March

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.

unitedyam August 1, 2026August 2, 2026

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

Macron commemorates French priest killed by Islamic extremists 10 years ago #Catholic French President Emmanuel Macron commemorated Father Jacques Hamel, an elderly priest murdered 10 years ago in his church during Mass by two Islamist terrorists on July 26, 2016, and whose cause for beatification is currently underway.“We have not forgotten Father Jacques Hamel. Ten years ago today, he was cowardly murdered by two Islamist terrorists — targeted because he embodied the rejection of hatred, as well as fraternity and hope,” the French leader wrote on his X account on July 26.Tweet“To his loved ones, his parishioners, all the inhabitants of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, and the Catholics of France, I extend the nation’s faithful, fraternal greetings,” Macron emphasized.“His memory places a duty upon us. It compels us to tirelessly defend the freedom of conscience that the Republic guarantees and protects,” the French president continued, concluding: “In the face of Islamist terrorism, France remains united. True to its foundational values. Resolute not to yield anything to those who seek to divide us.”Hamel’s murderOn July 26, 2016, two young Islamic State terrorists stormed the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray in Rouen, France, and murdered 86-year-old Father Jacques Hamel while he was celebrating Mass.Shouting “Allahu Akbar” (Arabic for “God is great”), the killers entered the church and began destroying religious images. The priest tried to stop them but was unable to do so. The terrorists attempted to force him to his knees, but he refused.One of the killers stabbed him, and Hamel cried out, “Begone, Satan!” These were his last words, and they slit his throat.The cause for Hamel’s beatificationThe cause was announced on April 13, 2017, and officially opened on May 20 of that year.The diocesan phase of the cause concluded on March 9, 2019, at Our Lady of the Annunciation Chapel of the Archdiocese of Rouen.During that stage, 66 hearings were held, with testimony from the five witnesses to the murder, 51 summoned witnesses including siblings, friends, parishioners, and priests as well as five witnesses the tribunal called “ex officio” to ensure the process was not one-sided.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.

unitedyam July 27, 2026July 28, 2026

“His memory places a duty upon us. It compels us to tirelessly defend the freedom of conscience that the Republic guarantees and protects,” the French president said.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance and wife Usha welcome fourth child #Catholic U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, announced the birth of their fourth child, a baby boy named Alec Neel Vance, on Sunday, July 19.In a statement shared on social media, the couple wrote: “We are excited to announce that our baby boy, Alec Neel Vance, was born this morning. Usha and the baby are happy and healthy, and our kids are overjoyed to meet their little brother.”The Vances are already parents to Ewan (9), Vivek (6), and Mirabel (4). Vance was received into the Catholic Church in 2019 and recently released a book about his faith journey, titled “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith.”Usha Vance, who is Hindu and has said she has no plans to convert, has shared that the family attends Mass together and sends their children to Catholic schools. She said in a June 2025 interview with Megan McCain that after her husband converted, “we had to have a lot of real conversations about how” to raise their children.“When you convert to Catholicism it comes with several important obligations, like to raise your child in the faith and all that,” she said.The couple allows their children to discern whether to be baptized; their son Ewan has since chosen to become Catholic.Vice President Vance has long spoken of children as a profound blessing and vocation.In a March interview with podcaster Benny Johnson, Vance reflected: “If I have one regret, it’s that I wish we had started earlier and had more, because it’s the most rewarding thing; it’s the coolest thing.”He said his three children, who have “their own little personalities” are “so quirky and fun.”To young men thinking of becoming fathers, but waiting until “everything in your life is perfect,” Vance had this to say: “I think that’s a ridiculous attitude … You’re never ready. There’s no point at which you can sort of get all your little ducks in a row and get … your financial situation in a row. Whenever you have a baby, whatever stage of life, it will be shocking, it will be crazy, it will be the most difficult and the most rewarding thing that you’ve ever done.”“You have kids, you figure it out,” he continued. “They’re the thing that perfects life. Fatherhood is the absolute best motivator.”His words on fatherhood align with his public advocacy for a renewed culture of life. In his first public address as vice president at the National March for Life in January 2025, he declared: “I want more babies in the United States of America. I want more happy children in our country and I want beautiful young men and women who are eager to welcome them into the world and eager to raise them.”The Vance’s happy news arrives against the backdrop of America’s ongoing demographic challenges.According to the latest CDC provisional data, U.S. births fell 1% in 2025 to 3.6 million, with the general fertility rate dropping to a record low of 53.1 births per 1,000 women ages 15–44. The total fertility rate remains well below the replacement level of 2.1, continuing a decline since 2007.Catholic leaders have repeatedly called attention to this trend as a spiritual and cultural crisis.Pope Leo in May decried “the time of drastic sterility” in which we are living, emphasizing that discouraging demographic data “are not merely statistics but speak of fatherhood, motherhood, and children. And children are the future!”The Church’s teaching affirms openness to life, the gift of children and the vocation of marriage and family as a “domestic church.”U.S. President Donald Trump offered warm congratulations to the couple in a post on Truth Social: “Congratulations! A perfect baby boy for the wonderful Vance family,” accompanied by a photo of the newborn with two of his siblings.Usha and JD Vance’s baby is the first in modern U.S. history (and the first in over 150 years) for a sitting American vice president’s family. The last time a baby was born to a U.S. vice president was in 1870, when Vice President Schuyler Colfax (under President Ulysses S. Grant) and his wife Ellen welcomed a son, Schuyler Colfax III.

