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This is a fictional letter I imagined from niece to uncle somewhere around the Mediterranean in the first century. My dearest beloved Uncle John, I write you in the love of God who is One, and our family who misses you greatly.  At least, most of the family misses you.  As you know, it has [...]

After a two-year-long campaign, assisted suicide was defeated in the UK Parliament on 11 September by 286 votes to 270. It was a major victory for opponents of voluntary assisted dying.  

The bill was opposed by the leaders of Labour, the Conservatives, Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats.  

After a similar major victory in Scotland in March and the most intense scrutiny that the question of assisted suicide has ever received in England and Wales, Westminster MPs refused to follow the lead of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and a few European countries.  

The new Labour Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, abstained from voting, sending a signal that his government has little appetite for a divisive and distracting debate.  

His predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer, was clearly in favour of assisted suicide.  

Luke Tryl, a leading British pollster, said that the campaign against assisted suicide and the campaign for same-sex marriage have been the two “most successful 21st Century UK social issue campaigns.”  

This is a remarkable reversal of fortunes for the assisted suicide lobby. In 2024 Kim Leadbeater MP introduced a controversial assisted suicide bill into the most socially and politically progressive House of Commons in British history.  

It was widely believed that it would sail through Parliament with very strong majorities and easily become law. 

At its second reading in November 2024, the bill passed with a majority of 55. This dropped to a majority of 23 at its third reading in June 2025.  

The Leadbeater Bill then moved on to the House of Lords, where the Lords kept adding amendments – more than a thousand of them. The delaying tactics ran down the clock.  

The Bill was then reintroduced in substantially the same form by Lauren Edwards MP in the House of Commons – where it was defeated at its second reading on a conscience vote. 

A large number of major medical bodies also expressed serious reservations about the bill, including the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the Royal College of GPs, the Royal College of Physicians, and the Royal College of Nursing,  

Alisdair Hungerford-Morgan, CEO of Right To Life UK, commented that the battle to protect vulnerable people should shift to providing good palliative care.  

“The postcode lottery for outstanding palliative care has gone on for too long. We must now all come together to address the challenge of providing excellent palliative care to everyone who needs it, when they need it, and wherever they live.  

“People nearing the end of their lives deserve the best support and care, and we can and must do better,” he said.  

Sarah Wootton, CEO of Dignity in Dying UK, a leading assisted dying lobby group, said that the loss in Parliament was “deeply disappointing”, but that a change in the law is inevitable and that her group’s campaign would continue.  

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The University of Notre Dame Australia triumphed over Macquarie University in the 2026 Archbishop Debating Cup Final, held at St Mary’s Cathedral Chapter Hall on 10 September.  

Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP adjudicated the student debate, which centered on whether some forms of hate speech should be criminalised in New South Wales. Macquarie held the affirmative position, with UNDA opposing the proposition.  

The chosen topic relates to renewed debate over how the state should respond to hateful rhetoric, rising antisemitism and protests affecting places of worship following the December 2025 attack on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach.  

Restrictions introduced after the attack were struck down by the NSW Court of Appeal in April, leaving open questions about where protection from harm ends and freedom of expression begins. 

The Macquarie team was comprised of Andrew Lindner, Diyon Foneska and Joshua Capollpo, and UNDA’s Hudson Carberry, Owen Koster and Veronica Chacty were allotted eight minutes of speaking time each. There was a buzz in the hall as about 100 supporters gathered to witness the debate. 

Audible reactions arose to some of the arguments, especially when Macquarie’s first speaker, Lindner, argued that expressed hatred is a stage of violence “where the law must intervene.” Archbishop Fisher said he found himself “thoroughly convinced” by UNDA’s argument. 

“Even if we concede the harmfulness of some speech, the question still remains: is the criminal law the best way to sanction said hate speech?” he remarked. 

“A free society can expose and challenge bad ideas instead of abandoning them; hateful speech before the violence in Bondi doesn’t prove cause and effect, let alone justify the law attempting to create pre-emptive strikes against speech that might lead one day to bad behaviour. 

“Those criticisms were well made.” 

The archbishop congratulated all the debaters for providing continued, incisive analysis into the perils of hate speech in NSW, and everyday life. 

“Underneath this debate were two differences between human beings: one being the different views that we might have about the purposes and power of intellect, speech and debate, and the other being the different perspectives of the purposes of civil law, and the proper limits to state power,” he said.  

“The two teams [were] ready to give me answers as to what the right remedies were to deal with this issue of hate speech, and I was equally delighted to hear references from St Thomas Aquinas, to the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, and from scripture and the Catechism to contemporary examples of hurtful speech.”  

Despite the intense, high-stakes nature of the debate the evening was bookended by moments of humour. When introducing the archbishop, Natalie Ambrose, coordinator of the archdiocese’s university chaplaincies and host for the final, vividly explained that he had discerned his vocation while on a Contiki tour in the Mediterranean. 

“Debating was a big part of my life throughout university and my adulthood… but none of that was mentioned in the introduction!” the archbishop returned during his adjudication. 

He declared the art of debating is alive and well. 

“It’s a great pleasure to be the adjudicator for this evening because I think debating can shape the way we think, the way we argue, our personalities,” he said. 

“The final is always, and will continue to be, the intellectual highlight of the year.” 

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We’re at a family gathering and our sister-in-law approaches the husbands who are chatting in a group. Our siblings had all pitched in to get her a combined birthday present and she offers her thanks.  

Except the blokes have no idea she’d even had a birthday. “Glad you like it,” says Byron, but she sees through the bluffing and humorously calls it out as they all confess their ignorance. 

It makes for a funny story but behind it is a sombre reality – birthday gifts, like many domestic tasks, are principally carried by the women. 

That gap – between doing a task and carrying it – is what commentators are calling the “mental load”. From courses, podcasts and no end of online commentary, the theme is naming something real: a deep-felt sense of injustice around domestic responsibility. 

Social science research has long documented the unequal distribution of domestic labour between husbands and wives, including among dual-income couples. But the “mental load” conversation isn’t only about who does more; it’s about who carries the ongoing, invisible work of noticing, planning and managing it all. 

We describe it as the “manager burden”. While well intended, whenever a husband asks, “what can I do to help?”, he’s unwittingly reinforcing the idea that it’s her job, and he’s the assistant. 

Whether it’s dinner, the kids’ activities, or his mother’s birthday present, she’s usually the one thinking about it, planning it, and often executing it too. Even when he takes the last, visible – ordering dinner, taking the kids to the park, buying the gift – she’s already spent hours thinking about it, and often worrying whether he’ll actually follow through. 

That’s the “mental load”, and it’s landing hard with women who feel frustrated, lonely and burnt out. 

This theme isn’t new. It is one of the most compelling topics we explore in the SmartLoving Marriage retreat; helping couples to identify unintentional patterns of irresponsibility and understand how it damages trust in the marriage. 

The thing is, the “mental load” is an equal opportunity problem. Husbands also carry a mental load with all the same issues but in different areas to their wives – typically in the long-term provision and financial security (which has nothing to do with who earns more). 

When one spouse feels they are carrying all the weight of managing an area of their shared life, stress rises. Over time, resentment builds, and couples can end up keeping score instead of connecting.  

Being the other’s manager, rather than partner and lover, undermines the tenderness in the relationship. That dynamic is deeply corrosive in a marriage and will impact their receptivity to intimacy of all kinds. 

But there is a flip side to this situation we both need to watch; we often set unreasonable expectations in the very areas we desire more engagement from our spouse. 

Wives often set the standards around domestic chores. For example, her approach to introducing a baby to solid food may be calibrated to maximum compliance with paediatric guidelines.  

Meanwhile dad is bewildered by her anxiety and feels unqualified to choose a food without her sign-off. That food regime is one of her “mental load” peeves, but he feels disempowered by her exacting standards. 

We’ve had plenty of conversations on topics like this ourselves. In essence, we don’t just want load sharing, we also want it done “our way” for reasons we often can’t fully explain. 

The mental load isn’t a new problem; it’s been part of marriage since the beginning of time and is a consequence of our sexual and personality differences.  

What’s new is that we’ve finally got better language for it, and for that, we’re grateful. Because with deeper understanding we can be empowered to act. 

Francine and Byron Pirola are the co-founders of www.smartloving.org  

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Fifty-two students from across Sydney’s Catholic secondary schools have been presented with the Archbishop’s Award for Student Excellence, recognising their contributions to faith, leadership and service in their school and parish communities. 

Recipients from both systemic and congregational colleges were celebrated for a shared commitment to living out the Gospel through action on the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin in St Mary’s Cathedral Hall on 8 September. 

Guests included New South Wales Premier Chris Minns MP and Executive Director of Sydney Catholic Schools Danielle Cronin, along with clergy, staff and proud family and friends from across the Catholic school communities. 

Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP presented the awards to each student, commenting in his introduction that it was a joy to “recognise and congratulate the leadership and witness our award-winners have given, along with so many other young people in our schools”. 

Many awardees serve in their parishes as altar servers, readers, catechists, musicians, youth group leaders and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion.  

In addition, they take on prominent leadership roles at their schools such as college or liturgy captains, faith or social justice leaders in St Vincent de Paul Society’s Vinnies Van and Night Patrol programs, Project Compassion and the Sydney Catholic Schools’ 10:10 Project, and other outreach work. 

Other students were recognised for visiting aged care residents, mentoring younger peers, supporting sacramental preparation programs, or sustaining years-long commitments to their local parish community. 

All Saints Catholic College student Patrick Field was awarded for his dedication as College Ministry Leader, supporting students in their liturgical life and engaging in faith formation through weekly participation in ‘Be the Light’ sessions, community prayer, Mass and leading the recitation of the Rosary. 

“I was very pleased because I had put in a lot of effort to live out my faith at the parish and at school,” said Patrick, who serves at parishes in Moorebank, Holsworthy, Liverpool and Casula.  

“It was nice to have teachers, the principal, and priests from school and the parish come and support me and I was excited to meet the archbishop and to be congratulated by His Grace for my efforts.” 

Outside of school, Patrick serves during processions and volunteers at numerous parish and archdiocesan events such as the annual Our Lady of Fatima procession at St Mary’s Cathedral. 

Fellow recipient Daniel Andrews was praised for his exceptional faith leadership at St Mary’s Cathedral College, participating in school Masses and Rosaries and visiting the junior and middle school classes to lead morning prayer. 

He is also a catechist at Plunkett Street Public School and is involved in the Matthew Talbot Hostel ministry. 

“It was a very eye-opening experience receiving the award because as I was sitting there and listening to what other young Catholic adults have accomplished,” Daniel said. 

“It’s very nice to know that the faith is alive and young people are committed to improving the lives of others and living out the Gospel to others.” 

In his homily at a prayer service following the awards, Archbishop Fisher spoke of St Paul, who shared not just words of faith but lived them, and Christ’s mother Mary, who put her heart, soul and body into doing God’s work. 

“As we honour your achievements on Mary’s birthday, we ask for something of her clarity and courage for each of you,” said His Grace. 

“Keep developing your gifts and applying them well.  

“Wherever he puts you in the years ahead, give yourselves to God and neighbour.  

“Let your already-flowering lives bear fruit as truly Good News for our world.”

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Catholics in their first decade of marriage are being invited to take part in a national survey aimed at improving the church’s pastoral support for newly married couples. 

Couples married within the past 10 years, where at least one spouse is Catholic, are eligible to participate. The project has already received 440 responses. 

“We hope to reach 1000 respondents over September,” project manager Jessica George said, adding that a larger response would produce stronger research results. 

The project is funded by the Bishops Commission for Life, Family and Public Engagement and managed by the Parish and Marriage Resource Centre, a Catholic organisation that develops programs, research and practical resources to strengthen marriages, families and parish life. 

Sydney Bishop Tony Percy, the bishop delegate for marriage, family and life, said newly-married Catholics often received little support after their weddings. 

“Pope Francis had a particular concern for the newly married” explained Bishop Percy.  

“He recognised that as a church we have tended to focus on preparation for marriage and then, after the wedding, have more or less left couples to fend for themselves.  

“We know it’s a time of great challenge for married couples but in order to provide better support, we need to hear from the people living it.” 

The project responds to concerns raised by the late Pope Francis in his 2016 apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love) about the need to accompany couples during the early years of marriage. 

The survey is designed to be completed individually, and spouses may complete it separately. The survey is also open to people who are separated or divorced. It has two parts: one that covers marriage experiences, and the second explores beliefs, understanding and behaviours in more depth.

Involvement in the survey is anonymous and voluntary and the research project has been approved by the Christian Research Association Ethics Committee. The final analysis will be conducted before the end of the year with a comprehensive research report to follow.  

Its findings will provide the bishops with an evidence base for developing pastoral responses and resources addressing the needs, challenges and joys of early married life. 

The survey is available at thepmrc.org/survey.

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Pope Leo XIV visited the Vatican Library for the first time as pope on his birthday, 14 September, and announced plans for the construction of a new modern building in Vatican City to house the holdings of the library and the Vatican Apostolic Archive.

The pope said it seemed providential to celebrate his 71st birthday at the Vatican Library because his mother was a librarian.

On the day of his visit, the pope also issued a decree ordering the construction of a new building in Vatican City State on the site of what is now a parking lot. The facility, to be shared by the Vatican Library and the Vatican archives, will be built “according to the most modern architectural and technological principles.”

It was one of two papal decrees published by the Vatican on the pope’s birthday. The other repealed provisions introduced by Pope Francis in March 2021 that reduced the salaries of cardinals and Vatican employees as a cost-saving measure during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The library decree also reverses a prior decision by Pope Francis. Citing a lack of space in the Vatican Library, Pope Francis had decided that excess library holdings would be housed outside Vatican City State at the Pontifical Roman Major Seminary. In the 14 September decree, Pope Leo wrote that using space within Vatican City is “undoubtedly preferable for many reasons to the solution already identified.”

The seminary space designated by Pope Francis in 2022 will continue to store excess library and archive holdings until the new Vatican City facility is completed.

The Vatican Apostolic Library, formally founded in the 15th century, houses a collection of 2 million books, 100,000 archival documents, and hundreds of thousands of coins, medals, and graphic works.

During his visit to the library, the pope had the opportunity to examine some of the library’s historic books and coins and formally inaugurated a new exhibition, “AQVA: Catastrophe and Wonder.” The exhibit will be open to the public from 25 September to 14 May, 2027, and features, among other works, a massive wave installation mounted on scaffolding outside the library. Pope Leo also spent time celebrating his birthday with library staff over cake.

The pope recalled the pivotal moment in the conversion of St Augustine when he heard the voice of a child singing, “Take and read, take and read,” leading the future fifth-century bishop and doctor of the Church to read St Paul’s Letter to the Romans. St Augustine later wrote in “The Confessions” that the passage “penetrated his heart,” dispelling the darkness of doubt.

The Augustinian pope added that St Augustine’s “doubt was dispelled, but not his desire – which, in fact, grew stronger, driving him to explore the full breadth and depth of the Holy Scriptures.”

“He himself speaks of this on several occasions, when he says that he studied carefully – bent over like a question mark – various manuscripts of the Biblical books in order to determine the best text,” the pope said. “The book of Scripture that came into Augustine’s hands is the very one that opened his spirit wide.”

“Dearest friends, all of you, by preserving, studying, and making the books of Peter’s successor available to scholars, you help the Church and humanity to rise to the depth of that desire,” the pope said. “Without it, everything drifts away from the living God, the source of truth and love.”

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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.

The sainthood cause of Tom Vander Woude is moving forward, according to his home diocese of Arlington, Virginia. Vander Woude, a father of seven sons, died saving the life of his youngest son, Joseph, who has Down syndrome.

The diocese will begin gathering information — a key initial stage in the Catholic Church’s process of determining sainthood.

When Joseph, a teenager at the time, fell into a septic tank, Tom climbed into the tank with him, pushing him up toward the surface, away from the toxic fumes, saving his son’s life. Tom, 66, died on Sept. 8, 2008, in the accident, leaving behind his wife and seven sons.

His legacy didn’t end there, however. Because of his self-sacrificial act, a group of Catholics, formally called the Tom Vander Woude Guild, began to advocate for his cause.

“His final act of self-sacrificial love was widely regarded as the culmination of a Christian life marked by faith, charity, humility, fortitude, and generous service to others,” read Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge’s edict, also signed by Monsignor Paul deLadurantaye, the chancellor of the diocese.

After receiving a formal petition from the cause’s postulator, Waldery Hilgeman, the diocese is asking for all information that could affect the cause to be brought forward. The bishop is also collecting any writings by Vander Woude and any documents about him.

