Undset’s life was marked by personal challenges, public controversy, and choices that drew social scandal — giving complexity to her witness to the faith. Literary historians have noted that her life was unconventional for a woman of her time: She smoked, drank, swore, and was known for a sharp tongue and strong personality.

Her work reflects the suffering and turmoil she encountered in her own life as well as the transcendent faith she discovered in Christ. She became Catholic at 42 after being raised an atheist.

Below is a list of several of Undset’s books — both fiction and nonfiction — each a starting place to discover more about the work and life of this renowned writer and possible saint.

‘Kristin Lavransdatter’

Set in medieval Norway, Undset’s magnum opus follows the life of Kristin Lavransdatter, a headstrong and passionate fictional character who defies societal expectations. Throughout the trilogy, Kristin falls in love and weds against her family’s wishes into a marriage that ultimately becomes tumultuous and stained with infidelity and tragedy.

‘Gunnar’s Daughter’

Set in the Viking era on the edge of the introduction of Christianity, a young woman named Vigdis is raped by a man she loved and conceives a son whom she raises on her own. The heart-wrenching story deals with revenge, forgiveness, and a society on the cusp of accepting Christianity but governed by laws of vengeance.

‘The Master of Hestviken’ tetralogy

“The Master of Hestviken” follows the life of Olav Audunsson, a man torn between pagan codes and Christian piety in medieval Norway. The tetralogy, consisting of four volumes (“The Axe,” “The Snake Pit,” “In the Wilderness,” and “The Son Avenger”), deals with sin, suffering, guilt, and redemption. The book has deeply Catholic themes, including a focus on the sacrament of reconciliation, as Audunsson deals with the guilt of a great sin that he feels he cannot confess.

‘Saga of Saints’

“Saga of Saints” tells the history of Norway through the lives of saints who witnessed to the faith throughout the nation’s history. The saga begins with an opening essay called “The Coming of Christianity to Norway” and follows with stories of historical Norwegian figures including Sunniva, King Olava, and Eystein.

Undset’s personal writings

With a journey to faith that has been compared to St. Augustine, Undset was raised by atheist parents and did not find Catholicism until later in her adult life. “Men, Women, and Places” is a collection of Undset’s biographical and cultural essays that offer a closer look into her inner life.

In the collection of nine biographical essays and literary critiques, Undset explores literary figures, saints, and geography, among other topics. Essays highlight medieval English mystics like Margery Kempe and Julian of Norwich as well as poet and philosopher D.H. Lawrence and Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.

The Nebraska State Patrol said it initially arrested 32-year-old Ean Halstead on June 29. The patrol said in a press release that police were investigating a threatening online message against Columbus Catholic Schools and the family of state Gov. Jim Pillen.

The investigation led police to Halstead, who was arrested on June 29 after a standoff at his apartment in Omaha. He was charged with obstructing a police officer and failing to obey a lawful order.

A search at his residence revealed “evidence linking [Halstead] to the threatening message sent to Columbus Catholic Schools,” the patrol said. He was subsequently re-arrested on July 17 and charged with “terroristic threats and destruction of evidence.”

Local news reported that the message, posted to the Facebook page of Columbus Catholic Schools, had declared: “I’m going to shoot up this school and kill Jim Pillen’s children and a few nuns for [expletive] funsies.”

A spokesman for Pillen said the governor’s office was “extremely grateful” for law enforcement’s “quick and thorough work to track down this individual and ensure the security of the First Family.”

“We have zero tolerance for political violence here in Nebraska, including threats to carry it out. If you threaten violence against a public official or their family in this state, you will be found and held accountable,” the governor’s office said.

Pillen has four children with his wife, Suzanne. He has been governor of the state since 2023.

Earlier in 2026 he told EWTN News that there was “no way I could possibly be governor without my faith.”

His faith life includes the regular praying of the rosary; describing his average day, he said: “I get up and I pray to do God’s will.”

In a July 17 interview on “EWTN News In Depth,” Barron said Sheen’s enduring influence was rooted in decades of prayer, intellectual formation, and faithful preaching — a model he said he believes Catholic evangelists need now more than ever.

The Churchʼs recognition follows years of investigation into Sheenʼs life of heroic virtue and the Vaticanʼs approval of a miracle attributed to his intercession. During his priesthood, Sheen became known for proclaiming the Gospel through preaching, writing, radio, and television.

Evangelization built on formation

In the “EWTN News In Depth” interview with anchor Catherine Hadro, Barron, of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, said Sheen’s example offers timely lessons for Catholics seeking to evangelize in today’s digital media landscape.

While technology has made it easier than ever for individuals to become online personalities, Barron said authentic evangelization requires much more than a social media platform or podcast.

According to Barron, Sheenʼs extraordinary effectiveness in radio and television ministry was rooted in decades of intellectual, spiritual, and pastoral formation.

Before becoming one of America’s best-known Catholic communicators, Sheen devoted years to seminary formation, graduate studies at The Catholic University of America, and doctoral studies at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. His preaching reflected a lifelong engagement with sacred Scripture and the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, G.K. Chesterton, and St. John Henry Newman.

“He begins his evangelical work only after a long apprenticeship as a teacher, as a writer, as a student,” Barron said. “Fulton Sheen had an extremely rich academic formation. Seminary, Catholic University, and the advanced doctorate at Louvain.”

For Barron, Sheen demonstrates that lasting evangelization is built upon disciplined study and prayer before public ministry.

“I want you to use the old medium of books,” Barron said. “Read and read and read before you dream of getting in front of the microphone.”

A warning for Catholic communicators

Barron said today’s media environment presents opportunities for evangelization but also significant challenges.

“A lot of people just put a shingle on and say, ‘I’m a Catholic spokesman,’” he said.

Without sufficient theological, philosophical, and spiritual formation, Barron warned, Catholic communicators can unintentionally misrepresent the faith.

“I think Sheen would be bothered by that,” he said.

Rather than seeking influence first, Barron encouraged aspiring Catholic communicators to imitate Sheen’s commitment to study, prayer, and fidelity to the Church before entering public ministry.

A life to imitate

Throughout the interview, Barron pointed to five enduring characteristics of Sheen’s life that remain relevant for Catholics today: daily prayer, serious intellectual formation, Christ-centered preaching, personal humility, and joyful evangelization.

Those qualities, Barron said, explain why Sheen’s witness continues to resonate decades after his death and why his influence extends well beyond his pioneering work in television.

Barron concluded by responding to comparisons often made between himself and Sheen. Although both men are Illinois natives, graduates of The Catholic University of America, and widely known for their use of media in evangelization, Barron humbly dismissed it.

“It embarrasses me because I’m much unworthy of a comparison,” Barron said. “He is the greatest preacher in the history of our country.”

Historic beatification

Sheen’s beatification is expected to draw thousands of bishops, priests, religious, seminarians, and lay faithful from across the United States and around the world. Pilgrims are planning to travel to St. Louis not only to witness the historic celebration but also to give thanks for the enduring impact of Sheen’s ministry.

As interest in Sheen continues to grow ahead of his beatification, Catholic leaders are organizing events examining his legacy. On Sept. 23, the Fulton Sheen Institute will host the conference “Americaʼs Saint: The Catholic Hour is Now” in St. Louis, bringing together scholars, clergy, and evangelists to discuss Sheenʼs relevance for the Church and American culture.

“This conference will rally the voices of American Catholics who championed Sheen when his cause was buried,” said Peter Howard, founder and president of the Fulton Sheen Institute and Fulton Sheen Movement. "At a time marked by confusion, fragmentation, and a crisis of identity, Sheen’s message cuts through the noise with conviction and clarity.”

The Popeʼs Worldwide Prayer Network is a pontifical foundation known for its Pray with the Pope campaign through which the Holy Father announces his monthʼs intention in a video message.

While the pope “has an endless list” of prayer intentions, he chooses 12 to offer for each month of the year, Father Cristóbal Fones, SJ, the international director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, explained in an interview with “EWTN News In Depth.”

In order to do so, the network will “help the pope to discern the intentions a year ahead,” Fones explained. “So we ask many people — all the dicasteries and our national directors — to give us some proposals, and we offer to him lots of them … about 20 of them.”

The Holy Father “takes some time to pray on these proposals” and then chooses the 12 intentions for the upcoming year in advance.

“So we published, for instance, the 2027 monthly intentions last February. So you can already know what we are about to pray for next year too, so that we can have some time to make the translations, to create the materials in Indonesian, Hindi, Swahili, Guarani, and so on.”

Pope Leo has continued the tradition of Pope Francis, who recorded the first video of the monthly intentions in 2016, but the current pontiff has put his own take on it.

Pope Leo is “not only asking us to pray but praying himself for the monthly intention and inviting us to join him in prayer,” Fones said. “Thatʼs why we call this campaign ‘Pray with the Pope,’ because heʼs the first one interceding for the needs of humanity, and he is inviting us through this campaign to do it with him.”

“Some people may watch the video and participate with him by praying. Others can do it [on] their own. But the important thing is to be united in this network of hearts — compassionate hearts for the needs of the world.”

Pope Leo is also “constantly asking us to pray for contextual … prayer intentions, like a flood or an earthquake in Venezuela, for instance,” Fones said.

All these prayer intentions are then updated “in what we call the popeʼs prayer profile,” Fones said. It consists of “all the requests for prayer that he normally does, whether on Sunday in the Angelus or on Wednesdays during the general audience.”

In order to aid the Holy Father, the network is run by a team of an administrative council appointed by the Holy See, international coordinators, formation leaders, and communications teams.

The network “is a participation in the mission of the Church by offering ourselves through prayer, service, and spiritual formation,” Fones said. Made up of Catholics in more than 90 countries, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network is “a very old pontifical work with more than 180 years.”

The network started in 1844 and was first called the Apostleship of Prayer. It was later renamed and established as a formal Vatican foundation in 2020 to support Christ’s mission of compassion for the world across continents and cultures.

Call for prayers to respect life

Pope Leo’s prayer intention for the month of July is for respect for human life in all circumstances.

The Holy Father drew attention to the importance of the intention when he dined with 200 vulnerable people on July 11.

“Having a lunch is just to show a sign [of] what we actually have to do with one another, to sit at the same table, to recognize our common dignity, because we are all sons and daughters of the same God. And when you understand that, you treat others as equal in dignity,” Fones said.

“We may think differently. We may have different positions in life — opinions, backgrounds, stories — but we are all sons and daughters of God. So when you recognize that you can treat others as brothers and sisters, even if you disagree with them,” he said.

That’s the urgent message Catholics in western New York are telling the local faithful in their bid to preserve a Civil War-era parish in the small town of Auburn.

The Diocese of Rochester is moving to permanently close and potentially sell Holy Family Church due to structural issues that officials say make it unsafe to use as a parish.

The diocese shut down the church in June 2024, but parishioners of the parish in Auburn — located about 40 minutes outside of Syracuse — are petitioning the Vatican to keep the church an active holy site rather than allow it to be sold off to potential developers.

On its website, Holy Family Organization to Preserve and Endure says the Vatican has requested that the group “demonstrate funding for the purchase, repair, and maintenance of the church.”

The organizers say they are working to raise pledges to support the parish but there is a “narrow time window” and numbers “must be provided to the Vatican by mid-late summer 2026.”

“If H.O.P.E. fails to demonstrate sufficient evidence to the Vatican by mid-late summer, then Holy Family Church could be sold to a secular buyer and could be destroyed,” the group said.

Parish’s roots stretch back to early 1800s

The Auburn-based Roblee Historic Preservation said in a “statement of significance” report that Auburn was the site of the first Catholic Mass in the Western New York region in the early 1800s.

The Roblee report was drafted in order to assist the city’s historic review board in potentially awarding a landmark designation to the parish. The New York Historic Preservation Office had previously said the property was eligible for listing on both the state and national historic registers.

The Church of the Holy Family was initially dedicated in 1830 in a chapel previously used by local Methodists. The current building was built in 1861 by local Dutch-born master builder John Vanderbosch.

The report described the parish as the “mother church” of Auburn and “an iconic part of its downtown skyline.”

On its website, the Catholic preservation group says it hopes to retain the parish for “Catholic religious activity,” including rosary groups and private prayer groups, “occasional worship,” sacred music concerts, sacred art displays, and architecture tours.

Karen Odrzywolski, the president of the parish preservation group, said the church is also meant to preserve the memory and legacy of Bishop Patrick Byrne, an apostolic delegate to Korea who was martyred in 1950 during a four-month-long forced march while in the captivity of communist forces in North Korea.

Born in Washington, D.C., Byrne spent his formative years in Auburn, living just a few blocks from the parish. His family attended Mass there and he attended the parochial school; he was confirmed at the parish in 1900.

Odrzywolski told EWTN News the preservation group formed in July 2024, a month after the parish was officially shuttered by the diocese.

“We initially put together a preservation plan, which we shared with our pastor and with the Diocese of Rochester,” she said. “We’ve also shared it with the Vatican.”

“We’ve also worked on educating the community as to the significance of the church,” she said. “We’ve had events in honor of Bishop Byrne and of his family, and on the 75th anniversary of his martyrdom we had a prayer vigil.”

In addition to the link with Byrne, Odrzywolski said the parish was also once host to another famous Catholic bishop, now-Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen. The prelate, at the time the bishop of the Diocese of Rochester, officiated the funeral Mass of Father William Davie at the parish in 1968.

The Vatican has requested that the group demonstration its ability to fund the church’s upkeep, she said. “We’re very appreciative of this opportunity. We’re hopeful if we can demonstrate the funding they’ll allow us to proceed with preserving the church.”

Thus far, Odrzywolski said, the group isn’t accepting cash donations; instead, it is collecting pledges “so we can demonstrate our ability to fund the maintenance, repair, and preservation of the church.”

“We’ve received over 300 pledges,” she continued. “We’re extremely grateful to every single person who has pledged. Many people have pledged as much as they possibly can. Many who pledge in general may be of limited or fixed income.”

Odrzywolski said the needed repairs are limited to the exterior facade. The interior, she said, has been well maintained over more than a century and a half.

The Vatican, meanwhile, is expecting the group’s proof of viability by August. “We’re trying our best to aim for an Aug. 1 deadline in order to allow enough time to prepare the documents in a timely manner,” she said.

“The truth is, we need the entire community to come together,” she said. “The closure of the church impacts the entire community, and we need individuals, families, and businesses to come together.”

“It’s about the future of Auburn,” she continued. “but it’s also about honoring Bishop Byrne, and ultimately honoring God.”

Haile McAnally’s words still ring years after her experience with abortion pills sent her to the hospital.

Alone in her apartment after she took the pills, McAnally was discovered passed out in the bathtub, surrounded by blood.

“I started hemorrhaging, and the only strength I had when I was sitting on the toilet was to take myself into the bathtub,” she said in a press call on July 13. “And when I laid down in the bathtub, I thought that I was going to die that day.”

Her phone was on the opposite end of the bathroom — out of reach.

“I didnʼt have enough strength to get up and call anybody, so I laid there,” she said. “And that was really all I remember until I woke up in the hospital.”

“My friend had let me know that she found me and called 911, and they came and thankfully rescued me,” McAnally recalled. “I had a blood transfusion at the hospital, and it was a horrifying experience for someone so young that thought that they could trust these medical professionals.”

Now, McAnally is advocating against mail-order abortion pills by signing a letter in support of a woman suing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for not having safeguards for women.

“We have to raise awareness about the danger of these pills,” McAnally said.

“I was in a center; I was there where there were nurses and there was a doctor and I had oversight,” McAnally continued. “Mailing these [abortion pills] across the country and putting them in dorm rooms and in bathrooms all around the country with no oversight is, I believe, very reckless.”

McAnally said she hopes she and the other women who have had similar experiences “will be heard.”

“I’m just one story out of many,” McAnally said.

McAnally is one of more than a dozen women harmed by abortion drugs who are asking Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to settle a lawsuit over abortion pill guardrails in a July 8 letter.

The women are rallying behind Rosalie Markezich, the leading voice in an ongoing lawsuit against the federal government. Markezich’s boyfriend at the time allegedly coerced her into taking abortion pills.

“If mail-order abortion wasn’t a thing, I’m 100% sure I would have my child,” the letter read, quoting Markezich.

The women are advocating for in-person prescription requirements for chemical abortions.

“We grieve with Rosalie because many of us recognize parts of our own stories in hers: the pressure, the confusion, the fear, the absence of real medical care, and the feeling that the system was designed to move drugs faster than it was designed to protect women,” the letter read.

The abortion pill has been left largely unregulated by Trump’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in spite of documented danger to women, including coercion, poisonings, and physical harm.

Numerous cases of abortion pill poisonings and coercions have been documented in recent years in addition to Markezich’s.

“No woman should be forced, pressured, deceived, or abandoned into taking drugs that end her child’s life and place her own health at risk,” the letter said.

“The FDA’s illegal abortion drug policy is responsible for this danger, and it is the same policy the department is defending in court,” the letter continued.

SBA Pro-Life America’s Jamie Dangers urged Blanche to address these issues in Louisiana v. FDA.

“The death toll is climbing, and we need action immediately,” Dangers said in a press call on July 13. “This is our new drug crisis. Mifepristone takes more lives every year than fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin combined.”

An estimated 15,000 unborn children are killed monthly by the abortion pill in states where it is illegal, according to Dangers.

“As many as 11% of the women who take these drugs will experience really serious complications, including hemorrhage, infection, sepsis, and more,” Dangers continued.

Jessica Williams, a registered nurse whose baby was saved through abortion pill reversal, also signed the letter and shared her story in the press call.

She obtained abortion pills without ever meeting with a provider.

“My now ex-husband was pressuring me to abort my pregnancy,” Williams said. “At the time, I was also experiencing the emotional roller coaster of going through a divorce.”

“I was vulnerable, emotionally exhausted, and experiencing one of the lowest points in my life,” Williams said.

“I took the first abortion pill after succumbing to the pressures from my ex-husband,” Williams said. “Within the next 24 hours, my mind, body, and spirit spiraled with confusion and a variety of emotions. I wondered if my baby was still alive.”

Because of her background as a nurse, Williams knew there might still be a chance that her unborn daughter was still alive. Staff at a pregnancy resource center stepped in to help her and her unborn daughter.

“I was connected with a compassionate pregnancy resource center in Las Vegas, where I obtained a free ultrasound, was prescribed the abortion pill reversal, and was supported through one of the hardest times of my life,” Williams continued.

“Because of abortion pill reversal, my daughter, Kaylie, is alive,” Williams said. “She is now 3. Sheʼs healthy, beautiful, thriving, and one of the greatest blessings of my life.”

As a nurse, Williams calls the current system “predatory.”

Mail-order abortion lacks the safeguards that in-person visits entail — including ensuring the drugs go to the right person.

