‘Catholic Connections’ aims to unite Catholics working on Capitol Hill
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minnesota, wants Catholics on the Hill to be able to recognize one another by more than a cross they may wear or Ash Wednesday ashes on their foreheads.
Emmer’s office has spearheaded a new group called “Catholic Connections,” dedicated to fostering a faith-based community among Catholics working on Capitol Hill.
“This is a huge Catholic community around here,” Emmer told EWTN News in an interview at the group’s latest event on March 6, which centered on a Lenten reflection delivered by the pastor of St. Joseph’s Parish on Capitol Hill.
“They don’t have anything like this,” he said.
The Friday morning event, hosted in the Members’ Dining Room on the House side of the Capitol, drew roughly 50 participants, including several members of Congress.
Emmer told EWTN News he was inspired to start the group this past January after witnessing a surge of young people on the Hill attending Mass in the wake of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s assassination in September 2025.
“All of a sudden, we started to see a lot of young people showing up for daily Mass,” he said. “It dawned on me that they’re looking for something that’s bigger than themselves, that they want to be part of.”
“Catholic Connections is not only giving a community of Catholics a place to go,” he said. “Like somebody just said to me out the door, ‘Hey, the biggest identifier of Catholics on the Hill is Ash Wednesday,’ and he said, ‘Thanks for doing this because now we all see who each other is, and we don’t have to wait and try to guess.’”
Emmer said the group plans to meet every month and that he hopes to see more staffers attend.
The Republican leader emphasized the importance of Capitol Hill staffers grounding their work in “something bigger than yourself” rather than trying to achieve a level of perfection that is beyond their human capacity. “You’ve got to believe; otherwise, all of this is pointless,” he said.
“I think you’re going to see more young staffers show up because they will know that the door’s open to them,” he said. “If they think it’s a networking thing, I’m all for it.”
Finding common ground
David Planning, a principal at Cornerstone Government Affairs, expressed gratitude to the whip’s office for giving Catholic lobbyists and staffers on the Hill the opportunity to “settle down, reflect on our shared faith, and build community outside of work.”
“It’s funny,” he said. “You see members walking around these events with big smiles on their faces, happy to engage with their friends. Some folks are on opposite sides of issues in the professional world. But coming together under that shared faith is something that I hope we see expand. It’s something that is worth growing.”
Sarah Donovan, another lobbyist who serves as a senior policy adviser at Venable, told EWTN News that she was “struck” by the opportunity “to come together as a group of Catholics.”
“We do so many meetings on the Hill all day long and advocate for a lot of different causes,” she said. “But this is an opportunity to come together as Catholics and stand in a room with other members of our Catholic community and pray together, and be together, and reflect on what’s really important.”
“I find it to be very grounding and inspiring,” she said.
‘Building up a spiritual network’
Rep. Julie Fedorchak, R-North Dakota, expressed excitement for the group, especially as a freshman member, to have the opportunity “to build up a spiritual network that goes beyond just the politics here.”
“There’s a large number of Catholics in our class,” she said, naming Reps. Michael Baumgartner, R-Washington; Jeff Hurd, R-Colorado; and Robert Onder, R-Missouri.
“We all loved that, when we got to know each other and realized that there’s a strong network of pretty faithful Catholics,” she said, noting that the event “is just an extension of that.”
According to data from the Pew Research Center, 150 members of Congress are Catholic, making up about 28% of the total 535 members.
“So, with Emmer being a strong Catholic and really trying to be outward in his faith and use it to ground his work, that’s something that I aspire to do as well and try to focus on, on a daily basis,” she said.
Fedorchak, who is the first woman to be elected to the House of Representatives from North Dakota, is married with three children and serves on the Board of Trustees at the University of Mary. The youngest of eight children, Fedorchak described herself as “a diehard Catholic.”
Reflecting on the Lenten address given by Father William Gurnee, which focused on temptation, Fedorchak said: “I think the temptations when you’re in an office in Washington are even stronger because of all the demands.”
The freshman member said she especially appreciated the talk because of her own Lenten practices. “I am trying to abstain from hopelessness,” she said.
