The Catholic Church in East St. James Parish

null / kristina sohappy via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 27, 2024 / 15:15 pm (CNA).

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Catholic, signed legislation on Wednesday that prevents males from entering women’s and girls’ locker rooms, showers, and bathrooms in the state’s public and private K-12 schools and colleges. 

The new law requires that schools and colleges separate gender-specific facilities on the basis of biological sex, rather than self-asserted gender identity. This prevents men and boys from using facilities that are designated for only women and girls and vice versa, even if the person identifies as transgender. 

“This landmark legislation reflects the will of Ohio voters who demanded bold, common-sense action to protect privacy and safety in school restrooms and other shared spaces,” read a statement issued by the Ohio Republican Party and posted on X. 

“This is more than just a law — it’s a fulfillment of Ohio’s mandate to prioritize the dignity and safety of young women,” the statement added. 

Under the new law, schools cannot establish facilities that are “nongendered” or “open to all genders,” but schools can create “family facilities.” 

The legislation includes exceptions for young children who need assistance from a parent or guardian. It also includes an exception for people with disabilities who need assistance.

Per the legislation, schools also cannot permit boys and girls to share overnight accommodations, regardless of whether one of them self-identifies as transgender.

The language was included in a bill that amends a college credit program.

Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Sara Beth Nolan praised DeWine for signing the legislation. 

“States have a duty to protect the privacy, safety, and dignity of women and young girls,” Nolan said.

“Yet certain advocacy organizations — and the Biden-Harris administration through its Title IX rule change — are demanding that states devalue women by eliminating longstanding, distinct private spaces for males and females,” Nolan continued. “Allowing males into women and girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms is an invasion of privacy and can even be a threat to their safety.”

The Biden-Harris Department of Education revised Title IX regulations in April to reinterpret the law’s prohibition on “sex” discrimination to include a prohibition on discriminating against a person based on his or her self-asserted gender identity.

The rule change was blocked by courts in more than half of the country after state attorneys general sued the department out of concern that it would overrule state laws restricting athletic competitions, locker rooms, and bathrooms on the basis of biological sex.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio criticized DeWine for signing the bill into law.

“We will always have the backs of our trans community,” the ACLU statement on X said. “Every Ohioan deserves the freedom to be loved, to be safe, to be trusted with decisions about healthcare and to access the facilities that align with their gender identity,” the statement continued.

In January, DeWine vetoed legislation to prohibit doctors from providing minors with transgender drugs and surgeries, but Republican lawmakers voted to override his veto and the law went into effect earlier this year. The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio filed an unsuccessful lawsuit to prevent the law from going into effect, but has appealed the loss.

A sign hangs above a Planned Parenthood clinic on May 18, 2018, in Chicago, Illinois. / Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images

CNA Staff, Nov 27, 2024 / 05:30 am (CNA).

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life related policy developments in the United States.

Lawmakers ask for investigation into abortion funding

More than 100 members of Congress asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the amount of federal funding given to abortion providers nationally and internationally over the past three years, including Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its affiliates.  

One hundred and twelve members of Congress signed the Nov. 22 letter spearheaded by House Pro-Life Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL), and Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY). Eighty-one House members and 31 Senators signed the letter, including top leaders such as House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), and incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).

A 2023 GAO report found that from 2019-2021, the U.S .government provided $1.89 billion in federal funding to abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood Federation of America and MSI Reproductive Choices. 

Republican congressmen seek to stop expansion of IVF for military 

Two Republican representatives urged the House and Senate Armed Services committees to not expand health insurance coverage of in vitro fertilization (IVF) for military personnel, citing high costs and ethical concerns.

In a Nov. 21 letter, Reps. Matt Rosendale (MT) and Josh Brecheen (OK) asked committee leaders in both chambers to not include provisions that expand access to the method of fertility treatment that involves artificially creating many embryos, most of which are never born.

In the letter, Rosendale and Brecheen noted, “There are no limits under current law on how many embryos can be created in an IVF cycle.” The two said that the Centers for Disease Control could not provide “basic information” such as how many embryos are screened for sex selection or genetic abnormalities, or how many embryos are destroyed each year.

The representatives noted that in 2021 there were “4.1 million embryonic children created through IVF, but only 97,128 of those children were born,” meaning only 2.3% of embryonic children are ever born, according to numbers from the CDC and the Family Research Council.  The representatives called on Congress to “protect the most vulnerable and reject any provision that leads to the destruction of innocent human life.” 

When it comes to IVF, lawmakers hold opposing views. Proponents tout the technology as pro-family, while opponents point to the loss of unborn life that is an inherent part of the process. Rosendale, a Catholic who is retiring from Congress, shares these latter, moral and ethical concerns. 

The Catholic Church teaches that IVF is not a moral method of fertility treatment because it separates conception from the marital act and because multiple embryos are created only to be discarded. 

