The acquittal of an elderly Missionaries of Charity (MC) nun and two others in a much-publicized “child trafficking” case at Ranchi in the eastern state of Jharkhand in India has been widely hailed by the Church.
“We thank God for this [court] verdict. We are happy as our prayers have been heard,” Sister Concettina, MC secretary-general, told EWTN News June 19 from the motherhouse in Kolkata.
“Finally, [the] eight long years’ ordeal has come to an end,” Archbishop Vincent Aind of Ranchi and head of the Catholic Church in Jharkhand told EWTN News, reacting to the June 18 verdict of the Ranchi district court.
On July 4, 2018, 62-year-old MC Sister Concilia and two aides from the MC home for unwed mothers at Jail Road in Ranchi were arrested on the allegation by Rupa Verma, the chairwoman of the Child Welfare Committee for the Ranchi district, that the home had sold a 14-day-old infant boy to a couple.
The sensational news of “child trafficking” against the Missionaries of Charity, the congregation founded by Mother Teresa, made worldwide headlines.
A flurry of criticism followed after the federal Ministry for Women and Child Welfare under the Hindu nationalist BJP government tried to malign the MC congregation by even ordering inspection of all MC homes across the country, as detailed in this National Catholic Register report.
Even the Supreme Court of India denied bail to the accused nun, who was released after 14 months on bail from the Jharkhand High Court.
“We are happy that the judiciary has thrown out the concocted case,” Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, who was then secretary general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, told EWTN News.
“The whole allegation was part of a conspiracy to tarnish the image of the Church and has to be seen in the background of the political atmosphere in Jharkhand [under BJP rule] at the time with concerted attempts to discredit the Church. Church institutions were having visits of investigation teams in late evenings,” Mascarenhas said.
Following this case, he said, 22 children — from infants to those below five years — who were under nutritional care at the nearby MC home at Hinoo were taken away by the government, and two of the children died.
“I met the [federal] home minister to communicate the ridicule, humiliation, and distress the Missionaries of Charity congregation faced and the pain of the Church in India over the wild allegation,” said Mascarenhas, now bishop of Daltonganj in Jharkhand.
“I cannot forget the face of the tearful Sister Concilia when I met her in jail when she told me ‘I am hungry for Eucharist,’” he added.
Meanwhile, Church sources in Ranchi told EWTN News that the news of the court’s rejection of the “child trafficking” charge against the MCs has been virtually blacked out in the Jharkhand media, let alone the entire national media.
DENVER — On March 25, Archbishop James Golka was installed as the new archbishop for the Archdiocese of Denver after serving as bishop of the Diocese of Colorado Springs since 2021.
Golka follows in the footsteps of Archbishop Samuel Aquila, who led the archdiocese since 2012 and was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI.
Golka told EWTN News in a sit-down interview that he was “not expecting to come to Denver.”
“I had been in [Colorado] Springs for four and a half years as a bishop and I know many other bishops more qualified than I am, who have served longer than I have. So, I thought I was safe, if you will,” he said. “So when I saw that the nuncio had tried to call me, I said a prayer and called him back and he said, ‘Are you alone? Can we talk?’ And I joked and I said, ‘Your Eminence, we can talk all you want as long as youʼre not going to move me.’ And he laughed and he just right away said, ‘Youʼve been appointed.’
Golka shared that he had two reactions to the news. First, he was sad to be leaving the Diocese of Colorado Springs after falling in love with the parishes, the people, and the pastors. Second, he immediately said “yes” because he believes that “if the Holy Spirit is asking through the Church and the Holy Father, you have to say yes.”
“I also joked that in my last five assignments I would have never chosen any of them myself. So itʼs clear to me God chose them and if God wants it, itʼs going to be great if I let God do it,” he added.
The new appointment comes at a time where the world is still getting to know Pope Leo XIV, which includes analyzing and monitoring the new pope’s appointments. When asked why he believes the Holy Father chose him for Denver, Golka shared that he asked the papal nuncio this very question during their call, which took place on Feb. 7.
