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SSPX Masses an ‘abuse’ of Eucharist: U.S. bishops continue to urge Catholics not to attend #Catholic U.S. bishops continue to instruct Catholics to separate themselves from the schismatic Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) while urging the society’s members to return to full communion with the Catholic Church.The Vatican declared July 2 that six prelates involved in the SSPX’s unauthorized July 1 episcopal consecrations incurred automatic excommunication. Despite repeated warnings, SSPX bishops consecrated four new bishops without a pontifical mandate — an act of open disobedience to the authority of the pope that carries automatic excommunication for the six bishops involved.Lay faithful who formally adhere to SSPX are also considered schismatic and can incur excommunication by continuing to attend SSPX services after the Church’s formal pronouncement of a schism.Various Catholic bishops with SSPX locations in their dioceses are explicitly forbidding Catholics from attending SSPX Masses, instructing them to avoid the now-illicit sacraments and to withdraw their children from SSPX-affiliated schools while also urging frequent attendees and SSPX priests to seek spiritual guidance and return to the Catholic Church.Abuse of the EucharistBishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, instructed Catholics to “avoid participating in the activities of the SSPX.”Burbidge emphasized in a July 8 letter to his flock that “as a result of the SSPXʼs schismatic act, any celebrations of the sacraments of confession and matrimony by the SSPX are invalid, and the administration of other sacraments is illicit.”Bishop John Iffert of Covington, Kentucky, explained what it means for these sacraments to be “illicit.”“This means that the celebrations are not permitted by the law of the Church and the cleric offering the sacrament commits the canonical and moral fault of disobedience in each instance,” Iffert said.“The Masses these priests celebrate are an abuse of the Eucharist, insofar as they make the sacrament of unity into an occasion of division within the Church, and so they should be firmly rejected and avoided by all the Catholic faithful,” Iffert said.“Together with the priests of the diocese, I invite all Catholics who have been attending the SSPX liturgy to practice their faith in one of the parishes, missions, or chapels of the diocese,” Iffert said. “You will find the Catholic Mass and the sacramental life celebrated faithfully and respectfully throughout the Diocese of Covington.”Who is in schism?Burbidge clarified that not all attendees of SSPX are necessarily in schism but must simply return to sacraments and ministries in union with the Church.“I encourage any persons locally who have been attached to the SSPX and who desire the spiritual nourishment of the Church and the extraordinary form of the Mass to become active in any one of the eight locations in our diocese where this is currently possible,” Burbidge said.“Although lay faithful who formally adhere to the SSPX are considered schismatic and excommunicated, this does not apply to lay faithful ‘who do not reject the magisterium of the authority of the Roman pontiff’ and have engaged with the SSPX for solely liturgical or spiritual reasons,” Burbidge said. “Such persons must simply resolve not to continue to participate in future SSPX sacramental worship or pastoral ministries.”“The Holy See, in the spirit of conciliation, has outlined the procedure necessary for SSPX priests and lay faithful to return to Catholic communion,” Burbidge explained.Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez of Palm Beach, Florida, issued a decree reiterating the Holy See’s excommunication and instructing the faithful to separate from SSPX in any "ecclesiastical ministry” or “diocesan entity.”Rodríguez also provided instructions for any Catholics who wish to leave SSPX “and enter into full communion with the Catholic Church."How SSPX’s schism affects educationThe schismatic acts of SSPX have a trickle-down effect, even affecting the education of children.In Covington, Kentucky, two schools are affiliated with SSPX. Iffert has instructed Catholics to withdraw their children from the schools due to the schismatic nature of the group.“Because Assumption Academy and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Academy are associated with the SSPX, Catholic parents should not enroll their children in these schools,” Iffert said in a letter. “To do so is to entrust the religious formation of children to those who participate in schism against the Roman Catholic Church.”He encouraged parents to reach out to the diocesan Catholic schools office for “appropriate placement in a local Catholic school.”Praying for returnThe bishops prayed for union and for society members to return to the Church.“I pledge to pray for the bishops and priests of the SSPX and for their faithful return to regular order in the Catholic Church,” Iffert said. “I also assure the lay faithful who have been attached to the SSPX of my prayer for their good and for the restoration of unity in the Church.”Burbidge prayed especially for SSPX priests.“To my brother priests in the SSPX, please know of my prayers for you and my heartfelt desire for your return to full communion with the Church,” Burbidge said. “I invite all the faithful to join me in prayer for the end of all division and schism and for the unity of the Church, so that she may better fulfill the divine commission to make disciples of all nations.”“I ask all faithful Catholics to pray for restored unity and order in the Church and in our diocese,” Iffert said. “Please beg the intercession of Pope St. Pius X, that his name may always give glory to God and never be a sign of division in the Eucharistic community that he cherished.”
