Federal judge says government can deposit money to seize diocesan land for border fencing
Amid a legal dispute, the federal government will be permitted to put down a six-figure deposit as it moves to acquire a large parcel of land from the Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico, in order to install fencing and other security measures along the U.S.-Mexico border.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Gonzales said in a June 15 ruling the government could deposit the $183,071, which he said would “allow for the safekeeping of funds pending resolution” of the dispute.
The order represents a blow for the Las Cruces Diocese, which since May has been fending off the government’s attempt to seize the land under eminent domain.
The government says it seeks the land, located northwest of El Paso, Texas, “to construct, install, operate, and maintain roads, fencing, vehicle barriers, security lighting, cameras, sensors, and related structures designed to help secure the United States/Mexico border within the state of New Mexico.”
The diocese had sought to block the deposit of the funds amid the legal fight, but Gonzales said allowing the deposit will “not interfere with, alter, or nullify [the diocese’s] right to challenge the validity of the taking.”
The judge further argued that “transferring title [of the land] to the United States is in no way a final or irrevocable action that would deprive [the diocese] of an opportunity to contest the validity of the taking.”
The disputed land parcel runs along the base of Mount Cristo Rey. Atop of that mountain is a 29-foot-tall statue of Christ, marking a shrine the diocese said in May is the “site of annual pilgrimages” that draw thousands to the mountain.
The diocese had earlier told the government that the land seizure would “constitute a significant infringement on religious freedom and the rights of worship” given the religious significance of the site.
Pope Leo XIV declares American religious founder Mary Teresa Tallon venerable
Pope Leo XIV has declared American religious sister Mary Teresa Tallon venerable.
The pontiff signed a decree on Thursday recognizing the heroic virtue of the foundress of the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate in New York. He also recognized the heroic virtue of several others, bringing them closer to sainthood.
Just before signing the decree, he met with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
Mary Teresa Tallon: Making every soul count
Tallon was born on May 6, 1867, in Hanover, New York, as the daughter of Irish immigrants.
In 1887, at the age of 19, Tallon joined the Sisters of the Holy Cross, despite her family’s disapproval. She remained part of the congregation for the next 33 years, teaching in Catholic schools in South Bend, Indiana.
During this time, Tallon was inspired to establish a new congregation dedicated to contemplation and to preaching the Gospel to the neglected. In 1920, she left the Sisters of the Holy Cross and, on Aug. 15, established the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate (PVMI). She gave it the motto “Make every soul count.”
Considered a gifted scholar, Tallon authored a report documenting the first decade of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine in New York for the National Catechetical Congress in 1936.
Tallon died on Feb. 10, 1954, after a prolonged illness.
In 2013, she was declared a servant of God in recognition of her holiness.
Others declared venerable
Pope Leo XIV on June 18 also moved several other servants of God along the path to sainthood.
Two Italians were declared venerable: Maria Agnese Tribbioli, a religious sister who founded the Pie Operaie di San Giuseppe congregation, and Maria Petra Giordano, a Dominican nun.
Others included Spanish nun Clara Andreu y Malferit and Belgian missionary Júlio Maria de Lombaerde.
Leo also recognized the martyrdom of Juan Torres Torres and 19 companions, all Catholic priests, for having been killed “in odium fidei” (“in hatred of the faith”) in Spain during the Spanish Civil War.
Pope Leo XIV urges universities to promote peace in a divided world
Pope Leo XIV on Thursday highlighted the role of universities in an increasingly polarized world, describing them as “privileged places for dialogue.”
During a private audience at the Vatican with the board of governors of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on June 18, Leo said the universities can be promoters of peace at a time “often characterized by violence and pointed rhetoric.”
“While not always easy, universities must constantly work to ensure that opportunities for meaningful encounters remain available,” Leo said in his remarks. “In an atmosphere where respectful dialogue is possible, everyone can grow in knowledge through learning from the points of view and living testimonies of others, even those with whom they might disagree.”
The pope also highlighted the role of the university amid a rise in armed conflicts worldwide. Citing his message for the 59th World Day of Peace in January, Leo encouraged higher education leaders to work for peace within and beyond their academic communities, even if peace seemed impossible.
