St. James the Less Catholic Parish

U.S. Supreme Court. / Credit: PT Hamilton/Shutterstock

Boston, Mass., Jun 26, 2025 / 14:59 pm (CNA).

Local Planned Parenthood facilities can’t force state governments to give them Medicaid funds through lawsuits because Congress didn’t create an individual right to the benefits, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Thursday.

The 6-3 decision enables states to cut off public funds to abortion providers — including Medicaid funds that come mostly from the federal government.

The court’s decision in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic resolves a dispute that began in 2018 after South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, issued an executive order cutting off funds to the two facilities Planned Parenthood South Atlantic operates in the state, in Charleston and Columbia. The organization sued and won in U.S. District Court level and at the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The high court’s ruling Thursday overturned those lower-court decisions, pleasing pro-life advocates, including Toledo, Ohio, Bishop Daniel Thomas, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“South Carolina was right to deny Planned Parenthood taxpayer dollars. A group dedicated to ending children’s lives deserves no public support,” Thomas said in a written statement.

“Abortion is not health care, and lives will be saved because South Carolina has chosen to not fund clinics that pretend it is,” he said. “Publicly funded programs like Medicaid should only support authentic, life-affirming options for mothers and children in need.”

Can’t sue

The court’s conservatives and swing votes formed the majority — Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Chief Justice John Roberts.

Writing for the majority, Gorsuch said that private parties seeking federal health benefits through a state government can sue for them only when Congress explicitly allows it in legislation by declaring access to the benefits to be a right, which it didn’t do with respect to Medicaid funds.  He said the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services can cut off Medicaid funding to a state that the secretary determines isn’t complying with federal rules but that a private party can’t ask a court to force the state to give it federal funds.

“Congress knows how to give a grantee clear and unambiguous notice that, if it accepts federal funds, it may face private suits asserting an individual right to choose a medical provider,” Gorsuch wrote.

He added that Congress has done so in legislation pertaining to nursing homes but not with respect to Medicaid, a federal program administered by the states that provides a mix of federal and state funds to provide health care to poor people.

The three liberal justices — Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented.

Writing for the minority, Jackson said South Carolina is participating in what she called “the project of stymying one of the country’s great civil rights laws” and that the court majority’s decision allows the state to “evade liability for violating the rights of its Medicaid recipients to choose their own doctors.”

Federal defunding coming?

Abortion supporters decried the court’s decision.

“The Supreme Court overrode what the Medicaid law requires and every patient wants: the ability to choose their trusted health care provider,” said Nancy Northup, president and chief executive officer of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which supports abortion, in a written statement.

“Right now, Congress is seeking to replicate South Carolina’s ban nationwide, putting politics above patients in making health care decisions,” she said.

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have sought to cut off federal funds for Planned Parenthood in a spending measure known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” It passed the House by one vote, 215-214, on May 22. But its chances in the U.S. Senate are unclear — particularly after the nonpartisan Senate parliamentarian ruled Thursday that portions of the bill violate Senate rules.

Erik Baptist, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal advocacy organization that opposes abortion, said during an online press conference Thursday that “17 states in the country have taken action to defund Planned Parenthood.”

He said he hopes more states do so and that Congress follows suit.

“What the Medina case today did from the U.S. Supreme Court was liberate the states and allow them to take action to defund Planned Parenthood. So one shoe dropped today. We hope Congress takes the other action with regards to federal funding,” Baptist said.

The Texas capitol. / Credit: Ricardo Garza/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jun 26, 2025 / 13:25 pm (CNA).

Here’s a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news: 

Nearly 100 pro-life advocates ask Texas governor for special session on abortion pills

A chorus of pro-life voices is urging the governor of Texas to call legislators to a special session to pass a bill that will help combat abortion pills flowing into the state. 

In a letter cosigned by almost 100 Texas politicians and pro-life leaders — including state Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — Texas Right to Life President John Seago urged Gov. Greg Abbott to “convene a special session” of the Legislature for lawmakers to pass the state Woman and Child Protection Act.

