The decision from the high court upheld a lower court ruling in favor of Matthew Bradeen that found it was “psychologically unsafe” for Emily Bickford to take their daughter to Calvary Chapel in the Portland region.

The young girl reportedly suffered from panic attacks and psychological distress after attending the church; she reportedly became fixated on the rapture (an end-times belief held by some Christians) as well.

The Maine high court said in its ruling that at one point the church’s pastor openly prayed about the dispute between Bickford and Bradeen, including referencing both the parents and the child “by name almost 30 times.”

The court dismissed Bickford’s constitutional claims in the dispute. The father “is better suited to determine whether certain religious activities are in the child’s best interest,” it held.

In a press release, the legal group Liberty Counsel, which represented Bickford in the dispute, said it would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the case. Mat Staver, the group’s chair, said the ruling “rejects the First Amendment right” of Bickford and goes against U.S. court precedent.

“Depriving one parent their right to instill their religious views into their child and granting sole authority to the other parent fails to give proper protection to parental rights and religious freedom under the First Amendment,” Staver argued.

He claimed that the ruling “pose[s] a serious threat to religious freedom” in the U.S.

The law, which was signed by Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker in December 2025, allows doctors in the state to prescribe lethal doses of medication to patients in order to help them end their own lives. Among other rules, patients must have a terminal illness in order to qualify for receiving help to kill themselves.

The rule has received strong criticism from Catholic bishops in the state.

On Sept. 3, meanwhile, the religious liberty law firm Becket announced that Cupich and two orders of religious sisters had filed a lawsuit against the state seeking to halt enforcement of the law against the Catholic plaintiffs.

The suit, filed in U.S. district court, argues that the sisters — who belong to the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm and the Little Sisters of the Poor — will be forced to either “abandon their religious beliefs regarding the sanctity of life or face significant fines and penalties” if they refuse to participate in the suicide regime.

The suit notes that by Sept. 12, healthcare providers in Illinois, including the sisters through their care homes, will have to proactively discuss the “option” to commit suicide with those in their care. Caregivers will also “have to allow patients to commit suicide in their facilities,” the suit says.

The suit argues that the First Amendment prohibits the state from requiring the Catholic caregivers to violate their faith by participating in the suicide regime.

In a statement announcing the filing, Cupich said the Catholic Church “oppose[s] efforts to undermine human dignity by pushing our brothers and sisters toward suicide.”

“We pray that the courts will protect our freedom to continue advocating and caring for the sick and dying as our faith demands,” he said.

Mother Mary Rose Heery, O. Carm., prioress general of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, said patients in their care “come to us at one of the most vulnerable moments of their lives” and that the sisters have a vocation “to give witness to them, through everything we do, that their lives remain precious and that they will never be abandoned.”

“Illinois cannot ask us to replace that promise with help ending their lives,” she said.

Becket President Mark Rienzi described the suicide law’s provisions as “awful.”

“The state should stop trying to make Catholic nuns help patients kill themselves,” he said, arguing that sick patients “deserve the freedom to seek healing, hope, and accompaniment without the government forcing suicide into the conversation.”

This is not the first lawsuit filed against a state assisted suicide measure, nor the first in Illinois.

In August, Springfield Bishop Thomas Paprocki joined a Lutheran nursing home and a group of doctors to sue the state over the assisted suicide law, with the coalition arguing that the state’s suicide regime abandons “nearly two millennia of medical practice” while requiring objectors to participate in it.

The state agreed to a temporary block of the law later in the month, though the block only applied to the plaintiffs in that suit.

In July, meanwhile, Rockville Centre Bishop John Barres joined several communities of New York religious sisters in suing the state over its own assisted suicide law. Those plaintiffs also won a temporary block of the state’s suicide law.

Separately, groups of disability advocates have filed lawsuits against the suicide laws in New York and Illinois, as well as in Colorado and Delaware, alleging that those laws discriminate against people with disabilities.

In a Sept. 3 decision, the judges dismissed the appeals filed by Zen, Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee, Hui Po-keung, Cyd Ho Sau-lan, and Denise Ho Wan-see. They were found guilty of failing to legally register the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund as a “society” under the Societies Ordinance, which carries monetary fines. It’s unclear whether they will face additional charges.

Zen and his co-defendants created the fund to support Hong Kong protesters who opposed the 2019 extradition bill, which would have streamlined the process of extraditing people from Hong Kong to mainland China for prosecution. Protesters opposed subjecting people to prosecutions under the Chinese Communist Party.

Lawmakers ultimately withdrew the bill, but more than 10,000 protesters were arrested and nearly 3,000 people faced charges.

Zen and the co-defendants argued they did not believe the fund qualified as a “society” when they established it to help the protesters, and that they did not believe they had to register it under the Societies Ordinance. This ordinance provides civil authorities broad discretion to control, monitor, or dismantle private associations.

In its decision, the court ruled that a “society” under the ordinance has “an expansive definition” and cited the text, which includes “any club, company, partnership or association of 10 or more persons, whatever its nature or object.” It notes some exemptions, such as charities, religious organizations, and social clubs, but that organizers must apply for an exemption.

The judges rejected objections to the registration scheme on a constitutional basis, asserting the law maintains a “reasonable balance” between freedom of association and public safety, public order, and national security.

“Self-evidently, the societal benefits arising from the aim are enormous,” they ruled. “Nothing in the evidence suggests that any individual including the appellants would be subject to an unacceptably harsh burden by the restrictions imposed by the registration scheme on their exercise of the right to freedom of association.”

“We are satisfied that the prosecution has proved the charge against each of the appellants beyond reasonable doubt,” the judges decided unanimously.

Penalty and legal fights

The convictions under the Societies Ordinance carries fines for each person equivalent to about $500. However, Zen and the other defendants were initially arrested on suspicion of violating a 2020 national security law, which could have carried penalties of up to life in prison.

Although all five defendants were arrested on that suspicion, none faced charges. Those initial arrests were based on the allegation they colluded with foreign forces when they set up a fund to help the protesters.

Officials defended the 2020 law on the basis of national security, but critics allege it is primarily used to punish political dissidents, such as Jimmy Lai — a Catholic pro-democracy activist who was sentenced to 20 years in prison at the age of 78 on claims he colluded with foreign forces.

Lai operated the newspaper Apple Daily, where he openly criticized the Chinese Communist Party. Hong Kong shut down the organization based on authority under the national security law. The government also used the national security law to justify its investigation of the fund operated by Zen and the other pro-democracy advocates.

On Sept. 3 the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation and Peoria Bishop Lou Tylka announced the list of speakers for the gala event, which will be held Sept. 25th at the Peoria Civic Center, the day after Sheen himself is beatified in St. Louis.

“We’re thrilled to bring the inaugural Sheen Awards to Peoria as we celebrate the beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen,” said Peoria diocese COO Royce Hood. He said the goal is to make the event an annual production “celebrating Sheen’s legacy and recognizing people who are using their platforms to promote the faith.”

Hailed during and after his life for his use of mass media to promote and explain the Catholic faith, Sheen has long been celebrated for his pioneering work in Catholic radio and television.

Barron, founder of the Word on Fire ministry and host of the popular documentary series “Catholicism,” is widely viewed as a leading successor to Sheen’s legacy; his evangelistic work led the Wall Street Journal to dub him the “bishop of Catholic social media.”

Roumie, meanwhile, has found global fame portraying Jesus Christ in the spectacularly successful series “The Chosen.”

In a press release Bishop Tylka expressed admiration for Roumie’s “deep Catholic faith” which the actor “practices each day and which influences his acting in bringing Jesus to life through the Chosen.”

Roumie told the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation that when he first began learning about Sheen, he immediately recognized how he could relate to the archbishop given Roumie’s own acting work.

“When you watch him, it’s no wonder he had such a gift for being evangelistically present on television, serving the people he was trying to reach,” Roumie said. “It continues to be an inspiration to me as to just how much work there is for me to do to try to aspire to the reach and impact he had on culture.”

Tylka also announced the participation of the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Gabriel Caccia, at the awards ceremony. The nuncio’s presence “shows the importance of the beatification of Fulton Sheen for the Church in the United States and around the world,” the bishop said.

Other special guests include actor, producer and director David Henrie, host of the EWTN series “Seeking Beauty;” Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States Director Monsignor Roger Landry; Hallow CEO Alex Jones and Catholic author and media personality Katie Prejean McGrady.

Launching the same week that Archbishop Sheen will be beatified on Sept. 24,  the Sheen Awards are meant to “recognize individuals whose work in media, evangelization, mission, and liturgy continues his mission of bringing Christ to the world with creativity, conviction, and joy,” the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation emphasized.

The Foundation added that more details and ticket information can be found at sheenawards.com. Tickets are still available, but space is limited.

The event is scheduled to air on EWTN on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

With the official registration period now closed, shrine officials reported that, due to the “exceptionally high turnout expected,” they will ensure “the best possible conditions for welcoming visitors, safety, and organization,” as the site reaches “maximum capacity.”

“There will be 150,000 of us praying with the pope at the shrine. Millions more will be tuning in via television and radio,” the shrine said in its latest news bulletin.

The shrine noted that registrations can no longer be modified and that instructions regarding the assignment of sectors and access routes to the venue will be sent via email in the coming days.

Preparations for Leo XIV’s visit

In recent weeks, preparations have continued at the venue to welcome the pontiff, including permanent improvements that will remain in place after the pope’s departure.

Marking the 150th anniversary of the Marian apparitions, Leo’s visit will take place 18 years after the last visit by a pontiff — that of Benedict XVI in 2008.

With that visit in mind, the shrine states that “enthusiasm is already palpable here in Lourdes at the prospect of praying with the successor of Peter.”

Various departments are putting forth great effort to ensure the event is unforgettable — from the sewing workshop, where Sister Martha is quietly making the liturgical vestments to be worn by Pope Leo XIV, to the workshops where “the large podium cross is gradually taking shape.” In addition, those responsible for decorating the venue are designing ways to ensure the shrine looks suitably adorned for the occasion.

Leo XIV will land in Paris on Sept. 25 where, after the official reception at the Elysée Palace, he will visit the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters and hold a meeting with young people. The next day, he will visit the Maison Bakita Center for Accompaniment and Social Integration, which provides support services for migrants, and will hold a meeting with the members of the Provincial Synodal Assembly, the catechumens and the neophytes at the Catholic Institute of Paris.

After celebrating Mass in the Place de la Concorde, he will fly to Lourdes. At the end of his stay at the shrine, he will head to the city of Metz, where he will hold an interreligious meeting at the Robert Schumann Congress Center and celebrate Mass in the cathedral before returning to Rome.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

According to authorities, the number of dead from last week’s flood exceeds 1,000, while more than 4,000 people remain missing across both countries, CNN reported.

“By being there, providing relief now and, later, contributing to reconstruction, we give hope. Our presence among those who are suffering will give them hope,” the priest said in an interview with the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

Bogati explained that in Nepal, “the Catholic Church has 13 parishes and 10,000 Catholics, but it has always worked for the Nepali population irrespective of their religion, and we will continue to do so as they suffer in this hour of need.”

Caritas Nepal has set up community kitchens and dispatched food supplies for 300 affected families to last for 15 days. Given the forecast of additional rainfall and the fact that many people are still sleeping outdoors, the organization said there is a need for tarpaulins, blankets, and sleeping mats.

After noting that “no Catholic churches or chapels have been destroyed,” the Nepalese priest recalled that “the Holy Father, Pope Leo, was the first to pray and to show his sympathy and closeness to the victims of these flash floods. In the same way, we are receiving prayers and support from the Catholic Church around the world.”

Leo XIV has encouraged prayers for those affected and for rescue teams, and has urged the international community to provide aid in a spirit of solidarity.

Bogati described the affected area of Rasuwa, located on Nepalʼs border with Tibet. He said an important trade route with Tibet runs through the region, as well as the city of Syabrubesi, “one of the main departure points for tourists traveling toward the Langtang Valley.”

One of this concerns is that “members of one of the Catholic communities [who] go down to Syabrubesi to work … may have been swept away by the waters. We do not have any figures yet.”

“All these hotels and settlements were swept away. There has been a high death toll in this area, and the river continued downstream, wreaking havoc across five districts. The flood has caused enormous devastation, as a huge mass of water surged downstream, destroying everything in its path. Some communities are still cut off, and search and rescue operations are proving difficult,” he recounted.

The apostolic administrator asked for prayers for all the victims and those affected by the tragedy, and expressed gratitude for ACN’s closeness and solidarity.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

That’s how Joe Schmid announced his conversion to Catholicism on his YouTube channel, “Majesty of Reason,” on Aug. 21.

Conversion is always a cause for celebration, but in Schmid’s case it was likely unexpected among his channel’s 55,000 subscribers.

For years, Schmid has used his YouTube channel to explore a broad variety of philosophical and naturalistic arguments and principles — and Schmid himself has openly identified as an agnostic for most of that time.

Schmid, who was raised Catholic, told EWTN News that he adopted atheism and then eventually agnosticism in high school. He said he was originally led to atheism because of “the problem of evolutionary animal suffering,” a well-known topic of philosophical and theological debate.

Philosophers such as Joshua Rasmussen and Alexander Pruss led him to consider “contingency arguments” in favor of God’s existence, he said, but his own “arduous conversion process” would ultimately last a decade.

Schmid launched his YouTube channel in April 2020. Broadly, “my videos focused primarily on philosophy of religion, and secondarily on other areas of philosophy like metaphysics, metaethics, and epistemology,” Schmid told EWTN News, and “criticizing arguments for God’s existence was one of my central focuses.”

To that end, he created a wide variety of videos, including interviews and debates with scholars, lengthy lectures, and episodes responding to other YouTube content, “primarily theist and Christian and Catholic creators.” 

Those videos have undergone a marked shift in recent weeks. Videos over the last year have included debates about whether Jesus rose from the dead and an extended case for veganism, among numerous other topics.

On Aug. 21, however, Schmid posted a nearly half-hour-long video revealing his conversion to Catholicism, and in the roughly two weeks since then his videos have focused on topics such as “the best-ever cumulative case for God” and “the best objections to Catholicism answered.”

Schmid, who is a a fourth-year doctoral candidate in philosophy at Princeton University, told EWTN News his return to the faith “wasnʼt my own making.”

“Conversion is a gift of Godʼs grace, and Iʼve seen its transformative impact in my life,” he said. “So God is ultimately what led me to Catholicism.”

Yet, he said a “huge confluence of factors” convinced him of the truth of the Catholic faith “on an intellectual level.” Chief among them are the “vindicatory miracles,” or “miracles wrought by God in confirmation of distinctive Catholic doctrines.”

He cited the charisms of Padre Pio, the healing miracles at Lourdes, the apparitions of Our Lady of Fátima, Eucharistic miracles, “and much more besides.”

“I converted after a long process of working through my many objections to Catholicism and appreciating the many powerful arguments in its favor,” he said. In his video he described the process as a “culmination” of “head factors and heart factors.”

“God is good,” he told his viewers.

The high-profile conversion was noted by the Aquinas Institute, the Catholic campus ministry at Princeton, which urged the Catholic community there to “pray for Joe as he continues to grow in his Catholic faith and begins this new chapter of his public work.”

Schmid also appeared recently in a two-hour-long interview with Catholic apologist Trent Horn, who described Schmid as “one of my smartest critics.” Horn praised Schmid’s rigorous approach to philosophical and theological debate even when Schmid himself was an agnostic.

“Iʼve learned a lot from you in your rebuttals, and it has helped in my own path and trying to grow as an apologist and a philosopher,” Horn told Schmid during the interview.

Speaking to his own viewers when announcing his conversion, Schmid said he has significant plans to continue his YouTube channel in service to Catholicism, and “we will see where the Lord takes me.”

“Debates and discussions will be continuing,” he said. He asked for patience from viewers during the transition.

“And I also ask for your prayers,” he added. “Know that I will be praying for you.”

The bishop announced the proposed settlement in an Aug. 25 letter to the diocese. The diocese had earlier announced a $45 million agreement in May.

A diocesan spokeswoman confirmed that the additional roughly $38 million would come from insurance contributions.

In his August letter, LaValley said the diocese was hoping to have the plan approved by the bankruptcy court “in the next few months.” The Ogdensburg Diocese filed for bankruptcy in July 2023, the sixth diocese in New York state to do so.

The bishop urged Catholics to pray for both abuse victims as well as the diocese itself. He described the reparation payments as a “moral obligation” on the part of the diocese.

‘Rapid pre-pack’ bankruptcy

In his letter, LaValley said the parishes in the diocese will undergo a notable bankruptcy proceeding called “rapid pre-pack Chapter 11,” one that will settle current abuse allegations while protecting parishes from future litigation.

“Each of our parishes will file a Chapter 11 case at the very last moment, after we know whether we have sufficient votes to confirm the plan,” the bishop said. Parishes are anticipated to be in bankruptcy for about 48 hours before emerging “quickly,” he said.

“The result is that the diocese and parishes will receive a bankruptcy discharge of all alleged abuse claims as of the date the parishʼs pre-packed bankruptcy is filed,” the bishop said. “Going forward, no abuse claims may be brought against parishes from prior to that date.”

The bishop said the unique strategy emerged after a June 2024 Supreme Court decision on bankruptcy, likely a reference to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that month in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P.

That ruling on a complex provision of U.S. bankruptcy law meant that individual parishes and schools in diocesan abuse proceedings could be sued, greatly expanding the possibility of large numbers of expensive lawsuits against Catholic entities.

LaValley said the diocese had been advised that the “rapid” bankruptcy proceeding “is the only viable and realistic way to obtain comprehensive relief” for all diocesan entities there.

A similar strategy had been used in the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, and the Archdiocese of New Orleans, he said.

The diocesan partnership was conceived by Bishop Frank J. Caggiano with the goal of transforming the workplace with the help of His Way At Work, an international apostolate inspiring business owners to consecrate their companies to the Sacred Heart and place God at the center.

His Way At Work, a nonprofit organization, was founded in 2008 by Peter Freissle, an entrepreneur and CEO. His Way At Work reports that it has reached nearly 500,000 employees and their families. It also has aided more than 300 companies, serving in more than 12 countries. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco serves as the episcopal adviser to His Way At Work.

Caggiano said in a statement shared with EWTN News: “Most people spend the greater part of their waking hours at work, and God wants to be more present to them and through them there. The His Way at Work Guild is an invitation to business owners to consecrate their companies to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to lead in a way that honors the dignity of every employee.”