“No woman should ever feel trapped, isolated, or without someone to help or understand her options,” she said. “As a medical professional we are sworn in to do no harm.”

“Every woman deserves to make decisions free from coercion or pressure, and with appropriate medical support,” Williams continued.

In addition, Williams is advocating for more information about abortion pill reversal to be given to women. In her own case, she was told that the practice was dangerous.

“As a registered nurse, informed consent has always been one of the most fundamental principles of medicine,” Williams said. “Women deserve complete information about their medical options. They deserve compassionate care.”

If things had been a little different, Williams might not have her daughter Kaylee with her — and that thought motivates her to advocate for other women in similar situations.

“I often think about what my life would look like had I never learned that another option existed,” Williams said. “Thatʼs why I continue to share my story.”

When pressed by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, during his confirmation hearing on July 15, Blanche agreed to enforce the Comstock Act and other federal pro-life acts to the greatest extent possible.

When asked by Cruz if he would “carefully evaluate every lawful action available to ensure the faithful enforcement of the Comstock Act and other federal pro-life acts,” Blanche said: “Yes.”

Under former president Joe Biden, the Department of Justice determined that mail-order mifepristone is not a violation of the Comstock Act.

The Comstock Act of 1873 prohibits sending obscene materials via the post office as well as the mailing of "every article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion.”

Activists urge Congress to defund Planned Parenthood

Advocates for unborn babies and legislators this week rallied to urge Congress to permanently end taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood and abortion businesses.

At a July 16 press conference on Capitol Hill, hosted by Live Action and Defund Coalition partners, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, said Congress “should have acted long ago.”

“There is no excuse for Planned Parenthood to be receiving taxpayer money to be carrying out the mutilation of our children, to be carrying out the murder of the innocent unborn, and yet that is what this Congress is planning to do,” Hawley said.

“I’m here to say, ‘Not on my watch.’ It is absolutely unacceptable and indefensible that a Republican Congress would fund Planned Parenthood.”

The rally took place just weeks after the Trump administration’s temporary defunding of Planned Parenthood expired on July 4.

Lila Rose, founder and president of Live Action, said taxpayer dollars “should never be used to prop up America’s largest abortion business.”

“Planned Parenthood exists to end the lives of preborn children, and every dollar it receives helps sustain an industry built on violence against the innocent,” Rose said in a statement shared with EWTN News.

“The American people should not be made to subsidize abortion businesses under the guise of women’s health. Defund Planned Parenthood now.”

Planned Parenthood investing $47 million into 2026 midterms

Planned Parenthood is investing $47 million into the November midterm elections, targeting Republicans who voted to defund the abortion giant last year.

The “We Decide” Campaign from Planned Parenthood Votes, an affiliate of Planned Parenthood, will target voters in Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin as well as in Senate races in Michigan and potentially Maine.

“All the freedoms weʼve fought for are on the line this year, and WE DECIDE what comes next,” reads the We Decide website.

Idaho ballot initiative could repeal protections for unborn babies

An initiative to end Idaho’s strong protection for unborn children has qualified for November’s general election ballot.

Idahoans United for Women and Families, a group that advocates for abortion, announced Monday that it collected more than 110,000 signatures for the ballot initiative.

The proposed initiative would legalize abortion until the unborn baby is viable outside of the womb and establish a right to reproductive health decisions about abortion.

Idaho protects unborn babies throughout all stages of pregnancy, except to save the pregnant woman’s life or in cases of rape or incest, the latter two rules applying only during the first trimester.

Missouri governor signs abortion survivors protection act

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed an act to reinforce protections against infanticide for babies born alive after attempted abortions.

The Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act establishes charges of first-degree murder against a healthcare practitioner who “knowingly performs or attempts to perform an overt act that kills a child born alive.”

Abortion is legal in Missouri up to the point of fetal viability, where the baby can survive without extraordinary medical intervention, according to the Missouri Constitution.

Missourians will vote on several abortion-related measures in November, with proposed amendments that would protect unborn children throughout pregnancy, with some exceptions.

The Diocese of Portland, Maine, is offering prayers and pastoral support to the family of a Colombian man, Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, 26, who was shot and killed on Monday, July 13, in the small town of Biddeford, Maine.

Archbishop Joe Vásquez of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, meanwhile, called for a “reform that brings about justice to all parties” as well as “peaceful dialogue, mutual respect, and a commitment to charity” after 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national, was fatally shot by an ICE agent during a traffic stop July 7 in Houston’s Hispanic Magnolia Park neighborhood.

Conflicting stories

The Maine shooting occurred as Durán “attempted to flee the scene” during a vehicle stop by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, an ICE spokesperson told EWTN News in a statement. 

The spokesperson said the agency was “conducting targeted surveillance on the last known address of an illegal alien with a final order of removal.”

Identifying Durán, the ICE statement indicated that “an illegal alien departed the residence in a vehicle,” and when the “vehicle attempted to flee the scene and fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon.”

The Diocese of Portland said its Hispanic ministry is providing support to Durán’s wife and 3-year-old daughter as well as the community.

“We pray that all those affected by his death may experience Godʼs loving comfort, strength, and peace,” the diocesan statement added in the wake of the tragedy.

Mufalo Chitam, the executive director of Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition, told the Associated Press that Durán was on his way to work when he was apprehended and shot.

The Colombian native was authorized to work in the U.S. and had been issued a Social Security number, according to the immigrant advocacy group Presente! 

Not the intended target

ICE said Salgado, a father of three who has lived in the U.S. for more than three decades, rammed an ICE vehicle in an East Houston neighborhood and attempted to run over an officer, who then fired in self-defense.

Witnesses, including his brother, who was a passenger in his van, have disputed that account.

In response to the shooting, Vásquez said in a statement on July 15: “As a society, we need to see and treat each other as men and women created in the image and likeness of God, including our immigrant brothers and sisters, our elected officials, as well as our law enforcement officers. Violence and disrespect will only lead to more fear and division,” Vásquez wrote.

Vásquez reiterated the U.S. bishops’ call for “meaningful immigration reform as opposed to an ‘enforcement-only approach.’”

“The U.S. Catholic bishops have repeatedly called for enforcement efforts that are targeted, proportional, and humane,” Vásquez continued.

No body cameras used in either shooting

U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said the ICE agents were not wearing body cameras at the time of Durán’s shooting, the AP reported of the latest incident.

"The question is, what did he do with his vehicle," King said. "Were officers threatened? Were the threats rising to the level that justified deadly force? Thatʼs what this investigation is all about.”

Though cameras at local businesses have footage of the incident, Maine State Police have asked for the footage not to be released pending the investigation, per the AP.

DHS told Houston Public Media the officers involved in Salgado’s shooting were not wearing body cameras because of recent lapses in federal funding.

State and federal agencies, including local police departments, the attorney general’s offices, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the FBI are investigating both shootings.

The law enforcement officers who shot Durán and Salgado have been placed on leave during the investigations.

It is not clear if one of the three men in the van with Salgado was the man ICE was searching for, but a spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia told Houston Public Media she spoke with David Venturella, ICE’s acting director, who told her Salgado was not “the intended target.”

Aaron Reitz, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, said in a statement July 16 that on the morning Salgado was shot in Houston, federal officials were investigating two Guatemalan men “who had previously evaded arrest and were potentially subject to deportation.” They were also known to be driving a white van.

Reitz said that while searching for the men, federal officers received a report of a similar vehicle in the area, leading police to pull over Salgado’s van because the men inside “fit the suspects’ description.”

“The aliens then fled,” Reitz’s statement continued, “conducting a rapid U-turn and hopping a median to get away. The agents chose not to pursue.”

The federal agents came across Salgado’s van again later that morning, according to Reitz, “and again, the illegal aliens attempted to flee, but this time the agents successfully surrounded the vehicle.”

The officers “instructed the noncompliant aliens to put the van in park. Preliminary information indicates the driver shifted the van into reverse, then forward again, while an officer was partially inside the van or immediately next to it.”

Officers then fired “a single shot” during the confrontation, hitting Salgado. 

Durán and Salgado’s deaths bring the number of those who have been fatally shot by ICE agents this year to four.

In January, two people — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — were killed in separate incidents during immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis.

The conference, held at the retreat house for the St. John Paul II National Shrine on July 13–15, was organized by the Orientale Lumen Foundation. Jack Figel, an Eastern Catholic who founded the group, named it after St. John Paul II’s apostolic letter expressing hope for reunification.

Speakers included the secretary for the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, Archbishop Flavio Pace; the primate of the Orthodox Church in America, Metropolitan Tikhon Mollard; Cardinal Seán Patrick OʼMalley; Greek Orthodox Bishop Anthony Vrame; and Romanian Catholic Bishop John Michael Botean.

“I grew up with — I lived with — the tension between East and West my whole life,” Figel told EWTN News.

A reunification, Figel said, “all depends on the Holy Spirit.” He said: “It is going to be a miracle and it’s going to be on God’s time.”

The conference included speeches by both Catholic and Orthodox bishops and joint panels. Prayer services were held in the Eastern form in which bishops from both traditions participated: a moleben to the Holy Spirit on Monday, daily vespers on Tuesday, and the Akathist to the Mother of God on Wednesday.

Theological hurdles

Recent popes have had friendly relations with Eastern Orthodox patriarchs, and ongoing study by the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church is seeking to resolve theological disputes.

In 2024, the commission set up two subcommittees to analyze two major points of contention: one for papal infallibility and the other for the Filioque.

Papal infallibility refers to Vatican I’s teaching that the pope can infallibly define doctrines. The Filioque — Latin for “and the Son” — refers to the West adding the phrase in the Nicene Creed “the Holy Spirit … who proceeds from the Father ‘and the Son.’” Catholics argue this clarifies the Latin translation of the Creed, which was originally in Greek; but many Orthodox see it as changing the understanding of the Trinity.

Vrame told EWTN News these theological issues continue to be a hurdle toward Catholic and Orthodox communion.

The No. 1 issue

Speaking from the Orthodox perspective, he said papal infallibility and supremacy is the No. 1 issue. Although Orthodox acknowledge Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as “first among equals” among patriarchs, “our governance structure allows for each national Church to govern itself,” he said.

Dialogue with Rome, Vrame said, must address questions of “how do we begin to understand any claims of universal jurisdiction of the papacy” and “how do we understand any form of papal infallibility.” He said the Catholic embrace of synodality could improve dialogue on this issue.

He said a major question is what unity would look like and pointed toward Rome’s relationship with Eastern Catholics as a possible example, saying they are “in communion with Rome,” but “Rome allowed them to retain their distinctive rites and practices.” However, he noted historical complications with Rome’s past attempts to Latinize Eastern Catholics and a major question to settle is: “What would unity do?”

Mollard also told EWTN News “the whole question of primacy and synodality” remains a major issue, along with “centuries of separation,” which he said “doesn’t help either.”

Pace told EWTN News that the subcommittee addressing infallibility has to “prepare a very good draft” on the matter that the full committee made up of Catholic and Orthodox leaders “can discuss and approve.”

Steps toward unity

As the hierarchy tries to work out millennium-old theological disputes, Mollard said another step is “trying to get from the theological [dialogue] to the implementation” of a stronger relationship but warned “everyone’s afraid to do anything.”

“We do have to practice these things,” he said in his speech. “Let’s work together and see if we can find our unity in Christ … [and] work on the structures that could bring that about more formally.”

“Prayer and humility are always good,” Mollard said.

He told EWTN News that some steps could be jointly “caring for the poor” or “feeding the hungry,” which is “the most direct way that collaboration can take place” at this time. In his speech, O’Malley called for joint prayer and study sessions, joint pastoral letters and statements, and joint works of mercy.

Figel suggested Catholic and Orthodox parishes should “pray once a month for unity for at least 10 or 15 minutes.”

Ultimately, Vrame said full unity and communion would be expressed “in the Eucharist” if all issues are resolved.

“We don’t share the Eucharist,” he said. “That would be the culminating moment.”

Dialogue and the laity

Many bishops said dialogue and bonds should take place among laity too, with Botean saying in his speech that ecumenism cannot just be “at the level of academics.”

“Without the face-to-face stuff, … we’re going to get nowhere,” he said. “And if our competition is the internet, we have more driving us apart than together.”

Botean warned against hostile and uncharitable exchanges, many of which occur on social media, saying: “When we become unloving because of our faith, we’re on the wrong track.”

Lizbeth Moncada, a senior at Florida Atlantic University who attended the conference, told EWTN News that she has “a lot of friends who are Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox” but agreed that online dialogue can often be “polarizing.”

She said exchanges online can be “very disheartening” and she has “wanted to stop engaging in these conversations” at times. Yet, she said discussions like what occurred at the conference are “encouraging.”

Andrew Likoudis of the ecumenical Likoudis Legacy Foundation, told EWTN News: “I try not to even engage in online discourse because of how toxic it is.” Yet, he said “the discourse here is much healthier” and allows Catholics and Orthodox Christians to “cross theological boundaries and retain the integrity of our own traditions without compromise.”

Vrame, commenting on dialogue, said “beating up on somebody else is not very Christian … no matter what you think of their position.” He said people can have “respectful disagreements … without having to beat up on somebody,” saying that’s “no way to show love for your neighbor.”

He said it’s good that people are passionate about their faith but posed the question: “Are we passionate in a way that reflects Christ and Christianity?”

Data from the Canadian government shows more than 120 “out of control” fires burning in the country, with a large portion concentrated north of Minnesota in the Ontario province.

The Minnesota government, meanwhile, issued an emergency declaration this week as wildfires spread across the northern part of the state. State Gov. Tim Walz said the fires “are posing an increasing threat to lives, property, and our wilderness.”

On its Facebook page, Catholic Charities Twin Cities — which serves the Minneapolis-St. Paul region — said it was distributing N95 face masks at its Saint Paul Opportunity Center. The center was also offering water, meals, showers, and refuge from the ongoing heat wave.

In a video shared by the charity, one Twin Cities resident said the smoke in the region was “very hazy,” making it “really hard to breathe.”

Catholic Charities is “really helping us,” said the man, who was wearing an N95 mask. The Saint Paul shelter “gives us a place to come inside [where] we’re away from this.”

Elizabeth Heger, the vice president of emergency services at the charity, told local outlet MPR News that the organization “went into high gear” after the air quality rapidly deteriorated.

“Our goal is to always make sure that folks are safe and that they have all the resources they need, especially in times like this when the air quality is really bad,” she told MPR.

A spokesperson for Catholic Charities Southeast Michigan, meanwhile, told EWTN News on July 17 that the organization had urged workers to work from home if possible to avoid the poor air quality.

The spokesperson said the charity was also shifting some of its caseload to house calls so that vulnerable residents would not have to venture out into the smoke.

As of July 17 there were more than 800 wildfires total burning across Canada. Numerous cities in the northeastern U.S., as well as cities further into the midwest region of the country, were under widespread air quality alerts.

Cities including Boston; New York; Washington, D.C.; and Baltimore all saw poor air quality accompanied by alerts mid-week, along with other cities including Detroit and Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Pervasive smoke was expected to continue into the weekend, though shifting wind patterns projected for next week were expected to give much of the U.S. a reprieve from the haze and poor air quality.

One U.S. lawmaker, meanwhile, has proposed sanctioning Canada over the wildfire crisis.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said on July 16 that he would introduce legislation to sanction the country for allegedly “fail[ing] to invest in wildfire prevention methods” such as “forest thinning, fuel reduction, prescribed burns, and stronger enforcement against arson.”

“One year ago in July 2025, Maria [Shahbaz] was abducted. She was forced into a marriage with a 30-year-old man. She was forcibly converted and she remains with the abductor today,” Kelsey Zorzi, director of advocacy for Global Religious Freedom at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International said in an interview with “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Veronica Dudo.

ADF International is supporting Shahbaz’s ongoing case and calling for an end to forced marriage and conversions in Pakistan.

Shahbaz has been seeking justice in the Pakistani court since it placed her in the custody of Shehryar Ahmad –— the man who abducted her from her family. The Christian girl was married off to Ahmad and forcibly converted to Islam.

The court previously found that she could remain with her abductor after “they did not verify her age according to her birth certificate,” Zorzi explained. “Instead, they looked at her and said, ‘She doesnʼt look 13. She looks older.’ And they sent her home with the abductor.”

“The Christian community is outraged by the courtʼs latest decision, because what it signals to future abductors is that they can find young girls, they can forcibly marry them, they can forcibly convert them to Islam, and then they can tell the judge that their birth certificates are erroneous, and they can tell them that these girls are any age that they appear to be physically,” she said.

On July 16, “the Federal Constitutional Court, which is the highest court in Pakistan that hears these cases, actually decided to hear a review of their decision from March of this year,” Zorzi said.

The court “is willing to reevaluate that decision,” she said. “On Friday, July 24, they will have the first hearing to reevaluate this.”

The court’s decision follows a resolution adopted by the European Parliament  on July 9 that highlighted Shahbaz’s case and detailed human rights violations in Sudan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. It called for Shahbaz’s return to her family and condemned the broader pattern of child abductions and forced marriages in Pakistan.

In the resolution members of Parliament said they “call for the protection of religious minorities and urge Pakistan’s government to ensure that all cases involving minors or allegations of coercion are subject to transparent and independent investigations.”

“The perpetrators must be prosecuted and Pakistan’s judicial framework strengthened … and abducted girls must be able to return safely,” the resolution said.

Shahbaz’s case is ‘not an isolated event’

Shahbaz’s case is not an isolated case, and child marriage and forced conversion among young girls “is a widespread problem in Pakistan and beyond,” Zorzi said.

According to UNICEF, 100 million girls worldwide are at risk of child marriage this decade. The issue escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic due to rising poverty and isolation, and lack of education.

“In Pakistan alone, weʼre seeing over 1,000 minority girls being forcibly married and forcibly converted into Islam every single year,” Zorzi said. “So Mariaʼs case is not an isolated event. Itʼs part of a systemic problem that weʼre seeing in this country.”

ADF International believes Shahbaz’s case “is a precedent-setting case,” Zorzi said. “We think it has so much potential to actually stop this problem going forward. So weʼre very hopeful and weʼre very thankful that the court is willing to reconsider it next week.”

“Throughout Pakistan, the pattern of abductions, forced conversions, and coerced marriages of underage girls to much older men is alarming,” Tehmina Arora, director of Advocacy for Asia at ADF International, said in a July 9 press release.

“Hundreds of girls each year find themselves victims of these sham marriages, losing their personal freedoms and facing exploitation and abuse,” Arora said.

“The court must now do what is right by granting her freedom and establishing a precedent that will protect vulnerable young girls from these horrific acts,” she said.

Silva, who helped Spain capture its first men’s FIFA World Cup title in 2010, has spoken of his familyʼs devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, patroness of his hometown of Arguineguín on Gran Canaria in Spainʼs Canary Islands.

