Catholic News

Delivering a eulogy at the beginning of his mother's funeral Mass this week, international soccer star Roy Keane spoke lovingly of his parents and his Catholic upbringing in Ireland.

After his mother died, he paid tribute on Instagram to her, writing under a photograph of them together: "You'll always be the boss."

The Requiem Mass for Marie Keane took place in the Church of the Resurrection in Farranree, Cork City, the same church where she and her late husband, Mossie, were married in 1963. He died in 2019. Their wedding photograph was placed on her coffin during the Mass.

In his eulogy, Keane said: "From a selfish point of view, we weren't ready for my mam to go yet. Today, we feel like the heart has been ripped out of our chest. Our mam would not want us to make a fuss today."

He continued: "Our mam played so many different roles in our lives. She was a wife, mother, sister, daughter, mother-in-law, and grandmother. She was pretty cool at all of them. We can take comfort in knowing she was so deeply loved. We mourn her, but we have to celebrate her life as well. Ultimately, our mam and dad were at their happiest when they were together. And they are together. God bless, mam — and thanks for everything you did for us."

Marie Keane passed away peacefully in the presence of her family at Marymount Hospice in Cork after suffering a long illness.

Roy Keane, who captained Manchester United during their most successful era and played for Ireland at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, is one of Ireland's most famous sportsmen. He grew up in Cork City. After a period managing and coaching at club and international level, he is now a soccer pundit on television.

In his autobiography, Keane talked about his faith. "Sometimes I don't know what's best for myself, and that's why I've got great faith; the man upstairs looks after me. I just have to trust him a bit more."

Notoriously private, Keane previously said in an interview that he attended Mass most Sundays. "I have to drag the kids along sometimes, but they are all very well-grounded because that is what my life is," he said.

In his address, he looked back on the parenting skills of his late mother and father with great affection: "Our mam didn't always [give] what we wanted but always gave us what we needed. She was pretty strict with us, and if we were up to no good, she had an amazing skill of throwing a shoe, and no matter where we were in the house, she would always hit the target."

Recalling a happy childhood growing up with his parents, Keane said: "Summer holidays to Garretstown were always special. In the evening, we would get a bag of chips. We thought life was great, just so simple. They would both be in great form. It was like going to Australia. We would also enjoy trips up to Dublin to the All-Ireland back in the days when Cork used to win. The only disappointment was our dad telling us once we got up to Dublin that we had no tickets for the match. But you can't have everything."

Thanking the wider family circle for their care, Keane said: "I have never known a closer family. Your help and support over the last couple of years has been a great example to us all. We will never be able to thank you enough. The turnout today has not surprised us. Our mam always looked out for other people. Not only was she kind and caring, but she had a good sense of humor, right up until the end."

Father Sean O'Sullivan, who celebrated the Requiem Mass, told mourners that Marie Keane was everything to her family. She cherished them "not for anything they had done or achieved" but simply for who they were.

"While our hearts expand to love others as we grow, there is a place in our hearts that forever belongs to our mother. That is what makes them so special. It also makes it hard to lose them," O'Sullivan said.

Keane's praise for his family, faith, and upbringing follows the Oscars ceremony in Hollywood last month where his fellow Irish star, Best Actress winner Jessie Buckley, paid a warm tribute to her parents and the beauty of motherhood in her acceptance speech.

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More than half a century after humans last traveled beyond Earth's orbit, a new National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) project for lunar exploration has begun, marking a historic day in the United States.

"The feeling is really palpable that now America is on its way back to the moon after more than five decades of waiting and planning," Jonathan Lunine, chief scientist at NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) and the founding vice president of the Society of Catholic Scientists, said in an interview with "EWTN News Nightly."

On April 1 at 6:35 p.m. ET, the Artemis II rocket lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida with four astronauts on board.

"Everyone's very excited at JPL, at NASA headquarters," Lunine said. "Artemis II is a 10-day mission which will send four astronauts around the moon, and they will go as far, or farther, than any humans have, even during the Apollo program, and then return to the Earth."

The mission is the first time astronauts have flown aboard NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, which has key systems designed to support future missions to the lunar surface.

The mission is part of NASA's Artemis program, which "will send astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars," according to NASA.

"The United States has not been back to the moon, and no country has been to the moon, since 1972. So this is really developing completely new hardware with the technologies that we have today to build a lunar program for the United States that's going to be long-lasting," Lunine said.

