Catholic News

Catholic fiber artist Holly Guertin creates wool-based 3D artworks, especially depicting sheep, with a "sacramental worldview."

Guertin is based in Philadelphia, and her work is currently on display at a visual arts center in North Carolina. Her debut solo art exhibition, "Hand in Hand," is on view at Waterworks Visual Arts Center in Salisbury until Oct. 31.

Guertin also works as a fiber arts teacher and chair of the Craftsmanship Department at Martin Saints Classical High School, where she teaches students felting, embroidery, and repeat pattern design.

EWTN News spoke to Guertin about her unique art and the ways in which her faith inspires it.

EWTN News: What is fiber art? What drew you into this art form?

Guertin: Fiber art is a medium that utilizes textile and cloth-making processes for the purpose of beauty and expression. It is a very open art category and the techniques in fiber art are often repetitive and labor intensive.

When I was a freshman in college at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), I happened upon an open studio event at the fibers department. The artworks and projects I saw in the building were some of the most interesting I'd ever seen, and once I saw the variety of careers that were possible with a fibers degree, I changed my major from fashion to fibers and never looked back.

In the fibers program, I learned everything that goes into cloth making (such as knitting, weaving, and felting) and cloth decoration (such as dyeing, screen printing, and embroidery). I never tried a technique I didn't like.

How has faith played a role in your art? How do you pull from scriptural imagery and religious symbolism in your artwork?

My faith has been intertwined within my artwork from the very beginning. Throughout my life, art has been a way I explore different themes and ideas. By being made in the image of God, his creative power that crafted the universe is woven into our very being. When I am creative, I am participating in the Lord's creativity. This cooperation inspires and fuels my work.

I love to read the Bible, and the Lord has shown me his creativity and his love for textiles and patterns throughout the Old and New Testaments. From the making of the tabernacle (Exodus 26:1) to St. Paul's handkerchiefs (Acts 19:11-12), the Bible is filled with references to textiles and the making of cloth.

I also find so much inspiration from the natural world, his creation, and view it as an invitation to creativity with and for the Lord (cf. Romans 1:20). The Lord has been so generous with me and I am constantly inspired by his word and his world.

How is wool and sheep imagery important in your artwork?

Wool has been integral to my development and formation as an artist. As soon as I began working with wool in our 3D Fibers class at SCAD, I wanted to explore the Good Shepherd and Lamb of God symbols in the Bible. Seventeen years later, I'm still plumbing the depths of this imagery, and it is so rich.

I have been researching and exploring why sheep and shepherds are mentioned over 400 times in the Bible. What is so special about this creature? Through the Lord's own words, the sheep and shepherd relationship mirrors our relationship with him (Psalm 100:3).

Throughout the Scriptures, God likens his people to sheep (Ezekiel 34). We are the sheep of his pasture (Psalm 100:3), he is our shepherd (Psalm 23), and Jesus is the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-18), to name just a few. The simile is apt and the Lord has so much to tell us through this symbol. Like sheep, we are dependent, communal, habitual, and full of potential.

The way we view sheep, even today, mirrors our understanding of ourselves. Especially in our increasingly digital and artificial ways of living, I have found wool to be an antidote to our divisive and isolating culture. Wool has revealed our innate human dignity, the value of manual labor, the meaning in material, the beauty in pattern, the sacred in the ordinary, and the power of creativity.

What has your faith journey been like, and how has art been a part of it?

I am a Catholic convert from evangelical Protestantism. I was received into the Church during the Easter Vigil 15 years ago during my senior year at SCAD.

When, in my sophomore year, I discovered the power of my hands to transform wool into felt, my eyes were opened to a sacramental worldview. Especially because I was working with wool, a material so steeped in religious and scriptural symbolism, I understood the immense value in the creative act. Suddenly, the work of my hands held meaning!

I saw how beauty isn't superficial or unnecessary but is an essential channel that reveals the goodness and truth of the Father.

After I became Catholic two years later, I discovered the thousands of years of theological development that catalyzed and put language to everything I had experienced in fiber arts. St. John Paul II especially has had a great influence on my artwork and how I understand creativity and beauty.

To follow Guertin's work, view her artwork here, visit her Instagram here, or visit her weekly newsletter here.

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When Archbishop Paul Coakley was a seminarian and first learned of Father Stanley Rother's martyrdom, he immediately considered the Oklahoma priest a role model. Decades later, on July 28, Coakley, now the archbishop of Oklahoma City, attended the premiere of the new film "American Martyr: The Stanley Rother Story" and spoke to EWTN News about how America's first martyr has remained a source of inspiration.

Rother, who grew up on a farm in Oklahoma, became a diocesan priest and went to work with the Indigenous Tz'utujil people of Santiago Atitlán in Guatemala, which ended with his murder in 1981. He was beatified on Sept. 23, 2017.

Rother attended Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where Coakley studied some years later. The archbishop recalled being in his third year of seminary when he received word that Rother had been killed.

