America

ACI Prensa becomes EWTN News Español #Catholic There are dates that could not be better selected, even with the liturgical calendar in hand. On Monday, Oct. 12, ACI Prensa became EWTN News Español and launched its new platform at EWTNNews.com/es. This is a day when so many celebrations converge that it is impossible not to see the hand of God behind it.I would be lying if I said this was the date we had in mind from the moment we began this project, as if we had experienced a supernatural vision. That was not the case. But when you work in the service of God and the Church, you learn to view coincidences through different eyes. They are “God-incidences.”This relaunch goes far beyond simply changing a websiteʼs name. Since 1980, ACI Prensa has accompanied generations of Spanish-speaking Catholics, and since 2014 it has been part of the EWTN family. Today, that journey enters a new phase: the same mission, but with the strength and reach of a global brand like EWTN News.I confess that, while I am incredibly excited to launch EWTN News Español, I also feel a touch of nostalgia at saying goodbye to ACI Prensa — a brand I have followed and admired for decades. Yet, “we know that all things work together for good for those who love God” (Rom 8:28). St. Augustine spoke of God as a beauty “ever ancient, ever new.” The Gospel does not change; what changes are the ways we transmit and communicate it, or the technologies that help us spread it throughout history.3 feasts, 3 patronsThis Oct. 12 marks 20 years since the death of St. Carlo Acutis at the age of 15. Canonized by Pope Leo XIV in September 2025, Acutis is the first millennial saint, and his defining characteristic was his use of new technologies to share the faith.We ask him to guide us in the apostolic use of communication technologies (including the internet, social media, and artificial intelligence) and to help us bring God closer to the many young souls who live their lives online today. It cannot be a coincidence that a new platform is being born under the gaze of a teenager who turned the internet into a path to heaven.It is also the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar, patroness of the Hispanic world — a title recognized by St. John Paul II in 1984 — and the date on which Spain celebrates its National Day.There could hardly be a better day to launch EWTN News Español: a language that connects hundreds of millions of people — from the historic Catholic communities of Latin America and Spain to the ever-growing Catholic population of the United States, which now has a home of its own within the global EWTN family.On this same day of Oct. 12, Brazil celebrates its patroness, Our Lady of Aparecida, a title proclaimed by Pius XI in 1930. Since the mission of EWTN News extends beyond a single language — and with ACI Digital delivering our news in Portuguese — we place our work under her protection as well, honoring her as a patroness of our efforts across the Americas, alongside our beloved Virgin of Guadalupe. Yet today, the focus is on Spanish, and to that we now return.A platform built for usA shared brand does not imply an identical experience for everyone. Our goal is not merely to translate the English-language EWTN News site into Spanish but to build a platform tailored to the Spanish-speaking audience — reflecting their customs, their culture, and the ways they stay informed today. That is why EWTN News Español combines the technology and editorial resources of EWTN News with the expertise and capabilities of a team that deeply understands the people it serves and the evolving nature of news consumption habits.We used to expect users to come looking for us. Now, it’s the other way around: We go where the people are. The latest Reuters Institute report on journalism makes this clear: Today, most people get their news from social media and video rather than from media websites.That is why EWTN News Español is designed for mobile, where you and I spend our day. We offer content that keeps you informed wherever you are (whether via a newsletter sent to your email or your WhatsApp) while also enriching your faith with devotional material, such as the daily Mass readings or the lives of the saints. The good news alongside the dayʼs headlines.And if you prefer watching to reading, we now have “Watch” — a new tab on the EWTN News Español site where we gather all our video content, featuring the best reports, interviews, broadcasts, and viral social media clips.Plus, if something major happens in the Church or the world, we cover it with you in real time through updates on our live blog.And speaking of staying connected, your EWTN News Español account goes wherever you go. Not only can you save articles, comment on them, and follow your favorite writers and topics, but you can also personalize your experience across EWTN.com, EWTNNews.com, Roku, and EWTN+ using the same login.As always, access is free, sustained by the generous donations of so many people who believe in and support our mission, a mission that began when Mother Angelica had the “crazy” idea to launch a Catholic television channel on Aug. 15, 1981 (talk about providential dates!).Behind this platform lies an incredible team that is deeply dedicated to the mission and has decades of experience covering conclaves, World Youth Days, synods, jubilees, and International Eucharistic Congresses, as well as the daily lives of Catholic communities throughout the Spanish-speaking world. The new platform makes this work easier to discover, whether for those who live out their faith every day or for those who are just beginning to explore it.What does not changeThe name (from ACI Prensa to EWTN News Español), along with the design and the site’s tools and features, are changing.What does not change is our commitment to the truth, to our audiences, and to journalistic excellence — a path ACI Prensa charted four decades ago, bringing hundreds of thousands of people closer to God through quality content and a faithful commitment to the Church’s magisterium. That will not change, with God’s help and the guidance of Mother Angelica.St. Carlo Acutis used to say that the Eucharist was his “highway to heaven.” We simply aspire to build, by God’s grace, a few digital lanes leading to it. Our hope is that EWTN News — in all its languages — becomes the place where every Catholic turns for information and that we prove ourselves worthy, day by day, of the trust that aspiration represents. Welcome to EWTN News Español!This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

ACI Prensa becomes EWTN News Español #Catholic There are dates that could not be better selected, even with the liturgical calendar in hand. On Monday, Oct. 12, ACI Prensa became EWTN News Español and launched its new platform at EWTNNews.com/es. This is a day when so many celebrations converge that it is impossible not to see the hand of God behind it.I would be lying if I said this was the date we had in mind from the moment we began this project, as if we had experienced a supernatural vision. That was not the case. But when you work in the service of God and the Church, you learn to view coincidences through different eyes. They are “God-incidences.”This relaunch goes far beyond simply changing a websiteʼs name. Since 1980, ACI Prensa has accompanied generations of Spanish-speaking Catholics, and since 2014 it has been part of the EWTN family. Today, that journey enters a new phase: the same mission, but with the strength and reach of a global brand like EWTN News.I confess that, while I am incredibly excited to launch EWTN News Español, I also feel a touch of nostalgia at saying goodbye to ACI Prensa — a brand I have followed and admired for decades. Yet, “we know that all things work together for good for those who love God” (Rom 8:28). St. Augustine spoke of God as a beauty “ever ancient, ever new.” The Gospel does not change; what changes are the ways we transmit and communicate it, or the technologies that help us spread it throughout history.3 feasts, 3 patronsThis Oct. 12 marks 20 years since the death of St. Carlo Acutis at the age of 15. Canonized by Pope Leo XIV in September 2025, Acutis is the first millennial saint, and his defining characteristic was his use of new technologies to share the faith.We ask him to guide us in the apostolic use of communication technologies (including the internet, social media, and artificial intelligence) and to help us bring God closer to the many young souls who live their lives online today. It cannot be a coincidence that a new platform is being born under the gaze of a teenager who turned the internet into a path to heaven.It is also the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar, patroness of the Hispanic world — a title recognized by St. John Paul II in 1984 — and the date on which Spain celebrates its National Day.There could hardly be a better day to launch EWTN News Español: a language that connects hundreds of millions of people — from the historic Catholic communities of Latin America and Spain to the ever-growing Catholic population of the United States, which now has a home of its own within the global EWTN family.On this same day of Oct. 12, Brazil celebrates its patroness, Our Lady of Aparecida, a title proclaimed by Pius XI in 1930. Since the mission of EWTN News extends beyond a single language — and with ACI Digital delivering our news in Portuguese — we place our work under her protection as well, honoring her as a patroness of our efforts across the Americas, alongside our beloved Virgin of Guadalupe. Yet today, the focus is on Spanish, and to that we now return.A platform built for usA shared brand does not imply an identical experience for everyone. Our goal is not merely to translate the English-language EWTN News site into Spanish but to build a platform tailored to the Spanish-speaking audience — reflecting their customs, their culture, and the ways they stay informed today. That is why EWTN News Español combines the technology and editorial resources of EWTN News with the expertise and capabilities of a team that deeply understands the people it serves and the evolving nature of news consumption habits.We used to expect users to come looking for us. Now, it’s the other way around: We go where the people are. The latest Reuters Institute report on journalism makes this clear: Today, most people get their news from social media and video rather than from media websites.That is why EWTN News Español is designed for mobile, where you and I spend our day. We offer content that keeps you informed wherever you are (whether via a newsletter sent to your email or your WhatsApp) while also enriching your faith with devotional material, such as the daily Mass readings or the lives of the saints. The good news alongside the dayʼs headlines.And if you prefer watching to reading, we now have “Watch” — a new tab on the EWTN News Español site where we gather all our video content, featuring the best reports, interviews, broadcasts, and viral social media clips.Plus, if something major happens in the Church or the world, we cover it with you in real time through updates on our live blog.And speaking of staying connected, your EWTN News Español account goes wherever you go. Not only can you save articles, comment on them, and follow your favorite writers and topics, but you can also personalize your experience across EWTN.com, EWTNNews.com, Roku, and EWTN+ using the same login.As always, access is free, sustained by the generous donations of so many people who believe in and support our mission, a mission that began when Mother Angelica had the “crazy” idea to launch a Catholic television channel on Aug. 15, 1981 (talk about providential dates!).Behind this platform lies an incredible team that is deeply dedicated to the mission and has decades of experience covering conclaves, World Youth Days, synods, jubilees, and International Eucharistic Congresses, as well as the daily lives of Catholic communities throughout the Spanish-speaking world. The new platform makes this work easier to discover, whether for those who live out their faith every day or for those who are just beginning to explore it.What does not changeThe name (from ACI Prensa to EWTN News Español), along with the design and the site’s tools and features, are changing.What does not change is our commitment to the truth, to our audiences, and to journalistic excellence — a path ACI Prensa charted four decades ago, bringing hundreds of thousands of people closer to God through quality content and a faithful commitment to the Church’s magisterium. That will not change, with God’s help and the guidance of Mother Angelica.St. Carlo Acutis used to say that the Eucharist was his “highway to heaven.” We simply aspire to build, by God’s grace, a few digital lanes leading to it. Our hope is that EWTN News — in all its languages — becomes the place where every Catholic turns for information and that we prove ourselves worthy, day by day, of the trust that aspiration represents. Welcome to EWTN News Español!This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

The platform and name are new, but the mission is the same: report the truth and bring the faith to the Spanish-speaking world.

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Bishops around the world ask for prayers for Pope Leo XIV’s health #Catholic Bishops from around the world asked for prayers for Pope Leo XIV after he announced on Sunday, Oct. 11, that he will undergo surgery to remove a nodule on one of his lungs in the coming days.In the United States, Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, said the prelates would join “the faithful and all people of good will in praying for his good health.” He also prayed for those who will perform the operation: “May the hand of Pope Leo’s surgeons be guided by the divine physician, Jesus Christ.”Archbishop Ronald Hicks of New York joined the prayers as he finished a week-long pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. “I join with the bishops, priests, faithful, and all people of good will of the Archdiocese of New York in praying for our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, as he prepares for his surgery later this week,” he wrote. He also asked Jesus, “the divine physician,” to care for the pope and guide “the hands of his surgeons, nurses, and other health professionals.”Prayers from Uruguay, Argentina, and PeruCardinal Daniel Sturla, archbishop of Montevideo, also wrote about the news. Uruguay is one of the countries expecting Pope Leo XIV on his upcoming visit to Latin America. “Let us pray for his speedy recovery and continue with greater spirit the preparation for his visit to our land,” he wrote.In Peru, which also expects the pope later this year, the Archdiocese of Lima entrusted his health to the Lord of Miracles, a devotion that draws millions of Peruvians each year. “We ask the Lord of Miracles for his speedy recovery,” the archdiocese said on social media.The Peruvian bishops’ conference issued a message titled “United in prayer for the health of the Holy Father Leo XIV.” It noted the :serenity and humility” with which the pope shared the news and asked that his health be entrusted to the Lord of Miracles.“Lifting to God, Lord of life and source of all health, our supplications that he strengthen him and grant him the health that the fulfillment of his mission requires,” the Peruvian bishops said. They also urged communities, families, and the faithful to place the Holy Father under the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so that in the fullness of his strength he may continue his mission in service of the Church and all humanity, as a messenger of peace and hope and a witness of unity, fraternity, and encounter among all peoples.The Argentinian bishops said in a statement: “We ask the Lord to grant him strength and peace at this time, that the operation may go well, and that he may make a swift and full recovery.” Prayers from Spain The Spanish bishops’ conference also invited prayer for the pope. Its president, Archbishop Luis Argüello, asked “the whole Spanish Church — dioceses, institutes of consecrated life, communities and lay associations, all members of the People of God, and our fellow citizens — to pray for the health of our beloved Pope Leo XIV.”The conference’s secretary general, Bishop Francisco César García Magán, recalled the welcome Leo XIV received on his recent visit to Spain and said the faithful can now show him their closeness in another way: “Now we show it by uniting in prayer.”Instagram postThe conference’s secretary general, Bishop Francisco César García Magán, recalled the welcome Leo XIV received on his recent visit to Spain and said the faithful can now show him their closeness in another way: “Now we show it by uniting in prayer.”Prayers from Poland, Great Britain, MaltaArchbishop Tadeusz Wojda, the president of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, issued an appeal to the Polish people, asking them to “pray for the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, asking God for a successful operation and a speedy recovery.”Bishop John Keenan, on behalf of the Scottish bishops’ conference, said: “We invite Catholics across Scotland, and all people of goodwill, to join us in praying for Pope Leo, for the medical team caring for him, and for a successful operation and a full and speedy recovery.”Archbishop Richard Moth of Westminster and the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, assured Leo of the prayers of the faithful.“We pray that following the procedure and a period of recovery, he will soon be restored to health,” Moth wrote.Archbishop Charles Scicluna, Archbishop of Malta and Adjunct Secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote on X: “The Church in Malta is united in prayer for the Holy Father, wishing him well for the surgery he will be undergoing.” Leo XIV asks for prayerThe pope announced the operation after Sunday’s Angelus. Doctors found a nodule on one of his lungs and recommended removing it. In sharing the news, Leo asked the faithful to accompany him spiritually in the coming days: “I entrust myself to your prayer.”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.

Bishops around the world ask for prayers for Pope Leo XIV’s health #Catholic Bishops from around the world asked for prayers for Pope Leo XIV after he announced on Sunday, Oct. 11, that he will undergo surgery to remove a nodule on one of his lungs in the coming days.In the United States, Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, said the prelates would join “the faithful and all people of good will in praying for his good health.” He also prayed for those who will perform the operation: “May the hand of Pope Leo’s surgeons be guided by the divine physician, Jesus Christ.”Archbishop Ronald Hicks of New York joined the prayers as he finished a week-long pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. “I join with the bishops, priests, faithful, and all people of good will of the Archdiocese of New York in praying for our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, as he prepares for his surgery later this week,” he wrote. He also asked Jesus, “the divine physician,” to care for the pope and guide “the hands of his surgeons, nurses, and other health professionals.”Prayers from Uruguay, Argentina, and PeruCardinal Daniel Sturla, archbishop of Montevideo, also wrote about the news. Uruguay is one of the countries expecting Pope Leo XIV on his upcoming visit to Latin America. “Let us pray for his speedy recovery and continue with greater spirit the preparation for his visit to our land,” he wrote.In Peru, which also expects the pope later this year, the Archdiocese of Lima entrusted his health to the Lord of Miracles, a devotion that draws millions of Peruvians each year. “We ask the Lord of Miracles for his speedy recovery,” the archdiocese said on social media.The Peruvian bishops’ conference issued a message titled “United in prayer for the health of the Holy Father Leo XIV.” It noted the :serenity and humility” with which the pope shared the news and asked that his health be entrusted to the Lord of Miracles.“Lifting to God, Lord of life and source of all health, our supplications that he strengthen him and grant him the health that the fulfillment of his mission requires,” the Peruvian bishops said. They also urged communities, families, and the faithful to place the Holy Father under the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so that in the fullness of his strength he may continue his mission in service of the Church and all humanity, as a messenger of peace and hope and a witness of unity, fraternity, and encounter among all peoples.The Argentinian bishops said in a statement: “We ask the Lord to grant him strength and peace at this time, that the operation may go well, and that he may make a swift and full recovery.” Prayers from Spain The Spanish bishops’ conference also invited prayer for the pope. Its president, Archbishop Luis Argüello, asked “the whole Spanish Church — dioceses, institutes of consecrated life, communities and lay associations, all members of the People of God, and our fellow citizens — to pray for the health of our beloved Pope Leo XIV.”The conference’s secretary general, Bishop Francisco César García Magán, recalled the welcome Leo XIV received on his recent visit to Spain and said the faithful can now show him their closeness in another way: “Now we show it by uniting in prayer.”Instagram postThe conference’s secretary general, Bishop Francisco César García Magán, recalled the welcome Leo XIV received on his recent visit to Spain and said the faithful can now show him their closeness in another way: “Now we show it by uniting in prayer.”Prayers from Poland, Great Britain, MaltaArchbishop Tadeusz Wojda, the president of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, issued an appeal to the Polish people, asking them to “pray for the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, asking God for a successful operation and a speedy recovery.”Bishop John Keenan, on behalf of the Scottish bishops’ conference, said: “We invite Catholics across Scotland, and all people of goodwill, to join us in praying for Pope Leo, for the medical team caring for him, and for a successful operation and a full and speedy recovery.”Archbishop Richard Moth of Westminster and the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, assured Leo of the prayers of the faithful.“We pray that following the procedure and a period of recovery, he will soon be restored to health,” Moth wrote.Archbishop Charles Scicluna, Archbishop of Malta and Adjunct Secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote on X: “The Church in Malta is united in prayer for the Holy Father, wishing him well for the surgery he will be undergoing.” Leo XIV asks for prayerThe pope announced the operation after Sunday’s Angelus. Doctors found a nodule on one of his lungs and recommended removing it. In sharing the news, Leo asked the faithful to accompany him spiritually in the coming days: “I entrust myself to your prayer.”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.

Prayers for the pope’s health have been pouring in from all over the world.

