St. James the Less Catholic Parish

Los Angeles Archbishop José Gómez. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 19, 2025 / 18:53 pm (CNA).

In an op-ed criticizing the current U.S. administration’s mass deportation efforts and immigration raids, Los Angeles Archbishop José Gómez urged the federal government instead to take a case-by-case approach on how it handles immigrants who are in the country illegally.

Gómez, who is himself an immigrant from Mexico and a naturalized citizen of the United States, penned the op-ed in the archdiocese-run Angelus News, in which he argued that the country needs “a new national conversation about immigration.”

According to Gómez, the conversation should be one that is “realistic and makes necessary moral and practical distinctions about those in our country illegally.”

The archbishop wrote that he is “deeply disturbed by the reports of federal agents detaining people in public places, apparently without showing warrants or evidence that those they are taking into custody are in the country illegally,” which he argued is “causing panic in our parishes and communities.”

“People are staying home from Mass and work, parks and stores are empty, the streets in many neighborhoods are silent,” Gómez indicated. “Families are staying behind locked doors, out of fear.”

Although the archbishop said “we may agree” that the previous administration in Washington “went too far in not securing our borders” and allowed “far too many people to enter our country without vetting,” he contended that the Trump administration “has offered no immigration policy beyond the stated goal of deporting thousands of people each day.”

“A great nation can take the time and care to make distinctions and judge each case on its merits,” the archbishop wrote.

Gómez stated that deportations for “known terrorists and violent criminals” are proper and that “we can tighten border security” and work to help employers ensure “the legal status of their employees.”

The archbishop went on to call for reforming the legal immigration system “to ensure that our nation has the skilled workers it needs” and maintains a “commitment to uniting families.” He further argued the government “should restore our moral commitments to providing asylum and protective status to genuine refugees and endangered populations.”

In addition, Gómez wrote that the solution should include a way for people “who have been in our country for many years” to obtain legal status. He noted that two-thirds of immigrants who are in the country illegally have been here for more than a decade and some were brought here as small children.

“The vast majority of ‘illegal aliens’ are good neighbors, hardworking men and women, people of faith,” the archbishop wrote. “They are making important contributions to vital sectors of the American economy: agriculture, construction, hospitality, health care, and more. They are parents and grandparents, active in our communities, charities, and churches.”

Gómez, who has been critical of the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans since the president took office, published the June 17 op-ed amid ongoing protests against immigration enforcement raids in Los Angeles, the country’s second most populous city. 

The protests started on June 6 after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested more than 40 immigrants in Los Angeles who were in the country illegally.

In an interview with CNA, Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge who is now resident fellow in law and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), disputed some of the archbishop’s characterizations of the Trump administration’s deportation efforts. CIS, which refers to itself as a “low-immigration, pro-immigrant” think tank, has been closely aligned with many of the Trump administration’s immigration initiatives.

Arthur, who is Catholic, noted that ICE arrested fewer than 50 people in Los Angeles on June 6 in a city where there are more than 900,000 immigrants who are in the country illegally. He noted that the arrests represented .004% of that population.

As Arthur sees it, the ICE raids in Los Angeles were focused on “businesses that are exploiting workers” and “individuals who have criminal histories.”

“Respectfully, I think that the bishop is working off of a misinformed belief of what’s happening,” Arthur said.

“Many of these reports are overblown,” he said. “Some of them are erroneous and some of them are just downright lies.”

Arthur argued that “statements like this feed the very panic that he’s attempting to address,” asserting that “I haven’t seen that there have been massive sweeps of individuals in the United States.” 

Since President Donald Trump assumed office five months ago, ICE has deported more than 100,000 immigrants who were in the country illegally, according to the White House. The administration has also sought to encourage those in the country illegally to self-deport as well. CIS estimates that there are nearly 15 million immigrants in the country illegally.

The United States Capitol. / Credit: vgm8383 via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

CNA Staff, Jun 19, 2025 / 18:33 pm (CNA).

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

House panel investigating Planned Parenthood’s use of federal funds

The U.S. House Oversight Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE) is opening an investigation into Planned Parenthood’s use of federal funds — an investigation that has long been demanded by pro-life lawmakers and leaders. 