Following Spainʼs historic victory in South Africa, Silva returned home to fulfill a promise to participate in the annual festivities honoring the Blessed Virgin. Speaking with reporters at the time, he said he wanted to join the celebration “as always,” continuing a family tradition of taking part in the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Silvaʼs grandmother recalled the anxiety of watching the 2010 World Cup final, saying the family entrusted the match to the Virgin Maryʼs intercession.

“We were very nervous,” she said. “I couldnʼt even watch the end. I just held on to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Who would have thought that when this 14-year-old boy I raised left my home he would achieve this? I am so proud.”

The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is celebrated each year on July 16, drawing thousands of faithful to processions and parish celebrations around the world. In Arguineguín, where Silva was raised, the celebration includes a traditional procession through streets adorned with intricate carpets created by local residents in honor of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

As Spain seeks another World Cup crown, Silvaʼs story continues to resonate with many Catholics, illustrating how faith and devotion often accompany athletes during moments of both triumph and uncertainty. While the outcome of Sunday’s final remains unknown, the former Spanish internationalʼs public witness offers an enduring example of gratitude to God and confidence in the maternal intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

“This year’s Global Persecution Index is a sobering reminder that millions of our brothers and sisters in Christ continue to pay a high price for their faith,” Shawn Wright, president of ICC, said in a statement.

ICC is a nonprofit organization assisting the persecuted Christian church through assistance, advocacy, and awareness across the globe.

The index, “Faces of the Persecuted,” was created by ICC as more than 388 million Christians worldwide — or 1 in 7 believers — live under "high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith,” according to the report.

The index highlights the leaders of countries where persecution is worsening including Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The index outlines trends in religious freedom that are aiding the rise of persecution including religious nationalism, transnational repression, state control over religious organizations, terrorism, authoritarianism, restrictions on women, and the use of the West to persecute.

The report states: “Despite these challenges, the church continues to grow in some of the most hostile environments, and resistance to repression is rising as individuals and communities push back against injustice and demand greater freedom.”

“Behind every statistic is a real person: someone who has chosen faithfulness to Jesus over safety, comfort, or even life itself,” Wright said. “Our hope is that this report not only informs decision-makers and stakeholders but moves readers to act with urgency, conviction, and compassion.”

Recommendations to ‘ease the burden of persecuted Christians’

The index details Christian persecution in African, Latin American, Middle Eastern, North African, South Asian, and Southeast Asian countries, and it specifically offers recommendations to aid the faithful in Nigeria, Nicaragua, Syria, and India.

As Nigerians face political persecution, mob violence, and other actions aiding the nation’s religious persecution, ICC recommends immediate and independent investigations into the reported mass killings against the faithful in the country.

It also calls for international leadership to reverse legal barriers, including blasphemy laws in the nation that criminalize disfavored religious beliefs.

In Nicaragua, ICC notes that hundreds of priests, nuns, and other religious workers have disappeared or been detained. The nation’s regime also engages in systematic attempts to control religious sermons and media, and surveil members of independent religious organizations.

To combat the issues, ICC recommends expedited asylum pathways for the exiled clergy and calls for the support of aid to parishes and civil society organizations shuttered by the regime. It also urges expanded international sanctions against Nicaraguan officials, including regime leaders Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.

In Syria, religious people face numerous challenges despite a shift of government following the Assad regime. They experience reprisals, detentions, and discrimination that prevents their participation in governance councils and denies them property restitution.

In its index, ICC recommends support for programs that aid displaced communities and protect targeted Christians in Syria. It also calls for accountability for war crimes committed by both Assad and post-Assad actors.

As India’s persecution is on the rise, ICC urges the protection of independent nongovernmental organizations and media working to provide aid and to report on the persecuted groups as the faithful in the nation face mob attacks and other acts of violence.

“Come together and pray for unity,” O’Malley said at the conference, hosted by the Orientale Lumen Foundation at the retreat house for the St. John Paul II National Shrine on July 13–15.

Speakers included Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox bishops, and a few dozen laity and clergy focused on ecumenism attended. Along with O’Malley, speakers included Archbishop Flavio Pace — secretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity — and Metropolitan Tikhon Mollard, primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA).

O’Malley encouraged concrete steps to integrate Catholic and Orthodox communities, one of the most important of which was “praying together.” Just prior to his speech, the Catholic and Orthodox clergy — including O’Malley, Pace, and Mollard — prayed daily vespers together in the form used in Eastern churches.

The cardinal, speaking to those gathered, said unity will ultimately be achieved as a gift to the faithful granted by Christ and will come about “how he wills [it].” He said he considers joint prayer to be crucial because it is the Holy Spirit who will “illuminate the way” toward East-West communion.

‘Work for unity’

In his address, O’Malley discussed his concern with the disunity of Christianity, which he said “weakens our ability [as Christians] to proclaim the Gospel with coherence and authority.”

He recalled his early work in the 1970s with the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. The order was deeply involved in missionary work in Papua New Guinea. Although O’Malley himself was not a missionary there, he spoke about conversations with colleagues who were working with people accepting Christianity in large numbers.

O’Malley noted that when new converts had learned about the various Christian denominations, many felt “sad and embarrassed.” Although many Christians view the disunity as “normative,” he said, the people of Papua New Guinea correctly recognized it as “scandalous.”

“All disciples of Jesus Christ must feel an impulse to work for unity among Christians,” O’Malley said.

O’Malley said Catholics should see Orthodoxy as the “greatest possibility of success in this task in fulfilling Christ’s wish so that we all become one so the world may believe.” He noted that the two share “so many saints and devotions” and are more similar to Catholics in theology than any other Christian community.

He expressed joy that many Orthodox churches send representatives to meetings held by the Vatican and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and that the Catholic Church also sent representatives to the Orthodox Council of Crete in 2016. Yet, he encouraged a stronger bond.

O’Malley urged the bodies to “consider the possibility of joint pastoral letters or statements” on issues of mutual agreement like world hunger, euthanasia, and abortion. He said they should establish committees together to organize joint prayer, study sessions, and works of mercy.

His idea of unity, he explained, would be “communion without absorption” and said there is a difference between “unity and uniformity.” He said people should look to the Eastern Catholic Churches as a model, saying “they are bridges for reconciliation and laboratories for synodal communion.”

Although Rome’s relationship with the Eastern Catholics was not always perfect (O’Malley noted historical attempts at forced Latinization), the cardinal said there is an opportunity to work more closely with Eastern Catholics as part of ecumenical efforts, focused on “greater respect for their uniqueness.”

Mollard, speaking from the Orthodox position, echoed O’Malley’s desire for unity and the feeling of pain over continued separation.

“It affects the faithful in the parishes and how they live their lives,” the metropolitan said. “And perhaps encourage[s] us all to not just reach out and educate but really inspire in people that faith in Christ and love for the Church can drive … [the path toward] unity.”

O’Malley told EWTN News that ecumenism requires “different groups that would be Catholic and Orthodox, working together,” and Church leaders should be “letting people know the progress that has been made in the dialogue.”

He said Eastern Orthodox Christians “have the sacraments,” they have apostolic succession, and “the differences are not great.” Although theological disputes remain a division between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, he said he believes the causes of the schism were more political and cultural.

“Most Catholics and Orthodox in the pews are not focused on those fine points of theology,” O’Malley said.

Ongoing Vatican ecumenical work

Many theological disputes, however, are being hashed out at the highest levels of the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. Some of the biggest include questions of papal supremacy, primacy, and jurisdiction as well as the language of the Nicene Creed and subsequently certain details about the Holy Trinity.

Pace, who flew in from Rome, discussed some of the history and recent progress on ecumenism related to these subjects during his speech, noting that the end goal is “full unity” between the East and the West.

The Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, formed in 1980, created two subcommittees in 2024. One focuses on infallibility, which is the current priority. The other is about the dispute about the Nicene Creed.

"We have to prepare a very good draft,” Pace told EWTN News.

He said once the subcommittee completes its draft on infallibility, the body will consider a call for a full meeting for approval. He said the subcommittee must “arrive to a good document that the [full committee] can discuss and approve.”

The First Vatican Council teaches that the pope speaks infallibly on matters of faith and morals when defining matters of doctrine and invoking his papal authority, binding the declaration on the entire Church.

Bishop Anthony Vrame, a Greek Orthodox bishop and director of Holy Cross Orthodox Press, said in a panel discussion that Orthodoxy recognizes the indefectibility of councils: “When the Church gathers together in council, … no error is possible.” Yet, papal infallibility is different, as it is “designated to one person.”

Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, offered a prerecorded video message for the conference, stating that he hopes the eventual documents will be received by the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox churches.

Koch emphasized the importance of clergy informing the laity when there are developments, so the progress is “not to be remained known only by experts.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York said in July that Father Jeffrey Nowak of Lackawanna, New York, had been arrested and charged with both the receipt and possession of child pornography.

Nowak had been placed on administrative leave by the diocese in 2019 amid allegations that he had sexually harassed a seminarian. Bishop Michael Fisher, who was appointed to the diocese in 2021, subsequently told Nowak that his priestly faculties in the diocese would not be reinstated and that he would advise other bishops not to accept Nowak in their own dioceses.

In a July 15 statement, the diocese pointed out that it was required by canon law to “provide some level of financial sustenance” to Nowak, even though he was not in active ministry. But after the “abhorrent criminal conduct” of which Nowak was accused this month, the diocese said it was “no longer providing any financial support” to the priest.

In addition, Fisher “has now instructed the diocese’s judicial vicar to gather the necessary documentation based on these latest allegations to petition the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to dismiss Jeffrey Nowak from the clerical state,” the statement said.

The diocese had previously not made such a petition due to “no allegation of child sexual abuse or other criminal allegation,” the statement said.

In its statement, the diocese noted that its financial support of Nowak was “considerably less than what an active priest receives and also less than what a retired priest receives.”

Nowak is facing up to 20 years in prison on the child pornography charges. In announcing Nowak’s arrest earlier in July, U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo said the priest “hid behind a keyboard and took part in the tragic exploitation of one of society’s most vulnerable populations, our children.”

“Nowak has now been exposed and can no longer hide and will be held accountable for his disgraceful behavior,” the prosecutor said.

The 2 p.m. CT Sept. 24 ceremony at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis will formally declare Sheen “blessed,” bringing him one step closer to sainthood.

Link, programming director for the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation, told Veronica Dudo on “EWTN News Nightly” on July 15 that pilgrims can arrive early for the broader celebration, which includes a nine-day novena of Holy Hours in Peoria, Illinois, leading up to the beatification, along with Masses of thanksgiving and the Sheen Awards Gala afterward.

Sheen was a pioneering television evangelist whose popular media ministry made him one of the most influential American Church figures of the 20th century.

“I think of someone who fell in love with Jesus Christ,” said Link, with the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. “He knew Jesus Christ through his study. He knew Jesus Christ in the Church and in the liturgy. But in a really profound way, he knew Christ in the Eucharist. He knew Christ in prayer.”

“He knew he was a child of God. He knew he was a priest of Jesus Christ,” she said. “He knew that as a priest then that he was called to be a victim and to offer his life in union with the sacrifice of Christ.”

Link also reflected on St. John Paul II’s 1979 meeting with Sheen, when the pope embraced the archbishop and called him “a loyal son of the Church.”

“John Paul II could see right into the heart of Fulton Sheen’s identity there and just affirmed him at the deepest level,” she said.

Encouraging the faithful to attend

Inviting Catholics to attend the beatification in St. Louis, Link called the celebration “a gift for the Church.”

“Fulton Sheen doesn’t need it. He’s in heaven,” she said. “But it’s a gift that the Church gives to us.”

At the beatification, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle will serve as the papal representative. Before the liturgy, pilgrims can attend a morning program featuring Cardinal Timothy Dolan; Sister Josephine Garrett, CSFN; Matt Maher; Monsignor Roger Landry; and Katie McGrady.

The beatification Mass requires a ticket, which costs about $15 to $25. Organizers say the fee is intended to offset the high costs of hosting thousands of pilgrims in a stadium venue.

Organizers have stressed that the ticket charge is not a fee for attending Mass, which canon law prohibits. Instead, it is intended to help cover the costs of hosting the large-scale event, including security, crowd management, and stadium operations, while also helping make attendance possible for priests, religious, and school groups.

“Haiti is in the grip of an overwhelming humanitarian crisis,” Ciarán Donnelly, senior vice president for crisis response, recovery, and development at the International Rescue Committee, told “EWTN News Nightly” on July 15.

According to Donnelly, more than 1,200 civilians are estimated to have been killed in drone attacks in Haiti this year, including 17 children.

“This is one of the most concerning aspects of the humanitarian situation in Haiti and of the trends that weʼve seen over recent months,” he said.

Donnelly described the drones as “small, cheap, easier-to-operate quadcopter-type drones which are fitted with explosives and then used essentially as improvised explosive devices, some of which have exploded in public areas with children around or people who are out shopping, leading to a number of fatalities.”

“The situation is particularly acute in the capital, Port-au-Prince, which is in the grip of gang-fueled violence, with gangs controlling about 90% of the total territory of the capital city,” he said.

In addition, Donnelly said Haitians face limited access to healthcare, and about half of the country’s population of around 6.4 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.

“Our team on the ground, working very closely with Haitian civil society organizations, is focused on providing healthcare support, supporting primary healthcare, and, in particular, services for women and children and water and sanitation,” he said. “The risk of communicable diseases, given the displacement and the underfunding of public services in Haiti, is quite significant, as well as protection services for women and children who are particularly at risk of violence given the given the situation on the ground.”

Donnelly’s remarks come as Haiti has climbed from ninth place in 2023 to fifth place in 2026 on the International Rescue Committee’s annual emergency watch list, which ranks the top 20 countries facing the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. No. 1 on the list is Sudan.

First Liberty, a legal organization dedicated exclusively to defending religious liberty, released the annual index ranking religious liberty protections for each of the 50 states.

This year, Arkansas and Tennessee ranked first and second, with scores of 89% and 85%. Both states earned an “excellent” rating, meaning that they scored above 80%, marking the first time any state has crossed that threshold in the RLS.

Conducted by the institute’s Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy (CRCD), the report focuses on select legal safeguards of religious exercise in laws and constitutions.

The report assigns a percentage score to each state based on 50 legal protections that states have to protect religious liberty within six categories: government, healthcare, economic life, religious life, and family and education. These protections are gathered into 20 “safeguards,” which researchers average to produce each state’s index score.

The RLS also measures if states did a “poor,” “adequate,” “competent,” or “excellent” job of protecting religious liberty based on the percentage of protections they had adopted.

After ranking sixth in 2025, Arkansas surged to the top this year, taking the spot from Florida, which dropped to third place.

According to the report, Arkansas’ first-place ranking is largely due to the state decision to enact H.B. 1615 — a law that protects individuals and institutions from being forced to participate in wedding ceremonies to which they have religious objections.

Arkansas’ score is 63 percentage points higher than the lowest-ranked state, New York, which RLS authors said protects 26% of the measured safeguards. New York returned to last place for the first time since 2022, taking West Virginiaʼs previous spot.

While Arkansas protects 89% of the religious liberty safeguards tracked in the 2026 RLS index, it is still missing seven of the specific protections RLS considers.

“There remains room for improvement, however, for all states, and our hope is that the Religious Liberty in the States project can help catalyze such gains for years to come,” Jordan Ballor, executive director of First Liberty’s CRCD, wrote in the report.

Changes and improvements among states

“As the report indicates, there are also some hopeful trends as some states have taken action to increase their protections,” Ballor said.

Changes include Tennesseeʼs move from 10th to second place after it adopted what the report called an “exemplary” medical conscience law, with protections that allow healthcare providers and institutions to refuse to perform, provide, or pay for medical services because of their religious beliefs.

While ranking 23rd and 45th, the RLS noted that Georgia and Wyoming adopted Religious Freedom Restoration Acts in 2025, laws to protect individuals and organizations from government regulations that substantially burden their religious practices.

Due to their “competent” and “average” scores, Montana (71.3%), Illinois (70.4%), Mississippi (66.7%), Ohio (66.3%), Idaho (64.2%), South Carolina (62.9%), and Washington (60%) ranked among the 10 best states at protecting religious liberty.

The trends among states have the “potential to become a virtuous cycle as states learn from what other states have done, emulate them, and become more active in protecting and promoting the free-exercise rights of their constituents,” Ballor said.

The National Eucharistic Revival, a three‑year U.S. bishops’ initiative aimed at renewing Catholic belief in and devotion to the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist through teaching, parish outreach, and national events, was launched in 2022 in response to declining belief among Catholics in the Real Presence. The revival culminated in the National Eucharistic Congress in 2024.

Speaking at the Institute for Catholic Culture on the topic “The Table of the Lord and the Table of Demons: Eucharistic Coherence and the Age of Moral Relativism,” Paprocki said July 14 that the revival’s mission extends beyond renewing devotion to the Eucharist to fostering lives that correspond to what Catholics profess to believe.

Communion with Christ

Paprocki emphasized that the Eucharist is both the sacrifice of Christ made present and the sacrament of communion with God and the Church.

“The core belief of Catholics about the mystery of the Eucharist is our faith in the real presence of Christ,” he said. “The sacrament of the Eucharist is called holy Communion precisely because, by placing us in intimate communion with the sacrifice of Christ, we are placed in intimate communion with him, and through him, with each other.”

Worthy reception of Communion

Because of that reality, Paprocki said, Catholics conscious of mortal sin should first seek reconciliation before approaching the altar.

“As the Church has consistently taught, a person who receives holy Communion while in the state of mortal sin not only does not receive the grace that the sacrament conveys, he or she commits the sin of sacrilege,” Paprocki said.

Quoting St. Paul’s warning in 1 Corinthians, the bishop added that “whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord.”

Paprocki said this understanding forms the basis for what the Church calls “Eucharistic coherence,” which he defined as consistency between belief and conduct.

“A person who, by his or her own action, has broken communion with Christ in his Church but receives the Blessed Sacrament acts incoherently, both claiming and rejecting communion at the same time. It is thus a countersign, a lie,” he said.

Canon law and public witness

Referring to Canon 915, Paprocki said ministers of holy Communion must sometimes withhold Communion from those who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin.

Canon 915 says: “Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy Communion.”

The bishop also cited a 2004 memorandum by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger interpreting Canon 915, which addresses the denial of holy Communion to those who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin. Paprocki said those who publicly and obstinately support grave moral evils such as abortion or euthanasia fall under Canon 915ʼs provisions.

Paprocki quoted the memo: When “the person in question with obstinate persistence still presents himself to receive the whole Eucharist … the minister of holy Communion must refuse to distribute it.”

