A photo shows a view of the National Assembly in Paris on June 10, 2024, a day after the European Parliament elections. / Credit: GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP via Getty Images

CNA Newsroom, Jul 6, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

The report, resulting from a five-month inquiry into violence within the school system, proposes a series of measures aimed at better protecting minors.

Trees emerge from flood waters along the Guadalupe River on July 4, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. Heavy rainfall caused flooding along the Guadalupe River in central Texas with multiple fatalities reported. / Credit: Eric Vryn/Getty Images

San Antonio, Texas, Jul 5, 2025 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

Catholics are responding with prayers and aid after record-breaking flash floods in central Texas devastated communities along the area’s rivers and killed at least 27 people. 

The flash flooding began in the early hours of July 4. Heavy rainfall filled the creeks that emptied into the several rivers that wind through the normally arid hills known as the Texas Hill Country, located north and west of San Antonio and Austin.

“At this time it is unknown how many have been affected by rising water levels along rivers and creeks,” the Archdiocese of San Antonio said in a Friday statement.  

“It is our prayer that those impacted by the floods will find the strength to rebuild. We pledge to be with the people in these challenging circumstances. Let us answer Christ’s call to love one another.”

On July 4, the Catholic Charities Mobile Relief Unit turned Notre Dame Church in Kerrville into a shelter where evacuees can find food and water as well as clothing and other supplies, the archdiocese said.

San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller and Auxiliary Bishop Michael Boulette traveled to Kerrville on July 4 as well to minister to victims of the flooding.

‘Totally destroyed’

The Guadalupe River near Kerrville, Texas, rose so quickly that the National Weather Service’s evacuation orders were not issued in time to evacuate. The river swelled over 22 feet in half an hour around 4 a.m. on July 4, according to local officials, devastating parts of the towns of Hunt, Kerrville, and Comfort. 

The river washed away RV parks, cars, homes, and entire cabins at summer camps located along its banks. The total number of missing people is still unknown because of the large number of visitors to area rivers due to the Fourth of July weekend. 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a disaster for 15 counties on July 4, deploying more than 500 first responders, 14 helicopters, boats, high water vehicles, and drones. Over 850 people have been rescued as of the afternoon of July 5.

Abbott pledged at a press conference in Kerrville on Friday that rescuers “will stop at nothing” to find every victim of the catastrophic flooding. 

A girls’ Christian summer camp in the area, Camp Mystic, reported more than 23 people missing, including an entire cabin of 8- and 9- year-old girls, who are feared to have perished.

Social media was filled with images of the missing young girls on July 4. By the evening, reports began to come in of the recovery of several bodies, including some of the young girls. Rescue efforts continued throughout the night and into the morning of July 5.

Camp Mystic director Dick Eastland is also reported to have perished after attempting to rescue some of the campers, according to a parent of a camper who wished to remain anonymous. 

One camper said she was “heartbroken” but thankful to be alive, describing the camp as “totally destroyed” after her safe return to her home in Houston in the early hours of July 5.

Henry Chaudoir, 12, who was rescued from Camp La Junta, a boys’ camp in Hunt, told CNA he had prayed a decade of the rosary and the St. Michael prayer the night before the flood. He and his fellow campers felt “terrified” when flashes of lightning revealed “an ocean of water” covering the camp, he said, but he was “grateful to God to be alive.”

Chaudoir’s cousin, Jackson Adams, 18, a counselor at Camp La Junta, told CNA that he and all the other counselors decided to stay in their cabins as the water rose because of the strong current outside. 

Adams, whose 13-year-old brother Harris was also rescued from the camp, said the water “only went up to our waists in our cabin” before starting to recede. He told CNA, however, that it rose to the ceiling in another cabin filled with 7- to 9-year-old boys. The counselors lifted the boys onto the rafters, rescuing several who fell off after a wall collapsed.