Apollo 8 and Artemis II are 2 different journeys around the moon

Many space enthusiasts have wondered if Artemis II is just a rerun of Apollo 8, but Lunine clarified "this is not like Apollo."

"The NASA administrator made it clear, and the president has made it clear as well, that this is the start of the United States staying on the moon and having a presence there in the long term," he said. "And that means that the technologies that are required … for being able to bring astronauts and significant amounts of cargo to the moon, need to be developed."

Despite the difference in the missions, Apollo 8 and Artemis II undoubtedly have similarities as both were developed primarily for testing purposes to help NASA refine the systems needed for future lunar landings.

In 1968, Apollo 8's success paved the way for Apollo 11, which landed astronauts on the moon just seven months later. Similarly, Artemis II is expected to set the stage for Artemis III, which is intended to test docking capabilities between Orion and commercial spacecraft needed to land astronauts on the moon.

"The idea is to test out all of the systems necessary for bringing astronauts to the moon in a lunar landing, hopefully in a couple of years," Lunine said.

An unexpected — and unplanned — similarity between the missions is that both will have had astronauts in space for significant Christian holidays. Apollo 8 traveled Dec. 21–27, 1968, and was in space on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

On Christmas Eve, the astronauts recited from the Book of Genesis in what was the most-watched broadcast in history at the time. Following the launch of Artemis II, the astronauts and rocket will be in space during Easter.

The missions share similar crew sizes, as Apollo 8 carried three astronauts, and Artemis II is carrying four. The Artemis crew is made up of commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen.

Wiseman, Glover, and Koch have all been astronauts with NASA for more than a decade, and Hansen became the first Canadian to be entrusted with leading a NASA astronaut class — training astronaut candidates from the U.S. and Canada.

A mission for 'humanity'

During a March 29 press conference, 49-year-old Glover brought attention to the importance of the mission being for all human beings, calling it a "story of humanity."

Koch is the first female astronaut to travel to the moon and Glover is the first Black astronaut to do so. Hansen is also set to make history as the first Canadian to travel on a lunar mission. Despite the many firsts, Glover said he hopes the mission is more representative of "human history" as a whole rather than specific demographics.

Glover said it's "great" that "young brown boys and girls can look at me and go, 'Hey, he looks like me, and he's doing what?' I love that, but I also hope we are pushing the other direction, that one day we don't have to talk about these firsts," he said.

"It's about human history. It's the story of humanity, not Black history, not women's history, but that it becomes human history," Glover said.

In a CBS broadcast, former astronaut and Catholic Mike Hopkins, who spoke at the National Eucharistic Congress, said to the Artemis crew: "Godspeed to Reid and Victor and Christina and Jeremy. They're taking the hopes and dreams of an entire planet with them right now."

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During Holy Week, the archbishop of Miami, Thomas Wenski, and the second-in-command at the U.S. State Department, Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau, both expressed their concern for the persecution the Church in Nicaragua is suffering at the hands of the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo.

At the March 31 chrism Mass celebrated at Miami's St. Mary Cathedral, Wenski noted that during Holy Week 2026, "we find ourselves surrounded by people who desperately need good news."

After lamenting the current climate of mass deportations in the U.S., violence in Haiti, and repression in Cuba, the prelate turned his attention to the situation facing Nicaraguan Catholics.

"In Nicaragua — a country that has expelled more than 300 bishops, priests, seminarians, and religious in recent years — the regime has banned priestly ordinations in four dioceses," he pointed out.

With the expulsion of Father José Concepción Reyes Mairena of the Diocese of León in February, the number of religious forced to leave Nicaragua now stands at 309.

Furthermore, the dictatorship has banned priestly and diaconal ordinations in the four dioceses whose bishops are absent because they were forced into exile: Matagalpa, Estelí, Siuna, and Jinotega. The chrism Mass, during which the oil, or chrism, to be used in the sacraments is blessed, was also not celebrated in those dioceses.

In his homily, Wenski encouraged the faithful to prepare for the "Paschal Triduum, the commemoration of the passion, death, and resurrection of Our Lord," reminding them that "we cannot look upon the crucified Christ without looking at those being crucified before our very eyes and seeing him in them."