“I asked the papal nuncio why I was chosen for Denver and he said, ‘I donʼt really know,’” Golka recalled. “He said that the Holy Father discerns and prays, so we believe the Spirit is leading this choice, so thatʼs first of all it.”
Golka added that he sees Pope Leo as a “very thoughtful, well-considered person,” so if he had to guess why he was chosen, Golka would credit it to the fact that he loves Jesus “immensely.”
“I try to talk about him [Jesus] as much as I can and be a witness to that. I love being a pastor … So, I think the Holy Father wants people who love Our Lord openly, outwardly, and who are pastors who care for the people,” he said.
Archbishop James Golka with a local family during an event at the Archdiocese of Denver. | Credit: Dan Petty/Archdiocese of Denver
Born and raised in Grand Island, Nebraska, Golka was the fourth of 10 children. His father, Robert, was a civil engineer and his mother, Patricia, was a Catholic school teacher.
Golka shared that his parents were “experts at passing on the faith.” While they never sat their children down for a lesson on the faith or opened the catechism to teach them from it, the children had the faith instilled in them from young ages because “they just lived it [the faith].”
In second grade, Golka was preparing to receive his first Communion and in one of his workbook activities it asked the children to draw a picture of someone they enjoyed listening to. Golka drew a picture of his parish priest.
“I knew it was in me at a young age,” he said.
When Golka was in eighth grade one of his older brothers entered the seminary. Despite his brother discerning out of the priesthood, Golka thought to himself, “Boy, if he can do it, I can do it.”
“I went up and stayed with him for a week when I was in eighth grade and I thought to myself, ‘This is where Godʼs calling me.’”
Growing up in a large family, Golka dreamt of getting married and having a lot of children. He shared that he “grieved the loss of children I wouldn’t have and the loss of a family.”
However, “God assured me that many people would treat me as father and call me Father for the rest of my life, and heʼs come through on that promise,” he said.
In the weeks leading up to Golka’s installation as archbishop of Denver, both of his parents passed away — his mother in January and his father in March.
Archbishop James Golka with his parents, Patricia and Robert. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Colorado Springs
“Both of their deaths were not surprising, but both were unexpected and both were incredibly beautiful deaths but painful as heck,” he shared.
He explained that his mother passed away in her sleep right before he was appointed archbishop. Golka’s father was in attendance at the press conference held after the announcement was made and he recalled his father “being the star of the show that day.”
On March 3 — less than a month after the press conference — Golka visited his father in the hospital.
“I went into his hospital room — he was very awake that day, his last day of being lucid — and I walked in the room and … he looked at me and he smiled and I said, ‘What dad, you couldnʼt wait till March 25?’ And he laughed and he said, ‘No, Iʼm going to die tomorrow or the next day, but I can do more for you from heaven that I can from here. So you can trust that,’” Golka recalled.
His father passed away on March 5.
On the day of Golka’s installation, he recalled being extremely tired, lightheaded, and he was worried he was going to pass out.
“I was just so tired, exhausted, and as soon as Archbishop Aquila and [apostolic nuncio] Cardinal [Christophe] Pierre put me in the cathedra and Archbishop Aquila gave me the crozier, immediately my mom was standing right here [on his right side] and my dad right here [on his left side] — like theyʼre tangible,” he shared. “And so it was almost like God told me, ‘Now relax and enjoy this. Weʼll take care of you.’ And my dad said, ‘Weʼre going to stand in front of God and intercede for our family for all of eternity. So, donʼt worry.’ So, at my installation, what a gift to have had that, because without them there that day, I would have passed out.”
Archbishop James Golka with his siblings and parents. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Colorado Springs
He added that he has felt his parents' presence with him several times already in his new role as archbishop.
As for his top priorities for Denver, Golka said he wants to start by getting to know his priests and their parishes and invest time in supporting them, he wants to continue to work hard to defend life in the state of Colorado, and lastly he wants to “listen more intently” to God’s plans for the archdiocese.
“God has a plan for this archdiocese and he knows why he brought me here and why he brought all of us here. I donʼt know why he made me an archbishop; Iʼm just a guy from Nebraska … But, he has a plan so we need to listen to him intently and trust that he isnʼt hiding the plan from us. He wants to show it to us. So our job then is to learn how to listen and discern.”
