Catholic News

A total of 72 young people from the Gaza Strip arrived in Rome this week to continue their academic studies at various universities across the city, an opportunity that opens up for them a hopeful path amidst the tragedy of war.

Their arrival in the Italian capital was made possible thanks to an initiative promoted by the Diocese of Rome, together with the Sant'Egidio Community and Sapienza University.

Four of the students were able to greet Pope Leo XIV on the morning of May 14, during his visit to La Sapienza public university, the largest in Europe and one of Italy's most prestigious academic institutions.

In his address to the students, the pontiff warned that "what is happening in Ukraine, in Gaza and the Palestinian territories, in Lebanon, and in Iran illustrates the inhumane evolution of the relationship between war and new technologies, in a spiral of annihilation."

At the conclusion of the event, the Holy Father took a moment to personally greet some of the students, among whom were Nada Jouda and Salem Abumustafa, who had recently arrived from the Gaza Strip.

Accommodations and scholarships for the future

The university has awarded scholarships to all Palestinian students admitted through the special program, which includes orientation services, healthcare, and psychological support.

Furthermore, the Diocese of Rome has committed to providing free accommodations to all these young people, who will remain in Italy until March 2029, with the possibility of extending their stay for an additional year should they decide to complete their theses.

For its part, the Sant'Egidio Community is offering the students courses in Italian language and culture as part of its program to facilitate humanitarian corridors, an initiative promoted by the community for a decade, thanks to which thousands of refugees have been able to reach Italy safely.

Hope amidst the horrors of war

Nada, 19, shared her heartbreaking testimony with Vatican News. The war broke out two years ago, while she was in her final year of high school, and she has not returned to school since.

Following her father's death in 2023, she was forced to flee multiple times under extreme conditions, alongside her mother, who had suffered from leukemia, and her two younger sisters.

Despite leaving her family behind and her concern for her mother's health, Nada said with confidence that her stay in Rome will be an opportunity to improve her future and bear witness to the suffering endured by the people of Gaza.

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Salem Abumustafa, 20, embarked on his journey to Rome, leaving behind a devastating reality. After his home was destroyed by bombs, his family was forced to live in a tent, without electricity, struggling to find food and water each day.

As he told Vatican News, resuming his studies in Rome represents an opportunity to restore hope to his family: "I came here to have a better future and to make my family proud of me," he said.

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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Texas Children's Hospital has reached a major settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that will bring an end to sex-change procedures on minors at the facility and require the hospital to pay for the country's first dedicated detransition clinic.

The agreement, first announced by Paxton's office May 15, resolves a years-long investigation of the hospital that began after whistleblower allegations surfaced claiming the hospital continued performing sex-change procedures on minors in secret even after state lawmakers made such procedures illegal.

According to the Justice department , the Houston-based hospital has agreed to pay more than $10 million in civil penalties and damages for allegedly falsely billing Medicaid and other insurers for these "pediatric sex-rejecting procedures."

The federal government alleges the hospital violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the False Claims Act, and federal fraud and conspiracy laws.

Under the terms of the settlement, Texas Children's will no longer provide "gender-transition" interventions, including puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, to minors, per Texas law.

The hospital also agreed to establish a multidisciplinary detransition clinic to offer restorative medical care to patients who previously underwent such procedures.

All services at the new clinic will be funded by Texas Children's, the largest children's hospital system in the country, and will be provided free of charge for the first five years.

The settlement also requires the permanent termination and revocation of privileges for five physicians who performed these interventions.

The hospital is permanently barred from rehiring or credentialing the doctors and must implement new compliance measures, including bylaw changes that will automatically revoke privileges for any physician who violates Texas law prohibiting such procedures on children.

"Under my watch, I will investigate and bring the full force of the law against any Texas hospital that abuses children with harmful medical interventions to 'transition' kids," Paxton said.

Following the publication of a directive by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that transgender procedures on minors that could be considered "child abuse" under existing state law, Texas Children's announced in 2022 that it would cease "sex-change" therapies and procedures, citing concerns that these practices were potentially illegal.

In 2023 Texas passed a law that explicitly banned puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender-transition surgeries for minors under 18.

