Maryland State House. / Credit: Jon Bilous/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 28, 2025 / 14:25 pm (CNA).

The Catholic Church in Maryland is urging the state Legislature to treat cases of child sexual abuse in state-run facilities equal to those in private institutions following a proposed bill that would “decrease the number of civil causes of action for child sexual abuse filed against the state.”

The Maryland Catholic Conference (MCC) said in a statement on Thursday that the bill “greatly exacerbates an existing difference in treatment for victims abused in state institutions and those abused in private institutions.”

If passed, the bill would reduce the state damage cap for abuse victims to $400,000 while keeping the cap for private organizations at $1.5 million.

The “overtly unequal treatment in HB 1378 is not only poor policy for victim-survivors but also unfairly targets nonprofit and religious organizations that have long served children in this state and have implemented strong safeguards for youth protection,” the Maryland bishops said.

The bill is sponsored by state Del. C.T. Wilson, who spearheaded the Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023, which abolished the statute of limitations on lawsuits against public and private entities involved in incidents of sexual abuse. That bill resulted in increased claims against the state.

“The Child Victims Act uncovered a terrible truth,” the Maryland bishops said. “The largest employer of abusers in the state of Maryland appears to be the state of Maryland itself.”

The MCC statement said the reports of abuse within state-led institutions, including Maryland’s Department of Juvenile Services, are mainly from young men and women of color who are the majority of youth placed under the state’s care. 

The bishops called the harm done to them “heartbreaking.”

“As a Church that has faced its own painful reckoning,” the statement said, “we urge state leaders to be accountable and transparent.”

The statement calls for specific actions to be done by state leaders to ensure “abuse by state employees never happens again.”

The Church further instructs the government to “seek opportunities for an independent assessment to gain further insight into the history of abuse in state settings” as well as “implement reforms such as stringent safeguarding policies” and “provide survivor-centered support for those who suffered abuse by state representatives.”

But there is “no principled basis for treating victims of child sexual abuse in state institutions differently from those who suffered abuse in private institutions,” the conference said.

The Philippines has the highest adult Christian faith retention rate in the world, according to Pew Research. / Credit: icosha/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 28, 2025 / 12:45 pm (CNA).

Surveys in about three dozen countries compiled by the Pew Research Center found that most Christians who are raised in the faith hold onto it in adulthood. In fact, in every country surveyed the majority of people who are raised Christian still remain in the faith as adults.

However, the numbers vary widely, from a high of 99% Christian faith retention in the Philippines and 98% in Hungary and Nigeria to lows of 51% in South Korea and 53% in the Netherlands.

The United States was slightly lower than the average from the countries included in the research. About 73% of Americans who are raised Christian as children have kept the faith in their adult lives.

Pew’s data includes numbers from 10 European countries, 10 east and South Asian countries, eight countries in the Americas, five African countries, two west Asian countries, and one country in Oceania.

The broader report on religious retention rates included surveys from 36 countries, which polled nearly 40,000 Americans and slightly more than 40,000 people from other countries. However, the report only measured the Christian retention rate in 27 of those countries — the ones that had substantial Christian populations.

Based on the report, African and Eastern European countries surveyed had some of the highest retention rates for Christianity. Some of the lowest retention rates were in Western Europe, Canada, and Australia. 

Ghana, Kenya, Poland, and Sri Lanka all had retention rates between 92% and 97%. Peru had a retention rate of 89% and Greece was at 87%. Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa all had retention rates at 81%. Argentina’s retention rate was 80%.

Countries with Christian faith retention rates between 72% and 79% included Colombia, Singapore, Italy, the United States, and Chile. 

The following countries had retention rates between 57% and 61%: Canada, Germany, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Sweden.

A large majority of the people in these countries who abandoned the Christian faith no longer identify with any religion at all. Only a small percentage switched to a different religion.

Numbers of those who fall away outpace incoming converts 

The surveys also reveal that in most countries the number of adults who have fallen away from the faith is substantially higher than the number of adults in those countries who convert to Christianity.