“I would say to any business owner in Fairfield County who has ever wondered whether their faith belongs at work: it does, and you are not alone in asking the question. Come and see what this Guild is about,” Caggiano said.

By joining the association of consecrated companies, the Bridgeport Diocese said it hopes the owners will adopt a Catholic framework and encourage care for employees.

The guild will be entrusted to its patrons — Sts. Louis and Marie-Azélie Martin. The pair were two small business owners in 19th-century France. They were also the parents of five nuns, including the beloved St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and the first married couple to be canonized.

“His Way At Work aligned perfectly with the guild system the bishop established, and naming it after a canonized man and woman, who were successful and faithful business owners, seemed a perfect fit,” Deacon Patrick Toole, chancellor of the diocese, said in a diocesan announcement of the guild.

Caggiano established the Guilds of the Diocese of Bridgeport “to offer a unique way for the faithful to deepen their spiritual lives and grow in community through shared vocations and interests,” according to the diocese.

Each of the guilds serves a mission in the community, from fostering Eucharistic adoration to supporting healthcare. The initiative is expanding its reach with a guild focused on supporting business leaders.

“Our hope is that it creates a community of faith among business owners so they can support each other and grow closer spiritually and professionally,” Toole said.

“By consecrating their businesses to the Sacred Heart, their customers will realize there is something different and special about these businesses — something that sets them apart,” he said.

The announcement of the guild follows the dioceseʼs reconsecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which took place in June. The diocese joined the Catholic Church throughout the U.S. in “a great act of faith and love as our bishops consecrate our nation to the Sacred Heart,” Caggiano wrote in a message.

Next steps for companies hoping to add faith to their work

For interested businesses in the diocese, Caggiano will hold an informational session in conjunction with the His Way At Work team. It will be held on Oct. 22 at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Fairfield.

Business owners will receive a guidebook and pray a nine-day novena to the Sacred Heart. Members will receive certificates of consecration and be encouraged to take part in monthly formation meetings offered by the guild with His Way At Work.

The initiative will be funded by the diocese, which will provide members free access to formation materials.

The Diocese of Bridgeport joins numerous other diocesan communities who work alongside His Way At Work to bring God’s presence to the workplace.

The organization works in partnership with the Archdiocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri, and the Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina. It also operates internationally, aiding the Archdiocese of Mexico in Mexico City and the Archdiocese of Monterrey in northern Mexico.

This story was updated at 4:30 p.m. ET on Sept. 2, 2026, with comments from Bishop Frank J. Caggiano and a photograph of Sts. Louis and Marie-Azélie Martin.

“Religious‑freedom conditions in India continue to deteriorate as violence and incitement are increasingly used to target minority faith communities,” USCIRF Chair Asif Mahmood said in an Aug. 26 statement, issued after Mohan Bhagwat — chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a prominent Hindu nationalist volunteer organization accused of targeting Christians — visited the United States Aug. 25–29.

“We urge the U.S. government to consider targeted sanctions against RSS members and Indian officials complicit in religious freedom violations, including revoking the visa issued to Mohan Bhagwat and making him ineligible for future entry into the United States,” Mahmood said.

Bhagwat’s tour also extended to Canada and the United Kingdom, part of the RSS’ effort to strengthen ties with overseas Hindu communities during its centenary year.

“The U.S. government has an opportunity to hold India accountable and signal that the United States stands for religious freedom for the people of India,” Vice Chair CeCe Heil said in the release. “Without this accountability, religious freedom will only deteriorate further, as vigilante mobs continue to attack religious minorities and their houses of worship under the guise of enforcing anti-conversion laws and other harmful policies.”

In a May USCIRF briefing on Capitol Hill, witnesses called for U.S. intervention to end ongoing persecution of religious minorities in India amid warnings of escalating attacks against Christians in India, including mob violence and property destruction. The Catholic population in India is about 23 million, about 1.6% of the country’s population, according to the Vatican.

USCIRF recommended in its 2026 annual report that the U.S. State Department designate India as a country of particular concern.

Congressional support

Rep. Riley Moore, R‑West Virginia, told “EWTN News Nightly” on Sept. 2 he is concerned about “growing intolerance as it relates to Christianity in India” as India’s government considers changes to its Foreign Contributions Regulations Act that could restrict Catholic charities from receiving foreign aid.

“The Indian government does and should prevent foreign money from interfering in the day‑to‑day activities or the governance of their country,” Moore said, but he added that Catholic hospitals aren’t doing that and instead provide essential care to the communities they serve.

Moore said questions remain about how India treats its Christian population, noting the Catholic Church’s humanitarian work, including that of Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity.

“Her feast day is coming up here on the fifth,” he said. “Itʼs just a reminder of why itʼs so important for us to raise our voice in concern when we see what I view as certainly an issue as it relates to Christian intolerance in certain parts of either the government or the country of India.”

This story was updated at 2:55 p.m. ET on Sept. 2, 2026, to include comments by Rep. Riley Moore, R-West Virginia.

The Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act, passed by the state assembly in March under the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition government, took effect four days after 20 civil rights, secular, and Christian groups made a final plea for its repeal at a press conference in Mumbai, the state capital.

Archbishop Elias Gonsalves of Nagpur, the winter capital of Maharashtra, responded by mandating recitation of the Memorare prayer after every Eucharistic celebration across his archdiocese beginning Aug. 31.

“Yes, the prayers are going on. We look forward to the judiciary since we in Maharashtra cannot expect a U-turn like in Goa,” Gonsalves told EWTN News on Sept. 2.

Goa backtracks

In neighboring Goa, the BJP governmentʼs cabinet approved an anti-conversion bill on Aug. 26 — making it the 14th Indian state to propose such legislation — but reversed course within a week and chose not to introduce the measure in the 40-member Goa Assembly.

The Indian Express reported that the government shelved the bill after strong protests by the Catholic Church and internal opposition from seven Catholic legislators within the BJP-led government, which holds 26 seats.

Christians, the vast majority of them Catholic, account for about a quarter of Goaʼs roughly 1.5 million people. The former Portuguese colony has a distinctive Catholic cultural identity dating back centuries.

The proposed bill “risks irreparably damaging that precious inheritance by replacing mutual trust with suspicion and social harmony with surveillance and fear,” said a joint statement by the Council for Social Justice and Peace of the Catholic Church and the Catholic Association of Goa, a lay forum.

Legal challenge in Maharashtra

In Maharashtra, civil society groups have signaled that the courts are the remaining avenue of redress after the law took effect.

“The government does not bother about our concerns,” Dolphy DʼSouza, one of the coordinators of the Joint Civil Society network, told EWTN News.

“The only option before us now is to approach the judiciary as the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act infringes fundamental freedom of faith guaranteed under the constitution,” said DʼSouza, a spokesperson for the Bombay Catholic Sabha, a lay council using the cityʼs former name.

The joint civil society coalition said the act “creates an unparalleled intrusive system of state surveillance over matters of personal faith, marriage, and individual choice.”

The Western Region Bishops Council had warned ahead of the billʼs passage that the law, “far from safeguarding religious freedom … effectively undermines the very right it claims to protect, i.e., the freedom to choose and profess oneʼs religion, as guaranteed under Articles 19, 21, and 25 of the Constitution of India.”

The bishops' council said sections of the legislation “amount to a direct and unjustified interference in the legitimate religious practices of the Catholic Church, particularly its Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults program.”

The law mandates that anyone intending to convert submit notice to a designated authority 60 days in advance — a provision the bishops said “intrudes deeply into the personal domain of conscience and belief, opening the door to scrutiny, suspicion, and harassment.”

‘Consent forms’

Meanwhile, some Christian groups in Maharashtra have made headlines by asking congregation members to sign “consent forms” when attending church services, apparently in response to the new lawʼs requirements.

“The Catholic Church is not doing anything of this sort anywhere in Maharashtra,” DʼSouza said.

Christians number less than 1% of Maharashtraʼs population of more than 120 million.

The constitutional validity of similar anti-conversion laws enacted in other Indian states is under challenge before the Supreme Court of India, according to the press note from the civil society press conference.

According to local Catholic media, the sisters, identified as Sister Helen and Sister Ansa, were traveling from Torit toward Juba on Aug. 30 when their vehicle came under attack near Jebel Gutun in the Lirya area.

Radio Emmanuel 89 FM reported that the two Carmelite members had departed Torit after morning Mass and were on their way to Juba when they encountered the attackers.

One of the attackers reportedly struck Sister Helen on the head during the incident. The report did not provide further information about the extent of any of her injuries. The sisters and other passengers were reportedly robbed of all their belongings.

Preliminary reports also indicated that two children were abducted during the incident. There was no further information on their whereabouts.

Upon receiving the information about the attack, Bishop Emmanuel Bernardino Lowi Napeta of the Torit Diocese is said to have immediately arranged for assistance from Juba. According to Radio Emmanuel, the sisters were transported to Juba, where Sister Helen was to receive further medical attention.

The circumstances surrounding the attack, including the number and identity of the assailants and their motive, remain unclear.

The incident has renewed concern about security along the Juba-Torit highway, where attacks and ambushes have previously been reported, particularly around the Jebel Gutun area. Local reports have described the stretch as a security concern for travelers.

Previous attack on Catholic sisters

Catholic religious were among five people who died Aug. 16, 2021, in a bus ambush along the highway that links South Sudan and Uganda.

Armed men ambushed a vehicle carrying seven religious sisters and five other people after they had attended centenary celebrations at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Loa in the Diocese of Torit.

Sister Mary Daniel, the immediate former superior general of the Sacred Heart Sisters of the Juba Archdiocese who was serving as the head teacher of Usratuna Primary School in Juba, and Sister Regina, a tutor and administrator at the Catholic Health Training Institute in South Sudan’s Wau Diocese, were among those killed.

The late Pope Francis was among those who expressed his condolences to the families and the members of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of the Juba Archdiocese.

The pope expressed the hope that the sacrifice of the two Catholic sisters “will advance the cause of peace, reconciliation, and security in the region” and implored God for “their eternal rest and the comfort of those who grieve their loss.”

The Diocese of Torit has previously spoken out against violence affecting Church personnel and communities.

In April 2025, Napeta, the local ordinary of Torit, condemned an attack on Our Lady of Assumption Parish in Loa, Magwi County, in which a civilian was killed and another person injured.

The bishop described the assault as creating a “climate of fear and anxiety” and called for an impartial investigation.

He said the attack involved personnel of the South Sudan Peopleʼs Defence Forces and that Church personnel, workers, and residents were subjected to intimidation and questioning. He called on the countryʼs armed forces to uphold professionalism, justice, human rights, and respect for religious institutions.

The bishop has also repeatedly emphasized the Churchʼs commitment to peace and service despite insecurity affecting communities in his episcopal see.

Church continues mission amid insecurity

Despite the security challenges, the Diocese of Torit continues its pastoral and social mission across eastern Equatoria.

In January, Napeta described Holy Family Palotaka Parish, which was celebrating its centenary, as a “refuge of hope” and a center of peace-building for local communities.

He highlighted the Churchʼs role in evangelization, charity, and service to people affected by decades of conflict.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

“Whenever we try to place ourselves ahead of Jesus, instead of following behind him, we cease to be his disciples and lose our way. That is why worn-out dictatorships that hypocritically hide behind religion profane the name of Jesus when they invoke him from their position of power and attribute to him the dominion they exercise over the people, yet never speak of the cross,” the prelate said during an Aug. 30 Mass he celebrated at St. Agatha Parish in Miami.

In view of his past statements, the bishop would appear to be including in that category the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship that controls his country. Indeed, the pro-government news media El 19 Digital proclaims the country is governed in a Christian manner. 

These dictatorships, the prelate continued, “appropriate the name of Jesus to legitimize their authoritarianism while silencing the Crucified One, because a messiah who humbles himself, who serves, and who lays down his life for others unmasks their arrogance and condemns their aspirations to remain in power forever.”

“One cannot profess Jesus as Messiah and Son of God without following him along the path of the cross,” Báez pointed out.

Auxiliary bishop of Managua since 2009, Báez was forced to leave Nicaragua in April 2019 due to his defense of protesters opposing the regime of President Daniel Ortega and his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo, a crackdown that left more than 350 people dead in 2018, according to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Since 2018, the Nicaraguan dictatorship has relentlessly persecuted the Catholic Church in the country, controlling priests, expelling religious sisters, confiscating church funds and property, banning ordinations, and exiling bishops — such as Bishop Carlos Enrique Herrera Gutiérrez of Jinotega, president of the Nicaraguan Bishops’ Conference, who was expelled in 2025. 

Báez himself had to leave Nicaragua at the request of Pope Francis in 2019 due to serious concerns for his personal safety and now resides in Miami. In August 2025, Pope Leo XIV confirmed him in his role as auxiliary bishop of Managua, albeit in exile.

The bishop celebrates Mass every Sunday at St. Agatha Parish, where the pastor and the parochial vicar, Fathers Marcos Antonio Somarriba and Edwing Román, are also exiled Nicaraguans.

Taking up the cross

Báez explained that “taking up the cross” does not merely mean “accepting setbacks and suffering. The cross is the price of all authentic love”; rather, it also refers to “choosing a life like Jesus’, overcoming the fear of loving, loving without limits, and becoming weak and vulnerable out of love.”

“Taking up the cross means humbling ourselves to enter the world of the poor and the victims in order to stand with them, share in their anguish, and restore the dignity and hope that God desires for them,” he added.

“Taking up the cross means accepting the consequences, almost always painful, of striving to eliminate the suffering of those whom society crucifies, just as Jesus did,” the Nicaraguan bishop emphasized.

The prelate further highlighted that “in a world built on lies, those who speak the truth are persecuted and silenced; in a society rife with injustice, the righteous are shunned and even condemned to death; in a system where the powerful exalt themselves as gods and turn their whims into law, anyone who is critical and refuses to live in submission becomes a target of slander, insults, and persecution.”

‘Thinking like Peter’

Báez also referred to certain situations where one might “think like Peter,” failing to grasp Jesus’ announcement regarding the sacrifice he had to make to save humanity.

“We think like Peter when we do not accept that there are moments in life when the only way to set things right is to go unnoticed, forget about ourselves, be the last, and sacrifice what we cherish most,” he said.

“We also think like Peter when we are unwilling to be inconvenienced for the good of others, to make sacrifices so that others may fare better, or to fight for a society built on justice,” he pointed out.

“We think it’s better not to complicate our lives,” the bishop remarked.

“Many consider it imprudent to speak out against the abuses of the powerful, preferring instead to remain silent or strike a deal with them. Others believe that the world’s problems can only be solved with money, power, or miracles. Jesus, however, teaches us that things change only when we choose the path of littleness and self-forgetfulness; only when we sacrifice ourselves to put God and others first,” Báez explained.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas ordered that the lawsuit would be delayed until either Dec. 1 or the completion of the FDA’s safety review of mifepristone, whichever comes first.

In the lawsuit, Texas and Florida asked the court to revoke the FDA’s approval of the abortion-inducing pill, saying the agency didn’t adequately evaluate its safety when it approved the drug in 2000. The lawsuit also challenged mail-order distribution of the pill.

The FDA first announced it would review mifepristone in September 2025.

Pro-life group Live Action called on the FDA to protect women and unborn children from the abortion pill, citing studies that show dangerous side effects of the drug.

“The Food and Drug Administration and Health and Human Services officials must do their job to protect women and children from the dangerous abortion pill, which now accounts for 65% of all abortions in the United States and has led to the deaths of 7.5 million preborn children since its release,” Noah Brandt, spokesman for Live Action, told EWTN News.

“Both agencies have seen real-world data that show the harmful effects of the abortion pill,” Brandt said. “Within 45 days of a chemical abortion, 1 in 10 women experience serious adverse events from mifepristone, the first drug in the abortion pill regimen, such as sepsis, infection, or hemorrhaging.”

“This shift in timing for the lawsuit and their ‘promised’ review indicates that they are prioritizing politics over the safety of American women and children,” Brandt said.

“While they continue to brush off these critical issues, the abortion pill is recklessly being mailed across state lines via telehealth distribution, enabling coercion and abuse,” Brandt said. “It’s time deadly mail-order abortion ended once and for all and this lethal pill be removed from the market completely.”

Bishop Michael Olson of the Diocese of Fort Worth announced on Aug. 28 the opening of the church.

Ayariga was one of 21 Christian migrant workers in Libya kidnapped and then beheaded by the terrorist group ISIS on a beach near Sirte, Libya, on Feb. 15, 2015.

Originally from Ghana, Ayariga was the only Black African among the 21 men. The others were all Coptic Orthodox Christians from Egypt. When questioned about his faith by his kidnappers, he reportedly replied: “Their God is my God.”

The Coptic Orthodox Church canonized all 21 men as saints and martyrs on Feb. 21, 2015, under Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II.

In an ecumenical sign of communion between the two churches, Pope Francis announced that the 21 martyrs would be inscribed in the Roman Martyrology on May 11, 2023, during a meeting at the Vatican with Pope Tawadros II. Francis described the men as baptized “not only in water and the Spirit, but also in blood.”

As the authority to create saints lies with the Apostolic See, the saints did not have to go through the usual multistep canonization process involving the opening of a cause, beatification, and confirmed miracles.

The martyrs’ feast day in both churches is Feb. 15.

Another first

The parish will also be the first Ghanaian Catholic parish in the U.S. and will serve the Ghanaian community in north Texas, which has met since 2007 at St. Joseph Church in Arlington.

“Saint Matthew Ayariga Catholic Church will provide a place for Ghanaian Catholics to come together in Christ as the Church to worship God, to assist their maintaining bonds with the Church in Ghana, and to strengthen their children sacramentally to grow as part of the local church here,” Olson told EWTN News in a statement.

He also said the church would serve as a place that would aid immigrants in their transition “to life as citizens and productive contributors to the common good of Texas and the United States.”

“We’ve had a growing Ghanaian presence in our diocese for a long time,” a spokesperson for the diocese told EWTN News. “Their community long envisioned having a parish to call their own.”

The community has been raising funds to establish its own parish for nearly 20 years, according to the spokesperson. “When they began raising funds, there was no name attached to the nonexistent parish. The name was only settled on recently, although I would guess that after his martyrdom, Matthew Ayariga’s name began to rise to the top of the list of parish names.”

Three Masses to dedicate the new church, a former Methodist church being renovated in south Arlington, are planned for the weekend of Jan. 29–31, 2027. The archbishop of Kumasi, Ghana, Gabriel Anokye, is expected to attend, along with dignitaries and other representatives of the Ghanaian community, bishops and cardinals from Texas and around the U.S., and other local officials.

