St. James the Less Catholic Parish

The Society of Catholic Scientists convenes in South Bend, Indiana, in 2019. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Stephen Barr

CNA Staff, May 7, 2025 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

The 2025 Conference of the Society of Catholic Scientists (SCS) will take place June 6–8 at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., with several talks set to address the origins of the human race from scientific, theological, and philosophical perspectives. 

Stephen Barr, a physicist at the University of Delaware and founder of the group, told CNA he expects this year’s convention to attract approximately 150 attendees, including a significant number of young participants, mainly graduate students. The SCS has grown to over 2,000 members worldwide since its founding in 2016, with its first annual conference taking place in 2017.

Key topics this year include studies on the human mind, free will, and the relationship between neuroscience and philosophical views on human nature. In addition, three separate talks on human origins will explore the Catholic Church’s views on evolution.

On the society’s website, the SCS describes itself as an answer to the call of St. John Paul II that “members of the Church who are active scientists” be of service to those who are attempting to “integrate the worlds of science and religion in their own intellectual and spiritual lives.”

He said one of the main goals of the SCS annual conference is to be a place where Catholic scientists meet one another and have spiritual and intellectual fellowship.

“[W]hat we want to do is break that vicious cycle and show the world and each other that there are a lot of religious scientists ... There are a lot of Catholic scientists out there,” Barr said. 

“I think our organization will help younger Catholics in science see that … they’re part of a very large community” and will help them to “overcome their sense of isolation [and] make them more confident.”

Barr previously told CNA that despite the large numbers of scientists who are religious, many of them likely feel they cannot share their faith openly in their workplaces. Despite the Church’s long-standing support of science, Barr said he still encounters the misconception that most scientists are atheists.

“[R]eligious scientists tend to be a little quieter and maybe more cautious because they’re playing it safe … You keep your head down a little bit. Why invite trouble?” he said.

Last year’s conference, held at Mundelein Seminary northwest of Chicago, focused heavily on artificial intelligence. Barr said this year’s event will feature a variety of topics rather than focusing on just one. While most of the speakers are highly trained scientists, “fully a third of the talks” will be given by theologians or philosophers, Barr noted.

Philosopher and Dominican Father Anselm Ramelow will discuss “Free Will, Aquinas, and the Brain,” addressing claims from neuroscience suggesting humans might not have free will and are merely “machines.”

Renowned Harvard mathematician Martin Nowak will present a talk on “Does Mathematics Lead to God?” — the first time an SCS conference has featured a talk specifically on mathematics, Barr said. And a cosmologist from Arizona State University, Rogier Windhorst, will discuss the James Webb Space Telescope and what it has discovered since it launched in late 2021. 

The conference will also feature an after-dinner talk by Ross Douthat from the New York Times, a Catholic convert who will discuss his new book “Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious,” which references scientific evidence through a religious worldview. 

The 2025 conference is open to both SCS members and nonmembers and will be livestreamed for free.

Barr said the talk given by Kenneth Kemp, whose forthcoming book examines the Catholic Church’s view of the evolution of the human race, is deeply connected to questions about the soul and what distinguishes humans from other animals.

“This is one of the big perennial questions. The question of whether we have souls,” Barr said. 

The event will feature a discussion on Neanderthal personhood and its potential implications for the history of humanity and for people of faith. Neanderthals, a species of humanoids that went extinct about 40,000 years ago, are thought to have been outcompeted by modern humans. 

“Did they have language? Did they have reason? ... If Neanderthals had rational souls, that would push the beginnings of humanity back [to] 600,000 years ago instead of 200,000 or 300,000. It’s an interesting question,” Barr said. 

University of Pittsburgh scientist Mark Saxen will rigorously examine near-death experiences in his presentation. Kelly Kearse, a science teacher at Knoxville Catholic High School, will examine Eucharistic miracles from a scientific standpoint.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Camden, New Jersey. / Credit: Farragutful via Wikimedia

CNA Staff, May 7, 2025 / 12:25 pm (CNA).

The Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, said this week that it will drop its fight against the state’s efforts to empanel a grand jury to investigate clergy abuse allegations.

