Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church

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CNA Staff, Mar 21, 2025 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

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

Embryos aren’t property, Virginia judge rules

A Virginia judge this week ruled that embryos aren’t property in a lawsuit between two ex-spouses over their two IVF-produced embryos.

Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Dontae Bugg dismissed Honeyhline Heidemann’s case against her ex-husband, Jason Heidemann, for access to embryos produced during their marriage.

In 2019, Honeyhline Heidemann, a breast cancer survivor, requested permission to use the embryos, but her ex-husband refused, and so she sued her former spouse.

In the bench trial, Heidemann testified that the embryos were her last chance to have another biological child due to her cancer treatment and that she would agree to her husband not being involved in raising the new children.

The husband is currently the primary custodian of the couple’s born daughter and maintained that he did not want to become a biological father again. He also referenced alleged poor parenting decisions made by his former wife.

Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Richard Gardiner, who is no longer assigned to the case, ruled in 2023 that human embryos could legally be considered property, citing a 19th-century state law saying that slaves could be considered “goods or chattels.”

But Bugg wrote in an opinion letter that because of the “unique nature of each human embryo,” an “equal division” could not be easily made and that one of the embryos was “better suited for viability than the other.”

Bugg also noted that the Virginia law was not intended to apply to human embryos and concluded that the human embryos “are not goods for chattels subject to partition” under state law.

He further expressed doubt over “reliance upon a version of [the state law] that predates passage of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution,” which outlawed slavery.

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a fertility treatment opposed by the Catholic Church. In the procedure, doctors fuse sperm and eggs to create human embryos and implant them in the mother’s womb.

To maximize efficiency, doctors create excess human embryos and routinely destroy undesired embryos.

Texas attorney general arrests midwife for providing illegal abortions

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday announced the arrest of a midwife for operating an illegal abortion network in northwest Houston.

Paxton announced the arrest of Maria Margarita Rojas, 48, a midwife known as “Dr. Maria,” according to a press release from the prosecutor’s office.

The state charged Rojas with illegal performance of abortions, a second-degree felony, and practicing medicine without a license.

Paxton alleged that Rojas owned and operated multiple clinics with unlawfully employed unlicensed employees who were presenting themselves as licensed medical professionals. She also allegedly performed illegal abortions that violated the Texas Human Life Protection Act. 

Texas pro-life law protects unborn children from abortion when the fetal heartbeat can be detected — usually around six weeks of pregnancy. In a statement Paxton cited the state’s pro-life laws, proclaiming: “In Texas, life is sacred.”

“I will always do everything in my power to protect the unborn, defend our state’s pro-life laws, and work to ensure that unlicensed individuals endangering the lives of women by performing illegal abortions are fully prosecuted,” Paxton said. 

Texas officials under Paxton’s direction filed for a temporary restraining order to shut down the clinics under the names Clinica Waller Latinoamericana in Waller, Clinica Latinoamericana Telge in Cypress, and Latinoamericana Medical Clinic in Spring.

Florida Catholics applaud DeSantis at Red Mass for pro-life efforts

Attendees at a Florida Mass this week applauded Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for his work against a proposed pro-abortion amendment last year. 

The governor was attending the 50th annual Red Mass of the Holy Spirit at St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral in Tallahassee on Wednesday.

As Mass concluded, Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski thanked DeSantis for advocating against a proposed amendment that would have enshrined a right to abortion in the Florida Constitution.

Referring to a breakfast event that had taken place earlier that day, Wenski said to DeSantis: “Governor, your ears must have been ringing because we were talking a lot about you during the breakfast, and it was all in praise, especially for the good work that you did in stopping Amendment 4.” 

The governor was given sustained applause after Wenski’s remarks. 

Amendment 4 fell short of the 60% approval requirement in November.

Participants of the widely-attended Red Mass include Catholics and non-Catholics and often include Florida legislators, judges, attorneys, state officials, and members of the executive branch such as DeSantis. 

The Red Mass dates back to a nearly-800-year-old tradition in France, where lawyers and judges would begin each term of court by attending a Mass together. At the Mass, priests and judges wore red to show their commitment to the Holy Spirit.