Adams said the swiftly moving river carried away the Casita, a cabin that housed Camp La Junta staff. After the Casita collided with the cabin in which the boys were sitting in the rafters, it made a hole, which enabled the staff from the Casita to rescue the boys. All of them survived.

“Praise the Lord the Casita hit the cabin!” Chaudoir said.

One of the counselors from the cabin with the boys in the rafters tried to go for help but was swept off his feet by the current, Adams told CNA. The counselor caught onto a nearby tree and was rescued after several of the older counselors formed a “monkey chain” and dragged him to safety.

Adams said a young girl from Camp Mystic was carried by the river onto Camp La Junta and was rescued by the camp’s maintenance and stables director, Katie Cain. The girl said the water sucked her and “two or three” other campers out of their cabin after a counselor opened a window.

Cain also rescued most of the camp’s horses by breaking a fence, allowing them to run to safety as the waters rose.

Adams said he plans to return to Camp La Junta to assist with rescue and cleanup efforts.

One man in the town of Center Point heard a 22-year-old woman crying for help in the early hours of July 4 and called rescue workers, who plucked her from a tree she had clung to after reportedly floating more than 20 miles on the raging Guadalupe River from Hunt.

The flooding is the result of a slow-moving storm system that dumped 10-15 inches of rain on the Texas Hill Country, with some areas seeing up to 20 inches. 

The rivers continued to rise through the holiday weekend. In the early hours of Saturday, July 5, the Guadalupe River rose to a record 47.4 feet in Bergheim, Texas, about 50 miles from Kerrville.

The Llano and San Saba rivers have also risen, leading to road closures and evacuations of towns along their banks.

Tina and Luke Gunter, who live near the San Saba River about two hours north of Kerrville, had to evacuate their home after quickly rising waters dislodged part of their home and carried it away.

Neighbors allowed the Gunters, who have three young children, to stay in their guesthouse overnight, and other friends began to bring the family meals and offered other supplies.

The Gunters plan to repair their home, which they built themselves, as soon as possible.

“We will have a lot of work to do,” Tina Gunter told CNA. 

“But we are grateful we are all OK. It’s just a house. Better to lose a house than a child,” she said.

A choir poses before an image of Pier Giorgio Frassati during a celebration of the centenary of his death, Turin, Italy, Friday, July 4, 2025. / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA

Turin, Italy, Jul 5, 2025 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

The three-day celebration of the centenary, dubbed “Frassati Days,” drew pilgrims from the United States, Poland, and Switzerland to the Piedmont region of Italy.

null / Credit: A and I Kruk/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jul 5, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

As more Catholic parishes and notable Catholic figures become the targets of scammers, a new initiative has been launched to help Catholics spot a scam and avoid becoming victims.

Theresa Payton, CEO of Fortalice Solutions and former White House chief information officer, is spearheading the initiative, called “Protecting the Faithful.” The campaign is being actively rolled out in parishes across the country through bulletin announcements and the distribution of infographics, videos, and guides highlighting the red flags of a scam.

Many of these scams come in the form of emails sent to parishioners that look to be from their pastor asking them to donate to parish charities or ministries. Scammers are also targeting the fans of notable Catholic figures.

For instance, there have been several incidents where scammers impersonated Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie. The scammers have messaged Roumie’s followers on social media, pretending they are Roumie and promising a visit to the set of “The Chosen” or being the president of his fan club if they send a certain amount of money.

The Protecting the Faithful initiative is also being distributed on social media through official fan accounts of notable Catholic names in order to warn other fans as well as through podcasts and other Catholic news media outlets.

Payton told CNA that she was inspired to do something about the problem because of “how the faithful are being taken advantage of by criminals and fraudsters.”

“I’ve had victims on the other end of the phone, ashamed that they were a victim, crying, sending their hard-earned money to bad people, and I just had such a broken heart over this that I was like, something must be done,” she said.

“I’ve spent a whole career profiling criminals, and what people need to know is they play to our heart, they play to our human nature,” she added. “They know how to get us to act fast, they know how to get to our sympathies, to the best things about us, and they exploit the best things about us.”

