Thousands attend annual pro-life March For Life UK event in London
LONDON — On Saturday, thousands of activists marched from the Emmanuel Centre, Westminster to Parliament Square as part of an annual demonstration organized by the pro-life group March For Life UK.
The march comes amid an ongoing debate over abortion law in England, Scotland and Wales, with pro-life campaigners calling for greater restrictions on abortion and opposing legislation establishing buffer zones around abortion clinics and hospitals.
March For Life organizer Ben Thatcher told EWTN News: “Every single human life is made in the image and likeness of God. Abortion ends that life, and when abortion does end that life, we are looking at a great, great tragedy — something that affects not just that person, but that family and the society and culture we live in.”
Under current law, abortions can generally be carried out up to 24 weeks’ gestation, subject to certain legal conditions. Buffer zones around abortion clinics and hospitals, meanwhile, restrict certain activities intended to influence, obstruct or harass people accessing abortion services.
“I feel thereʼs an absolute travesty that a human life thatʼs made in the image of God can be ended and can be dressed up in this slogan of ‘abortion is healthcare’,” Thatcher said.
The march was attended by 15 Catholic bishops, who also celebrated Mass at Westminster Cathedral in the morning before joining the main group.
Southwark Auxiliary Bishop Paul Hendricks told EWTN News: “I support life in all its stages. We have to stand up for our values. We have our principles and we follow Jesus.”
Southwark Archbishop John Wilson told EWTN News: “Iʼm here because I believe in the beauty and the dignity of human life. … Weʼre united together in a beautiful, peaceful, joyful spirit, to say that human life matters, that every life matters, from conception to natural death.”
“And in a challenging culture, when so many people, in a sense, see life as something more disposable, you just want to stand up and be a voice for the voiceless,” he said.
Attendees sang Christian hymns including “He’s got the whole world in his hands” and the Salve Regina while marching through the sunny streets of London, carrying banners reading: “Abortion hurts the family,” “Abortion Bans Save Lives” and “I’ve joined the fightback.”
“Iʼve come here today to support life from conception to natural death, within a culture where that seems not to be valued now… I think itʼs important to stand up and say that the human dignity of every person is that theyʼre made in the image of God, no matter how small,” Military Bishop Paul Mason told EWTN News.
Father Paul Grogan told EWTN News that abortion is “the most fundamental human rights issue of our time.”
“And I think itʼs an important part of living out our Catholic faith that we should witness to our belief in the beauty of human life, from the moment of conception to the moments of its natural ending,” he said.
Hundreds also attended a pro-choice counter-protest, chanting slogans including “abortion is a human right,” “not the church, not the state, we decide our own fate,” “Christian fascists go away,” and “keep your rosaries off our ovaries.”
Tilly Middlehurst, a pro-choice activist and a Cambridge student who became widely known online after a confrontation with the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, told EWTN News that she had “come to safeguard our rights as women.”
“I want to bring as many people here as possible to demonstrate that [pro-life activists] are a minority, and they donʼt belong here,” she said, referring to the thousands of activists marching in the streets.
Before the march, pro-life activist Ruth Price was met with anger from counter-protesters outside the Emmanuel Centre after trying to hand out pro-life leaflets to the pro-choice advocates.
Price told EWTN News: “I wanted to speak to people who are murdering young children. … I certainly meant no harm to them. I work with adults with very profound learning difficulties and they have lives that are worthwhile. They are precious in the sight of God, and I want people to know that we respect the life of the mother.”
Last year the London March For Life was attended by approximately 10,000 people, according to organizers who on Friday evening were waiting to confirm expected numbers for this year.
European bishops warn against allowing erasure of ‘theological reality’ of baptismal records
The European bishops’ conference is warning authorities of the dangers of allowing baptized individuals to erase the records of their baptisms from Church archives, with the bishops arguing that to do so would negatively affect Church freedom and internal governance.
The Court of Justice of the European Union is currently hearing a case brought by the Brussels Court of Appeal regarding whether the Catholic Church is violating Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation by refusing to erase names from baptismal records when requested.
In a Sept. 2 position paper opposing the deletion policy, the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union disputed claims that a baptismal register functions as a “list of members” of the Catholic Church. A register, the bishops said, serves instead as a “record of historical events.”