Camden Bishop Joseph Williams earlier this month said he intended to “do the right thing” for abuse victims in the diocese, which has been embroiled in a yearslong fight with the state of New Jersey over whether the government can empanel a grand jury to investigate allegations of abuse by priests and other Church officials. 

The New Jersey Supreme Court heard arguments from both the diocese and the state last month on the matter. But in a Monday letter to the high court, Trenton-based law firm Cooper Levenson said that, per Williams, the diocese “will not object to the empanelment of a grand jury” any further. 

The bishop made the decision “in consultation with the diocese’s board of trustees, college of consultors, and finance council,” the letter said. 

In a letter to the diocese this week, Williams — who became bishop of the diocese on March 17 — told the faithful that diocesan leaders told the state attorney general’s office that they wished to be “partners with them in this public service.” 

“[T]he most important goal of this legal change of direction was to show our sensitivity to the survivors of abuse” and help restore their faith, Williams wrote. 

“I will remain committed to that goal in the months and years ahead,” he said. He further praised the work done previously by the diocese and Bishop Dennis Sullivan to implement “the best nationally recognized safe environment recommendations” in the Camden Diocese. 

“Implementing these protocols can be hard — sometimes exhausting — work, but our children are worth it, the pain the survivors have experienced demands it, and the credibility of the Church we love and Christ died for urges us on,” the bishop wrote. 

The diocese further expressed “concern that the due process rights of any accused members of the clergy be protected” over the course of the grand jury inquiry. 

The Diocese of Camden had previously argued that New Jersey “cannot convene a grand jury to return a presentment unless it addresses public affairs or conditions, censures public officials, or calls attention to imminent conditions.” 

Instances of “clergy sexual abuse that is alleged to have taken place decades ago” do not fall under that purview, the diocese argued before dropping its opposition. 

The New Jersey government moved to convene the grand jury there after the bombshell 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report found allegations of decades of clergy sexual abuse in the latter state.

Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, chapel and statue. / Credit: Joseph Antoniello, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, May 7, 2025 / 10:08 am (CNA).

Theologians from around the world will gather at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, this summer for the fifth annual Truth of Love Conference.

This year’s emphasis — the relationship of truth and love — takes inspiration from the past three pontificates. 

To be held at Franciscan University from July 11–14, the conference “will tackle some of the most pressing theological issues of our times,” according to organizers. 

Sponsored by the university and the Veritas Amoris Project, the conference will highlight various topics including creation, sexual difference, culture, synodality, and politics. 

The intersection of charity, truth, and theology will be the central topic for the two keynote speakers: Deacon Frederick Bauerschmidt, professor of theology at Loyola University of Maryland, and Father José Noriega, co-founder of the Veritas Amoris Project.

Stephen Hildebrand, event speaker and vice president for academic affairs at the university, said the conference is an “ongoing witness to the chief doctrinal pastoral concerns of the last three pontificates.”

“Pope St. John Paul II highlighted the splendor of truth, without which our efforts to do good are futile,” Hildebrand told CNA. “Pope Benedict taught us the primacy of love; and Pope Francis reminds us that love demands accompaniment.” 

Hildebrand noted that truth and accompaniment in love “drive to the heart of the Gospel” and “stand behind the vision of every Truth of Love conference.”

Conference organizer Jacob Wood, associate professor of theology and director of the doctoral program in sacred theology at Franciscan University, said participants will “seek a renewed understanding of the relationship between truth and love in Catholic theology today.” 

“In recent years, Christians have struggled with many tensions between truth and love,” Wood told CNA.

“Is truth ‘pastoral’? Does love relax us from what truth demands?” Wood asked. “And if love is truthful, then in what sense is love powerful? Does its power come solely from within, or does the truth of love also manifest itself in the wider structures of culture and society?”

Wood noted that they will be “debating a lot [of] theological questions that don’t have predetermined answers.”

“The goal is really seeking the truth together in an atmosphere of faith, hope, and charity.”

Catholic speakers at the conference include D.C. Schindler, associate professor of metaphysics and anthropology at the John Paul II Institute; Oana Gotia, professor of moral theology at the Sacred Heart Major Seminary; and Matthew Muller, director of the Symposium on Transforming Culture at Benedictine College. 

