Vatican publishes digital atlas honoring Pope Francis’ ecological vision
Ten years after the publication of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, the Vatican has launched a new digital atlas to advance his ecological vision.
The Laudato Si’ Platform launched the Atlas of Laudato Si’ at a press conference Wednesday at the Holy See Press Office in Rome. The organization also presented its fifth annual report at the conference, highlighting 13,600 participants since 2021 and new tools to implement integral ecology within the Church.
Presenters included Sister Alessandra Smerilli, FMA, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and Bishop Allwyn D’Silva, auxiliary bishop emeritus of the Archdiocese of Bombay, India.
Care for creation is not optional
Among the themes discussed at the conference was the need to continue concrete actions toward care for the environment.
In her presentation, Smerilli said Catholic commitment to caring for creation is “not optional.”
“Living our vocation as guardians of Godʼs work is ‘not something optional nor a secondary aspect of Christian experience,’” Smerilli said. “Caring for creation and caring for humanity are one and the same task.”
Participants also reflected on the impact of Laudato Si’ since its publication.
"The seeds sown by Laudato Si' have borne much fruit in different parts of the world,” DʼSilva said.
A new digital Catholic atlas
The press conference also presented a new digital atlas to demonstrate the Church’s commitment to integral ecology worldwide. The atlas uses data from the Leonum Institute of the Catholic University of America and the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome.
The Atlas of Laudato Si’ will allow users to explore ecological initiatives by institutions and dioceses, and also access data on natural disasters.
Molly Burhans, an American cartographer who pioneered the data collection and curation for the project, explained the importance of atlases and defended the integral ecology’s importance for Catholics.
“If you want to make environmental action, you should understand the environment,” Burhans told EWTN News. “And the best way to understand the environment is maps.”
“We are here to care for the garden. That’s in Genesis. If someone believes there’s a political agenda behind caring for the environment, I think they should go back and read the Bible.”
Pope Leo XIV appoints youngest bishop in France
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Father Martial Bernard as the new bishop of Soissons in France. At 48 years of age, he will become the youngest bishop in France on Dec. 20, when he receives his episcopal consecration.
According to the website Catholic-Hierarchy, which specializes in information about bishops worldwide, the previous youngest bishop in France was Étienne Guillet, bishop of Saint-Denis, a 50-year-old prelate who was also 48 when he was appointed bishop.
“I accept this appointment with confidence. I have always trusted the Church, and so I say that if it calls me to this mission, I respond ‘yes’ with confidence,” the bishop-designate stated in an interview with KTO.
Bernard shared that over the last eight years as vicar general he has had the “joy of accompanying his brother priests,” and he expressed his desire to get to know and to “journey together,” guided by the Gospel with “the people of God who have been entrusted to me.”
Bernard will receive episcopal consecration and take possession of the Diocese of Soissons on Dec. 20 at 3 p.m. local time at Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais Cathedral in Soissons.
Who is the youngest bishop in France?
Bernard was born on Jan. 26, 1978, in Bourg-la-Reine in the Diocese of Nanterre. According to an Oct. 31 statement from the Vatican Press Office, he studied at the Saint-Sulpice Seminary in Issy-lès-Moulineaux and completed an internship at the Municipal Conservatory of Viry-Châtillon.
After studying at the Saint-Paul Seminary in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, he earned a licentiate degree in theology, specializing in catechetical and practical theology at the Catholic Institute of Paris. He was ordained a priest on June 25, 2005, for the Diocese of Évry-Corbeil-Essonnes.
Within that particular Church, he held several positions, including: diocesan delegate for the pastoral care of altar servers (2005–2009); “parochus in solidum” (sharing responsibility for more than one parish) in the deanery of Brétigny (2006–2008); and diocesan delegate for vocations, as well as a member of the Council for the Protection of Catholic Education (2008–2011).
He also served as parish priest and dean of Brétigny (2009–2014); “parochus in solidum” and dean of Évry-Corbeil-Essonnes, as well as rector of the cathedral of Évry (2014–2018); and episcopal vicar for Catholic education and diocesan delegate for the formation of seminarians (2015–2018).
