Catholic News

Ann Teresa O'Neill, whose confirmed miracle contributed to the canonization of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, died on July 17 at age 78.

O'Neill, of Easton, Maryland, had leukemia as a child, and her cure was accepted for Seton's path to sainthood in 1975.

Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore will serve as the principal celebrant for O'Neill's funeral Mass on July 25 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Interment will follow on the grounds of the shrine.

"Ann O'Neill spent more than seventy years answering questions about a miracle," Rob Judge, executive director of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, said in a statement following her death. "Yet, if you talked with her for any length of time, you discovered she wasn't really interested in talking about miracles."

"She wanted to talk about her mother's faith. She wanted to talk about Mother Seton. Mostly, she wanted to talk about Jesus," he said.

She wanted to talk about her mother's faith. She wanted to talk about Mother Seton. Mostly, she wanted to talk about Jesus. That may be the clearest evidence of why God chose her life to become part of one of the most important stories in American Catholic history."

Rob Judge

Executive director of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

"That may be the clearest evidence of why God chose her life to become part of one of the most important stories in American Catholic history," he said.

"The saints are like our friends," O'Neill said in an interview with the Archdiocese of Baltimore's Catholic Review in 2025. "Mother Seton was my mother's friend. She's my friend. And because we're Catholic, we have a lot of friends in heaven."

Born on Oct. 7, 1947, O'Neill was the daughter of the late Felixena O'Neill and the late William Richard O'Neill.

She is survived by her children, Joseph Hooe, Gerard Hooe, and Mary Alice Zawodny, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren, a funeral notice said. She was preceded in death by her son Robert Eugene Hooe Jr.

The miracle that helped Mother Seton become a saint

Born in Baltimore, O'Neill developed advanced leukemia as a young girl in 1952. Despite doctors trying every treatment, she grew more sick and her case was considered hopeless.

During Holy Week, it was expected that the 4-year-old girl would pass within a few weeks.

While her family prepared for her loss, Sister Mary Alice Fowler, supervisor of the children's ward at St. Agnes Hospital, gave O'Neill's mother prayers for Seton's intercession and had her give them to relatives and friends.

She pinned a cloth that had touched Seton's remains to O'Neill's hospital gown. Family members, friends, and other religious leaders began a novena for O'Neill.

On Good Friday in 1952, with her daughter's condition deteriorating, O'Neill's mother took her to Mother Seton's resting place in Emmitsburg — where Seton started the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, the first community for religious women established in the U.S., and the first Catholic school for girls.

Against doctors' wishes, O'Neill's parents drove her to Emmitsburg, laid her on Seton's tomb in the cemetery, and took her inside Mother Seton's house where the saint had died of tuberculosis in 1821.

Once her mother returned O'Neill to the hospital, doctors performed blood work and testing. On Easter Monday her blood count was normal. Constant tests over the following years showed her health to be normal.

O'Neill's cure was accepted for Seton's path to sainthood. Pope Paul VI officially canonized Mother Seton on Sept. 14, 1975, the ceremony for which O'Neill attended in Rome.

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Missouri's Catholic bishops are urging state voters to consider "justice and equity" ahead of a state vote that may eliminate personal income tax there, with the prelates warning that such a measure could adversely impact low-income residents.

Voters in the state will decide on Aug. 4 whether to approve Amendment 5, which would reduce and eventually eliminate Missouri's income tax.

The measure also would mandate the "[reduction of] personal property and other local taxes when local revenues increase." The amendment would allow sales taxes to make up the difference in state revenue.

In a statement this month, Missouri's four Catholic bishops urged voters to consider "the moral principles that should guide us in pondering any tax proposal."

The Catholic Church, they pointed out, does not mandate that governments adopt "any particular tax model," but the Church does teach that "every system of taxation must serve the common good" and be guided by justice.

The bishops warned that shifting to sales taxes, which are regressive, places a larger per-income burden on lower-income taxpayers and "should be approached with prudence."

They acknowledged that supporters of the income tax repeal have "a sincere desire to promote the long-term prosperity" of Missouri. But such aims should be "weighed alongside the potential effects on those who are most vulnerable," they argued.

The bishops further called on the government to preserve tax-based incentives for charitable giving.

The prelates urged voters to "thoughtfully" discern their vote on the amendment in light of the Church's teachings. They also urged the government to "ensure the needs of the poor and vulnerable remain at the forefront of public policy."

Polling has shown that a slight majority of Missouri residents favor eliminating the state income tax. An SLU/YouGov poll from February 2025 said 52% of voters there support eliminating the state income tax.

Just 29% of voters in a February 2026 poll, meanwhile, preferred income taxes to sales taxes.

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The Diocese of Crookston in Minnesota announced that seven parishes will cease celebrating Sunday Mass in the coming months due to factors including a shortage of priests, lack of young people in religious formation, and trouble finding parish volunteers.

"The decision to stop having Sunday Mass at a church is amongst the most difficult decisions that have to be made," said Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston in a video announcement.

