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.
Meet the Augustinian saints celebrated by the Church in August
August is a particularly important month for Augustinians, the Order of St. Augustine of Hippo to which Pope Leo XIV belongs, as the Catholic Church celebrates a number of Augustinian saints.
St. Augustine himself and his mother, St. Monica, are honored just one day apart at the end of August, but mystics, missionaries, and martyrs who lived out the Augustinian call to seek God through prayer, community, and charity also enjoy feast days this month.
Here are the Augustinian saints — and a blessed — the Church celebrates in August:
Blessed John of Rieti — Aug. 2
Blessed John of Rieti was an Italian Augustinian friar whose short life became a remarkable example of holiness lived through simplicity, charity, and joy.
Born around 1318 in Castel Porchiano, near Amelia, Italy, John entered the Augustinian order as a teenager and was sent to the friary in Rieti. Though he died at just 18 years old in 1336, those who knew him remembered him for his humility, friendliness, and deep love for his fellow friars.
John was particularly attentive to the sick and to visitors, treating everyone with kindness and reverence. According to the Augustinian tradition, he never did or said anything contrary to fraternal charity.
His remains can be found at the St. Augustine Church in Rieti, and he was declared blessed by Pope Gregory XVI in 1832.
St. Clare of Montefalco — Aug. 17
St. Clare of Montefalco was an Italian Augustinian nun, abbess, and mystic who developed a profound devotion to the passion of Christ.
Born around 1268 in Montefalco, Italy, Clare joined an order of Franciscan tertiaries at a young age. Her sister, Giovanna, was the abbess and their small community eventually became a formal convent of nuns following the Rule of St. Augustine in 1290. After Giovanna’s death, Clare became abbess at just 23 years old.
Clare was especially known for her contemplation of Christʼs passion and for mystical experiences connected to the cross. Due to this, she is sometimes called “Clare of the Cross.”
During her final illness, she told her sisters that she carried Christʼs cross in her heart. After her death in 1308, her heart was examined and the sisters reported finding symbols associated with Christʼs passion formed within it. Clare was canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1881.
St. Ezekiel Moreno — Aug. 19
St. Ezekiel Moreno was an Augustinian Recollect friar, missionary, and bishop who spent much of his priestly life serving Catholics in the Philippines and Colombia.
Born in Alfaro, Spain, in 1848, he joined the Augustinian Recollects as a teenager and professed his religious vows in 1865. After being ordained a priest in Manila in 1871, he spent 15 years working in the Philippines before returning to Spain and eventually being sent to Colombia, where he devoted himself to missionary work and the renewal of religious life.
In Colombia, Ezekiel became the first vicar apostolic of Casanare and later served as bishop of Pasto. His episcopacy took place amid civil war, anti-Catholic persecution, and significant challenges for the Church.
Despite these difficulties, he remained committed to his people and strongly defended the Churchʼs rights. Diagnosed with cancer, he returned to Spain for treatment and died on Aug. 19, 1906. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1992.
Sts. Liberatus, Boniface, and Companions — Aug. 26
Sts. Liberatus, Boniface, and their five companions were seven monks who were martyred in North Africa in 484 during the persecution of Catholics under King Hunneric.
The monks belonged to a monastery at Gafsa, in present-day Tunisia, that had been founded under Augustinian inspiration. The group included Liberatus, their abbot; Boniface, a deacon; Servus and Rusticus, subdeacons; and three lay monks named Rogatus, Septimus, and Maximus.
The monks were taken prisoner and pressured to abandon their Catholic faith, but they refused. The youngest of the group, Maximus, was only 15 and was especially urged to separate himself from the others, but he remained steadfast. The authorities attempted to burn the monks alive, but when the fire would not ignite, they were ultimately beaten to death.
Pope Clement X granted the Order of St. Augustine the right to celebrate their collective liturgical memorial in 1671.
St. Monica — Aug. 27
St. Monica is best known as the mother of St. Augustine of Hippo, but her own life offers a powerful example of perseverance in prayer and trust in God.
Born around 331 in Tagaste, North Africa, Monica was raised in a Christian family and married Patricius, a pagan. She became the mother of three children, including Augustine, and patiently worked to guide her family toward the Catholic faith. Her example and persistent prayers eventually helped lead her husband to conversion.
Monica is especially remembered for the years she spent praying and shedding tears over Augustine, who pursued a very different path from the faith in which she had raised him. Her perseverance was eventually rewarded when Augustine converted to Christianity and was baptized by St. Ambrose in Milan in 387.
