St. James the Less Catholic Parish

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CNA Staff, May 30, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.

Peer-reviewed study debunks ‘baseless claim’ that abortion pills are safer than Tylenol

A recent peer-reviewed study challenges the abortion industry’s claim that medication abortion is “safer than Tylenol.”

The Charlotte Lozier Institute last week published its peer-reviewed article in the journal BioTech challenging the “heavily relied upon talking point” for the abortion industry that abortion drugs are safer than Tylenol.

Abortion giant Planned Parenthood on its website claims that medication abortion is safer than Tylenol — the brand name for acetaminophen, which is used for pain relief and to reduce fevers — and other common medicines. But this study found that the claim is not only unsupported and unprovable but also that it ignores “serious adverse events of abortion drugs, such as sepsis and hemorrhage.”

The study noted that the claim cannot be validated because not only does a controlled study not exist comparing the two, but “it would be impossible to do so because these drugs are used for entirely different purposes.” 

The study also notes that “while Tylenol-related deaths often result from misuse in a much larger user base, deaths from abortion drugs occur under prescribed use.”

“This oversimplification led to the creation of a catchy phrase aimed at reducing abortion drug regulations and minimizing concerns from women considering an abortion,” the institute said in a press release on Tuesday. 

Pro-life groups urge government to investigate suspected cover-up of federal abortion violations 

Pro-life leaders are urging the government to investigate the alleged Biden administration cover-up of the “D.C. Five,” a case in which the remains of five babies were discovered in Washington, D.C., in what advocates say indicated a violation of legal protections involving abortion and infants.

In a joint letter on Tuesday, nine organizations urged Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Washington Jeanine Pirro to investigate these “possible violations of the Partial-Birth Abortion Act and the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act” after the remains of the five babies were discovered by pro-life activists in 2022 in the nation’s capital. 

Pirro took office as interim U.S. attorney on Wednesday, replacing Ed Martin, who had been in the role since Trump appointed him in January.  

Signees include top pro-life leaders at Advancing American Freedom, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Students for Life of America, Live Action, and others. 

The letter alleged that “rather than investigate the incident properly, the Biden administration worked to sweep the allegations under the rug and silence the individuals involved by prosecuting them.” 

Additionally, the signees allege that the Department of Justice under former president Joe Biden “ordered” local police to “incinerate the evidence” even though pro-life congressional representatives called for preservation of the evidence.

Missouri Supreme Court temporarily blocks abortion statewide

The Missouri Supreme Court has reinstated pro-life laws protecting unborn children after the laws were earlier blocked due to the state’s recent abortion rights constitutional amendment. 

The Missouri Supreme Court ordered District Judge Jerri Zhang in Kansas City to lift the injunction blocking restrictions on abortion on Tuesday. That means pro-life laws can go into effect there while litigation over the protections plays out in court.

Zhang had earlier ruled that several abortion regulations were unconstitutional, including rules that only doctors can perform abortions and that surgical instruments must be sterilized, as well as regulations regarding informed consent, according to the pro-life group Missouri Right to Life. 

The state passed a pro-abortion constitutional amendment in November 2024. Voters there will vote on a repeal of the amendment next year.

Steve Rupp, president of Missouri Right to Life, welcomed the decision, saying it “will save lives of preborn babies and the health and safety of Missouri women.”

President Trump’s administration sent a letter probing hospitals that provide transgender treatments to minors, seeking information on HHS rule compliance on May 28, 2025. / Credit: JHVEPhoto/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 29, 2025 / 16:59 pm (CNA).

President Donald Trump’s administration launched an inquiry into hospitals that have provided transgender drugs and performed transgender surgeries on minors, seeking information on the processes and outcomes — particularly “adverse events” — that result from the controversial medical interventions.

Mehmet Oz, the director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), sent a letter this week to the select hospitals inquiring about whether and how the hospitals have changed their protocols and procedures in response to new rules and guidelines issued by Trump and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 29 that instructed HHS to end Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements for transgender interventions on minors. On May 1, HHS issued a report detailing the lack of evidence to support such medical treatments.