"The parish church, as we know, is the center of life — the center of our faith life for so many people, often for generations," he said. "It's the place where we most frequently live our relationship with God. It's the place where the Mass is celebrated, especially on Sundays."

Four parishes in the Northeast Deanery of the diocese, including St. Francis Xavier in Oklee, St. Ann in Goodridge, St. Philip in Falun, and St. Mary in Badger, will celebrate their final Sunday Masses in August and September.

In October, parishes in the Northwest Deanery, including St. Mary in Euclid, St. Joseph in Oslo, and St. Francis of Assisi in Fisher, will hold their final Sunday Masses.

While the parishes will soon halt Masses, Cozzens explained the diocese has "not yet decided the merging of these parishes, nor have we decided anything about the future of the buildings."

"Demographics" was a deciding factor, because throughout the diocese "the population has been decreasing," Cozzens said in the video. "There are fewer and fewer family farms" and "schools have been combined."

"When these churches were built, there were often many large farm families throughout the area. Now it's not the case," he said.

"Some of these parishes have no young people in religious formation, or at least very few. Some have trouble finding volunteers to keep the parish going, relying on only a few dedicated parishioners," he said.

The lack of priests in the diocese is another factor.

In a letter to the faithful, Cozzens explained the diocese continues "to experience a shortage of priests" and "there are limits to the number and locations of Masses they can celebrate on any given weekend."

"We must ensure that they can provide sustainable pastoral care and remain true spiritual fathers to the communities entrusted to them," Cozzens wrote.

"Suffering and death are real parts of our lives as humans and as Christians. And if your parish is going to cease having Sunday Mass, it feels like a death because it is," Cozzens said.

"The pain is real, and it's a sign of how much you love your faith and how much your parish matters to you," he said.

Discernment process

The bishop explained that the diocese came to the decision after undergoing "an extensive process."

The diocese created committees made up of "at least three representatives from every parish, totaling more than 20 people" who "worked hard to discern and pray about how we might use our limited resources to fulfill the church's mission," he said.

Members of the Diocesan Planning Commission also worked to discern the best pathway to advance the mission of the Church.

"When parishes become too small, it's impossible to support a mission-centered parish life. We cannot do outreach. We cannot support opportunities for growth and faith and evangelization," the bishop said.

Due to these reasons, the group made the recommendation to halt Sunday Masses at the parishes, which the bishop accepted.

"And I believe that although we have reached some difficult decisions, the Holy Spirit has guided this process," he said

The bishop also offered a message to Catholics in the diocese "who are not losing Sunday Mass at your parish."

"You have a special responsibility to show love to your neighbors. You can honor the sacrifice these others are making for our common faith. You can let them know that they are not alone and walk beside them in their grief," he said.

"You can be the hands and feet of Christ by reaching out to them, and you can help us to form a new community in your church building as you invite new members to join you," he said.

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The U.S. abortion count continues to rise even as travel abortions decrease, a recent study found.

The Guttmacher Institute, a data group that openly supports abortion access, documented a decrease in people leaving their own state to get abortions in other states. Instead, abortion seekers turn toward mail-order abortions, which have seen a surge in recent years.

The group tracks abortions monthly, following trends "in the post-Dobbs era" since 2023, according to Guttmacher data scientist and study lead Isaac Maddow-Zimet.

The data indicated an overall increase in abortions from 2025 to 2026.

"In the first three months of 2026, there were 296,130 abortions as compared to 292,590 in the first three months of 2025," data scholar Michael New told EWTN News. "This is an increase of just over 1%."

New said this fact has gone underreported.

"Most media outlets that are reporting on the Guttmacher data have not reported on this, but the number of abortions continues to rise," said New, who is a senior associate scholar at Charlotte Lozier Institute, a group that studies data relating to the pro-life cause.

"These rising abortion numbers are an important reason why pro-lifers are frustrated with the Trump administration's lack of action on telehealth abortions," continued New, who also works as a professor at the Busch School of Business at The Catholic University of America.

The Trump administration has neglected to enforce various regulations — such as the Comstock Act or in-person prescription requirements — that could be groundbreaking for protecting unborn children from chemical abortions.

From 2024 to 2025, travel abortions declined by nearly 8%. Scholars agree that mail-order abortion is the reason for the decline in abortion travel.

"Currently, we are seeing a major shift in where and how people access abortion," Maddow-Zimet said. "While travel remains a critical pathway to care, we have seen a decrease in people leaving their state of residence, likely due to both the growth of telehealth access and fewer options for in-person care in the South and Southeast."

New also cited chemical abortions as the draw away from travel abortions.

"The main reason for this decline in out-of-state travel is because of the rising number of telehealth abortions," New said. "The most recent data from the Society for Family Planning shows that approximately 27% of all abortions are done by telehealth."

In Florida, the study also found a near tripling of abortion travel by Floridians after the state passed a heartbeat law to protect unborn babies; at the same time, fewer people traveled to Florida to obtain abortions due to this law.

"The national decline [in travel abortions] might have been even larger had Florida not started enforcing a Heartbeat Act in 2024," New said. "Because of this strong pro-life law, far fewer women residing in southern states traveled to Florida for abortions."

