Investigation

Chicago priest reinstated after being cleared in sex abuse investigation #Catholic Father Michael Pfleger, a priest known for his activism in Chicago, has been cleared by the archdiocese of an accusation of sex abuse.In July, the Archdiocese of Chicago withdrew Pfleger — longtime pastor of St. Sabina Church — from ministry to review an allegation of sexual abuse. A woman claimed that Pfleger abused her when she was a child more than 30 years ago. This is the fifth of several accusations of sexual abuse against Pfleger, all of which the archdiocese has cleared him of.After reviewing a joint investigation, Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, has approved Pfleger to return to ministry “effective immediately.”The archdiocese announced that “there is no reason to believe Father Pfleger is guilty of this allegation.”“The Independent Review Board, assisted by our Office of Child Protection and outside investigators, thoroughly reviewed the allegation,” Cupich’s letter, addressed to the St. Sabina Parish community, read.“An independent inquiry assures the public and the person making the accusation of a fair and impartial review of all matters related to such cases,” the letter continued. “It also protects the rights and interests of the accused cleric, especially if the board concludes there is no reason to believe the accused is guilty of the allegation. In that case, the cleric has the freedom to return to ministry without a cloud of suspicion over him.”“In short, no one should underestimate the value of an independent and disciplined inquiry, even if it is made public and requires a substantial amount of time,” the letter continued.“Thank you God,” Pfleger wrote in a Facebook post. “And thanks to all who have stood with me.”Cupich also wrote about suffering in his letter and thanked the parish for its “prayers and support” for Pfleger.“This coming weekend, Jesus tells us that being a disciple is about taking up our crosses and following him,” Cupich wrote. “Notice that Jesus redefines our sufferings in life. Sufferings are not punishments or even tests of our endurance for pain. Rather, Jesus calls them crosses and thus associates them with his own,” Cupich pointed out.“He wants us to see discipleship as participating in the salvation of the world; discipleship involves joining our sufferings, our crosses to His on Calvary. Following Him, being a disciple, is then not a demanding chore, but a great gift. As we carry our crosses alongside Jesus, He transforms our sufferings into something much bigger than we ever imagined,” Cupich continued.“It is in this spirit that I want to recognize the suffering you and Father Mike have endured, for I know his absence has been real and painful,” Cupich said.Pfleger has pastored the predominantly Black parish St. Sabina, located on the South Side of Chicago, since 1981. While most priest’s assignments last about seven years, Pfleger’s has lasted 45 years.Pfleger has a storied history in Chicago, leading fierce activism against drugs and guns along with outreach to prostitutes and drug dealers.Some of the priest’s words and actions have put him at the center of controversy. The late Cardinal Francis George of Chicago suspended Pfleger in 2011 after the priest threatened to leave the priesthood if George reassigned him. The cardinal reinstated him as St. Sabina’s pastor after Pfleger apologized. In 2019, Cupich publicly denounced Pfleger’s decision to invite Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan to speak at St. Sabina.“Remember your dignity as disciples, those who can claim that Jesus joins your sufferings to His for the salvation of the world,” Cupich concluded in his letter to the parish. “You will have my support and prayers as you continue to be a light in the community, a great witness that has distinguished St. Sabina’s for generations.”The parish will hold a press conference on Aug. 26 at 11 a.m. Pfleger did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
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Chicago priest reinstated after being cleared in sex abuse investigation #Catholic Father Michael Pfleger, a priest known for his activism in Chicago, has been cleared by the archdiocese of an accusation of sex abuse.In July, the Archdiocese of Chicago withdrew Pfleger — longtime pastor of St. Sabina Church — from ministry to review an allegation of sexual abuse. A woman claimed that Pfleger abused her when she was a child more than 30 years ago. This is the fifth of several accusations of sexual abuse against Pfleger, all of which the archdiocese has cleared him of.After reviewing a joint investigation, Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, has approved Pfleger to return to ministry “effective immediately.”The archdiocese announced that “there is no reason to believe Father Pfleger is guilty of this allegation.”“The Independent Review Board, assisted by our Office of Child Protection and outside investigators, thoroughly reviewed the allegation,” Cupich’s letter, addressed to the St. Sabina Parish community, read.“An independent inquiry assures the public and the person making the accusation of a fair and impartial review of all matters related to such cases,” the letter continued. “It also protects the rights and interests of the accused cleric, especially if the board concludes there is no reason to believe the accused is guilty of the allegation. In that case, the cleric has the freedom to return to ministry without a cloud of suspicion over him.”“In short, no one should underestimate the value of an independent and disciplined inquiry, even if it is made public and requires a substantial amount of time,” the letter continued.“Thank you God,” Pfleger wrote in a Facebook post. “And thanks to all who have stood with me.”Cupich also wrote about suffering in his letter and thanked the parish for its “prayers and support” for Pfleger.“This coming weekend, Jesus tells us that being a disciple is about taking up our crosses and following him,” Cupich wrote. “Notice that Jesus redefines our sufferings in life. Sufferings are not punishments or even tests of our endurance for pain. Rather, Jesus calls them crosses and thus associates them with his own,” Cupich pointed out.“He wants us to see discipleship as participating in the salvation of the world; discipleship involves joining our sufferings, our crosses to His on Calvary. Following Him, being a disciple, is then not a demanding chore, but a great gift. As we carry our crosses alongside Jesus, He transforms our sufferings into something much bigger than we ever imagined,” Cupich continued.“It is in this spirit that I want to recognize the suffering you and Father Mike have endured, for I know his absence has been real and painful,” Cupich said.Pfleger has pastored the predominantly Black parish St. Sabina, located on the South Side of Chicago, since 1981. While most priest’s assignments last about seven years, Pfleger’s has lasted 45 years.Pfleger has a storied history in Chicago, leading fierce activism against drugs and guns along with outreach to prostitutes and drug dealers.Some of the priest’s words and actions have put him at the center of controversy. The late Cardinal Francis George of Chicago suspended Pfleger in 2011 after the priest threatened to leave the priesthood if George reassigned him. The cardinal reinstated him as St. Sabina’s pastor after Pfleger apologized. In 2019, Cupich publicly denounced Pfleger’s decision to invite Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan to speak at St. Sabina.“Remember your dignity as disciples, those who can claim that Jesus joins your sufferings to His for the salvation of the world,” Cupich concluded in his letter to the parish. “You will have my support and prayers as you continue to be a light in the community, a great witness that has distinguished St. Sabina’s for generations.”The parish will hold a press conference on Aug. 26 at 11 a.m. Pfleger did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

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After reviewing a joint investigation, Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, has approved Father Michael Pfleger to return to ministry “effective immediately.”

