Bishops ask Supreme Court for Catholic inclusion in Colorado universal preschool program
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Catholic schools in Colorado that want to be included in the state’s universal preschool program.
Two parents, two Catholic parishes, and the Archdiocese of Denver are suing the Colorado Department of Early Childhood and the state’s Universal Preschool Program. The USCCB’s amicus brief argues Catholic schools should be allowed to participate without compromising their faith.
Although Colorado permits secular and faith-based schools to participate in the program, schools are prohibited from discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in the admissions process. The schools argue that this prevents them from only admitting children if their parents agree with Church teachings on those issues.
The USCCB’s amicus brief said the case was the latest example of states and cities using nondiscrimination rules to quietly pressure or sideline certain religious beliefs.
“If this trend continues, it will impair the ability of Catholic organizations and other faith-based service providers to partner with state and local governments to serve the public,” it adds. “The resulting harm to the nation’s social support infrastructure would be immense.”
The bishops urged the court to rule in favor of the Catholic schools and provide “clear instruction to courts across the country that religious organizations cannot be barred from participation in public life merely because they live out their sincerely held religious beliefs.”
“[This] will ensure that these organizations can continue providing vital, irreplaceable services in partnership with the states while freely exercising their faith,” the court filing adds.
Benedictine College gets candidate status for medical school
Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, announced that its proposed School of Osteopathic Medicine received candidate status by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation.
“Achieving Candidate Status is a significant milestone for Benedictine College. It reflects the dedication and hard work of many people who have helped bring this vision forward,” Dr. Marla Golden, the founding dean, said in a statement. “Our attention now turns to the next major step of achieving Pre-Accreditation Status.”
According to a news release, receiving candidate status allows the college to move forward toward the process of being accredited.
Study shows economic impact of Franciscan University
A study by the analytics company Lightcast found that Franciscan University of Steubenville generates $81.2 million in its annual economic impact and supports 1,146 jobs in the Ohio Valley.
According to a news release from the university, Franciscan’s economic impact was equal to about 1.6% of the Ohio Valley’s gross regional product. It found the university and its students supported 1 in every 45 regional jobs.
“Franciscan University’s first mission is to form men and women in Christ and prepare them to serve God and others through their families, professions, and communities,” Father Dave Pivonka, university president, said in a statement.
“This study gives us a remarkable glimpse at another dimension of that mission,” he said. Franciscan is also an economic anchor for the Ohio Valley — providing jobs, supporting businesses, bringing students and visitors to the region, and sending graduates into the world prepared to contribute and serve.”
New Catholic head of Intercollegiate Studies Institute
The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) — founded by William F. Buckley and Frank Chodorov to support conservative college students — named Christopher Fisher, who has a background in Catholic education, as its new president.
Fisher serves as superintendent of Catholic schools at the Archdiocese of San Francisco and previously worked as the executive director of the Portsmouth Institute for Faith and Culture at Portsmouth Abbey, a Catholic monastery and boarding school.
“Chrisʼs deep commitment to the enduring ideas of the Western tradition, his record of institutional leadership, and his passion for forming the next generation of thoughtful, engaged citizens make him exceptionally well-suited to lead ISI into its next chapter,” read an ISI post on X.
In a post on X, Fisher said he is “honored and humbled to be chosen as the next President of ISI, and am deeply grateful to the Board for the opportunity to lead an institution that shaped my own education and vocation.”
Tennessee school district adds Ten Commandments in schools
The Hamilton County School Board in Tennessee voted 6-4 to require all public schools in the county to display the Ten Commandments, joining at least five other counties that have adopted similar rules.
These mandates come less than three months after a state law became effective, which expressly allows public schools and charter schools to display the Ten Commandments alongside the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Pastor resigns after employee sues, saying he dismissed her report of sexual assault
A pastor in the Archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky, has resigned after a parish employee filed a civil lawsuit alleging she was sexually assaulted by her supervisor and her concerns were dismissed.
Father David Sanchez resigned as pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish and School in St. Matthews, Kentucky, after a civil lawsuit filed last week accused him of dismissing janitor Gladis Garcia Gomez’s claim that she was sexually assaulted by her supervisor, former facilities manager Cesar Barahona.
