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Maryland Supreme Court upholds law ending statute of limitations on child sex abuse lawsuits

null / Credit: HTGanzo/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Feb 7, 2025 / 13:30 pm (CNA).

The Maryland Supreme Court this week found that the state Child Victims Act (CVA) of 2023 did not violate the state constitution, allowing victims to file civil lawsuits against alleged abusers — including Catholic officials — regardless of when the abuse occurred. 

The high court this week upheld the 2023 law, which had abolished a 20-year statute of limitations for civil child abuse suits, ruling against three plaintiffs including the archbishop of Washington, D.C. 

The 2023 law, which passed the state Legislature that year with near-unanimous support and was signed by state Gov. Wes Moore, effectively repealed a “statute of repose” that had been established in 2017 and that limited the timeline for filing child abuse claims in the state to 20 years after the alleged victim became an adult. 

A statute of repose is similar to a statute of limitations, though it is usually stricter in enforcing a timeline by which individuals can bring lawsuits.

The plaintiffs had argued at the high court that the statute of repose established by the 2017 law had created a right to be “free of liability,” shielding them from lawsuits subsequently brought under the 2023 statute.

The state Supreme Court, however, ruled that the 2017 law established a statute of limitations rather than repose, and thus the law “did not give rise to a vested right to be free of liability” after the 2023 law repealed the statute.

The court ruled 4-3 in favor of the CVA. In a dissent, Justice Jonathan Biran said the court’s majority “fails to interpret the 2017 act as the General Assembly wrote it.” 

“It is difficult to imagine how the General Assembly could more plainly state that [the law established] a statute of repose,” Biran said, pointing to the explicit use of the term in the law. 

The high court’s Feb. 3 ruling incorporated three separate cases brought by plaintiffs who had been sued for abuse under the 2023 law and were challenging its constitutionality. 

Among the plaintiffs was the archbishop of Washington, who was sued in Prince George’s County in 2024 “for alleged sexual and emotional abuse by clergy.”

The other plaintiffs were the Harford County Board of Education and the Annapolis-based Key School. 

Rubio secures migration deals as Panama Canal tensions, Church criticisms mark region tour

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) talks to Panama Canal Authority Administrator Ricaurte Vasquez during a tour at the Miraflores locks of the Panama Canal in Panama City on Feb. 2, 2025. / Credit: MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Seattle, Wash., Feb 7, 2025 / 10:15 am (CNA).

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio capped a whirlwind tour of Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic this week by signing fresh migration accords designed to stem northbound flows. But the trip was as much about Central America as it was about China as the Trump administration aims to reclaim American influence and authority in the continent away from its Far East rival.

Rubio began his trip in Panama, where he attended Mass at Our Lady of Mercy in Panama City, a nod to the Catholic faith he often cites as a guiding force in his life. Talks swiftly pivoted to U.S. priorities: curbing illegal migration, restraining Beijing’s influence, and ensuring authoritarian regimes face repercussions for driving mass migration.

During meetings with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, Rubio warned of China’s “influence and control” near the canal’s logistics chain. In response, Mulino announced that Panama would let its participation in Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative expire, effectively distancing the nation from a deal it had signed in 2017.

Archbishop José Domingo Ulloa Mendieta pointedly defended Panama’s sovereignty and the canal’s neutrality, calling it a “symbol of national identity.” 

“The people of Panama have demonstrated the ability to administer and maintain the canal’s neutrality, open to the world,” he said.

Ulloa Mendieta added that any outside claims on the canal “don’t know the generational struggle and sacrifice” of Panamanians, urging international respect for the nation’s territory and for “dialogue and common sense” to avoid conflict.

New migration accords

Rubio devoted much of his trip to forging alliances to reduce unauthorized journeys to the U.S. In Panama, Rubio observed a U.S.-funded flight at Albrook International Airport repatriating dozens of undocumented Colombians, a measure officials say has curbed illicit crossings through the country’s Darién region.