"From the very beginning, from the earliest two days, when the news was still getting out about the death of this American missionary from Oklahoma, I was curious and inspired," he said.

"At that stage of my own formation, I was looking for role models and witnesses and Stanley Rother appeared on the horizon as somebody that I was very attracted to. So, for all of those years ever since then, I've read everything, I've learned everything I could possibly find that was being produced about him."

Coakley explained that when he received the phone call that he would be the next archbishop of Oklahoma City — due to the retirement of Archbishop Eusebius Beltran, who opened Rother's cause for canonization — he knew he would be the one to carry Rother's cause forward.

"When I had been appointed archbishop, but before it was even announced, I received that phone call telling me I was coming here; I disguised myself quite literally," he recalled. "I was the bishop in Salina, Kansas, and I drove down to Okarche, Oklahoma [Rother's birthplace], one Saturday morning, incognito, to pay my respects and to lay my ministry at the feet of Stanley Rother and pray for his intercession. So, he's been my companion all along the way since 1981, all these years."

While Coakley said he believes many Catholics are still "becoming acquainted" with Rother's life, his story resonates with those who do encounter him due to the fact that he was "just an ordinary priest, with ordinary struggles."

"He struggled academically in seminary and yet he put his gifts at the service of others. He cultivated his gifts and he used his gifts as the Lord gave him the opportunity to do so," he said.

Coakley added: "I think the one thing we can take from the life of Blessed Stanley … is to cultivate the gifts that God has given us. We don't need to go to Guatemala. We don't need to go anywhere. God has endowed each one of us with particular gifts. Develop those gifts, be generous in sharing those gifts, and that's the way God is glorified."

The archbishop also pointed out the impact Rother has had on vocations in Oklahoma City.

"He's a very attractive figure I think for young men who are considering seminary for sure. We have seminarians that visit the shrine regularly from all over the country, actually," he said. "But I think for our seminarians and priests here in Oklahoma, there's a great sense of pride that he's one of us. He was formed by this local Church and he inspires us by his ordinary and yet heroic life."

When speaking about the film, Coakley said the most important reason behind making it was to "make Blessed Stanley Rother more widely known to the wider Church."

"We're aware of him here in Oklahoma and we think we have a beautiful figure, an authentic, inspiring, attractive role model for priests and for all of the faithful, but we want more people to know about Blessed Stanley Rother," he explained. "So, it's really in the interest of advancing his cause, introducing him to a much, much wider audience that we wanted to produce this documentary film."

Coakley said he hopes viewers will leave the theater after watching the new film reminded that "all of us are called to holiness."

"Stanley Rother would not have been the one in high school in the yearbook that said 'most likely to become a saint' … And yet all of us are called, it's our vocation if you're baptized, you're called to be a saint. All of us are called to be saints. And Stanley Rother gives us a hope that for each one of us that is a possibility that is real."

"American Martyr" will be shown in English in theaters Aug. 25 and 26 and in Spanish on Aug. 27.

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The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has launched a petition campaign calling on the United Nations and the Council of Europe to protect religious freedom in the face of the religious persecution occurring in 62 countries.

On its website, the Catholic organization states that "no one should have to choose between their faith and their life." However, "5.4 billion people, almost two-thirds of humanity, live in countries where individuals and communities continue to face harassment, violence, and even death because of their beliefs."

ACN is therefore inviting people to sign the petition addressed to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres; U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk; the U.N. General Assembly; European Council President António Costa; as well as democratic governments, ambassadors, and diplomatic representatives.

The goal is to call upon international leaders to permanently protect the fundamental right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, "as enshrined in Article 18 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

ACN notes that its "Religious Freedom in the World Report 2025" warns that "some 5.4 billion people live in 62 countries where persecution, oppression, or discrimination by both state and non-state actors has intensified."

The pontifical foundation states that "this grave human rights crisis can no longer be ignored" and therefore urges democratic governments and international bodies to "publicly condemn all forms of religious persecution."

Likewise, ACN calls for "religious freedom to be a priority in foreign policy and diplomatic relations," for "enforcing appropriate measures against regimes that repeatedly violate this fundamental right," and for concrete measures to be adopted "to prevent violations, ensure the effective protection of this right, and promote the socioeconomic development of religious minorities."

The letter also calls for the protection of "at-risk religious communities to be granted protection, especially in countries suffering from sectarian violence or religious extremism. This is aimed at preventing forced migration, thereby enabling communities to stay in their ancestral homes and lands."

Finally, the letter requests that "individuals and groups suffering religious persecution receive the emergency aid and legal aid they need."

Those wishing to sign the petition can visit this link.

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.

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New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Aug. 20 signed a bill that criminalizes "interference" with "reproductive" or "gender-affirming" care, a law that opponents say has serious implications for freedom of speech.

The law criminalizes inflicting "emotional harm" against those seeking or providing "reproductive health care services." It also bans filming and sharing videos within 100 feet of an abortion clinic.

