Catholic News

WARSAW, Poland — The Catholic Church in Poland introduced financial penalties as a disciplinary measure on March 1 for clergy and laypersons performing official Church functions who commit canonical offenses.

The move follows the 2021 reform of the Code of Canon Law by Pope Francis, which restored and clarified the Church's ability to impose financial penalties as expiatory sanctions.

The Polish Episcopal Conference adopted national norms implementing the reform on financial penalties during its 402nd Plenary Assembly in Gdansk on Oct. 14, 2025.

The decree subsequently received the required approval from the Dicastery for Bishops in Rome on Jan. 26, clearing the way for its promulgation. The Polish Episcopal Conference formally announced the measure on Feb. 26.

How the fines work

Under the new regulations, fines are calculated in relation to Poland's statutory minimum gross monthly wage at the time the penalty is imposed.

The decree specifies that the minimum fine cannot be less than half of the minimum gross monthly wage and that the maximum fine cannot exceed 20 times the minimum gross monthly wage.

With Poland's minimum gross monthly wage currently set at 4,806 Polish zloty — approximately $1,350 — this means fines would range from 2,403 zloty (approximately $680) to 96,120 zloty (approximately $26,900), depending on the gravity of the offense.

The sanction may also include partial or complete deprivation of Church remuneration. However, the decree states that penalties cannot deprive the punished person of the means necessary for "decent maintenance." In practice, this means the individual must retain income equivalent to the amount protected from wage seizure under Polish civil law.

The authority imposing the penalty determines the entity to which the fine is paid, provided it serves Church purposes.

The new norms apply not only to priests but also to laypersons holding ecclesial offices or carrying out official Church duties, including those employed in parishes or diocesan structures.

By linking fines to the minimum wage, the Polish bishops aim to ensure that penalties remain proportionate and retain their real value over time, adjusting automatically to economic conditions.

What are canonical offenses?

Under Church law, a canonical offense is an external violation of a law or precept committed with sufficient freedom and intent. The revised Book VI of the Code of Canon Law, updated in 2021, outlines a range of punishable offenses.

These include abuses of ecclesiastical office, financial misconduct, violation of obligations attached to sacred ministry, disobedience to legitimate Church authority, and offenses against the sacraments. The law also provides penalties for more serious crimes such as sexual abuse, attempted ordination of women, or the unlawful administration of sacraments.

Not every mistake or moral failing constitutes a canonical crime. For a penalty to be imposed, the violation must be legally defined, externally verifiable, and imputable to the person responsible.

The introduction of financial penalties in Poland therefore applies to cases in which Church authorities determine that a cleric or lay official has committed a formal violation of ecclesiastical law while carrying out Church duties.

Basis of the reform

The Polish decree implements Pope Francis' 2021 revision of Book VI of the Code of Canon Law, which strengthened penal provisions within the Church. The reform clarified categories of offenses and reinstated financial penalties as legitimate canonical sanctions.

The Vatican reform was intended to promote greater accountability, consistency, and transparency in the application of Church discipline, particularly in response to concerns that canonical penalties had sometimes been applied unevenly.

In this way, the Polish Catholic Church implementing financial penalties for canonical abuses would be seen to strengthen internal accountability mechanisms while clearly outlining financial consequences for violations of Church law.

Intended effect

The new regulations aim to enhance clarity and deterrence in canonical discipline. By specifying financial consequences tied to objective civil benchmarks, the norms seek to make penalties more concrete and effective.

At the same time, the safeguards built into the decree ensure that sanctions remain proportionate and do not strip individuals of the resources necessary for basic living.

The decree was signed by the president of the Polish Episcopal Conference, Metropolitan Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda of Gdansk, and Bishop Marek Marczak, secretary-general of the conference.

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In a landmark decision on March 2, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the state of California cannot keep student "transgender" identities secret from parents, with the justices ruling that the secretive policies likely violate the First Amendment rights of parents whose children believe themselves to be the opposite sex.

The 6-3 ruling was announced by the Thomas More Society, a religious liberty law firm that has represented parents and teachers through the legal fight, one that has spanned nearly three years and multiple courts.

