Catholic News

Florida's Catholic bishops are urging state residents to work to bring about an end to the death penalty, describing it as a "culture of death" and incompatible with a full Catholic understanding of the value of human life.

The eight prelates — including Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski, Palm Beach Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez, and several others throughout the state — issued the message amid large numbers of executions in Florida.

The state executed 19 condemned prisoners in 2025, helping drive a rise in capital punishment throughout the United States. Florida has executed 10 inmates thus far in 2026 and is scheduled to perform a rare double execution on July 28.

In their letter, Florida's Catholic bishops, who regularly advocate on behalf of condemned prisoners there, urged Catholics toward a "renewed consideration" of capital punishment, one informed by "the teaching of the Church and her moral authority."

"[W]e wish to remind Catholics of the teaching of our Church against the use
of the death penalty in situations — like our own — where bloodless means are sufficient to punish offenders and protect public safety," the bishops said.

They pointed out that Jesus in his teaching revealed that "God desires to offer mercy to sinners who do not deserve it."

While the prelates acknowledged that parts of Scripture "condone the death penalty at least in certain circumstances," they argued that the "fullest development of God's revelation of his will" points away from capital punishment.

In addition, they cited papal teachings such as Pope John Paul II's Evangelium Vitae, in which the now-sainted pope urged that modern secure penal systems have made it "very rare, if not practically nonexistent" for the death penalty to be justified.

At the same time, the bishops also acknowledged the horrific nature of crimes and the need for "deep sympathy and compassion" for family members who have lost loved ones to murder.

"We agree that the perpetrators of such crimes should be brought to justice, but we disagree that justice is best served by yet another act of killing," they said.

The bishops said they will continue to work to abolish the death penalty; they further urged both Catholics and "fellow citizens of goodwill" to work to end the practice as well.

Though executions in the U.S. were up in 2025, data indicate a growing public opposition to the death penalty, both in poll numbers and in the declining number of prisoners condemned to death in the United States.

Data from the Death Penalty Information Center indicates that new death sentences were down in 2025, declining to 22 from 24, with "only 14 juries nationwide" reaching unanimous death verdicts.

A Gallup poll in 2025, meanwhile, found that public support for the death penalty reached a 50-year low of 52%, while 44% of Americans oppose the death penalty, the highest level recorded since 1966.

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A World War II Army veteran, Raymond "Ray" Martin Sr., has joined the Catholic Church at 98 years old.

Before finding his way to the Church in Tucson, Arizona, Martin served in Okinawa, Japan, and in the Philippines; he then spent 27 years as a police officer in Illinois.

Martin's connection to Catholicism began with his late wife, Ann Marie.

When Deacon Jacinto "Jack" Trevino, a hospice chaplain and parochial associate at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in the Diocese of Tucson, met with Martin in December 2025, the two bonded over a shared background in law enforcement and spoke about his wife and her faith.

"Ray is an amazing person," Trevino told EWTN News. "We hit it off from the beginning. We talked about the job a lot — and shared some laughs."

It wasn't all laughs, though. As they got to know each other, their conversations grew serious.

"Ray talked about his wife, who passed," Trevino recalled. "He said she was Catholic and he would attend Mass with her and pray the rosary."

"One day he mentioned that he was never baptized or had any of the sacraments and he wanted to be Catholic," Trevino continued. "We began deeper discussions of the faith."

Martin, it turned out, had a deep faith in Christ and in the Eucharist.

"He expressed true belief in Christ and the teaching of the Catholic Church," Trevino said. "He expressed his belief in the Eucharist and the importance of baptism and confirmation. Ray said that even though he was not Catholic, he would always pray the act of contrition."

At the edge of death, life

Trevino, along with Father Edson Elizarraras, pastor of St. Christopher in Marana, Arizona, had a sense of urgency in bringing those sacraments to Martin.

Martin has survived a stroke, multiple falls, and other health concerns in recent years, even bordering on the brink of death in May after he suffered another stroke.

