The Vatican is participating in the international art exhibition “La Biennale di Venezia” in Italy for the fourth consecutive year. A senior Vatican official explained the Vatican’s support for the exhibition and its recent focus on contemporary art.
Irish Bishop Paul Tighe, secretary of the Culture Section at the Dicastery for Culture and Education, told EWTN News that contemporary artists can reach people in ways that the Church cannot.
“Contemporary artists have their fingers on the pulse of humanity,” Tighe told EWTN News. “We want to honor their lives, encourage them, and show them we are listening.”
“They use different idioms — sometimes strange, sometimes difficult — to communicate and alert us to profound realities. We want artists to know the Church’s engagement with art isnʼt just in the historical past tense; it’s an ongoing dialogue today.”
Why the Vatican is turning to contemporary artists
The Holy See, through the Dicastery for Culture and Education, has a pavilion at the Venice Biennale — which runs through Nov. 22 — featuring the work of American punk-rock singer Patti Smith and soft brutalist Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao.
This initiative is among several in recent years that reflect the Vatican’s focus on promoting contemporary art. On Sept. 14, Pope Leo XIV will inaugurate an exhibit on water at the Vatican Apostolic Library. In 2025, the Vatican hosted contemporary art exhibits during the jubilee year, including a gallery space on the main road leading to St. Peter’s Basilica, which still features works by contemporary artists.
The exhibition “En Route” at the Vatican Apostolic Library features historical artifacts and contemporary artistic interpretations. | Credit: Iacopo Scaramuzzi
Tighe defended the Vatican’s partnership with contemporary artists, saying that the Church has learned from them since its beginning.
“The Church has been both inspiring artists and encouraging artists, but also learning from artists,” Tighe said.
“If you think of something like the Biennale, there are lots of younger people from the worlds of the arts. Many of them are probably not overly engaged with religion or with faith. There is the kind of art that speaks the language of today because of the concepts the artists of today are using. We need to engage with them.”
In describing the Vatican’s focus on contemporary art, Tighe likened its appeal to that of sports, encouraging Catholics to use it to open conversations about faith.
“We have given a lot of attention and emphasis to sport because, in reality, there are more people on any given Sunday engaged with sport than are engaged with faith. [We Catholics] could lament that, or we can say, ‘Well, letʼs try and speak to them,’” he said.
Florida’s Catholic bishops are urging state residents to work to bring about an end to the death penalty, describing it as a “culture of death” and incompatible with a full Catholic understanding of the value of human life.
The eight prelates — including Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski, Palm Beach Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez, and several others throughout the state — issued the message amid large numbers of executions in Florida.
The state executed 19 condemned prisoners in 2025, helping drive a rise in capital punishment throughout the United States. Florida has executed 10 inmates thus far in 2026 and is scheduled to perform a rare double execution on July 28.
In their letter, Florida’s Catholic bishops, who regularly advocate on behalf of condemned prisoners there, urged Catholics toward a “renewed consideration” of capital punishment, one informed by “the teaching of the Church and her moral authority.”
“[W]e wish to remind Catholics of the teaching of our Church against the use of the death penalty in situations — like our own — where bloodless means are sufficient to punish offenders and protect public safety,” the bishops said.
They pointed out that Jesus in his teaching revealed that “God desires to offer mercy to sinners who do not deserve it.”
While the prelates acknowledged that parts of Scripture “condone the death penalty at least in certain circumstances,” they argued that the “fullest development of God’s revelation of his will” points away from capital punishment.
In addition, they cited papal teachings such as Pope John Paul II’s Evangelium Vitae, in which the now-sainted pope urged that modern secure penal systems have made it “very rare, if not practically nonexistent” for the death penalty to be justified.
At the same time, the bishops also acknowledged the horrific nature of crimes and the need for “deep sympathy and compassion” for family members who have lost loved ones to murder.
“We agree that the perpetrators of such crimes should be brought to justice, but we disagree that justice is best served by yet another act of killing,” they said.
