Catholic News

Former bodybuilder Bruno Toral recently shared his personal conversion story and how he went from being totally hostile to the faith (from literally having a "burn down the churches" mentality) and denying the existence of God to becoming a dedicated disciple of Christ.

The Spaniard, who now owns a gym, was featured in the "Rebeldes" ("Rebels") podcast, a show dedicated to sharing the Catholic faith and demonstrating that "living according to the Gospel is the greatest act of rebellion in today's society."

During the interview with Father Ignacio Amorós, Toral recounted the details of his conversion journey at the end of which he found the Catholic Church, the missing piece that gave meaning to a seemingly perfect life.

The emptiness of having 'everything'

Toral grew up in a deeply atheist environment, where success was measured by academic and professional achievements. Over time, he managed to achieve a successful career, thriving businesses, have an extraordinary wife, and two healthy children.

However, despite seemingly having it all, Toral confessed that he wasn't happy. He realized this especially when he noticed the vast difference between his level of happiness and that of his wife, Paloma.

While he lived a life of stoic but empty effort, she radiated a joy and peace that he couldn't attain. This "healthy envy" was the catalyst: Toral understood that his wife's faith was what he lacked, and he felt a vital impulse to ensure his children grew up near that same source of happiness.

For years, Toral defined himself as having a "burn down the churches" mentality and even went so far as to forbid any mention of God in his home. But the change came unexpectedly.

On a road trip with friends, he suddenly announced his decision to have his children baptized. "If we baptize the children, we have to live like Catholic parents; I don't do things halfway," he stated.

His definitive encounter with God occurred during a time of praise and worship. Before the Blessed Sacrament, the bodybuilder, who based his life on stoic effort and the rigors of the gym, was moved to tears by the real happiness of the Christian community.

Toral shared that faith has softened his character, giving him a patience he previously lacked with his family and employees, and going from relying solely on his own strength to resting in God's providence.

"The person I admire most, by far, is Jesus Christ," Toral said, emphasizing that his biggest challenge now is not to lift more weight but to be the person God wants him to be.

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 story of the Cristero War in Mexico reached theaters a little over a decade ago with "For Greater Glory," a film titled "Cristiada" in Spanish. Alongside the film, an official book was published to delve deeper into the history of the war, a spontaneous uprising by Catholics in response to religious persecution in the first part of the 20th century.

Available in Spanish and English, the book is authored by Rubén Quezada, a Catholic of Mexican origin living in California, and features a foreword by the archbishop of Los Angeles, José Gomez. Actor and producer Eduardo Verástegui wrote the introduction, and the book also contains an essay by Carl Anderson, who at the time of publication was the supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus.

Although "For Greater Glory" tells the story of a historical event that marks its centenary this year, the anti-Catholic sentiment it portrays "still persists, in a certain way," in present-day Mexico, Quezada shared in a telephone interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

Quezada, 59, now a renowned international speaker, recalled that during his childhood in Mexico, the Cristero War was not included in the history curriculum in elementary school.

The author explained that this widespread ignorance was a consequence of a state policy that lasted for decades. Following the 1929 "arrangements" between the Church and the federal government, which formally ended the Cristero War, he recounted, there was "a government order that nothing could be published, nothing could be disseminated," effectively making the Cristero War a taboo subject, while many Catholics avoided speaking about it for fear of being arrested.

Thus many generations were unable to access information about the religious persecution of the early 20th century, he explained.

It was not until later in life, when he immersed himself in the writing of the Franco-Mexican historian Jean Meyer — compiled in his three-volume work "La Cristiada" — that Quezada "began to study the Cristero War in greater depth."

The situation of enforced silence lasted until 1992, when relations between the Catholic Church and the Mexican state were officially restored. "We're talking about [a diplomatic break that lasted] 60 years," he emphasized.

That same spirit of silence surrounding the history of the Cristero War was even present during the production of the film starring Andy García, he pointed out. Quezada noted that during the making of "For Greater Glory," "many governors or mayors wouldn't allow the movie to be filmed" in their locale and that once it was in theaters, it faced subtle boycotts: "We received reports from all over that they didn't want to show the film in certain theaters."

"They would close the theater," he added, and claim that tickets had sold out "when there weren't many people" inside.