Nevertheless, at least three doctors associated with Texas Children's — Richard Roberts, David Paul, and Kristy Rialon — continued to perform "sex-rejecting" procedures on children throughout 2022 and 2023, according to whistleblower evidence published by Christopher Rufo, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

Rufo claimed that Rialon had been performing surgeries on minors ranging in age from 15 to as young as 1.

Calling the settlement "historic," Paxton said it "will ensure that the deranged child mutilators who hurt our kids are fired and held accountable."

According to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the DOJ "will use every weapon at its disposal to end the destructive and discredited practice of so-called 'gender-affirming care' for children."

The Department of Justice noted that Texas Children's cooperated with the investigation and took proactive steps that contributed to the resolution. The claims resolved in the settlement remain allegations, with no determination of liability.

"I am grateful that Texas Children's wants to be part of the solution and no longer the problem," said Brett Shumate, assistant attorney general for the Civil Division.

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The traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) addressed Pope Leo XIV this week with a statement of faith it called "the minimum necessary to be in communion with the Church."

In an introduction to the "Declaration of Catholic Faith" — published May 14 on the society's website — the SSPX said that for more than 50 years it has raised the issue of what it believes are "errors that are destroying Catholic faith and morals" but that the group has never received "any truly satisfactory response" from the Holy See.

The statement, signed by SSPX superior general Father Davide Pagliarani, said it "places this simple Declaration of Faith" into the hands of Pope Leo: "It seems to us to correspond to the minimum necessary to be in communion with the Church, to call ourselves truly Catholic and, consequently, Your children."

The Vatican's prefect for the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, issued a brief statement on May 13, warning that if the SSPX carried out the "schismatic act" of consecrating new bishops without papal mandate — as the group has announced it plans to do on July 1 — it will result in excommunications as established by canon law.

Fernández also said Pope Leo XIV is praying that the leaders of the SSPX "may reconsider the very grave decision they have made."

In the society's declaration following Fernández's statement, it reiterates the teachings of the Catholic faith about the existence of only one faith and one Church, and that Jesus Christ is the one mediator between God and men.

The declaration appears to reject a document issued by the DDF last year stating that "Co-Redemptrix" is not an appropriate way to describe the Virgin Mary's participation in salvation because "it carries the risk of eclipsing the exclusive role of Jesus Christ."

The SSPX said, "By divine decree, the Most Holy Virgin Mary has been directly and intimately associated with the entire work of Redemption; to deny this association — in the terms received from Tradition — is therefore to alter the very notion of Redemption as willed by divine Providence."

The "declaration of Catholic faith" also appears to make oblique references to some of the theological questions contested by the SSPX, which are mostly tied to the interpretation of post–Second Vatican Council teaching, including God's will regarding the plurality of religions; and the differing levels of assent required by various Vatican II texts and their interpretation.

For example, the society's statement says the necessity to be a part of the Catholic Church to save one's soul "concerns the whole of humanity without exception and embraces without distinction Christians, Jews, Muslims, pagans, and atheists" and that the mandate "to convert every man to the Catholic Faith, remains binding until the end of time and responds to the most absolute and most pressing necessity in the world."

The declaration also says a couple living a "lifestyle" that includes "sins of impurity" should be helped to free themselves from sin and that the couple "can in no way be blessed — formally or informally — by ministers of the Church" — an apparent reference to Pope Francis' 2023 declaration Fiducia Supplicans, which allows priests to offer private, nonliturgical blessings to same-sex couples.

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Here are some of the distinguished individuals receiving honorary degrees at many of the Catholic institutions the Cardinal Newman Society recommends for their commitment to a faithful Catholic education.

The Catholic University of America

The Catholic University of America (CUA) will confer honorary degrees on three "notable individuals" at its May 16 commencement ceremony, including Lisa Brenninkmeyer, Dr. John Bruchalski, and Iqbal Z. Quadir.

Brenninkmeyer is the founder and CEO of Walking with Purpose, a Catholic Bible study group for women and girls, while Bruchalski is the founder of Tepeyac OB-GYN and Quadir is a distinguished fellow at the CUA's Busch School of Business "who has pioneered technology-based and for-profit entrepreneurship for the economic empowerment of low-income people," according to a press release from the university.

