Catholic News

Abelardo de la Espriella is the new president of Colombia, according to the preliminary vote count released by the National Civil Registry on June 21.

With 99.9% of polling stations reporting, De la Espriella, of the conservative Defenders of the Homeland party, secured 49.6% of the vote. His opponent, Iván Cepeda of the ruling Historic Pact party, stood at 48.7%. The remaining votes were either null or blank.

De la Espriella said on Instagram that "today marks the beginning of a new chapter for our country, a chapter built upon the free and democratic will of millions of citizens who chose to believe in a Colombia that is great, secure, prosperous, and full of opportunities."

He added that "with God's help and the efforts of all Colombians, the 'Miracle Homeland' will become a reality."

Moments later, in his first public appearance from the northern city of Barranquilla, De la Espriella called on the country to put division aside and pledged to be the president of all Colombians, including those who did not vote for him.

Addressing thousands of gathered supporters, the president-elect concluded his speech by asking God to bless the country. "Long live Christ the King!" De la Espriella declared.

The government's reaction

President Gustavo Petro, who campaigned for his candidate, Iván Cepeda, over the past few weeks, wrote on X that "no one can be proclaimed president" because "it is the official vote count that determines who the president is."

For his part, Cepeda said in his first public appearance that while he accepts the preliminary unofficial vote count, his delegates intend to challenge the results from 33,000 polling stations during the official tally. On election day, Colombians cast their votes at 122,000 polling stations, both domestically and abroad.

Following the announcement of the unofficial preliminary vote count, the official validation process takes place immediately. According to the National Registry, this is "the official process of verifying and counting the votes cast in the ballot boxes, carried out by poll workers and the validation commissions …a process that guarantees the validity and transparency of the election results."

De la Espriella's position on life and family issues

During the election campaign, De la Espriella pledged to change current government policies regarding health, the economy, and public safety by taking an "iron-fist" approach against drug trafficking and armed groups.

Furthermore, he was the only candidate to sign the Commitment to Life and Family promoted by the United for Life platform, pledging to defend not only the family and the right to life but also freedoms related to conscience and worship, as well as the human rights enshrined in the country's constitution and in international treaties ratified by the Colombian state.

Regarding gender ideology, De la Espriella stated on Caracol Radio that he has no issue with the homosexual community but noted that he is an "enemy of gender ideology."

"I do not accept attempts to condition our children or to contaminate them with gender ideology in order to try to change their view of sexuality, or even of sex itself," he said.

Regarding the legalization of marijuana, the president-elect says the plant "is a gateway to other drugs" and "there will be no room" for its legalization under his administration, according to the Defenders of the Homeland website.

Congratulations from leaders

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on X that he spoke "with Colombia's President-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, to congratulate him on his electoral victory."

"The Trump Administration looks forward to working closely with your incoming administration to advance regional security cooperation, end illegal immigration to the United States, and strengthen our economic ties. Colombia's best days are ahead," Rubio stated.

The presidents of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa; Argentina, Javier Milei; and Chile, José Antonio Kast, congratulated De la Espriella on the election.

Kast wrote on X that this electoral victory marks "the beginning of a new era of freedom for Colombia that will allow them to regain security and prosperity."

Likewise, Milei noted that, with De la Espriella, "the majority of Colombians chose the path of economic freedom, prosperity, and uncompromising security, and said 'enough' to transnational organized crime and drug trafficking."

Noboa stated, "Today, Colombia chose order over impunity. Congratulations to Abelardo de la Espriella on this victory. We share the conviction that our region deserves security, progress, and governments that confront crime without excuses."

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 Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists has withdrawn its disciplinary order against Catholic counselor Frank Canepa and is reconsidering the case in light of a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a formal notice filed with the Oregon Court of Appeals.

Canepa, a licensed counselor in Beaverton, Oregon, faced nearly $90,000 in fines and other sanctions after telling a longtime client that he could not personally affirm or "bless" her same-sex relationship due to his Catholic faith.

According to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a Christian legal group representing Canepa, the client had pressed the issue for 20 minutes in one session, despite Canepa having seen her 44 times over two and a half years without raising or being questioned about his religious views.