Some of the biggest losses for the faith are happening in European countries, with six countries on the continent surveyed seeing more than 11 adults leave the faith for every one who converts to it. This trend is also prevalent, yet less pronounced, in the United States and other countries in North and South America.

Pew’s surveys only measure the number of people who adhere to a different religious faith than the one with which they grew up. It does not measure broader national shifts in religious beliefs that are caused by other factors, such as immigration and birth rates.

The only countries that had more adult conversions to the faith than departures were Singapore, Sri Lanka, Hungary, Ghana, and the Philippines. Nigeria had a 1:1 ratio. 

Assessing these numbers, Jimmy Akin, a senior apologist at Catholic Answers, told CNA that the Pew compilation is “not representative of global trends” as it only includes five African countries on a continent where “Christianity has been growing dramatically.” He also pointed out that “the Gospel is making progress in Muslim countries and in the communist world,” most of which are not included in these surveys and frequently undercounted due to repressive laws.

In the United States, about 73% of people who were raised Christian as children still identify as Christians as adults. However, about 23% no longer identify with any religion and another 4% identify with a non-Christian faith, which means 27% no longer call themselves Christian.

On top of this, conversion rates to Christianity in the country are quite low as a percentage. The surveys found that about 94% of current Christians were raised in the faith. Only about 4% of people who call themselves Christian were raised without any faith and just 2% were raised in a non-Christian household of a separate faith.

Multiple factors contribute to the religious makeup of a country. In spite of the net loss through “religious switching,” a separate Pew survey from May 2024 found that — in raw numbers — the percentage of Americans who identify as nonreligious has stabilized in recent years after a major surge in nonreligious identity through the 1990s and 2010s.

The data does not establish distinctions between Catholicism, Orthodoxy, or Protestantism. It does not categorize a change in Christian faith tradition or community as “religious switching.” 

For Catholicism specifically, data published by the Vatican earlier this month shows continued growth in the number of people in the world who are Catholic. According to the data, the total number of Catholics globally surpassed 1.4 billion people in 2023.

null / Credit: sebra/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Mar 28, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

A Texas Catholic charity group that sued the federal government this month over budget cuts says it will drop its lawsuit as payments from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) resume. 

Catholic Charities Fort Worth sued the agency at the beginning of March after the Trump administration froze tens of millions of dollars in grants for refugee services in Texas. 

Earlier this month the government said it was conducting a “program integrity review” of the Catholic charity. Last week the government said it had paid out more than $47 million to the charity after completing the review. 

In a “joint status report” filed earlier this week, the charity and the government said HHS has made continuous payments to the Catholic group since March 17 following the conclusion of the review. 

“As a result of [the government’s] representations and action, [the Catholic charity] will move to dismiss this case on or before April 2, 2025,” the filing said. 

The document noted that the charity would only dismiss the lawsuit so long as the group’s funding requests “continue to be paid in the normal course up until that date.”

The lawsuit’s pending dismissal will bring to an end just one of several suits filed in the wake of the major budget and funding cuts the Trump administration has enacted since January. The White House said the cuts were meant to bring federal policy and spending in line with the administration’s agenda.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sued the Trump administration in February over what the bishops said was an unlawful suspension of funding for refugee programs in the United States.

The State Department earlier this month canceled two multimillion-dollar refugee resettlement contracts with the USCCB, directing the bishops to “stop all work on the program[s] and not incur any new costs” and “cancel as many outstanding obligations as possible.” The bishops’ lawsuit is still playing out in federal court. 

Several other groups have sued the government over the funding freezes, arguing that the White House engaged in an overreach of its executive power in ending the large amounts of federal payouts.

Lawsuits have also been filed over other Trump White House policies. Multiple religious groups last month sued the administration over its policy allowing immigration officers to arrest suspected illegal immigrants in houses of worship and other “sensitive locations.”

Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie, known for his role as Jesus Christ in “The Chosen,” speaks with CNA during a press junket interview on March 19, 2025, in Dallas at the Season 5 premiere of “The Chosen: Last Supper.” / Credit: EWTN screenshot/Francesca Fenton/CNA

CNA Staff, Mar 28, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Season 5 of the hit series “The Chosen” has officially been released in theaters across the country.

“The Chosen: Last Supper” focuses on the events of Holy Week, starting with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and ending with Judas’ betrayal in the Garden of Gethsamene. 

Part 1 of Season 5 was released in theaters on March 28, with Part 2 coming on April 4 and Part 3 on April 11. 

Actor Jonathan Roumie, who portrays Jesus in the series, shared about his experience portraying historic events such as the Last Supper and the washing of the feet, especially as a Catholic who celebrates these moments every year during the Triduum.

“For me, it was living out liturgy,” he told CNA in a March 19 press junket interview at the premiere of Season 5 in Dallas. “I try to best replicate a level of authenticity for those scenes based on my experience of the liturgy.”

Speaking about these beautiful moments in salvation history, he said: “It’s going to be stunningly beautiful for people to see. And we sort of present it in a very unique way, but in a way that is super powerful.” 

He added: “I hope it lands the way it felt when we did it because there were moments where many of us were just kind of like wiping away the tears from our eyes right after the scene, or during the scene. It’s really truly beautiful.” 

The release of the new season comes during Lent, culminating in the Triduum and the celebration of Easter. Roumie hopes that Season 5 will provide viewers  “a more vibrant and saturated experience of Holy Week, a more vivid experience of Holy Week, that they can see and feel.” 

Roumie explained that during this time where we are reading about these important moments of Holy Week in Mass each week, viewers will now get to see “a full production of what this moment looked like. I don’t know if anybody has ever covered it in the detail that we have and I think for me it was so important to bring everything that I had to it, especially as a Catholic.”

The actor shared that he even flew his spiritual director out to be with him as they shot the Last Supper and the Garden of Gethsamene. 

“I just wanted to be armed with as much spiritual firepower as possible,” he said. “He’s a priest so he said Mass for me that day. I felt prayed up, put it that way, before entering into the scene.”

Roumie is now preparing himself for another incredibly important scene — the Crucifixion, which will be shown in Season 6. 

The actor shared that he recently received the script and while Roumie has been traveling, he has been trying to read “different source material” regarding the Passion.

He has also been studying the Shroud of Turin in order to learn more about “the crucifixion techniques and what Jesus actually would’ve went through.”

“Learning from the markings on that shroud, what the crucifixion physically looked like and what I now have to prepare for mentally and spiritually to recreate — I’m not looking forward to it, but I’m confident that the Lord will bring me through it one way or another, and hopefully I’ll continue to learn more and fall deeper in love with Jesus as a result.”

SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser speaks in front of the Capitol on March 27, 2025, in Washington, D.C. “This movement is completely unified in its first priority, and that is to defund big abortion in this reconciliation bill,” she said. / Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNA

Washington D.C., Mar 27, 2025 / 18:30 pm (CNA).

More than 300 pro-life activists from 39 different states gathered on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on March 27 to advocate for the defunding of “Big Abortion” and Planned Parenthood. 

Earlier this week, a letter from more than 150 pro-life groups from all 50 states was sent to members of Congress urging them to “stop the flow of American tax dollars toward the abortion industry” through a reconciliation bill.

The action comes after the announcement that the Trump administration plans to freeze millions of federal taxpayer dollars funding abortion and transgender services.  

Half of the activists on the Hill were students from across the nation, while the other half were women, men, and children of all different ages and demographics. Kelsey Pritchard, communications director for SBA Pro-Life America, told CNA that a few-months-old baby was their youngest supporter at the events.

Some of the attendees also joined various members of Congress and advocates from pro-life organizations at a press conference outside the Capitol highlighting the importance of the issue and the need to act now. 

Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Arizona; Mary Miller, R-Illinois; and Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, along with Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, all shared their support for the initiative. 

“American taxpayers should never be forced to pay for the murder of innocent babies. But that’s exactly what Congress has allowed to happen,” Biggs said. “In 2022-2023, during the Biden-Harris regime, Planned Parenthood received nearly $700 million in taxpayer funding.”

Miller said today is a “historic opportunity” to “defend life in America.”

Milled shared her support by announcing legislation she introduced “to require ultrasounds to be performed on women and girls seeking abortions,” she said, “because 90% of women change their minds after they see the baby for the first time.” 

“Today is a great day to stand for life,” Tuberville said.

“One of our government’s basic duties is to defend life, not destroy it,” he continued. “I’m proud to be here today and look forward to working with my colleagues to defund Planned Parenthood and stand up for life and the American taxpayers.”

Kristen Hawkins, president of Students for Life Action, called the day a “historic moment,” as “the pro-life movement stands unified behind one single message, defund the entire abortion industry, defund the longtime standard bearer of Planned Parenthood once and for all.”

Hawkins explained that next steps will include rallies across more than 100 cities to “tell President Trump and our legislative players here on Capitol Hill, in our state capitals, that it’s very clear what they must do next. Defund your political enemies, invest in lifesaving, life-affirming medical care.”

Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of SBA Pro-Life America, said: “I can tell you one thing, this movement is completely unified in its first priority, and that is to defund big abortion in this reconciliation bill, hopefully by Memorial Day.”

“But until then, we’ve got a lot of work to do,” she continued. “We’re going to go back to those halls in Congress and defund big abortion.”

Dannenfelser told CNA that right now is a hopeful time in the movement to defund Planned Parenthood. 

“There’s a lot of momentum and a lot more conversation,” she said. “There’s a lot more desire to land somewhere post Dobbs. It is very important right now. The policy itself is the most important thing, but it’s also good for the pro-life movement to get some points on the board after some tough losses.”

Kansas Capitol building in Topeka. / Credit: Dave Newman/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Mar 27, 2025 / 15:50 pm (CNA).

Amid plans for a blasphemous “black mass” at the Kansas Capitol building set to take place on March 28, Catholics in the state and elsewhere are urging a prayerful, peaceful response, the centerpiece of which will be adoration and Mass at a Catholic church directly opposite the Capitol.

Organized by the Satanic Grotto, the “black mass” — an explicit parody of the Catholic Mass — is set to begin around 10 a.m. Originally slated to take place inside the Capitol rotunda itself, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly later decreed that the event must take place outside, though organizers of the ritual have said they plan to defy Kelly’s order and enter the Capitol building “around 11:30.”

A promotional flyer for the “mass” posted on Reddit lists the “components” of the ritual, which include the “Denounciation [sic] of Christ,” the “Desecration of the Eucharist,” and the “Corruption of the Blood.”

To counter the Satanic event, Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, will lead a Eucharistic Holy Hour at Assumption Catholic Church, which is directly across the street from the Capitol.

The Holy Hour will begin at 11 a.m. Friday followed by noon Mass. Similar Holy Hours and Masses are planned in the neighboring Kansas dioceses of Wichita, Salina, and Dodge City. 

The planned Satanic ritual is an “affront to all Christians,” Naumann noted in a recent statement, but he urged the faithful not to “succumb to anger and violence, as that would be cooperating with the devil.”

During the authentic Catholic Mass, “we will pray for God to bless those who blaspheme him and who mock those who believe in Jesus Christ. After all, on Calvary, Jesus implored his heavenly Father to forgive those who crucified him because they did not know what they were doing,” Naumann wrote. 

The archbishop noted that Pope Francis recently announced he will canonize Blessed Bartolo Longo, a 19th-century Italian who embraced the occult and Satanism, becoming a Satanic priest and promising his soul to the devil. 

