The North Royalton Fire Department — located several miles outside of Cleveland — announced on Nov. 3 that one of its firefighters, Ryan Milligan, had died after fighting a fire in Broadview Heights the day before.

Milligan, 36, had served in the department since 2016. He and his wife, Laura, shared two children; Milligan himself had been pursuing the role of fire lieutenant.

Also injured in the blaze was firefighter Andrew Protsman, who survived and is recovering in the hospital. The two had been present at the fire after responding to a neighboring department’s request for mutual aid, where fire departments request assistance from nearby firefighters. 

‘He was a hero’

Milligan’s death and Protsman’s hospitalization have resulted in an outpouring of support from the local community, according to Father Doug Brown, who serves as a chaplain for the Cleveland Division of Fire.

Brown, who also serves as pastor at Mary Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Cleveland, told EWTN News that he had worked as a chaplain in the Cleveland Police Department for years before taking up the role in the city’s fire department.

He said his ministry includes regular visits to local firehouses, spiritual counseling, and administering the sacraments, including weddings and baptisms for firefighting families.

Brown said the tragedy occurred when both Milligan and Protsman fell through the floor at the house in which they were battling the blaze. He said the community has been gripped by “great sorrow and great sadness” after the incident.

The priest said he has heard one particular Scripture verse repeated in the days after the tragedy: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

“Over and over we are seeing that Scripture verse repeated,” he said. “People know that this was a selfless, sacrificial act, done in the service of this community.”

Though the firefighters were from the North Royalton department and Brown is a chaplain with the Cleveland Fire Department, the priest said that on the night of the fire he went to the local hospital, located about a mile and a half from his parish, to pray with the families there.

“I kept saying, ‘He’s a hero,’” Brown said. “Because that’s what he is.”

Milligan himself was Lutheran, Brown said. The priest said he was as-yet unaware of any funeral arrangements. But he said Milligan exemplified the self-giving spirit of Christ, as do all firefighters.

“I feel like these are men and women who are willing to sacrifice their lives in the same way that Christ gave his life for us,” he said.

Brown told local news that he has urged the community to both give the grieving families the space they need while continuing to offer consolation past the point when community support often fades away.

“[D]onʼt disappear on them," he urged. "Keep reaching out to them."

The priest told EWTN News, meanwhile, that as a chaplain he feels called to minister to people doing some of the most difficult work in civil society.

“The demands of their jobs can be intense and demanding,” he said. “Finding time for spiritual consolation is difficult for many of them. I like to be able to provide that in any way possible. That’s what drives me.”

The Democratic Party flipped roughly three dozen seats across the House and Senate on election night, giving them strong majorities in both chambers, including a 10-seat advantage in the Senate.

The results were hailed by Democrat supporters as a sharp backlash to Trump’s second and last term in the White House, during which the president has presided over an unpopular war with Iran along with record-high gas prices and continuing high costs of groceries and other consumer goods.

Abortion expanded, protected in multiple states

Abortion advocates, meanwhile, recorded significant wins at the state level on Election Day, with voters in multiple states passing measures expanding abortion or else voting down efforts to restrict it.

In Virginia, voters passed an amendment to the state constitution guaranteeing abortion rights to “every individual.” Critics have argued that the measure will extend unfettered abortion rights even to children, undermining parental rights and putting young girls at risk. Though passed, the measure is still the subject of legal actions challenging its validity.

In Nevada, meanwhile, voters approved a constitutional amendment that will allow unborn babies in the state to be aborted up to the point of “viability” with no restrictions. The proposal passed overwhelmingly with more than 60% support.

Elsewhere, in Missouri, voters rejected a proposal to reinstitute a state ban on abortion there. About 55% of the state’s voters rejected the proposal, which leaves in place the rule allowing abortion through “fetal viability.”

Amid major victories for abortion supporters on Election Day, however, Idaho voters rejected an effort there to expand abortion rights.

The measure, which was voted down roughly 56% to 44%, would have established “a right to reproductive freedom and privacy” in the state and would have ordered that the government could not interfere with most abortion-related decisions.

Catholic bishops and advocates in the contested states had urged voters to reject the abortion proposals. Virginia’s two bishops had mounted a “Catholics Vote No” campaign to rally Catholic voters against the amendment.

Las Vegas Archbishop George Leo Thomas, meanwhile, had described the Nevada proposal as a “very serious and damaging expansion” of abortion law there. As in Virginia, the newly passed Nevada measure extends abortion rights to “individuals”; pro-life advocates have warned that such language potentially opens the door for doctors to perform unregulated abortions on underage girls.

Also in Virginia, voters repealed the state’s long-standing ban on same-sex “marriage,” a largely symbolic gesture given the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision that legalized those arrangements throughout the U.S.

With more than 87% of the vote counted in Virginia as of 11 p.m. ET, 61.5% of people voted for the referendum and 38.5% voted against it.

The people of Missouri are voting on a pro-life referendum to repeal a state constitutional right to abortion. The outcome is too early to call with more than 85% of the vote counted, but the referendum is currently losing, with 55.5% of people voting against it and 44.5% in favor.

Votes have yet to be counted in Nevada or Idaho, where polls closed later.

Catholic bishops in all four states were heavily involved throughout the races, emphasizing the Church’s teaching on the sanctity of life and asking the faithful to cast pro-life votes on the state referendums.

The state referendums

The referendum in Virginia will establish a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom” in the state constitution, which includes “abortion care.” The amendment extends this right to “every individual,” rather than restricting it to just adults.

Although the amendment allows abortion restrictions in the third trimester, it does not allow any restrictions when necessary to protect “the life or physical or mental health” of the mother at any point in the pregnancy. It does not define what constitutes a threat to one’s “mental health” but rather leaves this up to the discretion of the treating physician, who is often the abortionist.

The referendum in Missouri would repeal the state constitutional right to abortion and it would allow state lawmakers to restrict abortion. If it fails, the constitution will continue to maintain a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom," which includes “abortion care.”

Missouri’s constitution allows lawmakers to restrict abortions after fetal viability, which is when the unborn child can survive outside the womb. However, lawmakers cannot restrict abortion at any point in the pregnancy when necessary to “protect the life or physical or mental health” of the mother. Fetal viability and whether the mother’s health is at risk is determined by the treating physician, who is often the abortionist.

The referendum in Nevada, if it passes, would establish “a fundamental right to abortion” in the state constitution. It would allow lawmakers to impose restrictions after the point of fetal viability, which are determined by the “treating health care practitioner,” which is often the abortionist.

The right would extend through the entire pregnancy when needed to “protect the life or health” of the mother, but “health” is not defined. The right would extend to all individuals, not just adults.

Idaho’s referendum would not amend the state constitution, but it would change state law to establish a right to “reproductive freedom,” which includes “abortion.” It would supersede the current state law, which prohibits abortion except to prevent the death of the mother and, in the first trimester, in reported cases of rape or incest.

The referendum would allow lawmakers to restrict abortion at the point of fetal viability, but this would be determined by the treating physician, who is often the abortionist. It would not allow lawmakers to restrict abortion at any point in the pregnancy when there is a medical emergency. The right would be extended to all individuals, not just adults.

The case, St. Mary School v. Roy, centers on a preschool-through-grade-8 Catholic school in Littleton that wants to participate in the state’s universal preschool program.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a member of the court’s conservative majority, described the case as a clash between the free exercise of religion and the right to same-sex marriage the court found in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015. But he suggested the clash is unnecessary because parents in Colorado have so many options for prekindergarten, since there are more than 2,000 providers in the state, while the Archdiocese of Denver has only 34 schools that provide the service.

“Why has this been provoked when there’s an ability for everyone to go to the school, a good school, that’s a fit for them, and to respect religious rights?” he asked.

Helen Norton, deputy solicitor general for the state of Colorado, said parents often choose prekindergarten programs based on their location and their hours rather than their curriculum.

“Colorado has an interest in ensuring that its public funds go to schools that ensure equal opportunity — not some opportunity, that ensure equal opportunity to public-funded options, regardless of protected-class status,” Norton said, replying to Kavanaugh’s question. “Families are harmed when they’re turned away from the publicly funded school that makes their lives work because of their protected-class status.”

‘Creating a Catholic community’

In 2020, Colorado voters approved a state-funded universal prekindergarten program, using increases in tobacco-related taxes to pay for it. The state government is planning to spend about $360 million for the program during the 2026-2027 school year. The state pays preschool providers about $6,100 per year for 15 hours a week of instruction for 4-year-olds during the 2026-2027 school year, according to state standards.

Catholic schools want to participate in the program, but the Archdiocese of Denver objects to a state mandate concerning admissions.

A Colorado state statute requires that preschools participating in the funding program provide children “an equal opportunity to enroll and receive preschool services” regardless of eight protected classes — including “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” — “as such characteristics and circumstances apply to the child or the child’s family.”

A lawyer for the Catholic schools told justices Tuesday that Church and school officials want to make admissions decisions on a case-by-case basis in alignment with Catholic teachings instead of simply allowing all comers because of a state mandate.

“I think it’s their thoughtful attempt to say, ‘We’re creating a Catholic community,’” said Nicholas Reaves, senior counsel for the Becket law group, which is representing the Catholic schools.

Reaves got hostile questions from the court’s three liberals (Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson) and either friendly or neutral questions from the court’s five conservatives (Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett), which suggests how the decision might ultimately go. (The chief justice, John Roberts, often seen as a swing vote, mostly moderated the discussion.)

Sarah Harris, principal deputy solicitor general in the Trump administration, also argued on the Catholic schools’ side during oral presentations Tuesday.

Many options

The history of Catholic schools in the 19th century came up during oral arguments, including their origin in concerns among Catholic clerics and parents that government-run public schools were providing a Protestant point of view to the exclusion of Catholicism. Kavanaugh, a Catholic, at one point asked the lawyer for the state of Colorado about a moment in the trial record when the administrator of the state’s universal prekindergarten program was asked about Catholic history.

“The director of the program, by all accounts a dutiful public servant, … was asked at the trial, ‘Are you aware that Catholics have historically been discriminated against?’ And she answered, ‘No,’” Kavanaugh said. “I was surprised by that answer and curious if that’s Colorado’s position.”

“Not at all, Your Honor,” Norton replied. “And it’s Colorado’s position that the equal-opportunity requirements help religious families. They ensure that Catholic families are not turned away from the UPK [universal prekindergarten] school that best meets their needs because of their faith or because of any other protected characteristic. And a history of discrimination against Catholics is among the reasons that requirement is so important.”

Some legal observers have suggested that a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court may use the Colorado case as a vehicle to overturn the Smith decision in 1990, which, although written by the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, is disliked by many religious-liberty advocates who argue it doesn’t respect free-exercise rights enough.

Yet the lawyer representing the Catholic schools on Tuesday offered narrower grounds for the justices to overturn Colorado’s admissions requirements, noting that for every Catholic preschool program in the Archdiocese of Denver, there are two universal prekindergarten programs already in the state’s program within three miles of it.

Said Reaves: “This is just not really a problem in real life.”

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

The IRS just concluded the public comment period for a rule that would remove the tax-exempt status of private K-12 schools, colleges, and universities that consider a person’s race or ethnic background in admissions, financial aid, scholarships, or other opportunities.

Although the preamble of the proposed regulation states it would not prevent private religious schools from maintaining their religious missions and can have selection criteria based on the person’s religious affiliation, the USCCB warned that this language is not included in the rule itself.

In a public comment submitted Nov. 2 by the USCCB, the bishops also warned the proposed language could prohibit “religiously motivated programs addressing ethnoreligious identity and community needs” as well. This concern is because the preamble text only permits selection criteria if it “is based solely on religion and not on shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.”

The bishops requested the IRS add religious liberty language to the regulation itself and remove the word “solely” from that text before approving a final rule. The bishops also encouraged the IRS to address federal legal protections for religious schools — including the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act — in both the preamble and the rule itself.

Additionally, the bishops requested that the IRS direct its personnel not to “second-guess” a religious school’s doctrine and to include explicit language that sincerely held religious belief does not violate the rule. They are also asking that private schools get a period to correct any violation before enforcement action is taken.

The USCCB was joined in its public comment by the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities and The Catholic University of America.

University of Providence to shut down

The University of Providence — a Catholic higher education institution in Great Falls, Montana — announced it will shut down operations at the end of the 2026-2027 academic year, citing financial struggles that cannot be overcome.

According to a news release, the university suffered enrollment decline and financial pressures, which led officials to restructure academic programs, reduce operating expenses, and pursue new enrollment and revenue strategies. Although this softened the financial struggles, it did not create a long-term sustainable operating model, it stated.

“We recognize the grief and uncertainty this decision will bring to students, families, employees, alumni and the Great Falls community,” Caroline Goulet, the university president, said in a statement.

“Our responsibility now is to care for the people who make up this University community, maintain the quality of their educational experience, and provide clear guidance and support as they prepare for what comes next,” she said.

The university promised to help students transfer to other institutions to complete their degrees.

Notre Dame announces Global Saints Initiative

The University of Notre Dame announced the start of the Global Saints Initiative in 2027, which will focus on adding iconography of more saints at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, which sits at the center of the campus.

The iconography will include saints from five continents and nine countries to reflect the broad cultural dimensions of the Catholic Church, according to a news release from the university.

“Just as university founder Father Edward Sorin carefully selected saints for the Basilica that spoke to the Notre Dame students of his day, these new icons reflect the diverse vocations, cultures, and backgrounds of today’s campus community and the wider Church,” Father Pete McCormick, CSC, assistant vice president for campus ministry, said in a statement.

“I am incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to share these stories of holiness with all who visit the Basilica and especially with our students who I’m hopeful will be able to identify with and learn from these witnesses of faith,” he said.

The announcement states that the iconography will be installed in January 2027, before the spring semester begins.

Study shows concerns with SATs

A study conducted by Johns Hopkins University’s Institute for Education Policy — sponsored by Thomas Aquinas College, a Catholic institution — found concerns with changes to SAT tests, which many students take before applying to college.

When comparing the SAT tests from 1980 and 1987 to tests today, the study found changes that diminish the emphasis on the students’ ability to read and analyze difficult text, according to a news release from Thomas Aquinas College.

“The makers of the SAT seem to believe that the ability to tackle long and complex literary works isn’t an important skill for college students anymore,” Thomas Aquinas College Vice President John J. Goyette said in a statement.

“Sadly, given the state of modern higher education, they’re probably right,” he said.

The study notes that passages are shorter, sometimes one-third of the former length, and there was a drop in vocabulary questions that require independent word knowledge, from 60 to 10.

It notes that newer tests nearly eliminated argumentative and persuasive readings and replaced reading passages that assumed prior knowledge and understanding with texts that reveal the meaning through context clues.

The first initiative to come from the Department of War’s recently established Office of Religious Affairs, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth called the program that office’s “first win.”

Under the funded option of the new program, the service covers tuition for a qualifying graduate theological degree at an accredited U.S. institution while service members remain on active duty.

After graduation, they will transition temporarily to inactive status through the Career Intermission Program to gain a minimum of two (and not more than three) years of full-time religious leadership experience as a religious ministry professional with their endorsing organization, after which they may then be commissioned as active-duty Navy Chaplain Corps officers.

Previously, active-duty Sailors or Marines who felt called to the chaplaincy usually had to leave military service, losing pay and benefits, to complete seminary and professional ministry experience as civilians, at their own expense, and then reapply. No dedicated in-service pipeline existed for this purpose.

Cao urged leaders to identify Navy and Marine Corps members “from every faith tradition,” both officers and enlisted, “who possess the character, calling, and commitment” required for the program, which was authorized under the National Defense Authorization Act.

“Spiritual readiness is combat readiness,” he wrote in the announcement.

Hegseth said the same day that previously, when service members had to leave the military to pursue theological studies, it lost many “good warriors who wanted to answer Godʼs call. But not anymore.”

He said he established the Office of Religious Affairs “to champion the spiritual readiness of our force,” calling the new program its “first win.”

“Chaplains are the backbone of this military,” he said. “And some of our warfighters watching this are feeling a divine calling to the chaplaincy. To you, I encourage you with the words of Isaiah … ‘Here I am, send me.’”

“President Trumpʼs Department of War will not make you choose between the uniform and your calling,” Hegseth continued, noting bipartisan congressional support for the program.

“Republicans and Democrats in Congress saw the importance of this and made it law. To those who feel called to be a chaplain, the Department of War has your back. Be strong and very courageous,” he said.

Archbishop welcomes initiative, but says it is of ‘little value’ to Catholics without changes

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, head of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, (AMS) told EWTN News that while the archdiocese welcomes the "effort to encourage chaplain service, the initiative is of little value to prospective Catholic chaplains” without some changes.

Broglio pointed out that candidates for the priesthood spend at least seven years in academic, pastoral, and spiritual formation, noting that the program “only envisions three.”

After years of seminary formation, co-sponsored by the AMS and their home dioceses, Catholics called to serve as chaplains must then engage in three years of civilian pastoral service before serving in the military.

Broglio said missing from the program is an allowance for the additional three years of civilian pastoral service, a period he said is intended to provide hands-on experience and which is a general condition for a chaplain candidate to receive AMS endorsement for active-duty service.

He encouraged the military to “consider allowing for both the time in formation and the pastoral experience” in order to support prospective Catholic chaplains.

Retreat for young men considering military chaplaincy

The announcement of the new chaplaincy program coincided with a discernment retreat hosted by AMS for young men considering the vocation to military chaplaincy.

According to the archdiocese, Broglio hosted 33 prospective Catholic chaplains at the Fall Discernment Retreat held Oct. 29–Nov. 1, the beginning of National Vocation Awareness Week, at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore.

Participants from dioceses across the country prayed together, took part in adoration and Holy Hours, and heard talks from Broglio, archdiocesan vocations director Father Paul-Anthony Halladay, and military chaplains on topics including discernment, the role of priests as spiritual fathers, and the lives and examples of chaplains who served in each of the military’s branches.

New York Archbishop Ronald Hicks, chair of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations, encouraged Catholics to pray for and support priestly and religious vocations, highlighting the witness of those who have responded to God’s call.

“As we draw near the busiest time of the year, a season marked by thanksgiving and joy, National Vocation Awareness Week reminds us of the beautiful witness of those who have responded to God’s call to serve in ordained ministry as priests and deacons, and men and women who serve in consecrated life,” Hicks said in a statement. “This National Vocation Awareness Week, we thank God for all vocations and pray for a deepened spirit of joy in marriages, in the priesthood and diaconate, and in all forms of consecrated life. Your witness to a joy-filled vocation inspires young people to follow God’s call with courage.”