Paprocki clarified that this denial is not meant as a punishment but to encourage a change of heart.

Paprocki said behaviors that would warrant denial of Communion include heterosexuals cohabiting without marriage, homosexuals engaging in sexual activity, and divorced people remarrying without having received an annulment.

Paprocki referred to his 2018 denial of the Eucharist to Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, for supporting abortion access laws. Paprocki said: “The denial of Communion is a medicinal remedy that seeks to foster a change of heart” and is meant to encourage politicians “to repent and return to being pro-life.”

Paprocki concluded: “In seeking Eucharistic coherence in an age of moral relativism, it is important to remember that the ultimate goal is conversion and readmission to Communion. Even when a difficult decision must be made, not to admit someone to holy Communion until there has been repentance and reconciliation, such discipline does not contradict the law by which it is motivated.”

The prelate himself, meanwhile, told EWTN News that there was “nothing nefarious” in such a proposal, which he said was meant to protect Church assets from additional lawsuits while the diocese was already paying out settlements to abuse victims.

Celeste Heinonen claims in a July 9 court statement that she interviewed for the position of chief financial officer at the Diocese of Burlington in 2020. During that interview she said she spoke to then-Burlington Bishop Christopher Coyne, who she said brought up the topic of sex abuse lawsuits against the diocese.

The state had recently eliminated the statute of limitations of childhood sex abuse lawsuits, and Heinonen claimed in her deposition that Coyne stressed the “financial strain” under which the lawsuits could place the diocese.

The deposition alleges that Coyne claimed the diocese was seeking to “transfer its assets” in order to shield them from the abuse lawsuits. Heinonen said Coyne asked her if she “would be willing to help the diocese prepare the necessary paperwork to ensure that if the diocese lost its lawsuits, there would not be assets left to satisfy the potential judgments.”

In the deposition Heinonen said she was “shocked and felt sick to my stomach” over the request and that she was “noncommittal in my response.”

Heinonen said she later met with then-Chancellor Monsignor John McDermott, who she claims “asked how I felt about Bishop Coyne’s proposal.”

The priest “explained to me that it was important for the diocese to protect its current parishioners and not let the past ‘sins of its fathers’ harm the current parishioners or the diocese.”

Heinonen said she was informed later that same day that she had not received the job, with the position reportedly being offered to another candidate from Florida. Heinonen said in the deposition that she was “extremely upset and confused” by the questions regarding diocesan assets.

Coyne began serving as archbishop of Hartford, Connecticut, starting in 2024; that same year, McDermott was installed as bishop of Burlington.

‘We always tried to make amends’

Speaking to EWTN News from Hartford, Coyne said he did not remember the exact specifics of the conversations he held with the candidates during the interview process. He confirmed that the CFO position was ultimately offered to a candidate from Florida whose professional background in Catholic nonprofit work made him more suitable for the role.

The archbishop said there was “nothing nefarious” in his proposal that Church financial assets be moved around in advance of potential litigation.

“We weren’t violating any court orders,” he said. “The funds we had were free to be moved in any direction.”

He referred to such proposals as “good business.”

“It’s what anyone would do,” he said. “At that point we weren’t being sued. But the state was rattling the saber about the statute of limitations. I wanted to protect the assets of the Church that the faithful had given in good faith.”

“There was nothing untoward, illegal, or nefarious about saying, ‘Let’s protect our assets just in case we get sued again,’” he told EWTN News.

“You can spin anything you want and make it look bad,” he said. “But any person in charge of an organization would certainly do what they can to protect the assets of the organization for the good of the organization.”

Coyne said that during his time as bishop the Burlington Diocese was actively settling lawsuits with abuse victims even as the statute of limitations debate was occurring in the Vermont Legislature.

“These people were obviously victims,” he told EWTN News. “And we would settle with them at a comparable amount to global settlements we’d had in the past. We settled with some people for $350,000 to $400,000.”

“We always tried to make amends,” the archbishop said.

It was not immediately clear why Heinonen had filed the deposition in bankruptcy court, though court records suggest the statement was part of a series of motions by the plaintiffs of the abuse lawsuits playing out as part of diocesan bankruptcy proceedings. Heinonen could not be reached for comment regarding the allegations.

The Diocese of Burlington filed for bankruptcy in October 2024 while facing 31 lawsuits from abuse victims. McDermott said at the time that under the Chapter 11 filing, “funds will be allocated among all those who have claims against the diocese while hopefully allowing the diocese to maintain its essential mission and ministries.”

Coyne himself, meanwhile, oversaw a $35 million abuse settlement in the Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut, in February 2025. Coyne had been serving as the apostolic administrator of that diocese ahead of the installation of now-Bishop Richard Reidy.

Hosted by the Alliance to End Human Trafficking and the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, the July 14 congressional briefing focused on the need to reauthorize federal anti‑trafficking programs through fiscal 2029 and pass legislation to impose requirements on social media platforms to reduce harms to minors.

Sponsor Rep. Chris Smith, R‑New Jersey, titled his human trafficking bill the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2025 (H.R. 1144), and the measure is next up for House consideration. A separate bill, named the Kids Online Safety Act (S. 1748) by sponsor Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R‑Tennessee, has not yet seen action in the Senate Commerce Committee.

Smith’s legislation would reauthorize federal anti-trafficking programs while expanding prevention initiatives, survivor services, and law enforcement training.

Catholic advocates emphasize prevention

Advocates at the briefing argued that prevention must become the centerpiece of the nationʼs anti-trafficking strategy.

Sister Ann Scholz, SSND, a founding member of the Alliance to End Human Trafficking, said the time has come for Congress to move beyond simply raising awareness about trafficking.

“We believe this Congress has the opportunity to enact two pieces of bipartisan legislation that will move us closer to ending the scourge of human trafficking,” Scholz said, describing both bills as measures that emphasize prevention and protect vulnerable populations.

Fran Eskin-Royer, executive director for National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, said Congress has allowed the legislation to languish despite bipartisan backing. She said reauthorization would strengthen prevention efforts while updating federal responses to evolving forms of exploitation.

“Both bills are not new. Theyʼve been around, and they are not moving … We need everyone to contact their members of Congress and urge that this bill pass,” Eskin-Royer told “EWTN News Nightly” host Veronica Dudo.

The briefing featured survivor leaders, legal experts, clinicians, and service providers who argued that preventing trafficking requires greater investment in education, technology safeguards, and long-term support for survivors.

Gina Cavallo, president of the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking and a survivor of trafficking, told attendees that legislation such as H.R. 1144 could have dramatically changed the course of her life.

“Had these bills been put in place, this would not have happened to me,” she said. “My life could have been dramatically different.”

Cavallo recounted being failed by multiple institutions during her childhood, including family, schools, and law enforcement, leaving her vulnerable to exploitation. Rather than being recognized as a victim, she said, she was criminalized.

“I had my childhood taken, my dignity, my dreams — everything,” she said, urging lawmakers to continue treating human trafficking as a bipartisan issue centered on protecting human dignity.

Katie Boller Gosewisch, executive director of the Alliance to End Human Trafficking, told “EWTN News Nightly” that the crime remains vastly underreported worldwide.

“According to the Global Slavery Index, on any given day, about 50 million people are caught in human trafficking,” she said, noting that the figure includes forced marriage, organ trafficking, sex trafficking, and forced labor.

Smith calls for House vote

Smith told attendees the bill’s consideration has been delayed despite broad bipartisan support.

“It was supposed to be up yesterday,” Smith said, explaining that House leadership had postponed floor consideration. “Delay is denial. We need to get this bill on the floor.”

Smith, who authored the original Trafficking Victims Protection Act in 2000, said the legislation has led to thousands of prosecutions over the past two decades but argued that reauthorization is needed to strengthen prevention efforts, expand survivor services, and address emerging forms of exploitation.

Catholic leaders warn delay leaves greater risk

Advocates called on Congress to approve the legislation without further delay, arguing that every day of inaction leaves vulnerable people at greater risk.

“The reauthorization of this essential law has been delayed for too long,” the Alliance to End Human Trafficking said in a statement. “Every day it’s delayed is another day we fall short of our commitment to those affected by one of the most egregious violations of human dignity.”

Caronan will serve for a 12-year term, overseeing both the pastoral care and the governance of the community.

“I was certainly surprised that my confreres chose me to fill this important fatherly role,” Caronan said. “I know that Godʼs grace will sustain me every step of the way, and I pray that he will help me to be the kind of father that our community desires me to be. Already in the first few weeks since my election, I can see just how much his grace is helping me to undertake this task.”

Born Edgar Caronan in Manila, Philippines, in 1964, he immigrated to the United States with his family in 1975 and arrived at St. Michael’s Abbey a decade later, making his solemn profession in 1992. He was ordained a priest in 1994.

Caronan is a canon lawyer and spent much of his career working in the marriage tribunals of the Diocese of Orange, in which the abbey is located, and the neighboring Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He has served as the judicial vicar of both the Diocese of Orange and the Maronite Tribunal of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon. He has also been the regular celebrant of the Tridentine Mass at St. John the Baptist Parish in Costa Mesa, which is staffed by the Norbertine Fathers.

900 years

The Norbertine order was founded 900 years ago by St. Norbert, archbishop of Magdeburg, Germany, and vice chancellor for the Holy Roman Empire. The community’s charism, according to St. Michael Abbey’s first abbot, Ladislas Parker (1915–2010) in a Diocese of Orange newspaper from 1995 on the occasion of his retirement, is “to combine the contemplative life of a monk with the active life of a parish priest, and to tie this work to community in an abbey.”

The Norbertines are easily recognized by their traditional white cassock — which, according to pious belief, was given to St. Norbert by the Blessed Virgin Mary as a sign of her protection and favor — and their motto, “Prepared for every good work.” The essence or “heartbeat” of the order is fervent devotion to the Eucharist, which is central to Norbertine spirituality, Parker said.

The original members of the community were seven Norbertine priests who fled an oppressive communist government in Hungary in 1950. They made their way to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1957 (the Diocese of Orange would be established in 1976), when Cardinal James McIntyre invited them to teach at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana.

By 1960, Parker and his fellow Norbertines had collectively earned $46,000 and purchased a remote strip of cattle-grazing land at the base of the Saddleback Mountains. They established St. Michael’s Priory, named for the abbey in Csorna, Hungary, and in 1984, Pope John Paul II approved the conferral of abbey status on St. Michael’s.

In contrast to many religious communities, St. Michael’s Abbey has enjoyed an abundance of vocations, with 68 priests and 32 men currently in formation. The growth necessitated the moving of the community from the former cow pasture to a 320-acre site nine miles away in 2021 with ample space for the community, its apostolates, and future growth.

Today, the community staffs two parishes, St. John’s and Sts. Peter and Paul in Wilmington, California; administers a high school in San Pedro, California; operates a local summer camp; staffs the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin; and staffs Corpus Christi Priory in Springfield, Illinois. Additionally, each Sunday, individual Norbertines assist at more than 30 parishes throughout Southern California.

The order also operates a digital apostolate, The Abbot’s Circle, which offers online resources to help viewers grow in their faith as well as provide news about the community.

The election for the new abbot began with a vote on the length of term the abbot would serve; Hayes was elected for life with a mandatory retirement age of 75. This time, the community opted for a 12-year term. Caronan’s election followed via secret ballot; he is the first Filipino-born abbot in the history of the community.

“God has blessed our community so wonderfully in the past several decades,” Caronan said. “I hope during my tenure as abbot to build upon this solid foundation in such a way that our Norbertine canonical life will flourish spiritually, that our apostolic work in the wider Church will grow, and that through the life and ministry of St. Michaelʼs Abbey, Christ will draw many souls closer to himself.”

‘Patris Corde’

Caronan selected as his abbatial motto “Patris corde” (“With a father’s heart”), reflecting the “fatherly governance and fatherly care” with which he hopes to lead the community, Father Ambrose Criste, director of The Abbot’s Circle, shared with EWTN News. “It’s representative of the type of man he is.”

On Sept. 28, Caronan will receive an abbatial blessing at the abbey during a public ceremony expected to draw many prominent churchmen as well as civic officials.

Like bishops, abbots are prelates with authority over their communities, but unlike bishops they are “blessed” rather than “ordained”; hence they cannot ordain priests.

At the ceremony, Caronan will receive the traditional pontifical insignia of an abbot, including a ring, pectoral cross, miter, and crozier.

St. Michael’s Abbey welcomes members of the public to join them daily for prayer as well as for special events, including the abbatial blessing and their celebration of the feast of St. Michael every Sept. 29.

“More than 110,000 metric tons of U.S.-grown agricultural commodities” will be delivered to the two East African countries under an agreement in principle between CRS and the USDA, according to a July 14 USDA announcement.

“American farmers feed, fuel, and clothe the world, and under President Trump’s leadership, we’re utilizing that bounty to serve those in need while ensuring that the benefits of U.S. food aid flow back to America’s hardworking farmers, ranchers, and producers that make this assistance possible,” Michelle Bekkering, USDA’s deputy undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, said in a statement. “We’re also enforcing strict accountability so that aid goes to those who actually need it, safeguarding hard-earned taxpayer dollars, and delivering aid that builds self-reliance instead of long-term dependence.” 

“Authorized under Title II of the Food for Peace Act,” the announcement said, “the agreement leverages Catholic Relief Services’ operational footprints in East Africa, including the Sudan Emergency Project and the Joint Emergency Operation in Ethiopia.”

CRS has faced a sharp drop in federal support after the Trump administration collapsed global‑health and humanitarian functions of the U.S. Agency for International Development into the State Department in 2025. USAID earlier supplied roughly half of the agency’s $1.5 billion budget.

CRS President and CEO Sean Callahan said in a July 14 press release that the agreement came “at a critical moment for struggling families in Sudan and Ethiopia.”

“For decades, our partnership with USDA has connected the generosity and productivity of American farmers with some of the world’s most vulnerable communities,” Callahan said. “We are committed to ensuring these resources are managed responsibly and translated into meaningful support for families working to overcome crisis.”

“We are hopeful fellow trusted organizations carrying out lifesaving work across the world are supported in their efforts to meet these critical needs for extremely vulnerable families and communities,” he said.

Callahan told EWTN News that CRS tracks the delivery of food commodities “to the last mile and employs robust monitoring, verification, and financial oversight to help ensure assistance reaches the people it is intended to serve.”

“We continually assess security conditions, adjust operations as needed, and work closely with local partners to help ensure assistance reaches the people it is intended to serve,” he said.

Maura O’Brien, a former USAID official who led its Sudan and South Sudan office and serves as coordinator for the Michael B. Kim Institute for Ethical Inquiry and Leadership at Haverford College, said CRS has been a trusted partner but USAID’s absence will be felt.

“Not having any U.S. presence in the field makes any assistance more vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse — especially in a conflict environment. Oversight and coordination are essential to effectively delivering desperately needed relief to communities in East Africa," O’Brien said.

USDA did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Regulators will consider a rule change that would create a category of limited excepted benefits that covers IVF and other fertility-related treatments. It does not impose mandates but rather creates more opportunities for employers to offer the coverage.

In a 17-page letter submitted by the USCCB’s legal counsel, the bishops expressed support for expanding fertility-related coverage that respects unborn embryonic human life and the natural procreation process — but strongly discouraged any inclusion of IVF.

“IVF, especially as practiced in the U.S., kills or freezes at least as many preborn children as abortion — at a magnitude of hundreds of thousands or perhaps over a million per year,” the bishops’ comment noted.

When a person receives an IVF treatment, “multiple fertilized eggs or zygotes — human beings — are produced” for every cycle, at which stage most die, according to the bishops’ comment. For embryos that survive, some are implanted but “others [are] destroyed or put in inhumane cryopreservation.”

The process for selecting which embryos are implanted and which ones are destroyed includes genetic screening, which the bishops’ comment called a “dystopian form of modern eugenics that kills those children deemed genetically inferior.” At times, when more than one embryo is implanted but the parents only want one child, the others are aborted through a process called “selective reduction,” they explained.

“Promoting IVF,” the statement said, “... stands in glaring contrast to this administration’s other pro-life statements and actions.”

The bishops said indefinitely freezing surviving embryos “is also a profound and terrible violation of their dignity and rights,” adding: “Hundreds of thousands of our smallest brothers and sisters in the U.S. are experiencing this fate right now.”

Additionally, the bishops warned IVF “commodifies our fellow human beings and treats them like products and property.” They warned the technology violates “the exclusivity of the marriage bond in its most unique context and unnaturally [separates] the procreative aspect from the unitive aspect (that is, regarding the unity of the spouses) of the marital act.”

The comment also cited practical concerns for the Labor Department, warning the inclusion of IVF could put the entire rule at risk because it may exceed the department’s statutory authority and that it is arbitrary and capricious, which could be a problem in court.

If IVF is ultimately included, the bishops requested guardrails. This includes rules that prevent the destruction of embryos, prohibit genetic screening, and clearly communicate alternatives, such as restorative reproductive medicine (RRM).

Regardless of whether IVF is included, the bishops encouraged flexibility to ensure coverage of RRM is clearly included so employers “can make meaningful use of that flexibility by affording them the opportunity to know of the full range of possible fertility care that can identify and heal a patient’s underlying conditions while safeguarding human life and dignity.”

RRM healthcare focuses on addressing the underlying conditions that cause infertility and works toward helping the couple achieve conception naturally through the marital act.

More Catholics chime in

The bishops’ concerns were echoed by other Catholic organizations, including the Catholic Medical Association (CMA), the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC), and the National Association of Catholic Nurses, USA (NACN-USA).

“In the IVF process more babies die than are ever born,” the CMA comment said. “The babies that are eventually terminated, after lengthy periods of cold storage, do not voluntarily sacrifice their freedom, their potential, or their lives.”

The statement promoted RRM, which CMA called “more holistic, gentler, more respectful of human life, more compassionate, more empathetic, and more generous.” It stated RRM is “devoid of violence or neglect or disdain toward viable beings denied access to being ‘in utero.’”

CMA also joined NCBC and NACN-USA in a joint comment, which called the initiative to expand infertility care “a valuable opportunity to advance real solutions to infertility that respects the God-given dignity of parents and of children, born and preborn.”

Yet they jointly encouraged the department “to refocus the rule on therapeutic, restorative treatments and to abandon its inclusion of IVF, which is profoundly flawed both legally, therapeutically, and morally, and does nothing to address the underlying pathology.”

“If IVF is included in the final rule, regulations must limit the number of embryos being engendered by the number of embryos that can safely be implanted and gestated unto birth,” the statement added.

“Engendering embryos with the intent to provide ‘spares’ for eugenic or research purposes is an [affront] to humanity and should be prohibited; and current practices of selective reduction, especially after there has been a deliberate engendering of more embryos than can safely be gestated is an egregious [affront] to human life and should be prohibited,” it stated.