The bishops said they will continue to work to abolish the death penalty; they further urged both Catholics and “fellow citizens of goodwill” to work to end the practice as well.
Though executions in the U.S. were up in 2025, data indicate a growing public opposition to the death penalty, both in poll numbers and in the declining number of prisoners condemned to death in the United States.
Data from the Death Penalty Information Center indicates that new death sentences were down in 2025, declining to 22 from 24, with “only 14 juries nationwide” reaching unanimous death verdicts.
A Gallup poll in 2025, meanwhile, found that public support for the death penalty reached a 50-year low of 52%, while 44% of Americans oppose the death penalty, the highest level recorded since 1966.
The Vatican will launch its first conference of Christians and Confucians to expand the Catholic Church’s outreach to the Asian ethical tradition.
The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue will hold the colloquium “Dialogue on the Contribution of Christianity and Confucianism to an Ideal Society: New Heaven, New Earth, and Great Unity” in South Korea from Aug. 4–5. As reported by Union of Catholic Asian News, it will convene clergy and scholars at Sogang University in Seoul to discuss universal fraternity, virtuous leadership, and ecological responsibility.
Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, is expected to attend along with other dicastery officials.
The event is also organized by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea.
The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue has participated in similar conferences, including the 2025 workshop “Christians Fostering Dialogue with Confucians: Guidelines and Prospects” in Taiwan and the 2024 study group that developed guidelines for Confucian-Catholic dialogue.
Confucianism developed from the ethical teachings of the Chinese philosopher Kong Qiu, known in the West as Confucius. He emphasized filial piety, ancestor veneration, moral self-cultivation, and harmonious social relationships rather than devotion to a creator god.
According to 2025 estimates from the World Religion Database, approximately 8.75 million Confucianists live worldwide. The largest populations are in South Korea, with 5,616,520 people; China, with 1,737,191; Myanmar, with 813,322; Thailand, with 261,330; and Japan, with 162,179.
According to Vatican News, at the 2025 workshop, Father Paulin Batairwa Kubuya, undersecretary of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, explained that certain Confucian teachings are already consistent with Christianity.
“Christianity and Confucianism are wisdom traditions,” Kubuya said. “Confucian ethics is very strong on how people should comport themselves, how to be good citizens, and how to organize their lives. We find that these aspects correspond to Christianity.”
Kubaya also expressed his hope that the future of Confucian-Christian dialogue would help Christians “look at our Confucian neighbors, look at how we can develop a better way of living together, [and] how we can enrich one another.”
A World War II Army veteran, Raymond “Ray” Martin Sr., has joined the Catholic Church at 98 years old.
Before finding his way to the Church in Tuscan, Arizona, Martin served in Okinawa, Japan, and in the Philippines; he then spent 27 years as a police officer in Illinois.
Martin’s connection to Catholicism began with his late wife, Ann Marie.
When Deacon Jacinto “Jack” Trevino, a hospice chaplain and parochial associate at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in the Diocese of Tuscan, met with Martin in December 2025, the two bonded over a shared background in law enforcement and spoke about his wife and her faith.
“Ray is an amazing person,” Trevino told EWTN News. “We hit it off from the beginning. We talked about the job a lot — and shared some laughs.”
It wasn’t all laughs, though. As they got to know each other, their conversations grew serious.
“Ray talked about his wife, who passed,” Trevino recalled. “He said she was Catholic and he would attend Mass with her and pray the rosary.”
“One day he mentioned that he was never baptized or had any of the sacraments and he wanted to be Catholic,” Trevino continued. “We began deeper discussions of the faith.”
Martin, it turned out, had a deep faith in Christ and in the Eucharist.
“He expressed true belief in Christ and the teaching of the Catholic Church,” Trevino said. “He expressed his belief in the Eucharist and the importance of baptism and confirmation. Ray said that even though he was not Catholic, he would always pray the act of contrition.”