Catholic organizations, dioceses, schools, and parishes are observing the week Nov. 1–7 by promoting the welfare and vocational call to the priesthood, diaconate, and consecrated life through events, prayer, and education. Across the country, consecrated religious are recalling their vocational promises and how they personally discerned their call to religious life.

“My initial reaction was, ‘Oh no, not me. I have plans in life.’ Then, it was very persistent to me. There, I realized that saying ‘yes’ to him — it can make me very happy in life — only when I am able to discover what he wants for me,” said Sister Ruby Sampang, a member of the Religious of Mary Immaculate (RMI) and residential director at Centro Maria Catholic Housing in Washington, D.C.

Originally from the Philippines, Sister Ruby has spent decades serving young women around the world. She said helping them respond to God’s call has been her “greatest joy.”

“My joy, my greatest joy, as I said, is saying yes in the end,” Sister Ruby said. “He gave me that grace to say yes, and that gave me a lot of joy; it gave me a lot of freedom.”

“God makes his way through when he wants it. So, we just need to trust it and to trust him. And I think my greatest joy too is to be with young women,” she said.

During the 63rd World Day of Prayer for Vocations, Pope Leo XIV said: “Every vocation is an immeasurable gift for the Church and for those who received it with joy.”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops established National Vocation Awareness Week in 1976 and originally observed it on the 28th Sunday of the year. After the observance occasionally coincided with the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the bishops moved it in 2014 to the first full week of November.

Encouraging Catholics to pray for and support vocations, Hicks said: “This National Vocation Awareness Week, we thank God for all vocations and pray for a deepened spirit of joy in marriages, in the priesthood and diaconate, and in all forms of consecrated life. Your witness to a joy-filled vocation inspires young people to follow God’s call with courage.”

Here are seven fascinating facts about this inspiring saint:

1. His father refused to acknowledge him.

Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru, in 1579. He was the son of a Spanish nobleman and former Panamanian Black slave. His father, Don Juan de Porres, refused to publicly acknowledge the boy as his own because Martin had darker skin, like his mother. Being biracial would prove challenging for Martin throughout his life.

2. He started practicing medicine before he was 13.

Martin served as an apprentice to a doctor, and before the age of 13 he began to learn the practice of medicine. He would eventually become a barber, which at the time performed minor medical and surgical procedures like pulling teeth or emptying abscesses.

3. He faced prejudice and discrimination as a Dominican.

Martin entered the Dominican order in 1603. Becoming a Dominican brother proved to be challenging for Martin because a Peruvian law at the time prevented people of mixed race from joining religious orders. Therefore, he lived with the community and did manual work, earning himself the nickname “the saint of the broom” for his diligence in cleaning the Dominicans’ quarters.

Eventually he was allowed to enter the order, despite the law, and worked in the infirmary tending to the sick and among the impoverished of Peru. “I cure them, but God heals them,” Martin would say when curing the sick.

He also had the task of begging for alms that the community would use to clothe and feed the poor. He also established an orphanage and planted an orchard from which those in need could freely take a day’s supply of fruit.

4. He levitated and bilocated.

Martin was deeply prayerful, so much so that many of the brothers witnessed him levitating in intense prayer and embracing the cross.

Martin reportedly also had the gift of bilocation, and some of his contemporaries said they encountered him in places as far off as Japan even as he remained in Lima. Some claimed he had appeared to them supernaturally behind locked doors or under otherwise impossible circumstances.

5. He refused to eat meat.

Martin loved animals and had a deep compassion for all living creatures. He refused to eat meat and ran a veterinary hospital for sick animals that seemed to seek out his help. Portrayals of the saint often include cats, dogs, and even the rats to whom he showed compassion.

6. He is the patron saint of multiple manual labor occupations.

Martin was known for the various assignments he carried out and which earned him the title of patron saint of barbers, the sick, and street cleaners. On the 50th anniversary of St. Martin de Porres’ canonization, Father Juan Anguerri, director of the St. Martin de Porres Home for the Poor, said: “These are often thankless tasks, but yet through his humble service, St. Martin sent a message to revitalize these jobs.”

7. He was canonized more than 300 years after his death.

Martin de Porres died on Nov. 3, 1639, at the age of 60. He was canonized by Pope John XXIII on May 16, 1962. At his canonization Mass, John XXIII called him “Martin of Charity.”

This story was first published on Nov. 3, 2021, and was updated on Nov 3, 2026.

Susan Middleton was delighted. Maria was already an articulate, precocious child, and Susan eagerly anticipated whatever heartfelt message her daughter had prepared.

The card was decorated with flowers. On the front, Maria had written, “Happy Mother’s Day.” On the inside, it read, “To the second-best mother in the world.”

Susan laughed when she recounted the story in an interview with the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, but the card also reflected something she had tried to instill in Maria from an early age: that while she had an earthly mother who “makes mistakes,” she also had a perfect mother in heaven.

Six years after Maria’s death from a brain tumor at the age of 18, hundreds gathered Oct. 5 at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, as Archbishop Nelson Pérez of Philadelphia celebrated Mass marking the anniversary of her passing.

It was to this shrine that Susan had brought Maria every week to Eucharistic adoration, starting at age 3. Here, Maria learned the Divine Mercy Chaplet and the rosary and developed a deep love for the Blessed Mother, to whom she was consecrated at her baptism.

At the anniversary Mass, Pérez recalled first encountering Maria during the COVID-19 pandemic, when she wrote to him after public Masses had been suspended. She wanted to receive the Eucharist, which she described as the grace she needed amid her illness.

Pérez responded that same day, offering to bring her Communion himself.

“She definitely lived a life that exemplified” Christ’s command to love “God with all your heart,” Pérez said. “That’s why we’re here today.”

Since her death on Oct. 8, 2020, Brian and Susan Middleton have received dozens of messages each week from people who say their daughter has affected their lives, including people who have returned to the Church, rediscovered the sacraments, or deepened their faith through her example.

In June, Pérez was presented with a petition seeking the introduction of the Bucks County teenager’s cause for canonization, beginning the Church’s preliminary process of consultation.

Father Griffen Schlaepfer, a 28-year-old Philadelphia priest who first learned about Maria after her death, encountered her story through a holy card at his parish bearing one of her sayings: “You don’t have to be weird to be holy.”

The line has stayed with him as he has come to know her witness. “You don’t have to be joyless to be holy,” Schlaepfer said. “You can have a full, attractive life and also live in accordance with God’s will completely.”

Faith from an early age

Maria was born Sept. 10, 2002, when Susan was 44, after she and Brian had married following the annulment of their previous marriages and blended their families together. Her parents describe her as an unexpected gift from God. She was also, in many ways, an ordinary teenager.

She loved music, Irish dance, and sports. She excelled academically, was elected class president, and belonged to the National Honor Society, all while serving in various roles at her parish.

Maggie McArdle, a childhood friend, met Maria in first grade. She remembers Maria as funny, witty, and kind — a girl who made silly music videos with her friends and loved making duct-tape wallets.

“I can remember belly laughs, just laughing until our bellies hurt,” McArdle said. “I like to talk to her today and read through our old texts. Those are so special to me.”

Kim O’Grady, Maria’s sister, remembers that relatability as well. Fifteen years older than Maria, O’Grady watched her grow into a teenager who loved Taylor Swift, the Jonas Brothers, and Shawn Mendes and, like other teenagers her age, had Snapchat and Instagram.

Although she had many of the same interests as her teenage peers, there were signs that Maria had her priorities in order when it came to faith and self-growth.

“She knew what her North Star was,” O’Grady said, explaining that Maria seemed to know who she was and what she believed. “If you just have that relationship with God and just focus and hone in on that, you can be who you are and live out to your full potential.”

Maria, conscious of pressures many young people face today, demonstrated in her writings a desire for growth. After watching old videos of herself as a child, for instance, she reflected on how much she had changed and how social media had affected the way she thought about herself.

“I think seeing the videos of me made me realize there’s no reason for me not to be like the way I was when I was little,” she wrote in her journal. “Even if that means to cut out social media a little or do more stuff for fun and just enjoy the little things, that’s what I’ll train myself to do.”

Stephanie Weaver, who taught Maria in Catholic social teaching and moral theology at Villa Joseph Marie High School, saw that combination of faith and action firsthand. As a freshman, Maria started a coat drive benefiting Mother of Mercy House in Kensington and co-chaired the school’s mini-thon — now called Hope-A-Thon in Maria’s honor — a dance marathon that raises money to support children battling cancer.

“There was something so different about Maria because she didn’t just talk the talk,” Weaver said. Instead, she “walked the walk.”

A good student who was involved in various charitable activities, Brian said Maria never confused her accomplishments with her identity.

“Her holiness wasn’t exposed when she was diagnosed” with brain cancer, Brian said. “Her holiness came and grew throughout her lifetime in her pursuit of virtues and offering up her talents to God.”

For Maria, that kind of holiness would soon be tested. In January 2019, when she was 16, she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor on her brainstem. Doctors told her family she might have nine to 12 months to live.

Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Father Simione Volavola, who knew Maria from childhood through the family’s parish, was in the room when she received the diagnosis.

“She was the most peaceful person in the room,” Volavola said. “She just took it very calmly and accepted it very quickly.”

That peace remained as Maria’s illness progressed, even as her physical suffering increased. “She never lost that peace,” Volavola said. “The body was failing. She was really suffering, but very graceful in the way she carried her cross.”

Maria hoped for a miraculous healing throughout her illness. At the same time, however, she sought to surrender herself to God’s will.

Her journals, which she began keeping as a child, reveal a spiritual life that her parents say they only fully understood after her death. Her first recorded words in a journal at age 11 were simple: “God is merciful.”

Her final written words, as the effects of the tumor made writing increasingly difficult, were two words that would become the name of the foundation established in her memory: “Think hope.”

‘She did not despair’

As Maria’s physical abilities disappeared, her concern for other people did not.

Nine months after her diagnosis, she traveled with her parents to Uganda, where students at Pope John Paul II Academy had been praying for her. One girl, Patience, wrote Maria a letter asking her to pray for her brother, who had sickle cell anemia.

When Maria later received an opportunity through Make-A-Wish, she chose to use it to help Patience’s family and the school.

Back home, during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, friends organized virtual rosaries for Maria’s healing, including one Zoom meeting that drew more than 2,000 people. In another show of care for the teenager, more than 500 cars participated in a parade outside the Middleton home.

Even as Maria’s condition worsened, Susan said, she never lost hope.

“She watched when her legs didn’t work and her arms didn’t work,” Susan said. “And she could no longer hear. And she could no longer swallow. And she could no longer speak. She knew all this was happening and she did not despair.”

Maria died Oct. 8, 2020, at the age of 18. Her parents now devote much of their lives to sharing her story. Their book, “Think Hope: Maria Middleton’s Life of Unyielding Trust in God,” was published by Ascension in 2025.

At the anniversary Mass, Pérez emphasized that the Church’s discernment about Maria’s possible sainthood is ultimately secondary to the witness she already offers.

“Faith is like a ripple,” he said, quoting Maria. “When you have faith and show it, it will impact other people’s lives.”

“Maria says to young people, you too can have great faith,” he told the Register. “You too can be holy. You too could have hope.”

“You too can live a life of hope and a love of life,” Pérez continued, “of faith and a love for the Lord and for his Church.”

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

Bishops’ conferences at the state level are organizations jointly run by every diocesan bishop in that state, which are active in every state with more than one diocese. A conference will often comment on bills and referendums that implicate Catholic teaching and put out statements on matters specific to their state.

In some states with contentious referendums on the ballot, bishops’ conferences have taken a clear position on initiatives, urging Catholics to either support or oppose the measures. Some of these measures are related to abortion, gender and sexuality, human trafficking, and gambling.

American bishops do not campaign for specific candidates in elections. Yet, advocating for and against referendums is classified in the tax code as “lobbying” instead of campaigning, which is permitted for dioceses and jointly run Catholic conferences. However, there are legal restrictions on the amount of lobbying in which they can engage.

Taking on abortion

Three conferences have taken strong stances on ballot initiatives related to abortion: Virginia, Nevada, and Missouri. Diocese of Boise Bishop Peter Christensen also took a strong stance on an abortion referendum in Idaho, though the state has only one diocese and no conference.

In Virginia and Nevada, the bishops’ conferences are asking the faithful to vote no on proposed constitutional amendments to establish a legal right to abortion in their states. The conferences have produced printed material offered at parishes that discuss Church teaching on the sanctity of human life, and the bishops have released joint statements. Both states have two dioceses.

Amy McInerny, director of Respect Life at the Diocese of Arlington’s Office of Marriage, Family, and Respect Life, told EWTN News the dioceses coordinated on the referendum for two years, “coming up with a battle plan” to oppose the measure.

Las Vegas Archbishop George Leo Thomas told EWTN News that in Nevada, the bishops meet during years with legislative sessions. The conference contracts much of the work to attorneys who are aligned with the Church’s legislative priorities and follow the sessions.

Bishops in Missouri are urging voters to back a pro-life initiative to repeal a state constitutional right to abortion. This also includes producing printed material and offering joint statements by the bishops.

Jamie Morris, executive director of the Missouri Catholic Conference, told EWTN News “it has been a major focus of all four dioceses and of all four bishops.” He said the conference works directly with the bishops, providing them with information about legislative issues so they can take informed stances on the subjects.

Gender and sexuality

Several conferences have also taken positions on issues that implicate Catholic teachings on gender and sexuality, which includes same-sex marriage, transgender athletes participating in women’s sports, and parental rights.

In addition to the abortion referendum in Virginia, the bishops are fighting against a referendum to enshrine same-sex marriage into the state constitution. Much of the material urging Catholics to oppose the abortion referendum also urges them to oppose this referendum.

The Colorado Catholic Conference, which represents the state’s three dioceses, has taken a stance on two referendums on this subject, encouraging the faithful to support two initiatives.

One referendum would ensure interscholastic and intramural athletics are separated on the basis of biological sex rather than purported gender identity. The other would ban surgeries on children meant to alter their sex characteristics as a treatment in response to their perceived gender.

Nebraskans will vote on a referendum to separate sports on the basis of biological sex rather than purported gender identity. The Nebraska Catholic Conference did not officially take a stance on this but did issue a statement that said the conference supported legislation that was nearly identical and urged the faithful to “please keep in mind Catholic social teaching on human sexuality” when voting on the measure.

The Washington State Catholic Conference has spoken positively of a proposed referendum to also separate athletics on the basis of biological sex as opposed to purported gender identity. In a statement to EWTN News, the conference called the initiative “consistent with Catholic teaching on the complementarity and divine design of women and men.”

The conference spoke positively about a separate referendum to restore parental rights to access information related to their child’s mental health, telling EWTN News it “ensures that parents are not kept in the dark about an issue that impacts their childʼs health.” This may include information about a child’s sexuality and gender identity.

Other issues on the ballot

The other issues bishops have taken positions on include human trafficking, gambling, and procedures for changing the state constitution.

The Colorado Catholic Conference has asked Catholics to support a referendum that would mandate life imprisonment for any person convicted of human trafficking of a minor.

The Nebraska Catholic Conference has encouraged Catholics to vote against two referendums that would legalize and regulate sports gambling in the state, warning it would “expand predatory online sports gambling in our state,” which “can lead to family problems, debt, bankruptcy, homelessness, and mental health issues.”

The South Dakota Catholic Conference has backed a referendum that would increase the threshold needed for adopting a constitutional amendment via referendum, from a majority vote to a 60% threshold. This is meant to prevent future referendums to establish legal rights to abortion from succeeding.

The North Dakota Catholic Conference backed a similar referendum to increase the threshold to adopt a constitutional amendment via referendum from a majority vote to 60%, citing the same concerns.

By the conclusion of Mass, blue skies and large white clouds had replaced the rain. Inside the cathedral, a spirit of joy and thanksgiving marked the celebration, held on the solemnity of All Saints, one day after the friars were declared blessed at the Savannah Convention Center.

Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer of Atlanta presided, and Savannah Bishop Stephen D. Parkes delivered the homily. Cardinal Frank Leo of Toronto, who had presided over Saturday’s beatification as Pope Leo XIV’s representative, was among the concelebrants. Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia, the apostolic nuncio to the United States, also attended.

Parkes urged those celebrating to consider how they would carry the gift of the martyrs’ witness beyond the weekend’s events.

“We have received a gift,” he said.

The bishop suggested introducing couples preparing for sacramental marriage to the newly beatified friars. He spoke of engaged couples learning their story, receiving an image of them and praying for their intercession for faithfulness in marriage. He also proposed prayers at weddings for the newly married couple.

“There are many other ways we can continue to honor these holy men,” he said.

The newly beatified friars are Pedro de Corpa, Blas Rodríguez de Cuacos, Miguel de Añón, Antonio de Badajoz, and Francisco de Veráscola. Four were priests; de Badajoz was a lay brother. All came from Spain and served in missions among the Indigenous Guale people in what is now coastal Georgia.

According to the Diocese of Savannah’s account, the violence began in 1597 after de Corpa opposed a baptized Guale leader’s decision to take a second wife. The account identifies Juanillo, who was in line for leadership, as the man who killed Pedro. Juanillo then led a war party against other missions. Five friars died during the uprising.

Pope Francis authorized recognition of their martyrdom on Jan. 27, 2025. The decree identified their deaths as having occurred in hatred of the faith, clearing the way for their beatification. The diocesan investigation had opened in 1984 and concluded in 2007.

Beatification confers the title “blessed” on a person and permits public veneration within the places or religious communities authorized by the Church. It is distinct from canonization, which extends that recognition to the universal Church.

The Georgia Martyrs’ liturgical memorial is Sept. 22.

The celebration also received attention in Rome. After the Nov. 1 Angelus in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo recalled the friars’ missionary service and their deaths.

“Let us invoke the intercession of these martyrs for all missionaries of the Gospel,” he said.

In Savannah, Parkes described the response to the beatification in terms of stewardship.

“We should always accept it with gratitude, with thanksgiving in our hearts,” he said.

“When we receive a gift, we should tend it responsibly,” he continued, “and also return it with increase.”

Catholics gathered at the CatholicPsych Institute’s Summit of Integration from Oct. 20–23 in Dallas. Its founder, Greg Bottaro, whose work centers on the integration of St. John Paul II’s teachings on the meaning and purpose of the body with the practice of psychology, told attendees that “St. John Paul II has written more for psychologists than any other psychologist in the last 150 years.”

“John Paul II didn’t use the language of psychology in his theology of the body, but everything he talked about was relatable to the field,” Bottaro told EWTN News. “Faith, reason, and science all come together in his work.”