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SSPX Masses an ‘abuse’ of Eucharist: U.S. bishops continue to urge Catholics not to attend #Catholic U.S. bishops continue to instruct Catholics to separate themselves from the schismatic Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) while urging the society’s members to return to full communion with the Catholic Church.The Vatican declared July 2 that six prelates involved in the SSPX’s unauthorized July 1 episcopal consecrations incurred automatic excommunication. Despite repeated warnings, SSPX bishops consecrated four new bishops without a pontifical mandate — an act of open disobedience to the authority of the pope that carries automatic excommunication for the six bishops involved.Lay faithful who formally adhere to SSPX are also considered schismatic and can incur excommunication by continuing to attend SSPX services after the Church’s formal pronouncement of a schism.Various Catholic bishops with SSPX locations in their dioceses are explicitly forbidding Catholics from attending SSPX Masses, instructing them to avoid the now-illicit sacraments and to withdraw their children from SSPX-affiliated schools while also urging frequent attendees and SSPX priests to seek spiritual guidance and return to the Catholic Church.Abuse of the EucharistBishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, instructed Catholics to “avoid participating in the activities of the SSPX.”Burbidge emphasized in a July 8 letter to his flock that “as a result of the SSPXʼs schismatic act, any celebrations of the sacraments of confession and matrimony by the SSPX are invalid, and the administration of other sacraments is illicit.”Bishop John Iffert of Covington, Kentucky, explained what it means for these sacraments to be “illicit.”“This means that the celebrations are not permitted by the law of the Church and the cleric offering the sacrament commits the canonical and moral fault of disobedience in each instance,” Iffert said.“The Masses these priests celebrate are an abuse of the Eucharist, insofar as they make the sacrament of unity into an occasion of division within the Church, and so they should be firmly rejected and avoided by all the Catholic faithful,” Iffert said.“Together with the priests of the diocese, I invite all Catholics who have been attending the SSPX liturgy to practice their faith in one of the parishes, missions, or chapels of the diocese,” Iffert said. “You will find the Catholic Mass and the sacramental life celebrated faithfully and respectfully throughout the Diocese of Covington.”Who is in schism?Burbidge clarified that not all attendees of SSPX are necessarily in schism but must simply return to sacraments and ministries in union with the Church.“I encourage any persons locally who have been attached to the SSPX and who desire the spiritual nourishment of the Church and the extraordinary form of the Mass to become active in any one of the eight locations in our diocese where this is currently possible,” Burbidge said.“Although lay faithful who formally adhere to the SSPX are considered schismatic and excommunicated, this does not apply to lay faithful ‘who do not reject the magisterium of the authority of the Roman pontiff’ and have engaged with the SSPX for solely liturgical or spiritual reasons,” Burbidge said. “Such persons must simply resolve not to continue to participate in future SSPX sacramental worship or pastoral ministries.”“The Holy See, in the spirit of conciliation, has outlined the procedure necessary for SSPX priests and lay faithful to return to Catholic communion,” Burbidge explained.Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez of Palm Beach, Florida, issued a decree reiterating the Holy See’s excommunication and instructing the faithful to separate from SSPX in any "ecclesiastical ministry” or “diocesan entity.”Rodríguez also provided instructions for any Catholics who wish to leave SSPX “and enter into full communion with the Catholic Church."How SSPX’s schism affects educationThe schismatic acts of SSPX have a trickle-down effect, even affecting the education of children.In Covington, Kentucky, two schools are affiliated with SSPX. Iffert has instructed Catholics to withdraw their children from the schools due to the schismatic nature of the group.“Because Assumption Academy and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Academy are associated with the SSPX, Catholic parents should not enroll their children in these schools,” Iffert said in a letter. “To do so is to entrust the religious formation of children to those who participate in schism against the Roman Catholic Church.”He encouraged parents to reach out to the diocesan Catholic schools office for “appropriate placement in a local Catholic school.”Praying for returnThe bishops prayed for union and for society members to return to the Church.“I pledge to pray for the bishops and priests of the SSPX and for their faithful return to regular order in the Catholic Church,” Iffert said. “I also assure the lay faithful who have been attached to the SSPX of my prayer for their good and for the restoration of unity in the Church.”Burbidge prayed especially for SSPX priests.“To my brother priests in the SSPX, please know of my prayers for you and my heartfelt desire for your return to full communion with the Church,” Burbidge said. “I invite all the faithful to join me in prayer for the end of all division and schism and for the unity of the Church, so that she may better fulfill the divine commission to make disciples of all nations.”“I ask all faithful Catholics to pray for restored unity and order in the Church and in our diocese,” Iffert said. “Please beg the intercession of Pope St. Pius X, that his name may always give glory to God and never be a sign of division in the Eucharistic community that he cherished.”

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More U.S. bishops are instructing Catholics to avoid attending Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) events in light of the recent excommunications of SSPX leadership.

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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.
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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.

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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.

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Pope Leo XIV accepts Constitution Center’s 2026 Liberty Medal: ‘I am honored’ #Catholic PHILADELPHIA — Pope Leo XIV said he was “honored” to accept the 2026 Liberty Medal from the National Constitution Center (NCC) in livestreamed remarks delivered for the ceremony in Philadelphia on July 3.“I am honored to accept the Liberty Medal of the National Constitution Center in this year that marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America with the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776,” the Holy Father said.Leo was born in Chicago but earned a bachelor’s degree at Villanova University in the Philadelphia suburbs. The NCC presented the award to the pontiff in person at the Vatican on April 30, ahead of the ceremony.In his remarks, Leo thanked those gathered in Philadelphia for the occasion. The NCC building overlooks the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, where the country’s founders developed and adopted the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.“As a son of this great country, founded by courageous men and women who dreamed of liberty and of a better life for themselves and for their children, I join you in asking God’s blessings upon America’s future, that the lofty ideals enshrined at the beginning of the Declaration of Independence may continue to guide the flourishing of the nation in unity, justice, and peace,” Leo said.“From our youth, most of us have admired the eloquence of those words, with their resounding appeal to the law of nature and to nature’s God as the basis of their assertion that all men and women are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, including the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” he said.The pontiff said that although the text employed “the language of the Enlightenment,” the claim is “ultimately grounded in an understanding of the human person inspired by the great biblical vision of man and woman being created in the divine image.”“It is indeed here that we discover the basis of human dignity; dignity which precedes the establishment of any state and whose custody constitutes its very purpose,” Leo said. Pope Leo XIV watches the livestreamed ceremony between the Vatican and the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on July 3, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Respecting the right to life “in every form and condition,” he said, is directly tied to the nation’s vitality. He said society must cultivate a reverence for life that “sways the hearts of individuals and inspires laws that recognize and safeguard this gift from the moment of conception to natural death.”The right to liberty, the pontiff said, is much deeper than simply doing what one wants. It is “founded upon the human person’s capacity to know the truth and adhere to what is good, even at great cost — a sacrifice well known to many who have labored to shape this country,” he said.“The desire for truth and freedom, as well as the very pursuit of happiness, continues to inspire people of all generations to ask fundamental questions regarding the meaning of life, our ultimate purpose, and indeed about God, and it is proper for magnanimous hearts to endeavor to answer these questions with sincerity,” Leo said.The Holy Father said that religious freedom, to be “free from fear and coercion, as enshrined in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,” is needed to answer those questions.“It is my hope that this tradition will continue to bear fruit in a public discourse marked by moderation, respect for the views of others, and an ongoing effort to find common ground in promoting the cause of peace and reconciliation, at home and abroad,” he added.The pope said he is praying that the 250th anniversary of the United States “may be the occasion of a solemn recommitment to these ideals that have made America a country that values peace and prosperity, a country characterized by generosity and nobility of heart.”Archbishop Perez, Gov. Shapiro speakThe ceremony was attended by a few hundred guests and included other speakers, such as Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson J. Perez, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, state Attorney General Dave Sunday, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, and local Christian, Muslim, and Jewish religious leaders.Perez said throughout Leo’s life — as priest, bishop, cardinal, and pope — he has defended the “inherent dignity of all people and building pathways to peace,” including a defense of religious freedom.“True freedom stems from defending dignity and the value of every human being,” he said.Perez told EWTN News following the event that the pope’s words “bring us back to our origins” as Americans regarding the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.“It was wonderful to hear him once again bring us back to center, that we all were created in a very image and likeness of God,” the archbishop said. “Our human dignity and our rights flow from that. They flow from being created in Godʼs image and likeness and from there flows our freedom and the heart that seeks God.”“Itʼs a wonderful day for Philadelphia,” Perez said. “Itʼs a wonderful day for the country. Itʼs a wonderful day for the world.”Shapiro congratulated the pope on receiving the award and thanked the Holy Father, on behalf of Pennsylvania, “for using your voice, your power, to advance religious liberty for all people.”The ceremony included the ringing of a replica of the Liberty Bell just outside the building. It was rung by Sunday, the attorney general, who recalled the words of Benjamin Franklin when the Founding Father was asked what form of government they had created after the constitutional convention: “A republic, if you can keep it.”“Our Constitution is the rock upon which we will build in the next 250 years,” Sunday said.