"It struck me as a very prophetic homily," said Father Edwing Román, a Nicaraguan priest in exile who now serves as vicar of St. Agatha Parish in Miami, told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

"As an exiled Nicaraguan priest, I value and appreciate that a pastor of his stature during such a significant celebration as the chrism Mass in the very midst of Holy Week included our people who are suffering and yearning for their freedom, as well as our persecuted Church," the priest said.

"Thank you, Archbishop Wenski, for your prophetic defense and for demonstrating once again your closeness to Nicaragua. Your archdiocese has served as a refuge for us and for Bishop Silvio Báez," he added.

Joining Wenski at the chrism Mass was the auxiliary bishop of Managua, Báez, who went into exile from Nicaragua in 2019 and whose position was confirmed in August 2025 when he was received at the Vatican by Pope Leo XIV. The prelate celebrates Mass and ministers to the community at St. Agatha in Miami.

Román told ACI Prensa that in total four exiled priests participated in the chrism Mass including himself and Father Marcos Somarriba, a parish priest at St. Agatha, along with six other priests who arrived in the United States as children or young adults and a deacon who will soon be ordained a priest, all of Nicaraguan origin.

Dearth of religious freedom in Nicaragua

Also on March 31, Landau denounced the Nicaraguan dictatorship's stifling of religious freedom in the country.

He noted that "Nicaragua has historically hosted some of the most beautiful and famous processions in the region (for example in Granada and Leon) and I look forward to the day when our Nicaraguan friends reclaim their religious freedom."

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Martha Patricia Molina, researcher and author of the report "Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church," has documented the thousands of processions and public events banned by the country's dictatorship in recent years, a phenomenon that is even more severe during this Holy Week.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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Pope Leo XIV celebrated a chrism Mass at the Vatican on April 2, his first as pope after being elected as supreme pontiff in May 2025.

The Mass included the traditional blessing of the holy oils that will be used throughout the year in the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, anointing of the sick, and holy orders.

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The Visitation to Seven Churches is a Holy Thursday devotion primarily practiced in Latin America, Italy, Poland, and the Philippines — though it is also practiced in many other places.

The devotion involves traveling to seven local churches after the Mass of the Lord's Supper on the evening of Holy Thursday. These visits recall the final seven places Jesus went from his arrest on Holy Thursday to his death on Good Friday.

In each church, the pilgrim kneels before the altar of repose, meditates on the appropriate Scripture, and offers prayers and adoration. In this way, pilgrims seek to spiritually accompany Christ as he enters his passion.

The first church recalls Jesus going from the Cenacle, where he celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples, to the Garden of Gethsemane, where he earnestly prayed and sweat blood in his agony over what was about to take place (see Luke 22:39-46).

In the second church, the pilgrim meditates on Jesus being taken from the Garden of Gethsemane by the armed crowd to the house of Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas the high priest, where he was interrogated and slapped in the face (see John 18:19-22).

In the third church, the prayer focuses on Jesus being brought to the house of Caiaphas, where he was beaten, spat upon, insulted, and endured a painful night in captivity (see Matthew 26:63-68).

The focus of the reflection for the fourth church is the first time Jesus was brought before Pilate, the Roman governor of the region. There Jesus was accused by the Jewish religious authorities of being a rival king to Caesar (see John 18:35-37).

In the fifth church, the pilgrim follows the Lord as he is taken to King Herod, who along with his guards mock him (see Luke 23:8-9; 11).

The sixth church recalls Jesus being taken from Herod and brought before Pilate for the second time and then scourged, crowned with thorns, mocked, and condemned to death (see Matthew 27:22-26).

The last church commemorates Christ carrying the cross on his shoulders from the Praetorium, where Pilate yielded to the crowd's demand for his crucifixion, to Mount Calvary, where he suffered excruciating pain, died, and was laid to rest in a nearby tomb until his resurrection from the dead on Easter Sunday (see Matthew 27:27-31).

This story was first published on April 1, 2021, and has been updated.

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Pope Leo XIV on Holy Thursday proposed Christian mission as an antidote to what he called the "imperialist occupation of the world," saying it is now a priority to remember that "neither in the pastoral sphere nor in the social and political spheres can good come from abuse of power."

At the Chrism Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on April 2, the pope reflected on the mission God entrusts to his people and warned that it must never be distorted by "a desire for domination, entirely foreign to the way of Jesus Christ."