Under the new law, an officer can "order the immediate dispersal of a gathering that substantially impedes access to or departure from an entrance or driveway to a reproductive or gender-affirming health care facility during the business hours of the facility."

The measure is a type of "bubble" law, which creates zones around abortion clinics where free speech is limited in "buffer zones."

Violations of the law could be punished by up to 18 months' imprisonment and/or a $10,000 fine.

New Jersey Right to Life Executive Director Marie Tasy criticized the law, describing its provisions as "inherently subjective" and the law itself as "a serious danger to free speech."

"Peaceful sidewalk counseling, prayer, holding signs, or simply offering help and alternatives outside a facility can easily be labeled 'intimidation' by someone who claims to feel threatened, leaving pro-life advocates open to criminal charges that are difficult to disprove and chilling constitutionally protected expression," Tasy said.

Catholic diocese leads campaign against abortion amendment referendum

The Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, is leading a campaign to oppose an amendment referendum that could create a right to abortion in the state constitution as well as another measure that would remove a same-sex marriage ban in the state.

The campaign Catholics Vote No is opposing the ballot measure titled the "Virginia Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment" as well as the "Virginia Remove Constitutional Same-Sex Marriage Ban Amendment."

Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge describes the measures as "very serious legal threats to human life and marriage" in a video statement.

"If written into Virginia's Constitution, these unjust amendments would be extraordinarily difficult to reverse," the campaign website states. The abortion amendment would "effectively" make Virginia "a sanctuary for abortion and commercial abortion businesses," it states.

"Basic health and safety standards that protect women from harm would be eliminated, parents would be pushed out of life-altering decisions involving their family and children, and unregulated abortions would be possible, performed even on healthy babies up to the moment of birth for any reason with no limits," the campaign says.

Live Action says it will keep referring to abortion as 'killing'

The pro-life group Live Action has said it will not stop calling abortion "killing" after a pro-abortion group threatened the organization with legal action.

Live Action made the declaration in response to a cease-and-desist letter sent by the abortion-supporting legal group Amplify Legal. The dispute is over claims made by Live Action in multiple articles about abortion cases where the unborn baby had a serious life-threatening diagnosis.

"Each of our clients has described the decision to end their wanted pregnancy as the most compassionate choice for their own health, future fertility, and family's wellbeing," the letter read, arguing that Live Action News "repeatedly [wrote] about our clients intentionally 'killing' their babies."

In its response Live Action said it would not follow the request to "delete years of reporting and commentary on the most contested moral and political question in American public life."

"We are fighting for a culture and legal system that respects every human life and refuses to treat the sick, disabled, or unborn as disposable," said Live Action Founder and President Lila Rose in a statement. "Legal threats against our First Amendment right to speak will not change that mission."

Catholic dad Mark Houck continues pro-life work after federal legal battle

Catholic father Mark Houck is joining CatholicVote's development team as a gift officer, the group announced this week.

Houck and his family are adjusting to life after their home in rural eastern Pennsylvania was raided by 20 armed federal agents in the early hours of Sept. 23, 2022. Houck was arrested in front of his family and interrogated for six hours. The incident led to nearly four years of legal battles, which concluded with the family earning a seven-figure settlement for damages.

"I am still very much unpacking spiritually what happened to us — very profound and certainly God is revealing his ultimate plan for us through it all, CatholicVote being the latest direction he has taken us," Houck told EWTN News.

"We are so happy to be with an organization that shares our passion for our faith, the pro-life cause, and, of course, advocacy in the public square."

Houck's role in the organization "will extend beyond that [of a gift officer]," CatholicVote spokeswoman Laurie Olsen told EWTN News. He will "have a voice in all our pro-life efforts," she said.

Houck, meanwhile, told EWTN News: "We measure success by one soul at a time."

"Save a soul, you save your own soul. It is that one soul that gets me going and up early to head into Philadelphia and serve the common good with sidewalk advocacy," he said.

Federal court strikes down Indiana abortion parental-consent law

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit ruled on Aug. 18 against an Indiana law that prevents doctors from providing abortion assistance to minors without parental consent.

The 54-page ruling struck down a law that required parental consent to aid or assist a minor in obtaining an abortion. The ruling said that the parental-consent law violated the First Amendment.

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Two statues of Catholic saints will remain off of a Massachusetts city's new public safety building for the foreseeable future now that the state's highest court has upheld a lower court order prohibiting them from being erected.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled Thursday that the $850,000, 10-foot-tall bronze statues of St. Michael and St. Florian are so closely allied with Catholicism that putting them on a public building would amount to "government preferential treatment of a particular religion," thus violating the state constitution.

"The likelihood that these statues of religious figures closely associated with the Catholic faith could be viewed by the public as endorsement of a particular religion, and thus subordination of others, is enhanced by the fact that the statues are not part of a larger collection of statues and monuments that includes nonreligious ones, or statues of figures of particular importance to other religions," the state's highest court said in a 34-page decision.