The federal government subsidizes the abortion giant, but a federal law known as the Hyde Amendment prevents the federal government from directly funding abortions in most cases. But House Republicans have questions about Planned Parenthood’s use of federal funding, as the number of abortions offered by the organization has increased while its other health-care-related services have declined.

In fiscal year 2023, Planned Parenthood received nearly $800 million in federal funding. A report by Charlotte Lozier Institute found that abortions at Planned Parenthood increased while health services went down.

In response to the investigation, Planned Parenthood has launched an “I’m for Planned Parenthood” campaign with high-profile celebrities. 

Federal judge strikes down Biden-era abortion shield rule 

A federal judge in Texas struck down a Biden-era agency rule preventing the transmission of records of gender transitions and abortions to the authorities. 

The 2024 U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) rule banned the disclosure of information of someone who sought or obtained an abortion or gender transition to criminal, civil, or administrative investigations. 

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of Texas ruled on June 18 that HHS had exceeded its powers because the rule limited states from enforcing their public health laws. Kacsmaryk’s decision to nullify the rule applies nationwide and is effective immediately.

The decision comes as the result of a lawsuit by Dr. Carmen Purl, who had sued HHS over the rule, arguing that it conflicted with laws requiring her to report child abuse. Alliance Defending Freedom, the legal group representing Purl, maintained that the regulatory changes the agency made “illegally restrict how doctors can protect patients from the harms of abortion and “gender transition.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott approves pro-life monument 

Texas will construct a “Texas Life Monument” on the grounds of its state capitol complex.

Earlier this month, the state’s Catholic governor, Greg Abbott, signed a bill authorizing the Texas State Preservation Board to approve the construction of a “Texas Life Monument.” The resolution had passed with large majorities in both the Texas House and Senate. 

The 6-foot bronze monument depicts a mother with her unborn child cradled in her womb.  Sculpted by renowned artist Timothy Schmalz, the monument has been praised by local pro-life leadership.

Texas Values President Jonathan Saenz said the monument “makes it clear that Texas is pro-life.” 

The monument is a replica of the National Life Monument in Washington, D.C., and the original in the Church of San Marcello al Corso in Rome, which originally depicted the Blessed Virgin Mary with Jesus.

The states of Arkansas and Tennessee have also passed resolutions for official pro-life memorials.

Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia, announced June 18, 2025, that it will offer graduate degrees in education beginning in the fall. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Christendom College

CNA Staff, Jun 19, 2025 / 18:03 pm (CNA).

Christendom College announced that it will begin offering graduate degrees in education in what its president calls a “tremendous moment” for the college. 

In the fall, the first cohort of doctoral students will begin at the tight-knit liberal arts college in Front Royal, Virginia. The doctoral programs — accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges — will focus on traditional liberal arts and the Catholic intellectual tradition. 

The doctoral program is part of the college’s newly established Center for Educational Philosophy and Leadership, which will offer a 30-credit master’s degree in education designed for Catholic educators and administrators and a 54-credit doctorate of education. Organizers expect between 10-16 people in the inaugural cohort, according to a spokesman for Christendom.

Christendom President George Harne said he believes the graduate programs will enable the college of about 550 students to provide even deeper formation for leaders in the renewal of Catholic education. 

“For decades, we have formed undergraduates to be leaders in the Church and society,” Harne said in a June 18 statement. “Now, with this next step, we can provide even deeper intellectual and spiritual formation for those leading the renewal of Catholic education in America.”

“By forming educators who deeply understand human anthropology, the philosophy of Catholic education, and authentic leadership, Christendom hopes to shape schools into beacons of truth, beauty, and goodness for generations to come,” the press release read.

This is all connected to the college’s overarching mission, according to Vice President for Academic Affairs Kevin Tracy. 

“The mission of Christendom is to form men and women who will contribute to the Christian renovation of the temporal order,” Tracy said in a statement. 

Through the mission-aligned doctoral program, Tracy said the college “can share with the wider world how the Catholic intellectual tradition addresses the challenges that educators face today.”

Political advocacy and media organization CatholicVote announced on June 19, 2025, that Kelsey Reinhardt will be its new president. / Credit: CatholicVote

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 19, 2025 / 17:33 pm (CNA).