Idaho Capitol in Boise. / Credit: Through the Lens of Life/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 21, 2025 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

Idaho Gov. Brad Little this week signed legislation that bolsters religious freedom protections for doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals when they object to performing certain procedures or providing certain services.

The new law, signed on Wednesday, amends the Medical Ethics Defense Act to clearly establish that Idaho recognizes “that the right of conscience is a fundamental and inalienable right” whether one’s conscience “is informed by religious, moral, or ethical beliefs or principles.”

Under the law, no health care professional, health care institution, or health care payer can be forced to participate in or pay for any medical procedure, treatment, or service to which he or she objects as a matter of conscience.

The law also prevents employers from retaliating or punishing an employee based on his or her conscience objections to any medical service. It states that a person should communicate his or her conscience objection to the employer as soon as reasonably possible to ensure necessary staffing adjustments can take place.

Under the law, a health care provider cannot be held criminally or civilly liable for refusing to provide a medical service because of the institution’s conscience objection.

Some objections from Catholic institutions or health care professionals could include procedures and services related to abortion, contraception, and transgender drugs and surgeries.

Greg Chafuen, who serves as legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement that “patients are best served by health care professionals who are free to act consistent with their oath to ‘do no harm.’”

“Unfortunately, doctors and nurses have been targeted for caring for their patients by refraining from harmful and dangerous procedures,” he said. “What may be worse, countless young professionals are kept out of the health care field because of fear that they will be forced to violate their conscience.” 

Chaufen added that the Idaho law “ensures that health care professionals are not forced to participate in procedures that violate their ethical, moral, or religious beliefs.”

Idaho’s law also establishes stronger free speech protections by prohibiting departments and regulatory boards from punishing health care providers for engaging in speech, expression, or association that is protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution from government interference.

The law also creates a framework for health care institutions and health care professionals to file lawsuits to remedy any violations of the new regulations.

Idaho Capitol in Boise. / Credit: Through the Lens of Life/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 21, 2025 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

Idaho Gov. Brad Little this week signed legislation that bolsters religious freedom protections for doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals when they object to performing certain procedures or providing certain services.

The new law, signed on Wednesday, amends the Medical Ethics Defense Act to clearly establish that Idaho recognizes “that the right of conscience is a fundamental and inalienable right” whether one’s conscience “is informed by religious, moral, or ethical beliefs or principles.”

Under the law, no health care professional, health care institution, or health care payer can be forced to participate in or pay for any medical procedure, treatment, or service to which he or she objects as a matter of conscience.

The law also prevents employers from retaliating or punishing an employee based on his or her conscience objections to any medical service. It states that a person should communicate his or her conscience objection to the employer as soon as reasonably possible to ensure necessary staffing adjustments can take place.

Under the law, a health care provider cannot be held criminally or civilly liable for refusing to provide a medical service because of the institution’s conscience objection.

Some objections from Catholic institutions or health care professionals could include procedures and services related to abortion, contraception, and transgender drugs and surgeries.

Greg Chafuen, who serves as legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement that “patients are best served by health care professionals who are free to act consistent with their oath to ‘do no harm.’”

“Unfortunately, doctors and nurses have been targeted for caring for their patients by refraining from harmful and dangerous procedures,” he said. “What may be worse, countless young professionals are kept out of the health care field because of fear that they will be forced to violate their conscience.” 

Chaufen added that the Idaho law “ensures that health care professionals are not forced to participate in procedures that violate their ethical, moral, or religious beliefs.”

Idaho’s law also establishes stronger free speech protections by prohibiting departments and regulatory boards from punishing health care providers for engaging in speech, expression, or association that is protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution from government interference.

The law also creates a framework for health care institutions and health care professionals to file lawsuits to remedy any violations of the new regulations.

null / Credit: Gts/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 21, 2025 / 13:30 pm (CNA).

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has signed into law a bill that bans biological males from entering women’s spaces in the state’s prisons and jails.

The legislation, dubbed the Dignity and Safety for Incarcerated Women’s Act, prohibits men who self-identify as transgender women from accessing women’s changing rooms, restrooms, showers, sleeping quarters, and other facilities.