“We see in the life and death of Thomas Vander Woude a sincere response to the Christian call to sainthood,” Burbidge said. “As heroic as were the circumstances of Thomas Vander Woude’s death, this husband and father showed in a profound way that sanctity is to be sought first and foremost through personal faithfulness in daily life and to a consistent and sincere yes to God in the circumstances of one’s vocation and responsibilities.”

Burbidge spoke about the cause in a podcast on Sept. 10, describing Vander Woude as “a holy, faithful, selfless, sacrificial man who serves as an inspiration for us.”

“That’s what saints do,” he continued. “They show us that we, who are ordinary and flawed, can live heroic and holy lives."

“When you move forward in this cause, itʼs not just because of that one heroic event, but also the day-to-day faithfulness as a husband, as a father, as a citizen, as a man of God,” Burbidge said.

Chris Vander Woude, a son of Tom Vander Woude who is advocating for his cause, expressed his excitement at the progress.

“I am grateful to the Diocese of Arlington and Bishop Burbidge for taking this step in the investigative process; it is truly exciting and incredibly humbling at the same time,” Chris Vander Woude told EWTN News.

“Not a day goes by without missing Dad, but witnessing how his story continues to inspire so many is a consolation,” he said. “I think his commitment to his daily vocation as a husband and father, culminating in his sacrifice for my brother, resonates with all sorts of people — especially parents. We continue to pray that Godʼs will be done in this process.”

A report by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) found diocesan natural family planning (NFP) programs across the country are experiencing continued low course completion among couples.

In January 2025, 196 dioceses were invited to take part in the annual Diocesan Natural Family Planning Ministry National 2025 Profile Report by the USCCB. Of the dioceses, 61 completed the questionnaire.

Similarly to past years, there is a wide gap between the numbers of couples who enroll in an introductory NFP education program and those who follow up with a full course.

The report found that a total of 18,211 individuals received some information or instruction on NFP across dioceses in 2025. In comparison, there were only 7,518 individuals who attended a full course in NFP.

The report noted that further research must be done among dioceses to understand the disparities and adjust NFP efforts to combat them.

It is important to strengthen NFP programs for many reasons but especially for the overall health of women, according to Dr. Annevay Conlee, vice president of the Women’s Health Service Line at OSF HealthCare, an integrated health system founded by the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis.

“When looking at the overall health of the couple, but also the woman in particular, fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) are better than artificial contraceptive methods when looking at the wellness aspect and monitoring health, recognizing abnormalities, and being able to help in a restorative way sustain and support health,” Conlee told EWTN News.

“It does not cause the side effects and long-term potential consequences that contraception does,” she said.

To best ensure that couples continue the NFP learning process, Conlee suggested dioceses and other NFP providers ensure that they offer different types of options to “fit the needs and time commitment of the couple,” she said.

Also, they should be “making sure that there is awareness of not only the ability to achieve and avoid pregnancy with this but also monitor health and wellness,” she said.

Report reveals few employees and low budget

The 2025 report also found that employment for NFP programs differs among dioceses.

Of the 2025 respondents, 30% reported they rely on paid part-time staff and volunteers, and 16% have a full-time paid NFP coordinator.

Most instructors are volunteers (58%) who do not receive any stipend, while some are volunteers who do receive a stipend (16%) to cover expenses.

Steve Mattern, senior vice president of mission services at OSF HealthCare, noted high levels of volunteers may contribute to some of the low numbers.

“It seems like volunteers staff much of the demands of this work and while some … pre-marriage work does involve expectation of education and training, many dioceses do not expect this nor have the ability to serve it if they did expect it,” Mattern said.

“Still, there are some wonderful things happening where the next generations of Catholics are stepping up to give witness talks, to help give orientation, and to support education,” he said.

Along with employees, the survey also found that limited funding continues to be a significant issue for NFP programs. Of dioceses surveyed, 68% budgeted less than $5,000 for NFP programs.

Most diocesan NFP programs rely on indirect funding from other sources including donations from parishes, grants from local Knights of Columbus councils, a fee for course instruction, and follow-up fees, according to the report.

Next steps for the Church

“We hear anecdotally in healthcare that fewer couples are coming to seek marriage in the Catholic Church,” Mattern said.

As “more people are living together and may be seeking marriage outside the Church when they do marry,” there is more of a question around what “needs to be in the required marriage prep pathway,” he said.

“Should the couple go through a course of their choosing within a range of offered methodologies for NFP, and should the diocese offer a coupon or resource for them to do this?”

“This has been tried and it does work; many do go on to take a course offering,” he said. “However, other dioceses may seek to do a very basic course … and may not really get to NFP or may make only a brief mention of it.”

“It seems like a strong and effective communication approach and partnership across both the diocese and the Catholic healthcare ministry, and its professionals can bring a stronger approach for life and for the good of these couples and their family life,” Mattern said.

Overall, “people still need basic awareness of what the fertility awareness-based methodologies offer and provide and so this work is ongoing and invites our creativity, hope, and imagination,” he said.

While discussion around NFP is usually in regard to pregnancy, “it is so much more important to start forming our minds and hearts when we are young and in the context of our families,” Sister M. Mikela Meidl, FSGM, president of OSF HealthCare, said.

“Learning about modesty, purity, and the beauty of our bodies as we grow and develop helps create an openness to understand ourselves long before we marry,” she said.

“Supporting and helping parents to hold these conversations without embarrassment and full of confidence and attentive listening will go a long way in making people desire what is true and good,” she said.

Chapter 2: What kind of man the Abbot ought to be (vv. 30-32)

The Abbot ought always to remember what he is, and what he is called, and to know that to whom more is committed, from him more is required; and he must consider how difficult and arduous a task he hath undertaken, of ruling souls and adapting himself to many dispositions. Let him so accommodate and suit himself to the character and intelligence of each, winning some by kindness, others by reproof, others by persuasion, that he may not only suffer no loss in the flock committed to him, but may even rejoice in their virtuous increase.

Today’s passage returns to earlier admonitions to the Abbot, to think on what he is called and to adapt himself to each one of the monks so as to ensure the profit of the entire flock. Stress is laid on remembrance: twice, in the Latin, the word Meminere (remember) is used at the opening of the section. For the ancients and medievals, memory was not simply an intellectual faculty, but was an important part of moral formation. What we store and rehearse in our memory will form our character, and so the Abbot’s memory is often to return to what he is and what he is called, so that these truths may affect his actions.

We cannot help but think, in this context, of what Saint Luke tells us several times of Our Lady: how she stored up and pondered all the mysteries of Our Lord’s earthly life in her heart. She, too, would have been continually remembering who and what she was in God’s plan; the memory of what she had been told in the Annunciation continually formed her character. She teaches all of us not to forget the works of the Lord, but continually to meditate upon and digest the ways in which He has revealed Himself in Scripture, and the ways He has worked in our lives, so that the memory of His grace at work in these events—even amidst suffering—may shape our present and our future.

The Abbot is also reminded, even more forcefully than before, of the fact that he must adapt himself to many characters—nay, as a more literal translation would have it, he must ‘be at the service of the ways of life of many men’—multorum moribus servire. He does well, in this, to look to our heavenly Abbess, for no one is better able than a mother to adapt herself to each of her children and to put herself at the service of the particular character of each of them.

Finally, the Abbot needs the help of Our Lady not only so that he may learn to serve the different characters of the monks, but so that they can receive what he is trying to give. So Madre Cànopi comments:

Naturally, in order for the abbot’s service to be fruitful in grace, it is indispensable that it should be welcomed with faith, otherwise it has no effect. In this, Mary is a fundamental aid, because she is the Mother who sustains us in faith and helps us to live even the difficult moments with meekness, with patience, with humility, with docility, with confidence, never letting our hearts be hardened.

The abbot, by his humble service, makes of the monk a son of God; but the monk, too, by his faith, renders the abbot truly a father and mother in the spirit, exactly as, as the foot of the Cross, Jesus and Mary generate the Church in the mystery of the disciple who has faith in his dying Lord, and who welcomes with love the Mother who is given to him [by the Lord] in a gesture of complete stripping of Himself. (Cànopi, Nel ‘Si’ di Maria, p. 22, translation by a Benedictine monk)

As we celebrate Our Lord’s triumph on the Cross, and His Mother’s share in His redemptive suffering, may she obtain for us an abundant fruitfulness in grace in the season that we are entering upon.

The sixth Baghdeda Youth Festival concluded Saturday, Sept. 12, with a large faith procession that brought together nearly 700 young men and women, led by Bishop Benedictus Younan Hanno of the Syriac Catholic Diocese of Mosul and its dependencies, along with former diocesan bishops Yohanna Boutros Moshe and Georges al-Qass Moussa, priests, religious men and women, and thousands of faithful.

The procession, which organizers called the “Hosanna Procession,” began at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Baghdeda, also widely known as Qaraqosh — a predominantly Christian town on Iraq’s Nineveh Plains. Participants followed the traditional Palm Sunday procession route toward St. John Church.

Along the way, young people and other faithful prayed, sang hymns, and chanted while carrying olive branches as a symbol of peace. The procession concluded with the “Service of the Cross — Teshmeshta,” a prayer service from the Syriac tradition, followed by the lighting of the festival torch.

Before setting out from the cathedral, participants attended a spiritual conference titled “St. Francis: A Living Model for Our Young People in Living Hope,” presented by Dominican Father Nuwairan Nasser. He encouraged the young people to follow the example of St. Francis of Assisi, seeking to embody his spiritual values in their daily lives and to live more deeply the meaning of the festival’s theme.

‘In the footsteps of St. Francis’

The festival began Thursday under the theme “In the Footsteps of St. Francis.” The opening program included a spiritual reflection by Hanno titled “Leave Everything That Makes You Lose Yourself.”

The bishop stressed the importance of understanding Christian freedom as a free response of obedience to God rather than as freedom without accountability or responsibility. His reflection drew on the festival’s theme and the life of St. Francis.

Participants then divided into groups for pilgrimages and prayer at several churches in Baghdeda, including St. Ephrem the Syriac Church, Sts. Behnam and Sarah Church, St. James the Mutilated Church, St. John the Baptist Church, and St. Joseph Church.

Mosul welcomes Baghdeda’s young Christians

The festival’s second day included visits to restored churches belonging to the diocese in Mosul, a city where the Christian community suffered severe persecution and displacement during the occupation of the Islamic State group.

The young people began at St. Thomas Church and continued to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, both in Mosul’s Old City, before concluding at Our Lady of the Annunciation Church on the city’s eastern side.

Residents greeted the crowds of young Christians and welcomed what organizers described as “the renewed Christian presence in the community’s historic homeland.”

The day also featured a spiritual conference titled “Forgive So That You May Be Free,” presented by Chorbishop Emmanuel Kallo, the bishop’s special vicar and official responsible for the Syriac Catholic churches in Mosul.

Kallo reflected on the Christian understanding of forgiveness and explained how forgiving others can help free a person from the burden and pain caused by wrongdoing.

The young people also participated in Eucharistic adoration at Our Lady of the Annunciation Church.

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

The Casablanca group of experts and the French nongovernmental organization Juristes Pour l’Enfance (Legal Professionals for Children) have asked the United Nations to officially recognize surrogacy as “a new form of slavery involving women and children.”

The request was submitted to the U.N. special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery and human trafficking, Katarina Schwarz, to mark the centennial of the 1926 Slavery Convention and the upcoming Human Rights Council session dedicated to the occasion, “the agenda of which includes, among other issues, new forms of slavery.”

The request is based on the argument that surrogacy reduces the child in utero to an object of disposal, which corresponds to the definition of slavery set forth in the 1926 Geneva Convention, namely, the exercise of the attributes of the right of ownership.

In the case of the woman carrying the baby, her body is subjected to the will of third parties, which includes control over her diet and medical care as well as, potentially, embryo reduction or abortion, the statement explains.

The Casablanca Declaration experts and Juristes Pour l’Enfance point out that "at the international level, several United Nations bodies have already characterized surrogacy as the sale of children, including the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children in 2018 and the Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2019."

Furthermore, in her July 2025 report, the special rapporteur on violence against women and girls called for the eradication of all forms of surrogacy and the adoption of a binding international instrument to abolish this practice. Finally, a June 22 joint statement by states calls for a moratorium with a view to the universal abolition of surrogacy.

In their statement, the Casablanca Group of Experts and Juristes Pour l’Enfance also called on Schwarz to urge states to put an end to this practice within their territories and to commit to its universal abolition.

The Catholic Church also condemns the practice of surrogacy.

In his 2024 address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, Pope Francis described the practice of so-called surrogacy as "deplorable," noting that it is "a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs. A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract.”

The Holy Father urged the international community “to prohibit this practice universally,” as “human life must be preserved and defended” at every stage of its existence.

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.

Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, former prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, will be honored as the first recipient of the Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal in October.

Father Peter Donohue, OSA, president of Villanova University, made the announcement at a Vatican press conference on Sept. 14.

The medal, established by Villanova University and named after Pope Leo XIV, recognizes individuals who have worked toward ecological sustainability. The pontiff will personally present the award at a ceremony on Oct. 13 in the Borgo Laudato Si’ garden, part of the Pontifical Gardens in Castel Gandolfo.

Father Joseph Farrell, OSA, prior general of the Augustinians, was also present at Monday’s press conference.

Villanova University is a Catholic liberal arts university in Pennsylvania. Leo XIV, formerly Robert Prevost, earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1977 and an honorary doctorate in 2014 from Villanova University.

‘Sustainability is about accompanying those who suffer’

In announcing the recipient of the Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal, Donohue praised Czerny’s “extraordinary passion for justice, human dignity, and the care of creation,” noting that his witness is an apt reminder of what authentic sustainability is.

“His witness reminds us that authentic sustainability is never solely about environmental stewardship. It is also about accompanying those who suffer, defending the dignity of the human person, and building a future that leaves no one behind,” Donohue said.

In his speech accepting the honor, Czerny cited Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, saying the pope highlighted the need for shared responsibility in achieving sustainability.

“[The pope] has made responsibility even more explicit. We are responsible for the world, not just to take care of it, even though it would be part of sustainability, but in fact we are building it,” the cardinal said.

The morality of data centers

As artificial intelligence (AI) drives a rapid expansion of data centers worldwide, concern has grown about their environmental impact, particularly water consumption and human displacement.

Speaking to EWTN News after the conference, Czerny noted that many AI companies building data centers often do not consult residents before building on their land.

“The decision to build data centers is like all the big developmental decisions that we make,” Czerny told EWTN News. “It is not an unusual question, and itʼs one that needs to be answered with the participation of the significant stakeholders.”

“You have to ask about whether the people living there are going to pay the price, carry the burden, and suffer the consequences. Were they consulted? Otherwise, it is an imposition and an injustice,” he added.

Pope Leo XIV marked his 71st birthday at the Vatican with the launch of an art exhibit focused on water at the Vatican Apostolic Library on Monday.

The pontiff inaugurated the exhibit, “AQVA,” part of the theme “Catastrophe and Wonder,” which will be on display at the Vatican Library through May 14, 2027. The exhibit includes artwork highlighting a “reflection on water as both a threat and a resource” and reflects a recent focus on promoting contemporary art at the Vatican.

‘The pope’s library is a heart’

The occasion also marked Leo’s first visit to the library since his election to the papacy in 2025. In his remarks, he described the Vatican Library — the pope’s library — as a beating heart and a symbol of life.

“How should we describe the pope’s library? I will use a metaphor: The Apostolic Library is a heart,” Leo said. “A beating heart is a symbol of life, and it results from two opposing movements, systole and diastole: a contraction and a relaxation, a movement towards the center and another towards the periphery.”

The pope then explained that the heart’s movements of contraction and relaxation are mirrored in both the quiet atmosphere of the Vatican Library and its engagement with human history.

Archbishop Giovanni Cesare Pagazzi, the Holy See’s librarian and archivist, reflected on the library’s and the Church’s role in promoting dialogue, as shown by the new exhibit.

“This exhibition, among other things, precisely by putting together a centuries-old library and contemporary artists, says exactly this: Generations are intertwined. Let us not pretend to be men and women alone, because we are already in the company of all generations, and to them we are indebted,” Pagazzi told EWTN News at the inauguration.

The exhibit features contemporary art, including an enormous art installation inspired by Gustave Doré’s iconic 1866 wood engraving of the Great Flood, a collection of short culinary stories by Italian chef Fulvio Pierangelini, and marine artwork by American typographer Bill Moran as well as pieces from the Vatican’s permanent collections, such as historic cookbooks from around the world centered on seafood.

The pope also encouraged all present, particularly the Vatican Library employees, to “keep finding new pathways towards reconciliation.”