Speaking to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, the organizationʼs founder and director, Zeira Becerra, said the new project will be presented during the “Vision and Hope Breakfast” on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Becerra said the initiative grew out of a promise she made to herself in New York in 1991, “when I was hired, without realizing it, by an abortion clinic.”

“There I witnessed a reality that changed my life forever: women arriving who felt they had no other way out, and lives just beginning to form being ended by abortion,” she recalled.

‘There has to be a place’

Becerra recalled a moment that she said particularly touched her heart: “I wanted to help a 14-year-old girl so she could continue with her baby’s life, but I discovered I had no safe place to take her. That was when I became certain that there has to be a place.”

That day, she said, “I made a promise to myself, a purpose for my life: I didn’t know how, but I had to create that place.”

“Many years had to pass,” she said, but eventually that promise “became Life in Mercy, a home where an expectant mother could find a welcome, support, and a real, loving, and merciful alternative to choose life.”

In its 10 years of work, Life in Mercy has supported “around 75 mothers and their babies in various ways,” she noted. “Each one represents a unique story and a life that deserved to be welcomed with hope.”

Becerra said Life in Mercy helps each mother “connect with the resources she needs, providing emotional and spiritual support and, above all, reminding her that she is not alone and that a difficult situation does not have to end her childʼs life.”

“In the end, we want more women who find themselves facing a difficult situation to be able to hear something very simple but decisive: ‘There is a place for you and your baby,’” she said.

‘A larger, newer, and better-situated house’

The organization is currently aiming to “acquire a larger, newer, and better-situated house that allows us to welcome more mothers and babies,” a move Becerra said she considers “a very important stage” for the initiative.

“We sold our previous house because we needed to take the next step. It was an old house, and our mission has grown,” she explained.

“And that is precisely one of the main reasons for this breakfast,” she noted: “We don’t simply want to reopen a house; we want to build a broader response to the need we are seeing in Houston.”

‘She arrived sad, scared, and unsure of what would become of her life’

During the breakfast, a woman who “came to us with a 6-year-old child and was in her first trimester of pregnancy” will share her testimony, Becerra said.

“She had been abandoned by her partner; she had no job, vehicle, or family in Houston, and as an immigrant, she was practically alone. In her desperation, she even considered ending her baby’s life as her only way out,” Becerra continued.

“By the grace of God, she first received care at a crisis center for women, where she was able to rediscover the value of her baby’s life and learn that there were people and resources ready to help her. That was when she found the strength to go on, and she subsequently came to our shelter,” she said.

The woman, she recalled, “arrived sad, frightened, and unsure of what would become of her life.”

“Over time, something beautiful happened,” Becerra said, as “she regained her self-confidence, had a beautiful baby girl, and was able to move forward.”

Becerra explained that the mission of Life in Mercy “does not end when the baby is born,” because “we want to walk with the mother so she can begin a new phase in life with her child — with dignity, hope, and the tools to move forward.”

Although Texas generally prohibits abortion with limited medical exceptions, Becerra pointed out that “the fact that abortion is no longer legal in Texas does not mean the problem is over, nor that we can let our guard down. On the contrary, we have an even greater responsibility to support mothers who choose life.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

The cardinal, retired since April 2024, had been under a cloud of suspicion since Paméla Groleau accused him of touching her without consent on three occasions between 2008 and 2010 while she was training or working as a lay pastoral agent. She also told the court she felt “hunted” at another event, saying Ouellet came from across the room to sit next to her.

“The court finds that the allegations describing the four events cited by Ms. Groleau in the context of the class action are false,” Superior Court Justice Martin Castonguay wrote in a decision released Aug. 31.

Castonguay concluded that Groleau’s testimony against the now-82-year-old Ouellet “was neither credible nor reliable,” noting in his judgment that she had changed her story several times.

Two other women testified against Ouellet at the trial, but the judge ruled their testimony was not pertinent to the question of whether Groleau defamed Ouellet. He also concluded Ouellet was “not the author of the gestures” brought into evidence by one of the women.

The allegations against the cardinal surfaced in 2022 as part of a class-action lawsuit launched against the Archdiocese of Quebec and dozens of clergy and lay members. In response, Ouellet publicly denied any wrongdoing and countered with a CA$100,000 defamation countersuit against his accuser, claiming she had damaged his reputation, honor, and dignity.

After the lawsuit was filed, the Vatican chose not to launch its own investigation into the cardinal. In a statement issued Aug. 18, 2022, by Matteo Bruni, then-director of the Press Office of the Holy See, the Vatican found there were “insufficient elements to open a canonical investigation for sexual assault by Cardinal Ouellet against person F,” as Groleau was identified at the time.

In his ruling, Castonguay said the damage to Ouellet — former archbishop of Quebec who would serve as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops under Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis — and his reputation was “amplified by the chosen vehicle, meaning that of a class action aimed principally at religious pedophiles, thereby equating Cardinal Ouellet, in the eyes of the ‘ordinary citizen,’ with that group of individuals.” He said it “is difficult to quantify” the true impact of the allegations against Ouellet and awarded him the CA$100,000 he sought.

The class action was ratified Aug. 12, with the Quebec Superior Court approving a CA$31.5 million out-of-court settlement.

In a statement, Ouellet’s lawyers were pleased the court recognized the injustice suffered by the cardinal.

“This judgment reaffirms a fundamental principle: even in the context of judicial proceedings, serious allegations must be based on accurate and relevant facts and advanced with the rigour required by their gravity,” Dominique Ménard said in the statement.

The cardinal has promised to donate the award to organizations fighting against sexual abuse experienced by Indigenous Canadians.

The class action also accused Quebec’s current archbishop, Cardinal Gérald Lacroix, of sexual misconduct. After stepping aside for six months in early 2024, Lacroix resumed his role after a Vatican-mandated investigation found no evidence to support the accusations.

This story was first published by Canada’s The Catholic Register and is reprinted here with permission.

Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala — who became the bishop of the diocese that covers the entirety of West Virginia in July — announced the changes in a message to the faithful issued Aug. 28. Menjivar succeeded Bishop Mark E. Brennan, who retired.

“This is an initiative of Bishop Evelio to ensure that the spiritual needs of every part of his flock are attended to by priests of our diocese,” the announcement said.

According to the announcement, the bishop’s purpose is to foster “greater unity among Catholic faithful” and attend to “their diverse spiritual needs.”

Beginning Sept. 20, the TLM can be celebrated at the mission Our Lady of Seven Dolors in Triadelphia at 1:30 p.m. on Sundays. Previously, the mission only had a monthly celebration. Menjivar will add a TLM option in the Charleston area, but the location is yet to be determined.

The regular TLM will continue at St. John University Parish in Morgantown at 9 a.m. Saturdays and 1 p.m. Sundays.

Menjivar also attended a Latin Mass at the Priory of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Charles Town on Aug. 30. The priory offers the TLM daily, along with a Saturday vigil and three Sunday Masses. He delivered remarks to the congregation before the homily.

“In his mercy and providence, the Lord has sent me to serve as your shepherd,” the bishop said. “I want to reiterate to you, today, my sincere desire to serve the Lord faithfully and to care for the salvation of every soul entrusted to my pastoral care. I’m also here today to assure you, you personally, [of] my deep affection and esteem for each of you and for this particular community.”

Menjivar said: “Your fidelity to the sacred liturgy, your devotion, and your reverence for the mysteries of our faith enrich the life of the entire Church.”

“My desire is that everyone — everyone — finds a home in the Church and that in everything we do, we remain deeply united in Christ and in communion with the Holy Father, always seeking what strengthens our faith, builds up the body of Christ, and leads us together toward holiness,” he said.

Priestly appointments

The bishop appointed Father Timothy Grassi, pastor of St. James in Charles Town, to serve as the episcopal delegate for matters related to the “usus antiquior” for the diocese. The usus antiquior, which means “the ancient usage,” refers to the TLM, which was the standard form of the Mass prior to reforms that came after the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s.

Grassi will oversee celebrations of the TLM to ensure that every Mass is celebrated lawfully in accordance with restrictions imposed in Pope Francis’ motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, which remains in effect. He also will coordinate between the diocese and the four TLM congregations in West Virginia.

“In the exercise of his function, Father Grassi will ensure that these celebrations are legally authorized in accordance with the universal law of the Church and the dispositions of the Apostolic See,” the announcement said.

When reached by email, Grassi told EWTN News that the bishop is “simply trying to be a good shepherd to all of the faithful.” The greater availability ensures “those attracted to this form of the Mass have easier accessibility to it, just as he has concern for the Hispanics of the diocese to have a Spanish Mass,” he said.

“He is following all the guidelines that the Vatican has given and is simply trying to let the faithful know of his care for them,” Grassi added. “My role is to coordinate with the bishop in these matters and ensure that all of the guidelines are properly followed. Bishop Evelio is showing his deep pastoral care for the souls entrusted to him.”

The bishop also appointed regional usus antiquior delegates.

Father Justin M. Golna, pastor at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Wellsburg, is the delegate for the Wheeling area. Father Brian Crenwelge, pastor at St. John University Parish in Morgantown, will continue as the Morgantown area delegate. Father Phillip Szabo will stay as the delegate for the Charleston area.

His daughter Mary confirmed his passing via the New York Times. His cause of death was not immediately known; the Kentucky-born writer was 92 years old.

A writer of fiction, poetry, and essays, Berry was known for his advocacy of rural life, for urging readers to develop a close connection to farming and food, and for calling for the care of the environment.

His work united a broad cross-section of the American public from liberal environmentalists to Christian homesteaders to local food advocates to conservative conservationists.

Born in Louisville on Aug. 5, 1934, Berry studied English at the University of Kentucky and writing at Stanford University. He taught English at the University of Kentucky for several years and also taught at New York University.

From 1965 until his death he lived and worked at his farm, Lane’s Landing, in Henry County, Kentucky.

His politics were broad and diverse. He was famously critical of big business and corporations and was a fierce detractor of coal companies. He was opposed to the death penalty, at one point urging his home state to abolish it entirely.

Amid the racial and cultural disputes of 2020, he sued the University of Kentucky in order to prevent the removal of a purportedly racially offensive mural there — though he said he was pained by the knowledge that his ancestors “established themselves here by killing or driving out the original possessors” and that “people were once bought and sold here by my people.” Berry was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama in 2012.

Throughout his career he remained devoted to both the natural world and to the small farm — a philosophy, he said in 2002, that meant he had “spent [his] life on two losing sides.”

He urged advocates to reconcile both the need to preserve the natural world and the need to support the human beings that are an indelible part of the world. “The question we must deal with is not whether the domestic and the wild are separate or can be separated; it is how, in the human economy, their indissoluble and necessary connection can be properly maintained,” he wrote.

Baptized a Baptist, Berry remained distant from organized religion, calling himself at one point a “forest Christian.” Yet his work and his advocacy attracted large numbers of Christians, including Catholics.

Writing in America Magazine in 2017, the Catholic writer Anna Keating said that his unique philosophy “can prove helpful to Catholics, serving as an antidote to the many ills of our time.”

He also briefly partnered with the Catholic St. Catharine College in Springfield, Kentucky, to launch the Berry Farming Program, though the college closed in 2016.

He wrote that he “[took] literally the statement in the Gospel of John that God loves the world.”

“I believe that the world was created and approved by love, that it subsists, coheres, and endures by love, and that, insofar as it is redeemable, it can be redeemed only by love,” he said.

Though well traveled and revered as a national American sage, Berry was a strong proponent of localism. He consistently called on Americans to turn to community and mutual help to address societal problems and conflicts.

He lamented the destruction of much of the rural way of life that he had seen take place over his lifetime, though he expressed optimism for its revitalization. Reflecting in 1988 on the potential “renewal of the rural communities” around the country, he wrote that such a renewal “would have to be a revival accomplished mainly by the community itself.”

“It would have to be done not from the outside by the instruction of visiting experts,” he wrote, “but from the inside by the ancient rule of neighborliness, by the love of precious things, and by the wish to be at home.”

The situation prompted the schools to suspend classes beginning Tuesday, marking the second such decision this year. Classes were also suspended last January for the same reason.

In a statement, the schools said the measures were imposed suddenly and without prior notice, directly affecting their preparations for the beginning of the academic year.

They explained that the absence of so many employees affects not only classroom instruction but also administrative work, health and cleaning services, and security and safety procedures. As a result, the schools said they could not guarantee students a safe and stable start to the academic year.

The schools said they decided to suspend classes after consulting and coordinating with the relevant authorities, representatives of parents, and other Jerusalem schools. The suspension will remain in effect until the necessary permits for teachers and staff members are reissued or renewed.

They also warned that the recurrence of such measures undermines the stability of educational institutions and hinders their ability to fulfill their mission, while also affecting students, their families, school personnel, and the wider community.

The schools recalled that for centuries their institutions have carried out an educational and humanitarian mission and have formed an integral part of Jerusalem’s identity and its cultural and social fabric.

They also reaffirmed their commitment to providing high-quality education and forming generations grounded in knowledge, values, a sense of belonging, and responsibility.

Concluding their statement, the schools expressed hope that the crisis would be resolved quickly, allowing students and staff members to return to their schools and the academic year to proceed normally.

This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

“Surrogacy is by its nature evil and incompatible with Christian faith and morality,” the bishops’ bioethics committee said. “The desire to have children cannot be interpreted as a right to have children, because a child, in the ontological sense, as a human being, is not the property of its parents.”

The bioethics committee of the Polish Bishops' Conference issued a statement on Aug. 27 signed by the head of the committee, Auxiliary Bishop Józef Wróbel of the Archdiocese of Lublin. The committee warned that the “conception and birth of a child cannot be the subject of a commercial transaction” between those who offer their body for rent and those who want to obtain offspring in this way.

The committee underscored that the practice of surrogacy cannot, therefore, “be tolerated, permitted, accepted, or, even less so, promoted by state institutions.”

The statement noted that “more and more offers are emerging in Poland guaranteeing the birth of a healthy child through surrogacy,” likely a reference to an event organized in the Polish capital, Warsaw, for Sept. 12-13 by the Ukrainian fertility clinic BioTexCom: Center for Human Reproduction.

The company says it has a “wide database of donors who meet all individual requirements of clients” as well as “the latest techniques” to achieve “positive results” of in vitro fertilization.

BioTexCom describes surrogacy “as a program during which a healthy woman carries a child for the infertile couple” and promises “best surrogate mothers,” lower prices, and better services than other medical centers in Europe.

However, the bioethical experts of the Polish episcopate pointed out that surrogacy is available only through artificial insemination, usually performed through in vitro fertilization, which has a variety of “genetic, developmental, and psychological” consequences.

Moreover, the experts said such “conceived children will be killed through eugenic abortion if genetic or developmental disorders are detected,” stressing that “the murder of an unborn child is always an extremely evil act” and that under “law in force in Poland, it is also a crime.”

The bioethicists said conducting surrogacy outside Poland does not make it legal, adding that it rather resembles “international human trafficking, which cannot be justified either by the desire to have offspring or the consent” of the parties involved.

The experts concluded that children are “treated as commodities and not as endowed with an inalienable dignity attached to their humanity.” Thus, they called for “the state authorities to take immediate and decisive action to prevent surrogacy by Polish citizens and to block” companies that “offer such procedures.”

Some analysts noted that Poland lacks surrogacy limitations, unlike Slovakia and Italy, where the practice is banned.

Following an Aug. 28 event at the Hudson Institute, officials told Erik Rosales, EWTN News Capitol Hill correspondent, that while the U.S. remains committed to shedding light on ongoing persecution of Christians in Nigeria, State Department officials are faced with having to weigh the greater good with responding to every attack.

“Itʼs a significant trading partner in the African context for the United States,” Josh Meservey, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, told Rosales.

“Itʼs the largest, itʼs the most populous country in Africa. Itʼs the largest economy,” he said. “So these things do really matter. And so as much as weʼre concerned about the violence and we, we must remain concerned, the U.S. government has to balance other interests.”

Latest numbers from advocacy groups found that more than 7,000 Christians have been killed in the first seven months of 2026 alone, while thousands more have been kidnapped.

“The situation has not really changed too much. We may say that the daily attacks of hundreds or 50 that were killed in the past is not — itʼs no longer like that — but people are still being killed,” Father Remigius Ihyula, former director of the Catholic Diocese of Makurdiʼs Justice and Peace Commission in Nigeria, told “EWTN News Nightly” on Aug. 28.

Tibor Nagy, former assistant secretary of the Bureau of African Affairs at the State Department, called for “cooperating with the Nigerians, finding solutions, doing training, maybe helping the Nigerians design a law-and-order system that has local forces instead of just federal forces.”

"There are solutions out there but the Nigerians have to solve this at the end of the day,” he told Rosales.

Meanwhile, Nigerian advocates said U.S. withdrawal from the region would result in heavy consequences for vulnerable communities. "If the U.S. doesnʼt follow through, there will be hell to pay. Christians will be attacked massively,” said Emmanuel Ogebe, a Nigerian-American human rights attorney.

When the sisters of the Carmel of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph realized they had outgrown their 1940s monastery in the Diocese of Harrisburg, they knew they wanted to build their next home “in a way that is designed to last,” that would speak to St. Teresa of Ávila’s vision for their charism, Catherine Bauer, the director of marketing and development for the sisters, told EWTN News. “And by that, they mean last a thousand years.”

Bucking modern architecture and building conventions, the Fairfield sisters have opted to build their monastery using old-world methods including traditional stonemasonry and timber framing. While the scale of the monastery “will be on the smaller side,” according to Bauer, “it’s more about the stonework, the authenticity of building from the ground up using no nails, no glue, [and] no electricity running through it.”

“They will also have old-world methods of plumbing and water systems,” she added.

The budget for the project, which began in 2013 and is about 20% complete, is $100 million. The sisters have raised about $22 million so far.

“The idea is that over the course of the next 12 or 15 years it takes to build this, once it’s completed, little or no maintenance will be required for this building for future generations,” Bauer said. “So essentially, they spend the money up front now and then in 50 years, you’re not replacing various systems and roofing and walls and all of that.”

While the up-front cost of their home may be steep, the sisters have proven resourceful not only in sourcing local materials such as stone and timber but also stained glass and an altar for their oratory.

The marble altar the sisters found had once served as the original altar at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Bishop Emeritus Ronald Gainer, who delivered the homily at the oratory’s dedication in 2024, revealed that he had said his first Mass at that altar decades prior, she noted.

“We’re trying to salvage a lot of these things and which is amazing, you know, giving these beautiful items a home,” Bauer said.

