Oregon officials back off ‘gender ideology mandate’ for mom seeking to adopt
Oregon officials have agreed they will not “categorically disqualify” a Christian woman from adopting or fostering children based on her religious beliefs about gender and human sexuality, which settles a three-and-a-half-year legal battle.
The Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) agreed to a legal settlement with Jessica Bates, who was represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). It affirms the department will not consider her religious beliefs when evaluating her application for a certification to adopt children and will not attempt to regulate her speech about gender and sexuality.
“Every child deserves a loving home, and children suffer when the government excludes people of faith from foster care because of the state’s own ideological crusade,” ADF Senior Counsel Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse said in a statement following the Sept. 9 settlement.
“Oregon officials turned Jessica away just because of her common-sense belief that parents should help children become comfortable with who they are instead of pushing them down a path of confusion and medicalization,” he said. “We believe this settlement is a win-win that protects constitutional rights and puts children’s interests first.”
In September 2022, the ODHS denied Bates’ application because she would not comply with a state policy that requires applicants to agree they will “respect, accept and support the … sexual orientation, gender identity [and] gender expression … of a child or young adult” who is placed in the home, which ADF has characterized as a “gender ideology mandate.”
Bates sued ODHS in March 2023, arguing that the policy violated her First Amendment rights to free speech and the free exercise of religion. The lawsuit stated she told the certification officer she would love any child as her own but would not facilitate a child’s gender transition through hormone therapy, use pronouns inconsistent with a child’s biological sex, or encourage gender expression inconsistent with the child’s biological sex or same-sex attraction.
A federal district court initially ruled in favor of ODHS in December 2023, but an appellate panel of judges ruled in July 2025 that ODHS likely violated her constitutional rights and blocked the department from enforcing the rules against her while the lawsuit continued.
Legal settlement
Per the legal agreement, ODHS will allow Bates to apply for a certification and will not consider her religious views in any way.
It states ODHS will not deny the application “because of her religious beliefs that sexual activity should occur only within the confines of a marriage between one man and one woman, and a person should identify and seek to live consistent with his or her biological sex.”
The settlement adds that this extends to her “desire to respectfully speak about, live out, parent, and make day-to-day caregiving decisions consistent with these sincerely held religious beliefs.”
Under the agreement, ODHS also cannot require her to “agree to use prescribed words or language, including chosen pronouns, to express views about sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression inconsistent with her religious beliefs described above as a condition of certification.”
“[The] ODHS may not enforce any per se standard, rule, or policy that precludes Bates from being considered for any particular placement, based in whole or in part based on her religious belief,” the settlement agreement states.
It further prohibits ODHS from disqualifying Bates from consideration for any particular child placement based on her religious beliefs.
Yet, the settlement does not prevent ODHS from “deciding a child’s placement based on its individualized consideration of the child’s needs and of a foster parent’s concerns or limitations (including where religiously motivated) on their ability or willingness to meet the child’s specific needs, including with regard to their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.”
The Oregon attorney general’s office referred EWTN News to the Oregon Department of Human Services for comment. The department did not respond to a request for comment.
Mexican bishops demand ‘thorough investigation’ of priest’s murder
Mexico’s bishops are demanding that authorities conduct “a thorough investigation” to clarify the circumstances surrounding the murder of Father Román de la Cruz Hernández, pastor of Santa Cruz in Huejutla, Hidalgo state.
In a Sept. 16 statement, the Mexican Bishops’ Conference (CEM, by its Spanish acronym) expressed its indignation and sadness over the crime as well as its solidarity with the Diocese of Huejutla, Hidalgo, to which De la Cruz belonged
According to the bishops' conference, the priest’s murder took place on Sept. 15. The newspaper El Universal reported that the body of De la Cruz was found with gunshot wounds along a stretch of the Tolago-Tetlapaya highway in the Lolotla district of Hidalgo.
“We stand in fraternal solidarity with José Hiraís Acosta Beltrán, bishop of Huejutla, his priests, consecrated religious, and the entire people of God of this local Church,” the CEM stated while “calling upon the relevant authorities to conduct a thorough investigation to clarify the facts and ensure that justice is served swiftly.”