According to the Oregon board, Canepa violated state law as well as the American Counseling Association's Code of Ethics. The board ordered him to attend six hours of continuing education and pay for his own hearing, which cost $89,636.

ADF appealed the board's decision on Canepa's behalf on May 1, arguing that the punishment violated his First Amendment rights to free speech and free exercise of religion, particularly in light of recent U.S. Supreme Court precedents such as Chiles v. Salazar.

Shortly after ADF filed its opening brief, the board voluntarily withdrew its disciplinary actions against Canepa without providing a detailed public explanation.

However, in the Withdrawal of Notice of Proposed Disciplinary Action signed on June 5, the Oregon board cited the Supreme Court's decision in Chiles v. Salazar as a reason for withdrawing the disciplinary action.

In Chiles, the U.S. Supreme Court in an 8-1 decision on March 31 ruled that the state cannot silence counselors' personal or professional viewpoints during talk therapy sessions with clients.

Colorado's law targeting certain viewpoints on sexual orientation and gender identity constituted unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination, the court said in its decision.

"The government can't target counselors for their views and force people to say things that go against their core convictions," said Jonathan Scruggs, ADF senior counsel and vice president of litigation strategy, in a June 22 statement to EWTN News. "The Supreme Court recently took Colorado to task for censoring counselors and mandating orthodoxy in the counselor's office, and Oregon should take notice."

"ADF will continue to ensure that free speech is protected in Oregon — and every state where it's threatened — and halt states' attempts to weaponize their licensure systems," Scruggs said.

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Peru's national legislature has passed a law declaring June Life and Family Month throughout the nation.

Law 32671, approved on June 17 and published in the official gazette El Peruano, states that this declaration is intended to commemorate "life and the importance of the family as a natural and fundamental institution of society."

Milagros Jáuregui de Aguayo, the author of the bill, stated that "the family remains the primary setting for personal formation and the most important pillar of our society. Defending it means building a Peru with greater unity, solidarity, and hope," according to a statement.

During the parliamentary debate, Jáuregui further emphasized that "strengthening the family means strengthening the foundations of the nation, fostering a society with greater cohesion, solidarity, and commitment to the common good."

"This law takes on special significance in a context where Peru is facing a worrying birth-rate crisis and a progressively aging population, phenomena that jeopardize the country's future development," Carlos Polo, director of the Latin America office of the Population Research Institute, told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

"The family, comprising father, mother, and children, constitutes the primary setting where life is passed on, values ??are instilled, new generations are educated, and responsible citizens committed to their community are formed," added Polo.

The pro-life leader stated, "promoting and strengthening the family means creating the cultural conditions necessary to ensure the continuity, stability, and prosperity of our nation."

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 is inviting dioceses across the U.S. to join in observing Religious Freedom Week through prayer, reflection, and action.

"Religious freedom allows the Church, and all religious communities, to live out their faith in public and to serve the good of all," the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) website says. Religious Freedom Week in the U.S. begins each year on June 22, the feast of St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher.

This year, Catholics are invited to pray, reflect, and act on the following intentions: political and anti-religious violence, immigration enforcement, Africa, gender ideology, religious discrimination, parental choice in education, federal grants, and Nicaragua.

Each day, the U.S. bishops ask Catholics to pray for the day's intention in a specific way, offer a brief reflection on how Catholics should think about the issue, and provide suggestions on concrete actions Catholics can take to improve religious freedom in that particular area.

So far, the dioceses of Arlington, Kalamazoo, Savannah, Toledo, and the Archdiocese of Miami have posted information about the week on their websites.

In a statement on the week's patrons, the USCCB praised More and Fisher for exemplifying "faithful citizenship," and expressed hope that "their example continue to illuminate the path for us, as we seek to faithfully serve our Church and country.'

"It is good to love one's country, but ultimate loyalty is due only to Christ and his kingdom," the USCCB said. "They never rose up to incite rebellion or foment revolution. They were no traitors. But when the law of the king came into conflict with the law of Christ, they submitted to Christ. These men gave their lives for the freedom of the Church and for freedom of conscience. They bear witness to the truth that no government can make a claim on a person's soul."