“Rather than believing peace to be impossible and beyond our reach, we must seek to promote it in our communities and to welcome and recognize it in our own lives,” Leo said. “I pray that through forming artisans of peace, the university community may continue to be a beacon of hope and unity in a world that is increasingly divided.”
Catholic priests in Democratic Republic of Congo decry rising insecurity targeting parishes
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo — Priests in the Archdiocese of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have raised alarm over what they describe as a worsening wave of insecurity targeting ecclesial institutions, warning that criminal activity around parishes is becoming increasingly organized and violent.
In a statement issued following a meeting of the presbyteral council, the priests expressed “deep concern” over the surge in attacks affecting priests, women and men religious, seminarians, and Church properties across the capital of the DRC.
“Once-isolated acts of delinquency are now taking the form of organized crime directed against our parishes and other structures,” the priests said in the statement they shared with ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, on June 15, condemning what they termed a “spiral of violence.”
They highlighted several recent incidents, including the killing of a security guard at St. Francis de Sales Parish and attacks on Church personnel at St. Agnes Parish in Ndjili and St. Théophile Parish in Kimbanseke, where a vicar was seriously injured during a nighttime assault.
According to the priests, some of the attacks are carried out by armed groups operating in uniforms resembling those of national security forces, a development they described as particularly alarming and intolerable.
“We condemn with the utmost firmness these criminal acts that violate human dignity and freedom of worship,” the priests said.
They also decried vandalism and desecration of sacred spaces, including sacristies, archives, pastoral materials, and devotional objects, warning that such acts are undermining institutions that serve society through education, healthcare, reconciliation, and social cohesion.
The bishops further expressed concern about what they described as growing indifference and a sense of impunity surrounding the attacks, calling for urgent intervention by state authorities.
They urged political, administrative, and security leaders to fully assume their constitutional responsibility to guarantee the safety of people and property, and demanded “serious and transparent investigations” to identify and prosecute both perpetrators and sponsors of the violence.
The priests also called for strengthened cooperation between security services and local leaders to better protect vulnerable Church sites.
While appealing for vigilance and unity among parish communities, the priests expressed solidarity with victims of the attacks and reaffirmed the Church’s commitment to peace-building.
“Security, justice, and peace are possible when each person responsibly fulfills their duty in service of the common good,” they said.
They prayed for divine protection over the archdiocese and for peace in the country, invoking God to comfort victims and guide national leaders toward justice and harmony.
This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News English.
‘Fidelity Month’ event explores what binds Americans together ahead of 250th anniversary
Princeton University professor and conservative intellectual Robert P. George called for a renewed commitment to America’s founding values at an event promoting “Fidelity Month,” a month dedicated to strengthening faithfulness to God, family, community, and country.
In the spring of 2023, George launched Fidelity Month, a grassroots initiative in response to a Wall Street Journal poll indicating a significant decline in religious belief, patriotism, and family values among Americans.
“I was particularly alarmed because those values — fidelity to God, fidelity to spouses and families, fidelity to country, service to communities — these have historically been the values that have provided this very pluralistic nation from the beginning with its sources of unity and strength,” George said at the June 17 event hosted by the Advancing American Freedom Foundation (AAF).
During the discussion with AAF President Tim Chapman, George attributed the decline to “a loss of faith” and failure to have gratitude for America.
“So what binds us together?” George asked. “Well, No. 1, our shared commitment to our basic constitutional principles, the principles of our civic order, the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.”
“Americans across the racial spectrum, across the ideological or the ethnic spectrum, across the religious divides, have all shared a commitment to the principles of the declaration that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with unalienable rights,” he said. “But that has never been the whole story, and by itself, it has never been enough.”
George underscored “shared belief in the importance of fidelity to God” and “belief in the importance of marriage and family” as binding factors, noting that these values, along with patriotism, are “not a distinctively or uniquely Christian thing.”
During the month of June, George encouraged those in attendance to find simple ways to “spread the word about Fidelity Month,” whether by sharing articles on social media that promote fidelity to God, family, and country, or asking religious leaders to speak about the importance of fidelity during at least one sermon in June.
Governors in Utah and Arkansas have issued proclamations recognizing Fidelity Month, and the Michigan House and Kentucky Senate have adopted resolutions.