Amid the fervent prayers of his family, a priest motivated Longo, on the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to make a sincere confession and return to the Church. He became a devout and charitable Catholic and even later inspired St. John Paul II to create the luminous mysteries of the rosary. 

“Catholics should not underestimate Satan, his craftiness and power. However, as long as we keep close to Jesus, we need not fear the devil. Throughout the Gospel, we see Our Lord’s authority over the demonic, liberating many who had given themselves to Satan,” Naumann wrote. 

“If we seize the opportunity to draw closer to Jesus through prayer, then we can make this attempt to mock and blaspheme our Catholic faith into what Satan most fears and despises,” the prelate said. 

“Let us pray that the Lord of Life can penetrate and change the hearts of the Satanists of our time with his merciful love. St. Bartolo Longo, pray for us and especially for those who have become ensnared by the evil one. All things are possible with God!”

Archdiocese filed lawsuit over alleged theft of consecrated hosts

Naumann had on March 14 filed a lawsuit in Leavenworth County District Court seeking an order to secure the safe return of any consecrated hosts in the Satanist group’s possession. Satanist groups intending to stage so-called “black masses” have on at least one other occasion boasted of possessing a stolen consecrated host with an intent to desecrate it. 

Naumann settled the lawsuit after the Satanist leaders testified under oath that the hosts and wine they plan to desecrate in the ritual are not “Catholic in origin.”

The planned Satanic event has sparked a heated debate among Kansas lawmakers as to whether the event should be allowed to go forward. The Legislature passed a nonbinding resolution March 20 denouncing the planned ritual. 

The leader of the Satanic Grotto, Michael Stewart, who has described himself as an atheist who does not believe in Satan, posted a video this week in which he said he expects “up to 5,000 counterprotestors” to show up at the Capitol during his event. 

“5,000 Catholics are what the Capitol Police are preparing for,” Stewart claimed. 

A Catholic-led petition asking Kelly to shut down the event has attracted over 50,000 signatures as of Thursday. 

Students at Kansas’ Benedictine College are invited to pray a rosary in the school’s Mary’s Grotto at 11 a.m. on Friday, school spokesman Steve Johnson told CNA. 

Benedictine students can then participate in daily Mass at 12:10 p.m. that day, which will be offered with the intention for the conversion of those involved in the “black mass,” Johnson said.

Benedictine is in Atchison, about an hour northeast of Topeka. The school is not taking an official group to the capitol to take part in the prayerful protest, Johnson said, but he said some students may be going of their own volition.

Pro-life advocates demonstrate at the Illinois March for Life in Springfield on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. / Credit: Diocese of Springfield

CNA Staff, Mar 27, 2025 / 14:50 pm (CNA).

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

Thousands gather for Illinois March for Life

More than 2,000 participants gathered for the Illinois March for Life on Tuesday at the state Capitol building in Springfield.

Dr. Christina Francis, the CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, spoke at the rally on treating mothers and babies as two patients and criticizing pro-abortion measures in the state.

Other speakers included state Rep. Adam Niemerg, former state Rep. Jeanne Ives, and Mary Kate Zander, the president of Illinois Right to Life and Illinois Right to Life Action, as well as other pro-life political and faith leaders.

Pro-lifers marched for babies in the womb but also against state legislation to legalize physician-assisted suicide, according to the Diocese of Springfield.

A Mass for life at the Sangamon Auditorium on the campus of the University of Illinois, Springfield, was packed, largely with students from Catholic grade schools, high schools, and Newman Centers from around the state.

Bishop Thomas Paprocki was the main celebrant, while Belleville Bishop Michael McGovern gave the homily. Paprocki also led the crowd in prayer at the march. 

The Diocese of Springfield in a press release highlighted the large percentage of teenagers and young adults in attendance. 

Indiana judge pauses access to state abortion records

An Indiana judge on Monday ruled against the release of the Indiana Department of Health’s abortion records, handing a win to two doctors who argued the records should be kept private. 