Following news of Graham’s death, leaders from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, National Right to Life, and other pro-life groups reflected on the South Carolina Republican’s legacy, highlighting his willingness to pursue federal protections for unborn children even when such efforts faced political opposition.

Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, has been named to hold his Senate seat temporarily to fulfill the remainder of his term.

Among those paying tribute was Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, which worked closely with Graham on federal abortion legislation.

“Lindsey Graham was an unwavering pro-life champion and a friend,” SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a statement. “A man of vision and tenacity, he gave wise counsel and advocacy in countless difficult moments fighting for the rights of the unborn child.”

“Sen. Graham never retreated from the fight for the unborn,” Kelsey Pritchard, communications director for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, told Veronica Dudo in an interview with “EWTN News Nightly.” “He always would run into battle, even when no one else would.”

Pritchard pointed to Graham’s role in efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, his advocacy on abortion pill regulations, and his repeated calls for national protections for unborn children.

Legacy of federal pro-life advocacy

Following the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, Graham became one of the leading congressional voices arguing that the federal government still had a responsibility to protect unborn children, introducing legislation to establish nationwide abortion limits.

Pritchard said one of the movement’s top priorities remains ending the policy permitting abortion drugs to be prescribed through telehealth and mailed without an in-person physician visit.

She noted that Graham was instrumental in organizing a letter signed by 51 senators urging the administration to rescind the policy.

“Lindsey Graham was so influential on that front,” Pritchard said. “We’ll be continuing that work in the days ahead.”

In a statement issued following Graham’s death, National Right to Life also honored Graham’s decades of advocacy, calling him “one of the most influential and steadfast champions of unborn children ever to serve in the United States Congress.”

“The pro-life movement has lost one of its greatest champions,” National Right to Life President Carol Tobias said. “Throughout his career, Lindsey Graham never wavered in his conviction that every innocent human life has inherent dignity and deserves the protection of the law.”

Graham’s office noted his role in passing a law enacted in 2004 that recognizes an unborn child as a separate victim in certain federal crimes. It also pointed to his years of introducing legislation to protect pain-capable unborn children from abortion and his advocacy for federal protections following the 2022 Dobbs decision.

South Carolina Citizens for Life Executive Director Holly Gatling called Graham “a great defender” of the right to life, saying “the unborn, their mothers, and the medically vulnerable members of our human family had a great defender in Sen. Graham.”

Carrying forward Graham’s legacy

For Pritchard, Graham’s lasting legacy extends beyond legislation.

“We hope that they remember that he was such a cheerful warrior, someone with a great sense of humor and someone who never backed down,” she told “EWTN News Nightly.” “He said we should never apologize for standing up for the unborn.”

“There will be no replacements for Lindsey Graham, that’s for sure,” she added. “But we hope and pray there will be many people who follow his example and continue the fight for babies and moms.”

Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, announced the investigation in a July 11 letter, saying that Pfleger will be removed from ministry while the archdiocese investigates the allegations.

Pfleger has pastored the predominantly Black parish St. Sabina, located on the South Side of Chicago, since 1981.

Cupich noted that Pfleger “strongly denied the allegation” of abuse alleged to have occurred more than 30 years ago at St. Sabina.

“We do not presume the truth or falsity of an allegation until the process is complete and our Independent Review Board has made a recommendation that I accept,” Cupich said. “Only by conducting a thorough and impartial review can we ensure fairness to all concerned.”

Cupich said the archdiocese has reported the allegation to law enforcement and that the archdiocese takes allegations seriously.

“I want to stress that the welfare of the children entrusted to our care is our paramount concern,” Cupich said. “The Archdiocese of Chicago takes all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously.”

Cupich referred to the archdiocesan website for “complete information about reporting sexual abuse.”

“We appreciate the courage it takes to step forward and encourage anyone who believes they have experienced abuse or inappropriate behavior by a member of the clergy, religious, or lay employee of the archdiocese to report it to the Office for the Protection of Children and Youth,” Cupich wrote. “They will be received with compassion and respect.”

Pfleger called the accusation an “absolute lie” in a statement on Facebook on July 11.

“I have no memory of this girl nor do countless others who have been at St. Sabina for those years,” Pfleger wrote.

Pfleger had previously been cleared by the archdiocese of accusations of sexual abuse by three men in 2021 and one man in 2022.

“For the 51 years of my ministry, I have been threatened, slandered, and attacked,” Pfleger said.

Pfleger criticized the archdiocese’s current policy, calling it “wrong and unfair to the accused priest.”

“The presumption of innocence does not exist for priests,” Pfleger said.

Pfleger said he has been targeted because of his social justice work.

“I get weekly hate calls and emails because of what I fight for and believe,” Pfleger said. “Just this past week I received numerous hate calls due to an action I took last Sunday washing the feet and apologizing to representatives of Indigenous people, Hispanics, African Americans, the LGBTQ+ community, Iranians, Venezuelans, women, and young African American males for the persecution they have suffered in America.”

He continued: “I have been under constant attack by the present administration, which I have vocally condemned as unlawful, racist, and wicked. For this I will not apologize.”

Pfleger has a colorful history in Chicago, leading fierce activism against drugs and guns along with outreach to prostitutes and drug dealers.

Some of the priest’s words and actions have put him at the center of controversy. The late Cardinal Francis George of Chicago suspended Pfleger in 2011 after the priest threatened to leave the priesthood if George reassigned him. The cardinal later accepted Pfleger’s apology and reinstated him as St. Sabina’s pastor. In 2019, Cupich publicly denounced Pfleger’s decision to invite Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan to speak at St. Sabina.

“I believe this is another attempt and another attack by those who have sought to destroy me for years and another attempt by someone to get money from the archdiocese and to silence me,” Pfleger said.

“I will not stand by and allow my name, my ministry, and the church I pastor to be slandered or defamed,” he said in his statement.

Pfleger did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

In his letter, Cupich encouraged the parish of St. Sabina, which will be pastored by Father Thulani Magwaza while Pfleger is under investigation.

“As your parish has been through this before, I can well understand your distress in learning of this development,” Cupich wrote. “I appreciate your patience and ask you to recall that our process of investigation and making a determination has proven effective in protecting the rights of all.”

The Syro-Malabar community came together July 9–12 in Chicago for “Syro26,” a jubilee convention not only to honor its 25th year as an official eparchy in the U.S. but also to reaffirm and celebrate its unity as a church after liturgical disputes in India nearly led to a schism last year.

Counting some 5 million members worldwide, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church is the largest of the 22 Eastern Catholic churches in communion with Rome. Originally found mostly in India, the church has experienced explosive growth in the U.S. during the 21st century.

Just 25 years ago, St. John Paul II established the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy to serve the growing immigrant community. Headquartered in Chicago, the eparchy — what Western Churches call a “diocese” — has jurisdiction over the entire U.S., a region that includes some 87,000 souls who attend 53 parishes and 32 missions, served by 86 devoted priests.

More than 3,500 people flooded Chicago’s McCormick Place for the four-day-long festival that featured luminous cultural and dramatic performances, engaging talks from well-known Catholic speakers, a congratulatory visit from local archbishop Cardinal Blase Cupich, and a dizzying array of events designed for everyone in attendance.

In some ways, Syro26 was like other Catholic conferences — plenty of clergy and religious in attendance, daily prayer and Holy Qurbana (the Syro-Malabar liturgy), Catholic speakers, ongoing Eucharistic adoration, and confession. But in other ways, it was its own distinct cultural experience, with attendees in vivid sarees and other traditional clothing; as many conversations in Malayalam as in English; and events that included Bollywood dance and traditional music.

Unity as a church and with Rome

Cupich, head of the Chicago Archdiocese, attended the inauguration and warmly affirmed the local Roman Catholic Church’s unity and friendship with the eparchy.

Addressing those gathered, he said of the eparchy: “Today, this very thriving community is a sign of hope, with its robust youth ministry, catechetical programs, and outreach to immigrant families navigating the cultural differences of life in the United States, while always continuing the Indian traditions.”

“We give thanks this evening for the many blessings — among them, the spiritual sustenance and the formation that this eparchy brings to the Syro-Malabar Catholics, the witness it offers to all Catholics in spiritual renewal, and the example that you give to all Americans,” he continued.

The “witness to all Catholics” may include in part the church’s recent hard-fought efforts for unity over division. After decades of dispute, the Syro-Malabar Church reached a historic agreement in July 2025 to keep the church united rather than enter into schism.

“There will always be issues that come down the line about which we have to be diligent and well-versed, and our leadership has set a good path for us as to how to manage any disagreements,” said Sony Thevalakara, a father of seven who is highly involved in the Chicago eparchy and gave a talk about parenting at Syro26.

Events for young and old

With attendees ranging from newborn babies to the elderly, Syro26 included a vast array of events.

Theatrical productions brought to life the Gospel story and how St. Thomas brought the Catholic faith to India, and many attendees mentioned especially enjoying the formal gala and the Chicago River cruise.

Catholic speakers like bestselling author Edward Sri, astrophysicist priest Father John Kartje, college chaplain Father Tim Anastos, and others addressed theological and lifestyle topics, while special gatherings brought together groups of catechists, seniors, choir members, nurses, sacristans and altar servers, artists, filmmakers, schoolteachers, youth ministers, and those of other interests.

Breakout sessions included topics like college admissions, financial literacy, faith and mental health, skin care, professional networking with a “Syro Shark Tank” business startup summit, a Pietra Fitness workout class, a Bollywood dance workshop, and a saree draping and styling class.

Younger participants mentioned enjoying the dodgeball tournament and World Cup Soccer watch party — and especially the 21+ rooftop social and the singles mixer. “I feel like thatʼs kind of half the purpose of the convention,” one young woman joked.

Sister Dr. Jocelyn Edathil of the Bethany Sisters, who spoke on a “Catholic Ask Me Anything” panel, told EWTN News: “Coming here and being able to have a shared lived experience is really a blessing. Thereʼs a lot of love in this room.”

Brian Kuncheria, logistics director for Syro26, said he hopes the event will make the Syro-Malabar Church better known, as he sometimes runs into misconceptions about being Eastern Catholic.

“Often when I explain our church to someone, they’re not very familiar and they think the Roman Catholic Church is the only Catholic church. Itʼs very cool to explain to them the history of St. Thomas coming to India, spreading the faith to our people in India, and how our church is a direct result of that,” he said. “This convention is a unique opportunity to showcase and explain how our church maintains our heritage and traditions while being fully in communion with Rome.”

Several speakers and organizers mentioned their hope for their church to grow in evangelization efforts and a missionary spirit here in the U.S. and how they are looking forward to the next 25 years of growth.

But perhaps St. Thomas himself said it best in one of Syro26’s theatrical performances: “This mission did not end with St. Thomas. I planted its seed among your ancestors and they took it. They lived it… And in the fullness of time, from the Indian shores, that faith — in its unique expression — set sail for North America and other distant lands.”

“It followed those Indian sons and daughters who ventured from their homes to settle in those places, and where they settled, the faith took root… And even still, the story continues.”

“I already knew what I was called to,” Warrens told EWTN News. “Any lingering doubts that may have been in my mind were completely gone with the pilgrimage. It was just even more clear… ‘This is, without a doubt, my vocation.’”

Months after completing the pilgrimage, Warrens took vows as a consecrated virgin in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. For Warrens and many others who walked thousands of miles with the Eucharist, the pilgrimage became more than a journey across America. It became a path toward discovering or confirming the vocation God had prepared for them.

Forty‑five young adults have served as perpetual pilgrims since the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage began in 2024, and organizers told EWTN News that 26 of them are discerning or pursuing forms of consecrated life.

Growing harvest of vocations

In the interest of transparency, organizers noted that eight of the men discerning priesthood were already seminarians during their time on pilgrimage and continue to feel called to the priesthood.

Among the former pilgrims are current seminarians, men newly discerning diocesan priesthood, women preparing to enter the Sisters of Life and the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, and several others discerning religious life or consecrated vocations.

Organizers also said one former pilgrim has taken a private vow of celibacy, while another is discerning a yearlong private vow of consecration.

Pilgrims’ perspective

For Mason Bailey, a seminarian for the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, the pilgrimage became an unexpected lesson in what priestly ministry looks like. Already in seminary when he joined the 2024 Marian Route, Bailey said traveling through the Midwest with the Eucharist introduced him to the breadth of the Church and strengthened his vocation.

“I was blessed to see the American Church in a new way,” Bailey told EWTN News. “I encountered a lot of amazing priests — diocesan priests and religious — that affirmed my vocation along the way.”

Bailey said one of the most memorable aspects of the pilgrimage was visiting small rural parishes that many Catholics never see.

“We went to parishes that probably nobody visits,” he said. “These beautiful Polish Catholic churches hidden away in the farm communities of the Midwest… I got to meet the priests there and stay in rectories with them. They were beautiful witnesses of what the priesthood is.”

Reflecting on the journey, Bailey said the pilgrimage revealed a profound connection between the Eucharist and the priesthood.

“The Eucharist is taken, blessed, broken, and given,” he said. “Thatʼs also an image of the priesthood — and indeed every Christian life. ... Doing this difficult thing, but doing it for others so that they can encounter Jesus.”

Cheyenne Johnson, who participated in both the 2025 Drexel Route and the 2026 Cabrini Route as a team leader, said the pilgrimage gave her the freedom and peace to continue discerning a call to religious life.

"Being around the Blessed Sacrament all the time and just having that time of really close intimacy with him," Johnson told EWTN News, "was a very important time for me to continue to pray and see if he was still calling me.”

Johnson said the opportunity to spend weeks with priests, religious sisters, and fellow pilgrims living out different vocations helped her recognize where she experienced the deepest peace.

“Getting to see happy religious was super important for me,” she said. “It was beautiful to speak with them, as well as see how the Lord was shaping my own heart and to be like, ‘Yeah, this is where I find the most peace and fulfillment’ in pursuing being a bride of Christ forever.”

A vocation strengthened

For Warrens of Galveston-Houston, who served as team leader on the Marian Route while completing a doctorate in physics, accompanying fellow pilgrims became an unexpected source of vocational clarity.

“I really got to tap into my spiritual motherhood in a way that I’d never gotten to before,” she said. “My role as a team lead was to serve my team so that my team could then serve the public.”

By the end of the pilgrimage, Warrens said her professional aspirations had shifted. Although she had been uncertain how she would use her doctoral degree, she realized: “I really just want to do ministry.” She has since completed the Encounter School of Ministry and is halfway through spiritual direction training, saying the pilgrimage confirmed that “this is where you’re definitely called.”

Looking back on two summers of pilgrimage, Johnson said the experience taught her the importance of making space for God to speak.

“I really encourage people to take that time to make a pilgrimage,” she said. “Allow him to do the unexpected in your heart because he really does. He wants to wow us with how good he is.”

No further details were immediately given regarding the senator’s passing. Graham’s family “appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” the statement said.

Graham was 71. He had served in the U.S. Senate since 2003.

Tributes poured in for the late senator overnight through July 12. U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that Graham was “one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known.”

“He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!!” Trump said.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune wrote on X that his “heart is heavy” after Graham’s passing. He described Graham as “a strong advocate for the United States and a strong ally to freedom-loving countries across the globe.”

“He believed in the might of America to achieve good in the world and dedicated his life to advancing that cause,” Thune said.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster described him in a media statement as “the fiercest of fighters for South Carolina and America” and “a loyal and steadfast friend.”

International tributes poured in as well. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he and his wife, Sara, “grieve with the American people” over Graham’s passing.

“Lindsey understood that the security of Israel and America are inseparable. He devoted his life to defending America, strengthening our alliance, and standing up for the free world,” Netanyahu said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said Graham was “a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer.”

“He visited Ukraine 10 times during the years of Russiaʼs full-scale invasion and was here with our people when it was most needed,” he said.

Born July 9, 1955, in Central, South Carolina, Graham attended the University of South Carolina, where he ultimately obtained a juris doctor degree from the university’s law school in 1981. He served in the JAG Corps of the U.S. Air Force before working as a lawyer in his home state.

His political career began in 1992 when he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives. He rose to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1995 and began serving in the U.S. Senate eight years later.

A staunch ally of Trump, Graham was initially a sharp critic of the Republican president before backing him after his victory in the 2016 election. He was a fixture on political news television shows in the later years of his career.

A lifelong bachelor, Graham wrote in his memoir that he “never found time to meet the right girl, or the right girl was smart enough not to have time for me.”

A Southern Baptist, Graham was a member of Corinth Baptist Church in Seneca, South Carolina, where he lived. He is survived by his sister Darline and extended family.

“First of all, we are committed to being with people,” Márquez told “EWTN News In Depth” on July 10. “Bishops and priests and deacons and religious personnel of all different congregations, we are on the street talking to people, conveying hope, and giving them consolation from all the pain and distress that they are suffering.”

“We accompany the pain of our people,” he said. “We don’t leave them alone.”

Márquez said that in Caracas, where he serves, around 20 to 25 churches and parish houses have been destroyed. While he said Caracas has seen “a lot of damage in many buildings,” the more heavily affected area is La Guajira.

“La Guajira is the poor diocese of Venezuela,” he said. “It’s the sister diocese of Caracas. La Guajira was hit really, really bad and they have much, much more damage than we suffer here.”

“Though we’ve been hit by nature, we don’t lose our hope because our hope is set on Christ the Lord, and he had victory over death and destruction, and we know that we join him in this pain,” Márquez said.

The auxiliary bishop’s remarks come as Catholic aid organizations, including Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Caritas Venezuela, are working together to mobilize relief efforts across the country.

CRS Senior Technical Adviser for Humanitarian Operations John Service told “EWTN News Nightly” on July 10 that CRS and Caritas have channeled their assistance “down to the most affected area, which is La Guajira.”

“Weʼve been sending food, water, hygiene materials, and medical supplies,” he said. “Itʼs been a massive mobilization, a big effort, and weʼve been able to get a lot of trucks going. And itʼs nonstop. Literally in this place where Iʼm standing right now, which is their main office, we get the materials, we process them, we put them into packages that are easy to deliver, and then the trucks go out daily to these different sites.”

Service described the mood on the ground in Venezuela as “sad, frustrated, angry together, and determined.”

“The reality is thereʼs quite a big trauma thatʼs hit these populations. Theyʼve lost loved ones. They still have loved ones they canʼt find. So it is a very difficult process for them to come to grips with whatʼs happened,” he said.

Service said many Venezuelans faced financial hardship before the earthquakes, depleting the resources they might have used to offset the present crisis.

“People donʼt have a big safety net,” he said.

“We’re deeply honored to be recognized with the religious liberty prize,” Becket President and CEO Mark Rienzi told EWTN News.