Father Edmund Waldstein, a monk of the Cistercian Abbey of Stift Heiligenkreuz in Austria and lecturer in moral theology at the abbey’s theological college, will also be speaking at the event. 

Several professors from Franciscan University will speak at the conference including Scott Hahn, who is the Father Michael Scanlan professor of biblical theology and the new evangelization at the university; John Bergsma, a Franciscan University theology professor; and several others.  

The conference will have “an atmosphere of prayer and contemplation” for participants, Wood said. 

“Formed by faith, hope, and charity, they’ll discuss and debate what it means to live, think, and act from the heart of the Church; and to bear witness to Christ at this critical moment in the history of the world and of the Church of Christ,” Wood said.

Bishop Robert Barron talks with EWTN News Correspondent Colm Flynn on May 5, 2025, about what he believes to be the qualities of some of the cardinals being mentioned as “papabile,” the Italian term for a man who could be pope. / Credit: EWTN News/Screenshot

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 7, 2025 / 09:38 am (CNA).

One of America’s best-known prelates, Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, has shared what he believes to be the qualities of some of the cardinals being mentioned as “papabile,” the Italian term for a man who could be pope.

In an interview with EWTN Vatican Correspondent Colm Flynn, Barron offered some quick takes both on several cardinals who are making headlines as well as some who are lesser known. He also noted that the final outcome could be a surprise, as was the case in 2013.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin

An Italian prelate who has served as the Vatican’s secretary of state since 2013, Barron said he thinks Parolin would be “a steady hand,” calling him an “ultimate Vatican insider.”

“He’s been the No. 2 man in the Vatican for all these years. Lots of experience around the world, plugged into a lot of different scenarios.” Barron said the “key thing” is that “the cardinals and bishops know him very well.”

Barron referred to Parolin as “a calm, steady presence” who is “not a flashy … charismatic figure.”

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle

Tagle from Manila in the Philippines is said to have strong similarities to Pope Francis. Barron called him a “charming” and “funny” man who has “charisma in great supply.”

“He’s an intelligent man but a very emotional man, too,” Barron said, adding that Tagle “would belong to the school that reads Vatican II more as a rupture than continuity” and would “probably lean further left than … the John Paul II model.”

Barron said if the cardinals are looking for “a change of direction” then “they might not go with him.”

Cardinal Robert Sarah

Guinean prelate Sarah is someone Barron has “admired for a long time,” calling him “a very spiritually alert man.”

Sarah is “someone that understands … the essential elements of the Church’s life,” Barron said. 

A potential drawback, according to Barron, could be his age. Sarah is “on the older side” at 78, but Barron recalled that “[Cardinal Joseph] Ratzinger was elected at 78.”

Cardinal Peter Turkson

Barron noted that the cardinal from Ghana has been a candidate in the last two conclaves and is “a substantial man” who has done “a lot of jobs” in Rome.

Barron said when he was with Turkson at a conference, he was impressed by his “simplicity and his goodness.”

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa

Barron called Pizzaballa an “impressive man” with “a strong spiritual foundation.”

“He’s been in Jerusalem all these years,” Barron said. “So he’s a man of the Holy Land, of the Scriptures.”

“He’s navigated some pretty choppy waters in the Middle East in getting people around the table and to talk to each other, showing a very deft hand,” Barron said. 

At age 60, however, Barron said Pizzaballa is on the younger side of the papabile spectrum, so “next time around he might be a better candidate.”

Cardinal Robert Prevost

Barron said the drawback for Prevost, who is from Chicago, is that he is from the U.S. and Barron thinks “it’s very unlikely an American would be elected pope.”

However, Barron noted that as the prefect for the Dicastery for Bishops and the head of the Augustian order, Prevost is “in contact with bishops all over the world.”

“So,” Barron said, “he might be perceived as an American, but not too American.”

Cardinal Timothy Dolan 

Dolan from New York “intrigues” Barron because the cardinal was “talked about quite a bit 12 years ago.”

“He was someone we were all taking seriously,” Barron said. “So I’ve wondered at times: Why not this time?”

Barron said Dolan “has tons of virtues” and highlighted his ability to preach the faith in “a persuasive way” with his “big personality.”