CMS is giving the hospitals 30 days to respond to the letter and stated in a press release that it has “urgent concerns” related to procedures it described as “harmful.”

In the letter, Oz asked the hospitals what “changes to clinical practice guidelines and protocols” are being enacted in response to the HHS report, particularly surrounding “the adequacy of informed consent protocols for children with gender dysphoria,” such as “how children are deemed capable of making these potentially life-changing decisions.” 

The letter also asked hospitals to report “any adverse events related to these procedures,” especially regarding “children who later look to detransition.” It noted that CMS must “ensure baseline quality standards” at institutions that participate in Medicare and Medicaid.

Some of the medical interventions about which CMS is concerned include surgeries that remove sexual organs or “attempt to transform an individual’s physical appearance to align with an identity that differs from his or her sex” as well as prescriptions for cross-sex hormones and drugs that “delay the onset or progression of normally-timed puberty.”

“These are irreversible, high-risk procedures being conducted on vulnerable children, often at taxpayer expense,” Oz said in a statement. “Hospitals accepting federal funds are expected to meet rigorous quality standards and uphold the highest level of stewardship when it comes to public resources — we will not turn a blind eye to procedures that lack a solid foundation of evidence and may result in lifelong harm.”

CMS further requested information on financial data related to such interventions, including bills for transgender drugs and surgeries for minors that were funded with federal tax money and documents showing the revenue generated from the procedures and their profit margins.

Mary Rice Hasson, the director of the Person and Identity Project at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told CNA that CMS is essentially trying to find out: “What medical interventions have you performed on confused kids, how much money are you making from it, and how are those kids faring?” 

Hasson said “the gender industry” has falsely claimed to follow “evidence-based medicine” when providing these interventions and have “minimized concerns that these hormones and surgeries result in impaired fertility and sterility, sometimes before these kids are old enough to purchase alcohol.”

“Numerous substantive evidence reviews, plus the recent HHS umbrella evidence review, have found the opposite — that there’s very little evidence of benefit, most evidence is poor quality, and children are suffering permanent harm, including infertility/sterilization, cardiovascular risks, weakened bones, and likely changes to the brain,” she said.

Hasson expressed skepticism that many of the hospitals will be able to fully comply, stating that they have “done a terrible job following up on how kids are faring” and that the informed consent protocols “exaggerate the supposed benefits and minimize the harm.” She also contended that the hospitals likely “do not want to reveal how much money they are making, because it exposes their mercenary motives.”

“These hospitals are likely to enlist cadres of expensive lawyers to help them avoid being held accountable, but I don’t think this administration will back down,” Hasson added.

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CNA Staff, May 29, 2025 / 14:42 pm (CNA).

A lawsuit filed in Wisconsin alleges that an employee of a Catholic Charities affiliate there stole millions of dollars as part of a yearslong scheme involving credit card fraud and fake invoices. 

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee said in the lawsuit, filed earlier this month in Wisconsin circuit court, that former employee Brandi Ellis “abused her authority and misappropriated millions of dollars” when serving in a variety of financial roles within the organization. 

Ellis allegedly worked as an accountant, an accounting manager, and eventually as a finance manager at the charity, with her employment taking place from February 2014 to May 2024. 

The suit alleges that Ellis paid “false invoices ostensibly reflecting work and/or services completed or provided by vendors” but which actually funneled money to vendors with “personal or professional connections” to Ellis. 

The accountant also allegedly used corporate credit cards to make personal purchases. 

The schemes each totaled “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” the suit alleges. 

In addition to suing its ex-accountant, the charity is also suing the Madison, Wisconsin-based financial services firm Baker Tilly over allegedly failing to identify the fraudulent activity as part of auditing services it provided to the Catholic organization. 

The firm should have recognized “goods and services that could not reasonably be in support of the plaintiff’s charitable mission,” the suit argues, including “Amazon Prime video rentals, Uber rides, Ticketmaster purchases, [and] casino purchases from MGM Grand.”

The accounting group “failed to recognize clearly fraudulent purchasing activity,” the suit alleges, and further relied on “internal documents generated by … Brandi Ellis” rather than independently verified third-party data. 