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How Trump’s new FDA pick could be monumental in the fight for life #Catholic In the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s appointment of Dr. Heidi Overton, a medical doctor with a history of fighting for life, as head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), pro-life groups are urging her to end mail-order abortion.Since January 2025 and up until now, Overton has worked as deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy. Before that, she spent more than three years at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), a conservative think tank. On Aug. 19, Trump appointed her to head the FDA, though she will need to be confirmed by the Senate first, which is likely given the Republican majority.She has a doctorate in clinical investigation from Johnson Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as well as a medical degree from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. Overton has been outspoken about the dangers of chemical abortion for women and babies, according to a 2023 AFPI brief she authored where she criticized federal policy that made abortion pills available via telehealth.“Abortion is corrosive to children, women, and society broadly because it devalues and extinguishes innocent human life,” Overton wrote in 2023. “Unfortunately, federal policymakers have recently expanded access to abortion pills, also called chemical abortions, which are far more dangerous to women, enabling rapid access to abortion.”About two-thirds of abortions in the United States are chemical, meaning they happen via mifepristone and misoprostol pills. These pills are available via mail in any state, even states where these drugs are illegal. Abortion by mail is highly unregulated, creating danger for female patients.The abortion pill has continued to be left largely unregulated by Trump’s Food and Drug Administration, in spite of the documented danger to women, including coercion, poisonings, and physical harm.Advocates for unborn children highlight the importance of opposing chemical abortions and protecting unborn children across state lines, as chemical abortion pills make state pro-life laws moot.Hope for limitations on chemical abortionsLeading voices for life agree that the FDA should regulate mail-order chemical abortions. After being deeply disappointed so far by Trump’s FDA, they hope Overton is the woman for the task.The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), an organization of medical doctors who believe in protecting unborn children and their mothers, “applauds the nomination,” said CEO Dr. Christina Francis.“Dr. Overton has a track record of recognizing the dignity of all of our patients (including our fetal patients) and recognizing the value of life-affirming healthcare,” Francis told EWTN News.“We are hopeful that Dr. Overton will reinstate vital safeguards around the dangerous abortion drug mifepristone,” Francis said. “Too many tragic incidents continue to pile up in which women have been left to handle the consequences of these potentially fatal drugs on their own.”“As physicians, we demand the FDA do its job and reinstate essential safeguards for our patients,” Francis said.Live Action, a group seeking to shift the culture and law on abortion, also viewed the nomination positively.“Live Action is encouraged by President Trump’s nomination of Dr. Heidi Overton to lead the Food and Drug Administration,” said Live Action spokesman Noah Brandt.“During Dr. Overton’s time at the America First Policy Institute, she helped lead important work exposing the dangers of chemical abortion and the serious risks posed by the abortion pill,” Brandt told EWTN News.“We pray that if Dr. Overton is confirmed that she brings that same courage and leadership to the FDA, which has an enormous responsibility to protect the health and safety of America’s women and children,” Brandt said.Brandt called on Overton to put a halt to chemical abortion pills entirely, beginning with mail-order abortions.“If confirmed, Dr. Overton should pull the deadly abortion pill from the market completely by first ending mail-order abortions, which are killing babies across the country,” he said.Kristi Hamrick, spokeswoman for Students for Life Action, called for Overton to take serious action against mifepristone.“It’s a good thing to have a nominee who has been skeptical of the kinds of policies the FDA has been pushing, but we are not looking for words; we are looking for deeds,” Hamrick told EWTN News. “The reckless rubber-stamping of chemical abortion pills has implications for babies in the womb, their mothers, and even the environment.”“We are looking for a first-ever review of chemical abortion pills, the abusers' dream drug, that is now being mailed illegally into many states with pro-life laws in place,” Hamrick said.Hamrick also urged Overton to investigate the environmental impact of chemical abortion drugs in the nation’s drinking water supplies.“The FDA has never looked into the environmental risks of allowing abortion water pollution nationwide, and you donʼt have to be pro-life to want clean drinking water,” Hamrick said.“We would ask Dr. Overton to do the work never done before — really evaluate mifepristone, its distribution, and risks to babies, women, and all life, endangered species included,” Hamrick said.