Texas bill could reclassify abortion pills as controlled substances

A bill has been introduced in the Texas legislature to reclassify abortion pills as Schedule IV substances, meaning the drugs would be considered controlled substances. The drugs are used in abortions, as well as for miscarriage care and other uses. The first pill in the regimen, mifepristone, deprives the unborn child of necessary nutrients, while the second pill, misoprostol, induces the delivery of the deceased child. 

Pat Curry, Republican from Waco, filed HB 1339 Nov. 14. If passed, the bill would take effect Sept. 1, 2025. It would also designate the muscle relaxant carisoprodol as a controlled substance, in addition to the two abortion drugs. The Texas Controlled Substance Act dictates that possession of a fraudulent prescription is punishable by a fine of up to $2,000 or 180 days in jail. 

The measure follows the state of Louisiana's abortion pill reclassification earlier this year.

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, with a capacity of 6,000 in its upper church, was standing room only for the National Prayer Vigil for Life in 2024. / Credit: Photo by Joe Bukuras/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 27, 2024 / 05:00 am (CNA).

The U.S. bishops are calling on faithful Catholics across the country to join them in person or virtually at their National Prayer Vigil for Life in Washington D.C., which takes place every year on the eve of the March for Life. 

Co-hosted by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB), The Catholic University of America’s Office of Campus Ministry, and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., the vigil will take place from the evening of Thursday, Jan. 23 to the morning of Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. 

“I enthusiastically invite Catholics from all around the country to join me in-person or virtually, in praying for an end to abortion and building up a culture of life,” stated Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of Toledo, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, in a press release. 

“Together, we must pray to change hearts and build a culture of life as we advocate for the most vulnerable. I look forward to opening our Vigil with Holy Mass together with many other bishops, hundreds of priests, consecrated religious, seminarians, and many thousands of pilgrims,” he added. 

The event will kick off with an opening Mass celebrated by Bishop Thomas in the main sanctuary at the Basilica of the National Shrine on Thursday evening. Mass will be followed by a Eucharistic procession and Holy Hour, which will include a Rosary and the Benediction. 

The vigil will conclude on Friday morning before the March for Life with an 8 a.m. Mass celebrated by Bishop Robert Brennan of Brooklyn. 

U.S. Catholics may participate in the vigil via livestream on the Basilica’s website, or view EWTN’s live television broadcasts on Thursday from 5-8 p.m. and Friday from 8-9 a.m.

Full schedule: 

Thursday, January 23:

4:45 p.m.      Chaplet of Divine Mercy

5:00 p.m.    Opening Mass with Bishop Thomas

7:00 p.m.    Holy Hour for Life

Friday, January 24:

8:00 a.m.    Closing Mass with Bishop Brennan

The March for Life will begin with a pre-rally at 11 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 24. Professional surfer and EveryLife founder Bethany Hamilton will be the keynote speaker at this year’s event, for which the theme is “Every Life: Why We March.”

Black smoke billows over the city after drone strikes in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Sept. 19, 2023, amid Russia's military invasion on Ukraine. Drones attacked Ukraine's western city of Lviv early on Sept. 19, and explosions rang out, causing a warehouse fire and wounding at least one person. / Credit: YURIY DYACHYSHYN/AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 26, 2024 / 16:10 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis called for an end to global production and use of anti-personnel explosives in a message delivered at an international summit on abolishing landmines, one week after U.S. President Joe Biden approved Ukraine’s use of American land mines in the Russia-Ukraine war. 

“Conflicts are a failure of humanity to live as a single human family,” the Holy Father expressed in his letter, which was read by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin at the Fifth Review Conference on the Convention of Anti-Personnel Landmines in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

“These treacherous devices continue to cause terrible suffering to civilians, especially children,” he added. 

The International Mine Ban Treaty, also known as the Ottawa Treaty, is an international agreement to end the production and use of anti-personnel mines that went into force in March 1999. One hundred and sixty-four state parties have formally agreed to abide by the agreement, including Ukraine. 

The pope “urges all states that have not yet done so to accede to the convention, and in the meantime to cease immediately the production and use of land mines,” Parolin stated to the delegation. 

The United States, Russia, and China are among the 33 states which have not yet agreed to abide by the agreement. 

Francis also appealed to countries that have already entered into the agreement, urging them to renew their commitment to end use of the explosives, stressing that any delays in doing so “will inevitably increase the human cost.” 

The Holy Father’s urgent appeal to the convention comes one week after President Biden approved the provision of anti-personnel mines to Ukraine, in order to bolster its defense against Russian advances in the east. 

Biden’s move to authorize the controversial explosives follows closely his decision to give Ukraine permission to fire long-range American missiles at Russia. The Kremlin has responded by lowering the threshold in which it would use its nuclear arsenal. 