While the Carmelites themselves are hidden away, Bauer said, “the monastery is meant to be a beacon of light, a beacon on the hill for the community at large, for the faithful to come and visit, and to be an oasis for everyone, a source of grace and comfort and holiness.”

The public will be able to attend Mass and receive the sacraments and to pray with externs at the monastery.

Ultimately, Bauer said, the mission of the Carmelite order is to beat with the heart of the Church.

“The Carmelite charism is to pray for the priests,” she said. “That’s their whole mission, is to pray for priests and for the Church. And that’s how we’re going to survive. They are the heart of the Church. They’re the ones that keep the blood pumping through the rest of the body of the Church.”

Sarah, the former prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, spoke to the Italian newspaper Il Giornale last week about the importance of the traditional liturgy, which dates back to the time of Pope Gregory the Great and earlier, and which was celebrated worldwide until the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965).

After the council, the old liturgy was abandoned, although some priests continued to celebrate it. The archbishop of Dakar, Senegal, Marcel Lefebvre, remained faithful to it and founded the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) under the claim of preserving the Traditional Latin Mass and in opposition to some reforms of the Second Vatican Council. The SSPX has twice been declared to be in schism, including in 2026, and its bishops excommunicated.

In the mid-1980s, the Holy See began to relax the de facto ban. In his motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 authorized all priests to celebrate the old liturgy; in his view, strictly speaking, it had never been abrogated. He differentiated between the Traditional Latin Mass as the “extraordinary form” and the new Mass as the “ordinary form.”

Pope Francis revoked his predecessorʼs decision in 2021 and severely restricted the classical Roman liturgy with his motu proprio Traditionis Custodes.

“Among the effects of the liberalization of the extraordinary form was the positive influence — I would even say the correction — regarding possible abuses in the celebration of the ordinary form,” Sarah said. “These abuses are extremely serious acts, yet we must never equate the ordinary form itself with them. Many priests testify that discovering the extraordinary form helped them celebrate Mass better.”

“I think Benedict XVI also demonstrated on that occasion a deeply humble and democratic attitude,” the cardinal continued, recalling the 2007 decision. “He wanted to ensure the widest possible dissemination, so that the people of God could decide for themselves, over the decades, which form of living out the faith best suited them. All of this, however, was nullified by Traditionis Custodes, while the pope emeritus was still alive.”

“That did not seem to me a decision that was either sensible or respectful,” Sarah explained. “But Benedict XVI, a man as gentle as a lamb, allowed himself to be humiliated and thus offered his suffering to God in silence and prayer, so as to better identify with Christ’s pain for his Church and to purify it.”

Sarah said that “access to ritual forms that have been recognized and in existence for centuries must never be artificially restricted by means of decrees. If a rite did not serve the faith, it would disappear on its own; if, conversely, it preserves and fosters the faith, we must by no means restrict it, for in doing so we would be restricting the very preservation and spread of the faith.”

This story was first published by ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Bishop Ramón Castro Castro of Cuernavaca, president of the Mexican Bishops’ Conference (CEM, by its Spanish acronym) was the main celebrant of the Mass. Concelebrating alongside various priests, along with Flores, were Bishop Oscar Cantú of San José, California, chairman of the USCCB Subcommittee on Hispanic/Latino Affairs; and Bishop Pierre Goudreault of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In a brief message, Flores expressed gratitude for “Bishop Ramón’s inspiration in inviting us to this gathering to strengthen this ecclesial communion.”

“In the times we are living through, it will become increasingly important — indeed, urgent — for the Catholic Church in the Americas to speak with one voice, defending the honor of Our Lord and the dignity of the human person — especially the poor and immigrants, who often have nowhere to lay their heads, just like the Lord Jesus himself,” he said.

“We need to preach together and united as one Church, under the guidance of our Holy Father, Pope Leo, and in communion with all the bishops of the world,” he added.

3 distinct countries ‘but one and the same faith’

In his homily, Castro highlighted that this meeting of leaders from North American episcopal conferences is “the first of its kind in our history.”

“We are three distinct countries. We are three Churches with different histories and realities, yet we share one and the same faith, one baptism, one Eucharist, and one mission,” the Mexican prelate affirmed.

Regarding the role of bishops, Castro emphasized that “before being leaders, we are disciples,” and “before having responsibilities, we are men called by the Lord.”

“Perhaps this can be the profound spirit of this gathering of the Church in North America: for all of us to place ourselves once again behind Jesus.”

‘Enormous challenges’

The president of the CEM emphasized that “our peoples face enormous challenges, particularly Mexico,” and pointed to issues such as “violence, demagoguery, corruption, loneliness, secularization, individualism, materialism, polarization, wounded families, and young people seeking reasons for hope.”

He further noted that “perhaps one of the most common themes among the three of us as countries and conferences is migration.”

“Over the coming days, we will have the opportunity to share our perspectives on these realities, not in a spirit of judgment or confrontation but rather out of the pastoral responsibility that falls to us as shepherds,” the bishop of Cuernavaca said.

“We want to better understand the lives of our people. To what end? To be able to serve them better,” he stated.

Castro emphasized that “migration must not be reduced to statistics, public policies, or economic obligations,” because “behind every migrant there is a face, a story, a family, a hope, and, unfortunately, often many wounds.”

“The Church must view these people as brothers and sisters whose dignity must be recognized and protected,” he said.

The Mexican bishop also expressed his wish “that from Cuernavaca we might send a simple yet powerful sign to our churches, churches on pilgrimage in Canada, the United States, and Mexico.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Families in Fairfield County, including those in Danbury and Stamford, “have lived through moments of real fear as immigration enforcement activity has intensified in our area,” Caggiano said in a statement.

Caggiano urged federal officials to respect human dignity no matter one’s country of birth. Regardless of immigration status, each person “is made in the image and likeness of God and possesses a dignity that no earthly power may set aside,” he said.

The bishop’s Aug. 30 statement followed local reports of heightened immigration enforcement throughout local communities.

Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut released a statement in July about the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the state. It reported that there would be coordination with community organizations and advocates regarding increased ICE activity.

“Connecticut has some of the lowest crime rates in the country, thanks to the excellent work our state and local police do to keep violent criminals off our streets. Rounding up people at random to fill a quota does not lower crime. It traumatizes families and communities,” Lamont said.

Caggiano detailed some of the specific instances in the diocese.

“I have heard of husbands and fathers taken from their cars on the way to work, of spouses unable to find where a loved one has been brought, and of neighbors who no longer feel at ease walking to the store, dropping off a child at school, or simply going about the ordinary business of the day,” he said.

“Whatever one believes about the just enforcement of our nation’s laws, no person of faith can look upon this kind of suffering with indifference,” he said.

“I do not write to make a political statement, nor is it the place of a Bishop to dictate the particulars of civil policy that belong properly to lawmakers and to citizens acting according to their conscience,” he said.

“But I write as a pastor who cannot remain silent while members of our human family are suffering, while families are separated, and while fear has entered our schools, our workplaces, and our streets,” Caggiano said.

Local parishes are ‘places of welcome and refuge’

Caggiano called on parishes in the diocese to support immigrant families and anyone affected by enforcement actions.

“To our immigrant brothers and sisters throughout Fairfield County, whether or not you are Catholic, whether or not you have ever set foot in one of our parishes, please know that the Church stands with you,” he said.

“Our parishes, our Catholic Charities, and our Office of Hispanic Ministry remain, as they have always been, places of welcome and refuge, and no one need fear that the doors of our churches will ever be closed to them,” he said.

The bishop asked parishes to include a prayer for immigrant families and those affected “at every Mass in the days ahead.” He also urged the community to remember the words the Lord spoke in Scripture: “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.”

“Fear is real, but it does not have the final word,” he said. “Christ walks with every suffering family in Fairfield County each day, and He asks each of us, as His Church, to walk with them as well.”

Caggiano called on Our Lady of Guadalupe, mother of the migrant and consolation of the afflicted, to “wrap her mantle around every family who suffers in this hour.”

A panel discussion held on Aug. 21, the opening day of the Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples, titled “The Freedom to Believe: A Human Right at the Center of Geopolitical Challenges,” explored the role of religious freedom in contemporary geopolitical dynamics, with particular attention to minorities in crisis areas and the contribution of faith communities to reconciliation processes. It also examined the responsibilities of the European Union, Italy, and international cooperation in strengthening diplomatic and political instruments to defend this fundamental right.

Following introductory remarks by Maria Cristiana Mele, Italy’s special envoy for the promotion of religious freedom and the protection of religious minorities worldwide, speakers included Cristina Duranti, director of the Good Shepherd International Foundation; Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Diocese of Sokoto, Nigeria, who said: “In Nigeria, if you ask someone whether he is Christian or Muslim, he will answer: I am hungry”; Mairead McGuinness, the European Union special envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief; and Andrea Avveduto, journalist and spokesman for the Italian Committee for Freedom of Religion or Belief, who moderated the discussion. Daniela Canclini, president of the Italian Committee for Freedom of Religion or Belief, delivered the concluding remarks.

In his remarks, Kukah highlighted the "actions" of terrorist groups in Nigeria: "Islamic extremism has changed over time. If 15 or 20 years ago Boko Haram persecuted only Christians because it aimed to convert the population to Islam at gunpoint and establish a caliphate in which sharia would be imposed; the groups operating today have no contact with the population. They live in hiding and emerge only to kill, loot, and rape. They do not kill on a confessional basis, so it is inaccurate to say that today they persecute only Christians.

“Their attacks make no distinction based on belief: They kill people on farms, in churches, in mosques, at home, everywhere. There are also several groups affiliated with ISIS but divided among themselves, so if you are killed, you do not even know who did it. The situation is extremely complicated. The only thing that unites these groups with one another and with Boko Haram is violence and the mineral trade.”

He also described the difficulties involved in combating terrorist groups: “The situation is extremely difficult to contain, and the government is present only through the military, which nevertheless allows things to happen. Nigeria is a corrupt state. It has lost the ability to enforce the laws, which do exist, just as there is a constitution. At every political election the same thing happens: There is a suitable candidate, capable, the ideal person to have a positive impact on the government of the country. He will not be elected, because another, wealthier candidate will buy the election with money.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News, asked Avveduto to explain why the freedom to believe is increasingly under threat.

ACI Stampa: Why is the freedom to believe increasingly under threat?

Avveduto: We are living in a time in which faith has once again come to be perceived as a problem rather than a resource. On the one hand, there are authoritarian regimes and totalitarian ideologies, which see in the believer someone who obeys an authority higher than the state and therefore fear him; on the other, there is the growth of extremisms that exploit religion to justify violence and the seizure of power.

In between is the fragility of many states: Where institutions collapse, religious freedom is the first to fall, because minorities are left without protection. And there is also a more subtle threat, typical of our secularized societies: the temptation to reduce faith to a purely private matter, expelling it from the public sphere. The freedom to believe is threatened wherever the person is not recognized in his or her entirety, which also includes the spiritual dimension.

Why are more and more Christians under threat?

The numbers are striking: According to Open Doors' World Watch List 2026, the number of Christians exposed to persecution worldwide has risen to 388 million, 8 million more than the previous year — a record year. One Christian in 7 globally suffers persecution. The reasons are different and intertwined: the expansion of Islamist extremism, especially in sub-Saharan Africa; regimes that see Christians as a foreign body or ideological enemy; organized crime that targets Christian communities because they are defenseless.

The center of gravity of Christianity has shifted to Africa, and it is precisely there that it is principally under attack: Christians are often visible minorities, communities that educate, provide care, and build social cohesion; precisely for this reason, they become targets of those who want chaos or a monopoly on power. The paradox is that Christians are persecuted not despite the good they do but often because of it.

Another region is the Middle East. The conflict between Israel and Iran is affecting Lebanon: How are Christians living through it?

Lebanon is once again paying for wars decided elsewhere. Since the beginning of March, the bombings have caused more than 2,000 deaths and over 1 million displaced people, and Christians have not been spared: Members of the community who have nothing to do with Hezbollah have been killed in the attacks. And yet, amid all this, the faith endures: In Christian villages in the south, such as Rmeich, Debel, and Ain Ebel, priests say that daily Mass and the rosary prayed together are what sustain the people under bombardment.

Lebanese Christians are experiencing a double suffering: the material suffering of war and the moral suffering of a country held hostage, whose sovereignty is contested among outside powers. But they also remain bearers of a vocation: As the Maronite patriarch recalls, echoing the words of the popes, “Lebanon is more than a territory; it is a message of freedom, dignity, pluralism, and coexistence.” For this reason, supporting the Christians of Lebanon means supporting the very idea of a pluralistic Middle East.

Another difficult situation is found in Nigeria, as Bishop Hassan Kukah described, and in Sudan: How can Christians be supported?

Nigeria today is the deadliest place in the world for Christians: It alone accounts for about 3,490 victims, 70% of the global total of Christians killed for their faith, amid attacks on villages, burned churches, kidnappings of priests, and even schoolchildren. Sudan, devastated by civil war, is also among the countries experiencing extreme persecution. How can they be supported? First of all, by not forgetting them: The first persecution is silence.

Then through concrete closeness: supporting the local Churches, schools, clinics, and projects that allow communities to remain in their own land rather than flee. There is also the level of political and diplomatic pressure, so that governments are called to their responsibility to protect. And finally prayer, which for the persecuted themselves — they always say this — is not a symbolic gesture but the sign that they belong to a larger body that does not abandon them.

Why is religious freedom a good for everyone, as the Church emphasizes in its magisterium?

Because it is the mother of all freedoms. It concerns the most intimate core of the person: conscience, the relationship with truth, and with the ultimate meaning of life. A state that respects this inner sanctuary will also respect freedom of thought, expression, and association; a state that violates it will sooner or later violate everything else.

This can be seen empirically: The countries where believers are persecuted are the same countries where all human rights are trampled upon. Religious freedom, moreover, does not protect only believers: It also protects those who do not believe, because it affirms that no power may impose or prohibit a worldview. It is the foundation of a truly pluralistic society, where diversity is not merely tolerated but recognized as a source of richness.

So why does the Church fight for religious freedom for everyone?

Because it does not ask for privileges but for a right that arises from the dignity of the person created in the image of God, a dignity that belongs to every human being, Christian or not. This is the teaching of the Second Vatican Council through the declaration on religious freedom, Dignitatis Humanae: Truth imposes itself solely by virtue of its own truth, never through coercion. Faith, to be authentic, must be free; an imposed faith is not faith.

For this reason, the Church defends with the same voice the persecuted Christian in Nigeria, the discriminated-against Muslim, the threatened Jew, the massacred Yazidi: because defending religious freedom only for oneʼs own people would deny its very foundation. And it is also a matter of credibility: The Church knows that the strongest witness is that of those who defend the rights of others, not only their own.

A few months ago in Italy, the Pact among Religions was signed. Can it be a first step toward cooperation and dialogue among faiths?

Yes, and it is a significant step precisely because it is not a declaration of intent but a public and structured commitment. On June 25, at the Ara Pacis in Rome, the leaders of religious confessions present in Italy signed the pact “The Italian Way of Interreligious Dialogue,” which was then presented to Italian President Sergio Mattarella: 15 religious confessions, from the Catholic Church to Muslim, Jewish, Orthodox, Protestant, Buddhist, Hindu, and Baháʼí communities, the fruit of three years of joint work.

The document contains nine commitments and nine concrete actions: educating communities in dialogue, working together for the common good, and promoting a culture of peace. It is important for two reasons. The first is because it shows that religions are not the problem but part of the solution and, as Mattarella said, dialogue pursued sincerely produces understanding and cooperation, and gives life to forms of coexistence that are essential for banishing all intolerance.

The second is this: In a world where religion is exploited to fuel conflicts, a pact among different faiths is the most eloquent refutation of that exploitation. Of course, a document is not enough: It will be everyday practice — in cities, in schools, among young people — that will show whether this first step becomes a journey. But the direction is the right one, and beginning in Italy it can become a model elsewhere.

This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Tammy Ben-Haim, head of religious and interfaith affairs at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told EWTN News that a May meeting in Washington, D.C., with CCAA Director Simone Rizkallah, a first-generation American of Egyptian-Armenian descent, convinced her of the importance of engaging the organization and its supporters.

“I was so impressed by Simone and the vision she had for the organization to combat antisemitism,” including CCAA’s network of key influencers throughout the American Catholic world, Ben-Haim said.

Signatories to the CCAA’s “Statement of Solidarity and Action,” a statement developed in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack against Israel that also affirms the above-referenced right of the Jewish people “should not jeopardize the right of Palestinians to also live in safety and security,” include dozens of the country’s top Catholic thought leaders and personalities.

“When Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) decided to begin engaging Catholics more proactively and wanted to design a trip specifically for Catholic leaders, it made sense that they would reach out to us,” Rizkallah said.

As a result, the MFA organized a government-sponsored weeklong trip for 13 American Catholic influencers (including EWTN News) that addressed firsthand both concerns for the security of Israelis in the country’s Gaza and Lebanon border regions as well as honest discussions with Israeli Arab and Palestinian Catholics about the conditions and challenges they face.

Signaling the importance of the initiative, the government of Israel highlighted the group’s visit on social media, noting that the journey of the American Catholic community leaders was one of “friendship and solidarity” that served to both “deepen their commitment to standing against antisemitism and strengthening the bonds between Christians and Jews.”

Instagram post

During the visit, the group, which included representatives from various U.S. Catholic educational institutions, media, think tanks, and lay apostolates, came face-to-face with the existential threats Israel has faced in recent years. The group visited sites of the Oct. 7, 2023, invasions into Israel by thousands of Hamas militants from Gaza, meeting with survivors of the attacks that killed over 1,000 Israelis.

From a mountaintop overlooking Israel’s border with southern Lebanon and as multiple explosions could be heard in the distance, the group received a sobering briefing on Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operations to neutralize the threat from Hezbollah in the neighboring country.

In addition, the Government of Israel facilitated the group’s direct interaction with various Christians in the disputed lands internationally known as the West Bank (known in Israel by their biblical names of Judea and Samaria) as well as in Haifa, in northern Israel. To varying degrees, these Christians also see themselves as facing existential threats.

The group’s guide in Bethlehem, the Palestinian-controlled West Bank town of Jesus’ birth, lamented that just in recent weeks the town has lost several large, leading Christian families, who have emigrated to Greece.

Bethlehem continues to experience a devastating loss of its Christian population. From once having constituted a robust majority, the percentage of Christians there is now estimated in the single digits, with conditions for those remaining further exacerbated by the dearth of pilgrims and severe limitations, since the atrocities of Oct. 7, on permissions for Palestinians to enter Israel for work.