Archbishop Shelton Fabre accepted Sanchez’s resignation and the priest has been placed on administrative leave, according to a letter the archbishop wrote to the parish Sept. 23. He wrote that Sanchez “does not want to be the source of further unrest in the parish” and remains a priest in good standing.
Father John Schwartzlose, the parish’s associate pastor, has been named temporary administrator. Fabre said he plans to appoint a new pastor in July 2027.
The lawsuit, filed Sept. 17 in Jefferson County, names the Archdiocese of Louisville, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish and School, Sanchez, and Barahona. In it, Garcia Gomez says she was hired as a janitor in April 2025 and that Barahona sexually harassed and assaulted her at work over subsequent months. According to the lawsuit, he regularly forced her into the boiler and maintenance room, where he would rape and sodomize her.
Gladis Garcia Gomez v. Archdiocese of Louisville, et al.
She alleges in the lawsuit that when she reported the attacks and sexual abuse to Sanchez in June 2025, he told her he was a close friend of Barahona, did not believe her, and warned her against speaking further. She claims she met with the archdiocese’s human resources department in October 2025, which told her to file a police report, which she did that same month.
Her attorney, John Spalding, said in a statement shared with EWTN News: “It is deeply regrettable that this case exists at all. No person should have to wonder whether a report of sexual violence will be taken seriously and promptly investigated and acted upon. Justice for victims requires more than policies. It requires truth, accountability, and the courage to protect people rather than institutions.”
A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Louisville told EWTN News it does not comment on pending litigation.
Polish police make arrest after stabbing at Catholic convent leaves 1 dead, 4 injured
Police in southeast Poland arrested a man after a stabbing at a Catholic convent on Thursday, Sept. 24, left one person dead and four others wounded, according to a news release from the regional police.
Police received a report at 9:30 a.m. local time that a Ukrainian man stabbed someone with a knife at the Benedictine Abbey in Jarosław, Poland, a small town near the border with Ukraine.
The police report states that initial findings indicate that the 31-year-old man stabbed four men and one woman. It also states that all five were taken to the hospital and three of the men had serious injuries.
Local media reported that one of the injured men died in the hospital, citing the hospital and the police. Some outlets identified the victim who died as a Catholic priest, but EWTN News has not been able to independently confirm this information.
EWTN News reached out to the police and the convent but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Sheen Foundation gathering information on ‘instantaneous’ cancer case, 5 other purported miracles
ST. LOUIS — Six purported miracles are attributed to the intercession of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen as part of the process that could lead to his canonization, Monsignor Jason Gray, executive director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation, said Thursday.
Gray made the announcement at a press conference with Bonnie Engstrom, whose newborn child was miraculously healed after she prayed for Sheen’s assistance. That confirmed miracle led to Sheen’s beatification.
Any purported miracle attributed to Sheen’s intercession that has taken place since Pope Francis announced his beatification in July 2019 can count toward his eventual canonization, which typically requires a second miracle to move forward.
Gray said efforts were underway to gather documentation.
“There’s a potential healing from Stage 4 cancer that resolved itself instantaneously. That one sounds pretty good,” Gray said. “There’s another one of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy of a newborn child. I have no idea what that is but it sounds really bad. So we have a couple different candidates, one for healing a cancer, and healing of another child. And that’s why it’s premature to say anything more than that. We’ll investigate and leave it in the hands of the Holy See.”
James Fulton Engstrom, in what medical experts characterize as a miracle, survived in spite of having spent 61 minutes without a heartbeat. The healthy 16-year-old will present several of Sheen’s relics during the beatification Mass today.
When asked why she chose to call upon Sheen specifically in such a dire moment, Engstrom noted that Sheen had been a favorite of their family for years — a “local boy” with a down-to-earth Midwestern air, a “warm character” who reminded Engstrom of her own grandfather and great-grandfather.
In an on-air interview with EWTN on Thursday, his mother said she and her husband, Travis, were impressed with how thorough the Vatican’s investigation into the miracle was.
“Travis and I felt very reassured that, wow, when the Catholic Church says something is a miracle, it is a miracle,” Engstrom said during the press conference.
