Catholic News

The Vatican has called for a global ethical framework governing the use of animal organs in human transplants, warning that rapid advances in the field demand coordinated international oversight.

The Pontifical Academy for Life presented a new document examining the ethical challenges posed by xenotransplantation — the transplantation of animal organs into humans — an area that until recently was considered close to science fiction.

"It is an important contribution that the Church offers not only to believers but also to the scientific and ethical community, to see how to continue research, with protocols approved for human beings in this field," said Msgr. Renzo Pegoraro, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, at a Vatican press conference introducing the volume "The Prospects for Xenotransplantation — Scientific Aspects and Ethical Considerations."

The text, published in English in November and presented March 24, includes contributions from leading experts, including Harvard Medical School professor Jay A. Fishman, who has studied infectious risks linked to genetically modified pigs used for organ donation for three decades.

The 90-page document — the result of collaboration among scientists, clinicians, legal experts, theologians, and bioethicists — is intended as a "useful point of reference" for decision-makers at international, national, and local levels, Pegoraro said.

It updates a previous Vatican publication on the topic from 2001 and acknowledges that while some countries have already developed regulations, existing frameworks remain fragmented. The Vatican stresses the "importance" of achieving "substantial convergence of international legislation as soon as possible."

Xenotransplantation has emerged in response to a global shortage of human organs. In the United States alone, between 13 and 17 people die each day while waiting for a transplant, and more than 100,000 patients remain on waiting lists — about 80% of them in need of a kidney.

"This is one of the possible solutions to alleviate the organ shortage we have, not only in the United States but globally," said Dr. Daniel J. Hurst of Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine, another contributor to the volume.

The document affirms that Catholics may morally accept animal organ transplants for medical treatment. "Catholic theology does not present obstacles, for religious or ritual reasons, to the use of any animal as a source of organs, tissues, or cells for transplantation into human beings," it states.

However, it emphasizes that the use of animals is justified only when necessary to achieve a "significant benefit for human beings."

Researchers involved in the project stressed the need to avoid unnecessary animal suffering and to establish clear ethical limits. Monica Consolandi, who coordinated the publication, said such procedures must be governed by strict criteria, ensuring "reasonable use, only out of necessity," while avoiding "unnecessary suffering for the animal world."

She also highlighted environmental concerns, warning that the use of genetically modified animals must not harm biodiversity and requires "a specific effort to preserve it."

Beyond biological and environmental issues, the document addresses the psychological and spiritual impact on patients. Recipients of animal organs may experience emotional or identity-related challenges, Consolandi noted, making psychological support and comprehensive informed consent essential.

"We know that the human being is not determined by matter," she said, adding that such procedures should not affect a person's fundamental identity. Still, she stressed the importance of accompanying patients throughout the process, including after the transplant.

The document also notes that while the Catholic Church has articulated its position, other religious traditions — particularly Judaism and Islam — have yet to issue definitive guidance, though some openness has been observed in past discussions.

Experts involved in the project said a broader international consensus will be increasingly urgent as the technique moves closer to routine clinical use.

The Vatican also raised concerns about public health risks, particularly the potential transmission of diseases between species — known as xenozoonosis. "We must ask how to adequately protect both the patient and the public from this known but difficult-to-quantify risk," Hurst said.

The document underscores that informed consent is "a cornerstone of ethics" in both research and clinical practice, requiring transparency not only about known risks and benefits but also about unknown factors.

Finally, the Vatican frames the issue within a broader moral vision of human responsibility toward creation. While humans are entrusted with stewardship over the natural world, Hurst said, "that does not mean we can do whatever we want with the earth, with resources, or with animal life."

Instead, he added, such stewardship calls for responsible care — a central principle guiding the Vatican's approach to emerging biomedical technologies.

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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Belgian radio hosts have apologized after airing a video feature in which they were seen smashing statues of both Jesus and the Virgin Mary.

At the Radiodays Europe conference in Riga, Latvia, EWTN News correspondent Colm Flynn on March 23 asked Studio Brussel hosts Sam De Bruyn, Eva De Roo, and Dries Lenaerts about the January segment, which featured the violent destruction of several objects including the Christian statuary.

