The basilica, located in the city of Buga in the Valle del Cauca department (administrative district), sustained damage to its dome. As a safety precaution, Masses inside the church have been suspended and are currently being held in the town’s central square.

In addition, as the basilica has the legal designation of an asset of cultural interest, any restoration work must be supervised by the Ministry of Culture.

During his Sept. 5 visit to Valle del Cauca, De la Espriella expressed the governmentʼs commitment to “protecting the spiritual symbols of the Colombian people.”

“We already have 1.2 billion pesos [approximately $320,000] to repair our Basilica of the Lord of Miracles, and we are working with the private sector to secure another 5 billion [$1.6 million] to rebuild and repair the basilica so that Masses can be held there,” he announced Sept. 5.

Referring to the image of Christ crucified in the church, which depicts the Savior with dark-colored skin, the president stated the state-funded repairs are intended to “honor our beloved [Black Christ],” as the Lord of Miracles of Buga is also known, “and to defend that symbol of faith and spirituality that means so much to us Colombians.”

The announcement comes just days before the feast of the Lord of Miracles in Buga, celebrated on Sept. 14, which draws thousands of pilgrims.

In a Facebook video, Father Alcides de Jesús Orozco, rector of the basilica, explained that although the basilica is closed, the part of the church where the image of Christ is enthroned suffered no damage and the faithful may enter there.

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.

Catholic parishioners, regardless of documentation, are permitted to miss Sunday Mass if they “reasonably fear being detained, separated from their families, or experience intimidation due to the increased immigration enforcement,” according to the decree, showing how the archdiocese is accompanying migrants.

The dispensation took effect Sept. 4 and runs through Sept. 30 unless extended. With Indianapolis added, dioceses that have issued similar decrees encompass about 3.5 million Catholics, according to the Official Catholic Directory 2025.

During the pandemic in 2020, all Catholic dioceses and archdioceses issued Mass dispensations. Canon 1245 allows a diocesan bishop or pastor to grant a dispensation from Mass obligation “for a just cause.”

“The decision to grant the dispensation at this time came as a response to requests from our pastors who work closely with our immigrant communities,” Sally Krause, the archdiocese’s director of communications, told EWTN. “They are experiencing fear and uncertainty due to an increase in immigration enforcement in Indianapolis and the surrounding areas. By granting the dispensation, we wished to express the Churchʼs solidarity and care for those who are afraid to leave their homes.”

Archbishop Charles Thompson of Indianapolis said the dispensation and his statement came after what he described as a “recent surge in immigration enforcement activity in Indiana,” which he said “has caused fear and uncertainty for many families, particularly when detention results in the sudden separation of parents and children.”

Thompson encouraged the faithful who use the dispensation to supplement with prayer, reading the Sunday readings, praying the rosary, and watching livestreamed Mass.

“Pastors and all those who minister to the faithful within the Archdiocese of Indianapolis are encouraged to attend to the spiritual care of those who must make use of this dispensation to the best of their ability, especially regarding the Sacraments of Penance and Anointing of the Sick, or the distribution of Holy Communion to the homebound,” he said.

Thompson said the dispensation applies to immigrant parishioners fearing detention, adding: “This applies even to those with proper legal documentation.”

“While recognizing the need for law enforcement to protect and defend, it is gravely concerning to witness families being torn apart,” Thompson said in the statement. “The family, the fabric of stability in our society, must be cherished and defended. The inherent dignity of being created in the image of God demands that every person be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect.”

Krause said: “It is our practice that dispensations have a specific time frame delineated for which they have legal force. One month is a measured amount of time for such a decree, and we knew that we would discern the situation again in a monthʼs time.”

Dispensations across the U.S.

The dispensation in Indianapolis marks the seventh such dispensation granted in the U.S. for migrants fearing deportation by immigration enforcement officers since the start of the Trump administration.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans and the dioceses of Columbus, Baton Rouge, Charlotte, San Bernardino, and Nashville have granted dispensations.

Archbishop Jeffrey Grob of Milwaukee has said he would consider granting dispensation from Mass obligations to migrants fearing deportation, should the situation in his archdiocese require it. No dispensation has been announced in Milwaukee to date.

Bishops in other dioceses along the border, including the Diocese of El Paso, the Diocese of Brownsville, and the Diocese of Tucson, have not granted dispensations but issued strong statements of condemnation over mass detentions and deportations of migrants in their respective communities.

The current number of Catholic lawmakers on Capitol Hill is slightly higher than the previous Congress, with Catholics accounting for more than 28% of the members of the United States House of Representatives and Senate. Of the Catholic members, 126 serve in the House and 24 in the Senate, according to a report from the Pew Research Center.

In this special report, EWTN News Capitol Hill correspondent Erik Rosales spoke with various Catholic members of Congress about their faith and how they live it in their work.

Sen. Eric Schmitt

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri, grew up a cradle Catholic and said his parents instilled in him the importance of having a personal relationship with Christ at a young age.

“I grew up in St. Louis, which is a very Catholic town and has been referred to as the Rome of the West because per capita, very Catholic,” Schmitt told Rosales.

A “conversation back home, it might very easily start … ‘What parish are you at? or ‘What parish did you grow up in?’” Schmitt said.

At 17, Schmitt went to a Jesuit retreat house that had a profound impact on him. Later, when his son was born with a rare genetic condition, Schmitt would often return to the Jesuits for prayer.

It “was a seed that was planted … when I was confronted with this really kind of difficult situation. I went back there, and it was a profound experience,” he said. “I go back every year. Itʼs a … weekend silent retreat. And that keeps me very rooted.”

When working busy days on the Hill, Schmitt said he looks to prayer.

“Iʼll listen to a podcast by Bishop [Robert] Barron or Father Michael Schmitz,” he said. “I think technology now too has allowed a different avenue for people to … maintain their faith and grow their faith.”

Even “if itʼs five or 10 minutes, it really does help me kind of start the day right,” Schmitt said.

Rep. John Rutherford

Rep. John Rutherford, R-Florida, also spoke about leaning on his faith when working in a hectic position, often by attending Mass and saying the rosary.

“In Ephesians 2:10, it says, ‘for we are all Godʼs workmanship, created in the image of Christ Jesus to do good work,’ which he prepared … in advance for us to do,’” Rutherford said. “So heʼs got work out there that heʼs prepared for me to do,” he continued.

While Rutherford’s Catholic faith is incorporated into his day-to-day life, he shared that was not always the case. He grew up in the United Methodist Church, but at about 14 years old, “fell away from the church,” he said.

After becoming a police officer in Jacksonville, Florida, Rutherford’s perspective on faith changed. Witnessing crimes made him question his own mortality.

“So I went back to the Bible, and I read the Bible literally cover to cover, not once but twice,” he said.

Rutherford returned to the Methodist Church, while his wife and kids attended Catholic Mass. After reading about the Methodist Churchʼs seven principles, he realized he didnʼt agree with them.

“It was a long process, but I finally read a book by Pope John Paul II, ‘Crossing the Threshold of Hope,’ and that explained where the authority of the Church is,” Rutherford said. “And how itʼs passed down through the papacy.”

After his research, and inspired by the true Church and presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, Rutherford entered the Catholic Church.

Rep. Mark Messmer

Rep. Mark Messmer, R-Indiana, said he has spent his life putting God, family, and community first.

It was during his time as a state legislator that a colleague invited Messmer and his wife to attend a Cursillo, a retreat focused on showing Christian laity how to become effective leaders and how to use the Gospel in daily life.

“It ignited a passion and a love for Christ, and a love for the Eucharist that I always said I wanted. And then it gives you the tools [for] your prayer life, study life, and evangelization, how to live that out on a daily basis,” he said.

Messmer said he stays grounded with daily Mass and his Friday morning prayer group. He and his family also all join together for a weekly group call to catch up and join for “spiritual reinforcement.”

Rep. Stephanie Bice

Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Oklahoma, converted to Catholicism in college after she started going to Mass with her now husband.

Bice served six years in the Oklahoma Senate and later ran for U.S. Congress. She joined a number of women who have been elected over the past two cycles.

“Not every woman believes that … you should be able to terminate pregnancies up to birth,” Bice said. “So you had a groundswell of women consider running for congressional seats and Senate seats,” she said.

While serving on Capitol Hill, Bice said she turns to prayer and the comfort of the Blessed Mother.

“I stumbled across a group of staffers that actually pray the rosary on fly-in days in the morning,” she explained. “I said, ‘Hey, can a member come?’ And they were delighted that I would even ask.”

One highlight of her congressional career was meeting Pope Francis at the Vatican. The invitation came from Rep. James Langevin, a fellow Catholic and Democrat from Rhode Island.

Pope Francis “looked at my husband and I after blessing us both, and he said: ‘Will you pray for me?’ And that was pretty profound,” Bice said.

Rep. Robert Onder

“Really, my Catholic faith has motivated me my whole life, my whole career, and really motivated in many ways the direction my life has taken,” Rep. Robert Onder, R-Missouri, said.

Onder said his faith was present in his work trying to pass a religious liberty bill in the Missouri Senate and through his fight to protect the conscience rights of physicians who are forced to perform abortions.

As a medical doctor, Onder detailed the present problem in some states and hospitals, which “want to force physicians to participate in abortions, participate in vitro fertilization or artificial contraception, and, of course, more recently, participate in euthanasia.”

Onder said his political service has been motivated by love of God, family, and country. He said he stays rooted in faith by attending daily Mass. He said he also enjoys talking with other lawmakers about their love for Christ.

“Speaker [Mike] Johnson is absolutely a brother in the Christian faith and a very, very strong believer,” Onder said. “It does give me a lot hope and a lot of encouragement to serve with other people who really take their faith seriously.”

Rep. Riley Moore

Rep. Riley Moore, R-West Virginia, said his Catholic faith is “is the most important thing” in his life.

“It forms me — every decision I make, everything that I do here on the Hill, it is central to my life. Iʼm always praying to be able to deepen my faith, be a strong family man, and then also my service.”

“So itʼs my faith, my family, my service to my state, my country. But faith comes first.”

“Canʼt always be easy to discern Godʼs will, particularly in a place that is more about individual will and not Godʼs will,” Moore said. “Iʼm trying to re-center myself towards that. Thatʼs that gravitational pull for me that Iʼm always trying to get back to.”

Moore started as a Hill staffer on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, working under the late Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Illinois. One of his priorities is drawing attention to the persecution of Christians around the world, especially in Nigeria.

While in Nigeria, “I met a woman who had had all five of her children murdered, murdered by Islamic terrorists,” Moore said. “I met another woman who had her two daughters and husband killed right in front of her, and then they killed her unborn child.”

“As we know and weʼve heard many times, and itʼs so true that there is salvation through suffering. I think that … their suffering offers us salvation as well by doing something here,” he said.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer

Majority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives Tom Emmer discussed how his faith was largely inspired by his family, including his father, who attended daily Mass.

“The example that they set is, I believe, why I am who I am,” said Emmer, R-Minnesota.

Emmer also detailed the trials of his faith, including the loss of his sister Bridget, who died of breast cancer at 38 years old.

Emmer said he was angry at the Lord and had doubts about Godʼs will because of his sisterʼs suffering. A conversation with Bridget during her chemotherapy treatment was a pivotal moment for him and his faith.

“She looked at me and she said, ‘Tom, would I love to live forever? Absolutely. But Iʼm not going to,’” he explained. His sister added: “I have lived a good life. If God comes and calls me today, so be it.”

Emmer said her words brought him away from his own anger with the Lord. Now his message to others is to put God first while living each moment to the fullest.

In its latest editorial, titled “Before taking away their cellphones, let’s look at our own [use],” Desde la Fe (From a Faith Perspective), the archdiocese’s weekly publication, addressed the debate surrounding the use of mobile devices at schools as millions of students return to class this fall.

According to the publication, 19 states in the country (about 60%) already regulate or prohibit students’ use of such devices in schools, except when teachers allow their use for educational purposes.

A ban ‘just by itself’ won’t solve the problem

The archdiocese acknowledged that younger generations “have grown up connected to a screen” and that social media in particular “is part of how they communicate, entertain themselves, and stay informed.”

However, it warned that excessive use of these devices can lead to “distraction, dividing one’s attention, and hindering concentration.” It also warned of the risk that digital content may gain “greater authority than the words of parents or teachers simply because it is more attractive or popular.”

While the archdiocese stated that it is “appropriate to discuss the regulation of mobile phones in schools,” it noted that “it would be a mistake to think that banning them by itself will solve the problem.”

The editorial highlighted the challenge of teaching students the technical use of digital tools while also helping them engage “responsibly” with “the vast amount of information, stimuli, and content to which they provide access.”

A challenge for parents and teachers

The editorial noted that the responsibility cannot solely fall upon children or schools; rather, parents need “tools to set boundaries, give guidance to their children, and learn to manage the use of technology” themselves.

“If a child spends several hours without a cellphone at school but returns to a home where every family member remains absorbed in their own screen, we will have made little progress,” the editorial pointed out.

The Archdiocese of Mexico invited adults to ask themselves: “How often do we ask [our children] to get off their phones while we look at ours? How many conversations do we interrupt to check a notification? How often are we physically present with them, but our attention is elsewhere?”

The archdiocese acknowledged that digital tools “allow us to learn, work, communicate, and connect with others,” but maintained that the challenge lies in “keeping them at the service of the person and not the person at the service of the screen.”

“Regulating cellphones in schools may be a good start, but let’s not make banning them a way to ease our consciences, nor set ourselves up as judges of the younger generations,” the editorial advised.

The archdiocese emphasized that “educating for the digital world requires time and presence,” inviting parents to ask themselves if they are willing to sit down with their children to “get to know what they are viewing, listen to their concerns, and help them establish the criteria needed to discern what they encounter on a screen.”

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 an interview with ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, on Sept. 3 during the launch of a 1.5-megawatt solar project that Earth Our Common Home (ECHo) is providing for Veritas University, Abuja, Cardinal Peter Turkson said ECHo’s mission is to provide clean energy for Catholic Churches and their institutions across Africa because of the importance of energy to man.

“There’s hardly anything that happens in this world without energy. Hardly anything. The solar energy initiative at the Catholic university demonstrates how human ingenuity can harness God’s creation to meet concrete needs while promoting integral human development,” Turkson said.

The Ghanaian-born cardinal said the Church should recognize the natural resources available in creation as gifts from God and use appropriate technology to transform them for the benefit of humanity.

“We need energy for everything that we do. So far, we’ve tried to produce that energy using generators, diesel fuel, and all of that,” he said.

Turkson continued: “It is, however, good to also notice that God, who created this, also provided the wherewithal to carry out everything that we do, providing this great source of energy. All it takes is that technology to transform this into our concrete use.”

The cardinal explained that God provides the raw materials while human creativity and technology transform them into useful products.

“God created cotton; God did not create a vest. Business transformed cotton into a vest that you wear. God created trees; he didn’t create furniture. Business people convert trees into furniture,” he said.

He added: “So we have solar light and a technology that is going to convert this into specific, concrete needs of this community. So that’s what we gathered here to do.”