unitedyam July 20, 2026July 21, 2026

“Children are the most rewarding thing,“ Vance said in an interview earlier this year.

Parishioners in western New York ask Vatican to let them save 160-year-old church #Catholic “[We] will not receive an extension or any second chances.” That’s the urgent message Catholics in western New York are telling the local faithful in their bid to preserve a Civil War-era parish in the small town of Auburn. The Diocese of Rochester is moving to permanently close and potentially sell Holy Family Church due to structural issues that officials say make it unsafe to use as a parish.

Interior details of Holy Family Catholic Church in Auburn, New York. | Credit: Photo courtesy of H.O.P.E.

The diocese shut down the church in June 2024, but parishioners of the parish in Auburn — located about 40 minutes outside of Syracuse — are petitioning the Vatican to keep the church an active holy site rather than allow it to be sold off to potential developers. On its website, Holy Family Organization to Preserve and Endure says the Vatican has requested that the group “demonstrate funding for the purchase, repair, and maintenance of the church.”The organizers say they are working to raise pledges to support the parish but there is a “narrow time window” and numbers “must be provided to the Vatican by mid-late summer 2026.”“If H.O.P.E. fails to demonstrate sufficient evidence to the Vatican by mid-late summer, then Holy Family Church could be sold to a secular buyer and could be destroyed,” the group said.Parish’s roots stretch back to early 1800sThe Auburn-based Roblee Historic Preservation said in a “statement of significance” report that Auburn was the site of the first Catholic Mass in the Western New York region in the early 1800s. The Roblee report was drafted in order to assist the city’s historic review board in potentially awarding a landmark designation to the parish. The New York Historic Preservation Office had previously said the property was eligible for listing on both the state and national historic registers.

Holy Family Church hosts the wedding of Joseph Paul Staehr Sr. and Jean Marie Hayes Staehr on Nov. 29, 1958. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Richard Staehr

The Church of the Holy Family was initially dedicated in 1830 in a chapel previously used by local Methodists. The current building was built in 1861 by local Dutch-born master builder John Vanderbosch.The report described the parish as the “mother church” of Auburn and “an iconic part of its downtown skyline.” On its website, the Catholic preservation group says it hopes to retain the parish for “Catholic religious activity,” including rosary groups and private prayer groups, “occasional worship,” sacred music concerts, sacred art displays, and architecture tours.Karen Odrzywolski, the president of the parish preservation group, said the church is also meant to preserve the memory and legacy of Bishop Patrick Byrne, an apostolic delegate to Korea who was martyred in 1950 during a four-month-long forced march while in the captivity of communist forces in North Korea. Born in Washington, D.C., Byrne spent his formative years in Auburn, living just a few blocks from the parish. His family attended Mass there and he attended the parochial school; he was confirmed at the parish in 1900.