Monsignor James Patrick Shea, president of the University of Mary, will serve as commencement speaker.

Thomas More College of Liberal Arts

Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in New Hampshire will award former Wyoming Catholic College President Glenn Arbery, PhD, and his wife, Virginia, with honorary doctorates at its commencement ceremony May 16.

"Thomas More College is glad to have old friends and teachers — Glenn and Virginia Arbery — returning," Thomas More College President William Fahey said. "A community is healthy when it remembers and honors important moments and people of its history. The Arberys are well known and influential teachers and scholars at several institutions of higher learning, but our college was profoundly shaped and ennobled by their learning and generous hearts. We are glad to have them return for this most solemn and joyful of occasions."

University of Mary

Catholic businessman and lawyer Timothy Busch received an honorary degree from the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, in addition to delivering the commencement address during the university's April 25 commencement.

The university also honored Dan Butler, chairman of the board of trustees at the University of Mary, as well as his wife, Heather Butler, who co-chaired the university's 2030 Capital Campaign with U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-North Dakota, raising over $100 million for the university's advancement, according to the university.

Franciscan University of Steubenville

Busch also served as commencement speaker for graduates of science and professional programs at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, and received an honorary doctorate in humane letters during its May 9 commencement.

Busch's NAPA Institute co-founder, Father Robert Spitzer, SJ, also delivered a commencement address for graduates from the arts, humanities, and social scientists at the university. Spitzer received an honorary doctorate in catechetics and evangelization.

University of Dallas

In addition to delivering the school's commencement address, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop emeritus of New York, will receive an honorary degree of doctor of humane letters from the University of Dallas.

"Cardinal Dolan is one of the Church's most joyful and widely respected shepherds, and we are honored to welcome him to the University of Dallas," said President Jonathan J. Sanford said in a press release. The university's commencement ceremony will take place May 16.

Benedictine College

Peter Cancro, the founder and chairman of the popular sandwich chain Jersey Mike's, will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters at Benedictine College's May 16 commencement.

Cancro, who is renowned for his charitable contributions to faith-based organizations, including a $5 million gift to Ave Maria School of Law, will also deliver the commencement address.

Ave Maria University

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis received an honorary degree from Ave Maria University during its May 9 commencement ceremony. 

"The faith does not depend on what is fashionable or who holds power. It is, in fact, the truth that ultimately will set you free," DeSantis said during his speech, urging Ave Maria's class of 2026 to put on "the full armor of God" as they go out into the world.

Walsh University

EWTN "Real Life Catholic" host Chris Stefanick received an honorary doctorate of applied theology at Walsh University's May 2 commencement ceremonies.

"Your formation as men and women of character is the primary end of Catholic education," Stefanik told graduates during his speech at the Ohio Catholic school. "The secondary end is the formation of useful citizens. Your greatest achievement will forever be marked not by what you do, but by what you do for others."

Walsh University also conferred an honorary doctorate of applied engineering upon Michael White, former principal director for hypersonics in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.

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On the Feast of St. Dymphna, patroness of those suffering from nervous and mental afflictions, Catholic mental health organizations are launching new initiatives focused on psychological and spiritual healing.

The Catholic Psychotherapy Association (CPA) is encouraging its members worldwide to request a diocesan-wide Mass intention this weekend (May 15–17) for individuals struggling with mental illness and for the mental health professionals who serve them.

Dr. Terry Braciszewski, CPA president-elect, told EWTN News that during May — observed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops as Mental Health Awareness Month — he hopes to "bring hope to those afflicted with mental illnesses and awareness to the wonderful Catholic professionals that can help them."

Braciszewski noted the growing number of Catholics experiencing mental health challenges and their increased vulnerability to spiritual attacks. Quoting the St. Michael prayer, he acknowledged that "the evil one is prowling about the world seeking the ruin of souls," but added, "there's hope."

The association, which now has more than 600 members globally, aims to support mental health practitioners who integrate psychological practice with full fidelity to Catholic teaching on the human person.

