null / Credit: Wolfgang Schaller|Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jul 3, 2025 / 15:33 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Supreme Court during its next term will consider two cases addressing whether or not states can ban males from participating in female sports leagues.

The high court said on Thursday that it would hear arguments in Hecox v. Little, out of Idaho, as well as the case B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education.

Both cases arose from lawsuits brought by young men who identify as female and who sued against the states’ respective bans on boys competing in girls’ sports.

The West Virginia dispute arose after a then-11-year-old boy brought a lawsuit against the state over its Save Women’s Sports Act. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the law last year, claiming its enforcement would harm the boy “on the basis of sex.”

In the Idaho case, meanwhile, a male athlete sued the state over its Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which was passed to block males from gaining access to women’s sporting leagues. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals similarly upheld a block on the law in 2023. 

This is not the first time Idaho has been to the Supreme Court over transgender policy. The state last year won a temporary victory at the high court when it was given emergency relief that allowed it to enforce its ban on doctors performing sex-change operations on children. Challenges to that law are still playing out in court. 

Disputes over transgender ideology have been playing out at the federal level since President Donald Trump took office in January.

Trump that month signed an executive order billed as “defending women from gender ideology extremism,” one that the White House said restored “biological truth to the federal government.”

That order included measures removing gender ideology guidance, communication, policies, and forms from governmental agencies and affirming that the word “woman” means “adult human female.”

It further ordered that government identification like passports and personnel records must reflect biological reality and “not self-assessed gender identity.” 

The president also signed orders banning transgender-identifying soldiers from the military and restricting transgender surgeries and drugs for minors. The orders have been challenged in federal court. 

The federal government has elsewhere moved quickly to enforce its policies on gender ideology. This week the University of Pennsylvania, under pressure from the Trump administration, agreed to modify its athletic records to re-award several Division I titles to female athletes whose distinctions were overtaken by Lia Thomas, a biological male who identifies as female and who was allowed to compete against women in competitive swimming.

The university is further required to announce that henceforth it will not allow biological males to compete against females in athletic programs. The school will also apologize to female athletes who had to compete against Thomas.

null / Credit: Wolfgang Schaller|Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jul 3, 2025 / 15:33 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Supreme Court during its next term will consider two cases addressing whether or not states can ban males from participating in female sports leagues.

The high court said on Thursday that it would hear arguments in Hecox v. Little, out of Idaho, as well as the case B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education.

Both cases arose from lawsuits brought by young men who identify as female and who sued against the states’ respective bans on boys competing in girls’ sports.

The West Virginia dispute arose after a then-11-year-old boy brought a lawsuit against the state over its Save Women’s Sports Act. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the law last year, claiming its enforcement would harm the boy “on the basis of sex.”

In the Idaho case, meanwhile, a male athlete sued the state over its Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which was passed to block males from gaining access to women’s sporting leagues. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals similarly upheld a block on the law in 2023. 

This is not the first time Idaho has been to the Supreme Court over transgender policy. The state last year won a temporary victory at the high court when it was given emergency relief that allowed it to enforce its ban on doctors performing sex-change operations on children. Challenges to that law are still playing out in court. 

Disputes over transgender ideology have been playing out at the federal level since President Donald Trump took office in January.

Trump that month signed an executive order billed as “defending women from gender ideology extremism,” one that the White House said restored “biological truth to the federal government.”

That order included measures removing gender ideology guidance, communication, policies, and forms from governmental agencies and affirming that the word “woman” means “adult human female.”

It further ordered that government identification like passports and personnel records must reflect biological reality and “not self-assessed gender identity.” 

The president also signed orders banning transgender-identifying soldiers from the military and restricting transgender surgeries and drugs for minors. The orders have been challenged in federal court. 

The federal government has elsewhere moved quickly to enforce its policies on gender ideology. This week the University of Pennsylvania, under pressure from the Trump administration, agreed to modify its athletic records to re-award several Division I titles to female athletes whose distinctions were overtaken by Lia Thomas, a biological male who identifies as female and who was allowed to compete against women in competitive swimming.