CatholicVote has named Kelsey Reinhardt to serve as its new president effective June 19, following the appointment of the organization’s co-founding leader, Brian Burch, as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See.

Reinhardt was previously the director of media and evangelization projects for CatholicVote, a national Catholic advocacy organization.

Before joining CatholicVote, Reinhardt served as executive director for the ACI group, an international network of news agencies operated by EWTN News (CNA’s parent company). Prior to her work with EWTN, Reinhardt had professed temporary vows with the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia. She holds a bachelor’s degree in theology from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in theology from the Augustine Institute. She also worked as a legislative correspondent for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on immigration and refugee issues. 

“I could not be more excited to serve such a noble cause,” Reinhardt said, according to CatholicVote. “Under Brian Burch’s fearless and Christ-centered leadership, CatholicVote has become one of the largest and most effective Catholic advocacy organizations in the country, making a difference in media, politics, law, and education.”

She continued: “The energy unleashed by the election of the first American pope provides American Catholics with the historic opportunity to look at our faith with gratitude and commit to incarnate that same faith with unprecedented energy and joy in the public square.”

Reinhardt comes to the position as Burch, who served as the organization’s president for 17 years, awaits Senate confirmation. CatholicVote had previously indicated that Burch would step down as president if confirmed by the Senate.

Senate Democrats blocked Burch’s confirmation last month, stalling the process ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural Mass. Senate Republicans had called for Burch’s nomination to be expedited through unanimous consent alongside the rest of President Trump’s ambassadorial nominees, but Democrats rejected the effort, forcing an individual vote on each nominee, including Burch, whose final confirmation vote is still pending.

An 1889 rendition by architects Bullard & Bullard of the National Emancipation Monument proposed for Springfield, Illinois (Library of Congress), superimposed on a 34-star U.S. flag dating to the Civil War. / Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 19, 2025 / 16:33 pm (CNA).

Catholic churches are celebrating the national holiday of Juneteenth this week by honoring the freedom won by formerly enslaved Black Americans at the end of the Civil War.

The National Museum of African American History calls the commemoration of Juneteenth, a federal holiday celebrated on June 19, the nation’s “second independence day.” The holiday marks General Order No. 3 that enforced the Emancipation Proclamation freeing enslaved African Americans in Texas in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that enslaved people were now all free.

Wendi Williams, executive director of cultural diversity and outreach for the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., noted many parishes started their Juneteenth celebrations early.

“This past weekend, dozens of parishes celebrated Juneteenth liturgies, as a Sunday Mass, and the various kinds of activities, gatherings, and fellowship that would follow the Mass,” she told CNA.

In Reston, Virginia, St. John Neumann Catholic Church celebrated the holiday on Saturday, June 14, with children’s activities, an interactive story time, a lecture, food, music, and dance. 

“This is our third year having a Juneteenth celebration,” said Elizabeth Wright, communications director for St. John Neumann Catholic Church. “It’s a combination of education and celebration. There’s history around the lunch and the foods we serve, trying to honor Black culture, African American culture, in every way.”

Spencer Crew, a professor of history at George Mason University and former interim director of the Smithsonian African American History Museum, hosted a lecture at the parish titled “Journey to Freedom: A Community Celebration.”

Wright emphasized that in their outreach they invite not just parishioners but the entire community.

North of the nation’s capital, meanwhile, in Sandy Spring, Maryland, multiple Christian denominations came together to host a community event earlier today called “Juneteenth: Freedom, Resilience, and Pursuit of Equality,” which featured music, dance, and the spoken word. 

Among the participating groups were the Africa and Diaspora Ministry of St. Augustine Catholic Church and the Anti-Racism Initiative of St. Camillus Parish. 

Steve Yank, leader of St. Camillus’ Anti-Racism Initiative, referenced a 2018 pastoral letter from the U.S. bishops for inspiration for the Juneteenth event.

“The bishops’ letter, ‘Open Wide Our Hearts,’ makes clear that racist acts are sinful … Sinful because they fail to acknowledge human dignity,” he explained. “In that spirit, the anti-racism initiative of the St. Camillus Justice Peace Integrity of Creation Ministry observes Juneteenth, a day to reflect on the evils of slavery and to celebrate freedom for enslaved Africans in America. It’s part of our charge to recognize life and human dignity as sacred.”