JR, a French artist who created the exhibit’s installation of an ocean wave on the outside of the library, reflected on his role as a bridge-builder.

“Well, you know, as an artist, my role is to create bridges, and so I feel in my place, like where I need to be working, even if it’s pretty intimidating to work in a place like the Vatican,” JR told EWTN News.

More room at the Vatican Library

In a document issued the same day, Leo decreed that a new building be constructed in Vatican City to house the Vatican Library’s growing manuscript collection. He noted that current storage was insufficient, citing Pope Francis’ 2024 move of parts of the library to the Pontifical Roman Major Seminary building near the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

“Unprecedented opportunities have arisen to create new facilities within the territory of the Vatican City State, which are undoubtedly preferable, for a variety of reasons, to the solution that had previously been identified,” the pope wrote. The new building will be located in an area currently reserved for the parking of service vehicles.

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Magdalena Wolińska-Riedi contributed to this report.

Thirty-four dioceses received Vatican permission to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass in parish churches in 2025, matching the 2024 total and remaining broadly consistent with previous years despite the election of a new pope. The United States accounted for 24 of the 34 decrees issued.

Pope Francis restricted the use of the 1962 Roman Missal with the 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes. Under subsequent Vatican regulations, diocesan bishops must obtain permission from the Holy See to authorize celebrations according to that missal in parish churches.

The 2025 figure was also close to the 35 dioceses and other ecclesiastical jurisdictions that received permission in 2022, the first full year after Traditionis Custodes took effect. The number rose to 55 in 2023 before returning to 34 in each of the following two years.

The figures appear in the Summarium Decretorum for 2025, the annual summary of decrees issued by the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

The document shows that permission was granted during 2025 for celebrations according to the 1962 Roman Missal in parishes located in 34 dioceses around the world.

Seven of the decrees were issued during the pontificate of Francis, who died April 21, 2025, at the age of 88. The other 27 were issued after the election of Pope Leo XIV on May 8, indicating continuity in the Vatican’s case-by-case handling of requests during the change of pontificates.

The vast majority — 29 of the 34 published decrees — renewed existing permissions for an additional two years for communities already celebrating the liturgy according to the 1962 missal promulgated by St. John XXIII. In several cases, a single authorization covered more than one parish in the same diocese.

United States received most permissions

The U.S. decrees included permissions for Traditional Latin Mass celebrations in the dioceses of Sacramento, California; Nashville, Tennessee; Lincoln, Nebraska; Davenport, Iowa; and Cleveland, as well as the Archdiocese of Seattle.

According to the Summarium Decretorum for 2022, the Holy See that year granted permissions to 35 dioceses and ecclesiastical jurisdictions, 20 of them in the United States, making the country the leading recipient of such concessions.

The Traditional Latin Mass, also called the Tridentine Mass, traces its form to the liturgy codified by St. Pius V following the Council of Trent. The reform was set out in the Roman Missal of 1570 in response to the council’s call to unify the various liturgical uses then in existence.

The missal currently used for these celebrations is based on that promulgated by St. Pius V but was revised by St. John XXIII in 1962.

One of the form’s most distinctive characteristics is that the priest generally celebrates “ad orientem” — facing liturgical east rather than the congregation — as he leads the faithful in common prayer.

The permissions granted across the two pontificates in 2025 show that the Holy See continued to consider requests individually under the restrictions established during Francis’ pontificate.

The annual Summarium Decretorum is one of the few official sources indicating how the provisions of Traditionis Custodes are applied in practice.

The decree indexes published from 2022 through 2025 also document the Holy See’s broader work regulating the liturgy. The records include approvals of translations of liturgical books, confirmations of calendars particular to dioceses and religious congregations, grants of the title of minor basilica, canonical coronations of Marian images, and recognitions of new heavenly patrons.

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.

Pope Leo XIV has officially repealed the salary cuts Pope Francis imposed on cardinals and other senior officials working in the Roman Curia.

In a decree published by the Vatican on Sept. 14, the pontiff canceled the cost-cutting measures Francis had established in 2021 to address the Vatican’s financial deficit that year, projected at $60 million.

A Vatican cardinal’s monthly stipend is about $5,768 (5,000 euros). Under those measures, the Vatican cut cardinals’ stipends by 10%.

Francis had previously described these cuts in a March 2021 decree as necessary for an “economically sustainable future” at the Vatican.

Those measures, introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, also reduced the pay of other senior officials and employees of the Holy See and Vatican City State by 8%. Clergy and religious employed by the Vatican saw their salaries reduced by 3%.

Leo stated in his motu proprio that those salary cuts “may now be set aside, in the certainty that the Institutions of the Holy See and of the Vatican City State will continue, through different means, their commitment to ensuring economic sustainability.”

How can a Capuchin friar remain faithful to his Franciscan vocation while serving as a diocesan bishop responsible for secular clergy and the lay faithful?

That question was at the heart of an assembly of approximately 55 Capuchin bishops from around the world held Sept. 9–13 in Assisi, Italy, for prayer, study, and fraternal reflection.

Set against the historic backdrop of the Jubilee of St. Francis and the approaching 500th anniversary of the Capuchin Reform, prelates serving in Africa, Asia, Latin America, North America, Europe, and Indonesia shared their pastoral realities and reflected on their service to the universal Church.

“We are going back to Assisi in this wonderful year of the Jubilee of St. Francis,” Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, archbishop emeritus of Boston, said. “It is a great honor. It’s a wonderful opportunity to experience the fraternity of so many bishops from all over the world.”

According to Vatican statistics, there are 5,525 Catholic bishops worldwide. Of those, 4,332, or 78.4%, are diocesan bishops formed within the secular clergy, while 1,193, or 21.6%, are members of institutes of consecrated life, including Capuchins, Dominicans, Jesuits, and Salesians. The Capuchin order counts more than 74 bishops among its members.

The assembly offered the bishops an opportunity to share their experiences as members of a religious order governing dioceses made up of secular clergy and lay faithful. In particular, they considered how to live the Capuchin values of contemplative prayer, fraternal life, minority, poverty, and closeness to the people in their governance and pastoral care of local Churches.

The Capuchin value of ‘vicinanza’

According to Archbishop Emeritus Andrés Stanovnik of Corrientes, Argentina, the Capuchin value of “vicinanza” — closeness or proximity to others — is the bridge between his Capuchin identity and his episcopal ministry.

Though a bishop must, in his words, “leave behind his identity as a friar and take up the identity of a bishop,” what unites the two vocations is “vicinanza.”

This is profoundly a Franciscan instinct, not an incidental one, because St. Francis of Assisi did not renew the Church through abstractions or distance. He embraced the leper, sat with the poor, and preached in public squares rather than only from the pulpit.

Franciscan closeness is not merely being nice or sociable but a theological stance: Holiness is discovered in proximity to the concrete, wounded, and ordinary human person, not in withdrawal from others.

Stanovnik said proximity to the people must survive the transition into hierarchical office; otherwise, the episcopate risks becoming purely administrative rather than pastoral. The question for Capuchin bishops is whether closeness to the poor and ordinary people has been preserved or traded for institutional distance.

Returning to the Gospel without becoming fossilized

Reflecting on the historical significance of the Capuchin Reform, Archbishop Jude Thaddaeus Ruwa’ichi of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, emphasized that the movement begun in 1528 was born of a divine prompting to return to the original charism of St. Francis of Assisi.

Drawing on his 50 years as a friar and 27 years as a bishop in four Tanzanian dioceses — Mbulu, Dodoma, Mwanza, and Dar es Salaam — Ruwa’ichi said: “God prompted the founders of the Capuchin Reform to desire to go back to their sources, to desire to live faithfully the charism of St. Francis.”

“The charism must be lived faithfully in the course of time, and as we live the charism faithfully, we should not be fossilized,” he continued. “We should not allow ourselves to be trapped in a certain approach that does not allow us to continue listening to the Holy Spirit and to continue responding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.”

He also expressed gratitude for the concrete support of his fellow friars.

“I have always been given a friar to work and live with me, and that has been very helpful,” he said. “So, along with living with my diocesan clergy, I also have the support of a confrere who understood me, who served as my confessor, who served as my driver, who served as my private secretary.”

Combating isolation through fraternal solidarity

O’Malley said the international assembly, organized at the initiative of the Capuchin minister general, Father Roberto Genuin, and his council, offered essential encouragement to bishops, most of whom serve in mission territories.

Exchanging experiences of evangelization in a fraternal setting helps bishops “know that they are not alone and that there are many brothers who share their ministry,” he said.

“They do not work in isolation,” O’Malley added, saying the gathering imparted fresh spiritual energy to their ministry. “So, it is a wonderful opportunity for us.”

Addressing contemporary cultural pressures, he pointed to increasing secularization and social divisions as paramount challenges for Church leaders.

“It is very encouraging that the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, is trying to bring peace and unity, themes of his pontificate, and they are certainly very Franciscan themes,” O’Malley said. “Francis called us to be universal brothers and to be instruments of peace and to try and bring people together to follow Christ with the joy of the Gospel.”

Restoring the original gift to the universal Church

Stanovnik described the approaching 500th anniversary as a crucial moment to rediscover the core Gospel of Jesus Christ.

“The Capuchins, 500 years ago, revived this practice, placing certain emphases on it,” he said. “For example, mental and contemplative prayer, simplicity in community life, closeness to the people and preaching.”

He said Capuchin bishops are called to absorb these original gifts anew and offer them back, fully restored, for the revitalization of the universal Church.

At a press conference held in the Sala San Pio X of the Vatican, Villanova University announces that Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., was selected as the inaugural recipient of the Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal, and reveals new details about the upcoming 2026 Villanova University International Sustainability Conference.

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Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, celebrates Mass and opens the Second Preparatory Meeting for World Youth Day Seoul 2027.

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Speaking to the staff of the Vatican Archives and Library, Pope Leo XIV highlights the importance of the mission of these two institutions in service of the Church and the world and notes that the Library is not simply a place full of books, but a place built by relationships, exchange, and sharing ideas.

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Given the increase in the Holy See’s bibliographic holdings and documentary production, the Pope expands the Vatican’s archive and library, and asks that a new building be constructed to meet their needs.

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The highly-anticipated beatification of Venerable Fulton Sheen will take place on Sept. 24 in St. Louis. As Catholics prepare for this historic day, EWTN is offering the faithful a plethora of Sheen-focused programming.

Throughout September, EWTN’s television, streaming, news, and digital platforms are providing comprehensive coverage leading up to and following the beatification, on-the-ground reporting of events from both Peoria, Illinois, and St. Louis, and special coverage exploring the life and legacy of Sheen.

“Archbishop Fulton Sheen was one of the great evangelists of the 20th century and a pioneer in using the media to proclaim the Gospel,” Michael P. Warsaw, chairman and CEO of EWTN, said in a statement.

“His beatification is a historic moment for the Church in the United States and a powerful reminder of the universal call to holiness. EWTN has always understood its mission as a service to the Church, and part of that service is bringing the great moments in the life of the Church to people wherever they may be,” he added. “It is a privilege to bring this celebration to audiences across the United States and around the world.”

From Sept. 15–23, EWTN will air nightly broadcasts of the nine-day novena of Holy Hours at 8 p.m. ET from the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria, Illinois.

On Sept. 20 at 4 p.m. ET viewers can watch the anniversary Mass of Sheen’s priestly ordination live from the Cathedral of St. Mary in Peoria. On Sept. 23, the solemn vespers at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis will be broadcast live at 6 p.m. ET.

On the day of Sheen’s beatification, Sept. 24, EWTN will have live, all-day coverage starting at 9 a.m. ET. The beatification Mass at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis will begin at 2 p.m. ET.

EWTN’s live coverage of the beatification Mass will be hosted by Lila Rose, host of “The Lila Rose Show” podcast, which airs on EWTN+; Father Aquinas Guilbeau, OP, vice president of ministry and mission and university chaplain at The Catholic University of America; and Matthew Bunson, vice president and editorial director of EWTN News, who will provide historical context, commentary, analysis, and reaction throughout the celebration.

For EWTN, this day carries significance. Decades before the network was founded, Sheen exemplified the potential of using emerging media to evangelize through his radio broadcasts and television series, “Life Is Worth Living,” which brought Catholic teaching into the homes of millions.

“Archbishop Sheen showed what was possible when someone with deep faith was willing to enter a new medium and use it boldly for Christ,” said Peter Gagnon, president of EWTN Studios. “Mother Angelica admired Sheen and was inspired by his ability to use television to reach people with the truths of the Catholic faith. In many ways, he helped blaze the trail that she would later follow. It is especially meaningful for EWTN to celebrate his beatification and to introduce his extraordinary legacy to a new generation.”

During the live event, EWTN News will also provide reporting before, during, and after the beatification across its television, print, and digital platforms, with feature stories, interviews, analysis, and more.

Mark Irons will serve as EWTN News’ broadcast and digital correspondent reporting from St. Louis and Peoria, while Jonah McKeown will provide coverage from St. Louis for EWTNNews.com and the National Catholic Register.

Other EWTN News team members will be stationed in both cities to cover the celebrations, pilgrimages, liturgies, and local communities at the center of the historic events.

From Peoria on Sept. 25, the Mass of thanksgiving will be aired at noon ET, followed by the Divine Liturgy of thanksgiving on Sept. 26 at 4 p.m. ET.

Additional special coverage

In celebration of Sheen, EWTN has featured special programming highlighting Sheen’s life, spirituality, ministry, and enduring influence, including: “The Spiritual Legacy of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen” (Seasons 1 and 2) running daily throughout September at 6:30 a.m. ET; “Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: Servant of All” will air on Sept. 19 at 2 p.m. ET; and “A Matter of Faith — Mother’s Day with Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen” will be available on EWTN.com starting on Sept. 19.

Select “Life Is Worth Living” episodes can be watched online for a limited time at EWTN.com and on the EWTN YouTube Channel from Sept. 19–25.

EWTN Publishing will release “America’s Apostle: Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Blessed Fulton J. Sheen,” which is the official commemorative book of the beatification, on Sept. 15 on the EWTN Religious Catalogue.

The faithful can also download multimedia resources and a free eBook titled “In His Presence: Fulton Sheen on Our Time with the Lord,” which is available here.

Pope Leo XIV repeals Pope Francis’ 2021 Motu Proprio “A Sustainable Future,” which reduced the salaries of Cardinals, Dicastery heads and secretaries, and clergy and religious in response to the Covid-19 emergency, leaving unchanged the effects produced while the law was in force, including the suspension of biennial seniority increases.

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For nearly 30 years, José Ignacio and Claudia Celis built a marriage filled with joys, children, shared projects, and the difficulties inherent in life together. But about six years ago, an unexpected trial arose: Claudia was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at the age of 44.

Since then, José Ignacio has had to learn a new way of loving, one that is deeper and more self-sacrificing, reaffirming his vocation and his desire to reach heaven together with Claudia.

“I am a man eternally in love with his wife, a family man who, before being in love with his wife, is a child of God who has found answers to many questions along the way, precisely through suffering,” he recounted in an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

Claudia’s illness has changed many things in their marriage, but, he affirmed, it has not changed the promise they made on their wedding day.

“Love is a decision. Love is not a feeling. Love is a decision, and you have to decide to love every day,” he emphasized.

For him, their story is an opportunity to speak about the beauty of Catholic marriage and a promise that is not conditional on everything going well. It’s the story of a husband who, amid exhaustion, pain, and uncertainty, strives to remain by the side of the woman with whom he chose to share his life.

‘God blessed us with 30 years of a very happy marriage’

José Ignacio and Claudia, both Mexicans, met on a blind date on Aug. 31, 1997. When he saw her for the first time, José Ignacio said he remembers thinking, “Wow.” Over time, they discovered that they shared many interests and, above all, that they enjoyed being together.

They were married on March 20, 1999, at St. Engracia Parish in the Archdiocese of Monterrey in Mexico. Claudia was 24 and José Ignacio was 28. They raised a family with three children: María José, Federico José, and Anaisabel, who are their pride and joy.

They currently live in Houston; they have a 6-month-old grandson and are expecting the arrival of two more grandchildren.

From the time they were dating and throughout their married life, they have lived out a steadfast faith.

“We went to Mass every day from the time we got married,” said José Ignacio, noting that they were both aware their journey as a married couple was heading toward a destination far greater than themselves: heaven.

“God blessed us with 30 years of a very happy marriage though not without setbacks, like everyone else,” he related.

At the wedding, the priest shared a thought with them that José Ignacio still remembers: “You entered as single individuals; you will leave forever united as one.”

