Day: June 29, 2026

President-elect De la Espriella of Colombia visits Catholic shrines to pray for the nation – #Catholic – Colombia president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella announced on June 26 that he has begun visiting various Catholic shrines to entrust the country “to God’s protection.”On X, de la Espriella described his tour as “a journey of thanksgiving,” calling it “the pilgrimage of hope for the miracle homeland.”He noted that during the first stage, he visited the shrine of El Morro, where he consecrated his life, his service, and the entire country “to the protection of the Most Holy Virgin Mary.”De la Espriella said he traveled to La Guajira to visit the cathedral shrine of Our Lady of the Remedies, where he prayed for healthcare workers and the sick, as well as the minor basilica of the Lord of Miracles in Sucre, where he prayed “for Colombia’s security, for peace, for our security forces, and for the protection of every Colombian family.”Instagram post“I concluded this first day at the shrine to St. Peter Claver in Cartagena, giving thanks to God and praying that we never lose sight of the most vulnerable, so that justice, solidarity, and dignity may reach every corner of the nation,” he wrote.De la Espriella, who won the presidency representing the Defenders of the Homeland party, said he would continue “traveling this path with the conviction that, when a people places its destiny in God’s hands, it always finds hope.”On the night of June 14, De la Espriella concluded his campaign for the June 20 runoff election in the city of Buga, where during the day he visited the Lord of Miracles shrine.However, to avoid any political misinterpretation, the Redemptorist missionary community that administers the basilica clarified in a statement that the shrine did not endorse any candidate and that the visit was personal in nature, “motivated by his prayer and devotion, just like that of any other pilgrim or member of the faithful who comes to entrust themselves to the Lord of Miracles.”De la Espriella, who has said that the death of a loved one from COVID-19 led him to embrace the Catholic faith, has also engaged with Christians of other denominations.On April 15, he attended a gathering at the Tabernacle of Faith evangelical congregation in Bogotá, where the then-candidate signed the “Commitment to Life and Family” promoted by the United for Life platform.De la Espriella will be inaugurated president of Colombia on Aug. 7 for the 2026–2030 term, succeeding Gustavo Petro, who will conclude his tenure as the countryʼs first leftist president.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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President-elect De la Espriella of Colombia visits Catholic shrines to pray for the nation – #Catholic – Colombia president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella announced on June 26 that he has begun visiting various Catholic shrines to entrust the country “to God’s protection.”On X, de la Espriella described his tour as “a journey of thanksgiving,” calling it “the pilgrimage of hope for the miracle homeland.”He noted that during the first stage, he visited the shrine of El Morro, where he consecrated his life, his service, and the entire country “to the protection of the Most Holy Virgin Mary.”De la Espriella said he traveled to La Guajira to visit the cathedral shrine of Our Lady of the Remedies, where he prayed for healthcare workers and the sick, as well as the minor basilica of the Lord of Miracles in Sucre, where he prayed “for Colombia’s security, for peace, for our security forces, and for the protection of every Colombian family.”Instagram post“I concluded this first day at the shrine to St. Peter Claver in Cartagena, giving thanks to God and praying that we never lose sight of the most vulnerable, so that justice, solidarity, and dignity may reach every corner of the nation,” he wrote.De la Espriella, who won the presidency representing the Defenders of the Homeland party, said he would continue “traveling this path with the conviction that, when a people places its destiny in God’s hands, it always finds hope.”On the night of June 14, De la Espriella concluded his campaign for the June 20 runoff election in the city of Buga, where during the day he visited the Lord of Miracles shrine.However, to avoid any political misinterpretation, the Redemptorist missionary community that administers the basilica clarified in a statement that the shrine did not endorse any candidate and that the visit was personal in nature, “motivated by his prayer and devotion, just like that of any other pilgrim or member of the faithful who comes to entrust themselves to the Lord of Miracles.”De la Espriella, who has said that the death of a loved one from COVID-19 led him to embrace the Catholic faith, has also engaged with Christians of other denominations.On April 15, he attended a gathering at the Tabernacle of Faith evangelical congregation in Bogotá, where the then-candidate signed the “Commitment to Life and Family” promoted by the United for Life platform.De la Espriella will be inaugurated president of Colombia on Aug. 7 for the 2026–2030 term, succeeding Gustavo Petro, who will conclude his tenure as the countryʼs first leftist president.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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Abelardo De la Espriella visited the shrines of El Moro, Our Lady of the Remedies, and St. Peter Claver, and the Lord of Miracles minor basilica in a thanksgiving tour after winning the presidency.

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Catholic Church, U.S. government drive relief efforts in Venezuela – #Catholic – Local parishes and Catholic nonprofits have mobilized across Venezuela to support earthquake victims, working alongside the U.S. government as it continues to expand disaster assistance. Father Edgar Magallanes, SJ, national director of Jesuit Refugee Service Venezuela, told “EWTN News Nightly” on June 29 that the situation in Venezuela is “getting bad,” as efforts are split between “rescue on one side and affected populations on the other side.”This comes as the State Department announced June 29 that U.S. funding for relief efforts in Venezuela has increased to more than $300 million. The State Department said: “All U.S. humanitarian funding has been directed to a range of trusted international and nongovernmental partners,” including Catholic Relief Services.Magallanes said ground zero in Venezuela is facing a “difficult situation” as “the number of deceased people generated a smell, a difficult smell, and all people are using masks like the time of COVID-19.”“People in some areas feel invisible to the government, to the aid efforts,” he said. “But we’re working on it.”Magallanes said JRS is operating under the emergency protocol established by the Conference of Provincials of Latin America, which includes activating an immediate response team, connecting with first responders, and coordinating aid distribution through centers run by the Society of Jesus in Caracas.“So, we are caring for our affected collaborators, teachers, and their families, as well as participants of our programs, and we are helping with humanitarian aid,” he said. “We are coordinating efforts as well to assess damages and needs with national and international NGOs [nongovernmental organizations] and with the United Nations.”Victims displaced by the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that occurred in Venezuela on June 24 have also been taking shelter at Catholic churches and parish halls in the nation’s capital as part of support initiatives coordinated by Archbishop Raúl Biord Castillo of Caracas, according to a local missionary, Brother Deiby Fuenmayor, MSC.Fuenmayor told Agenzia Fides, the Pontifical Mission Societies information service, that “many people are sleeping outdoors, in parks, because their homes are uninhabitable” and that the Church is working to collect nonperishable food items, drinking water, and mattresses for redistribution.“Even though we are in a working-class neighborhood, people are very generous,” he said.
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Catholic Church, U.S. government drive relief efforts in Venezuela – #Catholic – Local parishes and Catholic nonprofits have mobilized across Venezuela to support earthquake victims, working alongside the U.S. government as it continues to expand disaster assistance. Father Edgar Magallanes, SJ, national director of Jesuit Refugee Service Venezuela, told “EWTN News Nightly” on June 29 that the situation in Venezuela is “getting bad,” as efforts are split between “rescue on one side and affected populations on the other side.”This comes as the State Department announced June 29 that U.S. funding for relief efforts in Venezuela has increased to more than $300 million. The State Department said: “All U.S. humanitarian funding has been directed to a range of trusted international and nongovernmental partners,” including Catholic Relief Services.Magallanes said ground zero in Venezuela is facing a “difficult situation” as “the number of deceased people generated a smell, a difficult smell, and all people are using masks like the time of COVID-19.”“People in some areas feel invisible to the government, to the aid efforts,” he said. “But we’re working on it.”Magallanes said JRS is operating under the emergency protocol established by the Conference of Provincials of Latin America, which includes activating an immediate response team, connecting with first responders, and coordinating aid distribution through centers run by the Society of Jesus in Caracas.“So, we are caring for our affected collaborators, teachers, and their families, as well as participants of our programs, and we are helping with humanitarian aid,” he said. “We are coordinating efforts as well to assess damages and needs with national and international NGOs [nongovernmental organizations] and with the United Nations.”Victims displaced by the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that occurred in Venezuela on June 24 have also been taking shelter at Catholic churches and parish halls in the nation’s capital as part of support initiatives coordinated by Archbishop Raúl Biord Castillo of Caracas, according to a local missionary, Brother Deiby Fuenmayor, MSC.Fuenmayor told Agenzia Fides, the Pontifical Mission Societies information service, that “many people are sleeping outdoors, in parks, because their homes are uninhabitable” and that the Church is working to collect nonperishable food items, drinking water, and mattresses for redistribution.“Even though we are in a working-class neighborhood, people are very generous,” he said.