Payton pointed out that with the recent technological advancements, specifically artificial intelligence, it is even easier for scammers to create voice clones, fake videos, and fake images, such as fake driver’s licenses and passports, which can be created “at speed and at scale.”

There are several red flags Payton warns individuals to be aware of in order to be able to spot a scammer, specifically when it comes to impersonators on social media. 

The first is receiving a message from an impersonator saying that the account the person is messaging from is his or her personal or backup account, not the person’s official account. Second is if the person asks to move the conversation over to WhatsApp or Telegram, which are encrypted apps used for communicating. The third red flag is when a scammer invites the individual to become the president of a fan club for a certain amount of money. Lastly, any kind of link that is sent should never be clicked on. 

Payton emphasized that those who’ve been a victim of a scam need to know that “you’ve done nothing wrong, you’re not dumb, you are a good person and because you’re a good person, somebody took advantage of you and you should not feel ashamed of that.”

She also urged individuals to report scams to their local police and IC3.gov, which is monitored by the FBI, and when a large trend is seen, an investigation is conducted and a public service announcement is released warning people nationwide of the scam that is taking place.

Another resource Payton mentioned for those who’ve been a victim is the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit that offers free resources and guidance to help individuals take the proper steps to recover their identities and other information that may have been stolen.

Returning to the goal of the campaign, Payton said it is to “make sure that everybody around me in the Catholic faith, and even outside the Catholic faith, is as safe and secure as possible.”

She added: “I love being Catholic, and part of what we’re called to do is to take the talents God gave us and invest those in a way that is pleasing to him.”

“If my team and I can do something to avoid another victim, then every moment we spend on this initiative and on this campaign is worth it,” she said.

    
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Just as "The Chosen" wrapped up the release of Season 5 in the U.S., the hit series about Jesus and those who knew him was set to stream internationally in select countries, including Italy, starting in July.

The Vatican hosted a news conference and a premiere of one of the new season's episodes in its film theater June 23 before select cast and crew members hit the red carpet at a Rome theater for a special screening of the episode, "The Last Supper," with members of the public, including numerous seminarians, priests and nuns living in the Italian capital.

The goal of the series is "for people to get a deeper connection to Christ and to have a more intimate relationship with him," Jonathan Roumie, who portrays Christ in the series, told Catholic News Service at the red-carpet event.

"I think that is the goal for all of us, for people to go directly to the source and to understand what it is that Jesus actually said, what he meant, what his example was, and how we can incorporate that into our own lives and be better people to each other and better servants of the Lord," said Roumie.

Elizabeth Tabish, who portrays Mary Magdalene in the series, told CNS that the historical drama resonates with its audience because "we start this entire series with all of these saints before they're saints. And they're really messy. They have their own vices and challenges."

"When we meet Mary Magdalene, she is struggling with demon possession and oppression and PTSD from an assault and suicidal thoughts and an addiction. This is meeting someone in their own personal hell," she said, but "it's been so beautiful to witness her story of redemption."

Mary Magdalene's faith journey is depicted as a "continued story of constant redemption and of constant growth, where she is learning to stop thinking about her past and really let go of her past and her shame and her anxieties," to focus on Jesus and "to see how that transforms her," Tabish said.

In Season 5, her character is "so focused on trying to help Jesus and protect him, and it's just such a beautiful place to see her in," she said. "She becomes quite gutsy and outspoken and determined, and I love that, to see a female character go from a real victim to someone so empowered."

"The Chosen" debuted at the end of 2017 as an online series, which has since expanded to theatrical releases, grossing nearly $140 million globally at the box office.

With more than 900 million episode views and a global audience exceeding 280 million, the series' creator and director, Dallas Jenkins, said its "secret sauce" is portraying Jesus and those who knew him in a way that is less formal or stiff.

When meeting fans, he said at the news conference, they typically say that what they love about the series is "it just feels so real. It feels so human."