“The purpose of a baptismal register is not to bear witness to the faith of individual persons, to the fact that someone is affiliated to the Church or to his/her involvement in Church life,” the bishops said.
Rather, such registers function as a “fundamental evidentiary instrument” for “numerous matters relating to the internal life of the Church,” including whether or not a person has married, made a profession in a religious institute or been confirmed.
It would be “impossible” to verify vital records if they are removed from the register, the bishops said.
Requiring the baptismal deletions, the prelates argued, would mandate that the Church “adapt to [a person’s] feelings or opinions” in how the Church itself views baptismal records. This would require a shift in “theological reflection,” they said, which is “protected by Church autonomy.”
The erasures could further “mislead” both Catholics and non-believers into being convinced that the sacrament of baptism is “repeatable and optional.”
Such a policy would “constitute an infringement on the substance of the sacrament and not merely of the manner in which it is administered or carried out,” the paper said, and it would “seriously impede the proper functioning of the Church.”
Alessandro Calcagno, a lawyer and assistant general secretary for the European bishops, said last year that the proceedings were “not an initiative against the Church by the European Union” but rather “a response to clarifications requested at the national level.”
The issue arose in 2023 after an individual in the Diocese of Ghent in Belgium asked for all of their data to be completely removed from the local Church register. The Ghent Diocese opposed that request.
The European court’s ruling is expected by the end of 2026 or sometime in 2027.
Accused killer of Kansas priest declared not competent at murder trial
A man accused of murdering a priest in Kansas was declared not competent at a court hearing this week, authorities said.
Gary Hermesch was declared incompetent to stand trial in Nemaha County Court on Sept. 3. Hermesch had been charged with first-degree murder in the April 3, 2025 shooting death of Father Arul Carasala in the small city of Seneca.
A spokesman with the state attorney general’s office confirmed the court ruling to EWTN News. The spokesman added that the court “ordered involuntary commitment proceedings [to] be initiated.”
The suspect was arrested the day after the shooting. He reportedly turned himself in to authorities and confessed to the crime.
TKansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann said in a Facebook post after the shooting that Carasala “was a devoted and zealous pastor” who “faithfully served our archdiocese for over 20 years.”
“His love for Christ and his Church was evident in how he ministered to his people with great generosity and care,” the archbishop said.
Carasala’s obituary described him as a “beloved priest” who was “grounded, compassionate, and deeply community-oriented.” He was born in Kilacheri, Tamil Nadu, India, and attended seminary in Cuddapah, Vizag and Eluru; he was ordained to the priesthood on March 4, 1994.
He came to the Kansas City Archdiocese in 2004, becoming “a cornerstone of the local Catholic community.” He eventually became a U.S. citizen in 2011.
He is survived by a sister and brother-in-law as well as a niece and nephew.
10 lesser-known facts about St. Teresa of Calcutta, 10 years after canonization
On Sept. 5, Catholics around the world celebrate the feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta, popularly known as Mother Teresa, and this year marks 10 years since she was declared a saint by the Catholic Church.
The beloved religious sister was known globally for her work among the poorest of poor in India and for founding the Missionaries of Charity.
Yet behind the familiar image of the saint there are aspects of her life that may not be as well-known — from her childhood in the Balkans and years as a teacher to her surprising friendships and spiritual struggles.
Here are 10 lesser-known facts about the life of St. Teresa of Calcutta as we celebrate her 10 years as a canonized saint:
1. She wasn’t born in India
Mother Teresa was born Anjezë (Agnes) Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in 1910 in Skopje, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire and is now the capital of North Macedonia. She came from an ethnic Albanian family and was the youngest of five children — two of whom died in infancy.
2. She entered religious life at 18
At age 12, she felt called to serve the poor and at 18, left home to join the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known as the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish order of nuns, with the intention to serve in India. She would never again live with her immediate family.
3. She chose the name Teresa after St. Thérèse of Lisieux
Upon her arrival at Rathfarnham Abbey in Ireland, she took the name Teresa after St. Thérèse of Lisieux, a 19th-century French nun known as the “Little Flower” who was known for her simplicity and doing things in her “Little Way.”