Texas has also seen a decline in Texans traveling to get abortions. 

"This trend is seen at the state level," New continued. "Between 2024 and 2025 the number of Texas women obtaining abortions in other states fell by 19%."

Mail-order abortion is pro-life priority

Advocates for unborn children highlighted the importance of opposing chemical abortions and protecting unborn children across state lines.

Abortion continues to rise with the increase in mail-order abortions.

Kelsey Pritchard, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America spokeswoman, called for protections of unborn children across state lines.

"We need a national minimum standard to ensure children across America have basic human rights and the chance at life, regardless of their zip code," Pritchard told EWTN News.

"Nine states and the District of Columbia still have no gestational limits whatsoever on abortion, allowing abortion up to the moment of birth, with late-term abortion centers purposely located within range of pro-life state borders," Pritchard said. "This is barbaric and extreme, and it places the United States in the same category as communist countries like China and Vietnam on abortion."

"While stopping the 'Wild West' of unregulated abortion by mail is our immediate priority, both issues underscore the urgent need for national action to protect unborn children and their mothers," Pritchard said.

"Abortion travel is down overall, but mail-order abortions are surging and driving the national total up to an estimated 1.1 million abortions per year — more than the day Roe was reversed," Pritchard said. "Every single month, approximately 15,000 babies in the womb die from mail-order abortion drugs in states with pro-life laws, while women and girls are poisoned and coerced by abusers who obtain these drugs online without so much as an ID check."

Kristi Hamrick, Students for Life spokeswoman, questioned the data, noting that there is no reporting requirement for abortion.

"I find it extraordinary that the abortion industry reports so much data that is accepted as gospel, despite the fact that we can't verify it," Hamrick said. "We have no national abortion reporting law, and while this data will be broadly reported, every point of data from pro-life sources is treated as suspect."

Guttmacher collects monthly data from brick-and-mortar facilities and telehealth providers, according to the study methodology.

The nature of mail-order abortion pills makes it harder to accurately track the number of the abortions in the U.S. as the pills are highly unregulated and some companies operate outside of the U.S. healthcare system.

"The landscape of abortion is shifting, from brick-and-mortar abortion vendor to online pill pushers, so less driving, if that is true, does not mean less abortion," Hamrick said.

For Students for Life, "fighting chemical abortion pills" is a priority.

Through pregnancy help centers, maternity homes, and other programs, the pro-life movement continues to encourage women to choose life.

"But what is happening in real time is that many are reaching out to women online and in their communities to encourage and support them in choosing life, while we also have to confront a new abortion cartel," Hamrick said.

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Iran and the United States have faced accusations of strikes on civilian infrastructure and have explicitly threatened attacks on civilian infrastructure going forward, prompting concerns from Catholic moral theologians.

"I have deep concerns that the war will widen and the greatest impact will be on the civilian populations of Middle East nations," Joseph Capizzi, director of Notre Dame's McGrath Institute for Church Life, told EWTN News.

Charles Camosy, a moral theologian at The Catholic University of America, told EWTN News that threats to civilian infrastructure are "absolutely not" consistent with moral conduct during war or Catholic just war doctrine.

"The dignity of the human person — including a commitment to Christ's command to love one's enemies — must be paramount," he said. "Not winning a war. Not gaining political advantage. … Catholics are not consequentialists."

A Pakistan-mediated ceasefire that began April 8 ended on July 8. Last week, Iranian state media alleged that the U.S. struck a water desalination plant in the Hormozgan Province that supplies water to 30 villages, impacting thousands of people. U.S. officials confirmed military strikes in the province but have not confirmed a strike on the plant.

U.S. Central Command denied strikes on the wheat facility but has not addressed every specific allegation. U.S. military officials have repeatedly said they only target Iran's military capabilities.

The U.S. has confirmed strikes in southern Iran that destroyed port infrastructure. Pro-regime media in Iran reported commercial and fishing piers were among the targets, citing the Iranian Red Crescent Society. That report also alleged strikes on a wheat storage facility, roads, and bridges.

In response to these alleged attacks, Iran has repeatedly struck power plants and water facilities throughout Kuwait and Bahrain. Officials in Kuwait, which relies on water desalination plants for 90% of its drinking water, are urging people to conserve energy and water. Bahrain's supply of drinking water is 100% reliant on water desalination plants.

When reached for comment about the other specific allegations, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command told EWTN News "we refer you to our published releases" and "we have nothing further to add."

On July 22, Trump escalated threats to civilian infrastructure, saying he would strike "one bridge or power plant" for every ship Iran strikes. Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in response that Iran's doctrine is "an eye for an eye" and "those who contribute" to aggression "will also be considered as legitimate targets."

When a reporter asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio on July 23 whether he would rule out strikes on civilian infrastructure, he did not say. Rather, he pointed to Araghchi's statement and said: "The president's policy is a head for an eye — I mean, honestly, that's what it's going to be."

Just conduct in war

Three Catholic moral theologians who provided comments to EWTN News — Capizzi; Camosy; and Taylor Patrick O'Neill, a theology professor at Thomas Aquinas College — all said it is not moral to intentionally target civilian populations in war.

