Pro-life group protests Cardinal Cupich’s award to philanthropist, Planned Parenthood donor
Pro-life activists will publicly protest the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Rerum Novarum Banquet based on objections to an award recipient who has donated more than $1 million to organizations that promote abortion access, including Planned Parenthood.
The archdiocese announced it will give the Nostra Aetate Award to the billionaire businessman and philanthropist Michael Sacks at the Oct. 29 banquet. He is CEO of the investment firm GCM Grosvenor, the president of Sacks Family Foundation, and a board member of the Obama Foundation.
Sacks, through his foundation, has donated to philanthropic efforts related to education, arts, veterans, and other issues. His contributions also include $500,000 to Planned Parenthood of Illinois from 2020 to 2022 and $600,000 to the Prairie State Access Fund in 2026, which was created by Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker with the help of philanthropists to support the “reproductive health ecosystem” of the state and combat federal restrictions “on abortion and gender affirming care.”
Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, has not publicly referenced Sacks’ support for these organizations. Rather, in a statement, he described Sacks as a “well-respected leader in Chicago and in the Jewish community.”
His statement explained the Nostra Aetate Award is named after the Second Vatican Council document of the same name, which was intended to build stronger relations with non-Christian religions, including Judaism.
“Honoring a leader, shaped by his Jewish faith, for the gifts he brings to society through his leadership, generosity and talent, acknowledges this shared divine heritage, distinct from specific contemporary political or doctrinal disputes,” Cupich said in his statement.
Cupich said the honor “recognizes [the personʼs] dignity” and role in the community “without implying an endorsement of every statement or stance” the person has. He said the recognition helps bring about “conditions necessary for principled dialogue” and that such dialogue “cannot occur if respect is contingent upon complete agreement on Church doctrine or political policy.”
The primary purpose of the banquet is to raise money for seminarians.
‘Scandalizing the faithful’
Pushback against Cupich for his decision to give the award to Sacks has come from the Chicago-based Illinois Right to Life, which was founded in 1968 to “honor the dignity and sanctity of human life at all stages.”
The pro-life group launched a petition “demanding [Cupich] withdraw his award to Planned Parenthood Financier Michael Sacks,” which has garnered nearly 4,000 signatures as of the day of the banquet.
Illinois Right to Life President Mary Kate Zander told EWTN News that the archdiocese has not responded to the petition. Because Cupich stood by his plan to give Sacks the award, the group will hold a protest outside of the IBEW Local 134 in Chicago, where the banquet will be held.
"Weʼre concerned about the scandal that it creates,” Zander, who is Catholic, told EWTN News when asked about the primary motivation for the protest.
In addition to concerns about the funding of organizations that promote abortion access, Illinois Right to Life has noted Sacks in 2013 signed a letter endorsing same-sex marriage and helped organize business leaders to advocate for it, according to local media reports. Equality Illinois, an LGBT advocacy group, gave Sacks its 2015 Equality Illinois Business Leadership Award in recognition of his role.
Zander said Cupich is “leading people astray and is scandalizing the faithful” by honoring Sacks. She said “we’re also concerned with this man’s soul” and said the cardinal has a responsibility to “hold people accountable … on their public stances.”
Illinois Right to Life alleged granting Sacks the award violates rules set by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
The USCCB document “Catholics in Political Life” states: “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”
The USCCB did not immediately reply to a request for comment on whether Cupich’s decision violates any USCCB rules. EWTN News also reached out to GCM Grosvenor to request a comment from Sacks but did not receive a response.
Cupich doubles down
In his Oct. 26 statement about the Nostra Aetate Award, Cupich acknowledged his decision created backlash but did not mention any concerns related to Sacks’ position on abortion or same-sex marriage.
Rather, Cupich said the archdiocese received criticism for its decision to “honor a person who does not hold to core beliefs of the Catholic Church, primary among them being the divinity of Jesus Christ” and said the backlash was about Sacks’ Jewish faith.