Furthermore, he has served as vicar general and moderator of the Évry curia; as a member of the Diocesan Council for Financial Affairs, the Parish Mutual Aid Fund, the Board of Directors, the General Assembly, and the Association of Friends of the Cathedral (since 2018); as coordinator of pastoral sector leaders (since 2021); and as head of the Fidei Donum program for foreign priests (2021–2022).
Until now he was responsible for the permanent diaconate, childrenʼs catechesis, ecumenism, pilgrimages, relations with Judaism, and prison and hospital chaplaincies.
This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Catholic fire chaplain hails ‘selfless, sacrificial’ Cleveland fireman who died in line of duty
A Cleveland-area community is mourning the loss of a local firefighter after he died in what a Catholic fire chaplain described as the “selfless” and Christ-like act of fighting a fire there.
The North Royalton Fire Department — located several miles outside of Cleveland — announced on Nov. 3 that one of its firefighters, Ryan Milligan, had died after fighting a fire in Broadview Heights the day before.
Milligan, 36, had served in the department since 2016. He and his wife, Laura, shared two children; Milligan himself had been pursuing the role of fire lieutenant.
Also injured in the blaze was firefighter Andrew Protsman, who survived and is recovering in the hospital. The two had been present at the fire after responding to a neighboring department’s request for mutual aid, where fire departments request assistance from nearby firefighters.
‘He was a hero’
Milligan’s death and Protsman’s hospitalization have resulted in an outpouring of support from the local community, according to Father Doug Brown, who serves as a chaplain for the Cleveland Division of Fire.
Brown, who also serves as pastor at Mary Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Cleveland, told EWTN News that he had worked as a chaplain in the Cleveland Police Department for years before taking up the role in the city’s fire department.
He said his ministry includes regular visits to local firehouses, spiritual counseling, and administering the sacraments, including weddings and baptisms for firefighting families.
Brown said the tragedy occurred when both Milligan and Protsman fell through the floor at the house in which they were battling the blaze. He said the community has been gripped by “great sorrow and great sadness” after the incident.
The priest said he has heard one particular Scripture verse repeated in the days after the tragedy: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
“Over and over we are seeing that Scripture verse repeated,” he said. “People know that this was a selfless, sacrificial act, done in the service of this community.”
Though the firefighters were from the North Royalton department and Brown is a chaplain with the Cleveland Fire Department, the priest said that on the night of the fire he went to the local hospital, located about a mile and a half from his parish, to pray with the families there.
“I kept saying, ‘He’s a hero,’” Brown said. “Because that’s what he is.”
Milligan himself was Lutheran, Brown said. The priest said he was as-yet unaware of any funeral arrangements. But he said Milligan exemplified the self-giving spirit of Christ, as do all firefighters.
“I feel like these are men and women who are willing to sacrifice their lives in the same way that Christ gave his life for us,” he said.
Brown told local news that he has urged the community to both give the grieving families the space they need while continuing to offer consolation past the point when community support often fades away.
“[D]onʼt disappear on them," he urged. "Keep reaching out to them."
The priest told EWTN News, meanwhile, that as a chaplain he feels called to minister to people doing some of the most difficult work in civil society.
“The demands of their jobs can be intense and demanding,” he said. “Finding time for spiritual consolation is difficult for many of them. I like to be able to provide that in any way possible. That’s what drives me.”
Pope Leo XIV encourages Middle Eastern Christians to become ‘servants of peace’
Pope Leo XIV urged Christians in the Middle East and Eastern Europe to continue working for peace in regions where Christian persecution persists.
The pontiff held a private audience on Wednesday with a delegation from L’Œuvre d’Orient and the Institut Chrétiens d’Orient (ICO), which will host a conference in Rome on peace in the Middle East from Nov. 5–6. L’Œuvre d’Orient is a prominent French nonprofit that has supported persecuted Christians in these regions since 1856.