Raymond Martin Sr. is baptized at 98 years old by his friend and confirmation sponsor, Deacon Jack Trevino. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Deacon Jack Trevino
At the edge of death, life
Trevino, along with Father Edson Elizarraras, pastor of St. Christopher in Marana, Arizona, had a sense of urgency in bringing those sacraments to Martin.
Martin has survived a stroke, multiple falls, and other health concerns in recent years, even bordering on the brink of death in May after he suffered another stroke.
“Remarkably, Ray pulled through,” Elizarraras told EWTN News. “It was after this stroke that he clearly expressed his desire to become Catholic and receive the sacraments of initiation.”
Trevino and Elizarraras approached the bishop about advancing Martin’s sacraments. Usually, would-be converts to Catholicism go through a one- to two-year Order of Christian Initiation of Adults before receiving the sacraments.
“Though he married a Catholic woman and faithfully attended holy Mass with her prior to her passing, Deacon Trevino noted that Ray always felt unworthy to receive the sacraments, despite believing in God,” Elizarraras said.
“Ray came to tears expressing his desire for the Catholic faith, sharing that throughout his life, he would pray the Act of Contrition and the rosary,” Elizarraras said. “The more Deacon Trevino visited him, the more questions Ray asked, showing he was fully convinced and willingly prepared to receive sacramental grace.”
One of the most important days
So the date was set for July 16; the location, the assisted living home where Martin resided. The facility manager had put up banners with crosses to prepare the living room for the celebration, according to Trevino.
On the day of the celebration, Elizarraras gave Martin the short-order form of OCIA, which is written for those in near danger of death.
“The moment I approached to greet him, he began to cry and smile; he knew this was one of the most important days of his life,” Elizarraras said.
World War II Army veteran Raymond “Ray” Martin Sr. receives his first Communion at age 98. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Deacon Jack Trevino
Residents, caregivers, and Martin’s family attended the Mass.
“Beautifully, at the start of the liturgy, Mr. Raymond asked to be helped closer to the small, dignified altar we had prepared,” Elizarraras said. “He wanted to hear clearly and see God at work.”
“When I asked him, ‘Dear brother, Raymond, you have asked to be baptized because you wish, as Christians do, to have eternal life … This is the faith of Christians. Do you know this?’ He responded firmly, ‘I do, yes!’ and wept tears of joy,” Elizarraras recalled.
“Throughout the rite, he remained deeply attentive, smiling and occasionally meditating with his eyes closed,” Elizarraras continued. “When the moment came for his baptism, he opened his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, recognizing this supernatural encounter with God.”
Trevino described the day as “powerful.”
Father Edson Elizarraras, pastor of St. Christopher Parish in Marana, Arizona, celebrates Mass at 98-year-old Raymond Martin’s baptism, confirmation, and first Communion on July 16, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Deacon Jack Trevino
“I was so blessed to humbly participate and witness how Christ, the bridegroom, pours out his love and mercy through his bride, the Church, in the sacraments for his people,” Trevino said.
Afterward, they celebrated with cupcakes — and made plans for how Martin would practice his newfound faith from the assisted living home.
“First thing he asked me and my wife, Elena, was how he could receive Communion again since he can’t get around to go to Mass,” Trevino said. “We promised that we would bring him Communion directly and he could watch Mass on EWTN.”
Martin asked for a medal of St. Christopher; he’d “always wanted one,” he told Trevino, and St. Christopher was now, officially, his confirmation saint.
At the baptism, confirmation, and first Communion of Raymond Martin. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Deacon Jack Trevino
Encountering Christ
Elizarraras left the celebration that day “with immense joy and peace.”
“In Rayʼs response to grace, I saw a soul truly coming alive,” Elizarraras said.
The celebration brought to Elizarraras’ mind a line from Deus Caritas Est, “God Is Love,” an encyclical letter written by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.
“Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction,” Elizarraras said, quoting Benedict.
“For Ray, at 98 years old, this sacrament was that very encounter, giving his final days a glorious new horizon,” Elizarraras said.
A week later, Trevino’s wife, Elena, a lay ecclesial minister, brought Martin Communion.