Currently, he indicated, although "it cannot be said to be at that same level," the sustained persecution of the Church in Mexico has put down "roots that remain within government platforms."

At the same time, he lamented, there is a "profound silence" in contemporary Mexican society regarding the Cristero War. In his travels throughout Mexico to participate in various events and conferences, the author said he has encountered many people who "prefer not to talk about that subject, or are unaware of it, or simply don't care."

Given this situation, Quezada argued that the Catholic response must be active and informed participation in public life. "We have a responsibility to vote with a Catholic conscience," he emphasized, noting that leaders should not be elected "simply based on personal preference or family tradition."

For the author, religious freedom hinges on the ability of the laity to place in positions of authority those who respect faith and human dignity.

"We must carefully examine each candidate ... knowing that we are choosing what is best for humanity, for society, for the world," he added, emphasizing that, ultimately, "we are the ones who put those elected officials in that position."

Finally, Quezada posed a challenge that draws the connection between the sacrifice of the Cristeros with contemporary Christian adherence to the faith.

After years of studying figures like Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro — whose impact changed Quezada's life when he was just a young man in California — the author posed a key question 100 years after the Cristero War: "Would we be willing today to rise up with that faith, with that heart that burned for the passion of Christ? Would we be willing today to act in such a way if we were ever confronted with something?"

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 role of chaplains at the Olympic Games is not just for Catholics and other believers, according to a priest currently serving at the Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.

"My service is much more individual and open to everyone, even nonbelievers," Father Oldrich Chocholác, chaplain of the Czech Olympic team, told EWTN News. "It is a service of presence, prayer, and blessing."

The Czech priest, who serves as parish priest in Telnice in the Diocese of Brno, has accompanied his country's athletes to every Games since Rio de Janeiro in 2016. This year, the Czech Republic sent 114 athletes — the largest delegation in the country's Olympic history.

Chocholác told EWTN News his program is quite simple. He comes daily to the Olympic village in Milan to the space reserved for Czech team accommodation and meetings, and can travel to some of the sports venues using athlete transport. It is up to the team members whether they make use of his presence, he said.

A chaplaincy spread across the Alps

But the multisite format of these Winter Games presents challenges. Part of the Czech team is scattered across smaller Olympic villages in the Alps northeast of Milan, meaning Chocholác relies on electronic communication to stay in touch with athletes at distant venues.

"They know they can contact me at any time," he said.

The pastoral work was easier during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, he observed. With the Games now spread across multiple locations, chaplains of individual national teams do not meet as they did in France.

Spiritual service among Czech athletes differs from that of more religious countries, where team members come in large numbers to church services, Chocholác noted.

"I am glad that I remain in friendly contact with some of them even long after the Olympics," he said.

Prayer at the Games

Besides national team chaplaincies — a practice established at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 — the Olympic Village in Milan offers a modest prayer room and various religious services for participants. The Basilica of San Babila in central Milan has been nicknamed the "church of athletes" for the Games.

The Olympics press office did not respond to an EWTN News inquiry about how many national teams have chaplains this year.

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The president of the Pontifical Academy for Life said Tuesday the Church needs to maintain a dialogue with universities on the issue of abortion.

Monsignor Renzo Pegoraro was responding to a question about controversy over the leadership appointment of a pro-abortion professor at the University of Notre Dame — and whether Catholic universities have a responsibility to uphold Church teaching on unborn life.

Abortion "is not acceptable as a practice," Pegoraro said during a Vatican press conference on Feb. 17.

He added that it is the responsibility of not only individuals but also of society to help women and couples "avoid the idea that abortion could be a solution to a difficult pregnancy or a problem."

Pegoraro addressed journalists during a presentation about the academy's international workshop "Health Care for All: Sustainability and Equity," held in Rome Feb. 16–17.

Pegoraro, who was named president of the Pontifical Academy for Life on May 27, 2025, said convincing people that abortion is not the only solution to a problem "is a big challenge."

"We try to see how to maintain a debate about that, and we try to stress more the ethical and some social aspects, not immediately only the legal aspect of the problem," he added.

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This year Lent begins on Feb. 18 with Ash Wednesday. As we quickly approach this time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, here are five programs to help you grow in your faith this Lenten season.