“Thatʼs the first time in our four years that weʼve had public officials at that level,” George said. “Weʼve had more local officials recognize Fidelity Month, but now weʼre having governors and legislatures. And next year Iʼd like to see 10 or 12 or 15 more, and then weʼll see how we go from there.”
Cardinal Ruini, John Paul II’s chief strategist in Italy, dies at age 95
Cardinal Camillo Ruini, a formidable strategist of the Church in Italy during the pontificate of St. John Paul II and a key architect of its post-Cold War engagement with politics and culture, died Tuesday in Rome.
As head of Italy’s bishops’ conference and vicar of Rome during the 1990s and the 2000s, the cardinal often took strong and influential stances on social and moral issues, giving him a reputation for helping to shape ecclesiastical and political opinion.
Personally courteous, reserved, and even shy in manner, he was also intellectually sharp, politically shrewd, and very determined on questions of principle, especially when it came to “nonnegotiable” issues such as the right to life, marriage, and the family. Any severity he would direct toward ideas rather than persons, while he remained generally polite and respectful toward opponents.
All of this made him a trusted collaborator of John Paul II — and later of Benedict XVI — as he dedicated himself to keeping the Catholic Church in Italy relevant at a time when secularism was increasingly taking hold of the nation’s politics and society.
His skills and tact became most evident in 2004 when he urged Italian Catholics to boycott advocating the liberalization of Italy’s legal restrictions on in vitro fertilization (IVF). The referendum the following year failed due to low turnout and while secularists accused Ruini of having overstepped the mark for a churchman, others praised his strategy and his determination to speak out. Some affectionately awarded him the nickname “Rovini,” meaning the “ruiner” of secularists’ plans.
A year later, the cardinal drew the ire of the “gay lobby” when he warned that giving full legal recognition to unmarried couples would represent an “eclipsing of the nature and value of a family and a very grave harm to the Italian people.” In 2007, he was the key promoter and inspirer of a large Family Day rally in Rome, intended to block civil-unions legislation being pushed by the government of Romano Prodi. He also spoke out on several high-profile “end-of-life” cases, always in defense of the sanctity of human life.
Also known for his views on the relationship between faith and politics, Ruini frequently addressed issues such as secularism, a “healthy secularity” regarding Islam, and what he perceived as the “naturalistic tendency of modern man,” which he considered a significant threat to religious faith.
In Italy he was especially noted for being the architect and longtime president of the Church’s “cultural project,” formed in the aftermath of the collapse of the Christian Democracy era that had dominated postwar Italian politics. The project sought to shift Catholic influence from party politics to the deeper work of shaping national culture and public debate.
Evangelizing mission
Both the cardinal and St. John Paul II worked well together, giving renewed coherence to the Church’s evangelizing mission and devising a framework in connection with John Paul II’s encyclicals. But his positions also drew opposition within the Church, especially from allies of Jesuit Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, a former archbishop of Milan, who believed he was abandoning the “spirit of the Council.”
“Cardinal Ruini deserves recognition for having steered the ship through the storm, for having shared John Paul II’s vision and for having fought to implement it in our country,” wrote Italian commentator Professor Stefano Fontana in La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana on June 17.
Born in Sassuolo in the province of Modena on Feb. 19, 1931, Camillo Ruini was the son of a local doctor who, during his schooling and in late adolescence, discerned a vocation to the priesthood. At 18 he entered seminary, later continuing his studies in philosophy and theology in Reggio Emilia and then at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
Ordained a priest on Dec. 8, 1954, Ruini returned three years later to his native Reggio Emilia, where for nearly two decades he formed young clergy as a philosophy lecturer in the diocesan seminary before becoming a widely respected professor and then head of inter‑diocesan and academic theology institutes in Modena and Bologna. Alongside this teaching he threw himself into lay apostolates, serving as chaplain to Catholic university graduates, diocesan delegate for Catholic Action, and president of the John XXIII Cultural Centre — work that honed the intellectual and pastoral instincts he later brought to the national stage.
