Weekly Roundup: Gay marriage, vaccination, and facial recognition software

Published June 26, 2015

Happy Friday! As always, your weekly roundup:

In a long-sought victory for the gay rights movement, the Supreme Court ruled today that the Constitution guarantees a nationwide right to same-sex marriage.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev apologized in court Wednesday for “the suffering that I’ve caused” in the April 2013 attack that killed three people and wounded hundreds. “I am sorry for the lives that I’ve taken, for the suffering that I’ve caused you, for the damage that I’ve done — irreparable damage,” he said, breaking more than two years of public silence. “If there is any lingering doubt, let there be no more. I did it, along with my brother,” Tsarnaev said, referring to the bombings carried out by him and older brother Tamerlan. “I ask Allah to have mercy on me, my brother and my family.”

Churches just got a new way to figure out who is sleeping in on Sunday morning: facial recognition software that scans the congregation and tracks who showed up. Churchix is a product of Skakash LLC, which sells similar software to law enforcement, border control, and commercial applications. According to CEO Moshe Greenshpan, 30 churches have already deployed the new software and service, which could be used to target members who need a nudge or to identify potential major donors among those who attend faithfully.

California lawmakers approved one of the toughest mandatory vaccination requirements in the nation, moving to end exemptions from state immunization laws based on religious or other personal beliefs. This measure, among the most controversial taken up by the Legislature this year, would require more children who enter day care and school to be vaccinated against diseases including measles and whooping cough.

The tiny Spanish village of Castrillo Matajudios—which means “Camp Kill Jews”—officially changed its name back to Castrillo Mota de Judios (“Jews’ Hill Camp”) following a referendum and regional government approval. The village, with about 50 inhabitants, voted to change the name in 2014 after the mayor argued that the term was offensive and that the village should honor its Jewish origins.

In the wake of the Charleston murders, pastors around the country are starting to get training in firearms.

And now for the papal rapid fire roundup

This week, Pope Francis:

said you can tell how trustworthy a pastor is based on how much he talks
recognized Palestine as a state
said that maybe there’s forgiveness in the church for divorced couples
asks for belated forgiveness

ad offering 25% off to celebrate U.S. Catholic's 2026 Magazine of the Year award

About the author

Emily Sanna

Emily Sanna is an award-winning journalist and editor with more than a decade of experience in Catholic media. As executive editor of U.S. Catholic, she leads the publication’s editorial vision and oversees its print, digital, and multimedia journalism. She joined the staff in 2015 and previously served as digital editor and managing editor. Under her editorial leadership, U.S. Catholic has received numerous honors from the Catholic Media Association and Associated Church Press, including multiple Magazine of the Year awards. She is also one of the writers for Testaments, which received the Catholic Media Association award for Best Scriptural Reflection in 2026.

Emily cohosts Glad You Asked, U.S. Catholic's award-winning podcast exploring questions about Catholicism that don’t have easy answers. She helped develop an organization-wide ethics policy governing the Claretians’ use of artificial intelligence and guided its application at U.S. Catholic. A former member of the Catholic Media Association board, she holds a master of divinity degree from Yale Divinity School, with particular interests in feminist and environmental theology. Her writing explores Catholic identity, gender and sexuality, family life, and justice. She lives in Western New York with her family and an assortment of animals.