Separately, Catholic psychologist Dr. Greg Bottaro of the CatholicPsych Institute has launched a nine-day Pentecost Novena for Healing, centered on a newly composed Litany for Mental Health. The novena runs from May 15 to May 23 and concludes on Pentecost Sunday, May 24.

Bottaro told EWTN News he hopes the initiative will help Catholics and others to bring their struggles directly to God.

"The world needs the truth our faith has to offer, and we need to learn how to speak better to the needs of the world," he said. "If we can pray in the language of today's needs, we can open to deeper healing for both ourselves and the world that is far from the faith."

The litany names common fears, lies people live by (such as the need to earn love or that control equals safety), and clinical issues including anxiety, depression, compulsion, scrupulosity, and trauma.

Bottaro hopes praying it will "bring a wave of healing to thousands of people around the world."

St. Dymphna, patroness of those suffering from mental illness

St. Dymphna, a 7th-century Irish martyr, is one of the best-known patrons of mental illness.

When she was fourteen, she consecrated herself to Christ and took a vow of chastity. Tradition holds that after her Christian mother's death, her pagan father's mental health declined dramatically and he sought to marry her. She fled to Belgium, where he eventually found her and she was martyred around age 15.

Miraculous healings attributed to her intercession led to her canonization in 1247 and the development of a major shrine and healing tradition in Geel, Belgium.

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Pope Leo XIV spoke by phone with Tawadros II, the Coptic patriarch of Alexandria, on May 15. The conversation marked the 13th Day of Friendship between Copts and Catholics.

The Vatican said that the discussion between the two took place in a "cordial and fraternal atmosphere," and that they expressed the mutual desire to "overcome any potential obstacles to the dialogue of faith and charity" between Catholics and Coptic Orthodox.

They also discussed the need to continue promoting peace efforts in the Middle East. In a letter to Tawadros to mark the anniversary, Leo stressed the importance of continued collaboration among Christians to promote peace in the Holy Land.

"At a time when our world is afflicted by so many conflicts, particularly in the Middle East, Christians must, more than ever, strive for full unity so that we may bear witness together to the Prince of Peace," Leo wrote. "In doing so, we can be confident in the powerful intercession and example of the countless martyrs who have suffered for the name of Christ."

The pope also praised the friendship between the Catholic and Coptic churches, which began over 50 years ago with the meeting of St. Pope Paul VI and Shenouda III. In his letter, he expressed his hope that ecumenical efforts would eventually lead to visible unity, recalling last year's celebration of the 1,700th anniversary of the first Council of Nicaea.

"I am confident that the reflections undertaken on the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council will rekindle our desire to achieve the visible unity of the Church — a unity rooted in the one baptism that we profess in the Nicene Creed, and which, I sincerely pray, we shall attain," Leo said.

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Pope Leo XIV called for respect for human dignity in the fight against organized crime and drug trafficking and reiterated his rejection of the death penalty, torture, and any degrading punishment in the face of a scourge that, he warned, "imperils the very future of our societies."

In a May 15 audience with participants in the Second International Conference on the Fight against Drugs and Organized Crime in the OSCE region — dedicated to the "grave and urgent struggle against the scourge of illicit drugs" — the pope expressed his concern about criminal and drug enterprises.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) works to promote security, political cooperation, conflict prevention, and the protection of human rights in Europe, Central Asia, and North America. The May 14-15 conference was hosted by the Italian Parliament.

Leo stated firmly that the Holy See maintains that "the rule of law, crime prevention and criminal justice must advance together in unity."

Citing the Church's social doctrine, the pope emphasized that "no truly just society can endure unless the law — and not the arbitrary will of individuals — remains sovereign."

Prevention as respect for human dignity

The Holy Father underscored that no one, regardless of power or status, "may ever claim the right to violate the dignity and rights of others or of their communities."

Therefore, he insisted that preventing and responding to criminal activities "is closely interrelated with the respect for and protection of universal human rights."

The pontiff appealed to the responsibility of society as a whole and reiterated that efforts must not fall solely on public authorities.

