Conditions

France legalizes euthanasia after forceful push through Parliament #Catholic The French National Assembly gave final approval on July 15 to a bill legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide, making France one of the few European countries to legalize the practice along with Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Spain. The 291-241 vote came three years after President Emmanuel Macron, who had made it one of his key campaign promises, first opened the question to national debate.The vote ended an unusual parliamentary stalemate between the National Assembly and the Senate. Members of the National Assembly passed the bill three times over the course of 14 months — most recently on June 30 by a vote of 295 to 232 — and senators rejected it just as many times. On July 7, the Senate passed, by a narrow majority of 169 to 164, with 11 abstentions, a preliminary motion to outright reject the bill rather than debate it, and this motion itself called on the government to end the legislative process. Rather than heeding this call, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu invoked Article 45 of the Constitution, which allows the government to give the National Assembly the final say when repeated readings fail to produce an agreement between the two chambers. He then referred the bill back to the National Assembly for a fourth and final vote instead of a fourth reading in the Senate.The July 15 vote, however, did not close the matter. On July 14, Lecornu announced he would refer part of the text to the Constitutional Council, a step Senate President Gérard Larcher had also urged, citing in particular how the billʼs conscience clause would interact with health and social care facilities built around end-of-life accompaniment that exclude assisted dying. The council must rule within a month, or eight days if the government asks for an expedited review, meaning the law cannot be promulgated until that review is complete even though the Assembly has now adopted it.The end-of-life law covers both euthanasia, administered by a doctor or nurse, and assisted suicide, in which the patient self-administers a lethal substance, under five cumulative conditions: A person must be an adult, a stable resident of France, diagnosed with a serious and incurable condition, in an advanced or terminal phase of that condition, and suffering in a way current treatment cannot relieve, while remaining able to express a free and informed decision. Self-administration is supposed to be the default rule, with the law providing for intervention by a healthcare professional only when the patient is physically unable to act.A supporting measure aimed at expanding access to palliative care was adopted with much broader support, passing its first reading in the Senate by a vote of 307 to 17. To date, more than 20% of French departments still lack a palliative care unit, according to figures cited repeatedly by the Bishops’ Conference of France during the debate.The push to legalize assisted dying traces back to September 2022, when the National Consultative Ethics Committee reversed its earlier opposition to assisted dying and endorsed an “ethical” application of the practice. A citizens’ panel Macron had convened spent the following winter weighing the question and backed legalization.The French president unveiled the outline of a bill in March 2024, but the initiative stalled when he dissolved the Assembly in June the same year. Deputy Olivier Falorni, who had filed an earlier and unsuccessful end-of-life bill, revived it in 2025.Critics argue the newly adopted framework is among the most permissive of its kind in the world. Grégor Puppinck, a Catholic lawyer and director general of the European Centre for Law and Justice, has published a point-by-point analysis contending that the entire process rests on the judgment of a single physician, who may meet the patient for the first time on the day of the request and need not be the one already treating them.The two additional professionals that physician must consult are chosen by the same person, are not required to examine the patient in person, and may be consulted by videoconference. Puppinck noted the statute sets no minimum interval between the decision and the act itself beyond a two-day reflection window, relatives have no guaranteed right to be informed beforehand, and they cannot challenge the outcome in court. Doctors who object in conscience must still refer patients to a colleague willing to proceed, and private and religious institutions, including nursing homes, must accommodate mobile euthanasia teams under threat of administrative penalties. Oversight, in Puppinck’s account, comes only after death, based on a report filed by the same clinician who carried it out.The founders of the ethics collective Democracy, Ethics, and Solidarity, Laurent Frémont and Emmanuel Hirsch, wrote in Le Journal du Dimanche that the law’s eligibility criteria — primarily a “serious and incurable condition” causing “unbearable suffering,” are defined vaguely enough that a strict medical interpretation could make more than 1 million people eligible, including patients with chronic illnesses, psychiatric disorders, or advanced age, without requiring a prior written request, a peer review by medical colleagues, or a psychiatric evaluation.A 2025 study by the Fondation pour l’innovation politique estimated the measure could save the state around 1.4 billion euros (.6 billion) a year in health, eldercare, and pension spending, a projection critics have cited as evidence of the pressures vulnerable and elderly patients could face once the law takes effect.The French bishops’ conference called the text a threat to “the most fragile” among French citizens in a statement issued in May 2025 ahead of the Assembly’s first vote on the bill. The archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, has repeatedly urged lawmakers to reconsider their position, asserting that true solidarity is built through caring for others rather than through death. “More than assistance in dying, our society needs assistance in living,” he has repeatedly stated.In a video appeal to lawmakers released before the vote, Archbishop Vincent Jordy of Tours invoked François Rabelais’ centuries-old warning that “science without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.” What is underway, he said, is “an anthropological shift,” a new way of viewing life and its end that will gradually reshape the country, touching caregivers, families, people with disabilities, and the relationship between generations. He pointed to the Netherlands, where regulators had layered on safeguards for two decades and where health officials confirmed in June that a child under 12 had been euthanized for the first time, under a 2024 expansion of the law to children between the ages of 1 and 12. Making a law, Jordy said, is also opening doors toward things “one had perhaps not imagined” when it was written.