They looked at each other and understood that being one was not merely a nice expression.

“We truly are one,” they thought.

As the years went by, children, responsibilities, and difficult times came with it.

“Obviously, there were unpleasant moments. But I don’t remember them anymore, because I strive to always see her with love and for that love to grow,” he said.

The diagnosis that changed their lives

Claudia was 44 years old when she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimerʼs.

José Ignacio had already begun to notice some confusion, but he attributed it to fatigue. Moreover, the disease was not entirely unfamiliar to the family: Both her mother and her mother-in-law had suffered from it.

It was during a medical consultation that a neurologist noticed signs that led to further evaluations.

The diagnosis was devastating. Alzheimer’s is a neurodegenerative disease that eventually leads to death.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ website, the disease “slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out even the simplest tasks.” Furthermore, “people with Alzheimer’s also experience changes in behavior and personality.”

It is estimated that more than 6 million people living in the United States, many of whom are 65 or older, have Alzheimerʼs disease. According to the Mayo Clinic, early-onset Alzheimerʼs affects 41 out of every 100,000 people between the ages of 30 and 64.

The disease impacts many more people, such as the patientʼs family members and, above all, the person who takes on the role of caregiver, as is the case with José Ignacio.

Full-time care

Claudiaʼs treatment began shortly after her diagnosis. There is no cure for the disease, but treatment helps slow its progression. Claudia receives infusion therapy at the hospital every two weeks, or sometimes even more frequently.

During the early years, the decline was not very noticeable. However, José Ignacio explained that over the last two years, the disease has become much more apparent, particularly regarding orientation and the performance of simple tasks.

Her memory, he explained, still holds onto many recollections. But other abilities have begun to fade, and with them, the family dynamic has changed as well.

José Ignacio left his job in the financial sector and now devotes himself full time to caring for Claudia.

‘Marriage is about making your wife happy’

For José Ignacio, however, there is something that has not changed: the presence of God.

“When you have God in the midst, God dwells among Christian spouses and never leaves them,” he maintained.

That is why he views marriage not merely as living together or as a feeling that lasts only as long as circumstances are favorable.

“Marriage is about making your wife happy, and your wife’s role is to make you happy. You must dedicate yourself to your wife and choose to love her every day, because you have to nurture that love,” he explained.

Illness made the meaning of a promise even clearer to him. “When you get married, you make a promise. It is a promise in sickness and in health, for all the days of my life,” he added.

Adversity, he said, is not something couples usually imagine when they marry, yet it is part of life.

“Illness comes along. The last thing on your mind is illness, but the reality of marriage is that the very illness you vowed to face together does arrive. It will happen to one of you or the other, sooner or later.”

‘God does not send suffering’

José Ignacio rejects the idea that God is the one who sends suffering.

“God does not send suffering. Suffering happens because that is simply how life is. Quite the opposite: God is with you in your suffering; he doesn’t like to see you suffer, he weeps with you, and he gives you or tries to give you the joy to move forward and he gives you the strength,” he stated.

That conviction is what by his own account enables him to do things every day that he often feels he could not accomplish on his own. Bathing Claudia, dressing her, and assisting her with her daily activities have become part of his life.

“I couldn’t take care of Claudia on my own; the pain is overwhelming. Yet God does it — it is not to my own credit. God takes care of Claudia.”

There are even seemingly small moments that for him reflect the dignity with which he wishes to continue treating his wife: “I apply her makeup because she needs to leave the house with the dignity of a queen. And it is God who does that through me.”

“I couldn’t do it alone. Without God, I am nothing,” he emphasized.

St. Joseph and a new way of caring

When the illness began, José Ignacio turned especially to St. Joseph.

“St. Joseph, help me care for Claudia. How would you care for the Virgin if she had Alzheimer’s? [I want to do it] just like that, exactly the same way. Don’t let me fail,” he said he always prays.

St. Joseph thus became a model of a husband and caregiver: a man called to protect and serve without seeking the spotlight. Yet, José Ignacio admits it’s far from easy.

“I don’t want to lie to you by saying I don’t get tired, or that I don’t feel the urge to run, to just run away; that would be lying to you,” he acknowledged.

Loving even when illness changes the other person

One of the most difficult aspects of Alzheimer’s is the gradual loss of the reciprocity that characterizes married life.

“I know that perhaps due to the illness itself she sometimes cannot offer the reciprocity one expects, but I look for it in small gestures,” he said.

For José Ignacio, love does not vanish when the other person is no longer able to respond in the same way. On the contrary, that is precisely when the marriage vow takes on a new meaning.

“Authentic love bears the mark of permanence, of spending oneself, wearing oneself down, and giving until you can give no more... yet as long as you live, you will be able to give,” he maintained.

José Ignacio has also had to learn to take care of himself in order to be able care for his wife. His routine includes professional and spiritual guidance during the week as well as support from friends and family.

However, he points out that there is one priority above all others: “The first priority is the spiritual one. If you don’t have it, if you don’t hold fast to your spiritual life, to God, you can’t do it. We are God’s creatures. And without God, we are nothing.”

A family also learning to live with Alzheimer’s

Claudia’s illness affects more than just José Ignacio; it has also changed the lives of their three children.

One of their daughters feels the pain of losing the chance to have her mother present in the way she had envisioned for her own family. Their son wonders if his mother will be able to attend important milestones, such as his graduation. And the youngest daughter has lost the mother with whom she could talk and share her worries.

The illness has taught them that the family, too, needs to stand by and support one another.

‘Pain has taught me to try hard to be happy’

Among the things that move José Ignacio the most is the way he looks at Claudia now.

Illness has transformed her face and the way she relates to the world. He speaks of a kind of innocence he perceives in her.

And then he asks himself: “How could you not fall more in love with that every day?”

His answer lies not in denying the pain but in discovering that love can take on new forms. “Pain has taught me to try hard to be happy,” he explained.

But he also does it for Claudia. When she sees him sad, he knows his sadness affects her as well. That is why he strives for joy.

José Ignacio often says he is “God’s favorite.” Not because his life is easy, but because, despite the suffering, he recognizes that he has received the strength to keep loving.

“Because I love her more every day,” he said.

And in the most difficult moments, he said he feels they are not alone: “I know that God weeps with me, and sometimes I feel that St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary wipe away our tears.”

A promise that lives on

José Ignacio knows that Claudia’s Alzheimer’s is progressing, but his focus is on something he considers even more important.

“I have to work to earn my place in heaven. She doesn’t, but I do. So I say, ‘My God, I am increasingly aware that my work here is to earn my place in heaven.’ And at the same time, I want to be with her, walking that path.”

With each passing day, José Ignacio chooses to love. He chooses to stay. He chooses to care. He chooses to start over. Because, for him, marriage is not about hoping the cross never comes, but rather discovering that when it does, the spouses don’t have to shoulder the burden alone.

“It is very painful to walk that Way of the Cross, but what a joy it is to do so with God by your side.”

And that is perhaps the lesson he wants to leave to other husbands: that love in marriage does not lose its beauty when dark days arrive. On the contrary, it reveals the depth of the promise made one day before God.

“Love is a decision,” José Ignacio often says.

Those who wish to support José Ignacio and Claudia on this journey may do so through prayer and financial assistance. Having left his job to care for his wife, José Ignacio, along with his family, is facing the challenges brought about by the progression of Claudia’s Alzheimer’s disease.

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 first Asian Catholic Digital Missionary Assembly concludes in Manila after bringing together more than 100 communicators and content creators to strengthen collaboration and develop a shared vision for digital evangelisation.

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Aid to the Church in Need holds an assembly in Rome and elects Austrian Msgr. Friedrich Bechina as the Pontifical Foundation’s new coordinator.

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A new documentary from Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, promises to take viewers on a journey through the gothic cathedrals of France. The film, which hits theaters 20 September, opens with the 2019 fire that engulfed Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

“This film was designed to answer a basic question, namely, why was the entire world so galvanized by the Notre Dame fire? What was it about the possible loss of that building that sparked a universal anxiety?” Bishop Barron, founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, a global media apostolate, told OSV News about his documentary, “Heaven in Stone and Glass.”

“My instinct,” he added, “was that people sensed the spiritual power of Notre Dame, and the documentary was designed to test that instinct.”

Produced by Word on Fire in collaboration with Spirit Juice Studios, the documentary focuses on five of France’s most iconic gothic cathedrals: Chartres, Notre Dame, Reims, Amiens and Saint-Denis.

Bishop Barron, together with Father Steve Grunow, the CEO of Word on Fire, and Branden Stanley, the chief creative officer at Spirit Juice Studios, spoke about the 90-minute film and their involvement in it ahead of its debut in theaters nationwide 20 and 23 September.

The film – Word on Fire’s first theatrical release – comes days before Pope Leo XIV’s visit to France. Father Grunow, an executive producer for the film, told OSV News that he considered the timing providential.

In the documentary, Bishop Barron walks with audiences through the gothic cathedrals of France with a sense of wonder and enthusiasm. He delves into the purpose of cathedrals as well as their history, architecture, Scripture and theology. He examines their symbolism and designs, including features like the rose window. He also reveals his own personal relationship with the gothic cathedrals of France.

“They deepened my biblical sensibility; they convinced me that beauty is a route of access to God; they led me to more fervent prayer; they made me a more effective evangelist,” Bishop Barron, who serves as the writer, presenter and an executive producer for the documentary, told OSV News.

At Spirit Juice Studios, Stanley, an executive producer and director for the documentary, said that his team spent around 45 days total filming the documentary during four separate trips that took place from 2024 to 2025.

“We wanted to experience and photograph the cathedrals across all four seasons, but we also wanted to capture different liturgical seasons,” he told OSV News. “These aren’t museums or monuments to a faith that disappeared centuries ago. They’re living, breathing places of worship.”

He wanted viewers to experience these cathedrals for themselves as much as possible.

“One of our biggest priorities was trying to give the audience a perspective and experience that felt as close as possible to actually being inside these spaces,” Stanley said of trying to capture the cathedrals’ beauty and grandeur on camera. “That affected everything from how we moved the camera to the lenses and accessories we chose.”

“These cathedrals were designed to affect you through height, light, color, proportion, detail and craftsmanship,” he added. “Our challenge was to use the tools of filmmaking to communicate some of that experience, knowing that a camera can never completely replicate what it feels like to stand there yourself.”

Throughout the documentary, the camera focuses on the splendor of the gothic cathedrals in a way that illustrates Bishop Barron’s words. Shots transform from showing an entire cathedral all at once to focusing on minute details with designs like the wheel of fortune. At one point in the documentary, Bishop Barron talks about the idea of beauty halting people in their tracks and sending them on mission.

“The great Cathedrals draw us into the mystical space of Christ; they conform us to his mind, his will, his purpose,” he told OSV News. “And then they send us out to tell the world what we have experienced.”

The film, like other Word on Fire offerings such as the “Catholicism” series, embraces beauty, Father Grunow said.

“This new film displays one of the fundamental orientations of the Bishop Barron’s apostolate which is to lead with beauty,” he told OSV News. “The beauty of the Cathedrals acts as a lure towards Christ, and beauty should be a priority in the Church’s evangelisation and missionary efforts.”

For Stanley, filming the cathedrals and their beauty impacted him and his faith.

“While we have the privilege of filming in beautiful places all the time, I can’t particularly say that I’ve ever filmed anywhere quite as beautiful as the Gothic cathedrals of France,” he said. “For someone whose job is, in many ways, to find and capture beauty wherever we can, that was particularly impactful.”

“I’ve always had a deep love for the richness of our liturgy and our faith, but spending so much time inside these cathedrals brought that to another level,” he added later. “There is an incredible amount of symbolism and intentionality in every detail. You begin to realise that virtually nothing is there by accident. The architecture itself is constantly communicating something about God and about our relationship with him.”

These enduring gothic cathedrals speak of God to everyone, whether they are Catholic or not, Bishop Barron said.

“I hope that people come away from this documentary newly convinced that God matters enormously, that they cannot find true happiness apart from him,” he said at one point. “I hope that the stunning beauty of the Cathedrals becomes a vehicle for conveying that truth.”

The post Bishop Barron’s new film explores beauty of France’s gothic cathedrals ahead of pope’s visit appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

Pope Leo XIV celebrates his 71st birthday on September 14, 2026, following a year marked by appeals for peace, Apostolic Journeys, and concern for human dignity.

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Chapter 2: What kind of man the Abbot ought to be (vv. 23-29)

For the Abbot in his doctrine ought always to observe the bidding of the Apostle, wherein he says: “Reprove, entreat, rebuke”; mingling, as occasions may require, gentleness with severity; shewing now the rigour of a master, now the loving affection of a father, so as sternly to rebuke the undisciplined and restless, and to exhort the obedient, mild, and patient to advance in virtue. And such as are negligent and haughty we charge him to reprove and correct. Let him not shut his eyes to the faults of offenders; but as soon as they appear, let him strive with all his might to root them out, remembering the fate of Heli, the priest of Silo. Those of good disposition and understanding let him, for the first or second time, correct only with words; but such as are froward and hard of heart, and proud, or disobedient, let him chastise with bodily stripes at the very first offence, knowing that it is written: “The fool is not corrected with words.” And again “Strike thy son with the rod, and thou shalt deliver his soul from death.”

The love which the Abbot is to show, acting on Christ’s behalf, is expressed in a particular way in the duty of correction spoken about in today’s passage. In her reflections on the Holy Rule from a Marian perpsective, Madre Anna Maria Cànopi comments:

By means of the abbot’s service the monastic community lives a profound mystery of grace and gratuity, of compassion and goodness, of tenderness and peace: it lives the mystery of a creative and stimulating love which does not leave the other as he is, but transforms him, purifies him, leads him ever onwards.

To love all with a love at once strong and tender is the essential task of the abbot; in this he has as a model Jesus, Who died for love, and as an aid Mary, who stirs up good in the Church, urges to conversion, invites to holiness, because she wants to accompany us all together before the throne of divine Mercy. With her merciful eyes, from this very moment, while we toil on the journey, she draws down upon us the Father’s indulgence. And this is also the abbot’s intention: to guide the flock of the good Shepherd all together to the pastures of eternal life, without anyone being lost. (Anna Maria Cànopi, Nel ‘Si’ di Maria, Milan, 2017, pp. 21-22, translation by a Benedictine monk)

The abbot, then, as Christ’s representative, seeks what Christ seeks: not to be accepted or liked by the flock, but to help them truly to advance in virtue. This will necessarily entail loving them enough to point out their faults and call them to conversion. It is true that, as Saint Benedict will explain later in Chapter 64, the Abbot must study to be loved rather than feared. But the love that the Abbot should desire to receive from the monks should not be a merely natural affection for someone who is their friend, but a supernatural love shown towards one who acts to them as Christ. And while Our Lord Jesus Christ is the meekest and most lovable of men, the King and Centre of all hearts, He is also, as the Prophet Malachias says, ‘a refiner’s fire’. It was precisely His love for their souls that led Our Lord to rebuke Peter as ‘Satan’, to chide Philip for still not knowing Him, and to publicly denounce the Pharisees as white-washed sepulchres.

This love of the Good Shepherd that calls to conversion burns also in the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of His Mother. Many of the saints tell us that, as our Mother, mercy has been assigned to Mary as her particular portion, while Our Lord reserves justice to Himself. But, intimately united to her Son as she is, Our Lady quite naturally comes at times to warn her children of the consequences of their sins. We remember one such example this coming Saturday (19 Sept), with the Feast of Our Lady of La Salette, who appeared weeping to warn the children of the heavy hand of her Son’s justice which she could barely hold back. It is her maternal love for her children that makes her give such warnings, just as she made known the terrors of hell and the chastisements of the coming century to the children of Fatima. She strikes her children with the rod of her warnings so as to deliver them from death.

Thus, if we truly take Mary as our Abbess, we can expect her to carry out the apostolic injunction cited by Saint Benedict: ‘Reprove, entreat, rebuke.’ But she will do it, at the same time, with all the love and sweetness of a Mother. As we prepare to celebrate her Seven Sorrows, let us not be deaf to the tearful entreaties of our Mother Abbess, but heed her loving admonitions, and embrace the coming Embertide and Monastic Lent as an opportunity to begin anew to be converted from our old ways and put on the new man.

The General Chapter of the Clerical Branch of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) is embracing the traditional practice of ember days as a spiritual means of fostering and growing vocations.

Ember days — the Christian periods of prayer, fasting, and thanksgiving — take place for three days over the four seasons each year. The next ember days will be Sept. 16, 18, and 19.

“The Church, although it doesnʼt require it, still encourages it,” Father Dave Brokke, SOLT priest and vocations director, told EWTN News.