The Mass, which can be viewed live on EWTN with coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET, will be celebrated by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pope Leo XIV’s representative.
Pope Leo, Hungarian prime minister discuss Ukraine, Middle East, and AI
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV and Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar discussed the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the impact of artificial intelligence, and other challenges facing Europe during a private audience at the Vatican on Thursday.
Magyar also formally invited the pope to visit Hungary and presented him with a book of memoirs by Cardinal József Mindszenty, the former archbishop of Esztergom and primate of Hungary who resisted both fascism and communism.
Following the audience, Magyar, who won Hungary’s April 12 parliamentary elections, ending Viktor Orbán’s 16 consecutive years in power, described the meeting on social media as “an honor” and “inspiring.”
Magyar said the two spoke about the situation in Hungary, challenges facing Europe, the growing impact of artificial intelligence on society, and loneliness among young people.
He also explained his approach to politics, which he said is based on “honesty, genuine human connection, and hard work.”
“At the end of our meeting, I asked for a papal blessing for our country and invited the Holy Father to visit Hungary,” Magyar said.
The Vatican said the discussions covered Hungary’s socioeconomic situation as well as education and “the protection of the most vulnerable Christian communities in various regions of the world.”
The two sides also exchanged views on Ukraine and the Middle East and expressed hope for greater international efforts to promote peace and negotiated solutions to ongoing conflicts.
Magyar gave the pope a book of memoirs by Mindszenty, one of the most prominent figures in 20th-century Hungarian Catholicism. The cardinal, who lived from 1892 to 1975, faced imprisonment and persecution for his opposition to both fascism and Hungary’s communist regime.
Portuguese president meets Pope Leo
Pope Leo also received Portuguese President António José Seguro on Thursday in their first official meeting since Seguro became head of state.
Seguro subsequently met with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
The Holy See said the talks covered Portugal’s socioeconomic situation, the promotion of the common good, and international affairs.
“Some regional and international issues were addressed, with particular reference to the repercussions of conflicts around the world, migration, the importance of multilateralism and respect for international law, as well as the urgent need for a constant commitment to peace,” the Vatican said.
The private audience lasted about 40 minutes. Seguro presented the pope with a porcelain sculpture of the crucified Christ made by Portuguese manufacturer Vista Alegre and designed by architect Álvaro Siza Vieira.
Seguro had said Wednesday that he planned to convey “the friendship of the Portuguese people” and renew an invitation for Pope Leo to visit Portugal in 2027, when the country will mark the 500th anniversary of the apostolic nunciature.
Pope Francis visited Portugal twice during his pontificate: in 2017 for the centenary of the Marian apparitions at Fátima and in 2023 for World Youth Day in Lisbon.
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.
‘A foretaste of heaven’: Sheen beatification organizers eager for Mass
ST. LOUIS — For Bonnie Engstrom, who witnessed her newborn child miraculously healed through the intercession of soon-to-be Blessed Archbishop Fulton Sheen, the journey to the prelate’s beatification has been an “emotional roller coaster.”
The Sept. 24 Mass will be “a foretaste of heaven,” she predicted, “where we are all going to be worshipping God together and celebrating the Church as a whole, and the power of the body of Christ and every good grace that God has given us. I am so looking forward to it,” Engstrom said at a Thursday morning press conference.
Engstrom spoke to the media along with Bishop Louis Tylka of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, and Monsignor Jason Gray, executive director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation in Peoria. Gray said it is a relief, after years of technical investigations and paperwork, to see their work finally come to fruition and be able to join in the celebration of Sheen with the faithful.
That said, Gray admitted he has been surprised during the process at how much attention Sheen has attracted, particularly among young people.
“One question that came up early on [was]: Whoʼs going to care? All the people who knew him when his program was on are very old. But weʼve discovered young people are inspired by Sheen, because heʼs a voice of integrity that inspires people who did not know him in life, that have discovered him in the years since,” Gray said. “So itʼs just exciting to see how much enthusiasm there is,”
Tylka agreed, highlighting the fact that Sheen pioneered “new media” in his day — attracting wide attention, including from non-Catholics — serving as an inspiration to those looking to do the same in 2026. He also showed how to bridge divisions in the Church and in the world because he “always spoke with the truth of the Gospel, with charity and with clarity.”
