Advocates warn New Jersey law could criminalize prayer outside abortion clinics
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Aug. 20 signed a bill that criminalizes “interference” with “reproductive” or “gender-affirming” care, a law that opponents say has serious implications for freedom of speech.
The law criminalizes inflicting “emotional harm” against those seeking or providing “reproductive health care services.” It also bans filming and sharing videos within 100 feet of an abortion clinic.
Under the new law, an officer can “order the immediate dispersal of a gathering that substantially impedes access to or departure from an entrance or driveway to a reproductive or gender-affirming health care facility during the business hours of the facility.”
The measure is a type of “bubble” law, which creates zones around abortion clinics where free speech is limited in “buffer zones.”
Violations of the law could be punished by up to 18 months’ imprisonment and/or a $10,000 fine.
New Jersey Right to Life Executive Director Marie Tasy criticized the law, describing its provisions as “inherently subjective” and the law itself as “a serious danger to free speech.”
“Peaceful sidewalk counseling, prayer, holding signs, or simply offering help and alternatives outside a facility can easily be labeled ‘intimidation’ by someone who claims to feel threatened, leaving pro-life advocates open to criminal charges that are difficult to disprove and chilling constitutionally protected expression,” Tasy said.
Catholic diocese leads campaign against abortion amendment referendum
The Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, is leading a campaign to oppose an amendment referendum that could create a right to abortion in the state constitution as well as another measure that would remove a same-sex marriage ban in the state.
The campaign Catholics Vote No is opposing the ballot measure titled the “Virginia Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment” as well as the “Virginia Remove Constitutional Same-Sex Marriage Ban Amendment.”
Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge describes the measures as “very serious legal threats to human life and marriage” in a video statement.
“If written into Virginia’s Constitution, these unjust amendments would be extraordinarily difficult to reverse,” the campaign website states. The abortion amendment would “effectively” make Virginia “a sanctuary for abortion and commercial abortion businesses,” it states.
“Basic health and safety standards that protect women from harm would be eliminated, parents would be pushed out of life-altering decisions involving their family and children, and unregulated abortions would be possible, performed even on healthy babies up to the moment of birth for any reason with no limits,” the campaign says.
Live Action says it will keep referring to abortion as ‘killing’
The pro-life group Live Action has said it will not stop calling abortion “killing” after a pro-abortion group threatened the organization with legal action.
Live Action made the declaration in response to a cease-and-desist letter sent by the abortion-supporting legal group Amplify Legal. The dispute is over claims made by Live Action in multiple articles about abortion cases where the unborn baby had a serious life-threatening diagnosis.
“Each of our clients has described the decision to end their wanted pregnancy as the most compassionate choice for their own health, future fertility, and family’s wellbeing,” the letter read, arguing that Live Action News “repeatedly [wrote] about our clients intentionally ‘killing’ their babies.”
In its response Live Action said it would not follow the request to “delete years of reporting and commentary on the most contested moral and political question in American public life.”
“We are fighting for a culture and legal system that respects every human life and refuses to treat the sick, disabled, or unborn as disposable,” said Live Action Founder and President Lila Rose in a statement. “Legal threats against our First Amendment right to speak will not change that mission.”
Catholic dad Mark Houck continues pro-life work after federal legal battle
Catholic father Mark Houck is joining CatholicVote’s development team as a gift officer, the group announced this week.
Houck and his family are adjusting to life after their home in rural eastern Pennsylvania was raided by 20 armed federal agents in the early hours of Sept. 23, 2022. Houck was arrested in front of his family and interrogated for six hours. The incident led to nearly four years of legal battles, which concluded with the family earning a seven-figure settlement for damages.
“I am still very much unpacking spiritually what happened to us — very profound and certainly God is revealing his ultimate plan for us through it all, CatholicVote being the latest direction he has taken us,” Houck told EWTN News.
“We are so happy to be with an organization that shares our passion for our faith, the pro-life cause, and, of course, advocacy in the public square.”
Houck’s role in the organization "will extend beyond that [of a gift officer],” CatholicVote spokeswoman Laurie Olsen told EWTN News. He will “have a voice in all our pro-life efforts,” she said.
Houck, meanwhile, told EWTN News: “We measure success by one soul at a time.”
“Save a soul, you save your own soul. It is that one soul that gets me going and up early to head into Philadelphia and serve the common good with sidewalk advocacy,” he said.
Federal court strikes down Indiana abortion parental-consent law
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit ruled on Aug. 18 against an Indiana law that prevents doctors from providing abortion assistance to minors without parental consent.
The 54-page ruling struck down a law that required parental consent to aid or assist a minor in obtaining an abortion. The ruling said that the parental-consent law violated the First Amendment.
Catholic organization gathers signatures to call on world leaders to protect religious freedom
The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has launched a petition campaign calling on the United Nations and the Council of Europe to protect religious freedom in the face of the religious persecution occurring in 62 countries.
On its website, the Catholic organization states that “no one should have to choose between their faith and their life.” However, “5.4 billion people, almost two-thirds of humanity, live in countries where individuals and communities continue to face harassment, violence, and even death because of their beliefs.”