Beyond providing electricity for teaching, learning, and other activities, Turkson said the project could significantly reduce the financial burden associated with diesel-powered electricity.

“It’s going to save this university not only by providing energy for people to study and learn, but save this university a lot of money,” he said.

He described the implementation of the project at a significantly reduced cost as an important opportunity for the Church, particularly as Catholic institutions seek sustainable ways of funding their educational and pastoral missions.

Turkson said the initiative should not be seen as benefiting Veritas University alone, noting that the experience could open the way for similar interventions in other Catholic institutions across Africa.

“From our small office, we’ve just tried to put together this small group to help our continent. So the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria is beginning with this, but from here it’s going to go on,” he said.

He explained that the vision was to make the benefits of the initiative available to Catholic bishops’ conferences and local churches across Africa.

“The benefits of ECHo and what it can facilitate and fund is something that is meant for all the bishops’ conferences of Africa, all the local churches in Africa, to support what the Church does for the promotion of integral human development,” Turkson said.

The Vatican official linked the project to the ecological vision of Pope Francis, particularly the late pope’s encyclical Laudato Si’, which calls Christians and the wider human family to care for creation.

He said the encyclical invites people to reflect on the impact of human activity on the natural environment.

“Everything that God created was good, very good. It comes into the hands of human beings, and we make it very good or very bad,” Turkson said.

He said the transition to renewable energy could help reduce the negative impact of human activities on creation.

“In terms of promoting the well-being of human beings or people, this project over here will go a long way toward determining how we reduce our negative impact on creation,” he said.

The cardinal emphasized that the environmental benefits of renewable energy are closely connected to human well-being.

“As Pope Francis would say, we turn the pain of the earth into our own personal pains. And we want to reduce that. Reduce that by producing less carbon dioxide, producing less greenhouse gas, whatever type of thing, and so polluting less,” he said.

He noted that reducing pollution would benefit both the environment and human health.

“When we pollute less, then we promote the environment more. Not only do we promote the environment, but we also promote the health of human beings, who also need this for their own existence,” he said.

For Turkson, the Veritas University project therefore represents more than an alternative source of electricity; it is an example of how faith, technology, and responsible stewardship can work together to support education, reduce costs, and advance human well-being.

“Everything that is happening here not only helps the advancement of the educational process but ultimately also enhances the well-being of creation and the human beings,” he said.

Meanwhile, the vice chancellor of Veritas University, Abuja, Father Hyacinth Ichoku, who spoke to ACI Africa during the same event, said the initiative was driven by the need to respond to the environmental damage caused by continued dependence on fossil fuels.

“We are part of the global consciousness about the Earth, our common home, and thatʼs why the project is actually about our Earth, our common home, about consciousness about the Earth and consciousness about the environment,” he said.

He noted that the continued release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere contributes to environmental degradation and poses risks to human life and ecosystems.

“The continuous transmission of carbon dioxide into the air is damaging our Earth, killing us, killing things, killing our environment. So we decided to move away from fossil fuels to solar energy, which they regard as clean energy,” Ichoku said.

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

Father Gerardo Antonio Vargas Cruz, OFM, as coadjutor will serve alongside Bishop Luis Francisco Miranda Rivera, OCarm, who has led the Fajardo-Humacao Diocese since 2020. Vargas will also automatically succeed Miranda upon his retirement.

Miranda, who is 72 — three years short of the typical retirement age for bishops — did not provide a reason for the appointment of a coadjutor to his diocese.

A press conference to introduce the new coadjutor bishop was scheduled to take place at St. James the Apostle Cathedral in Fajardo on Sept. 8 at 1 p.m. local time.

Vargas, 49, is from Mayagüez, a town on the western coast of Puerto Rico. He joined the Franciscan friars minor and was ordained a priest in 2006. He has served as the vicar for clergy in the Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico since 2022.

The bishop-designate also has experience as a theology professor and a prison chaplain. He also served in several roles in the Franciscan order in the Caribbean.

The Diocese of Fajardo-Humacao, erected in 2008, serves approximately 63,500 Catholics — about 30% of the area’s total population.

It has a cathedral in Fajardo and a co-cathedral in Humacao.

The AfD, which is critical of mass migration, is described by opponents as being “far right,” populist, and/or extremist. The stateʼs domestic intelligence office has classified the partyʼs Saxony-Anhalt branch as “confirmed right-wing extremist” — a designation the AfD is challenging in court; the federal equivalent was suspended by a court in February pending a final ruling.

According to preliminary official results, the AfD will hold 39 of the state Parliamentʼs 83 seats, just three short of an absolute majority. The Christian Democrats (CDU), led by incumbent Minister-President Sven Schulze, finished a distant second with 15 seats. The Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens, and The Left each won eight seats, while the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) won five, according to CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News.

Bishop Gerhard Feige of Magdeburg, in a joint statement with Protestant leaders, called on the election winners to “fully respect our stateʼs constitution as well as the Basic Law and to uphold the dignity of all people.”

The Basic Law is Germanyʼs constitution.

“Anyone who wishes to assume governmental responsibility also assumes responsibility for all people in our state,” Feige said on Monday.

The statement said the churches noted the results “with great concern” and warned that the election had “profoundly changed the political landscape” in the state.

Separately, Bishop Heiner Wilmer, SCJ, chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, joined Christian leaders in a statement: “Our worst fears have come true, but we must accept the result.”

The leaders said they would “closely monitor and critically assess the political actions of the future state government.”

Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, the former prefect of the Vaticanʼs Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, criticized the bishops' statements, writing for website kath.net that they “must in no case throw their spiritual authority onto the scales” for or against a political party.

The prelate warned German bishops to be spiritual pastors rather than committing “abuse of spiritual authority for political purposes."

Observers note that forming a state government in Saxony-Anhalt will prove complicated. The AfD fell short of forming a government alone, and the other parties are unlikely to form a coalition with it. A majority against the AfD would require all other parties to unite, which also seems unlikely.

It was the fourth episcopal ordination celebrated since June 15 and the eighth during the pontificate of Leo XIV under the procedures established by the agreement between Beijing and the Holy See governing the appointment of bishops.

The most recently announced appointment had been that of Bishop Paul Liu Honggang as bishop of Datong in China’s Shanxi province on Aug. 10.

However, the Holy See announced Tuesday that Leo XIV had appointed Ding on July 28, more than 10 days before Liu’s appointment.

The Vatican generally does not announce episcopal appointments in China when they are made but instead waits until the day of the bishop’s ordination. In this case, the chronological order of the appointments differed from the order in which they were announced.

The eight episcopal ordinations held during Leo XIV’s pontificate do not mean that all eight bishops were appointed by him.

Among these cases are two prelates who had already been ordained bishops and belonged to the so-called underground Church — the Catholic community not officially recognized by Chinese authorities. Both were subsequently recognized by the communist government, regularizing their ecclesiastical and civil status.

Educated at a pontifical university in Rome

Ding was born Sept. 16, 1981, in Hechuan District, part of the Chongqing municipality. He entered the Beijing seminary in 2000 and completed his priestly formation there in 2006.

He was ordained a priest on May 24, 2007, after a year of pastoral service at St. Joseph Parish in Yuzhong, Chongqing, where he later served as parochial vicar.

From 2009 to 2011, he pursued further theological studies at the University of St. Joseph in Macao. From 2012 to 2014, he served as a formator at the National Seminary of the Catholic Church in China in Beijing.

In March 2014, he moved to Rome to continue his studies at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, returning to China the following year.

After his return, he held several pastoral assignments as a parish priest in Tongliang, Tongnan, Tongguanyi, and Jiulongpo in the Archdiocese of Chongqing. Pope Leo XIV appointed him archbishop of Chongqing in July.

Appointments under Leo XIV

The process that led to Ding’s appointment and episcopal ordination took place entirely during Leo XIV’s pontificate, signaling the pope’s intention to continue dialogue between Rome and Beijing.

Drawing on the missionary outlook he developed during years of pastoral ministry, Leo has approved several episcopal appointments in China and entrusted new responsibilities to some prelates who had already been ordained bishops.

On June 11, 2025, the Vatican announced the civil recognition and installation of Bishop Joseph Lin Yuntuan as auxiliary bishop of Fuzhou in Fujian province.

Lin was not ordained a bishop during Leo’s pontificate, having received episcopal ordination in 2017. Pope Leo XIV appointed him auxiliary bishop of Fuzhou on June 5, 2025, after which Chinese authorities granted him civil recognition.

The prelate welcomed the decision and expressed his willingness to assist in the diocese’s pastoral mission.

On July 8, 2025, Leo suppressed the Dioceses of Xuanhua and Xiwanzi, which Pope Pius XII had established in 1946, and created the new Diocese of Zhangjiakou as a suffragan see of Beijing.

Two months later, on Sept. 10, Father Joseph Wang Zhengui, whom the pontiff had appointed to lead the new diocese, received episcopal ordination.

China recognizes 2 underground bishops

On Sept. 12, 2025, the Chinese government recognized two underground bishops — prelates loyal to Rome who had been appointed by the pope.

Bishop Joseph Ma Yanen, 65, formerly the underground bishop of Xiwanzi, became an auxiliary bishop of the new Diocese of Zhangjiakou in Hebei province.

Bishop Augustine Cui Tai, 75, had served as the underground bishop of Xuanhua, the other diocese suppressed by Pope Leo XIV when he created the Diocese of Zhangjiakou. Because Cui is over the age of 70, the Vatican considers him bishop emeritus.

Appointments in 2026

In 2026, Father Francis Xavier Duan Yongkun was ordained coadjutor bishop of Bameng in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region after Pope Leo XIV appointed him on June 15 under the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China.

His was the second episcopal ordination connected with appointments approved by the pontiff on June 15. According to the Vatican, Leo also appointed Father Joseph Chang Yanfeng that day. Chang was subsequently ordained the new bishop of Chifeng, another diocese in Inner Mongolia.

On Aug. 10, Father Paul Liu Honggang was ordained bishop of Datong in Shanxi province. Ding has now joined that list.

Tensions during the papal interregnum

During the period when the Holy See was vacant following the death of Pope Francis, Chinese authorities unilaterally selected two bishops, including one for a diocese already led by a prelate recognized by the Holy See.

On Oct. 15, 2025, Father Ignatius Wu Jianlin was ordained auxiliary bishop of Shanghai after Leo officially appointed him on Aug. 11 of that year. His ordination at St. Ignatius Cathedral marked another chapter in the complex relationship between Beijing and the Vatican.

Chinese authorities had previously announced that an assembly of priests and laypeople had elected Wu on April 28, during the interregnum following Francis’ death.

The Holy See later revealed that the pope had approved the nomination on Aug. 11. Although the appointment was not immediately made public, the Vatican announcement indicated that it ultimately proceeded under the mechanisms established by the agreement between China and the Holy See.

On Dec. 5, 2025, Francis Li Jianlin was ordained bishop of the Apostolic Prefecture of Xinxiang in Henan province after Pope Leo XIV appointed him on Aug. 11, 2025.

Li was the second bishop promoted by Chinese authorities during the interregnum between the death of Pope Francis and the election of Leo XIV.

18 Chinese bishops ordained under agreement

With Ding’s appointment, 18 Chinese Catholic bishops have now been ordained under the Provisional Agreement signed by the Holy See and China during Francis’ pontificate.

The bilateral agreement, first signed in 2018, governs the selection and recognition of Catholic bishops in China.

The two states have not maintained diplomatic relations since 1951, following the communist government’s rise to power under Mao Zedong. Chinese Catholics subsequently became divided between the state-controlled Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and the underground Church loyal to Rome.

The agreement’s full contents have never been made public. It was renewed every two years until 2024, when the two sides extended it through 2028.

Under the publicly known terms of the agreement, the pope retains the final say over episcopal appointments in China, including the right to reject candidates proposed by Beijing. The Holy See, meanwhile, agreed not to make episcopal appointments without the Chinese government’s prior approval.

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 circumstances of the Virgin Mary’s infancy and early life are not directly recorded in the Bible, but other documents, legends, and traditions describing the circumstances of her birth are cited by some of the earliest Christian writers from the first centuries of the Church.

These accounts are not included in the canon of Scripture and thus lack authority, but they do reflect some of the Church’s traditional beliefs about the birth of Mary.

One such non-Scriptural source is the early second century “Protoevangelium of James,” an infancy gospel offering pious legends about Mary that nevertheless affirms some of the earliest teachings of the Church on the Blessed Mother.

The Protoevangelium describes Mary’s father, Joachim, as a wealthy member of one of the 12 tribes of Israel. Joachim was deeply grieved, along with his wife, Anne, by their childlessness. “He called to mind Abraham,” the early Christian writing says, “that in the last day God gave him a son, Isaac.”

Joachim and Anne began to devote themselves extensively and rigorously to prayer and fasting, initially wondering whether their inability to conceive a child might signify God’s displeasure with them.

As it turned out, however, the couple was to be blessed even more abundantly than Abraham and Sarah, as an angel revealed to Anne when he appeared to her and prophesied that all generations would honor their future child: “The Lord has heard your prayer, and you shall conceive, and shall bring forth; and your seed shall be spoken of in all the world.”

After Mary’s birth, according to the “Protoevangelium of James,” Anne “made a sanctuary” in the infant girl’s room and “allowed nothing common or unclean” on account of the special holiness of the child. The same writing records that when she was a year old, her father “made a great feast and invited the priests, and the scribes, and the elders, and all the people of Israel.”

“And Joachim brought the child to the priests,” the account continues, “and they blessed her, saying: ‘O God of our fathers, bless this child, and give her an everlasting name to be named in all generations’ ... And he brought her to the chief priests; and they blessed her, saying: ‘O God most high, look upon this child, and bless her with the utmost blessing, which shall be for ever.’”

The protoevangelium goes on to describe how Mary’s parents, along with the Temple priests, subsequently decided that she would be offered to God as a consecrated virgin for the rest of her life and enter a chaste marriage with the carpenter Joseph.

St. Augustine described the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary as an event of cosmic and historic significance and an appropriate prelude to the birth of Jesus Christ. “She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley,” he said.

The fourth-century bishop, whose theology profoundly shaped the Western Church’s understanding of sin and human nature, affirmed that “through her birth, the nature inherited from our first parents is changed.”

This story was first published on Sept. 5, 2010, and has been updated.

Not everyone could fit inside the church, and the streets of Genazzano, about 30 miles east of Rome, were packed. The pope chose to celebrate the Nativity of Mary at this shrine so dear to his heart. He brought a Golden Rose to place at Mary’s feet, and the rector thanked him, saying: “Our affection for you is true and genuine,” because “we all love you immensely.”

The maternal presence of Our Lady of Good Counsel, the pope said, had “accompanied me throughout my entire life, with her wisdom, and with the example of her love for her Son, the Son who is always at the center of my faith,” as he wrote in the shrine’s guest book on May 10, 2025.