“She read the Gospel for the upcoming Mass, the parable of the buried treasure,” Trevino said. “She told Ray that he was the man in the parable who found the great treasure. He was very happy.”
St. Joseph the Worker College in Steubenville, Ohio, plans to renovate a former Masonic temple into a public theater, restaurant, and Catholic shrine.
A college representative said the idea took shape after Jacob Imam, president and founder, began praying a novena and walking around the building each workday, often returning on weekends with his family “like the Israelites circling Jericho.” Spokesperson Wes Cimmarrusti said Imam’s daily prayer‑walks preceded an unexpected call from the Freemasons within a month, asking whether he would consider buying the property.
“We totally credit the favor and the opportunity to the intercession of St. Joseph and the power of prayer,” Cimmarrusti said.
The Catholic trade school has raised $1 million and signed a purchase agreement with the Freemasons of Steubenville to buy the property in January 2027. While no date has been set for the project’s completion, the college seeks to raise an additional $3 million to fully renovate the space. The renovated building will include a 500-seat auditorium that will be open to the public for artistic performances, academic lectures, and civic ceremonies. The building will also feature a restaurant, Clement’s Café, named after Pope Clement XII, the first pope to condemn the Freemasons. There will also be a shrine that will display a replica of the Shroud of Turin. The college said it plans to ask a priest to bless the building.
Franciscan University to host conference in Austria on Christian healing
Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, will host its sixth annual Truth of Love Conference in Gaming, Austria.
The Sept. 4–6 conference, “Toward a Theology of Healing,” will center on “wounds that touch the whole human person, including loneliness, mortality, physical suffering, and abuse and other sins.” Speakers will draw from Scripture to “explore how healing is found through encounters with others and ultimately with Jesus Christ,” according to a press release from the university.
“In the Gospel, Our Lord Jesus described himself as a physician and us, whom he saves, as the sick, whom he has come to heal (Matt. 9:12). And St. Ignatius of Antioch presented the Eucharist as the ‘medicine of immortality,’” said Stephen Hildebrand, provost and professor of theology at Franciscan University. “These are more than metaphors, for our ultimate salvation consists in the healing, the making whole, of the human person, body and soul, and the human community.”
“The Truth of Love Conference promises to be a rich exploration of this theme at the heart of the Christian message: Even in the midst of suffering and death, God will restore us and make us whole,” he said.
Catholic campus ministry group names centers for inaugural service and justice grants
The Catholic Campus Ministry Association has awarded three ministries its first‑ever Service and Justice Innovation Grant, created to “transform how Catholic campus ministries approach service and justice as expressions of evangelization, not just programming.”
The inaugural 2026-2027 grants will go to the Catholic Student Center at Washington University in St. Louis; the St. Paul Catholic Center at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana; and to the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.
“Service and justice aren’t add-ons to the Catholic mission, they’re at its heart,” said Rosie Chinea Shawver, executive director of the association. “What they build this year will shape how campus ministers across the country form the next generation of Catholic leaders.”
Each recipient will receive a one-year $5,000 grant “to design, implement, and evaluate a new or revitalized service and justice initiative.” The grant stipulates that each recipient will “function as a national think tank, learning together, pressure-testing ideas, and building a shared body of knowledge that extends far beyond their own programs.”
The program will begin with a conference at the University of San Diego, where each campus will send two student leaders and one campus minister for formation and training.
“The Chosen” released its first official teaser of Season 6 on July 27. The upcoming season of the hit series focuses on the 24 hours of Good Friday — culminating in the crucifixion of Christ.
The trailer offers viewers a glimpse into the scourging at the pillar, Jesus’ arrest and trials, the walk to Calvary, and his final, powerful words on the cross.
Season 6 of “The Chosen” will include six episodes — the first three of which will debut on Nov. 15 on Prime Video, followed by the release of a weekly episode through Dec. 6.
The season finale will be a stand-alone theatrical release on March 12, 2027.
