The Catholic Church in East St. James Parish

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 17, 2025 / 16:56 pm (CNA).

Archbishop Edward Weisenburger of Detroit has identified the non-parish churches in the archdiocese that are allowed to continue the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), following an earlier statement saying that most of the TLM celebrated in the area would come to an end. 

In April, the archdiocese announced that the TLM would no longer be celebrated at parish churches after July 1. Weisenburger said the end of the TLM was due to the Vatican’s 2023 clarification that diocesan bishops do not have the authority to allow the Masses to be held in existing parish churches.

The archdiocese reported that permissions given to parish church priests to carry out the TLM would expire and they could not be renewed, but Weisenburger said he would recognize at least four non-parish locations in the archdiocese where the TLM could still be celebrated.

On June 13, the archdiocese released a letter with an update on the Masses and a list of approved churches. 

“As there are a number of the faithful in our local Church who have found spiritual richness in this form of the Mass, I am permitting it to continue in accord with the Holy See’s parameters,” Weisenburger wrote.

“You will recall that in 2021, Pope Francis issued guidelines for the celebration of the Mass in the extraordinary form, commonly called the ‘Traditional Latin Mass.’ This is the expression of the Mass which was offered prior to Vatican II.”

The letter expressed that the Masses will be held in accordance with “the new liturgical teachings and law of the Church.”

“There are two goods which must come together as we move forward: the pastoral care of these faithful as well as fidelity to the Holy Father’s call for the ordinary form of the Mass to become the ‘unique expression of the lex orandi of the Roman rite’ (Traditionis Custodes, 1),” Weisenburger said. 

“Guided by these principles, beginning July 1, 2025, the Traditional Latin Mass will be offered at St. Joseph Shrine in Detroit in the central region and three non-parish churches in each additional region of the Archdiocese of Detroit.”

The other churches include St. Irene Church in Dundee in the south region, Our Lady of Orchard Lake Chapel in Orchard Lake in the northwest region, and St. Joseph Church in Port Huron in the northeast region.

Permission for all other churches and sites that celebrate the TLM will still expire as originally planned, on June 30.

“While not every priest will retain the required permission to celebrate the Mass according to the rubrics of the 1962 missal, a number of priests will be available to serve these four regional sites,” Weisenburger explained. 

“I take seriously my charge to care for all the faithful and am confident that this new arrangement is faithful to the Church’s law while expressing my concern for your spiritual welfare.”

“I have been impressed by the rich expressions of the Catholic faith in southeast Michigan,”  Weisenburger said. “The unity of our Catholic faith need not be diminished by diversity. Likewise, fidelity to Christ is only possible if we remain faithful to the Church, under the leadership of our pope and the local bishop.”

A Georgia woman gave birth to a 1-pound, 16-ounce baby boy on June 13, 2025, after four months on life support. / Credit: liseykina/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 17, 2025 / 16:26 pm (CNA).

A Georgia woman who was declared brain dead in February has given birth after four months on life support.

Adriana Smith, an Atlanta nurse, gave birth via emergency cesarean section at 29 weeks to a 1-pound, 13-ounce baby boy named Chance on Friday, June 13.

Baby Chance is currently in the NICU. Smith’s mother, April Newkirk, told 11Alive that “he’s expected to be OK,” adding: “He’s just fighting. We just want prayers for him. Just keep praying for him. He’s here now.”

According to Newkirk, doctors had been planning to deliver him at 32 weeks, but Smith had an emergency C-section Friday for unspecified reasons. 

Smith, who turned 31 on Sunday, will be taken off life support on Tuesday, June 17, her mother said. 

“I’m her mother,” Newkirk said. “I shouldn’t be burying my daughter. My daughter should be burying me.”

Smith also has a 7-year-old son. 

Background

In February, Smith visited a hospital complaining of painful headaches but was sent home with medication. The next morning, her boyfriend found her “gasping for air” and called 911. 

After a CT scan, doctors discovered multiple blood clots in her brain and eventually determined nothing could be done and declared the then-30-year-old nurse, who was nine weeks pregnant, brain dead.

Smith’s case garnered national attention in May after a local news station interviewed Newkirk, who said Emory University Hospital in Atlanta said that Smith had to remain on life support until the birth of her unborn child, citing what Newkirk said was the Georgia state abortion law. 

Newkirk said last month that not having a choice regarding her daughter’s treatment plan was difficult. She also expressed concern about raising both her grandsons and the mounting medical costs.