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How Trump’s new FDA pick could be monumental in the fight for life #Catholic In the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s appointment of Dr. Heidi Overton, a medical doctor with a history of fighting for life, as head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), pro-life groups are urging her to end mail-order abortion.Since January 2025 and up until now, Overton has worked as deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy. Before that, she spent more than three years at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), a conservative think tank. On Aug. 19, Trump appointed her to head the FDA, though she will need to be confirmed by the Senate first, which is likely given the Republican majority.She has a doctorate in clinical investigation from Johnson Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as well as a medical degree from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. Overton has been outspoken about the dangers of chemical abortion for women and babies, according to a 2023 AFPI brief she authored where she criticized federal policy that made abortion pills available via telehealth.“Abortion is corrosive to children, women, and society broadly because it devalues and extinguishes innocent human life,” Overton wrote in 2023. “Unfortunately, federal policymakers have recently expanded access to abortion pills, also called chemical abortions, which are far more dangerous to women, enabling rapid access to abortion.”About two-thirds of abortions in the United States are chemical, meaning they happen via mifepristone and misoprostol pills. These pills are available via mail in any state, even states where these drugs are illegal. Abortion by mail is highly unregulated, creating danger for female patients.The abortion pill has continued to be left largely unregulated by Trump’s Food and Drug Administration, in spite of the documented danger to women, including coercion, poisonings, and physical harm.Advocates for unborn children highlight the importance of opposing chemical abortions and protecting unborn children across state lines, as chemical abortion pills make state pro-life laws moot.Hope for limitations on chemical abortionsLeading voices for life agree that the FDA should regulate mail-order chemical abortions. After being deeply disappointed so far by Trump’s FDA, they hope Overton is the woman for the task.The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), an organization of medical doctors who believe in protecting unborn children and their mothers, “applauds the nomination,” said CEO Dr. Christina Francis.“Dr. Overton has a track record of recognizing the dignity of all of our patients (including our fetal patients) and recognizing the value of life-affirming healthcare,” Francis told EWTN News.“We are hopeful that Dr. Overton will reinstate vital safeguards around the dangerous abortion drug mifepristone,” Francis said. “Too many tragic incidents continue to pile up in which women have been left to handle the consequences of these potentially fatal drugs on their own.”“As physicians, we demand the FDA do its job and reinstate essential safeguards for our patients,” Francis said.Live Action, a group seeking to shift the culture and law on abortion, also viewed the nomination positively.“Live Action is encouraged by President Trump’s nomination of Dr. Heidi Overton to lead the Food and Drug Administration,” said Live Action spokesman Noah Brandt.“During Dr. Overton’s time at the America First Policy Institute, she helped lead important work exposing the dangers of chemical abortion and the serious risks posed by the abortion pill,” Brandt told EWTN News.“We pray that if Dr. Overton is confirmed that she brings that same courage and leadership to the FDA, which has an enormous responsibility to protect the health and safety of America’s women and children,” Brandt said.Brandt called on Overton to put a halt to chemical abortion pills entirely, beginning with mail-order abortions.“If confirmed, Dr. Overton should pull the deadly abortion pill from the market completely by first ending mail-order abortions, which are killing babies across the country,” he said.Kristi Hamrick, spokeswoman for Students for Life Action, called for Overton to take serious action against mifepristone.“It’s a good thing to have a nominee who has been skeptical of the kinds of policies the FDA has been pushing, but we are not looking for words; we are looking for deeds,” Hamrick told EWTN News. “The reckless rubber-stamping of chemical abortion pills has implications for babies in the womb, their mothers, and even the environment.”“We are looking for a first-ever review of chemical abortion pills, the abusers' dream drug, that is now being mailed illegally into many states with pro-life laws in place,” Hamrick said.Hamrick also urged Overton to investigate the environmental impact of chemical abortion drugs in the nation’s drinking water supplies.“The FDA has never looked into the environmental risks of allowing abortion water pollution nationwide, and you donʼt have to be pro-life to want clean drinking water,” Hamrick said.“We would ask Dr. Overton to do the work never done before — really evaluate mifepristone, its distribution, and risks to babies, women, and all life, endangered species included,” Hamrick said.

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Commissioner appointee Heidi Overton has criticized the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s chemical abortion policies in the past. She is now poised to be in a position to change them.

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Catholic leaders urge protection for Christian village attacked in Bangladesh #Catholic The Catholic Church and Indigenous Christian leaders in Bangladesh have called on the authorities to protect families terrified by an attack on a Christian village and to bring those responsible to justice.On Aug. 12, houses in the village of Gazarikura, a community in the Diocese of Mymensingh in the north of the Muslim-majority country, were attacked, looted, and vandalized. Local Indigenous Garo people said the stolen property included cash, cows, goats, and other valuables.The Indigenous families said the attack and looting were carried out by people from a neighboring Muslim village after the body of a Muslim man was found in their village.Father Simon Hacha, vicar general of the Diocese of Mymensingh, visited the village together with other priests, sisters, Garo Indigenous leaders, and local leaders.“We never want unrest; we are for peace,” Hacha, who is himself a Garo, told EWTN News.“We pray for the soul of the deceased person around whom this problem has arisen and we offer our condolences to his family,” he said.He urged police not to harass those who are not guilty and to identify the culprits and take appropriate action.“I hope that the administration will provide security to the Garo Indigenous of this village and that the villagers will maintain good relations with each other so that peace can prevail in the future,” Hacha added.Losses and arrestsVillage leaders told EWTN News that six houses in Gazarikura were vandalized and that the furniture of one house was burned. The attackers took away seven cows, 10 goats, a motorcycle, cash, and expensive furniture. The incident spread panic among local residents.Father Lawrence Ribeiro, the parish priest of Mariamnagar, told EWTN News by telephone during a visit to the village on Aug. 14 that 11 houses had been looted and that televisions, refrigerators, cows, and goats had been taken away. The families do not have enough food, he said. “So, we brought food, soap, and other items for these families.”Ribeiro said the families had been calculated to have suffered losses of about 4 million taka (about ,000). “We are preparing to file a case of looting for this,” he said.The body of a rice trader, Billal Hossain, 40, was recovered by police. Nineteen people, including men and women from the Garo community, were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the case. Police later released 14 of them.According to police sources, Hossain, a resident of the Jarultala area of the upazila, or subdistrict, went missing on Aug. 4. On the afternoon of Aug. 12, local farmers working in a field smelled a foul odor near a canal, searched the surroundings, and found the body buried in the ground. Police went to the spot and recovered it after being informed.An organization of Garo Indigenous students said in a statement: "We want to say very clearly that the responsibility for the crime of an individual can never be imposed on an entire ethnic group, community, or population.”“If someone is involved in any crime, his involvement will be determined through an impartial and fair investigation. If the crime is proven, he will be tried according to the prevailing law. But suspecting, harassing, or victimizing another innocent person on the basis of an individualʼs identity, ethnic identity, or community identity is against justice,” the student organization said.S.M. Noor Mohammad, officer in charge of the Jhenaigati police station, said the atmosphere in the village is now calm and that police have been deployed.“The police are investigating the incident and are continuing their efforts to identify the criminals involved in the incident,” Mohammad said.On Aug. 9, Indigenous people had rallied for their rights and to protest atrocities against them on the occasion of the International Day of the Worldʼs Indigenous Peoples.