"The prohibition against targeting civilian infrastructure is absolute in moral and international law," Capizzi said. "States are prohibited from targeting civilian infrastructure."

He urged caution about purported justifications for striking "dual use" infrastructure targets that may be used for both military and civilian purposes. He said "no party is allowed merely to claim targets are 'dual use.'"

"When there is doubt as to the dual or single use of a target, international [law] stipulates the presumption begins with single use, and therefore the target is inadmissible to be targeted, unless proven to the contrary," Capizzi said.

Camosy also said this is a moral absolute and there is no circumstance in which it is moral to target civilians. He said that "even in war, even when the stakes are highest," Catholics do not adhere to the consequentialist moral philosophy of the ends justifying the means.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains a person can never engage in intrinsically evil acts — such as targeting innocent people for harm — regardless of the reason because "the end does not justify the means." Acts also require "good intention," so while "good intention" is not sufficient and does not justify evil acts, bad intention — such as intending to harm innocent people — always "makes an act evil," it explains.

Camosy said: "Protection against the targeting of civilians is an absolute value in war. Catholics are called to be prepared to lose a war rather than violate exceptionless moral norms or commit intrinsically evil acts in this area."

Sometimes an act, in war or elsewhere, can also have several effects. St. Thomas Aquinas explains in the "Summa Theologica" that it can be proper to engage in an act that is morally neutral in and of itself but has both good and bad consequences, so long as only the good consequence is the one that is intended. This is the principle of "double effect."

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that proportionality is required in war. The evil inflicted through war cannot be more severe than the evil one is aiming to defeat.

"We need to ask if civilian harm is the intention and/or the mechanism of action in the military strike or [if] it is a merely foreseen side effect," Camosy explained.

"If the rationale for hitting the electric grid or desalination plant is that widespread darkness, spoiled food, rampant disease, failed hospitals, and more will generate political pressure on the Iranian regime, then the suffering of peaceful civilians becomes the causal pathway to the advantage sought," he said. "This then becomes the object of the act itself and not a merely foreseen side effect."

Alternatively, Camosy added: "Attacking a generator dedicated to a command bunker, however, would likely not suffer the same kind of critique, however, even if one foresaw but did not intend that it would also have bad impacts on civilians."

Similarly, O'Neill said the moral analysis of striking a facility that results in civilian harm is about intention and proportionality. It is never moral to intend the suffering of innocents or target them.

"You cannot intend or rely upon civilian death or fear to aid in your military effort," O'Neill said. "In other words, the foreseen evil cannot itself be the means by which you attempt to achieve some good."

A specific bridge that is "dual use," such as one used by civilians but also used "to transport tanks from factory to battlefield," he said could possibly be justified under double effect. The moral analysis would have to consider intention and proportionality and "you must also try to minimize the negative."

"Will blowing up the bridge make civilian life uncomfortable or will it result in the loss of life, access to basic necessities, etc.? All of these things have to be taken into account just for double effect," O'Neill said.

"Under double effect, it's theoretically possible to strike a dual-use target," he added. "But any strike on merely civilian infrastructure (or even [a target] with indirect ties to the war effort) would be intrinsically unjust."

"At that point, the attack would have more in common with an act of terrorism," O'Neill said.

'Blessed are the peacemakers'

St. Augustine, in a letter to the Roman general Boniface, emphasized that the intention of war must be to ultimately establish a just peace — not to simply to unleash destruction: "Peace should be the object of your desire; war should be waged only as a necessity, and waged only that God may by it deliver men from the necessity and preserve them in peace."

The fifth-century bishop and theologian cited the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 5:9: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."

O'Neill explained that in the context of a just war, "the Christian always seeks war for the sake of peace and that of both his own people and the people of the enemy nation."

"To consider the civilians of an enemy nation as the enemy is already to lose the necessary distinction of combatant from innocent," he said.

Camosy noted that Trump, in his 2024 campaign, promised "to be deeply skeptical of war" and encouraged him to move back in that direction.

"Trump himself was aggressively pursuing the Nobel Peace Prize on this basis," he said. "It would be much better to go back to this way of thinking about war. Think about becoming a peacemaker again."

Trump told Axios on July 23 that he is "considering a massive attack, bigger than ever before" but did not say whether this includes the civilian infrastructure he has threatened. He said that Iranians want to negotiate, but "they haven't received enough pain yet."

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Sister Leticia Ugboaja, the Catholic nun and nurse who was briefly detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in south Texas in June, made her first public remarks after what she described as weeks of "stress, anxiety, and fear."

At a July 23 press conference, she said she is still afraid of what may yet happen to her but is trusting in God.

"I was very much afraid, with cold sweat," she said of her detainment by ICE officers as she walked to Mass at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in McAllen, Texas, on June 28. "I did not expect [it]; on an ordinary Sunday morning, when people should be ready to go to Mass to worship the Lord, on the street here, just in front of the school, where I have walked … a countless number of times."