The suit seeks damages from both Ellis and the accounting firm.

Father Mike Schmitz and Kansas City Chiefs placekicker Harrison Butker at the Courage Under Fire Gala held in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 23, 2025. / Credit: EWTN Screenshot/Francesca Fenton/CNA

Nashville, Tenn., May 29, 2025 / 14:12 pm (CNA).

Catholic home schooling families from across the country joined popular Catholic speakers in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 23 for an evening of camaraderie supporting Regina Caeli Academy, an accredited pre-K–12 classical home school hybrid academy founded in 2003. 

The Courage Under Fire Gala featured popular priest and podcaster Father Mike Schmitz, Kansas City Chiefs placekicker Harrison Butker, political commentators and media hosts Matt Walsh and Michael Knowles, actor Kirk Cameron, and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.  

Regina Caeli Academy now has 28 centers in 17 states and offers home-schooled students the ability to attend in-person classes two days a week. The academy prides itself on its classical curriculum.

Butker joined the academy’s board of directors two years ago and said that before joining he was unaware of the program but now calls it “a beautiful model.”

“I didn’t know there was a hybrid model that home-schoolers could be a part of and they can have a community and be able to grow in the Catholic faith,” he told CNA in an interview on the red carpet at the gala.

“It’s just a beautiful model and I really do believe that if more children are made aware of Regina Caeli and more parents are empowered to be the primary educators so much so that they become the actual main educators and do that through home schooling — I think we will see a big change in our society for the better,” he added. 

Catholic couple Deena and Tony Heller have four children who attend the Regina Caeli Academy and will be entering their third year in the program this fall. The Hellers told CNA that they value the ability for their children to still have the “school experience” by attending class twice a week; however, they remain their primary educators at home. 

“The community, the support, the people … it really makes it such a special experience for our kids,” Tony Heller said. “It’s just so unique and so different compared to just traditional home schooling or traditional primary education.”

The couple added that the traditional Catholic values of the program greatly impacted their decision to enroll their children in the program as well as the realization that they are “a major driver in [their children’s] education,” he said. 

At the gala, Butker addressed the attendees on the topic of parents as the primary educators for their children. He encouraged parents to “make sure that they are taking ownership of laying that foundation for their child.”

“I think education starts in the home — whether you send them to a parochial school or traditional school, a public school or home school — regardless the schooling of the child begins in the home,” he said, adding: “I think we can shape society by shaping our children, one child at a time, one family at a time.”

Schmitz, who was also a featured speaker at the event, also offered parents advice to consider when thinking about their children’s education. The popular Catholic priest and podcaster gave the example of his own college experience. He shared that while it was a good school with good people, and it was Catholic, he thought that he could take in whatever they were teaching “in an unguarded way,” he told CNA.

“I didn’t realize that no, you have to be on your guard in some ways in some places,” he explained. “I think public schools are very similar. I think sometimes Catholic schools can be very similar as well where you can’t necessarily just assume the goodwill — not that people [have] evil intent — but also the fact that we don’t all have the same perspective or all the same way of looking at the world.”

He added: “I think that when parents are aware that we have well-intentioned people in a lot of different environments who aren’t necessarily advocates of truth as we understand it, objective truth, then a lot of bad ideas can get in and infect our minds and hearts. And so even to be aware of that goes a long way.”

In 2024, a report from the Johns Hopkins School of Education Homeschool Research Lab found an increasing number of students being home-schooled in the United States. Butker and Schmitz offered their perspectives as to why they believe society is seeing this trend. 

“I think really from COVID, I think people started to ask questions about all of the things that they are told,” Butker said. “And I think people are questioning like, ‘Yes, I’m told this. I’m told to do that. But do I feel comfortable doing that? Does that pass the gut test?’”

“I think a lot of people have looked at home schooling in the past and thought, ‘Wow, that’s weird. That’s different. I would never do that,’” he added. “But when you start thinking about parents as the primary educators and being able to really pour into your children and lay that foundation for them, it really becomes this attractive model that I think more people are looking into and they’re taking ownership of laying that foundation for their children.”

