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The U.S. Supreme Court on June 5 unanimously ruled in favor of the Catholic Charities Bureau of the Diocese of Superior, Wisconsin. The group had appealed a ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which ruled that Catholic Charities is not exempt from paying into the state’s unemployment insurance system because its operations aren’t primarily religious under the definition in the statute requiring certain employers to do so.
In a May 29 Wall Street Journal commentary, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York urged Empire State lawmakers to reject legislation that would legalize physician-assisted suicide. The New York Assembly April 29 passed a bill that would allow a terminally ill adult with a prognosis of six months or less to request from a physician a medication that would hasten his or her death. In Illinois, the “End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act” — an amendment inserted into Senate Bill 1950 on the sanitary regulation of prepared foods and ready-to-make meal kits — did not go up for a vote before the last day of Illinois’ spring legislative session May 31.
Pope Leo XIV ordained 11 men to the priesthood May 31, and later that day joined a rosary walk through Vatican Gardens, concluding the month traditionally dedicated to Mary. On June 1, he gave a homily at the Mass concluding the Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents and the Elderly that noted “families are the cradle of the future of humanity.” Pope Leo’s Wednesday general audience June 4 reflected on the parable of the workers in the vineyard. He also spoke with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and met with cyclist athletes, representatives of the Romanian church and Jewish community and with members of the Vatican Secretariat of State. His prayer intention for June is “that the world might grow in compassion.” The pope will hold a meeting with cardinals June 13 to approve the canonization of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and seven other people; the Vatican may also announce a new date for the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis.
Catholics are being urged to attend National Eucharistic Pilgrimage events in large numbers as anti-Catholic protests grow along the 3,340-mile St. Katharine Drexel Route. Protesters have targeted Eucharistic processions, denouncing Catholic beliefs, particularly Jesus’ real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Up to 50 protesters, including children, confronted pilgrims in Oklahoma from May 30 to June 2.
As Boulder residents reeled from a violent attack on peaceful demonstrators June 1 who called for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza, Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila of Denver expressed sorrow over the attack and urged an end to such violence. The attack was against participants on a weekly walk in downtown Boulder sponsored by the city’s chapter of Run for Their Lives. The alleged attacker was armed with a homemade flamethrower and threw two Molotov cocktails at the group, burning multiple victims, police said.
In Uganda, ten of thousands of pilgrims gathered at the Namugongo shrine June 3 to honor the Uganda Martyrs: 45 Christians killed for their faith between 1885 and 1887, including Catholic convert St. Charles Lwanga. Security was tight after Ugandan forces thwarted a terror attack just hours before the feast. Suspected extremists, armed with explosive vests, were killed near the Munyonyo Basilica.
With rapid developments in artificial intelligence in the headlines seemingly continuous and even dizzying, The Catholic University of America in Washington’s response to this has been strategic: to launch two new degree offerings, a bachelor of science and a master of science in artificial intelligence — both of which will debut in the fall of 2025.
Amid an investigation into a controversial and retracted FBI memo that suggested some “radical traditionalist” Catholics pose threats of racial or ethnically motivated violence, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley alleged the FBI distributed the memo that “used anti-Catholic terminology” more widely than previously known.
Church leaders in Syria are urging caution following reports that the body of Jesuit Father Paolo Dall’Oglio may have been found near Raqqa. Father Dall’Oglio was kidnapped by a Islamic State group in 2013 while trying to mediate hostage releases. Bishop Antranig Ayvazian announced June 3 that a group had identified the priest’s remains in a local cemetery, however key church officials said the discovery remains unverified.
The Trump administration announced June 3 that it would revoke Biden-era guidance to the nation’s hospitals directing them to perform abortions in emergency circumstances, even in states that banned the procedure.