"The cross is part of the mission: the sending becomes more bitter and frightening, but also more freeing and transformative," Leo said. "The imperialist occupation of the world is thus disrupted from within; the violence that until now has been the law is unmasked."

The pope did not point to any specific geopolitical situation when he used the phrase.

The Chrism Mass, one of the principal liturgies of Holy Thursday, includes the blessing of the holy oils that will be used throughout the year in the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, anointing of the sick, and holy orders. During the Mass, priests also renew the promises they made at ordination.

Presiding over the rite for the first time as bishop of Rome, Leo addressed nearly 1,000 priests in St. Peter's Basilica and emphasized that the Christian mission is never lived in isolation or in rupture with the Church.

"Each of us takes part in it according to our own vocation in a deeply personal obedience to the voice of the Spirit, yet never without others, never neglecting or breaking communion!" he said.

The pope said the Easter Triduum, which begins later on Holy Thursday, calls Christians not to flee trial but to pass through it with Christ.

"What we are about to relive, in fact, possesses the power to transform what human pride generally tends to harden: our identity and our place in the world," he said. "Jesus' freedom changes hearts, heals wounds, refreshes and brightens our faces, reconciles and gathers us together, and forgives and raises us up."

Leo also stressed that the Church is apostolic because it is sent out, not static, and said bishops and priests are called to remain at the service of a missionary people.

He warned that mission has too often been warped by worldly logic and said authentic Christian love cannot be tied to force or display.

"Love is true only when it is unguarded; it requires little fuss, no ostentation, and gently cherishes weakness and vulnerability," he said.

The pope also cautioned against approaching the poor with worldly signs of influence.

"There is no 'good news to the poor' … if we go to them bearing the signs of power, nor is there authentic liberation unless we free ourselves from attachment," he said.

Instead, Leo pointed to the witness of the great missionaries, who, he said, embody "quiet, unobtrusive approaches, whose method is the sharing of life, selfless service, the renunciation of any calculated strategy, dialogue and respect."

He added that Christian mission requires simplicity and reverence before the mystery present in every people and culture.

"As Christians, we are guests," he said. "To be hosts, in fact, we must learn to be guests ourselves."

Even in places marked by secularization, he said, the Church must not think in terms of conquest or reconquest, but of listening, accompaniment, and witness. That is possible only when the Church walks together, he said, and when mission is not "a heroic adventure reserved for a few, but the living witness of a Body with many members."

Leo also reflected on the possibility of rejection in Christian mission, recalling Jesus' expulsion from Nazareth. Yet even that trial, he said, can become the place where the Gospel reveals its deepest power.

"How many 'resurrections' are we called to experience when, free from a defensive attitude, we immerse ourselves in service like a seed in the earth!" he said.

During the homily, the pope cited St. Óscar Romero, the archbishop of San Salvador murdered in 1980, as a witness of persevering hope amid danger and suffering.

At the close of his reflection, Leo urged Catholics to renew their commitment to a mission marked by unity and peace.

"In this dark hour of history, it has pleased God to send us to spread the fragrance of Christ where the stench of death reigns," he said. "Let us renew our 'yes' to this mission that calls for unity and brings peace. Yes, we are here! Let us overcome the sense of powerlessness and fear!"

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, EWTN News' Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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DHAKA, Bangladesh — As the Catholic Church marks Holy Thursday — known in some traditions as Maundy Thursday — a senior priest in Bangladesh says the day remains a deeply joyful and defining moment for priests, rooted in service, sacrifice, and renewal.

"Maundy Thursday is a very joyful day for our priests. It is the day of the priesthood and the day of the institution of the holy Eucharist," said Monsignor Gabriel Corraya of the Archdiocese of Dhaka in an interview with EWTN News. "On this day, Jesus shared the Last Supper with his 12 disciples and entrusted them with his priestly life and ministry."

Corraya, 69, said Holy Thursday holds special spiritual importance because it calls priests back to the origins of their vocation. The day, he explained, renews not only memories but also commitments.

"For us priests, Maundy Thursday is very important," he said. "On this day, we renew our priestly promises before our bishop. It reminds us that we are participants in the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ."

He said the ritual washing of the feet, a defining feature of Holy Thursday liturgies, reveals the heart of priestly service. Recalling Jesus kneeling before his disciples, Corraya said the act remains a lasting lesson in humility and action.