The Pope this week further recognized the work of the land mine conference, and all of those dedicated to ending use of land mines, as well as those who assist victims’ families.

The Holy Father prayed that the objectives of the conference inspired by the treaty “may become an important step towards a world free of landmines and ensure a truly integral and restorative assistance to victims.” 

Francis himself delivered a similar pro-peace message at an event on the same day, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Argentina and Chile. 

“We do well to commemorate those intense negotiations that, with papal mediation, avoided the armed conflict about to set two brother peoples against each other and concluded with a dignified, reasonable and equitable solution,” the Holy Father said in his address. 

“In this regard, how can I not refer to the many ongoing armed conflicts that remain still unresolved, despite the fact that they cause immense sufferings for the countries at war and the entire human family,” Francis said, further rebuking countries “where there is much talk of peace [but where] the highest yielding investments are in the production of arms.”

“I simply mention two failures of humanity today: Ukraine and Palestine, where people are suffering, where the arrogance of the invader prevails over dialogue,” he told the delegation. Francis has been vocal in his opposition to the ongoing conflicts in both regions since their respective beginnings.

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims at his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Oct. 9, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 26, 2024 / 14:50 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Monday clarified that the final Synod on Synodality document — which calls for structural changes, including more lay and women participation in the Church — is part of the Church’s ordinary magisterium and should be implemented by dioceses and churches. 

“[The final document] participates in the ordinary magisterium of the successor of Peter, and as such, I ask that it be accepted," Francis wrote in a Nov. 25 note about the 52-page document.

In his note, he clarifies that the final document is part of “the authentic teaching of the Bishop of Rome.”

Rather than publishing his own post-synodal document, the pontiff instead approved the synod’s final document in full on Oct. 26, the same day the synod issued it. Francis wrote in the note that by signing the document, he joined the “we” of the assembly participants who directed the document to the people of God.

“[The final document] can already now be implemented in the local churches and groupings of churches, taking into account different contexts, what has already been done and what remains to be done in order to learn and develop ever better the style proper to the missionary synodal church,” the pontiff wrote, according to the Catholic News Service.

"Local churches and groupings of churches are now called upon to implement, in different contexts, the authoritative indications contained in the document, through the processes of discernment and decision-making provided by law and by the document itself," Francis added.

The Holy Father wrote that the conclusion of the Synod on Synodality "does not end the synodal process.” 

The document calls for strengthening pastoral councils at the parish and diocesan level, but adds that such authority “is not without limits,” noting that the authority of the local bishop and the pontiff “in regard to decision-taking is inviolable.”

Additionally, the document calls for more lay participation in all ecclesiastical decision making. It specifically calls for more women in leadership roles but does not settle the question about a possible women’s diaconate. It also condemns exclusion based on a person’s “marital situation, identity, or sexuality.”

In the note, Francis emphasized that the final document is "not strictly normative" and that local churches should discern how to implement the document in a way that is consistent with the needs of their country and their region. However, he said, “Local churches [are obligated] to make choices consistent with what was indicated.” 

“Each country or region, moreover, can seek solutions better suited to its culture and sensitive to its traditions and local needs,” Francis wrote, directly quoting his apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia.

"In many cases, it is a matter of effectively implementing what is already provided for in existing law, Latin and Eastern," Francis wrote.

The pontiff also wrote in his note that bishops will report to the Vatican on the way in which they are implementing the document within their dioceses when making their required trip to Rome to meet with Vatican officials. 

"[Bishops] will report on the choices made in their local Church concerning the indications in the Final Document, the difficulties encountered, and the fruits achieved, and are called to report on progress during their ad limina visits, sharing both challenges and fruits of their efforts,” Francis wrote, according to Vatican News, the official news outlet of the Holy See.

“This journey has allowed the Church to read her own experiences and identify steps to live communion, realize participation, and promote the mission entrusted to her by Christ,” Francis wrote. 

Vatican dicasteries and the General Secretariat of the Synod will oversee the bishops’ implementation of the final document. 

null / Credit: RasyidArt, Shutterstock.

CNA Staff, Nov 26, 2024 / 13:07 pm (CNA).

The superintendent of a Wisconsin Catholic school system has been fired along with a high school principal after officials there reportedly found violations of diocesan safe environment protocols meant to protect children from sexual abuse. 

Kate Heim, the interim president of St. Francis Xavier Catholic School System in Appleton, Wisconsin, said in a letter to parents last week that Xavier High School Principal Mike Mauthe and St. Francis Xavier Catholic School System superintendent John Ravizza were both let go by the school system after an investigation by the diocese. 

In the letter, obtained by Fox affiliate WLUK-TV, Heim told parents that the Diocese of Green Bay Office of Safe Environment had received “a complaint” that initially led to Mauthe’s being put on administrative leave. 