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“People in some areas feel invisible to the government, to the aid efforts,” Father Edgar Magallanes, SJ, national director of Jesuit Relief Services Venezuela, said. “But we’re working on it.”

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Supreme Court to review parents’ challenge to law regarding notification of gender transitions – #Catholic – The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a lawsuit from parents who are challenging a Washington state law that prevents youth shelters from immediately notifying parents when minors who run away from home are seeking gender transitions.Under the law, adopted in 2023, shelters that house runaway youth cannot immediately tell parents when a child is “seeking or receiving” gender transition medical services. It allows the state to refer the child for “behavioral health services” but does not change parental consent laws generally required for hormone therapy or surgeries.The law directs shelters to notify the Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families when housing a runaway child who is seeking gender transition services and “offer services designed to resolve the conflict” between the child and the parents before the parents will be notified and before the department works toward family reunification.The legal challenge comes from parents whose children exhibit gender dysphoria. Lower courts ruled the parents did not have standing to sue because their children are not currently in a youth shelter, but the Supreme Court has agreed to review that decision.In the lawsuit, five sets of parents express concern their child may run away and seek gender transition services. The parents argue the law violates their 14th Amendment right to direct the upbringing of their children. The Supreme Court has affirmed this right as protected under the amendment for more than a century.“This statute allows shelters and homes to keep children at locations without their parents’ knowledge and refer those children for health interventions without their parents’ knowledge or approval,” it states. “It does not require children to be returned on any particular timetable or under any particular conditions.”It also argues that the law restricts some of the parents’ First Amendment rights to the free exercise of religion, including at least one set of parents who are practicing Catholics.The original lawsuit cites the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Those plaintiffs … adhere to the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church when it teaches, ‘By creating the human being man and woman, God gives personal dignity to the one and the other. Each of them, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity’” (No. 2293).The parents are joined in the lawsuit by two advocacy groups: International Partners for Ethical Care and Advocates Protecting Children.A spokesman for International Partners for Ethical Care told EWTN News the organization is “heartened that the Supreme Court will finally hear a case that addresses the rights of all parents to protect their children from harmful medical interventions.”“We hope this case will not be cast as a religious liberties issue but as a safeguarding issue for parents and children of any or no faith,” the spokesperson said. “Parents should not have to live in fear of the state taking custody of their children if they disagree with a deceptive ideology and dangerous treatments.”Mike Faulk, deputy communications director for Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, told EWTN News the lower courts found that the families did not show how they were “likely to be injured by the law” and “we will be prepared to successfully defend it at the Supreme Court.”“This law was passed to give runaway youth and their families access to reunification and behavioral health services,” he said. “The law makes clear that the Department of Children, Youth, and Families must make good faith attempts to contact families with a goal of reunification.”The law has received opposition from the Washington Catholic Conference, which represents the bishops of the state’s three dioceses. It criticized the bill when it was being considered in a 2023 newsletter, saying the social teachings of the Catholic Church affirm “the family is the most central social institution, and it must be supported and strengthened.”“[This bill] undermines families,” the statement added. “In line with the bishops’ legislative priorities to protect children and families and respect life, the [conference] opposes [the bill].”
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Supreme Court to review parents’ challenge to law regarding notification of gender transitions – #Catholic – The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a lawsuit from parents who are challenging a Washington state law that prevents youth shelters from immediately notifying parents when minors who run away from home are seeking gender transitions.Under the law, adopted in 2023, shelters that house runaway youth cannot immediately tell parents when a child is “seeking or receiving” gender transition medical services. It allows the state to refer the child for “behavioral health services” but does not change parental consent laws generally required for hormone therapy or surgeries.The law directs shelters to notify the Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families when housing a runaway child who is seeking gender transition services and “offer services designed to resolve the conflict” between the child and the parents before the parents will be notified and before the department works toward family reunification.The legal challenge comes from parents whose children exhibit gender dysphoria. Lower courts ruled the parents did not have standing to sue because their children are not currently in a youth shelter, but the Supreme Court has agreed to review that decision.In the lawsuit, five sets of parents express concern their child may run away and seek gender transition services. The parents argue the law violates their 14th Amendment right to direct the upbringing of their children. The Supreme Court has affirmed this right as protected under the amendment for more than a century.“This statute allows shelters and homes to keep children at locations without their parents’ knowledge and refer those children for health interventions without their parents’ knowledge or approval,” it states. “It does not require children to be returned on any particular timetable or under any particular conditions.”It also argues that the law restricts some of the parents’ First Amendment rights to the free exercise of religion, including at least one set of parents who are practicing Catholics.The original lawsuit cites the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Those plaintiffs … adhere to the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church when it teaches, ‘By creating the human being man and woman, God gives personal dignity to the one and the other. Each of them, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity’” (No. 2293).The parents are joined in the lawsuit by two advocacy groups: International Partners for Ethical Care and Advocates Protecting Children.A spokesman for International Partners for Ethical Care told EWTN News the organization is “heartened that the Supreme Court will finally hear a case that addresses the rights of all parents to protect their children from harmful medical interventions.”“We hope this case will not be cast as a religious liberties issue but as a safeguarding issue for parents and children of any or no faith,” the spokesperson said. “Parents should not have to live in fear of the state taking custody of their children if they disagree with a deceptive ideology and dangerous treatments.”Mike Faulk, deputy communications director for Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, told EWTN News the lower courts found that the families did not show how they were “likely to be injured by the law” and “we will be prepared to successfully defend it at the Supreme Court.”“This law was passed to give runaway youth and their families access to reunification and behavioral health services,” he said. “The law makes clear that the Department of Children, Youth, and Families must make good faith attempts to contact families with a goal of reunification.”The law has received opposition from the Washington Catholic Conference, which represents the bishops of the state’s three dioceses. It criticized the bill when it was being considered in a 2023 newsletter, saying the social teachings of the Catholic Church affirm “the family is the most central social institution, and it must be supported and strengthened.”“[This bill] undermines families,” the statement added. “In line with the bishops’ legislative priorities to protect children and families and respect life, the [conference] opposes [the bill].”