The state had agreed to distribute the records earlier this year after a lawsuit brought by the Thomas More Society on behalf of the pro-life group Voices for Life. The group had been permitted to review abortion access records before the state blocked them from doing so in 2023. 

In February the state agreed to once again allow access to the records. But Indianapolis physicians Caitlin Bernard and Caroline Rouse had argued in a lawsuit that it would violate patient privacy, leading Marion County Superior Court Judge James Joven to grant a preliminary injunction this week.

The judge ruled that the information could be increasingly personal as more details are required to be included following Indiana’s increased abortion restrictions in 2023. 

The injunction will remain until the court makes a final decision on the case. Aggregated data is still made public quarterly. 

California bill could force emergency rooms to prioritize abortions

The California Catholic Conference has urged Catholics to take action against a bill they say would redefine emergency health services to include abortion and would “force emergency rooms to prioritize abortion over caring for both mom and baby.”

The bill continues to move through the state Legislature after a recent hearing on March 25 in the state Assembly’s health committee.

“We need as many voices raised on this as we can,”  said Molly Sheahan, associate director for Healthy Families, a branch of the California Catholic Conference.

The conference told Catholics to inform the state that “emergency services are integral to a hospital’s ministry to the community, providing critical, timely care in life-threatening situations.” 

“Calling out abortion as the only explicitly required medical intervention in emergency services gives abortion disproportionate weight for clinicians examining and evaluating pregnant patients,” the conference said.

The conference also noted that the bill “does not include consideration for the fetal patient, as federal law EMTALA [the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act] provides” and noted that lifesaving intervention should balance “the life and health of both.” 

null / Credit: Evgeny Atamanenko/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Mar 27, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).

A recent analysis of U.S. survey data found that children tend to bring “high levels of happiness” to activities such as mealtimes, socializing, and household activities. 

Ken Burchfiel, a research fellow at the Institute for Family Studies, said in an analysis published on Thursday that American Time Use Survey (ATUS) data shows “everyday activities are actually more enjoyable when children are present.”

Burchfiel said a 2013 Time magazine article that glamorized the “child-free life” is counteracted by ATUS data showing that levels of “happiness and meaningfulness” tend to be highest when children are involved in an activity. 

Overall, 44% of respondents to the survey rated their happiness levels at their highest when their children were involved in an activity, compared with 37% when a spouse was involved and just 19% when respondents were alone. 

Meanwhile, 56% of respondents said their “meaningfulness” levels were at their peak when with their children, compared with 43% with their spouses and 29% while alone. 

Broken down by category, higher happiness and meaningfulness levels with children were observed in activities ranging from mealtimes to socializing to traveling. 

Respondents only said they were happier with others when engaged in “consumer purchases,” though they still ranked their “meaningfulness” higher when shopping with children.

The analysis “calls into question the wisdom of the ‘child-free’ movement,” Burchfiel wrote, arguing that it’s “possible that those who forgo children in order to focus on their careers or social lives are actually limiting their happiness as a result.”

He stressed that the results “do not prove that the presence of children directly increases well-being,” arguing that other factors such as marriage and religion may play large roles. 

Moreover, the data was collected during the COVID-19 crisis, he noted, which was “a time when Americans were more isolated than usual” and their social options were limited. 

Yet the results “should prove encouraging to those who are considering having kids but are afraid to give up their current lifestyle,” he said. 

The analysis comes amid record-low fertility rates in the U.S. and much of the rest of the world, with huge numbers of young people opting to have few or no children and demographers predicting population declines in the coming decades.  

Researchers in Canada last year underscored that much of the decline in fertility can be traced to declining marriage rates, with many people marrying later and later and thus delaying childbirth for years. 

Notably, even majority-Catholic and historically Catholic countries have not been free from the demographic collapse.

The University of Notre Dame. / Credit: Grindstone Media Group/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 27, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Neither U.S. President Donald Trump nor Vice President JD Vance will deliver the commencement address for the 2025 graduating class at the University of Notre Dame — signaling a departure from the tradition of the revered Catholic institution.