“I think it’s a beautiful thing and if we can get more parents that are taking pride in forming their children, educating them, I think we’re going to have a better society, we’re going to have better children, and ideally more virtuous and stronger soldiers for Christ.”

Schmitz pointed out that what was once a “nice alternative” has become “almost a necessity.”

“If I’m actually going to keep my child in a place rooted in truth and rooted in Christ then in some ways — and I don’t want to be overdramatic about this — but in some ways, I can be kind of feeding them to the wolves if I send them out in a way that’s unguarded,” Schmitz said.  

“Now, again, there’s plenty of well-intentioned and good people in public education as well, but at the same time I can’t count on everyone being in that place. So I think parents are more aware than ever that this alternative option is going to be more than just an option but maybe even essential.”

Through the fundraising done at the Courage Under Fire Gala, Regina Caeli Academy is able to expand its mission and bring its curriculum to more students across the country. Its centers can currently be found in Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Tennessee, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.

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CNA Staff, May 29, 2025 / 13:42 pm (CNA).

The Catholic bishops of Washington state filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging a new law that requires priests to report child abuse learned during the sacrament of confession or face jail time and fines. 

The suit, filed by the Archdiocese of Seattle and the dioceses of Spokane and Yakima, argues that the law violates the free exercise of religion protected by the First Amendment by infringing on the sacred seal of confession. The suit also claims the law violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment as well as the Washington Constitution.

Signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson on May 2, the law goes into effect July 27 and adds clergy to Washington’s list of mandatory reporters for child abuse but explicitly denies them the “privileged communication” exemption granted to other professionals, such as nurses and therapists. 

Priests who fail to report abuse learned in confession could face up to 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine. Ferguson, a Catholic, defended the measure earlier this month, saying he is “very familiar” with confession but deemed the law “important legislation” to protect children.

In the lawsuit, filed in federal district court, the bishops emphasize the Catholic Church’s commitment to child protection while defending the inviolability of the confessional seal. 

“Consistent with the Roman Catholic Church’s efforts to eradicate the societal scourge of child abuse, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle and the dioceses of Yakima and Spokane have each adopted and implemented within their respective dioceses policies that go further in the protection of children than the current requirements of Washington law on reporting child abuse and neglect,” the lawsuit states. 

It notes that these policies mandate reporting suspected abuse by Church personnel, including clergy, except when information is learned solely in confession, which is protected by “more than 2,000 years of Church doctrine.”

Spokane Bishop Thomas Daly in a statement earlier this month vowed that clergy would not break the seal of confession, even if it meant jail time. “I want to assure you that your shepherds, bishops and priests, are committed to keeping the seal of confession — even to the point of going to jail,” Daly said in his message to the faithful. “The sacrament of penance is sacred and will remain that way in the Diocese of Spokane.”

Seattle Archbishop Paul D. Etienne echoed this stance, citing canon law, which forbids priests from betraying a penitent’s confession under penalty of excommunication. Etienne referenced St. Peter’s words in Acts 5:29 — “We must obey God rather than men” — to underscore the Church’s position.

The Washington State Catholic Conference affirmed its commitment to child safety while defending the sanctity of confession, urging Catholics to trust that “their confessions remain sacred, secure, confidential, and protected by the law of the Church.”

The U.S. Department of Justice, under President Donald Trump, launched an investigation into the law on May 6, calling it an “anti-Catholic” measure. U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon described it as a “legislative attack on the Catholic Church and its sacrament of confession,” arguing it singles out clergy by denying them privileges afforded to other professionals.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the nonprofit First Liberty Institute, and the WilmerHale law firm are representing the Washington bishops.

As of the time of publication Ferguson’s office had not responded to CNA’s request for comment.

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CNA Staff, May 29, 2025 / 13:12 pm (CNA).

A California consulting firm that handles data of some clergy abuse cases says it paid hackers a ransom to delete data involving abuse survivors after a security breach earlier this year. 

