on resources,” Jacobs said in an interview with EWTN News. “That leads to higher energy and water bills for common people because, at the moment, those companies putting in these data centers aren’t required to pay for that.”

She added that residents also express concerns about air quality, construction impacts, light pollution, and the overall quality of life near the facilities.

Industry response

The Data Center Coalition, which represents many of the industryʼs largest operators, disputed claims that data centers are driving higher utility costs or failing to pay for the resources they consume.

“Data centers are committed to being responsible and responsive neighbors,” Dan Diorio, the coalitionʼs executive vice president for state policy and government affairs, said in a statement to EWTN News.

Data centers provide the infrastructure behind not only artificial intelligence but also online banking, hospitals, schools, manufacturing, telehealth, air travel, and other essential digital services. The group said the facilities are increasingly critical to the U.S. economy and modern daily life.

Diorio said research from states including Virginia and Arizona indicates the industry pays its full energy costs, while studies have found data centers have not been a primary driver of electricity rate increases nationally.

He also said many facilities use relatively modest amounts of water compared with other industries. In Virginia — the world’s largest data center market — 83% of data centers use the same or less water than an average commercial office building.

Diorio pledged continued collaboration with local communities and policymakers on responsible resource use.

The coalitionʼs assessment differs from concerns raised by Catholic environmental advocates, who argue that communities are already experiencing higher resource demands and other local impacts.

A question of Catholic social teaching

While environmental concerns surrounding AI infrastructure often enter political debate, environmental advocates said Catholics should view the issue primarily through the lens of Catholic social teaching.

“It is a doctrinal matter to be considered,” Hurd said, noting that concern for the environment is closely tied to concern for local communities through the Church’s understanding of integral ecology.

Molly Burhans, an environmental researcher and the Ignazio Danti, OP, fellow in geography at The Catholic University of Americaʼs Leonine Institute for AI and Emerging Technologies, said Catholics should resist treating the issue as a choice between embracing or rejecting technology.

“We need to distinguish where they make sense and how they can make sense,” Burhans told EWTN News. “We can’t really go backwards in time now. We can’t get rid of this technology. How can we work with it and align it with human flourishing and the common good?”

Burhans said Catholics should evaluate AI development according to the principles of human dignity, the common good, and stewardship of creation.

Burhans also argued that environmental stewardship itself is a pro-life concern.

“Pollution almost always disproportionately falls on the vulnerable,” she said, including unborn children, who are especially susceptible to environmental toxins during development.

She described creation not as “a warehouse” for human consumption but as “a gift entrusted to us for stewardship.”

What can Catholics do?

Rather than seeing the issue solely as one for lawmakers or technology companies, Catholics have a role to play, advocates said.

Hurd encouraged Catholics to become familiar with the Church’s growing body of teaching on artificial intelligence, including the Vatican document Antiqua et Nova, Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ guidance on AI.

He also suggested that Catholics examine their own use of AI.

Pope Leo’s call for “digital sobriety,” Hurd said, challenges Catholics to use artificial intelligence intentionally rather than frivolously, recognizing that every AI interaction relies on physical infrastructure with real environmental costs.

“I think an ethical case can be made to use this with intention,” he said, “understanding that there’s a real environmental impact.”

Jacobs likewise encouraged Catholics to think critically about their personal use of AI, not only for environmental reasons but also for the social impact it can have on humanity.

“People are using it without even thinking about it,” she said. “But we really need to reduce our use of AI, not just for the environmental impacts, but also we need to consider the effect it has on human interaction,” Jacobs said.

She said local governments often hold public hearings before approving projects, allowing residents to ask questions about environmental impacts, water use, and community planning.

Balancing innovation with responsibility

The advocates stressed that artificial intelligence itself offers significant opportunities, from medical advances to improved education and scientific research. The challenge, they said, is ensuring that technological progress does not come at the expense of people or the environment.

“We need an equally ambitious commitment to renewable energy, responsible water stewardship, transparency, and just economic participation,” Burhans said.

For Catholics, the argument ultimately extends beyond technology.

“Caring for our common home is not just an act of environmental care,” Burhans said. “It’s also an act of gratitude.”

As artificial intelligence becomes an increasingly permanent part of daily life, Catholic leaders say the challenge is ensuring its development serves the common good while respecting both human dignity and Godʼs creation.

“I express deep gratitude for your orders, continued generosity to the less fortunate, and trust that your endeavors will continue to bear fruit for many years to come,” the Holy Father said in a video message.

The message was shared with Knights and observers at the Knights of Columbus’ 144th Supreme Convention held this year in Denver.

The Catholic fraternal organization’s annual convention, Aug. 4–6, includes Masses, prayer services, an awards session celebrating member and council achievements, and the organizationʼs annual report.

“As you gather for these days of discussion, fraternity, and prayer under the theme of ‘In the One We Are One,’ I would like to reflect briefly with you on the importance of promoting the virtues of unity and charity, two foundational principles of your order,” the Holy Father said.

Recalling Jesus’ prayer at the Last Supper that his apostles “all be one,” the Holy Father urged unity.

“Our Lord asked that this gift of unity be given not only to them but also to those who would believe in him through their word throughout the centuries. However, the preservation of unity is often not easy and it cannot be taken for granted. It must be actively cultivated through honest and humble dialogue.”

The pope encouraged the Knights “to continue bearing witness to that concord which Jesus so ardently desires,” within families, parishes, and wider communities.

“In an age all too often marked by division and pointed rhetoric, thereʼs a great need for prophets of harmony who seek to build bridges and strive to reconcile opposing positions wherever possible.”

Reflecting on the second virtue, “works of charity,” Pope Leo said it “can often be a way to promote unity.”

Charity “becomes not only a response to human suffering but also a powerful means of fostering fraternity and strengthening the communion that is at the heart of the Christian life,” Pope Leo said.

“Your own history bears eloquent testimony to this truth,” he said.

The Holy Father highlighted the Knights’ continued mission started by its “noble founder,” Blessed Michael McGivney.

The “Knights of Columbus have worked together for well over a century to show Christʼs love to the unborn, expectant mothers, persecuted Christians, victims of war and human trafficking, the poor and vulnerable, and those who live in the margins of society,” he said.

“Through the initiatives undertaken by your local councils, as well as at the national and international levels, countless people have benefited from your kindness.”

Pope Leo concluded offering “cordial, good wishes for the work of the Supreme Convention” and entrusting the gathering to the intercession of Mary, mother of the Church.

Archbishop Lori also issues call for charity

Ahead of the convention, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore celebrated Mass on Aug. 1 at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver.

The archbishop also called on the Knights to draw from McGivney’s witness to charity.

McGivney “made charity the first principle of his ministry as a parish priest and charity the first principle of the Knights of Columbus,” Lori said in his homily.

“For he knew and ardently believed that in all things the love of Christ conquers. It is this vision, this charism, that he breathed into the Knights of Columbus and it is reflected today in the immensity of the order’s charity,” he said.

“Today, Father McGivney’s holiness is reflected in the Christ-like charity of the Knights of Columbus, rendered on a scale that Father McGivney could not have imagined,” he said. McGivney “set in motion a fraternal organization rooted in the charity of Christ, a fellowship that would reflect the utter generosity of God’s love,” Lori said.

Both prelates said Americans should understand why people flee their home countries in search of a better life while acknowledging the nation’s right to enforce its immigration laws. The current situation, however, is unjust, immoral, and must be fixed, both men emphasized.

On Aug. 3, the centennial anniversary of the elevation of San Antonio to a metropolitan archdiocese, Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller released a pastoral letter expressing the Church’s solidarity with migrants and calling for the “careful and well-formed moral discernment of every Catholic conscience” in response.

Meanwhile, on Aug. 1, Bishop Robert Gruss of the Diocese of Saginaw, Michigan, issued a statement in which he reminded the faithful of the “inherent human dignity” of every person.

Gruss said the current “challenge” facing the United States, which has “consistently received immigrants, refugees, exiles, and the persecuted from other lands” throughout its history, is “how to deal with a situation when one administration has allowed individuals and families to migrate … freely and the next administration wants their removal.”

The bishop wrote that the removal of “immigrants who have caused harm to society by participating in criminal activity” is understandable, but asked if it is “fair to remove those who are and have been contributing to society in a positive way, oftentimes for many years?”

He said that a “just and civil society” would not allow the deportation or detention of people “without cause” or “meaningful legal representation, without access to family or a supportive community, and without basic human needs being met.”

He urged the faithful to “push for public policy changes that secure civil rights for all immigrants” and “humane border enforcement policies” that simultaneously uphold national security while protecting the “safety and dignity” of those who come to the country to work.

‘We will come to you’

García-Siller promulgated his letter, titled “We Will Come to You: United in Solidarity with Our Brothers and Sisters in Migration,” at a Mass at San Fernando Cathedral in downtown San Antonio.

“We are living in a world of war,” the letter began. “Across continents, people are dying every day. Across borders, survivors are forced to migrate. They do not leave by choice, but because of violence, hunger, fear, and oppression.”

In the 56-page letter, composed of five sections and concluding with a prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe, García-Siller said he prayed “for a long time” before writing, saying he wanted to write from “the right place, one of accompaniment and solidarity.”

He said the letter addresses an “unprecedented” time in the country, writing that “a convergence of structural and legal tactics … calls for the careful and well-formed moral discernment of every Catholic conscience.”

“I write to comfort the afflicted, to ignite the comfortable, and to confront injustice with the full conviction of the Gospel.”

He went on to cite his personal experience of “years walking alongside” migrants, many of whom are living in so much fear they rarely leave their homes, as well as his own story as a migrant himself.

The archbishop wrote that he has witnessed a “fear that has taken root” across the archdiocese, saying he and other pastors “pray with parents who embrace their children each morning unsure if they will be home at night,” and describing parents who avoid taking children to the doctor or to go to work “because each mile carries risk.”

“The community bears this cross, and the Church cannot be silent,” he wrote, describing declining Mass attendance and the worsening physical health of those who suffer fear related to immigration.

“The people have not lost their faith,” he wrote. “Many, however, have lost their sense of safety and belonging.”

The Church must “defend the dignity of those caught in the machinery of removal,” he emphasized.

García-Siller described visiting three detention centers in the area, including the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, the largest family detention center in the nation, saying he’s witnessed "firsthand, violations of human dignity within their walls.”

He went on to quote Bishop Steven Biegler of the Diocese of Cheyenne, Wyoming, who wrote in a pastoral letter in April that “‘the current campaign of mass detention and deportations is immoral.’”

García-Siller accused private corporations of profiting from the processing and movement of large numbers of detained immigrants from one site to another.

He also cited an investigation by U.S. Sen. John Ossoff, D-Georgia, which documented more than 1,000 “credible reports of human rights abuses since January 2025, including “medical neglect, denial of food and water, overcrowding, sleep deprivation, and the separation of breastfeeding mothers from their infants,” as well as similar abuses in privately-run sites.

García-Siller called the public narrative that only criminals are being removed “misleading,” writing that “73% of those in immigration detention have no criminal conviction, and only 5% have been convicted of a violent crime.”

He described how pastors, deacons, extraordinary ministers, and trained catechists are developing “active ministries of accompaniment” in the archdiocese, visiting migrants in their homes, bringing the sacraments along with medicines and other supplies, as well as in detention centers.

“If your family has been detained, tell us. We will go to them. The Body of Christ does not abandon its members in chains,” García-Siller declared.

The archbishop went on to lament that existing legal pathways take years to navigate, years that families cannot afford to wait as they seek safety and stability. He called for more accessible legal pathways, saying migrants would take those pathways if they were available. Migrants’ “contribution to the common good of our nation” demands such, he wrote.

At the end of the letter, García-Siller entrusted the situation to Our Lady of Guadalupe, who herself crossed borders of culture and race and walked the road of exile with the Holy Family: “Long before she was Queen of Mexico … she was a mother who crossed a border. She knows this road; she walked it with her own feet.”

Data from the Washington state government as of Aug. 4 showed more than a dozen “large fires” throughout the state with more than 13,500 acres burned since July 31. The state has seen more than half a million acres burn to date in 2026.

Several large fires were burning mostly north and west of Spokane, which is located in the eastern part of the state just several miles from the Idaho border. The blazes have consumed hundreds of structures and forced thousands of local residents to evacuate.

In an Aug. 3 letter to the diocese, Daly — who has served as the bishop there since 2015 — urged locals to “join me in praying for our neighbors who have been forced to evacuate, those who have lost homes or property, and all whose lives have been disrupted by these fires.”

The bishop also urged prayers for emergency responders including firefighters, doctors, and volunteers, whose “courage and selfless service” he described as “a profound witness to the goodness that shines even in moments of great uncertainty.”

Full scale of crisis ‘yet to unfold,’ bishop says

Speaking to EWTN News on Aug. 4, Daly said he and Diocese of Spokane Vicar General Father Darrin Connall toured parts of the devastated region with a police escort on Aug. 3.

“We’re used to fires, but mostly wildfires — it’s usually the countryside and the forest,” the bishop said. But in the latest conflagration, “blocks and blocks” of residential homes have been completely leveled.

“The reality is that home after home after home — they’re completely gone,” he said.

Local Church leaders, he said, are now confronted with the major task of not just attending to the immediate emergency needs of displaced residents but helping them figure out what their lives will look like weeks or months from now.

“Where are the people going to live? What about schools starting in a few weeks?” he said. “What’s it like to have Thanksgiving with no place to go? Clearly it’s going to be a couple years before homes are rebuilt.”

“There’s a lot still that will be a source of stress and difficulty for people. We’re beginning to see how to respond to the immediate needs and how we’re going to respond to the struggle that is yet to unfold.”

The bishop said no lives have yet been reported lost and that the two Catholic parishes in the affected region have been spared.

‘We’re not equipped to fight these fires’

Shane Stocking, the fire chief of South Pend Oreille Fire and Rescue near Spokane, said in an interview with EWTN News on Aug. 4 that the region has suffered “apocalyptic devastation.”