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Pope Leo XIV accepts Constitution Center’s 2026 Liberty Medal: ‘I am honored’ #Catholic PHILADELPHIA — Pope Leo XIV said he was “honored” to accept the 2026 Liberty Medal from the National Constitution Center (NCC) in livestreamed remarks delivered for the ceremony in Philadelphia on July 3.“I am honored to accept the Liberty Medal of the National Constitution Center in this year that marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America with the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776,” the Holy Father said.Leo was born in Chicago but earned a bachelor’s degree at Villanova University in the Philadelphia suburbs. The NCC presented the award to the pontiff in person at the Vatican on April 30, ahead of the ceremony.In his remarks, Leo thanked those gathered in Philadelphia for the occasion. The NCC building overlooks the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, where the country’s founders developed and adopted the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.“As a son of this great country, founded by courageous men and women who dreamed of liberty and of a better life for themselves and for their children, I join you in asking God’s blessings upon America’s future, that the lofty ideals enshrined at the beginning of the Declaration of Independence may continue to guide the flourishing of the nation in unity, justice, and peace,” Leo said.“From our youth, most of us have admired the eloquence of those words, with their resounding appeal to the law of nature and to nature’s God as the basis of their assertion that all men and women are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, including the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” he said.The pontiff said that although the text employed “the language of the Enlightenment,” the claim is “ultimately grounded in an understanding of the human person inspired by the great biblical vision of man and woman being created in the divine image.”“It is indeed here that we discover the basis of human dignity; dignity which precedes the establishment of any state and whose custody constitutes its very purpose,” Leo said. Pope Leo XIV watches the livestreamed ceremony between the Vatican and the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on July 3, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Respecting the right to life “in every form and condition,” he said, is directly tied to the nation’s vitality. He said society must cultivate a reverence for life that “sways the hearts of individuals and inspires laws that recognize and safeguard this gift from the moment of conception to natural death.”The right to liberty, the pontiff said, is much deeper than simply doing what one wants. It is “founded upon the human person’s capacity to know the truth and adhere to what is good, even at great cost — a sacrifice well known to many who have labored to shape this country,” he said.“The desire for truth and freedom, as well as the very pursuit of happiness, continues to inspire people of all generations to ask fundamental questions regarding the meaning of life, our ultimate purpose, and indeed about God, and it is proper for magnanimous hearts to endeavor to answer these questions with sincerity,” Leo said.The Holy Father said that religious freedom, to be “free from fear and coercion, as enshrined in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,” is needed to answer those questions.“It is my hope that this tradition will continue to bear fruit in a public discourse marked by moderation, respect for the views of others, and an ongoing effort to find common ground in promoting the cause of peace and reconciliation, at home and abroad,” he added.The pope said he is praying that the 250th anniversary of the United States “may be the occasion of a solemn recommitment to these ideals that have made America a country that values peace and prosperity, a country characterized by generosity and nobility of heart.”Archbishop Perez, Gov. Shapiro speakThe ceremony was attended by a few hundred guests and included other speakers, such as Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson J. Perez, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, state Attorney General Dave Sunday, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, and local Christian, Muslim, and Jewish religious leaders.Perez said throughout Leo’s life — as priest, bishop, cardinal, and pope — he has defended the “inherent dignity of all people and building pathways to peace,” including a defense of religious freedom.“True freedom stems from defending dignity and the value of every human being,” he said.Perez told EWTN News following the event that the pope’s words “bring us back to our origins” as Americans regarding the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.“It was wonderful to hear him once again bring us back to center, that we all were created in a very image and likeness of God,” the archbishop said. “Our human dignity and our rights flow from that. They flow from being created in Godʼs image and likeness and from there flows our freedom and the heart that seeks God.”“Itʼs a wonderful day for Philadelphia,” Perez said. “Itʼs a wonderful day for the country. Itʼs a wonderful day for the world.”Shapiro congratulated the pope on receiving the award and thanked the Holy Father, on behalf of Pennsylvania, “for using your voice, your power, to advance religious liberty for all people.”The ceremony included the ringing of a replica of the Liberty Bell just outside the building. It was rung by Sunday, the attorney general, who recalled the words of Benjamin Franklin when the Founding Father was asked what form of government they had created after the constitutional convention: “A republic, if you can keep it.”“Our Constitution is the rock upon which we will build in the next 250 years,” Sunday said.