“That’s an easy feeling to set in when you’ve got daunting challenges and you’re just one voice in a sea of people here. And you can feel sometimes like it’s hopeless,” she said. “But I’m trying to abstain from that this Lent and realize that God is ultimately in control. So do what you can and then trust that he’s going to take care of the rest.”
St. Patrick’s Day during Lent ‘should inspire us to be joyful, not dire’
Catholics around the world celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with special Masses, parades, festive gatherings, and Irish favorites like corned beef and cabbage. While the festivities may seem contradictory to the penitential season of Lent, they provide an opportunity for the faithful to honor and celebrate the life of one of the Church’s most beloved saints.
“Sometimes Lent is viewed as a ‘gloomy’ season. However, the Preface for Lent (I) states: ‘for your faithful await the sacred paschal feasts with the joy of minds made pure,’” Bishop Stephen Parkes of Savannah, Georgia, told EWTN News. “This is a time for reflection, repentance, and renewal, which should inspire us to be joyful, not dour.”
On St. Patrick’s Day, many enjoy the opportunity to celebrate the gifts of Irish culture and heritage, but “in Savannah, we don’t stop with just a day and a parade … but rather celebrate a whole ‘season of St. Patrick,’ which encompasses many different events over a two-week period,” Parkes said.
There are many reasons to celebrate the great saint’s life.
The patron of Ireland was born in Scotland to Roman parents around 385. When he was a teenager, St. Patrick was kidnapped by an Irish raiding party and taken to Ireland as a slave.
Throughout his captivity, St. Patrick fervently prayed to God and at the age of 20, inspired by an angel in a dream, he escaped and journeyed across the sea back to his family. He then studied for the priesthood and was ordained, later becoming a bishop.
Pope Celestine instructed St. Patrick to return to Ireland to bring its people into the Catholic Church. St. Patrick arrived at Ireland’s shores around 433 on the feast of the Annunciation. There, he transformed the pagan society by converting thousands, baptizing converts, ordaining clergy, and establishing hundreds of churches across the country.
“My advice to anyone who is celebrating St. Patrick for a whole season, or just a day, is to ask this beloved saint to intercede on our behalf, that we may follow his holy example in embracing missionary discipleship,” Parkes said.
We can ask St. Patrick “to help us to provide a spirit of welcome and hospitality to those who come to our country seeking opportunity, safety, and peace,” he said. “We can also embrace a spirit of gratitude, giving thanks for the many Irish priests who ventured to the United States to serve our growing Church.”
Dispensations for feast days
“This is a time to honor this great missionary saint through a lens of faith, friendship, and community, all of which can bring great joy,” Parkes said. “Even though St. Patrick’s Day falls during Lent on the calendar, we put this into perspective by honoring our Catholic guidelines for the season.”
During Lent, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence from meat, and Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence from meat “unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday,” according to the Code of Canon Law.
Catholics are also strongly encouraged to take on additional practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving during the Lenten season.
When St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Friday during Lent, a dispensation may be given by the local bishop so that a traditional Irish meal containing meat may be enjoyed. This year, this is not a concern as it falls on a Tuesday.
As many Catholics celebrate the saint with parades, parties, and friends, some may wonder whether they can partake in what they personally gave up for Lent on the feast day — similar to how some choose to do so on Sundays during Lent.
As it is left up to the individual to what extent they take on additional Lenten practices, if they decide to enjoy the drink, food, or treat they have given up on St. Patrick’s Day, it is not against the Catholic Church’s guidelines for the season. But the faithful can always ask their archdiocese or diocese to find out more.
Other ways to celebrate
Enjoying a treat or meal to honor St. Patrick’s Day is not the only way to observe the feast. Catholics can take the time to learn about the saint’s life, attend Mass, and connect with the Irish-American community.
“I would hope that everyone, whether Irish-American or ‘Irish for the day,’ would honor St. Patrick by beginning his feast day with Mass, as we do in the grand cathedral on Fifth Avenue that bears his name,” Archbishop Ronald Hicks of New York told EWTN News.
“Like so many others in this archdiocese, I am proud of all that the Irish have given to our city and country, including, most importantly, a deep love of the faith,” Hicks said. “There can be no better way to celebrate this great saint while still maintaining reverence for the beautiful season of Lent.”