Georgia law prohibits abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, usually around the sixth week of pregnancy. However, removing life support from a pregnant woman is not a direct abortion.

In response to national outcry over Smith’s case, the Georgia attorney general’s office released a statement in May clarifying that the state’s heartbeat law, which prohibits abortions after detection of a fetal heartbeat, did not require Smith be kept alive.

“There is nothing in the LIFE Act that requires medical professionals to keep a woman on life support after brain death,” said the statement, issued by Attorney General Chris Carr’s office.  

Quoting the law itself, the statement continued: “Removing life support is not an action ‘with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy.’”

A spokesperson for the Georgia House told the Washington Post in May that the LIFE Act is “completely irrelevant” regarding Smith’s situation, saying “any implication otherwise is just another gross mischaracterization of the intent of this legislation by liberal media outlets and left-wing activists.”

Although he supports the hospital’s decision to keep the unborn child alive until viability, state Sen. Ed Stetzer, the original sponsor of the LIFE Act, told CNA in May that “the removal of the life support of the mother is a separate act” from an abortion.

David Gibbs III, a lawyer at the National Center for Life and Liberty who was a lead attorney in the Terri Schiavo case, said he thinks there may be a misunderstanding about which law the hospital is invoking in Smith’s case. Georgia’s Advance Directive for Health Care Act may be the law at play here, Gibbs told CNA.

Section 31-32-9 of that law states that if a woman is pregnant and “in a terminal condition or state of permanent unconsciousness” and the unborn child is viable, certain life-sustaining procedures may not be withdrawn.

“The majority of states have advance directive laws with a pregnancy exclusion,” Gibbs explained.

A pregnancy exclusion means that if a patient is pregnant, the law prioritizes the survival of her unborn child over her stated wishes in an advance directive if there is a conflict between her wishes and the child’s well-being.

“When in doubt, the law should err on the side of life,” he said.

The Trump administration’s Religious Liberty Commission meets in Washington, D.C., on Monday, June 16, 2025. / Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNA

Washington D.C., Jun 17, 2025 / 15:22 pm (CNA).

The White House Religious Liberty Commission held its first hearing in Washington, D.C., on Monday where members received a number of recommendations on how to protect religious freedom in the United States.

Chairman of the commission Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Vice Chairman Ben Carson hosted the meeting with members Ryan Anderson; Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota; Carrie Prejean Boller; Allyson Ho; and other figures in the religious liberty movement. 

The June 16 hearing featured guest speakers Josh Blackman, associate law professor at South Texas College of Law; Stephanie Barclay, law professor at Georgetown Law School; and Kristen Waggoner, CEO and president of the law firm Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

The three lawyers offered numerous suggestions for the commission to report to President Donald Trump on how to help preserve and strengthen religious liberty in the U.S. 

Pointing to multiple religious freedom court cases over the last few decades, Blackman said: “If you’re giving money to nonreligious groups, you can’t discriminate against religious groups.” Religious groups, he said, should be treated “the same as everything else.” 

Blackman’s other recommendations were for the commission to “bring more cases from the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) perspective” to the Supreme Court and “have more amicus briefs” from the Justice Department. 

“If the DOJ was willing to file more amicus briefs and look for good vehicles to overrule a case … to broaden an establishment clause jurisprudence, I think that would be a helpful recommendation from this commission,” Barclay said. 

Waggoner, who works directly with those affected by religious liberty violations at ADF, offered five main recommendations to the committee. 

“The United States right now is the last Western country in the world to provide robust religious freedom and free speech protections,” she said. 

“One of the things that I hope that this commission recommends to the president is that he use the platform he has in the administration … to help Americans understand what the threat is and the goodness of practicing one’s faith.”

It is “critical” for Americans to be educated “on what their rights are,” Waggoner said. 

“For so long, we would see laws that were being passed that were blatant violations of constitutional rights,” but now “we see this vibe shift,” Waggoner said. “I would submit it’s a temporary one. It’s a change of power, not a change of heart. We need a change of heart.”

Waggoner suggested the government should “restore the conscience and religious freedom division at [the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] and establish similar divisions within other department’s civil rights offices, and ensure equal access to federal funding is consistent with recent Supreme Court precedent.”

She highlighted that “all federal conscience laws” must be enforced and “recipients that violate those laws” need to be held accountable.

She also said the government should “end the financial targeting of people of faith.”

