Catholic News

Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), said that "today, there are more martyrs than in the first centuries of Church history."

"Martyrdom truly belongs to the heart of Christianity," said the Swiss prelate, who made his remarks in late May during the annual pilgrimage for persecuted Christians organized by the Swiss branch of ACN at the Einsiedeln Benedictine Abbey.

Koch, who has led the organization since November 2025, when he was appointed by Pope Leo XIV, is also the prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity at the Vatican.

Reaffirming the pontifical foundation's commitment to helping persecuted Christians, Koch emphasized that martyrdom is not merely a phenomenon of the past but remains "a lived reality for countless Christians around the globe," ACN reported.

The cardinal also highlighted the witness of the many Christians persecuted worldwide: "Dictators do not distinguish between Catholics, Orthodox, Lutherans, Anglicans, or Protestants."

"Christians are not persecuted because they belong to a particular church but because of their faith in Christ. The blood that has been shed unites Christians beyond their divisions," he noted, recalling Pope Francis' expression the "ecumenism of blood."

During the pilgrimage, prayers were offered for the victims of persecution and violence in countries such as Iraq, Haiti, Pakistan, and Indonesia.

In January, the organization Open Doors published a report revealing that more than 388 million Christians worldwide suffer persecution and discrimination and that 4,849 were killed between October 2024 and September 2025.

The majority of these crimes took place in Nigeria, where Christian persecution is so severe the U.S. redesignated it as a "country of particular concern" in October 2025.

Of his role as president of ACN, Koch said: "I accepted this mission with great joy because ACN has always been very close to my heart. It is a pontifical foundation that does immense good while constantly reminding us how many parts of the Church are living in situations of great need. To contribute to this mission is something very important to me."

Donations were also collected during the pilgrimage, which will support ACN projects in the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon, where the pontifical foundation assists displaced families and Catholic schools serving vulnerable communities.

What is ACN?

According to the foundation, ACN supports "the Catholic Church in its evangelization work among the world's most needy, discriminated-against, and persecuted communities," funding more than 5,000 pastoral and humanitarian emergency projects across 137 countries.

It has 23 offices worldwide dedicated to raising awareness about the reality facing these Christians, fostering prayer, and fundraising. ACN receives no grants from public institutions.

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. bishops addressed their plan to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Guadalupan event and detailed their participation in the Intercontinental Guadalupan Novena.

The bishops discussed engagement with the novena at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) spring plenary session in Orlando, Florida, on June 11. The Intercontinental Guadalupan Novena is a nine-year novena called for by Pope Francis in 2022 that anticipates the fifth centennial of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 2031.

"We will celebrate 500 years since the appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and at the same time, all of the graces we continue even now to experience under her patronage," Bishop Robert Brennan of Brooklyn, New York, chair of the USCCB Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church, said at the meeting.

The bishops of Mexico have been preparing for the quincentennial celebration  and in the past year invited the U.S. bishops' conference to participate in the celebration, Brennan said.

"The Mexican bishops are, together with the Vatican through the Pontifical Council for Latin America, calling this a … novena of years," said Bishop Oscar Cantu of San José, California, chair of the USCCB Subcommittee on Hispanic and Latino Affairs.

"There is much depth to be plumbed for us in our diocese and our communities in these five years that remain for this novena," he said.

As St. John Paul II said in his apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in America: "In blessed Mary, upon whom we see an impressive example of a perfectly inculturated evangelization."

"Those are words that should echo in our hearts as we seek to evangelize our own churches in the United States," Cantu said.

Cantu said bishops should reflect and ask, "How do we take the methodology that Mary used 500 years ago and adapt it to our own needs in the culture … in the 21st century here in the United States?" Cantu said bishops should consider not "only the message but the methodology of Mary."

Cantu recalled Pope Leo addressed the Theological Congress a few months ago in Mexico City, saying Our Lady of Guadalupe is a lesson in divine pedagogy on the inculturation of saving truth. "'La Morentia' manifests God's way of drawing close to his people," Pope Leo said.

Plan for pastoral activity

Following the pope's call, "the Subcommittee on Hispanic Latino Affairs is proposing three phases in the coming years for our pastoral activity, and we've looked to weave them into already existing activities," Cantu said.