After an investigation, Mauthe was found to have violated the diocese’s “Our Promise to Protect” safe environment policy. Mauthe was subsequently fired from his position due to the reported violation. 

Heim said that Ravizza also “fail[ed] to meet reporting requirements” in connection with the investigation, and as a result, he was also fired.

The diocese reported the matter to police in accordance with state mandatory reporting rules, Heim noted. 

“Because this is a personnel issue, we are not at liberty to share the specifics of the situation such as the contents of the complaint, victim identity, and details regarding the evidence,” the interim president said in the letter.

Community members had started a petition to have Mauthe re-instated at the high school prior to Heim’s letter. In a Facebook post responding to those efforts, Mauthe urged the community to undertake “no petitions [and] no protesting” in response to his firing. 

The controversy “has given me a lot of time to think about how much I chase things like attention and importance to people, how I have an unhealthy attachment to trying to help, and how my actions can hurt and harm, even when that's the opposite of what I intend,” he wrote. 

“I am not a victim,” Mauthe added. “I broke a policy and accept the consequence for doing so. No excuses, no caveats.”

“During my career, I did not always maintain the proper boundaries of communication. That responsibility was mine,” he said. “I need to be better and I own my failures for any times that I've fallen short of who I strive to be.”

The petition was reportedly signed by “well over 600 people” before Mauthe requested the effort cease. 

The St. Francis Xavier school system includes an elementary school, middle school, and high school. Appleton is located about 30 miles south of Green Bay. 

The Diocese of Green Bay did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. 

Georgetown University, located in Washington, DC, is the nation's oldest Catholic and Jesuit university. / Credit: Rob Crandall, Shutterstock.

CNA Staff, Nov 26, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

When Georgetown Law student Brittany Lovely, who is scheduled to give birth in December — shortly before final exams — asked for permission to take her test early, late, or remotely, the answer she got from the Catholic university was a flat denial. 

Citing university policy, the school’s administrators told Lovely that granting her accommodations would be “inequitable to other non-birthing students in her class,” she told the Washington Post. 

“Motherhood is not for the faint of heart,” she said she was told. She was given a choice: She could either take the exam soon after childbirth with her newborn or fail and request to withdraw from the class. Even when her doctor weighed in, calling Lovely’s request both “reasonable and necessary,” the law school refused to budge. 

Only after students banded together to organize a petition, which quickly went viral, did Lovely get permission to schedule her exam ahead of the birth of her baby.  

Lovely said in a letter shared with CNA that she has “finally received the accommodations I’ve been requesting for months for my upcoming finals” but shared her fear that other pregnant students may face similar challenges with the administration. 

The university changed its exam accommodations and deferral policy “for this semester only,” Lovely explained. She requested that the university “make a public commitment to reforming its policies regarding accommodations moving forward,” she noted in the letter. 

“They agreed to work with me on a just and equitable policy agenda for pregnant, childbearing, and childrearing students in the coming months,” Lovely said of Georgetown Law.

A university spokesperson confirmed with CNA that the administration “reached a mutually agreeable solution” with Lovely. The university declined to comment on the specifics of Lovely’s case. 

“Georgetown is committed to providing a caring, supportive environment for pregnant and parenting students,” the spokesperson said, noting that Georgetown provides resources for students “while they are pregnant or parenting including pregnancy-related adjustments from the Office of Title IX Compliance and disability accommodations from our Academic Resource Center.”

But for Lovely, “the fight is not over yet.” 

“No student should be forced to choose between their education, health, or the health of their family,” she said. “My classmates and I will continue advocating until it is certain Georgetown Law does not force any students to make that choice again.”  

At Georgetown Law, only the Office of Registrar has the power to grant exam deferrals and exam rescheduling for finals, not the professor. 

Georgetown Law will consider exam deferrals for several reasons, including “childbirth during the exam period or immediately preceding the exam period,” according to its website. The administration will also consider deferrals for physical or mental illness, a death in the family, car accidents, religious observance, military commitment, and other “extraordinary circumstances.” 

But according to Lovely, she is not the only one who has faced challenges getting accommodations. 

Peers and alumni “have shared their own horror stories of trying to get reasonable accommodations at Georgetown Law for their childbirth, medical emergencies, and disabilities, only to be offered a generalized solution of more time for an exam,” Lovely said. “They have told me the callous responses to their requests during their most vulnerable times.”

“As I have said from the beginning, this was never just about me — this is about all pregnant, childbearing, and child-rearing students and about all students with disabilities or those needing accommodations, present and future,” Lovely said. 

A moral duty

Lovely’s classmates launched the petition on her behalf last week, stating that “Georgetown Law has a legal and moral duty to support pregnant students during the regular school year or finals.” 

Postpartum recovery usually takes about six weeks after childbirth. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, “the weeks following birth are a critical period for a woman and her infant, setting the stage for long-term health and well-being.” Childbirth often comes with medical challenges that require a long recovery, especially if a woman faces medical issues such as tearing or Cesarean section. 

