U.S. adults hold ‘nuanced’ opinions on religion in public schools, new polling shows
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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 30, 2025 / 16:18 pm (CNA).
New polling from the Associated Press (AP) NORC Center for Public Affairs Research has found that U.S. adults hold “nuanced views about the role of religion in public schools.”
While the majority of adults, about 58%, say they support religious chaplains providing services in public schools, only 40% say they believe teachers should be allowed to lead a class in prayer, according to data from the survey conducted June 5–9.
The survey contained polling of 1,158 U.S. adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
“More people oppose than support policies that would allow religious schools to become tax-funded public charter schools, but there is about equal support and opposition for a policy that would allow school vouchers to be used at private or religious schools,” the survey found.
Results for the AP-NORC polling come after Pew Research Center found that 52% of U.S. adults support allowing Chrisian prayer in public schools as debates about the issue continue across the country.
Though the majority supports designated religious chaplains serving in public schools, 55% of U.S. adults in the AP survey said they did not believe teachers should be allowed to lead a public school class in prayer.
Sixty percent said public schools should not be allowed to hold mandatory private prayer and religious reading.
The survey found that regardless of partisan alignment, “attitudes about the role of religion in school are often shared across religious groups, especially white evangelical Christians and non-white Protestants.”
“White evangelical Christians, non-white Protestants, and Catholics are all more likely than those who are not affiliated with a religion to approve of religious chaplains providing support services, teachers leading prayer in class, and mandatory periods for private prayer and religious reading at public schools,” the report stated, noting that mainline Protestants responded similarly to those without religious affiliation about prayer periods and religious chaplains in public schools.
Overall, the survey said that “roughly a quarter to a third of the public lack firm opinions” about additional issues regarding religion and public education, including taxpayer-funded vouchers and vaccines.
While polling was less conclusive on these matters because nearly one-third of polled Americans had no opinion, of those who expressed opinions, more respondents said they oppose religious exemptions for childhood vaccines required for public schools. More respondents also said they oppose allowing religious schools to become taxpayer-funded charter schools.
“People are roughly split on their support or opposition to tax-funded vouchers that help parents pay for tuition for their children to attend private or religious schools instead of public schools,” the report said, noting that Catholics are among the religious groups that were more likely to support taxpayer-funded vouchers, religious exemptions, and religious charter schools.
20 bishops join interfaith letter against ICE funding boost in ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 30, 2025 / 15:47 pm (CNA).
A coalition of 20 American Catholic bishops and religious leaders from other faiths has signed on to a letter urging lawmakers to vote against a proposed budget bill because of provisions to increase funding for immigration enforcement.
“From our various faith perspectives, the moral test of a nation is how it treats those most in need of support,” the letter read. “In our view, this legislation will harm the poor and vulnerable in our nation, to the detriment of the common good.”
The letter’s signatories included Cardinal Robert McElroy of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., and Cardinal Joseph Tobin of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey. Phoenix Bishop John Dolan, Seattle Archbishop Paul Etienne, St. Louis Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski, and Sacramento, California, Bishop Jaime Soto were also among those who signed.
In addition to the bishops, other signatories to the letter included the leadership team of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. Some Lutheran, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Muslim, and Jewish faith leaders also signed the letter.
“Our faith organizations have long favored the creation of legal avenues for migration and a legalization program for immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for years and contributed their hard work to our economy,” the letter stated. “We believe the adoption of these policies, instead of the implementation of a mass deportation campaign, would not only benefit immigrant workers and their families but be in the best interest of our nation.”
The budget reconciliation bill, called the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” includes a funding hike for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection. The proposal includes money earmarked for deportations, hiring more ICE and border patrol agents, the construction of a border wall, and various other immigration enforcement measures.
An earlier version of the bill would have penalized states for offering Medicaid benefits to immigrants who are in the country illegally, but this was removed from the current Senate version under consideration. Other proposed Medicaid changes, including work requirements for able-bodied recipients, remain in the proposal.
“We believe that the changes made by the U.S. Senate to the legislation are insufficient and do not significantly mitigate its adverse effects,” the letter read.