'Pray 40: The Return' (Hallow)

This year, Hallow's Lent Pray40 prayer challenge is titled "Pray40: The Return." The theme for this year's challenge focuses on returning to God, just like we read in the parable of the prodigal son. To help go further into this idea, listeners will dive into "The Brothers Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Actor Jonathan Roumie will guide listeners through "The Brothers Karamazov"; Mark Wahlberg and Chris Pratt will provide fasting challenges; Mother Olga will meditate on Scripture; Sister Miriam James Heidland, SOLT, will help listeners take part in imaginative prayer sessions; and Father Mike Schmitz will provide Sunday homilies.

'Crux' (Ascension)

Father Columba Jordan, CFR, will be hosting a daily Lenten program on the Ascension app titled "Crux." Crux invites the faithful to see Lent as a transformative season through a four-part daily system rooted in both physical and spiritual discipline. The four daily challenges include daily reading of Scripture, a nightly examen, one form of physical exercise, and one dietary fast.

"Crux" can be done individually, in parishes, or in small groups. Additionally, for those seeking a screen-free way to take part in the challenge, the "Crux: A Lenten Journey of Surrender" journal is also available.

'Seeking the Inner Room' (Word on Fire)

Word on Fire Institute will be hosting a virtual retreat this Lent led by Sister Miriam James Heidland, SOLT, titled "Seeking the Inner Room." The seven-week series will help participants dive deeper into Scripture and prayer in order to let the Holy Spirit into each of our inner rooms — our hearts. The retreat will also include reflections on "Gate of Heaven: Reflections on the Mother of God."

Lenten Phone Fast Challenge (Real Life Catholic)

Real Life Catholic is inviting people of all ages to put down their phones this Lent to offer prayers and sacrifice to support the renewal of young Catholics. The Lenten Phone Fast Challenge offers participants the opportunity to specifically pray for the spiritual protection of Catholic teens. Participants will also receive weekly messages of support and spiritual guidance from evangelist Chris Stefanick.

Programs offered through the EWTN Religious Catalogue

If you're looking for Lenten devotionals or books you can read during this time, the EWTN Religious Catalogue has a variety of options including "Praying with Jesus and Faustina During Lent," "Lent and Easter: Wisdom From Fulton Sheen," and "Lenten Journey with Mother Mary," among others.

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The Cardinal Newman Society — known for its list of authentically Catholic colleges — is now accrediting faithfully Catholic K–12 schools, a move that organizers hope will expand education access for families.

"This is a key step in Catholic education reform and helps ensure that families at faithful schools have access to school choice funds in states that require accreditation," Patrick Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, told EWTN News.

The organization acquired a Catholic accreditation group, the National Association of Private Catholic and Independent Schools (NAPCIS), which will accredit Catholic schools that are in line with the society's standards for Catholic education.

EWTN News spoke with Dan Guernsey, who serves as the executive director of NAPCIS, about how the new relationship will affect families and education reform going forward.

EWTN News: How do you hope accrediting independent and parochial schools will help Catholic families going forward, particularly in regard to school choice funding in various states?

Guernsey: Catholic teaching holds that the states have a responsibility to ensure families have access to schools in line with their values, including their religious values. More than half of Americans now have access to funding to assist in the attendance at Catholic schools, and the trend is continued growth. There is a danger that state governments may attempt to tie private school funding to state control, but some states avoid this by relying on accreditation to ensure a school's eligibility for school choice dollars.

It will be increasingly important that schools have an accreditor that is cost-effective, efficient, not overly intrusive, and fully credible with faithful Catholic families — with the bonus of achieving Newman Guide recognition.

What role does accreditation play in the bigger picture of Catholic education reform?

In alignment with the Newman Guide, NAPCIS only accredits schools that are serious about Catholic formation, so we can focus on the priorities of faithful Catholic families: Is Catholic teaching and culture bold and completely faithful to the magisterium? Are the academics solid and part of an integral formation in the light of our faith? Is the school safe? Does it have the personnel and resources needed to fulfill its mission?

Accreditation, done rightly, assures families of a school's success in fulfilling its mission. Sadly, most accreditation today places onerous and unhelpful burdens on schools regarding personnel and resources, while not holding schools to their mission — especially the unique mission of Catholic education. This ultimately detracts from a school's mission and misaligns its resources. NAPCIS flips this around, accrediting schools that put their Catholic mission first and then aligning accreditation to that mission.

