Religious nationalism, state control, terrorism, authoritarianism, and limits on women are among drivers of rising persecution globally, the International Christian Concern (ICC) report said.
The society filed its appeal with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on July 11, arguing that under canon law the move suspends the recent excommunication decree.
A district court will weigh whether Cardinal Štěpán Trochta, imprisoned by the Nazis and later by the communists, was unlawfully interned in the 1950s.
![Notre Dame awards religious liberty prize to Becket Fund for Supreme Court wins #Catholic Notre Dame Law School awarded its 2026 Prize for Religious Liberty to the Becket Fund — a nonprofit law firm that has secured 13 Supreme Court victories in the past 15 years defending the First Amendment’s religious liberty protections.“We’re deeply honored to be recognized with the religious liberty prize,” Becket President and CEO Mark Rienzi told EWTN News.“We’re honored to be able to be part of fighting to protect something that is very important for our country and the Church,” said Reinzi, who accepted the award at the July 8 conclusion of Notre Dame’s sixth annual Religious Liberty Summit in Chicago.Becket — established in 1994 to provide cost-free legal counsel to those whose religious liberties were violated — has an undefeated record at the Supreme Court.Its lawyers represented the Little Sisters of the Poor and Hobby Lobby against contraception mandates, defended the rights of Maryland parents to opt their children out of gender-related coursework that conflicted with their religious beliefs, and backed a Catholic foster care agency that only placed children with opposite-sex married couples.G. Marcus Cole, a dean and professor of law at Notre Dame, said during the award ceremony that when the university started giving out the award, “we always imagined that it would go to one person.”“But when we think about the Becket Fund, it is an entire team of lawyers, led by Mark Rienzi, who have made a difference in our world, who have made our lives better,” he said. “And for that reason, we thought it only appropriate to give the award to the Becket Fund as an entity."Ongoing fights for religious libertyThe most recent victory secured by Becket came in Mahmoud v. Taylor, which ensured parents in Montgomery County, Maryland, had a right to opt their children out of coursework that included material related to gender that conflicted with their religious faith.Rienzi told EWTN News that “parents don’t give up the right to [raise] their children when they drop their kids off at the schoolhouse gates.” He added: “Your children don’t belong to the state just because you use a public school.”Becket represented Catholic, Ethiopian Orthodox, and Muslim parents in the lawsuit. Rienzi said religious parents have a right to “operate equally as a full citizen and full member of the public” by utilizing the public school system while maintaining the right to instill religious values in their children.“[This was] the most important case in at least 50 or 100 years in establishing that principle,” he said.Becket also secured the 2020 victory for the Little Sisters of the Poor in which the Supreme Court ruled in favor of federal regulations that exempted the religious sisters from mandatory contraception coverage in insurance plans.The sisters, however, are back in court after the governments of Pennsylvania and New Jersey challenged those exemptions on separate grounds than those on which the court previously ruled. This case is now in an appellate court, which heard oral arguments on July 7. Becket is representing them again and Rienzi is the lead attorney on the case.“It’s outrageous that governments keep volunteering for the beating they get when they keep [going after] the Little Sisters of the Poor,” Rienzi said.He said “the law is really, really clear” that Pennsylvania cannot remove their exemptions from the mandate.Becket is also representing a coalition of Catholic preschools in Colorado that is suing the state because they were excluded from a “universal” tuition program. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case. Notre Dame awarded Becket the prize less than one week after Americans celebrated the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which culminated in the adoption of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which secured religious freedom.“God created everybody equal and equally free and gave them rights,” Rienzi said, adding that religious freedom is “essential to the declaration’s idea of who we are as a country and … [it] is crucial for maintaining it.”“It’s a shame that you still have to fight about it,” Rienzi said. “But on the other hand, it’s worth fighting for.