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De Roo said the segment was in observance of "Blue Monday."

"We were beating the blue out of the Monday," she said. "So people could text us like, 'I'm having really a blue Monday because my car broke and everything.' OK, I will smash something for you!"

Asked by Flynn if Christian viewers might find the destruction of the Jesus and Mary statues "deeply offensive," De Bruyn acknowledged that it "might" be offensive, but "in Belgium, not really."

"We're not a very religious country, definitely not the listeners of Studio Brussels," he said. He noted that "all the things we smashed" were "all things that were already broken."

De Bruyn admitted he would have been "more careful in another country, definitely." But "in Belgium, it is not a big issue."

Asked if the hosts would consider smashing a statue of the Islamic prophet Muhammed, De Bruyn said such a proposal was "dangerous."

De Roo argued that the hosts were "all from the Christian tradition," and De Bruyn pointed out that they were all "raised Catholic," which, he claimed, "gives us a little more credit to do this."

De Roo directly apologized during the interview, and the news network formally issued an apology on March 24, telling media that the company "misjudged" the segment.

"Eva and Dries offer their apologies. The video was intended as a humorous piece, and they underestimated how sensitive religious symbols can be," the network said.

The station said it "considers it important that all its staff show respect for every religion. We are not concerned with comparing religions but with treating everyone's beliefs with care."

Data show that Belgium is a majority-secular country. About 59% of the population says it does not belong to any religion.

The majority of religious adherents in the country identify as Roman Catholic, while 15% identify as Muslim.

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The Vatican announced that Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen will be beatified on Sept. 24 in St. Louis.

Sheen "is an inspiration not only to all of us who continue his work of prayer and support for the Church's missionary work across the globe, but for all those whose faith has been strengthened by his preaching, broadcasting, writing, and holy Catholic life," Monsignor Roger Landry, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies U.S., told EWTN News.

The Holy See officially informed Bishop Louis Tylka of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, that the cause for Sheen could proceed to beatification in February, following years of challenges and delays.

On March 25, the Vatican's Dicastery for the Causes of Saints announced the "indescribable joy" that Sheen, "national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies from 1950-1966, will be beatified on Sept. 24 in St. Louis," Landry said.

"I'm also thrilled that Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the pro-prefect of the Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches of the Vatican's Dicastery for Evangelization, to be the papal legate, celebrant, and preacher of the beatification Mass" in Missouri, he said.

"Not only is Cardinal Tagle, like Sheen, an incredibly gifted preacher, but he will no doubt be able to emphasize the contributions that soon-to-be Blessed Fulton Sheen made and in many ways continues to make to the Church's mission work," he said.

The announcement, which fell on the the solemnity of the Annunciation, "is likewise very fitting," Landry said. "Archbishop Sheen spent his life continuing the work of the Archangel Gabriel, calling us to rejoice because the Lord is with us, and imitating the response of Mary in placing himself as a servant of the Lord, allowing his whole life to develop according to the Lord's word."

Venerable Fulton Sheen

Peter John Sheen was born in El Paso, Illinois, on May 8, 1895, and was called "Fulton" in honor of his mother's maiden name. Sheen was ordained a priest of the Peoria Diocese on Sept. 20, 1919.

On June 11, 1951, he was consecrated as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York and remained in the position until 1966. He was then named the bishop of Rochester, New York, until his retirement in 1969 at the age of 74.

He became known as a trailblazer for television evangelization with his Emmy-winning show "Life Is Worth Living." The show aired on television from 1952 until 1957, discussing morality and Catholicism.

Sheen died due to heart disease on Dec. 9, 1979.

Sheen's cause for canonization was first opened in 2002 under the leadership of the Diocese of Peoria, Sheen's birthplace, and from then on he was referred to as a servant of God. Pope Benedict XVI declared him venerable in June 2012.

On March 6, 2014, the board of medical experts who advise the then-Congregation for the Causes of Saints unanimously approved a reported miracle of Sheen's, in which a stillborn baby survived due to his intercession.