Accreditors play an outsized role in too many schools today, including many Catholic schools. There is such a thing as "too much of a good thing." Many accreditors, focused on their own excellence and status, "push" schools and claim to be arbiters of school "improvement" rather than simply certifying a school's academics, operations, and mission integrity.

In the worst cases, accreditors demand that schools initiate policies and practices that run counter to a school's mission or values. They may, for example, press for excessive technology, secular/Marxist social justice, or sexual philosophies at odds with Catholic morality, justice, and chastity. NAPCIS provides space for faithful Catholic schools to exercise their autonomy under the principle of subsidiarity, or local control.

What inspired the NAPCIS and Cardinal Newman Society partnership? How will this partnership affect students and families?

I like to think of the new partnership not so much as a marriage made in heaven but as a marriage made for heaven. Both organizations have worked for more than three decades to assist the Church in ensuring her youth are fully activated for this life and the next.

By aligning NAPCIS accreditation with Newman Guide standards, we're helping schools attend to Catholic identity while also reviewing school operations. The Newman Guide focuses exclusively on mission, and it upholds high standards that would be unacceptable to another accreditor striving to recruit large numbers of lukewarm Catholic schools.

Partnered with the Cardinal Newman Society, we'll help schools strengthen their Catholic identity and ensure their religious freedom in a social and educational environment dominated by secularism, relativism, and materialism.

This interview has been edited for brevity.

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On Saturday, Feb. 14, the humanitarian situation in Gaza was the focus of a day of the arts at the apostolic vicariate in Rome. In the halls of the Lateran Apostolic Palace, the third edition of the initiative focused on the Gaza Strip, burdened by destruction and loss, where the suffering of its residents calls for ongoing attention.

The event offered an artistic journey divided into four consecutive performances under the title "If There Were Water."

Father Gabriele Vecchioni, deputy director of the University Pastoral Office at the vicariate, explained at the event that art stands in direct opposition to adaptation and forgetfulness. Shedding light on Gaza, he said, means confronting what the world has heard in recent months: the killing of 64,000 people, including 18,000 children — figures that an arts day insists must not be archived but preserved as an active memory.

In the "Hall of Reconciliation," the theatrical work "Gaza: Before the Silence" by Francesco D'Alfonso was performed by first-year students of the National Academy of Dramatic Art Silvio D'Amico. Through poetry, music, international reports, and literary excerpts, the performance restored faces and names to the victims. White shrouds and the stark numbers of the tragedy became signs of a collective responsibility shared by all.

Reflection on the suffering of Gaza's people continued in the "Hall of the Emperors" with the artistic work "Holm" ("Dream"). This project by the National Academy of Dance combined choreography and video. Through the languages of body and image, it opened an intellectual space for reflection on the Palestinian cause, entrusting dance with the task of fostering listening and awareness.

In the Hall of David, "Who Are You? A Beautiful Question," a work within the relational art movement, directly engaged the audience with the issue. Through words, images, and sounds, it unfolded fragments of memory about what has taken place in the Gaza Strip.

In the Hall of the Apostles, the event hosted the Santa Cecilia Music Institute, with Senka Slipac on the violin and Vehbija Hodžic on the accordion. The musicians performed works by Antonio Vivaldi, Dražan Kosoric, and Vittorio Monti.

The artistic journey at the Lateran also included a work titled "Fire," a collective installation created within a workshop sponsored by Caritas Rome.

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Pope Leo XIV has eliminated the Pontifical Committee for World Children's Day, established by Pope Francis in November 2024. In a decree published on Feb. 13, the Holy Father reaffirmed the importance of the Church giving special attention to children, in continuity with the intention expressed by his predecessor.

However, with the aim of "fostering greater synergies" and ensuring a more effective organization of this "noble initiative," the decree stipulates that all the committee's functions will be transferred to the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, where it has been integrated since August 2025.

The document also establishes the annulment of the acts and regulations adopted to date by the body, which will cease to have legal effect under both canon and civil law.

Likewise, the president, vice president, and other members of the committee are immediately relieved of their duties.

Finally, it states that the prefect of the dicastery, Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, must resolve outstanding matters and submit a final liquidation report to the Secretariat for the Economy.