The Mexican bishops also prayed “for the eternal rest of Father Román,” asking God “to grant strength and comfort to his family, friends, parishioners, and all those who shared in his ministry and his life.”
The CEM statement joins that of Acosta, who urged against speculating about the crime “to allow the relevant authorities to conduct the investigation and report on the tragedy.”
At the same time, the bishop of Huejutla denounced “the alarming situation of violence going on in our country.”
The prelate asked the faithful to work to build “a culture of peace and reconciliation, seeking the eradication of violence, and not to lose respect for the life of any person.”
“Let us allow God, in his infinite goodness, to help us root out from the human heart every destructive sentiment of resentment, vengeance, and hatred that threatens the most precious gift he has bestowed upon us: life,” he emphasized.
According to the Catholic Multimedia Center, 28 incidents of violence against Church members, including the murders of four priests, have been recorded during Claudia Sheinbaum’s term as president of Mexico so far.
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.
Caritas Cuba to receive more humanitarian aid from U.S. in coming weeks
The U.S. Embassy in Cuba announced that more humanitarian aid will arrive in the coming weeks for distribution by Caritas to the most vulnerable people in five of the countryʼs provinces.
The embassy made the announcement following a meeting between U.S. Chargé dʼAffaires Mike Hammer and the director of Caritas Cuba, Carmen María Nodal Martínez.
In a post on X, the embassy stated that the additional aid will be directed to the provinces of Camagüey, Ciego de Ávila, Cienfuegos, Matanzas, and Pinar del Rio.
Collaboration between the U.S. government and the Catholic Church in Cuba began in November 2025, when the bishops announced they had received an offer of $3 million in aid for those affected by Hurricane Melissa.
This initial humanitarian assistance began arriving in January 2026, and since then, the United States has made further offers of aid, which have been distributed by Caritas Cuba without the involvement of the Cuban communist regime.
On Feb. 5, the U.S. State Department announced a new shipment of humanitarian aid worth $6 million, “following the successful collaboration” with the Catholic Church in Cuba in distributing the initial $3 million in aid.
On May 13, the State Department announced its intention to provide $100 million in humanitarian assistance to Cuba, $60 million of which would be distributed through Caritas.
The first shipment of this aid package arrived in late July.
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.
Postpartum depression: New e-book offers hope and healing for Catholic mothers
In response to growing national attention surrounding maternal mental health, Catholic psychologist and popular EWTN Radio host Gregory Popcak has released a free e-book designed to offer clinical guidance and spiritual support to women suffering from postpartum depression (PPD).
Popcak told the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, why he felt compelled to add a Catholic voice to this headline-making conversation.
“I created it because Catholics aren’t immune from either physical or emotional illness, and, as Catholics, we have a unique, holistic perspective on healing that encourages us to use the medical, psychological, relational, and spiritual tools available to us to promote our healing and well-being."
Popcak emphasized the need for a faithful voice in a conversation that affects approximately 1 in 7 new mothers.
“As much as we might like to think otherwise, people of faith are just as affected by mental-health problems as anybody else,” Popcak emphasized.
“Research really does show that faith plays a protective element ... but we are still afflicted with these things. Being able to respond to this in a way that is reflective of our Catholic faith and the Catholic view of the person I thought was important.”
Breaking the stigma of guilt
A central focus of the e-book is addressing the unique layer of spiritual guilt that Catholic mothers often experience when struggling with mental health post-childbirth.
Popcak explained that many Catholic mothers internalize their symptoms as a personal or spiritual failing, incorrectly believing their distress signals a lack of gratitude for their child or a weak prayer life.
“These feelings are not the mom,” Popcak said during an interview on EWTN Radio. “They are the illness attacking your feelings. ... You’re not failing any more than you would be failing if you had the flu. You didn’t make yourself get postpartum depression either. It’s your body’s reaction to the normal crash of hormones that occurs after birth, plus a lot of other factors.”
The book opens with an urgent disclaimer encouraging mothers experiencing severe crisis or self-harm thoughts to seek immediate medical intervention, reminding them that “these feelings are not you; they are the illness talking.”