"Those human moments do not detract from the divinity (of Christ) and do not detract from the spirituality" of the events and teachings they depict, he said.

"In many ways, they make them even more beautiful that the God of the universe came to Earth, Emmanuel, God with us, and laughed with his friends at a wedding," he said. Seeing the young mother, Mary, wash her child's hair or tend to him are "the moments that people have responded to so significantly."

Many of the theological disagreements about Mary and Jesus, said Jenkins, who is an evangelical Christian, "took place after he was here. They take place after the Gospels."

"I think that by focusing on the humanity of these people while not ignoring the divinity and not ignoring the supernatural, but focusing on the humanity -- that has seemed to be what has connected people of multiple faiths, that we can all appreciate that and identify with it and then be drawn closer to Jesus because of that," he said.

Dominican Father Patrick Briscoe, editor of Our Sunday Visitor, who moderated the press conference, told CNS the series is a "great gift" for Catholics because it offers an opportunity for engagement and genuine conversation.

"As a priest in ministry, what's been so beautiful is that people have come to me with questions, very specific questions about Scripture that maybe they would have never had before because they've realized that a decision was made in the way that a scene was portrayed in the show and they wanted clarity about it," he said.

"It's actually raised important questions about how to interpret the Scriptures, about the meaning of particular biblical scenes, and those conversations wouldn't have happened otherwise. So I found it a great source of engagement and light," he said.

According to the series' producers, about 30% of viewers belong to no faith tradition at all.

Jenkins said the "endgame" of the show is not popularity or profit, but "to remind people that these events were real" and that biblical figures are more than literary characters or subjects depicted in art.

"The show is to point you towards the real person of Jesus and to point people towards people like yourself. To get disciples and to worship and to pray," he said.

Rome’s red carpet welcome for "The Chosen"

Catholic News Service interviewed several cast members and the series' creator while they were in Rome June 23.

Bishop Robert Barron is the founder of Word on Fire, a media apostolate focused on evangelization. / Credit: Word on Fire

CNA Staff, Jul 4, 2025 / 15:29 pm (CNA).

Bishop Robert Barron on July 4 urged a federal court to strike down a Washington state law that would force priests to violate the seal of confession, telling the court that the law is “manifestly” disrespectful of the ancient and vital Church practice.

Barron, the bishop of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, and a member of the White House Religious Liberty Commission, made the argument in a proposed amicus brief filed in U.S. district court in Washington state.

The filing comes on behalf of the bishops of Washington state, who in May sued the state government over its new mandatory reporting law that requires priests to report child abuse learned during the sacrament of confession or face jail time and fines.

The law has drawn criticism from religious liberty advocates who say it unjustly targets Catholics. The Department of Justice and a coalition of Orthodox churches have also sued the state government over the rule.

The Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, representing over 500 Roman Catholic priests and deacons from the U.S., Australia, and the United Kingdom, last month issued a statement defending the inviolability of the seal of confession, arguing against laws like Washington state’s and pointing out that child protection “can be lawfully and morally done without violating religious liberty.”

Barron’s brief stressed to the court what it described as the “oft-misunderstood theological underpinnings of the seal of confession.”

“Few religious practices are more misunderstood than the sacred seal of confession in the Catholic Church,” the bishop wrote in the document.

Since Catholics believe that penitents who seek the sacrament of confession are “speaking to and hearing from the Lord himself” via the priest, then “absolutely nothing ought to stand in the way of a sinner who seeks this font of grace,” Barron wrote.

“If a penitent is aware the priest might (let alone must) share with others what was given in the most sacred confidence, he or she would be reluctant indeed to ever approach confession,” he said.

The bishop argued that the state law is “manifestly premised on a disrespect for the confessional seal,” in part because it explicitly exempts clergy from an otherwise broad exception for privileged communications.

The law violates long-standing precedent on religious freedom, the bishop wrote, as well as established legal rules regarding religious neutrality.

