Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish

Pope Leo XIV addresses members of the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches (ROACO by its Italian acronym) — the operational arm of the Holy See that provides assistance to the Eastern Churches — on June 26, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jun 26, 2025 / 15:29 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday denounced violations of international and humanitarian law in Gaza and Ukraine, lamenting the “diabolical intensity” of the violent conflicts and criticizing rearmament policies.

In a June 26 address to the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches (ROACO by its Italian acronym) — the operational arm of the Holy See that provides assistance to the Eastern Churches — the pope lamented the imposition “of the principle of ‘might makes right’” in these territories “all for the sake of legitimizing the pursuit of self-interest.”

“It is troubling to see that the force of international law and humanitarian law seems no longer to be binding, replaced by the alleged right to coerce others. This is unworthy of our humanity, shameful for all mankind and for the leaders of nations,” the pontiff emphasized.

Pope Leo called on the international community to examine the causes of these conflicts. Specifically, he urged them to “identify those that are real and to attempt to resolve them. But also to reject those that are false, the result of emotional manipulation and rhetoric, and to make every effort to bring them to light.”

“People must not die from fake news,” he insisted, without elaborating on what type of information he was referring to.

He then asked: “How can we continue to betray the desire of the world’s peoples for peace with propaganda about weapons buildup, as if military supremacy will resolve problems instead of fueling even greater hatred and desire for revenge?”

Two days after the 32 member states of NATO committed to increase defense spending to 5% of their gross domestic product (GDP) over 10 years, the pope insisted that spending on defense weapons is not the solution to curbing conflicts.

Money going into pockets of ‘merchants of death’

“People are beginning to realize the amount of money that ends up in the pockets of merchants of death; money that could be used to build new hospitals and schools is instead being used to destroy those that already exist!” he exclaimed.

Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches and president of ROACO, as well as representatives of the Catholic agencies that are part of ROACO, participated in the Vatican audience, which followed the aid organization’s 98th assembly held June 24–25. At their assembly they analyzed the situation in the Holy Land (especially in Gaza), Armenia, Syria, Ethiopia, Ukraine, and other areas where the Holy See’s diplomatic action is focused. 

In this regard, Leo XIV lamented “the physical absence of those who were to have come from the Holy Land but proved unable to make the journey” because of flight restrictions due to the conflict.

He thanked all of them for the work of hope that ROACO does in these countries, which are “are devastated by wars, plundered by special interests, and covered by a cloud of hatred that renders the air unbreathable and toxic.” The Holy Father criticized the violence of war that is raging “with a diabolical intensity previously unknown.”

He noted that the history of the Eastern Catholic Churches has also been marked by “oppression and misunderstanding within the Catholic community itself, which at times failed to acknowledge and appreciate the value of traditions other than those of the West.”

Leo XIV noted that — in addition to being peacemakers and promoting dialogue — Christians “first and foremost really need to pray” and bear witness.

“It is up to us to make every tragic news story, every newsreel that we see, a cry of intercession before God,” he exhorted.

He also asked Christians to remain faithful to Jesus “without allowing ourselves to end up in the clutches of power.”

Eastern traditions ‘still largely unknown’

The pontiff praised the beauty of Eastern traditions but lamented that in the Catholic Church they are “still largely unknown.”

“Their sense of the sacred, their deep faith, confirmed by suffering, and their spirituality, redolent of the divine mysteries, can benefit the thirst for God, latent yet present in the West,” he added.

The pope therefore said it is necessary to “organize basic courses on the Eastern Churches in seminaries, theological faculties, and Catholic universities.”

“Eastern Catholics today are no longer our distant cousins who celebrate unfamiliar rites but our brothers and sisters who, due to forced migration, are our next-door neighbors,” he said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

U.S. Supreme Court. / Credit: PT Hamilton/Shutterstock

Boston, Mass., Jun 26, 2025 / 14:59 pm (CNA).

Local Planned Parenthood facilities can’t force state governments to give them Medicaid funds through lawsuits because Congress didn’t create an individual right to the benefits, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Thursday.