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The parents argue that their right to direct the upbringing of their children is in jeopardy. The state continues to defend the law.

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San Francisco Archdiocese will pay $395 million to abuse victims, Archbishop Cordileone says #Catholic The Archdiocese of San Francisco will offer abuse victims nearly $400 million as part of a broad settlement of the substantial number of sex abuse lawsuits brought against it. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said on June 29 that the proposed $395 million settlement would “resolve all lawsuits related to child sexual abuse” brought against the archdiocese under California’s expanded statute of limitations. Cordileone said the archdiocese in the past has helped parishes, schools, and other archdiocesan entities absorb the cost of sex-abuse lawsuits, but he said the “current environment” of abuse lawsuits is “much more challenging.” Schools and parishes “will need to contribute funds” to the settlement both in order to ensure their own legal safeguards and to “share in the work of making amends for the harm of the past,” he said.The archdiocese announced it was filing for bankruptcy in August 2023 in response to more than 500 civil lawsuits filed against it. The voluminous lawsuits were brought against the archdiocese under California’s 2019 Assembly Bill 218, which significantly expanded the statute of limitations in the state regarding civil sex abuse lawsuits. In a separate release, the archdiocese said it would seek to “preserve the vital ministries of Catholic education and parish life” even as it moves to pay out the major nine-figure settlement. The archdiocese has “no current plans to close schools or parishes to reach the proposed settlement,” it said. The settlement has yet to be finalized in federal bankruptcy court. The archdiocese said that all litigation involving the lawsuits has been paused while the parties “work in good faith on the details of a consensual Chapter 11 plan of reorganization.”The settlement represents one of the larger abuse payout amounts in U.S. Catholic history, though a few others have been considerably larger. In October 2024 the Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced an $880 million clergy abuse settlement, while the New York Archdiocese in May said it would pay out $800 million to abuse victims. Cordileone on June 29 acknowledged that “no financial settlement can erase the painful legacy of these past actions.” But “we believe this proposal offers a path toward fair compensation for survivors who have carried the burden of this abuse for a lifetime,” he said. The archdiocese “remain[s] committed to fostering healing and reconciliation and to accompanying all who deserve our unwavering respect, attention, and prayers,” he said.
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San Francisco Archdiocese will pay $395 million to abuse victims, Archbishop Cordileone says #Catholic The Archdiocese of San Francisco will offer abuse victims nearly $400 million as part of a broad settlement of the substantial number of sex abuse lawsuits brought against it. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said on June 29 that the proposed $395 million settlement would “resolve all lawsuits related to child sexual abuse” brought against the archdiocese under California’s expanded statute of limitations. Cordileone said the archdiocese in the past has helped parishes, schools, and other archdiocesan entities absorb the cost of sex-abuse lawsuits, but he said the “current environment” of abuse lawsuits is “much more challenging.” Schools and parishes “will need to contribute funds” to the settlement both in order to ensure their own legal safeguards and to “share in the work of making amends for the harm of the past,” he said.The archdiocese announced it was filing for bankruptcy in August 2023 in response to more than 500 civil lawsuits filed against it. The voluminous lawsuits were brought against the archdiocese under California’s 2019 Assembly Bill 218, which significantly expanded the statute of limitations in the state regarding civil sex abuse lawsuits. In a separate release, the archdiocese said it would seek to “preserve the vital ministries of Catholic education and parish life” even as it moves to pay out the major nine-figure settlement. The archdiocese has “no current plans to close schools or parishes to reach the proposed settlement,” it said. The settlement has yet to be finalized in federal bankruptcy court. The archdiocese said that all litigation involving the lawsuits has been paused while the parties “work in good faith on the details of a consensual Chapter 11 plan of reorganization.”The settlement represents one of the larger abuse payout amounts in U.S. Catholic history, though a few others have been considerably larger. In October 2024 the Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced an $880 million clergy abuse settlement, while the New York Archdiocese in May said it would pay out $800 million to abuse victims. Cordileone on June 29 acknowledged that “no financial settlement can erase the painful legacy of these past actions.” But “we believe this proposal offers a path toward fair compensation for survivors who have carried the burden of this abuse for a lifetime,” he said. The archdiocese “remain[s] committed to fostering healing and reconciliation and to accompanying all who deserve our unwavering respect, attention, and prayers,” he said.

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The proposed settlement will “resolve all lawsuits” regarding child sex abuse involving archdiocesan officials, the prelate said in a press release.