“Georgetown Law suggested Brittany bring her days-old child to campus a few days after birth, with minimal recovery, to take the exam with more time so she can breastfeed her newborn baby during the exam,” the petition noted. “They told her, ‘Motherhood is not for the faint of heart.’” 

Newborn babies need to be fed every two to three hours and are more susceptible to germs as their immune systems are not fully developed, meaning they are at a higher risk of developing infections. Few babies are born on their exact due date, and physicians often advise that parents avoid bringing their newborn to crowded places. 

Based in Washington, D.C., Georgetown University is a Jesuit university and the first Catholic higher education institution in the United States. According to its website, Georgetown University aims to approach education from the central Jesuit tenet of “cura personalis,” a Latin phrase meaning “care of the whole person.” 

One alum, Max Siegel II, argued that the administration’s refusal of Lovely’s accommodation “contradicts this fundamental value.” 

“Cura personalis calls on us to provide care and individualized attention to each person, respecting their unique circumstances and concerns,” Siegel said in a post in which he urged students to sign the petition. Siegel heads the Student Bar Association, the law school’s student government. 

The Catholic Church teaches the importance of the “life and dignity of the human person,” one of the seven themes of Catholic social teaching. “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception,” according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (No. 2270).

In line with this teaching, some Catholic colleges such as Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina and the University of Mary in North Dakota offer maternity housing programs for student mothers. UMary’s maternity home program made headlines last year after its first student mom graduated with her daughter. 

In addition to concerns that the administration’s attitude goes against the university’s Jesuit Catholic values, supporters of Lovely said that Georgetown’s decision violated Title IX, the federal civil rights law designed to prevent discrimination against women in higher education institutions that receive public funding. 

Siegel, and the student-led petition, noted that the administration “fails to meet the requirements of Title IX, which ensures a fair and equitable educational environment for all students.” 

“Title IX prohibits education institutions from discriminating against students based on sex, including current, potential, or past pregnancy or related conditions,” the petition noted. “An accommodation is not unreasonable and must be offered by the school unless it ‘fundamentally alters’ the nature of its program.” 

Lovely said she was particularly concerned that Georgetown cited equity as a reason for denying pregnancy accommodations. 

“I want to make it clear — an inequitable policy, for example, is one that forces me (or any student) to spend time fighting for a basic right under the law rather than preparing for my finals like the rest of my peers,” she said. “An equitable policy is one where no student has to go to these great lengths again to receive reasonable accommodations.” 

Panelists at the 2024 International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit on Jan. 30-31, 2024, at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. / Credit: International Religious Freedom Summit

CNA Staff, Nov 26, 2024 / 05:30 am (CNA).

The annual International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit in Washington, D.C., brings together more than 90 religious freedom organizations from more than 30 faith traditions to address challenges to religious freedom worldwide.

The summit also invites another demographic — college students — to register to take part in a university partnership program for graduate and undergraduate students who are passionate about religious freedom.

Organized by the Religious Freedom Institute (RFI), the IRF Summit’s partnership program from Feb. 3–5, 2025, begins with a daylong seminar designed for the students with training sessions, guided simulations, and conversations with leading scholars and government officials. The following two days, students can engage as full participants in the IRF Summit. 

Interested students can register for the University Partnership Program here until Jan. 17, 2025.

Forming young adults to embrace religious freedom is foundational to the future of religious freedom, according to the head of the IRF’s university partnership program. 

“Religious freedom is only safe when it is both protected in law and embraced by society,” said Jim Bennett, who heads the IRF Summit’s university partnership program. Bennett is the director of RFI’s National Center for Religious Freedom Education.

“Today’s youth will create law and public policy tomorrow, and a focused investment now in exploring and understanding the first principles of religious freedom will pay significant dividends in the future,” he continued. 

A growing number of college students are combating anti-religious narratives on campus, according to Bennett, who noted that “some of the greatest contemporary threats to religious freedom are occurring in places where their voices are already influential.” 

“We are seeing a remarkable display of enthusiasm from a growing number of young people who want to counter some of the anti-faith narratives they hear on their campuses while also making positive contributions to the larger society,” Bennett said. “It is exciting to work with students who are this passionate about defending the human dignity of all people.”

The University Partnership Program implements RFI’s “First Principles” curriculum, which “explores the importance of religious freedom to human identity, human rights, and human flourishing,” Bennett noted. The program then implements “guided simulations led by scholars and public officials that explore real-world scenarios in four global locations.”

After spending time in the partnership program on Feb. 3, students attend the IRF Summit on Feb. 4–5 as full participants, “with the opportunity to learn from and network with government officials and civil society leaders from around the world,” Bennett said. 