ACN is therefore inviting people to sign the petition addressed to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres; U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk; the U.N. General Assembly; European Council President António Costa; as well as democratic governments, ambassadors, and diplomatic representatives.
The goal is to call upon international leaders to permanently protect the fundamental right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, “as enshrined in Article 18 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
ACN notes that its “Religious Freedom in the World Report 2025” warns that “some 5.4 billion people live in 62 countries where persecution, oppression, or discrimination by both state and non-state actors has intensified.”
The pontifical foundation states that “this grave human rights crisis can no longer be ignored” and therefore urges democratic governments and international bodies to “publicly condemn all forms of religious persecution.”
Likewise, ACN calls for “religious freedom to be a priority in foreign policy and diplomatic relations,” for “enforcing appropriate measures against regimes that repeatedly violate this fundamental right,” and for concrete measures to be adopted “to prevent violations, ensure the effective protection of this right, and promote the socioeconomic development of religious minorities.”
The letter also calls for the protection of “at-risk religious communities to be granted protection, especially in countries suffering from sectarian violence or religious extremism. This is aimed at preventing forced migration, thereby enabling communities to stay in their ancestral homes and lands.”
Finally, the letter requests that “individuals and groups suffering religious persecution receive the emergency aid and legal aid they need.”
Those wishing to sign the petition can visit this link.
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.
Surrogate mother faces $100,000 lawsuit from biological parents for refusing to abort baby
A California couple is suing their surrogate mother for refusing to abort the child she was carrying for them, alleging that she violated her contract by not killing the baby prior to his birth.
Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed have filed suit against McKenna West seeking more than $100,000 in damages, alleging she breached their surrogacy agreement, which included a clause allowing them to request abortion of the baby if it were found to have fetal abnormalities.
West, a cardiac nurse from Alaska, gave birth on Aug. 12 in Dallas to a baby boy diagnosed prenatally with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a serious but treatable heart condition. West called the child Gabriel; the contracting couple, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed of California, call him Rumi.
West had fled to Texas seeking the state’s protection for the baby after his birth. In an Aug. 20 op-ed in the New York Post, she said she was allowed only about 60 seconds with the newborn before the contracting couple took physical custody. She is currently barred from contact with the child under existing orders.
A hearing on parentage and related issues is scheduled for Aug. 25 in Dallas County.
West, a single mother, refused the request for an abortion following the diagnosis of the condition in April. The couple subsequently stopped paying for pregnancy-related expenses.
According to the pro-life group Live Action, West was willing to give birth in California, where the contracting couple reside, if they would commit to treating the baby’s heart condition, though they reportedly refused.
West said she chose Dallas Children’s Hospital in Texas due to its 100% success rate for the procedure the newborn needed.
“As a cardiac nurse, I knew this little one had a great shot at survival if given the opportunity to receive the necessary treatment,” she said.
The baby has undergone his first surgery for the heart condition and is receiving care in Texas under a court order secured by Attorney General Ken Paxton that required lifesaving treatment and barred his removal from the state.
Lee Budner, Gilkar and Ahmed’s attorney, said in a recent statement to TMZ that the couple is “devastated” that the baby’s birth and health issues have allegedly been “transformed into political theater” by West and Paxton.
In her op-ed, meanwhile, West denied claims that her actions were “political theater,” writing: “No woman should be forced to kill the baby inside her. Most importantly, every child deserves a chance to live.”
West stated she has given up any claims to the baby and is only requesting that the contracting couple commit to provide “the lifesaving treatment he needs. That is all it would take to end this.”
However, she wrote that the couple is “actively working to get the court order that required the baby’s continued treatment thrown out.”
Budner did not respond to EWTN News’ requests for comment, but TMZ reported that he said the couple is “following the advice of the baby’s medical team, just as any loving parent would,” adding that his clients, who are suing West for not aborting the child, “continue, as they always have, to place their baby’s health and well-being first.”
Irene Alexander, an associate professor of moral theology at the University of Dallas, told EWTN News that aborting a child with a treatable health condition is “almost like an Amazon mentality. If I don’t get exactly what I ordered, I want to send it back.”
Alexander described the practice of surrogacy, which the Catholic Church teaches is gravely immoral, as a “dissociation of all the aspects of human sexuality: love, parenthood, and the good of the child are all spliced into parts” that lead “the children to suffer because those things are inseparably connected.”
“Once you violate the order of reality that was intended to be one whole; once youʼve committed so many levels of injustice,” she said, “you’re left with the mess that does injustice to the child and to the unity of marriage.”
Christina Bennett, a news correspondent for Live Action, told “EWTN News Nightly” reporter Eric Rosales on Aug. 20: “Surrogacy exploits both mother and child. Women are not just wombs to be rented, and children are not just property to be sold with contracts to be signed.”
“Women deserve human dignity, children deserve human dignity, and surrogacy violates that, and it should be banned across the entire nation, as other countries have done,” she said.