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Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami and bishops across Ohio are calling for extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians living in the United States and are urging a more permanent solution to care for refugees.

In April, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation, H.R. 1689, that would extend TPS for Haitians for three more years, which is "a critical lifeline for those desperate to avoid returning to the chaos on the island nation," Wenski said in a column for the Archdiocese of Miami. Senate consideration is next.

TPS is an immigration status granted to eligible foreign nationals from designated countries that are unsafe to return to due to ongoing conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary conditions.

In 2025, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem terminated the TPS designation for migrants from Syria, Haiti, and other countries.

To combat the termination, the bill, which needs Senate approval to take effect, would provide "a reprieve to the more than 350,000 Haitians who today live and work legally in the United States under the protection of TPS," Wenski said.

"Every single day, I see the human consequences of often unintended public policy decisions that result in chronic uncertainty, fear, and the disruption of families and entire communities. It's up to the Senate now to vote 'yes' on extending TPS protections for Haitians," he said.

Wenski said Haiti "remains a country on the brink," noting the "widespread gang violence and kidnapping, a rampant cholera epidemic, and spreading food insecurity."

"The lack of functioning state institutions has resulted in a general breakdown of security, with attacks on women and children becoming commonplace," he said.

"It would be an act of abject cruelty for the United States to send families back to such dangerous and unsafe conditions" and it would "exacerbate Haiti's ongoing humanitarian crisis," Wenski said.

Haitians in the U.S. "are hard workers filling jobs that, were it not for them, would go unfilled," Wenski said. "The sudden expulsion of Haitian TPS holders would have devastating consequences for our nation's economy."

Wenski said he understands that "'temporary' should mean temporary," but "without any other workable alternative, TPS is what's available."

It is "an imperfect tool," and "cannot substitute for the hard work of immigration reform that Congress has to undertake sooner or later," he said.

Senate passage of the bill would "give Haitians a reprieve" and "lawmakers time to explore more durable, more workable solutions."

Ohio bishops 'deeply grieved' by situation of Haitian neighbors

The Ohio bishops similarly spoke out on the matter, calling the situation "a moral and social failure unfolding before our eyes."

The Catholic Conference of Ohio released a statement on June 22 urging action as the bishops are "deeply grieved by the situation of our Haitian neighbors in Ohio."

Ahead of the 250th anniversary of the U.S., "we recall the great declarations in our founding documents to establish a free country where people can flourish," the bishops wrote. "Therefore, as proud and faithful citizens of the United States, we need to take responsibility to support the common good of our country and to love our neighbors as ourselves."

The bishops "have witnessed the upstanding lives Haitian families have built in Ohio."

"They work hard, support their families, worship God regularly, and seek to live in peace. Now, they await the U.S. Supreme Court's decision, likely on technical grounds, on whether TPS will continue," they said.

The Supreme Court is reviewing the government's effort to end TPS as lower courts previously blocked the termination after determining the administration's process for ending the protections was unlawful.

The court heard oral arguments in April and is expected to make a decision in the coming months on whether the Trump administration can end the TPS program for Haitian and Syrian nationals.

The bishops "find no moral justification for terminating their [TPS] without an alternative way to adjust their immigration status," they said.

While the bishops affirmed "the nation's right and responsibility to regulate immigration and protect its borders," they said the U.S. "has continued to fail in its attempts to achieve comprehensive reform of our immigration policy."

"We should have the political and social will to establish and maintain an orderly immigration process while providing a place in the U.S. for those fleeing violence or severe economic hardship," they said.

The bishops called on Catholics in Ohio and all people of goodwill "to pray for America at 250 years and to reflect on our responsibility as citizens and followers of Jesus Christ."

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Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia approved a chaplaincy to serve Catholics attached to the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) in accordance with the Missale Romanum of 1962.

The "Chaplaincy of Our Lady of Victory," announced June 19, will be officially established on July 1. According to the diocesan announcement, the chaplaincy is being formed "to serve the needs of those who attend Mass and receive other sacraments in the Extraordinary Form."