Barron urged the court to grant an injunction against the law barring it from being enforced. The law is scheduled to take effect July 27.

A hearing for the lawsuit is scheduled for July 14.

Attorney and columnist Andrea Picciotti-Bayer was named the winner of the Religious Freedom Impact Award by the Religious Freedom Institute on July 2, 2025. / Credit: Courtesy of Andrea Picciotti-Bayer

CNA Staff, Jul 4, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).

Andrea Picciotti-Bayer is the 2025 recipient of the Religious Freedom Impact Award, the Religious Freedom Institute (RFI) announced July 2.

The Religious Freedom Impact Award honors leaders who demonstrate “consistent, effective, and innovative leadership in advancing religious freedom” through law, policy, or culture. It will be presented at the RFI Annual Dinner on Nov. 6 in Washington, D.C. 

Picciotti-Bayer is an accomplished attorney, policy expert, political commentator, and mother who has spent her career defending the conscience rights and religious liberty of individuals and institutions, particularly in the areas of education, parental rights, and health care.

A Catholic mother of 10, Picciotti-Bayer told CNA that she sees God’s hand in her life and credits him with her success, saying Christians, especially young women navigating careers and motherhood, should trust that “we can never outdo God in generosity.” 

She said motherhood has played a vital role in informing her work. 

“Having children made me a better lawyer,” she told CNA. “It allowed me to understand firsthand the concerns of parents fighting for their ability to raise their children according to their consciences.” 

After more than a decade focused on raising her children, she returned to the legal world “ready to roll up my sleeves.” 

Picciotti-Bayer is the director of the Conscience Project, where she works with intellectuals and legal scholars to craft public arguments and file amicus briefs in significant religious freedom cases at the appellate level as well as at the U.S. Supreme Court. 

She fights against government overreach, helping individuals and institutions to exercise their faith without unjust interference.

“Andrea Picciotti-Bayer is a tenacious advocate for religious Americans threatened by government intrusion into their public and private lives,” said Religious Freedom Institute President David Trimble. “Her voice brings clarity to the confusion that so often surrounds some of the most charged religious freedom conflicts in American law and culture today.”

Picciotti-Bayer began her career in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where she served as a trial and appellate attorney. 

She later advised the Catholic Association and worked as a strategic consultant for the Institute for Human Ecology at The Catholic University of America, authoring amicus briefs in pivotal religious freedom and free speech cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and federal appellate courts.

Beyond the courtroom, Picciotti-Bayer is a prominent voice in the media, serving as a legal analyst for EWTN News and a weekly guest on “Ave Maria in the Afternoon.” She also writes a column for the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and has been published in multiple other news outlets. 

Her impactful journalism recently earned her the 2025 Catholic Media Association Award for Best Coverage of Religious Liberty Issues.

Cardinal Dominique Mathieu, archbishop of Tehran, Iran (left), and Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 4, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Here’s a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:

Pope appoints Pizzaballa and Mathieu to Vatican’s interreligious dialogue office

Pope Leo XIV on July 3 appointed two prominent cardinals, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Dominique Mathieu, archbishop of Tehran, Iran, to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, according to ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner.

Their appointment comes amid a broad reshuffle that also brought in cardinals from Japan and Canada as well as bishops and experts with experience in fostering relations among faiths. The two newly named members are already active in Vatican circles: Pizzaballa also serves in the Eastern Churches and Christian unity offices, while Mathieu is part of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

Pope Leo turns attention to St. Augustine’s Algerian roots

In a personal reflection on his Augustinian roots, Pope Leo XIV this week expressed his heartfelt desire to visit Algeria, homeland of St. Augustine of Hippo, whose writings profoundly shaped Christian thought, ACI MENA reported.

Speaking of Augustine as a spiritual father, the pope shone a spotlight on the saint’s birthplace in Tagaste (modern-day Souk Ahras) and the historic church that bears his name in the coastal city of Annaba.