Distinguishing ‘baby blues’ from clinical needs
During the broadcast, Popcak outlined the critical differences between common short-term mood shifts — often referred to as the “baby blues” — and clinical postpartum depression or psychosis. While the “baby blues” typically peak around day five post-delivery and resolve within two weeks, symptoms lasting longer require professional medical evaluation.
Popcak advocated for routine screening at OB-GYN and pediatric visits, comparing mental health checkups to baseline physical assessments.
“When we go to the doctor, even if we’re not feeling lightheaded, they take our blood pressure,” Popcak noted. “A postpartum depression screening tool takes about four minutes to complete. ... It should be just as standard as getting your blood pressure taken.”
He also emphasized that treatment should address both physical and psychological dimensions, recommending psychological counseling alongside medical treatments like SSRIs (common prescription medications for depression and anxiety) to help mothers develop coping strategies and process underlying stressors.
Self-sacrifice vs. self-destruction
Addressing spiritual questions surrounding maternal sacrifice, Popcak distinguished between healthy, Christlike self-giving and harmful self-neglect.
“There is a difference between self-sacrifice and self-destruction,” Popcak warned, urging husbands and extended family to step up support for new mothers. “God gives us our body to work for the good of others. In a sense, it’s a tool, but it can only do the job it was created to do if we take care of it. ... It’s not irresponsible or selfish or self-indulgent for the carpenter to sharpen his saw.”
The new e-book is available as a free public service download for mothers, families, and pastoral care providers.
This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
600,000 sign up for Pope Leo’s Paris Mass as organizers expand route
As France puts the finishing touches on preparations for Pope Leo XIVʼs visit, excitement is building across a nation that one French cardinal says is resisting secularization.
Nearly 600,000 people registered for the open-air papal Mass at the Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Élysées before sign-ups closed on Sept. 16, according to Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris. Registration was encouraged but not required. The huge response forced organizers to expand the security perimeter well beyond the original footprint.
“You responded in great numbers to the Holy Fatherʼs invitation to come and pray with him,” Ulrich said in a statement.
Demand built fast: When registration opened Aug. 10, more than 200,000 people signed up for the Paris Mass in the first few hours. All 80,000 places for the youth vigil at the Stade de France on Sept. 25 were claimed within hours. Nearly 300,000 registrations were recorded across both Paris events in the first 24 hours, according to Zenit.
Gen. Hervé Wattecamps, the general coordinator appointed by the Archdiocese of Paris, told French media that 8,000 new registrations were arriving daily in the final stretch.
The diocese has set up a gigantic overflow zone for people to gather, running from the Place de lʼÉtoile along Avenue de la Grande-Armée toward Porte Maillot.
The official papal visit site confirms the Mass is still scheduled for 3 p.m. on Sept. 26. The gates will open at 9 a.m., and Pope Leo is expected to arrive at the Champs-Élysées at 1:45 p.m. local time.
Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, president of the bishops' conference, told reporters that the level of interest showed France “resists secularization,” citing what he called a “new momentum of neophytes and catechumens.”
Passing the plate to pay the bill
The French bishops' conference (CEF) has put the total cost of Pope Leoʼs Sept. 25–28 visit at 27 million euros (about $31 million), well above early estimates.
A national fundraising campaign was launched in summer and has raised 5.5 million euros so far, leaving a shortfall of 21.5 million euros. The bishops' conference said the campaign will continue throughout the visit.
The French state is providing security forces and public services but no direct financial support or funding.
Instead, according to Vatican News, funding sources include corporate sponsorships, the sale of merchandise, and donations from the faithful through the bishops' conference website pape-france.fr.
The funding model contrasts with the financing of World Youth Day 2027 in Seoul: South Koreaʼs Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism is leading a cross-agency government support task force alongside the Church-led local organizing committee. In France, prelates are passing the plate.
Beyond Paris, a European legacy
Outside the capital, the apostolic visit includes two stops: Lourdes and Metz.
In Lourdes, the pope will celebrate Mass at the Marian shrine on Sept. 27. He will also meet privately with seven survivors of abuse, according to Vatican News.
