Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, archbishop of Cologne in Germany. / Credit: Marko Orlovic/German Bishops’ Conference (DBK)

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 6, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Here’s a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:

Petition to Pope Leo XIV to remove German cardinal gains over 60K signatures 

A petition launched by a Munich priest to Pope Leo XIV calling for the dismissal of Cologne, Germany, archbishop Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki has gained 60,130 signatures, CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, reported on Wednesday. 

The German-language petition accuses Woelki of moral corruption and argues that he has lost all credibility in the public sphere and the Church at large after investigations of the cardinal were discontinued after the payment of a 26,000-euro (about $29,700) fine. The petition cites the cardinal’s alleged failure to deal with sexual abuse by Church officials as legal basis for dismissal under canon law. 

Attempted suicide bombers killed outside Ugandan Martyrs’ Day memorial event

Ugandan Bishop Christopher Kakooza of the Lugazi Diocese urged pilgrims participating in Martyrs’ Day celebrations on Tuesday to carry on the legacy of the Ugandan martyrs as local authorities intercepted and killed two alleged terrorists, including a female suicide bomber, outside the event.

During his homily at the event, the bishop encouraged the congregation to “endure just like the martyrs who suffered with hope for what was to come.” 

A local news outlet reported that a counterterrorism unit “intercepted and neutralized” a man and a female suicide bomber on a motorbike headed toward the commemorative event after an explosive detonated about midway to the church. 

Kenyan bishop appeals for unity among warring communities after priest’s murder

Bishop Dominic Kimengich of the Kenyan Diocese of Eldoret is urging warring factions in the bandit-infested Kerio Valley to end violence and division following the murder of a local priest, Father Allois Cheruiyot Bett, reported ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, on Tuesday. 

In a heartfelt plea on the sidelines of the requiem Mass for the priest on Monday, June 2, the bishop appealed for an end to the long decades of violence and division in the territiry. “We speak the same language … So, what are these? Where is the problem?” he said, adding: “Can we not sit down and be serious once and for all?”

Cheruiyot Bett was fatally shot by assailants while returning from Mass at his parish on May 22. 

Patriarch Younan meets Pope Leo XIV, calls for support of Middle East Christians

In their first official meeting, Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican to discuss the plight of Christians in the Middle East, ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, reported.

Younan shared concerns over emigration, the loss of youth, and the need for continued spiritual and humanitarian support. He highlighted his church’s efforts in pastoral care both in the East and in diaspora communities while calling for deeper ecumenical cooperation, especially with the Syriac Orthodox Church. 

Monastic order appeals for return of seized lands in Mosul

The Antonine Hermizdian Chaldean Order is appealing to Iraqi authorities to return more than 1,400 dunams (346 acres) of land that it claims were unjustly confiscated during Saddam Hussein’s regime, ACI MENA reported. The call comes after a recent government initiative reallocated part of that land for a housing project for Christian returnees — without acknowledging its original monastic ownership. 

The order, led by Abbot Samer Sourisho, says it is willing to donate hundreds of plots of land to Christian families if the full land is restored. Despite multiple legal attempts since 2003 — including a rejected lawsuit in 2012 — the monastic order says the Iraqi state continues to ignore historical land claims. 

Sourisho criticized the local government for “generously giving away what it does not own” and described the situation as emblematic of how past injustices are being entrenched instead of corrected. 

The monks called on the state to recognize their rightful ownership and support the return of displaced Christians by empowering religious institutions, not sidelining them.

Over 10,000 Vietnamese Catholics participate in Marian jubilee pilgrimage 

Over 10,000 Vietnamese Catholics from across the Da Nang Diocese took part in a jubilee pilgrimage to the Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Tra Kieu, according to Agenzia Fides. 

The pilgrimage took place on the solemnity of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, May 31. Archbishop Joseph Dang Duc presided over Mass, which was concelebrated by hundreds of priests. The archbishop described the event as one “of love, faith, commitment, and service, an opportunity to profess one’s faith in the face of the challenges of the present time.”

A statue of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in the Seton Legacy Garden at the Seton Shrine in Maryland. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Seton Shrine

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 6, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

This month the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is hosting two pilgrimages to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of the canonization of the first American-born saint. 

The Footsteps of Mother Seton pilgrimage and the Camino of Maryland will both offer a chance for the faithful to walk together in prayer and travel through some of the same places that Seton did more than 200 years ago.

“As the late Pope Francis once said, ‘Making a pilgrimage to the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is one of the most eloquent expressions of the faith of God’s people,’” the executive director at the shrine, Rob Judge, said in a press release.

“We see every day how our sacred and historical spaces at the shrine enable pilgrims to encounter Our Lord, grow in their faith, and receive answers to their prayers,” Judge said. 