Appointed auxiliary bishop of Reggio Emilia‑Guastalla in 1983, he soon emerged as a key organizer of the 1985 Loreto ecclesial convention, a landmark attempt to reset relations between the Church and Italian society after the political and ecclesial upheavals of the 1960s and 1970s. In 1985 he joined the bishops’ commission for Catholic education, culture, and schools.
John Paul II elevated him to the cardinalate in 1991, after which he entered the decisive phase of his episcopal career as president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference (1991–2007) and vicar of Rome (1991–2008). A member of several Vatican dicasteries and the author of numerous essays and research works, he also served as grand chancellor of the Pontifical Lateran University. He played a significant role in the 2005 conclave that elected Benedict XVI, and from 2010 to 2014, at the request of Pope Benedict, he served as president of the International Commission of Inquiry on Medjugorje. He also headed the academic committee of the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation.
He praised John Paul II and Benedict XVI but was less at ease during the pontificate of Pope Francis. His criticisms, he suggested, stemmed not from conservatism but from concern that some of the faithful might struggle to understand Francis’ direction of the Church. Upon the pontiff’s death in April 2025, Ruini set out four conditions that, in his view, the new pope should possess: sound doctrine, capacity for governance, a spirit of communion, and the strengthening of the faith. Many observers saw in these criteria an implicit critique of the pontificate just ended.
Final interview
The cardinal continued to speak out publicly up until his final days. In one of his last interviews given to Corriere della Sera to coincide with his 95th birthday in February, Ruini said he disapproved of Benedict XVI’s resignation, praised Francis for his “great courage” but faulted him for “taking too little account of tradition,” and said his first impression of Leo XIV was excellent.
He had a negative opinion of President Trump, saying he had “upset American and world politics,” which were “going in a very questionable direction.” He was also not supportive of restoring the Traditional Latin Mass, saying: “It’s very important for people to understand the language in which they celebrate.”
The cardinal died after suffering from a heart condition in his later years, but he endured his final months with serenity. He spoke and wrote often about death, reported Corriere della Sera, accepting his approaching end with “detachment and even cheerfulness,” and continued to celebrate Mass until shortly before his passing.
In his tribute to the late cardinal published June 17, Pope Leo XIV said the news of his death had awakened in his heart “deep feelings of closeness, together with gratitude to the Lord for the gift of this esteemed man of the Church, who lived his ministry generously.” He recalled the cardinal’s legacy to the Italian Church, remembering him as an “experienced and wise brother, strengthened by deep faith, sharp intelligence, and farsighted vision,” and who “served the Gospel and the Church with discretion and self‑sacrifice.”
Similar heartfelt tributes were received from the ecclesial and political world: John Paul II’s former personal secretary, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, said Ruini “always sought the good of the Church, with clarity of faith, loyalty to the magisterium, and a deep sense of duty and pastoral responsibility.” He expressed his gratitude for Ruini’s collaboration with John Paul II at “decisive moments” in the life of the Church.
The current Vicar of Rome, Cardinal Baldassare Reina, gave thanks for Ruini’s “long and fruitful Christian life and for his service to the Church,” and Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, president of the Italian bishops’ conference, said the cardinal helped the Church in Italy to “think, discern, speak, and walk in its own time.”
Ruini’s episcopal motto — “Veritas liberabit nos” (“The truth sets us free”) — “remains a summons for all,” he said. Italy’s premier, Giorgia Meloni, described him as a “great man of the Church,” while Prodi recalled a “profound connection” with Ruini, who, as a young man in Reggio Emilia, guided him and other youth in the diocese.
Elisabetta Valgiusti, a Roman citizen who knew Ruini personally, praised him for being a “leading figure in the life of the Catholic Church at every level and in public debate more broadly.” She especially lauded him for his understanding of culture, which she said he saw as a “meeting ground between the Church’s own mission and the nation’s most urgent needs.”
Valgiusti, an EWTN documentary filmmaker who founded Save the Monasteries to help Christian communities through cultural and communication projects, told the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, that she remembered her conversations with him “with gratitude and respect,” especially during the pandemic period.
“We will miss his strong and upright voice, and also his piercing gaze,” she said.
Pope Leo XIV will celebrate the funeral for Ruini at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica on Thursday afternoon, June 18, together with cardinals, archbishops, and bishops.
