Massachusetts will no longer require prospective foster parents to affirm gender ideology in order to qualify for fostering children, with the move coming after a federal lawsuit from a religious liberty group.
Alliance Defending Freedom said Dec. 17 that the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families “will no longer exclude Christian and other religious families from foster care” because of their “commonly held beliefs that boys are boys and girls are girls.”
The legal group announced in September that it had filed a lawsuit in U.S. district court over the state policy, which required prospective parents to agree to affirm a child’s “sexual orientation and gender identity” before being permitted to foster.
Attorney Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse said at the time that the state’s foster system was “in crisis” with more than 1,400 children awaiting placement in foster homes.
Yet the state was “putting its ideological agenda ahead of the needs of these suffering kids,” Widmalm-Delphonse said.
The suit had been filed on behalf of two Massachusetts families who had been licensed to serve as foster parents in the state. They had provided homes for nearly three dozen foster children between them and were “in good standing” at the time of the policy change.
Yet the state policy required them to “promise to use a child’s chosen pronouns, verbally affirm a child’s gender identity contrary to biological sex, and even encourage a child to medically transition, forcing these families to speak against their core religious beliefs,” the lawsuit said.
With its policy change, Massachusetts will instead require foster parents to affirm a child’s “individual identity and needs,” with the LGBT-related language having been removed from the state code.
The amended language comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month that aims to improve the nation’s foster care system by modernizing the current child welfare system, developing partnerships with private sector organizations, and prioritizing the participation of those with sincerely held religious beliefs.
Families previously excluded by the state rule are “eager to reapply for their licenses,” Widmalm-Delphonse said on Dec. 17.
The lawyer commended Massachusetts for taking a “step in the right direction,” though he said the legal group will continue its efforts until it is “positive that Massachusetts is committed to respecting religious persons and ideological diversity among foster parents.”
Other authorities have made efforts in recent years to exclude parents from state child care programs on the basis of gender ideology.
In April, meanwhile, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed legislation that would have prohibited the government from requiring parents to affirm support for gender ideology and homosexuality if they want to qualify to adopt or foster children.
The Arkansas law specifically prohibits the government from discriminating against parents over their refusal to accept “any government policy regarding sexual orientation or gender identity that conflicts with the person’s sincerely held religious beliefs.”
Pope Leo XIV places a crown on the Madonna of Sinti, Roma, and Walking Peoples during the audience of the Jubilee of the Roma, Sinti, and Traveling Peoples in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican on Oct. 18, 2025. / Credit: Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 15, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Some Protestant scholars who spoke with CNA welcomed a Vatican document that clarified titles for the Blessed Virgin Mary that discouraged the use of Co-Redemptrix/Co-Redeemer and put limits on the use of Mediatrix/Mediator.
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) issued the doctrinal note Mater Populi Fidelis on Nov. 4. It was approved by Pope Leo XIV and signed by DDF Prefect Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández on Oct. 7.
According to the document, using “Co-Redemptrix” to explain Mary’s role in salvation “would not be appropriate.” The document is less harsh about using “Mediatrix” and says “if misunderstood, it could easily obscure or even contradict” Mary’s role in mediation.
The document affirms Mary plays a role in both redemption and mediation because she freely cooperates with Jesus Christ. That role, it explains, is always “subordinate” to Christ, and it warned against using titles in a way that could be misconstrued to mitigate Christ as the sole Redeemer and sole Mediator.
Catholic reactions have been mixed, with some seeing the clarification as helpful and others defending the titles as consistent with the understanding of Mary’s role as subordinate and asking the Vatican to formally define the doctrines themselves rather than simply issue a note on the titles.
Positive reactions from Protestants
CNA spoke with three Protestant scholars, all of whom welcomed the Vatican’s doctrinal note on titles for Mary.
David Luy, theology professor at the North American Lutheran Seminary, told CNA he does not see the document as “Roman Catholics conceding anything to their tradition” but did see it as being written “with an attentiveness” toward certain concerns that Protestants raise.
Although Protestant communities vary widely on how they view Mary and what titles are proper, he said concern over the titles in question “sprouts from a desire to uphold the distinctiveness of Christ as the one mediator.”
Luy cited the second chapter of First Timothy. The translation of the text approved by the U.S. Catholic bishops states: “For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and the human race, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself as ransom for all.”