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Catholic leaders urge protection for Christian village attacked in Bangladesh #Catholic The Catholic Church and Indigenous Christian leaders in Bangladesh have called on the authorities to protect families terrified by an attack on a Christian village and to bring those responsible to justice.On Aug. 12, houses in the village of Gazarikura, a community in the Diocese of Mymensingh in the north of the Muslim-majority country, were attacked, looted, and vandalized. Local Indigenous Garo people said the stolen property included cash, cows, goats, and other valuables.The Indigenous families said the attack and looting were carried out by people from a neighboring Muslim village after the body of a Muslim man was found in their village.Father Simon Hacha, vicar general of the Diocese of Mymensingh, visited the village together with other priests, sisters, Garo Indigenous leaders, and local leaders.“We never want unrest; we are for peace,” Hacha, who is himself a Garo, told EWTN News.“We pray for the soul of the deceased person around whom this problem has arisen and we offer our condolences to his family,” he said.He urged police not to harass those who are not guilty and to identify the culprits and take appropriate action.“I hope that the administration will provide security to the Garo Indigenous of this village and that the villagers will maintain good relations with each other so that peace can prevail in the future,” Hacha added.Losses and arrestsVillage leaders told EWTN News that six houses in Gazarikura were vandalized and that the furniture of one house was burned. The attackers took away seven cows, 10 goats, a motorcycle, cash, and expensive furniture. The incident spread panic among local residents.Father Lawrence Ribeiro, the parish priest of Mariamnagar, told EWTN News by telephone during a visit to the village on Aug. 14 that 11 houses had been looted and that televisions, refrigerators, cows, and goats had been taken away. The families do not have enough food, he said. “So, we brought food, soap, and other items for these families.”Ribeiro said the families had been calculated to have suffered losses of about 4 million taka (about $32,000). “We are preparing to file a case of looting for this,” he said.The body of a rice trader, Billal Hossain, 40, was recovered by police. Nineteen people, including men and women from the Garo community, were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the case. Police later released 14 of them.According to police sources, Hossain, a resident of the Jarultala area of the upazila, or subdistrict, went missing on Aug. 4. On the afternoon of Aug. 12, local farmers working in a field smelled a foul odor near a canal, searched the surroundings, and found the body buried in the ground. Police went to the spot and recovered it after being informed.An organization of Garo Indigenous students said in a statement: "We want to say very clearly that the responsibility for the crime of an individual can never be imposed on an entire ethnic group, community, or population.”“If someone is involved in any crime, his involvement will be determined through an impartial and fair investigation. If the crime is proven, he will be tried according to the prevailing law. But suspecting, harassing, or victimizing another innocent person on the basis of an individualʼs identity, ethnic identity, or community identity is against justice,” the student organization said.S.M. Noor Mohammad, officer in charge of the Jhenaigati police station, said the atmosphere in the village is now calm and that police have been deployed.“The police are investigating the incident and are continuing their efforts to identify the criminals involved in the incident,” Mohammad said.On Aug. 9, Indigenous people had rallied for their rights and to protest atrocities against them on the occasion of the International Day of the Worldʼs Indigenous Peoples.

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Several homes were looted and vandalized in a mainly Catholic village after the body of a Muslim man was found nearby, and 19 Indigenous villagers were arrested.

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Texas Children’s Hospital fined for performing illegal ‘sex-rejecting’ procedures on minors #Catholic The historic settlement agreement between Texas Children’s Hospital, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and the state of Texas has been fully executed, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said this week.Under the terms of the settlement agreement, first announced by Paxton’s office in May, Texas Children’s, the largest children’s hospital in the United States, said it would no longer provide “gender-transition” interventions, including puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, to minors, per Texas law.“This historic settlement is a resounding defeat for the radical gender ideology that has preyed on Texas children under the guise of ‘care,’” Paxton said in a press release Aug. 5.Per the executed agreement, Texas Children’s “will pay a total of million to resolve these claims,” with ,576,000 going to the state of Texas. It will also fund, for five years, a detransition clinic offering free restorative medical care to patients who previously underwent such procedures. The clinic must open by the end of October.“Texas Children’s has agreed to pay millions back to Texas,” Paxton said. “The detransition clinic, which is the first of its kind, must open within months. Activist doctors who harmed children have been fired.”The agreement also required the permanent termination and revocation of privileges for five physicians who performed these interventions.The hospital is permanently barred from rehiring or credentialing the doctors and must implement new compliance measures, including bylaw changes that will automatically revoke privileges for any physician who violates Texas law prohibiting such procedures on children.“This settlement sends an unmistakable message,” Paxton said. “If you put radical ideology over childrenʼs health, my office will go after you. We will continue to lead the way in stopping the far-left’s radical gender agenda.”The settlement agreement resolves a yearslong investigation of the hospital by the DOJ and the state of Texas that began after whistleblower allegations surfaced claiming the hospital had continued performing sex-change procedures on minors in secret even after state lawmakers made such procedures illegal.The Justice Department said in May that the Houston-based hospital had agreed to pay millions in civil penalties and damages for allegedly falsely billing Medicaid and other insurers for “pediatric sex-rejecting procedures.”The federal government had alleged that the hospital violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the False Claims Act, and federal fraud and conspiracy laws.Following the publication of a directive by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that transgender procedures on minors that could be considered “child abuse” under existing state law, Texas Children’s announced in 2022 that it would cease “sex-change” therapies and procedures, citing concerns that these practices were potentially illegal.In 2023 Texas passed a law that explicitly banned puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender-transition surgeries for minors under 18.Nevertheless, at least three doctors associated with Texas Children’s — Richard Roberts, David Paul, and Kristy Rialon — continued to perform “sex-rejecting” procedures on children throughout 2022 and 2023, according to whistleblower evidence published by Christopher Rufo, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute.Rufo claimed that Rialon had been performing surgeries on minors ranging in age from 15 to as young as 1.Calling the settlement “historic,” Paxton said in May that it “will ensure that the deranged child mutilators who hurt our kids are fired and held accountable.”According to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the DOJ “will use every weapon at its disposal to end the destructive and discredited practice of so-called ‘gender-affirming care’ for children.”The Department of Justice noted that Texas Children’s cooperated with the investigation and took proactive steps that contributed to the resolution. The claims resolved in the settlement remain allegations, with no determination of liability.“I am grateful that Texas Children’s wants to be part of the solution and no longer the problem,” said Brett Shumate, assistant attorney general for the Civil Division.