The letter criticized funding for “a mass deportation campaign,” which they said “will separate U.S. families, harm U.S.-citizen and immigrant children, and sow chaos in local communities.” It warned of “immigration raids across the nation,” which authors said would harm “hardworking immigrant families essential to our economy.”
According to the letter, the funding boost could also harm faith communities. The authors noted that the government “has removed places of worship from its sensitive locations list, allowing ICE agents to enter them for enforcement purposes.”
“We have already witnessed a reduction in attendance at many of our religious services in our denominations, as the threat of enforcement has deterred many families from practicing their faith,” the letter attested.
Additionally, the letter expressed concerns about the proposed border wall between the United States and Mexico, which the authors wrote “will drive migrants into the most remote regions of the border and lead to an increase in migrant deaths. It also would hurt the local environment along the border and force desperate asylum-seekers seeking safety to increasingly rely on human smugglers.”
The authors of the letter also criticized proposed reforms to Medicaid and food assistance programs, saying they would harm “low-income citizens and legal residents, including asylum-seekers and refugees, driving them deeper into poverty.”
Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and current fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), criticized the interfaith letter in an interview with CNA. He said the letter supports “amnesty” for immigrants who are in the country illegally.
CIS labels itself as a “low-immigration, pro-immigrant” think tank. The group is aligned with many of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
“They don’t want any immigration enforcement because they want to legalize the status of everyone in the country illegally,” Arthur, who is Catholic, told CNA.
Arthur also balked at the suggestion of immigration raids at places of worship, saying: “They never actually reference any real enforcement actions taking place in any Catholic churches.” He said it’s possible that a dangerous criminal could be targeted for enforcement at a church but that “it’s not like they’re going to sweep through Sunday Mass looking for people.”
On the subject of the border wall, Arthur said a barrier would “deter people from coming into the United States illegally.” He noted the high rates of migrants who already hire smugglers, saying they “put their lives and safety in the hands of criminals” and that a border wall makes it “less likely that people are going to come” illegally with this method or any other method.
Chad Pecknold, a professor of theology at The Catholic University of America, expressed dissatisfaction with the letter as well, noting that it does not mention the teaching in the catechism that a country has a right to regulate its borders.
“Broad, religiously ecumenical statements which oppose the policies of a democratically elected government are curious things,” Pecknold said. “The authors are clearly aligned with one political party and not another. They make spurious claims about how the bill will separate families, and they seem to disregard entirely that nations have a right [to] defend their borders and a duty to uphold their laws.”
Churches in Syria resume liturgies amid heightened security and unease
The faithful take part in the Divine Liturgy at Our Lady of the Olive Church in Damascus, Syria, on Sunday, June 29, 2025. / Credit: Mohammad Al-Rifai/ACI MENA
ACI MENA, Jun 30, 2025 / 14:56 pm (CNA).
A week after the deadly attack on Mar Elias Church in Damascus, Syria, the churches there have not shut their doors. Divine Liturgies were celebrated on Sunday, June 30 — albeit with significantly lower attendance due to a prevailing atmosphere of fear and anxiety.
Father Antonios Raafat Abu Al-Nasr, parish priest of Our Lady of Damascus for the Melkite Greek Catholics, told ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, that there was a “very shy turnout” at his church.
“It was expected, and the Church understands this, given that people are concerned for their safety,” he said.
Al-Nasr confirmed that the Ministry of Interior has deployed security personnel to guard the church since the day of the attack — and that these officers remain stationed there for now. He also praised the efforts of the “Faz‘a Youth” — local Christian volunteers who are actively safeguarding their churches — calling them “devoted and vigilant.”
“They are always present with us, not just during the liturgies but also throughout other events,” he said, adding: “All churches in Damascus have taken precautions, especially at their entrances.”
In spite of the tragedy and ongoing anxiety, Al-Nasr had a hopeful message: “The Church lifts her prayers to God, asking him to grant his children steadfastness and deep roots in faith. In the end, only truth will prevail.”
Uneven attendance across Syria
While church attendance in Damascus saw a decline, other Syrian provinces witnessed larger congregations, with no significant drop compared with pre-attack levels.
In Aleppo, there was a notable security presence in front of churches before Sunday Divine Liturgies. On the street of St. Thérèse Church for Melkite Greek Catholics in the New Syriac district, over 30 security personnel were reportedly stationed to secure the area.