"I will not pretend it did not hurt and it's hurting me today," she said, describing the two ICE agents as "armed, and I'm just a small woman, a nun, armless, with just my rosary, my key, and my phone."

Though she felt afraid and hurt, she said she has been trusting in God, quoting Jesus' admonition to "not be afraid, because I am with you always."

Ugboaja, a member of the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy and a registered nurse at South Texas Health System, said it was "heartbreaking" to be told "no" by the ICE agents after she asked them if she could first attend Sunday Mass and receive Communion because "as we know, Sunday Mass is obligatory … it is mandatory."

During the press conference, Carlos Garcia, her lawyer, gave more information about her immigration status.

He said an immigration judge denied her application for asylum in 2019 but did grant her protection from removal to Nigeria under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, saying it was likely she would be tortured if she returned there.

Garcia said this protection legally bars the U.S. government from deporting her to Nigeria, though "as a technical matter," she remains under a final order of removal.

Nevertheless, he said the religious sister and nurse, who has served in south Texas for more than a decade, is legally authorized to work in the U.S. and "has never missed an immigration appointment."

Garcia said Ugboaja's detainment by immigration officials is confusing: "People who've been granted this type of relief have generally for many years been under the impression they are OK as long as they complied … So it's very confusing not only for her but for many others I've talked to as to what is going on."

Of the way immigration enforcement actions are taking place, Garcia said "it's hard to comprehend, because of the way it's happening, without [people] being informed of any reasoning" by the government.

Not an isolated case

"I am not the only one," Ugboaja said of others who are "languishing' in the same situation in which she finds herself but who do not have the attention of the media on them.

They are "people who have been given some form of protection under our laws, who have followed every rule asked of them … who still live with uncertainty about where they might be sent and whether anyone will tell them before it happens."

She said she is praying for them and is asking for something simple: "Before anyone is taken into custody, give them … the opportunity to be heard."

Garcia said she has a check-in appointment with immigration officials on July 28, where Ugboaja could be detained or an ankle monitor could be placed on her.

The attorney said he hopes the appointment will be unnecessary, but if it does take place, "we are asking that she not be detained and that no ankle monitor be placed … she's broken no rule, posed no danger, and given the country a decade of nursing and a lifetime of ministry."

He said ICE detained her on June 28 in order to remove the nun to a third country, a practice that he said is "currently the subject of active litigation in federal courts nationwide."

He suggested she is entitled to "notice and a meaningful opportunity to contest a proposed third country removal before she's taken into custody and removed."

The incident occurred amid heightened immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, which has included operations near houses of worship.

The nun's release June 28 was facilitated by lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, who said his office communicated with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and border czar Tom Homan to secure Ugboaja's immediate release.

By Sunday evening, Ugboaja, who serves as an extraordinary minister of holy Communion at Our Lady of Sorrows, had been released from custody and returned home.

Cuellar told EWTN News at the time that "this is not the way they should have picked her up. If ICE had any questions, there would have been more appropriate ways to deal with her situation."

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Several U.S. bishops in recent months have tightened diocesan funeral policies, emphasizing stricter adherence to the Order of Christian Funerals (OCF) amid evolving popular practices at funerals that depart from Church norms and concern visitations, eulogies, and cremated remains, among others.

'Liturgical anomalies'

In a video message and accompanying letter, Bishop Thomas Paprocki's new rules for the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, which went into effect on July 1, address what he described as "irregular practices" and "liturgical anomalies."

Paprocki explained that his goal is to "ensure that Catholic funerals in our diocese will conform to the norms of the Catholic Church" and maintain the integrity of the three parts of the OCF: the Vigil for the Deceased (the night before the funeral liturgy), the funeral liturgy itself (Mass or liturgy outside Mass), and the Rite of Committal.

Among the "anomalies" the bishop addressed and prohibited was the practice of visitations in the church on the day of the funeral liturgy, as the vigil by definition must occur the night before. Priests or deacons will lead vigil prayers even without a public gathering, although family members are strongly encouraged to participate.

Families may still gather at the funeral home for the brief prayers of the transfer of the body to the church or to the place of committal, which can be led by a funeral director, parish staff member, or relative if clergy are unavailable. The procession to the church — whether on foot or by motorcade — is important, he said, as it serves as a "reminder of when the deceased person first entered the church" in baptism.

Paprocki said eulogies are not permitted during the funeral rite, but "words of remembrance" are, as long as the words "speak about the faith-life of the one who died and give praise to God." Eulogies make "the person being praised the main focus of attention," he wrote, while "the homily and the words of remembrance have God as the primary focus."

Because those speaking at the end of a funeral Mass sometimes say things "that are very inappropriate" or are too overcome with grief, the bishop said all "words of remembrance must be submitted for approval to the pastor … at least three days prior to the funeral. Only the priest or deacon will then read the words of remembrance" at a time other than during or immediately after the funeral rite.

Families themselves may offer eulogies or remembrances at other gatherings, such as a meal after the Rite of Committal, provided they do not immediately precede or follow the liturgical rites.

On cremation, Paprocki reaffirmed the Church's preference for burial of the body while permitting cremation when not chosen to deny the resurrection of the body.