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Texas Children’s Hospital fined for performing illegal ‘sex-rejecting’ procedures on minors #Catholic The historic settlement agreement between Texas Children’s Hospital, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and the state of Texas has been fully executed, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said this week.Under the terms of the settlement agreement, first announced by Paxton’s office in May, Texas Children’s, the largest children’s hospital in the United States, said it would no longer provide “gender-transition” interventions, including puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, to minors, per Texas law.“This historic settlement is a resounding defeat for the radical gender ideology that has preyed on Texas children under the guise of ‘care,’” Paxton said in a press release Aug. 5.Per the executed agreement, Texas Children’s “will pay a total of $10 million to resolve these claims,” with $8,576,000 going to the state of Texas. It will also fund, for five years, a detransition clinic offering free restorative medical care to patients who previously underwent such procedures. The clinic must open by the end of October.“Texas Children’s has agreed to pay millions back to Texas,” Paxton said. “The detransition clinic, which is the first of its kind, must open within months. Activist doctors who harmed children have been fired.”The agreement also required the permanent termination and revocation of privileges for five physicians who performed these interventions.The hospital is permanently barred from rehiring or credentialing the doctors and must implement new compliance measures, including bylaw changes that will automatically revoke privileges for any physician who violates Texas law prohibiting such procedures on children.“This settlement sends an unmistakable message,” Paxton said. “If you put radical ideology over childrenʼs health, my office will go after you. We will continue to lead the way in stopping the far-left’s radical gender agenda.”The settlement agreement resolves a yearslong investigation of the hospital by the DOJ and the state of Texas that began after whistleblower allegations surfaced claiming the hospital had continued performing sex-change procedures on minors in secret even after state lawmakers made such procedures illegal.The Justice Department said in May that the Houston-based hospital had agreed to pay millions in civil penalties and damages for allegedly falsely billing Medicaid and other insurers for “pediatric sex-rejecting procedures.”The federal government had alleged that the hospital violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the False Claims Act, and federal fraud and conspiracy laws.Following the publication of a directive by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that transgender procedures on minors that could be considered “child abuse” under existing state law, Texas Children’s announced in 2022 that it would cease “sex-change” therapies and procedures, citing concerns that these practices were potentially illegal.In 2023 Texas passed a law that explicitly banned puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender-transition surgeries for minors under 18.Nevertheless, at least three doctors associated with Texas Children’s — Richard Roberts, David Paul, and Kristy Rialon — continued to perform “sex-rejecting” procedures on children throughout 2022 and 2023, according to whistleblower evidence published by Christopher Rufo, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute.Rufo claimed that Rialon had been performing surgeries on minors ranging in age from 15 to as young as 1.Calling the settlement “historic,” Paxton said in May that it “will ensure that the deranged child mutilators who hurt our kids are fired and held accountable.”According to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the DOJ “will use every weapon at its disposal to end the destructive and discredited practice of so-called ‘gender-affirming care’ for children.”The Department of Justice noted that Texas Children’s cooperated with the investigation and took proactive steps that contributed to the resolution. The claims resolved in the settlement remain allegations, with no determination of liability.“I am grateful that Texas Children’s wants to be part of the solution and no longer the problem,” said Brett Shumate, assistant attorney general for the Civil Division.

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Texas Children’s will pay $10 million to resolve the claims, with $8,576,000 going to the state of Texas, as well as fund, for five years, a first-of-its kind detransition clinic.