“Even in terms of the [United States Conference of Catholic Bishops] document on fasting,” he explained. “It encourages people to do the ember days, and you can find different canons about it still today.”

The document clarifies that “Vigils and Ember Days, as most now know, no longer oblige to fast and abstinence.”

“However, the liturgical renewal and the deeper appreciation of the joy of the holy days of the Christian year will, we hope, result in a renewed appreciation as to why our forefathers spoke of ‘a fast before a feast,’” the bishops wrote.

While the prayer is not required, the SOLT chapter voted on the addition of ember days to create a more intentional way of asking God for vocations. It passed in 2023 and over the past three years, the community has seen almost as many men enter into formation as it had in the previous 10 years.

Ember days

The phrase “ember days” is an alteration of the Latin phrase “quatuor tempora,” meaning “four seasons.” Ember days are documented as being celebrated as early as the fifth century and are among the oldest traditions of the Church’s liturgical calendar.

Their original purpose was to thank God for the gifts of nature, notably the crops used to make bread and wine for the Eucharist.

“Jesus said: ‘Ask the master of the harvest to send laborers into the vineyard.’”

“With the master of the harvest, thereʼs this understanding that we have the need to ask Our Lord for help in providing the grain and the wheat and the grapes,” Brokke said.

In total, there are 12 ember days throughout the liturgical year.

“From an early time in the Church,” it was established that the ember days “would be a Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.”

The “penitential days” were “Wednesday, because that was the day that Judas betrayed Jesus, Friday because of the Passion, and then Saturday because Our Lord was in the tomb.”

“The way that I remember it is ‘Lenty, Penty, Crucy, and Lucy,’” Brokke said.

“Lenty” is to indicate the full Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday of ember days that follow Ash Wednesday in the springtime, and “Penty” is the ember days after Pentecost in summer. The “Crucy” ember days then follow the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in fall, and “Lucy” is for the days after the memorial of St. Lucy in winter.

“They correspond to the time of both the sowing of the seeds and the reaping of the harvest of the wheat and the grape. So even then it is connected to the elements that is used for the Eucharist,” he said.

The Church would “fast and pray not only for a good harvest but also for vocations, for laborers in the vineyard to the priesthood, and they would often ordain men on the Saturdays of ember days,” Brokke said.

SOLT witnesses ‘lots of good fruit’

Brokke and the General Chapter of the Clerical Branch of the SOLT began looking into embers days as a way of “community fasting and praying for vocations,” Brokke said.

“We do have a prayer that we say every day for vocations,” which “started from the very foundation of our community,” Brokke said.

SOLT is “a community of priests, brothers, sisters, and members who work together to show the relationship of Our Lady with the most Holy Trinity,” Brokke said.

The community reflects how “the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct, but not separate. Theyʼre united.”

“Similarly, the vocations are distinct, but theyʼre not separate. So we strive to live with a united will of charity and our service to areas of deep need,” Brokke said.

“We go where a bishop has identified his deepest need and serve as missionaries in the world, trying to bring that communion of the Most Holy Trinity in imitation of Our Lady, who leads us into those relationships because she was mother of the Son and daughter of the Father, spouse of the spirit.”

For more vocations, SOLT wanted to add another act “specifically geared towards vocations,” in addition to its daily prayer.

“I mentioned the ember days,” which would “dedicate at least 12 days a year to fasting and praying and to be more intentional with it,” he said. “When we started discussing it, we didnʼt focus so much on the agricultural aspect but the vocational aspect.”

When the idea of incorporating the days of prayer was under discussion, Brokke looked up some of the prayers for ember days.

“We discovered that the prayer that we have prayed every day from our foundation of the community is actually one of the ember day prayers for vocations,” he said.

Shortly after the community began the traditional prayer, vocation numbers began to rise.

“The first September doing ember days … one guy showed up from a mission in Honduras at our mission in Belize and expressed his interest in the community. He is now a novice with our community.”

“On the Saturday of that first ember days, we had 27 men from Franciscan University show up for the priestly discernment program to learn more about our community. The man who led that is now an aspirant with our community.”

“The year that we started, we had seven men in formation. And in three years, we now have 18 men in formation,” Brokke said. Before, “we were maybe averaging one or two to enter a year. In that very first year we had nine men.”

“Weʼve seen lots of good fruit,” he said.

“I know thereʼs a mystical body of Christ and weʼre all connected. The Lord is going to use it, like heʼll use everything, and nothing goes to waste.”

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV remembered the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on Sunday and renewed his appeal for peace amid conflicts and violence around the world.

Speaking in English after praying the Angelus with the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 13, the pope recalled the 25th anniversary of the attacks, which was observed two days earlier.

“Two days ago marked the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States of America. I renew my prayers for those who lost their lives and for those who continue to bear the wounds of that tragic day. At a time when conflict and violence afflict so many of our brothers and sisters, I invite everyone to pray that the Lord will bestow his gift of peace upon the world,” he said.

Continuing in Italian, Leo said the memory of the tragedy should prompt a renewed commitment to peace, above all through prayer entrusted to the intercession of the Virgin Mary.

The pope then greeted the Romans and pilgrims gathered in the square, including groups from Brazil and other countries, pilgrims who had traveled from Assisi along the Way of St. Francis, and motorcyclists gathered in support of peace and life.

Earlier, in his reflection before the Angelus, Leo focused on the Sunday Gospel and the Christian meaning of forgiveness, recalling that Christ taught forgiveness and bore witness to it even on the cross, when he prayed to the Father for his persecutors.

Reflecting on Peter’s question to Jesus about how many times he should forgive someone who sins against him, the pope noted that Peter’s suggestion of seven times already indicated abundance, since the number seven symbolizes fullness in Scripture. Jesus, however, went further, telling him to forgive “70 times seven” — without limit or measure.

Leo then recalled the parable of the servant whose enormous debt was forgiven by his master but who refused to show the same mercy to a fellow servant who owed him far less.

“All things are given to us by God out of pure love, and none of us can claim to be perfect in responding to such goodness. For this reason, gratuitousness — which is the source of our existence — is also the best rule for our life together,” the pope said.

“We experience this every day. Forgiveness is indispensable, and without it, we cannot live in peace.”

Without forgiveness, Leo warned, conflicts, accusations, grudges, and acts of vengeance eventually arise, destroying relationships, dividing families, and unleashing wars.

“Only forgiveness sets us free and restores the light, even where human material and moral poverty has darkened the horizon and made the path uncertain. Forgiveness, like a gentle breeze, sweeps away even the thickest clouds until the sun shines once more,” he said.

The pope also pointed to St. Peter’s own experience of forgiveness after denying and abandoning Jesus during the Passion. When Peter encountered the risen Christ on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus asked him only whether he loved him and once again called him to follow.

Leo said that forgiving and healing love confirmed Peter in his mission as the first of the apostles.

Concluding his reflection, the pope asked the Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, to help Christians forgive even when taking the first step is difficult, and to spread the healing light of a love that overcomes hatred and disarms resentment.

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

When it comes to religious tourism in Lebanon, attention often turns to the Monastery of St. Maron in Annaya, home to the tomb of St. Charbel, or to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa.

But Lebanon’s spiritual landscape extends far beyond these well-known destinations. Across the country are lesser-known shrines and monasteries that offer visitors opportunities for prayer, quiet reflection, and a deeper encounter with Lebanon’s rich Christian heritage. Here are five of them:

Shrine of St. Maria Goretti in Miziara

The Shrine of St. Maria Goretti in Miziara is the first shrine in Lebanon and the Middle East dedicated to the young Italian martyr.

Built in the shape of a rose, the shrine also commemorates Raya Chidiac, a young Lebanese woman whose killing reminded her family of the story of St. Maria Goretti. The site eventually became a shrine centered on a message of faith, forgiveness, and hope.

Mountain of Divine Mercy in Ghosta

High above the coastal town of Jounieh, the Mountain of Divine Mercy in Ghosta overlooks the Bay of Jounieh.

At its center stands a statue of Christ approximately 40 feet tall. The shrine was established through an initiative of the Congregation of Lebanese Maronite Missionaries and also includes smaller shrines dedicated to St. Charbel, St. Rafka, and St. Teresa of Calcutta.

Surrounded by nature and panoramic views, the site offers spaces set aside for prayer and contemplation.

Our Lady of Ilige Monastery in Mayfouq

In Mayfouq, in Lebanon’s Byblos District, the Monastery of Our Lady of Ilige preserves centuries of Maronite history.

The monastery served as a residence of the Maronite patriarchs from 1121 to 1440 and is closely associated with the historic icon of Our Lady of Ilige.

The site remains an important reminder of the Maronite Church’s centuries-old presence in Mount Lebanon.

Holy Savior Monastery in Joun

In the village of Joun in the Chouf District stands the Holy Savior Monastery, the motherhouse of the Basilian Salvatorian Order. Its origins date to the beginning of the 18th century.

The monastery also houses the remains of Venerable Father Bechara Abou Mrad, making it a destination for pilgrims seeking prayer and spiritual quiet.

Monastery of Sts. Cyprian and Justina in Kfifan

The Monastery of Sts. Cyprian and Justina in Kfifan is closely connected to several prominent figures of Maronite spirituality.

St. Charbel studied philosophy and theology there under St. Nimatullah Al-Hardini, while Blessed Brother Estephan Nehme spent a significant part of his religious life at the monastery.

Today, pilgrims visit Kfifan to pray and to venerate the saints and blesseds associated with the monastery, surrounded by the quiet mountain landscape of Lebanon’s Batroun region.

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

Pope Leo XIV prays for those who lost their lives in the 9/11 terror attacks and appeals for prayers for peace for our war-torn world.

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In his Angelus message, Pope Leo XIV reflects on the power of forgiving others like Christ has forgiven us in order to counter hatred, division and violence, and promote peace and love.

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A vegetable garden and orchard inside the Vatican walls, which historically provided food for the pope’s household, is now cultivated using exclusively organic farming techniques.

The private garden covers almost a tenth of an acre of cultivable land inside the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery property, where Pope Benedict XVI lived during his retirement and now reside cloistered Benedictine nuns from the Abbey of St. Scholastica in Victoria, Argentina.

Sometimes known as “the pope’s garden,” the vegetable plot “has always been a defining feature of the Vatican Gardens because, in fact, the Vatican Gardens were originally created primarily for that purpose — to provide sustenance for the [Apostolic] Palace,” Stefano Giampaolo, a forestry expert and head of the Gardens and Environment Service of the Vatican, told EWTN News.

Giampaolo explained that now the plot is more accurately understood as the vegetable garden of the Vatican Gardens — an area that covers roughly half of Vatican City at 57 acres.

The Benedictine nuns at Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, who pray for the pope, eat the fruit and vegetables grown in the garden and use them to make jams and other food preserves. The excess produce is given to a Vatican soup kitchen run by the Missionaries of Charity.

The move to biological farming techniques has been underway for several years, partly in response to Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, Giampaolo said.

The challenges of organic

According to Gilberto Bianchi, the gardener responsible for the orchard and vegetable patch since 2008, the Vatican has a “desire to respect nature” in how it cares for the plants and trees on its land.

But it’s far from easy.

“Clearly, running a completely organic vegetable garden presents challenges, partly because insects are aggressive, and we use natural predators in the soil to control them,” Bianchi said. “No chemical fertilizers or insecticides are used.”

He added that soil drainage and water conservation are also challenges.

“This type of soil drains very well, so to conserve water, we add coconut fiber to retain moisture. And it’s watered with a drip irrigation system specifically to target the plants and avoid wasting water,” he said.

Part of an organic agriculture also means respecting the seasons, he said. “Right now, the winter crops are being planted, while the summer crops are being harvested.”

The end-of-summer harvest includes tomatoes, eggplants, green beans, zucchini, cucumbers, and peppers, while the fall and winter crop has broccoli, spinach, lettuce, and pumpkins.

According to Vatican Media, the garden also includes garlic, basil, and a Peruvian variety of chili peppers known for its intensity. Kiwi plants were also added recently at the request of the Argentinian nuns.

Next to the garden is a small orchard of around 15 citrus trees, some of which are 150 years old.

“At this time, we’re planting savoy cabbage,” Bianchi said. “In short, whatever is in season. … So whatever is planted is because nature dictates it at that moment. The plants are grown from seed. We don’t use lab-grown plants.”

A historic collection of gardens

Bianchi, who has worked for more than three decades in the Vatican Gardens, “is the one with the most expertise in this field, and he is now passing that knowledge on to a new gardener,” Giampaolo said.

The expert gardener is part of a team of around 35 gardeners and administrators who oversee the Vatican’s green spaces and provide the flower arrangements for papal ceremonies.

“People expect to see a single garden, but in reality, as the name suggests, they are the Vatican Gardens — a collection of gardens,” Giampaolo said.

The Gardens date to the mid-13th century, when Pope Nicolas III moved the papal residence from the Lateran Palace to the Vatican, had the city state’s walls built, and ordered the creation of a lawn, orchard, and “viridarium” — a Roman-style garden with flowerbeds and a fountain.

Today, Giampaolo said, “there are countless different species, both trees and flowers. This is because, over time, the gardens have been enriched by donations and the search for specific botanical material, to the point of becoming a true botanical garden.”

“Visitors are often struck by the diversity of the spaces — so many different gardens contained within this small area.”

Ultimately, he said, the gardeners hope to one day eliminate all synthetic fertilizers and pesticides from their care of the entire Vatican territory.

“It’s a process — the transformation of all the Gardens into organic ones,” he said.

On this weekend of the Holy Name of Mary, we ask:  If I want to reach up towards Mary’s unsurpassed charity, how do I reach down towards her unparalleled humility?  We will see some practical answers, even though we’ll never be exactly like her. Special thanks to Enrique Aguilar for these music bumpers.

Chapter 2: What kind of man the Abbot ought to be (vv. 16-22)

Let him [the Abbot] make no distinction of persons in the monastery. Let not one be loved more than another, unless he be found to excel in good works or in obedience. Let not one of noble birth be put before him that was formerly a slave, unless some other reasonable cause exist for it. But if upon just consideration it should so seem good to the Abbot, let him arrange as he please concerning the place of any one whomsoever; but, otherwise, let them keep their own places; because, whether bond or free, we are all one in Christ, and bear an equal rank in the service of one Lord, “For with God there is no respecting of persons.” Only for one reason are we preferred in His sight, if we be found to surpass others in good works and in humility. Let the Abbot, then, shew equal love to all, and let the same discipline be imposed upon all according to their deserts.

In the last several days’ readings of the Holy Rule, the Abbot has been instructed about his duty to represent Christ by teaching the law of God, doing all for the holiness of the flock even to the point of laying down his life, teaching them more by word than by example. Today’s passage touches on another aspect of the Abbot’s Christ-representing task: to love all equally without respecting of persons. Our Lord makes it clear throughout His earthly life that He has come to save all without exception—men and women, Jew and Gentile, slave and free, the public sinners and the apparently righteous. The Church has always condemned the Calvinist idea that Our Lord died only for an elect portion of humanity, and has insisted that, however one may attempt to explain the mystery of predestination and reprobation, we must hold fast to the truth taught by Saint Paul, that God truly desires all men to be saved (1 Tim 2:4).

At the same time, the love that the Abbot is to have for all does not preclude having a special kind of love for those who are found to excel in good works and obedience, for those who are found humiles (RSB 2:21). In this too he imitates the Heavenly Father and His Son Our Lord, Who indeed had a special love for the Blessed Virgin Mary who excelled all in good works, obedience, and humility. That God loves Our Lady more than any of His other creatures may strike the modern mind as unfair. In truth, of course, it is absurd for man to tell God that anything He does is unfair; He is free, like the master of the vineyard in the parable, to distribute His gifts as He wills (Mt 20:14-15). The sense of unfairness that we might have at seeing the favour God shows to others stems from the false idea that the grace they receive somehow impoverishes us. But it is not so: even while loving Our Lady and His Saints with a special love because of their good works and their humility, God still loves all men, and desires all to be saved, for as the Book of Wisdom tells us in the Introit of Ash Wednesday, He hates nothing of what He has created (Wis 11:25).