Footsteps of Mother Seton

Footsteps of Mother Seton is a four-day pilgrimage organized by the shrine that will guide pilgrims along the same path Seton took from Baltimore to Emmitsburg, where she founded the first community of religious sisters in the U.S., the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph. 

The pilgrimage will begin on June 19 with a Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption in Baltimore and then proceed on the 61-mile trek to the shrine in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

The shrine was “inspired” to do the pilgrimage “because even before the jubilee was announced, we knew it was going to be the 50th anniversary of Mother Seton’s canonization,” Becca Corbell, associate director of programs for the shrine, told CNA.

“It’s totally God’s timing because we’re in a jubilee year,” Corbell said. 

Throughout the journey, pilgrims will stop at three jubilee sites and four parishes to pray with parishioners and to share and reflect on Mother Seton. Along the way, participants will have the opportunity to attend Eucharistic processions, Holy Hours, adoration under the stars, Mass, and community meals.

“We wanted to do things that help people encounter God the way Elizabeth Ann Seton did, and we thought this might be a good fit. The parishes along the way have been super supportive and [are] excited to partner with us. They’re just as big of a part of it as we are,” Corbell said. 

There are expected to be 12-15 pilgrims who will walk the full four days, but the pilgrimage is accessible for those who want to join for only parts of the travels or just the evening events. 

“We wanted to structure it in such a way that even people that can’t walk long distances are still pilgrims. We didn’t want there to be any barrier to entry with that type of spirituality program.”

“It’s more to us about the spirituality of pilgrimage. That [is] something a lot of people don’t know about Elizabeth Ann Seton, she really was focused on ‘this world is not our home, eternity is.’”

“That’s why she made the decision to convert to Catholicism,” Corbell said, because “eternity was “a real guiding light for her.”

The Camino of Maryland 

The Camino of Maryland hosted by the Avalon School in Wheaton, Maryland; the Brookewood School in Kensington, Maryland; and the shrine is also taking place this month. The two-week-long pilgrimage begins June 9 at Point Lookout in southern Maryland and will end at the shrine. 

The Camino of Maryland journey will cover 218 miles as pilgrims travel through multiple landscapes in Maryland and the nation’s capital. They will have access to daily Mass, confession, and time for the rosary. They will stop at seven jubilee sites throughout the route.

The camino’s “mission is to not only provide a unique experience of physical and spiritual growth but to also foster an environment of friendship, understanding, and appreciation of the beauty that surrounds us,” the pilgrimage’s website indicated. 

The camino will also end on June 22, the feast of Corpus Christi, which Corbell shared was unintentional but rather “God’s timing.” The two pilgrimages will come together and end with a solemn Eucharistic procession together on the historic shrine grounds.  

If people wish to participate, but are not local to either pilgrimage, the shrine’s website is accepting prayer intention submissions and the pilgrims will “carry those and pray for them every day,” Corbell said.

The Embassy of Equatorial Guinea in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Kurt Kaiser, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 5, 2025 / 18:13 pm (CNA).

President Donald Trump’s order this week to restrict foreign nationals in 19 countries from entering into the United States will impact six countries with a majority Catholic population and four other countries with a heavy presence of Catholics or other Christians.

According to the order, some of the countries are facing restrictions based on national security concerns and a high terrorism risk. Others were chosen due to high rates of people from those countries overstaying their visas for entry into the United States and remaining in the country unlawfully.

The order includes a near-total ban on three countries with a majority Catholic population: the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Haiti. There are also partial restrictions on three others with Catholic majorities: Burundi, Venezuela, and Cuba.

The near-total ban will also affect Eritrea, where about half of the population is Christian. The largest denomination in Eritrea is the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The partial restrictions will affect Togo, as well, where about half of the population is Christian and the largest Christian segment is Catholic.

Chad, a Muslim-majority country with a large Christian minority, is also facing a near-total ban on entry. More than 40% of the population is Christian, half of whom are Catholic. The majority Muslim country Sierra Leone will be subject to partial restrictions. More than 20% of the people who live there are Christian, most of whom are Protestant.

Six other Muslim-majority countries with very small Christian populations are also subject to the near-total ban: Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Burma, where most of the population is Buddhist, is also facing a near-total ban. Turkmenistan, a majority Muslim country, is facing partial restrictions, as is Laos, which is mostly Buddhist.

In a statement to CNA on Thursday, Bishop Mark Seitz, chairman of the Committee on Migration at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), criticized the new restrictions.

“Our country’s proud tradition as a land of opportunity for people from all walks of life is increasingly contradicted by a system that makes legal immigration impossible for far too many,” said Seitz, who has frequently criticized Trump’s immigration policies.

“A broad ban on nationals from these countries further erodes trust in our legal immigration system and marginalizes entire peoples,” the bishop said. “I pray that these restrictions will be lifted in due course.”