The fires burning in the area, he said, are “wind-driven” and unpredictable.

“We’re talking about the type of fire that will spare one home and take two, spare another home and take three,” he said. “It’s picking and choosing. It’s not casually running up to houses. It’s ember- and wind-driven. It’s spreading half a mile or more ahead of itself and picking homes to ignite.”

Stocking said that as of Aug. 4 firefighters estimate that they have stopped the “forward progression” of the several large fires in the area. “It doesn’t mean they’re out or contained,” he said. “It means we’re going to hold them where they’re at.”

He described the chaos of the fire’s advance as “unprecedented.”

“It’s run-and-gun for our homes and run-and-gun for our lives,” he said. “There are no resources that exist that are going to stop these fires. It’s super abnormal.”

The chief said firefighters in the field are forced to make grim calculations when attempting to stay ahead of the blaze.

“As a leadership officer, you’re having to choose which homes you’re going to let burn down and which ones you’re going to save,” he said. “It’s very, very tough for me, and very, very tough for our firefighters. Some homes are going off half a mile away.”

“We’re very good at fighting house fires in the Spokane region,” he said. “But we’re not equipped to fight three wind-driven fires burning ahead of us all at the same time. I have no words.”

In his letter to the diocese, Daly urged residents to follow guidance from local leaders and to “heed evacuation orders” if they are given. He further called on Catholics in the diocese to be “people of hope.”

“Even amid tragedy and uncertainty, Christ remains with us. May he bring comfort to those who are suffering, strength to those serving on the front lines, and peace to every anxious,” he said.

Also in Spokane, Catholic Charities Eastern Washington appealed for donations to respond to the crisis. The charity group, which operates near downtown Spokane, said “many of [its] clients and residents have been affected,” including some Catholic Charities staff.

The group said it had set up an emergency fund to help provide essential supplies, housing, and long-term assistance to those affected by the fire.

“This is a moment where we are asking for our entire community to lean in with us during this very difficult time,” the group said.

On Aug. 3 the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office announced that it had arrested a 37-year-old local man on arson charges in connection with one of the fires in the area.

The individual is suspected of starting the “Old Trails Fire” located west of Spokane. That fire started on Aug. 1 and has consumed around 3,600 acres so far. It was still listed as “active” on Aug. 4.

Stocking, meanwhile, urged homeowners around the country to be aware of the “new normal” of major, fast-spreading fires.

He pointed to the 2025 Palisades fire in California and the 2023 fire that laid waste to Lāhainā in Hawaii as examples.

“We need to prepare our homes,” Stocking said. “Make your homes defensible, clean up, take out brush, and you have to be ready to leave. No amount of firefighters can stop a fire like this.”

In contemplating his life, one immediately thinks of a priest who lived out great penance and whose “only motives were the love of God and the desire for the salvation of the souls of his neighbors,” John XXIII said.

The saintly pope reflected on the life of Vianney in an encyclical titled Sacerdotii Nostri Primordia. The encyclical was written in 1959 for the 100th anniversary of Vianney’s death.

After struggling with his studies, John Vianney was ordained a priest in 1815. Shortly afterward, he was assigned to Ars, France, near his hometown of Dardilly. There, he spent the majority of his priesthood.

The devoted pastor was known for his dedication to the poor, his counseling to those in need, and for founding La Providence, an orphanage for girls.

He was also well known for his dedication to the sacrament of penance. He would make himself available for confession for up to 16 hours daily.

In his encyclical, Pope John XXIII called St. John Vianney a model of priestly holiness.

“[The priest] is no longer supposed to live for himself … He must be aflame with charity toward everyone. Not even his thoughts, his will, his feelings belong to him, for they are rather those of Jesus Christ who is his life,” he wrote, quoting a sermon from Pope Pius XII.

“St. John Mary Vianney is a person who attracts and practically pushes all of us to these heights of the priestly life,” John XXIII further added.

The pope highlighted the three evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience, which he said Vianney exemplified.

“His example in the various works of priestly asceticism still points out the safest path to follow, and in the midst of this example, his poverty, chastity, and obedience stand forth in a brilliant light,” the pope said of Vianney.

“What great benefits are conferred on human society by men like this who are free of the cares of the world and totally dedicated to the divine ministry so that they can employ their lives, thoughts, powers in the interest of their brethren!”

Pope John XXIII said Vianney, who was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis, clearly lived a life of poverty. He noted the saint’s heavy mortifications — restraining himself from food, sleep, and other personal belongings.

“This detachment from external goods enabled him to offer the most devoted and touching care to the poor,” the pope said.

“He passed a life that was almost completely detached from the changeable, perishable goods of this world, and his spirit was free and unencumbered by impediments of this kind, so that it could always lie open to those who suffered from any kind of misery.”

Similarly, Pope John XXIII wrote, the preservation of chastity breaks the restraints of self-interest and grants a person greater dedication to those in need.

“St. John Mary Vianney has this pertinent comment to make in this regard: ‘A soul adorned with the virtue of chastity cannot help loving others; for it has discovered the source and font of love — God.’”

The pope also pointed to Vianney’s dedication to the virtue of obedience. The saint, he said, had desired a contemplative life rather than the heavy burden of pastoral duties, but he still remained obedient to his bishops.

“All his life he longed to lead a quiet and retired life in the background, and he regarded pastoral duties as a very heavy burden laid on his shoulders, and more than once he tried to free himself of it,” the pope said.

While God never allowed him to achieve this goal, it was certainly God’s way of forming the saint in the virtue of obedience, he said.

He also highlighted Vianney’s prayer life and devotion to the Eucharist as well as his commitment to the sacrament of confession.

Pope John XXIII said Vianney “habitually restrained his own will” to further dedicate himself to the Church. He expressed hope that this fire for the Church that consumed Vianney may also consume all priests.

“It is said that St. John M. Vianney lived in the Church in such a way that he worked for it alone, and burned himself up like a piece of straw being consumed on fiery coals. May that flame which comes from the Holy Spirit reach those of us who have been raised to the priesthood of Jesus Christ and consume us too.”

This story was first published on Aug. 3, 2018, and has been updated.

But like many of the so-called mendicant orders — which have traditionally relied on charity to survive — Carmelites have an order of laypeople who meet monthly in community and who develop a deep life of prayer over many years. They also study and discuss the writings of the Carmelite saints so they might become more like them and therefore more like God.

The call to Secular Carmelites

In 2003, in a move meant to signal that the laity is of equal importance to the priests and nuns who make up the first and second orders, the Order of Discalced Carmelites (OCD) — which is St. Teresa’s reform group — changed the name of its lay order from Third Order Carmelites to Secular Carmelites (OCDS). Not everyone in the order truly understood what that meant in practice.

That changed during the first world meeting of OCDS Carmelites in the history of the order, held July 23–26, 2026, in Ávila, Spain, where the leaders of the Order of Discalced Carmelites called upon their almost 33,000 Seculars to fully embrace their vocation as coequal members of the order.

This historic call was enthusiastically embraced by the more than 900 Secular Carmelites who attended from almost 80 of the 92 countries in which Secular Carmelite communities are present.

“In the past, people thought, ‘Whatever the priests say.’ Seculars were more like followers whereas now, they are called to be leaders,” said Father Ramiro Casale, OCD, general delegate to the OCDS, in an exclusive interview with EWTN News.

“The Fathers are called to the sacraments, preaching, teaching, accompanying people. Carmelite nuns are cloistered so they offer their lives for Christ and the Church and the world. [But] the Seculars have access to so many places where the friars and nuns are not present. They have biological children and are very engaged in their work and in different apostolates in the Church, and they are very well-prepared. I tell them that they have a voice and that voice needs to be heard,” Casale said.

Of course, this call to the laity is partly due to the fact that Secular Carmelites outnumber Carmelite priests by more than 8 to 1. This imbalance is not limited to the Carmelite order. The Secular Franciscan Order outnumbers its friars by roughly 25 to 1, while Lay Dominicans outnumber their friars by more than 26 to 1.

Another major factor is also at play.

“We need only look around us to see that the world is still on fire,” Ramiro said. In a world in which consumerism, secularization, self-promotion, and a thirst for power rule, the Secular Carmelite order needs “a greater awareness of its professional and vocational identity … [a] rich prayer life … [and a] growing cooperation with the entire Carmelite family. We live in a time where human beings — even if they do not often express it in words — want to find a path that gives meaning and direction to their lives. They thirst for God.”

‘Everyone is a house for God’

Father Miguel Marquez Calle, OCD, superior general of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, explained in a one-on-one interview with EWTN News that the charism of the Carmelite order is what Carmelites lovingly refer to as “a call to ‘The Interior Castle.’” That is a reference to St. Teresa’s masterwork in which she compares the soul to a mansion with many rooms, all of which lead to the center of the castle, which is where God dwells.

“We offer an invitation to live this richness of the presence of God in the soul of everyone, and to share it as St. Teresa did, with a joy that is contagious. We show the world that we are not empty, everyone is a house for God, and that gives life meaning.”

The temptation, even for Carmelites, is to become divided like the world is divided. But Marquez said the remedy is to be like St. Teresa, who was able to handle criticism with humor because she was not full of self but full of God. In fact, when a group of friars wanted St. Teresa’s partner in reforming the old order, St. John of the Cross, removed as head of the friars, he famously joined his detractors and signed the petition requesting his removal, saying he was not worthy of the position.

Meeting highlights call to prayer, service, and leadership

The world meeting (“encuentro mundial”), appropriately titled “Witnesses to the Experience of God: Identity and Mission,” was a call to communion, to a deeper prayer life, and to leadership. In recent years, the secular order has been making important inroads into the leadership role to which the order is explicitly calling them.

With the largest population in the Western world, the United States boasts approximately 6,000 Secular Carmelites, the largest of any country, although Asia has the largest number of Seculars on any continent. A collaborative effort to standardize and unify various regional formation practices into a single national program by and for OCDS Carmelites began in 2017, was officially approved in early 2023, and was released and distributed by ICS publications on March 1, 2024.

The program consists of a handbook for formators and six official formation manuals covering all stages of formation. In the works are two manuals for those who are definitively professed and a manual for spiritual assistants. The program was presented at the world meeting by Angela Vel from the Washington Province of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and may become a model, or perhaps the basis of a similar effort, for OCDS communities around the world.

“I think that we have lost sight of our apostolate in many communities,” said Ramon Gras, who is also a member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary community in the Washington Province. “One of the things that we have been reminded of this week is that we, as Secular Carmelites, have access to the world in ways that the other two branches of the order do not. The national formation program is not just something to fill our head with facts, but it’s something to help us to develop our spirituality and to give us a renewed sense of purpose.”

He added: “Our formation program tells us that our saints say prayer and service are two sides of the same coin, so we need to review what we are currently doing in our apostolates and determine whether we are serving the current needs of the Church.”

When asked for examples of successful community apostolates, Casale highlighted two that he finds especially impressive.

“There is one in Venezuela called Nagoanagoa,” he said. “Thatʼs an Indian name. It was formed by medical doctors who began to go to the jungle to help people with no access to healthcare. It was something so attractive to others that many other people began to join them: engineers, people who knew about agriculture, dentists — so many people wanted to help. But everything began in the OCDS. Thatʼs something really beautiful, and itʼs happening still.”

The other example is a project in Portugal called Casa de Comunión. “The interesting thing about this is that they have a community of nuns, a community of friars, and two communities of OCDS and they share life together,” Casale explained. “They don’t live together, but they do things together. They organize retreats, they organize talks for young people and for marriages, and they help in the local diocese, so this is an example of collaboration between the three branches of the order.”

‘We are a family’

The three branches don’t just work together; they enjoy one another’s company via various forms of recreation and by sharing the joys and challenges of the work. As Casale said: “We [the Discalced Carmelites] are a team; we are a family, and we need to help each other.”

Esther Tijerina, a community-minded Carmelite from Texas, came to the conference despite some difficult health challenges over the past year. She had her own epiphany regarding the order’s call to fraternity and community during the conference. Tijerina reached out to one woman who rebuffed her not once but twice. “It took three days, but she walked with me and she smiled and she apologized for how she had been on that first day,” Tijerina said. “I learned not to give up because I donʼt know what her load is; I donʼt know what her baggage is.”

Susy Stokes, immediate past president of an Alabama community, focused on another important aspect of the meeting: “By being in Ávila, the birthplace of my order, I received a much deeper sense of belonging to an international family and appreciation for my vocation. The bonus gift I received was a much better understanding of the role of the friars and spiritual assistants.”

Indeed, as superior general of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, Marquez kicked off the conference with a talk on the history of the Secular Carmelites.

In it, he explained that the friars were originally heavily involved in every aspect of the community, even down to determining who had a vocation to join the secular order. That deep involvement had to change because there are simply not enough friars to do such work.

Despite this, or maybe even because of this, fraternity within and outside of the order has become even more important. During the four-day meeting, many had the opportunity to visit important sites in the life of St. Teresa such as the convent in which she spent much of her life and her birthplace. One Secular said she was amazed to see that St. Teresa had placed a large painting of St. Francis in the local convent. When asked about this, Marquez made a surprising statement.

“I am 30% Franciscan,” he said, smiling at the reaction of the questioner. “My preparation for solemn profession was to go to Assisi in Italy without money, asking for food, and sleeping on the road for one month.”

When one of his brothers insisted it was dangerous to do this without money, he promised him he would bring money, so he put one peseta (this was before the euro) in his pocket.

Marquez said he discovered: “When you ask for food, people give food.” Where did he sleep? “In the countryside, in a gas station, in the forest.” He had a backpack and a sleeping bag. He said the experience set him up for 13 years of pilgrimages to the Holy Land and parts of Spain, traveling 170 kilometers (almost 106 miles) every year for 13 years. Through this, he learned the importance of fraternity and communion, which he is asking of Secular Carmelites — indeed, the entire order — today.