The unanimous court upheld a preliminary injunction on behalf of a dozen residents of the city of Quincy who object to the statues, which are currently in storage in a town south of Boston.

City officials have argued that the statues have secular purposes because the city is attempting to honor police officers, whose patron saint is St. Michael the Archangel, and firefighters, whose patron saint is the early Roman martyr St. Florian. Lawyers for the city have also argued that while both figures are Catholic saints, they are also honored by other religious traditions.

Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts, which brought the initial lawsuit, praised the decision of the state's highest court.

"Here in Massachusetts, our state constitution is clear: The government must remain neutral in matters of religion and must not elevate one faith above others. With today's landmark ruling, the Supreme Judicial Court affirms those principles, which are the essential foundation of a pluralistic society where people of all faiths and no faith can flourish," Rossman said in a written statement.

Rachel Laser, president and chief executive officer of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, called the decision "a win for religious freedom and church-state separation."

"Police and fire services are for all Quincy residents, regardless of their religious belief. By trying to install large religious statues in front of the government building dedicated to public safety, [Quincy] Mayor [Thomas] Koch and the city are violating the constitutional promise of church-state separation and sending a message to all who rely on city services that one faith is favored over all others," Laser said in a written statement.

The decision sends the case back to a state superior court, where a judge has already ruled that the plaintiffs have a high likelihood of succeeding. But it also sets up a potential appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court — as the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, reported in April — if the city's mayor decides to go that route.

"This ruling is disappointing but is only preliminary," said Joe Davis, senior counsel at Becket law group and lead attorney for the city.

"Quincy chose these statues to honor the courage and sacrifice of its firefighters and police. The City should not have to hide public art simply because some people may think of religion when they see it," Davis said in a written statement. "As the Court noted today, this is not the final word for these statues, and we will continue defending Quincy's right to honor its heroes."

Koch, who chose the statues and authorized them quietly before a local newspaper reported their existence, also implied that the city will continue its legal fight to erect the statues.

"Quincy's firefighters and police put their lives on the line for this city every day, and these statues were chosen to honor their bravery, service, and sacrifice," Koch said in a written statement. "This decision is disappointing, but it is preliminary, and we will continue to fight for the ability to commemorate our first responders as the law permits."

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

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The Iona Institute has found the number of Catholic baptisms in Ireland declined by 29.6% from 2015 to 2025.

According to an Aug. 18 press release, the "two big drivers of the decline are falling births and rising secularism," with birth rates accounting for about 60% of the decline. "In a way the figures are not a surprise given the rapidly falling number of births and growing secularization. Given that births have fallen by almost a fifth in the last ten years, and more people are ticking the 'No Religion' box in the Census, we could expect nothing but a big drop in baptism figures," Tom Finegan, chairman of The Iona Institute, said in the release.

"It remains to be seen whether cultural Catholicism will remain a force in Irish life. It's worth noting that in Britain in 2023, according to the Vatican yearbook, over 42,000 Catholic children were baptized, even though levels of Mass-attendance in Britain are low."

German bishop resigns, citing 'recurrent depressive disorder'

Bishop Karl-Heinz Wiesemann of the German Diocese of Speyer resigned early at age 66 over ongoing mental health struggles he developed in the wake of the sexual abuse crisis in his diocese.

"I have been a Christian and a bishop for you with all my heart and great inner joy," Wiesemann explained in a letter to the faithful on Aug. 19, reported CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News. "Nevertheless, the burden of extensive responsibility has left serious traces in me physically, as well as mentally."

Wiesemann said in the letter that he had to go to a psychosomatic clinic due to a "recurrent depressive disorder" and that the "processing of sexual abuse in our diocese" was the "immediate trigger." Pope Leo XIV has accepted his resignation.

Asian churches rally together after earthquake in Indonesia

The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) is calling on local churches to provide support for humanitarian relief efforts after a magnitude-7.7 earthquake in Indonesia, Licas News reported Aug. 18.

"We call on CCA member churches, national councils, and ecumenical partners to uphold the affected communities in prayer and to accompany them with timely relief, compassionate presence, and support for recovery and rebuilding. As the immediate emergency response continues, let us stand alongside the people and churches of Indonesia in solidarity," Christian Conference of Asia General Secretary Rev. Jung Eun Grace Moon said. The earthquake is estimated to have killed at least 53 people, according to the report.

New push to build New Zealand cathedral yields over $1 million

After a new call to Catholics in Christchurch, New Zealand, over $1 million was raised in just three weeks for the building of a new cathedral, with the bishop himself pledging $16,000 over five years.

According to The Press, priests within the Diocese of Christchurch have pledged $50 a week, totaling $400,000, which was matched by an out-of-country donor.

"We've got to lead the way because people look to us to show that
we're committed," Bishop Michael Gielen, who leads the diocese, said.

