The district court in Olomouc, Czech Republic, has rehabilitated Josef Karel Matocha, the city’s former archbishop, recognizing his internment under the communist regime as unlawful more than six decades after his death.
The court’s decision, based on the Judicial Rehabilitation Act, confirms that the prelate was a victim of unlawful deprivation of liberty in the 1950s by the communist regime in what was then Czechoslovakia. He was not formally convicted, yet he was forced to remain in the archbishop’s palace under surveillance by the State Security, and this was recognized as imprisonment.
The current archbishop of Olomouc, Josef Nuzík, said he is “very happy that after so many years we have managed to complete this procedural step and achieve justice” in civil law as well.
Matocha is “constantly present in our palace and in the hearts of believers,” and guests “are often moved when they realize that these beautiful spaces were his prison,” said Nuzík, who is also president of the Czech Bishops’ Conference.
The rehabilitation is an important sign “also for the entire society,” he added, one that shows “the heroism and suffering of people who did not let themselves be broken must not be forgotten.”
Ladislav Müller filed the initial motion for rehabilitation at the request of Jan Kratochvil, director of the Museum of Czech, Slovak, and Ruthenian Exile of the 20th Century in Brno.
Decades of isolation
Matocha, who held doctorates in philosophy and theology, was appointed archbishop of Olomouc by Pope Pius XII in 1948. He was deeply dedicated in his pastoral visits, initiated the beatification process of Archbishop Antonín Stojan, and secretly ordained František Tomášek as a bishop, who later became a cardinal and archbishop of Prague, according to the Archdiocese of Olomouc.
After his internment in 1950, he could not read newspapers or listen to the radio, and visits to the garden were permitted only sporadically. The isolation lasted until his death from a heart attack in 1961, which was also due to the denial of medical care. In 1999, then-Czech President Václav Havel posthumously awarded Matocha the first class of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk for outstanding services to democracy and human rights.
The press office of the Archdiocese of Olomouc told EWTN News that no special event regarding Matocha is planned at present, but it noted that a rehabilitation process is underway for Cardinal Štěpán Trochta. Trochta also suffered internment as the bishop of Litoměřice, but “we consider him ours,” the press office said, because he was born within the Archdiocese of Olomouc.
A wider reckoning
The unjust treatment of two other churchmen by the communist regime in Czechoslovakia has recently been recognized.
Cardinal Josef Beran, the former archbishop of Prague, who was interned in several locations, was rehabilitated in February, the District Court of Prague confirmed to EWTN News.
In 2024, the regional court in Hradec Králové rehabilitated the priest Josef Toufar, who was illegally arrested and tortured to death.
Nearly 40 years after Norwayʼs last March for Life, about 1,000 pro-life supporters braved rain and winds to gather in Oslo on June 13 for a renewed public witness in defense of unborn life.
The event began with a rally at 11 a.m. in Seventh June Square before participants marched through the capitalʼs streets singing Christian hymns, concluding outside the Norwegian Parliament at 12:30 p.m. There, speakers from medical, social, religious, and political walks of life delivered addresses on the dignity and protection of human life, before the crowd joined together to sing “Navnet Jesus” (“The Name of Jesus”), widely regarded as Norwayʼs most beloved Christian hymn.
Marchers carry a banner reading “Marsj for Livet” (“March for Life”) through central Oslo, Norway, on June 13, 2026. | Credit: Bendik Bruun Edvardsen
Banners bearing slogans such as “A Voice for the Voiceless,” “Choose Life,” and “650,000 Since 1978” — a reference to the number of abortions recorded in Norway since the countryʼs abortion law was liberalized — defined the marchʼs central message: that every child has a right to life.
The discussion is not over
The march was organized by Velg Livet, a pro-life organization whose director, Cecilie Marie Røinås, told EWTN News the event was driven by a growing interest among younger Norwegians and a determination to respond to recent expansions of the countryʼs abortion laws.
“Since it has been around 40 years since the last major March for Life in Norway, we felt it was time for a new public witness,” she said. “With recent expansions of Norwayʼs abortion laws, it is important that we continue to be a voice for unborn life and not act as if the discussion is over.”
A young participant carries a “Velg Livet” (“Choose Life”) placard during the March for Life in Oslo, Norway, on June 13, 2026. | Credit: Bendik Bruun Edvardsen
The strong presence of young people behind the initiative, many of them in their early 20s, was, for Røinås, one of the marchʼs most significant features.
“The fact that so many young people are involved shows that the issue of abortion is not a lost cause,” she said. “We want to show that there are many in our generation who are willing to stand up for unborn life.”
Røinås said the marchʼs success would ultimately be measured not by attendance figures alone but by its impact on hearts.