Pope Francis approved of the miracle of Sheen's on July 5, 2019.

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Today the Church celebrates the solemnity of the Annunciation. It's typically celebrated on March 25, unless it falls during Holy Week, by which it is superseded.

The day celebrates the appearance of the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary to announce the Incarnation. Here are eight things to know and to share about the feast day and its significance.

1. What does the word "annunciation" mean?

The word is derived from the same root as the word "announce." Gabriel is announcing the incarnation of Christ — God becoming man in the person of Jesus.

"Annunciation" is simply an old-fashioned way of saying "announcement."

The term can be applied to other events also. For example, in his book "Jesus of Nazareth 3: The Infancy Narratives," Pope Benedict XVI has sections on both "the annunciation of the birth of John" and "the annunciation to Mary," because John the Baptist's birth was also announced in advance.

2. When is the Annunciation normally celebrated and why does it sometimes move?

Normally the solemnity of the Annunciation is celebrated March 25.

This date is used because it is nine months before Christmas (Dec. 25), and it is assumed that Jesus spent the normal nine months in his mother's womb.

However, March 25 sometimes falls during Holy Week, and the days of Holy Week have a higher liturgical rank than this solemnity.

Still, the Annunciation is an important solemnity, and so it doesn't just vanish from the calendar. Instead, as the rubrics in the Roman Missal note: "Whenever this solemnity occurs during Holy Week, it is transferred to the Monday after the second Sunday of Easter."

It is thus celebrated on the first available day after Holy Week and the Octave of Easter (which ends on the second Sunday of Easter).

3. How does this story parallel the birth of John the Baptist?

As noted above, John the Baptist's conception was announced in advance also. In both stories there are multiple parallels:

• The angel Gabriel makes the announcement.
• He announces to a single individual: Zechariah in John the Baptist's case and Mary in Jesus' case.
• He announces the miraculous conception of an individual who has a prominent place in God's plan.
• He is met with a question in both cases (Zechariah asks how he can know this will happen; Mary asks how it will happen).
• A miraculous sign is offered as evidence (Zechariah is struck dumb; Mary is told of Elizabeth's miraculous pregnancy, which is in its sixth month).
• Gabriel departs.

4. How is Mary's reaction different from Zechariah's?

At first glance, Mary's reaction to Gabriel can appear like Zechariah's unbelieving reaction, but it is fundamentally different.

Like Zechariah, she asks a question, but it is a question of a different sort:

• Zechariah asked how he could know what the angel says would be true. His attitude was one of skepticism.
• Mary does not ask for proof. Instead, she asks how the angel's words will be fulfilled. She accepts what he says and wants to understand specifically how it will take place. Her attitude is thus one of faith seeking understanding, not a lack of faith.

5. What does Mary's reaction say about her perpetual virginity?

Mary's question is translated in the RSVCE translation of the Bible as "How shall this be, since I have no husband?"

This is not a good translation, because she does, in fact, have a husband: Joseph. Luke has already told us that she is betrothed to Joseph, which means that they were legally married (thus Joseph would have had to divorce her, not just "break the engagement" as one might today; cf. Matthew 1:19).

What the text literally says in Greek is "since I do not know man."

This relies on the common biblical euphemism of "knowing" for sexual relations. Mary's question indicates that she understands the facts of life, and it is surprising since she is legally married and awaiting the time that she and Joseph would begin to cohabit.

If she were planning on an ordinary marriage then the most natural interpretation of the angel's statement would be that, after she and Joseph begin to cohabit, they will together conceive a child, whom the angel is now telling her about.

The fact that she asks the question indicates that this is not her understanding, and it has often been taken as a sign that she was not planning on an ordinary marriage.

Early Christian writings from the second century onward, beginning with the "Protoevangelium of James," indicate that Mary was a consecrated virgin who was entrusted to the care of Joseph.

6. How does Gabriel respond to Mary's question?

Gabriel informs her: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God."

Here Gabriel indicates the involvement of all three Persons of the Trinity: Through the action of the Holy Spirit, the Father causes the Son to be conceived in human form. There will be no human father, making clear the fact that the child will be the Son of God.