The faithful can use the feast day and nature of the Lenten season as an opportunity to spend time in prayer, including reciting “St. Patrick’s Breastplate.” The fifth-century Irish hymn is a powerful prayer that calls upon the Trinity and invokes divine protection against spiritual and physical dangers.
Catholics can also take time to reflect on the Holy Trinity using the Shamrock as St. Patrick himself is said to have done.
St. Patrick’s own words in his “Confessio” also offer a great reflection for the faithful. His words, “I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers,” are a reminder of his humility and relatability to us today.
Iranian missile fragments fall near Church of the Holy Sepulchre
An Iranian-launched missile exploded over Jerusalem, and fragments fell near several of the cityʼs holiest sites, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Tweet
According to a statement released by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, fragments of the missile “fell on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Armenian Patriarchate, the Jewish Quarter, and the Temple Mount, near the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
The Government of Israel condemned the Iranian regime for “firing missiles at the holy sites of Jerusalem, endangering Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike,” and added that Israel “is acting to protect the faithful of all religions in its capital.”
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein provided details of the incident at a press conference held near the impact site.
“We are here next to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. A missile from the Iranian regime, a ballistic missile launched from Iran, struck this location,” he stated.
Tweet
Marmorstein emphasized that the attack directly endangered the cityʼs principal holy sites. “The Iranian regime is targeting the holy sites of Jerusalem. This is a holy site, and the Iranian regime almost destroyed it,” he said.
“Basically, the entire Old City is in danger because of these ballistic missiles fired by Iran against the civilian population and, now, against the holy sites of Jerusalem,” Marmorstein added.
According to the spokesman, the objective of these attacks is to inflict the greatest possible harm on the civilian population. “The defenses are strong, but the intentions and objective of the Iranian regime are clear: they are trying to cause the highest possible number of civilian casualties, and now they are also targeting holy sites in the city of Jerusalem.”
“They are attacking Muslims, they are attacking Christians, and they are attacking Jews,” he emphasized. “Imagine what would have happened if that ballistic missile that landed just meters away had directly struck this holy site. It would be a nightmare.”
What is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre?
Historically, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the single holiest site for the Christians of Jerusalem.
According to Christian tradition, the sanctuary contains the site where Jesus Christ was crucified—known as Golgotha or Calvary—and the tomb where he was buried and from which he rose again on the third day.
The complex was originally built in the 4th century by order of Emperor Constantine, after his mother, Saint Helena, identified the site during a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
Today, the church’s complex is jointly administered by several apostolic Christian communities — including the Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church— and receives millions of pilgrims each year.
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.
German bishop recalls Habermas-Ratzinger dialogue after philosopher’s death
Jürgen Habermas, the philosopher whose debate with the future Pope Benedict XVI on the foundations of democracy became a touchstone for the relationship between faith and reason, has died at 96.
Habermas emerged from the so-called Frankfurt School, which linked its philosophical and sociological ideas to Karl Marx and figures such as Sigmund Freud. The Frankfurt School was a pioneer and source of ideas for the 1968 revolution, and Habermas later broke with the movement.
The German philosopher’s willingness to take religious thought seriously — rare among secular philosophers of his stature — made him a valued interlocutor for Catholic thinkers.
In a statement Saturday, Bishop Heiner Wilmer, SCJ, chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, commemorated the late thinker’s dialogue with Joseph Ratzinger.
“With Jürgen Habermas’ death, an exceptional philosopher leaves us,” Wilmer declared. “The breadth of his thinking and the visionary power to build bridges between philosophy and religion will remain.”
He added: “Unforgettable is his dialogue with Joseph Ratzinger, which showed that theology cannot exist without philosophy and philosophy cannot exist without theology. We will not forget the power of his intellectual achievement.”
The two thinkers discussed the “dialectical foundations of secularization” at the Catholic Academy of Bavaria in Munich in 2004. At that time, the later Pope Benedict XVI was still a cardinal serving as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Habermas, who maintained that the Enlightenment was an “unfinished project” that could be corrected through improved communication, found himself opposite a Bavarian prelate and theologian who maintained that the natural law tradition offers the surest path to overcoming the “pathologies of reason” and the twin dangers of political and religious fanaticism.