“Our prayer is that people would experience Godʼs love,” she said, “because real change begins in the hearts of the people.”
A sign of growing engagement
Bishop Fredrik Hansen of Oslo, who was unable to attend due to pastoral commitments, described the march to EWTN News as evidence of a broader shift in Norwegian society.
“The Oslo March for Life attests to the increasing interest in and engagement for the defense of life and the dignity of life in Norway,” he said, expressing hope that it would become an annual event and serve to build bridges among the countryʼs pro-life organizations.
Asked whether he viewed the march as a form of healthy political advocacy or as genuine Christian witness, Hansen said it was both.
“The march will serve to witness to Norwegian society about the sacredness of life and to the need to challenge the many threats to life,” he said. “In so doing, it will send a firm message to our politicians and to the media that many Norwegians are deeply committed to a pro-life culture and wish their voices to be heard.”
He also pointed to what he described as quiet but real signs of religious renewal in a country better known for its secularism. “Interest in Christianity is increasing, notably among the young. Pro-life and broader social engagement is increasing in both the Catholic Church and other Christian communities, and public discussion on issues of life and faith are becoming more and more common.”
He closed with a direct appeal to Catholics abroad: “Remember Norway in your prayers.”
Unity among Christians
The Catholic Church was represented at the march by Catholics from several parishes, as well as Ragnhild Helena Aadland Høen, public affairs officer for the Norwegian Catholic Bishops' Conference.
Høen drew an immediate contrast with the last such demonstration in 1986, which was met with large and sometimes violent counterprotests. “This time, we were allowed to walk in peace,” she told EWTN News.
For Høen, the marchʼs most striking feature was not its size but its unity. “Catholics, Lutherans, Pentecostals, and evangelicals stood side by side,” she said, describing this cross-denominational cooperation as “one of the most hopeful signs in Norway today.”
She also highlighted the participation of American worship leader Phil King, whose address centered on Christian unity: “The impossible is not impossible with Jesus.”
Participants walk under umbrellas in the rain, one holding a sign reading “For de Stemmeløse” (“For the Voiceless”), during the March for Life in Oslo, Norway, on June 13, 2026. | Credit: Bendik Bruun Edvardsen
Høen was careful to situate the march as a beginning rather than a culmination. “I have the distinct sense that God is gathering his people in Norway,” she said. “It felt like the opening lines of a new chapter,” one in which both Christian ecumenism and the pro-life movement, she believes, will continue to grow.
“I left with such a strong sense of expectation and joy,” she noted.
The fundamental question remains
Among the speakers at the Parliament steps was Ingrid Olina Hovland, chairwoman of the youth wing of Norwayʼs Christian Democratic Party, who was candid about the political landscape facing pro-life advocates in the country.
Pro-life politicians, she acknowledged, remain a minority in Norway and frequently face opposition from fellow lawmakers and the wider public alike. She explained that national debates have become too narrowly focused.
“The public discussion focuses primarily on healthcare and womenʼs rights while giving less attention to the unborn child,” she told EWTN News.
Hovland also challenged a common assumption underpinning arguments that economic hardship is a primary driver of abortion. Norwayʼs extensive welfare state, she argued, makes that case difficult to sustain.
“Even in a society with generous welfare benefits, the fundamental question remains: What moral value do we assign to unborn human life, and how should that value be weighed against other interests and rights?”
She expressed cautious optimism about the direction of her generation. Younger Norwegians, she said, appear increasingly willing to engage seriously with the moral dimensions of abortion rather than treating the debate as settled, a willingness that, for those gathered in Oslo on Saturday, the march itself was designed to reflect.
Thousands gathered in Rome on June 13 to march against Italian legislation permitting abortion and to defend those with disabilities and the vulnerable in Italy who could be affected by future legislation on euthanasia and assisted suicide.
Participants in the “Scegliamo della Vita”(“Letʼs Choose Life”) March — an annual pro-life march since 2011 — gathered at the Piazza della Repubblica to voice support for promoting a culture of life in Italy and for respecting the human dignity of every person at all stages.
Current abortion legislation in Italy
Abortion first became legal in Italy in May 1978, allowing women to terminate a pregnancy up to 12 weeks of gestation.
This has since been followed by certain measures in favor of abortion by the Italian Ministry of Health, including permitting abortions as an essential healthcare service during the COVID-19 pandemic and allowing chemical termination of pregnancy up to 63 days.
Maria Rachele Ruiu, a prominent Italian pro-life advocate and participant in the march, expressed her hope to EWTN News that the march will persuade the Italian government to repeal current legislation permitting abortion.