The visit closes Sept. 28 with a Mass in Metz, a historic town in Lorraine in northeastern France that changed hands between France and Germany through three wars and two annexations.
Archbishop Philippe Ballot of Metz told Vatican News: “The border is no longer a place of separation, but a place of encounter.”
Pope Leo will speak at the Robert Schuman Centre, named after the Catholic statesman Pope Francis declared venerable in 2021.
Cardinal Parolin says nations should work together to face the threats of AI
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, said nations should work together to face the challenges of artificial intelligence (AI).
Parolin expressed his concerns about AI on the sidelines of the conference “Faith and Reason in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” held Sept. 16 in Rome at the Palazzo Montecitorio, the seat of the Italian Parliament.
As originally reported by Vatican News, Parolin also delivered a keynote address at the conference, focusing on both the potential and the threats of AI. In his address, he thanked Italian President Sergio Mattarella for his recent appeal for greater collaboration among states on AI governance and said he hoped nations would respond.
“My concern is that there are countries which, in fact, want to go it alone,” Parolin said in his address. “Let us stop and genuinely reflect on what the consequences of artificial intelligence and its use might be.”
‘I try to put a little heart into my homilies’
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines, Parolin stated that he did not use AI to draft his homilies, preferring to “put a little heart” into them.
“Artificial intelligence is all head and no heart. I try to put a little heart into my homilies,” Parolin said to the journalists.
“Today artificial intelligence is imposing itself, because when you open your computer and read something, it already gives you a summary.”
His discouragement of using AI to draft homilies echoes that of Pope Leo XIV. During a Q&A session with priests of the Diocese of Rome in February, he warned priests against this practice.
Holy See diplomacy in Russia-Ukraine conflict
Parolin also responded to journalists’ questions about the Holy See’s advocacy of Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Russia. He expressed hope that it would reach a peaceful resolution.
“The diplomacy of the Holy See, the diplomacy of sowing, does not produce a harvest. So we hope that, by continuing to sow, one day, when God wills it, we may also reap,” Parolin said.
His comments follow recent interventions by the Holy See in pursuing a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states and international organizations, traveled to Russia from Aug. 25–27 to meet with its leaders to discuss potential resolutions to the war.
Pope Leo XIV appoints Texas bishop to lead Diocese of Joliet, Illinois
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Brendan Cahill of the Diocese of Victoria, Texas, as the seventh bishop of Joliet, Illinois.
Cahill’s appointment, announced by the Vatican on Sept. 17, makes him the successor to then-bishop Ronald Hicks, who led the diocese from 2020 to 2026. The pontiff appointed Hicks as archbishop of New York in December 2025.
According to the Vatican announcement, Cahill was born in Coral Gables, Florida, on Nov. 28, 1963. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in Texas on May 19, 1990.
Before his ordination, Cahill earned degrees in psychology, African American studies, and dogmatic theology. He studied at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Xavier University in Louisiana, and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
After his ordination, Cahill served as a parish priest in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston for four years before returning to St. Mary’s Seminary as a faculty member. He was promoted to rector of the seminary in 2001.
After a period of service in the archdiocesan curia, Pope Francis appointed Cahill as the third bishop of Victoria. He received episcopal consecration on June 29, 2015, from the then-archbishop of Galveston-Houston, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo.
In 2025, Cahill was appointed chair of the Committee on Migration for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
800 years after St. Francis’ death, new digital project preserves his basilica for years to come
In honor of the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, a new digital platform has been launched dedicated to the preservation of the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy.
Preserving Assisi combines ultra-high-resolution photography, 3D surveying, immersive virtual tours, and a digital archive to create an unparalleled record of the basilica and its history.
The new digital platform was developed by Haltadefinizione, part of the Gruppo Panini Cultura, and in collaboration with the General Custody of the Sacred Convent of Saint Francis.
Preserving Assisi aims to offer a new way to explore and understand the famous site. It also aims to provide the opportunity for a digital version of the basilica to be created so that a detailed record of its architecture, paintings, and surfaces can be used for future research and support documentation, monitoring, and conservation over time.