"Remarkably, Ray pulled through," Elizarraras told EWTN News. "It was after this stroke that he clearly expressed his desire to become Catholic and receive the sacraments of initiation."

Trevino and Elizarraras approached the bishop about advancing Martin's sacraments. Usually, would-be converts to Catholicism go through a one- to two-year Order of Christian Initiation of Adults before receiving the sacraments.

"Though he married a Catholic woman and faithfully attended holy Mass with her prior to her passing, Deacon Trevino noted that Ray always felt unworthy to receive the sacraments, despite believing in God," Elizarraras said.

"Ray came to tears expressing his desire for the Catholic faith, sharing that throughout his life, he would pray the Act of Contrition and the rosary," Elizarraras said. "The more Deacon Trevino visited him, the more questions Ray asked, showing he was fully convinced and willingly prepared to receive sacramental grace."

One of the most important days

So the date was set for July 16; the location, the assisted living home where Martin resided. The facility manager had put up banners with crosses to prepare the living room for the celebration, according to Trevino.

On the day of the celebration, Elizarraras gave Martin the short-order form of OCIA, which is written for those in near danger of death.

"The moment I approached to greet him, he began to cry and smile; he knew this was one of the most important days of his life," Elizarraras said.

Residents, caregivers, and Martin's family attended the Mass.

"Beautifully, at the start of the liturgy, Mr. Raymond asked to be helped closer to the small, dignified altar we had prepared," Elizarraras said. "He wanted to hear clearly and see God at work."

"When I asked him, 'Dear brother, Raymond, you have asked to be baptized because you wish, as Christians do, to have eternal life … This is the faith of Christians. Do you know this?' He responded firmly, 'I do, yes!' and wept tears of joy," Elizarraras recalled.

"Throughout the rite, he remained deeply attentive, smiling and occasionally meditating with his eyes closed," Elizarraras continued. "When the moment came for his baptism, he opened his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, recognizing this supernatural encounter with God."

Trevino described the day as "powerful."

"I was so blessed to humbly participate and witness how Christ, the bridegroom, pours out his love and mercy through his bride, the Church, in the sacraments for his people," Trevino said.

Afterward, they celebrated with cupcakes — and made plans for how Martin would practice his newfound faith from the assisted living home.

"First thing he asked me and my wife, Elena, was how he could receive Communion again since he can't get around to go to Mass," Trevino said. "We promised that we would bring him Communion directly and he could watch Mass on EWTN."

Martin asked for a medal of St. Christopher; he'd "always wanted one," he told Trevino, and St. Christopher was now, officially, his confirmation saint.

Encountering Christ

Elizarraras left the celebration that day "with immense joy and peace."

"In Ray's response to grace, I saw a soul truly coming alive," Elizarraras said.

The celebration brought to Elizarraras' mind a line from Deus Caritas Est, "God Is Love," an encyclical letter written by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.

"Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction," Elizarraras said, quoting Benedict.

"For Ray, at 98 years old, this sacrament was that very encounter, giving his final days a glorious new horizon," Elizarraras said.

A week later, Trevino's wife, Elena, a lay ecclesial minister, brought Martin Communion.

"She read the Gospel for the upcoming Mass, the parable of the buried treasure," Trevino said. "She told Ray that he was the man in the parable who found the great treasure. He was very happy."

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In Dublin, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) All Ireland Football championship culminated this past weekend as County Mayo ended a 75-year "famine" by winning the Sam Maguire Cup, defeating the favored team to win, County Kerry, and putting to rest the supposed "curse" cast upon the Mayo by a priest in 1951.

Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends elements of rugby, soccer, and basketball.

Legend has it that after winning their last All Ireland in 1951, the victorious Mayo team disrupted a funeral procession during their open-top lorry celebrations. In response, according to lore, a furious priest "cursed" the team, declaring that Mayo would not win another All Ireland title until every member of the 1951 squad had passed away. The last two members, Paddy Prendergast and Mick Loftus, passed away in 2021 and 2023, and this year is the first final the county has played — and won — since.