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France legalizes euthanasia after forceful push through Parliament #Catholic The French National Assembly gave final approval on July 15 to a bill legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide, making France one of the few European countries to legalize the practice along with Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Spain. The 291-241 vote came three years after President Emmanuel Macron, who had made it one of his key campaign promises, first opened the question to national debate.The vote ended an unusual parliamentary stalemate between the National Assembly and the Senate. Members of the National Assembly passed the bill three times over the course of 14 months — most recently on June 30 by a vote of 295 to 232 — and senators rejected it just as many times. On July 7, the Senate passed, by a narrow majority of 169 to 164, with 11 abstentions, a preliminary motion to outright reject the bill rather than debate it, and this motion itself called on the government to end the legislative process. Rather than heeding this call, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu invoked Article 45 of the Constitution, which allows the government to give the National Assembly the final say when repeated readings fail to produce an agreement between the two chambers. He then referred the bill back to the National Assembly for a fourth and final vote instead of a fourth reading in the Senate.The July 15 vote, however, did not close the matter. On July 14, Lecornu announced he would refer part of the text to the Constitutional Council, a step Senate President Gérard Larcher had also urged, citing in particular how the billʼs conscience clause would interact with health and social care facilities built around end-of-life accompaniment that exclude assisted dying. The council must rule within a month, or eight days if the government asks for an expedited review, meaning the law cannot be promulgated until that review is complete even though the Assembly has now adopted it.The end-of-life law covers both euthanasia, administered by a doctor or nurse, and assisted suicide, in which the patient self-administers a lethal substance, under five cumulative conditions: A person must be an adult, a stable resident of France, diagnosed with a serious and incurable condition, in an advanced or terminal phase of that condition, and suffering in a way current treatment cannot relieve, while remaining able to express a free and informed decision. Self-administration is supposed to be the default rule, with the law providing for intervention by a healthcare professional only when the patient is physically unable to act.A supporting measure aimed at expanding access to palliative care was adopted with much broader support, passing its first reading in the Senate by a vote of 307 to 17. To date, more than 20% of French departments still lack a palliative care unit, according to figures cited repeatedly by the Bishops’ Conference of France during the debate.The push to legalize assisted dying traces back to September 2022, when the National Consultative Ethics Committee reversed its earlier opposition to assisted dying and endorsed an “ethical” application of the practice. A citizens’ panel Macron had convened spent the following winter weighing the question and backed legalization.The French president unveiled the outline of a bill in March 2024, but the initiative stalled when he dissolved the Assembly in June the same year. Deputy Olivier Falorni, who had filed an earlier and unsuccessful end-of-life bill, revived it in 2025.Critics argue the newly adopted framework is among the most permissive of its kind in the world. Grégor Puppinck, a Catholic lawyer and director general of the European Centre for Law and Justice, has published a point-by-point analysis contending that the entire process rests on the judgment of a single physician, who may meet the patient for the first time on the day of the request and need not be the one already treating them.The two additional professionals that physician must consult are chosen by the same person, are not required to examine the patient in person, and may be consulted by videoconference. Puppinck noted the statute sets no minimum interval between the decision and the act itself beyond a two-day reflection window, relatives have no guaranteed right to be informed beforehand, and they cannot challenge the outcome in court. Doctors who object in conscience must still refer patients to a colleague willing to proceed, and private and religious institutions, including nursing homes, must accommodate mobile euthanasia teams under threat of administrative penalties. Oversight, in Puppinck’s account, comes only after death, based on a report filed by the same clinician who carried it out.The founders of the ethics collective Democracy, Ethics, and Solidarity, Laurent Frémont and Emmanuel Hirsch, wrote in Le Journal du Dimanche that the law’s eligibility criteria — primarily a “serious and incurable condition” causing “unbearable suffering,” are defined vaguely enough that a strict medical interpretation could make more than 1 million people eligible, including patients with chronic illnesses, psychiatric disorders, or advanced age, without requiring a prior written request, a peer review by medical colleagues, or a psychiatric evaluation.A 2025 study by the Fondation pour l’innovation politique estimated the measure could save the state around 1.4 billion euros ($1.6 billion) a year in health, eldercare, and pension spending, a projection critics have cited as evidence of the pressures vulnerable and elderly patients could face once the law takes effect.The French bishops’ conference called the text a threat to “the most fragile” among French citizens in a statement issued in May 2025 ahead of the Assembly’s first vote on the bill. The archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, has repeatedly urged lawmakers to reconsider their position, asserting that true solidarity is built through caring for others rather than through death. “More than assistance in dying, our society needs assistance in living,” he has repeatedly stated.In a video appeal to lawmakers released before the vote, Archbishop Vincent Jordy of Tours invoked François Rabelais’ centuries-old warning that “science without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.” What is underway, he said, is “an anthropological shift,” a new way of viewing life and its end that will gradually reshape the country, touching caregivers, families, people with disabilities, and the relationship between generations. He pointed to the Netherlands, where regulators had layered on safeguards for two decades and where health officials confirmed in June that a child under 12 had been euthanized for the first time, under a 2024 expansion of the law to children between the ages of 1 and 12. Making a law, Jordy said, is also opening doors toward things “one had perhaps not imagined” when it was written.