A record from Holy Family Church shows the Sept. 2, 1900, date of Bishop Patrick Byrne’s confirmation. | Credit: Courtesy of H.O.P.E.

Odrzywolski told EWTN News the preservation group formed in July 2024, a month after the parish was officially shuttered by the diocese. “We initially put together a preservation plan, which we shared with our pastor and with the Diocese of Rochester,” she said. “We’ve also shared it with the Vatican.” “We’ve also worked on educating the community as to the significance of the church,” she said. “We’ve had events in honor of Bishop Byrne and of his family, and on the 75th anniversary of his martyrdom we had a prayer vigil.”In addition to the link with Byrne, Odrzywolski said the parish was also once host to another famous Catholic bishop, now-Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen. The prelate, at the time the bishop of the Diocese of Rochester, officiated the funeral Mass of Father William Davie at the parish in 1968. The Vatican has requested that the group demonstration its ability to fund the church’s upkeep, she said. “We’re very appreciative of this opportunity. We’re hopeful if we can demonstrate the funding they’ll allow us to proceed with preserving the church.”Thus far, Odrzywolski said, the group isn’t accepting cash donations; instead, it is collecting pledges “so we can demonstrate our ability to fund the maintenance, repair, and preservation of the church.” “We’ve received over 300 pledges,” she continued. “We’re extremely grateful to every single person who has pledged. Many people have pledged as much as they possibly can. Many who pledge in general may be of limited or fixed income.”Odrzywolski said the needed repairs are limited to the exterior facade. The interior, she said, has been well maintained over more than a century and a half. The Vatican, meanwhile, is expecting the group’s proof of viability by August. “We’re trying our best to aim for an Aug. 1 deadline in order to allow enough time to prepare the documents in a timely manner,” she said.“The truth is, we need the entire community to come together,” she said. “The closure of the church impacts the entire community, and we need individuals, families, and businesses to come together.” “It’s about the future of Auburn,” she continued. “but it’s also about honoring Bishop Byrne, and ultimately honoring God.”

unitedyam July 18, 2026July 19, 2026

Holy Family Church in Auburn, New York, is facing a possible sale to developers if local Catholics cannot provide a financial plan to the Holy See.