The project reportedly already has nearly $65 million from "insurance proceeds, assetsales, financial gifts, pledges and regular donations." Once the total reaches $72 million the diocese will be able to start construction, and Gielen said he hopes that will happen by the end of 2027.

There are more than 60,000 Catholics in the Christchurch Diocese, though only about 11,000 are believed to attend Mass regularly.

Finnish parliamentarian blocked from entering UK

Finnish parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen has been barred from entering the United Kingdom for a religious freedom conference where she was scheduled to give a talk about free speech.

Räsänen's Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) has been revoked, according to an Aug. 18 press release from her legal counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International. She will now speak at the event virtually.

"It is shocking that the U.K. has blocked me, a democratically elected politician in an allied European state, from entering the country," Räsänen said. "Even though this unjust conviction is currently on appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, the U.K. has likely refused me travel authorization on this basis. In doing so, the U.K. is punishing me for exercising my fundamental human rights."

Chaldean sisters open jubilee year honoring martyred sister

The Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus have opened a jubilee year marking the approaching 25th anniversary of the martyrdom of Servant of God Sister Cecilia Moshi Hanna, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Aug. 19.

Chaldean Patriarch Paul III Nona celebrated the opening Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral in Baghdad. Mother Samar Kamil, the congregation's superior general, said the year will include devotional programs, spiritual retreats, and opportunities for prayer and reflection. The congregation's convents will welcome groups of faithful, with particular attention given to the shrine at the Convent of Charity in Baghdad, where Sister Cecilia was killed. The observance, she explained, is intended not only to honor the martyred sister but also to help Christians consider how they are called to bear witness to their faith in daily life.

Sister Cecilia was murdered on Aug. 16, 2002, at the age of 71. The Vatican's Dicastery for the Causes of Saints recognized her as a servant of God in 2018, formally beginning an important stage in her cause for canonization.

Italian parish mourns death of priest by suicide

Members of San Carlo Borromeo Parish in Trento, Italy, gathered for the funeral of parish priest Father Don Lino Zatelli on Aug. 15.

The service, presided over by Archbishop Lauro Tisi, came after Zatelli was found dead on Aug. 12 by the parish sacristan after he did not appear at the parish to celebrate Mass that morning, according to an Aug. 18 Tribune Chrétienne report. Zatelli had reportedly discovered in the past few weeks that he was to be reassigned to another parish as a part of a pastoral reorganization.

"All this good that he has sown with his humanity, his gestures and his word is a reason for thanks to God for everything that Don Lino has given us," Tisi said in his homily, according to the diocese.

Nigerian priest calls for prayers as 2 killed, 1 abducted in bandit attack

A Catholic priest in Nigeria has appealed for prayers following a bandit attack that left two people dead and another abducted in the Catholic Diocese of Zaria, ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, reported Aug. 18.

In a statement shared on Aug. 18, Father Samuel Ameh shared news of the deadly attack, calling for prayers for those who lost their lives, the abducted community elder, and families affected by the tragedy.

"We ask for prayers for the souls of the departed, for the safe return of the kidnapped, and for strength for all the families affected by this tragic incident," Ameh said, noting the bandits abducted a respected community elder, killed his son on the spot, and confirmed that another person who was injured during the attack later died while receiving medical treatment.

Marian festival brings Syrians together in Armenian town

The "Green Kessab" festival concluded in Syria's Latakia countryside with religious ceremonies, music, food, and traditions honoring the Virgin Mary, ACI MENA reported Aug. 17.

Organized by the Armenian Apostolic Church in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and the Kessab municipal council, the two-day celebration drew residents and visitors from different religious and cultural backgrounds.

Kessab's Armenian presence stretches back centuries, according to local writer Karo Manjikian. For the Aug. 15 feast, farmers offer the first clusters of their grape harvest to the church, which blesses and distributes them among the people. Families also donate sheep whose meat is slowly cooked overnight with crushed wheat to prepare harissa, a traditional dish shared freely after Mass the following morning. Muslims as well as Christians take part in receiving the blessed grapes and meal.

War and emigration have reduced Kessab's resident Christian population to about 1,000, although the number rises considerably during the summer when expatriates and other visitors return.

National Youth Day in Angola ends with call to young people to reject violence

The president of the Bishops' Conference of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe has called on young people to reject violence, hatred, and intolerance, urging the promotion of dialogue, respect for differences, and fraternity, ACI Africa reported Aug. 18.

"Only mutual love and respect build a strong nation," Archbishop José Manuel Imbamba said in his homily on Aug. 16 during the closing Mass of the fourth National Youth Day at Our Lady of Fatima Parish of the Luanda Archdiocese.

"There should be no intolerance that excludes and rejects. There should be no fanaticism that blinds and destroys. There should also be no violence that frightens and dehumanizes," he said.

More than 4,000 young people from the dioceses of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe participated in the four-day gathering, held from Aug. 13 to 16 under the theme "Young People, Take Courage. I Have Overcome the World."