“Sheenʼs message is timeless because he spoke the truth and he spoke the truth with clarity and charity. I think a lot of people in the world, especially young people, are searching for purpose and meaning and to have a voice that so convicted, he presents the truth of our faith, our belief in Jesus Christ, the truth that God loves us and that life is worth living. I think thatʼs very appealing,” Tylka said.
‘Local boy’
The beatification Mass Thursday afternoon will include 89 bishops, about 1,000 priests, about 850 each of seminarians and religious, and 250 deacons, along with about 50,000 total attendees, Gray said. The Mass, which can be viewed live on EWTN with coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET, will be celebrated by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pope Leo XIV’s representative.
James Fulton Engstrom, the third of Bonnie and Travis’ eight children and the recipient of the confirmed miracle that led to Sheen’s beatification, will play a part in the Mass by presenting several relics of Sheen onstage. Gray and Tylka both displayed two of the relics during the press conference: one of Sheen’s zuchettos — the reddish-purple skullcap worn by archbishops — and Sheen’s pectoral cross.
James Fulton, who was born in 2010, spent 61 minutes without a heartbeat while his mother prayed fervently to Sheen to help her child — whom she and her husband had already named after the famous archbishop. Almost exactly 16 years later, James is a happy and healthy teenager. The fact that James’ healing was a miracle was attested to unanimously by the medical experts, cardinals and others at the Vatican tasked with investigating it. In a later on-air interview with EWTN on Thursday, his mother said she sees a connection between Sheen’s devotion to spending an hour before the Blessed Sacrament every day and the 61 minutes her son lie lifeless.
“As a laywoman, I was so impressed with how thorough the investigation was. And Travis and I felt very reassured that, wow, when the Catholic Church says something is a miracle, it is a miracle,” Engstrom commented during the press conference.
When asked why she chose to call upon Sheen specifically in such a dire moment, Engstrom noted that Sheen had been a favorite of their family for years — a “local boy” with a down-to-earth Midwestern air, a “warm character” who reminded Engstrom of her own grandfather and great-grandfather. In that context, calling on Sheen during the worst hour of her and her husband’s life made complete sense, she said.
Despite his highly unusual birth story, James himself is an ordinary kid, a “punk teenage boy,” Engstrom joked, who didn’t ask to be thrust into the spotlight. Nevertheless, he is also a “delightful young man” who is excited — albeit a little nervous — to play a part in the beatification Mass for the intercessor who helped save his life, Engstrom continued.
“For all of our children, weʼve put all of our kids under the patronage of a saint and have really built a culture where we are celebrating feast days. We are calling on their intercession. I want all of my kids to feel like they have a squad that surrounds them, that is following them through life, praying for them, interceding, cheering them on,” she said.
Gray noted that because the late Pope Francis originally announced Sheen’s beatification in July 2019, any purported miracle attributed to his intercession that has taken place since then can count toward his eventual canonization, which typically requires a second miracle to move forward. Gray said the Vatican is considering six different potential miracles involving Sheen’s intercession, including an alleged instantaneous healing from cancer and a healing of another newborn from a condition similar to James’. Pope Leo, a native of Illinois like Sheen, is well aware of the archbishop’s cause, Tylka added.
Both Tylka and Gray said they have no doubt that Sheen will one day be canonized.
“Americaʼs bishop, as Sheen was known, is being beatified during the 250th anniversary of our nation,” Tylka said. “And we have a pope from Chicago, a native son of Illinois, who gave the green light for this to move forward. So I think all of those things say itʼs pretty opportune … I hope that the time between now and actual canonization wonʼt be that long.”
‘A powerful heavenly friend and intercessor’: Bishop Barron reflects on Fulton Sheen
ST. LOUIS — Families with young children, religious sisters and brothers, and pilgrims who had traveled to St. Louis filled the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis Sept. 23 for evening prayer on the eve of the beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.
More than 1,000 people gathered for the service, as the cathedral’s schola sang the psalms and canticles and Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of the Archdiocese of St. Louis presided. Bishop Robert Barron of Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, preached.
