Catholic News

A court in the northern Philippines has dismissed a forcible entry case against a Catholic bishop, a priest, and several community leaders involved in a dispute over a mining exploration project in Nueva Vizcaya province.

Bishop Jose Elmer Mangalinao of Bayombong welcomed the June 24 ruling, which dismissed a complaint linked to barricades established by residents in Kasibu town against exploration activities by North Luzon Mineral Resources Corporation (NLMRC).

"This outcome is not only a legal victory. It is a victory for truth, justice, and the collective efforts of communities who courageously stand to protect our land, water, and future generations," Mangalinao said in a statement.

The complaint named Mangalinao, Father Christian Dumangeng, and several community leaders allegedly involved in maintaining the barricades. The case drew national attention after a Catholic bishop and priest were included among the defendants.

The dispute stems from opposition to a 4,456-hectare (11,011 acres) mining exploration project being undertaken by NLMRC in several villages in Kasibu, a municipality in Nueva Vizcaya, a mountainous province on the island of Luzon north of Manila.

Residents, church groups, and some Indigenous leaders have raised concerns about the project's potential effects on watersheds, local livelihoods, and nearby communities.

Residents established barricades in May to block the movement of fuel, equipment, and mineral samples linked to NLMRC's exploration activities, according to community groups.

The complaint was filed by Rosario Camma, who identified himself as the overall chieftain of the Bugkalot-Ilongot Indigenous Cultural Communities. Some members of the Bugkalot-Ilongot Indigenous communities have joined opposition to the project, citing concerns about its possible effects on their communities and surrounding resources.

In a nine-page decision obtained by EWTN News, the local court said the plaintiff failed to establish a clear legal right warranting injunctive relief and ruled that it lacked jurisdiction over the action. The court found that the relief sought was more consistent with an injunction case than a forcible entry action.

The decision also cited a certification from the Philippine government's Indigenous affairs agency stating that the exploration permit area falls outside officially recognized ancestral domain lands. Opponents of the project, however, have argued that the controversy extends beyond ancestral domain claims and includes concerns over environmental impacts and consultation requirements.

The court further held that the complaint sought to stop activities related to the barricades rather than recover possession of property, a key element in forcible entry cases.

Mangalinao has defended his involvement in the issue, saying his presence at the barricades was part of his pastoral responsibility. Earlier this week, he said he visited the communities to celebrate Mass and accompany residents concerned about the future of their land and water sources.

"I went as their bishop to offer the Holy Mass, to pray with them, and to remind them that their concern for the land, the water, and their children's future is one the Church shares and blesses," he said.

In his homily on June 21, the prelate said the dispute is an issue of environmental stewardship and concern for communities affected by development projects.

"I could have chosen not to speak up, but if I do not speak up, my sin would be great before God," he said.

The bishop said the ruling would strengthen continuing efforts to defend the environment and communities affected by extractive projects.

"Let this moment remind us that defending our watersheds, our environment, and our people's livelihood is not a crime: it is a shared moral responsibility," he said.

"We believe, as the Church has always taught, that the earth is not ours to exhaust but ours to steward," he added.

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Catholic bishops from West Africa are leading an international effort to develop the Sahel Peace University — a prospective higher education institution to train future leaders in addressing the scourge of terrorism and violence in the region.

The proposed university is borne out of the broader Sahel Peace Initiative, an interfaith advocacy organization working toward peacebuilding in the region. The Sahel is the region sitting directly below the Sahara desert, representing the northernmost part of Sub-Saharan Africa.

According to a concept proposal provided to EWTN News, the initiative is led by the Catholic bishops conferences in Burkina Faso and Niger.

Christians are the minority in both countries, representing slightly more than one-fourth of Burkina Faso and about 1% of Niger. Traditional African religions also represent a minority, while Islam is the most practiced religion.

"While we will envision solutions like buildings and programs, the goal is to foster a robust population engaged in problem solving and developing a sustainable peace in the Sahel," the proposal states.