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Bishops issue new calls for recognition of immigrants’ human dignity and immigration reform #Catholic In response to increased immigration enforcement measures throughout the country, two U.S. Catholic bishops have issued fresh statements affirming the human dignity of immigrants as children of God and calling for immigration reform.Both prelates said Americans should understand why people flee their home countries in search of a better life while acknowledging the nation’s right to enforce its immigration laws. The current situation, however, is unjust, immoral, and must be fixed, both men emphasized.On Aug. 3, the centennial anniversary of the elevation of San Antonio to a metropolitan archdiocese, Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller released a pastoral letter expressing the Church’s solidarity with migrants and calling for the “careful and well-formed moral discernment of every Catholic conscience” in response.Meanwhile, on Aug. 1, Bishop Robert Gruss of the Diocese of Saginaw, Michigan, issued a statement in which he reminded the faithful of the “inherent human dignity” of every person.Gruss said the current “challenge” facing the United States, which has “consistently received immigrants, refugees, exiles, and the persecuted from other lands” throughout its history, is “how to deal with a situation when one administration has allowed individuals and families to migrate … freely and the next administration wants their removal.”The bishop wrote that the removal of “immigrants who have caused harm to society by participating in criminal activity” is understandable, but asked if it is “fair to remove those who are and have been contributing to society in a positive way, oftentimes for many years?”He said that a “just and civil society” would not allow the deportation or detention of people “without cause” or “meaningful legal representation, without access to family or a supportive community, and without basic human needs being met.”He urged the faithful to “push for public policy changes that secure civil rights for all immigrants” and “humane border enforcement policies” that simultaneously uphold national security while protecting the “safety and dignity” of those who come to the country to work.‘We will come to you’García-Siller promulgated his letter, titled “We Will Come to You: United in Solidarity with Our Brothers and Sisters in Migration,” at a Mass at San Fernando Cathedral in downtown San Antonio.“We are living in a world of war,” the letter began. “Across continents, people are dying every day. Across borders, survivors are forced to migrate. They do not leave by choice, but because of violence, hunger, fear, and oppression.”In the 56-page letter, composed of five sections and concluding with a prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe, García-Siller said he prayed “for a long time” before writing, saying he wanted to write from “the right place, one of accompaniment and solidarity.”He said the letter addresses an “unprecedented” time in the country, writing that “a convergence of structural and legal tactics … calls for the careful and well-formed moral discernment of every Catholic conscience.”“I write to comfort the afflicted, to ignite the comfortable, and to confront injustice with the full conviction of the Gospel.”He went on to cite his personal experience of “years walking alongside” migrants, many of whom are living in so much fear they rarely leave their homes, as well as his own story as a migrant himself.The archbishop wrote that he has witnessed a “fear that has taken root” across the archdiocese, saying he and other pastors “pray with parents who embrace their children each morning unsure if they will be home at night,” and describing parents who avoid taking children to the doctor or to go to work “because each mile carries risk.”“The community bears this cross, and the Church cannot be silent,” he wrote, describing declining Mass attendance and the worsening physical health of those who suffer fear related to immigration.“The people have not lost their faith,” he wrote. “Many, however, have lost their sense of safety and belonging.”The Church must “defend the dignity of those caught in the machinery of removal,” he emphasized.García-Siller described visiting three detention centers in the area, including the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, the largest family detention center in the nation, saying he’s witnessed "firsthand, violations of human dignity within their walls.”He went on to quote Bishop Steven Biegler of the Diocese of Cheyenne, Wyoming, who wrote in a pastoral letter in April that “‘the current campaign of mass detention and deportations is immoral.’”García-Siller accused private corporations of profiting from the processing and movement of large numbers of detained immigrants from one site to another.He also cited an investigation by U.S. Sen. John Ossoff, D-Georgia, which documented more than 1,000 “credible reports of human rights abuses since January 2025, including “medical neglect, denial of food and water, overcrowding, sleep deprivation, and the separation of breastfeeding mothers from their infants,” as well as similar abuses in privately-run sites.García-Siller called the public narrative that only criminals are being removed “misleading,” writing that “73% of those in immigration detention have no criminal conviction, and only 5% have been convicted of a violent crime.”He described how pastors, deacons, extraordinary ministers, and trained catechists are developing “active ministries of accompaniment” in the archdiocese, visiting migrants in their homes, bringing the sacraments along with medicines and other supplies, as well as in detention centers.“If your family has been detained, tell us. We will go to them. The Body of Christ does not abandon its members in chains,” García-Siller declared.The archbishop went on to lament that existing legal pathways take years to navigate, years that families cannot afford to wait as they seek safety and stability. He called for more accessible legal pathways, saying migrants would take those pathways if they were available. Migrants’ “contribution to the common good of our nation” demands such, he wrote.At the end of the letter, García-Siller entrusted the situation to Our Lady of Guadalupe, who herself crossed borders of culture and race and walked the road of exile with the Holy Family: “Long before she was Queen of Mexico … she was a mother who crossed a border. She knows this road; she walked it with her own feet.”