Pope Francis established this day on Dec. 8, 2023. On that occasion, he announced that the first World Children's Day would be celebrated worldwide on May 25-26, 2024.

Subsequently, Francis established the Pontifical Committee for World Children's Day and appointed Father Enzo Fortunato, also director of communications for St. Peter's Basilica and head of the press office of St. Francis of Assisi Basilica, as its president.

The next World Children's Day will be celebrated Sept. 25–27 and is expected to be a time of encounter, prayer, and celebration involving children and their families from all over the world.

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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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a speech at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) over the weekend that elicited a standing ovation and widespread accolades, including from Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota.

In his Feb. 14 speech, Rubio said Europe and the U.S. are part of "one civilization — Western civilization" and are "bound to one another by the deepest bonds that nations could share," including shared "Christian faith, culture, heritage, language, ancestry, and the sacrifices our forefathers made together for the common civilization to which we have fallen heir."

"It was here in Europe where the ideas that planted the seeds of liberty that changed the world were born," he said. "It was here in Europe ... which gave the world the rule of law, the universities, and the scientific revolution."

To applause, Rubio said the destiny of the U.S. will "always be intertwined" with Europe's and "the fate of Europe will never be irrelevant to our own."

Rubio recalled that at the first MSC meeting in 1963, "thousands of years of Western civilization hung in the balance" after the devastation of two world wars and before a united Europe and United States eventually "prevailed" against the "evil empire" that was the communist Soviet Union.

He said that after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, it was "foolish" to assume that "every nation would now be a liberal democracy" and "we would now live in a world without borders where everyone became a citizen of the world" thanks to the replacement of nationhood by commerce and trade.

This was a mistake, he said, citing "free and unfettered trade" as the reason for the deindustrialization that has taken place in the U.S. and Europe as well as the "rapid" militarization of countries that are "adversaries and rivals" who have taken over "our critical supply chains."

Mass migration threatens 'cohesion of our societies'

Rubio blamed the pursuit of "a world without borders" for the "unprecedented wave of mass migration that threatens the cohesion of our societies, the continuity of our culture, and the future of our people."

He called for both Europe and the U.S. to "gain control of our national borders," saying enforcing immigration law is "not an expression of xenophobia or hate but rather a "fundamental act of national sovereignty."

"And the failure to do so is not just an abdication of one of our most basic duties owed to our people," he said. "It is an urgent threat to the fabric of our societies and the survival of our civilization itself."

He also criticized what he called "a climate cult" that has led to the self-imposition in Europe and the U.S. of "energy policies … that are impoverishing our people, even as our competitors exploit oil and coal and natural gas and anything else — not just to power their economies but to use as leverage against our own."

He said President Donald Trump refuses to see the "West's age of dominance" as declining, saying that the U.S. has "no interest in being polite and orderly caretakers of the West's managed decline."

Instead, Rubio said the U.S. wants to "revitalize" its alliance with Europe and, together, "renew the greatest civilization in human history."

Looking to the future, Rubio called for the U.S. and Europe to be "unapologetic in our heritage" as both societies rebuild by reindustrializing, limiting immigration, and investing in military defense.

"We made these mistakes together," he said, "and now, together, we owe it to our people to face those facts and to move forward, to rebuild."

The speech received a standing ovation.

Barron's assessment

In an X post following Rubio's speech, Barron said that "what most grabbed my attention was his stress on the common culture that unites Europe and America."

Barron pointed out that "that culture is grounded ultimately in the Christian faith. It is simply the case that reverence for the dignity of the individual, for human rights, for political freedom, and for equality comes, in the final analysis, from the Christian Gospel."

"Basic to his presentation was the conviction that Europe and America will truly flourish when each rediscovers its spiritual mooring," the bishop observed.

Last week, the presidents of the Italian, French, German, and Polish bishops' conferences issued a statement in which they also called upon Europeans to "return to the foundations of their hope."

"Christianity has been one of the essential foundations of our continent," they wrote, and Europe must "rediscover its soul in order to offer the entire world its indispensable contribution to the 'common good.'"

"The world needs Europe," the bishops wrote. "This is the urgency that Christians must embrace in order to then commit themselves decisively, wherever they are, to its future with the same keen awareness as the founding fathers."

The Munich Security Conference

The MSC was founded in 1963 and chaired until 1998 by Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist-Schmenzin, a German publisher, former Wehrmacht officer, and participant in the July 1944 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.