The travel restrictions imposed by Trump include several exceptions. Those exempted include people who are lawful permanent residents of the United States, those who obtain immediate family immigrant visas, and adoptions, among others. Special exemptions are also granted to those suffering religious persecution in Iran and those who have worked directly alongside American forces in Afghanistan.

“[I] hope that the stated exceptions in the proclamation, such as those for Afghans who supported our country, immediate family members, and people seeking humanitarian protections, are honored,” Seitz said.

Anna Gallagher, the executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), also criticized the order. CLINIC works closely with the USCCB. 

“We are particularly concerned about how this policy will affect families trying to reunite in the United States,” Gallagher told CNA. 

“This was a primary concern of ours with previous travel bans implemented under the first Trump administration,” she continued. “We have already seen the devastating impact that cancellation of refugee and humanitarian immigration opportunities has had so far this year in terms of keeping families apart, and this policy will only deepen and extend that harm.”

Upon announcing the travel restrictions on Wednesday, Trump said they were motivated by “extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted as well as those who come here as temporary visitors and overstay their visas.”

The president cited the recent terrorist attack in Colorado, in which an Egyptian man who overstayed his visa admitted to throwing molotov cocktails at people attending a vigil for Israeli hostages. 

“We’ve seen one terror attack after another carried out by foreign visa overstayers from dangerous places all over the world and thanks to [former President Joe] Biden’s open door policies,” the president said. “Today, there are millions and millions of these illegals who should not be in our country.”

Trump imposed a similar travel ban during his first term in office, which was mostly focused on restricting travel from certain countries based on national security concerns.

Kentucky Capitol. / Credit: Alexey Stiop/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jun 5, 2025 / 17:34 pm (CNA).

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news:

Kentucky ACLU drops suit challenging state’s near-ban on abortion 

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky recently dropped a lawsuit it filed last year challenging Kentucky’s protections for unborn children.  

The ACLU filed a motion last Friday to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit and did not give a reason.  

The organization filed the suit, Poe v. Coleman, last year in a state court in Louisville on behalf of a woman identified under the pseudonym Mary Poe for her privacy. She was seven weeks pregnant at the time.

The suit challenged Kentucky’s laws that protect unborn children from abortion: namely the state’s trigger law prohibiting most abortions after Roe v. Wade was overturned and a separate law protecting unborn children after six weeks of life. Kentucky law allows abortions only when the mother’s life or health is at stake. In 2023, the state recorded only 23 abortions. 

ACLU of Kentucky Executive Director Amber Duke said in a statement that the group “will not be providing additional details about the dismissal,” noting that “decisions about health care are and should remain private.” But Duke pledged that the group “will never stop fighting to restore abortion access” in the state.

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman celebrated the withdrawal in a post on X, saying that “Kentuckians can be proud that our pro-life values won the day today and innocent lives will continue to be saved as a result.”

Pro-life protesters file free speech lawsuit 

A young pro-life couple from Ohio recently filed a free speech lawsuit after the husband was arrested for speaking on a megaphone outside of an abortion clinic.  

Zachary and Lindsay Knotts filed the lawsuit on May 30, saying that their freedom of speech and religion was violated. 

Since December 2024, the Knotts have spent Saturday mornings participating in sidewalk advocacy to save the lives of the unborn at the Northeast Ohio Women’s Center, an abortion clinic in Cuyahoga Falls, according to the lawsuit. 

Zachary Knotts was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct. He had been using a megaphone to amplify his voice over the noise pro-abortion escorts were making to drown him out.  

The lawsuit noted that abortion escorts used whistles and kazoos to drown out the Knotts’ speech, but “only Mr. Knotts was given a citation and prosecuted for disorderly conduct.” 

The lawsuit called the arrest “retaliatory” and said it violated free speech because the ordinance was not equally applied, banning amplified speech based on the nature of the speech.

Attorneys general call for expansion of chemical abortions

The attorneys general of Massachusetts, California, New Jersey, and New York this week called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to eliminate restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone following the FDA’s recent announcement that it would review the drug for safety concerns. 

In a joint petition on June 5, the four states’ attorneys general called on the FDA to remove prescriber certification, patient agreement forms, and pharmacy certification requirements. 

New York Attorney General Letitia James said the drug has a “25-year safety record” and that the FDA should “lift these unnecessary barriers.”

The petition follows the recent commitment by the FDA to review the drug for safety concerns in the wake of a study that found that about 11% of women suffer at least one “serious adverse event” within 45 days of taking mifepristone for an abortion.

A chemical abortion takes place via a two-pill regimen. The first pill, mifepristone, kills the child by blocking the hormone progesterone, which cuts off the child’s supply of oxygen and nutrients. A second pill, misoprostol, is taken between 24 to 48 hours after mifepristone to induce contractions meant to expel the child’s body from the mother, essentially inducing labor.