The pope quoted the Augustinian St. Thomas of Villanova, who asked the Evangelists: “Why, I wonder, were we not told about the manner of her conception, her birth, her upbringing, her habits, the virtues that adorned her, what human relationship she had with her Son, how she related to him, how she lived with the apostles after his ascension? All these things were important, and the faithful would have read them with singular devotion, and ordinary people would have delighted in them. O Evangelists, I appeal to you! Why have you deprived us of such great joy by your silence? Why have you left out details so joyful, so eagerly awaited, so pleasing?”

From this open dialogue with Scripture, the pope reflected: “Mary’s presence creates something like a leap in the genealogy, an unexpected newness capable of changing not only expectations but also the predictable behavior of a man. What Joseph hears, what he decides and what he does, in fact, is a response to God and to Mary’s presence, to her absolute difference, which surpasses every possible discourse and narrative. In Mary, salvation finds a home: God with us!”

Faced with this mystery, the pope explained, “we feel a kind of vertigo.”

After all, “God’s way has been and remains simpler and quieter, yet no less powerful and transformative.” Those humble historical circumstances that lead to the birth of Jesus reveal “the originality of his kingdom, in which arrogance has no place and omnipotence is creation, service, and care for life.”

Continuing to draw on the teaching of the Augustinian saint, the pope spoke about prayer, because it is in contemplative prayer that “what the world does not tell us, but already exists, takes shape; what is still invisible, but already possesses a new kind of strength. This is not fantasy, but prophecy. We need it, in times of destruction and uncertainty, to see God’s work and serve it.”

May the feast of Mary’s birth, the pope concluded, increase peace within us: “Yes, dear friends, we want to imagine peace — to broaden the boundaries of our understanding and paint it in our souls — in order to recognize that it already exists, to welcome it and to serve it. It is the gift of God, the breath of the Risen One, the work of the Holy Spirit. Let us allow peace to grow within us. It will blossom in the world. And the Mother of Good Counsel will accompany us in this mission.”

The pope also expressed appreciation for the fresco depicting him at prayer, commemorating his visit to the shrine on May 10, 2025, two days after his election.

The final hymn to Our Lady of Good Counsel brought consolation to all:

“Protect our people, who hope
in your counsel and live in your love.
Receive their fervent prayer,
O daughter, O bride, O Mother of the Lord.

Holy Virgin of Genazzano,
turn your serene gaze upon us;
stretch out your hand to your children,
strengthen the just, save the sinner.”

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.

“Mother Teresa — Prophet of Compassion,” produced by journalist and author Anto Akkara, was screened at the auditorium of St. Xavier’s College, Park Street, with Archbishop Elias Frank of Kolkata presiding over the premiere.

In his introductory remarks, the archbishop praised Akkara’s determination to bring lesser-known aspects of Mother Teresa’s life and work to a global audience.

“We are here, dear friends, not just to see what he has done, but to be inspired by Mother’s work,” Frank said, commending the journalist’s “passion” for making Mother Teresa known through the documentary.

“There are things that we may not even know yet,” Frank said, pointing to the film’s journalistic examination of events surrounding the Missionaries of Charity.

Akkara, who is also a contributor to EWTN News, said his association with Mother Teresa began in 1995 when, at the age of 33, he was granted what he described as a “comprehensive” interview with her.

“Since then, I pursued the Missionaries of Charity on crucial occasions, frequenting Kolkata often from the funeral of the Mother in 1997,” he said. Akkara has visited Kolkata more than two dozen times for international reporting.

He said he proposed the documentary as the Missionaries of Charity approached their 75th anniversary, and the congregation agreed to the project. Atmadarshan TV, Indore, provided support for the production.

The new 66-minute documentary builds on an earlier version produced for the congregation’s 75th Foundation Day in October 2025. Akkara subsequently reworked the film, adding more than a dozen new episodes and international accounts.

The documentary traces Mother Teresa’s journey from her early work in India to the worldwide expansion of the Missionaries of Charity, highlighting episodes in Patna in 1948, Jharkhand in 1959, and New Delhi in 1961.

It also examines the congregation’s work amid conflict, including the killings of Missionaries of Charity sisters in Yemen in 1998 and 2016, the expulsion of the congregation from Nicaragua, and the decision of sisters to remain in Gaza and Ukraine amid bombardment.

Among those featured in the film is legendary photographer Raghu Rai. The documentary also recalls appreciation expressed for Mother Teresa by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru when inaugurating a new Shishu Bhavan building in New Delhi.

Akkara said the film challenges allegations that Mother Teresa’s charitable work was primarily a vehicle for religious conversion and highlights her service to people living in extreme poverty, children, orphans, people with disabilities and mental illness, and those affected by leprosy.

Several lesser-known stories included in the film illustrate the breadth of her work. The documentary notes that the distinctive blue-striped white cotton saris worn by Missionaries of Charity sisters are woven by people affected by leprosy at the congregation’s Titagarh center, dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi.

The film also recounts Mother Teresa’s efforts to persuade the Indian Air Force to plant trees at the Missionaries of Charity leprosy home in Delhi and her decision to decline a papal invitation to the 1993 World Youth Day in Denver so that she could travel to Borduria in Arunachal Pradesh to intervene against the killing of infants born with deformities.

Another story describes a raffle organized to raise funds for the leprosy hospital at Shanti Nagar by selling a popemobile reportedly donated to Mother Teresa following the 1964 World Eucharistic Congress in Mumbai.

The documentary also recalls Mother Teresa’s request that the Nobel Committee cancel the customary banquet accompanying the Nobel Prize and use the money instead to help orphans in Kolkata.

The film highlights the respect Mother Teresa received across religious and political lines, including appreciation from former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and former prime ministers Inder Kumar Gujral and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The film also recounts Mother Teresa’s relationship with Jyoti Basu, the longtime Marxist chief minister of West Bengal. Basu, a friend of Mother Teresa, reportedly once remarked: “This lady makes me a bad Marxist, making me believe in Godliness.”

In another example of her outreach across religious boundaries, Mother Teresa named a Missionaries of Charity center near Ranchi “Radharani Convent” in honor of a Hindu woman who donated land for a leprosy home in 1973.

Born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in 1910 in present-day North Macedonia, Mother Teresa came to India in 1929 as a Loreto Sister and founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950. The congregation has since expanded across the world, serving some of the poorest and most vulnerable communities.

The new documentary presents that expansion as the story of a movement that seeks to “globalize compassion and care” while remaining rooted in the founder’s commitment to the destitute.

But are Catholics, and others, aware of these resources?

One Catholic leader considering such questions is Father Sinclair Oubre, a priest of the Diocese of Beaumont, Texas. He is the spiritual moderator of the Catholic Labor Network, a Catholic association that promotes Catholic teaching about work and labor unions. It also supports labor organizing.

“All work, no matter what the work is, is essential,” Oubre likes to say. In his view, if a woman in janitorial work at a major software company does not show up to clean the toilets and empty the trash, all production in the office will nosedive.

Centuries of Catholic teaching about labor can be found compiled in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, published in 2004 by the Pontifical Commission for Justice and Peace. It dedicates its entire sixth chapter to human work and labor, its place in God’s plan, its role in society, and the rights and duties of workers.

“The Compendium gathers together in one place those rights that are found in Catholic social teaching, whether it’s Rerum Novarum, or Quadragesimo Anno, or Centesimus Annus, and synthesizes them,” Oubre told EWTN News, referring to the respective encyclicals of popes Leo XIII, Pius XI, and John Paul II.

“It’s a beautiful reflection on human work in the world and a very mature and in-depth discussion of the place of work, the place of labor, and the communal nature of it,” Oubre said.

Labor, politics, and spirituality

Oubre said Catholic teaching is a challenge regardless of people’s political views.

“It’s a challenge to the right, but it’s also a challenge to the left,” he said. Catholicism encourages those on the political right not simply to pray novenas and commit themselves to spiritual actions. It is a challenge not to leave other questions about work and labor to the market.

For the political left, Catholic social teaching “means you have to enter into a more intimate relationship with your Church and your relationship with Jesus and not just be as a social justice person by throwing a couple of little quotes around. It requires you to enter into that deeper spiritual relationship.”

Oubre stressed the importance of starting from the view of Catholic spirituality, not only social justice, because if we don’t, our approach “becomes ideological and polemic.” The spiritual approach “brings us closer to Jesus Christ.”

“No matter how dirty, how uncomfortable, how awful the job is, we are participating in God’s ongoing creation. It’s important that we do that job in a way that gives glory to God,” Oubre said.

God and man at work

The Compendium’s reflection on work begins with its biblical aspects: There is a human duty to “cultivate and care for the earth” and other good things created by God, it says. Work existed before the fall of Adam and Eve, and it is not a punishment or curse until the break with God transforms it into “toil and pain.” However, God’s rest on the seventh day of creation is the sign of the “fuller freedom” of the “eternal Sabbath.”

The life of Jesus Christ is a mission of work, from his early life helping St. Joseph in the work of a carpenter to his ministry of preaching and healing, and most of all in his redemptive labors on the cross.

The Compendium presents human labor as a way of supporting oneself and one’s loved ones but also a way to serve those in need. Work is a way to make God’s creation more beautiful, since humankind shares in God’s art and wisdom.

“Human work, directed to charity as its final goal, becomes an occasion for contemplation, it becomes devout prayer, vigilantly rising towards and in anxious hope of the day that will not end,” the Compendium says.

The rights of labor

God’s rest on the seventh day of creation, the Compendium says, means men and women must enjoy “sufficient rest and free time that will allow them to tend to their family, cultural, social, and religious life.”

The Compendium outlines and explains the many rights of workers: the right to rest from work; the right to a working environment that is not harmful to a worker’s health or moral integrity; the right to unemployment protections; the right to a pension and insurance for old age, disability, and work-related accidents; the right to social security for working mothers; and the right to assemble and form associations; the right to just wages and remuneration; and the right to strike.

Labor unions play a “fundamental role” in serving the common good and promoting social order and solidarity, though they must not abuse their role in society or become simply arms of a political party.

“The recognition of workers’ rights has always been a difficult problem to resolve because this recognition takes place within complex historical and institutional processes, and still today it remains incomplete,” the Compendium says. “This makes the practice of authentic solidarity among workers more fitting and necessary than ever.”

A challenge for Catholics and institutions

Catholic teaching has a lengthy paper record. But as in other areas, there is a challenge to practice it.

“What I find over and over again that the Church — our Church — gives us wonderful documents of guidance… and we never go back and read them,” Oubre told EWTN News.

He cited the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ 1996 pastoral letter “Economic Justice for All,” which says the Church should be a model for labor rights and treating workers justly.

However, Oubre said that in his experience Catholic parishes often neglect to provide unemployment insurance to employees if the law allows them to opt out. Catholic institutions often act as “at-will” employers in which management can fire employees for any reason. They may show preferences for nonunion labor over unionized labor when planning and funding construction projects.

“You’re going to undercut the guy who has actually followed the Church’s teachings in regards to work by hiring somebody who may be not offering medical insurance for his employees,” the priest lamented.

For Labor Day, Oubre encouraged parishes, dioceses, and other institutions to make sure to adopt policies that put Catholic labor teaching into practice.

This story was first published on Sept. 4, 2023, and has been updated.

Ain Ebel, Rmeich and Debl, known locally as the “Delta of Resilience”, are the last inhabited Christian towns in Lebanon’s border region. Since fighting between Israel and Hezbollah escalated into a full-scale war in 2024, residents have endured deaths, destruction and growing isolation from the rest of the country.

Today, even returning home has become a grueling journey. With the usual roads damaged or inaccessible, residents must travel in organized convoys through military checkpoints and Israeli-occupied territory, an ordeal some have come to call “road to Calvary.”

Convoys travel to the villages almost daily, usually accompanied by Caritas and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Carrying humanitarian assistance, they usually include approximately 30 cars and trucks. Yet a journey that once took around two hours from Beirut can now last 12 hours or more.

The day begins at approximately 5 a.m., and the convoy may not reach the villages until after 6 p.m. One of the first stops is a Lebanese Army checkpoint, where residents are required to remain inside their vehicles for hours. Meanwhile, the sound of airstrikes and the sight of their impact on the surrounding hills heighten the fear and tension.

The convoy then enters roads running through Israeli-occupied territory, where Israeli flags line the route. At Naqoura, residents can see the Mediterranean Sea, which they are no longer permitted to access, before another period of waiting begins. This can last for hours, with passengers prohibited from leaving their vehicles, even in the summer heat.

Just feet away, Israeli soldiers can be seen inside buildings they have taken over, while Israeli military vehicles pass alongside the convoy. Many residents describe the experience as humiliating: They are in their own country, yet must wait for permission from a foreign military to reach their homes. As the hours pass, one question remains: Will the convoy be permitted to proceed, or will they be forced to return to Beirut after an entire day of waiting?

If permission is finally granted, the last stage of the journey begins. Residents travel along severely damaged roads, past destroyed houses and through routes that require vehicles capable of navigating the difficult terrain, before finally reaching their villages.

Many of those making the journey are elderly or ill and had been forced to travel to Beirut for medical treatment. Some underwent surgery only days earlier yet must spend long hours inside a vehicle under the sun, sometimes without enough water or access to a bathroom.

Others travel to the capital for life’s most basic necessities. Pregnant women go to Beirut to give birth and then make the difficult return journey with their newborn babies, while parents travel to enroll their children in universities. The convoys often transport livestock, including pigs and cattle, some of which have died after being kept for hours in the intense heat.

Maroun Louka, a father who was waiting in a convoy with his wife and children after a medical emergency forced the family to travel to Beirut, told ACI MENA the hardship begins even before the journey itself, with the registration of names and the wait for approval.

“We are suffering greatly,” he said. “Sometimes we wait an entire week to receive approval and be able to return to our village.”

“My uncle and my cousin were killed. Our homes were damaged, as were my brothers’ homes,” Louka continued. “I cannot even reach my olive press or my house. Life is extremely harsh and difficult.”

Asked why he was determined to return, Louka said his family had no alternative. “Our parents and grandparents are deeply rooted in this village. They spent their lives here, and some were killed and buried here. Can we, today, simply come and abandon it? No. Leaving it would be extremely difficult.”

While the journey reveals the harsh realities of war and occupation, it also reflects the faith, strength and resilience of those who continue to live in these villages.

Father Najib al-Amil, a priest in Rmeish, told ACI MENA that the Church has played a central role in helping residents remain on their land.

“Through our homilies, we encouraged the people and led them in prayer,” he said. “Every day, we prayed the rosary and held Eucharistic adoration.”

The priests also encouraged parish groups to remain active by visiting the sick, checking on families and assisting the poor and others in need.

Asked how the Vatican has supported the community, Father al-Amil pointed to the presence of Archbishop Paolo Borgia, the apostolic nuncio to Lebanon, whom he calls “the saintly nuncio.”

“Despite the danger, the strikes and the shelling, he continued to come,” the priest said. “He insisted on reaching us here, sitting with the people, speaking with them and celebrating Mass with us.”

The resilience of these communities is also sustained by Catholic organizations providing the material assistance families need to remain in their homes.

Father Samir Ghaoui, president of Caritas Lebanon, said there had been a clear decision by the Maronite Church and the wider Catholic Church to stand beside these Christian villages, and ensure that their essential needs were met.