The MSC is not a decision-making body but an independent venue for launching diplomatic initiatives and shaping international security policy discourse. It serves as an annual gathering for heads of state, foreign and defense ministers, military leaders, experts, and representatives from business, academia, and civil society to discuss global security challenges in an informal setting.

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More than 40 Catholic Democrats in the House of Representatives signed onto a statement of principles regarding immigration, which urged "solidarity" with migrants and cited Catholic social teaching and the visions of Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV to back up their positions.

The statement comes as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) continues to speak out against indiscriminate mass deportations. Lawmakers are also negotiating an end to a partial government shutdown, which was spurred by debates about funding and potential reforms for immigration enforcement.

"We feel called in solidarity to stand with immigrants — especially those who are poor, marginalized, or fleeing hardship — and to ensure they are treated with dignity, justice, and compassion," the statement said.

"As Catholics and elected officials, we believe that addressing long-standing inequities and expanding meaningful opportunities for immigrants is an essential part of our responsibility to community and to those most in need," the lawmakers said.

The statement was led by Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-Connecticut, and signed by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, and 41 other Catholic Democrats. No Republicans signed onto the statement.

The Catholic Democrats said their position is rooted in three principles of Catholic social teaching on immigration: that people have a right to migrate to sustain their lives and the lives of their families, that nations have a right to regulate borders, and that all enforcement must be consistent with justice and mercy.

In their statement, they said Jesus Christ "identifies with the migrant" when he says in Matthew 25:35: "I was … a stranger and you welcomed me." They also cited Pope Leo XIV's encyclical Dilexi Te, commenting on migration, in which he said the Church knows that "in every rejected migrant, it is Christ himself who knocks at the door of the community."

They quoted Pope Francis' 2019 message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, in which the former pontiff said the Church's response to immigration can be summed up in four verbs: "welcome, protect, promote, and integrate."

The statement recognizes that regulations on immigration are legitimate, citing the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which teaches that "political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions."

"Catholic social teaching approaches migration with realism: It affirms the right of persons to seek safety and opportunity while recognizing the legitimate authority of nations to regulate their borders," they said. "Sound immigration policy is ordered, humane, and sustainable, balancing solidarity with prudence in service of human dignity and the common good."

The Catholic Democrats said, however, that border enforcement "is never a license for cruelty, indifference, or dehumanization" but instead "must be governed by justice and mercy." They accused Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of having "failed this moral standard."

"Their actions have separated families, removed law-abiding individuals from our communities, and, tragically, contributed to the deaths of detained migrants and citizens like Renee Good and Alex Pretti," the statement read.

The Catholic Democrats, in their statement, said their position on immigration is "guided by a living Catholic tradition that affirms the dignity of every human life." Despite the USCCB having called "the threat of abortion" its "preeminent priority" in the 2024 election, the Democratic Party supports abortion access, identifying abortion as an essential component of health care.

Negotiating ICE, CBP reforms

The signatories called on Congress to "bear the Church's teachings in mind" when considering reforms to ICE and CBP, which are being negotiated.

On Feb. 14, the government entered into a partial shutdown when Congress did not reach an agreement on funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which operates both ICE and CBP.

Many Democrats are proposing reforms that would restrict immigration enforcement as a condition of approving funds. Some have gone further, calling for the abolition of ICE altogether.

Catholic administration officials have rejected the Democrats' characterization that immigration enforcement has violated the human dignity of migrants.

In December 2025, border czar Tom Homan told EWTN News that "we treat everybody with dignity." He said "the most humane thing you can do is enforce the law, secure the border, because it saves lives" and asserted that the administration targets criminals and cited its work to combat fentanyl and sex trafficking.

Nathaniel Madden, principal deputy assistant secretary for communications at DHS, told EWTN News in November 2025 that detainees "are going to be treated like a person, and your dignity is going to be respected." He said dignity and immigration enforcement are compatible and "we have to take into account that laws were broken."

In January, U.S. citizens Pretti and Good were both shot and killed by federal immigration officers in separate incidents in Minneapolis.

In November 2025, the USCCB issued a special message that opposed "the indiscriminate mass deportation of people" and called for an end to "dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement." The message was approved by a vote of 216-5.

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