Dolan is 75, which Barron said could be a potential drawback, but said “he’s a pretty vigorous 75 and … both Ratzinger and Bergoglio were older than that when they were elected.”

Cardinal Peter Erdo

Barron said Erdo from Hungary is “a very impressive figure” who is “respected across the European continent.”

“Even though the college has become much more internationalized,” Barron said, “still 54 of the electors are from Europe, and he’s someone that has a lot of support on the European continent.”

Barron highlighted Erdo is multilingual, has Roman experience, and is “about the right age.” He said: “I wouldn’t count Erdo out.”

Cardinal Anders Arborelius

Barron said the Swedish cardinal is “an impressive man” and “an academic,” highlighting that he is multilingual.

Barron said when he met Arborelius, he thought it was “too bad” he was not a cardinal yet, “because he’d make a great pope.” Now that Arborelius is a cardinal, Barron said: “I still feel the same way.”

First things first

In the interview, Barron criticized any “politicization” of the papal selection process, which reflects a “lack of proper prioritization.”

“I think to put the stress on the spiritual, on the evangelical, on the declaration of Jesus — that’s what matters,” the founder of Word on Fire emphasized. 

“The first thing I’d look for is a disciple, a believer in Jesus who has the capacity to proclaim the Resurrection in a compelling way,” he said. “That’s the pope’s job, to be a source of unity for the Church.”

Cardinals celebrate the sixth Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis on May 1, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 7, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

As online gambling continues to grow in the United States, mostly on sports and casino games, bookmakers have also opened betting markets for a variety of other contests, including the current papal conclave.

The College of Cardinals is now in the midst of a papal conclave to select the next earthly head of the Catholic Church in a solemn closed-door process. This conclave has attracted global interest from Catholics and non-Catholics alike, along with tens of millions of dollars’ worth of bets on the outcome.

Polymarket, a popular cryptocurrency-based betting platform, is overseeing more than $18 million worth of bets on the papal conclave. Another platform, Kalshi, is managing nearly $6.7 million.

Polymarket lists Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin as the favorite to be selected with 27% odds and rank Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle at second with a 22% chance. The cardinals just below them include Matteo Zuppi at 11%, Pierbattista Pizzaballa at 10%, and Peter Erdo at 7%.

Bettors can “buy” a potential winner, which means they are betting on that person to be selected as the pope, or they can “sell,” which is a bet that the cardinal will not be chosen. The specific payouts for every bet depend on the odds set on the platform.

On Polymarket, more than $1.3 million has been placed on Tagle’s candidacy, and another $1.3 million has been bet on Dutch Cardinal Willem “Wim” Eijk, who is given 1% odds. More than $1 million has also been placed on Parolin, Cardinal Peter Turkson, and Cardinal Robert Sarah each.

The uncertainty of papal conclaves

The limited knowledge of bookmakers and the general public, along with the secretiveness of the papal conclave process and the lack of public campaigning, contributes to uncertainties surrounding the real odds, or chances, that a specific person will emerge as pope.

Tom Nash, a contributing apologist for Catholic Answers, told CNA that it’s clear who “the most well-known cardinals are heading into the conclave,” but that does not necessarily show “how they stack up as papabili in the eyes of their fellow cardinal electors.”

“I think some cardinals who are faring well among the oddsmakers and media, including because of the prominent role they had under Pope Francis, may actually have less of a chance than some others who are considered long shots,” he said.

Nash noted that ahead of the 2013 papal conclave, Cardinal Angelo Scola was “a man whom many thought would continue the gains of Pope St. John Paul II … and Benedict XVI,” yet he “couldn’t muster the needed two-thirds majority.” The cardinals ultimately chose then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, who took the papal name Francis.

Cardinals have already met in more than a week’s worth of pre-conclave congregations, but as Nash pointed out, those are not open to the public.

“The more public the process, the more likely cardinals can be negatively influenced by various means of coercion, including from political leaders,” he said. “And various parties have tried to influence the papal election process over the centuries.”

Nash noted that the 1996 apostolic constitution Universi Dominici Gregis asks cardinals to refrain from receiving or sending messages outside of Vatican City during the election process and prohibits conclave participants from receiving newspapers, listening to the radio, or watching television.