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Procession urges dignity and respect for migrants at border crossing #Catholic Catholic bishops, clergy, and hundreds of faithful processed across the U.S.–Mexico border to celebrate the contribution of immigrants in America ahead of the 250th anniversary of the nation. Catholic bishops, clergy, and hundreds of faithful attended the Border Mass 250 at Sacred Heart Church in Nogales, Arizona, on June 26, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Brett Meister/Diocese of Phoenix “Weʼre here as shepherds and as pastors to walk with people, to listen to people, and to be well together with the people of God here at the border,” Bishop James Misko of Tucson, Arizona, said at the event.“We call ourselves Christians. To be called a Christian means to be like Christ — to be living a life as conformed to Christ as possible. And we know that justice is being in right relationship with God and one another,” Misko said.Organized by the dioceses of Tucson and Phoenix in partnership with the Kino Border Initiative, the Hope Border Institute, and the Center for Migration Studies, the June 26 event included a conversation on immigration with U.S. Catholic bishops, Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Nogales, Arizona, and a rosary procession across the international line.The pastoral conversation on migration and human dignity “was a great conversation with five bishops about what the Church holds to be true when it comes to migration and human dignity,” Misko said.Misko and Bishop John Dolan of Phoenix were joined in conversation by Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico; Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas; and Bishop Emeritus Gerald Kicanas of Tucson. Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas; Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico; Bishop James Misko of Tucson, Arizona; Bishop John Dolan of Phoenix; and Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona, gather for the Border Mass 250 in Nogales, Arizona on June 26, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Brett Meister/Diocese of Phoenix “As we mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we are reminded that we are made by our Creator with certain inalienable rights. Theyʼre given by God,” Seitz said at the event.“That is a fundamental reality that we in the Church always have in mind and that no policy, no executive order or Supreme Court decision can take away,” Seitz said.After the bishops celebrated Mass, the procession began at the Arizona parish and concluded at Parroquia De Pa Purísima Concepción — a Catholic church in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. The group ended the event with a meal with migrants hosted by the Kino Border Initiative.Mexican bishops José Luis Cerra Luna of Nogales and Enrique Sanchez Martinez of Mexicali also participated in the binational event. U.S. and Mexican bishops celebrate the Border Mass 250 at Sacred Heart Church in Nogales, Arizona, on June 26, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Brett Meister/Diocese of Phoenix U.S. bishops have ‘almost complete unanimity’ on immigration matter“What is discouraging for me is that as a country, we have not yet been able to address the issue of immigration,” Kicanas said. “The conference of bishops has been clamoring, crying out, for comprehensive immigration reform, and we have not yet been able to accomplish that.”“We have to address the immigration policy of our country — as [do] most countries around the world today. Itʼs a serious concern. All of us want this situation to improve,” Kicanas said. Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas; Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico; Bishop John Dolan of Phoenix; and Bishop James Misko of Tucson, Arizona, lead the Border Mass 250 rosary procession from Nogales, Arizona, to Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, on June 26, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Brett Meister/Diocese of Phoenix “The bishops have been advocating for comprehensive immigration reform for a long, long time,” and Border Mass 250 “was just one more example of that,” Wester said.The event followed other calls for reform including pastoral letters on immigration and a special message from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops highlighting their opposition to “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people.”The bishops approved the message at their 2025 fall plenary assembly on Nov. 12, 2025, where the motion passed with support from more than 95% of the American bishops who voted.“One of the key principles of Catholic social teaching is solidarity — that weʼre together,” Wester said. “But this is an issue, Iʼd say, that enjoys almost complete unanimity in the bishops’ conference.”The bishops are addressing the matter as communities across the country “are looking for a clear moral response to the human cost of mass detention and deportation,” Dylan Corbett, executive director at Hope Border Institute, told EWTN News.“In union with Pope Leo XIV, who will soon go to Lampedusa, the border Mass in Nogales was a way for the Catholic community to name the suffering, affirm the dignity of those affected by these policies, and commit to working for reform,” said Corbett, who is also a member of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.“In this moment, moral clarity must be matched by ongoing action that recognizes the contributions of immigrants to our country and the urgent need to work for justice,” he said.
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Procession urges dignity and respect for migrants at border crossing #Catholic Catholic bishops, clergy, and hundreds of faithful processed across the U.S.–Mexico border to celebrate the contribution of immigrants in America ahead of the 250th anniversary of the nation. Catholic bishops, clergy, and hundreds of faithful attended the Border Mass 250 at Sacred Heart Church in Nogales, Arizona, on June 26, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Brett Meister/Diocese of Phoenix “Weʼre here as shepherds and as pastors to walk with people, to listen to people, and to be well together with the people of God here at the border,” Bishop James Misko of Tucson, Arizona, said at the event.“We call ourselves Christians. To be called a Christian means to be like Christ — to be living a life as conformed to Christ as possible. And we know that justice is being in right relationship with God and one another,” Misko said.Organized by the dioceses of Tucson and Phoenix in partnership with the Kino Border Initiative, the Hope Border Institute, and the Center for Migration Studies, the June 26 event included a conversation on immigration with U.S. Catholic bishops, Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Nogales, Arizona, and a rosary procession across the international line.The pastoral conversation on migration and human dignity “was a great conversation with five bishops about what the Church holds to be true when it comes to migration and human dignity,” Misko said.Misko and Bishop John Dolan of Phoenix were joined in conversation by Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico; Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas; and Bishop Emeritus Gerald Kicanas of Tucson. Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas; Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico; Bishop James Misko of Tucson, Arizona; Bishop John Dolan of Phoenix; and Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona, gather for the Border Mass 250 in Nogales, Arizona on June 26, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Brett Meister/Diocese of Phoenix “As we mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we are reminded that we are made by our Creator with certain inalienable rights. Theyʼre given by God,” Seitz said at the event.“That is a fundamental reality that we in the Church always have in mind and that no policy, no executive order or Supreme Court decision can take away,” Seitz said.After the bishops celebrated Mass, the procession began at the Arizona parish and concluded at Parroquia De Pa Purísima Concepción — a Catholic church in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. The group ended the event with a meal with migrants hosted by the Kino Border Initiative.Mexican bishops José Luis Cerra Luna of Nogales and Enrique Sanchez Martinez of Mexicali also participated in the binational event. U.S. and Mexican bishops celebrate the Border Mass 250 at Sacred Heart Church in Nogales, Arizona, on June 26, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Brett Meister/Diocese of Phoenix U.S. bishops have ‘almost complete unanimity’ on immigration matter“What is discouraging for me is that as a country, we have not yet been able to address the issue of immigration,” Kicanas said. “The conference of bishops has been clamoring, crying out, for comprehensive immigration reform, and we have not yet been able to accomplish that.”“We have to address the immigration policy of our country — as [do] most countries around the world today. Itʼs a serious concern. All of us want this situation to improve,” Kicanas said. Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas; Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico; Bishop John Dolan of Phoenix; and Bishop James Misko of Tucson, Arizona, lead the Border Mass 250 rosary procession from Nogales, Arizona, to Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, on June 26, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Brett Meister/Diocese of Phoenix “The bishops have been advocating for comprehensive immigration reform for a long, long time,” and Border Mass 250 “was just one more example of that,” Wester said.The event followed other calls for reform including pastoral letters on immigration and a special message from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops highlighting their opposition to “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people.”The bishops approved the message at their 2025 fall plenary assembly on Nov. 12, 2025, where the motion passed with support from more than 95% of the American bishops who voted.“One of the key principles of Catholic social teaching is solidarity — that weʼre together,” Wester said. “But this is an issue, Iʼd say, that enjoys almost complete unanimity in the bishops’ conference.”The bishops are addressing the matter as communities across the country “are looking for a clear moral response to the human cost of mass detention and deportation,” Dylan Corbett, executive director at Hope Border Institute, told EWTN News.“In union with Pope Leo XIV, who will soon go to Lampedusa, the border Mass in Nogales was a way for the Catholic community to name the suffering, affirm the dignity of those affected by these policies, and commit to working for reform,” said Corbett, who is also a member of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.“In this moment, moral clarity must be matched by ongoing action that recognizes the contributions of immigrants to our country and the urgent need to work for justice,” he said.

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The Border Mass 250 included a conversation on immigration with U.S. Catholic bishops, celebration of a Mass, and a rosary procession across the international line.