The Emeryville, California-based Berkeley Research Group (BRG) offers corporate finance and economic consulting, including to Catholic dioceses in bankruptcy proceedings. In March the company suffered an incursion that exposed data of Catholic clergy abuse survivors in nearly a dozen bankruptcy lawsuits. 

Regulators were only informed of the breach at the end of April. The U.S. government earlier this month demanded the company provide information on each affected case as well as clarify why the company “delayed two months” before notifying trustees and whether or not the company has contacted federal law enforcement over the breach. 

In a letter last week, attorneys representing the Berkeley group responded to the government’s query, stipulating that the company “takes this matter very seriously” and that its response “has been robust and remains ongoing.”

Among other disclosures in the letter, the attorneys said that after the hacking incursion BRG “reached a settlement with the threat actor after careful consideration and with a primary focus on protecting the subjects of any implicated data.” 

The firm “received a destruction log and a representation by the threat actor that any data exfiltrated during the incident was deleted and will not be disclosed,” the letter states. 

The company said it has further utilized “experts” to monitor the internet, including the “dark web,” in order to “detect the dissemination of impacted data.” 

“Those experts have not identified any information suggesting that the threat actor has breached its representation,” the letter says. 

The company said there was no indication that clergy abuse victims were specifically targeted by the hacker. 

“The incident affected data across BRG, including many clients and data having nothing to do with the subject cases, or any bankruptcy matter,” the letter states. 

Addressing the delay between the discovery of the data breach and the notification of affected clients, the letter states that there were “numerous actions required before BRG could fully define the extent of the incident and understand its impact,” including a cataloging of the data stolen by the hackers. 

Among the bankruptcy cases affected by the data breach include those of the archdioceses of Baltimore and New Orleans as well as the dioceses of Albany and Rochester, among others.

The company is also handling cases involving the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, the Diocese of Wilmington, the Diocese of Camden, and several others, though it said in its letter this month that based on its review, “no data was exfiltrated [in those cases] that would warrant disclosure.”

The Berkeley group “does not intend to seek recovery of costs of the incident investigation or ransom payment” from its clients, the letter states.

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CNA Staff, May 29, 2025 / 12:42 pm (CNA).

A leaked draft from Charlotte, North Carolina, Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv, shows the prelate’s far-reaching and highly detailed intent to crack down on what he describes as “older liturgical practices” in order to bring about “a more uniform celebration of the Mass” in the diocese. 

The lengthy letter was first published by the blog Rorate Caeli; officials with the diocese subsequently confirmed the authenticity of the letter to the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner.

The letter, which references Pope Francis in the present tense, appears to have been written prior to the late pontiff’s death last month. 

Its leak, meanwhile, comes after the Charlotte Diocese announced that it would significantly restrict the practice of the Traditional Latin Mass, limiting it to a single chapel in what Martin said was a bid to “promote the concord and unity of the Church.”

Regulations on altar candles, women’s veils, and more

The document details an extensive list of behaviors and practices that Martin said would be tightly regulated or else abolished going forward in an effort at “purifying and unifying the celebration of the Mass.”

Among the directives: Celebrants are to place candles “arranged around the altar” during Mass “since placing them on the altar will always obstruct the vision of the faithful.”

As well, priests are directed to not offer “vesting or devesting prayers” either before or after Mass, as there is “no option given in the current liturgical books” for such practices. Rather, “prayerful preparation before Mass and thanksgiving after Mass is to take place in some other way.”

Women who choose to wear veils during Mass “are not to do so when they are assisting in any official capacity,” such as when lectoring or cantoring, the document states. 

Parishes will be forbidden from using bells to signal the start of Mass, the directives say; rather, a “verbal welcome” by the lector “followed by an indication of the hymn to be sung and an invitation to stand” should be normative at all Masses. 

At times the document seems to run afoul of other, authoritative Church directives. Martin at one point writes that the Church “does not … call for the Latin language to be used widely in the liturgy,” and that the ancient language “diminishes the role of the laity in the Mass.” Yet guidance from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops explicitly states that “care should be taken to foster the role of Latin in the liturgy,” with the bishops even going so far to state that singers and choir directors should “deepen their familiarity with the Latin language.” 