France legalizes euthanasia after forceful push through Parliament #Catholic The French National Assembly gave final approval on July 15 to a bill legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide, making France one of the few European countries to legalize the practice along with Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Spain. The 291-241 vote came three years after President Emmanuel Macron, who had made it one of his key campaign promises, first opened the question to national debate.The vote ended an unusual parliamentary stalemate between the National Assembly and the Senate. Members of the National Assembly passed the bill three times over the course of 14 months — most recently on June 30 by a vote of 295 to 232 — and senators rejected it just as many times. On July 7, the Senate passed, by a narrow majority of 169 to 164, with 11 abstentions, a preliminary motion to outright reject the bill rather than debate it, and this motion itself called on the government to end the legislative process. Rather than heeding this call, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu invoked Article 45 of the Constitution, which allows the government to give the National Assembly the final say when repeated readings fail to produce an agreement between the two chambers. He then referred the bill back to the National Assembly for a fourth and final vote instead of a fourth reading in the Senate.The July 15 vote, however, did not close the matter. On July 14, Lecornu announced he would refer part of the text to the Constitutional Council, a step Senate President Gérard Larcher had also urged, citing in particular how the billʼs conscience clause would interact with health and social care facilities built around end-of-life accompaniment that exclude assisted dying. The council must rule within a month, or eight days if the government asks for an expedited review, meaning the law cannot be promulgated until that review is complete even though the Assembly has now adopted it.The end-of-life law covers both euthanasia, administered by a doctor or nurse, and assisted suicide, in which the patient self-administers a lethal substance, under five cumulative conditions: A person must be an adult, a stable resident of France, diagnosed with a serious and incurable condition, in an advanced or terminal phase of that condition, and suffering in a way current treatment cannot relieve, while remaining able to express a free and informed decision. Self-administration is supposed to be the default rule, with the law providing for intervention by a healthcare professional only when the patient is physically unable to act.A supporting measure aimed at expanding access to palliative care was adopted with much broader support, passing its first reading in the Senate by a vote of 307 to 17. To date, more than 20% of French departments still lack a palliative care unit, according to figures cited repeatedly by the Bishops’ Conference of France during the debate.The push to legalize assisted dying traces back to September 2022, when the National Consultative Ethics Committee reversed its earlier opposition to assisted dying and endorsed an “ethical” application of the practice. A citizens’ panel Macron had convened spent the following winter weighing the question and backed legalization.The French president unveiled the outline of a bill in March 2024, but the initiative stalled when he dissolved the Assembly in June the same year. Deputy Olivier Falorni, who had filed an earlier and unsuccessful end-of-life bill, revived it in 2025.Critics argue the newly adopted framework is among the most permissive of its kind in the world. Grégor Puppinck, a Catholic lawyer and director general of the European Centre for Law and Justice, has published a point-by-point analysis contending that the entire process rests on the judgment of a single physician, who may meet the patient for the first time on the day of the request and need not be the one already treating them.The two additional professionals that physician must consult are chosen by the same person, are not required to examine the patient in person, and may be consulted by videoconference. Puppinck noted the statute sets no minimum interval between the decision and the act itself beyond a two-day reflection window, relatives have no guaranteed right to be informed beforehand, and they cannot challenge the outcome in court. Doctors who object in conscience must still refer patients to a colleague willing to proceed, and private and religious institutions, including nursing homes, must accommodate mobile euthanasia teams under threat of administrative penalties. Oversight, in Puppinck’s account, comes only after death, based on a report filed by the same clinician who carried it out.The founders of the ethics collective Democracy, Ethics, and Solidarity, Laurent Frémont and Emmanuel Hirsch, wrote in Le Journal du Dimanche that the law’s eligibility criteria — primarily a “serious and incurable condition” causing “unbearable suffering,” are defined vaguely enough that a strict medical interpretation could make more than 1 million people eligible, including patients with chronic illnesses, psychiatric disorders, or advanced age, without requiring a prior written request, a peer review by medical colleagues, or a psychiatric evaluation.A 2025 study by the Fondation pour l’innovation politique estimated the measure could save the state around 1.4 billion euros (.6 billion) a year in health, eldercare, and pension spending, a projection critics have cited as evidence of the pressures vulnerable and elderly patients could face once the law takes effect.The French bishops’ conference called the text a threat to “the most fragile” among French citizens in a statement issued in May 2025 ahead of the Assembly’s first vote on the bill. The archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, has repeatedly urged lawmakers to reconsider their position, asserting that true solidarity is built through caring for others rather than through death. “More than assistance in dying, our society needs assistance in living,” he has repeatedly stated.In a video appeal to lawmakers released before the vote, Archbishop Vincent Jordy of Tours invoked François Rabelais’ centuries-old warning that “science without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.” What is underway, he said, is “an anthropological shift,” a new way of viewing life and its end that will gradually reshape the country, touching caregivers, families, people with disabilities, and the relationship between generations. He pointed to the Netherlands, where regulators had layered on safeguards for two decades and where health officials confirmed in June that a child under 12 had been euthanized for the first time, under a 2024 expansion of the law to children between the ages of 1 and 12. Making a law, Jordy said, is also opening doors toward things “one had perhaps not imagined” when it was written.

unitedyam July 15, 2026July 16, 2026

The vote, ending an unusual parliamentary stalemate between the National Assembly and the Senate, came three years after President Emmanuel Macron first opened the question to national debate.