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The most prominent Catholics of the United States in our first 250 years: Msgr. Kupke’s ‘Top Ten’ #Catholic – Dear Readers, It is my pleasure to share with you an article written by Msgr. Raymond Kupke, Diocesan Archivist, Pastor Emeritus of St. Anthony of Padua, Hawthorne, Professor of Church History at Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, Seton Hall University, author of the book “Living Stones,” and co-host of the “Coffee with Kupke” podcast. As you will read in the article, as we look towards the 250th Anniversary of our nation’s Independence, I had asked Msgr. Kupke to consider the most prominent or influential Catholics in the first 250 years of the United States – a daunting and challenging task, but, unsurprisingly, Msgr. Kupke was more than “up to the challenge.” As you read Msgr. Kupke’s thoughts, reflections, and historical perspective, I hope you will have an experience similar to my own, a feeling of being inspired by and of deep gratitude for the women and men whose Catholic Faith, Identity, and Leadership helped to build our country, allowing us to truly be “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” Let us continue to pray that God will continue to Bless and watch over our nation, “God Bless America.” Soon, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence. In conjunction with that, Bishop Kevin Sweeney asked me to come up with a list of the 10 most prominent Catholics in America’s 250-year history. It has been a daunting task! I found myself starting out by eliminating whole groups of faithful Catholics. I decided not to include any statesmen/politicians (Al Smith, Joe Biden, Antonin Scalia), or Athletes (Vince Lombardi, Yogi Berra, Katie Ledecky), or entertainment figures (Helen Hayes, Frank Sinatra, John Wayne). I also came to the conclusion that there were two “elephants in the room,” namely the first Catholic President, John F. Kennedy, and the first American Pope, Leo XIV. I eliminated them because their impact is just too far-reaching. So that left me with a list of four bishops, three priests, two nuns, and one laywoman, three of them converts to Catholicism. In my humble opinion, their impact on American Catholicism stands out. First, three bishops: Archbishop John Carroll of Baltimore (1735-1815), Archbishop John Hughes of New York (1797-1864), and Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore (1834-1921). Carroll was a native Marylander (his cousin, Charles, is the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence), and in his time he founded both America’s first Catholic college (Georgetown) and its first seminary (Saint Mary’s). He is perhaps the only native son to be the founder of a national hierarchy. (When his diocese was divided in 1808, all four of the new bishops were foreign missionaries). His keen understanding of the American psyche gave him an ability to mediate between Roman expectations and American realities in structuring the Church in our country. Archbishop Hughes, the first Archbishop of New York, known as “Dagger John,” led and defended his flock during the turbulent years of the Trusteeism issue and the nativist “Know-Nothing” era. His struggles to allow the younger members of his flock the opportunity to study their own faith and not non-Catholic tenets led him to embrace and establish the concept of “parochial” schools that has marked American Catholicism. His understanding of where America was headed led him to select a rural site, then miles beyond the actual city, for the current Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. Cardinal Gibbons’ life is a list of superlatives. When he was named Vicar Apostolic of North Carolina in 1868, he was the youngest Catholic bishop in the world. Two years later, he was the youngest “father” at Vatican I, and, at his death, was the last surviving father of that ecumenical council. After being made cardinal in 1886, he was, for much of the next 35 years, the only cardinal in the Western Hemisphere. In 1903, he became the first American to vote in a papal conclave. During his time, the Baltimore Archdiocese included Washington, D.C., so he became the unofficial liaison between the bishops and the federal government. He provided moderate effective leadership for the American hierarchy during its most stormy period, the “Americanism” crisis of the 1890s. He skillfully used his own Golden Jubilee as a bishop in 1918 to push his fellow bishops into forming a national bishops’ conference. Father Michael McGivney (1852-1890) was a Connecticut pastor during the Golden Era of American Fraternalism, when many national fraternal groups flourished. For a variety of reasons, Catholics were excluded from many of these groups, and Catholic men, in particular, experienced career and economic disadvantages from their exclusion. McGivney saw the need for an alternative for Catholic men, and so, in 1882, he founded the Knights of Columbus. It is a tribute to McGivney’s foresight that what started as a fraternal insurance group has successfully reinvented itself to meet the needs of the Church and Catholic men in every era. In particular, the Knights’ rising to the fore on behalf of American Catholicism in World War I, when there was no other national Catholic organization to respond, is to their everlasting credit.   The two religious women on the list, Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821) and Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), both can claim to be the “first.” When Pope Pius XII canonized Cabrini in 1946, it marked the first time an American citizen had been raised to the honors of the altar. When Pope Paul VI canonized Seton in 1975, it marked the first time a native of the United States had been so honored. She was celebrated on the cover of The New York Times magazine that Sunday as “Saint Elizabeth of New York.” Both were very strong women who could effectively “handle” any man who chose to try to rein them in. As foundresses of religious communities, they worked at opposite ends of the nineteenth century – Seton on behalf of Catholic education and Cabrini as the advocate for the immigrants to the New World. Their canonizations – less than 30 years apart – say something about their impact. I do not think that the soon-to-be-beatified Archbishop Fulton Sheen (1895-1979), the Trappist contemplative Thomas Merton (1915-1968) and the social activist Dorothy Day (1897-1980) ever thought of themselves as a “team.” But as I look back on American Catholicism in the 20th century, I think they were a very powerful and successful triad. After World War II, the story of American Catholicism changed. The anti-Catholicism present in much of the country was softened by the effects of war. When Jews and Catholics and Protestants were thrown together to fight in the trenches of Europe, there was not much room left over for bigotry. The war and the G.I. Bill changed the futures of many American veterans – Catholic and otherwise. And onto that brand new stage – with its new medium, television – marched Msgr. Fulton Sheen. He was brilliant, witty, telegenic, and engaging. He had a natural talent for apologetics – and for television. He was the first great “star” produced by the new medium, and each week millions of Americans — Catholic and otherwise — listened in to his program, Life is Worth Living.  His intelligible presentation of Catholic teaching had a profound impact on his audience and helped produce many converts. But in case you thought that Catholicism was all doctrine and ceremony, there suddenly appeared these other two converts, Merton and Day, almost flanking Sheen and backing him up. One provided an entrée to the depth and power of Catholic spirituality, especially contemplative spirituality. The other, with her newspaper and organization both named The Catholic Worker, reminded several generations of Catholics that their faith had a practical, lived dimension. When you finished watching Sheen on Life is Worth Living, then you sat down and started reading the two autobiographies, The Seven Storey Mountain (Merton) and A Long Loneliness (Day) for context and depth and reflection. The three of them helped reshape American Catholicism in the second half of the twentieth century. I do not think it is too far a stretch to see them as a remote preparation for the elections of the two elephants, President John F. Kennedy and Pope Leo XIV.  My final top 10 choice is the Jesuit Priest and Theologian John Courtney Murray (1904-1967). Although his writings, especially on Church and State, were originally highly suspect in Roman circles, New York Cardinal Francis J. Spellman brought him to Vatican II as his “peritus.” Murray is generally regarded as the ghostwriter of the conciliar “Declaration on Religious Liberty.” He took two centuries of American ecumenical and interfaith experience and put a theological framework around it, making a unique American contribution to the Council and to the Church. So, after too much thought and hand wringing, those are my top 10. I do not really expect many people to accept them outright. But I hope they will at least provide a starting point for discussion. I apologize to all the many men and women whose contributions to our faith in our country did not make it on my list. Perhaps it will calm the waters if I mention that one of my own fantasies is to host a small dinner party around the topic “American Catholic Identity,” and invite just six of my favorite “practicing Catholics:” Kobe Bryant, Taylor Caldwell, Stephen Colbert, Nancy Pelosi, Mark Wahlberg, and Andy Warhol.   Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.  