The same document prohibits any “pact, agreement, promise, or other commitment of any kind” to vote for a specific person but does not prohibit the exchange of views before the election or discussions during the conclave that help arrive at a consensus.

“The pre-conclave congregations give the cardinal electors ample opportunity to gain needed information from their fellow electors,” Nash said. “And those who sought to publicly campaign for themselves or others can be sure they would undermine their own credibility and candidacy.”

Is it moral to bet on a papal conclave?

Some Catholics have called into question the morality of betting on the papal conclave.

Gambling on a papal conclave used to be expressly forbidden by the Vatican, but that rule is no longer in effect. Pope Gregory XIV forbade “under the pain of excommunication” any bets on the selection of a pope or the creation of cardinals through the papal bull Cogit Nos in 1591. A 1918 revision of canon law, however, did not formally carry over this ban and no new prohibition has been put into place.

Yet Nash still expressed reservations about gambling on a conclave.

“I think Catholics should prayerfully consider how we can best give witness regarding this 2025 conclave, including because of the solemnity of the event and the possible corruption, God forbid, betting could introduce into the conclave,” Nash said.

He added: “Our actions and related chatter could contribute to an occasion of sin for others, who might have more nefarious designs on the conclave and/or perhaps might bet more than they can afford.”

“While I understand that betting on a conclave is a tempting prospect, we don’t want to reduce this important event to the level of a mere sports competition — even more so because many American Christians and others worldwide are increasingly more religious in their devotion to their favorite sports than in living as committed disciples of Jesus Christ,” he added.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, gambling is not inherently “contrary to justice.” Yet, it becomes “morally unacceptable when [gambling deprives] someone of what is necessary to provide for his needs and those of others [or] the passion for gambling risks [becomes] an enslavement.”

Lt. Matt Owens of the Arlington County Police Department plays the bugle in honor of fallen service members, at the annual Blue Mass on Tuesday May 6, 2025, at St. Patrick Cathlolic Church in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Madalaine Elhabbal/CNA

Washington D.C., May 6, 2025 / 18:41 pm (CNA).

On Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of first responders filled St. Patrick Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., to attend the 31st annual Blue Mass, a tradition that honors the sacrifice of those serving in law enforcement and public safety.

Organized by the Archdiocese of Washington, Auxiliary Bishop Roy Campbell celebrated the May 6 Mass, as Cardinal Robert McElroy is currently in Rome for the papal conclave. 

Several prominent members of law enforcement participated in the Mass, including Chief John Thomas Manger of the U.S. Capitol Police and Deputy Director Michele Ward Leo of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, who both served as lectors. 

“Today, we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, as well as gathering to celebrate all of you, our first responders, our police officers, our firefighters, our ENTs, all who push into situations … most of us are doing our best to get away from,” said Monsignor Salvatore A. Criscuolo, retired pastor of St. Patrick’s and a police chaplain, who gave the homily. 

“You wear uniforms that the world recognizes. But underneath that uniform, whether it be a uniform or a suit, there’s a human soul, a human being, a beloved child of God,” he continued, emphasizing the crucial need for first responders to be dependent on Christ. 

“Because only Christ can truly feed the deep hunger and all of you,” Criscuolo said, “the hunger for peace after the chaos of death, the hunger for justice after everything is so unjust, the hunger for hope when everything feels hopeless.”

Christ, he said, does not make himself distant from suffering and tragedy but rather is “in the mix” of it all.

“So when you answer that 911 call, you bring presence, peace, and safety,” he continued. “When you rescue someone who is trapped or injured, you bring mercy. When you come to someone who is frightened by the world here, you become an instrument of the hands of God. That is your vocation.”

Criscuolo has served as a chaplain to law enforcement for 37 years. Previously, he served as pastor at St. Patrick Church for 16 years.

“I’ve been on the streets when there have been some real difficulties,” he told CNA after the Mass, reflecting on his years of experience as a chaplain. Recalling the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, he said: “9/11 was the first time ever I had seen fear on police officers’ faces.” 

Serving as a chaplain to first responders, he said, is “a rewarding ministry, and they give back to me more than I could ever give to them. They’re always very supportive … They’re all family people: men and women, husbands and wives … and they come here every day, and they don’t know what they’re going to be facing.” 