The theology of the body teaches that the human person is a unity of body and soul, created male and female in the image of God and called to communion through the sincere gift of self. The body has a “nuptial” or spousal meaning: It expresses the person and is ordered toward loving self-gift, which is fully realized either in the permanent, exclusive, and life-giving union of marriage or in the celibate gift of self for the kingdom.

Speakers at the conference, which was timed to coincide with St. John Paul II’s feast day on Oct. 22, tied the saint’s writings to their own work and personal lives.

A love that is ‘stronger than death’

Christopher West, a Catholic author and educator who specializes in the theology of the body, gave an address called “My Interior Journey with St. John Paul II.”

West said the saint’s writings helped him make sense of a yearning that began when he was a child, a yearning that he explained was for a love that would never end.

He described this yearning as beginning with an innocent crush on a girl in his third grade class, but as he grew up, it led him to a disordered view of sexuality and the body: “I wanted a beauty; I wanted a joy; I wanted happiness that lasts forever, that does not die.”

“The Church calls this yearning eros,” the Greek word for romantic love, he said. “Eros cries out for a love that is ‘stronger than death,’” he continued, quoting the Song of Songs in the Old Testament.

“Christianity is an invitation to a wedding feast that corresponds to that cry of the heart,” he said.

St. John Paul II taught that “Christianity is not redemption from the body and sexuality. It is the redemption of the body and sexuality. Christ came into the world, not to condemn those whose eros is distorted, but to untwist it.”

“The most disastrous mistake of Christians is to view sexuality as trash and throw it away rather than redeem it,” he continued. “We have three choices with eros: Repress it, aim it at finite pleasure, or, by the grace of God, learn how to aim our desire for the infinite toward the infinite.”

He said he sees St. John Paul II not primarily as a theologian but as a spiritual father whose writings helped him confront his own fear of death.

“This boundless demand of eros expresses the basic problem of human existence: The heart demands infinity but cannot grant it. It claims eternity but is bound by death,” West continued. “Our deepest fear is staring into our own death.”

“John Paul II truly fathered me,” West said. “This is the gift of this man in my life: He has helped me face my deepest fear and gave me courage.”

West said he needed that courage to confront difficulties that fear caused in his 31-year marriage to his wife, Wendy, who sat in the front row as he spoke.

He said he had discovered “deep, unconscious wounds of rejection” he’d received from his brother during his childhood but that ultimately came from a fear of death that led him to “rejecting the true heart of my wife.”

“When I have caused you so much sorrow and suffering, it’s because I wanted you to do something you couldnʼt possibly do for me, which is to take away my fear of death,” he said. “I wanted you to take that existential threat away.”

“And weʼre aging, haven’t you noticed?” he asked her, laughing. “Weʼre in our late 50s, and all the gray hair is a reminder that weʼre dying; weʼre all on this conveyor belt, and weʼre all gonna fall off.”

An ‘inheritance to life’

In his keynote, Bottaro repeatedly returned to the idea that Christians receive an “inheritance to life” from God rather than an inheritance of fear and death.

“The inheritance of life, the legacy of life, of the Resurrection is the answer to the deepest fear in the human heart: death,” he said, pointing to St. John Paul II’s admonition to “‘Be not afraid!’”

Bottaro also described the saint as a spiritual father who shaped his life.

He spoke of a visit to Poland during a time he was struggling with discouragement in his work. He was sitting at the kitchen table where a young Karol Wojtyla (John Paul II) had discovered his father dead. As Bottaro sat, he said he felt “John Paul II just put his arms around me,” after which he was able to return to his professional efforts with a renewed purpose.

He spent the next five years writing “The Personalist Cure,” a book that integrates the saint’s theological teachings with psychology. It was released during the conference, on St. John Paul II’s feast day.

Bottaro said the book is a manual for how to understand healing and mental health through a Catholic lens and is intended for anybody studying mental health or human formation.

Michelle Gardiner, a mother of four who attended the conference, told EWTN News the summit “surrounded me with the reality John Paul II gave his life to: Authentic healing begins with reverencing and protecting the inviolable gift of myself and every other human person.”

“We inadvertently turn away from God, the supreme lover who created us for delight, when we reject the gift because of interpersonal wounding,” she said. “John Paul II knew this: Authentic human flourishing requires receiving and protecting the inviolable gift of the human person.”

El-Sayed was responding to a question from Fox News host Jesse Watters about 2022 remarks in which El-Sayed appeared to equate opposition to sharia law with “white supremacy.” The Senate candidate said he wishes to “practice my faith as I choose.”

“Nobody is trying to push sharia law on anyone else,” he said. “Just like I hope nobody is trying to push canon law on anybody else, because we live in America, where you should have the freedom of your religion.”

El-Sayed brought the comparison up again during a campaign town hall in Muskegon, Michigan, telling a voter that the Constitution protects the right to live by canon law while barring anyone from enforcing it on others.

The remarks have generated controversy for El-Sayed’s apparent equation of sharia law to canon law — two disparate forms of socio-ecclesial governance that help govern the lives of billions of religious adherents worldwide.

Sharia law vs. canon law

Sharia law, which governs Islamic religious practice along with family matters and financial transactions, also deals with aspects of political governance and public law, forming part or all of the political and legal systems in several Muslim-majority countries.

Canon law, on the other hand, regulates only the Catholic Church’s internal structure and functions, including rules about clergy, sacraments, and other ecclesiastical and administrative norms. It does not function as a civil or political legal code for the state or for non-Catholics, as sharia can for Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

David Long, dean of the school of professional studies at The Catholic University of America and an assistant professor in the university’s school of canon law, told EWTN News that canon law “governs an identifiable ecclesial community and orders the Church’s life and mission, including sacramental discipline and the exercise of ecclesiastical office.”

Canon law provides a framework for the Church to live out its identity and mission. Sharia, meanwhile — though it is often appended with the word “law” — actually has a broader scope than religious governance, Long said. It directs “life according to God’s will,” including both worship and moral conduct.

Sharia law is applied in various ways in numerous countries throughout the world through the principle of “fiqh” — Islamic jurisprudence that interprets sharia and puts it into practice. It is seen particularly in the Middle East and Africa, though no local or state government in the U.S. practices it.

There is “no single worldwide Islamic legislator,” Long said, and thus there is no “single, universally promulgated code” that can be described as a comprehensive sharia.

Both canon law and sharia can have civil implications, the professor said, noting that Catholic canon law affects issues that cross with civil law, such as marriage contracts.

He pointed to a 2020 Maryland court case, meanwhile, which found that a financial stipulation in an Islamic marriage contract could be enforced, though only if it “satisfied secular contract principles.”

Civil courts in such cases “can recognize legal arrangements made for religious reasons without deciding whether a religion’s teachings are true or binding on the public.”

He noted that Muslims “have the same right as other citizens to bring religious convictions into public debates” and that a law cannot be ruled unconstitutional simply because it happens to agree with a religious teaching.

He acknowledged the appropriateness of being concerned if “a proposal under sharia uses governmental authority to compel religious observance or deny equal citizenship.” But he noted that such concerns should apply equally to all religions.

“I would … resist both blanket reassurance and blanket suspicion when it comes to applying religious-law elements in political discourse, including sharia,” Long said. “Specific proposals deserve scrutiny on their merits.”

“A religious population deserves neither a presumption of political innocence for everything done in its name nor a presumption of collective intent to impose its faith,” he said.

Led by Bishop David Ricken of the Diocese of Green Bay, the group visited the cities of Brussels, Bruges, Antwerp, Dion-le-Val, and Leuven from Oct. 10–20 on the first-of-its-kind pilgrimage.

Among the stops were the Church of Our Lady, home to The Madonna of Bruges sculpture created by Michelangelo; the Basilica of Our Lady of Scherpenheuvel, Belgium’s most visited Marian shrine; the tomb of St. Damien of Molokai, a Belgian priest known for his service to the leper community on the island of Molokai in Hawaii; the Catholic University of Leuven, the oldest Catholic university in the world; and several locations associated with Brice, including her hometown of Dion-le-Val, her home parish, the site of her confirmation, and the port where Brice and her family embarked for New York in 1855.

In an interview with EWTN News, Ricken described the pilgrimage for those who took part as a “discovering of roots.”

He explained that most of the pilgrims were from Door County in Wisconsin, which is one of the largest Belgian communities in the United States.

“Thereʼs a Belgian heritage center here and lots of deep connections, and they havenʼt forgotten those,” he shared. “And they just loved Adele from the time she came.”

With this in mind, and since Brice’s cause for canonization was officially opened in February, Ricken and others involved with the pilgrimage thought it could serve as a “moment of connecting with her [Brice’s] roots so that we can understand her better” as well as give the pilgrims in attendance “a chance to reconnect” with their Belgian roots.

Ricken recalled that one of the most impactful stops on the pilgrimage was the Mass celebrated at Brice’s home parish, the Church of St. Martin in Dion-le-Val. This small parish typically has roughly 20 people in attendance — as Catholicism in Belgium is currently at a low point, Ricken explained — but for this Mass, 250 people crammed into the space to celebrate the special occasion.

“I think it gave them a whole new sense of pride in their own history over there. So it was a renewal for them. You could see that. The people were so thrilled to have us,” he shared.

After the Mass — which was concelebrated by Ricken, several other priests from the Diocese of Green Bay who were on the pilgrimage, and local Belgian priests — a reception was held. Despite having a language barrier, Ricken said everyone was still able to communicate and many of the local Belgians recognized the family last names of the American pilgrims and found family connections. He shared that one of his priests from the diocese found a relative of his that he “never knew existed before.”

“It was just beautiful and itʼs going to take quite a while to unpack all of that and understand exactly what happened, but it was deeply enriching for everybody, including me,” he said.

The Church of St. Martin was also the recipient of the Our Lady of Champion Adele Brice icon done by Father Paul Czerwonka from the Diocese of La Crosse in Wisconsin. The icon depicts the Blessed Virgin Mary appearing to Brice and has two angels holding a banner with the message the Blessed Mother gave Brice: “I am the Queen of Heaven … Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation. Teach them their catechism, how to sign themselves with the sign of the cross, and how to approach the sacraments. That is what I wish you to do. Go and fear nothing, I will help you.”

The icon is 8 feet tall by 4 feet wide and took two months to complete.

Ricken said one moment that was very personal for him during the pilgrimage was when the group visited the Catholic University of Leuven. The bishop received his graduate degree in sacred theology and completed his seminary formation at this university in 1980. While the seminary building is now used for student housing, the chapel from the seminary is still in use.

“We were able to arrange for an anointing service of the pilgrims … there in the seminary chapel where I attended Mass every day as a student and loved it so much,” he shared. “And I was able to lead the anointing service. And many people took advantage of that … not everybody, but many did, and it was so beautiful that right there in the former seminary chapel to be able to take care of my own people from here who went on that pilgrimage. That was very touching.”

Reflecting on the pilgrimage as a whole, Ricken said he believes “there will be a lot of answered prayers” through Brice’s intercession.

Ricken said he hopes those who went “see all of their instincts and their love of their culture and language as something thatʼs still alive, still vibrant in certain places, and that the shrine is their connection with home.”

“Theyʼve always felt that, but now they actually saw it themselves. They were able to go to her hometown and experience that connection,” he added.

“And my hope is that theyʼll continue to volunteer and do all the beautiful things they do and have even more commitment to it and be able to identify the work of grace and the Holy Spirit in everything thatʼs happening today in and around the shrine through Adele [Brice] and through the Blessed Mother.”

“We do well to lovingly speak their names, for they are holy members of the family of God,” said Cardinal Frank Leo of Toronto while declaring them “blessed” on Oct. 31 in Savannah, Georgia.

It was a milestone for the Catholic Church in America: The Georgia Martyrs are the first American martyrs for marriage and the first to be beatified in the southern U.S.

Approximately 9,000 people streamed through the doors of the Savannah Convention Center, breaking city attendance records for an indoor event. They traveled from all over Georgia, the U.S., and around the world, arriving by bus, car, and trolley. Some ferried across the Savannah River. Others flew, including priests and lay Catholics representing the hometowns of several friars.

María Isabel Inoriza De Villota, a 12th-generation descendent of one of Friar Francisco’s brothers, came from Spain with her 16-year-old son, Imanol.

“Ever since I was a child, I have witnessed the deep devotion my parents held for Francisco,” she said. “We have always turned to him, seeking his protection and help.”

Her mother prayed “fervently” for the beatification, which is “a dream come true,” she said.

Father Pablo Migone, the vicar for mission advancement in the Savannah Diocese and a longtime promoter of the cause, said 2,000 attendees “tops” were projected. But registrations kept pouring in.

U.S. beatifications are rare. But it was more than that. The diocese has been educating the faithful about the martyrs for a decade. “The fruit and the story are resonating in people’s hearts and minds,” Migone said.

Until learning of the beatification, many residents of La Albuera, Spain, where Friar Antonio was baptized, hadn’t heard of him. Now the town square is being renamed in his honor.

“God is full of surprises,” said Father Antonio Jesús Marín Romo, the town’s parish priest. “This comes at a crucial moment when we were in need of a catalyst for the work we wish to begin in the parish.”

The Franciscans’ story began in the 16th century when they arrived from Spain. By 1595, they had established missions along the Georgia coast, evangelizing the Indigenous Guale people. Serving like Peace Corps volunteers, they succeeded where other orders had failed.

Two years later, however, faith clashed with local custom. A baptized convert in line for chiefdom insisted on a second wife. When the friars refused to compromise Christ’s teaching on marriage, a war party murdered the friars, mission by mission. A sixth friar, Francisco de Ávila, was tortured but lived to tell the tale. The missions were eventually reestablished, and Catholicism thrived.

The bilingual service on Oct. 31 began with a procession down the runway-like aisle created from joining four exhibition spaces, the center’s largest configuration.

More than 200 clergy, including Franciscan Friars of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Cardinal Leo, 31 bishops and archbishops, over 100 deacons and seminarians, and the apostolic nuncio, were joined by nearly 200 members of the Knights of Columbus, the Knights of Malta, Knights (and Dames) of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Knights of Peter Claver. Seventy ciboria waited at the altar. 

Cardinal Leo read the apostolic letter and declared the Georgia Martyrs “blessed” by having “placed the saving truth of the Gospel before their own safety.”

Atlanta Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer and Archbishop Joan-Enric Vives i Sicilia, bishop emeritus of Urgell, who represented the Spanish Episcopal Conference, read English and Spanish translations of the apostolic letter, respectively.

The letter declared the martyrs’ feast day as Sept. 22, the octave day of Friar Pedro’s martyrdom. 

Thunderous applause erupted at the unveiling of the official portrait of the martyrs, showing them in humble repose and bathed in golden light. Before and after the beatification, the crowd toured the adjacent Georgia Martyrs Museum and art exhibition.

By worldly standards, it might seem like the martyrs failed, Cardinal Leo said during his homily. “But it is not so.”

They succeeded by embracing “the call to holiness, which further led them to embrace the call to consecrated life, the call to the sacred priesthood, the call to missionary work, the call to evangelize, the call to share and defend the faith and, ultimately, the call to give their very life.”

But “how compelled are we” to “follow Jesus’ call to follow him?” he asked.

A holy life requires defending the truth and “always put[ting] Christ first,” he stated, even while striving for unity in the world. “Polarization is not from God.”

The martyrs also bore witness to “the Christian doctrine of marriage and held to that divine truth to the shedding of their own blood,” he said, stressing the sacred nature of the family “founded upon the covenantal, sacramental, indissoluble union of one man and one woman.”

In his first public audience after recent surgery, Pope Leo XIV said that protecting marriage and family “is more urgent than ever before.”

The beatification itself was “perfect timing,” said Christine Camp, who came from Atlanta with more than a dozen other Catholics who had just attended a three-day retreat to pray for restoration of their marriages.

Moms and dads with children had traveled from near and far. “It’s our pilgrimage,” said Theodora Ferrant, who came from Pensacola, Florida, with her husband and two children.

“I truly believe through the intercession of Blessed Pedro de Corpa and four companions there will be greater respect for the dignity and character of holy matrimony,” Savannah Bishop Stephen Parkes said.

“May the witness of these holy men inspire fidelity between spouses called into the covenantal bond of holy matrimony and help create a renewed commitment to the growth of faith-filled families in the state of Georgia and beyond.”

The celebration will continue Nov. 1 with a Mass of thanksgiving at the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist.

The archbishop added his name to a lawsuit that includes Rockville Centre Bishop John Barres, the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, the Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict, and the Little Sisters of the Poor. Hicks’ addition to the suit was announced by the religious liberty law firm Becket on Oct. 30.

The New York Archdiocese joins the suit after it was launched in July of this year by Catholic objectors to the state’s new suicide law. The Catholic plaintiffs in that suit argued that the state’s assisted suicide rules would force them to participate in the process of helping suicidal patients kill themselves, a violation of core Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, a federal court ordered that the state could not enforce the suicide rules against the Catholic objectors while the suit itself played out.

Hicks said on Oct. 30 that Catholics “are guided by the compassion of Jesus to serve those of every background who are in need of healing.”

“We refuse to allow New York to force us to harm the very ones we’ve been called to care for,” he said.

Hicks is the latest Catholic prelate to join the legal fight against assisted suicide in the U.S. A total of four bishops and dozens of religious sisters have sued the governments of New York and Illinois after the states enacted assisted suicide programs.

In addition to the New York ruling, the Catholic objectors in Illinois — which include the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Diocese of Springfield — have secured victories at federal court, with a judge ordering the state to hold off on enforcing suicide rules against them while the suits play out.

In New York, the Catholic healthcare ministry ArchCare also joined the lawsuit against the state. Among ArchCare’s facilities is Calvary Hospital in the Bronx, which offers hospice care for those with six months or less to live.

Becket describes the Calvary facility as “the only fully-accredited acute care hospital in the U.S. devoted exclusively to the palliative care of adult patients with life-limiting illnesses.”

“We express our sincere gratitude for all those who work to provide necessary resources to women, babies, and families during pregnancy and beyond,” Bishop Daniel Thomas, chair of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said in an Oct. 27 statement.

“Pregnancy help organizations, maternity homes, medical and resource help centers, and adoption agencies provide heroic services every day to anyone in need,” he said. “Many pregnancy care centers offer free medical services, including ultrasounds, prenatal and postnatal care, and referrals for free or low-cost childbirth.”

“They also provide resources such as baby clothes and diapers, childcare, career services, referrals for housing, and much more,” the bishop said.