“Refusing to honor or engage with Jews solely because they hold conflicting religious or political positions can risk mimicking historic patterns of antisemitism through exclusion and bigotry, which, frighteningly, is on the rise,” he said. “Nostra Aetate urges us to be proactive in separating personal and community respect from doctrinal agreement, ensuring that disagreement does not regress into hostility or social ostracization. This we cannot tolerate.”
Nostra Aetate states that the Church “decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.” On the 60th anniversary of the document, Pope Leo XIV said “all of my predecessors have condemned antisemitism with clear words” since the Second Vatican Council, “and so I too confirm that the Church does not tolerate antisemitism and fights against it, on the basis of the Gospel itself.”
Cupich’s statement does not name the critics he is referring to. The archdiocese did not immediately respond to an inquiry for clarification.
Zander said Illinois Right to Life is “the only organization that has formally put out any kind of statement” about the award and their concern “has nothing to do with that.” She said Cupich’s statement “is confusing for people” who may infer that his decision to double down “is a response to antisemitism” and the disagreement is “an issue of this man not being Catholic.”
“[Cupich is] distracting from the fact that this man is clearly a supporter of abortion at a very grand scale,” Zander said. “... He’s trying to distract from the fact that [he is also] a same-sex marriage supporter.”
“The cardinal doesn’t want that to be the conversation,” she said. “He wants the conversation to be about that man’s faith background; his ethnic background.”
None of the criticisms published by Illinois Right to Life comment on Sacks’ Jewish faith or ethnic identity.
Last year, Illinois Right to Life launched a similar campaign against Cupich’s decision to give an award to Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, who consistently voted in favor of abortion access. Durbin, who is Catholic, declined the award amid the backlash, which included criticisms from other bishops.
Scholars criticize U.S. bishops for comparing proposed census rule to 18th century slave compromise
The U.S. bishops’ opposition to proposed rule changes affecting the 2030 census has provoked sharp criticism from U.S. historians and scholars, especially concerning the assertion that excluding noncitizens in the census count denies their personhood.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the proposed rule changes would remove demographic questions about race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, and would count for congressional apportionment only citizens and lawful permanent residents.
The proposal says “illegal aliens (among others) should not be included in the apportionment count, as they are not true inhabitants, members of the body politic, or persons with a ‘usual residence’ in the United States.”
In an Oct. 20 letter submitted to Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, among other points, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ general counsel argued that excluding noncitizens from the apportionment count "is effectively to deny they are ‘persons’.” They wrote that this “denial of personhood recalls the ‘overtly sinful and gravely unjust’ Three-fifths Compromise.”
The Three-fifths Compromise was the political deal reached at the 1787 U.S. Constitutional Convention that held the nascent Union together. It set a formula for apportioning seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, which is determined by each state’s population: free persons, including free Black people, counted fully, and “all other persons” (the enslaved population) counted as three-fifths.
Several legal scholars and other experts strongly disagreed with the bishops’ comparison.
Historian Susan Hanssen of the University of Dallas told EWTN News she thinks the bishops’ reference to the Three-fifths Compromise is “an egregious mis-reading of American history.”
“That compromise did not aim at the denial of the personhood of slaves,” she argued, pointing to the compromiseʼs text, which consistently calls both free and enslaved people “persons.”
She said the compromise was intended to mitigate “the power of the slave-owning states in the national government, refusing to award them greater political weight based on subjugated populations without a voice or vote.”
Hanssen said the Census Bureau’s aims regarding the proposed changes are similarly aimed at mitigating political power, arguing that the bureau is refusing “to grant political clout to states that allow a larger number of undocumented illegal workers to be used for labor without the protection of the law.”
David Upham, a constitutional law scholar at the University of Dallas whose work focuses heavily on the 14th Amendment — which established citizenship rights, including the rights to due process and equal protection under the law, particularly for recently freed slaves — told EWTN News that the proposed rule changes do not mean noncitizens are not persons. He called the bishops’ interpretation of persons an “overstatement.”
“If that’s the case, every human being not being counted in the census is not a person,” he said, noting that the principal purpose of the census is to count people in order to determine the allocation of political power in the U.S. House of Representatives, whose members are supposed to be selected by the citizens.