The 6-3 decision enables states to cut off public funds to abortion providers — including Medicaid funds that come mostly from the federal government.

The court’s decision in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic resolves a dispute that began in 2018 after South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, issued an executive order cutting off funds to the two facilities Planned Parenthood South Atlantic operates in the state, in Charleston and Columbia. The organization sued and won in U.S. District Court level and at the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The high court’s ruling Thursday overturned those lower-court decisions, pleasing pro-life advocates, including Toledo, Ohio, Bishop Daniel Thomas, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“South Carolina was right to deny Planned Parenthood taxpayer dollars. A group dedicated to ending children’s lives deserves no public support,” Thomas said in a written statement.

“Abortion is not health care, and lives will be saved because South Carolina has chosen to not fund clinics that pretend it is,” he said. “Publicly funded programs like Medicaid should only support authentic, life-affirming options for mothers and children in need.”

Can’t sue

The court’s conservatives and swing votes formed the majority — Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Chief Justice John Roberts.

Writing for the majority, Gorsuch said that private parties seeking federal health benefits through a state government can sue for them only when Congress explicitly allows it in legislation by declaring access to the benefits to be a right, which it didn’t do with respect to Medicaid funds.  He said the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services can cut off Medicaid funding to a state that the secretary determines isn’t complying with federal rules but that a private party can’t ask a court to force the state to give it federal funds.

“Congress knows how to give a grantee clear and unambiguous notice that, if it accepts federal funds, it may face private suits asserting an individual right to choose a medical provider,” Gorsuch wrote.

He added that Congress has done so in legislation pertaining to nursing homes but not with respect to Medicaid, a federal program administered by the states that provides a mix of federal and state funds to provide health care to poor people.

The three liberal justices — Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented.

Writing for the minority, Jackson said South Carolina is participating in what she called “the project of stymying one of the country’s great civil rights laws” and that the court majority’s decision allows the state to “evade liability for violating the rights of its Medicaid recipients to choose their own doctors.”

Federal defunding coming?

Abortion supporters decried the court’s decision.

“The Supreme Court overrode what the Medicaid law requires and every patient wants: the ability to choose their trusted health care provider,” said Nancy Northup, president and chief executive officer of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which supports abortion, in a written statement.

“Right now, Congress is seeking to replicate South Carolina’s ban nationwide, putting politics above patients in making health care decisions,” she said.

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have sought to cut off federal funds for Planned Parenthood in a spending measure known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” It passed the House by one vote, 215-214, on May 22. But its chances in the U.S. Senate are unclear — particularly after the nonpartisan Senate parliamentarian ruled Thursday that portions of the bill violate Senate rules.

Erik Baptist, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal advocacy organization that opposes abortion, said during an online press conference Thursday that “17 states in the country have taken action to defund Planned Parenthood.”

He said he hopes more states do so and that Congress follows suit.

“What the Medina case today did from the U.S. Supreme Court was liberate the states and allow them to take action to defund Planned Parenthood. So one shoe dropped today. We hope Congress takes the other action with regards to federal funding,” Baptist said.

The Texas capitol. / Credit: Ricardo Garza/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jun 26, 2025 / 13:25 pm (CNA).

Here’s a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news: 

Nearly 100 pro-life advocates ask Texas governor for special session on abortion pills

A chorus of pro-life voices is urging the governor of Texas to call legislators to a special session to pass a bill that will help combat abortion pills flowing into the state. 

In a letter cosigned by almost 100 Texas politicians and pro-life leaders — including state Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — Texas Right to Life President John Seago urged Gov. Greg Abbott to “convene a special session” of the Legislature for lawmakers to pass the state Woman and Child Protection Act.

That measure would allow Texans to sue traffickers and distributors of abortion pills and allow women and their families to bring lawsuits in the event that a woman is injured or killed by those pills. It would also authorize “state-led prosecution for abortion pill trafficking.”

The letter states that nearly 20,000 abortion pills are mailed into the state each year. The bill “targets those who promote, manufacture, and distribute these deadly drugs.”