As a further illustration of God's power, he points to the fact that Elizabeth, though old and apparently barren, has miraculously conceived a son and is in her sixth month of pregnancy. "For with God nothing will be impossible."

7. Is Elizabeth Mary's cousin?

This question sometimes comes up in discussions of Mary's perpetual virginity, because it is sometimes thought that the "brothers" of the Lord were his cousins and that they are described as brothers because Aramaic has no word for "cousin."

Yet the New American Bible described Elizabeth as Mary's cousin.

Who Jesus' "brothers" were has been understood in different ways. The earliest sources that comment on the question (including the second-century "Protoevangelium of James") say they were stepbrothers through Joseph. They also, hypothetically, could have been adopted (adoption was very common in the ancient world since people often died early). So they need not have been cousins.

While it's true that Aramaic does not have a word for cousin, Greek does ("anepsios"), but that is not the word used here.

Despite the well-known mistranslation in the NAB (later corrected in the NABRE), Elizabeth is not described as Mary's "cousin." The Greek word in this passage ("sungenis") indicates a female relative — a kinswoman — not a cousin in particular.

8. Why is Mary's "fiat" important?

Mary's acceptance of this role is momentous and will entail suffering. It is momentous because she will be the mother of the Son of God himself. It will entail suffering in ways that she cannot yet foresee (e.g., witnessing the Crucifixion), but some she can foresee.

In particular, she will be regarded as having been unfaithful to Joseph, and that involves not only public shame but also, as Matthew records, endangering her relationship with Joseph and her future livelihood and social position. Yet she places herself completely at the service of God's will.

Commenting on this, Pope Benedict writes:

"In one of his Advent homilies, Bernard of Clairvaux offers a stirring presentation of the drama of this moment. After the error of our first parents, the whole world was shrouded in darkness, under the dominion of death. Now God seeks to enter the world anew. He knocks at Mary's door. He needs human freedom. The only way he can redeem man, who was created free, is by means of a free 'yes' to his will. In creating freedom, he made himself in a certain sense dependent upon man. His power is tied to the unenforceable 'yes' of a human being.

"So Bernard portrays heaven and earth as it were holding its breath at this moment of the question addressed to Mary. Will she say yes? She hesitates … will her humility hold her back? Just this once — Bernard tells her — do not be humble but daring! Give us your 'yes'! This is the crucial moment when, from her lips, from her heart, the answer comes: 'Let it be to me according to your word.' It is the moment of free, humble yet magnanimous obedience in which the loftiest choice of human freedom is made ('Jesus of Nazareth 3: The Infancy Narratives,' chapter 2)."

This story was first published on April 7, 2013, by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted and updated by EWTN News.

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This Lent, a new study finds that two-thirds of Catholics who have not attended confession in the last year say they are open to going.

According to "The Catholic Pulse Report: The Confession Study," which surveyed 1,500 Catholics in the U.S. who attend Mass "at least occasionally," 67% of respondents who have not been to confession in the past year said they are open to returning, and half of those said they would like to go more often.

The study, conducted by the Vinea Research Group, a Catholic nonprofit, found that only 20% of Catholics go to confession regularly (defined as four or more times in the past year), while 12% have gone one to three times in the past year.

Of those who go to confession regularly, 83% say they go to receive God's mercy and forgiveness. Of those who have not gone in the past year, 75% say mercy is the primary reason they would go back.

"As central as confession is to Catholic life, in-depth national research on this sacrament has been surprisingly limited. This study illuminates not just how often Catholics go, but why they go, why they don't, and what they experience when they do," Hans Plate, founder of the Vinea Research Group, said in a press release.

The belief that confession is not necessary to receive forgiveness from God is the most common reason people reported for not going. Of all of those surveyed, 63% held this belief, while 73% of those who have not attended in the past year said the same, according to the report.

Plate, who consulted a theologian in the formulation of the survey questions, told EWTN News a lack of catechesis seems to explain this view: "They've lost sight of what confession gives them."