Authorities need to “ensure the IRS doesn’t discriminate against houses of worship or religious organizations and protect these entities from unjust penalties” and “guarantee that prior weaponization of financial regulations and markets against people of faith never, ever happens again,” she said. 

Waggoner also said the government should “protect people of faith from the regulatory state” by developing “rules that prevent future administrations from labeling as domestic terrorists Americans who simply purchased a religious text or spoke at a school board meeting.”

The U.S. should also “promote religious freedom on the international stage,” she said, working “in collaboration with the ambassador at large for international religious freedom” to “implement President Trump’s 2020 executive order on advancing international religious freedom to ensure that religious freedom remains a central priority of U.S. foreign policy.”

Trump, meanwhile, should “appoint judges with an established record of courage, character, and conviction who will apply the law without fear of public opinion,” Waggoner said. 

The commission was established on May 1 to “vigorously enforce the historic and robust protections for religious liberty,” according to Trump. 

Since its creation, a number of prominent Catholics have been appointed by the president including Barron, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, and Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco.

The committee will hold its next hearing on religious liberty in September.

Credit: Quisquilia/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jun 17, 2025 / 11:16 am (CNA).

A group of Orthodox churches has joined the Catholic bishops of Washington state in suing the government over its requirement that clergy either violate the seal of confession or face jail time.

The Orthodox Church in America, the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, and numerous other Orthodox jurisdictions on Monday sued dozens of public officials in the state challenging the constitutionality of its mandatory reporter law.

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.

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

The Orthodox leaders in their lawsuit similarly argued that Orthodox priests “have a strict religious duty to maintain the absolute confidentiality of what is disclosed in the sacrament of confession.”

“Violating this mandatory religious obligation is a canonical crime and a grave sin, with severe consequences for the offending priest, including removal from the priesthood,” the suit says.

The state’s law explicitly allows for numerous other exemptions for those otherwise required to report child abuse. Washington “is now the only state whose mandatory reporter law explicitly overrides the religious clergy-penitent privilege” while allowing the other exemptions, the lawsuit says.

The Orthodox leaders said they “do not object to alerting authorities when they have genuine concerns about children that they learn outside of confession.” Rather, they are demanding that the state “give the clergy-penitent privilege the constitutional protection it is due as a fundamental religious obligation.”

The lawsuit, filed in federal district court, claims the state’s law violates the First and 14th Amendments to the United States Constitution. It asks the court to block the law and declare it unconstitutional. 

Spokane Bishop Thomas Daly in a statement last 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.”

The U.S. Department of Justice 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 New Jersey State House. / Credit: Felix Lipov/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jun 17, 2025 / 10:37 am (CNA).

The New Jersey government will be allowed to assemble a grand jury to investigate allegations of clergy sexual abuse there, the state Supreme Court said Monday.

In a unanimous ruling, the New Jersey Supreme Court said a lower court had erred when it held the state could not empanel the jury, with the high court stating that the government “has the right to proceed with its investigation and present evidence before a special grand jury.”

The lower court had said in part that any findings from the grand jury could be “fundamentally unfair” because any priests accused in it would lack the ability to adequately challenge the allegations.

But the Supreme Court said it was up to judges to decide if any report complied with prevailing legal standards. Courts “cannot and [do] not decide the ultimate question in advance,” the ruling said.

The court’s decision comes just over a month after the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, said it would drop its fight against the state’s efforts to empanel the grand jury.

Camden Bishop Joseph Williams last month said he intended to “do the right thing” for abuse victims. The Camden Diocese had been embroiled in a yearslong fight with the state over the potential grand jury empanelment.

Williams’ abandonment of the fight came just several weeks after he assumed the bishopric there on March 17.

The diocese had previously argued in part that New Jersey “cannot convene a grand jury to return a presentment unless it addresses public affairs or conditions, censures public officials, or calls attention to imminent conditions.” Years-old clergy abuse allegations did not meet these standards, the diocese had said.

In a letter in the Catholic Star Herald last month, Williams said he was “new to being a diocesan bishop and new to the complex legal arguments and proceedings involved” in the ongoing case. Prior to his March 17 appointment, he served as coadjutor bishop of the Camden Diocese.

A grand jury was famously empaneled in Pennsylvania from 2016 to 2018 to investigate abuse allegations in multiple dioceses of that state.

That report, released in August 2018, revealed allegations of abuse against more than 300 priests involving more than 1,000 children in the state.

Remarking on that data, the jurists said in their report: “We believe that the real number — of children whose records were lost, or who were afraid ever to come forward — is in the thousands.”