For this reason, he stressed that the Holy See supports every initiative that seeks "to establish an effective, just, humane and credible criminal justice system capable of preventing and countering the production and the trafficking of illicit drugs."

He also emphasized that punishment cannot be the only response of the justice system, but that efforts must "embrace approaches marked by perseverance and mercy, aimed at the re-education and full reintegration of offenders into the fabric of society."

He affirmed that respect for the dignity of every person "precludes the use of the death penalty, torture, and every form of cruel or degrading punishment."

Education must begin in the family

Pope Leo also urged the development of comprehensive programs so that those "enslaved by addiction" may "rediscover and live anew the fullness of their God-given dignity."

He highlighted that education "is key to prevention," especially today in light of misinformation circulated on social media, where the risks of drugs are often trivialized. He indicated that education must begin in the family and be strengthened in schools.

The pope insisted that "preventing and countering organized crime is essential to building safe, just and stable societies." He also recalled the members of law enforcement who have "sacrificed their lives or suffered injury in the courageous performance of their duties."

At the conclusion of his address, Leo urged conference participants "to promote policies that truly serve the common good and the inalienable dignity of every human being."

This story was originally published by ACI Prensa, EWTN News' Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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When Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church on May 8, 2025, he chose the name Leo XIV in part, he said a few days later, to honor Leo XIII and his historical encyclical Rerum Novarum, a foundational document in Catholic social teaching that addressed the challenges of the industrial revolution.

Now, Pope Leo says, it can help us, along with the full body of social teaching, to navigate the developments of artificial intelligence.

Today, on the 135th anniversary of the release of Rerum Novarum — published May 15, 1891 — EWTN News takes a look at the significance of this encylical.

As European society was grappling with the impact of the industrial revolution and the rise of socialist ideology in the late 1800s, Pope Leo XIII issued a papal encyclical that expressed empathy with the discontentment of laborers but outright condemnation of the socialist movements of the time.

The encyclical emphasizes a need for reforms to protect the dignity of the working class while maintaining a relationship with capital and the existence of private property.

The message was promulgated fewer than 50 years after Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published "The Communist Manifesto" in 1848 and after Pope Pius IX denounced both socialism and communism in his 1849 encyclical Nostis et Nobiscum.

Pope Leo XIII's teachings can still help inform readers on the proper relationship between labor and capital.

Leo XIII writes of a "great mistake" embraced by the socialist-leaning labor movements, which is the notion that "class is naturally hostile to class" and "wealthy and the working men are intended by nature to live in mutual conflict."

This view, he asserts, is "so false … that the direct contrary is the truth."

"It [is] ordained by nature that these two classes should dwell in harmony and agreement, so as to maintain the balance of the body politic," Leo XIII teaches. "Each needs the other: Capital cannot do without labor, nor labor without capital."

The pontiff, who reigned from 1878 until his death in 1903, saw a need "in drawing the rich and the working class together" amid the strife brewing between these groups throughout the continent.

This can be done, he said, by "reminding each of its duties to the other" and "of the obligations of justice."

For the laborer, this includes a duty "fully and faithfully to perform the work which has been freely and equitably agreed upon" and to never destroy property, resort to violence, or riot to achieve a goal.

For the wealthy owner, this includes a duty to "respect in every man his dignity as a person ennobled by Christian character" and to never "misuse men as though they were things in the pursuit of gain or to value them solely for their physical powers."

"The employer is bound to see that the worker has time for his religious duties; that he be not exposed to corrupting influences and dangerous occasions; and that he be not led away to neglect his home and family or to squander his earnings," Leo XIII says.

Leo XIII contends that employers must pay workers the whole of their wages and workers must do all of the work to which they agreed. But, in the context of wages, he adds that this "is not complete" because workers must be able to support themselves and their families.

"Wages ought not to be insufficient to support a frugal and well-behaved wage-earner," Leo XIII writes. "... If a workman's wages be sufficient to enable him comfortably to support himself, his wife, and his children, he will find it easy, if he be a sensible man, to practice thrift, and he will not fail, by cutting down expenses, to put by some little savings and thus secure a modest source of income."