Speakers include the leadership team at the RFI and IRF Summit as well as scholars and activists in the religious freedom space and public officials in the U.S. and foreign governments, according to Bennett. 

Peter Burns, IRF Summit executive director, explained that the IRF Summit was designed “to help the movement increase its impact in a noisy policy space that doesn’t often give attention to cases of persecution around the world.”

“Over the past three years, our Summit partners have built a diverse coalition that is working to advance freedom of religion, conscience, and belief around the world,” Burns continued. “But even as the movement for international religious freedom grows, we are witnessing increased levels of religious restriction and persecution around the world.” 

“Raising our voices in solidarity with those who suffer due to their beliefs is more important than ever.”

The IRF Summit’s sponsors include the Center for Religious Liberty at The Catholic University of America, Meta, and religious freedom advocacy groups for a variety of religions. 

Burns noted that the summit is unique in that it’s “a partner-led gathering,” meaning that partner organizations “develop the program and provide the content, often as a platform for the projects they are already working on.” 

When asked what he hopes students will take away from the program, Bennett highlighted “foundational” principles of religious freedom. 

“We hope students will thoroughly understand why a robust defense of religious freedom is vital for defending everyone’s human dignity and protecting civil liberties that characterize a free society,” Bennett said. “We then equip them to skillfully apply this knowledge to some of today’s greatest challenges.” 

Jesus and the disciples during Season 4 of "The Chosen." / 5&2 Studios / Mike Kubeisy

CNA Staff, Nov 25, 2024 / 18:15 pm (CNA).

The release of Season 5 of the hit series “The Chosen” was announced Nov. 25 by 5&2 Studios. “The Chosen: Last Supper” is coming to theaters during Lent, in the weeks leading up to Easter.

Season 5, which focuses on the events of Holy Week, will bring the most important week in history to viewers in a special theatrical release. During a four-week run in theaters, all episodes of Season 5 will be released in three parts starting with part one, episodes 1 and 2, to be released on March 27. Part two, episodes 3, 4, and 5, and part three, episodes 6, 7, and 8, will be released in the weeks following. 

Beginning April 10, “The Chosen: Last Supper” will also be released in theaters globally in over 40 countries including Brazil, Mexico, Italy, Germany, Poland, Philippines, United Kingdom, and India. 

After the full-season run in theaters concludes, the season will make its streaming debut. 

The newly released trailer begins with a glimpse of Jesus and the disciples during The Last Supper and teases other powerful moments including Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, the cleansing of the temple, and Judas’ betrayal. 

Earlier this year at ChosenCon, the annual “Chosen” fan convention in Orlando, CNA spoke with several of the cast members about the upcoming season of the popular show. 

Dallas Jenkins, the show’s creator, director, and writer, told CNA that Season 5 is “sad at times; it’s actually heartbreaking at times because we know we’re getting closer and closer to the cross … We’re going to get to see some iconic moments from Scripture, but we’re also going to, I believe, be drawn closer to who Jesus was because of his suffering.”

Ryan Swanson, one of the writers of “The Chosen,” added that Season 5 is “truly going to feel like a different kind of series. After Season 4’s dread and doom and foreshadowing, this is when the wick is lit.”

“We have stepped up our game in every aspect,” Luke Dimyan, the actor who portrays Judas Iscariot, said. “The filmmaking, the production, the cameras we used. We even felt it on set — the way we scheduled and we worked — everybody was on their A game. So I think you’ll be able to see that on screen and I think you’re really going to like what you see. We put our all into this.”

null / Credit: Mer_Studio/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Nov 25, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

In today’s complex society, it takes effort to ensure that your hard-earned money, once invested and out in the financial ether, doesn’t fund the kinds of things that Catholics abhor — like abortion, pornography, or unethical labor practices. 

But surely the Church itself, with its significant invested assets, has this figured out already… right? 

Though the principles behind Catholic investing have been clearly articulated in recent years, sources told CNA that many Catholic entities still have a long way to go to make sure their investments actually align with those principles. 

Case in point: when Daniel Catone, founder of Arimathea Investing, and his team of financial experts started digging into the finances of Catholic entities who approached them, they discovered something extraordinary — and surprisingly pervasive. 

Nearly all of their Catholic clients, including many U.S. dioceses, were unwittingly funding — sometimes to the tune of millions of dollars — products and practices that directly contradict the faith.

“We have to look at the reality of the choices that we’re making with our dollars, [because] just as Our Lord will call us to account for every careless word that comes from our mouths, so too will the Lord call us to account for every careless dollar that left our wallets,” Catone told CNA. 

Arimathea is just one of a growing number of Catholic firms seeking to help individuals, ministries, and dioceses align their investment portfolios with the teachings of the Catholic Church, all while seeking competitive financial returns.

What has the Church taught about investing?

The Church has weighed in quite comprehensively — and quite recently — on the topic of investing, both at the level of the bishops of the United States in 2021 and at the worldwide level with the 2022 Vatican document Mensuram Bonam. 