This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted and updated by EWTN News.
Fate of St. Teresa of Ávila’s left hand to be determined in coming months
A lack of vocations threatens the closure after more than a century of the Discalced Carmelite monastery in Ronda, Spain, which houses the left hand of St. Teresa of Ávila. The relicʼs final destination will be decided in the coming months.
The monastery’s numbers dwindled in recent years from nine to four sisters — one of them with Alzheimerʼs.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, five have passed away due to old age and various medical conditions.
According to the apostolic constitution Vultum Dei Quaerere, promulgated by Pope Francis in 2016, the minimum number of sisters required to maintain a community is six; otherwise, the remaining members must join other, larger communities.
The nuns have not been able to find two more sisters despite efforts to publicize their need. As a result, the four remaining sisters from Ronda will move to other communities, and the most important relic housed in their convent will have to be relocated.
Since 1924, the Carmelites have occupied a former Mercedarian convent founded in the 16th century but which was expropriated in the 19th century during the processes known in Spain as “desamortización,” the confiscation and sale of Church properties by the government.
An incorrupt relic after 444 years
The relic of the incorrupt left hand of St. Teresa, a Carmelite reformer and doctor of the Church, was separated from her body in 1582. Following various historical twists and turns, it wound up with a religious community in Portugal.
In 1910, a decree expelled religious orders from that country; consequently, the Carmelites fled to Spain, taking the relic to Ávila. When the Portuguese community was reestablished in Ronda, they requested the relic’s return.
With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, militiamen from the Red Army forced the nuns to hand over the relic. Shortly thereafter, it was recovered by General Francisco Franco’s Nationalist Army and was moved to Burgos, the general’s headquarters, where he kept it until his death.
In January 1976, the relic returned to the convent in Ronda, which now faces closure.
The relic’s final destination remains uncertain, although there has been speculation about its return to Alba de Tormes, the saintʼs birthplace and the location of the rest of her body, which also remains incorrupt after 444 years.
If the left hand were to return to Alba de Tormes, all of St. Teresa’s mortal remains would be reunited once more, after more than four and a half centuries.
However, sources from the Iberian Province of the Discalced Carmelites have told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, that a definitive decision has not been made on the matter.
The canonical process for closing the Ronda monastery has not yet concluded and ultimately depends on the Vatican. The process is expected to be completed by early 2027.
Also, the remaining nuns in Ronda, who will determine the fate of the relic, must now discern if they want to remain together and, if so, must ask to join one of the convents of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Federation to which they belong.
Likewise, they must determine the fate of the other belongings owned by the community.
St. Teresa’s left hand could go to one of the monasteries where the four nuns settle or be entrusted to a diocese or the Carmelite motherhouse.
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.
Mexican bishop amid World Cup playoffs: ‘We have Jesus Christ as our captain’
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer playoffs as a backdrop, Ramón Castro Castro, bishop of Cuernavaca and president of the Mexican Bishops’ Conference, called on Catholics to work together, affirming that in the Church, “we have Jesus Christ as our captain.”
In his homily during Mass on Sunday, June 14, at the Cuernavaca cathedral, Castro noted that the World Cup “is an event that reminds us that no championship is won alone.”
“No matter how excellent the soccer players are, they cannot succeed alone. Teamwork is required, as are discipline, constant effort, adherence to the rules, and ... mutual trust.”
In the realm of sports, he said, “we have an example for the Church: We are playing the greatest match in history, we have Jesus Christ as our captain, and we must work together and trust one another, above all knowing that the Holy Spirit is in our midst, strengthening, encouraging, and transforming us.”
The FIFA World Cup is being hosted this year by Mexico, the United States, and Canada from June 11 to July 19. Thirteen of the matches are scheduled to be held in the Mexican cities of Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara.
‘Christ sees people’s hidden pain’
In his homily, Castro also highlighted that “Christ sees people’s hidden pain; Christ sees the wounds of our personal history and of our families.”
The Lord, he continued, “sees the loneliness of the elderly, sees the uncertainty of many young people, sees the anguish of those who find no meaning in their lives, the suffering of the poorest; he sees the victims of violence, sees those who have lost hope.”
“That compassion includes all this and more, because we are his special treasure,” he emphasized.