The Church of St. Augustine, completed in the early 20th century on a hill overlooking the ruins of ancient Hippo, remains a symbol of North Africa’s rich Christian heritage. Recently restored with the help of the Algerian government and international partners, the church combines diverse architectural styles and houses a monastery, school, and library.

Palestinian churches urge global action against Israeli violations

Christian leaders in Palestine issued a strong call this week for churches worldwide to speak out against what they described as systematic violations by Israeli authorities against Palestinians, particularly Christians, ACI MENA reported.

They lamented in a statement the increasing attacks on Christian clergy and property, citing incidents such as vandalism, harassment, and denial of worship permits during Easter. The statement also drew attention to recent strikes on sacred sites in Gaza and threats to church assets in Jerusalem over disputed tax claims. “What Christians here are facing is no longer an exception but a growing pattern of targeted oppression,” the committee warned, calling on global churches to exercise moral leadership and uphold human dignity.

Parish in DRC closed after tabernacle desecrated, hosts burned 

St. Francis of Assisi Luano Parish in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been closed down after a June 30 incident in which vandals broke into the building, desecrated the altar, and set all of the consecrated hosts on fire, according to a report by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa.

The vandals also “emptied the cupboard, taking liturgical vestments, the altar cross, the processional cross, the altar cloth, the mixer, drums, microphones, [and] liturgical books,” according to Father Emmanuel Mumba, vicar general of the Congolese Metropolitan See. “Prayer can no longer be organized in an environment or in a church that has been desecrated. It is the archbishop, who must come to celebrate the Mass here, in order to open the church for worship,” he added.

Togo bishops condemn police brutality after 7 killed in protest against government 

The Episcopal Conference of Togo (CET) issued a condemnation of police brutality after seven people were killed during a protest against the country’s President Faure Gnassingbé following constitutional changes that could extend his rule indefinitely. 

“Having followed with deep concern, distress, and sadness the painful events that marked the days of June 26, 27, and 28, in light of acts of unprecedented gravity, we strongly condemn these unacceptable and intolerable acts of violence, regardless of their origin, perpetrators, or justification,” they said in the statement shared with ACI Africa on July 2.

Head of Swiss abbey resigns in connection with abuse report

Abbot Jean César Scarcella, CRA, has resigned as abbot of the territorial abbey of Saint-Maurice in Switzerland in connection with an abuse report, according to CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner. The Holy See confirmed that Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation.

Scarcella’s resignation came after the publication of a sexual abuse report that documented at least 67 cases of sexualized violence in the period from 1960 to 2024. Scarcella had previously resigned temporarily in November 2023 after sexual harassment allegations were made against him, but the Vatican never found any proof of misconduct.

German Catholics protest against ‘child protection congress’ 

Approximately 900 people demonstrated in Hanover, Germany, against a “child protection congress” of the AfD (Alternative for Germany) party in the Lower Saxony state Parliament — including representatives of the Catholic Church, according to CNA Deutsch. At the event, the right-wing AfD party called for the protection of children from “early sexualization” and from unilateral “gender propaganda.”

“Hanover is colorful, diverse, democratic, and open. We want to preserve this for our children. We do not allow so-called ‘concerned citizens’ to pursue their right-wing extremist goals under the guise of the alleged care for our children,” the Catholic Church in Hanover said in a statement.

The National Catholic Bioethics Center’s Edward J. Furton speaks at the Catholic Information Center in Washington, D.C., on June 25, 2025. / Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNA

Washington D.C., Jul 4, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Ahead of the celebration of Independence Day, Edward Furton, publications director for The National Catholic Bioethics Center, spoke in a lecture in the nation’s capital about the country’s founders and their desire for a republic open to all faiths but one in which no citizen would be compelled to profess any particular religious doctrine.

In a presentation titled “Natural Religion and the American Founding” at the Catholic Information Center, Furton referenced James J. Walsh’s book “Scholasticism in the Colonial Colleges” to discuss church and state separation and how the Declaration of Independence is “the founding truth of the United States” and should be “at the center of American public life.”