In his address, delivered in French, Leo reflected on the conference’s theme of peace-building and said that interdisciplinary dialogue remains crucial to achieving reconciliation.
“Dialogue between faith and reason, culture and history is the indispensable path to justice and reconciliation,” Leo said. “Dialogue between philosophy and other disciplines makes it possible to rediscover the meaning of the words and concepts that are used, which is probably one of the principal challenges of our time.”
Christian persecution worldwide, including in much of the Holy Land, continues to rise. According to Aid to the Church in Need’s 2024–2026 report, 220 million Christians face persecution, and 413 million people live in countries where religious freedom remains under threat.
Amid ongoing hostility toward Christians in these regions, Leo encouraged them to continue for “peace that is unarmed and disarming.”
“Thus, by reflecting on the criteria of a just and enduring peace, especially in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, you become servants of a peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering,” the pope said.
“Therefore, be sowers of hope through your reflection and your action, keeping the humility taught by the Gospel: ‘One is the sower, another the reaper’ (Jn 4:37).”
Pope Leo XIV warns of the dangers an unjust economy poses to world peace
VATICAN CITY — During Wednesday’s general audience, the last before his trip to South America Nov. 6–17, Pope Leo XIV pointed to the “threat to world peace” posed by the imbalances of an unjust economic system.
“The council fathers highlight, first of all, the threat to world peace deriving from the imbalances linked to an economic development that is neither equitable nor respectful of creation. This is a farsighted vision, which was unfortunately borne out towards the end of the last century and which we see even more clearly today,” the pontiff said, continuing his series of lessons on the Second Vatican Council’s pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes.
He noted that technical solutions alone are not enough to address these problems. Citing the conciliar text, he recalled that “many reforms in the socioeconomic realm and a change of mentality and attitude are required of all.”
The pope also underscored the continuing relevance of the Church’s calls to “commit to eliminating discrimination against the most vulnerable social groups and migrants.”
The pontiff stressed that the social dimension is an integral part not only “of our faith in Christ Jesus” but is also “the precious legacy we receive from the incarnation of the Son of God.”
‘The heart of the economy is work’
One of the central themes of the catechesis was the dignity of human work. Leo XIV said that “the heart of the economy is work,” which “must never be distorted to the detriment of people, the common good, or creation.”
He also warned that work must never become a source of exploitation or harm to people. “Unemployment, exploitation, and working conditions that endanger health and life itself are unacceptable,” he emphasized.
The pope also defended the principle that “workers have the right and the duty to participate in decisions affecting their work” and to resolve conflicts through “dialogue and nonviolent action.”
An economy at the service of all
In his catechesis, the Holy Father said the Second Vatican Council recalls that one of the fundamental principles of the Church’s social teaching is the “universal destination of earthly goods.”
According to the pope, this principle also applies “to the financial sphere.” He said that those responsible for investments and planning the economy, “whether they be individuals or groups of public authorities,” are bound “to recognize their serious obligation of watching, on the one hand, that provision be made for the necessities required for a decent life both of individuals and of the whole community.”
The economy, the pope insisted, must always be “at the service of humankind and under human control,” echoing the vision of integral development later developed by St. Paul VI in the encyclical Populorum Progressio.
Politics as service to the common good
Addressing the political dimension, Leo XIV said that political authority must always be directed toward the common good, taking into account local and historical circumstances while keeping “the good of the entire human family at heart.”
He also recalled the teaching of Gaudium et Spes on relations between the Church and the state, noting that both institutions are autonomous in their respective spheres but can cooperate in order to serve people more effectively.
“The Church and the political community in their own fields are autonomous and independent from each other. Yet both, under different titles, are devoted to the personal and social vocation of the same men. The more that both foster sounder cooperation between themselves with due consideration for the circumstances of time and place, the more effective will their service be exercised for the good of all,” he quoted.
Peace is built through economics and politics
Recalling a statement by his predecessor, Pope Francis, he reiterated that “war is a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capitulation, a stinging defeat before the forces of evil.”