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Bishops issue new calls for recognition of immigrants’ human dignity and immigration reform #Catholic In response to increased immigration enforcement measures throughout the country, two U.S. Catholic bishops have issued fresh statements affirming the human dignity of immigrants as children of God and calling for immigration reform.Both prelates said Americans should understand why people flee their home countries in search of a better life while acknowledging the nation’s right to enforce its immigration laws. The current situation, however, is unjust, immoral, and must be fixed, both men emphasized.On Aug. 3, the centennial anniversary of the elevation of San Antonio to a metropolitan archdiocese, Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller released a pastoral letter expressing the Church’s solidarity with migrants and calling for the “careful and well-formed moral discernment of every Catholic conscience” in response.Meanwhile, on Aug. 1, Bishop Robert Gruss of the Diocese of Saginaw, Michigan, issued a statement in which he reminded the faithful of the “inherent human dignity” of every person.Gruss said the current “challenge” facing the United States, which has “consistently received immigrants, refugees, exiles, and the persecuted from other lands” throughout its history, is “how to deal with a situation when one administration has allowed individuals and families to migrate … freely and the next administration wants their removal.”The bishop wrote that the removal of “immigrants who have caused harm to society by participating in criminal activity” is understandable, but asked if it is “fair to remove those who are and have been contributing to society in a positive way, oftentimes for many years?”He said that a “just and civil society” would not allow the deportation or detention of people “without cause” or “meaningful legal representation, without access to family or a supportive community, and without basic human needs being met.”He urged the faithful to “push for public policy changes that secure civil rights for all immigrants” and “humane border enforcement policies” that simultaneously uphold national security while protecting the “safety and dignity” of those who come to the country to work.‘We will come to you’García-Siller promulgated his letter, titled “We Will Come to You: United in Solidarity with Our Brothers and Sisters in Migration,” at a Mass at San Fernando Cathedral in downtown San Antonio.“We are living in a world of war,” the letter began. “Across continents, people are dying every day. Across borders, survivors are forced to migrate. They do not leave by choice, but because of violence, hunger, fear, and oppression.”In the 56-page letter, composed of five sections and concluding with a prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe, García-Siller said he prayed “for a long time” before writing, saying he wanted to write from “the right place, one of accompaniment and solidarity.”He said the letter addresses an “unprecedented” time in the country, writing that “a convergence of structural and legal tactics … calls for the careful and well-formed moral discernment of every Catholic conscience.”“I write to comfort the afflicted, to ignite the comfortable, and to confront injustice with the full conviction of the Gospel.”He went on to cite his personal experience of “years walking alongside” migrants, many of whom are living in so much fear they rarely leave their homes, as well as his own story as a migrant himself.The archbishop wrote that he has witnessed a “fear that has taken root” across the archdiocese, saying he and other pastors “pray with parents who embrace their children each morning unsure if they will be home at night,” and describing parents who avoid taking children to the doctor or to go to work “because each mile carries risk.”“The community bears this cross, and the Church cannot be silent,” he wrote, describing declining Mass attendance and the worsening physical health of those who suffer fear related to immigration.“The people have not lost their faith,” he wrote. “Many, however, have lost their sense of safety and belonging.”The Church must “defend the dignity of those caught in the machinery of removal,” he emphasized.García-Siller described visiting three detention centers in the area, including the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, the largest family detention center in the nation, saying he’s witnessed "firsthand, violations of human dignity within their walls.”He went on to quote Bishop Steven Biegler of the Diocese of Cheyenne, Wyoming, who wrote in a pastoral letter in April that “‘the current campaign of mass detention and deportations is immoral.’”García-Siller accused private corporations of profiting from the processing and movement of large numbers of detained immigrants from one site to another.He also cited an investigation by U.S. Sen. John Ossoff, D-Georgia, which documented more than 1,000 “credible reports of human rights abuses since January 2025, including “medical neglect, denial of food and water, overcrowding, sleep deprivation, and the separation of breastfeeding mothers from their infants,” as well as similar abuses in privately-run sites.García-Siller called the public narrative that only criminals are being removed “misleading,” writing that “73% of those in immigration detention have no criminal conviction, and only 5% have been convicted of a violent crime.”He described how pastors, deacons, extraordinary ministers, and trained catechists are developing “active ministries of accompaniment” in the archdiocese, visiting migrants in their homes, bringing the sacraments along with medicines and other supplies, as well as in detention centers.“If your family has been detained, tell us. We will go to them. The Body of Christ does not abandon its members in chains,” García-Siller declared.The archbishop went on to lament that existing legal pathways take years to navigate, years that families cannot afford to wait as they seek safety and stability. He called for more accessible legal pathways, saying migrants would take those pathways if they were available. Migrants’ “contribution to the common good of our nation” demands such, he wrote.At the end of the letter, García-Siller entrusted the situation to Our Lady of Guadalupe, who herself crossed borders of culture and race and walked the road of exile with the Holy Family: “Long before she was Queen of Mexico … she was a mother who crossed a border. She knows this road; she walked it with her own feet.”

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“I write to comfort the afflicted, to ignite the comfortable, and to confront injustice with the full conviction of the Gospel,” San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller wrote.

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March for Life president steps down to become ‘full-time mom’ #Catholic March for Life president steps down to focus on familyJennie Bradley Lichter, the president of the March for Life, is stepping down to devote more time to her family as a “full-time mom,” the leader said this week.“I have been humbled and inspired by the stories — so many stories, everywhere I go — of how the March for Life has changed people’s minds and hearts, how for so many Marchers it has sparked a lifetime of action and advocacy on behalf of the unborn, and in some cases, how it has changed the entire trajectory of their lives,” Bradley Lichter wrote in a farewell statement.She and her husband “are raising two tweens and a rising kindergartner, and it has become very clear that my family needs more of my time and my active presence than I’m able to give while leading the March for Life,” she said in the statement “My most important titles of all are not ‘President’ — but ‘wife’ and ‘Mom,’” she said.Bradley Lichter said that her role has been “the highlight of my professional life.”The resignation is effective July 31. The March for Life Board is actively searching for a new president.The annual demonstration draws tens of thousands to the nation’s capital yearly to advocate for the rights of unborn babies.Abortion drug present in municipal water, study findsA study published on July 20 in the Journal of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine highlighted the need for “significant additional investigation into the levels of various hormones and [endocrine-disrupting chemicals], including mifepristone, in water sources,” with researchers finding high levels of the abortion drug in municipal water supplies.Mifepristone is used in chemical abortions, as well as in treatment for miscarriages, and works by blocking progesterone, a hormone necessary for pregnancy. The investigation found “significant levels of mifepristone (up to 0.041 μgram/l) in the water of all but one of the nine sampling classes,” the study read. Water samples “were collected from sites upstream and downstream of water treatment facilities, and from municipal tap water,” from multiple American cities.