He proposed "Phase 1 of missionary activity in our dioceses and parishes … would lead up to the Eucharistic congress that is being planned nationally."

The subcommittee proposed "having a tilma for each diocese that would be given to each ordinary for veneration in the cathedral … or in a designated place by the bishop," he said. "The tilma can be used as a missionary presence to journey from parish to parish, or to key places in each diocese."

The tilma would be "an exact replica of the original" and it will be "touched to the original, so it becomes a third-class relic," Cantu said.

"Phase 2 would include the time from the National Eucharistic Congress to the Jubilee 2031, which will be the 500th anniversary," he said. It would be initiated by the National Eucharistic Congress and would "then continue pilgrimages from parish to parish using the tilma that would go to each diocese," he said.

Phase 3 would focus on "jubilee celebrations," including the "2031 Jubilee to the ... great jubilee of the 2,000 years of redemption," he said.

Then "we are proposing some kind of national celebration for 2031," he said. "We're not sure what that would look like," but "we would certainly like to be in dialogue with the administration of the USCCB in that regard."

"We already know there will be an international celebration in Mexico City" and "we know that Pope Leo has been invited to participate," Cantu said. "He has not responded yet … But we're pretty sure that he will be there."

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On the first day of Pope Leo XIV's visit to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria — the final stage of his trip to Spain before traveling to Tenerife and returning to Rome on Friday — several deeply moving scenes unfolded.

At the dock of Arguineguín, which six years ago became known as the "dock of shame" due to the abandonment there of thousands of migrants who arrived in precarious boats known as cayucos, the pope threw a wreath of flowers into the sea in memory of those who died during the crossing — just as Pope Francis did on the Italian island of Lampedusa in 2013.

He then prayed before a blue cross made from wooden planks of migrant boats that had reached the Canary Islands and blessed it. Standing nearby was Javier, a volunteer with the Cruz Blanca Foundation, which works directly with migrants there. For him, this papal visit was an opportunity to once again place at the center of public discussion the migration crisis, a human tragedy that he says has become socially normalized.

"The pope gave a strong and moving speech. What he said to the migrants — that they are not numbers or files — really impressed me," he told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

Later, in the Cathedral of Santa Ana, patroness of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Claretian priest Santiago Cerrato Cáceres gave his testimony to Pope Leo XIV, beginning with a heartfelt confession: "Holy Father, those of us inside here… and all those outside: We love you very much."

Before him, the bishop of the Canary Islands, José Mazuelos Pérez, described to the pope the pastoral challenges facing the local Church.

Mazuelos lamented the "growing secularization that weakens the sense of God, sacramental practice, and the transmission of the faith in families," especially among young people, where "the Christian experience is becoming increasingly fragile or marginal."

In the historic cathedral, whose construction began around the year 1500 at the initiative of the Catholic monarchs, Isabel I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, the pope invited those present to live in unity.

Christians should be "building the Church together, founded on Christ, the 'cornerstone,' building up the good, harmonizing our differences, and working united for the good of all," he said. He also recalled that the life of the Church is built through the communion of its "diverse gifts and ministries."

Three girls dressed in traditional Canarian costumes welcomed the pope and presented him with a bouquet of flowers. Attentive to every detail despite the fatigue of six days of travel, the pontiff gave them a blessed rosary with a smile.

Referring to the sea that surrounds the islands, he said it represents the difficulties of life, quoting St. Augustine: "No one is able to cross the sea of this world unless born by the cross of Christ."

He also thanked the Catholics of Las Palmas for the help they give to these "crucified brothers and sisters."

After meeting with bishops, priests, deacons, religious, seminarians, and pastoral workers, the pope was given a genealogical study by the Cabildo, the local governing body, in the hope of finding Canarian roots in his lineage.

Mass in the Canary Islands

In the afternoon, the pope celebrated his first large public Mass at the Gran Canaria Stadium before nearly 40,000 people. "I also invite you to pray together, during this holy Mass, for our brothers and sisters who have lost their lives at sea," he said.

This is the charity of God, the Holy Father explained, in which our "vocation to love is rooted, which is not based on calculation, nor on mere sentiment, nor reducible to simple philanthropy, but one that invades our entire being: fire for the soul, light for the mind, an irresistible impulse for freedom, peace, and at the same time torment for the heart, which beats in harmony with other hearts, involving the whole person."