The bishop’s order that candles are “always to be arranged around the altar,” meanwhile, explicitly cites the General Instruction on the Roman Missal (GIRM), but the relevant portion of that document does not forbid placing candles at the front of the altar. 

The intensively detailed list has drawn criticism and backlash from some commentators. Matthew Hazell, a British liturgy scholar, told the Register that Martin’s perspective was consistent with what Pope Benedict XVI famously described as a “hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture.” 

“Rather than allow the novus ordo to be celebrated in a manner in keeping with its own rubrics and with the Church’s tradition, Bishop Martin seems to see it as an entirely new creation that cannot even be seen to have anything in common with what came before,” Hazell told the Register.

Father Paul Hedman, a priest from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, similarly criticized the directives, writing on X that the document appears to be “banning things explicitly allowed in the GIRM and explicitly called for in Vatican II.”

“He denigrates the practice of using water and wine for purification of the vessels,” Hedman wrote, but the GIRM “explicitly allows this.” 

The bishop “presumes the ability to regulate the private prayer of the priest before Mass,” the priest wrote further. “This is simply ridiculous and — I do not use this [word] lightly — tyrannical.”

Though the guidelines have generated intense debate and criticism, the diocese told the Register that the document was “an early draft” and is still being debated by diocesan leadership. 

“It represented a starting point to update our liturgical norms and methods of catechesis for receiving the Eucharist,” a diocesan spokeswoman said, adding that the directives will be “thoroughly reviewed” prior to their official promulgation.

Harvard University. / Credit: Jon Bilous/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 29, 2025 / 11:42 am (CNA).

This week a national education nonprofit group revealed the results of a survey conducted with parents across the country about issues in higher education in the United States. Defending Education polled parents of teen and young adult children ages 15–21, asking them their views on hot-button topics related to colleges and universities today. 

“This new poll shows that parents believe colleges and universities have lost focus,” Paul Runko, the director of strategic initiatives at Defending Education, told CNA. “They are expressing concern about campus climates and calling for environments free from political extremism and ideological agendas.”

The survey, conducted from May 9–15, queried 1,000 randomly selected participants from across the country. Of the participants, 34% reported they are located in the South, 20% in the Northeast, 23% in the Midwest, and 23% in the West.

The majority of respondents classified themselves as white (66%) and most said they practice some form of Christianity (65%). More than half (56%) said they voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 general election. The group surveyed was made up of 43% Republicans, 34% Democrats, and 21% independents. 

Parents were asked how they would characterize political leanings on the typical American college campus and 41% said it is moderate, 28% said left leaning, 25% said right leaning, and 6% responded nonpolitical. 

While the respondents reported different political views, the majority (69%) said they support disciplining students for disrupting campus events they disagree with. 

The survey asked the participants a number of questions about higher education within the categories of sex and gender, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), antisemitism, freedom of speech, foreign funding in schools, foreign and out-of-state students, academic instruction, and student loans.

“Parents with children aged 15–21 are the very families that colleges and universities are trying to attract,” Runko told CNA. “These parents are having real conversations with their students right now about where they will attend college … If a university’s values are in conflict with their own, particularly on issues of faith and morals, they will look elsewhere.”

Defending Education found that 60% of survey participants oppose schools allowing biological males who identify as female to participate in women’s collegiate sports. Of self-identified Catholic parents, 54% said they oppose the practice.

The study also found that 61% of parents oppose colleges allowing biological males who identify as females to use female restrooms on campus. Just under half (48%) of parents said they “strongly oppose” it and 57% of Catholic parents said they oppose it.

Of the participants, 59% said they support students being paired with other students for on campus housing based on the same “biological sex” rather than “gender identity.” The survey showed that 58% of Catholic parents support this.

The survey also examined parents’ views on DEI policies at universities and found that a slight majority of the respondents overall disagree with DEI initiatives. 

More than half (54%) of parents oppose universities prioritizing race when awarding scholarships. Catholic parents are split on the issue, with 49% opposed and 49% in support.

