Mexican bishop: Lack of mature faith leads Catholics to fall into esotericism
As head of the recently established ministry team for the Pastoral Care of Consolation and the Ministry of Exorcism (DEPAC, by its Spanish acronym) of the Mexican Bishops’ Conference, Bishop José Trinidad Zapata Ortiz highlighted the importance of a “mature faith” in the face of the proliferation of esoteric cults into which not a few Catholics have fallen.
“We are in need of a mature, committed, and convinced faith,” the bishop of Papantla shared with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, lamenting that “unfortunately, many of our parishioners who are baptized do not live out their faith in an orthodox manner” and end up seeking a “solution to their difficulties in other areas.”
“Having the solution within their own Church in pastoral practice and by living out the sacraments, they go looking for solutions elsewhere,” falling “into spiritist practices or other types — satanic ones, or the so-called ‘Santa Muerte,’ [a Mexican folk saint and deity personifying death], etc.”
It is in this way that some people end up facing various spiritual difficulties, he explained.
This denotes a lack of faith, he pointed out, for “when there is total trust in the Lord, we know that there may be difficulties, that there may be problems, but that, ultimately, the Lord permits all of this to bring about a greater good and to guide us along the right path.”
“The Christian life is not a victorious life devoid of pain or problems; rather, one embraces this as a path, following the Lord,” he explained.
A new pastoral ministry to address spiritual suffering
The Mexican bishops established the new pastoral ministry during their general assembly in November 2025 and appointed Zapata as its head. The prelate explained to ACI Prensa that the decision is framed within the “growing need to address these situations of spiritual, moral, and physical suffering of some persons, which may have a malevolent origin.”
“Therefore, it was deemed appropriate to officially support the exorcists who were already undergoing training courses,” as well as to “accompany them” and foster “unity and cohesion regarding this entire issue at the national level.”
However, he emphasized that DEPAC “will not focus solely on ministering to exorcists” but rather aims at a comprehensive “pastoral ministry of consolation,” for “what people often need is consolation — to be listened to, to receive guidance, and to have prayers offered on their behalf — so that they may follow a path and a process in following the Lord.”
All priests, he underscored, as pastors of their parishioners, must “listen to their faithful to see what difficulties or sorrows they are enduring or suffering.”
For this reason, it is necessary to foster among priests a “serious and profound” formation in theology, spirituality, morality, and pastoral practice regarding these matters, in order to be able to attend to them.
The ordinary action of the devil
While the Mexican prelate emphasized that it is necessary to address problems related to the “extraordinary action” of the devil such as demonic possession, he noted that “it is through his ordinary action that the devil causes so much evil in the world.”
It is “through temptation that many of us fall.” It’s how the devil “produces the worst evils in the world and not [through] possession,” which happens once in a million cases.
Zapata also urged against exaggerating the power of the devil in our lives: “It should neither be denied nor seen everywhere,” for we must also “assume our own responsibility.”
“The devil can’t do what God doesn’t permit him to do, and what we don’t permit him to do,” he said. “Thus, if he wreaks havoc upon us, it is because we first allowed him to do so. We venture onto his paths and let him into our lives.”
The formation the Church seeks to promote in Mexico
With these challenges in mind, the recently established DEPAC aims to “form and guide all our priests so that they may recognize divine action, the action of the devil, and human action, and know how to discern,” while also ensuring they are equipped to “attend to special cases of extraordinary action” of the devil.
Along these lines, the new ministry team has already been conducting spiritual exercises and courses for priests, and has scheduled new training sessions for July of this year including lay experts in various disciplines who assist in this pastoral ministry, such as physicians and psychologists.
Outlining the qualities required of an exorcist priest, Zapata noted: “We simply need a priest grounded in doctrine, a good priest, generally speaking.”
“This is not a matter of having a charism; it’s a matter of a mandate issued by the bishop to a priest whom he sees has the qualities for this,” he pointed out; consequently, every prelate “must evaluate the qualities the priest has.”