U.S. District Court Judge Roger Benitez originally ruled in the class action lawsuit on Dec. 22, 2025 that parents "have a right" to the "gender information" of their children, while teachers themselves also possess the right to provide parents with that information.

Benitez issued an order at the time striking down California's secretive school gender policies. In January the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit blocked that order amid the ongoing lawsuit, which the plaintiffs then appealed to the Supreme Court.

On March 2 the Supreme Court blocked the appeals court ruling, holding in part that California's policies "substantially interfere" with the "right of parents to guide the religious development of their children."

Pointing to earlier precedent on parental rights, the court said that parents enjoy "the right not to be shut out of participation in decisions regarding their children's mental health."

"Gender dysphoria is a condition that has an important bearing on a child's mental health, but when a child exhibits symptoms of gender dysphoria at school, California's policies conceal that information from parents and facilitate a degree of gender transitioning during school hours," the court said.

"These policies likely violate parents' rights to direct the upbringing and education of their children."

Thomas More Society attorney Paul Jonna called the ruling a "watershed moment for parental rights in America."

"The Supreme Court has told California and every state in the nation in no uncertain terms: you cannot secretly transition a child behind a parent's back," Jonna said.

"The Court's landmark reaffirmation of substantive due process, its vindication of religious liberty, and its approval of class-wide relief together set a historic precedent that will dismantle secret gender transition policies across the country."

In his December 2025 ruling, Benitez had ordered that parents have a right to transgender-related information regarding their children on grounds of the 14th and First Amendments.

Teachers, he said, can also assert similar First Amendment rights in sharing that information with parents.

"Even if [the government] could demonstrate that excluding parents was good policy on some level, such a policy cannot be implemented at the expense of parents' constitutional rights," Benitez wrote at the time.

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The Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., awarded Father Mike Schmitz, known for hosting "The Bible in a Year" podcast, and Bible scholar Jeff Cavins with its prestigious Pillar Award for Narrative on Feb. 20.

This was the fourth Pillar Awards, which, according to its website, celebrates "individuals who embody the Museum of the Bible's mission to invite all people to engage with the transformative power of the Bible through its history, narrative, and impact."

Cavins and Schmitz are the first Catholics to receive the award, joining past winners including Dallas Jenkins, the creator of the hit series "The Chosen," and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

The award recognized the global impact of Cavins' "The Bible Timeline" learning system and the reach it has had through the chart-topping "The Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz" podcast.

Cavins received the award on behalf of himself and Schmitz and said in his acceptance speech he was "deeply honored" to receive the award.

He went on to share how he met his wife, Emily, and the impact she had on his life, as well as his time away from the Catholic Church as a Protestant pastor and his eventual return to the Catholic faith.

"I speak evangelical and Catholic with no accent on either," he said jokingly.

Cavins shared with those in attendance that there are a lot of people like him in the world "that when they hear the story of salvation history it changes our lives. It's the story that changes our lives. It's the word of God that changes our lives. It isn't our own skill, it isn't our own cleverness, but it is the word of God that transforms the human soul."

Carlos Campo, Museum of the Bible president and CEO, said in a press release: "We're honoring leaders, teachers, artists, and scholars who have carried the Bible into culture and changed lives with its truth."

"The Bible does not only inform us, but it also transforms us. It changes the way we love, changes the way we lead, changes the way we serve. We celebrate the truth of that Bible; preserved through history, proclaimed story and proven through changed lives," he added.

Honorees are selected by a committee of Museum of the Bible leadership and representatives of the board of directors. Nominees for the Narrative award bring the stories of the Bible to life through cultural mediums.

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Pope Leo XIV promulgated new statutes for the Pontifical Academy for Life, recalling that its objective is "the defense and promotion of the value of human life and the dignity of the person."

The new statutes, which introduce the role of "supporters," according to Vatican News, the Vatican's official media outlet, were signed by the Holy Father on Feb. 27 and were released in Italian by the Vatican Press Office on Feb. 28.

"Supporters, subject to approval from the Secretariat of State, are appointed by the board of directors for a three-year term and may be confirmed, upon resolution of the same body, for a maximum of two further consecutive terms," the new statutes state.