In addition to many important talks, which were translated into many languages, the four-day conference included excursions to nearby Carmelite sites, a flamenco celebration, and a visit to a special exhibit of St. John of the Cross celebrating his 300th anniversary as a saint and his 100th anniversary as a doctor of the Church.

The closing Mass at the Ávila Cathedral ended with more than 30 priests on the altar, a magnificent choir, and more than 900 Carmelites raising their voices in the song that ends every Carmelite meeting around the world: the Salve Regina, a salute to the Queen of Heaven and Earth and of the Carmelite order under the title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

As Marquez said, in this divided time, the spirituality of the Blessed Mother is of central importance. Just as she was literally filled with the presence of God, her Carmelite order witnesses to the fact that “the presence of God is in every soul without exception. The world needs to understand that everyone is a home for God.”

For more information about the Secular Carmelite Order in the U.S., visit ocdswashprov.org (Eastern Province), thereseocds.org (Central Province), or ocds.info (Western Province). Information about communities worldwide can be found at https://www.carmelitaniscalzi.com/en/.

Menezes is already familiar to EWTN audiences from his many appearances on various shows across the network. The numerous televised and online series he has produced and hosted include “The Gospel of Life vs. the Culture of Death” and “The Ten Commandments of Catholic Family Life.”

He is also familiar to EWTN audiences as a guest on various episodes of EWTN’s “Mother Angelica Live” and “Life on the Rock,” during which he discussed such topics as the sanctification of marriage and family life, vocations, and the sacred liturgy. 

He is the current host of EWTN Global Catholic Radio’s “Open Line Tuesday.”

Menezes has also served as the chaplain-in-residence at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, Alabama.

On the print side, he is the author of four books, including: “Stand Firm, Be Strong: A Men’s Catholic Daily Devotional of Scripture and Saints” — the inspiration for the new podcast.

Prior to the launch, and while inviting listeners, Menezes spoke about the podcast with the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News.

Register: Father Menezes, please tell us how your “Stand Firm, Be Strong” audio podcast came to be.

Menezes: This 200-day audio-only podcast grew out of the popularity of my men’s daily devotional book of the same title that was published in 2024. The book is a six-month spiritual manual for men. Each day has a different spiritual or temporal (secular) topic that is followed by three components: a Scripture quote, a saint quote, and a short meditation written by me. Both the book and podcast titles are based on 1 Corinthians 16:13, wherein we read: “Be watchful, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong.”

Will the podcast follow the same daily devotional format?

The “Stand Firm, Be Strong” daily audio podcast is related closely to the book’s own format. For example, each of the 200 days’ prerecorded short audio podcasts correspond directly — and in proper order — with each of the book’s own 200 days’ topics. But whereas the book is designed to be a five- to 10-minute exercise each morning for men as they begin their day, each podcast episode is itself under five minutes in length and highlights the most pertinent points of the book’s topic for that same day.

Why did you decide on a daily podcast?

EWTN pitched the idea to me to do a “Stand Firm, Be Strong” daily audio podcast precisely because the book has done so well with male readers. The book has proven to hold men’s attention as a committed daily exercise to strengthen their spiritual and temporal lives. I hope that a podcast will likewise strike at the male heart and spark the male intellect to help men live their vocations more fully and committedly — whether single, married, widowed, or as a consecrated brother, deacon, priest, or bishop.

Please share a highlight or two that listeners will hear about in opening episodes.

The timely wisdom offered by the “Stand Firm, Be Strong” podcast will help prepare men to put on the armor of God for their daily struggles and help them withstand trials at home and at work. It will also help them to kindle their prayer life, better utilize their talents, and order their priorities in daily life. It will also help guide men in imitating Christ in guarding their senses and responding to temptation — all important factors when navigating life in this third millennium.

Please share or give a hint of what will be a few topics or themes you will be dealing with that are certainly relevant.

During the course of the first 20 [days] … for example, episodes will cover the following topics [titled]: “The Committed Man of God,” “Strength and Fortitude,” “Having No Duplicity or Guile,” “Shunning Sin and Vice,” “Fraternity and Brotherhood,” “The Demands of Virtue and Aiming Toward Salvation,” “The Virtue of Diligence,” “The Truth,” “The Need for Humility Amid Trials and Successes,” “Accountability,” “Confidence,” and “The Athlete of God.” Other podcast episodes include such topics as the “Importance of Eucharistic Adoration,” “Sanctifying Grace,” “Filial Fear of God vs. Servile Fear of God,” and the “Importance of Fostering Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph.”

Why are these topics essential for today?

Navigating third-millennium society and culture can be challenging. These various topics are essential today because we live in a day and age that tragically downplays authentic masculinity and what that means. Whether it’s the prevalence of television commercials that frequently make the husband or man look like a buffoon to the misguided direction being offered by various movements within the so-called “manosphere,” what it means to “be a man” in the authentic Christian sense is greatly attacked today.

But as Dr. Tim Gray of the Augustine Institute reminds us: “The virtues give us a blueprint for being a man. Indeed, the very term ‘virtue’ comes from the Latin word for man, ‘vir.’ For the ancients, to be manly was to be virtuous. The term ‘virtue’ in Latin (‘virtus’) signifies power, strength, and ability. Thus, the virtues are habits that give us the power to act in a manly way, with strength sufficient to do what is right. Without virtues we will neither be godly nor real men. Virtues are the building blocks of character, and without them our moral lives will eventually collapse under the pressures of the world.”

Will your podcast appeal to, and be relevant to, men of any age?

Just like the book, the podcast is designed to appeal to any male that is 14 years of age and older. In other words, if a guy is a high school freshman or older and is serious about living his faith authentically and well in the midst of the modern world, he will benefit from hearing this podcast. This fact, in turn, will hopefully inspire him to “go deeper” with the “Stand Firm, Be Strong” book as a daily devotional that he commits himself to for a six-month period.

Will men learn to live a balanced life through your podcast?

Yes, listeners of the “Stand Firm, Be Strong” podcast (as well as those readers of the book) will learn to live a balanced life — both spiritually and temporally. For example, a main theme peppered throughout the podcast and book is “faithfulness to daily duty” ­and what this means and why it is a main ingredient needed when a man strives for sanctification and advancement in the spiritual life according to his particular vocation and state in life. In short, a man is called to fulfill his duties with diligence and balance — all the while serving God and others.

What is the ultimate goal and hope for this podcast?

To help men of all vocations and states in life realize that they are called to become saints “right where they are.”

Both the podcast and book are designed to help jump-start and strengthen a man’s spiritual life over the course of six months. The podcast’s daily topics and accompanying meditations are power-packed, offering achievable resolutions and prudent advice to help a man attain his spiritual and temporal goals in everyday living.

Will it improve their families, too, in any way?

Yes. Just as there is crisis in today’s culture regarding authentic masculinity and what that means, the same can be said regarding the sanctification of marriages and family life. The “Stand Firm, Be Strong” podcast can help a married man become a better husband and father. For single men, it can help them to become a better brother, brother-in-law, co-worker, etc. This same goes for married men and those men in the consecrated religious state, of course. 

Themes in the podcast call upon all men to provide, protect, and lead — again, according to each one’s particular vocation and state in life.

Based on the popularity of your book, do you think the podcast will have a similar appeal?

I believe the podcast will appeal to listeners because it will help the individual man to grow in knowledge of his faith and gain strength for the spiritual battle. These, in turn, will help the individual male listener to become more fully the man he was created and meant to be in God’s plan for him.

Is there anything else you would like to say or add about the podcast?

The “Stand Firm, Be Strong” podcast launched Aug. 3 and is posting a new episode daily over the course of 200 days. It is available from EWTN+, a free, ad-free digital streaming platform by the Eternal Word Television Network that offers on-demand Catholic podcasts, movies, live TV and radio, and original series. 

Also, for those listeners of the “Stand Firm, Be Strong” podcast and/or readers of the book who are so interested, there are three additional “Stand Firm, Be Strong” merchandise items available from EWTN Religious Catalogue (EWTNRC.com). These include a “Stand Firm, Be Strong” T-shirt, travel mug, and 12-in-1 pocket knife. Along with the podcast and book, these items make great gifts for men who are striving to increase their faith and grow in holiness.

I would encourage all women — such women could include, of course, a wife, mother, sister, sister-in-law, friend, or girlfriend — who may stumble across the podcast, book, or three items of merchandise to think about sharing these with the men in their lives so as to encourage them to “stand firm [and] be strong.”

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

In an Aug. 3 statement, Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on International Justice and Peace, said he is “heartened by news of an agreement which aims at the disarmament of Hamas and Israel’s military withdrawal from the [Gaza] Strip,” calling for “intense prayers for the success of these negotiations.”

“As I previously articulated, as ‘people of faith who deeply care for all our brothers and sisters who live in the land of Christ’s life, death, and glorious resurrection, we cannot lose this opportunity for peace,’” Zaidan continued, calling on the U.S., Israel, and the international community “to facilitate greater amounts of humanitarian and development assistance to the Strip.”

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on July 30 that his Board of Peace had reached a deal for Hamas to fully disarm after nearly three years of war.

“The agreement will be carried out in carefully structured phases,” Trump indicated. “As disarmament is completed, Israeli forces will withdraw, and the International Stabilization Force will work with a new Palestinian police force to take responsibility for Gaza being safe for its residents and its neighbors.”

Though a Hamas official confirmed the disarmament pact the next day, according to the Associated Press, significant hurdles remain, leaving the deal’s implementation uncertain despite U.S. optimism. Israel has not publicly endorsed the agreement and has continued airstrikes, with the AP reporting that at least 17 people, including children, were killed in Gaza over the weekend.

‘People are living with nothing’

“Alleviating the suffering of the Gazan people is not only a vital moral imperative but is also necessary for the consolidation of peace in the Holy Land and the entire region,” Zaidan declared. “This should include restoring educational opportunities for children and youths, jobs, and clean water.”

In an interview last week with Vatican Media, Father Gabriel Romanelli, pastor of Holy Family Church in Gaza, begged for humanitarian aid for the region, emphasizing that “when people say the situation here is disastrous, believe me: It really is disastrous — if anything, it calls for an even stronger word.”

“People are living with nothing,” Romanelli said. “Reconstruction is certainly essential, but so too are all the basic necessities of everyday life.”

Former U.S. ambassador and EWTN contributor on Middle East issues Alberto Fernandez told EWTN News that while the deal is “extraordinarily shaky from both sides,” he is hopeful because “the situation of the civilian public in Gaza is so dire,” Fernandez said. “Gaza is destroyed, people are traumatized, there’s no economy.”

‘Deeply conflicting agendas’

“The agreement on paper is a positive, concrete step in the right direction,” Fernández said, pointing out that the issue of which side will act first “is a small part of a bigger problem. There is no trust between the two sides, and deeply conflicting agendas.”

In Zaidan’s statement, the bishop wrote that the “agreement’s successful implementation, as its principles statement says, has the potential of finally providing the Palestinian people with a ‘credible political path that achieves self-determination and Statehood.’ This would be a major milestone.”

Hamas said Friday that it would give up its heavy weapons, including rockets, contingent on Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and the creation of a Palestinian state, the latter condition one Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government strongly rejects.

“The two-state solution among the Israeli public is moribund,” the ambassador continued. “We’re not there at all in a situation where they will compromise. They’ve become more intransigent. That’s a reality.”

“It’s not time for celebration, but time to recognize there is small progress being made, and huge obstacles remain,” Fernandez said.

‘Serious security concerns’

Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for Netanyahu, told the AP on Aug. 2 that Israel has “serious security concerns” surrounding the deal. Spielman said Israel believes Hamas is still committed to building up its military, not demilitarizing, and said Israel would not withdraw from the Gaza Strip, where it controls more than half the territory, before Hamas disarms.

“Disarming means physically giving up the weapons. Nothing less,” he said.

“Our assessment is that if we redeploy before Hamas is truly disarmed, it will quickly expand its presence throughout Gaza, rebuild its terrorist infrastructure, once again threaten Israeli communities, and seek to carry out another Oct. 7-style attack,” Spielman told the AP.

After an Aug. 3 meeting between Netanyahu and Board of Peace High Representative Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace said on X that the meeting was “constructive and detailed” and that Israel and the board “share a common understanding of the ultimate objectives” — specifically, the complete decommissioning of Hamas’ weapons in Gaza and the transition to civilian governance.

The social media post clarified that the withdrawal of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) beyond the Yellow Line would occur only after Hamas’ weapons decommissioning is complete, including “light weapons, heavy weapons, and the tunnels alike.”

The “Yellow Line” refers to the demarcation line separating the area under IDF control from the rest of Gaza.

Zaidan concluded his statement acknowledging the “extreme challenges inherent in this ongoing peace process” but called on all to “entrust the hearts and minds of the negotiators to the maternal care of Our Lady of Wisdom, that she may illumine and enliven their efforts to finally achieve peace in those sacred lands.”

This story was updated at 12:03 p.m. ET on Aug. 4, 2026, with the information on the meeting between Benjamin Netanyahu and Board of Peace High Representative Nickolay Mladenov.

Government officials in Michigan have agreed they will not enforce the state ban on "conversion therapy” on the counselors who work for Catholic Charities of Jackson, Lenawee, and Hillsdale Counties or any other counselors engaged in “talk therapy.”

The Catholic Charities affiliate sued Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other state officials after the governor signed into law a ban on “conversion therapy.” This prohibited treatments that seek to “change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity.” This includes “efforts to change behavior or gender expression.”

According to the law, counselors were allowed to offer “acceptance, support, or understanding” of a child who self-identifies with a gender inconsistent with his or her sex. The lawsuit filed by the Catholic Charities affiliate argued the law forced them to “affirm” that the child could identify with a gender that is inconsistent with his or her sex, which conflicts with Catholic teaching.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “everyone, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity.” The Vatican’s 2019 document “Male and Female He Created Them” teaches that sexual identity is a reality “given” through one’s biological and physiological nature.