They miss out on the "knowledge that they are forgiven. That is the No. 1 fruit of those who do go," he said. "It's not a feeling. It's the knowledge first, not the feeling first."

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that "individual, integral confession and absolution remain the only ordinary way for the faithful to reconcile themselves with God and the Church, unless physical or moral impossibility excuses from this kind of confession."

Of respondents who have not been to confession in more than a year, half reported embarrassment over talking out loud about their sins, and just over half (53%) said they find participating in the sacrament uncomfortable.

About 40% of Catholics who attend confession infrequently say they would like more of an emphasis on God's mercy over his judgment, and about the same number say they might attend more if they knew that struggling over and over with the same sins is normal.

Of those who go to confession regularly, about two-thirds report "a clear sense of forgiveness, reassurance of God's mercy, and interior peace," according to the report.

Plate told EWTN News that he hopes people learn from the study that "confession is more than you think it is."

"Beyond receiving absolution and forgiveness," Plate said, the study found that confession also brings "the fruits of interior healing and a sense of renewed vigor in the faith."

Positive co-relation of Mass attendance, confession to well-being

The study also found that "Catholics who attend Mass at least monthly score above national benchmarks on human flourishing, with those who go to confession regularly reporting the highest levels — particularly in meaning, peace, and overall well-being."

Plate called the findings deeply encouraging. "Many Catholics still believe in the sacrament, many have experienced it personally, and many remain open to returning," he said. "This presents a real opportunity for renewal — not just by inviting Catholics back, but by helping them more fully understand the meaning and power of the sacrament."

Plate told EWTN News that he hopes the group's inaugural study will help parishes and apostolates do their jobs more effectively.

'The Light Is On For You'

An initiative called The Light Is On For You originated in 2007 in the Archdiocese of Washington and the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, where every parish in the D.C. metro area opens for extended confession hours (typically Wednesday evenings during Lent).

Because of the campaign's success, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), in partnership with the Archdiocese of Washington and the Diocese of Arlington, has made the campaign's liturgical resources available to dioceses across the country.

Many dioceses run parallel or related efforts during Lent, with extended confession schedules or special penance services.

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ROME — This year marks the 250th anniversary of three dioceses in Slovakia, then part of the Hungarian monarchy: Banská Bystrica, Rožnava, and Spiš.

On the occasion, Pope Leo XIV wrote a letter to the Diocese of Banská Bystrica, saying: "The diocesan community has remained faithful also in a time of trial, protected the Gospel, and passed it on from generation to generation." The pope expressed hope the diocese will grow as a community and in mission "to witness Christ, serve the weakest, and pass on the joy of the Gospel."

The letter was presented on March 14 as Archbishop Nicola Girasoli, apostolic nuncio to Slovakia, celebrated a Mass in Banská Bystrica.

The three dioceses were officially established on March 13, 1776, carved out of the vast territory of the Archdiocese of Esztergom.

"It was not just an administrative decision but a pastoral response" to be "closer to people, to their daily lives," and "to preach the Gospel more effectively and with greater proximity," the current bishop of Spiš, František Trstenský, wrote in a pastoral letter. On March 13, he inaugurated a special diocesan jubilee.

He hopes for his parishes to become "places of closeness" and "united community."

"Let us not be afraid to talk about faith and the Gospel in public life," as it is not a private matter, he said. Faith "manifests concretely in forgiveness, honesty, service, and peace in the midst of turmoil," the bishop underscored.

Events are also planned in the other two dioceses, including historical conferences, special Masses, pilgrimages, and an exposition of a replica of the Shroud of Turin.

The empress, the archdiocese, and a dubious document

Back in the 18th century, "The Esztergom Archdiocese did not want to separate," Cardinal Jozef Tomko (1924–2022), former prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, noted in his book "Na životných cestách" ("On Life's Roads").

The reorganization was the initiative of Habsburg sovereign Maria Theresa, archduchess of Austria and queen of Hungary. She was a devout Catholic who "had information from good priests that it was absolutely necessary for effective pastoral work of those territories," wrote Tomko, who as a priest completed doctoral research on the question.

