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• An Answer to Prayers and a Win for Religious Freedom: Washington Ends Its Attack on the Seal of Confession
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• CBA Founding President Meets Pope Leo XIV at the Jubilee of Justice
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• Report of CBA 2025

Rome, Italy, September 22, 2025 – An estimated 15,000 people from 100 countries attended the Jubilee of Justice on September 20 — a day in the Pilgrims of Hope Jubilee Year dedicated to all those involved in legal and judicial fields, including secular, canonical, and ecclesiastical justice professionals such as judges, prosecutors, magistrates, lawyers, and other legal practitioners. According to the Holy See Press Office, this is the first time in the history of Jubilees that such an event devoted to the legal profession has occurred.

Joshua McCaig, the founding president of the Catholic Bar Association, was appointed by Archbishop Timothy Broglio, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, as the United States Delegate to the Jubilee of Justice. McCaig met Pope Leo XIV at the Jubilee of Justice event, following Pope Leo's address to the attendees in St. Peter's Square. “It was an honor to spend a moment with Pope Leo and tell him of the Catholic Bar Association's work to promote justice in the United States and beyond,” said McCaig. “Participating in this historic event and encountering so many people committed to the work of justice was inspiring.”

In Pope Leo's address to attendees, the Holy Father commented on the importance of justice to preserve human dignity and order within society, while also highlighting the role of forgiveness and Christian example in the administration of justice. He noted that there is a “deep desire for justice that is present in each of us, the thirst for justice that is the key instrument for building the common good in every society." His Holiness further stated, “Justice encompasses the dignity of the individual, his or her relationships with others, and the communal dimension of coexistence, with its structures and rules. It establishes a circularity of social relations, which places the value of every human person at its core and seeks to preserve that value through justice. It is the power of forgiveness, intrinsic to the commandment of love, that emerges as a constitutive element of a justice capable of combining the supernatural with the human."

Pope Leo’s message emphasized accountability for one's actions in the eyes of both God and man to create an ordered society, while respecting the dignity of each person. McCaig further stated, “There was definitely a strong sense of community at this event, united in shared values and faith, and a message of hope that we can seek justice with hearts of mercy, forgiveness, and love."

McCaig is a shareholder with the Polsinelli Law Firm in its Kansas City office, a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville, and a member of Ave Maria School of Law’s inaugural class. The Catholic Bar Association is the national association of Catholic legal professionals in the United States, and additional information can be found at www.catholicbar.org. 

Joshua McCaig is available for comment.  To request an interview, contact Carrie Kline at carriek@missionadvancementpartners.com.

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The Catholic Bar Association’s Board of Directors opened the CBA’s 10th Annual Conference and General Assembly with its annual in-person Business Meeting in Kansas City, MO. There, the Board undertook important planning for the coming year, which will culminate with the 11th Annual Conference and General Assembly in Dallas, Texas, September 24-26, 2026.

CBA Member attendance opened with a convivial welcome reception at the Bishop Hogan Center, which is situated on the grounds of Kansas City’s beautiful and distinctive Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. One day after a sitting US Senator openly questioned the propriety of a government official adhering to the natural law, it seemed fitting to convene in a venue named for a pioneering prelate who in his own time took a very public and controversial stance against State interference in the practice of our Faith.

The Conference theme, Building on Ten Years of Christian Witness in Law, was exemplified by the CBA’s return to Kansas City (the site of its first two conferences), by the participation of several of its original conference speakers, and by the renewal of many long standing acquaintances and friendships.

Report continues ...

© Catholic Bar Association, most photos from Paoletti Photography 

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