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The vote, ending an unusual parliamentary stalemate between the National Assembly and the Senate, came three years after President Emmanuel Macron first opened the question to national debate.

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Catholic Relief Services to receive 5 million in food aid for Sudan, Ethiopia #Catholic The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide up to 5 million through Catholic Relief Services (CRS) for emergency food and nutrition assistance in Sudan and Ethiopia amid widespread hunger.“More than 110,000 metric tons of U.S.-grown agricultural commodities” will be delivered to the two East African countries under an agreement in principle between CRS and the USDA, according to a July 14 USDA announcement.“American farmers feed, fuel, and clothe the world, and under President Trump’s leadership, we’re utilizing that bounty to serve those in need while ensuring that the benefits of U.S. food aid flow back to America’s hardworking farmers, ranchers, and producers that make this assistance possible,” Michelle Bekkering, USDA’s deputy undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, said in a statement. “We’re also enforcing strict accountability so that aid goes to those who actually need it, safeguarding hard-earned taxpayer dollars, and delivering aid that builds self-reliance instead of long-term dependence.” “Authorized under Title II of the Food for Peace Act,” the announcement said, “the agreement leverages Catholic Relief Services’ operational footprints in East Africa, including the Sudan Emergency Project and the Joint Emergency Operation in Ethiopia.”CRS has faced a sharp drop in federal support after the Trump administration collapsed global‑health and humanitarian functions of the U.S. Agency for International Development into the State Department in 2025. USAID earlier supplied roughly half of the agency’s .5 billion budget.CRS President and CEO Sean Callahan said in a July 14 press release that the agreement came “at a critical moment for struggling families in Sudan and Ethiopia.”“For decades, our partnership with USDA has connected the generosity and productivity of American farmers with some of the world’s most vulnerable communities,” Callahan said. “We are committed to ensuring these resources are managed responsibly and translated into meaningful support for families working to overcome crisis.”“We are hopeful fellow trusted organizations carrying out lifesaving work across the world are supported in their efforts to meet these critical needs for extremely vulnerable families and communities,” he said.Callahan told EWTN News that CRS tracks the delivery of food commodities “to the last mile and employs robust monitoring, verification, and financial oversight to help ensure assistance reaches the people it is intended to serve.”“We continually assess security conditions, adjust operations as needed, and work closely with local partners to help ensure assistance reaches the people it is intended to serve,” he said.Maura O’Brien, a former USAID official who led its Sudan and South Sudan office and serves as coordinator for the Michael B. Kim Institute for Ethical Inquiry and Leadership at Haverford College, said CRS has been a trusted partner but USAID’s absence will be felt.“Not having any U.S. presence in the field makes any assistance more vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse — especially in a conflict environment. Oversight and coordination are essential to effectively delivering desperately needed relief to communities in East Africa," O’Brien said.USDA did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
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Catholic Relief Services to receive $235 million in food aid for Sudan, Ethiopia #Catholic The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide up to $235 million through Catholic Relief Services (CRS) for emergency food and nutrition assistance in Sudan and Ethiopia amid widespread hunger.“More than 110,000 metric tons of U.S.-grown agricultural commodities” will be delivered to the two East African countries under an agreement in principle between CRS and the USDA, according to a July 14 USDA announcement.“American farmers feed, fuel, and clothe the world, and under President Trump’s leadership, we’re utilizing that bounty to serve those in need while ensuring that the benefits of U.S. food aid flow back to America’s hardworking farmers, ranchers, and producers that make this assistance possible,” Michelle Bekkering, USDA’s deputy undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, said in a statement. “We’re also enforcing strict accountability so that aid goes to those who actually need it, safeguarding hard-earned taxpayer dollars, and delivering aid that builds self-reliance instead of long-term dependence.” “Authorized under Title II of the Food for Peace Act,” the announcement said, “the agreement leverages Catholic Relief Services’ operational footprints in East Africa, including the Sudan Emergency Project and the Joint Emergency Operation in Ethiopia.”CRS has faced a sharp drop in federal support after the Trump administration collapsed global‑health and humanitarian functions of the U.S. Agency for International Development into the State Department in 2025. USAID earlier supplied roughly half of the agency’s $1.5 billion budget.CRS President and CEO Sean Callahan said in a July 14 press release that the agreement came “at a critical moment for struggling families in Sudan and Ethiopia.”“For decades, our partnership with USDA has connected the generosity and productivity of American farmers with some of the world’s most vulnerable communities,” Callahan said. “We are committed to ensuring these resources are managed responsibly and translated into meaningful support for families working to overcome crisis.”“We are hopeful fellow trusted organizations carrying out lifesaving work across the world are supported in their efforts to meet these critical needs for extremely vulnerable families and communities,” he said.Callahan told EWTN News that CRS tracks the delivery of food commodities “to the last mile and employs robust monitoring, verification, and financial oversight to help ensure assistance reaches the people it is intended to serve.”“We continually assess security conditions, adjust operations as needed, and work closely with local partners to help ensure assistance reaches the people it is intended to serve,” he said.Maura O’Brien, a former USAID official who led its Sudan and South Sudan office and serves as coordinator for the Michael B. Kim Institute for Ethical Inquiry and Leadership at Haverford College, said CRS has been a trusted partner but USAID’s absence will be felt.“Not having any U.S. presence in the field makes any assistance more vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse — especially in a conflict environment. Oversight and coordination are essential to effectively delivering desperately needed relief to communities in East Africa," O’Brien said.USDA did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