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Study: FDA allowed mail-order abortion pills without ‘sufficient evidence’ of safety #Catholic A study by scholars at the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute found that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “lacked sufficient evidence” to remove the in-person abortion pill dispensing rule.Published in Issues in Law and Medicine, a journal of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, on Oct. 6, the report found that the FDA’s studies on the abortion pill didn’t reflect real-world conditions of abortion pill use.According to the article, the FDA relied on analysis from groups with political incentives. Additionally, the FDA used “inadequate” adverse event reporting, authors Zachery Sluzala and Ingrid Skop found. “When federal agencies remove regulations designed to safeguard patient health, those decisions should be grounded in evidence that reflects real-world practice,” Skop, an OB-GYN who works for the Lozier Institute, said in a statement. “Our analysis found that the FDA’s review fell well short of that standard. Safety decisions should reflect the conditions in which women are using the drugs, not tightly controlled study conditions that fail to mimic real-world use.”Pro-life groups criticize FDA abortion pill updateIn a court-ordered update of the agency’s highly anticipated report on the safety of the abortion pill, the FDA said that it will complete the safety review in March 2027, an announcement that led to backlash from pro-life groups.A federal judge in Louisiana ordered the status report on the safety review. According to its update, the FDA expects to have results by mid-December, with a final report in March 2027 — more than a year and a half after the group first promised the review.Pro-life leader Marjorie Dannenfelser, who heads Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, called the FDA’s update “alarming.”“The administration must correct course — and, more importantly, it must not wait for the study to conclude before acting,” said Dannenfelser. “Peer-reviewed evidence shows that the Biden administration relied on insufficient evidence and flawed assumptions when it removed the in-person dispensing requirement.“Action is long overdue,” Dannenfelser said.Students for Life of America leader Kristan Hawkins also criticized the timeline.“It shouldn’t take a judge to pry some answers from the FDA on the dangers of chemical abortion pills, nor should it take this long to get them,” said Hawkins. “While we are glad to see the FDA giving attention to deadly drugs, this is not enough to address the harms that recklessly approving mifepristone in 2000 did to public health and fertility.”Alliance Defending Freedom spokeswoman Erin Hawley observed that “every month of additional delay puts nearly 15,000 additional babies at risk in states where mail-order abortion drugs are unlawful.”Mail-order abortions “don’t empower women — they facilitate the abuse, coercion, and poisoning of women by making high-risk drugs accessible to bad actors at the click of a button,” said Hawley.Study: Colleges ‘fail’ pregnant and parenting studentsA recent study found that hundreds of state colleges and universities are failing to provide resources to help pregnant and parenting students stay in school.The study by Students for Life of America’s Demetree Institute found that the average state college campus in the survey offered “barely half the recommended support” for student parents.The study looked at more than 500 state colleges and universities, examining the housing policies, on-campus resources, financial assistance, medical attention, and accommodations and policy transparency they offer to student-parents.The three lowest-ranked schools were Dalton State College in Georgia, Dakota State University in South Dakota, and Concord University in West Virginia.About 98% of schools in the study were missing at least two recommended accommodations for pregnant and parenting students. On-campus housing for families was unavailable at more than 70% of schools. About 85% of schools did not offer scholarships targeted for pregnant or parenting students.Men’s march for life to be held in BostonMen will gather in Boston on Nov. 1 for a national men’s march for life.The National Men’s March to Abolish Abortion and Rally for Personhood first began in 2021. In the event, men march about three miles to a rally point where they meet up with their families, pray, and listen to speakers.In an interview on EWTN’s “At Home With Jim and Joy,” the march’s president, Jim Havens, said the march is focused on “getting men off the sidelines in the fight for equal protection of the preborn — of all human life.”“We’re going to do it in authentic love; we’re going to do it in a peaceful manner, the right way, standing up in public,” he continued. “It really is powerful when we gather together and do this with Christ at the center.”Scottish bishops warn against proposal to expand abortionThe Scottish bishops are warning against a proposal that they say would allow abortion up to birth for any reason.The proposal would decriminalize abortion in Scotland and remove existing legal safeguards protecting unborn children. The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland expressed opposition to the proposal in a statement by Bishop John Keenan, who heads the bishops’ Marriage, Family and Life Commission.“There is a better way than abortion,” Keenan said in the statement.“Every human life possesses inherent dignity and worth; a dignity that does not depend upon age, size, ability, dependency or stage of development,” Keenan said. “It begins at conception and continues until natural death. A just and compassionate society should recognize and protect the lives of both mother and child, especially when either is vulnerable.”Las Vegas archbishop urges vote against abortion measureLas Vegas Archbishop George Leo Thomas called on Catholics in Nevada to vote “no” on a ballot measure that would roll back protections for unborn children, minors, and women and expand abortion up to birth.The Nevada measure would expand the right to abortion, which is already legal in the state up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. The letter opposing the Nevada abortion ballot measure was read at Masses across the archdiocese Oct. 3-4.“This question is not whether abortion is legal in Nevada; it already is under a law approved by Nevada voters in 1990,” said Thomas. “The Legislature cannot amend or repeal that law; only a direct vote of the people can do so. This question is whether Nevada voters should expand the right to abortion in ways that can harm the health, safety, and welfare of women and minors. Moreover, this measure will have grave and lasting consequences for vulnerable unborn lives.”“Unborn children have no voice and cannot defend themselves,” Thomas said. “As Catholics, our faith requires us to protect the inherent dignity of every human life and to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.”

Study: FDA allowed mail-order abortion pills without ‘sufficient evidence’ of safety #Catholic A study by scholars at the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute found that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “lacked sufficient evidence” to remove the in-person abortion pill dispensing rule.Published in Issues in Law and Medicine, a journal of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, on Oct. 6, the report found that the FDA’s studies on the abortion pill didn’t reflect real-world conditions of abortion pill use.According to the article, the FDA relied on analysis from groups with political incentives. Additionally, the FDA used “inadequate” adverse event reporting, authors Zachery Sluzala and Ingrid Skop found. “When federal agencies remove regulations designed to safeguard patient health, those decisions should be grounded in evidence that reflects real-world practice,” Skop, an OB-GYN who works for the Lozier Institute, said in a statement. “Our analysis found that the FDA’s review fell well short of that standard. Safety decisions should reflect the conditions in which women are using the drugs, not tightly controlled study conditions that fail to mimic real-world use.”Pro-life groups criticize FDA abortion pill updateIn a court-ordered update of the agency’s highly anticipated report on the safety of the abortion pill, the FDA said that it will complete the safety review in March 2027, an announcement that led to backlash from pro-life groups.A federal judge in Louisiana ordered the status report on the safety review. According to its update, the FDA expects to have results by mid-December, with a final report in March 2027 — more than a year and a half after the group first promised the review.Pro-life leader Marjorie Dannenfelser, who heads Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, called the FDA’s update “alarming.”“The administration must correct course — and, more importantly, it must not wait for the study to conclude before acting,” said Dannenfelser. “Peer-reviewed evidence shows that the Biden administration relied on insufficient evidence and flawed assumptions when it removed the in-person dispensing requirement.“Action is long overdue,” Dannenfelser said.Students for Life of America leader Kristan Hawkins also criticized the timeline.“It shouldn’t take a judge to pry some answers from the FDA on the dangers of chemical abortion pills, nor should it take this long to get them,” said Hawkins. “While we are glad to see the FDA giving attention to deadly drugs, this is not enough to address the harms that recklessly approving mifepristone in 2000 did to public health and fertility.”Alliance Defending Freedom spokeswoman Erin Hawley observed that “every month of additional delay puts nearly 15,000 additional babies at risk in states where mail-order abortion drugs are unlawful.”Mail-order abortions “don’t empower women — they facilitate the abuse, coercion, and poisoning of women by making high-risk drugs accessible to bad actors at the click of a button,” said Hawley.Study: Colleges ‘fail’ pregnant and parenting studentsA recent study found that hundreds of state colleges and universities are failing to provide resources to help pregnant and parenting students stay in school.The study by Students for Life of America’s Demetree Institute found that the average state college campus in the survey offered “barely half the recommended support” for student parents.The study looked at more than 500 state colleges and universities, examining the housing policies, on-campus resources, financial assistance, medical attention, and accommodations and policy transparency they offer to student-parents.The three lowest-ranked schools were Dalton State College in Georgia, Dakota State University in South Dakota, and Concord University in West Virginia.About 98% of schools in the study were missing at least two recommended accommodations for pregnant and parenting students. On-campus housing for families was unavailable at more than 70% of schools. About 85% of schools did not offer scholarships targeted for pregnant or parenting students.Men’s march for life to be held in BostonMen will gather in Boston on Nov. 1 for a national men’s march for life.The National Men’s March to Abolish Abortion and Rally for Personhood first began in 2021. In the event, men march about three miles to a rally point where they meet up with their families, pray, and listen to speakers.In an interview on EWTN’s “At Home With Jim and Joy,” the march’s president, Jim Havens, said the march is focused on “getting men off the sidelines in the fight for equal protection of the preborn — of all human life.”“We’re going to do it in authentic love; we’re going to do it in a peaceful manner, the right way, standing up in public,” he continued. “It really is powerful when we gather together and do this with Christ at the center.”Scottish bishops warn against proposal to expand abortionThe Scottish bishops are warning against a proposal that they say would allow abortion up to birth for any reason.The proposal would decriminalize abortion in Scotland and remove existing legal safeguards protecting unborn children. The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland expressed opposition to the proposal in a statement by Bishop John Keenan, who heads the bishops’ Marriage, Family and Life Commission.“There is a better way than abortion,” Keenan said in the statement.“Every human life possesses inherent dignity and worth; a dignity that does not depend upon age, size, ability, dependency or stage of development,” Keenan said. “It begins at conception and continues until natural death. A just and compassionate society should recognize and protect the lives of both mother and child, especially when either is vulnerable.”Las Vegas archbishop urges vote against abortion measureLas Vegas Archbishop George Leo Thomas called on Catholics in Nevada to vote “no” on a ballot measure that would roll back protections for unborn children, minors, and women and expand abortion up to birth.The Nevada measure would expand the right to abortion, which is already legal in the state up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. The letter opposing the Nevada abortion ballot measure was read at Masses across the archdiocese Oct. 3-4.“This question is not whether abortion is legal in Nevada; it already is under a law approved by Nevada voters in 1990,” said Thomas. “The Legislature cannot amend or repeal that law; only a direct vote of the people can do so. This question is whether Nevada voters should expand the right to abortion in ways that can harm the health, safety, and welfare of women and minors. Moreover, this measure will have grave and lasting consequences for vulnerable unborn lives.”“Unborn children have no voice and cannot defend themselves,” Thomas said. “As Catholics, our faith requires us to protect the inherent dignity of every human life and to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.”

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.

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Transnational online scam operations on the rise, U.S. State Department says #Catholic The State Department released its 2026 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report on Oct. 8, showing criminal organizations and repressive governments are using trafficking for profit in new ways.The report, released more than three months after the June 30 deadline, said the spread of industrial-scale online scam operations “pose a direct threat to US national security.”Transnational crime organizations, mostly run by Chinese nationals and long based in Southeast Asia, have moved into Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America, destabilizing local communities and cheating people out of billions of dollars each year, according to the report. Fraudulent online romance, gambling, and cryptocurrency schemes have defrauded people in more than 125 countries, with Americans, the primary targets, losing at least .2 billion in 2025 to compounds operating out of Southeast Asia, according to the report.The organizations recruited people from at least 80 countries over the past few years through fraudulent schemes, often pushing them into forced labor and holding them in guarded compounds and manipulating them through violence, sexual exploitation, intimidation, and other acts. They are often coerced into committing crimes, the report found.The report, an annual assessment required by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, covers April 1, 2025, through March 31.The State Department said it relied on information from embassy reporting, government officials, nongovernmental and international organizations, published reports, news articles, and other sources.The State Department said that governments that fail to punish traffickers and protect victims should be held accountable.12 governments citedTwelve governments are cited in the report for a “policy or pattern” of state-sponsored human trafficking: Afghanistan, Belarus, Burma, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Russia, South Sudan, and Sudan. This designation covers “trafficking in government-funded programs, forced labor in government-affiliated medical services or other sectors, sexual slavery in government camps, or the employment or recruitment of child soldiers.”Under the Child Soldiers Prevention Act, the department listed 14 countries whose forces or state-backed militias recruited or used children in any capacity during hostilities, including as sex slaves: Afghanistan, Burma, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Iran, Nigeria, Russia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Venezuela, and Yemen.Among country rankings reported so far, Israel returned to Tier 1, the highest category, for the first time since 2021, after five years on Tier 2. The Republic of Congo was downgraded to Tier 3, the lowest, for failing to meet minimum standards and not making significant efforts. A Tier 3 listing can restrict certain U.S. assistance, including security assistance, the report said.A Tier 1 ranking does not mean that a country has no human trafficking. Instead, according to the report, “a Tier 1 ranking indicates that a government has made efforts to address the problem … and met the TVPA’s minimum standards.”Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, author of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, said in a statement on Oct. 8 that the report’s findings are “a stark reminder that modern-day slavery remains a global scourge — and that governments must be held accountable when they fail to protect vulnerable people.”“Human trafficking is an assault on human dignity and freedom,” the congressman wrote. “The United States must continue to use every tool at its disposal — including the TIP Report — to expose human trafficking whenever it rears its ugly head, protect survivors, and press foreign governments to end this blight upon humanity.”“China remains on Tier 3 — the lowest ranking,” Smith continued, “reflecting its continued failure to meet the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) use and enabling of forced labor — including the systematic exploitation of Uyghurs and other persecuted minorities — is deeply troubling and deserves the greatest level of scrutiny.”“Moreover, the horrific, ongoing consequences of China’s one-child per couple policy can still be seen and felt today, as the Report notes that a gross disparity — tens of millions more boys than girls — has driven the demand for commercial sex trafficking and coercive marriages in the country,” Smith wrote.“Governments on Tier 3 — including China, North Korea, Iran, Russia, Burma, Belarus, Cambodia, Cuba, Laos, Nicaragua, Sudan, South Sudan, and Venezuela — can and must do more. Tier 3 must never become a permanent designation; it should serve as a dire warning and a call to action,” Smith wrote.

Transnational online scam operations on the rise, U.S. State Department says #Catholic The State Department released its 2026 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report on Oct. 8, showing criminal organizations and repressive governments are using trafficking for profit in new ways.The report, released more than three months after the June 30 deadline, said the spread of industrial-scale online scam operations “pose a direct threat to US national security.”Transnational crime organizations, mostly run by Chinese nationals and long based in Southeast Asia, have moved into Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America, destabilizing local communities and cheating people out of billions of dollars each year, according to the report. Fraudulent online romance, gambling, and cryptocurrency schemes have defrauded people in more than 125 countries, with Americans, the primary targets, losing at least $18.2 billion in 2025 to compounds operating out of Southeast Asia, according to the report.The organizations recruited people from at least 80 countries over the past few years through fraudulent schemes, often pushing them into forced labor and holding them in guarded compounds and manipulating them through violence, sexual exploitation, intimidation, and other acts. They are often coerced into committing crimes, the report found.The report, an annual assessment required by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, covers April 1, 2025, through March 31.The State Department said it relied on information from embassy reporting, government officials, nongovernmental and international organizations, published reports, news articles, and other sources.The State Department said that governments that fail to punish traffickers and protect victims should be held accountable.12 governments citedTwelve governments are cited in the report for a “policy or pattern” of state-sponsored human trafficking: Afghanistan, Belarus, Burma, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Russia, South Sudan, and Sudan. This designation covers “trafficking in government-funded programs, forced labor in government-affiliated medical services or other sectors, sexual slavery in government camps, or the employment or recruitment of child soldiers.”Under the Child Soldiers Prevention Act, the department listed 14 countries whose forces or state-backed militias recruited or used children in any capacity during hostilities, including as sex slaves: Afghanistan, Burma, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Iran, Nigeria, Russia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Venezuela, and Yemen.Among country rankings reported so far, Israel returned to Tier 1, the highest category, for the first time since 2021, after five years on Tier 2. The Republic of Congo was downgraded to Tier 3, the lowest, for failing to meet minimum standards and not making significant efforts. A Tier 3 listing can restrict certain U.S. assistance, including security assistance, the report said.A Tier 1 ranking does not mean that a country has no human trafficking. Instead, according to the report, “a Tier 1 ranking indicates that a government has made efforts to address the problem … and met the TVPA’s minimum standards.”Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, author of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, said in a statement on Oct. 8 that the report’s findings are “a stark reminder that modern-day slavery remains a global scourge — and that governments must be held accountable when they fail to protect vulnerable people.”“Human trafficking is an assault on human dignity and freedom,” the congressman wrote. “The United States must continue to use every tool at its disposal — including the TIP Report — to expose human trafficking whenever it rears its ugly head, protect survivors, and press foreign governments to end this blight upon humanity.”“China remains on Tier 3 — the lowest ranking,” Smith continued, “reflecting its continued failure to meet the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) use and enabling of forced labor — including the systematic exploitation of Uyghurs and other persecuted minorities — is deeply troubling and deserves the greatest level of scrutiny.”“Moreover, the horrific, ongoing consequences of China’s one-child per couple policy can still be seen and felt today, as the Report notes that a gross disparity — tens of millions more boys than girls — has driven the demand for commercial sex trafficking and coercive marriages in the country,” Smith wrote.“Governments on Tier 3 — including China, North Korea, Iran, Russia, Burma, Belarus, Cambodia, Cuba, Laos, Nicaragua, Sudan, South Sudan, and Venezuela — can and must do more. Tier 3 must never become a permanent designation; it should serve as a dire warning and a call to action,” Smith wrote.

Fraudulent online romance, gambling, and cryptocurrency schemes have defrauded people in more than 125 countries, with Americans losing at least $18.2 billion in 2025, according to a new report.

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Denver bishops mark America 250 with message on migrants and refugees #Catholic Catholic bishops and other Christian leaders in Colorado issued a letter on immigrants and refugees in observance of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini’s feast day during the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. “This anniversary invites us to remember not only the founding of our nation but also the generations who have helped bring its ideals to life,” the letter, released on Oct. 5, Cabrini’s feast day, said, highlighting that “America’s immigrant heritage is an essential part of, and inseparable from, our national identity.”Cabrini is the patron saint of immigrants and is the first American to be canonized.The message, titled “A Pilgrim People, A Shared Hope,” is signed by Archbishop James Golka and Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodriguez of Denver, Bishop Stephen Berg of Pueblo, and Father Kyle Ingels, the diocesan administrator of Colorado Springs, as well as several other Christian leaders across denominations. The letter comes as the Trump administration’s deportation efforts across the country continue to stir controversy among Catholics, including in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, which filed a lawsuit Oct. 5 against local and federal officials for barring priests from ministering to Catholic immigrant detainees. “We remember with respect the Indigenous peoples who inhabited this land long before the nation’s founding, as well as those brought here through slavery and denied the freedom our nation proclaimed,” the letter said. “We also give thanks for generations of immigrants and refugees who arrived carrying their faith, cultures, hopes, and gifts.”The letter underscored the contributions of immigrants across agriculture, business, science, medicine, technology, and more. “Here in Colorado, immigrants have worked in our mines and fields, taught in our schools, opened businesses, served in our hospitals, raised families and enriched our civic and religious life,” the letter said.Addressing concerns about national sovereignty and border security, the Christian leaders affirmed “both a nation’s responsibility to protect its people and maintain an orderly immigration system and its duty to treat every person with justice and mercy.”“Laws should serve the common good while respecting human dignity, protecting the vulnerable, preserving family unity and providing fair legal processes,” the letter said, concluding: “On this anniversary, we invite the faithful to remember the immigrant and refugee stories that have shaped their families and communities; to pray for those displaced from their homes; to support ministries that accompany newcomers; and to build friendships across differences of language, culture and nationality.”