In El Salvador, Rubio lauded President Nayib Bukele’s commitment to accept deportees regardless of nationality, while Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo agreed to increase U.S. deportation flights by 40%, emphasizing that job creation and reintegration programs are crucial for tackling emigration’s root causes.

A recent clash with Colombia loomed in the background. After facing a threat of 25% tariffs on key exports, Bogotá reversed an earlier refusal to receive U.S. deportees — a move that demonstrated Washington’s readiness to impose economic penalties if nations spurn its migration agenda. 

Shortly before Rubio’s visit, Red Clamor, a regional Catholic Church network that advocates for migrants, refugees, and trafficking survivors, issued a statement condemning the Trump administration’s deportation-heavy posture, saying it fosters fear and erodes the “fundamental rights” of those escaping violence. 

The group cited Pope Francis’ call to “welcome, protect, promote, and integrate” migrants, contending that heightened national-security measures and detention without due process conflict with essential humanitarian principles, echoing the criticism from Church leaders in the U.S.

Recasting U.S. aid strategy

Another key element of Rubio’s tour focused on clarifying the Trump administration’s freeze on most foreign aid while programs are reviewed for alignment with U.S. priorities — a move the USCCB and Catholic Relief Services urged Congress to more broadly resume.

Rubio underscored that certain initiatives would receive waivers despite the freeze. He noted that the Dominican Republic’s operations targeting narcotics and transnational crime merit continued U.S. support, pointing to record drug seizures preventing narcotics from reaching American streets.

In addition, Rubio singled out Haiti’s spiraling crisis as qualifying for an exception. Dominican President Luis Abinader emphasized the urgent threat that Haiti’s instability poses to the entire region, warning that gang violence could trigger “uncontrollable” migration waves.

Acknowledging that Haitian governance “belongs to the people of Haiti themselves,” Rubio said the U.S. would back the Kenyan-led mission aimed at stabilizing gang-held areas.

Hard line on Venezuela

Rubio’s trip ended in the Dominican Republic with a striking display of U.S. resolve toward Venezuela’s leftist government. Dominican prosecutors, alongside U.S. officials, placed a “seized” notice on a Dassault Falcon 200 jet under Venezuelan ownership, allegedly used to sidestep U.S. sanctions.

“The seizure of this Venezuelan aircraft, used for evading U.S. sanctions and money laundering, is a powerful example of our resolve to hold the illegitimate Maduro regime accountable for its illegal actions,” Rubio posted on X

He reiterated that recent talks between White House Envoy Richard Grenell and President Nicolás Maduro solely aimed at pressing Caracas to accept deported Venezuelans and free U.S. citizens held as political prisoners — not at recognizing Maduro’s legitimacy.

Labeling Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua “enemies of humanity,” Rubio blamed Maduro’s government for displacing millions of Venezuelans and accused Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega of persecuting the Catholic Church, while deeming Cuba’s jailing of dissenters an “international disgrace.”

Missouri Republicans propose ballot question to undo abortion rights amendment

Pro-life protestors hold signs outside the Missouri Supreme Court on Sept. 10, 2024, advocating against Amendment 3, which would have dramatically expand abortion access in Missouri. / Credit: Courtesy of Thomas More Society

CNA Staff, Feb 7, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

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

Undoing Missouri’s abortion rights amendment

Missouri Republicans are taking steps to partially reverse the state’s new constitutional right to abortion via a ballot question. 

The ballot resolution would ask voters to allow an abortion only in the case of a medical emergency, fetal abnormality, or rape or incest. 

The measure, if passed, would also constitutionally ban hormones, puberty blockers, and surgeries for gender transition for minors. The procedures are currently banned for minors but the restriction expires in August 2027. If passed in the Legislature, the ballot question could go before voters this year, should Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe call a special election. 

Missouri voted to establish a constitutional right to abortion in November 2024 by 51.6%, overturning Missouri’s laws protecting unborn children. The current abortion amendment established a right to abortion up until fetal viability as well as if a health care professional deems an abortion necessary to protect the mother’s life or physical or mental health. 