[The dispute] “is a textbook example of what is wrong with surrogacy.
Joe ZalotEthicist, National Catholic Bioethics Center
Joe Zalot, an ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, told EWTN News that the case demonstrates “how commercial surrogacy denigrates the surrogate, seeking to reduce her to subservient role vis-a-vis the genetic ‘parents,’ as well as how surrogacy contracts denigrate the dignity of the preborn child through the demand that it be killed if a prenatal anomaly is diagnosed.”
The dispute “is a textbook example of what is wrong with surrogacy,” Zalot continued. The controversial practice, according to Church teaching, “is never permitted because it severs the ‘inseparable connection’ between procreation and union, it violates the child’s right to be gestated by, and born of, its biological mother, and it violates the exclusivity of marriage as spouses have a right to become parents only through each other.”
Kimberly Bird, a spokeswoman for Live Action, told Rosales that the “very dark reality around … these abortion clauses that are put in [surrogacy] contracts are absolutely atrocious … no one has a right to tell a woman” she must kill “the baby sheʼs carrying.”
“And absolutely surrogacy should be banned,” Bird continued. ”Other countries have done it or have at least put severe restrictions on it.”
Colombia lawmakers proposed a bill outlawing surrogacy this week, while the practice is illegal in dozens of other countries around the world.
Baptisms in Ireland drop by nearly 30% in past decade, survey finds
The Iona Institute has found the number of Catholic baptisms in Ireland declined by 29.6% from 2015 to 2025.
According to an Aug. 18 press release, the “two big drivers of the decline are falling births and rising secularism,” with birth rates accounting for about 60% of the decline. “In a way the figures are not a surprise given the rapidly falling number of births and growing secularization. Given that births have fallen by almost a fifth in the last ten years, and more people are ticking the ‘No Religion’ box in the Census, we could expect nothing but a big drop in baptism figures,” Tom Finegan, chairman of The Iona Institute, said in the release.
“It remains to be seen whether cultural Catholicism will remain a force in Irish life. It’s worth noting that in Britain in 2023, according to the Vatican yearbook, over 42,000 Catholic children were baptized, even though levels of Mass-attendance in Britain are low.”
German bishop resigns, citing ‘recurrent depressive disorder’
Bishop Karl-Heinz Wiesemann of the German Diocese of Speyer resigned early at age 66 over ongoing mental health struggles he developed in the wake of the sexual abuse crisis in his diocese.
“I have been a Christian and a bishop for you with all my heart and great inner joy,” Wiesemann explained in a letter to the faithful on Aug. 19, reported CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News. “Nevertheless, the burden of extensive responsibility has left serious traces in me physically, as well as mentally.”
Wiesemann said in the letter that he had to go to a psychosomatic clinic due to a “recurrent depressive disorder” and that the “processing of sexual abuse in our diocese” was the “immediate trigger.” Pope Leo XIV has accepted his resignation.
Asian churches rally together after earthquake in Indonesia
The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) is calling on local churches to provide support for humanitarian relief efforts after a magnitude-7.7 earthquake in Indonesia, Licas News reported Aug. 18.
“We call on CCA member churches, national councils, and ecumenical partners to uphold the affected communities in prayer and to accompany them with timely relief, compassionate presence, and support for recovery and rebuilding. As the immediate emergency response continues, let us stand alongside the people and churches of Indonesia in solidarity,” Christian Conference of Asia General Secretary Rev. Jung Eun Grace Moon said. The earthquake is estimated to have killed at least 53 people, according to the report.
New push to build New Zealand cathedral yields over $1 million
After a new call to Catholics in Christchurch, New Zealand, over $1 million was raised in just three weeks for the building of a new cathedral, with the bishop himself pledging $16,000 over five years.
According to The Press, priests within the Diocese of Christchurch have pledged $50 a week, totaling $400,000, which was matched by an out-of-country donor.
“We’ve got to lead the way because people look to us to show that
we’re committed,” Bishop Michael Gielen, who leads the diocese, said.
The project reportedly already has nearly $65 million from “insurance proceeds, assetsales, financial gifts, pledges and regular donations.” Once the total reaches $72 million the diocese will be able to start construction, and Gielen said he hopes that will happen by the end of 2027.
There are more than 60,000 Catholics in the Christchurch Diocese, though only about 11,000 are believed to attend Mass regularly.
Finnish parliamentarian blocked from entering UK
Finnish parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen has been barred from entering the United Kingdom for a religious freedom conference where she was scheduled to give a talk about free speech.
Räsänen’s Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) has been revoked, according to an Aug. 18 press release from her legal counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International. She will now speak at the event virtually.
“It is shocking that the U.K. has blocked me, a democratically elected politician in an allied European state, from entering the country,” Räsänen said. “Even though this unjust conviction is currently on appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, the U.K. has likely refused me travel authorization on this basis. In doing so, the U.K. is punishing me for exercising my fundamental human rights.”
Chaldean sisters open jubilee year honoring martyred sister
The Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus have opened a jubilee year marking the approaching 25th anniversary of the martyrdom of Servant of God Sister Cecilia Moshi Hanna, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Aug. 19.