Denver bishops mark America 250 with message on migrants and refugees #Catholic Catholic bishops and other Christian leaders in Colorado issued a letter on immigrants and refugees in observance of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini’s feast day during the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. “This anniversary invites us to remember not only the founding of our nation but also the generations who have helped bring its ideals to life,” the letter, released on Oct. 5, Cabrini’s feast day, said, highlighting that “America’s immigrant heritage is an essential part of, and inseparable from, our national identity.”Cabrini is the patron saint of immigrants and is the first American to be canonized.The message, titled “A Pilgrim People, A Shared Hope,” is signed by Archbishop James Golka and Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodriguez of Denver, Bishop Stephen Berg of Pueblo, and Father Kyle Ingels, the diocesan administrator of Colorado Springs, as well as several other Christian leaders across denominations. The letter comes as the Trump administration’s deportation efforts across the country continue to stir controversy among Catholics, including in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, which filed a lawsuit Oct. 5 against local and federal officials for barring priests from ministering to Catholic immigrant detainees. “We remember with respect the Indigenous peoples who inhabited this land long before the nation’s founding, as well as those brought here through slavery and denied the freedom our nation proclaimed,” the letter said. “We also give thanks for generations of immigrants and refugees who arrived carrying their faith, cultures, hopes, and gifts.”The letter underscored the contributions of immigrants across agriculture, business, science, medicine, technology, and more. “Here in Colorado, immigrants have worked in our mines and fields, taught in our schools, opened businesses, served in our hospitals, raised families and enriched our civic and religious life,” the letter said.Addressing concerns about national sovereignty and border security, the Christian leaders affirmed “both a nation’s responsibility to protect its people and maintain an orderly immigration system and its duty to treat every person with justice and mercy.”“Laws should serve the common good while respecting human dignity, protecting the vulnerable, preserving family unity and providing fair legal processes,” the letter said, concluding: “On this anniversary, we invite the faithful to remember the immigrant and refugee stories that have shaped their families and communities; to pray for those displaced from their homes; to support ministries that accompany newcomers; and to build friendships across differences of language, culture and nationality.”

“This anniversary invites us to remember not only the founding of our nation but also the generations who have helped bring its ideals to life,” said the letter from Colorado Christian leaders.

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Red Mass marks opening of Supreme Court term in Washington #Catholic WASHINGTON — Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, underscored the importance of using the Holy Spirit’s guidance in public affairs at the annual Red Mass marking the opening of the Supreme Court term.Seeking the Holy Spirit’s wisdom will help people reach their full potential in their work and responsibilities, Broglio said in the homily Oct. 4 at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C.“We also pray that our understanding of Godʼs presence and his commandments will inspire integrity, devotion to meaning, and the promotion of harmony,” he said.Hosted by The John Carroll Society, the Red Mass drew more than 1,000 people, including Supreme Court justices, public officials, and Vice President JD Vance, to mark the opening of the judiciary term and pray for judges, attorneys, diplomats, and government leaders.The name derives from the red color of the archbishops’, cardinals’, and priests’ vestments. All Church officials who participated wore red to represent the tongues of fire symbolizing the presence of the Holy Spirit.This year marked the 74th anniversary of the Red Mass in Washington, one of several such celebrations held worldwide, such as in Rome, Paris, and London, to invoke blessings on justice administrators.In response to last year’s Red Mass, when a New Jersey man threatened Catholics and Supreme Court justices, security measures were increased. Amid the increased security, attendees included law students and faculty from area schools such as Georgetown University and The Catholic University of America.
 
 Red Mass attendees sit in the pews at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle on Oct. 4, 2026, in Washington, D.C. | Credit: Emma R.C. Lyons/EWTN News
 
 Mark Cummings, a member of the John Carroll Society, an adjunct professor at George Mason University, and a partner at Sher, Cummings, and Ellis, said attendance at the Mass would help students.“Itʼs inspiring for them, and I think itʼs a very healthy thing to be able to mix with the Supreme Court justices, superior court judges and courts of appeals, as well as Vice President Vance,” Cummings said. “I donʼt know where else theyʼd have an opportunity to see so many people who have made it in the profession and are serving as Supreme Court justices.”Broglio “talked about the importance of the Constitution, the importance of our laws, and that everybody, even the meekest and lowest of citizens, should have access to justice and how we should. Itʼs set up that way with our Constitution and Bill of Rights,” Cummings said.Cummings said Broglio’s message was a call for those in the legal profession and public service to help ensure that everyone has equal access to justice.Broglio also advised officials on how charity should guide all legal professions.“Your service to order and the virtue of justice is deeply appreciated even by this canon lawyer,” said Broglio, who holds a doctorate in canon law.Broglio said immigrants, past and present, have helped build the United States, and he urged legal professionals to be “architects of hope” to ensure that charity and fraternity shape the pursuit of justice.“In his first encyclical, Pope Leo wrote that the way a society treats migrants, refugees, and those forced to move reveals whether its sense of justice is driven by fear or by the spirit of fraternity,” Broglio said.“Perhaps if more of us directed our thoughts in the ways of peace, we would discover and develop a more civil society and and learn to live in harmony with our neighbors,” Broglio said.

Red Mass marks opening of Supreme Court term in Washington #Catholic WASHINGTON — Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, underscored the importance of using the Holy Spirit’s guidance in public affairs at the annual Red Mass marking the opening of the Supreme Court term.Seeking the Holy Spirit’s wisdom will help people reach their full potential in their work and responsibilities, Broglio said in the homily Oct. 4 at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C.“We also pray that our understanding of Godʼs presence and his commandments will inspire integrity, devotion to meaning, and the promotion of harmony,” he said.Hosted by The John Carroll Society, the Red Mass drew more than 1,000 people, including Supreme Court justices, public officials, and Vice President JD Vance, to mark the opening of the judiciary term and pray for judges, attorneys, diplomats, and government leaders.The name derives from the red color of the archbishops’, cardinals’, and priests’ vestments. All Church officials who participated wore red to represent the tongues of fire symbolizing the presence of the Holy Spirit.This year marked the 74th anniversary of the Red Mass in Washington, one of several such celebrations held worldwide, such as in Rome, Paris, and London, to invoke blessings on justice administrators.In response to last year’s Red Mass, when a New Jersey man threatened Catholics and Supreme Court justices, security measures were increased. Amid the increased security, attendees included law students and faculty from area schools such as Georgetown University and The Catholic University of America. Red Mass attendees sit in the pews at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle on Oct. 4, 2026, in Washington, D.C. | Credit: Emma R.C. Lyons/EWTN News Mark Cummings, a member of the John Carroll Society, an adjunct professor at George Mason University, and a partner at Sher, Cummings, and Ellis, said attendance at the Mass would help students.“Itʼs inspiring for them, and I think itʼs a very healthy thing to be able to mix with the Supreme Court justices, superior court judges and courts of appeals, as well as Vice President Vance,” Cummings said. “I donʼt know where else theyʼd have an opportunity to see so many people who have made it in the profession and are serving as Supreme Court justices.”Broglio “talked about the importance of the Constitution, the importance of our laws, and that everybody, even the meekest and lowest of citizens, should have access to justice and how we should. Itʼs set up that way with our Constitution and Bill of Rights,” Cummings said.Cummings said Broglio’s message was a call for those in the legal profession and public service to help ensure that everyone has equal access to justice.Broglio also advised officials on how charity should guide all legal professions.“Your service to order and the virtue of justice is deeply appreciated even by this canon lawyer,” said Broglio, who holds a doctorate in canon law.Broglio said immigrants, past and present, have helped build the United States, and he urged legal professionals to be “architects of hope” to ensure that charity and fraternity shape the pursuit of justice.“In his first encyclical, Pope Leo wrote that the way a society treats migrants, refugees, and those forced to move reveals whether its sense of justice is driven by fear or by the spirit of fraternity,” Broglio said.“Perhaps if more of us directed our thoughts in the ways of peace, we would discover and develop a more civil society and and learn to live in harmony with our neighbors,” Broglio said.

Washington Cardinal Robert McElroy was the principal celebrant of the Mass, and Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, offered the homily.

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Illinois bishop announces first-ever parish to be named after Blessed Fulton Sheen #Catholic Bishop Louis Tylka of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, announced at the end of a Mass celebrated on Saturday the first-ever parish named for Blessed Fulton Sheen.The combined parish of St. Mary in El Paso, Illinois — where Sheen was baptized — and St. John in Benson, Illinois, will be the first parish in the world to be named after the new blessed. While the buildings themselves will retain their original names, the new parish name will take effect on Dec. 9, Sheen’s feast day, Tylka said.“This has been a remarkable week of firsts for the Diocese of Peoria and the universal Catholic Church,” Tylka said in a statement released later on Sept. 26. “We have celebrated Archbishop Fulton Sheen becoming the first American-born bishop to be declared Blessed. For the first time, we have heard his name invoked as a Blessed in the Eucharistic Prayer. For the first time, we have prayed the Collect given to the Church for his feast. And today, I have the great joy of announcing another first: the establishment of the first parish in the world named Blessed Fulton Sheen Parish.”The Sept. 26 Mass — celebrated by Bishop John Barres of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, who was baptized as a baby by Sheen — was one of many celebrated in thanksgiving for the beatification of Sheen, who was declared “blessed” on Sept. 24 in St. Louis.“There is something profoundly fitting about this new parish carrying his name,” Tylka continued in the statement. “It was at St. Mary Church in El Paso that Fulton John Sheen was baptized. There, his life in Christ began. From those waters of Baptism flowed a remarkable life of faith, priesthood, preaching, teaching, missionary discipleship and evangelization that eventually touched millions of people around the world.”A person must be proclaimed “blessed” by the Church before a parish can be named after him or her, Tylka explained to EWTN News’ Mark Irons on Saturday outside of St. Mary’s Church. Tylka said he signed the decree to name the parish after Sheen on Friday morning, less than 24 hours after Sheen’s beatification.“It’s great,” Tylka said when asked by Irons what he thought about having the parish named after Sheen. “This is where he was baptized, this parish church — which will still be St. Mary’s Church, but it is St. Mary’s Church of Blessed Fulton Sheen Parish — to know that connection, that we’re continuing on that faith that God has given to us that he witnessed so well, just immense pride and certainly for the folks here … to be able to know that theirs is the first parish to ever honor the blessed.”TweetSheen, despite his humble origins in small-town Illinois, aspired to great things as an academic and as a communicator of the Catholic faith. On Thursday, before a crowd of more than 50,000 at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, the farm-boy-turned-mass-media star was declared “blessed” after the reading of a decree signed by Pope Leo XIV, a fellow Midwesterner.Via his decree, Pope Leo announced Blessed Sheen’s feast day will be on Dec. 9, the anniversary of his death. His feast day is expected to be on the calendar of the Catholic Church in the United States.Sheen was born in Illinois in 1895 and ordained a priest of the Diocese of Peoria in 1919. He later became an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of New York and then bishop of Rochester, New York.His international fame was largely due to his ability to use the new forms of media of his time to proclaim the Catholic faith.Through his television program “Life Is Worth Living,” broadcast during the 1950s, Sheen brought reflections on faith, morality, and the meaning of life into millions of homes, becoming one of the most recognizable Catholic figures on American television.Mark Irons and Jonah McKeown contributed to this report.This story was updated at 4:02 p.m. ET on Sept. 26, 2026, with the statement from the Diocese of Peoria/Bishop Tylka and comments to Mark Irons.

Illinois bishop announces first-ever parish to be named after Blessed Fulton Sheen #Catholic Bishop Louis Tylka of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, announced at the end of a Mass celebrated on Saturday the first-ever parish named for Blessed Fulton Sheen.The combined parish of St. Mary in El Paso, Illinois — where Sheen was baptized — and St. John in Benson, Illinois, will be the first parish in the world to be named after the new blessed. While the buildings themselves will retain their original names, the new parish name will take effect on Dec. 9, Sheen’s feast day, Tylka said.“This has been a remarkable week of firsts for the Diocese of Peoria and the universal Catholic Church,” Tylka said in a statement released later on Sept. 26. “We have celebrated Archbishop Fulton Sheen becoming the first American-born bishop to be declared Blessed. For the first time, we have heard his name invoked as a Blessed in the Eucharistic Prayer. For the first time, we have prayed the Collect given to the Church for his feast. And today, I have the great joy of announcing another first: the establishment of the first parish in the world named Blessed Fulton Sheen Parish.”The Sept. 26 Mass — celebrated by Bishop John Barres of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, who was baptized as a baby by Sheen — was one of many celebrated in thanksgiving for the beatification of Sheen, who was declared “blessed” on Sept. 24 in St. Louis.“There is something profoundly fitting about this new parish carrying his name,” Tylka continued in the statement. “It was at St. Mary Church in El Paso that Fulton John Sheen was baptized. There, his life in Christ began. From those waters of Baptism flowed a remarkable life of faith, priesthood, preaching, teaching, missionary discipleship and evangelization that eventually touched millions of people around the world.”A person must be proclaimed “blessed” by the Church before a parish can be named after him or her, Tylka explained to EWTN News’ Mark Irons on Saturday outside of St. Mary’s Church. Tylka said he signed the decree to name the parish after Sheen on Friday morning, less than 24 hours after Sheen’s beatification.“It’s great,” Tylka said when asked by Irons what he thought about having the parish named after Sheen. “This is where he was baptized, this parish church — which will still be St. Mary’s Church, but it is St. Mary’s Church of Blessed Fulton Sheen Parish — to know that connection, that we’re continuing on that faith that God has given to us that he witnessed so well, just immense pride and certainly for the folks here … to be able to know that theirs is the first parish to ever honor the blessed.”TweetSheen, despite his humble origins in small-town Illinois, aspired to great things as an academic and as a communicator of the Catholic faith. On Thursday, before a crowd of more than 50,000 at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, the farm-boy-turned-mass-media star was declared “blessed” after the reading of a decree signed by Pope Leo XIV, a fellow Midwesterner.Via his decree, Pope Leo announced Blessed Sheen’s feast day will be on Dec. 9, the anniversary of his death. His feast day is expected to be on the calendar of the Catholic Church in the United States.Sheen was born in Illinois in 1895 and ordained a priest of the Diocese of Peoria in 1919. He later became an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of New York and then bishop of Rochester, New York.His international fame was largely due to his ability to use the new forms of media of his time to proclaim the Catholic faith.Through his television program “Life Is Worth Living,” broadcast during the 1950s, Sheen brought reflections on faith, morality, and the meaning of life into millions of homes, becoming one of the most recognizable Catholic figures on American television.Mark Irons and Jonah McKeown contributed to this report.This story was updated at 4:02 p.m. ET on Sept. 26, 2026, with the statement from the Diocese of Peoria/Bishop Tylka and comments to Mark Irons.

The combined parish of St. Mary in El Paso, Illinois, and St. John in Benson, Illinois, will be the first parish in the world to be named after the new blessed.

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As beatification nears, new book explains why Fulton Sheen was ‘America’s Apostle’ #Catholic With the beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen approaching, a new book on the life and legacy of the evangelist and television and radio show host explains why he was “America’s Apostle.”Allan Smith, founder and director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Mission Society of Canada, published the book “America’s Apostle” on Sept. 15, just ahead of the archbishop’s beatification on Sept. 24.“I think … the title is a perfect one — ‘Americaʼs Apostle,’ because he really was an apostle to the American people in the great tradition of apostles,” Vice President and Editorial Director of EWTN News Matthew Bunson told “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Veronica Dudo on Sept. 22.The book was published through EWTN Publishing and Sophia Institute Press.“[Sheen] was a brilliant communicator; he had immense gifts on television, radio, as a writer, as a poet,” Bunson said. “But all of that was geared toward proclaiming Jesus Christ in exactly the same way that a good apostle should.”Sheen began his media career as a priest, hosting an hourlong radio show called “The Catholic Hour” in 1930 until he was consecrated an auxiliary bishop in New York in 1951 and transitioned to television, hosting “Life Is Worth Living.” At its peak, Sheen’s radio show was reaching about 4 million people weekly, and his television show was reaching about 30 million people.“Like a good apostle, he used all the means of communications at his disposal,” Bunson said. “I just mentioned television, radio, you name it. He wanted to use it. So itʼs perfectly appropriate, I think, for him to be called ‘Americaʼs Apostle.’”Sheen also reserved one hour every day for prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament, beginning this when he was ordained in 1919 until he died in 1979. He was found dead at the age of 84 in his chapel in front of the Blessed Sacrament.Bunson explained that Sheen “made a promise on the day of his ordination” that he would do a Holy Hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament. He also noted Sheen wrote in his autobiography, “Treasure in Clay,” that he prepared for his homilies, his books, and his speeches in front of the Eucharist.
 
 The book cover for “America’s Apostle: Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Blessed Fulton J. Sheen” features a portrait of Sheen. It was released days before Sheen’s beatification set for Sept. 24, 2026. | Credit: EWTN
 
 “He made the Blessed Sacrament his way of not just preparing, but making himself holy and worthy of the people he was talking to,” Bunson said. “Because thatʼs how seriously he took what he was saying.”“So as a communicator, it wasnʼt just communicating about himself,” he said. “He was always proclaiming a person, and that was Jesus Christ. And he did that by developing and fostering his love for the Eucharist. And he did it in the Holy Hour.”“Fulton Sheen, pray for us,” Bunson concluded.

As beatification nears, new book explains why Fulton Sheen was ‘America’s Apostle’ #Catholic With the beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen approaching, a new book on the life and legacy of the evangelist and television and radio show host explains why he was “America’s Apostle.”Allan Smith, founder and director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Mission Society of Canada, published the book “America’s Apostle” on Sept. 15, just ahead of the archbishop’s beatification on Sept. 24.“I think … the title is a perfect one — ‘Americaʼs Apostle,’ because he really was an apostle to the American people in the great tradition of apostles,” Vice President and Editorial Director of EWTN News Matthew Bunson told “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Veronica Dudo on Sept. 22.The book was published through EWTN Publishing and Sophia Institute Press.“[Sheen] was a brilliant communicator; he had immense gifts on television, radio, as a writer, as a poet,” Bunson said. “But all of that was geared toward proclaiming Jesus Christ in exactly the same way that a good apostle should.”Sheen began his media career as a priest, hosting an hourlong radio show called “The Catholic Hour” in 1930 until he was consecrated an auxiliary bishop in New York in 1951 and transitioned to television, hosting “Life Is Worth Living.” At its peak, Sheen’s radio show was reaching about 4 million people weekly, and his television show was reaching about 30 million people.“Like a good apostle, he used all the means of communications at his disposal,” Bunson said. “I just mentioned television, radio, you name it. He wanted to use it. So itʼs perfectly appropriate, I think, for him to be called ‘Americaʼs Apostle.’”Sheen also reserved one hour every day for prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament, beginning this when he was ordained in 1919 until he died in 1979. He was found dead at the age of 84 in his chapel in front of the Blessed Sacrament.Bunson explained that Sheen “made a promise on the day of his ordination” that he would do a Holy Hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament. He also noted Sheen wrote in his autobiography, “Treasure in Clay,” that he prepared for his homilies, his books, and his speeches in front of the Eucharist. The book cover for “America’s Apostle: Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Blessed Fulton J. Sheen” features a portrait of Sheen. It was released days before Sheen’s beatification set for Sept. 24, 2026. | Credit: EWTN “He made the Blessed Sacrament his way of not just preparing, but making himself holy and worthy of the people he was talking to,” Bunson said. “Because thatʼs how seriously he took what he was saying.”“So as a communicator, it wasnʼt just communicating about himself,” he said. “He was always proclaiming a person, and that was Jesus Christ. And he did that by developing and fostering his love for the Eucharist. And he did it in the Holy Hour.”“Fulton Sheen, pray for us,” Bunson concluded.

The book by Allan Smith was published on Sept. 15, about one week before the beatification. EWTN’s Matthew Bunson discusses the book and Sheen’s legacy on “EWTN News Nightly.”