“In Italy, unfortunately, we have Law 194, which governs abortion. It allows abortion up to the 12th week, but it is also permitted beyond that if a specific medical diagnosis is made,” Ruiu told EWTN News. “We want to show that choosing and protecting life is not only right, important, and necessary but also beautiful.”
Potential legislation permitting euthanasia and assisted suicide
Other participants voiced concerns about rumors that the Italian government would enact laws permitting euthanasia and assisted suicide more broadly.
Massimo Gandolfini, spokesperson for the Scegliamo della Vita March, expressed opposition to such laws and discussed the role that men have in promoting a pro-life culture.
“We see that this right [to life] today is deeply wounded and heavily attacked with abortion law, and with this rumored law on assisted suicide, to which we are totally opposed,” Gandolfini said.
The flag of the pro-life march “Scegliamo della Vita” waves outside the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome on June 13, 2026. | Credit: Sergio Natoli/EWTN News
“We [men] want to demonstrate to keep attention high on a fundamental issue, which is the right to life. The right to life is the right that underpins every other right of a civil society and a democratic society.”
Ruiu added that the participants at the march would “ask Parliament not to legislate.”
A future of marriages and children
Looking to the future, Ruiu stated that young people can support a culture of life by getting married and having families of their own.
"We want to bear witness to the fact that choosing life is worth it, especially for those who choose it; that having a child is wonderful news for the family and for society; that people can get married. Young people, get married and have children!
“They always portray us, even in the press, as ugly and bad; we want to parade through Rome to show our true face: happy people,” Ruiu said.
President Donald Trump announced on June 14 that the United States and Iran had reached a deal to end months of hostilities that have claimed thousands of lives.
In a Truth Social post, Trump declared: “The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete. Congratulations to all!”
He added: “I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade. Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!”
A formal signing ceremony is scheduled for June 19 in Switzerland.
Between 7,500 to 10,000 people have died since the war erupted in February, with the majority of fatalities occurring in Iran and Lebanon. Civilian deaths across the region are estimated between 2,500 and 4,000. The United States has lost 13 service members in the conflict.
The pact is expected to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, lift the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports, and include a 60-day period for further negotiations, particularly on Iran’s nuclear program, according to the Associated Press.
The deal only partially addresses the issues that sparked the conflict, which began with U.S.-supported Israeli airstrikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28.
While the agreement requires Iran to refrain from producing or acquiring nuclear weapons and to maintain the current nuclear status quo during the 60-day negotiation period, it does not include a full dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program or the removal of its highly enriched uranium stockpile.
Nor does the deal require Iran to halt funding, arming, or directing its network of militant groups, including Hezbollah.
Those questions have been deferred for future talks.
According to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a mediator in the peace deal, the agreement calls for “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”
Hezbollah launched projectiles from Lebanon into Israel on Sunday, however, leading Israel, which maintains it has the right to respond to Hezbollah attacks, to retaliate by striking Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Both Iran and Trump criticized Israelʼs airstrikes. In a separate Truth Social post earlier that day, Trump wrote: “This morning’s attack on Beirut should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has repeatedly stated that Israel is “not a party” to the deal, said the strikes targeted Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure and a Hezbollah command center.
In April, the pope stated: “Search always for peace and reject war … especially a war which many people have said is an unjust war.”
Trump took issue with Leoʼs statements, leading to a public dispute in which the president accused the pope of saying Iran “can have a nuclear weapon,” despite the popeʼs repeated calls for nuclear disarmament.
“The Church has spoken for years against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt there,” Leo said in response on May 5.
“The peace that Jesus gives us is not merely the silence of weapons, but the peace that touches and transforms the heart of each one of us!” the pope said in his Easter “urbi et orbi” message. “Let us allow ourselves to be transformed by the peace of Christ!”
The peace deal announcement comes on the same day as Trump’s 80th birthday, on which he held the first-ever professional UFC fights on the South Lawn of the White House. Trump hosted the event as part of America’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
One year ago, Sarah-Elizabeth Pilato, a Catholic mother of three from New York, found out she was pregnant at the age of 40. It was a surprise to her and her husband but the couple were excited to bring another life into the world.
Then, suddenly, their excitement ended when Pilato went into her doctor’s office and was told that her baby no longer had a heartbeat. She had undergone a miscarriage. It was this experience that inspired her to write a book called “H.U.G” — an acronym for “Here, Understood, and Gently held.”
“It was a very quick emotional roller-coaster ride,” Pilato told EWTN News. “And when I had the miscarriage, my doctor, she looked at me and she basically said, ‘Iʼm so sorry. Miscarriage is really not talked about. I donʼt know why women donʼt talk about it, but itʼs very common.’ And in that moment, as she looked at me, I thought to myself, ‘OK, Iʼm going to talk about it.’”