Although led by Catholics, the bishops also partner with Muslim clerics and leaders of traditional African faith communities. The proposal notes the university will be grounded in Catholic social teaching, and open to everyone, and expressed a commitment to work with interfaith partners, especially the Muslim community.

"The [university] will serve as a regional hub for peacebuilding, governance research, trauma healing, and community resilience, equipping leaders and communities to address the Sahel's most urgent challenges," it adds.

The bishops hope to headquarter the university in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. It will be African- and Catholic-led, but the bishops are looking for international support, including from the United States.

"While the physical requirements include buildings and materials, these are merely tools for the emerging leaders to cultivate a new group of younger and empowered people of all faiths working collaboratively towards the shared goal of lasting peace," it states.

Burkina Faso bishops seek solidarity

Bishops from Burkina Faso have met with Pope Leo XIV in Rome and have offered information to the U.S. State Department in a recent trip to the United States, hoping to spread awareness about problems in the Sahel and to garner more support for their peace efforts.

Two of the bishops — Archbishop Laurent Dabire, archbishop of Bobo-Dioulasso, and Bishop Alexandre Bazie, auxiliary bishop of Koudougou and head of the Burkina Faso-Niger bishops' delegation — spoke with EWTN News about the situation on the ground and efforts to gain support for the university.

The bishops spoke in French through a translator, Father Barthelemy Bazemo.

Dabire said he told Leo the bishops have been trying to raise awareness about problems in the region for a long time. He said people globally are aware of the conflicts in Ukraine, Iran, and Gaza, but often Africa and the Sahel are overlooked.

President Donald Trump coordinated with the Nigerian government to strike terrorists in Nigeria — a country in the Sahel, east of Burkina Faso — amid rampant violence, killings, and terrorism that has disproportionately targeted Christians, but also victimized many Muslims and followers of traditional African religions.

Bazie said the U.S. has coordinated with Burkina Faso on separate issues, such as health initiatives, but the terrorism problem has not drawn as much attention from the administration when compared to Nigeria.

He said the violence in Burkina Faso is not one-sided against Christians, but that terrorists target both churches and mosques, and both Christian and Muslim clerics. He warned the people of Burkina Faso, however, cannot afford to wait until the situation reaches the level of Nigeria.

According to a 2025 report from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) about the Sahel countries, Burkina Faso has "one of the world's highest rates of civilian attacks and fatalities from insurgent violence."

It cites actions from violent insurgent groups, including a February 2024 attack by the Islamic State – Sahel Province that killed 12 worshipers at a Catholic Church in Essakane. There was another attack that month on a mosque that killed dozens of people, along with numerous attacks on villages by bandits and insurgents. These attacks have targeted both Christians and Muslims.

In addition to murders, attacks have included kidnappings of priests, religious sisters, imams, and other Christian and Muslim civilians.

"As a result of brutal killings — thousands [have been] killed — there [are] many [in the] community being impacted [and] it takes education," Bazie said. "It takes several years of training to get people into the [right] mindset, even if we have different solutions."

Bazie noted that the Church has been working to improve the region through construction of schools and hospitals and other forms of economic development, but that additional support from outside partners can help the region further.

"With limited resources, [we're] trying to do [our] best," he said. "But now coming here is to ask for support in what's already being done."

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Bishop Peter Baldacchino of Las Cruces, New Mexico, will climb Mount Cristo Rey and celebrate Mass at the mountain's peak as the government moves to seize the diocesan land for border fencing.

The Diocese of Las Cruces "is currently the subject of an application by the United States government to exercise eminent domain over diocesan land situated on Mount Cristo Rey," Baldacchino wrote in a letter.

Mount Cristo Rey is a prominent mountain in Sunland Park, New Mexico, overlooking the Texas and Mexico borders. The mountain is home to a 29-foot-tall statue of Christ and a shrine.