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The most prominent Catholics of the United States in our first 250 years: Msgr. Kupke’s ‘Top Ten’ #Catholic – Dear Readers, It is my pleasure to share with you an article written by Msgr. Raymond Kupke, Diocesan Archivist, Pastor Emeritus of St. Anthony of Padua, Hawthorne, Professor of Church History at Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, Seton Hall University, author of the book “Living Stones,” and co-host of the “Coffee with Kupke” podcast. As you will read in the article, as we look towards the 250th Anniversary of our nation’s Independence, I had asked Msgr. Kupke to consider the most prominent or influential Catholics in the first 250 years of the United States – a daunting and challenging task, but, unsurprisingly, Msgr. Kupke was more than “up to the challenge.” As you read Msgr. Kupke’s thoughts, reflections, and historical perspective, I hope you will have an experience similar to my own, a feeling of being inspired by and of deep gratitude for the women and men whose Catholic Faith, Identity, and Leadership helped to build our country, allowing us to truly be “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” Let us continue to pray that God will continue to Bless and watch over our nation, “God Bless America.” Soon, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence. In conjunction with that, Bishop Kevin Sweeney asked me to come up with a list of the 10 most prominent Catholics in America’s 250-year history. It has been a daunting task! I found myself starting out by eliminating whole groups of faithful Catholics. I decided not to include any statesmen/politicians (Al Smith, Joe Biden, Antonin Scalia), or Athletes (Vince Lombardi, Yogi Berra, Katie Ledecky), or entertainment figures (Helen Hayes, Frank Sinatra, John Wayne). I also came to the conclusion that there were two “elephants in the room,” namely the first Catholic President, John F. Kennedy, and the first American Pope, Leo XIV. I eliminated them because their impact is just too far-reaching. So that left me with a list of four bishops, three priests, two nuns, and one laywoman, three of them converts to Catholicism. In my humble opinion, their impact on American Catholicism stands out. First, three bishops: Archbishop John Carroll of Baltimore (1735-1815), Archbishop John Hughes of New York (1797-1864), and Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore (1834-1921). Carroll was a native Marylander (his cousin, Charles, is the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence), and in his time he founded both America’s first Catholic college (Georgetown) and its first seminary (Saint Mary’s). He is perhaps the only native son to be the founder of a national hierarchy. (When his diocese was divided in 1808, all four of the new bishops were foreign missionaries). His keen understanding of the American psyche gave him an ability to mediate between Roman expectations and American realities in structuring the Church in our country. Archbishop Hughes, the first Archbishop of New York, known as “Dagger John,” led and defended his flock during the turbulent years of the Trusteeism issue and the nativist “Know-Nothing” era. His struggles to allow the younger members of his flock the opportunity to study their own faith and not non-Catholic tenets led him to embrace and establish the concept of “parochial” schools that has marked American Catholicism. His understanding of where America was headed led him to select a rural site, then miles beyond the actual city, for the current Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. Cardinal Gibbons’ life is a list of superlatives. When he was named Vicar Apostolic of North Carolina in 1868, he was the youngest Catholic bishop in the world. Two years later, he was the youngest “father” at Vatican I, and, at his death, was the last surviving father of that ecumenical council. After being made cardinal in 1886, he was, for much of the next 35 years, the only cardinal in the Western Hemisphere. In 1903, he became the first American to vote in a papal conclave. During his time, the Baltimore Archdiocese included Washington, D.C., so he became the unofficial liaison between the bishops and the federal government. He provided moderate effective leadership for the American hierarchy during its most stormy period, the “Americanism” crisis of the 1890s. He skillfully used his own Golden Jubilee as a bishop in 1918 to push his fellow bishops into forming a national bishops’ conference. Father Michael McGivney (1852-1890) was a Connecticut pastor during the Golden Era of American Fraternalism, when many national fraternal groups flourished. For a variety of reasons, Catholics were excluded from many of these groups, and Catholic men, in particular, experienced career and economic disadvantages from their exclusion. McGivney saw the need for an alternative for Catholic men, and so, in 1882, he founded the Knights of Columbus. It is a tribute to McGivney’s foresight that what started as a fraternal insurance group has successfully reinvented itself to meet the needs of the Church and Catholic men in every era. In particular, the Knights’ rising to the fore on behalf of American Catholicism in World War I, when there was no other national Catholic organization to respond, is to their everlasting credit.   The two religious women on the list, Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821) and Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), both can claim to be the “first.” When Pope Pius XII canonized Cabrini in 1946, it marked the first time an American citizen had been raised to the honors of the altar. When Pope Paul VI canonized Seton in 1975, it marked the first time a native of the United States had been so honored. She was celebrated on the cover of The New York Times magazine that Sunday as “Saint Elizabeth of New York.” Both were very strong women who could effectively “handle” any man who chose to try to rein them in. As foundresses of religious communities, they worked at opposite ends of the nineteenth century – Seton on behalf of Catholic education and Cabrini as the advocate for the immigrants to the New World. Their canonizations – less than 30 years apart – say something about their impact. I do not think that the soon-to-be-beatified Archbishop Fulton Sheen (1895-1979), the Trappist contemplative Thomas Merton (1915-1968) and the social activist Dorothy Day (1897-1980) ever thought of themselves as a “team.” But as I look back on American Catholicism in the 20th century, I think they were a very powerful and successful triad. After World War II, the story of American Catholicism changed. The anti-Catholicism present in much of the country was softened by the effects of war. When Jews and Catholics and Protestants were thrown together to fight in the trenches of Europe, there was not much room left over for bigotry. The war and the G.I. Bill changed the futures of many American veterans – Catholic and otherwise. And onto that brand new stage – with its new medium, television – marched Msgr. Fulton Sheen. He was brilliant, witty, telegenic, and engaging. He had a natural talent for apologetics – and for television. He was the first great “star” produced by the new medium, and each week millions of Americans — Catholic and otherwise — listened in to his program, Life is Worth Living.  His intelligible presentation of Catholic teaching had a profound impact on his audience and helped produce many converts. But in case you thought that Catholicism was all doctrine and ceremony, there suddenly appeared these other two converts, Merton and Day, almost flanking Sheen and backing him up. One provided an entrée to the depth and power of Catholic spirituality, especially contemplative spirituality. The other, with her newspaper and organization both named The Catholic Worker, reminded several generations of Catholics that their faith had a practical, lived dimension. When you finished watching Sheen on Life is Worth Living, then you sat down and started reading the two autobiographies, The Seven Storey Mountain (Merton) and A Long Loneliness (Day) for context and depth and reflection. The three of them helped reshape American Catholicism in the second half of the twentieth century. I do not think it is too far a stretch to see them as a remote preparation for the elections of the two elephants, President John F. Kennedy and Pope Leo XIV.  My final top 10 choice is the Jesuit Priest and Theologian John Courtney Murray (1904-1967). Although his writings, especially on Church and State, were originally highly suspect in Roman circles, New York Cardinal Francis J. Spellman brought him to Vatican II as his “peritus.” Murray is generally regarded as the ghostwriter of the conciliar “Declaration on Religious Liberty.” He took two centuries of American ecumenical and interfaith experience and put a theological framework around it, making a unique American contribution to the Council and to the Church. So, after too much thought and hand wringing, those are my top 10. I do not really expect many people to accept them outright. But I hope they will at least provide a starting point for discussion. I apologize to all the many men and women whose contributions to our faith in our country did not make it on my list. Perhaps it will calm the waters if I mention that one of my own fantasies is to host a small dinner party around the topic “American Catholic Identity,” and invite just six of my favorite “practicing Catholics:” Kobe Bryant, Taylor Caldwell, Stephen Colbert, Nancy Pelosi, Mark Wahlberg, and Andy Warhol.   Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.  