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A California couple is suing their surrogate mother for refusing to abort the child she was carrying for them, alleging that she violated her contract by not killing the baby prior to his birth.

Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed have filed suit against McKenna West seeking more than $100,000 in damages, alleging she breached their surrogacy agreement, which included a clause allowing them to request abortion of the baby if it were found to have fetal abnormalities.

West, a cardiac nurse from Alaska, gave birth on Aug. 12 in Dallas to a baby boy diagnosed prenatally with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a serious but treatable heart condition. West called the child Gabriel; the contracting couple, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed of California, call him Rumi.

West had fled to Texas seeking the state's protection for the baby after his birth. In an Aug. 20 op-ed in the New York Post, she said she was allowed only about 60 seconds with the newborn before the contracting couple took physical custody. She is currently barred from contact with the child under existing orders.

A hearing on parentage and related issues is scheduled for Aug. 25 in Dallas County.

West, a single mother, refused the request for an abortion following the diagnosis of the condition in April. The couple subsequently stopped paying for pregnancy-related expenses.

According to the pro-life group Live Action, West was willing to give birth in California, where the contracting couple reside, if they would commit to treating the baby's heart condition, though they reportedly refused.

West said she chose Dallas Children's Hospital in Texas due to its 100% success rate for the procedure the newborn needed.

"As a cardiac nurse, I knew this little one had a great shot at survival if given the opportunity to receive the necessary treatment," she said.

The baby has undergone his first surgery for the heart condition and is receiving care in Texas under a court order secured by Attorney General Ken Paxton that required lifesaving treatment and barred his removal from the state.

Lee Budner, Gilkar and Ahmed's attorney, said in a recent statement to TMZ that the couple is "devastated" that the baby's birth and health issues have allegedly been "transformed into political theater" by West and Paxton.

In her op-ed, meanwhile, West denied claims that her actions were "political theater," writing: "No woman should be forced to kill the baby inside her. Most importantly, every child deserves a chance to live."

West stated she has given up any claims to the baby and is only requesting that the contracting couple commit to provide "the lifesaving treatment he needs. That is all it would take to end this."

However, she wrote that the couple is "actively working to get the court order that required the baby's continued treatment thrown out."

Budner did not respond to EWTN News' requests for comment, but TMZ reported that he said the couple is "following the advice of the baby's medical team, just as any loving parent would," adding that his clients, who are suing West for not aborting the child, "continue, as they always have, to place their baby's health and well-being first."

Irene Alexander, an associate professor of moral theology at the University of Dallas, told EWTN News that aborting a child with a treatable health condition is "almost like an Amazon mentality. If I don't get exactly what I ordered, I want to send it back."

Alexander described the practice of surrogacy, which the Catholic Church teaches is gravely immoral, as a "dissociation of all the aspects of human sexuality: love, parenthood, and the good of the child are all spliced into parts" that lead "the children to suffer because those things are inseparably connected."

"Once you violate the order of reality that was intended to be one whole; once you've committed so many levels of injustice," she said, "you're left with the mess that does injustice to the child and to the unity of marriage."

Christina Bennett, a news correspondent for Live Action, told "EWTN News Nightly" reporter Eric Rosales on Aug. 20: "Surrogacy exploits both mother and child. Women are not just wombs to be rented, and children are not just property to be sold with contracts to be signed."

"Women deserve human dignity, children deserve human dignity, and surrogacy violates that, and it should be banned across the entire nation, as other countries have done," she said.

[The dispute] "is a textbook example of what is wrong with surrogacy.

Joe Zalot

Ethicist, National Catholic Bioethics Center

Joe Zalot, an ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, told EWTN News that the case demonstrates "how commercial surrogacy denigrates the surrogate, seeking to reduce her to subservient role vis-a-vis the genetic 'parents,' as well as how surrogacy contracts denigrate the dignity of the preborn child through the demand that it be killed if a prenatal anomaly is diagnosed."

The dispute "is a textbook example of what is wrong with surrogacy," Zalot continued. The controversial practice, according to Church teaching, "is never permitted because it severs the 'inseparable connection' between procreation and union, it violates the child's right to be gestated by, and born of, its biological mother, and it violates the exclusivity of marriage as spouses have a right to become parents only through each other."

Kimberly Bird, a spokeswoman for Live Action, told Rosales that the "very dark reality around … these abortion clauses that are put in [surrogacy] contracts are absolutely atrocious … no one has a right to tell a woman" she must kill "the baby she's carrying."

"And absolutely surrogacy should be banned," Bird continued. "Other countries have done it or have at least put severe restrictions on it."

Colombia lawmakers proposed a bill outlawing surrogacy this week, while the practice is illegal in dozens of other countries around the world.

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This month Lebanon became the first country in the Middle East to abolish the death penalty, a historic step that drew widespread international praise and was hailed as a major victory for human dignity and human rights.