"At this site, Christ the King, with open arms, rises above two countries," Baldacchino said. "Since the sites' founding nearly a century ago, many have come together in devotion and journeyed to the top of this mountain seeking Him and offering prayers of thanksgiving and hope."

As the dispute remains ongoing, Baldacchino and Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso are inviting the faithful "to join in prayer and pilgrimage" by climbing the mountain and celebrating Mass on June 28.

"Our government is within its rights to secure its border, however, our Diocese is defending itself against the means by which the government now seeks to do so," Baldacchino said.

The government is trying to seize the diocesan property "to construct, install, operate, and maintain…structures designed to help secure the United States/Mexico border within the state of New Mexico," according to a civil action filed by the federal government in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico.

The Diocese of Las Cruces had asked a district court to block the deposit of the funds while it fights the government's attempts, but on June 15, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Gonzales ruled the government could deposit the $183,071 to "allow for the safekeeping of funds pending resolution" of the dispute.

This is not a matter of politics, but a matter of preserving and defending a sanctuary and devotion which has brought many people in our community to God."

Peter Baldacchino

Bishop of Las Cruces, New Mexico

"This is not a matter of politics, but a matter of preserving and defending a sanctuary and devotion which has brought many people in our community to God," he said. "The spiritual value of this site cannot be compromised by politics or financial gain."

"I look forward to being with you all on June 28, 2026, as we pray for the Dioceses of Las Cruces and El Paso, and for our government and its leaders," Baldacchino wrote.

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Santa Maria delle Grazie (Our Lady of Grace) parish in the small Italian town of Casalba has found itself in the media spotlight after a statue of St. Padre Pio appeared to show a tear of blood trickling down its face.

The discovery was made in April, when a parishioner noticed an unusual detail on the face of the saint from Pietrelcina: A reddish tear, resembling blood, appeared to be falling from its left eye.

The news quickly reached the parish priest, Father Girolamo Capuano, who went to the church to verify what had happened and attempt, without success, to clean off the stain. The statue of Padre Pio, which has stood at the entrance of this Italian church for two decades, has been removed for examination in order to determine the origin of the phenomenon.

Speaking to Mediaset Italia's program Mattino Cinque, Capuano urged prudence and emphasized that bringing the matter to public attention to clarify the facts "does not stem from any desire for popularity."

Furthermore, he insisted that such "signs" are "given to all so that they may be shared with prudence, love, and discernment," while also stating that they should be made known "because many people begin a journey of faith" through them.

The Italian priest, who verified via security cameras that no one had tampered with the statue, reiterated that in his view, it is "an authentic sign that comes from God," although he asked people to wait for the necessary verification.

"What convinces me the most is that we have a camera monitoring the statue day and night for more than 10 years. I have personally reviewed all the footage from April 1st to the 30th. The tear appeared on the 18th, or at least that was when we saw it. No one approached the statue, either by day or by night, to do anything to it. That reinforces my personal conviction and my faith in Padre Pio," he said.

The priest noted several striking elements: "The statue is made of fiberglass, and the reddish color of the tear raises questions. Furthermore, the path of the tear is so perfect that not even a painter like Michelangelo could reproduce something like it."

Regardless of the investigation's findings, which must determine whether the stain contains hemoglobin or another substance, Capuano insists that "they cannot take our faith away from us."

In 2015, a reported case of an image of the Virgin Mary weeping circulated in the same town, although investigations concluded that the phenomenon was caused by rainwater seepage.

In accordance with the Vatican's Norms for Proceeding in the Discernment of Alleged Supernatural Phenomena, the bishop of the Diocese of Capua, Pietro Lagnese, will lead the preliminary investigation before submitting the findings to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF).

According to these norms, published by the Vatican in 2024, it is up to diocesan bishop to examine cases in dialogue with his corresponding bishops' conference and under the supervision of the DDF.

Once the facts have been investigated, the bishop must send the results to the dicastery, which analyzes both the material received and the procedure followed by the prelate. Until the DDF issues a definitive judgment, the bishop "will refrain from any public declaration regarding the authenticity or supernaturality of these phenomena."