In April, a first-of-its-kind study by the Ethics and Public Policy Center found that of 865,727 mifepristone-taking abortion patients over six years, thousands were hospitalized, more than 1,000 needed blood transfusions, and hundreds suffered from sepsis. Nearly 2,000 had a different life-threatening adverse event.

Al Pacino as Father Theophilus Riesinger in “The Ritual.” / Credit: XYZ Films

CNA Staff, Jun 5, 2025 / 15:21 pm (CNA).

In 1928, Father Joseph Steiger, a priest at St. Joseph’s in Earling, Iowa, was approached with an urgent concern. A 46-year-old woman named Emma Schmidt was experiencing blackouts, aversions to holy objects, and other terrible afflictions. After years of extensive psychiatric treatment provided no relief, Schmidt’s priest suggested an exorcism. 

Father Theophilus Riesinger, a Capuchin friar, was assigned to perform the exorcism while Steiger would be the stenographer. After a 23-day battle, Schmidt was freed from her affliction and able to live the rest of her life in peace.

The exorcism of Schmidt remains the most thoroughly documented and widely publicized exorcism in American history and now a new movie has been made to tell the story. “The Ritual,” starring Al Pacino, Dan Stevens, Ashley Greene, and Patricia Heaton, will be released in theaters on June 6.

Father Aaron Williams, pastor and rector of St. Mary’s Basilica in Natchez, Mississippi, served as the consultant on the film and spoke to CNA about his experience on set, what his role entailed, and why Catholics should consider watching the movie.

Williams explained that the filmmakers first approached him to ask if they could receive permission to film in St. Mary’s Basilica.

“Sometimes as a priest I get nervous about people’s particular sort of fanatic obsession with exorcisms because it can be spiritually dangerous and we don’t want to be walking down that path,” he told CNA. “But, at the same time, it is real and people need to know it’s real.” 

“So when the script was shown to me when they were proposing filming here, that’s what really opened my mind to it because what I started to see was they were taking this with the level of severity that I appreciated,” Williams said. 

After giving them permission to film in the basilica, Williams was approached by the filmmakers to serve as a consultant who could advise on the spiritual aspects of the film. Williams accepted the invitation because he “wanted to be involved with helping to convey a true story in a really accurate way.”

The priest, who has a master’s degree in liturgical studies and is currently pursuing a doctorate, said that the film’s director, David Midell, was very willing to take his advice. Williams said on multiple occasions he made suggestions to Midell that would then be immediately changed in the script.

“He [Midell] told me over and over again that he wasn’t trying to film a religious movie so to say, but he did want religious people, especially Catholics, who would view the film to feel like they had been respected,” Williams said.

He also pointed out that all of the crew “were very respectful of the spaces. The Blessed Sacrament was always removed from the church for any takes inside. There was never any vulgarity anywhere in the church. And every instruction I gave them — they never questioned anything.”

The cast and crew filmed at the basilica for three months. During this time, Williams shared that he came to see them as his parishioners and made sure to minister to them. He offered Mass weekly — with several non-Catholic cast and crew members attending — blessed the set daily, and even helped guide a crew member to find information about becoming Catholic.

One of the Catholics on set was well-known actress Patricia Heaton, who portrays Mother Superior in the film. 

In an interview with CNA, Heaton shared that she was drawn to the role because the filmmakers “treated the subject matter seriously and not really sensationally.”

Heaton spoke about the film’s portrayal of religious men and women and that while the exorcism itself is the major plotline, the film also focuses on the individuals taking part in the ritual and their own personal struggles.

“Priests and nuns are human beings and they’re often portrayed in Hollywood as sort of silly or there’s a lot of caricatures of the religious in Hollywood. And I feel like this movie makes them fleshed-out human beings,” Heaton said. 

When describing how the Church is portrayed in the movie, Williams referred to the late Pope Francis’ message of the Church being a “field hospital.” 

“You have all of these sort of broken people, and the priests and the sisters in this movie are themselves broken people, but they’re all coming together as the Church, as the body of Christ, and ministering to one of their own who’s suffering,” he said. 

Both Williams and Heaton agreed on the importance of Catholics being aware that demonic possession is real but that it’s also important not to become overly interested in it. Williams used the metaphor of a wound to describe possession. If a significant spiritual wound is left untreated it will start to get infected and can become “spiritually devastating to us.”

“How do we avoid possessions? We don’t avoid possessions by spending all our time on Google finding out what causes possessions, right? … No. The way you avoid these things, rather than filling your head with knowledge about what causes it, is you go and live a spiritually good life — you frequent the sacraments,” he said. 