Barron began by recalling Sheen’s extraordinary influence as a preacher and communicator, including the millions who watched his television programs at the height of his career.
But Barron said he wanted to focus on a different question: What made Sheen “blessed, a saintly man of God”?
His answer, according to Barron, was friendship with Jesus Christ.
From the beginning of his own work in evangelization, Barron said, Sheen had been his “motto and inspiration.” Sheen repeatedly insisted that Christianity was not an abstract philosophy or simply a set of moral convictions but a relationship with a living person — Jesus Christ, who told his apostles that he no longer called them servants but friends.
Barron found a window into that friendship in Sheen’s autobiography, “Treasure in Clay,” particularly in Sheen’s reflection on the prophet Isaiah’s encounter with God.
The passage offered a template for the spiritual journey, Barron said. It begins with an encounter with the holiness of God, moves through a recognition of one’s own unworthiness and ends with a willingness to be sent on mission.
The first movement, he said, is grace.
“Sheen’s life was marked through and through by signs of unmerited divine love,” Barron said. That grace was closely connected to Sheen’s devotion to Mary, whom Scripture describes as “full of grace.”
“Mary, as it were, haunts the spiritual life of Fulton Sheen,” Barron said.
He traced that devotion from Sheen’s baptism at St. Mary Church in El Paso, Illinois, through his priestly ordination in the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria, his devotion to the rosary, and his more than 30 journeys to Lourdes. Sheen went there, Barron recalled, to visit “the woman I love.”
For Sheen, Mary was the supreme example of a human being receiving the unmerited love of God.
That understanding of love for God also shaped Sheen’s approach to the Eucharist. Barron pointed to Sheen’s lifelong commitment to the Holy Hour, when he would spend an uninterrupted hour each day in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.
Sheen saw the Holy Hour not as a task to be accomplished but as time spent in the presence of Christ. “Looking at the Eucharistic Lord for an hour transforms the heart in a mysterious way,” he wrote.
Barron also recalled Sheen’s image of the person who faithfully sits before the tabernacle as “like a dog at the master’s door ready to see” where the master will send him.
That preparation would lead Sheen to radio and television, where he saw new opportunities to bring the Gospel to a much wider audience. His academic formation, Barron noted, was always directed toward that apostolic purpose. Sheen wanted to bring the Catholic intellectual tradition to bear on the questions of his time while communicating it in ways ordinary people could understand.
He repeatedly heard, Barron said, Christ’s command to “go out into the deep.”
Sheen answered that call through decades of preaching, writing, broadcasting, and missionary travel. Yet “Treasure in Clay” also reveals the fragility of the person carrying that treasure.
Sheen openly acknowledged his weaknesses, including his enjoyment of titles, prestige, and popularity. “I was popular,” Sheen wrote. “I was sought after, I was a friend of both royalty and the masses.” Then came the question: “How close was I to the cross?”
For Barron, that honesty was part of Sheen’s holiness. The closer a person comes to the holiness of God, he said, the more clearly that person sees his own need for forgiveness and healing.
“God is holy. I am not. Woe is me,” Barron quoted Sheen as saying.
Sheen’s sufferings, including those that came from within and outside the Church, became part of that purification. As Sheen put it, “Since I would not take up the cross, the Lord would lay it on my back.”
Through that process, Barron said, Sheen became more deeply conformed to Christ and more ready to be sent. Those themes were reflected in the way people at the cathedral spoke about Sheen and his continuing influence.
Sister of Life Maria Augustine, who traveled from New York with other members of her community, called Sheen “a great teacher and a great evangelist.”
“We look to him for his inspiration and his intercession as we go out into the world,” she said, “to proclaim the good news of human life and love.”
For Cardinal Raymond Burke, Sheen’s example has particular significance for the priesthood. Burke said Sheen inspired his own priestly vocation, and he continues to read Sheen today to deepen his “knowledge and love of the holy priesthood.”
Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, pointed to Sheen’s deep Eucharistic devotion as the source of his evangelizing work.