She recalled sitting in the doctor’s office, alone, looking for anything that would help her with her grief — a pamphlet, a picture on the wall, anything — and there was nothing. Instead, all she was handed as she walked out the door was her bill for the office visit.
“There was just nothing for me to make me feel that I was going to be OK and that I wasnʼt alone. I felt completely isolated and I felt like I was the only person in the world that was feeling this,” she recalled.
Once she got home, she felt lost, not knowing what to think or do. After some time alone at home, she heard God tell her to sit down and write.
“Iʼm like, ‘Well thatʼs a really weird thing to do right now. Thatʼs like the last thing that I want to do is open my laptop,’” she said. “But, when God gives you directions itʼs always best to follow. And so I sat down and I opened my laptop. Iʼve got the tissues out, Iʼm still a mess, and I just started writing what I was feeling.”
Her writing went up on her blog and after several hours, Pilato returned to the blog post where she saw hundreds of women commenting and sending her messages of their own similar experiences.
Catholic author Sarah-Elizabeth Pilato with her book, “H.U.G.” | Credit: Tatiana Ariola Photography
“Thatʼs when I knew that we needed to share these stories and that I wasnʼt the only one that had ever felt like this,” she shared. “And it became so important to me, in that moment, that no one ever felt like we felt again — if we can make that feeling go away for as many women as possible, it would be worth it.”
This is when Pilato was inspired to write her book, “H.U.G.,” which is made up of over 30 testimonies from women who have walked through pregnancy loss as well as men who share their perspectives as husbands and fathers walking alongside their wives. After each story, there are several reflection questions.
“This book is meant to be for the woman thatʼs experiencing it at any stage,” Pilato explained. “And itʼs really the kind of book that you can open, look at the table of contents, and theyʼre all labeled — a hug for when you just want to scream or a hug for when you feel alone, a hug for when you donʼt have the words to pray … So, you can pick it up, put it down, pick it up, put it down whenever you need it, wherever youʼre grieving.”
She added: “I wish Iʼd had a book to just hug when I was laying there on my couch that would just make me feel seen.”
Speaking to the men in the book, Pilato realized through her own miscarriage that her husband “had no idea what to do with me or how to respond or what to do with his own emotions.”
“[Men are] kind of forgotten and theyʼre processing in a very different way. And I realized that he didnʼt know what to do and so I realized that he needed to have a story as well,” she said.
Pilato explained that the book was entirely funded by donations from individuals, and with the donations she is now working to get the book available “in any place that a woman might be grieving.”
“We have them in hospitals, in urgent cares, in churches, therapy offices — Iʼve had requests come in from all different places. And our goal is to get the book into every state,” she said.
Books are available for purchase or, if an organization is unable to pay for them, they can request free books to be donated to them.
“I do always say if your organization has the budget and you would like to pay, absolutely, it helps, it all goes back into the book, but if not, if we have inventory, we make it happen,” she said. “So, it is all God filling our inventory, bringing us to the people. And so far, weʼve been able to get books to women as soon as two hours after theyʼve heard that theyʼre experiencing a loss.”
The author shared that her main hope for women who come across her book is that “she feels seen and loved and finds hope in her future. I think Itʼs so hard to feel seen and loved and hopeful in the moment, but by reading these stories, I believe that she can feel that and get closer to it in her healing.”
ANN ARBOR, Michigan — Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing, Michigan, ordained four men to the priesthood on June 6 at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in East Lansing after the crowd was too big for St. Mary’s Cathedral, the mother church of the diocese.
In the packed church, Boyea told the ordinands: “You have been spending years being with Jesus. He’s calling you as he called those 12 so many centuries ago. Today, as you are consecrated by the Church for a sacred ministry, consecrate yourselves to drink the cup which the Lord gives and take in the word which the Spirit is providing. Though weak vessels that we are, we will not let that prevent us from following the calling we have received.”
Now 75 and due to retire from his duties in Lansing, Boyea has ordained 45 priests during his 18 years of leadership of the diocese in Michigan’s capital. The diocese, one of seven Latin-rite dioceses in Michigan, is currently sponsoring 29 seminarians, and last year’s ordination class was the largest in nearly 50 years.
Fathers Joshua Bauer, Jacob Derry, Ryan Ferrigan, and Peter Randolph, ordained by Boyea, all attended Sacred Heart Major Seminary of the Detroit Archdiocese.
Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing, Michigan, washes the feet of one of the four men he ordained to the priesthood on June 6, 2026, at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in East Lansing, Michigan. | Credit: Valerie Hendrickson
Before their ordination, the men were interviewed on video, displaying the chalices they will use as priests.