Monica died shortly afterward at Ostia while preparing to return to Africa with her son. The Church celebrates her feast on Aug. 27, one day before the feast of St. Augustine. She was canonized by Pope Gregory IX in 1234.
St. Augustine of Hippo — Aug. 28
St. Augustine of Hippo is one of the most influential figures in the history of Christianity and is honored as a bishop, doctor of the Church, theologian, and spiritual father of the Augustinian order. Born in Tagaste, North Africa, in 354, Augustine spent much of his youth searching for truth and happiness outside the Catholic faith. Through the prayers of his mother, Monica, and his own long spiritual journey, he eventually experienced a profound conversion and was baptized by St. Ambrose in Milan in 387.
After returning to North Africa, Augustine established a monastic community and was later ordained a priest and named bishop of Hippo. He became a prolific writer and preacher, producing works that would profoundly influence Christian theology and spirituality.
Augustine died on Aug. 28, 430, as the Vandals were invading North Africa. His feast day follows immediately after that of his mother, St. Monica. Pope Boniface VIII later named him a doctor of the Church in 1298.
Life of Brazilian woman who lived over half a century solely on the Eucharist hits the big screen
The life of Floripes Dornellas de Jesús, known as Lola, the Brazilian servant of God who lived for over half a century without eating, drinking, or sleeping, subsisting solely on the Eucharist, is the subject of the Portuguese-language documentary “Lola of Jesus: Mystery and Devotion” by journalist and writer Rodrigo Alvarez.
The production was screened last month during the third edition of Cinema ExpoCatólica at the ExpoCatólica 2026 event in São Paulo, where Alvarez also gave a talk titled “Lola and the Phenomenon of Genuine Brazilian Faith.”
Who is Lola?
Her inexplicable ability to live only on the Eucharist certainly draws attention to her, but for Dr. Claudio Bomtempo, who was her attending physician during the final five years of her life and is now a leading advocate for her cause of beatification, that was never the most important aspect of her person. According to Bomtempo, Lola’s mission was to make the Sacred Heart of Jesus better known and loved.
“Lola did not want to be remembered herself; rather, she wanted the Sacred Heart of Jesus to be better known and loved,” Bomtempo told ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News.
The Church dedicates the month of June to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, as well as the first Friday of every month. According to Bomtempo, Lola “knew she was the one who could get people in Brazil to reflect on the power of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”
“All that matter of not eating, drinking, or sleeping does not, in reality, constitute the essence of Lola’s holiness; rather, it is a sign — a way of drawing attention — that I believe the heart of Jesus allowed, so that she could simply be recognized as a manifestation of the presence of the heart of Jesus,” he said.
For him, “her holiness is due to her virtues and her sacrifice, to the martyrdom of all those years … and to her intimacy with the heart of Jesus, which was truly awe-inspiring.”
According to the doctor, Lola would often interrupt conversations to pray and ask Jesus, “What do you want from me, Lord? What do you want me to do? What do you want me to say?”
Devotion to the Sacred Heart
Lola was born on June 27, 1912, in Mercês, Brazil, and as a child moved with her family to Rio Pomba, where she died in 1999.
When she was about 16 years old, she fell from a jabuticaba tree, fractured two lumbar vertebrae, and was left a paraplegic.
“Finding herself in that situation — knowing she would never walk again and would not realize the dreams she might have cherished, such as becoming a mother or a religious, Lola decided to dedicate the rest of her life to devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the heart of Mary. This was Lola’s initial response to a difficult situation, to terrible news,” Bomtempo related.
Following this decision, changes began to occur in her body that would mark the rest of her life. According to the doctor, she ceased to feel hunger, thirst, or the need for sleep.
“Over the next five or six years, they insisted that she eat, but she felt no hunger,” the doctor explained. On Good Friday in 1943, “she decided she would eat no more. From that moment on, she received only the holy Eucharist each day.”
The phenomenon, known as inedia, total abstinence from food, sparked the interest of doctors, researchers, the curious, and pilgrims. According to Bomtempo, this never diverted Lola from what she considered her true mission: leading people to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
“People began coming in large caravans and receiving graces, always through the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” he said.
To him, Lola was “simply a secretary of the heart of Jesus.”