However, he emphasized that it is considered important “that he be a Eucharistic priest, a Marian priest, a priest who enjoys caring for those in need, especially the sick.”
Thus “a priest who is, let us say, upright, transparent, and honest,” he summarized.
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.
Institute on Religion and Democracy launches ecumenical ‘Christians for Capitalism’ project
The Washington, D.C.-based Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) launched its “Christians for Capitalism” project on June 2, seeking to bring together Christians of various traditions who support free-market capitalism.
“There was concern among a number of Christians in D.C. in the field of economics that there was no ongoing institutional voice in Washington, D.C., for pro-free market Christians, and there are obviously many Christians in D.C. who are pro-free market,” IRD President Mark Tooley told EWTN News.
“There was a vacuum here being filled by other voices and other perspectives that are critical of — if not hostile to — the free-market perspective,” he said.
Tooley, who is Methodist, said IRD is “not tied to any particular Christian tradition” and includes both Protestants and Catholics, noting “Catholics were among our founders.” He said IRD has been ecumenical from the start, with a focus on Christianity in the U.S., democracy, and human rights.
The IRD was founded in 1981, and most of its early board members were Protestant but also included one Catholic, the philosopher Michael Novak. Another early board member, Father Richard John Neuhaus, was Lutheran at the time but converted to Catholicism in 1990 and was ordained to the priesthood.
Tooley said the plan for the project is to hold events, publish articles, and host a semester-long fellowship for young people who align with their vision. He said he expects Novak’s writings to be prominently featured in the reading materials for the fellowship, which would likely meet twice per month this fall.
The launch event
The IRD kicked off the initiative with an early evening event on June 2 at its headquarters in downtown Washington, D.C., just a few blocks north of the White House. A few dozen people gathered for the occasion, which included drinks, hors dʼoeuvres, and an hourlong presentation by two Christian scholars discussing the intersection of Christianity and economic thought.
Erik Matson, a Gibbons fellow in economics at The Catholic University of America, and Jordan J. Ballor, executive director of The Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy at the First Liberty Institute — both of whom are Protestant — delivered the presentation on their book: “A History of Christian Political Economy.”
The book delves into economic thought in the Bible, among the early Church fathers, from medieval theologians, in the writings of later Protestant reformers and Catholic thinkers, and from contemporary scholars.
Jordan said during the presentation that theological perspectives are “not in the mainstream of what is taught in economics” but said “we might be missing something” when we fail to include theological perspectives in economic discourse.
Although much of the older writings do not touch on the subject in the form of an economic treatise, Matson explained in his presentation that Christians were “wrestling with political and economic issues” of the time and commenting on questions about wealth, poverty, and access to resources.
Matson identified two “broad competing perspectives” among the thinkers. One, he called “a limited good perspective” and the other, “a mutual benefits perspective.”
He said the first views material wealth as essentially “fixed,” in the sense that any transaction is “zero sum,” or “the gain of one is the loss of another.” The second views wealth as something that can increase into the future, in the sense that “the good of one need not come at the cost of the good of many” and that transactions can be “wealth generative” rather than just being shifts in resources.
According to Matson, “you can find both of these perspectives” over the course of the last two millennia within all Christian faith traditions. He pointed to St. John Chrysostom as falling more into the “limited good perspective” of economic thought and St. Thomas Aquinas as being more closely aligned with the “mutual benefits perspective,” for example.
Matson told EWTN News after the presentation “there’s no real discernible difference across denominations,” saying the research found representatives of both perspectives in Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox thought.
He said Pope Leo XIII, who authored Rerum Novarum in 1891 and set the foundation of Catholic social teaching, is more “in line with [the] mutual benefits” understanding of economics. He said the pontiff understood the importance of property but also saw “a role for the government [and] for voluntary associations [and] trade associations.”