In Haifa, the group met with Archbishop Youssef Matta of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Israel’s largest Christian community. Melkite Greek Catholics represent nearly 40% of Israel’s total Christian population of 185,000. Nazareth, Haifa, and Jerusalem, respectively, are the country’s largest Christian population centers.

In a meeting also attended by Ben-Haim and Cesare Marijeh, senior director of the Christian Department of Israel’s Ministry of Interior Affairs, Matta addressed several challenges facing his community, including alleged extortion rackets by Muslim and Jewish organized crime families as well as discrimination in government subsidies for the Church’s schools, of which there are five under his jurisdiction.

At a luncheon with the delegation, Monsignor Simon Khoury, a Melkite Greek Catholic priest who serves a parish in Cana, asserted that the government has deliberately turned a blind eye to the criminal extortion rackets faced by Christians, as he believes such crimes align with the agenda of certain sectors of Israeli society that favor the displacement of the country’s non-Jewish population.

From the beginning to the end of the trip, members of the delegation pressed Israeli authorities to provide necessary assistance to and security for the country’s Christian population, contending that such actions will go a long way toward bolstering goodwill toward Israel among hundreds of millions of Catholics worldwide.

At a meeting of the group with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ director of the Department for Combating Antisemitism, Arezoo Hersel-Rohila, and the Anti-Defamation League’s Israel director, Carole Nuriel, EWTN News asked them to identify and address the principal antisemitic narrative that the country is currently facing at the international level.

Both women agreed in answering that it is equating Israel’s policy in Gaza to that of the Nazis, i.e., the charge that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. The officials vigorously contested this widespread allegation, citing that by definition genocide requires intent and that in contravention of such intent, Israel’s military has repeatedly sought to relocate Palestinian civilians within Gaza to get them out of harm’s way as it targets Hamas’ terrorist infrastructure. 

Other organizations that also address this question, such as the American Jewish Committee (AJC), assert that the IDF “still endeavors to warn Gazans prior to attacks and has allowed humanitarian aid for civilians to be delivered under arrangements intended to prevent Hamas from diverting aid or controlling its distribution to reinforce its authority.”

Israel’s government also answers the charge by pointing to evidence that Hamas has repeatedly called on Palestinian civilians to ignore Israel’s warnings about impending strikes, in effect using them as human shields. Defenders of Israel’s actions in Gaza, like the AJC, also contend that “international law does not prohibit Israel from undertaking legitimate actions that will likely result in civilian harm unless the expected civilian harm will clearly exceed the anticipated military advantage from the attack.”

As the ADL and much of the Jewish community worldwide see it, the propagation of antisemitic narratives around Israel’s operations in Gaza have particularly proliferated among social media influencers, including some Catholics.

This also explains in part why a wide range of U.S. Catholic influencers who personally stand in support of the CCAA’s statement of solidarity, including participants affiliated with EWTN News, the Ethics and Public Policy Center, the Institute on Religion and Democracy, the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, the Family Research Council, Tepeyac Leadership, Benedictine College, and Franciscan University of Steubenville, among others, were invited to engage firsthand with these ongoing issues.

Ben-Haim, who accompanied the delegation on the Stations of the Cross route in Jerusalem’s Old City, told EWTN News that going forward, she would like to see more such visitors, especially “young up-and-coming Catholic leaders and influencers” have similar experiences.

“No amount of explaining or telling our story equals one visit to Israel,” Ben-Haim explained. Noting that terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah are right at the country’s borders, she insisted “all that I believe Israel and Israelis want is for people around the world to understand this; we want to live in a country and in a region that is peaceful and quiet. We cannot afford to have the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre happen again; we cannot allow our borders to be crossed and our children and families to be murdered for being Jews and Israelis.”

The principal resources used by Menezes are the message for the 60th World Communications Day and the encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, both by Pope Leo XIV, regarding the safeguarding of the human person in the age of artificial intelligence; the document Antiqua et Nova, a joint note from the Holy See’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and Dicastery for Culture and Education, signed by Pope Francis concerning the relationship between artificial intelligence and human intelligence; and a reflection by Father Doriano Vincenzo De Luca, head of the social communications service for the Archdiocese of Naples, Italy.

“The starting point for all the Church’s reflection on artificial intelligence is the unconditional defense of the dignity of the human person,” the archbishop of Aracaju explained. The prelate highlighted that the note Antiqua et Nova “places human dignity at the center of discernment regarding artificial intelligence and reminds us that technology must be guided by the good of the person and of society” and that “human intelligence must guide the use of technology for the sake of the ‘authentic good of the person.’”

Therefore, “in light of the guidelines of the Church’s magisterium and with the aim of guiding discernment regarding the proper use of artificial intelligence tools, ensuring respect for the principle of human dignity by ‘preserving faces and voices,’ and ensuring these tools serve as an aid rather than replacing the responsible work that only a human being can perform, we hereby establish” certain guidelines within the territory of our Archdiocese of Aracaju, the bishop said.

Review and transparency

Menezes mandated that “all art produced with the aid of artificial intelligence” within the archdiocese must “undergo a mandatory human review before publication” and that “any and all content generated or manipulated by artificial intelligence” must also “be labeled and clearly distinguished from content created by humans, especially when the use of AI could affect the perception of the reality being presented.”

Prohibited uses for clergy

Regarding the clergy, Menezes directed that “generative artificial intelligence must not be used to reconstruct or simulate the appearance of a bishop, priest, or deacon when the result replaces their actual photograph or could be interpreted as an authentic representation of their appearance or of a situation they experienced.”

He also established that “generative artificial intelligence must not be used to reconstruct or simulate the voice of a bishop, priest, or deacon in a message or speech not originally delivered by them” and that “one must not attribute to a real person an appearance, speech, action, or situation that does not correspond to reality.”

In addition, the archbishop prohibited the use of artificial intelligence to “reconstruct a real person’s face, replacing their photograph”; to “significantly modify a real person’s features”; to “create an artificial appearance presented as their actual appearance”; to “produce images placing a member of the clergy in situations that did not occur”; to “produce a synthetic representation that could be mistaken for a real photograph”; and to “create audio files attempting to simulate a person’s voice in a message or speech not actually delivered by that person.”

AI as an auxiliary tool

According to the archbishop of Aracaju, “artificial intelligence can be used as an auxiliary tool” in nine situations: creating backgrounds, creating textures, generating abstract elements, creating illustrations, suggesting layouts, working with colors, assisting with composition, assisting with editing, and helping to create visual concepts.

“These guidelines are based particularly on the message from Pope Leo XIV for the 60th World Communications Day, in which the Holy Father warns that the simulation capabilities of artificial intelligence can fabricate ‘parallel realities,’ usurp faces and voices, and make it increasingly difficult to distinguish between reality and fiction,” Menezes explained.

According to the archbishop, “the same document” also “draws attention to the need to protect people’s images, photographs, audio recordings, faces, and voices, preventing harmful uses such as digital fraud, cyberbullying, and deepfakes that can violate privacy and personal intimacy without consent.”

At the end of the decree, Menezes exhorted “all pastoral workers, communicators, and the faithful to act with prudence, always consulting their respective ordinaries and respecting current regulations, so that technology may serve the mission and never distort it.” He further emphasized that “everything the Church communicates must be truthful in content and responsible in its manner of representation.”

The archbishop ended his directive with the prayer “May Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of our archdiocese, intercede for us and help us preserve, in every communication, the dignity and beauty of human faces and voices called to reflect Christ.”

This story was first published by ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

The official death toll of the deluge, provided by authorities, has climbed to 919, and 4,793 people are still missing. More than 930 hydropower workers remain unaccounted for, LiCAS News reported. Many are feared to be trapped in hydro tunnels along the Bhote Koshi-Trishuli river system.

In a situation report shared with EWTN News on Aug. 30, the president of Caritas Nepal, Father Silas Krishna Bogati, confirmed that the Catholic Church’s response is fully operational. Emergency shelters and hygiene kits have reached over 1,000 households. A cash assistance payment of 15,000 Nepali rupees (roughly $110) is being distributed to 750 of the worst-affected families.

The priest, who also serves as apostolic administrator of the Apostolic Vicariate of Nepal, added that more than 50 community kitchens run daily to feed 300 families.

Operations supported by China and India

The full scale of destruction is yet to be accounted for. Reuters reported that the flood destroyed 19 bridges, roadways, and other crucial infrastructure, hampering emergency aid and the search for survivors.

As rescue operations, supported by China and India, continue amid the risk of landslides and more flooding, aid workers are already flagging a second looming emergency: winter. Displaced families sheltering in high-altitude areas will require thermal gear and winter-proof shelter within weeks, Bogati shared with EWTN News.

Nepal Red Cross has formally asked Caritas Nepal to source more than 1,000 body bags, with decomposition already becoming a public health concern, the president of Caritas Nepal wrote.

To avoid future catastrophes, Nepal and China are expected to improve communication on real-time glacier data, avalanche risks, and water levels.

International pledges for help and support exceed $200 million, with commitments from the United States, Europe, Canada, and the World Bank.

Pope Leo XIV again prayed on Sunday for the flood victims. “Let us pray for those who have lost their lives, for the injured, those missing, for the families and rescue workers,” he said. “May the concern of everyone help to alleviate the suffering and provide the necessary aid to the people affected.”

In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, U.S. bishops called for international mobilization and “long-term efforts to help affected communities rebuild their homes, livelihoods, and critical infrastructure.”

In the world of video games, “farming” means collecting points toward a goal. Under the Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s “Slang and Trending” category, aura farming means “the act of doing something to look cool, impressive, stylish, etc.” To “farm aura,” the dictionary further explains, means to “do something in order to enhance one’s coolness.”

The expression spread rapidly on social media platforms like TikTok, sparking curiosity and a following, primarily among Gen Z youth. However, the phenomenon’s viral nature quickly moved from screens to the streets.

Through specific gestures that have become hallmarks of the trend, young people gather to “farm aura” and even hold competitions featuring distinctive poses, facial expressions, or ways of walking, with the surrounding crowd deciding who performed best.

Reflecting on this trend, Cardinal Fernando Chomali, archbishop of Santiago, Chile, has observed that "‘Aura farming’ is a desperate cry from young people to be seen, heard, valued, loved, and acknowledged.”

“It’s a different version of the ‘therian’ trend [a person who psychologically identifies with an animal], reflecting the same worrying phenomenon: Many young people feel lonely! And, regrettably, little is said about that," Chomali commented on X.

In another post, the cardinal advised young people: “The best way to aura farm is to approach life with hope and joy. I invite you to study assiduously and to prepare your body and soul well to serve others. What better way to aura farm than by thinking big and building a more just country! Aura for and by Chile!” he encouraged.

Towards that end, on Aug. 27, the cardinal highlighted a relevant social service in Santiago: “The Franciscans of Recoleta, day after day, provide lunch for 150 people. The soup kitchen is very orderly and has a wholesome atmosphere.” The stories the guests “tell of so many people without a home, without family, with nothing, except a lunch served with love by the friars and their collaborators. I love the Church and am happy to have given my life to it! Purely aura farming with Christ,” Chomali indicated.

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This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

The term “cenotaph” comes from a Greek expression meaning “empty tomb” and traditionally refers to a monument built to honor a person whose remains are buried elsewhere.

It is common to find these small structures on streets, sidewalks, medians, and highways in countries such as Peru, Colombia, or Mexico, usually placed to mark the location where a person lost his or her life.

In an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, Father Roberto Delgado Suárez, a priest of the Diocese of Nezahualcóyotl  in Mexico specializing in grief ministry and palliative care, explained that through Christ’s sacrifice, the cross was transformed from “a sign of condemnation into a sign of salvation.”

He noted that such memorials can help people reinterpret the site where their loved one died, turning a space associated with sorrow into “a sacred place.” He pointed out that, especially for families, the cenotaph serves as a way to express “This is where I last saw my son; this is where my son was — here in this world.”

On the other hand, Delgado noted that for some people, a cenotaph can represent a “call for justice,” as is the case with “mothers or families searching for their children.” In this way, the memorials can take on a dual meaning: an expression of faith, but also “a sign [calling for] justice.”

Although the cenotaphs are neither cemetery monuments nor crypts, the priest urged people to show them due respect, as they are “signs that point us toward God.”

The memorials are built in a variety of ways. Some consist solely of a cross and a plaque bearing the deceased personʼs name; others include photographs, flowers, candles, or religious images. In some cases, families erect larger structures resembling a cemetery monument along the roadside.

Guillermina Hernández Martínez, a psychologist and specialist in thanatology (the study of death, dying, loss, and grief), said the significance of these memorials varies.

In an interview with ACI Prensa, she noted that “sometimes, out on the streets, the crosses are now forgotten,” while others remain tended for years.

Hernández warned that in some cases, too much of a bond to the location of the memorial could hinder emotional healing, as “people often continue to idealize [the deceased] and do not allow themselves to process their grief.” She emphasized the importance of psychological and thanatological support, particularly in the wake of a violent death.

Grief, she explained, is a process requiring time and support, yet one must always remember that “it is part of life,” and for Catholics it is “another step toward being with God.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

During a meeting between Argüello and the minister of culture, tourism, and sport, Alberto Díaz Pico, the regional government expressed its “interest in promoting the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the birth of Philip II (in 2027), as well as highlighting the beatification cause of Isabella, the Catholic Monarch, and its historical and cultural significance,” according to an Aug. 27 statement issued by the government.

Isabella and her husband, King Ferdinand, were given the title “the Catholic Monarchs” by Pope Alexander VI through the papal bull Si Convenit for their defense of the Catholic faith.

“Furthermore, the commitment to continue collaborating with the Church on the conservation, protection, and enhancement of the ecclesiastical heritage of Castile and León has been reaffirmed, with a view to exploring ways to expand and strengthen existing support measures,” the statement added.

The statement also highlighted “the good rapport and the determination to maintain close collaboration on matters of mutual interest regarding the culture, heritage, and history of Castile and León.”

Isabella, the Catholic Monarch

Isabella I of Castile was born in Madrigal de las Altas Torres on April 22, 1451, Holy Thursday that year. After being recognized as Princess of Asturias in 1468, she married Ferdinand of Aragon in 1469 and had six children, two of whom predeceased her. Upon the death of Enrique IV, she was proclaimed queen in 1474, according to the Archdiocese of Valladolid.

During her reign, she championed the reconquest of Granada from the Muslims and the voyage of Christopher Columbus, which led to the discovery of the Americas in October 1492. She also promoted the evangelization and protection of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, going so far as to ban their enslavement. She died on Nov. 26, 1504, from uterine cancer.

The cause for her beatification was initiated in Valladolid in 1958; the diocesan phase concluded in 1990, after which the process moved to Rome.

Historians have already favorably reviewed the documentation, but the theological assessment regarding the heroic nature of her virtues is still pending. Once that takes place, and following the popeʼs approval, she may be recognized as venerable, awaiting a miracle for her beatification.

Enraizados (the “Rooted in Christ and in Society Association”) has an annual Mass celebrated in memory of Isabella. In the manifesto the group published in 2026, it included a prayer by the queen: “I am afraid, Lord, of being afraid and not knowing how to fight. I am afraid, Lord, of being afraid and being capable of denying you. I ask you, Lord, that in your greatness, you do not forget me. And that, with your love, you grant the strength to die for you.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

In his address during the launch of a six-week formation program that seeks to explore priestly life in Nigeria, Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu reflected on cases of mental health struggles among the members of the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life (ICLSAL), noting that priests should embrace rest just as Jesus himself did during his ministry.

“Rest, then, is not a luxury in priestly life; it is necessary for physical and mental health,” the archbishop said, noting that the recent news of the resignation of German Bishop Karl-Heinz Wiesemann after a period of serious psychological strain is “a timely reminder that priests and bishops are not immune to exhaustion, depression, or burnout.”

“We need proper rest, healthy boundaries, supportive relationships, and, when necessary, professional help. Caring for oneself is not stepping away from ministry; it helps us remain well enough to serve,” the Nigerian-born Vatican official emphasized during the launch, which was held virtually on Aug. 26.

Organizers of the program seek to explore priestly life, starting with Nigeria, amid mounting mental health concerns among Catholic priests.

According to organizers, participants in the program will look at “the quality of life, service, joy, aspirations, fears, and anxieties” that they say are “gradually pervading the cycle of a priestʼs life and ministry.”

Guided by the theme “Fully Alive in Christ: Caring for the Self — The Priest as a Living Gift,” the program also seeks to explore priestly self-care, spiritual renewal, emotional well-being, burnout, healthy relationships, and living out the Church’s mission with confidence and joy.

Participants in the formation will have access to training materials and will also receive a certificate of participation.

In his presentation, Nwachukwu recalled the situation in the Diocese of Aba, where he said the age at which many priests have died points to the need for greater attention to the well-being of clergy.

“Each time I visit the priests’ cemetery of the Diocese of Aba, close to the cathedral, I am struck and left sad by the age bracket of the colleagues whose remains are already lying there,” said the Vatican official, who also serves as the representative of the Holy See to the United Nations and Specialized Institutions in Geneva following his December 2021 appointment.

Many of the priests, he added, died before reaching the age of 50. “Only very few crossed the bars of 60 and 70 years,” he said.

Beyond the premature deaths of priests, Nwachukwu noted the growing number of young priests experiencing mental health challenges, raising the question of what can be done to address the situation.

He said the concern was not about questioning God’s will but about examining how seriously the Church takes Jesus’ teachings and example regarding the self-care of those entrusted with ministry.

Nwachukwu reflected on Mark 6:31-32 as a guiding text for understanding the importance of rest in priestly ministry. In the passage, Jesus tells his disciples: “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.”

The Nigerian Church leader explained that Jesus invited his disciples to take a pause from their ministry and join him in a period of rest. He noted that Jesus himself demonstrated the importance of taking a break — particularly after receiving news of the death of his cousin, John the Baptist.

The archbishop said the Gospel accounts show that Jesus’ decision to withdraw was connected both to grief and to the demands of ministry.

He said St. Matthew presents the withdrawal after Jesus receives news of John the Baptist’s death, while Mark and Luke place the invitation to rest after the disciples returned from a successful missionary assignment.

The disciples had been so occupied with their mission that “many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat,” he noted, adding that their missionary work had included casting out demons as well as anointing the sick with oil and healing them.

Nwachukwu said the experience offers an important lesson for priests who devote themselves intensely to ministry.