All cremated remains must be interred intact following the Rite of Committal and ordinarily within 30 days.

'The Order of Christian Funerals does not envision a viewing in a church building'

Meanwhile, Bishop David J. Bonnar of Youngstown, Ohio, issued a decree in October 2025 ending funeral visitations in church buildings effective December 2025.

Bonnar said holding a visitation or viewing in a church compromises the sacred space "by noise and activity unbecoming of the reverence due to the Blessed Sacrament."

His decree created a uniform policy across the diocese, addressing growing requests for in-church visitations driven by convenience and cost.

The only exception the bishop permitted is for the funerals of priests or religious, where public visitation in the church or chapel continues as a long-standing tradition.

Families may still hold visitations at funeral homes or other appropriate locations.

'It is the body whose hands clothe the poor and embrace the sorrowing'

Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester, Massachusetts, issued a decree in May reinforcing the intact burial of cremated remains while emphasizing the Church's preference for bodily burial.

"Although cremation is now permitted by the Church, it does not enjoy the same value as burial of the body," the decree states. "The Church clearly prefers and urges that the body of the deceased be present for the funeral rites since the presence of the human body better expresses the values which the Church affirms in those rites."

"The Church's teaching in regard to the human body as well as the Church's preference for burial of the body should be a regular part of catechesis on all levels," McManus writes.

All of the cremated remains of a body must be interred following the Rite of Committal in a grave, mausoleum, or columbarium, according to the decree. The remains may not be divided and placed in multiple locations or scattered in any location. Neither may they be kept in private homes or placed into jewelry.

Interment of cremated remains should not be unduly delayed following the funeral rites. If the Church's norms concerning cremation are not respected, the bishop says the celebration of public funeral rites may be denied, at the celebrating pastor's discretion.

The decree's pronouncements are "effective immediately."

Cemeteries are 'places of Christian hope'

In the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, Bishop Michael Martin promulgated the decree "Diocesan Norms for the Governance and Stewardship of Cemeteries and Columbaria" on March 19, the solemnity of St. Joseph, patron of the dying.

In a letter accompanying the revisions, Martin said he was "confident" the new norms would "serve the needs of the faithful as they reverently lay to rest the mortal remains of their loved ones."

The updates set clear eligibility guidelines for interment. While Catholic cemeteries/columbaria are intended primarily for baptized Catholics, the decree states provisions can be made for others, including non-Catholics and even non-Christians.

Catholic cemeteries and columbaria are "extensions of the Church's ministry … not merely functional places of burial" and are "sacred places set aside by the Church for the corporal work of mercy of burying the dead and for providing a final resting place for the faithful departed as a sign of their hope in the promise of resurrection," the decree states.

Consequently, such places must be maintained and used in a way that reflects "reverence for the dead and care for nature."

Burial costs must also remain affordable and accessible.

Parishes within the diocese have six months to align local policies with the new norms, while existing contracts will remain in effect.

'Prayers after Death' revised by USCCB

In a March newsletter, the Committee on Divine Worship of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops announced a revision of the "Prayers after Death," which occur during the rite of the OCF.

According to the committee, the ritual structure, rubrics, and individual elements of the revised prayer are "nearly identical" to the previous edition, "with the exception of the concluding prayers at no. 314" in the Order of Christian Funerals.

"These prayers have been retranslated after the pattern of the Roman Missal and according to the principles of Liturgiam Authenticam," the committee wrote.

The Liturgiam Authenticam ("Authentic Liturgy") is a major Vatican instruction issued in 2001 that established precise norms for translating liturgical texts (and Scripture for liturgical use) from the official Latin editions into modern languages, its core principle being fidelity to the original text.

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With his hope placed in Jesus Christ and a longing to see his homeland free one day, a Nicaraguan priest carries out his ministry in Costa Rica, the country to which he came after being forced to flee due to the Nicaraguan government's persecution against the Catholic Church.

"It's been 30 months since I had to flee," the priest told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. He asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals against his family living in Nicaragua.

Although he currently carries out his ministry in a Costa Rican parish, he acknowledges that each day is tinged with nostalgia for the land he left behind.

He fled early one morning in 2024 after the authorities had issued an arrest warrant for him. He left Nicaragua without even being able to say goodbye to his family.

"I left Nicaragua without seeing my mother, without telling her: 'Mom, I'm leaving.' I couldn't say goodbye to anyone; that hurts," he said sadly.

The persecution began in 2018

The "harassment" against him, as he himself describes it, began in 2018 when street protests against President Daniel Ortega's government erupted. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the crackdown left hundreds dead and injured.

At that time, he was providing pastoral support to youth groups, which led to his involvement. "I supported the young people in the sense of praying for them and, secondly, by looking for food and medicine for university students and the general population whenever they were mistreated, subjected to violence, or beaten."

He also began preaching about human dignity and social justice during his Masses. He sought "to call for respect and for the freedom of a people crying out for justice and demanding their rights to be valued."

"That bothered the government; it made them angry," he lamented.