The gratuitousness of the heart of Christ, the pope said in his homily, translates into "helping each person not only to survive but also to recover trust and resume their path, to grow and fully flourish in their uniqueness, for the good of all."

A fight against cancer, offered for the pope

These words seemed especially directed at Yolanda, one of the volunteers helping with the papal visit. She has battled cancer for nearly two decades and, despite this — or perhaps precisely because of it — she chose to volunteer.

"I'm waiting for a miracle… we all always hope for that. And we keep living," she said with serenity.

Her body has endured immense suffering: 10 years after her first diagnosis and treatment, the cancer has returned and has spread throughout her body. Several vertebrae are affected, and she has undergone many treatments.

"I thought it was over. But it wasn't, and here I am, eager to see the pope. I have offered all my suffering for him," she said.

The pope's visit to Las Palmas also mobilized hundreds of young people. Four friends from the Parish of San Isidro in the north of the island said they are living this event as a unique moment of faith and community.

One of them, Talía, 25, was overcome with emotion as she recalled the last several days. "I've been following everything on TV and crying my eyes out," she confessed. For her, the pope's presence is not just a religious event but a deeply personal experience.

The message that touched her most was the pope's invitation to young people not to be afraid to form a family and make a lifelong commitment. "The part about forming a family and not being afraid of marriage really spoke to me," she said.

"Today many people are scared to get married. It's true that birth rates in Spain have risen, but they should rise a little more," she added with conviction.

Carlos Díaz Alonso, 20, said it was an "immense joy" to see the pope up close. "A pope has never come to the Canary Islands before, and that fills me with pride."

"That the leader of the entire Catholic world is among us… it's something very great," he added.

Like many young believers, Carlos said he sees faith as a practical guide. "In all the things where I can fail in my daily life, I try to be a better person — and even more so now after seeing the pope," he said, saying his goal is "to try to attain the grace of God."

The pope will conclude his trip on Friday in Tenerife.

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ORLANDO, Florida — The U.S. bishops consecrated the nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 11, entrusting the United States to Christ's merciful love during a solemn Mass as part of their spring plenary assembly.

"We gather not first to celebrate ourselves, but to consecrate, to entrust… and to place our whole nation into the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ," Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore said in his homily.

The liturgy took place on the final day of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' spring plenary meeting, during the nation's 250th anniversary year.

In the hours leading up to the Mass, bishops concluded their assembly with reflections that centered on the meaning of devotion to the Sacred Heart in contemporary life.

Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon, described the devotion as a response to modern forms of spiritual strain, including loneliness and the pressure to measure personal worth by achievement or failure. Drawing on Pope Francis' encyclical Dilexit Nos, he said contemporary culture often unsettles identity itself.

"The Sacred Heart of Jesus answers that question decisively," Sample said. "When we know that we are loved by Christ, we no longer need to build our identity on achievements or failures."

He added that devotion to the Sacred Heart offers freedom from fear, self-centeredness, despair, and superficiality while also calling believers to bring that love into public life. "The world needs witnesses whose hearts resemble the heart of Jesus," he said.

Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville, Kentucky, reflected on the Sacred Heart as a source of communion within the Church, emphasizing that unity within the Church is not built on shared preference but on divine initiative and grace. He described the Church as "a brotherhood not created by personal preference, affinity, or ideology but by the providence of God and the will of Jesus Christ."

Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis pointed to the devotion as a path of interior renewal grounded in prayer and sacramental life. Citing St. John Henry Newman's phrase "cor ad cor loquitur" ("heart speaks to heart"), he said the deepest encounter with Christ takes place in a personal, interior communion shaped by prayer and the Eucharist.

Shortly before the Mass, bishops spent time in Eucharistic adoration and benediction and venerated the relics of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the 17th-century French nun whose visions helped spread devotion to the Sacred Heart throughout the Church.

'The Sacred Heart does not divide'

In his homily, Lori placed the consecration within the broader moral and spiritual tensions of Church and national life, framing it as an act of trust rather than achievement.

"To love as Christ loves is the true measure of Christian discipleship, and it is the true measure of our humanity," he said.

He acknowledged that this measure has often not been lived out. "Indeed, it has sometimes obscured it almost beyond recognition," he said, noting the reality of division, sin, and failure alongside moments of grace.