"Jesus came into the world to serve," he said. "By washing the feet of his disciples, he showed that service must be proven not only through words but through actions. Though he was a teacher and master, he washed their feet. To me, no act of service is small. Washing feet is perhaps one of the most human things we can do."

'A blessed year'

This year marks a milestone in Corraya's own priestly journey. On Jan. 24, he was elevated to the rank of monsignor, an honor conferred by Pope Leo XIV. He describes the title not as personal distinction but as an acknowledgment of service.

Ordained a priest in Dhaka in 1986, he was among a group of deacons ordained during the pontificate of St. John Paul II. In 2026, he marks 40 years of priesthood.

"This is truly a blessed year in my life," he said. "The greatest gift I have received is the priesthood itself. The monsignorship is simply a recognition of that service. As I wear this attire, I pray not for the garment, but that God may clothe my heart with humility, faith, and love."

Forming bishops

For many years, Corraya served as rector of the major seminary in Dhaka, forming generations of priests in Bangladesh. Several of his former students have since become bishops, a source of gratitude rather than pride, he said.

"I always loved seeing one of my students ordained as a priest," he said. "When one of my students, Sebastian Tudu, became bishop of the Diocese of Dinajpur, I was very happy. Even today, though he is a bishop, he treats me with great respect as his former rector."

Corraya currently serves as vicar general of the Archdiocese of Dhaka. In that role, he sees both the wide reach of priestly ministry and its growing challenges in a rapidly changing society.

"There are many areas of service in this country, and priests are involved in many responsibilities," he said. "One major challenge today is the identity of the priest. People's way of thinking has changed. Often what we expect does not happen. Living our priesthood faithfully in the modern era can involve suffering."

He added that priests must also examine themselves honestly. "Many times, we priests are unable to give full witness to the ideal of Jesus," he said. "Christians come to Jesus when they see that ideal lived. His service speaks louder than words."

Social media, he said, has become both a challenge and an opportunity. "This is the era of social media," he said. "If priests do not update themselves, it becomes difficult. Sometimes the distance between priests and the faithful grows, and this is a challenge we must address."

To respond, senior priests gathered in Dhaka on March 25 to reflect on adapting to contemporary realities. "We discussed how we can update ourselves with the times, and that effort is ongoing," he said.

A minority Church

Although Catholics remain a small minority in Bangladesh, Corraya said priests generally enjoy peaceful coexistence with members of other religions. "We have good relationships with people of other faiths," he said. "Occasionally, isolated extremist incidents cause concern, but overall we share a bond of harmony."

Bangladesh faces a modest shortage of priests, especially as new parishes open and missionary needs expand. "Fewer young people are entering seminaries," he said. "We are addressing this by appointing vocation promoters to encourage young people to consider the priesthood."

As the Church observes Holy Thursday — often called Priests' Day — Corraya offered a message to clergy worldwide: "Priests are part of God's great plan. Priesthood is a precious gift from God. My prayer is that all priests may remain healthy and walk closely with the faithful entrusted to them."

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President Donald Trump vowed stronger military action against Iran in an address to the nation on Wednesday night, amid continued calls for peace and dialogue from Pope Leo XIV and other members of the Catholic hierarchy.

"We're going to bring them back to the stone ages where they belong," Trump said in remarks from the White House on April 1, adding that "in the meantime, discussions are ongoing."

Trump said the military is "on track to complete all of America's military objectives shortly, very shortly," but said he also intends to "hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks."

"If, during this period of time, no deal is made, we have our eyes on key targets," the president said, and threatened to escalate to attacking Iranian infrastructure.

"If there is no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard and probably simultaneously," he said. "We have not hit their oil, even though that's the easiest target of all, because it would not give them even a small chance of survival or rebuilding."

Trump said the military's "core strategic objectives" are nearly complete, and noted that Iran's military has significantly deteriorated. Now, more than one month into the conflict, Trump said "we're getting very close."

As Iran continues to threaten ships that must pass through the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said "countries of the world that do receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage" and told them to "grab it" while promising "we will be helpful."

Trump's address was his first speech to the nation since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began on Feb. 28. Trump has made remarks to reporters, given interviews, and posted statements, but had not delivered a formal, televised address to the nation.

Pope, bishops pray for peace

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, published a statement earlier in the day welcoming indications the war may soon end and calling for a ceasefire.