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The pope delivered livestreamed remarks, praising the values enshrined in the Declaration of Independence: the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

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Catholic scholar says classical learning can help renew America #Catholic ANN ARBOR, Michigan — Catholics should be proud of their contributions to the United States, especially for the intellectual tradition inherited from philosophers, theologians, and saints who contributed to the ideas leading to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, author and Hillsdale College Professor Matthew Mehan told EWTN News leading up to the 250th anniversary of the nation.Mehan is associate dean and professor of government studies at Hillsdale College’s Washington, D.C. campus. He holds a doctorate in literature from the University of Dallas and recently authored The American Book of Fables, a book for all ages that reflects Mehan’s desire to contribute to national renewal. The fables are set in the American landscape, framed by the Declaration of Independence, and accompanied by historical documents illustrating the country’s history, complexity, and geographical regions. In interviews with EWTN News, the author and scholar said the book grew out of his broader efforts to promote culture renewal through educational reform.“In a sense, it is an unsurprisingly Catholic endeavour of ‘fides et ratio,’” he said. “I wanted something like in church, where there is a papal flag and an American flag, representing faith, morals, love of country, and love of neighbor.” “I’ve always thought that way. I’ve also thought a lot about a combination of those things, with beautiful images and beautiful moral sentiments, and how those come together. So when the semiquinquicentennial was coming up, I thought it would be a great gift to the country.”. Mehan won the America 250 Innovation Prize from the Heritage Foundation for the work.The educator and father of eight said he shares the concerns of many teachers and parents dismayed by the current culture and how education has failed to cultivate virtue, civic pride and responsibility. He and his wife founded a school cooperative in Reston, Virginia that now has 38 participating families. He has also designed curricula for schools across the country. The role of educators is essential, Mehan said, while noting that doctorates are now the equivalent of 19th-century master’s degrees in terms of academic formation. “Catholic academics don’t know their own traditions very well,” he argued. “They know Greek philosophers, and the moderns who reject the Greco-Roman, Judeo-Christian, and Catholic vision of Western civilization and human nature, and may know the Summa Theologica and St. Augustine. But what they don’t know is the poetical and rhetorical tradition which moves people toward a common vision, which is an indispensable part of good letters and a healthy citizenry.” “And they don’t know the Romans,” he added. Drawing on the classical tradition, Mehan noted that Roman thinkers such as Cicero and Seneca prepared the “good soil,” the intellectual antecedents that inspired America’s founders. “Cicero, for instance, was taught in all seminaries until the 1900s,” while Seneca was praised by St. Jerome, he said. And ideas found in Cicero were the underpinnings of the theory of natural rights that informed later Catholic philosophers. Seneca’s De Clementia, for example, contributed to concepts of constitutional democracy and rights that shaped the American experiment in government. These classical authors, he argues, still have relevance and deserve renewed attention in universities and seminaries. Matthew Mehan is associate dean and professor of government studies at Hillsdale College’s Washington, D.C. campus. | Photo courtesy of Matthew Megan Asked about the future of Catholic education and how it can play a role in a national renewal, despite the closing of Catholic parishes and schools, Mehan said: “Catholic education is displaying a nascent energy.”“It’s very dynamic and full of people who have reoriented education towards what the Christian humanists of the Catholic tradition understood as their goal, which is to help students have a clean conscience and thus have the most joyful life possible in this life and the next,” he said.For Mehan, moral formation must take precedence over the mere transmission of information. He argues that Catholic education drifted from this mission in the 20th century as it increasingly followed secular models of education.Subjects such as calculus, computer coding, and the sciences are valuable, he said, but they should not be the primary focus of Catholic schools. “If you aim at them, ironically, you won’t get them. If you aim high, you’ll get the high and the low. If you aim for the low, you’ll get nothing. That is why education has collapsed except where the moral life is, ideally, centered around Christ.”Catholics holding doctorates who complain that tenured positions at colleges and universities are scarce should look to K-12 schools to make national renewal a reality, Mehan said.The renewal of Catholic education, and how it can contribute to national renewal, depends on placing Christ at the center and embracing the universal call to holiness emphasized by the Second Vatican Council, he argued. Movements such as Opus Dei and the Neo-catechumenal Way serve as “an enormous engine,” Mehan said, to plant holiness in students and encourage teachers themselves to be saints. It will change “how people teach, how they design curricula, and how they bring forward the richness of the Catholic faith and tradition.” “Actually, I’m very hopeful,” he said.To Catholics who may think of themselves as strangers in the United States, Mehan said, “No, brother, you built this too.” “Your people, your religious tradition, are at home here,” he said. “And you are meant for republican self-government. Augustine’s City of God laid the groundwork, St. Thomas Aquinas built the scaffolding, and St. Thomas More made it shine. American Catholics built this country with sweat, blood, and their arms.” “This is your patrimony too,” he said.
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Catholic scholar says classical learning can help renew America #Catholic ANN ARBOR, Michigan — Catholics should be proud of their contributions to the United States, especially for the intellectual tradition inherited from philosophers, theologians, and saints who contributed to the ideas leading to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, author and Hillsdale College Professor Matthew Mehan told EWTN News leading up to the 250th anniversary of the nation.Mehan is associate dean and professor of government studies at Hillsdale College’s Washington, D.C. campus. He holds a doctorate in literature from the University of Dallas and recently authored The American Book of Fables, a book for all ages that reflects Mehan’s desire to contribute to national renewal. The fables are set in the American landscape, framed by the Declaration of Independence, and accompanied by historical documents illustrating the country’s history, complexity, and geographical regions. In interviews with EWTN News, the author and scholar said the book grew out of his broader efforts to promote culture renewal through educational reform.“In a sense, it is an unsurprisingly Catholic endeavour of ‘fides et ratio,’” he said. “I wanted something like in church, where there is a papal flag and an American flag, representing faith, morals, love of country, and love of neighbor.” “I’ve always thought that way. I’ve also thought a lot about a combination of those things, with beautiful images and beautiful moral sentiments, and how those come together. So when the semiquinquicentennial was coming up, I thought it would be a great gift to the country.”. Mehan won the America 250 Innovation Prize from the Heritage Foundation for the work.The educator and father of eight said he shares the concerns of many teachers and parents dismayed by the current culture and how education has failed to cultivate virtue, civic pride and responsibility. He and his wife founded a school cooperative in Reston, Virginia that now has 38 participating families. He has also designed curricula for schools across the country. The role of educators is essential, Mehan said, while noting that doctorates are now the equivalent of 19th-century master’s degrees in terms of academic formation. “Catholic academics don’t know their own traditions very well,” he argued. “They know Greek philosophers, and the moderns who reject the Greco-Roman, Judeo-Christian, and Catholic vision of Western civilization and human nature, and may know the Summa Theologica and St. Augustine. But what they don’t know is the poetical and rhetorical tradition which moves people toward a common vision, which is an indispensable part of good letters and a healthy citizenry.” “And they don’t know the Romans,” he added. Drawing on the classical tradition, Mehan noted that Roman thinkers such as Cicero and Seneca prepared the “good soil,” the intellectual antecedents that inspired America’s founders. “Cicero, for instance, was taught in all seminaries until the 1900s,” while Seneca was praised by St. Jerome, he said. And ideas found in Cicero were the underpinnings of the theory of natural rights that informed later Catholic philosophers. Seneca’s De Clementia, for example, contributed to concepts of constitutional democracy and rights that shaped the American experiment in government. These classical authors, he argues, still have relevance and deserve renewed attention in universities and seminaries. Matthew Mehan is associate dean and professor of government studies at Hillsdale College’s Washington, D.C. campus. | Photo courtesy of Matthew Megan Asked about the future of Catholic education and how it can play a role in a national renewal, despite the closing of Catholic parishes and schools, Mehan said: “Catholic education is displaying a nascent energy.”“It’s very dynamic and full of people who have reoriented education towards what the Christian humanists of the Catholic tradition understood as their goal, which is to help students have a clean conscience and thus have the most joyful life possible in this life and the next,” he said.For Mehan, moral formation must take precedence over the mere transmission of information. He argues that Catholic education drifted from this mission in the 20th century as it increasingly followed secular models of education.Subjects such as calculus, computer coding, and the sciences are valuable, he said, but they should not be the primary focus of Catholic schools. “If you aim at them, ironically, you won’t get them. If you aim high, you’ll get the high and the low. If you aim for the low, you’ll get nothing. That is why education has collapsed except where the moral life is, ideally, centered around Christ.”Catholics holding doctorates who complain that tenured positions at colleges and universities are scarce should look to K-12 schools to make national renewal a reality, Mehan said.The renewal of Catholic education, and how it can contribute to national renewal, depends on placing Christ at the center and embracing the universal call to holiness emphasized by the Second Vatican Council, he argued. Movements such as Opus Dei and the Neo-catechumenal Way serve as “an enormous engine,” Mehan said, to plant holiness in students and encourage teachers themselves to be saints. It will change “how people teach, how they design curricula, and how they bring forward the richness of the Catholic faith and tradition.” “Actually, I’m very hopeful,” he said.To Catholics who may think of themselves as strangers in the United States, Mehan said, “No, brother, you built this too.” “Your people, your religious tradition, are at home here,” he said. “And you are meant for republican self-government. Augustine’s City of God laid the groundwork, St. Thomas Aquinas built the scaffolding, and St. Thomas More made it shine. American Catholics built this country with sweat, blood, and their arms.” “This is your patrimony too,” he said.