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“More than 110,000 metric tons of U.S.-grown agricultural commodities” will be delivered under an agreement in principle between Catholic Relief Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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Nicaraguan dictatorship detains Bishop Abelardo Mata again #Catholic Nicaraguan police detained Bishop Emeritus Abelardo Mata again on June 30, just one day after his initial detention and subsequent release on June 29. The 80-year-old prelate is reportedly now under house arrest.Mata, bishop emeritus of Estelí, was arrested at a clinic where he had gone for a checkup for his pacemaker. This occurred the day after he celebrated a Mass in which he prayed for the persecuted Church in Nicaragua, an act that may have provoked the ire of the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo.Following the new detention, the bishop is reportedly under house arrest at his home in the town of Tisma, according to the Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa.In addition to the bishop, Father Francisco Morales, pastor of Calvary’s Cross Church in Estelí, where Mata celebrated Mass on June 28, and Deacon Wilfred Arauz Rodríguez were also detained. Both were released but remain subject to conditions.“Bishop Mata holds no administrative responsibilities within the Diocese of Estelí but continues to assist that diocese with its pastoral needs. He thus went to celebrate Mass last Sunday at the request of the parish priest. However, the Sandinista dictatorship has forbidden him from being in the department of Estelí,” ​​Martha Patricia Molina explained on July 2 to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. She is the author of the report “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church,” which documents thousands of attacks by the dictatorship against Catholics since 2018.Molina further highlighted that “the Diocese of Estelí has ​​always been a target of repression by the Sandinista dictatorship due to the hatred the dictatorial couple harbors toward Bishop Rolando José Álvarez, the apostolic administrator. Although Álvarez is not voicing opinions, the dictatorship views him as a constant focus of their attention.”Álvarez, apostolic administrator of Estelí since 2021, following Mata’s resignation, currently lives in Rome after being exiled in January 2024 while serving a 26-year prison sentence. The prelate was a consistent critic of the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship.Even though Álvarez is living in exile, Pope Francis confirmed him in his position as bishop of Matagalpa and apostolic administrator of Estelí.Molina also told ACI Prensa that the situation in Estelí “is being aggravated because Mata has been critical of the arbitrary actions committed by the Sandinista dictatorship. Currently, we only learn of 10% of the attacks committed against the Catholic Church because the rest go unreported due to the fear and caution priests and laypeople have about speaking out in the news media or on social media.”The researcher noted that the number of reports could reach “400 a day” if Catholics were able to speak freely in public.The ‘dire’ situation in EstelíMolina noted that the dictatorship is now persecuting the Church in a different way: “They had stopped abducting priests, but now they have gone back to it; furthermore, there are cases of priests having to report to police stations to give statements, and also there’s the constant monitoring and harassment of priests across the countryʼs various dioceses by the police.”The researcher pointed out that the Diocese of Estelí, “the one most persecuted by the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship after Matagalpa,” is currently forced to “operate without [its bishop] and with only 42% of its clergy. This makes pastoral work difficult and places a heavier workload on the active priests.”These priests must also take on “the duties of those who are in exile due to persecution, those who have passed away, or those who, for one reason or another, are not exercising their ministry in Nicaragua,” she pointed out.