"The longer the conflict with Iran continues, including the risk of deploying ground troops to the region, the greater the risk of a dramatic escalation risking an ever-greater regional conflict," Coakley said.

Citing Pope Leo XIV's Palm Sunday homily of March 29, in which the pope proclaimed Christ the "King of Peace" who rejects war, Coakley encouraged Christians, renewed by Easter, to live out their vocation as peacemakers.

"Pope Leo XIV made clear: 'Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,'" Coakley said.

The pope separately addressed the conflict on March 31, telling reporters outside the papal villa of Castel Gandolfo: "Easter should be the holiest, most sacred time of the year."

"I'm told that President Trump recently stated that he would like to end the war," the pope told reporters March 31. "Hopefully he's looking for an 'off ramp.' Hopefully he's looking for a way to decrease the amount of violence, of bombing, which would be a significant contribution to removing the hatred that's being created and that's increasing constantly in the Middle East and elsewhere."

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A federal judge in Texas has dismissed a lawsuit that would have allowed churches to endorse political candidates without losing their tax-exempt status.

The case, which challenged the Johnson Amendment, a 1954 law that prohibits 501(c)(3) nonprofits from endorsing political candidates, was filed in August 2024 by the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB), two Texas churches, and Intercessors for America.

The plaintiffs argued that the Johnson Amendment violates the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment rights to free speech and free exercise of religion, is unconstitutionally vague under the Fifth Amendment, and infringes on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The U.S. Department of Justice attempted to dismiss the case in the last weeks of the Biden administration.

After President Trump took office in January 2025, however, his administration revived the case.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and U.S. Department of Justice shifted their positions and sided with the plaintiffs, arguing that the Johnson Amendment should be read narrowly when applied to churches.

Last summer, the IRS surprised some observers by agreeing to settle, reversing the 70-year ban prohibiting nonprofits from engaging in political campaigns.

On July 7, 2025, the government and plaintiffs filed a joint motion for entry of a consent judgment that would have allowed houses of worship to address electoral politics from the pulpit when framed in the context of religious faith and moral teaching and without risking loss of their tax-exempt status.

In an opinion issued March 31, however, U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker ruled that the district court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction to approve the proposed consent judgment between the plaintiffs and the IRS or to grant the requested relief.

The case was dismissed without prejudice. Barker, a Trump appointee and former deputy solicitor general of Texas, said the plaintiffs could challenge the issue in other ways. They could sue after paying taxes or after their loss of tax-exempt status as a result of violating the Johnson Amendment.

The judge cited the Tax Anti-Injunction Act and restrictions in the Declaratory Judgment Act, which generally prohibit federal courts from issuing orders that would restrain the assessment or collection of taxes — including challenges to the conditions for maintaining 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.

In the context of the Trump administration's support of last summer's settlement, NRB General Counsel Michael Farris said the organization was surprised by the ruling and plans to appeal to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

"President Donald J. Trump has repeatedly cited this case's settlement as a victory by his administration for religious freedom," he said.

"The plaintiffs here have no other forum to challenge the free speech restrictions imposed by the Johnson Amendment's limitation on the right of nonprofits to speak about candidates, unless they first violate the law and then become subject to IRS enforcement action. No person should be forced to place themselves in legal jeopardy to protect their constitutional rights," Farris emphasized, saying the U.S. Supreme Court "has backed this conclusion on numerous occasions."

The USCCB's response

Last summer's proposed settlement prompted an immediate reaction from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). On July 8, 2025, USCCB spokesperson Chieko Noguchi, executive director of public affairs, indicated  that the Church would not, in any case, support or oppose political candidates.

"It doesn't change how the Catholic Church engages in public debate," Noguchi said at the time. "The Church seeks to help Catholics form their conscience in the Gospel so they might discern which candidates and policies would advance the common good. The Catholic Church maintains its stance of not endorsing or opposing political candidates."

The March 31 ruling leaves the provision intact for now, at least as enforced through the tax code.

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday considered whether President Donald Trump's executive order denying citizenship to children of parents without legal immigration status complies with the Constitution.

Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office to block children from automatically receiving citizenship if their parents were residing in the country unlawfully during the birth. It immediately faced legal challenges, based on the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, which established birthright citizenship.

The amendment guarantees citizenship to any person born in the country and "subject to the jurisdiction thereof." The April 1 arguments, which Trump attended, focused on the meaning of the latter phrase and on Supreme Court precedent in the 1898 decision in the U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark case.