Despite this, many Christians remain in a state of shock. Some have chosen to stay home and pray privately, while others continue to insist on attending Divine Liturgy at church.
Fear driving migration
In a separate interview with Vatican News, the apostolic vicar of Aleppo and head of the Latin Church in Syria, Bishop Hanna Jallouf, described the day of the bombing as catastrophic, reigniting fear in people’s hearts.
Reflecting on its impact, he noted a sharp rise in the number of Christians now considering emigration.
“Before the attack, around 50% of Christians were thinking of leaving Syria,” he said. “Today, that number has jumped to 90%. Syria cannot be rebuilt by only one color or one side. It’s a major challenge for the Church to try to restore balance and hope.”
This story was first published by ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, and has been translated for and adapted by CNA.
Pope Leo XIV seeks to reestablish ‘full visible communion’ with Eastern Orthodox
Pope Leo XIV meets with the delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople on June 28, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican News
ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 30, 2025 / 14:12 pm (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV received members of a delegation from the Eastern Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate in a June 28 audience held at the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican in the context of the June 29 celebration of the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is the seat of the Eastern Orthodox Church of Constantinople based in Istanbul, Turkey. The Ecumenical Patriarchate is considered “primus inter pares” (“first among equals”) among the patriarchs of the other churches of the Eastern Orthodox communion.
The delegation was headed by Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon, president of the Synodal Commission of the Ecumenical Patriarchate for Relations with the Catholic Church, accompanied by the Most Reverend Fathers Aetios and Ieronymos.
Bartholomew has been the current archbishop of Constantinople and ecumenical patriarch since Nov. 2, 1991. Traditionally, a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate visits the Vatican on the occasion of the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.
Similarly, a Vatican delegation usually visits Istanbul, the capital of present-day Turkey, every Nov. 30 on the occasion of the celebration of the feast day of St. Andrew, the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s patron saint.
Goal of full visible communion between the two Churches
The Catholic Encyclopedia explains that in 1054, “the most deplorable quarrel,” known as the Eastern Schism, occurred, separating the vast majority of Eastern Christians from communion with the Catholic Church, thus giving rise to the Orthodox Church.
Leo XIV stated that his intention is to “persevere in the effort to reestablish full visible communion between our Churches,” a goal that, he said, can only be achieved “with God’s help, through a continued commitment to respectful listening and fraternal dialogue.”
“For this reason, I am open to any suggestions that you may offer in this regard, always in consultation with my brother bishops of the Catholic Church who, each in his own way, share with me the responsibility for the complete and visible unity of the Church,” the Holy Father said during the June 28 audience.
He also recalled that “after centuries of disagreements and misunderstanding,” authentic dialogue between the two Churches was only possible thanks to “the courageous and farsighted steps taken by Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras.”
“Their venerable successors to the sees of Rome and Constantinople have pursued with conviction the same path of reconciliation, thus further strengthening our close relations,” the pope added.
Leo XIV highlighted the “witness of sincere closeness” that Patriarch Bartholomew has always expressed to the Catholic Church, demonstrated especially by participating in the funeral of Pope Francis and later in the inaugural Mass of the new bishop of Rome.
The Holy Father said the traditional exchange of delegations “is a sign of the profound communion already existing between us, and a reflection of the fraternal bond that united the Apostles Peter and Andrew.”
Leo XIV expressed his profound gratitude for their presence in Rome “on this solemn occasion.” He asked them to convey his cordial greetings to Patriarch Bartholomew and the members of the Holy Synod, along with his gratitude for having sent the delegation again this year.
“May Sts. Peter and Paul, St. Andrew and the holy Mother of God, who live eternally in the perfect communion of the saints, accompany and sustain us in our efforts in the service of the Gospel. Thank you!” Pope Leo said.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Pope Leo XIV denounces use of hunger as ‘weapon of war’ in message to UN conference
Pope Leo prays the Angelus at the Vatican on June 30, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
Vatican City, Jun 30, 2025 / 12:24 pm (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV deplored the use of hunger as a “weapon of war” in his message to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which is currently holding its 44th conference session in Rome from June 28 to July 4.