Irish bishops condemn burning of mosque replica at holiday festivities #Catholic Archbishop Eamon Martin of the Catholic Archdiocese of Armagh and Archbishop John McDowell of the Church of Ireland have condemned the burning of a mosque replica in Northern Ireland during the country’s Eleventh Night bonfires.“The placement of a replica mosque atop a bonfire is grossly offensive and raises tensions so soon after the unrest that destroyed property and severely impacted the lives of individuals and families,” the archbishops said. Bonfires are traditionally lit in loyalist areas of Northern Ireland on the night before July 12 — a holiday referred to as “The Twelfth” — marking the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which saw the defeat of Catholic King James II. The mosque replica placed on top of a bonfire was reported to depict a person holding a knife and a flag.The incident follows weeks of civil unrest and targeting of migrant communities throughout Northern Ireland after a brutal knife attack in Belfast carried out by a Sudanese national.Little Sisters of the Poor set up field hospital for Venezuela earthquake victimsThe Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor of Maiquetía has set up a field hospital following the destruction of San José Hospital during the earthquakes in Venezuela last month.The sisters are continuing their health ministry operations across the street from the damaged hospital, Sister María Yraida Mora Sánchez, vicar general of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor, told Vatican News. "We are also making regular visits to three emergency shelters, and the situation is extremely difficult. It is especially challenging because Venezuela was already facing a severe economic and humanitarian crisis, as much of the world already knows,” she said. Abuse survivors seek damages from entity tied to Christian Brothers’ asset transfersSurvivors of clergy abuse at the hands of the Congregation of Christian Brothers are seeking to transfer their compensation claims to Edmund Rice Education Australia, a Catholic entity that received over million worth of property from the Christian Brothers over the course of a decade in symbolic transfers. The move comes after the Christian Brothers said in court that they could not afford to pay survivors’ claims in full but that they would sell off their remaining 36 properties valued at 7 million to divide among creditors and abuse survivors, according to a report from The Guardian on Friday.Indonesia bishops speak out against killing of American mission pilotCatholic bishops in Papua, Indonesia’s easternmost province, have condemned the murder of an American pilot on July 2 by an armed group.“We strongly condemn this brutal act,” Archbishop Petrus Canisius Mandagi of Merauke said, according to Licas News, noting that the plane that was set on fire by the group was an Associated Mission Aviation (AMA) aircraft owned by five dioceses in Papua. AMA has served Papua for 67 years, delivering humanitarian aid to areas difficult to reach by land. “For decades, we have faced risks from weather and technical problems. However, a criminal act involving the burning of an aircraft and the murder of a pilot is extremely difficult to accept. It is a barbaric and inhumane act,” Bishop Yanuarius Theofilus Matopai of Jayapura in Papua said. Pakistan archbishop declares child abuse a national, moral crisisArchbishop Joseph Arshad of Islamabad-Rawalpindi in Pakistan has designated 2026 the “Year of Children” amid what he described as “deep concern over the growing number of child abuse cases in society.”"The issue of child sexual abuse in Pakistan remains widespread and requires urgent attention,” the archbishop said in an interview with Fides News Agency on July 8. “Crimes against children are among the most shameful and intolerable violations of human dignity. No society can call itself just, peaceful, or civilized as long as its children live under threat, fear, and insecurity. Children are a sacred gift from God and must be protected with the highest level of moral, social, legal and institutional responsibility,” he said, calling for action from the Pakistani government. New Zealand marks near-50% surge in euthanasia deaths in 3 yearsA report has recorded a 48.17% increase in deaths by euthanasia and assisted suicide in New Zealand over the past three years.The Registrar (assisted dying) Annual Report to the Minister of Health June 2026 report found there was a total of 486 cases of euthanasia and assisted suicide in New Zealand from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026. In 2023-2024, there were 328 cases nationwide. The New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference has repeatedly spoken out against euthanasia and assisted suicide laws in the country. Bishop of Alexandria, Egypt, celebrates centenary of Latin Vicariate of Port SaidHundreds of pilgrims gathered in Port Said in Egypt to celebrate 100 years after the establishment of the apostolic procurator there, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Sunday.Bishop Claudio Lurati of the Apostolic Vicariate of Alexandria presided over the Mass celebrating the anniversary at the Regina Mundi Cathedral. Beyond the anniversary itself, the celebration brought together the history of the local Church, the legacy of generations of Christians, and a remarkable example of ecumenical cooperation, with Regina Mundi Cathedral serving both Latin Catholic and Coptic Orthodox communities.Thailand Catholic schools launch program to combat food insecurityIn the wake of catastrophic flooding across southern Thailand, the Catholic Foundation of the Surat Thani Diocese has launched a program to transform schools into food hubs.The “Promoting Nutrition and Sustainable Food Production for Children and the Poor” project is funded by Pope Leo XIV through the apostolic nuncio to Thailand, according to a report from Licas News on Wednesday. The project is designed to ensure that students receive balanced meals every day by enabling schools to become agricultural food production zones. The program will also establish health monitoring systems to track body mass index (BMI) of students suffering from food insecurity.