The Catholic weekly Die Tagespost noted in a March 14 obituary that their meeting demonstrated that the supposed opposition between enlightened reason and religious faith need not end in enmity. Both recognized the necessity of a mutual learning process, seeing the conversation itself as its own reward.
“Habermas, who described himself as ‘religiously unmusical,’ recognized in Christianity an important source of moral intuitions,” Henry C. Brinker wrote in the newspaper. “And the later pope drew out hidden resonances in Habermas that the philosopher himself probably did not suspect.”
Bishop Conley, Gov. Pillen ask for prayers for Nebraskans facing wildfires
As Nebraska wildfires burn through more than 700,000 acres across the state, Bishop James Conley of Lincoln and Gov. Jim Pillen have asked for prayers.
Four major wildfires are burning across Nebraska as of Monday afternoon, including the largest wildfire in the state’s history, according to state officials.
“Please join me in praying for all those who are dealing with the dangerous wildfires in Nebraska right now,” Conley said in a post on X on March 16.
The four active fires are the Road 203 Fire, south of Halsey and Dunning within the Nebraska National Forest; the Lincoln County Fire, near Brady and Gothenburg; the Morrill County Fire, north of the Nebraska Highway 92; and the Anderson Bridge Fire, west of Valentine.
The Morrill County fire is the largest wildfire in the state’s history. Burning more than 570,000 acres, it is among the 30 largest wildfires in U.S. history.
“I was in western and central Nebraska this past weekend for confirmation Masses in Benkelman, North Platte, and Hastings and had to take back roads at times navigating some of the fires,” Conley wrote.
“We prayed for all the people being affected by the fires and all the firefighters at all four Masses over the weekend. The hotel in North Platte I stayed in was full, about half of whom were firefighters and first responders.”
“Pray for their safety and the safety of those whose homes and property are being threatened,” he urged. “Pray for the woman who lost her life and her family and friends.”
A Nebraska grandmother named Rose White died in the Morrill fire trying to escape, according to Pillen.
Pillen said the Morrill fire was “electrical in nature, with wind popping wires and sparks.” He declared a state of emergency on March 13.
Pillen, a Catholic, also urged all Nebraskans to pray.
“I think it’s important that all Nebraskans pray,” Pillen said in a statement on March 14. “The circumstances have not changed. Yesterday was one of the toughest days, and through the night, that we’ve probably ever experienced in our state.”
“Pray that God’s hand may calm the winds and bring much-needed moisture to help with the fight,” Conley concluded. “We ask the Lord to take control of the fires that are out of control and bring about a quick and safe resolution for all. Jesus, we trust in you!”
Barron, Cordileone warn pro-life Catholics face pressure in health care
Bishop Robert Barron and Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone spoke out against the U.S. government’s past targeting of pro-life Catholics in health care at the U.S. Religious Liberty Commission’s fifth hearing.
Cordileone, who serves on the commission’s Advisory Board of Religious Leaders, highlighted the ongoing legal battle being fought by the Little Sisters of the Poor over government contraceptive mandates during his remarks at the March 16 hearing.
“These are women who deserve our utmost respect and esteem, and I can vouch for this from personal experience,” Cordileone said. “Why then would these humble, holy, and self-giving women have to find themselves in a multiyear, burdensome litigation with the federal government over a contraception insurance mandate that was part of the Affordable Care Act?”
The prolonged court battle of the Little Sisters of the Poor dates to 2011 when the Obama administration required employers to provide cost-free coverage for contraceptives, sterilizations, and “emergency birth control” in employee health plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Although the Supreme Court decided in the sisters’ favor in 2020, a federal court ruled against them in August 2025 when the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled in favor of both New Jersey and Pennsylvania in finding that the federal government had not followed protocol when issuing exemptions to contraceptive requirements, including for the Little Sisters. They appealed the decision in December 2025.
“The courage of this poor religious community to take on the federal government with its endless resources cannot be overstated,” the San Francisco archbishop said.
Cordileone further highlighted California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s lawsuit against Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka for refusing to perform abortions and a lawsuit against a Catholic hospital in Sacramento that refused to perform a hysterectomy for the purposes of gender transition.