The university is further required to announce that henceforth it will not allow biological males to compete against females in athletic programs. The school will also apologize to female athletes who had to compete against Thomas.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court building in Madison, Wisconsin. / Credit: Richard Hurd/Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Jul 3, 2025 / 15:03 pm (CNA).

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

Wisconsin Catholic leaders decry repealed abortion ban

After the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that a historic pro-life law was unenforceable, the Wisconsin Catholic Conference has decried the ruling, calling it “nonsensical.”  

A Wisconsin ban on abortion from 1849 made it a felony to destroy an unborn child except in cases of a medical emergency. Though it was nullified in 1973 by the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision, Wisconsin lawmakers never repealed the law. After Roe was overturned in 2022, pro-life advocates urged the court to affirm that the repeal of Roe reactivated the law. 

But earlier this week, the state Supreme Court’s liberal majority determined that the 1849 law was superseded by other pro-life regulations of abortion that have since been adopted in Wisconsin. Justices called the legislation “a substitute” for the previous law.

Wisconsin Catholic Conference Executive Director Barbara Sella condemned the decision, saying that “the court’s majority has abandoned Wisconsin’s proud legacy of protecting all human life,” noting that Wisconsin banned abortion in 1849 and the death penalty in 1853.

Abortionist who left half a fetus behind wants to out woman who sued

An abortionist has demanded in court that the identity of a woman who sued him for medical negligence be unveiled to the public.

After the Illinois-based abortionist left half a baby inside a patient’s body, the patient — a 32-year-old woman who was five months pregnant with her fifth child — sued.

After the story made headlines, Dr. Keith Reisinger-Kindle of Equity Clinic in Champaign, Illinois, called for a gag order against the woman, identified as “Jane Doe,” while also arguing in court that she should not be granted anonymity.

Reisinger-Kindle was recently reprimanded and fined $5,000 by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

The lawsuit alleges that Reisinger-Kindle did not adequately examine Doe after discharging her from the clinic. When Doe went to the emergency room, surgeons found that Reisinger-Kindle allegedly perforated her uterus. According to the lawsuit, surgeons found pieces of the child adhered to her intestines.

At 22 weeks, Doe’s baby was nearing the age of viability — the age when an unborn child can survive outside of the womb, usually determined to be about 24-26 weeks. In Illinois, abortions are allowed up until fetal viability.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court building in Madison, Wisconsin. / Credit: Richard Hurd/Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Jul 3, 2025 / 15:03 pm (CNA).

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

Wisconsin Catholic leaders decry repealed abortion ban

After the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that a historic pro-life law was unenforceable, the Wisconsin Catholic Conference has decried the ruling, calling it “nonsensical.”  

A Wisconsin ban on abortion from 1849 made it a felony to destroy an unborn child except in cases of a medical emergency. Though it was nullified in 1973 by the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision, Wisconsin lawmakers never repealed the law. After Roe was overturned in 2022, pro-life advocates urged the court to affirm that the repeal of Roe reactivated the law. 

But earlier this week, the state Supreme Court’s liberal majority determined that the 1849 law was superseded by other pro-life regulations of abortion that have since been adopted in Wisconsin. Justices called the legislation “a substitute” for the previous law.

Wisconsin Catholic Conference Executive Director Barbara Sella condemned the decision, saying that “the court’s majority has abandoned Wisconsin’s proud legacy of protecting all human life,” noting that Wisconsin banned abortion in 1849 and the death penalty in 1853.

Abortionist who left half a fetus behind wants to out woman who sued

An abortionist has demanded in court that the identity of a woman who sued him for medical negligence be unveiled to the public.

After the Illinois-based abortionist left half a baby inside a patient’s body, the patient — a 32-year-old woman who was five months pregnant with her fifth child — sued.

After the story made headlines, Dr. Keith Reisinger-Kindle of Equity Clinic in Champaign, Illinois, called for a gag order against the woman, identified as “Jane Doe,” while also arguing in court that she should not be granted anonymity.