The historic win also took place on Reek Sunday, a traditional day of pilgrimage in County Mayo when thousands of Catholics climb Croagh Patrick holy mountain — a site forever associated with Ireland's patron saint. To mark a marvelous day for the Mayo faithful, GAA President Jarlath Burns even mentioned Our Lady of Knock in his presentation speech to Mayo captain Jack Coyne in Croke Park.

The victory attracted acclaim from around the world. Former U.S. President Joe Biden's family hails from County Mayo and he posted on social media: "Today, the dream becomes reality. Congratulations to my friends in Mayo. You earned this victory. Enjoy every minute. Sam is coming home."

For the rest of the world the sporting focus this summer has been on the FIFA World Cup, but in Mayo fans agonized over whether this would finally be the year to end the 75-year losing streak.

Every July, the GAA Gaelic Football and Hurling championship finals take center stage, each attended by 82,000 fans in Croke Park Dublin. The finals are the showpiece occasion for the GAA, which is the largest amateur sports organization in the world.

Hurling continues to attract the attention and admiration of a growing international audience. It's a nonstop, full-contact game played with sticks made from ash and a ball slightly smaller and lighter than a baseball. It traces its origins back to Celtic myth and legend.

Historic connection between the GAA and the Catholic Church

The Catholic connection to Ireland's Gaelic sports is not coincidental. From its foundation in 1884, the GAA has had an almost symbiotic relationship with the Catholic Church. It is still present but no longer as evident.

There are GAA clubs globally wherever there is an Irish community, but in Ireland clubs are traditionally organized on a parish basis, relying on unpaid volunteers, with the best players selected to represent their county.

"Parish life revolved around the GAA and the Catholic faith — the two real pillars of life in Ireland," Mickey Harte, who managed (County) Tyrone for three All-Ireland Senior football titles, told EWTN News. "The local priest would have been very heavily involved in the structure of the GAA club in the parish. It's still a very strong connection, although there's more of a secular outlook now."

In Ireland, the GAA is more than a sporting organization, providing essential social fabric and support.

The GAA's founding patron was the archbishop of Cashel and Emly, Thomas William Croke, after whom the famous stadium in Dublin is named. It was there that Pope Francis hosted the World Meeting of Families in 2018, and the GAA made Croke Park available for the World Eucharistic Congress in 1932. In years gone by, a bishop threw the ball in ceremonially on All Ireland final day.

Father Derek Ryan, a Redemptorist priest based in Drogheda and a GAA referee, said he sees a lessening of the link between the Catholic faith and the GAA, but "in times of tragedy, you can see how organized, compassionate, and supportive the GAA club can be to a community."

Ryan pointed to the importance of the parish.

"The traditional loyalty to the parish is still the basis of the GAA. It's about where you're living, where you're from, and parish boundary lines mark the border lines between local GAA clubs," he said. "Club identity is woven into parish identity."

Ryan highlighted the value of GAA clubs that provide a sense of community for the Irish diaspora.

"My own experience of living abroad in Africa and over in the United States is that these clubs become much more than sporting organizations, they become supportive centers," he said. "If we didn't have these GAA clubs and communities throughout the world, we would be very much less well off."

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Vandals desecrated two statues of Our Lady and set fire to the outdoor altar of St. James Church at the Medjugorje shrine in Bosnia and Herzegovina early Tuesday, July 28, days before the shrine's annual Mladifest youth festival.

The statue of Our Lady on Podbrdo, or Apparition Hill, was doused with black paint across the face, chest, and dress, with the words "Devil in a skirt" scrawled on its pedestal, local media reported. The statue of Our Lady at the nearby Blue Cross was similarly defaced, with "EVIL" written on a nearby stone slab. A banner in Polish naming the six alleged seers was left near the Podbrdo statue.