4. She was a teacher before she served the poor
Before beginning her work among the poor, Mother Teresa taught in India for nearly two decades. She arrived in Calcutta, India. on Jan. 6, 1929, and after making her first vows in 1931, she was assigned to the Loretto Entally community and taught at St. Mary’s Bengali Medium School for girls. In 1937, Teresa made her final vows as a Loreto nun and then reassumed her duties at the school. In 1944 she became principal of the school.
5. She experienced a ‘call within a call’
On Sept. 10, 1946, Mother Teresa experienced what she would refer to as the “call within a call.” Over the following weeks and months, she would receive inspiration from God asking her to establish a religious community that would serve the poorest of the poor.
6. She didn’t immediately start the religious order
In August of 1948, Teresa left the Loreto convent and went to a short medical training with the Medical Mission Sisters in Patna. In December of the same year, she returned to Calcutta and stayed temporarily with the Little Sisters of the Poor. During this time, she worked in the slums tending to the sick and dying. On Oct. 7, 1950, the congregation of the Missionaries of Charity was officially established.
7. She founded branches for men and priests, too
In order to serve the various physical and spiritual needs of the sick, Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity Brothers in 1963 and in 1984 the Missionaries of Charity Fathers. She also created groups for lay people including Co-Workers of Mother Teresa and the Sick and Suffering Co-Workers, which were groups of people who shared her spirit of prayer, simplicity, and love for those most in need.
8. She received the Nobel Peace Prize — and rejected the traditional banquet
When Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, she asked that the money that would have been spent on the customary banquet instead be given to the poor. She also used her Nobel platform to speak about the dignity of human life and the need for the protection of the unborn.
9. She experienced profound spiritual darkness
One of the most surprising aspects of Mother Teresa’s life is that she endured decades of what she described as profound interior darkness. Despite being a woman of deep prayer, her private letters revealed that she sometimes felt distant from God even as she continued serving him.
10. Her congregation spread around the world
Today the Missionaries of Charity have 754 homes in 138 countries around the world and a little over 5,000 nuns serving the poorest of the poor.
Guinean youth heading to West African Youth Day encouraged to be missionaries
CONAKRY, Guinea — The leader of Guinea’s Catholic Archdiocese of Conakry has urged 155 young Catholics from the country sent to represent their peers at the first West African Youth Day in Ghana to embrace the gathering as a missionary experience rather than a tourist trip.
The Republic of Guinea is a French-speaking West African nation bordering the Atlantic with a population of about 13.5 million.
The Guinean delegation was commissioned at Mass on Sept. 2 at St. Rita Sangoyah Parish of Conakry Archdiocese, ahead of the Sept. 7–11 youth gathering organized by the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa.
In his homily, Archbishop François Sylla challenged the young Catholics to recognize their active role in the life and mission of the Church.
“You are not merely beneficiaries of pastoral ministry; you are also actors in the mission of the Church,” Sylla said.
The archbishop urged the delegates from the five dioceses of Guinea—Conakry, Boké, Kankan, Guéckédou and NʼZérékoré — to return from Accra transformed by their encounter with other young Catholics and ready to become witnesses of peace and hope in their communities.
“You will go to Accra as ambassadors of our local Church,” Sylla said, noting that Guinea is currently marking the final phase of the 150th anniversary of evangelization in the country.
He encouraged the youth to share with others what they will “see, hear and touch” during the gathering and to translate the experience into concrete service to the Church and society.
“Your participation in this ecclesiastical event should not be a tourist journey,” the archbishop said.
Instead, he described the encounter as an opportunity for the young people to deepen their faith, grow in conviction, and be educated in values that can foster greater commitment to the Church and society.
The first West African Youth Day is being held under the theme “Take courage, young Catholics, actors of peace and hope in West Africa.”
The gathering is expected to bring together youth from across the region in what has been described as a historic first for the continent.
Sylla urged the delegates to return home sufficiently transformed to become “a stimulant of ecclesiastical and social engagement” for other young people searching for peace.
He also challenged the youth. “The Church needs a youth who does not only say, ‘What can the Church do for me?’ But it needs a youth who also asks itself: ‘What can I do for the Church in the next few years? What is my role in the Church?’” he said.