In certain cases, Leo XIII encourages the intervention of government, such as when "employers laid burdens upon their workmen which were unjust," when "conditions [were] repugnant to their dignity as human beings," and when "health were endangered by excessive labor." He adds that such interventions should not "proceed further than [what] is required for the remedy of the evil."

Leo XIII also expresses support for "societies for mutual help" and "workingmen's unions" but also exerts caution against any associations that promote values contrary to Catholic teaching. He encourages the creation of associations that are rooted in Catholic teaching.

The pontiff says there is much agreement "that some opportune remedy must be found quickly for the misery and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the working class." Yet, he accuses socialists of "working on the poor man's envy of the rich" to "do away with private property" and turn "individual possessions" into "the common property of all, to be administered by the state or by municipal bodies."

"Their contentions are so clearly powerless to end the controversy that were they carried into effect the working man himself would be among the first to suffer," Leo XIII says. "They are, moreover, emphatically unjust, for they would rob the lawful possessor, distort the functions of the state, and create utter confusion in the community."

Using this remedy to resolve poor conditions for the laborer, the pontiff contends, "is manifestly against justice" because "every man has by nature the right to possess property as his own." He further argues that government intrusion into the rights of property and the right to provide for one's family is "a great and pernicious error."

"That right to property … [must] belong to a man in his capacity of head of a family; nay, that right is all the stronger in proportion as the human person receives a wider extension in the family group," Leo XIII says. "It is a most sacred law of nature that a father should provide food and all necessaries for those whom he has begotten; and, similarly, it is natural that he should wish that his children, who carry on, so to speak, and continue his personality, should be by him provided with all that is needful to enable them to keep themselves decently from want and misery amid the uncertainties of this mortal life."

Rerum Novarum set the foundations of Catholic social teaching about labor. Other popes have since built on the teachings laid out in the encyclical, including Pope Pius XI's 1931 encyclical Quadragesimo Anno on the 40th anniversary of Leo XIII's writing and Pope John Paul II's 1981 encyclical Laborem Exercens on the 90th anniversary.

This story was first published on Sept. 2, 2024, and was updated on May 15, 2025 and again on May 15, 2026.

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MANILA, Philippines — The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on May 12 urged the national senate to act swiftly on the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte after the country's House of Representatives impeached her for the second time.

"We appeal to the members of the Senate to abide by what the Constitution directs: to proceed with the trial and to decide the case against the Vice President by summoning witnesses, hearing testimony, and voting according to the evidence and, above all, the demands of righteousness and justice," CBCP President Archbishop Gilbert Garcera of Lipa said.

On May 11, the House of Representatives voted 257–25, with nine abstentions, to impeach Duterte for the second time, making her the first official in Philippine history to be impeached twice. The House forwarded the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate for trial.

"We urge the senators to avoid any act that may be perceived as evading their sworn duty or circumventing the requirements of the Constitution," Garcera said. "You now have this opportunity to restore our people's faith and confidence in our public institutions that adhere to the rule of law and serve the common good in the pursuit of justice and truth."

The bishops also called on Filipinos to remain engaged throughout the proceedings.

"Let us fulfill our civic duties and responsibilities by ensuring a fair and credible trial so that all may see and hear clear, verified evidence and arguments," the CBCP statement said.

"We must also remain vigilant in monitoring the proceedings. In this way, we uphold the truth, safeguard the integrity of public discourse, and strengthen our nation against misinformation, disinformation, and manipulation."

In a separate statement, Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of San Carlos also urged Filipinos to monitor the impeachment closely.

Duterte is accused of systematic misuse of confidential funds totaling 612.5 million Philippine pesos (roughly $10 million) paid to the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education during her tenure as education secretary, including irregular disbursements, suspicious liquidations, and recipients that could not be verified.

Allegations also include that she amassed wealth beyond her lawful income and failed to accurately disclose her assets.

She allegedly bribed government officials to influence procurement and financial decisions.

Additionally, she was accused of threatening to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

What's next for the Senate?

The Articles of Impeachment were transmitted to the Senate on May 13, and the Senate is required to act as an impeachment court.

The Senate will conduct a trial in which senators serve as both judges and jurors. Removal from office requires conviction by a vote of two-thirds of all senators — 16 out of 24.