Chaldean Patriarch Paul III Nona celebrated the opening Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral in Baghdad. Mother Samar Kamil, the congregation’s superior general, said the year will include devotional programs, spiritual retreats, and opportunities for prayer and reflection. The congregation’s convents will welcome groups of faithful, with particular attention given to the shrine at the Convent of Charity in Baghdad, where Sister Cecilia was killed. The observance, she explained, is intended not only to honor the martyred sister but also to help Christians consider how they are called to bear witness to their faith in daily life.
Sister Cecilia was murdered on Aug. 16, 2002, at the age of 71. The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints recognized her as a servant of God in 2018, formally beginning an important stage in her cause for canonization.
Italian parish mourns death of priest by suicide
Members of San Carlo Borromeo Parish in Trento, Italy, gathered for the funeral of parish priest Father Don Lino Zatelli on Aug. 15.
The service, presided over by Archbishop Lauro Tisi, came after Zatelli was found dead on Aug. 12 by the parish sacristan after he did not appear at the parish to celebrate Mass that morning, according to an Aug. 18 Tribune Chrétienne report. Zatelli had reportedly discovered in the past few weeks that he was to be reassigned to another parish as a part of a pastoral reorganization.
"All this good that he has sown with his humanity, his gestures and his word is a reason for thanks to God for everything that Don Lino has given us,” Tisi said in his homily, according to the diocese.
Nigerian priest calls for prayers as 2 killed, 1 abducted in bandit attack
A Catholic priest in Nigeria has appealed for prayers following a bandit attack that left two people dead and another abducted in the Catholic Diocese of Zaria, ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, reported Aug. 18.
In a statement shared on Aug. 18, Father Samuel Ameh shared news of the deadly attack, calling for prayers for those who lost their lives, the abducted community elder, and families affected by the tragedy.
“We ask for prayers for the souls of the departed, for the safe return of the kidnapped, and for strength for all the families affected by this tragic incident,” Ameh said, noting the bandits abducted a respected community elder, killed his son on the spot, and confirmed that another person who was injured during the attack later died while receiving medical treatment.
Marian festival brings Syrians together in Armenian town
The “Green Kessab” festival concluded in Syria’s Latakia countryside with religious ceremonies, music, food, and traditions honoring the Virgin Mary, ACI MENA reported Aug. 17.
Organized by the Armenian Apostolic Church in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and the Kessab municipal council, the two-day celebration drew residents and visitors from different religious and cultural backgrounds.
Kessab’s Armenian presence stretches back centuries, according to local writer Karo Manjikian. For the Aug. 15 feast, farmers offer the first clusters of their grape harvest to the church, which blesses and distributes them among the people. Families also donate sheep whose meat is slowly cooked overnight with crushed wheat to prepare harissa, a traditional dish shared freely after Mass the following morning. Muslims as well as Christians take part in receiving the blessed grapes and meal.
War and emigration have reduced Kessab’s resident Christian population to about 1,000, although the number rises considerably during the summer when expatriates and other visitors return.
National Youth Day in Angola ends with call to young people to reject violence
The president of the Bishops' Conference of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe has called on young people to reject violence, hatred, and intolerance, urging the promotion of dialogue, respect for differences, and fraternity, ACI Africa reported Aug. 18.
“Only mutual love and respect build a strong nation,” Archbishop José Manuel Imbamba said in his homily on Aug. 16 during the closing Mass of the fourth National Youth Day at Our Lady of Fatima Parish of the Luanda Archdiocese.
“There should be no intolerance that excludes and rejects. There should be no fanaticism that blinds and destroys. There should also be no violence that frightens and dehumanizes,” he said.
More than 4,000 young people from the dioceses of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe participated in the four-day gathering, held from Aug. 13 to 16 under the theme “Young People, Take Courage. I Have Overcome the World.”
Massachusetts high court rules against saints statues
Two statues of Catholic saints will remain off of a Massachusetts city’s new public safety building for the foreseeable future now that the state’s highest court has upheld a lower court order prohibiting them from being erected.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled Thursday that the $850,000, 10-foot-tall bronze statues of St. Michael and St. Florian are so closely allied with Catholicism that putting them on a public building would amount to “government preferential treatment of a particular religion,” thus violating the state constitution.
“The likelihood that these statues of religious figures closely associated with the Catholic faith could be viewed by the public as endorsement of a particular religion, and thus subordination of others, is enhanced by the fact that the statues are not part of a larger collection of statues and monuments that includes nonreligious ones, or statues of figures of particular importance to other religions,” the state’s highest court said in a 34-page decision.
The unanimous court upheld a preliminary injunction on behalf of a dozen residents of the city of Quincy who object to the statues, which are currently in storage in a town south of Boston.
City officials have argued that the statues have secular purposes because the city is attempting to honor police officers, whose patron saint is St. Michael the Archangel, and firefighters, whose patron saint is the early Roman martyr St. Florian. Lawyers for the city have also argued that while both figures are Catholic saints, they are also honored by other religious traditions.
Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts, which brought the initial lawsuit, praised the decision of the state’s highest court.
“Here in Massachusetts, our state constitution is clear: The government must remain neutral in matters of religion and must not elevate one faith above others. With today’s landmark ruling, the Supreme Judicial Court affirms those principles, which are the essential foundation of a pluralistic society where people of all faiths and no faith can flourish,” Rossman said in a written statement.
Rachel Laser, president and chief executive officer of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, called the decision “a win for religious freedom and church-state separation.”
“Police and fire services are for all Quincy residents, regardless of their religious belief. By trying to install large religious statues in front of the government building dedicated to public safety, [Quincy] Mayor [Thomas] Koch and the city are violating the constitutional promise of church-state separation and sending a message to all who rely on city services that one faith is favored over all others,” Laser said in a written statement.
The decision sends the case back to a state superior court, where a judge has already ruled that the plaintiffs have a high likelihood of succeeding. But it also sets up a potential appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court — as the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, reported in April — if the city’s mayor decides to go that route.
“This ruling is disappointing but is only preliminary,” said Joe Davis, senior counsel at Becket law group and lead attorney for the city.
“Quincy chose these statues to honor the courage and sacrifice of its firefighters and police. The City should not have to hide public art simply because some people may think of religion when they see it,” Davis said in a written statement. “As the Court noted today, this is not the final word for these statues, and we will continue defending Quincy’s right to honor its heroes.”
Koch, who chose the statues and authorized them quietly before a local newspaper reported their existence, also implied that the city will continue its legal fight to erect the statues.
“Quincy’s firefighters and police put their lives on the line for this city every day, and these statues were chosen to honor their bravery, service, and sacrifice,” Koch said in a written statement. “This decision is disappointing, but it is preliminary, and we will continue to fight for the ability to commemorate our first responders as the law permits.”
This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
Imam’s daughter in Guinea-Bissau makes profession as Catholic religious sister
A daughter of a Bissau-Guinean imam has made her first profession as a Catholic religious sister, describing the milestone as a response to God’s call and a moment of “joy, emotion, and profound gratitude.”
Aicha Settimia Canté, 27, made her temporary profession on Aug. 15, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the Congregation of the Sisters of the Divine Spirit (CDS).
The celebration took place in the Diocese of Bissau and was presided over by the bishop emeritus of Bissau, José Câmnate Na Bissign.
“Above all, I want to give thanks to God for calling me, choosing me, and sustaining me until this moment,” Canté said in her thanksgiving speech, adding that her heart “overflows with joy, emotion, and profound gratitude.”
Canté’s religious vocation has particular significance because she comes from a Muslim family. She is the daughter of an imam and originally from Safim. She was baptized at Our Lady of Grace Farim Parish of the Bissau Diocese and received confirmation at St. Anne Mansoa Parish before embarking on her journey to consecrated life.
Her profession highlights the coexistence of different religious traditions in Guinea-Bissau.
‘My vocation was strengthened’
In her address at the Eucharistic celebration, the new sister thanked Na Bissign for presiding over the celebration.
“Thank you very much for accepting to preside over this celebration, which is so meaningful to me. Your presence made this day even more beautiful and full of meaning,” she said.
She also expressed gratitude to the superior and sisters of her religious congregation for their accompaniment throughout her formation.
“Each one of you contributed to my formation and to the strengthening of my vocation,” she said.
Canté also acknowledged those who accompanied her through her formation, including her study of French, postulancy, and the novitiate, saying their teachings, advice, and gestures of love helped her grow as a Christian woman and religious.
She further thanked those who accompanied her spiritually and helped her discern her vocation.
‘Vocation is a divine mission’
In his homily, the bishop urged Canté to embrace her vocation as a mission of faith and dedication to God.
He emphasized that responding to Godʼs call requires determination, a generous response, and a willingness to serve, noting that God continues to call men and women to participate in his plan for humanity despite the challenges facing young people today.
According to the bishop, a vocation should not be understood simply as an individual choice detached from mission but as a response to Godʼs plan.
“It is a divine mission,” he said, emphasizing the responsibility of those who place themselves at the service of God and humanity.
Na Bissign also described faith as essential for navigating life and overcoming its challenges.
“Those who do not have faith in God find themselves completely disoriented,” he said, urging those responding to Godʼs call to keep their relationship with him at the center of their lives.
He also highlighted prayer and thanksgiving as essential elements of the Christian journey and called for a permanent relationship with God amid personal and social challenges.
‘In the heart of the Church, I will be love’
The temporary profession was celebrated under the motto attributed to St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, “In the heart of the Church, my Mother, I will be love.”
Na Bissign presented the Virgin Mary as a model of response to Godʼs call.
“Mary is the complete response to God,” he said, adding that she represents “the ark of the new covenant” because of her willingness to receive and fulfill Godʼs will.
The bishop also highlighted the role of the Holy Spirit in the Churchʼs mission, describing the Spirit as “the principal companion of the Church.”