Under the law, all jails and prisons operated by the state’s Department of Corrections that house inmates of both sexes must provide separate facilities for men and for women. The law defines men and women on the basis of biological characteristics, as opposed to self-asserted “gender identity.”

The new law goes into effect on July 1.

Sara Beth Nolan, who works as legal counsel for the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement that “states have a duty to protect the privacy, safety, and dignity of women.”

“Letting men intrude into women’s spaces is an invasion of privacy, a threat to their safety, and a denial of the real biological differences between the two sexes,” she said. “[This law] safeguards against these harms to women in Mississippi correctional facilities.”

The law also establishes a framework that allows a person to sue a state correctional facility if the person encounters someone of the opposite sex within one of the protected spaces.

A person can obtain civil damages if the jail or prison gave someone of the opposite sex permission to enter the space or failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the person from entering the space. All civil actions must be brought within two years of the violation.

Mississippi’s actions mirror efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to prevent men from accessing women’s spaces and to reflect the biological distinctions of men and women in federal regulations.

Trump signed an executive order to clarify that within federal regulations, there are two sexes that are determined by biological characteristics. His orders also blocked men from women’s prisons and in women’s sports and women’s spaces at all educational institutions that receive federal funding.

Many of Trump’s executive orders have been challenged in court and are being held up by judges.

null / Credit: Gts/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 21, 2025 / 13:30 pm (CNA).

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has signed into law a bill that bans biological males from entering women’s spaces in the state’s prisons and jails.

The legislation, dubbed the Dignity and Safety for Incarcerated Women’s Act, prohibits men who self-identify as transgender women from accessing women’s changing rooms, restrooms, showers, sleeping quarters, and other facilities.

Under the law, all jails and prisons operated by the state’s Department of Corrections that house inmates of both sexes must provide separate facilities for men and for women. The law defines men and women on the basis of biological characteristics, as opposed to self-asserted “gender identity.”

The new law goes into effect on July 1.

Sara Beth Nolan, who works as legal counsel for the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement that “states have a duty to protect the privacy, safety, and dignity of women.”

“Letting men intrude into women’s spaces is an invasion of privacy, a threat to their safety, and a denial of the real biological differences between the two sexes,” she said. “[This law] safeguards against these harms to women in Mississippi correctional facilities.”

The law also establishes a framework that allows a person to sue a state correctional facility if the person encounters someone of the opposite sex within one of the protected spaces.

A person can obtain civil damages if the jail or prison gave someone of the opposite sex permission to enter the space or failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the person from entering the space. All civil actions must be brought within two years of the violation.

Mississippi’s actions mirror efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to prevent men from accessing women’s spaces and to reflect the biological distinctions of men and women in federal regulations.

Trump signed an executive order to clarify that within federal regulations, there are two sexes that are determined by biological characteristics. His orders also blocked men from women’s prisons and in women’s sports and women’s spaces at all educational institutions that receive federal funding.

Many of Trump’s executive orders have been challenged in court and are being held up by judges.

The U.S. Department of Education building in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Justin Kozemchak/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 21, 2025 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

On March 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities” designed to eventually eliminate the U.S. Department of Education.

The order will not immediately close the department — that requires an act of Congress — but will make it “much smaller,” according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. 

Leavitt said the order directs the U.S. Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, to “greatly minimize the agency.” Before signing the order, Trump said he hopes Democratic members of Congress will vote for the dismissal of the department.

The U.S. Conference of Bishops (USCCB) responded to the new order stating that it “does not take a position on the institutional structure of government agencies,” but “the Catholic Church teaches that parents are the primary educators of their children and should have the freedom and resources to choose an educational setting best suited for their child.”

“The conference supports public policies that affirm this, and we support the positive working relationships that the dioceses, parishes, and independent schools have with their local public school system partners.” 

“As this executive order is implemented, it is important to ensure that students of all backgrounds in both public and nonpublic schools, especially those with disabilities or from low-income backgrounds, will continue to receive the resources they need,” the statement concluded. 