Caritas Bangladesh has been forced to scale back its relief work for Rohingya refugees in the city of Coxʼs Bazar as funding from foreign donors declines, its emergency response director said.
“Our biggest challenge now is funding,” said Liton Luis Gomes, project director of Caritas Bangladeshʼs Emergency Response Program.
“We only received 60% of the funds we planned for this fiscal year; we didnʼt get the remaining 40%,” Gomes told EWTN News by phone. “Thatʼs why we had to reduce the quantity while maintaining the quality of our services.”
The cuts have fallen hardest on shelter and hygiene work. “If we used to be able to repair 500 houses, now it has decreased by 50%. If someone asks for a hygiene kit like soap, we canʼt give it urgently,” Gomes said.
A shrinking budget
The decline in donor support has been steep. Caritas Bangladesh reported receiving about 916 million taka ($7.4 million) for its Rohingya response in 2017–18. Support fell to about 468 million taka ($3.8 million) in 2020 and about 417 million taka ($3.4 million) in 2024. It rose to about 531 million taka ($4.3 million) in 2025 before falling again to about 427 million taka ($3.5 million) so far in 2026, the agency said.
Even so, Gomes said, the charity is maintaining the services that do not require money. “We are doing things like training volunteers for the crisis period, raising awareness about disaster relief,” he said.
Caritas Bangladesh has worked in the camps since the 2017 exodus, providing shelter, water and sanitation, child protection, and education. Between 2017 and 2024, its shelter and settlement program reached an average of 38,335 households a year, the charity said, through transitional shelter assistance, repairs, tarpaulin distribution, and monsoon support. It runs 12 learning centers and two youth and adolescent centers in the camps, teaching children under the Myanmar curriculum.
Lives in the camps
The charityʼs work is felt in individual lives. Mohammad Arshad, 23, who lives in Camp 19, has volunteered in the shelter program of Caritas Bangladeshʼs Emergency Response Program since 2018. He had studied up to class nine in Myanmar and helped his father run a grocery shop before the family was forced to flee. With no stable income and eight people to support, including his aging parents, his wife, his young son, and two younger siblings, he had lain awake wondering how he would provide.
“The job was more than just a source of income; it gave me a sense of purpose. I learned how to organize workers, coordinate with engineers, and develop technical skills,” Arshad told EWTN News.
“This opportunity had not only helped me; it supports my family but also [has] given me hope for a better future. As I watched my son sleep peacefully at night, [I] whispered silent thanks, to Caritas Bangladesh, to the people who had trusted me, to the strength that kept me going,” Arshad added.
Momtaz Begum, a vulnerable woman who received income-generating support through Caritas, described a similar turnaround.
“My husbandʼs addiction left us in debt, and after he abandoned us, I struggled to provide for my family by raising poultry and growing vegetables. The COVID-19 pandemic made things worse, leaving us without food or income. When our home was destroyed in the rain, I moved to my fatherʼs house, where I faced mistreatment from relatives,” she told EWTN News.
On Jan. 18, 2022, Begum received 25,000 taka (about $200) from Caritas Bangladesh to start an income-generating activity. She used the money to expand her cloth business.
“Earlier, I had to share profits with a shopkeeper, but now I buy cloth independently and keep all the profit. This has increased my daily earnings to 400-500 taka [about $3 to $4], allowing me to save … money,” Begum told EWTN News.
A stateless people
Rohingya refugees have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh since the 1970s. In the 1990s, more than 250,000 sheltered in Coxʼs Bazar, though all but 20,000 were repatriated after a campaign that began in the early 2000s.
The influx resumed in 2015, and by 2017 an estimated 300,000 Rohingya were in Bangladesh. About 537,000 more fled across the border to Coxʼs Bazar in August 2017 as violence intensified in Myanmarʼs Rakhine state, prompting the United Nations to call the situation “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.”
By December 2023, 971,904 Rohingya were living in 33 camps in the Coxʼs Bazar district. Pope Francis met a group of Rohingya refugees during his apostolic visit to Bangladesh in 2017.