Ferrigan, 28, said his antique sacred vessel had been left behind at the now-shuttered St. Michael Parish church in Flint, Michigan, established more than 170 years ago. Inscribed on its base are the words of an anonymous donor: “In reparation from a friend of the Sacred Heart.”
“You know, it’s a paradox because this chalice has a long history, and I don’t know who the priests are who used it in the past,” he said. “They offered the Holy Sacrifice using this vessel for over 100 years, and I get to continue faithfully offering the Mass and praying for the salvation of the world every day.”
In his thanksgiving address to the congregation, Ferrigan said of his priesthood: “It’s all about the glory of God and the salvation of souls!”
In an interview with EWTN News, the new priest said: “In being ordained, the palpable joy they could see in me was there because in ordination, I am seeing the purpose for which God created me coming to fruition. I have become what the Lord created me to be.”
“The day of my ordination was the best day of my life. Lots of friends and family were there to support me. The Lord has blessed me and is very good to me. I’m still adjusting and realizing that I’m really a priest now and have the privilege of offering the Mass every day. This is my commission and what the Lord wants me to do for his praise and the salvation of the world. It is still sinking in,” he told EWTN News.
From left to right: Fathers Peter Randolph, Ryan Ferrigan, Jacob Derry, and Joshua Bauer at their ordaination on June 6, 2026, in East Lansing, Michigan. | Credit: Valerie Hendrickson
Ferrigan celebrated his first solo Mass that same day at St. Martha Parish in Okemos, near Lansing. He was able to distribute the Eucharist for the first time in both instances to his mother. He will serve at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Ann Arbor, which is close to the University of Michigan campus and known for its music and solemn liturgies.
“I’m excited to be going there, and I expect to serve about three years at St. Thomas,” he said, adding: “I’m excited about learning to be a parish priest and diving into ministry. This is how the Lord wants me to feed his sheep.”
Randolph, 27, reflected in the video about his journey to the altar, which has included profound loss.
“The emphasis of this chalice upon the humanity of Christ and about receiving the chalice, and then living it out to the fullest extent, both in pain and suffering, and full self-abandonment and full self-emptying and glory, means a lot to me, because my [18-year-old] brother Xavier died less than a year ago. And the Lord has really promised me that he’s going to meet me in the place of my pain,” he said, adding: “He’s not going to leave me alone. But it’s going to come in my very broken humanity. In my humanity that is now broken in a particular way in grief.”
Peter Randolph prepares for his ordination to the priesthood on June 6, 2026, in East Lansing, Michigan. | Credit: Valerie Hendrickson
Randolph’s father and grandfather serve as deacons in the Lansing Diocese. At the July 2025 funeral for Xavier, hundreds of friends and parishioners of the close-knit Christ the King Parish in Ann Arbor were on hand to support the Randolph family with the same solidarity shown at Randolph’s ordination. He has been assigned to St. Patrick Parish in Brighton, Michigan, which is known for its healing services and charismatic liturgies.
As Boyea consecrated Randolph, the newly ordained young man openly sobbed in the presence of his many friends and family members.
“I want every day of my priesthood and every time that I offer Mass in this chalice, to be able to say, like, ‘Accipiam calicem,’ right, I accept the chalice,” Randolph vowed.
Paraphrasing Matthew 26:42, Randolph said: “Father, I accept this chalice, and I will drink it to the dregs with your Son.”
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia this week opened a new perpetual adoration chapel, one that Archbishop Nelson Pérez said is meant to draw “Catholics and non-Catholics for prayer before Christ” 24 hours a day.
The Sacre Coeur Perpetual Adoration Chapel was opened on the property of St. Denis Church in Havertown on the western edge of the city. Pérez was the principal celebrant at the Mass during which the site was dedicated an archdiocesan shrine.
In his homily the archbishop called attention to the liturgyʼs first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy, in which Moses tells the Israelites that God “set his heart on you and chose you.”
Pérez said the description of “the heart of God” grants “a very human attribute to a divine being.”
Christ himself “is the very incarnation, the visible being, the manifestation of the very heart of God,” Pérez said.
The prelate also noted the example of the 17th century nun St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, who was responsible for spreading the devotion of the Sacred Heart through the Western Church.
“She had an incredible heart for the Lord from a very, very, very young age,” the archbishop said. “And at a young age, she promised Our Lady that she would consecrate her life to the heart of Christ.”
“She had a big heart,” Pérez continued. “Big hearts feel deeply. The biggest heart of them all is actually the heart of Christ, the heart of all hearts right from which all our hearts flow.”
The archbishop predicted that the faithful “will come from all over the place” to the Sacre Coeur chapel, where they will “speak to the heart of Christ so beautifully present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.”