That measure would allow Texans to sue traffickers and distributors of abortion pills and allow women and their families to bring lawsuits in the event that a woman is injured or killed by those pills. It would also authorize “state-led prosecution for abortion pill trafficking.”

The letter states that nearly 20,000 abortion pills are mailed into the state each year. The bill “targets those who promote, manufacture, and distribute these deadly drugs.”

Activists to hold rally urging U.S. government to defund Planned Parenthood

Activists will rally in Washington, D.C., this weekend in support of defunding Planned Parenthood. 

Figures including Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins and activist Riley Gaines will be present at Capitol Hill on June 28 for a combined “diaper drive and rally” in support of defunding the abortion giant of taxpayer funds. 

Students for Life said on its website that activists will distribute at least 392,715 diapers to pregnancy help centers and local residents; that number represents all the unborn children killed by Planned Parenthood last year, the group said. 

The rally is part of the larger National Celebrate Life Conference taking place in Washington over the weekend. 

Abortion bans drive providers out of pro-life states

Large numbers of abortion providers in states that passed abortion bans fled those states in the wake of those laws, new data shows. 

A study published this month in JAMA Network Open investigated whether “state-level abortion restrictions” in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s repeal “could lead clinicians to leave states that ban abortion.”

The survey found that 42% of surveyed abortion providers in states that enacted bans “relocate[d] primary practice” after such bans.  

Nearly half of all states ban abortion after 22 weeks of pregnancy, while a dozen ban the procedure outright. Just nine states and the District of Columbia allow for abortion at any time for any reason.

null / Credit: roibu/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 26, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

A new Pew Research Center report reveals that about 22% of those who voted in the 2024 election and cast their ballot for President Donald Trump were Catholic.

The new edition of its validated voter study “Behind Trump’s 2024 Victory,” released on June 26, looks at how Americans — new voters and voters who turned out in previous elections — voted in the 2024 presidential election. It reveals that Trump had support from the majority of voting Catholics, with 55% casting their vote for him.

Pew surveyed 8,942 U.S. citizens ages 18 and older who are members of American Trends Panel (ATP) and verified their turnout in the five general elections from 2016 to 2024 using commercial voter files.

In order to validate 2024 election turnout, Pew “attempted to match adult citizens who are part of the ATP to a turnout record in at least one of three commercial voter files: one that serves conservative and Republican organizations and campaigns, one that serves progressive and Democratic organizations and campaigns, and one that is nonpartisan.”

The research found that in 2024, Trump gained voters among multiple religious groups including Catholics, Protestants, and those who reported that they attend religious services on at least a monthly basis.

Trump had a 12-point advantage of Catholic voters over Kamala Harris, who won 43% of the group’s vote. In 2020, the Catholic vote was split almost evenly with 50% voting for Joe Biden and 49% for Trump.

The report noted that Trump benefited from 7% of Catholic voters switching their political party from 2020 to 2024. Only 4% of Catholics who favored Trump in the 2020 election shifted to Harris in the most recent election.

Majority of Trump voters identified as Christians

Trump received the majority of the Christian vote in 2024 — about 80% of his voters identified as Christian, compared with only about half of Harris voters.

Of Protestant voters specifically, 62% favored Trump in 2024. This was an increase from 56% in 2016 and 59% in 2020. There was a particularly large shift in Black Protestant voters with 15% voting for Trump in 2024, which was 6 percentage points higher than 2020.

The study also found that voters who attend some kind of religious service favored Trump more in 2024 than in 2020. In the most recent election, 64% voted for him, which increased from 59%. In 2024, only about a third of this group (34%) supported Harris.

In all three elections, Trump received more votes from people who reported that they attend a religious service “monthly or more often” than voters who said they attend “a few times a year or less.” For each election, the Democratic candidate received more votes from those who attend less frequently than those who attend more often. 

More Hispanic voters went for Trump 

Another notable find from the report was Trump’s steady progress with Hispanic voters over the course of the 2016, 2020, and 2024 elections. 