This universal love of God the Father and His Son for all men is set forth as a model for the Abbot, and it is a challenging one. How easy it is for a superior to be inclined to show favour to a certain brother not because of his objective merits, but simply because he finds it easier to get on with him because of his temperament, his background, or his particular talents! That the Abbot should prefer those who excel in obedience and humility does not necessarily mean that he should show preference to brothers who make his life pleasant and who never raise difficulties. At times the truly good, humble, and obedient brother may also be the one who challenges the Abbot by respectfully expressing a different point of view. The Abbot is thus called to examine closely the motives of his dealings with the brethren: are they motivated by considerations of flesh and blood, or by the supernatural charity of Christ? The same holds true, mutatis mutandis, for every monk. All of us naturally tend to get on better with certain brothers than with others, and such affinities can very easily lead to treating one person differently from another. So we must each ask ourselves: do I love all my brothers with the love of God, which sees past purely human considerations? Do I truly desire the good for each one—which may be very different from what I would personally find convenient?

In this universal charity, as in all of the other aspects of this chapter, Our Heavenly Abbess is again the model. She, who has been given to us as the Mother of Mercy and the Refuge of Sinners, manifests in a special way the universal charity of her Son towards all those He has redeemed. Today’s feast of her holy Name reminds us in particular that she is always ready to help any of her children who call upon her, no matter how unlovable they may feel at a particular moment. In a traditional supplica to Our Lady as Mother of Perpetual Succour, St Alphonsus says, ‘My only fear is that in time of temptation I may fail to call out to thee, and so perish miserably.’ If we call on her, we can sure of her aid. So all monks, including the Abbot, can take comfort today from the immortal words of Saint Bernard:

In dangers, in narrow places, in doubtful matters, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let her not depart from thy mouth, let her not depart from thy heart; and that thou mayest obtain the aid of her prayer, do not abandon the example of her manner of life. Following her, thou dost not stray; beseeching her, thou dost not despair; thinking on her, thou dost not wander; with her holding thee, thou dost not stumble; with her protecting thee, thou dost not fear; with her leading thee, thou dost not tire; with her favour, thou dost arrive and dost experience in thyself how rightly it was said: And the name of the Virgin was Mary.

Vatican Radio’s music programme Scrigno musicale will broadcast a 45-minute concert by the “Bella Musica” ensemble on Saturday, 12 September.

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The Archdiocese of Chicago will pay out more than $5 million to a small number of abuse victims after a recent settlement, attorneys said this week.

Lawyers with Jeff Anderson & Associates, a law firm that specializes in abuse cases, announced at a press event on Sept. 10 that they had settled with the archdiocese for $5.5 million to be paid out to nine survivors of abuse in the Church.

Attorney Jeff Anderson described the development as a “tipping point and a turning point” regarding allegations of abuse in the archdiocese. He said the settlements were a matter of both “reckoning” and “accountability.”

“It is about the courage of every survivor with whom we and others have had the privilege to work to bring about change, change in the Archdiocese of Chicago and change across the state of Illinois and change across this country,” the lawyer said.

The Chicago Archdiocese did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the settlement. But the archdiocese has paid out major settlements to abuse victims numerous times in recent years.

In 2022 leaders settled multiple cases with abuse victims, one totaling $1.2 million and another $1.75 million.

In 2024, meanwhile, the archdiocese settled one abuse case for $950,000.

Multiple settlements by the archdiocese have involved allegations regarding disgraced former priest Daniel McCormack, who pleaded guilty to abusing numerous children years ago and who spent more than a decade in prison on those charges.

In 2025 the archdiocese filed a lawsuit alleging a “racketeering enterprise” against multiple plaintiffs who had reportedly filed fake abuse lawsuits regarding McCormack.

Archdiocesan attorney James Geoly said at the time that the lawsuit was meant to protect “the interests of legitimate victims.”

“We do not want [the racketeering lawsuit] to deter any legitimate victim from coming forward. I would encourage anybody who’s had a problem with a priest or cleric to do that,” he told the archdiocesan news outlet.

The UN says nearly 60 Palestinians have been displaced in the last weeks after Israeli authorities demolished homes and other structures in the southern West Bank.

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Bishop Pavlo Honcharuk, of Kharkiv-Zaporizhia, one of the Ukrainian dioceses hardest hit by the conflict, meets with the Pope on September 11 at the Vatican and thanks him for his support, prayers and concern.

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The Archdiocese of Chicago and a group of Catholic religious sisters won a temporary reprieve against Illinois’ assisted suicide law this week, with a federal judge ordering the state not to enforce the law against the Catholic objectors while a federal lawsuit continues.

U.S. District Judge Franklin Valderrama’s Sept. 11 order said the state would be blocked from enforcing the suicide law against the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm and the Little Sisters of the Poor who had brought the lawsuit.

Chicago archbishop Cardinal Blase Cupich is also a plaintiff in the suit. The order applies only to the sisters and the archdiocese, the judge said; the state is free to enforce the suicide law elsewhere.

The Catholic objectors brought the lawsuit on Sept. 3, arguing that the suicide law infringes on religious liberty by requiring Catholics to participate in helping patients end their own lives. The lawsuit was filed by lawyers with the religious liberty law firm Becket.

On Sept. 11 Cupich said in a statement that the law should be struck down “permanently.”

“To be clear, the Church’s objection to this statute is not an attempt to impose Catholic teaching on non-Catholics,” the archbishop said. Rather, “it is an effort to stop the State from compelling Catholic health care providers to violate their conscience.”

Mother Mary Rose Heery, O Carm, prioress general of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, said the temporary order “brings real peace of mind to our Sisters, our residents, and their families.”

“It allows us to continue our vocation of showing Christ’s unbounded love to those who need it most — a love that endures in every circumstance and through every hardship,” she said.

Catholic health groups join another Illinois lawsuit

Illinois has become a battleground in recent weeks over its suicide law, which Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker signed in December 2025. The measure allows residents with a terminal illness to receive lethal prescriptions from doctors in order to take their own lives before they die naturally.

In August, Springfield Bishop Thomas Paprocki, a Lutheran care home, and four Illinois-based doctors filed a lawsuit in federal court arguing similarly to the Chicago lawsuit that the state suicide law infringes on their religious freedom and their ability to care for their patients.

Later in the month the state agreed to not enforce the law against the plaintiffs while the suit plays out. In the meantime, multiple additional Catholic objectors have joined the Springfield Diocese’s lawsuit against the suicide policy.

The Thomas More Society announced on Sept. 11 that five religious healthcare associations had joined Paprocki’s suit, including the Illinois Catholic Health Association and the National Association of Catholic Nurses. A doctor and a nurse also joined the suit.

The Thomas More Society said the plaintiffs “represent 95% of Catholic health institutions in Illinois and more than 13,000 health care professionals nationwide.”

Peter Breen, the head of litigation at the legal group, said attorneys were seeking to extend the protection secured by the initial plaintiffs to the “thousands of Catholic and Christian health care professionals” represented in the new filing.

"The First Amendment protects the rights of Catholic and Christian doctors, hospitals, and healthcare ministries to reject assisted suicide and heal and care for the ill and infirm in accord with their consciences,” Breen said.

He argued that the suicide law “flagrantly violates those rights by forcing dedicated healthcare professionals to promote deadly drugs to their patients.”

Speaking from the Catholic Medical Association’s annual educational conference in Phoenix, meanwhile, Dr. Mary Keen Kirchoff — one of the doctors participating in the suit alongside Paprocki — told EWTN News she was “so pleased” that the Chicago Archdiocese had won the temporary block.

“We must all work together to oppose this law, which is not only discriminatory against those of us with deeply held religious beliefs but also against our brothers and sisters with fragile financial circumstances and those with disabilities who may feel pressured to seek physician assisted killing due to social prejudice against them,” she said.

This story was updated at 3:45 p.m. ET on Sept. 12, 2026, with a comment from Dr. Mary Keen Kirchoff.

Look to the Star!

Each year, on the feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary, we at the monastery return to the inexhaustible homily of Saint Bernard, Respice Stellam. God Himself draws us to Mary, for He wants us to receive all things through her and to be drawn to Him through her. God draws us to Mary so that she can draw us to God. To do this, He operates through one means or another: through the mediation of the Sacred Humanity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, or of the Sacraments given to His Church, or through the Angels, through the Saints in heaven, or through important events in our life. All of these are like so many voices saying: Look to the Star, call upon Mary!

God never leaves a soul in total obscurity. Even in the darkest night of faith there remains above us in the firmament the glimmer of the mariner’s faithful guiding star, the light of Mary, the Stella Maris (Star of the Sea). Thus does Saint Bernard write:

It is said: And the virgin’s name was Mary. Let us speak a few words upon this name, which signifieth, being interpreted, Star of the Sea, and suiteth very well the Maiden Mother, who may very meetly be likened unto a star.

A star giveth forth her rays without any harm to herself, and the Virgin brought forth her Son without any hurt to her virginity. The light of a star taketh nothing away from the star itself, and the birth of her offspring took nothing away from the Virginity of Mary. She is that noble star which was to come out of Jacob, whose brightness still sheddeth lustre upon all the earth, whose rays are most brilliant in heaven, and shine even unto hell, lighting up earth midway, and warming souls rather than bodies, fostering good and scaring away evil. She, I say, is a clear and shining star, twinkling with excellencies, and resplendent with example, needfully set to look down upon the surface of this great and wide sea.

Thou, whosoever thou be, that seest thyself amidst the tides of the world, tossed by storms and tempests rather than walking on the land, turn not thy eyes away from this shining star, unless thou dost wish to be overwhelmed by the hurricane.

If temptation storms, or thou fallest upon the rocks of tribulation, look to the star: Call upon Mary! If thou art tossed by the waves of pride or ambition, detraction or envy, look to the star, call upon Mary. If anger or avarice or the desires of the flesh dash against the ship of thy soul, turn thine eyes to Mary. If troubled by the enormity of thy crimes, ashamed of thy guilty conscience, terrified by dread of the judgment, thou dost begin to sink into the gulf of sadness or the abyss of despair, think of Mary. In dangers, in anguish, in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary.

Let her name be ever on thy lips, ever in thy heart; and the better to obtain the help of her prayers, imitate the example of her life: Following her, thou strayest not; invoking her, thou despairest not; thinking of her, thou wanderest not; upheld by her, thou fallest not; shielded by her, thou fearest not; guided by her, thou growest not weary; favored by her, thou reachest the goal. And thus dost thou experience in thyself how good is that saying:  ‘And the Virgin’s name was Mary.’ – St Bernard of Clairvaux, Ex Homil. 2 super Missus est, circa finem.

 

The World Catholic Association for Communication awards the SIGNIS Film Prize at the Venice Film Festival to a Japanese film about friendship and talent that shows how art can transform pain into hope.

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The daughter of imprisoned Catholic activist Jimmy Lai has revealed she has received a cancer diagnosis.

“This summer I received a cancer diagnosis and will be undergoing treatment in the UK,” Claire Lai said in a statement first reported by the Daily Wire on Sept. 8. “I am optimistic about the outcome but will be unable to travel and attend functions for the duration. I am endlessly grateful for my parents’ example of perseverance. Our Christian faith teaches — and my father bears witness — that suffering can be redemptive. Mine is but a fraction of my father’s, but I hope to bear it as a grace as well as he has. I deeply wish that dad was here, and pray that he will be released soon. I am so very grateful to everyone who continues to work toward securing his freedom.”

Iraq to build largest Marian shrine in the country

Inishke, a Chaldean village overlooking the Sapna Valley, is preparing for a 59-foot-tall monument to Our Lady of the Sapna Valley, planned as the largest Marian shrine in Iraq.

The design brings together Marian devotion and Iraqi heritage. Sculptor Thabit Mikhail has given Mary and the child Jesus Middle Eastern features, while Maryʼs two braids represent Iraqi mothers and grandmothers, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Sept. 5. The 43-foot-wide base takes inspiration from the spiral form of Samarraʼs famous minaret and ancient Mesopotamian architecture.

A chapel inside the base and another prayer space near the statue will give pilgrims places for prayer and candle lighting. Funded by donations from people from Inishke around the world, the project has been under development for more than a decade and is expected to become a new destination for religious tourism in northern Iraq.

Canonization cause opens for murdered Northern Ireland priests

The causes of canonization for two priests killed in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by members of the British Army in the 1970s has officially been opened.

The Diocese of Down and Connor confirmed that the canonization cause has been opened for Father Hugh Mullan and Father Noel Fitzpatrick, who were shot in two separate instances while administering last rites to parishioners in Corpus Christi Parish in Ballymurphy, according to a report from the Irish Catholic on Sept. 10.

News of their canonization cause comes after an official inquest into the deaths of the two priests and other victims at the hands of the British Army found that the soldiers had “lost control,” the report said. Bishop Alan McGuckian said during a Mass for victims’ families in May that the finding “restores dignity to the deceased, and it brings a measure of justice to those who grieve.”

Christian doctor in Canada fined for refusing to give teen puberty blockers

A Canadian human rights tribunal has ordered family physician Dr. Henry Ajaero to pay $28,100 after he denied a teen puberty blockers at his clinic in March 2021.

Ajaero told the tribunal that “he did not feel comfortable administering” the hormone medication Lupron and that “doing so would go against his religious beliefs” and “because it is outside the scope of his practice,” according to a Sept. 9 CBC report.

The tribunal ruled that Alaero’s testimonial did not establish sufficient proof that administering the drug was in conflict with his religious belief or professional expertise.

While the tribunal acknowledged Ajaero likely made the decision quickly and in the context of a busy day, it ultimately ruled that "this context is an explanation for Dr. Ajaero’s decision, but it does not justify his decision to deny medical services to a vulnerable trans youth because of her gender identity,” according to the report.

Saydnaya, Syria, looks beyond its annual Marian celebrations

The feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary once again brought pilgrims from Syria and abroad to Saydnaya, where prayers and the traditional procession with an icon of Mary marked one of the cityʼs most important celebrations. Yet the occasion has also renewed discussion about Saydnayaʼs future.

Researcher Elias Azar, founder of the Saydnaya Center for Studies and Research, is working on a nonprofit initiative to preserve the cityʼs history while developing religious tourism, environmental projects, traditional agriculture, and local media, ACI MENA reported Sept. 9.

The effort comes after years of war and emigration. Azar estimated that Saydnaya has lost about half of its Christian population since 2011, although it remains a Christian-majority city. Residents are also calling for greater security, which they see as essential to protecting daily life and Saydnayaʼs place as a major Christian pilgrimage destination in Syria.

Vatican UN Permanent Observer Mission speaks against nuclear testing

Monsignor Robert Murphy, chargé d’affaires of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, called for renewed international commitment to ending nuclear weapons testing in a letter to the president of the U.N. General Assembly.

The Sept. 1 letter came amid a high-level plenary meeting marking International Day Against Nuclear Tests.

“The suffering caused by nuclear testing should have reinforced the common conviction that peace cannot be preserved by developing ever more destructive weapons,” Murphy said. “However, today renewed reliance on nuclear deterrence, increasingly aggressive nuclear rhetoric and attempts to question the long-standing international norm against nuclear testing risk undermining this conviction.” Murphy further called for an entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

St. Charbel communities in Poland call Catholics back to prayer

The sixth national gathering of St. Charbel communities in Poland focused on a simple question: Can people become so occupied with religious activities that they leave little time for God?

Maronite priest Father Fabio M. Lattouf warned against replacing a personal relationship with God with a search only for inner peace, constant Church activities, or an endless stream of religious content, ACI MENA reported on Sept. 8.

Bishop Andrzej Siemieniewski presented St. Charbel as another way forward, pointing to the Lebanese saintʼs long hours of silence before the Eucharist as an example of a spiritual life centered on Christ rather than activity.

At Bkerke, 26 couples choose marriage amid Lebanonʼs difficulties

Twenty-six brides and grooms took part in the 17th collective wedding organized by the Maronite League at Bkerke, continuing an initiative launched in 2009 to help young Lebanese couples establish families despite growing financial pressures.

The collective weddings have so far helped form 404 families, which now include 521 children, ACI MENA reported Sept. 6.

Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai told the newlyweds that forming a family in difficult circumstances is an “act of faith in the future” and prayed that their homes would be marked by love, fidelity, forgiveness, faith, and peace.

Pope Leo meets participants in the ‘Fratelli tutti: North-South Socio-Environmental Dialogue’ meeting, and stresses our shared responsibility in the face of social, economic and technological challenges.

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John Cuddeback, a professor of philosophy at Christendom College, says families today don’t often know how to achieve what they desire in their homes and family life. As a remedy, drawing from both ancient and modern thinkers, he has released "The Intentional Household: Living as if People Matter,” a book that outlines eight pillars for reclaiming the home as a place of human flourishing.

“Families today are struggling to achieve what they so badly want: to have the kind of relationships we’re made for, beginning in the home, especially between spouses and between parents and children,” Cuddeback said. “They know they want something different, something better, but they feel hamstrung. In a culture that works against them in many ways, they are frustrated because they lack clear vision and examples to pattern themselves after.”