According to the archbishop, young people have a particular responsibility in a world increasingly shaped by social media, artificial intelligence, globalization, and rapid social change.
He recalled Pope Francis’ appeal to young people in Venice, where the late pontiff emphasized the need for their energy, creativity, enthusiasm, and ability to dream.
“The Church must not only speak to the youth today, but must learn to walk with them and to show them responsibility,” Sylla said, adding that “a youth who is responsible becomes a missionary force.”
The archbishop described the young delegates as missionaries and encouraged them to see their participation in the youth day as an opportunity to become part of a wider movement of West African youth committed to peace, justice, security and hope.
“You are therefore missionaries. The youth is the light of those in a West African country in search of peace, justice, security and hope,” the Catholic archbishop said.
He called on the delegates to be witnesses of Christ’s hope and love in their families, communities and nation, while reminding them that they are already missionaries in the present, rather than simply future leaders.
“Remind the West African youth that they are not only the leaders of your communities, but already the missionaries of today, in charge of bringing the light of Christ in all sectors of society,” Sylla said.
He assured the young pilgrims of his prayers and invoked the protection of the saints as they embarked on their journey to Ghana.
“We pray that peace will come and all the saints will accompany you in this pilgrimage,” he said, expressing hope that “the light of Christ will shine on you wherever you are.”
This article was first published by ACI Africa, EWTN News’ sister service in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News English.
Cardinal Burke to lead international Rosary Rally in Amsterdam
Cardinal Raymond Burke will preside over Radio Maria’s annual Rosary Rally of reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Sept. 5.
“Cardinal Burke will be the principal celebrant at Holy Mass in the Church of Our Lady, Keizersgracht 218, Amsterdam. Later that afternoon, he will lead a prayer service and give an inspiring talk at the Vondelpark,” Radio Maria’s website states. The event takes place every year as a fulfillment of the request of Our Lady of Fatima to pray for a spirit of conversion in society.
Centenary of first Catholic Mass in Norway celebrated
In celebration of 100 years since the first Catholic Mass in Norway, Bishop Erik Varden of Trondheim presided over a solemn Mass in Longyearbyen.
The Mass took place at Svalbard Church on Aug. 30, and was widely attended by members of the Catholic community, as well as nonprofit organizations and representatives of the Lutheran Church of Norway, according to a Vatican News report on Aug. 31.
“For the sake of bringing Jesus’ sacrifice concretely to Svalbard, Bishop Smit came here in 1926 and celebrated the first Catholic Mass on the archipelago,” Varden said during his homily. “In gratitude for the grace God has poured out on Svalbard through a hundred years, we will faithfully take responsibility for that grace.”
Scottish sisters to stand trial over historic child abuse charges
In Scotland, five Sisters of Nazareth nuns aged between 67 and 84 have been indicted to stand trial. They are accused of multiple abuse charges against several children following a preliminary hearing that took place at the High Court in Glasgow on Monday.
Marie Docherty, 84, Mary Broderick, 83, Margaret McLafferty, 67, Kathleen McLean, 76, and Mary Doyle, 80, were named on an indictment, which contains 108 charges.
The indictment includes allegations that children were punched, struck, kicked, force-fed, forced to stand while wearing soiled bedding or clothing. The alleged crimes are said to have taken place mainly at Nazareth House locations in Aberdeen and Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, between 1965 and 1982.
The accused have previously entered pleas of not guilty.
A further preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2027, and the court has provisionally set aside eight weeks for a trial starting on March 30, 2027, in Glasgow.
‘Safeguarding Sunday’ in Australia to operate under theme ‘Love Protects’
Catholics across Australia will observe “Safeguarding Sunday” on Sept. 13 under the theme, “Love Protects” in honor of victims of abuse within the Church.
“‘Love Protects’ reminds us that genuine love is demonstrated through action,” Bishop Greg Bennet, chair of the Bishops Commission for Professional Standards and Safeguarding in Australia, said in a Sept. 4 press release. “Safeguarding is an essential part of our mission and ministry. It calls each of us to be attentive, accountable, and committed to ensuring that every person can participate in the life of the Church safely and with confidence.”