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Author and professor calls on Catholics to revive American culture through faith and classical learning.

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97-year-old cardinal, tortured under communism, climbs Medjugorje’s Apparition Hill #Catholic Cardinal Ernest Simoni, 97, who was tortured by Albaniaʼs communist regime, climbed Apparition Hill in Medjugorje on June 23, the day before the 45th anniversary of the start of the alleged apparitions.Six young people claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary for the first time on June 24, 1981, the feast day of St. John the Baptist, on Mount Podbrdo. Since then, some of those visionaries say they still receive messages from the Mother of God on a daily basis.Following a lengthy investigation, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith approved a document in 2024 titled The Queen of Peace, which acknowledges the spiritual fruits that have been borne, finds no obstacles in the alleged messages received, and makes no pronouncement regarding the supernatural nature of the phenomena.Assisted by young people from the Cenacolo Community, who carried the cardinal part of the way as he was seated on a litter, the Albanian cardinal traversed a portion of the rocky path on foot, though not without difficulty. Members of the Cenacolo Community carry Cardinal Simoni in Medjugorje. | Credit: Courtesy of Maria Vision Medjugorje Along the way, he blessed those present who stopped to greet him. Upon reaching the summit of the mountain, he prayed the rosary beside the statue of the Virgin Mary and blessed the water with which he sprinkled the crowd before returning.The footage of this pilgrimage, provided by María Visión Medjugorje, bears witness to the determination of the cardinal who, as a priest, endured the communist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha, the man who proclaimed Albania to be “the first atheist state in the world."A priest twice sentenced to deathBorn in 1928 in the village of Troshani, the young Simoni underwent formation with the Franciscans from 1938 to 1948, until a bloody religious persecution eliminated the communityʼs superiors and forced him to continue his formation in secret.In 1956, he was ordained a priest at St. Stephenʼs Cathedral in the Archdiocese of Shkodrë-Pult. Seven years later, after celebrating Christmas Eve Mass on Dec. 24, 1963, he was arrested by four agents and informed that he would be executed by hanging, accused of having celebrated a Mass for the repose of the soul of recently assassinated U.S. President John F. Kennedy at the behest of St. Paul VI. According to his own account, an attempt was made to entrap him by placing another prisoner in his cell who began complaining about the Communist Party. News of his preaching about love for oneʼs enemies while in prison reached the dictator, who decided to commute his sentence to 28 years of forced labor. During those years, he continued to celebrate Mass and exercise his priestly ministry clandestinely.In 1973, he was once again sentenced to death, accused of inciting a rebellion. However, exonerating testimony prevented the immediate execution of the sentence, and he remained in prison for another 18 years until his release in 1981.He continued his pastoral work in secret for another nine years, until the fall of the communist regime in 1990. “The Lord has helped me to serve so many people and to reconcile many, driving hatred and the devil away from the hearts of men,” he stated upon concluding his testimony before Pope Francis in October 2016.A month later, Simoni was created a cardinal at the consistory held on Nov. 19, 2016.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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97-year-old cardinal, tortured under communism, climbs Medjugorje’s Apparition Hill #Catholic Cardinal Ernest Simoni, 97, who was tortured by Albaniaʼs communist regime, climbed Apparition Hill in Medjugorje on June 23, the day before the 45th anniversary of the start of the alleged apparitions.Six young people claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary for the first time on June 24, 1981, the feast day of St. John the Baptist, on Mount Podbrdo. Since then, some of those visionaries say they still receive messages from the Mother of God on a daily basis.Following a lengthy investigation, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith approved a document in 2024 titled The Queen of Peace, which acknowledges the spiritual fruits that have been borne, finds no obstacles in the alleged messages received, and makes no pronouncement regarding the supernatural nature of the phenomena.Assisted by young people from the Cenacolo Community, who carried the cardinal part of the way as he was seated on a litter, the Albanian cardinal traversed a portion of the rocky path on foot, though not without difficulty. Members of the Cenacolo Community carry Cardinal Simoni in Medjugorje. | Credit: Courtesy of Maria Vision Medjugorje Along the way, he blessed those present who stopped to greet him. Upon reaching the summit of the mountain, he prayed the rosary beside the statue of the Virgin Mary and blessed the water with which he sprinkled the crowd before returning.The footage of this pilgrimage, provided by María Visión Medjugorje, bears witness to the determination of the cardinal who, as a priest, endured the communist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha, the man who proclaimed Albania to be “the first atheist state in the world."A priest twice sentenced to deathBorn in 1928 in the village of Troshani, the young Simoni underwent formation with the Franciscans from 1938 to 1948, until a bloody religious persecution eliminated the communityʼs superiors and forced him to continue his formation in secret.In 1956, he was ordained a priest at St. Stephenʼs Cathedral in the Archdiocese of Shkodrë-Pult. Seven years later, after celebrating Christmas Eve Mass on Dec. 24, 1963, he was arrested by four agents and informed that he would be executed by hanging, accused of having celebrated a Mass for the repose of the soul of recently assassinated U.S. President John F. Kennedy at the behest of St. Paul VI. According to his own account, an attempt was made to entrap him by placing another prisoner in his cell who began complaining about the Communist Party. News of his preaching about love for oneʼs enemies while in prison reached the dictator, who decided to commute his sentence to 28 years of forced labor. During those years, he continued to celebrate Mass and exercise his priestly ministry clandestinely.In 1973, he was once again sentenced to death, accused of inciting a rebellion. However, exonerating testimony prevented the immediate execution of the sentence, and he remained in prison for another 18 years until his release in 1981.He continued his pastoral work in secret for another nine years, until the fall of the communist regime in 1990. “The Lord has helped me to serve so many people and to reconcile many, driving hatred and the devil away from the hearts of men,” he stated upon concluding his testimony before Pope Francis in October 2016.A month later, Simoni was created a cardinal at the consistory held on Nov. 19, 2016.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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In an act of great devotion, the elderly cardinal reached the top with assistance, prayed the rosary and blessed those present with holy water.