Activists to hold rally urging U.S. government to defund Planned Parenthood

Activists will rally in Washington, D.C., this weekend in support of defunding Planned Parenthood. 

Figures including Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins and activist Riley Gaines will be present at Capitol Hill on June 28 for a combined “diaper drive and rally” in support of defunding the abortion giant of taxpayer funds. 

Students for Life said on its website that activists will distribute at least 392,715 diapers to pregnancy help centers and local residents; that number represents all the unborn children killed by Planned Parenthood last year, the group said. 

The rally is part of the larger National Celebrate Life Conference taking place in Washington over the weekend. 

Abortion bans drive providers out of pro-life states

Large numbers of abortion providers in states that passed abortion bans fled those states in the wake of those laws, new data shows. 

A study published this month in JAMA Network Open investigated whether “state-level abortion restrictions” in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s repeal “could lead clinicians to leave states that ban abortion.”

The survey found that 42% of surveyed abortion providers in states that enacted bans “relocate[d] primary practice” after such bans.  

Nearly half of all states ban abortion after 22 weeks of pregnancy, while a dozen ban the procedure outright. Just nine states and the District of Columbia allow for abortion at any time for any reason.

Pope Leo XIV meets with the synod’s 16th ordinary council near the Vatican on Thursday, June 26, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jun 26, 2025 / 12:55 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis’ biggest legacy regarding synodality is “as a style, an attitude that helps us to be Church,” Pope Leo XIV said Thursday in a meeting with synod leaders.

The pope addressed the synod’s 16th ordinary council at its offices just outside the Vatican, where members are meeting June 26–27.

While time did not permit Leo to stay for the entire afternoon session, he briefly addressed the bishop and three non-bishop participants before making himself available to answer questions.

“Pope Francis has given a new impetus to the Synod of Bishops, referring, as he has repeatedly stated, to St. Paul VI,” the current pontiff said. “And the legacy he has left us seems to me to be above all this: that synodality is a style, an attitude that helps us to be Church, promoting authentic experiences of participation and communion.”

Leo added that Francis promoted this concept in the various synodal assemblies that took place during his pontificate, “especially those on the family, and then he has made it flow into the latest path, dedicated precisely to synodality.”

The 2014 and 2015 synods on the family were marked by controversy over proposals to allow divorced Catholics who remarry without an annulment to receive Communion. Pope Francis later made it possible for some people in such irregular unions to receive Communion after a process of discernment with a priest.

In his speech on Thursday, Leo encouraged the Synod of Bishops, which he said “naturally retains its institutional physiognomy,” to gather the fruits that have matured during Francis’ pontificate “and to make a forward-looking reflection.”

The ordinary council of the General Secretariat of the Synod is “responsible for the preparation and realization of the Ordinary General Assembly” of the Synod of Bishops.

The members of the 16th ordinary council are all bishops, except for two women, who were appointed by Pope Francis in December 2024: consecrated woman María Lía Zervino, former president of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations, and Sister Simona Brambilla, MC, prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

Pope Francis’ other appointees to the council are Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, SJ, the archbishop of Luxembourg and relator general of the Synod on Synodality, and Cardinal Roberto Repole, archbishop of Turin, Italy.

The rest of the 17 members were elected to the council last October, including Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas. The pope is considered the council’s chairman.

Council meetings are also attended by the synod secretariat’s permanent leaders, secretary general Cardinal Mario Grech and undersecretaries Bishop Luis Marín de San Martín, OSA, and Sister Nathalie Becquart, XMCJ.

Introducing the gathering June 26, Grech said: “I am convinced that it is the task of the General Secretariat of the Synod to accompany the synodal process with initiatives that, without overlapping with the protagonism of the local Churches and their groupings, help to develop the synodal and missionary dimension of the Church.”

“Let us invoke the Holy Spirit to guide us and enlighten us in discerning the paths that he suggests to the Church, in fidelity to the risen Lord,” the cardinal said. “We have all participated in the synodal process. Indeed, you are here because the assembly has recognized you as credible interpreters of synodality.”