Supporters "are individuals who, identifying with the academy's institutional purposes, contribute to the advancement of its academic activities. They are persons who do not possess an academic profile but who wish to sustain the objectives promoted by the academy," the new statutes explain.

The Pontifical Academy for Life was established by Pope John Paul II in 1994 with his motu proprio Vitae Mysterium. In that document, the Polish saint emphasized that "the mystery of life, and of human life in particular, is attracting the increased attention of experts who are drawn by the extraordinary opportunities for investigation that scientific and technological advances offer their research today."

"This new situation opens up fascinating horizons for intervention at the sources of life itself; it also gives rise to a variety of new moral questions that man cannot ignore without the risk of taking steps that could prove irreversible," John Paul II warned.

The work on drafting the new document, which updates the statutes approved by Pope Francis in 2016, began "more than a year ago," the Vatican news outlet added.

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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Sara Carter, director of the U.S. government's Office of National Drug Control Policy, recently visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, where she stated that with God's blessing, "the plague of the cartels and the poisons they inflict on us and our children" will be overcome.

On Feb. 26, Carter visited the basilica, the site that houses the original tilma of St. Juan Diego, upon which the Virgin of Guadalupe's image is imprinted.

Carter's visit last week follows the operation carried out on Feb. 22 in the state of Jalisco, which resulted in the capture and subsequent death of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias "El Mencho," leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

At a press conference on Feb. 23, Omar García Harfuch, Mexico's secretary of security and citizen protection, indicated that the capture of the drug kingpin was also made possible thanks to information provided by U.S. authorities.

Faith, a 'cornerstone' against addiction

The released photographs show Carter at various points within the Marian shrine, accompanied by Father Martín Muñoz López, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Mexico City and canon of the basilica.

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The post was accompanied by a message in which the official stated that "faith remains a cornerstone in the fight against drug addiction — guiding prevention, healing, and recovery for communities everywhere."

In another image, in which she appears at the feet of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Carter affirmed that faith "is not only the cornerstone of my life, but our National Drug Control strategy."

"I pray for the people of the United States and Mexico who are under the protection of Our Lady of Guadalupe. With God's blessings and his providence, we will overcome the plague of cartels and the poisons they inflict on us and our children," Carter said.

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Bilateral security meetings

The day before, on Feb. 25, Carter met with Mexico's security cabinet, along with U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson.

Those participating in the meeting included Secretary of National Defense General Ricardo Trevilla; Secretary of the Navy Admiral Raymundo Morales; Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection Omar García Harfuch; Secretary of the Interior Rosa Icela Rodríguez; and Attorney General of the Republic Ernestina Godoy, as well as members of the U.S. delegation.

Following the meeting, Johnson stated that both governments are working "together to stop the scourge of fentanyl and dismantle the networks that are poisoning our communities."

It was also reported that the director met with Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente and Undersecretary Roberto Velasco Álvarez as part of the bilateral agenda on cooperation and combating drug trafficking.

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 Pew Research Center released a report examining religious groups' levels of education in the United States.

The report "Which U.S. religious groups are most highly educated?" found that 35% of U.S. Catholics have received a bachelor's degree or higher education.

The report was based on Pew's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study (RLS). The RLS is a survey with 36,908 American respondents from all 50 states that examines their religious affiliations, beliefs, and practices and their social and political views. The margin of error is plus or minus 0.8 percentage points.

According to the research, 35% of U.S. Catholics are college graduates, which  matches the share for all U.S. adults. Catholics' education levels tend to vary by race and ethnicity, social and political views, and religious practices.

The research found Asian Catholics were most likely to be college educated, with 53% of the group holding a bachelor's degree or more education. About 43% of white Catholics and 20% of Hispanic Catholics are college educated.

The RLS did not include enough Black Catholics to show their results separately, but based on analysis of 2019-20 Pew Research Center survey data, Pew reported that 38% of Black Catholics (defined as those who report being one race and are not Hispanic) were college educated.