As the months went by, he began receiving calls and messages on his personal number. He also stated: "Armed military personnel would arrive and enter the church to record the homilies; in short, I felt constantly watched."

The priest recounted that in late 2023 he was forced to leave his community and go into hiding. "I spent New Year's on the run, in hiding." Finally, in January 2024, an arrest warrant was issued for him, and he decided to flee to Costa Rica.

"I had to leave almost at midnight, trying to save my life. I practically had to flee for no reason at all because I hadn't committed any crime," he stated.

His case is not an isolated one. He is among the multitude of the faithful suffering the systematic persecution that the Ortega dictatorship has waged against the Catholic Church. Since 2018, more than 1,030 attacks against Catholics have been documented, and over a hundred priests and four bishops have been expelled or forced into exile.

New opportunities in Costa Rica

"The tears were flowing," the priest recalled, thinking back to the moment he crossed the border and left his country behind. More than two years after that event, he said that "to this day, I feel a longing for the people I love."

Despite the pain, he said he has found a new opportunity in Costa Rica, thanks to the support received from the country's bishops and various priests, who "have given me shelter and stability.

That support enabled him to rebuild his life and resume his priestly ministry. Convinced that God does not abandon those who suffer, he affirmed: "Jesus is with me, and Most Holy Mary, my beautiful, beloved Mother, does not forsake me."

He said he asks God every day to "free Nicaragua from that cruel, indolent, murderous regime."

"I ask for justice, I ask for peace, I ask the Lord to grant me the grace to return to my beautiful land, to be able to see my mother."

Migrant priests: A gift for the Church in Costa Rica

Currently, there are around 25 Nicaraguan priests living in Costa Rica, Father Gustavo Meneses, executive secretary of the National Human Mobility Commission of the Costa Rican Bishops' Conference, told ACI Prensa.

Far from considering them a burden, Meneses maintains that they represent "a gift from God among us," as they have come to "meet needs within our dioceses," especially those with fewer priests.

Recently, a private meeting was held that, Meneses explained, was "an opportunity for them to meet, to get to know each other. Because they themselves are beginning to realize who's here."

The priest indicated that many shared the pain of having left their families, "but, above all, it hurts them to have abandoned their pastoral mission."

He thus considers that one of the challenges for the Catholic Church in Costa Rica is to offer them the human and psychological support that enables them to heal from the effects of exile.

He also called on the authorities to expedite international protection processes and prevent those fleeing persecution from remaining for long periods in a "legal limbo" that exposes them to deportation.

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 Vatican will study the conditions needed for a possible trip by Pope Leo XIV to Ukraine, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher said following a six-day pastoral and diplomatic mission to the war-torn country.

Gallagher, the Holy See's secretary for relations with states and international organizations, said the possibility of a papal visit was among the questions he heard most frequently during his stay.

"Almost everyone I met asked me that question. My answer is very simple. The Holy Father takes this invitation very seriously," Gallagher told Vatican Media in Kraków, Poland, before returning to Rome.

"For our part, we will continue to study the conditions necessary to determine the right time and the most appropriate way for such a visit to bear the greatest possible fruit for Ukraine and for peace in the world," he said.

Gallagher spent six days in Ukraine, which has been at war since 2014 and has endured Russia's full-scale invasion since February 2022. He held political, institutional, and Church meetings and took part in several pastoral events.

He met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on July 20. Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for the Holy See's continuing support for Ukraine amid the war with Russia.

The principal purpose of Gallagher's visit was to participate in celebrations marking the 35th anniversary of the restoration of the Latin Catholic Church's structures at the Marian shrine of Berdychiv. Thousands of faithful attended the celebrations July 19.

Gallagher said Ukrainian authorities had expressed appreciation for the Holy See's support.

"In our meetings with the authorities, we encountered profound gratitude for the Holy Father's appeals and his words, and that is a source of encouragement for us," he said.

"They feel supported by the closeness shown first by Pope Francis and now by Pope Leo. This encourages the Holy See to renew its commitment to dialogue with the international community and with the Russian authorities, and to continue its humanitarian efforts, such as the mission entrusted to Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, who continues working for the return of children, prisoners, and civilians."

Pope Leo XIV has received several official invitations to visit Ukraine. Zelenskyy renewed the invitation during a conversation with the pope on Good Friday.

During that exchange, Pope Leo expressed his closeness to the Ukrainian people amid the suffering caused by the war and emphasized the urgency of ensuring humanitarian assistance. He also expressed his hope for an end to hostilities and a just and lasting peace with Russia.

A just and lasting peace

Asked about the prospects for a ceasefire, Gallagher said he had seen a strong willingness on the Ukrainian side to work toward that goal.

"During these days I have seen a strong determination on the Ukrainian side to work towards that goal. It is difficult for me to say whether this can be achieved in the immediate future, but we must continue to work in that direction," he said.

"At the same time, as we saw at the shrine of Berdychiv — and as the history of this remarkable place of Marian devotion reminds us, renowned for many reported healings — we should never rule out the possibility of a miracle."

Gallagher also reflected on what he had witnessed during the mission.