“And at that moment — watch out,” he said. “Watch out. Because God will do what God will do.”
Sacred space will ‘hopefully bring people to the Lord’
The chapel came about in large part because of the work of Ward and Kathy Fitzgerald, two Philadelphia residents who several years ago identified the need for such a site in the city.
Ward, the CEO of the I Am the Vine Foundation — a capital charity initiative — told “EWTN News Nightly” on June 12 that his wife Kathy had realized that “there were 12 parishes in Philadelphia within about a three mile radius that did not have perpetual adoration.”
“The vision was to make a place that was beautiful and comfortable,” he said. “[W]e not only want people to be at peace when theyʼre talking to the Lord because of the beauty around them, [but] we also want to attract people that arenʼt [part of] the Church today.”
“We felt that an adoration chapel was a way to bring meditation [and] conversation with the Lord without technically participating in the sacraments,” he said. “And many people that are either members of the Church and donʼt participate in the sacraments, or theyʼre not members of any church … still their hearts are restless.”
At the dedication on June 12, Archbishop Pérez commended Ward and Kathy for their “big hearts” after their work to bring the chapel to life.
“What a gift,” he said. “God will do what God will do, and only God knows right in his big, enormous heart what will happen in that chapel — how people will be touched, conversations will be had, [and] hearts will be healed.”
The arrest marks a significant breakthrough in investigations into the killing that shocked both the local community and the Catholic Church.
In a June 10 press briefing, the Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD) for Marakwet East, Zablon Okoyo, identified the suspect as Meshack Kilimo and said he was apprehended through intelligence-led operations.
“Luckily enough, we managed to arrest one suspect by the name Meshack Kilimo. It is unfortunate that this one guy is also part of the reformed bandits that we have managed to tame. But of course, you know, human beings have different traits and characters. As for him, he has not changed,” Okoyo said.
He explained: “We used our wits and managed to arrest the fellow yesterday. As we are talking today, he is supposed to be arraigned before the law courts by our Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) department.”
According to a June 10 report by The Star, a Kenyan publication, Kilimo was “arrested after he shot dead another man using an arrow during a quarrel over clan land in the same Kerio Valley area.”
In the June 10 press briefing, Okoyo said investigations remain active and are being led by the DCI in Kenya.
“We shall prosecute the case accordingly, according to the witnesses and the evidence that we have gathered,” he said, and added: “The case of the late Father Alois is within the DCI. The DCI opened a case and is still very active. Now that the suspect has been apprehended and presented before the magistrate, I believe all avenues will be opened.”
The police commander cautioned that investigators are still examining whether the evidence collected directly links the suspect to the murder of the priest.
“If at all, the evidence that has been adduced and collected and placed in the active case of the late Father will connect to him, then I think it is a case that is going to come up very soon. But I canʼt preempt as of now because the officers handling the case are with the suspect right now before the court,” Okoyo said in the press briefing.
Bett, a priest of Eldoret Diocese, died from gunshot wounds after being ambushed by armed assailants at Kabartile Village in Mokoro Location, Elgeyo Marakwet County. He was serving as pastor of St. Matthias Mulumba Tot Parish at the time of his death.
In a statement issued on the day of the attack, Kenyaʼs National Police Service (NPS) said preliminary investigations indicated that the killing was not related to cattle rustling or banditry, despite the regionʼs long history of armed criminal activity and intercommunal conflict.
Bett was laid to rest on June 3, 2025, at Holy Family Parish in Nandi County, the day after his funeral Mass at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral of Eldoret Diocese.
Since the priestʼs murder, security operations in the Kerio Valley have intensified as authorities continue efforts to restore stability in the region, The Star reported on June 10.
According to the report, government officials have confirmed recovering more than 500 firearms through the ongoing amnesty and disarmament program, and that hundreds of former bandits have undergone rehabilitation.
Speaking recently on the broader security situation in Kerio Valley, Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration Kipchumba Murkomen attributed persistent insecurity in the region partly to environmental degradation.
Murkomen said shrinking grazing land, drying rivers, and declining natural resources have intensified competition among communities and contributed to cattle rustling, banditry, and violence.
He argued that lasting peace would require not only security operations but also environmental restoration and sustainable economic opportunities for young people through initiatives such as tree planting, rehabilitation of water sources, agroforestry, beekeeping, and ecotourism.
This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
Following its summer 2026 general meeting, the Irish Bishops’ Conference voiced its deep concern about the attack on human life and the wider violence and social disorder that has taken place in Belfast and across Northern Ireland this past week.
The civil unrest followed a brutal knife attack in Belfast carried out by a Sudanese national. Footage of the incident has been widely circulated globally and on social media. Bishop Alan McGuckian, SJ, of Down and Connor said: “My thoughts and prayers are firstly with Stephen Ogilvie, who sustained life-changing devastating injuries in a brutal and horrific attack.”