The Holy Father said the U.N. is far from reaching its 2030 goal of “zero hunger” in spite of “significant steps” taken by the intergovernmental organization to ensure food security, particularly for the world’s poor.
“We are currently witnessing with despair the iniquitous use of hunger as a weapon of war,” Leo said in his message to FAO. “Starving people to death is a very cheap way of waging war.”
The pope criticized the actions of armed civilians who “greedily hoard” food, burn land, steal livestock, and block humanitarian aid to those suffering and in need.
“Farmers are unable to sell their produce in environments threatened by violence, and inflation soars,” he said. “This leads to huge numbers of people succumbing to the scourge of starvation and perishing.”
“While civilians languish in misery, political leaders grow fat on the profits of the conflict,” he remarked.
Highlighting the complex relationship between war, poverty, and hunger, the pope said the Holy See supports all initiatives aimed at bringing international leaders together to collaborate for “the common good of the family of nations.”
“Without peace and stability, it will not be possible to guarantee resilient agricultural and food systems, nor to ensure a healthy, accessible, and sustainable food supply for all,” he added.
Continuing his calls for peace in war-torn areas since his May election as the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, Leo extended his call to the leadership and staff of FAO to become peacemakers in times of “huge polarization in international relations.”
“To ensure peace and development, understood as the improvement of the living conditions of populations suffering from hunger, war, and poverty, concrete actions are needed, rooted in serious and far-sighted approaches,” he continued.
“I pray to almighty God that your work may bear fruit and be of benefit to the underprivileged and to humanity as a whole,” he said at the conclusion of his message.
In an Angelus address, Pope Leo highlighted the plight of rural Christian communities in Nigeria enduring violence and hunger.
Approximately 200 displaced people were massacred at a Catholic mission there in June.
Bishop Mark Nzukwein of the Diocese of Wukari, Nigeria, said more than 300,000 people are currently displaced in the northern part of the country, many of whom have lost their farms and livelihoods because of the violent attacks.
“I’ve never had problems with food ever until recently,” Nzukwein told CNA in a June 27 interview.
“[Men] will invade farms and kill … and make the place insecure,” he said. “This is the source of the food insecurity we’re experiencing in Nigeria.”
Croatian bishops lead historic Sacred Heart consecration, marking 125th anniversary
Faithful pray before a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus during Croatia’s consecration ceremony on June 27, 2025, as the nation dedicated itself anew to Christ’s divine love following the tradition established by their ancestors at the Church of Our Miraculous Lady of Sinj. / Credit: Petar Malbaša/Laudato TV
CNA Newsroom, Jun 30, 2025 / 10:46 am (CNA).
Croatian bishops led their nation in a solemn consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Friday, marking the 125th anniversary of an extraordinary 1900 ceremony that saw 160,000 young Croatians make a similar sacred pledge.
The consecration began June 27 at 7 p.m. local time across churches and chapels throughout Croatia, initiated by church bells ringing for five minutes before solemn Eucharistic celebrations commenced.
Following the Prayer after Communion, clergy proclaimed the formal Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In Zagreb, the faithful gathered at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus while EWTN affiliate Laudato TV broadcast live from the Church of Our Miraculous Lady of Sinj in the small town of Sinj.
The decision to renew this historic devotion was made by the Croatian Bishops’ Conference at their 69th Plenary Assembly in November 2024, coinciding with the Jubilee Year 2025 proclaimed by Pope Francis.
“We, Croatian believers, trusting in your goodness, come to you to open for us once again your Most Sacred Heart,” the consecration prayer begins, addressing Christ as “Wisdom, Love, and the Word of the Father.”
The Sacred Heart consecration was followed Saturday, June 28, by Croatia’s first-ever solemn consecration of youth to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at the Church of Croatian Martyrs in Udbina.
Archbishop Giorgio Lingua, apostolic nuncio to Croatia, presided over the 3 p.m. ceremony, which was broadcast live by Laudato TV. The initiative was launched by priests of the Marian Priestly Movement in Croatia.
The comprehensive prayer consecrated Croatian families, clergy, religious communities, parishes, married couples, children and young people, the sick and elderly, and workers across various fields to the Sacred Heart.
Ksenjia Abramovic contributed to this report.