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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The Vatican has published, for the first time in English, a collection of Pope Benedict XVI's private homilies from 2005-2017.

According to Vatican News, the Vatican Publishing House has published "The Lord Holds Us By the Hand," previously released in Italian in 2025 under the title "Il Signore Ci Tiene per Mano."

The book contains Benedict's homilies delivered during private Masses both during his time as pope and after his resignation from the papacy in 2013.

The volume includes homilies from the seasons of Advent, Lent, and Easter, given at either the private chapel in the Apostolic Palace or the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican, and focused on developing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

The book offers an example of the continuity of the late pope's theological work since his time as Joseph Ratzinger, both as an acclaimed theologian and as head of the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The book also highlights his focus on the person of Christ as an accompanying figure for today's Christians.

"The Lord Holds Us by the Hand" includes a preface by Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Pope Benedict XVI's former personal secretary, and an introduction by Father Federico Lombardi S.J., president of the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation.

A second volume, dedicated to Benedict's homilies given during Ordinary Time, is forthcoming.

Next year, 2027, will mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Joseph Ratzinger, who would later become Pope Benedict XVI.

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The traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) issued an open letter and a declaration of faith to Pope Leo XIV and the College of Cardinals on June 24.

Ahead of the extraordinary consistory of the cardinals at the Vatican on June 26-27 and the SSPX's upcoming episcopal consecrations on July 1 without papal approval, the group issued the letter as well as the declaration reaffirming their attachment to Church tradition.

"We are convinced that Tradition contains all the remedies for the deepest ills afflicting the Church and the world, for which solutions are sought in vain outside of it," the SSPX stated in their open letter.

The accompanying declaration contains 154 statements defending traditional Church teachings, including on the sacraments, divine revelation, the Virgin Mary, the rejection of ecumenism, and fidelity to the Traditional Latin Mass.

These documents from the SSPX mark the latest development in a series of public disagreements with the Holy See over the SSPX's planned episcopal consecrations without papal approval.

The Vatican stated on May 13 that the consecrations would be a schismatic act, resulting in automatic excommunication for the consecrating bishops and those consecrated.

On June 16, Pope Leo warned the SSPX that their planned episcopal conscrations risk schism.

"We have invited them, and I am still considering making another appeal, to say: 'Do not do this. Let us try to live in communion in the Church.' But it is their choice. They must understand what it means for them and for the Church," the pope said, responding to journalists' questions outside Villa Barberini in Castel Gandolfo on June 16.

The SSPX exclusively celebrates the Traditional Latin Mass and has rejected certain teachings and reforms of the Second Vatican Council, particularly regarding religious freedom and the Church's approach to other faiths.

The Holy See Press Office did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

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A Brazilian couple was sentenced to 50 days in prison related to the homeschooling of their two daughters in an unprecedented case that has raised concerns regarding educational freedom and parental rights in Brazil.

Audato and Ieda Denardi were found guilty of the crime of "intellectual neglect" by a court in the state of São Paulo, even though the prosecution itself had requested their acquittal after concluding that the minors were not suffering from any neglect and were demonstrating appropriate academic and social development.

The Christian legal organization ADF International, which is representing the family in the appeal, denounced the case as "a grotesque abuse of criminal law" and stated that it would continue defending the couple.

The conviction, initially handed down in April 2026 and currently under appeal before the Seventh Criminal Court Chamber of the São Paulo State Court of Justice, will remain suspended while the appeal is being resolved.

'I cannot conceive of a more dictatorial state'

Ieda Denardi expressed her distress and defended the right of parents to choose their children's education.

"As a mother, I cannot conceive of a more dictatorial state than the one that wants me in jail because I chose to exercise my right to direct the education and upbringing of my daughters," she told ADF International.

"My husband and I are hopeful the court will recognize our right to choose the best education for our children and overturn this unjust conviction," she added.