“The question really is, besides bona fide citizens, what other human beings within the state’s border are counted as members of the people,” he said, and noted the president has the constitutional authority to address the question.
“The executive branch has substantial authority to determine whether an individual who isn’t a citizen” should be counted in the census for the purpose of political representation, he said.
“I think the danger the Trump administration is seeking to redress is that those states most enthusiastic about encouraging unlawful migrants will, as result of their disinterest in enforcing federal law, receive more votes in Congress and the electoral college,” he said.
Harvard Law School constitutional law professor Adrian Vermeule also weighed in, writing on X: “The analogy to slavery is utterly absurd unless the USCCB believes that all distinctions based on citizenship are unjust.”
“With all due respect, ‘personhood’ is not a magical trump card that overrides the basic principles of the republican form of government,” he wrote. “One cannot conclude from the bare fact of personhood that anyone and everyone has a right to be counted in the census, to vote, or to stand for office.”
“Why exactly should noncitizens with no status be counted for the apportionment of seats in the representative body?” he asked. He suggested the bishops’ public comment “really should be withdrawn” and added that he hopes “cooler heads prevail.”
Scholars at various major think tanks were also quick to take aim at the bishops’ personhood argument.
Mike Fragoso, a scholar at the Ethics and Public Policy Center’s Constitution, the Courts, and the Culture program, called the bishops “unserious,” while Jay Richards, vice president of social and domestic policy and senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, called the bishops’ position “absurd.”
Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, told EWTN News that “our inherent recognition as persons — personhood — does not come from the governmentʼs census as to who is in the country.”
“As Catholics, we believe that unborn children are people,” he continued, “but the bishops do not extend their logic to demand that the unborn be counted in the census notwithstanding the fact that a killing that results in the death of a pregnant mother is, in many places, considered to be two murders. Why not?”
The proposed rule changes, published Sept. 10, are open to public comment until Nov. 2. The U.S. bishops did not respond to requests for comment on the backlash.
Lord of Miracles celebration in Peru: ‘It’s not enough to attend the procession,’ bishop exhorts
“It’s not enough to come to the procession; it‘s not enough to spend these festive days gathered around the image. What we must do is open our lives to the Lord, who is capable of transforming them,” Auxiliary Bishop Guillermo Elías of Lima, Peru, said during his homily at a well-attended Mass on Oct. 28, the central feast day of the Lord of the Miracles.
The feast coincides with the second to the last procession of the “Cristo Moreno” (the dark-skinned Christ).
The original image of the Lord of the Miracles was painted by an African slave on an adobe wall around 1651 and survived the massive earthquake of 1655, which was considered miraculous given the scale of destruction. Subsequently, additional miracles were associated with the image.
Addressing the sea of devotees gathered outside the Church of the Nazarenas in the historic center of Lima, where the sacred image of the Christ of Pachacamilla (another name for the image) is kept, the prelate posed a question that reached beyond the celebration itself: “Do you come for the miracles of the Lord, or for the Lord who is capable of performing the miracle of your salvation?”
Drawing from the day’s Gospel, in which Jesus speaks with Nicodemus about God’s love and eternal life, Elías invited the faithful to look upon the Cristo Moreno with a faith that does not stop at the image itself nor come to an end when the processions conclude.
“What is the foundation of your faith? Do you come for the miracles of the Lord or for the Lord who performs miracles?” he reiterated.
A faith demonstrated through works
For Elías, devotion must also be evident in how one treats others. During his homily, he recalled a statement by 20th-century Chilean St. Alberto Hurtado, which was cited by Pope Francis: “Not doing evil is good, but not doing good is evil.”
The bishop warned that observing religious practices is not enough if they do not lead to love: “You can do many good things, follow so many precepts, so many good deeds, but if you lack love, it’s not enough,” he stated.
He also addressed the violence in Lima and other parts of the country, lamenting that a person could lose his life during an assault or an attack on a bus, and noted that “a city like ours is in great need of our witness.”