Looking ahead, Caritas Bangladesh said it aims to build stronger links between the refugees it assists and local businesses, and to deepen cooperation with government and aid agencies, even within a tighter budget.
Canada’s Parliament has passed a bill that strengthens the prosecution of hate crimes but removes a long‑standing protection for expressing religious beliefs, raising concerns among Catholic leaders.
The legislation, named the Combatting Hate Act (Bill C-9), received Royal Assent on June 18 and is set to take effect July 18. The law increases penalties for hate‑motivated offenses, adds new protections against intimidation or blocking access to places of worship, and bans the promotion of terrorism or certain hate symbols. It also repeals a section of the Criminal Code that said a person could not be convicted for “in good faith” expressing an opinion on a religious subject or based on a religious text.
Cardinal Frank Leo of Toronto urged lawmakers to “carefully consider amendments that will provide clear and unambiguous protection for freedom of religion, conscience, and expression.”
Missionaries of Charity acquitted by Indian court in child trafficking case
The Ranchi Civil Court of Jharkhand, India, has acquitted Missionaries of Charity Sister Concelia Baxla of 2018 charges of child trafficking.
Baxla had been accused of cooperating with the sale of a 2-week-old baby from a home for unwed mothers for 50,000 rupees.
“This has taken eight years to get cleared,” Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas of Daltonganj, a former general secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, said, according to an Asia News report Thursday. “Today, after years of suffering, prayer, and perseverance, truth has prevailed.” The decision comes after the sister spent three years in prison before being granted bail and an intense investigation of the congregation’s facilities across the Indian state of Jharkhand, the report noted.
U.S.-born missionary sister who helped shape African Bible dies at 87
Tributes poured in following the death of Sister Mary Augustine Nemer, a member of the Pious Society of the Daughters of St. Paul who spent more than three decades serving the Church in East Africa.
Nemer, who died Tuesday, according to a report from ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, contributed significantly to the publication of the African Bible, one of the most important Catholic publishing projects on the continent. Beyond publishing, the late Sister Mary Augustine assisted sisters serving in Africa with immigration documentation, taught English, catechetics, and the Constitutions of the Daughters of St. Paul, and played a key role in the formation of young women preparing for religious life.
Coptic Catholic synod focuses on education and the diaspora
The Coptic Catholic Synod concluded its two-day meeting in Egypt with discussions focused on pastoral life, education, and the future of communities outside Egypt, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Wednesday.
The bishops expressed support for the Upper Egypt Association for Education and emphasized the importance of developing its mission while preserving its Catholic identity. A point of discussion was the possible establishment of the first Coptic Catholic eparchy in the diaspora. The synod also reviewed developments related to Egypt’s Christian personal status law and reflected on Catholic social teaching in the age of artificial intelligence, especially the need to protect human dignity, truth, justice, and peace.
Weapons theft revealed in murder case of 11 Catholics in Northern Ireland
Documents detailing the theft of a British army gun later used to murder 11 Catholics in Northern Ireland have been revealed more than 50 years later amid an ongoing civil case against the country’s police service and Ministry of Defence by a surviving family member.
The documents, which were not provided to investigation teams, link a Sterling submachine gun stolen from a military base in Northern Ireland in May 1974 to two gang members, who family survivor Eugene Reavey claims were involved in the murder of his three brothers, John Martin Reavey, Brian Reavey, and Anthony Reavey, according to an Irish News report on Tuesday. The stolen gun was used to kill 11 Catholics in 1975 and 1976.
Patriarch Paul III Nona receives Kurdish officials in Ankawa
Newly installed Chaldean Patriarch Paul III Nona received senior officials from the Kurdistan Region during his first pastoral visit outside the patriarchal diocese.
The meetings in Ankawa included congratulations from President Nechirvan Barzani, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, and other political and civil figures, ACI MENA reported Wednesday. Discussions focused on the situation of Christians in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, coexistence, and the protection of the country’s religious and cultural diversity. Patriarch Nona thanked the Kurdish leadership and recalled the region’s role in receiving displaced Christians after the ISIS invasion in 2014.