Officials in Michigan consented to a court order that acknowledges that the law — as enforced against the Catholic Charities affiliate — violates the counselors’ First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

According to the court order, the state cannot enforce this law against the Catholic counselors or any other counselors in the state if the treatment “consists exclusively of talking.” The order is permanent and took effect immediately, upon the signature of Judge Jane M. Beckering.

The Catholic Charities affiliate was represented by lawyers at the Becket Fund. Luke Goodrich, senior counsel at Becket and lead attorney for the counselors, said in a statement that the order is “a major victory for children, counselors, and common sense.”

“Kids who are hurting deserve compassion, not a one-way ticket to harmful drugs, hormones, and surgery,” he said. “Now counselors can offer compassionate counseling without fearing that state bureaucrats will come knocking.”

This agreement comes four months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that a similar ban on “conversion therapy” in Colorado violated the First Amendment rights of counselors, warning the state-level bans “suppress speech based on viewpoint.”

Kimberly Bush, a spokesperson for Michigan’s attorney general’s office, said in a statement to EWTN News that Michigan entered into the agreement because of the Supreme Court ruling, but added: “We remain deeply disappointed in this decision and have grave concerns for the implications this could bring for the safety and welfare of Michigan’s children.”

A spokesperson for Whitmer also expressed disappointment in the agreement in a statement to EWTN News.

"Governor Whitmer believes that every young person deserves the right to grow up safe, supported, and free to be themselves,” the spokesperson said.

“This order is disappointing and represents a step back for the LGBTQ+ community,” the spokesperson added. “Michigan will never support any practice that harms or shames LGBTQ+ youth. The governor will continue to fight to ensure that LGBTQ+ individuals are protected from attacks and that their voices are heard.”

In June, Oregonʼs Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists withdrew disciplinary action against Catholic counselors who engaged in similar talk therapy, citing the Supreme Court decision as its reason.

State Treasurer Larry Pack said the deadly flash flooding that swept through Upshur, Lewis, and nearby counties killed at least two people. West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said preliminary assessments show about 151 homes in Upshur County suffered damage.

Morrisey, a Catholic Republican who was elected governor in 2024, acknowledged the work of “faith-based organizations” in aiding relief efforts in a July 27 statement.

“Volunteer organizations remain at the heart of the recovery effort,” Morrisey said.

Menjívar-Ayala, who was installed on July 2, asked parishes to hold the collections on Aug. 1–2 or Aug. 8–9. All of the funds collected will remain in West Virginia and will be managed by Catholic Charities West Virginia (CCWVa), a July 22 press release said. CCWVa will direct funds first to parishes aiding families, then to CCWVa regional staff assisting victims, followed by partner agencies, with any remaining money supporting CCWVa’s long‑term recovery work, the statement said.

“West Virginia is truly one community. The way the people of this state support each other, especially in times of great need like this, is a testament to how we are called to love our neighbors as ourselves,” Menjívar-Ayala said in the release. “Let us now put that love into action by helping our sisters and brothers during this tragic time.”

“Please remember in prayer all those whose lives have been changed in the wake of these disasters. Let us come together now to support our brothers and sisters in Christ who have been injured and lost their homes, cars, employment, and access to food and water,” Menjívar-Ayala said.

The new survival series is the latest project from 5&2 Studios — the production company behind “The Chosen.”

The show will include six episodes featuring actors Jonathan Roumie (who plays Jesus in “The Chosen”), Noah James (Andrew), Paras Patel (Matthew), Luke Dimyan (Judas Iscariot), Elizabeth Tabish (Mary Magdalene), and creator, writer, and director of “The Chosen,” Dallas Jenkins.

Each individual will join renowned adventurer and survivalist Bear Grylls — known for his series “Running Wild” on FOX — on an adventure in the wild where they will be pushed beyond their comfort zones while exploring what makes them who they are and share personal conversations about their lives and their faith.

Some of the places visited in the series include Utah’s Castle Valley and Canyonlands, the Great Basin Desert, the Colorado River, the Ausable River, and the Adirondack Forest.

The series premieres on Aug. 9 on Prime Video.

Grylls spoke to EWTN News in an interview and shared that he has always been a fan of “The Chosen,” with the series having a great impact on his own faith.

“I was one of those fans. I loved it,” he said. “But I kind of always felt that, unlike big movies or big TV shows normally where you sort of also know the characters as human beings, so few people actually knew much about the actors. Jonathan Roumie, for example, who plays Jesus, what has actually that journey been like for him?”

When speaking with Jenkins, the two thought it would be great to do a spinoff show “where we take some of these [actors], and we actually introduce you to what theyʼre like as human beings, what their journey has been like playing these characters, [and] how itʼs impacted their lives.”

He added: “I think what I wasnʼt ready for is just what a huge effect this TV show has had on all of their lives personally. And that was a really emotional sort of beautiful part of the whole ‘Chosen in the Wild’ series for me.”

Reflecting on the episodes featuring the cast members of “The Chosen,” Grylls shared that the episode with Roumie is the one that “in terms of an experience of an episode — out of all the ‘Running Wild’s’ and everything Iʼve done — I actually would rate that for me the one that will always stay in my heart.”

“Heʼs such a sort of icon of a guy, and his portrayal of Jesus is so powerful. Iʼm a man of faith, and at the start of every episode I do, I always say a prayer, like, ‘Jesus be with me,’” he recalled. “And on this one, it was about as close as youʼre going to get, you know. So, I kind of really wanted to honor that and do it well.”

He added that Roumie “was wonderful” and “incredibly honest,” talking about “things heʼd never spoken about before,” which was a “great privilege” for Grylls.

“I think out of all the roles an actor is going to play, that one is going to mess with your head and heart a lot, because you know at heart, youʼre not that guy. And he was really open about that. I think that conversation sat with him. There was a lot of emotion there,” he shared. “I mean, I donʼt want to kind of over-spiritualize it, but you could feel a presence there. And both of us said that afterwards, [we] said that was kind of weird, but good.”

When asked why the wild sparks so many deeper, more vulnerable conversations, Grylls said: “The wild opens people up. And as you know, you go into the outdoors, and you hike, and you face a few fears, and you cross a river or climb a cliff, you get to see the real people.”

He highlighted that each cast member who participated arrived “ready to be honest and to talk about their journey and how this show, ‘The Chosen,’ has impacted their lives.”

“I really value that honesty. And the wild is a great space — it gives it the space to breathe and to have those sorts of conversations on a level you never normally have,” he said.

Grylls said he hopes viewers will take away a strong “connection with the characters they love” after watching the series.

“This show is made specifically for those hundreds of millions of people around the world who love this TV show and are invested and care about the characters and just want to know more. And I think thereʼs no better way to get to know people than going on an adventure together,” he said. “Weʼve only done a few of these episodes — there are only six of them — [but] theyʼll always hold a really special place in my heart. And I canʼt wait for people to see it.”

The primary hub for American Catholicism in 1776 was Maryland, which was created as a safe haven for Catholics and home to the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence: Charles Carroll of Carrollton.

Yet, more than one-third of Catholics lived outside Maryland in the late 1700s. Archbishop John Carroll — the first bishop in the United States — reported the Catholic population to the Holy See in 1785: about 15,800 in Maryland, at least 7,000 in Pennsylvania, at least 1,500 in New York, and no more than 200 in Virginia. There were a few hundred scattered elsewhere.

The primary reason for the low numbers was restrictive laws, some of which outright banned Catholicism and priests from colonies. Even in Maryland, after the 1689 Protestant Revolution, Catholics faced severe restrictions, including a ban on voting and openly celebrating Mass.

“[The laws were] definitely repressive,” said Seth Smith, a history professor at The Catholic University of America with expertise in American Catholicism.

“But Catholics in the colonies had more freedom to practice their faith than they would have in Britain,” Smith told EWTN News.

“On the books, virtually everywhere except Rhode Island and (informally) Pennsylvania, Catholics faced disenfranchisement, exclusion from office, land restrictions, and bans on public worship, Catholic schools, and priests,” he said. “These laws escalated throughout the colonial period.”

For example, Massachusetts had a law permitting executions of priests but “actual executions of priests for simply being priests essentially didnʼt happen in the 13 colonies,” Smith said.

“[These laws] had the effect of limiting Catholic migration to British North America,” he said. “... The practical reality was that there were so few Catholics that enforcement was often moot.”

Catholicism in Pennsylvania

As the Catholic hub in Maryland faced legal restrictions in the late 1600s into the 1700s, Jesuits in Maryland sought to extend their reach into the colonies and found the friendliest colony to be Pennsylvania, founded by a Quaker strong advocate for religious freedom, William Penn.

Father Joseph Greaton, an English Catholic who moved to Maryland in 1719, was assigned to Pennsylvania, where he established the colony’s first Catholic parish in Philadelphia — Old St. Josephʼs Church, founded in 1733.

Although the colony and city tolerated Catholics legally, Greaton still took precautions because of anti-Catholic sentiment, designing the church to look more like a residential building rather than appearing outwardly like a Catholic church.

When reached for comment, the current pastor referred EWTN News to Stephen Paesani, a parishioner deeply involved in the parish, to speak about its history.

Paesani said the chapel was designed that way “so it wouldn’t draw attention to itself.” When it was created, it was the “only place in the British empire where Mass was celebrated legally and publicly” because the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly — the governing body — determined British anti-Catholic laws did not apply.

To enter the church, Paesani said, “you had to come in through the alley and go through the courtyard.” He said “if you didn’t know the church was there, you would never know.”

Catholics were a small minority in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania more broadly. Paesani said treatment of Catholics was “a mixed bag.” There were “clearly incidents of anti-Catholicism” in colonial Philadelphia, but the priests were involved in the community and generally had support from public officials, he said.

Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a Catholic Founding Father, sometimes worshipped there. Another prominent parishioner was John Barry, an Irish Catholic naval officer who fought in the American Revolution and was appointed to lead the U.S. Navy post-Revolution.

Greaton established other churches throughout Pennsylvania to serve Catholics and would travel from town to town administering the sacraments to the faithful. One parish that’s still standing is Most Blessed Sacrament in Bally, which was home to a small number of German Catholics, founded in 1741.

Michael Miller, the museum director at Most Blessed Sacrament, told EWTN News the parish only served “a few families,” with the closest being the Kuhn family. John Kuhn — a German Catholic — informed the Jesuits that land there was for sale, previously owned by Mennonites.

“[Greaton] would travel to other Mass houses [throughout Pennsylvania],” Miller said.

When asked whether the German Catholics faced discrimination, he said “not around here.” In that part of Pennsylvania, he said most people, regardless of religion, were either iron workers or farmers, and the Protestant majorities were “good neighbors.”

“There were so few Catholics in the immediate area, when they got around to building the chapel, they had Mennonite workers,” he said.

Other locations he traveled to included Ivy Mills, where Mass was celebrated in the home of Thomas Willcox in the early 1700s until Catholics established the parish of St. Thomas the Apostle. Another was the Conewago Chapel in Hanover (now the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus), established in 1730.

Catholicism outside Maryland and Pennsylvania

Outside of Maryland and Pennsylvania, Smith said “mostly what existed were scattered gentry families like the Brents in Virginia (who had ties to Maryland) and Catholics with diplomatic and mercantile roles in port cities.”

This contributed to the small number of Catholics present in New York City and Charleston, South Carolina, even though Catholicism was illegal in both cities for most of colonial times. Catholicism was only briefly legal in colonial New York when Irish Catholic Thomas Dongan was appointed governor from 1683 to 1688.

“The reason that there was any Catholic presence in these cities (or any port cities in British North America) was due to commerce,” Smith said. “Port cities pulled sailors, merchants, etc., from around the world. Some level of religious tolerance was good for business, though tolerance generally meant that Catholics could practice their faith out of sight.”

After the revolution and when the United States adopted the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which guaranteed a right to “the free exercise” of religion, Catholicism was tolerated — at least legally. This led to a greater influx of Catholic immigration in the 1800s.

In 1790, President George Washington wrote to Archbishop John Carroll while lawmakers were still in the process of adopting the Bill of Rights.

Washington assured the archbishop that Catholics would enjoy the same rights as Protestants under the new government. He said “your fellow-citizens will not forget the patriotic part which you took” in the revolutionary war and the establishment of the government. He also noted the support received from the Catholic country of France.

“May the members of your society in America, animated alone by the pure spirit of Christianity, and still conducting themselves as the faithful subjects of our free government, enjoy every temporal and spiritual felicity,” Washington wrote.

Gliot is part of the Daughters of St. Paul, a religious order with the mission to evangelize through media. The vampire trilogy is a part of that evangelizing mission.

Gliot’s “In Aeternum” trilogy begins with Elizabeth, a Catholic teenager caught up in a fight between vampires who goes on the run with a vampire outcast named Christopher. The story concludes in the third book, “The Dawn We Seek,” which was released July 24.

In an interview with EWTN News, Gliot shared about the spiritual journey of her writing process, what Catholics can learn from cryptids, and a prayer request.

EWTN News: As you conclude this trilogy, what stays with you from the spiritual journey of writing it?

Gliot: When I first started writing this series, it was a solitary endeavor — just me and Jesus. When I shared the books with my publishing house, the circle grew to include my sisters and editors.

But now that actual readers have been engaging with these stories and sharing their thoughts, hopes, and spiritual struggles with me as a result, Jesus has really been encouraging me to carry the readers in my heart and prayers in a special way.

This story isnʼt just mine anymore.

I surrendered it to God and to the readers when I published it, and itʼs beautiful and profoundly humbling for me to see the fruit it’s bearing in so many lives.

How can writing be a spiritual experience and how do you as a religious sister connect your faith with your writing?

For me, storytelling is a spiritual experience because itʼs something I do with Jesus. He provides the initial inspiration and asks me to trust him enough to put the time and effort into writing it down. Then he stays with me during the writing, teaching me things through the experience and helping me make connections I never would have been able to see on my own.