The show’s star, actor Jonathan Roumie, has spoken about his experience portraying Jesus’ passion and crucifixion.
In an interview with EWTN News at ChosenCon on Feb. 20 he said: “For the first few months afterwards going to Mass — and even thinking about it now — I just get weepy. I get emotional. It’s hard. It’s left an indelible impression on me — mentally and emotionally sharing even just a percentage, a micron of a percentage, of the Lord’s passion; playing it and reenacting it has left me absolutely humbled and moved.”
The show’s cast spent three weeks filming the crucifixion in Matera, Italy, in June 2025. In a press conference held at the Vatican at the end of that time, the show’s creator, writer, and director, Dallas Jenkins, called the three weeks “the most challenging and difficult we had in filming,” requiring him to surrender everything to Christ.
Ahead of the release of Season 6, 5&2 Studios — the production company behind “The Chosen” — alongside Capitol Christian Music Group will release a new album this fall with original songs inspired by “The Chosen.” The first single, titled “All I Need Is You,” is performed by country star Tyler Hubbard and will be released on Aug. 7. The full artist lineup will be revealed in the weeks ahead.
“My wife, my three kids, and I have a nightly ritual of watching ‘The Chosen.’ We really got into it! Itʼs a show that I love and am connected to, so I was really excited to personally be a part of the show and part of the music,” Hubbard said in a press release.
“‘All I Need Is You’ is a song thatʼs out of my normal country music box. Itʼs a song that hits close to home. I think a lot of people can relate to the need for Jesus. To write a song about something that really matters is extra special,” he said.
The Maronite Catholic Church gathered on the evening of July 25 at the Maronite patriarchate’s summer residence in Dimane, northern Lebanon, to celebrate the beatification of Patriarch Elias Hoyek, marking an extraordinary moment for both the Church and the Lebanese nation.
Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai, the Maronite patriarch, presided over the official liturgical celebration. Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, attended as the representative of Pope Leo XIV alongside patriarchs, bishops, and Lebanese officials, including President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.
Clergy process through the crowds for the solemn Mass presided over by Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai on July 25, 2026, for the beatification of Patriarch Elias Hoyek. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Maronite Patriarchate/ACI MENA
The ceremony began with a formal petition presented to the pope’s representative by Bishop Mounir Khairallah, Maronite bishop of Batroun and petitioner for the beatification cause, requesting that Hoyek be declared blessed.
Bishop Hanna Alwan, patriarchal vicar general and postulator of the cause before the Holy See, then read the official biography of the new blessed, recounting the principal stages of his life.
Semeraro subsequently read the apostolic letter issued by Pope Leo XIV formally enrolling Patriarch Elias Peter Hoyek among the blessed. The decree granted the petition of the Maronite Church, its bishops, and its faithful and designated June 5 as the date of his annual liturgical memorial.
The pope’s representative also presented the Maronite Church with five original copies of the decree as official documentation of the occasion.
A large official icon of the new blessed was then unveiled. His relics were brought forward in a solemn procession accompanied by 32 lit candles, symbolizing the 32 years Hoyek served as Maronite patriarch, from 1899 to 1931.
A view of the solemn Mass presided over by Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai on July 25, 2026, for the beatification of Patriarch Elias Hoyek. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Maronite Patriarchate/ACI MENA
In his homily, Rai said: “Hoyek entrusted himself completely to divine providence until he became a radiant sign in the history of the Church and of Lebanon.”
“The Church today is not raising a man to earthly glory,” he continued, “but bearing witness to the glory God brought about in him. Holiness is not an honor bestowed by the earth but a divine gift granted to those who live the Gospel faithfully to the end.”
Addressing Semeraro, Rai said the cardinal’s presence embodied the depth of communion between the Maronite Church and the Church of Rome. He added that it carried a message of love and appreciation from Pope Leo XIV to a Church that has remained faithful to the faith and to its witness to Christ in the Middle East.
