The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Monday denied a stay of a recent ruling that required that the Statewide Charter School Board rescind a contract with a Catholic charter school.
St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School had asked the court to stay the order so it could preserve the contract while filing an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The publicly funded, Catholic-directed institution would be the first of its kind in the nation.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court earlier this summer ruled against its establishment, ordering the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board to rescind the school’s contract. The court argued that extending public funding to a religious school would be a “slippery slope” that could lead to “the destruction of Oklahomans’ freedom to practice religion without fear of governmental intervention.”
St. Isidore, managed by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa, is appealing the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Virtual Charter School Board, meanwhile — which has since been incorporated into the Statewide Charter School Board — delayed rescinding the contract pending the outcome of the appeal.
St. Isidore asked to keep its contract, while not opening the school or accepting state charter-school funding while the school appealed the case. The court ruled against the stay 7-1, while the chief justice, John Kane, recused himself of the vote.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond petitioned the Oklahoma Supreme Court at the end of July, asking that the court “compel” the charter board to comply with the June 25 order to rescind the contract and “to make clear that further refusal … will be grounds for the issuance of a contempt citation.”
For “nearly a month, the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board has ignored this court’s patently clear order requiring rescission of the unlawful contract,” the filing reads.
The Statewide Charter School Board is set to meet on Aug. 12, where it will review the ruling.
St. Isidore is working with attorneys from the Notre Dame Religious Liberty Clinic, part of the Notre Dame Law School Religious Liberty Initiative.
Set to launch in August as an online, tuition-free, Catholic K–12 charter school, St. Isidore had 200 students registered to start in the fall.
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Pope Leo XIV addresses Catholic faithful on the scoreboard at Rate Field, home to the Chicago White Sox, during a celebration and Mass to honor his selection as Pope on June 14, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. / Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Chicago, Ill., Jun 14, 2025 / 18:30 pm (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV delivered a video message June 14 to thousands of Catholics gathered in his hometown of Chicago, making a special appeal to young people to be “beacons” of Christ’s hope for others.
“You are the promise of hope for so many of us,” the pope told young people attending the “Chicago Celebrates Pope Leo XIV” event at Rate Field, the home of the Chicago White Sox baseball team.
“The world looks to you as you look around yourselves and say: We need you, we need you to come together to share with us in this common mission, as Church and in society, of announcing a message of true hope and of promoting peace, promoting harmony, among all peoples.”
The pope acknowledged some of the difficulties facing youth today, from isolation experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic to dwindling communities of faith. He invited young people gathered to look into their own hearts to see that God is present and “is reaching out to you, calling you, inviting you to know his Son Jesus Christ.”
In turn, the pope said this discovery of Christ’s love can inspire young people to serve others.
“And in that service to others we find that coming together in friendship, building up community, we too can find true meaning in our lives,” the pope said. “To share that message of hope with one another — in outreach, in service, in looking for ways to make our world a better place — gives true life to all of us, and is a sign of hope for the whole world.”
The eight-minute video message from Pope Leo XIV, who was seated and clad in white, was the first time the Chicago native has directly addressed the people of his hometown and home nation as pope.
And although he wasn’t in person to deliver it, the pope’s message made an impact on young people in attendance.
Michael Wyss, an 11-year-old student at Queen of Angels School in Chicago, said he was encouraged by the pope’s message to “stay faithful” and be a witness of Christian love to those going through hard times.
“You’ll be sharing hope with them and that hope could go on and be shared with everyone else,” said Wyss, who was in attendance with his father, Joe.
Michael Wyss attends the”Chicago Celebrates Pope Leo XIV” event at Rate Field in Chicago, Saturday, June 14, 2025. Credit: Jonathan Liedl
Matthew Gamboa, a 15-year-old who attends St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois, said he was inspired by the pope’s encouragement to be “a beacon of light,” even though he might be only a high schooler.
“I too should be a part of that and continue to spread God’s message throughout our communities,” said Gamboa, who said he felt inspired to engage in more service projects and possibly lector at Mass after hearing the pope’s message.
Pope Leo XIV’s unprecedented address was also the highlight of pre-Mass programming at the afternoon celebration.
Emceed by Chicago Bulls play-by-play announcer Chuck Swirksy, the program also included musical performances by a local parish and Catholic school, as well as an original piano ballad in honor of Pope Leo called “One of Us,” written and performed by the pope’s fellow Augustinian, Brother David Marshall.
Sister Dianne Bergant, Pope Leo XIV’s former teacher, and Father John Merkelis, a fellow Augustinian and high school classmate of the pope, also shared insights into their friend during a panel discussion.
Outside the stadium, Chicago-area members of the Neocatechumenal Way celebrated the new pope with songs and dances of praise, while others tailgated in the baseball stadium parking lot. White Sox jerseys with “Da Pope” and “Pope Leo” emblazoned on the back were spotted throughout the crowds.
At the start of Mass, Chicago’s Cardinal Blase Cupich said that Pope Leo was aware of and grateful for the celebration taking place at Rate Field.
A fan of the White Sox, the pope attended a World Series game at the stadium in 2005 when he was prior general of the Augustinian Order, and recently donned the ball club’s trademark black hat for a photo op outside of St. Peter’s Basilica. White Sox senior vice president Brooks Boyer, a Catholic and former Notre Dame basketball player, also took the opportunity at the Chicago event to publicly invite the South Side native to come back to Rate Field and throw out a ceremonial first pitch.
The Vatican has not indicated that Pope Leo has any plans to visit the United States. When Lester Holt of NBC News asked Leo at a May 12 Vatican audience if he would come to the U.S. soon, the pope responded: “I don’t think so.”
Nonethless, the pope’s sports fan credentials may help him connect with young people in his homeland and beyond.
During his video message the pope also encouraged the youth of Chicago and the whole world to grapple with the “restlessness” they might experience, just like St. Augustine did.
“That restlessness is not a bad thing, and we shouldn’t look for ways to put out the fire, to eliminate or even numb ourselves to the tensions that we feel, the difficulties that we experience,” he said. “We should rather get in touch with our own hearts and recognize that God can work in our lives, through our lives, and through us reach out to other people.”
Before concluding by imparting his apostolic blessing via video, the pope invited those gathered to “take a moment” and open their own hearts to God’s love, “to that peace which only the Lord can give us.”
“To recognize that while we do nothing to earn God’s love, God in his own generosity continues to pour out his love upon us. And as he gives us his love, he only asks us to be generous and to share what he has given with us to others.”
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