In contrast, he called for a form of politics that “tends to the wounds of peoples and of those who suffer injustice” and offers “grounds for hope for the future of humanity.”
Finally, he encouraged young people to “follow the example of those men and women who have borne faithful witness” in public life and renewed his appeal to Christian communities to “revive formation in the social doctrine of the Church.”
This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Abortion wins in 3 states amid major Democratic victories in U.S. midterms
Voters in multiple states across the U.S. voted in favor of abortion on Nov. 3 as Democrats retook the U.S. House and Senate in a stinging rebuke of President Donald Trump’s final term.
The Democratic Party flipped roughly three dozen seats across the House and Senate on election night, giving them strong majorities in both chambers, including a 10-seat advantage in the Senate.
The results were hailed by Democrat supporters as a sharp backlash to Trump’s second and last term in the White House, during which the president has presided over an unpopular war with Iran along with record-high gas prices and continuing high costs of groceries and other consumer goods.
Abortion expanded, protected in multiple states
Abortion advocates, meanwhile, recorded significant wins at the state level on Election Day, with voters in multiple states passing measures expanding abortion or else voting down efforts to restrict it.
In Virginia, voters passed an amendment to the state constitution guaranteeing abortion rights to “every individual.” Critics have argued that the measure will extend unfettered abortion rights even to children, undermining parental rights and putting young girls at risk. Though passed, the measure is still the subject of legal actions challenging its validity.
In Nevada, meanwhile, voters approved a constitutional amendment that will allow unborn babies in the state to be aborted up to the point of “viability” with no restrictions. The proposal passed overwhelmingly with more than 60% support.
Elsewhere, in Missouri, voters rejected a proposal to reinstitute a state ban on abortion there. About 55% of the state’s voters rejected the proposal, which leaves in place the rule allowing abortion through “fetal viability.”
Amid major victories for abortion supporters on Election Day, however, Idaho voters rejected an effort there to expand abortion rights.
The measure, which was voted down roughly 56% to 44%, would have established “a right to reproductive freedom and privacy” in the state and would have ordered that the government could not interfere with most abortion-related decisions.
Catholic bishops and advocates in the contested states had urged voters to reject the abortion proposals. Virginia’s two bishops had mounted a “Catholics Vote No” campaign to rally Catholic voters against the amendment.
Las Vegas Archbishop George Leo Thomas, meanwhile, had described the Nevada proposal as a “very serious and damaging expansion” of abortion law there. As in Virginia, the newly passed Nevada measure extends abortion rights to “individuals”; pro-life advocates have warned that such language potentially opens the door for doctors to perform unregulated abortions on underage girls.
Also in Virginia, voters repealed the state’s long-standing ban on same-sex “marriage,” a largely symbolic gesture given the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision that legalized those arrangements throughout the U.S.
Digital missionary: The bane of hate-filled speech on social media
Given the prominent role that social media has come to play in daily life, Father José Juan Montalvo, known as “Padre Borre,” has called for reflection on the impact that criticism, mockery, and hate speech can have on the emotional well-being of young people.
In an interview with EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, the founder of digital ministry for the Archdiocese of Monterrey in Mexico acknowledged that virtual platforms “are already part of our lives; they are yet another space where we interact, relate to each other, and seek to feel part of something.”
The priest from the Archdiocese of Monterrey also noted that these spaces offer “good things” such as receiving messages of support and finding communities that provide companionship, but he warned that “today, it has become all too easy for us to criticize on social media.”
This happens, he explained, because behind a screen, people can “write things that we would likely never dare to say to someone face-to-face,” without fully grasping “the harm we might cause.”
Learning to place less weight on social media
According to Montalvo, one of the primary risks in digital interaction arises when people attach too much importance to the feedback they receive to the point where “our self-esteem begins to depend on the approval of others,” through likes and comments.
He warned that this pursuit of recognition can even lead to the creation of “a persona, a version of our life that we wish to present,” which is far removed from reality.
Consequently, even if a person receives positive comments, “a single, deeply hurtful remark is enough to occupy his thoughts for the entire day.”