English Archbishop John Sherrington of Liverpool speaks with EWTN News via video call about the recent passage of a bill to legalize assisted suicide in England and Wales, calling it a turning point in the country’s devaluation of the dignity of life. / Credit: EWTN News

Rome Newsroom, Jun 26, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).

Archbishop John Sherrington of Liverpool, who oversees life issues for the bishops of England and Wales, has called the recent passage of a bill to legalize assisted suicide a turning point in the country’s devaluation of the dignity of life.

“I think we’ve crossed a watershed, that fundamental line in the sand that a life is always to be protected and that one cannot assist another person’s suicide… there’s an erosion of the value of the dignity of life,” the archbishop told EWTN News in an interview via video call from Liverpool this week.

Sherrington added that the bishops are concerned particularly for those who are already very vulnerable, such as the disabled, who may now find themselves in an even more vulnerable situation.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which would allow terminally ill adults to end their own lives with the help of a physician, passed the House of Commons by a narrow margin — 315 to 291 — on June 20.

The bill will now go to the House of Lords, where the nonelected upper chamber can choose to pass the legislation or amend it. Predictions appear divided over whether the Lords will pass the bill as is or attempt to amend, delay, or even scuttle it.

Sherrington noted the bill’s passage by “a very narrow vote” and said he thinks it is a reflection of “the division in the country and the concern of many professional bodies, as well as pro-life groups and GPs [general practitioners], that this law is unsatisfactory and is going to put those who are vulnerable in a worse position.”

The archbishop also said the End of Life Bill is a threat to health care workers’ freedom of conscience if it becomes law without the proper protections.

“We are told that there will be freedom of conscience for doctors, but my concern is also all the health care workers, all the social workers who are involved in the care of people who are terminally ill,” he said.

Because of their position in the health care system, nondoctor medical workers “may not have the same freedom” to say “no” to participating in assisted suicide, he added.

According to the BBC, the passage of the End of Life Bill marks “a colossal social change” in the country, made possible by the arrival of hundreds of new Labor members of Parliament and by significant public support for the law.

A YouGov poll last week suggested that more than 7 out of 10 Britons supported the assisted suicide proposals — referred to by supporters as assisted dying — even though the House of Commons had rejected changing the law as recently as 2015.

Both Sherrington and Cardinal Vincent Nichols, archbishop of Westminster, also drew attention to the risk that an assisted suicide law would force Catholic hospices and care homes to shutter.

In addition to writing their members of Parliament expressing opposition to legalizing assisted suicide, Sherrington said Catholics need to help people “understand in their heart and their mind the dignity of the end of life” and the assistance palliative care can provide to ease pain.

“Suffering is part of life, but we can reduce it in various ways,” he said. But often, he said, what helps the most is solidarity and care, and — for those who are Catholic — the sacraments, prayer, and liturgy.

Those things “actually are a source of great consolation,” Sherrington said. “We need to witness to how we best care for people who are suffering, who are in pain, and we have excellent examples of that through the hospices.”

As currently written, the proposed assisted suicide legislation would require patients to be over the age of 18, have received a terminal illness diagnosis with no more than six months to live, and to self-administer the lethal drug.

The decision would need to be approved by two doctors and a panel made up of a social worker, a senior legal figure such as a former judge, and a psychiatrist.

While likely to take longer to roll out than originally predicted, the BBC reported that the government’s impact assessment suggests hundreds will seek assisted suicide in the first years, but after a decade, the rate could rise to an estimated 4,000 people a year seeking assisted suicide.

Zofia Czubak contributed to this report.

null / Credit: roibu/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 26, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

A new Pew Research Center report reveals that about 22% of those who voted in the 2024 election and cast their ballot for President Donald Trump were Catholic.

The new edition of its validated voter study “Behind Trump’s 2024 Victory,” released on June 26, looks at how Americans — new voters and voters who turned out in previous elections — voted in the 2024 presidential election. It reveals that Trump had support from the majority of voting Catholics, with 55% casting their vote for him.

Pew surveyed 8,942 U.S. citizens ages 18 and older who are members of American Trends Panel (ATP) and verified their turnout in the five general elections from 2016 to 2024 using commercial voter files.