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Archbishop of Panama asks victims for forgiveness: ‘We cannot remain silent in the face of abuse’ #Catholic The archbishop of Panama, José Domingo Ulloa Mendieta, stated that “we cannot remain silent in the face of abuse” during his presentation of the report “Assessment of Institutional Responses (AIR) in cases of sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable persons” within the Archdiocese of Panama between 2001 and 2025.The report by the Transparency Commission (TC), a pilot project and the first from an interdisciplinary group of independent experts on addressing and preventing abuse within ecclesial settings, was presented on Sept. 22 at the Santa María La Antigua University auditorium in Panama City.Speaking during the presentation, Ulloa emphasized: “It has already been said here, and we know it: Our Panamanian culture often prefers to remain silent, but in the face of abuse, we cannot remain silent.”“We want to listen; we want to take every complaint seriously, with respect, and confidentiality, protecting the individuals involved and acting in accordance with established procedures,” he added.The prelate explained that the archdiocese he leads “remains committed to reporting relevant allegations to the competent civil authorities in accordance with current legislation” and acknowledged the need to ask what can be done better to move forward in the prevention of abuse.“A culture of protection is not built solely through written rules; it is built when every priest, religious, pastoral worker, collaborator, and member of our communities understands that protecting minors and vulnerable persons is an ongoing, shared responsibility,” the archbishop emphasized.Asking forgiveness of the victimsThe prelate also addressed “in a special way victims and survivors. We are deeply pained by the suffering you have endured.”“It pains us to know that those who should have found a place of welcome, care, and trust within the Church experienced situations that caused them such deep wounds,” he continued.Ulloa emphasized that “wherever members of our Church caused harm, and wherever our institutional response fell short of what the victims needed and had a right to expect, we ask for forgiveness in the name of the Church.”The archbishop also noted that “over this 25-year period, and I wish to highlight this especially for the media, more than 18 priests have been removed from priestly ministry due to situations involving the Sixth Commandment, offenses against property, or other issues they have experienced.”The Transparency CommissionAccording to its website, the Transparency Commission (TC) was established to conduct comprehensive investigations “in a holistic, professional, independent, and rigorous manner regarding cases of abuse of minors and vulnerable persons within the Church.” It is funded by the University of Notre Dame Law School in Indiana and Villanueva University in Madrid.“This group of experts focuses its work on places where crises related to ecclesial abuse have not yet occurred or have not come to light,” notes the TC website.
 
 Presentation of the report to the archbishop of Panama, José Domingo Ulloa. | Credit: Archdiocese of Panama
 
 The report indicates that in cases of sexual abuse, the AIR “must place victims at the center of the analysis, since the way the institution protects their rights, addresses their needs, and fosters their reparation constitutes the primary criterion for evaluating the quality of the response provided.”The Transparency Commission is composed of 17 individuals coordinated by Father Jordi Pujol, a lawyer who holds a doctorate in moral theology and is also a professor of law and communication ethics at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome.Its members include Father Thomas Berg, a professor and researcher at the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame; Yago de la Cierva, a professor of preventive and crisis communication at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross; and Irma Patricia Espinosa, a psychiatrist, member of the National Council for the Protection of Minors of the Mexican Bishops’ Conference, academic director and founding partner of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Training for the Protection of Minors (CEPROME) Latin America, and a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors since 2022.Also serving on the Transparency Commission are María Inés Franck, professor of canon law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina and a member of the Pastoral Council for the Protection of Minors of the Argentine Bishops’ Conference; Monsignor John Paul Kimes, professor of canon law at the University of Notre Dame Law School; and Father Daniel Portillo, dean of the psychology department at Lumen Gentium Catholic University in Mexico. He is the director and a founding member of CEPROME Latin America.The Panama ReportThe request for the report goes back to October 2025, when the archbishop of Panama requested an assessment of institutional response from the TC “on his own initiative, without a court order or a request from the Holy See.”The commission stated that it accepted the assignment subject to three conditions: full access to information, total independence in the investigation, and a commitment to publish the findings. The archdiocese did not intervene in the compilation of the report and only saw it days before its presentation.The TC states that it operated with financial independence: Its members received no remuneration from the archdiocese, and costs were covered by Notre Dame Law School and the Villanueva University Foundation. The archdiocese only covered transportation and accommodation and provided workspace.The commission reported that, during the period under review, the archdiocese received 37 complaints of which it analyzed 24, while the remaining 13 were excluded from the analysis “because they referred to events that occurred outside the archdioceseʼs territory or the time frame examined, or because they did not involve abuse against minors or vulnerable persons.”The report reveals that case management improved thanks to two initiatives by the archdiocese: the approval of guidelines in 2015 and the creation in 2024 of the Pastoral Care and Prevention Office and the Listening Office.The report, currently available only in Spanish, identifies five areas requiring improvement: listening to and accompanying victims; recordkeeping; prevention; justice for victims; and reparation.“Making reparation requires acknowledging the harm, accepting personal and institutional responsibility, and addressing the physical, psychological, moral, spiritual, and social needs of each victim,” the commission emphasizes.The pilot projectIn a FAQ section about the report, the TC explains that this work is a pilot project because “it is the first time that a comprehensive methodology has been applied that can be replicated in other dioceses or ecclesial organizations.”“This first project has allowed us to test a methodology and a work system, based on professional listening, research in archives, conducting interviews with various audiences of interest, and media analysis and the sociocultural context of the country,” it adds.The Transparency Commission further specifies that the working methodology aims to “place victims at the center, protecting their rights, and guarantee due process for the accused,” applying a clear standard of prudence to avoid “revictimizing a victim or blaming an innocent person.”The Transparency Commission also noted that “the Vatican has been kept informed of the workʼs progress at all times; both the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and the Pontifical Commission for Latin America are aware of the TC’s work. Furthermore, some members of the commission work or have worked with both the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.”The TC concludes by noting that anyone who has suffered abuse within the Church may, at any time, turn to the Archdiocese of Panama’s Listening Office and file a report with the public prosecutorʼs office.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.

Archbishop of Panama asks victims for forgiveness: ‘We cannot remain silent in the face of abuse’ #Catholic The archbishop of Panama, José Domingo Ulloa Mendieta, stated that “we cannot remain silent in the face of abuse” during his presentation of the report “Assessment of Institutional Responses (AIR) in cases of sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable persons” within the Archdiocese of Panama between 2001 and 2025.The report by the Transparency Commission (TC), a pilot project and the first from an interdisciplinary group of independent experts on addressing and preventing abuse within ecclesial settings, was presented on Sept. 22 at the Santa María La Antigua University auditorium in Panama City.Speaking during the presentation, Ulloa emphasized: “It has already been said here, and we know it: Our Panamanian culture often prefers to remain silent, but in the face of abuse, we cannot remain silent.”“We want to listen; we want to take every complaint seriously, with respect, and confidentiality, protecting the individuals involved and acting in accordance with established procedures,” he added.The prelate explained that the archdiocese he leads “remains committed to reporting relevant allegations to the competent civil authorities in accordance with current legislation” and acknowledged the need to ask what can be done better to move forward in the prevention of abuse.“A culture of protection is not built solely through written rules; it is built when every priest, religious, pastoral worker, collaborator, and member of our communities understands that protecting minors and vulnerable persons is an ongoing, shared responsibility,” the archbishop emphasized.Asking forgiveness of the victimsThe prelate also addressed “in a special way victims and survivors. We are deeply pained by the suffering you have endured.”“It pains us to know that those who should have found a place of welcome, care, and trust within the Church experienced situations that caused them such deep wounds,” he continued.Ulloa emphasized that “wherever members of our Church caused harm, and wherever our institutional response fell short of what the victims needed and had a right to expect, we ask for forgiveness in the name of the Church.”The archbishop also noted that “over this 25-year period, and I wish to highlight this especially for the media, more than 18 priests have been removed from priestly ministry due to situations involving the Sixth Commandment, offenses against property, or other issues they have experienced.”The Transparency CommissionAccording to its website, the Transparency Commission (TC) was established to conduct comprehensive investigations “in a holistic, professional, independent, and rigorous manner regarding cases of abuse of minors and vulnerable persons within the Church.” It is funded by the University of Notre Dame Law School in Indiana and Villanueva University in Madrid.“This group of experts focuses its work on places where crises related to ecclesial abuse have not yet occurred or have not come to light,” notes the TC website. Presentation of the report to the archbishop of Panama, José Domingo Ulloa. | Credit: Archdiocese of Panama The report indicates that in cases of sexual abuse, the AIR “must place victims at the center of the analysis, since the way the institution protects their rights, addresses their needs, and fosters their reparation constitutes the primary criterion for evaluating the quality of the response provided.”The Transparency Commission is composed of 17 individuals coordinated by Father Jordi Pujol, a lawyer who holds a doctorate in moral theology and is also a professor of law and communication ethics at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome.Its members include Father Thomas Berg, a professor and researcher at the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame; Yago de la Cierva, a professor of preventive and crisis communication at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross; and Irma Patricia Espinosa, a psychiatrist, member of the National Council for the Protection of Minors of the Mexican Bishops’ Conference, academic director and founding partner of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Training for the Protection of Minors (CEPROME) Latin America, and a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors since 2022.Also serving on the Transparency Commission are María Inés Franck, professor of canon law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina and a member of the Pastoral Council for the Protection of Minors of the Argentine Bishops’ Conference; Monsignor John Paul Kimes, professor of canon law at the University of Notre Dame Law School; and Father Daniel Portillo, dean of the psychology department at Lumen Gentium Catholic University in Mexico. He is the director and a founding member of CEPROME Latin America.The Panama ReportThe request for the report goes back to October 2025, when the archbishop of Panama requested an assessment of institutional response from the TC “on his own initiative, without a court order or a request from the Holy See.”The commission stated that it accepted the assignment subject to three conditions: full access to information, total independence in the investigation, and a commitment to publish the findings. The archdiocese did not intervene in the compilation of the report and only saw it days before its presentation.The TC states that it operated with financial independence: Its members received no remuneration from the archdiocese, and costs were covered by Notre Dame Law School and the Villanueva University Foundation. The archdiocese only covered transportation and accommodation and provided workspace.The commission reported that, during the period under review, the archdiocese received 37 complaints of which it analyzed 24, while the remaining 13 were excluded from the analysis “because they referred to events that occurred outside the archdioceseʼs territory or the time frame examined, or because they did not involve abuse against minors or vulnerable persons.”The report reveals that case management improved thanks to two initiatives by the archdiocese: the approval of guidelines in 2015 and the creation in 2024 of the Pastoral Care and Prevention Office and the Listening Office.The report, currently available only in Spanish, identifies five areas requiring improvement: listening to and accompanying victims; recordkeeping; prevention; justice for victims; and reparation.“Making reparation requires acknowledging the harm, accepting personal and institutional responsibility, and addressing the physical, psychological, moral, spiritual, and social needs of each victim,” the commission emphasizes.The pilot projectIn a FAQ section about the report, the TC explains that this work is a pilot project because “it is the first time that a comprehensive methodology has been applied that can be replicated in other dioceses or ecclesial organizations.”“This first project has allowed us to test a methodology and a work system, based on professional listening, research in archives, conducting interviews with various audiences of interest, and media analysis and the sociocultural context of the country,” it adds.The Transparency Commission further specifies that the working methodology aims to “place victims at the center, protecting their rights, and guarantee due process for the accused,” applying a clear standard of prudence to avoid “revictimizing a victim or blaming an innocent person.”The Transparency Commission also noted that “the Vatican has been kept informed of the workʼs progress at all times; both the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and the Pontifical Commission for Latin America are aware of the TC’s work. Furthermore, some members of the commission work or have worked with both the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.”The TC concludes by noting that anyone who has suffered abuse within the Church may, at any time, turn to the Archdiocese of Panama’s Listening Office and file a report with the public prosecutorʼs office.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.

Addressing the scourge of sexual abuse, the archbishop of Panama requested the services of the Transparency Commission, a project sponsored by Notre Dame Law School and Madrid’s Villanueva University.

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Bishop sees Pope Leo’s visit as bringing a ‘spiritual springtime’ to Uruguay #Catholic The president of the Uruguayan Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Milton Tróccoli, said the apostolic visit of Pope Leo XIV scheduled for Nov. 6–8 will awaken a “spiritual springtime” in the country. Located in the Southern Hemisphere, the season of spring is also just beginning in Uruguay. “The pope’s visit will be a renewal of faith; many people may sometimes have a faith that is a bit dormant, or they are very practicing Catholics who will come and listen attentively to the message the pope will bring to us,” the bishop stated in an interview with “EWTN Noticias,” the Spanish-language broadcast edition of EWTN News, following his Sept. 18 meeting with the pontiff at the Vatican.“I believe it will bring about a renewal, a kind of spiritual springtime, for all of Uruguay,” Tróccoli emphasized.Uruguay’s bishops were in Rome last week for their ad limina visit to the Vatican, a trip that included various meetings at the dicasteries of the Roman Curia.
 
 The bishops of Uruguay conclude their ad limina visit to the Vatican on Sept. 18, 2026, with a meeting with the pope. The visit included various meetings at the dicasteries of the Roman Curia. | Credit: Vatican Media
 
 The pope received them for an hour and shared one of his primary concerns: how to transmit the Gospel.“Today, we see a sort of breakdown in the transmission of the Gospel, especially within the family. We can no longer take for granted that families are the ones encouraging their children or teenagers to attend church or receive the sacraments; indeed, the number of child baptisms in Uruguay has dropped significantly,” the Uruguayan prelate noted.However, he noted that much like in other secularized countries such as France, Uruguay is also experiencing an unprecedented phenomenon: a rise in young adults seeking Christian initiation.“Baptisms for adults are on the rise, specifically young adults requesting the sacrament of baptism and the full process of Christian initiation: baptism, confirmation, and the Eucharist. For us, this is very encouraging,” he commented.An increasingly secularized countryUruguay is often described as one of the most secularized countries in Latin America. For instance, it is the only country in the region where Holy Week is not recognized by the government; instead, it was renamed “Tourism Week” by law in 1919.According to data from the Uruguayan Bishops’ Conference, in a country of barely 3 million inhabitants, approximately 35% of the population identifies as Catholic. Within that group, according to Tróccoli, “we can say that approximately 10% attend Mass every Sunday or frequently receive the sacraments.”
 
 The Uruguayan bishops present the pope with a book featuring 80 Catholic churches across the country with images by Julio Testoni and stories compiled by Miguel Ángel Álvarez Montero, titled “Architecture, Art, and Heritage in the Churches of Uruguay,” during their visit to the Vatican on Sept. 18, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
 
 There are also “many who call themselves believers without a religion, that is, without institutional affiliation, who believe in God but do not belong to any specific religion; this is a group that has been growing in recent years.”He also noted that approximately “40% of the population currently falls into this category, while others declare themselves agnostic or nonbelievers.”In this context, evangelization constitutes, according to the bishop, “a very great challenge.” The local Church considers Uruguay “a mission country where we must proclaim the Gospel extensively.”“We must place strong emphasis on the initial proclamation of the Gospel, while the Church also works extensively through various social and human development initiatives, naturally bringing the Gospel and acting out of faith in Jesus Christ, and working for the common good, though these efforts often go unnoticed,” Tróccoli explained.Drug trafficking, childhood poverty, and suicidesDuring his meeting with the Uruguayan bishops, Leo XIV showed interest in learning firsthand about the countryʼs social situation.Tróccoli lamented the extent of “social fragmentation” and the fact that Uruguay is “a society tending toward polarization, just as our world is polarized.”He also noted the issue of “rising violence stemming from drug trafficking, something we were not accustomed to experiencing. Well, perhaps the rate is very low compared to other countries, but for our society, it is something new and something that deeply affects families."The bishop also highlighted concerns regarding children living in poverty and the rise in youth suicides, issues he linked to “a lack of a more transcendent perspective.”“The number of suicides, especially among young people, represents a high percentage, the highest in Latin America. This deeply questions and challenges us as a Church,” he stated.For the Uruguayan Church, this reality presents the challenge of proclaiming a message of hope. “We must do a better job of proclaiming the Gospel so that it can offer hope, give meaning to life, and provide reasons, truth, for living, growing, and developing as a person.”A visit marked by devotion to the Virgin of the 33The visit of the Uruguayan bishops to the Vatican took place less than two months before the apostolic journey with which Pope Leo XIV will begin his Latin American tour.
 
 A meeting between Pope Leo XIV and Uruguayan bishops on Sept. 18, 2026, provided an opportunity to present the Holy Father with a document containing messages from citizens across Uruguay, sent in anticipation of his arrival in the country on Nov. 6, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
 
 The pontiff will arrive in Latin America on Nov. 6, lead an event in Montevideo, and meet with President Yamandú Orsi. The following day, he will travel to Paysandú and subsequently return to Montevideo to visit various charitable works of the Church and celebrate a Mass at Centenario Stadium.On Sunday, Nov. 8, before departing for Argentina, he will celebrate the Mass of the Virgin of the 33, Uruguay’s national patroness, in the city of Florida.The National Shrine of the Virgin of the 33 is located there, situated about 60 miles from Montevideo. Indeed, the coincidence of dates with the countryʼs principal Marian celebration was one of the factors influencing Leo XIVʼs decision to begin his tour of Latin America there.The feast of the Virgin of the 33 is celebrated every Nov. 8, although the national pilgrimage traditionally takes place on the second Sunday of the month. In 2026, the two dates coincide, and the pope did not want to miss the occasion.“For us, it is truly a tremendous gift that the pope could come at this time, especially since it coincides with the feast of the Virgin of the 33, who is the patroness of Uruguay, and the national pilgrimage. The feast day of the Virgin falls on Nov. 8, which is a Sunday this year, and the pope himself will celebrate the Eucharist,” Tróccoli explained.Memories of St. John Paul IIThe Uruguayan bishops presented the pope with two books featuring images of various churches from across the country. They also gave him a collection of letters and drawings prepared by both the faithful and nonbelievers.Leo XIV has never visited Uruguay. However, some Uruguayans knew him when he was still Father Robert Prevost. During his time as superior general of the Order of St. Augustine, he traveled to Argentina on several occasions, where he met Uruguayan Augustinians.However, memories of St. John Paul II’s visits remain very much alive among Uruguayan Catholics. The Polish pontiff visited the country twice — in 1987 and 1988 — at a particularly significant time of democratic consolidation following the military dictatorship.Tróccoli said he believes the visit of Leo XIV could have a similar impact. “It created a sense of unity not only within the country but also a resurgence of faith and personal devotion. We saw an immediate increase, for instance, in the number of people attending Mass or drawing closer to the faith,” the prelate noted.In this regard, he said he believes Pope Leo XIV’s visit will awaken “the most genuine aspects of the search for faith and of religious sentiment, and from there, more people will want to draw closer.”The president of the bishops' conference also stated that the trip will mark a turning point for Uruguayan society: “It will be a visit filled with hope. The pope isn’t going to come just for some people; he comes for everyone, and everyone is also invited to feel part of this celebration of encountering him.”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.