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/notre-dame-awards-religious-liberty-prize-to-becket-fund-for-supreme-court-wins-catholic-notre-dame-law-school-awarded-its-2026-prize-for-religious-liberty-to-the-becket-fund-a-nonprofit-la.jpg "Notre Dame awards religious liberty prize to Becket Fund for Supreme Court wins #Catholic Notre Dame Law School awarded its 2026 Prize for Religious Liberty to the Becket Fund — a nonprofit law firm that has secured 13 Supreme Court victories in the past 15 years defending the First Amendment’s religious liberty protections.“We’re deeply honored to be recognized with the religious liberty prize,” Becket President and CEO Mark Rienzi told EWTN News.“We’re honored to be able to be part of fighting to protect something that is very important for our country and the Church,” said Reinzi, who accepted the award at the July 8 conclusion of Notre Dame’s sixth annual Religious Liberty Summit in Chicago.Becket — established in 1994 to provide cost-free legal counsel to those whose religious liberties were violated — has an undefeated record at the Supreme Court.Its lawyers represented the Little Sisters of the Poor and Hobby Lobby against contraception mandates, defended the rights of Maryland parents to opt their children out of gender-related coursework that conflicted with their religious beliefs, and backed a Catholic foster care agency that only placed children with opposite-sex married couples.G. Marcus Cole, a dean and professor of law at Notre Dame, said during the award ceremony that when the university started giving out the award, “we always imagined that it would go to one person.”“But when we think about the Becket Fund, it is an entire team of lawyers, led by Mark Rienzi, who have made a difference in our world, who have made our lives better,” he said. “And for that reason, we thought it only appropriate to give the award to the Becket Fund as an entity.\"Ongoing fights for religious libertyThe most recent victory secured by Becket came in Mahmoud v. Taylor, which ensured parents in Montgomery County, Maryland, had a right to opt their children out of coursework that included material related to gender that conflicted with their religious faith.Rienzi told EWTN News that “parents don’t give up the right to [raise] their children when they drop their kids off at the schoolhouse gates.” He added: “Your children don’t belong to the state just because you use a public school.”Becket represented Catholic, Ethiopian Orthodox, and Muslim parents in the lawsuit. Rienzi said religious parents have a right to “operate equally as a full citizen and full member of the public” by utilizing the public school system while maintaining the right to instill religious values in their children.“[This was] the most important case in at least 50 or 100 years in establishing that principle,” he said.Becket also secured the 2020 victory for the Little Sisters of the Poor in which the Supreme Court ruled in favor of federal regulations that exempted the religious sisters from mandatory contraception coverage in insurance plans.The sisters, however, are back in court after the governments of Pennsylvania and New Jersey challenged those exemptions on separate grounds than those on which the court previously ruled. This case is now in an appellate court, which heard oral arguments on July 7. Becket is representing them again and Rienzi is the lead attorney on the case.“It’s outrageous that governments keep volunteering for the beating they get when they keep [going after] the Little Sisters of the Poor,” Rienzi said.He said “the law is really, really clear” that Pennsylvania cannot remove their exemptions from the mandate.Becket is also representing a coalition of Catholic preschools in Colorado that is suing the state because they were excluded from a “universal” tuition program. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case. Notre Dame awarded Becket the prize less than one week after Americans celebrated the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which culminated in the adoption of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which secured religious freedom.“God created everybody equal and equally free and gave them rights,” Rienzi said, adding that religious freedom is “essential to the declaration’s idea of who we are as a country and … [it] is crucial for maintaining it.”“It’s a shame that you still have to fight about it,” Rienzi said. “But on the other hand, it’s worth fighting for.”")
Becket President Mark Rienzi said the group is “deeply honored” to be awarded the prize, saying religious liberty “is worth fighting for.”
The dispute stems from a 2011 federal rule requiring employers to include contraception coverage in employee health plans under the Affordable Care Act.
A nine-person team has taken the Blessed Sacrament across 18 dioceses as part of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which will come to an end in Philadelphia on July 5.
In a letter addressed to Pope Leo XIV, released on July 3, Father Davide Pagliarani, superior general of the SSPX, justified the episcopal consecrations that prompted the Vatican’s decree.