unitedyam July 11, 2026July 12, 2026

Irish bishops condemn anti-Muslim display, religious sisters set up a field hospital for Venezuela earthquake victims, euthanasia in New Zealand surges, and more in this week’s world news roundup.

Vatican commission seeks to address legal loophole facing women religious suffering abuse #Catholic Consecrated women and women religious who have suffered abuse face a significant legal loophole: Canon law and specialized commissions focus primarily on minors and adults with disabilities, leaving these women outside their scope of protection.In practice, this means that if the victim is an adult who has received formation, it is assumed she can defend herself or that she consented. However, signs of change are beginning to emerge from the Vatican.In addressing this issue, “it cannot simply be a label of ‘vulnerable adult,’” said Claudia Giampietro, an Italian canon lawyer working at the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM).“We must understand that there are situations of imbalances of power … and situations involving abuse, and so it is these situations of vulnerability that we need to examine more deeply,” she told EWTN News on July 1.

Claudia Giampietro, an Italian canon lawyer working at the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM), during an interview on July 1, 2026. | Credit: EWTN News

One of the functions of the PCPM is to collaborate with the various dicasteries of the Roman Curia, the conferences and unions of religious men and women, and the institutes of consecrated life.This enables them to gain firsthand knowledge of a complex reality: “There are a great many circumstances, situations, and people that can also affect women religious, including older ones, and so it is necessary to understand the contexts in which they work and carry out their ministry, both within their communities and also outside them,” Giampietro said.The situation in Latin AmericaThe Vatican helped break the taboo surrounding abuse against women religious by dedicating an extensive report to it in January 2020, published in Donne, Chiesa, Mondo (Women, Church, World), the monthly women’s supplement to L’Osservatore Romano. Issues covered include abuse of power, sexual abuse, and the difficulties faced by many nuns both within and outside consecrated life.In subsequent years, there has been a proliferation of studies aimed at gauging the scale of a phenomenon that was traditionally hidden. Notable among them is the research published in 2022 in the Spanish-language book “Vulnerability, Abuse, and Care in Womenʼs Religious Life,” edited by Sister María Rosaura González Casas, who at the time was coordinator of the Commission for the Care and Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons for the Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Religious.Based on a survey of 1,417 women religious, the study revealed that 19.8% reported having suffered sexual abuse, and more than half stated they had experienced some form of abuse of power at the hands of superiors, priests, formators, or bishops. Additionally, 14.3% of respondents indicated having been harassed by a priest, 9.7% by laypeople, and 8% by other religious women, figures that highlight the scope and complexity of an issue that remained largely silenced for decades.González Casas, dean of the Institute of Anthropology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, explained that since the study was published four years ago, “greater awareness of what abuse entails has grown at all levels” in the region.

Sister María Rosaura González Casas of the Company of St. Teresa of Jesus is dean of the Institute of Anthropology at the Pontifical Gregorian University. | Credit: Victoria Cardiel/EWTN News