Furton, who received his doctoral degree in philosophy from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., highlighted the founders’ general, important distinction between two paths to religious truth: faith and reason.

“The truths of faith were indeed meant to be separated from public life,” Furton said in reference to the consensus position of America’s Founding Fathers, as “they were a cause of deep divisions,” Furton said, referencing the religious establishment differences among and clashes within the 13 colonies.

On the other hand, Furton affirmed, “the truths of reason were not to be separated. They were to be the source of our national unity.”

Among the colonial colleges, Furton said, the problem of sectarianism was largely solved by emphasizing “natural religion, a conviction that certain theological and moral truths can be known independently of supernatural revelation.”

Ultimately, Furton said, each college-educated founder ended up adding “his own faith to what they had learned in the college without any contradiction to his own beliefs.”

“Faith is added to reason just as grace is added to nature,” Furton said. “So this distinction between faith and reason is the key to understanding the proper place of religion within American public life.”

Furton continued: “Supernatural religion begins with faith … every proposition in Christian doctrine carries with it this note of belief in supernatural revealing, supernatural truth. Also, what is believed transcends rational understanding. So the various doctrines of the Trinity, for example, are taken on faith, and they transcend human reason.”

In contrast, Furton said, “natural religion … begins with the world around us, as it’s experienced by the senses, and seeks to understand nature on its own terms, independently of faith. Historically … the two approaches have been considered compatible and complementary.”

The founders aimed to develop “a republic that would be open to all religious faiths, but one in which no citizen would be compelled to profess any particular religious doctrine.”

“There would be complete freedom of religious expression among all sects, but unity would be forged under the rationally known truths of natural religion.” People were free to “profess their doctrines in private lives, in their private life, in their homes, in their churches, but none was allowed to join these supernatural beliefs to the federal government.”

“The Declaration of Independence was the first test of this approach, and it was successful. So the American founding rests on a commitment to religious truth that can be known by reason.”

Concluding his presentation, Furton said “religious truths that are agreeable to reason cannot be ruled out preemptively. The argument that the First Amendment obliges to privatize these truths is based on a misunderstanding between the distinction of faith and reason.”

“The same distinction between faith and reason tells us that the true line of separation today between church and state is: All religious claims that transcend reason must be separated from public life, but all those that are within the range of reason may remain,” Furton asserted.

null / Credit: NDAB Creativity/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 4, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

On July 4, Americans celebrate their country’s independence — as well as the people who formed the United States into the country that it is today. Those include American saints.

Here are 11 American saints who dedicated their lives to God and those in need in the United States:

1. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, 1774–1821

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton became the first American-born saint in 1975. Born in New York City, she married the love of her life at 19 and welcomed five children. She endured much suffering in her life, incluing the death of her husband, William, of tuberculosis after dire financial trouble. Two years later, Seton converted to Catholicism and went on to found the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph — the first order of religious women in the U.S. She founded several schools, including the first free U.S. Catholic school. Today, she is considered the founder of the U.S. Catholic school system.

Her feast day is Jan. 4.

2. St. John Neumann, 1811–1860

St. John Neumann is the first male U.S. citizen to become a saint. Originally from Bohemia —known today as the Czech Republic — he traveled to New York City to be ordained a priest. At the time, he was one of only 36 priests serving 200,000 Catholics in the New York area. He joined the Redemptorists at age 29 and became the first member to profess vows in the U.S. Neumann served as a missionary and, later, as the fourth bishop of Philadelphia. He founded the first diocesan Catholic school system in the United States, which grew from two to 100 under his care. He was canonized in 1977.

His feast day is Jan. 5.

3. St. Kateri Tekakwitha, 1656–1680

St. Kateria Tekakwitha, also known as the “Lily of the Mohawks,” became the first Native American saint in 2012. She was raised in Auriesville, New York, by her uncle, a Mohawk chief, after her parents died from a smallpox epidemic. After encountering Jesuit priests in her village, she converted to Catholicism at 19. Her relatives and the village attempted to punish her for her beliefs. She later ran away to Montreal, where she could practice her faith and live out her life as a consecrated virgin.