Williams said he believes Catholics should watch the film in order to inform themselves as well as to see “how the Church functions — you have this lost sheep and the Church puts all her resources together to go and save this one person. And I think that’s a really great message that Catholics need to hear. It’s the love of God, it’s the love of the Church, and I think it’s worth watching if you approach it through that lens.”

“I want them [Catholics] to take away the sense that this is actually how the Church cares for us and how God cares for us and his mercy is so much more powerful than anything the enemy can do,” he said.

Heaton said she hopes Catholics will watch the movie because she believes it is “a way to reaffirm the importance of the Church here on Earth” and hopes that the film will encourage viewers “to pursue personal sanctification.” 

The Archdiocese of New York superintendent of schools announced the launch of a school renewal plan and the final results of a school viability study on June 4, 2025. /  Credit: alexkich/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 5, 2025 / 12:35 pm (CNA).

Archdiocese of New York Superintendent of Schools Sister Mary Grace Walsh, ASCJ, announced this week the launch of a school renewal plan and the final results of a school viability study.

On June 3, the archdiocese laid out the first part of the Elementary School Renewal Plan based on the results of the School Viability Study (SVS), which assessed every elementary school in the archdiocese between October 2024 and January 2025 in order “to ensure the long-term sustainability and effectiveness of Catholic education within the community.” 

The two-part school renewal plan, according to a press release, will evaluate four key areas for each school: mission and Catholic identity, governance and leadership, academic excellence, and operational vitality. The second part of the plan will be released in September.

“All schools, whether strong or in need of additional support, will work together with the archdiocese to implement these renewal efforts,” Walsh said. 

Schools will address each of the four focus points of the renewal plan by engaging in reflection and planning throughout the fall. If needed, schools will receive direct support from external consultants to help with future planning and will receive feedback and approval. 

“The renewal process is not always easy, but it brings with it the promise of transformation and growth,” Walsh said.

“Let us hold onto the promise of Revelation 21:5, trusting that God’s continual work of renewal and transformation is at the heart of everything we do,” she said. “Together, we will continue to nurture faith, knowledge, and community in our students, confident that God is with us as we move forward in this time of renewal.”

The SVS was conducted “across 77 parish and regional elementary schools along with two Archdiocese of New York Initiative campuses to assess their alignment with the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools (NSBECS).”

Eighteen staff members from the Superintendent of Schools Office in the archdiocese visited the schools to hold conversations with each principal, gather data, observe, and then report on their findings. 

The study found that Catholic schools in the Bronx present a “diverse educational landscape, with schools experiencing varying levels of sustainability.” 

While “several schools are thriving, supported by strong finances, academic excellence, and active parish partnerships,” some other schools “were determined to be unsustainable and recommended for closure.”

In February, the archdiocese announced that Our Lady of Refuge and St. Lucy School in the Bronx and St. Mark the Evangelist in Manhattan would close at the end of the 2024-2025 school year. In May, the archdiocese shared that Mt. Carmel-Holy Rosary School in Manhattan would close at the same time. 

“Parish-based schools are a particular strength in Manhattan,” the study reported. The area was found to have some of the highest-performing schools in the archdiocese. 

Ultimately, however, the two Manhattan schools were recommended for closure due to enrollment and financial considerations. 

“We understand the emotional impact these closures have on the students, families, and communities, and we trust in God’s providence to guide us to new opportunities,” Walsh said.

The Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion on Thursday, June 5, 2025, saying Wisconsin violated the First Amendment protections of Catholic Charities. / Credit: Wolfgang Schaller|Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jun 5, 2025 / 12:05 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously held that the state of Wisconsin had violated the First Amendment when it denied a tax exemption to a Catholic charity after claiming that the group’s charitable undertakings were not “primarily” religious.

The high court said in its Thursday decision that the First Amendment “mandates government neutrality between religions” and that the state had run afoul of that principle when it refused to extend the tax break to the Catholic Charities bureau operated out of the Diocese of Superior.

The state allows organizations “operated primarily for religious purposes” to be exempt from paying into the state’s unemployment system. But the Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission had claimed that the Catholic charity was not operated primarily for a religious purpose because it offers charitable services to people of all faiths and does not focus its efforts on converting the people it serves to Catholicism.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court had ruled last March against the Catholic charity. On Thursday, however, the Supreme Court reversed that order in a unanimous ruling.

“It is fundamental to our constitutional order that the government maintain ‘neutrality between religion and religion,’” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in the decision. “There may be hard calls to make in policing that rule, but this is not one.”

“When the government distinguishes among religions based on theological differences in their provision of services, it imposes a denominational preference that must satisfy the highest level of judicial scrutiny,” she said.

“Because Wisconsin has transgressed that principle without the tailoring necessary to survive such scrutiny, the judgment of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is reversed,” she said.

The case “is remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion,” Sotomayor added.