Reisinger-Kindle was recently reprimanded and fined $5,000 by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

The lawsuit alleges that Reisinger-Kindle did not adequately examine Doe after discharging her from the clinic. When Doe went to the emergency room, surgeons found that Reisinger-Kindle allegedly perforated her uterus. According to the lawsuit, surgeons found pieces of the child adhered to her intestines.

At 22 weeks, Doe’s baby was nearing the age of viability — the age when an unborn child can survive outside of the womb, usually determined to be about 24-26 weeks. In Illinois, abortions are allowed up until fetal viability.

Pope Leo XIV receives a drawing from a girl participating in the “Estate Ragazzi in Vatican” summer camp on July 3, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 3, 2025 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV visited the Paul VI Hall on Thursday to meet with about 310 children and adolescents participating in the “Estate Ragazzi in Vaticano” (summer camp for kids at the Vatican).

In addition, another 300 children and adolescents from Ukraine, hosted by Caritas Italy during the summer, participated in the encounter with Pope Leo XIV.

This is the sixth edition of this summer camp for the children of employees of the Holy See. The theme this year is “When the Other Person Is Everything.”

On July 3, shortly before noon, at the end of the audiences, the Holy Father continued with the tradition of visiting these little ones. He was received by the summer camp volunteers and later he spoke with the children, responding to some questions.

As he spoke with them, the pope shared some memories from his childhood, such as attending Mass, where he met other children and friends, but above all “the best friend of all, Jesus,” the Holy See said in a statement.

The pontiff also spoke about diversity and acceptance, and offered a few words of welcome in English to the Ukrainian children, emphasizing that “it’s important to respect one another, look beyond differences, to build bridges, create friendship; we can all be friends, brothers, sisters.”

Responding to a question about war, he explained that even from a young age, it is necessary to learn to be builders of peace and friendship, to not get into wars or conflicts, and to never promote hatred or envy.

He noted that “Jesus calls us all to be friends” and advised the children to “learn from a young age to have mutual respect, to see the other person as someone like myself.”

The children and adolescents offered the Holy Father some gifts they had made during the summer camp as well as drawings and artwork made by the Ukrainian children and adolescents.

At the end of the encounter, after taking group photos with them, Pope Leo XIV invited them to pray the Hail Mary together and gave his blessing to all those present.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Leo XIV receives a drawing from a girl participating in the “Estate Ragazzi in Vatican” summer camp on July 3, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 3, 2025 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV visited the Paul VI Hall on Thursday to meet with about 310 children and adolescents participating in the “Estate Ragazzi in Vaticano” (summer camp for kids at the Vatican).

In addition, another 300 children and adolescents from Ukraine, hosted by Caritas Italy during the summer, participated in the encounter with Pope Leo XIV.

This is the sixth edition of this summer camp for the children of employees of the Holy See. The theme this year is “When the Other Person Is Everything.”

On July 3, shortly before noon, at the end of the audiences, the Holy Father continued with the tradition of visiting these little ones. He was received by the summer camp volunteers and later he spoke with the children, responding to some questions.

As he spoke with them, the pope shared some memories from his childhood, such as attending Mass, where he met other children and friends, but above all “the best friend of all, Jesus,” the Holy See said in a statement.

The pontiff also spoke about diversity and acceptance, and offered a few words of welcome in English to the Ukrainian children, emphasizing that “it’s important to respect one another, look beyond differences, to build bridges, create friendship; we can all be friends, brothers, sisters.”

Responding to a question about war, he explained that even from a young age, it is necessary to learn to be builders of peace and friendship, to not get into wars or conflicts, and to never promote hatred or envy.

He noted that “Jesus calls us all to be friends” and advised the children to “learn from a young age to have mutual respect, to see the other person as someone like myself.”

The children and adolescents offered the Holy Father some gifts they had made during the summer camp as well as drawings and artwork made by the Ukrainian children and adolescents.

At the end of the encounter, after taking group photos with them, Pope Leo XIV invited them to pray the Hail Mary together and gave his blessing to all those present.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Sacred Heart Hall at Siena Heights University in Adrian Michigan. / Credit: Dwight Burdette, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 3, 2025 / 13:32 pm (CNA).