“We’re honored to be able to be part of fighting to protect something that is very important for our country and the Church,” said Reinzi, who accepted the award at the July 8 conclusion of Notre Dame’s sixth annual Religious Liberty Summit in Chicago.

Becket — established in 1994 to provide cost-free legal counsel to those whose religious liberties were violated — has an undefeated record at the Supreme Court.

Its lawyers represented the Little Sisters of the Poor and Hobby Lobby against contraception mandates, defended the rights of Maryland parents to opt their children out of gender-related coursework that conflicted with their religious beliefs, and backed a Catholic foster care agency that only placed children with opposite-sex married couples.

G. Marcus Cole, a dean and professor of law at Notre Dame, said during the award ceremony that when the university started giving out the award, “we always imagined that it would go to one person.”

“But when we think about the Becket Fund, it is an entire team of lawyers, led by Mark Rienzi, who have made a difference in our world, who have made our lives better,” he said. “And for that reason, we thought it only appropriate to give the award to the Becket Fund as an entity."

Ongoing fights for religious liberty

The most recent victory secured by Becket came in Mahmoud v. Taylor, which ensured parents in Montgomery County, Maryland, had a right to opt their children out of coursework that included material related to gender that conflicted with their religious faith.

Rienzi told EWTN News that “parents don’t give up the right to [raise] their children when they drop their kids off at the schoolhouse gates.” He added: “Your children don’t belong to the state just because you use a public school.”

Becket represented Catholic, Ethiopian Orthodox, and Muslim parents in the lawsuit. Rienzi said religious parents have a right to “operate equally as a full citizen and full member of the public” by utilizing the public school system while maintaining the right to instill religious values in their children.

“[This was] the most important case in at least 50 or 100 years in establishing that principle,” he said.

Becket also secured the 2020 victory for the Little Sisters of the Poor in which the Supreme Court ruled in favor of federal regulations that exempted the religious sisters from mandatory contraception coverage in insurance plans.

The sisters, however, are back in court after the governments of Pennsylvania and New Jersey challenged those exemptions on separate grounds than those on which the court previously ruled. This case is now in an appellate court, which heard oral arguments on July 7. Becket is representing them again and Rienzi is the lead attorney on the case.

“It’s outrageous that governments keep volunteering for the beating they get when they keep [going after] the Little Sisters of the Poor,” Rienzi said.

He said “the law is really, really clear” that Pennsylvania cannot remove their exemptions from the mandate.

Becket is also representing a coalition of Catholic preschools in Colorado that is suing the state because they were excluded from a “universal” tuition program. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case.

Notre Dame awarded Becket the prize less than one week after Americans celebrated the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which culminated in the adoption of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which secured religious freedom.

“God created everybody equal and equally free and gave them rights,” Rienzi said, adding that religious freedom is “essential to the declaration’s idea of who we are as a country and … [it] is crucial for maintaining it.”

“It’s a shame that you still have to fight about it,” Rienzi said. “But on the other hand, it’s worth fighting for.”

Congress sent the measure to the president’s desk on June 29, and he refused to sign it to leverage lawmakers to address restrictions on voter identification and mail-in ballots. Without a veto, the measure becomes law 10 days later, excluding Sundays, under the Constitution.

The legislative push comes as federal data shows homelessness has begun to fall nationwide.

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.

Under federal law, HUD also is mandated to release another annual report on homelessness. HUD has yet to release the Annual Homelessness Assessment report (AHAR), despite legal requirements and congressional pressure. HUD did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Rep. French Hill, R-Arkansas, sponsored the bill, (HR 6644), titled “The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has repeatedly said the government has a legitimate role in ensuring access to safe, affordable housing, especially when market forces fail vulnerable families. The Catholic Church recognizes housing is a basic human right that must be available to all persons so that they may lead a life that reflects their God-given dignity, U.S. bishops said.

“The necessity of housing dictates that individuals, community and religious institutions, the private sector, and the government must all work together to make safe and decent housing affordable to all, especially people who are most vulnerable,” the USCCB said in its fact sheet on affordable housing.

Catholic Charities USA has long maintained that coordinated federal, state, and local efforts, paired with community‑based ministries, can reduce homelessness when sustained over time.

In June, Catholic Charities USA praised provisions in the housing measure related to zoning reforms, increased private investment in the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, a higher public welfare investment cap for banks, changes to homeless assistance programs, and the reauthorization of the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery program.

“The rate of homelessness in the United States continues to rise. On any given night last year, roughly 650,000 people were unsheltered. That is a 12% increase compared to the prior year and the largest level of homelessness since the federal government began tracking that statistic,” Catholic Charities said in its 2024 housing report. “At the same time, there is a national shortage of more than 7 million affordable rental homes for our nation’s roughly 10.8 million extremely low-income families.”

“This represents an urgent crisis that gets ignored far too often by the government and the media,” the report added. “With so many families living on the brink, Catholic Charities USA and its member agencies are providing short- and long-term solutions.”

“Our greatest concern with the current draft is with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), our nation’s core nutrition program,” the bishops said in the letter sent to the leadership of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

The letter was signed by Louisville, Kentucky, Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Domestic Justice and Human Development Committee, and Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, chair of the USCCB Committee on International Justice and Peace.

The bishops cautioned the draft of the farm bill released June 23 by the Senate Agriculture Committee “does not sufficiently strengthen or modernize SNAP.” They warned “it shifts focus away from addressing hunger itself and toward additional administrative and compliance requirements.”

Specifically, they urged lawmakers to delay a plan to shift costs to the states for two years to “allow states adequate time to plan and fix error rates and would help prevent disruptions in access to nutrition assistance for vulnerable households.”

Additionally, they asked Congress to eliminate a restriction on SNAP that bans access to some people with felony convictions. They wrote: “Removing this restriction would better support successful reentry, reduce food insecurity, and promote family stability without compromising program integrity.”

The House passed its version of the measure in April. It would reshape U.S. global food aid programs by shifting more resources toward purchasing food closer to crisis regions rather than shipping U.S. commodities overseas.

The bishops urged senators to align with the House version by allowing Puerto Rico to move from the Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP) to full SNAP participation over a 10-year transition, saying the phased shift would better match benefits to need, strengthen responsiveness during downturns and disasters, and advance parity for U.S. citizens in the territories.

“SNAP remains our nation’s most effective and responsive tool to combat hunger, particularly during periods of economic uncertainty, rising food costs, and persistent poverty,” the bishops added. “Policies that weaken its reach or add unnecessary barriers ultimately harm low-income families, seniors, people with disabilities, and children who rely on these programs to meet their basic nutritional needs.”

Last year, the bishops took issue with SNAP requirements added in the reconciliation bill, which shifted federal government cost to states, raised the work requirement age from 54 to 64, and imposed stricter eligibility verification rules.

Alternatively, the bishops welcomed some farm bill provisions related to SNAP, such as a provision to make online purchasing a permanent option; the reauthorization of the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which supports seniors in rural communities; and the inclusion of cost-sharing waivers for counties with high poverty rates.

Leadership of Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Rural Life, and National Council of the U.S. Society of St. Vincent de Paul joined the bishops in signing the letter.

The letter states that these organizations, along with the bishops, are united in “our shared commitment to alleviate hunger and urge Congress to pass a farm bill that furthers this goal.” They quoted Pope Leo’s address from Oct. 16, 2025, related to the World Day of Hunger.

“Hunger … is a cry that rises to heaven and requires a swift response from every nation, every international organization, every regional, local, or private body,” Leo said. “No one can remain on the sidelines in the fight against hunger.”

Additional priorities

The bishops and other signatories expressed appreciation for continued funding of international food assistance programs, including the Food for Peace, McGovern-Dole Food for Education, Food for Progress, Farmer-to-Farmer, and the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust.

As Congress considers possible changes to how Food for Peace is administered, the bishops declined to take a formal position on potential reforms, so long as “operations continue” without impediment through any transition.

“We recommend maintaining a focus on the most hungry and malnourished places around the world using market-appropriate food aid,” they wrote. “We also support efforts to ensure cooperation and consultation between [federal agencies] and other relevant stakeholders as policy changes and award decisions are made to this program going forward.”

The bishops also expressed support for the draft bill’s inclusion of rural development funding, which they said strengthen health care, new farmers, scholarships, and infrastructure. They similarly told lawmakers they support the draft bill’s reauthorization of conservation funds, which include research programs on soil health and technology to prevent and respond to climate change.

“We encourage members to work together to advance nutrition, rural development, and conservation policies that are practical, compassionate, and responsive to current challenges,” the bishops wrote.

“We stand ready to work with the committee in a constructive and collaborative manner to ensure that the final farm bill reflects our shared responsibility to protect vulnerable families, support thriving communities, and promote the common good,” they added.

The Vatican declared July 2 that six prelates involved in the SSPX’s unauthorized July 1 episcopal consecrations incurred automatic excommunication. Despite repeated warnings, SSPX bishops consecrated four new bishops without a pontifical mandate — an act of open disobedience to the authority of the pope that carries automatic excommunication for the six bishops involved.

Lay faithful who formally adhere to SSPX are also considered schismatic and can incur excommunication by continuing to attend SSPX services after the Church’s formal pronouncement of a schism.

Various Catholic bishops with SSPX locations in their dioceses are explicitly forbidding Catholics from attending SSPX Masses, instructing them to avoid the now-illicit sacraments and to withdraw their children from SSPX-affiliated schools while also urging frequent attendees and SSPX priests to seek spiritual guidance and return to the Catholic Church.

Abuse of the Eucharist

Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, instructed Catholics to “avoid participating in the activities of the SSPX.”

Burbidge emphasized in a July 8 letter to his flock that “as a result of the SSPXʼs schismatic act, any celebrations of the sacraments of confession and matrimony by the SSPX are invalid, and the administration of other sacraments is illicit.”

Bishop John Iffert of Covington, Kentucky, explained what it means for these sacraments to be “illicit.”

“This means that the celebrations are not permitted by the law of the Church and the cleric offering the sacrament commits the canonical and moral fault of disobedience in each instance,” Iffert said.

“The Masses these priests celebrate are an abuse of the Eucharist, insofar as they make the sacrament of unity into an occasion of division within the Church, and so they should be firmly rejected and avoided by all the Catholic faithful,” Iffert said.

“Together with the priests of the diocese, I invite all Catholics who have been attending the SSPX liturgy to practice their faith in one of the parishes, missions, or chapels of the diocese,” Iffert said. “You will find the Catholic Mass and the sacramental life celebrated faithfully and respectfully throughout the Diocese of Covington.”

Who is in schism?

Burbidge clarified that not all attendees of SSPX are necessarily in schism but must simply return to sacraments and ministries in union with the Church.

“I encourage any persons locally who have been attached to the SSPX and who desire the spiritual nourishment of the Church and the extraordinary form of the Mass to become active in any one of the eight locations in our diocese where this is currently possible,” Burbidge said.

“Although lay faithful who formally adhere to the SSPX are considered schismatic and excommunicated, this does not apply to lay faithful ‘who do not reject the magisterium of the authority of the Roman pontiff’ and have engaged with the SSPX for solely liturgical or spiritual reasons,” Burbidge said. “Such persons must simply resolve not to continue to participate in future SSPX sacramental worship or pastoral ministries.”

“The Holy See, in the spirit of conciliation, has outlined the procedure necessary for SSPX priests and lay faithful to return to Catholic communion,” Burbidge explained.

Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez of Palm Beach, Florida, issued a decree reiterating the Holy See’s excommunication and instructing the faithful to separate from SSPX in any "ecclesiastical ministry” or “diocesan entity.”

Rodríguez also provided instructions for any Catholics who wish to leave SSPX “and enter into full communion with the Catholic Church."

How SSPX’s schism affects education

The schismatic acts of SSPX have a trickle-down effect, even affecting the education of children.

In Covington, Kentucky, two schools are affiliated with SSPX. Iffert has instructed Catholics to withdraw their children from the schools due to the schismatic nature of the group.

“Because Assumption Academy and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Academy are associated with the SSPX, Catholic parents should not enroll their children in these schools,” Iffert said in a letter. “To do so is to entrust the religious formation of children to those who participate in schism against the Roman Catholic Church.”

He encouraged parents to reach out to the diocesan Catholic schools office for “appropriate placement in a local Catholic school.”

Praying for return

The bishops prayed for union and for society members to return to the Church.

“I pledge to pray for the bishops and priests of the SSPX and for their faithful return to regular order in the Catholic Church,” Iffert said. “I also assure the lay faithful who have been attached to the SSPX of my prayer for their good and for the restoration of unity in the Church.”

Burbidge prayed especially for SSPX priests.

“To my brother priests in the SSPX, please know of my prayers for you and my heartfelt desire for your return to full communion with the Church,” Burbidge said. “I invite all the faithful to join me in prayer for the end of all division and schism and for the unity of the Church, so that she may better fulfill the divine commission to make disciples of all nations.”

“I ask all faithful Catholics to pray for restored unity and order in the Church and in our diocese,” Iffert said. “Please beg the intercession of Pope St. Pius X, that his name may always give glory to God and never be a sign of division in the Eucharistic community that he cherished.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit on July 2 ruled against St. Dominic Academy in the Diocese of Portland, denying the school’s request for an injunction against Maine’s LGBT-related nondiscrimination rules. If granted, the injunction would have allowed the school to access public funding streams.

The school had argued against requirements that it facilitate student “gender transitions” and had said it would not require staff to refer to students by opposite-sex pronouns.

The court, however, said that “combatting sexual-orientation and gender-identity discrimination” is a “legitimate governmental pursuit” and that requiring publicly funded schools to follow those rules “rationally relates” to that pursuit.

Such schools are also required to publicly affirm the “gender identity” of their students, the court said.

The ruling comes several years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Maine could not ban students from using public student aid to attend religious schools. The high court ruled that the state in its policy “identif[ied] and exclude[d] otherwise eligible schools on the basis of their religious exercise.”

A “neutral benefit program in which public funds flow to religious organizations through the independent choices of private benefit recipients” does not violate the U.S. Constitution, the court held in the 2022 case Carson v. Makin.

Adèle Keim, an attorney with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing the Catholic school in the suit, told EWTN News that ahead of the Carson decision Maine moved to alter its public funding policy to include the rules regarding gender and sexuality nondiscrimination.

“They knew it would be a red line for the schools that had been suing the state,” she said.

Keim said this month’s appeals court ruling was partially favorable to St. Dominic Academy; it found, for instance, that the state cannot dictate faith-related hiring practices and cannot dictate religious expression rules on school campuses.

Yet the appeals court ruled that schools enjoy “no constitutional protection” related to the nondiscrimination policies, she said. She argued that the decision runs afoul of multiple Supreme Court decisions, including the Carson ruling along with the landmark 2025 decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor.

The schools could mount a bid to the Supreme Court over the appeals decision, she said.

A similar lawsuit had been brought by the nondenominational Crosspoint Church, which runs a K–12 Christian school. The appeals court had partly combined the suits of the respective churches into one ruling.

Keim said that Catholic education had been publicly funded for decades in Maine before lawmakers in the early 1980s targeted Catholic schools for exclusion.

“It’s a [sparsely populated] state,” she said. “Its population is spread out over a large territory. The government has always partnered with private schools to get the job done of meeting the state constitutional guarantee of free education for all kids.”

She said the parts of the appeals court ruling that found in favor of the Catholic schools were “terrific.” But the nondiscrimination portion of the ruling “really jumped off a cliff,” she argued.

On X, meanwhile, Becket attorney Eric Rassbach said after the appeals ruling that the Supreme Court will consider a similar case in October related to nondiscrimination rules and public funding of religious schools.

Governments “cannot evade [Supreme Court precedent] by relabeling discrimination against religion as ‘nondiscrimination,’” he wrote. “The Constitution demands more.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York said in a press release that Father Jeffrey Nowak of Lackawanna, New York, was arrested and charged with both the receipt and possession of child pornography.

The charges “carry a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years,” the attorney’s office said.

Nowak has been the subject of investigations by authorities as far back as 2019, when he was placed on administrative leave that year after a seminarian reported that the priest had sexually harassed him.

The U.S. attorney’s office said Nowak was also the subject of “allegations of inappropriate contact with children.”

The priest was also linked to an email address reportedly connected with child sexual abuse material, according to the prosecutor’s office. A two-year FBI investigation into the matter was ultimately closed.

The FBI reopened its investigation into Nowak in March of this year, the prosecutor said. On July 8 a search warrant was executed at Nowak’s residence during which investigators found child pornography on his electronic devices.

U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo said in the release that the priest “hid behind a keyboard and took part in the tragic exploitation of one of society’s most vulnerable populations, our children.”

“Nowak has now been exposed and can no longer hide and will be held accountable for his disgraceful behavior,” the prosecutor said.

A spokesman for the Diocese of Buffalo, meanwhile, said in a statement on July 9 that Nowak “was placed on permanent leave in 2019 and has not been permitted to function as a priest since then.”

“We are not aware of any attempt by law enforcement officials to contact the diocese regarding these allegations,” the statement said.

The diocese “has just learned of the allegations against him and will cooperate fully with any inquiry by law enforcement officials,” it added.

In May, the Republican governor suspended Carruthers’ execution for one year after the medical team failed to find a vein when trying to set up the backup IV line of lethal drugs. They tried to set up the IV line for more than an hour.

“The Department of Corrections did exactly what they were supposed to,” Lee told reporters. “I decided to suspend the execution. I have the authority to do that. I’m the only one who can.”

“Given the circumstances of not being able to find a vein, I made that decision,” the governor added. “But the protocol itself and the process for the death penalty in this state — which is the law of Tennessee that the people have decided — but the protocol itself still stands, as it should.”

After the botched execution, eight Republican lawmakers wrote a letter to the governor, which urged him to review the death penalty protocol, according to the Tennessee Lookout. The letter called the incident a failure “to carry a lawful sentence of its own courts,” but the lawmakers still expressed support for the death penalty.

Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, executive director of the Catholic Mobilizing Network — a group that works with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on opposition to the death penalty — expressed disappointment in Lee’s comment in a statement to EWTN News.

“Tony Carruthers’ botched execution reminds us that every execution — regardless of the method or the procedures that take place — is a barbaric act that disregards the sanctity of life,” she said. “I am heartbroken to hear that Gov. Bill Lee has decided to let current lethal injection procedures stand.”

Murphy noted that Republican lawmakers urged the governor to commission an independent review of how the execution was botched.

“It is helpful to pause in times like this and ask ourselves: To what lengths will the state go to seek revenge?” she said. “There is nothing appropriate in this situation. The only way to avoid perpetuating more violence and harm is to step back from executing people altogether.”

The report, titled ”The Demographic Dead End: 2026 State of Fertility Report,” presents estimates of fertility trends for every state dating back to 1917. As part of the nation’s 250th anniversary, researchers also reconstructed birth rates in Massachusetts dating to 1660, offering one of the longest historical views of American fertility ever compiled.