Since the 1970s, Notre Dame has routinely invited newly inaugurated presidents to deliver the university’s commencement address. However this year, rather than hosting a political figure, Joint Chiefs of Staff Acting Chairman Adm. Christopher Grady will deliver the address.

In total, six United States presidents have delivered commencement addresses at the university while in office: Eisenhower in 1960, Jimmy Carter in 1977, Ronald Reagan in 1981, George H. W. Bush in 1992, George W. Bush in 2001, and Barack Obama in 2009. 

Former Vice President Mike Pence delivered the 2017 commencement speech. Trump was traveling to Saudi Arabia at the time, although former Notre Dame President Father John Jenkins said that Trump had not been invited after his first inauguration because he did not meet “a certain bar in terms of just moral decency,” which prompted the Pence invitation instead.

Former President Joe Biden, the second Catholic president, was invited to deliver the 2021 address but did not do so because of a scheduling conflict. Former President Bill Clinton also did not deliver the commencement in 1993, but it’s unclear whether the university extended an invitation to him.

Prior to becoming president, former President John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic president, delivered the 1950 winter commencement while serving as a member of Congress.

CNA reached out to Notre Dame and the White House to ask whether Trump or Vance were invited to deliver the commencement address this year but did not receive a response from either by the time of publication.

Vance, a convert to the faith, is the nation’s second Catholic vice president after Biden.

The National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, reported that the Notre Dame campus was divided on whether to invite either Trump or Vance, with College Republicans urging an invite and College Democrats discouraging one. The editorial board for the student newspaper, The Observer, suggested that Notre Dame should invite Trump. 

In a news release announcing Grady’s upcoming May 18 commencement speech, Notre Dame President Father Robert A. Dowd referred to the award-decorated Navy admiral as an American hero.

“A true American hero, Adm. Grady has demonstrated tremendous courage, visionary leadership, and outstanding dedication to public service over his distinguished career, which spans more than 40 years,” Dowd said. “It is a privilege to have him address our graduates who will, no doubt, be inspired both by his words and by his example.”

Mother Angelica, foundress of EWTN. / Credit: EWTN

CNA Staff, Mar 27, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

The foundress of EWTN, Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation, died nine years ago, but her legacy lives on in the spiritual renewals that have resulted from the fruits of her work. 

Born Rita Antoinette Rizzo on April 20, 1923, she died on Easter Sunday, March 27, 2016, after a lengthy struggle with the aftereffects of a stroke. She was 92 years old.

Mother Angelica founded EWTN out of a garage in Alabama in 1981, and it has since become the largest religious media network in the world. (CNA is a service of EWTN News.)

Nine years after her death, EWTN viewers are still sharing their stories of how Mother Angelica’s life and the network she founded continue to influence them. Here are some of those stories, edited for clarity:

Daily Mass viewers

“EWTN has changed my life. I faithfully watch from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. every morning in Massachusetts. My father, who is 95 years old, lives in Maine. We watch daily Mass together through FaceTime and we discuss our thoughts on the homily for the day, every day. I was lost for many years and felt unworthy. EWTN is the vehicle that has taught me to forgive and learn to love myself. The greatest blessing I have received is from EWTN. I now feel at peace, feel hope, and I know that I am loved.”

“I just wanted to acknowledge how your EWTN network has blessed me. I am not Catholic, but [it] does not matter, I am a Christian. I am shut in and I tape your 8 a.m. morning Mass and watch it at 11 p.m. instead of the news. I also enjoy Father [Mitch] Pacwa and his weekly show.”