If convicted and removed from office, Duterte would be barred from holding any public office. She has already declared her candidacy for the 2028 presidential election.

A previous impeachment by the House in February 2025 was voided by the Supreme Court on constitutional grounds.

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Speaking ahead of a cabinet meeting on May 12, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk pledged that Poland would move to recognize same-sex "marriages" conducted in other European Union countries involving Polish citizens.

Since Poland currently does not recognize same-sex "marriage" or civil partnerships under domestic law, Tusk's decision means that Polish same-sex unions that are recognized abroad will similarly be recognized, transcribed, and officially entered into Poland's civil registry.

Tusk urged ministers to finalize regulations as quickly as possible to standardize the transcription process nationwide. He also said the decision was set in motion by rulings from the European Union's highest court and Poland's Supreme Administrative Court.

In November 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that EU member states must recognize same-sex marriage ceremonies performed in other member countries for certain administrative purposes. In March 2026, Poland's Supreme Administrative Court reinforced that principle by ordering Warsaw authorities to register the marriage certificate of a Polish same-sex couple "married" in Germany.

The prime minister also offered a public apology to same-sex couples in Poland, saying many had experienced "years of rejection and humiliation" from the state.

Warsaw moves ahead of national legislation

On the same day as Tusk's announcement, the mayor of Warsaw, Rafal Trzaskowski, a senior figure in Tusk's political camp, stated that the city would begin recognizing same-sex unions of Polish citizens conducted elsewhere in the EU, even before national legislation is adopted.

Two days later on May 14, Trzaskowski said the city "issued the first transcription of a marriage certificate for a same-sex couple, in accordance with the court rulings."

Proposed changes to civil registry system

More broadly, Poland's digital affairs ministry proposed technical changes to the national civil registry system to facilitate recognition of foreign same-sex relationships designated as marriage.

Under current regulations, the system only recognizes marriage as between a man and a woman. The ministry has proposed replacing the categories "husband" and "wife" with neutral terms such as "first spouse" and "second spouse."

However, the proposal remains under discussion within the government. Poland's interior ministry has reportedly argued that implementing such changes may require parliamentary legislation rather than a simple administrative regulation.

Legal experts challenge administrative solution

Polish legal observers argue that the government's approach may exceed its legal authority. Olivier Bault, communications director for Ordo Iuris, told EWTN News that what Polish authorities are presenting as a technical administrative update to marriage certificate templates is, in reality, "an attempt to redefine marriage."

Bault pointed to Article 18 of the Polish Constitution, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, alongside provisions in the Family and Guardianship Code and the Civil Registry Records Act, which he said collectively establish a clear legal framework that cannot be altered through ministerial regulation.

"No ministerial decree can lawfully override this hierarchically layered framework," Bault said. He also said that the statutory powers granted to Tusk's government only permit the modification of document templates and do not authorize the creation of new civil-status categories.

He went on to explain that the transcription of foreign same-sex unions into Polish records would not create a legally recognized marriage under Polish law. "The individuals listed will not be spouses within the meaning of the Family and Guardianship Code and will enjoy no matrimonial rights," Bault said.

Instead, he stated, the changes would create "legal confusion."

Constitutional obstacles and internal government division

One of Tusk's government's major campaign promises was the legalization of civil unions for same-sex couples.

Despite a majority in parliament, Tusk's coalition includes conservative factions who have expressed reluctance toward expanding LGBT rights. To reassure those members, he stressed that the recognition of foreign same-sex "marriages" would "in no way" create a pathway toward allowing the adoption of children by same-sex couples.

Yet divisions within the governing alliance over LGBT-related policies remain significant. Observers have also noted that any legislative changes would likely face opposition from Polish President Karol Nawrocki, a staunch Catholic, who retains veto power over legislation passed by parliament.

Previously, there were two motions for the government to introduce bills on civil partnerships into parliament; however, both failed due to a lack of support from more conservative coalition members.

Despite Tusk's pledge and his government's efforts to recognize same-sex union ceremonies performed abroad for Polish couples, none of the rulings mean that Poland is obliged to legalize same-sex "marriage" domestically.

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