In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas said the Catholic charity is not a “distinct organization” separate from the Diocese of Superior where it is chartered.

The charity and its affiliates “are corporate entities that the diocese has created to carry out its religious mission,” Thomas wrote.

“Both the basic principles of church autonomy and the history of religious corporations establish that religious institutions are more than the corporate entities that they form,” he said.

“It follows that the government may not use such entities as a means of regulating the internal governance of religious institutions,” he wrote. 

Diocese of Superior Bishop James Powers on Thursday said the “heart of Catholic Charities’ ministry is Christ’s call to care for the least of our brothers and sisters, without condition and without exception.” 

“We’re grateful the court unanimously recognized that improving the human condition by serving the poor is part of our religious exercise and has allowed us to continue serving those in need throughout our diocese and beyond,” the bishop said.

South loop area of Chicago. / Credit: Sea Cow, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 5, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago is using a lobbying firm that supports pro-abortion political candidates and lobbies for abortion providers, raising concerns that the relationship could amount to cooperation with evil by the charitable entity.

Since 2022, Catholic Charities of Chicago has contracted with Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies to lobby on its behalf before the State of Illinois. Cozen O’Connor is a national lobbying firm with offices in major cities across the country, including New York; Washington, D.C.; and Chicago.

According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, Cozen O’Connor donated $3,500 in 2024 to Personal PAC, a political action committee in Illinois that supports pro-choice candidates at the state and local levels. The firm donated $3,000 in 2023 and $3,500 in 2024, while an individual employee of the firm donated $1,000 in 2024 and an additional $1,000 in 2025 to the pro-abortion organization. 

Cozen O’Connor also gave $1,500 to Preckwinkle for President, the campaign fund for Cook County Board of Commissioners president and vocal abortion supporter Toni Preckwinkle. The firm also lobbies the state government on behalf of Rush University Medical Center, which performs abortions, according to a May 12 report by the Chicago Sun Times.

Catholic Charities of Chicago, the Archdiocese of Chicago, and Cozen O’Connor all declined to comment about the arrangement.

According to Cozen O’Connor’s website, the firm’s lobbyist assigned to the Catholic Charities of Chicago account is Patrick G. Martin, who is also a member of the Catholic Charities of Chicago Mercy Society and on its government advisory committee. According to public records, Martin himself does not appear to do any pro-abortion lobbying work.

Prior to hiring Cozen O’Connor, from 2016 to 2022, Catholic Charities of Chicago had employed Illinois lobbyist Nancy Kimme of Advantage Government Strategies. In 2019, Kimme, a pro-life Republican, brought on former Illinois Rep. Lou Lang, a Democrat, as a partner in the firm. While serving in the state Legislature, in 2017 Lang co-sponsored a bill that, among other things, removed language from state law describing an unborn child as a human being and allowed abortion to be covered by the state’s Medicaid program.

According to public records over the past five years, Lang also made multiple donations to Personal PAC.

Catholic Charities of Chicago is the official charitable arm of the Catholic Church in the third-largest city in the U.S., which is home to more than 2 million Catholics and is the birthplace of Pope Leo XIV. It operates with a budget of $180 million, according to its website, and has more than 1,200 employees, providing critical services that support children, families, and immigrants.

Catholic teaching on cooperation with evil

Catholic moral theology and the Church’s definitive teaching that human life is sacred from conception to natural death raise the question about whether it is considered cooperation with evil, and subsequently ethically problematic, for Catholic Charities to contract with a lobbying firm that supports abortion. 

Catholic moral theology distinguishes between formal and material cooperation with evil. Formal cooperation is when someone who participates in an immoral act intends the same evil as the main person carrying it out. Material cooperation, however, is when a person participates in an evil act without intending the evil. The Church teaches that formal cooperation is always wrong, while some forms of material cooperation may be considered permissible.

The Church further distinguishes between immediate and mediate material cooperation. Immediate cooperation is when a person is involved in the essence of the act, even though he or she does not intend it, and is not permissible. Mediate cooperation is when a person’s actions are not necessary to the sinful act and which can be either remote or proximate to the act. The Church teaches that some forms of mediate cooperation can be permissible if the intended good outweighs the evil.

“The first thing you have to ask is whether it is the intention of Catholic Charities to promote abortion,” Benedictine College moral theology professor John Rziha told CNA.

“If the intention is to promote abortion, it is formal cooperation and evil, and it’s always wrong,” he continued. “I don’t think that’s the case here.” 

The partnership between Catholic Charities and Cozen O’Connor, according to Rziha, is remote mediate material cooperation because Catholic Charities does not directly give its money to support abortion. In the context of the arrangement, Catholic Charities is significantly removed from the act of abortion itself.

“But that’s not the end of the diagnosis,” he said. 