Writing stories that involve my faith helps me to explore and live that faith more deeply, and, at the same time, I often notice my spiritual struggles and faith epiphanies from religious life trickling into my writing in various (and sometimes surprising) ways.

How does the trilogy deal with sin, redemption, and our relationship with God, and what can we learn about ourselves through fictional cryptid characters?

In the “In Aeternum” trilogy, vampires are a mirror of our wounded humanity at its worst. They are an exploration of just how far we can fall when we truly make the choice to embrace sin and evil.

But because vampires embody such an extreme, they also provide an opportunity to show the extremity of Godʼs mercy and the lengths he will go to save us — if we let him. And if weʼre willing to change our ways and step toward Godʼs goodness, even if weʼve gone very far in the other direction, even if itʼs just a tiny step.

No reader will have committed the same atrocities as the vampires in my books (I hope). But if there can be a possibility of repentance and redemption even for them, then I pray that even readers who feel like theyʼve hit rock bottom can find a ray of divine hope through these books.

How does Catholicism invite us to use our imagination and creativity? How does it expand our imagination rather than limit it?

The Catholic Church teaches that God created our imaginations and gave us gifts of creativity — gifts that he desires us to delight in and to use for building up his kingdom.

But God is the ultimate Creator, and his imagination far surpasses ours. He can speak to us through so many means — including beauty, story, and imaginative play. Catholicism, far from limiting our imagination, puts us in touch with Godʼs imagination and communicates his very life to us through the grace of the sacraments.

When we fully embrace our faith, allowing God to infuse us with his grace and inspire us with his divine love, we find ourselves on fire with the same creativity he used to make the world and everything in it. Exercising that creativity through our minds, wills, and hearts in harmony with God is a powerful force to draw us even closer to him.

What does the field of fiction-writing look like for Catholic authors?

I’d like to ask anyone reading this to say a prayer for Catholic authors who are seeking to bring God and the faith into popular genres. Since I began publishing Catholic urban fantasy stories, I’ve had so many authors and aspiring authors reach out to me to share their hopes and dreams for their faith-based stories. But even though these stories are so needed in our world today and have so much evangelizing and catechetical potential, it isn’t an easy field to navigate or break into. So please pray for Catholic authors and storytellers, that the Holy Spirit can bring much good out of the work we strive to do in his name.

To learn more about Gliot’s new book, visit Pauline Books & Media.

Mary Ann Kuharski, founder of Pro-Life Across America, said the organization began out of frustration with the growing politicization of the abortion debate and a conviction that lasting change comes from changing hearts rather than winning elections.

“I started out of frustration,” Kuharski told EWTN News. “The more I looked into it, the more I realized if we donʼt do something to change hearts, weʼre never going to save babies and moms from the devastation of abortion.”

Kuharski said she had spent years involved in political organizing before stepping away to focus on what would become a nonpartisan educational ministry. With encouragement from her husband and local pastors, she launched what she expected would be a small Minnesota organization dedicated to sharing pro-life messages through advertising.

“We said we were going to do one thing, and that is to get the truth out before the public,” she said. “What we didnʼt realize is that God would use that truth to touch hearts.”

‘Thereʼs no such thing as an unwanted baby’

Kuharskiʼs commitment to the pro-life movement is deeply personal.

She was adopted from one of Minnesotaʼs last orphanages and later became the mother of 13 children, including six mixed-race children with special needs whom she adopted.

“I came from one of the last orphanages out of Minnesota, so I have a special reason why I feel like there should never be a slogan that says thereʼs such a thing as an unwanted baby,” she said.

“Thereʼs always someone who will welcome that baby if they give them a chance for life.”

From a kitchen table to a nationwide outreach

Kuharski said the organization began in 1989 from her kitchen table with the help of her husband and another couple. With no office and no paid staff, the group purchased 42 simple black-and-white billboards across Minnesota carrying a message encouraging people to “listen to the heartbeat” of an unborn child.

Within two weeks, Kuharski said, the organization received a call that convinced her the campaign was making a difference.

“A clinic director in St. Paul called me and said, ‘I know thatʼs you behind these billboards,’” Kuharski recalled. “She told me a woman had come in scheduled for an abortion and said, ‘I canʼt stand to drive by that billboard on my way to work every day. Will you help me?’”

“Thatʼs when we realized that the Holy Spirit was behind these billboards, not us,” she said.

As requests for the campaign spread beyond Minnesota, the organization expanded nationally and eventually changed its name to Pro-Life Across America.

Now in its 37th year, the nonprofit operates in all 50 states through a nationwide educational outreach that includes more than 11,000 billboards annually, as well as thousands of radio spots, internet advertisements, and streaming television and radio ads when funding allows.

A ministry serving women — and men

While many assume pregnancy resource ministries primarily serve women, Kuharski said a significant number of calls come from men.

“Forty percent or more of the calls to our hotline are men,” she said. “Theyʼre the fathers of the baby. Theyʼre the brothers. Theyʼre the fathers of the pregnant girl.”

Some callers seek pregnancy resources, including medical care, confidential counseling, housing, and adoption information, while others are looking for healing years after abortion.

Kuharski recalled one man who contacted the organization around Christmas after years of staying away from church.

“He said, ‘I paid for two abortions years ago, and Iʼve never felt good about going back into a church,’” she said. “‘I pushed and pushed her until she got those abortions, and I havenʼt been able to have peace since.’”

The organization connected him with a pastor and a menʼs support group.

“Itʼs amazing what the truth will do to help us really relieve our consciences if we follow our conscience,” Kuharski said.

Kuharski said stories like his are common, as are calls from women who credit the organizationʼs outreach with changing the course of their lives.

One recent caller shared her gratitude three years after seeing one of the organizationʼs billboards.

“I had to call to say, ‘Thank you!’ Three years ago today, because of many circumstances, I was scheduled for an abortion. I drove by one of your billboards and read the message. Today, Iʼm on my way to church with my 3-and-a-half-year-old little girl, and I have you to thank for her!”

Kuharski said moments like these reinforce the organizationʼs belief that a simple billboard or advertisement can be the only sign of hope someone encounters during an unexpected pregnancy.

“So often a simple billboard, radio message, or ad on the internet may be the only sign of help and hope to someone experiencing an untimely pregnancy,” she said.

Continuing the mission

Today, Kuharskiʼs daughter oversees much of the organizationʼs daily operations. The ministryʼs hotline receives more than 700 calls each month from people seeking pregnancy assistance, adoption information, medical care, confidential counseling, housing, or post-abortion support.

The hotline operates around the clock and connects callers with a network of more than 3,000 pro-life agencies across the country, including Spanish-language resources.

Although the organization now has 11 employees, Kuharski said that only one works full time. She said approximately 92 cents of every donated dollar goes directly toward the ministryʼs outreach rather than administrative costs, with less than 8 cents going toward administrative expenses. The organization remains entirely donor-funded.

Despite decades of growth, Kuharski said the organizationʼs mission has remained unchanged.

“Weʼre nonpolitical and totally educational and service-oriented,” she said. “Not that I wouldnʼt want to change the laws, but I think itʼs important for us to change hearts in this country.”

She said the ministry continues to operate “like a mission,” relying entirely on public support to sustain its nationwide outreach and to ensure that those facing unexpected pregnancies can find help when they need it most.

“I have been humbled and inspired by the stories — so many stories, everywhere I go — of how the March for Life has changed people’s minds and hearts, how for so many Marchers it has sparked a lifetime of action and advocacy on behalf of the unborn, and in some cases, how it has changed the entire trajectory of their lives,” Bradley Lichter wrote in a farewell statement.

She and her husband “are raising two tweens and a rising kindergartner, and it has become very clear that my family needs more of my time and my active presence than I’m able to give while leading the March for Life,” she said in the statement.

“My most important titles of all are not ‘President’ — but ‘wife’ and ‘Mom,’” she said.

Bradley Lichter said that her role has been “the highlight of my professional life.”

The resignation is effective July 31. The March for Life Board is actively searching for a new president.

The annual demonstration draws tens of thousands to the nation’s capital yearly to advocate for the rights of unborn babies.

Abortion drug present in municipal water, study finds

A study published on July 20 in the Journal of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine highlighted the need for “significant additional investigation into the levels of various hormones and [endocrine-disrupting chemicals], including mifepristone, in water sources,” with researchers finding high levels of the abortion drug in municipal water supplies.

Mifepristone is used in chemical abortions, as well as in treatment for miscarriages, and works by blocking progesterone, a hormone necessary for pregnancy.

The investigation found “significant levels of mifepristone (up to 0.041 μgram/l) in the water of all but one of the nine sampling classes,” the study read.

Water samples “were collected from sites upstream and downstream of water treatment facilities and from municipal tap water” from multiple American cities.

“Because of the plethora of effects of progesterone, this contaminant could affect the physiology of aquatic animals; and human health, including fertility, pregnancy, and fetal development,” the researchers said.

Justice Department settles with pro-life father after FBI raid

The U.S. Department of Justice reached a seven-figure settlement with pro-life father Paul Vaughn after his home was raided by the FBI in connection with his pro-life work.

The settlement affirmed that under the Biden administration, the government’s actions “were an abuse of government power,” according to a July 28 press release by the Thomas More Society, the legal nonprofit that defended Vaughn.

Vaughn, a Catholic father of 11, was arrested at gunpoint after the FBI raided his house in connection with his protest at an abortion clinic. He is one of several pro-life advocates prosecuted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act during the Biden administration.

“My family has been through a traumatic ordeal that never should have happened. But today brings an end to this portion of the story,” Vaughn said in a statement.

“This chapter is finally closed, and our family looks forward with gratitude and hope, as we continue to serve God, advocating for the most vulnerable among us without fear.”

Catholic bishops of Massachusetts speak out against late-term abortion bill

The Catholic bishops of Massachusetts spoke out this week against a bill that will legalize late-term abortion in the state.

“As Catholic bishops we have a moral responsibility to present and uphold Catholic teaching and the sacred God-given dignity of every human life from conception to the natural death,” the bishops said in a July 29 statement signed by Bishop William Byrne of Springfield, Archbishop Richard Henning of Boston, Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester, and Bishop Edgar da Cunha of Fall River.

The state Legislature passed the bill in July, with the Massachusetts Senate voting in favor of it on July 31. The measure, if signed into law, will remove the stateʼs 24-week limit on abortion.

“The proposed elimination of any legal restraint on late-term abortion is, in our judgment, a radical measure which is gravely immoral,” the bishops’ statement read.

The advocacy group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is also strongly opposing the bill; the group’s president Marjorie Dannenfelser called for nationwide protections for unborn children.

“If Gov. [Maura] Healey signs this bill into law, Massachusetts will join 10 states and Washington, D.C., with an all-trimester abortion policy where babies are killed after the point they can survive outside of the womb,” Dannenfelser told EWTN News.

“These extreme laws that only 10% of Americans support are enabled by the ‘states-only’ philosophy on abortion,” she said.

The state Senate passed Bill H.5595 on July 31, a little over a week after the state House passed the same measure. The bill now awaits Democratic Gov. Maura Healey’s signature.

The legislation removes all of the state’s current restrictions on abortion after 24 weeks, instead dictating that a late-term abortion may be done based upon “the professional judgment of the physician” performing it.

Current state law, which H.5595 would change, only allows late-term abortions if they are necessary to preserve the life or “physical or mental health” of the mother, or if the baby has been diagnosed with a fatal condition.

Abortions are also allowed to be performed in the state if a baby would require “extraordinary medical interventions” to survive after birth.

If signed into law, the bill would make Massachusetts the 11th state to impose no limits whatsoever on abortion. Healey, who has served as the state’s governor since 2023, is an outspoken supporter of abortion.

The passage of the bill drew rebuke from SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser, who said in a July 31 statement that the state’s already-generous abortion policy “isn’t enough for Democrats whose party holds the position of no limits on abortion whatsoever.”

“These extreme laws that only 10% of Americans support are enabled by the ‘states-only’ philosophy on abortion,” she argued.

“The GOP must abandon the failed ‘leave it to the states’ position and move the country toward a national protection for unborn children across this nation,” she said.

Ahead of the July 31 vote, the state’s Catholic bishops had also criticized the measure.

“The proposed elimination of any legal restraint on late-term abortion is, in our judgment, a radical measure which is gravely immoral,” the bishops’ July 29 statement read.

The bishops urged Catholics “to pray for a renewal of reverence for all human life.”

Speaking in an interview with “EWTN News In Depth” host Catherine Hadro on July 31, Pimentel — a Missionary of Jesus and the executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley who has served as a longtime migrant advocate — recounted her reaction after learning that Sister Leticia “Letty” Ugboaja had been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials while walking to church in June.

Ugboaja, a Nigerian-born member of the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy and a nurse, has served in the Diocese of Brownsville for nearly two decades. She has ministered in Catholic schools, parishes, and hospitals throughout south Texas and has become well known for her work with immigrant and low-income families.

In 2019, a judge denied Ugboaja’s asylum application but did grant her protection from removal to Nigeria under the United Nations Convention Against Torture because she is likely to face torture in her native country.

She is still at risk of third-country removal, however. Her attorney, Carlos Garcia, says she is legally permitted to work in the U.S. and has complied with every immigration requirement.

“My most immediate concern was that she needed somebody by her side,” Pimentel recalled in the interview with “EWTN News in Depth.”

She said she learned from a priest that Ugboaja was “very frightened,” crying after being taken into custody. Pimentel immediately contacted an ICE official she knew to determine what had happened and whether she could accompany the nun during the process.

“Knowing her, sheʼs such a beautiful person,” Pimentel said. “She was walking to church, and the last thing in her mind was that somebody was just going to take her and change her life this way.”

Although Ugboaja has resumed serving her community, including attending daily Mass, Pimentel said the experience continues to affect her.