Vatican exhibits Raphael’s legacy with the reopening of the Hall of Constantine
The “Hall of Constantine” is Raphael’s masterpiece, depicting Constantine’s victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Jun 30, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
After a decade of painstaking restoration, the imposing Hall of Constantine in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, which houses Raphael’s masterpiece depicting Constantine’s victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge, has been returned to its original splendor.
This space, the largest of the well-known Raphael Rooms, was partially closed to the public in 2015 due to delicate conservation work that ultimately culminated in a result described as “exemplary” by Vatican Museums.
“In a way, we have rewritten the history of art,” explained Barbara Jatta, director of the Vatican Museums, during a June 26 presentation to the press held at the Vatican Museums. She was joined by Fabrizio Biferali, supervisor of the art department for the 15th and 16th centuries; Fabio Piacentini and Francesca Persegati from the Painting and Wooden Materials Restoration Laboratory; and Fabio Morresi, head of the Scientific Research Office, who emphasized the scientific, technical, and symbolic value of a project that has brought to light revolutionary discoveries about the techniques and methods of the Renaissance master.
The restoration, which began in March 2015 and was completed in December 2024, has not only restored the brilliance of the frescoes that Pope Leo X commissioned Raphael Sanzio (1483–1520) to paint but also revealed important technical and artistic innovations concerning one of the great workshops of the Renaissance.
The process, carried out in eight phases, began with the wall of “The Vision of the Cross” and concluded with the vault decorated by Tommaso Laureti. The planning of the scaffolding followed the same sequence as the original execution of the paintings, allowing for a diachronic interpretation of the evolution of the complex.
Raphael and oil painting: A revolutionary discovery
One of the project’s greatest revelations has been the confirmation that two female figures — Comitas and Iustitia — were executed directly by Raphael in oil, an extremely unusual technique for murals at the time. “We knew from sources that Raphael did experiments, but we didn’t know which ones,” Jatta explained.
Thanks to scientific analyses such as infrared refractography at 1,900 nanometers, false-color ultraviolet light, and chemical studies of the paint layer, a special preparation of rosin, a natural resin heated and applied to the wall, was identified. This technique would have allowed Raphael to make retouchings and achieve a visual unity not possible with traditional fresco.
“This was his last major decorative undertaking and represents a true technical revolution,” said Piacentini, who was responsible for the restoration project from the outset. The presence of nails in the wall indicates that Raphael intended to paint the entire room in oils, a project interrupted by his untimely death in 1520 when he was only 37 years old.
The work was continued by his disciples Giulio Romano and Giovanni Francesco Penni, who painted the remaining fresco scenes. “It was a work of years, comparable to that of a team from the Renaissance: Restorers, chemists, engineers, and heritage experts worked as if in a true workshop,” emphasized Jatta, who also praised Persegati’s coordination in the Vatican’s oldest laboratory.
A 16th-century pictorial palimpsest
The Hall of Constantine, designed for official receptions and named after the emperor who granted freedom of worship and thus brought Christianity out from the underground with the Edict of Milan (A.D. 313), constitutes a kind of artistic palimpsest (an ancient tablet on which writing could be erased and rewritten). It was decorated over more than 60 years under five pontificates — from Leo X to Sixtus V — with work done by different artists and workshops, making it an exceptional synthesis of 16th-century Roman painting.
Its walls depict four key episodes: “The Vision of the Cross,” “The Battle of the Milvian Bridge,” “The Baptism of Constantine,” and “The Donation of Rome.” All of them symbolize the transition from pagan Rome to Christian Rome and constitute, according to Jatta, “the most politically and programmatically important room in the complex.”
A vault that deceives the eye
Another highlight of the project is the restoration of the vault painted with an allegorical scene of the triumph of Christianity over paganism by Tommaso Laureti during the pontificate of Sixtus V. Among the discoveries is the visual illusion of a carpet in the center of the vault, simulating a sumptuous fabric painted directly onto the ceiling’s surface.
Replacing the old wooden ceiling, Laureti created an impressive marvel of illusionistic perspective with plays of light and shadow that can now be admired in all its beauty after having been cleaned.
An exemplary restoration, a model for the future
The project was made possible thanks to the patronage of the New York chapter of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums and the Carlson Foundation, along with the institutional support of the presidency of the Governorate of Vatican City State and its general secretariat.