EWTN in prison

“I’m 42 and was recently released from prison. You have no idea the impact you are making for those of us who were and are incarcerated. Your program is an excellent resource for all Catholics! When I couldn’t watch EWTN on television, I would listen to the radio. I have reconnected with God and my faith and through your program, I have helped others by letting them know what resources to watch and listen to. You have helped so many, you don’t even realize! Archbishop Fulton Sheen is my favorite, as well as ‘Father Spitzer’s Universe,’ the rosary, and Divine Mercy. You have helped me and so many others grow in their faith and really turn their lives around that I even made my confirmation in prison! This feels so good to be able to share this with you! I’m walking by faith and will continue to help others through your program to see God’s light … this is why I donate.”

EWTN in schools

“I work as a substitute teacher, and many times when the teacher leaves work for kids to do independently, I turn on EWTN on the school computers and keep closed captioning on so as not to bother the students and I can read the entire Mass and the Lord have mercy in Latin — all of it — and obtain graces. So, thank you! I can’t wait to meet Mother Angelica in heaven one day. I went to Alabama in 2006 to the family celebration and she was supposed to be there but that was the beginning of her decline as they said she wouldn’t make it after all. I live in Arizona now and am eternally grateful for EWTN.”

EWTN in RCIA classes

“EWTN is a valuable tool that brings back those who have lost their way and the spirit of listening to the call to seek him. I have been praying for a long time for my husband to convert to the Catholic faith with me. I am happy to say that it is through your programming and listening to Sirius XM in the car that has called my husband to RCIA classes. Together we are taking RCIA classes and use your resources to further educate us. I am so grateful to EWTN and my answer to prayer that has brought my husband and I even closer. I will continue to donate because I want this light to keep burning … to call others.”

EWTN in the hospital

“Several years ago, I was in the hospital with a serious respiratory infection. I found myself flipping through the channels on the television and came to EWTN and your show ‘Scripture and Tradition.’ You and the Holy Spirit saved me that day. After listening to you I came back to the Church after being gone for many years. I went to the local church, St. Lawrence, and joined immediately. Since then, I have been very faithful, including watching daily Mass on YouTube and praying the daily rosary. I also go to confession every first Saturday and attend Mass and sacramental communion … I also watch EWTN every day, especially your show. Thank you for all that you do and for helping to save me. You are very special to me as I am hopeful that the Lord will take me to heaven when I die because of your efforts. God bless you and give you the strength and energy to keep up your fabulous work. I will always pray for you.”

EWTN on the journey ‘home’

“Just a quick email to say how much I enjoy listening to your program on EWTN ... it’s terrific! I am a somewhat lapsed Catholic and am currently busy ‘finding my way home’ ... programs like yours (and others on EWTN) are helping me immensely. I’m so pleased to have stumbled across EWTN a few months ago and now I regularly tune in (via satellite) to listen. I’m very impressed by your knowledge, Dr. David Anders, and you are great at explaining complicated things in a simple, readily understandable way. By the way, I also like the chap who helps you on the program, too. Thank you EWTN for bringing the word of God to us viewers. We appreciate the way EWTN’s programs bring peace and unity to us viewers in order to help in our life with the presence of the Lord. Through the virtues, we open our mind and heart, and learn our strengths and weaknesses. Our heart is with God, and we believe all the truths of the Church. The programs on Scripture and education teach us to learn more. Our heart is with God. We serve God. The word of God is important. Thank you for televising this program and Catholic news about Vatican City and Pope Francis.”

EWTN on the App Store

“I wanted to say that I am eternally grateful that EWTN has its own app. I don’t have to go to one of the million-dollar apps like YouTube or Facebook to get my EWTN programming.”

EWTN becoming family

“I’m 95 years old. I have trouble falling asleep since my husband, Joseph, passed away two years ago. In January 2021, I scrolled through the television at midnight. I came across your channel and daily Mass. I was so inspired by Father Mark’s homily that I have watched you all continuously seven days a week because of his homily and how much it meant to me. I have grown to love you all and I just worry about the friars. They are like my children, I love them so much. I am so thankful to have EWTN in my home. It is so hard being alone. You have become my family.”

This story was first published on March 22, 2022, and has been updated.