Cordileone warned that if the courts rule against the Catholic hospitals in either case, that “all Catholic hospitals in California will be threatened.”
“Every year there are bills introduced into our state Legislature to expand private insurance coverage for sterilization, IVF, abortion, surrogacy, gender-affirming care, and so forth,” he said. “If these bills include a religious exemption, the exemption usually only covers organizations that fit a very narrow definition: employs people of their same faith, serves people of their same faith, and has the primary purpose of inculcating religious values. So here we have the secular government defining for religious communities what it means to be religious.”
“If we lose this fight, we will have lost the soul of our country,” he said.
Barron, who serves as a commissioner on the religious liberty panel, echoed Cordileone and said Catholics are increasingly being pushed out of health care and social services.
“I think they want us out of health care,” he said. “They want us out of education.”
The bishop of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, said that for a long time, religious leaders articulated their mission in terms of love, which he defined, citing St. Thomas Aquinas, as “to will the good of the other.” He said that as the faith has been pushed out of public life, religious leaders “have become more reticent” to express the Church’s position publicly.
“We’ve got to come forward in the public space, articulate what is the human good. I think we’ve become more reticent, and we’ve succumbed to the pressures from the secular ideology,” he said. “We’ve got to keep articulating what the good is, because otherwise we won’t know what love really is.”
President Donald Trump established the Religious Liberty Commission in 2025 to advise the White House on threats to religious freedom and ways to strengthen religious liberty protections in the United States. A coalition of multifaith advocacy groups, including the Interfaith Alliance, Muslims for Progressive Values, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Hindus for Human Rights, have sued to challenge the commission’s creation, arguing its membership is overwhelmingly Christian and not “fairly balanced” as required by the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
Leo XIV to journalists: War is not a video game; guard against propaganda, verify the news
During a meeting with Italian journalists Monday at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV warned that news reporting “must guard against the risk of becoming propaganda.”
When reporting on today’s “dramatic circumstances of war,” the Holy Father urged news professionals to verify the news “so as not to become a mouthpiece for those in power,” a task that is “even more urgent and delicate — I would say essential.”
He also emphasized that journalists must report on the suffering that war inflicts upon the population as well as reveal its human face and relate it “through the eyes of the victims, so as not to transform it into a video game.”
“It is not easy in the few minutes of a news program and its in-depth segments. But this is the challenge,” he told members of the Italian broadcaster RAI and the editorial team of its TG2 news program on March 16, on the occasion of the outlet’s 50th anniversary.
No technological innovation can replace creativity, critical discernment, and freedom of thought.
Pope Leo XIV
In his address, the pope also reflected on the challenges that television journalism has faced, such as the transition from analog to digital systems. In this context, he noted that “no technological innovation can replace creativity, critical discernment, and freedom of thought.”
The Holy Father addressed the “challenge of our time” — artificial intelligence — and underscored the need “to regulate communication according to the human paradigm and not the technological one,” something that, in his view, means “knowing how to distinguish between means and ends.”
He also highlighted laicity and pluralism as the traits that have characterized the Italian network. Specifically, he referred to laicity as “a rejection of ideological preconceptions and as an open-minded view of reality.”
“We all know how difficult it is to allow ourselves to be surprised by facts, by encounters, by the gazes and voices of others; how strong the temptation is to seek out, see, and listen only to what confirms our own opinions. But there can be no good communication, nor true freedom and healthy pluralism, without this openness,” he emphasized.
Finally, he invited journalists to promote diversity — animated by a spirit of friendship — “in an age dominated by polarization, ideological closed-mindedness, and slogans that prevent us from seeing and understanding the complexity of reality.”
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.
St. Patrick’s hidden years in captivity explored in new EWTN docudrama
A new EWTN docudrama called “Saint Patrick: The Hidden Years,” set to air globally on St Patrick’s Day, is the latest film by award-winning Irish director Campbell Miller. His previous works for EWTN includes films focusing on Knock Shrine, Father Willie Doyle, and the Catholic faith in Ireland in penal times.
The film on St. Patrick spans the period of time from Patrick’s abduction to Ireland by slave traders to his eventual escape of the island by boat.