The majority (57%) of parents oppose the practice of universities holding graduation ceremonies for students of a particular race, such as a Black-only or Hispanic-only student commencements. 

Participants were also asked about antisemitism on campuses today. The survey found that 67% of parents support universities offering or requiring training for faculty to properly address and identify antisemitism and Jewish discrimination.

The survey asked about foreign funding and policies and found the vast majority of parents (82%) agreed that universities should be required to disclose when they accept money from foreign governments.

A total of 79% of parents also said they agree that American students should be prioritized in the admissions process over foreign students and 76% agree that at public universities, in-state students should be prioritized over out-of-state students. 

Most participants (87%) said a university’s core curriculum or required classes that are not specifically related to a student’s career path are important to consider. The majority of Catholic participants (91%) reported that this is important. 

The survey stated that Ivy League schools are launching “remedial math” courses since high school graduates are not prepared for college level math and 84% responded that this is “concerning.” 

Almost all survey participants (95%) agreed that the cost of tuition is an important factor when deciding on a college. More than half (65%) of parents responded that they or someone in their family has completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form to determine eligibility for student financial aid. 

Participants were also asked their opinions regarding student loan debt. Over half (53%) responded that they believe “student loan debt puts a financial burden on borrowers and relieving that burden could boost economic growth.” 

Of Catholic parents, 68% said they agree that colleges should be responsible for loans that students do not pay off because their college experience and degree did not adequately prepare them for a career after graduation.

In a statement about the survey’s results, Runko said: “It’s no surprise that American parents and students expect a college experience that is academically rigorous, open to diverse viewpoints, and focused on preparing graduates for meaningful careers.”

“Historically, colleges were viewed by the public, including parents, as places of academic excellence and character formation,” he continued. “Ten years ago, higher education as an institution had broad public confidence.”

He added: “This poll is not just a small sample of public opinion, this is a wake-up call for university leaders across the country. Parents are demanding universities restore transparency, protect free expression, and refocus on academic excellence.”

The Sisters of Bon Secours along with seven local Catholic congregations are launching a citywide advertisement campaign against gun violence in Baltimore. The ad features the message “Put the Guns Down, Let Peace Begin with Us” and a QR code linking to the campaign webpage. / Credit: Liz O’Neill

CNA Staff, May 29, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The Sisters of Bon Secours are launching a citywide campaign against gun violence with seven other Catholic congregations in Baltimore.

The advertisement campaign announced this week features ads inside and outside of city buses and in subway transit stations throughout the city that say “Put the Guns Down. Let Peace Begin With Us.”

The Bon Secours sisters are part of a coalition of religious sisters and others advocating for gun violence prevention called “Nuns Against Gun Violence.” Taking inspiration from a similar campaign by other sisters in Ohio, the Sisters of Bon Secours ultimately landed on an advertising campaign.

“The Sisters of Bon Secours have been involved in gun violence prevention advocacy efforts for many years and were looking for a way to bring more attention to the issue,” said Simone Blanchard, director of justice, peace, and integrity of creation for the Sisters of Bon Secours.

Bus advertisements will carry the message “all over the city instead of a few stationery billboards,” she said.

The advertisements feature a QR code that takes viewers to the sisters’ webpage, which has resources on combating gun violence, including a prayer for victims of gun violence and links to the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s gun buyback program. 

“The ads on Baltimore city buses reflect the commitment of my community and other Catholic sisters in Baltimore to say: There is another way,” said Sister Patricia Dowling of the Congregation of the Sisters of Bon Secours. 

“We all deserve safe streets, a sense of peace, and the freedom to live without fear,” she continued. “Peace begins with each of us, and anything we can do to raise awareness about alternatives to violence and the sacredness of life is essential today.”

Dowling said the campaign aligns with the congregation’s charism and is also “deeply personal.” 

“As a Sister of Bon Secours living in West Baltimore, I hear gunshots regularly,” Dowling told CNA. “I’ve seen the faces of those who’ve been shot, and I’ve walked with neighbors carrying the pain and trauma that gun violence leaves behind.”

“Our charism — compassion, healing, and liberation — calls us to uphold the dignity of every person and to seek peace in every situation,” she continued.