“God-given energy needs God-given direction,” he said, explaining that strength, passion, and drive must be directed toward one’s vocation and mission. Otherwise, he warned, such energy can easily be spent elsewhere.

He said this spiritual energy, when properly directed, can lead a person to Christ and enable him or her to bring others to Christ.

He recalled Pope Benedict XVI’s homily at his episcopal ordination on Jan. 6, 2013, in which the late pontiff described the spiritual restlessness of the Magi as the force that led them from the East in search of the newborn Jesus.

According to Nwachukwu, such restlessness finds its fulfillment in Christ.

The archbishop also reflected on Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

He cautioned that rest detached from Christ can be harmful to priests, emphasizing that the rest Jesus offers is not simply an escape from work but a source of renewal.

He explained that the Greek expression used in the passage, “kagō anapausō humas,” means “and I will give you rest.” The verb “anapauō,” he noted, conveys the idea of an elevating or renewing rest.

For priests, Nwachukwu said, this kind of rest should include periods of detachment from routine activities to allow for physical renewal and to strengthen relationships with God, fellow priests, family members, and the faithful.

He added that physical refreshment should include ordinary needs such as taking adequate time to eat and drink, while mental and spiritual renewal should involve learning how to direct one’s energies toward Christ through prayer and genuine charity.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

Nothing happened the way either of them had imagined.

They arranged to meet on a Wednesday at 3 p.m., the Hour of Mercy, at the very spot where they had courted years before. When Mariela appeared, Harold frantically searched for the sheet of paper containing his complaints. It had vanished.

“I was expecting a war. She opened her arms to embrace me, and I realized that I was the only one who wanted to fight,” Harold recalled in an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

Mariela said she made that gesture because she had already begun a process of conversion and was holding onto one last hope.

That embrace did not immediately restore the marriage, however. It would still be nearly a month before he ended the other relationship he was in and decided to return to his family. But on that day, they both attest, Jesus won the first great battle.

A marriage marked by woundedness

Harold and Mariela met in 1998 at the Venezuelan College of Engineers. He worked in systems; she was a young lawyer running a legal consultation firm with dozens of professionals under her supervision.

While Mariela had grown up in a Catholic family and frequently prayed the rosary, Harold was completely indifferent to the faith.

“I used to make fun of priests. For me, getting married in the Church was simply a matter of fulfilling a social formality,” he admitted.

They were married in a civil ceremony and on Sept. 2, 2000, received the sacrament at marriage at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Barranco, Peru. However, they acknowledged that they came to the altar without truly understanding the meaning of the vocation of marriage.

“We began our life together without God at the center. That was the first major mistake,” Harold explained.

Over the years, deep-seated wounds began to surface: abandonment, loneliness, pride, an inability to communicate, and unrealistic expectations about love. Venezuela’s economic crisis further aggravated the situation. Harold traveled constantly between the two countries until, one day, he simply stopped coming back.

Mariela was left alone in Lima with her young daughter.

‘Mom, teach me to pray’

Paradoxically, the restoration did not begin when Harold changed. It began when Mariela got down on her knees.

Estranged from the Church and filled with resentment, the young mother had abandoned the practice of her faith after being hurt by a bad experience at a parish. Everything changed thanks to an unexpected request from her 7-year-old daughter: “Mom, grandma says you know how to pray. Teach me the rosary.”

Mariela agreed, more out of a sense of obligation than anything else. Shortly after that, her daughter insisted on making her first Communion and said something that pierced her mother’s heart: “You know what it’s like to have Jesus in your heart… so why don’t you [go to Communion]?”

Those words led Mariela back to the confessional.

From then on, she began a routine that would change her life: daily Mass before work, Eucharistic adoration at midday, and the rosary every night with her daughter.

“I was looking for God to change my husband. The Lord ended up changing me,” she related.

‘Look at me’

During Eucharistic adoration, an experience occurred that would, years later, give its name to the retreat the couple now leads as part of the Peruvian Catholic movement “Jesus and Mary Are Restoring My Family.”

Mariela was praying, seeing herself as the victim in her story: “Lord, look at me. Look at how good I am. Look at what he did to me.”

Then, she raised her eyes toward the monstrance.

“I no longer saw the monstrance. I saw Jesus, wounded and bloodied. And he said to me only: ‘Look at me.’”

In that moment, she experienced a personal encounter with Jesus. She began to recall her own sins from childhood and realized that, for years, she had been unable to recognize her own wounds.

“I realized that God wasn’t going to ask me about Harold’s sins. He was going to ask me how much I loved my husband within the sacrament.”

Her prayer changed completely, and she no longer asked for Harold to return. She only prayed: “Lord, bring him back to you.”

The hell of the occult

While Mariela was deepening her prayer life, Harold was heading down a completely opposite path.

Seeking better financial prospects, he began consulting tarot cards. Next came syncretist Santería practices, and finally Palería, a witchcraft practice involving human remains and animal sacrifices.

“I entered a dark room containing skeletal remains. I felt an indescribable fear, yet I kept looking for answers where they weren’t to be found,” Harold recalled.

Amid that emptiness, he began to notice something strange. Mariela kept calling him, but no longer to get him back.

One afternoon, in a mocking tone, he asked her: “What’s wrong? Don’t you need me anymore?”

Her answer baffled him.

“No. Whatʼs going on is that I have someone here who loves me.”

Harold thought she had another romantic partner, but today he knows his wife was speaking of Christ himself.

Welcomed back with love

After that encounter with his wife in Venezuela, Harold eventually returned to Peru.

He admitted he was terrified of facing Mariela’s family and above all, their daughter. He imagined reproaches, humiliation, and rejection. Yet, he found exactly the opposite.

“They all hugged me as if I had just stepped out to buy bread,” he recounted.

A few days later, he accompanied Mariela to the Oblate Fathers’ church in the Barranco neighborhood of Lima. He had no thought of even going inside. He was standing near the doorway when, as he tells it, he felt an inner impulse that led him straight to the confessional.

“I told the priest: ‘Father, I’ve been separated from my wife for five years, and I don’t know why I’ve come back.’”

The priest invited him to attend a spiritual retreat. It was there that Harold experienced his own conversion.

Before the Blessed Sacrament, after resisting for hours, Harold looked up: “I no longer saw the monstrance. I saw two honey-colored eyes that pierced my heart. I began to weep as I never had in my life.”

From that moment on, he abandoned the occult and began a journey of faith that continues to this day.

An ongoing miracle

More than 15 years have passed since that reconciliation.

Harold and Mariela maintain that the true miracle was not simply living together again but discovering that marriage is a daily path to holiness.

“Restoring the marriage takes your whole life. It doesn’t stop when the husband returns. It begins there,” Mariela said.

That experience gave rise to the “Jesus and Mary Are Restoring My Family” movement, an initiative that supports spouses who are separated or on the verge of divorce. The path they propose begins with oneʼs own conversion rather than an attempt to change oneʼs spouse.

Those who come to the mission begin with what’s called “Mary’s Workshop,” a preparation for consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary that focuses on the sacrament of marriage. There, the aim is for each person to acknowledge his or her own wounds and receive the tools to discern how to handle their issues as a family.

However, Harold and Mariela noted that not all journeys end the same way. Some married couples manage to reunite, while others go their separate ways, including through the process of a declaration of nullity. What remains, they maintain, is the call to conversion and to seek God’s will.

“The Lord wants us to be holy,” Mariela explained. She said that even when a person goes through a process different from what she or he hoped for, suffering can become an opportunity to draw closer to Christ and offer that pain for the holiness of the Church.

Today, when they look back, the couple no longer see themselves as the same people who had separated. Mariela describes Harold as a man more committed to knowing Godʼs love and capable of giving of himself to his family.

For his part, he acknowledged that the woman he reunited with after five years was no longer the same one he had left behind.

For this reason, their testimony does not aim to offer a formula for restoring a lost marriage. It is, above all, the story of two people who discovered that, before asking God to change the other person, they had to allow themselves to be transformed by him.

“Many people come saying, ‘I want my husband to come back.’ We tell them: First, let Jesus return to the center of your heart,” Harold explained.

Their message to couples in crisis stems from that experience: Don’t hide your wounds, don’t let shame defeat you, and don’t confuse restoration with a simple return to the life you had before.

For as they discovered that Wednesday afternoon in 2009, some marital battles are not won by defeating the other person but by allowing oneself to be conquered by God’s merciful love.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Such restrictions on federal funding are made “without any compelling government interest,” the Justice Department said in an Aug. 25 memorandum opinion issued to the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Health and Human Services.

In its 2004 decision Locke v. Davey, the U.S. Supreme Court held that public authorities are free to withhold funding from programs and activities that are explicitly religious in nature.

In its memorandum, however, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel said restricting federal funding based on either the religious status of an organization or the use of funds for religious purposes is “not required” under the U.S. Constitution.

Such restrictions “discriminate based on anticipated religious use without any compelling governmental interest,” the memorandum said, and as a result they “violate the Free Exercise Clause.”

“Use-based religious restrictions on generally available federal funding programs are presumptively unconstitutional,” the document said.

The memorandum specifically addressed programs administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which controls billions of dollars in federal funding. It was not immediately clear if the directive applied to other federal departments. A spokesman for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The religious freedom legal group First Liberty, meanwhile, hailed the memorandum as “a major victory for religious liberty.”

Faith-based organizations and schools “can now apply for and utilize federal grants without scrubbing the religious aspects of their programs,” the group said.

First Liberty argued that opinions from the Office of Legal Counsel “serve as binding legal guidance for the executive branch,” meaning the memo “effectively instructs all federal agencies to rewrite their grant-making rules to align with this new standard.”

The group noted that one of its network attorneys is Joshua Davey, part of the namesake of the 2004 Supreme Court case that established the precedent of restricting federal funds for religious activities and groups.

That decision “has never been formally overturned,” First Liberty said, but “that could change in the very near future.”

The manufacturers are not fulfilling their obligation to oversee prescribers while making tens of millions of dollars each year, according to the report, released by U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana.

The investigation also found that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s “lack of guardrails ensuring a sufficient provider-patient relationship creates accountability gaps for a product that carries risks of significant adverse health outcomes,” according to the report.

Three companies, Danco Laboratories, GenBioPro, and Evita Solutions, reportedly did not provide details on how they followed existing federal regulations, according to the report.

Among its findings, the report cited an undercover investigation that found that a girl as young as 13 years old could buy abortion pills.

Cassidy, a doctor and the chairman of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, headed the investigation.

“Abortion drug companies are putting mothers at risk through their failure to properly oversee the prescription and distribution of their products. We are seeing that the explosion in online sales of chemical abortion drugs has opened the door to coercion and abuse of women,” Cassidy said in a statement.

“FDA and the sponsors of these drugs have a responsibility to the American people to crack down on these prescribers that violate the prescribing requirements and reinstate the safeguards that keep mothers and babies safe,” he continued.

40 Days for Life says it will cover legal fees for arrests over New Jersey protest law

The pro-life group 40 Days for Life says it will cover legal fees if protesters are arrested under New Jersey’s new abortion clinic buffer zone law.

A new law signed by New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Aug. 20 could lead to legal crackdowns on protests near abortion clinics. The law criminalizes “interference” with “reproductive” or “gender-affirming” care.

The law further criminalizes inflicting “emotional harm” against those seeking or providing “reproductive health care services.” It also bans filming and sharing videos within 100 feet of an abortion clinic.

40 Days for Life, a group that organizes prayer vigils outside abortion clinics, has pledged to cover legal fees for peaceful protesters should the law be used to target them.

“If New Jersey — or anywhere else — targets a 40 Days for Life participant for peacefully and lawfully praying in public, our Institute of Law & Justice will have your back,” the group said on Aug. 28.

The group’s CEO Shawn Carney told the New York Post, meanwhile, that the services would be covered “at no cost.”

Catholic Virginians launch campaign against abortion ballot measure

Catholic leaders in Virginia are launching a campaign to oppose a ballot measure that would enshrine a right to abortion in the state.

The Protect Virginia 2026 campaign urges Catholics to vote against the state’s “Right to Reproductive Freedom” amendment, which will be on the ballot in November.

Richmond Bishop Barry Knestout voiced opposition against the “radical” amendment in a letter to Catholics in the state.

“Every life is sacred,” Knestout said. “The Church has always taught that abortion is an intrinsic evil. It takes one of God’s greatest gifts — a human life.”

“No law can ever make right what is intrinsically wrong,” he continued. “Let us pray for the courage to confront this evil that threatens to destroy life, to be persistent yet compassionate in our advocacy, and to vote so that we stand up for the great good that God has given us.”

“Let us commit ourselves to defending those who cannot speak for themselves and to witnessing to the Gospel of Life in both word and deed.”

Written by journalist Regina Statkuvienė and published by the DONUM Foundation, “In the Light of the Altar” draws on recent interviews she conducted with Tamkevičius. The book also includes his letters and diary entries alongside accounts of his childhood, priesthood, underground activities, imprisonment, exile, and later episcopal ministry.

Tamkevičius was arrested in 1983 and sentenced to six years in a strict-regime labor camp followed by four years of exile in Siberia.

His story offers an insight into the experience of Catholics who resisted the Soviet Unionʼs efforts to suppress religious life and impose state atheism.

Catholic resistance in Soviet-occupied Lithuania

Founded by Tamkevičius in 1972, the Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania (“Lietuvos katalikų bažnyčios kronika,” or “LKB Kronika”) was an underground publication documenting religious persecution and human rights abuses in Soviet-occupied Lithuania.

The Kronika recorded arrests and interrogations of clergy and lay Catholics, confiscation of Church property, restrictions on religious practice, and attempts by Soviet authorities to infiltrate the Church. It was a strictly factual catalog of human rights violations, not a literary magazine or a platform for theological commentary.

Its reports were secretly typed and reproduced, with editions being smuggled to Western diplomats and foreign journalists in Moscow, with activists often microfilming the pages and hiding the negatives inside everyday objects like book covers or flashlights.

Once in the West, the material was translated and disseminated internationally, including through Vatican Radio and Radio Free Europe, directly challenging Soviet claims that religious freedom existed behind the Iron Curtain.

In the bookʼs foreword, Archbishop Petar Rajič, current prefect of the Papal Household and former apostolic nuncio to Lithuania, described Tamkevičius as one of the most prominent witnesses to the Soviet era.

“Every Catholic who loves the Church should read the Chronicle,” Rajič wrote, calling it a testimony to the spiritual strength and resistance of the Lithuanian people, rooted in the victory of the cross of Christ and offering lessons for Catholics today and future generations.

Arrest and KGB interrogation

The Kronika not only exposed Soviet religious persecution to the outside world but also strengthened the underground Catholic resistance within Lithuania. The KGB consequently intensified efforts to identify and suppress those involved in producing and distributing the publication.

Since Tamkevičius openly preached against state atheism and challenged Soviet restrictions on the Church, he was seen as a visible figure within the Catholic resistance movement.

The Soviet authorities eventually arrested Tamkevičius in May 1983 and charged him with “anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda.” After six months of pretrial detention in the KGB isolation prison in Vilnius, he was sentenced in December to six years in a strict-regime labor camp in the Ural Mountains, followed by four years of exile in Siberia.

During his detention, Tamkevičius recalled psychological pressure from KGB interrogators. On one occasion, an interrogator offered him tea and biscuits. He drank the tea at around 2 p.m. and soon became extremely dizzy.

His next clear memory came hours later, when he heard the interrogator angrily questioning him about a document concerning the underground seminary. He was then told that it was already 10 p.m. “Only then did I realize that after drinking the tea I had lost consciousness,” he recalled.

Tamkevičius believed he had been drugged to extract information from him. The attempt failed. “Seeing how angry the interrogator was, I understood that he had managed to extract nothing from me,” he said.

Life in the labor camp

Tamkevičius recalled that his first assignment in the labor camp was peeling potatoes. “Each potato had to be taken out of almost ice-cold water,” he recalled. He feared that doing this for six years would make him ill, but after two weeks he was transferred to a metalworking workshop, where he collected metal shavings from lathes and carried them to containers.

Prisoners worked eight hours a day and were allotted another eight hours for sleep. The food was poor, consisting largely of “thin soup and watery porridge.” Later, after Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in 1985, Tamkevičius was assigned to the camp kitchen and had to rise at 4 a.m. to prepare breakfast.

The ingredients were often badly preserved. Fish, he recalled, could be heavily salted and stored for years. He learned to make the most of what was available, washing the fish overnight and frying it separately so that prisoners could have a more edible meal.

During more than five years in captivity, Tamkevičius was transferred under guard seven times and encountered prisoners ranging from teenagers to murderers. The experience became for him a reflection on human nature and the consequences of abandoning moral law.

“A life without God, without the commandments of the Decalogue, a life without love,” he wrote, describing the selfishness, pride, lust, and greed that shaped much of prison life. His reflections ultimately turned toward his own imprisonment and vocation.

“Lord, what was it that brought me behind bars and barbed wire?” he asked. “The affairs of the Church? Yes. Concern for people’s moral lives? Yes. Living according to my conscience? Yes. Thank you, Lord, that the answer was ‘yes.’” For Tamkevičius, imprisonment was ultimately the consequence of refusing to compromise his faith in the face of communist oppression.

From persecution to freedom

Tamkevičius was released in 1988 as Soviet repression began to weaken. He returned to Lithuania as the country moved toward independence, restored on March 11, 1990.

Tamkevičius' story offers a firsthand account of the cost of defending the faith under communism and the role of ordinary believers in preserving the Church through decades of persecution.

The annual “Top Gun Father and Son” camping event welcomes dads and sons for a mission to grow closer, strengthen their relationships through challenges and reflections, and partake in faith-filled adventures.

Encounters, Convictions, and Your Decisions (ECYD), an international Catholic association of adolescents with the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi, hosts the annual weekend at Camp Castleton in Virginia for boys in fifth to eighth grade and their fathers.

The event is only one of the fruits of ECYD, which also carries out other youth clubs, camps, leadership trainings, and gatherings.

Father Vito Crincoli, LC, the director of the ECYD Leadership Training program in D.C., told EWTN News the ECYD ministry is “based on the spirituality of Jesus calling you to be his friend.”

“Itʼs an international movement,” he said. “In Washington, D.C., in particular, weʼve been putting a lot of emphasis on forming dads to be mentors for our clubs.”

“One is because we donʼt have as many priests as we would like to run the youth ministry. But also, above all, we want to create vibrant apostles, vibrant laypeople, to run youth work. And because men really want to be mentors.”