According to Rziha, in this case the level of cooperation with evil is “pretty low,” and therefore “it wouldn’t take a huge good to outweigh it, even though it is a bad action.”

However, he continued, “it’s a legitimate question whether Catholic Charities is actually undermining what they’re doing by contributing to a culture which goes against what the Church teaches.” 

Morally permissible for a proportionally grave reason

The Catholic University of America moral theology professor John Grabowski told CNA that some cases of material cooperation can be morally permissible “if there is a proportionally grave reason to tolerate the cooperation with evil.” 

One factor Grabowski said could be “morally relevant” in terms of Catholic Charities of Chicago’s decision to engage Cozen O’Connor is that the Illinois state government is Democrat-controlled. 

“They might make a prudential judgment and say, ‘This firm has a much better chance of being effective in its lobbying because they have definite connections to the people who are in positions of power in state government,’” he explained.

Potential for scandal

Because Catholic Charities provides many health-care-related services, Rziha pointed to the USCCB’s Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, in which U.S. bishops call on Catholic health care providers to consider whether particular collaborative arrangements with non-Catholic institutions entail material collaboration with evil that would give rise to scandal or undermine the Church’s witness.

“The bishops, and I think they’re right about this, would say … Catholic Charities should come out and attempt to explain what’s going on if this is becoming scandalous,” he said. “Because if they’re not witnessing to the faith and transforming culture as Catholic Charities, then they’re actually not doing nearly as much good as they think they are.” 

Considering the issue, Rziha distinguished between direct scandal, when a person’s actions directly lead somebody else to do evil, and indirect scandal, when a person’s actions “contribute to a culture which is anti-Catholic or anti-Christian by its nature.”

Ultimately, Catholic Charities engaging a pro-abortion firm can be justified, according to Rziha, so long as the organization can overcome the issue of scandal and ensure that it is not undermining its pro-life witness. “I could understand,” he said, echoing Grabowski, that “this is a liberal state government: If [Catholic Charities] trusts this particular lobby firm, this may be the most effective way for it to lobby.”

However, he added, “I think that to address the issue of scandal, Catholic Charities should explain why they are choosing this firm and say that they are equivocally against abortion: ‘We work against it, and we’re trying to transform our culture by helping women to be empowered within the confines of Church teachings.’”

Illinois Right to Life’s position

As Illinois Right to Life President Mary Kate Zander sees it, however, Catholic Charities of Chicago has “a responsibility to due diligence” in selecting a lobbying firm that is aligned with the pro-life cause. 

Zander told CNA that Catholic Charities of Chicago CEO Sally Blount had personally assured her of her commitment to life issues when they met several years ago. “If I had the chance, I would encourage her to consider what that commitment looks like in action,” she added. 

“Catholic Charities serves pregnant women in need every day,” Zander said, adding: “We are failing them if we are contributing to the proliferation of abortion in our state in any capacity.”

Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Bishop-elect Simon Peter Engurait. / Credit: Courtesy of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux

Vatican City, Jun 5, 2025 / 08:54 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday named Uganda-born Father Simon Peter Engurait, a former business analyst who became a priest at age 41, to lead the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux in southeastern Louisiana.

The 53-year-old priest, ordained for the diocese in 2013, has acted as diocesan administrator since the death of Bishop Mario Dorsonville in January 2024.

“While I am still shocked by the news that the Lord has asked me to be a bishop, I must admit that knowing the people of this diocese brings me great comfort in saying yes,” the bishop-elect said in a statement published to the Houma-Thibodaux Diocese’s website on June 5.

“South Louisiana is home, and I love the people here. It is a privilege to say yes to you as much as I am saying yes to God. I love you, and I consider it a great honor to serve you as your bishop,” he added.

Engurait, who was also the diocesan vicar general and served as pastor of St. Bridget Parish since 2017, was ordained a priest on May 25, 2013, after entering seminary in the diocese in 2007 at the age of 36.

The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux in southeastern Louisiana has an estimated 90,000 Catholics, around 38% of the total population of the territory.

The diocese has many foreign-born priests. The diocese’s most recent bishop, the late Dorsonville, was also born outside of the U.S., in Bogotá, Colombia.

Bishop-elect Engurait was born in Ngora in the eastern region of Uganda on Aug. 28, 1971. He is the seventh of 14 children, one of whom is a female religious in the Franciscan order and another a diocesan priest.

He was raised Catholic and attended both junior high and high school minor seminaries. He started major seminary before dropping out midway to pursue a bachelor’s degree in political science and public administration at Makerere University in Kampala.

After graduation, Engurait worked for 11 years for the government of Uganda in the department for the reform and divestiture of public enterprises. He later pursued a graduate degree in business administration in the Netherlands and went on to work in human resources, procurement, and business analysis, holding positions from entry level to management.