Faced with this reality, he encouraged the faithful not to remain indifferent. “Let us ask that we, too, may bring salvation by loving the vulnerable, those who have nothing, those who have lost hope, by offering them the very best of ourselves,” he urged.
Preparing hearts for Pope Leo XIV
Elías also touched on the upcoming visit of Pope Leo XIV to Peru, recalling he motto of the trip, “Let us open our hearts,” and asked whether the Peruvian people are truly preparing themselves to receive the pontiff.
The call to open your heart, he explained, is not limited to welcoming the pope; rather, it is an invitation to live out Christian values in one’s personal, family, and community life.
“Let us open our hearts to the values of the kingdom — to peace, justice, and solidarity,” he stated.
The second to the last procession of the image of the Lord of Miracles in 2026 made its way through the center of Lima, reaching Archbishop Loayza National Hospital.
This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
U.S. bishops urge Catholic voters: Start with your faith, discern your vote
Ahead of the contentious 2026 U.S. midterm elections, the U.S. bishops are urging Catholic voters to form their consciences in light of their faith and discern their vote informed by the teachings of the Church.
In a video released by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Portland, Oregon, Archbishop Alexander Sample suggested Catholics should think of themselves as “disciples of Jesus first, Americans second … and, if you’re going to belong to a political party, that is third.”
“Start with your relationship with Jesus. Start with your faith,” the archbishop said. “And then see how that shapes your view on social and political issues.”
The archbishop’s video comes just days before the 2026 U.S. midterms, which could serve as a sharp referendum on U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, particularly his administration’s launching of a war with Iran, which brought with it major increases in fuel costs and other prices.
Multiple U.S. bishops have urged the faithful to pray ahead of the elections, including regarding major ballot initiatives involving abortion and other issues.
In his Oct. 26 video, Sample — who serves as the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ religious liberty committee — noted that “none of the political parties” in the U.S. “embody all the Catholic social teaching.”
“We don’t start with our party’s political platform,” he said. “We start with Catholic social teaching — the Catholic social doctrine of the Church, and all of those principles of Catholic social teaching.”
Conscience ‘tells us to pursue the good’
In a related video also released on Oct. 26, Baltimore Archbishop William Lori — who previously served as vice president of the USCCB — said the “importance of a properly formed conscience cannot be overstated.”
The archbishop described conscience as “that part of us that tells us to pursue the good and to avoid evil,” a place where “God speaks to us and his word echoes in our hearts.”
“It is vital that in this time when there is so much back-and-forth politically, when the news cycles never cease, when life is moving along rapidly — that in the exercise of our citizenship, we would slow down and engage in discernment.”
The prelate pointed to St. Paul’s admonishment to “cling to what is good.” He described faithful citizenship as “an invitation to know what the Church teaches and then, when you’re faced with ballot issues or the question of for whom to vote, you’re equipped to engage in prayerful discernment.”
He noted that the U.S. bishops issue messages about voting periodically. “[We] have a lot of faith in our people,” he said.
The question of faithful citizenship was “never meant to be simply a list of dos and don’ts, or ‘vote this way or vote that way,’” Lori said. “It’s not a voter guide.” Rather, the principle “strives to present a beautiful vision of the United States as the best version of itself.”
Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville, Kentucky, meanwhile, in a separate video urged Catholics to keep the “desire to be the best disciple of Jesus Christ” at the center of all their decisions.
“We participate in public life and in political life to advance the common good, and to also remind everyone in public life and in politics that the common good and the human dignity of each and every person are paramount,” he said.
Some analysts are predicting a major Democratic victory in the 2026 midterms, particularly amid low approval ratings for Trump halfway through his second term.
As of Oct. 29 the forecast and election-tracking outlet Decision Desk HQ was predicting likely Democratic victories in both the U.S. House and Senate, including an 80% probability of victory in the House.
Rome conference asks whether the Church did enough to resist totalitarian regimes
A conference in Rome this week examined how the Church addressed totalitarian regimes in the 20th century.