“Weʼve noticed in these past years of our ministry that thereʼs been such a desire for the men to want to be involved. And we saw that precisely through the father-son weekends we do. It awakens something in them.”

Men “want to do more,” Crincoli said. “They want to give more.”

Finding unexpected inspiration from film

While the camp grew out of the desire to minister to Catholic men, it was ultimately a fictional adventure film about U.S. Navy aviators that set the idea into motion.

After noticing a “father and son tone” in the 2022 film “Top Gun: Maverick,” Crincoli was inspired to bring together families for the event, which now welcomes anywhere from 20 to 40 fathers and sons.

Crincoli was inspired by the relationship between the film’s characters Pete Mitchell and Bradley Bradshaw, better known by their call signs “Maverick” and “Rooster.”

While the two Top Gun pilots are not related, Crincoli noticed a bond between them that is unique to a father and his son.

In the movie, “Maverick is trying to be the best dad he could be for Rooster. Experiencing his own limitations, but also just trying,” Crincoli explained. “And then Rooster is looking for the type of dad he wants: ‘I need a role model in my life. Someone who can guide me.’”

“Weʼre really trying to tell the dads: ‘Be a dad as a mission.’ Itʼs a mission of love. The whole idea of Top Gun Father and Son is that you and your son are a team. Youʼre preparing your son for life.”

“Thatʼs what Maverick was doing with Rooster. He was preparing him for battle.”

Top Gun Father and Son

While at the camp, the group has previously been joined by members of the U.S. Naval Academy, including a Catholic former Top Gun pilot who “gave a talk to the dads about learning to fly with your kids — learning to fly with them through life.”

A pivotal part is the “moment where the dads earn their wings,” he said. “We had somebody donate real Navy wings to us.”

“Itʼs a ceremony. Weʼll have the wings on the table, the flag, the dads line up and then … the dads become ‘Top Gun dads’” and “they get their wings.” It “begins the mission of the weekend.”

To help the participants live out the mission, the dads have “a training camp,” Crincoli said. “In that training camp we have different activities.”

The activities include anything from dodgeball and nighttime “missions” to quiet time in prayer. The weekend includes “different dynamics and different adventures” to create fellowship and teamwork between the fathers and sons.

During dodgeball, “itʼs the fathers and sons as teams against each other,” Crincoli explained. “But then, if their son gets hit with the ball, the dad has to go and rescue his son.”

“Thereʼs even a night mission that the son and the dad have to do together. There was one year that we did a mission where the dads and kids had to crack codes and to find the missing pilot. But they have to do it together — the son and dad.”

The event also includes father and sons giving each other their own call signs and explaining why they chose them for each other. Itʼs a “dynamic of ‘How well do you know your son, and how well does your son know you?’”

Along with the mission-center games, the group most importantly spends time in prayer throughout the weekend.

The “most beautiful” part of the event is when “we have the adoration — father-son adoration together,” Crincoli said. “The dad and his kid, they both come up to receive the blessing with the Blessed Sacrament. Itʼs a very intimate moment.”

“Then we have the finishing Mass. And after the Mass, the dads and the kids are together,” and “itʼs the award ceremony.”

Then, “the dads give their wings to their sons” and “as theyʼre pinning the wings to their son, theyʼre praying over their kids. Theyʼre blessing them. Theyʼre encouraging them.”

The many ‘lights’ that come from the event

The last day includes “a debriefing with the dads,” Crincoli said. “We sit down with the dads and we start asking them, ‘What has this weekend been for you?’”

“The dads begin to express different comments,” Crincoli said. He further reflected on some of the past insights he has heard from fathers. 

“The men say, ‘It is great to be with men that believe what I believe.’”

“Another, he goes, ‘Itʼs beautiful, itʼs great, to be with men who are strongly Catholic, who are bonded by their sons, and that we could be a community.’ One of the dads said, ‘I really want to be a mentor in this because ... this is an extension of my fatherhood.’”

After the weekend, “they come back,” Crincoli said. They come back as mentors for ECYD clubs or take part in its other camps.

“There are so many different lights that come from this,” he said.

The next annual Top Gun Father and Son will be held the weekend of Oct. 17–18. It will include the presence of members of the U.S. Naval Academy and a former Navy Seabee chief who will support the weekend with leadership and inspiration.

West was sued by the couple for not adhering to the terms of the surrogacy contract, which included a clause allowing them to request abortion of the baby if it were found to have fetal abnormalities.

The mother sought refuge in Texas and gave birth there to the baby, whom she named Gabriel; the state ordered a hospital system to provide the baby life-giving care.

The controversial case has generated significant commentary around gestational surrogacy, the practice in which a woman is paid to grow and birth a baby for the parents.

The Catholic Church explicitly opposes surrogacy, describing it as a comprehensively immoral practice that offends the dignity of everyone involved. But why specifically does the Church so strongly forbid this arrangement?

Practice is ‘contrary to the unity of marriage’ and of human dignity

Joseph Meaney, a senior ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, described surrogacy as an arrangement in which “a woman agrees to carry a child for another — either a couple or another individual — with the express purpose of giving that child to them.”

“Traditional” surrogacy involves using the birthing mother as the biological mother, Meaney said. One example of this, he said, can be found in the Bible, in the Book of Genesis’ account of Sarai allowing her servant Hagar to serve as a surrogate with the former’s husband, Abram.

The “modern version” of surrogacy, meanwhile, involves impregnating a surrogate using in vitro fertilization (IVF) either via a donor or using gametes from the “intending parents.”

The Catholic Church has condemned and prohibited this practice for decades.

Meaney pointed to the 1987 instruction from what was then the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith known as Donum Vitae, which describes surrogate motherhood as “contrary to the unity of marriage and to the dignity of the procreation of the human person.”

The practice of surrogacy, according to the instruction, “represents an objective failure to meet the obligations of maternal love, of conjugal fidelity, and of responsible motherhood; it offends the dignity and the right of the child to be conceived, carried in the womb, brought into the world and brought up by his own parents; [and] it sets up, to the detriment of families, a division between the physical, psychological, and moral elements which constitute those families.”

Meaney summed up the instruction’s claims on surrogacy as: “It’s bad, bad, really bad, worse than bad.”

Joe Zalot, the director of education at the Catholic bioethics center, told EWTN News that the dispute in Texas over baby Gabriel is a “textbook example” of what is wrong with surrogacy.

That case, he said, demonstrates “how commercial surrogacy denigrates the surrogate, seeking to reduce her to a subservient role viz-a-viz the genetic ‘parents,’ as well as how surrogacy contracts denigrate the dignity of the preborn child through the demand that it be killed if a prenatal anomaly is diagnosed.”

Catholic opposition to surrogacy has become more outspoken in recent years. Both Zalot and Meaney pointed to Pope Francis’ January 2024 address to the Holy See’s diplomatic corps; in those remarks Francis decried surrogacy as “deplorable.”

The practice “represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child,” the pope said. He expressed hope for an international ban on the procedure.

In the United States, meanwhile, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) says in its ethical guidance for Catholic healthcare that Catholic health providers may not participate in surrogacy arrangements.

The bishops in that directive cite “the dignity of the child and of marriage” as well as “the uniqueness of the mother-child relationship.”

In an August 2025 essay, Meaney further argued against “altruistic surrogacy” in which a woman agrees to carry a child for someone else with no monetary reimbursement.

The intentions of these women, he acknowledged, “seem … frequently generous” and compassionate. Yet such arrangements retain “most of the unethical qualities” of commercial surrogacy, he said.

He further noted that the biblical account of Sarai’s arrangement with Hagar functions as “a cautionary tale of how badly such arrangements can go,” insofar as Hagar and her child Ishmael “ended up banished and almost died in the wilderness.”

The practice is widely legal in the U.S. Only one state, Louisiana, outlaws commercial surrogacy entirely; more than a dozen states broadly allow it, while a majority of states are at least generally permissive of it.

Meaney said the matter “really does come down to ethics. There’s what can be done, and what should be done; there’s the technically possible, and the moral. And the two are not coterminous.”

“One’s reproductive capacity should be reserved for the sacred purpose of bringing a new life into the world, not a commercial contract with strangers,” he said.

The National Legal Foundation, Claybrook LLC, Troutman Pepper Locke, First Liberty Institute, and Alliance Defending Freedom filed the petition on Aug. 11. The filing follows a May 13 ruling by a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel that rejected Hall’s attempt to sue Virginia officials for blocking her from using a $5,000 Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant for a youth ministries degree, citing the 2004 Supreme Court decision Locke v. Davey.

“It is odious to our Constitution for a state to fund a degree in music but refuse to fund a degree in music & worship,” Steven Fitschen of National Legal Foundation said in a press release announcing the petition. “The Free Exercise clause is meant to encourage and even prefer religion. But Virginia’s decision to deny funding based upon religious use is the type of hostility toward religion rejected by the First Amendment.”

Diocese of Scranton reopens St. Pius X Seminary after over 20 years

St. Pius X Seminary in the Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania, has been reestablished 22 years after its closure in 2004 due to a declining number of vocations to the priesthood.

Bishop Joseph Bambera presided over the seminary’s official opening on Aug. 23, welcoming four seminarians to the freshly renovated building that was formerly the Cathedral Convent building, according to a press release from the diocese.

“As we re-establish the ministry of Saint Pius X Seminary, what an incredible gift this is,” Bambera said during his homily at the seminary’s first Mass, according to the release. Bambera had been a seminarian at St. Pius X Seminary in Dalton 48 years ago.

The release noted that the decision to reestablish the seminary came from Bambera’s wish “to make the first stage of priestly formation more closely connected to the Diocese of Scranton and the people the seminarians may one day serve.”

“We are excited because it’s going to give these men, as they start seminary, an opportunity to get to know the Diocese better,” Father Alex Roche, diocesan secretary for clergy formation and rector of St. Pius X Seminary, said in the release. “It’s also going to give the people of the Diocese a chance to get to know our seminarians before they go elsewhere to continue their studies in theology.”

Justice Barrett to speak at Benedictine College’s library dedication

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett will deliver a speech at the upcoming dedication of Benedictine College’s Independence Hall-inspired library on Sept. 26.

“This is an exciting milestone for Benedictine College,” Benedictine College President Stephen D. Minnis said in a press release on Aug. 25. “The library will not only demonstrate our commitment to academic excellence and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, but it will also be a symbol of our love for this great country of ours.”

“The college is pleased to have Justice Barrett as part of the dedication ceremony,” the press release said, noting that the dedication for the Moritz Library in D’Aniello Hall will be free and open to the public.

Barrett earned her bachelor’s degree from Rhodes College and her law degree from the University of Notre Dame.

Students revive 1982 robotic arm at Catholic University despite lost documentation

A group of students from The Catholic University of America have brought to life a robotic space arm built in 1982 after documentation for the piece of technology has been lost for years.

Originally developed by Engineering Dean Emeritus and Ordinary Professor Charles Cuong Nguyen, the arm had been part of a pioneering technological effort to build the International Space Station, according to the university’s press release on Aug. 12.

The project to revive the arm, which is capable of a wide range of precise movements within a thousandth of an inch, was carried out by three students, including a high school Da Vinci Scholar, and was led by Nguyen. 

The students included Saliha Kavafogolu, an undergraduate intern from Yale University; Nathan Arega, a high school Da Vinci Scholar; and Ha (Jessica) Ngo-Tang, a biomedical engineering doctoral candidate.

California parents ask Supreme Court to overturn ruling excluding them from state program

Three California parents have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit to exclude them from a state program over the religious materials they chose to home-school their children.

“The Ninth Circuit declared the homes of these parents to be ‘public school programs’ in order to justify the state’s religious discrimination,” Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel for First Liberty Institute, said in an Aug. 20 press release. “Parents should not be punished for choosing quality religious curriculum meeting the state’s standard that they teach to their own children in their own home just because it’s religious.”

The state of California’s tuition-free charter schools allow parents to home-school their children and have access to state funds to purchase curriculum. However, the press release notes, parents “can’t select a religious curriculum, even if they purchase it with their own funds, and their children’s work samples are rejected if they include religious wording or derive from materials created by religious publishers.”

The petition states that “California’s policy singles out parents who wish to give their children a faith-based education and excludes them from homeschooling benefits and support extended to other California families.”

“Few Catholic communities in Southeast Asia still possess such a rich heritage,” Joseph Christopher Nguyen Thien Tuan Hoang, the leader of a Latin Mass community in Vietnam, said in an Aug. 25 UCA News report.

While there is no established parish dedicated to the Latin Mass according to the report, traditional communities are able to attend the liturgy when approval is granted and with the help of foreign visiting priests.

“Our biggest challenge is not hostility, but misunderstanding,” Hoang said. “If more Church leaders understood why some young Catholics are drawn to the older liturgy, I believe more people would have the opportunity to experience this part of the Churchʼs tradition.”

From Gaza to Taybeh, priests call for living Christian presence in Holy Land

Father Gabriel Romanelli of Holy Family Parish in Gaza City discussed the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza during a video appearance at the Rimini Meeting, a signature event hosted by the Catholic movement Communion and Liberation.

Romanelli described Gaza as a devastated territory where water, electricity, and basic necessities remain scarce. The priest said his decision to stay was rooted in pastoral duty: the parish could not abandon children, people with disabilities, or struggling families.

ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Aug. 26 that Gaza’s Christian community now numbers 541 Catholics and Orthodox, and 60 members have died since the war began.

Father Francesco Ielpo, custos of the Holy Land, also spoke at the event, turning attention to the attacks facing the Christian town of Taybeh and called for concrete protection of fundamental rights. He also encouraged pilgrims to return, noting that their presence supports local Christians and strengthens their calling to care for the holy sites.

10 Catholic dioceses in the Philippines call for end to mining agreement

Bishops representing 10 Catholic dioceses in the Philippines have issued a joint pastoral statement addressed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Environment Secretary Juan Miguel T. Cuna calling for an end to mining in the island of Sibuyan.

The letter, titled “Let Sibuyan Live: A Joint Call to Initiate the Cancellation of APMC’s Mining Agreement,” urges political leaders to carry out a comprehensive review of a mining agreement with Altai Philippines Mining Corp (APMC) in Sibuyan to ensure compliance with environmental laws, according to an Aug. 24 report from Inquirer.net.

The bishops expressed concern over the mining agreement’s threats to the island’s mountains, watersheds, rivers, coral reefs, and species unique to the island.

Recently appointed apostolic nuncio to Germany makes first visit

The recently appointed apostolic nuncio to Germany, Archbishop Hubertus van Megen, completed his inaugural visit to the headquarters of the German Bishops' Conference (DBK) in Bonn this week, CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Aug. 28. 

During the meeting, van Megen presented his official assignment letter as nuncio to the DBK chairman signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. "It was the first visit of an apostolic nuncio to the Secretariat of the German Bishops' Conference in more than 13 years,” the DBK noted in its announcement on social media.

Van Megen has served as nuncio to Kenya and South Sudan and held various positions within United Nations institutions.

UK member of Parliament calls for reforms before considering assisted suicide

Member of Parliament Zubir Ahmed, a former health minister in the British Labour Party and National Health Service doctor, has backed calls from Prime Minister Andy Burnham, a Catholic, to carry out health reforms before considering legislation on assisted suicide.

“What kind of society are we building if, before we’ve fixed the systems designed to care for people, we introduce a system designed to help them die?” Ahmed asked in an Aug. 25 op-ed in The Guardian. “As a former health minister who has seen the system from the inside, I am able to say it is not ready or equipped to answer this question.”

Ahmed’s remarks come after the prime minister said in July that debates on assisted suicide should be delayed until the country’s palliative and social care systems have been reformed.

Syria’s Catholic schools seek to remain both strong and compassionate

With another school year approaching, Syria’s Christian schools are struggling to keep tuition affordable while covering salaries, taxes, electricity, books, and other rising expenses.

Father Fadi Najjar, secretary-general of Catholic educational institutions in Syria, said no child should be forced out because a family cannot pay, ACI MENA reported Aug. 27. At the same time, he cautioned that schools cannot fulfill their educational mission if they are treated solely as charitable institutions. Najjar appealed to churches and aid organizations to support families in genuine need and help protect the future of Christian education in Syria.

Catholic priest in Ghana suspended for ‘abandoning’ pastoral ministry

Ghana’s Diocese of Konongo-Mampong has imposed an indefinite canonical suspension on a priest of the diocese for taking a leave of absence and “abandoning his pastoral ministry” without legitimate permission.

Bishop John Opoku-Agyemang announced the suspension of Father Samuel Adapore on Aug. 24, ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, reported. The priest has been barred from administering any of the sacraments publicly, including the celebration of Mass, or officiating any other liturgical services.

The bishop said he made the decision “with a heavy heart but a great sense of duty to Holy Mother Church” to suspend the priest, who he noted had left his parish without telling anyone where he was going, including immediate family members.

Sierra Leonean priest cautions religious against shunning help for mental health struggles

The president of the Regional Union of Priests of West Africa has told members of the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life not to be ashamed of seeking psychological support, stressing that “mental-health struggles do not cancel their vocation,” ACI Africa reported Aug. 25.

“Our priests and religious spend their lives caring for others. We must also care for them. They need trusted friends, safe spaces for honest conversation, regular medical and psychological support, sufficient rest, and communities that listen without judgment,” Father Peter Konteh said following the resignation of Bishop Karl-Heinz Wiesemann of German’s Speyer Diocese over mental health struggles.

Christian city of Qamishli, Syria, turns 100

The city of Qamishli marked its centennial with a Christian community far smaller than the one that helped build the northeastern Syrian city.

Founded in 1926 after Christians fled Ottoman-era massacres, the city once had a population that was nearly 90% Christian, ACI MENA reported Aug. 25. Father Samir Kanoun, priest of the church of St. Yacoub Al-Nusaibini in Qamishli, said decades of migration, intensified after the Syrian crisis began in 2011, have reduced that share to about 20%, leaving roughly 2,000 Christian families.

Despite the decline, Qamishli retains a rich mix of Syriac, Armenian, Chaldean, Assyrian, and Protestant churches. Their cooperation grew stronger during the war through shared prayer, security coordination, and charitable work.

Kanoun remains hopeful, pointing to the city’s active young Christians and the Church’s efforts to preserve their faith, heritage, and sense of belonging to Syria.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Aug. 26, the bishops expressed deep sorrow over the recent abduction of more than 60 worshippers from a mosque in Borgu, Niger state, and the killing of 47 people in Ukum, Benue state.

Seventeen others were critically wounded in the Benue attack, according to the CBCN members.