The book also touches on more direct contributions Christian thinkers made to economics, such as the the School of Salamanca, which was a Catholic Scholastic movement that developed the quantity theory of money and dealt with questions such as pricing and usury.
U.S. bishops issue wish list to Congress on funding for migration
U.S. bishops urged Congress to reauthorize the Religious Worker Visa Program, protect refugee services and unaccompanied children, and reject expanded enforcement and detention measures, warning that mass‑deportation policies would undermine due process and separate families.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sent a list of immigration-related requests to lawmakers June 1 as they are set to vote on fiscal 2027 appropriations.
In a letter sent to leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, Bishop Brendan J. Cahill of Victoria, Texas, wrote on behalf of the USCCB asking the committee to consider “additional priorities” in connection “to human life and dignity.”
“The well-being of immigrants, refugees, unaccompanied noncitizen children, victims of trafficking, and other populations, as well as our immigration system in general, is of deep concern to the Catholic Church,” wrote Cahill, chair of the bishops' Committee on Migration.
“Our perspectives on these matters are grounded in Scripture and Catholic teaching, including our belief in the inherent and inviolable dignity of every person,” he said.
The letter was sent to Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine; Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington; Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma; and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut.
The bishops urged that funding continue for the Refugee and Entrant Assistance (REA) programs administered through the Office of Refugee Resettlement, as the programs are needed to assist refugees, victims of human trafficking, and other migrant groups.
They asked for “robust” appropriations for the Wage and Hour Division and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs to support victims of trafficking, and funding for International Humanitarian Assistance and Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance.
While acknowledging the governmentʼs right to enforce immigration laws, the bishops reiterated their opposition to expanded enforcement and detention measures, and asked for “more humane” alternatives.
The letter warned that mass deportation threatens due process, family unity, and discriminatory practice and asked Congress to ensure that people in detention facilities have access to religious and pastoral services.
Bishops' requests
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is operating without fully enacted fiscal 2026 funding, and instead has been funded through continuing resolutions after a 76-day shutdown that ended April 30. The Trump administration is asking Congress to approve $118.4 billion in fiscal 2027 DHS spending, which is a $6.6 billion increase over the continuing resolution levels.
The bishops asked the committee to consider permanently reauthorizing the Religious Worker Visa Program, “to avoid the uncertainty and disruption” that its expiration creates for religious organizations, their workers, and communities they serve.
The bishops also reiterated their request for Congress to take up and pass H.R. 2672/S. 1298, named by sponsors as “the Religious Workforce Protection Act.” The legislation would let DHS keep certain religious workers in the U.S. beyond the five-year limit on R‑1 visas while their green card or immigrant visa applications are still pending.
The bishops urged Congress to support agencies that help “promote trust” in the immigration system that “have been weakened” or “ceased operating entirely,” including the DHS Office of Inspector General and the Office of Immigration Detention Ombudsman.
Concerned about “nationality-based restrictions on legal immigration pathways,” the bishops asked that the State Department and DHS be required to report the status of all nationality-based restrictions.
Bishops urged lawmakers to fund the Legal Orientation Program, support the immigration court system, and oversee functions related to immigration enforcement in their consideration of the fiscal 2027 Commerce‑Justice‑Science (CJS) appropriations bill. U.S. House consideration is next for CJS appropriations; the House Appropriations Committee approved the legislation May 13.
Archdiocese of Washington removes prominent exorcist over remarks linking UFOs to demonic activity
Washington archbishop Cardinal Robert McElroy on June 3 removed a prominent priest from his role as an archdiocesan exorcist after the priest made remarks linking UFOs to demonic activity.
Monsignor Stephen Rossetti was “removed ... as an exorcist of the Archdiocese of Washington,” McElroy said in a statement posted to the archdioceseʼs website. Rossetti is a priest of the Diocese of Syracuse, New York, the statement noted.