Her feast day is July 14.

4. St. Katharine Drexel, 1858–1955

A Philadelphia heiress raised by devout parents who opened their home to the poor, St. Katharine Drexel dedicated her wealth and her life to serving Native Americans and African Americans. She founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People. Her work included starting schools in 13 states for African Americans as well as 40 mission centers and 23 rural schools. She also established 50 missions for Native Americans. Together with her order, she founded New Orleans’ Xavier University, the only historically Black U.S. Catholic college. She was canonized a saint in 2000.

Her feast day is March 3.

5. St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, 1769–1852

St. Rose Philippine Duchesne served as a missionary to Native Americans. Born in France, she joined the Visitation nuns at 19 before being forced to leave during the French Revolution. Ten years later, she joined the Society of the Sacred Heart. She came to America in 1818, when she traveled to the Louisiana Territory to minister to Native Americans. She later started the first free school for girls west of the Mississippi River and the first Catholic school for Native Americans. She was declared a saint in 1988.

Her feast day is Nov. 18.

6. St. Isaac Jogues, 1607–1646

A Jesuit priest from France, Jogues served as a missionary to the Native peoples in “New France” and became one of the North American martyrs. When he and his companions traveled to Iroquois country in 1641, they were tortured and imprisoned by the Mohawks. He survived and even baptized some of the Native Americans before he escaped back to France. He felt called to return, even though he knew he might not survive a second time. He was killed with a tomahawk in Auriesville, New York. He was canonized a saint in 1930.

His feast day is Oct. 19.

7. St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, 1850–1917

A missionary from Italy, St. Frances Cabrini founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. When she first traveled to New York City, she discovered that the house she had planned to turn into an orphanage was unavailable. When the archbishop advised her to return to Italy, she refused. Instead, she founded orphanages, hospitals, convents, and schools, many of which served Italian immigrants. She became the first U.S. citizen to be canonized a saint in 1946.

Her feast day is Nov. 13.

8. St. Théodore Guérin, 1798–1856

A missionary from France, St. Théodore Guérin founded the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. At 25, she first joined the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé-sur-Loir before leading a group of sisters to Indiana in 1840. There, she opened a convent and the first girls’ boarding school in that state. Even as her health failed her, she continued to open schools throughout Indiana and Illinois while facing anti-Catholic sentiment. She was canonized a saint in 2006.

Her feast day is Oct. 3.

9. St. Damien de Veuster of Molokai, 1840–1889

Originally from Belgium, St. Damien de Veuster dedicated his life as a missionary to those with leprosy in Molokai, Hawaii. At 19, he joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He then volunteered to serve those with leprosy who were quarantined on the island of Molokai. He spent his time building schools, churches, and hospitals. After contracting and dying from leprosy himself, he was declared a saint in 2009.

His feast day is May 10.

10. St. Marianne Cope, 1838–1918

Born in Germany, St. Marianne Cope joined the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Syracuse, New York, before serving multiple times as the novice mistress of her congregation and the superior of St. Joseph’s Hospital. She later offered to go to Hawaii to serve those with leprosy. The Franciscan Sisters of Syracuse, led by Cope, joined St. Damien in Molokai. A former teacher and principal, Cope focused on education. She also brought joy and inspired the women there by gifting them with bright scarves and dresses. She was canonized a saint in 2012.

Her feast day is Jan. 23.

11. St. Junípero Serra, 1713–1784

St. Junípero Serra served as the founder of the Spanish missions in California. Originally from Spain, he joined the Franciscans before becoming a missionary. He served those in Mexico before going to California, where he founded nine of the 21 Spanish missions and taught the Native Americans various trades. He became the first saint canonized on U.S. soil in 2015.

His feast day is July 1.

This article was first published on July 2, 2022, and has been updated.