The chaplaincy will be administered by two priests from the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) appointed from Front Royal, Virginia, about 70 miles west of Washington, D.C.: Father Jonathan Romanoski and Father John Audino.

"As a Chaplaincy, rather than a parish, this agreement allows for Fr. Romanoski and Fr. Audino to live the fraternity that is part of the FSSP charism and to serve primarily in Front Royal while periodically assisting elsewhere in the diocese," the diocesan statement read.

According to the diocese, the chaplaincy formalizes an arrangement that had already been in place, as an FSSP priest has been assisting Arlington clergy. It does not add more locations for the TLM.

Access to baptism, confirmation, and matrimony in the traditional form remain available only to those "who have a particular pastoral connection to the community and who participate regularly in this form of the liturgy with the consent of the local pastor and the local ordinary," in line with the current rules, according to the diocese.

"The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter is grateful to His Excellency, Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge, Bishop of Arlington, for establishing the Chaplaincy of Our Lady of Victory to serve the needs of those who attend the traditional form of the Latin Liturgy beginning on July 1, 2026," Father Daniel Powers, the provincial secretary of FSSP's North American Province, said in a statement to EWTN News.

"We are looking forward to working in the Diocese of Arlington and serving the faithful there," he said.

Noah Peters, a board member and the president emeritus of The Arlington Latin Mass Society (ALMS), expressed "sincere appreciation" to the bishop on behalf of the society for entrusting a chaplaincy to the two priests.

"ALMS believes that this is an enormously positive step that will help ensure access to the traditional sacraments: baptisms, matrimony, confirmation, and the rites for the sick," he told EWTN News. "We pray for Bishop Burbidge, the FSSP priests, and all the faithful, and we pray that this chaplaincy will be the seed from which broader access to the treasures of Traditional Catholicism grows."

Arlington, like many dioceses globally, faced Latin Mass restrictions over the past few years, in line with the rules set in Pope Francis's 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, which limited access to the older form of the Mass. However, the pontiff granted FSSP, which will administer the chaplaincy in the diocese, an exemption from those rules.

FSSP was founded in 1988 by priests who broke away from the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), when then-Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who led SSPX, defied the Holy See by appointing bishops without papal approval and faced excommunication. FSSP was founded to maintain those liturgical traditions while remaining loyal to the papacy.

In Arlington — where the TLM remains popular, especially among young adults — Burbidge secured dispensations approved by the Holy See for three parishes and five non-parish church locations when Traditionis Custodes went into effect. These were temporary dispensations, but have been extended and remain in place.

This is still a reduction in locations for the diocese, which had 21 locations that offered the TLM prior to the motu proprio. Some Arlington locations also saw an influx of worshipers from the neighboring Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., which limited access to three locations — one in the city itself and two in Maryland.

In March, Pope Leo XIV described divisions surrounding liturgical unity as "a painful wound" in the church.

In his communication with French bishops, Leo encouraged concrete solutions, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, that allow for "the generous inclusion" of Catholics attached to the TLM "in respect for the directions desired by the Second Vatican Council in matters of liturgy."

Leo has not issued far-reaching documents related to the TLM, nor has he changed any of the rules established under Francis. He did, however, approve Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke's celebration of the TLM last year at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.

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A 60-day Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) — which strengthens the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran and seeks to pave the way for permanent peace — has garnered applause from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

Bishop A. Elias Zaidan,?who chairs the USCCB Committee on International Justice and Peace, commended both President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the progress and expressed hope for a long-term deal in a June 17 statement.

Both countries' leaders, Zaidan said, have taken a "vitally important step," which is aimed at "ending hostilities" and "advancing deeper dialogue for lasting peace in the region." He added that "preventing further proliferation of nuclear weapons is critically important for avoiding a dangerous escalation of conflict in the Middle East."

Zaidan asked all parties involved to engage in good faith and pray for Pope Leo XIV's intention that "this agreement may help strengthen mutual trust, security and stability in the Middle East, promoting paths of dialogue and cooperation among peoples."