Findings among other religious groups

Based on the RLS, Pew found that Hindus and Jews are more likely to have a four-year college degree than Americans in other religious groups. Of the Hindu population, 70% hold a bachelor's degree or more education, and 65% of the Jewish population does.

Fewer evangelical Protestants (29%) and members of historically Black Protestant denominations (24%) hold college degrees.

Among the evangelical denominations Pew analyzed, those with the highest shares of college graduates were the Global Methodist Church (57%) and the Presbyterian Church in America (57%).

The research also concluded that about 40% of mainline Protestants are college graduates, which is slightly higher than U.S. adults overall.

Among religiously unaffiliated Americans, agnostics (53%) and atheists (48%) are more likely than U.S. adults overall to have completed college. In contrast, people who describe their religion as "nothing in particular" (29%) are less likely than Americans overall to hold a bachelor's degree.

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The Citizens' Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion in El Salvador announced its legal dissolution, stating that its work is "no longer compatible" with the country's current legislation for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The decision has been met with caution among pro-life advocates in El Salvador.

In a Feb. 23 statement, the abortion advocacy group stated that the Foreign Agents Law, enacted by the Salvadoran government in 2025, "limits the work of legally constituted associations by restricting freedom of expression and criminalizing social organizations that defend human rights."

"In this context, and given the structure of an NGO, our work is no longer compatible [with the new law], so we decided to dissolve and not register with the Foreign Agents Registry," they stated.

However, far from disappearing, they affirmed that they will become "a broad, activist movement" called "The Regional Movement for the Right to Abortion and Motherhood."

"Together, we together (masculine, feminine, and neuter pronouns) will overcome authoritarian populism and anti-gender groups," they added.

In El Salvador, abortion is a crime, and according to Article 1 of its constitution, the country "recognizes every human being as a human person from the moment of conception."

To further its agenda in the country, the now-dissolved Citizens' Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion promoted on an international level controversial cases such as the Beatriz Case, the Manuela Case, and the Case of the 17.

New law 'will guarantee transparency'

The Legislative Assembly of El Salvador approved the Foreign Agents Law on May 21, 2025, and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele enacted it nine days later.

A statement from the legislative body emphasized that the new law "will guarantee transparency in the financial transactions that NGOs receive from foreign individuals or agents in the country and will allow citizens to know about the activities these agents carry out."

The assembly also noted that, according to the new law, a 30% tax will be applied to all financial transactions and imports received from abroad by Salvadoran NGOs.

In response to criticism from NGOs that charge that the law represses civil society organizations, in his Message to the Nation address to the Legislative Assembly on June 1, 2025, Bukele warned that "there are foreign organizations that claim to come to help but really come to engage in politics, to move millions for political campaigns, to operate in the shadows, without rules, without limits, without paying anything [as they are tax exempt]."

"The foreign agents law guarantees that those who truly want to come and help our people are able to maintain the great privilege of not paying taxes like everyone else does," Bukele said, adding that the law "also guarantees that those who come to look after political interests at least pay their tax obligations like everyone else."

Pro-life success measured by saved lives

While there is some joy among pro-life organizations in El Salvador, caution prevails regarding the news of the dissolution of the NGO that promoted the decriminalization of abortion.

Although "we are happy about any progress in favor of life," explained Norma de Milán, a member of the international fasting and prayer campaign 40 Days for Life in El Salvador, "we don't measure success by the number of institutions that have closed but rather by the lives and souls that have been saved."

De Milán, leader of the campaign at Gabriela Mistral Square — one of the places where people pray for the end of abortion in San Salvador, the country's capital — sees the legal dissolution of the pro-abortion platform as a "fruit of that silent, peaceful, and visible prayer" offered by 40 Days for Life in the face of the "vast structure" that promotes abortion. At times, volunteers ask themselves: "What can three people do on a street with a sign and a rosary against this entire structure?"

However, she emphasized that "not all the fruits of our prayer will be seen on earth."

For De Milán, the hope for the pro-life cause in El Salvador "remains that life be respected and defended in the country," as recognized in the constitution.

"We are convinced that any lasting transformation begins in the heart, and we contribute [to that end] through our prayer," she said, adding that "we give educational talks and respectfully accompany those who allow us to."