He also stressed the need to help Christians regain confidence, remain in their homeland, and find safe conditions and work opportunities that could encourage displaced and emigrated families to return.
‘We still have a long way to go,’ says archbishop in Democratic Republic of Congo
Archbishop François-Xavier Maroy Rusengo of Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has expressed concern over persistent insecurity and violence in the eastern part of the country, lamenting that decades of conflict continue to undermine efforts toward national unity and lasting peace.
“For three decades, we have lived through the horrors of war in eastern DRC. This situation shows that we still have a long way to go in building a united nation, one family of Godʼs children living on the land the Lord has entrusted to us,” the archbishop said during a Thanksgiving Mass marking the 20th anniversary of his installation on Thursday, ACI Africa reported. Drawing on the Gospel message of love and reconciliation, Maroy urged Congolese citizens to embrace peaceful coexistence and work together for the common good.
Major League Baseball (MLB) is coming under federal investigation for potentially discriminating against San Francisco Giants players who displayed Bible verses on their uniforms during the team’s gay pride celebrations.
Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ), sent a letter to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred on June 18 that said the DOJ will use all available means to hold employers accountable for discrimination and referred the matter to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
The Giants held a “Pride Night” on June 12 in which most players wore caps that infused the colors of the Progress Pride Flag onto the team’s logo, which was advertised as a “celebration of Pride and the LGBTQIA+ community” during a game against the Chicago Cubs.
Starting pitcher Landen Roupp and two relief pitchers wore the caps but wrote Bible verses next to the rainbow-colored logo. Roupp wrote “Genesis 9:12-16,” in which God tells Noah the rainbow is “the sign of the covenant that I am making between me and you and every living creature with you for all ages to come” and promises to never flood the entire Earth again.
The Giants apologized in a statement to the San Francisco Standard, saying the display “caused pain and anger to many in the LGBTQ+ community.” It also prompted an official warning from the MLB to not display handwritten messages in any future games.
The DOJ letter cites an MLB explanation for why the players were warned, reported by NBC News, which said the warning is not disciplinary and “had absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message.” Rather, the MLB cited a rule that prohibits displays of writings and messages on uniforms.
However, Dhillon accused the MLB of having a “double standard” in how it enforces this rule, noting the MLB allowed players to wear “Black Lives Matter” messages in spite of the broad prohibition.
Dhillon’s letter noted that employers cannot legally use “facially neutral” policies as “a pretext for discrimination” and said the selective enforcement “calls MLB’s true motives into question” and raises questions about whether the league is complying with federal civil rights protections. She also cited Supreme Court precedent requiring employers to accommodate religious expression in uniform rules.
“The Civil Rights Act prohibits MLB and its franchises from unreasonably burdening the rights of players with religious objections to serving as the league’s vehicle for pro-Pride messages,” she wrote to the commissioner.
Neither the MLB nor the Giants responded to a request for comment.
Support from archdiocese
The players got public support from the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, which was first reported by the New York Post.
Peter Marlow, a spokesperson for the archdiocese, said in statements provided to EWTN News that “people of faith should not be compelled to hide or suppress their sincerely held religious convictions in public life, including in the world of professional sports.”
“In a diverse society, respect should be a two-way street,” he said. “Just as individuals with same-sex attraction deserve to be treated with dignity and free from unjust discrimination, people of faith deserve the freedom to express their beliefs peacefully and respectfully without being presumed hostile or hateful.”
While he said he understands that “some individuals may have been offended,” he added: “We do not believe that a respectful reference to sacred Scripture should be viewed as inherently hurtful or exclusionary.”
Other controversies
This investigation also comes less than one month after the Nationals fired Sean Hudson, its former director of community relations, for saying the team tries to avoid the inclusion of pitcher Trevor Williams in promotional materials because of his strong Catholic faith.
Williams was outspoken against the Los Angeles Dodgers giving a Pride Night award to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence — a group of drag queens who dress like Catholic nuns and mock Catholic symbols and practices, which includes a blasphemous satire of the Mass.