Bishop sees Pope Leo’s visit as bringing a ‘spiritual springtime’ to Uruguay #Catholic The president of the Uruguayan Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Milton Tróccoli, said the apostolic visit of Pope Leo XIV scheduled for Nov. 6–8 will awaken a “spiritual springtime” in the country. Located in the Southern Hemisphere, the season of spring is also just beginning in Uruguay. “The pope’s visit will be a renewal of faith; many people may sometimes have a faith that is a bit dormant, or they are very practicing Catholics who will come and listen attentively to the message the pope will bring to us,” the bishop stated in an interview with “EWTN Noticias,” the Spanish-language broadcast edition of EWTN News, following his Sept. 18 meeting with the pontiff at the Vatican.“I believe it will bring about a renewal, a kind of spiritual springtime, for all of Uruguay,” Tróccoli emphasized.Uruguay’s bishops were in Rome last week for their ad limina visit to the Vatican, a trip that included various meetings at the dicasteries of the Roman Curia. The bishops of Uruguay conclude their ad limina visit to the Vatican on Sept. 18, 2026, with a meeting with the pope. The visit included various meetings at the dicasteries of the Roman Curia. | Credit: Vatican Media The pope received them for an hour and shared one of his primary concerns: how to transmit the Gospel.“Today, we see a sort of breakdown in the transmission of the Gospel, especially within the family. We can no longer take for granted that families are the ones encouraging their children or teenagers to attend church or receive the sacraments; indeed, the number of child baptisms in Uruguay has dropped significantly,” the Uruguayan prelate noted.However, he noted that much like in other secularized countries such as France, Uruguay is also experiencing an unprecedented phenomenon: a rise in young adults seeking Christian initiation.“Baptisms for adults are on the rise, specifically young adults requesting the sacrament of baptism and the full process of Christian initiation: baptism, confirmation, and the Eucharist. For us, this is very encouraging,” he commented.An increasingly secularized countryUruguay is often described as one of the most secularized countries in Latin America. For instance, it is the only country in the region where Holy Week is not recognized by the government; instead, it was renamed “Tourism Week” by law in 1919.According to data from the Uruguayan Bishops’ Conference, in a country of barely 3 million inhabitants, approximately 35% of the population identifies as Catholic. Within that group, according to Tróccoli, “we can say that approximately 10% attend Mass every Sunday or frequently receive the sacraments.” The Uruguayan bishops present the pope with a book featuring 80 Catholic churches across the country with images by Julio Testoni and stories compiled by Miguel Ángel Álvarez Montero, titled “Architecture, Art, and Heritage in the Churches of Uruguay,” during their visit to the Vatican on Sept. 18, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media There are also “many who call themselves believers without a religion, that is, without institutional affiliation, who believe in God but do not belong to any specific religion; this is a group that has been growing in recent years.”He also noted that approximately “40% of the population currently falls into this category, while others declare themselves agnostic or nonbelievers.”In this context, evangelization constitutes, according to the bishop, “a very great challenge.” The local Church considers Uruguay “a mission country where we must proclaim the Gospel extensively.”“We must place strong emphasis on the initial proclamation of the Gospel, while the Church also works extensively through various social and human development initiatives, naturally bringing the Gospel and acting out of faith in Jesus Christ, and working for the common good, though these efforts often go unnoticed,” Tróccoli explained.Drug trafficking, childhood poverty, and suicidesDuring his meeting with the Uruguayan bishops, Leo XIV showed interest in learning firsthand about the countryʼs social situation.Tróccoli lamented the extent of “social fragmentation” and the fact that Uruguay is “a society tending toward polarization, just as our world is polarized.”He also noted the issue of “rising violence stemming from drug trafficking, something we were not accustomed to experiencing. Well, perhaps the rate is very low compared to other countries, but for our society, it is something new and something that deeply affects families."The bishop also highlighted concerns regarding children living in poverty and the rise in youth suicides, issues he linked to “a lack of a more transcendent perspective.”“The number of suicides, especially among young people, represents a high percentage, the highest in Latin America. This deeply questions and challenges us as a Church,” he stated.For the Uruguayan Church, this reality presents the challenge of proclaiming a message of hope. “We must do a better job of proclaiming the Gospel so that it can offer hope, give meaning to life, and provide reasons, truth, for living, growing, and developing as a person.”A visit marked by devotion to the Virgin of the 33The visit of the Uruguayan bishops to the Vatican took place less than two months before the apostolic journey with which Pope Leo XIV will begin his Latin American tour. A meeting between Pope Leo XIV and Uruguayan bishops on Sept. 18, 2026, provided an opportunity to present the Holy Father with a document containing messages from citizens across Uruguay, sent in anticipation of his arrival in the country on Nov. 6, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media The pontiff will arrive in Latin America on Nov. 6, lead an event in Montevideo, and meet with President Yamandú Orsi. The following day, he will travel to Paysandú and subsequently return to Montevideo to visit various charitable works of the Church and celebrate a Mass at Centenario Stadium.On Sunday, Nov. 8, before departing for Argentina, he will celebrate the Mass of the Virgin of the 33, Uruguay’s national patroness, in the city of Florida.The National Shrine of the Virgin of the 33 is located there, situated about 60 miles from Montevideo. Indeed, the coincidence of dates with the countryʼs principal Marian celebration was one of the factors influencing Leo XIVʼs decision to begin his tour of Latin America there.The feast of the Virgin of the 33 is celebrated every Nov. 8, although the national pilgrimage traditionally takes place on the second Sunday of the month. In 2026, the two dates coincide, and the pope did not want to miss the occasion.“For us, it is truly a tremendous gift that the pope could come at this time, especially since it coincides with the feast of the Virgin of the 33, who is the patroness of Uruguay, and the national pilgrimage. The feast day of the Virgin falls on Nov. 8, which is a Sunday this year, and the pope himself will celebrate the Eucharist,” Tróccoli explained.Memories of St. John Paul IIThe Uruguayan bishops presented the pope with two books featuring images of various churches from across the country. They also gave him a collection of letters and drawings prepared by both the faithful and nonbelievers.Leo XIV has never visited Uruguay. However, some Uruguayans knew him when he was still Father Robert Prevost. During his time as superior general of the Order of St. Augustine, he traveled to Argentina on several occasions, where he met Uruguayan Augustinians.However, memories of St. John Paul II’s visits remain very much alive among Uruguayan Catholics. The Polish pontiff visited the country twice — in 1987 and 1988 — at a particularly significant time of democratic consolidation following the military dictatorship.Tróccoli said he believes the visit of Leo XIV could have a similar impact. “It created a sense of unity not only within the country but also a resurgence of faith and personal devotion. We saw an immediate increase, for instance, in the number of people attending Mass or drawing closer to the faith,” the prelate noted.In this regard, he said he believes Pope Leo XIV’s visit will awaken “the most genuine aspects of the search for faith and of religious sentiment, and from there, more people will want to draw closer.”The president of the bishops' conference also stated that the trip will mark a turning point for Uruguayan society: “It will be a visit filled with hope. The pope isn’t going to come just for some people; he comes for everyone, and everyone is also invited to feel part of this celebration of encountering him.”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.

Although church attendance is low and the society is quite s quite secularized, the president of Uruguay’s bishops’ conference believes Pope Leo’s visit will give a boost to the country’s spiritual renewal.

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Archbishop Lori tells women religious: ‘The Church looks to you with hope’ #Catholic Baltimore Archbishop William Lori this week praised an assembly of women religious major superiors for their witness of “evangelical poverty,” with the prelate noting the outsized influence that women religious have had on American society over the past 250 years. “You and those who came before you have taught our children, tended to the sick, welcomed immigrants, accompanied the dying, consoled the brokenhearted, and proclaimed Christ where no one else was willing to go,” the archbishop told the major superiors on Sept. 18 in Florissant, Missouri.“For that, the Church gives thanks. But gratitude alone is not enough. The Church also looks to you with hope,” he said. The archbishop spoke at the 2026 National Assembly of the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, the theme of which was: “250 Years of Freedom: Daughters of the Church from One Generation to the Next.”The council comprises major superiors and vicars from 112 religious communities around the U.S. The group describes its national assembly as “the springboard for collaboration, participation, and dialogue among members” which “promotes unity among the major superiors that gives witness to the joy of religious life.”Addressing the gathering as the keynote speaker, Lori acknowledged the assembly’s recognition of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. The U.S. has been instrumental in advancing religious freedom and human dignity across the world, the archbishop argued. He noted that most histories of the founding of the U.S. focus on the Founding Fathers such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and others. But “the American experiment would have looked very different” without the contributions of “thousands and thousands of women religious,” he said.“Who welcomed wave after wave of immigrants? Who cared for the victims of epidemics when others fled? Who taught generations of children not simply arithmetic and grammar, but honesty, sacrifice, discipline, and love of God?” he said. Women religious “changed the nation because they first allowed Christ to change them,” the archbishop said. He noted the “paradox” in which those who take vows of poverty “enriched countless communities” and those who “renounced worldly ambition” often “exercised the greatest influence upon society.” “The world struggles to understand this paradox,” Lori said. “The Gospel does not.” Women religious have historically both upheld the ideals of America while challenging it when it “falls short of the Gospel,” Lori said. He cited the witness of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini’s “evangelical poverty” as she carried out the founding of schools, hospitals and orphanages around the world. And he further pointed to the work of Servant of God Sister Mary Thea Bowman,  praising her for her “profoundly Catholic way” of confronting racism while evangelizing about the love of Christ. Urging the women religious to pursue “an ever-new embrace of the heart of your vocation,” Lori told the assembly: “The world needs women who have been seized by Christ.”“It needs women whose lives bear unmistakable witness to the truth that God is real, that holiness is possible, that sacrifice is fruitful, and that love poured out in communion with Christ can transform the world,” he said.

Archbishop Lori tells women religious: ‘The Church looks to you with hope’ #Catholic Baltimore Archbishop William Lori this week praised an assembly of women religious major superiors for their witness of “evangelical poverty,” with the prelate noting the outsized influence that women religious have had on American society over the past 250 years. “You and those who came before you have taught our children, tended to the sick, welcomed immigrants, accompanied the dying, consoled the brokenhearted, and proclaimed Christ where no one else was willing to go,” the archbishop told the major superiors on Sept. 18 in Florissant, Missouri.“For that, the Church gives thanks. But gratitude alone is not enough. The Church also looks to you with hope,” he said. The archbishop spoke at the 2026 National Assembly of the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, the theme of which was: “250 Years of Freedom: Daughters of the Church from One Generation to the Next.”The council comprises major superiors and vicars from 112 religious communities around the U.S. The group describes its national assembly as “the springboard for collaboration, participation, and dialogue among members” which “promotes unity among the major superiors that gives witness to the joy of religious life.”Addressing the gathering as the keynote speaker, Lori acknowledged the assembly’s recognition of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. The U.S. has been instrumental in advancing religious freedom and human dignity across the world, the archbishop argued. He noted that most histories of the founding of the U.S. focus on the Founding Fathers such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and others. But “the American experiment would have looked very different” without the contributions of “thousands and thousands of women religious,” he said.“Who welcomed wave after wave of immigrants? Who cared for the victims of epidemics when others fled? Who taught generations of children not simply arithmetic and grammar, but honesty, sacrifice, discipline, and love of God?” he said. Women religious “changed the nation because they first allowed Christ to change them,” the archbishop said. He noted the “paradox” in which those who take vows of poverty “enriched countless communities” and those who “renounced worldly ambition” often “exercised the greatest influence upon society.” “The world struggles to understand this paradox,” Lori said. “The Gospel does not.” Women religious have historically both upheld the ideals of America while challenging it when it “falls short of the Gospel,” Lori said. He cited the witness of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini’s “evangelical poverty” as she carried out the founding of schools, hospitals and orphanages around the world. And he further pointed to the work of Servant of God Sister Mary Thea Bowman, praising her for her “profoundly Catholic way” of confronting racism while evangelizing about the love of Christ. Urging the women religious to pursue “an ever-new embrace of the heart of your vocation,” Lori told the assembly: “The world needs women who have been seized by Christ.”“It needs women whose lives bear unmistakable witness to the truth that God is real, that holiness is possible, that sacrifice is fruitful, and that love poured out in communion with Christ can transform the world,” he said.

The Baltimore archbishop gave the keynote address to the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious meeting in Missouri.

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Christian leaders unite against chemical abortion #Catholic In a declaration led by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, Christian leaders are calling on lawmakers to ban the abortion drug mifepristone.Drafted by a group of more than 30 pastors from around the U.S., the Declaration for Life with Christian Leaders supports pro-life legislation, condemns chemical abortion, and affirms the dignity of unborn children from conception. The four-page declaration has been signed by 100 faith leaders from Missouri as well as 50,000 citizens.“This Declaration for Life, written by pastors, is calling on everyday Christians across America to stand for life and confront the scourge of chemical abortion,” Hawley stated.“It is the first duty of the Church to defend human dignity where it is denied,” the declaration says.Tony Perkins, who heads the Family Research Council, a national Christian political advocacy group, has been outspoken in his support of the declaration, criticizing the Republican Party’s recent silence on abortion.“There are Republican members of Congress and state leaders who continue to champion the unborn, but the Republican Party has gone all but silent on the issue of life,” Perkins stated. “The strong pro-life language that was a part of the GOP platform for decades was removed, and little is said about abortion.”“We are called to defend the defenseless and speak for those whose voices have been silenced,” Perkins said.South Korean bishops oppose abortion pillSouth Korean Catholic bishops are opposing the government’s expansion of abortion pill use, calling it a "disregard for life.”In response to South Korea’s announcement that it will allow the use of abortion pills through nine weeks of pregnancy, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea (CBCK) released a statement opposing the move.“The CBCK voices deep concerns as this measure would only institutionalize abortion in an ‘orderly’ manner, without changing its fundamental nature, while allowing a disregard for life to be more deeply rooted in our society,” the bishops stated.“We eagerly ask the government and the National Assembly to deeply contemplate this and choose a path that both protects life while practically helping women,” the bishops continued.Students for Life launches campus campaign showing human cost of abortionA fall campaign titled “Abortion Victims: Every Abortion Has a Human Cost” by the pro-life group Students for Life of America (SFLA) will span 150 college campuses across the United States.Educational displays will highlight the victims of abortion and what abortion procedures look like.The campaign began Sept. 8, near the one-year anniversary of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination on Sept. 10, 2025.“The goal is to continue his legacy of bringing the fight for free speech and the sanctity of life to college campuses across the nation,” the group said.“So many people are harmed by abortion, most notably preborn children,” said SFLA Vice President of Field Programs Reagan Barklage. “Millions of children lose their lives every year at the hands of physicians betraying their oath to uphold life, and so many others experience forced abortions in trafficking and abuse. This tour tells their stories — and why we must act to keep others from suffering the same fate.”EPA to test drinking water for pharmaceuticalsThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new study of drinking water that will screen for pharmaceutical pollutants.Pro-life groups have been calling on the EPA to test for water pollution caused by abortion drugs. The EPA had previously said it would investigate.Missourians split on abortion, poll findsAn August poll found narrow margins in public opinion on an amendment that would protect unborn children in Missouri.In November, Missourians can vote on whether to repeal a 2024 pro-abortion amendment. In its place, a new amendment would protect unborn babies except those conceived by rape or incest, or in medical emergencies.The Missouri polls found that 44% opposed the pro-life amendment and 43% supported it, while 13% were unsure.The poll by SLU/YouGov was conducted Aug. 13–24 and had a margin of error of about 4 percentage points.When polled in February, 50% of Missourians were in favor of reinstating the pro-life amendment.California passes bill requiring community colleges to provide abortionsA California bill that would require community colleges to provide medical abortions is heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.The bill, which the California Senate passed with a 61-17 vote, would require community colleges with medical centers to offer chemical abortion drugs beginning Jan. 1, 2029. Newsom, a Democrat, is expected to sign the bill.Wisconsin bishops denounce Planned Parenthood lawsuit seeking to overturn abortion safeguardsWisconsin bishops are opposing a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin to overturn laws protecting women and unborn children.The lawsuit, filed in Dane County, argues that two Wisconsin laws violate the state constitution. One law requires a 24-hour wait period between requesting an abortion and receiving one; the other law maintains that only licensed physicians can provide abortions.Abortion in Wisconsin is legal up to 20 weeks after fertilization. “These commonsense laws provide critical protection and medical safeguards for Wisconsin’s women and their children,” the statement by the Wisconsin Catholic Conference read. “The suit aims to eliminate these laws not for patient safety, but for profit and expediency. No woman should be rushed into an abortion. When human life is on the line, every moment counts.”Idaho Supreme Court adjusts abortion amendment language following lawsuitThe Idaho Supreme Court overwrote a pro-abortion group’s objection to amendment language in a recent decision.The court approved revised ballot statements for Proposition 1, an abortion amendment set to be voted on this November that would create a “right” to abortion.The decision approves a clarification of the meaning of fetal viability and adds a more specific description of how a yes vote would be in support of “codifying a statutory reproductive right to freedom and privacy.”Idahoans United for Women and Families, a pro-abortion group advocating for the abortion amendment, had filed a lawsuit over the language and objected to the newly revised statements.

Christian leaders unite against chemical abortion #Catholic In a declaration led by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, Christian leaders are calling on lawmakers to ban the abortion drug mifepristone.Drafted by a group of more than 30 pastors from around the U.S., the Declaration for Life with Christian Leaders supports pro-life legislation, condemns chemical abortion, and affirms the dignity of unborn children from conception. The four-page declaration has been signed by 100 faith leaders from Missouri as well as 50,000 citizens.“This Declaration for Life, written by pastors, is calling on everyday Christians across America to stand for life and confront the scourge of chemical abortion,” Hawley stated.“It is the first duty of the Church to defend human dignity where it is denied,” the declaration says.Tony Perkins, who heads the Family Research Council, a national Christian political advocacy group, has been outspoken in his support of the declaration, criticizing the Republican Party’s recent silence on abortion.“There are Republican members of Congress and state leaders who continue to champion the unborn, but the Republican Party has gone all but silent on the issue of life,” Perkins stated. “The strong pro-life language that was a part of the GOP platform for decades was removed, and little is said about abortion.”“We are called to defend the defenseless and speak for those whose voices have been silenced,” Perkins said.South Korean bishops oppose abortion pillSouth Korean Catholic bishops are opposing the government’s expansion of abortion pill use, calling it a "disregard for life.”In response to South Korea’s announcement that it will allow the use of abortion pills through nine weeks of pregnancy, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea (CBCK) released a statement opposing the move.“The CBCK voices deep concerns as this measure would only institutionalize abortion in an ‘orderly’ manner, without changing its fundamental nature, while allowing a disregard for life to be more deeply rooted in our society,” the bishops stated.“We eagerly ask the government and the National Assembly to deeply contemplate this and choose a path that both protects life while practically helping women,” the bishops continued.Students for Life launches campus campaign showing human cost of abortionA fall campaign titled “Abortion Victims: Every Abortion Has a Human Cost” by the pro-life group Students for Life of America (SFLA) will span 150 college campuses across the United States.Educational displays will highlight the victims of abortion and what abortion procedures look like.The campaign began Sept. 8, near the one-year anniversary of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination on Sept. 10, 2025.“The goal is to continue his legacy of bringing the fight for free speech and the sanctity of life to college campuses across the nation,” the group said.“So many people are harmed by abortion, most notably preborn children,” said SFLA Vice President of Field Programs Reagan Barklage. “Millions of children lose their lives every year at the hands of physicians betraying their oath to uphold life, and so many others experience forced abortions in trafficking and abuse. This tour tells their stories — and why we must act to keep others from suffering the same fate.”EPA to test drinking water for pharmaceuticalsThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new study of drinking water that will screen for pharmaceutical pollutants.Pro-life groups have been calling on the EPA to test for water pollution caused by abortion drugs. The EPA had previously said it would investigate.Missourians split on abortion, poll findsAn August poll found narrow margins in public opinion on an amendment that would protect unborn children in Missouri.In November, Missourians can vote on whether to repeal a 2024 pro-abortion amendment. In its place, a new amendment would protect unborn babies except those conceived by rape or incest, or in medical emergencies.The Missouri polls found that 44% opposed the pro-life amendment and 43% supported it, while 13% were unsure.The poll by SLU/YouGov was conducted Aug. 13–24 and had a margin of error of about 4 percentage points.When polled in February, 50% of Missourians were in favor of reinstating the pro-life amendment.California passes bill requiring community colleges to provide abortionsA California bill that would require community colleges to provide medical abortions is heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.The bill, which the California Senate passed with a 61-17 vote, would require community colleges with medical centers to offer chemical abortion drugs beginning Jan. 1, 2029. Newsom, a Democrat, is expected to sign the bill.Wisconsin bishops denounce Planned Parenthood lawsuit seeking to overturn abortion safeguardsWisconsin bishops are opposing a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin to overturn laws protecting women and unborn children.The lawsuit, filed in Dane County, argues that two Wisconsin laws violate the state constitution. One law requires a 24-hour wait period between requesting an abortion and receiving one; the other law maintains that only licensed physicians can provide abortions.Abortion in Wisconsin is legal up to 20 weeks after fertilization. “These commonsense laws provide critical protection and medical safeguards for Wisconsin’s women and their children,” the statement by the Wisconsin Catholic Conference read. “The suit aims to eliminate these laws not for patient safety, but for profit and expediency. No woman should be rushed into an abortion. When human life is on the line, every moment counts.”Idaho Supreme Court adjusts abortion amendment language following lawsuitThe Idaho Supreme Court overwrote a pro-abortion group’s objection to amendment language in a recent decision.The court approved revised ballot statements for Proposition 1, an abortion amendment set to be voted on this November that would create a “right” to abortion.The decision approves a clarification of the meaning of fetal viability and adds a more specific description of how a yes vote would be in support of “codifying a statutory reproductive right to freedom and privacy.”Idahoans United for Women and Families, a pro-abortion group advocating for the abortion amendment, had filed a lawsuit over the language and objected to the newly revised statements.