The bishop, who was born in Lebanon and serves as eparch of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles, encouraged the U.S., Iran, and Israel to prioritize peace efforts in Lebanon, which is meant to be covered by the U.S.-Iran deal but is still facing Israeli strikes in spite of the MOU.

"I call on the United States, Iran, and Israel to?now also prioritize?an end?to the fighting in Lebanon," Zaidan said.

"The disarming of Hezbollah is necessary for peace and development in Lebanon," he said. "Over one million people have been internally displaced, including?400,000 children, and thousands have fled to neighboring Syria, potentially adding to the region's instability. If?the fighting and humanitarian catastrophe?continue?in Lebanon,?I fear that peace across the wider Middle East will remain unreachable."

The bishop urged prayers for a resolution to the conflicts.

"Let us pray that the Holy Spirit, creator and vivifier,?may breathe wisdom, compassion, and perseverance into the minds and hearts of the?negotiators,?so that?peace in the region may finally become a reality," Zaidan prayed.

The agreement between the U.S. and Iran puts a hold on military combat and reopens the Strait of Hormuz, an important waterway for international trade. Both the U.S. and Iran agreed not to prevent the passage of any ships. There is gradual sanction relief for Iran, which has already resulted in Iranian oil sales, and a $300 billion fund for development in Iran supported by private investment.

Iran must agree it will never develop a nuclear weapon, which is aligned with its position since 2003 when former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei issued a fatwa declaring the development of nuclear weapons as inconsistent with Islamic law. Questions about whether Iran will be allowed to enrich uranium — or to which level nuclear enrichment will be permitted — will be decided in the 60-day window.

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The European Commission has told EWTN News that Pope Leo XIV's call for AI to serve human dignity and the common good reflects principles already embedded in the EU's approach to regulating technology, as lawmakers voted on Tuesday to postpone certain obligations under the bloc's landmark AI Act.

"We could not agree more with the vision of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV and with the need for a robust legal framework for AI," Thomas Regnier, European Commission spokesperson for tech sovereignty, security, and democracy, told EWTN News following a recent Commission dialogue bringing together EU officials, Church leaders, and experts to discuss AI's ethical and social impact.

"In the EU, this is not just an aspiration. It is already what we are doing through the AI Act, the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, the GDPR and much more," Regnier said.

From Magnifica Humanitas to Brussels

The closed dialogue followed Pope Leo XIV's encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, published May 25, and offered an early opportunity to gauge whether its themes are resonating with those implementing Europe's AI rulebook. The discussions included senior officials from the EU's AI Office, which oversees implementation of the Act.

The encyclical sets out Pope Leo's vision for safeguarding human dignity, human agency, and the common good amid rapidly advancing technologies. Its presentation at the Vatican last month included Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic, as the Holy See seeks to engage directly with frontier AI developers.

Responding to questions from EWTN News, Regnier said Pope Leo's concerns closely align with existing European policies.

"What the Pope describes is what Europe is already doing," Regnier said.

"We are protecting minors online. We have banned AI systems that exploit the most vulnerable. We are protecting women and children from non-consensual and sexual-abuse AI-generated content. We have prohibited social scoring."

"His Holiness speaks of human dignity and the common good. These are exactly the European values."

Parliament pauses high-risk AI requirements

Regnier's comments come as the European Parliament approved amendments on Tuesday postponing certain obligations affecting high-risk AI systems under the Act, including systems used in health care, education, employment, and law enforcement, a move supporters say will provide legal certainty while harmonized standards are developed.

Irish MEP Michael McNamara, one of Parliament's lead negotiators on the legislation, defended the postponement, arguing businesses need regulatory certainty without weakening the Act's core safeguards.

"We live in an area of rule of law, and one of the things that is most important is regulatory certainty and clarity in what one's legal obligations are," McNamara said following Tuesday's vote.

He said it was regrettable that implementation had to be delayed because harmonized standards had not yet been developed, but stressed that "the protections, the fundamental rights protections, the requirement that you have human beings in the loop, that you have a human override, these all remain in place."

Referring to Pope Leo's encyclical and Antiqua et Nova, a Vatican reflection on AI issued during Pope Francis' pontificate, McNamara said it was essential to ensure "that AI systems work for the benefit of humanity" and that society does not "ever end up in a system where humanity is subjugated by AI systems."