Ohio Catholic bishops support bill banning state-funded death

The Catholic Conference of Ohio expressed support for a new bill that would prohibit state funding that intentionally terminates human life at any stage in Ohio, including the death penalty, abortion, and assisted suicide. 

Bills to prohibit state-funded death are set to be introduced into the Ohio Senate and House of Representatives. The legislation would abolish the death penalty in Ohio while also reinforcing current laws banning public funding for abortion. While assisted suicide is already illegal in Ohio, the legislation would expand on protections against the practice. 

Brian Hickey, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Ohio, said at a press conference that the legislation “reflects a consistent ethic of life, a principle the Catholic Church has long championed in her defense of human dignity from conception to natural death,” according to a Feb. 4 press release

Indiana to release previously withheld abortion records 

The Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) agreed on Feb. 3 to release public abortion records, settling a lawsuit brought by local pro-life group Voices for Life

Thomas More Society attorneys, representing Voices for Life, filed a lawsuit last year against the IDOH for violating Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act when the state health department refused to release abortion records to the public. 

Voices for Life requested the abortion reports to ensure that licensed health care professionals are in compliance with Indiana state laws protecting unborn children. The group had reviewed the documents since 2022, but in 2023, the health department denied their request, citing confidentiality, though the patients are unnamed in the reports. 

Voices for Life has discovered more than 700 instances of apparent abortion law violations by abortion providers. Melanie Garcia Lyon, executive director of Voices for Life, said the release “is a victory for vulnerable women and children.” She noted that the reports “will help ensure abortionists are held accountable for violating health and safety regulations.”

NCAA bans men from women’s sports following Trump’s executive order

Members of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, biological women’s sports activist Riley Gaines, and lawyers from the Independent Women’s Law Center approach the 10th Circuit Courthouse in Denver on May 14, 2024. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Independent Women’s Forum

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 6, 2025 / 18:15 pm (CNA).

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) banned biological men from competing in women’s sports on Thursday, Feb. 6, to comply with an executive order signed by President Donald Trump the previous day.

new NCAA policy that went into effect on Thursday afternoon states that biological men are no longer eligible to compete on women’s college athletic teams under any circumstance. The NCAA is the largest college athletic association and governs the athletic policies for the highest levels of college sports.

“We strongly believe that clear, consistent, and uniform eligibility standards would best serve today’s student athletes instead of a patchwork of conflicting state laws and court decisions,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a statement.

“To that end, President Trump’s order provides a clear, national standard,” Baker said.

The rule affects more than 1,000 colleges and universities that enroll more than half a million student athletes.

The NCAA’s policy change reverses its previous standards, which had allowed biological men who self-identified as transgender to participate in women’s sports if they brought down their testosterone levels by taking testosterone suppressants. The NCAA first permitted biological men to compete in women’s sports three years ago, in February 2022. 

Under the previous rules, each sport had a maximum testosterone level for a biological man to be eligible to compete in a women’s athletic competition.

Under Trump’s Feb. 5 executive order, K–12 schools, colleges, and universities that continue to allow biological men to compete in women’s sports will lose all federal funding. It also rescinds federal funding for K–12 schools, colleges, and universities that allow biological men to change in women’s locker rooms.

Riley Gaines, a former swimmer with the University of Kentucky who was forced to compete against a biological male swimmer, said in a statement that she was “thrilled” about the NCAA policy change.

“While it’s unfortunate that it took women losing opportunities, facing exploitation in locker rooms, and suffering injuries for leaders to recognize the importance of single-sex spaces, this is still a victory worth celebrating,” said Gaines, who is also an ambassador for the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF).

“However, men are still competing on women’s collegiate teams across the country,” Gaines added. “I hope the NCAA works with the appropriate authorities to urgently remove said male athletes, reinforce Title IX as intended, and ensure women’s opportunities are protected.”

Sia Liilii, the captain of the University of Nevada-Reno women’s volleyball team, said in a statement she is “ecstatic” about the policy change. 