“She only pointed to Jesus. She also possessed many gifts of the Holy Spirit — gifts of revelation, prophecy, and knowledge — and she always used them for the good of others,” he continued.
Allowed to keep the Blessed Sacrament in her room
Since she did not sleep, Lola received permission from the then-bishop of Mariana, Oscar de Oliveira, to keep the Blessed Sacrament in her room.
“Lola remained confined to her bed for those 64 years. She kept a 24-hour vigil before the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Eucharist,” Bomtempo recounted.
He recalled asking her once why she never left the room, not even to go out into the courtyard.
“My place is here, before the Blessed Sacrament, before the heart of Jesus,” Lola replied.
A devotion that endures
In the Church, the first Friday of each month is traditionally dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a devotion that spread widely, particularly following the revelations received by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 17th century.
Recommended practices include confession, Communion, and making reparation for sins committed against the love of Christ.
According to Bomtempo, it was this devotion that Lola sought to spread throughout her life.
The cause for her beatification was opened in 2005 by the then-archbishop of Mariana, Luciano Mendes de Almeida, who had known Lola personally.
According to Bomtempo, the archbishop once told him: “Lola possesses more virtues than are necessary for sainthood. That will happen at the right moment.”
The cause stalled for years due to bureaucratic issues and was resumed just last year, when the current archbishop, Airton José dos Santos, appointed Father Rodney Francisco Reis da Silva as the postulator for the diocesan phase.
Once that phase is concluded, the cause will be sent to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, where it can advance toward the recognition of heroic virtues, the stage at which the person could be declared venerable. Subsequently, the recognition of a miracle is required for beatification and a second miracle for canonization.
For Bomtempo, Lola’s entire life pointed toward this devotion. “What she spoke of most was trust in the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”
Pilgrimage site
Today, Recanto Sítio da Lola (Lola’s Retreat Place) in Rio Pomba is under the care of Father Jamilson Inácio da Silva, pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, who administers the site at the request of the archdiocese.
The site has become a place of pilgrimage, welcoming the faithful from across Brazil on the first Friday and third Sunday of every month for Masses and times of prayer.
The room where Lola lived for over 60 years remains preserved and can be viewed through a glass partition.
In May, the site was reopened for a special occasion — the celebration of the first Mass since the death of the servant of God in 1999 — celebrated by the archbishop emeritus of Juiz de Fora, Gil Antônio Moreira, and concelebrated by Father Rodney Francisco Reis da Silva, the postulator for the cause of beatification.
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.
How Trump’s new FDA pick could be monumental in the fight for life
In the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s appointment of Dr. Heidi Overton, a medical doctor with a history of fighting for life, as head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), pro-life groups are urging her to end mail-order abortion.
Since January 2025 and up until now, Overton has worked as deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy. Before that, she spent more than three years at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), a conservative think tank.
On Aug. 19, Trump appointed her to head the FDA, though she will need to be confirmed by the Senate first, which is likely given the Republican majority.
She has a doctorate in clinical investigation from Johnson Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as well as a medical degree from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.
Overton has been outspoken about the dangers of chemical abortion for women and babies, according to a 2023 AFPI brief she authored where she criticized federal policy that made abortion pills available via telehealth.
“Abortion is corrosive to children, women, and society broadly because it devalues and extinguishes innocent human life,” Overton wrote in 2023. “Unfortunately, federal policymakers have recently expanded access to abortion pills, also called chemical abortions, which are far more dangerous to women, enabling rapid access to abortion.”
About two-thirds of abortions in the United States are chemical, meaning they happen via mifepristone and misoprostol pills. These pills are available via mail in any state, even states where these drugs are illegal. Abortion by mail is highly unregulated, creating danger for female patients.
The abortion pill has continued to be left largely unregulated by Trump’s Food and Drug Administration, in spite of the documented danger to women, including coercion, poisonings, and physical harm.
Advocates for unborn children highlight the importance of opposing chemical abortions and protecting unborn children across state lines, as chemical abortion pills make state pro-life laws moot.
Hope for limitations on chemical abortions
Leading voices for life agree that the FDA should regulate mail-order chemical abortions. After being deeply disappointed so far by Trump’s FDA, they hope Overton is the woman for the task.
The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), an organization of medical doctors who believe in protecting unborn children and their mothers, “applauds the nomination,” said CEO Dr. Christina Francis.
“Dr. Overton has a track record of recognizing the dignity of all of our patients (including our fetal patients) and recognizing the value of life-affirming healthcare,” Francis told EWTN News.