"Everything we do is not a political strategy, but rather it's basically our spiritual mission, and our primary mission is to awaken consciences," she stated.

Desperate measures

Julia Regina de Cardenal, president of the Yes to Life Foundation in El Salvador, said she sees the change adopted by the Citizens' Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion as "a new strategy to stay afloat."

"They're desperately flailing about drowning, trying to reinvent themselves, as they say, in what they deceptively call the defense of women's rights," she told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

She also stated that "the truth is that their fight is to legalize a very lucrative business that does the exact opposite of what they claim: a business that exploits women with difficult pregnancies, deceiving them, convincing them that killing their children in the womb is the only solution, putting their physical and mental health, and even their lives, at serious risk."

"This is the worst barbarity invented by humankind against women and their defenseless children. They need support, not violence and death," she emphasized.

The pro-life leader denied that the Citizens' Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion had "secured the freedom of 80 women who claim they were criminalized by the absolute criminalization of abortion."

"Forensic evidence shows that babies were struck with a rock, stabbed, strangled, and thrown alive into septic tanks," she said. "Each story is more horrific than the last."

"They even lie about that," she added, emphasizing that in El Salvador there are "several organizations where we provide free assistance to these pregnant women."

Faced with the tragedy of a high-risk pregnancy and abortion, she emphasized, "the answer should always be 'yes to life.'"

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 U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to protect birthright citizenship, warning that abandoning the long-standing practice would be "immoral."

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to prevent children from automatically receiving United States citizenship at birth if their parents entered the country illegally and were residing in the country unlawfully when the child was born.

The order faced an immediate legal challenge from parents of children denied citizenship based on the order. That lawsuit argues that birthright citizenship is a constitutional right, protected by the 14th Amendment. The case is currently before the Supreme Court.

In an amicus or "friend of the court" brief, lawyers for the bishops argued that ending birthright citizenship is not legal, based on the 14th Amendment, and lacks historical support from Western legal tradition.

They wrote that birthright citizenship is also backed by Catholic teaching, "which affirms the inherent dignity of every human person, especially the innocent child."

"As Catholics, our faith compels us to protest laws that deny the dignity of the human person and harm innocent children, particularly when such laws resurrect the very injustices the 14th Amendment was enacted to repudiate," the amicus brief stated.

"At its core, this case is not solely a question about citizenship status or the 14th Amendment," it added. "It is a question of whether the law will affirm or deny the equal worth of those born within our common community — whether the law will protect the human dignity of all God's children."

The Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC) joined the bishops in the amicus brief.

The U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment was adopted in 1868 with the primary purpose of ensuring formerly enslaved people were recognized as citizens. The amendment states: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside."

In 1898, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a broad right to birthright citizenship, based on the amendment, with very limited exceptions. However, the nation's highest court has never directly ruled on a case in which a person was denied birthright citizenship because his or her parents were in the country unlawfully.

The bishops' amicus brief was mostly focused on morality, highlighting their interpretation that abandoning the practice would deny the innate dignity and freedom of the person, would inflict harm on vulnerable people, and would weaken and threaten the family.

"Because every person is created in the image and likeness of God, the Church rejects the notion that some people are considered 'others' and do not possess intrinsic God-given human dignity," the amicus brief stated.

"The executive order is antithetical to the import of the Church's teachings because it deprives people whose parents were not born here, or whose mother has temporary status, of the legal rights necessary to participate in the society of their birth," it added.

Some Catholics push back

The amicus brief prompted some sharp pushback from Catholics who questioned the bishops' interpretation of the 14th Amendment and of Catholic social teaching.

In a post on X, Joshua Hochschild, a philosophy professor at Mount St. Mary's University, suggested there be "another amicus brief for the citizenship case" signed by priests and scholars to reflect what he called "actual Catholic social thought on the political, moral, and legal question of citizenship."

"[It] could easily be conspicuously bipartisan too: The brief should explain actual Catholic teaching, moral principles, the nature of political prudence, and come to the conclusion that Church teaching is compatible with a variety of interpretations and applications of the 14th Amendment," Hochschild added.