The work was fully documented through laser scans and 3D models, becoming an international reference for the restoration of large mural decorations. Furthermore, a detailed study of the plaster layers made it possible to reconstruct the exact chronology of the steps in making the frescoes.
Morresi of the Vatican Museums’ Scientific Research Office summed up the spirit of the project with words that evoke both science and poetry: “The most exciting thing is how artists of the past managed to transform matter and chemistry into something so marvelous.”
The reopening of the Hall of Constantine not only restores a key space in the Vatican museum but also returns to humanity a Renaissance masterpiece, a testament to Raphael’s genius.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Catholic ministry helps adult children of divorce find healing and love
Bethany and Daniel Meola, a married couple with a special heart for adult children of divorce, created the Life-Giving Wounds apostolate, currently celebrating its five-year anniversary in 2025. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Life-Giving Wounds
Miami, Fla., Jun 30, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Kendra Beigel was 14 years old when her family life took a turn for the worse. In her small-town Minnesota home, she was used to her parents arguing, but her family situation further disintegrated when her mother intervened in her father’s alcohol issues and her parents went to court.
“It was like the whole town decided to take a side and get involved in our family business,” recalled Beigel, who was raised Catholic. “I had to grow up quickly… Each stage of the initial separation and how it comes out of the blue, then the divorce and everything that it brings, and then the subsequent annulment; each brought its own hurts and difficulties and it never was easier.”
Now an adult, Beigel remembers thinking back then, “How can you just be a kid anymore?” Navigating child custody routines, “you [the child] have to be the one to pack the suitcase and to move and uproot your life.”
“I threw myself into academics and extracurriculars,” she said. “No one on the outside could tell how much I was hurting because I was excelling externally… You start to really put a lot of blame and guilt on yourself when you have no one to talk to, no one thinks to bring it up with you, and you’re really just trying to run away.”
When ingrained fears caused her to struggle with family dynamics, friendships, and dating in college, Beigel knew the past had left its mark. In October 2022, she joined a Life-Giving Wounds retreat for adult children of divorce (ACODs) near her home in Denver.
Celebrating its five-year milestone in 2025, Life-Giving Wounds — back then just a two-year-old apostolate — was already making a big impact.
The beginnings
The ministry was created in 2020 by Daniel and Bethany Meola, a married couple with a special heart for adult children of divorce. Beginning with online retreats during the COVID-19 pandemic, Life-Giving Wounds now hosts events both online and in-person, with a presence in almost 40 dioceses throughout the United States in addition to the Archdiocese of Toronto, Canada.
Himself an ACOD, Daniel Meola explained: “The more I dug into it in college and post-college, I realized there are lot of ministries for divorcees but not as much for adult children of divorce.”
Since a high school retreat had turned his life around after his parents’ divorce, he recognized that “there needs to be an intentional ministry and community for others like me. Jesus’ heart desires this.”
In addition to retreats, Life-Giving Wounds offers a blog with topics ranging from “Book and Media Reviews” to “Relationship Advice”; a book published in 2023; and even a summer 2025 Online Reading Group and support group using Victor Hugo’s “Les Misérables” as a springboard.
The retreat helped Beigel break through the bubble she had found herself in after her parents’ divorce.
“Going in, you’re just thinking, none of my friends have gone through divorce. This is something that feels like such an isolating cross,” she said. “But as soon as I walked in, I saw everyone at my parish who I had no idea was in ‘the secret club that no one wants to be a part of,’ as they joked.”
The retreat was transformative. “I really appreciated that they had a whole retreat manual to follow,” she noted. “It really invited you to take a leap of faith and invite the Divine Physician into these ugly areas of your heart.”
Unbeknownst to her, a young man who had participated in a Maryland retreat earlier that year in August 2022 was Beigel’s future husband, Joe Beigel. The fact that they were both Life-Giving Wounds alumni would bring them together. Joe said the friend who introduced them “got my attention” by commenting that Kendra had attended Life-Giving Wounds and had been featured on the podcast “Restored.”
Chuckling, Kendra recounted Joe’s approach: “[He said,] ‘You can go ahead and delete that Catholic Match profile — you won’t need it now that you met me!’ And it worked!”