Attacks on social media
Canté’s religious profession also attracted offensive comments, personal attacks, and hate speech on social media, particularly because of her fatherʼs identity as an imam and her decision to embrace Catholic religious life.
The situation prompted the National Confederation of Islamic Youth in Guinea-Bissau to condemn the attacks and defend freedom of conscience and religion.
The organization expressed “deep concern over the wave of offensive comments, personal attacks, and hate speech” that circulated on social media following news of Canté’s religious choice.
The Islamic youth organization recalled the Quranic teaching that “there is no compulsion in religion” and called for the Islamic faith to be expressed through peace, mercy, justice, tolerance, wisdom, and respect for human dignity rather than insults, humiliation, threats, or persecution.
“Respecting someoneʼs choice does not necessarily mean agreeing with it,” the organization said, stressing that disagreement over religious choices does not justify attacks on another personʼs dignity.
The group also warned that freedom of expression should not be confused with the freedom to defame, insult, incite hatred, or provoke religious conflict.
It called for a Guinea-Bissau in which Muslims, Christians, and people of other convictions can live “with respect, fraternity, and dignity,” describing the episode as an opportunity for reflection and dialogue rather than further division.
This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, has been adapted by EWTN News.
EWTN News explains: Why the Church once forbade Catholics to honor Confucius
Is Confucianism confusing to Catholics, or did the Church simply take centuries to clarify a stance on the teachings of Confucius and his disciples?
A bit of both.
When the Vaticanʼs Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue held its first Confucian-Christian colloquium in Seoul, South Korea, on Aug. 4–5, some 150 participants from more than a dozen countries spoke about shared values and universal fraternity, virtuous leadership, and moral formation in a pluralistic society.
Three centuries ago, the tone was different. A Catholic in China who took part in the rites honoring Confucius could be told he had abandoned the faith.
The ceremonies were not just polite gestures: “Lǐ (礼),” usually rendered as rites or ritual propriety, is foundational to Confucian thought. They comprise customs that form a person, order relationships, and hold a society together.
The sage who taught this, centuries before Christ, is known in Chinese as “Kǒng Fūzǐ (孔夫子),” Master Kong. He died in 479 B.C. Missionaries who reached China some two millennia later latinized the name as Confucius.
Arriving in 1582, Father Matteo Ricci observed educated Chinese lighting candles and bowing before Confucius. Ricci, a Jesuit, concluded the rites were civil rather than religious. Dominicans and Franciscans disagreed. They argued that the offerings, the prostrations, and the temple setting could surely not be separated from religious worship.
The quarrel that followed, the famous Chinese rites controversy, was not just about rituals and religious language.
At stake was also imperial authority: The cult of Confucius was bound up with Chinese emperors claiming to govern by the Mandate of Heaven, and officials and scholars had to perform the rites to hold office or earn degrees. So telling Chinese Catholics to stay away from them meant a foreign power ruling on Chinese legitimacy.
From a Catholic perspective, given the role of the rites and the weight of the decision, the popes also took their time to make up their minds — several centuries, in fact.
A scintillating question remains
First Pope Innocent X condemned the rites in 1645. A decade later, Pope Alexander VII permitted them. When asked in 1669 which of the two papal decisions was now in force, the Holy Office answered: both of them.
Several decades later, Pope Clement XI condemned the rites again and confirmed this decision with a papal bull in 1715. In 1742, Pope Benedict XIV backed up the bull and required missionaries to swear an oath never to raise the question again.
That settled the matter for nearly two centuries. Then, in 1939, the Vatican abolished the oath under Pope Pius XII. Rome now judged that the ceremonies had come to carry a merely civil meaning. This stance affirmed that no Catholic doctrine had changed, just the judgment about what a gesture meant.
What remained, however, was a scintillating question: Is Confucianism a religion, a religious philosophy, a cultural good, or something beyond such Western categories altogether?
Confucians themselves give different answers.
Father Gianni Criveller, PIME, who took part in the Seoul meeting, noted on AsiaNews that Confucianism enjoys public or national recognition as a religion in South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. In mainland China it is not among the five official religions, even as authorities promote it as the original core of Chinese thought.
The pace of friendship
On the ample evidence of the last 400 years, friendship between the two traditions might look like a matter of slow progress over centuries — but the pace may be quickening.
The Aug. 4-5 gathering was the third step in a sequence, after an expert study group and then a workshop at Fu Jen Catholic University in Taiwan that began drafting formal guidelines. Delegates already know when they will meet again: in Indonesia in 2028 and Hong Kong in 2030.
In Seoul, Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad told participants the two traditions converge in what they hope for and differ at the foundation.
Ricci put the method more simply, in a line the Holy See still quotes: “Before engaging in friendship, one must observe; after engaging, one must trust.”
Pope Leo to Catholic legislators: Promote AI policies that protect families
Pope Leo XIV has urged Catholic legislators to promote policies that protect families from the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI).