He said Protestants often emphasize the need to “uphold the distinctive mediatorship of Christ” and saw the document as expressing a “sensibility to that central Protestant concern” while also being careful “in the way it develops Mary’s role in the economy of salvation.”
“Does it relieve potential strain between Protestants and Catholics? The short answer would be yes,” Luy said.
However, he said the concept of mediation “is probably where there’d be a need for just ongoing conversation.” He said Lutherans understand the term “mediation” as being “the means through which God acts in the world” and that “most Lutherans are going to be cautious” of language that describes Mary in terms of mediation.
Catholic teaching recognizes Christ as “the one mediator,” according to Lumen Gentium, the dogmatic constitution on the Church issued by the Second Vatican Council in 1964. It teaches that humans cooperate with Christ’s mediation in a subordinate way and “the Church does not hesitate to profess this subordinate role of Mary.”
The Rev. Cynthia Rigby, a theology professor at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and co-author of “Blessed One: Protestant Perspectives on Mary,” told CNA she thinks the document could mark “a watershed moment” for relations between Catholics and Protestants.
Rigby said Mary should be understood as a woman with “great faith,” and, under that framing, “Christians will identify her less as a secondary savior but as an exemplary Christian.” She said “the weight will shift from trying to explain how it is that Mary brokers salvation without rivaling Christ … to what we can learn about the joy of salvation through her example.”
The Vatican document, however, goes much further than Rigby on Mary’s role. It states that she freely cooperates “in the work of human salvation through faith and obedience” during the time that Christ walked the earth and throughout the ongoing life of the Church rather than simply viewing her as an example to follow.
Tom Krattenmaker, a Lutheran pastor and theology professor at Yale Divinity School, told CNA the document is “very welcome” and called Mariology “one of the major points distinguishing Christian traditions since the Reformation.”
He said the guidance on titles and the explanation provided in the document are “extraordinarily helpful for ecumenical dialogue” because they affirm Christ as the sole redeemer and mediator and Pope Leo XIV “makes very clear that we can say so in ecumenical communality.”
Krattenmaker said this “is a reason for Protestants to embrace the clear step forward he is making toward Christian unity.”
The Vatican document did not expressly state that ecumenism was the intended goal. However, the subject of Catholic Marian devotions is a frequent point of contention. The document did not alter any doctrines in dispute but instead focused on titles the dicastery felt may cause confusion about what the Church actually teaches about Mary.
Promo photo for the The Better Part Journal of shadows of Madonna lilies for the Blessed Virgin Mary. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Heidi Bollich-Erne
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 7, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).
While teaching an ethics and culture course, Heidi Bollich-Erne was looking for a journal featuring the work of Catholic women for her students to read. After being told that it simply didn’t exist, she decided to create one herself.
With the help of a team of women, Bollich-Erne has founded what she calls the “first intellectual Catholic women’s journal.” Its purpose is to not only define the feminine genius but also to show how faithful women can embody its beauty in their daily lives.
“I want women to find a home, a place that values their work. The journal itself is edited, written, and published solely by Catholic women,” Bollich-Erne told CNA. “The way that women write, the way that we express ourselves is very different. That’s just who we are. That’s part of the genius of women.”
The Better Part Journal is intended to give women of the Church “hope” by discussing issues that are relevant to them. The first edition of the journal will be released in April 2026.
Before starting the journal, Bollich-Erne studied theology at the University of St. Thomas, where she “fell in love with philosophy.” She went to the Center for Thomistic Studies for her master’s degree in Thomistic philosophy but took a break from her doctorate and started teaching.
She is now based in Texas where she has taught high school, college preparation, college, and adults. While teaching, she tried to find content to help guide discussion on gender complementarity but couldn’t find much written by Catholic women.
“I thought, ‘I want to read more intellectual women,’ but it was a struggle… So I found a friend who works at a university and I said: ‘Can you recommend … an intellectual Catholic women’s magazine? She got back to me a few days later and said, ‘It doesn’t exist.’”
Bollich-Erne started The Better Part Journal by first launching a company called JBG Publishings as “a home” for the journal. She wanted to ensure the publication would not be independently published but be part of a company that would help it to grow.