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 17, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Nearly 50% of adults in the U.S. have some connection to the Catholic faith, according to new data from Pew Research. 

“Catholicism’s roots in the United States run deep,” Pew stated in a new report titled “U.S. Catholicism: Connections to the Religion, Beliefs and Practices.” 

Pew reported that 47% of U.S. adults have Catholic ties: 20% identify as Catholic, 9% as “culturally Catholic,” 9% as ex-Catholic, and 9% report a connection through a Catholic parent, spouse, or past Mass attendance.

The survey, conducted Feb. 3–9 among a nationally representative sample of 9,544 U.S. adults, including 1,787 Catholics, “was designed to explore Catholic life in the United States,” the report stated. “It was completed prior to the hospitalization of Pope Francis on Feb. 14 and his death in April, and well before the conclave that elected his successor, Pope Leo XIV.” 

In addition to demographics, the survey asked what American Catholics believe is most essential to their identity, listing 14 items and asking them to rate them as “essential,” “important but not essential,” or “not important” to their Catholic identity.

The large majority of respondents, 69%, said “having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ” was essential to being Catholic. 

The second item most commonly selected as essential was “devotion to the Virgin Mary” at 50%. “Working to help the poor and needy” came in third at 47%, and 46% selected “receiving the Eucharist.”

Getting married in the Church, opposing abortion, caring for migrants, papal primacy, going on pilgrimages, and celebrating feast days were also among 14 items concerning belief and identity that Pew asked respondents to rank.

The survey found that overall, about 3 in 10 Catholic participants surveyed attend Mass weekly. Compared with those who do not attend Mass regularly, those who do were more likely to affirm that all 14 items in the survey were essential to their practice of the Catholic faith.

According to Pew, only “some” of the 20% who identified as Catholic are “deeply observant,” with about 13% saying they pray daily, attend Mass at least weekly, and go to confession at least once per year. Alternately, 13% said they “seldom or never” pray, attend Mass, or go to confession.

“The largest share of Catholics (74%) fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum of observance. They may pray. They may attend Mass. They may go to confession. But they don’t regularly do all three,” Pew noted.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem (pictured) and Cardinal Dominique Mathieu of the Archdiocese of Tehran–Isfahan in Iran asked for prayers on June 16, 2025, as the conflict between Iran and Israel escalated. / Credit: Courtesy of Custos of the Holy Land

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 16, 2025 / 18:40 pm (CNA).

Catholic leaders in both Iran and Israel are praying for peace as violence between the two nations continues to escalate following Israel’s assassinations of Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists and Israeli airstrikes against Iranian military facilities and nuclear sites.

Israel launched its initial attack on June 13, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stating Israel’s goal is to halt Iran’s nuclear program. In response, Iran has launched hundreds of ballistic missiles, the majority of which Israel has successfully shot down. More than 200 Iranians and at least 24 Israelis have been killed.

Cardinal Dominique Mathieu of the Archdiocese of Tehran–Isfahan in Iran as well as Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem in Israel, are both praying for peace at a time when many worry that the military conflict could expand.

In an interview with AsiaNews, Mathieu said hours after the initial attack that “it is with regret that we observe … once again that peace is sought through preventive attacks instead of committing to dialogue around the negotiating table.”

“We pray that peace through dialogue based on a consensus will prevail,” he said. “May the Holy Spirit guide this process.”

The Patriarchate of Jerusalem posted a prayer “for a just peace” on its official X account just hours after the initial attack.

“O God of peace, ‘You are the same yesterday, today, and forever’ (Heb 13:8),” the prayer reads. “You have said: ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid’ (Jn 14:27).”

“We lift our weary hearts to you, Lord, longing for your light amid the shadows of fear and unrest,” the prayer continues. “Teach us to be peacemakers, for ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God’ (Mt 5:9). Sow in us the seeds of reconciliation, and make us instruments of your peace in a wounded world.”

“Grant us the grace to live as you have commanded: ‘If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all’ (Rom 12:18). Let there be in our cities and lands: ‘Peace within your walls and security within your towers’ (Ps 122:7). In the midst of trouble, we proclaim: ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation: Whom shall I fear?’ (Ps 27:1). ‘I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety’ (Ps 4:8).”

“We trust in your everlasting promise: ‘Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age’ (Mt 28:20). Amen.”

Pope Leo XIV also spoke about the escalating violence over the weekend, saying “the situation in Iran and Israel has seriously deteriorated” and appealed to “responsibility and reason.”