Lori said the act of entrustment is not an assertion of strength but an admission of dependence on mercy. "We cannot come to the heart of Christ while pretending we have no need of his mercy," he said.

The future, he emphasized, cannot ultimately be secured by human systems or planning. "The future belongs to God, not to political movements, economic forces, or human plans," he said.

He then described the Sacred Heart as the source of reconciliation itself, not merely a devotional image but a living reality that reshapes those who turn to it.

"The Sacred Heart does not divide, it reconciles," he said. "It does not harden hearts, it transforms them. It does not simply invite us to receive love; it sends us forth to share it."

Reflecting on the Gospel, he described Christ as fully entering the human condition with "a heart that has known joy and sorrow, friendship and betrayal, suffering and sacrifice."

"The Sacred Heart reveals a savior who desires not merely our obedience, but our friendship," he said. "Not simply our service, but our communion with him."

That communion, he added, is meant to shape the whole of Christian life. "To remain in his love and allow that love to shape everything we do," he said.

Prayer of entrustment

Following the homily, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, led the solemn prayer of consecration, placing the moment within a wider historical and theological tradition.

He recalled that 127 years earlier Pope Leo XIII consecrated the human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, presenting the Orlando liturgy as a continuation of that same act of entrustment.

"In that same spirit, we now consecrate the United States of America," Coakley said, noting that Christ "in his own blood has removed all divisions and made of many nations one people of God."

He led repeated invocation throughout the prayer: "Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us."

The consecration prayer addressed Christ as the "Desire of Nations and Center of History," asking him to bless the United States, heal the nation's wounds, and bring reconciliation, justice, and peace where they are lacking.

It also gave thanks for the blessings bestowed upon the country, affirmed the dignity of every person as a gift from the Creator, and made reparation for offenses against God and human dignity.

The prayer further asked that the Church in the United States be a visible sign of Christ's presence in the world, pointing "all people to [his] infinite love." It prayed for peace in families and communities, the reconciliation of broken relationships, the repair of injustices, and the healing of the nation through a deeper union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

'A powerful moment in our national story'

President Donald Trump also issued a message marking the consecration, calling it "a powerful moment in our national story" and linking it to Bishop John Carroll's post-Revolutionary consecration of the United States to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

He described the moment as part of a broader spiritual inheritance, noting that American history has long been shaped by public expressions of faith.

"As Catholic bishops consecrate the United States of America to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in this 250th year of our independence, we recommit ourselves," he said, calling for renewed attention to the nation's "spiritual identity and great civilizational inheritance."

Trump called the consecration "a poignant reminder that America has always been guided by the loving hand of God," framing it as both reflection and renewal during the semiquincentennial year.

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The New York state Legislature passed a bill that replaces the words "mother" and "father" in some state laws with gender-neutral language, a move that New York's bishops say will further "muddy what is true and good."

The bill, passed by the state Assembly in March and by the state Senate on June 2, now heads to Gov. Kathy Hochul to be signed into law.

Under the new law, "mother" would be replaced with "gestating parent," and "father" would be "non-gestating parent." The words "paternity" and "filiation" would be replaced with "parentage."

The New York State Catholic Conference issued a memorandum on June 10 noting the bishops' opposition to the new law, calling it "politically charged" and "unnecessary."

"The truth is that mothers are mothers, and fathers are fathers," the bishops wrote. "Words matter, and serious changes to our governing language serve only to wash away the importance of these roles in our society."

"The yearslong push in our state for abortion on demand and up until birth, the endless millions of dollars funneled to Planned Parenthood, and the legalization of commercial surrogacy have reduced women to vessels and babies to disposable commodities," they said.

"The Legislature's final twist of the knife is now apparently removing the term 'mother' altogether," they wrote. "We must reverse course and recognize the importance of both mothers and fathers and pursue changes that truly support women and families."

The legislation (Senate Bill S9316/Assembly Bill A8382A) targets parts of the Family Court Act and laws having to do with, among others, domestic relations, social services, vehicle and traffic, alcoholic beverage control, child support statutes, and education law.

On June 3, Hochul said she was unfamiliar with the specifics of the bill and would familiarize herself with them before commenting.