Siena Heights University will close at the conclusion of the 2025-2026 academic year following an assessment of the school’s “financial situation, operational challenges, and long-term sustainability,” the school said this week.

The small Catholic institution of about 2,300 students located in Adrian, Michigan, reported that “despite the dedication of our board, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and supporters, continuing operations beyond the coming academic year is no longer feasible.”

In a June 30 announcement, the university’s president, Douglas Palmer, said the school “has been a beacon of light in a world sometimes cast in darkness.”

“The spirit of Siena Heights will continue long after the institution itself closes its doors because it lives in every graduate, faculty member, and staff person who has been on campus — whether in person or online,” he said.

Siena Heights is a Catholic liberal arts school offering undergraduate and graduate programs. It was founded in 1919 by the Adrian Dominican Sisters, following the Dominican intellectual tradition of “truth and social responsibility.”

The university reported the closure has the “full support of the board of trustees and general council of the Adrian Dominican Sisters.”

Originally the institution was a college for women studying to be teachers. By the 1950s it was recognized as one of the nation’s 10 best liberal arts colleges for women. It broadened its offering over the years and eventually welcomed men as well.

Ahead of its closure, the school said that its “top priority will be its students’ academic progress and working with partner institutions to establish transfer pathways that allow as little disruption as possible. Faculty and staff will be supported with transition assistance.”

The school year will start for the last time this upcoming fall, and “the intent is to have as full and vibrant an academic year as possible, including academics, athletics, support services, and extracurriculars.”

“We are deeply grateful to the faculty, staff, students, and alumni who have worked hard decade after decade to make Siena Heights an incredibly special place,” Palmer said. “We look ahead to the next academic year planning all the activities one would normally get including athletics, residential life, and great events that we share with our alumni and entire community.”

Sacred Heart Hall at Siena Heights University in Adrian Michigan. / Credit: Dwight Burdette, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 3, 2025 / 13:32 pm (CNA).

Siena Heights University will close at the conclusion of the 2025-2026 academic year following an assessment of the school’s “financial situation, operational challenges, and long-term sustainability,” the school said this week.

The small Catholic institution of about 2,300 students located in Adrian, Michigan, reported that “despite the dedication of our board, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and supporters, continuing operations beyond the coming academic year is no longer feasible.”

In a June 30 announcement, the university’s president, Douglas Palmer, said the school “has been a beacon of light in a world sometimes cast in darkness.”

“The spirit of Siena Heights will continue long after the institution itself closes its doors because it lives in every graduate, faculty member, and staff person who has been on campus — whether in person or online,” he said.

Siena Heights is a Catholic liberal arts school offering undergraduate and graduate programs. It was founded in 1919 by the Adrian Dominican Sisters, following the Dominican intellectual tradition of “truth and social responsibility.”

The university reported the closure has the “full support of the board of trustees and general council of the Adrian Dominican Sisters.”

Originally the institution was a college for women studying to be teachers. By the 1950s it was recognized as one of the nation’s 10 best liberal arts colleges for women. It broadened its offering over the years and eventually welcomed men as well.

Ahead of its closure, the school said that its “top priority will be its students’ academic progress and working with partner institutions to establish transfer pathways that allow as little disruption as possible. Faculty and staff will be supported with transition assistance.”

The school year will start for the last time this upcoming fall, and “the intent is to have as full and vibrant an academic year as possible, including academics, athletics, support services, and extracurriculars.”

“We are deeply grateful to the faculty, staff, students, and alumni who have worked hard decade after decade to make Siena Heights an incredibly special place,” Palmer said. “We look ahead to the next academic year planning all the activities one would normally get including athletics, residential life, and great events that we share with our alumni and entire community.”

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, speaks during a press conference about a new Vatican document on human dignity on April 8, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Jul 3, 2025 / 13:02 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, said Thursday that judges have been selected to hear the trial of Father Marko Rupnik, a former Jesuit accused of sexual abuse against women.