Referring to the rioting, intimidation, and vandalism toward immigrant people that followed, he said: “So many newcomers make an outstanding contribution to our communities, including our parishes. They are our friends. Shame on all those who have sought to mobilize, agitate, weaponize, and politicize the fear and concerns of others over the last few days. All of us have a responsibility to de-escalate societal tension rather than stoke the flames of racism.”
Lebanese priest says ‘situation drastically deteriorating’ for Christians
Father Youssef Semaan, parish priest of Kfour, Nabatieh District, in Lebanon, said the situation for Christians remaining in the country is continuing to worsen.
“Every week is more dangerous than the last. The situation has become unbearable,” Semaan said, according to a press release from Aid to the Church in Need on Thursday.
The priest, who was forced to leave Kfour due to safety reasons, said he has managed to return on two occasions. He said many Christians have been faced with the difficult decision to “stay and risk their lives or abandon our land without any guarantee that we will ever get our houses or our goods back.”
In Kfour, the Christian population has dropped from 120 to around 12, ACN noted. “We still have hope,” Semaan said. “But hope itself is not enough. It has to be based on solid foundations that allow us to rebuild and go on living. We are human after all.”
Zimbabwe bishops consecrate nation to Mary, a ‘model of courage’ in difficult times
Members of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ZCBC) have consecrated the Southern African nation to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, entrusting the country to her maternal protection and presenting her as a model of faith, hope, courage, and love amid ongoing challenges.
In his homily, ZCBC president Bishop Raymond Tapiwa Mupandasekwa said the bishops identified Mary as a fitting patroness for Zimbabwe, saying: “The act of surrender to God is indeed an imitation of this Holy Virgin. She is the woman who not only shows her total surrender to God in faith, but she is also a woman of great hope. At the foot of the cross she stands. A great sign of courage in a very difficult moment.”
Legislation threatening the seal of confession in France fails
A provision in a bill proposed to the French National Assembly that would have compelled priests to violate the seal of confession to report instances of abuse against minors has failed.
The bill, aimed at preventing and combating violence in schools in the wake of a sex abuse scandal at a Catholic boarding school in southern France, was adopted on June 1 without the proposed clause that would have removed exemptions for priests from mandatory reporting of information regarding sexual abuse heard during the sacrament of confession.
The French Bishops’ Conference expressed “grave concern” ahead of a debate on the bill, noting several articles in the bill that “call into question several fundamental freedoms,” including the right to secrecy under the seal of confession.
Christians in Tyre face new wave of uncertainty
The Christian community in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre is watching recent developments with growing concern after the area was included in an Israeli evacuation warning for the first time, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Thursday.
Church leaders fear that any military escalation could have lasting consequences for one of Lebanon’s oldest Christian communities, which has already endured years of economic hardship and emigration.
Melkite Greek Catholic Archbishop Georges Iskandar called for urgent efforts to protect civilians and preserve the city’s historic and religious character, warning that further instability could accelerate the decline of the local Christian presence.
Victims of clergy abuse in Australia clash with diocese over memorial
A group representing victim survivors of clergy abuse has announced its agreement with the Diocese of Ballarat in Australia to build a memorial for victims “null and void” after an alleged communication breakdown with the diocese.
“Throughout the memorial process, we have sought to engage with Church representatives in a respectful, transparent, and constructive manner. We have acted in good faith and demonstrated a genuine willingness to work collaboratively towards memorials at both sites: St. Patrick’s Cathedral and St. Alipius Old Boys School,” the Ballarat and District Survivors Memorial Committee said in a June 6 Facebook post. “Regrettably, we do not believe the same level of transparency and good faith has been demonstrated by the Church during these negotiations.”
British National Trust reopens 420-year-old Catholic lodge
Lyveden, a three-story Tudor lodge in Northamptonshire, England, known for its Catholic symbolism, has been reopened following conservation work.
“Weʼre very excited to open Lyveden Lodge after 18 months and welcome visitors back inside this remarkable building,” Matthew Glasgow, senior building surveyor, said in a BBC News report on Friday. “While further conservation work will be needed in the coming years, the completed repairs mean visitors can once again enjoy this extraordinary unfinished vision of Sir Thomas Tresham.” Conservationists conducted repairs to the lodge’s stonework, replaced timber, and restored its Elizabethan garden.
Constructed in the 16th century by Sir Thomas Tresham, a practicing Catholic who faced persecution for refusing to attend Anglican church services during the late 1500s and early 1600s, Lyveden is built in the shape of a Greek cross and features references to Christian numerology, according to the National Trust’s website.