“Since the beginning of the war, we have not abandoned them. Our decision was that we would stand beside every Christian household that chose to remain in its home and on its land. We will try to provide everything they need,” Father Ghaoui said. “They have the right to live with dignity in their own homes and with their families.”

He expressed hope that residents would one day be able to support themselves once again through their own work.

“But as long as there is war and as long as there is need, we at Caritas, in the name of the Church, will remain beside them,” he said. “Whatever the difficulties, we will continue finding a way to reach them.”

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.

“With a sorrowful heart, I have followed the news of the latest violent attacks that have recently struck several cities and civilian infrastructures in Ukraine, causing the deaths of innocent people,” the pope told pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, following the recitation of the Angelus.

Russia has intensified its missile and drone campaign against Ukraine in recent days, with attacks killing dozens in Kyiv and nearby areas and disrupting electricity for hundreds of thousands of people in the Odesa region.

Leo said he hoped that “the efforts undertaken in these days to resume negotiations will bear concrete fruit and open space for diplomacy.”

The pope spoke on the same day that U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Kyiv, having met in Moscow with Vladimir Putin on Saturday, Sept. 5.

Earlier, in his catechesis before leading pilgrims in the Marian prayer, Pope Leo reflected on the day’s Gospel reading (Matthew 18:15-20), in which Jesus instructs his disciples in fraternal correction.

“This is a delicate art, too often forgotten, that calls for frankness and a gradual approach. Speaking honestly with one another — first face to face, then, if necessary, with two or three others, and finally, when required, with the whole community — means facing reality and transforming problems and conflicts into opportunities for growth. Complaining and speaking ill of others are easier, but they accomplish nothing and leave many situations paralyzed,” the pope said.

The pope also said that praying together, as Jesus encourages in the Gospel passage, builds unity among Christians.

“Without faith, each person might feel alone and become suspicious of others, seeing them as strangers and enemies. By grace, however, we are brothers and sisters who can live in harmony: meeting one another, forgiving one another and listening to one another in the Lord,” Leo said.

For Father David Delargy, one of the three Irish priests who make up the group, singing does not mean setting aside his ministry, but rather living it out in a different way.

“For me, I don’t leave my priesthood behind me or to the side when I’m performing or singing on the stage. My priesthood is there, and I am ministering through the means of sacred music for those who, if you like, are the congregation rather than the audience,” he explained to EWTN News.

The Priests consists of priests Father Martin OʼHagan, Father Eugene OʼHagan, and Delargy, who began singing together as students at a boarding school in Northern Ireland during the 1970s and later continued to do so while studying in Rome.

Their story took an unexpected turn in 2008, when a Sony representative heard them singing together and proposed that they record an album.

“One of the Sony record labels, one of the leaders there, had an idea for recording an album that might involve some priests. So, they sent out a scout. When they heard the three of us singing together, they realized we had been singing together since our boyhood days. And they thought, ‘These guys, they can sound quite nice together. Let’s make an album with them,’” Delargy recounted.

“So, we signed a contract with them on the steps of Westminster Cathedral and went on to make four albums together, beginning in 2008 with ‘The Priests,’” he added.

The first album exceeded expectations, selling nearly two million copies worldwide.

The Priests have also released the albums “Harmony” (2009), “Noël” (2010), and “Alleluia” (2016), as well as the compilation “Then Sings My Soul: The Best of The Priests” (2012).

For Delargy, music has never been separate from his priesthood.

“In some profound ways, music moves people, evokes emotions, feelings and thoughts that otherwise might not have been there. So, I think God will use …our poor little voices and instruments, he will use all that to his own kind purposes and ends,” he stated.

A musical pilgrimage to Rome

Almost 20 years after that unexpected success, The Priests returned to Rome to mark the centenary of the Pontifical Irish College, the institution where the three men studied.

“We are all former students of the Irish College and we’ve been in our diocese of Down and Connor for 35 years, each of us, and we’ve all got great love for the college and I think given the fact that the college is celebrating 100 years this year, it’s a momentous occasion for the college,” Delargy related.

The celebration included a musical pilgrimage to some of Romeʼs historic churches accompanied by other priests and the faithful who had traveled from Ireland.

‘Sacred music in its essence is prayer’

Delargy believes music allows for the expression of things that words do not always manage to convey.

“Music can express praise, it can express peace, it can express prayer for those who are full of joy, but it can also journey with those who are experiencing difficulty,” he noted.

“So, sacred music in its essence is prayer. I have to go back to St. Augustine, who said when you sing, you pray twice,” he observed.

The priest also believes that music can serve as a gateway to Catholicism.

“Sometimes the music, sacred music I’m talking about in particular, will be for many people their only point of contact specifically with the Christian faith. And so the Lord will use all these various means to draw us to himself,” he said.

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.

Each session follows a simple but carefully structured program. It begins with approximately 40 minutes devoted to explaining and exploring a passage from the Bible, followed by approximately 15 minutes of spiritual reflection. Participants then move on to an interactive segment featuring games and questions about the Bible or other topics related to the Christian faith, such as Marian apparitions. The gatherings are free and held under the supervision of Catholic priests.

Behind each session, however, lies an extensive preparation process. Jimmy Chaaya, one of the initiative’s founders, explained that he seeks to vary the topics from week to week and studies the selected passage with a hermit.

His research includes examining the original Greek words in Scripture, their meanings, and the cultural context in which they were used alongside the Church Fathers’ interpretations of the text. He also consults Jewish writings, geography books, papal homilies, and other sources. Once his research is complete, Chaaya submits the material to several priests for review and approval before presenting it to participants.

Initially, the Bible study gatherings took place on Mondays. As attendance grew, the team added a second session on Tuesdays and is now preparing to introduce a Wednesday gathering as well. Chaaya said the team hopes to expand beyond its current location in the town of Antelias.

To that end, the organizers are training people to lead similar gatherings in other parts of Lebanon while their long-term vision extends beyond the country’s borders.

Charbel El Hage, another founder, said the team hopes to bring the initiative to other countries, particularly in the Middle East, where he sees considerable potential for such efforts to grow.

El Hage noted that the initiative has benefited from the support of the Maronite Archdiocese of Antelias from the outset as well as broad support within the Church. This backing, he said, has helped the project develop smoothly.

Attendance is not limited to Catholics. According to Chaaya, Christians from various churches and denominations — including Orthodox Christians and Protestants — have joined the gatherings, alongside people from other religious backgrounds, including Muslims. He added that a number of participants are currently preparing to receive the sacrament of baptism.

Although the initiative is aimed primarily at young people, team member Majd Samia stressed that there are no strict age limits. “Everyone needs Jesus,” he said, which is why the gatherings are open to all. For Samia, the strong turnout reflects young people’s thirst to hear the word of God and explore it more deeply.

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.

While Scripture gives us a significant amount of information about the lives of some apostles, not many details are known about others. Despite this, the Church has continued to remember and honor these apostles through the centuries, with churches, shrines, relics, and pilgrimage sites dedicated to them around the world.

Here are seven lesser-known apostles — and places where Catholics can still encounter their lives and legacy today.

St. James the Greater

James the Greater was the son of Zebedee and the brother of St. John the Apostle. He worked as a fisherman in the Sea of Galilee alongside his brother and father.

James and John were among the first disciples Jesus called. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 4, the brothers were mending their fishing nets when Jesus called them, and they immediately left their father and their fishing boat to follow him.

In Mark Chapter 3, Jesus gave the brothers the name “Boanerges,” an Aramaic nickname meaning “sons of thunder.”

James was one of the three apostles — along with Peter and John — who witnessed several particularly important moments in Jesus' ministry. He was present at the raising of Jairus' daughter, the Transfiguration, and Jesus' agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.

After the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, James became the first of the Twelve Apostles to be martyred. In Chapter 12 of the Acts of the Apostles, it states that King Herod Agrippa I had him put to death “with the sword,” which is understood to mean that he was beheaded.

Today, St. James the Greater is honored through the famous Camino de Santiago — or Way of St. James — which is a network of walking trails that pass through several European countries and ends in Spain at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The cathedral is a major pilgrimage site and is home to St. James’ relics.

St. James the Lesser

James the Lesser was the son of Alphaeus and appears in the lists of the Twelve Apostles in the Gospels and Acts, but Scripture provides almost no information about his life or ministry.

In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI did a catechesis series on some of the lesser-known apostles, including James the Lesser. In his catechesis on James the Lesser, he explained that his title, “the Lesser,” was used to distinguish him from James the son of Zebedee, also known as James the Greater. It does not mean that he was less important.

The Holy Father also discussed the fact that James the son of Alphaeus has traditionally been identified by some with another prominent James in the early Church, but the identification remains disputed.

Today, the remains of James the Lesser — alongside those of the apostle Philip — are housed in the Basilica of the Twelve Holy Apostles in Rome.

St. Philip

Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town as Peter and Andrew, and appears the most in the Gospel of John.

After Jesus called Philip, he went to Nathanael and told him that he had found the one about whom Moses and the prophets had written. When Nathanael questioned whether anything good could come from Nazareth, Philip gave him a simple invitation: “Come and see.”

Philip also appears in the account of the multiplication of the loaves. Jesus asked Philip where they could buy bread for the large crowd, to which Philip replied that not even 200 denarii would be enough to buy bread for all those gathered.

Later, at the Last Supper, Philip asked Jesus to show the disciples the Father. Jesus responded by teaching Philip about his relationship with the Father.

In Pope Benedict XVI’s catechesis on Philip, he said: “According to certain later accounts (Acts of Philip and others), our Apostle is said to have evangelized first Greece and then Frisia, where he is supposed to have died, in Hierapolis, by a torture described variously as crucifixion or stoning.”

Today, Philip’s remains are housed — alongside those of the apostle James the Lesser — in the Basilica of the Twelve Holy Apostles in Rome.

St. Bartholomew

Bartholomew appears in the New Testament lists of the Twelve, but the Gospel narratives never tell a story about someone named “Bartholomew.”

Catholic tradition has long identified him with Nathanael, whom Philip brings to Jesus in the Gospel of John. Pope Benedict XVI described this as a traditional identification, while acknowledging that the New Testament itself does not explicitly make the connection.

After initially questioning whether anything good could come from Nazareth, he professed his faith in Jesus after meeting him, calling him “the Son of God” and “the King of Israel.”

In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells Nathanael: "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” While we don’t know what happened under the fig tree, it can be assumed that it was a “decisive moment in Nathanael’s life,” Benedict XVI explained.

The Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island in Rome is dedicated to this apostle, as well as the Basilica of St. Bartholomew the Apostle in Benevento, Italy, which houses the saint’s relics.

St. Jude Thaddeus

St. Jude is sometimes confusing because he appears under different names in the New Testament.

Matthew and Mark call him Thaddeus, while Luke identifies him as Judas, son of James. Catholic tradition identifies these names with the same apostle and distinguishes him from Judas Iscariot by calling him Jude or Jude Thaddeus.

During the Last Supper, he asks Jesus why he will reveal himself to the disciples and not to the world. Jesus responds by speaking about those who love him and keep his word.

A Letter of Jude is also included in the New Testament. It traditionally bears the name of Jude Thaddeus, although questions about its authorship have been discussed by scholars. Pope Benedict XVI emphasized that the letter calls Christians to preserve their faith while remaining rooted in Godʼs mercy.

Jude is thought to have been martyred in Beirut around 65 A.D.

Despite very little being known about him, St. Jude is an important intercessor for Catholics around the world as the patron saint of impossible causes.

An experience Jude had while in the city of Edessa is said to be the reason why he is associated with impossible situations. According to the ancient Church historian Eusebius, while Jesus was still alive, the ruler Abgar V of Edessa was afflicted with an incurable and painful disease. He heard of the miracles of Jesus and wrote him a letter requesting a visit. Jesus responded that he would send one of his disciples.

After Jesus’ ascension into heaven, Jude went to evangelize near the city of Edessa and went to visit Abgar. Jude laid his hands on the sick ruler, and he was reportedly instantly healed.

Many people choose to carry or wear the image of St. Jude on a medal for comfort and as a reminder to call on him in times of need.

A major relic of St. Jude the Apostle has also traveled beyond its usual home in Rome. In 2023, a piece of the apostleʼs forearm bone began a nine-month tour across the United States, visiting churches, schools, and other locations so Catholics could venerate the relic and ask for the apostleʼs intercession. The relic had never before left Italy for such a tour. It is typically kept at the Church of San Salvatore in Lauro in Rome.

St. Simon the Zealot

Simon is one of the least-known members of the Twelve. The Gospels identify him as “the Zealot.” Matthew and Mark use the term “Cananaean,” while Luke uses “Zealot.” Pope Benedict XVI explained that the two descriptions convey the idea of zeal or ardor.

It is sometimes assumed that Simon belonged to the political movement known as the Zealots. However, Scripture does not establish this. His title could simply indicate that he was zealous in his religious devotion.

According to tradition, Simon the Zealot — alongside St. Jude — preached in Persia or Syria and was martyred.

While no major basilica is named after him, his relics can be found in St. Peter’s Basilica beneath the Altar of St. Joseph alongside St. Jude Thaddeus.

St. Matthias

Matthias was not one of the original Twelve chosen during Jesus' earthly ministry. Instead, he was selected by the early Church after Judas Iscariotʼs death.

According to Acts 1, Peter explained that Judas' replacement needed to be someone who had accompanied Jesus and the Apostles throughout Christʼs earthly ministry and could therefore serve as a witness to the Resurrection.

Two men were proposed: Joseph Barsabbas, also called Justus, and Matthias. After the community prayed, they cast lots, and Matthias was chosen.

That is essentially all Scripture tells us about Matthias. Pope Benedict XVI emphasized that he was among Jesus' disciples from the beginning and was therefore able to serve as a witness to the Resurrection.

St. Matthias’ Abbey in Trier, Germany, holds the tomb of St. Matthias, making it the only burial place of an apostle in Germany and north of the Alps.

The march comes amid an ongoing debate over abortion law in England, Scotland and Wales, with pro-life campaigners calling for greater restrictions on abortion and opposing legislation establishing buffer zones around abortion clinics and hospitals.

March For Life organizer Ben Thatcher told EWTN News: “Every single human life is made in the image and likeness of God. Abortion ends that life, and when abortion does end that life, we are looking at a great, great tragedy — something that affects not just that person, but that family and the society and culture we live in.”

Under current law, abortions can generally be carried out up to 24 weeks’ gestation, subject to certain legal conditions. Buffer zones around abortion clinics and hospitals, meanwhile, restrict certain activities intended to influence, obstruct or harass people accessing abortion services.

“I feel thereʼs an absolute travesty that a human life thatʼs made in the image of God can be ended and can be dressed up in this slogan of ‘abortion is healthcare’,” Thatcher said.

The march was attended by 15 Catholic bishops, who also celebrated Mass at Westminster Cathedral in the morning before joining the main group.

Southwark Auxiliary Bishop Paul Hendricks told EWTN News: “I support life in all its stages. We have to stand up for our values. We have our principles and we follow Jesus.”