This week, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colorado, reiterated her call for a DOJ investigation into that incident and questioned a long-standing rule that exempts the league from antitrust regulations. In her June 17 letter, she demanded a response within 10 days to her concerns about alleged patterns of discriminatory behavior from the MLB.
“No private organization, even one granted special legal status, should be permitted to penalize or marginalize Americans for objecting to the public mockery of their faith,” she wrote. “MLB’s privileged antitrust position must not serve as a license for exclusionary practices.”
The Nationals did not respond to a request for comment.
Controversies about pride celebrations have also extended into the minor leagues, with the York Revolution forfeiting a game because some players refused to wear pride-themed jerseys. This team is part of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which is a partner of the MLB.
The team issued a statement saying the players’ refusal to participate in pride is “completely inconsistent with our vision.” The statement said they decided to cancel the game and host a separate Pride event “out of respect for the Pride community and the York community.”
WASHINGTON — The Catholic Church’s permanent diaconate in the United States reached a record size in 2025. Still, a national survey suggested the ministry may be approaching a demographic crossroads as aging membership, retirements, and deaths increasingly offset ordinations.
The findings come from the “A Portrait of the Permanent Diaconate in 2025,” an annual survey conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations.
The survey was administered between February and May, asking about the previous year. CARA received responses from 143 of the 185 archdioceses, dioceses, archeparchies, and eparchies whose bishops and eparchs belong to the USCCB and have an active Office of Deacons, for a 77% overall response rate.
Researchers estimated that 21,562 permanent deacons serve in the United States, a record high. The previous year’s report showed 20,212 U.S. deacons.
Yet beneath the 2025 record figure, thereport revealed signs of stagnation that could shape the future of the ministry carried out by married or unmarried men ordained as permanent deacons to preach, teach, baptize, witness marriages, and lead charitable service.
“The 2025 diaconate portrait shows a remarkable rebound, estimating 570 ordinations compared to 494 retirements and 390 deaths,” Sister Thu Do, LHC, the report’s primary researcher, told EWTN News. “While we are moving toward a healthier replacement rate than in previous years, the workload for active deacons remains intense.”
Growth slows despite record numbers
The report estimated that 13,864 deacons are active in ministry, while thousands of others are retired or no longer serving in active assignments.
Although the overall number of deacons increased slightly from the previous year, growth has slowed considerably. The survey found that losses from retirement and death are nearly matching the number of men entering the ministry.
During the 2025 calendar year, 466 permanent deacons were ordained, the study showed. Extrapolating to include those who did not respond to the survey, it can be estimated that there were 570 deacons ordained in the United States in 2025, according to the report. At the same time, 494 deacons retired from active ministry, and another 390 deacons died, the report said.
The data suggest that growth will depend heavily on whether dioceses can attract and form enough candidates to replace those leaving ministry.
An aging ministry
The report’s findings highlight that the permanent diaconate is aging rapidly, and its pipeline isn’t keeping up.
The median age of active deacons is 69, while the median age of all permanent deacons, including retirees, is 70. Only a small percentage of active deacons are younger than 50.
The report indicates that the permanent diaconate remains one of the oldest groups of ordained ministers in the Church in the United States.
The aging trend is also reflected in the number of deacons who retire each year. In many dioceses, retirements outpace growth, contributing to concerns that the ministry could begin declining in size if ordination rates do not increase, the report said.
Demographic profile
The survey found that the vast majority of permanent deacons are married, with only a small percentage being widowed or never married.
Racial and ethnic diversity within the diaconate continues to increase, though most deacons are non-Hispanic white, the report said. Hispanic and Latino Catholics represent a growing share of both active deacons and men in formation, the report said.
“I want to highlight how beautifully the diaconate reflects the growing cultural diversity of the U.S. Catholic Church,” Sister Thu said. “This dynamic adaptation equips men to serve communities in their heart languages, serving as a wonderful testament to the universal and living nature of the Church.”
Questions about the future
The report does not forecast an imminent decline in the permanent diaconate. However, its findings point to growing demographic pressures that could limit future expansion.
While the total number of deacons has reached a historic high, the ministry’s growth increasingly depends on replacing aging members rather than expanding into new territory as retirements and deaths consume much of the annual increase generated by ordinations.