In 2016, 28% of validated Hispanic voters reported they voted for Trump, 36% did in 2020, and 48% did in 2024. While the Hispanic vote for the Republican candidate increased each election, the Hispanic vote for the Democratic candidate decreased each year.

The research found that from 2020 to 2024, Trump made gains among citizens who were born outside the U.S. In 2020, 59% of naturalized citizens who voted cast their ballot for Biden, and in 2024 51% voted for Harris. 

While the Democratic Party received fewer votes from this group, Trump received more in 2024. In 2020, 38% of naturalized citizens voted for Trump, but in 2024 47% did. 

Overall, research found that 85% of Trump’s 2020 voters cast their ballot for him again in 2024. Of the other voters, 3% switched and supported Harris, 1% switched and supported another candidate, and 11% declined to vote again in the 2024 election.

null / Credit: Take Photo/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 25, 2025 / 18:01 pm (CNA).

The Catholic Conference of Ohio has issued a statement expressing confidence that the state’s voucher program allowing parents to send their children to private schools would ultimately prevail after a judge ruled the program unconstitutional.

Franklin County Judge Jaiza Page on June 24 declared the Educational Choice Scholarship (EdChoice) Program, which provides funding for public school students to attend private schools in the state, unconstitutional, claiming it harms public education by channeling funds toward private schools, including Catholic institutions.

Page said in her ruling that the plaintiffs had proved “beyond a reasonable doubt that the EdChoice voucher program violates Article VI Section 2 of the Ohio Constitution,” which bans religious schools from having “any exclusive right to, or control of, any part of the school funds of [the] state.”

Page also wrote that “the state may not fund private schools at the expense of public schools or in a manner that undermines its obligation to public education.”

The ruling is expected to be appealed. The 10th District Court of Appeals will hear the case next, after which it could go to the Ohio Supreme Court.

“We remain confident the EdChoice program will prevail in the appeals process,” Brian Hickey, executive director for the Catholic Conference of Ohio, said in a June 24 statement. Hickey called support for the program “a matter of social justice.”

The Catholic Conference of Ohio is the official representative of the Catholic Church in public policy matters.

“The Catholic Church will continue to advocate for and defend programs that support parents as the primary educators of their children and enable them to select a school that best suits their child’s needs,” Hickey said. 

“We are proud that Catholic schools in Ohio continue to flourish with ethnic and racial diversity while providing a rich spiritual and intellectual environment,” he continued. “Catholic schools, like other chartered nonpublic schools in Ohio, work closely with the Department of Education and Workforce to adhere to state chartering requirements, including operating standards, teacher licensing, state audits, and approved testing.”

A coalition of public school districts, Vouchers Hurt Ohio, filed a lawsuit in 2022 to end the Educational Choice Scholarship (EdChoice) Program, which provides funding for public school students to attend private schools in the state of Ohio. 

The anti-vouchers group argued that the program unconstitutionally created a second system of schools to be funded by the state, causing harm to its public school system.

About 300 sisters and supporters gathered on June 24, 2025, for “Sisters Speak Out” in the nation’s capital in anticipation of the Senate voting on the budget bill this week. / Credit: Julia Morris

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 25, 2025 / 16:07 pm (CNA).

Sisters from 60 congregations gathered in Washington, D.C., on June 24 to urge lawmakers not to cut government programs that support immigrants and people with low incomes.

The event, called “Sisters Speak Out,” was held in the nation’s capital while approximately 40 “echo events” took place across the country. Around 300 sisters and supporters attended the D.C. gathering for “immigrants and a just economy” in anticipation of the Senate voting on the reconciliation bill this week.

According to a press release from the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, the sisters were gathered to speak out against budget cuts they believe will “gut health care and food assistance, inflicting serious harm on families, children, the elderly, and disabled.”

Sister Eilis McCulloh, a Humility of Mary sister and grassroots education and organizing coordinator for the justice organization Network, told CNA the idea for the demonstration came from “a desire for some action.”

“In March, there was a conference of a bunch of justice promoters for women’s religious communities … we began meeting every single week … to plan something that we could do together and that could take place across the country as well,” she said.