At the time, some invoked a dubious claim regarding the "right" of the Hungarian sovereigns: that Pope Sylvester II had allegedly granted in a bull the right to the first king of Hungary, St. Stephen, and to his successors, to found dioceses and nominate bishops. The document is now generally considered a forgery.

Yet, "it credibly imitated the style of the Roman Curia, which could have easily misled people," Tomko wrote.

"A custom had existed since the Middle Ages, respected by the Apostolic See, that a Hungarian king appointed bishops who were subsequently confirmed by the Apostolic See," Dominican Father Viliam Štefan Dóci, president of the Historical Institute of the Order of Preachers in Rome, told EWTN News.

Over time, "the kings increasingly claimed not only the right to appoint Church dignitaries but also to regulate Church affairs in other ways," Dóci continued.

Although the title "apostolic king" for King Stephen "does not correspond to historical reality, the fact is that Pope Clement XIII granted this title" to Maria Theresa and "to her successors in 1758," the Dominican priest explained.

Maria Theresa was thus "encouraged" to pursue the reform of the Church's organization in the Central European monarchy, where she also founded other dioceses, Dóci said.

The whole matter "was complicated from a Church and legal viewpoint," since the monarchs asked the popes "for the confirmation of their acts." At the same time, "the founding documents, issued by the Apostolic See, were formulated" in a way that made it appear "as if it was the pope who came up with the initiative," stressed Dóci, who teaches at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

Both the historian and Tomko agree it was primarily Maria Theresa who drove the creation of the three dioceses — and that formal approval from Rome followed.

Similar patterns existed in other monarchies, where sovereigns at times intervened "even more radically" in Church affairs "out of the conviction that it was part of their royal authority — and that it also belonged to their duties — to take care of the functioning of the Church on their lands," Dóci concluded.

8 centuries of faith

Slovakia has another ancient Church province worth noting: the Diocese of Nitra, founded — according to historians — in A.D. 880 as the oldest Slavic diocese and later renewed as a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Esztergom.

Today, there are eight Roman Catholic dioceses and three Greek Catholic church provinces in Slovakia.

During the communist regime in Hungary in the 20th century, certain historians took an interest in the question of the Hungarian royal "right," Tomko recalled. They attempted, he said, to "prove" that the dubious privilege of the kings had passed, after the end of the monarchy in 1918, to the leaders of a totalitarian regime in Hungary — which "would be a strong argument for communists," Tomko said, implying they could have used it to legitimize state control of the Church.

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The conservative legal group Judicial Watch is continuing to push for more transparency around a memo targeting traditionalist Catholics, which was issued in early 2023 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Richmond field office.

The memo detailed an investigation into a purported connection between "radical traditionalist" Catholics and "the far-right white nationalist movement." It recommended "trip wire or source development" in Catholic parishes that offer the Traditional Latin Mass and "radical traditionalist" Catholic communities online.

In a federal district court hearing March 20, lawyers for Judicial Watch complained that the FBI has not been fully compliant in its release of records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit against the FBI along with CatholicVote Civic Action.

Although the FBI released more than 200 documents to Judicial Watch, the attorney handling the case, Meredith DiLiberto, told EWTN News they were heavily redacted. Although she said some redactions may be legitimate, "they didn't provide any justification" for any redactions, in spite of the legal requirement that each redaction be justified.

DiLiberto said "without that [justification], we really can't narrow the issues" and determine what redactions are legitimate and what redactions should be challenged in court. She said the judge hearing the case, Judge Amir H. Ali, appeared sympathetic to the concerns raised by Judicial Watch and scheduled a status report for March 27.

Judicial Watch is concerned about redactions related to "a lot of internal communication," which DiLiberto said "is a lot of the cover-up."

"If they were to release the information, we would see kind of how intentional this was, [and] that this wasn't [just] one or two agents," she said.

The Richmond FBI memo was initially drafted under former President Joe Biden's administration, and DiLiberto said "we're not surprised [the redactions] happened under the last administration," but said the FBI "continues to withhold this information" throughout President Donald Trump's administration.