"I have until the end of the year to review them and make a decision," she said, though according to New York state law, now that the Legislature is adjourned, she has 30 days to sign it. If she does not, the bill is automatically pocket-vetoed (it dies and does not become law).

New York's bishops urged Hochul "to veto this upsetting legislation and uphold the importance of both mothers and fathers in our state," saying the bill's "wholesale effect will be to mock the foundation of the family."

The bishops accused legislators of "political pandering and appeasing a small group of very loud advocates."

"Erasing the terms 'mother' and 'father' from our laws will not help struggling New Yorkers afford groceries, access healthcare, or find housing, but it will further muddy what is true and good," they wrote.

All 38 Senate Democrats who voted supported the measure, while all 22 Republicans voted against it. One Democrat also voted no, joining the unanimous Republican opposition. The bill had previously passed the Assembly 91-46 on March 19, with almost all Democrats voting for it and almost all Republicans against.

According to reporting by Fox5 New York, the state Senate bill passed quickly and with no debate, "shocking" some lawmakers.

While there was a short floor speech last week by Republican State Sen. Dean Murray opposing the bill, the overall process was rushed as the legislative session wrapped up June 10.

"These terms matter," Murray said. "'Mother' is one of the most sacred titles you can have. As is 'father,' 'grandmother,' grandfather.'"

He continued: "In fact ... the term mother is so important, we have a special day named after it," referring to Mother's Day.

"Of course, now maybe we change that to Gestating Parent's Day ... and Father's Day, just change it to Parent's Day."

Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney, a U.S. Congresswoman who previously served in the New York State Assembly from 2011 to 2016, issued a strong rebuke on social media, stating: "The party that can't define a woman is now rewriting New York law to erase mothers and fathers. Only in Albany could 'mom' and 'dad' become too controversial."

Proponents argue the new language is more inclusive and takes into account special cases that occur when there is no clear biological parent, such as in surrogacy and adoption situations.

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Multiple lawsuits filed in federal courts on June 11 allege that permissive assisted suicide laws in New York and Illinois are threatening the life and well-being of individuals with disabilities in those states.

Several individual plaintiffs and patients' rights groups filed the suits in two U.S. district courts arguing against the states' respective laws that permit doctors to intentionally cause the death of patients deemed terminally ill, a process known as "medical aid in dying," a term used in state law.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed the state's assisted suicide bill into law in December 2025, while New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed her own state's bill in February of this year. Both measures have been ardently opposed by Catholic leaders.

The Illinois suit — brought by two plaintiffs and several groups including the Institute for Patients' Rights and the National Council on Independent Living — argues that the state's law removes the "ethical obligation of every physician to do no harm," nullifying a doctor's requirement to, in part, "actively prevent the patient from ... suicide."

The state is offering suicide as a "reasonable option" for medical patients, the suit argues, and permits suicide to be "encouraged by physicians."

The New York law, meanwhile — which is scheduled to go into effect in August — presents a "looming threat" to individuals with disabilities, the lawsuit in that state says, in part because it does not require medical officials to "consider a patient's psychiatric or psychological condition or how that may affect their suicidality" when they ask for help in dying.

The New York suit argues that the law will allow patients to obtain suicide assistance even if they are not suffering from terminal conditions; it further alleges that the law would allow patients to "make themselves eligible" for suicide by "declining available medical treatment."

Both suits argue that the respective suicide regimes violate state and federal laws, including disability protection laws; the suits further claim that the rules violate equal-protection provisions under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Matt Vallière, president and executive director of the Institute for Patients' Rights, which is a party in both suits, said in a June 11 press release that the laws "create a separate and unequal system in which people with life-threatening disabilities are offered death instead of the support programs everyone else gets."

The lawsuits "are about affirming that every person has inestimable value and dignity, regardless of age, disability, or prognosis, and ensuring that no one is treated as disposable under the law," he said.

The filings are the fourth and fifth lawsuits filed as part of a national effort by the initiative End Assisted Suicide, a coalition group targeting state suicide laws on behalf of people with disabilities.

Catholic leaders in both states have sharply criticized the assisted suicide laws. New York Archbishop Ronald Hicks said this month that the state's law would usher in a "new and frightening era" there.