From these meetings the group decided to plan the Sisters Speak Out event because they believe the reconciliation bill affects the communities that they are “intertwined” with in their ministries.

McCulloh told CNA that “one of the really cool things” about the day was how much participation there was across the nation.

“So many people are saying, ‘Physically, I can no longer participate in events’ … And so we collected rosaries for it, one of the co-planners helped collect them and we received over 300 rosaries for people to use.” 

The event “had five different speakers” and the group gathered to pray a decade of the rosary together. 

“We used the sorrowful mysteries,” McCulloh said. “And each of the mysteries was connected to one of the issues that we were talking about.” The five speakers specifically discussed Medicaid, immigration, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Sister Mary Haddad of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas spoke about how health care is a “human right” and said passing the budget bill “would harm critical health and social safety-net programs that millions of Americans rely on to live with health, dignity, and security.”

“Medicaid is not just a health program — it is a lifeline,” she said.

Sister Patty Chappell, a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur, explained at the event that 13% of the population relies on $230 a month to feed their families. “That covers only a subsistence diet,” she said, and then asked: “How would you be able to feed your family on a SNAP budget of just $6.20 per day, per person?”

Sister Terry Saetta, a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas who works with immigrants, discussed border issues. “No child should leave the house traumatized, fearing they may never see their mother or father again,” she said.

The budget, she said, “is a moral document. It shows what we value.”

After the sisters had gathered, some met with senators including Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland; Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina; Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia; Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois; Dick Durbin, D-Illinois; and John Cornyn, R-Texas, to discuss the bill and how they believe it will affect vulnerable groups. 

The group also sent a letter to senators that was signed by approximately 2,500 sisters that said the bill “would be the most harmful legislation for American families in our lifetimes, and it goes against the principles and teaching of our Catholic faith.”

“I think we’re still just beginning to see this ripple effect of what this event meant, not just for the world but for everyone who took part in it and how we’re going to take the energy that we had yesterday and bring it back to our own congregations, our own communities where we live,” McCulloh said Wednesday. 

The reconciliation bill was passed by House Republicans in May, and Trump has called for the Senate to also pass it as soon as July 4.

Many Catholic and pro-life agencies have supported the bill from the start as it would defund Planned Parenthood and other organizations that perform abortions, but many Catholic organizations are also wary of how other government cuts will affect U.S. families and programs that assist the poor.

The United States Conference of Bishops recently released its stance on the bill, stating that it “supports certain provisions” but similarly to the sisters is “concerned with other inclusions that will negatively impact millions of people,” such as Medicaid and SNAP.

A Colorado department will allow a Christian summer camp to separate boys and girls on the basis of biology after the camp sued the state in May. The agreement was reached June 24, 2025, and the camp has dropped the lawsuit. / Credit: anatoliy_gleb/shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 25, 2025 / 14:53 pm (CNA).

The Colorado Department of Early Childhood will allow a Christian summer camp to separate showers, bathrooms, and sleeping areas on the basis of biological sex after both sides reached a legal settlement on Tuesday, June 24.

Per the settlement, Camp IdRaHaJe is exempt from a state rule that requires camps to separate facilities on the basis of self-asserted “gender identity” rather than biological sex. If the rule had been enforced, the camp would have been required to let biological males who identify as transgender girls access all private facilities reserved for biological girls.

In the settlement, the department recognizes that the camp is a nonprofit organized exclusively for religious purposes. For this reason, the settlement states that the camp is not subject to the rule.

“Government officials should never put a dangerous ideology ahead of kids,” Andrea Dill, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom — the organization representing Camp IdRaHaJe in the lawsuit — said in a statement.

“State officials must respect religious ministries and their beliefs about human sexuality; they can’t force a Christian summer camp to violate its convictions,” she said. “We’re pleased that Camp IdRaHaJe is again free to operate as it has for more than 75 years: as a Christian summer camp that accepts all campers without fear of being punished for its beliefs.”