While private schools do not receive federal funds, they often work with the Department of Education to receive benefits from the department’s taxpayer-funded programs. The department does not give directly to private institutions but rather to programs the schools may utilize to support their students.

Jonathan Butcher, a senior research fellow for the Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation, told CNA that the new order should not have an impact on Catholic schools and will not prevent students in public or private schools from receiving the resources they need. He said “the president has said in his executive order that all of the essential services … will continue.”

The department’s two biggest programs for K–12 education are the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Title I program.

Butcher, a supporter of the order, said: “The president has committed to keeping programs for children in disadvantaged backgrounds or disadvantaged areas.”

Butcher said he believes the executive order will not influence students in public or private schools in their day-to-day lives. 

“The Department of Education’s role is to move money from the treasury to state departments of education and local districts, handle federal loans, and enforce federal law,” he said. “They don’t operate any schools and they don’t teach in any classrooms.” 

While the administration has received support for this decision, some critics say it will cause “challenges.” President of the American Federation of Teachers Randi Weingarten told Newsweek that a “gutted department would mean fewer teachers, more crowded classrooms, and increased mental health and behavioral challenges for students.”

Advocacy groups for special needs students have also expressed concern, including Katy Neas, CEO of The Arc, which states it “protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”

In a press release following the executive order, Neas said: “Dismantling the U.S. Department of Education is more than a policy shift — it will reverse five decades of progress for students with disabilities.”

“Children with disabilities who do not receive appropriate education services will face greater isolation, unemployment, and poverty,” she said.

The U.S. Department of Education building in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Justin Kozemchak/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 21, 2025 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

On March 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities” designed to eventually eliminate the U.S. Department of Education.

The order will not immediately close the department — that requires an act of Congress — but will make it “much smaller,” according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. 

Leavitt said the order directs the U.S. Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, to “greatly minimize the agency.” Before signing the order, Trump said he hopes Democratic members of Congress will vote for the dismissal of the department.

The U.S. Conference of Bishops (USCCB) responded to the new order stating that it “does not take a position on the institutional structure of government agencies,” but “the Catholic Church teaches that parents are the primary educators of their children and should have the freedom and resources to choose an educational setting best suited for their child.”

“The conference supports public policies that affirm this, and we support the positive working relationships that the dioceses, parishes, and independent schools have with their local public school system partners.” 

“As this executive order is implemented, it is important to ensure that students of all backgrounds in both public and nonpublic schools, especially those with disabilities or from low-income backgrounds, will continue to receive the resources they need,” the statement concluded. 

While private schools do not receive federal funds, they often work with the Department of Education to receive benefits from the department’s taxpayer-funded programs. The department does not give directly to private institutions but rather to programs the schools may utilize to support their students.

Jonathan Butcher, a senior research fellow for the Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation, told CNA that the new order should not have an impact on Catholic schools and will not prevent students in public or private schools from receiving the resources they need. He said “the president has said in his executive order that all of the essential services … will continue.”

The department’s two biggest programs for K–12 education are the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Title I program.

Butcher, a supporter of the order, said: “The president has committed to keeping programs for children in disadvantaged backgrounds or disadvantaged areas.”

Butcher said he believes the executive order will not influence students in public or private schools in their day-to-day lives. 

“The Department of Education’s role is to move money from the treasury to state departments of education and local districts, handle federal loans, and enforce federal law,” he said. “They don’t operate any schools and they don’t teach in any classrooms.” 

While the administration has received support for this decision, some critics say it will cause “challenges.” President of the American Federation of Teachers Randi Weingarten told Newsweek that a “gutted department would mean fewer teachers, more crowded classrooms, and increased mental health and behavioral challenges for students.”

Advocacy groups for special needs students have also expressed concern, including Katy Neas, CEO of The Arc, which states it “protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”

In a press release following the executive order, Neas said: “Dismantling the U.S. Department of Education is more than a policy shift — it will reverse five decades of progress for students with disabilities.”

“Children with disabilities who do not receive appropriate education services will face greater isolation, unemployment, and poverty,” she said.

null / Credit: Ulf Wittrock/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Mar 21, 2025 / 12:30 pm (CNA).