Pregnancy Help Appreciation Week, which will be celebrated from Nov. 9–13 this year, is a celebration created by Heartbeat International — a network of pregnancy centers that offer pregnancy help as an alternative to abortion clinics.

A report published last November by the Charlotte Lozier Institute found that in 2024, pro-life pregnancy resource centers provided over $452 million worth of support to women in crisis pregnancies and struggling women with young children, including medical care, support and education services, and material goods.

The bishops’ statement noted that about 2,750 life-affirming pregnancy centers currently operate in the United States.

To mark the celebration, Thomas also recognized “the life-changing help being provided by the countless volunteers in our parishes that accompany vulnerable women and families through our nationwide Walking with Moms in Need initiative,” a parish-based initiative created by the bishops to provide support to pregnant women and mothers.

“May all those who serve and protect life be encouraged by our prayers, our good works and our financial support to build a culture of life,” the bishop said.

Florida attorney general talks fetal personhood with Lila Rose

Republican Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who is Catholic, discussed the prospect of “fetal personhood” — the belief that unborn children should be legally recognized as persons at the moment of conception — on a podcast this month with Live Action President Lila Rose.

When Rose — who is also Catholic — asked Uthmeier whether there will be a day when abortion has fully come to an end in Florida, Uthmeier told her: “I certainly pray so; I do believe we have the truth on our side and the truth will prevail.”

“But we as faith-driven people, as pro-life advocates, weʼve got to continue going out and educating and explaining, getting people to soften their hearts and listen,” he said.

Uthmeier discussed his opposition to surrogacy and expressed concerns about people coming to Florida to “purchase a baby.” He called the practice “very dangerous and horrific” but said he hopes it can raise discussions about whether this is a form of slavery.

“It is going to bring the conversation of fetal personhood and life front and center,” Uthmeier said. “Is this a human being? Which I believe truthfully, factually, the answer is unequivocally yes. If it is a human being, you cannot contract to buy and sell this individual.”

Pro-life activists mark 59 years since UK’s Abortion Act

In London on Oct. 27, pro-life advocates gathered in Parliament Square to mark 59 years since the passing of the U.K.’s Abortion Act, which legalized abortion in England, Wales, and Scotland under certain conditions.

More than 11 million abortions have taken place in the U.K. since the act was passed, according to government statistics compiled by Right To Life UK.

Bede Teeton from March for Life UK told EWTN News: “It is our duty to commemorate those who have been affected by abortion, and those who have sadly lost their lives through it too.”

Former Conservative Member of Parliament Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg told EWTN News: “Fifty-nine years ago was a black day in the civilization of the U.K. We did something that was fundamentally wrong, and itʼs gotten worse. We now allow abortion up to birth. We kill disabled babies because they are disabled. Society is quite schizophrenic about this, because we all have all sorts of disability rights acts, but then we murder disabled babies. So I think it is a day of infamy.”

Pro-life runners complete global relay

Thousands of pro-life runners cumulatively completed a 5,124-mile relay this week, which concluded at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, with the men’s and the women’s cross-country and track teams finishing the final stretch.

The 2026 A-Cross America Relay, which is organized by the pro-life organization LIFE Runners, had 26,257 participants in 4,061 cities across 53 nations. EWTN Global Catholic Network was a sponsor of the event.

Many of the runners wore jerseys displaying the Trinity and a cross with “Jer. 1:5,” written on it, in reference to the Bible verse: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.”

The jersey displays the text “REMEMBER The Unborn” as runners seek to promote a culture of life to the public in every location they run.

Elliot Hartley contributed to this story.

For centuries, the Catholic Church widely observed All Saints’ Day (Nov. 1) as an octave, extending the holy celebration to eight days.

The observance was established by Pope Sixtus IV in the 15th century and demoted in the liturgical calendar around the middle of the 20th century, although some Catholics still mark the eight-day observance.

Notably, the Church itself still indirectly acknowledges the ancient eight-day octave in its granting of plenary indulgences for the first week of November.

What is a plenary indulgence?

A plenary indulgence is a grace granted by the Catholic Church through the merits of Jesus Christ to remove the temporal punishment due to sin.

It is not a forgiveness of sin but the remission of punishment for sins already forgiven. It may apply either to oneself or to souls already in purgatory.

In order to obtain a plenary indulgence the faithful must — in addition to being in the state of grace — both have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin (even venial sin), have sacramentally confessed their sins and received the Eucharist (either within or outside of Mass), and must pray for the intentions of the Holy Father.

What about the All Saints’ octave?

The Vatican’s Apostolic Penitentiary, in its “Enchiridion Indulgentiarum” (“Handbook of Indulgences”), states that the faithful can obtain a plenary indulgence for the faithful departed “every day, from the 1st to the 8th of November,” if, in addition to fulfilling the normal terms of a plenary indulgence, one “devoutly visit[s] a cemetery and at least mentally pray[s] for the dead.”

The conditions for a plenary indulgence can be fulfilled a few days before or after performing the works to gain the indulgence, but it is appropriate that Communion and the prayer take place on the same day that the work is completed.

The All Saints’ octave was notably extended throughout the entire month of November in both 2020 and 2021 amid concerns about avoiding large gatherings of people in churches or cemeteries due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This story was updated on Oct. 31, 2026.

“In Jesus’ Name” takes viewers into the world of what an exorcist does and why exorcisms were established, and offers guidance on things that the faithful should consider staying away from in order to keep themselves safe.

The docuseries features prominent exorcists, theologians, and survivors of demonic oppression and examines how evil operates, how it enters human lives, and how it can be overcome. Through personal testimonies and expert insight, the docuseries explores the tension between good and evil, biblical teaching on exorcism, the reality of spiritual warfare, and, above all, the hope and power of Jesus Christ.

The creators of “In Jesus’ Name” seek to take exorcisms out of the sensational and instead provide an accurate view of how they are conducted and how people have found deliverance.

“With ‘In Jesus’ Name,’ we wanted to demystify the rite of exorcism and invite audiences to see how the Church responds to the presence of evil in an authoritative but compassionate and deeply human way,” Peter Gagnon, president of EWTN Studios, said in a press release.

“By giving viewers rare access to experienced exorcists, theologians and those who have confronted profound spiritual darkness firsthand, the series reveals not only the reality of spiritual warfare but the truth at its heart: the battle is real, but God’s love and grace is greater,” Gagnon said.

Father Dan Reehil, pastor at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Columbia, Tennessee, and an appointed exorcist for the Diocese of Nashville, is one of the authoritative figures in the docuseries, alongside Father Vincent Lampert, who served for nearly 20 years as the designated exorcist for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, as well as Archbishop Jeffrey Grob of Milwaukee, a theological expert on the history of the Catholic rite of exorcism.

In an interview with “EWTN News Nightly,” Reehil emphasized that “the devil is real" and that while “thereʼs a lot of banter on social media and also the internet about the devil,” the faithful should focus their time “on God, particularly on Jesus Christ, who is the one who crushes Satan.”

He explained that when Lucifer rejected Godʼs plan and one-third of the angels followed Lucifer, those angels became the demons that were cast down to earth.

“Theyʼre cast down to earth, and now they roam the earth, and their No. 1 enemy, according to Revelation Chapter 12, is theyʼre making war against those who keep Godʼs commands and bear witness to Jesus Christ,” he said. “So if thatʼs you, you should at least be aware thereʼs a target on your back, [but] not to be afraid of it. Itʼs actually a badge of honor because youʼre in this great elect group of people that he hates because of who we are.”

Reehil shared that “the best thing you can do is have a very robust prayer life, have a deep relationship with Jesus Christ as a true disciple. And we use the same weapons. We use obedience to God, we use humility, we use purity, all the aspects of Our Lady would be the weapons we use in this battle.”

Created by EWTN Studios and Cumberland Creative, “In Jesus’ Name” is available for streaming on EWTN+ and EWTN.com as of Oct. 28. The first episode will also be available on the EWTN YouTube channel.

The shortwave service, which has operated under the call sign WEWN since its launch in 1992, will shut down on Oct. 31. EWTN’s board of governors recently confirmed the decision.

Warsaw pointed to the decline of shortwave radio consumption as one of the driving factors leading to the station’s closure. A widely used media source in the 20th century, shortwave’s popularity has decreased in the 21st century amid the rapid global uptake in streaming and digital platforms.

Operating costs at the WEWN network have been high relative to the declining number of shortwave listeners, Warsaw said, and the aging facility was in need of significant and expensive repairs, which he said would not be a “prudent stewardship of our resources.”

“As we shift the use of shortwave to newer and more far-reaching distribution channels, we remain grateful for the co-workers and benefactors who sustained the service for so long,” he said.

Among them, Warsaw recalled the late Dutch Catholic entrepreneur Piet Derkson and his wife, Trudy, whose $26 million gift made the construction of WEWN possible and helped Mother Angelica, EWTN’s foundress, advance the network’s mission of sharing the truth of the Gospel around the world.

“We are also mindful that it was Shortwave which inspired and allowed the growth of EWTN Radio,” he noted. Since its launch, EWTN Radio has grown to currently broadcast over 600 AM/FM stations worldwide, in addition to airing on satellite and digital platforms.

In 2008, EWTN had previously ceased direct shortwave broadcasts to North America. Since then, its English-language shortwave service had reached audiences primarily in Africa and the Middle East. The Spanish-language shortwave coverage was directed to Latin America.

EWTN Radio’s content continues to reach these audiences through its digital platforms, online streaming services, mobile applications, podcasts, satellite distribution, and its extensive network of AM/FM affiliates.

The award-winning team at the global Catholic network’s flagship nightly newscast, “EWTN News Nightly,” will kick off election night coverage at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 3, with an hourlong, scene-setting special.

Anchors Veronica Dudo and Erik Rosales will be joined by EWTN News Vice President and Editorial Director Matthew Bunson, along with correspondents Owen Jensen, Roselle Reyes, Paola Flynn, “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly” host Abi Galván, and other colleagues on election night.

At 9 p.m. ET on election night, the network will return to the air with a half-hour special as early results come in.

The programming will include coverage of referendums on abortion in Virginia, Nevada, Idaho, and Missouri; key House, Senate, and gubernatorial races; and several other referendum questions Catholics are following closely.

Joining the team for analysis of the elections and the issues surrounding it will be Josh Altic of Ballotpedia, political analyst Tim Rosales, Kelsey Pritchard of SBA Pro-Life America, Alejandro Ramos of Ramos Research Institute, and Kristi Hamrick of Students for Life of America, among others.

"EWTN News offers vital and timely coverage and analysis of the midterm elections from the Catholic perspective,” Bunson said of the coverage.

“We provide reporting and commentary across multiple platforms and multiple languages, but above all we deliver professional award-winning journalism that is faithful to Catholic teaching and that touches on all of the issues that are of concern to Catholics,” he said.

“EWTN News is uniquely positioned to be the go-to news outlet for a proper understanding of the results of the vote and their implications for Catholics in the United States and around the world,” Bunson added.

To Bunson’s point, on Nov. 4, the network will also offer an expanded one-hour edition of “EWTN News Nightly” recapping all of the major results.

The coverage will be accessible on multiple platforms, including cable television, YouTube, EWTN.com, Roku, Amazon Fire, and the EWTN app, which is free in the Google Play and Apple stores.

The state earlier this year became the latest in the U.S. to officially remove all limits on abortion. Lawmakers passed a law that permits abortion at any point in pregnancy for any reason; Democratic Gov. Maura Healey signed the bill on Aug. 10.

Opponents of abortion subsequently launched an effort to suspend and potentially repeal the law, seeking enough signatures to enact a “veto referendum” that would put the law up for a statewide vote in 2028.

The advocates needed to collect about 37,000 signatures to place the measure on the ballot; collecting just under 50,000 signatures, meanwhile, would suspend the law prior to that election.

Myrna Maloney Flynn, the president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, told EWTN News on Oct. 30 that the initiative had collected more than 100,000 signatures toward the effort.

The pro-life coalition will deliver the signatures to the Massachusetts secretary of state, she said. “Then we’ll wait for his office to formally confirm the results.”

“We do not know how long his office will take to verify,” she said.

She said the governor could enact an “emergency preamble” that would nullify the presumptive suspension of the law, though Healey “has not indicated her intentions” in that regard. The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the initiative.

Upon its passage, the state abortion measure drew rebuke from the state’s Catholic bishops, who described it as “a radical measure which is gravely immoral.”

The advocacy group CatholicVote, meanwhile, called for Healey — who identifies as Catholic — to be excommunicated.

“Healey is a Catholic in a state of grave sin. She has publicly and now legislatively cooperated in the destruction of innocent human life,” CatholicVote President Kelsey Reinhardt said at the time.

Commenting on the ad, Kelsey Reinhardt, president and CEO of the advocacy organization CatholicVote, said: “I take him at his word that he is a man of prayer and he, as an American Muslim, deserves the same religious liberty we Catholics have fought to protect for two centuries.”

“What I question is something else,” Reinhardt continued. “El-Sayed has repeatedly answered fair questions with false equivalences, and he has put Catholics and our Church at the center of them.”

Reinhardt was referring to El-Sayed’s repeated equation of Catholic canon law with sharia. Addressing concerns about his Islamic faith and fears over the imposition of sharia, in a video shared on social media El-Sayed emphasized that if elected to the Senate, “I’m going to swear an oath to that U.S. Constitution.”

In the video, El-Sayed told a town hall questioner in Michigan, who identified himself as a Christian, that “because of the U.S. Constitution you have the right to live according to canon law and also because of the U.S. Constitution you don’t get to enforce canon law on anyone else.”

Reinhardt squarely accuses El-Sayed of drawing a “false equivalence” between the two systems. “The Code of Canon Law is the internal legal order of the Catholic Church. It governs how the Church administers sacraments, organizes dioceses, and disciplines its own clergy. It makes no claim over the criminal code of any nation,” she explained.

”Classical sharia is a different kind of thing. Many American Muslims understand it as a matter of personal devotion, and that is their right,” she continued. “In its historic jurisprudence, though, sharia is a comprehensive legal order. It reaches into family law, criminal punishment, and the governance of the state. That is why it is written into the constitutions of several nations, and canon law is written into none,” Reinhardt pointed out.

“One can respect both traditions and still see that they are not the same. A Senate candidate should know the difference,” she said.

The issue first came to the forefront during an Aug. 24 interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters, when El-Sayed asked, “Do you know what canon law is, Jesse? ... canon law is the name for Christian law … Nobody is trying to push sharia law on anyone else. Just like I hope nobody is trying to push canon law on anybody else, because we live in an America where you should have the freedom of your religion.”

Following that exchange, Catholic Answers’ Todd Aglialoro also pointed out the problematic comparison and why the issue is a relevant one.

"Sharia is a broad term for codes of Muslim conduct,” Aglialoro explained. “In many countries that are predominantly Muslim, Sharia is deeply embedded into civil and criminal law, with its prescriptions, judgments, and punishments serving a governing function.”

In the West, Aglialoro continued, sharia has become a flashpoint of controversy in places “where Muslim-dense locales experience conflict between local law enforcement, based on liberal Western values, and neighborhood Muslim councils dispensing gray-market Sharia judgments that often contradict those values.”

“The majority of these hot spots are in Europe, but as Islam grows in certain regions of the United States, there has been talk of measures to prevent that kind of ‘parallel justice’ from taking root here," he noted.

Gabriel Said Reynolds, who serves on the Vatican Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue with Muslims and is a professor of Islamic Studies and Theology at the University of Notre Dame, told EWTN News that for Muslims, “God’s will for humanity is sharia.”

Sharia includes explicit implications for non-Muslims. For example, Islamic law allows for a head tax known as “jizya” on Jews and Christians. At different times Christians in the Islamic world have suffered from abduction, enslavement, subjugation, and forced conversion.

In contrast, the Code of Canon Law is neither “Christian law” nor a civil code for all Christians, but orders the life of the Catholic Church. Unlike sharia, as Aglialoro points out, “Catholic canon law is not about superimposing a full spectrum of doctrinal and moral teaching onto the everyday life of religious adherents. It is more like a thick binder of organizational bylaws." 

Professor David Long, who teaches canon law at The Catholic University of America, told EWTN News that comparing canon law and sharia may help illustrate believers’ “freedom to observe religious obligations” but “does not establish that canon law and sharia share the same sources of authority or jurisdiction.”

Long said of El-Sayed’s comparison: “As an appeal to the religious freedom protected by the Constitution, the analogy makes a useful point: Catholics and Muslims alike may seek freedom to observe their religious obligations without thereby claiming authority to impose those obligations on their fellow citizens. That constitutional argument does not depend on the two legal traditions being equivalent.”

“Islamic jurisprudence also provides rules for civil government, including those affecting non-Muslims. The distinction is substantial, but it must be stated without reducing canon law to administrative rules or treating every Muslim’s religious observance as a proposal for state enforcement,” Long added.

For Christians, Long contends, the central issue concerning sharia is the distinction between religious freedom and coercive state authority.

At the time of publication, El-Sayed’s campaign staff had not responded to an EWTN News request for the candidate to clarify his position on the matter.

In an email to students that was reported on by the student-led publication at the college, The Dartmouth, on Wednesday, university president Sian Leah Beilock said Schnell had resigned and was “leaving the university” after an independent, faculty-led committee determined that Schnell may have violated university policies when he used AI in select academic works and popular articles without proper disclosure to the publications he was writing for. Dartmouth will have an interim provost through 2028, Beilock said. 

Several fellow Catholic scholars, including some who have criticized Schnell’s apparent use of AI in writing, expressed surprise at the news, which underscores the thorny questions surrounding the rapidly growing adoption of AI tools in professional writing, particularly in higher education.

“Obviously, I am against AI writing. And yet I feel whiplash here,” said Jennifer Frey, a Catholic philosopher at the University of Virginia, on social media. “Who can hang a man in the wild, wild west, which is an accurate description of AI in higher ed right now? Especially at Dartmouth, which has so strongly encouraged [AI] use in the name of ‘not being left behind’!”

A native of Venezuela, Schnell, a mathematical biologist, was named chief academic officer of the vaunted Ivy League school at the start of the 2025-26 academic year. His appointment generated positive attention among some Catholics in higher education, who expressed appreciation for Schnell’s push for a more classical vision of university life centered on formation in beauty, truth, and friendship.

“His promotion was such a ray of hope in higher education, especially at elite universities,” said Jeremy Tate, the founder and CEO of the Classical Learning Test (CLT), an alternative to the SAT and ACT designed around classical education.

Beyond the secular higher education world, Schnell, who formerly served as a dean of the College of Science at the University of Notre Dame, was also a leading voice of reform at Catholic universities.