COMECE urges human-centered regulation

AI has been high on the EU agenda this month, with the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) convening a seminar at the European Parliament examining AI's impact on health, loneliness, and children's well-being.

Speaking on behalf of COMECE, Monsignor Emmanuel Agius, professor of moral theology at the University of Malta, argued that the challenge was not simply whether digital environments require regulation, but whether regulation is guided by "an adequate understanding of the human person."

While acknowledging AI's promise in health care and research, he warned of growing risks linked to loneliness, addictive behaviors, disinformation, and the impact of digital environments on children and young people. Describing loneliness as a growing public health concern, he said technological innovation should complement rather than replace meaningful human relationships and care, particularly for vulnerable people.

AI rules must remain dynamic

In a recorded message to seminar participants, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola warned that "AI can move faster than our ability to understand it, let alone govern it" and stressed that rules must be "smart, proportionate, and able to work in the real world."

In his response to EWTN News, Regnier similarly noted that "developments in the field of AI are advancing at an extremely high speed" and "the AI Act was designed as a dynamic and adaptable regulatory framework that is capable of evolving over time."

He pointed to recently agreed prohibitions on so-called "nudification" applications that generate non-consensual sexually explicit content or child sexual abuse material, saying the updated rules seek to ensure that Europeans can benefit from AI while remaining protected from its harmful effects.

"The EU will continue to protect our values and the fundamental rights of every European," Regnier said. "Within this robust legal framework, we now need to invest even more in the responsible uptake of this technology and in the use of AI as a benefit for humankind and a force for good."

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Pope Leo XIV called on the United Nations (U.N.) to prioritize people in combating world hunger and said feeding the hungry is an essential part of peacemaking.

The pontiff visited the headquarters the World Food Programme (WFP) in Rome on Monday. In his remarks, Leo emphasized the seriousness of world hunger, explaining that it often fuels other social challenges, particularly migration.

"More than merely a humanitarian concern, hunger erodes social cohesion, heightens the risk of conflict, and fuels forced migration," Leo said. "In effect, conflicts are 'fed' more readily than people are nourished. This reality reflects not only operational shortcomings but also a fundamental imbalance in political and moral priorities."

The pope also stressed the importance of multilateral collaboration, stating that each state shares co-responsibility to "recognize the inherent God-given dignity of every person." He also encouraged secular governments to be open to collaborating with the Catholic Church to assist the most vulnerable, recognizing their fundamental human right to adequate food.

"Access to adequate food is a fundamental human right grounded in the dignity of every person," Leo remarked.

"The Catholic Church — through parishes, dioceses, Caritas agencies, and other faith-based initiatives — often reaches vulnerable populations in areas inaccessible to international actors. I therefore encourage the World Food Programme and its partners to continue supporting these efforts."

The U.N. World Food Programme was established in 1961 in response to widespread hunger, malnutrition, and food shortages worldwide. In his address, Leo XIV praised the progress of the organization's mission while warning the U.N. about the dangers of a bureaucracy that slows the delivery of food assistance to disadvantaged populations.

"Implementing this appeal [to fight hunger] effectively requires reducing unnecessary bureaucracy so that transparency and accountability serve people rather than impede assistance," the pope said.

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After a meeting at the Vatican in October last year, Pope Leo XIV and a network for victims of clergy sexual abuse and continue to build collaboration through conversations with the Vatican's safeguarding commission.

The pope "is interested in dialogue and in seeing what can be done in his new role. I think the fact that he received us was a sign of trust on his part, because in the past the relationship between survivors' groups and the Vatican has not been easy, so we took a step forward," Matthias Katsch, a member of the advocacy organization Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA) told EWTN News in Rome.

Katsch, who is from Germany, is a member of ECA's board of directors and one of the members most critical of policies adopted to prevent abuse within the Church.

Almost eight months after the initial step of meeting with Pope Leo, the relationship between the Vatican and ECA has been formalized.