“Our commitment to building a safer world free from the nuclear threat must be pursued through respectful encounters and sincere dialogue,” Leo said.

It is the “duty of all countries” to pursue “paths of reconciliation” and promote solutions that are grounded in justice, fraternity, and the common good to build lasting peace and security in the region, the pontiff said.

Israel’s attack came amid ongoing dialogue between the U.S. and Iran concerning a nuclear deal that would avoid military conflict. American and Iranian officials were scheduled to meet on June 15 in Oman, but Iran canceled the talks after the attack.

A makeshift memorial for Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, is seen at the Minnesota State Capitol building on June 16, 2025, in St. Paul, Minnesota. / Credit: Steven Garcia/Getty Images

CNA Staff, Jun 16, 2025 / 17:40 pm (CNA).

A suspected shooter faces federal charges after he was arrested for the murders of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman — a Catholic who once taught Sunday school — and her husband, Mark, in their home this weekend.  

After a two-day manhunt involving more than 20 different SWAT teams, authorities apprehended the suspect, 57-year-old Vance Boelter, on June 15 in Sibley County. Boelter now faces federal murder charges, which could allow for the death penalty, federal officials announced Monday. 

Boelter is also suspected of shooting state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in their home the same day before he murdered the Hortmans. Yvette Hoffman said in a statement that they are “incredibly lucky to be alive” after she was shot eight times and he nine. 

Melissa Hortman, a well-known politician in the state, had served as Democratic speaker of the Minnesota House for six years. 

She and her husband “had been a part of the St. Timothy Parish community,” according to Father Joe Whalen, the pastor of the Blaine, Minnesota, parish, who shared the community’s grief in a statement over the weekend.

“Our parish community feels deeply this loss and we offer our prayerful support and condolences to the Hortman and Hoffman families,” Whalen said on June 14. 

Melissa Hortman had volunteered in the parish children’s faith formation program, according to Whalen. 

“This attack on dedicated public servants deeply wounds our entire community,” the priest continued. “Those who dedicate themselves to public service should be acknowledged for their generosity and commitment to service.”

Both politicians also met regularly with the local Catholic bishops, according to Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis, as previously reported by CNA. 

Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona–Rochester, Minnesota, recalled meeting both Hortman and Hoffman at the state capitol a few months ago during a meeting of bishops with state leaders.

“I was deeply impressed by both,” he said in a statement. “Rep. Hortman listened to us with sharp intelligence and acute attention.” 

Barron also recalled having a “wonderful conversation” with Hoffman — an alum of St. Mary’s University, a Catholic university in Barron’s diocese — during which the senator “shared his passion for Catholic social teaching.”

Barron urged people to pray for the recovery of Hoffman and his wife as well as for the souls of Hortman and her husband.

“God knows we are a divided society, but our political differences must never, ever give rise to violence,” Barron said. 

As previously reported by CNA, Hebda called Hortman “an honorable public servant” and recalled that though the two “disagreed on some issues, we worked collaboratively to find common ground.”

He also praised Hoffman as “a strong advocate for the most vulnerable” and urged people to pray for the recovery of him and his wife. Hoffman represents Minnesota Senate District 34 as a Democrat. 

At the time of his arrest, Boelter had a list of 70 potential targets including public officials, top business leaders, and abortion businesses. 

Multiple agencies banded together on foot and in a helicopter to apprehend the suspect in what Brooklyn Park Police Department Chief Mark Bruley described as the “largest manhunt in the state’s history.” 

The first shooting took place at the Hoffmans’ residence in the early hours of Saturday in the suburbs of Minneapolis. According to Minnesota authorities, Boelter dressed in police-style tactical gear and wore a rubber mask, announcing himself as a police officer to gain entrance to the victims’ homes. Yvette Hoffman reportedly shielded her adult daughter from the shooter, protecting her from harm. Her daughter alerted the authorities. 

When the Brooklyn Park Police learned that the first shooting had targeted a politician, they went to check on the Hortmans, who lived nearby. When they arrived at 3:35 a.m., officers witnessed Boelter shooting Hortman and her husband through the open front door. He fired at authorities before escaping on foot, according to the authorities. 

Boelter was taken into custody late Sunday evening. Authorities said they found no evidence that he was working with anyone else. Inside Boelter’s vehicle, authorities found a list of names and addresses of other public officials along with three AK-47 assault rifles and a 9mm handgun. His bail was set at $5 million.

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CNA Staff, Jun 16, 2025 / 14:19 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered the New York Court of Appeals to revisit Diocese of Albany v. Harris, a case challenging a 2017 New York state mandate requiring employers to cover abortions in health insurance plans.

The order follows the court’s unanimous ruling on June 5 in Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission, which upheld First Amendment protections for religious organizations.

A coalition of religious groups, including the Dioceses of Albany and Ogdensburg, the Sisterhood of St. Mary (Anglican/Episcopal nuns), First Bible Baptist Church, and Catholic Charities, sued New York state in 2017, arguing the mandate forces them to violate their belief in the sanctity of life by forcing them to fund abortions.

In 2017, the New York State Department of Financial Services mandated that employer health plans cover “medically necessary” abortions. Initially, the state proposed exempting employers with religious objections, but abortion activists pressured the state for a narrower exemption that would apply only to religious groups that primarily teach religion and serve or employ only those of their own faith. 

This excluded many faith-based ministries that serve all people regardless of religious affiliation like the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm who run Teresian Nursing Home for all elderly and dying, and Catholic Charities, which offers adoption and maternity services.

Without relief, the groups face millions in fines or will have to eliminate employee health plans. 

In 2017, represented by religious liberty law group Becket and law firm Jones Day, the coalition challenged New York’s mandate. After state courts upheld it, the Supreme Court in 2021 reversed those rulings, citing Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, a Becket victory protecting Catholic foster care agencies.

However, New York’s Court of Appeals reaffirmed the mandate in May 2024, claiming Fulton was inapplicable and ignoring the Supreme Court’s ruling. At the time, Dennis Poust of the New York State Catholic Conference called the mandate “unconstitutional and unjust.” Becket and Jones Day appealed again on Sept. 17, 2024.

In the Catholic Charities ruling in early June, the Supreme Court rejected Wisconsin’s denial of a tax exemption to Catholic Charities for serving all without proselytizing, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor calling it a “textbook” First Amendment violation of the free exercise and establishment clauses, as it favored certain religious practices over others.

“New York wants to browbeat nuns into paying for abortions for serving all in need,” said Eric Baxter, Becket’s vice president. “For the second time in four years, the Supreme Court has made clear that bully tactics like these have no place in our nation or our law. We are confident that these religious groups will finally be able to care for the most vulnerable consistent with their beliefs.”

Noel J. Francisco of Jones Day added: “Religious groups in the Empire State should not be forced to provide insurance coverage that violates their deeply held religious beliefs.”

The case mirrors the Little Sisters of the Poor’s fight against a 2011 federal contraceptive mandate, where the Supreme Court ruled three times that religious groups cannot be forced to facilitate practices against their beliefs.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has defended the mandate as essential for women’s health care, labeling the plaintiffs “extremists.”

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 16, 2025 / 13:49 pm (CNA).

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles will close its Center for Transyouth Health and Development and its transgender surgical program in July, citing federal and state-level funding pressures.

The hospital told families in an email that there was “no viable alternative” to closing the clinic, one of the nation’s largest, citing “the increasingly severe impacts of federal administrative actions and proposed policies,” including an executive order issued by President Donald Trump earlier in the year.

The center’s last day of operation will be July 22, according to the email, which was signed by clinic leaders including Paul Viviano and Kelly Johnson.

Earlier this year several hospitals in the United States suspended their child transgender programs after Trump’s order “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” which moved to halt the “maiming and sterilizing [of] a growing number of impressionable children” due to transgender ideology.

The executive order directed that medical institutions that receive federal research or education grants must not participate in the “chemical and surgical mutilation of children.”

The clinic leaders in their letter this week further cited directives from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and inquiries from federal authorities regarding quality standards at the children’s hospital as well as a May review on medical protocols from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Those factors, along with the FBI’s solicitation of tips to report hospitals performing transgender procedures on children, “strongly signal this administration’s intent to take swift and decisive action, both criminal and civil, against any entity it views as being in violation of the executive order,” the letter states.

The leaders said they would be hosting meetings in the coming days to discuss the looming closure.

According to a CDC study published last year, 3.3% of all U.S. high schoolers “identify as transgender,” with a further 2.2% of high schoolers “questioning” their “gender identity.”

Numerous U.S. states have moved lately to limit transgender procedures for minors, including surgical procedures and chemical prescriptions such as puberty blockers.

Last December the United Kingdom similarly made permanent its ban on children receiving puberty-blocking drugs meant to facilitate “gender transition.”