In June, Schnell addressed members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) at the the group’s plenary assembly in Orlando, Florida, telling the bishops that they “could be more vocal” and “more pushy” when it comes to making sure that Catholic universities are faithful to their unique mission of forming saints.

Controversial AI usage

But controversy began to swirl following a September article by The Dartmouth, which reported that several of Schnell’s public writings since 2022, including academic papers and op-eds for various newspapers, had been flagged by Pangram, a leading AI-detection tool, as overwhelmingly “AI-written.”

The Dartmouth’s report was prompted by a prior investigative piece by the publication Semafor, which in a broader investigation of AI-generated writing in major newspapers had flagged one of Schnell’s op-eds — a piece for The Washington Post about combating AI-facilitated cheating in schools — as being “100%” AI-generated.

In response to The Dartmouth’s September investigative report, Schnell said in an emailed statement that he uses AI for “language refinement, copyediting, improving clarity and organization and making writing processes more efficient,” but “review[s] the final text and take[s] responsibility for its content.”

“I develop ideas and arguments, conduct the research, evaluate the evidence and sources, determine the structure, prepare drafts and decide what appears in the final text,” Schnell wrote to The Dartmouth. “I regard these technologies as assistive tools. They do not identify the problem, design the research project, guarantee the validity of research results, interpretations, citations, conclusions or substitute for my research, intellectual judgment or authorship.”

He also added that AI detectors are “known to be unreliable.”

“There’s evidence that they’re biased against nonnative English speakers, such as myself,” Schnell wrote.

Schnell wrote three op-eds for the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, this year, two of which were on the theme of AI use and its effects on education. All three were flagged in The Dartmouth story on the provost’s AI usage. Schnell did not comment when asked Thursday if he used AI tools in drafting his commentaries for the Register. He referred questions about the Dartmouth College investigation and his resignation to his attorneys, who did not respond to an inquiry before publication but responded to the Register on Oct. 30.

“Dr. Schnell has decided to resign as Provost and from the Dartmouth faculty. He came to this difficult decision out of deep respect for his colleagues and the broader Dartmouth community, and so as not to bring further distraction to the institution. Although he was not afforded a meaningful opportunity to present his account during the College’s internal review, he has chosen to allow the Dartmouth community to move forward,” Andrew Miltenberg, Schnell’s attorney, told the Register in an email.

“He remains grateful to the colleagues and students who made his time at Dartmouth so meaningful. Over a distinguished academic career, Dr. Schnell has made lasting contributions to higher education, and he looks forward to continuing that work.”

In his public writings and in interviews, including with the Register, Schnell often addressed the current and future effects of AI on education, saying that he sees the rise of AI as an opportunity for classrooms to return to more low-tech, personalized modes of learning.

At the same time, Schnell has also written that he believes educators can make positive usage of large language model (LLM) AI tools.

“Used with discipline, [LLMs] can be genuinely useful,” he wrote, in part, for the Register in one of his op-eds. “A professor may use them to prepare discussion questions. A researcher may use them to survey literature more quickly. An administrator may use them to accelerate routine writing. It would be foolish to deny their utility.”

Catholic reaction

In the full investigative report into Schnell’s use of AI, published by Dartmouth, fellow faculty determined that Schnell had used AI to “meaningfully alter his writing in violation of at least one publication’s AI use and/or disclosure requirement, failed to disclose his use of AI in clear violation of a national newspaper’s stated policy, was not forthcoming about his AI use, and fell short of the standards set forth by” various academic codes of conduct. 

Some higher-ed reform advocates, however, have questioned whether the outspoken Catholic scholar was treated fairly in the process.

“Was he treated with extra scrutiny because of his disposition?” asked Tate, who suggested that AI usage is widespread among university administrators. “I think there’s a conversation to be had.”

“I’m not saying he didn’t make a mistake, but this is a huge loss,” Tate added. “I think everybody loses here.”

Frey told the Register that she found Dartmouth’s decision shocking, in part because the university appears to have “suddenly drawn very clear and sharp lines with the provost’s own use of AI” when the acceptable norms of AI use in higher education remain largely undefined.

Additionally, she noted that Dartmouth itself has actively promoted the use of LLMs to “augment” traditional methods of education. According to The New York Times, the Ivy League school even entered into an agreement last year with Anthropic and Amazon Web Services to provide its faculty and students access to AI tech.

“Perhaps a better outcome, for Dartmouth and for us all, would have been to use the revelation of Schnell’s AI use to start a serious and transparent conversation on our campuses about what we think the lines [about AI use] are and why people and institutions draw them where they do,” she said.

“I am inclined to the view that there is a lot more for us to figure out before we begin to discipline and punish,” she added.

Tate said that he hopes Schnell has additional opportunities to “have a big impact somewhere in higher ed,” noting that “he’s got a lot he can give.”

He also said that others must work to carry forward the vision of higher-education reform that Schnell helped reintroduce into the national discourse, including conversations about the fundamental purpose of a university education.

“He was entering into that in a way that was really beautiful, with really timeless wisdom,” Tate said. “So let’s hold on to this mission. It may be the only mission that can save higher ed right now.”

This story was updated at 5:28 p.m. ET on Oct. 30, 2026, with the statement from Schnell’s attorney.

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

Leo, who has mostly lived outside of the U.S. since the 1980s, “has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen, whenever he was eligible to do so,” the Holy See said in a statement provided to EWTN News.

The Vatican confirmed that “in keeping with this long-standing practice of civic participation, [Leo] has submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago” ahead of the 2026 U.S. midterm elections.

Leo confirmed through the Vatican’s statement that “during his years of residence in Peru he exercised his right to vote whenever he was eligible to do so.”

“The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes,” the statement added.

Leo’s absentee ballot marks the first time a Catholic pope has voted in a U.S. election in Church history. The United States was established in 1776, about 18 centuries after the founding of the Catholic Church.

The Holy Father, the first pope from the United States, is still a U.S. citizen and also holds Peruvian citizenship, though his election to the papacy raised esoteric questions about those national statuses, such as whether or not he would still pay taxes in the U.S. while serving as head of the Catholic Church.

A 2025 bill proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives moved to “protect the citizenship of, and provide tax-exempt status to, any American elected as the supreme pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church,” a clear reference to Leo’s then-new papacy. The bill ultimately stalled in committee.

Unique among world leaders, the pope serves simultaneously as the universal spiritual head of the Catholic Church and as the head of the Holy See, a distinct sovereign entity under international law that serves as the central government of the Catholic Church.

Following the news of the pope’s vote, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a statement that Catholic Americans “are blessed to be able to participate in our nation’s political and public life.”

“With the midterm elections approaching in the United States, the Conference has been encouraging Catholics to exercise their right to vote and to do so in a way that places our faith before our politics,” the bishops said. “In voting, our Holy Father sets the example that encourages each citizen to exercise their civic responsibility.”

Voting history obtained by EWTN News from the Illinois government shows that, prior to being elected pope, Leo voted in multiple U.S. elections while living outside the country, including primary and general elections in 2012, 2016, and 2024.

It is not clear what type of ballot Leo received for the 2026 election. The U.S. government says that overseas citizens whose “intent to return [to the U.S.] is uncertain” are only eligible to receive a “federal-only” ballot, meaning Leo may not have voted in state or local elections on the ballot he cast this year.

This story was updated at 12:40 p.m. ET on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, with information on Pope Leo XIV’s voting history and information on overseas ballot rules, and at 1:20 p.m. ET with a statement from the U.S. bishops.

On Saturday, Oct. 31, and on Sunday, Nov. 1, Evening Prayer 1 of the Liturgy of the Hours is for All Saints and the vigil Mass on Saturday will observe the Mass of All Saints.

What is the solemnity of All Saints?

Solemnities rank above feasts and memorials and are the highest liturgical celebrations in the Catholic Church. They honor significant mysteries of the Christian faith, including events in the lives of Jesus and Mary, as well as key saints.

The solemnity of All Saints celebrates all Christian saints — those formally canonized by the Church and those who are not but have attained heaven. It is typically a holy day of obligation.

The observance of the solemnity begins with evening prayer (first vespers) the evening before on Oct. 31 — known as All Hallows’ Eve or Halloween — and is followed on Nov. 2 by All Souls' Day, a day in which the entire Church prays for all of the dead.

Solemnities that fall on Saturdays and Mondays

Sometimes a solemnity that falls on a Sunday will be moved to a Monday.

For example, in 2024, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8 fell on a Sunday in Advent so the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) transferred the solemnity to the Monday.

The Vatican has clarified that Catholics in the United States must still attend Mass on holy days of obligation even when they are transferred to Mondays or Saturdays, correcting a long-standing practice in the U.S. Church.

The USCCB liturgical calendars for 2026 and 2027 can be found here and here.

The archdiocese announced it will give the Nostra Aetate Award to the billionaire businessman and philanthropist Michael Sacks at the Oct. 29 banquet. He is CEO of the investment firm GCM Grosvenor, the president of Sacks Family Foundation, and a board member of the Obama Foundation.

Sacks, through his foundation, has donated to philanthropic efforts related to education, arts, veterans, and other issues. His contributions also include $500,000 to Planned Parenthood of Illinois from 2020 to 2022 and $600,000 to the Prairie State Access Fund in 2026, which was created by Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker with the help of philanthropists to support the “reproductive health ecosystem” of the state and combat federal restrictions “on abortion and gender affirming care.”

Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, has not publicly referenced Sacks’ support for these organizations. Rather, in a statement, he described Sacks as a “well-respected leader in Chicago and in the Jewish community.”

His statement explained the Nostra Aetate Award is named after the Second Vatican Council document of the same name, which was intended to build stronger relations with non-Christian religions, including Judaism.

“Honoring a leader, shaped by his Jewish faith, for the gifts he brings to society through his leadership, generosity and talent, acknowledges this shared divine heritage, distinct from specific contemporary political or doctrinal disputes,” Cupich said in his statement.

Cupich said the honor “recognizes [the personʼs] dignity” and role in the community “without implying an endorsement of every statement or stance” the person has. He said the recognition helps bring about “conditions necessary for principled dialogue” and that such dialogue “cannot occur if respect is contingent upon complete agreement on Church doctrine or political policy.”

The primary purpose of the banquet is to raise money for seminarians.

‘Scandalizing the faithful’

Pushback against Cupich for his decision to give the award to Sacks has come from the Chicago-based Illinois Right to Life, which was founded in 1968 to “honor the dignity and sanctity of human life at all stages.”

The pro-life group launched a petition “demanding [Cupich] withdraw his award to Planned Parenthood Financier Michael Sacks,” which has garnered nearly 4,000 signatures as of the day of the banquet.

Illinois Right to Life President Mary Kate Zander told EWTN News that the archdiocese has not responded to the petition. Because Cupich stood by his plan to give Sacks the award, the group will hold a protest outside of the IBEW Local 134 in Chicago, where the banquet will be held.

"Weʼre concerned about the scandal that it creates,” Zander, who is Catholic, told EWTN News when asked about the primary motivation for the protest.

In addition to concerns about the funding of organizations that promote abortion access, Illinois Right to Life has noted Sacks in 2013 signed a letter endorsing same-sex marriage and helped organize business leaders to advocate for it, according to local media reports. Equality Illinois, an LGBT advocacy group, gave Sacks its 2015 Equality Illinois Business Leadership Award in recognition of his role.

Zander said Cupich is “leading people astray and is scandalizing the faithful” by honoring Sacks. She said “we’re also concerned with this man’s soul” and said the cardinal has a responsibility to “hold people accountable … on their public stances.”

Illinois Right to Life alleged granting Sacks the award violates rules set by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

The USCCB document “Catholics in Political Life” states: “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”

The USCCB did not immediately reply to a request for comment on whether Cupich’s decision violates any USCCB rules. EWTN News also reached out to GCM Grosvenor to request a comment from Sacks but did not receive a response.

Cupich doubles down

In his Oct. 26 statement about the Nostra Aetate Award, Cupich acknowledged his decision created backlash but did not mention any concerns related to Sacks’ position on abortion or same-sex marriage.

Rather, Cupich said the archdiocese received criticism for its decision to “honor a person who does not hold to core beliefs of the Catholic Church, primary among them being the divinity of Jesus Christ” and said the backlash was about Sacks’ Jewish faith.

“Refusing to honor or engage with Jews solely because they hold conflicting religious or political positions can risk mimicking historic patterns of antisemitism through exclusion and bigotry, which, frighteningly, is on the rise,” he said. “Nostra Aetate urges us to be proactive in separating personal and community respect from doctrinal agreement, ensuring that disagreement does not regress into hostility or social ostracization. This we cannot tolerate.”

Nostra Aetate states that the Church “decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.” On the 60th anniversary of the document, Pope Leo XIV said “all of my predecessors have condemned antisemitism with clear words” since the Second Vatican Council, “and so I too confirm that the Church does not tolerate antisemitism and fights against it, on the basis of the Gospel itself.”

Cupich’s statement does not name the critics he is referring to. The archdiocese did not immediately respond to an inquiry for clarification.

Zander said Illinois Right to Life is “the only organization that has formally put out any kind of statement” about the award and their concern “has nothing to do with that.” She said Cupich’s statement “is confusing for people” who may infer that his decision to double down “is a response to antisemitism” and the disagreement is “an issue of this man not being Catholic.”

“[Cupich is] distracting from the fact that this man is clearly a supporter of abortion at a very grand scale,” Zander said. “... He’s trying to distract from the fact that [he is also] a same-sex marriage supporter.”

“The cardinal doesn’t want that to be the conversation,” she said. “He wants the conversation to be about that man’s faith background; his ethnic background.”

None of the criticisms published by Illinois Right to Life comment on Sacks’ Jewish faith or ethnic identity.

Last year, Illinois Right to Life launched a similar campaign against Cupich’s decision to give an award to Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, who consistently voted in favor of abortion access. Durbin, who is Catholic, declined the award amid the backlash, which included criticisms from other bishops.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the proposed rule changes would remove demographic questions about race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, and would count for congressional apportionment only citizens and lawful permanent residents.

The proposal says “illegal aliens (among others) should not be included in the apportionment count, as they are not true inhabitants, members of the body politic, or persons with a ‘usual residence’ in the United States.”

In an Oct. 20 letter submitted to Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, among other points, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ general counsel argued that excluding noncitizens from the apportionment count "is effectively to deny they are ‘persons’.” The letter said that this “denial of personhood recalls the ‘overtly sinful and gravely unjust’ Three-fifths Compromise.”

The Three-fifths Compromise was the political deal reached at the 1787 U.S. Constitutional Convention that held the nascent Union together. It set a formula for apportioning seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, which is determined by each state’s population: free persons, including free Black people, counted fully, and “all other persons” (the enslaved population) counted as three-fifths.

Several legal scholars and other experts strongly disagreed with the bishops’ comparison.

Historian Susan Hanssen of the University of Dallas told EWTN News she thinks the bishops’ reference to the Three-fifths Compromise is “an egregious mis-reading of American history.”

“That compromise did not aim at the denial of the personhood of slaves,” she argued, pointing to the compromiseʼs text, which consistently calls both free and enslaved people “persons.”

She said the compromise was intended to mitigate “the power of the slave-owning states in the national government, refusing to award them greater political weight based on subjugated populations without a voice or vote.”

Hanssen said the Census Bureau’s aims regarding the proposed changes are similarly aimed at mitigating political power, arguing that the bureau is refusing “to grant political clout to states that allow a larger number of undocumented illegal workers to be used for labor without the protection of the law.”

David Upham, a constitutional law scholar at the University of Dallas whose work focuses heavily on the 14th Amendment — which established citizenship rights, including the rights to due process and equal protection under the law, particularly for recently freed slaves — told EWTN News that the proposed rule changes do not mean noncitizens are not persons. He called the bishops’ interpretation of persons an “overstatement.”

“If that’s the case, every human being not being counted in the census is not a person,” he said, noting that the principal purpose of the census is to count people in order to determine the allocation of political power in the U.S. House of Representatives, whose members are supposed to be selected by the citizens.

“The question really is, besides bona fide citizens, what other human beings within the state’s border are counted as members of the people,” he said, and noted the president has the constitutional authority to address the question.

“The executive branch has substantial authority to determine whether an individual who isn’t a citizen” should be counted in the census for the purpose of political representation, he said.

“I think the danger the Trump administration is seeking to redress is that those states most enthusiastic about encouraging unlawful migrants will, as result of their disinterest in enforcing federal law, receive more votes in Congress and the electoral college,” he said.

Harvard Law School constitutional law professor Adrian Vermeule also weighed in, writing on X: “The analogy to slavery is utterly absurd unless the USCCB believes that all distinctions based on citizenship are unjust.”

“With all due respect, ‘personhood’ is not a magical trump card that overrides the basic principles of the republican form of government,” he wrote. “One cannot conclude from the bare fact of personhood that anyone and everyone has a right to be counted in the census, to vote, or to stand for office.”

“Why exactly should noncitizens with no status be counted for the apportionment of seats in the representative body?” he asked. He suggested the bishops’ public comment “really should be withdrawn” and added that he hopes “cooler heads prevail.”

Scholars at various major think tanks were also quick to take aim at the bishops’ personhood argument.

Mike Fragoso, a scholar at the Ethics and Public Policy Center’s Constitution, the Courts, and the Culture program, called the bishops “unserious,” while Jay Richards, vice president of social and domestic policy and senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, called the bishops’ position “absurd.”

Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, told EWTN News that “our inherent recognition as persons — personhood — does not come from the governmentʼs census as to who is in the country.”

“As Catholics, we believe that unborn children are people,” he continued, “but the bishops do not extend their logic to demand that the unborn be counted in the census notwithstanding the fact that a killing that results in the death of a pregnant mother is, in many places, considered to be two murders. Why not?”

The proposed rule changes, published Sept. 10, are open to public comment until Nov. 2. The U.S. bishops did not respond to requests for comment on the backlash.

In a video released by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Portland, Oregon, Archbishop Alexander Sample suggested Catholics should think of themselves as “disciples of Jesus first, Americans second … and, if you’re going to belong to a political party, that is third.”

“Start with your relationship with Jesus. Start with your faith,” the archbishop said. “And then see how that shapes your view on social and political issues.”

The archbishop’s video comes just days before the 2026 U.S. midterms, which could serve as a sharp referendum on U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, particularly his administration’s launching of a war with Iran, which brought with it major increases in fuel costs and other prices.

Multiple U.S. bishops have urged the faithful to pray ahead of the elections, including regarding major ballot initiatives involving abortion and other issues.