New leader for Melkite Catholics in Argentina
Lebanese priest Jean Abou Charouche has been appointed by Pope Leo XIV to lead the Melkite Greek Catholic community in Argentina as apostolic exarch and has been raised to the rank of bishop, ACI MENA, EWTN News’ Arabic-language sister service, reported on Aug. 31.
The Melkite exarchate in Argentina serves about 345,000 faithful.
Born near Beirut in 1972, Abou Charouche was ordained a priest in 1998 and has devoted much of his ministry to preparing future priests and religious. He later moved to Argentina, becoming pastor of St. George Cathedral in Córdoba in 2015. Since 2023, he has already been overseeing the countryʼs Melkite Catholic community as apostolic administrator.
Pro-life groups protest ‘International Safe Abortion Day’ celebration in Belfast
Christian and pro-life groups have called on the Belfast City Council to cancel plans to illuminate the city in observance of “International Safe Abortion Day.”
“The strength of this open letter comes from the breadth of organizations standing together. Catholic, Protestant, evangelical, pro-life, pregnancy-support, and Christian community groups have united to send Belfast City Council a clear and respectful message: City Hall is not a billboard for abortion,” Bernadette Smyth, director of the Precious Life, the largest pro-life group in Northern Ireland, said in a press release Sept. 1.
The letter came ahead of Belfast City Hall’s 11-3 vote to approve the measure on Sept. 2.
Ivory Coast cardinal decries illegal gold mining
Ignace Cardinal Bessi Dogbo of the Ivory Coast’s Catholic Archdiocese of Abidjan has denounced the devastating environmental consequences of illegal gold mining, calling for stronger state action to protect the country’s natural resources and its people, ACI Africa, EWTN News’ sister service in Africa, reported Sept. 3.
In his homily during the Mass of the 2026 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, the cardinal reflected on the ecological vision of Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si’, warning against the destruction of land and waterways caused by the pursuit of gold.
He also challenged what he described as the excessive attachment to money that fuels the exploitation of creation.
“Gold that kills is not gold. Illegal gold mining that kills human beings is worse than idolatry. It is beyond words,” Dogbo said, condemning mining activities that “soil the water,” destroy the environment, and transform rivers into “polluted wastelands.”
UK government warns against assisted suicide in latest assessment
An updated assessment from the UK government has found that “poverty, poor care, and abuse” could lead to “disproportionate numbers of ethnic minority people” seeking to end their lives via assisted suicide.
The latest assessment, released Aug. 29, comes as the government increased its central estimate of annual assisted deaths from 2,183 to 3,502, according to an Aug. 29 press release from Right To Life UK.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called for extensive healthcare reforms to take place before the passage of legislation on assisted dying.
“Personally, I think there’s something that needs to happen first, and that’s the fixing of the funding of palliative care and social care,” Burnham said on July 29. ”I think it is very challenging to introduce that wider debate in a context of people not receiving that care and having the peace of mind about that care.”
Patrick J. Passmore contributed to this report.
‘The Bible in a Year’ podcast is back — this time for the whole family
“The Bible in a Year” podcast hosted by Father Mike Schmitz became a global sensation after its debut in 2021, helping millions around the world encounter the word of God. Now, the popular podcast from Ascension is back — but with a twist: “The Bible in a Year: Family Edition,” hosted by Father Josh Johnson, launches on Jan. 1, 2027.
The new podcast is designed for families with children ranging in age from 7 to 12. Using both video and audio, families will be guided through the story of salvation in 365 daily episodes using readings from Ascension’s upcoming “The Great Adventure Catholic Bible for Beginners."
The new podcast will follow a similar format as the original “The Bible in a Year” podcast. Each episode will include a Scripture reading, age-appropriate reflections from Johnson, time for prayer, and answers to a variety of Bible questions from children.
Johnson, a priest from the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, told EWTN News that the inspiration for the podcast came from those involved the first time around who realized that many of the original listeners of the podcast were now having kids and becoming parents.
Johnson has been working with Ascension for over 12 years. A year ago his bishop asked him to found the Blessed Stanley Rother House of Formation in the Baton Rouge Diocese. Johnson stepped away from his work with Ascension in order to focus on the seminary, his parish, and his parish school. He said when he was approached to take part in the new podcast, he “took it to Jesus.”