"How long before this so-called 'compassion' for the terminally ill evolves from a 'choice' into an expectation to kill oneself for all sorts of vulnerable individuals, including those with disabilities, the elderly, and those in impoverished and medically underserved communities?" the prelate said.

The Illinois bishops, meanwhile, described their state's assisted suicide law as a "dangerous and heartbreaking path."

"Rather than investing in real end-of-life support such as palliative and hospice care, pain management, and family-centered accompaniment, our state has chosen to normalize killing oneself," the bishops said.

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Paraguayan President Santiago Peña announced this week that work will proceed on the restoration and enhancement of Our Lady of the Assumption Metropolitan Cathedral in Asunción, the capital city.

The announcement was made on June 8 during the blessing and groundbreaking ceremony for a monument to Our Lady of the Assumption on the capital's waterfront, an event attended by the archbishop of Asunción, Cardinal Adalberto Martínez, and the apostolic nuncio to Paraguay, Archbishop Vincenzo Turturro.

In presenting the project, Peña highlighted the close collaboration between the national government and the Paraguayan Bishops' Conference.

The president said the restoration concerns not only infrastructure but also serves as a tangible expression of the government's conviction that "the Catholic Church is not merely part of our history, but part of what we aspire to be as a nation."

Paraguay's Catholic University developed the specifications for the project, which has received approval from the National Secretariat of Culture. Itaipú, a hydroelectric power plant jointly owned by Paraguay and Brazil, will finance the project, the president announced.

The Diocese of Asunción was erected in 1547. A previous cathedral was built in 1548 and later replaced by the current cathedral, which was dedicated in 1845.

The work is part of a series of restoration projects of emblematic sites with support from Itaipú and includes buildings such as historic St. Bonaventure church in Yaguarón, the Ñandejára Guasu shrine in Piribebuy, and St. Blaise Cathedral in Ciudad del Este.

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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A Catholic football coach is being backed by the U.S. Department of Justice in his lawsuit against a public university that fired him for refusing to take a COVID-19 vaccine.

Nick Rolovich first sued Washington State University in 2022 after he was dismissed from the school for refusing the vaccination in 2021.

In his lawsuit Rolovich said the university failed to uphold its contract with him when it fired him for refusing the shot. The suit alleged that the firing was not made with "just cause" and that the school violated its contract in dismissing him over the dispute.

In the suit Rolovich said he "drew upon his study of the Bible, personal
prayer, personal experience, personal study, advice from others, advice from a Catholic priest, and the teachings of the Church in concluding that his conscience precluded him from receiving any available COVID-19 vaccine."

A federal district court ruled against Rolovich in 2025. On June 10 the coach and his legal team appeared before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit arguing the case.

Rolovich in his appeal has received the backing of the U.S. Department of Justice, which filed an amicus brief in the case arguing that the coach had provided "voluminous ... evidence where he asserted, and demonstrated evidence of, a sincere religious belief."

"That evidence attested to his sincere Catholic beliefs and articulated the conflict between that belief system and his objection to taking the vaccine," the government said, arguing that the appeals court should reverse the lower court's ruling.

A decision from the appeals court will likely be handed down in the next few months. In a June 10 release, Joseph Davis — a senior attorney at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing the coach in the case — argued that the school fired Rolovich solely because it "disliked his beliefs."

"Sidelining a coach for standing by his faith betrays the spirit of college athletics and religious freedom," Davis said, arguing that the court should  "throw the flag on WSU's unnecessary roughness and protect every American's right to live and work according to their faith."

Several Catholics in the U.S. have won high-profile lawsuits in recent years over their refusals to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

The University of Colorado's medical school in late 2025 agreed to pay out a massive eight-figure settlement after it required multiple staffers, including a Catholic doctor, to obtain the COVID-19 vaccination.

In 2024, meanwhile, Catholic Michigan resident Lisa Domski received $12.7 million in a religious discrimination lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan after it fired her over her refusal to take the vaccine.

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The bishops of the United States voted in favor of a revised version of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

The document, also known as "the Dallas Charter," is a set of procedures originally established in 2002 to address allegations of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy.

The bishops voted on the revised document at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) spring plenary session in Orlando, Florida, on June 11.

The revised charter offers changes and additions but maintains the focus of the original document "to address with transparency and accountability accusations of abuse committed by clergy," said Bishop Barry Knestout of Richmond, Virginia, chair of the Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People, at the meeting.