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.

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Jimmy Lai’s family, advocates press for his release before Xi-Trump meeting #Catholic Family members and advocates of imprisoned Catholic pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai offered urgent pleas for his release ahead of President Xi Jinping’s planned trip to the U.S. to meet with President Donald Trump.In anticipation of Xiʼs visit to Washington on Sept. 24, Sebastien Lai, Jimmy Lai’s son, met with leaders to advocate for his father. He joined a Sept. 16 congressional hearing led by Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey.“Jimmy Lai is not being imprisoned because he committed any act of violence whatsoever,” Smith, co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said. “His son has emphasized that his father has never, never advocated violence. Rather, Jimmy Lai used his voice, his newspaper, and his public platform to support freedom and democracy,” he said. Smith said he introduced legislation Sept. 16 that would require the State Department to quickly assess any death in custody of a Hong Kong political prisoner and impose sanctions on officials found responsible. He titled the bill the “Jimmy Lai Hong Kong Political Prisoner Accountability Act of 2026.”At the hearing, Sebastien Lai offered testimony along with Steve Yates, a research fellow on China and national security policy, and Mark Clifford, president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation.“I want to thank America, President Trump, who has been a true champion of my fatherʼs, his administration, and the senators and members of both parties whose support has never wavered and only gotten stronger. That is moral courage, and my family does not take it for granted,” Sebastien Lai said.“By the end of this year my father will have spent six years in a maximum-security prison in solitary. At 78, he is the oldest political prisoner in Hong Kong. With a 20-year sentence looming over him, if he’s not freed soon, he will most likely die in prison,” he said. “My sister Claire was to testify beside me today. A few weeks ago, she was diagnosed with cancer,” he said. “I was with her in London last week as she began chemotherapy. My father learned of his own daughterʼs diagnosis from a maximum-security prison. He cannot hold her hand. She wants nothing more than to have him with her for this fight,“ he said. 
 
 Claire Lai, daughter of imprisoned pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai, discusses her father’s sentencing on “EWTN News Nightly” on Feb. 9, 2026. | Credit: “EWTN News Nightly”/Screenshot
 
 “We hope the Chinese authorities will consider what compassionate release would mean for her, and for a 78-year-old man who has already suffered enough,” he said.“America understands, in its bones, that freedom dies with the last man willing to defend it and that the cost of not standing up for liberty is not felt until it is too late,“ he said.The appeal to Xi “is simple," Sebastien Lai said. “My father poses no threat. His imprisonment makes him a symbol of injustice; his death in prison would be a disgrace. Let Jimmy Lai come home to his family and let him sit beside his daughter in her hardest moment.”
 
 America understands, in its bones, that freedom dies with the last man willing to defend it and that the cost of not standing up for liberty is not felt until it is too late.”
 
 Sebastien LaiSon of imprisoned Hong Kong media publisher and democracy advocate Jimmy Lai
 
 
 Clifford, of the Washington‑based advocacy group promoting human rights in Hong Kong, spoke on behalf of his friend Jimmy Lai and to remind “people that Jimmy is just one of hundreds of political prisoners being held in often appalling conditions.”“Iʼd like to emphasize the release of Jimmy Lai would be something President Trump, Republicans and Democrats, indeed, freedom-loving people around the world would applaud,” Clifford said. “It would be a unifying event at the time when the world really needs it.”Yates said Jimmy Lai’s case is “a test of character, of Xi Jinping’s leadership, of the president’s relationship with his counterpart, and of whether there remains any credible basis for the assumptions on which American policy toward Hong Kong was long constructed.”The case is “a litmus test of whether there remains any reason to believe there is a future in Xi Jinping’s China for the kind of man Jimmy Lai is: a child of God, a lover of the real China, and, it may fairly be said, one of China’s greatest entrepreneurs,” Yates said. Lai’s health ‘is going to get worse’At a subsequent event, Sebastien Lai spoke at a press conference at Georgetown University about his father.Trump has previously met with Xi about Jimmy Lai’s case, which did not end with his release, but Sebastian Lai said he does not believe “it is a lost cause.” He said he hopes Trump raises his father’s case “again and again.”Sebastian Lai detailed his father’s health, which “hasnʼt gotten any better” while in solitary confinement.“He now has heart issues. His nails fall off. His teeth are rotting. During the summer, he bleeds all over his body because [of] his rashes,” he said.His health was especially worrisome recently because “Hong Kong just had a record summer,” Sebastien Lai said. “The heat traps in there and essentially bakes in itself. So weʼre very, very worried.”Caoilfhionn Gallagher, human rights lawyer and leader of the international legal team representing Jimmy Lai, further laid out the urgency of the case.“It’s very clear that if someone is detained in solitary confinement for an extended period of time, there is a direct ramification for their mortality,” she said.“The risk to prisoners detained in solitary confinement is particularly heightened if they’re elderly or diabetic, and Jimmy Lai is both. So this couldn’t be a more urgent and timely discussion,” she said. Gallagher also noted the broader human rights issues and lack of democracy in Hong Kong.Hong Kong “has become a place where you can be thrown in prison for singing the wrong song, or not singing the right song, or wearing the wrong T-shirt, printing the wrong newspaper. And I think Jimmy Laiʼs case is hugely important in itself because of who he is,” Gallagher said.“Heʼs probably the worldʼs most famous political prisoner at the moment. His case is hugely important, but we think part of why theyʼve gone for Jimmy Lai is because by getting the biggest fish of all, it sends the message to the small fry across Hong Kong,” Gallagher said. "It makes very clear that their message is keep silent or youʼll be next,” Gallagher said. Xi’s visit to the U.S. offers “a particular opportunity to shine a light on this issue,” she said.

Jimmy Lai’s family, advocates press for his release before Xi-Trump meeting #Catholic Family members and advocates of imprisoned Catholic pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai offered urgent pleas for his release ahead of President Xi Jinping’s planned trip to the U.S. to meet with President Donald Trump.In anticipation of Xiʼs visit to Washington on Sept. 24, Sebastien Lai, Jimmy Lai’s son, met with leaders to advocate for his father. He joined a Sept. 16 congressional hearing led by Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey.“Jimmy Lai is not being imprisoned because he committed any act of violence whatsoever,” Smith, co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said. “His son has emphasized that his father has never, never advocated violence. Rather, Jimmy Lai used his voice, his newspaper, and his public platform to support freedom and democracy,” he said. Smith said he introduced legislation Sept. 16 that would require the State Department to quickly assess any death in custody of a Hong Kong political prisoner and impose sanctions on officials found responsible. He titled the bill the “Jimmy Lai Hong Kong Political Prisoner Accountability Act of 2026.”At the hearing, Sebastien Lai offered testimony along with Steve Yates, a research fellow on China and national security policy, and Mark Clifford, president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation.“I want to thank America, President Trump, who has been a true champion of my fatherʼs, his administration, and the senators and members of both parties whose support has never wavered and only gotten stronger. That is moral courage, and my family does not take it for granted,” Sebastien Lai said.“By the end of this year my father will have spent six years in a maximum-security prison in solitary. At 78, he is the oldest political prisoner in Hong Kong. With a 20-year sentence looming over him, if he’s not freed soon, he will most likely die in prison,” he said. “My sister Claire was to testify beside me today. A few weeks ago, she was diagnosed with cancer,” he said. “I was with her in London last week as she began chemotherapy. My father learned of his own daughterʼs diagnosis from a maximum-security prison. He cannot hold her hand. She wants nothing more than to have him with her for this fight,“ he said. Claire Lai, daughter of imprisoned pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai, discusses her father’s sentencing on “EWTN News Nightly” on Feb. 9, 2026. | Credit: “EWTN News Nightly”/Screenshot “We hope the Chinese authorities will consider what compassionate release would mean for her, and for a 78-year-old man who has already suffered enough,” he said.“America understands, in its bones, that freedom dies with the last man willing to defend it and that the cost of not standing up for liberty is not felt until it is too late,“ he said.The appeal to Xi “is simple," Sebastien Lai said. “My father poses no threat. His imprisonment makes him a symbol of injustice; his death in prison would be a disgrace. Let Jimmy Lai come home to his family and let him sit beside his daughter in her hardest moment.” America understands, in its bones, that freedom dies with the last man willing to defend it and that the cost of not standing up for liberty is not felt until it is too late.” Sebastien LaiSon of imprisoned Hong Kong media publisher and democracy advocate Jimmy Lai Clifford, of the Washington‑based advocacy group promoting human rights in Hong Kong, spoke on behalf of his friend Jimmy Lai and to remind “people that Jimmy is just one of hundreds of political prisoners being held in often appalling conditions.”“Iʼd like to emphasize the release of Jimmy Lai would be something President Trump, Republicans and Democrats, indeed, freedom-loving people around the world would applaud,” Clifford said. “It would be a unifying event at the time when the world really needs it.”Yates said Jimmy Lai’s case is “a test of character, of Xi Jinping’s leadership, of the president’s relationship with his counterpart, and of whether there remains any credible basis for the assumptions on which American policy toward Hong Kong was long constructed.”The case is “a litmus test of whether there remains any reason to believe there is a future in Xi Jinping’s China for the kind of man Jimmy Lai is: a child of God, a lover of the real China, and, it may fairly be said, one of China’s greatest entrepreneurs,” Yates said. Lai’s health ‘is going to get worse’At a subsequent event, Sebastien Lai spoke at a press conference at Georgetown University about his father.Trump has previously met with Xi about Jimmy Lai’s case, which did not end with his release, but Sebastian Lai said he does not believe “it is a lost cause.” He said he hopes Trump raises his father’s case “again and again.”Sebastian Lai detailed his father’s health, which “hasnʼt gotten any better” while in solitary confinement.“He now has heart issues. His nails fall off. His teeth are rotting. During the summer, he bleeds all over his body because [of] his rashes,” he said.His health was especially worrisome recently because “Hong Kong just had a record summer,” Sebastien Lai said. “The heat traps in there and essentially bakes in itself. So weʼre very, very worried.”Caoilfhionn Gallagher, human rights lawyer and leader of the international legal team representing Jimmy Lai, further laid out the urgency of the case.“It’s very clear that if someone is detained in solitary confinement for an extended period of time, there is a direct ramification for their mortality,” she said.“The risk to prisoners detained in solitary confinement is particularly heightened if they’re elderly or diabetic, and Jimmy Lai is both. So this couldn’t be a more urgent and timely discussion,” she said. Gallagher also noted the broader human rights issues and lack of democracy in Hong Kong.Hong Kong “has become a place where you can be thrown in prison for singing the wrong song, or not singing the right song, or wearing the wrong T-shirt, printing the wrong newspaper. And I think Jimmy Laiʼs case is hugely important in itself because of who he is,” Gallagher said.“Heʼs probably the worldʼs most famous political prisoner at the moment. His case is hugely important, but we think part of why theyʼve gone for Jimmy Lai is because by getting the biggest fish of all, it sends the message to the small fry across Hong Kong,” Gallagher said. "It makes very clear that their message is keep silent or youʼll be next,” Gallagher said. Xi’s visit to the U.S. offers “a particular opportunity to shine a light on this issue,” she said.

“America understands, in its bones, that freedom dies with the last man willing to defend it and that the cost of not standing up for liberty is not felt until it is too late,” Sebastien Lai said.

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Study: Doctors don’t screen for abortion coercion — and it hurts women #Catholic A recent study found that women who are pressured to undergo unwanted abortions are at highest risk of negative outcomes and harm from abortion.The study, published in the Journal of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (JAHM), found that physicians rarely screen for coercion and pressure to abort, even though it is the highest predictive risk factor for negative outcomes.The authors, David C. Reardon, Dr. Martha W. Shuping, and Dr. Patricia K. Giebink, called the failure to screen for this “medical negligence.”“Women considering abortions should be evaluated for risk factors predictive of negative outcomes,” the study read. “The failure to screen for these risk factors is medical negligence. Screening and informing women of their personal risk factors as required by ethical and legal standards may lead to consideration of alternatives to abortion by women who consider the risks unacceptable.”Michael New, a senior associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, a pro-life group that does abortion-related research, said it was a “methodologically strong study,” noting that 1,000 women were surveyed, 226 of whom had an abortion in the past.“Pro-lifers and the medical community should learn several important lessons from this study,” New told EWTN News. “First, coerced abortions are not uncommon. Secondly, … this study adds to a body of research that finds that a substantial percentage of abortions are unwanted or are inconsistent with the values of the woman seeking the abortion.”“Third, even though supporters of legal abortion claim that women obtaining abortions report low levels of mental health problems, they should acknowledge that mental health risks are substantially higher among the subset of women who are emotionally conflicted or who would prefer not to have the abortion,” he continued.Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, a senior ethicist at The National Catholic Bioethics Center, urged physicians “to provide full disclosure of the risks and side effects to their patients.”“The long list of bad mental, emotional, and health effects that regularly arise in the wake of an induced abortion should give pause to anyone seeking, or counseling, abortion, especially when it comes to medical professionals who themselves need to be fully informed regarding the seriousness of these risks,” Pacholczyk told EWTN News.“I think it’s fair to say that a key duty of the physician or healthcare professional, in seeking to ‘do no harm,’ would be to try to dissuade their patients from acting on any desire to procure a direct abortion,” he continued. “And a candid discussion about the broad range of potential bad outcomes from the procedure provides an excellent starting point for dialoguing with their patients in a moment of crisis.”Pacholczyk urged medical professionals to have references for pre-abortion counseling for women considering abortion.“While medical professionals may not be able themselves to provide all the support a young woman requires when confronted with an unexpected pregnancy, they should be able to recommend or refer the woman to obtain additional helpful pre-abortion counseling so she can ponder, and bring to the surface, her own motives and fears, and by doing so, hopefully strengthen her to steer clear of the pseudo-remedy of abortion and instead address her situation with a heightened awareness of the care, accompaniment, and support coming from those around her,” Pacholczyk said. Though difficult to enforce, legislation to require medical professionals to screen for coercion may enable victims of coercion to sue abortion clinics, if put into effect, according to New.“It is unsurprising that physicians performing abortions rarely screen for coercion,” New said. “Many abortion are done in high-volume clinics where abortion doctors spend very little time with women seeking abortions.”Kelsey Pritchard, a spokeswoman for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said the abortion industry doesn’t prioritize women.“The abortion industry prioritizes profit — not women’s well-being, informed consent, or health, the overwhelming evidence shows,” Pritchard said.“Previous peer-reviewed research by Charlotte Lozier Institute scholars indicates most women who’ve had abortions would have preferred not to if they had more support, with nearly a quarter describing their abortions as unwanted or coerced,” Pritchard continued.She voiced concerns about the ease of abortion coercion due to mail-order abortion.“Since Democrats made it as easy as ordering an Amazon package for anyone anywhere to buy and ship dangerous abortion drugs, even to states with pro-life laws, this hidden epidemic has gone from bad to worse, with alarming cases of women assaulted and poisoned across the country,” Pritchard said.“Women pressured, coerced, or forced to abort go on to report higher levels of mental health and quality-of-life difficulties, which they all too often endure silently as they can face significant hurdles to coming forward,” Pritchard said.“The loudest pro-abortion voices refuse to acknowledge the truth behind their narrative of ‘freedom’ and ‘choice,’” Pritchard said.