While discerning whether or not to take part in the project, Johnson thought of all the children he works with personally at his school and in the community as well as their parents and the many gifts the podcast could bring them.
“We live in the inner city here in Baton Rouge. We serve a very impoverished low-income neighborhood. And so we have a lot of stuff we do for the teens in my neighborhood, but I was like, what if I could put this podcast, ‘Bible in a Year,’ in the hands of their parents to do it with them at home and this could be the reason why the parents would start coming to the sacraments,” Johnson explained.
He added: “Every time we visit our neighbors who need help with their groceries, we feed them and we give them groceries and we help with their bills, I could always leave this podcast and that way as a family, many of them who arenʼt even Catholic or Christian yet … they could also be exposed to the word of God. So all these really beautiful things I thought could be a gift.”
After praying and discerning, and receiving the approval of his bishop, Johnson took the plunge. He said he immediately felt an immense amount of peace after saying “yes” and that recording the podcast has been “the most intimate thing for me and Jesus.”
He shared that he reads Scripture all day in order to make the commentaries for each episode. After he records an episode, it takes about 15 minutes to upload the episode, so he goes to Eucharistic adoration in the chapel he has below his recording studio.
“After 15 minutes of adoration, I come upstairs, record another episode, come back downstairs, adore Jesus, come back upstairs,” he said. “So itʼs like a rhythm, almost like a monk. I get to proclaim the word of God and then pray in adoration, proclaim the word of God and pray in adoration. So it has honestly been one of the greatest gifts in this season of my priesthood.”
Johnson explained that while the family edition of the podcast is very similar to the original, one of the main differences is the use of video. If families choose to watch each episode on YouTube, then children will be able to see cartoon images of the given story they’re reading from the Bible that day. However, families can also choose to simply listen to the audio version.
He also pointed out that while there are many opportunities for parents and children to have encounters with God through conferences or retreats separately, there are few opportunities for children and their parents to have these experiences together.
“We want to bring families together. We want families to have conversations about the word of God,” Johnson said. “Families watch movies together, they watch TV shows together, they read books together — we want them to read the greatest book together.”
Johnson emphasized the importance of instilling a love for Scripture in children because “the Bible is the voice of God and God wants to speak to kids … God wants his voice to be heard by all of us, including kids.”
“Imagine if they learn the language of the Lord, which is Scripture, then as they go to high school and college and theyʼre tempted with the different temptations, the enemy that vies for their attention all day along with his many lies and accusations, theyʼre going to know thatʼs not the voice of God,” he added.
As for his main hope for the podcast, Johnson said: “I hope that families fall in love with God.”
“Jesus is love. It’s what we were created for. So my deepest desire is that families together fall in love with the word of God and desire and begin to learn, to hunger, and yearn for Godʼs word more than they yearn and hunger for social media or for their cellphones or for these passing pleasures.”
The “The Bible in a Year: Family Edition” will be available on the Ascension YouTube channel and on all major podcast platforms.
U.S. bishops offer pre-midterms guidance on faithful citizenship
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) published a guide for dioceses that outlines how they can train priests to better assist members of their congregation to be “faithful citizens.”
It comes about two months before the midterm elections, which will decide control of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. It does not instruct people how to vote, but does note principles of Catholic teaching that should be considered when making that decision.
Faithful citizenship, the guide explains, embraces “the fullness of the Church’s teachings and is a way of living the Gospel in attending to specific duties in the public square, which sit alongside a wide array of other duties.” It emphasizes that faith must come before politics.
The guide, titled “Outlines for Clergy Formation on Faithful Citizenship,” offers sample outlines for clergy formation sessions, which includes the options of a a 3-5 hour session and a concise 1-hour session.
It was developed following internal dialogue among bishops after some had requested a guide on the subject. It focuses on Catholic Social Teaching, how it applies to modern politics in the U.S. and how to help priests communicate those teachings to their congregations.
“We are supposed to be agents of transformation of society according to the principles of the Gospel and the profound dignity and the life of every human person,” Archbishop Alexander Sample of the Archdiocese of Portland said in a video message that the USCCB provided to dioceses to accompany the guide.