“The situation is worsening because the Sandinista dictatorship has banned diaconal and priestly ordinations in that diocese,” she emphasized. Ordinations are also forbidden in Matagalpa, Jinotega, and Siuna. None of the four dioceses has its bishop present, as they have all been exiled from Nicaragua.The need to be vigilant“We have to remain vigilant regarding Bishop Mata because his health is fragile and requires professional care. What worries me is that the last individuals who have been under surveillance by the dictatorship or the police have ended up in worse condition or even dead,” Arturo McFields, Nicaragua’s former ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), told ACI Prensa on July 2.A recent example of this situation is the case of Brooklyn Rivera, an Indigenous leader and political prisoner whom the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship held incommunicado for over 970 days. He passed away in late May at the age of 73, following several statements from the regime regarding his critical health condition.“If the dictatorship’s actions are not strongly denounced, the regime would not hesitate to bring about the death of Bishop Mata, as they harbor deep resentment toward this man of God because of his courage and clarity for many years,” McFields emphasized.An exiled Nicaraguan priest who prefers to remain anonymous to avoid reprisals told ACI Prensa that the situation involving Mata “is sad, but it can also be viewed as a sign of the fear the dictatorship has of an elderly bishop, an 80-year-old (with health issues) because his presence as a shepherd strengthens the lives of the faithful,” ensuring that “the faith remains alive.”The priest emphasized that he continues to prepare “our hearts for a future in which we can rebuild the Church in Nicaragua not only socially but also through faith because spiritual and pastoral reconstruction work must also be done.”Call for releaseFélix Maradiaga, president of the Freedom for Nicaragua Foundation, issued “an urgent call to the international community, human rights organizations, the world’s democracies, and all people of goodwill to remain vigilant, demand the immediate release of Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata and all arbitrarily detained members of the clergy, and firmly condemn this new escalation of repression.”“Nicaragua cannot normalize a dictatorship imprisoning priests, silencing pulpits, and persecuting the faith. The moral voice of the Church has historically stood with the Nicaraguan people during their most difficult times, and that is precisely why the regime seeks to intimidate it,” Maradiaga told ACI Prensa.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.
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Nicaraguan dictatorship detains Bishop Abelardo Mata again #Catholic Nicaraguan police detained Bishop Emeritus Abelardo Mata again on June 30, just one day after his initial detention and subsequent release on June 29. The 80-year-old prelate is reportedly now under house arrest.Mata, bishop emeritus of Estelí, was arrested at a clinic where he had gone for a checkup for his pacemaker. This occurred the day after he celebrated a Mass in which he prayed for the persecuted Church in Nicaragua, an act that may have provoked the ire of the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo.Following the new detention, the bishop is reportedly under house arrest at his home in the town of Tisma, according to the Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa.In addition to the bishop, Father Francisco Morales, pastor of Calvary’s Cross Church in Estelí, where Mata celebrated Mass on June 28, and Deacon Wilfred Arauz Rodríguez were also detained. Both were released but remain subject to conditions.“Bishop Mata holds no administrative responsibilities within the Diocese of Estelí but continues to assist that diocese with its pastoral needs. He thus went to celebrate Mass last Sunday at the request of the parish priest. However, the Sandinista dictatorship has forbidden him from being in the department of Estelí,” ​​Martha Patricia Molina explained on July 2 to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. She is the author of the report “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church,” which documents thousands of attacks by the dictatorship against Catholics since 2018.Molina further highlighted that “the Diocese of Estelí has ​​always been a target of repression by the Sandinista dictatorship due to the hatred the dictatorial couple harbors toward Bishop Rolando José Álvarez, the apostolic administrator. Although Álvarez is not voicing opinions, the dictatorship views him as a constant focus of their attention.”