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Cleveland father and son live out sacrificial faith after mother’s near-death illness #Catholic In a time when the meaning of masculinity is often misunderstood and undervalued, Joe Soltis and his 15-year-old son, Jake, are a father/son pair from Cleveland, Ohio, who have made service to others the focus of their lives.After his mother’s serious illness, Jake, almost entirely by himself, built her a sauna and exercise room in the family’s basement in order to help her recover. Joe, the CEO of a marketing company, serves on the board of an ecumenical project that unites Catholics and Protestants called Prayer At The Heart, with the aim of igniting “a great spiritual awakening out of a national movement of unified, humble, desperate prayer, unity and evangelism.”The pair spoke with EWTN News about how their Catholic faith inspires them to be men who make it their mission to love as Jesus loves, and about how they hope to inspire others to do the same.‘There’s a good chance Mom won’t be coming home’In 2020, Joe’s wife and Jake’s mom, Becky, almost died after multiple medical issues led doctors to estimate she had only a 10% chance of survival. Joe said she was diagnosed with lupus, Lyme disease, a burst gall bladder, sepsis, and pancreatitis.“We weren’t allowed to see her in the hospital because it was during Covid,” said Joe, the father of five boys and one daughter, who had to tell his kids “there’s a good chance Mom won’t be coming home.” The Soltis family. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Soltis family After weeks in the hospital, Becky began to recover, Joe said, and “by the grace of God, she pulled through.”“Out of that hardship, I have found a woman who is incredibly holy,” Joe said of his wife, who, though mostly recovered, still suffers ongoing symptoms from lupus. “She is an incredible mom and an incredible wife. I couldn’t ask for anyone better. She is a blessing to all of us.”Joe said that time “brought our family tremendously closer together.” A plan to ‘mobilize Christians’As Becky recovered from her health crisis, Joe watched the race riots that erupted all over the country that summer, leading him to conclude that “there are evil forces” at work leading to such division between Americans.“That’s not what Christ wants,” he said, and he wondered whether such division was “manufactured and intentional.” He read Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals, which he called “diabolically brilliant.”On July 4, 2020, between his work, family, and other responsibilities, Joe “happened to be free to sit down and think.” He felt inspired to write out a plan that would address how to “mobilize Christians” in a “Catholic, Christian, biblical manner.” Becky helped him fine tune the plan, which Joe then sent to various Christian leaders. Tom Phillips, vice president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, called him back and put him in touch with Doug Small, a Pentecostal leader with a similar vision who also lives in Ohio. Together, the men came up with Prayer at the Heart, an evangelistic endeavor with the goal of “one million Christians praying for one million friends to know Christ.”Of the ecumenical nature of their ministry, he said there is “great unity among” the team. “We can all unite around Christ.”  “Each congregation-denomination-ministry would brand the effort calling their constituents to prayer, evangelism-mission in their own way,” reads the website, on which Christians can sign up to pray for unbelievers. “The early apostles didn’t just stay in their church and pray,” Joe said. “They went out and evangelized. It’s time for Christians to get out of their homes and churches and bring Jesus to people.”The ministry’s strategy also involves other practical initiatives, such as the organization of local gatherings and outdoor prayer meetings, as well as a prayer request line available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.In addition, the ministry is organizing neighborhood prayer walks, weekly groups of Christians praying for coworkers, and a new missionary and mentorship program to train young adults in prayer and evangelism.“There’s no person or political party that’s going to save us. The only thing that’s going to save us is the love of Jesus Christ and the love of others,” Joe said.A message to fathers: ‘Love your wife’This Father’s Day, Joe has encouraging words for fathers: “Love your wife and kids the way Christ loved the Church.” “Sacrifice, be willing to lay your life down. Strive to love like Christ, knowing you will sometimes fall short,” he said. “Go to church every Sunday. Your kids wonʼt know faith is important if you don’t show it. Pray every day with your kids.”“Every night we say the Seven Sorrows of Mary, the St. Michael prayer, and the Angel of God prayer,” he said. “Then we say what we’re thankful for, and this is what we’d like God to help us with.”The Soltis’ also say a rosary once a week as a family, as well as in the car on long trips. “If your family is going through a difficult time, strongly follow the lead of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and consecrate your family to the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” Joe said.“One of the promises of that consecration is peace within your family. Ours didn’t have peace for a while but it does now, thank the Lord.”‘If I start, God will help me and guide me through it’Jake told EWTN News that “my dad and mom have always shown what love is. It’s a choice, You choose to love others, to love your enemy. Love is a choice and not an emotional feeling.”When he decided to build the sauna and exercise room for his mother in the family’s basement, he said he had “no idea what I was getting into.”Before beginning the basement renovation, Jake said he only “knew how to build a sub par table.” During the work, he said he “was just inspired. I just wanted to help my mom.” Becky Soltis and her son, Jake, in their basement, where Jake built a sauna and exercise room to aid in his motherʼs recovery. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Soltis family Joe said his son “put a lot of pressure on himself because his mom’s health was at stake.” Becky had a grand mal seizure in 2025, which Joe called “scary.”“I have based the majority of my life on the saying ‘I will figure it out,’” Jake said. "I know that if I start something, and use the gifts I was given from God, I will be able to figure it out. I’m not wasting my ability, and I trust that if I start, God will help me and guide me through it.”His father said Jake “looked at two Google images” before starting the project. “He has the knack and ability to do this stuff. He would come home from school and work for thousands of hours.” “The only thing I did was I loaded the stuff in the back of the Chevy Tahoe at the hardware store. Every now and then I helped him out,” Joe laughed.“As an 8th grader, he took an unfinished basement, and now we have a fitness center, sauna, theater room, and theyʼre beautiful! They look professional. He did it all himself, for his mother,” Joe said proudly.