Mensuram Bonam — the title of which means “a good measure” — casts a wide net, exhorting investors to consider the ethics and consequences of their actions, especially how their investment choices will affect the world’s most vulnerable. It emphasizes that Catholic investors should seek not only to avoid harm but also actively promote good.

The document identifies a set of core principles for investors rooted in Catholic social teaching. 

The principles include the recognition of the dignity of every human being; promoting the common good; working in solidarity with the most vulnerable; caring for the environment; and subsidiarity — the idea that decision-making should be done at the most appropriate level.

The guidelines also lay out specific exclusionary criteria that Catholic investors need to be aware of and screen for. These include the funding of abortion, armaments, nuclear weapons, contraceptives, embryonic stem cell research, pornography, addictive substances, human rights violations such as breaches of labor laws, corruption, and unfair business practices. 

The development of Mensuram Bonam was prompted, in part, by a controversy in recent years over the Vatican’s own investments.

In April 2021, an Italian investigative news program accused the Vatican’s treasury of investing 20 million euros (then around $24 million) in several pharmaceutical companies involved in making emergency contraception, or the “morning-after pill.” A subsequent 2022 policy was drawn up mandating that the Holy See’s financial investments cannot contradict Catholic teaching.

The U.S. Catholic bishops’ “Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines,” released in 2021, applies to the U.S. investment landscape many similar concepts found within the latter-written Mensuram Bonam.

The bishops urge the importance of discerning whether investments will protect human life, which means avoiding any company involved in abortion, euthanasia, and assisted suicide, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning, and other practices the Church teaches to be evil. 

At the same time, investors must endeavor to promote human dignity and the common good, the bishops wrote. 

This means Catholic investors should avoid companies known to persistently violate the human rights of their workers or who operate in countries with poor human rights records. Companies with ties to pornography, human trafficking, or a non-Catholic view of gender identity and expression should be avoided, the bishops noted. 

This also means eschewing investments in certain “harmful habitual behaviors” and “addictive materials” such as gambling, tobacco, and recreational drugs; also firearms, the bishops said, except for legitimate hunting, military, or law enforcement use.

At the same time, the bishops urged investors to support positive things such as renewable energy sources; biodiversity and water resources; affordable housing; and, in the face of an often negative outlook from many Hollywood productions, virtuous media that strengthens families and contributes to a more positive and humane culture.

‘A fully integrated life’

After a successful two-decade career in finance overseeing billions of dollars in investments, Catone, who has a master’s degree in theology, went all-in on what he calls “faithful investing.”

He founded Arimathea in 2023 as an asset management company that conducts in-depth, tech-forward research to ensure its clients’ portfolios — “dollars meant to be used for the people of God” — are truly Catholic-aligned.

By trusting large secular firms like BlackRock or Morgan Stanley to manage their money, many Catholics are unknowingly funding organizations and practices that directly contradict the Church’s teachings, he reiterated, citing Arimathea’s own rigorous research. 

These include investments in companies like Microsoft, which not only pays for employees’ abortion travel but also has been known to violate workers’ rights in developing countries; other companies that directly cause abortions by distributing Plan B drugs; even companies such as hotel chains that directly profit off the sale of pornography, he said. 

“I came to the realization that the secular world was, in a way, pulling the wool over the eyes of the Catholic Church. And shocking as this may sound, most people do not become bishops because they’re really good at picking stocks, and so they rely upon the expertise of these secular organizations,” Catone said. 

He urged Catholics to examine their own investments, such as their 401(k), with a trusted financial adviser. 

“Step 1 is to stop treating our money as ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ Because the Lord is calling us to live a fully integrated life,” Catone said. 

“Our Lord Jesus Christ needs to be the Lord of every part of our life … and that also includes our 401(k) and our IRA. So in order to wake up, the first step is to open our eyes … because we can’t repent of what we don’t know.”

On Arimathea’s website, Catholics can send their investment portfolio to the company, which will then screen it, for free, offering a kind of “report card” on the ethicality of each investment from a Catholic perspective, Catone noted. He added that Arimathea’s research is informed by a strong understanding of Catholic theology — a rarity among investment firms — as well as what he calls a “literal reading” of the 2021 USCCB document. 

Arimathea is also working to develop a network of accredited advisers who are trained in the principles of Catholic social teaching and can guide Catholic investors, he said.

The goal is not merely to avoid “bad” companies but also actively seek out investments that promote human dignity and the common good, he emphasized. 

One way to do this is through proxy voting, a tool for influencing corporate behavior and promoting change from within that Catone said can be helpful in pushing companies to adopt more ethical practices. He said Catholics should be actively engaged in trying to improve the companies they invest in and have had some success at that in the past. 