Williams connected the celebration of Juneteenth to synodality, a theme the late Pope Francis promoted. 

“Synodality is walking with people. Synodality is bringing people together. Discussions shape dialogue. Bringing different speakers that are fluent in particular subjects helps the faithful learn from different vantage points,” she said.

“We invite the faithful and the broader community to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved African Americans to reflect on the dignity of every human person. [Juneteenth is] a sacred opportunity for us to affirm our shared human dignity while also celebrating the rich heritage of African Americans.”

St. Adalbert Parish in Chicago. / Credit: Gregg Nagel

CNA Staff, Jun 19, 2025 / 12:53 pm (CNA).

The Chicago City Council on Wednesday voted to extend protection status to a historic Catholic parish in the city, handing a win to advocates who for years have urged the local government to protect the more-than-century-old structure.

City leaders voted at their June 18 meeting to designate St. Adalbert’s Parish in the Pilsen neighborhood as a Designated Chicago Landmark. The city government says that designated landmarks are subject to stricter development rules, including approval from the government regarding if, and how, they may be altered or changed.

Preservationists hailed the designation on Wednesday. “BRAVO!!” Preservation Chicago wrote in an X post on Wednesday afternoon.

The preservation group has been at the helm of efforts to preserve the church from demolition and development. They noted on Wednesday that the building has appeared on the group’s “most endangered” historic property list multiple times over the years.

Ward Miller, the executive director of Preservation Chicago, told CNA that the vote demonstrates that churches like St. Adalbert’s are “really fabulous monuments in our city.”

“Particularly in Chicago, we had really wonderful architects that did some amazing work here,” he said. “It’s a great stride forward.”

Miller praised the Archdiocese of Chicago for backing the recent landmark designation.

“It’s wonderful to have the Archdiocese of Chicago working with us toward preservation of these great monuments,” he said.

Buildings and structures like St. Adalbert’s “were built by people with pennies, nickels, and dimes,” he said.

“It’s not just people of the Catholic faith — we all should be working toward this,” he said. “I think preservation needs to be a perpetual idea.”

Historic parishes struggle to stay open around U.S.

The yearslong preservation effort in Chicago underscores regular ongoing conflicts in cities around the United States where Catholics have fought to preserve historic parishes facing threats of closure and destruction.

Yearslong declines in attendance, financial troubles, and physical deterioration have rendered many once-vibrant parishes emptier and without support, oftentimes becoming liabilities for dioceses who themselves are cash-strapped.

In some cases parishioners have resorted to novel efforts to save their churches. A group of parishioners in the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, last year acquired a historic church from the diocese, preserving it as a chapel and place of worship.

Earlier this year the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation announced a U.S.-based initiative to provide tens of millions of dollars to Catholic parishes and organizations across the country to “restore and endow” Catholic communities around the country “for generations to come.”

Other parishes have struggled to stay afloat, such as St. Casimir in Buffalo, New York, which has mounted efforts in recent years to pay its considerable bills and remain open as a house of worship and historic site.

St. Adalbert’s has seen similar efforts at preservation. The parish community dates to 1874 and has served Polish immigrants and their descendants as well as the Mexican-American community more recently.

The present soaring Gothic cathedral-style structure — designed by noted Chicago architect Henry Schlacks — was completed in 1914.

Parishioners have been fighting to preserve the structure and its surrounding buildings for years. In 2016 the Archdiocese of Chicago announced that due to “the dangerous state of repair and prohibitive costs of repair and maintenance,” the parish would be “reduced to uses other than divine worship.”

Among the necessary repairs was a $3 million structural restoration of the parish’s two towers, the archdiocese said.

In 2019 the archdiocese announced that the building was “relegated to profane but not sordid use,” meaning the parish would “no longer be a sacred space and may not be used for worship.”

Advocates told CNA last year that the archdiocese had previously offered them the parish for free before withdrawing the deal, though the archdiocese sharply disputed that claim, stating that supporters of the parish “were never able to come up with a realistic plan or viable funding source for the property’s acquisition, upkeep, or redevelopment.”