The inspiration for the project came from an extensive photographic campaign commissioned by Franco Cosimo Panini Editore. The campaign was called “Mirabilia Italiae” and it was dedicated to the systematic documentation of Italy’s major monuments. Around 2,000 photographs were produced.
On Sept. 26, 1997, an earthquake hit the Umbria and Marche regions of Italy, which resulted in the collapse of sections of the upper basilica. Providentially, hours before the earthquake struck, photographs were taken for the “Mirabilia Italiae” of those very sections that then collapsed. These photographs ended up playing a major role and serving as key references in the reconstruction and restoration of the basilica.
The experience became one of the driving factors behind the Preserving Assisi digital platform in that it not only serves as a way to document the basilica’s past but also provides knowledge for its future preservation.
“Over the past thirty years, the technologies we use to document cultural heritage have changed radically, but our purpose has remained the same: to organize and preserve knowledge so that it can be studied, shared and passed on to future generations,” Lucia Panini, co-founder of Gruppo Panini Cultura, said in a press release.
The project has captured over 27,000 photographs, resulting in 12 terabytes (TB) of data and 98 completed digital assets, including gigapixel images and 360-degree panoramas.
One of the most significant results from the project so far is the gigapixel image of Pietro Lorenzetti’s Crucifixion painting. Measuring 101,627 by 78,170 pixels, it contains nearly 8 billion pixels.
“Preserving Assisi is one of the most complex projects we have undertaken in our 20 years of work,” Luca Ponzio, founder and CEO of Haltadefinizione, said. “It brings together, within a single digital environment, a range of tools and multimedia content designed to present, document, and support the study of the Basilica of St. Francis.”
He added: “It is a project that will continue to grow over time through new acquisitions, further research, and new ways of exploring the site.”
Friar Marco Moroni, custos of the Sacred Convent of Saint Francis in Assisi, said: “Preserving Assisi is a project that fills us with great enthusiasm. The experience of the 1997 Assisi earthquake made us even more aware of the importance of creating a photographic record of the highest possible quality to safeguard and enhance this extraordinary artistic heritage, together with its profound significance as an expression of faith.”
He added: “This documentation will allow future restoration work to be undertaken with an extraordinary level of knowledge and precision, while also opening up these artistic and spiritual treasures to audiences around the world in the finest possible detail.”
The project is supported by the National Committee for the Celebration of the Eighth Centenary of the Death of Saint Francis of Assisi, together with the Umbria Region and the City of Assisi in collaboration with the University of Florence.
Diocese of Phoenix opens education center to support mental health ministry
The Diocese of Phoenix opened its education center with a mental health ministry in collaboration with North Dakota’s University of Mary.
Bishop John Dolan of Phoenix, Auxiliary Bishop Eduardo Nevares, and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego took part in a Sept. 9 ribbon‑cutting ceremony marking the opening.
“The people formed here will carry what they learned beyond these walls and into their parishes, their families and communities; into the lives of those who need their care, whether through priestly ministry or mental health services,” Dolan said at the event.
“This work is ultimately about accompanying people and helping them recognize they are cherished, made in God’s image and likeness — and that can never be annulled — and they are not alone,” he said.
The 3,132-square-foot education center will support both Nazareth Seminary and the Photina Center for Catholic Counseling. The center will offer in‑person courses for the University of Mary’s Catholic anthropology certificate, limited master’s‑level counseling courses, and professional development resources.
The Photina Center will support the work of the mental health ministry, including its program to place counselors in the diocese’s Catholic schools.
The center takes its name from St. Photina, whom Eastern Christian tradition identifies as the Samaritan woman who meets Jesus at the well in John’s Gospel. Photina means “light” to reflect the center’s goal to illuminate paths of hope and healing.
University of St. Thomas to host archbishop emeritus of Assisi for event honoring St. Francis
The University of St. Thomas in Minnesota will welcome Archbishop Emeritus Domenico Sorrentino of Assisi for a day of prayer and reflection during its St. Francis celebration on Sept. 18.
The event will include public veneration of sacred relics of St. Carlo Acutis, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Clare of Assisi, and a lecture by the archbishop.