The conference “The Holy See in the Face of Totalitarian Systems in the 20th Century: New Perspectives and Research Directions” was held at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome from Oct. 28–29. Over the two days, scholars discussed how the Vatican responded to oppressive governments, particularly from the time of Pope Pius XII to the Second Vatican Council.
The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation and the Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences, which organized the event, also presented a new exhibit at the Gregorian on the 1966 celebrations of the 1,000th anniversary of the Baptism of Poland in 966.
Totalitarianism: Temptation to be like God
As reported by Vatican News, the conference opened with a keynote address from Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who warned nations against asserting themselves in the place of God.
“[Totalitarianism] arises from the human temptation to want to ‘be like God,’ to control how humanity lives and thinks, and to impose one’s own ideological convictions on it,” Parolin said.
He also criticized the tendency of countries to elevate the state and certain constructs in place of religion.
“By elevating social class, race, or the state to the altar in God’s place, [totalitarian regimes] sacralized their ideological concepts and created political religions, with their own ‘liturgies,’ prophets, martyrs, and ethical norms,” Parolin added.
Pius XII’s Vatican and the Nazi regime
Among the topics discussed at the conference was the Holy See’s stance under Venerable Pius XII toward Nazi Germany during the Second World War, including the Holocaust.
Parolin maintained that Pius XII condemned wars in a way “that would not provoke even greater persecution” and that he displayed “a diplomacy of charity on an unprecedented scale.”
Others at the conference described the Church’s stance during this period as “sustainable.”
“I would say that the Church, and the Holy See in particular, did what it considered possible and sustainable during the periods we have discussed, just as it does today,” said Father Nicola Spinato, a theologian from Padua, Italy.
“The Holy See and the Church are not simply political actors competing within the political arena. Their role is pastoral and ecclesial,” Spinato added.
Vatican totalitarian resistance under Vatican II and John Paul II
During the conference, several participants presented on the influence of the Second Vatican Council on the Holy See’s vocal resistance to totalitarian regimes.
Spinato presented on how the Church, through the council, formulated its opposition to racism and all forms of discrimination.
“The confrontation with the totalitarianism and racism of the 20th century contributed to the development of the Church’s social teaching,” Spinato said.
Others noted St. John Paul II’s influence on Vatican diplomacy, particularly in Poland and Latin America.
“John Paul II actively intervened to end dictatorships and to promote the return to democracy. From April 1-6, 1987, he visited Chile — a trip that would change the country’s history,” Gianni La Bella, a member of the Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences, said.
“Following John Paul’s pilgrimages to Poland in 1983 and 1987, efforts began to overcome the crisis. His influence and laws guaranteeing religious freedom paved the way for Poland and the Holy See to restore full diplomatic relations on July 17, 1989,” Father Albert Warso, a professor at John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, said.
Eyewitness to train accident aftermath recounts dying man’s final words: ‘God is good’
URDA, Spain — The sight of two high-speed trains destroyed in a brutal head-on collision, their steel carriages mangled and twisted, forever shattered the quiet routine of Urda, a town of barely 2,500 inhabitants in the province of Toledo, Spain, on Oct. 28.
Antonio García Condado, 78, the town pharmacist, was one of the first to see dozens of bodies trapped beneath the wreckage and to assist injured passengers who did not even have the strength to cry out for help.
He was finishing breakfast when his daughter alerted him that a train accident had occurred. Without a second thought, he got into his car and drove toward the area. At first, he believed it was only a minor incident.
“When I got there, it all seemed very minor. There was no traffic, hardly any cars. I said to myself, ‘Well, this can’t be very serious.’ But as I got closer to the AVE train’s cab, there was no cab. It was a mass of twisted metal, bodies, and dying people,” he recalled a day after the tragedy, still visibly shaken, in an interview with EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.
‘Some were moving their hands among the bodies’
What struck him most was the deathly silence that hung over the scene.
“There were no screams. Perhaps they didn’t even have the strength to speak. Some were moving their hands among the bodies,” he explained.