Though it has been afforded some protection from development, St. Adalbert’s may still be sold for non-Catholic use; a nondenominational church is reportedly seeking to buy the property.

The landmark protection, meanwhile, does not cover the parish’s entire campus, which includes a rectory, school, and convent.

Still, Miller said, advocates are “very pleased that there appears to be a path forward.”

“These are not just faith centers,” he said. “They’re humanitarian centers that provide things from counseling to schools to family dinners. We should all be working together to come to a common ground in preserving them.

Demand among Catholic families in northern Virginia has spurred the leadership of the St. Jerome Institute, a classical liberal arts high school in Washington, D.C., to announce plans to open a second campus in the Diocese of Arlington. / Credit: St. Jerome Institute

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 19, 2025 / 09:36 am (CNA).

Demand among Catholic families in northern Virginia has spurred the leadership of the St. Jerome Institute, a classical liberal arts high school in Washington, D.C., to announce plans to open a second campus in the Diocese of Arlington.

The proposed opening of the new school comes six years after the institute first launched in the nation’s capital, where enrollment has grown from three to 65 students. Pending final approval from the Diocese of Arlington, the school will operate independently with an education plan developed by its own curriculum board. 

“The school has been and remains in communication with St. Philip’s pastor and the diocese about the possibility of St. Philip being the location for SJI NOVA and both sides continue to work through the details of the potential arrangement,” Mary Shaffrey, a spokeswoman for the Arlington Diocese, told the Washington Times.

“We see that one of the great problems in American culture is the fragmentation between faith and reason,” Andrew Shivone, president of the St. Jerome Institute (SJI), told CNA regarding the school’s mission. “What we want to do is structure our curriculum, structure our culture, structure even the common life that we live together in the truth of Christ and have that truth ordering everything else that we do at the school.” 

Students at St. Jerome’s participate in small seminar-style classes, engaging with the school’s unique liberal arts curriculum.

“From the epic tales of Odysseus and Beowulf to the quiet heroism of Walter Ciszek in Soviet Russia, from the deceptive simplicity of counting to the surprising complexity of the natural logarithm, SJI presents the inspiring beauty of our world in ways that lead students to deeper understanding and lifelong mastery,” the school’s website states.

Students at the St. Jerome Institute experience a tight-knit and active community, whether it be through their seminar discussions, communal morning prayer, extracurricular activities, or rigorous observance of feast days on the liturgical calendar.

“There are a lot of really good Catholic schools in the Arlington Diocese,” Shivone emphasized. “But for those families who are particularly interested in a Catholic liberal arts education, we fit that niche.”

Much like the founding of the original school, the St. Jerome Institute’s decision to launch plans for its second location in northern Virginia comes at the request of local Catholic parents. 

“The northern Virginia Catholic community already possesses a beautiful parish life and really beautiful, authentic Catholic communities of parents, priests, and … kids,” Shivone said. “This seems to be a perfect addition to a community that already exists.”

A curriculum modeled after classical ‘innovation’

Faculty at the St. Jerome Institute will meet this week for their annual summer curriculum symposium, Shivone told CNA. There, teachers will work with the school’s curriculum board to review what works “and seek even deeper integration, philosophically and theologically, with all of the subjects.”

Integration, Shivone noted, is key to the school’s curriculum model.

“We aspire to cultivate and develop what is most human in our students precisely by incorporating them into the rich tradition of Catholic humanism,” the institute’s education plan states.

It continues: “This is their birthright as Catholics and children of the West. Included in this twofold integration are those aptitudes and attitudes belonging to a well-educated person, fully alive: the capacity for wonder, and the ability to read well, write well, speak well, and think well.”

Ultimately, the structure of the curriculum is modeled according to several themes, Shivone explained: God in nature, God in the person, and God in the community. Students end on a “major in-depth study of the Trinity.”

“It’s not simply that they’re able to translate Cicero or something like that, which is a good thing,” Shivone reflected. He said the institute typically interviews its students a few months after graduation, and what they most often report having retained from their experience is “the habit of wonder.”

Vision for the new school

The new school’s curriculum would contain many of the same “essential” elements as the existing school, according to Shivone.