In February, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) petitioned the Supreme Court to consider the moral implications of Trump's order, saying it will determine "whether the law will protect the human dignity of all God's children."

Andrew Arthur, resident fellow in law and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies and a former immigration judge, told "EWTN News Nightly" those questions "weren't really relevant" to the legal debate in court, which instead focused on the proper interpretation of the amendment and precedent.

The bishops' objections were "heavy on morality, on human dignity, but rather light on the law itself," he said.

Justices question Trump's authority

Solicitor General D. John Sauer, who defended the government, noted the motivation for the 14th Amendment was to guarantee citizenship to "the newly freed slaves and their children" after the abolition of slavery.

He argued that the text is meant to protect those who are "domiciled" in the country, which he defined as those with a "lawful presence with the intent to remain." He said the "domicile of the child follows the domicile of the parents," and those who are meant to be temporarily present or not allowed to be present are "not covered by the clause."

Sauer referenced the Wong Kim Ark case, in which the Supreme Court said the man — born in the United States to two parents who were legal permanent residents but not citizens — was a citizen upon birth and referenced the parents' "domiciled" status.

Although the nearly 130-year-old decision held a broad view of birthright citizenship, he said the court at the time did not directly address the citizenship of those born to parents who were not "domiciled."

That decision, however, only listed a few examples for when birthright citizenship did not apply: those born to foreign diplomats, those born to occupying enemy forces, and certain Indigenous Americans.

Sauer added that there is a problem with "birth tourism," stating people have "flocked to give birth in the United States in recent decades," creating citizens with "no meaningful ties" to the country. He told the justices it is "a new world," which forces the justices to deal with questions that the previous court did not have to consider.

This prompted a response from Chief Justice John Roberts: "It's a new world, [but] it's the same Constitution."

It's a new world, [but] it's the same Constitution.

John Roberts

Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court

Justice Neil Gorsuch expressed heavy skepticism of the argument, saying: "You don't see 'domicile' mentioned in the debates" in Congress over the 14th Amendment, stating: "These concepts aren't discussed in them."

Justice Elena Kagan similarly said the "domiciled" element is "not what we think of when we think of the word jurisdiction" and accused him of "using some pretty obscure sources to get to this concept."

More concerns came from Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who pointed out the historical distinction between "Jus soli" and "Jus sanguinis" citizenship, with the former guaranteeing citizenship based on the soil and the latter guaranteeing citizenship based on the parents.

She said it would be "puzzling" for the framers to word the amendment that way if they wanted to tie citizenship to the parents and that one would expect "more discussion" of that. She said the language doesn't "focus on the parents" but rather the child.

Justices leave door open to interpretation

In spite of the heavy skepticism of the government's position, several justices left the door open to a more restrictive interpretation of birthright citizenship.

Cecillia Wang, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union and a beneficiary of birthright citizenship herself, argued that the framers of the amendment enshrined birthright citizenship in the Constitution to "put it out of the reach of any government official to destroy."

She argued that the 14th amendment embodies the English common law tradition, which did not consider "domicile" to be relevant to "Jus soli" citizenship and said the Wong Kim Ark case did not limit the ruling to the children of "domiciled" parents.

Rather, Wang argued the decision provides "a closed set of exceptions" to birthright citizenship, which cannot be expanded without overturning that precedent. She said it was written in a way "to foreclose new exceptions."

Several justices took issue with this as well, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh asking whether there could be "additional exceptions, based on modern circumstances, reasoning by analogy," and Barrett raising the same point, stating: "The language doesn't say it's closed."

Kagan noted that the Wong Kim Ark case used the word "domiciled" several times to explain the ruling, and Justice Samuel Alito argued "domiciled" was used to distinguish permanent residents from migrant laborers who did not plan to remain.

Alternatively, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson suggested the language for "domiciled" may have simply been used "to help the public accept the outcome of this case" rather than to limit the decision.

Gorsuch said the legal opinion following the Wong Kim Ark decision, about whether the ruling applied to the children of non-domiciled people, "remained opened" and scholarly opinion was varied and unclear, adding: "It seems to me it's a mess."

The Supreme Court has the option to simply rule on Trump's executive order or wade into the broader constitutional questions in its decision. The government is not asking the court to reject the birthright citizenship of people who have already received it but is seeking to have a different policy moving forward.

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