Rai emphasized that “the new blessed lived by his famous motto, ‘My God, may your will be done.’ He was a man of divine providence, combining in his person the vigilance of a shepherd, the wisdom of a leader, the heart of a father, and the faith of a saint.”
“He never sought personal glory,” Rai added, “but rather the glory of God and the good of the human person, believing that Lebanon is a message and that the human person is its greatest treasure.”
A view of the solemn Mass presided over by Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai on July 25, 2026, for the beatification of Patriarch Elias Hoyek. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Maronite Patriarchate/ACI MENA
At the conclusion of the Mass, Aoun was presented with a cedar tree carved from Lebanese stone bearing the likeness of the new blessed and containing one of his relics.
Following the final blessing, Hoyek’s relics were carried in procession through the aisles among the faithful.
This storywas first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a complaint to revoke the U.S. citizenship of a Mexican Capuchin Franciscan friar convicted in 2019 of sexually abusing minors while serving in Washington, D.C.
“Vázquez Ortega was convicted of multiple counts of second-degree child sexual abuse while employed as a priest at a Washington, D.C., church,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced in a press release.
“In 2019, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The United States filed a five-count complaint seeking to revoke his citizenship, alleging he committed these crimes before, during, and after his naturalization,” the text indicates.
Vázquez Ortega is one of 10 individuals facing the revocation of their citizenship after being convicted of various serious crimes, including the sexual abuse of minors, fraud, and drug trafficking.
4 charges of abuse in 2019
In August 2019, a jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia found Vázquez Ortega guilty of four counts of child sexual abuse involving two minors at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart Parish in northwest Washington, D.C., where he had been serving since 2014.
According to evidence presented during the trial, between April and May 2015, he molested a 13-year-old girl in a parish office.
Additionally, between June 2016 and August 2017, he abused another minor aged between 9 and 10 in various places on church grounds, according to the evidence.
A third adolescent also testified during the legal proceedings, stating that Vázquez Ortega kissed her in a church conference room.
Removed from ministry after first allegation
When the allegations came to light in 2018, the Archdiocese of Washington stated that this was the first allegation of sexual abuse received against Vázquez Ortega and that, “immediately upon learning of this serious allegation, the archdiocese immediately removed Father Vazquez from ministry and suspended his priestly faculties.”
In the same statement, the archdiocese reported that after reviewing the case, it determined that the then-pastor of the Sacred Heart Shrine, Friar Moisés Villalta, “failed to follow appropriate protocols related to reporting allegations of abuse to civil authorities and the Archdiocese of Washington” and for this reason, “has been removed as pastor.”
Additionally, the parish’s child protection coordinator was placed on administrative leave, according to the statement issued at the time.
In addition, a complaint was filed against Marcin Stanislaw Garbacz, 47, former Roman Catholic priest from Poland convicted of wire fraud, filing a false tax return, and engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor in a foreign country, crimes he committed as a priest and hid during the naturalization process.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
French President Emmanuel Macron commemorated Father Jacques Hamel, an elderly priest murdered 10 years ago in his church during Mass by two Islamist terrorists on July 26, 2016, and whose cause for beatification is currently underway.
“We have not forgotten Father Jacques Hamel. Ten years ago today, he was cowardly murdered by two Islamist terrorists — targeted because he embodied the rejection of hatred, as well as fraternity and hope,” the French leader wrote on his X account on July 26.
“To his loved ones, his parishioners, all the inhabitants of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, and the Catholics of France, I extend the nation’s faithful, fraternal greetings,” Macron emphasized.
“His memory places a duty upon us. It compels us to tirelessly defend the freedom of conscience that the Republic guarantees and protects,” the French president continued, concluding: “In the face of Islamist terrorism, France remains united. True to its foundational values. Resolute not to yield anything to those who seek to divide us.”
Hamel’s murder
On July 26, 2016, two young Islamic State terrorists stormed the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray in Rouen, France, and murdered 86-year-old Father Jacques Hamel while he was celebrating Mass.