In light of this, the priest suggested taking stock of the place that digital platforms hold in our daily lives, noting that “it’s not a matter of getting off social media, but rather learning to use it without neglecting our lives outside of it.”
The hope that Christ offers
Montalvo urged people to pay attention to those going through a difficult time, noting that social media can also serve as a tool for identifying warning signs such as when someone “undergoes a significant change in behavior, expresses feelings of loneliness, says they can no longer cope, or feels that his life lacks meaning.”
In such situations, he emphasized the importance of reaching out, listening, and letting these individuals know that their worth as persons “doesn’t depend on social media.”
“You are not worth more because you have many followers, nor are you worth less because no one ‘liked’ your post,” he emphasized.
He also noted that digital missionaries have the task of conveying a message of hope rooted in faith to young people, reminding them that “we are loved by God for who we are — not for what we appear to be, nor for what others think of us.”
This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Virginia adopts abortion rights referendum
Voters in Virginia adopted a referendum to enshrine a right to abortion in their state constitution, while voters in Missouri, Nevada, and Idaho await the final results for referendums that would change abortion policies.
With more than 87% of the vote counted in Virginia as of 11 p.m. ET, 61.5% of people voted for the referendum and 38.5% voted against it.
The people of Missouri are voting on a pro-life referendum to repeal a state constitutional right to abortion. The outcome is too early to call with more than 85% of the vote counted, but the referendum is currently losing, with 55.5% of people voting against it and 44.5% in favor.
Votes have yet to be counted in Nevada or Idaho, where polls closed later.
Catholic bishops in all four states were heavily involved throughout the races, emphasizing the Church’s teaching on the sanctity of life and asking the faithful to cast pro-life votes on the state referendums.
The state referendums
The referendum in Virginia will establish a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom” in the state constitution, which includes “abortion care.” The amendment extends this right to “every individual,” rather than restricting it to just adults.
Although the amendment allows abortion restrictions in the third trimester, it does not allow any restrictions when necessary to protect “the life or physical or mental health” of the mother at any point in the pregnancy. It does not define what constitutes a threat to one’s “mental health” but rather leaves this up to the discretion of the treating physician, who is often the abortionist.
The referendum in Missouri would repeal the state constitutional right to abortion and it would allow state lawmakers to restrict abortion. If it fails, the constitution will continue to maintain a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom," which includes “abortion care.”
Missouri’s constitution allows lawmakers to restrict abortions after fetal viability, which is when the unborn child can survive outside the womb. However, lawmakers cannot restrict abortion at any point in the pregnancy when necessary to “protect the life or physical or mental health” of the mother. Fetal viability and whether the mother’s health is at risk is determined by the treating physician, who is often the abortionist.
The referendum in Nevada, if it passes, would establish “a fundamental right to abortion” in the state constitution. It would allow lawmakers to impose restrictions after the point of fetal viability, which are determined by the “treating health care practitioner,” which is often the abortionist.
The right would extend through the entire pregnancy when needed to “protect the life or health” of the mother, but “health” is not defined. The right would extend to all individuals, not just adults.
Idaho’s referendum would not amend the state constitution, but it would change state law to establish a right to “reproductive freedom,” which includes “abortion.” It would supersede the current state law, which prohibits abortion except to prevent the death of the mother and, in the first trimester, in reported cases of rape or incest.
The referendum would allow lawmakers to restrict abortion at the point of fetal viability, but this would be determined by the treating physician, who is often the abortionist. It would not allow lawmakers to restrict abortion at any point in the pregnancy when there is a medical emergency. The right would be extended to all individuals, not just adults.
U.S. Supreme Court leans toward Catholic schools in clash over pre-K funding
A majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices sounded ready to require that Colorado provide Catholic schools government funding for preschool even if the schools refuse to guarantee admission for children of same-sex couples, during oral arguments Tuesday in a case involving a school in the Archdiocese of Denver.