The pope delivered livestreamed remarks, praising the values enshrined in the Declaration of Independence: the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
![Nicaraguan dictatorship detains Bishop Abelardo Mata again #Catholic Nicaraguan police detained Bishop Emeritus Abelardo Mata again on June 30, just one day after his initial detention and subsequent release on June 29. The 80-year-old prelate is reportedly now under house arrest.Mata, bishop emeritus of Estelí, was arrested at a clinic where he had gone for a checkup for his pacemaker. This occurred the day after he celebrated a Mass in which he prayed for the persecuted Church in Nicaragua, an act that may have provoked the ire of the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo.Following the new detention, the bishop is reportedly under house arrest at his home in the town of Tisma, according to the Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa.In addition to the bishop, Father Francisco Morales, pastor of Calvary’s Cross Church in Estelí, where Mata celebrated Mass on June 28, and Deacon Wilfred Arauz Rodríguez were also detained. Both were released but remain subject to conditions.“Bishop Mata holds no administrative responsibilities within the Diocese of Estelí but continues to assist that diocese with its pastoral needs. He thus went to celebrate Mass last Sunday at the request of the parish priest. However, the Sandinista dictatorship has forbidden him from being in the department of Estelí,” Martha Patricia Molina explained on July 2 to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. She is the author of the report “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church,” which documents thousands of attacks by the dictatorship against Catholics since 2018.Molina further highlighted that “the Diocese of Estelí has always been a target of repression by the Sandinista dictatorship due to the hatred the dictatorial couple harbors toward Bishop Rolando José Álvarez, the apostolic administrator. Although Álvarez is not voicing opinions, the dictatorship views him as a constant focus of their attention.”Álvarez, apostolic administrator of Estelí since 2021, following Mata’s resignation, currently lives in Rome after being exiled in January 2024 while serving a 26-year prison sentence. The prelate was a consistent critic of the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship.Even though Álvarez is living in exile, Pope Francis confirmed him in his position as bishop of Matagalpa and apostolic administrator of Estelí.Molina also told ACI Prensa that the situation in Estelí “is being aggravated because Mata has been critical of the arbitrary actions committed by the Sandinista dictatorship. Currently, we only learn of 10% of the attacks committed against the Catholic Church because the rest go unreported due to the fear and caution priests and laypeople have about speaking out in the news media or on social media.”The researcher noted that the number of reports could reach “400 a day” if Catholics were able to speak freely in public.The ‘dire’ situation in EstelíMolina noted that the dictatorship is now persecuting the Church in a different way: “They had stopped abducting priests, but now they have gone back to it; furthermore, there are cases of priests having to report to police stations to give statements, and also there’s the constant monitoring and harassment of priests across the countryʼs various dioceses by the police.”The researcher pointed out that the Diocese of Estelí, “the one most persecuted by the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship after Matagalpa,” is currently forced to “operate without [its bishop] and with only 42% of its clergy. This makes pastoral work difficult and places a heavier workload on the active priests.”These priests must also take on “the duties of those who are in exile due to persecution, those who have passed away, or those who, for one reason or another, are not exercising their ministry in Nicaragua,” she pointed out.“The situation is worsening because the Sandinista dictatorship has banned diaconal and priestly ordinations in that diocese,” she emphasized. Ordinations are also forbidden in Matagalpa, Jinotega, and Siuna. None of the four dioceses has its bishop present, as they have all been exiled from Nicaragua.The need to be vigilant“We have to remain vigilant regarding Bishop Mata because his health is fragile and requires professional care. What worries me is that the last individuals who have been under surveillance by the dictatorship or the police have ended up in worse condition or even dead,” Arturo McFields, Nicaragua’s former ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), told ACI Prensa on July 2.A recent example of this situation is the case of Brooklyn Rivera, an Indigenous leader and political prisoner whom the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship held incommunicado for over 970 days. He passed away in late May at the age of 73, following several statements from the regime regarding his critical health condition.