The Christian camp, which derives its name from the 1922 Christian hymn “I’d Rather Have Jesus,” sued the department in mid-May based on concerns that it could face fines or have its license suspended or revoked. The camp opened on June 8 and did not comply with the rule. The department did not take any enforcement action against the camp.

Per the agreement, the state agreed that it will not impose any fines or take any action against Camp IdRaHaJe’s license.

The Department of Early Childhood also agreed to add language to its administrative guide and update a memorandum on its website to clarify that a location “principally used for religious purposes” is not subject to the “gender identity” rule.

CNA reached out to the department for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication. Lisa Roy, the executive director of the Colorado Department of Early Childhood, said in a statement to CBS News that the department is “glad to support Camp IdRaHaJe’s understanding of their ability to provide a Christian camp experience to kids” after the settlement was reached.

“The [department] did not take any enforcement action against Camp IdRaHaJe related to any of the licensing regulations raised in the lawsuit and the camp was never under a threat of closure,” she said in the statement.

Although no direct enforcement action was taken against Camp IdRaHaJe, the camp expressed concern in its initial lawsuit that it could be subject to enforcement action because its request for an exemption from the rule had previously been denied.

That lawsuit notes that the camp believes and teaches that God “has immutably created each person as either male or female in his image” and that “the differentiation of the sexes, male and female, is part of the divine image in the human race.” It adds that this belief is integrated into all of the camp’s programs and operations.

Camp IdRaHaJe hosts about 2,500 to 3,000 students between the ages of 6 and 17 every year. It was established in 1948 for “the purpose of winning souls to Jesus Christ through the spreading of the Gospel,” the “edifying … of the believers through the preaching and teaching of the Word of God,” and “evangelizing of campers through witnessing and missions,” its website states.

Following the settlement agreement, Alliance Defending Freedom filed for a dismissal of the initial lawsuit.

Bishop Alberto Rojas of San Bernardino. / Credit: Diocese of San Bernardino/Screenshot

CNA Staff, Jun 25, 2025 / 13:24 pm (CNA).

Bishop Alberto Rojas of San Bernardino, California, on Tuesday urged authorities to cease their aggressive arrests of immigrants in the state, with the prelate calling for immigration enforcement that “respects human rights and human dignity.”

The plea comes as the federal government under President Donald Trump continues its broad effort to arrest and deport unauthorized immigrants in California and throughout the rest of the country.

California has been at the epicenter of much of that enforcement. Pew Research Center estimated last year that the state is home to 1.8 million “unauthorized immigrants,” the highest number of any state in the country.

The federal government, meanwhile, has been boasting of its immigration raids in the state, describing in press releases its arrests of the “worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens” in Los Angeles and slamming what it called “sanctuary politicians” in states like California who “work to thwart” the work of immigration officers. 

Last month Trump aide Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem reportedly pushed ICE agents to arrest 3,000 people per day. According to Forbes, “the Trump administration internally has set a goal of deporting 1 million people during Trump’s first year.”

‘It is not of the Gospel of Jesus Christ’

In his Tuesday message, Rojas noted the “change [and] increase in immigration enforcement in our region and specifically in our diocese.” San Bernardino is located about 90 minutes east of Los Angeles.

“Authorities are now seizing brothers and sisters indiscriminately, without respect for their right to due process and their dignity as children of God,” the bishop wrote of the immigration raids. 

Speaking to immigrant communities bearing the “trauma and injustice of these tactics,” Rojas wrote that the Church “walks with you and supports you. We join you in carrying this very difficult cross.”

Rojas wrote that Catholics “respect and appreciate the right of law enforcement to keep our communities safe from violent criminals.” But the recent enforcement has gone beyond that, he argued.

“[W]e are now seeing agents detain people as they leave their homes, in their places of work and other randomly chosen public settings,” the bishop wrote. “We have experienced at least one case of ICE agents entering a parish property and seizing several people.”

The aggressive enforcement “is creating a tremendous amount of fear, confusion, and anxiety for many,” he wrote.