In order to validate 2024 election turnout, Pew “attempted to match adult citizens who are part of the ATP to a turnout record in at least one of three commercial voter files: one that serves conservative and Republican organizations and campaigns, one that serves progressive and Democratic organizations and campaigns, and one that is nonpartisan.”

The research found that in 2024, Trump gained voters among multiple religious groups including Catholics, Protestants, and those who reported that they attend religious services on at least a monthly basis.

Trump had a 12-point advantage of Catholic voters over Kamala Harris, who won 43% of the group’s vote. In 2020, the Catholic vote was split almost evenly with 50% voting for Joe Biden and 49% for Trump.

The report noted that Trump benefited from 7% of Catholic voters switching their political party from 2020 to 2024. Only 4% of Catholics who favored Trump in the 2020 election shifted to Harris in the most recent election.

Majority of Trump voters identified as Christians

Trump received the majority of the Christian vote in 2024 — about 80% of his voters identified as Christian, compared with only about half of Harris voters.

Of Protestant voters specifically, 62% favored Trump in 2024. This was an increase from 56% in 2016 and 59% in 2020. There was a particularly large shift in Black Protestant voters with 15% voting for Trump in 2024, which was 6 percentage points higher than 2020.

The study also found that voters who attend some kind of religious service favored Trump more in 2024 than in 2020. In the most recent election, 64% voted for him, which increased from 59%. In 2024, only about a third of this group (34%) supported Harris.

In all three elections, Trump received more votes from people who reported that they attend a religious service “monthly or more often” than voters who said they attend “a few times a year or less.” For each election, the Democratic candidate received more votes from those who attend less frequently than those who attend more often. 

More Hispanic voters went for Trump 

Another notable find from the report was Trump’s steady progress with Hispanic voters over the course of the 2016, 2020, and 2024 elections. 

In 2016, 28% of validated Hispanic voters reported they voted for Trump, 36% did in 2020, and 48% did in 2024. While the Hispanic vote for the Republican candidate increased each election, the Hispanic vote for the Democratic candidate decreased each year.

The research found that from 2020 to 2024, Trump made gains among citizens who were born outside the U.S. In 2020, 59% of naturalized citizens who voted cast their ballot for Biden, and in 2024 51% voted for Harris. 

While the Democratic Party received fewer votes from this group, Trump received more in 2024. In 2020, 38% of naturalized citizens voted for Trump, but in 2024 47% did. 

Overall, research found that 85% of Trump’s 2020 voters cast their ballot for him again in 2024. Of the other voters, 3% switched and supported Harris, 1% switched and supported another candidate, and 11% declined to vote again in the 2024 election.

Pope Leo XIV speaks to an anti-drug advocate at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City, Thursday, June 26, 2025 / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jun 26, 2025 / 09:23 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday called on governments and law enforcement agencies to focus their efforts on dismantling criminal organizations that profit from drug trafficking rather than punishing addicts. 

Speaking to anti-drug campaigners in a courtyard of the Apostolic Palace on the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on June 26, the pope issued a sharp rebuke of drug policy that targets the poor while powerful traffickers go unpunished.

“There are enormous concentrations of interest and ramified criminal organizations that states have the duty to dismantle,” Pope Leo XIV said. “It is easier to fight their victims. Too often, in the name of security, war has been waged and is waged against the poor, filling the prisons with those who are only the last link in a chain of death. Those who hold the chain in their hands, on the other hand, manage to have influence and impunity.” 

The pope’s remarks came as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime released its 2025 World Drug Report, which revealed sharp increases in cocaine production worldwide as well as the deadly toll of synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

According to the report, fentanyl was responsible for an estimated 48,422 deaths in the United States in 2024. Although overdose deaths in the U.S. have started to decline, fentanyl continues to dominate the North American opioid crisis. Global fentanyl seizures reached 19.5 tons in 2023 with 99% occurring in North America.

“Today, brothers and sisters, we are engaged in a struggle that cannot be abandoned as long as, around us, someone is still imprisoned in the various forms of addiction,” Pope Leo XIV said. 