Southwark Archbishop John Wilson told EWTN News: “Iʼm here because I believe in the beauty and the dignity of human life. … Weʼre united together in a beautiful, peaceful, joyful spirit, to say that human life matters, that every life matters, from conception to natural death.”

“And in a challenging culture, when so many people, in a sense, see life as something more disposable, you just want to stand up and be a voice for the voiceless,” he said.

Attendees sang Christian hymns including “He’s got the whole world in his hands” and the Salve Regina while marching through the sunny streets of London, carrying banners reading: “Abortion hurts the family,” “Abortion Bans Save Lives” and “I’ve joined the fightback.”

“Iʼve come here today to support life from conception to natural death, within a culture where that seems not to be valued now… I think itʼs important to stand up and say that the human dignity of every person is that theyʼre made in the image of God, no matter how small,” Military Bishop Paul Mason told EWTN News.

Father Paul Grogan told EWTN News that abortion is “the most fundamental human rights issue of our time.”

“And I think itʼs an important part of living out our Catholic faith that we should witness to our belief in the beauty of human life, from the moment of conception to the moments of its natural ending,” he said.

Hundreds also attended a pro-choice counter-protest, chanting slogans including “abortion is a human right,” “not the church, not the state, we decide our own fate,” “Christian fascists go away,” and “keep your rosaries off our ovaries.”

Tilly Middlehurst, a pro-choice activist and a Cambridge student who became widely known online after a confrontation with the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, told EWTN News that she had “come to safeguard our rights as women.”

“I want to bring as many people here as possible to demonstrate that [pro-life activists] are a minority, and they donʼt belong here,” she said, referring to the thousands of activists marching in the streets.

Before the march, pro-life activist Ruth Price was met with anger from counter-protesters outside the Emmanuel Centre after trying to hand out pro-life leaflets to the pro-choice advocates.

Price told EWTN News: “I wanted to speak to people who are murdering young children. … I certainly meant no harm to them. I work with adults with very profound learning difficulties and they have lives that are worthwhile. They are precious in the sight of God, and I want people to know that we respect the life of the mother.”

Last year the London March For Life was also attended by approximately 10,000 people, according to organizers who confirmed the same numbers for this year.

This article was updated on Sept. 7, 2026, to reflect an updated estimate of participants at this year’s march.

The Court of Justice of the European Union is currently hearing a case brought by the Brussels Court of Appeal regarding whether the Catholic Church is violating Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation by refusing to erase names from baptismal records when requested.

In a Sept. 2 position paper opposing the deletion policy, the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union disputed claims that a baptismal register functions as a “list of members” of the Catholic Church. A register, the bishops said, serves instead as a “record of historical events.”

“The purpose of a baptismal register is not to bear witness to the faith of individual persons, to the fact that someone is affiliated to the Church or to his/her involvement in Church life,” the bishops said.

Rather, such registers function as a “fundamental evidentiary instrument” for “numerous matters relating to the internal life of the Church,” including whether or not a person has married, made a profession in a religious institute or been confirmed.

It would be “impossible” to verify vital records if they are removed from the register, the bishops said.

Requiring the baptismal deletions, the prelates argued, would mandate that the Church “adapt to [a person’s] feelings or opinions” in how the Church itself views baptismal records. This would require a shift in “theological reflection,” they said, which is “protected by Church autonomy.”

The erasures could further “mislead” both Catholics and non-believers into being convinced that the sacrament of baptism is “repeatable and optional.”

Such a policy would “constitute an infringement on the substance of the sacrament and not merely of the manner in which it is administered or carried out,” the paper said, and it would “seriously impede the proper functioning of the Church.”

Alessandro Calcagno, a lawyer and assistant general secretary for the European bishops, said last year that the proceedings were “not an initiative against the Church by the European Union” but rather “a response to clarifications requested at the national level.”

The issue arose in 2023 after an individual in the Diocese of Ghent in Belgium asked for all of their data to be completely removed from the local Church register. The Ghent Diocese opposed that request.

The European court’s ruling is expected by the end of 2026 or sometime in 2027.

Gary Hermesch was declared incompetent to stand trial in Nemaha County Court on Sept. 3. Hermesch had been charged with first-degree murder in the April 3, 2025 shooting death of Father Arul Carasala in the small city of Seneca.

A spokesman with the state attorney general’s office confirmed the court ruling to EWTN News. The spokesman added that the court “ordered involuntary commitment proceedings [to] be initiated.”

The suspect was arrested the day after the shooting. He reportedly turned himself in to authorities and confessed to the crime.

TKansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann said in a Facebook post after the shooting that Carasala “was a devoted and zealous pastor” who “faithfully served our archdiocese for over 20 years.”

“His love for Christ and his Church was evident in how he ministered to his people with great generosity and care,” the archbishop said.

Carasala’s obituary described him as a “beloved priest” who was “grounded, compassionate, and deeply community-oriented.” He was born in Kilacheri, Tamil Nadu, India, and attended seminary in Cuddapah, Vizag and Eluru; he was ordained to the priesthood on March 4, 1994.

He came to the Kansas City Archdiocese in 2004, becoming “a cornerstone of the local Catholic community.” He eventually became a U.S. citizen in 2011.

He is survived by a sister and brother-in-law as well as a niece and nephew.

The beloved religious sister was known globally for her work among the poorest of poor in India and for founding the Missionaries of Charity.

Yet behind the familiar image of the saint there are aspects of her life that may not be as well-known — from her childhood in the Balkans and years as a teacher to her surprising friendships and spiritual struggles.

Here are 10 lesser-known facts about the life of St. Teresa of Calcutta as we celebrate her 10 years as a canonized saint:

1. She wasn’t born in India

Mother Teresa was born Anjezë (Agnes) Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in 1910 in Skopje, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire and is now the capital of North Macedonia. She came from an ethnic Albanian family and was the youngest of five children — two of whom died in infancy.

2. She entered religious life at 18

At age 12, she felt called to serve the poor and at 18, left home to join the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known as the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish order of nuns, with the intention to serve in India. She would never again live with her immediate family.

3. She chose the name Teresa after St. Thérèse of Lisieux

Upon her arrival at Rathfarnham Abbey in Ireland, she took the name Teresa after St. Thérèse of Lisieux, a 19th-century French nun known as the “Little Flower” who was known for her simplicity and doing things in her “Little Way.”

4. She was a teacher before she served the poor

Before beginning her work among the poor, Mother Teresa taught in India for nearly two decades. She arrived in Calcutta, India. on Jan. 6, 1929, and after making her first vows in 1931, she was assigned to the Loretto Entally community and taught at St. Mary’s Bengali Medium School for girls. In 1937, Teresa made her final vows as a Loreto nun and then reassumed her duties at the school. In 1944 she became principal of the school.

5. She experienced a ‘call within a call’

On Sept. 10, 1946, Mother Teresa experienced what she would refer to as the “call within a call.” Over the following weeks and months, she would receive inspiration from God asking her to establish a religious community that would serve the poorest of the poor.

6. She didn’t immediately start the religious order

In August of 1948, Teresa left the Loreto convent and went to a short medical training with the Medical Mission Sisters in Patna. In December of the same year, she returned to Calcutta and stayed temporarily with the Little Sisters of the Poor. During this time, she worked in the slums tending to the sick and dying. On Oct. 7, 1950, the congregation of the Missionaries of Charity was officially established.

7. She founded branches for men and priests, too

In order to serve the various physical and spiritual needs of the sick, Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity Brothers in 1963 and in 1984 the Missionaries of Charity Fathers. She also created groups for lay people including Co-Workers of Mother Teresa and the Sick and Suffering Co-Workers, which were groups of people who shared her spirit of prayer, simplicity, and love for those most in need.

8. She received the Nobel Peace Prize — and rejected the traditional banquet

When Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, she asked that the money that would have been spent on the customary banquet instead be given to the poor. She also used her Nobel platform to speak about the dignity of human life and the need for the protection of the unborn.

9. She experienced profound spiritual darkness

One of the most surprising aspects of Mother Teresa’s life is that she endured decades of what she described as profound interior darkness. Despite being a woman of deep prayer, her private letters revealed that she sometimes felt distant from God even as she continued serving him.

10. Her congregation spread around the world

Today the Missionaries of Charity have 754 homes in 138 countries around the world and a little over 5,000 nuns serving the poorest of the poor.

The Republic of Guinea is a French-speaking West African nation bordering the Atlantic with a population of about 13.5 million.

The Guinean delegation was commissioned at Mass on Sept. 2 at St. Rita Sangoyah Parish of Conakry Archdiocese, ahead of the Sept. 7–11 youth gathering organized by the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa.

In his homily, Archbishop François Sylla challenged the young Catholics to recognize their active role in the life and mission of the Church.

“You are not merely beneficiaries of pastoral ministry; you are also actors in the mission of the Church,” Sylla said.

The archbishop urged the delegates from the five dioceses of Guinea—Conakry, Boké, Kankan, Guéckédou and NʼZérékoré — to return from Accra transformed by their encounter with other young Catholics and ready to become witnesses of peace and hope in their communities.

“You will go to Accra as ambassadors of our local Church,” Sylla said, noting that Guinea is currently marking the final phase of the 150th anniversary of evangelization in the country.

He encouraged the youth to share with others what they will “see, hear and touch” during the gathering and to translate the experience into concrete service to the Church and society.

“Your participation in this ecclesiastical event should not be a tourist journey,” the archbishop said.

Instead, he described the encounter as an opportunity for the young people to deepen their faith, grow in conviction, and be educated in values that can foster greater commitment to the Church and society.

The first West African Youth Day is being held under the theme “Take courage, young Catholics, actors of peace and hope in West Africa.”

The gathering is expected to bring together youth from across the region in what has been described as a historic first for the continent.

Sylla urged the delegates to return home sufficiently transformed to become “a stimulant of ecclesiastical and social engagement” for other young people searching for peace.

He also challenged the youth. “The Church needs a youth who does not only say, ‘What can the Church do for me?’ But it needs a youth who also asks itself: ‘What can I do for the Church in the next few years? What is my role in the Church?’” he said.

According to the archbishop, young people have a particular responsibility in a world increasingly shaped by social media, artificial intelligence, globalization, and rapid social change.

He recalled Pope Francis’ appeal to young people in Venice, where the late pontiff emphasized the need for their energy, creativity, enthusiasm, and ability to dream.

“The Church must not only speak to the youth today, but must learn to walk with them and to show them responsibility,” Sylla said, adding that “a youth who is responsible becomes a missionary force.”

The archbishop described the young delegates as missionaries and encouraged them to see their participation in the youth day as an opportunity to become part of a wider movement of West African youth committed to peace, justice, security and hope.

“You are therefore missionaries. The youth is the light of those in a West African country in search of peace, justice, security and hope,” the Catholic archbishop said.

He called on the delegates to be witnesses of Christ’s hope and love in their families, communities and nation, while reminding them that they are already missionaries in the present, rather than simply future leaders.

“Remind the West African youth that they are not only the leaders of your communities, but already the missionaries of today, in charge of bringing the light of Christ in all sectors of society,” Sylla said.

He assured the young pilgrims of his prayers and invoked the protection of the saints as they embarked on their journey to Ghana.

“We pray that peace will come and all the saints will accompany you in this pilgrimage,” he said, expressing hope that “the light of Christ will shine on you wherever you are.”

This article was first published by ACI Africa, EWTN News’ sister service in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News English.

“Cardinal Burke will be the principal celebrant at Holy Mass in the Church of Our Lady, Keizersgracht 218, Amsterdam. Later that afternoon, he will lead a prayer service and give an inspiring talk at the Vondelpark,” Radio Maria’s website states. The event takes place every year as a fulfillment of the request of Our Lady of Fatima to pray for a spirit of conversion in society.

Centenary of first Catholic Mass in Norway celebrated

In celebration of 100 years since the first Catholic Mass in Norway, Bishop Erik Varden of Trondheim presided over a solemn Mass in Longyearbyen.

The Mass took place at Svalbard Church on Aug. 30, and was widely attended by members of the Catholic community, as well as nonprofit organizations and representatives of the Lutheran Church of Norway, according to a Vatican News report on Aug. 31.

“For the sake of bringing Jesus’ sacrifice concretely to Svalbard, Bishop Smit came here in 1926 and celebrated the first Catholic Mass on the archipelago,” Varden said during his homily. “In gratitude for the grace God has poured out on Svalbard through a hundred years, we will faithfully take responsibility for that grace.”

Scottish sisters to stand trial over historic child abuse charges

In Scotland, five Sisters of Nazareth nuns aged between 67 and 84 have been indicted to stand trial. They are accused of multiple abuse charges against several children following a preliminary hearing that took place at the High Court in Glasgow on Monday.

Marie Docherty, 84, Mary Broderick, 83, Margaret McLafferty, 67, Kathleen McLean, 76, and Mary Doyle, 80, were named on an indictment, which contains 108 charges.

The indictment includes allegations that children were punched, struck, kicked, force-fed, forced to stand while wearing soiled bedding or clothing. The alleged crimes are said to have taken place mainly at Nazareth House locations in Aberdeen and Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, between 1965 and 1982.

The accused have previously entered pleas of not guilty.

A further preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2027, and the court has provisionally set aside eight weeks for a trial starting on March 30, 2027, in Glasgow.

‘Safeguarding Sunday’ in Australia to operate under theme ‘Love Protects’

Catholics across Australia will observe “Safeguarding Sunday” on Sept. 13 under the theme, “Love Protects” in honor of victims of abuse within the Church.

“‘Love Protects’ reminds us that genuine love is demonstrated through action,” Bishop Greg Bennet, chair of the Bishops Commission for Professional Standards and Safeguarding in Australia, said in a Sept. 4 press release. “Safeguarding is an essential part of our mission and ministry. It calls each of us to be attentive, accountable, and committed to ensuring that every person can participate in the life of the Church safely and with confidence.”

New leader for Melkite Catholics in Argentina

Lebanese priest Jean Abou Charouche has been appointed by Pope Leo XIV to lead the Melkite Greek Catholic community in Argentina as apostolic exarch and has been raised to the rank of bishop, ACI MENA, EWTN News’ Arabic-language sister service, reported on Aug. 31.

The Melkite exarchate in Argentina serves about 345,000 faithful.

Born near Beirut in 1972, Abou Charouche was ordained a priest in 1998 and has devoted much of his ministry to preparing future priests and religious. He later moved to Argentina, becoming pastor of St. George Cathedral in Córdoba in 2015. Since 2023, he has already been overseeing the countryʼs Melkite Catholic community as apostolic administrator.

Pro-life groups protest ‘International Safe Abortion Day’ celebration in Belfast

Christian and pro-life groups have called on the Belfast City Council to cancel plans to illuminate the city in observance of “International Safe Abortion Day.”

“The strength of this open letter comes from the breadth of organizations standing together. Catholic, Protestant, evangelical, pro-life, pregnancy-support, and Christian community groups have united to send Belfast City Council a clear and respectful message: City Hall is not a billboard for abortion,” Bernadette Smyth, director of the Precious Life, the largest pro-life group in Northern Ireland, said in a press release Sept. 1.