“We are hopeful that Dr. Overton will reinstate vital safeguards around the dangerous abortion drug mifepristone,” Francis said. “Too many tragic incidents continue to pile up in which women have been left to handle the consequences of these potentially fatal drugs on their own.”
“As physicians, we demand the FDA do its job and reinstate essential safeguards for our patients,” Francis said.
Live Action, a group seeking to shift the culture and law on abortion, also viewed the nomination positively.
“Live Action is encouraged by President Trump’s nomination of Dr. Heidi Overton to lead the Food and Drug Administration,” said Live Action spokesman Noah Brandt.
“During Dr. Overton’s time at the America First Policy Institute, she helped lead important work exposing the dangers of chemical abortion and the serious risks posed by the abortion pill,” Brandt told EWTN News.
“We pray that if Dr. Overton is confirmed that she brings that same courage and leadership to the FDA, which has an enormous responsibility to protect the health and safety of America’s women and children,” Brandt said.
Brandt called on Overton to put a halt to chemical abortion pills entirely, beginning with mail-order abortions.
“If confirmed, Dr. Overton should pull the deadly abortion pill from the market completely by first ending mail-order abortions, which are killing babies across the country,” he said.
Kristi Hamrick, spokeswoman for Students for Life Action, called for Overton to take serious action against mifepristone.
“It’s a good thing to have a nominee who has been skeptical of the kinds of policies the FDA has been pushing, but we are not looking for words; we are looking for deeds,” Hamrick told EWTN News. “The reckless rubber-stamping of chemical abortion pills has implications for babies in the womb, their mothers, and even the environment.”
“We are looking for a first-ever review of chemical abortion pills, the abusers' dream drug, that is now being mailed illegally into many states with pro-life laws in place,” Hamrick said.
Hamrick also urged Overton to investigate the environmental impact of chemical abortion drugs in the nation’s drinking water supplies.
“The FDA has never looked into the environmental risks of allowing abortion water pollution nationwide, and you donʼt have to be pro-life to want clean drinking water,” Hamrick said.
“We would ask Dr. Overton to do the work never done before — really evaluate mifepristone, its distribution, and risks to babies, women, and all life, endangered species included,” Hamrick said.
Society of St. Pius X Masses, sacraments banned at Lourdes Shrine
The bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes in France, Jean-Marc Micas, has revoked the authorization for priests of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) to celebrate Mass or the sacraments at the Lourdes Shrine.
In an Aug. 13 statement, the French prelate explained that his decision is based on the Vatican decree of excommunication declaring the SSPX to be in a state of schism following its July 1 ordination of four bishops without a papal mandate.
“Following the decree of schism and excommunication published by the Holy See, I cannot authorize the celebration of the Mass or the other sacraments, not even the public prayers of the Society of St. Pius X within the shrine,” the bishop of Lourdes explained.
Therefore, "the authorization that until now was granted to the SSPX to do so is therefore withdrawn. On the other hand, it is obviously possible that whoever so desires can freely come to the grotto or other places at the shrine to pray privately,” the prelate noted.
“I am well aware of the pain and perhaps the lack of understanding that this decision will cause. I entrust my decision to God’s mercy. We are deeply pained by the tearing of Christ’s tunic caused by our divisions. They scandalize the little ones and hinder our witness to the Gospel,” the bishop stated.
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.
Legislator proposes bill to ban surrogacy in Colombia
A bill has been introduced in the Colombian Congress to ban surrogacy, commonly referred to as "rent-a-womb,” in order to curb "the reproductive exploitation of women and prevent children from being turned into objects of a transaction."
The bill’s explanatory statement notes that the initiative responds to calls from the Constitutional Court, which has urged Congress in four separate rulings to legislate on surrogacy, as the lack of regulation “has direct consequences for the fundamental rights of the pregnant women and the children born through this practice.”
Rep. Luis Miguel López Aristizábal, the bill’s author, noted that this legal loophole has caused the country to become “one of the main destinations for so-called ‘reproductive tourism,’ where couples come from abroad to buy babies in Colombia.”
The bill states that, “for example, the Tammuz Family agency, which works with the Celagem Clinic and four other clinics in Bogotá, claims on its website that ‘surrogacy in Colombia is accessible to same-sex couples and single men seeking a more affordable path to fatherhood.’”