“The sisters are more aware, and bishops and priests are also more alert to it. When we conducted the survey, many women religious did not want to respond, even though it was anonymous. There was fear of speaking out. Now there is greater awareness, although clear codes of conduct are still lacking. Unconscious and internalized machismo persists in society and has permeated religious and priestly life,” she explained in comments to EWTN News.A conference in Rome on abuse preventionIn order to promote dialogue to prevent abuse against women religious, the PCPM will organize the second annual meeting on abuse prevention, focusing on consecrated life. It will be held in Rome on Dec. 9–11, centering on the theme “Communion, Care, and Justice: Mutual Relationships for a Shared Mission.”This is not an academic conference but a synodal “learning lab” geared toward concrete results. Over the course of three days, bishops, representatives from institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life, conferences and unions of major superiors, officials from Roman Curia dicasteries, and experts in abuse prevention will collaborate through roundtables, sessions on canon law, and working groups.“The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors has already taken up this issue, and with their involvement, superiors and women religious will take it more seriously,” said Sister Jacinta Ondeng of the School Sisters of Notre Dame in Kenya, who has been invited to participate in the forum.“Safeguarding must be an essential part of community life,” emphasized the religious sister, director of the Safeguarding Initiative for Catholic Sisters, a project based at Tangaza University in Nairobi that provides training on abuse prevention across various African countries.Many situations are covered up due to a lack of oversightOndeng emphasized the need for effective case follow-up. “It’s important for the relevant Vatican offices to oversee these situations because cases from Africa, and perhaps other parts of the world, are often covered up precisely due to a lack of oversight. If the relevant bodies of the Holy See intervene and evaluate cases when congregations fail to resolve them, that will help.”

Sister Jacinta Ondeng, of the School Sisters of Notre Dame congregation in Kenya, will participate in a Vatican-organized conference on abuse. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Sister Jacinta Ondeng

She also proposes developing clear guidelines for handling abuse cases within consecrated life — similar to those established by Pope Francis in Vos Estis Lux Mundi for allegations of abuse against minors — which require bishops and superiors to take action when faced with complaints or concerning indications.“Once it becomes clear that the Vatican is involved in matters affecting members of consecrated life, there will be changes. Human nature responds to clear rules: When they exist, people tend to act with greater prudence,” she observed.The sister also led a revealing, as-yet-unpublished study in Africa that brought to light harrowing testimonies from consecrated women, such as:“Sisters leave not because they lack a vocation but because of abuse; superiors are abusing their authority.”“Sisters suffer in silence rather than reporting it because they love the Church and fear damaging the reputation of a priest, bishop, or superior.”“I told my superior what was happening, and since the sister in question was her friend, she did nothing.”The study’s results were presented at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome during the 2026 International Safeguarding Conference, held June 16–19 under the theme “One Commitment, Many Contexts: Safeguarding Across Cultures.” The study was based on an anonymous online survey conducted between February and March in which more than 140 religious sisters from various African countries participated.Fear of stigma and self-blameThe findings are revealing: 35.5% of congregations lack a formal safeguarding policy; 67.4% of those surveyed identify fear of stigma and self-blame as the main obstacles to reporting abuse; and 60.3% point to the absence of confidential reporting channels.Personal factors such as “shame, guilt, and self-reproach are very prevalent among many women religious who wish to take the step of reporting abuse,” explained Ondeng, who dedicates her ministry to conducting workshops and training on safeguarding in Africa, with a particular focus on Catholic women religious.Her goal is to raise awareness about abuse and its consequences, empower consecrated women to break the culture of silence, and promote safe environments for all. She also emphasized the importance of transparency and accountability as fundamental pillars for the success of safeguarding policies within the Church.The religious also warned of the tendency toward cover-ups that can arise in certain ecclesial contexts.“As numerous studies on abuse and the abuse of authority have shown, the Church hierarchy commands immense respect in many African societies,” she noted. While this is a positive cultural value, it also helps explain why individuals in positions of authority are rarely reported when involved in abusive behavior.This phenomenon is reflected in several of the testimonies gathered during the investigation:“Many sisters do not want to air dirty laundry. They do not wish to publicly expose these problems, in order to protect the institute’s reputation.”“Some fear that if they speak out, they will be expelled from religious life, and they do not want to leave,” Ondeng added.Lack of training in abuse preventionOndeng’s study also reveals that, when faced with situations of injustice or abuse, some women religious choose to leave consecrated life. Abuse can take many forms — sexual, spiritual, physical, emotional, or institutional — and, in certain cases, becomes unbearable.However, the majority of victims remain in their communities, often out of fear of the social stigma or rejection they might suffer if they returned to their families.Others are aware that leaving the convent could entail serious financial difficulties, as they lack employment or the means to support themselves, the religious explained.Of the 141 women religious surveyed, more than 95% stated they had received some form of training on the prevention of sexual abuse. However, in many cases, this preparation proves insufficient.“Most have taken short courses, but we cannot say that this 95% has received comprehensive training in safeguarding. At most, some have participated in one- or two-day sessions. That is very little, and it poses a problem,” the Kenyan religious sister noted in a statement to EWTN News.For this reason, she insists on the need to strengthen safeguarding training as a true ministry within the Church.“Much more preparation is needed for Catholic women religious to have the courage to speak about their experiences in their communities. Currently, training is very limited and must be ramped up to empower consecrated women,” she stated.Added to this challenge is a significant cultural component. “People do not want to make their problems public. It is something deeply rooted in African culture, although it also occurs in European and American contexts,” she stated.For its part, the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life does not publish aggregate figures on apostolic visitations conducted worldwide, as these are carried out on an occasional rather than a systematic basis.The only large-scale investigation for which detailed data exist was the one conducted in the United States from 2008 to 2014, which involved 341 institutes of consecrated life and about 50,000 religious women.“The entire Church must understand that safeguarding is a Gospel value. It’s not something imposed from the outside. The Gospel calls us to promote the dignity of every person, support those who suffer, and care for those who are hurting,” Ondeng pointed out.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.