Kevin Roberts, a Catholic and president of the conservative Heritage Foundation, posted on X that "none of this is Church teaching" but rather "just a poor argument."

"It's interesting how the 'human dignity' argument is always a one-way street: Everything for the foreigner, including lawbreakers, at the expense of the citizen," Roberts said.

He noted that the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that political authorities "may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially with regard to the immigrants' duties toward their country of adoption."

The catechism also states that prosperous nations have a greater obligation to accept migrants but that migrants also have an obligation to that nation's laws and customs.

Andrew Arthur, a resident fellow in law and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies and a former immigration judge, told EWTN News that he "respect[s] what [the bishops] have to say" but thinks the amicus brief is "more of a political statement than it is a moral one."

He noted that most Catholic countries — apart from the Western Hemisphere — do not have unrestricted birthright citizenship. He added that "the Holy See doesn't have birthright citizenship" and most European countries have moved away from it in recent years.

According to the World Population Review, only 36 countries — including the United States — have unrestricted birthright citizenship. Another 45 have birthright citizenship that is restricted, meaning that it only applies under certain conditions.

Arthur said "the government does have a good argument" but thinks the Supreme Court could rule in a variety of ways. If the ruling is favorable to the administration, he said it is more likely that the court narrows birthright citizenship than that it abandons it altogether. He said it's also possible that the justices find that Congress, rather than the executive, has the authority to limit it.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in about a month, on April 1, in the case of Trump v. Barbara, the birthright citizenship case.

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The owner of a historic 155-acre Vermont college campus is looking to give it away to a suitable Catholic nonprofit at no cost.

Raj Peter Bhakta, a whiskey entrepreneur and former contestant on "The Apprentice," has announced his intention to relinquish the former Green Mountain College campus and surrounding land in Poultney, Vermont, to a qualified Catholic mission-based nonprofit organization.

"I felt five years ago when I bought the place that there was something more important that God was calling me to do with my talents and capacities than business alone," Bhakta told EWTN News. He said he had originally hoped to turn the abandoned campus into a debt-free work-agriculture college himself but found the task to be more work than he anticipated.

Bhakta, a Catholic, said he also realized that "the biggest need in civilization was not necessarily another trade school" but rather "a spiritual revival," which he said is necessary for the U.S. "to turn itself around."

Finding an organization that will use the campus to this end by following the Catholic faith, he said, "is the highest and best use that I could possibly achieve for the place." Bhakta said his vision for the campus is for it to foster "long-term faith formation."

"If we want the future, we have to get the young," he said. "I think what the young people are looking for is something that is not a lukewarm version of our faith, which is in vogue in many places, but the stiff old brew of the Catholic faith." He further emphasized the need for would-be recipients of the campus to be dedicated to the pursuit of "capital T" truth "that's not mitigated by politically correct terminology."

Bhakta said the recipient will need to display the financial capacity to maintain the property. Rebuilding, he said, "will easily cost $200 [million] or $300 million."

So far, he said there have been more than 20 applicants, some which he described as "quite inspired and interesting."

If no applicants prove suitable, Bhakta said he plans to sell the property.

Bhakta is also the founder of BHAKTA Spirits and WhistlePig Whiskey.

The entrepreneur announced in a Feb. 17 release that he is seeking a Catholic entity "with demonstrated leadership, vision, and long-term operational capacity" that can maintain the property's yearly expenses of about $1.5 million.

The release said eligible recipients include dioceses, religious orders, Catholic colleges or seminaries, and faith-based nonprofits or apostolates for the more than 500,000-square-foot property. It also cited satellite campuses, classical schools, youth, family or clergy retreat and formation programs, and Catholic outreach, arts, or cultural centers as ideal uses.

March 31 application deadline

The entrepreneur and hopeful donor is inviting prospective recipients to vie for the Georgian-style brick campus situated along the "crystal-clear Poultney River" by submitting a proposal through a website by March 31. According to the website, interviews and negotiations are scheduled to take place in early April, with the recipient to be announced on April 20.