While in major seminary as a young man in Uganda, he had a life-changing encounter with the Catholic charismatic renewal, leading him to get involved and hold leadership positions in the movement.

Through the charismatic renewal, he met Bishop Sam Jacobs, then the bishop of Houma-Thibodaux (bishop emeritus since 2013), in 2003. After years of prayer and discernment, Engurait was accepted into seminary in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux by Jacobs in 2007.

Since his ordination in 2013, he has served as associate pastor in several parishes, including St. Bridget since 2017.

His various diocesan roles have included moderator of the curia and coordinator of Christian formation, vicar general for administration, and vicar general and moderator of the curia. He has also been a board member for Catholic Charities.

After the sudden death of Dorsonville on Jan. 19, 2024, Engurait was elected to administer the diocese until the appointment of a bishop. Bishop-elect Engurait will succeed Dorsonville as the diocese’s sixth bishop.

The J. Edgar Hoover FBI headquarters building in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 4, 2025 / 17:35 pm (CNA).

A report from the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee revealed that the 2023 anti-Catholic Richmond FBI memo involved coordination with field offices around the country and that similar disparaging language about certain Catholics was found in at least 13 separate documents.

In February 2023, the FBI retracted a memo from the Richmond, Virginia, field office that detailed an investigation into so-called “radical traditionalist” Catholics after the internal document was leaked to the public and prompted heavy pushback.

The memo called for the FBI to develop sources within parishes that offer the Latin Mass and online Catholic communities for the purpose of “threat mitigation.” Relying almost entirely on designations from the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the memo expressed concerns about a potential link between “radical-traditionalist” Catholics and racially motivated violent extremism.

Although the FBI removed the document from its systems and asserted the issue was isolated to one product from one field office, the new report found that multiple field offices were involved in producing the memo and that it was distributed to more than 1,000 FBI employees throughout the country.

The report reveals that analysts at the Richmond field office had consulted with the offices in Louisville, Kentucky; Portland, Oregon; and Milwaukee to gather information about “radical traditionalist” Catholics in preparation for the Richmond office’s report.

Conversations with the Louisville office reportedly helped Richmond analysts conclude that the beliefs of “radical-traditional Catholicism” are “comparable to Islamist theology.” Less is known about what was discussed with the Portland and Milwaukee field offices, but the report found that Richmond’s analysts had phone conversations with them about the subject.

After the Richmond field office produced the memo, the report found that it was sent to other field offices throughout the country.

The report cites an email exchange from the Richmond office to the office in Buffalo, New York, which notes that two “radical traditionalist” Catholic groups are in Buffalo’s area of responsibility.

Some FBI officials in the Milwaukee and Phoenix field offices were concerned about the memo, according to email exchanges. The report notes, however, it’s unclear whether the concerns were shared with the Richmond field office. 

One official questioned: “Is anyone really asking for a product like this?” and complained that “apparently we are at the behest of the SPLC” and another responded: “Yeah, our overreliance on the SPLC hate designations is … problematic.”

According to the report, the Richmond FBI had produced a draft of a second memo on the same subject, which was intended to be distributed to the entire FBI. This was shelved following the backlash to the initial leaked memo.

The draft contained similar assertions of a link between “radical traditionalist” Catholics and racially motivated violent extremism and called for source development within parishes that celebrate the Latin Mass and within Catholic online communities. The draft, which was being written in 2023, asserted that the threat of violence will likely increase during the election cycle.

Although the second draft expressed similar concerns, one noticeable difference is that it did not reference the SPLC.

The report also revealed an internal FBI email, which acknowledged that the phrase “radical traditionalist Catholic” appeared in 13 separate FBI documents and five attachments throughout the agency.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley is requesting that the new FBI director under President Donald Trump — Kash Patel — provide the committee with those documents and any other documents that “purport to tie religious groups to violent extremism based on SPLC and other biased sources.”

The report also chastises former FBI Director Christopher Wray, accusing him of “misleading testimony on the scope of the memo’s distribution” when he classified the memo as “a single product by a single field office.”

“I and other members had already expressed concern as to whether the memo’s production was isolated to Richmond or part of a larger problem,” Grassley wrote. “Testimony calling it the work of a single field office was misleading at best and appears to be part of a pattern of intentional deception.”

Grassley further notes that internal emails demonstrate that FBI leadership was aware that the scope of the issue extended beyond the Richmond office and accuses the agency under Wray’s leadership of “[obstructing] my investigation by not providing these answers for many months.”

He told Patel he is “determined to get to the bottom of the Richmond memo, and of the FBI’s contempt for oversight in the last administration.” 

“I look forward to continuing to work with you to restore the FBI to excellence and prove once again that justice can and must be fairly and evenly administered, blind to whether we are Democrats or Republicans, believers or nonbelievers,” Grassley added.