The unveiling of the sacred relics and the opening of veneration will take place in the campus’ Chapel of St. Basil, where Mass will also be celebrated for attendees.
Following the day of prayer, Sorrentino’s lecture will explore how St. Francis of Assisi’s “Canticle of the Creatures” (“Canticle of the Sun”) serves as a summary of the saint’s life.
The school said the hymn is not simply a tribute to nature or an early example of Italian but a witness to St. Francis’ “love for God carried at length to the full extent of the created universe.”
Bridgeport Diocese launches kids education series starring animated Bishop Caggiano
The Diocese of Bridgeport is launching an educational series led by an animated Bishop Frank Caggiano to teach young children about the Catholic faith.
“Bishop Frank Teaches the Faith” is a weekly series from the diocese’s Institute for Catholic Formation. The series will include weekly two- to three-minute episodes that introduce young children and families to different topics of the Catholic faith.
“Every generation of the Church is called to find new and creative ways to proclaim the Gospel,” Caggiano said in a Sept. 15 statement.
“Our children are growing up in a world shaped by digital media, and we have an extraordinary opportunity to enter that world with them and introduce them more deeply to Jesus Christ and the beauty of our Catholic faith,” he said.
Each episode pairs animation and storytelling with Caggiano’s own voice. According to the diocese, the goal is to help kids recognize that the faith is an invitation into a relationship with Jesus Christ and a way of living each day.
“Anything we can do to help parents raise faith-filled children is a win,” said Patrick Donovan, executive director of the Institute for Catholic Formation.
“Our hope is that these short episodes will spark conversations at home, reinforce what children are learning in their parishes and schools, and, most importantly, help them grow closer to Jesus,” he said.
The series will launch on Sept. 18 with the release of the first 10 episodes, which will be available online. Following the initial release, episodes will become available every Friday.
Loyola University Maryland expands aid with guarantees for early decision, Catholic grads
Loyola University Maryland is introducing two financial aid guarantees for early decision students and graduates of Catholic high schools entering in fall 2027.
The university is guaranteeing at least $40,000 annually in Loyola-funded scholarships and grants for students admitted through early decision and eligible graduates of Catholic high schools.
“These new commitments reflect Loyolaʼs desire to make an exceptional Jesuit education more accessible while providing students and families with greater clarity about affordability earlier in the college search process,” said Terrence M. Sawyer, president of Loyola, in a statement.
"We want families to have confidence that a Loyola education can be financially within reach,” he said.
Loyola’s early decision commitment guarantees at least $40,000 a year in Loyola‑funded aid for students admitted in November or January. The schools’ Catholic high school commitment will similarly guarantee eligible graduates of Catholic high schools in the U.S. and abroad $40,000 annually.
Jimmy Lai’s family, advocates press for his release before Xi-Trump meeting
Family members and advocates of imprisoned Catholic pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai offered urgent pleas for his release ahead of President Xi Jinping’s planned trip to the U.S. to meet with President Donald Trump.
In anticipation of Xiʼs visit to Washington on Sept. 24, Sebastien Lai, Jimmy Lai’s son, met with leaders to advocate for his father. He joined a Sept. 16 congressional hearing led by Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey.
“Jimmy Lai is not being imprisoned because he committed any act of violence whatsoever,” Smith, co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said.
“His son has emphasized that his father has never, never advocated violence. Rather, Jimmy Lai used his voice, his newspaper, and his public platform to support freedom and democracy,” he said.
Smith said he introduced legislation Sept. 16 that would require the State Department to quickly assess any death in custody of a Hong Kong political prisoner and impose sanctions on officials found responsible. He titled the bill the “Jimmy Lai Hong Kong Political Prisoner Accountability Act of 2026.”
At the hearing, Sebastien Lai offered testimony along with Steve Yates, a research fellow on China and national security policy, and Mark Clifford, president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation.
“I want to thank America, President Trump, who has been a true champion of my fatherʼs, his administration, and the senators and members of both parties whose support has never wavered and only gotten stronger. That is moral courage, and my family does not take it for granted,” Sebastien Lai said.