“Our fight is against those who make drugs and any other addiction — think of alcohol or gambling — their immense business.” 

The U.N. report also flagged record levels of methamphetamine seizures and highlighted how the synthetic drug market, dominated by amphetamine-type stimulants, is expanding globally. Cocaine, meanwhile, has become the world’s fastest-growing illicit drug market, with production rising by nearly 34% in 2023, primarily due to increased coca bush cultivation in Colombia. 

Violence tied to cocaine trafficking has also surged, particularly in the Americas. In Ecuador, the homicide rate soared from 7.8 per 100,000 people in 2020 to 45.7 in 2023. The report noted that similar patterns of violence, once confined to Latin America, are now spreading to Western Europe and other regions as criminal groups fight for control of lucrative new markets. 

“Drugs and addictions are an invisible prison that you, in different ways, have known and fought, but we are all called to freedom,” the pope said. “Meeting you, I think of the abyss of my heart and of every human heart. It is a psalm, that is, the Bible, that calls the mystery that dwells within us an ‘abyss’ (see Psalm 63:7).” 

“St. Augustine confessed that only in Christ did the restlessness of his heart find peace,” he added. “We seek peace and joy, we thirst for them. And many deceptions can disappoint us and even imprison us in this search.” 

The theme of this year’s international day — “Break the cycle. #StopOrganizedCrime” — calls for long-term solutions to break the cycle of organized drug crime, including investment in education, prevention, and social services. Pope Leo XIV echoed those goals, emphasizing the need to uplift the dignity of each person and build communities of hope. 

“Dear young people, you are not spectators of the renewal that our Earth needs so much … The Church needs you. Humanity needs you,” Leo said. “Together, over every degrading dependence, we will make the infinite dignity imprinted in each one of us prevail.”

“Unfortunately, this dignity sometimes shines only when it is almost completely lost. Then a jolt comes and it becomes clear that getting up is a matter of life or death,” he added. “Well, today all of society needs that jolt, it needs your testimony and the great work you are doing. We all have, in fact, the vocation to be freer and to be human, the vocation to peace.”

“Let us move forward together, then, multiplying the places of healing, of encounter, and of education: pastoral paths and social policies that begin on the street and never give anyone up for lost.”

An aerial view of the papal palace of Castel Gandolfo near Rome. The apostolic palace is a complex of buildings served for centuries as a summer residence for the pope and overlooks Lake Albano. / Credit: Stefano Tammaro/Shutterstock

Rome Newsroom, Jun 26, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Castel Gandolfo is preparing to welcome Pope Leo XIV on July 6. The imposing papal villa in this town on the shores of Lake Albano, a fortified 17th-century palace, was converted into a museum for tourists in 2016 by the decision of Pope Francis.

Although only a few rooms are open to the public, they feature showcases exhibiting liturgical vestments belonging to previous popes as well as their portraits.

The Argentine pontiff didn’t pack his bags to go there in the summer like his predecessors but instead stayed in room 201 on the second floor of St. Martha’s House at the Vatican, where he usually resided.

“He [Francis] did a lot for the city, opening the doors of the papal residence and the gardens... But now, Leo XIV will return to the city its daily connection with the pope: the Angelus, the visits, the contact with the people. We want to experience all of that again,” Mayor Alberto de Angelis told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

A place of rest, prayer, and study for popes

Castel Gandolfo has been for centuries a place of rest, prayer, and study for popes. Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI spent their summers there, prayed the Sunday Angelus, and mingled with the townspeople.

The return of Leo XIV marks the beginning of a new era, which seeks to recover that dimension of closeness and pastoral presence: “We don’t want to look to the past with nostalgia but to the future. And the pope’s return gives us hope. The heart of the city returns,” De Angelis said.

Although many remember Castel Gandolfo’s apostolic palace as the traditional summer residence of the popes, Leo XIV will be staying in another structure within the Vatican complex.

“The pope will not be staying in the museum. He will be staying in a third structure. This will allow for a balance between being open for tourism and residential use,” the mayor explained in reference to Villa Barberini, a historic building that is also part of the pontifical complex, which will allow the museums to remain open to the public.