The case, St. Mary School v. Roy, centers on a preschool-through-grade-8 Catholic school in Littleton that wants to participate in the state’s universal preschool program.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a member of the court’s conservative majority, described the case as a clash between the free exercise of religion and the right to same-sex marriage the court found in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015. But he suggested the clash is unnecessary because parents in Colorado have so many options for prekindergarten, since there are more than 2,000 providers in the state, while the Archdiocese of Denver has only 34 schools that provide the service.
“Why has this been provoked when there’s an ability for everyone to go to the school, a good school, that’s a fit for them, and to respect religious rights?” he asked.
Helen Norton, deputy solicitor general for the state of Colorado, said parents often choose prekindergarten programs based on their location and their hours rather than their curriculum.
“Colorado has an interest in ensuring that its public funds go to schools that ensure equal opportunity — not some opportunity, that ensure equal opportunity to public-funded options, regardless of protected-class status,” Norton said, replying to Kavanaugh’s question. “Families are harmed when they’re turned away from the publicly funded school that makes their lives work because of their protected-class status.”
‘Creating a Catholic community’
In 2020, Colorado voters approved a state-funded universal prekindergarten program, using increases in tobacco-related taxes to pay for it. The state government is planning to spend about $360 million for the program during the 2026-2027 school year. The state pays preschool providers about $6,100 per year for 15 hours a week of instruction for 4-year-olds during the 2026-2027 school year, according to state standards.
Catholic schools want to participate in the program, but the Archdiocese of Denver objects to a state mandate concerning admissions.
A Colorado state statute requires that preschools participating in the funding program provide children “an equal opportunity to enroll and receive preschool services” regardless of eight protected classes — including “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” — “as such characteristics and circumstances apply to the child or the child’s family.”
A lawyer for the Catholic schools told justices Tuesday that Church and school officials want to make admissions decisions on a case-by-case basis in alignment with Catholic teachings instead of simply allowing all comers because of a state mandate.
“I think it’s their thoughtful attempt to say, ‘We’re creating a Catholic community,’” said Nicholas Reaves, senior counsel for the Becket law group, which is representing the Catholic schools.
Reaves got hostile questions from the court’s three liberals (Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson) and either friendly or neutral questions from the court’s five conservatives (Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett), which suggests how the decision might ultimately go. (The chief justice, John Roberts, often seen as a swing vote, mostly moderated the discussion.)
Sarah Harris, principal deputy solicitor general in the Trump administration, also argued on the Catholic schools’ side during oral presentations Tuesday.
Many options
The history of Catholic schools in the 19th century came up during oral arguments, including their origin in concerns among Catholic clerics and parents that government-run public schools were providing a Protestant point of view to the exclusion of Catholicism. Kavanaugh, a Catholic, at one point asked the lawyer for the state of Colorado about a moment in the trial record when the administrator of the state’s universal prekindergarten program was asked about Catholic history.
“The director of the program, by all accounts a dutiful public servant, … was asked at the trial, ‘Are you aware that Catholics have historically been discriminated against?’ And she answered, ‘No,’” Kavanaugh said. “I was surprised by that answer and curious if that’s Colorado’s position.”
“Not at all, Your Honor,” Norton replied. “And it’s Colorado’s position that the equal-opportunity requirements help religious families. They ensure that Catholic families are not turned away from the UPK [universal prekindergarten] school that best meets their needs because of their faith or because of any other protected characteristic. And a history of discrimination against Catholics is among the reasons that requirement is so important.”
Some legal observers have suggested that a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court may use the Colorado case as a vehicle to overturn the Smith decision in 1990, which, although written by the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, is disliked by many religious-liberty advocates who argue it doesn’t respect free-exercise rights enough.
Yet the lawyer representing the Catholic schools on Tuesday offered narrower grounds for the justices to overturn Colorado’s admissions requirements, noting that for every Catholic preschool program in the Archdiocese of Denver, there are two universal prekindergarten programs already in the state’s program within three miles of it.
Said Reaves: “This is just not really a problem in real life.”