The pontiff delivered his remarks on Aug. 21 in an audience at the Vatican with participants of the 17th annual meeting of the International Catholic Legislators Network (ICLN), taking place in Rome from Aug. 20–23.
Cardinals Christoph Schönborn, Béchara Boutros Raï, and Charles Maung Bo were also present at the audience as patrons of the network.
AI must not be allowed to weaken families
In his address, Leo reflected on the theme chosen for the meeting, “Human Dignity and Artificial Intelligence: Challenges, Chances, and Control.”
“Artificial intelligence must never be allowed to erode this primary cell of society — whether by reducing persons and relationships to data and simulations, by flooding young minds with content that distorts desire, or by economic models that make family life economically precarious,” Leo explained.
“For this reason, I encourage you to promote policies that strengthen marriage and families, support parents in their educational mission, and enable young people to look to the future with confidence.”
The pope then reminded those present that their responsibility is not to hinder development but to promote the common good.
“Responsible for providing policies for the administration of technology for the common good, your task is not to hinder innovation but to guide it wisely,” Leo said. “[Sound legislation] should protect users from exploitation, preserve personal privacy, ensure transparency in the use of emerging technologies, and guarantee that they strengthen democratic institutions.”
The ICLN was founded in 2010 in Austria to serve as a network for Catholic legislators worldwide. Since then, its annual meetings have been held in Rome. During their 2025 meeting, Pope Leo urged members to look to St. Augustine’s “City of God” for inspiration.
After its 17th annual meeting concludes, the ICLN will host a peace summit in Assisi on Aug. 24, themed “The Urgent Call for Christian Leaders to Be Effective Peacemakers.” The summit will feature Mass, keynote addresses, and fraternal visits as the city continues to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi.
Joint statement highlights ‘shared convictions’ in first Catholic-Confucian conference
Catholic officials concluded their first-ever conference with Confucian thinkers this month, with both traditions coming together to spotlight their “shared convictions” for humanity in spite of the stark differences in their historical developments.
The Holy See’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea teamed up with the Sungkyunkwan Confucian Academy to hold the event at Sogang University in Seoul, South Korea, on Aug. 4–5.
A joint statement, approved by Catholic and Confucian scholars, recognized “our traditions arise from different religious and philosophical foundations” but that “our dialogue revealed important shared convictions.”
Both traditions expressed agreement that “human flourishing begins with the formation of virtuous, compassionate, and responsible individuals.” The statement added: “Personal transformation, ethical living, and care for others are the foundations of healthy families, communities, and societies.”
Scholars in both traditions agreed “a just and peaceful society depends on leadership rooted in integrity, humility, service, and concern for the common good” and “good institutions matter, but they can truly serve society only when guided by moral wisdom and public responsibility.”
There was also agreement that “care for the vulnerable, future generations, and our common home is both a moral and spiritual responsibility,” people are called toward solidarity, and hope requires people to “work together through the trials and imperfections of the present.”
With the growth of artificial intelligence, the scholars found similarities in the Confucian spirit of benevolence and the Christian value of love, which both point toward ensuring “all technological progress actively [enhances] human dignity and ethical values.”
Confucianism, rooted in the philosophy of fifth-century B.C. Chinese thinker Confucius, is a philosophical and ethical system focused on benevolence and harmony with an emphasis on living virtuously, adhering to tradition, and respecting one’s parents and ancestors, among other ideals.
Adherents often engage in ritual honor of their ancestors. Confucius discusses deities but focuses more heavily on the way one should live. His philosophy is influential in many East Asian countries. Many adherents follow other traditions as well, such as Buddhism or local religious traditions.
Christianity, and specifically Catholicism, has grown in some countries heavily influenced by Confucian thought in recent decades, particularly South Korea, Hong Kong, and Vietnam.
‘Datong’ and new heaven
Father Paulin Batairwa Kubuya, SX, who serves as the undersecretary for the dicastery, told EWTN News that Catholic dialogue with Confucianism is growing, although it is still not one of the religions that is technically under the dicastery’s jurisdiction for outreach. He said the need for dialogue is emphasized in the Second Vatican Council documents.
“But the idea behind the document Nostra Aetate is one of greater openness toward religious realities, and so this dialogue marks a moment when the conditions for officially beginning talks with the Confucians had matured,” he said. “And so we went there to Korea, one of the countries that still bears the marks of these religions.”
He said the theme of the conference was based on the Christian belief expressed in the Book of Revelation about the new heaven and the new earth and the Confucian idea of “Datong” — the “great unity” or “great harmony.”
“These describe an ideal state where everyone lives together in a society organized to care for the weak and the orphans — a place where everything is so beautiful,” Kubuya said.
“It is a city where the gates are never locked because there is security,” he said. “It’s the same as what is said about the New Jerusalem. There is no more death; there is openness — so there was that similarity between these two visions of these two religions. And those were the starting points, the reflections: so, as a society, how can we bring that vision to life?”
Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, prefect of the dicastery, discussed the two concepts in his opening speech at the conference, according to Vatican News. He said Catholicism and Confucianism both emphasize a similar human aspiration.