The Diocese of Springfield in Illinois is arguing in federal court that a state “human rights” law is infringing upon its freedoms of religion and speech as well as the freedoms of a pregnancy resource center in the state. 

A lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. district court by the diocese and the Pregnancy Care Center of Rockford alleges that the Illinois Human Rights Act “dictates how religious employers must speak and act about employees’ voluntary reproductive decisions like abortion, contraception, and sterilization.”

The recently amended law forbids employers from engaging in “harassment” against employees; the state has defined harassment to include “unwelcome conduct” regarding whether an employee has “use[d] contraception, fertility treatments, or abortion care.”

The law further “prohibits employers from disciplining or refusing to hire employees” regarding their decisions about abortion and further “requires employers to grant employee accommodations” regarding abortion, the lawsuit alleges. 

The measure renders both the diocese and the pregnancy center “powerless to control deeply theological internal matters and to separate themselves from conduct that fatally undermines their mission and message,” the suit states. 

The law specifically prevents the diocese from hiring a pro-life advocate and an associate general counsel, the suit argues. Overall the act allegedly interferes with both the diocese’s and the pregnancy center’s religious autonomy “by preventing them from only hiring and retaining employees who abide by their religious beliefs.”

The plaintiffs allege that the law violates both the First Amendment and the 14th Amendment.

The lawsuit asks the court to forbid the state from enforcing the act against the two parties “in connection with [their] speech and conduct related to reproductive decisions.”

The plaintiffs are being represented in the suit by the religious liberty law firm Alliance Defending Freedom.  

State Attorney General Kwame Raoul and state Department of Human Rights Director James Bennett were named as defendants. Neither office immediately responded to CNA’s requests for comment on the suit as of Friday morning.

null / Credit: Ulf Wittrock/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Mar 21, 2025 / 12:30 pm (CNA).

The Diocese of Springfield in Illinois is arguing in federal court that a state “human rights” law is infringing upon its freedoms of religion and speech as well as the freedoms of a pregnancy resource center in the state. 

A lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. district court by the diocese and the Pregnancy Care Center of Rockford alleges that the Illinois Human Rights Act “dictates how religious employers must speak and act about employees’ voluntary reproductive decisions like abortion, contraception, and sterilization.”

The recently amended law forbids employers from engaging in “harassment” against employees; the state has defined harassment to include “unwelcome conduct” regarding whether an employee has “use[d] contraception, fertility treatments, or abortion care.”

The law further “prohibits employers from disciplining or refusing to hire employees” regarding their decisions about abortion and further “requires employers to grant employee accommodations” regarding abortion, the lawsuit alleges. 

The measure renders both the diocese and the pregnancy center “powerless to control deeply theological internal matters and to separate themselves from conduct that fatally undermines their mission and message,” the suit states. 

The law specifically prevents the diocese from hiring a pro-life advocate and an associate general counsel, the suit argues. Overall the act allegedly interferes with both the diocese’s and the pregnancy center’s religious autonomy “by preventing them from only hiring and retaining employees who abide by their religious beliefs.”

The plaintiffs allege that the law violates both the First Amendment and the 14th Amendment.

The lawsuit asks the court to forbid the state from enforcing the act against the two parties “in connection with [their] speech and conduct related to reproductive decisions.”

The plaintiffs are being represented in the suit by the religious liberty law firm Alliance Defending Freedom.  

State Attorney General Kwame Raoul and state Department of Human Rights Director James Bennett were named as defendants. Neither office immediately responded to CNA’s requests for comment on the suit as of Friday morning.

Cardinal Peter Turkson, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, speaks at a press conference on “Risks and Opportunities of AI for Children: A Common Commitment for Safeguarding Children” on March 20, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Mar 21, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).

The Vatican is collaborating with tech leaders and companies, governmental institutions, scholars, and nongovernmental organizations to fight “a war on two frontiers” — the sexual abuse and exploitation of children in person and online, including in the sphere of artificial intelligence (AI).

“We are really currently in a war at two frontiers when it comes to protecting children — the old ugly child exploitation, one-on-one, is not overcome — and now we have the new AI, gender-based violence at scale and sophistication. These are two things which are interacting,” Joachim Von Braun, president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences, said at a March 20 press conference.