The cardinal told journalists that the judges chosen are “independent and external” to the dicastery but did not indicate when the Slovenian priest’s trial is set to take place in the Vatican.

“The idea was, if possible, to eliminate the idea that the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith or the Holy See had any interest or were subjected to pressure,” he said.

Rupnik, whose religious artworks can be found in shrines and churches around the world, has been accused by at least a dozen women, mostly former nuns, of sexual, psychological, and spiritual abuse that reportedly occurred over the past three decades.

In May 2019, the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith launched a criminal administrative process against Rupnik after the Society of Jesus reported credible complaints of abuse by the priest to the Vatican.

One year later, the congregation declared Rupnik to be in a state of “latae sententiae” excommunication in May 2020. His excommunication lasted only two weeks.

The Society of Jesus subsequently expelled Rupnik from the religious congregation in June 2023 for his “stubborn refusal to observe the vow of obedience.”

Since allegations of abuse against Rupnik first became public in 2018, several Church leaders and Catholic groups around the world have increasingly called for the removal of sacred art created by the former Jesuit.

On March 31, the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France announced its decision to cover Rupnik mosaics found at the entrances to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary.   

The Dicastery for Communication, meanwhile, removed digital images of Rupnik’s art from its Vatican News website on June 9. 

The changes came days after Pope Leo met with members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors on June 5.

The Holy Father also met with Cardinal Seán O’Malley, president of the Vatican body commissioned with safeguarding vulnerable adults and children, within the first week of his pontificate on May 14.

In June 2024, O’Malley sent a letter to the dicasteries of the Roman Curia expressing hope that “pastoral prudence would prevent displaying artwork in a way that could imply either exoneration or a subtle defense” of those accused of abuse.

“We must avoid sending a message that the Holy See is oblivious to the psychological distress that so many are suffering,” O’Malley wrote in a letter to Curia leaders last year.

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, speaks during a press conference about a new Vatican document on human dignity on April 8, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Jul 3, 2025 / 13:02 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, said Thursday that judges have been selected to hear the trial of Father Marko Rupnik, a former Jesuit accused of sexual abuse against women.

The cardinal told journalists that the judges chosen are “independent and external” to the dicastery but did not indicate when the Slovenian priest’s trial is set to take place in the Vatican.

“The idea was, if possible, to eliminate the idea that the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith or the Holy See had any interest or were subjected to pressure,” he said.

Rupnik, whose religious artworks can be found in shrines and churches around the world, has been accused by at least a dozen women, mostly former nuns, of sexual, psychological, and spiritual abuse that reportedly occurred over the past three decades.

In May 2019, the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith launched a criminal administrative process against Rupnik after the Society of Jesus reported credible complaints of abuse by the priest to the Vatican.

One year later, the congregation declared Rupnik to be in a state of “latae sententiae” excommunication in May 2020. His excommunication lasted only two weeks.

The Society of Jesus subsequently expelled Rupnik from the religious congregation in June 2023 for his “stubborn refusal to observe the vow of obedience.”

Since allegations of abuse against Rupnik first became public in 2018, several Church leaders and Catholic groups around the world have increasingly called for the removal of sacred art created by the former Jesuit.

On March 31, the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France announced its decision to cover Rupnik mosaics found at the entrances to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary.   

The Dicastery for Communication, meanwhile, removed digital images of Rupnik’s art from its Vatican News website on June 9. 

The changes came days after Pope Leo met with members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors on June 5.

The Holy Father also met with Cardinal Seán O’Malley, president of the Vatican body commissioned with safeguarding vulnerable adults and children, within the first week of his pontificate on May 14.

In June 2024, O’Malley sent a letter to the dicasteries of the Roman Curia expressing hope that “pastoral prudence would prevent displaying artwork in a way that could imply either exoneration or a subtle defense” of those accused of abuse.

“We must avoid sending a message that the Holy See is oblivious to the psychological distress that so many are suffering,” O’Malley wrote in a letter to Curia leaders last year.