Álvarez, apostolic administrator of Estelí since 2021, following Mata’s resignation, currently lives in Rome after being exiled in January 2024 while serving a 26-year prison sentence. The prelate was a consistent critic of the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship.Even though Álvarez is living in exile, Pope Francis confirmed him in his position as bishop of Matagalpa and apostolic administrator of Estelí.Molina also told ACI Prensa that the situation in Estelí “is being aggravated because Mata has been critical of the arbitrary actions committed by the Sandinista dictatorship. Currently, we only learn of 10% of the attacks committed against the Catholic Church because the rest go unreported due to the fear and caution priests and laypeople have about speaking out in the news media or on social media.”The researcher noted that the number of reports could reach “400 a day” if Catholics were able to speak freely in public.The ‘dire’ situation in EstelíMolina noted that the dictatorship is now persecuting the Church in a different way: “They had stopped abducting priests, but now they have gone back to it; furthermore, there are cases of priests having to report to police stations to give statements, and also there’s the constant monitoring and harassment of priests across the countryʼs various dioceses by the police.”The researcher pointed out that the Diocese of Estelí, “the one most persecuted by the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship after Matagalpa,” is currently forced to “operate without [its bishop] and with only 42% of its clergy. This makes pastoral work difficult and places a heavier workload on the active priests.”These priests must also take on “the duties of those who are in exile due to persecution, those who have passed away, or those who, for one reason or another, are not exercising their ministry in Nicaragua,” she pointed out.“The situation is worsening because the Sandinista dictatorship has banned diaconal and priestly ordinations in that diocese,” she emphasized. Ordinations are also forbidden in Matagalpa, Jinotega, and Siuna. None of the four dioceses has its bishop present, as they have all been exiled from Nicaragua.The need to be vigilant“We have to remain vigilant regarding Bishop Mata because his health is fragile and requires professional care. What worries me is that the last individuals who have been under surveillance by the dictatorship or the police have ended up in worse condition or even dead,” Arturo McFields, Nicaragua’s former ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), told ACI Prensa on July 2.A recent example of this situation is the case of Brooklyn Rivera, an Indigenous leader and political prisoner whom the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship held incommunicado for over 970 days. He passed away in late May at the age of 73, following several statements from the regime regarding his critical health condition.“If the dictatorship’s actions are not strongly denounced, the regime would not hesitate to bring about the death of Bishop Mata, as they harbor deep resentment toward this man of God because of his courage and clarity for many years,” McFields emphasized.An exiled Nicaraguan priest who prefers to remain anonymous to avoid reprisals told ACI Prensa that the situation involving Mata “is sad, but it can also be viewed as a sign of the fear the dictatorship has of an elderly bishop, an 80-year-old (with health issues) because his presence as a shepherd strengthens the lives of the faithful,” ensuring that “the faith remains alive.”The priest emphasized that he continues to prepare “our hearts for a future in which we can rebuild the Church in Nicaragua not only socially but also through faith because spiritual and pastoral reconstruction work must also be done.”Call for releaseFélix Maradiaga, president of the Freedom for Nicaragua Foundation, issued “an urgent call to the international community, human rights organizations, the world’s democracies, and all people of goodwill to remain vigilant, demand the immediate release of Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata and all arbitrarily detained members of the clergy, and firmly condemn this new escalation of repression.”“Nicaragua cannot normalize a dictatorship imprisoning priests, silencing pulpits, and persecuting the faith. The moral voice of the Church has historically stood with the Nicaraguan people during their most difficult times, and that is precisely why the regime seeks to intimidate it,” Maradiaga told ACI Prensa.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.