“Because of the plethora of effects of progesterone, this contaminant could affect the physiology of aquatic animals; and human health, including fertility, pregnancy and fetal development,” the researchers said. Justice Department settles with pro-life father after FBI raidThe U.S. Department of Justice reached a seven-figure settlement with pro-life father Paul Vaughn after his home was raided by the FBI in connection with his pro-life work.The settlement affirmed that under the Biden administration, the government’s actions “were an abuse of government power,” according to a July 28 press release by the Thomas More Society, the legal nonprofit that defended Vaughn.Vaughn, a Catholic father of 11, was arrested at gunpoint after the FBI raided his house in connection with his protest at an abortion clinic. He is one of several pro-life advocates prosecuted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act during the Biden administration.“My family has been through a traumatic ordeal that never should have happened. But today brings an end to this portion of the story,” Vaughn said in a statement.“This chapter is finally closed, and our family looks forward with gratitude and hope, as we continue to serve God, advocating for the most vulnerable among us without fear.”Catholic bishops of Massachusetts speak out against late-term abortion billThe Catholic bishops of Massachusetts spoke out this week against a bill that will legalize late-term abortion in the state.“As Catholic bishops we have a moral responsibility to present and uphold Catholic teaching and the sacred God-given dignity of every human life from conception to the natural death,” the bishops said in July 29 statement signed by Bishop William Byrne of Springfield, Archbishop Richard Henning of Boston, Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester, and Bishop Edgar da Cunha of Fall River.The state legislature passed the bill in July, with the Massachusetts Senate voting in favor of it on July 31. The measure, if signed into law, will remove the stateʼs 24-week limit on abortion.“The proposed elimination of any legal restraint on late-term abortion is, in our judgement, a radical measure which is gravely immoral,” the bishops’ statement read. The advocacy group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is also strongly opposing the bill; the group’s president Marjorie Dannenfelser called for nationwide protections for unborn children.“If Gov. [Maura] Healey signs this bill into law, Massachusetts will join 10 states and Washington, D.C. with an all-trimester abortion policy where babies are killed after the point they can survive outside of the womb,” Dannenfelser told EWTN News. “These extreme laws that only 10% of Americans support are enabled by the ‘states-only’ philosophy on abortion,” she said.
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March for Life president steps down to become ‘full-time mom’ #Catholic March for Life president steps down to focus on familyJennie Bradley Lichter, the president of the March for Life, is stepping down to devote more time to her family as a “full-time mom,” the leader said this week.“I have been humbled and inspired by the stories — so many stories, everywhere I go — of how the March for Life has changed people’s minds and hearts, how for so many Marchers it has sparked a lifetime of action and advocacy on behalf of the unborn, and in some cases, how it has changed the entire trajectory of their lives,” Bradley Lichter wrote in a farewell statement.She and her husband “are raising two tweens and a rising kindergartner, and it has become very clear that my family needs more of my time and my active presence than I’m able to give while leading the March for Life,” she said in the statement “My most important titles of all are not ‘President’ — but ‘wife’ and ‘Mom,’” she said.Bradley Lichter said that her role has been “the highlight of my professional life.”The resignation is effective July 31. The March for Life Board is actively searching for a new president.The annual demonstration draws tens of thousands to the nation’s capital yearly to advocate for the rights of unborn babies.Abortion drug present in municipal water, study findsA study published on July 20 in the Journal of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine highlighted the need for “significant additional investigation into the levels of various hormones and [endocrine-disrupting chemicals], including mifepristone, in water sources,” with researchers finding high levels of the abortion drug in municipal water supplies.Mifepristone is used in chemical abortions, as well as in treatment for miscarriages, and works by blocking progesterone, a hormone necessary for pregnancy. The investigation found “significant levels of mifepristone (up to 0.041 μgram/l) in the water of all but one of the nine sampling classes,” the study read. Water samples “were collected from sites upstream and downstream of water treatment facilities, and from municipal tap water,” from multiple American cities.“Because of the plethora of effects of progesterone, this contaminant could affect the physiology of aquatic animals; and human health, including fertility, pregnancy and fetal development,” the researchers said. Justice Department settles with pro-life father after FBI raidThe U.S. Department of Justice reached a seven-figure settlement with pro-life father Paul Vaughn after his home was raided by the FBI in connection with his pro-life work.The settlement affirmed that under the Biden administration, the government’s actions “were an abuse of government power,” according to a July 28 press release by the Thomas More Society, the legal nonprofit that defended Vaughn.Vaughn, a Catholic father of 11, was arrested at gunpoint after the FBI raided his house in connection with his protest at an abortion clinic. He is one of several pro-life advocates prosecuted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act during the Biden administration.“My family has been through a traumatic ordeal that never should have happened. But today brings an end to this portion of the story,” Vaughn said in a statement.“This chapter is finally closed, and our family looks forward with gratitude and hope, as we continue to serve God, advocating for the most vulnerable among us without fear.”Catholic bishops of Massachusetts speak out against late-term abortion billThe Catholic bishops of Massachusetts spoke out this week against a bill that will legalize late-term abortion in the state.“As Catholic bishops we have a moral responsibility to present and uphold Catholic teaching and the sacred God-given dignity of every human life from conception to the natural death,” the bishops said in July 29 statement signed by Bishop William Byrne of Springfield, Archbishop Richard Henning of Boston, Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester, and Bishop Edgar da Cunha of Fall River.The state legislature passed the bill in July, with the Massachusetts Senate voting in favor of it on July 31. The measure, if signed into law, will remove the stateʼs 24-week limit on abortion.“The proposed elimination of any legal restraint on late-term abortion is, in our judgement, a radical measure which is gravely immoral,” the bishops’ statement read. The advocacy group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is also strongly opposing the bill; the group’s president Marjorie Dannenfelser called for nationwide protections for unborn children.“If Gov. [Maura] Healey signs this bill into law, Massachusetts will join 10 states and Washington, D.C. with an all-trimester abortion policy where babies are killed after the point they can survive outside of the womb,” Dannenfelser told EWTN News. “These extreme laws that only 10% of Americans support are enabled by the ‘states-only’ philosophy on abortion,” she said.

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Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.

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