Police in Citluk received the first report at 4:30 a.m. and a report of fire at the recently renovated altar behind St. James parish church at 5 a.m., a police spokeswoman said reportedly. Surveillance footage shows a man dousing the altar with flammable liquid and igniting it. Cantonal police later confirmed to local media that a suspect was arrested Tuesday afternoon. His identity has not been released.

'Prayer, fasting, and forgiveness'

"We received with great sadness the news of the act of vandalism that damaged the places of prayer in our parish," the Medjugorje parish office said in a statement, calling on the faithful to respond "as Our Lady has been teaching us in Medjugorje for more than 40 years: with prayer, fasting, and forgiveness."

Cleanup began immediately, the parish said, and "the shrine remains open to all pilgrims."

Bishop Petar Palic of Mostar-Duvno expressed deep sorrow, urging the faithful not to let evil "infect us with its own logic," while the Interreligious Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina condemned the attack.

The Vatican granted a "nihil obstat" to devotion at Medjugorje in September 2024. Mladifest opens Aug. 1 and is expected to draw 50,000 to 60,000 pilgrims.

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Pope Leo XIV encouraged young people to use social media and artificial intelligence (AI) prudently because "they can immerse us in an unreal world."

In a video message to participants at the 2026 Halleluya Festival in Fortaleza, Brazil, the pontiff proposed St. Carlo Acutis, known for using digital technologies to evangelize, as a model for new generations.

"He shows how to keep Christ always at the center, even when using technology," he noted.

Taking that example as a reference, Leo XIV, who published his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, on AI in May, advised young people to use both social media and artificial intelligence appropriately.

"I advise you to use social media and artificial intelligence well, employing these tools in a moderate and disciplined manner, because they can immerse us in an unreal world where the ephemeral, mere appearance, and deception end up taking the place of true values ??and what really matters," he warned.

Addressing the participants at the youth evangelization event, which combines music, praise, and worship, the pontiff highlighted the spiritual fruits the initiative has yielded over the years, mentioning "confessions, conversions, and priestly and religious vocations."

"Today, I would like to say once again how good it is to be with young people. Your enthusiasm is contagious and awakens a renewed apostolic zeal in all of us," the Holy Father stated.

He also noted that young Catholics possess "a missionary vigor indispensable for transforming this world, which is in such need of the Gospel."

He thus strongly urged them: "Never lose this missionary zeal!"

The pope emphasized that there are still many people who need to discover that Christ answers the deepest aspirations of the human heart. In this context, he invited young people to proclaim the Christian faith without fear.

"Proclaim with courage that a life without Christ is a life without grace. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life," he declared, quoting the Gospel of St. John.

León XIV drew upon one of St. John Paul II's most well-known expressions to invite young people to place their full trust in the Lord.

"Do not be afraid of Christ. He takes nothing away; he gives everything," he affirmed, noting that whoever gives himself to the Savior "receives a hundredfold" and "always emerges victorious."

The pope asked the Holy Spirit to rekindle in young people a love capable of transforming their youth into an evangelizing force and to turn them into "living stones" for the building of a "city of peace."

Pope Leo XIV imparted his apostolic blessing to all the participants and organizers of the Halleluya Festival: "May God always be with you."

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.

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The archbishop of Berlin has condemned the deadly attack on an LGBT "Pride" event in the German capital after a minivan was driven into a crowd on Saturday evening, killing one woman and injuring at least 29 people, some of them seriously.

"How terrible! To brutally destroy such a joyful and moving celebration. In our prayers we are with all the victims and their relatives and friends, and also with all those whose joy hatred has taken away. Hatred must not win," Archbishop Heiner Koch told the German Catholic news agency KNA.

The prelate said intercessions would be offered at Sunday Masses throughout the Archdiocese of Berlin for those affected and for peaceful coexistence in society.

What happened in the Tiergarten

According to media reports, a white minivan was driven at high speed into a densely packed crowd at Tiergarten park, the venue of the annual Christopher Street Day (CSD) event, at about 10 p.m. on July 25, roughly 1,300 feet outside the secured festival area, before crashing into a tree.