In addition to Rossettiʼs removal, McElroy said the archdiocese had “ended all affiliation between the archdiocese and the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal located in Washington, D.C.”
Led by Rossetti, the St. Michael Center is a Catholic nonprofit that “conducts spiritual education workshops and trains clergy, religious, and laity,” according to its website.
Rossetti had on May 29 posted a video to YouTube in which the exorcist had expressed his personal belief that “many, if not most, [UFO] sightings are, in fact, demons.” Such entities, he said in the video, “can do things that we canʼt do, such [as] the speed and all sorts of things that human beings canʼt do.”
McElroy in his statement said Rossettiʼs remarks “gravely undermine the Church’s very precise teaching on the devil, demons, and exorcism.” The cardinal also criticized the St. Michael Centerʼs “recent use of social media,” though the statement did not offer any specifics beyond that.
In a statement after the news broke, Rossetti said he was “saddened” by the archdioceseʼs decision.
“I ask forgiveness for any ways that I have not been faithful to the teachings of the Church’s magisterium, particularly in the cited video on ‘aliens and the demonic,’” he said.
“I believe it is of the utmost importance to be obedient to the Church and I will continue to endeavor to subject all that I do and the center to be thus obedient,” he continued, adding: “Also, I will continue to encourage all to do so as well.”
“I am grateful for 19 years of ministering in the Archdiocese of Washington as its exorcist and I thank the archdiocese for its support and blessing all these years,” the statement continued. “We will remember the cardinal and all in [the archdiocese] in our prayers for its important ministry.”
The St. Michael Center “plans to continue its ministry elsewhere,” Rossetti said.
As of June 3, the video that apparently resulted in Rossettiʼs dismissal had been marked private on YouTube.
Sister Blandina’s canonization cause clears theological review
The canonization cause for Sister Blandina Segale, the "Fastest Nun in the West,” is moving forward after Vatican theologians unanimously voted to advance her sainthood cause.
It is a “very historical moment in the archdiocesan history, but also [for] the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati and the whole Church,” Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico, said at a press conference outside the Blandina Segale Convent in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on June 1.
“The Sisters of Charity are profoundly grateful for the life of Sister Blandina and her witness of faith, courage, and care for those most in need,” said Sister Monica Gundler, president of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, in a press release.
“As her story continues to be shared with the world, we pray that her compassionate heart will inspire others to emulate her example of charity, justice, and service,” she said.
Her cause moving forward is “a national celebration,” said Allen Sanchez, the petitioner of Segale’s cause, at the event.
The theologians “came together with a very important lens to look at her life” and examined 14,000 pages of “the argument for her heroic virtue, the book she wrote, and books written about her,” Sanchez said.
After doing so, they confirmed that Segale used the gifts of the Holy Spirit and fulfilled the corporal works of mercy, Sanchez said.
“There was no debate” among them, but it was rather a “celebration,” Sanchez said.
“They have everything in place, but in the summer they get to vote and then itʼs up to them to recommend to the pope if sheʼs venerable,” he said. After an examination by cardinals and bishops who are members of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the prefect of the dicastery presents findings to the pope who can consider approval.
If she becomes venerable it will then require one miracle to move forward again to her beatification, but “we have 58 of them,” he said.
Sister Blandina Segale
Segale was an Italian immigrant who came to the Wild West in the 1800s. She was born Maria Rosa Segale in the town of Cigana, Italy, on Jan. 23, 1850. At the age of 4, she and her parents moved to Cincinnati where she joined the Sisters of Charity at 16.
She spent over two decades serving in the American Southwest, primarily in Trinidad, Colorado, and in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
She worked in schools, orphanages, and hospitals that the sisters operated. She worked to build a trade school for Native American women and a home for the elderly.
She offered direct relief to the poor and helped raise money for numerous efforts.
She “started the public schools and the Catholic schools in [New Mexico] and the healthcare system,” Sanchez said. “The healthcare system that she helped begin with other nuns is now the largest nonprofit healthcare provider in the nation.”