After the Presentation of the Colors, the names of 13 fallen service members from the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area as well as 15 officers from previous years stretching back as far as 1885 were read in a solemn tribute as representatives of their divisions or family members stood in recognition.

 While the tradition of holding a Blue Mass at St. Patrick’s began just over 30 years ago, Criscuolo said the tradition of having special Masses for police officers goes back to the 1930s.

“There was a Catholic police society and a Protestant society, and the [Catholic] police officers would have their Mass here every Mother’s Day, and all the Protestant officers would work,” he said. “Then in June, the Protestants had their service, and all the Catholics would work the streets for them.”

The tradition stopped for several years, he said, until “about 31 years ago, I decided we needed to bring this back again. And we did,” he concluded, smiling. “It gets bigger and bigger each year, which is so nice to see.”

null / Credit: pim pic/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, May 6, 2025 / 18:11 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday urged a federal judge in Texas to dismiss an ongoing lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over its removal of safety restrictions on abortion drugs.  

In its filing on Monday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) argued in federal court that Idaho, Kansas, and Missouri did not have standing to sue, following the Biden administration’s legal course. 

The three Republican-led states sued the FDA last year, maintaining that the loosening restrictions on the drug mifepristone have led to abortion pills flooding their states, endangering women and undermining pro-life laws. 

The FDA should prohibit telehealth prescriptions for mifepristone, require in-office visits, and restrict the gestational age at which chemical abortions can occur, the states argued, saying that “women should have the in-person care of a doctor when taking high-risk drugs.” 

The three states picked up the lawsuit after the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously dismissed it in June 2023, saying that the group of pro-life doctors and organizations that filed the original case lacked standing as they could not show they had been harmed by the abortion drug’s widespread availability. 

In 2021, the FDA lifted restrictions on mifepristone, authorizing doctors to prescribe the drugs online and mail the pills, allowing women to perform early abortions — up to 10 weeks of gestation — without leaving their homes. 

Department of Justice attorneys asked the federal judge in Texas to throw out the lawsuit. 

“Regardless of the merits of the states’ claims, the states cannot proceed in this court,” read the May 5 memorandum issued by the DOJ. 

A pro-life group is urging the Trump administration to reinstate medical safeguards around abortion pills.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, told CNA that the motion “is about who has the right to sue, not whether abortion drugs are safe.” 

During the recent presidential campaign, pro-life advocates criticized Trump for his position that abortion law should be left for the states to decide. In 2024, Trump committed to not restricting abortion pill access and said that abortion is no longer a federal issue.

Dannenfelser urged the Trump administration “to reinstate basic measures that require real medical oversight” in regard to the abortion pill. 

“Women and girls deserve better than high-risk drugs with no in-person doctor, no follow up, and no accountability,” Dannenfelser said. “This isn’t health care, it’s harm.”

A recent study found that more than 1 in 10 women who take the abortion pill mifepristone to complete a chemical abortion will suffer a serious health complication during the process.

Dannenfelser called abortion drugs “dangerous.”

“A growing body of evidence shows the serious harm these drugs pose to women as well as their babies,” Dannenfelser continued. 

“At a minimum, the Trump administration should reverse the Biden FDA’s reckless nationwide mail-order abortion drug policy,” Dannenfelser said.

Washington state’s governor signed a law on May 1, 2025, that threatens priests with up to one year in jail if they fail to report child abuse they learn about during the sacrament of confession. / Credit: Romana Klee via Flickr

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 6, 2025 / 16:11 pm (CNA).

President Donald Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating an “anti-Catholic law” in Washington state that threatens priests with up to one year in jail if they fail to report child abuse they learn about during the sacrament of confession.

The new law, signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson last week, adds members of the clergy to the list of mandatory reporters for child abuse. It specifically states that clergy must report abuse, even if it is learned of during “privileged communication.” All other mandatory reporters, such as nurses and therapists, are exempt from the reporting requirements when the information is obtained during “privileged communication.”

A priest who refuses to report information learned during confession could be sent to jail for up to 364 days and receive a fine of up to $5,000.