The proposed legislation also indicates that “costs for plans in Colombia start at USD $63,500 (for the basic plan involving donation of ova/eggs). At an exchange rate of 3,400 pesos [63,500 x 3,400], this equates to 215.9 million pesos (for a basic plan), of which the surrogate receives between 25 million and 40 million pesos. This demonstrates that more than 85% of the profits from this business remain with the clinics and intermediaries.”
What the bill establishes
A statement from López Aristizábal’s office notes that "the bill does not criminalize the pregnant woman.” Instead it establishes the criminal offense of "reproductive exploitation through surrogacy" — whether altruistic or commercial — and penalizes those who promote, broker, finance, or organize it with "prison sentences of 120 to 192 months [10-16 years] and fines ranging from 500 to 1,500 times the minimum wage, with aggravating factors applicable in cases involving the womanʼs vulnerability."
These sanctions also apply to Colombian citizens who have engaged in surrogacy abroad, whether in whole or in part.
In addition to protecting the surrogate mother from having to return payments received, the law establishes that “for all legal purposes, the mother of children gestated or born in Colombia is the woman who carries and gives birth to them,” i.e., not the individual or couple buying the baby.
The introduction of the measure was attended by international activist Olivia Maurel, author of the Spanish-language book “Where Are You, Mom?” who was born via surrogacy. During a forum, Maurel contributed to the debate “her own experience and the perspective of someone born through this procedure.”
“It is crucial that this law be passed at this time, as it will protect Colombia’s most vulnerable women” and “prevent children from being born through this practice and having to suffer the consequences of the surrogacy lobby,” she noted.
“Do this for your country, for your women, and for your children,” said Maurel, spokeswoman for the Casablanca Declaration for the universal abolition of surrogacy.
During the presentation, López Aristizábal stated that the bill has the backing of 15 lawmakers from various parties, such as the Liberal Party, the Conservative Party, the National Salvation Movement, the Democratic Center, the Historic Pact, and Dignity and Commitment.
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.
Diocese in Ghana restores remaining liturgical practices restricted during COVID-19 pandemic
HO, Ghana — The Diocese of Ho in Ghana has restored the use of holy water, handshakes during the sign of peace, and reception of Communion on the tongue. The diocese has also urged continued vigilance during liturgical celebrations.
In an Aug. 17 statement, Bishop Emmanuel Kofi Fianu said the remaining restrictions introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic had been lifted with immediate effect because health authorities have not issued new cautions.
“Since the onset of COVID-19, the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) issued guidelines for public worship indicating some liturgical restrictions. Since 2024, a number of these restrictions have been lifted, but a few remained in force as precautionary measures to curtail the spread of the virus and some other infections,” Fianu said.
He continued: “As at now, we do not have any new cautions from the health authorities, so I believe it is time to lift the remaining restrictions that we observe during our liturgical celebrations.”
During the pandemic, Ghana’s Catholic bishops introduced measures that included limiting attendance at religious gatherings, maintaining physical distance, wearing face masks, observing hand hygiene, and taking precautions during the administration of the sacraments.
The measures applied to baptisms, confessions, marriages, funerals, and ordinations.
Under the latest directive, holy water may again be placed in receptacles at church entrances for the people of God to use when making the sign of the cross. They may also shake hands during the sign of peace.
The bishop, however, discouraged the moving around the church to exchange greetings. “As a symbolic act, it is enough to shake hands with those around us,” he said.
His directive also allows the faithful to receive Communion on the tongue.
Fianu went on to caution priests administering the Eucharist to avoid contact with communicants’ saliva and encouraged continued reception of Communion in the hand.
“We should encourage the faithful to receive holy Communion in the hand,” he said.
For concelebrated Masses, the bishop recommended providing additional chalices for hygienic and health reasons.
“We still recommend that extra chalices must be provided so that concelebrating priests can communicate by intinction. The main chalice should be used only by the main/principal celebrant, who should also make sure he purifies it after use,” he said.
Fianu also directed that all concelebrating priests join the entrance procession, adding: “Priests who arrive after the entrance procession are not allowed to concelebrate the Mass.”
Despite the lifting of remaining restrictions, the bishop urged the clergy, women and men religious, and the laity to maintain appropriate hygiene and take precautions whenever necessary.
“Despite the lifting of the restrictions, I urge all priests and faithful to remain vigilant and use their sanitizers whenever they are in doubt. We should all put our health first,” Fianu said in his Aug. 17 message.
This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.