“Women have fought long and hard for equal athletic opportunities,” Liilii, who is also an IWF ambassador, added. “By completely removing men from women’s sports, we are moving back to the true definition of Title IX. Women are given an opportunity to champion their own sports division and shine on a fair competition floor.”

Although biological men who identify as transgender are now ineligible to compete on women’s teams, the NCAA policy still allows them to participate in women’s practices “and receive all other benefits applicable to student-athletes who are otherwise eligible for practice” such as medical care during practice.

Rubio says State Department will exempt select USAID programs from freeze

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio talks to the media during a joint news conference with Guatemala’s President Bernardo Arevalo at the Culture Palace in Guatemala City on Feb. 5, 2025. / Credit: JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 6, 2025 / 17:55 pm (CNA).

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday said the State Department is currently determining which foreign aid programs will be granted exemptions from the Trump administration’s plans to freeze spending at USAID.

Rubio, at a press conference in Guatemala, said the State Department is now working “to identify which programs should be specifically designated and therefore exempted” from President Donald Trump’s funding freeze and stop-work orders. 

The secretary of state also said the State Department has reached out to USAID officials to help determine these exemptions.

The Trump administration announced on Monday that all USAID employees would be put on leave and global personnel would be recalled in light of Trump’s executive order, which put a 90-day freeze on most foreign funding last month. The order, which Trump signed directly after his inauguration, gives Rubio the power to “waive the pause for specific programs.”

Rubio while on a five-day trip in Latin America clarified during the conference that funding “will not continue” for programs that do not further U.S. interests.

According to an Associated Press report, after Trump issued the order, Rubio exempted emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt. On Tuesday AP reported that he agreed to continue spending funds on “humanitarian programs that provide life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter, and subsistence assistance.”

CBS News reported that in a private meeting on Wednesday, Rubio told U.S. diplomats in Guatemala that the United States plans to continue distributing foreign aid but the government needs to be able to defend what initiatives it is funding abroad.

“The United States is not walking away from foreign aid. It’s not. We’re going to continue to provide foreign aid and to be involved in programs, but it has to be programs that we can defend,” Rubio also said to a gathering of staffers at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City, according to a partial transcript obtained by CBS News on Wednesday.

“It has to be programs that we can explain. It has to be programs that we can justify. Otherwise, we do endanger foreign aid,” he added.

During a press conference last week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt listed some of the initiatives funded by USAID, which she called “insane priorities.” The list included $1.5 million to advance DEI in Serbia’s workforce, $70,000 for a “DEI musical” in Ireland, $47,000 for a “transgender opera” in Colombia, and $32,000 for a “transgender comic book” in Peru.

A White House fact sheet also lists $2 million to fund “sex changes” and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala, as well as an undesignated amount of funding for the production of 3D-printed contraceptives.

“I don’t know about you but as an American taxpayer, I don’t want my dollars going towards this crap, and I know the American people don’t either,” Leavitt added.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), along with Catholic Relief Services, the USCCB’s charitable arm, has spoken out against the foreign funding freeze, releasing an action alert urging Catholics to contact their elected officials.

“Your help is urgently needed! Let your members of Congress know that you are deeply concerned about the administration’s recent decision to stop work on almost all U.S. foreign assistance programs,” the alert read, continuing: “This freeze will be detrimental to millions of our sisters and brothers who need access to lifesaving humanitarian, health, and development assistance.”

North Carolina bishops: Immigration policy and enforcement ‘complicated and emotional’

Bishop Michael Martin of Charlotte, North Carolina, greets a young Catholic while surveying storm damage at Swannanoa, North Carolina, Friday, on Oct. 4, 2024. / Credit: Diocese of Charlotte

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 6, 2025 / 16:50 pm (CNA).

The Roman Catholic bishops of Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina, have issued a joint statement about immigration policy and enforcement in the United States, describing the issue as “both complicated and emotional.”