The letter came ahead of Belfast City Hall’s 11-3 vote to approve the measure on Sept. 2.

Ivory Coast cardinal decries illegal gold mining

Ignace Cardinal Bessi Dogbo of the Ivory Coast’s Catholic Archdiocese of Abidjan has denounced the devastating environmental consequences of illegal gold mining, calling for stronger state action to protect the country’s natural resources and its people, ACI Africa, EWTN News’ sister service in Africa, reported Sept. 3.

In his homily during the Mass of the 2026 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, the cardinal reflected on the ecological vision of Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si’, warning against the destruction of land and waterways caused by the pursuit of gold.

He also challenged what he described as the excessive attachment to money that fuels the exploitation of creation.

“Gold that kills is not gold. Illegal gold mining that kills human beings is worse than idolatry. It is beyond words,” Dogbo said, condemning mining activities that “soil the water,” destroy the environment, and transform rivers into “polluted wastelands.”

UK government warns against assisted suicide in latest assessment

An updated assessment from the UK government has found that “poverty, poor care, and abuse” could lead to “disproportionate numbers of ethnic minority people” seeking to end their lives via assisted suicide.

The latest assessment, released Aug. 29, comes as the government increased its central estimate of annual assisted deaths from 2,183 to 3,502, according to an Aug. 29 press release from Right To Life UK.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called for extensive healthcare reforms to take place before the passage of legislation on assisted dying.

“Personally, I think there’s something that needs to happen first, and that’s the fixing of the funding of palliative care and social care,” Burnham said on July 29. ”I think it is very challenging to introduce that wider debate in a context of people not receiving that care and having the peace of mind about that care.”

Patrick J. Passmore contributed to this report.

The new podcast is designed for families with children ranging in age from 7 to 12. Using both video and audio, families will be guided through the story of salvation in 365 daily episodes using readings from Ascension’s upcoming “The Great Adventure Catholic Bible for Beginners."

The new podcast will follow a similar format as the original “The Bible in a Year” podcast. Each episode will include a Scripture reading, age-appropriate reflections from Johnson, time for prayer, and answers to a variety of Bible questions from children.

Johnson, a priest from the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, told EWTN News that the inspiration for the podcast came from those involved the first time around who realized that many of the original listeners of the podcast were now having kids and becoming parents.

Johnson has been working with Ascension for over 12 years. A year ago his bishop asked him to found the Blessed Stanley Rother House of Formation in the Baton Rouge Diocese. Johnson stepped away from his work with Ascension in order to focus on the seminary, his parish, and his parish school. He said when he was approached to take part in the new podcast, he “took it to Jesus.”

While discerning whether or not to take part in the project, Johnson thought of all the children he works with personally at his school and in the community as well as their parents and the many gifts the podcast could bring them.

“We live in the inner city here in Baton Rouge. We serve a very impoverished low-income neighborhood. And so we have a lot of stuff we do for the teens in my neighborhood, but I was like, what if I could put this podcast, ‘Bible in a Year,’ in the hands of their parents to do it with them at home and this could be the reason why the parents would start coming to the sacraments,” Johnson explained.

He added: “Every time we visit our neighbors who need help with their groceries, we feed them and we give them groceries and we help with their bills, I could always leave this podcast and that way as a family, many of them who arenʼt even Catholic or Christian yet … they could also be exposed to the word of God. So all these really beautiful things I thought could be a gift.”

After praying and discerning, and receiving the approval of his bishop, Johnson took the plunge. He said he immediately felt an immense amount of peace after saying “yes” and that recording the podcast has been “the most intimate thing for me and Jesus.”

He shared that he reads Scripture all day in order to make the commentaries for each episode. After he records an episode, it takes about 15 minutes to upload the episode, so he goes to Eucharistic adoration in the chapel he has below his recording studio.

“After 15 minutes of adoration, I come upstairs, record another episode, come back downstairs, adore Jesus, come back upstairs,” he said. “So itʼs like a rhythm, almost like a monk. I get to proclaim the word of God and then pray in adoration, proclaim the word of God and pray in adoration. So it has honestly been one of the greatest gifts in this season of my priesthood.”

Johnson explained that while the family edition of the podcast is very similar to the original, one of the main differences is the use of video. If families choose to watch each episode on YouTube, then children will be able to see cartoon images of the given story they’re reading from the Bible that day. However, families can also choose to simply listen to the audio version.

He also pointed out that while there are many opportunities for parents and children to have encounters with God through conferences or retreats separately, there are few opportunities for children and their parents to have these experiences together.

“We want to bring families together. We want families to have conversations about the word of God,” Johnson said. “Families watch movies together, they watch TV shows together, they read books together — we want them to read the greatest book together.”

Johnson emphasized the importance of instilling a love for Scripture in children because “the Bible is the voice of God and God wants to speak to kids … God wants his voice to be heard by all of us, including kids.”

“Imagine if they learn the language of the Lord, which is Scripture, then as they go to high school and college and theyʼre tempted with the different temptations, the enemy that vies for their attention all day along with his many lies and accusations, theyʼre going to know thatʼs not the voice of God,” he added.

As for his main hope for the podcast, Johnson said: “I hope that families fall in love with God.”

“Jesus is love. It’s what we were created for. So my deepest desire is that families together fall in love with the word of God and desire and begin to learn, to hunger, and yearn for Godʼs word more than they yearn and hunger for social media or for their cellphones or for these passing pleasures.”

The “The Bible in a Year: Family Edition” will be available on the Ascension YouTube channel and on all major podcast platforms.

It comes about two months before the midterm elections, which will decide control of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. It does not instruct people how to vote, but does note principles of Catholic teaching that should be considered when making that decision.

Faithful citizenship, the guide explains, embraces “the fullness of the Church’s teachings and is a way of living the Gospel in attending to specific duties in the public square, which sit alongside a wide array of other duties.” It emphasizes that faith must come before politics.

The guide, titled “Outlines for Clergy Formation on Faithful Citizenship,” offers sample outlines for clergy formation sessions, which includes the options of a a 3-5 hour session and a concise 1-hour session.

It was developed following internal dialogue among bishops after some had requested a guide on the subject. It focuses on Catholic Social Teaching, how it applies to modern politics in the U.S. and how to help priests communicate those teachings to their congregations.

“We are supposed to be agents of transformation of society according to the principles of the Gospel and the profound dignity and the life of every human person,” Archbishop Alexander Sample of the Archdiocese of Portland said in a video message that the USCCB provided to dioceses to accompany the guide.

“The church and the laity,” he said, “we need to have a seat at the table to help form a society where every individualʼs dignity is recognized and everybodyʼs right to life is recognized.”

The document includes five guiding principles of Catholic Social Teaching, which derive from Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas.

First, it points to the common good, noting the obligation for every person “to act in a manner that serves the whole of society” and be “a neighbor to all.” It cites the Second Vatican Council’s definition of the term: “the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfillment.”

Second, it points to the Universal Destination of Goods. It notes that God “created the world and entrusted it to the care of humanity.” It pointed to Pope Leo XIII’s teachings in Rerum Novarum, which defends the right to private property, but not one that is absolute. The right is “subordinate to the duty to ensure that all can live in dignity,” it explains.

It points to subsidiarity, which is the principle that “issues should be addressed at as local a level as possible.” It notes “natural justice forbids a government from intruding on the dignity of the family.”

The fourth principle is solidarity, which it explains “puts into practice our Lord’s vast definition of neighbor given in the Parable of the Good Samaritan.”

Fifth, the guide states, is social justice. It states the term is often “incorrectly perceived as ‘woke,’” but stems from the cardinal virtues. It cites Pope Leo XIV, who explained it as “looking beyond one-on-one relationships … to the structural elements that lead to injustice in society.”

Bishop Daniel Flores of the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, said in the video message that Catholics are “called to be faithful, faithful citizens, faithful people in the building up of a society and a community that is somehow reflective of the very things that God Himself has shown us in Christ.”

“And the rest is in Godʼs hands,” he said. “I think as Catholics, our first role in political life and in social life is to give an authentic witness that we that we carry within ourselves, the person of Christ and all that that implies.”

The guide refers to faithful citizenship as “a way of life, not merely something exercised when marking a ballot.”

“Although it addresses specific moral issues — abortion, racial equality, economic inequities, criminal justice, euthanasia, family life, immigration, participation in the political process, war and peace, and many more — faithful citizenship fundamentally is a way of seeing the world in the light of the Gospel and allowing Gospel truth to point the way to prudential judgements and concrete decisions,” it explains.

The storefront launched on Sept. 4, putting “Catholic vendors front and center,” Cana founders told EWTN News.

Cana is a faith-focused wedding-planning platform designed for Catholic and Christian couples to build their websites. The Cana site helps engaged couples manage registries, guest lists, RSVPs, and it connects users with a diverse range of vendors.

It is intended to help couples plan a beautiful, reverent, and personalized wedding, the founders said. It is free of charge to the thousands of couples who use it.

Bringing Christ and ‘intentionality’ to wedding registries

“Up until this point, Cana essentially was just an affiliate partner for pretty much any online retailer. The most popular provider was Amazon, but also Target, Crate & Barrel, and Williams-Sonoma,” James Reichert, co-founder of Cana, told EWTN News.

“Then couples could take an individual link from a Catholic retailer and add that item to their registry. But we were essentially an affiliate partner for the big retailers,” he said.

Cana didnʼt want to be “a Catholic version” of the secular wedding websites, but rather “we wanted to be something truly, radically different,” Reichert said. “So we built our own registry storefront.”

The storefront puts “our Catholic vendors front and center,” Gabe Gessler, co-founder of Cana, added.

“We’ve partnered with big brands. Couples can add ultra high quality kitchenware and bedding items and they can create a full scale wedding registry through the service,” Reichert said.

Reichert said they also partnered with “incredible Catholic retailers: West Coast Catholic, The Little Catholic, The Catholic Company…,House of Joppa, and Darling & Divine.”

“For the first time, Catholic and Christian couples donʼt just have to register for their home goods, all the cookware, dinnerware, bedding things, that they would typically do on a regular wedding registry,” he said.

Now, “they can also register for sacred arts, sacred jewelry, beautiful wall mounts, and icons from all of these incredible brands that have been trusted for decades,” Reichert said.

Cana is hoping to be a “central point for all those different brands on one beautiful wedding registry experience,” he said.

“So many of our brides, they desire intentionality,” Gessler said. “They desire an intentional experience that points them towards the person that matters the most, which is Jesus Christ.”

To give couples a better experience, Cana is “placing forward, front and center, really high quality, what we truly believe are world-class companies, that are able to meet this intersection of commerce and the faith all in one,” Gessler said.

“We believe itʼs going to bless our partners more,” he said.

“Really what we want to do is help create this ecosystem where a Catholic bride doesnʼt need to go scour the internet for all these different partners, or these different registries. But actually she can just have it all in one place,” Gessler said.

“Then also she can come and support these incredible Catholic businesses,” Gessler said.

Cana

Launched in September 2025, “Cana really exists to help couples focus on Christ from their engagement to eternity,” Reichert said. “Our biggest desire is to just help create holy couples and holy marriages.”

“Weʼve now been around for a year,” Gessler said. “Weʼve had more than 8,000 brides join Cana.”

“Itʼs not just a registry experience. Itʼs a digital wedding planning experience that is totally holistic and centered around Christ and the sacrament of marriage rather than just …the excitement of the day,” Gessler said.

“When you get married to your spouse … itʼs an opportunity to enter into this new stage of your life and to place Christ at the center of it,” he said.

“We are praying for every single couple who uses us every day,” Reichert said. “To any couple who has the courage to use us to plan their wedding, we genuinely are so grateful for every single one.”

President of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland John Keenan is urging the Scottish government to reform the country’s expansive abortion law, calling on the government to reject efforts to expand the abortion regime there.

While the government doesn’t plan to change abortion law from 2026-2027, it intends to follow through with recommendations made by a pro-abortion advisory group and to fund late-stage abortion.

“Every unborn child is a unique human life deserving of protection, and every mother should be supported in ways that uphold her dignity and the dignity of her child,” Keenan said in a statement.

“I therefore make a direct appeal to all elected representatives who recognize the inherent dignity of every human life, to reject any further liberalization of abortion provisions in Scotland and to oppose measures that would remove essential safeguards or further weaken protection for unborn children.”

The advisory group “excluded prolife voices and … adopted a principle of ‘non-regression’ on abortion provision,” the bishop said, arguing that the group “lacks both legitimacy and credibility.”

“It has made radical recommendations to the Scottish Government which, if implemented, would effectively permit abortion up to birth for any reason and remove the current requirement for two doctors to approve abortions up to 24 weeks.”

“It is astonishing that the report also recommends that future legislation should make no reference to sex-selective abortion, paving the way for unborn babies to be aborted simply because they are deemed to be the wrong sex,” he said.

“The establishment of later-stage abortion provision in Scotland, alongside proposals to weaken existing legal safeguards, raises grave moral and social questions,” he said.

Canada doctors’ group voices support for infant euthanasia

The Quebec College of Physicians recently voiced support for euthanasia of newborn babies in some circumstances.

“The CMQ reiterates that medical assistance in dying may be an appropriate treatment for babies suffering from extreme pain that cannot be relieved and who have severe malformations or serious polysymptomatic syndromes that destroy any prospect of survival,” the group said in a statement to the Daily Mail.

“The CMQ believes that parents should have the opportunity to obtain this care for their infant under these well-defined circumstances,” the group continued.

Kentucky brings lawsuit against abortion nonprofit

The state of Kentucky has filed a civil lawsuit against an “activist organization” over its advertisements for abortion pills.

Mayday Health, a pro-abortion nonprofit, recently advertised abortion-inducing drugs via a banner flown by plane over the Kentucky State Fair.

Attorney General Russell Coleman in a post on X said: “It appears abortion activists are flying over Louisville advertising illegal drugs. They are breaking the law.”

“Since January, our Office has been investigating mail order abortion pills,” Coleman said. “We will not tolerate this illegal danger.”

Coleman’s office announced a civil suit against Mayday Health on Sept. 3, arguing that the “out of state activists” were breaking Kentucky law.

The platform will collect the intentions and deliver them to the Motherhouse of the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta (Kolkata), India, where the saintʼs remains are laid to rest.

As Sharael Sánchez, head of Hozana’s Spanish-language division, explained to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, the initiative is being carried out in collaboration with the Missionaries of Charity and is seeking to enable “those who cannot travel to Kolkata to entrust what they carry in their hearts to that place.”

The response to this initiative has been significant. Last year alone, more than 700 intentions were submitted, written in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese.

“How many hearts, from so many different places, will have commended themselves to St. Teresa in this way?” wondered Sánchez, who hopes that even more people will send in their petitions this year.

As Sánchez noted, the tomb of St. Teresa of Calcutta has become “a place of prayer and pilgrimage for the faithful from various countries.” Inscribed on the tombstone are words from Christ that encapsulate the heart of her mission: “Love one another as I have loved you.”

