For more than 50 years, Pax Christi USA — the national Catholic peace movement founded in 1972, grounded in the Gospel and Catholic social teaching — has dedicated itself to the construction of a world without conflict.

Prior to the second anniversary of a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its prior abortion precedent, pro-life activists said much of their work remains to be done.

Since beginning their journeys mid-May, pilgrims on the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage have braved excessive heat, thunderstorms and wind — all of it closely monitored by a meteorologist in New Hampshire. John Kelley rises daily around 5:45 a.m. — earlier than pre-pilgrimage days — and with coffee in hand, spends about 90 minutes compiling information from National Weather Service websites for each of the pilgrimage’s four routes.

More than 1,200 faithful took to the streets of the nation’s capital June 8 to celebrate the arrival of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in the Archdiocese of Washington with prayers, songs and a procession.

With the imminent departure of Joseph Donnelly as the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, it seems likely the post will be vacant for a while. It would make little sense to try to ram through a nominee before the election in November, and afterwards it can take a new (or returning) administration six months, or more, to work its way down to the Vatican gig on the list of federal jobs to fill.