“This signals a crucial transition,” Sister Thu said. “To maintain vibrant parish ministries and avoid a pastoral vacuum as our senior deacons rightfully retire, we must actively encourage the next generation of men to discern and hear this call.”
The Department of Justice (DOJ) joined in a lawsuit filed by Catholic nuns against a New York law that forces nursing facilities to require that women’s units accommodate transgender women, who are biologically male.
The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, who have cared for terminal cancer patients at no charge for 125 years, sued the state after the New York Department of Health sent them three warnings about not following the transgender policies.
One letter warns about “refusing to assign a room to a resident other than in accordance with the resident’s gender identity,” “prohibiting a resident from using a restroom available to other persons of the same gender identity,” and “willfully and repeatedly failing to use a resident’s preferred name or pronouns after being clearly informed of the preferred name or pronouns.”
On June 18, the DOJ notified the U.S. District Court of its intent to intervene on behalf of the sisters, asserting that New York’s law violates their constitutional right to equal protection as a religious group.
“States should take notice that they cannot require Americans to abandon their religious beliefs in the name of woke gender ideology,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the DOJ Civil Rights Division said in a statement.
“For more than a century, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne have provided free palliative care to indigent cancer patients in their last days,” she said. “New York’s law would force these religious women to choose between their faith and their license if they wish to continue serving the dying.”
The sisters argue that the state is violating their First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion. They also argue their First Amendment rights are being violated because the state is trying to force them to communicate a point of view with which they disagree.
The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne operate Rosary Hill Home, a 42-bed nursing home in Thornwood, New York.
Colombia’s Congressional Pro-Life and Pro-Family Caucus on June 16 presented a detailed report on its four-year legislative record, highlighting its growth from 24 to 52 members and key victories including the passage of three landmark laws and the successful defense of traditional marriage, while warning of fresh battles as the new Congress convenes on July 20.
The caucus, which first formed in 2020, established ad hoc committees for the defense of life, family, and religious freedom in both chambers, coordinated by Rep. Luis Miguel López and Sen. Karina Espinosa.
Over the 2022–2026 term, the group advanced more than 30 legislative initiatives, three of which became law: Law 2310 of 2023 (the “Empty Arms” Law) providing comprehensive support for parents mourning miscarriage or newborn loss; Law 2361 of 2024 strengthening public policy on breastfeeding and human milk banks; and Law 2495 of 2025 creating the “Made by Family” Seal to support family-owned businesses.
The caucus also successfully modified Bill 155/23C to define marriage in the Civil Code as between “a man and a woman.” The bill initially stated that marriage is between “two adults.”
Furthermore, the caucus blocked or amended “articles to defend the family, life, and religious freedom.”
In the report, members of the caucus addressed not only their achievements but also “the battles fought against harmful bills, many of which were ultimately shelved thanks to the joint action of the caucus members.”
“Each victory represents a step toward solidifying the goal of ensuring that the voices of those who defend life and the family have a place in democratic debate,” the report notes.
The caucus also successfully eliminated the tax on churches within the Tax Reform and removed Article 277 of Bill 338/23C — the “2022–2026 National Development Plan” — which sought to establish a public policy favoring abortion and other “sexual and reproductive rights.’”
Furthermore, prevented from moving forward in the legislative process were initiatives “seeking to legalize cannabis, the four statutory bills on euthanasia, the more than 10 bills seeking to impose gender ideology, and the three statutory bills seeking to authorize surrogacy, among others.”
Nevertheless, the report notes that “the challenges ahead are enormous” for the members of the pro-life caucus during the term beginning on July 20.
Among these challenges are “continuing to strengthen the unity of the pro-life caucus, broadening its influence on public opinion, and confronting with solid arguments and constructive proposals the cultural and legislative challenges that put the values we defend under strain.”
“The struggle for life, family, and religious freedom is ongoing, and this report stands as a testament to the fact that, with perseverance and commitment, significant victories can be achieved and the groundwork laid for those yet to come.”