Describing those extreme methods as “not of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” the bishop asked political leaders to “reconsider and cease these tactics immediately, in favor of an approach that respects human rights and human dignity and builds toward a more lasting, comprehensive reform of our immigration system.”

It “is painful to see such division amongst God’s people at this moment,” the bishop admitted. 

“This is not what he wants for us. Let us instead remember what we all share — our creation in his image and likeness. Let us look for God in one another.”

Religious leaders have spoken out against the Trump administration’s immigration policy in the months since the Republican leader took office in January.

In February more than two dozen religious groups sued the White House over its policy allowing immigration officers to arrest suspected illegal immigrants in houses of worship and other “sensitive locations.”

The groups said the policy had the effect of “substantially burdening” religious worship, since many immigrant parishioners were avoiding worship altogether.

In a similar case filed around the same time, a federal judge ruled in February that the government would not be permitted to conduct unrestricted arrests of suspected unauthorized immigrants at some religious sites while the lawsuit plays out in court.

Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska. / Credit: Diocese of Lincoln

CNA Staff, Jun 25, 2025 / 12:24 pm (CNA).

Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, this week slammed a so-called “drag Mass” performance put on by a University of Nebraska student, calling it an “offensive” display marked by “lies, evil, and ugliness.” 

The higher education news website the College Fix first reported on the performance on May 30. The LGBT-centric demonstration was hosted by a local Lutheran church; its creator, music doctoral student Joseph Willette, said the event was meant to “bridge the gap between queerness and spirituality.”

Explicitly describing the performance as an “appropriation of the traditional Mass,” Willette said the display “blurs the lines between the sacred and the profane.” The College Fix said the incident “imitated various parts of the Mass, including the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei.” It reportedly featured a chamber orchestra and singing along with drag performances.

In a June 24 statement, Conley called the event a “blatant public display of faith-based discrimination,” one that led to Willette himself earning a doctorate. 

The profane performance “reflects poorly on the University of Nebraska, its faculty, and our community,” Conley said.

“There is no redeeming value in such a display of ignorance,” the prelate wrote. “Such discrimination would not be tolerated if directed at other religions, so why is it tolerated if the target is the Catholic faith?”

“It’s offensive and should be condemned by the university, not applauded or rewarded,” he said. “Education should strive for the true, the good, and the beautiful — not lies, evil, and ugliness.”

The mockery of the Mass generated significant pushback and criticism, including from the Catholic League, which the College Fix reported sent a letter to the University of Nebraska demanding the school “[hold] accountable” the professors who sanctioned the display.

In a video response posted to Instagram, Willette said he felt “no need to defend myself or my work.”

Stating that he would not be “bullied” into “submission,” Willette vowed that he would “continue to make unabashedly queer music.”

Conley, meanwhile, called on the university “to do more than ignore such a vile display of hatred.” 

“Have the courage to stand up and declare your institution will not tolerate or reward such inappropriate behavior and take action against the faculty who encouraged it,” he said.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Committee on Appropriations at the U.S. Capitol on June 23, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 24, 2025 / 18:07 pm (CNA).

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed this week that there is an “ongoing investigation” into the deaths of “the D.C. Five,” the five late-term aborted babies recovered from a Washington, D.C., abortion clinic three years ago.

During a June 23 House budget hearing for the Department of Justice, West Virginia Rep. Riley Moore noted that, in 2022, the D.C. Metropolitan Police “recovered the remains of five unborn children, apparently from a D.C. abortion mill, which appeared to be the victims … of a brutal partial-birth abortion.”

Moore asked Bondi — who was at the hearing to present the White House’s Department of Justice budget — if the government would “commit to working with me and this committee to conduct a full and fair investigation into the deaths of these children to ensure justice is served for the D.C. Five?”

Bondi confirmed that the controversy is “an ongoing investigation,” adding that she “cannot discuss that in this forum.”

“The D.C. Five” were found at the home of Catholic convert and pro-life activist Lauren Handy. The group Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising said it obtained the remains from reported whistleblowers who thought the killings may have violated federal laws against partial-birth abortion and infanticide.