The couple began homeschooling their daughters in 2020 after realizing the limitations of the remote public education imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since then, they report a significant improvement in their daughters' academic performance and have been able to incorporate family values ??and faith into their education.

Judge takes into account the girls' music preferences

One of the most striking aspects of the case is the reasoning the judge used to reach the verdict. According to the ruling, the educational program provided by the parents did not include content regarding "gender and sex education" or "tolerance and diversity."

Furthermore, the court concluded that the fact that the girls, aged 15 and 11, do not enjoy popular musical genres such as "trap" or "sertanejo" demonstrated an alleged deficiency in their cultural education.

The judge cited this despite the fact that both girls are pianists with advanced training and are fluent in several languages.

In his ruling, the judge further accused the parents of "using their daughters as pawns in an ideological struggle, subjecting them to a form of unregulated education, the effectiveness and quality of which lack adequate metrics within the Brazilian legal system, while completely excluding the state's involvement."

The prosecution sought the parents' acquittal

"The prosecutor examined the witnesses and recommended acquittal. An independent educational psychologist found no sign of neglect. The girls themselves described rigorous daily education," explained Julio Pohl, legal counsel for Latin America at ADF International.

However, "the judge convicted anyway," he said, "because a fifteen-year-old said she finds some music lyrics morally questionable, and because the curriculum didn't include state-approved content on gender."

"A parent has been sentenced to prison not for failing to educate her children, but for educating them according to her own values. This is a grotesque abuse of the criminal law, and we will not let it stand." Pohl pledged.

First criminal prosecution against homeschooling families

According to ADF International, more than 70,000 children are currently being homeschooled in Brazil. However, a lack of regulation has left thousands of families in a state of uncertainty.

The Denardi case sets a precedent as the first criminal conviction of parents for homeschooling their children.

The situation has even reached the country's legislature, where hearings were recently held on the matter, and the Denardis asked lawmakers to pass a law guaranteeing families the right to choose this educational model.

Although a homeschooling bill was passed by the Chamber of Deputies (lower house) in 2022, the initiative remains stalled in the Senate.

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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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Four years after Roe v. Wade was overturned, Catholic bishops and pro-life leaders are reflecting on the impact of the historic Dobbs ruling, citing progress in protecting unborn children while raising concerns about the increasing availability of chemical abortions.

In a statement released on the anniversary of the landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of Toledo, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, praised the ruling as a historic turning point while urging Catholics to remain engaged in the pro-life cause.

"On this Anniversary of the Dobbs decision, we praise God for the historic overturning of Roe v. Wade," Bishop Thomas said. "And we beg the intercession of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in building a culture of life."

Dobbs overturned Roe and eliminated federal constitutional protection for abortion, shifting authority back to the states. Since then, any laws restricting or expanding abortion have been carried out by the individual states.

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, recalled learning of the decision while standing outside the Supreme Court.

"As the opinion was put into my hand, I started reading it, and it said, 'The Constitution does not confer the right to abortion. Roe and Casey are overruled," Hawkins spoke during an interview with EWTN News Nightly. "This decision that came down four years ago today gave states and gave legislators across the country … the ability to regulate or end abortion."

Hawkins described the post-Dobbs landscape as a new phase in the pro-life movement's efforts, with legislative battles now taking place in state capitals across the nation.

"The decision of abortion is now returned to the people and their representatives," she said. "We have 51 playing fields in our country where we're attempting every single day to pass laws to either outright end abortion or to severely restrict abortion."

Abortion pills emerge as a flashpoint

Several pro-life leaders criticized leaving abortion policies entirely in the hands of the states, arguing that abortion regulations should also come from the federal level.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America,  told reporters in a June 23 press call with Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of FAMiLY Leader, an Iowa-based evangelical political advocacy organization "that whole state's-only experiment is a failure. It has been tried and failed."

Dannenfelser said permissive abortion pill policies in states such as California and New York are undermining pro-life laws elsewhere, allowing abortion drugs to be shipped across state lines into states that have enacted abortion restrictions.