"Estimated to be worth in excess of $20 million in value by prior Maltz Auctions assessments, the offered properties present a rare chance to repurpose a historically rich, aesthetically beautiful, and strategically located campus for meaningful Catholic mission, education, and service," the release said.

Green Mountain College was founded in 1834 and includes several academic buildings, dormitories, a library, a gymnasium, as well as surrounding land and nearly a mile of river frontage. The campus is also within walking distance of the historic downtown Poultney.

"This is not just a gift of architecturally remarkable buildings — or even of [a] historic, singular campus site originally founded for Christian purpose[s] nearly two centuries ago," Bhakta said in the release. "It's a gift of opportunity — the chance to revive a campus for mission, formation, and future generations of the Catholic Church."

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A group of bishops from the Texas-Mexico border region, informally known as the "Tex-Mex bishops," met in El Paso, Texas, on Friday to discuss immigration and its effects on both the U.S. and Mexico as well as recent drug cartel-related violence in Mexico.

The meeting of the Tex-Mex bishops is now "the longest-running international gathering of Catholic bishops anywhere in the world," according to a press release from the Diocese of El Paso on behalf of the bishops. The group has met twice a year for more than 40 years.

At the press conference, San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, the group's coordinator, said the bishops were concerned with the "plight of our brothers and sisters, migrants, which are on both sides of the border."

The prelate said immigration enforcement has "changed drastically" in recent years. Because of these changes, García-Siller emphasized that the bishops "need to learn new ways to serve well" migrants and refugees in order to "bring solutions" and "some solace, some peace, some kind of understanding."

"You need to know that God loves you, and that we love you, too," he said before beginning to address his listeners in Spanish.

At their meeting, the bishops were guided by the November Special Message from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on immigration and the recently released statement of 20 U.S. Catholic bishops from border states and others, who recommended immigration enforcement reforms to the Trump administration.

Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso said, however, that "bishops are not politicians. That is not our role … our role is to be pastors."

Echoing García-Siller, Seitz said that "our role is to love the people that we serve. And … it doesn't matter to us whether they've lived here a long time or they're simply passing through. When we see that other person, we see a person created by God and given a special dignity, a value that is unparalleled and unrepeatable."

The bishops also discussed ongoing unrest in Mexico after this week's killing by the Mexican military of cartel leader Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, "El Mencho," and the violence that ensued. They discussed the necessity of a continued pastoral response for those affected.

Among the other bishops who participated in Friday's meeting were Bishop Brendan Cahill of Victoria, Texas, the chair of the USCCB Committee on Migration and Refugees, and Bishop Alfonso Gerardo Miranda Guardiola of Piedras Negras, Mexico.

Others in attendance included Bishop Michael Sis of San Angelo, Texas, and Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas. Father Francisco Gallardo from the Diocese of Matamoros Reynosa in Mexico and the executive secretary of the Mexican Bishops' Committee on Migration also participated.

Minnesota Mass in solidarity with migrants

Meanwhile, in Minnesota on Friday, Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, D.C.; Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey; Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the U.S.; and Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis along with more than 30 other Catholic bishops participated in a Mass said in solidarity with migrants in conjunction with the Way Forward conference at the University of St. Thomas.

In remarks made following the Mass, addressing the recent immigration enforcement-related violence in Minnesota, McElroy said: "We all need to engage in healing and reconciliation. It will take a long time."

Hebda agreed, saying: "That ministry of reconciliation has to be ours, in the Twin Cities and around the world."

In January, following the shooting deaths of two civilian protesters, Hebda called on all "to lower the temperature of rhetoric" and "rid our hearts of the hatreds and prejudices that prevent us from seeing each other as brothers and sisters," referring both to immigrants without legal status in the country as well as immigration enforcement personnel who "have the unenviable responsibility of enforcing our laws."

On Friday, McElroy called ICE's enforcement actions this past winter "almost a siege" in "the heartland of our country."

"Catholic teaching supports the nation's right to control its border and, in these cases, to deport those who've been convicted of serious crimes," he said.

However, he continued: "Seeking to deport millions of men and women and children — families who often lived here for decades, many children who don't know other countries — is contrary to Catholic faith and, more fundamentally, contrary to basic human dignity."

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