In the lead-up to the congressional elections on March 8, the citizens' group Unidos por la Vida (United for Life) encouraged candidates to sign the “Commitment to Life and Family.”
Following the official vote count, the group reported that more than 30 of the candidates who signed the pledge were elected to the new Congress. They will form the next pro-life caucus in the Legislature, alongside any other lawmakers who wish to join.
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.
In a message to thousands of participants on the 50th anniversary of the Steubenville Youth Conferences, Pope Leo XIV encouraged young Catholics to seek “true peace” and “perfect joy” through a deeper relationship with God, drawing inspiration from the life and teachings of St. Francis of Assisi.
Hosted by Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, the annual conferences are large Catholic youth evangelization events for high school students in North America. Since their founding in 1976, the conferences have drawn hundreds of thousands of young people for worship, Eucharistic adoration, confession, catechesis, and fellowship.
This year more than 43,000 teenagers are expected to participate in conferences held in Steubenville and at regional sites across North America. There is no known record of any previous papal message to the Steubenville conferences.
In his message, the pope reflected on the witness of St. Francis of Assisi and wrote on two themes that defined the saint’s life: authentic peace and perfect joy.
Recalling St. Francis’ traditional greeting, “peace and all good,” the pope emphasized that true peace is a gift from God and flows from a relationship with Christ. He encouraged participants to seek moments of silence and prayer during the conferences to discover the peace that Christ promised disciples and to become instruments of that peace in their families, communities, and society.
The Holy Father also addressed the meaning of “perfect joy,” drawing on St. Francis’ teaching that lasting happiness is not found in material success, popularity, entertainment, or social media. Instead, he explained, true joy comes from knowing God’s love and remaining faithful even amid suffering, rejection, and hardship.
The pope recalled St. Francis’ explanation for what perfect joy is. He wrote: “One winter evening, as he was walking back to Assisi with Brother Leo, one of the first members of the Franciscan order, St. Francis began to give a long list of apparently ‘good’ things that do not lead to perfect joy. At a certain point, Brother Leo finally exclaimed, ‘Father Francis, I pray that you will teach me about perfect joy!’”
Then, the pope wrote, St. Francis recounted “a tragic situation that implied suffering cold, hunger, and rejection — the opposite of what you would expect — and added that if such difficulties are embraced with patience, without complaining, and with love for God, ‘This is perfect joy.’”
“Is it really possible to have joy in such difficult circumstances, we might ask? It is only possible if our life is founded upon our relationship with God as a loving Father,” the pope wrote.
“Only the love of God can provide us with true and perfect joy,” the pope wrote, reminding young people that they are precious in God’s eyes and loved unconditionally by him. He urged conference participants to deepen their relationship with Christ through prayer, the sacraments, and trust in God’s providence.
The message concluded with an invitation to discern God’s call. Whether to marriage, priesthood, religious life, or missionary service, the pope encouraged young people not to be afraid to respond generously if they sense the Lord calling them to a particular vocation.
Weekend Masses could be suspended at a total of 90 parishes across southeast Michigan, according to plans revealed by the Archdiocese of Detroit.
Previously released models identified 58 parishes for potential stoppage of weekend Masses. An additional 32 parishes could see a suspension in weekend Masses.
The models released June 18 cover several planning areas across parts of metro Detroit and nearby counties including Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb.
The latest update follows the completion of 400 listening sessions at parishes across the archdiocese amid its two-year restructuring process. While the listening sessions are complete, parishioners are invited to share feedback through an online form available until July 31.
Archbishop Edward Weisenburger announced the restructuring and renewal initiative for the archdiocese on Nov. 16, 2025, saying: “I believe with all my heart that God is inviting us to reimagine parish life, priestly ministry, and our mission with new creativity and deep faith, to build something that will last — something vibrant, sustainable, and full of hope.”
Weisenburger said at the time that a reduction in the number of parishes and worship sites was expected and that implementation of the plan would take place in 2027, “with a goal of fostering long-term health and missionary vitality throughout the archdiocese.”
A similar suspension of weekend Masses at more than 80 parishes across northeastern Iowa will also take place this summer as a part of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa’s reorganization plan that began in September 2024.