Study: Doctors don’t screen for abortion coercion — and it hurts women #Catholic A recent study found that women who are pressured to undergo unwanted abortions are at highest risk of negative outcomes and harm from abortion.The study, published in the Journal of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (JAHM), found that physicians rarely screen for coercion and pressure to abort, even though it is the highest predictive risk factor for negative outcomes.The authors, David C. Reardon, Dr. Martha W. Shuping, and Dr. Patricia K. Giebink, called the failure to screen for this “medical negligence.”“Women considering abortions should be evaluated for risk factors predictive of negative outcomes,” the study read. “The failure to screen for these risk factors is medical negligence. Screening and informing women of their personal risk factors as required by ethical and legal standards may lead to consideration of alternatives to abortion by women who consider the risks unacceptable.”Michael New, a senior associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, a pro-life group that does abortion-related research, said it was a “methodologically strong study,” noting that 1,000 women were surveyed, 226 of whom had an abortion in the past.“Pro-lifers and the medical community should learn several important lessons from this study,” New told EWTN News. “First, coerced abortions are not uncommon. Secondly, … this study adds to a body of research that finds that a substantial percentage of abortions are unwanted or are inconsistent with the values of the woman seeking the abortion.”“Third, even though supporters of legal abortion claim that women obtaining abortions report low levels of mental health problems, they should acknowledge that mental health risks are substantially higher among the subset of women who are emotionally conflicted or who would prefer not to have the abortion,” he continued.Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, a senior ethicist at The National Catholic Bioethics Center, urged physicians “to provide full disclosure of the risks and side effects to their patients.”“The long list of bad mental, emotional, and health effects that regularly arise in the wake of an induced abortion should give pause to anyone seeking, or counseling, abortion, especially when it comes to medical professionals who themselves need to be fully informed regarding the seriousness of these risks,” Pacholczyk told EWTN News.“I think it’s fair to say that a key duty of the physician or healthcare professional, in seeking to ‘do no harm,’ would be to try to dissuade their patients from acting on any desire to procure a direct abortion,” he continued. “And a candid discussion about the broad range of potential bad outcomes from the procedure provides an excellent starting point for dialoguing with their patients in a moment of crisis.”Pacholczyk urged medical professionals to have references for pre-abortion counseling for women considering abortion.“While medical professionals may not be able themselves to provide all the support a young woman requires when confronted with an unexpected pregnancy, they should be able to recommend or refer the woman to obtain additional helpful pre-abortion counseling so she can ponder, and bring to the surface, her own motives and fears, and by doing so, hopefully strengthen her to steer clear of the pseudo-remedy of abortion and instead address her situation with a heightened awareness of the care, accompaniment, and support coming from those around her,” Pacholczyk said. Though difficult to enforce, legislation to require medical professionals to screen for coercion may enable victims of coercion to sue abortion clinics, if put into effect, according to New.“It is unsurprising that physicians performing abortions rarely screen for coercion,” New said. “Many abortion are done in high-volume clinics where abortion doctors spend very little time with women seeking abortions.”Kelsey Pritchard, a spokeswoman for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said the abortion industry doesn’t prioritize women.“The abortion industry prioritizes profit — not women’s well-being, informed consent, or health, the overwhelming evidence shows,” Pritchard said.“Previous peer-reviewed research by Charlotte Lozier Institute scholars indicates most women who’ve had abortions would have preferred not to if they had more support, with nearly a quarter describing their abortions as unwanted or coerced,” Pritchard continued.She voiced concerns about the ease of abortion coercion due to mail-order abortion.“Since Democrats made it as easy as ordering an Amazon package for anyone anywhere to buy and ship dangerous abortion drugs, even to states with pro-life laws, this hidden epidemic has gone from bad to worse, with alarming cases of women assaulted and poisoned across the country,” Pritchard said.“Women pressured, coerced, or forced to abort go on to report higher levels of mental health and quality-of-life difficulties, which they all too often endure silently as they can face significant hurdles to coming forward,” Pritchard said.“The loudest pro-abortion voices refuse to acknowledge the truth behind their narrative of ‘freedom’ and ‘choice,’” Pritchard said.

A recent study highlights that when women are coerced or pressured into abortion, they are at high risk for negative outcomes — but abortion prviidess rarely screen for abortion coercion.

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Catholic theologian takes job in Trump’s Department of Homeland Security #Catholic A prominent Catholic theologian who has previously defended the Trump administration’s immigration policies on theological grounds has joined the Department of Homeland Security, the agency confirmed.Chad Pecknold, who has taught theology at The Catholic University of America (Catholic University) since 2008, is now the principal director of public outreach for the department’s Office of Public Engagement.In a statement provided to the National Catholic Register, the sister news partner of EWTN News, Pecknold said he was “excited” to confirm he had taken the position.“It is truly an honor to serve my country in this capacity,” he added.The Department of Homeland Security was established in 2003 in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and is responsible for protecting the United States against terrorist attacks and other threats to its security. The department also serves as the enforcement arm of U.S. immigration policy, overseeing both U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).According to Pecknold’s LinkedIn page, he is “on leave for public service” from Catholic University. His profile also describes his new position as focused on “cultural outreach” and indicates that he began the role in August.The Catholic theologian’s appointment to the department comes amid ongoing clashes between the U.S. bishops and the Trump administration over immigration enforcement.The Trump administration has prioritized curbing illegal immigration, including carrying out a mass deportation campaign, securing the border, and making legal immigration and asylum claims more selective and difficult.In response, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops took the rare step of issuing a joint statement in November 2025, expressing opposition to “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people” and calling for an end to “dehumanizing rhetoric and violence” against both immigrants and law enforcement.”Shortly after, Pope Leo XIV commented on immigration enforcement in the U.S., urging those involved “to look for ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have,” while following legal protocols.Views on immigrationOn the issue of immigration, Pecknold has consistently argued that defending the country’s borders is not in contradiction with Catholic teaching. Rather, he argues, it is necessary to achieve the common good.The Catechism of the Catholic Church, he told EWTN News in 2023, “teaches that nations have the right to borders and self-definition, so there is no sense in which Catholic teaching supports the progressive goal of ‘open borders.’”“There is a ‘duty of care’ which is owed to those fleeing from danger,” he said, “but citizenship is not owed to anyone who can make it across a national border, and illegal entry or asylum cannot be taken as a debt of citizenship.”In a recent essay for The American Mind, Pecknold took issue with the U.S. bishops’ amicus brief submitted to the Supreme Court in defense of birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented migrants.In the article, Pecknold argues that in asserting that every child has a “natural right” to citizenship, the bishops are committing a “logical fallacy.” They are confusing, he writes, “conventional rights — how a nation determines who is and is not eligible for citizenship — with natural rights, which come from God and which inhere in human beings as such.”Pecknold has also endorsed a February statement released by a Christian think tank in Hungary that contends that “mass deportations may be a legitimate response to mass migration.”And in April 2024, amid Catholic criticism of a Texas state law that gave local authorities authorization to make immigration-related arrests, Pecknold cited St. Thomas Aquinas’ theology as a basis for immigration restrictions, noting that Aquinas distinguished showing hospitality to wayfarers from offering permanent resettlement.“Every human being having dignity does not immediately and obviously supersede the sovereignty of nations,” Pecknold told EWTN News at the time. “Statesmen have a sacred duty to safeguard the political common good of their country, and this will sometimes mean restricting who can legally enter and remain in their countries.”Postliberal theologianThe Catholic University professor is part of what some refer to as the “postliberal” movement, which contends that American politics have been overly focused on individual liberty at the expense of the common good. Pecknold co-founded the Substack “Postliberal Order” with Notre Dame political science professor Patrick Deneen and Harvard constitutional law scholar Adrian Vermeule.Pecknold is also known to be close to Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert and self-described postliberal. The background image of the professor’s X social media profile is a photo of Pecknold with Deneen and Vance.Pecknold is the author of several books that examine cultural and political questions through the lens of St. Augustine’s philosophy and theology, including “Transforming Postliberal Theology” (2005), “The Promise of Scriptural Reasoning” (2006), “Time, Liturgy, and the Politics of Redemption” (2008), and “Christianity and Politics” (2010). In a roundtable published in the Register in 2023, Pecknold argued that Catholics have a duty to engage in politics.“Catholics who are well-formed by the laws of the heavenly city must pray and work for the peace of our very troubled country — for even the nations are restless until they rest in God. Catholics have a duty to intercede, to cure, and to govern,” Pecknold said.It is not clear what Pecknold’s duties will be as director of public outreach at the federal department. The agency did not respond to a request for an explanation of his new role in time for publication, and Pecknold did not respond to a request for an interview.This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

Catholic theologian takes job in Trump’s Department of Homeland Security #Catholic A prominent Catholic theologian who has previously defended the Trump administration’s immigration policies on theological grounds has joined the Department of Homeland Security, the agency confirmed.Chad Pecknold, who has taught theology at The Catholic University of America (Catholic University) since 2008, is now the principal director of public outreach for the department’s Office of Public Engagement.In a statement provided to the National Catholic Register, the sister news partner of EWTN News, Pecknold said he was “excited” to confirm he had taken the position.“It is truly an honor to serve my country in this capacity,” he added.The Department of Homeland Security was established in 2003 in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and is responsible for protecting the United States against terrorist attacks and other threats to its security. The department also serves as the enforcement arm of U.S. immigration policy, overseeing both U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).According to Pecknold’s LinkedIn page, he is “on leave for public service” from Catholic University. His profile also describes his new position as focused on “cultural outreach” and indicates that he began the role in August.The Catholic theologian’s appointment to the department comes amid ongoing clashes between the U.S. bishops and the Trump administration over immigration enforcement.The Trump administration has prioritized curbing illegal immigration, including carrying out a mass deportation campaign, securing the border, and making legal immigration and asylum claims more selective and difficult.In response, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops took the rare step of issuing a joint statement in November 2025, expressing opposition to “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people” and calling for an end to “dehumanizing rhetoric and violence” against both immigrants and law enforcement.”Shortly after, Pope Leo XIV commented on immigration enforcement in the U.S., urging those involved “to look for ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have,” while following legal protocols.Views on immigrationOn the issue of immigration, Pecknold has consistently argued that defending the country’s borders is not in contradiction with Catholic teaching. Rather, he argues, it is necessary to achieve the common good.The Catechism of the Catholic Church, he told EWTN News in 2023, “teaches that nations have the right to borders and self-definition, so there is no sense in which Catholic teaching supports the progressive goal of ‘open borders.’”“There is a ‘duty of care’ which is owed to those fleeing from danger,” he said, “but citizenship is not owed to anyone who can make it across a national border, and illegal entry or asylum cannot be taken as a debt of citizenship.”In a recent essay for The American Mind, Pecknold took issue with the U.S. bishops’ amicus brief submitted to the Supreme Court in defense of birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented migrants.In the article, Pecknold argues that in asserting that every child has a “natural right” to citizenship, the bishops are committing a “logical fallacy.” They are confusing, he writes, “conventional rights — how a nation determines who is and is not eligible for citizenship — with natural rights, which come from God and which inhere in human beings as such.”Pecknold has also endorsed a February statement released by a Christian think tank in Hungary that contends that “mass deportations may be a legitimate response to mass migration.”And in April 2024, amid Catholic criticism of a Texas state law that gave local authorities authorization to make immigration-related arrests, Pecknold cited St. Thomas Aquinas’ theology as a basis for immigration restrictions, noting that Aquinas distinguished showing hospitality to wayfarers from offering permanent resettlement.“Every human being having dignity does not immediately and obviously supersede the sovereignty of nations,” Pecknold told EWTN News at the time. “Statesmen have a sacred duty to safeguard the political common good of their country, and this will sometimes mean restricting who can legally enter and remain in their countries.”Postliberal theologianThe Catholic University professor is part of what some refer to as the “postliberal” movement, which contends that American politics have been overly focused on individual liberty at the expense of the common good. Pecknold co-founded the Substack “Postliberal Order” with Notre Dame political science professor Patrick Deneen and Harvard constitutional law scholar Adrian Vermeule.Pecknold is also known to be close to Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert and self-described postliberal. The background image of the professor’s X social media profile is a photo of Pecknold with Deneen and Vance.Pecknold is the author of several books that examine cultural and political questions through the lens of St. Augustine’s philosophy and theology, including “Transforming Postliberal Theology” (2005), “The Promise of Scriptural Reasoning” (2006), “Time, Liturgy, and the Politics of Redemption” (2008), and “Christianity and Politics” (2010). In a roundtable published in the Register in 2023, Pecknold argued that Catholics have a duty to engage in politics.“Catholics who are well-formed by the laws of the heavenly city must pray and work for the peace of our very troubled country — for even the nations are restless until they rest in God. Catholics have a duty to intercede, to cure, and to govern,” Pecknold said.It is not clear what Pecknold’s duties will be as director of public outreach at the federal department. The agency did not respond to a request for an explanation of his new role in time for publication, and Pecknold did not respond to a request for an interview.This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

Chad Pecknold, a longtime professor at The Catholic University of America, has begun working for the government agency that oversees immigration enforcement.

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Controversial ‘Creed of the Ecclesial Base Communities’ included at Mass in Brazil #Catholic On Sept. 7, Bishop José Valdeci Santos Mendes of Brejo, Maranhão, Brazil, celebrated Mass as part of a national Cry of the Excluded event. During the Mass, the "Creed of the Ecclesial Base Communities” (known as CEBs, by their synonym in Portuguese) was read. This creed, developed in 2016, professes belief in “a God/Goddess present in the diverse experiences of the communities: a God who is close, a liberating and revolutionary God, a God who is a member of the CEBs, who works and struggles just as Jesus of Nazareth did.”Following the distribution of the Eucharist but before the final blessing, the bishop — who chairs the Episcopal Commission for Social-Transformative Action of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CEPAST-CNBB, by its Portuguese acronym) — introduced the referenced creed. He called it a “supplication from the youth of Latin America, who stand before God asking him to come to meet us,” and entrusted the creed’s recitation to two young men.“We do not believe in a static, patriarchal, clerical, and hierarchical Church,” stated the text read by the young men at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Conception. “We believe in an inclusive, intergenerational community with a voice of its own. We believe in this Church that struggles, ‘casting its lot with the poor of the earth’ in the face of a dominant capitalist system.”“We believe we are daughters and sons of a ‘Great Homeland’ free from racism and free from rules governing love — embracing all sexual diversity, women, youth, Indigenous peoples, Black people, minorities, and all those at the bottom of the social order.”The Creed of the Ecclesial Base Communities is part of a suggested liturgy outline for Masses, worship services, and public gatherings marking the 32nd Cry of the Excluded — a mobilization bringing together pastoral groups, Catholic organizations, and social movements, held annually on Brazil’s Independence Day. CEPAST has called upon dioceses, pastoral groups, and grassroots movements to strengthen this mobilization within their respective jurisdictions this year.In a message released in June regarding the 2026 elections, the CNBB (National Conference of Bishops of Brazil) stated that “the Catholic Church does not endorse candidates or political parties” but affirmed that the Church, “driven by the Gospel and the mission to proclaim it, promotes life and human dignity, and serves the building of the common good.”Elections, the CEB Creed, and prayersDuring the penitential rite, Mass participants asked for forgiveness for “times when we did not take the country’s destiny seriously during elections” and for failing to speak out against “candidacies backed by economic power that will harm the people and potentially even impose authoritarian regimes.”The other parts of the penitential rite address wars, people living on the streets, real estate speculation, housing movements, violence against women, and femicide.During the Prayers of the Faithful, an intention regarding the elections was also included: “For this election season, that we may have the discernment not to vote for anyone who seeks to jeopardize Brazil’s sovereignty or harbors plans for a coup. May we not vote for politicians and parties that wish to turn the public good into an object of profit. Sovereignty is not negotiable.” The assembly’s response was: “Deliver us, Lord, from all those who use politics to betray the Brazilian people!”CEPAST states it did not draft the liturgy guideCEPAST’s communications office told ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News, that the CNBB commission did not participate in drafting the document. “The ‘Cry of the Excluded’ is a coalition formed by various organizations, and CEPAST did not participate in drafting the liturgy guide,” said Juce Rocha of the commission’s communications team.The National Coordination of the Cry of the Excluded includes among its participants Catholic pastoral groups, organizations, and social movements such as the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), Caritas Brazil, the Workers' Pastoral, the Migrants' Pastoral Service, Base Ecclesial Communities (CEBs), the Landless Rural Workers' Movement (MST), the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB), the Central of Popular Movements (CMP), and the National Confederation of Education Workers (CNTE).The national map for this year’s “Cry” documented activities in all regions of the country. In Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Espírito Santo, a march brought together the faithful, pastoral groups, and representatives of social movements, concluding at St. Peterʼs Cathedral, where Bishop Luiz Fernando Lisboa participated in the mobilization. In Santos, São Paulo, the “Cry” was part of the dioceseʼs official agenda and was attended by Bishop Joaquim Giovani Mol Guimarães.
 
 In Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Brazil, a march brought together the faithful, pastoral groups, and representatives of social movements, concluding at St. Peter’s Cathedral. | Credit: Diocese of Cachoeiro de Itapemirim
 