A life dedicated to poorest of poor

St. Teresa of Calcutta was born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in 1910 and is of Albanian origin. She entered religious life and later moved to India, where she dedicated her life to serving the poor, the sick, orphans, and the dying.

In 1950, she founded the Missionaries of Charity, a congregation that expanded its presence to numerous countries over the years. Her work and the witness of her service to the most needy earned her international recognition, and in 1979, she received the Nobel Peace Prize.

St. Teresa died on Sept 5, 1997, which is the day the Church celebrates her liturgical memorial. Her remains were laid to rest at the motherhouse of the Missionaries of Charity, the very place where Hozana now seeks to deliver the prayers of those from various countries who wish to entrust their intentions to the saint.

Pope Francis canonized her on Sept. 4, 2016, during a Mass celebrated in St. Peterʼs Square in 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.

The Sept. 17 talk, titled “Catholic Family’s Guide to AI Safety,” will be given by Megan Garcia, a Catholic mother whose son took his own life while using an AI chatbot. Garcia’s talk will center on the “growing dangers of AI, chatbot risks, and protecting children at home.”

“After the heartbreaking loss of her 14-year-old son, Sewell Setzer III, following an intense relationship with an AI companion chatbot, Garcia transformed her grief into a mission to protect other children and families,” the diocese said in a Sept. 2 press release.

Garcia is an attorney and child safety advocate and serves as chair of the Blessed Mother Mary Foundation. She met with Pope Leo XIV in November 2025 during an audience with participants in a conference on child dignity and AI ethics.

DePaul University partners with Vatican Laudato si’ Center for Higher Education

DePaul University has announced it will serve as the Chicago-based partner for the Vatican’s Laudato si’ Center for Higher Education.

The university will also launch the DePaul Institute for a Sustainable Future “to drive the collaboration, expanding a shared commitment to advancing integral ecology and human development,” according to a Sept. 2 press release from the university.

“As a Catholic, Vincentian university, DePaul recognizes that caring for our common home is inseparable from caring for one another,“ Robert L. Manuel, president of DePaul University, said. ”The health of our planet directly affects the well-being of people and communities around the world, particularly those most vulnerable to a changing environment.”

The university will collaborate with more than 60 research and higher education institutions across 35 countries through its participation in the Global Alliance for Laudato si’, according to the release.

National Catholic Bioethics Center launches master’s degree with Catholic University of America

The National Catholic Bioethics Center has announced its partnership with the Catholic University of America for a master’s degree in moral theology and ethics.

Starting with the 2026-2027 academic year, “students who complete the NCBC’s National Catholic Certification Program in Health Care Ethics can transfer six credits toward CUA’s master’s degree in moral theology/ethics,” according to an Aug. 24 press release from the bioethics center.

“This is a great opportunity for our students to further their graduate education with a trusted, faithful institution of higher education following completion of our Certification Program,” Joe Zalot, director of education at the NCBC, said in the release. “CUA is now the sixth academic partner to which our students can transfer credits.” 

Graduates of Catholic colleges more prepared for AI, national study finds

A study carried out on behalf of the Center for Catholic Studies at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, has found that graduates of Catholic colleges report higher levels of preparedness in dealing with AI than graduates of secular institutions.

The findings came as part of the Center’s third Holistic Impact Report, carried out in partnership with YouGov, according to a Sept. 3 press release from the university.

About 44% of Catholic college graduates said they use AI at least daily, compared with 36% of secular college graduates, while 33% said their college moderately or better prepared them to use AI, compared with 23% of secular graduates, according to the study.

Catholic college graduates were also slightly more likely to use AI at all and more likely to view it as beneficial to society, with 36% expecting significant or transformative benefits compared with 28% of secular graduates.

“After three studies, we are seeing a remarkably consistent picture of what Catholic higher education contributes to graduates’ lives,” Jason King, Beirne chair and director of the Center for Catholic Studies at St. Mary’s University, said in the release.

“The findings on AI are particularly interesting because the greater confidence graduates of Catholic colleges express in engaging this new technology is accompanied by a stronger sense of meaning and purpose in their lives and work.”

The settlement was announced on Sept. 3 by the law firm Jeff Anderson & Associates. The law firm, which represents abuse victims around the country, said the settlement will apply to more than 145 survivors.

The Winona-Rochester Diocese filed for bankruptcy in November 2018 and settled with abuse victims there in 2021 for $28 million. The law firm said that settlement included contributions from two diocesan insurers — LMI and Interstate — but did not include a payout from the diocese’s largest insurance company, U.S. Fire.

A lawsuit against the insurer had been working through the courts, the Anderson law firm said, with the trial set to begin on Sept. 28 before the insurance company announced the settlement.

The Winona-Rochester Diocese did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Attorney Jeff Anderson, meanwhile, said in his law firm’s press release that the settlement “forges a new path forward to combat insurers denials and delays across the country.” He described the settlement as “a triumphant turn toward justice.”

Insurance payouts are one of the ways that dioceses in the U.S. pay for abuse settlements. Other income streams include contributions from parishes, real estate sales, and cash reserves.

Insurers have at times argued that they should not be liable to pay into abuse settlements. Church leaders in the Baltimore and New York archdioceses in recent years have sued their respective insurers to force them to pay into high-dollar payouts.

Those disputes have at times turned bitter. In February the Archdiocese of New York claimed that its longtime insurer Chubb had for several years been “secretly” posing as the “Church Accountability Project,” allegedly encouraging abuse victims to “pursue claims against the [archdiocese].”

In 2025, meanwhile, an advocacy group called the Coalition for Just and Compassionate Compensation launched an ad campaign urging Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to force insurance companies to pay millions of dollars in abuse claims.

“Do not be afraid of your smallness. The fruitfulness of the Church is not measured in numbers, structures or resources, but in fidelity to the Gospel,” the pope said Sept. 3 during a meeting at the Vatican with members of the Conference of the Latin Bishops in the Arab Regions (CELRA).

Pope Leo said a small Christian community, when rooted in Christ, can remain a valuable presence in society, “not because it seeks power, but because it serves; not because it imposes itself, but because it bears witness; not because it responds to violence with more violence, but because it counters force with charity.”

The pope also recalled Christians who have given their lives in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and other countries scarred by violence. Their names, he said, “may not be known to the world, but they are well known to God.”

Their witness, he added, should encourage Christian communities not to give in to fear or resignation, particularly as many families face instability or are forced to emigrate.

Pope Leo called on the Church in the region to give particular attention to families and young people as well as to migrants, especially the large migrant communities living in the states on the Persian Gulf.

He urged Christian communities to become “homes where nobody feels like a stranger” and to defend the dignity of every person. At the same time, he emphasized that amid humanitarian and social challenges, the Church must not lose sight of its essential mission: proclaiming the Gospel, prayer, the sacraments, and Christian formation.

The pope also encouraged greater communion among the Church’s different traditions and rites and called for continued dialogue with Muslims and other religious communities.

“Dialogue does not mean renouncing one’s own identity, but living it out without fear of encounter,” he said.

Concluding his address, Pope Leo urged the bishops not to make success or recognition their primary goal, but instead to remain faithful to the Gospel and to the people entrusted to their care.

“Do not be afraid to sow without immediately seeing the fruits,” he said. “The sowing is yours; the growth is God’s.”

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.

Founded in 1326 at the initiative of King Edward II, Oriel is considered Oxford’s oldest royal foundation.

Marking the 700th anniversary of its royal charter, the pope noted that the college “has remained firm in its Christian identity” throughout the centuries.

He said the anniversary offered “an opportunity to celebrate its Catholic origins as the ‘College of the Blessed Virgin Mary.’”

That identity, he said, has been key to Oriel’s development “not just [as] an academic institution, but a true community of faith and scholarship in its deepest meaning.”

Oriel’s connection to St. John Henry Newman

The college is also known for its role in the 19th-century Oxford Movement and its association with St. John Henry Newman, who was a fellow there before his conversion to Catholicism.

Leo praised Newman as “a shining example of a scholar who not only showed the inseparability of faith and reason in his works but even more admirably in his life.”

“There was a great concreteness to his ideas, since his religious convictions were rooted in his personal relationship with God, while his scholarship was both sublime and eminently practical,” the pope said.

Leo also said Newman’s thinking on education remains especially relevant in the face of contemporary challenges.

“In the context of today’s challenges, Newman’s own thought on education is particularly relevant, for he proposes a Christian formation that embraces the entire person and measures the value of education according to human dignity, justice and the capacity to serve the common good,” he said, citing his October 2025 apostolic letter Drawing New Maps of Hope.

Addressing members of the delegation, the pope encouraged them “to seek the truth courageously and to promote this integral anthropological vision.”

“As a result, your work can genuinely facilitate a ‘heart to heart’ encounter with your brothers and sisters, and especially with our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life,” he said.

Finally, referring to Newman’s celebrated hymn Lead, Kindly Light, Leo recalled the English saint’s trust that God would guide him amid life’s uncertainties and urged the delegation to entrust themselves and the college’s future to Christ.

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.

“Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of participation in God’s creation,” Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre, chair of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, said in the statement.

The archbishop’s’ statement focuses on concerns about labor, such as stagnant wages, not enough opportunities for young people, affordability and other economic issues, and the ongoing growth of artificial intelligence (AI), which has sparked fears about job security.

“This year, we focus on young people and vulnerable communities who face uncertainty in today’s economy,” Fabre said. “Traditional economic indicators tell us the economy is growing, but hiring has slowed, especially for unemployed workers, and unemployment remains high for Black workers.”

The statement indicates that about one-fourth of workers make $35,000 annually or less, and nearly three-fourths of low-wage workers lack stable and secure jobs. It also cites data from a 2025 poll that showed that 70% of Americans  believed it was unaffordable to have children, 13 points higher than the previous year.

On AI, Fabre said, “there is widespread concern [it] will lead to higher unemployment and to fewer jobs that can support a family.” He said young people are “the most impacted so far and also experience the most anxiety” about AI.

“We must listen to the experiences of workers, families, young people, and communities of color as they struggle to find stability,” he said.

The archbishop referenced Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, which addresses AI concerns at length. The Holy Father warns humanity against creating “a new Tower of Babel” and pleads for society to instead “build the city in which God and humanity dwell together.”

The pope “notes that although AI presents new opportunities, it also risks normalizing a vision that is anti-human,” Fabre said.

“AI systems can imitate but never replace human intelligence,” he said. “AI cannot feel, love, discern, or receive God’s grace and wisdom. It is not morally neutral and risks creating ‘new forms of exclusion.’ AI must be carefully developed to ensure it serves the common good and humanity itself.”

Echoing the pontiff, Fabre warns against “de-skilling, surveillance, rigid and repetitive tasks, reduced agency and creativity, unemployment, job insecurity, concentrated power, and increased inequalities.”

“Furthermore, AI relies on low-wage workers, who are often hidden and who endure harsh conditions, caught in an exploitative supply chain,” he said. “Pope Leo calls us to work together to ‘design systems centered on the human person and not solely on performance’ and foster an economy that values the God given dignity of each person. Dignified work is not merely about productivity, but also participation in God’s creation. A just economy is not judged on profit alone, but on inclusive growth and protection for the most vulnerable.”

Although Fabre acknowledged that it “may seem daunting” to align AI development with the interests of workers, “we have been here before.” He referenced the 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, authored by Pope Leo XIII amid the Industrial Revolution.

“The Church has brought the sacredness of the human person to the questions of work and labor for these last 135 years,” Fabre said. “We recognize that as we observe the 40th anniversary of Economic Justice for All, the U.S. bishops’ landmark document on the economy, much of the teaching of this document remains relevant for our shared project in the United States.”

The archbishop said everyone — including the Church, the government, labor unions, civil society groups, and corporations — have a shared responsibility “to protect the human person and the dignity of work.”

“As new technology reshapes our economy and our work, let us be ‘builders of communion,’ ensuring that innovation and development is for the benefit of all, not just a few, and that each person can contribute to the Kingdom of God through their work,” Fabre said.

“It is neither easy nor a given in today’s world, and the Church knows this well,” he stated during the audience granted to delegations from the Pius XI Pontifical Apulian Regional Seminary in Molfetta and the Interdiocesan Seminary of Aversa.

Both seminaries are celebrating significant anniversaries this year. Molfetta is commemorating the centenary of its new premises — commissioned by Pope Pius XI, after whom the seminary is named — while Aversa is celebrating the tercentenary of the opening of its current facility.

Leo XIV also expressed his gratitude to the families present. “A vocation never arises without a suitable context; it often requires a home, and parents who pray and know how to let their children go. My gratitude, and that of the entire Church, goes out to you, dear families,” he noted.

The pope also highlighted God’s freedom, from which every vocation springs. “There is no competition, no ranking, nor is it written that he chose the best: He chose those he willed. In a world so intent on celebrating personal self-fulfillment, it is important to remember that none of you, nor any of us, is here because we earned it, but solely through a free choice by God the Father, a sign and guarantee of a gratuitous love that always precedes us and never disappoints,” he emphasized.

"The Lord continues to call, in every age of history and in every place.”

Pope Leo XIV

He also affirmed that the mere presence of these individuals with a priestly vocation in the seminary constitutes a sign of hope for the entire Church, a hope that, as he explained, stems not from “vague optimism,” but from the “certainty that the Lord continues to call, in every age of history and in every place.”

The pope also emphasized that the effort to live the spiritual life is sustained by “the beauty of fraternity and shared mission.”

“Jesus does not call just one man, but twelve, with personalities that are very different and by our standards, sometimes unexpected. The Lord gathers them and keeps them together so that they may learn that the Church is lived in communion: it belongs to none of us, and we are all called to love and serve it as one body,” he explained.

Addressing the formators, he asked them to be the “first teachers of that care and fraternity which are manifested in authentic, personal, and communal relationships, grounded in truth and charity.”

The pope made it clear that the mission of future priests will be to bring the Gospel to the people of their communities, that is, “to families struggling to get by; to young people who, barely twenty years old, pack their bags to look for work; to the elderly living in solitude; to the marginalized; to those who have lost a sense of purpose in 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 nun was world famous for having established a network of houses in some of the most destitute regions in the world, including her “home for the dying” in Kalighat, Calcutta.

That hospice center, which is still operating today, cares for those who have nowhere else to go, including many dying individuals, with the religious sisters there working to serve Jesus “hidden under the distressing disguise of the poorest of the poor,” as John Paul II put it.

Yet though Mother Teresa was hailed for her lifetime of sacrifice and her relentless commitment to caring for the poor, she has periodically come under fire by some critics who allege that she did not effectively minister to impoverished people, including by allegedly denying painkillers to those suffering greatly while dying in her care.

Those allegations were espoused most famously by Christopher Hitchens, the outspoken British atheist who visited the Kalighat house and later wrote critically about the standard of care provided there — including the claim that the sisters refused to provide anesthetics to suffering patients.

‘On the front line of alleviating pain and suffering’

Jim Towey, an American attorney who first met Mother Teresa in 1985 and who would go on to serve as legal counsel for her and the Missionaries of Charity for years, strongly disputed the claim that the nun was “indifferent to the pain of people.”

