Judicial Watch sues Minnesota governor over school security funding records

Here is a roundup of the latest Catholic education news in the U.S.

A conservative government watchdog group has filed a lawsuit against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, claiming his office failed to respond to a public-records request seeking documents on school security funding and whether nonpublic schools were considered for state safety programs.

Judicial Watch submitted the request to the governor’s office on Aug. 28, 2025, — one day after a gunman killed two children and wounded 17 others during an all-school Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis. The March 4 complaint seeks communications from January 2022 through August 2025 concerning proposals to extend the state’s Safe Schools funding and a proposed $50 million Building and Cyber Security Grant Program to private schools.

Minnesota’s Safe Schools funding, including a 2019 supplemental appropriation, supports security improvements, emergency preparedness, mental health services, and violence-prevention initiatives in public and charter schools but does not cover roughly 72,000 students in private schools, including Catholic institutions. Judicial Watch says the lawsuit highlights repeated appeals from Minnesota Catholic Conference leaders and other school officials following major U.S. school shootings in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022 and Nashville, Tennessee, in 2023, which they say were ignored by the governor.

The Minnesota Catholic Conference told EWTN News it had not engaged Judicial Watch and was disappointed the group used its name without consultation. The conference noted that 2026 legislative proposals aim to expand Safe Schools funding for all students. Walz’s office did not respond to requests for comment before publication.

Faculty at Thomas Aquinas College launch podcast

Thomas Aquinas College announced professors Christopher Decaen and John Finley will co-host a podcast, “Great Books and First Principles.”

“For a long time, I have heard from many of our alumni and friends that we should start a TAC podcast,” Thomas Aquinas College Vice President and Dean Emeritus John J. Goyette said in a press release. “Well, it’s finally happening!”

“In these episodes, we are having a serious but unscripted conversation about some of the greatest works of the greatest minds of Western civilization, discussing, wondering about, and sometimes critiquing the insights contained in these works,” Decaen said.

Mirroring the curriculum at the college, the podcast hosts will discuss works of literature, philosophy, theology, natural science, and mathematics. The show will occasionally feature guests and college alumni.

The first four episodes of the podcast focus on Karl Marx’s “Communist Manifesto,” Aristotle’s “Nicomachean Ethics,” Ptolemy’s “Almagest,” and Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov.”

The episodes are available on podcasting platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

Catholic Benedictine college in New Hampshire announces next president

St. Anselm College announced Michael Lewis, provost and chief officer at Saint Louis University, has been named its 12th president.

Lewis will assume the position at the Manchester, New Hampshire, school on July 1, according to a March 9 university press release. The statement said the university conducted a nationwide search for a candidate to replace its president, Joseph A. Favazza, who will retire June 30.

“The mission of Saint Anselm College is not simply a heritage to preserve — it is a responsibility to carry forward. In a world searching for truth, stability, community, and hope, this college has an indispensable role to play,” Lewis said.

Lewis holds a chemistry degree from St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He has been a faculty member at Saint Louis University since 2004 and has been provost there since 2020.

“Among his many impressive attributes, Dr. Lewis is a strong listener who builds deep relationships with others, he has made difficult decisions with the mission as the guide, and he and his wife view serving in Catholic higher education as their vocation and life calling,” Saint Anselm Board of Trustees Chair Jeb Lavelle said.

Florida’s oldest Catholic university starts Benedictine Society expanding college access

Saint Leo University in Pasco County, Florida, has launched a leadership program aimed at removing financial barriers for “talented Catholic high school students” to attend the university.

The Benedictine Society will provide four-year full tuition scholarships for “high-achieving high school students with demonstrated financial need,” according to a university press release.

Jim Burkee, president of Saint Leo University, announced the Benedictine Society during a March 7 alumni event.

“Across the country, there are thousands of remarkable students graduating from Catholic high schools who have the talent, discipline, and values to thrive at Saint Leo but don’t have the resources necessarily to afford a Saint Leo education,” Burkee said at the event.

The program also will provide opportunities for academic support, spiritual formation, and leadership development.

Gigi Duncan contributed to this report.

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