“I think sheʼs a strong woman that is trying her best to put this behind her,” she said. “But I noticed that even the day of the press conference, she became overwhelmed with fear.”

Concerns over access to the sacraments

During the interview, Hadro replayed remarks Ugboaja made at a recent press conference where the religious sister described being prevented from attending Sunday Mass or receiving Communion while in detention.

“It was very, very heartbreaking for me,” Letty said. “Can I go to Mass? Can I just attend Mass? Can I receive Communion? And the answer was no.”

Asked whether immigration enforcement has affected Catholics' ability to practice their faith, Pimentel said priests throughout the Diocese of Brownsville have reported growing anxiety among immigrant families.

“What I hear from local priests that call me … is, ‘Norma, please help me. One of our families, one of their mothers … theyʼre all frightened,’” Pimentel said in the interview.

While Pimentel said she is not aware of people being detained while attending Mass, she said many families have become fearful after seeing immigration officials in their communities, including near schools.

“Itʼs so sad to hear that, the fact that people are afraid to go to church,” she said.

A call for legal pathways

Hadro also asked Pimentel how Catholics should balance respect for the rule of law with the Churchʼs teaching on the dignity of every human person.

Pimentel said border security and human dignity “go hand in hand,” arguing that nations have the right to maintain an orderly immigration system while also providing legal avenues for migrants who qualify to remain in the country.

“We must be able to distinguish the difference,” she said, calling for “safe legal procedures” that allow immigrants who contribute to their communities to pursue legal status.

Pimentel expressed hope that legal pathways for asylum seekers who do not pose a threat to public safety would continue to be available.

“I think those legal pathways need to be established,” she said, “for certain individuals that present themselves as something that contributes good to our country.”

Aging with Dignity, a nonprofit organization, defends the rights of all people as they approach the end of life.

On Aug. 5, New York will become the 13th state in the country, along with the District of Columbia, to allow doctors to prescribe lethal doses of medication to terminally ill patients. Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the legislation (S.138/A.136) into law on Feb. 6, 2025.

“We shouldnʼt be offering the false solution of suicide. Suicide is not a real medical treatment. It is not a solution to suffering,” Towey said in an interview with Catherine Hadro of “EWTN News In Depth.”

When New York’s state Legislature passed its assisted suicide bill, “it didnʼt include any waiting periods out of the gate,” which are intended “to protect against rash decision-making,” he said.

There also “wasnʼt a residential requirement,” he said. So people “could come from any state in the country and get assisted suicide in New York without any waiting period.”

“Now, the law, as it was signed by Gov. Hochul, included certain stipulations for those. But I can promise you that this is just the beginning because theyʼre going to come back. They always do,” he said.

Aging with Dignity

Founded in 1996 by Jim Towey, legal counsel and close adviser to St. Teresa of Calcutta, also known as Mother Teresa, the Aging with Dignity organization “was informed almost entirely by his experiences working with Mother Teresa of Calcutta for the last 12 years of her life,” said Jamie Towey, son of Jim Towey.

For Mother Teresa, “dying was more than a medical moment. It was an emotional and a spiritual moment where people werenʼt just there to have their pain managed or their checklist of symptoms addressed … They needed to be accompanied,” he said.

“They needed, in Motherʼs words, to love and to be loved. And so when dad founded Aging with Dignity, he wanted to take Motherʼs example and bring that to the United States and give people the right to have that opportunity to age with dignity,” he said.

Today, the organization continues its mission through numerous programs including its Assisted Suicide Watch. The program tracks the data and researches the consequences that follow when physician-assisted suicide becomes law.

Its research has found that the situation is “a mess,” Jamie Towey said. “We were promised that this would be transparent,” but "in reality we have very poor insights into whatʼs happening with the data.”

New Mexico and Montana have “never submitted an annual report on assisted suicide data,” he said. “Our nationʼs capital of Washington, D.C., hasnʼt submitted one in years.”

Washington state has lifted some of its reporting requirements, Hawaii’s health department has recommended repealing portions of its reporting rules, and Vermont releases its data biennially.

There are also “tremendously conflicting reporting standards across the states,” because “one state will report who died from the drugs, one state will report just how many people were prescribed the drugs,” he said.

“But for the data that we do have, you see some very concerning things,” he said.

Even though “every law has a requirement for psychiatric evaluations, “only one out of the 13 where this is legal tracks psychiatric evaluations, and thatʼs Oregon,” he said. “Last year, between four and 500 people were prescribed these drugs in Oregon. Two were referred for psychiatric evaluations.”

Some studies show “as high as 20% of people with a terminal cancer diagnosis suffer from severe depression,” he said. “One of the symptoms of severe depression is suicidal ideation. So this is a population that is very exposed to suicide. And Oregon is doing nothing to screen for that.”

Increase in assisted suicide led by ‘culture of death’

“To take a step back and put yourself in the shoes of someone who has a terminal diagnosis or whoʼs just living in a nursing home … and is aging alone,”  Towey said. “Maybe they donʼt have good access to pain control” or “they donʼt have good access to care.”

“If you put yourself in those shoes, you can understand the impulse of wanting to just escape somehow,” he said.

“Now, those desires are playing out in a culture of death. And we have organizations like Compassion and Choices, which are $20 million a year organizations, tens of millions in assets, that have been behind this push in every single state where itʼs been legalized. And so theyʼre moving in on the vulnerable,” he said.

To people who feel this way, Towey’s message is to remember that “your life has meaning, and itʼs hard, and that suffering is real and that you deserve accompaniment.”

“You deserve to be shepherded through this. You deserve a real person. You deserve access to care. And if youʼre not getting those, thatʼs an indictment on our healthcare system, and thatʼs what we ought to fix,” he said.

You deserve to be shepherded through this. You deserve a real person. You deserve access to care. And if you’re not getting those, that’s an indictment on our healthcare system, and that’s what we ought to fix.”

Jamie Towie

President, Aging with Dignity

To combat the culture of death, the organization offers its Five Wishes legal document, which is an advanced care planning program so people can establish their wishes for care ahead of a serious illness.

“Every patient has the right to determine the kind of care that he or she wants. Thatʼs guaranteed in federal law,” he said.

Five Wishes “has been used by 44 million Americans” and “40,000 organizations,” he said. “We are just trying to empower patients to make decisions about the kind of care that they want, and to name the people that can speak for them.”

“I think for Catholics in particular, every Catholic wants to finish life faithfully. They want to be in a position where they can have that hopeful vision at the end of life and really live out those moments with their loved ones,” he said.

The epiphany inspired Burbach to eventually launch Creedo, an app that utilizes the format of the beloved language-learning platform Duolingo to gamify lessons about Catholic teaching.

Creedo’s platform includes digestible lessons about the sacraments, Mary, the Trinity, angels, demonology, social teaching, and more. According to Burbach, the app avoids reinterpretation and draws its content from Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and other classic Catholic works.

“I wanted to build a platform that made it easier to engage consistently with Scripture and the Churchʼs rich tradition in small, manageable steps,” he told EWTN News. “Today, Creedo helps individuals grow in their faith while also giving parishes a unified platform to manage formation programs like OCIA [Order of Christian Initiation of Adults], sacramental preparation, Bible studies, and more.”

Burbach shared more about his vision for the app and how he hopes it will serve the Church in an interview with EWTN News.

EWTN News: What gap does Creedo fill in Catholic catechesis, and what sets it apart from other Catholic apps?

Burbach: One of the things that makes Creedo different is that it transforms the Churchʼs incredible treasury of teaching into a daily habit. The Church has never lacked great content. What itʼs often lacked is a format that people genuinely look forward to engaging with every day.

Creedo doesnʼt just put the Churchʼs teaching in your pocket. It gives you an app you actually want to take out of your pocket. Delightful animations, rewarding progression, and even a wingman character accompany users throughout their formation. Weʼve been amazed to see users of all ages come back day after day because learning the faith has become something they genuinely enjoy.

That same philosophy also shaped our parish platform. We wanted to make it just as enjoyable for parish leaders to accompany people through the faith. Instead of juggling paper forms, PDFs, spreadsheets, and multiple software tools, parishes can manage OCIA, Bible studies, sacramental preparation, and other formation programs in one place while members complete lessons, documents, and questionnaires in the same app.

What has been the response to Creedo among users?

The most rewarding part has been watching people build consistent habits around Scripture and the Churchʼs teaching. Users have completed tens of thousands of lessons on Scripture, Augustineʼs “Confessions,” the “Summa Theologica,” “Story of a Soul” [by St. Thérèse of Lisieux], and many other works in numbers I honestly never expected.

For thousands of people, Creedo has become part of their morning routine: a few minutes spent in Scripture, a daily meditation, or even a Catholic word puzzle before the rest of the day begins.

Itʼs also been exciting to see parishes embrace our parish platform for programs like OCIA. In one parish, participants completed more than 2,000 lessons on Scripture and Catholic teaching before a single lesson had even been assigned for an OCIA session. That kind of enthusiasm is incredibly humbling to witness.

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How does Creedo embody Pope Leo XIVʼs call in Magnifica Humanitas to use technology for human flourishing?

I believe technology is at its best when it helps people encounter Christ, and thatʼs what Creedo is built to do. We spend so much of our lives building habits around our phones. The important question isnʼt simply whether we have habits but what those habits are forming us to become.

Creedo is designed to be a simple five-minute daily habit. During those five minutes, youʼre reading Scripture, engaging with the Churchʼs teaching, and exploring the writings of the saints and other classic Catholic works. Rather than competing with the Churchʼs traditional resources, our goal is to help people return to them consistently. The technology isnʼt the point. Itʼs simply the vehicle that helps make those encounters a regular part of everyday life.

If Creedo helps someone discover the beauty of Scripture or the wisdom of the saints for the first time, then weʼve accomplished exactly what we set out to do.

With 70% of Scouting units in the United States chartered by religious organizations, “faith is integral to who we are as an organization,” Michael Ramsey, chief marketing officer for Scouting America, told EWTN News.

“Our Scout Oath, that every Scout knows, starts off with, ‘On my honor, I will do my duty to God and my country.’”

“Faith is not just the motion that we go to. Faith is who we are as an organization,” he said.

As part of its National Boy Scouts Jamboree, Scouting America brought together thousands of Catholic Scouts for a Mass celebrated by Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, and Bishop Michael Fisher of Buffalo, New York.

The jamboree, which wrapped up on July 30, is a 10-day-long event that takes place every four years. It brings together more than 15,000 Scouts to camp and learn outdoor, conservation, and survival skills while meeting peers from across the nation.

The event, which was first held in 1937 around the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., is now held at the Summit Bechtel Reserve.

“We actually took over a coal mine that had been abandoned in the ‘70s. And we reclaimed something that was an ugly scar on the earth … and turned it into heaven for Scouting,” Ramsey said.

At the camp are zip lines, rock climbing, skateboarding, and also a Sunday morning of worship.

Scouting America offers multiple worship services at the jamboree, the Catholic Mass being the largest.

At the recent Mass it “was absolutely stunning to see that many young people,” Ramsey reflected. “Theyʼre at camp, but they chose to be there. Almost 9,000 Scouts that were here, 2,000 of them came to Mass on Sunday morning. “

“Itʼs really a powerful testimony to faith in Scouting,” he said. “I donʼt know who else is running a Mass for 2,000 youth on Sunday morning. We like to think it was the biggest one in the country at that time, but itʼs such an important part of who we are.”

The jamboree also offers a number of other attractions.

“Weʼve got the second-largest zip line in the country at our property in West Virginia,” Ramsey said. “We have a skate park thatʼs the size of an aircraft carrier and some of the largest shooting ranges in the country.”

At the jamboree, there are also concerts, food trucks, booths, adventure activities, and opportunities for Scouts to earn merit badges.

“And youʼre with a bunch of scouts who are all living the ideals of the Scout Oath and Scout Law — to be trustworthy, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent,” he said.

The event brings “together scouts from all across the country,” Ramsey said. “They come in contingents from 228 of our local councils across the country.”

National Catholic Committee on Scouting

“Right now across the country, there are almost 131,000 Catholic Scouts across the country, which is a phenomenal number for us representing just shy of 200 dioceses, which we are very proud of.”

“The Catholic Church is the largest chartering organization that we work with in the whole country — by a fair amount. It is absolutely critical for us,” Ramsey said. “We actually have the National Catholic Committee on Scouting.”

The organization was recently renamed to Catholic Scouting America but has the same goal — to provide guidance and structure for the integration of Catholic teaching into Scouting America programs.

An organization officially related to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Scouting America is “made up of Catholic leaders that helped promote Scouting in the Catholic Church but also serve as a liaison with the leadership of the Catholic Church,” Ramsey said.

The organization even “signed a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Catholic Church about 18 months ago,” he said.

The MOU reported it reaffirms the organizations' “shared values and outlines collaborative efforts to provide enriching and character-building opportunities for Catholic youth through Scouting.”

The MOU noted that the ties between the Catholic faith and Scouting in the United States are as old as the movement itself.

In 1910, the same year Scouting America was founded, one of the earliest known Catholic-chartered troops was established in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was quickly followed by the founding of a troop at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York in 1912.

“It was one of the earliest religious organizations to adopt Scouting in the U.S. Itʼs a long, proud history that we have with the Church,” Ramsey said. “We want to make sure that we reach every young person in the Catholic Church who wants to be involved in Scouting.”

In a July 31 letter addressed to Michael Sheedy, the conference’s executive director, Uthmeier, a Catholic, expressed concern that “at least one diocese” appears to have adopted a policy articulated by the National Catholic Bioethics Center in 2011 that states Catholic institutions “cannot grant an exemption from vaccination on religious grounds.” Under Florida law, the attorney general pointed out, both public and private schools are required to provide religious exemptions for vaccinations.

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Citing Church teaching on respect for human life from conception to natural death, Uthmeier noted that “the Catholic Church has historically encouraged the faithful to abstain from the use of vaccines produced from aborted fetal tissue, while at the same time recognizing the moral permissibility of using such vaccines in certain circumstances.”