“The church and the laity,” he said, “we need to have a seat at the table to help form a society where every individualʼs dignity is recognized and everybodyʼs right to life is recognized.”
The document includes five guiding principles of Catholic Social Teaching, which derive from Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas.
First, it points to the common good, noting the obligation for every person “to act in a manner that serves the whole of society” and be “a neighbor to all.” It cites the Second Vatican Council’s definition of the term: “the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfillment.”
Second, it points to the Universal Destination of Goods. It notes that God “created the world and entrusted it to the care of humanity.” It pointed to Pope Leo XIII’s teachings in Rerum Novarum, which defends the right to private property, but not one that is absolute. The right is “subordinate to the duty to ensure that all can live in dignity,” it explains.
It points to subsidiarity, which is the principle that “issues should be addressed at as local a level as possible.” It notes “natural justice forbids a government from intruding on the dignity of the family.”
The fourth principle is solidarity, which it explains “puts into practice our Lord’s vast definition of neighbor given in the Parable of the Good Samaritan.”
Fifth, the guide states, is social justice. It states the term is often “incorrectly perceived as ‘woke,’” but stems from the cardinal virtues. It cites Pope Leo XIV, who explained it as “looking beyond one-on-one relationships … to the structural elements that lead to injustice in society.”
Bishop Daniel Flores of the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, said in the video message that Catholics are “called to be faithful, faithful citizens, faithful people in the building up of a society and a community that is somehow reflective of the very things that God Himself has shown us in Christ.”
“And the rest is in Godʼs hands,” he said. “I think as Catholics, our first role in political life and in social life is to give an authentic witness that we that we carry within ourselves, the person of Christ and all that that implies.”
The guide refers to faithful citizenship as “a way of life, not merely something exercised when marking a ballot.”
“Although it addresses specific moral issues — abortion, racial equality, economic inequities, criminal justice, euthanasia, family life, immigration, participation in the political process, war and peace, and many more — faithful citizenship fundamentally is a way of seeing the world in the light of the Gospel and allowing Gospel truth to point the way to prudential judgements and concrete decisions,” it explains.
Cana launches wedding registry storefront, partnering with Catholic businesses
Cana has launched its own registry storefront, partnering with brands for traditional wedding gifts and also working with Catholic businesses to offer couples everything from Catholic jewelry to sacred home decor.
The storefront launched on Sept. 4, putting “Catholic vendors front and center,” Cana founders told EWTN News.
Cana is a faith-focused wedding-planning platform designed for Catholic and Christian couples to build their websites. The Cana site helps engaged couples manage registries, guest lists, RSVPs, and it connects users with a diverse range of vendors.
It is intended to help couples plan a beautiful, reverent, and personalized wedding, the founders said. It is free of charge to the thousands of couples who use it.
Bringing Christ and ‘intentionality’ to wedding registries
“Up until this point, Cana essentially was just an affiliate partner for pretty much any online retailer. The most popular provider was Amazon, but also Target, Crate & Barrel, and Williams-Sonoma,” James Reichert, co-founder of Cana, told EWTN News.
“Then couples could take an individual link from a Catholic retailer and add that item to their registry. But we were essentially an affiliate partner for the big retailers,” he said.
Cana didnʼt want to be “a Catholic version” of the secular wedding websites, but rather “we wanted to be something truly, radically different,” Reichert said. “So we built our own registry storefront.”
The storefront puts “our Catholic vendors front and center,” Gabe Gessler, co-founder of Cana, added.
“We’ve partnered with big brands. Couples can add ultra high quality kitchenware and bedding items and they can create a full scale wedding registry through the service,” Reichert said.
Reichert said they also partnered with “incredible Catholic retailers: West Coast Catholic, The Little Catholic, The Catholic Company…,House of Joppa, and Darling & Divine.”
“For the first time, Catholic and Christian couples donʼt just have to register for their home goods, all the cookware, dinnerware, bedding things, that they would typically do on a regular wedding registry,” he said.
Now, “they can also register for sacred arts, sacred jewelry, beautiful wall mounts, and icons from all of these incredible brands that have been trusted for decades,” Reichert said.