Journalists from various news outlets repeatedly asked García what he had witnessed. But repeating the story did nothing to lessen the impact of the scenes he had seen. Every time he told it, García became emotional once again.
“I was deeply affected by the farewell of a dying man to his wife: ‘Maite, I love you very much. Take care of the children.’ The last words he said moved me greatly: ‘God is good,’” he recalled.
Shortly afterward, he noticed another survivor who was calmly asking for help despite the severity of his injuries. García described a young man standing behind him, remarkably composed, asking for an ambulance.
“Then I noticed that his arm had been severed. He had lost his arm. I broke down. I think I even cried,” he said.
After that initial shock, he realized just how serious the situation was and immediately returned to his pharmacy. He gathered all the medical supplies he could and mobilized his entire family.
“I came back here empty-handed to get supplies, especially painkillers. My son came with me, my daughter too, my wife, and my assistant. We practically emptied out the pharmacy and all went back, trying to solve whatever problems we could,” he explained.
When he returned to the accident site, security forces directed him to enter from another access point. There he encountered an even more devastating scene on the other side of the train.
“One carriage had been crushed into another. Just imagine the bodies that were in there. It was horrifying,” he said.
Within minutes, the disaster area involving the two crashed trains, a Renfe AVE carrying 397 people and an Iryo train carrying 147 passengers, filled with the activity that accompanies major catastrophes: dozens of ambulances crossing paths with funeral-home vehicles, fire trucks, Civil Protection units, and officers of the civil guard.
Faith, the only comfort in the midst of tragedy
Throughout the morning, García assisted emergency teams however he could, supplying medicines and medical materials when stocks began to run low.
“What affected me most was that first moment, when I saw people asking for help and I couldn’t do anything, because I was practically alone. It was a tremendous feeling of helplessness,” explained the man of deep religious conviction.
For him, faith in Christ has been and remains his greatest source of support.
“When believers experience traumas this great, we always turn to the same thing. I think it brings tremendous comfort. It’s the only way to keep going forward.”
This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Canada tables bill to halt MAID expansion for mental illness, decriminalize advance requests
The Canadian federal government tabled legislation on Tuesday that, if passed, would halt the scheduled March 17, 2027, expansion of euthanasia access to an individual solely experiencing a mental illness and decriminalize advance requests for medical assistance in dying (MAID).
Bill C-41, the MAID Safeguards Act, would amend the Criminal Code to protect practitioners from prosecution “for culpable homicide or administering a noxious thing” to provide MAID to patients who consent in advance to receiving the procedure if they are diagnosed with an illness expected to cause them to lose decision-making capacity in the future. The applicant must prepare the request with the assistance of a medical or nurse practitioner.
The legislation states that MAID cannot be carried out until the patient has lost all capacity to grant consent for euthanasia, is experiencing unbearable suffering, and is in a state of irreversible decline.
According to the text of the legislation, a practitioner cannot administer a MAID substance based on an advance request if the patient “demonstrates, by words, sounds or gestures, refusal or resistance to have the substance administered to them.” If the provider doubts that the patient was exhibiting refusal or resistance, they are mandated to wait 30 days before making another attempt. Per the bill, involuntary words, sounds, and gestures are not considered a demonstration of noncompliance.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General Sean Fraser announced that provinces will decide whether or not to fulfill these advance requests. Alberta has already banned the practice and Quebec has had an advance request MAID regime in place for two years.
Fraser said that the federal government “will work with provinces and territories on implementation, with rigorous safeguards to protect people and ensure the decision remains voluntary and free from external pressure.”
Daniel Zekveld, a policy analyst serving the Association of Reformed Political Action (ARPA) Canada, declared that “ advance consent is not informed consent. It is based only on fear of a future condition that the person has never experienced.”
He further called out this move to legalize advance requests because it places a “future life-and-death decision to third parties to determine when a person should die by MAID.”
Krista Carr, the CEO of the disability rights organization Inclusion Canada, stated that “an advance request is written by someone who cannot know what their future will hold. Consent at the time is the most basic protection a person has. Parliament should not take it away.”