Amid her efforts to start schools and hospitals, she intervened against lynch mobs and outlaws.
She eventually formed a friendship with William Bonney, better known as “Billy the Kid” — an American criminal linked to numerous murders in the late 19th century.
According to legend, and Segale’s journal and letters, one of Billy the Kid’s gang members was shot, but doctors refused to treat him. Segale decided to take him in and nurse him back to health.
The criminal was still unhappy so he planned to return to scalp the four doctors in revenge. When he arrived, Segale intervened and convinced him to call it off on behalf of the man she had saved.
After the incident, Segale and Billy the Kid became friends. She visited him in jail, and he called off a stage-coach robbery as soon as he realized she was one of the passengers.
Gifts of the Holy Spirit
“Blandina had wisdom and she had understanding,” Wester said. “She saw the world through the eyes of God. She had the wisdom of the Scriptures, the wisdom of the Church, the wisdom of faith.”
She also had “courage and fortitude,” he said. “She was this little powerhouse” who “rode down here in the stagecoach by herself, and she came to New Mexico.”
“She trusted in Jesus, that the Lord Jesus was with her and calling her to this mission, and she never wavered in her courage.” She “confronted mobs, lynch mobs, Billy the Kid — all kinds of difficulties with courage."
“She had prudence" and “the gift of right judgment,” Wester said. “She conceived that we needed hospitals and schools and cemeteries and orphanages and all kinds of institutions to help people. And she started them.”
“She could make good decisions” with her “knowledge to know the will of God, that God was willing peace for his people,” he said.
“God wants us all to live together in peace, and Blandina knew that,” he said.
“I encourage all of us in New Mexico, Catholic and non-Catholic alive, to follow Blandinaʼs example, to care for people, to live in harmony with people, to see the good in people, to be able to affirm one another and build each other up, and to be able to live together in peace,” Wester said.
Peru celebrates Eucharistic miracle with call to renew love for Eucharist
On June 2, the 377th anniversary of the first apparition of the Divine Child of the Eucharistic Miracle of Eten in Chiclayo province, northern Peru, the group Eucharistic Miracle Peru 1649 renewed its invitation to focus on the Eucharist and to live it with greater faith and unity.
The miracle dates back to 1649 in the old town of Santa Magdalena de Ciudad Eten, when on the eve of the solemnity of Corpus Christi, “the Divine Child appeared on a consecrated host” during Mass. Months later, on July 22 of that same year, there was a new apparition of the Divine Child on the feast day of St. Mary Magdalene. It then disappeared, and in its place there were “three intertwined hearts symbolizing the Most Holy Trinity.”
These events, recorded by ecclesiastical authorities of the time, have been preserved in historical documents that are currently housed in San Francisco Convent in Lima and in the National Archive of the Indies in Seville, Spain.
‘A gift from God for living in communion’
In observance of the occasion, the group Eucharistic Miracle Peru 1649 noted that its mission is simple yet profound: to draw more people closer to a love for the Eucharist.
They also recalled the words of the then-bishop of Chiclayo, Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, who was one of the driving forces behind the recognition of the miracle by the Vatican.
During a celebration in Eten, he stated: “This beautiful gift, that great gift which God, the source of all life and of all that is good... this gift that God has bestowed here, in this place, with you and for you, is given precisely to experience this joy of being united in the communion of the Church with the Child of the Miracle.”
In 2019, Prevost presented Pope Francis with a document regarding the history of the Miracle of Eten, which compiled “20,000 testimonies of faith,” and that same year he stated: “This miracle is approved on the basis of a continuous tradition in the city of Eten.”
Faith lived in daily life
Beyond the commemorative events, the celebration was also marked by new stories of faith.