Cuddeback, who teaches a course on family and household and is also the author of “True Friendship,” spoke to EWTN News about how he hopes his book conveys that “[a]nyone can choose to be intentional about their household and make real progress with dramatic fruits in the lives of those we love most.”

EWTN News: What do you see as the biggest challenge to building and maintaining an intentional home?

Cuddebach: It all begins with priorities. As a society we have turned away from the intense focus that our household requires — and this is evident in how we struggle in marriage, raising children, and relating to the elderly. Even many traditionally-minded folks struggle to realize and enact the demanding, even while ordinary, aspects of God’s plan for our homes.

Aristotle says that a society tends to produce the kind of people it honors. We do not honor those who prioritize home life — either women or men. This means that many of the structures, practices, and assumptions of our age are at odds with the real good of home life. This is especially evident in our obsession with the latest technologies.

This book is a call to all of us to do something radically different and profoundly better — while always recognizing we must be people of our time and place. It calls us to discover that looking first to what our children and our elderly really need is the high road to deeper fulfillment for all of us.

How has Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas influenced your thought on how technology should be incorporated in the home?

Pope Leo makes clear that we have come to a crisis point. The time is now to be honest, serious, and persistent in examining our use of technology in view of real human flourishing. This must start in the home. No one else is going to do this for us.

But as the pope makes clear, right practice must flow from an understanding of who we are and what we’re made for. “The Intentional Household” offers the rich and positive view of daily life in the home that grounds such an examination. It gives the “yes” that strengthens the “nos” we need to say. It gives direction for rising to the challenges of our age, including how to channel technology to true human flourishing.

Approaching homelife intentionally — especially attending to the ordinary in good work and true leisure as essential to our relationships — we can take real steps to become those biblical good stewards so honored by the Lord.

How does this apply to those across all walks of life, including single people, married couples without children, those who are divorced or separated?

The principles of a vibrant home life are both perennial and flexible. Wherever we find ourselves we can discover how the plan that God wrote into human nature is much better than we have realized.

Brokenness and suffering today are widespread. God’s plan encompasses these realities. By the grace of God, anyone who is humble and willing to take an intentional approach can affect real, and indeed dramatic change by applying the book’s eight principles. We can all take real steps to make our homes a place of vibrant life, with deep belonging, connection, and presence.

One of the thinkers you cite in your book is Wendell Berry. In light of his recent passing can you speak to his influence on your life and thinking?

Wendell Berry saw clearly how the loss of activities of work and leisure in the home has led to our experience of disconnection and isolation. Home should be a place of deep connection: between us and loved ones and neighbors, between soul and body, between us and the earth.

One of Berry’s pivotal insights is the key role of a certain kind of work in the home. Berry has pointed out that the work of traditional home arts is much more important than we have realized. He argues that as the breakdown of home life came especially through the loss of good work, the renewal will likewise come through a rediscovery of work that connects us to one another as it connects us to our bodies and to the earth, and ultimately to God.

Wendell Berry was a prophet of the extraordinary beauty and importance of the ordinary. Making our home an intentional household means rediscovering the power of ordinary things, such as mealtimes with the whole household, shared work in the kitchen and other home arts, and “porch time” and other such leisure times. Attention to these things can transform our marriage, parenting, and other key relationships.

Pope Leo XIV encourages Benedictine men and women from around the world to deepen their roots in Christ and continue offering a witness of prayer and communion.

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A 3D animated musical trilogy on St. Francis of Assisi is taking shape in Singapore, with its creators choosing a human-led animation process over AI at a moment when the industry is racing toward it.

Director Benjamin Tanaka, executive producer Gabriel Patrick, and composer Ethan Hsu call the project “The Francis Chronicles.” It marks a reunion for Tanaka and Hsu, who first worked together two years ago on “One Church, One People,” the official theme song for Pope Francis’ visit to Singapore in September 2024 — his last Asia-Pacific apostolic visit before his death seven months later. Patrick, a secondary school friend of Tanaka, joined the project in January 2026.

“It does feel like God’s providence — the way our paths crossed and intertwined over the last couple of years. We were each called individually first. Ben and Gabriel were both working on an animated short series about Catholic saints, while I was mulling over a faith-based musical project. When we met up late last year at a separate event, we realized the commonalities in our ideas — that was when the seeds for this project were first planted,” recalled Hsu, who is directing the music for the trilogy.

St. Francis, a 13th-century Italian friar from the town of Assisi, has become an enduring symbol of simplicity, peace, and care for creation — echoed in Pope Francis’ second encyclical, Laudato Si’, “On Care for Our Common Home.”

Eight months later, the trio set up Cantiva Studios, a Singapore film production company focused on animated features of cultural and spiritual significance for international audiences, with “The Francis Chronicles” as its flagship project.

With Pope Leo XIV declaring this year the Jubilee Year of St. Francis of Assisi, the trio felt the time was right to begin the project. “His life has greatly impacted our faiths individually, and what better way to honor him than to use the gifts we have been given in storytelling and music to do just that,” Tanaka said from Cantiva Studios’ newly established production office, when asked why they decided to go ahead with a musical instead of a straight drama. They chose animation over live action, he added, because they hope to reach families with young children.

Choosing craft over convenience

The decision to animate the film by hand, using traditionally trained artists, was not an easy one. AI models can now produce polished visuals in minutes and promise significant savings in time and cost. Patrick, however — a designer by training — argued that nothing matches what human hands bring to a film: “Nothing still beats human-crafted movies in offering the viewer and the artists behind the making of the film the greatest range and freedom of authentic expression.”

After extensive consultation with the Franciscan friars in Singapore, who assisted with research into the saint’s life, the trio chose a human-led production process, with artists and animators shaping the film from concept to final frame.

Tanaka, who is making his feature directorial debut with “The Francis Chronicles,” added that Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, released in May, helped crystallize the team’s decision.

“Pope Leo XIV’s timely reminder of ensuring the dignity of human labor really struck a chord with us when we finally made the call on whether to use AI,” he said. “We are proud to be making this animated musical in the most human way possible.” For the filmmakers, this decision is not a rejection of technology but one that keeps human judgment and artistry at the center of the creative process.

A medieval saint for the modern world

Friar John-Paul Tan of the Custody of St. Anthony sees the timing as significant. “The last decade or so has been a telling sign about the effects of St. Francis and what his life meant then and to our generation today,” he said, speaking from the Church of St. Mary of the Angels in Singapore.

He pointed to a remarkable convergence of milestones: the first pope in history to take the name Francis and a series of 800th-anniversary milestones running from the Rule of St. Francis in 2023 through his canonization in 2028. “I think all these milestones culminate to something significant that God is trying to tell us at this moment in history.”

Friar Derrick Yap, custos of the Custody of St. Anthony, said he hopes the films will carry that message beyond the Church: “May the eyes of the world be opened to the beauty of creation and come to see it as St. Francis did: Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Brother Fire, and Sister Mother Earth.”

From Singapore to the world

For a small domestic film industry, the ambition is unusual. Singapore-made films represent only a fraction of titles screened locally and face a challenging commercial landscape. A homegrown Catholic animated feature would itself be a rarity. “The Francis Chronicles” aims to go further, telling the story as an international trilogy designed for theatrical and streaming audiences beyond Singapore.

To help finance development of the first film, “Francis and the Voice of Creation” — covering his early years and call from God — the trio launched a worldwide Kickstarter campaign on Sept. 8. The funds raised will go toward research, script writing, character designs, and storyboards before animation begins.

The second and third films are planned to carry the story through the founding and growth of the Franciscan movement and St. Francis’ final years, when he became the first documented saint in history to receive the stigmata.

Aaron Leong is a film and video producer who has been hired by Cantiva Studios for commercial video work on “The Francis Chronicles.”

As the Church celebrates the Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jenny Kraska offers her thoughts on the day's liturgical readings, reflecting on the theme, "The Cross doesn’t keep receipts.”

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Catholic leaders discussed rising benefits and concerns of technology and how faith and ethics apply when using artificial intelligence.

Bringing together leading technological officers from around the globe, Montse Alvarado, president and chief operating officer of EWTN News, spoke with industry professionals about the growing use of AI in a Sept. 9 special, “Beyond Fear: A Catholic Vision for Artificial Intelligence.”

Pope Leo XIV framed the intensifying debate over AI with the May 25 launch of his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas. Tech leaders said AI is rapidly reshaping society and the Church, offering powerful tools for ministry while also requiring firm ethical boundaries, human‑centered leadership, and faith‑guided discernment to ensure the technology strengthens human dignity.

“There’s a good side to that exponential innovation because it helps us get to the most vulnerable people faster,” said Joel Chakra, president of Tim Tebow Foundation and venture capitalist in AI technology companies.

“It can it can really rob us of our true humanity, or it can enhance our lives. And the choice is ours,” said Arthur C. Brooks, American author and academic who wrote the foreword to Magnifica Humanitas.

Brooks said the technology can either diminish or deepen human dignity, depending on how it is used. He added that despite real concerns about job loss and disruption, he remains optimistic because humans are “unbelievably ingenious” and made to solve problems.

“Iʼm not a pessimist. Iʼm an optimist. I do realize that thereʼs displacement. I do realize that thereʼs a lot to be concerned about. But I also know that humans are unbelievably ingenious that the Lord made us to solve problems,” Brooks said.

Vic Gundotra, former senior vice president at Google and a Catholic convert, said: “AI helped in my conversion to becoming Catholic. I was raised as a Jehovahʼs Witness and I had never read the early Church Fathers, but AI showed me what the Catholic Church taught was mirrored in the early Church Fathers.”

While AI shaped his own path to Catholicism, Gundotra also cautioned that the same technology can magnify human failings, noting that “any tool can be used to amplify the worst in human capability” and “augment and worsen the worst human characteristics as well.”

Gundotra warned that AI carries real risks for young people and said parents still need to guide how it’s used, noting that the technology is powerful but comes with clear downsides.

Sara Anderson of Pushpay, a digital‑giving and church‑management platform, said her team uses AI to streamline parish administration so staff can spend more time on ministry. The goal is not to replace human connection but to free priests, volunteers, and parish workers from tedious data entry and outdated systems, she said.

“There’s a moment in our Catholic Church where there’s so many people wanting to to join the Church to learn about the Church and … the tools are outdated,” Anderson said. “Technology is making their lives better.”

Chakra and Anderson are encouraging faith-filled individuals to hold more technological leadership positions as artificial intelligence becomes more apparent in our daily lives.

“I think for too long, we have taken a back seat to some of the highest leadership positions and taken a back seat to innovation, when in reality, our faith and our heritage is driven by some of the smartest people to ever exist in the world,” Chakra said.

“That is one of the things I try to help the parish admins and the office staff learn to be brave. We need them to explore; we need them to meet the moment of technology and faith. We need them to be leaders,” Anderson said.

As AI spreads, speakers said the Church needs more leaders engaged in technology while also setting clear limits to ensure digital tools support, not replace, human ministry.

“Boundaries are needed to help create the best use [of] technology. And the other way is through AI policies, ethics, and framework,” Anderson said.

On Sept. 12, Brazil’s National Shrine of Aparecida is set to unveil the mosaics on the basilicaʼs west façade. The artwork was created by the Aletti Center, a school dedicated to promoting sacred art that was founded in Rome by the former Jesuit priest and artist Father Marko Ivan Rupnik.

The artwork, which bears the unmistakable hallmarks of Rupnik’s style, completes the “Biblical Journey” project, an initiative that covered the shrineʼs four façades with mosaics depicting biblical scenes.

Rupnik faces accusations of spiritual, psychological, and sexual abuse against dozens of nuns — incidents that, in some cases, occurred within the context of his artistic work. He was expelled from the Society of Jesus in June 2023 for disobeying a superiorʼs order not to preach publicly and is currently facing a canonical trial before the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

In contrast to the basilicaʼs decision to retain Rupnikʼs art, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France plans to cover all of Rupnikʼs mosaics on the façade of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary ahead of the visit by Pope Leo XIV, scheduled for Sept. 26–27.

The bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes, Jean-Marc Micas, stated that the measure was taken out of consideration for abuse victims and that the mosaics will remain covered following the popeʼs visit.

Works by Rupnik and the Aletti Center can be found in various religious sites, such as the Redemptoris Mater Chapel in the Vaticanʼs Apostolic Palace as well as the shrines of St. Pio of Pietrelcina in Italy and Fátima in Portugal.

Biblical Journey Project

Work on the Brazil shrineʼs exterior began in 2019. The north façade, inaugurated in 2022, depicts the Exodus and the liberation of the people of Israel; the south façade, completed in 2024, portrays the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ; and the east façade, inaugurated in 2025, presents scenes of creation from the Book of Genesis.

The west façade, set to be inaugurated Sept. 12, is dedicated to the Book of Revelation, the Second Coming of Christ, and the Last Judgment. According to the shrine, the scenes represent “Godʼs victory over evil.”

The most recent façade work began in 2025. It features nearly 4,000 square meters of mosaics designed and executed by 39 artists associated with the Aletti Center. The stones used in the project come from countries such as Brazil, Italy, Greece, and Afghanistan.

Rupnik remains listed as part of the team on the Aletti Center’s website. The institution identifies him as the director of the Spiritual Art Atelier since 1995 and head of the Theology Atelier since 2008.

The project was funded by the “Devotees' Campaign,” consisting of donations from Our Ladyʼs devotees across Brazil. The shrine announced that the unveiling of the façade would take place during a “catechetical celebration,” featuring a special program and a live broadcast by the Rede Aparecida media network.

In 2024, when ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News, asked the National Shrine about the projectʼs continuation following the allegations against Rupnik, the institution did not directly answer the questions but issued a statement noting that the “work on the façades of the Basilica of Our Lady of Aparecida continues under the leadership and execution of the Aletti Center."

The shrine went on to indicate that since 2020, the project has been directed by Italian artist and theologian Maria Campatelli. “Its leadership team comprises 12 women and nine men, alongside dozens of artists of various nationalities who are directly involved in the project,” the shrine added in a statement.

In addition, the shrine noted that the Vicariate of Rome — to which the Aletti Center is accountable — issued “a finding following a canonical visitation, attesting ‘clearly to a healthy community life at the Aletti Center, free from specific issues.’”

ACI Digital contacted the shrine’s press office to request information regarding the inauguration and to inquire about Rupnik’s role in creating the mosaics as well as the criteria that led Aparecida to retain the artwork, whereas Lourdes decided to cover them out of consideration for abuse victims.

The press office stated that coverage would be restricted to the shrine’s official channels and requested that questions be submitted via email. However, no response was received by the time of publication.

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.

Ilva Myriam Hoyos Castañeda has been tapped to lead Colombiaʼs Ministry of Education following the resignation of Vivian Morales for personal reasons.

The announcement was made by President Abelardo de la Espriella, who thanked the outgoing minister and stated that Hoyos is distinguished by “her talent, strength, integrity, and steadfast defense of values.”

In her new role, Hoyos will have to make decisions regarding the measures left by her predecessor, including the review of school textbooks to remove “woke” ideology from schools and a draft decree that would allow private entities — including religious organizations — to support the provision or administration of educational services in areas with limited state presence.

The proposal sparked a debate regarding the role of churches in public education and the secular nature of the state.

“We are interested because religious education, moral education, and ethical aspects have not received due attention in recent years,” Father Edilberto Estupiñán, director of the Bishops' Conference Department of Education, told EWTN News.

However, the appointment of Hoyos has drawn criticism from feminist and leftist circles, including former President Gustavo Petro, due to her past work with former Inspector General Alejandro Ordóñez, Colombiaʼs current ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS) and a staunch opponent of abortion.

The new minister also faces the challenge of improving educational quality, particularly following recent national test results that showed Colombian youth regressing in reading and mathematics, with only slight improvement in science.

Additionally, she will face the challenge of restoring infrastructure damaged by the Aug. 10 earthquake, which affected more than 3,500 educational centers and left nearly 400,000 students without classrooms.

Who is Ilva Hoyos Castañeda?

Hoyos was born in Bogotá on Oct. 19, 1959. A lawyer who also holds a doctorate in law, she previously served as dean of the law school and director of the Institute of Humanities at the University of La Sabana. She has also taught at various higher education institutions in Colombia and abroad.

Between 2009 and 2016, Hoyos served as the delegate inspector general for the defense of the rights of children, adolescents, and the family. She also served as an adviser to the Pontifical Council for the Family, participating as a lay expert in the fifth general conference of the bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean held in 2007 in Aparecida, Brazil. In addition, she served as an auditor at the first Synod on the Family convened by Pope Francis in 2014.