“But even if abortion-derived vaccines may be permissible to take, Church teaching also recognizes that no one should be forced to take a vaccine ‘if it would violate the sanctity of his or her conscience,’” he said. “Having no legitimate religious reason to refuse granting religious exemptions to the taking of abortion-derived vaccines, Catholic schools in Florida should comply with Florida law.”

Institute for Ethics and Common Good grants boost ethics and spirituality research on AI

The University of Notre Dame announced that its Institute for Ethics and the Common Good has awarded more than $800,000 in rapid-response grants for research on “the ethical and spiritual implications” of AI.

“The grants, provided through the institute’s DELTA Partner Program and selected from a competitive pool of over 160 applicants, offer seed funding for organizations to convene strategic gatherings, provide training, and create high-impact, practical tools and resources for educators, students, policymakers, and pastoral leaders as they lead in the midst of the rapidly changing technological landscape,” the university said in a July 29 press release.

Grants were distributed to 12 organizations, including Catholic tech companies, schools, and public policy nonprofits.

“We were thrilled to see such a wide range of organizations and individuals who were interested in immersing themselves in the DELTA framework and adapting it for their own unique contexts,” Meghan Sullivan, director of the Ethics Initiative, said in the release. “We know that those working to develop this new technology are moving rapidly, and so there’s a real need for Christian leaders across a wide variety of fields to also work quickly to help navigate questions of what it means to lead a good human life, to serve the common good, and to build what Pope Leo calls the ‘civilization of love’ in this new context.”

“Each of these partners brings a unique perspective to bear on the question of what it means to be human in this current moment,” Adam Kronk, director of DELTA, said in the release. “We are excited to have them as part of our growing community of leaders who are looking for tools to protect the dignity of learning and form people’s hearts and minds.”

Franciscan University launches ‘Be Light’ faculty appreciation fellowship

Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, has announced a faculty fellowship program aimed at recognizing professors who have made an exceptional impact on students and the university’s Catholic mission.

“The highly competitive Be Light Faculty Fellows Program was established in 2026 to recognize and retain professors whose consistent exceptional performance strengthens academic programs, creates new opportunities, inspires students, and advances the university,” Franciscan said in a July 28 press release.

The university named seven faculty members to the fellowship, which includes “a monetary award that can be utilized for research costs, course reduction, or salary.”

“Recipients were selected following a nomination process and an extensive review of their performance in teaching, scholarship, and service over the previous three years, along with assessments of their broader institutional impact by their deans and department chairs,” the university said.

The program comes as part of the university’s Be Light Strategic Plan aimed at improving recruitment and retention of “mission-dedicated faculty and staff.”

John Paul the Great Catholic University announces degree in narrative arts

John Paul the Great Catholic University will launch a bachelor of narrative arts degree in screenwriting and fiction in fall 2026.

“The degree creates new pathways for students pursuing careers in storytelling across multiple media, while retaining the previous pathways,” the university said in a July 1 press release. Students who apply to the program before Sept. 1 will receive a $1,000 scholarship that may be stacked with other need- and merit-based aid.

Screenwriting students will be able to choose from a bachelor of science in communications media with an emphasis in screenwriting, a bachelor of arts in humanities with an emphasis in screenwriting, or a bachelor of narrative arts with an emphasis in screenwriting. Creative writing students will be able to choose from a bachelor of arts in humanities with an emphasis in creative writing or a bachelor of narrative arts with an emphasis in fiction.

“Alongside the launch of the Bachelor of Narrative Arts, JPCatholic is also introducing a renewed emphasis in Catholic Education & Evangelization within its Bachelor of Arts in Humanities,” the release said. “Led by Professor Justin Panlasigui, chair of Humanities, the revised emphasis builds upon the universityʼs former New Evangelization emphasis while providing students with stronger preparation for careers in Catholic education, ministry, catechesis, and evangelization.”

“Our new Catholic Education & Evangelization emphasis will help students develop an important skill set for todayʼs intra- and extra-ecclesial landscape,” Panlasigui said.

University of Dallas, DeSales University launch graduate partnership

The University of Dallas and DeSales University have announced an academic partnership to expand graduate-level business school offerings.

“Through a Memorandum of Understanding, enrolled graduate students at each university will be able to pursue select online concentration courses offered by the partner institution while remaining matriculated at their home university,” the University of Dallas said in a July 15 press release. Courses will be available online with flexible synchronous and asynchronous options, the release said.

“We are excited to partner with DeSales University in a collaboration that expands academic opportunities for students at both institutions while preserving our shared commitment to rigorous, applied graduate business education,” said J. Lee Whittington, dean of the Gupta College of Business at the University of Dallas.

Under the agreement, University of Dallas students will be able to enroll in DeSales’ courses in healthcare management and operations and supply chain management, while DeSales students will have access to University of Dallas classes in accounting, finance, and financial planning.

“We view this partnership as more than an academic agreement — it is a strategic collaboration between two institutions committed to student success,” said Chris Cocozza, dean of the Waterbury Reilly School of Business at DeSales.

Abortion pill reversal gives a mother the option to save the life of her child after she has taken the first chemical abortion pill. If she changes her mind, she can take the hormone progesterone to potentially save the child.

California’s attorney general is asking the Alameda County Superior Court to stop nonprofits Heartbeat International and RealOptions from offering this reversal, demanding up to $20 million in fines for alleged false advertising, with the government calling the measure “an unproven and largely experimental procedure.”

The state government is targeting those ministries for “telling women who regret swallowing the abortion pill that there is a medical treatment that can sometimes save their babies,” San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone and Oakland Bishop Michael Barber wrote in a July 30 op-ed for the Wall Street Journal.

Cordileone and Barber said that as priests they hear from many women who regret their abortions. Reading those depositions is “painful,” the bishops said.

They cited the case of Elizabeth Barrett, a woman who turned to abortion pill reversal through Heartbeat International and who ultimately gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Barrett testified in the case that she had originally felt pressured by Planned Parenthood staff to abort the baby.

“To be a Catholic priest these days, as we both are, is to have heard many similar stories of women who felt pressured to have an abortion they didn’t want,” they said. “Everyone should oppose this.”

The bishops argued that the California government aims to take away choices from women. The legal dispute “is a rare case that should bring together both sides of the abortion debate,” the bishops wrote.

“In particular, it tests the souls of those who claim the platform of ‘pro-choice.’ What kind of people see a pregnant woman who wants to reverse the effects of an abortion pill and think, ‘Let’s punish the nonprofits that informed her she has a choice’?” they said.

This is not the only case targeting abortion pill reversal, the bishops pointed out. New York state’s attorney general has filed a similar lawsuit against Heartbeat International.

People of faith have a particular call to support women in these scenarios, the bishops said.

“[T]hese women especially need support from the religious — those who hold that creation in God’s image means life is endowed with a dignity that can’t be trampled by a government determined to punish those who oppose unquestioned abortion,” they said.

“I think with some precautions, we can allow a greater access to the Mass and maintain unity within the Church,” Cordileone said in a July 30 interview on “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo.”

Cordileone, who is one of seven new members of the Apostolic Signatura appointed by Pope Leo XIV, spoke about the Latin Mass restrictions following the excommunication of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) members involved in consecrating four bishops without the pope’s permission.

The SSPX consecrations manifest “a growing lack of trust that has been simmering for a very long time,” Cordileone wrote in a post to X.

“Let us pray that an ardent effort toward sincere and honest dialogue will soon start up, and that easier access to the traditional form of the Mass will be available to our people, so they will not feel as if they are constrained to seek spiritual nourishment outside of the family in union with Rome,” he said in the July 10 statement.

While Cordileone and other leaders have called for less restrictions on the TLM, Cardinal Arthur Roche, head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, said in an interview with The Tablet that Pope Leo has no intention of changing Pope Francis’ restrictions on the traditional liturgy.

Cordileone told Raymond Arroyo in response to Roche’s comments: “I donʼt know how well he knows the mind of the Holy Father. But I think one thing thatʼs clear to everyone is the Holy Father wants to bring everyone together. Heʼs all about unity.”

Cordileone said he is concerned that if the restrictions remain in place, people who want a traditional form of worship will feel they “have no choice” other than “to go outside of officially approved institutions and communities.”

“They will do that. So I think thereʼs concern for unity on both sides. One, if the restrictions are in place, people will then go to these other groups that are not in full communion with the See of Rome,” he said.

“But if theyʼre allowed generously, we have to make sure that the people who access the Mass are in full communion in terms of their belief and their acceptance of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council,” he said.

In the U.S. and other nations, Cordileone said that has, for “the most part,” been the case.

“So I think with some precautions, we can allow a greater access to the Mass and maintain unity within the Church,” he said.

Reconciliation of TLM restrictions not ‘realistic’

While Cordileone said he believes more access to the TLM is possible, he said he does not think itʼs “realistic” to reconcile the TLM restrictions following Pope Leoʼs message to the French bishops to be more inclusive of those who want to celebrate the traditional rite.

In March, Pope Leo XIV called for “concrete solutions” to heal divisions over the Mass in a message to the French bishops.

The Holy Father called for renewed unity in the Church’s liturgical life, urging French bishops to seek “concrete solutions” to include Catholics attached to the Traditional Latin Mass while preserving communion.

“We look at the younger generation — they all love the tradition,” Cordileone said. “They love the more classical way that the Church worships, the traditional Mass, what we call the traditional Mass, the form of the Mass before it was changed after the Second Vatican Council.”

“But even the order of the Mass as we have now done in a more traditional way with the priest ad orientem, and the sacred music, and great solemnity, and reverence. Theyʼre desiring this deep tradition. It takes them to a very deep place,” he said.

“This is unstoppable. Itʼs whatʼs drawing young people in and will continue to do so,” he said.

The lawsuit had been brought earlier in July by four communities of religious sisters in the state. U.S. District Judge Anne Nardacci on July 30 issued the consent order holding that the government is “barred from requiring that [the sisters]” participate in the assisted suicide process in any way while their lawsuit proceeds.

The suicide law itself is scheduled to go into effect on Aug. 5.

The decision was announced by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing the sisters in the suit along with Rockville Centre Bishop John Barres.

Mother Mary Rose Heery, OCarm, the prioress general of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, said in the legal group’s press release that families “entrust their loved ones to us” and that the sisters were “grateful that we can continue honoring that trust and remain beside every resident until the very end.”

“[The state’s] decision not to enforce this law against us means that we can continue our loving service to Christ’s poor,” Mother Marie Edward, OP, the superior general of the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, said in the announcement.

Barres, meanwhile, called the consent order an “important first step toward protecting religious freedom” in the state.

“New York cannot force the Church to answer suffering with suicide or abandon the sick and dying when they need care most,” the bishop said.

“Until our legal fight is resolved, this temporary agreement keeps our ministries free to serve every patient according to the Gospel,” he said.

New York’s assisted suicide law has drawn pushback from Catholic advocates. In December 2025 the state’s Catholic bishops described assisted suicide as a “grave moral evil” and said the law signals the state government’s “abandonment of its most vulnerable citizens.”

New York cannot force the Church to answer suffering with suicide.”

Bishop John Barres

Diocese of Rockville Centre

The suicide law “[tells] people who are sick or disabled that suicide in their case is not only acceptable but is encouraged by our elected leaders,” the bishops argued.

In addition to the Catholic legal filing, disability advocates filed suit against the New York law earlier this year, arguing that it threatens the lives of people with disabilities there.

The suit, filed in federal court in June alongside a similar suit against a new assisted suicide regime in the state of Illinois, argued that the New York law does not require medical officials to “consider a patient’s psychiatric or psychological condition or how that may affect their suicidality” when they ask for help in dying, potentially leading to the euthanasia of patients who are not suffering from terminal conditions. A federal judge dismissed that suit on July 30.

When it legalized assisted suicide in February, New York became the 13th state in the U.S. to allow doctors to help kill patients.

Farther to the north, Canada has had nationally legalized assisted suicide for about a decade, during which about 100,000 people have taken their lives under the program.

Inspired by the retreats of Father Karol Wojtyła — later Pope John Paul II — the St. John Paul II Retreat House will offer Catholic group retreats in a prayerful setting.

The house, which is a pastoral initiative of the Knights of Columbus, will be unveiled and blessed on Aug. 26. The event will include Mass and a blessing by Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, supreme chaplain of the Knights of Columbus.

“Pope John Paul II’s deep spiritual life was the engine which drove everything else he did,” Stephen White, executive director of the St. John Paul II Shrine, said in a press release.

“Through prayer, he allowed God to make him a saint. The Retreat House is a way to invite guests to enter more deeply into the vocation we all share — answering God’s call to become saints,” White said.

As a young priest, then-Wojtyła led wilderness excursions for young people while teaching them about the faith. He used the quiet setting as a place for Mass, prayer, and discussion, which the center hopes to reflect.

The center strives to imitate the early home of Wojtyła, in the years prior to his election as pope, according to White. It houses a collection of the saint’s personal belongings including papal dishes, his rosary and cross, and handwritten letters and other items from his writing desk.

It also includes 40 rooms, a library, meeting spaces, a chapel, and a dining area.

The center invites parish ministries, young adult groups, college campus ministries, leadership teams, formation groups, pilgrimage groups visiting the shrine, and any other Catholic group hoping to gather in prayer.

The center also allows for immediate access to the St. John Paul II National Shrine, one of the nationʼs premier Catholic pilgrimage sites, offering a 16,000-square-foot exhibit, sacred spaces, daily Mass, confessions, and a first-class relic of the saint.

Father Vincent Paul Chávez, the pastor of the Shrine of the Little Flower St. Therese of the Infant Jesus Parish in Albuquerque, told EWTN News that the violent incident on July 22 came after several weeks of tension in the community stemming in part from the priest’s open support of a proposed 45,000-square-foot mosque that would be built several miles away from the parish.