In their statement, Bishop Michael T. Martin, OFM Conv, of the Diocese of Charlotte and Bishop Luis Rafael Zarama of the Diocese of Raleigh indicate that while “there is room for disagreement and discussion with respect to immigration policy, we wish to remind our more than 1 million Catholic faithful in North Carolina of the stated positions of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, formed by Catholic social teaching, and encourage personal reflection and formation on these issues.”

“We respect our borders and laws AND support immigration policy reforms and care for those who are already here, many already contributing members of our society for years. We do not see these ends as mutually exclusive,” the bishops state.

“We recognize there are persons residing in the United States without legal documentation and we do not condone violating the law,” the bishops make clear. “We will not counsel anyone to thwart or resist proper law enforcement but will continue to provide education about individuals’ legal rights,” they add.

At the same time, the bishops continue, “as Catholics, we advocate for the recognition that immigrants, as members of God’s human family, are deserving of and must be granted the appropriate dignity as our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Jesus himself was a refugee and taught us to welcome the stranger and to realize that in welcoming the stranger, we are welcoming Christ himself.”

Referencing Catholic social teaching, the Tarheel State bishops call for “lasting solutions to our immigration system” and specify four principles upon which those solutions should be based.

Those principles include recognizing the right of people to migrate “to sustain their lives and the lives of their families … when a person cannot achieve a meaningful life in his or her own land.”

In addition, the bishops affirm that “Catholics should not view the work of the federal government and its immigration control as negative or evil. Those who work to enforce our nation’s immigration laws often do so out of a sense of loyalty to the common good and compassion for poor people seeking a better life. In an ideal world, there would be no need for immigration control. The Church recognizes that this ideal world has not yet been achieved.”

When it comes to enforcement, the bishops hold that “a country must regulate its borders with justice and mercy.” 

“Immigration policy that allows people to live here and contribute to society for years but refuses to offer them the opportunity to achieve legal status perpetuates a permanent underclass and does not serve the common good,” the bishops state. “It is the position of the Catholic Church that pastoral, educational, medical, and social services provided by the Church are never conditioned on legal status.”

Finally, the bishops indicate that “humanitarian protections for vulnerable families should be a priority.”

“Catholic teaching maintains that families are the foundation of society, and the success of any civilization hinges on the well-being of its families. For generations, families living in the United States have included combinations of citizens and noncitizens.”

In their conclusion, North Carolina’s bishops “urge the preservation and strengthening of access to asylum, refugee resettlement, protections for unaccompanied children, assistance for victims of human trafficking, temporary forms of relief, and other humanitarian protections already enshrined in our law.”

Catholic International University launches new program in AI, emerging technologies

null / Credit: LookerStudio/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Feb 6, 2025 / 16:20 pm (CNA).

Catholic International University (CIU) is launching a master’s degree program designed to form Catholic-minded students in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. 

The fully remote Catholic university was founded in 1983, well before the rise of remote learning, with the mission to “communicate the mind and heart of the Church in support of the new evangelization.” CIU’s master of science degree in the prudential design of emerging technologies is designed to teach graduates how to integrate Christian principles into the design of artificial intelligence (AI). 

The program organizers took inspiration from the growing commentary from the Catholic Church about AI, including the Vatican’s recent “Antiqua et Nova” note, which offered guidelines on the use of AI and its ethical and anthropological implications. 

“The Church is most worried about preserving the dignity of the human person,” Mark Amelang, vice president of marketing and communications at CIU, told CNA. 

“In order for higher education to make a difference, it must be at the intersection of science and a human-centric approach,” Amelang said. 

In recent years, Pope Francis has spoken frequently about potential challenges the Church sees with AI. For instance, Pope Francis last month reflected that AI must be ordered to the human person and serve the common good rather than human dignity being “subordinated in the pursuit of efficiency.”

“Since the pope started to message about the potential challenges the Church sees with AI, we have been creating a program to address them,” Amelang said. “We have assembled some of the top Catholic AI experts to design and run our program.” 