In his Oct. 26 video, Sample — who serves as the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ religious liberty committee — noted that “none of the political parties” in the U.S. “embody all the Catholic social teaching.”

“We don’t start with our party’s political platform,” he said. “We start with Catholic social teaching — the Catholic social doctrine of the Church, and all of those principles of Catholic social teaching.”

Conscience ‘tells us to pursue the good’

In a related video also released on Oct. 26, Baltimore Archbishop William Lori — who previously served as vice president of the USCCB — said the “importance of a properly formed conscience cannot be overstated.”

The archbishop described conscience as “that part of us that tells us to pursue the good and to avoid evil,” a place where “God speaks to us and his word echoes in our hearts.”

“It is vital that in this time when there is so much back-and-forth politically, when the news cycles never cease, when life is moving along rapidly — that in the exercise of our citizenship, we would slow down and engage in discernment.”

The prelate pointed to St. Paul’s admonishment to “cling to what is good.” He described faithful citizenship as “an invitation to know what the Church teaches and then, when you’re faced with ballot issues or the question of for whom to vote, you’re equipped to engage in prayerful discernment.”

He noted that the U.S. bishops issue messages about voting periodically. “[We] have a lot of faith in our people,” he said.

The question of faithful citizenship was “never meant to be simply a list of dos and don’ts, or ‘vote this way or vote that way,’” Lori said. “It’s not a voter guide.” Rather, the principle “strives to present a beautiful vision of the United States as the best version of itself.”

Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville, Kentucky, meanwhile, in a separate video urged Catholics to keep the “desire to be the best disciple of Jesus Christ” at the center of all their decisions.

“We participate in public life and in political life to advance the common good, and to also remind everyone in public life and in politics that the common good and the human dignity of each and every person are paramount,” he said.

Some analysts are predicting a major Democratic victory in the 2026 midterms, particularly amid low approval ratings for Trump halfway through his second term.

As of Oct. 29 the forecast and election-tracking outlet Decision Desk HQ was predicting likely Democratic victories in both the U.S. House and Senate, including an 80% probability of victory in the House.

“I am deeply grateful to the skilled and compassionate medical professionals who are guiding my care and preparing my treatment plan,” Tobin said in an Oct. 28 statement, one day before the surgery.

“Above all, I place my complete trust in Christ our Redeemer, whose loving presence sustains me in all things,” Tobin said. “I humbly ask for your prayers and support during this time. God willing, I look forward to resuming my full duties within a few weeks after surgery.”

According to the archdiocese, doctors discovered a mass in one of the cardinal’s kidneys and he will undergo surgery to remove it. The announcement states doctors believe the mass is confined to the kidney and are optimistic about his outlook.

The news release states the doctor’s examination of the mass after the surgery will determine its nature and guide the cardinalʼs treatment moving forward.

The archdiocese did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

The Oct. 28 report from Pew Research Center found that while religious practice in the U.S. has “remained stable” since 2020, a survey of young adults about religious practice uncovered “mixed signals.” The report is based on data from Pew’s probability-based, nationally representative 2026 National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS) and the center’s 2025 Cross-Sectional Engagement Survey.

Based on a June 2026 survey, Pew found that 34% of adults said they attended a religious service in the past month, while 45% said they either attended or watched a religious service online in the past month. “Both numbers are at their highest levels since the Center started asking these questions in July 2020,” the report said.

However, the report said that while young adults born from 2004 to 2008 are reporting “relatively high rates of attendance at religious services,” young adults born from 2000 to 2003 “are the least religious age group when it comes to how often they pray, how important religion is in their lives and how many of them identify with religion.” In addition, the share of the older demographic that say they attend religious services regularly “is among the lowest of any age group.”

The report noted that the youngest Republicans attend religious services at higher rates than older Republicans, but that “they are not solely responsible for the high levels of religious attendance among young adults,” and that younger Democrats also reported higher levels of attendance than older ones.

The youngest men reported higher levels of religious observance than the youngest women, the report said, noting that “this is something we have not seen before in our surveys.” However, the youngest women did report “relatively high rates” of attendance at religious observance compared with older women.

“Moreover, this is not the first time in recent decades that surveys have shown the youngest Americans entering adulthood with relatively high rates of religiousness,” the report said. “When this has happened in the past, the religiousness of the youngest adults has tended to fade with time, leaving them less religious than people in the preceding birth cohort. We have no way of knowing whether today’s youngest adults will follow that pattern or break it.”

The report highlighted how findings from other organizations contrast with their own. While Gallup polls showed an increase in young men who identified religion as important to them and who attend religious services, more so than young women, the report noted that “by contrast, an aggregation of Pew Research Center surveys from 2025 and 2026 finds that among people ages 18 to 29, more young men than women attend services regularly, while roughly equal shares of young men and women say religion is very important to them.”

Father Richard Storey, who was accused in May of stealing $160,000 from Curé of Ars Catholic Church in Leawood near Kansas City, Kansas, pleaded guilty to the theft on Oct. 27.

The Kansas City Archdiocese said in a statement that Storey had already repaid just under $160,000 to the parish as restitution. The priest will be sentenced in January.

The archdiocese said it would initiate a canonical investigation following the guilty plea. In addition to the theft, the diocese said it would investigate an “allegation involving an adult victim.”

The archdiocesan finance council’s audit committee will review the results of the investigation, the statement said, after which the committee would present its own analysis to the archdiocesan promoter of justice, who will suggest potential canonical actions to Archbishop Shawn McKnight.

The archbishop “will share the findings of the investigation with the Curé of Ars Parish and communicate its conclusion to the faithful,” the archdiocese said.

Storey allegedly utilized the stolen funds in part on cruises, including at least one apparent withdrawal from within a casino.

Tens of thousands of dollars, meanwhile, were reportedly spent on international travel. The archdiocesan statement said that Storey’s guilty plea fell under “severity level 7,” or a “non-person, non-drug felony.”

The Kansas City Star reported that the plea agreement recommended the priest receive probation including “substance abuse evaluation.”

The survey was published on Oct. 26 by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), which is a research center at Georgetown University that produces social scientific studies about the Catholic Church.

It found significant differences among racial and ethnic categories, with Indigenous and Black Catholics reporting the highest levels of racial discrimination. Non-Hispanic white Catholics reported the lowest levels of racial discrimination.

The survey found that 75% of Indigenous Catholics reported experiences of racial discrimination in their lives. About 15% said they have experienced it in their parishes and 23% have experienced it in Catholic education.

It found that 66% of Black Catholics said they have experienced racial discrimination at some point in their lives, with 26% experiencing it in their parish communities and 26% experiencing it in Catholic education.

About 54% of Hispanic Catholics reported experiencing racial discrimination in their lives, with 15% saying they have experienced it in their parishes and 16% saying they have experienced it in Catholic education.

Among Asian, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian Catholics, 54% said they have experienced racial discrimination in their lives, with 11% saying they experienced it in their parishes and 14% saying they have experienced it in Catholic education.

For white non-Hispanic Catholics, 29% reported they have experienced racial discrimination in their lives, with 6% saying they experienced it in their parishes and 7% saying they experienced it in Catholic education.

The largest category of respondents was white non-Hispanic Catholics, who made up 49% of those surveyed. About 24% of respondents were Hispanic; 16% were Black; 6% were Asian, Pacific Islander, or Native Hawaiian; 2% were Indigenous; 1% were another race; and 1% were mixed.

Ali Mumbach, research assistant for CARA, told EWTN News: “The findings from this report are very revealing about racism in the U.S. Catholic Church.”

“There is one group that experiences racial discrimination within the walls of the Catholic Church in the U.S. more than any other,” Mumbach said. “Black Catholics are the most likely to attend a parish that has merged (26%), have experienced racial discrimination in their parish (26%) as well as in Catholic education (26%). Twenty-six percent is 1 in 4 Black Catholics, compared to 1 in 10 adult Catholics in their parish or in Catholic education.”

“Based on the findings in this study, adult Catholics are generally in agreement with Church teachings that racism is a sin,” she said. “However, the reality of living out anti-racism within the Church seems to be a different story.”

A large majority of each racial and ethnic group said they believe implicit and explicit racism exist in their local communities to some degree. Implicit racism refers to forms of discrimination, such as unfair housing, access to education, and job opportunities. Explicit racism refers to forms of discrimination, such as verbal name calling, being denied services, and racial profiling.

The survey found that 17% of Catholics believe implicit racism exists “very much” in their local communities. It found that 33% believe it exists “somewhat,” 28% believe it exists “a little,” and 22% said it does not exist at all in their communities.

It found that 19% of Catholics said they believe explicit racism exists “very much” in their local communities, 32% said it exists “somewhat,” 27% said it exists “a little” and 22% said it does not exist at all.

White Catholics were the least likely to say explicit and implicit racism exists “very much” in their local communities. Black Catholics were the most likely to say those forms of racism exist “very much” in their communities.

Views about racism

The survey also asked respondents about their views on racism, which CARA said is derived from Church documents that condemn and define racism. A majority of each racial and ethnic group strongly or somewhat agreed with each statement.

It found 75% of Catholics strongly or somewhat agree it is sinful to “exclude, ridicule, mistreat, or unjustly discriminate against persons on the basis of their race or ethnicity.” It found that 19% neither agree nor disagree and 7% either strongly or somewhat disagree.

The survey found that 73% of Catholics strongly or somewhat agree racism can also come in the form of a sin of omission “when individuals, communities, and even churches remain silent and fail to act against racial injustice when it is encountered.” Another 20% neither agree nor disagree and 7% either strongly or somewhat disagree.

It found 67% of Catholics strongly or somewhat agree “racism can only end if we contend with the policies and institutional barriers that perpetuate and preserve the inequality — economic and social — that we still see all around us.” Another 24% neither agreed nor disagreed, and 9% either strongly or somewhat disagreed.

Venezuelan outfielder Jackson Chourio put on a great performance in the postseason with the Brewers. At the beginning of October in Game 2 of the National League Division Series, he got a ninth-inning, 2-and-2-count hit off the San Diego Padres' star closer, Mason Miller, driving in two runs for the Brewers and winning the game.

Chourio led the Brewers to their first World Series appearance since 1982. He spoke on Oct. 22 with Venezuelan journalist Mari Montes about how his relationship with God has played a vital role in his athletic career. “It’s thanks to him that I am here, and he fills me with so many blessings. How could I not believe?” he said, speaking to El Extrabase on camera.

The 22-year-old ballplayer hails from Maracaibo, one of the Venezuelan cities most devoted to the Blessed Virgin. There, every Nov. 18, the city celebrates Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquirá, the patroness of both the city and the entire state of Zulia. This particular devotion is affectionately known as “la Chinita.”

“It means a great deal. All of us from Maracaibo believe. She is always in my prayers; I ask her for so much, that she grant me good health and continue to bestow so many blessings upon me,” Chourio said regarding the Virgin Chinita.

Another of the Brewers’ stars is catcher William Contreras, who was born in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. Immediately after the conclusion of the fourth game of the National League Championship Series in which Milwaukee swept the Los Angeles Dodgers, Contreras knelt at home plate, looked toward to heaven, raised his arms, and exclaimed in a distinctly Venezuelan way: “Thank you, Papa God!”

“Throughout these playoffs, I’ve been talking a lot with God, asking him to keep me healthy for the games. This is going to be a huge dream for me and my family. I always go out there to give my best, and that’s what I’ve been talking about with him, asking him to guide me and help me,” Contreras told El Extrabase.

The catcher also shared that he is a devotee of the Virgin of Coromoto, the patroness of Venezuela. “She’s the one my mom mentions the most,” he said. Contreras also mentioned the health of Pope Leo XIV, expressing his joy that the Holy Father is recovering extraordinarily well from his recent surgery.

Antonio Senzatela, a Venezuelan pitcher for the Brewers, also mentioned that he thanks God every day for having gotten to this point in his career. “I am a man of deep faith; I’ve gone to church since I was a little boy, that’s what my mom and dad taught me,” he said.

“Life has taken things away from me. He has taken things away; my mom and dad are no longer with me but I have a wife who loves me and wonderful children. I feel grateful to God for everything he gives me. There are difficult moments, but he also gives me many moments to laugh and be happy,” he added.

Similarly, Néstor Corredor, a key member of the Brewers’ coaching staff, shared that, until recently, he “called himself an atheist.” The Venezuelan noted that he did not have a “complete faith” but that in recent years, he has sought to understand God’s presence in his life.

“Every time you wake up in the morning, you have to thank God, because he’s the one who allowed you to wake up. For me, every single day, the first words I speak before checking my phone, before talking to my wife, and before seeing my children, are directed to God. Knowing that he is listening, wherever it may be, and that when you surrender yourself to him, you will be blessed and in 2026, I have been quite blessed,” he remarked.

Corredor, Chourio, Contreras, and Senzatela were all part of the Venezuelan national team roster that won the World Baseball Classic title in March after defeating a U.S. team packed with superstars.

On the other side is Víctor Mesa Jr., a young Cuban outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays. Before playing in his first World Series, Mesa reflected on his youth in Cuba, noting that faith is not a value that is typically instilled there.

“Since I arrived here I believe more. If I am here, it’s for a reason, I have always said that. That is one of my favorite sayings: Everything happens for a reason and thank God because look what more beautiful reason is this,” he commented.

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

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a public comment on Oct. 22 to the Commerce Department, which houses the Census Bureau, asking it to entirely withdraw the proposed changes, which the bishops say “conflict with our fundamental belief in the equal dignity of every person, the obligations of a just society, and legal precedent.”

The bishops compared the proposal to the Three-Fifths Compromise, calling to mind a constitutional provision rooted in slavery that was later changed and counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for purposes of congressional representation. They pointed to potential harm to federally funded healthcare, anti-poverty, family support, and infrastructure programs if millions of people are excluded from the census count.

The proposed rule changes, published Sept. 10 and open to public comment until Nov. 2, would count only citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs) for apportionment, with the bureau stating that “illegal aliens (among others) should not be included in the apportionment count, as they are not true inhabitants, members of the body politic, or persons with a ‘usual residence’ in the United States due to their lack of a sufficient tie and allegiance to the United States.”

“Excluding from the census noncitizens without LPR status, including but not limited to members of the undocumented population, is effectively to deny they are ‘persons,’” the letter said.

The bishops called this change a “novel view,” challenging the Census Bureau’s interpretation of “usual residence,” which it says would generally be the place where a person lawfully spent the greatest number of days from Jan. 3 to April 1, consistent with tax records. The letter also notes some drafting ambiguity in the proposal about whether non-LPRs would be excluded from the census entirely or only from the apportionment base.

The bishops say relying on tax records without a clear methodology will be statistically impractical and risks inaccuracy, arguing that additional questions or new practices will become necessary to determine whether a person’s “usual residence” conforms with their legal immigration status. They cite research findings published by the U.S. Census Bureau showing “an adverse effect on response rate” when immigration status and citizenship questions are scrutinized.

They noted that every census since it began in 1790 has counted noncitizens, including those without permanent legal status.

The bishops also wrote that in addition to its primary purpose of determining the number of seats allotted to each state in the U.S. House of Representatives, which is determined by population, the census, mandated by the U.S. Constitution, produces data used to apportion federal funds to communities.

An undercount could severely harm the common good, the bishops argue, as programs that receive trillions in federal funding to provide healthcare, reduce poverty, support families, and provide crucial infrastructure utilized by all citizens will be impacted through excluding millions of persons from the apportionment count.

They note that Catholic ministries, which often operate at the government’s request to help implement programs guided by census data, would be hindered in their service to vulnerable populations if communities lose access to resources and if the data needed to understand local needs is less accurate.

The Census Bureau in the proposed rule change is also seeking to prohibit demographic questions concerning race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation on questionnaires used to count the population, supporting the change by citing privacy concerns, saying certain questions may make individuals more identifiable, and noting that fewer questions on the census questionnaire will increase the response rate. The bureau also argues such questions do not advance the core constitutional purpose of a census for apportionment of House seats.

The bishops suggest including a “prefer not to disclose” option rather than removing questions about race and ethnicity altogether, writing that “demographic data can help identify and address inequity” due to racism. They note that the bureau “does not even attempt to address how the proposed restrictions on the collection of demographic information could adversely impact” the support various communities receive based on their particular community’s needs, which demographic data collected on the census helps determine.

The U.S. Census Bureau did not immediately respond to EWTN News’ request for comment.

In an Oct. 23 statement, the USCCB noted that the award was announced by Bishop Óscar Cantú of San José, California, chair of the USCCB’s Subcommittee on Hispanic/Latino Affairs, during the 2026 annual conference of the National Catholic Association of Diocesan Directors for Hispanic Ministry.

The conference, held Oct. 20–23 in Anaheim, California, brought together hundreds of leaders in Hispanic ministry from dioceses across the United States.

According to the statement, Cantú noted that Gomez “has advocated for the Hispanic community for decades. He has been a tireless champion for the Catholic Church and specifically for Hispanic Catholics, highlighting the gifts that they bring to the Church in the United States.”

“With the Encuentros Award, we wish to recognize his work and express our heartfelt appreciation for everything he has done across many years,” Cantú stated.

Gomez will receive the Encuentros Award during the U.S. bishops’ plenary assembly in November, which will take place in Baltimore.

The life of Archbishop José H. Gomez

Born in Monterrey in Nuevo León state in Mexico on Dec. 26, 1951, Gomez has three older sisters and one younger sister. His parents are Dr. José H. Gomez and Esperanza Velasco, according to a biography published by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

He was ordained a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei on Aug. 15, 1978, at the Shrine of Torreciudad in Spain.

Having studied accounting, philosophy, and theology, he earned a doctorate in theology from the University of Navarra in Spain.

He subsequently served as a priest in the Archdiocese of San Antonio and in what is now the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

In 2001, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Denver by Pope John Paul II. Four years later, again by the decision of the Polish saint, he became the archbishop of San Antonio.

In 2010, he was appointed coadjutor archbishop of Los Angeles by Pope Benedict XVI and installed as archbishop in March 2011.

He served as president of the USCCB from 2019 to 2022, becoming the first Hispanic and the first immigrant to assume leadership of the U.S. episcopate. Gomez is a naturalized American citizen.

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

Vance, who is widely considered to be a frontrunner for the 2028 Republican nomination, told Arroyo on the latter’s “Arroyo Grande” podcast on Oct. 21 that he was not thinking intensively about the prospect of a presidential race amid the contentious 2026 midterms.

“As soon as the midterms are over … Iʼm going to have to think seriously about it,” Vance said. He noted that he and his wife have four small children “and that’s a consideration.”