As for the decision to put an indefinite halt to broadening euthanasia access to individuals living solely with a mental illness, Fraser said it wasn’t “reached out of thin air,” alluding to several months of work from a special joint parliamentary committee that arrived at this resolution.
Campaign Life Coalition National President Jeff Gunnarson criticized the decision to pair the MAID for mental illness exclusion with the advance requests decriminalization.
“The government is offering protection for those with mental illness at the expense of those with dementia,” Gunnarson said. “It’s literally trading human lives, and it’s simply immoral.”
Read the text of Bill C-41 here.
This story was first published by The Catholic Register, has been adapted by EWTN News, and is reprinted here with permission.
‘Father, give me a hug, I’m alive’: A priest’s testimony of the train collision in Spain
URDA, Spain — Everything changed for Father José Miguel Fernández, parish priest of the Spanish town of Urda, when he received a call from Archbishop Francisco Cerro Chaves of Toledo informing him of the scale of the disaster.
The front of a Renfe train traveling at 200 km/hr (124 mph) had slammed into the last cars of an Iryo train at kilometer 118 of the Madrid-Seville railway line, leaving behind a horrific scene with dozens dead and injured. As of Thursday, the preliminary death toll was 69.
Without hesitation, the priest went to the site to accompany the victims trapped in the train cars.
According to his account, he arrived around 11 a.m., two hours after the collision, and joined the relief effort improvised by dozens of volunteers, many of them members of his parish.
‘Our minds turn to God and we look up to heaven’
The first thing he saw was “a huge line of injured people emerging from the train cars,” he told Nicolás de Cárdenas, correspondent for EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.
Residents of the town did what they could to help, transporting the injured in their own vehicles to Urda so they could receive medical care.
“These are moments that, humanly speaking, break your heart, but very quickly our minds turn to God and we look up to heaven,” Fernández said.
Among the injured, he especially remembered a man who approached him and said: “Father, give me a hug, I’m alive.”
That encounter set the tone for the entire day.
“I said to myself, well, this is how you can draw near today: by giving a hug. So that’s what I spent the entire morning doing while I was at ground zero, holding people’s hands and giving them a hug.”
‘Trust in God, for God is good’
He later went to Urda’s municipal sports hall, which had been converted into a field hospital. Many desperate relatives arrived there looking for news about their loved ones.
“There is no consolation for them. They want to know immediately what has happened. Where is my relative? Where is my loved one? And so what I tried to do was calm them, reassure them, and tell them: What matters is hope. Have hope. Trust in God, for God is good,” he recounted.
‘We are priests, but we are human’
For hours, the priest continued the same mission he had begun beside the railway tracks: accompanying the suffering of people who had lost everything in a matter of seconds.
He also acknowledged that on “many occasions” he ended up crying with them.
“We are priests, of course, but we are human, and the pain and sorrow of our brothers and sisters affect us too,” he explained.
The pope’s affection
From the Vatican, the Holy Father’s spiritual closeness was not long in coming. Pope Leo XIV said he was “deeply saddened” by the tragic railway accident.
In a telegram signed, as is customary, by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, he assured his prayers “for the eternal repose of the deceased” and expressed his “heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives,” together with words of comfort and his hope for a speedy recovery for the injured.
In the message, addressed to Chaves, the pontiff acknowledged the work of those involved in the emergency response, encouraging “members of the rescue teams to persevere in their relief and assistance efforts” following the disaster.
Finally, the pope imparted his heartfelt apostolic blessing to all those affected as “a sign of hope in the risen Lord.”
This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
5 ‘God-incidences’ will mark Pope Leo XIV’s upcoming trip to South America
Pope Leo XIV’s upcoming visit to Latin America will be marked by at least five “God-incidences,” as people call the coincidences arranged by Divine Providence.
Although the papal itinerary does not specify whether these dates were chosen deliberately, these circumstances provide additional insight into the pontiffʼs upcoming journey.