Shouting “Allahu Akbar” (Arabic for “God is great”), the killers entered the church and began destroying religious images. The priest tried to stop them but was unable to do so. The terrorists attempted to force him to his knees, but he refused.
The cause was announced on April 13, 2017, and officially opened on May 20 of that year.
The diocesan phase of the cause concluded on March 9, 2019, at Our Lady of the Annunciation Chapel of the Archdiocese of Rouen.
During that stage, 66 hearings were held, with testimony from the five witnesses to the murder, 51 summoned witnesses including siblings, friends, parishioners, and priests as well as five witnesses the tribunal called “ex officio” to ensure the process was not one-sided.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski urged “compassionate” immigration protections for Haitians with temporary protected status (TPS) upon expiration of their automatic work‑permit extension.
As “widespread violence, political instability, economic collapse, and humanitarian suffering” continue in Haiti, Wenski said July 24 that the Caribbean nation remains unsafe as a place for migrants to return. About 353,000 Haitian nationals hold TPS status in the U.S., according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Miami’s archbishop said local ministries are “preparing for the consequences” of policy changes, including the termination of work authorizations for diocesan employees. Employment authorization documents (EADs) reached a court-extended expiration July 27.
TPS is an immigration status granted to eligible foreign nationals from designated countries that are unsafe to return to due to ongoing conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary conditions.
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 25 ruled that DHS could end TPS for Haitians and Syrians. El Salvador’s TPS designation is set to expire Sept. 9.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation (H.R. 1689) in April that would add three more years of TPS for Haitian nationals. The legislation has stalled in the Senate.
Catholic Health Services (CHS), one of the Archdiocese of Miamiʼs largest ministries, which employs a significant number of Haitian workers who hold TPS, “is currently evaluating the effects of the recent federal changes affecting TPS work authorization, Wenski said.
“At this time, an estimated 40 to 50 valued employees may be affected, although the final number remains under review as the organization works individually with each employee based on his or her unique circumstances,” he said.
Haitian CHS workers “are more than employees — they are members of our Church and our community,” Wenski said. “They care for the sick, comfort the elderly, and serve some of the most vulnerable among us with compassion and dedication.”
Ahead of the deadline, Wenski said “our hearts are with our Haitian brothers and sisters who are living with uncertainty, fear, and anxiety about what the future may hold for themselves and their families.”
“The Church recognizes the right of nations to secure their borders and to establish just immigration laws. At the same time, our Catholic faith calls us to uphold the dignity of every human person and to accompany those who are vulnerable,” he said.
As “Haiti continues to endure profound hardship,” Wenski urged “elected leaders to pursue compassionate and humane solutions that protect family unity and recognize the extraordinary circumstances facing the Haitian people.”
“To our Haitian brothers and sisters: You are not alone. The Catholic Church walks with you,” he said.
Haitian workers in Ohio face uncertain future
Ohio bishops also have called for continued TPS protections for Haitians, especially as Springfield, Ohio, is home to a large Haitian population. The Catholic Conference of Ohio released a June statement urging action and continued TPS.
As the Supreme Court decision has left many families worried about losing their jobs, Ohio-based organizations are also preparing to aid those facing loss of TPS.
In an interview July 24 with “EWTN News Nightly,” Casey Rollins, executive director of St. Vincent de Paul in Springfield, Ohio, said the organizationʼs team helps immigrants and nonimmigrants “while theyʼre enduring, or while theyʼre navigating … a crisis or a situation.”
“That would be, in this case, once they lost their jobs, we will help them take care of their rent and utilities if they now canʼt pay that,” she said.
For “over 60 years, weʼve helped Americans with rent and utilities and those kinds of necessities for independent living. Now weʼre doing that with Haitians and other immigrants whoʼve recently lost jobs,” she explained.
“We also are helping the families who, many of them, are certain to be deported,” she said.
Following the loss of workers in the Ohio community, “weʼre going to be in trouble,” she said.
For years, the area needed “more workers here,” and the Haitian community was “taking a lot of these jobs.”