According to the report, the U.S. fertility rate has fallen to about 1.6 children per woman, well below the replacement level of about 2.1 needed to maintain a stable population without immigration. Researchers said the decline is no longer a temporary consequence of delayed childbearing but reflects a sustained demographic shift.

The authors projected that if trends continue, the U.S. population will likely peak during the 2050s before entering a prolonged period of decline. They contend that many mainstream demographic forecasts underestimate the pace of falling fertility and assume a rebound that has yet to materialize.

The report notes fertility has declined in nearly every state over the past two decades, though the pace varies geographically. States with higher levels of religious participation, marriage, and family stability generally continue to post comparatively higher birth rates than states with lower rates of marriage and family formation.

Although Americans’ desired family size has remained relatively stable, the gap between how many children they want and how many they ultimately have continues to widen. Surveys consistently show Americans expect to have about two children and ideally would like to have an average of 2.4.

Catherine Pakaluk, professor at The Catholic University of America and author of “Hannahʼs Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth,” cautioned against interpreting that gap as entirely unmet demand.

“I’d be careful treating that gap as pure unmet demand — people fall short of almost everything they say they want, and stated desires are aspirations measured before the real tradeoffs arrive,” Pakaluk told EWTN News. “What ‘I want 2.4’ mostly reflects is a preference stated in the abstract, which softens once a child is weighed against everything else a life can hold.”

Why are fewer Americans having children?

Pakaluk said economic pressures and delayed marriage play a role but are not the primary cause of declining birth rates.

“Cost and later marriage matter at the margin, but they aren’t the engine,” she said. “The driver is a shift in the relative value placed on children.”

She added that prolonged low fertility could reshape American society, leading to “an older population, a thinner worker-to-retiree ratio that strains Social Security and Medicare” as well as “thinner kin networks and more people aging without family nearby.”

Limits of government policy

Researchers argue reversing the trend will require more than financial incentives for parents. Pakaluk agreed that public policy has limits.

“The most honest thing I can say is that the levers government actually controls aren’t the ones that move completed family size,” she said. “Policy can clear obstacles at the margin, but the decisive factors live in culture, faith, and community, where government has a light touch.”

She said measures such as expanding housing supply, strengthening the child tax credit, and removing marriage penalties may help families but cautioned that “no wealthy country has policy-engineered its way back to replacement.”

Global demographic challenge

The findings come as concerns over declining birth rates are growing worldwide. More than two-thirds of countries have fertility rates below replacement, prompting governments across Europe, Asia, and North America to examine ways to encourage family formation.

For the Catholic Church, concern over declining birth rates has long been connected to its teaching on marriage, openness to life, and support for families. Recent popes have repeatedly warned that demographic decline carries not only economic consequences but also cultural and social implications for future generations.

Wise — who was born in 1888 in Cadiz, Ohio, and died in 1948 in Canton, Ohio — was a laywoman and a mystic who received visions of Jesus Christ and St. Thérèse of Lisieux. In 1939, she reported a miraculous healing of her stomach cancer and a wound that doctors told her was incurable.

She was raised Protestant but was introduced to Catholicism by religious sisters during her hospital stay, where she developed a strong devotion to the rosary and St. Thérèse.

After news of the miracle spread, hundreds of people visited her home weekly, with whom she would pray. Hundreds of those who visited her home both during and after her lifetime reported miraculous, unexplained healings, including EWTN Founder Mother Angelica, who developed a close friendship with Wise after being healed of a stomach ailment.

Wise also had a visible stigmata — which resembles the wounds Christ had at the Crucifixion — that appeared on her body from noon until 3 p.m. for two and a half years, from 1942 to 1945.

On July 7, Father John Sheridan — liaison between the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, and the Rhoda Wise House in Canton, Ohio — announced that the Vatican had received the formal “positio,” which is a collection of documents that details the holiness of her life and makes the case for why Pope Leo XIV should consider her beatification.

Valentina Culurgioni, the postulator tasked with preparing the document, gave the paperwork to the dicastery several months ago, but it was first announced by Sheridan during the Diocese of Youngstown’s annual Mass for the cause of beatification of Wise.

Following the Mass, Sheridan delivered the news to the faithful gathered by reading a letter he received from Culurgioni.

“Testimonies of healings and graces received through the intercession of Rhoda Wise continue to arrive at the shrine, which testify [to] her growing reputation of holiness and signs, and I would like to entrust to all of you two prayer intentions for this year, related to the progress of the cause in the Vatican,” Culurgioni wrote in the letter.

“First, that all the experts — historians and theologians — who will be called upon to study and evaluate the ‘positio’ may be enlightened by the Holy Spirit in their valuable and delicate work,” she added. “Second, that among all the reports of graces and healings we receive, suitable cases may be identified for investigation as alleged miracles.”

“Do not stop praying to God, asking for the spiritual or material graces you need through the intercession of Rhoda, and continue to share and bear witness to the wonders of his powerful love in your lives,” Culurgioni wrote.

Next steps

Ryan Schweitzer, assistant director of the Rhoda Wise House and Grotto, told EWTN News that the next step is the dicastery’s review of the “positio,” which includes evaluations by theologians, historians, and Catholic hierarchy. The dicastery will provide its conclusions to the Holy Father, who will determine whether to beatify her and grant her the title “venerable.”

He said there’s no real estimate for the timeline of this process but asked Catholics to “continue to pray for Rhoda’s intercession and continue to pray for her beatification.”

Schweitzer called the news of this development “exciting.” He said if Leo elevates her status to “venerable,” “that’s a very small group of individuals on their pathway to canonization.” He said that would increase her visibility and “Our Lord can utilize that visibility and knowledge of Rhoda to pray for her intercession.”

Rhoda Wise’s legacy

The Rhoda Wise House and Grotto continues to host visitors and frequently receives reports of miraculous healings on a regular basis, now nearly 80 years after her death

According to Schweitzer, hundreds of people still visit Wise’s home weekly, many of whom come “because they’re seeking healing,” whether that be physical, mental, or spiritual. He said many of the visitors come because “they heard that something happened to a friend, some healing” and some visitors return to share stories of their healing.

Wise had a strong friendship with Mother Angelica — then Rita Rizzo — when she was just 19 years old, before entering religious life. Schweitzer noted that Rizzo “suffered from a really debilitating stomach ailment,” and her mother took her to see Wise.

Rizzo began praying a nine-day novena to St. Thérèse of Lisieux with Wise and continued to pray it each day until its conclusion, at which point she was healed of her ailment. Schweitzer said this experience served as “a catalyst to become serious about her spiritual life” and Rizzo became close friends with Wise, who served as a mentor to her.

Schweitzer said one of the most important things to know about Wise is that she was “a very humble housewife,” a person who is “not someone who is unreachable” for the average person.

“She really reflects troubles that many people today are associated with,” Schweitzer said.

Johnson sent a formal letter July 1, shared exclusively with EWTN News, that welcomed the nuncio to his diplomatic mission in the United States and affirmed Congress’ respect for the Holy See’s role in promoting peace, human dignity, and care for vulnerable communities.

“On behalf of the United States House of Representatives, I’d like to extend my heartfelt congratulations on your recent appointment as apostolic nuncio to the United States of America,” Johnson wrote. “It is my great honor to welcome you to Washington, D.C., during this semiquincentennial year as we commemorate 250 years of American independence.”

The letter follows Caccia’s appointment to the position in March, succeeding Cardinal Christophe Pierre, who turned 80, the retirement age for cardinals, in January.

“As our country celebrates its 250th anniversary, we are reminded of our long-standing commitment to the principles of human dignity and religious liberty, enshrined most famously in the Declaration of Independence,” Johnson said. “These ideals were shared and practiced by Archbishop John Carroll, our nation’s first Catholic bishop.”

Johnson cited Carroll’s commitment to integrating faith into American civil life, stating that he believed the bishop “would be proud to know that today, nearly 150 members of Congress and six of our nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court are Catholic.”

“In a spirit of goodwill, I pray that your service and mission as apostolic nuncio will continue to foster a deep friendship between the United States and the Holy See,” he said, adding: “Please accept my warmest welcome and congratulations.”

In Washington, D.C., Cardinal Robert McElroy ordained Bishop Gary Studniewski and Bishop Robert Boxie III into the order of bishops there. Both prelates will serve auxiliary roles in the archdiocese.

McElroy at the ordination Mass said the archdiocese had “been blessed by our Holy Father,” Pope Leo XIV, who made the appointments on May 1. Studniewski and Boxie had previously served as priests in the archdiocese.

“All of us gathered today have the joy and the privilege of witnessing the grace of Spirit come upon these two men and set them aside in their new ministry as bishops,” McElroy said at the ordination, which was livestreamed.

The Mass was held at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and was attended by around 2,500 people. Among the attendees were Apostolic Nuncio Gabriele Caccia; Cardinal Donald Wuerl; Richmond, Virginia, Bishop Barry Knestout; Baltimore Archbishop William Lori; and numerous other local Church leaders, along with hundreds of lay faithful.

Speaking to the new bishops, Caccia at the Mass told them: “Each of you have followed the Lord along a distinctive path of service.”

He urged them to “always walk in faith, hope, and love.”

Wheeling-Charleston receives new bishop from Washington

Also in attendance at the archdiocesan ordination Mass was Bishop Evelio Menjívar-Ayala, who himself formerly served as an auxiliary bishop in the archdiocese and who was installed as bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, on July 2.

Pope Leo XIV had also announced Menjívar-Ayala’s appointment on May 1. The newly installed bishop is a native of El Salvador and is the first Salvadoran bishop in the history of the United States.

At his own installation Mass, the bishop referenced the classic John Denver folk song “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” which in its opening strains refers to West Virginia as “almost heaven.”

He joked that the scorching heat wave affecting much of the U.S. made West Virginia feel “more like purgatory.” But he said the song’s lyrics “express something deeply present in every human heart — the longing to be at home, the longing to belong.”

Reflecting on his decades-long journey that began in Central America, Menjívar-Ayala said God “brought me from a distant life in El Salvador, the land of St. Oscar Romero, to this country.”

“I could never have imagined then the path he was preparing for me,” he said.

The prelate said he prayed that the faithful would “walk together in ministry, not merely along country roads, but along the way of the Gospel.”

In taking the role of bishop in Wheeling-Charleston, Menjívar-Ayala replaced Bishop Mark Brennan, who served in that role from 2019 until this year.

The dispute goes back to a 2011 federal regulation imposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which requires employers to include coverage of contraception in healthcare plans offered to employees, as part of rules implementing the Affordable Care Act.

Although the Little Sisters of the Poor already won two Supreme Court cases — which found the federal government must protect the religious freedom of those who object to contraception and that the federal government has the authority to create exemptions — the state governments of Pennsylvania and New Jersey are challenging federal exemptions on grounds that the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on.

A lower court ruled in favor of the two states, against the Little Sisters of the Poor, finding that the federal exemptions are arbitrary and capricious. The sisters filed an appeal, which is being considered by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.

Aimee Thomson, who represented the two states, argued that the broad exemptions — which allow both religious and moral objectors to avoid the mandate — are “arbitrary and capricious” and that the exemptions “swept well beyond all religious employers” who first objected to the mandate.

Under the rule, employers who have moral or religious objections can opt in to an accommodation in which the federal government subsidizes contraception coverage in their plans. Employers who also have moral or religious objections to the accommodation can sidestep contraception coverage altogether.

She told the panel of judges that the exemption exceeds the scope that is required under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). She said the regulators failed to show that these exemptions were necessary to solve the religious liberty issue and expressed concerns over employers potentially getting exemptions even though their objections are not sincere.

Thomson said it’s unclear “how many women have been impacted” by insincere objections, but “expecting female employees” to study policies and litigate an employer’s insincere objections is burdensome.

“That is an incredible burden to place on employees and on women,” she said.

Mark Rienzi, president of Becket and lead attorney for the Little Sisters, argued that the federal government sought to “choose a middle ground” that created a mandate but protected religious freedom, based on Supreme Court guidance: “Nothing about that is even close to arbitrary and capricious.”

“This law is about the federal government … accommodating religion with its own mandate,” he said.

Rienzi said a rule does not become arbitrary and capricious just because the scope is “a hair more than what’s required” under RFRA.

The Little Sisters of the Poor are also receiving support from the Department of Justice. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Eric McArthur argued on behalf of the federal government, in favor of the exemptions, saying RFRA does not require the exemptions to be the “bare minimum.”

He said HHS chose to “set everything aside and take a fresh look at everything” and decided “an exemption was the most appropriate administrative response” to objections. He said this was adopted “as a policy matter … even if RFRA does not compel it.”

McArthur argued there is “no good reason” for someone to insincerely request an exemption because the employer can request the accommodation “at zero cost.” Yet, if the court decides the exemptions are too broad, the court could strike down “one line in the rule” rather than “take down the entire rule,” as the two states have requested.

Mother Loraine Marie Maguire of the Little Sisters of the Poor said in a statement after the oral arguments that the states’ lawsuit to eliminate the exemptions is threatening their mission to serve the poor and the elderly.

“This is our God-given mission,” she said “For nearly 200 years we have welcomed the elderly poor and dying into our homes, and with the population of seniors rapidly growing we cannot allow a government lawsuit to stop us from carrying out our mission. Pennsylvania and New Jersey can keep fighting if they want. All we want is to keep serving.”

“The recent passage of House Bill 2632 by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives poses a serious threat to school children and families throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Archbishop Nelson Pérez of Philadelphia said in a June 23 statement. If passed, the bill would eliminate the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs, a change he described as “devastating for school children and their families.”

State Rep. Nikki Rivera, D-Lancaster, introduced the bill, which the Pennsylvania House passed on June 22. Senate consideration is next.

Rivera said in a statement: “A $680 million annual scholarship tax program should be transparent and include detailed reporting. This bill would ensure that everyone can see how well EITC programs are working, whom they are helping, and whether students in private and parochial schools are receiving tuition relief.”

“This bill would not cut one penny from the $680 million EITC program,” she said.

While Rivera said the bill would only change reporting and oversight requirements, not the program’s funding authorization, Catholic education leaders said eliminating the statutory framework for EITC and OSTC effectively ends the programs.

“If enacted into law, this bill would negatively impact tens of thousands of students across Pennsylvania who currently rely on these scholarship programs. EITC and OSTC scholarships are funded by companies and individuals who see value in providing families with educational choice,” Pérez said. “These programs are vibrant, successful, and reduce taxpayer burdens when it comes to educating our young people, particularly those who come from challenging financial circumstances and live in underserved communities.”

The archbishop called on elected officials to preserve the programs, saying they are “vital” and that “no one can afford to see them disappear.”

Victor D’Ascenzo, vice president for development at the Foundation for Catholic Education, which partners with the archdiocese and the Office of Catholic Education in advancing the mission of Catholic education, said his office has reached out to state representatives in Philadelphia “but have received very little response.”

Noting that while he does not have statewide figures, D’Ascenzo said the Foundation for Catholic Education supports the 102 elementary schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the approximately 33,000 students who attend them. About one-third of those students receive EITC funds for tuition assistance, he said.

“We are hopeful that any resolution that is passed in Harrisburg will have as little negative effect [as possible] on those wishing to pursue a Catholic education in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia,” he said.

Estrella del Paso, formerly known as Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services, has seen its cash reserves depleted since payments stopped arriving in December 2025, according to executive director Melissa Lopez.

Lopez told EWTN News Estrella del Paso offers a broad range of services, providing every type of legal immigration representation, including aiding asylum seekers, those in immigration detention seeking to be released on bond, and people applying for residency and naturalization.

The organization serves more than 40,000 people annually and is one of the largest providers of legal services to unaccompanied immigrant children in the country.

The group is currently providing legal help to around 300 minors, though the number fluctuates frequently, Lopez said.

She warned that “a significant number of people will be impacted if the program ceases to exist,” leaving tens of thousands of immigrants without representation in complex immigration proceedings.

“Navigating the immigration system right now is incredibly difficult,” she continued. “Even when someone is represented, outcomes are not always ideal.”

Many of those currently being helped would face deportation and even worse consequences, Lopez said.

“The outcome of many cases without some form of legal assistance is very dire,” she said. “We are talking about life and death consequences for some individuals we currently provide services to, if we were to cease to exist.”

The ministry was founded in 1986 and began specializing in cases involving unaccompanied children in 2007. It operates as one of the primary nonprofit immigration legal aid providers in the El Paso region.

A preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín in the Northern District of California in April 2025 had blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to cut funding for legal services for unaccompanied minors. However, advocates say the government has continued to withhold payments in violation of that order.

Estrella del Paso and 10 other legal aid providers have asked Martínez-Olguín to hold the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in contempt of court. A hearing on the request is scheduled for July 16.

A 2008 federal law aimed at protecting victims of human trafficking requires the government to ensure, “to the greatest extent practicable,” that unaccompanied children in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security have access to legal counsel in immigration proceedings. Without the access the law provides, minors would be responsible for navigating the immigration court system by themselves.

However, the Trump administration has argued that funding for these services is discretionary rather than mandatory.

The situation is particularly urgent because unaccompanied minors are reportedly being detained and deported at roughly three times the rate seen during the first Trump administration, according to a recent analysis by ProPublica.

Lopez emphasized the broader issues impacting not only minors but also “all of the vulnerable people who come to us seeking legal representation.”

“It is an issue of family unity, keeping families together, and ensuring people are treated with dignity and respect,” she said.

Estrella del Paso has launched an emergency fundraising campaign to try to bridge the funding gap caused by the withheld reimbursements.

Lopez said she hopes to raise about $500,000 through private donations as well as through grants and requests to philanthropic organizations.

“We don’t want people to feel they have to make a huge donation,” she said. “Even a small donation makes an impact.”

The Administration for Children and Families at HHS told EWTN News it does not comment on matters subject to ongoing litigation.

The Trump administration defunded Planned Parenthood via the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but the defunding was scheduled for one year rather than the permanent or 10-year defunding hoped for by activists.

Advocates for unborn children criticized the administration for failing to maintain the defunding of the abortion giant.

“As we celebrated the 250th anniversary of our nation founded on the right to life, funding resumed to the Big Abortion businesses that profit from stripping that right away from a record number of Americans and increasing our top cause of death year after year,” Kelsey Pritchard, communications director at SBA Pro-Life America, told EWTN News.

“It is the default expectation of the pro-life movement for Congress to renew the defunding of Planned Parenthood and abortion businesses, and the politically smart thing for Republicans who must energize the base to win in November,” Pritchard said.

Pritchard noted that her organization is investing “$160 million in 2026 and 2028 for Republican pro-life candidates.”