Joe and Kendra Beigel were married on Jan. 18, 2025.
To other ACODs, Joe’s message is: “You’re not doomed to repeat your parents’ mistakes and to not get married or to settle for less in a marriage, because God wants so much more for you.”
Kendra agreed. “The thing that shifted with marriage, it’s not that you are done working on the wounds from your parents’ divorce, you just have someone you are working on it with, because that’s what marriage is. You’re working together first and foremost, helping each other along.”
Craig Soto II and Sidney Soto, another Life-Giving Wounds alumni couple from Kansas, are preparing to welcome a baby into the world. Craig Soto said of Life-Giving Wounds’ anniversary: “Truly, what five years means to me is hope.”
“When we did the full-body scan to make sure the baby was healthy, I remember the sonogram technician said everything was normal,” Soto said. The simple phrase hit him hard.
“That’s a beautiful gift for me, for somebody who’s lived a very abnormal life. I got so used to it that ‘the normal’ actually became confusing and strange to me,” said Soto, a retreat leader. “To hear that our child is ‘normal’... To me, a normal life is all I’ve ever really wanted. That’s why I say that there’s hope, because I have hope for a normal life.”
Those called to the vocation of marriage aren’t the only ones who have benefited from Life-Giving Wounds. In fact, retreat alumnus Father Ryan Martiré of the Diocese of Bismarck, North Dakota, helped bring Life-Giving Wounds to seminarians.
Martiré participated in one of the first online retreats as a seminarian, later joining an in-person retreat while studying at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis.
The seminary’s rector “saw a tremendous need in the seminary and asked if I would introduce this ministry to more people in the seminary,” said Martiré, who was ordained on June 11, 2024. “Not only healing for themselves, but to be fathers who can provide this healing for others.”
Kenrick-Glennon Seminary held its first retreat in spring 2022 and has the honor of being Life-Giving Wounds’ first seminary chapter.
“The wound of divorce can be very attached to a father wound,” Martiré explained. “When a seminarian receives healing there, it can have a serious spiritual impact, that he receives confidence to be a father.”
“One of the things that struck me when I was studying wounds of divorce is that so many children with parents who have divorced did not experience a word of accompaniment from their pastor or priest: ‘I’m so sorry that happened,’” he added. “A child who’s starting to self-protect and live hyper-independently because of their parents’ divorce needs a spiritual father or a spiritual mother to comfort them and to acknowledge that they’re hurting in their perfectionism, or in whatever way they’re coping.”
Brady Hershberger, a young adult Life-Giving Wounds alumnus from Ohio, said: “I think Life-Giving Wounds is making the ACOD population feel seen, and like we don’t have to keep sweeping this wound under the rug as if it weren’t seriously a wound… It gives me a sense of hope that people like me will be seen and loved and heard.”
Indeed, Martiré said he believes Life-Giving Wounds has a special connection to the 2025 Jubilee, with its theme of hope.
“What struck me my first time at the retreat was seeing really stable, healed, holy people giving the presentations. People who are coming from a dark path with very divided families, and you see that they’re not living defined by their wounds,” he said. “That’s very hopeful that, as Christians, we don’t need to live in the past. We can become transformed by Christ if we let him into our suffering, our dark and imprisoned places.”
Life-Giving Wounds co-founder Bethany Meola said she is excited for what’s to come. The ministry has projects focused on engaged and married couples in the works, and they also look to increase outreach to college students, Hispanic ministry, seminaries and religious, and more.
“This anniversary is an opportunity to look back and see where God has taken us so far,” she said. “Obviously we have objective numbers to see how the ministry has grown from local to all around the country, from just a few retreats to more and more every year, which has been so beautiful. But more than the numbers, we’re reflecting on the people we’ve been privileged to encounter — more and more people all the time whom Life-Giving Wounds can hopefully lend some support to.”
British politician criticizes priest for refusing Communion over assisted dying vote
The British Parliament building in London. / Credit: Marinesea/Shutterstock
CNA Newsroom, Jun 29, 2025 / 19:05 pm (CNA).
A British politician has publicly criticized his parish priest for refusing to give him holy Communion after he voted in favor of the United Kingdom’s assisted dying bill.
Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament Chris Coghlan took to social media on Sunday and reportedly complained to Bishop Richard Moth of Arundel and Brighton, describing his treatment as “outrageous.”
Father Ian Vane, parish priest at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Dorking, Surrey, had warned Coghlan before the June 20 vote that supporting the controversial bill would constitute “obstinately persevering” in sin. He then reportedly named Coghlan, who represents Dorking and Horley in Surrey, from the pulpit two days later.
Coghlan described the priest’s actions as “completely inappropriate” and claimed it “undermines the legitimacy of religious institutions.”
The politician posted on social media that the incident raised “grave public interest” about pressure that religious members of Parliament (MPs) faced during the vote, calling it “utterly disrespectful to my family, my constituents including the congregation, and the democratic process.”
The MP’s public criticism sparked significant backlash on social media platforms, with many defending Vane and criticizing Coghlan’s comportment.
Several commentators reminded the politician of the Vatican’s doctrinal note about participation in public life, “that a well-formed Christian conscience does not permit one to vote for a political program or an individual law which contradicts the fundamental contents of faith and morals.”
“Those who are directly involved in lawmaking bodies have a grave and clear obligation to oppose any law that attacks human life. For them, as for every Catholic, it is impossible to promote such laws or to vote for them,” the Doctrinal note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life states.
The Diocese of Arundel and Brighton also reportedly reminded the media of the Church’s position while acknowledging the complexity of the vote.
“The Catholic Church believes in the sanctity of life and the dignity of every person,” the diocese stated, adding that Moth spoke to Coghlan “earlier this week and has offered to meet him in person to discuss the issues and concerns raised.”
Church leaders warn of grave consequences
The controversy comes as Catholic bishops and others have repeatedly raised serious concerns about the U.K.’s assisted dying legislation.
Archbishop John Sherrington of Liverpool, the lead bishop for life issues for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said he was “shocked and disappointed” by the bill’s passage.
“Allowing the medical profession to help patients end their lives will change the culture of health care and cause legitimate fears amongst those with disabilities or who are especially vulnerable in other ways,” Sherrington stated.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, archbishop of Westminster, and Sherrington had previously warned that Catholic hospices and care homes may have no choice but to shut down if the bill becomes law, since they “may be required to cooperate with assisted suicide.”
To become law, the bill still needs to pass in the second chamber of Parliament, the unelected House of Lords. The Lords can amend legislation, but because the bill has the support of the Commons, it is likely to pass.
PHOTOS: Rome celebrates its patron saints with a burst of colorful flowers
The Via della Conciliazione, the grand avenue leading to St. Peter’s Square in Rome, was transformed on Sunday, June 29, 2025, into a vibrant tapestry of color laid over the asphalt. / Credit: Hannah Brockhaus/CNA
Vatican City, Jun 29, 2025 / 12:50 pm (CNA).
The Via della Conciliazione, the grand avenue leading to St. Peter’s Square, was transformed on Sunday, June 29, into a vibrant tapestry of color laid over the asphalt, with dozens of floral artworks created by master artisans and volunteers from across Italy.
These floral works, rich in religious symbolism, decorated the spiritual heart of Rome as part of a new edition of the Infiorata Storica (Historic Flower Festival).
This year’s 12th edition centered on the theme of the Jubilee of Hope, expressed through floral arrangements, each covering more than 500 square feet. The artworks were made using dried flower petals, wood shavings, colored sand, salt, sugar, and natural pigments.
Beginning on Saturday evening, June 28, teams of floral artists and volunteers worked overnight in an intense effort that concluded at 9 a.m. Sunday — just in time for thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul to admire the floral carpets in their full splendor.
A rich tradition reborn
This creative and spiritual gathering aims not only to beautify the city but also to preserve a deeply rooted tradition dating back to 1625, when Benedetto Drei, head of the papal florist’s office, first decorated the entrance to St. Peter’s Basilica with flowers.
Though the custom faded in the 17th century, it was revived in 2013. Today, the Infiorata has become an iconic event that combines art, faith, and culture.
Within the context of the liturgical celebrations led by Pope Leo XIV, the floral exhibition offered a symbolic path of prayer and hope, linking Rome with believers from around the world.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.