Bollich-Erne named the company with the initials of her father, who passed away a few years prior. His passing “was a realization that ‘life is too short,’” Bollich-Erne said. “I need to love what I do; I need to really work to find meaning.’”
Heidi Bollich-Erne is the founding editor and editor-in-chief of The Better Part Journal, the first intellectual Catholic women’s journal. She holds an undergraduate degree in theology from the University of St. Thomas and a master’s in Thomistic Philosophy from the Center for Thomistic Studies. Credit: Photo courtesy of Heidi Bollich-Erne
The Better Part Journal’s mission
“The purpose of the journal is to bring together the voices of intellectual Catholic women who are faithful to the magisterium,” Bollich-Erne said. “I want voices of all backgrounds. I want women of all areas of discipline. I want academics. I want nonacademics. I want all women contributing to this conversation.”
“We all throw around the ‘feminine genius,’ but when you ask someone to stop and give an actual definition, most people can’t,” Bollich-Erne said. Most people define it with a quote by St. John Paul II who coined the term in his apostolic letter Mulieris Dignitatem to describe the unique gifts and qualities women possess, but, she said, “that’s a quote, not a definition.”
“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done in this area, and I know there’s room for it to be done on a theological, philosophical level. So the idea was that we would … define the feminine genius and then show it. Live it. It’s not a theology journal and it’s not a philosophy journal. It’s truly interdisciplinary.”
The first issue of the journal is called “Uncharted” and will tackle a number of topics.
“As soon as women realized that I was serious about truly hearing their voices and not editing them out or telling them what they can and can’t write about, they gave us some really amazing work. I’ve just been blown away. I’m only so creative, but I have a great team.”
The journal will feature articles covering neuroscience and theology and apply it to Mary and the Incarnation. It will have columns by doctors and scientists to look at “faith in the formula” and “applying science to religion.”
There will be discussion of issues women face including body image, infertility, and violence. Articles will explore “the psychology of fairy tales and what that does to young girls growing up, whether that be positive or negative,” Bollich-Erne said. It will look into “what we are exposed to …from the media and what it does to us.”
“The beauty behind the journal has been the women that have come forth to lend their voices,” Bollich-Erne said. “It’s been really amazing to see how excited they are about freedom of voice. It’s been something I wasn’t expecting.”
A print journal in a digital era
Despite a shift in media from print to online formats, The Better Part Journal will only be released in print copies because, Bollich-Erne said, “I want it to be lasting.”
“I am a tactile person. I like to hold a book. I wanted it to be something that is kept. So obviously that’s print,” Bollich-Erne said. “But then if you want to keep it has to be high quality.”
The journal will use original photographs and crafted artwork to accompany the written works.
“It is stunning. It looks like a book,” Bollich-Erne said. “The idea is that you read it, you keep it, and you put it on your bookshelf and you never get rid of it because the topics are lasting.”
For an article to be included, it has to be “something that I think women will find valuable, whether you’re an academic or a high school student,” Bollich-Erne said. “It has to be something that all women find valuable, or we cannot print it.”
“Many women have said they’re excited to hold their work and see it in print as opposed to scrolling past the work. There’s nothing wrong with online formats; it gives voices to a lot of people, but this is just different.”
“I had an author tell me, ‘I don’t write anymore for anyone,’ because, she said, ‘I am so tired of my work just disappearing. It’s online for a week. I spent all this work, all this time, and it was something substantial that I really cared about, and it’s just gone.’”
“She signed up with us for a column specifically because we are in print. The idea is that this work is kept forever.”
The print journals will be published twice a year only, because “I want it to be something that takes a while to digest,” Bollich-Erne said. “Beautiful things take time.”
Looking to the future
JGB Publishings has “goals to expand substantially over the next five to 10 years,” Bollich-Erne said. The company will “take care of” the journal to ensure its message can “grow and expand.”
“To be able, as women in the Church, to truly have a serious conversation about all of these things … we are going to forge our future,” Bollich-Erne said. “We’re going to step forward in hope and show the world this is what an intelligent Catholic woman looks like.”
“We’re not stifled. We’re not sad. We’re not miserable people. We are happy. We are excited about life, and we are treated with respect. We are loved and we love who we are,” Bollich-Erne said. “I want people, especially women, of all ages to see that and to understand that.”