“The Church,” Von Braun added, “has a role to play in both of these, and it needs to work on a science base and deeply engage in the regulatory debate, otherwise we cannot win.”

The Pontifical Academy of Sciences is hosting a March 21-22 conference with the safeguarding-centered Institute of Anthropology (IADC) at the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Sweden-based World Childhood Foundation to address risks and opportunities presented by AI for protecting the safety of children and adolescents.

Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, director of the IADC, also emphasized on Thursday the role of the Church to provide education at a national and international level about the importance of “creating a safe space, safe relationships, and safe processes” to safeguard children’s dignity online. 

“The mission that Jesus Christ has given us includes the well-being of all people, and especially, if you look into the Gospel, those who have been wounded or are exposed to greater risk of being harmed: children, adolescents, vulnerable populations,” the priest and child sexual abuse expert said.

The Church has a “responsibility to raise our voice to point out where governments and tech companies fail.”

Cardinal Peter Turkson, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, reinforced that “AI is with us” and Catholics cannot miss the chance to be an influential voice for protecting children from the negative effects of this “exciting but fearsome tool,” as Pope Francis described it in his message for peace in 2024.

That is why, the cardinal continued, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences is glad to be partnering with scientists, tech leaders, and child well-being organizations from around the world to solve the issue at the root, through the promotion of ethically compliant AI models and data, rather than going after the systems “like a firehose after they are already created.”

The two-day Vatican conference, titled “Risks and Opportunities of AI for Children: A Common Commitment for Safeguarding Children,” features a number of high-level participants, including Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden, the founder of World Childhood Foundation, and Her Royal Highness Princess Madeleine of Sweden.

Also participating: Michelle DeLaune, president and CEO of the U.S.-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; parliamentarian Brando Benifei, rapporteur of the EU AI Act and president of the EU Parliament-U.S. Delegation; Mama Fatima Singhateh, U.N. special rapporteur on the Sale and Sexual Exploitation of Children; parliamentarian Neema Lugangira, chair of the African Parliamentary Network on Internet Governance; and Julia Hiller, office of the Independent Commissioner for Child Sexual Abuse Issues (UBSKM) for the German government.

Similoluwa Okunowo, a Google DeepMind scholar in the AI for Science Program at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Nigeria, will also present as one of four young adults providing a “youth perspective” during the conference.

Zollner said some of the risks of AI for children and adolescents include bullying, sextorsion, and entering relationships with digital partners they do not know.

Mandatory reporting laws in many parts of the world, including in the EU, are inadequate, he noted, and the risks are also exacerbated by a lack of consistency in policy and by tech companies who make enormous amounts of money but do not engage enough in child safety.

“We need to talk about the digital environment that for many of the young people today is perhaps the most important environment in which they communicate and relate,” he said.

Zollner also emphasized the important role families play as the front line for education about artificial intelligence and internet safety. He has noticed that parents are concerned, but there is also a huge “illiteracy” and feeling of overwhelm about the challenges and about how to engage in meaningful conversations with children and adolescents about the issue. 

“It’s not about black and white,” he encouraged. “All of us use these instruments more than we are aware of, all of us are dependent on these instruments, how do we educate to a proper and healthy use of them, so that it’s not harming myself or others, but it’s meant to create a space of safe interaction and growth and well-being.”

Families, parishes, dioceses, and Catholic schools “could and should be promoters of an education for a safer way to engage with the social media world and digital world in general,” Zollner added. “We have a huge ethical impact here potentially but unfortunately we have not made much use of that.”

“AI is galloping away,” Von Braun said. He offered a practical suggestion: that each diocese set up an academic group from the community as an AI council to give evidence-based advice to bishops on the risks and influence of artificial intelligence.

At the press conference, Britta Holmberg, deputy secretary general of the World Childhood Foundation, urged the public to not be afraid to confront the issue of AI.

While the quickly-changing world of AI can be scary, everyone has a responsibility, she said, to be open and curious, and to learn more in order to be role models for the world and to spread awareness about AI’s risks.

“If we don’t act, that also has consequences,” she underlined.