unitedyam July 9, 2026July 10, 2026

Efforts to address the abuse crisis in the Church have focused on minors and vulnerable adults, leaving unaddressed the abuse suffered by women religious. Efforts are underway to rectify that.

Sendoff for Artemis II Crew – From left to right, NASA astronauts Andre Douglas, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronauts Jenni Gibbons, NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen pose for a photo before the Artemis II crew proceed to a media event on March 27, 2026.

unitedyam March 30, 2026

From left to right, NASA astronauts Andre Douglas, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronauts Jenni Gibbons, NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen pose for a photo before the Artemis II crew proceed to a media event on March 27, 2026.

unitedyam March 25, 2026

Moon rocks are seen during a March 24, 2026, event where NASA is outlining how the agency is executing the National Space Policy and accelerating preparations for America’s return to the surface of the Moon by 2028.

unitedyam March 19, 2026

An American bald eagles flies away from its nest and tree at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, March 13, 2026.

Celebrating 100 Years Since Goddard’s Breakthrough Moment in Modern Rocketry – Dr. Robert H. Goddard and a liquid oxygen-gasoline rocket in the frame from which it was fired on March 16, 1926, at Auburn, Mass.

unitedyam March 16, 2026

Dr. Robert H. Goddard and a liquid oxygen-gasoline rocket in the frame from which it was fired on March 16, 1926, at Auburn, Mass.

unitedyam March 14, 2026

Early morning sunlight illuminates the western wall of this unnamed crater, leaving deep shadows on the ground and in the interior. The image was taken on August 30, 2023, by LROC (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera).

Total Lunar Eclipse – A total lunar eclipse rises over New Orleans, home of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, in the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 3. A lunar eclipse occurs when Earth passes directly between the Sun and Moon, casting a huge shadow across the Moon’s surface. The Moon appears dark red or orange as the Sun’s light filters through Earth’s atmosphere.

unitedyam March 5, 2026

A total lunar eclipse rises over New Orleans, home of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, in the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 3. A lunar eclipse occurs when Earth passes directly between the Sun and Moon, casting a huge shadow across the Moon’s surface. The Moon appears dark red or orange as the Sun’s light filters through Earth’s atmosphere.

Reminders of Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going – Moon rocks are seen during a March 24, 2026, event where NASA is outlining how the agency is executing the National Space Policy and accelerating preparations for America’s return to the surface of the Moon by 2028.

American Bald Eagle at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center – An American bald eagles flies away from its nest and tree at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, March 13, 2026.

Celebrating 100 Years Since Goddard’s Breakthrough Moment in Modern Rocketry – Dr. Robert H. Goddard and a liquid oxygen-gasoline rocket in the frame from which it was fired on March 16, 1926, at Auburn, Mass.

Good Morning, Moon – Early morning sunlight illuminates the western wall of this unnamed crater, leaving deep shadows on the ground and in the interior. The image was taken on August 30, 2023, by LROC (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera).