Ss. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church

Father Jason Wallace (top center) with Archdiocese of Denver seminarians. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Archdiocese of Denver and Vianney Vocations

Denver, Colo., Aug 18, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The Archdiocese of Denver asked parishioners to share the names of young men they thought would make good priests.

The result? More than 900 names. 

But names aren’t the only outcome of the Called By Name campaign, which launched in May.

The monthslong campaign — a collaboration between the Denver Archdiocese and Vianney Vocations, a group that supports vocations efforts in Catholic dioceses around the U.S. — has also sparked a “real openness” to vocations in the hearts of young men in the community, said Denver Vocations Director Father Jason Wallace.

The campaign, he told CNA, has “created a culture” in which speaking about vocations is becoming “more acceptable.”

“It’s not something like, ‘Oh, that’s something somebody else does,’ or you have to receive a vision by an angel to be a priest,” he said.

After the campaign, Wallace noticed that some young men who hadn’t wanted to become priests felt a call to look at priesthood more seriously.

“Even men that I’ve already known who before were not open to it, all of a sudden are like, ‘Hey, Father, can we set up a meeting?’” Wallace said.

The call to priesthood is “life-changing,” Wallace noted, and confirmation from your community can be that final push.

“All of a sudden, their name gets submitted and they get a letter from [the] archbishop,” Wallace said. “They’re like, ‘Wow, somebody else actually saw in me what I had an inkling could actually be true.’”

Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila shared his gratitude and excitement for the potential future priests.

“Thanks to the dedicated witness of my brother priests and the prayerful support of our archdiocesan faithful, we received more than 900 names of young men who could make good, happy, and holy priests here in northern Colorado,” the archbishop said.

“I am grateful that our faithful recognized this pastoral potential in so many young men in our archdiocese,” he added.

The nationwide priest shortage affects dioceses everywhere. Seminarian enrollment in the United States has been on a decadeslong decline as fewer young men seek out the priesthood and the number of active priests in the U.S. continues to dwindle. In 2025, about 400 men were set to be ordained to the priesthood in the U.S.

The need is great in Denver, according to recent data shared by the archdiocese. 

“Our archdiocese needs more priests to shepherd, to father, our parish communities by offering the sacraments, especially the most holy Eucharist, and calling each of us to deeper conversion and encounter with Jesus Christ,” Aquila said.

The archdiocese, which serves about 600,000 Catholics, has only 148 archdiocesan priests in active ministry. More than a third of the archdiocese’s parishes are served by only one priest.

“This percentage would be much higher were it not for the generous priests from other parts of the country and world who make up for our shortfall of vocations,” read the data analysis by Denver Catholic, the archdiocesan news outlet.

Less than half of Denver’s priests were ordained for the archdiocese, and only 14% were born in Colorado.

But amid this, Denver has seen growth. Vocations are blooming in Denver this year in spite of the priest shortage. Dioceses around the U.S. tell a similar story — more seminarians are cropping up.

This year’s seminary class of 23 men was the largest in recent memory, according to Wallace — nearly doubling last year’s class size.

Wallace credits vocations as the fruit of faithfulness throughout the diocese — from the priests to the archbishop, from youth groups to Catholic schools, from parish ministry to Catholic families.  

“When you go to get a crop, you could say you have one person that sows the seed, another person who cultivates the seed, and then somebody who has to reap and gather,” he said.

When asked why this year made a record-breaking class, Wallace didn’t know whom to credit — except, maybe, the Lord.

“We live in the mystical body of the Church, and this year is a jubilee year,” he reflected. “And in jubilee years, traditionally, is it time for forgiving offenses and sharing your prosperity and blessing people with special graces.” 

“So perhaps Our Lord is blessing us in that regard with a lot of men for the seminary,” he continued.

The archbishop and Wallace have each sent a personal letter to the 900 men. The campaign isn’t over yet, and Wallace anticipates another 100 names. 

Aquila shared his enthusiasm for his own vocation to the priesthood and for the campaign.

“The priesthood is a beautiful vocation, a pure gift, and I am grateful to the Father for calling me to be his priest and his bishop,” he said.

“I pray that these 900 men — and many more — will draw near to Jesus Christ, the vine, and abide in relationship with him,” the archbishop continued. 

The men are invited to attend a “Come and See” at the seminary later this month, where the archbishop will give a talk and the men will have the opportunity to meet the rector of the seminary and spend time with the seminarians. Of the men the archdiocese reached out to, more than 70 signed up.

In a culture that tries to be “self-sufficient,” these young men are pursuing what God created them for, Wallace said.

“One thing that stands out to me is how open these young men are and how sincere they are about discovering what God created them for,” he said.

Aquila offered his prayers for the young men as they are discerning their vocations and asked the faithful to join in with him.

“As they come to know the Lord more personally, may he guide them to consider what is being asked of them,” Aquila said.

The Called By Name campaign will also continue in the form of discernment groups as well as other resources offered by the archdiocese.

“Please pray with me that they might respond faithfully, generously, and courageously — all so that, in Jesus Christ, all might be rescued and have abundant life, for the glory of the Father,” Aquila said.

Mary Ann Wilson conducts a children’s choir during Mass at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Ann Arbor, Michigan. / Credit: Martin Barillas

Ann Arbor, Michigan, Aug 17, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The setting: a suburban Michigan parish.

The agenda: a crash course in Gregorian chant as well as posture, breathing, and other elements of sacred choral music.

The attendees: youth ages 8 to 18.

Canticle Chant Camp was held at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Ann Arbor, Michigan, from July 28 to Aug. 1 and was attended by more than 40 children and teens. The camp ended with a sung Mass.

The instructor was veteran choral director and educator Mary Ann Wilson. 

Wilson, who holds degrees in music, was trained in opera and Gregorian chant in Europe and has taught for nearly 30 years. She told CNA that she enjoys sharing “the glories of Gregorian chant, which uniquely fosters a sense of peace and joy that connects the whole person to God.” 

Referring to sacred music, she added: “It’s important to pass down this tradition. Beautiful sculpture, paintings, architecture, and stained-glass windows can last hundreds of years: All of them help us to pray. But music, once it is performed, is gone. It’s an offering to the Lord in real time. And if we don’t hand it down with every generation, we lose it.”

Wilson is president of the nonprofit apostolate Canticle.org, founded “to draw souls to Jesus Christ through the beauty of sacred music.” She has served as a parish music director and has led choirs singing Gregorian chant and renaissance polyphony. Since 2010, she has led the “Chant Camp” program at dozens of parishes and schools. She also trains teachers, choir directors, and cantors to lead camps themselves and foster sacred music.

In addition, Wilson is a consultant to the Benedict XVI Institute, which seeks to instill a sense of the sacred in the arts and worship throughout the country. She said she has received encouragement from Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, a board member of the institute, in her quest to promote traditional liturgical music.

During the camp, Wilson did a deep dive into the prayers and structure of the sung Mass. Her directive: “Everybody can sing something, and nobody sings everything.”

Students learn the “Kyrie” and “Sanctus,” for example, while the more experienced get practice in more difficult chants. “What they learn is to sing together as their offering during the Mass.”

Practice in traditional hymns such as “All Glory, Laud, and Honor” and Gregorian chant adapted to English were also on the bill.

Wilson said she feels blessed to share her expertise with youth. 

She recalled that while studying musical performance and pedagogy at San Diego State University, she gained an appreciation for the beauty of the Church’s tradition of polyphonic singing. “I found myself singing polyphonic Masses at a secular university,” she observed, adding: “This music is for everybody.” 

Jeanne Marie Gerig, organist and music director at St. Thomas, told CNA that the canticle camp is just the beginning of an expanding parochial music program, especially for children. Gerig, a convert who was inspired to enter the Church because of its sacred music, said that while the parochial school has its own music program, home-schoolers and parents from other parishes are also seeking enrichment for their children.

“They will learn different settings of the Mass because every season should sound different. Easter should sound different, Christmas should sound different, and not just look different,” she said. “They will learn to read music, sing it, and sing in Mass.”

“Parents welcome the opportunity for kids to become more knowledgeable about singing music that is part of our heritage and used for liturgy,” Gerig said.

Gerig is an active member of the Catholic Music Association of America and continues to consult at parishes around the country, supported by offering online courses in Gregorian chant offered by the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music of California. She told CNA that she is especially pleased to offer such instruction to young people.

“By learning music, they can serve God and their community and contribute to the liturgy in a meaningful way, and help others to pray and worship,” she explained, adding that the goal is to offer the chant camp every summer. She hopes that the canticle camp will spark interest in the parish’s Laudate Youth Choir and the Pueri Cordis Jesu schola.

The parish’s choir directors also support these chant-based initiatives.

Hannah Bingham, a trained music educator and recent convert, told CNA that she will be directing three singing ensemble options for the Laudate Youth Choir, grouped according to age from 8 to adulthood.

“It’s open to any youth in the area who want to use their voice to glorify God,” she said, referring to nearby parishes where youth choirs haven’t been established. “We want to expose them to Masses at different parishes. We hope for a unifying and uplifting experience, not only spiritually but also building friendships and community.”

University of Michigan music major Lucia Skrobola will lead Puer Cordis Jesu, a schola choir for ages 8 to 18 focusing on Gregorian chant and Latin polyphonic hymns for the Mass in the extraordinary form at the parish. She said participants will sing at Mass monthly and at festivals.

“Gregorian chant is the prayer of the Mass. I’ve come to realize how beautiful it is and that it brings out the reverence of the liturgy in a way other music does not,” she said.

Police with automatic weapons guard outside the West Kowloon court after Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai arrived for his national security trial in Hong Kong on Aug. 15, 2025. / Credit: ISAAC LAWRENCE/AFP via Getty Images

CNA Staff, Aug 16, 2025 / 07:30 am (CNA).

President Donald Trump has vowed to do “everything [he] can” to “save” imprisoned Catholic activist Jimmy Lai, promising to “see what we can do” to help the longtime human rights advocate who has languished in jail for years.

Trump made the remarks during a radio interview with Fox News this week, stating that he has “already brought it up” in government circles.

The U.S. president’s vow comes as Lai, imprisoned by Chinese Communist Party authorities since 2020, is nearing the end of a lengthy national security trial in Hong Kong.

Closing arguments in the trial were postponed repeatedly this week amid inclement weather and medical concerns regarding Lai. The 77-year-old has reportedly experienced heart troubles while imprisoned.

A longtime free speech activist and human rights advocate, Lai — who converted to Catholicism in 1997 and who has spoken publicly about his faith on numerous occasions — was first arrested just over five years ago, in August 2020, on charges related to China’s then-new national security law.

The government has handed down multiple jail sentences to Lai since then on other charges related to unlawful assemblies and fraud. Delayed for years, his national security trial commenced in December 2023.

Lai’s supporters and advocates have suggested that the outcome of the trial is likely foregone. Father Robert Sirico, a Catholic priest and the founder of the Michigan-based Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, told CNA at the start of Lai’s security trial that he had little hope that the Chinese government would allow Lai to walk free.

“When was the last time you saw a totalitarian government put someone through their court system and have them come out innocent?” he said.

Sirico echoed those fears in an essay at the Free Press this week, describing the trial as fully “subject to Chinese control.”

“There is no jury. The three judges were handpicked by Hong Kong’s chief executive, who is under the thumb of the CCP. These judges hold Lai’s fate in their hands,” the priest wrote.

Amid his ongoing imprisonment and trial, Lai has drawn international support. A congressional commission in 2023 urged the U.S. government to sanction Hong Kong prosecutors and judges if they failed to release the activist. That same year, a coalition of international human rights groups called for efforts to secure his release. Catholic leaders around the world have likewise called for his release.

Earlier this year he was awarded the Bradley Prize for being an “inspiration to all who value freedom.” The Catholic University of America last year featured his artwork on its campus. A bill in the U.S. Congress even proposes renaming a Washington, D.C., street “Jimmy Lai Way.”

How much the U.S. government could ultimately do to help Lai is unclear. Ahead of his reelection last year, Trump promised to get Lai out of jail, though this week he appeared to walk back that assurance.

“I didn’t say 100% I’d save him. I said 100% I’m going to be bringing it up,” he told Fox radio host Brian Kilmeade.

Still, Trump said, “[Lai’s] name has already entered the circle of things that we’re talking about.” Trump further praised Lai’s son, Sebastien, for his efforts to free his father.

Sirico, meanwhile, this week wrote that Lai in his yearslong imprisonment “reminds us what it looks like to live without fear. To speak without permission. To suffer for the truth.”

“He reminds us, in other words, of what it means to be free,” the priest said.

Moral theologian Charles Camosy, a bioethics professor at The Catholic University of America and an acclaimed author, speaks to anchor Catherine Hadro on “EWTN News In Depth” on Aug. 15, 2025. / Credit: EWTN News

CNA Staff, Aug 16, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

As artificial intelligence (AI) has become more widespread, a Catholic bioethics expert is warning against the dangers posed by it, saying it’s “not too late” to “put the genie back in the bottle” and avoid the worst effects of the new technology.  

Pope Leo XIV has already warned that AI could have negative effects on the development of young people and contribute to a “loss of the sense of the human.”

“He took the name Leo XIV to connect himself to Leo XIII, who himself was dealing with the industrial revolution of the late century, which totally transformed culture,” moral theologian Charles Camosy, a bioethics professor at The Catholic University of America and an acclaimed author, told “EWTN News In Depth” anchor Catherine Hadro on Aug. 15.

“We’re undergoing right now a similar technological change that is going to totally transform the culture,” Camosy said. “How do we respond?” 

Camosy recently wrote a story for the Atlantic in which he argued that addressing artificial intelligence “could be the most ambitious and enduring project of Pope Leo XIV’s legacy.”

AI is “going to impact nearly every part of our culture,” Camosy noted, adding that “people often can’t tell the difference when they’re talking to a human being or a chatbot.”

“To the extent that we have any confusion about that, that’s really super worrisome, because we need to hold on to this idea that we’re fundamentally different from a large-language model,” he said.

“We are flesh and blood made in the image and likeness of God with a soul that reflects a relationship that can’t possibly be present in a chatbot.” 

With an ongoing loneliness epidemic, people are already vulnerable, he noted. 

Camosy remarked that if individuals are living in a world where, “addicted to their smartphones,” they are unable to communicate authentically and lack friends who can respond genuinely, they can become “vulnerable to a very articulate chatbot.” 

He said AI chatbots are not just “stepping in to fill the void, but doing so in ways that at least imitate the need that all of us have for intimacy, for somebody to care about us.” 

It is something that the Church has been addressing for some time via working groups on AI, Camosy noted. 

“You could argue that the Church has been ahead of the broader culture on AI because these groups have been around for some years,” he said. 

Camosy referred to the Vatican document Antiqua et Nova: Note on the Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence as a Catholic resource on AI. 

“I suspect, but don’t know for sure, that our current Holy Father is at least in the early stages of putting something like that together,” he continued. 

“It’s not just AI,” he said, noting that the AI discussion ties into the “advent of transhumanism.” 

Transhumanism is a scientific and cultural movement proposing the modification of human biology through technology, potentially blurring the lines between the artificial and the real. 

“We’re in this really important cultural moment where this second industrial revolution is right on the cusp of happening. Thank God we have someone like Pope Leo” to lead the Church through it, Camosy said.

He pointed to grand claims that AI will eventually help human beings move away from work altogether. But work, he pointed out, is “an integral part of the human experience.”

“We need protections for work. We need protections for workers,” he said. “It’s not too late to put the genie back in the bottle on this one. We have to create a culture that shapes AI to serve human beings, not the other way around.”

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 15, 2025 / 16:41 pm (CNA).

A new study found that 2025 graduates of Catholic law schools are not only more focused on ethics, service, and community, but they are also more likely to be practicing law than graduates of secular institutions.

The study, commissioned by the St. Mary’s University School of Law and conducted by YouGov, asked a national sample of 1,076 law school graduates across Catholic and secular institutions (844 secular and 232 Catholic) questions about motivation, career trajectory, values alignment, civic participation, and ethical formation.

The report revealed graduates of Catholic institutions highly prioritize their career outcomes and professional commitments. It found that 14% more Catholic law school students who graduated this year are currently practicing law than graduates of secular institutions. Also, 13% more Catholic law graduates said their career aligns with their personal values.

The survey revealed that those who attended Catholic law schools are more likely to prioritize community roles and civic engagement.

Surveyed Catholic law school graduates were four times more likely to have held an elected community role and twice as likely to have tutored youth or community members, coach youth sports, or have served on bar committees. Catholic school graduates were also found to have a 26% higher participation rate in local elections.

More Catholic law school graduates said they were motivated to enter the profession to uphold the rule of law (10%) than secular graduates. Catholic graduates were also more likely to cite “helping others” and “seeking justice” among their top motivations.

The report noted that 7% more Catholic school graduates said they feel confident applying ethical reasoning in complex legal situations and 8% more said education provided a framework for resolving moral or professional conflicts.

The study also found that graduates of Catholic schools tended to have more positive experiences while in law school. Of the participants, 15% more Catholic graduates than secular graduates reported they felt a sense of community at law school, 12% more said law school helped them find life’s purpose, and 10% more said law school clarified their broader purpose in the profession.

Overall, the study revealed that aside from providing legal expertise, Catholic law schools are also encouraging a moral framework and strong commitment to community. 

St. Mary’s reported the study is the first national one of its kind focused on law school graduates. It builds on a 2024 report by St. Mary’s that surveyed undergraduate and general alumni and found Catholic university graduates are more likely to report higher fulfillment and more emphasis on morality in their decision-making. A second version of the broader study is scheduled for later this year.

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CNA Staff, Aug 15, 2025 / 14:33 pm (CNA).

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

Costco won’t dispense abortion pill at pharmacy locations 

Costco won’t dispense the abortion pill mifepristone in its pharmacies following pressure from investors to refuse selling the drug in its stores.

With more than 500 pharmacy locations, the retailer says the company hasn’t seen consumer demand for the pill, according to Bloomberg News. 

A coalition including the legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and the Idaho-based Inspire Investing last year publicly urged the company to not stock the drugs. Costco in the statement did not comment on whether the coalition played a role in its decision not to stock the drug.

Chemical abortions account for about half of the abortions in the United States every year.

ADF attorney Michael Ross called Costco’s decision “a very significant win” and said the group hopes “to build on” this win over the coming year.

Major online abortion provider named in Texas wrongful death lawsuit  

A wrongful death lawsuit was recently filed against a major online abortion drug provider after a Texas man allegedly poisoned his wife and unborn child with drugs he obtained from the company.

According to the lawsuit, the man spiked the drink of the mother of his unborn child with abortion pills, killing the unborn child and sending the mother to the emergency room.

The lawsuit claims that Christopher Cooprider killed his own unborn child with abortion drugs from Aid Access, a group that ships abortion drugs into states like Texas, where abortion is generally banned.

The lawsuit names Aid Access Founder Rebecca Gomperts and Cooprider as defendants.

The filing contains a series of texts where Cooprider appears to attempt to pressure the mother of his child into abortion.

“You’ve told me 1,000 times you are trying to stress me out so that I lose the baby,” the mother wrote. “I can’t wait to hold that gorgeous baby though, if it’s alive.”

Though the mother had “no intention of aborting,” Cooprider slipped the abortion pills into her hot chocolate on April 5, the lawsuit said, leading to the death of the baby.

Pro-family groups file lawsuit opposing Montana’s constitutional right to abortion

Two pro-family Montana groups are continuing to oppose the abortion rights provision in the state’s constitution in a district court.

The Montana Life Defense Fund and Montana Family Foundation filed a lawsuit in Yellowstone District Court earlier this week.

The groups asked Judge Thomas Pardy to declare the constitutional initiative invalid because the full text was not printed on the ballot.

The Montana Constitution guarantees a right to abortion up to the point of fetal viability (around the 22nd week of gestation).

Advocates challenged the measure’s passage under a two-year statute of limitations. The groups were initially ruled against by the Montana Supreme Court but resolved to continue opposing the measure.

Indiana appeals court upholds pro-life law

The Indiana Court of Appeals this week upheld an Indiana pro-life law that protects unborn children throughout pregnancy with some exceptions.

In the 31-page ruling, a panel of judges ruled to uphold the law requiring abortions to be performed only in hospitals and surgery centers and to protect unborn life except in cases of a serious health or life risk to the mother, a lethal fetal anomaly, or cases of rape or incest.

Planned Parenthood Great Northwest opposed the law in the suit, arguing that if a pregnancy risked the mother’s health, providers might be afraid to abort the unborn child because of fears of legal repercussions.

In addition, the plaintiffs opposed that the law required abortions to be performed in hospitals or surgical centers, not freestanding clinics.

The appeals court ruled to uphold the law, maintaining that the circumstances brought before them “do not necessitate an abortion to treat those risks.” The panel of judges added that because abortions are only allowed in “an extreme medical scenario,” the hospital rule “is not a material burden” on the state’s constitutional right ot abortion.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita called the ruling a “resounding victory for life” and said he is committed to “protecting the most vulnerable and upholding our state’s values.”

null / Credit: Andy via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

CNA Staff, Aug 15, 2025 / 13:11 pm (CNA).

A Pennsylvania priest has been placed on administrative leave after he confessed to local prosecutors last month to falsifying the results of a high-level fundraising raffle at his parish.

Father Ross Miceli allegedly “admitted to publicly falsifying the results of the grand prize winner” of a raffle for either a Corvette or a $50,000 cash prize at St. Jude the Apostle Parish in Erie.

In an Aug. 14 statement, the Diocese of Erie told CNA that Miceli will be placed on administrative leave as part of the ongoing investigation into the priest’s actions. Erie Bishop Lawrence Persico has also recommended that St. Jude Parish hire “an independent forensic auditor to review all finances.”

The priest announced his resignation from the parish on the weekend of July 20, though he did not give a reason at the time. The Erie Diocese said last month that Miceli would be heading to St. Timothy Parish in Curwensville starting on Aug. 12, where he would be a “sacramental assistant.”

The diocese also said in its Aug. 14 statement St. Jude’s will “sell the car from the fundraiser back to the dealer, and the parish will attempt to refund all raffle ticket purchases.” 

The Catholic parish hosted the “Winavette” raffle in 2024, allowing buyers to purchase $50 tickets for the chance to win a Stingray 1LT Corvette. The grand-prize winner of the event could take either the car or $50,000 in cash. The raffle was open to players nationwide.

On Dec. 25, 2024, the church announced that “Martin Anderson” of Detroit had won the grand prize. The reported winner “chose the cash option,” the church said.

Yet an employee of the parish allegedly “raised concerns” about the raffle to Persico, according to the warrants, leading the diocese to investigate the contest and eventually contact the county prosecutor’s office.

The priest reportedly “admitted [to the employee] that he fabricated the grand-prize winner’s name,” the Times-News reported, citing the documents. The priest allegedly committed the falsification after “a problem with the raffle system” left the grand prize without a winner.

The priest said the prize money was “still in an account” after the fabrication. Miceli allegedly told the employee that he “needed to keep this secret,” according to prosecutors. Miceli also allegedly fabricated several other winners in the raffle.

Miceli’s confession was reportedly detailed in warrants from the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, according to an Aug. 7 report in the Erie Times-News.

Detectives seized Miceli’s iPad and iPhone as well as financial records for both the parish and the raffle, the Erie paper reported.

Law enforcement handling the case did not respond to a query from CNA on Aug. 7. 

But the diocese told the Times-News that it was aware of the investigation and was “cooperating fully with the appropriate authorities.”

On Facebook the church posted that 2024 was the “last year” the raffle would be held, though they noted that Father John Detisch was operatinga similar raffle at Dubois Central Catholic School in Dubois.

General view of the Council Fathers in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 8, 1962, at the Vatican, at the end of the first session of the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II. / Credit: AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 15, 2025 / 12:41 pm (CNA).

An economics paper published last month on religious service attendance trends in 66 countries concluded that the implementation of reforms associated with the Second Vatican Council likely contributed to subsequent Mass attendance declines.

The working paper, “Looking Backward: Long-term Religious Service Attendance in 66 Countries,” was published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) on July 21.

NBER economists delved into historical trends for religious service attendance in historically Catholic and historically Protestant countries based on 1,900 religious affiliation statistics.

According to the researchers, attendance rates declined significantly faster in historically Catholic countries than in Protestant ones in the years after Vatican II. The trend began immediately after Vatican II and was not ongoing when the council began in the early 1960s.

Beginning in 1965 and through the 2010s, monthly attendance in Catholic nations decreased by an average of 4 percentage points more than Protestant countries in every decade.

Dismissing the claim that attendance rates only went down due to broader secularizing trends globally, the report asserted: “The decline in attendance is specific to Catholicism, to which Vatican II would directly apply.”

NBER researchers claim that Vatican II and subsequent reforms “profoundly affected Catholic faith and practice” and concluded the council’s implementation “triggered a decline in worldwide Catholic attendance relative to that in other denominations.”

“Compared to other countries, Catholic countries experienced a steady decline in the monthly adult religious service attendance rate starting immediately after Vatican II,” the report found. “The effect is statistically significant.”

Harvard economics professor Robert Barro, one author of the study, told CNA the findings show “a substantial reduction in attendance” in Catholic countries relative to Protestant countries. 

He noted the Catholic decline culminates to “as much as 20 percentage points” worse than the Protestant decline over about four decades.

Barro said “before Vatican II, the Catholic and non-Catholic places behaved in a similar manner.”

He said “there’s nothing before the event” but also noted the study “cannot exclude the possibility that something else that you’re not looking at happened at the same time.”

The NBER report incorporates retrospective questions from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP). These surveys from 1991, 1998, 2008, and 2018 gather data about the past by asking respondents about religious service attendance from their childhoods. These surveys, according to the report, fill in data for years in which there was not polling.

“Nobody before had the long-term data,” Barro said.

What might have impacted the decline in Mass attendance?

Although the report is primarily an economics paper, the researchers cite sociologists who have analyzed the implementation of Vatican II. It contends the findings are consistent with the view that the implementation “shattered the perception of an immovable, truth-holding Church.”

The report cites the late sociologist Father Andrew Greeley’s book “The Catholic Revolution,” which attributed five major changes to the post-Vatican II Church: Mass in the local language, broader ecumenism, looser rules, internal debates on birth control, and more priests seeking laicization.

Harvard economist Rachel McCleary, who is Barro’s wife and has also conducted research on the Church, told CNA she believes the implementation of the council had “a secularizing effect on the Catholic Church, which means that you’re losing your brand.”

“They want something that’s different, that addresses their spiritual needs,” she said, arguing that the implementation of the council “did the reverse; it secularized the religion.”

McCleary argued that the implementation led to some internal strife with some Catholics believing the effects “went too far” and others thinking they “didn’t go far enough.”

Father Paul Sullins, a senior research associate at the Ruth Institute, told CNA there is a distinction between Vatican II itself and the subsequent “social effects of its implementation and reception” of the council.

He warned not to confuse the implementation with “the content or documents of the council proper.”

Sullins said some Church leaders “acted in what they perceived to be ‘the spirit of Vatican II,’ which was often not envisioned or even justified by the council itself.”

Yet disproportionate attendance decline, he noted, is “undeniable and widely documented.” He added: “The Catholic decline is pretty secular (gradual, long-term), so it’s probably responsive to many other cultural factors [as well],” such as disputes about the Church’s ban on contraception. 

“But [the implementation of] Vatican II clearly worked to accommodate the Church to the world, and so contributed to the decline — the differential decline — among Catholics,” Sullins said.

For example, the council itself allowed greater use of the vernacular language but also called for preserving the use of Latin and Gregorian chant in the Mass. The council did not require priests to face the people during Mass as opposed to the traditional “ad orientem” posturing in which the priest faces away from the people. It also did not discourage kneeling while receiving Communion.

Tom Nash, a staff apologist for Catholic Answers, contended the report failed to make a clear distinction between the council itself and “the infamous ‘spirit of Vatican II’” when it comes to certain subjects, such as ecumenism.

“The issue is whether the actual teachings of the council triggered this decline or whether there are other factors involved,” he told CNA.

Although Vatican II avoids using the word “heretic” for Protestants and opts to use “separated brethren,” Nash said “the Church didn’t, in fact, promote religious indifference at the council in its teachings.” He said the term “is painfully but accurately used multiple times … regarding fellow Christians … who are validly baptized.”

Non-Christians, Nash said, “are our brothers and sisters in the sense that we are all made in the image and likeness of God, but we painfully are not yet one Christ.”

Nash cited the council’s dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium to note Vatican II “reaffirmed the Church’s definitive teaching on papal primacy in governing and teaching, which Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted in founding the Church on the rock of St. Peter.” 

“Vatican II also reaffirmed and elaborated further on the Church’s divinely given power to teach infallibly on faith and morals,” he added.

Nash noted several ways the Church could improve Mass attendance, including an increase in Eucharistic reverence, such as more options for adoration, “promoting kneeling for the reception of holy Communion,” and using patens to “heighten Eucharistic awareness and reverence.” 

He also encouraged parishes to offer confession for five to 10 hours every week.

“When we make sacramental encounters more available with Our Lord Jesus Christ, an increase in Sunday Mass participation will follow accordingly,” Nash said.

Clergy accompany migrants at a courthouse in San Diego. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Scott Santarosa

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 15, 2025 / 11:13 am (CNA).

A new initiative launched by the Catholic Diocese of San Diego and its interfaith partners is offering accompaniment and a spiritual presence for migrants and asylum seekers at their immigration hearings in Southern California.

The program — Faithful Accompaniment in Trust & Hope (FAITH) — was launched on Aug. 4 amid the increasing number of deportations within California and nationwide amid President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

“They’re walking into a whole building and system that’s against them,” Jesuit Father Scott Santarosa, who is leading the FAITH program, told CNA.

FAITH is primarily led by three partners: the diocese, which sits right along the southern border; Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Parish in Barrio Logan, which is 15 miles from the border and of which Santarosa is the pastor; and the multifaith San Diego Organizing Project (SDOP).

The program enlists volunteers of several faiths to accompany people before, during, and after immigration court appearances. As of Aug. 14, about 100 people have signed up to volunteer from seven faith groups: Catholics, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Unitarian Universalists, Muslims, members of the United Church of Christ, and members of the Church of the Nazarene.

Santarosa said the main priority is to “be present accompanying migrants to court” and to “be a prayerful presence with them and for them.”

A person who is scheduled to appear at an immigration hearing can sign up to have a volunteer accompany him or her within the courtroom and, if he or she chooses, meet with a volunteer before or after the hearing to pray with or simply speak with the volunteer.

Santarosa said only 10-20 people awaiting hearings have signed up to meet up with volunteers over the last two weeks but added: “I think that number will go up — I hope it does.” He noted that if the volunteer is requested ahead of time, that volunteer will “have a little more standing in the eyes of the court … [and the judge] may allow us to sit in on a migrant’s case.”

At this stage of the program, most of the volunteers are attending in groups and then breaking apart to offer a presence at hearings that are open to the public. Some remain in the hallways, Santarosa noted, because Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is sometimes “waiting to arrest people whose cases have been dismissed.”

“Even when we don’t know the person … we’ve had people really express a lot of gratitude that we’ve been there,” Santarosa said.

Bishop Michael Pham and the diocesan auxiliary bishops are among the volunteers who have provided accompaniment at the courthouse.

Santarosa said a lot of volunteers speak Spanish and the program also has one volunteer who speaks Vietnamese and another, an imam, who speaks Arabic. He said he also hopes to find volunteers who speak Haitian Creole and others who speak Mandarin Chinese.

He noted that many people appreciate the ability to converse in their native language, noting that on the first day one person awaiting a hearing “didn’t have a lawyer and the imam stood up to talk with him … in one of his native languages and that was a comfort to him.”

Initiative inspired by the Gospel, diocesan incidents

Prior to launching the program, the diocese celebrated a Mass on June 20 for International Refugee Day, after which the bishop, some priests, and others went to the courthouse to offer accompaniment to people awaiting immigration hearings.

The diocese had a sign-up sheet for anyone who would like to volunteer to accompany migrants at the courthouse, which yielded about 100 signatures and ultimately led to the FAITH program.

When asked about the motivation for the initiative, Santarosa said it’s “not enough to just have thoughts and prayers” and that “Jesus expects us to actually take care of [people’s] physical needs.”

“I think there’s a … mandate in that Gospel that we need to put our faith into action,” he added.

Santarosa referenced Matthew 25: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,” which Jesus says to his disciples when speaking about those who will inherit the kingdom of heaven.

“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me,” Jesus Christ says in the Gospel passage.

Santarosa also spoke about specific diocesan needs, noting that two parishioners have been deported within the past six months. He also personally accompanied one of his parishioners to two immigration hearings at her request and helped her get a lawyer to assist with filling out her asylum request paperwork.