Towey, who detailed his years of service to Mother Teresa in his acclaimed 2022 book “To Love and Be Loved,” told EWTN News that she was “constantly on the front line of alleviating pain and suffering” across the world.

Hitchens’ widely-repeated criticism, Towey argued, was based off of accounts of a few ex-Missionaries of Charity as well as a visit Hitchens himself paid to the Kalighat facility in the early 1980s, which he wrote about years later.

Critics of the Kalighat home, Towey said, “have no idea what it was like on the streets [of Calcutta], where people were literally dying outside Mother Teresa’s doors.”

“She would bring them in and clean them and make them comfortable,” he said. “Half of them would die, half would eventually recover and leave.”

He said regional circumstances in eastern India in the early 1980s made strong painkillers almost impossible to get.

“There was no available morphine in Calcutta, even in the hospitals,” Towey said. “You couldn’t get anesthesia. The supply routes in and out of West Bengal, even into the 21st century, were terrible. They denied Western investment and trade was nonexistent.” Regional Soviet politics also constrained the exchange of goods, he said.

“There was no reliable stream of medical supplies,” Towey said. Yet “if [Mother Teresa] had them, she used them.”

The standards of care at the Kalighat facility have greatly improved in the decades since Hitchens visited, Towey pointed out. He said he most recently visited the home in May. “It’s changed dramatically. The quality of care, the medical care they provide, the pain relief they give to people [have all improved].”

Still, he cautioned against applying hospital standards to what is effectively a hospice home. “Mother was not running a hospital,” he said. Yet she was committed to alleviating the suffering of her charges to the greatest extent she could, he said. She herself regularly took medicine to manage instances of chronic back pain and numerous broken bones including a broken shoulder.

“This was a person whose life was immersed in suffering,” Towey said. “But when it became terrible she took pain medicine. She understood redemptive suffering, but she also knew the Church encourages people to manage pain.”

Towey, who did the first reading at Mother Teresa’s canonization Mass at the Vatican in 2016, said Mother Teresa “did what she could” and “used what she had” in order to alleviate the suffering of those in her care. And beyond that she worked to ensure that those suffering or dying in her facilities were loved and cared for.

“She tried to help people make sense of the pain if it wasn’t something she could alleviate,” he said.

And ultimately “she let people know they were loved, that they had God-given dignity, and that their suffering would not diminish that dignity.”

The reform was “unanimously approved in general terms,” ​​Assembly President Gustavo Porras stated on Sept. 1 during a special session held in the city of León, according to the Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa.

The reform amends the constitution, which extends the presidential term, as well as those of other high-ranking officials, from six to seven years, with the possibility of renewal.

Ortega has governed Nicaragua for about 30 years: since 2007, and previously, from 1979 to 1990. On July 19, he stated that there would be no further elections in Nicaragua, and on July 31, he proposed the reform — set to take effect in 2027 — that excludes “coup plotters” and “terrorists,”, terms he uses to refer to the political opposition, from participating in elections.

Reforms are a ‘formalization of the usurpation of power’

Ruta del Cambio (Pathway for Change), an organization which defends human rights and the rule of law, declared in a Sept. 2 statement that it “categorically rejects and and gives no legal recognition to the partial reform to the Political Constitution [of the Republic of Nicaragua] approved during the first legislative session on Sept. 1, 2026, by a National Assembly stripped of all independence and reduced to a mere rubber stamp for the will of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.”

Ruta del Cambio counts among its leaders Félix Maradiaga, a former presidential candidate and former political prisoner now living in exile.

“What has been approved is not a constitutional reform. It is the formalization of the usurpation of power through a text drafted in secret, approved without opposition, and voted for with unanimous obedience by those who owe their positions, privileges, and impunity to the couple that has hijacked the state,” Ruta del Cambio charged.

“Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo have turned the constitution into a family’s title deed. They have transformed the state into personal property, the law into an instrument of vengeance, and the republic’s [law enforcement apparatus] into tools of terror against the very people they swore to serve,” the organization emphasized.

Ruta del Cambio called for “rejecting the legal validity of this reform and of any act, mandate, extension, or appointment derived from it, and formally declaring it without force under international law.”

Elections ‘without legitimacy’

“What we are seeing in Nicaragua right now is a reform attempting to hold elections without competition, without legitimacy, and without any possibility of change. In other words, Ortega controls the judges and the playing field, and seeks to firmly establish his authoritarian model without any competition,” stated Arturo Mcfields Yescas, Nicaragua’s former ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), in a Sept. 3 interview with EWTN Noticias, the Spanish-language edition of EWTN News.

“This further undermines not only civil and political freedoms but also another fundamental freedom: religious freedom,” he pointed out.

McFields explained that when the regime speaks of “traitors to the homeland,” it is referring to those who dissent from its rule. “People who questioned Ortega’s authority immediately became traitors to the homeland,” as did those who “simply thought differently” or called for “international mediation.”

“This means,” he charged, “that anyone who does not applaud Ortega becomes a traitor to the homeland.”

U.S. reaction

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on X that “the Murillo-Ortega’s National Assembly gutted what remained of Nicaragua’s democracy in the second constitutional rewrite in two years. The U.S. will implement measures at the next @OAS_official [meeting of foreign ministers] to ensure that our hemisphere stops business as usual with this dictatorship.”

Regarding the United States’ call for countries to sever diplomatic and commercial ties with Nicaragua, McFields called it “an extraordinary start.”

“For the first time, Ortega is facing pressure of this nature. For the first time, the OAS has approved a resolution on Nicaragua almost unanimously,” by convening a meeting of foreign ministers to address the situation, McFields said.

Likewise, neighboring Costa Rica expressed its “deep concern regarding the ongoing deterioration of democracy in Nicaragua, exacerbated by the recent constitutional reform that further limits political and electoral participation,” and stated that it “will support a firm and coordinated response” with the OAS.

The government of Peru, led by President Keiko Fujimori, also rejected the approval of the constitutional reform. In a Sept. 2 statement, it declared that it “will stand with the Nicaraguan people, their political prisoners, their exiles, and all those who are currently persecuted for dreaming of free elections.”

Persecution of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua

McFields questioned the stance of countries like Brazil and Mexico, which did not support the resolution against Nicaragua, stating that “it’s surprising, painful, and something that ought to change. There should be empathy for the suffering of the Nicaraguan people, for persecuted politicians, for priests who have been imprisoned, exiled, or banished, and for the churches that have, at times, been burned down. It is truly grotesque, yet ideology seems to be prevailing over democracy.”

Since 2018, the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship has waged a fierce campaign of persecution against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua. Its latest known victim is the bishop emeritus of Estelí, Abelardo Mata (80), who suffers from diabetes, a heart condition, and vision problems. His condition remains uncertain, despite the regime’s claim that he is at home.

In mid-August, the regime released a video of an interview with the prelate, who recently celebrated his 50th anniversary as a priest, without specifying when the footage was recorded.

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 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.

The program has been a fixture of the Church calendar since 2000, when it was launched by St. John Paul II. Described by Vatican media as a condensed “master’s program” for new bishops, it is designed to foster the exchange of experiences among pastors from widely differing cultural, social, and ecclesial contexts while offering practical guidance for governing local churches.

This year’s participants come from countries across Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Latin America, including Algeria, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Ghana, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Myanmar, Namibia, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Central African Republic, Senegal, the Seychelles, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Kyrgyzstan, and Thailand.

Most of the world’s bishops fall under the jurisdiction of the Dicastery for Bishops, which oversees the creation of dioceses, episcopal appointments, and matters related to episcopal governance in the Latin Church. Bishops serving in missionary territories, however, are under the Dicastery for Evangelization, specifically its Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches.

Of the 147 participants, 98 are following the program organized by the Dicastery for Bishops under the theme, “In Christ, Guardians of the Magnifica Humanitas in Times of Transformation.” The remaining 49 are participating in a course sponsored by the Dicastery for Evangelization titled, “Servants of Communion in the Church.”

Both tracks combine lectures, liturgical celebrations, fraternal gatherings, and working sessions led by cardinals, archbishops, and senior officials of the Roman Curia.

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Liturgy, mission, and safeguarding against abuse

The program addresses key issues facing the Church, including liturgy, evangelization, child protection, financial administration, transparency, priestly formation, synodality, interreligious dialogue, the growth of new sects, and the handling of clergy-related crises.

The course organized by the Dicastery for Bishops includes presentations by Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, who will reflect on episcopal ministry, and Archbishop Vittorio Viola, secretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, who will discuss liturgical matters.

On Sept. 4, Archbishop Luis Javier Argüello García, president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, will offer reflections on the bishop’s mission within the family and society.

That afternoon, attention will turn to safeguarding minors, promoting a culture of prevention, and handling abuse cases, with a presentation by Archbishop Thibault Verny, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

The day will conclude with a lecture by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, on the Holy See’s role in a globalized world and its efforts to promote peace.

On Sept. 5, Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, will examine the cultural changes reshaping the contemporary world.

Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, as head of the Church tribunal responsible for matters of conscience, will provide a detailed explanation of the norms, theology, and limits of the Church’s absolute seal of secrecy, particularly regarding sacramental confession.

Tribalism, sects, and missionary challenges

The program for bishops from territories under the Dicastery for Evangelization is being held at the Pontifical Missionary College of St. Peter the Apostle.

Formal activities began Sept. 3 with a session focused on missionary work and the services provided by the dicastery to churches in mission territories.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle is serving as host, while Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu will address issues such as tribalism, caste discrimination, racism, and exclusionary regionalism in the contemporary Church.

Topics scheduled for the opening days also include clergy discipline, consecrated life, administration of Church property, associations of the faithful, and other pastoral challenges unique to missionary churches.

The Sept. 4 session will focus on faith and inculturation. Speakers include Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, who will reflect on interreligious dialogue in the current context, and Archbishop Aurelio García Macías, undersecretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship, who will discuss liturgical continuity and developments in territories of first evangelization.

Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, will close the day with a presentation on sects and new religious movements.

Episcopal governance and canon law

On Sept. 5, participants will delve into legal aspects of episcopal governance. Archbishop Anthony Randazzo, prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, will discuss diocesan structures of communion and collaboration, as well as the operation of ecclesiastical tribunals.

Archbishop John Joseph Kennedy, secretary of the disciplinary section of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, will provide guidance on handling cases involving delicta graviora, the most serious crimes prosecuted within the Catholic Church.

The day will also include reflections on pastoral accompaniment and the formation of lay faithful, led by Archbishop Dario Gervasi and Dr. Gabriella Gambino, secretary and undersecretary, respectively, of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.

Pilgrimage to Assisi and joint sessions

Participants will have a free day on Sunday, with the opportunity to make a pilgrimage to Assisi during the Jubilee Year marking the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis.

Activities will resume Sept. 7 at the Pontifical Urbaniana University with joint sessions bringing together participants from both programs. For the third consecutive year, this format is intended to foster fraternity and the exchange of experiences among bishops from very different pastoral realities.

Among the topics to be discussed is Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, which will be presented by Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, and Cardinal Roberto Repole, archbishop of Turin, will offer reflections on synodal ecclesiology.

On Sept. 8, the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the newly appointed bishops will participate in a Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, celebrated by Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar of the Diocese of Rome.

During the final days of the course, sessions will focus on priestly formation, the relationship between local churches and the Holy See, and the Church’s responsibility to protect minors and vulnerable adults.

Experts from the Institute of Anthropology at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University, including Archbishop Peter Beer and Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, one of the Church’s leading international voices on safeguarding, will participate in these discussions.

The program will conclude Sept. 10 with Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, followed by an audience with Pope Leo XIV. The papal meeting will bring to a close several days of formation, prayer, and fraternity in the Italian capital.

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.

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.

That is the premise of the lengthy and complex text by the International Theological Commission, “Caring for Our Common Home – A Responsible and Fraternal Response to the Triune God.”

Released Sept. 2 during the Season of Creation, the document examines “a Trinitarian vision of the creation of the cosmos, highlighting the resulting Trinitarian imprint on creation and its repercussions.”

The book also addresses “the foundation and scope of the role of the human being in the Common Home” as well as “a series of guidelines and guiding principles for care of the Common Home and ecological conversion.”

The full text is currently available from the Vatican only in Italian, with the official Vatican News outlet providing an English-language summary.

The text is complex, but summaries at the end of each chapter offer guidance emphasizing the theological meaning of creation. “The ultimate purpose of creation is not exhausted by the usefulness it may have for the human being and for the development of human life,” one summary notes.

Humans “cannot claim the right to indiscriminately subject creation to [their] own purposes, reducing its meaning and value to the merely instrumental usefulness it can provide: This is the temptation of absolute anthropocentrism,” the document says.

The human being is a servant and steward of creation, and “this role of the human being among the other creatures and the fulfillment of God’s plan finds its deepest inspiration in the celebration of the Eucharist: The human being offers creation to God in Christ and, in return, implores God’s blessing in Christ for all things.”

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.

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.

The pontiff made this appeal during his general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 2, during which he inaugurated a new series of catecheses dedicated to the pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes, one of the Church’s most significant responses to the challenges and expectations of the modern world.

The document of the Second Vatican Council, approved and promulgated on Dec. 7, 1965, highlights, as Leo explained, the essentially pastoral nature of the Church, born of “a renewed fidelity to the mystery of Christ who, by becoming incarnate, chooses to share our life.”

For this reason, he recalled that the conciliar constitution Gaudium et Spes opens with the famous statement that the Church makes her own “the joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted.”

This commitment, the pontiff added, calls Christians “to leave behind all passivity and indifference in the face of current events, history, and people’s lives, especially in the face of the rapid and profound changes we are experiencing today.”

He emphasized that closeness to humanity allows for a deeper understanding both of historical events and of revelation itself. From that perspective, he noted that Gaudium et Spes recalls that “the Church has always had the duty of scrutinizing the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel.”

The Holy Father clarified that this attitude does not stem solely from a “merely moral imperative.” To explain this, he cited the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, considered the roadmap of Pope Francis’ pontificate, which reminds us that for the Church “the option for the poor is primarily a theological category rather than a cultural, sociological, political, or philosophical one.”

“Christian solidarity commits us to engaging with reality and also to unmasking the contradictions that characterize personal and social life in the contemporary world,” the pope said.

He then listed some examples of those contradictions. On the one hand, he pointed to “scientific and technological progress, which constantly offers new possibilities, but only to some”; on the other, a clearer understanding of the “laws of society,” accompanied, however, by uncertainties “about the direction to give” them.

He also highlighted the paradox of possessing “wealth, resources, and economic power” while, at the same time, “a huge proportion of the world’s citizens are still tormented by hunger and poverty.” Likewise, he lamented that there is growing awareness that the future of the planet is at stake and yet a persistent inability to renounce “selfish consumption” and “the illusion that war is an effective means of building peace.”

“In a time marked by profound changes, giving rise to worrying imbalances, the Church is called to serve the human person, listening to and welcoming the deepest questions of their heart and the longings that dwell within them,” the Holy Father said.

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.