"Now, 15,000 children a month are dying in pro-life states. That is the definition of failure," she said.

"We used to say there's going to be abortion destination places," Vander Plaats said. "In Iowa, we were concerned about a state like Illinois being an abortion destination. Now the abortion destination is in your mailbox."

Both the bishops and pro-life advocates raised growing use of chemical abortion drugs as a concern.

"Now with easier access to abortion pills, the abortion rate is tragically climbing. The victory of the Dobbs decision risks being undone by the massive influx of abortion pills," Bishop Thomas said in the statement.

Pro-life leaders said changes made by federal regulators have enabled abortion pills to be prescribed through telehealth appointments and distributed through pharmacies and the mail, despite restrictions enacted by pro-life states.

Hawkins likewise criticized the federal government's handling of abortion pills and called for further action from the Trump administration.

"While we're excited and we're still celebrating the win of Roe being reversed, something that many people told us was impossible, we have not won the war," she said.

"We're going to be celebrating the victory of the Dobbs decision. And we're going to be praying for our future success to see abortion completely abolished in our land," Hawkins said.

Catholics urged to pray and take action

Looking ahead, the USCCB is encouraging Catholics to participate in a national prayer and advocacy effort that will run from mid-August through October's Respect Life Month. Bishop Thomas urged the faithful to pray for women facing unplanned pregnancies, share information about abortion pills, and advocate for policies that protect both mothers and unborn children.

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Pope Leo XIV on June 24 appointed Puerto Rican priest Father Geraldo Ramírez Torres as the new bishop of the Diocese of Ponce in the Caribbean territory.

The pontiff also accepted the resignation of Bishop Rubén Antonio González Medina, C.M.F., who has led the diocese since 2015.

According to a Vatican press release, Ramírez was born in Villalba, Puerto Rico, on Nov. 17, 1967. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Ponce on Nov. 19, 1991.

His academic training included a bachelor's degree in theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico.

He served as a parish priest and chaplain for several parishes in the Ponce diocese before his appointment as bishop. He served as vicar general of the diocese since 2021 and as parish priest of the diocese's Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe since 2004.

Known as "Father Jerry," Ramírez told El Visitante de Puerto Rico in 2016 that he owed his priestly vocation to "a devout family and the example and dedication of the Marianist priests and brothers."

"I accepted the call aware that I wasn't the best clay, but with the conviction that he is indeed the greatest and best potter," the priest told the Catholic newspaper on the occasion of his 25th anniversary of priestly ordination.

The diocese of Ponce is one of six Roman Catholic dioceses in Puerto Rico and is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico, all of which are a part of the Catholic Church in the United States.

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On June 22, the Government of Italy, in collaboration with the Holy See, Chile, and Cameroon, convened a high-level side event on surrogacy at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Representatives of the participating states presented a joint declaration calling for an international moratorium on surrogacy as a step toward its eventual global abolition. In this context, a moratorium refers to a temporary suspension of surrogacy arrangements pending further legal, ethical, and human rights review.

The event, titled "Building Momentum Towards a Moratorium on Surrogacy," was motivated by concerns over the increasing physical, psychological, medical, and ethical harms associated with surrogacy. The rapid growth of the surrogacy industry, projected to hit nearly $100 billion by 2033, was another cause of concern.

The joint declaration presented reflects an abolitionist approach to surrogacy and calls on governments to adopt policies that safeguard human dignity and fundamental human rights.

The initiative follows previous criticism of the controversial practice by Pope Leo XIV, who condemned it in a January address. In March, the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations also raised concerns about surrogacy, warning that it is an area in which "technology and practice have run laps around the law and ethics."

A question of human dignity

Italy's Minister for Family, Birth Rate and Equal Opportunities, Eugenia Roccella, framed the surrogacy debate as a fundamental question about the status of the human person.