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Mata was detained on June 29, released the same day, and as of June 30 reportedly is under house arrest. At a June 28 Mass he asked for prayers for the persecuted Church, triggering retaliation.

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Court ruling leaves Haitian migrants’ future uncertain as Archbishop Wenski urges Senate action #Catholic The future of hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian migrants living legally in the United States remains uncertain after the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to move forward with changes to temporary protected status (TPS), shifting the issue back to Congress.In response to the decision, Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami called on Congress to protect TPS holders, arguing that ending the humanitarian program would have serious consequences for migrants, their families, and communities across the country.In an interview with Veronica Dudo of “EWTN News Nightly” on June 26, Wenski said the court’s ruling was “not unexpected,” adding that the justices ultimately returned the issue to lawmakers.“The decision was not unexpected, because a conservative court doesn’t want to rule from the bench, as it were. And so what has been done is kick the ball back into the Congress, which is the body of the government that is supposed to be making the laws,” he said.Push for Senate voteThe Miami archbishop said the U.S. Senate should send the president legislation passed in the House that would extend TPS protections for Haitians for three additional years. In April, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the legislation, H.R. 1689, that would extend TPS for Haitians until 2029. Senate consideration is next.“We’re asking the senators of the United States to approve that proposition, so that it could be passed into law,” he said, and he also urged its passage in a column for the Archdiocese of Miami. TPS allows nationals from countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions to remain and work legally in the United States temporarily. Haiti was first designated for TPS following the devastating 2010 earthquake.Wenski warned that ending those protections could have severe humanitarian consequences.“Haiti could be described very correctly as a house on fire,” he said. “It would be hard to see how you could send back 350,000 people, many of whom have been here since the earthquake of 2010, and have built lives here in this country … and it’s unconscionable to think that that could be done without creating a tremendous humanitarian disaster.”The archbishop also highlighted the economic role many Haitian immigrants play, particularly in healthcare.“The Haitians are working; they’re not on the public dole. They’re not public charges. They’re working, and many of them are working in the healthcare sector,” he said.Within the Archdiocese of Miami, he said, many TPS holders serve in Catholic nursing homes and other healthcare ministries.“To have their work permits revoked and taken away from them would have not only a terrible effect on them, but it would have an economic impact on the entire community,” he said.The archdiocese is also preparing to assist migrants facing legal uncertainty.“The Archdiocese of Miami has Catholic Legal Services … we’re trying to accompany them and to see if there are any other pathways or solutions,” he said.Even so, Wenski emphasized that lasting immigration reform must come from Congress.“The ball is in the court of the Senate.”
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Court ruling leaves Haitian migrants’ future uncertain as Archbishop Wenski urges Senate action #Catholic The future of hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian migrants living legally in the United States remains uncertain after the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to move forward with changes to temporary protected status (TPS), shifting the issue back to Congress.In response to the decision, Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami called on Congress to protect TPS holders, arguing that ending the humanitarian program would have serious consequences for migrants, their families, and communities across the country.In an interview with Veronica Dudo of “EWTN News Nightly” on June 26, Wenski said the court’s ruling was “not unexpected,” adding that the justices ultimately returned the issue to lawmakers.“The decision was not unexpected, because a conservative court doesn’t want to rule from the bench, as it were. And so what has been done is kick the ball back into the Congress, which is the body of the government that is supposed to be making the laws,” he said.Push for Senate voteThe Miami archbishop said the U.S. Senate should send the president legislation passed in the House that would extend TPS protections for Haitians for three additional years. In April, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the legislation, H.R. 1689, that would extend TPS for Haitians until 2029. Senate consideration is next.“We’re asking the senators of the United States to approve that proposition, so that it could be passed into law,” he said, and he also urged its passage in a column for the Archdiocese of Miami. TPS allows nationals from countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions to remain and work legally in the United States temporarily. Haiti was first designated for TPS following the devastating 2010 earthquake.Wenski warned that ending those protections could have severe humanitarian consequences.“Haiti could be described very correctly as a house on fire,” he said. “It would be hard to see how you could send back 350,000 people, many of whom have been here since the earthquake of 2010, and have built lives here in this country … and it’s unconscionable to think that that could be done without creating a tremendous humanitarian disaster.”The archbishop also highlighted the economic role many Haitian immigrants play, particularly in healthcare.“The Haitians are working; they’re not on the public dole. They’re not public charges. They’re working, and many of them are working in the healthcare sector,” he said.Within the Archdiocese of Miami, he said, many TPS holders serve in Catholic nursing homes and other healthcare ministries.“To have their work permits revoked and taken away from them would have not only a terrible effect on them, but it would have an economic impact on the entire community,” he said.The archdiocese is also preparing to assist migrants facing legal uncertainty.“The Archdiocese of Miami has Catholic Legal Services … we’re trying to accompany them and to see if there are any other pathways or solutions,” he said.Even so, Wenski emphasized that lasting immigration reform must come from Congress.“The ball is in the court of the Senate.”