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Cleveland father and son live out sacrificial faith after mother’s near-death illness #Catholic In a time when the meaning of masculinity is often misunderstood and undervalued, Joe Soltis and his 15-year-old son, Jake, are a father/son pair from Cleveland, Ohio, who have made service to others the focus of their lives.After his mother’s serious illness, Jake, almost entirely by himself, built her a sauna and exercise room in the family’s basement in order to help her recover. Joe, the CEO of a marketing company, serves on the board of an ecumenical project that unites Catholics and Protestants called Prayer At The Heart, with the aim of igniting “a great spiritual awakening out of a national movement of unified, humble, desperate prayer, unity and evangelism.”The pair spoke with EWTN News about how their Catholic faith inspires them to be men who make it their mission to love as Jesus loves, and about how they hope to inspire others to do the same.‘There’s a good chance Mom won’t be coming home’In 2020, Joe’s wife and Jake’s mom, Becky, almost died after multiple medical issues led doctors to estimate she had only a 10% chance of survival. Joe said she was diagnosed with lupus, Lyme disease, a burst gall bladder, sepsis, and pancreatitis.“We weren’t allowed to see her in the hospital because it was during Covid,” said Joe, the father of five boys and one daughter, who had to tell his kids “there’s a good chance Mom won’t be coming home.” The Soltis family. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Soltis family After weeks in the hospital, Becky began to recover, Joe said, and “by the grace of God, she pulled through.”“Out of that hardship, I have found a woman who is incredibly holy,” Joe said of his wife, who, though mostly recovered, still suffers ongoing symptoms from lupus. “She is an incredible mom and an incredible wife. I couldn’t ask for anyone better. She is a blessing to all of us.”Joe said that time “brought our family tremendously closer together.” A plan to ‘mobilize Christians’As Becky recovered from her health crisis, Joe watched the race riots that erupted all over the country that summer, leading him to conclude that “there are evil forces” at work leading to such division between Americans.“That’s not what Christ wants,” he said, and he wondered whether such division was “manufactured and intentional.” He read Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals, which he called “diabolically brilliant.”On July 4, 2020, between his work, family, and other responsibilities, Joe “happened to be free to sit down and think.” He felt inspired to write out a plan that would address how to “mobilize Christians” in a “Catholic, Christian, biblical manner.” Becky helped him fine tune the plan, which Joe then sent to various Christian leaders. Tom Phillips, vice president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, called him back and put him in touch with Doug Small, a Pentecostal leader with a similar vision who also lives in Ohio. Together, the men came up with Prayer at the Heart, an evangelistic endeavor with the goal of “one million Christians praying for one million friends to know Christ.”Of the ecumenical nature of their ministry, he said there is “great unity among” the team. “We can all unite around Christ.”  “Each congregation-denomination-ministry would brand the effort calling their constituents to prayer, evangelism-mission in their own way,” reads the website, on which Christians can sign up to pray for unbelievers. “The early apostles didn’t just stay in their church and pray,” Joe said. “They went out and evangelized. It’s time for Christians to get out of their homes and churches and bring Jesus to people.”The ministry’s strategy also involves other practical initiatives, such as the organization of local gatherings and outdoor prayer meetings, as well as a prayer request line available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.In addition, the ministry is organizing neighborhood prayer walks, weekly groups of Christians praying for coworkers, and a new missionary and mentorship program to train young adults in prayer and evangelism.“There’s no person or political party that’s going to save us. The only thing that’s going to save us is the love of Jesus Christ and the love of others,” Joe said.A message to fathers: ‘Love your wife’This Father’s Day, Joe has encouraging words for fathers: “Love your wife and kids the way Christ loved the Church.” “Sacrifice, be willing to lay your life down. Strive to love like Christ, knowing you will sometimes fall short,” he said. “Go to church every Sunday. Your kids wonʼt know faith is important if you don’t show it. Pray every day with your kids.”“Every night we say the Seven Sorrows of Mary, the St. Michael prayer, and the Angel of God prayer,” he said. “Then we say what we’re thankful for, and this is what we’d like God to help us with.”The Soltis’ also say a rosary once a week as a family, as well as in the car on long trips. “If your family is going through a difficult time, strongly follow the lead of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and consecrate your family to the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” Joe said.“One of the promises of that consecration is peace within your family. Ours didn’t have peace for a while but it does now, thank the Lord.”‘If I start, God will help me and guide me through it’Jake told EWTN News that “my dad and mom have always shown what love is. It’s a choice, You choose to love others, to love your enemy. Love is a choice and not an emotional feeling.”When he decided to build the sauna and exercise room for his mother in the family’s basement, he said he had “no idea what I was getting into.”Before beginning the basement renovation, Jake said he only “knew how to build a sub par table.” During the work, he said he “was just inspired. I just wanted to help my mom.” Becky Soltis and her son, Jake, in their basement, where Jake built a sauna and exercise room to aid in his motherʼs recovery. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Soltis family Joe said his son “put a lot of pressure on himself because his mom’s health was at stake.” Becky had a grand mal seizure in 2025, which Joe called “scary.”“I have based the majority of my life on the saying ‘I will figure it out,’” Jake said. "I know that if I start something, and use the gifts I was given from God, I will be able to figure it out. I’m not wasting my ability, and I trust that if I start, God will help me and guide me through it.”His father said Jake “looked at two Google images” before starting the project. “He has the knack and ability to do this stuff. He would come home from school and work for thousands of hours.” “The only thing I did was I loaded the stuff in the back of the Chevy Tahoe at the hardware store. Every now and then I helped him out,” Joe laughed.“As an 8th grader, he took an unfinished basement, and now we have a fitness center, sauna, theater room, and theyʼre beautiful! They look professional. He did it all himself, for his mother,” Joe said proudly.

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The pair spoke with EWTN News about how their faith inspires them to be men who make it their mission to love as Jesus loves, and about how they hope to inspire others to do the same.

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Picture of the day Statue of Yaksha (in the Ramakien, broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness) supporting the base of one of the Two Golden Chedi of Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok, Thailand. #ImageOfTheDay

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Picture of the day
Statue of Yaksha (in the Ramakien, broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness) supporting the base of one of the Two Golden Chedi of Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok, Thailand.