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The most prominent Catholics of the United States in our first 250 years: Msgr. Kupke’s ‘Top Ten’ #Catholic –

Dear Readers,

It is my pleasure to share with you an article written by Msgr. Raymond Kupke, Diocesan Archivist, Pastor Emeritus of St. Anthony of Padua, Hawthorne, Professor of Church History at Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, Seton Hall University, author of the book “Living Stones,” and co-host of the “Coffee with Kupke” podcast.

As you will read in the article, as we look towards the 250th Anniversary of our nation’s Independence, I had asked Msgr. Kupke to consider the most prominent or influential Catholics in the first 250 years of the United States – a daunting and challenging task, but, unsurprisingly, Msgr. Kupke was more than “up to the challenge.” As you read Msgr. Kupke’s thoughts, reflections, and historical perspective, I hope you will have an experience similar to my own, a feeling of being inspired by and of deep gratitude for the women and men whose Catholic Faith, Identity, and Leadership helped to build our country, allowing us to truly be “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” Let us continue to pray that God will continue to Bless and watch over our nation, “God Bless America.”

Soon, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence. In conjunction with that, Bishop Kevin Sweeney asked me to come up with a list of the 10 most prominent Catholics in America’s 250-year history. It has been a daunting task! I found myself starting out by eliminating whole groups of faithful Catholics. I decided not to include any statesmen/politicians (Al Smith, Joe Biden, Antonin Scalia), or Athletes (Vince Lombardi, Yogi Berra, Katie Ledecky), or entertainment figures (Helen Hayes, Frank Sinatra, John Wayne). I also came to the conclusion that there were two “elephants in the room,” namely the first Catholic President, John F. Kennedy, and the first American Pope, Leo XIV. I eliminated them because their impact is just too far-reaching.

So that left me with a list of four bishops, three priests, two nuns, and one laywoman, three of them converts to Catholicism. In my humble opinion, their impact on American Catholicism stands out.

First, three bishops: Archbishop John Carroll of Baltimore (1735-1815), Archbishop John Hughes of New York (1797-1864), and Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore (1834-1921).

Carroll was a native Marylander (his cousin, Charles, is the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence), and in his time he founded both America’s first Catholic college (Georgetown) and its first seminary (Saint Mary’s). He is perhaps the only native son to be the founder of a national hierarchy. (When his diocese was divided in 1808, all four of the new bishops were foreign missionaries). His keen understanding of the American psyche gave him an ability to mediate between Roman expectations and American realities in structuring the Church in our country.

Archbishop Hughes, the first Archbishop of New York, known as “Dagger John,” led and defended his flock during the turbulent years of the Trusteeism issue and the nativist “Know-Nothing” era. His struggles to allow the younger members of his flock the opportunity to study their own faith and not non-Catholic tenets led him to embrace and establish the concept of “parochial” schools that has marked American Catholicism. His understanding of where America was headed led him to select a rural site, then miles beyond the actual city, for the current Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.

Cardinal Gibbons’ life is a list of superlatives. When he was named Vicar Apostolic of North Carolina in 1868, he was the youngest Catholic bishop in the world. Two years later, he was the youngest “father” at Vatican I, and, at his death, was the last surviving father of that ecumenical council. After being made cardinal in 1886, he was, for much of the next 35 years, the only cardinal in the Western Hemisphere. In 1903, he became the first American to vote in a papal conclave. During his time, the Baltimore Archdiocese included Washington, D.C., so he became the unofficial liaison between the bishops and the federal government. He provided moderate effective leadership for the American hierarchy during its most stormy period, the “Americanism” crisis of the 1890s. He skillfully used his own Golden Jubilee as a bishop in 1918 to push his fellow bishops into forming a national bishops’ conference.

Father Michael McGivney (1852-1890) was a Connecticut pastor during the Golden Era of American Fraternalism, when many national fraternal groups flourished. For a variety of reasons, Catholics were excluded from many of these groups, and Catholic men, in particular, experienced career and economic disadvantages from their exclusion. McGivney saw the need for an alternative for Catholic men, and so, in 1882, he founded the Knights of Columbus. It is a tribute to McGivney’s foresight that what started as a fraternal insurance group has successfully reinvented itself to meet the needs of the Church and Catholic men in every era. In particular, the Knights’ rising to the fore on behalf of American Catholicism in World War I, when there was no other national Catholic organization to respond, is to their everlasting credit.  

The two religious women on the list, Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821) and Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), both can claim to be the “first.” When Pope Pius XII canonized Cabrini in 1946, it marked the first time an American citizen had been raised to the honors of the altar. When Pope Paul VI canonized Seton in 1975, it marked the first time a native of the United States had been so honored. She was celebrated on the cover of The New York Times magazine that Sunday as “Saint Elizabeth of New York.” Both were very strong women who could effectively “handle” any man who chose to try to rein them in. As foundresses of religious communities, they worked at opposite ends of the nineteenth century – Seton on behalf of Catholic education and Cabrini as the advocate for the immigrants to the New World. Their canonizations – less than 30 years apart – say something about their impact.

I do not think that the soon-to-be-beatified Archbishop Fulton Sheen (1895-1979), the Trappist contemplative Thomas Merton (1915-1968) and the social activist Dorothy Day (1897-1980) ever thought of themselves as a “team.” But as I look back on American Catholicism in the 20th century, I think they were a very powerful and successful triad. After World War II, the story of American Catholicism changed. The anti-Catholicism present in much of the country was softened by the effects of war. When Jews and Catholics and Protestants were thrown together to fight in the trenches of Europe, there was not much room left over for bigotry. The war and the G.I. Bill changed the futures of many American veterans – Catholic and otherwise.