DiLiberto said the organization is disappointed because FBI Director Kash Patel had seemed "very emotionally invested" in promising more transparency. She recalled his statements at his confirmation hearing about how he would conduct himself.

"There's not been any difference," DiLiberto said, adding that simply by following this case, "you would not have known that there was a dramatic shift in the political atmosphere."

The FBI's National Press Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

After the memo was leaked to the public in early February 2023, the FBI retracted it and removed it from its systems for not meeting "the exacting standards of the FBI." Over the past three years, Judicial Watch and the House Judiciary Committee have sought more information about the memo and the broader scope of the inquiry into traditionalist Catholics.

This uncovered FBI surveillance of a Catholic priest for refusing to divulge information about a parishioner who was suspected of planning political violence. The priest cited priest-penitent privilege. It also uncovered that the FBI sent at least one undercover agent into a church and that the inquiry was discussed among several field offices.

Several bishops criticized the memo, including Richmond Bishop Barry Knestout, who called it a "threat to religious liberty" and said lawmakers should "ensure that such offenses against the constitutionally protected free exercise of religion do not occur again."

The FBI memo focused on allegations about violent extremism that sometimes included racist or white supremacist ideas. It was assessing whether a subset of Catholics might overlap with racially motivated violent extremism.

The Catholic Church rejects racism. According to the Second Vatican Council's Gaudium et Spes: "Every type of discrimination, whether social or cultural, whether based on sex, race, color, social condition, language, or religion, is to be overcome and eradicated as contrary to God's intent." White nationalism directly conflicts with Catholic principles of human dignity, solidarity, justice, and the common good.

In a statement prior to the hearing, Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton expressed frustration over continued redactions in documents it has received.

"Why won't this DOJ and FBI reveal the full record on one of the most notorious abuses of power under Biden — the FBI's targeting of Catholics for their Christian religious beliefs," Fitton said. "This concerns the First Amendment, and the Biden Justice Department's flagrant abuse may be criminal."

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The Supreme Court heard arguments on whether asylum starts at a port of entry or only after someone steps onto U.S. soil under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

The justices, hearing arguments March 24 in Noem v. Al Otro Lado, painstakingly interrogated the legal and linguistic meaning of "arrives in" and "arrives at," with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Amy Coney Barrett signaling that they support the Trump administration's "arrives in" definition, which would prevent migrants from crossing the border to claim asylum.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor argued that her colleagues were missing the context and spirit of the statute in question, which sought to protect refugees from persecution.

"They've arrived. They are knocking at the door," Sotomayor said.

Nicole Elizabeth Ramos, an attorney for Al Otro Lado, a legal and humanitarian aid group for migrants, argued: "You cannot ask someone fleeing rape, torture, or death threats to wait in danger indefinitely because a government has decided their lives are inconvenient."

The United States Conference of Bishops agree, as they explained in an amicus curiae brief: "The turnback policy is not just a flawed piece of statutory interpretation but an historical aberration — one that, during the period it was enforced, left vulnerable asylum seekers stranded in encampments on the border while lawfully trying to seek asylum at a port of entry."

"Metering," or placing border crossers into various lines based on their status, was stopped by the Biden administration in 2021, but the Trump administration, represented in court by Vivek Suri, an assistant to the solicitor general, said it may be necessary to reinstate because of overwhelming demand for entry at the border, when asked by Barrett if reinstating metering was in the offing.

A decision is expected by July.

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Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, SJ, the former general relator of the Synod on Synodality, has publicly called for the ordination of women, arguing that the Church cannot long endure if half of the people of God lacks access to ordained ministry.

"I cannot imagine in the long run how a Church can survive if half of the people of God suffers because they have no access to ordained ministry," Hollerich said Thursday at a symposium on synodality and Praedicate Evangelium at the University of Bonn, according to news agency KNA.

The archbishop of Luxembourg, who previously described himself as more conservative on the question, said his views had changed. "I have also learned as a bishop that this is not just a desire of a few left-wing women's associations," he claimed.