The revision process began in 2021 and was done in collaboration with USCCB Committees on the Protection of Children and Young People; Canonical Affairs and Church Governance; Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations; the Office of the General Counsel; and the National Review Board.

The new document offers a glossary "in response to repeated requests from dioceses on having more consistent definitions of various terms," Knestout said.

"Among the influences drawn from the revisions of Book VI of the Code of Canon Law is the integration of the right of an accused to the presumption of innocence," and "among the Vos Estis Lux Mundi general provisions is the identification of mandatory Church reporters to complement mandatory reporting to civil authorities," he said.

The revised version also includes a "clear allowance for electronic letters of suitability" and "an added reference to the protection of information under the seal of the sacrament of penance," Knestout said.

To ensure the charter focuses on abuse of minors, the Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations will develop a separate document from the charter that will focus on standards of behavior for both clergy and laity with adults, including vulnerable adults.

Vote invites debate among bishops

Prior to voting, the bishops discussed and debated the topic. Some of the bishops inquired about the language within the document and offered proposed changes.

During the discussion, Archbishop Shawn McKnight of Kansas City, Kansas, proposed the bishops "postpone [the] vote until the next meeting," which will be held in November. Bishop Earl Fernandes of Columbus, Ohio, seconded the motion as the bishops will not "lose very much by delaying" and to ensure his presbyteral council is "sufficiently consulted."

In response to the bishops in favor of the postponement, Knestout said that "there has been quite a bit of consultation already." He added: "I am not sure what's gained through the additional time, other than … an opportunity for some dioceses and presbyterates to look at this again."

Ultimately the majority voted not to postpone the vote. The bishops then approved the revised charter, with 176 voting yes, 22 voting no, and six abstaining.

Bishops react to approval of charter

"I'm coming towards the conclusion of my own term as the chair. I inherited the [charter] process and I wanted to make sure it was concluded," Knestout told EWTN News following the vote.

"This was … our best effort to make sure it was adapted to some of the developments and circumstances of the present," he said. "So it can function as the guide for our ongoing work in caring for and making sure that we are providing safeguarding for children and young people within our diocese and do it in a good way that is respectful of the role of priests."

As the bishops revised the document, it was "necessary for us to do two things as bishops," Knestout said.

"One is to express our love for, our care for those who are victim survivors, and for all those who've been injured or wounded because of the abuse issue or the crisis, and to assure them that ... with both transparency and accountability, [we] will address the issue and continue to do so in a vigilant way."

It was also to reflect updates "from the developments that have occurred with canon law over the last eight years to also express in a tangible way our concern for our priests and for their needs" and "to address issues of due process and presumed innocence."

It "tries to do both in a way that's balanced and that's authentic but is consistent and addresses the issue of the crisis in a way that will bring trust and healing over time," he said.

While the charter was under review, the Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance "wanted to keep clarity … that the charter is for protection of children and young people," Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, chair of the Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance, told EWTN News.

"I think it has worked well over the last 25 years" and "I think these amendments that we had and the changes will be for the better," he said.

"There were voices, and continue to be voices, that wanted to expand that to include other areas of misconduct, misconduct by bishops, or misconduct by priests with adults," but there "are other avenues … for doing that," Paprocki said.

"By not including vulnerable adults in the charter does not say that we don't think it's important," but "it should be an entirely separate process, and in my experience it has been good to have that as a separate process."

"I would also point out that there are some things already in existence," he said. He detailed Pope Francis' 2016 moto proprio As a Loving Mother, which "provides for the removal of bishops for different kinds of misconduct," and Vos Estis Lux Mundi.

In contrast, McKnight told "EWTN News In Depth" it is "a missed opportunity" that the revised charter does not address the abuse of adults, abuses of power, and episcopal misconduct or cover-ups.

McKnight explained that he has previously "made a full proposal" that the bishops "consider not revising the charter but to honor it as an historical document written for its time period."

"My proposal is that we have an integrated statement of moral commitment, like the charter, that would honor it but be organically related to it" and "encompass these other things that are just as pressing of an issue for our ecclesial life," he said.

The bishops voting to not postpone the vote was also "a missed opportunity for us to exercise a bit more the approach that our Holy Father, Pope Leo, is asking us to do as bishops," he said.