Rebaptisms raise questions in Syria’s Maronite community
Reports that several Maronites in the Latakia countryside of Syria joined Protestant groups and underwent “rebaptism” have sparked discussion within the local Church about the challenges facing parish life in the region.
The situation came to light in the village of Ain Halaqim, where community members pointed to years of pastoral difficulties, including the absence of a resident priest and limited opportunities for ongoing catechesis, ACI MENA reported Friday.
Rather than focusing solely on the individuals who left, many local voices are asking broader questions about how the Church can better accompany the faithful, especially in communities affected by economic struggles and migration.
Pro-life advocates defend unborn babies with Down syndrome
Pro-life advocates are defending unborn children with Down syndrome after a YouTuber told the world that he and his wife aborted their child who had been diagnosed with the condition.
YouTube creator Jesse Ridgway went viral for posting about how he and his wife decided to abort their unborn baby after they learned the child would likely have Down syndrome. Advocates on X reacted by sharing posts celebrating the worth of individuals with the medical diagnosis.
"Down syndrome shouldn’t mean a death sentence,” Live Action Founder and President Lila Rose said.
SBA Pro-Life America posted in response to Ridgway’s post: “This is so sad and awful. We CANʼT stand silently by.”
“Research shows 99% of people with Down syndrome are happy with their lives, and their families love them,” the pro-life group continued. “Families deserve truthful information & support. People with Down syndrome deserve to live. They should never be targets for discrimination, inside the womb or out. Period.”
“Babies with Down syndrome arenʼt a ‘glitch.’ Theyʼre a blessing.” Live Action posted. “Yet 67-80% of these beautiful babies are killed for their disability before they are born."
Study: Women aren’t informed on emotional, physical impact of abortion
Women want information on abortion symptoms and the emotional impacts associated with the procedure, but they often aren’t given it, according to a recent peer-reviewed study.
The study by scholars associated with the Charlotte Lozier Institute found women experience significant informed consent gaps when they are given abortion drugs.
The researchers found that three in 10 women report experiencing unexpected levels of pain and bleeding.
“Because they didn’t know what was ‘normal,’ many women turned to the internet for information about abortion side effects like excessive pain and bleeding, help processing difficult emotions, and urgent reassurance during the abortion process,” the study read.
Tessa Cox, senior research associate at the institute and one of the authors of the study emphasized the risks associated with this lack of medical information-sharing.
“The stakes are too high for informed consent to be treated as a formality,” Cox said in a statement.
Fourteen attorneys general call for clean water protections from abortion drugs
Fourteen attorneys general called on the federal government to track water pollution from abortion pills this week.
The attorneys general asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to track pollution from the drugs dumped into the U.S. water supply. They argued that “loosened regulations” have “increased the number of chemical abortions occurring in the home,” resulting in “tons of chemically tainted medical waste being flushed into American waterways.”
Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins, who spearheaded the movement, called the request “commonsense.”
“Because of negligent FDA policy and the failure to enforce the Comstock Act, more than 50 tons of chemically tainted blood, placenta tissue, and human remains go into our waterways every year. With infertility on the rise, we need to know: what is the extent of the damage?” Hawkins said in a statement shared with EWTN News.
The letter was signed by attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas.
Head of Knights of Columbus awarded for ‘building up a culture of life’
The Sisters of Life, a religious organization centered around affirming the life of every human being, gave an award to the head of the Knights of Columbus, Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly, for his life-affirming work.
Kelly received the John Cardinal O’Connor Award on on June 5 at the annual Friends of the Sisters of Life Gala in Rye, New York.
“His Eminence John Cardinal O’Connor was a towering pillar of the pro-life movement,” Kelly said in a press release. “With an unshakable resolve, he dedicated so much of his ministry as bishop to proclaiming the sanctity of every human life, made in the image and likeness of God.”
“Speaking for the Knights, we will keep doing everything we can to support the Sisters of Life, and to protect vulnerable mothers and their children,” Kelly said. "As we prepare for the work ahead, we take comfort in the knowledge that Jesus Christ will continue to guide us.”
Alabama attorney general launches legal challenge against abortion drug companies
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall issued cease-and-desist letters to six companies that have been allegedly illegally distributing abortion drugs.
According to a June 9 press release, the companies were providing chemical abortion drugs in Alabama, where abortion is illegal.
“These companies are not only breaking the law, they are deceiving Alabama consumers about the very real dangers of these drugs,” said Marshall in a statement. “That stops now.”
The letters were sent to abortion drug providers across the United States, as well as one company based in the United Arab Emirates. Several companies were based in California or New York, which have “shield laws” designed to protect abortion companies.