“[N]ow Republicans must do their part in doing everything they can to once again defund Big Abortion,” Pritchard said.

Dr. Christina Francis, president of the American Association of Pro-Life OBGYNs, said she “sees Congress' failure to keep our tax dollars from subsidizing the abortion mill of Planned Parenthood as a blow to the essential liberties of preborn children.”

“Adding insult to injury, their funding stream resumed on Americaʼs 250th birthday,” Francis told EWTN News. “Guided by our commitment to our profession and our patients, AAPLOG will continue to oppose the funding of Planned Parenthood, the abortion industry, and the medical institutions that have traded sound medical practice for abortion ideology that is antithetical to the true purpose of medicine — health and healing.”

Live Action President Lila Rose criticized the refunding in a statement shared with EWTN News.

“On America’s 250th birthday, Congress had the chance to honor the founding promise that every human being has a God-given right to life,” Rose said. “Instead, by failing to extend the defunding of Planned Parenthood, lawmakers have allowed taxpayer dollars to flow back to the largest abortion chain in the nation.”

“This is a moral failure and an urgent betrayal of preborn children, women, and American taxpayers,” Rose said.

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, urged advocates for unborn children to continue fighting abortion.

“Planned Parenthood is once again eligible to receive taxpayer dollars after Congress failed to keep them out of our healthcare spending,” she said in a post on X. “That isnʼt the end of the story. Itʼs a reminder that the fight for life isnʼt won in a single vote. Itʼs won by refusing to quit. It’s time for us to get back to work.”

Planned Parenthood did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

The Vatican declared July 2 that six prelates involved in the SSPX’s unauthorized July 1 episcopal consecrations incurred automatic excommunication. Despite repeated warnings, SSPX bishops consecrated four new bishops without a pontifical mandate — an act of open disobedience to the authority of the pope that carries automatic excommunication for the six bishops involved.

The SSPX is a fraternity of priests known for its celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass and opposition to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

Various Catholic bishops with SSPX locations in their areas are explicitly forbidding Catholics from attending SSPX services while also urging frequent attendees or SSPX priests to seek spiritual guidance and return to the Catholic Church.

Invited ‘home’

Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis urged SSPX families in his community to stay with the Catholic Church.

“In the 10 years that I have led this local Church, I have met many sincere people who worship regularly or occasionally at the chapels of the SSPX within the territory of our archdiocese,” Hebda said. “I have been impressed by the strength of their families and their commitment to traditional Catholic values.”

“It is my hope they will not follow the above-mentioned bishops in separating themselves from the successor of Peter, Pope Leo XIV, and from the Church that he humbly leads,” Hebda continued. “Throughout the centuries, our Catholic Church has consistently echoed the teaching of St. Ambrose: Ubi Petrus ibi ecclesia (Where there is Peter, there is the Church).”

“At this difficult moment, we are blessed that the same traditional Eucharistic liturgy beloved by those who have worshipped with the SSPX in the past continues to be celebrated in six locations throughout the archdiocese,” Hebda said. “I am confident that those who prefer the Traditional Latin Mass could find a home here."

Bishop Terry LaValley of Ogdensburg, New York, noted that in light of the “formal schism,” the disobedience “gravely harms the unity of the Church for which Christ so fervently prayed the night before he died.”

LaValley said in a statement that Catholics are “forbidden” to participate in SSPX sacraments, the only exception being “when there is danger of death.” He noted that the schism “is not simply about the celebration of the Mass.”

“The SSPX repudiates and denounces the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, in particular, ecumenism, religious liberty, collegiality of the bishops with the pope, and the Church’s understanding of and relationship with Judaism,” LaValley noted.

LaValley instructed the faithful to avoid participation with SSPX and invited SSPX priests to remain with the Church.

In a similar vein, Bishop Frank Caggiano of Bridgeport, Connecticut, invited anyone who previously worshipped with SSPX to come “home.”

“The Holy See has made clear that the clergy of the society are now to be regarded as schismatic,” Caggiano said in a statement. “This means that, from this day forward, the sacraments they celebrate are illicit and, most significantly for the faithful, the confessions they hear and the marriages at which they preside are considered invalid by the Church.”

“I know these words are difficult to hear, especially for those among us who have worshipped, whether regularly or on occasion, at liturgies celebrated by priests of the society,” Caggiano said. “Over the years I have come to know some of these families. I have been moved by their love for the beauty of the sacred liturgy, their devotion to our Catholic tradition, and the seriousness with which they seek to raise their children in the faith.”

“My heart goes out to them at this painful moment, and I want them to know that they remain very much a part of our diocesan family,” Caggiano said.

“I also wish to offer a word of reassurance. This excommunication does not fall upon those who have simply attended these liturgies out of a sincere desire to worship and who have never intended to reject the authority of the Holy Father or the teaching of the Church,” Caggiano said. “What the Church now asks is straightforward: Knowing the situation as it now stands, the faithful of the Catholic Church can no longer take part in the liturgies of the society, for to do so knowingly would be to share in a separation from the successor of Peter.”

Caggiano noted that the “vetus ordo,” also known as the Traditional Latin Mass, is still celebrated in his diocese at several parishes throughout the diocese.

He emphasized that the diocese also welcomes any SSPX priest who wants to return to full communion “with open arms and great tenderness.”

Bishop James Johnston of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri, said he will “be preparing guidance to assist our clergy, lay faithful, and especially any of the lay faithful who have worshipped locally with the SSPX at St. Vincent de Paul Kansas City.”

“While it is imperative to not abandon future efforts toward full communion and to fervently pray for such, those who wish to maintain communion with the Catholic Church, including valid reception of the sacraments of matrimony and penance (confession), will no longer find that possible within the SSPX,” Johnston said in the statement.

“In this moment, I wish to reassure the members of the SSPX within this diocese of my pastoral concern as a shepherd with a desire to assist you in this time of crisis,” Johnston said.

Schism ‘wounds’ the body of Christ

Bishop Douglas Lucia of Syracuse, New York, emphasized that the announcement “forbids Roman Catholics of good standing to participate in and to receive the sacraments from bishops and priests associated with the Society of St. Pius X.”

“[F]ormal adherence to schism is a grave offense against God and carries the penalty of excommunication decreed by the Churchʼs law,” Lucia wrote July 2.

“I grieve over the wound that has been inflicted on Christʼs body, the Church, and its effect on the spiritual good of the faithful,” Lucia said. “Although todayʼs action relates to a specific event, I would caution that such wounds occur in the Church, when peopleʼs pain and concerns are ignored and the universal call to holiness is subjugated to personal agenda.”

“I regret that the communion and trust that has been built in my seven years as bishop here in Syracuse is now so imperiled, but there cannot be accord when discord has been sown,” Lucia said.

Bishop Donald Hying of Madison, Wisconsin, instructed Catholics “to refrain from attending Mass at any SSPX chapels.”

“The Catholic faithful should attend Mass at a Catholic church with a Catholic priest where they can receive licit and valid sacraments,” Hying said.

“For many years, the Church has been in dialogue with the leadership of SSPX in the hope that the group would return to full communion with the Catholic Church,” Hying said. “Their continued rejection of papal authority and decision to undertake blatantly schismatic acts have harmed these discussions and wounded the path to unity.”

Archbishop Shawn McKnight of Kansas City, Kansas, called the bishopʼs consecrations "a source of profound sorrow for the whole Church because it wounds the visible unity that Christ desires for his body.” He noted that Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI took several steps toward communion and acceptance of the society.

“Fidelity to sacred tradition is never opposed to fidelity to the successor of Peter,” McKnight said in his letter. “Rather, both are gifts entrusted by Christ to his Church and serve together to safeguard the deposit of faith and promote the salvation of souls.”

“The Church’s living tradition is preserved by remaining close to the successor of Peter, by adhering to the apostolic faith handed down through the centuries and safeguarded within the communion of the Church,” McKnight said.

Jin, who was arrested by Chinese authorities on Oct. 10, 2025, was reunited with his family in Los Angeles on July 3 ahead of America 250 celebrations.

“I am profoundly grateful that Pastor Ezra Jin has been released and reunited with his family,” Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, a Catholic, said in a July 5 statement. “I especially thank President Trump for personally raising Pastor Jin’s case with CCP [Chinese Communist Party] General Secretary Xi Jinping and for ensuring that U.S. diplomats remained committed in pressing for his freedom.”

Trump said following his visit to China in May that President Xi Jinping was “giving very serious consideration to the pastor,” referring to Jin. Congress had urged Trump to use the U.S.-China summit to advocate for Jin’s release alongside Jimmy Lai, the jailed Catholic media tycoon and democracy advocate. Trump noted China’s president was less likely to release Lai.

A statement issued to reporters by the pastor’s family said: “We truly witnessed a miracle and we are feeling so overwhelmed with joy. We thank God for this tremendous miracle. We also thank President Trump and his administration for their tremendous leadership. We hope this is a signal of a positive turn for people of faith in China and relations between our two nations.”

Jin was among nearly 30 people arrested by Chinese Communist Party authorities during a sweeping crackdown across nine cities on the underground Zion Church, of which he is the founder.

Frances Hui, policy and advocacy manager at the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, wrote on social media: “Incredible to hear that [Jin] is free, has just arrived in L.A., and is finally reunited with his family.” Hui was among advocates who rallied on behalf of those imprisoned in China ahead of Trump’s visit.

Hui described standing beside Jin’s daughter, Grace Jin Drexel, as “a privilege,” noting that she and her husband, Bill Drexel, had advocated for Jin’s release while preparing for the birth of their third child.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said in a statement: “Despite months of imprisonment, Pastor Jin stayed true to his faith. Yet again, President Trump has demonstrated his ability to stand up for persecuted Christians worldwide.”

Former vice president Mike Pence said in a statement: “President Trump should be commended for securing Ezra Jin’s release by raising the case with Xi Jinping in Beijing this year. Truly treasure in heaven to see this godly man of faith set free.”

The case, St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, challenges Colorado’s requirement that schools participating in its universal preschool program comply with state policies that the Catholic schools say would force them to violate religious beliefs about marriage, sexuality, and employment to receive public funding.

The U.S. solicitor general joined more than 20 states and 43 Republican members of Congress urging the high court to rule against Colorado’s “discriminatory exclusion” of the faith-based schools. The solicitor general argued that Colorado’s policy discriminates against religious exercise, imposes unconstitutional conditions on participation in a public benefit, and conflicts with recent precedents.

Colorado forces petitioners to choose, the solicitor general wrote. “They can either adhere to their faith, which precludes enrolling families who refuse to adhere to Catholic teachings, and lose the subsidy, or obtain the subsidy but abandon their religious beliefs,” the brief said.

Supreme Court to hear case

Represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, St. Mary Catholic Parish in Littleton and St. Bernadette Catholic Parish in Lakewood, part of the Archdiocese of Denver, along with several Catholic families, argue that the state cannot deny otherwise available public benefits simply because the schools remain faithful to their religious mission.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case this fall after the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Colorado’s policy in September 2025 to exclude Catholic preschools because of their religious beliefs.

Broad coalition of support

Support for the Catholic families has continued to grow ahead of oral arguments. A total of 29 friend-of-the-court briefs have been filed urging the justices to rule in favor of the schools, including briefs by more than 20 states, religious liberty scholars, education advocates, and a broad coalition of faith groups.

Among those filing briefs is the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).  U.S. bishops stated that “if that decision stands, it will provide a roadmap for governments to circumvent this court’s decisions, directly threatening the free exercise rights of religious adherents and organizations.”

Dan and Lisa Sheley, Catholic parents of seven whose children attend St. Mary’s, said they were encouraged by the widespread support.

“We’re grateful that so many people from across the country are rallying behind our case,” they said in a statement provided by Becket. “Colorado promised preschool for all but then showed Catholic families the door. That’s unfair to parents, unfair to children, and contrary to the spirit of the Constitution’s promise of religious freedom.”

Previous religious liberty cases

Eric Rassbach, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, said in a statement the coalition demonstrates the significance of the case.

“Colorado has united a diverse array of Americans around a simple point: It’s wrong to promise preschool support to every family in the state and then yank it away from Catholic families,” Rassbach said. “This broad coalition shows just how egregious and unlawful Colorado’s religious discrimination has become. We’re confident the court will remind Colorado — once again — that the First Amendment protects religious people too.”

The case follows a series of Supreme Court decisions strengthening protections for religious schools, including Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, and Carson v. Makin, all of which held that states generally may not exclude religious institutions from publicly available benefits because of their religious identity. A decision in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy could further define the constitutional protections afforded to religious schools participating in government education programs.

“People want to know why they are braving the heat to follow a canopy,” he explained to EWTN News. “I’ve already explained to three people what the Eucharist is. They are curious about the monstrance, and this gives a chance to evangelize.”

Evangelization was the chief mission of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage 2026, which ended Sunday after passing through 18 dioceses since it began on May 24 in St. Augustine, Florida.

The final stop in Philadelphia took on a patriotic theme in the City of Brotherly Love as about 2,000 believers squeezed into the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul for Mass. Beforehand, sisters knelt before the relics of St. Katharine Drexel, one of America’s first saints. This year’s pilgrimage placed special emphasis on the American saints who have contributed not only to the Church but also to the American story.

Pope Leo XIV delivered remarks by video at the beginning of Mass encouraging his fellow Americans to “cultivate a Eucharistic life … with eyes fixed on the heavenly one.” Leo mentioned Sts. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Katharine Drexel, and John Neumann, among others.

The pilgrimage has drawn both believers and those who want to believe in something higher than themselves. This is what drew Erin Daly and her two daughters, Elsa and Lydia, to join the procession immediately following the Mass on Sunday. They were at Pope Leo’s first Corpus Christi Mass in Rome last June and wanted to be in town for this special occasion. Elsa, a student at the University of Dallas, was one of many young people holding signs with spiritual messages of hope and faith.

Another banner waver, Amear Mottley, explained that he had been to Mass that weekend, was curious to know more, and joined the procession because he wanted to be close to Jesus. Asked if he was Catholic, he responded: “I don’t know what I am.”

Marchers came from neighboring dioceses and from across the country. Deacon Dave Matour was with his wife, Sue, and 25 people from their parish in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and the Diocese of Oakland, California, was represented by 28 Catholics in matching pink T-shirts.

Many chose to wave American flags and wear their patriotism on their sleeves. Kevin and Janet Daly from Michigan were among those who wore the “One Nation Under God” motto.

The procession eased down Broad Street under a sweltering sun with Philadelphia’s City Hall behind it. A loudspeaker bellowed the Hail Mary in English and Spanish through the air while pilgrims withstood the heat, not complaining, and offering one another water, being vigilant of the elderly walkers who may have needed extra attention.

The procession turned on Girard Avenue for the final stretch to the National Shrine of St. John Neumann, the pilgrimage’s final stop where the final Benediction would take place. Trumpets greeted marchers as they made their way up the steps into the church, waving their Mass programs as makeshift fans.

When the monstrance was held aloft and blessed the crowd, the heat inside the church subsided for a moment, and the exhausted gatherers got a sense of refreshment.

“We made it,” joked Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson Perez, who carried the Blessed Sacrament for the entire last leg of pilgrimage on Sunday and concluded the day with remarks mixed with levity and awe at the impact the processions have had on the communities visited: “The pilgrimage is over, “he said, “but our journey continues because Christ walks with us.”

Goodwill Greater Milwaukee & Chicago recently announced a major partnership with Catholic Charities Fort Worth (CCFW) to bring the innovative Padua program to the greater Englewood community in south Chicago.

Named after St. Anthony of Padua, patron saint of the poor, the program pairs participants with a team of two dedicated caseworkers for long-term, client-led support, with no arbitrary time limits. The only eligibility requirements for the program are that the client be 18 years old and willing to work.

The collaboration marks a significant expansion of the model, which was developed in 2015 by CCFW and validated through a randomized controlled trial by the University of Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO).

Participants in the study were 25% more likely to achieve full-time employment, earned 46% higher incomes, and were 64% more likely to secure stable housing.

Brendan Perry, director of Padua National at Catholic Charities Fort Worth, told EWTN News that the program was in response to the nonprofit “seeing a lot of repeat customers,” which, “in the nonprofit world is not a good thing.”

“We weren’t truly creating economic mobility,” Perry recalled of the organization’s earlier efforts. “Padua was our answer to that challenge.”

Perry said the program was born from a simple but powerful question: What if?

“What if the way we’ve always addressed poverty isn’t the way it has to be?” he explained. “What if we created a program where clients set their own goals, timelines were built around people instead of funders, and we holistically addressed a client’s root issues instead of just the symptoms of their poverty? And what if we could prove it through research and create a model that was replicable?”

Unlike many short-term workforce programs, Padua’s two-person case management teams (a case manager and caseworker) provide holistic support in employment, housing, education, and emotional resilience. Clients define their own goals and remain in the program for as long as needed.

Perry said that people begin their journey with Padua from many different places and often come from a place of crisis. While Padua “is not a crisis program,” Perry said the program helps clients get to a place of stability.

“Once theyʼre there, weʼre gonna be sticking with you for the long haul to get to a point of strength and of prosperity.”

One client who has benefited from the Padua program is Lisa, a divorced mother of three who faced single parenthood, housing instability, unemployment, and mental health issues among her children.

“When I was in my marriage, there was a lot of breaking up and getting back together,” Lisa said. “There was a lot of moving around, and I believe thatʼs how my son developed separation anxiety, which led to depression, and [he] became highly suicidal.”

Lisa’s caseworker helped her find counseling for her son as well as for Lisa, who learned coping skills that helped her better care for her son.

“I pour into his life daily by reminding him that you are handsome, you are smart, you are capable, you have a mum and a family that loves you. You are loved, you deserve to be alive. This world needs you,” she said.

The Padua program helped her attend culinary school and taught her financial skills like budgeting and saving.

Lisa is now employed, has a stable home for her children, and has attended a culinary arts program with dreams of becoming a catering and private chef.

She gives credit to her caseworker, Taelor: “I call her my guardian angel because … sheʼs just been so loving and supportive.”

Perry added that the partnership with Goodwill reflects a shared commitment to human dignity.

“We’re not just expanding the program — we’re ensuring more families have access to the tools they need to build bigger, brighter futures.”

Clayton Pryor, chief mission officer for Goodwill Greater Milwaukee & Chicago, emphasized how naturally the program aligns with their existing work.

“At Goodwill, we believe lasting change starts with meeting people where they are,” Pryor told EWTN News. “Padua allows us to go deeper with individuals who need more intensive, long-term support. It’s client-led, research-backed, and focused on real stability — not just a job, but a foundation for life.”

The Illinois program is scheduled to launch in October out of Goodwill’s new Neighborhood Opportunity Center in Englewood. Pryor said the organization aims to serve 50 clients in the first year, scaling to more than 200 over five years.