But Amelang noted that “what hasn’t yet been addressed” in Catholic circles is how much higher education could make a difference in the field of AI. 

“At Catholic International, we are the only Catholic university to develop a program specifically designed to train students to make a positive impact on AI applications, ensuring that they remain person-centric,” Amelang said. 

The new degree is part of a new “emerging technologies” department at CIU. What makes the department “so unique,” Amelang said, is that it brings together technology and theology.

“Most universities draw stark lines between the engineering departments and those of theology and philosophy! And to make a solution work, both sides of campus need to be integrated,” Amelang said. 

Michael Pencina, board of trustees member at Catholic International University and chief data scientist and director at Duke AI Health, said that CIU is “committed to advancing technology in a way that prioritizes the dignity and well-being of every person.”

“We are shaping a future where technology advances and uplifts humanity by equipping graduates with the tools to integrate human-centered principles into applications of artificial intelligence,” Pencina said in a Feb. 6 press release.

CIU’s current president, Sophia Aguirre, has a particular interest in artificial intelligence. Before her time as president, Aguirre — an economist — took a one-year sabbatical to study AI.  

“Dr. Aguirre is a well-known economist and was bothered by the seemingly poor job AI was doing with larger mathematical economic data sets. It occurred to her that the same kind of technology was also being applied to the medical field,” Amelang said. “As an academic, she felt called to research the problem.”

“This desire to make a difference in the development of AI solutions stuck with her as she was asked to lead Catholic International University,” Amelang noted.

The program brings together technological, philosophical, and theological educators.   

“As God would have it, we were able to gather some of the greatest minds in artificial intelligence that are deeply Catholic,” Amelang said. “We welcomed them into Catholic International University, where they worked alongside philosophers and theologians to create this program that teaches from the heart of the Church.” 

CIU hopes to form all sorts of students — whether technically or philosophically minded. 

“The program is designed to support both technically minded engineering types and philosophically, theologically inclined thinkers,” Amelang noted. “Both types of students are welcome and can thrive in this program.”

CIU changed its name from Catholic Distance University last year under Aguirre’s leadership. 

“At the time of [Aguirre’s] arrival, the university was still called Catholic Distance University (CDU),” Amelang said. “She was given the task of growing the university and expanding its breadth in order to spread the joy of the truth to God’s people in more facets than just theology.” 

In addition to the emerging technologies department, the university has since developed its liberal arts program as well as an ecclesial administration and management program.

To learn more about the emerging technologies department at Catholic International University, visit https://catholiciu.edu/emerging-tech/

Trump at National Prayer Breakfast announces task force to end anti-Christian bias

President Donald Trump participates in prayer at the National Prayer Breakfast sponsored by the The Fellowship Foundation at the Washington Hilton on Feb. 6, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 6, 2025 / 15:20 pm (CNA).

President Donald Trump has announced the launch of a new Department of Justice task force dedicated to fighting anti-Christian bias.

During remarks delivered at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday morning, Trump said U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi would head the task force to “eradicate anti-Christian bias” and halt “all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government.”

According to Trump, Bondi and the commission will “fully prosecute anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society and ... move heaven and earth to defend the rights of Christians and religious believers nationwide.”

“While I’m in the White House, we will protect Christians in our schools, in our military, in our government, in our workplaces, hospitals, and in our public squares,” he said. “And we will bring our country back together as one nation under God.”

Trump further announced that he plans to establish a new presidential commission on religious liberty as well as a White House faith office to be led by televangelist Rev. Paula White, his longtime adviser on religion. 

Also present at the event were several families of Israeli hostages who were taken by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023. Trump addressed them, saying: “We are joined today by several brave families whose loved ones were taken hostage during the horrible Oct. 7 attack. We are keeping you in our hearts and our prayers. As president, I will not rest until every last hostage is returned.”  

Noa Argamani, a former hostage who was freed during a raid by Israeli forces over the summer, was also present at the event. Trump called her survival “unbelievable,” attributing her freedom to “the grace of God.” 