Catone said the success Arimathea has had financially demonstrates that it is possible to invest in a way that is fully in line with the Catholic faith without sacrificing monetary returns. 

“What we’re trying to show at Arimathea is you can draw the line ... and say you know what? No abortion, no pornography, no drugs, no slave labor. And you know what? The returns are great,” he concluded.

Excellent and authentically Catholic, together

Shane Giblin, CEO of The Abbey Group, told CNA that the cultural milieu following the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade exposed “a bit of a crisis in the area of Catholic investing.”

The Abbey Group came about in the late 2010s after St. Michael’s Abbey in Orange County, California, under Giblin’s fundraising leadership, managed to raise $150 million to build a new abbey, far outpacing expectations. 

They started doing pro bono consulting to help other Catholic entities replicate their success, launching officially in 2020 with a goal to help worthy Catholic causes generate and grow the resources they need to fully live out their mission. The Abbey Group is selective in its projects, evaluating them based on alignment with Catholic teachings, the potential impact of their endeavors, and the strength of their leadership.

Giblin said in the wake of Roe’s overturn, the “screens” that were being applied to many Catholic investment portfolios needed to be reevaluated; it wasn’t clear how effective they were, or what they were doing to potentially limit returns, he noted. 

The other thing that Giblin said he noticed was that many Catholic investors weren’t allocating much to private equity — the buying and selling of shares in privately-held businesses. 

“What we saw was a great deal of interest and encouragement in creating an alternative investment solution that is authentically Catholic, specifically something in the private equity space,” Giblin said. 

To address the need, Giblin said Abbey Group Capital has partnered with Carrick Capital Partners, a firm run by a faithful Catholic, to help its clients grow the money they raise — and do so in a way that aligns with the Church’s teachings. 

The partnership, which benefits from the spiritual guidance from the Norbertine priests at the abbey, ensures investments align with Catholic values, such as avoidance of abortion and positive support for mothers wishing to keep and raise their children, Giblin said. 

Giblin said he hopes their approach will inspire others in the Catholic community to adopt similar strategies, ultimately contributing to a more dynamic and competitive landscape in Catholic investing.

“It seems all too often that the Catholic space has to make the decision between either being excellent or being authentically Catholic. I think that’s a problem that we need to really break ourselves out of, a dynamic we need to run away from, because they’re not mutually exclusive terms,” he said. 

“I’ve seen a resurgence of late that gives me a lot of hope. I think that people are starting to become far more rigorous and far more attentive to the necessity to steward these resources with a great deal of vigilance when it comes to what they’re investing in and what they’re not investing in.”

Difference between secular investing, ESG, and Catholic investing

Richard Todd, CEO of Innovest, a Catholic financial firm based in Colorado that manages about $50 billion, said there was little awareness of the possibility, or even the need, for Catholic-aligned investments back in 1996 when he founded his firm.

But that landscape has changed significantly with the rise of large, secular investment firms “taking advantage” of trusting Catholics, he said. 

“The ‘other side’ has been taking advantage of Catholics for, I would say, probably the last 10 years, but very specifically in the last five,” Todd told CNA.

“It used to be, as a Catholic investor, if you owned a company, you could trust management to do what’s right for the company. But it’s no longer the case because of this pressure that these large asset managers are putting on.”

Todd said Innovest works with clients to develop customized investment guidelines that reflect their unique values, allowing organizations like dioceses and universities to articulate their specific ethical concerns and ensure that their investment portfolios are truly aligned with their mission.

They then design diversified portfolios that include traditional stocks and bonds, along with alternative investments such as real estate, private debt, and private equity.

Todd, echoing Catone, emphasized the importance of going beyond simply avoiding harmful investments, emphasizing the importance of seeking out companies that promote positive values. He said Innovest looks for companies that prioritize human flourishing and foster a strong company culture, and also reiterated the importance of Catholics with large investments using proxy voting to influence companies for the better. 

“Many organizations that are Catholic don’t pay any attention to proxy voting. They end up voting for things that are completely outside their values, outside Catholic values. We believe that understanding how proxies are voted is really crucial,” he said. 

He noted that a popular framework of values-based investing, environmental, social, and governance (ESG), also known as impact investing, can include elements that are “anti-Christian” or misaligned with Catholic values. He said he seeks to educate clients on the differences between secular investing, ESG, and Catholic investing. 

Like Giblin, Todd said he firmly believes that investors do not have to sacrifice financial returns to invest in alignment with Catholic values. He pointed to the rise of competent asset managers who are adept at managing Catholic-values portfolios while achieving market-competitive or even superior results compared with secular portfolios. 

“I think, though, that there are [still] very few in the Catholic world that think this way. I think we’re in the first inning,” Todd said.

“There are some, I think, that are moving in this direction that are prominent and well known. Our hope is that their courage will help lead others to really take a serious look at the way they manage their money. But there’s a lot to be done.”