In a press release, the DOJ expressed that one of its primary concerns is that the law seems to single out priests and confession. The law exempts most privileged communication from the mandatory reporting law but denies that right to priests by including the phrase “except for members of the clergy.”

“The law appears to single out clergy as not entitled to assert applicable privileges, as compared to other reporting professionals,” the DOJ wrote. “We take this matter very seriously and look forward to Washington state’s cooperation with our investigation.”

Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, sent a letter to the governor and called the mandate a “legislative attack on the Catholic Church and its sacrament of confession, a religious practice ordained by the Catholic Church dating back to the Church’s origins.”

“Not only does this new law put state authorities in direct conflict with the free exercise of a well-established religion, but your law demands that priests disobey one of the Catholic Church’s first authorities related to confession,” she wrote. “This state command runs afoul of the First Amendment.”

Dhillon cited Catholic canon law, which states that “it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in manner and for any reason.”

Bishops: ‘Confessions remain sacred, secure, confidential’

The Washington State Catholic Conference, which represents the state’s Catholic bishops, put out a statement to assure Catholics that “their confessions remain sacred, secure, confidential, and protected by the law of the Church.”

“Catholic clergy may not violate the seal of confession — or they will be excommunicated from the Church,” the statement, signed by Seattle Archbishop Paul D. Etienne, added.

The bishop noted that Church policy requires priests to report knowledge of child abuse to the police but “not if this information is obtained during confession.” He wrote that the bishops are committed to working with civil authorities in ways that do not impugn the seal of confession.

“The Catholic Church agrees with the goal of protecting children and preventing child abuse,” the statement added. “The Archdiocese of Seattle remains committed to reporting child sexual abuse, working with victim survivors towards healing, and protecting all minors and vulnerable people.”

However, Etienne wrote: “While we remain committed to protecting minors and all vulnerable people from abuse, priests cannot comply with this law if the knowledge of abuse is obtained during the sacrament of reconciliation.”

The bishop recalled the first reading from this past Sunday’s Mass, in which apostles were arrested and thrown in jail for preaching Christianity, and cites St. Peter’s remark to the Sanhedrin: “We must obey God rather than men.”

“This is our stance now in the face of this new law,” he wrote.

Eric Kniffin, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), told CNA that the new law “discriminates against religion on its face, which is really unusual.”

Kniffin told CNA that over the last three years, he has “warned the Washington Legislature that a law that invades the clergy-penitent privilege would be challenged and found unconstitutional.”

“I am confident that there will be litigation over this and that the law will be struck down,” he said.

He noted that the DOJ investigation “does not commit the government to a particular course of action,” but added: “I am encouraged that the DOJ is concerned about this law, and I believe the United States will look for opportunities to come alongside the religious plaintiffs in litigation.”

Kniffin praised Washington state’s bishops for publicly committing to safeguard the seal of confession but also warned that “it’s hard for bishops to reassure Catholics when the law is asserting the right to force priests to break their vows.”

“It is reasonable for the bishops to fear that the law could affect whether someone goes to confession or what they say in confession,” he said.

“This law casts a cloud of doubt over the confessional,” he continued, “and that fear of government discourages people from exercising their First Amendment rights.”

New York state capitol in Albany. / Credit: Nina Alizada/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 6, 2025 / 15:41 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Timothy Dolan this week called New York legislation aiming to legalize medical assisted suicide “a disaster waiting to happen” after the state Assembly advanced the measure last week.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Dolan — the archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York — said: “For people of faith who believe in the sanctity of life from conception to natural death, the very idea of having a doctor give you a prescription to end your life prematurely is contrary to everything we cherish.”

“But one need not be religious to see that assisted suicide is a terrible idea. It is a classic Pandora’s box; once opened, its consequences cannot be contained.”

The New York State Assembly passed the Medical Aid in Dying Act in New York on April 29 in an 81–67 vote. If passed into law, the legislation will allow terminally ill adults to request medication to end their own lives.

Dolan on Tuesday reflected on the last weeks of Pope Francis’ life and how he was “not afraid to let us watch him die, much like his beloved predecessor, Pope St. John Paul II.” 

“Both men knew that our worth is based on who we are as children of God, not on what we can do,” the archbishop wrote.