Miller shared with EWTN News the inspiration behind his latest project, which he cowrote with his wife, Kristi.
“Not a lot of people know what actually happened to [Patrick] during this period,” Miller said. “They know that he was brought to Ireland, but they don’t understand what he had to go through. We made sure that we got that across to the audience so that they can understand his conversion.”
He added: “It wasn’t until he had to go through hardship and endure working as a shepherd on remote Slemish mountain that he took ownership of his faith and turned towards God.”
There is a lot that has been written about St. Patrick over the years, but Miller said he anchored his script and story in Patrick’s own autobiography. “We built the story on what he said in his ‘Confessio,’” he said.
Miller explained: “Patrick came from a Roman family. His grandfather and father were both clerics, and his father worked in collecting taxes for the Roman government of the time. Patrick’s family would have had slaves themselves. They would have treated them much better than the way the Irish treated slaves. He would have had teachers come in for him and his family.”
“So he ate very well. He dressed very well. He came from a lovely family. Being torn abruptly away from that when he was 16 and brought to Ireland to live on his own, looking after sheep on Slemish mountain, would have been a major change.”
Miller said a number of people were very helpful the the process of making the film.
“I managed to get help from the St. Patrick Centre, Tim Campbell, who manages the center and is a fountain of knowledge on St. Patrick, as well as Martina Purdy and Elaine Kelly, and Father Feargal McGrady. They are all historians, knowledgeable about St. Patrick and what Ireland and Britain were like at that time. Their contribution is invaluable.”
Miller also said that the cast and crew are from Ireland. “St. Patrick is played by two actors — the young Patrick is played by Kasper Andreasen, and older St. Patrick by Michael Sullivan. I worked with them before and I knew how capable they are.”
He added: “We had a very talented crew that have worked on major productions here in Ireland on the likes of ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Hope Street,’ and ‘How to Train Your Dragon.’ To be able to get that quality of workmanship in EWTN projects, I feel absolutely blessed. It’s the exact same crew that work with me in every production, it’s like a family coming back together again, and that makes it all somewhat simpler. I would also thank John Elson and the acquisitions team at EWTN.”
Scriptwriting was a joint effort between Campbell and his wife, of whom he said admiringly and simply: “She put a lot of time and effort into writing this.”
Most of the docudrama scenes were shot on location at the former British army barracks in Ballykinler County Down. Miller said the remaining army personnel there were incredibly helpful and accommodating, providing every assistance Miller and his team required. They also filmed in the scenic mountains of Mourne and in Donard forest, literally outside Campbell’s back door.
Although St. Patrick has been the best known saint of Ireland for many years, Miller spoke about the importance of his story for today’s Catholics.
“St. Patrick is very relevant today. There we have someone who was brought to his knees. He was taken away from his family. He had to live alone. He was made a slave, enduring ridiculous amounts of hardship that we just couldn’t fathom.”
He added: “And at that point when you’re at your lowest, like Patrick, there’s only one person you can turn to and that is God. God gives you hope that things will get better, and I believe that’s a message that people need to hear today, that things can get better. Just turn towards Christ and ask for his help. Patrick did that, he called out, and God answered, directing him: ‘There’s a boat there to take you home.’”
Hope is a distinct theme that runs through Miller’s work.
“It’s not intentional; it’s something that seems to be there with the characters and situations we end up making films about,” he said. “Hope is something that we all need and no matter who you are, when your back is against the wall, when you’re down on your knees and you feel there’s nothing else, that’s what a lot of people turn to at that point.”
He added: “God sees everything at one time, he knows that it’s going to get better for us. We need that faith in him and we need that hope.”
Miller’s next project is a new TV series for EWTN for later 2026, which will be based in Ireland. “It involves two priests working out of a small rural parish. One being a priest of 40 years, and the other just out of seminary. There’s going to be a lot of comedy moments within it,” he said.
Pope Leo XIV to accept Liberty Medal from National Constitution Center via telecast on July 3
Pope Leo XIV will offer live remarks via telecast to a crowd in Philadelphia when he accepts the Liberty Medal award from the National Constitution Center (NCC) on July 3 during a celebration of the 250th anniversary of American independence.