However, he said, “we want the new school to receive what we are, and then from that, develop it in freedom,” since the aim of the school is to pursue an “education in freedom.”

Its class sizes will be similar to the D.C. school, with 16 to 18 students in a section and two sections per class.

Shivone said he expects the new school to enroll “anywhere between 30 and 60 [ninth- and 10th-grade] students” in the fall of 2026.

Ultimately, St. Jerome will cap its overall student population at 120 to 140 students in order to maintain the ideal class size for its seminar-style courses. If the demand for enrollment goes beyond that number, Shivone said the institute would consider the possibility of opening another school to accommodate.

“For us, a school is a community of people learning together,” he said. “And there is, just by necessity, a certain size to that. Once it gets larger, it ceases to be a community.”

This story was updated on June 19, 2025, at 3:02 p.m. ET with updated information and to note that the plan is still pending approval from the Arlington Diocese.

Venerable Augustus Tolton. / Credit: Public domain

CNA Staff, Jun 19, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

On June 19, the United States commemorates the anniversary of the 1865 order that gave freedom to enslaved African Americans in Texas, issued two months after the Civil War ended. More commonly known as “Juneteenth,” it became a federal holiday in 2021 and serves as a fitting day to remember the first Black Catholic priest in the U.S. whose cause has been opened for canonization — Venerable Augustus Tolton.

Tolton was born into slavery in Brush Creek, Ralls County, Missouri, on April 1, 1854, to Catholic parents Peter Paul Tolton and Martha Jane Chisley.

Peter Paul escaped shortly after the beginning of the Civil War and joined the Union Army, dying shortly thereafter. In 1862, Augustus Tolton, along with his mother and two siblings, escaped by crossing the Mississippi River into Illinois. 

“John, boy, you’re free. Never forget the goodness of the Lord,” Tolton’s mother reportedly told him after the crossing.

Tolton began to attend St. Peter’s Catholic School, an all-white parish school in Quincy, Illinois, thanks to the help of Father Peter McGirr. The priest went on to baptize Tolton, instruct him for his first holy Communion, and encouraged his vocation to the priesthood.

No American seminary would accept Tolton because of his race, so he studied for the priesthood in Rome and was ordained in 1886 at the age of 31, becoming the first African American ordained as a priest.

Tolton returned to the U.S. where he served for three years at a parish in Quincy. From there he went to Chicago and started a parish for Black Catholics — St. Monica Parish. He remained there until he died unexpectedly while on a retreat in 1897. He was just 43 years old. 

During his short but impactful life, Tolton learned to speak fluent English, German, Italian, Latin, Greek, and African dialects. He was also a talented musician with a beautiful voice. He helped the poor and sick, fed the hungry, and helped many discover the faith. He was lovingly known as “Good Father Gus.”

Tolton’s cause was opened by the Archdiocese of Chicago on Feb. 24, 2011, making him a servant of God, and then on June 12, 2019, Pope Francis declared him venerable, which is the second step toward canonization.

Addressing the committee who was to decide where Tolton would be sent after his ordination in 1886 and who overruled the previous decision to send him to Africa, Cardinal Giovanni Simeoni reportedly said the following: “America has been called the most enlightened nation in the world. We shall see whether it deserves that honor. If the United States has never before seen a Black priest, it must see one now.”

Despite President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation going into effect on Jan. 1, 1863, it could not be implemented in states still under Confederate control, and enforcement of the proclamation relied upon the advance of Union troops. It wasn’t until Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger and some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, on June 19, 1865, that more than 250,000 enslaved African Americans were freed by executive decree.

This story was first published on June 19, 2024, and has been updated.

“Witnesses to Hope” is the theme for the 2025 Religious Freedom Week, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced June 18, 2025. / Credit: Freedom Studio/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 18, 2025 / 18:43 pm (CNA).

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is commemorating 2025 Religious Freedom Week with the theme “Witnesses to Hope,” according to a June 18 announcement.

Religious Freedom Week, which the USCCB first launched in 2018, begins on Sunday, June 22 — the feast of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher — and runs through Sunday, June 29 — the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul.