While calling for patience with other cultures who may see the ordination debate as an "artificial problem," Hollerich cited what he asserted was widespread support for women's ordination in his parishes.

"When I speak with the women in the parishes, 90% among us have the same opinion," he said, adding that bishops are obliged to listen to such voices.

Church's definitive teaching

In his 1994 apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, Pope John Paul II declared definitively that "the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful."

Since holy orders is a single sacrament with three degrees, that ruling covers the diaconate and episcopate equally.

Curia reform and papal succession

Hollerich also praised the late Pope Francis' impact on the Roman Curia. Through his apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium, Francis — who served as pope from 2013 until his death in 2025 — opened leadership positions in the Vatican to women. Hollerich said this trajectory would continue under Pope Leo XIV. "It would be my deepest wish that the whole Church rejoices in this," he said.

The symposium was organized by the University of Bonn's Department of Moral Theology under theologian Jochen Sautermeister. Also speaking were Cardinals Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga and Oswald Gracias, along with Bishops Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen, Germany, and Klaus Krämer of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, Germany.

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

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Dani Dayan, chairman of Yad Vashem, said that remembering and honoring the Holocaust is essential to combating rising antisemitism worldwide.

Dayan, who met with Pope Leo XIV on March 23 together with Israel's ambassador to the Holy See, Yaron Sideman, said their conversation focused on "two issues: the historical remembrance, the need to remember, to know about the Holocaust — but not just for the sake of history, also for the sake of the present and the sake of the future."

We have to make sure that an "atrocity like this cannot happen again — not to the Jewish people, not to any other people," he said.

He added that antisemitism is "raising its ugly head again all over the world" and that the two issues are closely linked.

"I think that knowing about the Holocaust, learning about the Holocaust, remembering, honoring the Holocaust is one of the tools to combat antisemitism," Dayan said.

'Antisemitism is bigotry'

Asked whether Israeli policy risks fueling antisemitism, Dayan rejected the premise.

"I think antisemitism should not have palliative reasons. Antisemitism is bigotry, antisemitism is racism, and it's completely independent of anything that Israel does or does not," he said.

He described antisemitism as a unifying force among otherwise opposed extremist groups.

"In many sectors in the world, antisemitism has become the common denominator, the lingua franca of all the extremists in the world — left-wing extremists, right-wing extremists, religious extremists, Islamist extremists, and many others," he said.

"They hate each other on any other issue… [but] they don't only agree, they even collaborate."

"Antisemitism should not be understood. It should be combated without any reservation," he added, noting he found "full agreement" with Pope Leo XIV on the point.

Memory, politics, and responsibility

Dayan emphasized the distinction between Holocaust remembrance and contemporary political debates.

"The policy and Holocaust remembrance are two completely different things," he said, while noting that the Holocaust remains "omnipresent in the back of our minds" for many Jews and continues to shape collective identity.

He said the obligation to remember the Holocaust is "threefold": for the future, to build a world free of bigotry and genocide; for the present, amid resurging antisemitism; and as a moral duty to the victims.

"Six million victims that were massacred by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during the Shoah deserve to be remembered," he said. "It's a debt that we have to maintain."

A shared history and a future visit?

Reflecting on relations between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people, Dayan pointed to the significance of papal visits to Yad Vashem.

He presented Pope Leo XIV with a painting by Jewish artist Carol Deutsch, created during the Shoah, depicting the biblical question "Adam, where are you?"

He linked the image to Pope Francis' address at Yad Vashem, in which the late pope asked: "Where was humanity?"

Dayan expressed hope that Pope Leo XIV would visit Yad Vashem in the future, "when circumstances allow it."

'Peace is an imperative'

Asked about the role of believers in promoting peace, Dayan said the memory of the Holocaust underscores the urgency of that mission.

"To yearn for it and to act for it," he said. "Learning about the Holocaust… is one of the greatest motivations a person can have to understand that peace is an imperative."

He acknowledged that he once believed the devastation of World War II and the Holocaust would end war and antisemitism.

"Unfortunately… I was very naive in that respect. We have to work harder, all of us, in order to make that a reality in the future," he said.

This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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