This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
Bishops urge religious liberty language in IRS school discrimination rule
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is urging the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to include stronger language to safeguard the religious missions of private religious schools in a proposed antidiscrimination regulation.
The IRS just concluded the public comment period for a rule that would remove the tax-exempt status of private K-12 schools, colleges, and universities that consider a person’s race or ethnic background in admissions, financial aid, scholarships, or other opportunities.
Although the preamble of the proposed regulation states it would not prevent private religious schools from maintaining their religious missions and can have selection criteria based on the person’s religious affiliation, the USCCB warned that this language is not included in the rule itself.
In a public comment submitted Nov. 2 by the USCCB, the bishops also warned the proposed language could prohibit “religiously motivated programs addressing ethnoreligious identity and community needs” as well. This concern is because the preamble text only permits selection criteria if it “is based solely on religion and not on shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.”
The bishops requested the IRS add religious liberty language to the regulation itself and remove the word “solely” from that text before approving a final rule. The bishops also encouraged the IRS to address federal legal protections for religious schools — including the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act — in both the preamble and the rule itself.
Additionally, the bishops requested that the IRS direct its personnel not to “second-guess” a religious school’s doctrine and to include explicit language that sincerely held religious belief does not violate the rule. They are also asking that private schools get a period to correct any violation before enforcement action is taken.
The USCCB was joined in its public comment by the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities and The Catholic University of America.
University of Providence to shut down
The University of Providence — a Catholic higher education institution in Great Falls, Montana — announced it will shut down operations at the end of the 2026-2027 academic year, citing financial struggles that cannot be overcome.
According to a news release, the university suffered enrollment decline and financial pressures, which led officials to restructure academic programs, reduce operating expenses, and pursue new enrollment and revenue strategies. Although this softened the financial struggles, it did not create a long-term sustainable operating model, it stated.
“We recognize the grief and uncertainty this decision will bring to students, families, employees, alumni and the Great Falls community,” Caroline Goulet, the university president, said in a statement.
“Our responsibility now is to care for the people who make up this University community, maintain the quality of their educational experience, and provide clear guidance and support as they prepare for what comes next,” she said.
The university promised to help students transfer to other institutions to complete their degrees.
Notre Dame announces Global Saints Initiative
The University of Notre Dame announced the start of the Global Saints Initiative in 2027, which will focus on adding iconography of more saints at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, which sits at the center of the campus.
The iconography will include saints from five continents and nine countries to reflect the broad cultural dimensions of the Catholic Church, according to a news release from the university.
“Just as university founder Father Edward Sorin carefully selected saints for the Basilica that spoke to the Notre Dame students of his day, these new icons reflect the diverse vocations, cultures, and backgrounds of today’s campus community and the wider Church,” Father Pete McCormick, CSC, assistant vice president for campus ministry, said in a statement.
“I am incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to share these stories of holiness with all who visit the Basilica and especially with our students who I’m hopeful will be able to identify with and learn from these witnesses of faith,” he said.
The announcement states that the iconography will be installed in January 2027, before the spring semester begins.
Study shows concerns with SATs
A study conducted by Johns Hopkins University’s Institute for Education Policy — sponsored by Thomas Aquinas College, a Catholic institution — found concerns with changes to SAT tests, which many students take before applying to college.
When comparing the SAT tests from 1980 and 1987 to tests today, the study found changes that diminish the emphasis on the students’ ability to read and analyze difficult text, according to a news release from Thomas Aquinas College.
“The makers of the SAT seem to believe that the ability to tackle long and complex literary works isn’t an important skill for college students anymore,” Thomas Aquinas College Vice President John J. Goyette said in a statement.
“Sadly, given the state of modern higher education, they’re probably right,” he said.
The study notes that passages are shorter, sometimes one-third of the former length, and there was a drop in vocabulary questions that require independent word knowledge, from 60 to 10.
It notes that newer tests nearly eliminated argumentative and persuasive readings and replaced reading passages that assumed prior knowledge and understanding with texts that reveal the meaning through context clues.