1. He will return to Chiclayo on the anniversary of St. Augustine’s birth.
On Nov. 13, Leo XIV will return to Chiclayo, the Peruvian diocese he shepherded before being called to Rome, and will celebrate Mass in the Pampas of Pimentel.
The date coincides with a significant celebration for the Augustinian family: the anniversary of the birth of St. Augustine, which took place in 354 in Tagaste, North Africa.
On that day, the Order of St. Augustine, to which the pope belongs, also celebrates all its saints. The occasion thus brings together two connections that have shaped Pope Leo’s life: Augustinian spirituality and his service to the community of Chiclayo, where he served as bishop.
This date marks the birth of St. Augustine and should not be confused with the saint’s liturgical feast day, which the Church celebrates on Aug. 28.
2. The pope will commemorate the patroness of Uruguay on the day of her solemnity.
On the morning of Nov. 8, Leo XIV will celebrate Mass in the square of the Cathedral Basilica of Florida, which houses the National Shrine of the Virgin of the Thirty-Three, the patroness of Uruguay. His visit will coincide with the solemnity of this devotion, a special occasion for the country’s Catholics.
That day will also be the second Sunday of November, when the national pilgrimage to the shrine traditionally takes place. Thus, the papal visit will coincide both with the solemnity and with the Sunday traditionally dedicated to the pilgrimage.
3. He will be between the Andes and the Amazon during the World Day of the Poor.
On Nov. 15, the pope will visit Cusco and Pucallpa in Peru, encounters that will coincide with the 10th World Day of the Poor, which bears the theme “The Lord Is the Refuge of the Poor.”
In Cusco, the pope will meet with the faithful and representatives of popular piety. Afterward, he will travel to Pucallpa, where he will meet with missionaries and representatives of Amazonian peoples before continuing on to Lima.
This coincidence will provide a unique context for listening both to the pontiff and to the communities that will welcome him, each with its own distinct history, traditions, and challenges.
4. Pope Leo will visit a prison on the feast day of St. Martin of Tours.
On Nov. 11, the itinerary includes a visit to the Federal Penitentiary Complex in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The date coincides with the commemoration of St. Martin of Tours, remembered for having shared his cloak with a poor man.
Although the program does not explicitly link the visit to this liturgical celebration, the coincidence serves as a reminder of his witness of care for those who suffer, on a day when the pope will reach out to individuals deprived of their liberty.
5. The Holy Father will visit the shrine of St. Turibius 300 years after his canonization.
On Nov. 14, Leo XIV will take part in a prayer gathering at the shrine of St. Turibius of Mogrovejo, patron saint of the bishops of the Americas, in Zaña, Peru (southeast of Chiclayo), to mark the conclusion of the jubilee year dedicated to the 300th anniversary of his canonization, which was proclaimed on Dec. 10, 1726.
The calendar also presents another coincidence: St. Turibius, who served as archbishop of Lima, was born on Nov. 16, 1538. On that same day in November, the pope will conclude his activities in Peru and begin his return journey to Rome, arriving the following day. Thus, the memory of the saint will also accompany the conclusion of the Peruvian leg of the trip.
This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Cardinal Tobin asks for prayers as he heads to surgery for mass in kidney
Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, is asking the faithful for prayers as he heads into surgery on Oct. 29 to address an issue with a kidney, according to an archdiocesan news release.
“I am deeply grateful to the skilled and compassionate medical professionals who are guiding my care and preparing my treatment plan,” Tobin said in an Oct. 28 statement, one day before the surgery.
“Above all, I place my complete trust in Christ our Redeemer, whose loving presence sustains me in all things,” Tobin said. “I humbly ask for your prayers and support during this time. God willing, I look forward to resuming my full duties within a few weeks after surgery.”
According to the archdiocese, doctors discovered a mass in one of the cardinal’s kidneys and he will undergo surgery to remove it. The announcement states doctors believe the mass is confined to the kidney and are optimistic about his outlook.
The news release states the doctor’s examination of the mass after the surgery will determine its nature and guide the cardinalʼs treatment moving forward.
The archdiocese did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.