Activists said the remains were from the Washington Surgi-Clinic, an abortion center in northwest D.C. operated by late-term abortionist Cesare Santangelo.

Following the discovery of the babies, pro-life House members and U.S. senators demanded autopsies to investigate if any of the abortions were performed after the babies were partially born, which would have violated the Partial-Birth Abortion Act and the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act.

“Public reporting suggests that President Biden’s [Department of Justice] directed the D.C. chief medical examiner to destroy the remains of the children without performing an autopsy, which the [examiner] appears not to have done yet,” Moore said at the Monday hearing.

Though President Joe Biden’s DOJ did not apparently investigate “the D.C. Five” case, it did prosecute multiple pro-life activists under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. Lauren Handy was one of the prosecuted activists and was charged for her role in a protest at an abortion clinic. 

She was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison until President Donald Trump pardoned her and 22 other pro-life activists in January. 

Although Bondi declined to share details about the open investigation, she noted that the “woman who retrieved those five fetuses was convicted and she was pardoned by President Trump, and they were basically unborn babies, is what is alleged … but I can’t discuss it any further.

The exchange between Moore and Bondi follows a May letter sent to interim Washington U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro by a coalition of nine pro-life organizations led by Advancing American Freedom. The letter urged Pirro to investigate the suspected infanticide of the D.C. Five.

The work of Association Meter, an organization that combats online pedophilia, was featured on “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly.” / Credit: “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly”/Screenshot

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 24, 2025 / 17:37 pm (CNA).

Research from the Association Meter, an Italian-based organization run by Father Fortunato Di Noto that operates the World Observatory Against Pedophilia, has found that online pedophilic videos tripled over the last year, rising from from 651,527 in 2023 to 2,085,447 in 2024.

Moreover, in its annual report for 2024, Association Meter identified over 8,000 links to pedophilic content, with U.S.-based servers hosting half the links.

“A reported link can lead to a single video or photo file, but also to mega-archives containing thousands of child pornography files,” the report indicated. “These links are often distributed via chats or group.”

In an interview with “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly,” Di Noto said “the seriousness of the problem has not been grasped.”

Association Meter identified and reported on 410 groups on social media, including 336 Signal groups and 51 Facebook pages, among others, that share illicit materials. 

Signal is a U.S.-based encrypted messaging app that keeps conversations secure. As Di Noto sees it, “Signal has become an accomplice to evil.”

“The current configuration of encrypted platforms prevents law enforcement from identifying those responsible and therefore hinders justice for victims. An urgent dialogue with digital platforms is needed to find technical and regulatory solutions that ensure both security of personal communications and protection of children from online abuse,” the report asserts.

According to the organization’s analysis of child pornography material found online, the 8- to 12-year-old age group is the most requested, with 1,589,332 minors photographed and 1,678,478 minors filmed on video. The 3- to 7-year-old age group follows, with 404,589 photos and 405,748 videos.

Association Meter also found that technology advancements in AI are increasing demand for child pornography. “Although some contents generated by AI can be considered fakes, they still represent a serious danger because they fuel criminal networks that are already complex to monitor; they objectify minors, contributing to the normalization of abuse; [and] they increase the demand for child pornography content, pushing exploiters to commit real abuses.”

Last month, Association Meter posted a report finding that pedophiles are also starting to create minors with AI. “[Pedophiles] use tools based on artificial intelligence to generate deepfake images of minors, with the aim of virtually ‘undressing’ them.”

In May 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice arrested a Wisconsin resident for the distribution, possession, and production of AI sexually explicit content of minors.

Addressing that case and the growing problem of AI-generated child pornography, the St. Thomas Law Review also published a policy paper last fall titled “Crafting New Boundaries,” which recommended updating existing laws and introducing new statutes to ban AI-generated sexually explicit content that represents minors.

This year’s report also warned about online video games, stating that “there is a growing risk of solicitation: Phone contacts are requested by pedophiles to move the conversation from the video game to a private dimension and requests for nude photos or attempts to establish emotional relationships with vulnerable minors.”