The Mexican people, he lamented, are “weary and disheartened” by “violence, insecurity, extortion, corruption, mistrust in society, family breakdown, and religious indifference.”
“God sees this, feels it, and, we might say, suffers because he loves us, because he sees his treasure wounded; he looks upon these realities and he doesn’t look at them from afar, but looking upon them with his love and mercy and his heart feels compassion for all of this,” he noted.
In this context, Castro affirmed that “God never tires of us, never; he certainly does not resign himself to our wounds and sins” and “never ceases to love his people.”
‘There is a tremendous spiritual hunger’
The Mexican prelate highlighted that “God knows there is an enormous need for workers in his vineyard,” as “there is a tremendous spiritual hunger; the emptiness of the heart and that hunger remain intense.”
“There are so many people who live without faith or appear to live without faith, yet deep down in their hearts, they continue to seek the meaning of their lives, continue to seek hope, and continue to seek love,” he noted.
“When Jesus says that laborers are lacking, he’s not referring only to priests and religious — no,” Castro clarified, for “we also need committed laypeople, generous young people who respond; we need holy families, we need convinced catechists, we need laypeople who love their Church.”
Reflecting on the calling of the Twelve Apostles, the bishop of Cuernavaca noted that Jesus “did not choose the most perfect” individuals; rather, they were “very simple people, simple fishermen, courageous and impulsive men, people with very difficult temperaments, and even a traitor.”
“We sometimes think that God chooses only saints to serve him,” the bishop said, but “the Gospel tells us otherwise: God calls fragile people to transform them into instruments of his grace.”
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.
Shortage of Communion hosts in Cuba prompts aid from Church in Panama and Puerto Rico
In response to a shortage of Communion hosts in Cuba, the Catholic Church in Panama announced that it had sent 35,000 hosts, while another 300,000 were sent from Puerto Rico, to support the celebration of the Eucharist on the island.
In a statement, Archbishop José Domingo Ulloa Mendieta of Panama announced that this gesture of fraternity “arises in response to the difficulties several Cuban dioceses are facing in ensuring a supply of hosts, an essential element for the celebration of the sacrament that constitutes the source and summit of the Christian life.”
Meanwhile, El Visitante, the official newspaper of the Catholic Church in Puerto Rico, reported that Archbishop Roberto O. González Nieves of San Juan is coordinating the country’s efforts to get the aid to Cuba.
Currently, all of Cuba’s hosts are produced at the Monastery of Santa Teresa and San José, home to a Discalced Carmelite community. However, the lack of a reliable power supply has hindered production.
Eucharist, the ‘sacrament of unity’
Friar George Payano, a Dominican priest, told Agence France-Presse that making Communion hosts requires time and suitable machinery, but “the hours of electricity are very limited.”
“This results in lower production and means they have to, as they announced to the priests and bishops, ration distribution somewhat,” the friar noted.
Ulloa stated in his message that beyond the material value of the shipment, “this act constitutes a concrete sign of the Communion that unites the Church beyond borders.”
The archbishop noted that the Eucharist “is the sacrament of unity. Gathered around the same bread of life, we recognize ourselves as brothers and sisters and as members of one body.”
“Therefore, when a community lacks what is necessary to celebrate this mystery, we feel the duty from the Gospel to reach out and accompany them,” he said.
El Visitante noted that González described the initiative similarly, saying that it is “a visible sign of communion among the particular Churches of the Caribbean and a concrete expression of the unity born of the Eucharist.”
The Puerto Rican newspaper added that the shipment also serves as an invitation to “keep on praying for the Cuban people, for their pastors and the faithful, so that strengthened by God’s grace they may continue to proclaim the Gospel and joyfully celebrate the mysteries of our faith.”
The hosts sent from Panama were made by the Sisters of the Monastery of the Visitation and shipped free of charge by Copa Airlines. In Puerto Rico, production involved the collaboration of the cloistered Dominican sisters of the Mother of God Monastery as well as the support of the faithful who made donations for their preparation.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Catholic bishops of England and Wales react to reintroduction of assisted suicide bill
The Catholic bishops of England and Wales are “deeply disappointed” that an assisted suicide bill will again be back in Parliament, calling instead for improvements in palliative care.