On June 15-16, the board of directors of ECA — which is present in 14 countries across five continents — held a meeting with top officials of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM) at Palazzo Maffei, a Vatican-owned property in the center of Rome. The PCPM is responsible for promoting safeguarding policies in the Church.

The pope, though not present, proposed the meeting, which will have a second part later this year.

The private meetings — which included, among others, the commission's secretary, Bishop Luis Manuel Alí Herrera — were "very positive," according to Katsch.

The role of the organization Katsch represents, in his words, is "to engage in dialogue with survivors" of abuse and then to press the appropriate Church authorities so that "the changes that are needed can be carried out step by step."

"We have common ground: on both sides we have the same interest. We want to prevent this from continuing to happen," said Katsch, who has spoken publicly about the abuse he suffered at a Jesuit school in Berlin.

The meeting coincided with the recent approval of the PCPM's statutes by Leo, a measure which, according to the body itself, strengthens the Church's commitment to protecting minors and vulnerable persons worldwide.

For ECA representatives, the meeting with the commission was an opportunity "to learn firsthand what this means for the policy they are going to pursue."

"There is now more clarity about roles in this process and, from what I understand, the idea is that it is not only the commission or any other body that is responsible for the protection of minors and accountability … but that the entire Church, in particular the entire Curia, is responsible," Katsch stressed.

In the opening session, the president of the pontifical commission, Archbishop Thibault Verny, insisted that the obligation to listen to victims "must be an active exercise with concrete results in order to be credible."

During the working sessions, ECA representatives called on the Catholic Church to adopt globally the accountability standards in force in the United States, which provide for permanent removal from ministry when abuse is admitted or proven in a legal process.

"We are calling for zero tolerance; that it become law, and this basically means that a priest who has abused a minor [is removed from ministry] within the Church … that he no longer has a leadership role within the Church. We are not talking about expelling someone from the Church, nor from the priesthood, because that is not within our competence," he explained.

This is a specific norm for the United States, approved in 2002 after a historic meeting of priests from that country at the Vatican, following the Boston Globe's January 2002 exposure of the case of Father John Geoghan, who had abused more than 130 children for over 30 years.

After the meeting in the Vatican, all U.S. bishops gathered in Dallas and signed a document titled the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People," which included these measures and was ultimately approved in December 2002.

In June, this document was revised, but it maintained the original text's central aim of "addressing, with transparency and accountability, allegations of abuse committed by members of the clergy," as Bishop Barry Knestout of Richmond, Virginia, and chair of the Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People, explained during the session.

"After 25 years, we have seen that it has worked. Hundreds of priests in the United States have been removed from ministry for having abused children. So why cannot that clarity be applied in other parts of the world? That is our question," Katsch said, noting that PCPM is not the Holy See's legislative body but is responsible for guiding safeguarding strategies alongside other dicasteries of the Roman Curia.

The Vatican will hold a plenary session in September to evaluate the impact of abuse prevention policies and procedures, with the aim of identifying both the progress made and the system's shortcomings.

ECA plans to present a proposal for a universal law that includes, among other measures, the creation of an independent agency with investigative authority, the obligation to issue recommendations and public reports, and a guarantee of transparency throughout the process.

The Code of Canon Law establishes that bishops must open a preliminary investigation as soon as they become aware of a possible crime in their dioceses. After completing the proceedings, they must send the acts to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, along with their assessment.

However, a lack of resources in this body remains one of the main obstacles. "What is needed for justice to be effectively carried out in individual cases is that the team of those who investigate cases from Rome, cases that arrive in Rome, has a number of people proportionate to the number of cases worldwide. I understand that there are now around 20 prosecutors for the whole world, and that does not work," Katsch said.

Another request is the obligation to share information with civil authorities. Katsch emphasized the importance of "cooperating with and reporting to the ordinary courts the cases that come to their attention," while acknowledging the complexity of this issue depending on different legal systems.

"There are countries that do not have the legal standards that allow this, [so] one cannot be certain that the laws are applied fairly," he explained, without specifying particular cases.

The PCPM confirmed to EWTN News that it agreed to continue dialogue with ECA beyond the first meeting at the group's request.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, EWTN News' Spanish-language sister service. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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