Asked by Arroyo if he felt God calling him to mount a presidential run, he responded: “I feel God calling me to do as good of a job as I can.”

“I feel God calling me to try to promote the common good and the job that Iʼm doing right now,” he said. “And I think that when I actually sit down with my wife and with my pastor and with just my own internal deliberation — I think at that point Iʼll either hear God telling me to do something or to not do something.”

“I havenʼt felt God telling me Iʼve got to do one thing or another,” he said, though he admitted: “Maybe that’ll change.”

The vice president and Arroyo spoke in a wide-ranging interview that focused on politics, family, faith, and other issues. Vance said during the exchange that his faith “influences how [he thinks] about public policy.”

“I think that what my faith calls me to do is to be more charitable towards people,” he said. “It forces me to ask questions: ‘How can we raise up the least among us? How do we ensure that people have good access to jobs, even if it isnʼt always the perfect thing for a corporate bottom line?’

“It also tells me to protect the weak and the vulnerable — of course, I think starting with the unborn, but a lot of other people on top of that,” he continued.

“So I do think that while Iʼm an imperfect practitioner of my faith, I think the very best version of myself is that which listens to that voice in my head that I think ultimately comes from God.”

Asked by Arroyo about his “greatest regret,” Vance said: “Not having kids sooner.”

Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance were married in 2014 and welcomed their first child in 2017. “I had been dating Usha for three weeks, I knew I wanted to marry her, I knew I wanted to have kids with her, and we should have just started sooner,” he said.

“I always tell young couples, you always think youʼre going to check all these boxes and finances are going to be perfect, and then youʼre going to have kids,” he said. “Nobody looks back on their life and says, ‘I had two kids too early.’”

On Oct. 22, the White House posted a video that showed Denver Archbishop James Golka leading a prayer with Trump, surrounded by about a dozen other bishops, who stood beside the president’s spiritual adviser Paula White-Cain and White House Faith Office Director Jennifer Korn.

The video was shared by Margo Martin, a White House communications adviser, with no news release to accompany it, nor any description of what was discussed. Golka shared the video on archdiocesan social media and clarified it was not a political endorsement.

Bishops who attended the meeting and the prayer have stated they were invited by the White House Faith Office to discuss issues of importance to Catholics: the right to life, the dignity of migrants, religious liberty, and school choice. Several have echoed Golka, emphasizing the meeting and prayer was not a political endorsement, while two have expressed regret for going.

On Oct. 25, Milwaukee Archbishop Jeffrey Grob issued a “public apology” for any confusion the video caused, saying he did not know it would be shared publicly and it was not meant to be an endorsement of the president.

A second bishop — Des Moines, Iowa, Bishop William Joensen — also emphasized that it was not an endorsement and conveyed regret over the video being used for political purposes.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) had no role in the meeting.

‘Exploited’ for politics

On Oct. 24, two days after the meeting, Joensen issued a statement saying: “I would have done well to be more mindful of Jesus’ admonition [in the Gospel of Matthew]: ‘Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.’”

“I wish I had been more shrewd and less simple, like those who exploited our meeting for partisan political purposes,” Joensen said. “I pray I am more prudent and wise going forward, even as I remain resolute in my openness to engaging and praying for political leaders at all levels.”

Joensen did not say who he was accusing of exploiting the meeting, and a spokesperson for the diocese did not respond to a request for clarification from EWTN News.

In his statement, Joensen said he was invited by officials associated with the Faith Office to talk about a variety of issues: immigration, the exploitation of the poor, visas for international clergy, advancement of a culture of life as an alternative to abortion, and support for private education.

“There was also a concluding opportunity to pray for and with our president, that God would guide his heart and impel him to lead in a way consistent with the dignity of his office,” he said.

Joensen said “there are many things” linked to the administration “at odds with our Catholic faith.” Yet, he said he attended to “have a conversation” and was informed officials “would be interested in hearing our perspective.”

When reached by EWTN News for comment, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a statement: “There has never been a greater president for Catholic Americans than President Trump, and his strong record proves it.”

“He stopped the weaponization of the federal government against Christians, proudly defended and expanded our religious rights, pardoned pro-life activists, stopped the chemical mutilation of our nation’s children, and protected parents’ rights,” Rogers said but did not respond to a follow-up request for a response to the comments made by Joensen and Grob.

Explanations by other bishops

In addition to Golka, Grob, and Joensen, a few other bishops have issued statements about the reasons they met and prayed with Trump in the Oval Office and what they talked about with administration officials.

The Diocese of Rapid City, South Dakota, provided a statement to EWTN News on behalf of Bishop Scott Bullock, which said the delegation discussed Catholic priorities: abortion, school choice, and the ethical implications of in vitro fertilization (IVF).

According to the diocesan statement, the bishops’ prayer over Trump is not an “endorsement” but is rather based in Scripture and following the instruction of St. Paul, who said “supplications, prayers, petitions and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity.”

“We went there and we prayed, and we asked the Lord to instill our leaders with wisdom and also to help them remain humble,” Bullock said.

A spokesperson for Diocese of Gallup, New Mexico’s Bishop James Wall told EWTN News that “Bishop Wall does want to express that he would accept a meeting with any politician, if invited, to discuss important church matters, regardless of the time of year and the political party, and that he offers prayers for all who hold political office, that they lead with integrity and not division.”

The office of Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Naumann, who led the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, before retirement, also released a statement indicating that during the meeting the prelate voiced concerns about chemical abortion and IVF while advocating for pro-life reproductive healthcare. He also discussed religious liberty, immigration, school choice, and protecting children from pornography.

According to the statement, Trump expressed gratitude to the bishops “for prayers asking God to bless and guide the president, his staff and the nation.” The archbishop’s office emphasized this was not an endorsement and that the bishops “were assured that no photographs would be made public.”

“They came to have a discussion on important policy matters,” the statement indicated. “As Catholic bishops, they pray with everyone, but do not endorse candidates or political parties.”

The following bishops also attended the meeting, according to the White House: Bishop Edward Burns of the Diocese of Dallas; Bishop Steven Raica of the Diocese of Birmingham, Alabama; Bishop Thomas Hennen of the Diocese of Baker, Oregon; Bishop Michael Barber of the Diocese of Oakland, California; Bishop Francis Kalabat of the Chaldean Catholic Church; and Bishop Elias Zaidan of the Maronite Catholic Church.

Bishop Jesús Rodríguez of Palm Beach, Florida — who did not attend the meeting — opined on the matter on X, saying any action perceived as a political endorsement by a member of the Church hierarchy “must not be construed as representing the official position of the Catholic Church.”

The meeting was also attended by Mario Enzler of the Heritage Foundation, though the Heritage Foundation has stated it did not organize it.

The settlement, first announced in May, required unanimous agreement of all 1,300 victims, which has been established, attorneys for hundreds of victims said on Oct. 24.

The agreement comes after years of litigation following New York’s 2019 passage of the New York Child Victims’ Act, which permanently extended the civil statute of limitations so victims of childhood sexual abuse can file claims until age 55 and opened a temporary revival window (extended through August 2021) that allowed previously time-barred claims to be filed by victims of any age.

The settlement also requires the archdiocese to maintain and update a list of credibly accused clergy on its website, attorneys said.

The archdiocese and a plaintiffs’ liaison committee, composed of attorneys from eight law firms representing the majority of claimants, negotiated for months to arrive at the agreement.

Archbishop Ronald Hicks called the news of the settlement “encouraging” in an Oct. 24 letter to priests provided to EWTN News by the archdiocese.

“We are on the verge of being able to, please God, bring some measure of healing and reconciliation to all victim-survivors,” Hicks wrote. “This agreement will also allow the archdiocese to turn its full attention once again to its mission of preaching the Gospel, healing the sick, caring for the poor and needy, welcoming the stranger, and educating our children.”

He instructed priests to assure their parishioners that parish life “should continue uninterrupted” if asked about the settlement, saying they will be informed through a message when the deal is finalized. The settlement agreement is scheduled to be signed Nov. 6.

In his letter to priests, Hicks thanked Cardinal Timothy Dolan, “under whose leadership the process began.”

The settlement amount is the second highest in history, near the record $880 million the Archdiocese of Los Angeles paid in 2024 and half a billion dollars higher than the $300 million settlement Dolan announced in December 2025.

Dolan said at the time that the archdiocese had made “a series of very difficult financial decisions” to help fund the then-$300 million settlement, including staff layoffs, a 10% reduction in the archdioceseʼs operating budget, and the sale of real estate holdings, including the $100 million sale of the former diocesan headquarters in Manhattan.

The settlement allows the Archdiocese of New York to avoid filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Along with the Diocese of Brooklyn, it is one of only two of New York’s eight Catholic dioceses that have not sought bankruptcy protection.

The archdiocese confirmed to EWTN News that is is still engaged in litigation with its longtime insurer Chubb, which it sued in 2024, claiming the company was “attempting to evade their legal and moral contractual obligation” to pay out claims to sex-abuse victims.

"Despite accepting millions in premiums from the archdiocese, Chubb has steadfastly refused to honor the policies it issued,” Dolan said in December 2025.

Grob said that over the last few days, he had “received many questions and comments about the October 22 meeting I and 11 other bishops attended at the White House, which was soon thereafter publicized by the administration without the consent of the participants.”

He went on to say that his “intention was never to cause confusion, anger, or disappointment among the people entrusted to my care” and that he issued the Oct. 25 statement to provide context for the meeting.

The meeting “was in no way an endorsement of the president, his policies, or his party,” Grob said.

Last month, Grob explained, he was invited along with other bishops to a meeting to discuss “matters of importance to the Church and our people, including immigration enforcement, religious worker visas, and human dignity.” The meeting was the second of two such gatherings organized by the Heritage Foundation, he said.

“We were told the meeting was to be a private discussion, that several Catholic members of the cabinet might make an appearance, and that there could be an opportunity to pray privately with the president,” he continued.

After about an hour and a half of meeting on Oct. 22 with White House staff and policy advisers, the archbishop said, the group entered the Oval Office, where they were greeted by President Donald Trump. After being presented with commemorative tokens, Grob said, the group was directed to stand behind the president to pray, and photos were taken afterward.

“Unbeknownst to the group of bishops a video was also taken. But permission for the public distribution or posting of either the video or photos was not given by the bishops,” Grob said in his statement. Not long after, photos and the video of the prayer were posted online.

“I soon began receiving messages of serious concern over the possibility that I had inadvertently participated in a political event less than two weeks before a national election,” Grob said. “I also heard from some who felt wounded because of the ways they or their family had been harmed by the president’s policies.”

“I feel a heavy sadness, not only over the pain I caused, but also for the fact that something so sacred to a group of religious leaders, prayer to our Heavenly Father, would be manipulated in that way,” he continued. “We came in good faith to try to work for the betterment of our fellow human beings, to ease their suffering, to build up the common good, and to pray with a president, not to pose for a political photo opportunity to benefit the few. We should never have been put in that position by the White House.”

Grob concluded his statement by saying that he did not go to the meeting “without reservations” and that he wished he “had heeded them.”

“I apologize for any damage my actions have done,” he said.

EWTN News reached out to the White House for comment regarding Grob’s assertion that the photos and video were shared without the bishops’ consent and received the following response from White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers: “There has never been a greater president for Catholic Americans than President Trump, and his strong record proves it: he stopped the weaponization of the federal government against Christians, proudly defended and expanded our religious rights, pardoned pro-life activists, stopped the chemical mutilation of our nation’s children, and protected parents’ rights.”

Grob’s statement comes after another participant at the Oct. 22 meeting, Denver Archbishop James Golka, who led the prayer in the Oval Office, defended his participation in the event.

Golka said he “knew people might be upset” at the event and that it could be "use[d] for political purposes.”

“But as I prayed about it, I thought that this is what Catholics do. We pray for people. No matter whether we agree or disagree on anything, we always pray for our country and leaders,” he said in remarks to the Denver Catholic on Oct. 23.

Golka, like Grob, also denied that the meeting was in any way an endorsement of the president or his policies.

“The bishops of the United States teach that the Church cannot champion any candidate or party,” Golka said. “I hold to that. However you vote, you ultimately belong to Jesus who loves you infinitely more than you can imagine.”

This story was updated at 5:22 p.m. ET on Oct. 25, 2026, with the White House statement.

The conference brought together dozens of diocesan directors and leaders of Hispanic and Latino ministry from various parts of the United States. Conference speakers included Bishop Óscar Cantú of San José, California; Bishop Mario Alberto Avilés, CO, of Corpus Christi, Texas; and Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, MSpS, auxiliary bishop of Seattle.

Monsignor Eduardo Chávez of the Archdiocese of Mexico City, considered the foremost expert on the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe, spoke to the gathering on “The Truth of Guadalupe,” which is also the title of his book on the subject.

“It has been a moment of such joy and spirituality, of such devotion and emotion, to go on discovering who Holy Mary of Guadalupe and her humble messenger, St. Juan Diego, are during this encounter,” Chávez told EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

“The Virgin of Guadalupe, through St. Juan Diego, helps us open our hearts to the presence of Christ the King, the love of God, which our people need so much,” emphasized Chávez, who also served as the postulator for the canonization cause of St. Juan Diego, the visionary of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The meeting with the leaders of U.S. Hispanic pastoral ministry, he noted, “has been the best way to prepare ourselves for the 500th anniversary of the apparitions of Holy Mary of Guadalupe, which help us prepare for the Jubilee of the Redemption in 2033.”

“There are not enough words to thank God and His Most Holy Mother, our Mother, Holy Mary of Guadalupe,” he said.

Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to the Indigenous man St. Juan Diego at the foot of Tepeyac Hill, north of Mexico City, Dec. 9–12, 1531. There she asked him to intercede with the then-bishop of Mexico, Friar Juan de Zumárraga, so that a “sacred little house” might be built in her honor.

As proof of the authenticity of the apparitions, the Virgin asked Juan Diego to gather some roses that had bloomed on Tepeyac and place them in his tilma (a type of cloak or cape). When he unfolded the cloth before the bishop, the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe was found to be miraculously imprinted upon it.

To this day, nearly 500 years later, the tilma of St. Juan Diego is preserved in the Guadalupe Basilica at the foot of Tepeyac.

Our Lady of Guadalupe ‘leads us to Jesus’

Chávez emphasized that the Virgin “leads us to Jesus” and that, as one examines the event of Guadalupe, “there are no longer any walls or divisions — not only physical ones, but also those related to language, culture, or traditions — because she makes us brothers and sisters to one another, something that all our peoples need so much.”

Our Lady of Guadalupe, he recalled, “is the mother of humanity. She said as much to Juan Diego: ‘I am your mother, the mother of all those who dwell in this land, and of all the various ancestries and nations; the mother of those who love me, who seek me, who cry out to me, and who place their trust in me.’”

Chávez was recently appointed by Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes as the representative of the Primatial Archdiocese of Mexico for the preparation and celebrations of the fifth centenary of the apparitions of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

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

Golka, who was installed in the Denver Archdiocese in March after serving as the bishop of Colorado Springs for several years, led a prayer during an Oct. 22 meeting at the Oval Office between Trump and several U.S. bishops.

During the gathering the archbishop in part prayed for the Holy Spirit to “surround our country, to protect us against any influence of evil.”

The prayer event generated some backlash for what critics have argued was a politically motivated photo opportunity on the part of the White House. Golka this week said he “knew people might be upset” at the event and that it could be "use[d] for political purposes.”

“But as I prayed about it, I thought that this is what Catholics do. We pray for people. No matter whether we agree or disagree on anything, we always pray for our country and leaders,” he said in remarks to the Denver Catholic.

Golka said during the meeting he articulated Church teachings to the president. “As Catholics, we’re called to share our faith in season and out of season and to witness to the dignity of every human person,” he told the Denver Catholic.

He denied that the event, including video of the prayer shared on social media, constituted an “endorsement” of the president. “That was never my intention,” he said.

“The bishops of the United States teach that the Church cannot champion any candidate or party,” he said. “I hold to that. However you vote, you ultimately belong to Jesus who loves you infinitely more than you can imagine.”

The archbishop said he has received criticism from friends about the decision and that he has responded by telling them: “I was being a Catholic priest.”

He described himself as “heartbroken” at the anger over the event. He urged Christians to “look beyond the headlines, which are often crafted to provoke, towards the full truth.”

“I will keep praying for our president, our governor and everyone who serves in public office, regardless of their party or position on divisive topics,” he said.

The Archdiocese of Denver said after the event that praying for public leaders “is a long Catholic practice” that dates back to Apostolic Age.

The tour, titled “Feminists Lied: Prove Me Wrong,” features Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins. It began on Oct. 20 to challenge the view that feminism and a legal right to abortion have helped women rather than hurt them.

“For decades, young women were told that career success, a degree, and independence were the keys to happiness, and that abortion was the price of equality,” Hawkins, who is Catholic, said in a statement.

“Many Millennial women now ask whether those promises delivered, and Gen Z deserves to hear that conversation before they make the same choices,” she said. “Motherhood is not a weakness to be overcome. If equality requires a woman to end her pregnancy to succeed, then we haven’t liberated her at all. We’ve just handed her a different burden and called it freedom.”

The tour includes visits to eight campuses: the University of North Texas, Grand Valley State University, the University of Cincinnati, Boise State University, the University of New Mexico, the University of Arizona, Southern Oregon University, and the University of Washington.

Following the first event at the University of North Texas, Hawkins posted on X that her pro-life tour is intended to be in line with “Charlie’s legacy,” referencing Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated on Sept. 10, 2025, during a college speaking and debating tour.

Kirk, who was a conservative activist, frequently challenged abortion and encouraged young people to start families. He was an evangelical Christian who often blended political activism with evangelism.

CatholicVote reaches Hispanics on Virginia abortion initiative

The conservative organization CatholicVote has teamed up with Eduardo Verástegui — a Mexican actor and star in “Sound of Freedom” — to reach Hispanic voters in Virginia and encourage them to vote against a referendum that would enshrine a right to abortion in the state constitution.

The advertisement, in Spanish, informs voters of the “very important” referendum and notes that the state’s bishops have spoken with clarity against the proposal. The bishops of both dioceses in the state have said Catholics have a “sacred duty” to vote no.

Verástegui also highlighted the bishops’ opposition to a separate ballot initiative to enshrine same-sex marriage in the state constitution.

English archbishop voices concern over euthanasia law in Isle of Man

Archbishop John Sherrington of Liverpool, England, expressed sadness that an "assisted dying” bill will become law on the Isle of Man, which is a self-governing Crown Dependency of the British Crown.