“With heavy hearts and deep sorrow, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) once again decries the unabated trail of blood and terror across our nation which has reached an intolerable crest,” the statement said.

The bishops reiterated the fact that Nigerians continue to be killed, traumatized, and displaced regardless of where they live or worship.

“Whether in a mosque, a church, a marketplace, or the quiet of their homes, Nigerians are still being slaughtered, traumatised, and displaced with impunity,” they said in the statement.

The CBCN members expressed condolences to the families of those killed in Benue and prayed for the recovery of those critically wounded.

They also expressed solidarity with Muslims following the abduction of worshippers in Niger state, calling for their immediate and safe release.

“We stand in firm solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters in Niger State, and all over Nigeria, praying for the immediate and safe release of all 60 abducted worshippers,” they said.

The bishops emphasized that violence against places of worship affects society as a whole.

“An attack on any place of worship is an attack on our collective humanity,” they said.

The bishops also acknowledged efforts being made by government authorities but urged political leaders and security chiefs not to relent until Nigerians can live in safety.

“To those in government at all levels, security chiefs, and political leaders, while we commend some efforts being made, we urge that you do not give up on this responsibility until the security and welfare of the citizens are guaranteed,” they said.

The CBCN members called for proactive, intelligence-led security operations capable of identifying and dismantling criminal networks before they launch attacks.

They further called for the swift prosecution of those responsible for violence, including their sponsors, irrespective of their status or affiliations.

“Impunity fuels repetition,” the bishops warned.

The CBCN members also addressed those who commit violence and sponsor it. “To the bandits, terrorists, kidnappers, and their sponsors, we plead that you stop the bloodshed!” they said.

The bishops underscored the sanctity of human life and rejected any justification for the killing of innocent people.

“Human life belongs to God alone, and no cause justifies this cruelty. You cannot build a future on the tears of innocent persons,” they said, warning perpetrators that their actions carry consequences. “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”

The CBCN members urged those involved in violence to lay down their arms, abandon evil, and respect human life.

In the face of deteriorating security, the Catholic leaders urged Nigerians not to lose hope in their country, calling on citizens to remain steadfast in prayer for peace, security, and divine intervention.

“May the God of peace restore order to our nation, comfort those who mourn, and touch the hearts of those who inflict pain,” the CBCN members implored.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

Until his election, Maroun was protosyncellus of the eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles of the Maronites in the United States since 2020 and served as pastor of St. Maron Maronite Parish in Minneapolis for more than 35 years — the third-oldest Maronite parish in the U.S.

In a statement released Friday, Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis said he was “thrilled” to learn of the pope’s assent and said Maroun is beloved in the archdiocese by priests and faithful alike.

“It is wonderfully providential that our Archdiocese has already been in a partnership with the Archeparchy of Damascus since 2017,” Hebda’s statement said. “It is my hope that the relationship will only grow stronger in the days ahead.”

Hebda called outgoing archbishop Nassar “a beacon of hope to the faithful of his flock as he guided them through the challenges of civil war.” 

Sharbel Ghattas Maroun was born in 1962 in Kfarselwan, Lebanon. Shortly after working for a bank, he left with his family in 1983 for the United States, fleeing the civil war raging in his home country.

The following year he entered the seminary of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles of the Maronites in Washington, D.C. After completing his studies in philosophy and theology, he was ordained a priest on his 27th birthday, Jan. 6, 1989, and appointed vicar of the Maronite Parish of St. Anthony in Danbury, Connecticut.

In 2015 he was invested as chorbishop.

As protosyncellus of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles, Maroun has also held the following positions, according to the Holy See Press Office: parish vicar of St. Maron in Minneapolis, director of youth pastoral care, representative for ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, director of vocational pastoral care, protopresbyter of the deanery of Mid-America, administrator of the St. Sharbel Mission in Milwaukee, syncellus for the eparchal clergy, member of the Presbyteral Council and the College of Consultors, representative for new evangelization, and chair of the board of Télé Lumière International.

According to ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, Maroun prefers to be called “Abuna” — the Arabic word for “Father” — as a reflection of his Eastern identity and his desire to keep his heritage alive.

The proposed bill, AB 1709, is scheduled for its third reading in the state Senate on Aug. 28. The amended measure originally would have prohibited “anyone under the age of 16 from having a social media account,” as the conference’s action alert still asserted as of Aug. 28.

However, the bill was amended over the summer to simply restrict “addictive features” for youth under 16.

The Catholic conference wrote in its alert that studies “repeatedly show that social media is damaging to young kids.” The bishops said mental illness and self-harm have “skyrocketed” among youth since 2007, the year the iPhone was first released.

“Young people self-report feeling addicted, experiencing damaging messages to their body image and self-esteem from the comparisons and endless scrolling, receiving unwanted contact by strangers, and exposure to harmful content including eating disorders, suicidal ideation, violence, pornography, and drug use,” the conference wrote.

On Aug. 26, tech company Meta — the creator of Facebook and Instagram — agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion in a settlement after 29 states sued the company in a consolidated federal case. The settlement resolved claims that Meta’s platforms fueled addictive and harmful social media use among young people.

A much larger bipartisan coalition of 47 states, the District of Columbia, and several U.S. territories signed the settlement itself. Florida and New Mexico did not participate in the settlement.

“Children have a right to be children and to parental protection from harmful materials,” the California bishops said.

Apparently still referring to the original bill — which was introduced in February and would have banned social media outright for youth under age 16 — the alert continues: “Establishing the age of receiving a social media account at 16 helps preserve childrenʼs social and emotional development and parents' rights to safeguard their children from such harms.”

About 20 U.S. states have enacted social media and minor-safety laws, but so far enforcement is a patchwork: Some laws are in force, some are partly blocked, some are fully enjoined, and some have not taken effect yet.

Texas did not join the multistate Meta lawsuit. Instead, state Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a separate settlement the same day, under which Meta will pay the state more than $1 billion, or up to about $1.335 billion if YouTube and TikTok adopt similar teen-safety terms.

The Texas payout is larger than almost every other state’s share of the national deal; only California could receive more, up to $2.2 billion. The settlement is supposed to fund youth mental health services, crisis resources, digital literacy, after-school programs, and school grants in the state.

In addition to the payouts, both deals require Meta to verify users’ ages, cap most minors at two hours a day on Facebook and Instagram (with messaging exceptions), block overnight access and many nighttime notifications, set school-hour notification limits, hide likes and reactions by default, and restrict addictive features and inappropriate content for users under 18.

Parents will also have the option to permanently make their children’s Facebook news feeds “chronological” rather than algorithmic, meaning the feeds will simply display posts in chronological order rather than in an order selected by Facebook’s algorithm.

Australia became the first country to ban social media accounts for youth under 16 when the rule took effect in December 2025. France later became the first EU country to pass a similar ban, but for children under 15. The measure was approved in July and will be phased in beginning in September.

The DOJ and the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, a religious freedom advocacy group, held the meeting in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 27 to address the rise in attacks against houses of worship and faith-based communities.

Participants consisted of leaders from diverse faith backgrounds, including Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

The leaders spoke with Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the DOJ, and Karen Schneier Dresbach, executive vice president of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation — a coalition of business and religious leaders working worldwide on behalf of religious freedom, human rights, and the protection of houses of worship.

“No American should ever fear violence for simply practicing their faith," Dhillon said in a statement.

"The Department of Justiceʼs Civil Rights Division has zero tolerance for attacks on houses of worship, and we will continue to investigate and prosecute those who target Americans because of their religion,” Dhillon said.

The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has zero tolerance for attacks on houses of worship, and we will continue to investigate and prosecute those who target Americans because of their religion.”

Harmeet Dhillon

assistant attorney general for civil rights for the Department of Justice

“Iʼm grateful to the Appeal of Conscience Foundation and the faith leaders gathered here today for their partnership in this work. Protecting religious liberty is a fundamental American value, and this Department will keep fighting to defend it,” Dhillon said in a statement.

The event also included a panel discussion among leaders and the presentation of a statement by participating groups read by Serbian Orthodox Bishop of Eastern America Irinej Dobrijevic and Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, according to a press release.

The statement called for stronger legislation to protect houses of worship and for the establishment of an ongoing body of religious leaders to monitor threats. The leaders asked that the DOJ work in tandem with the groups to help ensure that people of faith can worship safely.

The gathering comes amid rising concerns over attacks against houses of worship across the U.S. The meeting was held on Aug. 27, the first anniversary of the fatal shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis in which two children were killed.

Bishops’ concern about religiously motivated violence continues

In 2026, “the Committee for Religious Liberty continues to be concerned about politically and religiously motivated violence,” the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) said.

The U.S. bishops previously laid out “areas of critical concern” in their 2026 religious liberty report, including threats of political and anti-religious violence.

“In recent years, the USCCB has expressed concern about politically motivated violence. The polarization that has long been the subject of commentary by religious leaders appears to be devolving into a cycle of attack and retribution,” the bishops said in the report.

“Polarization is not simply a phenomenon ‘out there.’ It names a tendency within many people to turn away from truth in order to remain loyal to their political tribe. But Catholics are called to be conformed to Christ, not to partisan political leaders, media personalities, and social media influencers,” they said.

The bishops called for expanded federal support for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which funds security upgrades for houses of worship. They said funding is insufficient because fewer than half of applicants receive grants, despite rising threats.

“As we learn more about the devastating flashfloods in Nepal, I offer the prayers and solidarity of the Catholic community in the United States for our brothers and sisters impacted by this disaster,” Bishop Elias Zaidan said in an Aug. 27 statement. “I also encourage long-term efforts to help affected communities rebuild their homes, livelihoods, and critical infrastructure.”

The floods began after a glacier collapse triggered catastrophic flooding along the Nepal-Tibet border. The casualty count continues to rise, as hundreds of people remain missing.

Zaidan, chair of the USCCB Committee on International Justice and Peace, said Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. Church’s international aid agency, is tracking the situation closely and working with Caritas Nepal and other local partners to identify urgent needs and plan the most effective support.

“We appreciate the partnership of the U.S. government in supporting CRS’ essential work in these communities. We are also grateful to hear that the U.S. Department of State is closely monitoring the situation and deploying key personnel to support response efforts,” said Zaidan, Maronite Catholic bishop of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles.

The U.S. Department of State said it is sending disaster advisers to help with rescue and cleanup efforts. The government said it also would distribute $500,000 in assistance via Catholic Relief Services.

“I exhort the international community to mobilize greater humanitarian assistance support for vulnerable families and communities in Nepal,” Zaidan said. “May the Immaculate Heart of Mary provide consolation and shelter to all those affected by this disaster, and may she inspire the international community to work together, as one family, to address the urgent needs of the Nepalese people.”

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the Rimini Meeting in northern Italy on Aug. 26, the cardinal said the West Bank “has become a no-man’s land — or rather, a lawless land — where everything that happens goes unchecked, with no safeguards in terms of security or the rule of law.”

Asked about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement that he would continue to open settlements in the occupied land, Pizzaballa said: “This isn’t the first time he’s said that.”

“The government has stated very clearly that this is their intention, even though it makes a political solution in the near future increasingly difficult,” the cardinal continued. “I hope that all this drift — this political confrontation, including in language and positions — will moderate over time, because the Palestinian population is truly very tired and can no longer bear all of this.”

Pizzaballa explained that the situation in Gaza, from this point of view, is more stable than the West Bank, even while it continues to deteriorate.

“While there is a great deal of political debate, on the ground the human toll remains devastating,” he added.

The Rimini Meeting, officially named the Meeting for Friendship Among the Peoples, is an annual cultural festival organized by the Catholic lay movement Communion and Liberation. The 47th edition took place near the city of Rimini, Italy, from Aug. 21–26, and included a visit from Pope Leo XIV on Aug. 22.

Pizzaballa, a frequent speaker at recent editions of the gathering, participated in a dialogue with three young people on the final day of the 2026 meeting, touching on the topics of hope, suffering, and interreligious dialogue.

He also urged people to “listen to multiple voices,” including those with whom they do not agree, to understand and assess the events taking place in the Middle East.

“This is a task that must be undertaken continually in the Middle East,” he said, where “nothing is as it appears and everything is very complicated.”

In a conversation with the journalist Alessandro Banfi during the meeting, Pizzaballa underlined that “to assume that an agreement alone is enough to put an end” to what is happening in the Middle East “is presumptuous; it is an illusion.”

“Now, of course, we need agreements; we need to pursue political paths — but these must also be accompanied by educational, formative, human, and religious initiatives, which play a very important role in the Middle East in healing, in processing grief, and in addressing everything that has affected both the Israeli and Palestinian populations. And this doesn’t happen in the blink of an eye,” he said.

The Justice Department on Aug. 28 released an extensive report on the memo, which was drafted out of the FBI’s Richmond, Virginia, field office and leaked in early 2023.

Upon its leak the memo drew immediate criticism from Catholics and religious liberty advocates around the country. The FBI quickly retracted the document after the leak, with the bureau claiming that it did “not meet our exacting standards.”

On Aug. 28 FBI Director Kash Patel described the contents of the memo as “unacceptable.” He said the release of information “about what occurred under [the Biden administration] is an important part of the process” of ongoing investigations into alleged government weaponization.

Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, meanwhile, described the memo as “a clear abuse of power,” one that targeted “conservative and religious beliefs disfavored by agents of government.”

Memo arose from 2020 investigation into violent extremist

The Aug. 28 report — released by the Department of Justice’s Weaponization Working Group — said the Catholic memo arose out of an FBI investigation that began in 2020 regarding an individual who moved to Virginia from New York and began writing “violent and racially-motivated” posts on the internet.

Richmond Domain Perspective Report

That individual was ultimately sentenced to two separate prison terms on vandalism and weapons charges. Prior to his second imprisonment, he reportedly began attending a Virginia chapel run by the Society of St. Pius X.

Federal agents began investigating the chapel and a priest associated with it; their investigation expanded to include another priest connected to the so-called SSPX Resistance, a breakaway group that the FBI alleged has neo-Nazi sympathies.

Based on those investigations, starting in late 2022 the Richmond field office began developing a “domain perspective” on the alleged “increasing intersection” of “radical-traditional Catholics” and “domestic violent extremists.”

Subsequent research turned up “only two additional cases,” the working group report said, and FBI investigators found “nothing linking Catholics or groups not in full communion with the Catholic Church to domestic extremism.”

The investigation progressed to the point where analysts were preparing to develop a high-level executive report of the inquiry to present to senior FBI officials. Yet after the leak of the memo on Feb. 8, 2023, that report was never developed.

The working group report described the FBI memo as using a “sweeping generalization” of “radical-traditionalist” Catholics. Internal FBI presentation materials obtained by EWTN News identify the “core ideology and beliefs” of such Catholics as including “conservative family values/roles” and a “tendency toward isolationism.”

The memo further identified such Catholics as believing in the “creation of a totalitarian, anti-pluralist Catholic nation” as well as the “rejection of religious neutrality and right to religious freedom.”

The document drew a distinction between “radical” Catholics and so-called “traditionalist Catholics” who prefer the Traditional Latin Mass and pre-Vatican II traditions yet do not adhere to “the more extremist ideological beliefs and violent rhetoric” of the “radical” group.

An internal review of the memo found no “constitutional concerns” related to the analysis, the working group report said. Yet the memo spawned “significant internal criticisms” in the FBI after its leak, the report said.

In particular, an agent with the bureau’s counterterrorism division said the unit found no “significant linkage” between violent extremists and “radical traditionalist” Catholics.

Bureau leadership ultimately ordered the deletion of the memo, though the working group report said the memo was still being worked on more than a month after that order came down.

Later in the year the bureau’s inspection division found that the drafters of the memo demonstrated a lack of “professional judgment” and that they “failed to adhere to FBI standards.” The division ordered “all individuals” involved in the memo’s production to be “admonished” and be subject to additional training.

The working group report noted that the personnel involved in the production of the memo “have been terminated from their positions.” It argued that “history” will “rightly judge the Richmond Catholic Memo as a grave failure of the FBI Richmond Field Office” to uphold First Amendment rights.

The controversial memo has generated sustained criticism from religious liberty advocates as well as numerous responses from lawmakers in Washington since it was leaked.

In March the conservative legal group Judicial Watch was in federal court arguing for the release of un-redacted files related to the memo. Attorney Meredith DiLiberto expressed disappointment at the time that heavy redaction practices had continued from the Biden administration to the Trump administration.

In December 2024 Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, warned the government to not destroy federal records including documents related to the FBI investigation. Hawley said at the time that he had received reports of employees “destroying records and other documents in an effort to conceal widespread misconduct that took place under the [Joe] Biden administration.”

The working group report released on Aug. 28 did not mention any reports of records destruction. But Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department “will not tolerate a weaponized bureaucracy that chills First Amendment activity.”

The working group’s investigations into alleged government weaponization “will continue,” Blanche said.

In an article titled “Hope Demands Action” released on Aug. 21, the patriarchate said restrictions on movement, the cancellation of work permits, and the paralysis of the tourism sector have exacerbated the conditions of Christian families in Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and the villages scattered in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and affected their ability to work and secure their needs.

The Catholic diocese — whose territory includes Cyprus, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine and is supported by six vicariates — highlighted that the unemployment rate in Christian communities in the Holy Land is 54%, which is about double the national average.

The patriarchate also pointed out that artisans, hotel workers, shopkeepers, tour guides, drivers, and restaurant owners rely heavily on pilgrims and visitors, which have significantly declined over the years, threatening livelihoods.

The patriarchate said the repercussions of the crisis extend to the younger generations, as limited job opportunities after university or vocational training may push young people to migrate, raising concerns for a generation that believes its future may be outside the land of its ancestors.

Gaza at the heart of the crisis

According to the patriarchate, only 541 Christians remain in the Gaza Strip, while others have been forced to flee and still others were killed in the war or lost their lives amid the collapse of medical care and lack of basic supplies.

The patriarchate said the possibility that no more Christians will be left in the Holy Land does not represent just a demographic change but a “crisis in history, identity, and faith,” stressing that a living Christian presence should remain in a land where Christianity originated.

The article called for international Christian solidarity to go beyond responding to emergency needs, including education, vocational training, special projects, and support for community institutions, allowing families to build a decent and sustainable life in their homeland.

In this context, the article referred to a back-to-school initiative to cover basic educational expenses for children and families most in need, stressing that keeping schools open — and reopening them where possible — represents a message that destruction will not have the final say.

The patriarchate stressed that the Christians of the Holy Land do not want to be a part of the past but desire the opportunity to live, work, raise their children, and exercise their faith in dignity in the land where Christianity began.

This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.