Since the San Diego Diocese launched the program, Santarosa said other dioceses have reached out to ask for details about how to implement the program. He encouraged other dioceses to start similar programs, saying: “It’s really not that complicated” and “people of goodwill and the faithful” will volunteer.

“I think it’s a great thing for clerics, for [Church] leaders, and for laypeople to do,” Santarosa said.

The encounter in Indianapolis will feature opening remarks by Pope Leo XIV, youth representatives, and a live Q&A. / Credit: EWTN News

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 15, 2025 / 06:35 am (CNA).

EWTN Global Catholic Network announced it will serve as the exclusive media partner providing news coverage, broadcast, and digital streaming of Pope Leo XIV’s first-ever digital visit with American Catholic youth during the 2025 National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) hosted by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM) on Nov. 21. 

The historic encounter will connect the Holy Father live from the Vatican with thousands of young people gathered in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and many more watching online around the world. 

According to the NCYC, the Holy Father is expected to address as many as 15,000 registered young people ages 14-18 from Catholic youth movements across the United States and engage directly with them during a 45-minute live dialogue beginning at 10:15 a.m. ET on Nov. 21.

A select number of young people will be chosen to directly converse with Pope Leo during the session. The NFCYM indicated that details about the selection process will be shared in the coming weeks.

The encounter will take place on the second day of the Nov. 20–22 NCYC, which in addition to the young people will gather Catholic youth ministry leaders, clergy, and volunteers from across the country for three days of prayer, formation, community, and celebration.

Reacting to the announcement, Archbishop Charles Thompson of Indianapolis said: “It’s wonderful to welcome the youth of the United States back to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis just a year after we had 60,000 Catholics there for the National Eucharistic Congress.” He added that “revival in the United States isn’t something to hope for, it is something that is happening. I am pleased to partner with NFCYM, my brother bishops, and EWTN to facilitate this important digital encounter.”

“From the very beginning, EWTN has been the place where the faithful can gather — across distances and time zones — for the great moments in the life of the Church,” said Michael P. Warsaw, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of EWTN. “As we continue to grow and adapt our media platforms, serving younger audiences has become an essential part of our mission. This historic encounter will not only inspire young people but also invite them more deeply into the heart of the Church,” he noted.

Montse Alvarado, president and COO of EWTN News, added: “At EWTN News, we are committed to covering and supporting events of significance in the global Church. We are especially excited to partner with NCYC, NFCYM, and honored to work with the Holy Father on this unprecedented moment for the young people of the American Church with the first American pope.” 

Today’s announcement, on the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also coincides with the 44th anniversary of EWTN’s first broadcast.  

“This providential selection reflects EWTN’s long-standing mission to bring the Church’s message to every home and to support young people in encountering Jesus Christ and growing in their faith,” Alvarado said. 

The encounter will feature opening remarks by Pope Leo XIV, youth representatives, a live Q&A, and closing remarks including a blessing. EWTN’s coverage will also include broadcasting additional NCYC programming from Nov. 20–22, providing global audiences with access to prayer, catechesis, formation, and celebration taking place in Indianapolis. 

Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson Pérez, who serves as episcopal adviser to the NFCYM, noted that “the Holy Father’s choice to encounter the American youth in this way is an expression of his closeness to Catholic youth, following in the footsteps of his predecessor Pope Francis who called the youth the ‘now of God.’” 

Echoing Pérez, Warsaw pointed out that “this encounter with Pope Leo XIV will mark an important moment for the youth of America,” adding that “I am thrilled that we can offer EWTN’s services for the 2025 conference and encounter by providing the means by which NCYC, NFCYM, and the Holy Father will have a global vehicle of expression. We look forward to sharing this moment with the world.” 

Visit ncyc.us for more information about the program and how to participate.  

The largest Catholic media organization in the world, EWTN’s 11 global TV channels and numerous regional channels are broadcast in multiple languages 24 hours a day, seven days a week to over 435 million television households in more than 160 countries and territories. EWTN platforms also include radio services transmitted through SIRIUS/XM, iHeart Radio, and over 600 U.S. and international AM & FM radio affiliates; a worldwide shortwave radio service; one of the most visited Catholic websites in the U.S.; as well as EWTN Publishing, its book publishing division.  

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., EWTN News operates multiple global news services, including Catholic News Agency; The National Catholic Register newspaper and digital platform; ACI Prensa in Spanish; ACI Digital in Portuguese; ACI Stampa in Italian; ACI Africa in English, French, and Portuguese; ACI MENA in Arabic; CNA Deutsch in German; and ChurchPop, a digital platform that creates content in several languages. It also produces numerous television news programs including “EWTN News Nightly,” “EWTN Noticias,” “EWTN News In Depth,” “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly,” “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo,” and “Vaticano.”