“If the dictatorship’s actions are not strongly denounced, the regime would not hesitate to bring about the death of Bishop Mata, as they harbor deep resentment toward this man of God because of his courage and clarity for many years,” McFields emphasized.An exiled Nicaraguan priest who prefers to remain anonymous to avoid reprisals told ACI Prensa that the situation involving Mata “is sad, but it can also be viewed as a sign of the fear the dictatorship has of an elderly bishop, an 80-year-old (with health issues) because his presence as a shepherd strengthens the lives of the faithful,” ensuring that “the faith remains alive.”The priest emphasized that he continues to prepare “our hearts for a future in which we can rebuild the Church in Nicaragua not only socially but also through faith because spiritual and pastoral reconstruction work must also be done.”Call for releaseFélix Maradiaga, president of the Freedom for Nicaragua Foundation, issued “an urgent call to the international community, human rights organizations, the world’s democracies, and all people of goodwill to remain vigilant, demand the immediate release of Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata and all arbitrarily detained members of the clergy, and firmly condemn this new escalation of repression.”“Nicaragua cannot normalize a dictatorship imprisoning priests, silencing pulpits, and persecuting the faith. The moral voice of the Church has historically stood with the Nicaraguan people during their most difficult times, and that is precisely why the regime seeks to intimidate it,” Maradiaga told ACI Prensa.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.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/nicaraguan-dictatorship-detains-bishop-abelardo-mata-again-catholic-nicaraguan-police-detained-bishop-emeritus-abelardo-mata-again-on-june-30-just-one-day-after-his-initial-detention-and-subsequent.webp "Nicaraguan dictatorship detains Bishop Abelardo Mata again #Catholic Nicaraguan police detained Bishop Emeritus Abelardo Mata again on June 30, just one day after his initial detention and subsequent release on June 29. The 80-year-old prelate is reportedly now under house arrest.Mata, bishop emeritus of Estelí, was arrested at a clinic where he had gone for a checkup for his pacemaker. This occurred the day after he celebrated a Mass in which he prayed for the persecuted Church in Nicaragua, an act that may have provoked the ire of the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo.Following the new detention, the bishop is reportedly under house arrest at his home in the town of Tisma, according to the Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa.In addition to the bishop, Father Francisco Morales, pastor of Calvary’s Cross Church in Estelí, where Mata celebrated Mass on June 28, and Deacon Wilfred Arauz Rodríguez were also detained. Both were released but remain subject to conditions.“Bishop Mata holds no administrative responsibilities within the Diocese of Estelí but continues to assist that diocese with its pastoral needs. He thus went to celebrate Mass last Sunday at the request of the parish priest. However, the Sandinista dictatorship has forbidden him from being in the department of Estelí,” Martha Patricia Molina explained on July 2 to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. She is the author of the report “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church,” which documents thousands of attacks by the dictatorship against Catholics since 2018.Molina further highlighted that “the Diocese of Estelí has always been a target of repression by the Sandinista dictatorship due to the hatred the dictatorial couple harbors toward Bishop Rolando José Álvarez, the apostolic administrator. Although Álvarez is not voicing opinions, the dictatorship views him as a constant focus of their attention.”Álvarez, apostolic administrator of Estelí since 2021, following Mata’s resignation, currently lives in Rome after being exiled in January 2024 while serving a 26-year prison sentence. The prelate was a consistent critic of the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship.Even though Álvarez is living in exile, Pope Francis confirmed him in his position as bishop of Matagalpa and apostolic administrator of Estelí.Molina also told ACI Prensa that the situation in Estelí “is being aggravated because Mata has been critical of the arbitrary actions committed by the Sandinista dictatorship. Currently, we only learn of 10% of the attacks committed against the Catholic Church because the rest go unreported due to the fear and caution priests and laypeople have about speaking out in the news media or on social media.”The researcher noted that the number of reports could reach “400 a day” if Catholics were able to speak freely in public.The ‘dire’ situation in EstelíMolina noted that the dictatorship is now persecuting the Church in a different way: “They had stopped abducting priests, but now they have gone back to it; furthermore, there are cases of priests having to report to police stations to give statements, and also there’s the constant monitoring and harassment of priests across the countryʼs various dioceses by the police.”The researcher pointed out that the Diocese of Estelí, “the one most persecuted by the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship after Matagalpa,” is currently forced to “operate without [its bishop] and with only 42% of its clergy. This makes pastoral work difficult and places a heavier workload on the active priests.”These priests must also take on “the duties of those who are in exile due to persecution, those who have passed away, or those who, for one reason or another, are not exercising their ministry in Nicaragua,” she pointed out.