One of them is that of Gabriel Crosby Sánchez. His mother, Arabella, recounted with emotion how, from a very young age, she placed him under the protection of the Child of the Miracle and took him every Saturday to the so-called “Masses of Promise.”
Over time, that practice bore fruit: Today, Gabriel serves as an acolyte at St. John Vianney Parish in the Magdalena del Mar district of metro Lima.
For his family and the community, his story is a simple but strong sign that the faith is passed on at home, in everyday life, and that when lived with perseverance it can transform lives.
A devotion that continues its journey
On this anniversary, the group Eucharistic Miracle Peru 1649 expressed special gratitude for the warm welcome extended by the community of Magdalena del Mar, where the image of the Divine Child of the Miracle was recently received.
The group also renewed its invitation to the faithful to join the spiritual pilgrimage currently traveling through various regions of the country — including central Lima, Comas, Lurín, and Bellavista as a preparation for the expected visit of the Holy Father.
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.
Gaza in need of ‘miracles,’ papal agency says
“With nothing to do, nowhere to go, no schooling, no commerce,” Gaza is “a very still quiet and dark place,” said Michael La Civita, director of communications at the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA).
CNEWA is working with numerous Church entities in Gaza, as it is in a “permanent state of waiting,” La Civita told “EWTN News Nightly” on June 2.
Pope Pius XI founded CNEWA in 1926 to give pastoral and humanitarian support to northeast Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and India. CNEWA has a worldwide network of people committed to helping those most in need, regardless of where they are.
As the conflict in Gaza continues, there are “upwards of 2 million people, most of whom are displaced,” and “their homes have been destroyed,” La Civita said.
There is “severe malnutrition and concerns for the health and well-being of children, expecting mothers, [and] the elderly living in extremely trying circumstances,” he said.
In Gaza, there is “no school, no shelter,” and “very little … access to food,” he said. “Weʼre concerned about, of course, things like hepatitis A and other diseases that are associated with the lack of sanitation, water, clean water, potable water, as well as healthcare.”
There have also been recent reports of child exploitation and child marriages in Gaza, but CNEWA is “not dealing so much with child marriages thus far because we have not been confronted with that with our partners,” La Civita said.
It “is not a particular issue that weʼve yet had to confront,” La Civita siad. But “the situation there economically is pretty horrific. I can imagine all sorts of nefarious things happening, such as that.”
“Weʼre dealing with situations as they see them, he said.
“Much of what we do is … psychosocial work for children and the elderly and vulnerable populations, their parents, their families,” he said. CNEWA also offers “medical care for mothers and expecting mothers.”
Pope’s call for assistance
CNEWA continues to aid the population as Pope Leo XIV continues to renew his appeal for humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
While speaking to journalists outside Castel Gandolfo on May 26, the Holy Father called on the international community to assist the people of Gaza, insisting that human rights must be respected "for everyone.”
"I would also like to renew this not only as an invitation, but truly as an appeal," he said. The Holy Father urged "all authorities to assist and accompany the people of Gaza, and to help begin reconstruction.”
Pope Leo noted that, "unfortunately, the people of Gaza are still not receiving humanitarian aid.”
"The people are truly suffering," and they "continue to suffer greatly,” Pope Leo said.
To answer the Churchʼs call, CNEWA works “with the local Church communities,” including “the Latin Church of the Holy Family and the Greek Orthodox Parish of St. Porphyrius, as well as Christian organizations like the International organization International Orthodox charities as well as Caritas,” La Civita said.
How the faithful can help
In order to help, Catholics and other Christians can “first of all, pray,” La Civita said. ”Because prayer ... works miracles, and we need miracles.”
“Second, we need a willingness for there to be peace. We need a willingness on all sides to want to establish some sense of stability for the people that live there,” he said.
There is a need for “access [to] vehicles as promised,” La Civita added. “What is needed to deliver aid is upwards of 600 trucks a day. Weʼre lucky if we get 400 a week carrying supplies.”