While "there has been extensive consultation over several years by conference leadership, the bishops as a body have not been involved in that other than four years ago was the last time we were consulted," McKnight said.

"So my feeling was that … we should have the opportunity to take and solicit feedback from our own clergy and our own laypeople, and to work more collaboratively and in a spirit of co-responsibility," he said.

Next steps

Going forward, "the administrative committee has asked the Committee for Clergy Consecrated Life and Vocations … [to] take up the next step of looking at issues of sexual misconduct with adults and with vulnerable adults," Archbishop Ronald Hicks of New York, chair of the Committee for Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations, told EWTN News.

"We've accepted that as the committee, and we are going to start the work on producing such a document," he said.

"As we do so … we are going to collaborate with all of the other agencies and those who are involved with sexual misconduct on how we respond as the USCCB within the Church," Hicks said.

Having separate documents addressing different areas of abuse "is making sure that issues stay in their lane properly," Hicks said.

The charter looks "at issues of children, minors, preventing abuse, protecting children, and also the accompaniment of victim survivors," he said. "Then there's opportunities for continued conversation of 'What does abuse and sexual misconduct look like with adults or vulnerable adults?'"

"Let another document address that so that we are properly making sure we attend to the original outset of what the charter was meant for, which is the protection of children, the prevention of abuse, and the accompaniment of victim survivors," Hicks said.

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BALTIMORE — About 300 Catholics gathered at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Wednesday, June 10, for Mass and a Eucharistic procession through downtown Baltimore as the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage's St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Route continued through the nation's first Catholic diocese.

Following the morning Mass, pilgrims processed several blocks in the rain from the basilica to Baltimore's Washington Monument, one of the city's most recognizable civic landmarks, praying and singing as they accompanied the Blessed Sacrament through the city's historic streets.

The Baltimore stop is part of the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which is traveling under the theme "One Nation Under God" as the United States prepares to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

In his homily, Monsignor Jay O'Connor reflected on the meaning of pilgrimage and the public witness of carrying the Eucharist through cities, towns, highways, and waterways across the country.

"This National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which is of Jesus through the streets and the highways and the plains and the waterways of our country, brings the blessing of the real presence of Jesus into the heart and soul of our fellow citizens and our country," he said.

The basilica, completed in 1821, is the first cathedral constructed in the United States. It was built under the leadership of Bishop John Carroll, the first bishop of the United States, making the Baltimore stop a significant moment for a pilgrimage moving through many of the original 13 colonies during the nation's semiquincentennial year.

O'Connor said pilgrimage is not meant to be easy, citing St. John Paul II's teaching that God uses the challenges of the journey to form his people.

"Through the challenges of the journey, God forms us into the people he calls us to be — a community of missionary disciples," he said.

The celebrant also recalled a previous Eucharistic procession in Baltimore, when a man came out of his home and asked what was happening as the procession passed through his neighborhood.

"One pilgrim responded, 'Jesus is walking through your neighborhood,'" he said. "The man asked, 'Can I join you?' And he was invited to walk the rest of the way with the pilgrims. That's what a pilgrimage is."

For the perpetual pilgrims accompanying the Eucharist along the Cabrini route, the journey has included long days of travel, prayer, public witness, and constant movement.

"It's been very busy," said John Paul Flynn, one of the perpetual pilgrims. "But it's through that busyness, I think, that you start to lean more into it and lean more into the graces that are there."

He said the experience of traveling with the Blessed Sacrament has been unlike anything else.

"Getting to be with Jesus all the time is a really unique experience," he said, noting that the pilgrims even have adoration in the van as they travel.

The pilgrimage was scheduled to continue through Maryland with stops in Severna Park and Annapolis before crossing the Chesapeake Bay by boat to Kent Island and the Diocese of Wilmington.

The Cabrini route is named for St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the Italian-born missionary sister who became the first U.S. citizen to be canonized a saint. Cabrini dedicated her life to serving immigrants, orphans, the sick, and the poor, founding schools, hospitals, and orphanages across the United States and beyond.

The route began over Memorial Day weekend in St. Augustine, Florida, and is traveling north along the Eastern Seaboard before concluding in Philadelphia over Independence Day weekend.

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