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A quarter of Irish Gen Z will have no children, new report says #Catholic One in 4 members of Ireland’s Gen Z demographic are expected to be childless by age 45, according to a new report from Dublin’s Iona Institute, which promotes marriage, freedom of conscience, and religion in society. Gen Z generally refers to people born between 1997 and 2012.Drawing on cohort-level data from the Human Fertility Database (HFD), as well as using demographic modeling, the instituteʼs "Choice or Circumstance? Rising Childlessness in Ireland" report, released in May, charts a huge increase in the number of Irish women who are childless.Among those born in the late 1950s, only 30.9% were childless by age 30, rising to 63.6% for those born in the early 1990s. This trend suggests 25% of women born in the late 1990s will be childless when they reach age 45.Breda OʼBrien of the Iona Institute told EWTN News that “a huge question is whether this will be by choice or circumstance.""Much will be unplanned and forced by circumstance, such as the cost of living," she said. "It’s worrying and weʼre sliding into it without too much discussion. Before the 1930s, we had similar rates of childlessness in Ireland, but that was because of extreme poverty, late marriage, and low marriage rates. Weʼre supposed to be in an era where women have every possible choice.”She continued: “The choice to have children, which is fundamental, is being taken away from young women. Itʼs being painted as a kind of freedom. I donʼt think young women themselves consider it to be a type of freedom, and I think a lot of them are worried about it."According to Central Statistics Office data, the average man’s age at marriage is now nearing 38 and the average womanʼs age is almost 36. A 2022 Amarach Research poll for Iona showed that 85% of people want to have at least two children and only 2% expressed a wish for no children. Births in Ireland have fallen by almost 18% in the last decade, according to Central Statistics Office.With clear indications that the longer a person delays having children, the less likely he or she will have any, O’Brien said “itʼs part of the whole growth of individualism and this idea for kids, from the time theyʼre tiny, [that] you get your education, you travel, you have your career in order, you have fun, you donʼt tie yourself down, and then sometimes in your 30s, you think about settling down. But a lot of women in their mid-30s realize that it is increasingly difficult to conceive.”She added: “The fertility industry is booming, which does show us that people are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to have children, but the life script theyʼve been presented with is actually working against their best interests. Nature has no knowledge of this life script that young people are being presented with.”“The longer you leave it, the more chances there are of miscarriage, of complications in labor, and of medical intervention during birth, if you get that far. So itʼs not consequence-free,” she said.O’Brien told EWTN News that there needs to be debate about why this is happening as a society. "It is a phenomenon we should discuss far more widely if our aim is to help people achieve their eventual life goals. I think among people of faith, they are still prioritizing children and family, and marriage. The Catholic Church needs to support those young families in every way possible.”She pointed out that having fewer children “has very significant social and economic consequences because of the effects of an aging population and growing loneliness.”The report highlights a series of demographic issues related to childlessness and to Ireland’s already-aging population. Lower fertility rates, combined with rising childlessness, mean that the ratio of working-age adults to elderly dependents is set to worsen. Fewer births today mean fewer workers in 20 to 30 years.O’Brien said: “In Ireland, thereʼs still a degree of respect for older people, but one of the awful possible consequences is that younger people will start to resent older people.” The Iona report highlights the situation where a smaller working-age population will be asked to support a larger elderly population, putting pension sustainability, healthcare, and long-term care provision under growing financial pressure.The instituteʼs findings also highlight the effect on housing and household-formation patterns. A rise in the proportion of adults who never have children increases demand for smaller dwellings and single-person households. Additionally, in recent decades, inward migration to Ireland has been an effective and economically rational response in periods of strong demand. However, it is not a response to childlessness.O’Brien pointed to other countries and the demographic shifts they are facing with an increasing aging population. “Other countries are further along the road than we are. South Korea, or even Japan, where theyʼre repurposing childcare facilities for eldercare facilities, moving from baby formula to fortified drinks from the elderly, and from producing diapers for children, to producing incontinence products for the elderly — this is not a good road that weʼre on,” she said.
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A quarter of Irish Gen Z will have no children, new report says #Catholic One in 4 members of Ireland’s Gen Z demographic are expected to be childless by age 45, according to a new report from Dublin’s Iona Institute, which promotes marriage, freedom of conscience, and religion in society. Gen Z generally refers to people born between 1997 and 2012.Drawing on cohort-level data from the Human Fertility Database (HFD), as well as using demographic modeling, the instituteʼs "Choice or Circumstance? Rising Childlessness in Ireland" report, released in May, charts a huge increase in the number of Irish women who are childless.Among those born in the late 1950s, only 30.9% were childless by age 30, rising to 63.6% for those born in the early 1990s. This trend suggests 25% of women born in the late 1990s will be childless when they reach age 45.Breda OʼBrien of the Iona Institute told EWTN News that “a huge question is whether this will be by choice or circumstance.""Much will be unplanned and forced by circumstance, such as the cost of living," she said. "It’s worrying and weʼre sliding into it without too much discussion. Before the 1930s, we had similar rates of childlessness in Ireland, but that was because of extreme poverty, late marriage, and low marriage rates. Weʼre supposed to be in an era where women have every possible choice.”She continued: “The choice to have children, which is fundamental, is being taken away from young women. Itʼs being painted as a kind of freedom. I donʼt think young women themselves consider it to be a type of freedom, and I think a lot of them are worried about it."According to Central Statistics Office data, the average man’s age at marriage is now nearing 38 and the average womanʼs age is almost 36. A 2022 Amarach Research poll for Iona showed that 85% of people want to have at least two children and only 2% expressed a wish for no children. Births in Ireland have fallen by almost 18% in the last decade, according to Central Statistics Office.With clear indications that the longer a person delays having children, the less likely he or she will have any, O’Brien said “itʼs part of the whole growth of individualism and this idea for kids, from the time theyʼre tiny, [that] you get your education, you travel, you have your career in order, you have fun, you donʼt tie yourself down, and then sometimes in your 30s, you think about settling down. But a lot of women in their mid-30s realize that it is increasingly difficult to conceive.”She added: “The fertility industry is booming, which does show us that people are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to have children, but the life script theyʼve been presented with is actually working against their best interests. Nature has no knowledge of this life script that young people are being presented with.”“The longer you leave it, the more chances there are of miscarriage, of complications in labor, and of medical intervention during birth, if you get that far. So itʼs not consequence-free,” she said.O’Brien told EWTN News that there needs to be debate about why this is happening as a society. "It is a phenomenon we should discuss far more widely if our aim is to help people achieve their eventual life goals. I think among people of faith, they are still prioritizing children and family, and marriage. The Catholic Church needs to support those young families in every way possible.”She pointed out that having fewer children “has very significant social and economic consequences because of the effects of an aging population and growing loneliness.”The report highlights a series of demographic issues related to childlessness and to Ireland’s already-aging population. Lower fertility rates, combined with rising childlessness, mean that the ratio of working-age adults to elderly dependents is set to worsen. Fewer births today mean fewer workers in 20 to 30 years.O’Brien said: “In Ireland, thereʼs still a degree of respect for older people, but one of the awful possible consequences is that younger people will start to resent older people.” The Iona report highlights the situation where a smaller working-age population will be asked to support a larger elderly population, putting pension sustainability, healthcare, and long-term care provision under growing financial pressure.The instituteʼs findings also highlight the effect on housing and household-formation patterns. A rise in the proportion of adults who never have children increases demand for smaller dwellings and single-person households. Additionally, in recent decades, inward migration to Ireland has been an effective and economically rational response in periods of strong demand. However, it is not a response to childlessness.O’Brien pointed to other countries and the demographic shifts they are facing with an increasing aging population. “Other countries are further along the road than we are. South Korea, or even Japan, where theyʼre repurposing childcare facilities for eldercare facilities, moving from baby formula to fortified drinks from the elderly, and from producing diapers for children, to producing incontinence products for the elderly — this is not a good road that weʼre on,” she said.

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While current trends show that 1 in 4 young women today will remain childless, Iona Institute’s Breda O’Brien said the huge question is “whether this will be by choice or circumstance.”

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