“So if youʼre only getting 400 trucks a week and what you need are more than 600 a day to feed a malnourished population, to provide them with medicines and water and food — you have a difficult, difficult situation.”
“I canʼt imagine stability returning or any sense of normality returning until you have access to materials, access to healthcare, access to food and water.”
New York Catholic university files federal lawsuit over forced collective bargaining rule
A historic Catholic university in New York City has filed a federal lawsuit against state officials amid a dispute over collective bargaining with faculty unions.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. district court on June 1, alleges that the New York State Public Employment Relations Board is infringing on its “fundamental constitutional right” to religious liberty by presumptively exercising jurisdiction over the schoolʼs union bargaining policy.
In February the school announced that it would no longer recognize two unions on campus, the St. John’s University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors and the Faculty Association. Both had been formed in 1970.
A school spokesman said the decision would "allow [the school] the flexibility required to innovate while continuing to support our faculty and, most importantly, deliver on our promise to our students.”
The unions subsequently filed a complaint with the state Public Employment Relations Board, alleging that the schoolʼs decision, along with changes to faculty employment terms, violated the New York State Employment Relations Act.
In its June 1 filing, the school said the First Amendment and extensive court precedent prohibits the state board from what the university described as “excessive government entanglement with religion.”
The lawsuit alleges that the unionʼs request would require the school to share its decision-making authority with both union leaders and the state government, even on issues that are “essential to its mission.”
Oversight from the state board would “[prevent] St. John’s from exercising its First Amendment right to freely govern itself in accordance with its Catholic and Vincentian mission and faith,” the suit says.
The state labor board did not immediately respond to a request for comment from EWTN News regarding the federal lawsuit.
Earlier this year the school received criticism from some community members for its decision to withdraw from union bargaining.
Sophia Bell, the president of the St. John’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, called the decision “a disastrous mistake.”
“[School president Father Brian Shanley] is violating New York state law and ignoring decades of St. John’s institutional practice and centuries of Catholic social teaching around respect for labor and workers,” Bell told EWTN News.
The school was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Queens, New York.
Pope Leo XIV accompanied him through his cancer battle. Now they will meet again in Madrid
During the Jubilee of Youth, held in Rome from July 28 to Aug. 3, 2025, unforgettable scenes filled the Eternal City: young pilgrims singing hymns with guitars, praying quietly near the fountains, and recording videos to share their faith on social media.
Among the thousands of young people who passed through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica was Ignacio Gonzálvez, a 15-year-old Spaniard. But during the pilgrimage, he began to experience intense chest pain. He was rushed to Bambino Gesù Hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with lymphoblastic lymphoma and a large mass in his chest.
His family traveled to Rome with heavy hearts. The first 12 days were critical: Ignacio’s heart was exhausted, and at any moment he could suffer cardiac arrest. Twenty-four hours after doctors removed his life support, a serious complication arose — an injury to the femoral artery and a blood clot.
“They were the most difficult months of my life and at the same time the most beautiful, because it was the moment when I came closest to God while being on the cross,” Ignacio, now recovered, told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.
Ignacio was able to personally share the news of his recovery with Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday, May 12, at the entrance to the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo.
“I gave him the good news that I had been cured and that I was waiting for him in Madrid, since I was returning to Spain just a few days after that meeting,” he said, joyful at the prospect of the pope’s upcoming visit to Spain.
Throughout the ordeal, the Holy Father remained close to Ignacio’s family, whose lives changed completely after the diagnosis.
A few days after Ignacio was admitted to the hospital, Pope Leo XIV arrived unexpectedly in his hospital room, where Ignacio’s parents were praying tirelessly at his bedside. Ignacio was sedated and intubated at the time and was not aware of the visit. Even so, the pope wanted to be close to him and his family in what would become the first of three meetings between them.
The pope remained with the family for about half an hour before visiting other patients in the oncology ward. He prayed the Hail Mary and the Our Father with them, gave each person his blessing, and spoke about the Gospel, eternal life, and the will of God.