The Holy Father, a Chicago native who earned a bachelor’s degree at Villanova University in the Philadelphia suburbs, will be given the award to honor his commitment to religious freedom and freedom of conscience and expression around the world, according to a news release from the NCC.
The event will be held on Independence Mall, which is near the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, where the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. His remarks will also be livestreamed on NCC’s website.
“From its founding, America has understood liberty of conscience as essential to human freedom and self-government,” Mike George, chair of the NCC Board of Trustees, said in a statement.
“Pope Leo XIV’s moral leadership and his defense of religious freedom and free expression embodies these enduring principles,” he said. “Honoring him with the Liberty Medal affirms the universal power of these ideals and their relevance far beyond our borders.”
The NCC announced on March 16 that Leo would be the recipient, and a spokesperson for the Vatican confirmed with EWTN News that the pope would address the event live. The event is set for July 3, but the specific time has not yet been announced.
Vince Stango, NCC interim CEO and president, told EWTN News that Leo was the first choice for the award and the pontiff’s quick acceptance “made for a very efficient process.” The board of trustees “really wanted to make sure it was an especially meaningful award recipient” given that the nation is celebrating its 250th anniversary, he added.
Throughout Leo’s service as a priest, a bishop, a cardinal, and the pope, Stango said Leo has been devoted to promoting “religious liberty, human liberty, [and] freedom of consciousness” and consistently advocated for “his belief in dignity for all people, inclusion for all people, regardless of their faith.”
Stango said religious freedom is a “bedrock of the founding of this country,” which is “codified in the Constitution and in the protections of the First Amendment.” He said “the first American pope … really represents those ideals.”
“We’re honored to be hosting this event,” Stango said. “We’re honored to be giving Pope Leo this award.”
Stango said the NCC also plans to bring other faith leaders into the event to contribute to interfaith dialogue and discussions of religious liberty in the United States.
Leo’s alma mater, Villanova University, helped connect the NCC to the Vatican and eventually to Leo directly to offer him the award, according to Stango, who also attended Villanova. The NCC is partnering with the City of Philadelphia and Wawa Welcome America to put on the event.
According to the NCC, the event is part of the Independence Week celebrations in Philadelphia, which was the first capital of the United States. The city was the location of the first and the second Continental Congress and where the founders debated and adopted the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
The Liberty Medal has been given since 1988 and hosted by the NCC since 2006. The award honors those who strive for liberty globally. Past recipients include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sen. John McCain, and documentarian Ken Burns.
The weeklong celebration will have other guests, including free concert performances by Queen Latifah, Idina Menzel, Eve, and Kirk Franklin. The events also include fireworks and a parade.
Over the Fourth of July weekend, Leo will also visit the southern Mediterranean island of Lampedusa — a major migrant landing point for people seeking to enter Europe.
Pope urges Church to see abuse prevention as ‘a natural expression of faith’
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV on Monday urged the Church to listen to victims of sexual abuse, and called for the recognition of the pain caused and for the creation of “a culture of care.”
“It is about helping to form, throughout the Church, a culture of care, in which the protection of minors and persons in vulnerable situations is not seen as an obligation imposed from outside but as a natural expression of faith,” the pope said in an audience with the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM) on March 16.
He added that it calls “for a process of conversion where the sufferings of others are heard and move us to take action.”
Leo noted that the experiences of victims and survivors are “essential reference points,” adding that “while they are certainly painful and difficult to hear, these experiences powerfully bring the truth to light and teach us humility.”
He also warned bishops and the superiors of religious orders and communities that they “have a responsibility of their own that cannot be delegated” to “listening to victims and accompanying them” in every ecclesial institution and community.
He further stated that “it is precisely through the recognition of the pain that has occurred that a credible path for hope and renewal is opened.”
Prevention is not only a set of rules
The Holy Father explained that “prevention is never just a set of protocols or procedures.”
He also insisted that “the protection of minors and persons in vulnerable situations is not an isolated area of ecclesial life but a dimension that permeates pastoral care, formation, governance, and discipline.”
The pope also thanked the commission for its work in abuse prevention, describing it as “a demanding service, sometimes silent, often burdensome,” and asked its members to intensify “even greater cooperation” with other dicasteries and protection institutions.
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.