The driver then attacked bystanders with a machete and fled.

The suspect, identified in German media as Abdul B., was a 21-year-old German citizen of Lebanese background whom authorities had classified as a potential Islamist attacker.

According to NZZ, the Muslim attacker had previously attempted to join the Islamic State in Syria and was convicted in May of preparing a serious act of violence, receiving a suspended juvenile sentence.

The German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel reported that he had openly sympathized with the terrorist group.

The suspected terrorist was shot dead by police on Sunday evening in Berlin's Spandau district after attacking officers with his bladed weapon.

Germany's federal prosecutor has taken over the investigation, and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt called the incident an "Islamist terrorist attack."

'We light a candle and pray'

Hundreds of thousands of people had taken part in the 48th Berlin CSD earlier on Saturday. The event was called off after the attack. On Sunday evening, hundreds attended an ecumenical memorial service at St. Mary's Church in central Berlin, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz among those present.

The Federation of German Catholic Youth (BDKJ), which took part in the LGBT parade through its Berlin diocesan association, said it was "shocked and saddened."

"We light a candle and pray for all those affected by this terrible act," the organization said.

The Catholic Church unequivocally condemns all violence and every form of unjust discrimination against persons living with same-sex attraction. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, they "must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity" (No. 2358).

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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The Vatican is participating in the international art exhibition "La Biennale di Venezia" in Italy for the fourth consecutive year. A senior Vatican official explained the Vatican's support for the exhibition and its recent focus on contemporary art.

Irish Bishop Paul Tighe, secretary of the Culture Section at the Dicastery for Culture and Education, told EWTN News that contemporary artists can reach people in ways that the Church cannot.

"Contemporary artists have their fingers on the pulse of humanity," Tighe told EWTN News. "We want to honor their lives, encourage them, and show them we are listening."

"They use different idioms — sometimes strange, sometimes difficult — to communicate and alert us to profound realities. We want artists to know the Church's engagement with art isn't just in the historical past tense; it's an ongoing dialogue today."

Why the Vatican is turning to contemporary artists

The Holy See, through the Dicastery for Culture and Education, has a pavilion at the Venice Biennale — which runs through Nov. 22 — featuring the work of American punk-rock singer Patti Smith and soft brutalist Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao.

This initiative is among several in recent years that reflect the Vatican's focus on promoting contemporary art. On Sept. 14, Pope Leo XIV will inaugurate an exhibit on water at the Vatican Apostolic Library. In 2025, the Vatican hosted contemporary art exhibits during the jubilee year, including a gallery space on the main road leading to St. Peter's Basilica, which still features works by contemporary artists.

Tighe defended the Vatican's partnership with contemporary artists, saying that the Church has learned from them since its beginning.

"The Church has been both inspiring artists and encouraging artists, but also learning from artists," Tighe said.

"If you think of something like the Biennale, there are lots of younger people from the worlds of the arts. Many of them are probably not overly engaged with religion or with faith. There is the kind of art that speaks the language of today because of the concepts the artists of today are using. We need to engage with them."

In describing the Vatican's focus on contemporary art, Tighe likened its appeal to that of sports, encouraging Catholics to use it to open conversations about faith.

"We have given a lot of attention and emphasis to sport because, in reality, there are more people on any given Sunday engaged with sport than are engaged with faith. [We Catholics] could lament that, or we can say, 'Well, let's try and speak to them,'" he said.

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The Vatican will launch its first conference of Christians and Confucians to expand the Catholic Church's outreach to the Asian ethical tradition.

The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue will hold the colloquium "Dialogue on the Contribution of Christianity and Confucianism to an Ideal Society: New Heaven, New Earth, and Great Unity" in South Korea from Aug. 4–5. As reported by Union of Catholic Asian News, it will convene clergy and scholars at Sogang University in Seoul to discuss universal fraternity, virtuous leadership, and ecological responsibility.

Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, is expected to attend along with other dicastery officials.

The event is also organized by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea.

The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue has participated in similar conferences, including the 2025 workshop "Christians Fostering Dialogue with Confucians: Guidelines and Prospects" in Taiwan and the 2024 study group that developed guidelines for Confucian-Catholic dialogue.

Confucianism developed from the ethical teachings of the Chinese philosopher Kong Qiu, known in the West as Confucius. He emphasized filial piety, ancestor veneration, moral self-cultivation, and harmonious social relationships rather than devotion to a creator god.

According to 2025 estimates from the World Religion Database, approximately 8.75 million Confucianists live worldwide. The largest populations are in South Korea, with 5,616,520 people; China, with 1,737,191; Myanmar, with 813,322; Thailand, with 261,330; and Japan, with 162,179.

According to Vatican News, at the 2025 workshop, Father Paulin Batairwa Kubuya, undersecretary of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, explained that certain Confucian teachings are already consistent with Christianity.

"Christianity and Confucianism are wisdom traditions," Kubuya said. "Confucian ethics is very strong on how people should comport themselves, how to be good citizens, and how to organize their lives. We find that these aspects correspond to Christianity."

Kubaya also expressed his hope that the future of Confucian-Christian dialogue would help Christians "look at our Confucian neighbors, look at how we can develop a better way of living together, [and] how we can enrich one another."

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St. Joseph the Worker College in Steubenville, Ohio, plans to renovate a former Masonic temple into a public theater, restaurant, and Catholic shrine.

A college representative said the idea took shape after Jacob Imam, president and founder, began praying a novena and walking around the building each workday, often returning on weekends with his family "like the Israelites circling Jericho." Spokesperson Wes Cimmarrusti said Imam's daily prayer-walks preceded an unexpected call from the Freemasons within a month, asking whether he would consider buying the property.

"We totally credit the favor and the opportunity to the intercession of St. Joseph and the power of prayer," Cimmarrusti said.

The Catholic trade school has raised $1 million and signed a purchase agreement with the Freemasons of Steubenville to buy the property in January 2027. While no date has been set for the project's completion, the college seeks to raise an additional $3 million to fully renovate the space. The renovated building will include a 500-seat auditorium that will be open to the public for artistic performances, academic lectures, and civic ceremonies. The building will also feature a restaurant, Clement's Café, named after Pope Clement XII, the first pope to condemn the Freemasons. There will also be a shrine that will display a replica of the Shroud of Turin. The college said it plans to ask a priest to bless the building.

Franciscan University to host conference in Austria on Christian healing

Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, will host its sixth annual Truth of Love Conference in Gaming, Austria.

The Sept. 4–6 conference, "Toward a Theology of Healing," will center on "wounds that touch the whole human person, including loneliness, mortality, physical suffering, and abuse and other sins." Speakers will draw from Scripture to "explore how healing is found through encounters with others and ultimately with Jesus Christ," according to a press release from the university.

"In the Gospel, Our Lord Jesus described himself as a physician and us, whom he saves, as the sick, whom he has come to heal (Matt. 9:12). And St. Ignatius of Antioch presented the Eucharist as the 'medicine of immortality,'" said Stephen Hildebrand, provost and professor of theology at Franciscan University. "These are more than metaphors, for our ultimate salvation consists in the healing, the making whole, of the human person, body and soul, and the human community."

"The Truth of Love Conference promises to be a rich exploration of this theme at the heart of the Christian message: Even in the midst of suffering and death, God will restore us and make us whole," he said.

Catholic campus ministry group names centers for inaugural service and justice grants

The Catholic Campus Ministry Association has awarded three ministries its first-ever Service and Justice Innovation Grant, created to "transform how Catholic campus ministries approach service and justice as expressions of evangelization, not just programming."

The inaugural 2026-2027 grants will go to the Catholic Student Center at Washington University in St. Louis; the St. Paul Catholic Center at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana; and to the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.