Cana is hoping to be a “central point for all those different brands on one beautiful wedding registry experience,” he said.
“So many of our brides, they desire intentionality,” Gessler said. “They desire an intentional experience that points them towards the person that matters the most, which is Jesus Christ.”
To give couples a better experience, Cana is “placing forward, front and center, really high quality, what we truly believe are world-class companies, that are able to meet this intersection of commerce and the faith all in one,” Gessler said.
“We believe itʼs going to bless our partners more,” he said.
“Really what we want to do is help create this ecosystem where a Catholic bride doesnʼt need to go scour the internet for all these different partners, or these different registries. But actually she can just have it all in one place,” Gessler said.
“Then also she can come and support these incredible Catholic businesses,” Gessler said.
Cana
Launched in September 2025, “Cana really exists to help couples focus on Christ from their engagement to eternity,” Reichert said. “Our biggest desire is to just help create holy couples and holy marriages.”
“Weʼve now been around for a year,” Gessler said. “Weʼve had more than 8,000 brides join Cana.”
“Itʼs not just a registry experience. Itʼs a digital wedding planning experience that is totally holistic and centered around Christ and the sacrament of marriage rather than just …the excitement of the day,” Gessler said.
“When you get married to your spouse … itʼs an opportunity to enter into this new stage of your life and to place Christ at the center of it,” he said.
“We are praying for every single couple who uses us every day,” Reichert said. “To any couple who has the courage to use us to plan their wedding, we genuinely are so grateful for every single one.”
Scottish Catholic bishop: Scotland ‘must stand with both mother and child’
Scottish Catholic bishop: Scotland ‘must stand with both mother and child’
President of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland John Keenan is urging the Scottish government to reform the country’s expansive abortion law, calling on the government to reject efforts to expand the abortion regime there.
While the government doesn’t plan to change abortion law from 2026-2027, it intends to follow through with recommendations made by a pro-abortion advisory group and to fund late-stage abortion.
“Every unborn child is a unique human life deserving of protection, and every mother should be supported in ways that uphold her dignity and the dignity of her child,” Keenan said in a statement.
“I therefore make a direct appeal to all elected representatives who recognize the inherent dignity of every human life, to reject any further liberalization of abortion provisions in Scotland and to oppose measures that would remove essential safeguards or further weaken protection for unborn children.”
The advisory group “excluded prolife voices and … adopted a principle of ‘non-regression’ on abortion provision,” the bishop said, arguing that the group “lacks both legitimacy and credibility.”
“It has made radical recommendations to the Scottish Government which, if implemented, would effectively permit abortion up to birth for any reason and remove the current requirement for two doctors to approve abortions up to 24 weeks.”
“It is astonishing that the report also recommends that future legislation should make no reference to sex-selective abortion, paving the way for unborn babies to be aborted simply because they are deemed to be the wrong sex,” he said.
“The establishment of later-stage abortion provision in Scotland, alongside proposals to weaken existing legal safeguards, raises grave moral and social questions,” he said.
Canada doctors’ group voices support for infant euthanasia
The Quebec College of Physicians recently voiced support for euthanasia of newborn babies in some circumstances.
“The CMQ reiterates that medical assistance in dying may be an appropriate treatment for babies suffering from extreme pain that cannot be relieved and who have severe malformations or serious polysymptomatic syndromes that destroy any prospect of survival,” the group said in a statement to the Daily Mail.
“The CMQ believes that parents should have the opportunity to obtain this care for their infant under these well-defined circumstances,” the group continued.
Kentucky brings lawsuit against abortion nonprofit
The state of Kentucky has filed a civil lawsuit against an “activist organization” over its advertisements for abortion pills.
Mayday Health, a pro-abortion nonprofit, recently advertised abortion-inducing drugs via a banner flown by plane over the Kentucky State Fair.
Attorney General Russell Coleman in a post on X said: “It appears abortion activists are flying over Louisville advertising illegal drugs. They are breaking the law.”
“Since January, our Office has been investigating mail order abortion pills,” Coleman said. “We will not tolerate this illegal danger.”
Coleman’s office announced a civil suit against Mayday Health on Sept. 3, arguing that the “out of state activists” were breaking Kentucky law.