“By the end of this year my father will have spent six years in a maximum-security prison in solitary. At 78, he is the oldest political prisoner in Hong Kong. With a 20-year sentence looming over him, if he’s not freed soon, he will most likely die in prison,” he said.
“My sister Claire was to testify beside me today. A few weeks ago, she was diagnosed with cancer,” he said.
“I was with her in London last week as she began chemotherapy. My father learned of his own daughterʼs diagnosis from a maximum-security prison. He cannot hold her hand. She wants nothing more than to have him with her for this fight,“ he said.
“We hope the Chinese authorities will consider what compassionate release would mean for her, and for a 78-year-old man who has already suffered enough,” he said.
“America understands, in its bones, that freedom dies with the last man willing to defend it and that the cost of not standing up for liberty is not felt until it is too late,“ he said.
The appeal to Xi “is simple," Sebastien Lai said. “My father poses no threat. His imprisonment makes him a symbol of injustice; his death in prison would be a disgrace. Let Jimmy Lai come home to his family and let him sit beside his daughter in her hardest moment.”
America understands, in its bones, that freedom dies with the last man willing to defend it and that the cost of not standing up for liberty is not felt until it is too late.”
Sebastien LaiSon of imprisoned Hong Kong media publisher and democracy advocate Jimmy Lai
Clifford, of the Washington‑based advocacy group promoting human rights in Hong Kong, spoke on behalf of his friend Jimmy Lai and to remind “people that Jimmy is just one of hundreds of political prisoners being held in often appalling conditions.”
“Iʼd like to emphasize the release of Jimmy Lai would be something President Trump, Republicans and Democrats, indeed, freedom-loving people around the world would applaud,” Clifford said. “It would be a unifying event at the time when the world really needs it.”
Yates said Jimmy Lai’s case is “a test of character, of Xi Jinping’s leadership, of the president’s relationship with his counterpart, and of whether there remains any credible basis for the assumptions on which American policy toward Hong Kong was long constructed.”
The case is “a litmus test of whether there remains any reason to believe there is a future in Xi Jinping’s China for the kind of man Jimmy Lai is: a child of God, a lover of the real China, and, it may fairly be said, one of China’s greatest entrepreneurs,” Yates said.
Lai’s health ‘is going to get worse’
At a subsequent event, Sebastien Lai spoke at a press conference at Georgetown University about his father.
Trump has previously met with Xi about Jimmy Lai’s case, which did not end with his release, but Sebastian Lai said he does not believe “it is a lost cause.” He said he hopes Trump raises his father’s case “again and again.”
Sebastian Lai detailed his father’s health, which “hasnʼt gotten any better” while in solitary confinement.
“He now has heart issues. His nails fall off. His teeth are rotting. During the summer, he bleeds all over his body because [of] his rashes,” he said.
His health was especially worrisome recently because “Hong Kong just had a record summer,” Sebastien Lai said. “The heat traps in there and essentially bakes in itself. So weʼre very, very worried.”
Caoilfhionn Gallagher, human rights lawyer and leader of the international legal team representing Jimmy Lai, further laid out the urgency of the case.
“It’s very clear that if someone is detained in solitary confinement for an extended period of time, there is a direct ramification for their mortality,” she said.
“The risk to prisoners detained in solitary confinement is particularly heightened if they’re elderly or diabetic, and Jimmy Lai is both. So this couldn’t be a more urgent and timely discussion,” she said.
Gallagher also noted the broader human rights issues and lack of democracy in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong “has become a place where you can be thrown in prison for singing the wrong song, or not singing the right song, or wearing the wrong T-shirt, printing the wrong newspaper. And I think Jimmy Laiʼs case is hugely important in itself because of who he is,” Gallagher said.
“Heʼs probably the worldʼs most famous political prisoner at the moment. His case is hugely important, but we think part of why theyʼve gone for Jimmy Lai is because by getting the biggest fish of all, it sends the message to the small fry across Hong Kong,” Gallagher said.
"It makes very clear that their message is keep silent or youʼll be next,” Gallagher said.
Xi’s visit to the U.S. offers “a particular opportunity to shine a light on this issue,” she said.