Just days later, another landmark measure known as the general amnesty law proved far more controversial. The legislation has sparked intense debate, particularly within Lebanese Christian circles, amid concerns over public security, accountability, and the rights of victims.

A regional first

Lebanon had not carried out an execution since 2004, but its courts continued to issue death sentences, including one as recently as Aug. 10. According to Amnesty International, at least 85 people remained on death row as of January.

Capital punishment in Lebanon has been generally reserved for serious crimes, including murder, terrorism, and espionage.

The new law sets Lebanon apart in a region where executions remain widespread. Amnesty International recorded more than 2,000 executions in Iran and over 350 in Saudi Arabia last year. In June, Jordan hanged six men convicted of killing members of the security forces, ending a nine-year moratorium. Earlier this year, Israel's parliament also passed a law permitting the execution of Palestinians convicted of fatal attacks.

Lebanon had repeatedly supported calls for a moratorium on capital punishment at the U.N., including a 2024 resolution on the issue. Justice Minister Adel Nassar described its abolition as a "historic" step.

General amnesty provokes concern among Christians

While the decision to end capital punishment has attracted widespread praise, Parliament's adoption of a general amnesty law provoked a markedly different response, generating intense controversy — particularly within Christian circles.

The law covers crimes committed before March 1, 2026, and excludes several serious offenses from a full pardon — notably terrorism, premeditated murder, treason, espionage, corruption, banking crimes, money laundering, and terrorist financing. Also excluded are rape, human trafficking, domestic violence, the sexual abuse of minors, torture, enforced disappearance, and certain drug, theft, and environmental crimes.

Those convicted of excluded offenses would nevertheless benefit from reduced sentences: Life imprisonment with hard labor would be commuted to 17 years — equivalent to approximately 12 years and nine months of actual imprisonment under Lebanon's system — while other sentences would be reduced by a third.

The law has generated widespread controversy, particularly within Christian circles, where concerns focus on its potential security consequences. Critics warn that releasing large numbers of prisoners or reducing their sentences, in the absence of effective rehabilitation and reintegration programs, could leave some vulnerable to returning to crime or being recruited by armed political parties, extremist groups, and drug-trafficking networks. These fears are compounded by weak state institutions and an economy unable to provide sufficient employment opportunities.

Opponents argue that the legislation fails to address the underlying problems: overcrowded prisons, prolonged pretrial detention, slow trials, and a dysfunctional judicial system. The appropriate response, according to critics, would be to accelerate judicial proceedings so that the innocent are released and the guilty held accountable rather than collectively dismissing prosecutions and sentences.

The law has also raised a fundamental question about victims' rights.

"Instead of accelerating trials and deciding cases in order to acquit the innocent and convict the guilty, the supposed experts resort to the easiest solution: a general amnesty," Father Dany Dargham wrote on social media. "The concerns of Christian parties remain reduced to winning municipal, parliamentary, and local council votes, while the cause of a free and dignified existence remains absent from their agenda."

Moreover, in a sectarian country such as Lebanon, political decisions are rarely viewed separately from the country's delicate communal balance, with each religious community asking what it gained from a particular agreement. Some Christians regarded the provision allowing Lebanese citizens who fled to Israel after 2000 to return — provided they had not participated in military or security activities — as their community's principal gain from the law.

However, Member of Parliament Ziad Hawat said those who hold Israeli citizenship would be required to renounce it. His statement led many to question how many would actually return, if any.

Lebanese political activist Maryam Younes, who lives in exile in Israel, responded in a video: "You cannot include us in a law that pardons criminals, rapists, and murderers, when our crime was defending our land. We do not believe this general amnesty concerns us. Nor can anyone guarantee that, if we return to Lebanon, Hezbollah will not harm us. We will certainly not return now."

This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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Catholic officials concluded their first-ever conference with Confucian thinkers this month, with both traditions coming together to spotlight their "shared convictions" for humanity in spite of the stark differences in their historical developments.

The Holy See's Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea teamed up with the Sungkyunkwan Confucian Academy to hold the event at Sogang University in Seoul, South Korea, on Aug. 4–5.

A joint statement, approved by Catholic and Confucian scholars, recognized "our traditions arise from different religious and philosophical foundations" but that "our dialogue revealed important shared convictions."

Both traditions expressed agreement that "human flourishing begins with the formation of virtuous, compassionate, and responsible individuals." The statement added: "Personal transformation, ethical living, and care for others are the foundations of healthy families, communities, and societies."

Scholars in both traditions agreed "a just and peaceful society depends on leadership rooted in integrity, humility, service, and concern for the common good" and "good institutions matter, but they can truly serve society only when guided by moral wisdom and public responsibility."

There was also agreement that "care for the vulnerable, future generations, and our common home is both a moral and spiritual responsibility," people are called toward solidarity, and hope requires people to "work together through the trials and imperfections of the present."