Chávez said he spoke at a county meeting on July 1 in support of the construction of the mosque. In remarks he provided to EWTN News, the priest said at the meeting that he would “love” if the mosque were built next to the Catholic parish.

He referred to the Islamic religion as “noble Islam” and as “a religion of Abraham as are Christianity and Judaism.”

“Let us not be influenced by ignorance and racism,” the priest said at the meeting. “We have freedom of religion in these United States.”

Chávez said one attendee filmed his remarks and posted the video to social media; she reportedly urged local residents to contact Archbishop John Wester in protest.

The priest said he eventually responded via the parish’s marquee sign on which he has regularly posted topical messages throughout the years. Chávez said he posted the phrase “Racism is a grave sin against God’s love” on the marquee; two days later he added part of the woman’s name to the sign.

On July 22 Chávez said the woman came to the parish to take a video of the sign. The priest said he spoke briefly with her; he said he remarked to her that he was “living rent-free in her head.” Chávez then went inside the parish, at which point he directed the parish’s facilities manager to ask the woman to leave.

The woman appeared to leave, the priest said, but eventually returned with another man who was reportedly her boyfriend. Chávez said the pair approached the facilities manager in his car while the boyfriend allegedly “presented a gun.” The manager then sprayed both of them in the face with mace.

Chávez said he ran out to take video of the rest of the encounter, which subsequently “de-escalated” with the boyfriend leaving in his car. He was arrested the next day and charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault. The priest said he was told by authorities that the FBI may be investigating the incident as a hate crime.

Both news reports and Chávez himself identified the individuals in the dispute as local residents Katrina Griego and David Romero. Neither individual responded to requests for comment regarding the incident.

Several days after the violent incident at the parish, on July 27, Wester issued a statement in which he said that Muslim residents of Albuquerque “have the same God-given and constitutionally protected right to worship freely as every other faith community, including our own.”

Citing the Second Vatican Council, the archbishop said the principle of freedom of religion “is not limited to Catholics or Christians; it extends fully to Muslims, Jews, and all people who seek to worship according to their conscience.”

In a July 30 statement the U.S. Council on American-Islamic Relations praised the assault charges brought against the suspect in the parish dispute, thanking law enforcement for “taking this alleged threat seriously.”

"No faith leader should face intimidation or violence for defending the constitutional rights and religious freedom of his neighbors,” the council said in its statement.

In a statement to his parishioners after the incident, meanwhile, Chávez said the altercation was “a sobering reminder that words matter.”

“When disagreements become fueled by anger, fear, or hatred, they can have real and dangerous consequences,” he said.

The priest urged the congregation to pray for “everyone involved,” including “those whose actions led to this painful event.”

Father Sylvester Okoh, who was serving in the diocesan hospital ministry under an R-1 religious worker visa, can remain in the country as he awaits government action. Yet, because the priest lost his work authorization amid the delays, he is unable to perform his duties in the diocese.

When reached for comment, Okoh referred EWTN News to his lawyer, Alexander Smith, who said his client has done everything by the book, has not broken any laws, and “just wants to get back to work.”

Smith said there “are no court orders as of yet,” and his application is still pending. He said “we are confident that the government and the court” will recognize the delay is “unreasonable” and ensure his application is processed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

“Father Okoh meets the criteria for these forms of immigration benefits,” he said. “USCIS should have been able to make decisions on his applications within the time allowed. We hope that the government will respond favorably and we will be able to avoid further litigation. Father Okoh wishes to return to his important work as soon as possible.”

Okoh applied for permanent residency on Nov. 7, 2022 — nearly two years before his work authorization was set to expire on Aug. 30, 2024. Because of delays, USCIS extended his authorization until July 19 so he could continue working, and that extension has expired.

One reason for the delay is that USCIS adopted policies in December 2025 and January 2026 that put holds on applications from 39 “high risk” countries, including Nigeria. A federal court order in June requires that USCIS process these applications.

The lawsuit, which was filed shortly before his extension expired, warned that continued delays mean he “will be unable to perform his religious duties,” which will also “interfere with religious services for the diocese.”

It warned of “significant emotional hardship” to Okoh, the diocese, and his parishioners. The lawsuit alleges that USCIS failed to process the application in a “reasonable time,” which is required by law.

“The unreasonable delay in adjudicating [Okoh’s] application has resulted in [him] being stuck in limbo and has caused an extreme hardship on [him],” it adds.

When reached for comment, a spokesperson for USCIS told EWTN News the agency generally does not comment on individual immigration cases. The spokesperson confirmed that USCIS is complying with the June court decision that requires these applications be processed.

Smith said he has not received a response from the federal government as of July 30.

The diocese did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The University of Michigan Health-West system will also create a religious accommodation for employees who do not wish to assist with transgender-related “transitions” or procedures or use LGBT pronouns in a way that violates their religious beliefs.

The legal group First Liberty Institute announced the settlement on July 29, revealing that Valerie Kloosterman and her attorneys would receive $410,000 in damages from the health institution.

Kloosterman, a Christian, had worked at the hospital for 17 years starting in 2004. She was fired in August 2021 after she refused to use LGBT pronouns and make referrals for transgender-related “transition” drugs and surgeries, according to a 2022 lawsuit filed in U.S. district court.

The suit alleged that hospital workers “denigrated [Kloosterman’s] religious beliefs” and “blamed her for gender dysphoria-related suicides” before firing her. The hospital “had no interest in working toward a cooperative, religiously tolerant solution,” the suit said.

Kloosterman on July 29 said in her work she had wished to “provide the best care possible to my patients without being forced to violate my Christian beliefs.”

The new policy “ensures that providers of faith and employees at UMHW will receive religious accommodations so that they can provide excellent care consistent with their medical judgment, because all patients are created in the image of God,” she said.

Numerous U.S. institutions in recent years have faced lawsuits and major payouts involving disputes over LGBT ideology. 

In 2025 the University of Louisville agreed to pay a former professor nearly $1.6 million after it demoted him and refused to renew his contract following off-campus expert testimony in which he spoke about the dangers of performing transgender operations on children.

The same year, United Airlines reached a settlement with a flight attendant who alleged that the airline fired him over expressing support for Catholic teachings on marriage and gender identity.

In 2022, meanwhile, a professor at Shawnee State University received $400,000 after he faced disciplinary action for refusing to use transgender pronouns for a student who identified as the opposite sex.

Prison Ministry Awareness Sunday was observed July 26, highlighting the Church’s call to remember those who are incarcerated.

William Hall, coordinator of Prison Ministry for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, and a member of the Buckingham Correctional Center ministry, said the work is rooted in Christ’s command in Matthew 25 to visit those in prison.

“We try to go in and provide sacraments, provide comfort to the men in prison,” Hall told Veronica Dudo in a July 29 interview with “EWTN News Nightly.”

‘Just as much a part of the parish’

Hall said Catholics behind bars should not be defined solely by their crimes or convictions.

“The guys in prison might just say, ‘Donʼt think of me for what I did but of who I am,’” he said.

Many incarcerated Catholics, Hall added, have discovered a deeper spiritual life through the Church’s presence in prison.

For Hall, ministry begins with a simple approach: “Listen, listen, love, love.”

“You listen to the person, understand where they are in their life, and try to do what you can to make their life better,” he said.

That ministry can bear fruit in unexpected ways.

Hall recalled a recent example in which inmates learned that a young boy outside the prison had been seriously injured when his foot was run over by a lawnmower. Although the inmates earned less than $1 an hour for their prison work, they collected more than $1,000 to send to the boy.

“That got news coverage,” Hall said, adding that the response eventually led corporations to get involved and “became a really big thing.”

For Hall, the story demonstrated how the faith of incarcerated men can move beyond the prison walls.

‘We’re all sinners’

Bishop William Wack of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida, in a July 29 interview with “EWTN News Nightly” emphasized that prisoners remain part of the bishop’s flock.

Shortly after becoming bishop, Wack received a letter from an inmate reminding him that those behind bars wanted to see their shepherd.

“We’re here, and we’re your flock as well,” Wack recalled the inmate writing. “We have needs. We want Communion. We want to see you in person, and time with our shepherd.”

The letter was a “wake-up call” for Wack and renewed his desire to visit prisons, listen to inmates, and celebrate the sacraments with them.

Wack said his own experience with prison ministry began during seminary, when he chose to work with juveniles in detention centers. He later ministered in jails and prisons, including spending an entire summer in a California prison.

Those experiences helped him develop “a love for just being with our brothers and sisters who are incarcerated.”

The bishop stressed that prison ministry does not excuse criminal behavior.

“We’re never saying what you did, what you’re accused of, or what you’re convicted of is OK,” he said. “That’s not what prison ministry is all about.”

Instead, the ministry recognizes a fundamental spiritual need shared by every person.

“We’re all sinners,” Wack said. “It’s just getting to the heart of what we all need: God’s mercy, God’s forgiveness.”

‘Prayer goes a long way’

Wack acknowledged that most Catholics cannot personally enter prisons to minister to inmates. But he said they can still participate in this corporal work of mercy.

“Prayer. That goes a long way,” he said, encouraging Catholics to pray both for those who are incarcerated and for those who minister to them.

Hall said he has also found that prison ministry transforms the volunteers who enter the facilities.

“One of the things people donʼt really realize is that we volunteers who go in get as much out of this as the men in prison,” Hall said.

The Church enters prisons not merely to provide services but to bring Christʼs mercy to people who may feel forgotten and to remind Catholics outside prison walls that they, too, are called to see Christ in those society can easily overlook.

Hall said the experience reveals the deeper reality of Catholic prison ministry: “It’s a large and profitable Christian community.”

For Catholics behind bars, the Church remains a place of sacramental life, community, forgiveness, and hope.

And for those who visit them, prison ministry can become a powerful reminder of Christʼs words in Matthew 25: “I was in prison, and you visited me.”

FCI, which brings policymakers together to infuse Catholic social teaching (CST) into their work, said it plans to make the event an annual gathering dedicated to preserving and advancing Carroll’s legacy.

The Charles Carroll Legacy Gala will be at Charles Carroll House in Annapolis, Maryland, on Aug. 2, the anniversary of Carroll signing the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Proceeds from the evening will support scholarships and the expansion of the FCIʼs CST Certification Course, which is working to equip policy workers to bring faith, reason, and the common good into civic leadership.

Carroll was “quite persecuted as a Catholic, but he chose to put his name on a piece of paper that was very dangerous to his career, his family, his life,” Jennifer Daniels, founder and president of FCI, told EWTN News.

He “chose to say, ‘I want to, and I will, sign this document.’ Now today weʼre trying to uphold that legacy in the same manner, saying, ‘If youʼre Catholic, you want to live your Catholic faith publicly,’” she said.

The event will include Mass and a reception on the grounds of Carroll’s birthplace. Upon his passing, the property was sold to the Redemptorist order, which also built St. Maryʼs Church on the property.

The event will feature tours of the grounds, and attendees will hear from Bradley Birzer, Hillsdale College history professor and author of “American Cicero: The Life of Charles Carroll.”

In the 250th year of the United States, the event will highlight Catholics in America and how “the Church approaches issues, which is not ideological and nonpartisan, very different from the way that the average policymaker in Washington does,” Daniels said.

“While the parties may argue about this and that, the first and foremost prime principle is human dignity,” she said. “If we just get Catholics … talking about human dignity as the prime principle, that translates into all kinds of policy areas.”

“If weʼre leading with human dignity and our result is the common good, weʼre certainly setting ourselves up for some better policy solutions,” Daniels said.

The Faithful Citizenship Institute

FCI, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., grew from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) teaching document “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility,” calling for the faithful to understand political responsibilities as Catholics.

After working in politics and policy for more than 20 years, Daniels started FCI in 2024.

“Our mission is to bring the beauty and wisdom of Catholic social teaching to policymakers and really help them to kind of infuse these foundational principles, so that they can lead with their faith in their policymaking,” Daniels said.

The institute started by “doing some briefings on Capitol Hill,” she said. “Weʼd bring in some great Catholic leaders from various Catholic national organizations that work in Washington, D.C.,” Daniels said.

“The more we started talking to people, the more we started learning that people wanted a deeper dive. They wanted a more comprehensive understanding, not just of the current political event or the current hot-button issue, but a better foundation for all the principles,” she said.

This led the institute to create its CST Certification Course — a graduate-level course designed for Catholic public policy professionals.

“We launched the course last year in the fall of 2025. We had 15 participants from basically all three branches of government, advocacy, think tanks,” Daniels said.

Over the seven-month course, “we walked through the four principles of Catholic social teaching, as well as a history of Catholic social teaching,” she said. The group worked to answer: “What is Catholic social teaching meant for within the context of civic engagement and public policy?”

The course grew into a partnership with The Catholic University of America (CUA). By completing the certification course, students become eligible for up to three credit hours toward a Master of Public Policy at CUA.

Almost all the professors are from CUA, who “do the theological and the academic course instruction, but we added something different … which is the public policy application,” Daniels said.

“With that, we brought in leaders — policy practitioners that work for groups like USCCB, Catholic Charities, Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Health Association, Catholic Climate Covenant,” that discussed “in that nonideological, nonpartisan way, that we want to help to elevate the conversation,” she said.

The institute is going through its 2026-2027 applications and has double the number of applicants since the first year. Applicants include people from the executive branch, Capitol Hill staffers, advocacy workers, and people who work for Church organizations.

With the growing interest in the course, FCI is adding new aspects. For this yearʼs course, which will begin in September, “we are going to put a focus on Pope Leoʼs document Magnifica Humanitas,” Daniels said.

“Pope Leo went through so much of Catholic social teaching in the document. It wasnʼt just about AI. It was really a very comprehensive document about all kinds of elements of Catholic social teaching,” she said.

“Then weʼll end the course with a retreat on Magnificat Humanitas and Catholic principles regarding AI policy. That will be our last event at the end of the course,” she said.