“The situation is worsening because the Sandinista dictatorship has banned diaconal and priestly ordinations in that diocese,” she emphasized. Ordinations are also forbidden in Matagalpa, Jinotega, and Siuna. None of the four dioceses has its bishop present, as they have all been exiled from Nicaragua.The need to be vigilant“We have to remain vigilant regarding Bishop Mata because his health is fragile and requires professional care. What worries me is that the last individuals who have been under surveillance by the dictatorship or the police have ended up in worse condition or even dead,” Arturo McFields, Nicaragua’s former ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), told ACI Prensa on July 2.A recent example of this situation is the case of Brooklyn Rivera, an Indigenous leader and political prisoner whom the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship held incommunicado for over 970 days. He passed away in late May at the age of 73, following several statements from the regime regarding his critical health condition.“If the dictatorship’s actions are not strongly denounced, the regime would not hesitate to bring about the death of Bishop Mata, as they harbor deep resentment toward this man of God because of his courage and clarity for many years,” McFields emphasized.An exiled Nicaraguan priest who prefers to remain anonymous to avoid reprisals told ACI Prensa that the situation involving Mata “is sad, but it can also be viewed as a sign of the fear the dictatorship has of an elderly bishop, an 80-year-old (with health issues) because his presence as a shepherd strengthens the lives of the faithful,” ensuring that “the faith remains alive.”The priest emphasized that he continues to prepare “our hearts for a future in which we can rebuild the Church in Nicaragua not only socially but also through faith because spiritual and pastoral reconstruction work must also be done.”Call for releaseFélix Maradiaga, president of the Freedom for Nicaragua Foundation, issued “an urgent call to the international community, human rights organizations, the world’s democracies, and all people of goodwill to remain vigilant, demand the immediate release of Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata and all arbitrarily detained members of the clergy, and firmly condemn this new escalation of repression.”“Nicaragua cannot normalize a dictatorship imprisoning priests, silencing pulpits, and persecuting the faith. The moral voice of the Church has historically stood with the Nicaraguan people during their most difficult times, and that is precisely why the regime seeks to intimidate it,” Maradiaga told ACI Prensa.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.")
Mata was detained on June 29, released the same day, and as of June 30 reportedly is under house arrest. At a June 28 Mass he asked for prayers for the persecuted Church, triggering retaliation.
Because the traditionalist group consecrated bishops without papal approval, the Vatican issued a decree on July 2 declaring those bishops and their consecrators automatically excommunicated.
The judge said the fact that the 15- and 11-year-old girls do not enjoy popular music demonstrated an alleged deficiency in their cultural education.
The recognition for Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler is a rare gesture from the Buddhist establishment of a country where Catholics number barely 20,000.
“This is certainly deliberate,” Ukraine Freedom Project Founder Steven Moore said of the attack on the historic 11th-century Dormition Cathedral of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.
The X-59’s tail and jet engine feature a new marking — a Freedom 250 logo celebrating the nation’s 250th birthday in 2026.
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Surrounding the statue, the sky is an anarchy of color, splattered with erratic brushstrokes and collaged fragments of newsprint and text in various languages, symbolizing the global dialogue on freedom. Random objects—clocks, eyes, and mechanical gears—float in this surreal ether, embodying the Dadaist rejection of logic and embracing the absurd. The juxtaposition of these elements creates a visual dissonance, a reminder that liberty is not a static symbol but a dynamic, ever-evolving concept. This polychromatic portrayal captures the Statue of Liberty not just as a beacon of freedom, but as an icon within the unpredictable and vibrant theater of human experience.
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