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The Miami archbishop said the U.S. Senate should send the president legislation that would extend Temporary Protected Status protections to Haitians for three years.

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Going Low and Slow in Testing – NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft flies above NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, during testing focused on lower-speed and altitude flight conditions in support of NASA’s Quesst mission. NASA continues to include two-flight days in its envelope expansion as teams work to better understand how the aircraft responds throughout its operating range.
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Going Low and Slow in Testing – NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft flies above NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, during testing focused on lower-speed and altitude flight conditions in support of NASA’s Quesst mission. NASA continues to include two-flight days in its envelope expansion as teams work to better understand how the aircraft responds throughout its operating range.

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NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft flies above NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, during testing focused on lower-speed and altitude flight conditions in support of NASA’s Quesst mission. NASA continues to include two-flight days in its envelope expansion as teams work to better understand how the aircraft responds throughout its operating range.

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Students Build Moon Robots for NASA’s 2026 Lunabotics Challenge – Katherine Rauscher, of Michigan Technological University, prepares her team’s prototype lunar robot for its turn during the finals for NASA’s 2026 Lunabotics Challenge competition on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, inside the Astronauts Memorial Foundation’s Center for Space Education at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Forty-seven teams from around the U.S. designed and built remote-controlled robots capable of traversing challenging lunar terrain while constructing regolith-based berm under conditions similar to those the agency will face as it returns to the lunar surface through Artemis.
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Students Build Moon Robots for NASA’s 2026 Lunabotics Challenge – Katherine Rauscher, of Michigan Technological University, prepares her team’s prototype lunar robot for its turn during the finals for NASA’s 2026 Lunabotics Challenge competition on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, inside the Astronauts Memorial Foundation’s Center for Space Education at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Forty-seven teams from around the U.S. designed and built remote-controlled robots capable of traversing challenging lunar terrain while constructing regolith-based berm under conditions similar to those the agency will face as it returns to the lunar surface through Artemis.

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Katherine Rauscher, of Michigan Technological University, prepares her team’s prototype lunar robot for its turn during the finals for NASA’s 2026 Lunabotics Challenge competition on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, inside the Astronauts Memorial Foundation’s Center for Space Education at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Forty-seven teams from around the U.S. designed and built remote-controlled robots capable of traversing challenging lunar terrain while constructing regolith-based berm under conditions similar to those the agency will face as it returns to the lunar surface through Artemis.

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Artemis II Recovery Training – Off the coast of California, NASA’s Artemis Landing and Recovery team and the Department of War that will work together to retrieve the Artemis II crew and Orion spacecraft following their return to Earth and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean are performing a final simulation of their activities, called a just-in-time training, at sea on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. During the training, teams use the Crew Module Test Article, a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft, to simulate as close as possible the conditions they can expect to encounter during splashdown of the Artemis II mission.
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Artemis II Recovery Training – Off the coast of California, NASA’s Artemis Landing and Recovery team and the Department of War that will work together to retrieve the Artemis II crew and Orion spacecraft following their return to Earth and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean are performing a final simulation of their activities, called a just-in-time training, at sea on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. During the training, teams use the Crew Module Test Article, a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft, to simulate as close as possible the conditions they can expect to encounter during splashdown of the Artemis II mission.

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Off the coast of California, NASA’s Artemis Landing and Recovery team and the Department of War that will work together to retrieve the Artemis II crew and Orion spacecraft following their return to Earth and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean are performing a final simulation of their activities, called a just-in-time training, at sea on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. During the training, teams use the Crew Module Test Article, a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft, to simulate as close as possible the conditions they can expect to encounter during splashdown of the Artemis II mission.

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Picture of the day Mountaineers descending into Chola Valley, 5,200 metres (17,100 ft) a. s. l., in good weather conditions, with a panoramic view over snow-capped Himalayan peaks to the south of the Great Himalayan Range in Mahalangur Himal, Nepal, Himalayas. Today is International Mountain Day. #ImageOfTheDay
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Picture of the day Mountaineers descending into Chola Valley, 5,200 metres (17,100 ft) a. s. l., in good weather conditions, with a panoramic view over snow-capped Himalayan peaks to the south of the Great Himalayan Range in Mahalangur Himal, Nepal, Himalayas. Today is International Mountain Day. #ImageOfTheDay

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Picture of the day
Mountaineers descending into Chola Valley, 5,200 metres (17,100 ft) a. s. l., in good weather conditions, with a panoramic view over snow-capped Himalayan peaks to the south of the Great Himalayan Range in Mahalangur Himal, Nepal, Himalayas. Today is International Mountain Day.
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3-in-1 Launch
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3-in-1 Launch

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe), the agency’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On–Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. The missions will each focus on different effects of the solar wind — the continuous stream of particles emitted by the Sun — and space weather — the changing conditions in space driven by the Sun — from their origins at the Sun to their farthest reaches billions of miles away at the edge of our solar system.

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