“It’s not just about my neighborhood — it’s about all of us,” Dowling said. 

Baltimore is among the top 10 cities in the U.S. with the highest rates of gun homicides. According to a recent review by Pew Research, the states with the highest gun murder rates in the U.S. include Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and New Mexico as well as Washington, D.C.

Blanchard said the campaign has its roots in Catholic social teaching, “starting with the foundational principle of the sacredness of every human life from conception to natural death.”

“This teaching stems from the fact that we are all created in the image of God and have inherent dignity,” Blanchard told CNA. 

“As Catholics we are called to work for the common good towards a just and peaceful society where everyone’s needs are met, especially those living in poverty and violence,” Blanchard said. 

She noted that the campaign — and other efforts like it — is about having “solidarity with those who are suffering the most from the effects of gun violence.”

Other congregations that helped sponsor the new campaign include the Benedictine Sisters of Baltimore Emmanuel Monastery; the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, Province of St. Louise; the Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart; the School Sisters of Notre Dame, Atlantic Midwest Province; Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, U.S. East-West Province; the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas; and the Oblate Sisters of Providence.

Springs of Love ministry founder Kimberly Henkel (right) speaks with “EWTN Pro-life Weekly” host Abi Galvan on May 28, 2025. / Credit: “EWTN Pro-life Weekly”

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 29, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A Catholic foster care ministry leader is calling for Catholic families to support vulnerable children and families by becoming foster parents. 

Springs of Love ministry founder Kimberly Henkel said many Catholics are unaware of the “huge crisis in our country” surrounding foster care, and people of faith are in a unique position to bring love to children in need of foster care. 

Henkel, who is a foster and adoptive mother herself, launched Springs of Love as a ministry to help other Catholic couples navigate the process of fostering. Henkel described the foster system as “very cyclical” and “difficult to break out of,” with children often passing from home to home. In the end, she said, children who age out of foster care with no family connections are often left increasingly prone to addiction, homelessness, and even trafficking.

“We have the answer,” Henkel said in an “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly” interview with host Abi Galvan on Tuesday. “We can help these children to heal by loving them … We have Jesus, the healer, the divine physician who can heal all of our wounds.”

According to Henkel, who founded Springs of Love in 2022, there are some 400,000 children in the foster care system. Approximately 20,000 will age out every year with no solid family foundation from which to embark on adulthood. 

“As my husband and I … started fostering and adopting, as we continued down the path, we just saw this need,” Henkel recalled. “So we started [Springs of Love] and are trying to No. 1, raise awareness, because so many Catholics have no idea” of the great need for foster families.

Springs of Love is currently working on releasing a new curriculum for prospective foster parents later this summer, Henkel said, noting that while much of it will touch on fostering from a pro-life perspective and the “joy of adoption,” it will also delve into more difficult aspects.

“A lot of the times when these kids are aging out,” she said, “they have no connections, they have nobody to look out for them.” Henkel noted that about 70% of young women who age out of the foster care system become pregnant within the first couple of years and either go on to “repeat the cycle” they experienced in their own lives or have an abortion.

“We’re really going in and trying to educate people,” Henkel said, “and doing it through the light of the Gospel to give people that hope that Christ can truly come into our hearts and bring the healing that we need.” 

Springs of Love has a video series on EWTN on Demand that tells the stories of foster families. The point, according to Henkel, is not only to raise awareness of the process of fostering a child but also to show that the aim of fostering is ultimately family reunification. 

“The goal of foster care is reunification, so if it is safe for a child to go back home, then we want to continue being a support to that family,” Henkel said. 

“This is how we can see a huge change, because when we’re dealing with these massive issues of homelessness, poverty, addictions, and trafficking, in order for people to break out of that, they need to be poured into,” she continued. “They need to know the love of Jesus [and] to have people to come alongside them and accompany them.”

Springs of Love is the sister organization of a ministry Henkel previously helped co-found called Springs in the Desert, which accompanies Catholic couples struggling with infertility and loss, “by offering a place of respite and solidarity,” as stated on its website.