“We are made for heaven,” he told them.
Ignacio spent nine months in the hospital. During that time, he came close to death twice.
The pope’s closeness became a source of consolation for the family. It helped them breathe, look toward heaven, and entrust themselves to God. When Pope Leo XIV learned that Ignacio had been discharged, he made room in his schedule to receive the family at the Vatican.
Ignacio went there April 29 with his parents, Pedro Pablo and Carmen Gloria; his sister, Adela; and a family friend.
During the meeting, the pope asked about Ignacio’s medical situation. Shortly afterward, he went into another room with the young man for a private conversation. Ignacio himself had asked for that moment of intimacy, and the pope immediately agreed.
Throughout this path of suffering, the family said they felt sustained by prayer and by the many people who hoped for Ignacio’s recovery: young people praying with the pope, the Neocatechumenal communities to which the family belongs, convents, relatives, friends, believers, and nonbelievers alike.
“Faith helped me live this illness in a different way, for example by offering my sufferings for something or for someone,” Ignacio said. “Praying with my mother and father when I was in the hospital also helped me a lot — not only in prayer but also in not feeling alone, because I knew many people were praying for me.”
Ignacio said he experienced God’s love every day.
“I felt God close — more than close — in every detail and in every gift that I know came from him, and he also gave me the strength to fight this illness,” he said. “I was able to see him in myself and also in my mother.”
Almost a year has passed since the nightmare of Ignacio’s hospitalization and the pope’s first visit. Today, that chapter is behind him. The present is healing; the future is a reunion with the pope.
That reunion will take place during Pope Leo XIV’s upcoming apostolic visit to Spain. In Madrid, the Holy Father is expected to meet with the most vulnerable and with young people, celebrate Mass, encounter the local Church, and venerate Our Lady of Almudena.
And once again, he will meet Ignacio.
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.
Miami Catholic schools receive $15 million in state security funding after ‘months of advocacy’
Catholic schools in Miami will receive $15 million in security funding from the state government after successful petitioning by Floridaʼs Catholic bishops, the Archdiocese of Miami has announced.
The archdiocese said the eight-figure security package was part of the newly approved state budget, which was passed by legislators in Tallahassee on May 29. The funding came about after “months of advocacy and budget negotiations,” the archdiocese said.
"We prioritize the safety of our students in a day and age that has seen more anti-Catholic violence and generally more violence against schools,” archdiocesan schools Superintendent Jim Rigg said in the announcement.
The archdiocese said that a “broader statewide reimbursement program” for Catholic school security failed to pass the Legislature.
Rigg said in the archdiocesan announcement that schools have been using money to fund security measures “that could otherwise go toward textbooks, technology, and teacher salaries.”
“In some cases, schools are collecting special security fees from parents," he said.
Catholic schools have increased security amid shooting fears
Numerous Catholic and other Christian schools around the country have lately adopted enhanced security measures, particularly after the August 2025 shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis.
That shooting came after Catholic bishops in Minnesota had petitioned state lawmakers to provide security funding for nonpublic schools; the state government had failed to grant those requests.
Some schools have opted to hire security guards, while others have considered the possibility of allowing teachers to be armed while on campus.
Still others have turned to technology to increase student safety. Trinity Catholic School in Fort Smith, Arkansas, recently adopted an AI-bolstered security system that can spot school shooters and quickly alert law enforcement ahead of a potential mass shooting.
A Catholic school in Ohio has also deployed that system on its own campus.
After the Minneapolis shooting, Jason Adkins, the executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, told “EWTN News In Depth” that school security is “a basic public safety issue that should be available to all students, irrespective of where they go to school.”
“Looking at school safety programs, nonprofit security grants, all these things — we have to take an all-of-the-above approach to looking at public policy solutions that limit gun violence in our communities,” he said.