“Innocent civilians [that were] attacked on Oct. 7 were targeted for one reason: because they were Jews,” Trump continued. “They were murdered and kidnapped because of their faith, and these events remind us of how blessed we are to live in a nation that has thrived for two and a half centuries as a haven of religious freedom.”

The bipartisan National Prayer Breakfast has been split into two events since 2023 when a dispute between lawmakers and the event’s coordinators led to the establishment of a separate smaller event on Capitol Hill that is mostly attended by members of Congress and other government officials. 

Trump attended the Capitol Hill breakfast in addition to the main event, which was hosted at the Washington Hilton.

“I really believe you can’t be happy without religion, without that belief,” Trump told lawmakers during his remarks on Capitol Hill, stating: “Let’s bring religion back, let’s bring God back into our lives.”

Appeals court upholds dismissal of Notre Dame professor lawsuit against student newspaper

The University of Notre Dame. / Credit: Grindstone Media Group/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Feb 6, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

An Indiana appeals court this week affirmed a prior ruling dismissing a professor’s defamation lawsuit against an independent student newspaper at the University of Notre Dame.

Notre Dame sociology professor Tamara Kay in 2023 sued the Irish Rover over reports that depicted her as supportive of expanding access to abortion, with Kay arguing the paper’s reporting misrepresented her views.

Kay filed the lawsuit over two articles that reported on the professor’s alleged pro-abortion activism, including her alleged efforts, documented by the Rover, to help students obtain both emergency contraception and abortifacients.

In part, Kay argued that a sign she placed on her office door proclaiming it to be a “SAFE SPACE to get help and information on ALL health care issues and access” was related to “student sexual assaults” and “did not pertain to abortion” as the Rover claimed.

The Rover, in response to Kay’s lawsuit, lodged an anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) filing, a motion meant to prevent the use of courts and potential litigation to intimidate people exercising their First Amendment rights.

On Jan. 24, 2024, Judge Steven David of the Indiana Supreme Court dismissed the case under Indiana’s anti-SLAPP law, ruling that Kay’s defamation claim “fails as a matter of law.”

The “alleged defamatory statements were true, within the meaning of the law, not made with actual malice, did not contain a defamatory inference, and there were no damages that were causally linked to the Irish Rover articles,” David wrote in the ruling, concluding that “the statements in the articles were lawful.” Kay filed an appeal in February 2024. 

The appellate court decision, handed down on Jan. 30 by Judge Paul D. Mathias, states that the trial court “properly dismissed Dr. Kay’s complaint under Indiana’s anti-SLAPP statute.”

As evidence, Mathias said the Irish Rover submitted copies of the social media posts it referenced or quoted in its article, a transcript from a panel event on abortion bans Kay spoke at, as well as “articles published in 2022 and 2023 by (or co-authored by) Dr. Kay addressing access to abortion, and the burdens and negative effects of abortion bans.”

Mathias ruled also that it was reasonable for the Irish Rover’s reporters to conclude that Kay’s office door sign was addressing access to abortion and that she was offering assistance to students who needed information about procuring an abortion.

“The designated evidence established that, when the Irish Rover published the articles, the authors of those articles believed that the statements and opinions expressed in it were fair and reasonable and that, in writing the articles, the Irish Rover based its information on reliable sources, particularly as the source for most of the information was gleaned from Dr. Kay’s own statements, her social media, and publications,” Mathias wrote.

The Irish Rover acted in “good faith,” Mathias ruled, in part because the paper’s stated mission is to articulate and defend the Catholic character of the University of Notre Dame, and publishing articles about a faculty member whose views on abortion appeared contrary to the university’s position aligned with this mission. There was no evidence the newspaper asked the university to terminate Kay’s employment or encourage others to do so, he noted.

“The designated evidence established as a matter of law that the Irish Rover acted in good faith and in reasonable basis in law and fact,” Mathias wrote.

CNA attempted to email Kay for comment last year and again on Wednesday but received an automated notification that her Notre Dame mailbox was full.