She asked whether society still recognizes human beings as persons "who must be respected" or is willing to accept a situation in which they become "a means to satisfy the interests or needs of others."

Roccella described the declaration as establishing "a common political commitment" to support an international moratorium on surrogacy while laying the groundwork for "an international legal framework aimed at abolishing surrogacy worldwide."

At the same time, she stressed that the initiative should be viewed as the beginning of a broader international effort rather than its culmination. Roccella urged governments, international organizations, and civil society actors to engage in a "serious and constructive dialogue" on how best to address surrogacy while protecting the rights and dignity of all those involved.

Serious human rights concerns

Among the keynote speakers was U.N. Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem, whose 2025 report to the U.N. General Assembly was widely praised as one of the most comprehensive examinations of surrogacy to date.

Alsalem told participants that her scrutiny of surrogacy arose not from ideological opposition but from her mandate to investigate violence against women and girls. She said she began examining the issue after identifying it as a "growing and emerging phenomenon" with "significant and serious consequences" for women and girls, yet one that had received comparatively little analysis through the framework of international human rights law.

Drawing on her findings, Alsalem described surrogacy as a system that "commodifies women and children," turning women's reproductive capacities into services to be purchased and children into objects of contractual arrangements.

She further argued that children born through surrogacy can face abandonment, statelessness, and separation from their birth mothers, circumstances she said may cause lasting emotional harm.

Welcoming the declaration, Alsalem endorsed calls for an international moratorium, explaining that a temporary suspension would allow governments to gather data, improve accountability, and better assess the human rights implications of surrogacy.

"We will no longer accept these abuses," she said, expressing hope that additional states would join the initiative.

Her subsequent 2026 report on violence against women and girls reiterates concerns that surrogacy can facilitate exploitation, coercion, and other serious violations of the rights of women and girls.

Momentum beyond Geneva

Speaking to EWTN News, Giorgio Mazzoli, moderator of the event and director of U.N. advocacy for ADF International, explained that opposition to surrogacy is gaining traction among governments. He referred to Slovakia's 2025 constitutional prohibition of surrogacy and current advancing legislation in Chile that would ban the practice as evidence of a broader shift.

According to Mazzoli, "states are increasingly aware of the need for a coordinated response to the harm surrogacy causes to women and children," adding that the Geneva event was intended to "build and sustain that momentum."

While supporters of surrogacy continue to advocate for its expansion in jurisdictions where the practice remains legal or unresolved, Mazzoli said governments that have not yet confronted the issue directly are nevertheless paying attention.

"Even countries which do not yet face the problem directly — or claim not to — are taking note," he said. "They see where this is heading and want to be ahead of it."

Mazzoli also highlighted Italy's recent legislation extending criminal liability to Italian citizens who commission surrogacy abroad, describing it as a significant attempt to curb so-called "forum shopping," whereby individuals travel to other countries to access services prohibited at home.

Nevertheless, he argued that national measures alone will not be sufficient. Given the increasingly cross-border nature of the surrogacy industry, Mazzoli said the long-term goal should be the development of an international legally binding instrument capable of addressing surrogacy across jurisdictions.

Meanwhile, Ludovine de La Rochère, president of Le Syndicat de la Famille, who attended the event as an observer, told EWTN News that public awareness of surrogacy varies significantly across Europe.

Countries where advocacy groups actively publicize scandals and ethical concerns tend to have a greater understanding of the issue, while in other countries "people are largely unaware of what surrogacy entails."

She noted that most media outlets rarely scrutinize surrogacy practices in depth and that public discussion is often shaped by advocacy groups supportive of surrogacy.

According to De La Rochère, anti-surrogacy organizations defending mothers and children face an uphill battle because they often operate with limited resources. "Large-scale information campaigns are absolutely essential," she said, but she noted that such groups generally lack the financial support available to progressive organizations.

She contended that public education efforts should focus on demonstrating why surrogacy constitutes "an exploitation of women and an objectification of the child," while also drawing attention to cases involving international human trafficking.

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