And onto that brand new stage – with its new medium, television – marched Msgr. Fulton Sheen. He was brilliant, witty, telegenic, and engaging. He had a natural talent for apologetics – and for television. He was the first great “star” produced by the new medium, and each week millions of Americans — Catholic and otherwise — listened in to his program, Life is Worth Living.  His intelligible presentation of Catholic teaching had a profound impact on his audience and helped produce many converts. But in case you thought that Catholicism was all doctrine and ceremony, there suddenly appeared these other two converts, Merton and Day, almost flanking Sheen and backing him up. One provided an entrée to the depth and power of Catholic spirituality, especially contemplative spirituality. The other, with her newspaper and organization both named The Catholic Worker, reminded several generations of Catholics that their faith had a practical, lived dimension. When you finished watching Sheen on Life is Worth Living, then you sat down and started reading the two autobiographies, The Seven Storey Mountain (Merton) and A Long Loneliness (Day) for context and depth and reflection.

The three of them helped reshape American Catholicism in the second half of the twentieth century. I do not think it is too far a stretch to see them as a remote preparation for the elections of the two elephants, President John F. Kennedy and Pope Leo XIV. 

My final top 10 choice is the Jesuit Priest and Theologian John Courtney Murray (1904-1967). Although his writings, especially on Church and State, were originally highly suspect in Roman circles, New York Cardinal Francis J. Spellman brought him to Vatican II as his “peritus.” Murray is generally regarded as the ghostwriter of the conciliar “Declaration on Religious Liberty.” He took two centuries of American ecumenical and interfaith experience and put a theological framework around it, making a unique American contribution to the Council and to the Church.

So, after too much thought and hand wringing, those are my top 10. I do not really expect many people to accept them outright. But I hope they will at least provide a starting point for discussion.

I apologize to all the many men and women whose contributions to our faith in our country did not make it on my list. Perhaps it will calm the waters if I mention that one of my own fantasies is to host a small dinner party around the topic “American Catholic Identity,” and invite just six of my favorite “practicing Catholics:” Kobe Bryant, Taylor Caldwell, Stephen Colbert, Nancy Pelosi, Mark Wahlberg, and Andy Warhol.  

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

 

– Dear Readers, It is my pleasure to share with you an article written by Msgr. Raymond Kupke, Diocesan Archivist, Pastor Emeritus of St. Anthony of Padua, Hawthorne, Professor of Church History at Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, Seton Hall University, author of the book “Living Stones,” and co-host of the “Coffee with Kupke” podcast. As you will read in the article, as we look towards the 250th Anniversary of our nation’s Independence, I had asked Msgr. Kupke to consider the most prominent or influential Catholics in the first 250 years of the United States – a daunting and challenging

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Swift Boost mission to launch on Tuesday

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Rocket launches this week On Tuesday, June 30, Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus XL will air-launch at 6:23 a.m. EDT from the Reagan Test Site in the Marshall Islands for the Swift Boost Mission. The rocket’s payload is the LINK spacecraft, built by Katalyst Space Technologies, which will rendezvous with NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory — aContinue reading “Swift Boost mission to launch on Tuesday”

The post Swift Boost mission to launch on Tuesday appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

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Catholic peace group to honor victims of nuclear weapons with lantern ceremonies – #Catholic – A Catholic group is honoring victims of nuclear weapons by helping to organize lantern floating ceremonies throughout the world.Pax Christi International, a Catholic peace movement, is working with the Hiroshima Coventry Club (Touro Project) to organize the “Lanterns for Peace: from Hiroshima to the World” campaign around the world.“Inspired by the lantern ceremonies held each year in Hiroshima, the campaign invites communities around the world to organize local commemorative events using traditional lanterns as symbols of remembrance, peace, hope, and nuclear disarmament,” the Lanterns for Peace June 15 announcement read.The lantern ceremonies will mark the anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima on Aug. 6 and Nagasaki on Aug. 9 in 1945.“In an increasingly fragile world, where the nuclear threat has once again become a tangible reality, this commemoration is not only a moment of mourning, but a genuine call to conscience,” the statement continued.The lanterns represent remembrance for lives lost, “hope for reconciliation and peace,” and “a collective commitment to abolish nuclear weapons,” according to the statement.Lanterns for Peace is working with local groups to honor the anniversaries. “Each participating city or community is encouraged to adapt the ceremony to its own local context while remaining united through shared symbols, messages, and commitments,” according to a booklet the group issued.The booklet contains more details about the event along with instructions on how to build a lantern.Each event includes a lantern floating ceremony, where safe and permitted, a moment of silence or prayer, and the reading of survivors’ testimonies.
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Catholic peace group to honor victims of nuclear weapons with lantern ceremonies – #Catholic – A Catholic group is honoring victims of nuclear weapons by helping to organize lantern floating ceremonies throughout the world.Pax Christi International, a Catholic peace movement, is working with the Hiroshima Coventry Club (Touro Project) to organize the “Lanterns for Peace: from Hiroshima to the World” campaign around the world.“Inspired by the lantern ceremonies held each year in Hiroshima, the campaign invites communities around the world to organize local commemorative events using traditional lanterns as symbols of remembrance, peace, hope, and nuclear disarmament,” the Lanterns for Peace June 15 announcement read.The lantern ceremonies will mark the anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima on Aug. 6 and Nagasaki on Aug. 9 in 1945.“In an increasingly fragile world, where the nuclear threat has once again become a tangible reality, this commemoration is not only a moment of mourning, but a genuine call to conscience,” the statement continued.The lanterns represent remembrance for lives lost, “hope for reconciliation and peace,” and “a collective commitment to abolish nuclear weapons,” according to the statement.Lanterns for Peace is working with local groups to honor the anniversaries. “Each participating city or community is encouraged to adapt the ceremony to its own local context while remaining united through shared symbols, messages, and commitments,” according to a booklet the group issued.The booklet contains more details about the event along with instructions on how to build a lantern.Each event includes a lantern floating ceremony, where safe and permitted, a moment of silence or prayer, and the reading of survivors’ testimonies.

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The group is encouraging communities around the world to honor victims of nuclear weapons through lantern float ceremonies this summer.

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Catholic Charities Wiegand Farm Golf Classic generates strong community support #Catholic - The Catholic Charities of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., held its 52nd annual Wiegand Farm Golf Classic at Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg, N.J., on June 22. One of its largest fundraisers, the event helps support many of its agencies’ important services to those most in need across the diocese. Many priests were among the golfers, including Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org] Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
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Catholic Charities Wiegand Farm Golf Classic generates strong community support #Catholic – The Catholic Charities of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., held its 52nd annual Wiegand Farm Golf Classic at Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg, N.J., on June 22. One of its largest fundraisers, the event helps support many of its agencies’ important services to those most in need across the diocese. Many priests were among the golfers, including Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org] Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

unitedyam

Catholic Charities Wiegand Farm Golf Classic generates strong community support #Catholic –

The Catholic Charities of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., held its 52nd annual Wiegand Farm Golf Classic at Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg, N.J., on June 22. One of its largest fundraisers, the event helps support many of its agencies’ important services to those most in need across the diocese. Many priests were among the golfers, including Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney.

BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

– The Catholic Charities of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., held its 52nd annual Wiegand Farm Golf Classic at Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg, N.J., on June 22. One of its largest fundraisers, the event helps support many of its agencies’ important services to those most in need across the diocese. Many priests were among the golfers, including Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

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