With the growth of artificial intelligence, the scholars found similarities in the Confucian spirit of benevolence and the Christian value of love, which both point toward ensuring "all technological progress actively [enhances] human dignity and ethical values."

Confucianism, rooted in the philosophy of fifth-century B.C. Chinese thinker Confucius, is a philosophical and ethical system focused on benevolence and harmony with an emphasis on living virtuously, adhering to tradition, and respecting one's parents and ancestors, among other ideals.

Adherents often engage in ritual honor of their ancestors. Confucius discusses deities but focuses more heavily on the way one should live. His philosophy is influential in many East Asian countries. Many adherents follow other traditions as well, such as Buddhism or local religious traditions.

Christianity, and specifically Catholicism, has grown in some countries heavily influenced by Confucian thought in recent decades, particularly South Korea, Hong Kong, and Vietnam.

'Datong' and new heaven

Father Paulin Batairwa Kubuya, SX, who serves as the undersecretary for the dicastery, told EWTN News that Catholic dialogue with Confucianism is growing, although it is still not one of the religions that is technically under the dicastery's jurisdiction for outreach. He said the need for dialogue is emphasized in the Second Vatican Council documents.

"But the idea behind the document Nostra Aetate is one of greater openness toward religious realities, and so this dialogue marks a moment when the conditions for officially beginning talks with the Confucians had matured," he said. "And so we went there to Korea, one of the countries that still bears the marks of these religions."

He said the theme of the conference was based on the Christian belief expressed in the Book of Revelation about the new heaven and the new earth and the Confucian idea of "Datong" — the "great unity" or "great harmony."

"These describe an ideal state where everyone lives together in a society organized to care for the weak and the orphans — a place where everything is so beautiful," Kubuya said.

"It is a city where the gates are never locked because there is security," he said. "It's the same as what is said about the New Jerusalem. There is no more death; there is openness — so there was that similarity between these two visions of these two religions. And those were the starting points, the reflections: so, as a society, how can we bring that vision to life?"

Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, prefect of the dicastery, discussed the two concepts in his opening speech at the conference, according to Vatican News. He said Catholicism and Confucianism both emphasize a similar human aspiration.

"That our common life may be in harmony with a Way that is truly good and beautiful; an ethical justice lived in the warmth of friendship and mutual care; a peace that recognizes and promotes the dignity of every person and every community; a harmony born from differences, like the notes of music blending into a single melody or people from different places becoming one community," he said.

Batairwa told EWTN News that during the conference, participants visited various religious sites, including a Buddhist temple that is influenced by Confucianism, a Confucian academy, and sites of Christian martyrdom.

The joint statement recognized that the two traditions view the ultimate reality, human fulfillment, and the transformation of society differently, but "these differences are not barriers to friendship; rather, they invite deeper listening, mutual learning, humility, and continued dialogue."

Scholars in both traditions renewed commitments to deepen friendship and dialogue; to promote societies rooted in compassion, justice, harmony, and shared responsibility; and to work toward the flourishing of humanity together.

The conference had about 150 participants from more than a dozen countries. The groups are planning two additional conferences over the next four years: Indonesia in 2028 and Hong Kong in 2030.

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Pope Leo XIV has urged Catholic legislators to promote policies that protect families from the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI).

The pontiff delivered his remarks on Aug. 21 in an audience at the Vatican with participants of the 17th annual meeting of the International Catholic Legislators Network (ICLN), taking place in Rome from Aug. 20–23.

Cardinals Christoph Schönborn, Béchara Boutros Raï, and Charles Maung Bo were also present at the audience as patrons of the network.

AI must not be allowed to weaken families

In his address, Leo reflected on the theme chosen for the meeting, "Human Dignity and Artificial Intelligence: Challenges, Chances, and Control."

"Artificial intelligence must never be allowed to erode this primary cell of society — whether by reducing persons and relationships to data and simulations, by flooding young minds with content that distorts desire, or by economic models that make family life economically precarious," Leo explained.

"For this reason, I encourage you to promote policies that strengthen marriage and families, support parents in their educational mission, and enable young people to look to the future with confidence."

The pope then reminded those present that their responsibility is not to hinder development but to promote the common good.

"Responsible for providing policies for the administration of technology for the common good, your task is not to hinder innovation but to guide it wisely," Leo said. "[Sound legislation] should protect users from exploitation, preserve personal privacy, ensure transparency in the use of emerging technologies, and guarantee that they strengthen democratic institutions."

The ICLN was founded in 2010 in Austria to serve as a network for Catholic legislators worldwide. Since then, its annual meetings have been held in Rome. During their 2025 meeting, Pope Leo urged members to look to St. Augustine's "City of God" for inspiration.

After its 17th annual meeting concludes, the ICLN will host a peace summit in Assisi on Aug. 24, themed "The Urgent Call for Christian Leaders to Be Effective Peacemakers." The summit will feature Mass, keynote addresses, and fraternal visits as the city continues to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi.

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