The USCCB is urging Catholics to “pray, reflect, and act to promote religious freedom” during the week. The conference is also asking the faithful to contact their senators in support of school choice in the Senate budget reconciliation bill, which could benefit Catholic schools.

In its announcement, the USCCB stated that the theme “builds on the annual [religious freedom] report released earlier this year by the conference’s Committee for Religious Liberty that highlights the impact of political polarization on religious freedom.”

The USCCB’s Jan. 16 annual report on the state of religious liberty expressed concerns about policies on immigration, gender ideology, abortion, and in vitro fertilization (IVF).

In the January report, the bishops wrote that Catholic nongovernmental organizations are being “singled out for special hostility” and referenced the El Paso-based Annunciation House, which Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking to shut down. After the report was issued, President Donald Trump’s administration stripped some federal funds from Catholic organizations that provide foreign aid and domestic services for migrants.

The report also criticized proposed rules that push gender ideology onto schools and hospitals, which Trump has reversed. The bishops also expressed concerns about potential bills to impose abortion, contraception, or IVF coverage mandates for health insurance policies.

In its June 18 news release, the USCCB also announced a religious liberty essay contest the bishops organized with the Secretariat of Catholic Education and Our Sunday Visitor Institute. According to the bishops, the top essays from the competition will be published during Religious Freedom Week.

The Blessed Sacrament is seen through the window of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage van moments before departure from St. John the Evangelist Church in Indianapolis on May 18, 2025. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

CNA Staff, Jun 18, 2025 / 18:23 pm (CNA).

The National Eucharistic Congress has changed the route and agenda for the conclusion of the 2025 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in Los Angeles this Sunday, citing safety concerns. 

The culmination of the St. Katherine Drexel pilgrimage route will no longer include a Eucharistic procession through downtown Los Angeles but will instead remain on the grounds of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, and the festival that was to follow the procession has been canceled entirely. 

The route adjustment and festival cancellation follows recent riots in Los Angeles over deportations of unauthorized immigrants. The unrest began in early June. More than 350 people have been arrested since, and the Los Angeles mayor only recently lifted a curfew.

The change of plans is designed to ensure the safety of participants while still “providing an opportunity for the people of God to come together in prayer and community,” according to National Eucharistic Congress President Jason Shanks.

“Based upon our conversations with LAPD this week, we feel confident that this new plan ensures the safety of all involved while still bringing the Eucharistic presence of Our Lord to downtown L.A. in this intentional way,” Shanks said in a June 18 statement. 

Organizers noted that “the center of the 2025 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage is not an event but a Person.”

More than 3,000 people from around the U.S. are registered to attend the pilgrimage’s culminating June 22 Corpus Christi Mass and procession, according to organizers. The Mass will still take place at the downtown cathedral on Sunday afternoon along with the scaled-down procession.

The pilgrimage, named for St. Katharine Drexel, which follows the unprecedented four national pilgrimages that took place during the summer of 2024, is organized to bear witness to the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. 

The 3,300-mile, 10-state trek began in mid-May in Indianapolis and included a group of eight young Catholic “Perpetual Pilgrims.”

The perpetual pilgrims have endured a lot already, encountering anti-Catholic protestors along the route. Nevertheless, the pilgrims endeavored to preserve a spirit of quiet prayer amid the rowdy protests.

According to the updated schedule released by the National Eucharistic Congress, on the final day of the St. Katharine Drexel pilgrimage route Catholics will gather for Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels at 3 p.m., as originally planned. The apostolic nuncio to the United States, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, will celebrate, while Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles will preach the homily. Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, and all the Los Angeles bishops will concelebrate along with them.

The Eucharistic procession is scheduled to begin after Mass, at approximately 4:30 p.m. Rather than going through the public streets of downtown, the procession will proceed through the cathedral plaza with several stops along the way. 

The bishops will then take the Eucharistic Lord onto Temple Street — a main street in front of the cathedral, which will be closed to traffic — to bless the city. The prayerful event will conclude with a final Benediction inside the cathedral. 

Amid the changes, Shanks said “revival can’t be stopped by circumstance.”

“The flames of Eucharistic faith continue to spread nationwide,” he continued. “Now more than ever, we are calling Catholics across the country to become Eucharistic missionaries: to carry the fire of revival into your homes, your parishes, and your communities.”