In Colombia, Hoyos chaired the Episcopal Conference’s National Council for the Culture of Care for seven years, participating in the design and implementation of strategies for the prevention of and response to abuse and violence, as well as in the training of diocesan teams and religious communities.

Hoyos is the author of books such as “Religious Freedom in the 1991 Constitution,” “Freedom and Fidelity in University Education,” “On Dignity and Human Rights,” and “The Legal Dimension of the Human Person,” among others.

Stance on family and abortion

More than a decade ago, during the legal debate regarding same-sex unions, Hoyos stated before the Constitutional Court that “marriage and the family, as institutions and fundamental units of society, are central pillars of the legal system.”

On the subject, she noted that “the characteristics of heterosexuality and procreation — which have been heavily criticized here and which define marriage in Colombia both constitutionally and legally — should not be viewed as grounds for suspecting unjust discrimination against the fundamental rights of individuals or couples with a homosexual orientation.”

Hoyos has consistently expressed opposition to the decriminalization of abortion and defended the right to freedom of conscience, noting that it is “expressly recognized in Article 18 of the Constitution.”

Throughout her career, both academically and professionally, she has been closely linked to the defense of the rights of children and the family as a central part of society.

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.

A surrogate mother filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to ensure a newborn baby will have access to lifesaving treatment for a heart condition amid her concerns that the biological parents may not continue treatment.

McKenna West, an Alaska nurse and surrogate mother, gave birth to the baby boy on Aug. 12. She is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block a court order that recognized the boy’s biological parents as having full custody and being the authority in medical decisions.

The unborn child was diagnosed with a treatable heart defect at about 20 weeks into pregnancy. His biological parents demanded West abort the child because of the defect and threatened her with financial penalties if she did not, according to the petition filed by West’s lawyers at Alliance Defending Freedom.

West refused and fled to Texas because the state’s pro-life laws prohibit most abortions. The boy is receiving lifesaving medical treatment at this time due to a court order in Texas. However, the petition states the biological parents “refused to commit to authorizing any life-saving care” for as long as needed to treat the condition.

“Since [West] is now completely excluded from the life of the medically fragile infant she brought into the world, much less from the ability to make critical health decisions that protect him, time is of the essence,” the petition states.

The petition warns that without immediate Supreme Court action, “the child could be removed from the Texas hospital and taken to California for hospice — despite his treatable condition — around September 17, if not sooner.”

“Relief is all the more warranted here, given that the stakes involve the child’s life,” the petition adds.

Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia, apostolic nuncio to the United States, discussed the need for a “moral voice” in artificial intelligence (AI) development during a panel discussion hosted by Georgetown University on Sept. 9.

The panel, titled “AI, Catholic Social Teaching, and Pope Leoʼs Invitation to Dialogue with the World,” examined Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas and its call for a shared human effort to develop technology that serves the common good rather than harms it.

Speakers noted that the Holy Father’s encyclical stopped short of prescribing specific policy ideas for addressing the moral and ethical concerns, but the nuncio said “there is the perception that we need a moral voice” on the subject.

“A moral voice is what?” he said. “Not everything which is possible to be done should be done. Not everything that technology offers should be taken. This is a moral choice.”

Caccia stressed that decisions affecting human lives should not be handed over to AI, citing distinctions between AI algorithms and the human conscience, as the Holy Father discussed in Magnifica Humanitas.

Leo drew a distinction between artificial intelligence and human intelligence in the encyclical, focusing on how each approaches moral questions. The pope wrote that he rejected ideas of “artificial moral agents” and the notion that a machine can “distinguish between right and wrong with greater consistency than a human being.”

“Moral judgment cannot be reduced to calculation, for it involves conscience, personal responsibility and the recognition of the other as a person,” Leo wrote. “Therefore, it is not permissible to entrust lethal or otherwise irreversible decisions to artificial systems.”

Caccia said during the panel discussion that, as a society, “we have to keep the value of the human relationship.”

“The problem is that [if] life and death is decided by a machine, not by the human being, who is accountable?” he said. “So these are very important, important questions. But I am confident, as I said, that together we can face this situation and find a way.”

The nuncio said he has similar concerns about the use of AI in other types of decision-making that impacts humans.

“I hear very troubling accounts of algorithms that can block access to healthcare, employment, and security on the basis of data tainted by prejudice and injustice,” he said. “And Iʼve heard the silence of those who have no voice. When decisions are made, decisions [are] likely to generate new forms of exclusion and suffering.”

Quoting the encyclical, Caccia affirmed the pope’s call that AI “needs to be disarmed.”

“The word is strong, I know, but deliberately chosen because this moment needs words capable of attracting attention, awakening consciences, and indicating paths forward for humanity,” he said. “This is more or less a framework in which we can go on with the conversation.”

Speaking to EWTN News after the panel, Caccia said the pope’s call to address moral concerns of AI is not just a call to Church leadership but to every Catholic.

“There is, of course, the voice of the bishops,” he said. “But there is also the voice of Catholic people who are in the business or are engineers who are in the economy, who are in the field. So itʼs not just for those who have pastoral responsibility, but for the bigger community.”

Pope’s impact on AI discussion

Several panelists discussed the importance of Magnifica Humanitas in providing a type of moral guidance on AI development that focuses on the common good of humanity.

Jasmine Sun, a journalist who writes about AI and Silicon Valley, said she “was actually surprised by how much folks I knew in Silicon Valley, in the AI industry did pay attention to Magnifica Humanitas.”

“It was a lot more engagement, I think, than I expected,” she said. “And once again, I think itʼs because there is this sense that the profit motive that has driven Silicon Valley, that continues to drive Silicon Valley, is not enough.”

Molly Kinder, CEO of the Breakwater Initiative, said the Church provides “wisdom and moral leadership” and believes its broad focus on humanity is why people listened.

“Iʼm struck that in the opening pages of the Bible, there is a discussion of Adam and Eve being put on Earth to till the land as our fundamental reason for existing,” she said. “And it feels to me sometimes when Iʼm in Silicon Valley … they almost talk about almost a new Garden of Eden that AI is going to bring about, that maybe our purpose is not to work, or maybe itʼs leisure or a check and a hobby.”

Caccia too said he was “positively surprised” by the reaction to the encyclical, saying “it seems that there was a need to do something about this.”

“It didnʼt pretend to have the answers,” he said, “but he put questions, common questions that we have to tackle together to decide where we want to go.”

Pope Leo XIV granted a Guadalupan jubilee year to mark the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the new Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City and the transfer of the image of the Virgin to the current shrine on Oct. 12, 1976.

Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, primate archbishop of Mexico, announced that the grant was issued by the pontiff through the Apostolic Penitentiary.

The jubilee year will begin on Oct. 12, 2026, and end on Oct. 12, 2027. Aguiar indicated that this celebration will also coincide with the 131st anniversary of the pontifical coronation of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The cardinal invited the faithful to attend the Mass officially marking the start of this “time of jubilee grace,” which will take place on Oct. 12 at noon at the Basilica of Guadalupe.

Plenary indulgence during the jubilee year

The archbishop explained that the plenary indulgence will be granted to the faithful who visit “with devotion and a contrite spirit the aacred house of St. Mary of Guadalupe and participate in a liturgical act or spend time in prayer at the basilica.”

To receive it, they must also fulfill the usual conditions established by the Church: sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion, recitation of the Creed, and prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father.

The primate archbishop of Mexico encouraged Catholics to use this period as an opportunity for “spiritual renewal and conversion” under the protection of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

“May St. Mary of Guadalupe, mother of the true God through whom we live, help us to make the most of this jubilee and accompany us on this journey of spiritual renewal and conversion,” he said.

The ‘new basilica’

According to the Nican Mopohua account recording the apparitions of St. Mary of Guadalupe, the Virgin chose St. Juan Diego to convey a request to the first bishop of Mexico, Fray Juan de Zumárraga: the construction of a church “on the plain of Tepeyac.”

Following the miraculous appearance on Juan Diego’s tilma (cloak), de Zumárraga took the image to his private oratory, but a few days later, he placed it out for the veneration of the Mexican people.

By 1695, a simple hermitage had been established; its structure can still be seen today beside the altar of the Old Parish Church of the Indians. The tilma remained there until 1709, when it was moved to what is now called the Expiatory Temple of Christ the King — also known as the Old Basilica of Guadalupe.

By the 20th century — as Father Guillermo Schulenburg Prado, the former abbot of the Basilica of Guadalupe who championed the construction of the new church, explains in his memoirs — the “inadequacy of the old temple to meet liturgical, pastoral, and administrative needs” was evident.

Construction of the new basilica began in 1974, and on Oct. 12, 1976, the image of the Virgin was transferred to its new home.

This is how the Guadalupan jubilee year will begin

Celebrations will commence on Sunday, Oct. 11. Morning prayer (Lauds) and Mass will be celebrated at 8:30 a.m. local time, while Aguiar will celebrate the Sunday Mass at noon. Vespers for the dedication of the new basilica of Guadalupe will take place at 5 p.m.

On Monday, Oct. 12 — the day the jubilee begins — activities will start at 8:30 a.m. with morning prayer and the celebration of Mass.

At 11 a.m., a commemorative video regarding the transfer of the image of St. Mary of Guadalupe to the New Basilica and its dedication will be shown.

At noon, Aguiar will celebrate the traditional Mass of the roses and the opening of the Holy Door, formally marking the beginning of the Guadalupan jubilee year.

The day’s events will continue at 5 p.m. with the archdiocesan rosary; at 6 p.m., a commemorative concert marking the 50th anniversary of the New Basilica will take place; and at 7 p.m., the rosary of Guadalupan love will be held.

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.

British members of Parliament on Sept. 11 voted against a bill to legalize assisted suicide in England and Wales, bringing a two-year debate in Parliament on the issue to an end for now.

The bill, originally sponsored by Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Kim Leadbeater, proposed to legalize assisted suicide in England and Wales for people with a prognosis of six months or less to live.

Previously, the House of Commons passed the bill in 2024. Members again passed the bill in June 2025, and the House of Lords did not complete action on it before the session ended in April. Lauren Edwards of the Labour Party then reintroduced the bill in June.

“Throughout this debate, we have argued that our response to those facing serious illness, disability or the challenges of old age should be rooted in solidarity, care and respect,” Archbishop John Sherrington of Liverpool said in a statement after the bill’s 286-270 defeat on Sept. 11.

Ahead of the vote, Archbishop Richard Moth, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, called on the faithful to write to lawmakers to petition against the bill, calling it “wrong in principle.”

“It is also deeply flawed and, if passed, could lead to vulnerable people feeling pressured into ending their lives,” he said.

He detailed that the bill “has a serious lack of protection for health and social care staff and risks putting many wonderful hospices and care homes in the position of no longer being able to operate.”

Following the vote, Sherrington, the lead bishop for life issues for the bishops’ conference, thanked “those who wrote to their MPs to stop the bill’s progression and who assisted the campaign against the bill in other ways.”

Call for ‘excellent’ end-of-life care

Sherrington highlighted his gratitude for the work of disability rights groups and legal and healthcare professionals for raising a voice to uphold “the dignity and sanctity of every life.”

“The true measure of a compassionate society is its willingness to support people through difficult circumstances rather than encouraging them to end their lives,” he said.

“Every day, families, friends, carers and healthcare professionals demonstrate extraordinary generosity in accompanying and supporting those who are suffering. Their dedication reminds us of the value of human relationships and of our shared responsibility to care for one another, especially at life’s most vulnerable moments,” he said.

The archbishop noted that “the most effective way to address suffering at the end of life is through greater access to excellent palliative and end-of-life care.”

“Ensuring such care is available to all who need it can help people experience comfort, dignity and support in their final days,” he said.

“May all the sick and frail find comfort in the support of their loved ones, and the love of God, which transcends all suffering. I ask the Catholic community to continue to pray for our legislators, that they will ensure that our laws always uphold the dignity of human life,” he said.

The Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts, has received allegations against Monsignor Roger J. Landry, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States. While there are no allegations involving minors, they include violations of the Codes of Conduct for Priests for both the Diocese of Fall River and Archdiocese of New York.

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Monsignor Roger Landry, director of the Pontifical Mission Societies USA and a longtime contributor to Church commentary and analysis at EWTN Global Catholic Network, said on Sept. 11 that he was taking a “temporary leave of absence” amid unspecified allegations from “multiple individuals.”

There were “no allegations involving minors,” the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts, said on Sept. 11, while Landry in a statement further said there were “no allegations of sexual activity whatsoever.”

The Fall River Diocese where Landry serves as a priest said in its statement that it had received allegations that included violations of priestly codes of conduct for both the Fall River Diocese and the Archdiocese of New York, the latter in which Landry currently serves.

Diocesan leaders determined “that sufficient evidence exists to restrict [Landry] from the public exercise of priestly ministry, pending the resolution of this matter,” a decision it said was in line with its own policy.

The statement said Landry “is entitled to the presumption of innocence while the investigation continues.”

In his own statement also released on Sept. 11, Landry said he himself opted for a voluntary leave of absence from the pontifical mission directorship, a departure he described as “temporary.”

The priest said he had been told by the Fall River Diocese that the accusations “involve alleged violations of prudence, pastoral boundaries, and diocesan codes of conduct with adults.”

“There are no allegations of sexual activity whatsoever or of misconduct of any kind with a minor,” he said. “I maintain my innocence of any canonical violation or crime and will continue to defend my reputation to the best of my ability under the law of the Church.”

“Those who have raised concerns deserve to be heard,” he continued. “I am grateful that canon law respects my natural human right to be presumed innocent and the right to protect the good reputation I have enjoyed throughout the many years the Lord has given me the privilege to serve Him and His holy people.”

He asked for prayers “for me and all those concerned,” including Fall River Bishop Edgar Moreira da Cunha, SDV, as well as those involved with the investigation and “those who have brought these accusations.”

In a separate statement on Sept. 11, the Pontifical Mission Societies USA said its chief operating officer Douglas Culp would serve as interim national director following Landry’s leave of absence.

Landry, who was ordained to the priesthood by then-Fall River Bishop Seán Patrick OʼMalley in 1999, has served a variety of prominent roles in the U.S. Church.

He was named by the Vatican as the national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies USA in September 2024. That position came after he had served a leadership role in that year’s National Eucharistic Pilgrimage as a chaplain along the pilgrimage’s Seton Route.

At the time of that appointment he was also serving as chaplain at Columbia University in New York, having been appointed there by Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

He had previously served at the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and was named a Missionary of Mercy by Pope Francis in 2016. He was named a monsignor by Pope Francis in 2024.

He has been a contributor to EWTN for many years, writing columns regularly for the National Catholic Register and frequently appearing as a guest on programs such as “Conversations with Consequences.”

Landry has also served as an expert commentator for the network’s television coverage, including during the 2025 conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.

In a statement on Sept. 11, Michael Warsaw, chairman of the board and CEO of EWTN Global Catholic Network, said EWTN was “deeply grateful for Monsignor Roger Landry’s 27 years of faithful priestly ministry and service to the universal Church.”

“We are heartbroken by this painful situation involving Monsignor Landry, a longtime friend and valued collaborator who has contributed greatly to the Network’s mission of evangelization,” Warsaw said. “EWTN takes concerns of this nature seriously and is following its established internal protocols while awaiting the outcome of the diocesan investigation.”

“It is essential that those who have raised concerns be treated with dignity, respect, and pastoral care, and that Monsignor Landry be afforded fairness, a timely process, and the presumption of innocence,” Warsaw continued, adding that the network holds “everyone involved in our prayers, asking that this matter be resolved in truth and charity, without unnecessary delay, and trusting that Monsignor Landry may soon return to active priestly ministry in service to the Church.”

Canonical process involves investigation, diocesan review

Monsignor William King, a professor of canon law at The Catholic University of America, told EWTN News on Sept. 11 that typically in such situations a diocese will respond first by launching a preliminary investigation.

The diocesan bishop would appoint an investigator, which may or may not be a priest. “The investigator has pretty broad powers to ask questions and seek evidence, and then when that’s finished, he would bring it back to the bishop and the bishop would decide if there’s sufficient evidence to move on to the next step,” King said.

The bishop would then likely consult with canon law experts. After the preliminary process is complete, King said, a bishop will determine whether or not to proceed with a penal process, which could involve a tribunal or else an administrative process.

Landry in his statement on Sept. 11 said he was told the process “might take up to several months.”

“I am cooperating fully with the investigation, with trust that a fair investigation will establish the truth that the Lord promises will set us free,” he said.

This story was updated on Sept. 11 at 2:20 p.m. ET with information from a statement by the Pontifical Mission Societies USA.