On Wednesday, Labour member of Parliament (MP) Lauren Edwards reintroduced the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which passed a vote in the House of Commons in June 2025 but failed to pass the House of Lords when it ran out of time in April.
The bill today received its first reading in the House of Commons, officially marking the return of the bill in Westminster.
Responding to the news that it would be reintroduced, in a June 15 statement Archbishop John Sherrington of Liverpool, lead bishop for life issues at the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, expressed his deep disappointment and criticized the “flawed” legislation, saying: “The Catholic Church opposes this bill in principle and joins with many other people of faith and none in arguing that we should not cross this watershed.”
He added: “The recent debate about this bill showed how many people found the proposed legislation, even if they accepted it in principle, to be flawed and full of unresolved matters.”
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, originally sponsored by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, proposes to legalize assisted suicide in England and Wales for people with a prognosis of six months or less to live and has received extensive criticism for posing a threat to vulnerable people.
In bringing back the exact same bill, Edwards could use the Parliament Act to bypass future opposition from the House of Lords. In the U.K., bills become law after both the House of Commons and the House of Lords agree on a bill. The Parliament Act enables MPs to pass an unchanged bill, with the House of Lords unable to prevent the bill from becoming law a second time.
Edwards urged the House of Lords not to “block” the bill and to pass it, saying: "Itʼs perfectly reasonable for us to ask the House of Lords to finish the job … to refine the legislation the House of Commons has introduced.”
However, Sherrington challenged the criticism of the House of Lords, saying the Lords had “identified many shortcomings and bad legislation.”
“The bill was criticized for a lack of safeguards and as a danger to vulnerable people, with a number of respected professional bodies highlighting unsafe aspects within the bill,” he said.
Sherrington added that reintroducing the bill “places the most vulnerable at risk,” adding: “Many professional bodies argued against this bill, including the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Royal College of Physicians, whose members would be required to be involved under the provision of the bill. Disability rights groups, those fighting against eating disorders and against domestic abuse, were highly concerned and considered it dangerous.”
Sherrington pinpointed further concerns about the bill, which he urged MPs to reject, saying: “The bill undermines freedom of conscience for medical professionals and care workers. It also requires care homes and hospices to participate in assisted suicide, threatening not only their future existence but also the well-being of their more vulnerable staff.”
Pro-life groups have also criticized the move by Edwards. Catherine Robinson, spokesperson for Right to Life UK, said reintroducing the same bill would be a “serious mistake.” Robinson told EWTN News that the bill contained “serious flaws” that have been exposed by “peers and experts.”
She said: “At a time when the Labour Party is already divided and the country is facing so many real problems, reviving this bill would be a serious mistake. It would create further division, waste precious Parliamentary time, and distract from the very real challenges facing our country.”
Robinson added: “If it is brought back, it is likely to fail” and commented that further debate on the bill would be “divisive and distracting.”
Further criticism has come from bishops in England and Wales.
Archbishop John Wilson of Southwark told EWTN News: “Assisted suicide has no place in a civilized society. It violates the God-given dignity of human life and puts the vulnerable — especially elderly and disabled people — in grave danger.”
Wilson called on Catholics to take action against the bill through prayer and action, saying: “As followers of the Lord Jesus, we have a duty to speak out and to act when the lives of so many people are at risk. That is why I urge Catholics to pray and to campaign to stop this deadly bill from becoming law.”
Welsh Archbishop Mark OʼToole of Cardiff-Menevia said it is “immensely disappointing that the bill to legalize assisted suicide is being reintroduced to Parliament.”
OʼToole added: “It does nothing to uphold the dignity of every person or encourage investment in good palliative care.”
OʼToole’s call for greater investment in palliative care was echoed by Sherrington, who said: “Surely what is now needed to help the terminally ill is an improvement in compassionate, high-quality palliative care and proper hospice funding.”
Catholic peer Lord David Alton shared his concerns about what he described as a “deeply flawed and dangerous assisted suicide bill,” saying: “The wisest thing which MPs can do is to reject this bill.”
Sherrington concluded his statement with a calI “on all people of goodwill to join me in work and prayer to prevent this flawed bill from succeeding.”