“That our common life may be in harmony with a Way that is truly good and beautiful; an ethical justice lived in the warmth of friendship and mutual care; a peace that recognizes and promotes the dignity of every person and every community; a harmony born from differences, like the notes of music blending into a single melody or people from different places becoming one community,” he said.
Batairwa told EWTN News that during the conference, participants visited various religious sites, including a Buddhist temple that is influenced by Confucianism, a Confucian academy, and sites of Christian martyrdom.
The joint statement recognized that the two traditions view the ultimate reality, human fulfillment, and the transformation of society differently, but “these differences are not barriers to friendship; rather, they invite deeper listening, mutual learning, humility, and continued dialogue.”
Scholars in both traditions renewed commitments to deepen friendship and dialogue; to promote societies rooted in compassion, justice, harmony, and shared responsibility; and to work toward the flourishing of humanity together.
The conference had about 150 participants from more than a dozen countries. The groups are planning two additional conferences over the next four years: Indonesia in 2028 and Hong Kong in 2030.
Lebanon abolishes death penalty, making regional history as amnesty law sparks debate
This month Lebanon became the first country in the Middle East to abolish the death penalty, a historic step that drew widespread international praise and was hailed as a major victory for human dignity and human rights.
Just days later, another landmark measure known as the general amnesty law proved far more controversial. The legislation has sparked intense debate, particularly within Lebanese Christian circles, amid concerns over public security, accountability, and the rights of victims.
A regional first
Lebanon had not carried out an execution since 2004, but its courts continued to issue death sentences, including one as recently as Aug. 10. According to Amnesty International, at least 85 people remained on death row as of January.
Capital punishment in Lebanon has been generally reserved for serious crimes, including murder, terrorism, and espionage.
The new law sets Lebanon apart in a region where executions remain widespread. Amnesty International recorded more than 2,000 executions in Iran and over 350 in Saudi Arabia last year. In June, Jordan hanged six men convicted of killing members of the security forces, ending a nine-year moratorium. Earlier this year, Israel’s parliament also passed a law permitting the execution of Palestinians convicted of fatal attacks.
Lebanon had repeatedly supported calls for a moratorium on capital punishment at the U.N., including a 2024 resolution on the issue. Justice Minister Adel Nassar described its abolition as a “historic” step.
General amnesty provokes concern among Christians
While the decision to end capital punishment has attracted widespread praise, Parliament’s adoption of a general amnesty law provoked a markedly different response, generating intense controversy — particularly within Christian circles.
The law covers crimes committed before March 1, 2026, and excludes several serious offenses from a full pardon — notably terrorism, premeditated murder, treason, espionage, corruption, banking crimes, money laundering, and terrorist financing. Also excluded are rape, human trafficking, domestic violence, the sexual abuse of minors, torture, enforced disappearance, and certain drug, theft, and environmental crimes.
Those convicted of excluded offenses would nevertheless benefit from reduced sentences: Life imprisonment with hard labor would be commuted to 17 years — equivalent to approximately 12 years and nine months of actual imprisonment under Lebanon’s system — while other sentences would be reduced by a third.
The law has generated widespread controversy, particularly within Christian circles, where concerns focus on its potential security consequences. Critics warn that releasing large numbers of prisoners or reducing their sentences, in the absence of effective rehabilitation and reintegration programs, could leave some vulnerable to returning to crime or being recruited by armed political parties, extremist groups, and drug-trafficking networks. These fears are compounded by weak state institutions and an economy unable to provide sufficient employment opportunities.
Opponents argue that the legislation fails to address the underlying problems: overcrowded prisons, prolonged pretrial detention, slow trials, and a dysfunctional judicial system. The appropriate response, according to critics, would be to accelerate judicial proceedings so that the innocent are released and the guilty held accountable rather than collectively dismissing prosecutions and sentences.
The law has also raised a fundamental question about victims’ rights.
“Instead of accelerating trials and deciding cases in order to acquit the innocent and convict the guilty, the supposed experts resort to the easiest solution: a general amnesty,” Father Dany Dargham wrote on social media. “The concerns of Christian parties remain reduced to winning municipal, parliamentary, and local council votes, while the cause of a free and dignified existence remains absent from their agenda.”
Moreover, in a sectarian country such as Lebanon, political decisions are rarely viewed separately from the country’s delicate communal balance, with each religious community asking what it gained from a particular agreement. Some Christians regarded the provision allowing Lebanese citizens who fled to Israel after 2000 to return — provided they had not participated in military or security activities — as their community’s principal gain from the law.
However, Member of Parliament Ziad Hawat said those who hold Israeli citizenship would be required to renounce it. His statement led many to question how many would actually return, if any.
Lebanese political activist Maryam Younes, who lives in exile in Israel, responded in a video: “You cannot include us in a law that pardons criminals, rapists, and murderers, when our crime was defending our land. We do not believe this general amnesty concerns us. Nor can anyone guarantee that, if we return to Lebanon, Hezbollah will not harm us. We will certainly not return now.”
This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.