 The same order of service was not followed at all Masses linked to the Cry. At the National Shrine of Aparecida in São Paulo, for instance, the Sept. 7 Mass was celebrated within the context of both the 39th Workers' Pilgrimage and the 32nd Cry of the Excluded. The Mass was celebrated by the archbishop of Aparecida, Mário Antonio da Silva; among the concelebrants was the bishop of the Prelature of Marajó, Pará, José Ionilton Lisboa de Oliveira, president of the Pastoral Land Commission.The Cry was mentioned during the Mass and the homily, but the program used in Brejo was not adopted for the celebration.The Cry of the Excluded first emerged during the evaluation of the second Brazilian Social Week — promoted by the CNBB in 1993 and 1994 — as a way to continue the reflections from that process. The initiative was also inspired by the 1995 Fraternity Campaign, which featured the theme “Fraternity and the Excluded” and the motto “Was it you, Lord?”The first edition took place on Sept. 7, 1995, in 170 locations. In 1996, the CNBB adopted the Cry during its general assembly as part of the Toward the New Millennium Project.Today, the mobilization is led by a National Coordination body comprising the CNBB’s Commission 8, Catholic pastoral groups and organizations, and various social movements and entities — including the CPT, Cáritas Brasileira, the Workers‘ Pastoral, the Migrants’ Pastoral Service, CEBs, the MST, MAB, CMP, and CNTE.According to the event’s organizers, the choice of Sept. 7 is intended to provide a “counterpoint” to the official Independence Day commemoration. The date has also been identified by the event’s organizers as a moment for “political awareness” and the struggle for a “new national and global order.”While the movement’s longtime theme is “Life Comes First!”, the slogan for 2026 is: “In defense of the land, peace, and housing, we raise our voices: Women alive and sovereignty!” National demands include ending the “6×1” (six days of work and one day off) work schedule, ensuring dignified housing, agrarian reform, quality public education, and the defense of the SUS (Unified Health System), as well as combating femicide, racism, and what is termed as “LGBTphobia.”The event’s website states that the choice of Sept. 7 seeks to offer a “counterpoint to the official history of Brazilʼs independence. Contrasting with the civic and military parades that have traditionally marked the day, it calls upon the people — especially the poor and the excluded — to step down from the grandstands, leave passive patriotism behind, and occupy public squares and streets in defense of their rights.”This story was first published by ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Controversial ‘Creed of the Ecclesial Base Communities’ included at Mass in Brazil #Catholic On Sept. 7, Bishop José Valdeci Santos Mendes of Brejo, Maranhão, Brazil, celebrated Mass as part of a national Cry of the Excluded event. During the Mass, the "Creed of the Ecclesial Base Communities” (known as CEBs, by their synonym in Portuguese) was read. This creed, developed in 2016, professes belief in “a God/Goddess present in the diverse experiences of the communities: a God who is close, a liberating and revolutionary God, a God who is a member of the CEBs, who works and struggles just as Jesus of Nazareth did.”Following the distribution of the Eucharist but before the final blessing, the bishop — who chairs the Episcopal Commission for Social-Transformative Action of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CEPAST-CNBB, by its Portuguese acronym) — introduced the referenced creed. He called it a “supplication from the youth of Latin America, who stand before God asking him to come to meet us,” and entrusted the creed’s recitation to two young men.“We do not believe in a static, patriarchal, clerical, and hierarchical Church,” stated the text read by the young men at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Conception. “We believe in an inclusive, intergenerational community with a voice of its own. We believe in this Church that struggles, ‘casting its lot with the poor of the earth’ in the face of a dominant capitalist system.”“We believe we are daughters and sons of a ‘Great Homeland’ free from racism and free from rules governing love — embracing all sexual diversity, women, youth, Indigenous peoples, Black people, minorities, and all those at the bottom of the social order.”The Creed of the Ecclesial Base Communities is part of a suggested liturgy outline for Masses, worship services, and public gatherings marking the 32nd Cry of the Excluded — a mobilization bringing together pastoral groups, Catholic organizations, and social movements, held annually on Brazil’s Independence Day. CEPAST has called upon dioceses, pastoral groups, and grassroots movements to strengthen this mobilization within their respective jurisdictions this year.In a message released in June regarding the 2026 elections, the CNBB (National Conference of Bishops of Brazil) stated that “the Catholic Church does not endorse candidates or political parties” but affirmed that the Church, “driven by the Gospel and the mission to proclaim it, promotes life and human dignity, and serves the building of the common good.”Elections, the CEB Creed, and prayersDuring the penitential rite, Mass participants asked for forgiveness for “times when we did not take the country’s destiny seriously during elections” and for failing to speak out against “candidacies backed by economic power that will harm the people and potentially even impose authoritarian regimes.”The other parts of the penitential rite address wars, people living on the streets, real estate speculation, housing movements, violence against women, and femicide.During the Prayers of the Faithful, an intention regarding the elections was also included: “For this election season, that we may have the discernment not to vote for anyone who seeks to jeopardize Brazil’s sovereignty or harbors plans for a coup. May we not vote for politicians and parties that wish to turn the public good into an object of profit. Sovereignty is not negotiable.” The assembly’s response was: “Deliver us, Lord, from all those who use politics to betray the Brazilian people!”CEPAST states it did not draft the liturgy guideCEPAST’s communications office told ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News, that the CNBB commission did not participate in drafting the document. “The ‘Cry of the Excluded’ is a coalition formed by various organizations, and CEPAST did not participate in drafting the liturgy guide,” said Juce Rocha of the commission’s communications team.The National Coordination of the Cry of the Excluded includes among its participants Catholic pastoral groups, organizations, and social movements such as the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), Caritas Brazil, the Workers' Pastoral, the Migrants' Pastoral Service, Base Ecclesial Communities (CEBs), the Landless Rural Workers' Movement (MST), the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB), the Central of Popular Movements (CMP), and the National Confederation of Education Workers (CNTE).The national map for this year’s “Cry” documented activities in all regions of the country. In Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Espírito Santo, a march brought together the faithful, pastoral groups, and representatives of social movements, concluding at St. Peterʼs Cathedral, where Bishop Luiz Fernando Lisboa participated in the mobilization. In Santos, São Paulo, the “Cry” was part of the dioceseʼs official agenda and was attended by Bishop Joaquim Giovani Mol Guimarães. In Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Brazil, a march brought together the faithful, pastoral groups, and representatives of social movements, concluding at St. Peter’s Cathedral. | Credit: Diocese of Cachoeiro de Itapemirim The same order of service was not followed at all Masses linked to the Cry. At the National Shrine of Aparecida in São Paulo, for instance, the Sept. 7 Mass was celebrated within the context of both the 39th Workers' Pilgrimage and the 32nd Cry of the Excluded. The Mass was celebrated by the archbishop of Aparecida, Mário Antonio da Silva; among the concelebrants was the bishop of the Prelature of Marajó, Pará, José Ionilton Lisboa de Oliveira, president of the Pastoral Land Commission.The Cry was mentioned during the Mass and the homily, but the program used in Brejo was not adopted for the celebration.The Cry of the Excluded first emerged during the evaluation of the second Brazilian Social Week — promoted by the CNBB in 1993 and 1994 — as a way to continue the reflections from that process. The initiative was also inspired by the 1995 Fraternity Campaign, which featured the theme “Fraternity and the Excluded” and the motto “Was it you, Lord?”The first edition took place on Sept. 7, 1995, in 170 locations. In 1996, the CNBB adopted the Cry during its general assembly as part of the Toward the New Millennium Project.Today, the mobilization is led by a National Coordination body comprising the CNBB’s Commission 8, Catholic pastoral groups and organizations, and various social movements and entities — including the CPT, Cáritas Brasileira, the Workers‘ Pastoral, the Migrants’ Pastoral Service, CEBs, the MST, MAB, CMP, and CNTE.According to the event’s organizers, the choice of Sept. 7 is intended to provide a “counterpoint” to the official Independence Day commemoration. The date has also been identified by the event’s organizers as a moment for “political awareness” and the struggle for a “new national and global order.”While the movement’s longtime theme is “Life Comes First!”, the slogan for 2026 is: “In defense of the land, peace, and housing, we raise our voices: Women alive and sovereignty!” National demands include ending the “6×1” (six days of work and one day off) work schedule, ensuring dignified housing, agrarian reform, quality public education, and the defense of the SUS (Unified Health System), as well as combating femicide, racism, and what is termed as “LGBTphobia.”The event’s website states that the choice of Sept. 7 seeks to offer a “counterpoint to the official history of Brazilʼs independence. Contrasting with the civic and military parades that have traditionally marked the day, it calls upon the people — especially the poor and the excluded — to step down from the grandstands, leave passive patriotism behind, and occupy public squares and streets in defense of their rights.”This story was first published by ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

This past Sept. 7, the “Creed of the Ecclesial Base Communities” was included as part of a Mass marking Brazil’s annual “Cry of the Excluded” event.

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U.S. bishops urge Supreme Court to allow communities to regulate firearms under Second Amendment #Catholic The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to allow local communities to regulate firearm ownership, weighing in on a high-profile federal case that could significantly reshape the nation’s gun laws. The case before the high court, Viramontes v. Cook County, concerns a regulation enacted by Cook County, Illinois, banning more than 100 types of semiautomatic weapons, including the popular AR-15 platform.Two plaintiffs, Cutberto Viramontes and Christopher Khaya, sued to dispute the regulations under the Second and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit argues that the Supreme Court should rule on the case “to guarantee fundamental Second Amendment rights and to address the confusion in the lower courts” regarding Supreme Court precedent.In their amicus brief regarding the legal dispute, the U.S. bishops urge the court to “[preserve] the traditional authority of political communities to regulate weapons.” The “autonomy of local authority” is a significant part of “America’s historical tradition of federalism,” the bishops write, comparing it to the long-standing Catholic principle of subsidiarity, which holds that the authority closest to a local need is best suited to tackle the issue. The principle of federalism does not allow for the wholesale redefinition of the Second Amendment, the bishops write. But, they argue, a “uniform constitutional standard need not require uniform firearm policy.” Guns have historically been regulated differently throughout the U.S. depending on the locality, the bishops say, and the U.S. Constitution “does not require every community to exercise … its authority to regulate weapons identically.” The prelates further argue that modern advances in weaponry mean firearms like AR-15s are “fundamentally dissimilar” from the standards of the 18th century; such weapons are “dangerous and unusual,” the bishops suggest, and are thus open to reasonable regulation. Though the issue was brought to trial due to the local regulation, the ultimate question before the Supreme Court is whether the Second Amendment “guarantee[s] the right to possess [the] AR-15 platform and similar semiautomatic rifles.” In the past 20 years the Supreme Court has significantly affirmed Second Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution, including in the landmark 2008 case District of Columbia v. Heller, which upheld the right to own a firearm unconnected with service in a state militia. Those rights were broadly expanded in subsequent Supreme Court rulings such as 2010’s McDonald v. Chicago and the 2022 decision NYSRPA v. Bruen. The latter decision upheld a constitutional right to carry firearms for self-defense. In the 2024 decision United States v. Rahimi, on the other hand, the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment does allow for individuals to be disarmed if they have been found to pose a credible threat to the physical safety of someone else.

U.S. bishops urge Supreme Court to allow communities to regulate firearms under Second Amendment #Catholic The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to allow local communities to regulate firearm ownership, weighing in on a high-profile federal case that could significantly reshape the nation’s gun laws. The case before the high court, Viramontes v. Cook County, concerns a regulation enacted by Cook County, Illinois, banning more than 100 types of semiautomatic weapons, including the popular AR-15 platform.Two plaintiffs, Cutberto Viramontes and Christopher Khaya, sued to dispute the regulations under the Second and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit argues that the Supreme Court should rule on the case “to guarantee fundamental Second Amendment rights and to address the confusion in the lower courts” regarding Supreme Court precedent.In their amicus brief regarding the legal dispute, the U.S. bishops urge the court to “[preserve] the traditional authority of political communities to regulate weapons.” The “autonomy of local authority” is a significant part of “America’s historical tradition of federalism,” the bishops write, comparing it to the long-standing Catholic principle of subsidiarity, which holds that the authority closest to a local need is best suited to tackle the issue. The principle of federalism does not allow for the wholesale redefinition of the Second Amendment, the bishops write. But, they argue, a “uniform constitutional standard need not require uniform firearm policy.” Guns have historically been regulated differently throughout the U.S. depending on the locality, the bishops say, and the U.S. Constitution “does not require every community to exercise … its authority to regulate weapons identically.” The prelates further argue that modern advances in weaponry mean firearms like AR-15s are “fundamentally dissimilar” from the standards of the 18th century; such weapons are “dangerous and unusual,” the bishops suggest, and are thus open to reasonable regulation. Though the issue was brought to trial due to the local regulation, the ultimate question before the Supreme Court is whether the Second Amendment “guarantee[s] the right to possess [the] AR-15 platform and similar semiautomatic rifles.” In the past 20 years the Supreme Court has significantly affirmed Second Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution, including in the landmark 2008 case District of Columbia v. Heller, which upheld the right to own a firearm unconnected with service in a state militia. Those rights were broadly expanded in subsequent Supreme Court rulings such as 2010’s McDonald v. Chicago and the 2022 decision NYSRPA v. Bruen. The latter decision upheld a constitutional right to carry firearms for self-defense. In the 2024 decision United States v. Rahimi, on the other hand, the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment does allow for individuals to be disarmed if they have been found to pose a credible threat to the physical safety of someone else.

The Supreme Court is set to consider whether or not Americans are permitted to possess AR-15 rifles and similar firearms.

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Abuse prevention, liturgy central to Vatican courses for new bishops #Catholic The Vatican is hosting its annual formation course for newly appointed bishops from Sept. 2-10, bringing together 147 prelates from five continents to strengthen ecclesial communion and provide practical tools for the exercise of episcopal ministry.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.Instagram postLiturgy, mission, and safeguarding against abuseThe 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 challengesThe 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 lawOn 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 sessionsParticipants 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.

Abuse prevention, liturgy central to Vatican courses for new bishops #Catholic The Vatican is hosting its annual formation course for newly appointed bishops from Sept. 2-10, bringing together 147 prelates from five continents to strengthen ecclesial communion and provide practical tools for the exercise of episcopal ministry.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.Instagram postLiturgy, mission, and safeguarding against abuseThe 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 challengesThe 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 lawOn 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 sessionsParticipants 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.

The program has been a fixture of the Church calendar since 2000, when it was launched by St. John Paul II.

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A lunar eclipse is visible over southern Louisiana. The lunar eclipse was visible throughout much of North and South America and part of Europe and Africa between Aug. 27-28. The Full Moon slipped through Earth’s shadow on Aug. 27, continuing into Aug. 28 for some parts of the world, resulting in the lunar eclipse. At maximum eclipse, the Moon takes on a dramatic dark, ruddy or coppery tint along the covered edge. New Orleans is home to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, where stages for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and structures for Orion spacecraft are produced for the Artemis missions.

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Bishops from Mexico, U.S., Canada see urgent need to speak ‘with one voice’ #Catholic “It is increasingly urgent that the Catholic Church in the Americas speak with one voice,” stated Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, vice president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), following the Mass celebrated Aug. 30 at the cathedral in Cuernavaca, Mexico, which marked the beginning of a meeting among Mexican, U.S., and Canadian bishops.Bishop Ramón Castro Castro of Cuernavaca, president of the Mexican Bishops’ Conference (CEM, by its Spanish acronym) was the main celebrant of the Mass. Concelebrating alongside various priests, along with Flores, were Bishop Oscar Cantú of San José, California, chairman of the USCCB Subcommittee on Hispanic/Latino Affairs; and Bishop Pierre Goudreault of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.
 
 Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, addresses the congregation at the conclusion of the Mass at Cuernavaca Cathedral on Aug. 30, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Cuernavaca
 
 In a brief message, Flores expressed gratitude for “Bishop Ramón’s inspiration in inviting us to this gathering to strengthen this ecclesial communion.”“In the times we are living through, it will become increasingly important — indeed, urgent — for the Catholic Church in the Americas to speak with one voice, defending the honor of Our Lord and the dignity of the human person — especially the poor and immigrants, who often have nowhere to lay their heads, just like the Lord Jesus himself,” he said.“We need to preach together and united as one Church, under the guidance of our Holy Father, Pope Leo, and in communion with all the bishops of the world,” he added.3 distinct countries ‘but one and the same faith’In his homily, Castro highlighted that this meeting of leaders from North American episcopal conferences is “the first of its kind in our history.”“We are three distinct countries. We are three Churches with different histories and realities, yet we share one and the same faith, one baptism, one Eucharist, and one mission,” the Mexican prelate affirmed.Regarding the role of bishops, Castro emphasized that “before being leaders, we are disciples,” and “before having responsibilities, we are men called by the Lord.”“Perhaps this can be the profound spirit of this gathering of the Church in North America: for all of us to place ourselves once again behind Jesus.”
 
 Bishop Ramón Castro Castro of Cuernavaca, Mexico, right, and Bishop Pierre Goudreault of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, Canada, pray during the consecration at the Cuernavaca Cathedral on Aug. 30, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Cuernavaca
 
 ‘Enormous challenges’The president of the CEM emphasized that “our peoples face enormous challenges, particularly Mexico,” and pointed to issues such as “violence, demagoguery, corruption, loneliness, secularization, individualism, materialism, polarization, wounded families, and young people seeking reasons for hope.”He further noted that “perhaps one of the most common themes among the three of us as countries and conferences is migration.”“Over the coming days, we will have the opportunity to share our perspectives on these realities, not in a spirit of judgment or confrontation but rather out of the pastoral responsibility that falls to us as shepherds,” the bishop of Cuernavaca said.
 
 The faithful attend Mass at the Cuernavaca Cathedral on Aug. 30, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Cuernavaca
 
 “We want to better understand the lives of our people. To what end? To be able to serve them better,” he stated.Castro emphasized that “migration must not be reduced to statistics, public policies, or economic obligations,” because “behind every migrant there is a face, a story, a family, a hope, and, unfortunately, often many wounds.”“The Church must view these people as brothers and sisters whose dignity must be recognized and protected,” he said.The Mexican bishop also expressed his wish “that from Cuernavaca we might send a simple yet powerful sign to our churches, churches on pilgrimage in Canada, the United States, and Mexico.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Bishops from Mexico, U.S., Canada see urgent need to speak ‘with one voice’ #Catholic “It is increasingly urgent that the Catholic Church in the Americas speak with one voice,” stated Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, vice president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), following the Mass celebrated Aug. 30 at the cathedral in Cuernavaca, Mexico, which marked the beginning of a meeting among Mexican, U.S., and Canadian bishops.Bishop Ramón Castro Castro of Cuernavaca, president of the Mexican Bishops’ Conference (CEM, by its Spanish acronym) was the main celebrant of the Mass. Concelebrating alongside various priests, along with Flores, were Bishop Oscar Cantú of San José, California, chairman of the USCCB Subcommittee on Hispanic/Latino Affairs; and Bishop Pierre Goudreault of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, addresses the congregation at the conclusion of the Mass at Cuernavaca Cathedral on Aug. 30, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Cuernavaca In a brief message, Flores expressed gratitude for “Bishop Ramón’s inspiration in inviting us to this gathering to strengthen this ecclesial communion.”“In the times we are living through, it will become increasingly important — indeed, urgent — for the Catholic Church in the Americas to speak with one voice, defending the honor of Our Lord and the dignity of the human person — especially the poor and immigrants, who often have nowhere to lay their heads, just like the Lord Jesus himself,” he said.“We need to preach together and united as one Church, under the guidance of our Holy Father, Pope Leo, and in communion with all the bishops of the world,” he added.3 distinct countries ‘but one and the same faith’In his homily, Castro highlighted that this meeting of leaders from North American episcopal conferences is “the first of its kind in our history.”“We are three distinct countries. We are three Churches with different histories and realities, yet we share one and the same faith, one baptism, one Eucharist, and one mission,” the Mexican prelate affirmed.Regarding the role of bishops, Castro emphasized that “before being leaders, we are disciples,” and “before having responsibilities, we are men called by the Lord.”“Perhaps this can be the profound spirit of this gathering of the Church in North America: for all of us to place ourselves once again behind Jesus.” Bishop Ramón Castro Castro of Cuernavaca, Mexico, right, and Bishop Pierre Goudreault of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, Canada, pray during the consecration at the Cuernavaca Cathedral on Aug. 30, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Cuernavaca ‘Enormous challenges’The president of the CEM emphasized that “our peoples face enormous challenges, particularly Mexico,” and pointed to issues such as “violence, demagoguery, corruption, loneliness, secularization, individualism, materialism, polarization, wounded families, and young people seeking reasons for hope.”He further noted that “perhaps one of the most common themes among the three of us as countries and conferences is migration.”“Over the coming days, we will have the opportunity to share our perspectives on these realities, not in a spirit of judgment or confrontation but rather out of the pastoral responsibility that falls to us as shepherds,” the bishop of Cuernavaca said. The faithful attend Mass at the Cuernavaca Cathedral on Aug. 30, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Cuernavaca “We want to better understand the lives of our people. To what end? To be able to serve them better,” he stated.Castro emphasized that “migration must not be reduced to statistics, public policies, or economic obligations,” because “behind every migrant there is a face, a story, a family, a hope, and, unfortunately, often many wounds.”“The Church must view these people as brothers and sisters whose dignity must be recognized and protected,” he said.The Mexican bishop also expressed his wish “that from Cuernavaca we might send a simple yet powerful sign to our churches, churches on pilgrimage in Canada, the United States, and Mexico.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

The bishops discussed the pastoral challenges facing the Church in North America as a whole and concelebrated a Mass on Aug. 30 in the Cuernavaca, Mexico, cathedral.

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First Steps: America’s Grueling Second Spacewalk – A year after America’s first spacewalk, Gemini IX-A Eugene Cernan stepped outside his spacecraft for an ambitious extravehicular activity scheduled for 167 minutes. The challenges he faced led NASA to reevaluate plans, equipment, and training for future spacewalks.

A year after America’s first spacewalk, Gemini IX-A Eugene Cernan stepped outside his spacecraft for an ambitious extravehicular activity scheduled for 167 minutes. The challenges he faced led NASA to reevaluate plans, equipment, and training for future spacewalks.

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Moon rocks are seen during a March 24, 2026, event where NASA is outlining how the agency is executing the National Space Policy and accelerating preparations for America’s return to the surface of the Moon by 2028.

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NASA Heat Shield Tech Contributes to America’s Space Industry – The Varda Space Industries W-5 capsule returned to Earth in Koonibba in South Australia on Jan. 29, 2026, with the protection of a heat shield made of C-PICA, a cutting-edge material licensed from NASA and manufactured by Varda. The capsule’s successful return marks the first time a capsule protected entirely by Varda-made C-PICA has come back to Earth.

The Varda Space Industries W-5 capsule returned to Earth in Koonibba in South Australia on Jan. 29, 2026, with the protection of a heat shield made of C-PICA, a cutting-edge material licensed from NASA and manufactured by Varda. The capsule’s successful return marks the first time a capsule protected entirely by Varda-made C-PICA has come back to Earth.

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