“To me, Fulton Sheen is a man who was so deeply in love with Jesus in the Eucharist, that he just let that shine out in everything that he does,” Cozzens told EWTN News. “And that’s what I try to do too.”
Barron returned at the end of his homily to the Church’s continuing work of evangelization. The beatification, he said, does not make Sheen any greater; rather, it brings him “in a powerful way before the attention of the world.”
Those seeking “fresh language” to bring the Gospel to modern culture, Barron said, are indebted to Sheen. So are those who preach the “ancient faith with a heart on fire” and those willing to use the communications technologies available to them.
For them, Barron said, Sheen is “a powerful heavenly friend and intercessor.”
EWTN will provide live coverage of the beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen on Sept. 24, with broadcast coverage beginning at 10 a.m. ET with a “Beatification Pre-Show” from The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, followed by the “Mass of Beatification” at 2:30 p.m. ET. Live updates will also be available through the EWTN News live blog.
Pope Leo calls for climate action before disaster strikes
Pope Leo XIV called for a shift in how the world confronts climate change during a Sept. 24 address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
“We cannot respond to these challenges only after disaster has already struck,” he said. “We need to move from emergency response to prevention, from vulnerability to preparedness, and from short-term measures to a wise and farsighted vision for humanity.”
Speaking at the academy’s plenary session on “The Future of Science in a Changing World,” Leo pointed to increasingly frequent and intense heat waves, droughts, floods, storms, and wildfires. He said their effects “fall most heavily upon the poor” and on communities with the fewest resources to adapt.
“It follows that the climate question is not merely an environmental challenge, it is fundamentally a question of justice, human dignity, and solidarity between peoples and generations,” he said.
The pope called for scientists, engineers, economists, physicians, and social scientists to work alongside local communities and policymakers. He welcomed the climate resilience summits the academy has held over the past two years and encouraged it to continue that work.
Leo also addressed digitalization, artificial intelligence, and robotics. Citing his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, he said those technologies could bring advances in medicine, food, and energy systems while warning that AI can be used for “surveillance, manipulation, and discrimination.”
He raised concerns about cyber capabilities and autonomous weapons developed or deployed without adequate safeguards and human oversight. Technology, he said, carries responsibilities that extend beyond its technical uses.
“It is my prayer that you will foster a scientific culture that is ambitious yet humble, rigorous yet open to dialogue, innovative yet responsible, globally cooperative yet inclusive of those most at risk and most in need,” he told the academy.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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Pope Leo XIV appoints Romanian diplomat as his representative to Council of Europe
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Romanian diplomat Monsignor Paul Butnaru as the new permanent observer of the Holy See to the Council of Europe.
The Vatican announced Butnaru’s appointment on Sept. 24. The Council of Europe, distinct from the European Union, is Europe’s leading human rights organization. Founded in 1949 after World War II, the Council of Europe upholds democracy, human rights, and the rule of law across continental Europe. Its headquarters is in Strasbourg, France.
The Holy See is not a full member of the council, which is limited to democratic states. Diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the council have existed since 1970, and Pope Francis visited the council in Strasbourg in 2014, where he called for a more humane response to migrants.
Francis’ plea to Europe to stop migrant deaths
Criticizing the number of deaths resulting from the mass drownings of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Southern Europe, Francis warned the council in his address not to betray their mission by ignoring the suffering of these migrants.
“We cannot allow the Mediterranean to become a vast cemetery! The boats landing daily on the shores of Europe are filled with men and women who need acceptance and assistance,” Francis said.
Pope Leo XIV echoed similar concerns during his apostolic journey to Spain in June 2026, calling for an “examination of conscience” regarding migrant deaths during his visit to the port in the Canary Islands.
Butnaru’s diplomatic service
Butnaru was born in Piatra Neamț, Romania, on Nov. 13, 1978. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Iași on June 29, 2004.
He entered the Vatican’s diplomatic service on July 1, 2012. Since then, he has served at the apostolic nunciatures in Ethiopia, Venezuela, and Bulgaria; at the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, in the section for relations with states and international organizations; and at the apostolic nunciature in Canada.
Butnaru is the second permanent observer to the Council of Europe who is not a bishop, following his predecessor, Monsignor Marco Ganci.