Dolan highlighted that the New York bill lacks safety guidelines, arguing that the medication can be prescribed by any kind of doctor and the meeting to request the medication is not required to be held in person. 

Patients also do not have to be asked if they have ever contemplated suicide or been treated for any mental health conditions.

“How is this compassion?” Dolan said on Tuesday, arguing that the measure forces doctors “to lie on death certificates by claiming the cause of death was the person’s underlying illness and not what actually killed him or her — the lethal combination of drugs.”

He explained the bill follows successful work by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to bring suicide rates in New York down. Hochul spearheaded initiatives to help schools, hospitals, first responders, and veterans and a hotline during a “mental health crisis.”

Dolan said he commended her “highly successful suicide prevention efforts.” 

“But,” he continued, “a new law that sanctions suicide while the state simultaneously pursues a policy of suicide prevention amounts to cutting holes into one side of a boat while bailing water from the other.”

Dolan pointed to the Catholic Church’s “long and proud history in health care.”

“We opened America’s first hospitals. We’ve cared for the casualties of war, measles, homelessness, illness, violence, AIDS, and all diseases and ailments known to man. We’ve also cared for our fellow humans’ emotional, psychological, and spiritual ailments.”

“State-sanctioned suicide turns everything society knows and believes about medicine on its head,” Dolan said. “Doctors go from healers to killers.”

Meanwhile, “what is proposed as compassion for the suffering terminally ill” becomes “a duty, as the elderly, the disabled, and the sick feel pressured to end their lives and stop being an inconvenience to others.”

“All stages of life provide lessons — to ourselves and others — but perhaps none more so than life’s end, as Pope Francis so eloquently taught,” the cardinal said.

Dolan noted that Pope Francis called assisted suicide the “discarding of the patient” and “false compassion.” 

“New York and all our states can do better than this,” Dolan said. 

“Let us instead focus our formidable efforts on strengthening care for people at the end of life. They are finishing the race. Let them go with their hands held high, the way God and nature intended,” the prelate said.

Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, Bishop Robert Barron speaks to EWTN News Vatican Correspondent Colm Flynn in Rome on Monday, May 5, 2025. / Credit: EWTN News

CNA Staff, May 6, 2025 / 10:27 am (CNA).

Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, this week said the next pope should be a disciple of Christ first and foremost, one who places “the declaration of Jesus” at the center of his papacy. 

Barron spoke to EWTN News Vatican Correspondent Colm Flynn on May 5 in Rome. The U.S. prelate noted that the Church is on “pins and needles” during the interregnum before the election of the next pope, though he admitted it’s “an exciting time.”

Asked by Flynn about the commentary that has proliferated around the papacy since Pope Francis’ death on April 21, Barron said the “politicization” of the papal selection process reflects a “lack of proper prioritization.” 

The bishop pointed to Australian priest and theologian Father Gerald Glynn O’Collins, SJ, who when  asked what he was looking for in the next pope after John Paul II’s death, responded, as Barron put it: “I want someone who declares the resurrection of Jesus in a compelling way.”

“Because that was Peter’s job,” Barron said, “and this is the successor of Peter. I think to put the stress on the spiritual, on the evangelical, on the declaration of Jesus — that’s what matters.” 

The prelate admitted that there are “further implications” to a pope’s job. He told Flynn that there are “political strategies” that help advance the “moral principles” espoused by the Church.

“[T]he preoccupation with — oh, is he left-wing? Is he right-wing? Climate change, immigration — OK, we can get to all that,” Barron said. 

“But the first thing I’d look for is a disciple, a believer in Jesus, and who has the capacity to proclaim the Resurrection in a compelling way,” he said. “That’s the pope’s job, [and] to be a source of unity for the Church.”

The politicization of the papacy is “seeing [the role] through a relentlessly secular political lens,” Barron said. “And you know, again, I get it. But I’m annoyed at the way it gets the priorities off.” 

Asked about the cardinals who are considered top contenders for the papal election this week, Barron pointed out that, during the last conclave, “nobody” suspected then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio would become Pope Francis. 

“I always put that forward as a caution whenever we’re talking about candidates,” the bishop said. “There is certainly a good chance it won’t be any of these people.”