“The Catholic Church continues to teach that life is a most precious gift of God and that we are stewards entrusted with this gift to protect it, treat illness, and care for the good of life,” said Sherrington, whose jurisdiction includes the Isle of Man.

“As such, a person should never intentionally end his or her life,” he said. “Catholic teaching, shared by many Christians and others of goodwill, proposes a different approach from that which has been passed into law by the Tynwald.”

The law will allow people who are terminally ill to receive physician-assisted suicide.

Arizona man wins lawsuit against abortion clinic

An Arizona man named Mario Villegas won a lawsuit against the Phoenix-based abortion clinic Camelback Family Planning after a court found that the clinic failed to follow the state’s informed consent law when his then-wife was prescribed chemical abortion drugs.

Villegas was awarded $5,000 in statutory damages and $62,500 in compensatory damages for his psychological, emotional, and physical injuries. He had argued in court that the clinic did not adequately inform his wife, from whom he is now divorced, about the development of the unborn child, risks associated with abortion, and possible alternatives.

In awarding Villegas damages, the court outlined that he was unable to properly function, eat, or sleep after his wife decided she wanted an abortion. The court highlighted his statements about feeling guilty after the abortion, saying: "[M]y baby was no longer living, and [I was wondering], ‘was there anything else I could have [done] to change the outcome?’”

The court noted that he had spoken about his grief, with him expressing his “feeling of loss” and saying, “I lost an opportunity to have somebody in my life.”

Villegas carries the ultrasound photo of his unborn child everywhere he goes, according to the court.

The observance marks the Oct. 27, 1998, signing of the International Religious Freedom Act by President Bill Clinton.

Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, bishop of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles, and Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon, said in a joint statement that “millions of people continue to suffer violations of the basic human right to religious freedom, and rapidly developing technological tools, such as artificial intelligence, have the potential to expand such abuses, increasing the scope of surveillance and persecution of religious groups.”

“In this era of technological change, all of society—including the private sector—is called to work together to ensure that technological tools are not used to facilitate new and intensified forms of religious discrimination,” the statement said.

Zaidan chairs the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, and Sample chairs the Committee for Religious Liberty.

The bishops noted Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas said the “right to religious freedom is rooted in human dignity, providing ‘decisive criteria’ for protecting individuals and societies. As brother bishops, we affirm that, in the age of AI, human dignity remains at the heart of defending religious freedom.”

Zaidan and Sample pointed to the bishops' conferenceʼs collaboration with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom as an example of how government and faith leaders can work together to address religious freedom violations worldwide.

“This partnership is a testament to the power of joint efforts by government and faith leaders to protect this most cherished right,” the bishops said.

“In this 250th year commemorating American independence, may the Sacred Heart of Jesus, burning with love for all of humanity, make us beacons of hope for our brothers and sisters through the world by defending religious freedom in the digital age,” the bishops said.

Barron received the Josef Pieper Prize in Münster in July 2025, a decision that generated protests from Catholic groups and political organizations. The protesters criticized the bishop as promoting “exclusionary identity politics,” among other allegations.

The German news website katholisch.de reported on Oct. 21 that Barron’s 2025 receipt of the award was “still having repercussions.” It cited the Josef Pieper Foundation as reportedly having “acknowledged mistakes” in how it handled the controversy; the foundation is also reportedly developing a conference “on Barron and his theology.”

In a statement posted to X on Oct. 22, Barron quipped: “Gosh, I’d love to attend this debate. But I’m pretty sure I have a MAGA rally to attend that night…”

“If you have any doubt that the German Catholic academy has fallen into clownish irrelevance, look no further than this inane and ginned-up ‘controversy,’” the Chicago-born prelate wrote.

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He critically dismissed the “protest” over his receipt of the award as having consisted of “25 desultory septuaginarians holding signs and a statement from the theological faculty of the University of Munster.”

He described that faculty statement as “an undergraduate level of sophistication … which betrayed not the slightest indication of any familiarity with my work.”

The bishop, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Oct. 23 via a spokesman, further suggested that the German foundation’s namesake Josef Pieper was “turning in his grave” over the controversy. The foundation also did not immediately respond to a request for comment from EWTN News.

The Josef Pieper Prize honors the legacy of the German Catholic philosopher (1904–1997), who was renowned for his accessible writings on Thomistic philosophy and his insights into leisure, contemplation, and the relationship between faith and reason.

Amid the July 2025 controversy, Bishop Stefan Oster of Passau in Bavaria delivered a defense of Barron while sharply condemning what the Bavarian bishop called “beige Catholicism” in Germany.

The country has been home to “a mostly well-financed Catholicism of appeasement,” he argued, which “has essentially lost its spiritual power and attraction.”

The Catholic Church has not issued a definitive judgment that embryo adoption is morally licit. The issue remains debated among Catholic theologians. In the 2008 Vatican document Dignitas Personae, the Church affirmed the dignity and rights of frozen embryos and expressed reservations about proposals for prenatal adoption.

John Haas, president emeritus of the National Catholic Bioethics Center, argued that embryo adoption is morally illicit as it requires the artificial transfer of a frozen embryo into the womb of a woman who is unrelated to the unborn child — a practice he said both violates the Church’s teachings about sexual ethics in marriage and deliberately endangers the lives of embryos in the thawing process.

Haas further argued that the only moral solution to the question of what to do with frozen embryos is to keep them frozen, as bringing them to life or disposing of them in any way would always be considered illicit. To support this claim, he cited the 1987 Vatican document Donum Vitae, which states: “In consequence of the fact that they have been produced in vitro, those embryos which art not transferred into the body of the mother and are called ‘spare’ are exposed to an absurd fate, with no possibility of their being offered safe means of survival which can be licitly pursued.”

Organized by the pro-life organization Defend Life, the event took place after a Mass in honor of St. John Paul II and was livestreamed on the organization’s website.

Elizabeth Rex, an associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, argued in favor of embryo adoption, saying that neither the Vatican nor the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) have “ever formally ruled against embryo transfer or embryo adoption.”

While acknowledging the Church’s teaching that in vitro fertilization (IVF) is immoral, Rex argued that the process of IVF and the transfer of the embryo into a mother’s womb should not be separated.

“They go together. You donʼt do IVF just to leave [the embryo] in the petri dish or put it in the freezer. That would be an abortion,” she said. “The baby would die. So, the baby now has been conceived, and it needs to be transferred into the womb. Itʼs a person. Itʼs a child. Itʼs a patient, and it needs medical assistance. And that is what the Church teaches there.”

Haas countered Rex’s argument that the Church has not ruled out embryo adoption, saying: “The only statement from the magisterium of the Church that has fueled this debate is one half of one sentence from Dignitas Personae that the supporters of embryo adoption often donʼt bother to finish when they quote it.”

The paragraph he cited in the document states: “It has also been proposed, solely in order to allow human beings to be born who are otherwise condemned to destruction, that there could be a form of ‘prenatal adoption.’ This proposal, praiseworthy with regard to the intention of respecting and defending human life, presents however various problems not dissimilar to those mentioned above. All things considered, it needs to be recognized that the thousands of abandoned embryos represent a situation of injustice which in fact cannot be resolved.”

Haas argued that the ends do not justify the means with regard to embryo adoption and that the Holy See has not made “a single statement on behalf of embryo adoption.”

The Lilly Endowment told EWTN News that archdioceses and church-related networks that minister to students on multiple college and university campuses are eligible to apply for grants through the initiative.

According to the grant page, the Lilly Endowment “intends to award grants of up to $7.5 million each to approximately 20 national and regional charitable organizations.”

Matt Zerrusen, Newman Ministry co-founder and chief innovative discipleship officer, told EWTN News that Newman Ministry is in the process of applying for the grant now.

“We’re grateful for the opportunity,” Zerrusen said. “There’s not many times where something like this opens up in campus ministry just because it’s been an overlooked part of ministry in the Church.”

Zerrusen expressed hope that other Catholic campus ministries like FOCUS, Saint Paul’s Outreach, and the Catholic Campus Ministry Association would apply for the program as well, calling for ministry organizations to unify their efforts.

“There’s so much competition in the Catholic world that itʼs like, ‘Well, hang on here. What are we doing?’” he said. “Weʼre both trying to solve the same problem.”

Pope Leo XIV appoints Catholic University of America professor to pontifical academy

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Gregory Doolan, the Monsignor John F. Wippel chair in Thomistic metaphysics at The Catholic University of America (CUA), to serve on the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas.

“It is a great honor to have been named to the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas,” Doolan said in a CUA press release on Oct. 16. “The Academy brings together philosophers and theologians from around the world in conversation about Aquinas, and I am grateful for the opportunity both to learn from its members and to contribute my own work in Thomistic metaphysics, showing its enduring relevance in the 21st century.”

“My appointment by Pope Leo XIV has a fitting connection to The Catholic University of America, since another Leo, Leo XIII, founded the Academy in 1879 and also granted Catholic University its pontifical charter just a decade later,” he said.

St. Carlos Acutis’ mother gifts Franciscan University with first-class relic of her son

The mother of St. Carlo Acutis, Antonia Salzano, has given the president of Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, a first-class relic of her son.

“Weʼre deeply grateful to Antonia for this extraordinary gift and for sharing her sonʼs witness with the Franciscan University community,” the university said in an Oct. 15 social media post announcing the gift to Father Dave Pivonka, TOR. The university said Salzano shared a message with the university: “Holiness is for everyone.”

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“Carlo became a saint not because he lived an extraordinary life by the worldʼs standards, but because he made Jesus the center of his ordinary life,” the university said. “His secret? The Eucharist. His motherʼs advice? Start small. Make time for prayer. Receive Jesus in the Eucharist. Love the people around you. And remember that you, too, are called to become a saint.”

Archbishop Sample urges ‘significant renewal of Catholic education’ in Portland, Oregon

Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon, is calling for the revitalization of “mission passionate Catholic education” in his archdiocese.

“Would we call a Spanish-language immersion school successful if its graduates could barely understand Spanish?” Sample wrote in an Oct. 15 social media post. “We should take the mission of our Catholic schools just as seriously. Academic excellence matters. So does forming students who know Jesus Christ and can understand, articulate and live the faith.”

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“Therefore, I am calling for a significant and genuine renewal of Catholic education in the Archdiocese of Portland, beginning in our Catholic elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools and eventually extending to the religious education and faith formation programs in our parishes,” he said.

Sample’s message comes as part of a wider mission renewal initiative in the archdiocese announced on Oct. 1.

The Society of Catholic Social Scientists (SCSS), founded in 1992 by political scientist Stephen M. Krason, will hold its 34th National Meeting on Oct. 23–24 at John Carroll University, located in University Heights, Ohio, a suburb east of Cleveland.

Ahead of the conference, Krason — professor emeritus of political science at Franciscan University of Steubenville — told EWTN News a primary goal of SCSS is to “bring Catholic teaching and a Catholic understanding and a Catholic worldview to the work they do in their disciplines.”

Conference talks will include discussions on hot-button issues such as artificial intelligence (AI), immigration policy, just war doctrine, and euthanasia. There are also discussions about Catholic history in the United States, in conjunction with the 250th anniversary of the founders signing the Declaration of Independence.

According to SCSS’ website, the organization seeks to follow St. John XXIII’s instruction in his encyclical Mater et Magistra for Christians to “conform their behavior in economic and social affairs to the teachings of the Church.”

Krason said SCSS reaches out to members ahead of the conference for proposals on papers, which constitute the subject of the talk and are often submitted to SCSS’ scholarly journal, the Catholic Social Science Review (CSSR).

To be a full member, Krason said, “you have to sign a profession of faith [that] you accept the Church’s teachings” and noted that people come to the organization “looking for a solid orthodox Catholic organization.” Before the talks, papers are reviewed to ensure faithfulness to Catholic teaching, though he said this is typically not an issue for members.

Krason said most presenters are SCSS members, but sometimes a few are not. He said SCSS also accepts associate members who are not Catholic. They also accept student members who are working toward their master’s degrees.

The organization, which states that its programs are designed to reflect views “compatible with Catholic orthodoxy,” welcomes scholars from various social sciences, including political science, economics, history, psychology, sociology, counseling, and law, among others.

Upcoming conference

Scholars will discuss a broad range of topics. Krason noted that topics are decided based on the submissions, but the conference is not built around specific themes.

One topic is Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, which focuses on AI and other elements of Catholic social teaching. The talks will discuss concerns about human dignity, along with an Augustinian approach to concerns about transhumanism — a movement to blend humanity and machine.

The conference includes talks about immigration, in light of President Donald Trump’s policy of mass deportations. This includes discussions about balancing national sovereignty and human dignity and the social impact of migration.

Other talks delve into political theory and the subjects of natural law and labor, as well as a Thomistic analysis of usury and modern banking. A few talks are focused on the American South, including one about the principle of subsidiarity in Catholic social teaching and the political theory of John C. Calhoun, who favored strong decentralization of government.

There are talks on just war doctrine, one of which looks into the approaches of various popes in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The organization will also give out the Blessed Frederic Ozanam Award for Catholic Social Action, which will be received by Clark Massey, founder of A Simple House, which is a missionary organization.

Another award, the Pope Pius XI Award for Contributions Toward the Building Up of a True Catholic Social Science, will be given to Notre Dame political scientist and author Patrick J. Deneen.

Deneen told EWTN News he’s “honored to receive” the award and “grateful for the existence and work of the SCSS in fostering and advancing a true science of social phenomena.”

“Those who work in the largely disfavored school of Catholic social science understand that its object of study is neither the determined and unfree entities studied by natural science, nor the infinitely malleable substances that modern technology claims to command, but creatures — men and women — who are simultaneously free and subject to natural laws not of our making,” Deneen said.

“A true social science recognizes that we are most free when we acknowledge and follow those laws within even the wide boundaries they establish,” he said. “How much healthier our society would be if more of our social science began with these premises, and suffused our social and political order with its findings.”

Vance spoke with Arroyo in a wide-ranging interview that included politics, immigration, economics, and faith.

The vice president has been especially forthcoming about his own faith journey, one which began in Appalachian Protestant churches and eventually led him to the Catholic Church. He attended Christian churches while growing up but was drawn to what in June he described as the “beautiful ancient Church” of Catholicism.

Speaking with Arroyo, Vance described a religious experience in which he was driving on mountain roads back from his grandmother’s funeral and nearly drove off the road.

“And just like right at that point where Iʼm like, all right, Iʼm about to go over the side of the mountain, the car just comes to a completely restful stop,” he said. “Like God put his hand on that car and made it stop.”

The experience “gnawed at me,” Vance said, describing the event as “a door opening.”

“[W]e are ultimately Godʼs ambassadors here on Earth,” he said, describing what he said is the “powerful” witness of Christians “doing good things.”

Arroyo and Vance discussed several other topics in the interview, including the ongoing civil unrest and rioting in France.

“I donʼt think you can talk about whatʼs happening in France without acknowledging the role of migration,” Vance said. “Because in the neighborhoods where you see the most significant violence, the most significant outburst, the burning of these beautiful historical buildings — you often have neighborhoods with extremely high immigrant populations.”

Western societies “want to be welcoming to people,” the vice president said. But “when we allow someone into our country, are they culturally compatible? Are they willing to assimilate into Western values and Western society?”

Asked about Church leadership on immigration issues, Vance — who has publicly disagreed with the U.S. bishops on some aspects of the immigration debate — said he would “never accuse the Church of being naive.”

The Church “will say two things that I fundamentally believe in and agree with, but I think 90% of people agree with, which is: One, you must be welcoming towards a stranger. On the other hand, nations are allowed to control their borders.”

As Vance sees it, the Church leadership in the U.S. has “missed an opportunity” to strike a balance on immigration in an age of high migration. He noted that the airplane is “less than 100 years old” and that rapid large-scale immigration is “a very new phenomenon.”

“I do think the Church has to figure out what should the immigration policy of an advanced economy be in a world of mass transit,” he said.

He noted that Christians are called “to be fundamentally hopeful [of] the future.” He disputed arguments that France is on the verge of “civilizational death,” describing it instead as “civilizational risk.”

“[I] think that if France returns to its Christian roots, it can be welcoming to the stranger. It can also protect its borders and in a way that preserves its civilization,” he said.

White House Faith Director Jenny Korn told EWTN News the meeting was organized by the White House Faith Office “as part of our ongoing engagement with faith leaders of all denominations from across the country.”

In addition to praying with Trump, Korn said several topics were discussed during the meeting, including “religious freedom, the role of the White House Faith Office, school choice, religious visas, and life policy.”

Participants included Bishop Abdallah Elias Zaidan of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles; Bishop Edward Burns of Dallas; Bishop James Wall of Gallup, New Mexico; Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas; Bishop William Joensen of Des Moines, Iowa; Archbishop Jeffrey Grob of Milwaukee; and Bishop Michael Barber, SJ, of Oakland, California.

Before concluding the meeting, Golka and his brother bishops gathered around Trump at the Oval Office’s iconic Resolute desk to pray.

Leading the intercession, Golka thanked God “for the gift of our beautiful nation, the gift of our government, and the gift of this office of the presidency” and asked for God’s blessing upon Trump.

Continuing his prayer, Golka also thanked God for “the gift of your Son, Jesus. He’s right here with us. He redeems us, saves us, gives us immense mercy, guidance.”

Golka also invoked the Holy Spirit, asking the Holy Spirit to “surround our country, to protect us against any influence of evil.”

Following the meeting, Golka said in a statement that he “hopes the encounter will foster further dialogue on the sanctity of life, human dignity and other issues of concern to the Catholic Church.”

The Archdiocese of Denver went on to note that “praying for those in public office is a long Catholic practice, rooted in St. Paul’s instruction to pray for all who hold authority (1 Timothy 2:1-2).” The archdiocese underscored that “it is not an endorsement of any specific candidate or party.”

Korn also emphasized that the meeting was “not politics” but “policy in action ending with meaningful prayer with and for the president.” In addition to Korn, Paula White-Cain, the president’s longtime spiritual adviser, also attended the meeting.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) said it had no role in the event.

“This was not something that the USCCB organized. It is not affiliated with the Conference,” said Chieko Noguchi, USCCB spokesperson.

The USCCB and the Trump administration have been aligned on various issues, including religious liberty and gender ideology, along with some of Trump’s pro-life initiatives.

There have also been sharp disagreements on other issues, including the administration’s failure to reverse the Biden administration’s policy on mail-order abortion drugs, the president’s support of IVF, and the administration’s mass deportation efforts.

This story was updated at 12:30 p.m. ET on Oct. 23, 2026, with an additional statement from the Archdiocese of Denver.