"For me, this has been a profoundly positive experience. Beyond the logistical effort and the long journey required to reach Ukraine, it has allowed me to touch the reality of today's world with my own hands," he said.

"We must remember that not everyone lives as we do in Italy or in my native England. There is a dark and troubling reality in our world today. We must not give in. In our own way, we too are called to strive, doing our part with the means available to us, in order to build peace."

Zuppi's humanitarian mission

Gallagher's visit followed Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi's second mission to Ukraine as Pope Leo XIV's special envoy.

The archbishop of Bologna completed four days of meetings in Lviv and Kyiv focused on prisoner exchanges, the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia, and the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

Zuppi met civil and religious authorities, officials responsible for prisoner exchanges and relatives of military personnel and civilians being held in Russia.

Among his principal meetings was an encounter with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who thanked the Holy See for its humanitarian efforts and requested its support in achieving a comprehensive and lasting peace.

Sybiha also raised Kyiv's concerns about civilians detained in Russian territory and called for a humanitarian corridor to assist thousands of people in the Russian-occupied communities of Oleshky and Hola Prystan in the Kherson region.

Prisoners were a central focus of the mission. Proposals discussed included a possible comprehensive exchange of prisoners of war, continued efforts to locate missing people, and measures to facilitate the return of civilians.

The parties also discussed the situation of Ukrainian children taken illegally to Russia, an issue in which the Holy See has been involved for years through diplomatic and humanitarian initiatives.

Another topic was the protection of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that has recently been damaged amid attacks connected to the war. Ukrainian authorities consider its preservation and restoration a priority.

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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Members of the European Parliament are urging Mairead McGuinness, the European Union's special envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, to engage with Pakistan over forced religious conversions as the country's Federal Constitutional Court is due to hear 13-year-old Maria Shahbaz's appeal on Friday.

The calls follow growing concern over reports of the abduction, forced conversion, and marriage of girls from Pakistan's Christian and Hindu minority communities. In a resolution passed in the European Parliament on July 9, lawmakers called on Pakistan to investigate and prosecute those responsible, while urging the EU to continue raising the issue in its political dialogue with Islamabad.

Calls for special envoy engagement

Speaking at a conference on forced marriage and religious conversions held at the European Parliament last week, Slovak member of the European Parliament Miriam Lexmann said she had recently met with McGuinness to discuss the issue.

"We urge her to see this as a big priority," Lexmann said, adding that the envoy "has to make this a key priority for the coming months and coming years."

Carmen Correas López, legal officer for Europe at ADF International, which is supporting Maria's case, told EWTN News the organization is working to arrange a September meeting with the special envoy to discuss the case and broader concerns about the persecution of Christians.

Maria's appeal

Maria, whose case is unrelated to the separate 2020 case involving Christian activist Maira Shahbaz, was abducted in July 2025 at the age of 12 and was allegedly forced to convert to Islam before being married to a man who was about 30 years old.

Pakistan's Federal Constitutional Court is due to hear her review petition on Friday. The petition seeks to overturn an earlier judgment handed down in March that allowed Maria to remain with the man accused of abducting, forcibly converting, and marrying her.

ADF International said Maria's case reflects a broader pattern of forced marriage and religious conversion affecting girls from Pakistan's minority communities and could establish an important legal precedent.

According to research published by the Pakistan-based organization Voice for Justice, there were 210 documented cases involving Christian girls between 2019 and 2025. The organization said many victims' ages were falsified in official records and alleges that police, local officials, and religious figures facilitated fraudulent marriage and conversion documents.

Maria's father, Shahbaz Masih, told EWTN News that international support had given the family renewed hope after repeated legal setbacks.

"Repeated failures to obtain justice through the courts had all but extinguished our hope of bringing Maria home," Masih said. "But the overwhelming outpouring of support and solidarity, not only from Christians in Pakistan but also from Christians around the world, has rekindled our hope that we will one day be reunited with our daughter."

A test for the special envoy

The increased focus on Maria's case follows the appointment of former European commissioner McGuinness as special envoy in March, ending a vacancy of more than a year that Christian advocacy groups and lawmakers had criticized as undermining the EU's engagement on freedom of religion or belief.

Commenting on McGuinness' appointment, Professor Shahid Mobeen of the Pontifical Theological Faculty Teresianum in Rome and president of the Italian Roundtable on Freedom of Religion or Belief said the move should lead to stronger EU engagement with Pakistan.

"The appointment of the European Union's new special envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief makes it necessary that the envoy engages actively with the Pakistani authorities and civil society in support of meaningful reforms," he said at the conference.

Mobeen also called on the EU to use Pakistan's GSP+ status, which grants the country preferential access to the EU market in return for meeting human rights obligations, to press for stronger protections for religious minorities.

"The European Union should, therefore, make full use of the GSP+ monitoring mechanism, paying particular attention to Pakistan's commitment to freedom of religion or belief and ensuring that these commitments are effectively implemented and translated into tangible improvements for vulnerable communities," he said.

EWTN News sought comment from the European Commission, including on whether the special envoy intends to engage with Pakistani authorities following Parliament's resolution, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

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