"Service and justice aren't add-ons to the Catholic mission, they're at its heart," said Rosie Chinea Shawver, executive director of the association. "What they build this year will shape how campus ministers across the country form the next generation of Catholic leaders."

Each recipient will receive a one-year $5,000 grant "to design, implement, and evaluate a new or revitalized service and justice initiative." The grant stipulates that each recipient will "function as a national think tank, learning together, pressure-testing ideas, and building a shared body of knowledge that extends far beyond their own programs."

The program will begin with a conference at the University of San Diego, where each campus will send two student leaders and one campus minister for formation and training.

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Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski urged "compassionate" immigration protections for Haitians with temporary protected status (TPS) upon expiration of their automatic work-permit extension.

As "widespread violence, political instability, economic collapse, and humanitarian suffering" continue in Haiti, Wenski said July 24 that the Caribbean nation remains unsafe as a place for migrants to return. About 353,000 Haitian nationals hold TPS status in the U.S., according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Miami's archbishop said local ministries are "preparing for the consequences" of policy changes, including the termination of work authorizations for diocesan employees. Employment authorization documents (EADs) reached a court-extended expiration July 27.

TPS is an immigration status granted to eligible foreign nationals from designated countries that are unsafe to return to due to ongoing conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary conditions.

The U.S. Supreme Court on June 25 ruled that DHS could end TPS for Haitians and Syrians. El Salvador's TPS designation is set to expire Sept.?9.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation (H.R. 1689) in April that would add three more years of TPS for Haitian nationals. The legislation has stalled in the Senate.

Catholic Health Services (CHS), one of the Archdiocese of Miami's largest ministries, which employs a significant number of Haitian workers who hold TPS, "is currently evaluating the effects of the recent federal changes affecting TPS work authorization, Wenski said.

"At this time, an estimated 40 to 50 valued employees may be affected, although the final number remains under review as the organization works individually with each employee based on his or her unique circumstances," he said.

Haitian CHS workers "are more than employees — they are members of our Church and our community," Wenski said. "They care for the sick, comfort the elderly, and serve some of the most vulnerable among us with compassion and dedication."

Ahead of the deadline, Wenski said "our hearts are with our Haitian brothers and sisters who are living with uncertainty, fear, and anxiety about what the future may hold for themselves and their families."

"The Church recognizes the right of nations to secure their borders and to establish just immigration laws. At the same time, our Catholic faith calls us to uphold the dignity of every human person and to accompany those who are vulnerable," he said.

As "Haiti continues to endure profound hardship," Wenski urged "elected leaders to pursue compassionate and humane solutions that protect family unity and recognize the extraordinary circumstances facing the Haitian people."

"To our Haitian brothers and sisters: You are not alone. The Catholic Church walks with you," he said.

Haitian workers in Ohio face uncertain future

Ohio bishops also have called for continued TPS protections for Haitians, especially as Springfield, Ohio, is home to a large Haitian population. The Catholic Conference of Ohio released a June statement urging action and continued TPS.

As the Supreme Court decision has left many families worried about losing their jobs, Ohio-based organizations are also preparing to aid those facing loss of TPS.

In an interview July 24 with "EWTN News Nightly," Casey Rollins, executive director of St. Vincent de Paul in Springfield, Ohio, said the organization's team helps immigrants and nonimmigrants "while they're enduring, or while they're navigating … a crisis or a situation."

"That would be, in this case, once they lost their jobs, we will help them take care of their rent and utilities if they now can't pay that," she said.

For "over 60 years, we've helped Americans with rent and utilities and those kinds of necessities for independent living. Now we're doing that with Haitians and other immigrants who've recently lost jobs," she explained.

"We also are helping the families who, many of them, are certain to be deported," she said.

Following the loss of workers in the Ohio community, "we're going to be in trouble," she said.

For years, the area needed "more workers here," and the Haitian community was "taking a lot of these jobs."

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