Joseph DeReuil, who wrote one of the stories named in the suit, told CNA in 2023 that he was “not at all worried about the result of the lawsuit.”

“The Rover’s reporting simply brought her already public advocacy to the attention of the pro-life parts of the Notre Dame community, adding minimal context through her own statements to the Rover,” DeReuil said.

International Religious Freedom Summit examines religious persecution in the West

Panelists discuss religious persecution in the West at the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 4, 2025. From left to right: Rabbi Emile Ackermann, a co-founder of Ayeka; Janet Buckingham, the director of global advocacy at the World Evangelical Alliance; Todd Huizinga, a senior fellow at the Religious Freedom Institute; Alliance Defending Freedom International Legal Counsel Sean Nelson. / Credit: Tyler Arnold/CNA

Washington D.C., Feb 6, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Various religious freedom advocates flagged fresh indicators of persecution against Christians who live out their faith in Western liberal democracies during a breakout session of the 2025 International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit in Washington, D.C., this week.

“People being arrested because of their faith and living out their faith is coming at odds with an increasingly secular and progressive [society],” said Alliance Defending Freedom International Legal Counsel Sean Nelson, who moderated the Feb. 4 panel.

Nelson was joined on stage by Todd Huizinga, a senior fellow at the Religious Freedom Institute focused on Europe; Janet Buckingham, the director of global advocacy at the World Evangelical Alliance; and Rabbi Emile Ackermann, a co-founder of Ayeka, the first Modern Orthodox Jewish community in France.

Nelson showed a brief five-minute clip that detailed stories of Christians facing persecution for speaking about or practicing their religious faith in Finland, the United Kingdom, and Malta — but panelists noted that the trend is widespread throughout Europe and North America.

The video referenced the hate speech charges brought against the former member of Finnish Parliament Päivi Räsänen for defending Christian teachings about homosexuality, which is now in the country’s Supreme Court. It also discussed Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, who was arrested twice for praying silently outside of an abortion clinic in England, and Matthew Grech, who is facing charges in Malta for sharing his testimony about overcoming homosexual temptations and actions.

Huizinga said during the panel discussion that Christians in Western countries “face diametric disagreement … about many fundamental questions that societies must contend with” regarding social views in the highly secularized cultures that were once predominantly Christian.

One issue that has frequently caused tension between Christians and these governments, he noted, has been human sexuality because the belief that a family is built on the “exclusive union of one man and one woman” clashes with the concepts that “gender is fluid” and “sexuality is a human choice.”

The “misuse” of anti-discrimination laws in these nations, according to Huizinga, is “subjecting [Christians] to the threat of legal penalties for the full and free exercise of their faith.”

“The cases are too many to name,” he said.

Buckingham, a practicing lawyer in Canada, noted that the constitution in Canada guarantees a right to freedom of religion — but that courts have a mixed record on protecting religious liberty.

“It’s all about interpretation [of the law],” she said.

In Canada, Buckingham argued that courts often uphold an individual’s freedom of religion but that “collective” or “institutional” religious liberty has received fewer protections. As an example, she pointed to the Archdiocese of Montreal suing the government of Quebec for forcing its hospitals to provide euthanasia in a case that’s still ongoing.

“I’m concerned about the lack of robust protection [for collective and institutional religious beliefs],” Buckingham added.

Ackermann emphasized a need to differentiate between disagreement and discrimination. 

He referenced debates in France about Islam, arguing that a “critic of the religion of Islam” is not necessarily acting in a discriminatory way. However, he said that some secular “extremists” view “any display of religious [faith as indicating that person is] on the path of becoming a dangerous fundamentalist who wants to force their religion on others.”

Pope Francis, earlier in his papacy, referred to the discrimination against Christians in the West as a form of “polite persecution,” which is “disguised as culture, disguised as modernity, disguised as progress.”

“[Polite persecution is] when someone is persecuted not for confessing Christ’s name but for wanting to demonstrate the values of the Son of God,“ the pontiff said in 2016.