The mayor couldn’t hide his great joy at Leo XIV’s decision to revive the tradition of residing there during the summer months.

“Since 1628, the popes have lived in Castel Gandolfo. Some more, some less, but their presence has been constant. This is a city accustomed to the daily life of the pope,” he explained.

A city preparing to welcome the pope

The last time Castel Gandolfo hosted a pope for a period of time was during the pontificate of Benedict XVI, who also chose it as a temporary residence after his resignation in 2013. Consequently, the people of Castel Gandolfo, especially the younger ones, are very excited.

“Many have grown up during this decade of papal absence and don’t have a clear idea of ​​what it means to have the pope physically among us,” the mayor noted. But that is starting to change: “There is work underway; we have increased the presence of law enforcement and reorganized certain spaces; there is a certain excitement in the atmosphere.”

And it’s not just a logistical issue. “We’re looking forward to the return of the Swiss Guards, who haven’t been in Castel Gandolfo for 12 years,” he said. “That has a fundamental symbolic and identity value. In all the historic photographs of the town, Castel Gandolfo is shown with the Swiss Guards. The presence of the pope is part of our DNA,” De Angelis added.

A warm welcome and plans in motion

July 6 will be special. As confirmed by the mayor, in the morning the pope will pray the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square and in the afternoon he will travel to Castel Gandolfo where municipal authorities have planned an official welcoming ceremony.

“We want him to feel at home,” the mayor said: “We are consulting with the people around him to find out what he likes. We want to surprise him. We can’t afford to make a fool of ourselves. We want to get to know him, not by what others say but to discover it ourselves. To talk with him, to greet him... And, hopefully, to ask him to be with us throughout the year.”

To this end, the town is working intensively on security, mobility, and accessibility planning. “We are working with an engineering firm to develop a security plan for the entire historic center, including its surrounding streets. All of this must be done while respecting security measures without disrupting the city’s daily life,” he noted. However, the mayor can’t hide his hope that this stay — which for now will be limited to a few weeks in July and August — will be extended.

“We hope — and wish — that it won’t be just a summer visit. This is his second city after Rome, and, like Rome, we want to compete... we want him here more than in Rome, obviously,” he added.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

null / Credit: Take Photo/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 25, 2025 / 18:01 pm (CNA).

The Catholic Conference of Ohio has issued a statement expressing confidence that the state’s voucher program allowing parents to send their children to private schools would ultimately prevail after a judge ruled the program unconstitutional.

Franklin County Judge Jaiza Page on June 24 declared the Educational Choice Scholarship (EdChoice) Program, which provides funding for public school students to attend private schools in the state, unconstitutional, claiming it harms public education by channeling funds toward private schools, including Catholic institutions.

Page said in her ruling that the plaintiffs had proved “beyond a reasonable doubt that the EdChoice voucher program violates Article VI Section 2 of the Ohio Constitution,” which bans religious schools from having “any exclusive right to, or control of, any part of the school funds of [the] state.”

Page also wrote that “the state may not fund private schools at the expense of public schools or in a manner that undermines its obligation to public education.”

The ruling is expected to be appealed. The 10th District Court of Appeals will hear the case next, after which it could go to the Ohio Supreme Court.

“We remain confident the EdChoice program will prevail in the appeals process,” Brian Hickey, executive director for the Catholic Conference of Ohio, said in a June 24 statement. Hickey called support for the program “a matter of social justice.”

The Catholic Conference of Ohio is the official representative of the Catholic Church in public policy matters.

“The Catholic Church will continue to advocate for and defend programs that support parents as the primary educators of their children and enable them to select a school that best suits their child’s needs,” Hickey said. 

“We are proud that Catholic schools in Ohio continue to flourish with ethnic and racial diversity while providing a rich spiritual and intellectual environment,” he continued. “Catholic schools, like other chartered nonpublic schools in Ohio, work closely with the Department of Education and Workforce to adhere to state chartering requirements, including operating standards, teacher licensing, state audits, and approved testing.”

A coalition of public school districts, Vouchers Hurt Ohio, filed a lawsuit in 2022 to end the Educational Choice Scholarship (EdChoice) Program, which provides funding for public school students to attend private schools in the state of Ohio. 

The anti-vouchers group argued that the program unconstitutionally created a second system of schools to be funded by the state, causing harm to its public school system.

About 300 sisters and supporters gathered on June 24, 2025, for “Sisters Speak Out” in the nation’s capital in anticipation of the Senate voting on the budget bill this week. / Credit: Julia Morris

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 25, 2025 / 16:07 pm (CNA).

Sisters from 60 congregations gathered in Washington, D.C., on June 24 to urge lawmakers not to cut government programs that support immigrants and people with low incomes.

The event, called “Sisters Speak Out,” was held in the nation’s capital while approximately 40 “echo events” took place across the country. Around 300 sisters and supporters attended the D.C. gathering for “immigrants and a just economy” in anticipation of the Senate voting on the reconciliation bill this week.

According to a press release from the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, the sisters were gathered to speak out against budget cuts they believe will “gut health care and food assistance, inflicting serious harm on families, children, the elderly, and disabled.”

Sister Eilis McCulloh, a Humility of Mary sister and grassroots education and organizing coordinator for the justice organization Network, told CNA the idea for the demonstration came from “a desire for some action.”

“In March, there was a conference of a bunch of justice promoters for women’s religious communities … we began meeting every single week … to plan something that we could do together and that could take place across the country as well,” she said.

From these meetings the group decided to plan the Sisters Speak Out event because they believe the reconciliation bill affects the communities that they are “intertwined” with in their ministries.

McCulloh told CNA that “one of the really cool things” about the day was how much participation there was across the nation.

“So many people are saying, ‘Physically, I can no longer participate in events’ … And so we collected rosaries for it, one of the co-planners helped collect them and we received over 300 rosaries for people to use.” 

The event “had five different speakers” and the group gathered to pray a decade of the rosary together. 

“We used the sorrowful mysteries,” McCulloh said. “And each of the mysteries was connected to one of the issues that we were talking about.” The five speakers specifically discussed Medicaid, immigration, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Sister Mary Haddad of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas spoke about how health care is a “human right” and said passing the budget bill “would harm critical health and social safety-net programs that millions of Americans rely on to live with health, dignity, and security.”

“Medicaid is not just a health program — it is a lifeline,” she said.

Sister Patty Chappell, a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur, explained at the event that 13% of the population relies on $230 a month to feed their families. “That covers only a subsistence diet,” she said, and then asked: “How would you be able to feed your family on a SNAP budget of just $6.20 per day, per person?”

Sister Terry Saetta, a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas who works with immigrants, discussed border issues. “No child should leave the house traumatized, fearing they may never see their mother or father again,” she said.

The budget, she said, “is a moral document. It shows what we value.”

After the sisters had gathered, some met with senators including Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland; Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina; Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia; Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois; Dick Durbin, D-Illinois; and John Cornyn, R-Texas, to discuss the bill and how they believe it will affect vulnerable groups. 

The group also sent a letter to senators that was signed by approximately 2,500 sisters that said the bill “would be the most harmful legislation for American families in our lifetimes, and it goes against the principles and teaching of our Catholic faith.”

“I think we’re still just beginning to see this ripple effect of what this event meant, not just for the world but for everyone who took part in it and how we’re going to take the energy that we had yesterday and bring it back to our own congregations, our own communities where we live,” McCulloh said Wednesday. 

The reconciliation bill was passed by House Republicans in May, and Trump has called for the Senate to also pass it as soon as July 4.

Many Catholic and pro-life agencies have supported the bill from the start as it would defund Planned Parenthood and other organizations that perform abortions, but many Catholic organizations are also wary of how other government cuts will affect U.S. families and programs that assist the poor.

The United States Conference of Bishops recently released its stance on the bill, stating that it “supports certain provisions” but similarly to the sisters is “concerned with other inclusions that will negatively impact millions of people,” such as Medicaid and SNAP.